Diversity of the Anisoptera & Zygoptera (Odonata: Insecta) of Swat, Pakistan

Odonates are important biological control agents for the control of insect pests and insect disease vectors of medical and veterinary importance. The present study was conducted to evaluate the odonate fauna of Swat, Pakistan from March to October 2019. A total of 200 specimens of odonates were collected from diverse habitats. The collected specimens of the order Odonata belonged to 5 families, three families of suborder Anisoptera namely Libellulidae, Gomphidae and Aeshnidae while two families of suborder Zygoptera (Chlorocyphidae and Coenagrionidae). The specimens were categorized into 12 genera and 22 species. Libellulidae was the dominant family (n = 138) accounting for 69% of the odonate fauna. Orthetrum was the dominant genus (n = 73) of suborder Anisoptera accounting for 36.5% of the odonate fauna. The least dominant genera were Anax, Paragomphus and Rhyothemis (n = 5 each) accounting each for 2.5% of the odonate fauna. In Zygoptera, the dominant genus was Ceriagrion (12.5%) and the least dominant genus was Ischnura (6%). Pantala flavescens (Fabricius, 1798) was the most abundant odonate species in the study area recorded from all surveyed habitats. Shannon Diversity Index (H) was 2.988 and Simpson Diversity Index (D) was 0.95 for the collected odonate fauna. The highest abundance of Odonata was recorded in August, September and May while no odonate species were recorded in January, February, November and December. Lotic water bodies were the most suitable habitats with abundant odonate fauna. Anax immaculifrons (Rambur, 1842) was the largest sized odonate species having a wingspan of 53.2±1.63 mm and body length of 56.3 ± 0.4 mm. The present study shows the status of odonate fauna of Swat, Pakistan in diverse habitats and seasonsonal variation throughout the year. Further work is recommended to bridge the gaps in the existing literature.

Biomorphometry of Automeris liberia Cramer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in oil palm in the Amazon

Automeris liberia Cramer are found in South America, with documented sightings in Ecuador, Peru, some regions of Mexico and, more recently, the Brazilian Amazon. These moths cause damage to several plant species. We designed an experiment to study the biology and morphometry of A. liberia in the laboratory and provide information for the management of the pest in oil palm cultivation in the Brazilian Amazon. Caterpillars for rearing were collected from commercial areas of oil palm cultivation, where they cause defoliation of the plant. They were fed a natural diet of oil palm leaves of the Tenera variety and observed from second generation onwards. Sex, behavior, posture, mass, body length, wingspan, body diameter, sex ratio, average growth ratio, and antenna were quantified. The embryonic stage lasted 14 days, followed by seven larval instar stages over 36 days. The pupal stage lasted 21 days. Adults had a longevity of 4.5 and 6 days and a total biological cycle of 78.5 and 80 days, for males and females, respectively. The growth ratio was 1.49. The antennae showed sexual dimorphism, with bipectinate morphology in males and filiform in females. In the adult stage, morphological variables were evaluated (body length, thoracic diameter, wingspan, forewing length, forewing height, hindwing length, hindwing height, antenna length, number of antennomeres, and body mass), and they showed significant differences between males and females (Newman-Keuls test, P < 0.05).

Shifting Feeding Habits During Settlement Among Small Yellow Croakers (Larimichthys polyactis)

The small yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis, is a keystone species in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, with significant impacts on the regional ecosystem, but has experienced decades of population decline as a result of environmental changes and overfishing. The settlement of post-larval L. polyactis is a period of high mortality, with impacts on population recruitment and survival. This study examines the feeding habits of 49 post-larval and early juvenile L. polyactis in the Yangtze River estuary, in order to reveal diet composition before and after the settlement period. DNA barcoding methods (MiSeq and TA cloning) were used to examine gastrointestinal contents in detail. Both methods revealed that dietary breadth increased with increasing body length, while the dominance of copepods in the diet decreased as the body length increased. Post-larva (body length &lt; 17 mm in this study) primarily fed on copepods. At the beginning of settlement (body length between 17 and 19 mm), L. polyactis began to ingest larger organisms, such as fishes and mysids, along with copepods. Larger early juveniles (body length &gt; 20 mm) demonstrated a much wider dietary breadth, implying that successful settlement had occurred. Diet species richness in the MiSeq group was significantly greater than species richness in the TA cloning group, making the trend more pronounced within the MiSeq group. This indicates that the MiSeq method was more efficient than TA cloning in this study. We recommend that future research to investigate the feeding habits of fish larvae should combine MiSeq and visual examination methods.

Medidas corporales y estimación de peso vivo en bucerros predestete en la provincia de Granma, Cuba

La investigación se realizó en la oriental provincia de Granma, área que destaca por sus resultados científicos relacionados con el comportamiento productivo de la especie bubalina en Cuba. El objetivo fue estimar el peso vivo a través de medidas corporales en bucerros desde el nacimiento hasta los ocho meses de edad. Se registraron datos de 1 302 animales, hembras y machos nacidos de 120 búfalas de la raza Buffalypso en el período 2008 a 2015, las medidas corporales: alto de la cruz (AC), longitud del cuerpo (LC), perímetro torácico (PT), perímetro abdominal (PA), ancho de la pelvis (AP), largo de la pelvis (LP) y ancho del tórax (AT) fueron medidas con cinta métrica en cm. Mientras el peso vivo (PV) fue determinado con plataforma digital, todas las maniobras se hicieron cada 30 días. Los modelos predictivos utilizados fueron: Quetélet, PV = (PT)2 (longitud de cuerpo) (87,5); Crevat, PV= (PT) (Longitud del cuerpo) (PA) (80) y Correa, PV= (PT)2(Longitud del cuerpo)/ 300. Los resultados comparativos por sexo arrojaron diferencias altamente significativas (P<0,001) para el PA y diferencias significativas (P<0,05) para el PT, PV, LP y LC a favor de los machos. EL modelo que mostró mejor ajuste (r2=0,96, P>0,001) combinó tres variables (PT, PA y LC), aunque el perímetro torácico solo mostró parámetros elevados (r2=0,94, P>0,001). Finalmente se concluye que las elevadas correlaciones entre las medidas corporales y el peso vivo, demuestran que las variables estudiadas pueden por si solas o combinadas explicar el comportamiento del peso vivo, pero la ecuación de predicción del PV (kg) a través de PT (cm) propuesta atribuye mayores ventajas para la práctica del pesaje. The research was carried out in the eastern province of Granma, an area that stands out for its scientific results related to the productive behavior of the buffalo species in Cuba. The objective was to estimate live weight through body measurements in calves from birth to eight months of age. Data were recorded on 1 302 animals, females and males born to 120 buffaloes of the Buffalypso breed in the period 2008 to 2015, body measurements: height at the withers (AC), body length (LC), thoracic perimeter (PT) , abdominal perimeter (PA), pelvic width (AP), pelvic length (LP) and chest width (AT) were measured with a tape measure in cm. While the live weight (PV) was determined with a digital platform, all the maneuvers were done every 30 days. The predictive models used were: Quetélet, PV = (PT) 2 (body length) (87.5); Crevat, PV = (PT) (Body length) (PA) (80) and Correa, PV = (PT) 2 (Body length) / 300. The comparative results by sex yielded highly significant differences (P <0.001) for the PA and significant differences (P <0.05) for the PT, PV, LP and LC in favor of males. The model that showed the best fit (r2 = 0.96, P> 0.001) combined three variables (PT, PA and LC), although the thoracic perimeter only showed elevated parameters (r2 = 0.94, P> 0.001). Finally, it is concluded that the high correlations between body measurements and live weight show that the variables studied can, alone or in combination, explain the behavior of live weight, but the prediction equation of LW (kg) through PT (cm ) proposal attributes greater advantages to the practice of weighing.

Echoes of the hunt? An inter-continental comparison of patterns of growth and determinants of size of brown bears in Canada and Sweden.

Comparing life history traits among populations that have been separated genetically for several hundred thousand years, but live in similar habitats on different continents, may help us understand how ecological and anthropomorphic factors shape life histories. We compared patterns of growth in body length and mass, and the influence of population density, habitat quality (NDVI), and reproduction on age-specific length and mass of male and female brown bears between Alberta, Canada, and Sweden. We found that Swedish females were significantly smaller in both length and mass than Alberta females. Swedish females also reached primiparity earlier and at a smaller mass and length. However, there were no continental differences in the patterns of growth in males. We found strong positive effects of NDVI, but only weak negative effects of population density on female mass and length in both areas. Generally, especially mass of Alberta females was more strongly affected by NDVI and density than for Swedish females. Reproduction had stronger negative effects on female mass in Alberta than in Sweden. We found no effects of NDVI and population density on male mass and body length in both areas. The larger variation in female growth and size between the areas, in contrast to males, may be related to differences in female reproductive investment due to differences in population trends, i.e., earlier reproduction in increasing populations or populations below carrying capacity, or to different selection pressures in the past, potentially due to human persecution. Swedish females exhibited characteristics typical of increasing populations, whereas Alberta females exhibited characteristics typical of stable or decreasing populations. The difference in reproduction investment means that Swedish bears can be harvested at higher rates, whereas Alberta bears must be managed more conservatively.

The natural history of the Stenoderminae Chiroderma doriae vizottoi Taddei and Lim 2010 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in a semiarid region from Brazil

Original data on diet, internal anatomy, morphology, reproduction, and parasites of Chiroderma doriae vizottoi from the State of Ceará (Brazil) are presented. Intact and crushed seeds of Solanum rhytidoandrum and scales of Lepidoptera were detected in the gastrointestinal tract and feces. Observation of internal organs did not reveal any abnormalities; the intestines were, on average, 11 times longer than the animal’s body length. Reproduction seems to occur in the rainy season. The association with an ectoparasite, Mastoptera sp. (Diptera, Streblidae), was recorded.

Potensi Vermisidal Infusa Biji Buah Merah (Pandanus conoideus), Rumput Kebar (Biophytum petersianum) dan Kulit Buah Pinang (Areca catechu) terhadap Ascaridia galli secara In Vitro

This study aimed to determine the vermicidal potency of the infusion of Buah Merah seeds, Rumput Kebar and betel nut peels against Ascaridia galli in chickens and body length of male and female A. galli. Dry test materials (5%, 10% and 15% for each concentration) were immersed in 100 ml of distilled water and incubated at 90 °C for 15 minutes. The solution was filtered using filter paper, and the filtrate was used in the treatment. Three active worms that obtained directly from chicken intestines were placed in 15 cm Petri dishes containing 25 ml of each treatment and control solution. Five replications were performed for each treatment. Observations were made 8 hours after treatment for paralysis and worm death. Measurements of the body length were made from the anterior end to the posterior end of the worm using a ruler. Observational data were processed using Anova, the significant difference was continued by the Tukey HSD test (P<0.05) with SPSS 16.0. Conclusion: all the materials used in this study have potential as anthelmintics against A. galli and the highest dose of rumput Kebar infusion is the best vermicidal. The body length of female A. galli is longer than of the male. Keywords: Betel nut peels; Buah merah seeds; Infusion; Rumput kebar; Vermicidal Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui potensi vermisidal infusa biji Buah Merah, Rumput Kebar dan kulit buah Pinang terhadap Ascaridia galli pada ayam dan ukuran panjang tubuh A. galli jantan dan betina. Bahan uji kering (5%, 10% dan 15% untuk masing-masing konsentrasi) direndam dalam 100 ml aquadestillata dan diinkubasi pada suhu 90 °C selama 15 menit. Larutan disaring menggunakan kertas saring, dan filtratnya digunakan dalam perlakuan. Tiga cacing yang aktif bergerak yang diperoleh langsung dari usus ayam, ditempatkan dalam cawan Petri berukuran 15 cm yang berisi 25 ml masing-masing larutan perlakuan dan kontrol. Dilakukan lima ulangan untuk setiap perlakuan. Pengamatan dilakukan 8 jam setelah perlakuan terhadap paralisis dan kematian cacing. Pengukuran dilakukan dari ujung anterior ke ujung posterior cacing menggunakan penggaris. Data hasil pengamatan diolah menggunakan Anova, perbedaan nyata dilanjutkan dengan uji Tukey HSD (P<0,05) dengan SPSS 16.0. Kesimpulan: seluruh bahan yang digunakan pada penelitian ini memiliki potensi sebagai anthelmintik terhadap A. galli dan dosis tertinggi infusa rumput Kebar merupakan vermisidal yang paling baik. Panjang tubuh A. galli betina lebih panjang dari pada jantan. Kata kunci: Biji buah merah; Infusa; Kulit buah pinang; Rumput kebar; Vermisidal