The Distribution of Natural Enemies of the Corn Leaf Aphid (Homoptera: Aphdidae) on Field Corn

(excerpt) The corn leaf aphid (CLA), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), is found on field corn in the midwest Cnited States each year. Except for infrequent and scattered outbreaks, CLA populations remain at low levels. Injury to corn occurs during tasseling (Snelling et aL 1941) and is caused by CLAs which are the progeny of colonizers that arrived 2-3 weeks earlier when the corn was in the whorl stage (Bryson 1934, Falter 1963)

Influences of Host Density, Temperature, and Parasite Age on the Reproductive Potential of \u3ci\u3eBathyplectes Curculionis\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), an Endoparasite of the Alfalfa Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Alfalfa weevil larvae were exposed to Bathyplectes curculionis (Thomson) to determine the effect of host density, temperature, and parasite age on the reproductive potential of curculionis. Percent parasitism was found to be inversely proportional to host density and most of the parasites distributed their eggs randomly regardless of host density. The number of eggs deposited was largely independent of temperature. Peak egg laying was reached in three days from which point the parasite\u27s capabilities diminished with increasing age. The longevity of ovipositing females was shorter than females that were not exposed to larvae

Kinetic experiments on the nature of the growth mechanism in oat coleoptile cells

A method was devised for following the growth rate of oat coleoptile cylinders with sufficient precision to measure the growth that occurred in 1 minute; the solution treating the section could be completely replaced with a different solution within 15 seconds. It was found that response of the elongation rate to changes in temperature was complete within 20 seconds, with a Q10 of about 3.5 in the temperature range 2-23[deg]C, and that response to treatment with cyanide, or to treatment with oxygen when the tissue had been deprived of it, was completed in a few minutes. The results are interpreted as indicating that the rate of elongation is controlled directly by the rate of a metabolic reaction or reactions rather than by a physical property like steady-flow viscosity, and hence that the growth mechanism has the character of a chemorheological process as opposed to a plastic flow.The growth rate of oat coleoptile cylinders becomes promoted, after auxin is added, only after a lag of about 10-15 minutes at 23[deg]C. This lag is not determined primarily by the rate of penetration of auxin into the tissue; it is approximately twice as long at 13[deg]C. This is considered to indicate that the action of auxin is not directly upon the growth-controlling reaction, but affects the latter indirectly via temperature-sensitive metabolic pathways.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32303/1/0000371.pd

A model of black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) development : a description, uses, and implications

Bibliography: p. 21-22

Ecological Invasion, Roughened Fronts, and a Competitor's Extreme Advance: Integrating Stochastic Spatial-Growth Models

Both community ecology and conservation biology seek further understanding of factors governing the advance of an invasive species. We model biological invasion as an individual-based, stochastic process on a two-dimensional landscape. An ecologically superior invader and a resident species compete for space preemptively. Our general model includes the basic contact process and a variant of the Eden model as special cases. We employ the concept of a "roughened" front to quantify effects of discreteness and stochasticity on invasion; we emphasize the probability distribution of the front-runner's relative position. That is, we analyze the location of the most advanced invader as the extreme deviation about the front's mean position. We find that a class of models with different assumptions about neighborhood interactions exhibit universal characteristics. That is, key features of the invasion dynamics span a class of models, independently of locally detailed demographic rules. Our results integrate theories of invasive spatial growth and generate novel hypotheses linking habitat or landscape size (length of the invading front) to invasion velocity, and to the relative position of the most advanced invader.Comment: The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com/content/8528v8563r7u2742

Spatial variation of trace metals within intertidal beds of native mussels (Mytilus edulis) and non-native Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas): implications for the food web?

Abstract Pollution is of increasing concern within coastal regions and the prevalence of invasive species is also rising. Yet the impact of invasive species on the distribution and potential trophic transfer of metals has rarely been examined. Within European intertidal areas, the non-native Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is becoming established, forming reefs and displacing beds of the native blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). The main hypothesis tested is that the spatial pattern of metal accumulation within intertidal habitats will change should the abundance and distribution of C. gigas continue to increase. A comparative analysis of trace metal content (cadmium, lead, copper and zinc) in both species was carried out at four shores in south-east England. Metal concentrations in bivalve and sediment samples were determined after acid digestion by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Although results showed variation in the quantities of zinc, copper and lead (mg m-2) in the two bivalve species, differences in shell thickness are also likely to influence the feeding behaviour of predators and intake of metals. The availability and potential for trophic transfer of metals within the coastal food web, should Pacific oysters transform intertidal habitats, is discussed