Distribution modelling of Aedes aegypti in three dengue-endemic areas in Sumatera, Indonesia.

Ae. aegypti is a dengue virus vector and a public health threat in Indonesia. Furthermore, the Dengue Haemoragic Fever (DHF) has spread to all cities in the country, including Bandar Lampung. A species distribution model, Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), was used to predict the geographic distribution of this vector in three dengue-endemic areas, namely Sukarame, Kemiling, and Tanjung Seneng. Previously, surveillance was conducted to determine the presence of Ae. aegypti. Therefore, this study suggested that environmental variables such as rainfall, temperature, land cover, and population density have influenced the widespread of Ae. aegypti and facilitate its proliferation in the study areas. The influence of the environmental variables was analyzed using a response curve. The model performance was measured by percent contribution, the importance of permutations, and the jackknife test. This study's evaluation indicates that the certainty models for the presence of Ae. aegypti in Sukarame, Kemiling, and Tanjung Seneng were developed extremely well, with respective values of 0.989, 0.993, and 0.969. The results showed that Ae. aegypti is widespread in the three endemic areas. The high population density and land conversion into settlements are influential environmental variables essential in determining the distribution of the vector in three areas of Bandar Lampung. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature are supporting aspects in maintaining the habitat of Ae. aegypti in the area. Mapping areas at risk of this dengue vector can aid in planning disease management strategies and identifying priority locations for entomological surveys to control epidemics.

Distribution modelling of Aedes aegypti in three dengue-endemic areas in Sumatera, Indonesia

@#Ae. aegypti is a dengue virus vector and a public health threat in Indonesia. Furthermore, the Dengue Haemoragic Fever (DHF) has spread to all cities in the country, including Bandar Lampung. A species distribution model, Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), was used to predict the geographic distribution of this vector in three dengue-endemic areas, namely Sukarame, Kemiling, and Tanjung Seneng. Previously, surveillance was conducted to determine the presence of Ae. aegypti. Therefore, this study suggested that environmental variables such as rainfall, temperature, land cover, and population density have influenced the widespread of Ae. aegypti and facilitate its proliferation in the study areas. The influence of the environmental variables was analyzed using a response curve. The model performance was measured by percent contribution, the importance of permutations, and the jackknife test. This study’s evaluation indicates that the certainty models for the presence of Ae. aegypti in Sukarame, Kemiling, and Tanjung Seneng were developed extremely well, with respective values of 0.989, 0.993, and 0.969. The results showed that Ae. aegypti is widespread in the three endemic areas. The high population density and land conversion into settlements are influential environmental variables essential in determining the distribution of the vector in three areas of Bandar Lampung. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature are supporting aspects in maintaining the habitat of Ae. aegypti in the area. Mapping areas at risk of this dengue vector can aid in planning disease management strategies and identifying priority locations for entomological surveys to control epidemics.

Species boundaries in the Himantura uarnak species complex (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae).

Samples of the 'Himantura uarnak' species complex (H. leoparda, H. uarnak, H. undulata under their current definitions), mostly from the Coral Triangle, were analyzed using nuclear markers and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Genotypes at five intron loci showed four reproductively isolated clusters of individuals. The COI sequences showed four major mitochondrial lineages, each diagnostic of a cluster as defined by nuclear markers. No mitochondrial introgression was detected. The average Kimura-2 parameter nucleotide distance separating clades was 0.061-0.120 (net: 0.055-0.114), while the distance separating individuals within a clade was 0.002-0.008. Additional, partial cytochrome-b gene sequences were used to link these samples with previously published sequences of reference specimens of the three nominal species. One of the clusters was identified as H. undulata and another one, as H. uarnak, while two cryptic species were uncovered within the recently-described H. leoparda, challenging the current morphology-based taxonomy of species within the H. uarnak species complex.

Genetic characterization of the Aceh cattle using phenotypic, mitochondrial DNA of D-loop region and microsatellite DNA analyses.

The present study reports the phenotypic variation of body weight and body size, the genetic variation of D-loop of mtDNA and microsatellite DNA allele in Aceh cattle in Indonesia within the frame of the design of a conservation programme for this indigenous species. Aceh cattle differ from Bali, Madura, Java-Ongole and Pesisir cattle, but its ancestry relates it closest to Pesisir, thus adding more information to its entry from the Indian sub-continent.