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Considerable attention has been directed to studying the infection dynamics of the fungal pathogenBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis(Bd) affecting amphibians in the high elevations of the Neotropics. However, lowland forests of the same realm remain comparatively understudied in this context. Herein, we attempt to bridge this gap by measuring the prevalence ofBdvia quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in several anuran taxa inhabiting the Amazonian lowlands in the northeast of Ecuador. To this end, we sampled 207 anurans from 10 different families, 25 different genera, and 55 distinct host species originally collected in 2008. Taxonomy (at the family level), morphology (i.e. weight and snout-vent length), and life-long aquatic dependency of hosts (i.e. aquatic index) were also compiled to serve as potential predictors ofBdinfection status. Our findings revealed a relatively highBdprevalence of 58%, with 88% of sampled anuran families testing positive for the fungus at varying proportions. Model selection involving fitting and testing several different linear models, including mixed linear models, revealed a significant negative relationship between host weight andBdinfection status (p < 0.01). However, no significant associations were observed between taxonomy, aquatic dependency, snout-vent length, andBdinfections. In addition, we only detected the global panzootic lineage ofBd(Bd-GPL) and not theBd-Asia-2/Bd-Brazil lineage via qPCR single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. Our findings contribute to the understanding ofBddynamics in the Neotropical lowlands and emphasize the need for future research on the ecological factors influencingBdin the Amazon and their implications for amphibian conservation. 

We seek to increase student engagement and success to subsequently lead to increased retention and degree attainment for students at our Hispanic-serving institution. We hypothesized that using a culturally responsive approach in an undergraduate microbiology lab would increase engagement and learning gains. Using a culturally responsive approach allowed students to start their learning from their own place of understanding—centering students’ lived experiences. Students interviewed family members to learn about “home remedies,” and then devised experiments to test whether those home remedies affected growth of bacteria commonly implicated in gastrointestinal distress (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichia coli) or sore throat (Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae). As a final assessment, students generated project posters which they presented at a class symposium. Implementation of a culturally responsive research experience focused on the gut microbiome resulted in increased learning gains as evidenced by movement up Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Scale. Student feedback indicated increased engagement, increased confidence in communicating science and a deeper understanding and appreciation for microbiology. Taken together, the results indicate that students appreciate a more culturally responsive and student-centered approach to learning in microbiology and encourages expansion of this approach to other modules in the course. This paper includes responsive data to support this claim, as well as a sample course calendar and supplementary learning material to support the human microbiome approach to microbiology 

It is not uncommon to find courtship displays that incorporate numerous components across different sensory modalities. We studied displays in male jumping spiders of the genus Habronattus F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901, which court females using a combination of ornament and motion (dance) displays coordinated with vibrational songs. To explore the diversity in Habronattus courtship complexity, we focused on quantifying the dance and vibratory displays in nine members of the Habronattus clypeatus species group, with preliminary observations on two additional species from this group. Additionally, we looked at display variation across populations in two widespread species from this group. We document three main courtship types: “stilting”, “buzzing”, and “spinning”, each identifiable by the presence or emphasis on particular display types. We found that for the widespread species H. clypeatus (Banks, 1895), different populations differed significantly and could be classified as either stilting or buzzing types. We discuss these results in relation to broader patterns of signal evolution and diversification in Habronattus. 

Context. In November 2019, eROSITA on board of the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) observatory started to map the entire sky in X-rays. After the four-year survey program, it will reach a flux limit that is about 25 times deeper than ROSAT. During the SRG performance verification phase, eROSITA observed a contiguous 140 deg 2 area of the sky down to the final depth of the eROSITA all-sky survey (eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey; eFEDS), with the goal of obtaining a census of the X-ray emitting populations (stars, compact objects, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and active galactic nuclei) that will be discovered over the entire sky. Aims. This paper presents the identification of the counterparts to the point sources detected in eFEDS in the main and hard samples and their multi-wavelength properties, including redshift. Methods. To identifyy the counterparts, we combined the results from two independent methods ( NWAY and ASTROMATCH ), trained on the multi-wavelength properties of a sample of 23k XMM-Newton sources detected in the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey DR8. Then spectroscopic redshifts and photometry from ancillary surveys were collated to compute photometric redshifts. Results. Of the eFEDS sources, 24 774 of 27 369 have reliable counterparts (90.5%) in the main sample and 231 of 246 sourcess (93.9%) have counterparts in the hard sample, including 2514 (3) sources for which a second counterpart is equally likely. By means of reliable spectra, Gaia parallaxes, and/or multi-wavelength properties, we have classified the reliable counterparts in both samples into Galactic (2695) and extragalactic sources (22 079). For about 340 of the extragalactic sources, we cannot rule out the possibility that they are unresolved clusters or belong to clusters. Inspection of the distributions of the X-ray sources in various optical/IR colour-magnitude spaces reveal a rich variety of diverse classes of objects. The photometric redshifts are most reliable within the KiDS/VIKING area, where deep near-infrared data are also available. Conclusions. This paper accompanies the eROSITA early data release of all the observations performed during the performance and verification phase. Together with the catalogues of primary and secondary counterparts to the main and hard samples of the eFEDS survey, this paper releases their multi-wavelength properties and redshifts.