Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Some Organic Amendments for the Control of Stem and Bulb Nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci (Kühn) Filipjev on Garlic (Allium sativum)

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate effect of some soil amendments, i.e; fresh chopped leaves or dry leaves powder of Datura stramonium, Peganum harmala or Tagetes minuta, poultry and sheep manure in controlling the stem and bulb nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci on garlic (Allium sativum) as compared to the nematicide, Vydate® (Oxamyl). All applied treatments significantly (P≤ 0.05) reduced final population of D. dipsaci except in treatment of sheep manure at lowest dosage rate, which significantly increased the population in comparison to that of the check. Efficacy of the treatments differed according to the type of organic soil amendment, dosage rate and type of application. Dry leaves powder of Peganum harmala was the most effective in reducing nematode counts in soil and garlic bulbs at the different rates, followed by fresh chopped leaves of Datura stramonium and T. minuta while, the lowest % reduction in such nematode parameters was recorded in case of soil amended with sheep manure followed by dry leaves powder of Datura stramonium. As for plant growth criteria the results reveal that most tested materials improved plant growth criteria of shoot, root and bulb compared to the untreated controls.
Raspberry viruses manipulate the behaviour of their insect vectors

Many insect herbivores and plant pathogens influence each other via plant‐mediated mechanisms. Although there is speculation that these interactions may be important in structuring terrestrial food webs, few studies have empirically demonstrated the mechanisms by which pathogens manipulate the behaviour of their insect vectors. We investigated how infection of red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L. (Rosaceae), with two viral pathogens, black raspberry necrosis virus (BRNV) and raspberry leaf mottle virus (RLMV), affected the behaviour of their vector, the large raspberry aphid, Amphorophora idaei Börner (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Macrosiphini). As semi‐persistently transmitted viruses, comparatively little is known about how such viruses affect vector biology. We also examined the effect of infection on plant volatile emissions and amino acid content, which could drive changes in aphid behaviour and performance. Virus‐infected plants were initially more attractive to the aphid and the insects remained on infected plants for 30 min, but were found equally on uninfected plants 12 h after inoculation. Twenty‐seven volatile compounds were identified. Two green leaf volatiles were emitted at higher concentrations by infected plants: (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate and 2‐hexenal. In dose‐response assays, (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate was attractive to the aphid at concentrations of 50 ng ml−1. When reared on infected plants, aphids took more than 3 days longer to reach adulthood compared with those on uninfected plants, although the number of offspring remained the same. Soluble amino acid (essential and non‐essential) concentrations in raspberry leaves increased more than two‐fold with virus infection. Amino acid composition was dominated by glutamate, accounting for 64 and 77% of the total in uninfected and infected leaves, respectively. Excessive glutamate may have underpinned the negative effects of viral infection on aphid performance. These results demonstrate the capacity of viruses to alter their host plant to manipulate vector behaviour, which may have evolved to be consistent with the transmission requirements of the virus.
The Vitality of the Spermatozoa in the Male and Female Reproductive Tracts

(1) Methods and experiments are described for testing the length of fertility of the sperms in the male and female tracts of rabbits. (2) The sperms may retain their fertility in the male tract up to 38 days, but in the female tract only up to 30 hours. (3) In cases where the sperms had remained in the female tract for 24-30 hours before ovulation small litters were frequently produced; it is suggested that this is due to the end point of the vitality of the sperms falling within the limits of time during which the process of ovulation occurs. (4) The bearing of these results on problems of fertility and sterility is discussed.
Effects of individual quotas on catching efficiency and spawning potential in the Alaska sablefish fishery

Individual fishery quota (IFQ) management eliminates the race for fish and may improve economic efficiency, conservation, and safety in fisheries. Empirical information documenting these effects is limited, even though IFQs have been used since the late 1970s. We analyzed fishery data from the Alaska sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) longline fishery, which came under IFQ management in 1995. We compared the fishery data with fishery-independent survey data, which acted as a control to separate annual changes in population demographics from changes due to IFQ management. We found that IFQ management increased fishery catch rate and decreased harvest of immature fish. Catching efficiency increased 1.8 times with the change from an open-access to an IFQ fishery. The improved catching efficiency of the IFQ fishery reduced variable costs to catch the quota from 8 to 5% of landed value, a savings averaging $3.1 million US annually. Decreased harvest of immature fish improved the chance that individual fish will re.
PERIODICITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FERTILE AND STERILE ZONES IN LYCOPODIUM SELAGO

It is a universally recognized fact that Lycopodiiwi Selago, and other species of the section Urostachya, instead of producing sporangia in definite cones, produce them at intervals along the shoot, and in alternation with sterile, or vegetative, zones. been possihle explanations of this charac-teristic habit.
Waterfowl Production From Winter Wheat Fields in North and South Dakota

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America produces more than 50% of North America's upland-nesting ducks. With the recent increase in economic value of some cash-crops and the potential to lose productive nesting habitat enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), there has been interest in evaluating the efficacy of alternative farming practices to provide additional breeding habitat for waterfowl. We evaluated and compared daily survival rates (DSR) of duck nests (Anas spp.) in winter wheat with those in perennial cover. We also examined the number of hatched nests/ha in each habitat and compared them to estimates in spring wheat to put habitat-specific estimates of nest survival in perspective. We monitored 1,195 nests in winter wheat and 3,147 in perennial cover in North and South Dakota on 13–19, 10.36-km2 sites each year from 2010 to 2012. In 2010, we also monitored 75 nests in spring wheat. We used an information-theoretic approach to develop and evaluate a set of competing models based on plausible and previously established covariates affecting nest survival. Across all species, nest survival was at least as high in winter wheat as in perennial cover, and for northern pintails and mallards, estimated nest survival rates were greater in winter wheat. Nest survival also varied by year and study area, was positively related to nest age, and was negatively related to the number of wetland basins, the proportion of cropland in the landscape, and vegetation density. Density of hatched nests in perennial cover (0.14/ha) was on average twice as high as nests in winter wheat fields (0.07/ha), which was in turn 4 times higher than estimates for spring wheat fields (0.02/ha). Our results provide evidence that winter wheat could be a useful tool for wildlife managers seeking to add productive nesting habitat in landscapes under intensive crop production. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.
The impact of selecting for increased ewe fat level on reproduction and its potential to reduce supplementary feeding in a commercial composite flock

In southern Australian grazing systems, energy availability typically exceeds energy requirements. Grazing systems are likely to have higher profitability if ewes can utilise this relatively cheap feed by gaining more condition (muscle and fat) and then mobilising it when feed is expensive. The present paper focusses on the importance of genetic merit for fat on the lifetime productivity of the ewe within a commercial operation. The analysis was carried out on a maternal composite stud flock in Holbrook, New South Wales. Ultrasound fat and muscle depth were measured on 2796 ewes as lambs at post-weaning and as adult ewes, to determine the genetic relationship between young and adult body composition. The hypothesis of the paper is that selection for increased fat at young age will improve body condition of adult ewes, which will lead to improved reproduction and potentially reduced requirements for supplementary feeding. Given that the difference in feed cost between times of abundance and shortage is likely to be larger, the system may become more profitable despite being less efficient (owing to increased feed intake). Our results indicated that selection for scanned post-weaning fat and muscle depth in lambs should lead to increased fat muscle and body condition in the breeding ewe because of strong genetic correlation estimates between the post-weaning and adult traits of 0.68–0.99. The influence of body composition traits on reproduction (number of lambs weaned) within the stud flock was weak. However, it is hypothesised that by genetically increasing post-weaning fat depth in ewes, producers could improve profitability by reducing the demands for supplementary feeding.
Rehabilitation Stocking of Walleyes and Lake Trout: Restoration of Reproducing Stocks in Michigan Waters of Lake Huron

AbstractLake Trout Salvelinus namaycush and Walleye Sander vitreus, native keystone predators of the upper Great Lakes, were nearly extirpated from Lake Huron in the 1940s. Efforts to restore these species in the Great Lakes constitute one of North American's largest-scaled native keystone predator recovery projects. From 1973 to 2012 nearly 49 million yearling-equivalent Lake Trout and 21 million spring-fingerling Walleyes were stocked in western Lake Huron. We used assessment catch rates and biological data, statistical catch-at-age models, and harvest statistics to evaluate whether the objectives of rehabilitation stocking and management have been achieved in the Main Basin of Lake Huron, with emphasis on the period from 2003 to 2012. Key measures of progress were the biomass of older, spawning stock and evidence of natural reproduction. Until 2000, excessive Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus– and fishing-induced mortality caused few Lake Trout to survive to spawning age. Lake Trout broodstock biomass ros.
Molecular evidence for hybrid origin of Quercus crenata Lam. (Fagaceae) from Q. cerris L. and Q. suber L.

Abstract Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers were employed to examine samples from Quercus cerris, Q. suber and Q. crenata in order to test the hypothesis of the hybrid origin of Q. crenata from Q. cerris and Q. suber in a part of its distribution area where the two putative parents do not overlap at present. Leaves from 21 Q. crenata and 37 Q. cerris individual trees were collected at natural sites in northern Italy, where Q. suber is currently lacking; 21 Q. suber and six Q. crenata plants from central Italy were also analysed. Results from Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) implied that exchange of neutral markers has been considerable between the three species, while differences in morphological characters have remained comparatively stable. The Mantel test indicated low correlation between RAPD- and ISSR-based similarity matrices, showing that the two screening techniques reveal unrelated estimates of genetic relationships. Hybrid indices computed for both markers displayed an intermediate position of Q. crenata individuals between the two putative parents shifted toward Q. cerris. Results from the present study corroborate the hypothesis of a hybrid origin for Q. crenata occurring in northern Italy, and suggest asymmetrical backcrossing with Q. cerris acting as the recurrent parent.
SEASONAL REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY OF MALE FORMOSAN WOOD MICE (APODEMUS SEMOTUS): RELATIONSHIPS TO ANDROGEN LEVELS

Abstract The annual reproductive cycle of adult male Formosan wood mice (Apodemus semotus) collected monthly from the Alishan area, Taiwan, was investigated. Mean monthly body mass varied between 25.0 g ± 0.8 SE and 27.1 ± 1.3 g and did not show significant seasonal change. Mass of reproductive organs, spermatogenic activity, and levels of testicular and plasma androgen exhibited a distinct pattern of seasonal change. Testes, epididymides, and seminal vesicles were lightest and spermatogenesis was virtually arrested in January and December. For the remainder of year, all animals examined were spermatogenically active. However, spermatogenic activity was most intense and reproductive organs were heaviest in March–April and August–September. A decline occurred in mass of reproductive organs and diameter of seminiferous tubules in May–July, but spermatogenesis was unaffected qualitatively. Levels of testicular and plasma androgen were elevated in March–April and August–September, coinciding with periods of intense spermatogenic activity and the heaviest reproductive organs and were significantly correlated with mass of testes, epididymides, and seminal vesicles, and diameter of seminiferous tubules. Day length and temperature, but not precipitation, were correlated with mass of testes, epididymides, and seminal vesicles. This is the 1st study to investigate seasonal patterns of androgen levels in plasma and testes in the genus Apodemus.
Initiation and development of latent infections by Rhabdocline parkeri on Douglas-fir

Quantitative estimates of frequencies of latent infections by Rhabdocline parkeri Sherw. on Douglas-fir were obtained by direct microscopy of cleared needles from three half-sib trees. The infections are intracellular and are confined to a single epidermal cell until the onset of needle senescence, a period of 2 – 5 years. Infection frequencies varied widely among trees but increase logarithmically with needle age on all three trees. Differences in infection frequencies among trees were not demonstrably related to levels of infestation by Contarinia spp. , a needle-galling dipteran. Active colonization of the needle resumes at the onset of needle senescence, beginning with the production of haustoria in cells adjacent to the original infection sites. Rapid colonization of the needle and sporulation of R. parkeri coincide with needle abscission, occurring before substantial colonization of the needles by saprophytic fungi. Saprophytic fungi colonized needles rapidly following abscission, but R. parkeri was .
Sink Competition and Desuckering Effects on Field Performance of Triploid and Tetraploid Plantain Genotypes

Abstract Reproductive growth in polyarchic Musa spp. varieties occurs by the simultaneous growth of several shoots, resulting in competitive inhibition of fruit development in the individual shoots, particularly under poor soil fertility conditions. Nine plantain genotypes were forced into single-culm growth by continuous sucker removal in the ratoon crop (RC). There were no significant differences among genotypes for days to flowering (DTF) and days to harvest (DTH) in the plant crop (PC), but significant differences occurred in RC for both traits. There was a negative correlation between degree of sucker growth in the PC and DTF or DTH in RC, indicating that early flowering and maturity in the RC occurred as a result of fast sucker development in the PC. Likewise, bunch weight in the RC was positively correlated with sucker growth in the previous crop. However, sucker growth appeared to compete against the development of the bunch in the PC, resulting in a significant reduction in fruit size but not fruit number. Desuckering significantly reduced DTF and DTH in the RC. Bunch weight and fruit size were significantly improved by sucker removal in the RC. Gains were highest for genotypes that normally produce multiple lateral shoots and lowest for those displaying a more hierarchical growth habit. Thus, sucker removal could be recommended as a crop management option for the polyarchic Musa genotypes.
Variation of Y-chromosome DNA markers in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations

Two Y-chromosome DNA markers (a repetitive sequence, OtY1, and a single-copy marker, GH-Y) tightly linked to the sex-determination locus have been examined for their association with sexual development among 55 populations of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from the Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Normal linkage has been observed in 96.7% of 2478 individuals examined. Only five males (0.44%) were found lacking both markers (none from Canadian systems), and 14 females (1.04%) from US populations and two females (0.15%) from Canadian populations were found to possess both markers. Variants identified included weakly amplifying alleles for GH-Y and OtY1 and structural variants identified by Southern-blot analysis. The frequency of variants in males was more than 2-fold that in females, and males deficient in GH-Y were more common (3.6%) than males deficient in the repetitive OtY1 sequence (0.7%). Some individuals (of both sexes) possessed fewer copies of the OtY1 repeat than.
Recovery of plant diversity in restored semi‐natural pastures depends on adjacent land use

Questions Does restoration success of formerly abandoned semi-natural pastures depend on adjacent land use? Is species richness higher in restored pastures adjacent to an intact semi-natural pasture than in restored pastures adjacent to arable land? Does community similarity between a restored and an adjacent intact pasture decrease with distance from the border between the two pastures? Do differences in species richness and community similarity decrease over time? Location Agricultural landscapes in south-central Sweden. Methods The plant community in previously abandoned but now restored semi-natural pastures was surveyed along a distance gradient from the border between the restored pastures and adjacent fields towards the centre of the pastures. The restored pastures were located adjacent to either a crop field (N = 8) or a continuously grazed pasture (N = 6), and differed in time since restoration (1–13 yr). Results The total species richness was higher in pastures adjoining continuously grazed pastures compared to crop fields. Richness of both total and specialist species increased with time since restoration. Irrespective of adjacent land use, richness of specialist species decreased with increasing distance from the edge, an effect that became weaker with increasing time since restoration. The similarity in species composition compared to that in adjacent continuously grazed pasture also decreased towards the centre of the restored pasture. Conclusions Our results suggest that restoration of biodiversity in semi-natural pastures benefits from adjacent pastures that can act as source habitats. The most likely mechanism is step-wise short-distance dispersal, but also other processes, such as more long-distance dispersal, seed bank dynamics and historical legacies are probably involved. To best succeed in habitat restoration in fragmented landscapes, the spatial location of source populations must be considered.
Compound Eye Miniaturization in Lepidoptera: a comparative morphological analysis

Superposition and apposition compound eyes are commonly associated with moths and butterflies, respectively. However, recently intermediate eye designs, combining features of both apposition and superposition eyes were found in tiny insects. Here, we examine the eyes of 12 species of moth, ranging from 1.88 to 6.03 mm body size, by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Correlations between body and eye sizes are discussed with regard to the eyes' functionality. Although all of the species shared an ommatidial organization characteristic of pterygote insects, three optical designs were found: (a) an apposition eye, (b) an eye resembling apposition eyes, but with a unique crystalline cone, and (c) an eye intermediate in structure between apposition and superposition eyes. Our comparisons also revealed a new type of basal matrix for the Lepidoptera. The results show that in most of the examined compound eyes (with the exception of the apposition eye of Micropterix aruncella), a clear distinction between apposition and superposition eyes is not feasible. Due to functional morphological constraints as a consequence of miniaturization, evolutionary transformations from superposition into apposition optics may have occurred several times independently in various ‘microlepidopteran’ taxa. The Phyllonorycter medicaginella eye appears to illustrate this evolutionary scenario best.
Diferenciação morfológica das espécies de peixes-rei, Odontesthes Evermann & Kendall (Osteichthyes, Atherinopsidae) no extremo sul do Brasil: morfometria multivariada

The systematic relationships in the species of the genus Odontesthes Evermann & Kendall, 1906 were analysed by multivariate morphometry, using data adjusted for alometric size effects by orthogonal projections. The results are discussed in terms of morphological differentiation to each geographic units. It was concluded that seven species were identified in the southern Brazilian coast. Five of them inhabit freshwater environments, O. bonariensis (Valenciennes, 1835), O. humensis De Buen, 1953, O. retropinnis (De Buen, 1953), O. aff. perugiae Evermann & Kendall, 1906 and O. mirinensis Bemvenuti, 1995. The freshwater atherinids with the largest body size, O. retropinnis, O. bonariensis and O. humensis, can be distinguished by snout size, mouth position and number of gill rakers on the first branchial arch. The small size silversides, Odontesthes aff. perugiae and O. mirinensis, showed features of similar morphologic and sympatric distribution. The remaining species were represented by O. incisa (Jenyns, 1842), that occurred in coastal areas and O. argentinensis (Valenciennes, 1835) in brackish waters. In the last species, intraespecific morphological variation is attributed to phenotypic plasticity, resulted from environmental conditions found in that ecosystem.
Analysis of population dynamics of diamondback moth, (Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)) at two sites in central Ethiopia, with particular reference to parasitism

Abstract Change in diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella L.) numbers and level of parasitism on head cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) was monitored for two seasons in two different agroecological zones representing the highland and lowland brassica-producing areas of central Ethiopia in 2001 and 2002. Two to three generations in the highland site and three to five generations in the lowland site per cabbage growing season were observed. Three parasitoids were recorded at both locations. These were Oomyzus sokolowskii (Kurdjumov) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Diadegma sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and Apanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Diadegma sp. was the dominant parasitoid at the highland site and O. sokolowskii was dominant at the lowland site. Rainfall and maximum temperature significantly influenced DBM numbers and parasitoid activity at the highland experimental site.