New record of day geckos feeding on orchid nectar in Reunion Island: can lizards pollinate orchid species?

[Extract] Lizard pollination is common among insular floras, often being viewed as an island phenomenon (e.g. Withaker, 1987; Olesen and Valido, 2003; Godinez-Alvarez, 2004). Especially, the genus Phelsuma represents a key taxon in the reproduction of many native plant species (Nyhagen et al., 2001; Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen and Muller 2009; Le Péchon et al., 2013). Day geckos are mainly distributed in the southwestern region of the Indian Ocean (e.g. Austin, Arnold and Jones, 2004). These arboreal lizards are known to include a major component of nectar and pollen in their diet (e.g. Nyhagen et al., 2001; Olesen, Eskildsen and Venkatasamy, 2002; Kaiser 2006; Desoet al., 2008; Olesen et al., 2012; Clémencet et al., 2013; Minaar et al., 2013), and recent studies, conducted on Mauritius' and Reunion's floras (Mascarene Archipelago), have shown that lizard pollination involves a wide range of plant families, including Rousseaceae (Hansen and Müller 2009), Malvaceae (Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen et al., 2007; Le Péchon et al., 2013) and Araliaceae (Nyhagen et al., 2001). In some cases, pollination by Phelsuma species is vital to ensure sexual reproduction of native endangered plants species (Nyhagen et al., 2001; Hansen, Beer and Muller, 2006; Hansen and Müller 2009). To date, only one observation of a Phelsuma visiting orchid flowers has been reported (Micheneau et al., 2010), and beside this "single day gecko visit" in Reunion Island, only one case of lizard feeding on orchid nectar has been reported in Caymans Island (Burton, 2008), but on extra-floral nectaries only without visiting the flowers of Myrmecophila thomsoniana (Rchb. f.) Rolfe. Here we described and discussed the first case of Phelsuma interactions with flowers from the orchid family in Reunion Island, involving the endemic day gecko Phelsuma borbonica Mertens, 1966 visiting flowers of Angraecum cadetii Bosser (endemic to Reunion and Mauritius) and Angraecum bracteosum Balf. & S. Moore (endemic to Reunion)

Compte-rendu du ministre de la guerre sur les mesures prises pour la défense du royaume, lors de la séance du 1er août 1791

Beauharnais Alexandre François, vicomte de, Le Bègue de Presle Duportail Antoine Jean Louis. Compte-rendu du ministre de la guerre sur les mesures prises pour la défense du royaume, lors de la séance du 1er août 1791. In: Archives Parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 - Première série (1787-1799) Tome XXIX - Du 29 juillet au 27 août 1791. Paris : Librairie Administrative P. Dupont, 1888. pp. 95-96

Compte-rendu du ministre de la guerre sur les mesures prises pour la défense du royaume, lors de la séance du 1er août 1791

Beauharnais Alexandre François, vicomte de, Le Bègue de Presle Duportail Antoine Jean Louis. Compte-rendu du ministre de la guerre sur les mesures prises pour la défense du royaume, lors de la séance du 1er août 1791. In: Archives Parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 - Première série (1787-1799) Tome XXIX - Du 29 juillet au 27 août 1791. Paris : Librairie Administrative P. Dupont, 1888. pp. 95-96

Lettre du M. Duportail, ministre de la guerre, sur le déplacement des troupes, lors de la séance du 12 août 1791

Beauharnais Alexandre François, vicomte de, Le Bègue de Presle Duportail Antoine Jean Louis. Lettre du M. Duportail, ministre de la guerre, sur le déplacement des troupes, lors de la séance du 12 août 1791. In: Archives Parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 - Première série (1787-1799) Tome XXIX - Du 29 juillet au 27 août 1791. Paris : Librairie Administrative P. Dupont, 1888. p. 379

Prise en charge de la souffrance psychique au travail : enquête auprès de 314 maîtres de stage universitaires

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Integrated control of the spotted stalk borer Chilo sacchariphagus (Lep., Pyralidae) in Reunion Island.

The spotted stalk borer, Chilo sacchariphagus Bojer, is a major pest of sugarcane in southern Asia and on islands in the southwest of the Indian Ocean. In Reunion, Mauritius and Madagascar, the borer has been a serious pest since it was introduced with sugarcane during the 19th century. The Entomology Laboratory of CIRAD, which has been working for nearly 30 years on insect pests, including stem borers, has focused its research programme on the control of the spotted stalk borer since 1994. About 17 species of natural enemies of C. sacchariphagus were introduced into Reunion from various countries in the 1970s, but only one third of them established themselves and none have successfully controlled populations of the borer. Therefore, the bio-ecology of the borer is being re-examined, from population dynamics in the field to laboratory studies, with biological control of the borer as the main goal. Life tables studies indicate that the borer is more likely to develop large populations in the lowlands of the island, where the temperature exceeds 20°C nearly all year round (optimum temperature for development of C. sacchariphagus is 26°C). The population dynamics of the borer were precisely determined, on the two main varieties of sugarcane (R570 and R579) grown in Reunion, at two sites on the island representing distinct climatic zones. On a regional scale, the population dynamics of C. sacchariphagus have been studied in relation to damage caused to sugarcane. Such damage is expressed as the number of infested sugarcane internodes in sampled stalks. These factors have been examined in relation to variety, cultural, practices, and climate for four consecutive years at 50 sites distributed over the island. Similarities in infestation level observed between neighbouring sites were frequent, and revealed a regional pattern, probably related to the local climate. Crop loss studies showed that only R579 was affected in terms of cane yield, expressing a reduction in growth rate, height and diameter of the stalks at harvest. In heavy infestations, yield loss can reach 30% of the mass of commercial cane, compared with losses in resistant variety R570. Repeated studies over several crop cycles and field trials also confirmed that the variety R579 was more susceptible to C. sacchariphagus than the more common variety R570. The latter is resistant to the borer and various aspects of this resistance (antibiosis, antixenosis, and penetrometry of stalks) have been investigated. Resistance appears to be due, at least in part, to the mechanical characteristics of cane stalks arising from the structure of plant tissues and components of cell walls (tannin, lignin or silicate). This is being studied using artificial diets with sugarcane powder to rear C. sacchariphagus larvae. The impact of predators, predominantly ants of the genus Pheidole, on borer egg masses was quantified: 80-90% of the eggs are eaten by predators. It is believed that the practice of burning the crop, before or after harvesting, has negative effects on natural enemies; moreover borer larvae and pupae, living inside the stalks, are less affected by the burning practice. Observations have shown that when burning was banned, natural enemy populations increased and damage due to borers was reduced. C. sacchariphagus and Galleria mellonella eggs are used to trap egg-parasitoids in the field in order to identify parasitoids and to examine their population dynamics. Natural parasitism of borer eggs is about 30-40%, with maximum parasitism observed from November to February.To date, a single species, Trichogramma chilonis Ishii, has been recovered in sugarcane fields in Reunion. Bionomics of the species and/or strains of Trichogramma collected in the fields are being examined in the laboratory to select appropriate strains for mass production and augmentative release programmes. Field experiments with inundative releases of Trichogramma are planned to test for their efficiency

Investigating the Long-Range Transport of Aerosol Plumes Following the Amazon Fires (August 2019): A Multi-Instrumental Approach from Ground-Based and Satellite Observations

International audienceDespite a number of studies on biomass burning (BB) emissions in the atmosphere, observation of the associated aerosols and pollutants requires continuous efforts. Brazil, and more broadly Latin America, is one of the most important seasonal sources of BB, particularly in the Amazon region. Uncertainty about aerosol loading in the source regions is a limiting factor in terms of understanding the role of aerosols in climate modelling. In the present work, we investigated the Amazon BB episode that occurred during August 2019 and made the international headlines, especially when the smoke plumes plunged distant cities such as São Paulo into darkness. Here, we used satellite and ground-based observations at different locations to investigate the long-range transport of aerosol plumes generated by the Amazon fires during the study period. The monitoring of BB activity was carried out using fire related pixel count from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua and Terra platforms, while the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations and total columns were obtained from the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer (IASI) onboard the METOP-A and METOP-B satellites. In addition, AERONET sun-photometers as well as the MODIS instrument made aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements over the study region. Our datasets are consistent with each other and highlight AOD and CO variations and long-range transport of the fire plume from the source regions in the Amazon basin. We used the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle) to simulate backward dispersion, which showed good agreement with satellite and ground measurements observed over the study area. The increase in Rossby wave activity during the 2019 austral winter the Southern Hemisphere may have contributed to increasing the efficiency of large-scale transport of aerosol plumes generated by the Amazon fires during the study period