Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production

  Inter-individual variability in equine antibody responses to African snake venoms follows heavy-tailed distributions with implications for antivenom production Abstract Variability in the antibody response of horses used for snake antivenom manufacture is well recognized, yet its statistical structure and implications for industrial productivity remain poorly characterized. In this study, we quantified antivenom antibody titers by ELISA in a cohort of 14 horses immunized with venoms from the clinically most important snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. To integrate antibody levels with plasma availability, we calculated the Cumulative Plasma Productivity (CPP) by converting individual plasma volumes into titer-corrected equivalents and sequentially pooling these volumes according to their corrected contribution. Distributional analysis revealed right-skewed, heavy-tailed patterns better approximated by a log-normal model than by a strict Pareto (power-law) form, with approximately 20–3...

Spiders in a Growing City: New Country and Regional Records of Spiders (Araneae) from Tbilisi, Georgia

 


Spiders in a Growing City: New Country and Regional Records of Spiders (Araneae) from Tbilisi, Georgia

Abstract

The spider fauna of Tbilisi was systematically documented in the early 2000s, when 252 species were recorded from the city and its surroundings. Despite a rapid urban expansion over the past two decades, subsequent studies have increased this number to 371 species. In the present study, we provide the first Georgian records of Tolokonniella stigmatisata (Menge, 1869) (Lathyidae) and Scotargus pilosus Simon, 1913 (Linyphiidae), and record Drassodes serratichelis (Roewer, 1928) (Gnaphosidae) in the Caucasus region for the first time, all based on specimens collected in Tbilisi.

Seropian A, Bulbulashvili N, Egidunashvili V (2026) Spiders in a Growing City: New Country and Regional Records of Spiders (Araneae) from Tbilisi, Georgia. Caucasiana 5: 31-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.5.e189638