Testing advances in molecular discrimination among Chinook salmon life histories: evidence from a blind test.

The application of DNA-based markers toward the task of discriminating among alternate salmon runs has evolved in accordance with ongoing genomic developments and increasingly has enabled resolution of which genetic markers associate with important life-history differences. Accurate and efficient identification of the most likely origin for salmon encountered during ocean fisheries, or at salvage from fresh water diversion and monitoring facilities, has far-reaching consequences for improving measures for management, restoration and conservation. Near-real-time provision of high-resolution identity information enables prompt response to changes in encounter rates.

Sediment quality assessment in tidal salt marshes in northern California, USA: an evaluation of multiple lines of evidence approach.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of integrating a traditional sediment quality triad approach with selected sublethal chronic indicators in resident species in assessing sediment quality in four salt marshes in northern California, USA. These included the highly contaminated (Stege Marsh) and relatively clean (China Camp) marshes in San Francisco Bay and two reference marshes in Tomales Bay. Toxicity potential of contaminants and benthic macroinvertebrate survey showed significant differences between contaminated and reference marshes.

Identification of three single nucleotide polymorphisms in Anopheles gambiae immune signaling genes that are associated with natural Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Background: Laboratory studies have demonstrated that a variety of immune signaling pathways regulate malaria parasite infection in Anopheles gambiae, the primary vector species in Africa.

Methods: To begin to understand the importance of these associations under natural conditions, an association mapping approach was adopted to determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in selected immune signaling genes in A. gambiae collected in Mali were associated with the phenotype of Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Geographic and taxonomic distribution of a positive interaction: ant-tended homopterans indirectly benefit figs across southern Africa.

Although species pairs and assemblages often occur across geographic regions, ecologists know very little about the outcome of their interactions on such large spatial scales. Here, we assess the geographic distribution and taxonomic diversity of a positive interaction involving ant-tended homopterans and fig trees in the genus Ficus. Previous experimental studies at a few locations in South Africa indicated that Ficus sur indirectly benefited from the presence of a homopteran (Hilda patruelis) because it attracted ants (primarily Pheidole megacephala) that reduced the effects of both pre-dispersal ovule gallers and parasitoids of pollinating wasps.