Optimizing aphid biocontrol with the predator Aphidoletes aphidimyza,based on biology and ecology

Aphidoletes aphidimyza is one of the most important predators used in the augmentative biological control of aphids, key pests of many crops worldwide. Adult females are very efficient in locating aphid infestations over a relatively long range, up to 45 m, and deposit eggs near or within aphid colonies. The predatory larvae are aphid generalists preying on several agriculturally important aphid species. The successful use of this biocontrol agent in agricultural systems depends on several biotic and abiotic factors. Among biotic factors, aphid species, plant structure, interspecific competition and intraguild predation may significantly impact the predator´s population dynamics. Key abiotic conditions include day lengths (above a critical threshold to prevent diapause), availability of mating sites in the crop, temperature (above 15 °C to enable egg laying), air relative humidity (above 70%) and availability of pupation sites. Although several successes have been reported in open field crops with naturally occurring or released populations, commercial releases are primarily used in protected crops. Optimized emergence boxes combining provisioning of food sources for the adults, integration with the technological advances that occurred in the greenhouse environment lately, insights into the nutritional ecology in open field crops and exploration of the genetic variability are proposed as future directions to improve adoption and efficacy of A. aphidimyza in crop protection. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dual effects of reversed winter–spring temperatures on year‐to‐year variation in the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

To clarify the effects of temperature on the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the North Pacific, we investigated the influence of winter surface temperature (WST) on spawners at the time of maturity around the spawning grounds and the influence of ambient spring temperature on larvae using estimated temperature (ET) obtained from particle tracking experiments. We found a significant positive correlation between ET approximately 10 days following hatching and the recruitment per spawning stock biomass (RPS) after 2000. The closer (more meandering) the Kuroshio Current (KC) axis was in relation to the spawning ground, the higher (lower) the spring surface temperature and the higher (lower) RPS was in the spawning ground. In contrast, WST inside KC near the maturity/spawning ground was significantly negatively correlated with RPS. A significant negative correlation between the temperatures in winter and spring was detected in the area after 2000, when the conditions of the Pacific decadal oscillation index and the stability of the Kuroshio Extension were synchronous, indicating that KC shifted northward during this time. The reversed temperature pattern was consistent with the winter–spring movement of KC axis in the offshore direction and was correlated with the winter–spring difference in the intensity of the Aleutian low. These results suggest that the annual variation in chub mackerel recruitment after 2000 was strongly affected by the combined effects of ambient temperature because of the reversal of conditions that occurred between winter and spring around the maturity/spawning ground, which was related to the KC path.     

Multi‐decadal climate and fishing predictors of abundance for U.S. South Atlantic coastal fishes and invertebrates

Abundance of marine stocks fluctuates in response to both internal processes (e.g., density dependence) and exogenous drivers, including the physical environment, fishing, and trophodynamic interactions. In the United States, research investigating ecosystem drivers has been focused in data‐rich systems, primarily in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. To develop a more holistic understanding of important ecosystem drivers in the Southeast U.S. continental shelf Large Marine Ecosystem, we applied generalized linear and dynamic linear modeling to investigate the effects of climate and fishing covariates on the relative abundance trends of 71 demersal fish and invertebrate species sampled by a coastal trawl survey during 1990–2013. For the assemblage as a whole, fishing effects predominated over climate effects. In particular, changes in trawling effort within the penaeid shrimp fishery governed abundance trends of bony fishes, invertebrates, and elasmobranchs, a likely result of temporal changes in bycatch mortality. Changes in trawling intensity induced changes in overall community composition and appear to have altered trophic interactions among particular species. Among climate indices investigated, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Western Bermuda High Index were most prevalent in well‐supported dynamic linear models. Observed annual abundance trends were synchronous among some taxonomically related species, highlighting similar responses to exogenous influences based on life history. This study strengthens the foundation for generating hypotheses and advancing ecosystem‐based fisheries research within the region.     

Regional inequality: An analysis under the core–peripheral model

Desmet, Gumpert, and Ort?n have analyzed regional development using the Ricardian model or the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem. However, aspects such as consideration of combined wages, substitution elasticities, marginal costs, fixed costs, and number of companies were completely ignored. This study investigates the underdevelopment of regions in light of Krugman`s core–peripheral model. The extension of the model is intended to analyze the aspects that have so far been ignored and their influence on the benefits of the two regions. The following aspects characterize the model. Two regions with two sectors are considered for the model. The regions are characterized by different technological equipment. The first region is industrial. The second region has an agricultural character. When a new technology is available, both regions can benefit under certain conditions. The financial transfers lead to a convergence of wages.     

东阳义乌水权交易的第三方效应及对策研究

运用系统分析方法、比较分析方法和典型案例法,结合东阳义乌地区水权交易的经典案例,着重阐释了水权交易过程中产生的第三方正效应和第三方负效应,提出对水权交易第三方正效应进行多样化补偿和对第三方负效应采取预防、保障、补偿三结合的治理措施,以解决水权交易过程中的公平和效率问题。     

棉花支持政策对新疆节水灌溉发展的影响

新疆农业用水占到全社会用水量的95%,面对水资源的紧缺,大力发展节水灌溉至关重要。棉花作为新疆种植面积最大的农作物有义务承担节水灌溉的重任。从棉花支持政策入手,运用最小二乘法,分析棉花支持政策对新疆节水灌溉发展的影响,结果发现财政支农投入和信贷支农投入的增加都对新疆节水灌溉发展有一定的促进作用。因此提出加大财政支农和信贷支农的相关对策,以加快新疆节水灌溉发展。     

环境管制政策的实施效果评价——以九龙江流域"限猪令"为例

环境管制一直是我国环境污染治理所采取的主要政策之一,对我国的环境保护起到了一定的积极作用,同时也存在一些弊端,致使其成效不甚显著甚至背离初始目标.在此情况下,如何评价环境管制政策绩效具有重要的理论和实际意义.本文以九龙江流域"限猪令"政策为例,选取政策目标实现度、主要环保指标实现、环保投入效益、公众参与及满意度四个方面...     

长白种猪优化选配减少近交畸形的研究

以华南某1 500头规模种猪场2009年到2010年1 502窝长白猪分娩信息进行优化、选配减少近交畸形的研究,结果显示血缘选配优化时将近交系数控制在1%比3%效果明显,平均产活仔数从10.39头/窝提高到10.46头/窝(P＞0.05),畸形率从10.30%下降到4.79%(P＜0.01);对其中402窝出现畸形仔猪...     

中职学校德育课课程改革初探

随着新一轮的中职学校德育课课程改革的深入开展和中职学生主体意识的增强,传统的德育课教学有许多方面需要进一步改进和完善.在中职学校德育课教学中实施高效良性的师生互动,能提高德育课的教学实效和学生的思想道德素质,为学生职业生涯发展奠定基础.     

Temperature and food‐level effects on reproductive investment and egg mass in vendace,Coregonus albula

Abstract Individual variation in reproductive investment is important for recruitment and population dynamics in fish populations. Thus, it is crucial to understand how these decisions are influenced by environmental conditions. Here, the influence of growth variation during gonadogenesis or early life on reproductive investment in vendace, Coregonus albula (L.) was investigated. A set of cohorts of mature females were sampled over two different years with contrasting climate conditions and food levels, using total length at age 1 year as a proxy for juvenile growth. Relative reproductive investment and individual egg mass were lower in the favourable year (elevated temperatures and zooplankton densities) when the females were in better condition compared with a less favourable year (lower temperatures and zooplankton densities). Female vendace demonstrated plasticity in their allocation to relative reproductive investment and egg mass, probably induced by diverging environmental conditions. This phenotypic response to growth may have strong effects on recruitment and population growth rate.