Phylogeography of the reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus ssp.): Conservation implications for the worlds' most traded snake species

Perception of Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases Worldwide

In this comprehensive review study, we addressed the challenge posed by ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) with growing incidence affecting human and animal health worldwide. Data and perspectives were collected from different countries and regions worldwide, including America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The results updated the current situation with ticks and TBD and how it is perceived by society with information bias and gaps. The study reinforces the importance of multidisciplinary and international collaborations to advance in the surveillance, communication and proposed future directions to address these challenges.

Singapore's herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution

Given Singapore's location at the confluence of important maritime trading routes, and that it was established as a British East India Company trading post in 1819, it is unsurprising that Singapore has become one of the centres of natural history collecting and research in Southeast Asia. Despite its small size, Singapore is home to a diverse herpetofauna assemblage and boasts a rich herpetological history. The first systematic studies of Singapore's herpetofauna (within the Linnaean binomial framework) date back to Stamford Raffles and the naturalists hired by him who first came to the island in 1819. Specimens that were collected during and after this time were deposited in museums worldwide. Over time, 39 species from Singapore were described as new to science. Due to the entrepôt nature of Singapore with its associated purchasing and trading of specimens (both alive and dead), poor record-keeping, and human introductions, numerous extraneous species from outside of Singapore were reported to occur on the island. Such issues have left a complicated legacy of ambiguous records and taxonomic complications concerning the identity of Singapore's species-rich herpetofauna, many of which were only resolved in the past 30-40 years. By compiling a comprehensive collection of records and publications relating to the herpetofauna of Singapore, we construct an updated and more accurate listing of the herpetofauna of Singapore. Our investigation culminated in the evaluation of 309 species, in which we compiled a final species checklist recognising 166 species (149 native and 17 non-native established species). Among the 149 native species are two caecilians, 24 frogs, one crocodilian, 13 turtles (three visitors), 34 lizards, and 75 snakes. Of the 17 non-native species are five frogs, four turtles, six lizards, and two snakes. The remaining 143 species represent species to be excluded from Singapore's herpetofauna species checklist. For each of the 309 species examined, we provide species accounts and explanatory annotations. Furthermore, we discuss Singapore's herpetofauna from a historical and conservation perspective. Immediate deforestation and nationwide urbanisation following colonisation completely eliminated many species from throughout much of the country and restricted them to small, degraded forest patches. We hope this publication highlights the importance of publishing observations and serves as a valuable resource to future researchers, naturalists, biological consultants, and policy makers in initiating studies on species ecology, distribution, status, and promoting conservation efforts to safeguard Singapore's herpetofauna.

Determining the sustainability of legal wildlife trade

Exploitation of wildlife represents one of the greatest threats to species survival according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Whilst detrimental impacts of illegal trade are well recognised, legal trade is often equated to being sustainable despite the lack of evidence or data in the majority of cases. We review the sustainability of wildlife trade, the adequacy of tools, safeguards, and frameworks to understand and regulate trade, and identify gaps in data that undermine our ability to truly understand the sustainability of trade. We provide 183 examples showing unsustainable trade in a broad range of taxonomic groups. In most cases, neither illegal nor legal trade are supported by rigorous evidence of sustainability, with the lack of data on export levels and population monitoring data precluding true assessments of species or population-level impacts. We propose a more precautionary approach to wildlife trade and monitoring that requires those who profit from trade to provide proof of sustainability. We then identify four core areas that must be strengthened to achieve this goal: (1) rigorous data collection and analyses of populations; (2) linking trade quotas to IUCN and international accords; (3) improved databases and compliance of trade; and (4) enhanced understanding of trade bans, market forces, and species substitutions. Enacting these core areas in regulatory frameworks, including CITES, is essential to the continued survival of many threatened species. There are no winners from unsustainable collection and trade: without sustainable management not only will species or populations become extinct, but communities dependent upon these species will lose livelihoods.

Harvest quotas, free markets and the sustainable trade in pythons

Assessing the sustainability of the harvest of animals can be done by obtaining data from processing facilities and establishing that vital attributes of the harvested animals (e.g., size, age structure, sex ratio) do not change over time. This model works if the traders operate in a free market without any regulations on what can be harvested, processed or exported, and when harvest methods and harvest areas do not change between assessment periods. Several studies assessed the harvest effects on blood pythons (Python brongersmai) in North Sumatra, Indonesia seemingly under a free market scenario, with some concluding that trade was sustainable and the others hinting at an overharvest. Indonesia has established harvest and export quotas and, internationally, trade in blood pythons is regulated through CITES, and the blood python trade clearly does not operate in a free market. Data suggest that the three (or four) slaughterhouses included in these studies processed ~27,000 blood pythons a year against a quota of 18,000. There is a risk that data from traders alone purporting to show that harvest is sustainable will lead to an increase of quotas or an abandonment of quotas altogether. There is no conclusive data to support that the harvest of blood pythons in North Sumatra is sustainable but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a substantial part of this trade is illegal. Likewise, at a global level there are clear indications of misdeclared, underreported and illegal trade involving 10,000 s of blood pythons. While important biological information can be obtained from harvested animals, to assess whether harvest is sustainable there is no substitute for monitoring wild populations. After decades of international trade in blood pythons from Indonesia, during which at least half a million blood pythons were exported, it is all the more urgent that systematic monitoring of wild populations commences.

Epizootic reptilian ferlavirus infection in individual and multiple snake colonies with additional evidence of the virus in the male genital tract

Reptilian ferlavirus, a pathogen of serious concern in snakes, has been reported in Western countries, but little is known about its prevalence in Thailand, where many snake breeding farms are located. In this study, we investigated the reptilian ferlavirus via swab samples derived from 49 diseased snakes and 77 healthy snakes as well as tissue samples taken from nine dead snakes from five independent snake farms. Using molecular detection, we found the ferlavirus in 8.16% of diseased snakes, but not in healthy snakes. Out of nine farmed snakes, eight snakes derived from four farms were found to be positive. Four complete genome sequences of the ferlavirus were successfully obtained and phylogenetically clustered to the highly pathogenic ferlavirus. Tissue tropism of the ferlavirus was identified in various epithelial cell types using the in situ hybridization technique. Interestingly, the hybridization signals were strongly labeled in the male genital tract. Transmission electron microscopy was used to support the ferlaviral localization in the male genital tract. This study provides the first evidence of ferlavirus localization in the male genital tract and contributes to the knowledge about ferlavirus epidemiology, indicating that there needs to be further awareness and elucidation regarding vertical transmission of reptilian ferlavirus.

Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification for Simultaneous Identification of Bungarus multicinctus and Its Common Adulterants in a Single Assay

Bungarus multicinctus, an important traditional Chinese medicine, possesses remarkable medicinal activities, while lots of adulterants from other species were misused as B. multicinctus for its large demand and resource starvation. In order to accurately identify B. multicinctus and its common adulterants such as Sinonatrix annularis, Xenochrophis flavipunctatus, Deinagkistrodon acutus, and Naja atra, a simultaneous identification method was designed with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis. Five species-specific MLPA probe-couples for B. multicinctus and its common adulterants were designed based on the universal primer amplified COI sequences, which can specifically detect the five species with no mutual interference, and sensitivity analysis showed as less as 5% B. multicinctus or 8.75% adulterants in the mixed samples can be identified in a MLPA assay, especially, the relative quantity of the adulterants can be also inferred based on the MLPA peak area values. Moreover, the results of the present study confirmed the effectiveness of this technique in terms of simultaneous identification of B. multicinctus and its common adulterants in an assay, which has great potential for ensuring the safety of this commercially valuable snake species.

Rapid identification of common medicinal snakes and their adulterants using the Bar-HRM analysis method

Effective identification methods for snake species are lacking, exacerbating the extermination of medicinal and commercially valuable snake species. Hence, it is imperative to find fast and reliable methods to distinguish snake samples available on the market. Seventy-three samples from four families belonging to 13 genera were collected in China and found to contain common medicinal snakes and their adulterants. Cytochrome oxidase I (COI) was utilized as a DNA barcode to analyse these common snakes, and a DNA mini-barcode was employed for fast detection. Then, the DNA mini-barcode assays were coupled with a high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis (Bar-HRM) to realize the rapid discrimination of these snake species. The results showed the power of DNA barcoding with COI, which was capable of distinguishing all collected snake samples, and the combined Bar-HRM method can successfully identify the adulterants and different snake species. In particular, Bar-HRM revealed Bungarus fasciatus adulterants in B. multicinctus at concentrations as low as 1.6%. Moreover, the results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the technique in terms of the rapid identification of snakes, which has great potential for ensuring the safety of commercially valuable snake species.