PREDATION ON SCARLET MACAW (ARA MACAO CYANOPTERA) CHICKS BY COLLARED FOREST FALCONS (MICRASTUR SEMITORQUATUS) IN THE MAYA BIOSPHERE RESERVE, GUATEMALA

Abstract ∙ Through efforts of the Wildlife Conservation Society, poaching in an important Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) nesting area in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala had been reduced to zero by 2004. However, during long‐term monitoring of the nesting success of Scarlet Macaws in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, unexplained or unknown disappearance of chicks from nests was common despite the aforementioned reduction in poaching. To determine the cause of these disappearances, we installed five video camera surveillance systems in the nest cavities during the 2008 nesting season. Fatal attacks on chicks by Collared Forest Falcons (Micrastur semitorquatus) were recorded at three of these nests. This result highlights natural predation as a limiting factor for the recruitment of new individuals into the Scarlet Macaw population in the Maya Biosphere Reserve even when poaching is suppressed.Resumen ∙ Depredación de pichones de Guacamayas Rojas (Ara macao cyanoptera) por Halcones Selváticos de Collar (Micrastur semitorquatus) en la Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, Guatemala A través de los esfuerzos de la Wildlife Conservation Society, el robo de pichones de Guacamayas Rojas (Ara macao cyanoptera) en una importante zona de anidación de la Reserva de la Biosfera Maya en Guatemala ha sido reducido a cero desde el año 2004. Sin embargo, durante el monitoreo a largo plazo del éxito de anidación de las guacamayas rojas en la Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, la desaparición por razones desconocidas de pichones de los nidos fue común a pesar de la reducción de robos anteriormente mencionada. Para determinar la causa de estas desapariciones, instalamos cinco sistemas de vigilancia de cámaras de video en los nidos durante la temporada de anidación de 2008. En tres de estos cinco nidos se registraron ataques fatales contra pichones por parte del Halcón Selvático de Collar (Micrastur semitorquatus). Este resultado destaca la depredación natural como un factor limitante para el reclutamiento de nuevos individuos en la población de Guacamayas Rojas en la Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, incluso cuando se suprime el robo de pichones.

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 14, No. 2

• Christmas Fraktur, Christmas Broadsides • The Shape of Food That Was • Bakeovens in the Pennsylvania Folk-Culture • Deivels-Dreck (Asafoetida) Yesterday and Today • Reminiscences of Centerport, 1876-1885 • Ohio School Children Study the Pennsylvania Dutchhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1018/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 45, No. 3

• Folklife at the Margins: Cultural Conservation for the Schuylkill Heritage Corridor • The Goschenhoppen Historians: Preserving and Celebrating Pennsylvania German Folk Culture • The African American Festival of Odunde: Twenty Years on South Street • Joanna Furnace: Then and Now • Port Clinton: A Peek Into the Pasthttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1146/thumbnail.jp

Pre-Release Consumption of Methyl Eugenol Increases the Mating Competitiveness of Sterile Males of the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, in Large Field Enclosures

The sterile insect technique may be implemented to control populations of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), when environmental concerns preclude widespread use of chemical attractants or toxicants. The goal of the present study was to evaluate whether the mating competitiveness of sterile B. dorsalis males could be increased via pre-release feeding on methyl eugenol. Males of the oriental fruit fly are strongly attracted to this plant-borne compound, which they ingest and use in the synthesis of the sex pheromone. Previous studies conducted in the laboratory and small field-cages have shown that males given methyl eugenol produce a more attractive pheromone for females and have a higher mating success rate than males denied methyl eugenol. Here, levels of egg sterility were compared following the release of wild-like flies and either methyl eugenol-fed (treated) or methyl eugenol-deprived (control) sterile males in large field enclosures at four over flooding ratios ranging from 5:1 to 60:1 (sterile: wild-like males). Treated sterile males were fed methyl eugenol for 1–4 h (depending on the over flooding ratio tested) 3 d prior to release. Eggs were dissected from introduced fruits (apples), incubated in the laboratory, and scored for hatch rate. The effect of methyl eugenol was most pronounced at lower over flooding ratios. At the 5:1 and 10:1 over flooding ratios, the level of egg sterility observed for treated, sterile males was significantly greater than that observed for control, sterile males. In addition, the incidence of egg sterility reported for treated sterile males at these lower over flooding ratios was similar to that noted for treated or control sterile males at the 30:1 or 60:1 over flooding ratios. This latter result, in particular, suggests that pre-release feeding on methyl eugenol allows for a reduction in the number of sterile flies that are produced and released, thus increasing the cost-effectiveness of the sterile insect technique

Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are heritable behaviours associated with 15% and 5.3% of worldwide deaths, respectively, due largely to broad increased risk for disease and injury(1-4). These substances are used across the globe, yet genome-wide association studies have focused largely on individuals of European ancestries(5). Here we leveraged global genetic diversity across 3.4 million individuals from four major clines of global ancestry (approximately 21% non-European) to power the discovery and fine-mapping of genomic loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use, to inform function of these loci via ancestry-aware transcriptome-wide association studies, and to evaluate the genetic architecture and predictive power of polygenic risk within and across populations. We found that increases in sample size and genetic diversity improved locus identification and fine-mapping resolution, and that a large majority of the 3,823 associated variants (from 2,143 loci) showed consistent effect sizes across ancestry dimensions. However, polygenic risk scores developed in one ancestry performed poorly in others, highlighting the continued need to increase sample sizes of diverse ancestries to realize any potential benefit of polygenic prediction.Peer reviewe

Track A Basic Science

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138319/1/jia218438.pd

Method and apparatus for lane sensing for automatic vehicle steering

A lane sensing system (20) comprises a processor (22) operable to drive an infrared optical transmitter (24). Light is reflected by a center stripe (18) placed in the center of a highway lane. Reflected light is received in right and left receivers (26) and (28). The processor (22) uses the information to control a power steering control system (30) and a speed control system (32). Information may be encrypted into the center stripe (18) and used by processor (22) to control the speed of the vehicle (10) or to display information to an operator of the vehicle (10) through a display system (34).U

Range measurement system

A vehicle control system (12) is provided which comprises a range measurement system (14) which transmits a signal (20) to a target (22) and receives an echo signal (24) returned from the target (22). The range measurement system (14) comprises a transmitter system (26) and a receiver system (28). The receiver system (28) generates an analog signal representative of the range. The target (22) transmits the range signal to a processor (30). Processor (30) may be used to provide warning signals and to control a conventional speed control system (16) coupled to the throttle (18) of a vehicle (10).U

Range measurement system

A vehicle control system (12) is provided which comprises a range measurement system (14) which transmits a signal (20) to a target (22) and receives an echo signal (24) returned from the target (22). The range measurement system (14) comprises a transmitter system (26) and a receiver system (28). The receiver system (28) generates an analog signal representative of the range. The target (22) transmits the range signal to a processor (30). Processor (30) may be used to provide warning signals and to control a conventional speed control system (16) coupled to the throttle (18) of a vehicle (10).U

Range measurement system

A vehicle control system (12) is provided which comprises a range measurement system (14) which transmits a signal (20) to a target (22) and receives an echo signal (24) returned from the target (22). The range measurement system (14) comprises a transmitter system (26) and a receiver system (28). The receiver system (28) generates an analog signal representative of the range. The target (22) transmits the range signal to a processor (30). Processor (30) may be used to provide warning signals and to control a conventional speed control system (16) coupled to the throttle (18) of a vehicle (10).U