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The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of cone snail Conus capitaneus, a kind of worm-hunting sea snails, was performed by next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome is 15,829 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and 1 control region. It has an overall base composition of A (25.6%), T (36.6%), C (16.3%) and G (21.5%). It shows 79.8% identity with C. tribblei, which also belongs to worm-hunting sea snail. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted with 21 closely related species to assess their phylogenetic relationship. The complete mitogenome of the C. capitaneus provides important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of cone snail Conus capitaneus, a kind of worm-hunting sea snails, was performed by next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome is 15,829 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and 1 control region. It has an overall base composition of A (25.6%), T (36.6%), C (16.3%) and G (21.5%). It shows 79.8% identity with C. tribblei, which also belongs to worm-hunting sea snail. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted with 21 closely related species to assess their phylogenetic relationship. The complete mitogenome of the C. capitaneus provides important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography.

The cone snail Conus textile belongs to the family Conidae. It is a kind of molluscivorous species. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence was constructed by next-generation sequencing in this study. The mitogenome of C. textile is 15,765 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and 1 control region. The base composition was 27.3% A, 37.9% T, 15.7% C and 19.1% G. The phylogenetic tree of C. textile with the other 6 Conus species and 15 Neogastropoda sea snails was built. It provides fundamental data for further research of phylogeny and biogeography with this genus.

This paper explores whether facial microexpression state ( FMES) changes can be used to identify moments of conceptual conflict, one of the pathways to conceptual change. It is known that when the preconditions of conceptual conflicts are met and conceptual conflicts are detected in students, it is then possible for conceptual change to take place. There were 102 university and high school students who were involved in this research, and about 80% of the participants held erroneous preconceptions on the scientific topic chosen. The results showed that FMES changes were detected in the majority of the students who made erroneous predictions as they underwent conceptual conflict. Furthermore, the lack of FMES change was shown to indicate a lowered likelihood of conceptual change, while the presence of FMES change doubled the likelihood of conceptual change. The results confirm that FMES can be useful in determining learners' awareness of conflicting concepts and their progress towards scientific understanding. Educational implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By traditional classification, there are five Cyclotus taivanus subspecies in the low mountainous area of Taiwan and Okinawa: C. taivanus adamsi, C. t. dilatus, C. t. diminutus, C. t. peraffinis, and C. t. taivanus. The molecular phylogenetic relationships of this group have never been discussed. In order to investigate the relationships between C. taivanus ssp., we sequenced part of the mitochondrial COI and the 16S rRNA gene from 26 sampling sites. We also measured 9 shell traits for morphological analysis. Even though morphological PCA analysis revealed a more or less continuous distribution of individuals in morph-space, the two highly divergent haplotype clades in molecular analysis indicated the presence of two independently evolving lineages. Our results indicated that the sequence divergence between the two independent clades was almost as high as that among other Cyclophoridae species found previously. Therefore, from the viewpoint of taxonomy, C. t. adamsi should be considered a valid s...

The complete mitogenome sequence of the cone snail Conus tulipa (Linnaeus, 1758) has been sequenced by next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome is 16,599 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall base composition of C. tulipa is 28.7% A, 15.2% C, 18.4% G and 37.7% T. It shows 81.1% identity to the cone snail C. consors, 78.5% to C. borgesi and 77.5% to C. textile. Using the 13 protein-coding genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes of C. tulipa in this study, together with 18 other closely species, we constructed the species phylogenetic tree to verify the accuracy and utility of new determined mitogenome sequence. The complete mitogenome of the C. tulipa provides an essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for cone snail phylogeny.

The cone snail Conus textile belongs to the family Conidae. It is a kind of molluscivorous species. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence was constructed by next-generation sequencing in this study. The mitogenome of C. textile is 15,765 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and 1 control region. The base composition was 27.3% A, 37.9% T, 15.7% C and 19.1% G. The phylogenetic tree of C. textile with the other 6 Conus species and 15 Neogastropoda sea snails was built. It provides fundamental data for further research of phylogeny and biogeography with this genus.

An ecosystem-level study was conducted in the Guandu wetlands insubtropical coastal Taiwan to examine how salinity influences the abundance,diversity, and structure of biotic communities. We surveyed eight permanentstudy sites, spanning freshwater marshes, to the gate on the dyke, andmesohaline mangroves representing a gradient of the extent of saltwaterincursions. Analyses of abiotic variables showed that salinity was the primarydetermining factor for discriminating habitat types in the wetlands, butcommunities differed in their sensitivity to salinity. The composition of plantand insect communities was most affected by the salinity gradient, suggestingthe utility of these communities for ecological monitoring of saltwaterincursions. However, spatial changes in communities at higher trophic levels,including macrobenthos, mollusks, fish, and birds, could not be explained simplyby the salinity gradient. Instead, changes in these communities were morerelevant to the composition of other biotic communities. Our results show thatspecies richness and diversity of plant communities were higher in the marshesthan in the mangroves. Nevertheless, insect communities censused in themangroves had higher diversity, despite lower abundance and species richness.Macrobenthos surveyed in the mangroves showed higher biomass and number of taxa.Mollusks and fish were also more abundant at sites near the gate compared to themarsh sites. This suggests that maintaining a tidal flux by means of gateregulation is necessary for conserving the spatial heterogeneity andbiodiversity of coastal wetlands.

This dataset records the occurrence and inventory of molluscan fauna on Gueishan Island, the only active volcanic island in Taiwan, based on the literature survey and field investigation conducted between 2011 and 2012. The literature review involved seven studies published from 1934 to 2003, which collectively reported 112 species from 61 genera and 37 families of Mollusca on Gueishan Island. Through our field investigation, we identified 34 species from 28 genera and 23 families. Fourteen of these species were new records on Gueishan Island: Liolophura japonica, Lottia luchuana, Nerita costata, Nerita rumphii, Diplommatina suganikeiensis, Littoraria undulata, Solenomphala taiwanensis, Assiminea sp., Siphonaria laciniosa, Laevapex nipponica, Carychium hachijoensis, Succinea erythrophana, Zaptyx crassilamellata, and Allopeas pyrgula. In Total, there are 126 species from 71 genera and 45 families of Mollusca on Gueishan Island. These data have been published through GBIF [http://taibif.org.tw/ipt/resource.do?r=gueishan_island] and integrated into the Taiwan Malacofauna Database (http://shell.sinica.edu.tw/).

Arsenic, one of the most toxic elements, is present naturally in marine organisms at much higher concentrations than in terrestrial organisms. the arsenic contents in two marine bivalves, Crassostrea gigas (Thumberg) and Meretrix lusoria Roding, from Taiwan were investigated. the total arsenic content of C. gigas (33.7–60.5 μg g−1) is higher than that of M. lusoria (30.2–34.6 μg g−1). These two bivalves from Lu-kang contain more arsenic in soft tissues than specimens from other areas (significant at 1%, t-test). On the other hand, samples from Pen-hu contain less arsenic than those from other areas (significant at 5%). the arsenic contents of other Indo-Pacific bivalves are also given for comparison.

Methionine synthase is a key enzyme for the synthesis of the aspartate-derived methionine, the immediate precursor of S-adenosyl-methionine, which has been illustrated to be associated with plant growth and pathogen interactions. In this study we tested the positive selection hypothesis of molecular evolution of the methionine synthase gene in Dunnia sinensis. In the entire sample of 87 sequences, 22 haplotypes of introns and 16 haplotypes of exons were identified. An excess of polymorphism over the neutral expectation for the class of unique nucleotide polymorphisms was observed in both exon and intron sequences. Ten replacement substitutions versus six synonymous substitutions among lineages, although nonsignificant, revealed that some advantageous mutants might have been favored. The distribution of d(N)/d(S) > 1 at nodes between closely related haplotypes in the gene network also indicated weak and variable positive selection. Nevertheless, low levels of genetic diversity in exons (theta; = 0.0052) and introns (theta; = 0.0070) of the methionine synthase gene of the outcrossing Dunnia were also attributed to the endangered status of the species. The atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer of cpDNA and the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer of mtDNA were used to discern the relative effectiveness of natural selection from intrinsic evolutionary forces. The low levels of nucleotide polymorphisms in both organelle spacers and the significant population differentiation reflected the effect of population-species history and demography. Two major lineages of the methionine synthase gene genealogy were recovered corresponding to two geographic regions, a result that was consistent with organelle phylogenies. Both past fragmentation and recent habitat disturbance causing complete bottlenecks may have resulted in population decline and geographic isolation and may have led to the depletion of genetic variation at loci in nuclear and organelle genomes.

Cyclophoridae is the dominant family of operculated terrestrial snails in East Asia. The group consists of four subfamilies and approximately 300 species that are currently classified into 34 genera. The species occupy various habitatsand show a high morphological diversity. The molecular phylogenetic relationships of this group have not previously been discussed. In order to uncover the relationships within the family, we sequenced parts of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and of the 16S rRNA gene from 32 species of 10 genera of cyclophorid and established the phylogenetic tree using neighbor joining, Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses to construct phylogenetic trees. The results based on mtDNA sequences suggest that the genera Cyclophorus, Cyclotus, Leptopoma, and Cyathopoma are monophyletic while the traditional genus Japonia appeared polyphyletic and then J. zebra should be moved to the new genus Pilosphaera. In addition, Pilosphaera yentoensis n. sp. and Japonia boonkioensis n. sp. are described in this paper.

The mantle of bivalves has come entirely to enclose the laterally compressed body and the mantle margin has assumed a variety of functions, one of the pricipal ones being sensory. Ciliary tufts, which are probably sensory, have been reported from the mantle and siphons of several bivalves1∽4. Certain regions of the mantle margin are likely to be more or less, sensitive to certain stimuli than others. The inhalant siphon is likely to be particularly sensitive to both chemical and mechanical stimuli, whereas the exhalant siphon will be less sensitive to both. The distribution and density of putative sensory receptors on the in-and ex-halant siphon is compared in this paper.The excised siphons were fixed in glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide, the whole procedure of SEM study is recorded in Wu's thesis.Type II cilia cover the tips of tentacles, 6.13um. Type IV and type V cilia are found on the surface of tentacles. Type IV cilia are occasionally present at the tips of tentacles, 8 um long. They are the commonest type on the surface of tentacles. Type VI cilia occor in the internal surface of the inhalant siphon, but are not found on the surface of tentacles, 6.7-10um long.

Learning fundamental concepts in science in order to develop deep understanding of complex scientific concepts is an essential task. However, research that uses rigorous methods to investigate how students’ concepts develop over time is limited. In this article, we answer two key questions about learning progressions for the concept of phase transitions: (1) what mental models of matter and phase change do students possess across grades, and (2) what conceptual pathways do students follow for these concepts? We describe the results from a study involving fourth, fifth, and seventh through twelfth grade students (N=832). Our work led to two main findings. First, students’ mental models of the targeted concepts gradually shifted from direct and sensory to synthetic and then to scientific-like. Second, based on our cladistics analysis, we found that some crucial concepts developed before students possessed scientific models. Our results provide a novel perspective from which to revisit learning progressions associated with the development of core scientific knowledge.