Effects of meteorological variation on mortality in populations of the spittlebug Deois flavopicta (Homoptera : Cercopidae)

We found that variation in temperature and humidity significantly affected mortality rates and population dynamics of the spittlebug Deois flavopicta Stal by monitoring cohorts of diapausing eggs and nymphs for three generations. Cohorts of quiescent eggs, when exposed to increasing periods of high moisture (free water), produced higher proportions of eggs resuming embryonic development in laboratory experiments. The accumulated number of eggs resuming development as a function of (lays of exposure to moist conditions was modeled using a 0 distribution. Periods of drought and high temperatures after the beginning of postdiapause development increased embryonic and nymphal mortality. Mortality was modeled with a linear function, and in combination with the development model allowed the simulation of varying mortality rates in the newly emerged nymphal population. Comparisons with field data demonstrated a close fit to the observed and expected proportion of nymphs hatching daily. By accurately simulating natural mortality, hatching distribution and population dynamics, the model promises to be useful for managing the spittlebug in the field.31229930

Non-target and biological diversity risk assessment

This chapter discusses the following procedures for risk assessment in Bt cotton using the non-target risk assessment model developed by scientists of the GMO ERA Project ("International Project on GMO Environmental Risk Assessment Methodologies", which is a continuation of the GMO Guidelines Project, which was launched by scientists of the International Organization for Biological Control Global Working Group on "Transgenic Organisms in Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control"): (1) identify relevant functional groups of biological diversity associated with adverse effects, (2) list and prioritize species or ecological processes, (3) identify potential exposure pathways and adverse effects pathways, and use these to formulate and prioritize risk hypotheses, and (4) develop an analysis plan and suggest designs for experiments to test risk hypothese