Developmental and reproductive effects of clothianidin exposure in monarch butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Alana A.E. Wilcox ◽  
Amy E.M. Newman ◽  
D. Ryan Norris

Abstract Neonicotinoid insecticides are used to reduce crop damage caused by insect pests, but sublethal levels could affect development and reproduction in nontarget insects, such as monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). To investigate the impact of field-realistic concentrations of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on monarch butterflies, we grew swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) (Apocynaceae) in either low (15 ng/g of soil) or high (25 ng/g of soil) levels of clothianidin, or in a control (0 ng/g), then raised monarchs on the milkweed. Morphological traits of monarch caterpillars were measured during development and, once they eclosed, were mated as adults to quantify egg size and mass and the number of eggs laid. Although the effects of the treatment had complex effects on caterpillar length, width and volume of late-instar caterpillars were negatively affected. Fifth-instar caterpillars from the high-dose insecticide treatment had lower mass than other groups. Adult monarch butterflies raised on treated milkweed were larger than controls, but clothianidin exposure did not affect the number of eggs laid or egg size. Although the magnitude of the effect depends on clothianidin concentration, our results suggest that exposure to clothianidin during early life can impact monarch caterpillar development but is unlikely to reduce female reproductive output.

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (29) ◽  
pp. 14671-14676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayşe Tenger-Trolander ◽  
Wei Lu ◽  
Michelle Noyes ◽  
Marcus R. Kronforst

The annual migration of the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus is in peril. In an effort to aid population recovery, monarch enthusiasts across North America participate in a variety of conservation efforts, including captive rearing and release of monarch butterflies throughout the summer and autumn. However, the impact of captive breeding on monarchs remains an open question. Here, we show that captive breeding, both commercially and by summertime hobbyists, causes migratory behavior to be lost. Monarchs acquired commercially failed to orient south when reared outdoors in the autumn, unlike wild-caught North American monarchs, yet they did enter reproductive diapause. The commercial population was genetically highly divergent from wild-caught North American monarchs and had rounder forewings, similar to monarchs from nonmigratory populations. Furthermore, rearing wild-caught monarchs in an indoor environment mimicking natural migration-inducing conditions failed to elicit southward flight orientation. In fact, merely eclosing indoors after an otherwise complete lifecycle outdoors was enough to disrupt southern orientation. Our results provide a window into the complexity—and remarkable fragility—of migration.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dara A. Satterfield ◽  
Andrew K. Davis

AbstractThe migration of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in North America has a number of parallels with long-distance bird migration, including the fact that migratory populations of monarchs have larger and more elongated forewings than residents. These characteristics likely serve to optimize flight performance in monarchs, as they also do with birds. A question that has rarely been addressed thus far in birds or monarchs is if and how wing characteristics vary within a migration season. Individuals with superior flight performance should migrate quickly, and/or with minimal stopovers, and these individuals should be at the forefront of the migratory cohort. Conversely, individuals with poor flight performance and/or low endurance would be more likely to fall behind, and these would comprise the latest migrants. Here we examined how the wing morphology of migrating monarchs varies to determine if wing characteristics of early migrants differ from late migrants. We measured forewing area, elongation (length/width), and redness, which has been shown to predict flight endurance in monarchs. Based on a collection of 75 monarchs made one entire season (fall 2010), results showed that the earliest migrants (n = 20) in this cohort had significantly redder and more elongated forewings than the latest migrants (n = 17). There was also a non-significant tendency for early migrants to have larger forewing areas. These results suggest that the pace of migration in monarchs is at least partly dependent on the properties of their wings. Moreover, these data also raise a number of questions about the ultimate fate of monarchs that fall behind


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Kirkeby ◽  
Klas Rydhmer ◽  
Samantha M. Cook ◽  
Alfred Strand ◽  
Martin T. Torrance ◽  
...  

AbstractWorldwide, farmers use insecticides to prevent crop damage caused by insect pests, while they also rely on insect pollinators to enhance crop yield and other insect as natural enemies of pests. In order to target pesticides to pests only, farmers must know exactly where and when pests and beneficial insects are present in the field. A promising solution to this problem could be optical sensors combined with machine learning. We obtained around 10,000 records of flying insects found in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) crops, using an optical remote sensor and evaluated three different classification methods for the obtained signals, reaching over 80% accuracy. We demonstrate that it is possible to classify insects in flight, making it possible to optimize the application of insecticides in space and time. This will enable a technological leap in precision agriculture, where focus on prudent and environmentally-sensitive use of pesticides is a top priority.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2945
Author(s):  
Mélanie Mercier ◽  
Corentin Orvain ◽  
Laurianne Drieu La Rochelle ◽  
Tony Marchand ◽  
Christopher Nunes Gomes ◽  
...  

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with extra nodal skeletal involvement is rare. It is currently unclear whether these lymphomas should be treated in the same manner as those without skeletal involvement. We retrospectively analyzed the impact of combining high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) with an anthracycline-based regimen and rituximab as first-line treatment in a cohort of 93 patients with DLBCL and skeletal involvement with long follow-up. Fifty patients (54%) received upfront HD-MTX for prophylaxis of CNS recurrence (high IPI score and/or epidural involvement) or because of skeletal involvement. After adjusting for age, ECOG, high LDH levels, and type of skeletal involvement, HD-MTX was associated with an improved PFS and OS (HR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.3, p < 0.001 and HR: 0.1, 95% CI: 0.04–0.3, p < 0.001, respectively). Patients who received HD-MTX had significantly better 5-year PFS and OS (77% vs. 39%, p <0.001 and 83 vs. 58%, p < 0.001). Radiotherapy was associated with an improved 5-year PFS (74 vs. 48%, p = 0.02), whereas 5-year OS was not significantly different (79% vs. 66%, p = 0.09). A landmark analysis showed that autologous stem cell transplantation was not associated with improved PFS or OS. The combination of high-dose methotrexate and an anthracycline-based immunochemotherapy is associated with an improved outcome in patients with DLBCL and skeletal involvement and should be confirmed in prospective trials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Pallikadavath ◽  
R Patel ◽  
CL Kemp ◽  
M Hafejee ◽  
N Peckham ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Cardiovascular adaptations as a result of exercise conducted at high-intensity and high-volume are often termed the ‘Athlete’s heart’. Studies have shown that these cardiovascular adaptations vary between sexes. It is important that both sexes are well represented in this literature. However, many studies assessing the impact of high-dose exercise on cardiovascular outcomes under-recruit female participants. Purpose This scoping review aimed to evaluate the representation of females in studies assessing the impact of high-dose exercise on cardiovascular outcomes and demonstrate how this has changed over time. Methods The scoping review protocol as outlined by Arksey and O’Malley was used. OVID and EMBASE databases were searched and studies independently reviewed by two reviewers. Studies must have investigated the effects of high-dose exercise on cardiovascular outcomes. To assess how the recruitment of females has changed over time, two methods were used. One, the median study date was used to categorise studies into two groups. Two, studies were divided into deciles to form ten equal groups over the study period. Mean percentage of female recruitment and percentage of studies that failed to include females were calculated. Results Overall, 250 studies were included. Over half the studies (50.8%, n = 127) did not include female participants. Only 3.2% (n = 8) did not include male participants. Overall, mean percentage recruitment was 18.2%. The mean percentage of recruitment was 14.5% before 2011 and 21.8% after 2011. The most recent decile of studies demonstrated the highest mean percentage of female recruitment (29.3%) and lowest number of studies that did not include female participants (26.9%). Conclusion Female participants are significantly underrepresented in studies assessing cardiovascular outcomes caused by high-dose exercise. The most recent studies show that female recruitment may be improving, however, this still falls significantly short for equal representation. Risk factors, progression and management of cardiovascular diseases vary between sexes, hence, translating findings from male dominated data is not appropriate. Future investigators should aim to establish barriers and strategies to optimise fair recruitment. Mean percentage females recruited per study (%) Percentage studies that do not include women (%) Overall (n = 250) 18.2 50.8 (n = 127) Studies before 2011 (n = 121) 14.5 59.5 (n = 72) Studies after 2011 (n = 129) 21.8 42.6 (n = 55) Table 1: Female recruitment characteristics. The year 2011 (median study year) was chosen as this divides all included studies into two equal groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Machover ◽  
Wathek Almohamad ◽  
Vincent Castagné ◽  
Christophe Desterke ◽  
Léa Gomez ◽  
...  

AbstractSupplementation of cancer cells exposed to 5-fluorouracil (FUra) and folinic acid (FA) with high concentration pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, the cofactor of vitamin B6, potentiates the cytotoxicity of FUra in a synergistic interaction mode. We report a pilot study in 13 patients with previously untreated advanced carcinoma of the digestive tract to assess the impact of high-dose pyridoxine (PN) on the antitumor activity of regimens comprising FUra and FA. Five patients had colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC); 5 had pancreas adenocarcinoma (PC); and 3 had squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (EC). Patients with CRC and with PC received oxaliplatin, irinotecan, FUra and FA, and patients with EC had paclitaxel, carboplatin, FUra and FA. PN iv from 1000 to 3000 mg/day preceded each administration of FA and FUra. Eleven patients responded. Two patients with CRC attained CRs and 3 had PRs with reduction rates ≥ 78%. Two patients with PC attained CRs, and 2 had PRs with reduction rates ≥ 79%. Responders experienced disappearance of most metastases. Of 3 patients with EC, 2 attained CRs. Median time to attain a response was 3 months. Unexpected toxicity did not occur. Results suggest that high-dose vitamin B6 enhances antitumor potency of regimens comprising FUra and FA.


2017 ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
D. Cormier ◽  
F. Pelletier ◽  
G. Chouinard ◽  
F. Vanoosthuyse ◽  
R. Joannin

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1768) ◽  
pp. 20131087 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Tyler Flockhart ◽  
Leonard I. Wassenaar ◽  
Tara G. Martin ◽  
Keith A. Hobson ◽  
Michael B. Wunder ◽  
...  

Insect migration may involve movements over multiple breeding generations at continental scales, resulting in formidable challenges to their conservation and management. Using distribution models generated from citizen scientist occurrence data and stable-carbon and -hydrogen isotope measurements, we tracked multi-generational colonization of the breeding grounds of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) in eastern North America. We found that monarch breeding occurrence was best modelled with geographical and climatic variables resulting in an annual breeding distribution of greater than 12 million km 2 that encompassed 99% occurrence probability. Combining occurrence models with stable isotope measurements to estimate natal origin, we show that butterflies which overwintered in Mexico came from a wide breeding distribution, including southern portions of the range. There was a clear northward progression of monarchs over successive generations from May until August when reproductive butterflies began to change direction and moved south. Fifth-generation individuals breeding in Texas in the late summer/autumn tended to originate from northern breeding areas rather than regions further south. Although the Midwest was the most productive area during the breeding season, monarchs that re-colonized the Midwest were produced largely in Texas, suggesting that conserving breeding habitat in the Midwest alone is insufficient to ensure long-term persistence of the monarch butterfly population in eastern North America.


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