Characterizing an invasion assemblage: first comparison of insect communities on native and introduced subspecies of Phragmites australis in Ontario,Canada

Biological Invasions - Introduced Phragmites (Phragmites australis ssp. australis) forms part of an invasion assemblage in North America that includes non-native insect herbivores and parasitoids,...     

Control of Echinothrips americanus on lima bean by Franklinothrips vespiformis crawford using supplemental food

BioControl - Supplemental food application to crops as a resource for generalist predators has shown utility for promoting their establishment and persistence leading to enhanced biological control...     

Transient persistence of bobcat (Lynx rufus) occurrence throughout a human-dominated landscape

Human developments have detrimental effects on wildlife populations globally with carnivores being particularly sensitive. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is often considered an adaptable mesocarnivore that occurs throughout varied landcover types within its wide distribution and may be less susceptible to the negative effects of development. Our objectives were to investigate the landscape occupancy dynamics of bobcats in a highly developed and densely populated region of the northeastern United States to evaluate the sensitivity of bobcat occurrence to natural and anthropogenic landscape features. We established a large-scale camera trapping survey throughout Rhode Island, USA, sampling from 2018 to 2020. Using dynamic occupancy models, we found initial site occupancy was positively influenced by the amount of forested wetland habitat, while increasing road density and shrub cover negatively influenced the probability of site colonization. Surprisingly, we found no hypothesized variables to influence site-level extirpation probability, or any seasonal effects on dynamic parameters. Lastly, we found that forest cover and road density negatively influenced the probability of detection. The probability of occupancy was high, >0.8, throughout much of the study area (49%), but we also found relatively high site transients, with the probability a site would change occurrence status from season to season at ≈0.27 in the majority of the study area (70%). Our results show that although bobcats can persist in human-dominated landscapes, they require contiguous natural areas to do so. Future expansion of road infrastructure may reduce habitat connectivity and increase road mortalities, thus jeopardizing the population.     

In vitro plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis in Anaphyllum wightii Schott

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant - Anaphyllum wightii Schott. is an ethnomedicinally significant plant endemic to the southern region of Western Ghats. The present study aimed...     

Phylogeography of the White-Toothed Shrews Crocidura suaveolens and Crocidura sibirica: Searching for the Geographical Homeland

Biology Bulletin - We studied the polymorphism of the cytb gene in two forms of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew species complex: Crocidura suaveolens s. stricto and C. sibirica. The haplotypes of C....     

Ethological Features of the Ontogenesis of the Locomotor System in Bony Fish (by the Example of the Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum)

Biology Bulletin - The features of the structural adaptive changes in the somatic muscles of rainbow trout are presented at various stages of early post-hatching ontogenesis. The development of the...     

First Data on Vibration Signals in Flies of the Genus Meromyza (Diptera,Chloropidae)

Biology Bulletin - This paper discusses vibration communication in representatives of the genus Meromyza. The frequency range of vibration signals of Meromyza saltatrix (L., 1761) females is 229 to...     

Modified Kadomtsev–Petviashvili Equation for Description of Nonlinear Perturbations in Plasma of Dusty Lunar Exosphere

Plasma Physics Reports - Abstract—Modified Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation describing nonlinear dynamics of nearly one-dimensional wave structures in dusty plasma above illuminated part...     

Identification of SOCS5 Gene in the Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) and Expression Profiles in Response to Citrobacter freundii Challenge

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - The full-length cDNA sequences of suppressor of cytokine signaling 5 (SOCS5) from Andrias davidianus gene, named as adSOCS5, was cloned and characterized...     

Punch in the gut: parasite tolerance of phytochemicals reflects host diet

Gut parasites of plant-eating insects are exposed to antimicrobial phytochemicals that can reduce infection. Trypanosomatid gut parasites infect insects of diverse nutritional ecologies as well as mammals and plants, raising the question of how host diet-associated phytochemicals shape parasite evolution and host specificity. To test the hypothesis that phytochemical tolerance of trypanosomatids reflects the chemical ecology of their hosts, we compared related parasites from honey bees and mosquitoes – hosts that differ in phytochemical consumption – and contrasted our results with previous studies on phylogenetically related, human-parasitic Leishmania. We identified one bacterial and 10 plant-derived substances with known antileishmanial activity that also inhibited honey bee parasites associated with colony collapse. Bee parasites exhibited greater tolerance of chrysin – a flavonoid found in nectar, pollen and plant resin-derived propolis. In contrast, mosquito parasites were more tolerant of cinnamic acid – a product of lignin decomposition present in woody debris-rich larval habitats. Parasites from both hosts tolerated many compounds that inhibit Leishmania, hinting at possible trade-offs between phytochemical tolerance and mammalian infection. Our results implicate the phytochemistry of host diets as a potential driver of insect–trypanosomatid associations and identify compounds that could be incorporated into colony diets or floral landscapes to ameliorate infection in bees.