Hybridisation in kiwi(Apteryx;Apterygidae)requires taxonomic revision for the Great Spotted Kiwi

Background:Kiwi(Apteryx spp.)are flightless ratites from New Zealand whose numbers and distributions have declined following human arrival.Some of the kiwi species are known to hybridise but the extent of hybridization is unknown.Methods:We reviewed hybridisation in kiwi(Apteryx spp.)and present new genetic data examining the extent of hybridisation between Rowi(A.rowi)and Little Spotted Kiwi(A.owenii)at Okarito,the location of the only remaining natural population of the threatened Rowi.We also genetically examined the syntype specimens of A.haastii Potts,1872,collected from near Okarito in the 1870s,which have unusual morphologies.Results:We found evidence of recurrent hybridisation between Rowi and Little Spotted Kiwi over the last 150 years,including one F1 hybrid found in the last 15 years,despite Little Spotted Kiwi’s likely extinction on the mainland in the 1970s.However,we found little evidence of introgression of Little Spotted Kiwi alleles into the extant Rowi popula-tion.The syntype specimens of A.haastii were also found to be hybrids between Little Spotted Kiwi and Rowi.Conclusions:Our genetic analyses indicate that,although we detected multiple instances of hybridisation between Rowi and Little Spotted Kiwi,it does not appear to be an ongoing threat to Rowi.Because the syntype specimens of A.haastii are hybrids and therefore not representative of the prevailing usage of the name for the Great Spotted Kiwi(A.haastii),we resurrect the nomen oblitum A.maxima Sclater and Hochstetter,1861 for the large spotted kiwi species.

Inaccuracies in the history of a well-known introduction:a case study of the Australian House Sparrow(Passer domesticus)

Background:Modern ecosystems contain many invasive species as a result of the activity of acclimatisation societies that operated in the second half of the nineteenth century,and these species provide good opportunities for studying invasion biology.However,to gain insight into the ecological and genetic mechanisms that determine the rate of colonization and adaptation to new environments,we need a good understanding of the history of the introduced species,and a knowledge of the source population,timing,and number of individuals introduced is particularly important.However,any inaccuracies in the history of an introduction will affect subsequent assumptions and conclusions.Methods:Focusing on a single well-known species,the House Sparrow(Passer domesticus),we have documented the introduction into Australia using primary sources(e.g.acclimatisation records and newspaper articles).Results:Our revised history differs in a number of significant ways from previous accounts.Our evidence indicates that the House Sparrow was not solely introduced from source populations in England but also from Germany and most strikingly also from India—with the latter birds belonging to a different race.We also clarify the distinction between the number released and the number of founders,due to pre-release captive breeding programs,as well as identifying inaccuracies in a couple of well-cited sources with respect to the range expansion of the introduced populations.Conclusions:Our work suggests that caution is required for those studying introductions using the key sources of historical information and ideally should review original sources of information to verify the accuracy of published accounts.

A compositional function hybridization of PSO and GWO for solving well placement optimisation problem

Advances in technology and optimisation are helping to improve decision making in the oil and gas industry.However,most of the traditional metaheuristic algorithms applied in well placement optimisation problems suffer from extensive parameter experimentations and local optimum trapping issues.This couples with the complex and heterogeneous nature of hydrocarbon reservoirs and increased decision variables poses severe simulation process demands.This study considered a functional composition integration approach to formulate a robust hybrid metaheuristic algorithm called HGWO-PSO.The HGWO-PSO leverages on the strengths of Grey Wolf Optimiser(GWO)and Particle Swarm Optimisation(PSO)and the Clerc's parameter setting considerations.A rigorous approach which enforces regulatory agreed minimum well spacing was incorporated in the optimisation process.Reservoir models ranging from unimodal to multimodal spatial systems were used as examples to test the explorative and exploitative capabilities of the algorithms.In this paper we show the performance curve and statistical analysis of HGWO-PSO as a well placement algorithm and compares its performance with that of standalone PSO,and GWO and the traditional Genetic Algorithm(GA).Results revealed that the HGWO-PSO demonstrated comparative performances in terms of exploration and exploitation obtaining the best optimal solutions which give highest contractor's NPVs in majority of cases considered.Again,the means and standard deviations for HGWO-PSO among the various runs showed consistent and efficient performance.The Wilcoxon signed rank test conducted gave very low p-values suggesting uniqueness of HGWO-PSO from the other metaheuristic variants.Additionally,the computational speed of HGWO-PSO was relatively better as compared to the individual GWO and PSO in most the test cases.The simulation results for all test cases confirm that implementation of HGWO-PSO can cause considerable improvement in locations of wells even in heterogeneous reservoirs.

First molecular cytogenetic characterisation of tracheal squamous cell carcinoma cell line KLN 205

Aim:Murine tumour cell lines have been used in thousands of studies.Strikingly,it is rather the rule than exception for most of them that not much is known about their genetic characteristics.The squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)cell line KLN 205 is such an example.KLN 205 cells have not been studied yet for karyotype or acquired copy number variations(CNVs),but they have been used as models for(metastatic)lung cancer,lung-SCC,non-small cell lung cancer,tongue cancer and subcutaneous SCC.Here,it was characterised cytogenomically for the first time.Methods:The cell line KLN 205 was characterised comprehensively by molecular cytogenetics using multicolour banding as well as molecular karyotyping.Based on these results,a map of the imbalances and breakpoints determined in the murine genome was translated to the human genome.Results:Here,it could be shown that this>40-year-old cell line has a stable,approximately tetraploid karyotype comprising 77-82 chromosomes.However,there are few structural chromosomal aberrations:only six derivatives involving chromosomes 2,3,5,9,10 and/or 19 could be found.According to the literature,SCCs derived from different human tissues,as well as lung SCC and non-small cell lung cancer,display overall similar CNV patterns.Conclusion:Thus,according to the genetic profile found here,KLN 205 can be applied as a general model for human SCC;it is also suited as a model for lung cancer in general.Further molecular genetic characterisation of KLN 205 cell line may find more lung-and/or SCC-specific alterations.