Indian lone commercial antivenom against Indian red scorpion venom demonstrates limited immunorecognition and partial neutralisation of enzymatic, pharmacological, and some toxic effects of Heterometrus bengalensis (Indian black scorpion) venom proteins in vitro and in vivo

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  Indian lone commercial antivenom against Indian red scorpion venom demonstrates limited immunorecognition and partial neutralisation of enzymatic, pharmacological, and some toxic effects of Heterometrus bengalensis (Indian black scorpion) venom proteins in vitro and in vivo Abstract Scorpion envenomation remains a significant yet under-addressed public health issue in India.  Heterometrus bengalensis  (HB), a medically important scorpion, can induce clinically relevant local and systemic toxicity. However, limited research has evaluated the immunological recognition and neutralisation efficacy of existing commercial anti-scorpion antivenoms (ASV) against HB venom (HBV). This study evaluated the immunological cross-reactivity and neutralisation potential of a commercial ASV against HBV using  in vitro  and  in vivo  approaches. Immunochemical assays (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting) demonstrated partial immunoreactivity toward H...

Biodiversity and community composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates across three disturbance regimes in a sub-boreal spruce forest

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Biodiversity and community composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates across three disturbance regimes in a sub-boreal spruce forest

Abstract

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances are closely tied to changes in biodiversity and ecological communities. Previous research has reported that ground-dwelling invertebrates exhibit a range of responses to different disturbance regimes. To investigate changes to community composition and biodiversity following forest harvest, we used pitfall traps to sample ground-dwelling invertebrates in the Aleza Lake Research Forest in British Columbia’s central interior. We collected and compared pitfall trap catches using family-level identifications in new plantations (11 years post-harvest), stands with a harvest history (>40 years since harvest), and old growth stands (no record of harvest). Community compositions differed among the three disturbance regimes and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity indicated that β-diversity was highest in new plantation stands. A small but non-significant increase in α-diversity was also observed in new plantation stands compared to the other two forest types. These findings are consistent with previous work in the boreal forest, which reported increases in ground-dwelling invertebrate biodiversity following disturbance. Three families (Agriolimacidae, Formicidae, and Lycosidae) were significantly associated with new plantation stands and could potentially be used as indicators of forest disturbance or to monitor stand succession post-harvest. This study provides a foundation for future work on invertebrate biodiversity in sub-boreal spruce forests, which would benefit from using species-level identifications and measuring environmental conditions associated with disturbance regimes.

Mitchell et al. (2023) J. Entomol. Soc. BC 120:e2589

Mitchell et al. (2023) J. Entomol. Soc. BC 120:e2589