The increasing range of Aedes aegypti, vector for Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and other viruses, has brought attention to the need to understand the population and transmission dynamics of this mosquito. It is well understood that environmental factors and breeding site characteristics play a role in organismal development and the potential to transmit pathogens. In this study, we observe the im...

Different standing water bodies act as breeding grounds of mosquitoes, thus responsible for the spread of diseases. A survey was conducted to study the population dynamics of mosquito larvae in three village ponds of Ludhiana district (Punjab), India. For this purpose water samples were collected at monthly intervals from July 2011 to June 2012 and larval density (LD/L) and larval density index...

During population outbreaks, top-down and bottom-up factors are unable to control defoliator numbers. To our knowledge, details of biotic interactions leading to increased population density have not been studied during real population outbreaks. We experimentally assessed the strength of plant defenses and of insect immunocompetence, assumed to contribute to active insect resistance against pa...

the tomato leafminer, tuta absoluta (meyrick), is one of the most important pests of tomato, solanum lycopersicum l., in iran. in this research, natural enemies diversity of t. absoluta and proportion of predators or parasitoids density to moth eggs or larvae density on five tomato cultivars including super strain b, super chief, mobil, korral, and early urbana y were studied in an experimental...

Most mosquito control efforts are primarily focused on reducing the adult population size mediated by reductions in the larval population, which should lower risk of disease transmission. Although the aim of larviciding is to reduce larval abundance and thus recruitment of adults, nonlethal effects on adults are possible, including transstadial effects on phenotypes of adults such as survival a...

Studies were conducted to determine the utility of overseeding endophyte enhanced varieties of perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L., into existing stands of Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L., to manage bluegrass billbug, Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal, larval populations and their damage. Two commercial varieties of endophyte enhanced perennial ryegrass (Repell II and Triple Play) were ove...

In animals with complex life cycles, the quality of juvenile environments is important in shaping the longer-term fitness of individuals. Larval density is a major factor governing quality of larval environments in amphibians, with high densities leading to reduced growth rates, smaller size at metamorphosis, and potentially long-lasting postmetamorphic effects. A little-studied effect of larva...

The larval community of coral reef fishes in the Red Sea was studied in coastal and offshore sites to determine the effects of the exposure to waves and currents and the distance from the shore in structuring the larval fish community. Plankton sampling from inshore and offshore sites and the exposed and sheltered sides of the reefs resulted in the collection of 2048 larvae representing 49 diff...

The genetic architecture of variation in adult life span was examined for a population of recombinant inbred lines, each of which had been crossed to both inbred parental strains from which the lines were derived, after emergence from both high and low larval density. QTL affecting life span were mapped within each sex and larval density treatment by linkage to highly polymorphic roo-transposab...

The effects of Beauveria bassiana strain GHA, applied as BotaniGard ES, on newly colonised and well-established populations of emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) were evaluated in the field using foliar and trunk sprays in Michigan in 2004 2005. Results from field trials at a newly colonised white ash site showed a 41% reduction in A. planipennis population in fung...