Evaluation of Different Attractive Traps for Capturing Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an Endemic Area of Leishmaniasis, Southeast of Iran

Background: The attraction of phlebotomine sand flies to plant and animal hosts is due to the produced chemical compounds, affecting the olfactory receptors of the insects. Therefore, novel and effective methods, such as Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSB) and Attractive Toxic Baits (ATB), are based on the effective materials that attract sand flies toward the host. The present study was designed to identify the attractive materials in plants and animals for using in ATSB and ATB. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in July 2018 on endemic areas of leishmaniasis in Iran. Different baits, including mango, nectarine, grape, banana, melon and watermelon, defibrinated blood of cattle, sheep, goat and chicken, urine of cattle, sheep, goat and ultimately, simple and complex chemicals, such as CO2, 1-octanol, lactic acid and human sweat were placed inside the traps, and the rate of the sand flies attraction to these materials was studied. Furthermore, data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann Whitney U test. Results: There was a significant difference in the sand flies attraction between the traps containing watermelon, urine of cattle, and sheep, and chemicals such as CO2 and human sweat and the control trap (p< 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that watermelon and CO2 are the potential candidates for using in ATSB and ATB, respectively.

Identification and field evaluation of the sex pheromone of a Brazilian population of Spodoptera cosmioides

The objective of this work was to identify the sex pheromone of Spodoptera cosmioides and to evaluate whether there is pheromone cross-attraction in Spodoptera sp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Spodoptera cosmioides gland extracts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Wind tunnel and electrophysiology experiments were conducted to evaluate the role of gland compounds. In the field, different pheromone traps were tested: S. frugiperda commercial lure; (9Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc) and (9Z,12E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:OAc) trap; two females of S. cosmioides trap; and hexane control trap. Four acetates were identified in the S. cosmioides female gland extracts as Z9-14:OAc, Z9,E12-14:OAc, (11Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc) and hexadecyl acetate (16:OAc), but only the first two acetates induced electrophysiological responses from S. cosmioides male antennae. In wind tunnel experiments, S. cosmioides and S. frugiperda males responded more strongly to conspecific blends; however, there was some cross-attraction, as 47% males of S. frugiperda and 25% males of S. cosmioides responded to heterospecific blends. In field experiments, S. frugiperda and S. cosmioides showed the same response pattern as observed in the wind tunnel bioassays. In summary, the sex pheromone components of S. cosmioides are Z9-14:OAc and Z9,E12-14OAc; they are important for conferring species specificity, and there is pheromone-mediated cross attraction between S. frugiperda and S. cosmioides.

A nomenclatural note on European Chalarus (Diptera: Pipunculidae): a new synonymy of C. elegantulus Jervis, 1992

Recently, Kehlmaier & Assmann (2008) presented a revision of the European representatives of the big-headed fly genus Chalarus Walker, 1834. The work introduced four previously unknown taxa and provided diagnoses of all other known species, illustrated through numerous line drawings and photo-micrographs. In total, the authors treated 25 species including one nomen dubium. Three of these were known from males only and five solely from females. Taxonomic decision-making was backed up by molecular evidence, published partly therein and in the context of a phylogenetic study of the subfamily Chalarinae (Kehlmaier & Assmann 2010). Despite large collecting efforts, three taxa could not be analysed genetically, namely C. argenteus Coe, 1966, C. elegantulus Jervis, 1992 and C. proprius Jervis, 1992, all representing species based on females only. Shortly after the publication of the above mentioned revision, a specimen of C. elegantulus was identified amongst material sent by Dr. Gunilla Ståhls (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki): 1&, Finland, Ab (Regio aboënsis), Karjalohja, Karkalinniemi, 66581:33221, control trap #2, 25.VI.–22.VII.2007, leg. G. Ståhls, coll. C. Kehlmaier. The 5’ half of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene was sequenced following standard lab procedures (see Kehlmaier & Assmann 2010) using the primer pair LCO1490 and HCO2198 (Folmer et al. 1994). The resulting DNA-barcode (Genbank sequence accession number: FN999909) was compared against a set of reference Chalarus barcode sequences and matched C. absconditus Kehlmaier in Kehlmaier & Assmann, 2008 syn. nov., a species know from male specimens only, sharing an identical haplotype.

Chromosomal and Symbiotic Relationships of Rhizobia Nodulating Medicago truncatula and M. laciniata

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a sequence-based method used to characterize bacterial genomes. This method was used to examine the genetic structure of Medicago-nodulating rhizobia at the Amra site, which is located in an arid region of Tunisia. Here the annual medics Medicago laciniata and M. truncatula are part of the natural flora. The goal of this study was to identify whether distinct chromosomal groups of rhizobia nodulate M. laciniata because of its restricted requirement for specific rhizobia. The MLST analysis involved determination of sequence variation in 10 chromosomal loci of 74 isolates each of M. laciniata and M. truncatula. M. truncatula was used as a control trap host, because unlike M. laciniata, it has relatively unrestricted rhizobial requirements. Allelic diversity among the plasmid nodC alleles in the isolates was also determined. The 148 isolates were placed into 26 chromosomal sequence types (STs), only 3 of which had been identified previously. The rhizobia of M. laciniata were shown to be part of the general Medicago-nodulating population in the soil because 99.95% of the isolates had chromosomal genotypes similar to those recovered from M. truncatula. However, the isolates recovered from M. laciniata were less diverse than those recovered from M. truncatula, and they also harbored an unusual nodC allele. This could perhaps be best explained by horizontal transfer of the different nodC alleles among members of the Medicago-nodulating rhizobial population at the field site. Evidence indicating a history of lateral transfer of rhizobial symbiotic genes across distinct chromosomal backgrounds is provided.

Escape ring selectivity, bycatch, and discard survivability in the New England fishery for deep-water red crab, Chaceon quinquedens

Tallack, S. M. L. 2007. Escape ring selectivity, bycatch, and discard survivability in the New England fishery for deep-water red crab, Chaceon quinquedens. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 1579–1586. The trap fishery for red crab, Chaceon quinquedens, occurs at depths of 600–800 m along the continental slope of New England. The target product is a male crab with a carapace width of ∼105 mm or greater. Selectivity was tested at two discrete depths (600 and 800 m), for four different escape ring scenarios: control trap with no escape rings, and escape rings with internal diameters of 9, 10, and 11 cm. Proportions of non-marketable C. quinquedens were large (71–100%) at both depths for all traps, but were smallest in traps with escape rings. Discard mortality was estimated at ∼5% through caging experiments across three haul frequency conditions (every 24 h, every 4 d, and after 8 d), which represented the likely reality of multiple recaptures during a commercial trip. The impact of discarding techniques (low and high impact) was also assessed. If discard proportion estimates of >71% are realistic, and if an estimated ∼5% of these discards die, the recommendation must be made for fishery participants to improve gear selectivity, and thereby to minimize discard mortality rates. On the management side, stock assessments will be more accurate if estimates of discard mortality are incorporated.

Estimation of Trap Selectivity for Male Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) Using the SELECT Modeling Approach with Unequal Sampling Effort

An experiment was conducted to study trap selectivity for male snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland. The finishing effort of large-mesh commercial traps and small-mesh control traps was not equal because two commercial traps were fished for every control trap. We show how the SELECT (Share Each Length's Catch Total) method extends to this situation and, more generally, to selectivity trials in which catches are sampled in unequal proportion. Application to the crab data showed that a good fit was provided by the logistic selection curve under the assumption of unequal fishing efficiencies of commercial and control traps. The carapace widths at the retention probabilities of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 were estimated to be 86.4, 94.6, and 102.9 mm, respectively, and the retention probability at the minimum legal size of 95 mm was estimated to be 0.51. The commercial traps had almost twice the fishing efficiency of the control traps and consequently caught more legal-sized crabs per trap.

FLUCTUATIONS IN NUMBERS OF ADULT BLACK FLIES (DIPTERA: SIMULIIDAE) IN DEEP RIVER, ONTARIO

Adult black flies were trapped at the townsite of Deep River from the early emergence of Prosimulium spp. (approx. 21 May) through to the late summer decline of Simulium spp. (in August). "Sticky" traps employing CO2 as an attractant were located at five sites throughout the town; in addition a trap was positioned at a "control" site outside the town limits near a heavily forested area. The overall numbers increased rapidly in early June, remaining at high levels until the first week in July, by which time over 110,000 flies had been captured. The numbers of flies recovered both within and outside the town fluctuated widely with weather conditions, seemingly influenced by precipitation. In the town, three centrally located traps captured only half as many adults as two traps near the southerly limits, where a small stream flowed through light forest. The control trap showed that black flies were at least 10 times more plentiful outside Deep River. Three insecticide applications did not have any measurable effect on fly numbers. The predominant local species is Simulium venustum Say.