Noteworthy record of the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) and its relation to physiographic characteristics in Baja California, Mexico

SARAHI SANDOVAL ESPINOZA MARIANA DELGADO FERNANDEZ Jonathan Gabriel Escobar Flores (2017, [Artículo])

"The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) lives in sandy and shallow soils of the Pacific coastal plains and the ecoregion of San Felipe desert. The reports of this species are scarce and in Mexico it is listed as a threatened species. The populations of V. macrotis tend to decrease due to the change in the habitat to agricultural land, which has been one of the causes of the disappearance of kit fox populations in Mexico. As part of the project “Characterisation of water bodies in Sierra Santa Isabel, Baja California”, 12 camera traps were placed in six watering holes that are visited by wildlife from January to August 2015. Digital terrain elevation models were used to describe three variables: roughness, slope inclination and orientation; these variables are essential for the kit fox to build its burrows, catch its preys and escape from predators. The analyses were also carried out in localities where this carnivore had previously been recorded in Baja California. An analysis of variance was used to determine the existence of similarities or differences between the topographical characteristics of the historical localities and the new record. The first photographic record of the kit fox was obtained in one of the watering holes located within the Valle de los Cirios Flora and Fauna Protection Area. The analyses of variance confirmed that there are no significant differences between roughness (F(4, 780) = 0.11, P > 0.05), slope inclination (F(4, 1275) = 0.319, P > 0.05) and orientation (F(4, 15) = 0.41, P > 0.05), between the historical localities and the site where the new record was obtained. Other carnivores were also recorded in the watering hole, such as the cougar (Puma concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus), coyote (Canis latrans) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). The presence of the kit fox is likely occasional in the watering hole, because the slopes are greater than 10 degrees and, therefore, these sites are unsuitable for the construction of burrows. However, flat sites with sandy substrates that empty into the Gulf of California occur at a distance of less than 5 km from the watering hole, which are therefore suitable to be inhabited by the kit fox. the analysis of topographic variables of the historical records coupled with camera traps jointly confirmed that the site with the new record has characteristics that are suitable for the kit fox."

"La zorra norteña (Vulpes macrotis) habita en los suelos arenosos y pocos profundos de las planicies costeras del pacifico y de la ecorregión del desierto de San Felipe. Los reportes de esta especie son escasos y en México esta enlistada como una especie amenazada. Las poblaciones de V. macrotis tienden a disminuir por la transformación del hábitat a tierras agrícolas, la cual ha sido una de las causantes de la extirpación de poblaciones de zorra norteña en México. Como parte del proyecto “Caracterización de los cuerpos de agua en Sierra Santa Isabel, Baja California”, se colocaron 12 cámaras trampa en seis aguajes que son visitados por la fauna silvestre de enero a agosto de 2015. Mediante modelos digitales de elevación del terreno se describieron tres variables: rugosidad, pendiente y orientación de las laderas, estas variables son esenciales para que la zorra norteña construya sus madrigueras, capture a sus presas y escape de sus depredadores. Los análisis también se realizaron en localidades que previamente se había registrado a este carnívoro en Baja California. Por medio de un análisis de varianza de una vía se determinó si existen similitudes o diferencias entre las características topográficas de las localidades históricas y el nuevo registro. En uno de los aguajes que se ubica dentro del Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Valle de los Cirios, se obtuvo el primero registro fotográfico de la zorra norteña. Con los análisis de varianza se confirmó que no hay diferencias significativas entre la rugosidad (F(4, 780) = 0.11, P > 0.05), pendiente (F(4, 1275) = 0.319, P > 0.05) y orientación (F(4, 15) = 0.41, P > 0.05), entre las localidades históricas y el sitio donde se obtuvo el nuevo registro. En el aguaje también se registraron otro carnívoros, como el puma (Puma concolor), gato montés (Lynx rufus), coyote (Canis latrans) y zorra gris (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). La presencia de la zorra norteña posiblemente es ocasional en el aguaje, debido a que las pendientes en el lugar son mayores a 10 grados y por lo tanto estos sitios no son idóneos para la construcción de madrigueras. Sin embargo, a una distancia menor a 5 km del aguaje se encuentran sitios planos con sustratos arenosos que desembocan al Golfo de California, y por lo tanto son idóneos para que la zorra norteña sea residente de esos lugares..."

Vulpes macrotis, Baja California BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) MAMÍFEROS MAMÍFEROS

Do marine reserves increase prey for California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals?

ALEJANDRO ARIAS DEL RAZO (2019, [Artículo])

Community marine reserves are geographical areas closed to fishing activities, implemented and enforced by the same fishermen that fish around them. Their main objective is to recover commercial stocks of fish and invertebrates. While marine reserves have proven successful in many parts of the world, their success near important marine predator colonies, such as the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), is yet to be analyzed. In response to the concerns expressed by local fishermen about the impact of the presence of pinnipeds on their communities’ marine reserves, we conducted underwater surveys around four islands in the Pacific west of the Baja California Peninsula: two without reserves (Todos Santos and San Roque); one with a recently established reserve (San Jeronimo); and, a fourth with reserves established eight years ago (Natividad). All these islands are subject to similar rates of exploitation by fishing cooperatives with exclusive rights. We estimated fish biomass and biodiversity in the seas around the islands, applying filters for potential California sea lion and harbor seal prey using known species from the literature. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that the age of the reserve has a significant positive effect on fish biomass, while the site (inside or outside of the reserve) did not, with a similar result found for the biomass of the prey of the California sea lion. Fish biodiversity was also higher around Natividad Island, while invertebrate biodiversity was higher around San Roque. These findings indicate that marine reserves increase overall fish diversity and biomass, despite the presence of top predators, even increasing the numbers of their potential prey. Community marine reserves may help to improve the resilience of marine mammals to climate-driven phenomena and maintain a healthy marine ecosystem for the benefit of both pinnipeds and fishermen. © 2019 Arias-Del-Razo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, biodiversity, biomass, climate change, ecosystem resilience, environmental exploitation, fish stock, fishing, marine environment, marine invertebrate, nonhuman, Phoca vitulina, Pinnipedia, prey searching, Zalophus californianus, animal, biom BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes

MARICELA JUAREZ RODRIGUEZ (2020, [Artículo])

There is limited information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) colonies. While scat analysis has been used to determine the diet of some colonies, the integrative characterization of its feeding habits on broader temporal and spatial scales remains limited. We examined potential feeding grounds, trophic niche width, and overlap, and inferred the degree of dietary specialization using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in this subspecies. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N on fur samples from pups collected at five sites along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Fur of natal coat of Pacific harbor seal pups begins to grow during the seventh month in utero until the last stage of gestation. Therefore pup fur is a good proxy for the mother's feeding habits in winter (∼December to March), based on the timing of gestation for the subspecies in this region. Our results indicated that the δ13C and δ15N values differed significantly among sampling sites, with the highest mean δ15N value occurring at the southernmost site, reflecting a well-characterized north to south latitudinal 15N-enrichment in the food web. The tendency identified in δ13C values, in which the northern colonies showed the most enriched values, suggests nearshore and benthic-demersal feeding habits. A low variance in δ13C and δ15N values for each colony (<1‰) and relatively small standard ellipse areas suggest a specialized foraging behavior in adult female Pacific harbor seals in Mexican waters. © 2020 Juárez-Rodríguez et al.

carbon, delta carbon 13, delta nitrogen 15, isotope, nitrogen, unclassified drug, carbon, nitrogen, Article, correlational study, feeding behavior, latitude, Mexico, nonhuman, organism colony, Pinnipedia, population abundance, species richness, troph BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

The Pacific harbor seal gut microbiota in Mexico: Its relationship with diet and functional inferences

ARLETTE MARIMAR PACHECO SANDOVAL (2019, [Artículo])

Diet is a primary driver of the composition of gut microbiota and is considered one of the main routes of microbial colonization. Prey identification is fundamental for correlating the diet with the presence of particular microbial groups. The present study examined how diet influenced the composition and function of the gut microbiota of the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) in order to better understand the role of prey consumption in shaping its microbiota. This species is a good indicator of the quality of the local environment due to both its foraging and haul-out site fidelity. DNA was extracted from 20 fecal samples collected from five harbor seal colonies located in Baja California, Mexico. The V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina technology. Results showed that the gut microbiota of the harbor seals was dominated by the phyla Firmicutes (37%), Bacteroidetes (26%) and Fusobacteria (26%) and revealed significant differences in its composition among the colonies. Funtional analysis using the PICRUSt software suggests a high number of pathways involved in the basal metabolism, such as those for carbohydrates (22%) and amino acids (20%), and those related to the degradation of persistent environmental pollutants. In addition, a DNA metabarcoding analysis of the same samples, via the amplification and sequencing of the mtRNA 16S and rRNA 18S genes, was used to identify the prey consumed by harbor seals revealing the consumption of prey with mainly demersal habits. Functional redundancy in the seal gut microbiota was observed, irrespective of diet or location. Our results indicate that the frequency of occurrence of specific prey in the harbor seal diet plays an important role in shaping the composition of the gut microbiota of harbor seals by influencing the relative abundance of specific groups of gut microorganisms. A significant relationship was found among diet, gut microbiota composition and OTUs assigned to a particular metabolic pathway. © 2019 Pacheco-Sandoval et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

RNA 16S, RNA 18S, amino acid analysis, animal food, Article, bacterium colony, Bacteroidetes, basal metabolic rate, biodegradation, controlled study, DNA barcoding, feces analysis, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, intestine flora, metabolism, Mexico, microb BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

What Are Medusozoans, and Why Do They Sting?

José Agüero Mariae del Carmen Estrada González Leonela Rosales Catalán Ariadne Molina Alonso MARIA DE LOS ANGELES MENDOZA BECERRIL (2022, [Artículo])

"Medusozoans are marine animals without backbones that live near the coasts, or in the depths of the oceans. Some of them are large, but others are even tinier than a seed. Medusozoans have been living on Earth for more than 600 million years. Their bodies are 95% water. Some medusozoans live attached to a surface, but others can swim freely. All medusozoans have tentacles, armed with stinging cells called nematocysts. When the nematocysts are triggered, the tiny stingers inside them can travel at speeds up to 67 km per hour. Around 3% of medusozoans are harmful to humans. Therefore, when visiting beaches where these harmful medusozoans live, it is necessary to take some precautions. Wearing protective clothing and not touching a medusozoan stranded on the beach will help you stay safe and healthy, so you can enjoy your beach day!"

Medusozoans BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) ZOOLOGÍA MARINA ZOOLOGÍA MARINA

Octopus maya white body show sex-specific transcriptomic profiles during the reproductive phase, with high differentiation in signaling pathways

Oscar Juárez (2019, [Artículo])

White bodies (WB), multilobulated soft tissue that wraps the optic tracts and optic lobes, have been considered the hematopoietic organ of the cephalopods. Its glandular appearance and its lobular morphology suggest that different parts of the WB may perform different functions, but a detailed functional analysis of the octopus WB is lacking. The aim of this study is to describe the transcriptomic profile of WB to better understand its functions, with emphasis on the difference between sexes during reproductive events. Then, validation via qPCR was performed using different tissues to find out tissue-specific transcripts. High differentiation in signaling pathways was observed in the comparison of female and male transcriptomic profiles. For instance, the expression of genes involved in the androgen receptor-signaling pathway were detected only in males, whereas estrogen receptor showed higher expression in females. Highly expressed genes in males enriched oxidation-reduction and apoptotic processes, which are related to the immune response. On the other hand, expression of genes involved in replicative senescence and the response to cortisol were only detected in females. Moreover, the transcripts with higher expression in females enriched a wide variety of signaling pathways mediated by molecules like neuropeptides, integrins, MAPKs and receptors like TNF and Toll-like. In addition, these putative neuropeptide transcripts, showed higher expression in females’ WB and were not detected in other analyzed tissues. These results suggest that the differentiation in signaling pathways in white bodies of O. maya influences the physiological dimorphism between females and males during the reproductive phase. © 2019 Juárez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

androgen receptor, integrin, mitogen activated protein kinase, neuropeptide, transcriptome, tumor necrosis factor, argonaute protein, corticotropin releasing factor receptor, corticotropin releasing factor receptor 2, DEAD box protein, estradiol 17be BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Suppression of breast tumor growth and metastasis by an engineered transcription factor

Adriana Beltran Lopez (2011, [Artículo])

Maspin is a tumor and metastasis suppressor playing an essential role as gatekeeper of tumor progression. It is highly expressed in epithelial cells but is silenced in the onset of metastatic disease by epigenetic mechanisms. Reprogramming of Maspin epigenetic silencing offers a therapeutic potential to lock metastatic progression. Herein we have investigated the ability of the Artificial Transcription Factor 126 (ATF-126) designed to upregulate the Maspin promoter to inhibit tumor progression in pre-established breast tumors in immunodeficient mice. ATF-126 was transduced in the aggressive, mesenchymal-like and triple negative breast cancer line, MDA-MB-231. Induction of ATF expression in vivo by Doxycycline resulted in 50% reduction in tumor growth and totally abolished tumor cell colonization. Genome-wide transcriptional profiles of ATF-induced cells revealed a gene signature that was found over-represented in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) "Normal-like" intrinsic subtype of breast cancer and in poorly aggressive, ER+ luminal A breast cancer cell lines. The comparison transcriptional profiles of ATF-126 and Maspin cDNA defined an overlapping 19-gene signature, comprising novel targets downstream the Maspin signaling cascade. Our data suggest that Maspin up-regulates downstream tumor and metastasis suppressor genes that are silenced in breast cancers, and are normally expressed in the neural system, including CARNS1, SLC8A2 and DACT3. In addition, ATF-126 and Maspin cDNA induction led to the re-activation of tumor suppressive miRNAs also expressed in neural cells, such as miR-1 and miR-34, and to the down-regulation of potential oncogenic miRNAs, such as miR-10b, miR-124, and miR-363. As expected from its over-representation in ER+ tumors, the ATF-126-gene signature predicted favorable prognosis for breast cancer patients. Our results describe for the first time an ATF able to reduce tumor growth and metastatic colonization by epigenetic reactivation of a dormant, normal-like, and more differentiated gene program. © 2011 Beltran et al.

artificial transcription factor 126, complementary DNA, doxycycline, estrogen receptor, maspin, microRNA, retrovirus vector, transcription factor, unclassified drug, estrogen receptor, serine proteinase inhibitor, SERPIN B5, SERPIN-B5, transcription BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

The cerato-mandibular ligament: a key functional trait for grazing in damselfishes (Pomacentridae)

Damien Olivier Bruno Frederich MILTON ALEJANDRO SPANOPOULOS ZARCO Eduardo Francisco Balart Páez Eric Parmentier (2014, [Artículo])

"The success of a taxonomic group can be promoted by a key character that allows the group to interact with its environment in a different way and to potentially occupy new niches. The Pomacentridae possess a synapomorphic trait, the cerato-mandibular (c-md) ligament, which joins the hyoid bar to the inner part of the lower jaw. It has previously been shown that this ligament is a key trait in communication in damselfishes because it enables them to slam the oral jaws shut causing teeth collision and sound production. This specific behavior of mouth closing could, however, also be used for other tasks, such as feeding. Many territorial damselfishes are referred to as farmers, due to their ability to manage algal crops on which they feed. This study hypothesizes that the c-md ligament provides an advantage for grazing filamentous algae, and should thus be considered a key trait for farming behavior."

Biomechanics, Evolution, Farming, Functional morphology BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) ZOOLOGÍA MARINA ZOOLOGÍA MARINA

Indicadores técnicos de la producción agrícola del año 2012 de las zonas de riego de México

Juan Manuel Angeles WALDO OJEDA BUSTAMANTE Maria Dolores Olvera Salgado (2012, [Objeto de congreso])

En México, la superficie dedicada a la agricultura es de aproximadamente 21 millones de hectáreas, de las cuales del orden de 6.3 millones de hectáreas son de riego, que aprovechan las aguas superficiales y subterráneas mediante la infraestructura hidráulica correspondiente. Aproximadamente 3.3 millones de ha están bajo la jurisdicción de 85 grandes áreas que se conocen como Distritos de Riego, y 3 millones de ha pertenecen a obras de pequeña irrigación bajo la jurisdicción de aproximadamente 40 000 Unidades de Riego, las cuales se riegan principalmente con aguas subterráneas y también la utilización de aguas superficiales a través de pequeñas presas de almacenamiento y derivación. La productividad de las áreas de riego en México es 3.7 veces mayor que las de temporal y a pesar de su superficie sustancialmente menor genera más de la mitad de la producción agrícola nacional. En este contexto la importancia del recurso agua en la agricultura representa un elemento decisivo para el desarrollo económico y social para nuestro país, produciendo los alimentos y las materias primas que demandan el crecimiento de la población y su desarrollo. En este documento se determinan algunos indicadores técnicos de la producción del año agrícola 2011-2012 de las Unidades y Distritos de Riego de México; información estadística básica obtenida de los reportes e informes que realiza la Comisión Nacional del Agua a través de las Gerencias de Distritos y Unidades de riego.

Producción agrícola Zonas agrícolas Riego Indicadores técnicos INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Parques vemos, biodiversidad no sabemos: el caso de la herpetofauna de la ciudad de Mérida

Roberto Carlos Barrientos Medina (2023, [Artículo])

La herpetofauna, constituida por las diferentes especies de anfibios y reptiles que se pueden encontrar en un hábitat, es un buen grupo indicador de diversidad, ya que presenta características de movilidad que los hacen ser más dependientes del hábitat (lugar en el que viven). En este trabajo se analizan los patrones de diversidad de los anfibios y reptiles que se pueden encontrar en los parques ecológicos de Mérida, en distintos niveles de expresión (alfa, beta y gamma). Los resultados señalan la influencia del grado de urbanización, de acuerdo con los patrones encontrados en las diversidades beta y gamma.

AMBIENTES ANTROPIZADOS ECOLOGIA URBANA NIVELES DE DIVERSIDAD PATRONES ECOLOGICOS YUCATAN BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) HERPETOLOGÍA HERPETOLOGÍA