Population Assessment During the Adult Stage of the Alfalfa Blotch Leafminer, \u3ci\u3eAgromyza Frontella\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

This paper presents a sampling procedure for estimating adult populations of the alfalfa blotch leafminer, Agromyza frontella (Rondani). The method is based on counts of the flies as they emerge from the soil following adult metamorphosis, taken in a series offurmel traps. Analysis of sampling variability showed that 80 traps per field will give adequate precision for life table studies in alfalfa. The pattern of counts was overdispersed but conformed to the negative binomial distribution

Sampling Technique for Larvae of the Alfalfa Snout Beetle, \u3ci\u3eOtiorhynchus Ligustici\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

This paper presents a sampling procedure for estimating larval populations of the alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici. The method is based on counts of the larvae taken in 16 x 16 cm quadrats of soil during early fall when the grubs are in their final two instars and feeding just below the crowns of the plant. Analysis of sampling variability showed that 200 quadrats per field are necessary to obtain adequate precision for intensive population studies but that 50 quadrats are sufficient for survey work. The pattern of counts was overdispersed but conformed to the negative binomial distribution

Survival and Longevity of \u3ci\u3eOtiorhynchus Ligustici\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario

The alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici, a pest of European origin, has recently spread into mainland Ontario. A two-year study showed that dispersing adults incorporated into bales of alfalfa during harvest can survive therein for up to 46 days of storage in a mow. Furthermore, they can remain fertile for most of this period. This has important implications with respect to the shipment of hay from infested areas

Two \u3ci\u3eEntomophthora\u3c/i\u3e Species Associated with Disease Epizootics of the Alfalfa Weevil, \u3ci\u3eHypera Postica\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Ontario

Recent studies have shown that disease epizootics in Ontario populations of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), are caused by a complex of two fungi

A Cellular Automata Model with Probability Infection and Spatial Dispersion

In this article, we have proposed an epidemic model by using probability cellular automata theory. The essential mathematical features are analyzed with the help of stability theory. We have given an alternative modelling approach for the spatiotemporal system which is more realistic and satisfactory from the practical point of view. A discrete and spatiotemporal approach are shown by using cellular automata theory. It is interesting to note that both size of the endemic equilibrium and density of the individual increase with the increasing of the neighborhood size and infection rate, but the infections decrease with the increasing of the recovery rate. The stability of the system around the positive interior equilibrium have been shown by using suitable Lyapunov function. Finally experimental data simulation for SARS disease in China and a brief discussion conclude the paper

Gender and sustainable livelihoods: linking gendered experiences of environment, community and self

In this essay I explore the economic, social, environmental and cultural changes taking place in Bolsena, Italy, where agricultural livelihoods have rapidly diminished in the last two decades. I examine how gender dynamics have shifted with the changing values and livelihoods of Bolsena through three women’s narratives detailing their gendered experiences of environment, community and self. I reflect on these changes with Sabrina, who is engaged in a feminist community-based organization; Anna, who is running an alternative wine bar; and Isabella, a jeweler, who is engaged in ecofeminist practices. My analysis is based on concepts developed by feminist political ecology: specifically, the theory of rooted networks from Dianne Rocheleau, Donna Haraway’s concept of naturecultures (and the work of J. K. Gibson-Graham on new economic imaginaries emerging from the politics of place. I aim to think with, reflect upon and provoke from the ‘‘otherwise’’, taking into account the lived relations entwining nature and gender. My article looks at the interconnections of gender, environment and livelihoods, attentive to the daily needs, embodied interactions and labours of these three women as part of a reappropriation, reconstruction and reinvention of Bolsena’s lifeworld. By listening to the stories of their everyday lives and struggles, I show the dynamic potential of the politics of place and the efforts to build diverse economies and more ethical economic and ecological relationships based on gender-aware subjectivities and values

Exceptional sperm cooperation in the wood mouse

Spermatozoa from a single male will compete for fertilization of ova with spermatozoa from another male when present in the female reproductive tract at the same time. Close genetic relatedness predisposes individuals towards altruism, and as haploid germ cells of an ejaculate will have genotypic similarity of 50%, it is predicted that spermatozoa may display cooperation and altruism to gain an advantage when inter-male sperm competition is intense. We report here the probable altruistic behaviour of spermatozoa in an eutherian mammal. Spermatozoa of the common wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, displayed a unique morphological transformation resulting in cooperation in distinctive aggregations or 'trains' of hundreds or thousands of cells, which significantly increased sperm progressive motility. Eventual dispersal of sperm trains was associated with most of the spermatozoa undergoing a premature acrosome reaction. Cells undergoing an acrosome reaction in aggregations remote from the egg are altruistic in that they help sperm transport to the egg but compromise their own fertilizing ability