The geographical distribution of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) tryoni, in relation to climate

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Sutherst ◽  
Tania Yonow

CLIMEX is used to analyse the potential distribution of the Queensland fruit fly in relation to long-term average meteorological data. Different hypotheses on the mechanisms limiting the distribution of this species are examined. The analyses indicate that different CLIMEX models discriminate between locations in different ways. In particular, the models describing the limiting effects of cold stress yield substantially different estimates of the areas that can support overwintering populations. With the threshold temperature model of cold stress, extreme low temperatures exclude flies from high-altitude areas, but fail to exclude them from areas known not to support overwintering populations. These areas can only be rendered unfavourable by using the degree-day model of cold stress, which prevents sufficient thermal accumulation above the developmental threshold to maintain basic metabolic processes for long periods. In contrast, 2 models describing different modes of heat stress accumulation provide similar results and are interchangeable. Our analyses also indicate the potential for agricultural practices, such as irrigation, to alter quite dramatically the suitability of an area for Queensland fruit fly, and impact upon its geographical distribution and the pattern of activity.

1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Feuermann

The long-term thermal performance of passively-heated solar buildings is predicted by a single repetitive meteorological day which contains judiciously chosen solar radiation and ambient temperature functions. These are used as the driving functions of the governing equations that describe the passive solar building under study. The solar radiation and ambient temperature functions are chosen such that they include, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the essential radiation and temperature statistics of the climate in which the building is to be located. The relevant statistics are determined from hourly meteorological data. When hourly meteorological data are not available for a given location, the solar radiation and ambient temperature functions can be constructed from the knowledge of only two climatic data, namely, the monthly average horizontal radiation and the ambient temperature. Model calculations compare favorably with experimental data from Los Alamos solar test cells and with computer simulations.


Author(s):  
Laima TAPARAUSKIENĖ ◽  
Veronika LUKŠEVIČIŪTĖ

This study provides the analysis of drought conditions of vegetation period in 1982-2014 year in two Lithuanian regions: Kaunas and Telšiai. To identify drought conditions the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. SPI was calculated using the long-term precipitation record of 1982–2014 with in-situ meteorological data. Calculation step of SPI was taken 1 month considering only vegetation period (May, June, July, August, September). The purpose of investigation was to evaluate the humidity/aridity of vegetation period and find out the probability of droughts occurrence under Lithuanian climatic conditions. It was found out that according SPI results droughts occurred in 14.5 % of all months in Kaunas region and in 15.8 % in Telšiai region. Wet periods in Kaunas region occurred in 15.8 %, and in Telšiai region occurrence of wet periods was – 18.8 % from all evaluated months. According SPI evaluation near normal were 69.7 % of total months during period of investigation in Kaunas and respectively – 65.5 % in Telšiai. The probability for extremely dry period under Lithuania climatic conditions are pretty low – 3.0 % in middle Lithuania and 2.4 % in western part of Lithuania.


Author(s):  
Ekaterina Shchurova ◽  
Ekaterina Shchurova ◽  
Rimma Stanichnaya ◽  
Rimma Stanichnaya ◽  
Sergey Stanichny ◽  
...  

Sivash bay is the shallow-water lagoon of the Azov Sea. Restricted water exchange and high evaporation form Sivash as the basin with very high salinity. This factor leads to different from the Azov Sea thermal and ice regimes of Sivash. Maine aim of the study presented to investigate recent state and changes of the characteristics and processes in the basin using satellite data. Landsat scanners TM, ETM+, OLI, TIRS together with MODIS and AVHRR were used. Additionally NOMADS NOAA and MERRA meteorological data were analyzed. The next topics are discussed in the work: 1. Changes of the sea surface temperature, ice regime and relation with salinity. 2. Coastal line transformation – long term and seasonal, wind impact. 3. Manifestation of the Azov waters intrusions through the Arabat spit, preferable wind conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-428
Author(s):  
Johana Juliet Caballero Vanegas ◽  
Karen Bibiana Mejía Zambrano ◽  
Lizeth Manuela Avellaneda-Torres

ABSTRACT Understanding the impacts of agricultural practices on soil quality indicators, such as enzymatic activities, is of great importance, in order to advance in their diagnosis and sustainable management. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ecological and conventional agricultural managements on enzymatic activities of a soil under coffee agroecosystems. The enzymatic activities were associated with the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen (urease and protease), phosphorus (acid and alkaline phosphatase) and carbon (β-glucosidase), during the rainy and dry seasons. Physical-chemical soil proprieties were also assessed and related to resilience scores linked to the climatic variability reported for the areas under study. The activities of urease, alkaline and acid phosphatase and ß-glucosidase were statistically higher in ecological agroecosystems than in conventional ones. This may be attributed to the greater application of organic waste in the ecological environment, as well as to the absence of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which allow better conditions for the microbial activity. The resilience scores to the climate variability that showed the highest correlations with the assessed enzymatic activities were: the farmers' knowledge on soil microorganisms, non-use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and non-dependence on external supplies. It was concluded that the enzymatic activities are modified by the management systems, being specifically favored by the ecological management. This agroecosystem, in the long term, ensures an efficient use of the soil resources, with a lower degradation and contamination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4628
Author(s):  
Macarena Iniesta-Pallarés ◽  
Consolación Álvarez ◽  
Francisco M. Gordillo-Cantón ◽  
Carmen Ramírez-Moncayo ◽  
Pilar Alves-Martínez ◽  
...  

Current agricultural productivity depends on an exogenous nutrient supply to crops. This is of special relevance in cereal production, a fundamental part of the trophic chain that plays a vital role in the human diet. However, our agricultural practices entail highly detrimental side-effects from an environmental point of view. Long-term nitrogen fertilization in croplands results in degradation of soil, water, and air quality, producing eutrophication and subsequently contributing to global warming. In accordance with this, there is a biotechnological interest in using nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to enhance crop growth without adding chemically synthesized nitrogen fertilizers. This is particularly beneficial in paddy fields, where about 60% of the synthetic fertilizer that has been applied is dissolved in the water and washed away. In these agricultural systems, N2-fixing cyanobacteria show a promising biotechnological potential as biofertilizers, improving soil fertility while reducing the environmental impact of the agricultural practice. In the current study, Andalusian paddy fields have been explored to isolate N2-fixing cyanobacteria. These endogenous microorganisms have been subsequently re-introduced in a field trial in order to enhance rice production. Our results provide valuable insights regarding the use of an alternative natural source of nitrogen for rice production.


Author(s):  
Yingchao Ji ◽  
Guohua Li ◽  
Chenggang Zhou ◽  
Shuyan Yin

Abstract Temperature is one of the main factors affecting insect growth, development and reproduction. The effects of temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) on the development and reproduction of Cinara cedri Mimeur (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea: Lachnidae) fed on Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don were evaluated in this study. With the increase of temperature from 10 to 30°C, the development duration at different development stages gradually shortened. There was a significant positive correlation between the developmental rates and temperature, following a quadratic regression model. The lower developmental threshold temperature (C) and effective accumulated temperatures (K) for completing a generation were 4.13°C and 263.4 degree-days, respectively. The highest fecundity was observed at 20°C with 25.74 first-instar nymphs/female. Both the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r, 0.11 ± 0.03) and net reproduction rate (R0, 19.06 ± 2.05) were observed at 20°C, whereas the lowest values of r (0.05 ± 0.01) at 10°C and R0 (5.78 ± 0.88) at 30°C were observed. The results suggest that temperature significantly affects the biology of C. cedri and the optimal temperature for its development is 20°C.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document