The primary hypothesis for successful exotic plant invasions is that the invaders have escaped the specialist consumers that control them (Enemy Release Hypothesis). However, few studies have rigorously tested this assertion with biogeographical experiments or considered the effects of soil organisms. We tested the Enemy Release Hypothesis and the enhanced role of mutualisms by comparing densit...

BACKGROUND Hypoglycin A, found in seeds of Acer negundo, appears to cause seasonal pasture myopathy (SPM) in North America and is implicated in atypical myopathy (AM) in Europe. Acer negundo is uncommon in Europe. Thus, the potential source of hypoglycin A in Europe is unknown. HYPOTHESIS AND OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that seeds of Acer pseudoplatanus were the source of hypoglycin A in Europ...

The Acer seed midge, a new species and genus of gall midge, Acumyia acericola (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is described on the basis of larval, pupal and adult specimens from collections made at Hainault Forest and Lambourne Common, Essex, and other parts of the UK, during 2006–08. The new genus is distinguished from all known genera of Cecidomyiidae by the combination of a larval puparium and an ...

Acer rubrum L., A. saccharum Marsh., Quercus alba L. and Q. rubra L. seedlings subjected to soil and stem base heat treatments showed rapid declines in rates of transpiration and photosynthesis. Reductions in photosynthetic rate were partly attributable to mesophyll inhibition. Quercus seedlings were less able to maintain transpiration and photosynthesis after heat treatment than Acer seedlings...

The multi-copy internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA is widely used to infer phylogenetic relationships among closely related taxa. Here we use maximum likelihood (ML) and splits graph analyses to extract phylogenetic information from approximately 600 mostly cloned ITS sequences, representing 81 species and subspecies of Acer, and both species of its sister Dipteron...

This summary presents findings from an operations research study to assess the outcomes of the Antiretroviral Community Education and Referral (ACER) Project in two urban areas in Zambia—Lusaka and Ndola. The ACER project was implemented by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, based in England, and the Alliance’s Zambia office, in conjunction with local Zambian partners. Launched in mid-2004, t...