Baltic Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii Brehm) on Kurgalsky Peninsula: features of biology, the annual cycle, and factors of the environment limiting its distribution in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland

The species of pear sucker, also called pear psylla or pear psyllid, which are destructive insects belonging to the genus Cacopsylla (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) cause substantial damage to pear tree plantations. Two consecutive years of research were conducted on the population structure and biological cycle of psylla in a small, elderly, and unmaintained pear orchard in northern Romania. Of the two identified species (C. pyri L. and C. pyricola Forster), C. pyri dominated the psylla population with a percentage of 77.8-80.1%. Adults of both species emerge from hibernation in the first part of March and produce three generations per year. First-generation adults emerge in the first decade of June, the second generation in the last decade of July, and the third generation in the first decade of September as they enter the hibernation phase. Larvae of the first generation appear in the second half of April, the second generation at the end of June - the beginning of July, and the third generation in the second decade of August. There have been reports of up to 11 adults and 27 larvae per leaf, 9 larvae per petiole, and 14 larvae per fruit. The number of adults captured on yellow sticky traps exposed on the southern side of the tree crown was significantly higher compared to the northern side. Following the intense attack, the well-known cv. ‘Williams’ was heavily affected, pear trees were badly defoliated, blackened, and aged prematurely. The climatic conditions of the two years did not influence the phenology of the pests, but the importance of monitoring psyllids is widely argued, considering that it remains the key to integrated protection programs in pear orchards.

Представлены результаты многолетних интродукционных исследований 2 видов из рода Tanacetum L. — T. balsamita L. и T. balsamitoides Sch. Bip. Изучены особенности их сезонного ритма роста и развития, морфобиологические параметры в фазе цветения, а также проведена комплексная оценка успешности интродукции в условиях Башкирского Предуралья (северная лесостепь). Исследования выполнены на коллекционном экспозиционном участке пряно-ароматических растений Южно-Уральского ботанического сада-института УФИЦ РАН. Установлено, что изученные виды пижмы — длительно вегетирующие растения, по продолжительности цветения отнесены к группе длительно цветущих. Сроки наступления основных фенофаз у данных видов неодинаковы. T. balsamitoides вступает в фазу цветения в конце июня – начале июля, ежегодно образует полноценные семена. T. balsamitoides ввиду позднего цветения (начало цветения — начало – середина августа) в наших условиях семян образовать не успевает, уходит под снег в цветущем состоянии. По параметрам генеративной сферы T. balsamitoides превосходит T. balsamita, при этом последний вид отличается более мощным габитусом. Изученные 2 вида пижмы показали себя высокоустойчивыми растениями в условиях культуры в Башкирском Предуралье. Они перспективны и могут быть рекомендованы для культивирования в садах, парках, использования в ландшафтном дизайне.

In the 16th–17th centuries, West European navigators made numerous but mostly unsuccessful efforts to open a new way, i.e. the North-East Passage, to China and India. Among three possible routes of that time the basic one ran through straits of the Vaigach Island but it was almost impassable due to heavy ice situation. At the same time Russian merchants regularly went on their ships from Pomorie to Siberian river mouths, and in the opposite direction, though they did also meet complicated ice situations. Russian navigator and geographer F.P. Litke (1797–1882) noticed that the ice situation in one or another region of the Barents Sea seriously changed from year to year. Russian navigation started in the Russian Pomorie (littoral region of the Russian Arctic) not earlier than at end of June – beginning of July but Europeans knew nothing about this. Because of this, their ships came to the Vaigach region either earlier or later of the time when it was possible to go through the straits. Most often, they came here in the first half- and mid-August. Thus, western sailors could not get this quite narrow navigation «window» of pomors (Russian navigators). And if sometimes (rather rarely) they could catch the right time and go through the strait Yugorski Shar they met extremely heavy ice situation in the Kara Sea. Perhaps for this reason, almost all European expeditions of that time failed.

Prolonged efficacy of rhesus-human reassortant rotavirus vaccine.

The relationship between hill size (number of seedling stems per hill) at transplanting and yield of the long stems was studied with two mat rush cultivars, i.e. Asanagi (tiller type) and Shimomasuda-zairai (elongation type). Two plots, i.e. a large hill size plot and a small hill size plot, were arranged for each cultivar. The large hill and the small hill consisted of 10 stems-10 buds and 3 stems-3 buds, respectively. The process of tillering, stem elongation and dry matter production were analysed. The results are summarized as follows : 1. In both cultivars, number of stems per hill, dry weight per hill and stem surface area index (SAI) in the large hill size plot gradually increased from the early stage of the growing season to the harvest time. However, in the small hill size plot, these growth parameters began to increase about one month later than the large hill size plot, and markedly increased from the middle of April to the middle of June, then reached a maximum about 20 days before the harvest time. 2. In Asanagi, net assimilation rate (NAR) in the large hill size plot gradually decreased from the beginning of March to the harvest time, while NAR in the small hill size plot began to increase rapidly in the beginning of March, then reached the higher level than that of the large hill size plot, but decreased faster than in the large hill size plot, and consequently NAR in this plot was lower than that of the large hill size plot after the beginning of July. Crop growth rate (CGR) in the small hill size plot was lower than that of the large hill size plot before the beginning of May and after the beginning of July. The differences in the changes of these parameters between the large and the small hill size plot were almost similar in both cultivars. 3. Tillering behavior of both plots in Asanagi was similar. However, in Shimomasuda-zairai, tillering behavior was qualitatively different, because the 3rd nodal tillering as compared with the 2nd nodal tillering was weaker in the small hill size plos than in the large hill size plot. 4. The long stems of the small hill size plot mainly consisted of the tillers having 1 or 2 lower order positions and being shorter than those of the large hill size plot. The long stem yield of the small hill size plot was 28 percent lower than that of the large hill size plot. 5. In Asanagi, the tillers on the same order position elongated in the similar behavior, and the tillers on the 12th to the 17th position in the main tillering group had the characteristic to elongate faster and to become the longer stems. The elongation rate and the length of the tillers emerged after the latter part of May were closely related to the level of CGR after the end of June. 6. These results would show the reasons why much attention has to be paid to the degree of growth at the tillering stage of the long stems in the cultivation of mat rush.

Satellite observations and their derived products played a key role during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill monitoring efforts in the Gulf of Mexico in April–July 2010. These observations were sometimes the only source of synoptic information available to monitor and analyse several critical parameters on a daily basis. These products also complemented in situ observations and provided data to assimilate into or validate model. The ocean surface dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico are dominated by strong seasonal cycles in surface temperature and mixing due to convective and storm energy, and by major currents that include the Loop Current and its associated rings. Shelf processes are also strongly influenced by seasonal river discharge, winds, and storms. Satellite observations were used to determine that the Loop Current exhibited a very northern excursion (to approximately 28\(^{\circ }\)N) during the month of May, placing the core of this current and of the ring that it later shed at approximately 150 km south of the oil spill site. Knowledge gained about the Gulf of Mexico since the 1980s using a wide range of satellite observations helped understand the timing and process of separation of an anticyclonic ring from the Loop Current during this time. The surface extent of the oil spill varied largely based upon several factors, such as the rate of oil flowing from the well, clean up and recovery efforts, and biological, chemical, and physical processes. Satellite observations from active and passive radars, as well as from visible and infrared sensors were used to determine the surface extent of the oil spill. Results indicate that the maximum and total cumulative areal extent were approximately 45 \(\times \) 10\(^3\) km\(^2\) and 130 \(\times \) 10\(^3\) km\(^2\), respectively. The largest increase of surface oil occurred between April 22 and May 22, at an average rate of 1.3 \(\times \) 10\(^3\) km\(^2\) per day. The largest decrease in the extent of surface oil started on June 26, at an average rate of 4.4 \(\times \) 10\(^3\) km\(^2\) per day. Surface oil areas larger than approximately 40 \(\times \) 10\(^3\) km\(^2\) occurred during several periods between late May and the end of June. The southernmost surface oil extent reached approximately 85\(^{\circ }\)W 27\(^{\circ }\)N during the beginning of June. Results obtained indicate that surface currents may have partly controlled the southern and eastern extent of the surface oil during May and June, while intense southeast winds associated with Hurricane Alex caused a reduction of the surface oil extent at the end of June and beginning of July, as oil was driven onshore and mixed underwater. Given the suite of factors determining the variability of the oil spill extent at ocean surface, work presented here shows the importance of data analyses to compare against assessments made to evaluate numerical models.

The copper redhorse, Moxostoma hubbsi (Legendre), which was discovered in 1942, is a threatened and endemic fish species of the lowlands around Montréal (Quebec). A survey of historical data, an investigation of the preserved specimens, and a comparison of selected biological characteristics of the five Quebec Moxostoma species living in sympatry in the Richelieu River show that this redhorse has a unique combination of life history characteristics. Compared with the other redhorses, it is among the most long-lived (more than 20 years), has the highest growth rate and fecundity, and is the latest spawner, its reproduction probably taking place at the end of June or at the beginning of July. The copper redhorse shows a high degree of specialization in the use of alimentary resources and feeds almost exclusively upon molluscs. The comparison of the stomach contents of the different species living in sympatry shows little diet overlap. This may be due to the specialization of their pharyngeal apparatus and to a certain degree of spatial segregation. Similar to its congeners, the copper redhorse shows a predilection for lowland rivers of medium size characterized by abrupt banks and uniformly deep channels (4–7 m) flowing over a solid clay, sand, or gravel bottom. The most populated sections of river have rather slow currents; they are interspersed by sections of rapids suitable for spawning. In the St. Lawrence system, the range of the copper redhorse is much more restricted than that of other redhorses, and this species appears much more vulnerable to habitat degradation.

During the last decade, bacterial diseases appeared to be a serious problem in the production of pepper (Capsicum annuum L) in Yugoslavia (3, 8). In some years, numerous greasy or necrotic spots and blight symptoms were observed on cotyledons of pepper transplants grown in hotbeds and plastic tunnels at the beginning of the season. At the end of June and beginning of July, small necrotic spots, surrounded by a weak halo, were frequently noticed on the leaves of pepper grown in an open field. These spots tend to coalesce, causing leaf blight and premature abscission. Scabby spots, irregular in shape, were rarely noticed on diseased fruits. However, soft rot of pepper fruits usually appeared after heavy rainfall followed by wind and hail.

Studies of reproduction and pre— and postnatal growth and development in Myotis thysanodes and M. lucifugus showed that female M. lucifugus copulated in the fall prior to their exodus from the summer roost while M. thysanodes copulated sometime after leaving the summer roost but before their spring return. Ovulation, fertilization, and implantation occurred during the first 2 weeks of May for both species. Gestation has been calculated as 50—60 days for both species. Parturition in M. thysanodes is synchronous with nearly all births within a 2—week period at the end of June and beginning of July. Myotis lucifugus, however, gave birth over a period from June through August. Logarithmic regression lines were calculated for daily prenatal weight increase for both species. Myotis lucifugus grow more rapidly and weigh significantly less than M. thysonades. Regression equations for daily postnatal weight, forearm length, wing span, and fifth—finger length increase in M. thysanodes were calculated and found to be good criteria for estimating age to about 21 days, after which this species has attained adult size. Estimated neonate mortality was low, about 1% for M. thysanodes and 2% for M. lucifugus. Myotis thysanodes was capable of limited flight by 16.5 days of age and of adultlike flight by 20.5 days of age. Myotis lucifugus parallels this attainment of flight quite closely. Wing loading for both species increases slightly from birth to 6 days, followed by a decline to half the birth value at day 20. Aspect ratio for both species increases at steady rate from birth to about 16 days, when it decreases slightly to the adult value. There was no relation of fat index to age in either species, but significant decreases in water index were found with increasing age. Both species demonstrated significant decreases in percentage water and increases in percentage organic and mineral content with increasing age of juveniles. Myotis lucifugus exhibited a significant decrease in spleen weight with age, whereas M. thhysanodes showed no such trend. Neither species showed trends in adrenal weights through the growth period. Several guardian M. thysanodes females stayed with the young during the night. They nursed, retrieved, and in general protected the young throughout the night. Myotis lucifugus did not exhibit this behavior, but large groups of adults would return periodically throughout the night to nurse the young. While M. lucifugus juveniles exhibited practice flight behavior at night, M. thysanodes juveniles were never observed performing this learning process.

The winter was a severe one; there was a sharp frost every month from December to March, chiefly between the full and the new moons, and the intervals were often stormy and wet; but those in February, both at the middle and latter end of the month, were milder, and less wet. The beginning of March continued mild, with frequent though small rains; then followed as sharp a frost, for a week, as any in the winter. After that stormy weather into April, but warm and growing; till a violent thunder storm toward Stamford the 13th, and two days continued rain here, and in most other places, about the 18th, renewed the wet season; which lasted all summer, and was perhaps wetter in many places than here, for we had no heavy thunder storms all the summer, as they had in some parts. Whenever there was thunder this year, it was almost always cold after it, and often cold weather without it; very little sunshine, and many sharp frosty mornings both in May and June, which cut off the apples after they appeared to be set. The greatest rains this summer were after the middle of April; before the middle of May; about the 8th of June; the 21st of July; the 18th of August; and 14th of September: those in April, June, and July, made floods, the two latter of which did great damage to the meadow hay; and there were frequent, sometimes almost daily, lesser rains. The intervals of fair and fine weather were short, and not many, and those not always warm; the beginning of May, and about the 21st; the beginning and end of June; the beginning of July; and, what was the finest time this summer, the first half of August. During this, in general so very wet a season, the hay and harvest were got in, and, where they were not flooded, I think with less damage than might have been expected. The latter hay was got up during the fine time in August; some of the harvest in a tolerable time the beginning of September; and what was delayed by the almost daily rains for two-thirds of September, was finished in a fine time the beginning of October; the crop of wheat was tolerable well, but barley, oats, and peas, were dear.

476 individuals of Carabus glabratus were collected in the years 1989-90 with pit-fall traps in the Väniötunturi fell terrain in NE Finland. The catch in 1990 was about twice as great as in the previous year. The tertiary sex ratio was even. The main habitat was Scots pine forest 370 m a.s.l., but the species also occurred in abundance in the mountain birch forest zone, in spruce forest, on a Nardus stricta sloping fen and on the shore of Lake Kuutsjärvi, whereas the treeless summit of the fell was almost totally avoided. The main activity period was at the end of June and the beginning of July, the males occurring over a shorter period. Daily catches closely followed the temperature curves.

Photosynthesis and stomatal conductance of five mango cultivars in the seasonally wet–dry tropics of northern Australia

Artificial reproduction of sturgeon fish in the Volga-Caspian basin in modern conditions is the only real opportunity to replenish natural populations with juveniles, therefore, increasing its efficiency is the key to restoring the stocks of these relict fish species. Improving the technological processes of growing juvenile sturgeon fish, including the Caspian stellate sturgeon, the number of which has been rapidly decreasing in recent years, is one of the main tasks at present. We studied the conditions for growing stellate sturgeon larvae in the nursery ponds for artificial reproduction at different periods of their watering. It is known that the stocking of ponds with larvae that have switched to exogenous feeding occurs at the end of June or the beginning of July, this coincides with the time of maximum water heating in nursery ponds to extreme (26–28 °C) values and with a depletion of the food supply in them. Hydrobiological studies were carried out to assess the food supply in water bodies that were watered in the traditional (June 12–14) terms (control option) and earlier (May 28) 2 weeks earlier than usual (experimental option). In addition, the intensity of feeding and the growth rate of juvenile starred sturgeon in the indicated ponds was studied for 20–24 days. The results of the studies performed showed that the food supply in the experimental pond was higher, so the zooplankton was represented by four orders, the biomass on average ranged from 2,8 to 4,6 g/m³, and in the control variant, planktonic organisms were represented by three orders, total biomass from 0,3 to 2,5 g/m³. The same tendency can be traced for zoobenthos. The feeding intensity of stellate sturgeon fry reared in ponds of early watering had indicators in terms of the gastrointestinal tract filling index, fatness coefficient and growth rates higher than the juveniles kept in water bodies of traditional watering periods.

On the initiative of the Department of Plant Husbandry of Agricultural Research Institute, experiments for destroying woody plants on fields and pastures were conducted in 1948—1949 with the following chemicals: Artificial hormones (sodium salt of 2,4-D, morpholine of 2,4-D, triethanolamine of 2,4-D, ethyl ester of 2,4-D, butyl ester of 2,4-D, and sodium salt of 2M-4K), potassium chlorate, and ammonium salt of dinitro-ortochresol. The substances Were applied in aqueous solutions, or as emulsions. Three different methods Were used: spray application to foliage, absorption through a cut branch, and application to soil. The following thicket-forming woody plants, common in Finland, were investigated: grey alder, Alnus incana (L.) Willd., willow, Salix sp., birch, Betula sp., mountain ash, Sorbus aucuparia L., and aspen, Populus tremula L. Following conclusions have been drawn from the experiments; It is possible, and, probably with the exception of aspen, even advisable to destroy small sprouts, 0.5—1.5 m. in height, of these woody plants by spraying their foliage with artificial hormones early in summer, especially if mechanical clearing machines cannot be used. Of the experimented substances, esters of 2,4-D proved the most effective in spray applications, but satisfactory results were even secured with other artificial hormones. For different species of woody plants the necessary concentration of the solution varies from 0.1 to 0.4 % of the active substance (p. 6). For dense thickets, 0.5—1.5 m. in height, the amount of solution used Was 1250—2000 l. per ha., applied by means of knapsack type of pressure sprayers. All branches must be sprayed. It is difficult to make the treatment effective enough, if only one application is made. Therefore it is important to conduct a new control spraying after 2—3 weeks. Treatment is most effective, if given in Warm, sunny weather. The best results are secured with spraying towards the end of June or at the beginning of July. If treated early in spring, many new sprouts develop on stems and branches; if treated late in summer, artificial hormones do not kill leaves effectively enough. The leaves of young sprouts and suckers die more readily than those of old tall trees and shrubs. It is possible to 2prevent the regeneration of alder almost completely by sprayings in one summer, if sprouts do not grow from the stumps of very tall trees. Willow, birch, mountain ash, and aspen often show slight regeneration in the following summer. The results obtained with sprayings with artificial hormones confirm with slight exceptions the results of earlier investigations (1, 4,5, 6, 12, 23, 24). It is possible to kill the leaves of sprouts by sprayings with chlorate and chresol, but such treatment does not prevent the development of new sprouts. Aqueous solutions of the investigated types of artificial hormones can be effectively applied to alders through a cut branch (fig. 9). Water-insoluble artificial hormones cannot be thus absorbed. Solutions of low concentrations are absorbed more easily than those of high concentrations. The amount of active substance used, however, is for the latter type greater than for the former. Relatively tall alders, and their roots, can thus be killed. But tall willows, birches, mountain ashes, and aspens are not killed, if the substance is applied to one branch only. The necessary amount of substance is even for alder so great that this method cannot be recommended for general practice. Solutions absorbed through cut branches are chiefly transported to different parts of the plant in the xylem. Because of the transpiration stream their translocation downwards in the xylem is very difficult. If transpiration stream, however, is prevented by cutting the stem above the absorbing branch, the substance travels vigorously towards the roots, at least in July and August. Based on this, it has been suggested that high thickets of sprouts (and suckers) as well as tall trees and shrubs, from whose stumps thickets develop, should be destroyed by applying artificial hormones to the stumps of cut plants. Thus it would not be necessary to pay attention to the transpiration stream, and active substance need not be wasted for destroying the above-ground parts of these plants. Possibilities of using this method must be further investigated. Also solutions of chlorate and chresol can be absorbed through cut branches into alders. It remains to be investigated whether this absorption is effective. Applications of the above-mentioned artificial hormones, chlorate, and chresol to the soil do not secure satisfactory results with regard to destruction of woody plants, at reasonable costs.

ABSTRACTCapsule: We developed a protocol for efficient monitoring of potential Common Swift Apus apus nest sites which considers variation in nest visit frequency across the breeding season and in relation to time of day and weather.Aims: To investigate patterns of nest visit frequency in Common Swifts in order to improve the efficiency and reliability of the monitoring of nest sites threatened by building renovations.Methods: We derived information on nest attendance from light data recorded by geolocators from ten adult Common Swifts during three breeding seasons (n = 686 individual sampling days) and analysed how nest visit frequency varied across the breeding season and in relation to time of day and weather.Results: The mean nest visit frequency was 5.63 visits per bird per day (0.32 visits per hour of daylight). The daily number of visits was highest at the beginning of July during chick-rearing. Moreover, it was positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with rainfall and wind speed. Nest visit frequency showed a distinct peak around sunset, while also being relatively high in the morning and around noon.Conclusion: We recommend monitoring potential Common Swift nest sites in Central Europe between the end of June and mid-July during good weather between 0.50 and 7.75 h after sunrise or between 3.00 h before sunset and sunset, when observation bouts of 0.5–2.0 h provide an encounter probability greater than 90%. Our study shows that repurposing geolocator light data – usually used to study bird migration – for investigating nest attendance in cavity-breeding birds can provide important information for bird conservation.