Flea (Pulex simulans) infestation in captive giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).

A pair of captive adult giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) presented heavily infested with a flea species (Pulex simulans) commonly found on Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) in the central United States. In this case, the flea was demonstrated to have completed its entire life cycle with the anteaters as the host. A single treatment of topical imidacloprid, coupled with removal and replacement of infested bedding, was rapidly effective at controlling the infestation and no adverse effects of the drug were noted. Control of the anteater infestation also removed the flea infestation of aardvarks in the same building.     

Categorization and numerical assessment of wireworm mobility over time following exposure to bifenthrin

We discuss the effect of the pyrethroid insecticide bifenthrin incorporated into soil at 100, 200, and 300 g AI/ha on late-instar larvae of the dusky wireworm, Agriotes obscurus (Coleoptera: Elateridae), and present a method of assessing wireworm health and mobility over time. Wireworms became moribund within 1 h of placement in soil amended with bifenthrin at all rates. After 2 weeks of morbidity in amended soils, wireworms recovered within 7 days of being placed in clean soil. A considerable proportion (0.13–0.93) of wireworms placed in amended soil moved to the soil surface and remained there for 2 weeks or more in a moribund state; wireworms transferred to clean soil no longer moved to the soil surface. Eight distinct mobility categories were observed and are described, and a new method for assessing wireworm health and mobility over time is discussed.     

Blending of pheromone lures for two exotic European pest elaterid beetles

Two exotic European click beetle species, Agriotes obscurus and Agriotes lineatus, were introduced into the lower Fraser valley of British Columbia over a century ago, and are now predominant pests of a number of arable crops. A semiochemical-based method of monitoring both species has been developed as a part of an integrated pest management plan, and there is interest in mass trapping with pheromones as a management tool. A. obscurus females produce primarily geranyl octanoate (G8) and geranyl hexanoate (G6), while A. lineatus females produce both G8 and geranyl butanoate (G4). The current studies examined the possibility of using a blend of G8, G6, and G4 components in a single lure to trap both species simultaneously. A blended G8, G6 and G4 lure in a 1:1:1 ratio was, on average, 1.42 times more attractive to A. lineatus males than standard A. lineatus pheromone lures, but caught only 0.24 times the number of A. obscurus in standard A. obscurus traps. Blended traps, therefore, are effective for monitoring and mass trapping of A. lineatus, but only for detection of A. obscurus.     

Development of a seedling screening test for predicting relative grain protein content in oats

Summary Growth room experiments were conducted to study associations of grain protein content with properties of seedling leaf sections of oats (Avena sativa L.) using (1) 10 cultivars differing genetically in grain % protein, and (2) 10 populations of a single high protien cultivar (Hinoat) differing phenotypically in grain % protein. These populations, which were derived from a nitrogen fertilizer experiment, had grain protein concentrations which varied over the whole range displayed by the high and low protein cultivars when the latter were tested in a conventional field trial.Seedling leaf % protein was closely associated with grain % protein in both (1) and (2). Chlorophyll content per unit leaf area and leaf dry weight per unit leaf area were significantly higher in the high than in the low protein cultivars, and were significantly higher in all the Hinoat populations than in the low protein cultivars.Excised seedling leaf sections were placed on filter paper moistened with 1 ppm kinetin solution and kept in the dark at 25°C. After 96 h chlorophyll content per unit leaf area was again significantly higher in the high protein cultivars and in all the Hinoat populations than in the low protein cultivars, and the consequent differences in leaf colour were then readily visible. Absolute amounts of chlorophyll lost per unit leaf area were similar in all cultivars and populations, but the low protein cultivars showed a greater proportional loss (as % of initial content). A colour scale was used to visually rate the senesced leaf sections. The visual rating allowed the rapid separation of the high and low protein cultivars, and there was no significant variation in the ratings of the Hinoat populations.It is suggested that this procedure may be useful in the early selection phases of protein breeding programs for screening large populations rapidly at the seedling stage to detect genetic differences in potential grain protein content.Contribution No. 438 from Ottawa Research Station.     

Rubidium-strontium chronology and chemistry of lunar material

Igneous lunar rocks divide into two chemical types, probably representing two rock units. They form separate close groups on the isochron diagram; no total rock age is valid unless the rocks are cogenetic. Mineral isochrons prove that one type has an age of 3.80 +/-0.11 billion years, equal to the line joining total-rock groups, and the initial ratio of strontium-87 to strontium-86 of both types is close to 0.6994. Soil and breccias chemically resemble a mixture of the two igneous types, with a superimposed variation of mineral components, plus a small transferred component rich in nickel, copper, zinc, and possibly stron-tium-87.     

Legislation and the capacity for rapid‐response management of nonindigenous species of fish in contiguous waters of Canada and the USA

• 1. The provision of Canadian and US hard, enforceable, law to authorize rapid response management of nonindigenous aquatic species originating from aquaculture, live fish sales, bait fish, and the pet trade was analysed at the provincial/state levels of government for the Atlantic, Laurentian Great Lakes, and Pacific regions of North America.
• 2. No federal legal capacity for rapid response management exists in either country. US state legislation is generally better developed than Canadian provincial laws to manage the exotic fish trade. However, much discrepancy exists among provincial and state law regarding provisions to restrict or prohibit potentially harmful species. Aquaculture and baitfish use is generally better regulated than live fish markets and the pet fish trade in both countries. Only the state of Maine has laws authorizing rapid‐response management to control escaped exotic fish.
• 3. Most species of nonindigenous fish arise from the aquarium, pet, and baitfish trades, and development of improved legislation containing provisions for rapid response management of escapees is warranted in all states and provinces.
• 4. It is recommended that Canada amends the Fisheries Act to create the appropriate enabling legislation to monitor, assess risk, and deploy rapid response management of nonindigenous aquatic species, including fish that enter federal fresh and sea waters. Two recently‐introduced US Bills, S. 725 and H.R. 1350, with their explicit measures for early detection and fast action response, could, if passed into law, create provisions to control introduced nuisance species throughout North American waters. They would also create precedents for states and provinces that have most jurisdiction over aquaculture and trade in exotic fish to amend and align their laws in a complementary manner.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.