Alien species of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) found in Serbia,new to the Balkan Peninsula

New alien species of aphids (Illinoia liriodendri (Monell), Wahlgreniella nervata (Gillete), Takecallis arundicolens (Clarke) and Tinocallis takachihoensis Higuchi) have been found for the first time in Serbia. These records are new for the Balkan Peninsula. Data of Ericaphis scammelli (Mason), species recently mentioned in Serbia, are also presented in the text. The species have been found during the last five years at four sites (Belgrade, Zemun, Mladenovac and Bojnik) on five cultivated plants. Ericaphis scammelli is a pest of blueberry and a vector of Blueberry scorch virus. The other four develop colonies on decorative plants: I. liriodendri has been found on Liriodendron tulipifera, W. nervata on Rosa sp., T. arundicolens on Pseudosasa japonica and T. takachihoensis on Ulmus x hollandica. The origin of three of the species (E. scammelli, I. liriodendri and W. nervata) is North America and two (T. arundicolens and T. takachihoensis) have come from East Asia. Their morphology, biology and the damage they inflict are discussed here, as well as their potential economic and environmental threat. Only parthenogenetic viviparous females of all 5 species have been collected. Their biology has not been studied enough in Europe and needs further examination. Original drawings of all species are presented.     

Using operating area size and adjacency constraints to mitigate the effects of harvesting activities on boreal caribou habitat

Context

Sustained timber harvesting conflicts with the long-term viability of boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) populations. The spatial arrangement of harvest blocks in the landscape could mitigate the impact of logging on caribou populations. For the forest industry, however, these measures represent constraints that reduce the annual allowable cut (AAC).

Objective

Estimate the long-term impacts of spatial constraints to harvesting, applied alone or in combination, on AAC and boreal caribou populations.

Methods

We divided a 30,000 km² region into 20 harvest block sizes varying from 50 to 1000 km², and modeled the implementation of spatially explicit harvest schedule plans in combination with wildfire and caribou population dynamics. We then evaluated the probability of persistence of boreal caribou populations.

Results

The probability of maintaining an AAC target declined with increasing target AAC, increasing size of operating area, and increasing adjacency constraints. In contrast, the probability of maintaining caribou populations declined with increasing AAC, decreasing size of operating areas, and decreasing adjacency constraints. An increase in operating area size from 50 to 300 km² produced a considerable gain in AAC for all adjacency constraints.

Conclusions

Because adjacency constraints led only to a small increase in the probability of maintaining caribou populations, we recommend adopting less constraining landscape management actions, such as a 70-year period between two consecutive harvests in the same ~300-km² operating area.

     

Host status and reaction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Medicago truncatula</Emphasis> accessions to infection by three major pathogens of pea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum sativum</Emphasis>) and alfalfa (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Medicago sativa</Emphasis>)

Ditylenchus dipsaci, the stem nematode of alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Mycosphaerella pinodes, cause of Ascochyta blight in pea (Pisum sativum) and Aphanomyces euteiches, cause of pea root rot, result in major yield losses in French alfalfa and pea crops. These diseases are difficult to control and the partial resistances currently available are not effective enough. Medicago truncatula, the barrel medic, is the legume model for genetic studies, which should lead to the identification and characterization of new resistance genes for pathogens. We evaluated a collection of 34 accessions of M. truncatula and nine accessions from three other species (two from M. italica, six from M. littoralis and one from M. polymorpha) for resistance to these three major diseases. We developed screening tests, including standard host references, for each pathogen. Most of the accessions tested were resistant to D. dipsaci, with only three accessions classified as susceptible. A very high level of resistance to M. pinodes was observed among the accessions, none of which was susceptible to this pathogen. Conversely, a high level of variation, from resistant to susceptible accessions, was identified in response to infection by A. euteiches.     

Influence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nigella sativa</Emphasis> seeds, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosmarinus officinalis</Emphasis> leaves and their combination on growth performance,immune response and rumen metabolism in Dorper lambs

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Nigella sativa L. seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves and their combination on rumen metabolism, nutrient intake and digestibility, growth performance, immune response and blood metabolites in Dorper lambs. Twenty-four entire male Dorper lambs (18.68?±?0.6 kg, 4–5 months old) were randomly assigned to a concentrate mixture containing on a dry matter basis either, no supplement (control, T1), 1% R. officinalis leaves (T2), 1% N. sativa seeds (T3) or 1% R. officinalis leaves +1% N. sativa seeds (T4). The lambs had ad libitum access to urea-treated rice straw (UTRS) and were raised for 90 days. Supplemented lambs had greater (P?< 0.05) intake of DM and UTRS than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) nutrient digestibility than those fed other treatments. Total and daily weight gain was greater (P?< 0.05) in T2 lambs than those fed other diets. The T3 and T4 lambs had greater (P?< 0.05) ruminal pH than the T1 and T2 lambs. Supplemented lambs had lower (P?<?0.05) ruminal total volatile fatty acids, acetate, propionate, NH₃-N and C18:0 than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) population of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus, methanogens and total protozoa compared with those fed other diets. Supplemented lambs had lower (P?< 0.05) neutrophils, basophils and serum urea and greater (P?<?0.05) serum IgA and IgG compared with the control lambs. The current results emphasised the variation in the efficacy of medicinal plants in ruminant nutrition.     

Tenogenic induction of equine mesenchymal stem cells by means of growth factors and low-level laser technology

Tendons regenerate poorly due to a dense extracellular matrix and low cellularity. Cellular therapies aim to improve tendon repair using mesenchymal stem cells and tenocytes; however, a current limitation is the low proliferative potential of tenocytes in cases of severe trauma. The purpose of this study was to develop a method useful in veterinary medicine to improve the differentiation of Peripheral Blood equine mesenchymal stem cells (PB-MSCs) into tenocytes. PB-MSCs were used to study the effects of the addition of some growth factors (GFs) as TGFβ3 (transforming growth factor), EGF2 (Epidermal growth factor), bFGF2 (Fibroblast growth factor) and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) in presence or without Low Level Laser Technology (LLLT) on the mRNA expression levels of genes important in the tenogenic induction as Early Growth Response Protein-1 (EGR1), Tenascin (TNC) and Decorin (DCN). The singular addition of GFs did not show any influence on the mRNA expression of tenogenic genes whereas the specific combinations that arrested cell proliferation in favour of differentiation were the following: bFGF2 + TGFβ3 and bFGF2 + TGFβ3 + LLLT. Indeed, the supplement of bFGF2 and TGFβ3 significantly upregulated the expression of Early Growth Response Protein-1 and Decorin, while the use of LLLT induced a significant increase of Tenascin C levels. In conclusion, the present study might furnish significant suggestions for developing an efficient approach for tenocyte induction since the external administration of bFGF2 and TGFβ3, along with LLLT, influences the differentiation of PB-MSCs towards the tenogenic fate.     

Zirconium-Modified Activated Sludge as a Low-Cost Adsorbent for Phosphate Removal in Aqueous Solution

A highly effective zirconium-modified activated sludge (Zr(IV)-AS) adsorbent was prepared from activated sludge and applied to remove phosphate from aqueous solutions by batch and column experiments. Characterized results revealed that zirconium was successfully loaded onto the activated sludge (AS), and the specific surface area and pore volume were substantially improved after zirconium loading on the AS. Zr(IV)-AS exhibited a high adsorption affinity for phosphate and the maximum adsorption amount was 27.55 mg P·g^?1 at 25 °C. Adsorption isotherms of phosphate could be described by the Langmuir model, and the adsorption kinetics were well described by the pseudo-second-order model. Phosphate adsorption on Zr(IV)-AS increased monotonically with decreasing solution pH. The presence of SO₄^2? in water resulted in slightly decreased phosphate adsorption on the adsorbent even at a high concentration (25 mmol/L), and a greater influence of HCO₃^? on adsorption could be ascribed to the increased solution pH with the addition of the HCO₃^?. Column adsorption experimental results showed that the adsorbent has excellent phosphate adsorption properties and that the effluent can meet the requirement of phosphorus in the national wastewater discharge standard of China. Phosphate-saturated Zr(IV)-AS can be effectively desorbed in 0.1 mol L^?1 NaOH solution, and the regenerated adsorbent still possessed the high capacity. The adsorption between the adsorbent and the phosphate is due to the electrostatic interaction and anionic exchange at the surface of the Zr(IV)-AS. Furthermore, this approach provides a possibility of treating wastewater with waste and has the potential for industrial applications for the removal of phosphate from wastewater.     

Seasonal Changes of Shoot Carbohydrates and Growth Characteristics of ‘Trakya İlkeren’ Grape Variety (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitis vinifera</Emphasis> L.)

This research was conducted to determine the changes in the seasonal carbohydrates of annual shoots and growth characteristics of 10 years old ‘Trakya ?lkeren’ grape variety. Grapevines are grafted on 5BB and 5C rootstocks and they were grown in heavy clay soil conditions. In the study, changes of sugar, starch and total carbohydrates were determined from bud burst to dormancy. While sugar, starch and total carbohydrates showed significant differences (P < 0.01) there were no differences between rootstocks. Although sugar, starch and total carbohydrates of shoots decreased from bud burst to blooming, they increased thereafter until vegetative growth stopped. Total carbohydrates of annual shoots have been found to accumulate in period from blooming to harvest. Total and mean leaf area, shoot length and diameter, total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b ratio showed significantly variation among rootstocks and phenological stages (P < 0.01). Whereas the highest chlorophyll contents were found in the blooming, it was found at the lowest through to harvest. Overall mean and total leaf area, shoot length and shoot diameter, total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/b ratio were significantly higher on 5BB grafted vines. In the study, 5BB rootstocks are found suitable in terms of shoot carbohydrate accumulation and growth characteristics for ‘Trakya ?lkeren’ grape variety.     

Multi-model comparison on the effects of climate change on tree species in the eastern U.S.: results from an enhanced niche model and process-based ecosystem and landscape models

Context

Species distribution models (SDM) establish statistical relationships between the current distribution of species and key attributes whereas process-based models simulate ecosystem and tree species dynamics based on representations of physical and biological processes. TreeAtlas, which uses DISTRIB SDM, and Linkages and LANDIS PRO, process-based ecosystem and landscape models, respectively, were used concurrently on four regional climate change assessments in the eastern Unites States.

Objectives

We compared predictions for 30 species from TreeAtlas, Linkages, and LANDIS PRO, using two climate change scenarios on four regions, to derive a more robust assessment of species change in response to climate change.

Methods

We calculated the ratio of future importance or biomass to current for each species, then compared agreement among models by species, region, and climate scenario using change classes, an ordinal agreement score, spearman rank correlations, and model averaged change ratios.

Results

Comparisons indicated high agreement for many species, especially northern species modeled to lose habitat. TreeAtlas and Linkages agreed the most but each also agreed with many species outputs from LANDIS PRO, particularly when succession within LANDIS PRO was simulated to 2300. A geographic analysis showed that a simple difference (in latitude degrees) of the weighted mean center of a species distribution versus the geographic center of the region of interest provides an initial estimate for the species’ potential to gain, lose, or remain stable under climate change.

Conclusions

This analysis of multiple models provides a useful approach to compare among disparate models and a more consistent interpretation of the future for use in vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning.