Physical barriers and corridors in urban habitats affect colonisation and parasitism rates of a specialist leaf miner

1. Urban environments are fragmented habitats characterised by the presence of physical barriers, which may negatively affect dispersal and colonisation by insect herbivores and their natural enemies. Conversely, plants growing along pavements may function as dispersal corridors, helping to moderate the harmful effects of resource patch isolation on organism movement and population persistence. 2. We experimentally tested the effects of walls as physical barriers to the dispersal of the leaf miner Liriomyza commelinae Frost and colonisation of its host plant, Commelina erecta L., in urban habitats. We also evaluated whether plants along pavements could act as corridors for this species. 3. We exposed experimental host plants to the leaf miner in houses with front gardens and back yards, the latter being completely surrounded by walls. The front gardens had walls but none separating them from the pavement. Previously mined plants were also exposed to parasitoids in the yards to determine parasitoid attack. 4. Liriomyza commelinae took longer to colonise back yards with higher walls, and the abundance of mined plants along pavements reduced the colonisation time. Leaf‐miner abundance was marginally affected by the yard type, and was lower in back yards. Cumulative parasitism rates decreased with increasing distance at which mined plants were placed from pavements. 5. Constructions act as physical barriers, having a negative impact on colonisation of host plants by leaf miners. The function of pavements as corridors seems to depend on the abundance of mined plants. Parasitism may be affected by distance from the corridor rather than physical barriers or other potential hosts.     

The genus Perkinsiana (Polychaeta, Sabellidae) from Antarctica, with descriptions of the new species P. milae and P. borsibrunoi

Perkinsiana antarctica (Kinberg, 1867) and P. littoralis (Hartman, 1967) are redescribed from holo- and topotypes. Two new species, P. milae and P. borsibrunoi , are described from the Ross Sea (Antarctica) and compared with other species of the genus. Records of P. antarctica are numerous, but re-examination indicates that many of these represent misidentifications: the species may have a distribution limited to subantarctic areas.     

Use of partially engorged female ticks as laboratory animals in microbiological research

Abstract. Partially engorged female ticks were used as laboratory animals in microbiological research. The ticks, which were inoculated intracoelomally, became a convenient substrate for the detection of viruses, rickettsiae and protozoal parasites. This research concerned the isolation of newly recovered micro-organisms, the study of development, structure and distribution of microbial agents in ticks, and the study of their interaction with other pathogens or symbionts during mixed infection in a tick body. The isolation and maintenance of Rickettsiella phytoseiuli , the organism not of tick-borne origin, was achieved. For use in Central Europe the tick Dermacentor reticulatus is recommended for the above investigations.     

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PATELLA FERRUGINEA GMELIN, 1791 AND THE OTHER TYRRHENIAN SPECIES OF PATELLA (GASTROPODA: PATELLIDAE)

The external morphology of soft parts of the rare Patella ferrugineaGmelin, 1791 is described, and its relationships with P. caerulea,P. rustica and P. ulys-siponensis are investigated on both morphologicaland electrophoretic grounds. Soft part morphology is a gooddiscriminative tool, but of little help in detecting affinities.Electrophoretic data on 19 presumptive loci suggest that P.rustica is the closest species to P. ferruginea, whereas P.caerulea and P. ulyssiponensis are clustered separately. Meanobserved heterozyg-osities arc higher in P. ferruginea and P.rustica. It is concluded that in case of subdivision of thegenus Patella L., 1758, P. ferruginea and P. rustica shouldbe placed together in the subgenus Patellastra Mon-terosato,1884. (Received 6 January 1993; accepted 23 February 1993)     

Factors predicting drop‐out in community mental health centres

This study aimed to identify treatment, therapist and patient factors associated with dropping out of treatment in four outpatient mental health services. The experimental group comprised all 789 individuals who attended for the first time the mental health services during one year and dropped out of treatment in the same year or during the two following ones. The control group consisted of the same number of individuals, chosen at random from patients who, in the same year, attended for the first time the services and did not subsequently drop out of treatment. The overall drop-out rate was 33.2%. According to logistic regression analysis, the predictive factors of dropping out were: being treated in a particular centre, the involvement of more than one therapist in treatment, having no previous history of psychiatric disorders, being young and being male.