#Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefita benign crystal protein produced naturally by bacteria
and used as an organic pesticide could be a safe inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms in humans
Hookworms and other intestinal parasites known as helminths infect more than 1 billion people in poverty-stricken tropical nations sucking the vitality from the body and leaving hundreds of millions of children physically and mentally stunted.
In earlier research Aroian and his collaborators described a protein Cry5b that can kill intestinal nematode parasites--such as human hookworms--in infected test animals (hamsters.
and rice to render them pest resistant. As shown for the first time in this paper Cry5b can also be expressed in a species of bacterium Bacillus subtilis which is closely related to Bacillus thuringiensis and
In the current research researchers showed that a small dose of Cry5b expressed in this bacterium can achieve a 93 percent elimination of hookworm parasites from infected hamsters.
The authors maintain that the current rate of unsustainable hunting of forest elephants gorillas and other seed-dispersing species threatens the ability of forest ecosystems to regenerate
In particular mammals such as forest elephants gorillas forest antelopes and others play a major role in seed dispersal for most tree species;
the removal of these mammals by bushmeat hunters disrupts forest regeneration. Furthermore previously untouched swathes of forest are being penetrated by roads
A top priority the researchers assert should be the protection of megafauna such as forest elephants
and apex predators such as leopards in order to maintain intact ecosystems in Central africa. Otherwise the loss of wildlife will result in a disastrous spiral of forest degradation that will reduce the storage of carbon and the resilience of rainforests to climate change.
The removal of seed-dispersing megafauna such as elephants and apes could reduce the ability of forests to sequester carbon.
The clock is ticking on the future of large mammals in Central africa's Congo Basin Rainforest
and with them on the future of the forests themselves and all the people who depend on them said Dr. James Deutsch Executive director of WCS's Africa Program.
#Populations of grassland butterflies decline almost 50 percent over two decades: European reportgrassland butterflies have declined dramatically between 1990 and 2011.
This has been caused by intensifying agriculture and a failure to properly manage grassland ecosystems according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
In the report the data of the Butterfly monitoring scheme in Germany have been incorporated which is supported scientifically by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).
The fall in grassland butterfly numbers is particularly worrying according to the report because these butterflies are considered to be representative indicators of trends observed for most other terrestrial insects
which together form around two thirds of the world's species. This means that butterflies are useful indicators of biodiversity and the general health of ecosystems.
Seventeen butterfly species are examined in'The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990-2011'comprising seven widespread and 10 specialist species. Of the 17 species eight have declined in Europe two have remained stable and one increased.
For six species the trend is uncertain. Butterflies examined in the report include the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
which has declined significantly the Orangetip (Anthocharis cardamines) which seems to be stable since 1990 and the Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon)
This dramatic decline in grassland butterflies should ring alarm bells--in general Europe's grassland habitats are shrinking.
We must recognise the importance of butterflies and other insects--the pollination they carry out is essential for both natural ecosystems and agriculture.
Why are butterflies disappearing? Intensifying agriculture and abandoned land are the two main trends affecting the populations of grassland butterflies.
Agriculture has intensified where the land is relatively flat and easy to cultivate and on the other handlarge areas of grasslands have been abandoned in mountainous and wet regions mainly in eastern and southern Europe.
Both intensification and abandonment result in the loss and degradation of habitat for grassland butterflies.
Agricultural intensification leads to uniform grasslands which are almost sterile for biodiversity. In addition butterflies are also vulnerable to pesticides often used in intensively managed farming systems.
Farmland is abandoned often for socioeconomic reasons. When farming on low-productivity land brings only a small amount of income
In some regions of northwestern Europe grassland butterflies are restricted now almost to road verges railway sidings rocky or wet places urban areas and nature reserves.
Monitoring Europe's butterfliesthe report is based on the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator compiled by De Vlinderstichting (Dutch Butterfly Conservation) Butterfly Conservation Europe
The indicator brings together information from national butterfly monitoring schemes in 19 countries across Europe most of them European union Member States.
Thousands of trained professional and volunteer recorders count butterflies on approximately 3 500 transects scattered widely across Europe.
This volunteer fieldwork is essential for understanding the state and trends of Europe's butterflies.
The report therefore suggests that the recent halving of butterfly numbers may be the most recent development in a much bigger long-term decline.
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator could be used as a measure of success of agriculture policies.
Sustainable funding of butterfly indicators would help validate and reform a range of policies and help achieve the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020.
when pollinator species declineremove even one bumblebee species from an ecosystem and the impact is swift and clear:
The study to be published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences focused on the interactions between bumblebees and larkspur wildflowers in Colorado's Rocky mountains.
The results show how reduced competition among pollinators disrupts floral fidelity or specialization among the remaining bees in the system leading to less successful plant reproduction.
We found that these wildflowers produce one-third fewer seeds in the absence of just one bumblebee species says Emory University ecologist Berry Brosi who led the study.
That's alarming and suggests that global declines in pollinators could have a bigger impact on flowering plants
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the study co-authored by ecologist Heather Briggs of the University of California-Santa cruz. About 90 percent of plants need animals mostly insects to transfer pollen between them
Bees are by far the most important pollinators worldwide and have evolved co with the floral resources they need for nutrition.
Some studies have indicated that plants can tolerate losing most pollinator species in an ecosystem as long as other pollinators remain to take up the slack.
Those studies however were based on theoretical computer modeling. Brosi and Briggs were curious whether this theoretical resilience would hold up in real-life scenarios.
Their team conducted field experiments to learn how the removal of a single pollinator species would affect the plant-pollinator relationship.
Most pollinators visit several plant species over their lifetime but often they will display what we call floral fidelity over shorter time periods Brosi explains.
because a pollinator visit will only lead to plant reproduction when the pollinator is carrying pollen from the same plant species
. When bees are promiscuous visiting plants of more than one species during a single foraging session they are much less effective as pollinators Briggs says.
The researchers conducted their experiments at the Rocky mountain Biological Laboratory near Crested Butte Colorado. Located at 9500 feet the facility's subalpine meadows are too high for honeybees
but they are buzzing during the summer months with bumblebees. The experiments focused on the interactions of the insects with larkspurs dark-purple wildflowers that are visited by 10 of the of the 11 bumblebee species there.
The researchers studied a series of 20-meter square wildflower plots evaluating each one in both a control state left in its natural condition
and in a manipulated state in which they used nets to remove the bumblebees of just one species. The researchers then observed the bumblebee behavior in both the controlled plots
and the manipulated plots. We'd literally follow around the bumblebees as they foraged Briggs says.
It's challenging because the bees can fly pretty fast. Sometimes the researchers could only record between five and 10 movements
Running around after bumblebees in these beautiful wildflower meadows was one of the most fun parts of the research Brosi says.
so that researchers don't have a negative impact on the bumblebee populations. When we caught bees to remove target species from the system
Bumblebees are quite gentle on the whole. Across the steps of the pollination process from patterns of bumblebee visits to plants to picking up pollen to seed production the researchers saw a cascading effect of removing one bee species
. While about 78 percent of the bumblebees in the control groups were faithful to a single species of flower only 66 percent of the bumblebees in the manipulated groups showed such floral fidelity.
The reduced fidelity in manipulated plots meant that bees in the manipulated groups carried more different types of pollen on their bodies than those in the control groups.
when one of the bumblebee species was removed compared to the larkspurs in the control groups.
While previous research has shown how competition drives specialization within a species the bumblebee study is one of the first to link this mechanism back to the broader functioning of an ecosystem.
Increase in forest cover north of the Congo basin might have been caused by migration to cities resulting in fewer fires and more hunting of large mammals reducing tree destruction.
So you end up with a cat warmer on your shelf. Koomey noted that the computing efficiency problem is exaggerated sometimes.
Ann Wolf executive director of the diabetes Camp Hertko Hollow who worked with researchers on the field study is interested in adding a permanent digital display for next summer's camp.
but Wolf said it reinforces a lesson they hope to teach campers. Children need to make healthy choices Wolf said.
We try to educate our children to eat well and manage their diabetes to live a long and healthy life.
Rice alumna Elvira Pembroke; and Professor Ting Yu of Nanyang Technological University. Tour is the T. T. and W. F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science at Rice.
Deltamethrin fipronil and spinosad widely used pesticides in agriculture and home pest control were applied to healthy honeybees and proved toxic to some degree irrespective of dosage.
A new study to be published in Nature's The ISME Journal reveals the profound effect it has on enriching soil with bacteria fungi and protozoa.
and protect itself against pests and diseases boosting yield said Professor Philip Poole from the John Innes Centre.
However growing oat and pea in the same sample caused a huge shift towards protozoa and nematode worms.
All organisms on our planet can be divided between prokaryotes (which include bacteria) and eukaryotes (which include humans plants and animals as well as fungi).
After only four weeks of growth the soil surrounding wheat contained about 3%eukaryotes. This went up to 12-15%for oat and pea.
The change of balance is likely to be marked even more in the field where crops are grown for months rather than weeks.
Analysis has relied previously on amplifying DNA samples. This limits scientists to analysing one taxonomic group at a time such as bacteria.
It is now possible to sequence RNA across kingdoms so a full snapshot can be taken of the active bacteria fungi protozoa and other microbes in the soil.
but instead found it contained a greater diversity of other eukaryotes such as protozoa. The findings of the study could be used to develop plant varieties that encourage beneficial microbes in the soil.
#Bees under threat from disease-carrying bumblebee imports, research revealsstricter controls over bumblebee imports to the UK are required urgently to prevent diseases spreading to native bumblebees
and honeybees scientists have warned. The call follows the discovery of parasites in over three-quarters of imported bumblebee colonies they tested.
The study-the first of its kind in the UK-is published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
While wild species of bees and other insects pollinate many crops commercially-reared and imported bumblebees are essential for pollination of greenhouse crops such as tomatoes.
They are used also to enhance pollination of other food crops such as strawberries and are marketed now for use in people s gardens.
The trade is large and widespread: 40-50000 commercially-produced bumblebee colonies#each containing up to 100 worker bees#are imported annually to the UK
and more than one million colonies are sold each year worldwide. The team of researchers from the universities of Leeds Stirling and Sussex bought 48 colonies of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) from three European producers.
Some colonies were a subspecies native to the UK and others were nonnative. All were meant to be disease-free
Screening revealed that the imported bumblebee colonies carried a range of parasites including the three main bumblebee parasites (Crithidia bombi Nosema bombi and Apicystis bombi) three honeybee parasites (Nosema
apis Ascosphaera apis and Paenibacillus larvae) and two parasites which infect both bumblebees and honeybees (Nosema ceranae and deformed wing virus). After the screening tests the team conducted a series of carefully controlled laboratory experiments to find out
whether the parasites carried by the commercially-produced bumblebee colonies were viable and able to infect other bees.
Lead author of the study Peter Graystock of the University of Leeds explains:##oewe found that commercially-produced bumblebee colonies contained a variety of microbial parasites
which were infectious and harmful not only to other bumblebees but also to honeybees.##The results suggest current regulations
and protocols governing bumblebee imports are not effective. Currently Natural England licences are required only for the nonnative subspecies.
Although the licences require colonies to be disease free colonies arriving in the UK are screened not to ensure compliance
and the regulations do not apply to imports of the native subspecies. The study argues that producers need to improve disease screening
while regulatory authorities need to strengthen measures to prevent importation of parasite-carrying bumblebee colonies including checking bees on arrival in the UK
As well as increasing the prevalence of parasites in wild bumblebees and managed honeybees near farms using the commercially-produced bumblebees continuing to import bumblebee colonies that carry parasites is also likely to introduce new species
or strains of parasites into some areas the authors warn. According to co-author of the study Professor William Hughes of the University of Sussex:#
#oeif we don t act then the risk is that potentially tens of thousands of parasite-carrying bumblebee colonies may be imported into the UK each year and hundreds of thousands worldwide.
and Japan suggests that parasites introduced by commercial bumblebees may be a major cause of population declines of several bumblebee species including Bombus dahlbomii in Argentina and Bombus terricola and Bombus pensylvanicus in North america.
and of plants and animals familiar to us or would the cast of characters be entirely different?
#New Anagnorisma moth species from beautiful Binaloud Mountain Iranresearchers described a new species of Noctuidae moth from Iran which is described the fifth species of the genus Anagnorisma.
During an expedition at high altitude of above 2500 m of northeastern Iran on a cold night in late summer 2012 a couple of undescribed specimens of Anagnorisma moths were collected.
Owlet moths (Family noctuidae) are a large worldwide group of more than 20000 species of nocturnal lepidopterans attracted to lights
Larvae of some species are known as cutworms and live in the soil near the soil surface
#A lost frog in the lost world? Ecotourism and Conservation--Can it work? In the context of a study in the forests of Central Guyana a team of scientists from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Dresden investigated this very question
and by chance found a previously undiscovered species of frog that only exists in a very confined area of the so-called Iwokrama Forest.
and the Verband Deutscher Zoodirektoren Association of German Zoo Directors the Dresden team led by biologists Dr. Raffael Ernst
whether conservation of amphibians and ecotourism can be reconciled in the forests of Guyana. The investigations are being carried out in close co-operation with the international not-for-profit organization Iwokrama International Centre for Rain forest Conservation and Development.
The original aim of the study was to investigate the populations of Hoogmoeds harlequin frog (Atelopus hoogmoedi)
in order to find out whether these morphologically very variable frogs may be affected by the planned tourism activities. The results will lead in the medium term to a sustainable development plan for the area with Atelopus receiving the role here of a so-called flagship species i e. a species which stands as representative for the protection of the entire area.
A frog that is virtually already lostduring the fieldwork for this project the researchers were struck by an inconspicuous brown frog only the size of a thumbnail
which they could not assign to any known species. As it turned out it was indeed a hitherto undescribed species of poison dart frog
As inconspicuous as the frogs appear they are unique. To date only three species of the genus Allobates are known from Guyana one of which the Cuckoo frog Allobates spumaponens Kok
& Ernst 2007 was described for the first time by the same team in 2007. Moreover the newly discovered little frog is known the third micro-endemic species
i e. which only occurs in the very small area of the Iwokrama Mountains. So far only a gecko and a caecilian a legless amphibian are known from this area as having a similarly limited distribution Because of their limited distribution
and usually small total population sizes micro-endemic species are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment.
In order to draw attention to this fact researchers have given the little amphibian the distinctive name Allobates amissibilis (in Latin that may be lost.
#Monkey nation: Mainland Africas most important nation for primatesa five-year study by the Wildlife Conservation Society gives new hope to some of the world's most endangered primates by establishing a roadmap to protect all 27 species
in Tanzania--the most primate-diverse country in mainland Africa. The study combines Tanzania's first-ever inventory of all primate species
and their habitats with IUCN Red List criteria and other factors such as threats and rarity ranking all 27 species from most vulnerable to least vulnerable.
The authors then identify a network of Priority Primate Areas for conservation. The paper appears in the July 17 issue of the journal Oryx.
Authors are Tim Davenport of the Wildlife Conservation Society Katarzyna Nowak of the Udzungwa Elephant Project and Andrew Perkin of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group.
A third of Tanzania's primate species are found nowhere else on earth. The study found that the most vulnerable was the kipunji first discovered by WCS in 2003 on Mt Rungwe
and described by WCS as an entirely new genus in 2006. Another extremely vulnerable species is the Zanzibar red colobus a species
whose population is currently being counted by WCS. More common species include the baboons black and white colobus monkeys and vervets.
The study assigned a score to pinpoint the most important areas for protection. The analysis revealed more than 60 important primate areas including national parks game reserves forest reserves conservation areas and currently unprotected landscapes.
However the adequate protection of just nine sites including six national parks (Kilimanjaro Kitulo Mahale Saadani Udzungwa
's primate species. The authors say that the Priority Primate Areas could be applied in other nations rich in wildlife
This could be similar to Important Bird Areas a global effort to identify and conserve places that are vital to birds and other biodiversity.
In fact Tanzania's Priority Primate Areas were also often rich in bird life underscoring their value to conservation in general.
We believe Priority Primate Areas can be a valuable conservation tool worldwide similar to the successful Important Bird Area concept said the study's lead author Tim Davenport of WCS.
For a developing nation of such global conservation importance like Tanzania priority setting is an essential tool in managing wildlife.
but not their behaviorhoney bees Apis mellifera) infected with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor or the microsporidia Nosema ceranae have changes in the chemical profile of their skin
Despite this parasitized bees were expelled not from the hive which the authors say supports the hypothesis that stressed bees leave the hive altruistically to prevent the spread of infection.
This study from INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) investigated the effect of parasitization on honey bees living in hives at Avignon.
Individual bees were infected with either the ectoparasite Varroa which lives on the bees or endoparasite Nosema
and reintroduced to the hive. After a few days the effect of infection on bees and their behavior was monitored.
Hydrocarbons on the cuticle of bees provide a'family'scent allowing bees from the same hive to recognize each other.
--and they were expelled not from the hive. Dr Cynthia Mcdonnell who led this study commented Parasitized bees tend to leave the colony earlier to perform foraging activity
We found that parasitized bees were attacked not by their nestmates suggesting that they leave the hive voluntarily perhaps in response to the changes in gene expression in their brains.
The crop nitrogen isotope analysis suggests that early farmers in Europe used their manure strategically as a resource that was limited by the number of animals they owned
Many animals and insects can see polarized light and use it for navigation communication and more.
Our photodetector discerns polarized light intrinsically much like the photoreceptors in the eyes of animals
and insects that see polarized light said Franã§ois L onard at Sandia National Laboratories one of the lead researchers on the study.
#Damaging nonnative forest pests at home in northeastern U s. Beginning with early colonists who landed in the New world loaded with dreams grit
and perhaps the continent's first alien forest pests and continuing today with the expansion of global trade the northeastern United states has been ground zero for damaging nonnative forest pest invasions.
and Distributions U s. Forest Service researchers Andrew Liebhold Laura Blackburn Susan Frankel and partners used spatial data to demonstrate that the distribution of invasive forest pests is focused highly with a particularly large
As the landing place for early American colonists and continuing with the industrialization and proliferation of cargo imports the Northeast has been receiving invasive forest insects far longer than anywhere else in the nation.
The earliest record associated with the 79 invasive forest pests used in the analysis dates back to 1794 and 19 species were detected before 1900.
Seventy-five percent of the invasive forest pests included in the study were detected before 1940.
In terms of invasive forest insects tree species diversity works against Northeastern forests. The Northeast has an abundance of diverse hardwood tree species
and 65 percent of the insect and pathogen invaders included in this study colonize hardwood tree species said Liebhold a research entomologist with the U s. Forest Service's Northern Research Station.
Had these nonnative insects disembarked in a forest that is predominately pine for example most wouldn't have survived to become the damaging nonnative forest pests that they are today.
Establishment of both European and Asian forest insects and pathogens in North america has likely been facilitated by the similarity of the flora among these three continents the study suggests.
Industrialization and forest susceptibility to invasion also contributed to alien pests'ability to spread. In the most populated corner of the United states inadvertent human assistance has enhanced greatly insects'ability to spread from the initial point of invasion throughout a region.
While the study illustrates a concentration of alien forest pests in the Northeast it also shows that forest pests are taking a toll throughout the nation.
There are plenty of highly-damaging invasive species in Western United states forests such as sudden oak death and white pine blister rust according to Frankel a plant pathologist with the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station.
when nonnative pests are introduced it is just a matter of time until they spread. With shipping patterns shifting to Western ports we are concerned that the West will catch up over the next century.
The study is based on data from the Alien Forest Pest Explorer a web tool that gives users a county-by-county look at geographical distributions of damaging forest invasive pests throughout the nation.
and insect-resistant crops based on RNA interference now in exploratory development may have to be tested under elaborate procedures that assess effects on animals'whole life cycles rather than by methods that look for short-term toxicity.
RNA interference is a natural process that affects the level of activity of genes in animals and plants.
however successfully artificial interfering RNAS that target genes in insect pests slowing their growth or killing them.
or that crops might be engineered genetically to make interfering RNAS harmful to their pests thus increasing crop yields.
The safety concern as with other types of genetic modification and with pesticides generally is that the artificial interfering RNAS will also harm desirable insects or other animals.
and demonstrated effectiveness of RNA interference technology mean it will have an important place in the future of pest management.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011