Two types of municipal solid waste (MSW), newly arrived and 2 weeks old, were sampled from a sanitary landfill in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia at a fortnightly interval and kept under field conditions for 2 weeks. A total of 480 kg of each type of MSW was sampled to study species composition and impact of delays in cover soil applications on filth fly emergence. Out of 960 kg of MSW sampled, 9.2 ± 0.5 flies emerged per kilogram. Weekly adult fly emergence rates of newly arrived and 2-week-old waste did not differ significantly and MSW remained suitable for fly breeding for up to 1 month. Eight species of flies emerged from the MSW: namely, Musca domestica, Musca sorbens, Synthesiomyia nudiseta, Hydrotaea chalcogaster, Chrysomya megacephala, Lucilia cuprina, Hemipyrellia ligurriens and Sarcophaga sp. Newly arrived waste was determined to be the main source for M. domestica, C. megacephala and L. cuprina in the landfill owing to significantly higher mean emergence compared with 2-week-old waste. Musca sorbens was found in newly arrived waste but not in 2-week-old waste, suggesting that the species was able to survive transportation to landfill but unable to survive landfill conditions. Hemipyrellia ligurriens, H. chalcogaster and S. nudiseta were not imported into the landfill with MSW and pre-existing flies in and around the landfill itself may be their source. The results show that landfills can be a major source of fly breeding if cover soil or temporary cover is not applied daily or on a regular schedule.
Septesinus gibsoni n. g., n. sp. (Monocotylidae: Heterocotylinae) is described from the gills of the dwarf whipray Himantura walga (Müller & Henle) collected in marine waters off Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia. Septesinus n. g. is distinguished from other genera in the Monocotylidae by a combination of characters, including a haptor with one central and seven peripheral loculi, the presence of a highly sinuous ridge surmounting all haptoral septa, four rounded accessory structures on the dorsal surface of the haptor, and the anterior region with two pairs of anteromedian and three pairs of anterolateral gland-duct openings. Septesinus n. g. is accommodated in the Heterocotylinae. Septesinus gibsoni n. sp. is described and fully illustrated, and a key to the genera of Heterocotylinae is provided. The composition of the ridges surrounding the mouth of a number of heterocotyline species and their usefulness as a taxonomic character are examined. The identity of four specimens of Monocotyle Taschenberg, 1878, also recovered from the gills of this host species, is discussed.
The genus Proinalactis Meyrick, 1908 is reviewed in Southeast Asia. Twenty-seven new species are described based on the specimens collected in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Burma, Philippines. The new species include P. alveiformis sp. nov., P. angusta sp. nov., P. bruneiensis sp. nov., P. conicispinalis sp. nov., P. ellipsoidea sp. nov., P. exiliprocessa sp. nov., P. extumida sp. nov., P. fascisetacea sp. nov., P. flagellaris sp. nov., P. foraininulata sp. nov., P. fortijuxtalis sp. nov., P. lancea sp. nov., P. latuncata sp. nov., P. longisaccata sp. nov., P. lophacantha sp. nov., P. medispinata sp. nov., P. palmifolia sp. nov., P. pectinifera sp. nov., P.sectoralis sp. nov., P. semiovata sp. nov., P. sinualis sp. nov., P. spinosicostalis sp. nov., P. strena sp. nov., P. superimposita sp. nov., P. truncatapicalis sp. nov., P. undulata sp. nov. and P. vulvida sp. nov. Promalactis parasuzukiella Wang, 2006 and P. simniliflora Wang, 2006 are recorded from Southeast Asia for the first time. Three species described by Lvovsky are fully redescribed. Images of adults and genitalia are provided, along with a check list of 71 species from Southeast Asia.
Three new species of the uncommonly encountered insect order Zoraptera are described and figured from Peninsular Malaysia--Zorotypus magnicaudelli sp. n., Zorotypus cervicornis sp. n., and Zorotypus impolitus sp. n. Another species from the region, identified as Zorotypus caudelli Karny, 1927, was also collected and is reevaluated herein based on new material. A brief discussion of characters used in zorapteran systematics is provided, and a key to the species of Peninsular Malaysia provided. This is the first report for the order Zoraptera from Peninsular Malaysia.
To date, three species of the genus Glischropus are recognized from the Indomalayan zoogeographic region-G. bucephalus from the Indochinese subregion, G. tylopus from the Sundaic subregion (Peninsular Thailand and Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Moluccas) and G. javanus, restricted to Java. The investigation of the holotype and three topotype specimens of G. batjanus supported the view that the name was previously correctly regarded as the junior subjective synonym of G. tylopus. During review of material recently collected in southwestern Sumatra, Indonesia, one specimen of a yet undescribed species of Thick-thumbed bat was identified. G. aquilus n. sp. markedly differs from its congeners by its dark brown pelage, nearly black ear and tragus, and in skull proportions. The phylogenetic analysis based on cytb sequences also supports the specific distinctness of G. aquilus n. sp. Its discovery brings the count to 88 species of bats known from Sumatra.
Porcine gelatine is a common adulterant found in edible bird's nests (EBNs) used to increase the net weight prior to sale. This study aimed to develop indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for porcine gelatine adulteration using anti-peptide polyclonal antibodies. Three indirect ELISAs were developed (PAB1, 2 and 3), which had limits of detection (LODs) of 0.12, 0.10 and 0.11 µg g(-1), respectively. When applied to standard solutions of porcine gelatine, the inter- and intra-assays showed coefficients of variation (CVs) less than 20% and were able to detect at least 0.5 ng µg(-1) (0.05%) porcine gelatine in spiked samples. The proposed ELISA offers attractions for quality control in the EBN industry.
Genetically, Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 and R. fredii USDA257 are closely related. Small differences in their nodulation genes result in NGR234 secreting larger amounts of more diverse lipo-oligosaccharidic Nod factors than USDA257. What effects these differences have on nodulation were analyzed by inoculating 452 species of legumes, representing all three subfamilies of the Leguminosae, as well as the nonlegume Parasponia andersonii, with both strains. The two bacteria nodulated P. andersonii, induced ineffective outgrowths on Delonix regia, and nodulated Chamaecrista fasciculata, a member of the only nodulating genus of the Caesalpinieae tested. Both strains nodulated a range of mimosoid legumes, especially the Australian species of Acacia, and the tribe Ingeae. Highest compatibilities were found with the papilionoid tribes Phaseoleae and Desmodieae. On Vigna spp. (Phaseoleae), both bacteria formed more effective symbioses than rhizobia of the "cowpea" (V. unguiculata) miscellany. USDA257 nodulated an exact subset (79 genera) of the NGR234 hosts (112 genera). If only one of the bacteria formed effective, nitrogen-fixing nodules it was usually NGR234. The only exceptions were with Apios americana, Glycine max, and G. soja. Few correlations can be drawn between Nod-factor substituents and the ability to nodulate specific legumes. Relationships between the ability to nodulate and the origin of the host were not apparent. As both P. andersonii and NGR234 originate from Indonesia/Malaysia/Papua New Guinea, and NGR234's preferred hosts (Desmodiinae/Phaseoleae) are largely Asian, we suggest that broad host range originated in Southeast Asia and spread outward.
Four new species of Calydiscoides Young, 1969 are described from three species of nemipterids caught off Kemaman, Terengganu, on the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia: C. monogrammae n. sp. from Scolopsis monogramma; C. conus n. sp. from S. magaritifer; C. scolopsidis n. sp. from S. margaritifer and S. monogramma; and C. kemamanensis n. sp. from Pentapodus setosus. The present investigation reveals that the squamodiscs (lamellodiscs) are composed of 10-12 short, complete, interlocking and concentric tubular lamellae. The innermost lamella is attached to a pair of adductor muscles.
Studies of the siamang (Hylobates syndactylus continentis) and the lar gibbon (Hylobates lar lar) where they co-occur in mainland Asia have demonstrated interspecific dietary segregation based on body size and have suggested that observed levels of frugivory represent metabolically based maxima for these species. I studied sympatric groups of siamang (H. s. syndactylus) and lar gibbons (H. l. vestitus) at Ketambe in northern Sumatra (Indonesia) in order to assess the magnitude of within- and between-species variation in diets. The insular subspecies are considerably more frugivorous (60-70% of feeding time) than mainland conspecifics (35-50%). This is primarily because Sumatran hylobatids spend about twice as much time (approx. 45% of feeding) eating fig fruits (Ficus spp., Moraceae). A higher density of figs at Ketambe (compared to Kuala Lompat) may account for this behavioral difference. Enhanced frugivory has been achieved at the expense of folivory, which is much reduced in Sumatra--especially in H. lar (4% of diet)- and is limited almost entirely to immature foliage. The expected decline in protein intake resulting from diminished folivory in Sumatra may be counterbalanced by observed increases in insectivory, which is especially pronounced in lar gibbons. Interspecific dietary segregation emerges most clearly in how individuals of each species supplement their similarly fig-dominated diets. Siamang rely more on immature foliage--primarily from lianas, which generate young leaves more reliably and abundantly than trees do. Conversely, lar gibbons exploit the pulpy fruit of trees and lianas more heavily than siamang do. This general pattern occurs where the two species coexist in Malaysia, thereby suggesting a substantive interspecific difference that is somewhat greater in the insular populations.
The shedding pattern of the protozoan parasite, Blastocystis hominis, is investigated in man and in experimental animal infections. The shedding pattern of the vacuolar and cystic forms of Blastocystis hominis in infected individuals have been shown in the present study to be irregular. The study shows that there is marked fluctuation in the shedding of the parasite from day to day, varying from as high as 17 to 0 per x40 microscopic field. The cystic stages when estimated in 8 Blastocystis-infected individuals ranged from as high as 7.4x10(5) cysts per gram of stool to 0. The shedding of cystic and vacuolar forms observed over a period of 20 days in experimentally-infected Wistar rats were not only shown to be irregular but the amount varied from host to host. The study has important diagnostic implications in that the stool samples must be collected more than once from patients showing clinical signs and symptoms to eliminate the cause of it to Blastocystis. The study also shows that there are asymptomatic individuals who pass a large amount of cysts as such individuals should be treated to prevent transmission to others.
Forest growth models are useful tools for investigating the long-term impacts of logging. In this paper, the results of the rain forest growth model FORMIND were assessed by a multicriteria decision analysis. The main processes covered by FORMIND include tree growth, mortality, regeneration and competition. Tree growth is calculated based on a carbon balance approach. Trees compete for light and space; dying large trees fall down and create gaps in the forest. Sixty-four different logging scenarios for an initially undisturbed forest stand at Deramakot (Malaysia) were simulated. The scenarios differ regarding the logging cycle, logging method, cutting limit and logging intensity. We characterise the impacts with four criteria describing the yield, canopy opening and changes in species composition. Multicriteria decision analysis was used for the first time to evaluate the scenarios and identify the efficient ones. Our results plainly show that reduced-impact logging scenarios are more 'efficient' than the others, since in these scenarios forest damage is minimised without significantly reducing yield. Nevertheless, there is a trade-off between yield and achieving a desired ecological state of logged forest; the ecological state of the logged forests can only be improved by reducing yields and enlarging the logging cycles. Our study also demonstrates that high cutting limits or low logging intensities cannot compensate for the high level of damage caused by conventional logging techniques.
Rhythmic flashing behavior of synchronous flashing fireflies from Malaysia and New Guinea was studied. The "circa second" firefly pacemaker has characteristics analogous to circadian rhythms, such as entrainment, phase shifting, limits of entrainment, fringe entrainment, and effects of the light:dark ratio on phase. The three species studied show different phase-response curves; a light pulse causes a large phase shift in one firefly species (Pteroptyx cribellata) but small phase shifts in others (Pteroptyx malaccae and Luciola pupilla). Comparative studies of the phase angle differences between the animal's flash and the flash of a controlled light source suggest at least two different mechanisms of attaining synchrony: 1) by cycle-to-cycle phase shifting of a stable oscillator; 2) by changing the underlying period (tau) of a variable oscillator.
1. Electrophoretic variations of 9 erythrocyte proteins, coded by a separate gene locus each, were analysed in and among the 5 Malayan species of Rattus belonging to the subgenus Lenothrix. 2. The average proportion of loci heterozygous per individual for the taxa analysed is 0.037. 3. The results obtained confirm the specific status of the 5 taxa studied. With respect to the relative affinities among the species studied, the present results could resolve the discrepancies between conclusions based on morphological evidence and those based on cytological evidence. 4. The 5 species of Rattus studied may be assigned to 4 groups and comparative data suggest that these groups are relatively distantly related to one another.
Bats and moths have been engaged in aerial warfare for nearly 65 Myr. This arms race has produced a suite of counter-adaptations in moths, including bat-detecting ears. One set of defensive strategies involves the active production of sound; tiger moths' ultrasonic replies to bat attack have been shown to startle bats, warn the predators of bad taste and jam their biosonar. Here, we report that hawkmoths in the Choerocampina produce entirely ultrasonic sounds in response to tactile stimulation and the playback of biosonar attack sequences. Males do so by grating modified scraper scales on the outer surface of the genital valves against the inner margin of the last abdominal tergum. Preliminary data indicate that females also produce ultrasound to touch and playback of echolocation attack, but they do so with an entirely different mechanism. The anti-bat function of these sounds is unknown but might include startling, cross-family acoustic mimicry, warning of unprofitability or physical defence and/or jamming of echolocation. Hawkmoths present a novel and tractable system to study both the function and evolution of anti-bat defences.
The manner in which a gastropod shell coils has long intrigued laypersons and scientists alike. In evolutionary biology, gastropod shells are among the best-studied palaeontological and neontological objects. A gastropod shell generally exhibits logarithmic spiral growth, right-handedness and coils tightly around a single axis. Atypical shell-coiling patterns (e.g. sinistroid growth, uncoiled whorls and multiple coiling axes), however, continue to be uncovered in nature. Here, we report another coiling strategy that is not only puzzling from an evolutionary perspective, but also hitherto unknown among shelled gastropods. The terrestrial gastropod Opisthostoma vermiculum sp. nov. generates a shell with: (i) four discernable coiling axes, (ii) body whorls that thrice detach and twice reattach to preceding whorls without any reference support, and (iii) detached whorls that coil around three secondary axes in addition to their primary teleoconch axis. As the coiling strategies of individuals were found to be generally consistent throughout, this species appears to possess an unorthodox but rigorously defined set of developmental instructions. Although the evolutionary origins of O. vermiculum and its shell's functional significance can be elucidated only once fossil intermediates and live individuals are found, its bewildering morphology suggests that we still lack an understanding of relationships between form and function in certain taxonomic groups.
DNA barcoding involves the use of one or more short, standardized DNA fragments for the rapid identification of species. A 648-bp segment near the 5' terminus of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been adopted as the universal DNA barcode for members of the animal kingdom, but its utility in mushrooms is complicated by the frequent occurrence of large introns. As a consequence, ITS has been adopted as the standard DNA barcode marker for mushrooms despite several shortcomings. This study employed newly designed primers coupled with cDNA analysis to examine COI sequence diversity in six species of Pleurotus and compared these results with those for ITS. The ability of the COI gene to discriminate six species of Pleurotus, the commonly cultivated oyster mushroom, was examined by analysis of cDNA. The amplification success, sequence variation within and among species, and the ability to design effective primers was tested. We compared ITS sequences to their COI cDNA counterparts for all isolates. ITS discriminated between all six species, but some sequence results were uninterpretable, because of length variation among ITS copies. By comparison, a complete COI sequences were recovered from all but three individuals of Pleurotus giganteus where only the 5' region was obtained. The COI sequences permitted the resolution of all species when partial data was excluded for P. giganteus. Our results suggest that COI can be a useful barcode marker for mushrooms when cDNA analysis is adopted, permitting identifications in cases where ITS cannot be recovered or where it offers higher resolution when fresh tissue is. The suitability of this approach remains to be confirmed for other mushrooms.