1,720,981 research outputs found
First record of Beauveria bassiana on Tomicus minor in Sicily
No full textTomicus minor (Hartig) (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae) was found breeding in Pinus nigra calabrica (for the first time in
this subspecies) in the Etna national park (Sicily) in two sites in 2013 and in another site in 2015. We used morphological features
of the beetle, a molecular marker (barcoding region of the COI gene) and characteristics of the breeding system to verify the species
affiliation. The results of these three traits were in accordance. Moreover, we screened living and dead beetles for pathogens.
Dissecting living beetles did not exhibit any pathogens except unidentified hyphae of entomopathogenic fungi. Beauveria bassiana
was found on dead T. minor collected from galleries. Species affiliation was studied by applying cultural, morphological, and
molecular (ITS marker) methods. This is the first evidence of the fungus on this pest confirmed by molecular tools and the first
record of B. bassiana on T. minor in Sicily. These data contribute to the knowledge of the distribution of this beetle in Italy.
Moreover, the findings of B. bassiana bring more light in the pathogen complex of T. minor and help to understand the biology of
this important forest insect
Wanted! Batteri simbionti di nematodi entomopatogeni
No full textCatania, Scuola Superiore di Catania, 16 settembre 2023 – E. Tarasco. “Wanted! Batteri simbionti di nematodi entomopatogeni”. Relazione tenuta nell’ambito de “International Microrganism Day – Giornata Internazionale dei Microrganismi”, Titolo: Microrganismi, Ambiente e Società, su invito dell’FEMS (Federazione delle Società Europee di Microbiologia – Sezione di Catania
Zgrupowania pająków (Araneae) w uprawach zbóż ozimych w ekologicznym i konwencjonalnym systemie gospodarowania
Full text linkWydział PrzyrodniczyPająki są jednymi z najliczniejszych bezkręgowych drapieżników w większości ekosystemów lądowych. W agrocenozach pełnią ważną rolę ograniczając populacje owadów, w tym także tych, które zaliczane są do szkodników upraw. Celem prowadzonych badań było porównanie zgrupowań pająków w ekologicznych i konwencjonalnych uprawach zbóż ozimych w województwie lubelskim. W latach 2012-2014 wyznaczono sześć powierzchni na polach prowadzonych w systemie ekologicznym, sześć w uprawach konwencjonalnych o niskiej intensywności, a w roku 2014 także sześć powierzchni na polach w prowadzonych w systemie konwencjonalnym intensywnym. Materiał pozyskano głównie stosując pułapki Barbera, a w ostatnim roku także czerpak entomologiczny. Zgrupowania pająków na polach prowadzonych w systemie ekologicznym i konwencjonalnym ekstensywnym nie różniły się istotnie pod względem liczebności ani różnorodności gatunkowej. Na polach uprawianych w systemie konwencjonalnym intensywnym były one natomiast istotnie mniej liczne. Ponad 90% pająków naziemnych na badanych polach zbóż należało do dwóch rodzin Linyphiidae oraz Lycosidae. Generalnie na polach ekologicznych większy udział w zgrupowaniu osiągały pająki z rodziny Lycosidae charakteryzujące się stosunkowo dużymi rozmiarami ciała, a w uprawach konwencjonalnych ekstensywnych pająki należące do Linyphidae, o małych rozmiarach ciała. Głownym dominanatem w zgrupowaniu pająków naziemnych na polach prowadzonych w systemie ekologicznym był gatunek Pardosa agrestis z rodziny Lycosidae, który osiągnął tam prawie 30% udziału, natomiast na polach konwencjonalnych ekstensywnych, należący do rodziny Linyphiidae, gatunek Oedothorax apicatus, stanowiący 24% zgrupowania. Pozostałymi dominującymi gatunkami pająków naziemnych w obu badanych systemach były: Erigone dentipalpis, Erigone atra i Oedothorax retusus z rodziny Linyphiidae, Pardosa palustris i Pardosa prativaga z Lycosidae oraz Pachygnatha degeeri należący do Tetragnathiidae. Wśród pająków epifitycznych dominował gatunek Mangora acalypha z rodziny Araneidae. Liczba gatunków pająków naziemnych stwierdzonych na polach w systemie ekologicznym oraz dwóch wariantach systemu konwencjonalnego nie różniła się istotnie, stwierdzono natomiast istotnie niższe wartości wskaźnika różnorodności gatunkowej Shannona - Wienera dla zgrupowań pająków naziemnych na polach prowadzonych w systemie konwencjonalnym intensywnym. Sezonowe zmiany liczebności zgrupowań pająków w ekologicznych i konwencjonalnych ekstensywnych uprawach zbóż były zbliżone. Natomiast na polach zbóż ozimych uprawianych intensywnie, w maju, który był okresem największej liczebności pająków w dwóch systemach ekstensywnych, stwierdzono najmniejszą w sezonie, liczbę odłowionych osobników pająków naziemnych. Generalnie stwierdzono duże podobieństwo między zgrupowaniami pająków na polach prowadzonych w systemie ekologicznym oraz dominującym na obszarze Polski Wschodniej, systemie kowencjonalnym ekstensywnym. Gospodarowanie w obu tych systemach wydaje sie sprzyjać utrzymaniu liczebności i zachowaniu różnorodności gatunkowej zgrupowań pająków. Intensywne użytkowanie pól uprawnych powodowało natomiast ograniczenie liczebności oraz bogactwa gatunkowego zgrupowań pająków w agrocenozach.Spiders are among the most abundant invertebrate predators in most terrestrial ecosystems. They play an important role in agroecenoses, limiting the populations of many insects, including crop pests. The aim of the research was to compare spiders assemblages in organic and conventional winter cereals fields in Lublin voivodeship. The research was conducted in 2012-2014 in six organic and six low-input conventional fields, and in 2014 also in six high-input conventional fields. The material was mainly obtain using Barber traps and in 2014 also by sweep net. Spider abundance and species diversity did not differ significantly between organic and low-input conventional farming systems. Spider assemblages in high-input conventional fields was significantly less numerous than in organic and low-input conventional systems. More than 90% of ground dwelling spiders belonged to families Linyphiidae and Lycosidae. Generally, in organic fields higher share was obtained by spiders from Lycosidae family, that are characterized by relatively large body size, while in low-input conventional fields small body sized spiders from Linyphiidae had the largest share. The main dominant epigeal spider species in organic fields was Pardosa agrestis from Lycosidae, which reached a share of 30%, while in conventional fields most abundant was Oedothorax apicatus, with 24% share. Other dominant epigeal spider species in both farming systems were: Erigone dentipalpis, Erigone atra and Oedothorax retusus belonging to Linyphiidae family, Pardosa palustris and Pardosa prativaga from Lycosidae as well as Pachygnatha degeeri from Tetragnathidae. The main epifitic dominant species was Mangora acalypha from Araneidae family. The number of spider species found in cereal fields under organic and both low and high-input conventional systems did not differ significantly, however, in high-input conventional system lower values of Shannon - Wiener's index were found. Spiders assemblages in organic and low-input conventional fields demonstrated similar seasonal abundance dynamic. Spider assemblages of epigeic spiders were most abundant in May, and slightly less numerous in June, while in low-input conventional system the number of spider individuals was similar in this two months. Whereas in high-input conventional system in may the lowest number of spider individuals was found in cereal fields during the months of the study. Generally spider assemblages in organic and low-input conventional system, that dominates in eastern Poland, were similar. Both those farming systems are considered to support the preservation of spider abundance and species diversity. Whereas the high-input conventional system caused reducing abundance and species richness of spider assemblages in agrocenoses
New opportunities for the integration of microorganisms into biological pest control systems in greenhouse crops
Full text link<p>Biological pest control with mass-produced arthropod natural enemies is well developed in greenhouse crops and has often resulted in the evolution of complex ecosystems with persistent populations of multiple arthropod natural enemy species. However, there are cases where arthropod natural enemies are either not effective enough, not available, or their use is rather costly. For these reasons, biological control based on microorganisms, also referred to as ‘microbials’, represents a complementary strategy for further development. Although commercially available microbials have been around for quite some time, research on and the applied use of combinations of arthropod natural enemies and microbials have remained relatively under explored. Here, we review current uses of entomopathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses, and their possible direct and indirect effects on arthropod natural enemies in European greenhouses. We discuss how microbials might be combined with arthropod natural enemies in the light of new methodologies and technologies such as conservation biological control, greenhouse climate management, and formulation and delivery. Furthermore, we explore the possibilities of using other microorganisms for biological control, such as endophytes, and the need to understand the effect of insect-associated microorganisms, or symbionts, on the success of biological control. Finally, we suggest future research directions to optimize the combined use of microbials and arthropod natural enemies in greenhouse production.</p
Can a Soil Index Reveal Ecosystem Recovery? The Biodiversity Soil Resilience Index: A new index to assess resilience in environmentally stressed ecosystems
No full textEcological resilience remains a central yet challenging concept to operationalise. In this study, we present the Biological Soil
Resilience Index (BSR-Index), a composite, field-deployable metric that integrates three complementary bioindicators: soil
microarthropods, entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi (EPNs, EPF), and earthworms. Raw values are normalised to fixed
theoretical maxima and combined using a weighted mean (40% microarthropods, 30% EPN/EPF, 30% earthworms), producing
a unitless score on a 0–100 scale that is classified into four resilience levels. The index was applied across forest, agricultural
and agroforestry systems arranged along a stress gradient. Results show that the BSR-Index effectively discriminates between
soils of high and low biological integrity, capturing both structural composition and functional depth of soil communities. By
integrating multiple biological compartments into a single metric, the BSR-Index advances beyond traditional single-taxon
approaches, offering a robust and reproducible framework for resilience assessment. Standardised scoring facilitates crossecosystem
comparisons and
provides
a
practical
decision-support
tool
for
land
management,
conservation
and environmental
policy.
The BSR-Index highlights the pivotal role of soil biodiversity in maintaining ecosystem services and offers a scalable
framework for monitoring, restoration prioritisation and adaptive planning in the context of ecological resilience
Effect of increasing doses of zinc in combination with organic materials on the occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in the soil
Full text linkThe aim of the study was to determine the effect of zinc application in different doses
with organic fertilization on the genera composition and the number of CFU (colony-forming units)
of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) in the soil. The experiment was carried out in greenhouse conditions.
Soil
samples
for
testing
were
collected
in
the
third
year
of
the
experiment
(spring,
autumn),
where
the research objects were I – dose of zinc: control – lack (0) and 200, 400 and
600 mg Zn kg
–1
of soil; II – no fertilization – 0 (CO), spent mushroom substrate (SMS), chicken
(ChM) and cattle manure (CM). Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated using the method of isolation
on a selective medium. In the course of the research, EPF of the genus: Beauveria, Metarhizium,
Cordyceps and Lecanicillium were determined. The conducted research showed that entomopathogenic
fungi
of the Metarhizium genera formed the most CFU in spring. In the autumn there were
three times less of them. Statistical analysis showed that the number of CFUs of the identified genus
of fungi (on average) in soil samples significantly depended on the dose of zinc applied, organic
fertilization and the genus of fungus, but only for Metarhizium spp
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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