Diapause and bet-hedging strategies in insects: a meta-analysis of reaction norm shapes

Many organisms escape from lethal climatological conditions by entering a resistant resting stage called diapause, which needs to be optimally timed with seasonal change. As climate change exerts selection pressure on phenology, the evolution of mean diapause timing, but also of phenotypic plasticity and bet-hedging strategies is expected. The potential of the latter strategy as a means of coping with environmental unpredictability has received little attention in the climate change literature. Populations should be adapted to spatial variation in local conditions; contemporary patterns of phenological strategies across a geographic range may hence provide information about their evolvability. We thus extracted 458 diapause reaction norms from 60 studies. First, we correlated mean diapause timing with mean winter onset. Then we partitioned the reaction norm variance into a temporal component (phenotypic plasticity) and among-offspring variance (diversified bet-hedging) and correlated this variance composition with variability of winter onset. Mean diapause timing correlated reasonably well with mean winter onset, except for populations at high latitudes, which apparently failed to track early onsets. Variance among offspring was, however, limited and correlated only weakly with environmental variability, indicating little scope for bet-hedging. The apparent lack of phenological bet-hedging strategies may pose a risk in a less predictable climate, but we also highlight the need for more data on alternative strategies.     

Plant virus ecology and epidemiology: historical perspectives,recent progress and future prospects

After clarifying the relationship between the closely related concepts of ecology and epidemiology as they are used in plant virology, this article provides a historical perspective on the subject before discussing recent progress and future prospects. Ecology focuses on virus populations interacting with host populations within a variable environment, while epidemiology focuses on the complex association between virus and host plant, and factors that influence spread. The evolution and growth of plant virus ecology and epidemiology since its inception to the present day, and the major milestones in its development, are illustrated by examples from influential historical reviews published in the Annals of Applied Biology over the last 100 years. Original research papers published in the journal are used to illustrate important ecological and epidemiological principles and new developments in both fields. Both areas are multifaceted with many factors influencing host plants, and virus and vector behaviour. The highly diverse scenarios that arise from this process influence the virus population and the spatiotemporal dynamics of virus distribution and spread. The review then describes exciting progress in research in the areas of molecular epidemiology and ecology, and understanding virus–vector interactions. Application of new molecular techniques has greatly accelerated the rate of progress in understanding virus populations and the way changes in these populations influence epidemics. Viruses cause direct and plant‐mediated indirect effects on insect vectors by modifying their life cycles, fitness and behaviour, and one of the most fascinating recent fields of research concerns plant‐mediated indirect virus manipulation of insect vector behaviour that encourages virus spread. Next, the review describes the current state of knowledge about spread of plant viruses at the critical agro‐ecological interface between managed and natural vegetation. There is an urgent need to understand how viruses move in both directions between the two and be able to anticipate these kinds of events. To obtain an understanding of, and ability to foresee, such events will require a major research effort into the future. The review finishes by discussing the implications of climate change and rapid technological innovation for the types of research needed to avoid virus threats to future world food supplies and plant biodiversity. There has been lamentably little focus on research to determine the magnitude of the threat from diseases caused in diverse plant virus pathosystems under different climate change scenarios. Increasing technological innovation offers many opportunities to help ensure this situation is addressed, and provide plant virus ecology and epidemiology with a very exciting future.     

Optimal seasonal timing of univoltine and bivoltine insects

This study examines the optimal seasonal timing of the life cycle for univoltine and bivoltine insects, assuming that resource availability has a peak in the middle of a year and is symmetric around it. Results show that if the growth rate increases in proporrion to the bodyweight, bivoltine life cannot be optimal. If the growth rate is a power function of the bodyweight with a power smaller than unity, a symmetric bivoltine solution can be the optimal provided that the resource availability has a plateau in the middle of the season. If the resource availability has a sharp peak, the optimal pattern is an asymmetric bivoltine solution in which the larval periods of two generations differ in length. The bivoltine life cycle is more likely to be superior to the univoltine one if: growth is fast, suitable growing season is long, biomass loss during nonlarval stages is small, and egg size is small.     

昆虫趋光性及其机理的研究进展

依据目前已有资料 ,从行为学、生理学及田间应用调查等方面概述了近几十年昆虫趋光性的国内外研究进展。其中 ,行为学与生理学研究较多 ,且两者结果基本一致 ,相互补充 ,为趋光性机制的假说提供了可靠的依据。关于昆虫趋光性机制的假说较多 ,其中报道较多的是光干扰假说、光定向行为假说和生物天线假说 3种 ,现在较为普遍接受的是前两者。光干扰假说是指刺眼作用干扰昆虫的正常活动导致趋光 ,而光定向行为假说则指昆虫趋光是由于光定向行为所致     

Stable isotope ecology in insects: a review

1. The use of stable isotope analysis (SIA) in ecological research has dramatically increased in recent years largely because it allows researchers to investigate ecological questions that have been previously difficult to address. 2. Ecological applications of SIA include estimating fundamental niche space and overlap, evaluating trophic or species level interactions, and investigating food web structure. Increasingly, researchers have been incorporating SIA in studies of animal migration, disease transmission, diet composition, nutrient assimilation, and body condition among others. 3. Studies using SIA to evaluate the ecology of terrestrial insects have lagged behind other taxonomic groups. This poor representation of stable isotope studies in publications likely stems from a lack of familiarity of entomologists with this technique. 4. An improved understanding of SIA, as well as the advantages and disadvantages specifically related to insect research, will benefit the field of entomology. In addition, insect-model systems provide unique opportunities for entomologists to incorporate SIA in their research to advance our knowledge of insect biology and the stable isotope ecology of insects. 5. We provide background information on stable isotopes, explain sources of isotopic variation, describe the processes of how isotopes are differentially routed and incorporated into an individual's tissues, explain the principles that influence isotopic fractionation and discrimination, highlight different methods and advancements in SIA, review innovative stable isotope studies, and provide an overview of common mistakes, considerations, and future directions entomologists can explore.     

Community and ecosystem responses to recent climate change

There is ample evidence for ecological responses to recent climate change. Most studies to date have concentrated on the effects of climate change on individuals and species, with particular emphasis on the effects on phenology and physiology of organisms as well as changes in the distribution and range shifts of species. However, responses by individual species to climate change are not isolated; they are connected through interactions with others at the same or adjacent trophic levels. Also from this more complex perspective, recent case studies have emphasized evidence on the effects of climate change on biotic interactions and ecosystem services. This review highlights the ‘knowns’ but also ‘unknowns’ resulting from recent climate impact studies and reveals limitations of (linear) extrapolations from recent climate-induced responses of species to expected trends and magnitudes of future climate change. Hence, there is need not only to continue to focus on the impacts of climate change on the actors in ecological networks but also and more intensively to focus on the linkages between them, and to acknowledge that biotic interactions and feedback processes lead to highly complex, nonlinear and sometimes abrupt responses.     

Phenology, seasonal timing and circannual rhythms: towards a unified framework

Phenology refers to the periodic appearance of life-cycle events and currently receives abundant attention as the effects of global change on phenology are so apparent. Phenology as a discipline observes these events and relates their annual variation to variation in climate. But phenology is also studied in other disciplines, each with their own perspective. Evolutionary ecologists study variation in seasonal timing and its fitness consequences, whereas chronobiologists emphasize the periodic nature of life-cycle stages and their underlying timing programmes (e.g. circannual rhythms). The (neuro-) endocrine processes underlying these life-cycle events are studied by physiologists and need to be linked to genes that are explored by molecular geneticists. In order to fully understand variation in phenology, we need to integrate these different perspectives, in particular by combining evolutionary and mechanistic approaches. We use avian research to characterize different perspectives and to highlight integration that has already been achieved. Building on this work, we outline a route towards uniting the different disciplines in a single framework, which may be used to better understand and, more importantly, to forecast climate change impacts on phenology.     

青钱柳功能性多糖的研究现状及展望

青钱柳叶是一种古老茶饮,也是国家卫健委认定的新食品原料。青钱柳多糖是其主要活性成分之一,具有降血糖、降血脂、抗氧化、免疫调节等多种功能,在食品、医药和生物医学等领域应用市场潜力巨大。通过综述国内外相关研究文献报道,对青钱柳叶所含功能性多糖的提取工艺、结构特征、药理活性及开发应用的研究现状进行较系统的归纳和分析,并对青钱柳多糖未来研究方向作了展望,拟为开发高活性青钱柳多糖保健食品或药物提供理论依据及研究支撑。     

Historical perspectives and recent research on superovulation in cattle

Superovulation protocols have evolved greatly over the past 40 to 50 years. The development of commercial pituitary extracts and prostaglandins in the 1970s, and partially purified pituitary extracts and progesterone-releasing devices in the 1980s and 1990s have provided for the development of many of the protocols that we use today. Furthermore, the knowledge of follicular wave dynamics through the use of real-time ultrasonography and the development of the means by which follicular wave emergence can be controlled have provided new practical approaches. Although some embryo transfer practitioners still initiate superstimulatory treatments during mid-cycle in donor cows, the elective control of follicular wave emergence and ovulation has had a great effect on the application of on-farm embryo transfer, especially when large groups of donors need to be superstimulated at the same time. The most common treatment for the synchronization of follicular wave emergence for many years has been estradiol and progestins. In countries where estradiol cannot be used, practitioners have turned to alternative treatments for the synchronization of follicle wave emergence, such as mechanical follicle ablation or the administration of GnRH to induce ovulation. An approach that has shown promise is to initiate FSH treatments at the time of the emergence of the new follicular wave after GnRH-induced ovulation of an induced persistent follicle. Alternatively, it has been suggested recently that it might be possible to ignore follicular wave status, and by extending the treatment protocol, induce small antral follicles to grow and superovulate. Recently, the mixing of FSH with sustained release polymers or the development of long-acting recombinant FSH products have permitted superstimulation with a single or alternatively, two gonadotropin treatments 48 hours apart, reducing the need for animal handling during superstimulation. Although the number of transferable embryos per donor cow superstimulated has not increased, the protocols that are used today have increased the numbers of transferable embryos recovered per unit time and have facilitated the application of on-farm embryo transfer programs. They are practical, easy to administer by farm personnel, and more importantly, they eliminate the need for detecting estrus.     

Physiological traits suggest limited diapause response in false codling moth,Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The ability of a pest insect species to enter diapause, a physiological state of dormancy, has significant implications for population dynamics and pest management practises in agricultural landscapes. The false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta is a major pest of deciduous and citrus fruit in southern Africa and a quarantine pest of international concern. Apart from an early field assessment that may have been compromised by taxonomic uncertainty surrounding cryptic developing life stages, no studies have investigated diapause induction within an experimental framework for this species, and none to date have used a suite of physiological traits potentially indicative of the diapause state. Here, we subjected larvae to cooling and shortening day length over a period of 14 days [Diapause Treatment (DT) group] relative to a similar‐aged control (CON) group held at optimal rearing conditions (25°C, 12 : 12 L : D) and tested if physiological traits, including resting metabolic rate, body freezing temperature (=supercooling point, equivalent to the low‐temperature mortality threshold) and body condition (body mass, body lipid and water content) varied in a direction that may be reflective of diapause induction. Mean metabolic rate in DT larvae was 0.044 ml CO₂/h (mean mass: 52.7 mg), which was significantly higher than in CON larvae [0.025 ml CO₂/h, mean mass: 51.5 mg (P = 0.04)]. Supercooling points were not statistically lower in the CON group than in DT larvae (DT:?15.6 ± 1.5°C; CON: ?16.4 ± 2.8°C; P = 0.33). Measures of body size, body condition and resting water loss rates remained similar between groups. These results support the conclusion of early field observations that T. leucotreta does not undergo diapause that has significant implications for the management of the species.     

高温对昆虫影响的生理生化作用机理研究进展

温度是影响昆虫生命活动的重要因素,将其与某一时间的种群数量结合,可用于对昆虫未来种群数量进行预测预报。过高的环境温度常使昆虫的生长发育、生殖及存活等受到严重影响,对这种影响缺乏了解降低了害虫测报的准确性。探明高温对昆虫生理生化的作用机理是了解高温对昆虫生命活动影响的根本途径。总结了高温对昆虫生理生化的重要影响。高温使昆虫表皮的蜡质层瓦解,油脂融化,表皮渗透性增加,虫体大量失水。引起昆虫体内重要离子的浓度发生变化,改变许多重要大分子的电荷状态,使生物大分子的动力学能量增大,离子键、氢键和范德华力降低,分子间疏水作用增强,大分子保持形状的能力降低,空间构象发生改变,从而影响生物大分子行使其功能。高温使昆虫细胞骨架瓦解,细胞遭到破坏;细胞膜内磷脂组分比例改变,细胞膜流动性下降。虫体内重要遗传物质DNA和RNA复杂的二级结构和三级结构在高温下发生改变,对昆虫性状的稳定遗传造成严重影响。细胞内蛋白质的数量和种类组成均发生改变,原有常温下的蛋白质合成系统关闭,空间构象及功能发生变化,而产生耐热性物质（如热激蛋白）的蛋白质合成系统则开启。高温影响酶及酶促反应速率,对昆虫体内神经传导关键酯酶——乙酰胆碱酯酶的影响使昆虫无法进行正常的神经传递,丧失躲避不良环境的能力。高温影响脂质、低聚糖等物质的代谢。最后梳理了高温作用下昆虫各种生理生化指标发生变化之间可能存在的关联性,并提出高温对昆虫造成伤害的顺序过程假设。讨论了不同程度的高温对昆虫造成死亡的机理可能不同。指出了未来该领域研究的重点内容,如高温对昆虫造成损害的最初作用位点;高温伤害的完整生理生化路径;耐热性产生的生化基础;高温对昆虫不同发育阶段或生命过程的具体作用机制等。     

Chinese Paleozoic acritarch research: review and perspectives

Paleozoic acritarchs from China have been reported in more than 100 articles, most of which are published in Chinese journals and in Chinese. One half of the papers concern the Ordovician, and the majority of the investigated sections are located in the provinces of southern China. This review includes the first complete bibliographical listing of all publications on Chinese Paleozoic acritarchs.     

Food plants and life cycle of Lymantria bantaizana Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in northern Honshu, Japan

The food plants and life cycle of Lymantria bantaizana were investigated in Iwate Prefecture, northern Honshu, Japan from 2000 to 2002. Eggs laid in July hatched approximately 10 days after oviposition. Hatched larvae fed only on Juglandaceae, Juglans mandshurica var. sachaliensis, J. regia var. orientalis and Pterocarya rhoifolia when reared in the laboratory. In field rearing, the plants of Juglans enabled the moth to complete its life cycle. Differing from all other known Lymantria species in Japan, the moth overwintered not in the egg stage but in the fifth or sixth instar larval stage. Lymantria bantaizana had eight larval instars in both sexes. Moth emergence occurred mostly in July at a field‐trapping site in Iwate Prefecture.     

Shifts in the temperature‐sensitive periods for spring phenology in European beech and pedunculate oak clones across latitudes and over recent decades

Spring phenology of temperate trees has advanced worldwide in response to global warming. However, increasing temperatures may not necessarily lead to further phenological advance, especially in the warmer latitudes because of insufficient chilling and/or shorter day length. Determining the start of the forcing phase, that is, when buds are able to respond to warmer temperatures in spring, is therefore crucial to predict how phenology will change in the future. In this study, we used 4,056 leaf‐out date observations during the period 1969–2017 for clones of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) planted in 63 sites covering a large latitudinal gradient (from Portugal ~41°N to Norway ~63°N) at the International Phenological Gardens in order to (a) evaluate how the sensitivity periods to forcing and chilling have changed with climate warming, and (b) test whether consistent patterns occur along biogeographical gradients, that is, from colder to warmer environments. Partial least squares regressions suggest that the length of the forcing period has been extended over the recent decades with climate warming in the colder latitudes but has been shortened in the warmer latitudes for both species, with a more pronounced shift for beech. We attribute the lengthening of the forcing period in the colder latitudes to earlier opportunities with temperatures that can promote bud development. In contrast, at warmer or oceanic climates, the beginning of the forcing period has been delayed, possibly due to insufficient chilling. However, in spite of a later beginning of the forcing period, spring phenology has continued to advance at these areas due to a faster satisfaction of heat requirements induced by climate warming. Overall, our results support that ongoing climate warming will have different effects on the spring phenology of forest trees across latitudes due to the interactions between chilling, forcing and photoperiod.     

Diapause and cold tolerance in Asian species of the parasitoid Leptopilina (Hymenoptera: Figitidae)

Diapause and cold tolerance are essential for temperate insects to pass the winter, with the mechanisms controlling these two traits varying considerably among insects. In the present study, diapause and cold tolerance are compared among three Leptopilina species: Leptopilina japonica Novkovi? & Kimura, Leptopilina victoriae Nordlander and Leptopilina ryukyuensis Novkovi? & Kimura, all larval parasitoids of frugivorous drosophilid flies, with the aim of understanding their climatic adaptations. The first species is divided into the temperate (Leptopilina japonica japonica) and subtropical subspecies (Leptopilina japonica formosana), and the latter two species are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions. The temperate subspecies of L. japonica enters prepupal diapause at low temperatures (15 or 18 °C), irrespective of photoperiod, and some individuals enter diapause when exposed to 0 °C for 1 or 2 day(s) or when placed at low humidity. Leptopilina victoriae also shows signs of diapause initiation at 15 °C, although L. ryukyuensis and L. j. formosana from the subtropical regions do not. Preimaginal viability at low temperature (13, 14 or 15 °C) is usually lower in L. victoriae from the tropical regions compared with L. japonica or L. ryukyuensis from the temperate or subtropical regions. Diapausing prepupae of the temperate subspecies appear to be cold tolerant. However, the cold tolerance of nondiapausing prepupae, pupae and adult females varies little among the tropical, subtropical and temperate species or subspecies, and adult males of the temperate subspecies of L. japonica are less cold tolerant than those of the tropical or subtropical species or subspecies. Cold tolerance may be unnecessary, except for diapausing individuals of the temperate species, because nondiapausing individuals appear in warmer seasons.     

Ecophysiological attributes of adult overwintering in insects: insights from a field study of the nut weevil,Curculio nucum

Abstract Diapausing insect species have evolved a great diversity of life cycles, although overwintering occurs at a single development stage within most species. Understanding why diapause has evolved towards a given life stage requires investigation of both the ecological and physiological attributes. Notably, it is suggested that adult overwintering is more energy‐demanding than larval overwintering but it brings fitness gains by allowing adults to be synchronized with their seasonal requisites through an early spring emergence. This hypothesis is tested in field conditions in the nut weevil Curculio nucum, whose life cycle comprises an obligate 2‐year, nonfeeding underground phase, including a larval, followed by an adult, overwintering. In this species, adult wintering leads to an early spring emergence; at first glance, however, this does not enhance synchronization between weevils and their host because adults emerge more than 1 month before starting to breed. It is suggested that adult overwintering ultimately evolved in response to the phenology of the host, by allowing females to oviposit in nuts before their full sclerotinization. Adult overwintering appears to be costly because adults postpone reproduction for 1 year, incur a significant weight loss and require feeding before egg laying. Surprisingly, lipids are unaffected during diapause, lipogenesis even being likely in the summer metamorphosis. These results suggest that the lipids involved in egg production may entirely come from the larval stages, whereas the other nutrients are acquired through adult feeding but this remains to be tested.     

Climatic trends and advancing spring flight of butterflies in lowland California

Many studies, largely from cool‐temperate latitudes, have investigated the relationship between the timing of biological events and changes in climatic conditions during the past few decades. Relatively little is known about the response of plants and animals at lower latitudes. Here we show that the average first spring flight of 23 butterfly species in the Central Valley of California has advanced to an earlier date over the past 31 years. Among the species that have appeared significantly earlier, the average shift is 24 days. Climatic conditions (largely winter temperature and precipitation) are found to explain a large part of the variation in changing date of first flight. These results suggest a strong ecological influence of changing climatic conditions on a suite of animals from a mid‐latitude, Mediterranean climate.     

果实生态学的概念、研究现状及研究方向

总结了果实生态学的概念及主要研究内容,对国内外的果实生态学研究领域的进展进行了综述,分析了这些研究尚存在的不足之处,并指出了未来研究的科学问题.迄今为止,果实生态学在果实与种子的关系、果实颜色与环境、果实化学成分与环境、群落果实构成式样的地理分布特征、果实及食果动物的协同进化等方面已经取得了若干进展.果实重量谱等物理性状的空间分异格局及机理、果实化学成分的时空变异格局、果实类型的组成式样及大尺度地理分布格局及其机制的探讨、果实传播与食果动物的协同进化等是未来亟待开展的工作.     

Metabolomics in pesticide research and development: review and future perspectives

The emerge of metabolomics within functional genomics has provided a new dimension in the study of biological systems. In regards to the study of agroecosystems, metabolomics enables monitoring of metabolic changes in association with biotic or abiotic agents such as agrochemicals. Focusing on crop protection chemicals, a great effort has been given towards the development of crop protection agents safer for consumers and the environment and more efficient than the existing ones. Within this framework, metabolomics has so far been a valuable tool for high-throughput screening of bioactive substances in order to discover those with high selectivity, unique modes-of-action, and acceptable eco-toxicological/toxicological profiles. Here, applications of metabolomics in the investigation of the modes-of-action and ecotoxicological–toxicological risk assessment of bioactive compounds, mining of biological systems for the discovery of bioactive metabolites, and the risk assessment of genetic modified crops are discussed.