Arthropods Research Articles

Efecto de la fragmentación del bosque sobre las fuentes potenciales de alimento para aves en Córdoba

Fil: Verga, Ernesto Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal; Argentina

Techno-economic Sensitivity Analysis of Large Scale Chitosan Production Process from Shrimp Shell Wastes

Chitin is one the most abundant natural amino-polysaccharides in nature, it is found in the exoskeleton of many arthropods on earth, being the main component of these ones. Great quantities of crustaceans are processed daily for human consumption, generating big shell wastes to should be correctly treated and give them a final disposal that not bringing environmental concerns to fishing industry. There are potential uses of these shell wastes, and one of them is the extraction of chitosan from chitin present in these wastes. In this work was developed the economic evaluation and the techno-economic sensitivity analysis of the large-scale production of chitosan from shrimp shell wastes via depigmentation, demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation of chitin, using the ethanol-based route, which employs ten units of operation, in order to analyze the behavior of the process under changes of the techno-economic environment of the process as break-even point, on-stream efficiency, raw material cost, among others. Results shows that for a processing capacity of 57,000 t/y of shell waste with a plant life of 15 y, located in North Colombia, the critical techno-economic variables were raw material costs which with an increase in 100 % of price decreases the Profit After Taxes (PAT) close to zero, product selling price and normalized variable operating costs (NVOC).

PLANT-INSECT INTERACTIONS ON DICOTS AND FERNS FROM THE MIOCENE OF ARGENTINA

Fil: Robledo, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecologia Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecologia Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina

Parapygmephorus crossi (Acari, Heterostigmata, Neopygmephoridae), a mite species new to fauna of Iran

There are 21 genera in the family Neopygmephoridae (Acari: Heterostigmata: Pygmephoroidea) (Khaustov and Mandelshtam 2017) in which many of them are associated with various arthropods including Chilopods, spiders, bees, ants, beetles and termites (Khaustov 2017). One of the neopygmephorid genera is Parapygmephorus encompassing eight species, associated with bees of the families Halictidae, Apidae, Colletidae and Megachilidae, and in one case on a spider wasp, Pompilidae (Fan et al . 2014). These phoretic mites feed on fungi in the nests of their bee hosts and are clinging them by a large and strong single claw on their first tibiotarsus (Cross 1965). During a sampling of bees and their associate mites in Iran, the mite Parapygmephorus crossi Mahunka, 1974 (Figures 1A and 1B) recovered from Halictus ( Halictus ) resurgens Nurse, 1903 (Halictidae) (Figure 1C and 1D) in city park (Park Jangali) close to Yasouj, capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad province (Southwestern Iran) on 7 Septamber 2014. Twelve specimens of phoretic mites were found attaching to body hairs of a bee host. The materials are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. Mite Parapygmephorus crossi was collected and described for the first time on Halictus holtzi (Schultz) from Afghanistan (Mahunka 1974) characterized by setae ps 1 longer than ps 2 and setae ps 3 distinctly shorter than ps 2 . So, it is first record of this species in Iran and second record in the world including Palaearctic. Previously, three other species of the Parapygmephorus were collected from Iran: P . khorasanicus Hajiqanbar and Khaustov, 2011 on Halictus quadricinctus (Fabricius); P . delyorum Mahunka, 1980 on an unidentified halictid bee; and P . magnisetosus Khaustov and Zaloznaya, 2011 on Amigella sp. and Eucera sp. (Apidae), Halictus spp. and Lasioglossum sp. (Halictidae), and Lithurgus chrysurus Fonscolombe, 1834 (Megachilidae) (Hajiqanbar et al. 2011a; Hajiqanbar et al. 2011b; Hajiqanbar and Rakhshani 2011; Loghmani et al . 2014; Sobhi et al . 2017).

Correction: Coupled effects of oil spill and hurricane on saltmarsh terrestrial arthropods.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194941.].

The Contextual Learning with Handout and Arthropod’s Preservation of High School Students Learning Outcomes

The aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of contextual learning with Handout and Arthropod’s preservation of high school students learning outcomes. The research was conducted at SMA N 1 Bulu Sukoharjo Regency with research method by Pre-Experimental Design. The sample was X IA 1 and X IA 4 which taken by purposive sampling technique. The results showed that there was an influence on the results of psycomotor learning in the category very effective with percentage reach 85,94%, while the results of cognitive learning is in the category less effective with percentage 48%. The average of the students questionnaire responses after joining the learning was in very good criteria. Generally, the teacher and the students also gave good responses on the implementation of the learning. The conclusion of the research is the application of contextual learning with Handout and preserved Arthropod’s not yet effectively applied in learning.

Feline bartonellosis key issues and possible vectors

Bartonellosis is a disease caused by Bartonella spp. microorganisms which belong to the Rickettsiales order. This disease is a zoonosis, B. henselae, whose primary reservoir is the cat, which in humans causes a cat-scratch disease. In infected cats, symptoms such as fever, lymphedema, reproduction disorders, myocarditis, rhinotracheitis, gingivitis, and arthritis may be observed. Bartonella appears to be transmitted among cats and dogs in vivo exclusively by arthropod vectors (excepting perinatal transmission), not by biting or scratching. In the absence of these vectors, the disease does not spread. On the other hand, the disease can be spread to humans by bites and scratches, and it is highly likely that it is spread by arthropod vectors as well. This review presents a potential role of ticks and fleas in the transmission of bartonellosis. Clinicians should be aware that a common illness, such as infection with Bartonella, can be transmitted by arthropod vectors, and that a history of animal scratches or bites is not necessary for disease transmission.

First record of the tardigrade Echiniscus testudo (Doyère, 1840) from northeast of Iran (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae)

Tardigrada is a phylum closely allied with the arthropods. They are small (0.05-1.20 mm), hygrophilous micrometazoans, have four pairs of lobe-like legs and are either carnivorous or feed on plant material. Most of the tardigrade species are limno-terrestrial. In two moss and lichen samples collected in Mashhad, one heterotardigrade species was found. Echiniscus testudo (Doyere, 1840) belongs to the Echiniscidae group and differs from most of other species in this group mainly by having a different claw configuration and by some morphometric characters. This study is the first report of tardigrades from Iran.

The current status and development of insect-resistant genetically engineered poplar in China

Poplar is one of the main afforestation tree species in China, and the use of a single, or only a few, clones with low genetic diversity in poplar plantations has led to increasing problems with insect pests. The use of genetic engineering to cultivate insect-resistant poplar varieties has become a hot topic. Over the past 20 years, there have been remarkable achievements in this area. To date, nearly 22 insect-resistant poplar varieties have been created and approved for small-scale field testing, environmental release, or pilot-scale production. Here, we comprehensively review the development of insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) poplars in China. This review mostly addresses issues surrounding the regulation and commercialization of Bt poplar in China, the various insecticidal genes used, the effects of transgenic poplars on insects, toxic protein expression, multigene transformation, the stability of insect resistance, and biosafety. The efficacy of GM poplars for pest control differed among different transgenic poplar clones, larval instars, and insect species. The Bt protein analysis revealed that the expression level of Cry3A was significantly higher than that of Cry1Ac. Temporal and spatial studies of Bt protein showed that its expression varied with the developmental stage and tissue. The inheritance and expression of the exogenous gene were reviewed in transgenic hybrid poplar progeny lines and grafted sections. Biosafety issues, in terms of transgene stability and the effects on soil microorganisms, natural enemies of insects, and arthropod communities are also discussed.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Microscale Respiration and Microfluidic Technology

Insects and other terrestrial arthropods, benefitting from millions of years of evolutionary refinement, manipulate fluids efficiently, including their bodily fluids, air, nectar, and water, at the microscale in their daily lives. Microfluidic technology, though far behind insect fluid handling in terms of performance, is a rapidly developing field, which allows traditional laboratory testing spaces, occupying hundreds of square meters, to be shrunk down to chips occupying less than a square centimetre. These lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices are positioned to revolutionize fields like exoplanetary composition testing and single cell biology studies, and can provide inexpensive, ubiquitous environmental monitoring and global health testing. Microfluidic technology, in addition, has the potential to bridge the gap between Ant-Man and the Wasp’s human respiratory apparatuses, and the more optimal ones that insects use to breath at the microscale, to help them overcome issues when they shrink in their suits like the “death zone dilemma” and a relative air density similar to that near the peak of Mt. Everest.

West Nile disease in Tunisia: an overview of 60 years.

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod borne virus of public health importance. The virus is a member of the genus Flavivirus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) antigenic complex under the Flaviviridae family. The WNV is continuously spreading across Tunisia especially in the coastal and Southern area of the country. The first human West Nile disease (WND) epidemic in Tunisia occurred in 1997, since then, the quantity and the extension of spillover effects increased constantly. However, the existing knowledge of factors triggering such events continues to be rather poor. The last epidemic WNV human meningitis and meningoencephalitis recorded in 2012, with 86 cases and 6 deaths, confirmed the failure of the current system in predicting new cases. This review, based on analysis of scientific papers published between 1970 and 2015, summarises the state of knowledge on WNV in Tunisia and highlights the existing knowledge and research gaps that need to be addressed.

Higher Ant Diversity in Native Vegetation Than in Stands of the Invasive L., Along the Rio Grande Basin in Texas, USA

Our hypothesis was that there will be greater ant biodiversity in heterogeneous native vegetation compared with Arundo stands. Changes in ant biodiversity due to Arundo invasion may be one of the ecological changes in the landscape that facilitates the invasion of cattle fever ticks from Mexico where they are endemic. Ants collected in pitfall traps were identified and compared between native vegetation and stands of Arundo, Arundo donax L., monthly for a year at 10 locations. A total of 82 752 ants representing 28 genera and 76 species were collected. More ants were collected in the native vegetation which also had greater species richness and biological diversity than ants collected from Arundo stands. It is suggested that the greater heterogeneous nature of native vegetation provided greater and more predictable nourishment in the form of nectars and more abundant arthropod prey when compared with Arundo stands.

Insects are flying shrimps, myriapods are arthropod snakes — towards a new synthesis

Insects are flying shrimps, myriapods are arthropod snakes — towards a new synthesis

Identification of very small open reading frames in the genomes of Holmes Jungle virus, Ord River virus, and Wongabel virus of the genus , family

Viruses of the family Rhabdoviridae infect a broad range of hosts from a variety of ecological and geographical niches, including vertebrates, arthropods, and plants. The arthropod-transmitted members of this family display considerable genetic diversity and remarkable genomic flexibility that enable coding for various accessory proteins in different locations of the genome. Here, we describe the genome of Holmes Jungle virus, isolated from Culex annulirostris mosquitoes collected in northern Australia, and make detailed comparisons with the closely related Ord River and Wongabel viruses, with a focus on identifying very small open reading frames (smORFs) in their genomes. This is the first systematic prediction of smORFs in rhabdoviruses, emphasising the intricacy of the rhabdovirus genome and the knowledge gaps. We speculate that these smORFs may be of importance to the life cycle of the virus in the arthropod vector.

Chitin-Based Biomonitoring: Use Living Arthropods or Carry Samplers by ROVs?

Chitin-Based Biomonitoring: Use Living Arthropods or Carry Samplers by ROVs?

Arbodiseases: a new and useful term for diseases related to arthropods

Arbodiseases: a new and useful term for diseases related to arthropods

Additional records of Gnathostomes in North American hosts

Since the original description of the nematode genus Gnathostoma Owen, 1836 which was based upon material collected from a stomach nodule of a tiger that died after being imported into the London Zoological Garden, the endemic occurrence of members of the group has been observed principally in southern Asia, Africa, Philippines, Australia, China, and Japan. Species of the genus, either as larva or adult, parasitize a variety of hosts, including arthropods, fishes, amphi­bia, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Of the latter, such carnivores as Felidae, Canidae, and Mustelidae most often have been reported infected, although infre­quent reports of infections in cattle, pigs, rodents, and man have appeared in the literature.

Observaciones parasitológicas en ratas de San José, Costa Rica

A parasitologic study is presented of 103 adult house rats from various sites in San Jose, Costa Rica. Seven specimens were Rattus rattus rattus, and the rest were Rattus norvegicus. The following protozoa were found in trophic form when feces were examined for eggs and larvae of helminths: Trichomonas, Giardia, Hexamita, Chilomastix, and Entamoeba. Trypanosoma lewisi was found in the blood of 7 out of 17 rats examined (8,8%) The following nematodes and cestodes were found with the incidence indicated: Strongyloides ratti (41,7 %); Aspiculuris tetraptera (1,9 %); Nipostron­gylus brasiliensis (47,6%); Gongylonema neoplasticum (0,9 %); Protospirura muris (8,7%); Trichosomoides crassicauda (23,3%); Taenia taeniformis larvae (33%); Hymenolepis diminuta (43,6%); and H. nana (0,9 %). No larvae of Trichinella spiralis were found in diaphragms examined. The acanthocephalian Moniliformis moniliformis was found in 18,4 per cent of the rats. Arthropods found as ectoparasites were, in arder of incidence, Echino­laelaps echidninus (14,5%), Xenopsilla cheopis (7,7 %) and Ctenopsyllus se­gnis (1,9%). These percent data should be regarded as minimum figures, as only 61 rats were brought alive to the laboratory.

A checklist of subterranean arthropods of Iran

A checklist of subterranean arthropods of Iran

Scrub Typhus: An Emerging Threat.

Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia) and is transmitted to humans by an arthropod vector of the Trombiculidae family (Leptotrombidium deliense and L. akamushi). It is the most common re-emerging Rickettsial infection in India and many other South East Asian countries. In fact, scrub typhus is confined geographically to the Asia Pacific region, a billion people are at risk and nearly a million cases are reported every year. Scrub typhus appears particularly to be distributed in the tsutsugamushi triangle which is distributed over a very wide area of 13 million km2 bound by Japan in the east, through China, the Philippines, tropical Australia in the south, and west through India, Pakistan, possibly to Tibet to Afghanistan, and southern parts of the USSR in the north. Eschar is the characteristic lesion that starts as a vesicular lesion at the site of mite feeding. Later, an ulcer forms with black necrotic center and an erythematous border along with regional lymphadenopathy. Other features are fever, maculopapular rash starting from the trunk, and spreading to the limbs. It may affect the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, renal, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems. Serious complication in the form of myocarditis, pneumonia, meningoencephalitis, acute renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and even acute respiratory distress syndrome may develop. Tetracycline or chloramphenicol remains the main stay of therapy.