Treesearch

Evaluating the cold tolerance of biological control agents is often necessary to optimize their release and performance. We used field and laboratory assays to determine the cold hardiness of the parasitoid Spathius galinae Belokobylskij & Strazanac, an approved classical biological control agent of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) in North America. Supercooling points and lower lethal temperature of mature (cocooned) S. galinae larvae were measured in controlled cooling assays in the laboratory. Most S. galinae larvae died after reaching their supercooling point, which...

Ethology—the study of animal behavior—examines the infinite ways that an individual animal interacts with its environment, combing evolutionary, genetic, developmental, ecological, and mechanistic approaches to study both the proximate and ultimate drivers of observable behaviors (Rubenstein and Alcock 2018). Animal behavior is an expansive field of study, which includes (at a minimum) communication and social interactions, foraging, defense, and reproductive behavior, among many other elements. One of the most important aspects of animal behavior, particularly as it relates to wildlife...

The Wood Turtle's decline across a majority of its range in the United States and Canada has primarily been caused by human encroachment on its habitat, including the direct and indirect effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. As noted in Chapter 8, threats include direct mortality from flooding, agricultural machinery, and motor vehicles, as well as illegal collection for pet markets and subsidized predation by mesocarnivores. Wood Turtles are unable to effectively respond—behaviorally or numerically—to these synergistic threats because they have evolved as extreme...

Tenuisvalvae notata (Mulsant) (Coccinellidae) is a predatory ladybird beetle native to South America. It specializes in mealybugs prey (Pseudococcidae), but relatively little is known about its ecology. In contrast, the ladybird beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coccinellidae) is indigenous to Australia and has been introduced to many countries worldwide including Brazil for biological control of mealybugs. The potential impacts of these introductions to native coccinellids have rarely been considered. The software CLIMEX estimated the climate suitability for both species as...

This work investigated the redispersion and setting behavior of highly loaded (∼ 18 wt.% solids in water) pastes of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). A single-screw extruder was used to continuously process CNF + CMC pastes into cord. The adsorption of CMC onto the CNFs was assessed through zeta potential and titration which revealed a surface charge change of ∼ 61% from - 36.8 mV and 0.094 mmol/g COOH for pure CNF to -58.1 mV and 0.166 mmol/g COOH for CNF + CMC with a CMC degree of substitution of 0.9. Dried CNFs with adsorbed CMC was found to be fully...

The rate of global climate change is projected to outpace the ability of many natural populations and species to adapt. Assisted migration (AM), which is defined as the managed movement of climate-adapted individuals within or outside the species ranges, is a conservation option to improve species' adaptive capacity and facilitate persistence. Although conservation biologists have long been using genetic tools to increase or maintain diversity of natural populations, genomic techniques could add extra benefit in AM that include selectively neutral and adaptive regions of the genome. In...

The Chaohe watershed is a meso-scale watershed in northern China, and the primary reservoir watershed for Beijing's drinking water supply. Study focus This research aims to evaluate the effects of climate change on future seasonal streamflow regimes and understand the challenges to watershed management. The Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) was applied to investigate the watershed's future hydrographic characteristics under the forcing of the downscaled precipitation and temperature projected by General Circulation Models (GCMs) under three emissions scenarios. New...

One of the largest impacts on forest soils, apart from logging disturbances, is wildfire. The physical disturbances include suppression activities, post-fire erosion during storm events, and slope failures. Biological and chemical disruptions to soil functioning can occur as well. Since soils are the key to site productivity and sustainability, conservation of soil resources in the post-wildfire environment are of the utmost importance. Some soil conservation measures can be employed during fire suppression as Best Management Practices conservation. The bulk of these activities fall into...

Urbanization is known to cause ‘Urban Heat Island’ (UHI) and elevate storm runoff. However, how urbanization influences local atmospheric moisture under global warming is not well-understood. By examining 140 paired urban-rural weather station data (1980–2018), this study finds significant declines in atmospheric humidity or the ‘Urban Dry Island’ (UDI) in multiple large city clusters across a large climatic gradient in China. Global warming, UHI, and reduction in local evapotranspiration and water vapor supplies all contribute to the observed UDI. The magnitude and frequency of UDI are...

Assessing a map's accuracy and efficacy requires careful consideration and calculation of a comprehensive set of measures, particularly when characteristics in geospatial datasets may be used for addressing multiple objectives. We describe a map accuracy assessment framework for categorical geospatial data over large areas that utilizes site-specific (plot-pixel), non-site specific (area estimates), and comparative accuracy (spatial and statistical distributions) methods. This comprehensive framework spans the range of approaches applied in most other studies, maximizing opportunities for...