Identification of host odour attractants for tsetse flies. Final report 1986-1990

Tsetse flies, Glossina spp., are blood-feeding insects and vectors of trypanosomes, microorganisms which cause sleeping sickness in man and a similar disease, "nagana" in domestic animals. The economic importance of trypanosomiasis is the constraint it imposes on orderly rural development in Africa, leading to under-exploitation of infested land and over-exploitation and degradation of trypanosomiasis-free areas. Traps and targets which attract tsetse flies and kill them could provide environmentally-acceptable, appropriate technology for monitoring and control of tsetse in Africa. Unbaited devices providing only visual attraction have proved effective in monitoring and control of riverine species of tsetse, but not the savannah species found in the fly belt of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe covered by the EDF Regional Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control Project (RTTCP). Previously, collaborative was begun between glossinologists of the Zimbabwe Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and UK Tsetse Research Laboratory (TRL) and chemists at NRI. This brought together the experience of the DVS in the field, the experience of TRL in laboratory bioassay work, and the experience of NRI in using gas chromatography linked to electroantennography (GC-EAG) and chemical techniques to detect and identify insect behaviour-modifying chemicals. Tsetse attractants produced by host animals were identified and synthesised, and dispensing systems for these compounds devised. Traps and targets impregnated with insecticide, baited with these lures were shown to provide effective control of the savannah tsetse species, G. pallidipes and G. m. morsitans

Temperature-Induced Increase in Methane Release from Peat Bogs: A Mesocosm Experiment

Peat bogs are primarily situated at mid to high latitudes and future climatic change projections indicate that these areas may become increasingly wetter and warmer. Methane emissions from peat bogs are reduced by symbiotic methane oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs). Higher temperatures and increasing water levels will enhance methane production, but also methane oxidation. To unravel the temperature effect on methane and carbon cycling, a set of mesocosm experiments were executed, where intact peat cores containing actively growing Sphagnum were incubated at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C. After two months of incubation, methane flux measurements indicated that, at increasing temperatures, methanotrophs are not able to fully compensate for the increasing methane production by methanogens. Net methane fluxes showed a strong temperature-dependence, with higher methane fluxes at higher temperatures. After removal of Sphagnum, methane fluxes were higher, increasing with increasing temperature. This indicates that the methanotrophs associated with Sphagnum plants play an important role in limiting the net methane flux from peat. Methanotrophs appear to consume almost all methane transported through diffusion between 5 and 15°C. Still, even though methane consumption increased with increasing temperature, the higher fluxes from the methane producing microbes could not be balanced by methanotrophic activity. The efficiency of the Sphagnum-methanotroph consortium as a filter for methane escape thus decreases with increasing temperature. Whereas 98% of the produced methane is retained at 5°C, this drops to approximately 50% at 25°C. This implies that warming at the mid to high latitudes may be enhanced through increased methane release from peat bogs

Evolution of the Neckeraceae (Bryophyta): resolving the backbone phylogeny

Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Peer reviewe

Gas pipeline monitoring in Europe by satellite SAR

present, gas pipeline networks in Europe are routinely monitored by vehicle and air patrols to protect them against damage by soil movement and third part interference. Because of the expenses, pipeline operators are investigating the possibilities to replace these traditional monitoring methods by remote sensing from space. A preliminary analysis shows that considerable savings can be achieved by deploying a user network of ground stations to receive the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of the ENVISAT, RADARSAT-2. ALOS and TerraSAR satellit

Pro-active methods for maritime border control

About one week of AIS (Automatic Identification System) data are analysed to derive indicators for discriminating between suspect and fiducial vessels. This data is obtained from approximately 1100 vessels along the Dutch North Sea coast including the entrance to the main port of Rotterdam. The indicators are used to learn about normal vessel behaviour, which is needed for comparison to detect suspicious vessels. Possibly, the investigated indicators may be used in classification algorithms or for direct interpretation by e.g. border patrols to detect suspicious vessels pro-actively, i.e. before they cross the maritime (land-sea) border

A practical method for computing SAR satellite revisit times: application to RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT

Many geoscience applications of space‐borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery require knowledge of the revisit time of the satellite at a location. In this paper, a practical method is presented for computing the revisit times of SAR satellites at any location on Earth. The method is based on the use of maps that give the number of imaging tracks, i.e. the number of satellite ground tracks from which a location can be imaged. With these maps and some basic equations, the revisit time of a SAR satellite or an arbitrary constellation of SAR satellites can be computed easily. As such, the presented method offers an alternative to computer programs that may not be available to everyone and often are tailored to the use of specific satellites. As an illustration of the method, maps with the number of imaging tracks have been computed for RADARSAT‐1 and ENVISAT and their ease of use is shown by means of an exampl

Application of Satellite Altimetry for Global Ocean Tide Modeling

Aerospace Engineerin

Ship detection with Envisat's alternating polarization mode

A ship detection algorithm is developed that uses Envisat ASAR imagery in alternating polarisation mode. From airborne data it is shown that of the two co-polarisations, HH is preferred over VV because of a larger ship-to-clutter ratio. Combining the HH and HV images of alternating polarisation mode, it is found that the correlation between the two images effectively reduces the number of false alarms

Land use classification of polarimetric SAR data by visual interpretation and comparison with an automatic procedure

A study is presented in which several representations of polarimetric SAR data were evaluated for the purpose of obtaining land use classification. Two methods comprising visual interpretation and an automatic procedure were used. For the study, fully polarimetric SAR data with a resolution of 3m were obtained with the Dutch PHARUS sensor from a test area in the Netherlands showing various classes of land use. The land use classes consisted of bare soil, water, grass, urban areas, and forest. The visual inspection was performed by different groups of non-expert interpreters for each representation. It was found that people are quite successful by visual interpretation in performing land use classification using SAR data. Multi-polarized data are required for this purpose, although these data need not be fully polarimetric, since the best results were obtained with the hh- and hv-polarization combinations displayed in the red and green colour channels. The results show that land use classification by visual inspection is more effective than the automatic classification procedure

Visual interpretation of polarimetric SAR imagery

A study is presented in which several different representations of polarimetric SAR data for visual interpretation are evaluated. Using a group of observers the tasks 'land use classification' and 'object detection' were examined. For the study, polarimetric SAR data were used with a resolution of 3 meters. These data were obtained with the Dutch PHARUS sensor from two test areas in the Netherlands. The land use classes consisted of bare soil, water, grass, urban and forest. The objects were farmhouses. It was found that people are reasonably successful in performing land use classification using SAR data. Multi- polarized data are required, but these data need not to be fully polarimetric, since the best results were obtained with the hh- and hv-polarization combinations displayed in the red and green color channels. Detection of objects in SAR imagery by visual inspection is very difficult. Most representations gave minimal results. Only when the hh- and hv-polarization combinations were displayed in the red and green channels, somewhat better results were obtained. Comparison with an automatic classification procedure showed that land use classification by visual inspection appears to be the more effective. Automatic detection of objects gave better results than by visual inspection, but many 'false' objects were also detected