Development and characterization of microsattelite Loci for the harvested limpets Patella Candei (D'orbigny, 1839) and Patella Aspera (Röding, 1798) using 454 sequencing

World Congress of Malacology, Ponta Delgada, July 22-28, 2013.

A new multiplexed microsatellite tool for metapopulation studies in the overexploited endemic limpet Patella aspera (Röding, 1798)

Patellid limpets are ecologically important keystone grazers having a long history of overexploitation in the Macaronesian Archipelagos (NE Atlantic islands), where some species, such as Patella aspera, are under serious risk.[1, 2] Patella aspera is a protandric sequential hermaphrodite species with external fertilization, in which individuals start off as males but may undergo a sex reversal with age.[3] Hence, exploitation tends to focus on the larger females in the population as larger limpets (predominantly females) are selectively removed. Despite conservation legislation in Canaries, Madeira and Azores, limpets are under severe pressure and few individuals survive long enough to become females, a phenomenon that severely restricts the effective population size.[4] New conservation actions for the protection and sustainable use of limpets in Macaronesian Archipelagos are urgently needed and should be based on a multidisciplinary framework based on knowledge of the population dynamics and connectivity of this species.

Paranoia in the General Population : a revised version of the General Paranoia Scale for Adults

Background: Paranoid ideation has been regarded as a cognitive and a social process used as a defence against perceived threats. According to this perspective, paranoid ideation can be understood as a process extending across the normal-pathological continuum. Methods: In order to refine the construct of paranoid ideation and to validate a measure of paranoia, 906 Portuguese participants from the general population and 91 patients were administered the General Paranoia Scale (GPS), and two conceptual models (one - and tridimensional) were compared through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: Results from the CFA of the GPS confirmed a different model than the one-dimensional model proposed by Fenigstein and Vanable, which com-prised three dimensions (mistrust thoughts, persecutory ideas, and self-deprecation). This alternative model presented a better fit and increased sensitivity when compared with the one-dimensional model. Further data analysis of the scale revealed that the GPS is an adequate assessment tool for adults, with good psychometric characteristics and high internal consistency. Conclusion: The model proposed in the current work leads to further refinements and enrichment of the construct of paranoia in different populations, allowing the assessment of three dimensions of paranoia and the risk of clinical paranoia in a single measure for the general population.