Egg Harvest Research Articles

The Fire Cancer

The Fire Cancer Maggie Woodlief Would you prefer to be called Aunt Margaret or Auntie Maggie?" my brother's voice crackles through the line. He and his wife are pregnant with their first. I'm ecstatic, but as I tell my husband he is going to be Uncle Tony, I silently pray that the chemotherapy I just finished won't prevent us from someday having our own children. A text from my brother's wife reads, "Thank you for being so happy for us. I thought you would be sad." Sad? No. Ecstatically happy? Not entirely. As I held both the glee and the sorrow, the interstitial space between them reminded me that though cancer kills much joy, it cannot kill hope. My breast cancer diagnosis came the same day my now husband proposed. As such, we were keen to explore fertility preservation. We were building a house, and a fire threatened to burn to the ground a life we hadn't started. We discovered that firefighters, oncologists, and fertility doctors have wildly opposing incentives: oncologists want to keep the house from burning down, whereas fertility doctors want to save a family heirloom or two. We found their respective guidance diametrically opposed on [End Page 114] how or if to preserve fertility. The oncologists like to employ fast–paced, aggressive treatment options, while the fertility specialists need time and youth to maximize conception odds. More disconcerting, neither camp offered help determining when to start the fertility process after successful cancer treatment. "You have stage three aggressive breast cancer; it is imperative to start chemotherapy as soon as possible." My first oncologist would not waver on this point. No one cares about family heirlooms when there's a house afire. "You probably have enough time to have a fertility consultation, but any measures you take need to happen within two weeks. We often see fertility loss in cancer patients, but they tend to be older than you. This means the data aren't good, therefore we have no perspective on what may or may not happen to your ability to bear children." My second (and final) oncologist referred me to a fertility doctor. "It takes four to six weeks for an optimal shot at a successful egg harvest. We recommend freezing embryos, not eggs, for the highest chance of future use." My fertility doctor explained in no uncertain detail that egg–freezing technology is not as advanced as embryo preservation. Our circumstances necessitated freezing eggs. We did a sub–optimal egg harvest protocol (it took three weeks), and got six eggs. Fast–forward a year. I made a complete recovery, and asked my oncologist his thoughts on when we might start trying to conceive. "Never. I want you to live for a long time, and I don't love the idea of you trying to conceive. That said, if it's really important to you, maybe explore the idea after five years." He advised that though the cancer I had just survived was not hormone responsive, he could offer no guarantee that hormones wouldn't cause a different type. This firefighter had just prevented a home from being destroyed, and wasn't about to encourage any fire hazards. "I don't know what your oncologist said, but maximizing your conception chances means that we start trying now. For women with your kind of genetic disorder, you already have low ovarian reserve, which makes fertility harder to attain as you age." My fertility doctor also pointed out that if IVF didn't work, we would want to explore adoption. Any kind of baby–getting endeavor takes time. We wanted the odds stacked in our favor. Like we had with the fertility preservation options, we weighed the myriad of opinions and options that come with these circumstances. Waiting would be emotionally taxing, and we already felt the tick of age working against us. It would be hard to remain hopeful the longer we had to wait. We decided to strike a compromise and start trying once I had made it one year cancer–free. We hoped for a chance to enjoy the family heirlooms we'd worked so hard to save. None of...

Facilitated harvesting of eggs from laboratory-reared Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) eggs are attached to the oviposition substrate by long silk stalks. The complete removal of these stalks is crucial for efficient egg release in biological control programs. The present study aimed at establishing an appropriate oviposition substrate and determining the best embryonic stage for submission of C. externa eggs to manual destalking and harvesting. Eggs oviposited on bond or chamois paper substrates were transferred from rearing cages and incubated in a growth chamber under controlled conditions for 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours according to the embryonic stage development required. Substrates were positioned in an inclined tray and softly brushed with a folded rectangle of soft muslin cloth. Destalked eggs were placed individually in microtiter plates and incubated in a growth chamber until hatching. Egg destruction at all embryonic stages and oviposition on the chamois substrate were considerably higher as compared to those from bond paper. Young eggs harvested from chamois paper were particularly susceptible and exhibited 88 % destruction, whereas eggs aged 48, 72 or 96 hours showed < 10 % destruction on both substrates. Viability of eggs collected at 24 hours for both substrates was significantly different from the observed for the other embryonic stages. The method described will contribute to improve the efficiency of manual harvesting of C. externa eggs and can be employed as an alternative to chemical techniques of destalking in mass rearing.

Evaluation of factors associated with predation on Caiman latirostris nests (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in Argentina

Predation is a major cause of crocodilian egg loss. However, at present, the mechanisms by which predators detect nests is unknown. Previous studies have reported that predators are able to detect prey using both visual and olfactory cues. This study aims to determine the natural predation rate on Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris) nests in a “normal” year (i.e., no extreme climatic events) and whether olfactory or visual cues attract predators to caiman nests, and to evaluate the effect of maternal presence on nest predation. In December 2010, we searched for nests in the north of Santa Fe Province, Argentina. Each nest was assigned to one of the following treatments: (1) control nests (nests were observed from a distance to avoid disturbance), (2) visual attraction nests (yellow flagging tapes were tied to vegetation around the nest), (3) olfactory attraction nests (nests were opened, one egg from the clutch was broken, and then the nests were covered again), (4) olfactory attraction from human disturbance (material was manipulated by researchers). The natural predation rate on broad-snouted caiman nests was found to be 21% during the nesting season. Both olfactory and visual cues were associated with increased predation rates, and human disturbance was strongly associated with increased nest predation at terrestrial sites. Predation rates were less at nests attended by female caiman. Management programs that harvest eggs in wild populations (ranching) are predicated on the assumption that removal of some eggs is sustainable, because some will be lost to natural causes (e.g., predation and flooding) and the remaining hatchlings will have improved survival rates. To reduce nest predation of Broad-snouted Caiman between the time when the nest is found and when the eggs are collected, we propose to avoid identification of nest sites with highly visible markings (e.g., flagging tapes tied to vegetation around nests) and to collect eggs immediately after they are found

Using measurements to predict laying order in harvested Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi) eggs

The sustainable and responsible exploitation of natural populations for subsistence requires a scientific basis for management. Eggs of the Endangered Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi) in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago have been harvested since the 19th century with no restrictions on which (A- or B-eggs) can be harvested, despite the larger B-egg being much more likely to produce fledged offspring. Our objective was to create a discriminant function to predict the laying order of harvested eggs. We found that the discriminant function of D = 0.58 x Length + 0.39 x Breadth -57.48 successfully classified 91% of eggs as A- or B-eggs. When applied to previously collected harvest data, the discriminant function identified at least 36% of eggs as B-eggs. The method we describe here provides a mechanism around which one aspect of a management framework for the sustainable harvest of Northern Rockhopper Penguin eggs can be built.

Estimation of the Net Nesting Effort of Olive Ridley Arribada Sea Turtles Based on Nest Densities at Ostional Beach, Costa Rica

Abstract Ostional Beach, Costa Rica, supports a large mass nesting (arribada) aggregation of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea). A large number of egg clutches is lost to egg harvest and to nest destruction by nesting females after every arribada. Accordingly, the purpose of our study was to generate estimates of the net number of clutches left incubating from clutch densities with the use of a quadrat methodology, and to compare these data with nesting population estimates resulting from the strip transect in time methodology that is currently applied. After the conclusion of each arribada, we randomly performed 50 excavations in 1-m2 quadrats to count the number of clutches present. We extrapolated quadrat density data to the entire nesting area of the beach to estimate the total number of clutches remaining following each arribada and egg harvest. The mean total clutch density was 4.09 ± 0.18 SE nests/m2. Our results showed that quadrat and transect estimate differences ranged from 0.04 t...

Sensor for Detecting Caviar Maturity in Farmed Sturgeon

<abstract> Depletion of wild sturgeon around the world has forced the transition from wild-caught to farm-raised caviar. Farmers face difficult challenges to produce eggs of sufficient size and firmness to yield high-quality caviar at reasonable production costs. Females reach sexual maturity at about seven years, and the oocytes (eggs) are examined by surgical biopsy of the ovary in the late fall for color and size. Egg harvest follows in the winter and spring, but the exact time to harvest optimum quantity and quality of caviar cannot be predicted based on egg size or color because of individual variations in the rate of egg development. Changes in the concentration of plasma vitellogenin, a yolk precursor protein, reflect growth of the eggs and the transition to final maturation. Total plasma calcium is highly correlated with vitellogenin concentration. An automated sensor was designed to measure calcium in sturgeon blood plasma by chemical assay. The sensor used solenoid-operated, fixed-volume pumps, and solenoid-operated valves and was run with an embedded controller. It was able to measure total calcium (free and bound ions) in white sturgeon blood plasma with adequate accuracy to distinguish vitellogenic from non-vitellogenic fish. The sensor was tested in late fall during the normal commercial screening to identify ripe sturgeon. The readings were used to separate half of the ripe fish into low and high calcium groups based on plasma levels previously reported in the literature. The remainder of the ripe fish were used as the control. The harvest groups were selected to compare yields from groups of fish harvested under the current practice (random harvest from winter to spring) and groups harvested based on plasma calcium. Our hypothesis was that caviar harvesting based on plasma calcium gives more uniform size and yield compared to random harvesting, which is the current practice. The early harvest group and low calcium group were sampled in March, and the late harvest group and high calcium group were sampled in May. The high calcium group had greater yield per body mass than the low calcium and early harvest groups. No differences were found in body mass, fork length, ovary mass, egg diameter, and caviar yield. Only one fish was found to be atretic, and that individual was in the early harvest group. These results suggest that a better strategy might be to delay the current time of harvest by several months, with the higher calcium fish processed last.

Effects of multiple handstrippings of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) females induced to ovulate with carp pituitary extract on production of channel catfish female x blue catfish (I. furcatus) male hybrid fry

ABSTRACTChannel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) females were injected with carp pituitary extract (CPE) and were multiple handstripped three times to harvest eggs. Eggs were fertilized with sperm from blue catfish (I. furcatus) to produce channel-blue hybrid (CB hybrid) embryos and fry. A higher number of females yielded eggs (P < .05) during the first stripping attempt (90.3 ± 1.1% [mean ± SE]) than during the second (67.6 ± 2.1%) and third attempts (7.6 ± 0.5%). Significant differences also were observed for the number of eggs/kg stripped between the first (5,471 ± 225) and second (2,598 ± 97) and the first and third (1,302 ± 46) strippings. Percent fertilization (71.5 ± 2.7 %) was higher (P < .05) for the first stripping than the second and third strippings, but the second stripping (58.2 ± 1.8%) was not different from the third (51.7 ± 1.6%). The hatching percent of embryos did not vary among the three times strippings. The fry/kg female body weight produced was higher (P < .05) for the first (1,399 ± 112) than the second (471 ± 26) and third strippings (28 ± 2). It is productive to strip the females a second time, as fry production can be increased by 33.7% by waiting 5 h and harvesting the additional eggs ready at that time. The time and effort for a third stripping is not worthwhile because of the low percentage of females releasing eggs at that time and the low fry output.

Salmonella Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: A Survey of Backyard Poultry Owners Residing in Seattle, Washington and the Surrounding Metropolitan Area.

Raising poultry flocks in urban backyard settings is becoming increasingly popular across the United States, but carries a risk of zoonotic infection. In the United States from 1990 to 2014, 53 outbreaks of human salmonellosis linked to live poultry have been documented resulting in 2611 known illnesses, 387 known hospitalizations and five known deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015a, http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/resources/dont-play-chicken-with-your-health-poster-24x36_508.pdf). A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed to better understand knowledge, attitudes and practices of urban backyard poultry owners regarding Salmonella risk and prevention. The study included a survey of bird health, animal husbandry and hygiene practices, and knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to Salmonella risk. Participants were videotaped while caring for their birds, and the recordings were transcribed using notational analysis to determine whether reported practices differed from observed practices. The results indicated that while a large proportion of participants knew that exposure to Salmonella is an inherent risk associated with raising poultry and harvesting eggs, their reported and observed practices would not consistently reduce risk of transmission of Salmonella and other zoonotic diseases. Approximately one in four participants reported performing practices that increase risk of inoculation, such as snuggling and kissing birds or eating/drinking near them. None of the participants were observed kissing their birds on video; however, snuggling (holding birds to clothes) or touching their face during routine care was observed in approximately two-thirds of the video recordings. The video data provided a unique opportunity to compare reported practices with actions recorded during site visits. While the differences were not statistically significant, findings from our study suggest that flock owners may not accurately report the frequency with which risky practices are performed during routine animal care. Education and outreach targeting backyard flock owners should aim to improve husbandry and hygiene practices and reduce risk of zoonotic diseases associated with raising poultry in the backyard setting.

Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Oocyte-Donation

Oocyte-donation is generally safe but may exacerbate psychiatric symptoms in some women. In this prospective study 63 oocyte-donating women and, as a control group, 63 women providing their own oocytes for in vitro fertilization (in couples with male infertility) were evaluated pre- and post-ovulation-induction in regard to hypochondriasis, anxiety, social impairment, and depression. The mean hypochondriasis score for oocyte-donators was significantly lower than for women providing their own oocytes, prior to ovulation-induction (5.03 vs. 6.59). However, after ovulation-induction and oocyte retrieval this score rose to 6.66 among oocyte-donators, whereas it remained essentially unchanged among women providing their own oocytes (6.66). The mean anxiety score for oocyte-donating women also rose following this procedure, from 5.87 to 7.65. Depression scores for both groups remained similar, before and after the procedure. Results showed that at the beginning of the ARP donating women have the same conditions as own oocyte women regarding depression and anxiety but after the egg harvesting they would suffer more damages regarding hypochondriasis and anxiety aspects.

R-Egg-Ulation: A Call for Greater Regulation of the Big Business of Human Egg Harvesting

When it comes to young healthy women “donating” their eggs, America has a regulation problem. This Note explains the science behind the harvesting of human eggs, focusing on potential egg donors, and describes the specific factors that make egg donation a unique type of transaction. It describes the current regulatory status of the assisted reproductive technology industry in the United States and highlights the ways in which this scheme fails to protect egg “donors.” This Note concludes with a call for comprehensive regulation of the assisted reproductive technology industry.

Purification of modified vaccinia virus Ankara from suspension cell culture

Background A spectrum of viral vaccines, including the annual 620 million doses of trivalent influenza vaccines, are being produced in embryonated eggs of pharmaceutical quality, or with primary cells derived from such eggs [1,2]. Regulatory guidelines and experience for these processes are established and proven against time for 75 years [1]. However, production with galline primary material is not optimal and producers sometimes struggle to provide needed vaccine doses. Among the challenges are limitations in supply [3] and that rigid intervalls between husbandry, harvest of eggs and inoculation with vaccine seed must be accomodated [4]. Manipulation of embryonated eggs and disposal of solid biohazardous waste that accumulates if vaccines are being produced in egg cavities come at considerable costs [5,6]. Finally, risk of contamination with environmental and endogenous agents is high [7-9]. Such issues can be circumvented if a continuous cell line is used to propagate viral vaccines [1]. Master Cell Banks can be prepared in sufficient amounts and tested for presence of adventitious agents ahead of production, chemically defined media obviate dependence on animal derived components, and predictable seed trains towards a wide range of bioreactor volumes allow flexible and fast response times for vaccine production [10]. However, there is a regulatory concern that DNA derived from the immortal production substrate may be transferred to vaccine recipients [1]. Risk calculations that relate values for the length of typical oncogenes, number of such genes in the genome and fragmentation of DNA during purification have arrived at a permissive threshold of 10 ng of nucleic acid per vaccine dose [1]. Materials and methods We investigated purification of modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) produced on the continuous avian cell line CR.pIX. MVA is a versatile and highly immunogenic viral vector, but also known to pose unique challenges in production processes [11]. For example, the majority of the infectious units of MVA remain cellassociated so that downstream purification must initiate with a complete lysate of the infected cultures (rather than cell-free supernatant). The viral particles are furthermore too large for conventional filtration, centrifugation and chromatographic separation. Finally, because MVA cannot amplify in human recipients, a desired safety feature, each vaccine dose requires 108 infectious units for full efficacy. This dose is 400-fold above that recommended for replication-competent poxviruses and necessitates efficient and robust manufacturing processes [10]. Derivation and properties of the anatine CR.pIX cell line have been described previously [12], as well as cellassociated propagation of poxviruses in suspension cultures in chemically-defined media by induction of CR. pIX aggregates [10]. We used GFP-recombinant versions of both genetically stable strains of MVA, wildtype and strain MVA-CR that was isolated previously with help of the suspension process [13]. Purification of MVA was performed with CIM monolithic chromatography columns from Bia Separations [14]. The CIM monoliths consist of a single piece of highly porous material with a network of branched channels. These channels can be provided with large 6 μm-diameters and can be functionalized with various ion exchange groups.

Human harvest, climate change and their synergistic effects drove the Chinese Crested Tern to the brink of extinction

Synergistic effect refers to simultaneous actions of separate factors which have a greater total effect than the sum of the individual factor effects. However, there has been a limited knowledge on how synergistic effects occur and individual roles of different drivers are not often considered. Therefore, it becomes quite challenging to manage multiple threatening processes simultaneously in order to mitigate biodiversity loss. In this regard, our hypothesis is, if the traits actually play different roles in the synergistic interaction, conservation efforts could be made more effectively. To understand the synergistic effect and test our hypothesis, we examined the processes associated with the endangerment of critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern (Thalasseus bernsteini), whose total population number was estimated no more than 50. Through monitoring of breeding colonies and investigations into causative factors, combined with other data on human activities, we found that widespread human harvest of seabird eggs and increasing frequency of typhoons are the major factors that threatened the Chinese Crested Tern. Furthermore, 28 percent of breeding failures were due to the synergistic effects in which egg harvest-induced renestings suffered the higher frequent typhoons. In such combined interactions, the egg harvest has clearly served as a proximal factor for the population decline, and the superimposition of enhanced typhoon activity further accelerated the species toward imminent extinction. Our findings suggest that species endangerment, on one hand, should be treated as a synergistic process, while conservation efforts, on the other hand, should focus principally on combatting the threat that triggers synergistic effects.

Greenhouse Evaluation of Neonate and Adult Applications ofColeomegilla maculata(Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to Control Twospotted Spider Mite Infestations

The lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a euryphagous predator that is known to consume the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Spider mites are frequently problematic in greenhouse operations and often cause damage to the ornamental and bedding plant Impatiens walleriana Hook f. (Ericales: Balsaminaceae). Increasing demand for alternatives to pesticides combined with resistance to registered pest control products necessitates the evaluation of viable alternatives. In this study, naïve impatiens were intentionally infested with twospotted spider mites. When damage was visible on experimental plants, they were treated with lady beetles in containment cages. One treatment was adult C. maculata and another treatment was neonate C. maculata using recently developed methods for rearing and harvesting eggs. Levels of spider mite infestation were assessed after treatments, and images of the treated and untreated plants were collected to assess the effectiveness of C. maculata in a greenhouse environment. Plants with C. maculata treatments were essentially free of spider mites. There is potential to use mass-reared C. maculata eggs as treatment for spider mites in contained crops or indoor decorative plants.

Reptiles of Uman District Islands (Southeastern Chuuk Lagoon and Kuop Atoll), Federated States of Micronesia

Thirteen species of reptiles are recorded from among 23 islands in the southeastern sector of Chuuk Lagoon and on adjacent Kuop Atoll (= Uman District islands), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). They include two sea turtles, five geckos, five skinks, and one monitor lizard. None is endemic to Chuuk, and most are found widely throughout the western Pacific. Perochirus ateles was the most frequently encountered species, followed closely by Emoia boettgeri. Sea turtles are scarce due in large measure to indiscriminant harvesting of adults and eggs. The common house gecko, Hemidactyus frenatus, probably was introduced to Chuuk during post-World War II human-assisted transport to many Pacific islands, and Chuuk Islanders claim the Pacific monitor, Varanus indicus, was brought to Chuuk during the Japanese administration. The monitor lizard has apparently since been extirpated on the two Uman District islands where it was previously recorded. To what extent the other species colonized Chuuk islands by natural dispersal or human-assisted dispersal or a combination of the two is uncertain.

The use of genetically marked infection cohorts to study changes in establishment rates during the time course of a repeated Ascaridia galli infection in chickens

This study investigated the changes in establishment rates during the time course of a 6week trickle infection of chickens with Ascaridia galli at two different dose levels, using a molecular marker. To differentiate early and late infection, two different egg cohorts (haplotype a and haplotype b, genetically identified using PCR-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism on the cox1 gene of the mitochondrial DNA) were used. Cohort-specific egg batches were produced by harvesting eggs from the uteri of female worms of the specific cohort. Fifty-six 8week old Lohmann Brown Lite chickens were divided into seven groups and the infectivity of the egg batches was compared between two groups of chickens (P=0.6). The remaining chickens were allocated to four infection regimes and one control group. Group ab100 was trickle infected for 3weeks with 100 eggs of haplotype a (twice weekly) followed by the same dose of eggs of haplotype b for another 3weeks. Group ba100 was treated similarly but in the opposite order (haplotype b preceding a). A similar infection regime was applied for groups ab25 and ba25 but with a lower inoculation dose (25 eggs). All of the birds in these five groups (four infected and one control) were euthanased 2weeks after the last inoculation. It was found that in the low-dose groups both the early and late infections established equally well, whereas in the high-dose groups the early infection was recovered in a significantly (P<0.001) higher proportion of chickens than the late infection, irrespective of genetic cohorts. Moreover, relatively higher proportions of the larvae from both the early and late infections were found in the posterior section of the small intestine. This result indicates the presence of dose-dependent resistance against reinfection and this resistance seems to act by reducing the establishment of late infection and by relocating the larvae from early infection.

The Status of Glaucous Gulls &lt;i&gt;Larus hyperboreus&lt;/i&gt; in the Circumpolar Arctic

The entire world population of the Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus breeds in the circumpolar Arctic. Some local populations appear to be declining significanty. In this paper, we summarize the current state of knowledge on Glaucous Gull populations and trends. The total Arctic population is estimated at approximately 171 000 breeding pairs (&gt; 342 000 breeding individuals) distributed among at least 2700 colonies (many not documented). Population declines may be attributable to egg harvest, contaminants, or food shortages, but other factors operating outside the breeding season should not be excluded. We recommend collaborative conservation efforts that will include better population estimates in most countries, as well as standardized monitoring programs.

A century of change in Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) populations in a dynamic coastal environment

ABSTRACT As conspicuous midtrophic omnivores, gulls can serve as useful indicators to characterize long-term ecological changes in marine ecosystems. Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) have been studied in the Georgia Basin of British Columbia, Canada, an urbanized coastal zone, since the late 1800s. We collated all available information to develop a (noncontinuous) 111-year time series of counts at breeding colonies, and combined these counts with demographic vital rates to assess how changes in historical gull egg harvesting practices, forage fish abundance, and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) numbers affected gull population trajectories from 1900 to 2010. Mean counts at 87 breeding colonies in the Georgia Basin showed a nonlinear trend, increasing from historical low counts in the early part of the twentieth century to peak values in the 1980s, and declining thereafter to the end of the time series. Demographic models that integrated temporal trends in clutch size and nesting success, and...

A decision framework for prioritizing multiple management actions for threatened marine megafauna.

Resources for conserving biodiversity are invariably insufficient. This situation creates the need for transparent, systematic frameworks to help stakeholders prioritize the allocation of resources across multiple management actions. We developed a novel framework that explicitly prioritizes actions to minimize the impacts of several threats across a species' range. The framework uses a budget constraint and maximizes conservation outcomes from a set of management actions, accounting for the likelihood of the action being successfully applied and accepted by local and Indigenous communities. This approach is novel in that it integrates local knowledge and expert opinion with optimization software, thereby minimizing assumptions about likelihood of success of actions and their effectiveness. To test the framework, we used the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait population of the flatback turtle, Natator depressus, as a case study. This approach allowed the framework to be applied in a data-poor context, a situation common in conservation planning. The framework identified the best set of actions to maximize the conservation of flatback eggs for scenarios with different budgets and management parameters and allowed comparisons between optimized and preselected scenarios. Optimized scenarios considered all implementable actions to explore how to best allocate resources with a specified budget and focus. Preselected scenarios were used to evaluate current allocations of funds and/or potential budget allocations suggested by different stakeholders. Scenarios that used a combination of aerial and ground strategies to reduce predation of eggs performed better than scenarios that focused only on reducing harvest of eggs. The performances of optimized and preselected scenarios were generally similar among scenarios that targeted similar threats. However, the cost-effectiveness of optimized scenarios was usually higher than that of preselected scenarios, demonstrating the value of conducting a systematic optimization approach. Our method provides a foundation for more effective conservation investments and guidance to prioritize actions within recovery plans while considering the sociopolitical and cultural context of decisions. The framework can be adapted easily to a wide range of species, geographical scales, and life stages.

Hybridization and Use Of Grapes as an Oviposition Substrate Improves the Adaptation of Olive Fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Artificial Rearing Conditions

The olive fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) is the key pest for olive cultivation worldwide. Substantial effort has been invested in the development of the sterile insect technique (SIT) to control this pest. One of the limitations to develop SIT technology for olive fruit fly is the low ability of wild females to lay eggs in other medium than olive fruits, and their slow adaptation to oviposition in artificial substrates. In the present study, fruit grapes were used as an alternative egg collection medium to harvest eggs and young larvae from freshly colonized wild strains originating from France, Italy, Spain and Croatia. The larvae were allowed to develop into the fruits until the second instar, before they were extracted out and further reared on a standard artificial diet. Furthermore, F1 to F4 female flies were alternatively offered wax bottles to oviposit. Finally, the performance of hybrid strains created from crosses between wild and long colonised flies was assessed. The results showed that females of all 4 wild strains readily oviposited eggs in grapes and from the F2 generation onward, females from all strains were adapted to laying eggs in wax bottles. No difference was observed in eggs and pupae production among all strains tested. The findings are discussed for their implications on SIT application against olive fruit fly.

Assessing trade-offs to inform ecosystem-based fisheries management of forage fish.

Twenty-first century conservation is centered on negotiating trade-offs between the diverse needs of people and the needs of the other species constituting coupled human-natural ecosystems. Marine forage fishes, such as sardines, anchovies, and herring, are a nexus for such trade-offs because they are both central nodes in marine food webs and targeted by fisheries. An important example is Pacific herring, Clupea pallisii in the Northeast Pacific. Herring populations are subject to two distinct fisheries: one that harvests adults and one that harvests spawned eggs. We develop stochastic, age-structured models to assess the interaction between fisheries, herring populations, and the persistence of predators reliant on herring populations. We show that egg- and adult-fishing have asymmetric effects on herring population dynamics - herring stocks can withstand higher levels of egg harvest before becoming depleted. Second, ecosystem thresholds proposed to ensure the persistence of herring predators do not necessarily pose more stringent constraints on fisheries than conventional, fishery driven harvest guidelines. Our approach provides a general template to evaluate ecosystem trade-offs between stage-specific harvest practices in relation to environmental variability, the risk of fishery closures, and the risk of exceeding ecosystem thresholds intended to ensure conservation goals are met.