A study of the bat diversity was conducted in Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forest and Setiu Wetland Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales (BRIS) forest in Terengganu, to study the species diversity, composition and stratification of fruit bats from the understorey to the forest canopy. Mist nets were set up at the understorey, sub-canopy and canopy layer while harp traps were set up at the understorey layer. We recorded 170 individuals from six families' compromised 21 species from Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forests and four species from Setiu Wetland BRIS forests throughout the sampling period. Megaerops ecaudatus and Cynopterus brachyotis were the most dominant species in Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forest and Setiu Wetland BRIS forests. Our study also recorded two species with new distributional records for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, namely, Rhinolophus chiewkweeae and Chaerephon johorensis in Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forests. Potential factors that might influence the results were in terms of the canopy covers, the structural complexity of canopy, food availability and spatial characteristics. This study was able to increase the knowledge on the species diversity and composition of bats in Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forest and Setiu Wetland BRIS forest, thus, further aid in the effort of bat conservation in both areas.
A small scale laboratory study was conducted to determine the effects of
salinity ranging from 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 ppt on the filtration rates of juvenile
oyster Crassostrea iredalei with 25 ppt as the control. Three juvenile oysters (shell weight:
1.04 ± 0.12 g; shell length: 1.9 ± 0.2 cm; shell height: 1.9 ± 0.1 cm) were used to test the
filtration rates in each salinity over the course of 8 hours. The hourly filtration rates were
determined from the exponential decrease in algal (Chaetoceros calcitrans) concentration
as a function of time. The oyster in 35 ppt salinity produced the highest overall filtration
rate (FR2) with 134.06 ± 15.66 mL–1 hr–1 oyster–1 and the lowest overall filtration rate (FR2)
occurred in oyster exposed to 15 ppt and 45 ppt with 31.30 ± 6.90 mL–1 hr–1 oyster–1 and
32.11 ± 7.68 mL–1 hr–1 oyster–1
respectively throughout the 8 hours. The result from this
study can be useful for optimum oyster culturing and the oysters can be employed as a
natural biofilter in marine polyculture farming.
A study was conducted at five selected rivers around Bukit Merah Reservoir,
Perak, Malaysia for eight weeks in order to determine the fish diversity and distribution. A
total of 28 species comprised of 9 families were identified. The study depicted that there
were significant changes to the fish composition when compared to previous study which
had captured 36 species due to different areas covered and different types of sampling
gear used between both studies.
Paederus fuscipes Curtis is a nocturnal insect. The attractiveness of artificial
light sources from residential premises eventually causes the risk of severe dermatitis
effect, once Paederus is in contact with human skin. The objective of this study is to
investigate whether the light and height factors of residential buildings and its’ association
to rice cultivation phases are primary reasons for P. fuscipes’s mass dispersal into human
residential areas. The study site was located in residential premises that were built
adjacent to rice field areas (≈ 32–60 m and 164 m) north of the rice field located in Teluk
Air Tawar, mainland of Pulau Pinang. Overall, both light sources and rice cultivation
phases caused a significant effect for P. fuscipes beetles dispersal flight to invade human
settlements. More P. fuscipes were captured near the bright light source with the highest
number of beetles found during harvesting stage. Whereas, significantly higher number of
P. fuscipes were captured at level 2 and 3 compared to ground and level 1 of the
apartment building and P. fuscipes was also found significantly affected by the rice
cultivation phases at different elevation levels. This indicates that bright light sources and
higher elevation levels are the main factors in attracting P. fuscipes beetles to disperse
and causes infestations in residential areas. This finding could create awareness among
the public on P. fuscipes dispersal pattern.
To understand the effects of fish predator’s kairomones on Aedes mosquitoes’
oviposition, we established an experiment using gravid Aedes females. Kairomones
concentrations were established using Hampala macrolepidota. One individual fish was
placed inside containers with varying water levels (1 L, 5 L, and 10 L of water). The fish
were kept in the containers for 24 hours and were removed immediately at the start of
each trial in order to have the kairomones remnants. Twenty gravid adult females of
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus were allowed to lay eggs on oviposition site with
various treatments: (1) control without any kairomones; (2) kairomone remnant in 1 L of
water; (3) kairomone remnant in 5 L of water; and (4) kairomone remnant in 10 L of water.
There are significant differences between the numbers of eggs laid by both Aedes species
for each different treatment (F = 9.131, df = 16, p
Penentuan jantina burung adalah penting untuk tujuan kajian ekologi dan biologi evolusi, serta program pembiakan dan konservasi terutamanya bagi burung yang mempunyai ciri monomorfik. Bagi burung pungguk jelapang Tyto alba, pengesahan jantina adalah penting untuk konservasi serta program pengenalan bagi kawalan tikus perosak. Penentuan jantina secara molekular untuk subspesies Asia Tenggara, Tyto alba javanica, telah dijalankan menggunakan Reaksi Rantai Polimerase (PCR) diikuti 3% gel agaros elektroforesis. Primer P2/P8 and 2550F/2718R untuk amplifikasi gen CHD (Chromo Helicase DNA-binding gene) diuji dan kedua-dua set primer memberi keputusan yang berjaya. Set primer 2550F/2718R memberi hasil yang lebih baik kerana jurang di antara jalur berganda lebih terang. DNA yang diekstrak dari darah, darah yang dicairkan, serta DNA yang diekstrak dari bulu burung digunakan untuk menentukan jantina burung. DNA yang diekstrak dari bulu memberi keputusan yang kurang memuaskan akibat pencemaran serta kuantiti DNA yang rendah. Penentuan jantina menggunakan darah yang dicairkan merupakan kaedah yang menjimatkan kos serta masa. Penjujukan gen CHD dari Tyto alba javanica menunjukkan 98% hingga 99% kesamaan identiti bila dibandingkan gen CHD Tyto alba alba.
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a widely distributed bird species found throughout the world. Being a species which has close association with humans, they chiefly nest on man-made structures. Here we describe the materials used by the house sparrow for making nests along an urban to rural gradient. For the current study, we selected the Coimbatore to Anaikatty road (State Highway-164), a 27 km inter-state highway, which traverses along an urban core to rural outstretch of Coimbatore. Of the 30 nests observed, 15 nests were from the rural, 8 were from the suburban, and 7 were from the urban areas. The nests had two distinct layers, specifically the structural layer and the inner lining. In the current study, we identified 11 plant species, 2 types of animal matter, and 6 types of anthropogenic matter, including plastic pieces and fine rope. The amount of anthropogenic materials in the nest formation varied along the gradients. The usage of anthropogenic materials was high in urban areas (p<0.05) whereas it did not differ at the sub-urban regions (p>0.05). A gradual decrease in the usage of plant matter towards the urban area was noticed (p<0.05). This study explicitly documents the links between nest material usage along an urban to rural gradient, in a human associated bird.
In order to manage blue swimming crabs in Pangkajene Kepulauan, management measures are required. Since the environment which affects the abundance of the blue swimming crab varies seasonally, it is necessary to take into account the seasonal nature with the aim of developing a management strategy. The objectives of this study are to define the abundance of and fishing season of blue swimming crabs in the Pangkajene Kepulauan waters, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The fishing season was analysed using seasonal index analysis, while fish abundance was analysed by means of Equilibrium-Schaefer. The result of this study demonstrated that fishermen allocate their fishing gear all year, although the fish catch is seasonal. Based on analysis of the result, the fishing season for the blue swimming crabs is short. The peak fishing season starts in May and finishes in June. However, in order to enable their families to earn a living, fishermen operated their fishing gear throughout the year. As a result, both catch landing and effort were close to maximum sustainable yield (MSY). In order to reduce fishing pressure, it is necessary to reduce fishing gear and have a seasonal arrangement regarding fishing gear allocation.
Mangrove restoration in Trenggalek, East Java has resulted an age variation of mangrove ecosystem. Diverse species of insects predominantly found in mangroves were collected using yellow pan traps, swipe nets and by direct picking from three different sites. This research was conducted from April until August 2015. There are 9,181 individual insects associated with mangroves comprised of 42 species from 31 families and eight orders. The first site or the 15 years old mangrove (66.22% canopy cover) indicated the highest Shannon diversity index at 2.54, Evenness index of 0.32 and Margalef richness index of 4.84. The lowest diversity was recorded in the third site or the five years old mangrove (19.65% canopy cover), with the Shannon diversity index at 2.28, Evenness index at 0.26 and Margalef richness index at 4.59. The most abundant species located was the Eristena mangalis, with 1,724 individuals (relative abundance of 18.78%), followed by Monolepta sp. with 1,649 individuals (relative abundance of 17.96%). These are the phytophagous insects associated with mangrove leaves. This study concluded that the older mangrove ecosystem have a denser canopy that supports insect life.
The body characteristics and yield indices of Clarias gariepinus, Bagrus bajad, Synodontis nigrita, Labeo senegalensis and Mormyrus rume from lower Benue River in Nigeria were determined in this study using 60 samples each for the fish species. Length, weight and fillet correlations were also determined during the study. Results obtained showed that M. rume, L. senegalensis and C. gariepinus had the highest percentage of edible parts (≥ 55%) compared to the other species (≤ 39%). Concerning correlations of the fillet with the morphological variables, results obtained suggest that fillet yield is independent of fish size (except for C. gariepinus which was positively correlated). Also, only samples of L. senegalensis showed isometric growth pattern; the other fish species had either positive (C. gariepinus and B. bajad) or negative (S. nigrita and M. rume) allometric growth. While the difference in fillet yield and body characteristics was attributed to the structural anatomy and other biological dynamics of the fishes, this study could not establish a connection between fillet yield and the length-weight relationship. It was concluded that M. rume, L. senegalensis and C. gariepinus would be better export products because of their higher fillet yields.
Condition index, reproduction and feeding of three non-obligatory riverine Mekong cyprinids namely Hampala dispar, Hampala macrolepidota and Osteochilus vittatus were examined. The samples were from the Nam Ngiep (NN) River and Bueng Khong Long (BKL) Swamp, which are the representative of the lotic- and lentic-environments, respectively. These two habitats lay in the same geographical area but on the opposite banks of the Mekong mainstream. The samplings were conducted between May 2017 and April 2018. There were 365 H. dispar, 259 H. macrolepidota and 298 O. vittatus samples in this study. The condition index of all three species were beyond 90% implying they can live well in both lotic and lentic environments. Reproductions of all three species were taken place in both environments with two peaks at the onset and end of rainy season. The samples from BKL showed early maturation than NN samples in all three (3) species. Feeding plasticity, though dominant by insects, was observed in Hampala spp., while O. vittatus can utilise any available detritus in both environments. Results clearly show that all the three selected non-obligatory riverine fish species can live very well in either lotic or lentic environments and imply that they can adjust themselves to reservoir environment.
Pepijat telah dikumpul dari seluruh Semenanjung Malaysia untuk melihat tahap kerintangan terhadap dua kelas racun serangga, piretroid dan karbamat. Dalam kajian ini, deltamethrin dan propoxur yang tersedia secara komersial digunakan untuk menguji status kerintangan pepijat tropika, Cimex hemipterus di Malaysia. Status kerintangan mereka dinilai dengan menggunakan kertas yang diresapi racun serangga, suatu kaedah bioesei yang disyorkan oleh Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO). Sepuluh pepijat dewasa dalam setiap populasi diletakkan di dalam setiap tiub dengan kertas yang diresapi 0.05% deltamethrin dan 0.1% propoxur. Pada mulanya, pepijat terdedah selama 24 jam, kemudian tempoh pendedahan dilanjutkan hingga 14 hari. Bioesei dilakukan dalam triplikat. Tahap kerintangan tertinggi dipamerkan oleh populasi AR dengan nilai masa maut (LT50) sebanyak 466.119 j di dalam tiub yang mengandungi deltametrin. Sebaliknya, propoxur sangat berkesan terhadap populasi IP (Ipoh) kerana nilai masa maut yang paling rendah, (LT50 = 153.032 j). Perbezaan yang signifikan (p < 0.005) didapati antara kelas racun serangga dan populasi pepijat. Purata kematian di kalangan populasi AR, SW, HM, PY, dan PC menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan apabila terdedah kepada deltametrin. Sebagai kesimpulan, propoxur menunjukkan keberkesanan yang tinggi dalam mengawal populasi pepijat. Walau bagaimanapun, keberkesanannya hanya di tempat tertentu. Sementara itu, rawatan menggunakan deltamethrin harus dielakkan oleh profesional kawalan perosak kerana keberkesanannya yang rendah.
Terumbu karang adalah ekosistem yang paling mempunyai kepelbagaian biologi di planet ini. Terumbu karang hanya dijumpai dalam lingkungan pengecilan parameter julat yang sempit, yang meletakkan terumbu karang berisiko di seluruh dunia. Terumbu karang dipengaruhi oleh kesan antropogenik dan alam sekitar yang mengubah taburan genera karang. Memahami di mana jenis karang yang berbeza terletak dan bagaimana setiap genus terjejas oleh tekanan tempatan dan global adalah penting untuk pemuliharaan. Teknik coral video transect mula digunakan pada bulan Mei 2016 untuk membandingkan taburan genera karang di tapak yang dipengaruhi oleh faktor-faktor yang berbeza. Tapak yang mempunyai impak paling sedikit mencatatkan pelitupan karang yang paling tinggi, tapak yang berkaitan dengan sedimen mencatatkan pelitupan yang paling rendah, dan tapak yang mempunyai aktiviti pelancongan yang tinggi mempunyai pelitupan alga yang paling besar. Acropora didapati dominan di Kepulauan Bidong dan Pulau Redang, manakala Favia, Fungia dan Porites mempunyai perlindungan karang yang agak tinggi di setiap tapak
Four types of cheeses were prepared included plain- cheese (control), Codonopsis pilosula (CP)- cheese, plain- cheese with fish collagen (FC; control) and CP- cheese with FC. The effects of cheese samples on acidification, proteolysis of milk proteins using three methods (cadmium-ninhydrin method, O-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) assay, and electrophoresis assay), and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity were investigated during 0, 2, & 4 weeks of ripening. In addition, the sensory evaluation was also investigated during 0, 2, 4, & 8 weeks of ripening. The presence of FC in CP- cheese increased the numbers of free amino acids (FAA) at 0 and 2 weeks. The addition of CP both in the presence and absence of FC affected positively (p
Six new species of the cephenniine genus Hlavaciellus Jałoszyński are described: H. cincinnalis sp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah); H. carinatus sp. n. (Malaysia: Pahang); H. microtuberculatus sp. n. (Malaysia: Pahang); H. diversipilosus sp. n. (Malaysia: Pahang); H. concavus sp. n. (Indonesia: Sumatra); and H. sumatranus sp. n. (Indonesia: Sumatra). An updated key to identification of males of all nominal species of Hlavaciellus is given.
A new genus and five new species of neotenic lyropaeine net-winged beetles, Plycus prosvirovi gen. nov., sp. nov., Platerodrilus (s. str.) brastagicola sp. nov., P. (s. str.) gorbunovi sp. nov., P. (s. str.) kambanganus sp. nov. and P. (Duliticola) berastagiensis sp. nov., are described from Malaysia and Indonesia. Horakiella Bocakova, 2006, syn. nov. is proposed as a junior synonym of Atamania Kazantsev, 2005. Descriptions of little known members of the subfamily, Lybnopaeus avernus (Kazantsev, 1997), Lyropaeus (Lyroneces) orcinus Kazantsev, 1998, Miniduliticola nelsoni Kazantsev, 2002, Platerodrilus (Zhelongia) grootaerti Kazantsev, 2009, P. (Zh.) holynskae Kazantsev, 2009, P. (Duliticola) svetae Kazantsev, 2009, P. (D.) strbai Kazantsev, 2009, Atamania tembeling Kazantsev, 2002 and Sinodulia gressitti Kazantsev, 2002, are complemented with macrophotographs. Lists of Platerodrilus and Atamania species are provided.
Aging is associated with a variety of morphological and functional changes in the liver. Oxidative stress and inflammation are now widely accepted as the main mechanisms involved in the aging process that may subsequently cause severe injury to mitochondrial DNA which leads to apoptosis. As aging may increase the risks for various liver diseases and plays as an adverse prognostic factor increasing the mortality rate, knowledge regarding the mechanisms of age-related liver susceptibility and the possible therapeutic interventions is imperative. Due to cost and time constraints, a mimetic aging model is generally preferred to naturally aged animals to study the underlying mechanisms of aging liver. The use of D-galactose in aging research is dated back to 1962 and has since been used widely. This review aims to comprehensively summarize the effects of D-galactose-induced aging on the liver and the underlying mechanisms involved. Its potential therapeutic interventions are also discussed. It is hoped that this invaluable information may facilitate researchers in choosing the appropriate aging model and provide a valuable platform for testing potential therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of age-related liver diseases.
Tropomyosin, a muscle tissue protein is a major allergen in most of shellfish including mud crab. Quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) using a stable reference gene is the most sensitive approach to produce accurate relative gene expression that has yet to be demonstrated for allergenic tropomyosin in mud crab species. This study was conducted to identify the suitable reference gene and tropomyosin expression in different body parts of local mud crabs, Scylla olivacea, Scylla paramamosain and Scylla tranquebarica. Myosin, 18S rRNA, GADPH and EF1α were selected as candidate reference genes and their expression was measured in the abdomen, walking leg and cheliped tissues of local Scylla spp. The expression stability was analyzed using the comparative delta-Ct method, BestKeeper, NormFinder and geNorm then comprehensively ranked by RefFinder algorithm. Findings showed that EF1α was the most suitable reference gene across three mud crab species. Meanwhile, the abdomen, walking leg and cheliped selected their own suitable reference gene either Myosin, 18S rRNA, EF1α or GADPH. Overall, tropomyosin was the highest in S. tranquebarica, whereas the least was in S. paramamosain. Interestingly, tropomyosin was the highest in the abdomen of all mud crab species. This is the first analysis on reference genes selection for qRT-PCR data normalization of tropomyosin expression in mud crab. These results will provide more accurate findings for further gene expression and allergen analysis in Scylla spp.
During a forensic entomological study conducted at an oil palm plantation in Tanjung Sepat, Kuala Langat, Selangor, a Bengalia emarginata Malloch, 1927 (Diptera: Calliphoridae: Calliphorinae: Bengalini) was collected for the first time. Two adults were collected nearby the pig carcass by the first author and identified by the second. Prior to this finding, nine species of Bengalia were recorded from peninsular Malaysia or Borneo. Male of B. emarginata are different from Bengalia varicolor Fabricious by the following characters: Sternite 5 projection rounded with small identation and mid tibia double-fringed in ventral surface.
A rare non-sex mosaic abnormality represented by genitalia-like appendages on the ventral surface of abdominal segment 8 of a male black fly collected in Hokkaido, Japan, is reported. The appendages consist of a pair of style-like projections each arising from a coxite-like base, inverted-Y shaped ventral plate-like structure, and isolated round structure. This male was morphologically and molecularly identified as an abnormal form of S. (S.) iwatense (Shiraki), the only species in the Simulium (Simulium) ornatum species-group in Japan, although certain morphological characteristics of this male including the reduced number of uppereye (large) facets and elongate cerci are different from those of S. (S.) iwatense.