Species diversity of macrobenthos in Fusheh River, in Guilan Province, North Iran was studied and biological indices developed based on macroinvertebrates were used to evaluate the health status of the river. Macrobenthos sampling in the river was carried out at 4 stations on a monthly basis beginning from May to December 2016 using a Sorber sampler (mesh size of 300 μm and surface area of 900 cm2) with three repetitions. The sampled macrobenthos were preserved in 96% ethanol and transported to the laboratory for identification. A total of 4928 individuals from two phyla of Arthropoda and Annelida, three classes of insects (Insecta), crustaceans (Crustacea) and Clitellata as well as 8 orders (including Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Plecoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Haplotaxida) along with 25 families and 31 genera were identified. The most abundant genera were Simulium sp. (35.84-46.65%), Hydropsychae sp. (15.79-33.36%) and Baetis sp. (7.87-17.66%). Parameters of total abundance, EPT richness, EPT percentage and EPT/CHIR ratio were also calculated. The EPT richness showed a significant difference in monthly samplings (p<0.05). The presence of species sensitive to pollution such as Perla sp., Isoperla sp., Chloroperla sp., Oligoneuriella sp., Heptagenia sp., Rithrogena sp., Epeorus sp., Rhyacophila sp. and Philorus sp. belonging to orders Trichoptera, Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera exhibits both the good quality of river water and the desirability of species and genera as natural food for the river fish species.

A 32-year-old man was attacked by flies while camping around Khorram Abad, Lorestan Province, western Iran. Pruritic dermatitis with marked edema and considerable discomfort appeared mainly on the lower legs. The flies were identified as Simulium. Simuliids are tiny bloodsucking flies, popularly known as blackflies or buffalo flies, belonging to the dipterous, family Simulidae. They are occurred worldwide, breed in fast-flowing streams, and are a major animal pest.

After report of animal death and sever dermal damages by one kind of insect in Arasbaran area, specimens of the insect are collected on cows and buffaloes during spring of 1998. Preliminary study on collected specimens in research center of natural resources and animal affairs of east Azarbaijan indicated that, they were belong to Simulium genus of blackflies (Fam. Simuliidae). For complementary identification 11 females of them sent to department of zoology in comennius university of Slovaakia. According to L. Jedlicka studies most of specimens were Simulium margaritae (Rubtsov 1958). Accidents and death in the cause of blackflies happen merely by collectively attack and sever blood sucking of them probably, therefore don't interfere any pathogen in it. Prevalence of simulids and accidents of them are reported for the first time of Arasbaran and Iran.

A new smut fungus, Urocystis phalaridis, is described on Phalaris sp. (Poaceae) from Iran.

The taxonomy of cyanobacteria has been substantially modified in the last few decades, particularly after application of modern ultra structural and molecular methods. The present research, therefore, aimed to investigate, through a polyphasic approach, the differences in morphological and genotypic features of two cyanobacteria strains isolated from different agricultural and freshwaters areas in Kermanshah province (W Iran). In fact, identification and taxonomy of both Calothrix sp. N42 and Scytonema sp. N11 was problematic and confusing. Challenges arose when the two strains seemed to be Calothrix, because of early unbranched filaments, narrow cells and ending by heterocysts. Along with the progression of growth, branching arise. Therefore, molecular analysis was made and morphometric and genetic (16S rRNA) data were used to characterize the strains in liquid suspension cultures and solid media under photoautotrophic conditions. The results of sequencing the 16S rRNA fragment and phylogenetic comparison strongly indicated that, two strains fall into different phylogenetic clusters. They were named as Calothrix sp. N42 and Scytonema sp. N11 and have been registered under DDBJ, accession number KY548062 and KY548065, respectively.

2Introduction: Microalgae have been approved as a good source of UV radiation protective compounds, such as mycosporin-like amino acids (MAAs), carotenoids and polyphenols. Spirulina (Arthrospira) and Chlorella gain much attraction in the skin care market as natural sources of available products. Materials and Methods: In this study, different extracts were prepared from the dry powder of Chlorella vulgaris and Arthrospira platensis. Partial purification of MAA compounds was performed. The extracted compounds were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry and the sample's Ultraviolet (UV) absorption in the range of UV-A (400-315 nm) and UV-B (315-280 nm) was measured by spectrophotometric method. The total protein content of the extracts and their antioxidant effect were also analyzed. Results: The samples extracted with methanol showed a higher percentage of compounds with similar characteristics to mycosporine-like amino acids, and had notable antioxidant activity. In mass spectrometry, two major peaks with a molecular mass equivalent to m/z 344 and 887 were identified. The samples extracted from both microalgae had more compounds with maximum absorption at the UV-A and UV-B range, with 50% and 100% methanol. In general, the methanol extraction of UV-absorbing compounds from both C. vulgaris and A. platensis led to an increase in the extraction yield. Conclusion: According to the different features of samples, using a combination of them as natural sources for the preparation of sunscreens may be beneficial to make an efficient product.