Forensic science international. Animals and environments最新文献

{"title":"Operation Soft Gold – Integration of cyber intelligence in curbing illegal Shahtoosh trade in India","authors":"A. Pragatheesh ,&nbsp;Vinita Sharma ,&nbsp;C.P. Sharma ,&nbsp;H.V. Girisha","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The fine wool Shahtoosh obtained from the Tibetan Antelope (<em>Pantholops hodgsonii</em> Abel, 1826) which is endemic to Tibetan Plateau, is highly valued for its rarity, warmth and lightness. The illegal trade in Shahtoosh may lead to extinction of this species. The Tibetan Antelope is protected from commercial trade throughout its range, both nationally and internationally thereby prohibiting any commercial use or trade of any product in India and in the international market. Though globally banned the illegal trade of Shahtoosh driven by international demand has continued to be actively operational undercover in India. In order to bypass this trade ban, the traffickers mis-declare Shahtoosh consignments as Pashmina, Cashmere or conceal by mixed them in shipments between look-alike woolen products. In the present study the illegal Shahtoosh trade was analysed from 2009 to 2020. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has envisaged Operation Soft Gold to curb this. A total of 62 confirmed Shahtoosh cases were detected in India from 2009 to 2020. Most of them were detected at exit points and intended for international smuggling. The Indri Gandhi International airport New Delhi in India was the most preferred airport, while Air Cargo and Air Courier were often used by the traffickers. Our analysis shows that the illegal Shahtoosh trade network is going on between the Western Asian countries, Oman, China, Japan, Pakistan, UK, Spain, Hong Kong and Switzerland are either destination or transit countries for illegal Shahtoosh products.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100048"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666937422000087/pdfft?md5=087f20f82a8247af54e3a5a6b238a669&pid=1-s2.0-S2666937422000087-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136968335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a targeted forensic test for the identification of Eurasian beaver DNA","authors":"Karmen Žbogar ,&nbsp;Jennifer C. Kaden ,&nbsp;Lucy M.I. Webster ,&nbsp;Penelope R. Haddrill","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100047","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100047","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Eurasian beaver (<em>Castor fiber</em>) has recently been reintroduced in Scotland after more than 400 years of extinction and in 2019 received legal protection; deliberate killing or disturbing beavers without a license is therefore now an offense. We present a validated polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based Eurasian beaver identification test for use in forensic casework where persecution of Eurasian beaver is suspected. Primers were designed to target a 271 base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (<em>Cytb</em>) gene in Eurasian beavers, and positive amplicons were confirmed by sequence analysis. Validation was carried out across two laboratories in Scotland, and included studies on sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and robustness. The developed test reliably detects Eurasian beaver DNA to the lower limit of 0.1 pg DNA input and differentiates <em>Castor fiber</em> from other species, including congeners. In conclusion, the developed test was successfully optimized and validated to identify Eurasian beaver DNA and will be a valuable tool in wildlife forensic laboratories in cases of suspected persecution of Eurasian beavers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100047"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666937422000075/pdfft?md5=d5291d69bdbdef31af45e7bc4a402802&pid=1-s2.0-S2666937422000075-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49434007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Four cognitive-ecological biases that reduce integration between medical and cyber intelligence and represent a threat to cybersecurity","authors":"Paolo Zucca","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100046","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2022.100046","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cognitive biases are consistent and predictable mental errors caused by our simplified information processing strategies. Some cognitive-ecological biases have a negative and specific impact on the organization of Intelligence Communities and in particular on the mechanisms of integration of competencies between Medical and Cyber Intelligence, and they represent a serious threat to Cyber security. The spread of these systematic errors is practically ubiquitous and most, if not all, Intelligence analysts are at risk of error due to bias since it is a generalized phenomenon neither correlated with intelligence nor with other specific cognitive ability. The lack of exposure to the natural world of our species during the delicate phase of development only increases our propensity as a species for ecological destruction, generates a lack of knowledge about biological risks and amplifies the negative effects of these cognitive biases. We are not immune to evolutionary influence and since these biases have been present for a long time in our evolutionary history, it is very difficult to overcome them and implement \"debiasing strategies\". A potential \"debiasing\" model organization based on the competence’s integration between Medical and Cyber Intelligence is proposed. The key role within this model is represented by the “Symbiont or Cybiont”. This figure will be able to utilize the computer network as a mean for rapid communications, storage and retrieval of large bodies of knowledge. This augmented knowledge will be used also for reducing human’s ecological impact on nature and improving the debiases strategies of the Intelligence Communities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100046"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666937422000063/pdfft?md5=a0367bb790ddf3f18acd1f32ad90e4ec&pid=1-s2.0-S2666937422000063-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48397769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GPS tracking data can document wind turbine interactions: Evidence from a GPS-tagged Eurasian curlew","authors":"Frédéric Jiguet ,&nbsp;Philipp Schwemmer ,&nbsp;Pierre Rousseau ,&nbsp;Pierrick Bocher","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Eurasian Curlew is an endangered long-lived shorebird breeding in grassland and moorland, with declining numbers across its range due to habitat loss and former hunting. In this context, any additional adult mortality can have a noticeable impact on population dynamics, hence on extinction risk. We report a case of a GPS-tagged individual which track revealed an unusual stopover at the bottom of a wind turbine along its migration route. The curlew rested hours in an unfavourable environment before moving to the adjacent coastal shore, then completed its migration journey the next day. In previous studies, GPS-tags helped to identify death casualties at wind farms, but to our knowledge this is the first detailed report of a non-lethal injury of a tagged animal by a wind turbine, probably by the vortex of rotors. This case alerts on the further potential impacts of wind farm development close to breeding, wintering and stopover sites frequented by Eurasian curlews and other birds. Any wind farm development project should consider the opportunity to avoid, reduce or compensate potential lethal and non-lethal impacts on wildlife.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100036"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666937421000354/pdfft?md5=8b79c316801124d9376a91ea9b8552cf&pid=1-s2.0-S2666937421000354-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47210721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethics in Forensic Science: Renewed Commitments and a Call for Papers across the Forensic Science International family","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100011"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72257438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DNA analyses of large pangolin scale seizures: Species identification validation and case studies","authors":"Kyle M. Ewart ,&nbsp;Amanda L. Lightson ,&nbsp;Frankie T. Sitam ,&nbsp;Jeffrine Rovie-Ryan ,&nbsp;Son G. Nguyen ,&nbsp;Kelly I. Morgan ,&nbsp;Adrian Luczon ,&nbsp;Edwin Miguel S. Anadon ,&nbsp;Marli De Bruyn ,&nbsp;Stéphanie Bourgeois ,&nbsp;Kanita Ouitavon ,&nbsp;Antoinette Kotze ,&nbsp;Mohd Soffian A. Bakar ,&nbsp;Milena Salgado-Lynn ,&nbsp;Ross McEwing","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, and all eight species are listed under CITES Appendix I. DNA-based wildlife forensic techniques are recognized as an important component of investigating a pangolin seizure. In particular, determining the species of pangolin in a seizure will 1) confirm the presence of pangolin to establish the legality of any trade, and 2) ensure appropriate laws are applied to their fullest extent in a prosecution. Furthermore, valuable intelligence data, such as determining the geographic provenance of samples, can be produced through analysis of pangolin seizures. Despite the immense scale of the pangolin trade, standardized wildlife forensic techniques for testing pangolin seizures are in their infancy. To address this, here, we present a standardized genetic marker suitable for species identification of all eight pangolin species, and outline practical strategies for sampling large-volume pangolin scale seizures. We assessed the repeatability, reproducibility, robustness, sensitivity and phylogenetic resolution of this species identification test. Critically, the assay was tested in four wildlife forensic laboratories involved in testing pangolins. Additionally, we demonstrated the test’s utility to conduct geographic provenance analysis of <em>Phataginus tricuspis</em> samples. We analysed five large-volume pangolin scale seizures in Malaysia, which elucidated key target species, poaching hotspots, and trafficking routes. <em>Phataginus tricuspis</em> was the most commonly identified species (88.8%) from the seizure samples, and 84.3% of these <em>P. tricuspis</em> individuals were likely sourced from western central Africa. We expect the implementation of the techniques presented in this paper will improve enforcement of pangolin trafficking crimes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100014"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"109719675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"STRoe deer: A validated forensic STR profiling system for the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)","authors":"Nadja V. Morf ,&nbsp;Anna M. Kopps ,&nbsp;Alexander Nater ,&nbsp;Bertalan Lendvay ,&nbsp;Nina Vasiljevic ,&nbsp;Lucy M.I. Webster ,&nbsp;Richard G. Fautley ,&nbsp;Rob Ogden ,&nbsp;Adelgunde Kratzer","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>European roe deer (<em>Capreolus capreolus</em> L.) are the most common game species in Europe, hunted for meat and trophies. Forensic investigations involving roe deer poaching may often benefit from an individual identification method to link a suspect to a specific incident. The current paper presents a forensically validated DNA profiling system for European roe deer called “STRoe deer”. This DNA profiling system consists of 12 novel unlinked tetra-nucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) loci and two sexing markers, with an allelic ladder to facilitate accurate genotyping. Validation results using 513 European roe deer samples collected from a single population from the Swiss Plateau demonstrated successful amplification of all 14 loci with as little as 0.05 ng of European roe deer DNA. Species-specificity tests showed that other members of the Cervidae family exhibited partial profiles and non-specific peaks, whereas most members of the Bovidae family showed just non-specific cross-species amplification products. Three different methods to calculate match probabilities for randomly sampled European roe deer genotypes resulted in median match probabilities ranging from 1.4 × 10⁻¹³ to 2.5 × 10⁻⁵. These methods accounted for possible population structure, occurrence of null alleles and individual relatedness. Based on these results, we conclude that STRoe deer is a robust genotyping system that should prove a valuable tool for individual identification and sexing of European roe deer to support criminal investigations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100023"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"108806575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"National bird, Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus): Using DNA technology for species identification from degraded sample from Uttarakhand, India","authors":"Ankita Rajpoot ,&nbsp;Ved Prakash Kumar ,&nbsp;Kusum Arunachalam ,&nbsp;Sargam Singh Rasaily","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Species identification from the samples obtained in wildlife crime cases usually presents a difficult challenge for forensic science investigators. The present paper describes a short study where a blood stain sample was recovered from an area outside the protected area network and used to determine a species identity. The mitochondrial DNA region of the questioned sample was amplified and sequenced using universal primers of cytochrome <em>b</em> gene (Cyt b) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) for species identity. The obtained sequencing results were compared with the most homologous sequences extracted from the NCBI-GenBank database. A phylogenetic tree was prepared with the aligned sequences to determine the species identity with strong bootstrap support. The mean distance and species score generated revealed that the grade of sequence similarity showed maximum homology (100 %) with the sequence obtained from the database. Based on the genetic analysis, the collected sample related to Indian Peafowl (<em>Pavo cristatus</em>) which is listed as Schedule I under the Indian Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100004"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72258418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behind the mask: Animal abuse perpetration as an indicator of risk for first responders to domestic violence","authors":"Andrew M. Campbell","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100003"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136455457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the origins of ivory recovered in the United Kingdom","authors":"Catherine Hale ,&nbsp;Rob Ogden ,&nbsp;Sherryn A. Ciavaglia ,&nbsp;Gordon T. Cook ,&nbsp;Guy Clarke ,&nbsp;Sharron Ogle ,&nbsp;Lucy M.I. Webster","doi":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Over recent years, mounting pressure has been placed on countries to assess their role in the ivory trade, with a view to tackling the rapidly declining numbers of elephants, due to poaching. The United Kingdom has been identified as a large re-exporter of ivory. Despite much of this trade being reported as legal or antique ivory, such provision of ivory to meet demand is known to fuel illegal markets and provide trade routes for modern ivory sales. Aside from ivory species and age, further analysis to evaluate geographic provenance, can inform where an elephant had lived, and so identify a source region or population where poaching occurred. The purpose of this study was to determine the age and species of ivory objects surrendered or seized in the UK and assess their likely geographic provenance through comparison of results from mitochondrial DNA and stable isotope analysis to publicly accessible georeferenced African elephant databases. The results demonstrated that the objects tested from an airport seizure were modern and matched existing haplotypes allowing for regional geographic inferences (supported by both techniques) to be obtained for most of these objects. In contrast, antique and modern ivory was detected amongst the amnesty objects, and several new mtDNA haplotypes were identified. Regional geographic inferences were achieved for some but not all of the objects tested. Our findings show this combination of methods provides a wealth of information which, could provide insight into targeted elephant populations and assist in disrupting international wildlife trade networks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93435,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Animals and environments","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100027"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.fsiae.2021.100027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43741381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}