Les Carabidae du Quebec et du Labrador. Andre Larochelle, Dept. de Biologie du College Bourget, Rigaud, Quebec. Bull. 1:1-255. 1975. $15.00 Canadian.

(excerpt) This work is advertised as a catalog of the Carabidae of Quebec, with annotations concerning distribution and bionomics of the various Quebec species. Mr. Larochelle\u27s long range plan is aimed at a complete study of the ecology, the biology, and the dynamics of those marvelous insects. This, therefore, appears to be the first part of a set of papers similar to Carl Lindroth\u27s studies of Newfoundland carabids (Lindroth, 1955, 1963)

Life History and Description of the Immature Stages of \u3ci\u3eMacrotheca Unipuncta\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

During the summer of 1975, an unknown larval pyralid was found living under the loose outer back of domestic grape (Vitis vinifera L.) in southwestern Michigan. Subsequent rearing enabled it to be identified as Macrotheca unipuncta Dyar. Following is a description of the larval and pupal stages of the insect, and a discussion of its bionomics

Hawaiianische Käfer der Gattung Blackburnia (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Platynini) : ökologische Spezialisierungen und Implikationen für den Artenschutz

The Hawaiian Islands have arisen in isolation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean due to volcanism unleashed by interaction of mantle-deep thermal plumes with the overlying Pacific Plate (MONTELLI et al. 2004, ABOUCHAMI et al. 2005). This volcano “factory” has produced a consistently present string of islands increasing in age from the current Big Island of Hawaii (500,000 years old) northwestwardly to the island of Kure, estimated to be 28-30 million years old (CARSON & CLAGUE 1995). Successively colonizing and proliferating on these islands since Miocene time (LIEBHERR 2005), are beetles classified in the carabid beetle genus Blackburnia SHARP, 1878 (LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN 2000). The 132 known Blackburnia species are arrayed in four successive adelphotaxa. The monotypic subgenus Protocaccus LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN, 2000, adelphotaxon to the rest of the radiation, is represented by B. mandibularis LIEBHERR, 2000 of Kauai. The next-diverging clade is classified as subgenus Colpocaccus SHARP, 1903, and is composed of four flightcapable species. The last two adelphotaxa are the nominate subgenus Blackburnia and subgenus Metromenus SHARP, 1884. The former includes 52 species, and is based on a ground-plan ancestor that was capable of dispersal by winged flight. This clade exhibits the greatest anagenetic diversification of all four clades, with various subgroups exhibiting extensive modifications of the external cuticle, including thickened, ridged, and variously shaped pronota and elytra, as well as elongate legs, and extensive specializations of the male and female genitalia (LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN 1998, 2000). Taxa exhibiting cuticular modifications are all brachypterous, suggesting that loss of metathoracic wings was a requisite precursor to modification of body armature. All 75 species of subgenus Metromenus are characterized by brachyptery. These also exhibit various body forms however the member taxa are never characterized by the thickened cuticle and associated modifications seen among taxa of sg. Blackburnia. Monophyly of the latter three subgenera was corroborated using molecular sequence data (CRYAN et al. 2001), though basal relationships of the three clades were resolved so that Colpocaccus and Metromenus were construed as adelphotaxa. In this study, morphological characters, and ecological and genetic characteristics of the various clades compared. These comparisons illustrate the coordinated diversification of ecological and genetic traits, and how these are associated with different levels of speciation. These traits are then put in the context of species endangerment, assessed using biotic survey data started in the 19th Century, and continuing during present-day efforts to completely describe and characterize the Blackburnia fauna.Die monophyletische hawaiianische Gattung Blackburnia SHARP, 1878 umfasst 132 Arten und kann in vier aufeinander folgende Adelphotaxa unterteilt werden: Untergattung Protocaccus LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN, 2000 (1 Art, flugfähig); Untergattung Colpocaccus SHARP, 1903 (4 Arten, flugfähig); Untergattung Blackburnia (52 Arten, viele mit reduzierten Flügel, Flugfähigkeit aber im Grundmuster); Untergattung Metromenus SHARP, 1884 (75 Arten mit reduzierten Flügeln). Die phylogenetischen Beziehungen der Gattung zu anderen Taxa der Platynini beweisen, dass Blackburnia die hawaiianischen Inseln im Miozän kolonisiert hat, wobei Kauai die zuerst besiedelte Insel darstellt. Die ökologischen Spezialisierungen der einzelnen Arten spiegeln sich in den phylogenetischen Beziehungen der Arten wider. Arten der Untergattung Blackburnia besiedeln weniger Habitattypen im Vergleich zu Arten der Untergattungen Colpocaccus und Metromenus. Die Larven der Untergattungen Blackburnia und Metromenus entwickeln sich vergleichsweise langsam und einige Weibchen der Untergattung Blackburnia legen die größten Eier innerhalb der Platynini. Die größte morphologische und genetische Diversität findet sich innerhalb der Untergattung Blackburnia, was auf eine größere Fragmentierung der Populationen der betreffenden Arten hinweist. Die umfassenderen ökologischen Spezialisierungen der Arten der Untergattung Blackburnia können auf dramatische historische Populationsschwankungen innerhalb der Arten zurückgeführt werden. Anthropogene Einflüsse, wie die Degradierung spezifischer Habitattypen (mesische Acacia koa Wälder) und die Einschleppung von Neozoen (z.B. Formicidae und Isopoda), haben aber die Assoziationen zwischen den phylogenetischen Beziehungen und den ökologischen Spezialisierungen verwischt. Diese Einflüsse machen deshalb eine Voraussage des Gefährdungspotentials der Arten mit Hilfe der Ergebnisse der phylogenetischen Analyse unmöglich. Einige Arten, die noch im 19. Jahrhundert Bestandteil der Koa-Wälder auf Maui waren, sind seit Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts nicht mehr nachgewiesen worden. Diese nicht mehr nachgewiesenen Arten, welche Bestandteil spezifischer ökologischer Assoziationen waren, können bei genauerer Betrachtung die Gefährdungskriterien der I.U.C.N. erfüllen. Das Fehlen phylogenetisch verwandter Arten macht die Gefährdung der Arten selbst, als auch die Gefährdung der Koa-Wälder als Ökosysteme deutlich

The First Male Specimen of Blackburnia fulgida (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Reaffirms the Species’ Identity and Phylogenetic Placement

Blackburnia fulgida Liebherr was described from a single, teneral female specimen. A subsequently collected, fully sclerotized male specimen confirms the initial diagnosis of the species, and provides information on male genitalic characters. A more complete species diagnosis is presented that includes the male genitalic characters, with those male characters completing the species’ matrix representation in a previously published cladistic analysis. These more complete data confirm the species’ phylogenetic placement as a member of a Maui Nui clade also including B. kauwa Liebherr of West Maui, B. insociabilis (Blackburn) of East Maui, B. fraudator (Sharp) of Molokai, and B. filipes (Sharp) of Lanai. Of these five species, B. fulgida is the only one to occur in higher elevation Koa/ Ohia Montane Wet Forest characterized by more well-developed mesic soils and large-stature Acacia koa trees

An affected mind - on the relevance of additional demands, task difficulty and the process of aging

The complexity of our daily life constantly increases. As a result, we are performing two or even more tasks simultaneously, we deal with complex demands and we make deci-sions in situations that are highly influenced by additional stimuli. At the same time, our society is rapidly aging and thus problems in handling these situations become more and more apparent. Therefore, the thesis at hand considers the influence of additional demands, task diffi-culty and the process of aging on cognitive task performance on a behavioral but also neurophysiological level. The three experiments comprised in the present thesis system-atically investigate the performance of a broad variety of cognitive tasks from simple re-action time tasks to dichotomous choice and double inhibition tasks with additional mnemonic components, but also a more applied gambling task while simultaneously performing different motor demands. The neurophysiological results highlight a facili-tating effect of additionally performed motor demands. Regarding the behavioral find-ings, significant effects of the additional motor demands were identified only in the most complex cognitive task - the gambling task of the third experiment. Here, partici-pants showed a more disadvantageous behavior with increasing motor demands. Con-sidering the influence of cognitive task difficulty, the second experiment impressively highlights a linear increase in response time with increasing cognitive task difficulty / complexity. Furthermore, age-related differences in cognitive task performance were identified under both single- and dual-task conditions. The present results are discussed in the context of information processing, executive functions, decision making and attention but also with regard to the process of aging. Based on the findings at hand, the increasing complexity of our daily life and thus the numerous aspects that affect our mind positively but also negatively, further studies should consider the present topics in a more applied context

Platynus degallieri

115 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-114)."The 36 species of the Platynus degallieri species group are revised. Twenty-five species are newly described: Platynus robustulus, n. sp., P. platynellus, n. sp., P. machetellus, n. sp., P. elliptolellus, n. sp., P. brunnellus, n. sp., P. caerulipennis, n. sp., P. rotundatulus, n. sp., P. minusculus, n. sp., P. stenophthalmus, n. sp., P. angustulus, n. sp., and P. decorellus, n. sp. from México; P. bacatellus, n. sp., P. crypticulus, n. sp., and P. imitativus, n. sp. from México and Guatemala; P. marginissimus, n. sp. from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador; P. rugulellus, n. sp., and P. nevermanni, n. sp. from Costa Rica; P. margaritulus, n. sp., P. barbarellus, n. sp., P. woldai, n. sp., P. flavomarginatus, n. sp., P. mimulus, n. sp., and P. purpurellus, n. sp. from Panamá; P. nitidulus, n. sp. from Costa Rica and Panamá; and P. baorucensis, n. sp. from Dominican Republic. Acupalpus striatulus Reiche, 1843 is synonymized with Anchomenus aeneipennis Dejean, 1831 (new synonymy). Glyptolenopsis Perrault, 1991 is considered a junior synonym of Platynus Bonelli, 1810 (new synonymy). New combinations include Platynus degallieri (Perrault) and P. aeneipennis (Dejean). A key for the identification of the species is provided, and each species treatment includes a synonymy, diagnosis, description, and distributional information. Three Mexican species, close outgroups of the degallieri group, are also described: Platynus pygmaeus, n. sp. from Chiapas and Oaxaca; P. ballorum, n. sp. from Puebla; and P. franiai, n. sp. from Guerrero and Oaxaca. Cladistic analysis based on 59 unit-coded characters is performed on the 36 ingroup taxa. Eleven outgroup taxa are included in the analysis to facilitate character polarization within the degallieri group, and to obtain a preliminary assessment of recent classificatory attempts on the Neotropical Platynus. Patterns of character state change are compared between male and female reproductive characters, and found to corroborate Eberhard's hypothesis of female choice as a determinant in genitalic evolution. Areas of endemism are defined by the distributions of geographically restricted species within the aggregate species-group distributional range, and include the Hispaniolan, Cuban-Bahamian, Mexican, northern Mexican, northern Central American, lower Central American, and South American areas. Area relationships are determined using component analysis. The time of origin of the species group is hypothesized to be Miocene to Oligocene, based on the sister area relationship of northern México with México plus northern Central America--that relationship dated Miocene in the sympatric platynine carabid genus Elliptoleus Bates. The Antillean areas of endemism are ambiguously related either to the Mexican plus northern Central American areas, or to the lower Central American plus South American areas. An Oligocene to Miocene colonization of the Antilles at approximately the time of origin of the species group is consistent with these relationships. The lower Central American diversification can be dated as post-Miocene, corresponding to the Talamancan orogeny in Costa Rica and Panama. The South American area has been recently colonized by two widespread species of the group, and its area relationships are probably due more to recent range expansion than to an accretionary geological event. Information on habitats occupied by the species is presented. Elevational ranges are used as a measure of the stability of habitats occupied by the various species. Brachypterous taxa are shown to occupy ecologically more stable, higher elevational habitats. This association is shown to be based on a relatively limited number of historical events whereby ancestral brachypterous taxa came to occupy high elevation habitats, with repeated vicariance without habitat change increasing the diversity of such clades. Habitat relationships are compared to those predicted under the taxon cycle and taxon pulse hypotheses. Three possible radiations--12 mainland and Antillean species, a subset of this clade comprising 7 Antillean species, and a clade of 19 mainland species of which 12 are found in lower Central America--are tested for conformity to taxon cycle predictions using a randomization test. All sets of empirical data fail to demonstrate significant action of a taxon cycle during the ecological diversification of the group"--P. 5

Anchomenus clade

163 p. : ill.. maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-157)."Taxa comprising the Anchomenus clade within the carabid tribe Platynini, subtribe Platyni, possess the synapomorphy of a female spermatheca with a basal reservoir and a long apical filament. As presently constituted, this clade comprises 29 species arrayed in four genera; the monotypic Tetraleucus Casey in eastern North America, the Holarctic Anchomenus Bonelli with 10 species, the Holarctic Sericoda Kirby with 7 species, and the Mexican Elliptoleus Bates with 11 species. Seven species are newly described; Anchomenus capensis, n. sp. from Baja California Sur, Sericoda montana, n. sp. from Cuba, Elliptoleus corvus, n. sp. from México state, Elliptoleus zapotecorum, n. sp. from Oaxaca, Elliptoleus whiteheadi, n. sp. from Guerrero, Elliptoleus balli, n. sp. from Jalisco and Michoacan, and Elliptoleus tequilae, n. sp. from Jalisco. New combinations proposed include: Tetraleucus picticornis Newman (removed from Agonum Bonelli); Anchomenus virescens Motschulsky (removed from Chlaeniomimus Semenow, 1889, as that generic name is a new synonym of Anchomenus Bonelli, 1810); Anchomenus yukihikoi (removed from Agonum (Nipponanchus) Habu, 1978, as that subgeneric name is a new synonym of Anchomenus); Sericoda ceylonica (removed from Agonum Bonelli), and Sericoda lissoptera (removed from Anchomenus Bonelli). Species-level names placed into synonymy within Anchomenus, followed by their respective senior synonyms, include: Dohrni diana Sahlberg = dohrnii Fairmaire, discophorus Chaudoir = dorsalis Pontoppidan, cyaneus asturicus Heinz = cyaneus Dejean, gracilicollis Jakowleff = virescens Motschulsky. Batenus? borealis Motschulsky is removed from synonymy under Sericoda bogemannii, and is recognized as a junior synonym of Agonum consimile Gyllenhal. Lectotypes are designated for Anchomenus dohrnii diana Sahlberg, Anchomenus virescens Motschulsky, A. leucopus Bates, A. funebris LeConte, Sericoda lissoptera Chaudoir, S. ceylonica Motschulsky, Elliptoleus acutesculptus Bates, E. olisthopoides Bates, E. curtulus Bates, E. vixstriatus Bates, E. luteipes Csiki, and E. crepericornis Bates. A cladistic hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationships among the species is formulated based on 65 potential synapomorphies of adults, represented by 54 characters. The genera Sericoda and Elliptoleus are hypothesized as sister genera, with Anchomenus their sister group. Tetraleucus is the outgroup for the rest of the clade. The amount of character evolution is heterogeneous across the clade, with significantly less anagenetic change per internode of the cladogram within Elliptoleus compared to its sister group Sericoda. Elliptoleus species possess limited powers of dispersal and exhibit very restricted geographic ranges, whereas Sericoda species readily fly and possess some of the largest geographic ranges observed within Carabidae. Thus, relatively less anagenetic change is associated with speciation in the less vagile more endemic Elliptoleus, and extensive anagenesis occurs during the history of the vagile, widespread Sericoda species. First-instar larvae of 6 of the 29 species are described, and a cladistic hypothesis of relationships based on six larval characters is proposed. This hypothesis supports the monophyly of the sister genera Sericoda and Elliptoleus, but is otherwise discordant with the cladistic hypothesis based on adult characters. Autapomorphies of the first-instar larvae of the six taxa are listed in order to facilitate comparison of derived states in newly discovered larvae. The biogeographic patterns within the individual genera are analyzed using cladistic biogeographic methodology. The entire clade is hypothesized as Eocene in age, with the basal taxon Tetraleucus isolated from Old World progenitors of the rest of the clade due to amphi-Atlantic vicariance. Anchomenus is divisable into two clades; four New World species distributed along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, and six Old World species distributed from Japan to western Europe. Beringian vicariance in the Miocene is the likely cause of this pattern. Sericoda species exhibit a collective Holarctic distribution, with one species found in montane regions of southeast Asia and Indomalaya. Beringian vicariance has occurred at least twice during the diversification of the seven species leading to divergence of: (1) S. ceylonica from its sister group of S. bembidioides plus S. montana, (2) the sister species S. bogemannii and S. obsoleta. These vicariant events are hypothesized to have occurred in late Miocene or Pliocene times. Elliptoleus was probably isolated in México from its more northern sister group, Sericoda, in late Miocene. Cladistic biogeographic analysis allows derivation of a fundamental area cladogram for the temperate humid montane forest habitats occupied by Elliptoleus species. The Sierra Madre Occidental is hypothesized as the sister area of the Transvolcanic Sierra plus the more southerly Sierra de Oaxaca and Sierra Madre del Sur. Biotic connections of the Transvolcanic Sierra with montane regions to the south are via a filter bridge along the Atlantic versant, running from Pico de Orizaba to the Sierra de Oaxaca. Divergence events at the species level are geographically associated with river valleys, or regions of geological uplift near major volcanoes"--P. 5

Taxonomic review of Australian Mecyclothorax Sharp (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Moriomorphini) with special emphasis on the M. lophoides (Chaudoir) species complex

The Australian fauna of Mecyclothorax Sharp (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Moriomorphini) is reviewed, with special focus on species assigned to the monophyletic subgenus Eucyclothorax Liebherr: M. isolatus, sp. n. from Western Australia, M. moorei Baehr, M. punctatus (Sloane), M. curtus (Sloane), M. blackburni (Sloane); M. eyrensis (Blackburn); M. peryphoides (Blackburn); M. darlingtoni, sp. n. from Queensland; M. jameswalkeri, sp. n. from Western Australia; M. lophoides (Chaudoir); and M. cordicollis (Sloane). The last six species listed above–the M. lophoides species complex–have been the source of long-term confusion for taxonomists, with male genitalic characters providing trouble-free species circumscription. One new subspecies, M. lewisensis estriatus, subsp. n. from Queensland is added to the seven previously described taxa of the monophyletic subgenus Qecyclothorax Liebherr. The balance of the fauna consists of four species in the subgenus Mecyclothorax: 1 and 2, the sister-species pair M. lateralis (Castelnau) and M. minutus (Castelnau); 3, M. ambiguus (Erichson); and 4, M. punctipennis (MacLeay). Mecyclothorax fortis (Blackburn), syn. n., is newly synonymized with M. minutus. Mecyclothorax ovalis Sloane is recombined as Neonomius ovalis (Sloane), comb. n., and a neotype is designated to replace the destroyed holotype. Phylogenetic relationships for the Australian Mecyclothorax are proposed based on information from 68 terminal taxa and 139 morphological characters. The biogeographic history of Australian Mecyclothorax is deduced based the sister-group relationship between Mecyclothorax and the Amblytelus-related genera, with both groups hypothesized to have originated during the late Eocene. Diversification within Mecyclothorax has occurred since then in montane rainforests of tropical Queensland, temperate forest biomes of the southwest and southeast, and in grasslands and riparian habitats adjacent and inland from those forests. Several species presently occupy interior desert regions, though no sister species mutually occupy such climatically harsh habitats. The M. lophoides species complex exhibits profound male genitalic diversification within the context of conserved external anatomy. This disparity is investigated with regard to the functional interaction of the male internal sac flagellum and female spermathecal duct. Though limited association of flagellar and spermathecal duct configurations can be documented, several factors complicate proposing a general evolutionary mechanism for the observed data. These include: 1, the occurrence of derived, elongate spermathecal ducts in three species, two of which exhibit very long male flagella, whereas males of the third exhibit a very short flagellum; and 2, a highly derived and exaggerated male flagellar configuration shared across a sister-species pair even though the two species can be robustly diagnosed using external anatomical characters, other significant genitalic differences involving male parameral setation, and biogeographic allopatry associated with differential occupation of desert versus forest biomes

Single molecule kinetics of horseradish peroxidase exposed in large arrays of femtoliter-sized fused silica chambers

Large arrays of femtoliter-sized chambers were etched into the surface of fused silica slides to enclose and observe hundreds of single horseradish peroxidase (HRP) molecules in parallel. Individual molecules of HRP oxidize the fluorogenic substrate Amplex Red to fluorescent resorufin in separate chambers, which was monitored by fluorescence microscopy. Photooxidation of Amplex Red and photobleaching of resorufin have previously limited the analysis of HRP in femtoliter arrays. We have strongly reduced these effects by optimizing the fluorescence excitation and detection scheme to yield accurate single molecule substrate turnover rates. We demonstrate the presence of long-lived kinetic states of single HRP molecules that are individually different for each molecule in the array. The large number of molecules investigated in parallel provides excellent statistics on the activity distribution in the enzyme population, which is similar to that reported for other enzymes such as β-galactosidase. We have further confirmed that the product formation of HRP in femtoliter chambers is 10-fold lower than that in the bulk solution due to the particular two-step redox reaction mechanism of HRP

Оценка факторов рабочей среды при производстве фосфорных удобрений

Сделана оценка факторов рабочей среды при производстве фосфорных удобрений в "Агрополихиме" АД – в цехе "Фосфорная кислота" и в цехе "Тройной фосфат". Ведущее место по своей выраженности занимают химические вредные факторы. Кроме этого, внимание направлено на физико- химический фактор пыли и физический фактор шума