Ah Ran Kim

The global exploration of evolutionary trends in groupers, based on mitogenomes, is currently underway. This research extensively investigates the structure of and variations in Cephalopholis species mitogenomes, along with their phylogenetic relationships, focusing specifically on Cephalopholis taeniops from the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The generated mitogenome spans 16,572 base pairs and exhibits a gene order analogous to that of the ancestral teleost’s, featuring 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and an AT-rich control region. The mitogenome of C. taeniops displays an AT bias (54.99%), aligning with related species. The majority of PCGs in the mitogenome initiate with the start codon ATG, with the exceptions being COI (GTG) and atp6 (TTG). The relative synonymous codon usage analysis revealed the maximum abundance of leucine, proline, serine, and threonine. The nonsynonymous/synonymous ratios were <1, which indicates a strong negative selection among all PCGs of the Cephalopholis species. In C. taeniops, the prevalent transfer RNAs display conventional cloverleaf secondary structures, except for tRNA-serine (GCT), which lacks a dihydrouracil (DHU) stem. A comparative examination of conserved domains and sequence blocks across various Cephalopholis species indicates noteworthy variations in length and nucleotide diversity. Maximum likelihood, neighbor-joining, and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses, employing the concatenated PCGs and a combination of PCGs + rRNAs, distinctly separate all Cephalopholis species, including C. taeniops. Overall, these findings deepen our understanding of evolutionary relationships among serranid groupers, emphasizing the significance of structural considerations in mitogenomic analyses.

The hispid hare, Caprolagus hispidus, belonging to the family Leporidae is a small grassland mammal found in the southern foothills of the Himalayas, in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Despite having an endangered status according to the IUCN Red List, it lacks studies on its distribution and is threatened by habitat loss and land cover changes. Thus, the present study attempted to assess the habitat suitability using the species distribution model approach for the first time and projected its future in response to climate change, habitat, and urbanization factors. The results revealed that out of the total geographical extent of 188,316 km2, only 11,374 km2 (6.03%) were identified as suitable habitat for this species. The results also revealed that habitat significantly declined across its range (>60%) under certain climate change scenarios. Moreover, in the present climate scenario protected areas such as Shuklaphanta National Park (0.837) in Nepal exhibited the highest mean extent of habitat whereas, in India, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (0.631) is found to be the most suitable habitat. Notably, two protected areas in Uttarakhand, India, specifically Corbett National Park (0.530) and Sonanandi Wildlife Sanctuary (0.423), have also demonstrated suitable habitats for C. hispidus. Given that protected areas showing a future rise in habitat suitability might also be regarded as potential sites for species translocation, this study underscores the importance of implementing proactive conservation strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on this species. It is essential to prioritize habitat restoration, focused protection measures, and further species-level ecological exploration to address these challenges effectively. Furthermore, fostering transboundary collaboration and coordinated conservation actions between nations is crucial to safeguarding the long-term survival of the species throughout its distribution range.