Showing papers by "Ellen E. Strong published in 2015"
University of Hawaii1, National Museum of Natural History2, Howard University3, Georgetown University4, National Scientific and Technical Research Council5, University of West Florida6, Universidad Nacional del Sur7, Hong Kong Baptist University8, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation9, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales10, Nara Women's University11, Florida Institute of Technology12
TL;DR: The great majority of the work to date concerns a single species, Pomacea canaliculata, which the authors see as having the potential to become a model organism in a wide range of fields, however, additional comparative data are essential for understanding this diverse and potentially informative group.
Abstract: Apple snails (Ampullariidae) are among the largest and most ecologically important freshwater snails. The introduction of multiple species has reinvigorated the field and spurred a burgeoning body of research since the early 1990s, particularly regarding two species introduced to Asian wetlands and elsewhere, where they have become serious agricultural pests. This review places these recent advances in the context of previous work, across diverse fields ranging from phylogenetics and biogeography through ecology and developmental biology, and the more applied areas of environmental health and human disease. The review does not deal with the role of ampullariids as pests, nor their control and management, as this has been substantially reviewed elsewhere. Despite this large and diverse body of research, significant gaps in knowledge of these important snails remain, particularly in a comparative framework. The great majority of the work to date concerns a single species, Pomacea canaliculata, which we see as having the potential to become a model organism in a wide range of fields. However, additional comparative data are essential for understanding this diverse and potentially informative group. With the rapid advances in genomic technologies, many questions, seemingly intractable two decades ago, can be addressed, and ampullariids will provide valuable insights to our understanding across diverse fields in integrative biology.
161 citations
TL;DR: This work conducted the largest phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses to date for the bivalve family Cardiidae with three unlinked loci for 110 species representing 37 of the 50 genera and demonstrated greater concordance with geography than did previous phylogenies based on morphology.
32 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that Crassostrea virginica, previously only reported from this region along the Yucatan Peninsula and coast of Venezuela, also occurs in the Caribbean waters of Panama, and document the first record for a species of Saccostrea, a genus native to the Pacific.
Abstract: Taxonomic uncertainty often limits our ability to resolve biogeographic patterns and discern biological invasions. Within the bivalve mollusks, this uncertainty is particularly acute for oysters, as the high degree of phenotypic plasticity of their shells creates taxonomic confusion. The integration of molecular data with shell morphology can differentiate species, providing new insights into biogeography, invasions, and ecology of this functionally important group. As an initial step in resolving the identities and current geographic distributions of oyster species, sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene were combined with morphological criteria to confirm the identities of ten oyster species of Ostreidae, Isognomonidae, and Pteriidae, focusing on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Panama, since tropical biota have received the least study. The results indicate that Crassostrea virginica, previously only reported from this region along the Yucatan Peninsula and coast of Venezuela, also occurs in the Caribbean waters of Panama. We also document the first record for a species of Saccostrea, a genus native to the Pacific, suggesting an invasion by an unknown non-native Saccostrea species that is now widespread along the Caribbean from the Panama Canal west to Bocas del Toro. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1) of the ribosomal gene complex (rDNA) did not reveal any hybridization. Considering the high connectivity of shipping and boating in Panama, Saccostrea sp. may have been introduced to the Caribbean by either recreational or commercial vessels, but the timing and potential ecological effects of this invasion remain unknown.
25 citations
TL;DR: Low genetic diversity and two haplotypes and absence of variation with one haplotype in A. chloroticum are found, and the reservoir's entry zone was identified to be of great interest for conservation, and is where it is suggested re-introductions and translocations should be targeted to preserve the future evolutionary potential of the extant diversity.
8 citations
25 Sep 2015
TL;DR: An annotated catalogue of type material of Ampullariidae, a family of freshwater snails predominantly distributed in humid tropical and subtropical habitats in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia, with lectotypes designated for eight species-group taxa.
Abstract: Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, No. 645, Types of Ampullariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, with Lectotype Designations . — The caenogastropod family Ampullariidae Gray, 1824, is a family of freshwater snails predominantly distributed in humid tropical and subtropical habitats in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia. The family includes the largest of all freshwater snails and frequently constitutes a major portion of the native freshwater malacofauna of these regions. Ampullariid taxonomy is confused primarily because most species were described on the basis of only shell morphology, which is highly variable within species yet relatively conservative among species within the family. The need for rigorous taxonomic treatment of the group is acute, and a starting point for such research is a comprehensive study of type material. With type or possible type material of 20 nominal species-group taxa of Ampullariidae, belonging to the genera Afropomus Pilsbry and Bequaert, 1927 (1 taxon, from Africa), Felipponea Dall, 1919 (2, South America), Forbesopomus Bequaert and Clench, 1937 (1, Asia), Lanistes Montfort, 1810 (2, Africa), Pila Roding, 1798 (2, Asia), and Pomacea Perry, 1810 (11, South, Central, and North America), as well as 1 incertae sedis taxon in Pila or Pomacea , the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, has significant holdings, for which this annotated catalogue is provided. To stabilize the nomenclature, lectotypes are designated for eight species-group taxa. No new synonyms are proposed, other than as a result of the provision of a replacement name for elongata Dall, 1921, non d’Orbigny, 1842, nec Rochebrune and Germain, 1904. Accounts are arranged alphabetically by original published species-group name. Information in each account includes original name and combination, citation to the original description, current taxonomic status, type material held by the U.S. National Museum (holotypes, paratypes, syntypes, lectotypes, paralectotypes, and one neotype) with catalogue number(s) and number of specimens in each catalogue lot, type locality, and other remarks or additional information as appropriate. All name-bearing types are illustrated. — Cowie, Robert H., Kenneth A. Hayes, and Ellen E. Strong. iv + 13 pages, 1 figure. Published 25 September 2015.
4 citations
TL;DR: Alabina Dall, 1902 (Gastropoda), is a replacement name for Elachista Dall & Simpson, 1901, non Elachistas Treitschke, 1833 (Insecta), which was introduced inadvertently a few weeks before its intended publication, with the consequence that its type species by monotypy is Bittium californicum D all & Bartsch, 1901.
Abstract: . The purpose of this application, under Articles 65.2.2 and 70.2 of the Code, is to fix Alaba cerithidioides Dall, 1889 as type species of Alabina, as originally intended by Dall. Alabina Dall, 1902 (Gastropoda), is a replacement name for Elachista Dall & Simpson, 1901, non Elachista Treitschke, 1833 (Insecta). The name Elachista was introduced inadvertently a few weeks before its intended publication, with the consequence that its type species by monotypy is Bittium californicum Dall & Bartsch, 1901. Dall had intended it to be Alaba cerithidioides Dall, 1889, and he cited that species as type of Alabina in several publications. Bittium californicum Dall & Bartsch, 1901, and Alaba cerithidioides Dall, 1889, are not congeneric and not even confamilial.
1 citations