The Role of Larval Fat Cells in Starvation Resistance and Reproduction in Adult Drosophila melanogaster by Jerell Roland Aguila Dr. Deborah K. Hoshizaki, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Life Sciences University of Nevada, Las Vegas The intricate life cycle of holometabolous insects includes well-defined larval and adult stages associated with feeding and non-feeding periods. ...

We tested for facultative changes in behavior of an aquatic insect in response to cues from predation and for evolution of prey behavior in response to experimental predation regimes. Larvae of the tree hole mosquito Aedes triseriatus reduced filtering, browsing, and time below the surface in response to water that had held a feeding larva of the predator Toxorhynchites rutilus. We subjected ex...

Light-sensitivity is an important aspect of mollusk survival as it plays a vital role in reproduction and predator avoidance. In the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas light sensitivity has been demonstrated in the larval stage but has not yet been conclusively demonstrated in adult oysters. In this paper we describe an experiment which was undertaken to determine if adult Pacific oysters were se...

Broad (br), a transcription factor containing the Broad-Tramtrack-Bric-a-brac (BTB) and zinc finger domains was shown to mediate 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) action and pupal development in Drosophila melanogaster and Manduca sexta. We determined the key roles of br during larval-pupal metamorphosis using RNA interference (RNAi) in a coleopteran insect, Tribolium castaneum. Two major peaks of T. ca...

Intraguild predation (IGP) is pervasive in many managed and unmanaged ecosystems and may have negative, neutral or positive effects on the biological control of pest insects. Both generalist predators and aphelinid parasitoids attack Bemisia tabac i (Gennadius) Biotype B ( B. argentifolii Perring & Bellows) on cotton in the southwestern USA. Free-choice and no-choice laboratory assays were cond...

Eutrophication is a large problem in many marine and brackish-water areas. One of the consequences is algae-induced turbidity affecting visually feeding organisms, and behavioural changes of fish and other animals are common in turbid water. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of larval pike Esox lucius in turbid and clear water. We experimentally studied habitat choice, prey a...

Abstract The objective was to evaluate the residual action of insecticides acetamiprid + etofenprox, spinetoram, indoxacarb and methoxyfenozide on predator Chrysoperla externa Hagen, 1861 (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). bioassays followed methodologies proposed by International Organization for Biological Integrated Control (IOBC). were sprayed grapevine plants cv. Burgundy, using maximum recommende...

Parasitoid wasps are a fierce predator of Drosophila larvae. Female Leptopilina boulardi (LB) wasps use a sharp ovipositor to inject eggs into the bodies of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. The wasp then eats the Drosophila larva alive from the inside, and an adult wasp ecloses from the Drosophila pupal case instead of a fly. However, the Drosophila larvae are not defenseless as they may resist ...

Several predator avoidance strategies in zooplankton rely on the use of light to control vertical position in the water column. Although light is the primary cue for such photobehavior, predator chemical cues or kairomones increase swimming responses to light. We currently lack a mechanistic understanding for how zooplankton integrate visual and chemical cues to mediate phenotypic plasticity in...