Wildlife Forensics: CITES, Species ID by mtDNA, Ivory and Rhino-Horn Casework (UGC-NET Unit III)

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Sources & references

Questions in this mock are written and verified against the following sources. Citations are recorded per question and shown in the explanation after submission.

• Pitra C, Fickel J, Meijaard E, Groves C, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33, 880 to 895 (2004); IUCN Red List Cervus hanglu hanglu Critically Endangered

  Hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), Dachigam Kashmir, Schedule I WPA 1972, mtDNA cyt-b and D-loop for forensic species attribution

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Linacre A and Tobe S S, Wildlife DNA Analysis, Wiley-Blackwell; Palumbi S R, in Molecular Systematics 2nd edition (Hillis et al. eds)

  12S rRNA and 16S rRNA short universal mtDNA primers for species identification on degraded forensic matrices

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• CITES Secretariat list of Parties and accession dates; Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notifications

  India accession 20 July 1976, in force 18 October 1976; CITES implementation via WPA 1972, Customs Act 1962 and FTDR Act 1992

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Government of India National Ganga River Basin Authority notification 5 October 2009; IUCN Red List Platanista gangetica Endangered

  Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) National Aquatic Animal designation 2009, Schedule I WPA, mtDNA cyt-b forensic identification

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• van der Merwe N J et al., Nature 346, 744 to 746 (1990); Cerling T E et al., Nature 553, 39 to 40 (2018) on isotopes of African elephant ivory

  Geographic-source inference for ivory using delta-13C, delta-15N and delta-18O isotopic triad

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Singh A, Shailaja K, Gaur A and Singh L, Conservation Genetics 5, 853 to 855 (2004); Mondol S, Karanth K U and Ramakrishnan U, Conservation Genetics 10, 1287 to 1296 (2009)

  Tiger autosomal microsatellite (STR) panel validated for Indian tiger reserves, used for individualisation in WII wildlife forensic casework

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Calvete J J, Journal of Proteomics 72, 165 to 182 (2009); Tasoulis T and Isbister G K, Toxins 9, 290 (2017)

  Species attribution in venom proteomics by tryptic peptides mapping onto species-specific toxin isoforms in UniProt venom proteomes

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Kocher T D et al., PNAS 86, 6196 to 6200 (1989); Linacre A and Tobe S S, Wildlife DNA Analysis, Wiley-Blackwell

  Universal cyt-b primers L14724 and H15915 of Kocher et al. for routine mammalian species identification in forensic casework

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Section 51 read with Section 38J and Schedule I

  Penalty band of 3 to 7 years and minimum Rs 10,000 fine for hunting Schedule I species or offences in a tiger reserve, cognisable and non-bailable

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, Article 15; Biological Diversity Act 2002 (India), Sections 3 and 6; Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing 2010

  CBD Article 15 access and benefit-sharing, operationalised in India through the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the Nagoya Protocol

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022 (Government of India), in force January 2023; Schedule consolidation and CITES alignment

  Consolidation of six Schedules into four (Schedules I to IV) by the WPA Amendment Act 2022, with Schedule IV covering CITES-listed non-native specimens

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Folmer O, Black M, Hoeh W, Lutz R, Vrijenhoek R, Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology 3, 294 to 299 (1994); Hebert P D N et al., Proc R Soc Lond B 270, S96 to S99 (2003)

  COI 5' Folmer barcode at 658 bp as the canonical animal DNA barcode on BOLD Systems

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Tasoulis T and Isbister G K, Toxins 9, 290 (2017); Calvete J J, Journal of Proteomics 72, 165 to 182 (2009)

  Snake venom forensic species attribution by LC-MS/MS bottom-up proteomics, limits of antiserum cross-typing in big-four envenomation

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Section 38Y; Wildlife Crime Control Bureau institutional profile (MoEFCC)

  WCCB Section 38Y constitution, 2007 operationalisation, regional structure, CITES Management Authority interface and chain-of-custody flow

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP18) on Trade in elephant specimens; ETIS and MIKE programmes (TRAFFIC and CITES Secretariat)

  Resolution Conf. 10.10 on ivory marking, stockpile reporting, ETIS database and MIKE field monitoring

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wasser S K et al., PNAS 104, 4228 to 4233 (2007); Wasser S K et al., Science 349, 84 to 87 (2015)

  DNA-based source assignment of African ivory seizures using 16 elephant-specific STR loci and mtDNA D-loop against a continental reference grid

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife Institute of India institutional profile; Singh A and Goyal S P et al., wildlife DNA reference publications

  WII Dehradun, founded 1982, MoEFCC autonomous institute, Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics Cell mandate

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Comstock K E et al., Molecular Ecology 11, 2489 to 2498 (2002); Espinoza E O and Mann M-J, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes

  Loxodonta versus Elephas ivory discrimination by mtDNA cyt-b plus Schreger angle plus stable isotopes

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Mwale M et al., Genome 60, 272 to 284 (2017); Hsieh H-M et al., Forensic Science International Genetics 5, 303 to 307 (2011)

  Pangolin scale keratin chemistry, eight Manidae species, cyt-b and COI species attribution

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Espinoza E O and Mann M-J, Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, World Wildlife Fund and USFWS

  Outer Schreger angle classification: greater than 115 degrees elephant, less than 90 degrees mammoth

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, as amended by the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022

  Schedule I species list post-2022 consolidation; highest-protection grouping for tiger, lion, elephant, rhino, snow leopard, dolphin, sea cucumber and dugong

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), CSIR-CCMB Hyderabad institutional profile

  LaCONES 1998 founding as CCMB unit, designated wildlife DNA reference laboratory mandate, casework and conservation genetics

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Avise J C, Phylogeography: The History and Formation of Species, Harvard University Press; Linacre A and Tobe S S, Wildlife DNA Analysis

  Cyt-b and D-loop in wildlife forensic casework: rate-of-evolution and resolution division between species attribution and intra-specific lineage

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Cerling T E, Wittemyer G et al., PNAS 113, 13330 to 13335 (2016); Hua Q, Barbetti M, Rakowski A Z, Radiocarbon 55, 2059 to 2072 (2013)

  Bomb-curve radiocarbon dating of elephant ivory dentine collagen by accelerator mass spectrometry

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Washington 1973, Articles III, IV and V

  Appendix I, II and III trade controls, permit pairs and non-detriment findings under Articles III to V

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Hieronymus T L, Witmer L M, Ridgely R C, Journal of Morphology 267, 1147 to 1172 (2006); Linacre A and Tobe S S, Wildlife DNA Analysis

  Rhino horn keratin structure (agglutinated alpha-keratin filaments on a nasal pedicel) and species attribution by mtDNA

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Singh A, Gupta S K, Sharma S, Shukla S, in Wildlife DNA Analysis applications; LaCONES (CCMB Hyderabad) wildlife forensics standard operating procedures

  Two-stage rhino casework: mtDNA cyt-b or D-loop for species, rhino-specific microsatellites for individualisation

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• IUCN Red List Rucervus eldii eldii Endangered assessment; Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 Schedule I as amended

  Sangai (Rucervus eldii eldii), Keibul Lamjao National Park, Loktak Lake phumdi, Manipur state animal, Schedule I of the WPA 1972

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• CITES Convention text Articles III and IV; CITES Resolution Conf. 16.7 (Rev. CoP17) on Non-Detriment Findings

  Non-Detriment Finding by Scientific Authority under CITES Articles III and IV, India implementation by MoEFCC Director of Wildlife Preservation

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 Schedule I as amended; CITES Appendix II and I listings for Holothuria spp and Dugong dugon

  Schedule I status of sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra and related Holothuroidea) and dugong (Dugong dugon) in India

  Open source
  cited in 1 question

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