Effect of deltamethrin-incorporated nets on mobility and survivorship of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) adults and nymphs in the laboratory

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive pest that attacks specialty and row crops in North America and Europe. There has been a concerted effort to reduce frequent broad-spectrum insecticide applications made on vulnerable crops. One tool that has emerged recently is the use of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) as a killing agent. Here, we conducted bioassays to evaluate the effect of direct contact on deltamethrin-impregnated LLINs on the behaviour and survivorship of H. halys nymphs and adults in the laboratory. Following exposure at three different durations (1.25, 4.25 or 7.25 min), vertical and horizontal mobility of adults and nymphs and the flight capacity of adults were recorded and compared with individuals that were not exposed (control). Exposure to LLINs reduced the horizontal distance and velocity and increased the angular velocity of adults only but reduced vertical mobility of adults and nymphs. Adult flights were not significantly affected by LLIN exposure. Mortality of adults and nymphs at 7-day post-exposure ranged from 73% to 77% regardless of exposure time. We discuss our findings within the context of the potential for and limitations of deploying LLINs in vulnerable crops to manage H. halys populations.     

Evolution of body condition‐dependent dispersal in metapopulations

Body condition‐dependent dispersal strategies are common in nature. Although it is obvious that environmental constraints may induce a positive relationship between body condition and dispersal, it is not clear whether positive body conditional dispersal strategies may evolve as a strategy in metapopulations. We have developed an individual‐based simulation model to investigate how body condition–dispersal reaction norms evolve in metapopulations that are characterized by different levels of environmental stochasticity and dispersal mortality. In the model, body condition is related to fecundity and determined either by environmental conditions during juvenile development (adult dispersal) or by those experienced by the mother (natal dispersal). Evolutionarily stable reaction norms strongly depend on metapopulation conditions: positive body condition dependency of dispersal evolved in metapopulation conditions with low levels of dispersal mortality and high levels of environmental stochasticity. Negative body condition‐dependent dispersal evolved in metapopulations with high dispersal mortality and low environmental stochasticity. The latter strategy is responsible for higher dispersal rates under kin competition when dispersal decisions are based on body condition reached at the adult life stage. The evolution of both positive and negative body condition‐dependent dispersal strategies is consequently likely in metapopulations and depends on the prevalent environmental conditions.     

Performance of the potentially invasive Siberian moth Dendrolimus superans sibiricus on coniferous species in Europe

1 The native range of the Siberian moth extends from the Pacific Ocean (Russian Far East, Japan and Northern Korea) across Siberia, Northern China and Mongolia to the Ural Mountains. At the beginning of the 21st Century, this species was documented west of the Ural Mountains in the Republic of Mari El, indicating range extension toward the west.
2 The Siberian moth has recently been suggested for regulation as a quarantine pest for European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization member countries. However, no specific report on European host plants for this pest has been published so far.
3 In the present study, larval host plant choice and performance was tested for the first time on coniferous tree species that are widely distributed and of commercial value in Europe.
4 Based on dual-choice tests on neonates and mortality, developmental duration and relative growth rates of the first- to sixth-instar larvae, we found European larch Larix decidua to be the most suitable host for the moth larvae, whereas European black pine Pinus nigra and Scots pine Pinus sylvestris were the poorest hosts. The remaining conifer species tested, European silver fir Abies alba , Nordmann fir Abies nordmanniana , and Norway spruce Picea abies , were intermediate host plants. Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii , originating from North America, was chosen by the larvae to the same extend as European larch, and was also highly suitable for larval development.
5 If the moth is introduced to European countries, it will become damaging in stands of European larch and Douglas-fir, mixed stands of fir and spruce; however, it will be less damaging in forests dominated by two-needle pines.
6 We predict that Dendrolimus superans sibiricus will be able to survive and develop on the main European coniferous tree species, including non-native coniferous tree species, resulting in severe damage to large areas of forests.     

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Survival in Varying Densities of Energy Development

Anthropogenic features increasingly affect ecological processes with increasing human demand for natural resources. Such effects also have the potential to vary depending on the sex and age of an individual because of inherent behavioral and life experience differences. For the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), studies on male survival are limited because most previous research has been focused on females. To better understand patterns of lesser prairie-chicken survival in habitat with varying levels of anthropogenic infrastructure associated with oil and natural gas development, we monitored survival of 178 radio-tagged male and female lesser prairie-chickens in eastern New Mexico, USA, from 2013 to 2015. We examined the relationships of shrub cover, proximity to and density of anthropogenic features (i.e., utility poles), displacement of natural vegetation by anthropogenic features (i.e., area of roads and well pads), and individual demographics (i.e., sex, age) with lesser prairie-chicken survival. Furthermore, we categorized the probable cause of mortality and examined its relationship with oil and gas development intensity (indexed by utility pole density) within 1,425 m of an individual's mortality site or final observed location. We predicted that survival would be lower for individuals exposed to greater levels of anthropogenic features, and that males and subadults would be more negatively affected than females and adults because of increased exposure to predators during the lekking season and naiveté. Relationships between survival and utility pole density, sex, and age were supported in our top-ranked models, whereas models including other anthropogenic and natural features (i.e., roads, well pads, shrub cover) received little support. We predicted a substantial decrease in adult and subadult male survival with increasing densities of utility poles. The relationship between survival and utility pole density for females was weaker and not as clearly supported as for males. We did not find a detectable difference in utility pole counts among probable mortality causes. Our findings highlight the importance of including male lesser prairie-chickens in research and conservation planning, and the negative effect that high densities of anthropogenic features can have on lesser prairie-chicken survival. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Population-level impacts of natural and anthropogenic causes-of-death for Hawaiian monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands

Identifying, assessing, and ranking the impact of individual threats is fundamental to the conservation and recovery of rare and endangered species. In this analysis, we quantify not only the frequency of specific causes-of-death (CODs) among Main Hawaiian Island (MHI) monk seals, but also assess the impact of individual CODs on the intrinsic growth rate, λ, of the MHI population. We used gross necropsy results, histopathology, and other evidence to assign probabilities of 11 COD types to each mortality and then used Monte Carlo sampling to evaluate the influence of each COD on λ. By right censoring realizations involving specific CODs, we were able to estimate λ (and its associated uncertainty) when CODs were selectively removed from influencing survival. Applying the analysis to all known and inferred deaths believed to have occurred 2004–2019, the CODs with the largest influence on λ were anthropogenic trauma, anthropogenic drowning, and protozoal disease. In aggregate, anthropogenic CODs had a larger effect on the growth rate than either natural or disease CODs. Possible bias associated with differential carcass detection, recovery, and COD classification are discussed.     

亚热带6个典型树种吸收细根寿命与形态属性格局

根周转是地下生态过程的主要驱动力, 根属性指征了物种生态策略, 根寿命与属性是理解生态系统碳氮循环和群落多样性的关键。目前对亚热带常绿阔叶林根周转等生态过程的直接观测资料缺乏。该研究对中亚热带江西樟树试验林场6个树种吸收细根动态进行了2年观测, 获取了2.8万张微根管照片, 分析了吸收细根寿命年际和季节变化特征及其与根形态属性的关系。结果显示: 1)亚热带6个树种间吸收细根寿命变异为4.6倍, 变异系数可达73%。中值寿命排序为: 红豆杉(Taxus wallichiana)(426天) >复羽叶栾树( Koelreuteria bipinnata)(155天) >竹柏( Nageia nagi)(145天) >樟( Cinnamomum camphora)(126天) >东京樱花( Cerasus yedoensis)(93天) >深山含笑( Michelia maudiae)(92天); 2)树木吸收细根寿命年际、季节变异较大, 可能是适应伏秋旱、雨热不同期、年际变化大的亚热带季风气候的结果; 3)吸收细根寿命与直径呈显著正相关关系, 与比根长呈显著负相关关系, 表明根的构建成本可以在一定程度上预测寿命。这些结果为预测亚热带地下生态过程、揭示亚热带常绿阔叶林碳氮循环、物种共存机制提供依据。     

Longevity differs among sexes but is not affected by repeated immune activation in voles (Microtus arvalis)

Investment of resources in immune defences, despite obvious short-term benefits, may be detrimental to long-term maintenance and thus decrease longevity in absence of parasites. In addition, females and males may differ in immune investment and intrinsic longevity because they are subjected to different degrees of sexual competition and extrinsic mortality. In order to test if sex-specific investment in mounting an immune response reduced longevity, we compared the longevity of captive male and female common voles Microtus arvalis regularly challenged with keyhole limpet haemocyanin, an antigen which elicits the production of antibodies, to the longevity of voles injected with the corresponding antigen-free buffer (phosphate-buffered saline). Injections were repeated every 28 days to mimic a chronic infection. The magnitude of immune response did not vary between males and females and did not affect longevity. Overall, females lived longer than males, independently of the immune challenge. Thus, the long-term costs of immunity seem small in voles. The longevity pattern is consistent with the prediction that male-biased predation or parasitism in the wild causes reduced intrinsic lifespan, but this reduction is not mediated by a decrease in male immunity.  © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2009, 97 , 328–333.     

Capture and Mortality Rates of Ducks in Selected Trap Types

ABSTRACT We evaluated different trap styles and related mortality of trapped ducks (Anas spp.) for 3 field seasons as part of the United States-Canada Cooperative Waterfowl Banding Program. During 2002, we evaluated 4 trap designs and caught 10,966 ducks. Trap style affected capture rates (P = 0.018, F₅ = 9.02), with Benning II and oval traps catching more ducks than cloverleaf and star traps. In 2003, we tested 3 trap styles and caught 10,849 ducks. Trap style affected duck capture rates (P < 0.01, F₅ = 15.16), with oval traps with 6-m lead panels catching more ducks than Benning II traps and cloverleaf traps. During 2004, we tested 3 trap styles and caught 11,737 ducks. Trap style affected capture rates (P < 0.01, F₅ = 11.23), with oval traps with 6-m leads catching more ducks than either the oval trap without leads or Benning II traps. Trap style affected mortality rates of ducks, but overall mortality of trapped ducks was low with a rate of 1.16% in 2002, 0.32% in 2003, and 0.17% in 2004; mortality was not a major problem in our study. Waterfowl managers may be able to catch more ducks using oval traps with leads without increasing mortality of captured ducks.     

Human population growth and the demographic transition

The world and most regions and countries are experiencing unprecedentedly rapid demographic change. The most obvious example of this change is the huge expansion of human numbers: four billion have been added since 1950. Projections for the next half century expect a highly divergent world, with stagnation or potential decline in parts of the developed world and continued rapid growth in the least developed regions. Other demographic processes are also undergoing extraordinary change: women''s fertility has dropped rapidly and life expectancy has risen to new highs. Past trends in fertility and mortality have led to very young populations in high fertility countries in the developing world and to increasingly older populations in the developed world. Contemporary societies are now at very different stages of their demographic transitions. This paper summarizes key trends in population size, fertility and mortality, and age structures during these transitions. The focus is on the century from 1950 to 2050, which covers the period of most rapid global demographic transformation.