Visualisation of standardized life-history patterns

The life‐history patterns of fish and invertebrate species are complex. But much of this complexity can be captured in simple diagrams of coastal transects, where juveniles usually occur in larger numbers in shallow waters, while adults generally inhabit deeper, offshore waters. Iconographic representations of generalized life‐history patterns and depth profiles, with specific key life‐history parameters can capture much of these standardized patterns, including spawning areas, nursery/juvenile distributions, adult distributions and spawning migrations. Several examples presented here from a wide range of habitats and ecosystems (temperate and tropical waters, demersal, deep water, pelagic and coral reefs), including an example of different stocks of the same species, illustrate some general patterns with regard to water depth and distance from shore. The present approach should be viewed as a first step towards obtaining standardized patterns about key life‐history parameters, and will hopefully lead to incorporation into management of life‐history interconnectivity between different fishery sectors or gears. This may contribute to sustainable, ecosystem‐based approaches to management by informing policy options when faced with decisions to rationalize overcapitalized fisheries.     

The application of sexual coral recruits for the sustainable management of ex situ populations in public aquariums to promote coral reef conservation — SECORE Project

• 1. SECORE (SExual COral REproduction) Project is an initiative of public aquariums and research institutions to produce and exchange sexual coral recruits for the sustainable management of ex situ populations. Here we present the results of the initial three years (2002–2004).
• 2. Primary polyps (n=501) of corals (Acropora tenuis, Agaricia humilis, Favia fragum) were transported from Rotterdam Zoo to Cologne, Burgers', Hagenbeck and London Zoos, where development of juveniles was monitored for 10 months. All polyps were produced at Rotterdam Zoo from laboratory colonies (A. humilis, F. fragum), and from larvae generated from field collected gametes at Akajima, Okinawa, Japan (A. tenuis). Additionally, planulae of A. tenuis (n=1440) were transported from Rotterdam Zoo to Burgers' Zoo and to London Zoo to obtain primary polyps.
• 3. Larval settlement (A. tenuis) was observed to be 3.00 ± 2.57% (mean ± SD; n=1480) in 2002 and 17.36 ± 6.01% (mean ± SD; n=1480) in 2003, significantly lower compared to settlement at Rotterdam Zoo (57.84 ± 11.01% in 2003; mean ± SD, n=1480). High post‐transport survival rates of 95.18 ± 4.86% (mean ± SD; n=501) were observed in primary polyps of all species.
• 4. Juvenile survival (t=10 months; A. tenuis: 18.4–86.2%; A. humilis: 0–19.7%; F. fragum: 13.3–72.7%) differed significantly between institutions. Mean colony sizes (measured 10 months after transportation) were, in all cases, similar or higher to those reported from literature.
• 5. The results demonstrate the potential of this method to serve as an economical and sustainable alternative to existing mostly exploitative techniques for aquarium stocking. The use of sexual recruits provides an effective and low cost alternative, which is, in principle, applicable to all coral species.
• 6. The project was extended from 9 to 28 institutions across Europe, the USA and Japan in 2004.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Twin pregnancies following transfer of single embryos in three mares: A case report

Spontaneous development of identical or monozygotic twins is a rare event in the horse. Monozygotic twins develop after division of a single embryo. This report documents three cases in which twin embryos developed following surgical transfer of a single morula stage embryo into the uterus of a synchronized recipient mare.     

Host status of cover crops for root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) associated with apple orchards in South Africa

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The host response of 17 cover crop cultivars to infection by single-species populations of Pratylenchus hippeastri, Pratylenchus vulnus and Pratylenchus...     

Conduciveness of different soilless growing media to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pythium</Emphasis> root and crown rot of cucumber under near-commercial conditions

Substrates made from rockwool, coir dust, pumice and perlite were compared for conduciveness to Pythium root and crown rot in cucumber under near-commercial conditions. Rockwool slabs of 7 cm height were more conducive to the Pythium disease than coir dust slabs, pumice or perlite under these conditions. Temperature, oxygen concentration and water content were determined in the substrates to explain differences in conduciveness between the inorganic substrates rockwool, pumice and perlite by differences in the physical conditions. Temperature and oxygen concentration could not explain the differences but the higher disease level on rockwool was associated with a much higher water content of this substrate as compared to coir dust, pumice and perlite. Increasing the height of the substrate from 7 to 14 cm greatly decreased the percentage of diseased plants due to the Pythium disease on rockwool but had no effect on the level of disease on perlite when the substrate had been infested 4 cm below the planting hole. This difference in response in substrate height between rockwool and perlite could be explained by a much larger decrease in water content with substrate height in the rockwool than in the perlite substrate. Temperature in the substrates were above 30 °C for more than 6 h on sunny days in June and reached maximum values of 35 °C or more. These temperatures are highly favourable for the pathogen P. aphanidermatum but will have adverse effects on most biocontrol strains.     

Effect of the fungicide imazalil on hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome P-450 dependent activities in the Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus)

Bobwhite quails were treated with imazalil for 8 weeks. The fungicide was given admixed in the food at 0, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 mg kg^?1. Even at the highest dose tested, imazalil did not affect the liver weight or the hepatic microsomal protein content. In treated quails, no significant induction of cytochrome P-450 or NADPH-cytochrome c-reductase activity was observed. Furthermore, imazalil did not induce or inhibit 7-ethoxyresorufin or 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase in quail microsomes. Only a slight but significant increase by 35% and 49% in aniline hydroxylase activity was measured for the 500- and 1000-mg kg^?1 dose levels, respectively. After a drug-free period of one week, aniline hydroxylase activity returned to control values, indicating that the effect was fully reversible. It is concluded that imazalil does not induce or inhibit drug-metabolizing enzymes in the quail, even at doses which exceed by far the maximum levels currently used to dress seed under field conditions (100 mg kg^?1).     

Factors affecting the field performance of an attracticide against the codling moth Cydia pomonella

Factors affecting the efficacy of an attracticide strategy for the control of the codling moth Cydia pomonella L (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) were investigated using laboratory and field experiments. The sex-pheromone-based insect-control strategy utilises 100-microliters droplets of a sticky, paste-like formulation containing 1 mg g-1 (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol (codlemone) as an attractant for male moths and 40 mg g-1 cyfluthrin, a contact insecticide, applied to branches in the upper parts of the tree crown. The longevity of the treatment under field conditions was assessed in the laboratory by biological testing of variously aged samples of the attracticide formulation which had been applied to the bark of apple trees growing in commercial orchards. Electroantennogram responses of male moth antennae were used to compare codlemone release from the attracticide after different lengths of environmental exposure. Changes in insecticidal efficacy of the same samples were assessed with reference to the speed of knockdown (KT50) and the mortalities after 48 h among populations of male moths confined in cages containing samples of fresh and field-aged formulations. Gradual declines in both the amount of pheromone released and insecticidal activity were observed over the 10-week period of the experiments. Various factors associated with the behaviour of codling moths in the field which might influence the attracticide strategy were also investigated. Although the vertical position of attracticide sources within apple trees had a strong influence on their attractiveness, their horizontal position had none. Results of field trials showed that efficacy of the attracticide depends on the population density of the pest. Under the conditions of the current study a density of three or more sources per tree (= 4500 sources per ha) was required to attain satisfactory levels of codling moth control.     

Components of resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans) in eight South AmericanSolanum species

Four components of partial resistance toPhytophthora infestans were measured after inoculation in the greenhouse and in the field ofSolanum arnezii x hondelmannii, S. berthaultii, S. circaeifolium, S. leptophyes, S. microdontum, S. sparsipilum, S. sucrense andS. vernei, and four hybrid progenies ofS. microdontum withS. tuberosum. The four components were infection efficiency, lesion growth rate, generation time and sporulation capacity. The results were compared with resistance ratings derived from field experiments, and with observations made on the potato cultivars Bintje, Bildstar, Libertas and Pimpernel. Genetic variation for all components was found, while the relative importance of the components of partial resistance appeared to vary between the species. InS. microdontum, generation time, infection efficiency and lesion growth rate, and inS. tuberosum infection efficiency, lesion growth rate and sporulation capacity appeared positively associated, but in other species no such association was found. A strong hypersensitive reaction, the expression of which appeared to depend on environmental conditions, was found inS. microdontum. ForS. berthaultii, infection efficiency appeared to be the main resistance component.Abbreviations ADPC area under the disease progress curve - IE infection efficiency - LGR lesion growth rate - GT generation time - SC sporulation capacity     

Crop rotation sequencing to minimize yield losses of summer-irrigated lowland rice in Myanmar caused by the rice root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola

Abstract

The effect of different rice-based crop rotation sequences on the population densities of Meloidogyne graminicola and on the yield of rice was evaluated in a microplot experiment under lowland rice field conditions. Ten treatments of cropping sequences were grown in four successive growing seasons: continuous growing of the susceptible rice cultivar Thihtatyin (rice-rice-rice-rice), four treatments of 1- season crop rotation sequences (rice-rice-chickpea-rice, rice-rice-black gram-rice, rice-rice-soybean-rice, rice-rice-cowpea-rice), and five treatments of 2-season crop rotation sequences (groundnut-rice-chickpea-rice, green gram-rice-black gram-rice, cowpea-rice-soybean-rice, sesame-rice-cowpea-rice, sunflower-rice-sesame-rice). Population densities of M. graminicola recovered from the rice plants and the nematode multiplication factors (Mf) in the soil in the continuous rice cropping sequence (rice-rice-rice-rice) was the highest among the ten cropping sequences. Lowest nematode Mf in the soil was observed in the 2-season crop rotation sequence sunflower-rice-sesame-rice and the highest was observed in the 1-season crop rotation sequence rice-rice-cowpea-rice among the nine crop rotation sequences. Highest rice yield was obtained in the 2-season crop rotation sequences green gram-rice-black gram-rice, sesame-rice-cowpea-rice and sunflower-rice-sesame-rice, which were about 2 times higher compared with the 1-season crop rotation sequences and about 3 times higher compared with the continuous rice cropping sequence.