Biology and host preference of Selitrichodes neseri: A potential biological control agent of the Eucalyptus gall wasp,Leptocybe invasa

Selitrichodes neseri (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a parasitoid of the invasive gall-forming wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), which has caused serious damage to Eucalyptus plantations in many parts of the world. S. neseri is a recently discovered parasitoid considered to be a potentially important biological control agent of L. invasa. The aim of this study was to provide the first basic data on the biology of S. neseri, which is essential for its application in biological control. S. neseri was shown to be a biparental ectoparasitoid. Observation from dissected galls indicated that the parasitoid developed on late larvae, pupae and callow adults, although development did occur in a range of gall ages. Observed nominal parasitism in captivity ranged from 9.7% to 71.8%. Adult S. neseri specimens, fed with honey-water and galled Eucalyptus leaves, survived an average of 26 days at 26 °C. The average developmental time from oviposition to emergence was 19.3 days ± 0.2 days. There was no pre-oviposition period. A single female produced a maximum of thirty-nine offspring, with a maximum of ten per day. Dissection of the ovaries showed that twelve ovarioles were present. The sex ratio of S. neseri observed in this study was 1:3.43 males:females. Galls of native insects most closely related to L. invasa and to galls of similar morphology to L. invasa-induced galls, were not suitable for S. neseri oviposition. S. neseri showed considerable potential as a biological control agent of L. invasa due to its relatively short developmental time, long adult life span when supplemented with carbohydrates, ability to utilize a range of gall ages and the fact that it has a high level of host specificity.     

Satiation and the functional response: a test of a new model

Abstract. 1. A model of the functional response to prey density is derived to include the reduction in time available for search, T_s , resulting from predator satiation.
2. For larger prey items predator satiation occurs at each prey capture and T_s is reduced by the attack time and digestive pause of a series of attack cycles. For small prey items predator foraging is continuous at low densities with T_s reduced solely by attack time. At higher densities predator satiation occurs after the capture of several small prey items and T_s is reduced by the attack time and digestive pause of a series of foraging cycles.
3. A comparison of the predicted asymptotic level of prey capture using experimentally estimated parameter values, with the maximum consumption of aphids by larval and adult coccinellids provides a test of the satiation model.
4. The limitation of prey capture by predator satiation is discussed with reference to handling time and the success of coccinellids in biological control.     

Zeitaufwand für das Ernten und Verstecken von Kiefernsamen bei Dünnschn?bligen Tannenh?hern (Nucifraga caryocatactes macrorhynchos) im Fernen Osten Russlands

Zusammenfassung In einem Vorkommen des Dünnschnäbligen Tannenhähers an der Küste des Ochotskischen Meeres im Fernen Osten Sibiriens wurde das Ernten und Verstecken von Samen aus den Zapfen der Zwergzirbelkiefer (Pinus pumila) untersucht. Der Inhalt von durchschnittlich 2,8 Zapfen, das sind etwa 80 Samen, wurde in der gefüllten Kehltasche transportiert und auf eine Anzahl unter niedriger Zwergstrauchvegetation gelegener Bodenverstecke verteilt. Die Verstecke wurden in annähernd linearer Anordnung ohne Bevorzugung einer bestimmten Himmelsrichtung angelegt. Die Versteckserien enthielten im Median 79, maximal mehr als 120 Samen, das Einzelversteck durchschnittlich 19,6 Samen. Das Ernten und Leeren eines Zapfens geschah im Schnitt innerhalb von 47 s. Für das Verstecken einer Füllung des Kehlsacks benötigten die Vögel ca. 170 s. Für das gesamte Beschaffen und Verstecken eines einzelnen Kiefernsamens errechnet sich ein durchschnittlicher Zeitbedarf von 3,26 s. Nach 20 Tagen war der Zapfenvorrat in der lokalen Kiefernpopulation erschöpft. Jeder Häher hat nach den Hochrechnungen bis zu 100.000 Samen vergraben.

---

Harvesting and caching capacities of Thin-billed Nutcrackers in the Russian Far East

Summary At the Ochotskian sea coast Thin-billed Eurasian Nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes macrorhynchos) harvested seeds of ripe cones of the brush pinePinus pumila in late summer. The mean number of seeds carried in their sublingual pouch was 80, which respresents the harvestable contents of 2.8 cones. These were distributed in an average of 5 caches, exclusively in the soil under low tundra vegetation. Caches were organized in nearly straight lines. Series contained a mean of 82.7 seeds, single caches a mean of 19.6 seeds. Plucking one cone and harvesting its seeds took 47 seconds on average. The caching of a complete pouchful took on average 123.4 seconds. The time invested for harvesting and caching one single seed was calculated at 3.26 seconds. Within three weeks in July, an average individual bird was calculated to have cached a total of up to 100,000 seeds.

     

Chemical and physical methods in dating human skeletal remains

Chemical and physical methods for dating skeletal remains were examined. Benzidine reaction, ultra-violet fluorescence, specific gravity and supersonic conductivity were carried out on 71 dated skeletal findings distributed over the span of the last 3,500 years. Results given by benzidine reaction and ultra-violet fluorescence basically coincide, and positive readings were obtained up to about 200–350 years. Values measured in specific gravity and supersonic conductivity testing show a parallel trend, pointing out a clear difference between samples of the three first centuries and the ones belonging to more ancient periods examined.     

Mass Coral Reef Bleaching: A Recent Outcome of Increased El Niño Activity?

Coral reefs are generally considered to be the most biologically productive of all marine ecosystems, but in recent times these vulnerable aquatic resources have been subject to unusual degradation. The general decline in reefs has been greatly accelerated by mass bleaching in which corals whiten en masse and often fail to recover. Empirical evidence indicates a coral reef bleaching cycle in which major bleaching episodes are synchronized with El Niño events that occur every 3–4 years on average. By heating vast areas of the Pacific Ocean, and affecting the Indian and Atlantic Oceans as well, El Niño causes widespread damage to reefs largely because corals are very sensitive to temperature changes. However, mass bleaching events were rarely observed before the 1970s and their abrupt appearance two decades ago remains an enigma. Here we propose a new explanation for the sudden occurrence of mass bleaching and show that it may be a response to the relative increase in El Niño experienced over the last two decades.     

Size-scaling of zooplankton foraging in Arctic charr

Prey capture rate (number of prey s⁻¹) and the mode of feeding of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus were studied by performing foraging experiments with two sizes (1·1 and 1·8 mm) of Daphnia longispina prey. Arctic charr were particulate feeders at all densities tested. Adjusted for the effect of prey density, the capture rate showed a hump-shaped relationship with Arctic charr size for both sizes of D. longispina . Estimated attack rates ( a ) also tended to show a hump-shaped relationship with fish size. The estimated size-scaling exponent of the attack rate function, however, was relatively small, implying small changes in attack rate over fish sizes. Simultaneous estimations of a and handling time were used in combination with published data on fish metabolism and dry mass rations of prey to estimate maintenance resource density of prey as a function of Arctic charr mass. Maintenance resource densities increased monotonically with Arctic charr size, and rapidly as optimum fish size relative to attack rate on prey was passed.     

Sociality in the phylogenetically basal allodapine bee genus Macrogalea (Apidae: Xylocopinae): implications for social evolution in the tribe Allodapini

Recent phylogenetic studies based on DNA sequence data indicate that the tropical African bee genus Macrogalea is the sister group to the remaining extant allodapine fauna, whereas previously it was thought to be a distal group. This leads to some fundamental changes in our understanding of social evolution in the allodapines. Earlier studies suggested that Macrogalea showed only weak forms of social behaviour and these were not well characterized. However, large samples of Macrogalea zanzibarica presented here show that this species exhibits marked social behaviour. Nearly half of nests collected contained two or more adult females, with up to 10 females per nest. Brood are reared progressively and brood ages within colonies are staggered, giving rise to colonies with very mixed age structures and therefore frequent opportunities for alloparental care. Ovarian dissections indicate non‐simple forms of reproductive partitioning within colonies and most multi‐female colonies show evidence that more than one female has contributed to egg production, though reproductive episodes among colony members are frequently asynchronous. Some females show signs of much higher wing wear than their nestmates, but always show signs of previous reproduction. Reproductive division of labour appears to be temporally marked, ovarian differentiation among nestmates is linked to relative body size, but permanent worker‐like or queen‐like castes appear to be absent. This is similar to the communal, continuously brooded and multivoltine behaviour of some tropical halictine species and may be due to the aseasonal nature of brood development in tropical regions. Patterns of per capita brood production indicate large benefits to multi‐female nest occupancy, and sex allocation is strongly female biased. These findings strongly suggest that the capacity for complex social interactions and alloparental care is an ancestral trait for all of the extant allodapine lineages. Therefore comparisons among extant allodapines are unlikely to throw light on the initial origin of social behaviour, though they may uncover origins of true caste behaviour and reversals to solitary nesting. Sex ratios in Macrogalea and most other allodapine genera, spanning a broad phylogenetic and ecological range, suggest that one or more allodapine traits have provided persistent selection for female‐biased sex allocation.