Biology subjects

Mularo, A. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Mularo, A. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Disparate introduction histories but similar climatic distribution patterns among congeneric invasive anurans

Commonly shared patterns of introduction and spread into new environmental conditions are often poorly understood, even though a better understanding of invasion history and niche dynamics among closely related invasive species could give practitioners valuable information to prevent and mitigate the impact of biological invasions. For this study, we investigate the invasion history and niche patterns among congeneric invasive species. We synthesize public occurrence data for five invasive alien anurans (Eleutherodactylus coqui, E. planirostris, E. johnstonei, E. antillensis, and E. martinicensis) to reconstruct their historic introductions and evaluate evidence for climatic niche shifts between their native and established non-native ranges. By pairing these data with current and future climate projections, we compare patterns of range shifts under future climate scenarios. Our results highlight different temporal and geographic introduction histories in invasive Eleutherodactylus, but a strong signal of colonizing broader invasive climatic niches, specifically into colder environmental conditions. Under future climate scenarios, suitable habitats for most of the non-native regions are likely to increase, although this increase is restricted under scenarios with high greenhouse gas emissions. Our results reveal that despite different invasion histories, the ability to spread into colder regions may be a conserved trait among the most widespread Eleutherodactylus anurans. This study ultimately shows that commonalities among closely related invasive species can provide clues about their ability to expand into areas with particular abiotic conditions, a pattern likely to be widespread, offering a potentially valuable opportunity to deploy targeted prevention strategies.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

The contemporary Pacific gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) gene pool includes ancestry from a potential ghost population: inferences from population genomics

Local extirpations and extreme bottlenecks can deplete genetic variation and obscure population dynamics, especially in highly mobile species. The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) undertakes some of the longest known migrations among mammals, and conventional wisdom acknowledges two stocks (eastern and western gray whales) in the Pacific. Commercial whaling depleted both stocks, and while the Eastern North Pacific (ENP) stock has rebounded, the western stock was feared extirpated. In the post-whaling era, the origin of a small summer aggregation near Sakhalin Island, Russia (which we refer to as the Western North Pacific (WNP) stock) is unclear; this group may include descendants from the original western stock, founders from the eastern stock, or some combination of the two. To clarify the genetic affinities of WNP gray whales, we generated whole genome resequencing data for 74 individuals sampled from both geographic regions to assess their origins. Surprisingly, WNP whales are more genetically varied than ENP whales according to principal components and admixture analyses. We present evidence that this structure is due to mixed ancestry in WNP, with admixture occurring between historical eastern and western stocks. Genomic signals based on both single nucleotide polymorphisms and on copy number variants indicate that despite mixed ancestry, the influx of eastern gene flow has largely homogenized genomic diversity across the Pacific. These findings highlight the ability of whole-genome data to help resolve questions of extirpation and to clarify complex gene flow dynamics in highly mobile species.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2022

Antibacterial effects of propolis and brood comb extracts on the causative agent of European Foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius) in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Among a long list of parasites and pathogens that threaten the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), European Foulbrood (EFB) has become an urgent apiary disease, as epidemic outbreaks are becoming increasingly common. EFB is a bacterial disease of larval honey bees, caused by a gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium, Melissococcus plutonius. The most effective current treatment for EFB, oxytetracycline hydrochloride, can disrupt the bee microbiome, cause bee mortality and residues may persist in honey harvested for human consumption. In this study, we explore the efficacy of more sustainable bee-derived solutions, including propolis, honey comb and brood comb ethanol extracts. Using a series of dilutions of these extracts, we determined the minimum inhibitory concertation (MIC) of each bee-derived product on M. plutonius, as well as two model bacterial species, Staphylococcus saprophyticus (gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (gram-negative). Overall, we found that propolis extract was most effective at inhibiting growth of gram-positive bacteria, and that M. plutonious was also susceptible to honey comb (MIC = 16.00 mg/mL) and brood comb (MIC = 45.33 mg/mL) extracts, but at much higher concentrations than that of propolis (MIC = 1.14 mg/mL).

microbiology↗