Host preferences of some acridids (Insecta: Orthoptera) in relation to some biochemical parameters

Biochemical analysis of host plants of 6 species of acridids for their total protein, carbohydrates, phenols, free aminoacids, water and nitrogen content revealed significant correlation in regard to their host preferences, wherein the leaf water-nitrogen index as well as the total phenol composition appeared to play an important role

Collapse of the world's largest herbivores

Large wild herbivores are crucial to ecosystems and human societies. We highlight the 74 largest terrestrial herbivore species on Earth (body mass ≥100 kg), the threats they face, their important and often overlooked ecosystem effects, and the conservation efforts needed to save them and their predators from extinction. Large herbivores are generally facing dramatic population declines and range contractions, such that ~60% are threatened with extinction. Nearly all threatened species are in developing countries, where major threats include hunting, land-use change, and resource depression by livestock. Loss of large herbivores can have cascading effects on other species including large carnivores, scavengers, mesoherbivores, small mammals, and ecological processes involving vegetation, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and fire regimes. The rate of large herbivore decline suggests that ever-larger swaths of the world will soon lack many of the vital ecological services these animals provide, resulting in enormous ecological and social costs

Measuring the Impacts of Community-based Grasslands Management in Mongolia's Gobi

We assessed a donor-funded grassland management project designed to create both conservation and livelihood benefits in the rangelands of Mongolia's Gobi desert. The project ran from 1995 to 2006, and we used remote sensing Normalized Differential Vegetation Index data from 1982 to 2009 to compare project grazing sites to matched control sites before and after the project's implementation. We found that the productivity of project grazing sites was on average within 1% of control sites for the 20 years before the project but generated 11% more biomass on average than the control areas from 2000 to 2009. To better understand the benefits of the improved grasslands to local people, we conducted 280 household interviews, 8 focus group discussions, and 31 key informant interviews across 6 districts. We found a 12% greater median annual income as well as a range of other socioeconomic benefits for project households compared to control households in the same areas. Overall, the project generated measurable benefits to both nature and people. The key factors underlying project achievements that may be replicable by other conservation projects include the community-driven approach of the project, knowledge exchanges within and between communities inside and outside the country, a project-supported local community organizer in each district, and strong community leadership

Evaluation of an epoxy-bonded steel plating system for strengthening bridge decks

A large number of existing bridge decks have been designed as continuous beams over supports, and rely on negative moment capacity near the supports to carry their loads. With the increase in the Australian national mass limit for bridges, the load capacity of bridges needs to be increased, which requires the negative moment capacity near the supports to be increased. This paper examines the durability of epoxy bonding of steel plates to the deck surface for this purpose. Steel plates bonded to concrete slabs were subjected to 200 cycles of heating/cooling and wetting/drying and one million cycles of simulated wheel loading pressure. The results of shear strength testing have shown that there are some differences in the failure modes and ductility between the cycled specimens and control specimens and it appears that the concrete-epoxy interface is adversely affected by the cycling process

Sensillar diversity, density and distribution during post-embryonic development of Cyrtacanthacris ranacea Stoll and their role in feeding

Diversity, density and distribution of the sensilla of Cyrtacanthacris ranacea Stoll during post-embryonic development and their role in feeding are discussed alongside with the scanning electron microscopic studies of these sensilla