We surveyed Lepidoptera found on 11 species of Inga (Fabaceae:Mimosoideae) co-existing on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, to evaluate factors influencing diet choice. Of the 47 species of caterpillars (747 individuals) recorded, each fed on a distinct set of Inga. In the field, 96% of the individuals were found on young leaves. Growth rates of caterpillars that were fed leaves in the laboratory ...

Optimal foraging theory explains diet restriction as an adaptation to best utilize an array of foods differing in quality, the poorest items not worth the lost opportunity of finding better ones. Although optimal foraging has traditionally been applied to animal behavior, the model is easily applied to viral host range, which is genetically determined. The usual perspective for bacteriophages (...

The goals of this study were: (I) to report the helminth population in cattle, sheep and goats; (II) to determine the concentration and diversity of the population; and (III) to study the role of host age, host sex, diet and season in structuring the population. A total of 485 cattle, 1144 sheep and 989 goats were examined for helminth population for four seasons. The helminth population consis...

In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance al...

beet armyworm (spodoptera exigua (hubner)) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) is the most economically important sugar beet (beta vulgaris) pest worldwide. the main control method of this pest is insecticides use. thus, it is important to develop alternative means of controlling this pest, including host plant resistance using plant lectins. in the current study, the effects of gna (galanthus nivalis agg...

background: probiotics, in form of microbial supplements, are known to be a suitable alternative for antibiotics and can affect the health indicators of host. objectives: the present study was conducted to assess the combined effects of dietary autochthonous saccharomyces cerevisiae and aspergillus niger on haematological and serumbiochemicalparameters of beluga sturgeon (huso huso) juveniles. ...

Abstract Climate change can affect biological pest control by altering trophic interactions. Elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations reduce host plant quality and, in turn, alter herbivore and natural enemy preference performance. Using the Geisenheim VineyardFACE (free-air enrichment) facility, we studied plant- herbivore-mediated bottom-up effects of elevated CO concentration on Europe...

The symbiotic microbiota profoundly affect many aspects of host physiology; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying host-microbe cross-talk are largely unknown. Here, we show that the pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (PQQ-ADH) activity of a commensal bacterium, Acetobacter pomorum, modulates insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) in Drosophila to regulat...

The relationship between cancer and diet is supported by epidemiological evidence suggesting that diet is a factor in the development of cancer of various organs including the esophagus, stomach, liver, and large bowel. The role of depressed immunocompetency, especially during critical periods of growth and development, is stressed as a possible important consequence of nutritional insults lead...

The bionomy of Chelopistes meleagridis off the host was observed with the aim of better understanding the aspects of this species' life cycle. For this purpose, C. meleagridis adults were collected and maintained under controlled conditions to reproduce (35°C and RH > 80%), with turkey feathers as the food source. From the offspring of these lice, the development of 150 individuals was observed...