Colony Age Research Articles

Effects of temperature, light and incubation period on production, germination and bioactivity of Trichoderma atroviride.

The goal was to determine the effect of temperature, light and incubation period on production, germination and bioactivity of Trichoderma atroviride LU132 against Rhizoctonia solani. The incubation temperatures of 20, 25 or 30°C were assessed on the production of T. atroviride conidia under constant light over a 25 and 50 days periods. The resulting conidia were also studied for germination and bioactivity. Conidium production was maximum at 25°C after 20 days. The second peak of conidium production occurred at 45-50 days. Incubation at 25°C after 15 days showed optimum production of T. atroviride LU132. Conidia produced at 30°C gave the greatest germination and bioactivity in comparison with incubation at 20 or 25°C. This study indicates that the temperature at which conidia of T. atroviride are produced affects germination and bioactivity. Formulations based on production of the high conidia yield may not result in optimal bioactivity and there is a trade-off between quantity and quality of T. atroviride LU132 conidia. Conidium production was shown to be a continuous process, and increased under a dark/light regime. This is the first report of bimodal conidium production in a Trichoderma biological control agent (BCA), which is likely to be on 20 days cycle, and is dependent on colony age rather than abiotic factors. Conidia produced after 15 days are likely to be the most suitable for use in commercial production of this strain as a BCA. Most studies on Trichoderma-based BCA have only shown the effect of culture conditions on the high conidia yield regardless of conidium quality. This study is the first report on conidium quality affected by principal culture conditions for Trichoderma biological control formulations.

Deep Roots for Aboriginal Australian Y Chromosomes

SummaryAustralia was one of the earliest regions outside Africa to be colonized by fully modern humans, with archaeological evidence for human presence by 47,000 years ago (47 kya) widely accepted [1, 2]. However, the extent of subsequent human entry before the European colonial age is less clear. The dingo reached Australia about 4 kya, indirectly implying human contact, which some have linked to changes in language and stone tool technology to suggest substantial cultural changes at the same time [3]. Genetic data of two kinds have been proposed to support gene flow from the Indian subcontinent to Australia at this time, as well: first, signs of South Asian admixture in Aboriginal Australian genomes have been reported on the basis of genome-wide SNP data [4]; and second, a Y chromosome lineage designated haplogroup C∗, present in both India and Australia, was estimated to have a most recent common ancestor around 5 kya and to have entered Australia from India [5]. Here, we sequence 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes to re-investigate their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including a comparison of Aboriginal Australian and South Asian haplogroup C chromosomes. We find divergence times dating back to ∼50 kya, thus excluding the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia.

Abstract P4-06-01: Human mammary tumor virus, HMTV, is an MMTV-adapted human pathogen

Abstract Forty percent of American women's breast cancers contain HMTV, a betaretrovirus 90-98% homologous to MMTV, the causative agent for breast cancer in mice. HMTV is reverse-transcribed and integrated into chromosomal DNA of human breast cells. MMTV contamination of our analyses has been definitively excluded. In 8% of unselected American mothers HMTV is found in cells in milk, but in 21% of milks from women previously biopsied for unconfirmed cancer suspicion. In breasts biopsied for suspicion of cancer before a later diagnosis of breast cancer, we see suggestive morphologic changes if the subsequent breast cancer is HMTV+. HMTV is infectious in vitro for B and T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and human mammary epithelial cells. Infecting MCF-10 breast cell lines with HMTV produces molecular changes of epithelial-mesenchymal transition with upregulation of vimentin ,and downregualtion of E-cadherin. The excess of breast cancer in western European countries and their former colonies (age standardized rates of 47 to 92 per 100,000 per year) compared to Asian incidence (29 to 43 ASR/y) can be explained by excess HMTV-related breast cancer incidence. In 7 West European, American and Oceania countries, 30 to 60% contain HMTV, while in 5 Asian nations HMTV in breast cancers ranges from 0 to 22% Different indigenous murine species with disparate MMTV burdens parallel these findings: mus domesticus in the West with much MMTV in its genome, and m. castaneus or m.musculus in the East with less. Ancient contamination of the food chain, and current lactational transfer perpetuate infection. HMTV poses a new and challenging dimension to breast cancer research involving diagnosis, molecular mechanisms, epidemiology, therapy and prevention. Citation Format: Holland JF, Jaffer S, Melana S, Nartey T, Gnjatic S, Pogo BG-T. Human mammary tumor virus, HMTV, is an MMTV-adapted human pathogen. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-06-01.

Growth patterns in mesophotic octocorals: Timing the branching process in the highly-valuable Mediterranean Corallium rubrum

This study examined colony growth in the long-lived red coral Corallium rubrum, a slow growing octocoral endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and neighboring Atlantic areas and one of the most valuable of all marine species. Age and growth rate were determined on 165 sections of colony bases and branches by means of a validated age dating method in populations living between 50 and 130 m in the NW Mediterranean. The ratio between minimum and maximum diameter remained constant, indicating proportional growth of colony bases. No significant difference was found between the growth rate of bases and branches. A significantly different branching pattern (colony height/number of branches) and average growth rate were found between the colonies of the different geographic areas. As growth rate decreases with age, this was due to the different age structure of the two samples. The maximum lifespan was found to be 106 years, a value not determined previously for C. rubrum colonies, and the average age of colonies at first branching was about 10 years. Linear growth varied widely between colonies as well as between branches in the same colony, confirming the lack of any strict relation between height and age. The study illustrates the growth of a mesophotic, heavily exploited Corallidae.

Cormorant-induced shifts in littoral communities

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 541:15-30 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11548 Cormorant-induced shifts in littoral communities Karine Gagnon*, Juho Yli-Rosti, Veijo Jormalainen Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turun Yliopisto, Finland *Corresponding author: karine.gagnon@utu.fi ABSTRACT: The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) population in the Baltic Sea has increased rapidly since the 1990s. As cormorants nest in high densities on islands, they can affect benthic communities through nutrient runoff from colonies and may also induce trophic cascades through fish predation. Here, we describe fish, invertebrate, and algal communities, as well as algal growth and biomass accumulation, around colony and control islands along the Finnish coast to determine how cormorants affect communities through top-down and bottom-up processes. While cormorants did not affect the species richness or biodiversity of any trophic levels, there were differences in the community composition of pelagic fish between colony and control islands, and mesopredators perch Perca fluviatilis and ruffe Gymnocephalus cernua were less abundant near colonies. The abundance of several species correlated with cormorant abundance, density and colony age, indicating that these are essential factors in determining the strength of colony impacts. Filamentous algae tended to be more abundant and primary production was higher near older, denser colonies, likely due to nutrient enrichment from the colonies, which overwhelms top-down control. Consequent increased competition by filamentous algae probably explains the decrease in biomass of the foundation algal species Fucus vesiculosus near denser, more populated colonies. Cormorants can thus affect benthic communities through both top-down and bottom-up processes, with bottom-up impacts being locally concentrated near colony islands. The impacts can become more pronounced over time and with increasing cormorant populations, potentially leading to shifts in community composition and ecosystem functioning around cormorant colonies. KEY WORDS: Top-down · Trophic cascade · Bottom-up · Nutrient enrichment · Benthic communities · Cormorants · Baltic Sea Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Gagnon K, Yli-Rosti J, Jormalainen V (2015) Cormorant-induced shifts in littoral communities. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 541:15-30. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11548 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 541. Online publication date: December 15, 2015 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.

The Interwar Germination of Development and Modernization Theory and Practice

Abstract In 1928 the Rockefeller Foundation financed a Social Science Research Section (SSRS) at the American University of Beirut. This article uses the story of the SSRS to argue that the interwar years in the Middle East were a germination period of development and modernization theory and practice. The period was one of transition: Ottoman influences lingered into the age of European colonialism while decolonization gathered pace and international actors increasingly spoke up. The SSRS reflected this transitionality. Firstly, it was institutionally part of a new university foundation- development-missionary complex that would build a social science empire by connecting Western and Middle Eastern networks. Secondly, its political aim was to guide decolonization. Finally, the SSRS addressed the epistemic problem of being Western in the now decolonizing non-West by terming its research / proto-development sites ‘laboratories’ and insisting that its research was universally valid.

Impacts of Extended Laboratory Rearing on Female Fitness in Florida Colonies of the ParasitoidSpalangia cameroni(Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) With an Analysis ofWolbachiaStrains

Spalangia cameroni Perkins is used as a biological control agent of filth flies. These parasitoids are reared commercially, but little is known about the impact of colony age on host-seeking and life history parameters. Host-seeking in bedding from equine stalls (pine shavings and manure) was analyzed with two colonies, one established in 2000 and one in 2010 (144 and 24 generations in colony). These two colonies, and a colony established in 2012 colony (4 generations), were analyzed for differences in female longevity and fecundity. Wolbachia were analyzed in each colony to document sequence variants. All wasps collected to start parasitoid colonies were from the same dairy in Gilchrist County, FL, but collected on different dates. Parasitoids from the 2000 colony parasitized fewer hosts than ones from the 2010 colony when challenged in a complex environment. Life history parameters were different between individuals in the colonies. Differences in reproductive productivity between the colonies could not be correlated to the presence or sequence variant of Wolbachia. New Wolbachia wsp and ftsZ sequences were identified in these colonies. Multiple strains of Wolbachia were found in each colony, and their presence did not vary among colonies. The invariance in strain presence suggests that Wolbachia strains were not lost during colony maintenance, i.e., lost through selection or random genetic drift.

Longevity of Interrupted Fern Colonies

Abundant data are available on the ages of perennial seed plants, but we know little about the longevity of ferns. In this study we estimated the ages of 30 colonies of Osmunda claytoniana (Interrupted Fern). Common in the Monongahela National Forest of northeastern West Virginia, Interrupted Ferns typically form convexly bulging, elliptically shaped colonies. We studied colonies larger than 6.6 ft (2 m) in average diameter. Each colony was comprised of dozens of ramets interconnected by a subsurface, dichotomously branching rhizome system. The fronds' stipe bases persist through the colony's life, endure along the entire length of the rhizome, and extend back to the origin of the colony's founding ramet. We estimated the age of a fern colony by dividing the average radius of the colony by the growth rate of its rhizomes. We estimated rhizome growth rate by dividing the average number of stipe bases per length of rhizome by the average number of fronds generated by an individual ramet per year. Rhizome growth rates varied from 0.04 to 0.24 in (0.1–0.6 cm) per year, which represents a slow outward expansion by colonies. Our observational data and derived estimates indicated that these colonies were as old as 414 years. If our estimates are accurate, the Interrupted Fern may be one of the longest-lived organisms in the Appalachian Mountains.

Investigation of potential reasons for bacterial survival on ‘ready-to-eat’ leafy produce during exposure to gaseous ozone

Fresh leafy produce, such as lettuce and coriander, are subject to post-harvest microbial contamination and decay. Because of increasing pesticide resistance and consumer pressures, alternative residue-free treatments, such as ozone, are being actively explored and encouraged to reduce microbial loads and curb spoilage of crops in storage/transit. However, several researchers have reported that a component of the bacterial population on leaf surfaces is resistant to ozone treatment. To investigate the potential reasons for this bacterial survival, confocal microscopy was used to visualise microbes on leaf surfaces before and after ozone treatment. Direct observation (live/dead cell staining) of cells after ozone exposure showed that some cells were still alive; this included cells in small colonies as well as individual cells. We hypothesised that cell (colony) age and prior stress (cold) contributes to, or is responsible for, the ozone resistance observed. Interestingly, cells derived from older agar-grown colonies (7–12-day-old) and cold stressed cells of a Pseudomonas sp. (isolated from coriander) showed higher ozone resistance than that of control cells (4-day-old colonies). These findings suggest that a range of factors are responsible for ozone resistance and further work to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of ozone resistance may lead to improved methods to reduce microbial spoilage of fresh produce.

Population dynamics of a high-latitude coral Alveopora japonica Eguchi from Jeju Island, off the southern coast of Korea

Although coral reefs are facing severe challenges from a variety of natural and anthropogenic stresses, there is anecdotal evidence that the high-latitude coral species Alveopora japonica Eguchi, 1968, has increased its population over the past two decades around Jeju Island, off the southern coast of Korea. The present study provides the first ecological data on this species. Alveopora japonica is opportunistically occupying the empty space left vacant following the recent kelp-forest decline. Colony abundance, age- and size-frequency distributions, lifespan, growth rates and biological characteristics such as surface area, weight and volume of two A. japonica populations in Jeju Island were investigated. Alveopora japonica around Jeju Island is characterised by a mean colony size of 30cm2, a slow growth rate (4.8mm year–1), and a short lifespan of 12–13 years, as determined by X-radiographic measurements. Alveopora japonica presented a dense population of 120 colonies m–2 on average. Population-age and -size structures at both sites reflected a healthy status and indicated a local stability, with a stationary size structure allowing population maintenance over time. The present study provided data to develop population-dynamics models to predict the potential outcomes of A. japonica populations to alternative management scenarios in Jeju Island.

Shaykh Abdullahi al-Qutbi and the pious believer's dilemma: local moral guidance in an age of global Islamic reform

Using the writings of the religious scholar `Abdullahi al-Qutbi, this article examines the ‘transregional’ nature of Muslim reformist discourse in the early twentieth century and the way in which the trajectories of individuals, objects and ideas cut across the largely imaginary boundaries traditionally used to divide the Middle East and Africa. African Muslims have maintained intimate ties with their non-African brethren across space through various intellectual, economic and political relationships throughout the history of Islam. However, they have also remained entwined across time via engagement with the more or less commonly accepted canon of the faith and what Talal Asad has termed the ‘discursive tradition.’ This essay demonstrates the persistence of these processes through the age of European colonialism into the early twentieth century. But equally important is the way in which the increasingly elaborate and rapid networks of empire created in the nineteenth century facilitated and intensified the interaction of both people and ideas helping create the modern horizontally integrated community of believers.

Port Governance Structure: the Port of Yangon

The Yangon port is recognized as the only international (gateway) port for Myanmar. It handles about 90 % of the country’s normal exports and imports to date. Its governance structure has been inherited from the colonial age and the administrative body changed from time to time. Presently, Myanma Port Authority is the sole authority to manage all ports in Myanmar. This study aims to analyze the governance structure of Yangon port in Myanmar and its implications. Good prospective is ahead with the supporting economic reform measures presently brought about by political reforms.

Life goes on: Are humans still evolving?

Life goes on: Are humans still evolving?

Population regulation in Magellanic penguins: what determines changes in colony size?

Seabirds are often studied at individual colonies, but the confounding effects of emigration and mortality processes in open populations may lead to inappropriate conclusions on the mechanisms underlying population changes. Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) colonies of variable population sizes are distributed along the Argentine coastline. In recent decades, several population and distributional changes have occurred, with some colonies declining and others newly established or increasing. We integrated data of eight colonies scattered along ∼ 600 km in Northern Patagonia (from 41°26´S, 65°01´W to 45°11´S, 66°30´W, Rio Negro and Chubut provinces) and conducted analysis in terms of their growth rates, production of young and of the dependence of those vital rates on colony age, size, and location. We contrasted population trends estimated from abundance data with those derived from population modeling to understand if observed growth rates were attainable under closed population scenarios. Population trends were inversely related to colony size, suggesting a density dependent growth pattern. All colonies located in the north—which were established during the last decades—increased at high rates, with the smallest, recently established colonies growing at the fastest rate. In central-southern Chubut, where colonies are the oldest, the largest breeding aggregations declined, but smaller colonies remained relatively stable. Results provided strong evidence that dispersal played a major role in driving local trends. Breeding success was higher in northern colonies, likely mediated by favorable oceanographic conditions. However, mean foraging distance and body condition of chicks at fledging were influenced by colony size. Recruitment of penguins in the northern area may have been triggered by a combination of density dependence, likely exacerbated by less favorable oceanographic conditions in the southern sector. Our results reaffirm the idea that individual colony trends do not provide confident indicators of population health, highlighting the need to redefine the scale for the study of population changes.

Myanmar. Opium and empire in Southeast Asia: Regulating consumption in British Burma By Ashley Wright Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. 214. Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Opium and empire in Southeast Asia: Regulating consumption in British Burma By ASHLEY WRIGHT Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. 214. Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, Index. doi:10.1017/S0022463414000757 Opium was a mainstay of colonial revenues throughout Asia during the high colonial age. The Dutch, French, Spanish, and, briefly, Americans all sold opium to their subjects through one state-led scheme or another. Britain was the key player in this vast enterprise. It sold opium to its own subjects in India and Southeast Asia and to legions of others in China and elsewhere. And it was largely British opium from the poppy fields of Bengal that flowed through government and private hands to smokers in the Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, and countless other markets in Asia. Opium and empire in Southeast Asia tells a small part of this large story. It traces how Britain went about selling opium to its subjects in British Burma and how its officials managed to square this practice with both their imperial priorities and their imperial consciences. Opium was significant enough in the kingdom of Burma for King Bodawhpaya (r. 1782-1819) to declare it a capital crime. Yet, as the English East India Company moved into Arakan and Tenasserim--outlying territories of the kingdom's large mandala--after the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824, among the first institutions it imported from British Bengal was the retail opium-licensing system, alongside similar revenue-farming arrangements for gambling and toddy shops. A certain amount of trial and error followed. A.D. Maingy, the first commissioner of Tenasserim, became an early critic of selling opium to native subjects. By the time the Company seized Lower Burma (Pegu) following the Second Anglo-Burmese War, certain assumptions about opium were in place. In this discourse, it was perfectly all right to peddle opium to some colonial subjects, including Chinese, Indians, and certain local ethnic minorities such as the Shan and Kachin; no ill effects appeared to accompany the practice among these groups. But it was not all right to peddle opium to ethnic Burmans, whose childlike ways and self-indulgent habits made them prey to addiction, sloth, and crime. Britain's solution to this dilemma, never perfectly executed, was to regulate opium sales so that consumption among Burmans was curtailed, if not completely eliminated, and so that profits flowed freely from selling opium to the others. This strategy was the essence of Chief Commissioner Charles Aitchison's landmark 1881 memorandum, adopted as law in 1891. Wright's book emphasises the recurring policy debates around this strategy--as Britain completed its conquest of Burma in 1885, executed the India-wide Royal Commission on Opium inquiry of the 1890s (in response to anti-opium sentiments in Britain), confronted rising international and much-resented American pressure in the twentieth century in one international opium conference after another, and as reformist Burmese nationalists agitated for prohibition from within the colony itself. To the end, as Wright amply demonstrates, colonial officials nimbly adopted the rhetoric of opium suppression even as they employed every strategy possible to prevent or delay the end of government opium sales. …

Archaeological Investigations within San Pedro Springs Park (41BX19), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Archaeological Investigations within San Pedro Springs Park (41BX19), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Elements of Political Philosophy in the Colonial Area of Upper Peru. A Provisional Approach

espanolDurante la era colonial espanola en el Alto Peru (1537-1825) no surgieron obras teoricas que pudiesen ser calificadas como aportes especificos a la filosofia politica. Pero en el ambito universitario y en la administracion de justicia se formo una amalgama de alto valor teorico compuesta por ideas de la Escuela de Salamanca y del Derecho Indiano. El nucleo de estas doctrinas proclamaba la igualdad de todos los seres humanos ante Dios y su participacion en derechos similares, por un lado, y la legitimidad de la conquista del Nuevo Mundo de parte de los espanoles, por otro. En la praxis estas creaciones teoricas no tuvieron efecto sobre el terrible trabajo forzado impuesto a los indigenas. EnglishDuring the Spanish colonial age in Upper Peru (1537-1825) no works of specifically political philosophy could be detected. But in the universitary space and in the justice administration a combination of ideas coming from the Salamanca School and the Indian Laws reached a high theoretical value. The core of these doctrines claimed the equality of all human beings before God and their equal participation in similar rights, on the one side, and the legimity of the Spanish conquest of the New World, on the other side. In practical everdyday's life these theoretical products had no consequences on the terrible forced labour imposed on Indians.

Archaeological Investigations at the Christopher Columbus Italian Society Property and Columbus Park: 41BX1968, the Possible First Site of Mission San Antonio de Valero

In May of 2013, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the San Antonio Conservation Society (SACS) to explore the Spanish Colonial archaeological deposits and a feature that were recently identified in a lot owned by the Christopher Columbus Italian Society and next to the San Francesco di Paola Church in north-central San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Based on a number of historical descriptions, the deposits were thought to possibly be associated with the first location of Mission San Antonio de Valero that was established in 1718. Thirty-one shovel tests were excavated in Columbus Park and on property owned by the Christopher Columbus Italian Society near the church. In addition, three test units were excavated at a location downhill from the church on property owned by the Christopher Columbus Italian Society. The archaeological investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 6534. Steve Tomka served as the Original Principal Investigator, and Kristi Miller Nichols served as Project Archaeologist. The Permit is currently held by Dr. Raymond Mauldin. Surface collection in the open field and in the vicinity of the church produced a small quantity of Spanish Colonial Period material, including wrought iron nails, a majolica ceramic fragment, a trade bead, and melted lead. Shovel tests revealed that the upper 60 cm of soil in the park contains mostly modern and some early twentieth-century materials. Investigations found no evidence of Mission San Antonio de Valero within Columbus Park. Test unit excavations in the Christopher Columbus Italian Society’s property produced fragments of majolica ceramics affiliated with the Spanish Colonial Period and lead-glazed Galera wares of probable Colonial age. While a large proportion of the cultural materials recovered from surface and the shovel tests does consist of nineteenthand twentieth-century materials, the remainder includes a variety of Spanish Colonial artifacts such as tin- and lead-glazed ceramics, bone-tempered sherds, a trade bead, and fragments of wrought iron nails. It is likely that the materials have been re-deposited from the upper portion of the landform where the church and hall had been erected in the late 1920s. In addition, the western portion of the tract had been graded prior to the construction of a paved parking lot, and this further disturbed any buried cultural deposits. The cultural material that is affiliated with the Spanish Colonial Period is overwhelmed by artifacts dated to later periods. This is somewhat

Quantitative trait locus mapping of melanization in the plant pathogenic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici.

Melanin plays an important role in virulence and antimicrobial resistance in several fungal pathogens. The wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici is important worldwide, but little is known about the genetic architecture of pathogenicity, including the production of melanin. Because melanin production can exhibit complex inheritance, we used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping in two crosses to identify the underlying genes. Restriction site−associated DNA sequencing was used to genotype 263 (cross 1) and 261 (cross 2) progeny at ~8500 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and construct two dense linkage maps. We measured gray values, representing degrees of melanization, for single-spore colonies growing on Petri dishes by using a novel image-processing approach that enabled high-throughput phenotyping. Because melanin production can be affected by stress, each offspring was grown in two stressful environments and one control environment. We detected six significant QTL in cross 1 and nine in cross 2, with three QTL shared between the crosses. Different QTL were identified in different environments and at different colony ages. By obtaining complete genome sequences for the four parents and analyzing sequence variation in the QTL confidence intervals, we identified 16 candidate genes likely to affect melanization. One of these candidates was PKS1, a polyketide synthase gene known to play a role in the synthesis of dihydroxynaphthalene melanin. Three candidate quantitative trait nucleotides were identified in PKS1. Many of the other candidate genes were not previously associated with melanization.

Oviposition Behavior of the Predatory Midge Aphidoletes aphidimyza in Response to Aphid Patch Quality

Female Aphidoletes aphidimyza confronts serious challenges from both aphid prey and conspecifics. These challenges constitute strong selective pressures on the predatory midge to have an adaptive oviposition strategy. We did laboratory experiments to investigate clutch size of A. aphidimyza in response to the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (density and age) and the presence of conspecific eggs (density) and larvae (age) in aphid colonies. The results of our study show that A. aphidimyza female adjusts its foraging effort by assessing the quality of prey patches. The number of eggs laid increased in response to aphid density. However, patches consisting of older aphids received fewer eggs. The number of eggs laid decreased in response to the presence of conspecific eggs, and in response to the presence of 2-day old conspecific larvae. Our study reveals deterrent effects on A. aphidimyza oviposition decisions on clutch size in response to older aphids and the presence of more conspecific eggs and older larvae.