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The study on the subspecies of Apis cerana honeybee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) that based on cubital index value of worker bees collected from various elevation in West Sumatra had been conducted from March to November 2020. The collection on worker bees was performed on their nests located in various types of habitats spanned from less than 100 m elevation up to 1400 m altitude. Workers were entrapped at their nest entrance, before killed with ether. In total, there were 45 honey bee colonies sampled in this study. As many as 15 workers were separated from their front wings, before documented using OptiLab apparatus that connected to computer where the photos taken and stored as raw files. The measurement of wing venation used image rester software. The analysis showed that Apis cerana has a wide range of cubital index value from 2.24-7.33. Based on this range of value, it was estimated that there was a high diversity of West Sumatran Apis cerana, which consisted of at least four subspecies i.e., Apis cerana indica, A. c. cerana, A. c. japonica and A. c. himalaya. Molecular and genetics insight are required to reveal the actual diversity of subspecies of Apis cerana by scrutinizing its genetical diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuri Bayan is a parrot that has nine subspecies. This bird is included in the list of endangered species on a global scale due to illegal trade. Therefore, efforts are needed to minimize the threat to the Nuri Bayan population. This study aims to determine the diversity of Nuri Bayan in the Solo Raya region, Central Java Province, and to assess the conservation of its existence. The research method used is the observation and interviews conducted with the five Nuri Bayan breeders in Solo Raya, Central Java. The results showed that in the Solo Raya, there were four subspecies of Nuri Bayan, namely Eclectus roratus vozmaeri (Rothschild, 1992), E. roratus aruensis (G. R. Gray, 1858), E. roratus cornelia (Bonaparte, 1850), and E. roratus riedeli (Meyer, 1882). E. roratus vozmaeri was the most popular because of its beautiful colour combination compared to other subspecies. Ex-situ conservation efforts taken by the owners of Nuri Bayan are captive breeding with the hope of being able to help conserve Nuri Bayan. Another option that able to be developed by breading Nuri Bayan with the condition as in natural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant hormones are chemical messengers that regulate a wide range of physiological activities in plants. Microbes need a definite time to synthesize a compound. The microbial life cycle consists of several phases, often requiring a shorter incubation time than in complex organisms such as plants, animals, and humans. This study aimed to determine the optimum incubation time and the best tryptophan levels of Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus strain i18 in.Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) hormone. IAA has synthesized on liquid ISP4 medium using L-tryptophan supplementation as a precursor. Cell density was measured every day for 4-11 days using the spectrophotometric approach to track the incubation time. The doses of L-Tryptophan were 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mg/mL, respectively. The levels of IAA produced by bacteria were measured and compared with standard IAA. Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus strain i18 was obtained the optimum incubation time at 9th days with an IAA level of 12.30 µg/mL. Supplementing with 5 mg/mL L-tryptophan resulted in the highest IAA level of 17.90 µg/mL. This study would be worthwhile in assisting agricultural product quality improvement through field application for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The studies of structural features of skin and fur of standard black mink (Neovison vison) industrial populations in conditions of adapting it to the existing technology of keeping and feeding in Russia were conducted on male pelt. Samples were taken from fresh-dry skins on the rump to study the morphological structure of the hair cover. Thickness of the skin tissue was measured on the main topographic areas of the ridge, side and rump skins. The black mink of Danish selection showed a tendency to increase thickness of the skin tissue on the side and spine by 12.2% (p<0.1) and a decrease by 12.2% on the rump in comparison with the mink of Scandinavian selection. The males of Danish selection had a shorter hairline compared to the minks of Scandinavian selection. The length of the guide hairs was less by 3.7 mm (p<0.001), the length of the guard hairs – by 8.2 mm (p<0.001), and the length of the down hairs– by 1.3 mm (p<0.001), respectively, in comparison with the samples of mink fur of Scandinavian selection. The Danish mink subspecies also has a lower hair thickness of each category. The guide hairs were thinner by 22.8 microns (p<0.05), the guard hairs by – 37.7 microns (p<0.001), and the down hairs by – 2.8 microns (p<0.001), respectively. Mink skins of the Scandinavian subspecies have more density of the hair cover. On average, there was more hair of various categories per unit area of skin in the samples - coverts– by 66.6% (p<0.001), and downy – by 25.6% (p<0.01), the total hair density in these animals was 27.6% higher (p<0.01) than in Danish minks. We determined an increase in the planimetric parameters of the skins of the Danish mink by 8.5% (p<0.05) in comparison with the Scandinavian mink. The obtained data allow us to use the established parameters of the hair structure to obtain the desired (selected) type of black mink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As threats to global biodiversity increase, there is a heightened need to resolve disputed species lineages and uncover novel diversity through identifying cryptic species. The Loggerhead Kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus) is currently considered a single songbird species comprised of seven subspecies distributed across multiple Caribbean islands within The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Isle of Pines, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Previous work used plumage coloration, distribution, morphological data, and vocalization, to propose elevating the Hispaniola and Puerto Rico subspecies to monotypic species status. Despite conflicting taxonomic recommendations for the complex, no genomic work has been incorporated. Here, we used morphological and genomic data to delimit the Loggerhead Kingbird species complex as well as test the hypothesis that the Hispaniola and Puerto Rico subspecies should be monotypic species. We extracted genomic DNA from museum toe pad and tissue samples from each of the seven currently recognized subspecies and generated genome-wide SNP data. Using a variety of computational methods, we investigated the genetic clustering of samples to determine island population (sub)species status. In addition to our genomic data, we incorporated morphometric data from museum specimens from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to inform our delimitation of the complex. Using multiple lines of evidence, we determined that the species complex possessed cryptic species and propose an updated taxonomic recommendations for the species complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moss flora of Ulu Gombak Forest Reserve comprises of 53 species, three subspecies and 14 varieties in 40 genera and 20 families. This figure represents 12.5% of the 558 taxa at species level and below, 25.3% of 158 genera and 43.5% of the 46 families of mosses reported for Peninsular Malaysia, whereas in Selangor, this study contributes 30.2% of the 232 taxa, 51.9% of the 77 genera and 60.6% of the 33 families. A total of nine species, one subspecies and one variety were additional records for Selangor viz. Barbula consanguinea, Calymperes lonchophyllum subsp. beccarii, Ectropotheciella distichophylla, Ectropothecium monumentorum, Erythrodontium julaceum, Leucobryum candidum, Leucomium strumosum, Papillidiopsis ramulina, Rhaphidostichum bunodicarpum, Trematodon longicollis and Thuidium pristocalyx var. orientale. Two families were reported for the first time for Selangor, namely Bruchiaceae represented by the genus Trematodon and Leucomiaceae by Leucomium. The largest family recorded in this study was Calymperaceae with 16 taxa (22.9%). Majority of the mosses have been found growing on rocks, tree trunks and soil of the forest floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudotriton is a genus of salamanders currently consisting of two species, P. montanus and P. ruber. Both species of Pseudotriton are endemic to a large portion of the southeastern United States. Recent research has demonstrated that P. ruber has been shown to be largely homogeneous throughout its range, and that the P. ruber subspecies do not reflect phylogenetic relationships. Pseudotriton montanus has been studied far less, its secretive nature, as a typically fossorial species makes it difficult to study throughout its relatively large range. There are four currently accepted subspecies of P. montanus. These subspecies include P.m. montanus, P.m. diasticus, P.m. flavissimus, and P.m. floridanus. The goal of this study is to survey the variability of P. montanus individuals sampled across their geographic range, and test whether the currently recognized subspecies represent independent evolutionary lineages. Here we present a phylogenetic reconstruction of the mtDNA gene, ND2, from populations sampled throughout the range of P. montanus. This data shows that P. montanus is far more divergent than P. ruber and suggests that P. montanus may consist of multiple species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which described the female genitalia of Caltoris bromus bromus, Caltoris cahira austeni, and Caltoris cormasa. Caltoris includes 19 species distributed in Southeast Asia. A series of specimens of Caltoris shows association of the sexes and accurate identification of females. Also reported is Caltoris kumara kumara from Yunnan Province.

Mitochondrial DNA of Bornean Orang Utan populations suggests that there are three different subspecies (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus; Sarawak & Northwest Kalimantan, P. p. wurmbii; Southern West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, P. p. morio; East Kalimantan and Sabah). The subspecies of Orang Utans in captivity are difficult to determine through morphological observation. Thus, misidentification by ranger or zoo staffs leads to unwanted consequences especially towards conservation efforts of Orang Utan. The main objective of this study was to identify the subspecies and the geographic origin of 10 Orang Utans in Zoo Melaka and A’ Famosa by using partial mitochondrial D-loop gene sequences. DNA of all individuals was extracted from FTA Card. Data analyses were performed using Maximum Parsimony, MP and Neighbor Joining, NJ. Molecular phylogeny analysis revealed that all the samples likely belong to one species of Sumatran Orang Utan (P. abelii) and three different subspecies of Bornean Orang Utans (P. p. pygmaeus, P. p. morio, and P. p. wurmbii). The results obtained in this study indirectly help the management of zoos in term of conservation and visitor’s education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]