Gross Morphology of Diseased Tissues in Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and Molecular Characterization of an Associated Microsporidian

Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), commonly known in the U.S. as the southern green stink bug (SGSB), is a cosmopolitan, highly polyphagous feeder that causes severe damage to a wide range of agronomically important crops such as fruit, vegetable, grain, tobacco, and cotton, throughout much of the United States, and is a global pest of considerable ecological, agricultural, and economical interest. During dissection of female Nz. viridula, conspicuous black and brown spots or lesions were observed on various internal organs. To determine the cause of these spots or lesions, tissues of fat body, spermatheca, ovaries, and ovulated eggs were collected from healthy and infected individuals. The gross morphology of the spots was characterized, and the microorganisms associated with the infection were identified by amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of the small subunit rRNA gene. The presence of a microsporidian pathogen Nosema maddoxi, Becnel, Solter, Hajek, Huang, Sanscrainte, & Estep (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) which has been observed on other species of stink bug, was evidenced for the first time. The characterization of the gross morphology of this associated microsporidian may enable more rapid determination of microsporidia infection in stink bug colonies and field populations.     

Monitoring forest structure to guide adaptive management of forest restoration: a review of remote sensing approaches

New Forests - With the demand for, and scale of, ecological restoration increasing globally, effectiveness monitoring remains a significant challenge. For forest restoration, structural complexity...     

From guiding principles for the conservation of forest biodiversity to on-ground practice: Lessons from tree hollow management in Tasmania

A useful theoretical approach in the literature for those trying to conserve forest biodiversity involves a number of strategies to achieve maintenance of habitat for different species across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This approach emphasises the importance of implementing measures in off-reserve areas to complement reserve systems. This contrasts with both the traditional ‘set-aside’ approach to conservation and the primary aim of production forestry. Translating this risk-spreading approach into on-ground practice is often a difficult task.     

Anthropogenic Mercury Deposition to Arctic Lake Sediments

The history of atmosheric mercury inputs to remote arctic regions can be measured in lake sediment cores using lead-210 chronology. In this investigation, total mercury deposition is measured in sediments from Imitavik and Annak Lakes on the Belcher Islands in southeastern Hudson Bay, an area in the southern Canadian Arctic with no history of local industrial or agricultural sources of contamination. Both lakes received background and atmospheric inputs of mercury while Annak also received mercury from raw domestic sewage from the Hamlet of Sanikiluaq, a growing Inuit community of about 550 established in the late 1960's. Results from Imitavik show that anthropogenic mercury inputs, apparently transported through the atmosphere, began to appear in the mid-eighteenth century, and continued to the 1990's. Annak had a similar mercury history until the late 1960's when disposal of domestic sewage led to increased sediment and contaminant accumulation. The high input of mercury to Annak confirms that Sanikiluaq residents are exposed to mercury through native food sources.     

Landscape cover type and pattern dynamics in fragmented southern Great Plains grasslands,USA

We documented land cover and landscape pattern changes in an area of northwestern Oklahoma, USA using aerial photography from 1965, 1981, and 1995. This region of the southern Great Plains is fragmented by agricultural activity, and in recent years many remnant native grasslands have experienced extensive invasion by woody juniper (Juniperus virginiana L.). Concurrently, many cropland areas are being planted into perennial forage grasses and converted to intensively managed introduced grasslands as part of the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Our objectives were to document land cover and landscape pattern changes in the region relative to the expansion of juniper and CRP activity. We then examined how local landscape dominance by either anthropogenic or woody vegetation patches affected landscape pattern indices. Land cover changes from 1965 to 1995 included substantial increases in juniper woodlands and mixed woodlands that resulted from juniper encroachment into deciduous woodlands. Introduced grasslands also increased in many areas as a result of CRP implementation. Changes in landscape pattern generally reflected the influx of juniper into many areas. Landscapes dominated by woody vegetation had significantly more patches, smaller patches and patch core areas, more total edge, and higher patch diversity than landscapes dominated by anthropogenic cover types. Results indicate that expanding juniper is exacerbating the fragmentation process initiated by previous human activity, and represents a serious threat to the continued integrity and conservation of remaining southern Great Plains grasslands.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characterization of wild Prunus yedoensis analyzed by inter-simple sequence repeat and chloroplast DNA

This study was initiated to attempt clarify the identities of taxa referred to as Prunus yedoensis that grows under natural environments in Jeju, Korea and of Yoshino cherry hybrids of cultivated origin (also recorded as P. × yedoensis) in Japan, and to understand the difference between these two taxa. P. yedoensis and other species collected from natural habitats from Jeju, Korea and cultivated materials of Yoshino cherries from Tokyo and Washington, DC, were analyzed with inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, and sequence analysis of two chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) genes, rpl16 and trnL-trnF spacer. Depending on the source of Yoshino cherry, accessions show variations with ISSR and cpDNA. Accessions belonging to each of P. serrulata var. spontanea, P. serrulata var. pubescens, and P. sargentii were grouped closely to P. yedoensis and Yoshino cherry accessions. However, two Yoshino cherry accessions that include ‘Akebono’ showed the same rpl16 haplotype of A and A at the position of 113 and 206, respectively, which were found in 4 out of 16 P. yedoensis accessions. Twelve accessions of P. yedoensis and 11 other Yoshino cherries showed rpl16 haplotype of T and A at these positions. P. yedoensis native to Korea can be considered different from Yoshino cherry of hybrid origin from Japan based on ISSR markers and rpl16 haplotypes. Therefore, it may be concluded that the Korean taxon currently referred to as P. yedoensis can be considered indigenous and sufficiently distinct to warrant recognition as a distinct entity.     

Challenge with Bovine viral diarrhea virus by exposure to persistently infected calves: protection by vaccination and negative results of antigen testing in nonvaccinated acutely infected calves

Calves persistently infected (PI) with Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) represent an important source of infection for susceptible cattle. We evaluated vaccine efficacy using calves PI with noncytopathic BVDV2a for the challenge and compared tests to detect BVDV in acutely or transiently infected calves versus PI calves. Vaccination with 2 doses of modified live virus vaccine containing BVDV1a and BVDV2a protected the calves exposed to the PI calves: neither viremia nor nasal shedding occurred. An immunohistochemistry test on formalin-fixed ear notches and an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on fresh notches in phosphate-buffered saline did not detect BVDV antigen in any of the acutely or transiently infected calves, whereas both tests had positive results in all the PI calves.