Effects of predatory risk and resource renewal on the timing of foraging activity in a gerbil community

The foraging decisions of animals are often influenced by risk of predation and by the renewal of resources. For example, seed-eating gerbils on sand dunes in the Negev Desert of Israel prefer to forage in the bush microhabitat and during darker hours due to risk of predation. Also, daily renewal of seed resource patches and timing of nightly foraging activity in a depleting environment play important roles in species coexistence. We examined how these factors influence the timing of gerbil foraging by quantifying foraging activity in seed resource patches that we experimentally renewed hourly during the night. As in previous work, gerbils showed strong preference for the safe bush microhabitat and foraged less in response to high levels of illumination from natural moon light and from artificial sources. We demonstrate here for the first time that gerbils also responded to temporal and spatial heterogeneity in predatory risk through their timing of activity over the course of each night. Typically, gerbils concentrated their activity early in the night, but this changed with moon phase and in response to added illumination. These results can be understood in terms of the nature of patch exploitation by gerbils and the role played by the marginal value of energy in determining the cost of predation. They further show the dynamic nature of gerbil foraging decisions, with animals altering foraging efforts in response to time, microhabital, moon phase, illumination, and resource availability.     

Gain control in a proprioceptive feedback loop as a prerequisite for working close to instability

In the artificially closed femur-tibia control system of stick insects oscillations were induced in 3 different ways: Increasing the phase-shift by introducing an electronic delay, afference sign reversal and coupling the tibia to an inert mass. In all 3 cases the oscillations stopped after some time. The gain of the open-loop system was significantly smaller after the oscillations. Afference sign reversal by surgically crossing of the receptor apodeme of the femoral chordotonal organ for 25–85 days does not lead to altered characteristics of the control loop. When sinusoidal passive movements are forced upon the intact femur-tibia joint the forces resisting these movements do not decrease with time. In contrast to direct stimulation of the femoral chordotonal organ, these passive movements also influence the contralateral leg. The experiments show that the gain-control system of the femur-tibia control loop of stick insects consists of at least two components: A sensitization system (with inputs from many kinds of stimuli indicating some kind of disturbance) increases the gain of all reflex loops. A specific habituation-like system decreases the gain with repetitive stimulation only of one control system.Abbreviations fCO femoral chordotonal organ - SETi slow extensor tibiae motor neuron     

樟脊网蝽生物学特性观察

樟脊网蝽是香樟的重要害虫,在上海1年发生4代。4月下旬越冬卵始孵,9月下旬开始出现越冬卵。成虫末见期在11月中旬。经室内饲养,樟脊网蝽第三代各龄若虫历期为：一龄61．45±7．8h,二龄48．00±7．6h,三龄43．43±7．6h,四龄51．00±8．0h,五龄70．50±7．5h,整个若虫期历期为281．92±14．8h。第三代野外雌雄比为1：4．07。第三代每雌产2～96粒。日最高产卵量为34粒／头,孤雌可产卵。10％灭百可2000倍稀释液和50％杀螟松2000倍稀释液喷雾防治效果可达93％以上。     

Inhibition of cuticular lipid synthesis and its effect on insect survival

A new approach to insect control—using sodium trichloroacetate (NaTCA) to inhibit synthesis of the hydrophobic cuticular lipids that protect insects from dehydration—was tested on Triatoma infestans. In vivo and in vitro studies of incorporation of radioactive precursors showed diminished cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis after NaTCA treatment. Thin layer chromatography and scanning electron microscopy showed disruption of the cuticular lipid layer of NaTCA-treated insects, which also have increased mortality and altered molting cycles. NaTCA treatment enhanced the penetration and increased the lethality of a contact insecticide. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Hydrocarbon biosynthesis in Triatoma infestans eggs

Triatoma infestans eggs are shown to synthesize hydrocarbons. Radio-gas chromatography was used to demonstrate metabolism of [1-¹⁴C]propionate into precursor methyl-branched fatty acids and into methyl-branched hydrocarbons in T. infestans eggs. These reactions have not been demonstrated previously in insect eggs. An in vivo study showed that hydrocarbons are also transported to eggs by the hemolymph. Inhibition of hydrocarbon synthesis by sodium trichloroacetate (NaTCA) was correlated with reduced oviposition, reduced hatchability, and reduced insect survival. Scanning electron microscopy showed impoverishment of the eggs' epicuticular waxes following NaTCA treatment. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The structure of feeding behavior in the colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Feeding behavior, in an ad libitum situation on potato plants in the laboratory, was continuously observed for approximately 7 h/day on 2 successive days for 18 adult femaleLeptinotarsa decemlineata. Additional behaviors were also recorded including resting, walking, biting, local movements, grooming, defecating, and regurgitating. These data were used to calculate a time budget for the various behaviors. The feeding data were analyzed to describe the structure of feeding for young adult females on their normal host plant. The criterion for a meal (minimum intermeal interval) was determined to be 286 s. This criterion was used to distinguish between intra- and intermeal interruptions in feeding for all subsequent analyses. Meals taken from leaves that were young, medium aged, or old did not differ, but on average beetles took 60% of their meals from young leaves. Meal size and meal duration were equally good predictors of when a meal would end. Feeding from stems was a prominent feature for most beetles. The stem meals had much longer durations than leaf meals, but stem feeding did not affect subsequent leaf feeding. The structure of feeding by these beetles is compared with that found in other insects, especiallyLocusta migratoria.     

Flash behavior of femalePhoturis versicolor fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) in simulated courtship and predatory dialogues

FemalePhoturis versicolor fireflies attempt to capture males by responding to heterospecific flash patterns. A mating-dependent switch occurs which affects response timing and frequency of female flashes. We examined the switch using females of known age, mating status, and flash experience to assess how accurate mimicry is, what factors influence it, and what mechanism produces it. Presentations of simulated male flash patterns before and after mating revealed elements of an entrainment mechanism controlling female responsiveness. Unmated females preferentially answered conspecific patterns with variable latencies, averaging 1 s. Mating induced changes in both response frequency and response latency: Females answered heterospecific patterns more frequently, and latencies elicited by conspecific patterns shifted away from the unmated range. Heterogeneity in mean and variance of response latency among individuals indicates that females do not share a discrete reply to a given pattern. Little correspondence exists between latencies of sympatric species andP. versicolor females, suggesting that the flash response mechanism produces entriainment to any rhythmic pattern, not a one-to-one matching between prey and predator latencies. Different selective scenarios underlie strict mimicry versus entrainment mimicry.     

Evaluation of monitoring approaches and effects of culture conditions on recombinant protein production in baculovirus-infected insect cells

The baculovirus infection process ofSpodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells in oxygen-controlled bioreactors in serum-free medium was investigated using a recombinantAutographa californica (AcNPV) virus expressing -galactosidase enzyme as a model system. A variety of monitoring techniques including trypan blue exclusion, fluorescent dye staining, oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements, and glucose consumption were applied to infected cells to determine the best way of evaluating cell integrity and assessing the course of baculovirus infection. The metabolism of newly-infected cells increased 90% during the first 24 hours, but as infection proceeded, and cells gradually succumbed to the baculovirus infection, the cytopathic effect of the baculovirus on the cells became evident. Oxygen and glucose uptake rate measurements appeared to more accurately assess the condition of infected cells than conventional trypan blue staining, which tended to overestimate cell viability in the mid stages of infection. The optimal harvest time varied, depending on which technique — SDS-PAGE, chromogenic (ONPG) or fluorometric (C₁₂FDG) — was used to monitor -galactosidase production. Specific -galactosidase production was found to be insensitive to a wide range of culture dissolved oxygen tensions, whereas resuspending cells in fresh medium prior to infection increased volumetric productivity approximately two-fold (800,000 units -galactosidase/ml) compared to cultures infected in batch mode and allowed successful infections to occur at higher cell densities.Abbreviations ONPG ortho-phenyl 2--D-galactopyranoside - OUR oxygen uptake rate (-mol O₂/liter/hour) - q_glucose specific glucose uptake rate (mg glucose/10⁶cell/hour) - q_glutamine specific glutamine uptake rate (mg glutamine/10⁶cell/hour) - qO₂ specific oxygen uptake rate (-mol O₂/10⁶cell/hour) - MOI virus multiplicity of infection (viral plaque forming units/cell)     

Maximization of recombinant protein yield in the insect cell/baculovirus system by one-time addition of nutrients to high-density batch cultures

Suspension cultures of Sf-9 cells at different stages of growth were infected with a recombinant baculovirus expressing -galactosidase, using a range of multiplicities of infection (MOI) of 0.05 to 50. Following infection, the cells were resuspended either in the medium in which they had been grown or in fresh medium. Specific -galactosidase yields were not markedly affected by either MOI or medium change in cultures infected in early exponential phase (3×10⁶ cells mL^–1). In cultures infected at later growth stages, -galactosidase yields could only be maintained by medium replacement. The possibility that this requirement for medium replacement is due either to the accumulation of an inhibitory byproduct or nutrient limitation was examined. Alanine, a major byproduct of cultured insect cell metabolism, did not significantly reduce recombinant protein yield when added to infected cultures in concentrations of up to 40 mM. Following a factorial design, various nutrient concentrates were added alone or in combination to cultures infected in late exponential phase. Additions that included both yeastolate ultrafiltrate and an amino acid mixture restored specific -galactosidase yields to levels observed at earlier growth stages or in late stages with medium replacement; the addition of these concentrates, by permitting production at higher cell density, led to increases in the volumetric yield of recombinant protein. Together or separately, the concentrates when added to uninfected late exponential phase cultures, lead to a doubling of the maximum total cell protein level normally supported by unamended medium.     

Effects of kangaroo rat exclusion on vegetation structure and plant species diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert

Long-term (1977–90) experimental exclusion of three species of kangaroo rats from study plots in the Chihuahuan Desert resulted in significant increases in abundance of a tall annual grass (Aristida adscensionis) and a perennial bunch grass (Eragrostis lehmanniana). This change in the vegetative cover affected use of these plots by several other rodent species and by foraging birds. The mechanism producing this change probably involves a combination of decreased soil disturbance and reduced predation on large-sized seeds when kangaroo rats are absent. Species diversity of summer annual dicots was greater on plots where kangaroo rats were present, as predicted by keystone predator models. However, it is not clear whether this was caused directly by activities of the kangaroo rats or indirectly as a consequence of the increase in grass cover. No experimental effect on species diversity of winter annual dicots was detected. Our study site was located in a natural transition between desert scrub and grassland, where abiotic conditions and the effects of organisms may be particularly influential in determining the structure and composition of vegetation. Under these conditions kangaroo rats have a dramatic effect on plant cover and species composition.