#Ancient fig wasp lived tens of millions of years before figsa 115-million-year-old fossilized wasp from northeast Brazil presents a baffling puzzle to researchers.
The wasp's ovipositor the organ through which it lays its eggs looks a lot like those of present-day wasps that lay their eggs in figs.
The problem researchers say is that figs arose about 65 million years after this wasp was alive.
The wasp belongs to the Hymenoptera superfamily known as Chalcidoidea which parasitize other insects spiders and some plants.
and is estimated to contain up to 500000 species. This is a tiny parasitic wasp it's the smallest fossil wasp found in this particular deposit
and it's the oldest representative of its family said Sam Heads a paleoentomologist at the Illinois Natural history Survey at the University of Illinois. More importantly it's possible that this wasp was associated fig
The new findings demonstrate the value of studying insect fossils Heads said. The fossil record of insects is very extensive both geographically and temporally.
It goes back 415 to 420 million years and preserves the ancestral forms of a lot of the insects that are alive today he said.
So it's a great resource for understanding insect evolutionary history and the distribution of insects across the planet in the past.
The presence of a wasp with an ovipositor that looks like those used by fig wasps today is not hard evidence that figs were around in the fossil wasp's day--a time of dinosaurs Heads said.
There is no evidence of the existence of figs at this time and the most recent molecular study doesn't place figs that far back he said.
and this wasp was parasitizing whatever that was. This could be an example of convergent evolution where separate species independently evolve similar traits he said.
Or the fossil wasp could be the ancestor of the fig wasp and its ovipositor first adapted to a plant or fruit that was around long before the fig later found a use in figs.
Comparing insect fossils with living organisms offers new insights into the natural history of insects the plants they pollinate
This differs significantly from studies of the fossils of animals that have become extinct. When you talk about paleontology to people the first thing they think of is said dinosaurs he.
Dinosaurs are really exciting wonderful animals. But for the most part they're extinct. With insects and other arthropods like spiders and scorpions they're around still.
So we have modern forms to compare our fossil forms to which is incredibly useful.
#Preference for oranges protects fruit flies from parasitesthe fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is pickier than previously thought when it comes to choosing the best site for egg-laying.
and their colleagues in Nigeria discovered that the insects prefer the smell of citrus. This preference is controlled by one single odorant receptor.
because parasitoid wasps feeding on the larvae of Drosophila avoid citrus fruits. The same smell that is attractive to the flies also repels the wasps.
The scientists used imaging techniques to visualize the activity in certain areas of the flies brains
while these were stimulated with different odours and they were able to localize and identify the receptor for citrus.
Flies in which this receptor was silenced were no longer able to distinguish oranges from other fruits.
For egg-laying insects selecting the best site to lay eggs is crucial for the survival of the eggs and larvae.
Once the eggs have been deposited the maternal care of the female flies ends: eggs and larvae are henceforth at the mercy of their environment;
Suitable and sufficient food sources for the hungry larvae and protection against predators and parasites are important selection criteria for the best oviposition substrates.
First Marcus Stensmyr Bill Hansson and their colleagues in the Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology tested the preferred egg-laying substrates of fruit flies by letting insects select among different ripe fruits.
They excluded damaged fruits to make sure that the smell of yeast would not influence the flies choices (yeast is the flies main food source.
An analysis of the behavioural assays showed that female flies preferred to lay their eggs on oranges.
Further selection experiments helped to identify the odour that was the crucial factor for the flies choice:
Flies were attracted not to limonene-deficient oranges. On the other hand they were drawn immediately to fruits that had been spiked with synthetic limonene.
Although citrus is not an attractant for the flies it elicits egg laying. Interestingly evolution has split the perception of odours into two channels:
By performing electrophysiological measurements the scientists were able to quantify the flies'responses to limonene
Subsequently they tested the flies responses to 450 different odours. Apart from limonene valencene another component of citrus fruit also triggered a strong response.
lemons are favoured less by flies because of their acidity. Compounds that activated these particular sensory neurons induced oviposition.
In vivo calcium imaging of the flies brains stimulated with citrus enabled the researchers to identify the corresponding odorant receptor.
#oewe were surprised quite that by silencing just this single odorant receptor flies could no longer localize their preferred egg-laying substrate.#
#In nature a considerable proportion of Drosophila larvae are killed by enemies mainly parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside the larvae.
It is astonishing that these wasps are repelled by citrus odours although citrus should guide them to their food source:
Drosophila larvae. The parasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardii which specializes in Drosophila melanogaster is repelled by valencene. In a further choice experiment the wasps had to choose larvae from two substrates one with valencene
and one without and they clearly preferred the larvae on the valencene-free substrate. It is still unknown why the wasps avoid citrus.
However it is certain that female fruit flies have learned to let their offspring grow on citrus fruits
because there the larvae are protected better against parasites. These research results provide important information about the criteria that insects use to select an oviposition site that guarantees the improved development of their offspring.
Marcus Stensmyr is convinced that#oethere are similar processes in other insects and ways to manipulate them#These insights may lead to new ways to control insects especially those that destroy crops or transfer diseases.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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#The first decade: Team reports on US trials of bioenergy grassesthe first long-term U s. field trials of Miscanthus x giganteus a towering perennial grass used in bioenergy production reveal that its exceptional yields
though reduced somewhat after five years of growth are still more than twice those of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) another perennial grass used as a bioenergy feedstock.
#First evidence of primates regularly sleeping in cavesscientists have discovered that some ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar regularly retire to limestone chambers for their nightly snoozes the first evidence of the consistent daily use of the same caves and crevices for sleeping among the world's wild primates.
The ring-tailed lemurs may be opting to sleep in caves for several reasons said University of Colorado Boulder anthropology Associate professor Michelle Sauther who led the study.
because it provides safety from potential predators it also can provide the primates with access to water
or hot weather and provide refuge from encroaching human activities like deforestation she said The remarkable thing about our study was that over a six-year period the same troops of ring-tailed lemurs used the same sleeping caves on a regular daily basis
What we are seeing is a consistent habitual use of caves as sleeping sites by these primates a wonderful behavioral adaptation we had known not about before.
Funding for the project came from Primate Conservation Inc. the International Primate Society the American Society of Primatologists the National geographic Society CU-Boulder the University of North dakota Colorado College and the National Science Foundation.
Although sleeping in caves by ring-tailed lemurs--which are found only in Madagascar--has likely been going on for millennia it is only now being recognized as a regular behavior said Sauther.
The endangered Fusui langurs slender long-tailed Asian monkeys roughly 2 feet tall also have been documented sleeping in caves
There also have been isolated reports of South african baboons sleeping in caves. Ring-tailed lemurs are identified easily by their characteristic black and white ringed tails
which can be twice as long as their bodies. They weigh roughly 5 pounds with a head-body length of up to 18 inches
Sporting fox-like snouts and slender frames they are unusual among lemurs spending a considerable amount of time on the ground feeding on leaves
In gallery forests near rivers ring-tailed lemurs regularly sleep high in the canopies of tall trees.
because predators can easily climb them Sauther said. The new study documents their cave sleeping behavior in the dry spiny forest habitat adjacent to limestone cliffs.
The lemur observations were made at the 104000-acre Tsimanampesotse National park and the Tsinjoriake Protected Area in southwestern Madagascar between 2006 and this year.
The research team used field observations and motion-detector camera traps to chart the behavior and movements of 11 different troops of ring-tailed lemurs.
One of the early clues to the cave sleeping by the lemurs was their presence on limestone cliffs adjacent to spiny forest trees
The primary predator of the lemurs is a catlike carnivorous mammal called a fossa native only to Madagascar that is closely related to the mongoose
Fossil evidence shows a cougar-sized relative of the fossa that only became extinct several thousand years ago likely preyed on lemurs as well she said.
There is evidence that some early ancestors of humans in South africa may have used caves to protect themselves from predators said Sauther.
and some fossil bones have evidence of damage consistent with the bite of saber-toothed cats.
We think cave-sleeping is something ring-tailed lemurs have been doing for a long time she said. The behavior may be characteristic of a deep primate heritage that goes back millions of years.
Co-authors of the new study included Associate professor Frank Cuozzo of the University of North dakota Ibrahim Antho Youssouf Jacky Lova Ravelohasindrazana and Jean Ravoavy of the University of Toliara in Madagascar Krista
Sauther co-directs the Beza Mahafalay Lemur Biology Project in southwestern Madagascar with Cuozzo a former CU-Boulder doctoral student.
Centered at the roughly 1500-acre Beza Mahafalay Special Reserve the research focuses on how climate-and human-induced change affects lemur biology behavior and survival.
I never thought I would have a chance as a CU undergraduate to conduct research in an exotic place like Madagascar said former UROP student Anthony Massaro who was part of a team that trapped ring-tailed lemurs measured their physical characteristics including dentition
Ring-tailed lemurs are listed now as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission.
Today she has several CU-Boulder doctoral students working with her including James Millette who is studying how the tooth wear of lemurs relates to their foraging behaviors.
because without the support of these people there would be no lemur conservation. We consider Beza where we have been working with the community for several decades to be a real success story.
#Fruit pest targeted by genomic researchthe spotted wing drosophila a major pest that targets berries and cherries and other fruits in the United states Canada and Europe is itself being targeted thanks to groundbreaking genome sequencing at the University of California Davis
and control strategies for the pest. Officially published Dec 1 in the journal G3 (Genes Genomics Genetics) the open-access research has been available online for several weeks and drawing global attention.
To enable basic and applied research of this important pest Drosophila suzukii we sequenced the genome to obtain a high-quality reference sequence said molecular geneticist Joanna Chiu of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
The posting of the genome and comparative sequence analysis on the publicly accessible Spottedwingflybase Web portal could lead to more species-specific weapons to combat the destructive pest Chiu said.
Many researchers are working hard to study the biology of this insect through basic and applied projects
The spotted wing drosophila a native of Asia that was detected first in the United states in 2008 is wreaking economic havoc on crops such as blueberries cherries blackberries and raspberries.
This fly lays its eggs inside the ripe or ripening fruit and the developing larvae feed on the soft fruit crippling crop yields.
The spotted wing drosophila is a vinegar fly about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long with red eyes pale brown thorax and a black-striped abdomen.
and the American Museum of Natural history as part of a $5. 8 million project on the biology and management of spotted wing drosophila funded by a U s. Department of agriculture Specialty Crops Research Initiative grant
Zalom recently inducted as president of the nearly 7000-member Entomological Society of America said that the G3 article presents a high-quality reference sequence of Drosophila suzukii examination of the basic properties of its genome
Given this impressive response and the worldwide importance of Drosophila suzukii I expect that the G3 article will become very highly cited
and cast Joanna Chiu as a central figure in future Drosophila suzukii genomic studies related to topics such as insecticide detoxification odorant reception and regulatory entomology Zalom
Scientists from all over the world are interested in knowledge locked inside the fly's genetic material.
He also pointed out that the genome work may relieve the fears of countries wishing to import American fruit but not the pest.
By finding the fly's unique genetic signature scientists hope that DNA testing will quickly determine
if ready-to-be shipped fruit contains spotted wing drosophila larvae. The UC Davis team included the Joanna Chiu lab
and the Frank Zalom lab both in Department of Entomology and Nematology and David Begun's drosophila evolutionary genetics lab in the Department of Evolution and Ecology.
They collaborated with Walton and spotted wing drosophila project leader Linda Brewer of OSU; Ernest Lee from the American Museum of Natural history;
and research technician Perot Saelao of the Begun lab. The Spottedwingflybase is dedicated a online resource for Drosophila suzukii genomics
but also includes comparative genomic analysis of Drosophila suzukii with other closely related Drosophila species. Story Source:
#Integrated pest management for billbugs in orchardgrasstwo weevil species the bluegrass billbug and the hunting billbug have caused widespread economic damage to orchardgrass a cool season grass that is cultivated throughout the United states as a high
However a new article in the open-access Journal of Integrated Pest Management called Ecology Taxonomy and Pest Management of Billbugs (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae) in Orchardgrass of Virginia presents an overview of the biology of orchardgrass and its associated billbug pests and reviews the control options for these pests.
and if so how likely they are to become pests. Finally the current measures available for control of billbugs in orchardgrass are limited extremely.
New management tools insecticides or otherwise are required to effectively control this pest. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Entomological Society of America.
and the African wild dog and African lion have vanished from the Sahara. Other species have fared only slightly better:
the dama gazelle and addax are gone from 99 percent of their range; the leopard from 97 percent and the Saharan cheetah from 90.
Only the Nubian ibex still inhabits most of its historical range but even this species is classified as vulnerable due to numerous threats including widespread hunting.
which harbors most of the world's 200 or so remaining wild addax and one of a handful of surviving populations of dama gazelle and Saharan cheetah.
#Himalayan flowers shed light on climate changeflower color in some parts of the world including The himalayas has evolved to attract bees as pollinators research has shown for the first time.
Associate professor Adrian Dyer of Monash and RMIT said previous studies had shown that flower color evolved to attract bees as pollinators in temperate environments
Mountainous environments provide an ideal natural experiment to understand the potential effects of changing climatic conditions on plant-pollinator interactions
since many pollinators show preferences for localised conditions and major pollinators like honeybees do not tend to forage at high altitudes Associate professor Dyer said.
Dr Mani Shrestha from Monash University and his colleague Prakash Bhattrai from the Tribhuvan University Kathmandu collected spectral data from more than 100 flowering plants in Nepal over a range of altitudes from 900
Using computer models to examine flower colors as bees would see them the team addressed how pollinator vision had shaped flower evolution.
and alpine (3000-4100m) regions showed evidence of having evolved color spectral signatures to enhance discrimination by bee pollinators.
The finding was a surprise as flies are thought to be the main pollinator in many mountain regions
and these insects have been such effective pollinators that they have led to the evolution of distinctive bee-friendly colors Dr Shrestha said.
The research could shed light on how flower colors may continue to evolve in particular environments depending upon the availability of the most effective pollinators.
#Culling vampire bats to stem rabies in Latin america can backfireculling vampire bat colonies to stem the transmission of rabies in Latin america does little to slow the spread of the virus
Vampire bats transmit rabies virus throughout Latin america causing thousands of livestock deaths each year as well as occasional human fatalities.
since the 1960s in attempts to control vampire bat populations but those culling efforts have failed generally.
Last year a team of U-M researchers and their University of Georgia colleagues reported the results of a long-term vampire bat field study in Peru.
and data from infection studies using captive vampire bats to show that culling has minimal effect on containing the virus
The findings suggest that geographic coordination of vampire bat control efforts in Latin america--taking into account the interconnectedness of seemingly isolated colonies--might reduce transmission to humans and domestic animals.
The team's new paper scheduled for online publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Dec 2 also establishes that rabies is usually not lethal among vampire bats.
In the paper last year we demonstrated that bat colony size wasn't a predictor of rabies prevalence
Developing effective control strategies for vampire bat-transmitted rabies virus in Latin america requires an understanding of the mechanisms that have allowed the highly virulent pathogen to persist
Then they tested the models against data from the University of Georgia-led field study of rabies exposures in wild vampire bat colonies across Peru.
That study tracked rabies exposures in individually marked Desmodus rotundus vampire bats from 17 colonies in four regions of Peru between 2007 and 2010 and yielded the most complete dataset on rabies exposure patterns ever collected for any bat
and the most successful models demonstrated that a single isolated vampire bat colony cannot maintain the rabies virus over time Frequent movement of infectious bats between colonies is needed to keep the rabies virus at levels consistent with the field observations.
The critical role of immigration between bat colonies predicted by our analysis indicates that current culling practices often reactive to outbreaks in livestock
or haphazardly implemented are unlikely to eliminate VBRV (vampire bat-transmitted rabies virus) the researchers said. While programs targeting specific colonies may limit local spillover from bats to humans
or domestic animals regional viral persistence will likely remain unaffected due to high connectivity between bat colonies Rohani said.
Rohani and colleagues say that such a phenomenon has recently been observed in controlled badger culls in the United kingdom where disruption of badger social dynamics and subsequent dispersal led to increased tuberculosis transmission in cattle at neighboring sites.
The bat study's other main finding is that the vast majority of rabies virus exposures among vampire bats--in
which an infectious bat bites a susceptible individual--are nonlethal and actually immunize the bitten bat
thus helping to prevent colony extinction and sustain the virus. The probability of a vampire bat developing a lethal infection upon exposure to rabies is around 10 percent much lower than the 50-to-90 percent mortality rate seen in previous experimental challenges studies that involved inoculating vampire bats with rabies virus
according to the researchers In Latin america coordinated efforts to eliminate human rabies transmitted by dogs began in 1983 and led to a roughly 90 percent reduction in human and canine rabies according to the U s. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since 2000 vampire bats have been the leading cause of human rabies there especially in remote areas of the Amazon region in Peru Ecuador and Brazil according to the CDC.
Continued growth of the livestock industry likely exacerbates rabies outbreaks in the region by providing an almost unlimited food source for the blood-feeding bats fueling population growth and range expansion.
The combination of large vampire bat populations and frequent contact with livestock contributes to losses of about $30 million annually in Latin american livestock mortality Of more than 1200 species of bats worldwide only three are vampires
and all three live in Latin america according to Bat Conservation International. Two of the species feed primarily on the blood of birds
and one--the common vampire bat D. rotundus--prefers mammals especially livestock. Common vampire bats hunt only when it is fully dark
and listen for the regular breathing sounds of sleeping mammals which serve as their main food source.
Once a target is located the bat lands and approaches it on the ground. Vampire bats use heat sensors on their nose to locate warm spots where blood flows through vessels near the skin's surface.
They use razor-sharp upper incisors to create small wounds. An enzyme in the saliva prevents clotting as the bat feeds
and a specialized groove in the tongue keeps blood flowing without the need for sucking
or slurping. Movies notwithstanding vampire bats do not suck blood. They lap it like kittens according Bat Conservation International.
Worldwide more than 55000 people die of rabies each year according to the World health organization. More than 95 percent of the human deaths occur in Asia
and Africa and dogs are the source of infection in nearly all of those deaths according to THE WHO. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by University of Michigan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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#When aluminum outshines gold: Aluminums valuable plasmonic properties detailedhumble aluminum's plasmonic properties may make it far more valuable than gold and silver for certain applications according to new research by Rice university scientists.
The timber of many of the 198 species is of great economic interest because of its excellent insect and fungus resistance.
#Delaying resistance to Bt corn in western corn rootwormcorn that contains proteins that protect it from insect damage has been grown in the U s. since the mid-1990s.
While Bt corn has been highly effective against the European corn borer it has been less so against the western corn rootworm
In a new article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management--an open-access peer-reviewed extension journal--the authors explain why this has occurred
and they recommend an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to address it. In Resistance to Bt Corn by Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera:
Chrysomelidae) in the U s. Corn belt Drs. Aaron Gassmann (Iowa State university) Michael Gray (University of Illinois) Eileen Cullen (University of Wisconsin) and Bruce Hibbard (University of Missouri) examine why Bt corn has been more effective against the European corn borer
which tunnels in the stem of the plant and less so against the rootworm which attacks the roots.
First Bt proteins intended for the European corn borer are produced at a higher dose than the ones intended for rootworms;
this ensures that fewer corn borers are likely to survive which lowers the chances of them producing offspring that may be resistant.
Second corn borer moths travel farther before mating which increases the chances of potentially resistant insects mating with non-resistant ones that have not been exposed to Bt proteins;
this lowers the chances of them producing resistant offspring. Finally fitness costs--or negative effects--of resistance in rootworms appear to be low.
One approach to IRM is not necessarily optimal for all insect pests according to the authors who recommend that growers use the following IPM approaches to delay further rootworm resistance to Bt corn:
-Rotate to soybean or other crops to break the corn rootworm life cycle between growing seasons. -Occasionally rotate to a non-Bt corn hybrid
#Bonobo: Forgotten ape threatened by human activity and forest lossthe most detailed range-wide assessment of the bonobo (formerly known as the pygmy chimpanzee) ever conducted has revealed that this poorly known and endangered great ape is quickly losing space in a world with growing human populations.
The loss of usable habitat is attributed to both forest fragmentation and poaching according to a new study by University of Georgia University of Maryland the Wildlife Conservation Society ICCN (Congolese Wildlife Authority
) African Wildlife Foundation Zoological Society of Milwaukee World Wildlife Fund Max Planck Institute Lukuru Foundation University of Stirling Kyoto University and other groups.
Using data from nest counts and remote sensing imagery the research team found that the bonobo--one of humankind's closest living relatives--avoids areas of high human activity and forest fragmentation.
As little as 28 percent of the bonobo's range remains suitable according to the model developed by the researchers in the study
which now appears in the December edition of Biodiversity and Conservation. This assessment is a major step towards addressing the substantial information gap regarding the conservation status of bonobos across their entire range said lead author Dr. Jena R. Hickey of Cornell University
and the University of Georgia. The results of the study demonstrate that human activities reduce the amount of effective bonobo habitat
and will help us identify where to propose future protected areas for this great ape. For bonobos to survive over the next 100 years
or longer it is extremely important that we understand the extent of their range their distribution
and drivers of that distribution so that conservation actions can be targeted in the most effective way
Bonobos are probably the least understood great ape in Africa so this paper is pivotal in increasing our knowledge and understanding of this beautiful and charismatic animal.
The bonobo is smaller in size and more slender in build than the common chimpanzee.
The great ape's social structure is complex and matriarchal. Unlike the common chimpanzee bonobos establish social bonds and diffuse tension or aggression with sexual behaviors.
The entire range of the bonobo lies within the lowland forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo the largest country in Sub-saharan africa
and currently beset with warfare and insecurity. The research team created a predictive model using available field data to define bonobo habitat
and then interpolated to areas lacking data. Specifically the team compiled data on bonobo nest locations collected by numerous organizations between the years 2003-2010.
This produced 2364 nest blocks with a block defined as a 1-hectare area occupied by at least one bonobo nest.
The group then tested a number of factors that addressed both ecological conditions (describing forests soils climate
and mapped the most important environmental factors contributing to bonobo occurrence. The researchers found that distance from agricultural areas was the most important predictor of bonobo presence.
In addition to the discovery that only 28 percent of the bonobo range is classified as suitable for the great ape the researchers also found that only 27.5 percent of that suitable bonobo habitat is located in existing protected areas.
Bonobos that live in closer proximity to human activity and to points of human access are more vulnerable to poaching one of their main threats said Dr. Janet Nackoney a Research Assistant professor at University of Maryland and second author of the study.
Our results point to the need for more places where bonobos can be safe from hunters
which is an enormous challenge in the DRC. Dr. Nate Nibbelink Associate professor at the University of Georgia added:
The bonobo habitat suitability map resulting from this work allows us to identify areas that are likely to support bonobos
The fact that only a quarter of the bonobo range that is currently suitable for bonobos is located within protected areas is a finding that decision-makers can use to improve management of existing protected areas
and reserves in order to save vital habitat for this great ape said Innocent Liengola WCS's Project Director for the Bonobo Conservation Project
The future of the bonobo will depend on the close collaboration of many partners working towards the conservation of this iconic ape said Dr. Liz Williamson of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group
and coordinator of the action planning process which instigated the bonobo data compilation for this study.
In 2012 the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN) and the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) published a report titled Bonobo (Pan paniscus:
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