Population Fluctuation of Adult Males of the Fruit Fly, Bactrocera Tau Walker (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Passion Fruit Orchards in Relation to Abiotic Factors and Sanitation

Fruit fly (Bactrocera tau) is the most destructive pest on some fruits in Indonesia. Monitoring of the pest population is essential as one of the procedures in the IPM concept. The study aimed to investigate the seasonal fluctuation of adult males of B. tau and their damage on passion fruits in relation to abiotic factors. The research was done by a survey method on three plots of passion fruit orchards in Alahan Panjang, West Sumatra, Indonesia from March to December 2005. In plot 1 the farmer practiced sanitation by removing damaged fruits and weeds from the orchard. In the plots 2 and 3 no sanitation was practiced. Each plot was 1 ha in size. The parameters observed were density of adult male B. tau and climatic factors (rainfall per day, number of rainy days, and average day temperature). Empty mineral water bottle traps were used to catch adult males of B. tau. Each plot had 16 traps set up with cue lure as fruit fly attractant. Each trap was baited with 3 ml cue lure on a cotton wick (1 cm diameter). The cotton wick was rebaited at 2-week intervals. The traps were placed on host plants about 1.5 m above the ground. Trapped flies were collected every two weeks and counted. The data were analyzed by correlation analysis. The results revealed that the number of male B. tauin three orchards showed a similar fluctuation during the study period with a major peak in July. The lower numbers of flies captured in plot 1 (with sanitation) compared to the two other plots (without sanitation) were consistent with a lower percentage of damaged fruits in the plot 1 compared to the other two. The percentage of damaged fruits gradually decreased over time to about 20% in plot 1 which is lower than that in the other twoplots (30-40%). The number of fruit flies captured with cue lure baited traps correlated positively with all three abiotic factors studied. The seasonal fluctuation of the fruit fly population and the damage to the fruits are necessary to be studied as a procedurein IPM for controlling B. tau

Demographic vital rates and population growth: rethinking the relationship in a harvested elk population

Understanding the nature of the relationship between demographic vital rates and the rate of population change (λ) is important for determining effective strategies for population management and conservation. We examined the relative impacts of various demographic vital rates on λ within the range of temporal vital rate variability observed in a harvested population to test the hypotheses that adult survival rates in ungulates are relatively invariant when compared to other vital rates and that variability in calf survival has a greater influence on rates of population change than adult survival. Vital rates were estimated for an elk (_Cervus elaphus_) population at Fort Riley, Kansas from October 2003 – February 2007. The magnitude of adult survival rates were similar to other harvested populations and models including a negative relationship between survival and age received the highest levels of support. Prime-age adult survival had the highest stage-specific elasticity values, indicating a high contribution of these matrix elements to λ. Life-stage simulation analysis indicated that variation in calf survival had the highest correlation with variation in λ (r^2^ = 0.61). Our results suggest that adult survival rates in harvested populations may experience increased levels of variability, but that calf survival rates have the greatest relative influence on λ due to the wider range of variability observed for this vital rate

Impact of Flower Harvesting on the Salt Marsh Plant \u3cem\u3eLimonium carolinianum\u3c/em\u3e

Because of the potentially detrimental effects of seed production on adult survivorship and growth, moderate flower harvesting may have little negative impact on population growth of long-lived perennial plants such as Limonium carolinianum (Walter) Britton. We examined this by collecting data on survivorship, growth, and fecundity of an unharvested population over a period of 5 years and conducted a controlled experiment to examine the effect of harvesting on adult survivorship and growth over a 3-year period. Data were summarized in the form of a stage structured matrix population model with a stochastic element that incorporated year-to-year variation in transition probabilities. Contrary to our original hypothesis, we found that preventing seed set through removal of flowers did not increase adult survivorship or growth. By determining the harvest level that reduced population growth rate to 1.0, we estimated the maximum sustainable harvest level to be 16%, a value that is approximately half that of reported harvest levels on accessible marshes in the study area. In spite of this, the reported harvest levels are unlikely to drive local populations to extinction in the foreseeable future. Providing the adult population size is \u3e100 and harvest levels are \u3c90%, time to local extinction will exceed 100 years. This is a function of the very high survivorship of adults in this species and the fact that harvesting has no negative impact on adult survivorship or growth. However, because of the long preadult phase in this species (8–9 years) and the fact that fecundity of young adults is low, recovery from overharvesting is extremely slow. Adult population size can be reduced to 25% of its original value in 7 years at high harvest levels, but it will take 34 years on average to recover once harvesting is terminated

Updating the adult and literacy life skills survey: estimating change in skills distribution since 2006

This paper firstly estimates the effect of population changes since 2006 on the skills distribution of the population. Secondly, the paper estimates the reach of adult literacy and numeracy programmes by skills levels in the adult population. Summary New Zealand is currently participating in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC includes an international survey of adult skills which will update information on the literacy and numeracy skills of the adult population – last surveyed in 2006 in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey. The PIAAC survey results will be available in July 2016. This gives us an opportunity to trace the shift in skills in the eight years between the two surveys. Our modelling finds that the changes in the age structure, education and other characteristics of the population since 2006 will have little to no overall effect on the distribution of skills. While there have been considerable shifts in the age structure and characteristics of the adult population, these are likely to cancel each other out in terms of effect on average numeracy and literacy skills. Shifts are more likely to be noticeable for specific sub groups. From 2010 to 2013, around 275,000 adults were assessed for reading or numeracy or both on the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool. Most of these people would have participated in, or had access to, literacy and numeracy provision, and in doing so, had the opportunity to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. Analysis suggests that impact of this provision on the literacy and numeracy skills across the total adult population is likely to be noticeable but relatively small. The scores of the adults who have been assessed can be translated into ALL proficiency levels and compared with the projected distribution of skills in the total population. From this it is estimated that around 10% of the adult population with ALL level 1 document literacy skills were assessed in reading and 15% of the population with ALL level 2 scores. For numeracy, the figures are 11% for each level

Identification Of Mitotically Competent SOX2+ Cells In White Matter Of Normal Human Adult Brain

SOX2 expression is linked to the undifferentiated state of stem cells in mammalian neurogenic niches. While its expression has been reported in the adult human subventricular zone (SVZ), to date it has not been detected in adult human white matter. Here we describe a population of SOX2+ cells from the white matter of the adult human temporal lobe, which proliferate and express glial markers in vitro

Designing Information Literacy Instruction for Adult Learners

An issue currently facing many academic librarians involves the challenge of designing information literacy instruction for nontraditional students, particularly adult learners. Increasingly, adults are enrolling in college later in life to complete undergraduate degrees. Because information literacy instructional research and instructional methods commonly focus on traditional students, academic librarians struggle to design information literacy instruction that meets the needs of this more mature population. This article examines information literacy instructional design basics, characteristics of adult learners and adult learning theory, as well as presents examples for designing information literacy instruction for adult students

Cognitive skills and the LOGSE reform in Spain: evidence from PIAAC

We use data from the Spanish sample of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies to analyze the effect of the LOGSE (Spanish acronym for General Law of the Education System) reform passed in 1990 on numeracy and literacy proficiency of the adult population. The LOGSE effect is identified by exploiting the variability of the rate of implementation among cohorts and regions. The results change depending on the specification of the econometric model and mainly on the type of birth year trend assumed. Nonetheless, overall results suggest that the LOGSE reform did not help to increase cognitive skills of the population despite an extension of compulsory years of education and postponement of the age of initial tracking into vocational and academic studies