Moving eDNA surveys onto land: Strategies for active eDNA aggregation to detect invasive forest insects.

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to monitor terrestrial species has been relatively limited, with successful implementations still confined to sampling DNA from natural or artificial water bodies and soil. Sampling water for eDNA depends on proximity to or availability of water, whereas eDNA from soil is limited in its spatial scale due to the large quantities necessary for processing and difficulty in doing so. These challenges limit the widespread use of eDNA in several systems, such as surveying forests for invasive insects. We developed two new eDNA aggregation approaches that overcome the challenges of above-ground terrestrial sampling and eliminate the dependency on creating or utilizing pre-existing water bodies to conduct eDNA sampling. The first, "spray aggregation," uses spray action to remove eDNA from surface substrates and was developed for shrubs and other understorey vegetation, while the second, "tree rolling," uses physical transfer via a roller to remove eDNA from the surface of tree trunks and large branches. We tested these approaches by surveying for spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, a recent invasive pest of northeastern USA that is considered a significant ecological and economic threat to forests and agriculture. We found that our terrestrial eDNA surveys matched visual surveys, but also detected L. delicatula presence ahead of visual surveys, indicating increased sensitivity of terrestrial eDNA surveys over currently used methodology. The terrestrial eDNA approaches we describe can be adapted for use in surveying a variety of forest insects and represent a novel strategy for surveying terrestrial biodiversity.

Syphilis in pregnancy and congenital syphilis notified in a public maternity hospital in Petrópolis ­ RJ / Sífilis na gestação e congênita notificadas em um hospital maternidade pública de Petrópolis ­ RJ

Introduction: Syphilis is a disease of high incidence in Brazil and when it occurs during pregnancy, it has important public health implications, as it is responsible for high rates of perinatal fetal mortality and morbidity. Objective: To verify the prevalence of gestational syphilis, the epidemiological profile of the pregnant woman and outcomes such as congenital syphilis. Methods: Descriptive and retrospective study of maternal and newborn data, obtained from the notification forms of SINAN, medical records, and delivery book of the HEAC maternity ward, from January 2017 to December 2019. Results: Four hundred and eighteen pregnant women with syphilis had a pregnancy outcome at HEAC. Seroprevalence for syphilis in pregnant women was 3.95% in 2017, 4.92% in 2018, and 4.73% in 2019. 204 (48.8%) women received adequate treatment before delivery. Among the outcomes, all were reported as congenital syphilis, with 45 (10.7%) having abortions or stillbirths and among live births, 58 (15.54%) were premature and 67 (17.9%) had some manifestation clinic. Conclusion: The number of pregnant women admitted to HEAC who were notified with gestational syphilis was higher than the average notification for these conditions found in Brazil in the years studied, but it was similar to the average found in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Over-reporting of congenital syphilis was identified, and newborns exposed to syphilis were included in this diagnosis, without criteria for congenital syphilis. Our reporting system proved to be fragile and unable to assess the real situation of congenital syphilis in HEAC.

Introdução: A sífilis é uma doença de alta incidência no Brasil e, quando ocorre durante a gravidez, tem implicações importantes na saúde pública, pois é responsável por altos índices mortalidade e morbidade fetal perinatal. Objetivo: Verificar a prevalência da sífilis gestacional, o perfil epidemiológico da gestante e os desfechos como a sífilis congênita. Métodos: Estudo descritivo e retrospectivo de dados maternos e de recém-nascidos (RNs) obtidos das fichas de notificação do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN), dos prontuários e do livro de parto da maternidade do Hospital de Ensino Alcides Carneiro (HEAC), no período de janeiro de 2017 a dezembro de 2019. Resultados: Quatrocentas e dezoito gestantes com sífilis tiveram o desfecho da gravidez no HEAC. A soroprevalência para sífilis nas gestantes foi de 3,95% em 2017, 4,92% em 2018 e de 4,73% em 2019. Receberam tratamento adequado antes do parto 204 (48,8%) mulheres. Dentre os desfechos, todos foram notificados como sífilis congênita, sendo que 45 (10,7%) foram abortos ou natimortos e, entre os nascidos vivos, 58 (15,54%) foram prematuros e 67 (17,9%) apresentavam alguma manifestação clínica. Conclusão: O número de gestantes internadas no HEAC que foram notificadas com sífilis gestacional foi superior à média de notificação para esses agravos encontrada no Brasil nos anos estudados, porém foi similar à média encontrada no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foi identificada supernotificação de sífilis congênita, tendo sido incluídos nesse diagnóstico RNs expostos a sífilis, sem critérios para sífilis congênita. Nosso sistema de notificação se mostrou frágil e incapaz de avaliar a real situação da sífilis congênita no HEAC.

Influence of invasion history on rapid morphological divergence across island populations of an exotic bird.

There is increasing evidence that exotic populations may rapidly differentiate from those in their native range and that differences also arise among populations within the exotic range. Using morphological and DNA-based analyses, we document the extent of trait divergence among native North American and exotic Hawaiian populations of northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Furthermore, using a combination of historical records and DNA-based analyses, we evaluate the role of founder effects in producing observed trait differences. We measured and compared key morphological traits across northern cardinal populations in the native and exotic ranges to assess whether trait divergence across the Hawaiian Islands, where this species was introduced between 1929 and 1931, reflected observed variation across native phylogeographic clades in its native North America. We used and added to prior phylogenetic analyses based on a mitochondrial locus to identify the most likely native source clade(s) for the Hawaiian cardinal populations. We then used Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to evaluate the role of founder effects in producing the observed differences in body size and bill morphology across native and exotic populations. We found cardinal populations on the Hawaiian Islands had morphological traits that diverged substantially across islands and overlapped the trait space of all measured native North American clades. The phylogeographic analysis identified the eastern North American clade (C. cardinalis cardinalis) as the most likely and sole native source for all the Hawaiian cardinal populations. The ABC analyses supported written accounts of the cardinal's introduction that indicate the original 300 cardinals shipped to Hawaii were simultaneously and evenly released across Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu. Populations on each island likely experienced bottlenecks followed by expansion, with cardinals from the island of Hawaii eventually colonizing Maui unaided. Overall, our results suggest that founder effects had limited impact on morphological trait divergence of exotic cardinal populations in the Hawaiian archipelago, which instead reflect postintroduction events.

Global invasion network of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys.

Human mediated transportation into novel habitats is a prerequisite for the establishment of non-native species that become invasive, so knowledge of common sources may allow prevention. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys) is an East Asian species now established across North America and Europe, that in the Eastern United States of America (US) and Italy is causing significant economic losses to agriculture. After US populations were shown to originate from Northern China, others have tried to source BMSB populations now in Canada, Switzerland, Italy, France, Greece, and Hungary. Due to selection of different molecular markers, however, integrating all the datasets to obtain a broader picture of BMSB's expansion has been difficult. To address this limitation we focused on a single locus, the barcode region in the cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial gene, and analyzed representative BMSB samples from across its current global range using an Approximate Bayesian Computation approach. We found that China is the likely source of most non-native populations, with at least four separate introductions in North America and three in Europe. Additionally, we found evidence of one bridgehead event: a likely Eastern US source for the central Italy populations that interestingly share enhanced pest status.

Chirosurveillance: The use of native bats to detect invasive agricultural pests.

Invasive insect pests cost the agricultural industry billions of dollars annually in crop losses. Timely detection of pests is critical for management efficiency. Innovative pest detection strategies, such as environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques, combined with efficient predators, maximize sampling resolution across space and time and may improve surveillance. We tested the hypothesis that temperate insectivorous bats can be important sentinels of agricultural insect pest surveillance. Specifically, we used a new high-sensitivity molecular assay for invasive brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) to examine the extent to which big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) detect agricultural pests in the landscape. We documented consistent seasonal predation of stink bugs by big brown bats. Importantly, bats detected brown marmorated stink bugs 3-4 weeks earlier than the current standard monitoring tool, blacklight traps, across all sites. We highlight here the previously unrecognized potential ecosystem service of bats as agents of pest surveillance (or chirosurveillance). Additional studies examining interactions between other bat and insect pest species, coupled with comparisons of detectability among various conventional monitoring methods, are needed to verify the patterns extracted from this study. Ultimately, robust economic analyses will be needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of chirosurveillance as a standard strategy for integrated pest management.

Real-time PCR assay to detect brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), in environmental DNA.

BACKGROUND: Early detection before establishment and identification of key predators are time-honored strategies towards effective eradication or control of invasive species. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, is a recent exotic pest of several important crops in North America and Europe. Resulting widespread applications of insecticides have countered years of careful integrated pest management and are leading to the resurgence of other agricultural pests. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has been used effectively to detect aquatic invasives. RESULTS: We developed a real-time PCR (qPCR) assay for BMSB in a conserved region of the ribosomal DNA interspacer 1 (ITS1). We validated this assay on worldwide populations of BMSB and tested its specificity and sensitivity against other US Pentatomidae species and on guano of big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, which we confirmed is a BMSB predator in New Jersey. We also detected BMSB DNA after rapid (and inexpensive) HotSHOT DNA extractions of soiled paper from cages briefly holding BMSB, as well as from discarded exuviae. CONCLUSION: Given the high sensitivity of our assay to BMSB environmental DNA (eDNA) in terrestrial samples, this tool should become a cost-effective approach for using eDNA to detect terrestrial invasive species and their key predators. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.