The Fine Structure of Lankesterella garnhami

SYNOPSIS. Thin sections of Lankesterella garnhami were examined by electron microscope and the morphology of trophozoites and sporozoites is described. The envelope of the organism consists of a double membrane, which (in the presumed sporozoite) is broken at one point posteriorly by the microphyle. The anterior end possesses characteristic organelles, which include an open apical ring leading to a collar or conoid and to 30 peripheral fibrils, a paired organelle, and numerous "lankesterellonemes." Typical mitochondria and a Golgi apparatus are found in the cytoplasm and a nucleus of heterogeneous nature.     

Food Aversion Plus Odor Cue Protects Crop From Wild Mammals

Abstract: Wild mammals cause foraging damage to crops worldwide and nonlethal methods are required for controlling such damage. Many wildlife management situations demand protection of untreated foods. We tested learned food aversion plus an odor cue as a paradigm for protecting untreated model crop items from European badgers (Meles meles). Following conditioning with a combination of ziram and clove oil, badgers avoided untreated maize cobs in presence of a clove odor cue. A clove oil control did not condition badgers. This work has been an important step before proceeding to full-scale field trials for protecting growing crops on a wider scale. (JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 72(3):785–791; 2008)     

Phylogenetic Position of Amblyospora Hazard & Oldacre (Microspora: Amblyosporidae) Based on Small Subunit rRNA Data and Its Implication for the Evolution of the Microsporidia

ABSTRACT. Sequences of the small subunit rRNA genes of Amblyospora californica and an Amblyospora sp. from Culex salinarius were determined. These sequences were compared phylogenetically with 16 other microsporidia. The results suggest Amblyospora forms a sister taxon to the rest of the microsporidia examined. The basal position of Amblyospora is discussed with respect to the evolution of microsporidian life cycles. These sequences represent the longest microsporidian small subunit rRNA genes sequenced to date, 1,359 and 1,358 bp, respectively. Structural features and GC content (49% for both) are comparable to those of other microsporidia which have been sequenced.     

From chocolate mousse to acid drops: an introduction to FSG research

Research has always been one of the functions of the Field Studies Council. One facet of this is the great diversity of small projects which support educational courses at the Field Centres. There has also been the growth, from small beginnings in 1967, of the Oil Pollution Research Unit at Orielton. OPRU has operated internationally for many years and undertakes both basic research and contract work for industry and governments. A more recent development involving contract work is 'acid rain' monitoring. These industrial facets of FSC Research have useful educational spin-offs.     

The effects of unilateral antennectomy on the flight behaviour of male Heliothis virescens in a pheromone plume

Abstract .Unilaterally antennectomized Heliothis virescens (F.) males flying close to the central axis of a plume of sex pheromone display no significant differences in behaviour compared to sham-operated males in course angles, track angles, airspeed and groundspeed. This demonstrates that right/left antennal information is not necessary for normal orientation movements in response to pheromone, but rather that it is 'blended' within the moth's central nervous system before pheromone-mediated manoeuvres are made. However, some unilaterally antennectomized moths (36%) make repetitive, asymmetrical, saw-tooth-shaped tracks during pheromone-mediated upwind progress, whereas control moths never make such tracks. Unilaterally antennectomized moths made such tracks on the side of the plume contralateral to the missing antenna. We hypothesize that these occasional asymmetrical tracks in unilaterally ablated males are the result of reiterative asymmetrical pheromone stimulation of a higher probability on track legs going toward rather than away from the long axis of the plume on males with a single antenna remaining on the 'away from axis' side. Combined with a greater propensity for treated moths to lock onto the plume away from the central axis on one side rather than the other, repetitive successive asymmetrical track legs (resulting in a saw-tooth-shaped track) are commonly observed in these moths. Control moths do also make asymmetric successive track legs but they rarely are repeated and thus are not readily observed.