Ortega, H. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2024

Differentiation smelling footprints of the Chagas disease vector using an electronic nose based on artificial intelligence algorithms

The present study aims to present the design of an electronic nose capable of learning and differentiating semiochemical signals emitted by insects usable to identify species that transmit Chagas disease. The proposed device used different non-specific resistor gas sensors integrated into a system of artificial intelligence models. To validate the nose, we used eight insect species of the Triatominae subfamily and one population that was a natural carrier of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Also, the discriminatory capacity of distant species was tested with other insects like Aedes aegypti (arbovirus vector) and Sitophilus oryzae (stored grains plague). As a result, the electronic nose was able to differentiate up to gender level with an accuracy of 89.64% and to differentiate Rhodnius pallensces naturally infected with T. cruzi with less than 1% of error in classification. These results show that our designed device can detect particular smelling footprints, and one electronic nose like that could be a tool to discriminate against insects in the future.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Drivers of phylogenetic structure in Amazonian freshwater fish assemblages

AimCommunity phylogenetics provides important information about the evolutionary and ecological factors help structure regional species assemblages. Here, we analyze phylogenetic diversity (phylodiversity) patterns among fish species in 97 sub-drainages of the Amazon basin, to evaluate the roles of historical and contemporary processes in generating and maintaining the exceptional richness and endemism of Amazonian fish species assemblages. LocationAmazon River basin TaxonFreshwater fishes MethodsUsing a large comprehensive database of freshwater fish species distributions, and a well-sampled molecular phylogeny of ray-finned (actinopterygian) fishes, we develop of multivariate statistical model to correlate estimated historical and contemporary environmental parameters with sub-drainage phylodiversity patterns. The model employs three phylogenetic metrics: i.e.: phylogenetic diversity (PD) sensu stricto, mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) between species capturing phylodiversity variation at older evolutionary timescales), and mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) capturing variation in phylodiversity at younger evolutionary timescales. ResultsThe model recovered significant effects of elevation gradients, contemporary climate, habitat fragmentation, water types, and past marine incursions on assemblage phylodiversity patterns. The model also found significantly negative relationships among the three phylogenetic metrics, and between these metrics and distance to mouth of the Amazon, representing a West-East longitudinal gradient. Main conclusionsOur study revealed a highly non-random spatial and environmental distribution of our three phylogenetic diversity metrics across the 97 sub-drainages of the Amazon basin. Beyond significant regional effects of several environmental and historical drivers, we also found a significant West-East gradient of increasing phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness, both patterns suggesting deeper evolutionary divergences among taxa located to the east, and more diverse, more recent radiations in the western sub-drainages. We conclude that western Amazonia can be seen as an evolutionary "cradle" of biodiversity for freshwater fishes in the Amazon basin as a whole. Significance StatementThis manuscript reveals spatial patterns of freshwater fish phylogenetic diversity and relatedness and explains its major contemporary and historical drivers in the Amazon basin. Amazon basin contains the highest freshwater biodiversity on Earth, as so investigate phylogenetic dimension of diversity is extremally relevant from the perspective of understanding the information on the evolutionary processes that had shaped Amazonian contemporary fish assemblages.

ecology↗