Effect of different diets on reproduction,longevity and predation capacity of Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae)

Orius insidiosus is a generalist predator for which diet influences important biological traits like reproduction and predation. We tested the effects of different diets alone or in combination on reproduction, longevity and predation capacity of this predator. The diets tested were: no food (control); pollen; Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) nymphs and adults; F. occidentalis nymphs and adults and pollen; Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller) eggs; A. kuehniella eggs and pollen; A. kuehniella eggs; F. occidentalis nymphs and adults and A. kuehniella eggs, F. occidentalis nymphs and adults and pollen. The pre-oviposition period was shortest when the diet consisted of pollen and prey (A. kuehniella and/or F. occidentalis), of the two prey species together or of only A. kuehniella eggs. The highest values for the length of the oviposition period (50.1, 48.0, 46.3 and 46.1 days), daily fecundity (3.8, 3.9, 4.0 and 4.2 eggs/female/day), total fecundity (190.3, 187.7 185.2 and 193.6 eggs/female) and longevity (52.1, 49.9, 48.7 and 48.0 days) were found with diets consisting of only A. kuehniella eggs. Pollen did not improve any of the performance parameters of the predator when offered exclusively or as a complementary food. The results show that selection of a proper diet can strongly improve reproduction, longevity and predation capacity of O. insidiosus. An important finding is that A. kuehniella eggs, which can easily be produced in large quantities, are an excellent factitious prey for mass production of O. insidiosus.     

云南西花蓟马rDNA-ITS2遗传多态性及其种群扩张

应用rDNA-ITS2基因序列对云南各地理种群西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis(Pergande)的遗传结构和遗传分化程度进行初步研究。经过比对112条序列,共发现了59个变异位点,定义了30种单倍型。云南省西花蓟马的单倍型多态性较高(Hd=0.90219),而核酸多态性较低(Pi=0.00891)。各地理种群西花蓟马的遗传分化指数Fst为0.00810,基因流Nm为30.61,表明各地理种群间遗传分化程度非常低,种群间存在充分的基因交流。对群体进行中性检验、错配分析表明西花蓟马群体曾经历过近期的种群扩张。分子方差分析(AMOVA)表明,云南西花蓟马的遗传变异主要来自于种群内部,种群间的遗传变异水平还非常低。从分子生物学的角度上也证实了西花蓟马近期入侵云南的事实。     

外来入侵害虫西花蓟马防控技术研究与示范

针对入侵害虫西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis(Pergande)在我国部分地区暴发成灾的形势,公益性行业科研专项"外来入侵害虫西花蓟马防控技术研究与示范"项目组在除西藏、台湾、香港和澳门以外的30个省、区和直辖市开展了西花蓟马的调查、监测、预警和综合防控技术研究与示范。结果表明西花蓟马在北京、云南、浙江、山东等14个省市发生危害,尤以云南和北京两地最为严重,在全国呈快速蔓延趋势。明确了西花蓟马在我国的成灾机制;建立了西花蓟马高效诱捕技术;筛选出4种对西花蓟马具有显著控害潜力的本土天敌昆虫及病原微生物;筛选出5种对西花蓟马高效、对环境友好的防治药剂;明确西花蓟马重要发生区域北京和云南种群对主要化学药剂的抗性和机制;分别组建了基于农业措施防治、色板与引诱剂应用的引诱技术、生物防治和高效环保化学农药综合应用的10套西花蓟马防控技术体系,在我国北京、云南、山东和浙江等西花蓟马主要发生区域累计推广面积2.65万公顷,有效控制了西花蓟马的为害和扩散蔓延。     

Effects of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) control on ecosystem nitrogen stocks in central Oregon,USA

控制西美圆柏数量对美国俄勒冈州中部生态系统氮储量的影响 在美国俄勒冈州,控制西美圆柏(Juniperus occidentalis)的数量是一种公认的牧场管理措施,该做法 有助于恢复蒿草草原(sagebrush steppe)生境,该生境对野生动物和家畜都十分重要。然而,尽管控制木本 植物数量会对当地的流域管理和区域性氮库造成重要影响,但砍伐西美圆柏对生态系统中氮元素的影响问题尚未得到很好的解决。本文定量研究了两个相邻流域生态系统中的氮储量,其中一个流域经过处理(流域内的大部分圆柏已被清除掉),而另一个流域未处理(圆柏未被清除)。在圆柏被移除13年后,我们测定了两个流域里圆柏树林、灌木丛、草丛和枯枝落叶层的地上氮储量,以及两个流域中两个土层(0–25和25–50 cm)内的地下氮储量(根系和土壤氮储量)。研究结果表明,未处理流域的地上氮储量是处理流域 的6.9倍,因为未处理流域的地上生物量要大得多。然而,由于砍伐圆柏导致林下植被的根系生物量增加,所以处理流域的根系氮储量是未处理流域的3.1倍。0–25和25–50 cm土层氮储量没有受到圆柏砍伐的影响。总体而言,生态系统总氮储量在处理流域(9536 kg N ha⁻¹)和未处理流域(9456 kg N ha⁻¹)之间并没有显著差异。在两个流域里,生态系统中最大的氮积累量(至少95%的生态系统总氮量)均存在于地下(0–25 cm深的土壤以及根系)。这项研究证明,清除圆柏并不会显著影响生态系统的储氮能力。     

Linné's floral clock is slow without pollinators--flower closure and plant-pollinator interaction webs

Temporal patterns of flower opening and closure within a day are known as Linné's floral clock. Time of flower closure has been explained mainly by light in the traditional botanical literature. We show with a set of experiments that Asteraceae flower heads can close within three hours after pollination, whereas un-pollinated flower heads stay open until the late afternoon. This suggests that closing time strongly depends on pollinators. Using plant-pollinator interaction webs we further demonstrate that the daily pattern of flower opening and the rapid response to pollination can impose strong temporal dynamics on interspecific interactions within a single day. We observed pollinator species turnover and changes in facilitation vs. competition among plants. Our results show for the first time that pollination induces rapid flower closure on the community level. This causes imprecision in Linné's floral clock with far-reaching consequences for plant-pollinator interactions.     

Using bioacoustics to enhance the efficiency of spotted owl surveys and facilitate forest restoration

The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is an older-forest associated species that resides at the center of forest management planning in the Sierra Nevada and Southern California, USA, which are experiencing increasingly large and severe wildfires and drought-related tree mortality. We leveraged advances in passive acoustic survey technologies to develop an acoustically assisted survey design that could increase the efficiency and effectiveness of project-level surveys for spotted owls, allowing surveys to be completed in a single year instead of in multiple years. We deployed an array of autonomous recording units (ARUs) across a landscape and identified spotted owl vocalizations in the resulting audio using BirdNET. We then evaluated spatio-temporal patterns in spotted owl vocalizations near occupied territories and the ability of a crew naïve to the location of occupied territories to locate spotted owls based on patterns of acoustic detections. After only 3 weeks of acoustic surveys, ≥1 ARU within 750 m of all 17 occupied territories obtained spotted owl detections across ≥2 nights. When active surveys using broadcast calling were conducted near ARUs with spotted owl detections by surveyors naïve to territory occupancy status and locations, surveyors located owls in 93% to 100% of occupied territories with ≤3 surveys. To further improve the efficiency of spotted owl surveys, we developed a statistical model to identify and prioritize areas across the Sierra Nevada for different survey methods (active only, acoustically assisted, no surveys) based on the expected probability of occupancy predicted from remotely sensed measurements of tree height and historical occupancy. Depending on managers' tolerance for false negatives, this model could help identify large areas that might not benefit from surveys based on low expected occupancy probabilities and areas where acoustically assisted surveys might enhance survey effectiveness and efficiency. Collectively, these findings can help managers streamline the survey process and thus increase the pace of forest restoration while minimizing potential near-term adverse effects on California spotted owls.     

Potential of a strain of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) as a biological control agent against western flower thrips,Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Five Beauveria bassiana strains were evaluated for control of western flower thrips. Strain RSB was the most virulent, causing 69–96% mortality at concentrations of 1×10⁴–1×10⁷ conidia mL^?1, 10 days after inoculation of first instars. In greenhouse trials, RSB applied to broccoli foliage significantly reduced adult and larval populations.     

Climate change and spotted owls: potentially contrasting responses in the Southwestern United States

Developing strategies that reduce the impacts of climate change on biodiversity will require projections of the future status of species under alternative climate change scenarios. Demographic models based on empirical data that link temporal variation in climate with vital rates can improve the accuracy of such predictions and help guide conservation efforts. Here, we characterized how population dynamics and extinction risk might be affected by climate change for three spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) populations in the Southwestern United States over the next century. Specifically, we used stochastic, stage‐based matrix models parameterized with vital rates linked to annual variation in temperature and precipitation to project owl populations forward in time under three IPCC emissions scenarios relative to contemporary climate. Owl populations in Arizona and New Mexico were predicted to decline rapidly over the next century and had a much greater probability of extinction under all three emissions scenarios than under current climate conditions. In contrast, owl population dynamics in Southern California were relatively insensitive to predicted changes in climate, and extinction risk was low for this population under all scenarios. The difference in predicted climate change impacts between these areas was due to negative associations between warm, dry conditions and owl vital rates in Arizona and New Mexico, whereas cold, wet springs reduced reproduction in Southern California. Predicted changes in population growth rates were mediated more by weather‐induced changes in fecundity than survival, and were generally more sensitive to increases in temperature than declines in precipitation. Our results indicate that spotted owls in arid environments may be highly vulnerable to climate change, even in core parts of the owl's range. More broadly, contrasting responses to climate change among populations highlight the need to tailor conservation strategies regionally, and modeling efforts such as ours can help prioritize the allocation of resources in this regard.