Effects of age and culling on movements and dispersal rates of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) from a western mediterranean colony

This study reports the effects of age and culling of breeding adults on movements and dispersal rates of Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis) from a western Mediterranean colony (the Medes Islands) based on recaptures and resightings of birds banded as chicks. Juveniles (1-year-old birds) were most frequently located in the French coast of Biscay and in the Western North Mediterranean. Older gulls became concentrated near the colony and its surroundings (core area), with 3rd year sub-adults and adults accounting for more than 70% and 90% of resightings in this area, respectively. Culling of breeding adults increased the dispersal rate of juveniles (pre-cull: 62.6% ± 6.0 SD; post-cull: 71.2% ± 6.4 SD) and mean distance of resightings of juveniles (pre-cull: 250.5 km ± 267.6 SD; post-cull: 367.6 km ± 300.1 SD), and favored displacement of juveniles to the French Atlantic coast. Culling also increased the dispersal rate of adults (pre-cull: 31.7% ± 16.6 SD; post-cull: 38.8% ± 16.3 SD) and mean distance of adult resightings (pre-cull: 27.4 km ± 108.7 SD; post-cull: 35.7 km ± 113.0 SD). This could be attributed to an increase in the number of gulls recruited to other colonies near the Medes Islands after culls. Culling performed in the Medes Islands colony seems to have effects at metapopulation level, conditioning the dynamics and management of other coloniesPostprint (author's final draft

Monitoring resistance of Cydia pomonella (L.) Spanish field populations to new chemical insecticides and the mechanisms involved

BACKGROUND: A widespread resistance of Cydia pomonella to organophosphates was demonstrated in populations from the Spanish Ebro Valley area that showed high levels of enzymatic detoxification. To determine the efficacy of new insecticides, neonate larvae bioassays were carried out on twenty field codling moth populations collected from three different Spanish apple production areas. Synergist bioassays were performed to detect the enzymatic mechanisms involved. RESULTS: The least active ingredients were methoxyfenozide, with 100% of the populations showing significantly lower mortality than the susceptible strain, and lambda-cyhalothrin, with very high resistant ratios (872.0 for the most resistant field population). Approximately 50% of the populations were resistant or tolerant to thiacloprid. By contrast, tebufenozide was very effective in all the field populations, as was chlorpyrifos-ethyl despite its widespread use during the last few years. Indoxacarb, spinosad and chlorantraniliprole also provided high efficacy, as did emamectin and spinetoram, which are not yet registered in Spain. CONCLUSION: The resistant Spanish codling moth populations can be controlled using new reduced-risk insecticides. The use of synergists showed the importance of the concentration applied and the difficulty of interpreting the results in field populations that show multiple resistance to different active ingredients.The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the fruit growers who gave us access to their orchards and to the grower advisors of the areas (plant defense area technicians), who helped identify the best orchards for the assays, and Mònica Pérez for her technical help. This study was partially supported by grants AGL2013-49164 and AGL2016-77373 of the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation and by the CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya

Safety of Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide Battery Packs in Transit Bus Applications

The future of mass transportation is clearly moving toward the increased efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction of hybrid and electric vehicles. With the introduction of high-power/high-energy storage devices such as lithium ion battery systems serving as a key element in the system, valid safety and security concerns emerge. This is especially true when the attractive high-specific-energy and power-chemistry lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used. This chemistry provides great performance but presents a safety and security risk when used in large quantities, such as for a large passenger bus. If triggered, the cell can completely fuel its own fire, and this triggering event occurs more easily than one may think. To assist engineers and technicians in this transfer from the use of primarily fossil fuels to battery energy storage on passenger buses, the Battery Application Technology Testing and Energy Research Laboratory (BATTERY) of the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (LTI) in the College of Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University partnered with advanced chemistry battery and material manufacturers to study the safety concerns of an NCA battery chemistry for use in transit buses. The research team ran various experiments on cells and modules, studying rarely considered thermal events or venting events. Special considerations were made to gather supporting information to help better understand what happens, and most importantly how to best mitigate these events and/or manage them when they occur on a passenger bus. The research team found that the greatest safety concern when using such a high-energy chemistry is ensuring passenger safety when a cell’s electrolyte boils and causes the ventilation of high-temperature toxic material. A cell-venting event can be triggered by a variety of scenarios with differing levels of likelihood. Also, though the duration of a venting event is relatively short, on the order of just a few seconds, the temperature of the venting material and cell is extremely high. During a venting event, the high-pressure, burning gases tend to burn holes in nearby packaging materials. Most interestingly, the team discovered that following a venting event the large-format cells tested immediately reached and remained at extremely high external skin temperatures for very long periods, on the order of hours. The majority of this report covers the testing designed to better understand how high-energy cells of this chemistry fail and what materials can be used to manage these failures in a way that increases passenger survivability

Target-site mutations (AChE and kdr), and PSMO activity in codling moth (Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)) populations from Spain

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) is a key pest of global importance that affects apple fruit production and whose populations have developed resistance to insecticides in many apple production areas. In Spain, enhanced cytochrome P450 polysubstrate monooxygenase (PSMO) activity is the main mechanism involved in insecticide detoxification by codling moth, although acetylcholinesterase (AChE) target site mutations have been described in two populations. However, the extent of AChE and knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations in Spain is unknown. To assess the actual occurrence of AChE and kdr mutations concurrently with the frequency of moths with PSMO enhanced activity (R-PSMO), 32 Spanish field populations from four apple-growing areas of Spain and two susceptible laboratory strains were evaluated. R-PSMO was significantly higher in 23 chemically treated field populations from Extremadura, Catalonia and Aragon, with proportions that varied between 25% and 90%, but no significant differences among strains and the non-chemically treated orchards (organic or abandoned) were observed. The AChE mutation (F290V) was detected in all field populations from Catalonia (n=21) and in three field populations from Aragon (n=5), with resistant phenotype proportions varying from 34.2% to 97.5% and from 7.2% to 65% in Catalonia and Aragon, respectively. In addition, the kdr mutation (L1014F) was detected in twelve Catalonian field populations, at rates of incidence ranging between 2.6% and 56.8%. A positive correlation between R-PSMO and AChE mutation was found. The origin of the mutations and their ability to persist and spread in field populations with different management systems is discussed.The authors thank the fruit growers and pest control advisors of the different Spanish apple-growing areas for their help in accessing and identifying apple orchards and Mónica Pérez for her technical help. This work was funded by grant Fondo de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, FONDECYT 11130599 (CONICYT), Chile, to M.A. Rodríguez, by grant AGL2013-49164 of the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation, to J. Avilla and D. Bosch, and by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya

Toxicity and residual activity of spinetoram to neonate larvae of Grapholita molesta (Busck) and Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): Semi-field and laboratory trials

Spinetoram is a fermentation insecticide, derived from the actinomycete Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It works by disrupting the GABA-gated chloride channels and by causing persistent activation of insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of spinetoram for control of neonate larvae of both oriental fruit moth (OFM) Grapholita molesta (Busck) and codling moth (CM) Cydia pomonella (L.) in semi-field and laboratory trials. OFM and CM neonate larvae responded similarly to spinetoram, which showed high efficacy on both species. In semi-field experiments, regression analysis of the percentage of damaged fruits as a function of days after treatment showed a better performance of the highest spinetoram dose (10 g a.i./hl) in comparison with the maximum recommended field dose of the reference product emamectin benzoate (2.85 g a.i./hl). Surface-treated diet assays revealed LC50 values of 6.59 and 8.44 ng a.i./cm2 for neonate larvae of OFM and CM larvae, respectively. High percentages of mortality were recorded on both species after 24-h exposure to treated diet. For these reasons spinetoram could be considered a valuable tool in IPM strategies for OFM and CM control

Robot boxeador multifunción

[ES] La realización de este TFG consistirá en el diseño, montaje y programación de un robot boxeador. Por una parte se diseñarán e imprimirán en 3D todas las piezas además de la selección de los componentes electrónicos. Por otra parte, se programará el robot ,mediante el lenguaje Arduino, diversas funciones, una autónoma y otra de control mediante una aplicación. Esta aplicación también será desarrollada en el TFG utilizando el programa Thunkable X. En esta aplicación se podrá controlar mediante bluetooth los diversos movimientos del robot.[EN] This work will consist of the design, assembly and programming of a multifunctional boxing robot. On the one hand, 3d printing parts will be designed as well as the selection of all electronic components for this project. On the other hand, the robot will be programmed using Arduino language and several functions will be implemenented, such as autonomous control and a remote control application. This remote application will be also developed as part of this work using Thunkable X. This applications will allow to control the movements of the robot via Bluetooth.Bosch Serra, A. (2021). Robot boxeador multifunción. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/170219TFG