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A survey of egg-parasitoid species associated with Dendrolimus houi (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae) in Fujian, China
No full textDendrolimus houi Lajonquiere is a polyphagous defoliator with strong adaptability causing significant damage to hundreds of hectares of pine forest. The larvae primarily damage coniferous tree species. Given that the average female fecundity exceeds 300 eggs, population suppression prior to larval eclosion is critical to prevent massive infestations and minimize losses. The use of egg-parasitoids represents a biologically optimal control strategy, as they effectively attack non-migratory eggs and egg masses while avoiding the drawbacks of chemical pesticides, such as resistance, residue, and pest resurgence. Therefore, systematic field investigations are needed to identify and collect native dominant parasitoids of D. houi for subsequent mass rearing and release.This study reports eight parasitoid wasp species emerging from D. houi eggs: Eupelmidae: Mesocomys albitarsis (Ashmead), Mesocomys trabalae (Yao et Yang), Anastatus (Anastatus) gastropachae Ashmead, Anastatus (Anastatus) dexingensis Sheng et Wang, Anastatus (Anastatus) fulloi Sheng et Wang, Anastatus (Anastatus) huangi Sheng et Yu; Scelionidae: Telenomus dendrolimi (Matsumura); and Trichogrammatidae: Trichogramma chilonis Ishii. Among these, five species—A. gastropachae, A. huangi, A. dexingensis, A. fulloi, and T. chilonis—are newly recorded as parasitoids of D. houi in Fujian Province, China. We compared key biological characteristics, including parasitism rate, longevity, offspring quantity, and sex ratio, across all eight species. Based on this analysis, T. dendrolimiwas identified as the dominant egg-parasitoid.This study fills a critical gap in the systematic investigation of D. houi egg-parasitoids in Fujian, China. Our findings provide a scientific basis for the mass rearing and field release of these parasitoids, thereby supporting the biological control of D. houi in Chinese forests
Monitoring Natura 2000 habitats to support Opuntia stricta containment on Capraia Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy)
No full textInvasive alien species are a major threat to biodiversity, prompting management actions. Here, we present the first two years of monitoring Natura 2000 habitats on Capraia Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy), in relation to control measures for the invasive plant Opuntia stricta, within the LIFE TETIDE project (Turning Eradication Targets into Durable Effects). We randomly sampled 25 permanent 100 m² macroplots in the areas most affected by Opuntia stricta, recording the vegetation macrocategory and cover values of Opuntia stricta and Natura 2000 habitats. Within each macroplot, we surveyed two 4 m² subplots for compositional analyses. We used Linear Mixed-Effects Models to assess temporal and vegetation effects on Opuntia stricta and habitat cover; multivariate ordination and PERMANOVA to evaluate community composition, with environmental variables linked to the ordination; and Wilcoxon tests to validate habitat classification accuracy using species of the reference physiognomic combination according to the Italian Habitats Interpretation Manual. Our results indicate spatial heterogeneity in Opuntia stricta distribution, with a slight increase in coastal habitats. We recorded an ecological preference for coastal vegetation and low maquis, particularly on habitats 1240 “Vegetated sea cliffs of the Mediterranean coasts with endemic Limonium spp.”, 5320 “Low formations of Euphorbia close to cliffs”, and 5330 “Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desert scrub”. We recorded a substantial representation of reference species across all habitats, except for 8220 “Siliceous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation”, which requires further investigation. Data collected provide a useful pre-intervention snapshot of Capraia’s habitats, pivotal for the full evaluation of the impacts of the project actions
Treating severe junctional epidermolysis bullosa with artesunate
No full textTreating severe junctional epidermolysis bullosa with artesunat
Taxonomy of the genus Elasmopus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in Japan and South Korea, with description of a new species
No full textTo advance the limited understanding of the East Asian Elasmopus fauna, field surveys were conducted in Japan and South Korea. In the present study, a new species, E. lumbiniger sp. nov., is described. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by a strongly projected posteroventral corner of the epimeral plate 3, long slender setae on the anterodistal corner of the male gnathopod 2 carpus, a mid-palmar ridge on the male gnathopod 2 propodus, and a smooth posterior margin on the basis of pereopods 5–7. In addition, E. koreanus is recorded in Japan for the first time, and the known distribution range of E. mukuinu has been significantly extended. The nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) of these species were determined, and the genetic distances among Elasmopus species were provided. A key to the species of Elasmopus found in East Asia is also provided
Environmental impacts of agricultural pest insects: five case studies reveal overlooked impact mechanisms and specify knowledge gaps
No full textInvasive species can cause environmental impacts through various mechanisms. Assessing their impact can inform management decisions and illuminate risks to non-invaded areas. Research on the environmental impacts of invasive insects is heavily focused on a few well-known examples, with agricultural pests in particular receiving little attention. We aimed to investigate whether evidence for environmental impacts of insect pests of agriculture may be overlooked. We conducted in-depth literature reviews of three globally relevant insect agricultural pests–Halyomorpha halys, Helicoverpa armigera, and Spodoptera frugiperda. For comparison, we reviewed two forest pathogens known for their environmental impacts–Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and Phytophthora ramorum. We identified many published articles containing evidence of environmental impacts among the three insect agricultural pests that were not captured by existing reviews on invasive insects, with some demonstrating high levels of impact severity. Crucially, a preponderance of the identified articles did not directly address the findings in relation to environmental impacts. As expected, we recorded more conspicuous examples of environmental impacts among the case-study forest pathogens, though we also identified underappreciated impact mechanisms. We further provide evidence that supports the importance of considering management interventions as a key mechanism of non-target environmental impacts. This review raises awareness about the underreported environmental impacts of agricultural insect pests and specifies knowledge gaps that should guide future research
find.software: Foundations for Interdisciplinary Discovery of (Research) Software
No full textAcross essentially all fields of research, many aspects of the respective research processes – whether experimental, theoretical, empirical or outright computational – are closely related to software. Yet the process of finding software that is directly suitable or at least a good starting point for a given research task is cumbersome.This project aims to develop a community-driven system that provides potential users of research software with a diversity of pathways towards actually finding software that closely matches their research needs if such software exists. Conversely, it will provide software developers with mechanisms to make their software findable for research-related tasks and it will highlight mismatches between software supply and demand for specific tasks.To this end, we will document how various stakeholders of the research landscape have been searching for – or stumbling upon – research software so far, identify variables associated with successful search outcomes and build workflows that assist in describing software and associated concepts in a standardised fashion. These descriptions will then be aligned across various sources of relevant information and integrated into Wikidata, the knowledge graph that anyone can edit and that already contains considerable breadth and depth of information related to research, software and their interactions.While keeping an eye on similar approaches to software discovery that might work in parts of the research ecosystem, existing Wikidata content and workflows will be reviewed and built upon. Additional documentation, tooling and workflows will be developed to enrich, expand, curate, query and explore this content, both for specific use cases and with ongoing engagement of the communities involved in research software, open data or collaborative curation. Within its three years, the project seeks to establish a dedicated community overseeing a well-documented and smoothly running infrastructure for software discovery and to devise a plan for how this can be sustained for the longer term
Seasonal distribution of Scarabs (Insecta, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) of a tropical dry deciduous forest in central India
No full textDespite the ecological importance of scarabs (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), their seasonal dynamics in central Indian tropical dry deciduous forests remain poorly documented. A study of seasonal distribution of scarabs in Bor forest, a tropical dry deciduous forest of central India, led to a collection of 72 species belonging to 35 genera under subfamilies, Aphodiinae, Cetoniinae, Dynastinae, Melolonthinae, Rutelinae, Scarabaeinae and Orphninae. Subfamily Scarabaeinae is found to be the most species-rich with 36 species under 14 genera. Genus Onthophagus is the most speciose genus with 15 species. Subfamily Orphninae was found to be the least diverse with a single species. Season and weather parameters shaped the scarab beetle assemblages in the tropical dry deciduous Bor forest. Scarab species richness is found to be positively and significantly related to the mean temperature (β = 0.03 ± 0.01 SE, p < 0.05) and to the mean precipitation (β = 0.03 ± 0.01 SE, p < 0.05). Constrained by logistics, we could not identify optimum temperature or precipitation values on which the scarab species richness can be highest for both the fitter models. Our results implicate further need of assessing the seasonal distribution of endemic, native and non-native scarabs. Study of which is important in the Anthropocene due to habitat loss and species extinctions owing to unprecedented land use change and forest fragmentation in the tropics
Disarthricerus dulcissimus sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae): a precious dwarf from the north
No full textThe rare and enigmatic ant-like litter beetle genus Disarthricerus Raffray, 1895 (Pselaphinae, Clavigeritae, Disarthricerini) comprises three species distributed across the southern Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo. Herein, a fourth member, D. dulcissimus sp. nov., is described from Yunnan, southwest China, which extends the known range of the genus northward by more than 2,100 kilometers. Scanning electron micrographs of the cephalic structures and illustrations of the aedeagus for the type species, D. integer Raffray, 1895, are provided for the first time. To facilitate future studies, a summary of existing knowledge of Disarthricerus and a key for the identification of all four species are also presented
Taxonomy of Homoeusa Kraatz, 1856 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from the East Palearctic: II. Revision of Japanese species
No full textMembers of the myrmecophilous rove beetle genus Homoeusa Kraatz, 1856 are symbiotically associated with ants of the genus Lasius Fabricius, 1804 with a high degree of host specificity, making them biologically intriguing subjects for studying myrmecophily and host–parasite interactions. Their identification, however, remains challenging. Diagnostic characteristics, particularly the genitalia, have not been well documented for the three previously described species of the genus from Japan, and the presence of undescribed species has been suggested. In this study, we revise the taxonomy of Japanese Homoeusa, providing detailed descriptions and illustrations of seven species, including three new species: Homoeusa translucida sp. nov., Homoeusa brevitarsis sp. nov., and Homoeusa gigantea sp. nov. Additionally, we present ecological information for each species and discuss their interactions with their host ants
Local perspectives on development conflicts in a mountainous socio-ecological system: A Q methodology study
No full textThis study suggests an understanding, based on the local perspectives, of the underlying reasons why the municipality of Velingrad, a mountainous region with abundant natural resources and promising tourism sector does not retain its population and harness its endogenous potential to develop sustainably. Q methodology is employed to better comprehend how people collectively perceive certain problems and their solutions. The results lead us to three well-defined perspectives that highlight high-disagreement areas where dialogue and negotiation are most needed, especially around tourism’s role, environmental trade-offs, and benefit-sharing mechanisms. The study revealed deep distrust in the governing system and a general sense of political and ecological alienation. The future of mountain villages is not perceived as a collective responsibility, but rather as a challenge they are expected to manage on their own. As a result of these insights, the study suggests changing the course of local development and reframing the management model into a more open community-based platform that integrates local voices and energy by involving them not only in framing the policies but also in the implementation and monitoring process. This study uses Q methodology to explore how local stakeholders perceive the factors influencing the socio-ecological framework that guides local management decisions