Researcher in Environmental DNA (eDNA), Aarhus University, Campus Roskilde, Denmark 1003793The Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark invites applications for a four year researcher position in environmental DNA (eDNA) to strengthen and expand the research capability, and the science-based policy advisory activities at the department. The position is to be filled as soon as possible, subject to negotiation. The Department of Environmental Science The Department of Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary department under the…

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A lot of papers have piled up in the past few weeks. Lots to recommend for thorough reading. Lets start with some that were written by colleagues at our institute:Finding the pond through the weeds: eDNA reveals underestimated diversity of pondweeds.PREMISE OF THE STUDY:The detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) using high-throughput sequencing has rapidly emerged as a method to detect organisms from environmental samples. However, eDNA studies of aquatic biomes have focused on surveillance of…

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Here a call for a 30-month young researcher position in the InterReg AlpineSpace project “Eco-AlpsWater”, in the field of DNA biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems, which will be hosted by Nico Salmaso, member of DNAqua-Net.

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Do you know Fishbase? If you - like me - are working in fish biology and anything relating to fish or if you are a serious fish hobbyist it is very likely that you came across Fishbase a number of times. It is a huge resource for fish names and life history information. Endless work has been put into this database but it has never been easy to find the money needed to run it…

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Eugenie Clark was a pioneer in shark biology, known around the world for her illuminating research on shark behavior. But she was a pioneer in another critical way, as one of the first women of prominence in the male-dominated field of marine biology.Fondly labeled the "Shark Lady," Clark, who founded Mote Marine Laboratory and continued studying fishes until she passed away in 2015 at age 92, will now be recognized with another distinction: namesake of…

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Bandy-bandies (genus Vermicella) are small (50–100cm) black and white burrowing elapid snakes with a highly specialized diet of blindsnakes. There are currently only five species known in this genus, all from Australia.The species name was build with the Latin words pars (part) and cauda (tail) in reference to the tail length and formed bands on the tail.For the experts:  Morphological and mitochondrial analyses of specimens collected from the Weipa area, Cape York, Queensland reveal the…

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Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has traditionally been used in population genetic and biogeographic studies as a maternally-inherited and evolutionary-neutral genetic marker. However, it is now clear that polymorphisms within the mtDNA sequence are routinely non-neutral, and furthermore several studies have suggested that such mtDNA polymorphisms are also sensitive to thermal selection. A team of researchers from Japan, Australia, and the UK studied two naturally occurring mtDNA variants that are carried by fruit flies inhabiting the east coast…

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Back on track with the weekend read posts.  Maybe not as many as usual but still quite interesting to read.Tree species identity and diversity drive fungal richness and community composition along an elevational gradient in a Mediterranean ecosystemEcological and taxonomic knowledge is important for conservation and utilization of biodiversity. Biodiversity and ecology of fungi in Mediterranean ecosystems is poorly understood. Here, we examined the diversity and spatial distribution of fungi along an elevational gradient in…

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Darkling beetles are usually colored blackish, dark brown or grey, and often have a satiny sheen and few are metallic. This large beetle family also contains the better known flour beetles. These animals feed on both fresh and decaying vegetation, which unfortunately includes vegetable produce which is why several are known as commercially important pests of flour and other cereal products.The new species was named after the type locality, Zhêntang in Tibet.For the experts: A new…

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Imagine 500 to 1,000 species of cichlids living in one of the African Great Lakes, one of the largest freshwater habitats in the world. The degree of complexity is unimaginable. Even the genealogical relationships between the cichlid species living in these lakes have only partially been resolvedFor every two species of mammal there is one species of cichlid fish, which shows that biodiversity is distributed rather unevenly among animals. The question is why and to…

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