The biology and population dynamics of Sitona Regensteinensis hbst. (col. Curculionidae)

Imperial Users onl

Simulator study to determine the wind speed limitation for a Passenger Cruise Vessel entering and berthing in the Port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is being promoted as a tourist destination and the port of Hambanthota is having visits from Passengers. The port of Hambanthota in Sri Lanka is on the busy main east-west sea route. It has become necessary to determine if a Passenger Cruise Ship can be berthed safely in differing monsoonal wind conditions. Before a ship is manoeuvred into a port in the real sense, simulator trials are necessary to be carried out to see if the ship can be manoeuvred safely in varying conditions with all available resources. Simulator trials have been recognized as a cost-effective way to determine the safe limitations and prevent mishaps. The CINEC simulator research team successfully created the simulator environment of the port of Hambanthota as a part of the research under AHEAD operations of the ministry of high education funded by the world bank. As per the analysis of the results of simulator trials, it has been concluded that the wind speed should be limited to 20 knots for safe berthing mainly due to the berthing tug power used

The Fuscous Honeyeater: Food Resources and the Bird Community

Honeyeaters (Family Meliphagidae) are common, diverse and dominant in many Australian habitats. This study examined the role of the Fuscous Honeyeater ('Lichenostomus fuscus') in a bird community of eucalypt woodland on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. From mid-1984 to mid-1988, the bird community was studied at Eastwood State Forest, 12km south-east of Armidale. Preliminary observations found that the Fuscous Honeyeaters were aggressive and quite concentrated in their distribution, being seen mostly in areas of many gum trees (in the subgenus 'Symphyomyrtus'). Woinarski and Cullen (1984) found that gums had more arthropods, especially lerps (Family Psyllidae: Hemiptera) on their leaves than stringybarks did (subgenus 'Monocalyptus'). Recher (1985) suggested that this was the reason why more birds were found in areas with many gums than in areas with many stringybarks. Gums often grow on better soils and consequently, often have more nutrients in their leaves (Lambert and Turner 1983). This thesis aimed to examine the relationships between arthropods, types of eucalypts, the bird community, and in particular the behaviour and ecology of the Fuscous Honeyeater. A censusing program was designed to establish the distribution of Fuscous Honeyeaters, and of other bird species. One hundred census points were located within the Forest and the vegetation was assessed at these points. Stringybarks ('Eucalyptus (Monocalyptus) caliginosa') were found to be the most common tree species and had an importance value of 54.2% (see Chapter 2). The other significant tree species, in order of declining importance, were 'E. viminalis' (15.2% ), 'E. blakelyi' (13.0%) and 'E. melliodora' (7.8%, all species in 'Symphyomyrtus'). The total density of trees was 245 individuals/ha, and the density of mistletoes was 4.8 individuals/ha. Birds were counted monthly at sixty points throughout Eastwood from autumn 1986 to autumn 1987, and again in autumn 1988. Concurrently, data were collected on several environmental variables, such as flowering indices of trees and mistletoes. Flowering was mostly poor during this study

Pest insect immigration warning system by an atmospheric dispersion model, weather radars and traps

Peer reviewe

Consequences of infanticide for a gregarious ectoparasitoid of leafroller larvae

1. In this laboratory study, the clutch size and handling time of Goniozus jacintae were investigated, a comparison of its life-history performance between primary and secondary (laid after infanticide events) broods was carried out, and the lipid and protein concentrations in the haemolymph of non-parasitised and parasitised hosts were estimated. 2. It was found that G. jacintae temporarily paralysed its host larvae for 66 min and briefly guarded its brood for 66 min. The clutch size of G. jacintae increased from two to seven with increasing larval fresh weight of its host, and both ovicide and larvicide of primary clutches occurred in 81% of encounters. 3. Secondary clutches of G. jacintae were significantly larger than primary clutches in two of three ovicide treatments for the same host individuals. Secondary clutches also experienced greater brood survivorship than primary clutches. 4. Lipid concentrations were consistently higher in the haemolymph of parasitised hosts, and protein concentrations were initially higher (until egg hatch), but increased at a lower rate in parasitised hosts than in non-parasitised hosts. 5. This study is the first to provide evidence that improved nutritional quality could be an important benefit of infanticide for an insect parasitoid, allowing for larger clutch size and improved brood survivorship among secondary broods