Environmental Display Can Buffer the Effect of Pesticides on Solitary Bees

Environmental quality (e.g., diversity of resource availability, nesting sites, environmental display) plays an important role in an animal's life. While homogeneous environments can restrict organisms from developing activities such as food seeking (behavioral impairment), more complex environments allow animals to perform activities with learning and behavioral perfecting outcomes. Pesticides are known to affect the learning and foraging behaviors of bees; however, little is known about the counterbalance displayed by the environment. Herein, we conducted two experiments that simulated distinct environmental displays, in which the effects of a fungicide (IndarTM 5EW-febunconazole) on solitary bee foraging activities were tested. We found that the fungicide only impaired the activities of bees in one of the studied environments. The difference in visitation rates and flower exploitation of bees between the two different environmental displays led to changes in metrics of bee-flower networks across environments. Linkage density, a metric associated with pollination efficiency that is known to be impacted by different environments, differed across environments. Our results showed that ecological interaction network metrics can differ regarding the different environmental displays. This study indicates that environmental complexity helps balance the negative effects of pesticides on solitary bees and highlights the potential use of solitary bees as model organisms for experimental simulations of environmental change

The complex concept of sustainable of diversity management:…and why forming policies in this area is far from straightforward

Purpose – Explores the notion of sustainable diversity-management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Summarizes research into the sustainability of diversity management across four countries and provides examples of efforts to maintain high levels of diversity. Findings – Looks at the activities of Africa House, an organization that develops business links with Africa, and of BEN Television, which is a television station that caters primarily for ethnic minorities. Practical implications – Demonstrates that diversity is a multi-dimensional concept that can be structured within two frameworks: demographic diversity regarding, for example, age, gender and nationality; and human-capital diversity, such as cognitive diversity, skill and experience diversity. Social implications – Highlights the complexity of diversity and so the difficulty of legislating in this area. Originality/value – Explains that employees can also stifle attempts to engage in sustainable diversity management policies. A lack of understanding of local laws or language, or through limited social contacts, can prevent full participation by employees

High dillution of Staphysagria and fruit fly biotherapic preparations to manage South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus, in organic peach orchards.

The peach, Prunus persica, is an important economic crop in southern Brazil, where family farms are predominantly small. The South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus is a limiting factor to increased production in orchard crops. Increased organic production in Brazil has stimulated research to find ecological based pest management. This research was carried out in order to evaluate the efficacy of preparations at high dilution in managing A. fraterculus in organic peach orchards. Experiments were conducted under field conditions in randomized blocks during 2003/04 and 2004/05. Treatments consisted of A. fraterculus nosodes and Staphysagria homeopathic preparations, both at two high dilution levels, 3CH and 6CH (centesimal hahnemannian dilution method), applied at two spray intervals, 5 and 10 days, and a control. Fruit losses due to A. fraterculus infestation varied from 40 to 98.3%. Although there were significant differences among treatments in the first harvest of two of the three experiments there were no significant differences in the second harvest of any of the experiments. None of the homeopathic preparations reduced the incidence of infested fruit significantly below that of the water control in any of the three experiments. Further studies must combine other strategies such as bagging fruits and planting of early season cultivars. Variation on high dilution potency, dose, and frequency of application must also be considered

Comparação de programas de alimentação para poedeiras vermelhas (Embrapa 031) confinadas em piso e semi-confinadas.

bitstream/item/58324/1/CUsersPiazzonDocuments279.pd

Avaliação do comportamento das cultivares de soja recomendadas para semeadura no Rio Grande do Sul.

bitstream/item/133864/1/ID10309-1984-1985sojaresultados-p58-61.pdfTrabalho apresentado na XIII Reunião de Pesquisa de Soja da Região Sul, Porto Alegre, 1984

Desenvolvimento de linhagens de soja adaptadas as condições de cultivo do Rio Grande do Sul.

bitstream/item/133861/1/ID10317-1984-1985sojaresultados-p9-13.pdfTrabalho apresentado na XIII Reunião de Pesquisa de Soja da Região Sul, Porto Alegre, 1984

Continuous Micro-Environments Associated Orchid Bees Benefit from an Atlantic Forest Remnant, Paraná State, Brazil

The fragmentation and habitat loss are the main causes of pollinators decline worldwide, however very little is known about the composition and distribution of neotropical pollinators along continuous micro-environments. To fill this gap, we carried out samplings of Euglossini bees in a continuous area of forest with micro-environments of primary (remnant) and secondary (regeneration) forest of Atlantic Forest. We evaluated the differences in the composition and uniformity of orchid bees in different micro-environments, in order to characterize the responses of the local environmental changes in the attraction of bees to chemical traps. Our results indicated that the composition and uniformity were similar between the two forest fragments studied here, although there are greater abundance of some species by micro-environments. We conclude that the characteristics of the sites in a continuous environment with primary and secondary forest do not seem to have an effect on the composition of the Euglossini fauna, and that the chemical substances are complementary in the attractiveness of the orchid bee males. Thus, our findings suggest that micro-environments in a continuous matrix near forest remnants can help to promote the reintegration of the orchid bee communities and contribute to the conservation of areas in process of forest regeneration

Avaliação de ensaios preliminares de linhagens de soja de primeiro ano.

bitstream/item/133858/1/ID13041-1984-1985sojaresultados-p14-28.pdfTrabalho apresentado na XIII Reunião de Pesquisa de Soja da Região Sul, Porto Alegre, 1984

Avaliação intermediária e final de linhagens de soja.

bitstream/item/133857/1/ID13042-1984-1985sojaresultados-p43-47.pdfTrabalho apresentado na XIII Reunião de Pesquisa de Soja da Região Sul, Porto Alegre, 1984