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The monk seal is the most endangered pinniped worldwide and the only one found in the Mediterranean, where its distribution and abundance have suffered a drastic decline in the last few decades. The limited understanding of the population demographics and conservation status of this species are due to both its rarity and evasiveness, with records biased towards occasional, mostly coastal, encounters. Current molecular techniques allow us to detect DNA traces released into the environment (eDNA) by any organism. We have developed three species-specific qPCR-assays targeting the 12S/16S rRNA mitogenome regions of the monk seal. The assays have been tested extensively on a comprehensive and diverse set of samples (n = 73), including positive controls from a breeding population in Madeira collected during their peak abundance, and two opportunistic collections of Mediterranean eDNA samples (offshore/coastal) from on-going projects. Monk seal DNA was detected in 47.2% of the samples collected from a ferry platform in the Tyrrhenian (2018–2019) and in 66.7% of those obtained in the Pelagie archipelago in the Strait of Sicily (2020). These findings anticipated subsequent visual observations in the proximity of these sampling areas by up to 2 years. At the Tyrrhenian site, monk seal detection increased between 2018 and 2019. The demonstrated approach provides a non-invasive and highly sensitive tool for defining the monk seal actual distribution and home range -enabling monitoring also in nocturnal hours-, for assessing its recovery rate and pinpointing coastal/offshore sites where prioritizing conservation, research, citizen-science, and educational opportunities.

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) is an important tool for biodiversity research and monitoring but challenges remain in scaling surveys over large spatial areas, and increasing the frequency of sampling in remote locations at reasonable cost. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of sampling from commercial vessels (Mediterranean ferries) while underway, as a strategy to facilitate replicable, systematic marine eDNA surveys in locations that would normally be challenging and expensive for researchers to access. Sixteen eDNA samples were collected from four fixed sampling stations, and in response to four cetacean sightings, across three cruises undertaken along the 300 km ferry route between Livorno (Tuscany) and Golfo Aranci (Sardinia) in the Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas, June-July 2018. Using 12SrDNA and 16SrDNA metabarcoding markers, we recovered diverse marine vertebrate Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) from teleost fish, elasmobranchs, and cetaceans. We detected sample heterogeneity consistent with previously known variation in species occurrences, including putative species spawning peaks associated with specific sea surface temperature ranges, and increased night time abundance of bathypelagic species known to undertake diel migrations through the water column. We suggest commercial vessel based marine eDNA sampling using the global shipping network has potential to facilitate broad-scale biodiversity monitoring in the world’s oceans.

Last year, the three dressed as \"Domo-kuns\" - friendly space creatures from Japanese lore - and attended the packed annual Halloween parade in Greenwich Village. The following day, they traipsed around town posing for photos with tourists and at city landmarks. \"The notion that Halloween is simply for kids is a misconception based on the centrality of trick-or-treating in the 1950s, when there was an attempt to take the mischief out of Halloween and 'infantilize' it,\" says Nick Rogers, a history professor at York University in Toronto and author of \"Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.\" He says the Greenwich Village parade was among the first to reignite adult interest in the 1970s. Today, he estimates that two-thirds of adults celebrate Halloween.

Last year, the trio dressed as \"Domo-kuns\" - friendly space creatures from Japanese lore - and attended the packed annual Halloween parade in Greenwich Village. The following day, they traipsed around town posing for photos with tourists and at city landmarks. \"The notion that Halloween is simply for kids is a misconception based on the centrality of trick-or-treating in the 1950s, when there was an attempt to take the mischief out of Halloween and 'infantilize' it,\" says Nick Rogers, a history professor at York University in Toronto and author of \"Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.\" He says the Greenwich Village parade was among the first to re- ignite adult interest in the 1970s. Today, he estimates two-thirds of adults celebrate Halloween.

In truth, experts say the traditions that gave rise to Halloween - the Celtic \"Samhain\" festival and the British All Hallows' Eve - were mainly for adults in the first place. \"The notion that Halloween is simply for kids is a misconception based on the centrality of trick-or-treating in the 1950s, when there was an attempt to take the mischief out of Halloween and 'infantilize' it,\" says Nick Rogers, a history professor at York University in Toronto and author of \"Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.\" He says the Greenwich Village parade was among the first to reignite adult interest in the 1970s. Today, he estimates that two- thirds of adults celebrate Halloween.

UNICEF - a relief organization that has long relied on young trick-or-treaters to raise funds - now enlists a number of top restaurants to donate $1 for every meal served on Halloween. Experts say the traditions that gave rise to Halloween - the Celtic \"Samhain\" festival and the British All Hallows' Eve - were mainly for adults in the first place. \"The notion that Halloween is simply for kids is a misconception based on the centrality of trick-or-treating in the 1950s, when there was an attempt to take the mischief out of Halloween and 'infantilize' it,\" says Nick Rogers, a history professor at York University in Toronto and author of Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.

Two of [Elizabeth Marver]'s back-seat passengers, Jenny Taylor, whose age was unavailable Saturday, and Nicholas Dorek, 17, suffered broken necks in the crash and were being treated at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Display House also opens seasonal Halloween stores in Yakima, Tri- Cities and Wenatchee, where Spirit stores are not located. By 1997, [Joe Marver] was in talks with Spencer Gifts Inc., a unit of Universal Studios. A year later, Marver sold the business in a deal that retained him as a vice president for five years. Photo; Bryce Paullus, 10, tries on a scary Halloween mask Friday at the Spirit Halloween store at 8014 N. Division. The seasonal business that sells costumes and spooky decor is one of two Spirit Halloween stores in Spokane. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman- Review

Marver, John P. Tuesday, November 25, 2003 Marver, John P. Age 88. Formerly of W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee, died Nov. 20, 2003, in Wausau.