Motivation Human activities have been reshaping the natural world for tens of thousands of years, leading to the extinction of hundreds of bird species. Past research has provided evidence of extinction selectivity towards certain groups of species, but trait information is lacking for the majority of clades, especially for prehistoric extinctions identified only through subfossil remains. This incomplete knowledge potentially...

Summary Chemolithoautotrophic bacteria from the genera Hydrogenovibrio, Thiomicrorhabdus and Thiomicrospira are common, sometimes dominant, isolates from sulfidic habitats including hydrothermal vents, soda and salt lakes and marine sediments. Their genome sequences confirm their membership in a deeply branching clade of the Gammaproteobacteria . Several adaptations to heterogeneous habitats are apparent. Their genomes include...

Summary V ibrio vulnificus is a potentially lethal human pathogen that occurs naturally in estuarine waters and shellfish. V ibrio vulnificus was quantified in water and oysters from F lorida's G ulf C oast by plating on mCPC agar, enrichment and plating, and quantitative PCR ( qPCR ). V ibrio vulnificus was detected in 19%, 29%, and 97% of samples respectively by direct plating, qPCR , and enrichment. Only 8% of typical colon...