Gravimetricvs. respirometric determination of metabolic efficiency in caterpillars ofPieris brassicae

Conventional gravimetry and a combination of gravimetry and respirometry were compared for their precision in measuring respiration and metabolic efficiency of growth of final stadiumPieris brassicae L. (Pieridae, Lepidoptera) caterpillars. This was done both for caterpillars feeding on an artificial diet and for caterpillars feeding on excised leaf material of a host plant,Brassica oleracea L. Gravimetry produced significantly greater variation in the total amount of matter respired and the metabolic efficiency than indirect calorimetry for caterpillars feeding on plant material, while the two methods gave similar results for the caterpillars reared on a meridic artificial diet. Respirometry (indirect calorimetry) revealed that caterpillars feeding on the artificial diet were growing with a higher metabolic efficiency than caterpillars feeding on the host plant. This difference was not revealed by conventional gravimetry. It is argued that metabolic efficiencies as derived from gravimetric budget calculations are subject to a number of random errors that distort precise determination of metabolic efficiencies in studies involving plant food.     

Management of land/inland water ecotones: needs for regional approaches to achieve sustainable ecological systems

Evidence suggests that the boundaries between rivers, floodplain wetlands, and adjacent upland communities are among the most important components of landscapes. In a landscape context, floodplain wetlands and their ecotones are important transition zones between uplands and aquatic ecosystems. Management of wetland patches and ecotones to achieve sustainable ecosystems requires action on a broad scale, giving consideration to all factors affecting wetlands and the drainage basins of which they are a part. In northeastern United States, a struggle to identify new sources of water has focussed attention on the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.     

Complete ammonia oxidization in agricultural soils: High ammonia fertilizer loss but low N2O production

The contribution of agriculture to the sustainable development goals requires climate-smart and profitable farm innovations. Increasing the ammonia fertilizer applications to meet the global food demands results in high agricultural costs, environmental quality deterioration, and global warming, without a significant increase in crop yield. Here, we reported that a third microbial ammonia oxidation process, complete ammonia oxidation (comammox), is contributing to a significant ammonia fertilizer loss (41.9 ± 4.8%) at the rate of 3.53 ± 0.55 mg N kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ in agricultural soils around the world. The contribution of comammox to ammonia fertilizer loss, occurring mainly in surface agricultural soil profiles (0–0.2 m), was equivalent to that of bacterial ammonia oxidation (48.6 ± 4.5%); both processes were significantly more important than archaeal ammonia oxidation (9.5 ± 3.6%). In contrast, comammox produced less N₂O (0.98 ± 0.44 μg N kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, 11.7 ± 3.1%), comparable to that produced by archaeal ammonia oxidation (16.4 ± 4.4%) but significantly lower than that of bacterial ammonia oxidation (72.0 ± 5.1%). The efficiency of ammonia conversion to N₂O by comammox (0.02 ± 0.01%) was evidently lower than that of bacterial (0.24 ± 0.06%) and archaeal (0.16 ± 0.04%) ammonia oxidation. The comammox rate increased with increasing soil pH values, which is the only physicochemical characteristic that significantly influenced both comammox bacterial abundance and rates. Ammonia fertilizer loss, dominated by comammox and bacterial ammonia oxidation, was more intense in soils with pH >6.5 than in soils with pH <6.5. Our results revealed that comammox plays a vital role in ammonia fertilizer loss and sustainable development in agroecosystems that have been previously overlooked for a long term.     

赣榆县厉庄地埂利用型式试验

在赣榆县厉庄以大金鸡菊、紫穗槐和红柳三种经济植物进行了地埂利用型式试验,取得了比较明显的水土保持效果和改善农田小环境的生态效益。栽植后第三年植物覆盖率达90％或100％;地面蒸发量减少15.2～17.7％;截留降水量为0.5～0.7mm;大气相对湿度提高3.7～5.4％;土壤养分也有不同程度的增加。经济效益估测每亩地埂可收到300～600元,比种黄豆高5～9倍。效益最好的是红柳,大金鸡菊次之,紫穗槐较低。     

桑白蚧的重要寄生蜂——桑白蚧恩蚜小蜂的鉴别与利用

桑白蚧恩蚜小蜂Encarsia(=Prospaltella)berlesel(Howard)是寄生桑白蚧Pseudaulacaspls pentagona(Targioni-Tozzctti)的重要寄生蜂,许多国家进行了引进移植,对控制桑白蚧的为害取得明显的成效．本记述了桑白蚧恩蚜小蜂形态特征的鉴别。以及各国引进利用的概况．并讨论了利用寄生蜂防治桑白蚧的重要性．     

稻螟赤眼蜂田间自然繁殖利用研究

多年调查表明,稻螟赤眼蜂是我省多择性卵寄生天敌的优势种．同时发现．稻螟蛉卵可认为是水稻上几种主要害虫天敌的天然优良寄主．由于它的被寄生率高．天敌繁殖量大．控制后继害虫的功效显,所以在水稻生产上稻螟蛉实是益大于害的．在早稻害虫防治实践中．应该减少农药使用,或避开天敌活动期和早稻前期用药．以使世代短的天敌,在近期内迅速形成庞大的种群数量。控制相继发生的二化螟、稻纵卷叶螟和稻苞虫的为害．可减少早稻用药1-2次．上述方案．无须人工生产天敌,即以田间自然繁殖保护天敌的新技术,所能达到稻田以虫治虫的功效．不亚于以往工业生产天敌的举措．实具有经济、生态和社会三方面的效益．     

SOS!濒临极限的生物多样性

本文论述了生物多样性的价值、多样性丧失的严重性和后果,以及多样性保护与持续利用的对策。文中强调指出,生物界中的每片基因,每一个物种,每一类生态系统对人类的持久生存都是无价之宝,任何多样性的丧失都是不可逆、不可再生的,因而对人类的损失是难以估量的。然而目前由于人类剧烈的活动干扰如滥砍滥伐、滥捕滥猎、环境污染、火灾、垦荒等,生物多样性丧失的速率怵目惊心！若不赶快行动起来,人类赖以生存的生物多样性将所剩无几,人类生存的危机也将难以避免。从保护与利用及其协同发展出发,本文呼吁要大力开展生物多样性的研究和开发工作,目的一方面在于进一步加强生物多样性的基础调查和研究工作,另一方面在于使生物多样性资源更好地为人类造福。为减缓目前生物多样性所承受的压力及促进其恢复,本文建议对完全依赖野生生物资源的传统产业征收“资源更新税”;而对开发和利用生物多样性资源,不仅不影响野生资源,而且能替代它,或减缓其压力,或促进其恢复的高新技术产业,在税收上给予特别优惠。     

Until death do us part? In-depth insights into Dutch consumers’ considerations about product lifetimes and lifetime extension

Long-lasting electronic products contribute to a sustainable society; however, both expected and actual lifetimes are in decline. This research provides in-depth insights into consumers’ considerations about product lifetimes, barriers to extending lifetimes, and responses to a product lifetime label. Results of interviews (n = 22) with Dutch consumers suggest a positive view on long-lasting products. Nevertheless, their products’ value depreciated during their lifetimes. Consumers consider themselves unable to estimate how long products should last, which can be detrimental as low expectations tend to negatively influence actual lifetimes. Also, use intensity and consumers’ care(less) behavior influence the lifetime. To extend product lifetimes, consumers often disregard the option of repairing malfunctioning products. They have limited knowledge and ability, and believe repair provides poor value for money. Lifetime extension can also be hindered by market-related factors, such as convenient replacement services, new technological developments, and (attractive) deals. We suggest a product lifetime label should contain relevant and reliable information; furthermore, we recommend including (extended) warranty information. When information about repairability is included, potential negative responses should be considered. Finally, raising awareness about the environmental impact of short-lived products via a label may have a positive effect but requires more research attention.     

Mapping of ben genes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract Four ben genes responsible for the conversion of benzoate to catechol in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO have been mapped to a 4.6 kb Kpn I fragment. ben -1 and ben -4 were known to be separate genes but now ben-1508 has been found to be different from ben-2 . The two genes were distinguished by Tn 5 mutagenesis of a cosmid clone and deletion mapping. It is likely that the four genes mapped ( ben-4, ben-2, ben-1508 and ben-1 ) correspond to the previously characterized benR (regulatory gene) and benABC (benzoate dioxygenase) respectively.     

Towards an ethical and legal framework in archeogenomics: A local case in the Atlantic coast of central Patagonia

Ethical discussions around ancient DNA (aDNA) research predate the technological breakthroughs that led to the accelerated generation of ancient genomic data, revealing a long-due need to address these aspects in the field. Given the diverse conflicts that genomics has raised towards the communities associated with the Non-living Human Ancestors under study, it has been suggested that the ethical and legal implications of genetically studying present-day and ancient human populations should be considered case-by-case. Nevertheless, the discussions have focused on US and European perspectives. To contribute from a local and Latin American position to the problem, we present the history of consensus and disagreement of the relationships between scientists and Indigenous communities of the Atlantic coast of the central Argentinian Patagonia. We describe how these relationships resulted in the approval of a groundbreaking provincial law that acknowledges the Indigenous community's right to be involved in decision-making concerning their Ancestors. In addition, we emphasize how these established relationships allowed the development of aDNA studies. With this background, we address the main ethical concerns of genomic studies of Ancestors identified in the reference literature and commit to applying some of the recommendations suggested in those ethical guidelines. Then, we reflect on possible negative consequences of ongoing research and propose some suggestions based on personal experiences that will contribute to moving the ethical field towards a more contextualized science with a local perspective.