Materials and methods.

2022 ◽  
pp. 5-5
Author(s):  
Richard A. I. Drew ◽  
Meredith C. Romig

Abstract Large numbers of dacine specimens were collected throughout Papua New Guinea by trapping and host fruit sampling. Steinertype fruit fly traps, baited with cue lure, methyl eugenol or vanillylacetone (zingerone), were set in many localities over a wide range of ecosystems. In most cases, the traps were serviced on 2-week cycles for at least 1 year. Samples of rainforest and cultivated fruits were collected in some provinces. All specimens collected were preserved in a dry state and sent to R.A.I. Drew at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, for microscopic identification and curation. Data and photographs of Bactrocera longicornis were received from the Museum Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. The subgeneric classification used herein follows Drew and Hancock (2016) and Hancock and Drew (2006, 2015, 2016, 2017a,b,c,d,e, 2018a,b,c, 2019).

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 893 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Beveridge

The monotypic nematode genus Coronostrongylus Johnston & Mawson, 1939 from the stomachs of macropodid marsupials was reviewed and was found to consist of a least seven closely related species. Coronostrongylus coronatus Johnston & Mawson, 1939 is found most commonly in Macropus rufogriseus, but occurs occasionally in M. dorsalis, M. parryi and Petrogale inornata. Coronostrongylus johnsoni, sp. nov. is most commonly found in M. dorsalis, but occurs also in M. rufogriseus, M. parma, Thylogale stigmatica, Petrogale godmani and P. brachyotis. Coronostrongylus barkeri, sp. nov. is most prevalent in Onychogalea unguifera, but occurs also in M. rufus, M. robustus and P. brachyotis. Coronostrongylus closei, sp. nov. is restricted to Petrogale persephone. Coronostrongylus sharmani, sp. nov. occurs only in rock wallabies from eastern Australia: P.�coenensis, P. godmani and P. mareeba; C. spratti, sp. nov. occurs in P. inornata and P. assimilis. Coronostrongylus spearei, sp. nov. is restricted to Papua New Guinea where it is found in Dorcopsulus vanhearni, Dorcopsis hageni and D. muelleri. Although all of the nematode species occur in one principal host species or a series of closely related host species, occurrences in geographically disjunct areas and in phylogenetically distant hosts are features of C. coronatus, C. barkeri, sp. nov. and C. johnsoni, sp. nov. The occurrence of seven closely related nematode species found in a wide range of macropodid host species is more readily accounted for by a hypothesis involving multiple colonisations of hosts than by the hypothesis of co-speciation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtech Novotny ◽  
Anthony R. Clarke ◽  
Richard A. I. Drew ◽  
Solomon Balagawi ◽  
Barbara Clifford

Frugivorous dacine fruit flies were studied in a lowland tropical rain forest in Papua New Guinea to determine their host specificity, abundance, and the number of species attacking various plant species. Plant species hosted 0–3 fruit fly species at median (1–3 quartile) densities of 1 (0–17) fruit flies per 100 fruits. Fruit flies were mostly specialized to a single plant family (83% species) and within each family to a single genus (88% species), while most of the species (66%) were able to feed on >1 congeneric plant species. Only 30 from the 53 studied plant species were colonized by fruit flies. The plant–fruit fly food web, including these 30 plant species and the total of 29 fruit fly species feeding on them, was divided into 14 compartments, each including 1–8 plant species hosting mutually disjunct assemblages of fruit flies. This structure minimizes indirect interactions among plant species via shared herbivores. The local species pool was estimated at 152±32 (±SE) fruit fly species. Forty per cent of all taxonomically described species known from Papua New Guinea were reared or trapped in our study area. Such a high proportion indicates low beta-diversity of fruit flies. Steiner traps were highly efficient in sampling the lure-responsive fruit fly species as they re-collected 84% of all species trapped in the same area 5 y before. Fruit fly monitoring by these traps is a cheap, simple and efficient method for the study of spatial and temporal changes in rain-forest communities.


2022 ◽  
pp. 21-23
Author(s):  
Richard A. I. Drew ◽  
Meredith C. Romig

Abstract This chapter provides information on the occurrence, distribution and host plants of major fruit fly species in Papua New Guinea, including Bactrocera bryoniae, B. frauenfeldi, B. musae, B. neohumeralis, B. papayae, B. trivialis, B. umbrosa, B. cucurbitae and B. decipiens.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Scott MacWilliam

Review of: Press, Politics and People in Papua New Guinea 1950-1975, by Philip Cass. Auckland: Unitec e-Press, 2014, 205pp. ISBN 978-1-927214-09-1Press, Politics and People should be required reading for people who are concerned with the history and current trajectory of Papua New Guinea. It is also a book with much to offer for university courses in journalism, history and social science methodology. Philip Cass shows in considerable detail how to research and write a detailed study about an important topic by employing a wide range of research methods, including interviews, content analysis of newspapers, analysing academic and popular literature, and engaging in archival searches. Significantly, he does not waste any time ‘interrogating the Other’, but sustains several arguments about the place of the press during a critical moment when major change was in the air for the people of Papua New Guinea.


2002 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 61-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Araho ◽  
Robin Torrence ◽  
J. Peter White

Distinctive obsidian artefacts from West New Britain appear sometime before 3950 cal BC and terminate abruptly at 1650 cal BC. We propose that they had a wide range of meanings for their users and functioned in both utilitarian and ceremonial contexts, similar to more recent ground stone axes from Highland New Guinea. They therefore represent the earliest evidence for valuables in Papua New Guinea. Here we draw together studies of the technology, spatial distribution, and chemical sourcing of the artefacts, along with considerations of fragility and brightness, to evaluate competing models for their function as utilitarian items and as exchange goods. Whereas many artefacts were probably useful tools integrated within a mobile settlement pattern, others were clearly reserved for special functions, and many may have operated in both the utilitarian and ceremonial spheres.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff M Gurr ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
Anne C Johnson ◽  
Deane N Woruba ◽  
Gunnar Kirchhof ◽  
...  

Sweetpotato (Ipomea batatans) is a food crop of global significance. The storage roots and foliage of crop are attacked by a wide range of pests and diseases. Whilst these are generally well controlled in developed countries using approaches such as clean planting material and monitoring with pheromone traps to guide insecticide use, research into methods suitable for developing countries has lagged. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), sweetpotato is grown extensively as a subsistence crop and commercial production as a cash crop is developing. We report results from a survey of 33 smallholder producers located in the Highlands of PNG where the crop is of particular importance. Surveys of interviewees’ crops showed high levels of pest and disease impact to foliage, stems and storage roots, especially in crops that were several years old. Weevils (Curculionidae) were reportedly the most damaging pests and scab (caused by the fungus Elisnoe batatus) the most damaging disease. Most producers reported root damage from the former and foliar damage from the latter but the general level of knowledge of pest and disease types was low. Despite the apparency of pest and disease signs and symptoms and recognition of their importance by farmers, a large majority of producers reported practiced no active pest or disease management. This was despite low numbers of farmers reporting use of traditional cultural practices including phytosanitary measures and insecticidal plants that had the scope for far wider use. Only one respondent reported use of insecticide though pesticides were available in nearby cities. This low level of pest and disease management in most cases, likely due to paucity in biological and technical knowledge among growers, hampers efforts to establish food security and constrains the development of sweetpotato as a cash crop.


1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
EC Mcphee

Information relating to the habitat, reproduction and diet is given for five murine rodents from the vicinity of Wau, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Rattus steini was found to be present in all four habitats investigated (kunai, gardens, coffee plantations, forest), whereas R. exulans was absent from the forest; Melomys rufescens, M. lorentzi and Pogonomys macrourus were only trapped in the forest, and in low numbers. Although climatically similar to other montane regions in Papua New Guinea, the Wau area appeared to have an earlier start to the peak breeding season than elsewhere, and litter sizes seemed to be higher. The diet of Melomys species and P. macrourus appeared to be largely frugivorous (>90%), whereas Rattus species consumed a wide range of food items. While there was considerable overlap between the diets of Ratlus species, R. steini consumed more leafy material and insects, and less fruit, woody and vegetable material than R. exulans. Habitat modification by human activity in the Wau area has radically affected the diversity and relative abundance of rodent species, although it was difficult to discern any strong relationship between diet and habitat. While specific and generic identification of particular food items was not possible, an index of invertebrate diversity in the diet of rodents is suggested as a means of assessing changes in food availability, and therefore habitat change.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 2016-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Old ◽  
G. F. Moran ◽  
J. C. Bell

Genetic variation in 183 isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi from a wide range of hosts and locations in Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) was assessed at 20 isozyme loci. Low levels of isozyme variation were found in both the A, and A2 mating types within Australia. Only two A2 multilocus genotypes were detected among Australian and PNG isolates, the more common one being found throughout the range. Fourteen of the 15 A1 isolates from 12 locations in Australia were identical at all 20 isozyme loci. In contrast there was much higher variability in the eight PNG A1 isolates compared with the Australian Ai isolates and all A2 isolates. The A1 and A2 mating types can be distinguished isozymically suggesting that they are genetically isolated and that sexual reproduction involving both mating types does not occur in the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 500-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Bai ◽  
L. Liu ◽  
M.S. Noman ◽  
L. Zeng ◽  
M. Luo ◽  
...  

AbstractThe oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is a destructive insect pest of a wide range of fruit crops. Commensal bacteria play a very important part in the development, reproduction, and fitness of their host fruit fly. Uncovering the function of gut bacteria has become a worldwide quest. Using antibiotics to remove gut bacteria is a common method to investigate gut bacteria function. In the present study, three types of antibiotics (tetracycline, ampicillin, and streptomycin), each with four different concentrations, were used to test their effect on the gut bacteria diversity of laboratory-reared B. dorsalis. Combined antibiotics can change bacteria diversity, including cultivable and uncultivable bacteria, for both male and female adult flies. Secondary bacteria became the dominant population in female and male adult flies with the decrease in normally predominant bacteria. However, in larvae, only the predominant bacteria decreased, the bacteria diversity did not change a lot, likely because of the short acting time of the antibiotics. The bacteria diversity did not differ among fruit fly treatments with antibiotics of different concentrations. This study showed the dynamic changes of gut bacterial diversity in antibiotics-treated flies, and provides a foundation for research on the function of gut bacteria of the oriental fruit fly.


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