Standard non-target tests for risk assessment of plant protection products are unsuitable for entomopathogenic fungi—a proposal for a new protocol

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The successful implementation of a plant protection product depends on its effectiveness against a target species and its safety for the environment. Risk...     

Evaluation of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner as an alternative control of small hive beetles, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Small hive beetles, Aethina tumida Murray, are parasites and scavengers of honeybee colonies, Apis mellifera L., and have become an invasive species that can cause considerable damage in its new distribution areas. An effective subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (=Bt) would provide an alternative to chemical control of this pest. Therefore, we tested three different Bt strains [B. thuringiensis, var. aizawai (B401^®), B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Novodor^®) and B. thuringiensis var. San Diego tenebrionis (Jackpot^®)] and Perizin^® (3.2% coumaphos), each applied on combs with a pollen diet fed to pairs of adult beetles. This evaluates the products for the suppression of successful small hive beetle reproduction. While none of the tested Bt strains showed a significant effect on the number of produced wandering larvae, we could confirm the efficacy of coumaphos for the control of small hive beetles. We further show that it is also efficient when applied with a lower concentration as a liquid on the combs. We suggest the continued search for efficient Bt strains naturally infesting small hive beetles in its endemic and new ranges, which may become a part of the integrated management of this pest.     

Yield potential and salt tolerance of quinoa on salt‐degraded soils of Pakistan

Quinoa is recently introduced to Pakistan as a salt‐tolerant crop of high nutritional value. Open field trials were conducted to evaluate its performance on normal and salinity/sodicity‐degraded lands at two locations of different salinity/sodicity levels, S₁ (UAF Farm, Normal Soil), S₂ (Paroka Farm UAF, saline sodic), S₃ (SSRI Farm, normal) and S₄ (SSRI Farm, saline sodic) during 2013–2014. Two genotypes (Q‐2 and Q‐7) were grown in lines and were allowed to grow till maturity under RCBD split‐plot arrangement. Maximum seed yield (3,062 kg/ha) was achieved by Q‐7 at normal field (S₁) soil which was statistically similar with yield of same genotype obtained from salt‐affected field S₂ (2,870 kg/ha). Furthermore, low yield was seen from both genotypes from both S₃ and S₄ as compared to S₁ and S₂. Q‐7 was best under all four conditions. Minimum yield was recorded from Q‐2 (1,587 kg/ha) at S₄. Q‐7 had higher SOD, proline, phenolic and K⁺ contents, and lower Na⁺ content in leaves as compared to Q‐2. High levels of antioxidants and K⁺/Na⁺ of Q‐7 helped to withstand salt stress and might be the cause of higher yields under both normal and salt‐affected soils. Seed quality (mineral and protein) did not decrease considerably under salt‐affected soils even improved seed K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Mn²⁺.     

Reduced effective population size in an overexploited population of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Unchecked exploitation of wildlife resources is one of the major factors influencing species persistence throughout the world today. A significant consequence of exploitation is the increasing rate at which genetic diversity is lost as populations decline. Recent studies suggest that life history traits affecting population growth, particularly in long-lived species, may act to moderate the impact of population decline on genetic variation and lead to remnant populations that appear genetically diverse despite having passed through substantial demographic bottlenecks. In this study we show that the retention of genetic variation in a partially recovered population of Nile crocodile is deceptive, as it masks the reality of a significant decline in the population’s effective size (N_e). Repeated episodes of unchecked hunting in the mid to late 20th century have today led to a five-fold decrease in the population’s N_e. Using current census data we estimate the contemporary N_e/N ratio as 0.05 and, in light of quotas that permit the ongoing removal of adults, simulated the likely effects of genetic drift on extant levels of variation. Results indicate that even if the current effective size is maintained, both allelic diversity and heterozygosity will decline. Our findings have complex implications for long-lived species; an emphasis on the retention of genetic variation alone, whilst disregarding the effects of population decline on effective size, may ultimately obscure the continued decline and extinction of exploited populations.     

Normal structure and age-related changes of the equine retina

Investigations of the pathophysiology of ocular diseases require a detailed knowledge of the microanatomy of the eye. The available information is still inadequate for the equine retina despite the importance of eye diseases in equine medicine. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of the histologic features of the horse eye as a reference for future studies. Thirty normal eyes of 15 healthy horses were examined immediately after slaughter. The retina of the horse differs considerably in the degree and quantity of neurons and glial elements as well as in vascular patterns compared to the retina of other domestic animals. Morphometric analysis revealed that the thickness of the retina varies between 80 microm at the ora serrata and 250 microm medial to the optic disc. Approximately 90% of the equine retina is comparatively thin (< 130 microm). This is a physiologic response to the distance that oxygen can diffuse in avascular retina. Ganglion cells form a single layer in all parts of the retina. The majority of ganglion cells are very large Nissl-positive cells. Small Nissl-negative ganglion cells are less abundant. A high ganglion cell density is found only in the central area. Vascularization is virtually absent from the retina with the exception of a narrow strip around the disc of the optic nerve, as revealed by lectin histochemistry. Light microscopy of the eyes of older horses repeatedly revealed cystoid degenerations in the retina adjacent to the pars plana of the ciliary body, as well as a destruction of the regular layering of the peripheral region of the retina.     

Manure contaminated with the antibiotic sulfadiazine impairs the abundance of nirK- and nirS-type denitrifiers in the gut of the earthworm Eisenia fetida

The antibiotic sulfadiazine (SDZ) can affect denitrifying bacteria in soil. However, effects on denitrifiers in the gut of earthworms have not been described so far. Therefore, the influence of SDZ-contaminated manure applied to soil on denitrifiers in the gut of the earthworm Eisenia fetida was assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting genes coding for nirK- and nirS-type nitrite reductases of denitrifiers. Gut contents of Eisenia fetida contained 2.5 × 10⁶ and 5.1 × 10⁵ gene copies of nirK and nirS, respectively, after 2 weeks in soils amended with manure only. Copy numbers of nirK and nirS in gut contents from manure treatments with SDZ were up to ten times less. Overall, the data indicate a negative impact of SDZ on denitrifiers in the gut of earthworms.     

Leaf Absorption of Atmospheric Ammonia Emitted from Pig Slurry Applied beneath the Canopy of Winter Wheat

Abstract

Absorption of volatilized ammonia after application of slurry onto the soil surface (sand) between rows of a wheat crop was studied in two experiments. The slurry was labelled with ¹⁵N-NH₄. During seven days the accumulated gaseous N loss from the slurry varied from 6.9 to 11.1 g N m^?2. In April ammonia losses from slurry applied beneath a 5 cm high wheat crop were equal to losses from slurry applied to a fallow, but 2.2% of the lost atmospheric ammonia was taken up by the leaves. In May ammonia loss from slurry applied between the rows of a 43 cm high crop was reduced by 6% compared to the loss from fallow, because of a reduced transfer of ammonia from the slurry to the air. Of the emitted ammonia 3.3% was absorbed by the canopy.     

Parasites of cultured and wild brown‐marbled grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål, 1775) in Lampung Bay,Indonesia

A total of 210 Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (brown‐marbled grouper) was examined for parasites. During three consecutive seasons (two rainy and one dry season from 2002 to 2004), 35 specimens each taken from floating net cages of the National Sea Farming Development Centre (Balai Budidaya Laut) and from wild catches in Lampung Bay, South Sumatra, Indonesia were studied. Twenty‐five (cultured grouper) and 30 (wild grouper) parasite species/taxa were identified, with an infracommunity ranging from one to nine (cultured) and three to 14 parasite species (wild), demonstrating a species‐rich parasite fauna even in the cultured fish. Protozoans (1 species), microsporeans (1), myxozoans (1), digeneans (8), monogeneans (5), cestodes (3), nematodes (8), acanthocephalans (2) and crustaceans (6) were found. The most abundant parasites were the monogeneans Pseudorhabdosynochus epinepheli and Pseudorhabdosynochus lantauensis for both, cultured and wild grouper during all seasons. For the cultured fish, the prevalence of monoxenous ectoparasites (e.g. P. epinepheli, P. lantauensis, Capsalidae gen. et sp. indet., Benedenia epinepheli) was in most cases higher than that of heteroxenous endoparasites. This contrasts the wild grouper, where heteroxenous parasites such as Allopodocotyle epinepheli and Raphidascaris sp. occurred at a similar prevalence compared with the fairly abundant Pseudorhabdosynochus spp. No seasonality of infestation was observed for both cultured and wild fish. The high levels of infestation of potentially pathogenic monogeneans throughout the year could result in significant parasite outbreaks at the locality studied.