Conservation genetics can provide data needed by conservation practitioners for their decisions regarding the management of vulnerable or endangered species, such as the sun bear Helarctos malayanus. Throughout its range, the sun bear is threatened by loss and fragmentation of its habitat and the illegal trade of both live bears and bear parts. Sharply declining population numbers and population sizes, and a lack of natural dispersal between populations all threaten the genetic diversity of the...

Breast cancer remains a general-threat event in the health of women. Currently, increasing records indicate that long non-coding RNA maternally expressed 3 (MEG3) plays a central role in breast cancer. The current research focused on the function of MEG3 in paclitaxel (PTX)-resistance and human breast cancer growth. Levels of MEG3, microRNA (miR)-4513, and phenazine biosynthesis-like domain-containing protein (PBLD) were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot assays. 3-(4.5-dimethylghiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay...

Wallace’s Line demarcates the transition between the differentiated regional faunas of Asia and Australia. However, while patterns of biotic differentiation across these two continental landmasses and the intervening island groups (“Wallacea”) have been extensively studied, patterns of long-term dispersal and diversification across this region are less well understood. Frogmouths (Aves: Podargidae) are a relictual family of large nocturnal birds represented by three extant genera occurring respectively in Asia, “Sahul” (Australia and New Guinea), and the...

Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of droughts, with potential impacts on carbon (C) release from soil (i.e., soil respiration, Rs). Although numerous studies have investigated drought-induced changes in Rs, how roots and the soil microbial community regulate responses of Rs to drought remains unclear. We conducted a 4-year field experiment (2014 - 2017) with three treatments (i.e., 70% rainfall reduction, control and ambient) in a subtropical forest to examine effects of drought...

African lions are declining across much of their range, yet robust measures of population densities remain rare. The Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area (QECA; 2400 km2) in East Africa’s Albertine Rift has potential to support a significant lion population. However, QECA lions are threatened, and information on the status of lions in the region is lacking. Here, we use a spatially explicit search encounter approach to estimate key population parameters of lions in the QECA. We...

Aim. Clutch size is a key life-history trait. In lizards, it ranges over two orders of magnitude. The global drivers of spatial and phylogenetic variation in clutch have been extensively studied in birds, but such tests in other organisms are lacking. To test the generality of latitudinal gradients in clutch size, and their putative drivers, we present the first global-scale analysis of clutch sizes across of lizard taxa. Location, Global Time period. Recent Major taxa...

Landscape genomics studies focus on identifying candidate genes under selection via spatial variation in abiotic environmental variables, but rarely by biotic factors such as disease. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is found only on the environmentally heterogeneous island of Tasmania and is threatened with extinction by a nearly 100% fatal, transmissible cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Devils persist in regions of long-term infection despite epidemiological model predictions of species’ extinction, suggesting possible adaptation to...

Expansion of many tree species lags behind climate-change projections. Extreme storms can rapidly overcome this lag, especially for coastal species, but how will storm-driven expansion shape intraspecific genetic variation? Do storms provide recruits only from the nearest sources, or from more distant sources? Answers to these questions have ecological and evolutionary implications, but empirical evidence is absent from the literature. Hurricane Irma provided an opportunity to address this knowledge gap at the northern range limit...

The Viviparidae, commonly known as River Snails, is a dominant group of freshwater snails with a nearly worldwide distribution that reaches its highest taxonomic and morphological diversity in Southeast Asia. The rich fossil record is indicative of a probable Middle Jurassic origin on the Laurasian supercontinent where the group started to diversify during the Cretaceous. However, it remains uncertain when and how the biodiversity hotspot in Southeast Asia was formed. Here, we used a comprehensive...

We compared bird community responses to the habitat transitions of: rainforest-to-pasture conversion, consequent habitat fragmentation, and post-agricultural regeneration, across a landscape mosaic of about 600 km2 in the eastern Australian subtropics. Birds were surveyed in seven habitats: continuous mature rainforest; two size-classes of mature rainforest fragment (4-21 ha, 1-3 ha); regrowth forest patches dominated by a non-native tree (2-20 ha, 30-50 years old); two types of isolated mature trees in pasture; and treeless pasture; with...

1. Climate change alters freshwater availability in many ecosystems leading to shifts in distributions for many plants. Despite living exclusively in intertidal, saline environments, mangroves rely on non-saline water to maintain plant productivity. However, several mangrove species persist in arid environments where non-saline water from rain and groundwater sources are limited. Under these conditions, foliar water uptake from fog and mist may be an important water acquisition strategy. 2. We conducted a field experiment in...

Objective: Determining the genetic basis of speech disorders provides insight into the neurobiology of human communication. Despite intensive investigation over the past two decades, the etiology of most children with speech disorder remains unexplained. Here we searched for a genetic etiology in children with severe speech disorder, specifically childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Methods: Precise phenotyping together with research genome or exome analysis were performed on children referred with a primary diagnosis of CAS, as...

This data set contains research conducted by Dr. Daijirro Kobashi for the period of Jan 2011 to Jan 2014. The dataset contains a series of files containing modelling data pertaining to ocean readings from the South-East Queensland region. The format of the model outputs are netcdf. The files are archived for further analysis. The project implements high-resolution ocean models to investigate coastal processes for the South-East Queensland.

Breast cancer remains a general-threat event in the health of women. Currently, increasing records indicate that long non-coding RNA maternally expressed 3 (MEG3) plays a central role in breast cancer. The current research focused on the function of MEG3 in paclitaxel (PTX)-resistance and human breast cancer growth. Levels of MEG3, microRNA (miR)-4513, and phenazine biosynthesis-like domain-containing protein (PBLD) were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot assays. 3-(4.5-dimethylghiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay...