Trophic niche of three carnivores in southern Belgium : raccoon (Procyon lotor), European badger (Meles meles) and stone marten (Martes foina)

In Belgium, a sighting of raccoons (Procyon lotor) was recorded for the very first time in 1986. Howerver, expainsion only increased from 2009, particularly in the Ardennes region. It is therefore interesting to study its invasivenees, particulaly in terms of trophic competition in relation to indigenous carnivores. This study will compare the diets of raccoons with badgers (Meles meles) and stone martens (Martes foina). To do this, 142 stomach contents of raccoons and 150 of badgers from the Southern part of Belgium were processed and analysed. For the stone marten, data from a previous study via the faeces, led in same region, were used. Raccoons mainly consume insects, corn, amphibians, dried fruits and fish, but all classes of vertebrates, invertebrates (oligochaetes, gastropods, arthropods), seeds, dried fluits, fleshy fruits and anthropogenic food remains were found. Badgers do not eat aquatic prey but consume a lot of earthworms, and to a lesser extent slugs, chafer larvae, bumblebee larvae and carrion (dormouse, squirrel...). The trophic overlap of the raccoon and badger shows partial overlap, especially of oligochaetes, maize, geotrupes, acorns and carabids (aij Pianka = 0.53). These items are very abundant in natural environnements, especially in open area. Food competition would therefore be quite low for those two species. The stone marten is quite opportunistic. Its diet mainly includes rodents, birds and hen eggs. Trophic overlap is therefore quite low between and raccoons (0.20) or badgers (0.27)

CO-FREE Alternative Test Products for Copper Reduction in Agriculture

The project CO-FREE (2012-2016) aimed to develop strategies to replace/reduce copper use in organic, integrated and conventional farming. CO-FREE alternative test products (CTPs) were tested and integrated together with decision support systems, disease-tolerant varieties, and innovative breeding goals (ideotypes) into improved management strategies. CO-FREE focused on apple/apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), grape/downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), and tomato and potato/late blight (Phytophthora infestans). Starting point of the project were ten CTPs with direct or indirect modes of action including Trichoderma atroviride SC1 and protein extract SCNB, Lysobacter spp., yeast-based derivatives, Cladosporium cladosporioides H39, the oligosaccharidic complex COS-OGA, Aneurinibacillus migulanus and Xenorhabdus bovienii, sage (Salvia officinalis) extract, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) extract, PLEX- and seaweed plant extracts. As the project progressed, further promising CTPs were included by the partners. Field trials were performed in different European countries in 2012-2015 following EPPO standards. In the first years, stand-alone applications of CTPs were tested. In the following years these were integrated into complete strategies. Effects on main and further diseases, on yield and on non-target organisms were assessed. Here, field trial results with CTPs are summarized

The customer behaviour in men´s cosmetics market

An analysis of the customer behaviour through the self concept theories in this specific marke

Medicinal & Aromatic Plants First Phytochemical Characterization and Essential Oil Analysis of the Traditional Catalan Wild Salad: " Coscoll " (Molopospermum peloponnesiacum (L.) Koch)

International audience“Coscoll”(Molopospermum peloponnesiacum (L.) Koch) whose stems are traditionally consumed raw insalads in Catalonia is associated in oral tradition with many virtues as digestive, purifying, exciting, antioxidantand hematocathartic activities. However, stem composition and biological activity had never been studied.Nutritive values of plant material were determined by official methods and constituents from essential oil ofMolopospermum peloponnesiacum stems were characterized for the first time in this study. The main constituentswere dillapiol (60.1%) and 3-carene (15.2%). Moreover, total polyphenol content using Folin-Ciocalteu method,and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity were determined. Molopospermumpeloponnesiacum stem total polyphenol content was 101.0 ± 10.0 mg/100 g fresh weight (Gallic Acid Equivalent)and DPPH radical scavenging activity, relatively high, was close from spinach one. Thus, these first results revealthe potential beneficial properties of this plant, in relation with its traditional use in Catalonia