A biological assessment of Apophua simplicipes (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) as a parasitoid of the oblique banded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Apophua simplicipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) is a common parasitoid of the oblique banded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in organically managed apple orchards in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. The biological characteristics of a laboratory colony of A. simplicipes were studied. When held at 15 and 25°C and provided with honey water, individual females survived an average of 60.6±6.1 and 29.8±4.7 days, oviposited 196.7±50.7 and 326.6±51.3 eggs and parasitized a total of 163.4±40.4 and 229.4±35.8 hosts, respectively. Females oviposited into first through fourth instar oblique banded leafrollers, with significantly more parasitism occurring in the first two instars compared to the third and fourth instars. No parasitoid larvae survived past the first larval stage in parasitized fourth instar hosts. Apophua simplicipes did not parasitize larvae of three-lined leafroller, Pandemis limitata (Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) which is sympatric with oblique banded leafrollers in orchards in the southern interior of British Columbia. Female predation and host feeding from wounds on early instars of both leafroller species was observed under laboratory conditions. In addition, early instar hosts exited diet feeding sites in response to the probing activity of the ovipositing wasps. A similar escape reaction in the orchard may cause a leafroller larva to move away from its feeding site, making it more vulnerable to predation or movement off the tree. Apophua simplicipes larvae emerged from fifth and sixth instar hosts. Parasitized oblique banded leafroller hosts consumed significantly less meridic diet than unparasitized female larvae from fifth instar through to parasitoid emergence or leafroller pupation. Our laboratory results suggest that A. simplicipes may reduce field populations of oblique banded leafroller and decrease pest feeding damage.     

Phylogenetic relationships ofPelvetia andPelvetiopsis (Phaeophyceae) based on small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences

Nucleotide sequences of the small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA were determined forPelvetia babingtonii, P. canaliculate, Pelvetiopsis limitata, andAscophyllum nodosum in the family Fucaceae. A total of 1755 positions were aligned for the whole sequence. The positional differences in the primary structure among the taxa ranged from 16 to 30 nucleotide changes in pairwise comparisons. There was a minimum divergence betweenPs. limitata andP. babingtonii while a maximum betweenPs. limitata andP. canaliculata. The SSU rDNA trees showed that the genusPelvetia was not monophyletic and the genusPelvetiopsis was not closely related toPelvetia. Our results suggest that the taxonomic revision of the genusPelvetia as well as the family Fucaceae is needed based on detailed morphological observations.     

SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS IN TISSUE NITROGEN,PHOSPHORUS, AND N:P FOR FIVE MACROALGAL SPECIES COMMON TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST1

Variations in tissue nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were examined over a complete seasonal cycle for five macroalgae common in Oregon coastal water. Tissue N ranged from 2.0 to 5.5% dry weight (dry wt) in leafy macroalgae (Enteromorpha intestinalis (Linnaeus) Link. Ulva fenestrata Postels et Ruprecht, and Porphyra sp.) and from 0.9 to 2.6% drt wt in branched macroalgae (Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot and Pelvetiopsis limitata Setchell). Tissue P ranged from 0.32 to 0.86% dry wt in leafy macroalgae and from 0.27 to 0.50% dry wt in branched macroalgae, Ulva fenestrata, C. fragile, and P. limitata appeared to be N limited during part of the year based on tissue N levels. Variations in N:P showed a more distinct seasonal pattern than either tissue N and tissue P. All macroalgae examined appeared to be N limited at least part of the year based on N:P composition, and P limitation occurred for all macroalgae examined except C. fragile. Our results suggest that tissue N:P ratio for macroalgae may be a good index for evaluating in situ nutrient status.     

EVOLUTION OF THE FUCACEAE (PHAEOPHYCEAE) INFERRED FROM nrDNA-ITS

Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA were obtained from 16 species representing all six genera of Fucaceae ( Ascophyllum, Fucus, Hesperophycus, Pelvetia, Pelvetiopsis, and Xiphophora ) plus one outgroup ( Hormosira ). Parsimony analysis indicated that the family Fucaceae is monophyletic and that the northern hemisphere taxa are highly divergent from the only southern hemisphere genus, Xiphophora. The genus Pelvetia is not monophyletic because the European P. canaliculata is more closely related to Fucus, Hesperophycus, and Pelvetiopsis than to other Pelvetia species. We establish Silvetia, gen. nov. and transfer the 3 Pacific species of Pelvetia to the new genus. Fucus is monophyletic and not ancestral in the Fucaceae. The ITS sequences identified two strongly supported lineages within Fucus, one with F. serratus sister to the clade containing F. gardneri, F. distichus, and F. evanescens and a second including F. vesiculosus, F. spiralis, F. ceranoides, and F. virsoides. The ITS was not useful for resolving relationships within each of these clusters and between populations of F. vesiculosus. Within-individual variation in ITS sequences is high in Fucus, a derived genus, compared to Ascophyllum, a more ancestral genus. Mapping of the two characters that form the basis of Powell's model for speciation in the Fucaceae showed that 1) number of eggs per oogonium has not followed a gradual reduction and that 2) monoecy/dioecy has changed several times during evolution of this family.