Sample records for early oviposition experience

  1. Forest litter crickets prefer higher substrate moisture for oviposition: Evidence from field and lab experiments

    PubMed Central

    Sperber, Carlos Frankl; Albeny-Simões, Daniel; Breaux, Jennifer Ann; Fianco, Marcos; Szinwelski, Neucir

    2017-01-01

    For insects, choosing a favorable oviposition site is a type of parental care, as far as it increases the fitness of its offspring. Niche theory predicts that crickets should show a bell-shaped oviposition response to substrate moisture. However, lab experiments with mole crickets showed a linear oviposition response to substrate moisture. Studies with the house cricket Acheta domesticus also showed a linear juvenile body growth response to water availability, thus adult ovipositing females should respond positively to substrate moisture. We used a field experiment to evaluate the relationship between oviposition preference and substrate moisture in forest litter-dwelling cricket species. We also evaluated oviposition responses to substrate moisture level in Ubiquepuella telytokous, the most abundant litter cricket species in our study area, using a laboratory study. We offered cotton substrate for oviposition which varied in substrate moisture level from zero (i.e., dry) to maximum water absorption capacity. We used two complementary metrics to evaluate oviposition preference: (i) presence or absence of eggs in each sampling unit as binary response variable, and (ii) number of eggs oviposited per sampling unit as count response variable. To test for non-linear responses, we adjusted generalized additive models (GAMM) with mixed effects. We found that both cricket oviposition probability and effort (i.e., number of eggs laid) increased linearly with substrate moisture in the field experiment, and for U. telytokous in the lab experiment. We discarded any non-linear responses. Our results demonstrate the importance of substrate moisture as an ecological niche dimension for litter crickets. This work bolsters knowledge of litter cricket life history association with moisture, and suggests that litter crickets may be particularly threatened by changes in climate that favor habitat drying. PMID:28977023

  2. Forest litter crickets prefer higher substrate moisture for oviposition: Evidence from field and lab experiments.

    PubMed

    de Farias-Martins, Fernando; Sperber, Carlos Frankl; Albeny-Simões, Daniel; Breaux, Jennifer Ann; Fianco, Marcos; Szinwelski, Neucir

    2017-01-01

    For insects, choosing a favorable oviposition site is a type of parental care, as far as it increases the fitness of its offspring. Niche theory predicts that crickets should show a bell-shaped oviposition response to substrate moisture. However, lab experiments with mole crickets showed a linear oviposition response to substrate moisture. Studies with the house cricket Acheta domesticus also showed a linear juvenile body growth response to water availability, thus adult ovipositing females should respond positively to substrate moisture. We used a field experiment to evaluate the relationship between oviposition preference and substrate moisture in forest litter-dwelling cricket species. We also evaluated oviposition responses to substrate moisture level in Ubiquepuella telytokous, the most abundant litter cricket species in our study area, using a laboratory study. We offered cotton substrate for oviposition which varied in substrate moisture level from zero (i.e., dry) to maximum water absorption capacity. We used two complementary metrics to evaluate oviposition preference: (i) presence or absence of eggs in each sampling unit as binary response variable, and (ii) number of eggs oviposited per sampling unit as count response variable. To test for non-linear responses, we adjusted generalized additive models (GAMM) with mixed effects. We found that both cricket oviposition probability and effort (i.e., number of eggs laid) increased linearly with substrate moisture in the field experiment, and for U. telytokous in the lab experiment. We discarded any non-linear responses. Our results demonstrate the importance of substrate moisture as an ecological niche dimension for litter crickets. This work bolsters knowledge of litter cricket life history association with moisture, and suggests that litter crickets may be particularly threatened by changes in climate that favor habitat drying.

  3. Egg laying characteristics, egg weight, embryo development, hatching weight and post-hatch growth in relation to oviposition time of broiler breeders.

    PubMed

    Akil, R; Zakaria, A H

    2015-05-01

    Two experiments were conducted to determine egg laying characteristics and the effects of oviposition time on egg weight, embryo development and post-hatch growth in broiler breeders. In experiment 1, eggs collected for 3 consecutive days on hourly basis between 06:30 and 17:30h were categorized to early, middle and late oviposition times in the clutch. In experiment 2, eggs were incubated to study embryo development, remaining albumen, liver weight, heart weight and the tibia length of embryos at 12, 14, 16 and 18 days of incubation as well as the body weight of hatchlings and chickens at 7, 21 and 42 days of age in relation to oviposition time. About 76% of nest eggs were laid from 06:30 to 11:30h. A similar pattern was observed in floor eggs. Egg weight decreased (P<0.01) with advanced position in the clutch. Generally, oviposition time had no effect on embryo growth parameters. At hatch, body weight of chicks derived from eggs of late oviposition times was less (P<0.01) than that of chicks from eggs produced earlier in the clutch. From 3-week-old onwards, chickens of early oviposition time sustained heavier (P<0.05) weight than chickens of middle oviposition time whereas chickens of late oviposition time obtained a middle weight. Differences in egg weights, body weight at hatch and post-hatch growth due to time of oviposition suggest that oviposition time together with incubation conditions should be considered for obtaining greater uniformity and growth of chickens. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The first whole transcriptomic exploration of pre-oviposited early chicken embryos using single and bulked embryonic RNA-sequencing.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Young Sun; Seo, Minseok; Choi, Hee Jung; Kim, Sang Kyung; Kim, Heebal; Han, Jae Yong

    2018-04-01

    The chicken is a valuable model organism, especially in evolutionary and embryology research because its embryonic development occurs in the egg. However, despite its scientific importance, no transcriptome data have been generated for deciphering the early developmental stages of the chicken because of practical and technical constraints in accessing pre-oviposited embryos. Here, we determine the entire transcriptome of pre-oviposited avian embryos, including oocyte, zygote, and intrauterine embryos from Eyal-giladi and Kochav stage I (EGK.I) to EGK.X collected using a noninvasive approach for the first time. We also compare RNA-sequencing data obtained using a bulked embryo sequencing and single embryo/cell sequencing technique. The raw sequencing data were preprocessed with two genome builds, Galgal4 and Galgal5, and the expression of 17,108 and 26,102 genes was quantified in the respective builds. There were some differences between the two techniques, as well as between the two genome builds, and these were affected by the emergence of long intergenic noncoding RNA annotations. The first transcriptome datasets of pre-oviposited early chicken embryos based on bulked and single embryo sequencing techniques will serve as a valuable resource for investigating early avian embryogenesis, for comparative studies among vertebrates, and for novel gene annotation in the chicken genome.

  5. Analysing the oviposition behaviour of malaria mosquitoes: design considerations for improving two-choice egg count experiments.

    PubMed

    Okal, Michael N; Lindh, Jenny M; Torr, Steve J; Masinde, Elizabeth; Orindi, Benedict; Lindsay, Steve W; Fillinger, Ulrike

    2015-06-20

    Choice egg-count bioassays are a popular tool for analysing oviposition substrate preferences of gravid mosquitoes. This study aimed at improving the design of two-choice experiments for measuring oviposition substrates preferences of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae senso lato, a mosquito that lays single eggs. In order to achieve high egg-laying success of female An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) and Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in experiments, four factors were evaluated: (1) the time provided for mating; (2) the impact of cage size, mosquito age and female body size on insemination; (3) the peak oviposition time; and, (4) the host sources of blood meal. Choice bioassays, with one mosquito released in each cage containing two oviposition cups both with the same oviposition substrate (100 ml water), were used to measure and adjust for egg-laying characteristics of the species. Based on these characteristics an improved design for the egg-count bioassay is proposed. High oviposition rates [84%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 77-89%] were achieved when 300 male and 300 blood-fed female An. gambiae s.s. were held together in a cage for 4 days. The chances for oviposition dropped (odds ratio 0.30; 95% CI 0.14-0.66) when human host source of blood meal was substituted with a rabbit but egg numbers per female were not affected. The number of eggs laid by individual mosquitoes was overdispersed (median = 52, eggs, interquartile range 1-214) and the numbers of eggs laid differed widely between replicates, leading to a highly heterogeneous variance between groups and/or rounds of experiments. Moreover, one-third of mosquitoes laid eggs unequally in both cups with similar substrates giving the illusion of choice. Sample size estimations illustrate that it takes 165 individual mosquitoes to power bioassays sufficiently (power = 0.8, p = 0.05) to detect a 15% shift in comparative preferences of two treatments. Two-choice egg count bioassays with Anopheles are best done

  6. Selective oviposition of the mayfly Baetis bicaudatus.

    PubMed

    Encalada, Andrea C; Peckarsky, Barbara L

    2006-06-01

    Selective oviposition can have important consequences for recruitment limitation and population dynamics of organisms with complex life cycles. Temporal and spatial variation in oviposition may be driven by environmental or behavioral constraints. The goals of this study were to: (1) develop an empirical model of the substrate characteristics that best explain observed patterns of oviposition by Baetis bicaudatus (Ephemeroptera), whose females lay eggs under rocks protruding from high-elevation streams in western Colorado; and (2) test experimentally selective oviposition of mayfly females. We surveyed the number and physical characteristics of potential oviposition sites, and counted the number and density of egg masses in different streams of one watershed throughout two consecutive flight seasons. Results of surveys showed that variability in the proportion of protruding rocks with egg masses and the density of egg masses per rock were explained primarily by seasonal and annual variation in hydrology, and variation in geomorphology among streams. Moreover, surveys and experiments showed that females preferred to oviposit under relatively large rocks located in places with high splash associated with fast current, which may provide visual, mechanical or both cues to females. Experiments also showed that high densities of egg masses under certain rocks were caused by rock characteristics rather than behavioral aggregation of ovipositing females. While aggregations of egg masses provided no survival advantage, rocks selected by females had lower probabilities of desiccating during egg incubation. Our data suggest that even when protruding rocks are abundant, not all rocks are used as oviposition sites by females, due to female selectivity and to differences in rock availability within seasons, years, or streams depending on variation in climate and hydrogeomorphology. Therefore, specialized oviposition behavior combined with variation in availability of quality

  7. Rhagoletis cerasi: Oviposition Reduction Effects of Oil Products.

    PubMed

    Daniel, Claudia

    2014-04-16

    The European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (L.) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a highly destructive pest. Methods to control it are limited and alternatives are needed. Observations of cherry fruit flies suggest that females exert much effort to penetrate cherries at color change stage (from green to yellow) for oviposition. Therefore, the question arose as to whether a physical barrier on the fruit surface could reduce oviposition. The effects of different commercial horticultural oil products on R. cerasi oviposition were evaluated in a series of laboratory, semi-field and field experiments. In the laboratory experiments, the rate of successful oviposition on fruits treated with 0.25% v/v of the rapeseed oil product Telmion was significantly reduced by 90% compared to the untreated control. In semi-field experiments, deposits of 1% of rapeseed, mineral and paraffinic oil significantly reduced oviposition for up to 3 days. Semi-field experiments indicated that the oil products lose efficacy within 3 to 6 days after application due to degradation. Although treatments with the rapeseed oil product Telmion reduced infestation rates in an on-farm field experiment, the infested fruit clearly exceeded the level of market tolerance of 2%. Further research is needed to assess whether combinations of oil products, higher application rates and different formulations might improve field efficacy.

  8. Rhagoletis cerasi: Oviposition Reduction Effects of Oil Products

    PubMed Central

    Daniel, Claudia

    2014-01-01

    The European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (L.) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a highly destructive pest. Methods to control it are limited and alternatives are needed. Observations of cherry fruit flies suggest that females exert much effort to penetrate cherries at color change stage (from green to yellow) for oviposition. Therefore, the question arose as to whether a physical barrier on the fruit surface could reduce oviposition. The effects of different commercial horticultural oil products on R. cerasi oviposition were evaluated in a series of laboratory, semi-field and field experiments. In the laboratory experiments, the rate of successful oviposition on fruits treated with 0.25% v/v of the rapeseed oil product Telmion was significantly reduced by 90% compared to the untreated control. In semi-field experiments, deposits of 1% of rapeseed, mineral and paraffinic oil significantly reduced oviposition for up to 3 days. Semi-field experiments indicated that the oil products lose efficacy within 3 to 6 days after application due to degradation. Although treatments with the rapeseed oil product Telmion reduced infestation rates in an on-farm field experiment, the infested fruit clearly exceeded the level of market tolerance of 2%. Further research is needed to assess whether combinations of oil products, higher application rates and different formulations might improve field efficacy. PMID:26462686

  9. Experience-induced habituation and preference towards non-host plant odors in ovipositing females of a moth.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hua; Guo, Wen-Fei; Zhang, Peng-Jun; Wu, Zhi-Yi; Liu, Shu-Sheng

    2008-03-01

    In phytophagous insects, experience can increase positive responses towards non-host plant extracts or induce oviposition on non-host plants, but the underlying chemical and behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood. By using the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, its host plant Chinese cabbage, and a non-host plant Chrysanthemum morifolium, as a model system, we observed the experience-altered olfactory responses of ovipositing females towards volatiles of the non-host plant, volatiles of pure chemicals (p-cymene and alpha-terpinene) found in the non-host plant, and volatiles of host plants treated with these chemicals. We assessed the experience-altered oviposition preference towards host plants treated with p-cymene. Naive females showed aversion to the odors of the non-host plant, the pure chemicals, and the pure chemical-treated host plants. In contrast, experienced females either became attracted by these non-host odors or were no longer repelled by these odors. Similarly, naive females laid a significantly lower proportion of eggs on pure chemical-treated host plants than on untreated host plants, but experienced females laid a similar or higher proportion of eggs on pure chemical-treated host plants compared to untreated host plants. Chemical analysis indicated that application of the non-host pure chemicals on Chinese cabbage induced emissions of volatiles by this host plant. We conclude that induced preference for previously repellent compounds is a major mechanism that leads to behavioral changes of this moth towards non-host plants or their extracts.

  10. Temporal patterns in Homalodisca spp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) oviposition on southern California citrus and jojoba.

    PubMed

    Al-Wahaibi, Ali K; Morse, Joseph G

    2010-02-01

    A detailed study of the distribution of egg masses of Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) and H. liturata Ball was done across a 2-yr period (2001-2003) on six host plants in southern California (Marsh grapefruit, Lisbon lemon, Washington navel, Dancy tangerine, rough lemon, and jojoba in Riverside; jojoba in Desert Center). The majority of egg masses in Riverside belonged to H. vitripennis (84-100%), whereas in Desert Center, all Homalodisca egg masses were H. liturata. Oviposition in Riverside occurred in two discrete periods, a late winter and spring period (mid-February to late May), followed by a short interval of very low oviposition during most of June, and then a summer period (late June to late September) followed by a relatively long period of very low oviposition in fall and early winter (October to mid-February). Levels of oviposition during the late winter-spring period were similar to those during the summer despite an observed larger population of adults during the latter period. Moreover, egg clutch size for H. vitripennis was generally greater in spring than during summer and was generally higher than that for H. liturata, especially on Riverside jojoba. Larger egg clutch size was seen on grapefruit than on lemon, navel, and tangerine during summer. There appeared to be temporal host shifts in oviposition; most evident was the shift from relatively high rates of oviposition on lemon and tangerine in late winter-early spring to relatively higher rates of oviposition on grapefruit and navel during summer.

  11. Periodical cicadas use light for oviposition site selection.

    PubMed

    Yang, Louie H

    2006-12-07

    Organisms use incomplete information from local experience to assess the suitability of potential habitat sites over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Although ecologists have long recognized the importance of spatial scales in habitat selection, few studies have investigated the temporal scales of habitat selection. In particular, cues in the immediate environment may commonly provide indirect information about future habitat quality. In periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.), oviposition site selection represents a very long-term habitat choice. Adult female cicadas insert eggs into tree branches during a few weeks in the summer of emergence, but their oviposition choices determine the underground habitats of root-feeding nymphs over the following 13 or 17 years. Here, field experiments are used to show that female cicadas use the local light environment of host trees during the summer of emergence to select long-term host trees. Light environments may also influence oviposition microsite selection within hosts, suggesting a potential behavioural mechanism for associating solar cues with host trees. In contrast, experimental nutrient enrichment of host trees did not influence cicada oviposition densities. These findings suggest that the light environments around host trees may provide a robust predictor of host tree quality in the near future. This habitat selection may influence the spatial distribution of several cicada-mediated ecological processes in eastern North American forests.

  12. Periodical cicadas use light for oviposition site selection

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Louie H

    2006-01-01

    Organisms use incomplete information from local experience to assess the suitability of potential habitat sites over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Although ecologists have long recognized the importance of spatial scales in habitat selection, few studies have investigated the temporal scales of habitat selection. In particular, cues in the immediate environment may commonly provide indirect information about future habitat quality. In periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.), oviposition site selection represents a very long-term habitat choice. Adult female cicadas insert eggs into tree branches during a few weeks in the summer of emergence, but their oviposition choices determine the underground habitats of root-feeding nymphs over the following 13 or 17 years. Here, field experiments are used to show that female cicadas use the local light environment of host trees during the summer of emergence to select long-term host trees. Light environments may also influence oviposition microsite selection within hosts, suggesting a potential behavioural mechanism for associating solar cues with host trees. In contrast, experimental nutrient enrichment of host trees did not influence cicada oviposition densities. These findings suggest that the light environments around host trees may provide a robust predictor of host tree quality in the near future. This habitat selection may influence the spatial distribution of several cicada-mediated ecological processes in eastern North American forests. PMID:17015354

  13. Effects of methoprene on oviposition by Aedes japonicus and Culex spp

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Butler, M.; Suom, C.; LeBrun, R.A.; Ginsberg, H.S.; Gettman, A.D.

    2006-01-01

    The mosquito larvicide methoprene is a juvenile growth hormone mimic that is widely used to control mosquitoes. This chemical disrupts normal mosquito development, drastically inhibiting emergence from the pupal to the adult stage. If the presence of methoprene attracts or deters mosquitoes from ovipositing it could have implications for mosquito control. This study evaluates whether methoprene attracts or deters mosquitoes likely to oviposit in catch basins. In a field experiment, methoprene formulated as liquid larvicide did not affect oviposition of either Culex spp. or Aedes japonicus in 19 liter plastic buckets.

  14. Oviposition Substrate of the Mountain Fly Drosophila nigrosparsa (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

    PubMed Central

    Tratter, Magdalena; Bächli, Gerhard; Kirchmair, Martin; Kaufmann, Rüdiger; Arthofer, Wolfgang; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C.; Steiner, Florian M.

    2016-01-01

    The survival of insect larvae often depends on the mother’s choice of oviposition substrate, and thus, this choice is an essential part of an insect species’ ecology. Especially species with narrow substrate preferences may suffer from changes in substrate availability triggered by, for example, climate change. Recent climate warming is affecting species directly (e.g., physiology) but also indirectly (e.g., biological interactions) leading to mismatching phenologies and distributions. However, the preferred oviposition substrate is still unknown for many drosophilid species, especially for those at higher elevations. In this study, we investigated the oviposition-substrate preference of the montane-alpine fly Drosophila nigrosparsa in rearing and multiple-choice experiments using natural substrates in the laboratory. Insect emergence from field-collected substrates was tested. More than 650 insects were reared from natural substrates, among them 152 drosophilids but no individual of D. nigrosparsa. In the multiple-choice experiments, D. nigrosparsa preferred ovipositing on mushrooms (> 93% of eggs); additionally, a few eggs were laid on berries but none on other substrates such as cow faeces, rotten plant material, and soil. The flies laid 24 times more eggs per day when mushrooms were included in the substrates than when they were excluded. We infer that D. nigrosparsa is a mushroom breeder with some variation in oviposition choice. The flies favoured some mushrooms over others, but they were not specialised on a single fungal taxon. Although it is unclear if and how climate change will affect D. nigrosparsa, our results indicate that this species will not be threatened by oviposition-substrate limitations in the near future because of the broad altitudinal distribution of the mushrooms considered here, even if the flies will have to shift upwards to withstand increasing temperatures. PMID:27788257

  15. Mosquito Oviposition Behavior and Vector Control

    PubMed Central

    Day, Jonathan F.

    2016-01-01

    The burden of gene transfer from one mosquito generation to the next falls on the female and her eggs. The selection of an oviposition site that guarantees egg and larval survival is a critical step in the reproductive process. The dangers associated with ephemeral aquatic habitats, lengthy droughts, freezing winters, and the absence of larval nutrition makes careful oviposition site selection by a female mosquito extremely important. Mosquito species exhibit a remarkable diversity of oviposition behaviors that ensure eggs are deposited into microenvironments conducive for successful larval development and the emergence of the next mosquito generation. An understanding of mosquito oviposition behavior is necessary for the development of surveillance and control opportunities directed against specific disease vectors. For example, Aedes aegypti Linnaeus is the vector of viruses causing important human diseases including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. The preference of this species to oviposit in natural and artificial containers has facilitated the development of Ae. aegypti-specific surveillance and toxic oviposition traps designed to detect and control this important vector species in and around disease foci. A better understanding of the wide diversity of mosquito oviposition behavior will allow the development of new and innovative surveillance and control devices directed against other important mosquito vectors of human and animal disease. PMID:27869724

  16. Induction of oviposition by the administration of oxytocin in hawksbill turtles.

    PubMed

    Kawazu, Isao; Kino, Masakatsu; Maeda, Konomi; Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro; Sawamukai, Yutaka

    2014-12-01

    We set out to develop an oviposition induction technique for captive female hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata. The infertile eggs of nine females were induced to develop by the administration of follicle-stimulating hormone, after which we investigated the effects of administering oxytocin on oviposition. Seven of the turtles were held in a stationary horizontal position on a retention stand, and then oxytocin was administrated (0.6-0.8 units/kg of body weight; 5 mL). The seven turtles were retained for a mandatory 2 h period after oxytocin administration, and were then returned to the holding tanks. As the control, normal saline (5 mL) was administered to the other two turtles, followed by the administration of oxytocin after 24 h. The eggs in oviducts of all nine turtles were observed by ultrasonography at 24 h after oxytocin administration. The control experiment validated that stationary retention and normal saline administration had no effect on egg oviposition. Eight of the turtles began ovipositing eggs at 17-43 min after oxytocin administration, while one began ovipositing in the holding tank immediately after retention. All turtles finished ovipositing eggs within 24 h of oxytocin administration. This report is the first to demonstrate successful induced oviposition in sea turtles. We suggest that the muscles in the oviducts of hawksbill turtles may respond to relatively lower doses of oxytocin (inducing contractions) compared to land and freshwater turtles (4-40 units/kg) based on existing studies.

  17. Northwestern salamanders Ambystoma gracile in mountain lakes: record oviposition depths among salamanders

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hoffman, R.; Pearl, C.A.; Larson, G.L.; Samora, B.

    2012-01-01

    Oviposition timing, behaviors, and microhabitats of ambystomatid salamanders vary considerably (Egan and Paton 2004; Figiel and Semlitsch 1995; Howard and Wallace 1985; Mac-Cracken 2007). Regardless of species, however, females typically oviposit using sites conducive to embryo development and survival. For example, the results of an experiment by Figiel and Semlitsch (1995) on Ambystoma opacum (Marbled Salamander) oviposition indicated that females actively selected sites that were under grass clumps in wet versus dry treatments, and surmised that environmental conditions such as humidity, moisture, and temperature contributed to their results. Other factors associated with ambystomatid oviposition and embryo survival include water temperature (Anderson 1972; Brown 1976), dissolved oxygen concentration (Petranka et al. 1982; Sacerdote and King 2009), oviposition depth (Dougherty et al. 2005; Egan and Paton 2004), and oviposition attachment structures such as woody vegetation (McCracken 2007; Nussbaum et al. 1983). Resetarits (1996), in creating a model of oviposition site selection for anuran amphibians, hypothesized that oviparous organisms were also capable of modifying oviposition behavior and site selection to accommodate varying habitat conditions and to minimize potential negative effects of environmental stressors. Kats and Sih (1992), investigating the oviposition of Ambystoma barbouri (Streamside Salamander) in pools of a Kentucky stream, found that females preferred pools without predatory Lepomis cyanellus (Green Sunfish), and that the number of egg masses present in a pool historically containing fish increased significantly the year after fish had been extirpated from the pool. Palen et al. (2005) determined that Ambystoma gracile (Northwestern Salamander) and Ambystoma macrodactylum (Longtoed Salamander) eggs were deposited either at increased depth or in full shaded habitats, respectively, as water transperancy to UV-B radiation increased.

  18. Predation and the evolution of complex oviposition behaviour in Amazon rainforest frogs.

    PubMed

    Magnusson, William E; Hero, Jean-Marc

    1991-05-01

    Terrestrial oviposition with free-living aquatic larvae is a common reproductive mode used by amphibians within the central Amazonian rainforest. We investigated the factors presently associated with diversity of microhabitats (waterbodies) that may be maintaining the diversity of reproductive modes. In particular, desiccation, predation by fish, competition with other anurans and water quality were examined in 11 waterbodies as possible forces leading to the evolution of terrestrial oviposition. Predation experiments demonstrated that fish generally do not eat anuran eggs, and that predacious tadpoles and dytiscid beetle larvae are voracious predators of anuran eggs. The percentage of species with terrestrial oviposition was only weakly correlated with the occurrence of pond drying, pH and oxygen concentration, suggesting that anurans in this tropical community are able to use the range of water quality available for egg development. There was a tendency for terrestrial oviposition to be associated with the number of species of tadpoles using the waterbody, but we consider this to be spurious as there was no obvious competitive mechanism that could result in this relationship. The percentage of species with terrestrial oviposition was significantly positively related to our index of egg predation pressure, and negatively related to our index of fish biomass. Egg predation pressure was also negatively related to the index of fish biomass. These results allow us to discount as improbable the hypothesis that predation by fish on anuran eggs was an important selective pressure leading to terrestrial oviposition in this community. The strong positive relationship between terrestrial oviposition and our index of egg predation pressure indicates that these predators have exerted, and are exerting, a significant selective pressure for terrestrial oviposition. The strong negative relationship between the occurrence of fish and the egg predators suggests the surprising

  19. The Benefit of Additional Oviposition Targets for a Polyphagous Butterfly

    PubMed Central

    Johansson, Josefin; Bergström, Anders; Janz, Niklas

    2007-01-01

    While the reasons for the prevalence of specialists over generalists among herbivorous insects have been at the focus of much interest, less effort has been put into understanding the polyphagous exceptions. Recent studies have suggested that these exceptions may be important for insect diversification, which calls for a better understanding of the potential factors that can lead to an increased host plant repertoire. Females of the Nymphalid butterfly, Polygonia c-album, were used to test if egg output and/or likelihood of finding a host increased with the addition of a secondary host. There was no effect of prior eggs on the host for willingness to oviposit on a plant. The main experiments were conducted both in small laboratory cages and in large outdoor experimental arenas. No positive effect was found when another oviposition target was added in small cages in the laboratory. On the other hand, in the outdoor arenas the females more often found a host to oviposit on and had a higher egg output when they had access to an additional host, even though the second host was lower in their preference hierarchy. The difference between these experiments was attributed to searching for acceptable host plants within a patch, a factor that was included in the large cages but not in the small. When host availability is limited, adding oviposition targets can potentially act to counterbalance specialization and thus favor the evolution of generalization. PMID:20334600

  20. Different patterns of oviposition learning in two closely related ectoparasitoid wasps with contrasting reproductive strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sasakawa, Kôji; Uchijima, Kenta; Shibao, Harunobu; Shimada, Masakazu

    2013-02-01

    Many parasitoid wasps learn host-associated cues and use them in subsequent host-searching behavior. This associative learning, namely "oviposition learning," has been investigated in many studies. However, few studies have compared multiple species, and no comparative study has previously been conducted on ectoparasitoid species. We compared the effects of oviposition learning on host preference and offspring sex ratio in two closely related ectoparasitoid wasps with contrasting reproductive strategies, Anisopteromalus calandrae (r-strategist) and its sibling species (K-strategist). Using two bruchine hosts, Callosobruchus chinensis and Callosobruchus maculatus larvae infesting the cowpea Vigna unguiculata, oviposition choice experiments were performed at high and low host densities. In both species, no conspicuous effect on the offspring sex ratio was detected, but effects on host preference were found to differ between the species. In A. calandrae, the effects were detected only at high host density, suggesting that oviposition learning plays a role in host discrimination from a short distance but not from a long distance. In the sibling species, those effects were not detected in any of the cases, suggesting the absence of oviposition learning. These results are compatible with those of previous comparative studies of endoparasitoid wasps in that few lifetime oviposition experiences and/or low reward per foraging decision result in low or absent oviposition learning ability. This finding may indicate that ecological traits contributing to learning ability are similar between endoparasitoid and ectoparasitoid wasps. Thus, our species comparison of ectoparasitoids provides another model system for investigating learning and memory dynamics in parasitoid wasps.

  1. Larval exposure to azadirachtin affects fitness and oviposition site preference of Drosophila melanogaster.

    PubMed

    Bezzar-Bendjazia, Radia; Kilani-Morakchi, Samira; Aribi, Nadia

    2016-10-01

    Azadirachtin, a biorational insecticide, is one of the prominent biopesticide commercialized today and represent an alternative to conventional insecticides. The current study examined the lethal and sublethal effects of azadirachtin on Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, 1830 (Diptera: Drosophilidae) as biological model. Various doses ranging from 0.1 to 2μg were applied topically on early third instar larvae and the cumulative mortality of immature stage was determined. In second series of experiments, azadirachtin was applied at its LD 25 (0.28μg) and LD 50 (0.67μg) and evaluated on fitness (development duration, fecundity, adult survival) and oviposition site preference with and without choice. Results showed that azadirachtin increased significantly at the two tested doses the duration of larval and pupal development. Moreover, azadirachtin treatment reduced significantly adult's survival of both sex as compared to control. In addition, azadirachtin affected fecundity of flies by a significant reduction of the number of eggs laid. Finally results showed that females present clear preference for oviposition in control medium. Pre-imaginal exposure (L3) to azadirachtin increased aversion to this substance suggesting a memorability of the learned avoidance. The results provide some evidence that larval exposure to azadirachtin altered adult oviposition preference as well as major fitness traits of D. melanogaster. Theses finding may reinforce behavioural avoidance of azadirachtin and contribute as repellent strategies in integrated pest management programmes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Response of host plants to periodical cicada oviposition damage.

    PubMed

    Flory, S Luke; Mattingly, W Brett

    2008-06-01

    Insect oviposition on plants is widespread across many systems, but studies on the response of host plants to oviposition damage are lacking. Although patterns of oviposition vary spatially and temporally, ovipositing insects that exhibit outbreak characteristics may have strong effects on host plants during peak abundance. Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.), in particular, may reduce the performance of host plants when they synchronously emerge in massive numbers to mate and oviposit on host plants. Here we provide the first experimental manipulation of host plant use by periodical cicadas to evaluate the impact of cicada oviposition on plant performance across a diversity of host species within an ecologically relevant setting. Using a randomized block design, we established a plantation of three native and three exotic host plant species common to the successional forests in which cicadas occur. During the emergence of Brood X in 2004, we employed a highly effective cicada exclusion treatment by netting half of the host plants within each block. We assessed multiple measures of host plant performance, including overall plant growth and the growth and reproduction of individual branches, across three growing seasons. Despite our thorough assessment of potential host plant responses to oviposition damage, cicada oviposition did not generally inhibit host plant performance. Oviposition densities on unnetted host plants were comparable to levels documented in other studies, reinforcing the ecological relevance of our results, which indicate that cicada oviposition damage did not generally reduce the performance of native or exotic host plants.

  3. Maternal influences on early development: preferred temperature prior to oviposition hastens embryogenesis and enhances offspring traits in the Children's python, Antaresia childreni.

    PubMed

    Lorioux, Sophie; DeNardo, Dale F; Gorelick, Root; Lourdais, Olivier

    2012-04-15

    Embryonic life is particularly sensitive to its surroundings, and the developmental environment can have long-lasting effects on offspring. In oviparous species, the impacts of the developmental environment on offspring traits are mostly examined during development within the egg. However, as more than 25% of the development of squamate reptiles can occur prior to oviposition, we explored the effect of thermal conditions on development prior to oviposition in an oviparous snake species, the Children's python (Antaresia childreni). We housed gravid female pythons under three thermal cycles: an optimal regime that reflected maternal preference in a non-constrained environment (constant preferred body temperature of gravid females, T(set)=31.5°C) and two mildly suboptimal regimes that shared the same mean temperature of 27.7°C, but differed in the duration at T(set). In one of the constraining regimes, females had access to T(set) for 4 h daily whereas in the other regime, females never reached T(set) (maximal temperature of 29.0°C). Thermal treatments were maintained throughout gravidity in all three groups, but, after oviposition, all eggs were incubated at T(set) until hatching. Compared with the optimal regime, the two suboptimal regimes had a longer duration of gravidity, which resulted in delayed hatching. Between the two suboptimal regimes, gravidity was significantly shorter in the treatment that included time at T(set). Furthermore, suboptimal regimes influenced offspring traits at hatching, including body morphology, antipredator behavior, strength and metabolism. However, partial access to maternal T(set) significantly enhanced several offspring traits, including performance. Our results demonstrate the importance of time at T(set) on early development and suggest an adaptive significance of maternal thermoregulation prior to oviposition.

  4. Oviposition behaviour of Phlebotomus argentipes--a laboratory-based study.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Vijay; Rama, Aarti; Kesari, Shreekant; Bhunia, Gouri Sankar; Dinesh, Diwakar Singh; Das, Pradeep

    2013-12-01

    The breeding habitat of sandflies is a little studied and poorly understood phenomenon. More importantly, oviposition behaviour is a largely neglected aspect of sandfly biology and this knowledge gap further undermines our understanding of the biology of sandflies. Pheromones released by the eggs play an important role in identifying good sites for oviposition by female insects. Several recent studies have examined the oviposition pheromone. The present study provides a preliminary report on the oviposition behaviour of Phlebotomus argentipes, the only vector of kala-azar (or visceral leishmaniasis) on the Indian sub-continent. Sandflies prefer to oviposit their eggs on surfaces that contain organic substances, especially substances with an odour of decaying animal products and the remains of conspecific eggs. The results presented here suggest that the odour released by the organic substances of old sandfly colony remains that contain dead flies, old unhatched eggs, larval food containing vertebrate faeces, frass and other organic matter serves as an attractant for the ovipositing females of P. argentipes and hence greatly increases the number of oviposited eggs compared to eggs deposited in controlled oviposition pots. This result will be helpful in maintaining an efficient colony of P. argentipes and may be a promising tool for monitoring and controlling the target insect as part of a synergistic approach.

  5. The effects of simulated rainfall on immature population dynamics of Aedes albopictus and female oviposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dieng, Hamady; Rahman, G. M. Saifur; Abu Hassan, A.; Che Salmah, M. R.; Satho, Tomomitsu; Miake, Fumio; Boots, Michael; Sazaly, Abubakar

    2012-01-01

    Larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse typically inhabit natural and artificial containers. Since these larval habitats are replenished by rainfall, Ae. albopictus may experience increased loss of immature stages in areas with high levels of rainfall. In this study, we investigated the effects of rainfall and container water level on population density, and oviposition activity of Ae. albopictus. In field and laboratory experiments, we found that rainfall resulted in the flushing of breeding habitats. Excess rain negatively impacted larval and pupal retention, especially in small habitats. When filled with water to overflowing, container habitats were significantly repellent to ovipositing females. Taken together, these data suggest that rainfall triggers population loss of Ae. albopictus and related species through a direct detrimental effect (flushing out) and an indirect effect (ovipositional repellency).

  6. Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus intraradices) on the oviposition of rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus).

    PubMed

    Cosme, Marco; Stout, Michael J; Wurst, Susanne

    2011-10-01

    Root-feeding insects are important drivers in ecosystems, and links between aboveground oviposition preference and belowground larval performance have been suggested. The root-colonizing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a central role in plant nutrition and are known to change host quality for root-feeding insects. However, it is not known if and how AMF affect the aboveground oviposition of insects whose offspring feed on roots. According to the preference-performance hypothesis, insect herbivores oviposit on plants that will maximize offspring performance. In a greenhouse experiment with rice (Oryza sativa), we investigated the effects of AMF (Glomus intraradices) on aboveground oviposition of rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus), the larvae of which feed belowground on the roots. Oviposition (i.e., the numbers of eggs laid by weevil females in leaf sheaths) was enhanced when the plants were colonized by AMF. However, the leaf area consumed by adult weevils was not affected. Although AMF reduced plant biomass, it increased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus concentrations in leaves and N in roots. The results suggest that rice water weevil females are able to discriminate plants for oviposition depending on their mycorrhizal status. The discrimination is probably related to AMF-mediated changes in plant quality, i.e., the females choose to oviposit more on plants with higher nutrient concentrations to potentially optimize offspring performance. AMF-mediated change in plant host choice for chewing insect oviposition is a novel aspect of below- and aboveground interactions. © Springer-Verlag 2011

  7. Cost of oviposition site selection in a water strider Aquarius paludum insularis: egg mortality increases with oviposition depth.

    PubMed

    Hirayama, Hiroyuki; Kasuya, Eiiti

    2010-06-01

    Females generally avoid selecting sites for oviposition which have a high predation risk to increase offspring survival. Previous studies have focused on costs to ovipositing females. However, although offspring may also incur costs by being oviposited at low predation risk sites, no studies have focused on costs to offspring. Such costs to offspring were examined by using Aquarius paludum insularis, females of which avoid eggs parasitism by ovipositing at deep sites. Deep sites are safe from egg parasitism but may be unsuitable for hatching due to environmental factors. We examined the costs to offspring at deep sites by comparing the hatching rate, the duration to hatching and the proportion of drowned larvae between eggs that were set at three levels of water depth (0 cm, 25 cm and 50 cm depth). While the hatching rate at 50 cm was lower than that at 0 cm, the rate at 25 cm did not differ from that at 0 cm. Duration to hatching and the proportion of drowned larvae did not differ between the three depths. It is suggested that the declining survival rate of A. paludum eggs was due to increased water pressure at greater depth. Such a cost may exist in other species and such an observation may aid in understanding oviposition site selection. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Forensically Important Diptera in Central England.

    PubMed

    Barnes, Kate M; Grace, Karon A; Bulling, Mark T

    2015-11-01

    Timing of oviposition on a corpse is a key factor in entomologically based minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) calculations. However, there is considerable variation in nocturnal oviposition behavior of blow flies reported in the research literature. This study investigated nocturnal oviposition in central England for the first time, over 25 trials from 2011 to 2013. Liver-baited traps were placed in an urban location during control (diurnal), and nocturnal periods and environmental conditions were recorded during each 5-h trial. No nocturnal activity or oviposition was observed during the course of the study indicating that nocturnal oviposition is highly unlikely in central England. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  9. Investigation of nocturnal oviposition by necrophilous flies in central Texas.

    PubMed

    Baldridge, Robert S; Wallace, Susan G; Kirkpatrick, Ryan

    2006-01-01

    The need to accurately estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) has prompted research into factors affecting fly oviposition (i.e., oviposition and/or larviposition) on a corpse. Research efforts have focused on whether or not diurnally active flies oviposit during nighttime hours. This study reports that nocturnal oviposition (defined as occurring between 2100-0600 h CDST (Central Daylight Savings Time)) did not occur on freshly killed white rats or mice, on beef (fresh or aged up to 48 h), on freshly thawed pigs, nor, usually, on thawed pigs that were aged for up to 48 h. Limited oviposition did occur between 2100 and 2120 h on one bloated pig at a lighted rural site. Necrophilous flies were present and active at lighted and dark sites (urban and rural) before and immediately after sunset, but fly activity on the bait ceased within 50 min postsunset and did not resume until after 0600 h. These observations support other studies reporting that diurnally active flies do not oviposit during the nighttime.

  10. Spatial variability in oviposition damage by periodical cicadas in a fragmented landscape.

    PubMed

    Cook, William M; Holt, Robert D; Yao, Jin

    2001-03-01

    Effects of the periodical cicada (Magicicada spp.) on forest dynamics are poorly documented. A 1998 emergence of M. cassini in eastern Kansas led to colonization of a fragmented experimental landscape undergoing secondary succession. We hypothesized that per-tree rates of oviposition damage by cicadas would reflect: (1) distance from the source of the emergence, (2) patch size, and (3) local tree density. Ovipositing females displayed clear preferences for host species and damage incidence showed predictable spatial patterns. Two species (smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, and eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana) were rarely attacked, whereas others (rough-leaved dogwood, Cornus drummondii; slippery elm, Ulmus rubra; box elder, Acer negundo, and honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos) were strongly attacked. The dominant early successional tree, dogwood, received on average the most attacks. As predicted, attacks per stem declined strongly with distance from the emergence source, and with local stem density (a "dilution" effect). Contrary to expectations, there were more attacks per stem on larger patches. Because ovipositing cicadas cut damaging slits in host tree branches, potentially affecting tree growth rate, competitive ability, and capacity to reproduce, cicada damage could potentially influence spatial variation in secondary succession.

  11. Feeding-induced rearrangement of green leaf volatiles reduces moth oviposition

    PubMed Central

    Allmann, Silke; Späthe, Anna; Bisch-Knaden, Sonja; Kallenbach, Mario; Reinecke, Andreas; Sachse, Silke; Baldwin, Ian T; Hansson, Bill S

    2013-01-01

    The ability to decrypt volatile plant signals is essential if herbivorous insects are to optimize their choice of host plants for their offspring. Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) constitute a widespread group of defensive plant volatiles that convey a herbivory-specific message via their isomeric composition: feeding of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta converts (Z)-3- to (E)-2-GLVs thereby attracting predatory insects. Here we show that this isomer-coded message is monitored by ovipositing M. sexta females. We detected the isomeric shift in the host plant Datura wrightii and performed functional imaging in the primary olfactory center of M. sexta females with GLV structural isomers. We identified two isomer-specific regions responding to either (Z)-3- or (E)-2-hexenyl acetate. Field experiments demonstrated that ovipositing Manduca moths preferred (Z)-3-perfumed D. wrightii over (E)-2-perfumed plants. These results show that (E)-2-GLVs and/or specific (Z)-3/(E)-2-ratios provide information regarding host plant attack by conspecifics that ovipositing hawkmoths use for host plant selection. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00421.001 PMID:23682312

  12. Integration of multiple intraguild predator cues for oviposition decisions by a predatory mite

    PubMed Central

    Walzer, Andreas; Schausberger, Peter

    2012-01-01

    In mutual intraguild predation (IGP), the role of individual guild members is strongly context dependent and, during ontogeny, can shift from an intraguild (IG) prey to a food competitor or to an IG predator. Consequently, recognition of an offspring's predator is more complex for IG than classic prey females. Thus, IG prey females should be able to modulate their oviposition decisions by integrating multiple IG predator cues and by experience. Using a guild of plant-inhabiting predatory mites sharing the spider mite Tetranychus urticae as prey and passing through ontogenetic role shifts in mutual IGP, we assessed the effects of single and combined direct cues of the IG predator Amblyseius andersoni (eggs and traces left by a female on the substrate) on prey patch selection and oviposition behaviour of naïve and IG predator-experienced IG prey females of Phytoseiulus persimilis. The IG prey females preferentially resided in patches without predator cues when the alternative patch contained traces of predator females or the cue combination. Preferential egg placement in patches without predator cues was only apparent in the choice situation with the cue combination. Experience increased the responsiveness of females exposed to the IG predator cue combination, indicated by immediate selection of the prey patch without predator cues and almost perfect oviposition avoidance in patches with the cue combination. We argue that the evolution of the ability of IG prey females to evaluate offspring's IGP risk accurately is driven by the irreversibility of oviposition and the functionally complex relationships between predator guild members. PMID:23264692

  13. Volatile emissions from Aesculus hippocastanum induced by mining of larval stages of Cameraria ohridella influence oviposition by conspecific females.

    PubMed

    Johne, A Bettina; Weissbecker, Bernhard; Schütz, Stefan

    2006-10-01

    Larval stages of the horse chestnut leafminer Cameraria ohridella can completely destroy the surface of horse chestnut leaves, Aesculus hippocastanum. This study investigated the effect of the degree of leaf browning caused by the insect's larvae on olfactory detection, aggregation, and oviposition of C. ohridella adults. The influence of A. hippocastanum flower scent on oviposition of the first generation was also evaluated. Utilizing gas chromatography coupled with parallel detection by mass spectrometry and electroantennography (GC-MS/EAD), more than 30 compounds eliciting responses from antennae of C. ohridella were detected. Oviposition and mining by C. ohridella caused significant changes in the profile of leaf volatiles of A. hippocastanum. After oviposition and subsequent mining by early larval stages (L1-L3), substances such as benzaldehyde, 1,8-cineole, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, methyl salicylate, (E)-beta-caryophyllene, and (E,E)-alpha-farnesene were emitted in addition to the compounds emitted by uninfested leaves. Insects were able to detect these compounds. The emitted amount of these substances increased with progressive larval development. During late larval stages (L4, L5) and severe loss of green leaf area, (E,E)-2,4-hexadienal, (E/Z)-linalool oxide (furanoid), nonanal, and decanal were also released by leaves. These alterations of the profile of volatiles caused modifications in aggregation of C. ohridella on leaves. In choice tests, leaves in early infestation stages showed no significant effect on aggregation, whereas insects avoided leaves in late infestation stages. Further choice tests with leaves treated with single compounds led to the identification of substances mediating an increase or decrease in oviposition.

  14. Sampling Considerations for Designing Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition Studies in Iquitos, Peru: Substrate Preference, Diurnal Periodicity, and Gonotrophic Cycle Length

    PubMed Central

    WONG, JACKLYN; ASTETE, HELVIO; MORRISON, AMY C.; SCOTT, THOMAS W.

    2011-01-01

    When devising methods to sample Aedes aegypti (L.) eggs from naturally-occurring containers to investigate selective oviposition, failure to take into account certain aspects of Ae. aegypti behavior can bias study inferences. In Iquitos, Peru, we tested three assumptions related to designing Ae. aegypti oviposition field studies, as follows: 1) lining containers with paper as an oviposition substrate does not affect oviposition; 2) diurnal egg-laying activity peaks in the late afternoon or early evening, and there is little oviposition during midday; and 3) the gonotrophic cycle length of wild females averages from 3 to 4 d. When wild females were presented with containers lined and unlined with paper toweling, the presence of paper increased oviposition in plastic and metal containers, but had no effect in cement containers. Recording the number of eggs laid by Ae. aegypti every 2 h throughout the day delineated a bimodal diurnal oviposition pattern, with a small morning peak, decreased activity during midday, and a predominant peak in the late afternoon and evening from 16:00 to 20:00 h. Daily monitoring of captive individual F0 females revealed that the gonotrophic cycle length was typically 3– 4 d for the Iquitos population. These findings will be used to adjust field study design to 1) account for sampling eggs using paper toweling, and 2) determine the time of day and number of days over which to sample Ae. aegypti eggs. We explored how failure to consider these behaviors could potentially bias field assessments of oviposition preferences. PMID:21337947

  15. Oviposition of aquatic insects in a tropical high altitude stream.

    PubMed

    Rios-Touma, Blanca; Encalada, A C; Prat, N

    2012-12-01

    The persistence of aquatic insect populations in streams depends on the recruitment of larval populations from egg masses deposited by adults, especially after disturbance. However, recruitment of aquatic populations by oviposition is a process that remains unstudied in streams and rivers. The objectives of our study were to document flying and oviposition patterns of aquatic insects in a high altitude tropical stream during both dry and wet seasons. In particular we studied 1) richness and abundance of adult forms of aquatic insects flying and ovipositing; 2) number of eggs (oviposition pattern), egg mass identity, and morphology; and 3) substrate preferences by ovipositing females. We found 2,383 aquatic insects corresponding to 28 families, with dipterans representing 89% of total individuals collected. Adult insects had lower richness (28 taxa) than larval diversity (up to 52 taxa) and distinct community composition. Richness and relative abundance of most taxa (adults) were not significantly different between seasons, behaviors, diel period, or all three. During both sampling periods we found females with eggs in a total of 15 different families (13 in the dry season and 14 in the wet season). There were no significant differences in the proportion of females with eggs between seasons, diel periods, or different behaviors (flying versus ovipositing traps) of the different female taxa. Few types of egg masses were found in rocks at the stream during both seasons, and most egg masses found corresponded to families Baetidae and Chironomidae. Finally, we provide the first description of eggs masses (size, shape, color, and number of eggs per female) of gravid females (10 taxa) and those found in the stream substrate (six taxa) of Andean macroinvertebrates. This is the first study reporting oviposition, adult diversity, and oviposition patterns of aquatic insects in the Andean region.

  16. Spatial patterns of high Aedes aegypti oviposition activity in northwestern Argentina.

    PubMed

    Estallo, Elizabet Lilia; Más, Guillermo; Vergara-Cid, Carolina; Lanfri, Mario Alberto; Ludueña-Almeida, Francisco; Scavuzzo, Carlos Marcelo; Introini, María Virginia; Zaidenberg, Mario; Almirón, Walter Ricardo

    2013-01-01

    In Argentina, dengue has affected mainly the Northern provinces, including Salta. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial patterns of high Aedes aegypti oviposition activity in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, northwestern Argentina. The location of clusters as hot spot areas should help control programs to identify priority areas and allocate their resources more effectively. Oviposition activity was detected in Orán City (Salta province) using ovitraps, weekly replaced (October 2005-2007). Spatial autocorrelation was measured with Moran's Index and depicted through cluster maps to identify hot spots. Total egg numbers were spatially interpolated and a classified map with Ae. aegypti high oviposition activity areas was performed. Potential breeding and resting (PBR) sites were geo-referenced. A logistic regression analysis of interpolated egg numbers and PBR location was performed to generate a predictive mapping of mosquito oviposition activity. Both cluster maps and predictive map were consistent, identifying in central and southern areas of the city high Ae. aegypti oviposition activity. A logistic regression model was successfully developed to predict Ae. aegypti oviposition activity based on distance to PBR sites, with tire dumps having the strongest association with mosquito oviposition activity. A predictive map reflecting probability of oviposition activity was produced. The predictive map delimitated an area of maximum probability of Ae. aegypti oviposition activity in the south of Orán city where tire dumps predominate. The overall fit of the model was acceptable (ROC=0.77), obtaining 99% of sensitivity and 75.29% of specificity. Distance to tire dumps is inversely associated with high mosquito activity, allowing us to identify hot spots. These methodologies are useful for prevention, surveillance, and control of tropical vector borne diseases and might assist National Health Ministry to focus resources more effectively.

  17. Spatial Patterns of High Aedes aegypti Oviposition Activity in Northwestern Argentina

    PubMed Central

    Estallo, Elizabet Lilia; Más, Guillermo; Vergara-Cid, Carolina; Lanfri, Mario Alberto; Ludueña-Almeida, Francisco; Scavuzzo, Carlos Marcelo; Introini, María Virginia; Zaidenberg, Mario; Almirón, Walter Ricardo

    2013-01-01

    Background In Argentina, dengue has affected mainly the Northern provinces, including Salta. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial patterns of high Aedes aegypti oviposition activity in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, northwestern Argentina. The location of clusters as hot spot areas should help control programs to identify priority areas and allocate their resources more effectively. Methodology Oviposition activity was detected in Orán City (Salta province) using ovitraps, weekly replaced (October 2005–2007). Spatial autocorrelation was measured with Moran’s Index and depicted through cluster maps to identify hot spots. Total egg numbers were spatially interpolated and a classified map with Ae. aegypti high oviposition activity areas was performed. Potential breeding and resting (PBR) sites were geo-referenced. A logistic regression analysis of interpolated egg numbers and PBR location was performed to generate a predictive mapping of mosquito oviposition activity. Principal Findings Both cluster maps and predictive map were consistent, identifying in central and southern areas of the city high Ae. aegypti oviposition activity. A logistic regression model was successfully developed to predict Ae. aegypti oviposition activity based on distance to PBR sites, with tire dumps having the strongest association with mosquito oviposition activity. A predictive map reflecting probability of oviposition activity was produced. The predictive map delimitated an area of maximum probability of Ae. aegypti oviposition activity in the south of Orán city where tire dumps predominate. The overall fit of the model was acceptable (ROC = 0.77), obtaining 99% of sensitivity and 75.29% of specificity. Conclusions Distance to tire dumps is inversely associated with high mosquito activity, allowing us to identify hot spots. These methodologies are useful for prevention, surveillance, and control of tropical vector borne diseases and might assist National Health

  18. Deterrent activity of plant lectins on cowpea weevil Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) oviposition.

    PubMed

    Sadeghi, Amin; Van Damme, Els J M; Peumans, Willy J; Smagghe, Guy

    2006-09-01

    A set of 14 plant lectins was screened in a binary choice bioassay for inhibitory activity on cowpea weevil Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) oviposition. Coating of chickpea seeds (Cicer arietinum L.) with a 0.05% (w/v) solution of plant lectins caused a significant reduction in egg laying. Control experiments with heat inactivated lectin and BSA indicated that the observed deterrent effects are specific and require carbohydrate-binding activity. However, no clear correlation could be established between deterrent activity and sugar-binding specificity/molecular structure of the lectins. Increasing the insect density reduced the inhibitory effect of the lectins confirming that female insects are capable of adjusting their oviposition rates as a function of host availability.

  19. The diversity of Odonata and their endophytic ovipositions from the Upper Oligocene Fossillagerstätte of Rott (Rhineland, Germany)

    PubMed Central

    Petrulevičius, Julián F.; Wappler, Torsten; Nel, André; Rust, Jes

    2011-01-01

    Abstract A commented list of fossil Odonata from the Oligocene outcrop of Rott is given, together with descriptions of new traces of oviposition in plant tissues, very similar to ichnotaxa already known from the early Eocene Laguna del Hunco floras of Patagonia. The joint presences of odonatan larvae and traces of oviposition demonstrate the autochthony of these insects in the palaeolake of Rott, confirming the existence of a diverse and abundant aquatic entomofauna, a situation strikingly different to that in the contemporaneous Oligocene palaeolake of Céreste (France). PMID:22259267

  20. Centuries of domestication has not impaired oviposition site-selection function in the silkmoth, Bombyx mori

    PubMed Central

    Damodaram, Kamala Jayanthi Pagadala; Kempraj, Vivek; Aurade, Ravindra Mahadappa; Rajasekhar, Sowmya Bandhisara; Venkataramanappa, Ravindra Kothapalli; Nandagopal, Bakthavatsalam; Verghese, Abraham

    2014-01-01

    Oviposition site-selection in insects is mediated through innate recognition templates (IRTs) tuned to specific chemical cues. These cues aid gravid insects in choosing suitable oviposition sites and may even enhance the fitness of their offspring by warding off predators and parasitoids. However, studies on the evolution of oviposition site-selection and cues instigating oviposition in domesticated insects remain elusive. Using the interaction between the silkmoth, Bombyx mori, and its host plant mulberry, Morus alba, as a model system, we demonstrate that centuries of domestication of silkmoth has not impaired its oviposition site-selection function. Silkmoths significantly preferred mulberry leaves to filter paper as oviposition sites. Oviposition assays with filter paper, filter paper treated with leaf volatiles and leaf alone proved that surface texture was not a significant criterion for oviposition site-selection, but volatile cues were. Oviposition assays with electrophysiologically active compounds from mulberry revealed that two of the volatiles, valencene and α-humulene, aided moths in choosing suitable oviposition sites and enhanced egg-laying significantly. Moreover, we show that generalist egg-parasitoids are strongly repelled by valencene and α-humulene. Our results demonstrate that IRTs tuned to cues that aid crucial functions like oviposition site-selection are less likely to be impaired even after centuries of domestication. PMID:25503440

  1. Recognition of foreign oviposition-marking pheromone in a multi-trophic context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stelinski, L. L.; Rodriguez-Saona, C.; Meyer, W. L.

    2009-05-01

    Both phytophagous and parasitic insects deposit oviposition-marking pheromones (OMPs) following oviposition that function to inform conspecifics of a previously utilized host of reduced suitability. The blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), deposits eggs individually into blueberries and then marks the fruit surface with an OMP which reduces acceptance of fruit for oviposition by conspecifics. Diachasma alloeum (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a parasitic wasp attacking larval R. mendax which also deposits an OMP, signaling conspecifics of a wasp-occupied host. Behavioral studies were conducted testing the hypothesis that the OMP of the parasitic wasp modifies the oviposition behavior of its host fly. In this study, we show that the OMP of D. alloeum is recognized by R. mendax, and female flies will reject wasp-marked fruit for oviposition. Thus, we present a rare demonstration of pheromonal recognition between animals occupying different taxonomic orders and trophic levels. This chemical eavesdropping may enhance the ability of the fly to avoid fruit unsuitable for larval development.

  2. Oviposition strategies of conifer seed chalcids in relation to host phenology.

    PubMed

    Rouault, Gaëlle; Turgeon, Jean; Candau, Jean-Noël; Roques, Alain; von Aderkas, Patrick

    2004-10-01

    Insects are considered the most important predators of seed cones, the female reproductive structures of conifers, prior to seed dispersal. Slightly more than 100 genera of insects are known to parasitize conifer seed cones. The most diverse (i.e., number of species) of these genera is Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), which comprises many important seed pests of native and exotic conifers. Seed chalcids, Megastigmus spp., lay eggs inside the developing ovules of host conifers and, until recently, oviposition was believed to occur only in fertilized ovules. Ovule development begins just after pollination, but stops if cells are not fertilized. The morphological stage of cone development at the time of oviposition by seed chalcids has been established for many species; however, knowledge of ovule development at that time has been documented for only one species, M. spermotrophus. Megastigmus spermotrophus oviposits in Douglas-fir ovules after pollination but before fertilization. Unlike the unfertilized ovules, those containing a M. spermotrophus larva continue to develop, whether fertilized or not, stressing the need to broaden our understanding of the insect-plant interactions for this entire genus. To achieve this task, we reviewed the scientific literature and assembled information pertaining to the timing of oviposition and to the pollination and fertilization periods of their respective host(s). More specifically, we were searching for circumstantial evidence that other species of Megastigmus associated with conifers could behave (i.e., oviposit before ovule fertilization) and impact on female gametophyte (i.e., prevent abortion) like M. spermotrophus. The evidence from our compilation suggests that seed chalcids infesting Pinaceae may also oviposit before ovule fertilization, just like M. spermotrophus, whereas those infesting Cupressaceae seemingly oviposit after ovule fertilization. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that all species of Megastigmus

  3. Oviposition strategies of conifer seed chalcids in relation to host phenology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rouault, Gaëlle; Turgeon, Jean; Candau, Jean-Noël; Roques, Alain; Aderkas, Patrick

    2004-10-01

    Insects are considered the most important predators of seed cones, the female reproductive structures of conifers, prior to seed dispersal. Slightly more than 100 genera of insects are known to parasitize conifer seed cones. The most diverse (i.e., number of species) of these genera is Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), which comprises many important seed pests of native and exotic conifers. Seed chalcids, Megastigmus spp., lay eggs inside the developing ovules of host conifers and, until recently, oviposition was believed to occur only in fertilized ovules. Ovule development begins just after pollination, but stops if cells are not fertilized. The morphological stage of cone development at the time of oviposition by seed chalcids has been established for many species; however, knowledge of ovule development at that time has been documented for only one species, M. spermotrophus. Megastigmus spermotrophus oviposits in Douglas-fir ovules after pollination but before fertilization. Unlike the unfertilized ovules, those containing a M. spermotrophus larva continue to develop, whether fertilized or not, stressing the need to broaden our understanding of the insect plant interactions for this entire genus. To achieve this task, we reviewed the scientific literature and assembled information pertaining to the timing of oviposition and to the pollination and fertilization periods of their respective host(s). More specifically, we were searching for circumstantial evidence that other species of Megastigmus associated with conifers could behave (i.e., oviposit before ovule fertilization) and impact on female gametophyte (i.e., prevent abortion) like M. spermotrophus. The evidence from our compilation suggests that seed chalcids infesting Pinaceae may also oviposit before ovule fertilization, just like M. spermotrophus, whereas those infesting Cupressaceae seemingly oviposit after ovule fertilization. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that all species of Megastigmus

  4. Effects of immune challenge on the oviposition strategy of a noctuid moth.

    PubMed

    Staudacher, H; Menken, S B J; Groot, A T

    2015-08-01

    Infections can have detrimental effects on the fitness of an animal. Reproducing females may therefore be sensitive to cues of infection and be able to adaptively change their oviposition strategy in the face of infection. As one possibility, females could make a terminal investment and shift reproductive effort from future to current reproduction as life expectancy decreases. We hypothesized that females of the noctuid moth Heliothis virescens make a terminal investment and adapt their oviposition timing as well as their oviposition site selectivity in response to an immune challenge. We indeed found that females that were challenged with the bacterial entomopathogen Serratia entomophila laid more eggs than control females one night after the challenge. Additionally, bacteria-challenged females were less discriminating between oviposition sites than control females. Whereas control females preferred undamaged over damaged plants, immune-challenged females did not differentiate between the two. These results indicate that terminal investment is part of the life history of H. virescens females. Moreover, our results suggest that the strategy of terminal investment in H. virescens oviposition represents a fitness trade-off for females: in the face of infection, an increase in oviposition rate enhances female fitness, whereas low oviposition site selectivity reduces female fitness. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  5. Natural and synthetic oviposition stimulants forCatolaccus grandis (Burks) females.

    PubMed

    Guerra, A A; Martinez, S; Sonia Del Rio, H

    1994-07-01

    Oviposition behavior was elicited fromCatolaccus grandis (Burks) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) females, an ectoparasitoid of the boll weevil,Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), by smears of freshly cut cotton bolls or smears of extracts prepared with boll weevil damaged or undamaged cotton boll tissues. Oviposition behavior was also elicited fromC. grandis females by smears made withn-pentane,n-hexane,n-heptane, and isooctane. This is the first report of oviposition behavior elicited for any parasitoid by these short-chain saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes), introducing a new concept on the chemical mediation of parasitoid behavior during host selection. Oviposition behavior was also elicited fromC. grandis females by volatiles emanating from an artificial diet devoid of insect components that was specifically developed for the in vitro rearing of ectoparasitoids. The possible use of a synergistic combination ofn-hexane and diet to optimize the mechanized production of noncontaminated eggs is also discussed.

  6. Characteristics of Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) oviposition sites in northeastern Oregon, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pearl, Christopher A.; Adams, Michael J.; Wente, Wendy

    2007-01-01

    Several western ranid frogs possess a unique strategy of breeding communally over a short temporal window and reusing oviposition sites between years. However, little is published on the characteristics of oviposition sites selected by these explosive breeders. The Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) is native to northwestern North America and is of conservation concern in the southern portions of its range. As part of a study examining relationships between livestock grazing and R. luteiventris habitat, we assessed characteristics of the species' oviposition sites in 25 fishless ponds in northeastern Oregon. Oviposition sites were generally in shallow water (<25 cm) close to shore and tended to be in the northeastern portion of ponds. Oviposition sites were found more frequently over heavily vegetated substrates and in areas of less substrate slope and shade than random points in littoral zones. We did not quantify temperature differences within ponds, but the patterns we documented are consistent with preferential use of warmer microhabitats for oviposition.

  7. Identification of Communal Oviposition Pheromones from the Black Fly Simulium vittatum

    PubMed Central

    McGaha, Tommy W.; Young, Ryan M.; Burkett-Cadena, Nathan D.; Iburg, Joseph P.; Beau, Jeremy M.; Hassan, Sayed; Katholi, Charles R.; Cupp, Eddie W.; Baker, Bill J.; Unnasch, Thomas R.; Noblet, Raymond

    2015-01-01

    The suite of pheromones that promote communal oviposition by Simulium vittatum, a North American black fly species, was identified and characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, electrophysiological, and behavioral bioassays. Behavioral assays demonstrated that communal oviposition was induced by egg-derived compounds that were active at short range and whose effect was enhanced through direct contact. Three compounds (cis-9-tetradecen-1-ol, 1-pentadecene, and 1-tridecene) were identified in a non-polar solvent extract of freshly deposited S. vittatum eggs that were capable of inducing the oviposition response. Electroantennography demonstrated that two of these three compounds (1-pentadecene and 1-tridecene) actively stimulated antennal neurons. Identification of the oviposition pheromones of this family may be helpful in developing control measures for nuisance black flies and for medically-important species such as Simulium damnosum sensu lato. PMID:25786206

  8. Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Yunxia; Luo, Lizhi; Sappington, Thomas W.; Jiang, Xingfu; Zhang, Lei; Frolov, Andrei N.

    2016-01-01

    Flight and reproduction are usually considered as two life history traits that compete for resources in a migratory insect. The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L., manages the costs of migratory flight and reproduction through a trade-off in timing of these two life history traits, where migratory behavior occurs during the preoviposition period. To gain insight into how migratory flight and reproduction are coordinated in the female beet webworm, we conducted experiments beginning at the end of the preoviposition period. We used flight mills to test whether flight performance and supportive flight musculature and fuel are affected by the number of eggs oviposited, or by the age of mated and unmated females after onset of oviposition by the former. The results showed that flight distance, flight velocity, flight duration, and flight muscle mass decreased abruptly at the onset of oviposition, compared to that of virgin females of the same age which did not change over the next 7 d. These results indicate that onset of oviposition triggers a decrease in flight performance and capacity in female beet webworms, as a way of actively managing reallocation of resources away from migratory flight and into egg production. In addition to the abrupt switch, there was a gradual, linear decline in flight performance, flight muscle mass, and flight fuel relative to the number of eggs oviposited. The histolysis of flight muscle and decrease of triglyceride content indicate a progressive degradation in the ability of adults to perform additional migratory flights after onset of oviposition. Although the results show that substantial, albeit reduced, long-duration flights remain possible after oviposition begins, additional long-distance migratory flights probably are not launched after the initiation of oviposition. PMID:27893835

  9. Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Yunxia; Luo, Lizhi; Sappington, Thomas W; Jiang, Xingfu; Zhang, Lei; Frolov, Andrei N

    2016-01-01

    Flight and reproduction are usually considered as two life history traits that compete for resources in a migratory insect. The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L., manages the costs of migratory flight and reproduction through a trade-off in timing of these two life history traits, where migratory behavior occurs during the preoviposition period. To gain insight into how migratory flight and reproduction are coordinated in the female beet webworm, we conducted experiments beginning at the end of the preoviposition period. We used flight mills to test whether flight performance and supportive flight musculature and fuel are affected by the number of eggs oviposited, or by the age of mated and unmated females after onset of oviposition by the former. The results showed that flight distance, flight velocity, flight duration, and flight muscle mass decreased abruptly at the onset of oviposition, compared to that of virgin females of the same age which did not change over the next 7 d. These results indicate that onset of oviposition triggers a decrease in flight performance and capacity in female beet webworms, as a way of actively managing reallocation of resources away from migratory flight and into egg production. In addition to the abrupt switch, there was a gradual, linear decline in flight performance, flight muscle mass, and flight fuel relative to the number of eggs oviposited. The histolysis of flight muscle and decrease of triglyceride content indicate a progressive degradation in the ability of adults to perform additional migratory flights after onset of oviposition. Although the results show that substantial, albeit reduced, long-duration flights remain possible after oviposition begins, additional long-distance migratory flights probably are not launched after the initiation of oviposition.

  10. Efficient embryonic culture method for the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata, and its early developmental stages.

    PubMed

    Matsubara, Yoshiyuki; Sakai, Atsushi; Kuroiwa, Atsushi; Suzuki, Takayuki

    2014-10-01

    The morphogenesis of snake embryos is an elusive yet fascinating research target for developmental biologists. However, few data exist on development of early snake embryo due to limited availability of pregnant snakes, and the need to harvest early stage embryos directly from pregnant snakes before oviposition without knowing the date of fertilization. We established an ex vivo culture method for early snake embryos using the Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata. This method, which we named "sausage-style (SS) culture", allows us to harvest snake embryos at specific stages for each experiment. Using this SS culture system, we calculated somite formation rate at early stages before oviposition. The average somite formation rate between 6/7 and 12/13 somite stages was 145.9 min, between 60/70 and 80/91 somite stages 42.4 min, and between 113-115 and 126/127 somite stages 71 min. Thus, somite formation rate that we observed during early snake embryogenesis was changed over time. We also describe a developmental staging series for E. quadrivirgata. This is the first report of a developmental series of early snake embryogenesis prior to oviposition by full-color images with high-resolution. We propose that the SS culture system is an easy method for treating early snake embryos ex vivo. © 2014 The Authors Development, Growth & Differentiation © 2014 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.

  11. Suitability of eastern pines for oviposition and survival of Sirex noctilio F.

    PubMed

    Haavik, Laurel J; Dodds, Kevin J; Allison, Jeremy D

    2017-01-01

    The European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F., is a pest of pines in many areas around the world. Since its introduction to North America, the distribution of S. noctilio overlaps with a known host (Pinus sylvestris) and hosts native to North America. Direct comparisons of suitability for oviposition and larval survival among these pines have not been made. We tested the relative suitability of four common pine species in northeastern North America (P. sylvestris, P. resinosa, P. banksiana, and P. strobus) as hosts for S. noctilio in a controlled, but in situ experiment. In a mixed pine forest in northern Ontario, we caged S. noctilio mating pairs on 10 freshly cut pine logs of each species, and estimated oviposition, counted adult S. noctilio (F1 generation) that emerged from logs, and calculated survivorship from egg to adult. Pinus sylvestris and P. resinosa were optimal hosts according to all three metrics of S. noctilio performance. Pinus strobus was a suitable larval host, but was not perceived as such by females, as evidenced by lower oviposition. Pinus banksiana was perceived as a suitable host by females, but was the least suitable larval host. Our results suggest that P. sylvestris and P. resinosa are more suitable hosts, at least in cut logs, than P. strobus and P. banksiana for S. noctilio in eastern North America.

  12. Oviposition Activity Patterns of Culex pipiens and Culex restuans in Pennsylvania.

    PubMed

    Stough, Jennifer E; Wallace, John R

    2016-06-01

    Culex pipiens and Cx. restuans are the main vectors of West Nile virus and the primary target species of surveillance and control programs in Pennsylvania. Performing adult control, specifically ultra-low volume (ULV) applications, at night during peak oviposition activity time(s) is necessary to control these species. In July and August of 2009, collections were made at 15-min intervals starting at sunset and continuing until 3 h after sunset to establish a more accurate timeline of Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans oviposition flight activity. The highest numbers of Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans were collected during the 15-30, 30-45, and 45-60 min postsunset time intervals (P < 0.05). Oviposition activity began to decrease after 60 min postsunset. These observations have identified a smaller oviposition activity period for Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans than noted from other studies, thus potentially improving the timing of ULV operations to control these 2 vector species.

  13. Competing dopamine neurons drive oviposition choice for ethanol in Drosophila.

    PubMed

    Azanchi, Reza; Kaun, Karla R; Heberlein, Ulrike

    2013-12-24

    The neural circuits that mediate behavioral choice evaluate and integrate information from the environment with internal demands and then initiate a behavioral response. Even circuits that support simple decisions remain poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, oviposition on a substrate containing ethanol enhances fitness; however, little is known about the neural mechanisms mediating this important choice behavior. Here, we characterize the neural modulation of this simple choice and show that distinct subsets of dopaminergic neurons compete to either enhance or inhibit egg-laying preference for ethanol-containing food. Moreover, activity in α'β' neurons of the mushroom body and a subset of ellipsoid body ring neurons (R2) is required for this choice. We propose a model where competing dopaminergic systems modulate oviposition preference to adjust to changes in natural oviposition substrates.

  14. Oviposition by mutualistic seed-consuming pollinators reduces fruit abortion in a recently discovered pollination mutualism

    PubMed Central

    Song, Bo; Stöcklin, Jürg; Gao, Yong-Qian; Peng, De-Li; Song, Min-Shu; Sun, Hang

    2016-01-01

    A prerequisite for the evolutionary stability of pollinating seed-consuming mutualisms is that each partner benefits from the association. However, few studies of such mutualism have considered the benefit gained by the pollinators. Here, we determined how the pollinating seed-predators ensure the provisioning of their offspring in the recently discovered mutualism between Rheum nobile and Bradysia flies. The correlation between flower fate and fly oviposition was examined. Floral traits and patterns of variation in fruit abortion and fly oviposition were investigated to determine whether female flies exhibit preferences for particular flowers when laying eggs. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was quantified to determine whether female flies manipulate host physiology. Flowers that flies oviposited on had a significantly lower probability of fruit abortion compared with intact flowers. Females did not exhibit oviposition preference for any of the floral traits examined. There was no significant correlation between fruit abortion and fly oviposition in terms of either flower position or timing of flowering. IAA concentrations in oviposited flowers were significantly higher than in intact flowers. Our results suggest that oviposition by the mutualistic seed-consuming pollinator Bradysia sp., greatly reduces the probability of fruit abortion of its host, R. nobile; this may be attributed to the manipulation of host physiology through regulating IAA levels. PMID:27418228

  15. Selaginella and the Satyr: Euptychia westwoodi (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Oviposition Preference and Larval Performance

    PubMed Central

    Hamm, Christopher A.; Fordyce, James A.

    2016-01-01

    Members of the plant genus Selaginella (de Beauvois 1805) have few known insect herbivores even though they are considered by some to be ‘living fossils’, with extant taxa virtually indistinguishable from 300 Mya fossils. Butterflies are well-known herbivores, and the satyrs are among the most speciose of them despite having radiated ∼35 Mya ago. Nearly all satyrs feed on grass or sedges, but members of the Neotropical genus Euptychia Hübner 1818 feed on Selaginella; little is known about the degree to which this butterfly favors this ancient plant over those that its close relatives utilize. To advance our knowledge of Euptychia natural history, we conducted a series of experiments to examine oviposition preference and growth rates across a series of potential host plants on a Euptychia westwoodi population in Costa Rica. We found that Euptychia westwoodi Butler 1867 exhibit a strong preference to oviposit on Selaginella eurynota over the sympatric Selaginella arthritica, though they perform equally well as larvae on both plants. We did not observe oviposition on a sympatric grass that is commonly consumed by close relatives of E. westwoodi, and when larvae were offered the grass they refused to eat. These results suggest that E. westwoodi in Costa Rica exhibit a strong preference for Selaginella and may have lost the ability to feed on a locally abundant grass commonly used by other Satyrinae. PMID:27126962

  16. Choices and consequences of oviposition by a pollinating seed predator, Hadena ectypa (Noctuidae), on its host plant, Silene stellata (Caryophyllaceae).

    PubMed

    Kula, Abigail A R; Dudash, Michele R; Fenster, Charles B

    2013-06-01

    Pollinating seed predators are models for the study of mutualisms. These insects have dual effects on host-plant fitness, through pollination as adults and flower and fruit predation as larvae. A rarely examined question is whether pollinating seed-predator oviposition choices are influenced by plant floral and size traits and the potential consequences of oviposition for host-plant reproduction. • We quantified oviposition by a pollinating seed predator, Hadena ectypa, on its host, Silene stellata, to determine if oviposition was associated with specific plant traits and whether oviposition was significantly correlated with fruit initiation or flower and fruit predation over three years. We also quantified whether stigmatic pollen loads of flowers visited by Hadena that both fed on nectar and oviposited were greater than when Hadena only fed on nectar. • Hadena had significant preference for plants having flowers with long corolla tubes in all three years. Moth oviposition was correlated with other traits only in some years. Oviposition did not increase stigmatic pollen loads. We observed significant positive relationships between both oviposition and fruit initiation and oviposition and flower/fruit predation. • Hadena ectypa oviposition choices were based consistently on floral tube length differences among individuals, and the consequences of oviposition include both fruit initiation (due to pollination while feeding on nectar prior to oviposition) and larval flower/fruit predation. The positive association between oviposition and fruit initiation may explain the long-term maintenance of facultative pollinating seed-predator interactions.

  17. Oviposition site of the southern torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus) in northwestern California

    Treesearch

    Nancy E. Karraker; Lisa M. Ollivier; Garth R. Hodgson

    2005-01-01

    Oviposition sites and reproductive ecology of the southern-torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus) remain poorly documented. This species oviposits in cryptic locations making the detection of eggs difficult. Here we describe the discovery of 1 clutch of eggs of R. variegatus from northern California, which further expands our...

  18. Host plant oviposition preference of Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera:Apionidae), a potential biological control agent of yellow starthistle

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera: Apionidae) is a weevil native to Europe and western Asia that is being evaluated as a prospective classical biological control agent of Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle) in the United States. Choice oviposition experiments were conducted under laboratory ...

  19. Daily oviposition patterns of the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles (Diptera: Culicidae) on different types of aqueous substrates

    PubMed Central

    Sumba, Leunita A; Okoth, Kenneth; Deng, Arop L; Githure, John; Knols, Bart GJ; Beier, John C; Hassanali, Ahmed

    2004-01-01

    Background Anopheles gambiae Giles is the most important vector of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge of the factors that influence its daily oviposition pattern is crucial if field interventions targeting gravid females are to be successful. This laboratory study investigated the effect of oviposition substrate and time of blood feeding on daily oviposition patterns of An. gambiae mosquitoes. Methods Greenhouse-reared gravid and hypergravid (delayed oviposition onset) An. gambiae sensu stricto and wild-caught An. gambiae sensu lato were exposed to three types of substrates in choice and no-choice cage bioassays: water from a predominantly anopheline colonised ground pool (anopheline habitat water), swamp water mainly colonised by culicine larvae (culicine habitat water) and distilled water. The daily oviposition pattern and the number of eggs oviposited on each substrate during the entire egg-laying period were determined. The results were subjected to analysis of variance using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure. Results The main oviposition time for greenhouse-reared An. gambiae s.s. was between 19:00 and 20:00 hrs, approximately one hour after sunset. Wild-caught gravid An. gambiae s.l. displayed two distinct peak oviposition times between 19:00 and 20:00 hrs and between 22:00 and 23:00 hrs, respectively. During these times, both greenhouse-reared and wild-caught mosquitoes significantly (P < 0.05) preferred anopheline habitat water to the culicine one. Peak oviposition activity was not delayed when the mosquitoes were exposed to the less preferred oviposition substrate (culicine habitat water). However, culicine water influenced negatively (P < 0.05) not only the number of eggs oviposited by the mosquitoes during peak oviposition time but also the overall number of gravid mosquitoes that laid their eggs on it. The differences in mosquito feeding times did not affect the daily oviposition patterns displayed. Conclusion This study shows that

  20. Catechol--an oviposition stimulant for cigarette beetle in roasted coffee beans.

    PubMed

    Nagasawa, Atsuhiko; Kamada, Yuji; Kosaka, Yuji; Arakida, Naohiro; Hori, Masatoshi

    2014-05-01

    The cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne, is a serious global pest that preys on stored food products. Larvae of the beetle cannot grow on roasted coffee beans or dried black or green tea leaves, although they oviposit on such products. We investigated oviposition by the beetles on MeOH extracts of the above products. The number of eggs laid increased with an increase in dose of each extract, indicating that chemical factors stimulate oviposition by the beetles. This was especially true for \\ coffee bean extracts, which elicited high numbers of eggs even at a low dose (0.1 g bean equivalent/ml) compared to other extracts. Coffee beans were extracted in hexane, chloroform, 1-butanol, MeOH, and 20% MeOH in water. The number of eggs laid was higher on filter papers treated with chloroform, 1-butanol, MeOH, and 20% MeOH in water extracts than on control (solvent alone) papers. The chloroform extract was fractionated by silica-gel column chromatography. Nine compounds were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry from an active fraction. Of these compounds, only a significant ovipositional response to catechol was observed.

  1. Linking movement and oviposition behaviour to spatial population distribution in the tree hole mosquito Ochlerotatus triseriatus.

    PubMed

    Ellis, Alicia M

    2008-01-01

    1. Researchers often use the spatial distribution of insect offspring as a measure of adult oviposition preferences, and then make conclusions about the consequences of these preferences for population growth and the relationship between life-history traits (e.g. oviposition preference and offspring performance). However, several processes other than oviposition preference can generate spatial patterns of offspring density (e.g. dispersal limitations, spatially heterogeneous mortality rates). Incorrectly assuming that offspring distributions reflect oviposition preferences may therefore compromise our ability to understand the mechanisms determining population distributions and the relationship between life-history traits. 2. The purpose of this study was to perform an empirical study at the whole-system scale to examine the movement and oviposition behaviours of the eastern tree hole mosquito Ochlerotatus triseriatus (Say) and test the importance of these behaviours in determining population distribution relative to other mechanisms. 3. A mark-release-recapture experiment was performed to distinguish among the following alternative hypotheses that may explain a previously observed aggregated distribution of tree hole mosquito offspring: (H(1)) mosquitoes prefer habitats with particular vegetation characteristics and these preferences determine the distribution of their offspring; (H(2)) mosquitoes distribute their eggs randomly or evenly throughout their environment, but spatial differences in developmental success generate an aggregated pattern of larval density; (H(3)) mosquitoes randomly colonize habitats, but have limited dispersal capability causing them to distribute offspring where founder populations were established; (H(4)) wind or other environmental factors may lead to passive aggregation, or spatial heterogeneity in adult mortality (H(5)), rather than dispersal, generates clumped offspring distributions. 4. Results indicate that the distribution of

  2. Pesticide alters oviposition site selection in gray treefrogs.

    PubMed

    Vonesh, James R; Buck, Julia C

    2007-11-01

    Understanding the impacts of pesticides on non-target organisms is an important issue for conservation biology. Research into the environmental consequences of pesticides has largely focused on pesticide toxicity. We have less understanding of the nonlethal effects of pesticides, and the consequences of nonlethal effects for species and communities. For example, we know very little about whether pesticides alter habitat selection behavior. Understanding whether pesticides alter habitat selection is important because pesticide-induced shifts in habitat selection could either magnify or reduce the toxic effects of contaminants by funneling organisms into or directing them away from contaminated sites. Here we present four field experiments that examine the effect of the commercial pesticide Sevin and its active ingredient, carbaryl, on oviposition site selection by the gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). Our results show that uncontaminated pools consistently received 2-3 times more eggs than contaminated pools; that treefrogs appeared to respond to Sevin directly, not indirectly via its effects on the aquatic food web, and that this preference persisted across a range of temporal and spatial scales. Both Sevin and carbaryl per se reduced oviposition, while other volatile chemicals (e.g., our solvent control, acetone) had no effect. These findings suggest that in order to understanding the consequences of contaminants in aquatic systems we will need to consider not only toxicity, but also how contaminant effects on habitat selection alter the way organisms distribute themselves in the environment.

  3. Vegetation-derived cues for the selection of oviposition substrates by Anopheles albimanus under laboratory conditions.

    PubMed

    Torres-Estrada, José Luis; Meza-Alvarez, R Amanda; Cibrián-Tovar, Juan; Rodríguez-López, Mario H; Arredondo-Jiménez, Juan I; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Rojas-Leon, Julio C

    2005-12-01

    Oviposition response of gravid Anopheles albimanus Wiedemman (Diptera: Culicidae) females to water containing Brachiaria mutica, Cynodon dactylon, Jouvea straminea, Fimbristylis spadicea, and Ceratophyllum demersum was investigated. Gravid An. albimanus females deposited similar egg numbers in cups containing natural plants in water from natural breeding sites and in cups containing natural plants in distilled water. Gravid mosquitoes deposited significantly more eggs in cups containing natural plants in water from natural breeding sites than in cups containing artificial plants in water from the corresponding natural breeding sites. These results were confirmed in experiments conducted in a wind tunnel, indicating that female response is mediated by chemical cues from plants. Bioassays with organic extracts of all 5 plant species indicated that these extracts at 100%, 10%, and 1% concentrations had an oviposition repellent effect, while attractiveness was observed at 0.1%, 0.01%, and 0.001%. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of the organic extracts found in all 5 plants showed a mixture of terpenoid and alcohol compounds, among them: guaiacol, phenol, isoeugenol, longifolene, caryophyllene, phenyl ethyl alcohol, and p-cresol. These results suggest that middle-range volatiles from plants may function as chemical cues for the female's oviposition response in this mosquito species.

  4. Oviposition Preference of Pea Weevil, Bruchus pisorum L. Among Host and Non-host Plants and its Implication for Pest Management

    PubMed Central

    Mendesil, Esayas; Rämert, Birgitta; Marttila, Salla; Hillbur, Ylva; Anderson, Peter

    2016-01-01

    The pea weevil, Bruchus pisorum L. is a major insect pest of field pea, Pisum sativum L. worldwide and current control practices mainly depend on the use of chemical insecticides that can cause adverse effects on environment and human health. Insecticides are also unaffordable by many small-scale farmers in developing countries, which highlights the need for investigating plant resistance traits and to develop alternative pest management strategies. The aim of this study was to determine oviposition preference of pea weevil among P. sativum genotypes with different level of resistance (Adet, 32410-1 and 235899-1) and the non-host leguminous plants wild pea (Pisum fulvum Sibth. et Sm.) and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.), in no-choice and dual-choice tests. Pod thickness and micromorphological traits of the pods were also examined. In the no-choice tests significantly more eggs were laid on the susceptible genotype Adet than on the other genotypes. Very few eggs were laid on P. fulvum and L. sativus. In the dual-choice experiments Adet was preferred by the females for oviposition. Furthermore, combinations of Adet with either 235899-1 or non-host plants significantly reduced the total number of eggs laid by the weevil in the dual-choice tests. Female pea weevils were also found to discriminate between host and non-host plants during oviposition. The neoplasm (Np) formation on 235899-1 pods was negatively correlated with oviposition by pea weevil. Pod wall thickness and trichomes might have influenced oviposition preference of the weevils. These results on oviposition behavior of the weevils can be used in developing alternative pest management strategies such as trap cropping using highly attractive genotype and intercropping with the non-host plants. PMID:26779220

  5. Oviposition in Delia platura (Diptera, Anthomyiidae): the role of volatile and contact cues of bean.

    PubMed

    Gouinguené, Sandrine P; Städler, Erich

    2006-07-01

    The choice of a suitable oviposition site by female insects is essential for survival of their progeny. Both olfactory and contact cues of the oviposition site may mediate this choice. The polyphagous Delia platura (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), a severe agricultural pest of numerous crops, lays eggs in the soil close to germinating seeds. Maggots feed upon the cotyledons. Only little is known about the cues guiding oviposition behavior. In this study, the effects of both olfactory and contact cues of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on oviposition of D. platura females were tested. Egg deposition on germinated beans was preferred to egg deposition on ungerminated beans or on beans in different postgerminating developmental stages. Olfactory cues of germinating beans alone stimulated female flies to lay eggs. Additional contact cues of germinating beans seemed to enhance the response, but the difference was not significant. Surface extracts of germinating beans sprayed on surrogate beans showed that both polar and nonpolar substances stimulated oviposition of D. platura flies. Gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection recordings of head space samples of germinating beans showed positive response of females to different compounds. We conclude that olfaction plays a major role when D. platura females are searching for oviposition sites. Volatile compounds released from germinating beans such as 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, 1-hepten-3-one, 1-octen-3-ol, and 3-octanone should be considered as key compounds that mediate oviposition behavior. The use of different sensory modalities by closely related species of Delia is discussed.

  6. Oviposition Preference and Survival of the Mexican Rice Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Bioenergy and Conventional Sugarcane and Sorghum.

    PubMed

    VanWeelden, M T; Wilson, B E; Beuzelin, J M; Reagan, T E; Way, M O

    2017-08-01

    Oviposition preference and host suitability of the Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), on bioenergy and conventional cultivars of sugarcane, Saccharum spp., and sorghum, Sorghum spp., were examined in a series of greenhouse experiments. Two energycane cultivars, two sugarcane cultivars, two high-biomass sorghum cultivars, and one sweet sorghum cultivar were assessed at two phenological stages (immature and mature). Mature plants possessed greater availability of dry leaf material compared with immature plants, and all E. loftini eggs were observed exclusively on dry leaves. Oviposition did not vary among host combinations (cultivar by phenological stage); however, eggs per plant and eggs per oviposition event were numerically greater on mature plants than immature plants. In a no-choice experiment, survival from egg to adult did not vary among host combinations, with <2.0% of E. loftini larvae surviving to adulthood. Failed establishment by neonates on plants was 13.4- to 53.9-fold greater than successful establishment across all host combinations. Results from this study suggest that plant physical characteristics continue to play an important role in host selection, but further evaluations will be needed to quantify other characteristics which influence host suitability. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Adrenergic ligands that block oviposition in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus affect ovary contraction

    PubMed Central

    Cossío-Bayúgar, Raquel; Miranda-Miranda, Estefan; Fernández-Rubalcaba, Manuel; Narváez Padilla, Verónica; Reynaud, Enrique

    2015-01-01

    The tyraminergic/octopaminergic system is central for the control of arthropod oviposition. Previous works demonstrated that the pharmacological perturbation of this system inhibits oviposition in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus. In this work, we describe a physiologically active whole-mount preparation of the contractile tick ovary that allows the quantitative videometrical analysis of ovary contraction in response to different compounds. Eight adrenergic ligands known to inhibit oviposition, including octopamine and tyramine were tested. These compounds exhibited antagonistic effects; octopamine relaxes the ovary preparation while tyramine induces a very strong contraction. The other adrenergic compounds tested were classified as able to contract or relax ovary muscle tissue. Isoprotenerol has a stronger relaxative effect than octopamine. Tyramine induces the biggest contraction observed of all the compounds tested, followed, in descending amount of contraction, by salbutamol, prazosin, epinastine, clonidine and the acaricide amitraz. The effect of these adrenergic ligands on the ovary preparation, explains why these molecules inhibit tick oviposition and suggest a regulatory mechanism for ovary contraction and relaxation during oviposition. Our results also provide a physiological explanation of the egg-laying inhibition effect of amitraz when used on the cattle tick. PMID:26456007

  8. Adrenergic ligands that block oviposition in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus affect ovary contraction.

    PubMed

    Cossío-Bayúgar, Raquel; Miranda-Miranda, Estefan; Fernández-Rubalcaba, Manuel; Narváez Padilla, Verónica; Reynaud, Enrique

    2015-10-12

    The tyraminergic/octopaminergic system is central for the control of arthropod oviposition. Previous works demonstrated that the pharmacological perturbation of this system inhibits oviposition in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus. In this work, we describe a physiologically active whole-mount preparation of the contractile tick ovary that allows the quantitative videometrical analysis of ovary contraction in response to different compounds. Eight adrenergic ligands known to inhibit oviposition, including octopamine and tyramine were tested. These compounds exhibited antagonistic effects; octopamine relaxes the ovary preparation while tyramine induces a very strong contraction. The other adrenergic compounds tested were classified as able to contract or relax ovary muscle tissue. Isoprotenerol has a stronger relaxative effect than octopamine. Tyramine induces the biggest contraction observed of all the compounds tested, followed, in descending amount of contraction, by salbutamol, prazosin, epinastine, clonidine and the acaricide amitraz. The effect of these adrenergic ligands on the ovary preparation, explains why these molecules inhibit tick oviposition and suggest a regulatory mechanism for ovary contraction and relaxation during oviposition. Our results also provide a physiological explanation of the egg-laying inhibition effect of amitraz when used on the cattle tick.

  9. Oviposition Deterrence Induced by Ocimum kilimandscharicum and Ocimum suave Extracts to Gravid Anopheles gambiae s.s (Diptera: Culicidae) in Laboratory

    PubMed Central

    Kweka, Eliningaya J; Lyatuu, Ester E; Mboya, Michael A; Mwang’onde, Beda J; Mahande, Aneth M

    2010-01-01

    Background: In most of the past decades, mosquito control has been done by the use of indoor residual spray and insecticides-treated bed nets. The control of mosquitoes by targeting the breeding sites (larval habitat) has not been given priority. Disrupting the oviposition sensory detection of mosquitoes by introducing deterrents of plant origin, which are cheap resources, might be add value to integrated vector control. Such knowledge is required in order to successfully manipulate the behavior of mosquitoes for monitoring or control. Materials and Methods: Twenty gravid mosquitoes were placed in a cage measuring 30 × 30 × 30 cm for oviposition. The oviposition media were made of different materials. Experiments were set up at 6:00 pm, and eggs were collected for counting at 7:30 am. Mosquitoes were observed until they died. The comparisons of the number of eggs were made between the different treatments. Results: There was significant difference in the number of eggs found in control cups when compared with the number of eggs found in water treated with Ocimum kilimandscharicum (OK) (P=0.02) or Ocimum suave (OS) (P=0.000) and that found in water with debris treated with OK (P=0.011) or OS (P=0.002). There was no significant difference in the number of eggs laid in treated water and the number of eggs laid in water with debris treated either with OK (P=0.105) or OS (P=0.176). Oviposition activity index for both OS and OK experiments lay in a negative side and ranged from -0.19% to -1%. The results show that OS and OK deter oviposition in An.gambiae s.s. Conclusions: Further research needs to be done on the effect of secondary metabolites of these plant extracts as they decompose in the breeding sites. In the event of favorable results, the potential of these plant extracts can be harnessed on a larger scale. PMID:20927285

  10. Curious Oviposition Behavior in Phyllium westwoodii (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae): Preliminary Observations

    PubMed Central

    Arai, Mayuko; Yago, Masaya

    2015-01-01

    We report that in a leaf insect, Phyllium westwoodii Wood-Mason (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae), two differing apertures can be used for oviposition, the color of eggs being affected by which aperture is used. Eggs which are forcibly propelled from the internal space within the valvulae of the abdomen are brown, whereas white eggs emerge slowly from the opening between the eighth sternite and the valvulae, and are deposited close to the ventral surface of the female. This unusual oviposition system does not appear to have been previously reported in phasmatids or in other insects. PMID:26411788

  11. Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition Preference as Influenced by Container Size and Buddleja davidii Plants.

    PubMed

    Davis, Timothy J; Kline, Daniel L; Kaufman, Phillip E

    2016-03-01

    Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is a container-breeding mosquito commonly found in residential areas of its range in the United States. Mosquitoes are known to utilize flowering plants for sugar acquisition. Limited information is known about the influences on oviposition site selection, outside of container size. Residential areas are often landscaped with a variety of flowering plants and are known to provide numerous sizes of potential larval developmental sites for container-breeding mosqutioes. Through screened enclosure and field studies, the oviposition preference of Ae. albopictus for containers of three selected sizes (473, 946 and 1,892 ml) and the influence of flowering butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii Franchett cultivar 'Guinevere') plants were examined. Our results document that significantly more eggs were oviposited in the largest containers. Additionally, significantly more eggs were oviposited in containers adjacent to flowering butterfly bushes than in those without a flowering butterfly bush. Finally, our results document that flowering butterfly bushes exerted greater influence over Ae. albopictus oviposition decisions than did container size. Our findings can be applied to several aspects of Ae. albopictus surveillance and control.

  12. Oviposition activity of Drosophila suzukii as mediated by ambient and fruit temperature

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The invasive pest Drosophila suzukii was introduced to southern Europe in 2008 and spread throughout Central Europe in the following years. Precise reliable data on the temperature-dependent behavior of D. suzukii are scarce but will help forecasting and cultivation techniques. Depending on physico-chemical properties, surface temperature of objects may differ from ambient temperatures, determining physical activity, and affect oviposition on or into substrate, determining preimaginal development later. Therefore, the preferred ambient temperatures of D. suzukii and fruit temperature for oviposition were examined on a linear temperature gradient device. Thirty adults (15 ♀; 15 ♂) were adapted to different temperatures (10, 20, 30°C) for six days and then exposed to different temperature gradients (10–25, 20–35, 25–40°C). D. suzukii adapted to 10°C remained in cooler regions and suffered from a significantly higher mortality at the 25–40°C gradient. Animals adapted to warmer temperatures had a wider temperature preference on the gradient device. Acclimation to lower temperatures and the resulting lower temperature preferences may allow the flies to disperse better in spring to search for oviposition sites. The oviposition activity decreased continuously at a fruit temperature above 28°C and below 15°C, with highest oviposition activity in fruits with temperatures between 19.7°C and 24.8°C. The preferred fruit temperature is in accordance with the temperature optimum of reproduction biology and preimaginal development of D. suzukii reported in the literature. PMID:29121635

  13. Oviposition site selection in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae): are the effects of predation risk and food level independent?

    PubMed

    Wasserberg, Gideon; White, L; Bullard, A; King, J; Maxwell, R

    2013-09-01

    For organisms lacking parental care and where larval dispersal is limited, oviposition site selection decisions are critical fitness-enhancing choices. However, studies usually do not consider the interdependence of the two. In this study, we evaluated the effect of food level on the oviposition behavior of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in the presence or the absence of a nonlethal predator (caged dragonfly nymph). We also attempted to quantify the perceived cost of predation to ovipositioning mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were presented with oviposition cups containing four levels of larval food (fermented leaf infusion) with or without a caged libellulid nymph. By titrating larval food, we estimated the amount of food needed to attract the female mosquito to oviposit in the riskier habitat. As expected, oviposition rate increased with food level and decreased in the presence of a predator. However, the effect of food level did not differ between predator treatments. By calculating the difference in the amount of food for points of equal oviposition rate in the predator-present and predator-absent regression lines, we estimated the cost of predation risk to be 1950 colony-forming-units per milliliter. Our study demonstrated the importance of considering the possible interdependence of predation risk and food abundance for oviposition-site-seeking insects. This study also quantified the perceived cost of predation and found it to be relatively low, a fact with positive implications for biological control.

  14. Ovipositional response elicited by normal, irradiated, F$sub 1$ male progeny, or castrated male Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Karpenko, C.P.; North, D.T.

    1973-11-01

    The ovipositional response of untreated Trichoplusia ni (Hubner) females that had mated to unirradiated, irradiated, F/sub 1/ male progeny from irradiated males, or castrated males was studied. Females that mated with irradiated males or F/sub 1/ sons of irradiated males oviposited fewer eggs than females that mated with control males, when all females had received a normal quantity of eupyrene and apyrene sperm. Irradiated males and F/sub 1/ sons of irradiated males that transferred an apparently normal sperm complement elicited significantly better oviposition from untreated females than did treated males that transferred mostly apyrene sperm, apyrene sperm only, or nomore » sperm. Males in the latter categories elicited a better ovipositional response from the untreated females than was observed in virgin females. Normal eupyrene sperm and possibly at least 1 accessory fiuid are required to initiate a completely normal ovipositional response in cabbage looper females. The accessory secretion triggers a significant increase in oviposition, but the greatest increase occurs when males contribute normal amounts of eupyrene sperm. The initiation of oviposition and female receptivity may be closely related in this species. (auth)« less

  15. Oviposition substrate in Asian tiger mosquito surveillance: Do the sizes matter?

    PubMed

    Falsone, Luigi; Brianti, Emanuele; Severini, Francesco; Giannetto, Salvatore; Romi, Roberto

    2015-12-01

    Ovitraps are regarded as a reliable system to monitor Aedes albopictus dynamics. However, the dimensions of the oviposition substrate are not standardized, and no studies have investigated which should be the most effective sizes. In this study, the effect of paddle sizes in tiger mosquito egg collection was evaluated. Egg count and density on the wide surfaces and margins of different-sized oviposition substrates have been evaluated in two studies (A and B). In study A, a total of 29,995 Ae. albopictus eggs was counted in 250 classic oviposition substrates. Eggs were found on both wide surfaces (53.1%) and margins (46.9%). Egg density was significantly larger in margins compared to wide surfaces. Overall in study B, 983 Ae. albopictus eggs were collected. According to paddle sizes, 51.8% of eggs were on large and 48.2% on small paddles. Mean egg density of wide surfaces was significantly larger in small paddles (0.25 eggs/cm(2) ) compared to large paddles (0.06 eggs/cm(2) ). Results indicate that wider oviposition substrates do not mean larger number of Ae. albopictus eggs. Indeed, on paddles four times thinner than others, the number of eggs counted was not statistically different. These findings suggest that small paddles may be routinely employed in ovitraps, thus allowing savings of materials and money. © 2015 The Society for Vector Ecology.

  16. Effects of environmental temperature on oviposition behavior in three blow fly species of forensic importance.

    PubMed

    Ody, Helen; Bulling, Mark T; Barnes, Kate M

    2017-06-01

    A number of factors are known to affect blow fly behavior with respect to oviposition. Current research indicates that temperature is the most significant factor. However temperature thresholds for oviposition in forensically important blow flies have not been well studied. Here, the oviposition behavior of three species of forensically important blow fly species (Calliphora vicina, Calliphora vomitoria and Lucilia sericata,) was studied under controlled laboratory conditions over a range of temperatures (10-40°C). Lower temperature thresholds for oviposition of 16°C and 17.5°C were established for C. vomitoria and L. sericata respectively, whilst C. vicina continued to lay eggs at 10°C. C. vomitoria and L. sericata both continued to lay eggs at 40°C, whilst the highest temperature at which oviposition occurred in C. vicina was 35°C. Within these thresholds there was considerable variation in the number of surviving pupae, with a general pattern of a single peak within the range of temperatures at which eggs were laid, but with the pattern being much less distinct for L. sericata. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. D-Pinitol in Fabaceae: an Oviposition Stimulant for the Common Grass Yellow Butterfly, Eurema mandarina.

    PubMed

    Mukae, Shin-Ya; Ohashi, Toshiki; Matsumoto, Yuika; Ohta, Shinji; Ômura, Hisashi

    2016-11-01

    The common grass yellow butterfly, Eurema mandarina (formerly Eurema hecabe mandarina) (Lepidoptera, Pieridae), recently has been separated taxonomically from a subtropical population of Eurema hecabe in Japan. This species is widely distributed in the temperate region of Japan, and feeds mainly on various ligneous plants within the Fabaceae. We attempted to identify an oviposition stimulant for E. mandarina from its primary hosts, Albizia julibrissin and Lespedeza cuneata. In both hosts, crude extract and an aqueous fraction elicited oviposition responses from gravid females. A polar subfraction of the aqueous fraction also stimulated high oviposition-stimulatory activity, comparable to the original aqueous fraction, suggesting that E. mandarina females use water-soluble compounds for host recognition. Subsequent activity-directed fractionation by ion exchange chromatography indicated that one of the key substances was contained in the neutral/amphoteric fraction. Chemical analyses revealed that the active fractions of both hosts contained D-(+)-pinitol as the major component. We examined female responses to authentic D-pinitol and found that it induced oviposition responses at concentrations greater than 0.1 %. Since this cyclitol is omnipresent in Fabaceae, we conclude that D-pinitol plays a role in mediating oviposition of E. mandarina on fabaceous plants.

  18. Oviposition by Female Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Description and Time Budget Analysis of Behaviors in Laboratory Studies.

    PubMed

    Sambaraju, Kishan R; Donelson, Sarah L; Bozic, Janko; Phillips, Thomas W

    2016-01-22

    The oviposition behavior of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), a major insect pest of durable stored foods, was studied in small experimental arenas under laboratory conditions using videography, and a time budget analysis of its behaviors was documented. Resting gravid females typically became active shortly after the start of the scotophase. The characteristic behaviors exhibited by mated females prior to oviposition included antennal movement, grooming of antennae and mouth parts using the forelegs, walking or flying, and abdomen bending and dragging. Pre-oviposition behaviors such as antennal grooming and walking or flying were observed to alternate several times before females commenced the abdominal dragging behavior that preceded egg laying. Eggs were laid singly or sometimes in groups, either freely or stuck to food material. Gravid females showed little or no movement during the photophase; however, they actively flew and oviposited during the scotophase. Females allocated only a small portion of their time to oviposition while the rest of the time was spent away from food. Females oviposited on food material by making repeated visits, predominantly during the first four hours of the scotophase. Visits and time spent on food declined as the scotophase advanced.

  19. [Seasonal dynamics of oviposition in non-autogenous population of Culex pipiens pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Leningrad province].

    PubMed

    Vinogradova, E B

    2003-01-01

    Seasonal patterns of oviposition in a synanthropic unautogenous population of Culex pipiens pipiens mosquitoes from 69 suburban settlements (60 degrees 30' N, 30 degrees E') of the Leningrad province were studied during the period 1998-2002 years. The numbers of egg rafts laid in six artificial pools (barrels) were counted every day; altogether 692 rafts were collected. The general patterns of oviposition activity were similar for all studied years, in spite of their differences in the summer temperature regimes. The first peak of oviposition was observed during the second decade of July, the second peak--during the third decade of July--the first decade of August. The first and second summer generations of mosquitoes were responsible for these oviposition peaks, whereas the third generation completely entered the reproductive diapause. Thus, the oviposition activity was successfully used for populational monitoring of C. p. pipiens, that was for the first time recommended by Madder and co-authors (1980), taking into consideration the simplicity and economy of this technique. The differences in the attractiveness of distinct reservoirs for oviposition were recorded. The females preferred the barrels located on open sun-lit space and waters with organic pollution settled by mosquito larvae. Windly and rainy weather and also low (below 10 degrees C) night temperatures suppressed mosquito oviposition.

  20. Diet and density dependent competition affect larval performance and oviposition site selection in the mosquito species Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Oviposition-site choice is an essential component of the life history of all mosquito species. According to the oviposition-preference offspring-performance (P-P) hypothesis, if optimizing offspring performance and fitness ensures high overall reproductive fitness for a given species, the female should accurately assess details of the heterogeneous environment and lay her eggs preferentially in sites with conditions more suitable to offspring. Methods We empirically tested the P-P hypothesis using the mosquito species Aedes albopictus by artificially manipulating two habitat conditions: diet (measured as mg of food added to a container) and conspecific density (CD; number of pre-existing larvae of the same species). Immature development (larval mortality, development time to pupation and time to emergence) and fitness (measured as wing length) were monitored from first instar through adult emergence using a factorial experimental design over two ascending gradients of diet (2.0, 3.6, 7.2 and 20 mg food/300 ml water) and CD (0, 20, 40 and 80 larvae/300 ml water). Treatments that exerted the most contrasting values of larval performance were recreated in a second experiment consisting of single-female oviposition site selection assay. Results Development time decreased as food concentration increased, except from 7.2 mg to 20.0 mg (Two-Way CR ANOVA Post-Hoc test, P > 0.1). Development time decreased also as conspecific density increased from zero to 80 larvae (Two-Way CR ANOVA Post-Hoc test, P < 0.5). Combined, these results support the role of density-dependent competition for resources as a limiting factor for mosquito larval performance. Oviposition assays indicated that female mosquitoes select for larval habitats with conspecifics and that larval density was more important than diet in driving selection for oviposition sites. Conclusions This study supports predictions of the P-P hypothesis and provides a mechanistic understanding of the

  1. Influence of three artificial light sources on oviposition and half-life of the Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): Improving small-scale indoor rearing.

    PubMed

    Heussler, Carina D; Walter, Andreas; Oberkofler, Hannes; Insam, Heribert; Arthofer, Wolfgang; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C; Steiner, Florian M

    2018-01-01

    Hermetia illucens (L.), the Black Soldier Fly, has received increased scientific attention for its potential in circular waste management where larvae can serve as feedstuff for livestock and for biodiesel production. The flies occur naturally in (sub)-tropical and warm-temperate climates, and their mating depends on space and sunlight. Small-scale indoor rearing of Black Soldier Flies has been challenging because they react sensitive to artificial light sources and cage sizes, but recent studies have shown that small-scale rearing under artificial light is feasible. Here, we test the influence of three artificial light sources (light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, and halogen lamps) on small-scale indoor rearing. Three experiments were conducted to compare oviposition traits (pre-oviposition period, total oviposition-period, and egg mass per female) and half-life among the three light sources. Oviposition did not differ among the three light sources, but male and female half-life did. Based on the performance of the light-emitting diodes and their outstanding energy efficiency, we recommend this light source for small-scale indoor rearing of Black Soldier Flies.

  2. Ovipositional response of threeHeliothis species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to allelochemicals from cultivated and wild host plants.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, E R; Tingle, P C; Heath, R R

    1990-06-01

    The role of plant allelochemicals on the oviposition behavior ofHeliothis virescens (F.),H. subflexa (Guenee), andH. zea (Boddie) was investigated in the laboratory using a "choice" bioassay system. Fresh young leaves of tobacco,Desmodium tortuosum (Swartz) de Candolle, groundcherry (Physalis angulata L.), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) squares (flower buds) were washed in methylene chloride or methanol, concentrated to 1 g equivalent of washed material, and applied to a cloth oviposition substrate. Each of the extracts-including groundcherry, a nonhost-stimulated oviposition byH. virescens. H. subflexa were stimulated to oviposit by groundcherry extract, its normal host, and extract from cotton squares, a nonhost. None of the extracts stimulated oviposition byH. zea, although all except groundcherry were from reported hosts. The sensitivity of the bioassay was confirmed by givingH. virescens andH. subflexa an opportunity to choose between extracts that showed stimulant qualities when tested independently versus only solvent-treated controls. In these tests, tobacco showed the highest level of stimulant activity forH. virescens; groundcherry exhibited the highest level of stimulation forH. subflexa.

  3. Do Bioflavonoids in Juniperus virginiana Heartwood Stimulate Oviposition in the Ladybird Coleomegilla maculata?

    PubMed Central

    Riddick, Eric W; Wu, Zhixin; Eller, Fred J; Berhow, Mark A

    2018-01-01

    Maximizing the reproductive potential of ladybird beetles fed factitious foods or artificial diets, in lieu of natural prey, is a major challenge to cost-effective mass rearing for augmentative biological control. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that compounds in redcedar, Juniperus virginiana, stimulate oviposition in the ladybird Coleomegilla maculata. We also tested the prediction that several bioflavonoids, identified in heartwood fractions, elicited this behavioral response. Phenolic compounds were extracted from J. virginiana heartwood sawdust, separated into several fractions, then presented to adult beetles, in a powdered, pure form, in the laboratory. Females preferentially oviposited within 1 to 2 cm of fractions B, C, D, and E, but not A or the unfractionated extract, at the base of test cages. Chemical analysis identified bioflavonoids in heartwood fractions and subsequent bioassays using several identified in fractions C, D, and E confirmed that quercetin, taxifolin, and naringenin (to a lesser extent) stimulated oviposition. All tested fractions and bioflavonoids readily adhered to the chorion of freshly laid eggs but did not reduce egg hatch. This study demonstrates that several bioflavonoids stimulate oviposition by C. maculata and could be useful for mass rearing programs. PMID:29531477

  4. Synchronized Oviposition Triggered by Migratory Flight Intensifies Larval Outbreaks of Beet Webworm

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Yun Xia; Luo, Li Zhi; Jiang, Xing Fu; Sappington, Thomas W.

    2012-01-01

    Identifying the reproductive consequences of insect migration is critical to understanding its ecological and evolutionary significance. However, many empirical studies are seemingly contradictory, making recognition of unifying themes elusive and controversial. The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L. is a long-range migratory pest of many crops in the northern temperate zone from 36°N to 55°N, with larval populations often exploding in regions receiving immigrants. In laboratory experiments, we examined (i) the reproductive costs of migratory flight by tethered flight, and (ii) the reproductive traits contributing to larval outbreaks of immigrant populations. Our results suggest that the beet webworm does not initiate migratory flight until the 2nd or 3rd night after emergence. Preoviposition period, lifetime fecundity, mating capacity, and egg hatch rate for adults that experienced prolonged flight after the 2nd night did not differ significantly from unflown moths, suggesting these traits are irrelevant to the severity of beet webworm outbreaks after migration. However, the period of first oviposition, a novel parameter developed in this paper measuring synchrony of first egg-laying by cohorts of post-migratory females, for moths flown on d 3 and 5 of adulthood was shorter than that of unflown moths, indicating a tightened time-window for onset of oviposition after migration. The resulting synchrony of egg-laying will serve to increase egg and subsequent larval densities. A dense population offers potential selective advantages to the individual larvae comprising it, whereas the effect from the human standpoint is intensification of damage by an outbreak population. The strategy of synchronized oviposition may be common in other migratory insect pests, such as locust and armyworm species, and warrants further study. PMID:22347494

  5. Curious Oviposition Behavior in Phyllium westwoodii (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae): Preliminary Observations.

    PubMed

    Arai, Mayuko; Yago, Masaya

    2015-01-01

    We report that in a leaf insect, Phyllium westwoodii Wood-Mason (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae), two differing apertures can be used for oviposition, the color of eggs being affected by which aperture is used. Eggs which are forcibly propelled from the internal space within the valvulae of the abdomen are brown, whereas white eggs emerge slowly from the opening between the eighth sternite and the valvulae, and are deposited close to the ventral surface of the female. This unusual oviposition system does not appear to have been previously reported in phasmatids or in other insects. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  6. Oviposition by Female Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Description and Time Budget Analysis of Behaviors in Laboratory Studies

    PubMed Central

    Sambaraju, Kishan R.; Donelson, Sarah L.; Bozic, Janko; Phillips, Thomas W.

    2016-01-01

    The oviposition behavior of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), a major insect pest of durable stored foods, was studied in small experimental arenas under laboratory conditions using videography, and a time budget analysis of its behaviors was documented. Resting gravid females typically became active shortly after the start of the scotophase. The characteristic behaviors exhibited by mated females prior to oviposition included antennal movement, grooming of antennae and mouth parts using the forelegs, walking or flying, and abdomen bending and dragging. Pre-oviposition behaviors such as antennal grooming and walking or flying were observed to alternate several times before females commenced the abdominal dragging behavior that preceded egg laying. Eggs were laid singly or sometimes in groups, either freely or stuck to food material. Gravid females showed little or no movement during the photophase; however, they actively flew and oviposited during the scotophase. Females allocated only a small portion of their time to oviposition while the rest of the time was spent away from food. Females oviposited on food material by making repeated visits, predominantly during the first four hours of the scotophase. Visits and time spent on food declined as the scotophase advanced. PMID:26805893

  7. Push-Pull Effects of Three Plant Secondary Metabolites on Oviposition of the Potato Tuber Moth, Phthorimaea operculella

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Y.F.; Xiao, C.

    2013-01-01

    The push-pull effects of three plant secondary metabolites, azadirachtin, eucalyptol, and heptanal, on the oviposition choices of potato tubers by the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) were tested in the laboratory. Azadirachtin at concentrations from 1.5 to 12 mg/L had a significant repellent effect on oviposition. Eucalyptol at concentrations from 3 to 12 mg/L promoted oviposition. Heptanal promoted oviposition at low concentrations from 0.1875 to 3.0 mg/L but repelled it at higher concentrations from 12 to 24 mg/L. The combination of azadirachtin (12 mg/L) with eucalyptol (3.0 mg/L) resulted in a significant pushpull effect of 56.3% on oviposition. The average maximum push-pull effects occurred with the combinations of azadirachtin with heptanal (12 and 0.375 mg/L, respectively; 38.7% push-pull effect), heptanal with eucalyptol (12 and 6 mg/L, respectively; 31.4% push-pull effect), and heptanal (high concentration) with heptanal (low concentration) (12.0 and 0.375 mg/L, respectively; 25% push-pull effect). PMID:24786822

  8. Oviposition inhibitor in umbelliferous medicinal plants for the common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

    PubMed

    Morino, Chisato; Morita, Yusuke; Minami, Kazuki; Nishidono, Yuto; Nakashima, Yoshitaka; Ozawa, Rika; Takabayashi, Junji; Ono, Naoaki; Kanaya, Shigehiko; Tamura, Takayuki; Tezuka, Yasuhiro; Tanaka, Ken

    2018-01-01

    Umbelliferous medicinal plants, such as Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa and Angelica dahurica Bentham et Hooker filius ex Franchet et Savatier, account for a large percentage of crude drug consumption in Japan. The most serious problem in the cultivation of umbelliferous medicinal plants is the feeding damage caused by the common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon hippocrates C. & R. Felder, 1864). When we compared the numbers of eggs laid by P. machaon on six umbelliferous medicinal plants, the eggs on A. acutiloba, A. dahurica, and Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schmidt ex Miquel were the most numerous, those on Saposhnikovia divaricata Schischkin and Cnidium officinale Makino were rare, and Bupleurum falcatum Linné was not oviposited at all. To identify oviposition inhibitors for P. machaon in B. falcatum, S. divaricata, and C. officinale, the volatile chemical constituents of these umbelliferous medicinal plants were compared with GC-MS. We carried out multivariate analysis of gas chromatographic data and concluded that germacrene D, α-humulene, and trans-caryophyllene play important roles in protecting plants from oviposition by P. machaon. Their oviposition repellent activity was confirmed by the fact that the number of eggs laid on the leaves around a repellent device containing a mixture of germacrene D, α-humulene, and trans-caryophyllene was reduced by 40% compared to a control.

  9. Oviposition and Sex Ratio of the Redbanded Stink Bug, Piezodorous guildinii, in Soybean.

    PubMed

    Temple, Joshua H; Davis, Jeffrey A; Hardke, Jarrod T; Price, Paul P; Leonard, B Rogers

    2016-06-17

    Redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), is a significant soybean pest across the mid-south region of the United States. The objectives of these studies were to characterize: (1) redbanded stink bug oviposition in relationship to soybean maturity group (MG), plant structure, crop phenology, and vertical distribution within the plant canopy; and (2) redbanded stink bug adult sex ratios in relationship to soybean phenology. A total of 5645 redbanded stink bug eggs in 421 egg masses (clusters) were field collected from naturally-occurring populations in MG IV and V soybean over a three year period (2009 to 2011). The mean number of eggs within a cluster was 16.6 ± 0.3. Plant structures by MG interactions were highly significant with more egg masses oviposited on leaves in MG IV (79.4%) and more on pods in MG V (72.7%). The ratio of females to males was similar in all soybean growth stages except R5, where the sex ratio increased to 1.4:1, coinciding with peak oviposition. Only 29.9% of egg clusters in MG IV and 18.3% of egg clusters in MG V were oviposited in the upper 35 cm of the soybean canopy. Based on these results, sampling strategies and insecticide application placement for stink bugs may require modification.

  10. Oviposition traps to survey eggs of Lambdina fiscellaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae).

    PubMed

    Hébert, Christian; Jobin, Luc; Auger, Michel; Dupont, Alain

    2003-06-01

    Outbreaks of the hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria (Gueneé), are characterized by rapid increase and patchy distribution over widespread areas, which make it difficult to detect impending outbreaks. This is a major problem with this insect. Population forecasting is based on tedious and expensive egg surveys in which eggs are extracted from 1-m branches; careful observation is needed to avoid counting old unhatched eggs of previous year populations. The efficacy of artificial substrates as oviposition traps to sample hemlock looper eggs was tested as a means of improving outbreak detection and population forecasting. A white polyurethane foam substrate (1,095 lb/ft3) used with the Luminoc insect trap, a portable light trap, was highly efficient in sampling eggs of the hemlock looper. Foam strips placed on tree trunks at breast height were less efficient but easier and less expensive to use for the establishment of extensive survey networks. Estimates based on oviposition traps were highly correlated with those obtained from the 1-m branch extraction method. The oviposition trap is a standard, inexpensive, easy, and robust method that can be used by nonspecialists. This technique makes it possible to sample higher numbers of plots in widespread monitoring networks, which is crucial for improving the management of hemlock looper populations.

  11. Temperature-Mediated Kill and Oviposition of Western Cherry Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the Presence of Spinosad.

    PubMed

    Yee, Wee L

    2016-02-01

    Western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a quarantine pest of sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.) that is managed using insecticides, including spinosad, an organic compound that can be applied in low spray volumes. Identifying factors that can increase the efficacy of spinosad can be useful for improving fly control. Here, the major objective was to determine if temperature mediates kill and oviposition of R. indifferens in the presence of low spinosad coverage in the laboratory. Experiments were conducted by placing flies in cages with cherries and with a Petri dish containing 3-12 small spots of dry spinosad at 18.3, 23.9, and 29.4°C. Effects of spinosad rates were also determined. More flies were killed at 23.9 and 29.4°C than at 18.3°C by 1-7 d post exposure. More flies were killed at 29.4 than 23.9°C by 1 d post exposure. However, flies laid more eggs at these temperatures than at 18.3°C. Higher spinosad rates increased kill and decreased oviposition, but even within the highest rate, oviposition was greater at 29.4 than 18.3°C. More flies walked over 5-min observation periods at 29.4 and 23.9°C than 18.3°C, suggesting higher temperatures up to 29.4°C increase kill by increasing fly contact with spinosad as well as increase oviposition rate. Results suggest that spinosad rates in sprays used against R. indifferens should be greater at higher than lower ambient temperatures. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by a US Government employee and is in the public domain in the US.

  12. Entrainment of oviposition in the fowl using bright and dim light cycles.

    PubMed

    Morris, T R; Bhatti, B M

    1978-05-01

    1. Nine short trial, involving 96 different treatments, were used to investigate the critical intensities and duration of bright and dim periods of lighting needed to entrain oviposition in cycles ranging from 21 to 30 h. 2. Entrainment was shown to depend upon the contrast between bright and dim lighting, and to be independent of the absolute light intensity. 3. A bright: dim ratio of 13:1 fully entrained oviposition in cycles of 25 h and 27 h. For 23-h and 28-h cycles a 30:1 ratio was required. Twenty-one-hour cycles required a ratio of 300:1 and with 30-h cycles a ratio of 1000:1 was needed to achieve full entrainment of oviposition. 4. In 24-h cycles, 1 h of bright lighting at 02.00 h was sufficient to override other environmental signals and cause eggs to be laid in the late evening, but a minimum bright period of 6 h was needed to cause full phase setting with 21-h cycles. 5. Circadian periodicity can easily be imposed on hens by providing a short exposure to bright light with a background of continuous dim light; but the signal must be increased (by providing a greater contrast between bright and dim lights and/or a longer period of bright lighting) to entrain oviposition when the cycle deviates markedly from the natural period of 24 h.

  13. Oviposition Site Selection by the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti and Its Implications for Dengue Control

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Jacklyn; Stoddard, Steven T.; Astete, Helvio; Morrison, Amy C.; Scott, Thomas W.

    2011-01-01

    Background Because no dengue vaccine or antiviral therapy is commercially available, controlling the primary mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, is currently the only means to prevent dengue outbreaks. Traditional models of Ae. aegypti assume that population dynamics are regulated by density-dependent larval competition for food and little affected by oviposition behavior. Due to direct impacts on offspring survival and development, however, mosquito choice in oviposition site can have important consequences for population regulation that should be taken into account when designing vector control programs. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined oviposition patterns by Ae. aegypti among 591 naturally occurring containers and a set of experimental containers in Iquitos, Peru. Using larval starvation bioassays as an indirect measure of container food content, we assessed whether females select containers with the most food for their offspring. Our data indicate that choice of egg-laying site is influenced by conspecific larvae and pupae, container fill method, container size, lid, and sun exposure. Although larval food positively influenced oviposition, our results did not support the hypothesis that females act primarily to maximize food for larvae. Females were most strongly attracted to sites containing immature conspecifics, even when potential competitors for their progeny were present in abundance. Conclusion/Significance Due to strong conspecific attraction, egg-laying behavior may contribute more to regulating Ae. aegypti populations than previously thought. If highly infested containers are targeted for removal or larvicide application, females that would have preferentially oviposited in those sites may instead distribute their eggs among other suitable, previously unoccupied containers. Strategies that kill mosquitoes late in their development (i.e., insect growth regulators that kill pupae rather than larvae) will enhance vector control by creating

  14. Oviposition preference of cabbage white butterflies in the framework of costs and benefits of interspecific herbivore associations

    PubMed Central

    Shiojiri, Kaori; Sabelis, Maurice; Takabayashi, Junji

    2015-01-01

    When deciding where to oviposit, herbivorous insects consider: (i) the plant’s value as a food source, (ii) the risks of competing with con- and heterospecific herbivores, and (iii) the risks of parasitism and predation on the host plant. The presence of con- and/or heterospecific competitors would further affect the oviposition preference, because the preceding herbivores induce direct/indirect defences in plants against forthcoming herbivores, and thereby alter oviposition decisions. In previous studies, the abovementioned factors have not been studied in an integrative manner. We performed here a case study of this by assessing the oviposition preferences of a small white butterfly, Pieris rapae, for plants occupied by combinations of conspecific larvae, heterospecific larvae (Plutella xylostella), specialist parasitoids of Pi. rapae (Cotesia glomerata) and generalist predators (ants). We previously reported that the females showed equal preference for Pl. xylostella-infested and uninfested plants. Here, we showed that Pi. rapae females preferred uninfested plants to conspecific-infested ones, and Pl. xylostella-infested plants to Pi. rapae-infested ones. We discuss these oviposition preferences of Pi. rapae females in the framework of costs and benefits of interspecific herbivore associations from the above point of view. PMID:27019738

  15. Linking Oviposition Site Choice to Offspring Fitness in Aedes aegypti: Consequences for Targeted Larval Control of Dengue Vectors

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Jacklyn; Morrison, Amy C.; Stoddard, Steven T.; Astete, Helvio; Chu, Yui Yin; Baseer, Imaan; Scott, Thomas W.

    2012-01-01

    Background Current Aedes aegypti larval control methods are often insufficient for preventing dengue epidemics. To improve control efficiency and cost-effectiveness, some advocate eliminating or treating only highly productive containers. The population-level outcome of this strategy, however, will depend on details of Ae. aegypti oviposition behavior. Methodology/Principal Findings We simultaneously monitored female oviposition and juvenile development in 80 experimental containers located across 20 houses in Iquitos, Peru, to test the hypothesis that Ae. aegypti oviposit preferentially in sites with the greatest potential for maximizing offspring fitness. Females consistently laid more eggs in large vs. small containers (β = 9.18, p<0.001), and in unmanaged vs. manually filled containers (β = 5.33, p<0.001). Using microsatellites to track the development of immature Ae. aegypti, we found a negative correlation between oviposition preference and pupation probability (β = −3.37, p<0.001). Body size of emerging adults was also negatively associated with the preferred oviposition site characteristics of large size (females: β = −0.19, p<0.001; males: β = −0.11, p = 0.002) and non-management (females: β = −0.17, p<0.001; males: β = −0.11, p<0.001). Inside a semi-field enclosure, we simulated a container elimination campaign targeting the most productive oviposition sites. Compared to the two post-intervention trials, egg batches were more clumped during the first pre-intervention trial (β = −0.17, P<0.001), but not the second (β = 0.01, p = 0.900). Overall, when preferred containers were unavailable, the probability that any given container received eggs increased (β = 1.36, p<0.001). Conclusions/Significance Ae. aegypti oviposition site choice can contribute to population regulation by limiting the production and size of adults. Targeted larval control strategies may unintentionally lead to

  16. Oviposition and Sex Ratio of the Redbanded Stink Bug, Piezodorous guildinii, in Soybean

    PubMed Central

    Temple, Joshua H.; Davis, Jeffrey A.; Hardke, Jarrod T.; Price, Paul P.; Leonard, B. Rogers

    2016-01-01

    Redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), is a significant soybean pest across the mid-south region of the United States. The objectives of these studies were to characterize: (1) redbanded stink bug oviposition in relationship to soybean maturity group (MG), plant structure, crop phenology, and vertical distribution within the plant canopy; and (2) redbanded stink bug adult sex ratios in relationship to soybean phenology. A total of 5645 redbanded stink bug eggs in 421 egg masses (clusters) were field collected from naturally-occurring populations in MG IV and V soybean over a three year period (2009 to 2011). The mean number of eggs within a cluster was 16.6 ± 0.3. Plant structures by MG interactions were highly significant with more egg masses oviposited on leaves in MG IV (79.4%) and more on pods in MG V (72.7%). The ratio of females to males was similar in all soybean growth stages except R5, where the sex ratio increased to 1.4:1, coinciding with peak oviposition. Only 29.9% of egg clusters in MG IV and 18.3% of egg clusters in MG V were oviposited in the upper 35 cm of the soybean canopy. Based on these results, sampling strategies and insecticide application placement for stink bugs may require modification. PMID:27322333

  17. Lesser peachtree borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) oviposition on Prunus germplasm

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Synanthedon pictipes (Grote and Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) was used as an oviposition surrogate for the congeneric S. exitiosa (Say) to examine possible preference for Prunus germplasm. We assayed limbs of a peach cultivar (Prunus persica), peach rootstocks, plum-peach hybrid rootstocks, the...

  18. Weather Variability Associated with Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Dengue Vector) Oviposition Dynamics in Northwestern Argentina

    PubMed Central

    Estallo, Elizabet L.; Ludueña-Almeida, Francisco F.; Introini, María V.; Zaidenberg, Mario; Almirón, Walter R.

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to develop a forecasting model by assessing the weather variability associated with seasonal fluctuation of Aedes aegypti oviposition dynamic at a city level in Orán, in northwestern Argentina. Oviposition dynamics were assessed by weekly monitoring of 90 ovitraps in the urban area during 2005-2007. Correlations were performed between the number of eggs collected weekly and weather variables (rainfall, photoperiod, vapor pressure of water, temperature, and relative humidity) with and without time lags (1 to 6 weeks). A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed with the set of meteorological variables from the first year of study with the variables in the time lags that best correlated with the oviposition. Model validation was conducted using the data from the second year of study (October 2006- 2007). Minimum temperature and rainfall were the most important variables. No eggs were found at temperatures below 10°C. The most significant time lags were 3 weeks for minimum temperature and rains, 3 weeks for water vapor pressure, and 6 weeks for maximum temperature. Aedes aegypti could be expected in Orán three weeks after rains with adequate min temperatures. The best-fit forecasting model for the combined meteorological variables explained 70 % of the variance (adj. R2). The correlation between Ae. aegypti oviposition observed and estimated by the forecasting model resulted in rs = 0.80 (P < 0.05). The forecasting model developed would allow prediction of increases and decreases in the Ae. aegypti oviposition activity based on meteorological data for Orán city and, according to the meteorological variables, vector activity can be predicted three or four weeks in advance. PMID:25993415

  19. Predation-related odours reduce oviposition in a herbivorous mite.

    PubMed

    Choh, Yasuyuki; Uefune, Masayoshi; Takabayashi, Junji

    2010-01-01

    When adult females of the herbivorous mite, Tetranychus urticae, were exposed to the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, they laid fewer eggs than females that had not been exposed to P. persimilis when transferred onto a new leaf patch. However, when T. urticae females were exposed to either products of P. persimilis or artificially damaged conspecific eggs on a leaf patch, the number of T. urticae eggs on a new leaf patch did not differ significantly from the control. The reduced oviposition was neither due to the feeding activity on the leaf patch with P. persimilis nor to that on the new leaf patch. There was also no significant difference between the number of T. urticae eggs produced on a new leaf patch following exposure to the odours of a neighbouring leaf patch where there had previously been either P. persimilis or T. urticae adults. However, female T. urticae that had been exposed to odours from neighbouring leaf patches on which both T. urticae and P. persimilis had been placed produced significantly fewer eggs on a new leaf patch than those that had not been exposed to such odours. Neither odours from neighbouring intact leaf patches on which T. urticae eggs were preyed on by P. persimilis, nor odours from a neighbouring Parafilm patch on which T. urticae was preyed on by P. persimilis affected the oviposition of T. urticae. These data suggest that the presence of T. urticae, P. persimilis and a leaf patch are needed for the emission of odours to reduce oviposition in T. urticae.

  20. Atmospheric Humidity Influences Oviposition Rate of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) Through Morphological Responses of Host Cucumis sativus Leaves.

    PubMed

    Shibuya, T; Itagaki, K; Ueyama, S; Hirai, N; Endo, R

    2016-02-01

    We investigated the effects of morphology of host cucumber, Cucumis sativus L., leaves acclimatized to different atmospheric humidity levels on oviposition by adult females of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. Cucumber seedlings were grown at a vapor pressure deficit (VPD) of 0.4, 1.9, or 3.0 kPa at 28°C (90%, 50%, or 20% relative humidity, respectively) in growth chambers until the second true leaves had expanded. Adult females of T. urticae were released on the adaxial surfaces of leaf squares cut from first and second true leaves in each treatment group, and held in the same humidity condition. Eggs were counted 2 d after release. The lower acclimatization humidity (higher VPD) increased trichome (leaf hair) density of the host leaves and oviposition rate, but the relationship between the trichome and oviposition differed between leaf positions. The leaf mass per area (LMA) was greater in first true leaves than in second true leaves, but was not influenced by VPD. A linear regression model with oviposition rate as the dependent variable and trichome density and LMA as independent variables showed that both variables influenced the oviposition rate approximately equally. We conclude that oviposition was accelerated under low humidity (high VPD) conditions indirectly probably through an increase in the trichome density of host leaves. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. First record of invasive Burmese Python oviposition and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hanslowe, Emma; Falk, Bryan; Collier, Michelle A. M.; Josimovich, Jillian; Rahill, Thomas; Reed, Robert

    2016-01-01

    We discovered an adult female Python bivittatus (Burmese Python) coiled around a clutch of 25 eggs in a cement culvert in Flamingo, FL, in Everglades National Park. To our knowledge, this is the first record of an invasive Burmese Python laying eggs and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure in Florida. A 92% hatch-success rate suggests that the cement culvert provided suitable conditions for oviposition, embryonic development, and hatching. Given the plenitude of such anthropogenic structures across the landscape, available sites for oviposition and brooding may not be limiting for the invasive Burmese Python population.

  2. Spatial Distribution of Adult Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Damage to Cotton Flower Buds Due to Feeding and Oviposition.

    PubMed

    Grigolli, J F J; Souza, L A; Fernandes, M G; Busoli, A C

    2017-08-01

    The cotton boll weevil Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is the main pest in cotton crop around the world, directly affecting cotton production. In order to establish a sequential sampling plan, it is crucial to understand the spatial distribution of the pest population and the damage it causes to the crop through the different developmental stages of cotton plants. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of adults in the cultivation area and their oviposition and feeding behavior throughout the development of the cotton plants. The experiment was conducted in Maracaju, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 growing seasons, in an area of 10,000 m 2 , planted with the cotton cultivar FM 993. The experimental area was divided into 100 plots of 100 m 2 (10 × 10 m) each, and five plants per plot were sampled weekly throughout the crop cycle. The number of flower buds with feeding and oviposition punctures and of adult A. grandis was recorded throughout the crop cycle in five plants per plot. After determining the aggregation indices (variance/mean ratio, Morisita's index, exponent k of the negative binomial distribution, and Green's coefficient) and adjusting the frequencies observed in the field to the distribution of frequencies (Poisson, negative binomial, and positive binomial) using the chi-squared test, it was observed that flower buds with punctures derived from feeding, oviposition, and feeding + oviposition showed an aggregated distribution in the cultivation area until 85 days after emergence and a random distribution after this stage. The adults of A. grandis presented a random distribution in the cultivation area.

  3. Development and evaluation of an attractive self-marking ovitrap to measure dispersal and determine skip oviposition in Aedes albopictus(Diptera:Culicidae) field populations

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is a container-breeding mosquito of public health importance. Its oviposition behavior has been assessed in outdoor conditions, but only with laboratory-reared specimens. We used an attractive self-marking oviposition device to assess Ae. albopictus skip oviposition behavi...

  4. Taxonomic variation in oviposition by tailed frogs (Aschaphus spp.).

    Treesearch

    Nancy E. Karraker; David S. Pilliod; Michael J. Adams; Evelyn L. Bull; Paul Stephen Corn; Lowell V. Diller; Linda A. Dupuis; Marc P. Hayes; Blake R. Hossack; Garth R. Hodgson; Erin J. Hyde; Kirk Lohman; Bradford R. Norman; Lisa M. Ollivier; Christopher A. Pearl; Charles R. Peterson

    2006-01-01

    Tailed frogs (Ascaphus spp.) oviposit in cryptic locations in streams of the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains. This aspect of their life history has restricted our understanding of their reproductive ecology. The recent split of A. montanus in the Rocky Mountains from A. truei was based on molecular...

  5. The effects of ingested petroleum on oviposition and some aspects of reproduction in experimental colonies of mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Holmes, W.N.; Cavanaugh, K.P.; Cronshaw, J.

    1978-01-01

    Compared to unmated mallard ducks fed an uncontaminated diet, unmated birds given food contaminated with 3 ml South Louisiana crude oil per 100 g dry weight showed an 84% decline in the daily rate of oviposition, a 33% decrease in egg-shell thickness and at autopsy more than 82% of the ovarian mass consisted of atretic follicles. Similar studies on groups of mated females showed that although the addition of 1 ml South Louisiana crude oil/100 g dry food had no effect on the daily rate of oviposition, none of the eggs had been fertilized while a concentration of 3 ml South Louisiana crude oil/100 g dry food suppressed the daily rate of oviposition significantly. Less than 25% of these eggs had been fertilized and only 40% of the fertilized eggs yielded viable ducklings. In both of these groups of mated birds, normal patterns of oviposition, fertilization and hatchability were restored after removal of petroleum from the diet. The addition of 1 ml Kuwait crude oil/100 g dry food had no effect on the rate of oviposition, the incidence of fertility or the hatchability of the fertilized eggs. The addition of 3 ml oil/100 g dry food completely abolished oviposition, but a normal rate of oviposition was restored when the concentration of the crude oil was reduced from 3 to 1 ml/100 g dry food. However, the incidence of fertilization remained low and none of the fertilized eggs gave rise to viable ducklings. Kuwait crude oil had no effect on shell thickness.

  6. The influence of maturity and variety of potato plants on oviposition and probing of Bactericera cockerelli (Hemiptera: Triozidae).

    PubMed

    Prager, Sean M; Lewis, O Milo; Michels, Jerry; Nansen, Christian

    2014-04-01

    The ecological theory on host plant choice by herbivores suggests that mothers should choose plants that will maximize their offspring's success. In annual host plants, physiology (and therefore host suitability) is sometimes influenced by maturity and growth stage, which may influence female choice. Potato plants were grown under greenhouse conditions and used in choice and no-choice bioassays to determine the effect of plant maturity and variety on oviposition and number of stylet sheaths (which approximate stylet insertions) by tomato/potato psyllids. No-choice bioassays suggested that maturity (time since planting) did not influence oviposition behavior, but oviposition varied significantly among potato plant varieties. There was a significant effect of both maturity and variety on the number of stylet sheaths, which peak toward the middle of the growing season. We also examined tomato/potato psyllid responses to plants grown in a commercial field and again found no effect on oviposition but differences in stylet sheaths. The results suggest that differential susceptibility to zebra chip disease may be associated with unequal feeding rates. Future studies should examine whether the maturity of plants influences larval fitness. Finally, potato variety has an influence on both oviposition and "probing," and has implications for management strategies and the development of resistant potato varieties.

  7. Differential Larval Toxicity and Oviposition Altering Activity of Some Indigenous Plant Extracts against Dengue and Chikungunya Vector Aedes albopictus.

    PubMed

    Yadav, Ruchi; Tyagi, Varun; Tikar, Sachin N; Sharma, Ajay K; Mendki, Murlidhar J; Jain, Ashok K; Sukumaran, Devanathan

    2014-12-01

    Mosquitoes are well known as vectors of several disease causing pathogens. The extensive use of synthetic insecticides in the mosquito control strategies resulted to the development of pesticide resistance and fostered environmental deterioration. Hence in recent years plants become alternative source of mosquito control agents. The present study assessed the larvicidal and oviposition altering activity of six different plants species-Alstonia scholaris, Callistemon viminalis, Hyptis suaveolens, Malvastrum coromandelianum, Prosopis juliflora, Vernonia cinerea against Aedes albopictus mosquito in laboratory. Leaf extracts of all the six plants species in five different solvents of various polarities were used in the range of 20-400ppm for larval bioassay and 50,100 and 200ppm for cage bioassay (for the study of oviposition behavior) against Ae. albopictus. The larval mortality data were recorded after 24 h and subjected to Probit analysis to determine the lethal concentrations (LC50), while OAI (Oviposition activity index) was calculated for oviposition altering activity of the plant extracts. Vernonia cinerea extract in acetone and C. viminalis extract in isopropanol were highly effective against Aedes albopictus larvae with LC50 value 64.57, 71.34ppm respectively. Acetone extract of P. juliflora found to be strong oviposition-deterrent which inhibited >2 fold egg laying (OAI-0.466) at 100ppm. Vernonia cinerea and C. viminallis leaf extracts have the potential to be used as larvicide and P. juliflora as an oviposition-deterrent for the control of Ae. albopictus mosquito.

  8. Differential Larval Toxicity and Oviposition Altering Activity of Some Indigenous Plant Extracts against Dengue and Chikungunya Vector Aedes albopictus

    PubMed Central

    Yadav, Ruchi; Tyagi, Varun; Tikar, Sachin N; Sharma, Ajay K; Mendki, Murlidhar J; Jain, Ashok K; Sukumaran, Devanathan

    2014-01-01

    Background: Mosquitoes are well known as vectors of several disease causing pathogens. The extensive use of synthetic insecticides in the mosquito control strategies resulted to the development of pesticide resistance and fostered environmental deterioration. Hence in recent years plants become alternative source of mosquito control agents. The present study assessed the larvicidal and oviposition altering activity of six different plants species-Alstonia scholaris, Callistemon viminalis, Hyptis suaveolens, Malvastrum coromandelianum, Prosopis juliflora, Vernonia cinerea against Aedes albopictus mosquito in laboratory. Methods: Leaf extracts of all the six plants species in five different solvents of various polarities were used in the range of 20–400ppm for larval bioassay and 50,100 and 200ppm for cage bioassay (for the study of oviposition behavior) against Ae. albopictus. The larval mortality data were recorded after 24 h and subjected to Probit analysis to determine the lethal concentrations (LC50), while OAI (Oviposition activity index) was calculated for oviposition altering activity of the plant extracts. Results: Vernonia cinerea extract in acetone and C. viminalis extract in isopropanol were highly effective against Aedes albopictus larvae with LC50 value 64.57, 71.34ppm respectively. Acetone extract of P. juliflora found to be strong oviposition-deterrent which inhibited >2 fold egg laying (OAI-0.466) at 100ppm. Conclusion: Vernonia cinerea and C. viminallis leaf extracts have the potential to be used as larvicide and P. juliflora as an oviposition-deterrent for the control of Ae. albopictus mosquito. PMID:26114131

  9. Influence ofAmaranthus hybridus L. allelochemics on oviposition behavior ofSpodoptera exigua andS. eridania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

    PubMed

    Mitchell, E R; Heath, R R

    1985-05-01

    Common pigweed,Amaranthus hybridus L., is a favorite host of the beet army worm (BAW),Spodoptera exigua L. Chemicals extracted from homogenized pigweed with distilled water, ethanol, or dichloromethane and sprayed back on pigweed deterred oviposition by the BAW. Similarly, water extracts of frass from conspecific larvae or southern armyworm (SAW) larvae,S. eridania (Cramer), fed pigweed leaves and sprayed back on pigweed plants also deterred BAW oviposition, thus confirming that deterrence was due to plant allelochemics rather than specific compounds associated with the metabolic or excretory products of the larvae. Confirmation of the presence of oviposition-deterring chemicals in pigweed was used to explain a previously observed seasonal displacement of BAW by SAW on pigweed in the field.

  10. Correlation of molecular expression with diel rhythm of oviposition in Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and implications for forensic entomology.

    PubMed

    George, Kelly A; Archer, Melanie S; Toop, Tes

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the molecular mechanisms potentially underlying blow fly nocturnal oviposition. A behavioral study revealed that Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) possesses a diel rhythm of oviposition in light under 12:12 light/dark conditions. Reversal to 12:12 dark/light resulted in oviposition behavior changing to align with the adjusted regime in most females, but four of 59 experimental females lacked a diel rhythm of oviposition (were arrhythmic). Real-time PCR was used to monitor the molecular expression levels of known circadian genes per and tim in C. vicina to determine whether gene expression and behavior correlated. As with behavior, reversing light/dark conditions changed rhythmic gene expression to align with an adjusted light regime. This suggests that although it is unlikely that C. vicina will colonize dead bodies at night, arrhythmic females and oviposition in the dark was demonstrated. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  11. Ovipositional site selection by Anopheles gambiae: influences of substrate moisture and texture.

    PubMed

    Huang, J; Walker, E D; Giroux, P Y; Vulule, J; Miller, J R

    2005-12-01

    The influence of substrate moisture (hydration) and grain size (texture) on oviposition was quantified in choice tests using Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto Giles (Diptera: Culicidae) laboratory strains and gravid An. gambiae sensu lato from a natural population in Western Kenya. A strong, positive correlation was found between moisture content and the degree of egg-laying, which peaked at saturation with standing water. Soil moisture quantified as surface conductivity, was measured with an electronic leaf-wetness sensor slightly modified from a unit available commercially. Although An. gambiae females were sensitive to measurable differences in substrate moisture, they distributed eggs on both fully hydrated and less hydrated substrates. In contrast, An. gambiae females showed little response to substrate texture: they oviposited with equal frequency on all silica substrates of eight particle size classes, ranging from small pebbles (850 microm diameter) to very fine grains (< 38 microm diameter), when all were moist. Female An. gambiae laid more eggs on dark than white substrates against a light background, but did not discriminate between moist, pulverized black soapstone and moist black Kenyan soil taken from typical An. gambiae larval habitats. We conclude that hydration and visual contrast are critical ovipositional site qualities for An. gambiae, but substrate texture is not.

  12. Host plant, temperature, and photoperiod effects on ovipositional preference of Frankliniella occidentalis and Frankliniella fusca (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).

    PubMed

    Chaisuekul, C; Riley, D G

    2005-12-01

    Host plant effects of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., and chickweed, Stellaria media (L.) Vill., foliage infected and uninfected with Tomato spotted wilt virus (family Bunyaviridae, genus Tospovirus, TSWV) on the ovipositional preferences of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), and tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), were investigated for whole plants in the greenhouse. In addition, the preference for leaf disks from the same host plants was investigated under a range of temperatures, 15-30 degrees C at a photoperiod of 12:12 (L:D) h, and at three photoperiods, 6:18, 12:12, and 18:6, at 20 degrees C in no-choice and choice studies conducted in growth chambers. In a choice test, F. fusca oviposited significantly more eggs per whole plant foliage over a 7-d period than F. occidentalis by an average ratio of 3:1 over both tomato and chickweed. The optimum temperature for oviposition of F. occidentalis and F. fusca was 24.5 and 24.9 degrees C, respectively. Both species laid significantly more eggs under the longest daylight hours tested, 18:6, in the choice study. Temperature and photoperiod did not significantly interact in terms of thrips ovipositional preference. Ovipositional preference for chickweed or tomato foliage was different for each thrips species in the choice and no-choice tests. However, both thrips species laid significantly more eggs per square centimeter of leaf area in chickweed than in tomato in the whole plant choice test.

  13. Response of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to Screwworm Oviposition Attractant

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The sheep blow fly, Lucilia sericata Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae), causes sheep myiasis in various parts of the world. The females are attracted to sheep, following various olfactory cues emanating from the sheep's body, and oviposit on suitable substrates on sheep ultimately causing myiasis. Ear...

  14. Oviposition deterrent and skin repellent activities of Solanum trilobatum leaf extract against the malarial vector Anopheles stephensi.

    PubMed Central

    Rajkumar, S.; Jebanesan, A.

    2005-01-01

    The leaf extract of Solanum trilobatum (Solanaceae) was tested under laboratory conditions for oviposition deterrent and skin repellent activities against the adult mosquito Anopheles stephensi. Concentrations of 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1% reduced egg laying by gravid females from 18 to 99% compared to ethanol-treated controls. In skin repellent tests, concentrations of 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, and 0.02 % provided 70 to 120 minutes protection against mosquito bites, whereas the ethanol control provided only 2.2 minutes of protection. Both oviposition deterrent and skin repellent activity were dose dependent. The results suggest that the leaf extract of S. trilobatum is an effective oviposition deterrent and skin repellent against An. stephensi. PMID:16341247

  15. Attraction, Oviposition Preferences, and Olfactory Responses of Corn-Infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera) to Various Host-Based Substrates.

    PubMed

    Owens, D; Nuessly, G S; Kendra, P E; Colquhoun, T A; Seal, D R

    2017-08-01

    Fresh market sweet corn (Zea mays L., convar. saccharata var. rugosa, Poales: Poaceae) ears produced in Florida are damaged by the larvae of Euxesta stigmatias Loew, Euxesta eluta Loew, and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae) that renders ears unmarketable. No standard lure exists for monitoring these pests. Oviposition substrate and attractant bioassays were designed to identify attractive substrates for further semiochemical investigation. Frass from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was more attractive than other ovipositional substrates tested for E. eluta and C. massyla, and resulted in greater ovipositional output. Tassel-derived armyworm frass was more attractive than leaf-derived frass for oviposition. Frass also resulted in greater oviposition output by two species. In attraction bioassays, frass was generally preferred over the corresponding corn tissue, and only C. massyla demonstrated a preference for silk-frass over tassel-frass. The most promising substrates were then evaluated by electroantennography (EAG) to quantify olfactory responses. Frass volatiles also elicited greater antennal responses than corn volatiles. With tassel-frass, greater amplitude EAG responses were recorded from immature E. eluta female antennae, while mature female E. stigmatias exhibited greater responses. Equivalent antennal response to silk-frass was observed from E. eluta. Overall, silk-frass elicited the greatest EAG responses among all three fly species. Our results indicate that armyworm frass is an important resource in the chemical ecology of corn-infesting silk flies, and this substrate warrants further investigation for potential attractants that may facilitate development of novel management tools for these pests. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Strong oviposition preference for Bt over non-Bt maize in Spodoptera frugiperda and its implications for the evolution of resistance.

    PubMed

    Téllez-Rodríguez, Pilar; Raymond, Ben; Morán-Bertot, Ivis; Rodríguez-Cabrera, Lianet; Wright, Denis J; Borroto, Carlos G; Ayra-Pardo, Camilo

    2014-06-16

    Transgenic crops expressing Bt toxins have substantial benefits for growers in terms of reduced synthetic insecticide inputs, area-wide pest management and yield. This valuable technology depends upon delaying the evolution of resistance. The 'high dose/refuge strategy', in which a refuge of non-Bt plants is planted in close proximity to the Bt crop, is the foundation of most existing resistance management. Most theoretical analyses of the high dose/refuge strategy assume random oviposition across refugia and Bt crops. In this study we examined oviposition and survival of Spodoptera frugiperda across conventional and Bt maize and explored the impact of oviposition behavior on the evolution of resistance in simulation models. Over six growing seasons oviposition rates per plant were higher in Bt crops than in refugia. The Cry1F Bt maize variety retained largely undamaged leaves, and oviposition preference was correlated with the level of feeding damage in the refuge. In simulation models, damage-avoiding oviposition accelerated the evolution of resistance and either led to requirements for larger refugia or undermined resistance management altogether. Since larval densities affected oviposition preferences, pest population dynamics affected resistance evolution: larger refugia were weakly beneficial for resistance management if they increased pest population sizes and the concomitant degree of leaf damage. Damaged host plants have reduced attractiveness to many insect pests, and crops expressing Bt toxins are generally less damaged than conventional counterparts. Resistance management strategies should take account of this behavior, as it has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of existing practice, especially in the tropics where many pests are polyvoltinous. Efforts to bring down total pest population sizes and/or increase the attractiveness of damaged conventional plants will have substantial benefits for slowing the evolution of resistance.

  17. Strong oviposition preference for Bt over non-Bt maize in Spodoptera frugiperda and its implications for the evolution of resistance

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Transgenic crops expressing Bt toxins have substantial benefits for growers in terms of reduced synthetic insecticide inputs, area-wide pest management and yield. This valuable technology depends upon delaying the evolution of resistance. The ‘high dose/refuge strategy’, in which a refuge of non-Bt plants is planted in close proximity to the Bt crop, is the foundation of most existing resistance management. Most theoretical analyses of the high dose/refuge strategy assume random oviposition across refugia and Bt crops. Results In this study we examined oviposition and survival of Spodoptera frugiperda across conventional and Bt maize and explored the impact of oviposition behavior on the evolution of resistance in simulation models. Over six growing seasons oviposition rates per plant were higher in Bt crops than in refugia. The Cry1F Bt maize variety retained largely undamaged leaves, and oviposition preference was correlated with the level of feeding damage in the refuge. In simulation models, damage-avoiding oviposition accelerated the evolution of resistance and either led to requirements for larger refugia or undermined resistance management altogether. Since larval densities affected oviposition preferences, pest population dynamics affected resistance evolution: larger refugia were weakly beneficial for resistance management if they increased pest population sizes and the concomitant degree of leaf damage. Conclusions Damaged host plants have reduced attractiveness to many insect pests, and crops expressing Bt toxins are generally less damaged than conventional counterparts. Resistance management strategies should take account of this behavior, as it has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of existing practice, especially in the tropics where many pests are polyvoltinous. Efforts to bring down total pest population sizes and/or increase the attractiveness of damaged conventional plants will have substantial benefits for slowing the

  18. Plastic pellets as oviposition site and means of dispersal for the ocean-skater insect Halobates.

    PubMed

    Majer, A P; Vedolin, M C; Turra, A

    2012-06-01

    Microplastics are omnipresent in the oceans and generally have negative impacts on the biota. However, flotsam may increase the availability of hard substrates, which are considered a limiting resource for some oceanic species, e.g. as oviposition sites for the ocean insect Halobates. This study describes the use of plastic pellets as an oviposition site for Halobates micans and discusses possible effects on its abundance and dispersion. Inspection of egg masses on stranded particles on beaches revealed that a mean of 24% (from 0% to 62%) of the pellets bore eggs (mean of 5 and max. of 48 eggs per pellet). Most eggs (63%) contained embryos, while 37% were empty egg shells. This shows that even small plastic particles are used as oviposition site by H. micans, and that marine litter may have a positive effect over the abundance and dispersion of this species. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Brachytherapy in early prostate cancer--early experience.

    PubMed

    Jose, B O; Bailen, J L; Albrink, F H; Steinbock, G S; Cornett, M S; Benson, D C; Schmied, W K; Medley, R N; Spanos, W J; Paris, K J; Koerner, P D; Gatenby, R A; Wilson, D L; Meyer, R

    1999-01-01

    Use of brachytherapy with radioactive seeds in the management of early prostate cancer is commonly used in the United States. The early experience has been reported from the prostate treatment centers in Seattle for the last 10 years. In this manuscript we are reporting our early experience of 150 radioactive seed implantations in early stage prostate cancer using either Iodine 125 or Palladium 103 seeds. The average age of the patient is 66 years and the median Gleason score is 5.4 with a median PSA of 6. A brief description of the evolution of the treatment of prostate cancer as well as the preparation for the seed implantation using the volume study with ultrasound of the prostate, pubic arch study using CT scan of the pelvis and the complete planning using the treatment planning computers are discussed. We also have described the current technique which is used in our experience based on the Seattle guidelines. We plan a follow-up report with the results of the studies with longer follow-up.

  20. A(maize)ing attraction: gravid Anopheles arabiensis are attracted and oviposit in response to maize pollen odours.

    PubMed

    Wondwosen, Betelehem; Hill, Sharon R; Birgersson, Göran; Seyoum, Emiru; Tekie, Habte; Ignell, Rickard

    2017-01-23

    Maize cultivation contributes to the prevalence of malaria mosquitoes and exacerbates malaria transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. The pollen from maize serves as an important larval food source for Anopheles mosquitoes, and females that are able to detect breeding sites where maize pollen is abundant may provide their offspring with selective advantages. Anopheles mosquitoes are hypothesized to locate, discriminate among, and select such sites using olfactory cues, and that synthetic volatile blends can mimic these olfactory-guided behaviours. Two-port olfactometer and two-choice oviposition assays were used to assess the attraction and oviposition preference of gravid Anopheles arabiensis to the headspace of the pollen from two maize cultivars (BH-660 and ZM-521). Bioactive compounds were identified using combined gas chromatography and electroantennographic detection from the headspace of the cultivar found to be most attractive (BH-660). Synthetic blends of the volatile compounds were then assessed for attraction and oviposition preference of gravid An. arabiensis, as above. Here the collected headspace volatiles from the pollen of two maize cultivars was shown to differentially attract and stimulate oviposition in gravid An. arabiensis. Furthermore, a five-component synthetic maize pollen odour blend was identified, which elicited the full oviposition behavioural repertoire of the gravid mosquitoes. The cues identified from maize pollen provide important substrates for the development of novel control measures that modulate gravid female behaviour. Such measures are irrespective of indoor or outdoor feeding and resting patterns, thus providing a much-needed addition to the arsenal of tools that currently target indoor biting mosquitoes.

  1. Sex-biased oviposition by a nursery pollinator on a gynodioecious host plant: Implications for breeding system evolution and evolution of mutualism.

    PubMed

    Doubleday, Laura A D; Adler, Lynn S

    2017-07-01

    Dioecy, a breeding system where individual plants are exclusively male or female, has evolved repeatedly. Extensive theory describes when dioecy should arise from hermaphroditism, frequently through gynodioecy, where females and hermaphrodites coexist, and when gynodioecy should be stable. Both pollinators and herbivores often prefer the pollen-bearing sex, with sex-specific fitness effects that can affect breeding system evolution. Nursery pollination, where adult insects pollinate flowers but their larvae feed on plant reproductive tissues, is a model for understanding mutualism evolution but could also yield insights into plant breeding system evolution. We studied a recently established nursery pollination interaction between native Hadena ectypa moths and introduced gynodioecious Silene vulgaris plants in North America to assess whether oviposition was biased toward females or hermaphrodites, which traits were associated with oviposition, and the effect of oviposition on host plant fitness. Oviposition was hermaphrodite-biased and associated with deeper flowers and more stems. Sexual dimorphism in flower depth, a trait also associated with oviposition on the native host plant ( Silene stellata ), explained the hermaphrodite bias. Egg-receiving plants experienced more fruit predation than plants that received no eggs, but relatively few fruits were lost, and egg receipt did not significantly alter total fruit production at the plant level. Oviposition did not enhance pollination; egg-receiving flowers usually failed to expand and produce seeds. Together, our results suggest that H. ectypa oviposition does not exert a large fitness cost on host plants, sex-biased interactions can emerge from preferences developed on a hermaphroditic host species, and new nursery pollination interactions can arise as negative or neutral rather than as mutualistic for the plant.

  2. The effects of larval habitat quality on Aedes albopictus skip oviposition

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Aedes albopictus, an invasive mosquito species that transmits disease-causing pathogens, oviposits in containers in resource-limited habitats. To mitigate larval competition, Ae. albopictus females may choose to distribute eggs from a single gonotrophic cycle among multiple containers through skip o...

  3. Disruption of Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) oviposition by the application of host plant volatiles.

    PubMed

    Anfora, Gianfranco; Vitagliano, Silvia; Larsson, Mattias C; Witzgall, Peter; Tasin, Marco; Germinara, Giacinto S; De Cristofaro, Antonio

    2014-04-01

    Phthorimaea operculella is a key pest of potato. The authors characterised the P. operculella olfactory system, selected the most bioactive host plant volatiles and evaluated their potential application in pest management. The electrophysiological responses of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) housed in long sensilla trichodea of P. operculella to plant volatiles and the two main sex pheromone components were evaluated by the single-cell recording (SCR) technique. The four most SCR-active volatiles were tested in a laboratory oviposition bioassay and under storage warehouse conditions. The sensitivity of sensilla trichodea to short-chained aldehydes and alcohols and the existence of ORNs tuned to pheromones in females were characterised. Male recordings revealed at least two types of ORN, each of which typically responded to one of the two pheromone components. Hexanal, octanal, nonanal and 1-octen-3-ol significantly disrupted the egg-laying behaviour in a dose-dependent manner. Octanal reduced the P. operculella infestation rate when used under storage conditions. This work provides new information on the perception of plant volatiles and sex pheromones by P. operculella. Laboratory and warehouse experiments show that the use of hexanal, octanal, nonanal and 1-octen-3-ol as host recognition disruptants and/or oviposition deterrents for P. operculella control appears to be a promising strategy. © 2013 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Oviposition Preference for Young Plants by the Large Cabbage Butterfly (Pieris brassicae ) Does not Strongly Correlate with Caterpillar Performance.

    PubMed

    Fei, Minghui; Harvey, Jeffrey A; Yin, Yi; Gols, Rieta

    2017-06-01

    The effects of temporal variation in the quality of short-lived annual plants on oviposition preference and larval performance of insect herbivores has thus far received little attention. This study examines the effects of plant age on female oviposition preference and offspring performance in the large cabbage white butterfly Pieris brassicae. Adult female butterflies lay variable clusters of eggs on the underside of short-lived annual species in the family Brassicaceae, including the short-lived annuals Brassica nigra and Sinapis arvensis, which are important food plants for P. brassicae in The Netherlands. Here, we compared oviposition preference and larval performance of P. brassicae on three age classes (young, mature, and pre-senescing) of B. nigra and S. arvensis plants. Oviposition preference of P. brassicae declined with plant age in both plant species. Whereas larvae performed similarly on all three age classes in B. nigra, preference and performance were weakly correlated in S. arvensis. Analysis of primary (sugars and amino acids) and secondary (glucosinolates) chemistry in the plant shoots revealed that differences in their quality and quantity were more pronounced with respect to tissue type (leaves vs. flowers) than among different developmental stages of both plant species. Butterflies of P. brassicae may prefer younger and smaller plants for oviposition anticipating that future plant growth and size is optimally synchronized with the final larval instar, which contributes >80% of larval growth before pupation.

  5. Oviposition efficacy of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) on different cultivars of blueberry.

    PubMed

    Kinjo, Hirotoshi; Kunimi, Yasuhisa; Ban, Takuya; Nakai, Madoka

    2013-08-01

    Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is an important pest of thin-skinned fruits including blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and cherry. Blueberry was introduced into Japan in the 1950s, and severe economic losses attributable to D. suzukii were first reported in 2002. The objective of this study was to elucidate whether oviposition behavior varies among blueberry cultivars having different firmness of fruit. Fruit firmness in 12 cultivars of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum Aiton) was determined using a rheometer. More eggs tended to be laid in berries of cultivars possessing softer fruits than in those having firmer fruits. Choice tests, where one female was allowed to oviposit on blueberry fruits with different firmness, showed that softer fruits were more vulnerable to D. suzukii females than firmer fruits.

  6. Relationships of abscised cotton fruit to boll weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feeding, oviposition, and development.

    PubMed

    Showler, Allan T

    2008-02-01

    Abscised cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., fruit in field plots planted at different times were examined to assess adult boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), use of squares and bolls during 2002 and 2003 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Although boll abscission is not necessarily related to infestation, generally more bolls abscised than squares and abundances of fallen bolls were not related to the planting date treatments. During 2003, fallen squares were most abundant in the late-planted treatment. Although large squares (5.5-8-mm-diameter) on the plant are preferred for boll weevil oviposition, diameter of abscised squares is not a reliable measurement because of shrinkage resulting from desiccation and larval feeding. Fallen feeding-punctured squares and bolls were most abundant in late plantings but differences between fallen feeding-punctured squares versus fallen feeding-punctured bolls were found in only one treatment in 2003. During the same year, fallen oviposition-punctured squares were more numerous in the late-planted treatment than in the earlier treatments. Treatment effects were not found on numbers of oviposition-punctured bolls, but fallen oviposition-punctured squares were more common than bolls in the late-planted treatment compared with earlier treatments each year. Dead weevil eggs, larvae, and pupae inside fallen fruit were few and planting date treatment effects were not detected. Living third instars and pupae were more abundant in fallen squares of the late-planted treatment than in the earlier treatments and bolls of all three treatments. This study shows that fallen squares in late-planted cotton contribute more to adult boll weevil populations than bolls, or squares of earlier plantings.

  7. Keeping the golden mean: plant stiffness and anatomy as proximal factors driving endophytic oviposition site selection in a dragonfly.

    PubMed

    Matushkina, Natalia; Lambret, Philippe; Gorb, Stanislav

    2016-12-01

    Oviposition site selection is a crucial component of habitat selection in dragonflies. The presence of appropriate oviposition plants at breeding waters is considered to be one of the key habitat determinants for species laying eggs endophytically. Thus, Lestes macrostigma, a species which is regarded as threatened in Europe because of its highly disjunct distribution, typically prefers to lay eggs in the sea club rush Bolboschoenus maritimus. However, little is known about how the anatomical and mechanical properties of plant tissues determine the choice of L. macrostigma females. We examined green shoots of six plant species used by L. macrostigma for oviposition, either in the field (actual oviposition plants) or under experimental conditions (potential oviposition plants), to analyse anatomical and mechanical properties of shoots in a framework of known preferences regarding plant substrates for oviposition. As expected, the anatomy of shoots differed between representatives of two plant families, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae, most essentially in the distribution of supporting bundles and the presence of large aeriferous cavities that may affect egg placing within a shoot. The force necessary to puncture the tested plant samples ranged from 360 to 3298 mN, and their local stiffness ranged from 777 to 3363N/m. We show that the shoots of B. maritimus, the plant most preferred by L. macrostigma, have intermediate characteristics regarding both the stiffness and specific anatomical characteristics. The bending stiffness of the ovipositor in L. macrostigma was estimated as 1414N/m, one of the highest values recorded for zygopteran dragonflies so far. The ecological and behavioural implications of plant choice mechanisms in L. macrostigma are discussed in the context of the disjunct distribution of this species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  8. Heliothis subflexa (Gn.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Demonstration of oviposition stimulant from groundcherry using novel bioassay.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, E R; Heath, R R

    1987-08-01

    Methanol extracts of homogenized groundcherry,Physalis angulata, leaves increased egg deposition byHeliothis subflexa (Gn.) (HS) on treated tobacco plants (a nonhost) 8.5-fold over untreated controls. In doseresponse tests using whole-leaf washes of groundcherry leaves, the threshold of positive response vs. no response to the chemical stimulant was within one log dose unit when compared to the controls. This response was consistent whether the chemical was evaluated on plants in greenhouse-cage tests or in an olfactometer using pieces of broadcloth as the oviposition substrate. The olfactometer used allows year-round study of the behavioral effects of plant allelochemics on insect oviposition behavior in a controlled environment.

  9. Oviposition and Embryotoxicity of Indigofera suffruticosa on Early Development of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

    PubMed Central

    Vieira, Jeymesson Raphael Cardoso; Leite, Roberta Maria Pereira; Lima, Izabela Rangel; Navarro, Daniela do Amaral Ferraz; Bianco, Everson Miguel; Leite, Sônia Pereira

    2012-01-01

    Aqueous extract of Indigofera suffruticosa leaves obtained by infusion was used to evaluate the oviposition, its effect on development of eggs and larvae, and morphological changes in larvae of Aedes aegypti. The bioassays were carried out with aqueous extract in different concentrations on eggs, larvae, and female mosquitoes, and the morphological changes were observed in midgut of larvae. The extract showed repellent activity on A. aegypti mosquitoes, reducing significantly the egg laying by females with control substrate (343 (185–406)) compared with the treated substrate (88 (13–210)). No eclosion of A. aegypti eggs at different concentrations studied was observed. The controleclodedin 35%. At concentration of 250 μg/mL, 93.3% of larvae remained in the second instar of development and at concentrations of 500, 750, and 1000 μg/mL the inhibitory effect was lower with percentages of 20%, 53.3%, and 46.6%, respectively. Morphological changes like disruption on the peritrophic envelope (PE), discontinued underlying epithelium, increased gut lumen, and segments with hypertrophic aspects were observed in anterior region of medium midgut of larvae of A. aegypti. The results showed repellent activity, specific embryotoxicity, and general growth retardation in A. aegypti by medium containing aqueous extract of I. suffruticosa leaves. PMID:21822443

  10. Feeding and oviposition deterrent activities of flower buds of globemallow,Sphaeralcea emoryi torrey, against boll weevil,Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

    PubMed

    Honda, H; Bowers, W S

    1996-01-01

    The globemallow,Sphaeralcea emoryi Torrey, a plant native to Arizona was evaluated as a source of feeding or oviposition deterrents to the boll weevil,Anthonomus grandis Boheman. Feeding and oviposition responses of reproductive weevils to the flower buds and artificial diets spiked with dry powder or extracts of the globemallow buds were determined. Boll weevils were deterred from feeding and ovipositing in the flower buds unless the calyxes were removed. Male and virgin female weevils were discouraged from feeding as much as gravid weevils. Secondary chemicals in the flower buds served primarily as feeding deterrents but also prevented oviposition. The concentration of these chemicals was highest in the calyxes of the buds, and potent deterrent activity could be extracted from the calyxes with methanol. Boll weevils were able to perceive the deterrents by contact chemosensory organs on the antennae, maxillary palps and labial palps.

  11. Oviposition Deterrent Activities of Pachyrhizus erosus Seed Extract and Other Natural Products on Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

    PubMed Central

    Basukriadi, Adi; Wilkins, Richard M.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract An extract of a rotenone-containing plant yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urban, seeds was tested against the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) in a greenhouse to determine its potential as an oviposition deterrent and compared with coumarin and rutin, known as diamondback moth oviposition deterrent compounds, rotenone, and an extract of Peruvian cube root, at a concentration of 0.5% (w/v). Oviposition deterrent index (ODI) was used to determine effects of extracts or compounds in inhibiting oviposition of diamondback moth. Coumarin showed a stronger deterrent effect than the yam bean seed extract with a higher ODI value. On the contrary, rotenone, rutin, and the cube root extract, containing 6.7% (w/w) of rotenone, showed no significant deterrent effects having low or negative ODI values, suggesting that the deterrent effect of the yam bean seed extract is not due to rotenone content of the yam bean seeds. The extract of yam bean seed and coumarin partially deterred the moth from laying eggs on treated leaves in a concentration-dependent manner. The effective concentration for 50% deterrency of coumarin and the yam bean seed extract were 0.11 and 0.83% (w/v), respectively. However, the yam bean seed extract showed a residual deterrent effect on the moth even at 3 d after the treatment and is probably because of its low volatile nature. A long-term deterrency of the yam bean seed extract is an advantage over coumarins. Both the yam bean seed extract and coumarin deterred diamondback moth from laying eggs in total darkness, indicating their nonvisual deterrent effect. This made the extract an effective deterrence to diamondback moth in light and in darkness. To conclude, this study revealed the potential of the crude extract of the yam bean seed to prevent diamondback moth from ovipositing on its plant host. PMID:25525107

  12. Presence of a predator image in potential breeding sites and oviposition responses of a dengue vector.

    PubMed

    Dieng, Hamady; Satho, Tomomitsu; Suradi, Nur Farrahana Binti; Hakim, Hafijah; Abang, Fatimah; Aliasan, Nur Ezzati; Miake, Fumio; Zuharah, Wan Fatma; Kassim, Nur Faeza A; Majid, Abdul Hafiz A; Fadzly, Nik; Vargas, Ronald E Morales; Morales, Noppawan P; Noweg, Gabriel Tonga

    2017-12-01

    In dengue vector control, attempts to minimize or replace the use of pesticides have mostly involved use of predators, but success has been severely impeded by difficulties associated with financial and environmental costs, predator mass production, and persistence in target habitats. Visual deterrents have been used successfully to control animal pests, in some cases in an effort to replace pesticide use. Despite evidence that visual signals are crucial in site choice for egg deposition by dengue vectors, and that female mosquitoes respond to artificial predation, the role of predator intimidation as it affects the oviposition behavior of dengue vectors remains largely unexplored. Here, we examined the oviposition responses of Aedes aegypti exposed to various mosquito predator pictures. Gravid females were presented with equal opportunities to oviposit in two cups with predator images [Toxorhynchites splendens-TXI, Goldfish (Carassius auratus)-small (SFI) and large (LFI) and Tx. splendens+Goldfish-TXFI] and two others without pictures. Differences in egg deposition were examined between sites with and without these images. When given a chance to oviposit in cups with and without TXI, Ae. aegypti females were similarly attracted to both sites. When provided an opportunity to oviposit in cups displaying pictures of fish (SFI or LFI) and blank cups, egg deposition rates were much lower in the fish picture sites. Females showed a preference for blank cups over TXFI for egg deposition. They also equally avoided cups with pictures of fish, regardless of the size of the picture. Our results indicate that the presence of images of goldfish and their association with Tx. larvae significantly reduced egg deposition by Ae. aegypti, and this was not the case with the predatory larvae alone. The observations that the images of natural predators can repel gravid females of a dengue vector provide novel possibilities to develop effective and inexpensive alternative tools to

  13. Mother doesn't always know best: Maternal wormlion choice of oviposition habitat does not match larval habitat choice.

    PubMed

    Adar, Shay; Dor, Roi

    2018-02-01

    Habitat choice is an important decision that influences animals' fitness. Insect larvae are less mobile than the adults. Consequently, the contribution of the maternal choice of habitat to the survival and development of the offspring is considered to be crucial. According to the "preference-performance hypothesis", ovipositing females are expected to choose habitats that will maximize the performance of their offspring. We tested this hypothesis in wormlions (Diptera: Vermileonidae), which are small sand-dwelling insects that dig pit-traps in sandy patches and ambush small arthropods. Larvae prefer relatively deep and obstacle-free sand, and here we tested the habitat preference of the ovipositing female. In contrast to our expectation, ovipositing females showed no clear preference for either a deep sand or obstacle-free habitat, in contrast to the larval choice. This suboptimal female choice led to smaller pits being constructed later by the larvae, which may reduce prey capture success of the larvae. We offer several explanations for this apparently suboptimal female behavior, related either to maximizing maternal rather than offspring fitness, or to constraints on the female's behavior. Female's ovipositing habitat choice may have weaker negative consequences than expected for the offspring, as larvae can partially correct suboptimal maternal choice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ovipositional preferences of two squash bug species, Anasa tristis, and Anasa armigera (Heteroptera: Coreidae), for different cultivars and species of Cucurbitaceae

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The ovipositional preferences of two squash bug species, Anasa tristis (DeGeer) and Anasa armigera Say, were evaluated in paired choice tests of different species and cultivars of plants in the family Cucurbitaceae. Females of A. tristis preferred to oviposit on the cultivar from which they were rea...

  15. Oviposition-altering and ovicidal potentials of five essential oils against female adults of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti L.

    PubMed

    Warikoo, Radhika; Wahab, Naim; Kumar, Sarita

    2011-10-01

    The oviposition deterrence and ovicidal potential of five different essential oils, peppermint oil (Mentha piperita), basil oil (Ocimum basilicum), rosemary oil (Rosemarinus officinalis), citronella oil (Cymbopogon nardus), and celery seed oil (Apium graveolens), were assessed against female adults of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti L. Multiple concentration tests were carried out where cups containing 1 mL of different concentrations (100%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%) of the oils and 199 mL of water were used for oviposition. The number of eggs laid and the larvae hatched in each cup were scored to evaluate the oviposition deterrent and ovicidal potentials of the oils. Our investigations revealed that the addition of 100% oil (pure oil) caused complete oviposition deterrence except in A. graveolens which resulted in 75% effective repellency. The use of 10% oil resulted in the maximum deterrence of 97.5% as shown by the M. piperita oil while other oils caused 36-97% oviposition deterrence as against the control. The oviposition medium with 1% oil showed decreased deterrent potential with 30-64% effective repellency, the M. piperita oil being exceptional. However, as the concentrations of the oil were reduced further to 0.1%, the least effective oil observed was A. graveolens (25% ER). Also, the M. piperita oil showed much reduced activity (40%) as compared to the control, while the other oils exhibited 51-58% repellency to oviposition. The studies on the ovicidal effects of these oils revealed that the eggs laid in the water with 100% essential oils did not hatch at all, whereas when 10% oils were used, only the R. officinalis oil resulted in 28% egg hatch. At lower concentrations (1%), the oils of M. piperita, O. basilicum, and C. nardus showed complete egg mortality while those of A. graveolens and R. officinalis resulted in 71% and 34% egg hatches, respectively. When used at 0.1%, the O. basilicum oil was found to be the only effective oil with 100% egg mortality, whereas

  16. Food-plant niche selection rather than the presence of ant nests explains oviposition patterns in the myrmecophilous butterfly genus Maculinea.

    PubMed

    Thomas, J A; Elmes, G W

    2001-03-07

    It has been suggested that the socially parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon detects ant odours before ovipositing on initial larval food plants near colonies of its obligate ant host Myrmica ruginodis. It has also been suggested that overcrowding on food plants near M. ruginodis is avoided by an ability to detect high egg loads, resulting in a switch to selecting plants near less suitable ant species. If confirmed, this hypothesis (H1) would have serious implications for the application of current population models aimed at the conservation of endangered Maculinea species, which are based on the null hypothesis (H0) that females randomly select food plants whose flower buds are at a precise phenological stage, making oviposition independent of ants. If H1 were wrong, practical management based upon its assumptions could lead to the extinction of protected populations. We present data for the five European species of Maculinea which show that (i) each oviposits on a phenologically restricted flower-bud stage, which accounts for the apparent host-ant-mediated niche separation in sympatric populations of Maculinea nausithous and Maculinea teleius, (ii) there is no temporal shift in oviposition by Maculinea arion in relation to host ant distribution or egg density, and (iii) oviposition patterns in 13 populations of M. alcon's closest relative, Macaulinea rebeli, conform to H0 not H1 predictions. It is concluded that conservation measures should continue to be based on H0.

  17. Oviposition behaviour of the soil mite Pergamasus brevicornis (Acari: Parasitidae).

    PubMed

    Marquardt, Tomasz; Faleńczyk-Koziróg, Katarzyna; Kaczmarek, Sławomir

    2013-07-01

    We observed the oviposition behaviour of the soil mite Pergamasus brevicornis Berlese (Acari: Parasitidae) using continuous video-monitoring. Oviposition consisted of six sequential phases. The first phase (I) involved inspection of the substrate. In the second phase (II) there were rhythmic movements of the first pair of legs and slight reciprocating movements of the body. The third (III) was a resting phase. In the fourth phase (IV) the gnathosoma was lowered and the body was raised. In the next phase (V) there were two sub-phases. During the first (Va), the female held the egg below the gnathosoma. In the second sub-phase (Vb), the gnathosoma moved up holding the egg, which was then placed on the substrate. The last phase (VI) involved intense 'cleaning' movements of the chelicerae and palps. During Va a protective external eggshell structure is gradually formed, involving a phase where the egg shell is sticky. After moving the egg to the substrate, the female freed her palps and chelicerae from the sticky egg shell and cleaned her gnathosomal appendages. Phases II-V took on average 207 ± 69 s.

  18. The effect of larval and early adult experience on behavioural plasticity of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Villagra, Cristian A.; Pennacchio, Francesco; Niemeyer, Hermann M.

    2007-11-01

    affected by early experiences than behaviours related with finding a HPC for foraging or oviposition. Taken together, our results demonstrate for first time that larval and eclosion experiences affect in a differential way the early responses of the adult towards environment-derived cues and mate related cues.

  19. Ovipositional responses of the pulse beetle, Bruchus chinensis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) to extracts and compounds of Capparis decidua.

    PubMed

    Upadhyay, Ravi K; Rohatgi, Leena; Chaubey, Mukesh K; Jain, Subhash C

    2006-12-27

    Extracts of Capparis decidua stems and flowers showed insecticidal and oviposition inhibitory activities against Bruchus chinensis. The LC50 values of these extracts were found to increase with the increase in the polarity of the extract at different exposure periods. For instance, after 96 h, the LC50 values were found to be 3.619, 7.319, and 10.151 microg for CD1, CD2, and CD3, respectively. Extract CD7 was effective only at higher doses. The toxicity was found to be dose- and time-dependent. The females laid lesser number of eggs, when exposed to sublethal doses of different extracts and pure compounds, as compared to control. The maximum oviposition deterrence index was found for extract CD1 followed in decreasing order by CD2, CD3, and CD7. From extract CD1, two compounds were isolated and characterized as triacontanol (C1) and 2-carboxy-1,1-dimethylpyrrolidine (C2). When the females were exposed to sublethal doses of these compounds, they laid lesser number of eggs as compared to the control. C2 was found to have a slightly greater oviposition inhibition effect than C1. From fraction CD7, one novel compound labeled as CDF1 has been isolated and identified as 6-(1-hydroxy-non-3-enyl)tetrahydropyran-2-one. CDF1 has also shown insecticidal and oviposition inhibitory activities against B. chinensis at low concentrations.

  20. Differential circular RNAs expression in ovary during oviposition in honey bees.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiao; Shi, Wei; Chen, Chao

    2018-04-27

    Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs newly identified and play important roles in RNA regulation. The mechanism and function of circRNAs have been reported in some species. However, little is known regarding circRNAs in honey bees. In this study, we analyzed circRNAs through bioinformatics, and predicted 12,211 circRNAs in the ovary of honey bee queens. 1340, 175 and 100 circRNAs were differentially expressed in comparisons of egg-laying queens vs virgin queens, egg-laying inhibited queens vs egg-laying queens and egg-laying recovery queens vs egg-laying inhibited queens. Further, functional annotation of differentially expressed circRNAs revealed several pathways that are closely related to ovary activation and oviposition, including insulin secretion and calcium signaling pathways. Moreover, the potential interactions among circRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs were investigated. Ame_circ_0005197 and ame_circ_0016640 were observed to sponge several reproductive related miRNAs. These findings demonstrate that circRNAs have potential effects in ovary activation and oviposition of honey bees. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  1. Bacteria mediate oviposition by the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

    PubMed

    Zheng, Longyu; Crippen, Tawni L; Holmes, Leslie; Singh, Baneshwar; Pimsler, Meaghan L; Benbow, M Eric; Tarone, Aaron M; Dowd, Scot; Yu, Ziniu; Vanlaerhoven, Sherah L; Wood, Thomas K; Tomberlin, Jeffery K

    2013-01-01

    There can be substantial negative consequences for insects colonizing a resource in the presence of competitors. We hypothesized that bacteria, associated with an oviposition resource and the insect eggs deposited on that resource, serve as a mechanism regulating subsequent insect attraction, colonization, and potentially succession of insect species. We isolated and identified bacterial species associated with insects associated with vertebrate carrion and used these bacteria to measure their influence on the oviposition preference of adult black soldier flies which utilizes animal carcasses and is an important species in waste management and forensics. We also ascertained that utilizing a mixture of bacteria, rather than a single species, differentially influenced behavioral responses of the flies, as did bacterial concentration and the species of fly from which the bacteria originated. These studies provide insight into interkingdom interactions commonly occurring during decomposition, but not commonly studied.

  2. Spatiotemporal oviposition and habitat preferences of Ochlerotatus triseriatus and Aedes albopictus in an emerging focus of La Crosse virus.

    PubMed

    Barker, Christopher M; Brewster, Carlyle C; Paulson, Sally L

    2003-12-01

    The number of cases of encephalitis caused by La Crosse virus recently has increased in southwestern Virginia counties. This article presents results of a study conducted from May to September 2000 in Wise County, VA, that examined the area-wide oviposition activity and habitat preferences of Ochlerotatus triseriatus and Aedes albopictus, potential vectors of La Crosse virus in the region. Data from 490 ovitrap collections made throughout the county showed that mean oviposition activity throughout the study was higher for Oc. triseriatus (20.4 eggs/trap-day) than for Ae. albopictus (3.7 eggs/trap-day). The 2 species also had distinct habitat preferences for oviposition, with Oc. triseriatus favoring forested habitats and Ae. albopictus favoring urban/residential habitats. A landcover map of 6 habitat types derived from Landsat satellite imagery of the county showed that 63% of the county was forested and 18% was urban/residential. A Bayesian decision-rule model that incorporated the ovitrap data and landcover map was moderately successful at predicting the occurrence of high oviposition activity and abundance of the 2 species. The predictions reflected seasonal and spatial fluctuations in oviposition activity, with accuracies between 55 and 79% for Oc. triseriatus and 70 and 94% for Ae. albopictus. Kappa (K), a measure of the predictive power of the model, varied from poor (K < 0.4) to good (0.4 < K < 0.75) for both species, and was highest during periods when actual egg abundance was high. This suggests that the predictions were most accurate during periods when the risk for La Crosse virus transmission is greatest. Limitations and suggestions for improving the model are discussed.

  3. How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia

    PubMed Central

    Blaul, Birgit; Ruther, Joachim

    2011-01-01

    Sexual selection theory predicts that phenotypic traits used to choose a mate should reflect honestly the quality of the sender and thus, are often costly. Physiological costs arise if a signal depends on limited nutritional resources. Hence, the nutritional condition of an organism should determine both its quality as a potential mate and its ability to advertise this quality to the choosing sex. In insects, the quality of the offspring's nutrition is often determined by the ovipositing female. A causal connection, however, between the oviposition decisions of the mother and the mating chances of her offspring has never been shown. Here, we demonstrate that females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis prefer those hosts for oviposition that have been experimentally enriched in linoleic acid (LA). We show by 13C-labelling that LA from the host diet is a precursor of the male sex pheromone. Consequently, males from LA-rich hosts produce and release higher amounts of the pheromone and attract more virgin females than males from LA-poor hosts. Finally, males from LA-rich hosts possess three times as many spermatozoa as those from LA-poor hosts. Hence, females making the right oviposition decisions may increase both the fertility and the sexual attractiveness of their sons. PMID:21429922

  4. How parasitoid females produce sexy sons: a causal link between oviposition preference, dietary lipids and mate choice in Nasonia.

    PubMed

    Blaul, Birgit; Ruther, Joachim

    2011-11-07

    Sexual selection theory predicts that phenotypic traits used to choose a mate should reflect honestly the quality of the sender and thus, are often costly. Physiological costs arise if a signal depends on limited nutritional resources. Hence, the nutritional condition of an organism should determine both its quality as a potential mate and its ability to advertise this quality to the choosing sex. In insects, the quality of the offspring's nutrition is often determined by the ovipositing female. A causal connection, however, between the oviposition decisions of the mother and the mating chances of her offspring has never been shown. Here, we demonstrate that females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis prefer those hosts for oviposition that have been experimentally enriched in linoleic acid (LA). We show by (13)C-labelling that LA from the host diet is a precursor of the male sex pheromone. Consequently, males from LA-rich hosts produce and release higher amounts of the pheromone and attract more virgin females than males from LA-poor hosts. Finally, males from LA-rich hosts possess three times as many spermatozoa as those from LA-poor hosts. Hence, females making the right oviposition decisions may increase both the fertility and the sexual attractiveness of their sons.

  5. Dispersal and oviposition of laboratory-reared gravid females of Toxorhynchites moctezuma in an arid urban area of Sonora, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Macías-Duarte, Alberto; Alvarado-Castro, J Andrés; Dórame-Navarro, María E; Félix-Torres, A Amalia

    2009-12-01

    Dengue is a serious public health problem worldwide. Biological control of its vector, Aedes aegypti, remains a feasible option in light of increasing urbanization and insecticide resistance. We studied the dispersal and oviposition activity of Toxorhynchites moctezuma in a dengue-endemic urban area in SSonora, Mexico, to provide information about the potential of Toxorhynchites as a control agent for Ae. aegypti in arid areas. We released 210 and 100 laboratory-reared gravid females of Tx. moctezuma in 2 city blocks during the summer and fall of 1993. We set 3 1-liter containers and 1 car tire as sentinel traps at each of 10 backyards within each city block. Spatial and temporal patterns of dispersal and oviposition activity differed between city blocks and between releases. However, a Cox regression analysis showed no significant difference in the per-day probability of Tx. moctezuma oviposition events in sentinel traps between summer and fall releases. Per-day oviposition probability was nearly 5 times greater for sentineltraps that contained larvae of Ae. aegypti, suggesting a high specificity of the predator for its prey. The proportion of sentinel traps positive for Tx. moctezuma eggs did not increase substantially after the 8th day piost-release, reaching 66% and 23% for sentinel traps with and without Ae. aegypti larvae, respectively.

  6. [Oviposition, development, and reproduction of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) fed on different hosts of economic importance].

    PubMed

    Barros, Eduardo M; Torres, Jorge B; Bueno, Adeney F

    2010-01-01

    The host selection for oviposition by Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) among corn, millet, cotton and soybean, and its relationship with the biological characteristics were investigated. Free and non-choice tests for oviposition using plots containing five plants each, from each host in plastic greenhouse, resulted in similar oviposition preference among the host plants. In addition, selected biological characteristics of S. frugiperda were determined in the laboratory with larvae feeding on host leaves, and the combination of leaf and cotton boll. Neonate larvae exhibited low success of colonization on cotton boll compared to the leaves of all other hosts. Spodoptera frugiperda fed only on cotton bolls exhibited longer larval and pupal development, and longer adult life span; however with similar egg production. Larvae fed cotton leaves during six days and then transferred to cotton bolls, however, exhibited development and reproduction similar to those reared on corn or only on cotton leaves. Therefore, the variations on immature stages of S. frugiperda were not related with host selection for oviposition which was similar among the studied hosts. Based on our data, the millet as a winter, rotational, and cover crop is a potential host for S. frugiperda, while leaves and cotton bolls were diets of intermediate suitability as compared to corn and soybean leaves.

  7. Oviposition deterrent activities of Pachyrhizus erosus seed extract and other natural products on Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).

    PubMed

    Basukriadi, Adi; Wilkins, Richard M

    2014-01-01

    An extract of a rotenone-containing plant yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urban, seeds was tested against the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) in a greenhouse to determine its potential as an oviposition deterrent and compared with coumarin and rutin, known as diamondback moth oviposition deterrent compounds, rotenone, and an extract of Peruvian cube root, at a concentration of 0.5% (w/v). Oviposition deterrent index (ODI) was used to determine effects of extracts or compounds in inhibiting oviposition of diamondback moth. Coumarin showed a stronger deterrent effect than the yam bean seed extract with a higher ODI value. On the contrary, rotenone, rutin, and the cube root extract, containing 6.7% (w/w) of rotenone, showed no significant deterrent effects having low or negative ODI values, suggesting that the deterrent effect of the yam bean seed extract is not due to rotenone content of the yam bean seeds. The extract of yam bean seed and coumarin partially deterred the moth from laying eggs on treated leaves in a concentration-dependent manner. The effective concentration for 50% deterrency of coumarin and the yam bean seed extract were 0.11 and 0.83% (w/v), respectively. However, the yam bean seed extract showed a residual deterrent effect on the moth even at 3 d after the treatment and is probably because of its low volatile nature. A long-term deterrency of the yam bean seed extract is an advantage over coumarins. Both the yam bean seed extract and coumarin deterred diamondback moth from laying eggs in total darkness, indicating their nonvisual deterrent effect. This made the extract an effective deterrence to diamondback moth in light and in darkness. To conclude, this study revealed the potential of the crude extract of the yam bean seed to prevent diamondback moth from ovipositing on its plant host. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  8. Bacteria mediate oviposition by the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    There can be substantial negative consequences for insects colonizing a resource in the presence of competitors. We hypothesized that microbes associated with an oviposition resource and resulting eggs deposited by insects serve as a mechanism regulating subsequent insect attraction, colonization, ...

  9. Preference for ethanol in feeding and oviposition in temperate and tropical populations of Drosophila melanogaster

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Jing; Fry, James D.

    2018-01-01

    The natural habitat of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is fermenting fruits, which can be rich in ethanol. For unknown reasons, temperate populations of this cosmopolitan species have higher ethanol resistance than tropical populations. To determine whether this difference is accompanied by a parallel difference in preference for ethanol, we compared two European and two tropical African populations in feeding and oviposition preference for ethanol-supplemented medium. Although females of all populations laid significantly more eggs on medium with ethanol than on control medium, preference of European females for ethanol increased as ethanol concentration increased from 2 to 6%, whereas that of African females decreased. In feeding tests, African females preferred control medium over medium with 4% ethanol, whereas European females showed no preference. Males of all populations strongly preferred control medium. The combination of preference for ethanol in oviposition, and avoidance or neutrality in feeding, gives evidence that adults choose breeding sites with ethanol for the benefit of larvae, rather than for their own benefit. The stronger oviposition preference for ethanol of temperate than tropical females suggests that this benefit may be more important in temperate populations. Two possible benefits of ethanol for which there is some experimental evidence are cryoprotection and protection against natural enemies. PMID:29398715

  10. Dual-treatment autodissemination station with enhanced transfer of an insect growth regulator to mosquito oviposition sites.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yi; Suman, Devi S; Bertrand, Jacques; Dong, Limin; Gaugler, Randy

    2014-08-01

    The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), transmits important arboviral diseases and displaces native species. This peridomestic mosquito deposits eggs in natural and artificial containers. Container larval habitats tend to be cryptic and, therefore, difficult to reach by conventional insecticide treatments. We have developed an autodissemination station that transfers the insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen, from the station to oviposition sites. Mosquitoes visiting the station become contaminated with an oil sticker followed by pyriproxyfen powder before exiting. In a room (31 m(3) ) bioassay a single station consistently achieved 100% Ae. albopictus pupal mortality against 10 oviposition containers. In a greenhouse (200 m(3) ) assay with two stations and 12 oviposition cups, 91.7% of the cups had been contaminated as shown, and 57.1% pupal mortality was recorded. Pyriproxyfen transfer was also detected by visualizing mosquito 'tarsal prints' using a fluorescent dye. The oil and pyriproxyfen powder dual-treatment station enhanced autodissemination efficacy by increasing toxicant attachment and retention on contaminated females. The autodissemination station offers a targeted, less environmentally damaging approach to manage cryptic container species. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Bacteria Mediate Oviposition by the Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Longyu; Crippen, Tawni L.; Holmes, Leslie; Singh, Baneshwar; Pimsler, Meaghan L.; Benbow, M. Eric; Tarone, Aaron M.; Dowd, Scot; Yu, Ziniu; Vanlaerhoven, Sherah L.; Wood, Thomas K.; Tomberlin, Jeffery K.

    2013-01-01

    There can be substantial negative consequences for insects colonizing a resource in the presence of competitors. We hypothesized that bacteria, associated with an oviposition resource and the insect eggs deposited on that resource, serve as a mechanism regulating subsequent insect attraction, colonization, and potentially succession of insect species. We isolated and identified bacterial species associated with insects associated with vertebrate carrion and used these bacteria to measure their influence on the oviposition preference of adult black soldier flies which utilizes animal carcasses and is an important species in waste management and forensics. We also ascertained that utilizing a mixture of bacteria, rather than a single species, differentially influenced behavioral responses of the flies, as did bacterial concentration and the species of fly from which the bacteria originated. These studies provide insight into interkingdom interactions commonly occurring during decomposition, but not commonly studied. PMID:23995019

  12. Evidence for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition on Boats in the Peruvian Amazon.

    PubMed

    Guagliardo, Sarah Anne; Morrison, Amy C; Luis Barboza, Jose; Wesson, Dawn M; Ponnusamy, Loganathan; Astete, Helvio; Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo; Kitron, Uriel

    2015-07-01

    Dengue vector Aedes aegypti L. is invading peri-urban and rural areas throughout Latin America. Our previous research in the Peruvian Amazon has shown that river boats are heavily infested with immature and adult Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, likely playing a major role in their long-distance dispersal and successful invasion. However, the presence of immature mosquitoes provides no information about the timing of oviposition, and whether it took place in the boats. Here, we used baited ovitraps deployed on river boats to test the hypothesis that Ae. aegypti oviposition occurs during boat travel. We deployed 360 ovitraps on 60 different barges during August and October of 2013, and February 2014 (with 20 barges sampled during each month). We found that Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in 22 individual ovitraps from 15 of the 60 barges (premise index 25%) across all sampling dates. Further, the distribution of Ae. aegypti egg abundance was highly aggregated: 2.6% of traps (N=7) were responsible for 71.8% of eggs found, and 1.5% of traps (N=4) were responsible for all (100%) of the larvae found. Similarly, 5% of boats were responsible for the 71.47% of eggs. Our results provide strong evidence that Ae. aegypti oviposition commonly occurs during boat travel. Baited ovitraps could represent a cost-effective means of monitoring and controlling mosquito populations on boats. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Temperature Studies with the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri: Cold Hardiness and Temperature Thresholds for Oviposition

    PubMed Central

    Hall, David G.; Wenninger, Erik J.; Hentz, Matthew G.

    2011-01-01

    This study was conducted to obtain information on the cold hardiness of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), in Florida and to assess upper and lower temperature thresholds for oviposition. The psyllid is an important pest in citrus because it transmits the bacterial pathogens responsible for citrus greening disease, Huanglongbing, considered the most serious citrus disease worldwide. D. citri was first found in Florida during 1998, and the disease was discovered during 2005. Little was known regarding cold hardiness of D. citri, but Florida citrus is occasionally subjected to notable freeze events. Temperature and duration were each significant sources of variation in percent mortality of D. citri subjected to freeze events. Relatively large percentages of adults and nymphs survived after being exposed for several hours to temperatures as low as -5 to -6° C. Relatively large percentages of eggs hatched after being exposed for several hours to temperatures as low as -8° C. Research results indicated that adult D. citri become cold acclimated during the winter through exposure to cooler winter temperatures. There was no evidence that eggs became cold acclimated during winter. Cold acclimation in nymphs was not investigated. Research with adult D. citri from laboratory and greenhouse colonies revealed that mild to moderate freeze events were usually nonlethal to the D. citri irrespective of whether they were cold acclimated or not. Upper and lower temperature thresholds for oviposition were investigated because such information may be valuable in explaining the geographic distribution and potential spread of the pest from Florida as well as how cooler winter temperatures might limit population growth. The estimated lower and upper thresholds for oviposition were 16.0 and 41.6° C, respectively; the estimated temperature of peak oviposition over a 48 h period was 29.6° C. PMID:21870969

  14. Temperature studies with the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri: cold hardiness and temperature thresholds for oviposition.

    PubMed

    Hall, David G; Wenninger, Erik J; Hentz, Matthew G

    2011-01-01

    This study was conducted to obtain information on the cold hardiness of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), in Florida and to assess upper and lower temperature thresholds for oviposition. The psyllid is an important pest in citrus because it transmits the bacterial pathogens responsible for citrus greening disease, Huanglongbing, considered the most serious citrus disease worldwide. D. citri was first found in Florida during 1998, and the disease was discovered during 2005. Little was known regarding cold hardiness of D. citri, but Florida citrus is occasionally subjected to notable freeze events. Temperature and duration were each significant sources of variation in percent mortality of D. citri subjected to freeze events. Relatively large percentages of adults and nymphs survived after being exposed for several hours to temperatures as low as -5 to -6 °C. Relatively large percentages of eggs hatched after being exposed for several hours to temperatures as low as -8 °C. Research results indicated that adult D. citri become cold acclimated during the winter through exposure to cooler winter temperatures. There was no evidence that eggs became cold acclimated during winter. Cold acclimation in nymphs was not investigated. Research with adult D. citri from laboratory and greenhouse colonies revealed that mild to moderate freeze events were usually nonlethal to the D. citri irrespective of whether they were cold acclimated or not. Upper and lower temperature thresholds for oviposition were investigated because such information may be valuable in explaining the geographic distribution and potential spread of the pest from Florida as well as how cooler winter temperatures might limit population growth. The estimated lower and upper thresholds for oviposition were 16.0 and 41.6 °C, respectively; the estimated temperature of peak oviposition over a 48 h period was 29.6 °C.

  15. Chemical mimicry of insect oviposition sites: a global analysis of convergence in angiosperms.

    PubMed

    Jürgens, Andreas; Wee, Suk-Ling; Shuttleworth, Adam; Johnson, Steven D

    2013-09-01

    Floral mimicry of decaying plant or animal material has evolved in many plant lineages and exploits, for the purpose of pollination, insects seeking oviposition sites. Existing studies suggest that volatile signals play a particularly important role in these mimicry systems. Here, we present the first large-scale phylogenetically informed study of patterns of evolution in the volatile emissions of plants that mimic insect oviposition sites. Multivariate analyses showed strong convergent evolution, represented by distinct clusters in chemical phenotype space of plants that mimic animal carrion, decaying plant material, herbivore dung and omnivore/carnivore faeces respectively. These plants deploy universal infochemicals that serve as indicators for the main nutrients utilised by saprophagous, coprophagous and necrophagous insects. The emission of oligosulphide-dominated volatile blends very similar to those emitted by carrion has evolved independently in at least five plant families (Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Araceae, Orchidaceae and Rafflesiaceae) and characterises plants associated mainly with pollination by necrophagous flies and beetles. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  16. Foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) oviposition site choice at multiple spatial scales

    Treesearch

    Amy J. Lind; Hartwell H. Welsh; Clara A. Wheeler

    2016-01-01

    Studies of resource selection at multiple scales are critical to understanding ecological and evolutionary attributes of a species. We analyzed relative abundance, habitat use, and oviposition site selection of Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs (Rana boylii) at 11 localities across two geographic regions in California (northern Coast Range and Sierra...

  17. The tale of two buckets and associated containers: impact on aedes albopictus oviposition

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Aedes albopictus is an invasive species. Its oviposition behavior is the subject of several projects in our research unit. The main emphasis of this presentation is a study which utilizes two five gallon buckets, one heated and one with ambient temperature. The heat is provided by an aquarium hea...

  18. Host plant choice in the comma butterfly-larval choosiness may ameliorate effects of indiscriminate oviposition.

    PubMed

    Gamberale-Stille, Gabriella; Söderlind, Lina; Janz, Niklas; Nylin, Sören

    2014-08-01

    In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance allows for a potential mother-offspring conflict, resulting in the female maximizing her fecundity at the expense of larval performance on suboptimal hosts. In two experiments, we aimed to investigate this relationship in the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, by comparing the relative acceptance of low- and medium-ranked hosts between females and neonate larvae both within individuals between life stages, and between mothers and their offspring. The study shows a variation between females in oviposition acceptance of low-ranked hosts, and that the degree of acceptance in the mothers correlates with the probability of acceptance of the same host in the larvae. We also found a negative relationship between stages within individuals as there was a higher acceptance of lower ranked hosts in females who had abandoned said host as a larva. Notably, however, neonate larvae of the comma butterfly did not unconditionally accept to feed from the least favorable host species even when it was the only food source. Our results suggest the possibility that the disadvantages associated with a generalist oviposition strategy can be decreased by larval participation in host plant choice. © 2013 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  19. Herbivore Damage and Prior Egg Deposition on Host Plants Influence the Oviposition of the Generalist Moth Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

    PubMed

    Coapio, Guadalupe G; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Guerenstein, Pablo; Malo, Edi A; Rojas, Julio C

    2016-12-01

    Female insects have the difficult task of locating host plants that maximize the survival and success of their offspring. In this study, the oviposition preferences of the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner), for soybean plants, Glycine max (L.), under various treatments-undamaged, mechanically damaged, damaged by T. ni or Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) larvae or by Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) adults, egg-free plants, and plants previously oviposited by conspecific or heterospecific females (S. frugiperda)-were investigated using two-choice tests. Additionally, the volatile compounds emitted by the plants under the different treatments were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our results showed that females showed no preferences for undamaged or mechanically damaged plants. However, they oviposited more often on undamaged plants than on those previously damaged by T. ni, S. frugiperda, or B. tabaci. In contrast, females preferred to oviposit on plants previously oviposited by conspecific and heterospecific females than on egg-free plants. Plants damaged by conspecific or heterospecific larvae emitted methyl salicylate, indole, and octyl butyrate, compounds not released by undamaged or mechanically damaged plants. Whitefly damage induced the release of higher quantities of Z(3)-hexenyl acetate, (R)-(+)-limonene, and (E)-β-ocimene compared to plants damaged by larvae and suppressed the emission of linalool. Egg deposition by conspecific and heterospecific moths induced the emission of (R)-(+)-limonene, octyl butyrate, and geranyl acetone but suppressed the release of linalool. This study showed that a generalist moth species can discriminate between plants of different quality, and suggests that females use volatile compounds as cues during this process. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Contributions of temporal segregation, oviposition choice, and non-additive effects of competitors to invasion success of Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in North America

    PubMed Central

    Murrell, Ebony G.; Noden, Bruce H.; Juliano, Steven A.

    2015-01-01

    The mosquito Aedes japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) has spread rapidly through North America since its introduction in the 1990s. The mechanisms underlying its establishment in container communities occupied by competitors Aedes triseriatus and Aedes albopictus are unclear. Possibilities include (A) temporal separation of A. japonicus from other Aedes, (B) oviposition avoidance by A. japonicus of sites containing heterospecific Aedes larvae, and (C) non-additive competitive effects in assemblages of multiple Aedes. Containers sampled throughout the summer in an oak-hickory forest near Eureka, MO showed peak abundance for A. japonicus occurring significantly earlier in the season than either of the other Aedes species. Despite this, A. japonicus co-occurred with one other Aedes species in 53 % of samples when present, and co-occurred with both other Aedes in 18 % of samples. In a field oviposition experiment, A. japonicus laid significantly more eggs in forest edge containers than in forest interior containers, but did not avoid containers with low or high densities of larvae of A. triseriatus, A. albopictus, or both, compared to containers without larvae. Interspecific competitive effects (measured as decrease in the index of performance, λ′) of A. triseriatus or A. albopictus alone on A. japonicus larvae were not evident at the densities used, but the effect of both Aedes combined was significantly negative and super-additive of effects of individual interspecific competitors. Thus, neither oviposition avoidance of competitors nor non-additive competitive effects contribute to the invasion success of A. japonicus in North America. Distinct seasonal phenology may reduce competitive interactions with resident Aedes. PMID:26101466

  1. Volatiles from waste larval rearing media attract gravid screwworm flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to oviposit

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Gravid screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax, are attracted to the volatiles from waste larval rearing media to deposit eggs. Studies were conducted to identify chemicals from the waste media volatiles and determine their effectiveness to attract gravid flies to oviposit. Volatiles were collected...

  2. Volatiles of grape inoculated with microorganisms: modulation of grapevine moth oviposition and field attraction

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Semiochemicals released by plant-microbe associations are used by herbivorous insects to access and evaluate food resources and oviposition sites. Adult insects may utilize microbial-derived nutrients to prolong their lifespan, promote egg development and offer a high nutritional substrate to their ...

  3. Early Practicum Experiences: Preservice Early Childhood Students' Perceptions and Sense of Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Schagen Johnson, Amy; La Paro, Karen M.; Crosby, Danielle A.

    2017-01-01

    The current study explored early practicum experiences (those occurring before student teaching) in an early childhood birth to kindergarten teacher education program. Undergraduates enrolled in practicum courses completed questionnaires about their overall practicum experience including: socio-emotional components (their perceived fit with their…

  4. Variation in the Volatile Profiles of Black and Manchurian Ash in Relation to Emerald Ash Borer Oviposition Preferences.

    PubMed

    Rigsby, Chad M; McCartney, Nathaniel B; Herms, Daniel A; Tumlinson, James H; Cipollini, Don

    2017-08-01

    Emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis) is a devastating pest of ash (Fraxinus spp.) in its invaded range in North America. Its coevolved Asian hosts are more resistant and less preferred for oviposition than susceptible North American species. We compared EAB oviposition preferences and bark and canopy volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of resistant Manchurian ash and susceptible black ash, and examined relationships between VOC profiles and oviposition. In the field, black ash was highly preferred for oviposition while no eggs were laid on Manchurian ash, and we found clear differences in the VOC profiles of Manchurian and black ash. We detected 78 compounds emitted from these species, including 16 compounds that elicited EAB antennal activity in prior studies. Four compounds were unique to black and 11 to Manchurian ash. Emission rates of 14 canopy and 19 bark volatiles varied among the two species, including four previously reported as antennally active. Specifically, 7-epi-sesquithujene (bark) emissions were greater from black ash, while β-caryophyllene (canopy), linalool (bark), and α-cubebene (bark) were emitted at higher rates by Manchurian ash. No relationships were found between the emission rate of any single compound or group of compounds (e.g. monoterpenes) suggesting that preference may be based on complex profile combinations. This is the first study to directly compare VOCs of black and Manchurian ash as well as the first to examine bark- and canopy-specific VOCs. The unique bark and canopy VOC profiles of these two species implicates potentially important variation in VOCs between a closely related resistant and susceptible species that provides a foundation for future studies of host preferences of EAB.

  5. Oviposition behaviors and ontogenetic embryonic characteristics of the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a key pest of fruit, vegetable, and field crops in the western United States but many aspects of L. hesperus ecology are poorly documented. A sound understanding of oviposition behavior and characterization of the phases of embryonic development would be...

  6. Electric nets and sticky materials for analysing oviposition behaviour of gravid malaria vectors

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Little is known about how malaria mosquitoes locate oviposition sites in nature. Such knowledge is important to help devise monitoring and control measures that could be used to target gravid females. This study set out to develop a suite of tools that can be used to study the attraction of gravid Anopheles gambiae s.s. towards visual or olfactory cues associated with aquatic habitats. Methods Firstly, the study developed and assessed methods for using electrocuting nets to analyse the orientation of gravid females towards an aquatic habitat. Electric nets (1m high × 0.5m wide) were powered by a 12V battery via a spark box. High and low energy settings were compared for mosquito electrocution and a collection device developed to retain electrocuted mosquitoes when falling to the ground. Secondly, a range of sticky materials and a detergent were tested to quantify if and where gravid females land to lay their eggs, by treating the edge of the ponds and the water surface. A randomized complete block design was used for all experiments with 200 mosquitoes released each day. Experiments were conducted in screened semi-field systems using insectary-reared An. gambiae s.s. Data were analysed by generalized estimating equations. Results An electric net operated at the highest spark box energy of a 400 volt direct current made the net spark, creating a crackling sound, a burst of light and a burning smell. This setting caught 64% less mosquitoes than a net powered by reduced voltage output that could neither be heard nor seen (odds ratio (OR) 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.53, p < 0.001). Three sticky boards (transparent film, glue coated black fly-screen and yellow film) were evaluated as catching devices under electric nets and the transparent and shiny black surfaces were found highly attractive (OR 41.6, 95% CI 19.8 – 87.3, p < 0.001 and OR 28.8, 95% CI 14.5 – 56.8, p < 0.001, respectively) for gravid mosquitoes to land on compared to a

  7. BdorCSP2 Is Important for Antifeed and Oviposition-Deterring Activities Induced by Rhodojaponin-III against Bactrocera dorsalis

    PubMed Central

    Dong, Xiaolin; Wang, Peidan; Hu, Meiying; Zhong, Guohua

    2013-01-01

    Rhodojaponin-III is a nonvolatile botanical grayanoid diterpene compound, which has antifeedant and oviposition deterrence effects against many kinds of insects. However, the molecular mechanism of the chemoreception process remains unknown. In this study, the important role of BdorCSP2 in the recognition of Rhodojaponin-III was identified. The full length cDNA encoding BdorCSP2 was cloned from legs of Bactrocera dorsalis. The results of expression pattern revealed that BdorCSP2 was abundantly expressed in the legs of adult B. dorsalis. Moreover, the expression of BdorCSP2 could be up-regulated by Rhodojaponin-III. In order to gain comprehensive understanding of the recognition process, the binding affinity between BdorCSP2 and Rhodojaponin-III was measured by fluorescence binding assay. Silencing the expression of BdorCSP2 through the ingestion of dsRNA could weaken the effect of oviposition deterrence and antifeedant of Rhodojaponin-III. These results suggested that BdorCSP2 of B. dorsalis could be involved in chemoreception of Rhodojaponin-III and played a critical role in antifeedant and oviposition behaviors induced by Rhodojaponin-III. PMID:24155937

  8. The effects of herbal essential oils on the oviposition-deterrent and ovicidal activities of Aedes aegypti (Linn.), Anopheles dirus (Peyton and Harrison) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say).

    PubMed

    Siriporn, P; Mayura, S

    2012-03-01

    The effect of oviposition-deterrent and ovicidal of seven essential oils were evaluated towards three mosquito vectors, Aedes aegypti, Anopheles dirus and Culex quinquefasciatus. The oviposition activity index (OAI) values of six essential oils namely Cananga odorata, Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon nardus, Eucalyptus citriodora, Ocimum basilicum and Syzygium aromaticum indicated that there were more deterrent than the control whereas Citrus sinensis oil acted as oviposition attractant. At higher concentration (10%) of Ca. odorata (ylang ylang flowers) showed high percent effective repellency (ER) against oviposition at 99.4% to Ae. aegypti, 97.1% to An. dirus and 100% to Cx. quinquefasciatus, respectively. The results showed that mean numbers of eggs were lower in treated than in untreated water. In addition, there was an inverse relationship between essential oil concentrations and ovicidal activity. As the concentration of essential oil increased from 1%, 5% and up to 10% conc., the hatching rate decreased. The essential oil of Ca. odorata at 10% conc. gave minimum egg hatch of 10.4% (for Ae. aegypti), 0.8% (for An. dirus) and 1.1% (for Cx. quinquefasciatus) respectively. These results clearly revealed that the essential oil of Ca. odorata served as a potential oviposition-deterrent and ovicidal activity against Ae. aegypti, An. dirus and Cx. quinquefasciatus.

  9. Inhibited Oviposition by Females of Gryllus assimilis (F.), induced by Radioactive Males, using L-Methionine-Methyl- 14C

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    ABDEL-MALEK, A. A.; KEVAN, D. K. McE.

    1961-11-18

    Results of matings between radioactive and normal or non-radioactive individuals of Gryllus assimilis (North American field crickets) are reported. The treatment of males with L-methionine-methyl-carbon-l4 caused inhibition of egg-laying females and sterility of the male itself. This inhibited oviposition applies to both radioactive and normal virgin females when they are mated with radioactive males. However, if the female is mated with a normal male no effect is noticed in normal oviposition whether the female is normal or radioactive. As a matter of fact, it appears that the radioactive female lays more eggs when mated with a normal male. (N.W.R.)

  10. 'Nature or nurture': survival rate, oviposition interval, and possible gonotrophic discordance among South East Asian anophelines.

    PubMed

    Derek Charlwood, J; Nenhep, Somalay; Sovannaroth, Siv; Morgan, John C; Hemingway, Janet; Chitnis, Nakul; Briët, Olivier J T

    2016-07-12

    Mosquito survival, oviposition interval and gonotrophic concordance are important determinants of vectorial capacity. These may vary between species or within a single species depending on the environment. They may be estimated by examination of the ovaries of host-seeking mosquitoes. Landing collections, Furvela tent-trap and CDC light-trap collections were undertaken sequentially in four locations in Cambodia between February 2012 and December 2013 and samples from the collected mosquitoes were dissected to determine parity, sac stage (indicative of time spent prior to returning to feed) and egg stage. A total of 27,876 Anopheles from 15 species or species groups were collected in the four locations and 2883 specimens were dissected. Both the density and predominant species collected varied according to location and trapping method. Five species were dissected in sufficient numbers to allow comparisons between locations. Estimated oviposition interval differed markedly between species but less within species among different locations. Anopheles aconitus had the shortest cycle, which was 3.17 days (95 % CI 3-3.64), and Anopheles barbirostris had the longest cycle, which took four days (95 % CI 3.29-4). Anopheles minimus had a higher sac rate in weeks leading up to a full moon but there was apparently little effect of moon phase on Anopheles dirus. Despite the fact that many of the species occurred at very low densities, there was no evidence of gonotrophic dissociation in any of them, even during sustained hot, dry periods. The principal Cambodian malaria vector, An. dirus, was only common in one location where it was collected in miniature light-traps inside houses. It did not appear to have an exceptional survival rate (as judged by the low average parous rate) or oviposition cycle. Differences in the oviposition interval were more pronounced among species within locations than within species among ecologically diverse locations. A nationwide survey using CDC

  11. Identification of volatiles from waste larval rearing media that attract gravid screwworm flies to oviposit

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The waste product of the artificial larval rearing media of the primary screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, attracts gravid female screwworm flies to oviposit. The volatile component of this waste product was collected using solid phase microextraction techniques and subjected to gas chromatography-...

  12. Relationship between oviposition, virulence gene expression and parasitism success in Cotesia typhae nov. sp. parasitoid strains.

    PubMed

    Benoist, R; Chantre, C; Capdevielle-Dulac, C; Bodet, M; Mougel, F; Calatayud, P A; Dupas, S; Huguet, E; Jeannette, R; Obonyo, J; Odorico, C; Silvain, J F; Le Ru, B; Kaiser, L

    2017-12-01

    Studying mechanisms that drive host adaptation in parasitoids is crucial for the efficient use of parasitoids in biocontrol programs. Cotesia typhae nov. sp. (Fernández-Triana) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a newly described parasitoid of the Mediterranean corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Braconidae are known for their domesticated bracovirus, which is injected with eggs in the host larva to overcome its resistance. In this context, we compared reproductive success traits of four Kenyan strains of C. typhae on a French and a Kenyan populations of its host. Differences were found between the four strains and the two most contrasted ones were studied more thoroughly on the French host population. Parasitoid offspring size was correlated with parasitism success and the expression of bracovirus virulence genes (CrV1 and Cystatin) in the host larva after parasitism. Hybrids between these two parasitoid strains showed phenotype and gene expression profiles similar to the most successful parental strain, suggesting the involvement of dominant alleles in the reproductive traits. Ovary dissections revealed that the most successful strain injected more eggs in a single host larva than the less successful one, despite an equal initial ovocyte number in ovaries. It can be expected that the amount of viral particles increase with the number of eggs injected. The ability to bypass the resistance of the allopatric host may in consequence be related to the oviposition behaviour (eggs allocation). The influence of the number of injected eggs on parasitism success and on virulence gene expression was evaluated by oviposition interruption experiments.

  13. Attempt at concentrating red oak borer eggs by providing artificial oviposition sites

    Treesearch

    Jimmy R. Galford

    1977-01-01

    Thirty-eight scarlet and 14 black oaks were spirally wrapped to a height of about 2 m with black or white cotton tape 2.5 cm wide in an attempt to increase oviposition of the red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), on selected trap trees. However only 57 eggs were laid under tape on 17 of the trees, all scarlet oaks. Attacks but no eggs were...

  14. Correlates of Bulimia Nervosa: Early Family Mealtime Experiences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Debra A. F.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Examined relationship of early mealtime experiences to later bulimia in 128 female college students. Found significant group differences among bulimics, nonbulimics, and repeat dieters on early meal experience questionnaire, with bulimic group reporting most negative and unusual experiences. Found significant differences among groups on depression…

  15. The Legacy of Early Experiences in Development: Formalizing Alternative Models of How Early Experiences Are Carried Forward over Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fraley, R. Chris; Roisman, Glenn I.; Haltigan, John D.

    2013-01-01

    Psychologists have long debated the role of early experience in social and cognitive development. However, traditional approaches to studying this issue are not well positioned to address this debate. The authors present simulations that indicate that the associations between early experiences and later outcomes should approach different…

  16. (E)-Caryophyllene and α-Humulene: Aedes aegypti Oviposition Deterrents Elucidated by Gas Chromatography-Electrophysiological Assay of Commiphora leptophloeos Leaf Oil

    PubMed Central

    da Silva, Rayane Cristine Santos; Milet-Pinheiro, Paulo; Bezerra da Silva, Patrícia Cristina; da Silva, Alexandre Gomes; da Silva, Marcia Vanusa; Navarro, Daniela Maria do Amaral Ferraz; da Silva, Nicácio Henrique

    2015-01-01

    Aedes aegypti is responsible for the transmission of dengue, a disease that infects millions of people each year. Although essential oils are well recognized as sources of compounds with repellent and larvicidal activities against the dengue mosquito, much less is known about their oviposition deterrent effects. Commiphora leptophloeos, a tree native to South America, has important pharmacological properties, but the chemical profile and applicability of its essential oil in controlling the spread of the dengue mosquito have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the composition of C. leptophloeos leaf oil and to evaluate its larvicidal and oviposition deterrent effects against A. aegypti. Fifty-five components of the essential oil were detected by gas chromatography (GC)—mass spectrometry, with α-phellandrene (26.3%), (E)-caryophyllene (18.0%) and β-phellandrene (12.9%) identified as the major constituents. Bioassays showed that the oil exhibited strong oviposition deterrent effects against A. aegypti at concentrations between 25 and 100 ppm, and possessed good larvicidal activity (LC50 = 99.4 ppm). Analysis of the oil by GC coupled with electroantennographic detection established that seven constituents could trigger antennal depolarization in A. aegypti gravid females. Two of these components, namely (E)-caryophyllene and α-humulene, were present in substantial proportions in the oil, and oviposition deterrence assays confirmed that both were significantly active at concentrations equivalent to those present in the oil. It is concluded that these sesquiterpenes are responsible, at least in part, for the deterrent effect of the oil. The oviposition deterrent activity of the leaf oil of C. leptophloeos is one of the most potent reported so far, suggesting that it could represent an interesting alternative to synthetic insecticides. The results of this study highlight the importance of integrating chemical and electrophysiological

  17. Grapevines respond to glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) oviposition by increasing local and systemic terpenoid levels

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Grapevines (Vitis vinifera) have been observed to respond to oviposition by glassy-winged sharpshooters [Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar)(Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)] by producing volatile compounds that attract egg parasitoids such as Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). Recent work ...

  18. Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition Response to Organic Infusions from Common Flora of Suburban Florida

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    We evaluated the oviposition response of Aedes albopictus to six organic infusions. Laboratory and field placed ovitraps baited with water oak (Quercus nigra L.), longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill) and St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze), as well as two-species mixture...

  19. Biological Perspectives on the Effects of Early Psychosocial Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Peter J.; Kenney, Justin W.

    2009-01-01

    There is much current interest in how adverse experiences early in life might affect certain elements of physiological, behavioral, and psychological functioning across the lifespan. Recent conceptual frameworks for studying the effects of early experience have involved constructs such as experience-expectant, experience-dependent, and…

  20. Mortality risk from entomopathogenic fungi affects oviposition behavior in the parasitoid wasp Trybliographa rapae.

    PubMed

    Rännbäck, Linda-Marie; Cotes, Belen; Anderson, Peter; Rämert, Birgitta; Meyling, Nicolai V

    2015-01-01

    Biological control of pests in agroecosystems could be enhanced by combining multiple natural enemies. However, this approach might also compromise the control efficacy through intraguild predation (IGP) among the natural enemies. Parasitoids may be able to avoid the risk of unidirectional IGP posed by entomopathogenic fungi through selective oviposition behavior during host foraging. Trybliographa rapae is a larval parasitoid of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum. Here we evaluated the susceptibility of D. radicum and T. rapae to two species of generalist entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium brunneum isolate KVL 04-57 and Beauveria bassiana isolate KVL 03-90. Furthermore, T. rapae oviposition behavior was assessed in the presence of these entomopathogenic fungi either as infected hosts or as infective propagules in the environment. Both fungi were pathogenic to D. radicum larvae and T. rapae adults, but with variable virulence. When host patches were inoculated with M. brunneum conidia in a no-choice situation, more eggs were laid by T. rapae in hosts of those patches compared to control and B. bassiana treated patches. Females that later succumbed to mycosis from either fungus laid significantly more eggs than non-mycosed females, indicating that resources were allocated to increased oviposition due to perceived decreased life expectancy. When presented with a choice between healthy and fungal infected hosts, T. rapae females laid more eggs in healthy larvae than in M. brunneum infected larvae. This was less pronounced for B. bassiana. Based on our results we propose that T. rapae can perceive and react towards IGP risk posed by M. brunneum but not B. bassiana to the foraging female herself and her offspring. Thus, M. brunneum has the potential to be used for biological control against D. radicum with a limited risk to T. rapae populations. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Evaluation of waste artificial larval rearing media as oviposition attractant for New World screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The waste artificial larval rearing media of the New World Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) were evaluated to determine their effectiveness as oviposition attractants. Various concentrations of waste larval media resulting from rearing screwworm larvae in gel and cellulose fiber-based ...

  2. An autodissemination station for the transfer of an insect growth regulator to mosquito oviposition sites.

    PubMed

    Gaugler, R; Suman, D; Wang, Y

    2012-03-01

    A prototype autodissemination station to topically contaminate oviposition-seeking container-dwelling mosquitoes with the insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen, was developed and tested in the laboratory. Our test subject was the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae), an urban species that colonizes small-volume cryptic larval habitats and is a skip ovipositor that visits multiple containers. The station consists of a water reservoir to attract gravid females, which is joined to a transfer chamber designed to contaminate visiting mosquitoes. The unit is easily constructed by moulding wet shredded cardboard using corn starch as a binder. The essential criteria that must be met to prove the efficacy of an autodissemination station require it to demonstrate effectiveness in attracting the target insect, in transferring the toxicant to the insect that will disperse the agent, and in facilitating the subsequent transfer of the toxicant from the insect to target habitats at a lethal concentration. Cage experiments demonstrated that the unit was readily accepted by gravid females as an oviposition site. A powder formulation of pyriproxyfen-impregnated silica particles adhered to visiting Ae. albopictus females (mean: 66 particles/female), although particles were lost over time. In cage (2.2 m(3) ) trials, pyriproxyfen-charged stations resulted in 100% inhibition of adult emergence, whereas in small-room (31.1 m(3) ) trials, 81% emergence inhibition was recorded. The venereal transfer of pyriproxyfen from contaminated males to virgin females was also observed, and pyriproxyfen was subsequently transferred to water-holding containers at concentrations that inhibited emergence. Key autodissemination station features include lack of maintenance requirements, biodegradable construction, low cost and low risk. © 2011 The Authors. Medical and Veterinary Entomology © 2011 The Royal Entomological Society.

  3. Attraction, oviposition preferences, and olfactory responses of corn-infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera) to various host-based substrates

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Fresh market sweet corn produced in Florida is threatened by larval damage by Euxesta stigmatias Loew, E. eluta Loew, and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae) that renders ears unmarketable. No standard lure exists for monitoring these pests. Oviposition and attraction bioassays were desig...

  4. Divergent oviposition preferences of sister species are not driven by nest survival: The evidence for neutrality

    EPA Science Inventory

    Both adaptive and neutral trait evolution can contribute to divergence, but the relative contributions of the two remain unclear. Oviposition preference, a trait that has been demonstrated to contribute to divergence among populations, is often presumed to be an adaptive trait. F...

  5. Powder from cedar heartwood affects oviposition behavior in Coleomegilla maculata: a ladybird native to the Americas

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Introduction: Coleomegilla maculata is a predatory ladybird inhabiting ecosystems in North, Central, and South America. The aim of our research is to discover efficient, low-cost materials that boost oviposition in mass-reared C. maculata fed non-natural foods. We tested the hypothesis that eastern ...

  6. Olfactory Perception of Oviposition-Deterring Fatty Acids and Their Methyl Esters by the Asian Corn Borer, Ostrinia furnacalis

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Lei; Qing Li, Guo

    2009-01-01

    Olfactory perception of myristic, palmitic, stearic and oleic acids and their corresponding methyl esters by Asian corn borer moths, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was investigated. It was found that mated females with both antennae amputated, in contrast to intact females and females with one antenna removed, could not discriminate between simultaneously provided control filter papers and filters treated with a blend of oviposition-deterring fatty acids. Oviposition by mated females exhibited a very marked periodicity, with all egg masses deposited during the scotophase and most egg masses laid before midnight. According to the peak and trough period of oviposition, electroantennogram (EAG) responses from both mated females and males to the four fatty acids and four methyl esters were tested within two two-hour periods from 3 to 5 hours after the start of darkness and from 1 to 3 hours after light onset, respectively. Significant EAG responses above solvent and background were elicited by all test chemicals from females, and by most of the test compounds from males. EAG values of all test chemicals from mated females were not statistically different between the two test periods except for methyl myristate. Conversely, EAG responses from mated males to myristic acid, stearic acid and their methyl esters significantly differed between the two test periods. PMID:20053122

  7. Infusion-Baited Ovitraps to Survey Ovipositional Height Preferences of Container-Breeding Mosquitoes in Two Florida Habitats

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The response of container-breeding mosquitoes to ovitraps containing water, oak or oak-pine infusion was evaluated in four suburban and four sylvatic habitats in north central Florida to ascertain species specific oviposition height preferences. A total of 48 ovitraps were suspended at 1 and 6 meter...

  8. Oviposition, Life Cycle, and Longevity of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Acromyrmex rugosus rugosus.

    PubMed

    Verza, Sandra S; Mussury, Rosilda M; Camargo, Roberto S; Andrade, Ana Paula P; Forti, Luiz C

    2017-08-04

    Studies related to the demography of individual members from ant colonies have received little attention, although they are the basis to understanding the population dynamics of colonies. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the queen oviposition rate and the duration of the life cycle and longevity of Acromyrmex rugosus rugosus workers. To determine the oviposition rate, queens from three colonies were individually placed in plastic containers, and the eggs laid were quantified over a 96 h period. The development of the immature forms was observed every 24 h, with which the duration of each stage of development was determined. To verify the longevity of workers, the newly emerged adults were marked and daily observations were made. According to the results, there is variation in the development time of immature forms within the colony itself and between colonies. In addition, the number of eggs deposited was also inconstant in the three colonies, ranging from 5 to 119 eggs per day, while the longevity of workers varied from 3 to 7 months. Occasionally, it was found that the workers feed on the eggs produced by the queen; besides, there was a disappearance of larvae and pupae during the research, indicating a possibility of the practice of cannibalism in this species.

  9. Footprints of "experiment" in early Arabic optics.

    PubMed

    Kheirandish, Elaheh

    2009-01-01

    This study traces the early developments of the concept of experiment with a view of extending the subject in both content and approach. It extends the content of the subject slightly backward, prior to the methodological breakthroughs of the Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen or Alhacen, d. ca. 1040), which are credited as a "significant landmark in the history of experimental science." And it extends the approach to the subject slightly forward, from the premise that early science was "largely carried out in books," to a close examination of the books through which the footprints of'experiment' may be traced. The point of departure is the Optics of Ahmad ibn 'Isă, a revealing text for the early developments of concepts such as 'demonstration' and 'experiment', and one through which some modern discussions are examined and extended with reference to this and other historical sources.

  10. Efficacy and longevity of the newly developed catnip oil microcapsules against stable fly oviposition larval growth

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most important pests of cattle and costs U.S. cattle producers billions of dollars in losses annually. In this study, the efficacy of catnip oil encapsulated in gelatin in oviposition deterrence and larval growth inhibition in st...

  11. Laboratory tests of oviposition by the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, on dark soil as influenced by presence or absence of vegetation

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Juan; Walker, Edward D; Otienoburu, Philip E; Amimo, Fred; Vulule, John; Miller, James R

    2006-01-01

    Background Physical objects like vegetation can influence oviposition by mosquitoes on soil or water substrates. Anopheles gambiae s. l. is generally thought to utilize puddles over bare soil as its prime larval habitat and to avoid standing water populated with vegetation. In Kisian, Kenya near Kisumu, water often pools in grassy drainage areas both during and after periods of infrequent rains, when typical puddle habitats become scarce because of drying. This raised the question of whether An. gambiae has the behavioural flexibility to switch ovipositional sites when puddles over bare soil are unavailable. Methods To test whether presence and height of grasses influenced oviposition, wild-caught gravid An. gambiae s. l. were offered paired choices between wet, bare soil and wet soil populated with mixed grasses or grasses of differing height. No-choice tests were also conducted by giving females either grassy soil or bare soil. Results In choice tests, females laid four times more eggs on bare, wet soil than soil populated with grasses. However in no-choice tests, egg output was not significantly different whether grasses were present or not. Females laid significantly more eggs on soil populated with short grass than with medium, or tall grass. Conclusion This work shows An. gambiae s. l. has the capacity to oviposit into grassy aquatic habitats when typical puddles over bare soil are unavailable. This knowledge will need to be considered in the design and implementation of programmes aimed at reducing malaria transmission by suppression of An. gambiae s. l. immatures. PMID:17038187

  12. The immunomodulatory protein RH36 is relating to blood-feeding success and oviposition in hard ticks.

    PubMed

    Wang, Fangfang; Lu, Xiaojuan; Guo, Fengxun; Gong, Haiyan; Zhang, Houshuang; Zhou, Yongzhi; Cao, Jie; Zhou, Jinlin

    2017-06-15

    An immunomodulatory protein designated RH36 was identified in the tick Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides. The cDNA sequence of RH36 has 844bp and encodes a deduced protein with a predicted molecular weight of 24kDa. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that RH36 presented a degree of similarity of 34.36% with the immunomodulatory protein p36 from the tick Dermacentor andersoni. The recombinant RH36 (rRH36) expressed in Sf9 insect cells suppressed the T-lymphocyte mitogen-driven in vitro proliferation of splenocytes and the expression of several cytokines such as IL-2, IL-12, and TNF-α. Furthermore, the proliferation of splenocytes isolated from rRH36-inoculated mice was significantly lower than that in control mice, suggesting that rRH36 could directly suppress immune responses in vivo. In addition, microarray analysis of splenocytes indicated that the expression of several immunomodulatory genes was downregulated by rRH36. The silencing of the RH36 gene by RNAi led to a 37.5% decrease in the tick attachment rate 24h after placement into the rabbit ears, whereas vaccination with RH36 caused a 53.06% decrease in the tick engorgement rate. Unexpectedly, RNAi induced a significant decrease in the oviposition rate, ovary weight at day 12 after engorgement, and egg-hatching rate. The effects of RH36 on blood feeding and oviposition were further confirmed by vaccination tests using the recombinant protein. These results indicate that RH36 is a novel member of immunosuppressant proteins and affects tick blood feeding and oviposition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Acaricidal and oviposition deterring effects of santalol identified in sandalwood oil against two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae).

    PubMed

    Roh, Hyun Sik; Lim, Eu Gene; Kim, Jinwoo; Park, Chung Gyoo

    2011-12-01

    Thirty-four plant essential oils were screened for their acaricidal and oviposition deterrent activities against two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), in the laboratory using a leaf-dip bioassay. From initial trials, sandalwood and common thyme oils were observed to be the most effective against TSSM adult females. Subsequent trials confirmed that only sandalwood oil was significantly active (87.2 ± 2.9% mortality) against TSSM adult females. Sandalwood oil also demonstrated oviposition deterring effects based on a 89.3% reduction of the total number of eggs on leaf disks treated with the oil. GC-MS analysis revealed that the main components of the sandalwood oil were α-santalol (45.8%), β-santalol (20.6%), β-sinensal (9.4%), and epi-β-santalol (3.3%). A mixture of α- and β-santalol (51.0:22.9, respectively) produced significantly higher mortality (85.5 ± 2.9%) and oviposition deterrent effects (94.7% reduction in the number of eggs) than the control. Phytotoxicity was not shown on rose shoots to which a 0.1% solution of sandalwood oil was applied.

  14. ABCs of Early Mathematics Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hensen, Laurie E.

    2005-01-01

    Children begin to develop mathematical thinking before they enter school. Art, baking, playing with blocks, counting numbers, games, puzzles, singing, playing with pretend money, water play all these early mathematical experiences help the children to learn in the elementary school years.

  15. Feeding, oviposition and survival of Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on Bt and non-Bt cottons

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The effects of Bt transgenic cottons (Bt-I expressing cry1Ac and Bt-H expressing cry1Ab and cry2Ab or cry1Ab and cry1Fa) and non-Bt cottons on feeding, oviposition and longevity of adults, and development and survival of Liriomyza trifolii larvae were studies under laboratory conditions, and infesta...

  16. Crystal and solution structures of an odorant-binding protein from the southern house mosquito complexed with an oviposition pheromone

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mao, Yang; Xu, Xianzhong; Xu, Wei

    2010-11-15

    Culex mosquitoes introduce the pathogens responsible for filariasis, West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, and other diseases into humans. Currently, traps baited with oviposition semiochemicals play an important role in detection efforts and could provide an environmentally friendly approach to controlling their populations. The odorant binding proteins (OBPs) in the female's antenna play a crucial, if yet imperfectly understood, role in sensing oviposition cues. Here, we report the X-ray crystallography and NMR 3D structures of OBP1 for Culex quinquefasciatus (CquiOBP1) bound to an oviposition pheromone (5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide (MOP). In both studies, CquiOBP1 had the same overall six-helix structure seen in othermore » insect OBPs, but a detailed analysis revealed an important previously undescribed feature. There are two models for OBP-mediated signal transduction: (i) direct release of the pheromone from an internal binding pocket in a pH-dependent fashion and (ii) detection of a pheromone-induced conformational change in the OBP {center_dot} pheromone complex. Although CquiOBP1 binds MOP in a pH-dependent fashion, it lacks the C terminus required for the pH-dependent release model. This study shows that CquiOBP binds MOP in an unprecedented fashion using both a small central cavity for the lactone head group and a long hydrophobic channel for its tail.« less

  17. Attraction of gravid anopheles Pseudopunctipennis females to oviposition substrates by Spirogyra majuscula (Zygnematales: Zygnmataceae) algae under laboratory conditions.

    PubMed

    Torres-Estrada, José L; Meza-Alvarez, Rosa A; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Rodríguez, Mario H; Arredondo-Jiménez, Juan I

    2007-03-01

    The attraction of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis gravid females to oviposition substrates containing Spirogyra majuscula algae was investigated under laboratory conditions. Gravid females deposited significantly more eggs in cups containing natural algae in water from breeding sites than in cups containing artificial (nylon rope) life-like algae in water from the corresponding natural breeding site, or in cups containing natural algae in distilled water. Bioassays with Spirogyra majuscula organic extracts indicated that these extracts at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.01%, and 0.001% attracted more oviposition, but concentrations of 1%, 10%, and 100% were repellent. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of algae organic extracts revealed a mixture of ethyl acetate and hydrocarbons compounds. These results suggest that the attraction of gravid An. pseudopunctipennis to natural breeding sites containing filamentous algae is probably mediated by organic compounds released by the algae.

  18. Oviposition and the plasma concentrations of LH, progesterone, and corticosterone in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) fed parathion

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rattner, B.A.; Sileo, L.; Scanes, C.G.

    1982-01-01

    Bobwhite quail were fed concentrations of parathion (0,50, 100, 200 or 400 p.p.m.) for 10 days. Food intake, body weight change, brain acetylcholinesterase activity, egg production, and ovary weight were reduced in a dose-dependent manner. In a second experiment, birds were fed 0, 25 or 100 p.p.m. parathion or pair-fed control food to equate consumption in the 100 p.p.m. group. Egg production was not affected in birds fed 25 p.p.m. or in the pair-fed group, but the daily time of oviposition was more variable than in the control group. Cessation of egg production, inhibition of follicular development, and reduced plasma LH concentration were observed in birds fed 100 p.p.m. parathion. These findings indicate that exposure to parathion can impair reproduction, possibly by altering gonadotrophin secretion.

  19. Characteristics of Early Work Experiences and Their Association with Future Employment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonnall, Michele Capella; O'Mally, Jamie

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Early work experiences are a key predictor of future employment for transition-age youths with visual impairments. We investigated how specific characteristics of early work experiences influence future employment and whether the receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is associated with early work experiences among…

  20. Volatiles emitted from eight wound-isolated bacteria differentially attract and stimulate gravid screwworm flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to oviposit

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Bovine blood inoculated with bacteria isolated from screwworm-infested animal wounds was tested against gravid screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) in the laboratory in a cage bioassay as an attractant for oviposition. Eight species of gram-negative coliform (Enterobacteriaceae) bacte...

  1. Temporal changes in the bacterial community of animal feces and their correlation with stable fly oviposition, larval development, and adult fitness

    PubMed Central

    Albuquerque, Thais A.; Zurek, Ludek

    2014-01-01

    Stable flies are blood-feeding insects with a great negative impact on animals world wide. Larvae develop primarily in animal manure and bacteria are essential for larval development; however, the principle of this dependence is not understood. We hypothesized that as the microbial community of animal manure changes over time, it plays an important role in stable fly fitness. Two-choice bioassays were conducted using 2 week old horse manure (control) and aging horse manure (fresh to 5 week old) to evaluate the effect of manure age on stable fly oviposition. Our data showed that fresh feces did not stimulate oviposition and that the attractiveness increased as manure aged but started to decline after 3 weeks. Bioassays assessing the effect of manure age at the time of oviposition on larval development demonstrated that 1–3 week old manure supported larval development significantly better than fresh, 4, and 5 week old manure. In addition, adult fitness (body size) was significantly higher in flies from 1 and 2 week old manure comparing to that of all other treatments. Analysis of the bacterial community of aging horse manure by 454-pyrosequencing of 16S rDNA revealed a great reduction in bacterial diversity and richness from fresh to 1–5 week old manure and a major shift from strict anaerobes in fresh manure to facultative anaerobes and strict aerobes in aged manure. Overall, the microbial community of 2 and 3 week old horse manure with its dominant bacterial taxa Rhizobium, Devosia, and Brevundimonas stimulated stable fly oviposition the most and provided a suitable habitat for larval development. These bacteria represent the candidates for studies focused on better understanding of stable fly – microbial interactions. PMID:25426108

  2. Studying the Effects of Early Experiences on Women's Career Achievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lykes, M. Brinton; Stewart, Abigail J.

    Virtually all psychological theories assume that early life experiences have an impact on later life choices. However, increasing doubts have been expressed about the universality and permanence of the relationship between women's work and family lives. To explore how early family experiences and early adult decisions affect women's later career…

  3. Evolution of cannibalism and female's response to oviposition-deterring pheromone in aphidophagous predators.

    PubMed

    Martini, Xavier; Haccou, Patsy; Olivieri, Isabelle; Hemptinne, Jean-Louis

    2009-09-01

    1. Egg cannibalism by larvae is common in Coccinellidae and is known to be advantageous for the cannibals. Furthermore, larvae of aphidophagous ladybirds usually produce an oviposition-deterring pheromone (ODP), which inhibits oviposition by adult females. It has been proposed that the response to ODP has evolved because of the high costs of cannibalism. However, this has never been formally proved. 2. In this paper, we study the theoretical evolution of this system. We first look at the conditions under which cannibalism and the response to ODP can evolve. Subsequently, we examine the occurrence of polymorphism both in the production of larval tracks and in the sensitivity of females to specific pheromones. 3. The models predict that the amount of cannibalism should not depend on prey density and that evolution should lead to a continuous increase in cannibalism, and consequently larvae should always cannibalize eggs when possible. In response to the cost of cannibalism, ODP recognition can evolve, so that females avoid laying eggs in patches of prey already occupied by conspecific larvae. The result is an arms race between larvae and adult females, which favours a diversification of ODP pheromones. Our models show that: (i) females should be able to recognize mixtures of hydrocarbons rather than a single molecule; and (ii) females should be more sensitive to the tracks of their own offspring than those of non-related larvae.

  4. Food odors trigger Drosophila males to deposit a pheromone that guides aggregation and female oviposition decisions

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Chun-Chieh; Prokop-Prigge, Katharine A; Preti, George; Potter, Christopher J

    2015-01-01

    Animals use olfactory cues for navigating complex environments. Food odors in particular provide crucial information regarding potential foraging sites. Many behaviors occur at food sites, yet how food odors regulate such behaviors at these sites is unclear. Using Drosophila melanogaster as an animal model, we found that males deposit the pheromone 9-tricosene upon stimulation with the food-odor apple cider vinegar. This pheromone acts as a potent aggregation pheromone and as an oviposition guidance cue for females. We use genetic, molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches to show that 9-tricosene activates antennal basiconic Or7a receptors, a receptor activated by many alcohols and aldehydes such as the green leaf volatile E2-hexenal. We demonstrate that loss of Or7a positive neurons or the Or7a receptor abolishes aggregation behavior and oviposition site-selection towards 9-tricosene and E2-hexenal. 9-Tricosene thus functions via Or7a to link food-odor perception with aggregation and egg-laying decisions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08688.001 PMID:26422512

  5. Oviposition site choice under conflicting risks demonstrates that aquatic predators drive terrestrial egg-laying

    PubMed Central

    Touchon, Justin C.; Worley, Julie L.

    2015-01-01

    Laying eggs out of water was crucial to the transition to land and has evolved repeatedly in multiple animal phyla. However, testing hypotheses about this transition has been difficult because extant species only breed in one environment. The pantless treefrog, Dendropsophus ebraccatus, makes such tests possible because they lay both aquatic and arboreal eggs. Here, we test the oviposition site choices of D. ebraccatus under conflicting risks of arboreal egg desiccation and aquatic egg predation, thereby estimating the relative importance of each selective agent on reproduction. We also measured discrimination between habitats with and without predators and development of naturally laid aquatic and arboreal eggs. Aquatic embryos in nature developed faster than arboreal embryos, implying no cost to aquatic egg laying. In choice tests, D. ebraccatus avoided habitats with fish, showing that they can detect aquatic egg predators. Most importantly, D. ebraccatus laid most eggs in the water when faced with only desiccation risk, but switched to laying eggs arboreally when desiccation risk and aquatic predators were both present. This provides the first experimental evidence to our knowledge that aquatic predation risk influences non-aquatic oviposition and strongly supports the hypothesis that it was a driver of the evolution of terrestrial reproduction. PMID:25948689

  6. Differences in larval nutritional requirements and female oviposition preference reflect the order of fruit colonization of Zaprionus indianus and Drosophila simulans.

    PubMed

    Matavelli, Cristiane; Carvalho, Maria João A; Martins, Nelson E; Mirth, Christen K

    2015-11-01

    Species coexist using the same nutritional resource by partitioning it either in space or time, but few studies explore how species-specific nutritional requirements allow partitioning. Zaprionus indianus and Drosophila simulans co-exist in figs by invading the fruit at different stages; Z. indianus colonizes ripe figs, whereas D. simulans oviposits in decaying fruit. Larvae feed on yeast growing on the fruit, which serves as their primary protein source. Because yeast populations increase as fruit decays, we find that ripe fruit has lower protein content than rotting fruit. Therefore, we hypothesized that Z. indianus and D. simulans larvae differ in their dietary requirements for protein. We used nutritional geometry to assess the effects of protein and carbohydrate concentration in the larval diet on life history characters in both species. Survival, development time, and ovariole number respond differently to the composition of the larval diet, with Z. indianus generally performing better across a wider range of protein concentrations. Correspondingly, we found that Z. indianus females preferred to lay eggs on low protein foods, while D. simulans females chose higher protein foods for oviposition when competing with Z. indianus. We propose the different nutritional requirements and oviposition preference of these two species allows them to temporally partition their habitat. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Concerns of Teacher Candidates in an Early Field Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Sau Hou

    2009-01-01

    The present study examined the concerns of teacher candidates in an early field experience. Thirty-five teacher candidates completed the Teacher Concerns Checklist (TCC, Fuller & Borich, 2000) at the beginning, middle and end of their early field experiences. Results showed that teacher candidates ranked impact as the highest concern, self as…

  8. Oviposition strategies of temporary pool mosquitoes in relation to weather, tidal regime and land use in a temperate wetland.

    PubMed

    Cardo, M V; Vezzani, D; Carbajo, A E

    2012-12-01

    Wetlands have traditionally been associated with harbouring mosquitoes, a well-known nuisance and vectors of diseases. Within mosquito life cycle, oviposition is a determinant event by shaping their individual fitness and vectorial capacity. The study was conducted in one of the main temperate wetlands in South America. We used Generalized Linear Models to study the relation between temperature, precipitation, tidal regime, land use, microenvironment, and the occurrence of floodwater (Ochlerotatus and Psorophora spp.) and raft-laying (Culex and Uranotaenia spp.) mosquitoes using temporary pools as larval habitats. Pool occurrence was negatively associated with temperature, and positively related to precipitation and high tides. As regards the land use, it was lowest in domestic areas and plantations, intermediate in secondary forests, and highest in marshes. Each oviposition strategy was best modelled as a function of different environmental factors. The occurrence of floodwater mosquitoes was positively associated with high cumulative precipitation and low tide records. Raft-laying mosquitoes were related to low temperature records, while the effect of flooding varied with the land use. In view of these results, physical (water inputs and movement), chemical, and biological (egg and larval flushing, and predatory interactions) considerations are given to provide insight in the oviposition patterns of mosquitoes occurring in this complex wetland. We finally propose the generation of a tidal flow as a control measure against floodwater mosquitoes, which are the most anthropophilic in the study area.

  9. Peptidoglycan sensing by octopaminergic neurons modulates Drosophila oviposition

    PubMed Central

    Kurz, C Leopold; Charroux, Bernard; Chaduli, Delphine; Viallat-Lieutaud, Annelise; Royet, Julien

    2017-01-01

    As infectious diseases pose a threat to host integrity, eukaryotes have evolved mechanisms to eliminate pathogens. In addition to develop strategies reducing infection, animals can engage in behaviors that lower the impact of the infection. The molecular mechanisms by which microbes impact host behavior are not well understood. We demonstrate that bacterial infection of Drosophila females reduces oviposition and that peptidoglycan, the component that activates Drosophila antibacterial response, is also the elicitor of this behavioral change. We show that peptidoglycan regulates egg-laying rate by activating NF-κB signaling pathway in octopaminergic neurons and that, a dedicated peptidoglycan degrading enzyme acts in these neurons to buffer this behavioral response. This study shows that a unique ligand and signaling cascade are used in immune cells to mount an immune response and in neurons to control fly behavior following infection. This may represent a case of behavioral immunity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21937.001 PMID:28264763

  10. Shedding light on bioactivity of botanical by-products: neem cake compounds deter oviposition of the arbovirus vector Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the field.

    PubMed

    Benelli, Giovanni; Conti, Barbara; Garreffa, Rita; Nicoletti, Marcello

    2014-03-01

    Industrial plant-borne by-products can be sources of low-cost chemicals, potentially useful to build eco-friendly control strategies against mosquitoes. Neem cake is a cheap by-product of neem oil extraction obtained by pressing the seeds of Azadirachta indica. Neem products are widely used as insecticides since rarely induce resistance because their multiple mode of action against insect pests and low-toxicity rates have been detected against vertebrates. In this research, we used field bioassays to assess the effective oviposition repellence of neem cake fractions of increasing polarity [n-hexane (A), methanol (B), ethyl acetate (C), n-butanol (D), and aqueous (E) fraction] against Aedes albopictus, currently the most invasive mosquito worldwide. These fractions, already characterized for low nortriterpenoids contents by HPLC analyses, were analyzed for their total content by HPTLC, highlighting striking differences in their chemical composition. Field results showed that B, A, and C tested at 100 ppm exerted higher effective repellence over the control (71.33, 88.59, and 73.49% of ER, respectively), while E and D did not significantly deter A. albopictus oviposition (17.06 and 22.72% of ER, respectively). The highest oviposition activity index was achieved by A (-0.82), followed by C (-0.63), and B (-0.62). Lower OAIs were achieved by D (-0.14) and E (-0.09). On the basis of our results, we believe that A, B, and C are very promising as oviposition deterrents against the arbovirus vector A. albopictus since they are proved as rich in active metabolites, cheap, and really effective at low doses.

  11. Precedents of perceived social support: personality and early life experiences.

    PubMed

    Kitamura, T; Kijima, N; Watanabe, K; Takezaki, Y; Tanaka, E

    1999-12-01

    In order to examine the effects of personality and early life experiences on perceived social support, a total of 97 young Japanese women were investigated. Current interpersonal relationships were measured by an interview modified from Henderson et al.'s Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI). Personality was measured by Cloninger et al.'s Temperament and Character Inventory. Early life experiences at home and outside of home were also identified in the interview. The number of sources of perceived support was correlated with self-directness, while satisfaction with perceived support was correlated with novelty seeking and with low harm avoidance. No early life experiences--early loss of a parent, perceived parenting, childhood abuse experiences, experiences of being bullied and/or other life events--showed significant correlations with the number or satisfaction of supportive people. The quantity and quality of perception of social support differ in their link to personality, and perceived social support may, to some extent, be explainable in terms of personality.

  12. Cultural sensitivity or professional acculturation in early clinical experience?

    PubMed

    Whitford, David L; Hubail, Amal Redha

    2014-11-01

    This study aimed to explore the early clinical experience of medical students following the adaptation of an Early Patient Contact curriculum from a European culture in Ireland to an Arab culture in Bahrain. Medical students in Bahrain took part in an Early Patient Contact module modelled on a similar module from a partner medical school in Ireland. We used a qualitative approach employing thematic analysis of 54 student reflective logbooks. Particular attention was placed on reflections of cultural influences of experience in the course. Medical students undergoing this module received reported documented benefits of early clinical experience. However, students in Bahrain were exposed to cultural norms of the local Arab society including gender values, visiting the homes of strangers, language barriers and generous hospitality that led to additional challenges and learning for the medical students in acculturating to norms of the medical profession. Modules intended for curriculum adaptation between two cultures would be best served by a group of "core" learning outcomes with "secondary" outcomes culturally appropriate to each site. Within the context of the Arab culture, early clinical experience has the added benefit of allowing students to learn about both local and professional cultural norms, thereby facilitating integration of these two cultures.

  13. Development and oviposition preference of house flies and stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) in six substrates from Florida equine facilities

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    House flies, Musca domestica L., and stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), (Diptera: Muscidae), common pests on equine facilities, were studied in the laboratory to determine their oviposition preferences and larval development on six substrates commonly found on equine facilities. The substrates...

  14. Meligethes aeneus pollen-feeding suppresses, and oviposition induces, Brassica napus volatiles: beetle attraction/repellence to lilac aldehydes and veratrole

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Insect pollination and pollen-feeding can reduce plant volatile emissions and future insect floral attraction, with oviposition having different effects. Meligethes aeneus F. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is a pollen-feeding pest beetle of oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. (Brassicaceae). We measured pla...

  15. Visual cues of oviposition sites and spectral sensitivity of Cydia strobilella L.

    PubMed

    Jakobsson, Johan; Henze, Miriam J; Svensson, Glenn P; Lind, Olle; Anderbrant, Olle

    2017-08-01

    We investigated whether the spruce seed moth (Cydia strobilella L., Tortricidae: Grapholitini), an important pest in seed orchards of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), can make use of the spectral properties of its host when searching for flowers to oviposit on. Spectral measurements showed that the flowers, and the cones they develop into, differ from a background of P. abies needles by a higher reflectance of long wavelengths. These differences increase as the flowers develop into mature cones. Electroretinograms (ERGs) in combination with spectral adaptation suggest that C. strobilella has at least three spectral types of photoreceptor; an abundant green-sensitive receptor with maximal sensitivity at wavelength λ max =526nm, a blue-sensitive receptor with λ max =436nm, and an ultraviolet-sensitive receptor with λ max =352nm. Based on our spectral measurements and the receptor properties inferred from the ERGs, we calculated that open flowers, which are suitable oviposition sites, provide detectable achromatic, but almost no chromatic contrasts to the background of needles. In field trials using traps of different spectral properties with or without a female sex pheromone lure, only pheromone-baited traps caught moths. Catches in baited traps were not correlated with the visual contrast of the traps against the background. Thus, visual contrast is probably not the primary cue for finding open host flowers, but it could potentially complement olfaction as a secondary cue, since traps with certain spectral properties caught significantly more moths than others. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Density-Dependent Oviposition by Female Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Spreads Eggs Among Containers During the Summer but Accumulates Them in the Fall.

    PubMed

    Fonseca, D M; Kaplan, L R; Heiry, R A; Strickman, D

    2015-07-01

    When possible, oviparous females should deposit eggs in sites that maximize the future performance of their offspring. Therefore, studies of oviposition behavior may uncover parameters important to offspring fitness. Gravid female Aedes albopictus (Skuse) were given a choice of containers with leaf infusion or plain water, either open or with a cover with a small opening, and their behavior was compared under summer (long day, higher temperature) or fall (short day, lower temperature) regimes. Open containers with leaf infusion were always preferred, but over time, summer females expanded their choices to oviposit in all containers and follow-up experiments indicated that the number of eggs laid was inversely correlated to the number of eggs present. In contrast, fall females laying diapausing eggs that do not hatch until the spring, accumulated eggs in open containers with food resulting in high egg densities. Combined, these results demonstrate a seasonal shift that suggests either high winter egg mortality or safety in numbers. It also demonstrates that female Ae. albopictus change their behavior based on cues associated with expected added risk, which varies across time and space. The wide distribution of summer eggs across container types may contribute to the fast expansion of Ae. albopictus across its invasive range, but egg accumulation in the fall may be exploited for control. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Music Experiences in Early Childhood.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andress, Barbara

    This book presents a program of music experiences for young children (3-5-year-olds) which focuses on an experiential discovery approach to music, rather than on imposing ideas and a repertoire on the child. Early sections of the book discuss the importance of the child-centered music program, its process and characteristics, and the role of the…

  18. Salicylic Acid Induces Changes in Mango Fruit that Affect Oviposition Behavior and Development of the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis

    PubMed Central

    Roy, Tapas Kumar; Shivashankara, Kodthalu Seetharamaiah; Verghese, Abraham

    2015-01-01

    The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is an important quarantine pest around the globe. Although measures for its control are implemented worldwide through IPM and male annihilation, there is little effect on their population. Hence, there is a need for new strategies to control this minacious pest. A strategy that has received negligible attention is the induction of ‘natural plant defenses’ by phytohormones. In this study, we investigated the effect of salicylic acid (SA) treatment of mango fruit (cv. Totapuri) on oviposition and larval development of B. dorsalis. In oviposition choice assays, gravid females laid significantly less eggs in SA treated compared to untreated fruit. Headspace volatiles collected from SA treated fruit were less attractive to gravid females compared to volatiles from untreated fruit. GC-MS analysis of the headspace volatiles from SA treated and untreated fruit showed noticeable changes in their chemical compositions. Cis-ocimene and 3-carene (attractants to B. dorsalis) were reduced in the headspace volatiles of treated fruit. Further, reduced pupae formation and adult emergence was observed in treated fruit compared to control. Increased phenol and flavonoid content was recorded in treated fruit. We also observed differential expression of anti-oxidative enzymes namely catalase (CAT), polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD). In summary, the results indicate that SA treatment reduced oviposition, larval development and adult emergence of B. dorsalis and suggest a role of SA in enhancing mango tolerance to B. dorsalis. PMID:26422203

  19. The Importance of Early Experiences: Clinical, Research, and Policy Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeanah, Charles H.

    2009-01-01

    The degree to which early adverse experiences exert long term effects on development and how much early adversity may be overcome through subsequent experiences are important mental health questions. The clinical, research and policy perspectives on these questions lead to different answers. From a clinical perspective, change is always possible,…

  20. A RECENT HOST RANGE EXPANSION IN JUNONIA COENIA HÜBNER (NYMPHALIDAE): OVIPOSITION PREFERENCE, SURVIVAL, GROWTH, AND CHEMICAL DEFENSE.

    PubMed

    Camara, Mark D

    1997-06-01

    This paper reports on an investigation of two populations of Junonia coenia, the buckeye butterfly, one that feeds on the species' typical host plant (Plantago lanceolata) and one that utilizes a novel host plant (Kickxia elatine). I examined these populations for local adaptive responses in terms of oviposition behavior, growth, and chemical defense, on both P. lanceolata and K. elatine. In addition, I examined the genetic architecture underlying these traits using a full-sib quantitative genetic analysis. I found that a significant majority of females prefer the host plant species found at their collection sites in oviposition tests, but that there is no evidence that they are locally adapted in growth performance, as measured by fifth-instar and pupal weights and development times. Neither are there correlations between oviposition preferences of females and the growth performance or levels of chemical defense of their offspring. The two populations studied do, however, show specialization in terms of the levels of chemical defense they sequester from their host plants. I argue that these results indicate that natural enemies are the normal barriers to host range expansion in this oligophagous herbivore because a breakdown in those barriers results in genetic changes that enhance resistance to predation. This is despite the fact that adaptive responses in physiology are unlikely to be limited by a lack of genetic variability; the genetic architecture among traits would be conducive to specialization in growth performance; and there are costs to chemical defense in this species. All these conditions would tend to argue that J. coenia harbors considerable potential for coevolutionary interactions with its chemically defended hosts, but this potential is not realized, probably because natural selection on diet breadth by natural enemies is much stronger than selection from host plants in this system. © 1997 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  1. Diversity of mosquitoes and the aquatic insects associated with their oviposition sites along the Pacific coast of Mexico.

    PubMed

    Bond, J Guillermo; Casas-Martínez, Mauricio; Quiroz-Martínez, Humberto; Novelo-Gutiérrez, Rodolfo; Marina, Carlos F; Ulloa, Armando; Orozco-Bonilla, Arnoldo; Muñoz, Miguel; Williams, Trevor

    2014-01-22

    The abundance, richness and diversity of mosquitoes and aquatic insects associated with their oviposition sites were surveyed along eight states of the Pacific coast of Mexico. Diversity was estimated using the Shannon index (H'), similarity measures and cluster analysis. Oviposition sites were sampled during 2-3 months per year, over a three year period. Field collected larvae and pupae were reared and identified to species following adult emergence. Aquatic insects present at oviposition sites were also collected, counted and identified to species or genus. In total, 15 genera and 74 species of mosquitoes were identified: Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, An. albimanus and Aedes aegypti were the most abundant and widely-distributed species, representing 47% of total mosquito individuals sampled. New species records for certain states are reported. Anopheline diversity was lowest in Sinaloa state (H' = 0.54) and highest in Chiapas (H' = 1.61) and Michoacán (H' = 1.56), whereas culicid diversity was lowest in Michoacán (H' = 1.93), Colima (H' = 1.95), Sinaloa (H' = 1.99) and Jalisco (H' = 2.01) and highest in Chiapas (H' = 2.66). In total, 10 orders, 57 families, 166 genera and 247 species of aquatic insects were identified in samples. Aquatic insect diversity was highest in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Michoacán (H' = 3.60-3.75). Mosquito larval/pupal abundance was not correlated with that of predatory Coleoptera and Hemiptera. This represents the first update on the diversity and geographic distribution of the mosquitoes and aquatic insects of Mexico in over five decades. This information has been cataloged in Mexico's National Biodiversity Information System (SNIB-CONABIO) for public inspection.

  2. Diversity of mosquitoes and the aquatic insects associated with their oviposition sites along the Pacific coast of Mexico

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The abundance, richness and diversity of mosquitoes and aquatic insects associated with their oviposition sites were surveyed along eight states of the Pacific coast of Mexico. Diversity was estimated using the Shannon index (H’), similarity measures and cluster analysis. Methods Oviposition sites were sampled during 2–3 months per year, over a three year period. Field collected larvae and pupae were reared and identified to species following adult emergence. Aquatic insects present at oviposition sites were also collected, counted and identified to species or genus. Results In total, 15 genera and 74 species of mosquitoes were identified: Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, An. albimanus and Aedes aegypti were the most abundant and widely-distributed species, representing 47% of total mosquito individuals sampled. New species records for certain states are reported. Anopheline diversity was lowest in Sinaloa state (H’ = 0.54) and highest in Chiapas (H’ = 1.61) and Michoacán (H’ = 1.56), whereas culicid diversity was lowest in Michoacán (H’ = 1.93), Colima (H’ = 1.95), Sinaloa (H’ = 1.99) and Jalisco (H’ = 2.01) and highest in Chiapas (H’ = 2.66). In total, 10 orders, 57 families, 166 genera and 247 species of aquatic insects were identified in samples. Aquatic insect diversity was highest in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Michoacán (H’ = 3.60-3.75). Mosquito larval/pupal abundance was not correlated with that of predatory Coleoptera and Hemiptera. Conclusion This represents the first update on the diversity and geographic distribution of the mosquitoes and aquatic insects of Mexico in over five decades. This information has been cataloged in Mexico’s National Biodiversity Information System (SNIB-CONABIO) for public inspection. PMID:24450800

  3. Cedrol, a malaria mosquito oviposition attractant is produced by fungi isolated from rhizomes of the grass Cyperus rotundus.

    PubMed

    Eneh, Lynda K; Saijo, Hiromi; Borg-Karlson, Anna-Karin; Lindh, Jenny M; Rajarao, Gunaratna Kuttuva

    2016-09-17

    Cedrol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, is the first identified oviposition attractant for African malaria vectors. Finding the natural source of this compound might help to elucidate why Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis prefer to lay eggs in habitats containing it. Previous studies suggest that cedrol may be a fungal metabolite and the essential oil of grass rhizomes have been described to contain a high amount of different sesquiterpenes. Rhizomes of the grass Cyperus rotundus were collected in a natural malaria mosquito breeding site. Two fungi were isolated from an aqueous infusion with these rhizomes. They were identified as Fusarium falciforme and a species in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. Volatile compounds were collected from the headspace above fungal cultures on Tenax traps which were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Cedrol and a cedrol isomer were detected in the headspace above the F. fujikuroi culture, while only cedrol was detected above the F. falciforme culture. Cedrol an oviposition attractant for African malaria vectors is produced by two fungi species isolated from grass rhizomes collected from a natural mosquito breeding site.

  4. Relationships between Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Early Maladaptive Schemas and Interpersonal Styles

    PubMed Central

    KAYA TEZEL, Fulya; TUTAREL KIŞLAK, Şennur; BOYSAN, Murat

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Cognitive theories of psychopathology have generally proposed that early experiences of childhood abuse and neglect may result in the development of early maladaptive self-schemas. Maladaptive core schemas are central in the development and maintenance of psychological symptoms in a schema-focused approach. Psychosocial dysfunction in individuals with psychological problems has been consistently found to be associated with symptom severity. However, till date, linkages between psychosocial functioning, early traumatic experiences and core schemas have received little attention. The aim of the present study was to explore the relations among maladaptive interpersonal styles, negative experiences in childhood and core self-schemas in non-clinical adults. Methods A total of 300 adults (58% women) participated in the study. The participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Young Schema Questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Interpersonal Style Scale. Results Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the Disconnection and Rejection and Impaired Limits schema domains were significant antecedents of maladaptive interpersonal styles after controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood abuse and neglect. Associations of child sexual abuse with Emotionally Avoidant, Manipulative and Abusive interpersonal styles were mediated by early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas mediated the relations of emotional abuse with Emotionally Avoidant and Avoidant interpersonal styles as well as the relations of physical abuse with Avoidant and Abusive interpersonal styles. Conclusion Interpersonal styles in adulthood are significantly associated with childhood traumatic experiences. Significant relations between early traumatic experiences and maladaptive interpersonal styles are mediated by early maladaptive schemas. PMID:28360715

  5. Relationships between Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Early Maladaptive Schemas and Interpersonal Styles.

    PubMed

    Kaya Tezel, Fulya; Tutarel Kişlak, Şennur; Boysan, Murat

    2015-09-01

    Cognitive theories of psychopathology have generally proposed that early experiences of childhood abuse and neglect may result in the development of early maladaptive self-schemas. Maladaptive core schemas are central in the development and maintenance of psychological symptoms in a schema-focused approach. Psychosocial dysfunction in individuals with psychological problems has been consistently found to be associated with symptom severity. However, till date, linkages between psychosocial functioning, early traumatic experiences and core schemas have received little attention. The aim of the present study was to explore the relations among maladaptive interpersonal styles, negative experiences in childhood and core self-schemas in non-clinical adults. A total of 300 adults (58% women) participated in the study. The participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Young Schema Questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Interpersonal Style Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the Disconnection and Rejection and Impaired Limits schema domains were significant antecedents of maladaptive interpersonal styles after controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood abuse and neglect. Associations of child sexual abuse with Emotionally Avoidant, Manipulative and Abusive interpersonal styles were mediated by early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas mediated the relations of emotional abuse with Emotionally Avoidant and Avoidant interpersonal styles as well as the relations of physical abuse with Avoidant and Abusive interpersonal styles. Interpersonal styles in adulthood are significantly associated with childhood traumatic experiences. Significant relations between early traumatic experiences and maladaptive interpersonal styles are mediated by early maladaptive schemas.

  6. Experience-dependent mushroom body plasticity in butterflies: consequences of search complexity and host range

    PubMed Central

    Janz, Niklas; Schäpers, Alexander; Gamberale-Stille, Gabriella

    2017-01-01

    An ovipositing insect experiences many sensory challenges during her search for a suitable host plant. These sensory challenges become exceedingly pronounced when host range increases, as larger varieties of sensory inputs have to be perceived and processed in the brain. Neural capacities can be exceeded upon information overload, inflicting costs on oviposition accuracy. One presumed generalist strategy to diminish information overload is the acquisition of a focused search during its lifetime based on experiences within the current environment, a strategy opposed to a more genetically determined focus expected to be seen in relative specialists. We hypothesized that a broader host range is positively correlated with mushroom body (MB) plasticity, a brain structure related to learning and memory. To test this hypothesis, butterflies with diverging host ranges (Polygonia c-album, Aglais io and Aglais urticae) were subjected to differential environmental complexities for oviposition, after which ontogenetic MB calyx volume differences were compared among species. We found that the relative generalist species exhibited remarkable plasticity in ontogenetic MB volumes; MB growth was differentially stimulated based on the complexity of the experienced environment. For relative specialists, MB volume was more canalized. All in all, this study strongly suggests an impact of host range on brain plasticity in Nymphalid butterflies. PMID:29093221

  7. Oviposition in Sweet Cherry by Reproductively Mature Western Cherry Fruit Fly (Tephritidae:Diptera) Fed Spinosad and Neonicotinoid Insecticide Baits

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran, is a major pest of cherry, Prunus avium (L.) L., in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. Spinosad bait is applied weekly to kill flies before they develop eggs, but its effects on oviposition by flies that are reproductively mature are unknown. ...

  8. Nepetalactones from essential oil of Nepeta cataria represent a stable fly feeding and oviposition repellent.

    PubMed

    Zhu, J J; Berkebile, D R; Dunlap, C A; Zhang, A; Boxler, D; Tangtrakulwanich, K; Behle, R W; Baxendale, F; Brewer, G

    2012-06-01

    The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most serious pests to livestock. It feeds mainly on cattle and causes significant economic losses in the cattle industry. Standard stable fly control involving insecticides and sanitation is usually costly and often has limited effectiveness. As we continue to evaluate and develop safer fly control strategies, the present study reports on the effectiveness of catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) oil and its constituent compounds, nepetalactones, as stable fly repellents. The essential oil of catnip reduced the feeding of stable flies by >96% in an in vitro bioassay system, compared with other sesquiterpene-rich plant oils (e.g. amyris and sandalwood). Catnip oil demonstrated strong repellency against stable flies relative to other chemicals for repelling biting insects, including isolongifolenone, 2-methylpiperidinyl-3-cyclohexen-1-carboxamide and (1S,2'S)-2-methylpiperidinyl-3-cyclohexen-1-carboxamide. The repellency against stable flies of the most commonly used mosquito repellent, DEET, was relatively low. In field trials, two formulations of catnip oil provided >95% protection and were effective for up to 6 h when tested on cattle. Catnip oil also acted as a strong oviposition repellent and reduced gravid stable fly oviposition by 98%. Published 2011. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  9. Acquired Smell? Mature Females of the Common Green Bottle Fly Shift Semiochemical Preferences from Feces Feeding Sites to Carrion Oviposition Sites.

    PubMed

    Brodie, Bekka S; Babcock, Tamara; Gries, Regine; Benn, Arlan; Gries, Gerhard

    2016-01-01

    We investigated foraging decisions by adult females of the common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, in accordance with their physiological state. When we gave female flies a choice between visually occluded, fresh canine feces (feeding site) and a CO2-euthanized rat (carrion oviposition site), 3-d-old "protein-starved" females responded equally well to feces and carrion, whereas protein-fed gravid females with mature oocytes responded only to carrion, indicating resource preferences based on a fly's physiological state. Dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS) is known to attract gravid L. sericata females to carrion. Therefore, we analyzed headspace from canine feces by gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC/mass spectrometry. In bioassays, of the 17 fecal odorants that elicited GC-EAD responses from fly antennae, a blend of indole and one or more of the alcohols phenol, m-/p-cresol and 1-octen-3-ol proved as attractive to flies as canine feces. Unlike young females, gravid females need to locate carrion for oviposition and distinguish between fresh and aging carrion, the latter possibly detrimental to offspring. Gravid female L. sericata accomplish this task, in part, by responding to trace amounts of DMTS emanating from fresh carrion and by discriminating against carrion as soon it begins to produce appreciable amounts of indole, which is also the second-most abundant semiochemical in fresh canine feces, and apparently serves as an indicator of food rather than oviposition resources. Our results emphasize the importance of studying foraging choices by flies in accordance with their physiological stage.

  10. The Early Experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garvey, Gerald

    2013-04-01

    Stuart Freedman obtained his PhD at Berkley with an experimental thesis providing very strong evidence against theories requiring local hidden variables. He then came to Princeton in 1972 and began collaboration on a search for second-class currents. These measurements are quite difficult as the effects are the order of 1%, demonstrating Freedman's drive to take on hard but important experiments. After carrying out some relatively standard nuclear physics measurements he moved on to Stanford in 1976. There, Freedman was involved in identifying measurements sensitive to the existence of light axions. He also carried out searches for various exotica that might be produced from cosmic rays or the SLAC beam stop. During this time he was collaborating with us at Argonne investigating nuclear parity violation and time-like axial beta decay. In 1982 Freedman came to Argonne where he worked on fundamental issues in neutron beta decay. He also initiated what was to become one of his trademarks, demonstrating that surprising peaks in the e^+-e^- spectrum observed in very heavy ion collisions were spurious. He further launched his first neutrino oscillation experiment. This period of early research was marked by a remarkable diversity of subject matter and approach.

  11. Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: The Australian Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pieterse, Moira, Ed.; And Others

    A collection of papers on the Australian experience with early intervention for children with disabilities gives regional overviews, describes specific intervention programs, and discusses a variety of issues. Overviews are given of early intervention in Australia in general, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western…

  12. AWBAT: early clinical experience.

    PubMed

    Vandenberg, Victoria B

    2010-03-15

    The purpose of this article is to describe the early clinical experience with AWBAT. Burn patients requiring (1) donor sites or (2) treatment of a superficial burn wound injury were treated. A total of 45 patients with 69 distinct wounds were included. AWBAT-D was evaluated in donor sites and AWBAT-S was evaluated in superficial partial-thickness burns. Days to healing, pain, hematoma/seroma formation, and infection were noted. Ease of application, adherence, transparency, and physical adaptability details were collected. Average period to healing of donor sites treated with AWBAT-D (n=22 patients with n=26 wounds) was 11.2 days, sigma =1.95, with a range of 8-15 days and a median of 11 days. Pain rating at 24 hours was 1.2, sigma =0.43 (n=18) and at 48 hours mean was 1.2, sigma =0.46 (n=15). Average period to healing of superficial burns treated with AWBAT-S (n=15 patients with n=18 wounds) was 8.1 days, sigma =2.48, with a range of 5-13 days and a median of 7 days. Pain rating at 24 hours was 1.5, sigma =0.85 (n=10) and at 48 hours mean was 1.75, sigma =0.89 (n=8). There was zero incidence of hematoma/seroma. No infections were seen. Results indicate that AWBAT was easily applied with good initial adherence. It was noted to be transparent, conformant, and pliable. Early experience demonstrates that AWBAT performs well on donor sites and superficial partial-thickness burns and delivers the desired attributes of a temporary skin substitute including good adherence, infection control, transparency, adapatability, and pain control.

  13. Evaluation of the influence of electric nets on the behaviour of oviposition site seeking Anopheles gambiae s.s

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Electric nets (e-nets) are used to analyse the flight behaviour of insects and have been used extensively to study the host-oriented flight of tsetse flies. Recently we adapted this tool to analyse the oviposition behaviour of gravid malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae s.s., orienting towards aquatic habitats and traps by surrounding an artificial pond with e-nets and collecting electrocuted mosquitoes on sticky boards on the ground next to the nets. Here we study whether e-nets themselves affect the responses of gravid An. gambiae s.s.. Methods Dual-choice experiments were carried out in 80 m2 screened semi-field systems where 200 gravid An. gambiae s.s. were released each night for 12 nights per experiment. The numbers of mosquito landing on or approaching an oviposition site were studied by adding detergent to the water in an artificial pond or surrounding the pond with a square of e-nets. We also assessed whether the supporting framework of the nets or the sticky boards used to retain electrocuted mosquitoes influenced the catch. Results Two similar detergent treated ponds presented in choice tests caught an equal proportion of the mosquitoes released, whereas a pond surrounded by e-nets caught a higher proportion than an open pond (odds ratio (OR) 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 - 2.7; p < 0.017). The separate evaluation of the impact of the square of electric nets and the yellow boards on the approach of gravid females towards a pond suggests that the tower-like construction of the square of electric nets did not restrict the approach of females but the yellow sticky boards on the ground attract gravid females to a source of water (OR 2.7 95% CI 1.7 – 4.3; p < 0.001). Conclusion The trapping efficiency of the electric nets is increased when large yellow sticky boards are placed on the ground next to the e-nets to collect electrocuted mosquitoes, possibly because of increased visual contrast to the aquatic habitat. It is therefore

  14. Susceptibility, Oviposition Preference, and Biology of Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Prunus Spp. Rootstock Genotypes.

    PubMed

    Bernardi, D; Lazzari, J C; Andreazza, F; Mayer, N A; Botton, M; Nava, D E

    2017-08-01

    Studying the susceptibility of peach trees to Grapholita molesta (Busck) is one of the major steps in the development of pest-resistant peach varieties. This work evaluated the susceptibility of 55 genotypes of the "Prunus Rootstock Collection" ("Coleção Porta-enxerto de Prunus") of Embrapa Temperate Climate (Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) to the natural infestation of G. molesta, assessed the oviposition preference of G. molesta in choice and no-choice bioassays, and estimated the biological parameters and the fertility life table on different Prunus spp. genotypes in the laboratory. Genotypes Prunus kansuensis (Rehder), I-67-52-9, and I-67-52-4 were the most susceptible to G. molesta infestation in the field (>60% of branches infested), while 'Sharpe' (Prunus angustifolia x Prunus spp.) and Prunus sellowii (Koehne) were the least infested (0% of branches infested). In choice and no-choice bioassays, G. molesta preferred to oviposit on P. kansuensis when compared with Sharpe. The Sharpe genotype also showed an antibiosis effect, resulting in negative effects on the fertility life table parameters when compared with the genotypes P. kansuensis and 'Capdeboscq.' The results found in the present study can provide information to initiate a long-term breeding program moving desired G. molesta resistance traits from the rootstock into the Prunus spp. cultivars. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Olive cultivar and maturation process on the oviposition preference of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae).

    PubMed

    Malheiro, R; Casal, S; Pinheiro, L; Baptista, P; Pereira, J A

    2018-02-21

    The olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a key-pest in the main olives producing areas worldwide, and displays distinct preference to different olive cultivars. The present work intended to study oviposition preference towards three Portuguese cultivars (Cobrançosa, Madural, and Verdeal Transmontana) at different maturation indexes. Multiple oviposition bioassays (multiple-choice and no-choice) were conducted to assess cultivar preference. No-choice bioassays were conducted to assess the influence of different maturation indexes (MI 2; MI 3, and MI 4) in single cultivars. The longevity of olive fly adults according to the cultivar in which its larvae developed was also evaluated through survival assays. Cultivar and maturation are crucial aspects in olive fly preference. Field and laboratory assays revealed a preference towards cv. Verdeal Transmontana olives and a lower susceptibility to cv. Cobrançosa olives. A higher preference was observed for olives at MI 2 and MI 3. The slower maturation process in cv. Verdeal Transmontana (still green while the other cultivars are reddish or at black stage) seems to have an attractive effect on olive fly females, thus increasing its infestation levels. Olive fly adults from both sexes live longer if emerged from pupae developed from cv. Verdeal Transmontana fruits and live less if emerged from cv. Cobrançosa. Therefore, olive cultivar and maturation process are crucial aspects in olive fly preference, also influencing the longevity of adults.

  16. Identification of leaf volatiles from olive (Olea europaea) and their possible role in the ovipositional preferences of olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae).

    PubMed

    Malheiro, Ricardo; Casal, Susana; Cunha, Sara C; Baptista, Paula; Pereira, José Alberto

    2016-01-01

    The olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is a monophagous pest that displays an oviposition preference among cultivars of olive (Olea europaea L.). To clarify the oviposition preference, the olive leaf volatiles of three olive cultivars (Cobrançosa, Madural and Verdeal Transmontana) were assessed by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) at six different periods of olive fruit maturation and degrees of infestation. A total of 39 volatiles were identified, mainly esters and alcohols, with a minor percentage of aldehydes, ketones and terpenic compounds, including sesquiterpenes. At sampling dates with higher degrees of infestation, cv. Cobrançosa had, simultaneously, significantly lower infestation degrees and higher volatile amounts than the other two cultivars, with a probable deterrent effect for oviposition. The green leaf volatiles (GLVs) (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol acetate) were the main compounds identified in all cultivars, together with toluene. The abundance of GLVs decreased significantly throughout maturation, without significant differences among cultivars, while toluene showed a general increase and positive correlation with olive fly infestation levels. The results obtained could broaden our understanding of the roles of various types and amounts of olive volatiles in the environment, especially in olive fly host selection and cultivar preference. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Inbreeding in horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) alters night-time volatile emissions that guide oviposition by Manduca sexta moths.

    PubMed

    Kariyat, Rupesh R; Mauck, Kerry E; Balogh, Christopher M; Stephenson, Andrew G; Mescher, Mark C; De Moraes, Consuelo M

    2013-04-22

    Plant volatiles serve as key foraging and oviposition cues for insect herbivores as well as their natural enemies, but little is known about how genetic variation within plant populations influences volatile-mediated interactions among plants and insects. Here, we explore how inbred and outbred plants from three maternal families of the native weed horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) vary in the emission of volatile organic compounds during the dark phase of the photoperiod, and the effects of this variation on the oviposition preferences of Manduca sexta moths, whose larvae are specialist herbivores of Solanaceae. Compared with inbred plants, outbred plants consistently released more total volatiles at night and more individual compounds-including some previously reported to repel moths and attract predators. Female moths overwhelmingly chose to lay eggs on inbred (versus outbred) plants, and this preference persisted when olfactory cues were presented in the absence of visual and contact cues. These results are consistent with our previous findings that inbred plants recruit more herbivores and suffer greater herbivory under field conditions. Furthermore, they suggest that constitutive volatiles released during the dark portion of the photoperiod can convey accurate information about plant defence status (and/or other aspects of host plant quality) to foraging herbivores.

  18. Wolbachia infection in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes alters blood meal excretion and delays oviposition without affecting trypsin activity.

    PubMed

    Pimenta de Oliveira, Sofia; Dantas de Oliveira, Caroline; Viana Sant'Anna, Mauricio Roberto; Carneiro Dutra, Heverton Leandro; Caragata, Eric Pearce; Moreira, Luciano Andrade

    2017-08-01

    Blood feeding in Aedes aegypti is essential for reproduction, but also permits the mosquito to act as a vector for key human pathogens such as the Zika and dengue viruses. Wolbachia pipientis is an endosymbiotic bacterium that can manipulate the biology of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, making them less competent hosts for many pathogens. Yet while Wolbachia affects other aspects of host physiology, it is unclear whether it influences physiological processes associated with blood meal digestion. To that end, we examined the effects of wMel Wolbachia infection in Ae. aegypti, on survival post-blood feeding, blood meal excretion, rate of oviposition, expression levels of key genes involved in oogenesis, and activity levels of trypsin blood digestion enzymes. We observed that wMel infection altered the rate and duration of blood meal excretion, delayed the onset of oviposition and was associated with a greater number of eggs being laid later. wMel-infected Ae. aegypti also had lower levels of key yolk protein precursor genes necessary for oogenesis. However, all of these effects occurred without a change in trypsin activity. These results suggest that Wolbachia infection may disrupt normal metabolic processes associated with blood feeding and reproduction in Ae. aegypti. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) strain and diet on oviposition and development in the parasitoid Euplectrus platyhypenae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Oviposition tendency and subsequent development of the parasitoid wasp Euplectrus platyhypenae Howard was compared using the corn and rice host strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) fed corn (Zea mays, ‘Truckers Favorite’) or stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis Vanderyst var. nlemfuensis, ‘Floro...

  20. Effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen for experimental treatment of schistosomiasis mansoni using praziquantel-free and encapsulated into liposomes: assay in adult worms and oviposition.

    PubMed

    Frezza, Tarsila Ferraz; de Souza, Ana Luiza Ribeiro; Prado, César Corat Ribeiro; de Oliveira, Claudineide Nascimento Fernandes; Gremião, Maria Palmira Daflon; Giorgio, Selma; Dolder, Mary Anne Heidi; Joazeiro, Paulo Pinto; Allegretti, Silmara Marques

    2015-10-01

    The treatment of schistosomiasis depends on a single drug: praziquantel (PZQ). However, this treatment presents limitations such as low and/or erratic bioavailability that can contribute to cases of tolerance. Improvements to the available drug are urgently needed and studies with a controlled system of drug release, like liposomes, have been gaining prominence. The present study evaluated the activity and synergy between liposomal-praziquantel (lip.PZQ) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). Mice received doses of 60 or 100mg/kg PZQ or lip.PZQ, 50 days post-infection, and after the treatment, were exposed to HBO (3 atmosphere absolute - ATA) for 1h. The viability of adult worms and oviposition were analyzed, by necropsy and Kato-Katz examination performed after 15 days of treatment. A concentration of 100mg/kg of lip.PZQ+HBO was more effective (48.0% reduction of worms, 83.3% reduction of eggs/gram of feces) and 100% of the mice had altered of oograms (indicating interruption of oviposition) compared to other treatments and to the Control group (infected and untreated). It is known that PZQ requires participation of the host immune system to complete its antischistosomal activity and that HBO is able to stimulate the immune system. The drug became more available in the body when incorporated into liposomes and, used with HBO, the HBO worked as an adjuvant. This explains the decreases of oviposition and worms recovered form hepatic portal system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. AWBATTM: Early Clinical Experience

    PubMed Central

    Vandenberg, Victoria B.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe the early clinical experience with AWBAT. Methods: Burn patients requiring (1) donor sites or (2) treatment of a superficial burn wound injury were treated. A total of 45 patients with 69 distinct wounds were included. AWBATTM-D was evaluated in donor sites and AWBATTM-S was evaluated in superficial partial-thickness burns. Days to healing, pain, hematoma/seroma formation, and infection were noted. Ease of application, adherence, transparency, and physical adaptability details were collected. Results: Average period to healing of donor sites treated with AWBAT-D (n=22 patients with n=26 wounds) was 11.2 days, σ =1.95, with a range of 8–15 days and a median of 11 days. Pain rating at 24 hours was 1.2, σ =0.43 (n=18) and at 48 hours mean was 1.2, σ =0.46 (n=15). Average period to healing of superficial burns treated with AWBAT-S (n=15 patients with n=18 wounds) was 8.1 days, σ =2.48, with a range of 5–13 days and a median of 7 days. Pain rating at 24 hours was 1.5, σ =0.85 (n=10) and at 48 hours mean was 1.75, σ =0.89 (n=8). There was zero incidence of hematoma/seroma. No infections were seen. Results indicate that AWBAT was easily applied with good initial adherence. It was noted to be transparent, conformant, and pliable. Discussion: Early experience demonstrates that AWBAT performs well on donor sites and superficial partial-thickness burns and delivers the desired attributes of a temporary skin substitute including good adherence, infection control, transparency, adapatability, and pain control. PMID:20361005

  2. Age-Dependent Effects of Oral Infection with Dengue Virus on Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Feeding Behavior, Survival, Oviposition Success and Fecundity

    PubMed Central

    Sylvestre, Gabriel; Gandini, Mariana; Maciel-de-Freitas, Rafael

    2013-01-01

    Background Aedes aegypti is the main vector of dengue, a disease that is increasing its geographical range as well as incidence rates. Despite its public health importance, the effect of dengue virus (DENV) on some mosquito traits remains unknown. Here, we investigated the impact of DENV-2 infection on the feeding behavior, survival, oviposition success and fecundity of Ae. aegypti females. Methods/Principal Findings After orally-challenging Ae. aegypti females with a DENV-2 strain using a membrane feeder, we monitored the feeding behavior, survival, oviposition success and fecundity throughout the mosquito lifespan. We observed an age-dependent cost of DENV infection on mosquito feeding behavior and fecundity. Infected individuals took more time to ingest blood from anesthetized mice in the 2nd and 3rd weeks post-infection, and also longer overall blood-feeding times in the 3rd week post-infection, when females were around 20 days old. Often, infected Ae. aegypti females did not lay eggs and when they were laid, smaller number of eggs were laid compared to uninfected controls. A reduction in the number of eggs laid per female was evident starting on the 3rd week post-infection. DENV-2 negatively affected mosquito lifespan, since overall the longevity of infected females was halved compared to that of the uninfected control group. Conclusions The DENV-2 strain tested significantly affected Ae. aegypti traits directly correlated with vectorial capacity or mosquito population density, such as feeding behavior, survival, fecundity and oviposition success. Infected mosquitoes spent more time ingesting blood, had reduced lifespan, laid eggs less frequently, and when they did lay eggs, the clutches were smaller than uninfected mosquitoes. PMID:23555838

  3. Early treatment of penile fractures: our experience.

    PubMed

    García Gómez, Borja; Romero, Javier; Villacampa, Felipe; Tejido, Angel; Díaz, Rafael

    2012-09-01

    To report our experience in early surgery of penile fractures. We review retrospectively all the cases that underwent surgery at our center from 1989 to 2009, with a total of 24. The cause of the fracture was sexual intercourse in most cases, and in all of them, surgical management was performed according to clinical presentation and physical exploration. In only 7 cases an ultrasound was performed as a complementary test. Early surgery allows prompt resolution of the problem with excellent functional outcomes and little side effects. The prognosis after emergency surgery was excellent in this review.

  4. The Influence of Technology-Rich Early Childhood Field Experiences on Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lux, Nicholas; Lux, Christine

    2015-01-01

    Despite a comprehensive body of research on field experiences in teacher education, technology-rich early field experiences in early childhood environments is one particular area of inquiry lacking substantive current research. Therefore, this study was conducted to better understand how preservice teachers' perceptions of global concepts related…

  5. Supplementary dim light differentially influences sexual maturity, oviposition time, and melatonin rhythms in pullets.

    PubMed

    Lewis, P D; Perry, G C; Morris, T R; English, J

    2001-12-01

    The addition of two 3-h periods of very dim light, one before and one after a normal 8-h photoperiod, advances sexual maturity in pullets by about a week. This trial tested the hypothesis that dim light given before a short day of normal intensity is linked to form a more stimulatory day length and that dim light given after it is photosexually ignored. Pullets were reared from 2 d of age on 8-h photoperiods. From 10 wk, they were continued on 8-h photoperiods, transferred to 16 h, or given an 8-h period of dim light (0.09 lx) immediately before or after the main 8-h photoperiod. The bright/dim and dim/ bright groups matured at the same age, thus disproving the hypothesis tested. Both groups matured 1 wk earlier than the 8-h controls but 5 wk later than birds transferred to 16-h photoperiod. Oviposition time was similar for 8-h controls and bright/dim hens and delayed by 3 h for 16-h birds, but phase advanced by 2.4 h for dim/bright hens. Plasma melatonin rhythm was phase-advanced by about 5 h in the dim/bright hens and retarded by about 5 h in the bright/dim hens, suggesting a 13-h subjective day. However, these treatments were not regarded as fully stimulatory, as a transfer to a normal 13-h photoperiod at this age advances maturity by 5 to 6 wk. These findings show that the addition of a period of dim light to a normal nonstimulatory photoperiod differentially affects the clocks that control sexual maturation, plasma melatonin concentration, and oviposition time.

  6. Influences of Cry1Ac broccoli on larval survival and oviposition of diamondback moth.

    PubMed

    Yi, Dengxia; Cui, Shusong; Yang, Limei; Fang, Zhiyuan; Liu, Yumei; Zhuang, Mu; Zhang, Yangyong

    2015-01-01

    Larval survival and oviposition behavior of three genotypes of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), (homozygous Cry1Ac-susceptibile, Cry1Ac-resistant, and their F1 hybrids), on transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) broccoli expressing different levels of Cry1Ac protein were evaluated in laboratory. These Bt broccoli lines were designated as relative low, medium, and high, respectively, according to the Cry1Ac content. Untransformed brocccoli plants were used as control. Larval survival of diamondback moth on non-Bt leaves was not significantly different among the three genotypes. The Cry1Ac-resistant larvae could survive on the low level of Bt broccoli plants, while Cry1Ac-susceptible and F1 larvae could not survive on them. The three genotypes of P. xylostella larvae could not survive on medium and high levels of Bt broccoli. In oviposition choice tests, there was no significant difference in the number of eggs laid by the three P. xylostella genotypes among different Bt broccoli plants. The development of Cry1Ac-susceptible and Cry1Ac-resistant P. xylostella on intact Bt plants was also tested in greenhouse. All susceptible P. xylostella larvae died on all Bt plants, while resistant larvae could survive on broccoli, which expresses low Cry1Ac protein under greenhouse conditions. The results of the greenhouse trials were similar to that of laboratory tests. This study indicated that high dose of Bt toxins in broccoli cultivars or germplasm lines is required for effective resistance management. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  7. How the Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Influence the Development of Brain Architecture

    PubMed Central

    Fox, Sharon E.; Levitt, Pat; Nelson, Charles A.

    2009-01-01

    Early life events can exert a powerful influence on both the pattern of brain architecture and behavioral development. In this paper a conceptual framework is provided for considering how the structure of early experience gets “under the skin.” The paper begins with a description of the genetic framework that lays the foundation for brain development, and then to the ways experience interacts with and modifies the structures and functions of the developing brain. Much of the attention is focused on early experience and sensitive periods, although it is made clear that later experience also plays an important role in maintaining and elaborating this early wiring diagram, which is critical to establishing a solid footing for development beyond the early years. PMID:20331653

  8. Music Experience in Early Childhood: Potential for Emotion Knowledge?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vist, Torill

    2011-01-01

    Most cultures carry an idea of music being connected to emotion. New research suggests that we may also acquire emotion knowledge from our music experiences. This article investigates music experience as a mediating tool for emotion knowledge in early childhood, as revealed through qualitative interviews of adults. The interviewees describe music…

  9. Influence of breeding site availability on the oviposition behaviour of Aedes aegypti

    PubMed Central

    de Abreu, Filipe Vieira Santos; Morais, Maira Moreira; Ribeiro, Sérvio Pontes; Eiras, Álvaro Eduardo

    2015-01-01

    Despite the importance of the mosquito Aedes aegypti in the transmission of arboviruses, such as yellow fever, Chikungunya fever and dengue fever, some aspects of their behaviour remain unknown. In the present study, the oviposition behaviour of Ae. aegypti females that were exposed to different densities of breeding sites (2, 4, 8 and 16) was evaluated in laboratory and semi-field conditions. The number of breeding sites that were used was proportional to the number available, but tended towards stabilisation. Females used four-six breeding sites on average, with a maximum of 11. A high percentage of eggs was observed in the water, along with the presence of a breeding site termed “favourite”, which received at least 40% of the eggs. The results are discussed in ecological, evolutionary and epidemiological approaches. PMID:26154742

  10. Examining the Content of Preservice Teachers' Reflections of Early Field Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an exploratory study that examined the content of preservice elementary teachers' reflections of their documented early field experiences of science teaching in authentic contexts. The study used an early field experience model that was focused on the objective of profiling an elementary science teacher as the practical…

  11. Adaptation to new nutritional environments: larval performance, foraging decisions, and adult oviposition choices in Drosophila suzukii.

    PubMed

    Silva-Soares, Nuno F; Nogueira-Alves, A; Beldade, P; Mirth, Christen Kerry

    2017-06-07

    Understanding how species adapt to new niches is a central issue in evolutionary ecology. Nutrition is vital for the survival of all organisms and impacts species fitness and distribution. While most Drosophila species exploit rotting plant parts, some species have diversified to use ripe fruit, allowing earlier colonization. The decomposition of plant material is facilitated by yeast colonization and proliferation. These yeasts serve as the main protein source for Drosophila larvae. This dynamic rotting process entails changes in the nutritional composition of the food and other properties, and animals feeding on material at different stages of decay are expected to have behavioural and nutritional adaptations. We compared larval performance, feeding behaviour and adult oviposition site choice between the ripe fruit colonizer and invasive pest Drosophila suzukii, and a closely-related rotting fruit colonizer, Drosophila biarmipes. Through the manipulation of protein:carbohydrate ratios in artificial diets, we found that D. suzukii larvae perform better at lower protein concentrations and consume less protein rich diets relative to D. biarmipes. For adult oviposition, these species differed in preference for substrate hardness, but not for the substrate nutritional composition. Our findings highlight that rather than being an exclusive specialist on ripe fruit, D. suzukii's adaptation to use ripening fruit allow it to colonize a wider range of food substrates than D. biarmipes, which is limited to soft foods with higher protein concentrations. Our results underscore the importance of nutritional performance and feeding behaviours in the colonization of new food niches.

  12. Comparative microhabitat characteristics at oviposition sites of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Alvarez, Jeff A.; Cook, David G.; Yee, Julie L.; van Hattem, Michael G.; Fong, Darren R.; Fisher, Robert N.

    2013-01-01

    We studied the microhabitat characteristics of 747 egg masses of the federally-threatened Rana draytonii (California red-legged frog) at eight sites in California. our study showed that a broad range of aquatic habitats are utilized by ovipositing R. draytonii, including sites with perennial and ephemeral water sources, natural and constructed wetlands, lentic and lotic hydrology, and sites surrounded by protected lands and nested within modified urban areas. We recorded 45 different egg mass attachment types, although the use of only a few types was common at each site. These attachment types ranged from branches and roots of riparian trees, emergent and submergent wetland vegetation, flooded upland grassland/ruderal vegetation, and debris. eggs were deposited in relatively shallow water (mean 39.7 cm) when compared to maximum site depths. We found that most frogs in artificial pond, natural creek, and artificial channel habitats deposited egg masses within one meter of the shore, while egg masses in a seasonal marsh averaged 27.3 m from the shore due to extensive emergent vegetation. Rana draytonii appeared to delay breeding in lotic habitats and in more inland sites compared to lentic habitats and coastal sites. eggs occurred as early as mid-december at a coastal artificial pond and as late as mid-April in an inland natural creek. We speculate that this delay in breeding may represent a method of avoiding high-flow events and/or freezing temperatures. Understanding the factors related to the reproductive needs of this species can contribute to creating, managing, or preserving appropriate habitat, and promoting species recovery.

  13. Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) RPC Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Estep, Leland; Spruce, Joseph P.; Hall, Callie

    2007-01-01

    This viewgraph document reviews the background, objectives, methodology, validation, and present status of the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) Rapid Prototyping Capability (RPC) experiment. The potential NASA contribution to CREWS Decision Support Tool (DST) centers on remotely sensed imagery products.

  14. Comparison of BG-Sentinel Trap and Oviposition Cups for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Surveillance in Jacksonville, Florida, USA

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-03-01

    albopictus, BG-Sentinel, oviposition cup surveillance, Florida, dengue INTRODUCTION Dengue fever remains a serious mosquitoborne disease in many...state of Florida (FL) in 1986 at a waste tire site in Jacksonville (O’Meara et al. 1992). While the role of Ae. aegypti in the transmission of dengue ...virus is well known, the importance of Ae. albopictus in the transmission of arboviruses in the USA, including dengue , is not clear. Specifically, Cache

  15. Two functions of early language experience.

    PubMed

    Arshavsky, Yuri I

    2009-05-01

    The unique human ability of linguistic communication, defined as the ability to produce a practically infinite number of meaningful messages using a finite number of lexical items, is determined by an array of "linguistic" genes, which are expressed in neurons forming domain-specific linguistic centers in the brain. In this review, I discuss the idea that infants' early language experience performs two complementary functions. In addition to allowing infants to assimilate the words and grammar rules of their mother language, early language experience initiates genetic programs underlying language production and comprehension. This hypothesis explains many puzzling characteristics of language acquisition, such as the existence of a critical period for acquiring the first language and the absence of a critical period for the acquisition of additional language(s), a similar timetable for language acquisition in children belonging to families of different social and cultural status, the strikingly similar timetables in the acquisition of oral and sign languages, and the surprisingly small correlation between individuals' final linguistic competence and the intensity of their training. Based on the studies of microcephalic individuals, I argue that genetic factors determine not only the number of neurons and organization of interneural connections within linguistic centers, but also the putative internal properties of neurons that are not limited to their electrophysiological and synaptic properties.

  16. Efficient harvesting methods for early-stage snake and turtle embryos.

    PubMed

    Matsubara, Yoshiyuki; Kuroiwa, Atsushi; Suzuki, Takayuki

    2016-04-01

    Reptile development is an intriguing research target for understating the unique morphogenesis of reptiles as well as the evolution of vertebrates. However, there are numerous difficulties associated with studying development in reptiles. The number of available reptile eggs is usually quite limited. In addition, the reptile embryo is tightly adhered to the eggshell, making it a challenge to isolate reptile embryos intact. Furthermore, there have been few reports describing efficient procedures for isolating intact embryos especially prior to pharyngula stage. Thus, the aim of this review is to present efficient procedures for obtaining early-stage reptilian embryos intact. We first describe the method for isolating early-stage embryos of the Japanese striped snake. This is the first detailed method for obtaining embryos prior to oviposition in oviparous snake species. Second, we describe an efficient strategy for isolating early-stage embryos of the soft-shelled turtle. © 2016 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.

  17. Comparative evaluation of the efficiency of the BG-Sentinel trap, CDC light trap and Mosquito-oviposition trap for the surveillance of vector mosquitoes.

    PubMed

    Li, Yiji; Su, Xinghua; Zhou, Guofa; Zhang, Hong; Puthiyakunnon, Santhosh; Shuai, Shufen; Cai, Songwu; Gu, Jinbao; Zhou, Xiaohong; Yan, Guiyun; Chen, Xiao-Guang

    2016-08-12

    The surveillance of vector mosquitoes is important for the control of mosquito-borne diseases. To identify a suitable surveillance tool for the adult dengue vector Aedes albopictus, the efficacy of the BG-Sentinel trap, CDC light trap and Mosquito-oviposition trap (MOT) on the capture of vector mosquitoes were comparatively evaluated in this study. The capture efficiencies of the BG-Sentinel trap, CDC light trap and Mosquito-oviposition trap for common vector mosquitoes were tested in a laboratory setting, through the release-recapture method, and at two field sites of Guangzhou, China from June 2013 to May 2014. The captured mosquitoes were counted, species identified and compared among the three traps on the basis of species. In the release-recapture experiments in a laboratory setting, the BG-Sentinel trap caught significantly more Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus than the CDC light trap and Mosquito-ovitrap, except for Anopheles sinensis. The BG-Sentinel trap had a higher efficacy in capturing female rather than male Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus, but the capture in CDC light traps displayed no significant differences. In the field trial, BG-Sentinel traps collected more Aedes albopictus than CDC light traps and MOTs collected in both urban and suburban areas. The BG-Sentinel trap was more sensitive for monitoring the population density of Aedes albopictus than the CDC light trap and MOT during the peak months of the year 2013. However, on an average, CDC light traps captured significantly more Cx. quinquefasciatus than BG-Sentinel traps. The population dynamics of Cx. quinquefasciatus displayed a significant seasonal variation, with the lowest numbers in the middle of the year. This study indicates that the BG-Sentinel trap is more effective than the commonly used CDC light trap and MOT in sampling adult Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. We recommend its use in the surveillance of dengue vector mosquitoes in China.

  18. Behavioral and neural plasticity caused by early social experiences: the case of the honeybee

    PubMed Central

    Arenas, Andrés; Ramírez, Gabriela P.; Balbuena, María Sol; Farina, Walter M.

    2013-01-01

    Cognitive experiences during the early stages of life play an important role in shaping future behavior. Behavioral and neural long-term changes after early sensory and associative experiences have been recently reported in the honeybee. This invertebrate is an excellent model for assessing the role of precocious experiences on later behavior due to its extraordinarily tuned division of labor based on age polyethism. These studies are mainly focused on the role and importance of experiences occurred during the first days of the adult lifespan, their impact on foraging decisions, and their contribution to coordinate food gathering. Odor-rewarded experiences during the first days of honeybee adulthood alter the responsiveness to sucrose, making young hive bees more sensitive to assess gustatory features about the nectar brought back to the hive and affecting the dynamic of the food transfers and the propagation of food-related information within the colony. Early olfactory experiences lead to stable and long-term associative memories that can be successfully recalled after many days, even at foraging ages. Also they improve memorizing of new associative learning events later in life. The establishment of early memories promotes stable reorganization of the olfactory circuits inducing structural and functional changes in the antennal lobe (AL). Early rewarded experiences have relevant consequences at the social level too, biasing dance and trophallaxis partner choice and affecting recruitment. Here, we revised recent results in bees' physiology, behavior, and sociobiology to depict how the early experiences affect their cognition abilities and neural-related circuits. PMID:23986708

  19. Early thinning experiments established by the Fort Valley Experimental Forest

    Treesearch

    Benjamin P. De Blois; Alex. J. Finkral; Andrew J. Sanchez Meador; Margaret M. Moore

    2008-01-01

    Between 1925 and 1936, the Fort Valley Experimental Forest (FVEF) scientists initiated a study to examine a series of forest thinning experiments in second growth ponderosa pine stands in Arizona and New Mexico. These early thinning plots furnished much of the early background for the development of methods used in forest management in the Southwest. The plots ranged...

  20. New Directions in the Study of Early Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bertenthal, Bennett I; Campos, Joseph J.

    1987-01-01

    Reviews Greenough, Black, and Wallace's (1987) conceptual framework for understanding the effects of early experience and sensitive periods on development, and illustrates the applicability of their model with recent data on the consequences for animals and human infants of the acquistion of self-produced locomotion. (BN)

  1. Early Workplace Learning Experiences: What Are the Pedagogical Possibilities beyond Retention and Employability?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trede, Franziska; McEwen, Celina

    2015-01-01

    With this paper, we explore early placement experiences and their pedagogical potential, including ways of keeping students enrolled and persisting with their studies. Few university courses offer early placements because traditionally placement experiences have a focus on employability and work readiness of graduates, hence occur towards the end…

  2. Intrinsic colony conditions affect the provisioning and oviposition process in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris.

    PubMed

    Pereira, R A; Morais, M M; Nascimento, F S; Bego, L R

    2009-01-01

    The cell provisioning and oviposition process (POP) is a unique characteristic of stingless bees (Meliponini), in which coordinated interactions between workers and queen regulate the filling of brood cells with larval resources and subsequent egg laying. Environmental conditions seem to regulate reproduction in stingless bees; however, little is known about how the amount of food affects quantitative sequences of the process. We examined intrinsic variables by comparing three colonies in distinct conditions (strong, intermediate and weak state). We predicted that some of these variables are correlated with temporal events of POP in Melipona scutellaris colonies. The results demonstrated that the strong colony had shorter periods of POP.

  3. Starflo glaucoma implant: early experience in Hungary

    PubMed Central

    István, Cseke; Péter, Vámosi; Mária, Bausz

    2016-01-01

    Aim: To present the early experience with the implantation technique, safety and efficiency of STARflo™ device for open angle glaucoma (OAG). Methods: referring intra- and postoperative clinical experience with a series of seven cases in three glaucoma centers in Hungary. Results: No intraoperative complications were observed. Postoperative inflammatory signs disappeared rapidly. The mean IOP reduction was from 27,6 ± 5,0 mmHg to 18,9±3,4 mmHg (32% reduction/ patient) at six months postoperatively. Conclusion: STARflo™ implant was safe and (except for one case with neovascular glaucoma) effective in our cases. The learning curve for experienced anterior segment surgeons was short. PMID:27220226

  4. Oviposition responses of Aedes mosquitoes to bacterial isolates from attractive bamboo infusions.

    PubMed

    Ponnusamy, Loganathan; Schal, Coby; Wesson, Dawn M; Arellano, Consuelo; Apperson, Charles S

    2015-09-23

    The mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are vectors of pathogenic viruses that cause major human illnesses including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. Both mosquito species are expanding their geographic distributions and now occur worldwide in temperate and tropical climates. Collection of eggs in oviposition traps (ovitraps) is commonly used for monitoring and surveillance of container-inhabiting Aedes populations by public health agencies charged with managing mosquito-transmitted illness. Addition of an organic infusion in these traps increases the number of eggs deposited. Gravid females are guided to ovitraps by volatile chemicals produced from the breakdown of organic matter by microbes. We previously isolated and cultured 14 species of bacteria from attractive experimental infusions, made from the senescent leaves of canebrake bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea). Cultures were grown for 24 h at 28 °C with constant shaking (120 rpm) and cell densities were determined with a hemocytometer. Behavioral responses to single bacterial isolates and to a mix of isolates at different cell densities were evaluated using two-choice sticky-screen bioassay methods with gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. In behavioral assays of a mix of 14 bacterial isolates, significantly greater attraction responses were exhibited by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus to bacterial densities of 10(7) and 10(8) cells/mL than to the control medium. When we tested single bacterial isolates, seven isolates (B1, B2, B3, B5, B12, B13 and B14) were significantly attractive to Ae. aegypti, and six isolates (B1, B5, B7, B10, B13 and B14) significantly attracted Ae. albopictus. Among all the isolates tested at three different cell densities, bacterial isolates B1, B5, B13 and B14 were highly attractive to both Aedes species. Our results show that at specific cell densities, some bacteria significantly influence the attraction of gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females to

  5. Aesthetic Experience and Early Language and Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Helen L.

    2007-01-01

    The present paper explores the connections between theory and research in language development and aesthetic education and their implications for early childhood classroom practice. The present paper posits that arts experiences make a unique and vital contribution to the child's development of language and literacy, as well as to the sense of…

  6. Egg mass drift increases vulnerability during early development of Cascades frogs (Rana casadae).

    Treesearch

    Justin M. Garwood; Clara A. Wheeler; Ryan M. Bourque; Monty D. Larson; Hartwell H. Welsh

    2007-01-01

    Many anuran species exhibit oviposition site selection. Female selection of oviposition sites may influence the success of offspring and increase overall fitness (Resetarits 1996). Egg mass placement (location and attachment substrate) may be determined by a number of factors including detectability by predators, water velocity, risk of desiccation or flooding, and...

  7. Identification of a follistatin-related protein from the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis and its effect on tick oviposition.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jinlin; Liao, Min; Hatta, Takeshi; Tanaka, Miho; Xuan, Xuenan; Fujisaki, Kozo

    2006-05-10

    The identification of ovary-associated molecules will lead to a better understanding of the physiology of tick reproduction and vector-pathogen interactions. A gene encoding a follistatin-related protein (FRP) was obtained by random sequencing from the ovary cDNA library of the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis. The full-length cDNA is 1157 bp, including an intact ORF encoding an expected protein with 289 amino acids. Three distinct domains were present in the deduced amino acids, namely, the follistatin-like domain, KAZAL, and two calcium-binding motifs, EFh. The sequence shows homology with the follistatin-related protein (FRP), which was thought to play some roles in the negative regulation of cellular growth. RT-PCR showed that the gene was expressed throughout the developing stages and mainly in the ovary as well as in fat body, hemocytes, salivary glands, and midgut. This gene was expressed in GST-fused recombinant protein with an expected size. The mouse antiserum against the recombinant protein recognized a 56-kDa native protein in both tick ovary and hemolymph. The recombinant proteins were found to have binding activity for both activin A and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). Silencing of FRP by RNAi showed a decrease in tick oviposition, which is consistent with the effect of a recombinant protein vaccine on the adult tick. These results showed that the tick FRP might be involved in tick oviposition. This is the first report of a member of follistatin family proteins in Chelicerata, which include ticks, spiders, and scorpions.

  8. Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhances oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, Miriam C; Rosenberg, Marci; Cheng, Lanna

    2012-10-23

    Plastic pollution in the form of small particles (diameter less than 5 mm)--termed 'microplastic'--has been observed in many parts of the world ocean. They are known to interact with biota on the individual level, e.g. through ingestion, but their population-level impacts are largely unknown. One potential mechanism for microplastic-induced alteration of pelagic ecosystems is through the introduction of hard-substrate habitat to ecosystems where it is naturally rare. Here, we show that microplastic concentrations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) have increased by two orders of magnitude in the past four decades, and that this increase has released the pelagic insect Halobates sericeus from substrate limitation for oviposition. High concentrations of microplastic in the NPSG resulted in a positive correlation between H. sericeus and microplastic, and an overall increase in H. sericeus egg densities. Predation on H. sericeus eggs and recent hatchlings may facilitate the transfer of energy between pelagic- and substrate-associated assemblages. The dynamics of hard-substrate-associated organisms may be important to understanding the ecological impacts of oceanic microplastic pollution.

  9. Early experience shapes vocal neural coding and perception in songbirds

    PubMed Central

    Woolley, Sarah M. N.

    2012-01-01

    Songbirds, like humans, are highly accomplished vocal learners. The many parallels between speech and birdsong and conserved features of mammalian and avian auditory systems have led to the emergence of the songbird as a model system for studying the perceptual mechanisms of vocal communication. Laboratory research on songbirds allows the careful control of early life experience and high-resolution analysis of brain function during vocal learning, production and perception. Here, I review what songbird studies have revealed about the role of early experience in the development of vocal behavior, auditory perception and the processing of learned vocalizations by auditory neurons. The findings of these studies suggest general principles for how exposure to vocalizations during development and into adulthood influences the perception of learned vocal signals. PMID:22711657

  10. Making Visible Teacher Reports of Their Teaching Experiences: The Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fantuzzo, John; Perlman, Staci; Sproul, Faith; Minney, Ashley; Perry, Marlo A.; Li, Feifei

    2012-01-01

    The study developed multiple independent scales of early childhood teacher experiences (ECTES). ECTES was co-constructed with preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers in a large urban school district. Demographic, ECTES, and teaching practices data were collected from 584 teachers. Factor analyses documented three teacher experience…

  11. Medical students, early general practice placements and positive supervisor experiences.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Margaret; Upham, Susan; King, David; Dick, Marie-Louise; van Driel, Mieke

    2018-03-01

    Introduction Community-based longitudinal clinical placements for medical students are becoming more common globally. The perspective of supervising clinicians about their experiences and processes involved in maximising these training experiences has received less attention than that of students. Aims This paper explores the general practitioner (GP) supervisor perspective of positive training experiences with medical students undertaking urban community-based, longitudinal clinical placements in the early years of medical training. Methods Year 2 medical students spent a half-day per week in general practice for either 13 or 26 weeks. Transcribed semi-structured interviews from a convenience sample of participating GPs were thematically analysed by two researchers, using a general inductive approach. Results Identified themes related to the attributes of participating persons and organisations: GPs, students, patients, practices and their supporting institution; GPs' perceptions of student development; and triggers enhancing the experience. A model was developed to reflect these themes. Conclusions Training experiences were enhanced for GPs supervising medical students in early longitudinal clinical placements by the synergy of motivated students and keen teachers with support from patients, practice staff and academic institutions. We developed an explanatory model to better understand the mechanism of positive experiences. Understanding the interaction of factors enhancing teaching satisfaction is important for clinical disciplines wishing to maintain sustainable, high quality teaching.

  12. Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development. An Ounce of Prevention Fund Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ounce of Prevention Fund.

    Recent research has provided great insight into the impact of early experience on brain development. It is now believed that brain growth is highly dependent upon early experiences. Neurons allow communication and coordinated functioning among various brain areas. Brain development after birth consists of an ongoing process of wiring and rewiring…

  13. Components of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP)

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1969-07-20

    AS11-37-5551 (20 July 1969) --- Two components of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP) are seen deployed on the lunar surface in this view photographed from inside the Lunar Module (LM). In the far background is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP); and to the right and closer to the camera is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3). The footprints of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. are very distinct in the lunar soil.

  14. Supporting Learning to Teach in Early Field Experiences: The UTE Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bieda, Kristen N.; Dillman, Brittany; Gundlach, Michael; Voogt, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    Most teacher preparation programs require prospective teachers (PTs) to engage in early field experiences (EFEs) prior to completing required coursework. These EFEs, however, may lack meaningful connections to course content and provide limited opportunities to experience the demands of classroom teaching. In this paper, we share evidence from the…

  15. Vertical oviposition activity of mosquitoes in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil with emphasis on the sylvan vector, Haemagogus leucocelaenus (Diptera: Culicidae).

    PubMed

    Alencar, Jeronimo; de Mello, Cecilia Ferreira; Gil-Santana, Hélcio R; Guimarães, Anthony Érico; de Almeida, Sergio Antonio Silva; Gleiser, Raquel M

    2016-06-01

    This study aimed to assess the vertical patterns of oviposition and temporal changes in the distribution of mosquito species in an area of the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and in particular, the behavior and oviposition of potential yellow fever virus vectors. Mosquito samples were collected from the Ecological Reserve Guapiaçu (REGUA, Brazil), which includes a somewhat disturbed forest, with a large diversity of plants and animals. In all, 5,458 specimens (ten species from seven genera) were collected. Haemagogus leucocelaenus was the most frequently captured species, representing 73% of the specimens collected. Species richness and diversity were the highest in the samples collected from the ground-level ovitraps and decreased with height. Species composition also differed significantly among heights. The largest species differences were detected between ovitraps set at the ground level and those set at 7 m and 9 m; Hg. leucocelaenus, Limatus durhamii, and Limatus paraensis contributed most to these differences. Sampling month and climatic variables had significant effects on species richness and diversity. Species diversity and richness decreased with height, suggesting that the conditions for mosquito breeding are more favorable closer to the ground. Species composition also showed vertical differences. © 2016 The Society for Vector Ecology.

  16. A Road Like No Other: Mothers' Experiences with Early Intervention Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piper, Amy Wickizer

    2010-01-01

    This dual case study utilizes qualitative research methods to examine the experiences of two mothers of young children with special needs. Over the course of ten months, the researcher spent many hours interviewing both mothers about their experiences with Early Intervention (EI) professionals. Observations of medical appointments, team meetings,…

  17. Modification of visual function by early visual experience.

    PubMed

    Blakemore, C

    1976-07-01

    Physiological experiments, involving recording from the visual cortex in young kittens and monkeys, have given new insight into human developmental disorders. In the visual cortex of normal cats and monkeys most neurones are selectively sensitive to the orientation of moving edges and they receive very similar signals from both eyes. Even in very young kittens without visual experience, most neurones are binocularly driven and a small proportion of them are genuinely orientation selective. There is no passive maturation of the system in the absence of visual experience, but even very brief exposure to patterned images produces rapid emergence of the adult organization. These results are compared to observations on humans who have "recovered" from early blindness. Covering one eye in a kitten or a monkey, during a sensitive period early in life, produces a virtually complete loss of input from that eye in the cortex. These results can be correlated with the production of "stimulus deprivation amblyopia" in infants who have had one eye patched. Induction of a strabismus causes a loss of binocularity in the visual cortex, and in humans it leads to a loss of stereoscopic vision and binocular fusion. Exposing kittens to lines of one orientation modifies the preferred orientations of cortical cells and there is an analogous "meridional amblyopia" in astigmatic humans. The existence of a sensitive period in human vision is discussed, as well as the possibility of designing remedial and preventive treatments for human developmental disorders.

  18. Dissociation mediates the relationship between peer victimization and hallucinatory experiences among early adolescents.

    PubMed

    Yamasaki, Syudo; Ando, Shuntaro; Koike, Shinsuke; Usami, Satoshi; Endo, Kaori; French, Paul; Sasaki, Tsukasa; Furukawa, Toshi A; Hasegawa-Hiraiwa, Mariko; Kasai, Kiyoto; Nishida, Atsushi

    2016-06-01

    Peer victimization increases the risk of experiencing psychotic symptoms among clinical and general populations, but the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Dissociation, which is related to peer victimization and hallucinatory experiences, has been demonstrated as a significant mediator in the relation between childhood victimization and hallucinatory experience among adult patients with psychosis. However, no studies have examined the mediating effect of dissociation in a general early adolescent population. We examined whether dissociation mediates the relationship between peer victimization and hallucinatory experiences among 10-year-old adolescents using a population-based cross-sectional survey of early adolescents and their main parent (Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey; N  = 4478). We examined the mediating effect of dissociation, as well as external locus of control and depressive symptoms, on the relationship between peer victimization and hallucinatory experiences using path analysis. The model assuming mediation effects indicated good model fit (comparative fit index = .999; root mean square error of approximation = .015). The mediation effect between peer victimization and hallucination via dissociation (standardized indirect effect = .038, p  < .001) was statistically significant, whereas the mediation effects of depressive symptoms (standardized indirect effect = -.0066, p  = 0.318) and external locus of control (standardized indirect effect = .0024, p  = 0.321) were not significant. These results suggest that dissociation is a mediator in the relation between peer victimization and hallucinatory experiences in early adolescence. For appropriate intervention strategies, assessing dissociation and peer victimization as they affect hallucinatory experiences is necessary.

  19. Olive fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in California: longevity, oviposition, and development in canning olives in the laboratory and greenhouse.

    PubMed

    Yokoyama, Victoria Y

    2012-02-01

    The biology of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), was studied in the laboratory, greenhouse, and in canning olives, Olea europaea L., in relation to California regional climates. Adults survived in laboratory tests at constant temperatures and relative humidities of 5 degrees C and 83%; 15 degrees C and 59%; 25 degrees C and 30%; and 35 degrees C and 29% for 15, 6, 3, and 2 d without provisions of food and water and for 37, 63, 25, and 4 d with provisions, respectively. In a divided greenhouse, adults survived for 8-11 d in the warm side (36 degrees C and 31% RH daytime); and in the cool side (26 degrees C and 63% RH daytime) 10 d without provisions and 203 d with provisions. A significantly greater number of adults survived in the cool side than the warm side, and with provisions than without. First and last eggs were oviposited in olive fruit when females were 6 and 90 d old, respectively. The highest number of eggs was 55 per day in 10 olive fruit oviposited by 10 28 d-old females, with maximum egg production by 13-37 d-old females. A significantly greater number of ovipositional sites occurred in all sizes of immature green fruit when exposed to adults in cages for 5 d than 2 d. Adults emerged from fruit with a height of > or = 1.0 cm or a volume of > or = 0.2 cm3. More than seven adults per 15 fruit emerged from field infested fruit with a height of 1.1 cm and volume of 0.1 cm3. Larval length was significantly different among the first, second, and third instars and ranged from 0.7 to 1.6, 2.4-4.3, and 4.8-5.6 mm at 14 degrees C; 0.8-1.1, 1.9-2.9, and 3.9-4.4 mm at 21 degrees C, and 0.7-1.3, 2.4-2.9, and 4.4-4.8 mm at 26 degrees C, respectively. Survival of pupae to the adult stage was significantly lower at 26 degrees C than 14 degrees C or 21 degrees C. The period of adult emergence began at 38, 14, and 11 d over a period of 8, 5, and 1 d at 14, 21, and 26 degrees C, respectively. Findings were related to the occurrence and control of California

  20. Exploring a Comprehensive Model for Early Childhood Vocabulary Instruction: A Design Experiment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, X. Christine; Christ, Tanya; Chiu, Ming Ming

    2014-01-01

    Addressing a critical need for effective vocabulary practices in early childhood classrooms, we conducted a design experiment to achieve three goals: (1) developing a comprehensive model for early childhood vocabulary instruction, (2) examining the effectiveness of this model, and (3) discerning the contextual conditions that hinder or facilitate…

  1. Early Career Teachers' Emotional Experiences and Development--A Norwegian Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jakhelln, Rachel

    2011-01-01

    Emotional experiences that are an integral part of the process of becoming teachers have been insufficiently explored in the research literature. The early experiences of three new teachers in a Norwegian upper secondary school are analysed using a collective case-study design and a socio-cultural theoretical framework. Emotions arising in the…

  2. Accelerated and Synchronized Oviposition Induced by Flight of Young Females May Intensify Larval Outbreaks of the Rice Leaf Roller

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Lei; Pan, Pan; Sappington, Thomas W.; Lu, Weixiang; Luo, Lizhi; Jiang, Xingfu

    2015-01-01

    Physiological management of migration-reproduction trade-offs in energy allocation often includes a package of adaptions referred to as the oogenesis-flight syndrome. In some species, this trade-off may be overestimated, because factors like flight behavior and environmental conditions may mitigate it. In this study, we examined the reproductive consequences induced by different flight scenarios in an economically-important Asian migrant insect, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis. We found that the influences of flight on reproduction are not absolutely positive or negative, but instead depend on the age at which the moth begins flight, flight duration, and how many consecutive nights they are flown. Adult flight on the 1st or 2nd night after emergence, flight for 6 h or 12 h nightly, and flight on the first two consecutive nights after emergence significantly accelerated onset of oviposition or enhanced synchrony of egg-laying. The latter can contribute to subsequent larval outbreaks. However, flight after the 3rd night, flight for 18 h at any age, or flight on more than 3 consecutive nights after adult emergence did not promote reproductive development, and in some scenarios even constrained adult reproduction. These results indicate that there is a migration/reproduction trade-off in C.medinalis, but that it is mitigated or eliminated by flight under appropriate conditions. The strategy of advanced and synchronized oviposition triggered by migratory flight of young females may be common in other migratory insect pests. PMID:25815767

  3. Attraction and Oviposition of Lucilia eximia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to Resources Colonized by the Invasive Competitor Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

    PubMed

    Spindola, Aline F; Zheng, Le; Tomberlin, Jeffery K; Thyssen, Patricia J

    2017-03-01

    The present study aimed to determine if the presence of immatures of the invasive blow fly species Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) influences the adult behavior of the native species Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann) in Brazil. The level of attraction and oviposition by the native species was assessed in a dual-choice assay. The evaluation was based on sex and stage of ovarian development of L. eximia adults to a resource not colonized (NCR) or colonized (RPC) with eggs, different instars, or densities of C. albiceps. A significant difference in attraction was observed based on sex and stages of ovarian development. Males and nongravid females were more attracted to RPC, whereas gravid females preferred NCR. Moreover, males exhibited the lowest response in all assays among the three sex categories examined. In general, adults preferably oviposited on NCR rather than RPC. Also, between the eggs and second instar treatments, L. eximia laid more eggs on RPC with eggs than second instars (predatory stage). Lucilia eximia attraction to second-instar C. albiceps at different densities was marginally significant. Overall, results indicate the invasive species, C. albiceps, is impacting the behavior of the native blow fly, L. eximia, with regards to its attraction and colonization of vertebrate carrion, which could explain why native blow fly populations have significantly decreased since the introduction of C. albiceps. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Early life experience alters behavior during social defeat: focus on serotonergic systems.

    PubMed

    Gardner, K L; Thrivikraman, K V; Lightman, S L; Plotsky, P M; Lowry, C A

    2005-01-01

    Early life experience can have prolonged effects on neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stress. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of early life experience on behavior during social defeat, as well as on associated functional cellular responses in serotonergic and non-serotonergic neurons within the dorsal raphe nucleus, a structure which plays an important role in modulation of stress-related physiology and behavior. Male Long Evans rat pups were exposed to either normal animal facility rearing or 15 min or 180 min of maternal separation from postnatal days 2-14. As adults, these rats were exposed to a social defeat protocol. Differences in behavior were seen among the early life treatment groups during social defeat; rats exposed to 180 min of maternal separation from postnatal days 2-14 displayed more passive-submissive behaviors and less proactive coping behaviors. Analysis of the distribution of tryptophan hydroxylase and c-Fos-like immunoreactivity in control rats exposed to a novel cage and rats exposed to social defeat revealed that, independent of the early life experience, rats exposed to social defeat showed an increase in the number of c-Fos-like immunoreactive nuclei in serotonergic neurons in the middle and caudal parts of the dorsal dorsal raphe nucleus and caudal part of the ventral dorsal raphe nucleus, regions known to contain serotonergic neurons projecting to central autonomic and emotional motor control systems. This is the first study to show that the dorsomedial part of the mid-rostrocaudal dorsal raphe nucleus is engaged by a naturalistic stressor and supports the hypothesis that early life experience alters behavioral coping strategies during social conflict; furthermore, this study is consistent with the hypothesis that topographically organized subpopulations of serotonergic neurons principally within the mid-rostrocaudal and caudal part of the dorsal dorsal raphe nucleus modulate stress

  5. Experience with early postoperative feeding after abdominal aortic surgery.

    PubMed

    Ko, Po-Jen; Hsieh, Hung-Chang; Liu, Yun-Hen; Liu, Hui-Ping

    2004-03-01

    Abdominal aortic surgery is a form of major vascular surgery, which traditionally involves long hospital stays and significant postoperative morbidity. Experiences with transit ileus are often encountered after the aortic surgery. Thus traditional postoperative care involves delayed oral feeding until the patients regain their normal bowel activities. This report examines the feasibility of early postoperative feeding after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) open-repair. From May 2002 through May 2003, 10 consecutive patients with infrarenal AAA who underwent elective surgical open-repair by the same surgeon in our department were reviewed. All of them had been operated upon and cared for according to the early feeding postoperative care protocol, which comprised of adjuvant epidural anesthesia, postoperative patient controlled analgesia, early postoperative feeding and early rehabilitation. The postoperative recovery and length of hospital stay were reviewed and analyzed. All patients were able to sip water within 1 day postoperatively without trouble (Average; 12.4 hours postoperatively). All but one patient was put on regular diet within 3 days postoperatively (Average; 2.2 days postoperatively). The average postoperative length of stay in hospital was 5.8 days. No patient died or had major morbidity. Early postoperative feeding after open repair of abdominal aorta is safe and feasible. The postoperative recovery could be improved and the length of stay reduced by simply using adjuvant epidural anesthesia during surgery, postoperative epidural patient-controlled analgesia, early feeding, early ambulation, and early rehabilitation. The initial success of our postoperative recovery program of aortic repair was demonstrated.

  6. Enhancing Research and Practice in Early Childhood through Formative and Design Experiments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Barbara A.; Reinking, David

    2011-01-01

    This article describes formative and design experiments and how they can advance research and instructional practices in early childhood education. We argue that this relatively new approach to education research closes the gap between research and practice, and it addresses limitations that have been identified in early childhood research. We…

  7. Female butterflies adapt and allocate their progeny to the host-plant quality of their own larval experience.

    PubMed

    Cahenzli, Fabian; Wenk, Barbara A; Erhardt, Andreas

    2015-07-01

    Recent studies with diverse taxa have shown that parents can utilize their experience of the environment to adapt their offspring's phenotype to the same environmental conditions. Thus, offspring would then perform best under environmental conditions experienced by their parents due to transgenerational phenotypic plasticity. Such an effect has been dubbed transgenerational acclimatization. However, evidence that parents can subsequently ensure the appropriate environmental conditions in order that offspring benefit from transgenerational acclimatization has never been demonstrated. We reared Pieris rapae larvae in the parental generation on high-nitrogen and low-nitrogen host plants, and reared the offspring (F1) of both treatments again on high- and low-nitrogen plants. Furthermore, we tested if females prefer to oviposit on high- or low-nitrogen host plants in two-way choice tests. We here show not only that females adapt their offspring's phenotype to the host-plant quality that they themselves experienced, but that females also mainly oviposit on the host quality to which they adapt their offspring. Moreover, effects of larval host plant on oviposition preference of females increased across two generations in F1-females acclimatized to low-nitrogen host plants, showing an adaptive host shift from one generation to the next. These findings may have profound implications for host-race formation and sympatric speciation.

  8. Mothers' experience of caring for a child with early onset scoliosis: A qualitative descriptive study.

    PubMed

    Lauder, Bonnie; Sinclair, Peter M; Maguire, Jane

    2018-04-01

    This study aimed to identify and describe the experience of parents of children diagnosed with early onset scoliosis living in Australia. Chronic childhood disease has a major impact on health-related quality of life. Caring for a child with a chronic illness is well documented but the specific experiences of parents who care for children with early onset scoliosis, a rare but devastating illness, has not been explored. Numerous studies have described the interrelated psychological, financial, social, physical and logistical factors that impact the experience of the caregiver role with various diseases, but in the case of early onset scoliosis, limited studies have been conducted about the parental experience. A qualitative descriptive design was used. A snowball sampling technique assisted in the recruitment. Parents invited to the study included mothers, fathers and guardians. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Data collection complied with the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines. Twelve mothers of children with early onset scoliosis were interviewed, as only mothers consented to participate. Four major themes emerged: emotional rollercoaster ride, a lack of resources, money talks and pervasive burden. Factors that impacted on the participants' ability to confront, manage and endure caring for a child with early onset scoliosis emerged from the data. The findings suggest there are multiple factors that influence the experience of mothers' caring for a child with early onset scoliosis. The recognition and appropriate management of these factors by healthcare professionals have the potential to improve the quality of life of parents who care for a child with early onset scoliosis. Healthcare professionals have first-line contact with parents of children with early onset scoliosis and are well placed to provide parents with evidence-based education

  9. Videothoracoscopy in the diagnosis of intrathoracic pathology: early experience.

    PubMed Central

    Waller, D. A.; Hasan, A.; Forty, J.; Morritt, G. N.

    1994-01-01

    We report our experience using the new technique of videothoracoscopy in the diagnosis of intrathoracic pathology. In the last 12 months, 40 patients (24 male; 16 female) have undergone investigation by this method. Lung biopsy has been performed in 17 patients, pleural biopsy in 20 patients and mediastinal biopsy in three patients. The majority had been referred after other investigations had been inconclusive. All biopsies were diagnostic except one mediastinal biopsy. This early experience suggests that videothoracoscopic biopsy is a well-tolerated technique with high diagnostic yield. PMID:8154806

  10. Early Life Experience and Gut Microbiome: The Brain-Gut-Microbiota Signaling System.

    PubMed

    Cong, Xiaomei; Henderson, Wendy A; Graf, Joerg; McGrath, Jacqueline M

    2015-10-01

    Over the past decades, advances in neonatal care have led to substantial increases in survival among preterm infants. With these gains, recent concerns have focused on increases in neurodevelopment morbidity related to the interplay between stressful early life experiences and the immature neuroimmune systems. This interplay between these complex mechanisms is often described as the brain-gut signaling system. The role of the gut microbiome and the brain-gut signaling system have been found to be remarkably related to both short- and long-term stress and health. Recent evidence supports that microbial species, ligands, and/or products within the developing intestine play a key role in early programming of the central nervous system and regulation of the intestinal innate immunity. The purpose of this state-of-the-science review is to explore the supporting evidence demonstrating the importance of the brain-gut-microbiota axis in regulation of early life experience. We also discuss the role of gut microbiome in modulating stress and pain responses in high-risk infants. A conceptual framework has been developed to illustrate the regulation mechanisms involved in early life experience. The science in this area is just beginning to be uncovered; having a fundamental understanding of these relationships will be important as new discoveries continue to change our thinking, leading potentially to changes in practice and targeted interventions.

  11. Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhances oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect

    PubMed Central

    Goldstein, Miriam C.; Rosenberg, Marci; Cheng, Lanna

    2012-01-01

    Plastic pollution in the form of small particles (diameter less than 5 mm)—termed ‘microplastic’—has been observed in many parts of the world ocean. They are known to interact with biota on the individual level, e.g. through ingestion, but their population-level impacts are largely unknown. One potential mechanism for microplastic-induced alteration of pelagic ecosystems is through the introduction of hard-substrate habitat to ecosystems where it is naturally rare. Here, we show that microplastic concentrations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) have increased by two orders of magnitude in the past four decades, and that this increase has released the pelagic insect Halobates sericeus from substrate limitation for oviposition. High concentrations of microplastic in the NPSG resulted in a positive correlation between H. sericeus and microplastic, and an overall increase in H. sericeus egg densities. Predation on H. sericeus eggs and recent hatchlings may facilitate the transfer of energy between pelagic- and substrate-associated assemblages. The dynamics of hard-substrate-associated organisms may be important to understanding the ecological impacts of oceanic microplastic pollution. PMID:22573831

  12. What has changed in the evidence for early experience? Update of a BEME systematic review.

    PubMed

    Yardley, Sarah; Littlewood, Sonia; Margolis, Stephen A; Scherpbier, Albert; Spencer, John; Ypinazar, Valmae; Dornan, Tim

    2010-01-01

    We previously reviewed evidence published from 1992 to 2001 concerning early experience for healthcare undergraduates (Dornan T, Littlewood S, Margolis S, Scherpbier A, Spencer J, Ypinazar V. 2006. How can experience in clinical and community settings contribute to early medical education? A BEME systematic review. Med Teach 28:3-18). This subsequent study reviews evidence published from 2002 to 2008. Identify changes in the evidence base; determine the value of re-reviewing; set a future research agenda. The same search strategy as in the original review was repeated. Newly identified publications were critically appraised against the same benchmarks of strength and educational importance. Twenty-four new empirical studies of early authentic experience in education of health professionals met our inclusion criteria, yielding 96 outcomes. Sixty five outcomes (from 22 studies) were both educationally important and based on strong evidence. A new significant theme was found: the use of early experience to help students understand and align themselves with patient and community perspectives on illness and healthcare. More publications were now from outside Europe and North America. In addition to supporting the findings of our original review, this update shows an expansion in research sources, and a shift in research content focus. There are still questions, however, about how early authentic experience leads to particular learning outcomes and what will make it most educationally effective.

  13. Early results from the ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Osullivan, D.; Thompson, A.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K.-P.; Jansen, F.; Domingo, C.

    1995-01-01

    Data extraction and analysis of the LDEF Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment is continuing. Almost twice the pre LDEF world sample has been investigated and some details of the charge spectrum in the region from Z approximately 70 up to and including the actinides are presented. The early results indicate r process enhancement over solar system source abundances.

  14. Early Academic Experiences of Recently Incarcerated African American Males

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeffers, Adam R.

    2010-01-01

    This project examines the early educational experiences of 6 young African American males (ages 18-25) who attended urban schools in San Diego, California. All 6 men were incarcerated for at least 1-year before participating in a pre-release program. The participants were part of a pre-release program in San Diego, California, which was selected…

  15. Development of the Play Experience Model to Enhance Desirable Qualifications of Early Childhood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Panpum, Watchara; Soonthornrojana, Wimonrat; Nakunsong, Thatsanee

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this research were to develop the play experience model and to study the effect of usage in play experience model for enhancing the early childhood's desirable qualification. There were 3 phases of research: 1) the document and context in experience management were studied, 2) the play experience model was developed, and 3) the…

  16. Early Care, Education, and Family Life in Rural Fiji: Experiences and Reflections

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bullock, Janis

    2005-01-01

    As a member of a delegation of educators, physicians, and lay people to rural Fiji the author shares her experiences and reflections of early care, education, and family life on a small, remote island. She discusses her visits to the village and boarding school, and her interactions with teachers, children, and parents in the early childhood…

  17. Early thinning experiments established by the Fort Valley Experimental Forest (P-53)

    Treesearch

    Benjamin P. De Blois; Alex. J. Finkral; Andrew J. Sánchez Meador; Margaret M. Moore

    2008-01-01

    Between 1925 and 1936, the Fort Valley Experimental Forest (FVEF) scientists initiated a study to examine a series of forest thinning experiments in second growth ponderosa pine stands in Arizona and New Mexico. These early thinning plots furnished much of the early background for the development of methods used in forest management in the Southwest. The plots ranged...

  18. A Comparison of Premenarcheal Expectations and Postmenarcheal Experiences in Chinese Early Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Catherine So-Kum; Yeung, Dannii Y. L.; Lee, Antoinette Marie

    2004-01-01

    The present study examined Chinese early adolescents' expectations and experiences of their first menstruation. It included 952 participants, 476 premenarcheal and 476 postmenarcheal girls matched by age and by grade level. Results showed that compared to experiences of postmenarcheal girls, premenarcheal girls anticipated more negative emotional…

  19. Early Life Experiences and Exercise Associate with Canine Anxieties.

    PubMed

    Tiira, Katriina; Lohi, Hannes

    2015-01-01

    Personality and anxiety disorders across species are affected by genetic and environmental factors. Shyness-boldness personality continuum exists across species, including the domestic dog, with a large within- and across-breed variation. Domestic dogs are also diagnosed for several anxiety-related behavioral conditions, such as generalized anxiety disorders, phobias, and separation anxiety. Genetic and environmental factors contributing to personality and anxiety are largely unknown. We collected questionnaire data from a Finnish family dog population (N = 3264) in order to study the associating environmental factors for canine fearfulness, noise sensitivity, and separation anxiety. Early life experiences and exercise were found to associate with anxiety prevalence. We found that fearful dogs had less socialization experiences (p = 0.002) and lower quality of maternal care (p < 0.0001) during puppyhood. Surprisingly, the largest environmental factor associating with noise sensitivity (p < 0.0001) and separation anxiety (p = 0.007) was the amount of daily exercise; dogs with noise sensitivity and separation anxiety had less daily exercise. Our findings suggest that dogs share many of the same environmental factors that contribute to anxiety in other species as well, such as humans and rodents. Our study highlights the importance of early life experiences, especially the quality of maternal care and daily exercise for the welfare and management of the dogs, and reveals important confounding factors to be considered in the genetic characterization of canine anxiety.

  20. Bias to pollen odors is affected by early exposure and foraging experience.

    PubMed

    Arenas, A; Farina, W M

    2014-07-01

    In many pollinating insects, foraging preferences are adjusted on the basis of floral cues learned at the foraging site. In addition, olfactory experiences gained at early adult stages might also help them to initially choose food sources. To understand pollen search behavior of honeybees, we studied how responses elicited by pollen-based odors are biased in foraging-age workers according to (i) their genetic predisposition to collect pollen, (ii) pollen related information gained during foraging and (iii) different experiences with pollen gained at early adult ages. Bees returning to the hive carrying pollen loads, were strongly biased to unfamiliar pollen bouquets when tested in a food choice device against pure odors. Moreover, pollen foragers' orientation response was specific to the odors emitted by the pollen type they were carrying on their baskets, which suggests that foragers retrieve pollen odor information to recognize rewarding flowers outside the hive. We observed that attraction to pollen odor was mediated by the exposure to a pollen diet during the first week of life. We did not observe the same attraction in foraging-age bees early exposed to an artificial diet that did not contain pollen. Contrary to the specific response observed to cues acquired during foraging, early exposure to single-pollen diets did not bias orientation response towards a specific pollen odor in foraging-age bees (i.e. bees chose equally between the exposed and the novel monofloral pollen odors). Our results show that pollen exposure at early ages together with olfactory experiences gained in a foraging context are both relevant to bias honeybees' pollen search behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Ability of a Generalist Seed Beetle to Colonize an Exotic Host: Effects of Host Plant Origin and Oviposition Host.

    PubMed

    Amarillo-Suárez, A; Repizo, A; Robles, J; Diaz, J; Bustamante, S

    2017-08-01

    The colonization of an exotic species by native herbivores is more likely to occur if that herbivore is a generalist. There is little information on the life-history mechanisms used by native generalist insects to colonize exotic hosts and how these mechanisms are affected by host properties. We examined the ability of the generalist seed beetle Stator limbatus Horn to colonize an exotic species. We compared its host preference, acceptability, performance, and egg size when ovipositing and developing on two native (Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth and Senegalia riparia (Kunth)) and one exotic legume species (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.)). We also analyzed the seed chemistry. We found that females recognize the exotic species as an unfavorable host for larval development and that they delayed oviposition and laid fewer and larger eggs on the exotic species than on the native species. Survivorship on the exotic host was 0%. Additionally, seeds of the native species contain five chemical compounds that are absent in the exotic species, and the exotic species contains three sterols, which are absent in the native legumes. Genetically based differences between beetles adapted to different hosts, plastic responses toward new hosts, and chemical differences among seeds are important in host colonization and recognition of the exotic host. In conclusion, the generalist nature of S. limbatus does not influence its ability to colonize L. leucocephala. Explanations for the colonization of exotic hosts by generalist native species and for the success of invasive species must be complemented with studies measuring local adaptation and plasticity.

  2. Designing Informal Learning Experiences for Early Career Academics Using a Knowledge Ecosystem Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Faye; Partridge, Helen; Bruce, Christine; Hemmings, Brian

    2017-01-01

    This article presents a "knowledge ecosystem" model of how early career academics experience using information to learn while building their social networks for developmental purposes. Developed using grounded theory methodology, the model offers a way of conceptualising how to empower early career academics through (1) agency…

  3. Effect of wild flowers on oviposition of Hippodamia variegata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in the laboratory.

    PubMed

    Bertolaccini, Isabel; Núñez-Pérez, Etelvina; Tizado, Emilio Jorge

    2008-12-01

    Marginal vegetation in crops is very important for natural enemies and their pest control capacity. The effects of Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae), Daucus carota L. (Apiaceae), and Sonchus oleraceous L. (Asteraceae) flowers as supplemental food on the number of eggs laid during 7 d and on the preoviposition time in Hippodamia variegata (Goeze, 1777) were studied in the laboratory under conditions of several densities of Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris, 1776). The results show the presence of flowers of Brassica and Sonchus increased egg production 1.44X and doubled the pre-oviposition period (2.13X). This suggests that the availability of flowers of Brassica and Sonchus as supplemental foods (pollen and nectar) in the marginal vegetation of crops can serve to improve reproductive performance of H. variegata, specifically under conditions of prey limitation. Thus, the increase in fitness of this predator allows a better response to changes in pest density.

  4. Preparedness to Teach: Experiences of the University of Ibadan Early Career Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Udegbe, I. Bola

    2016-01-01

    This research examined the experiences of early career academics (ECAs) in terms of their preparedness to teach. Using a survey design involving 104 ECAs in a large Nigeria university, quantitative and qualitative data were obtained to address the research questions raised. Findings showed that (1) prior experience and training impacted on…

  5. Comparison of exclusion and imidacloprid for reduction of oviposition damage to young trees by periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae).

    PubMed

    Ahern, Robert G; Frank, Steven D; Raupp, Michael J

    2005-12-01

    Insecticides are traditionally used to control periodical cicadas (Homoptera: Cicadidae) and to reduce associated injury caused by oviposition. However, research has shown that conventional insecticides have low or variable season-long efficacy in reducing injury caused by cicadas. New systemic neonicotinoid insecticides provide excellent levels of control against a variety of sucking insects. We compared the efficacy of a neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, and a nonchemical control measure, netting, to reduce cicada injury. Netted trees sustained very little injury, whereas unprotected trees were heavily damaged. Fewer eggnests, scars, and flags were observed on trees treated with imidacloprid compared with unprotected trees; however, the hatching of cicada eggs was unaffected by imidacloprid.

  6. Systems-Oriented Workplace Learning Experiences for Early Learners: Three Models.

    PubMed

    O'Brien, Bridget C; Bachhuber, Melissa R; Teherani, Arianne; Iker, Theresa M; Batt, Joanne; O'Sullivan, Patricia S

    2017-05-01

    Early workplace learning experiences may be effective for learning systems-based practice. This study explores systems-oriented workplace learning experiences (SOWLEs) for early learners to suggest a framework for their development. The authors used a two-phase qualitative case study design. In Phase 1 (spring 2014), they prepared case write-ups based on transcribed interviews from 10 SOWLE leaders at the authors' institution and, through comparative analysis of cases, identified three SOWLE models. In Phase 2 (summer 2014), studying seven 8-week SOWLE pilots, the authors used interview and observational data collected from the seven participating medical students, two pharmacy students, and site leaders to construct case write-ups of each pilot and to verify and elaborate the models. In Model 1, students performed specific patient care activities that addressed a system gap. Some site leaders helped students connect the activities to larger systems problems and potential improvements. In Model 2, students participated in predetermined systems improvement (SI) projects, gaining experience in the improvement process. Site leaders had experience in SI and often had significant roles in the projects. In Model 3, students worked with key stakeholders to develop a project and conduct a small test of change. They experienced most elements of an improvement cycle. Site leaders often had experience with SI and knew how to guide and support students' learning. Each model could offer systems-oriented learning opportunities provided that key elements are in place including site leaders facile in SI concepts and able to guide students in SOWLE activities.

  7. Preparing Beginning Reading Teachers: An Experimental Comparison of Initial Early Literacy Field Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Lake, Vickie E.; Greulich, Luana; Folsom, Jessica S.; Guidry, Lisa

    2012-01-01

    This randomized-control trial examined the learning of preservice teachers taking an initial Early Literacy course in an early childhood education program and of the kindergarten or first grade students they tutored in their field experience. Preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of two tutoring programs: Book Buddies and Tutor…

  8. A new paradigm for Aedes spp. surveillance using gravid ovipositing sticky trap and NS1 antigen test kit.

    PubMed

    Lau, Sai Ming; Chua, Tock H; Sulaiman, Wan-Yussof; Joanne, Sylvia; Lim, Yvonne Ai-Lian; Sekaran, Shamala Devi; Chinna, Karuthan; Venugopalan, Balan; Vythilingam, Indra

    2017-03-21

    Dengue remains a serious public health problem in Southeast Asia and has increased 37-fold in Malaysia compared to decades ago. New strategies are urgently needed for early detection and control of dengue epidemics. We conducted a two year study in a high human density dengue-endemic urban area in Selangor, where Gravid Ovipositing Sticky (GOS) traps were set up to capture adult Aedes spp. mosquitoes. All Aedes mosquitoes were tested using the NS1 dengue antigen test kit. All dengue cases from the study site notified to the State Health Department were recorded. Weekly microclimatic temperature, relative humidity (RH) and rainfall were monitored. Aedes aegypti was the predominant mosquito (95.6%) caught in GOS traps and 23% (43/187 pools of 5 mosquitoes each) were found to be positive for dengue using the NS1 antigen kit. Confirmed cases of dengue were observed with a lag of one week after positive Ae. aegypti were detected. Aedes aegypti density as analysed by distributed lag non-linear models, will increase lag of 2-3 weeks for temperature increase from 28 to 30 °C; and lag of three weeks for increased rainfall. Proactive strategy is needed for dengue vector surveillance programme. One method would be to use the GOS trap which is simple to setup, cost effective (below USD 1 per trap) and environmental friendly (i.e. use recyclable plastic materials) to capture Ae. aegypti followed by a rapid method of detecting of dengue virus using the NS1 dengue antigen kit. Control measures should be initiated when positive mosquitoes are detected.

  9. Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Theresa

    Based on recent research, it is now believed that brain growth is highly dependent upon children's early experiences. Neurons allow communication and coordinated functioning among various brain areas. Brain development after birth consists of an ongoing process of wiring and rewiring the connections among neurons. The forming and breaking of…

  10. Early-life experience affects honey bee aggression and resilience to immune challenge

    PubMed Central

    Rittschof, Clare C.; Coombs, Chelsey B.; Frazier, Maryann; Grozinger, Christina M.; Robinson, Gene E.

    2015-01-01

    Early-life social experiences cause lasting changes in behavior and health for a variety of animals including humans, but it is not well understood how social information ‘‘gets under the skin’’ resulting in these effects. Adult honey bees (Apis mellifera) exhibit socially coordinated collective nest defense, providing a model for social modulation of aggressive behavior. Here we report for the first time that a honey bee’s early-life social environment has lasting effects on individual aggression: bees that experienced high-aggression environments during pre-adult stages showed increased aggression when they reached adulthood relative to siblings that experienced low-aggression environments, even though all bees were kept in a common environment during adulthood. Unlike other animals including humans however, high-aggression honey bees were more, rather than less, resilient to immune challenge, assessed as neonicotinoid pesticide susceptibility. Moreover, aggression was negatively correlated with ectoparasitic mite presence. In honey bees, early-life social experience has broad effects, but increased aggression is decoupled from negative health outcomes. Because honey bees and humans share aspects of their physiological response to aggressive social encounters, our findings represent a step towards identifying ways to improve individual resiliency. Pre-adult social experience may be crucial to the health of the ecologically threatened honey bee. PMID:26493190

  11. Developing a discrete choice experiment in Malawi: eliciting preferences for breast cancer early detection services.

    PubMed

    Kohler, Racquel E; Lee, Clara N; Gopal, Satish; Reeve, Bryce B; Weiner, Bryan J; Wheeler, Stephanie B

    2015-01-01

    In Malawi, routine breast cancer screening is not available and little is known about women's preferences regarding early detection services. Discrete choice experiments are increasingly used to reveal preferences about new health services; however, selecting appropriate attributes that describe a new health service is imperative to ensure validity of the choice experiment. To identify important factors that are relevant to Malawian women's preferences for breast cancer detection services and to select attributes and levels for a discrete choice experiment in a setting where both breast cancer early detection and choice experiments are rare. We reviewed the literature to establish an initial list of potential attributes and levels for a discrete choice experiment and conducted qualitative interviews with health workers and community women to explore relevant local factors affecting decisions to use cancer detection services. We tested the design through cognitive interviews and refined the levels, descriptions, and designs. Themes that emerged from interviews provided critical information about breast cancer detection services, specifically, that breast cancer interventions should be integrated into other health services because asymptomatic screening may not be practical as an individual service. Based on participants' responses, the final attributes of the choice experiment included travel time, health encounter, health worker type and sex, and breast cancer early detection strategy. Cognitive testing confirmed the acceptability of the final attributes, comprehension of choice tasks, and women's abilities to make trade-offs. Applying a discrete choice experiment for breast cancer early detection was feasible with appropriate tailoring for a low-income, low-literacy African setting.

  12. [Emotional experience of early traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles in alcohol-dependent patients].

    PubMed

    Hebein, Ursula; Quantschnig, Bettina; Andreas, Sylke

    2018-03-01

    Emotional experience of early traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles in alcohol-dependent patients Objectives: The present investigation studied the differences in emotional experiences among alcohol-dependent patients in inpatient psychotherapy, taking into account their traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles. Three standardized instruments were used on this clinical sample of 70 patients in inpatient psychotherapy: (1) Scales for Experiencing Emotions (SEE), (2) Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), (3) Relationship-Specific Attachment Scales for Adults (RASA). The results showed that traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescence as well as relationship-specific attachment styles were indeed associated with deficits in emotional experience and regulation. Especially emotional abuse was associated with deficits in emotional experience. An insecure attachment style was associated with a lower level of acceptance of emotions, a lower level of self-control, and dysfunctional emotion regulation. In particular, the attachment style to the mother seems to be important. These results suggest that a distinction of alcohol-addicted patients, with respect to attachment styles and traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescent, seems to be important in order to define specific interventions to improve the ability to regulate emotions.

  13. Separation, failure and temporary relinquishment: women's experiences of early mothering in the context of emergency hysterectomy.

    PubMed

    Elmir, Rakime; Schmied, Virginia; Wilkes, Lesley; Jackson, Debra

    2012-04-01

    To describe the experiences of women who have had an emergency hysterectomy following a severe postpartum haemorrhage and the impact on their early mothering experiences. Postpartum haemorrhage and subsequent hysterectomy is a traumatic birth event. Traumatic birth experiences have the potential to impact on a woman's experience of motherhood and her initial relationship with her baby. The relative rarity of this event makes it easy to dismiss the experiences of women having a hysterectomy following childbirth. Little is known about a woman's early mothering experience in the context of having an emergency hysterectomy. Qualitative naturalistic inquiry approach. Data were collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews from 21 Australian women who had an emergency hysterectomy following a severe postpartum haemorrhage. Findings revealed three themes in relation to early mothering experiences in the context of having a hysterectomy following a severe postpartum haemorrhage. They were 'initial separation: lost bonding time', 'feelings of failure' and 'relinquishing care of the infant'. This paper highlights the ways undergoing emergency hysterectomy following childbirth can impact on the experience of early mothering in the postnatal period. Greater recognition and attention to the specific needs of women who have an emergency hysterectomy following childbirth is required. Providing women with an opportunity to talk, debrief and ask questions related to their birthing experiences, will help women to reconcile their feelings. Giving women the opportunity to have their infants with them in intensive care unit, together with ongoing emotional support and anticipatory guidance, may also be useful approaches in assisting women during this difficult and traumatic time. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. The early postpartum experience of previously infertile mothers.

    PubMed

    Ladores, Sigrid; Aroian, Karen

    2015-01-01

    To explore the lived experience of becoming a new mother from the unique perspectives of previously infertile women. A descriptive phenomenological design was used to extract the fundamental structure of the postpartum experience of previously infertile mothers. Central Florida. Twelve first-time, previously infertile mothers age 27 to 43 years. Face-to-face interviews were conducted twice with each participant. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi's approach. Two main themes emerged that described the early postpartum experience of first-time, previously infertile mothers: (a) lingering identity as infertile and (b) gratitude for the gift of motherhood. Participants reported that their lingering identities as infertile and immense gratitude for the gift of motherhood propelled them to establish unrealistic expectations to be perfect mothers. When they were unable to live up this expectation, they censored their feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and shame. Findings from this study may help to sensitize health care providers to the difficulties faced by previously infertile women during their transition to motherhood. © 2015 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

  15. Nitrogenous ovipositional deterrents in the leaves of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) at the mature stage against the leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess).

    PubMed

    Dekebo, Aman; Kashiwagi, Takehiro; Tebayashi, Shin-ich; Kim, Chul-Sa

    2007-02-01

    Mature leaves of the sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum, exhibited resistance against the American serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess), Agromyzidae. Based on bioassay-guided fractionation, three compounds, namely 4-aminobutanoic acid, (2S,4R)-4-hydroxy-1-methyl-2-pyrrolidine carboxylic acid and 4-amino-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-2(1H)-pyrimidinone, were isolated from the leaves of sweet pepper. These compounds had significant oviposition deterrence towards adult flies of L. trifolii from laying their eggs on host plant leaves treated at 3.70, 16.60 and 6.45 microg/cm(2), respectively.

  16. Early childhood experiences, cultural beliefs, and oral health of Mexican American women.

    PubMed

    Miltiades, Helen B

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative article examines how financial resources, cultural beliefs, and early childhood experiences affect perceptions of oral health and dental utilization of middle-aged and older Mexican American women. Fourteen in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted. The women's ages range from 49 to 87 years. Most had not visited the dentist in more than 2 years. Most women's early childhood experiences did not include dental visits or dental instruction. Some believed tooth loss was a normal aging process. Misconceptions regarding preventive care, the belief that dental visits were only necessary when experiencing pain, and finances were the primary reasons for not visiting the dentist. The results lend insight into the oral health, self-care practices, and dental utilization of middle-aged and older immigrant Mexican American women.

  17. Effects of Cyberbullying Experience and Cyberbullying Tendency on School Violence in Early Adolescence

    PubMed Central

    Cho, Mi-Kyoung; Kim, Miyoung

    2017-01-01

    Background: School violence in early adolescence, whose frequency and status have recently changed significantly. Objective: This study attempts to detect the cyber bullying inclination of youth in early adolescence when aggressiveness reaches its peak, to identify school violence, and to develop a school violence prevention program. Method: This study was a survey research, investigating participants who were 470 middle school students in South Korea. For the analysis, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: It is suggested that the school violence victimization experience and cyber bullying infliction experience has an influence in the school violence infliction. And the cyber bullying victimization experience and school violence victimization experience variables exert effects. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that school nurses who are connecting to the community-school-home should take an active part in the development of school violence mediation education program, considering the cultural characteristics of the country. PMID:29081871

  18. Ecdysteroid hormone titer and its relationship to vitellogenesis in the soft tick, Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae).

    PubMed

    Ogihara, Kazumasa; Horigane, Mari; Nakajima, Yoshiro; Moribayashi, Atsuko; Taylor, DeMar

    2007-02-01

    A blood meal is required for reproduction in most argasid female ticks. The blood meal appears to stimulate an organ in the posterior end to produce a fat body stimulating factor (FSF), which is thought to be an ecdysteroid, to induce vitellogenin (Vg) synthesis. In this study, the relationship of vitellogenesis and ecdysteroids was investigated by measuring Vg and ecdysteroid titers while observing oocyte development and oviposition in mated and virgin females. Oviposition occurred from day 10 after engorgement in mated females and continued up to 40-50 days, whereas egg maturation and oviposition did not occur in virgin females. Vg titers in the hemolymph peaked on day 6 after engorgement and subsequently declined in mated females. Interestingly, Vg synthesis occurred and ovarian development progressed to the development of early vitellogenic oocytes in virgin females but oocyte maturation and oviposition did not occur. Topical application of ecdysteroids induced oviposition in fed virgin females indicating that ecdysteroids may induce oviposition. Concentrations of ecdysteroids for 20 days after engorgement revealed several peaks in mated female whole body extracts, but no peaks in virgin female extracts. In the hemolymph of only mated females, ecdysteroid titers showed two peaks that followed the early peak of ecdysteroids in the whole body on day 4 and 6 after engorgement. In addition, ecdysteroids in the reproductive tissues increased with the development of the ovary in mated females and this increase coincided with the latter peaks of the whole body. These observations indicate that physiological elevation of ecdysteroids accelerate Vg synthesis, and may induce egg maturation and stimulate oviposition in fed mated Ornithodoros moubata females.

  19. Selective oviposition by Aedes aegypti (Diptera: culicidae) in response to Mesocyclops longisetus (Copepoda: Cyclopoidea) under laboratory and field conditions.

    PubMed

    Torres-Estrada, J L; Rodríguez, M H; Cruz-López, L; Arredondo-Jimenez, J I

    2001-03-01

    The influence of predacious Mesocyclops longisetus Thiebaud on the selection of oviposition sites by prey Aedes aegypti (L.) was studied under laboratory and field conditions. In both cases, gravid Ae. aegypti females were significantly more attracted to ovitraps containing copepods or to ovitraps with water in which copepods were held previously than to distilled water. Monoterpene and sesquiterpene compounds including 3-carene, alpha-terpinene, alpha-copaene, alpha-longipinene, alpha-cedrene, and delta-cadinene were found in hexane extracts of copepods by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses. These compounds may be responsible for attracting gravid Ae. aegypti females and may increase the number of potential prey for the copepod.

  20. Early Results from the RAIDS Experiment on the ISS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Budzien, S. A.; Bishop, R. L.; Stephan, A. W.; Christensen, A. B.; Hecht, J. H.; Straus, P. R.

    2009-12-01

    The Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) is a suite of three photometers, three spectrometers, and two spectrographs which span the wavelength range 55-874 nm and remotely sense the thermosphere and ionosphere by scanning and imaging the limb. RAIDS was scheduled to fly to the Japanese Experiment Module—Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2009. RAIDS along with a companion hyperspectral imaging experiment will serve as the first US payload on the JEM-EF. The scientific objectives of the new RAIDS experiment are to study the temperature of the lower thermosphere (100-200 km), to measure composition and chemistry of the lower thermosphere and ionosphere, and to measure the initial source of OII 83.4 nm emission. RAIDS will provide valuable data useful for exploring tidal effects in the thermosphere and ionosphere system, validating dayside ionospheric remote sensing methods, and studying local time variations in important chemical and thermal processes. Early observational results from the RAIDS experiment will be presented. The RAIDS sensor suite performs multispectral limb scanning from the open end of the HICO-RAIDS Experiment Payload aboard the ISS.

  1. Exposure to a mildly aversive early life experience leads to prefrontal cortex deficits in the rat.

    PubMed

    Stamatakis, Antonios; Manatos, Vasileios; Kalpachidou, Theodora; Stylianopoulou, Fotini

    2016-11-01

    Aversive early life experiences in humans have been shown to result in deficits in the function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In an effort to elucidate possible neurobiological mechanisms involved, we investigated in rats, the effects of a mildly aversive early experience on PFC structure and function. The early experience involved exposure of rat pups during postnatal days (PND) 10-13 to a T-maze in which they search for their mother, but upon finding her are prohibited contact with her, thus being denied the expected reward (DER). We found that the DER experience resulted in adulthood in impaired PFC function, as assessed by two PFC-dependent behavioral tests [attention set-shifting task (ASST) and fear extinction]. In the ASST, DER animals showed deficits specifically in the intra-dimensional reversal shifts and a lower activation-as determined by c-Fos immunohistochemistry-of the medial orbital cortex (MO), a PFC subregion involved in this aspect of the task. Furthermore, the DER experience resulted in decreased glutamatergic neuron and dendritic spine density in the MO and infralimbic cortex (IL) in the adult brain. The decreased neuronal density was detected as early as PND12 and was accompanied by increased micro- and astroglia-density in the MO/IL.

  2. The Use of Concrete Experiences in Early Childhood Mathematics Instruction.

    PubMed

    Baroody, Arthur J

    2017-01-01

    Addressed are four key issues regarding concrete instruction: What is concrete? What is a worthwhile concrete experience? How can concrete experiences be used effectively in early childhood mathematics instruction? Is there evidence such experiences work? I argue that concrete experiences are those that build on what is familiar to a child and can involve objects, verbal analogies, or virtual images. The use of manipulatives or computer games, for instance, does not in itself guarantee an educational experience. Such experiences are worthwhile if they target and further learning (e.g., help children extend their informal knowledge or use their informal knowledge to understand and learn formal knowledge). A crucial guideline for the effective use of concrete experience is Dewey's principle of interaction-external factors (e.g., instructional activities) need to mesh with internal factors (readiness, interest). Cognitive views of concrete materials, such as the cognitive alignment perspective and dual-representation hypothesis, provide useful guidance about external factors but do not adequately take into account internal factors and their interaction with external factors. Research on the effectiveness of concrete experience is inconclusive because it frequently overlooks internal factors. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Distribution of the Mosquito Communities (Diptera: Culicidae) in Oviposition Traps Introduced into the Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    PubMed

    Silva, Shayenne Olsson Freitas; Ferreira de Mello, Cecilia; Figueiró, Ronaldo; de Aguiar Maia, Daniele; Alencar, Jeronimo

    2018-04-01

    The Atlantic Rainforest of South America is one of the major biodiversity hotspots of the world and serves as a place of residence for a wide variety of Culicidae species. Mosquito studies in the natural environment are of considerable importance because of their role in transmitting pathogens to both humans and other vertebrates. Community diversity can have significant effects on the risk of their disease transmission. The objective of this study was to understand the distribution of mosquito communities using oviposition traps in a region of the Atlantic Forest. Sampling was carried out in Bom Retiro Private Natural Reserve (RPPNBR), located in Casimiro de Abreu, Rio de Janeiro, using oviposition traps, which were set in the forest environment, from October 2015 to December 2016. The canonical correspondence analysis was used to assess the influence of the climatic variables (precipitation, maximum dew point, and direction) throughout the seasons on the population density of the mosquito species. The results showed that population density was directly influenced by climatic variables, which acted as a limiting factor for the mosquito species studied. The climatic variables that were significantly correlated with the density of the mosquito species were precipitation, maximum dew point, and direction. Haemagogus janthinomys was positively correlated with the three climatic variables, whereas Haemagogus leucocelaenus was positively correlated with precipitation and maximum dew point, and negatively correlated with direction.

  4. "It's Just So Lovely to Hear Him Talking": Exploring the Early-Intervention Expectations and Experiences of Parents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lyons, Rena; O'Malley, Mary Pat; O'Connor, Patricia; Monaghan, Una

    2010-01-01

    Little research to date explores parental experiences of early intervention. This study uses action research over a six-month period to explore the expectations and experiences of parents whose children attended an early-intervention group for speech/language impairments. This intervention programme was facilitated by a speech and language…

  5. Perinatal Experiences: The Association of Stress, Childbearing, Breastfeeding, and Early Mothering

    PubMed Central

    Humenick, Sharron S.; Howell, Olivia S.

    2003-01-01

    The support of women and their families through childbirth, breastfeeding, and early parenting experiences are often treated as separate areas of maternity care. In fact, growing evidence, as cited in this article, links their intertwined impact on the health of mothers, infants, and their families. PMID:17273350

  6. Family Attachment Narrative Therapy: Healing the Experience of Early Childhood Maltreatment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    May, Joanne C.

    2005-01-01

    Based on attachment theory and research, Family Attachment Narrative Therapy is introduced as a new family therapy modality developed to heal the experience of early childhood maltreatment. Unresolved childhood trauma has been correlated with impaired and delayed cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning. Gentle, soothing, nonprovocative and…

  7. Survey Examines Experiences of Families Entering Early Intervention. FPG Snapshot #14

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, 2004

    2004-01-01

    A recent FPG study looked at families' initial experiences in determining their child's eligibility for early intervention (EI) services as mandated by Part C (IDEA), interactions with medical professionals, effort required to get services, participation in planning for services, satisfaction with services, and interactions with professionals. A…

  8. Age at adoption from institutional care as a window into the lasting effects of early experiences

    PubMed Central

    Julian, Megan M.

    2013-01-01

    One of the major questions of human development is how early experience impacts the course of development years later. Children adopted from institutional care experience varying levels of deprivation in their early life followed by qualitatively better care in an adoptive home, providing a unique opportunity to study the lasting effects of early deprivation and its timing. The effects of age at adoption from institutional care are discussed for multiple domains of social and behavioral development within the context of several prominent developmental hypotheses about the effects of early deprivation (cumulative effects, experience-expectant developmental programming, and experience-adaptive developmental programming). Age at adoption effects are detected in a majority of studies, particularly when children experienced global deprivation and were assessed in adolescence. For most outcomes, institutionalization beyond a certain age is associated with a step-like increase in risk for lasting social and behavioral problems, with the step occurring at an earlier age for children who experienced more severe levels of deprivation. Findings are discussed in terms of their concordance and discordance with our current hypotheses, and speculative explanations for the findings are offered. PMID:23576122

  9. Early adverse experience and substance addiction: dopamine, oxytocin, and glucocorticoid pathways

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Sohye; Kwok, Stephanie; Mayes, Linda C.; Potenza, Marc N.; Rutherford, Helena J. V.; Strathearn, Lane

    2016-01-01

    Substance addiction may follow a chronic, relapsing course and critically undermine the physical and psychological well-being of the affected individual and the social units of which the individual is a member. Despite the public health burden associated with substance addiction, treatment options remain suboptimal, with relapses often seen. The present review synthesizes growing insights from animal and human research to shed light upon developmental and neurobiological pathways that may increase susceptibility to addiction. We examine the dopamine system, the oxytocin system, and the glucocorticoid system, as they are particularly relevant to substance addiction. Our aim is to delineate how early adverse experience may induce long-lasting alterations in each of these systems at molecular, neuroendocrine, and behavioral levels and ultimately lead to heightened vulnerability to substance addiction. We further discuss how substance addiction in adulthood may increase the risk of suboptimal caregiving for the next generation, perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of early adverse experiences and addiction. PMID:27508337

  10. Ionotropic Receptors Mediate Drosophila Oviposition Preference through Sour Gustatory Receptor Neurons.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yan; Amrein, Hubert

    2017-09-25

    Carboxylic acids are present in many foods, being especially abundant in fruits. Yet, relatively little is known about how acids are detected by gustatory systems and whether they have a potential role in nutrition or provide other health benefits. Here we identify sour gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) in tarsal taste sensilla of Drosophila melanogaster. We find that most tarsal sensilla harbor a sour GRN that is specifically activated by carboxylic and mineral acids but does not respond to sweet- and bitter-tasting chemicals or salt. One pair of taste sensilla features two GRNs that respond only to a subset of carboxylic acids and high concentrations of salt. All sour GRNs prominently express two Ionotropic Receptor (IR) genes, IR76b and IR25a, and we show that both these genes are necessary for the detection of acids. Furthermore, we establish that IR25a and IR76b are essential in sour GRNs of females for oviposition preference on acid-containing food. Our investigations reveal that acids activate a unique set of taste cells largely dedicated to sour taste, and they indicate that both pH/proton concentration and the structure of carboxylic acids contribute to sour GRN activation. Together, our studies provide new insights into the cellular and molecular basis of sour taste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Providing Quality Early Care and Education to Young Children Who Experience Maltreatment: A Review of the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dinehart, Laura H.; Katz, Lynne F.; Manfra, Louis; Ullery, Mary Anne

    2013-01-01

    The current paper highlights the few studies that examine the role of early care and education on the developmental and early academic outcomes of children who experience maltreatment. First, we argue that children who experience maltreatment are at significant risk for poor developmental outcomes as a result of the chronic exposure to stress that…

  12. How the Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Influence the Development of Brain Architecture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fox, Sharon E.; Levitt, Pat; Nelson, Charles A., III.

    2010-01-01

    Early life events can exert a powerful influence on both the pattern of brain architecture and behavioral development. In this study a conceptual framework is provided for considering how the structure of early experience gets "under the skin." The study begins with a description of the genetic framework that lays the foundation for brain…

  13. Milgram's Obedience to Authority experiments: origins and early evolution.

    PubMed

    Russell, Nestar John Charles

    2011-03-01

    Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority experiments remain one of the most inspired contributions in the field of social psychology. Although Milgram undertook more than 20 experimental variations, his most (in)famous result was the first official trial run - the remote condition and its 65% completion rate. Drawing on many unpublished documents from Milgram's personal archive at Yale University, this article traces the historical origins and early evolution of the obedience experiments. Part 1 presents the previous experiences that led to Milgram's conception of his rudimentary research idea and then details the role of his intuition in its refinement. Part 2 traces the conversion of Milgram's evolving idea into a reality, paying particular attention to his application of the exploratory method of discovery during several pilot studies. Both parts illuminate Milgram's ad hoc introduction of various manipulative techniques and subtle tension-resolving refinements. The procedural adjustments continued until Milgram was confident that the first official experiment would produce a high completion rate, a result contrary to expectations of people's behaviour. Showing how Milgram conceived of, then arrived at, this first official result is important because the insights gained may help others to determine theoretically why so many participants completed this experiment. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  14. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF EARLY EXPERIENCE ON AFTER BEHAVIOR.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    FORGAYS, DONALD G.

    TWO SERIES OF STUDIES WHOSE SUBJECTS WERE EITHER HOODED AND ALBINO RATS OR YOUNG CHILDREN INVESTIGATED THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY EXPERIENCES ON LATER BEHAVIOR. IN THE FIRST, BOTH SUBSPECIES OF RATS WERE EXPOSED TO EITHER ENRICHED OR RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS TO ASSESS THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES UNDER VARIOUS LEARNING CONDITIONS. THE RESULTS…

  15. Does early-life family income influence later dental pain experience? A prospective 14-year study.

    PubMed

    Ghorbani, Z; Peres, M A; Liu, P; Mejia, G C; Armfield, J M; Peres, K G

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the association between early-life family income and dental pain experience from childhood to early adulthood. Data came from a 14-year prospective study (1991/1992-2005/2006) carried out in South Australia, which included children and adolescents aged 4-17 years (N = 9875) at baseline. The outcome was dental pain experience obtained at baseline, 14 years later in adulthood and at a middle point of time. The main explanatory variable was early-life family income collected at baseline. The prevalence of dental pain was 22.8% at baseline, 19.3% at 'middle time' and 39.3% at follow up. The proportion of people classified as 'poor' at baseline was 27.7%. Being poor early in life was significantly associated with dental pain at 14-year follow up (odds ratio = 1.45; 95% confidence interval = 1.27-1.66). Early-life relative poverty is associated with more frequent dental pain across the 14-year follow up and may be a key exposure variable for later dental conditions. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

  16. The Experiences of Early Career Teachers: New Initiatives and Old Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schuck, Sandy; Aubusson, Peter; Buchanan, John; Varadharajan, Meera; Burke, Paul F.

    2018-01-01

    The task of supporting beginning teachers has received considerable attention in recent years, and numerous initiatives have been implemented. In this article we investigate the experiences of early career teachers (ECTs) in New South Wales, Australia, at a time when their employing authority mandated the provision of mentors and a reduction in…

  17. Female fecundity variation affects reproducibility of experiments on host plant preference and acceptance in a phytophagous insect

    PubMed Central

    Schäpers, Alexander; Petrén, Hampus; Wheat, Christopher W.; Wiklund, Christer

    2017-01-01

    Reproducibility is a scientific cornerstone. Many recent studies, however, describe a reproducibility crisis and call for assessments of reproducibility across scientific domains. Here, we explore the reproducibility of a classic ecological experiment—that of assessing female host plant preference and acceptance in phytophagous insects, a group in which host specialization is a key driver of diversification. We exposed multiple cohorts of Pieris napi butterflies from the same population to traditional host acceptance and preference tests on three Brassicaceae host species. Whereas the host plant rank order was highly reproducible, the propensity to oviposit on low-ranked hosts varied significantly even among cohorts exposed to similar conditions. Much variation could be attributed to among-cohort variation in female fecundity, a trait strongly correlated both to female size and to the size of the nuptial gift a female receives during mating. Small males provide small spermatophores, and in our experiment small females that mated with small males had a disproportionally low propensity to oviposit on low-ranked hosts. Hence, our results provide empirical support to the theoretical prediction that female host utilization is strongly affected by non-genetic, environmental variation, and that such variation can affect the reproducibility of ecological experiments even under seemingly identical conditions. PMID:28202813

  18. Early Adversity and Developmental Outcomes: Interaction Between Genetics, Epigenetics, and Social Experiences Across the Life Span.

    PubMed

    Champagne, Frances A

    2010-09-01

    Longitudinal studies in humans demonstrate the association between prenatal and postnatal experiences of adversity and long-term changes in neurodevelopment. These studies raise the question of how experiences become incorporated at a biological level to induce persistent changes in functioning. Laboratory studies using animal models and recent analyses in human cohorts implicate epigenetic mechanisms as a possible route through which these environmental effects are achieved. In particular, there is evidence that changes in DNA methylation are associated with early life experiences with consequences for gene expression and behavior. Despite the potential stability of DNA methylation, it is apparent that this epigenetic mark can be dynamically modified through pharmacological targeting and behavioral experiences. Developmental plasticity may also be achieved through modification of the juvenile environment. Although these juvenile experiences may lead to common endpoints, there is evidence suggesting that the effects of early and later life experiences may be achieved by different molecular pathways. This review discusses evidence for the role of epigenetic mechanisms in shaping developmental trajectories in response to early life experience as well as the potential plasticity that can occur beyond the perinatal period. These studies have implications for approaches to intervention and suggest the importance of considering individual differences in genetic and epigenetic vulnerability in developing treatment strategies. © The Author(s) 2010.

  19. Teachers' Experiences of Georgia's Early Math Intervention Program: A Phenomenological Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Rachel Amanda Garner

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions that K-5 teachers have toward Georgia's mandated Early Intervention Math Program (EIP) on at risk learners in an elementary school in a rural, North Georgia community. The following questions guided the study: 1. How do K-5 teachers describe their experience with…

  20. Onboarding Experiences: An Examination of Early Institutional Advancement Professionals' Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Radosh, Meghan E.

    2013-01-01

    Onboarding is a new employee orientation process that is designed to formalize and socialize new hires to an organization, or in this case higher education institutions. The onboarding experience that many new employees have can shape employee views and first impressions of their new employer, and shape their early career path to stay or leave…

  1. Early breastfeeding experiences of adolescent mothers: a qualitative prospective study

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to breastfeed than any other population group in the U.S. Few studies have investigated this population; all prior studies are cross-sectional and collect breastfeeding data retrospectively. The purpose of our qualitative prospective study was to understand the factors that contribute to the breastfeeding decisions and practices of teen mothers. Methods This prospective study took place from January through December 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina in the U.S. We followed the cohort from pregnancy until two weeks after they ceased all breastfeeding and milk expression. We conducted semi-structured interviews at baseline and follow-up, and tracked infant feeding weekly by phone. We analyzed the data to create individual life and breastfeeding journeys and then identified themes that cut across the individual journeys. Results Four of the five teenagers breastfed at the breast for nine days: in contrast, one teen breastfed exclusively for five months. Milk expression by pumping was associated with significantly longer provision of human milk. Breastfeeding practices and cessation were closely connected with their experiences as new mothers in the context of ongoing multiple roles, complex living situations, youth and dependency, and poor knowledge of the fundamentals of breastfeeding and infant development. Breastfeeding cessation was influenced by inadequate breastfeeding skill, physically unpleasant and painful early experiences they were unprepared to manage, and inadequate health care response to real problems. Conclusions Continued breastfeeding depends on a complex interplay of multiple factors, including having made an informed choice and having the skills, support and experiences needed to sustain the belief that breastfeeding is the best choice for them and their baby given their life situation. Teenagers in the US context need to have a positive early

  2. The Eole experiment - Early results and current objectives.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morel, P.; Bandeen, W.

    1973-01-01

    The Eole experiment with 480 constant level balloons released in the Southern Hemisphere is described. Each balloon, floating freely at approximately the 200-mb level, is a precise tracer of the horizontal motion of air masses, the accuracy of which is limited only by the laminated structure of the stratospheric flow, within an rms uncertainty of 1.5 m/sec. The balloons were found after 2 months to distribute at random over the whole hemisphere outside the tropics, irrespective of their original launching site. Early results of Eulerian and Lagrangian averages of the Eole wind data are given for describing the mean 200-mb zonal and meridional circulations.

  3. Reflecting on the Challenges of Informal Contexts: Early Field Experiences with Technology in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lux, Nick; Obery, Amanda; Cornish, Jamie; Grimberg, Bruna Irene; Hartshorn, Anthony

    2017-01-01

    Early field experiences, or those that come early in a teacher's preparation before more formalized opportunities like practicum and student teaching, can provide a venue for pre service teachers to practice technology-specific instructional decision-making and reflective practice. Although research exists on the potential roles of field…

  4. Testing Drugs and Trying Cures: Experiment and Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

    PubMed

    Leong, Elaine; Rankin, Alisha

    2017-01-01

    This article examines traditions of testing drugs (as substances) and trying cures (on patients) in medieval and early modern Europe. It argues that the history of drug testing needs to be a more central story to overall histories of scientific experiment. The practice of conducting thoughtful-and sometimes contrived-tests on drugs has a rich and varied tradition dating back to antiquity, which expanded in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Learned physicians paired text-based knowledge (reason) with hands-on testing (experience or experiment) in order to make claims about drugs' properties or effects on humans. Lay practitioners similarly used hands-on testing to gain knowledge of pharmaceutical effects. Although drug testing practices expanded in scale, actors, and sites, therpublished a work extolling the virtues of drugs froe was significant continuity from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.

  5. Sociodemographic differences in women's experience of early labour care: a mixed methods study.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Jane; Redshaw, Maggie

    2017-07-13

    To explore women's experiences of early labour care focusing on sociodemographic differences, and to examine the effect of antenatal education, using mixed methods. England, 2014. Women who completed postal questionnaires about their experience of maternity care, including questions about antenatal education, early labour and sociodemographic factors, included space for free-text comments. Worries about labour, contact with midwives in early labour and subsequent care. This study was based on secondary analysis of a national maternity survey carried out in England in 2014. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression; qualitative data were analysed using a thematic content analytic approach. Completed questionnaires were received from 4578 women (47% response rate). There were significant differences by sociodemographic factors, particularly ethnicity, in women's worries about early labour. Compared with white women, women from black or minority ethnic groups had an adjusted OR of 1.93 (95% CI 1.56 to 2.39) of feeling worried about not knowing when labour would start. Among women who contacted a midwife at the start of labour, 84% perceived their advice as appropriate, more in older and multiparous women. Overall, 64% of women were asked to come to the hospital at this time, more in multiparous women (adjusted OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.96). Those who did not have access to antenatal education experienced greater worry about early labour. Five themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: 'Differentiating between early and active labour', 'Staff attitudes', 'Not being allowed…', 'Previous labours' and 'Perceived consequences for women'. These findings reinforce the importance of providing reassurance to women in early labour, taking care that women do not feel neglected or dismissed. In particular, primiparous and ethnic minority women reported greater worry about early labour and require additional reassurance.

  6. Language experience enhances early cortical pitch-dependent responses

    PubMed Central

    Krishnan, Ananthanarayan; Gandour, Jackson T.; Ananthakrishnan, Saradha; Vijayaraghavan, Venkatakrishnan

    2014-01-01

    Pitch processing at cortical and subcortical stages of processing is shaped by language experience. We recently demonstrated that specific components of the cortical pitch response (CPR) index the more rapidly-changing portions of the high rising Tone 2 of Mandarin Chinese, in addition to marking pitch onset and sound offset. In this study, we examine how language experience (Mandarin vs. English) shapes the processing of different temporal attributes of pitch reflected in the CPR components using stimuli representative of within-category variants of Tone 2. Results showed that the magnitude of CPR components (Na-Pb and Pb-Nb) and the correlation between these two components and pitch acceleration were stronger for the Chinese listeners compared to English listeners for stimuli that fell within the range of Tone 2 citation forms. Discriminant function analysis revealed that the Na-Pb component was more than twice as important as Pb-Nb in grouping listeners by language affiliation. In addition, a stronger stimulus-dependent, rightward asymmetry was observed for the Chinese group at the temporal, but not frontal, electrode sites. This finding may reflect selective recruitment of experience-dependent, pitch-specific mechanisms in right auditory cortex to extract more complex, time-varying pitch patterns. Taken together, these findings suggest that long-term language experience shapes early sensory level processing of pitch in the auditory cortex, and that the sensitivity of the CPR may vary depending on the relative linguistic importance of specific temporal attributes of dynamic pitch. PMID:25506127

  7. Early Experiences with Family Conflict: Implications for Arguments with a Close Friend.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herrera, Carla; Dunn, Judy

    1997-01-01

    Examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and later conflict management with close friends. Found that argument used by mothers and siblings that considered children's needs was positively associated with children's later constructive argument and resolution techniques. Mothers' use of argument predicted…

  8. Early MIMD experience on the CRAY X-MP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rhoades, Clifford E.; Stevens, K. G.

    1985-07-01

    This paper describes some early experience with converting four physics simulation programs to the CRAY X-MP, a current Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data (MIMD) computer consisting of two processors each with an architecture similar to that of the CRAY-1. As a multi-processor, the CRAY X-MP together with the high speed Solid-state Storage Device (SSD) in an ideal machine upon which to study MIMD algorithms for solving the equations of mathematical physics because it is fast enough to run real problems. The computer programs used in this study are all FORTRAN versions of original production codes. They range in sophistication from a one-dimensional numerical simulation of collisionless plasma to a two-dimensional hydrodynamics code with heat flow to a couple of three-dimensional fluid dynamics codes with varying degrees of viscous modeling. Early research with a dual processor configuration has shown speed-ups ranging from 1.55 to 1.98. It has been observed that a few simple extensions to FORTRAN allow a typical programmer to achieve a remarkable level of efficiency. These extensions involve the concept of memory local to a concurrent subprogram and memory common to all concurrent subprograms.

  9. A Systems Perspective on Practicum Experiences in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Focus on Interprofessional Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    La Paro, Karen M.; Van Schagen, Amy; King, Elizabeth; Lippard, Christine

    2018-01-01

    High quality early childhood teachers have a wealth of knowledge and use a range of skills in their daily classroom practices, and research has consistently demonstrated the positive influence effective early childhood teachers have on children's development and long-term outcomes. Given the importance of practicum experiences in the development…

  10. Insights from Australian parents into educational experiences in the early postnatal period.

    PubMed

    McKellar, Lois V; Pincombe, Jan I; Henderson, Ann M

    2006-12-01

    to investigate the provision of parent education during the early postnatal period in order to gain insight that, through stakeholder collaboration, will contribute to the development of innovative strategies to enhance the provision of postnatal education in a contemporary health-care environment. the study comprises the first stage of an action-research project. The first stage of research sought to explore the experiences of mothers and fathers in the early postnatal period by conducting a questionnaire within 4 weeks of the birth of their baby. The data obtained from the questionnaire is to inform an action-research group for stage two of the project. The Children, Youth and Women's Health Service, a large city maternity hospital in South Australia, covering a range of socio-economic strata. 85 parents completed and returned the questionnaire, comprising 52 mothers and 33 fathers. an anonymous self-report questionnaire was purpose designed to provide each parent with an opportunity to reflect on their own experience, with particular emphasis given to the provision of education and support during the early postnatal period. a number of themes emerged, including a window of opportunity during the postnatal hospital stay to provide education and support, despite the reduction in the length of stay; the need for a family-centred approach to maternity services; and the significance of self and social network in the early transition to parenthood. The findings from this stage of the research, combined with a review of the literature, provide insight that will contribute to stage two of the study. At this stage, an action-research group will continue planning to develop specific actions to enhance the provision of education to parents in the early postnatal period. These actions will subsequently be implemented and assessed.

  11. Implicit Association to Infant Faces: How Genetics, Early Care Experiences, and Cultural Factors Influence Caregiving Propensities

    PubMed Central

    Senese, Vincenzo Paolo; Shinohara, Kazuyuki; Esposito, Gianluca; Doi, Hirokazu; Venuti, Paola; Bornstein, Marc H.

    2018-01-01

    Genetics, early experience, and culture shape caregiving, but it is still not clear how genetics, early experiences, and cultural factors might interact to influence specific caregiving propensities, such as adult responsiveness to infant cues. To address this gap, 80 Italian adults (50% M; 18-25 years) were (1) genotyped for two oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms (rs53576 and rs2254298) and the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), which are implicated in parenting behaviour, (2) completed the Adult Parental Acceptance/Rejection Questionnaire to evaluate their recollections of parental behaviours toward them in childhood, and (3) were administered a Single Category Implicit Association Test to evaluate their implicit responses to faces of Italian infants, Japanese infants, and Italian adults. Analysis of implicit associations revealed that Italian infant faces were evaluated as most positive; participants in the rs53576 GG group had the most positive implicit associations to Italian infant faces; the serotonin polymorphism moderated the effect of early care experiences on adults’ implicit association to both Italian infant and adult female faces. Finally, 5-HTTLPR S carriers showed less positive implicit responses to Japanese infant faces. We conclude that adult in-group preference extends to in-group infant faces and that implicit responses to social cues are influenced by interactions of genetics, early care experiences, and cultural factors. These findings have implications for understanding processes that regulate adult caregiving. PMID:27650102

  12. Utilisation of the healthcare system for authentic early experience placements.

    PubMed

    Hays, Richard B

    2013-01-01

    Authentic early experience in clinical contexts adds interest and relevance to basic medical education, and is regarded positively by both learners and teachers. However, with the recent expansion of medical education, the healthcare system appears close to reaching its capacity for student supervision. This study explores the utilisation of the healthcare system for early clinical placements. A secondary analysis was conducted of data from the Medical Schools Outcomes Database, collected from the 2010 annual questionnaire, focusing on the timing, duration and location of clinical placements during 2009 within the first half of basic medical education programs in Australia. Data was received for 67% of Australian medical students, reporting a total of 16 812 early clinical placements that occupied 97 319 days of supervised time in a wide variety of hospital, general practice and Indigenous health contexts, both urban and rural, across the Australian healthcare system. These early placements occupied about 16% of total clinical placement time for all students in all training years during 2009. The majority of these placements were for only a few hours or days; exceptions were longitudinal placements in regional and rural communities at a minority of schools. Early clinical placements may pose significant resource costs for placement providers, particularly supervision time and expertise. As medical education expands and the teaching capacity of the Australian healthcare system appears to reach its limits, it may be necessary to allocate placements according to their specific learning outcomes, prioritise more acute settings for more senior students, and increase capacity in less acute health and social care settings.

  13. Socialization to Student Affairs: Early Career Experiences Associated with Professional Identity Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirschy, Amy S.; Wilson, Maureen E.; Liddell, Debora L.; Boyle, Kathleen M.; Pasquesi, Kira

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the authors propose and test a model of professional identity development among early career student affairs professionals. Using survey data from 173 new professionals (0-5 years of experience), factor analysis revealed 3 dimensions of professional identity: commitment, values congruence, and intellectual investment. Multivariate…

  14. Developing the Effective Teaching Skills of Teacher Candidates during Early Field Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welsh, Kelly A.; Schaffer, Connie

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early field experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to…

  15. Safe Start: How Early Experiences Can Help Reduce Violence. An Ounce of Prevention Fund Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Theresa

    Noting that many communities have overlooked a promising approach to reducing violence in the United States, this report examines early risk factors for violence and discusses the potential of prevention and intervention programs for children ages birth to 5 years. The report defines violence and discusses the importance of early experiences in…

  16. Early Field Experience Innovations to Increase Positive Impact on K-12 Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Case, Anny Fritzen; Traynor, John

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes several innovations to an early field experience emerging from a community, school, and university partnership focused on a middle school serving diverse students from low-income neighborhoods. With the primary goal of utilizing teaching candidates to provide direct academic, social, and instructional support to the middle…

  17. Early Childhood Development and Social Integration: The Mediterranean Experience. A Background Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Oudenhoven, Nico; Wazir, Rekha

    This paper explores early childhood education (ECD) and social integration within a common framework and against the backdrop of experience gained in these fields in the following 12 Mediterranean nations: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Palestine, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, and Turkey. The paper notes that…

  18. Experiences, Perceived Challenges, and Support Systems of Early College High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sáenz, Karen P.; Combs, Julie P.

    2015-01-01

    In this qualitative study, the prior experiences, perceived challenges, and support systems of 17 Grade 12 Hispanic students at an early college high school were explored using the framework of social capital theory. Utilizing Moustakas's phenomenological design, data were collected using focus group and individuals interviews. Several themes…

  19. Identifying key features of early stressful experiences that produce stress vulnerability and resilience in primates

    PubMed Central

    Parker, Karen J.; Maestripieri, Dario

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the complex role of early stressful experiences in producing both vulnerability and resilience to later stress-related psychopathology in a variety of primate models of human development. Two types of models are reviewed: Parental Separation Models (e.g., isolate-rearing, peer-rearing, parental separations, and stress inoculation) and Maternal Behavior Models (e.g., foraging demands, variation in maternal style, and maternal abuse). Based on empirical evidence, it is argued that early life stress exposure does not increase adult vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology as a linear function, as is generally believed, but instead reflects a quadratic function. Features of early stress exposure including the type, duration, frequency, ecological validity, sensory modality, and developmental timing, within and between species, are identified to better understand how early stressful experiences alter neurobiological systems to produce such diverse developmental outcomes. This article concludes by identifying gaps in our current knowledge, providing directions for future research, and discussing the translational implications of these primate models for human development and psychopathology. PMID:20851145

  20. Early visual experience and the recognition of basic facial expressions: involvement of the middle temporal and inferior frontal gyri during haptic identification by the early blind.

    PubMed

    Kitada, Ryo; Okamoto, Yuko; Sasaki, Akihiro T; Kochiyama, Takanori; Miyahara, Motohide; Lederman, Susan J; Sadato, Norihiro

    2013-01-01

    Face perception is critical for social communication. Given its fundamental importance in the course of evolution, the innate neural mechanisms can anticipate the computations necessary for representing faces. However, the effect of visual deprivation on the formation of neural mechanisms that underlie face perception is largely unknown. We previously showed that sighted individuals can recognize basic facial expressions by haptics surprisingly well. Moreover, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) in the sighted subjects are involved in haptic and visual recognition of facial expressions. Here, we conducted both psychophysical and functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to determine the nature of the neural representation that subserves the recognition of basic facial expressions in early blind individuals. In a psychophysical experiment, both early blind and sighted subjects haptically identified basic facial expressions at levels well above chance. In the subsequent fMRI experiment, both groups haptically identified facial expressions and shoe types (control). The sighted subjects then completed the same task visually. Within brain regions activated by the visual and haptic identification of facial expressions (relative to that of shoes) in the sighted group, corresponding haptic identification in the early blind activated regions in the inferior frontal and middle temporal gyri. These results suggest that the neural system that underlies the recognition of basic facial expressions develops supramodally even in the absence of early visual experience.

  1. Reflective Processes: A Qualitative Study Exploring Early Learning Student Teacher Mentoring Experiences in Student Teaching Practicums

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnes, Michelle M.

    2013-01-01

    This doctoral thesis explored mentoring in early learning teacher preparation programs. This study explored the reflective processes embedded in the work between student teachers and their mentors during early learning student teacher experiences at Washington State community and technical colleges. Schon's (1987a) concepts of…

  2. Philosophy of experiment in early modern England: the case of Bacon, Boyle and Hooke.

    PubMed

    Anstey, Peter R

    2014-01-01

    Serious philosophical reflection on the nature of experiment began in earnest in the seventeenth century. This paper expounds the most influential philosophy of experiment in seventeenth-century England, the Bacon-Boyle-Hooke view of experiment. It is argued that this can only be understood in the context of the new experimental philosophy practised according to the Baconian theory of natural history. The distinctive typology of experiments of this view is discussed, as well as its account of the relation between experiment and theory. This leads into an assessment of other recent discussions of early modern experiment, namely, those of David Gooding, Thomas Kuhn, J.E. Tiles and Peter Dear.

  3. Important first encounter: Service user experience of pathways to care and early detection in first-episode psychosis.

    PubMed

    Jansen, Jens Einar; Pedersen, Marlene Buch; Hastrup, Lene Halling; Haahr, Ulrik Helt; Simonsen, Erik

    2018-04-01

    Long duration of untreated psychosis is associated with poor clinical and functional outcomes. However, few systematic attempts have been made to reduce this delay and little is known of service users' experience of early detection efforts. We explored service users' experience of an early detection service and transition to specialized treatment service, including pathway to care, understanding of illness and barriers to adequate assessment and treatment. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 service users (median age 21, range 18-27, five males and five females) who were diagnosed with a first-episode non-affective psychosis and who were seen by an early detection team (TOP) and currently enrolled in a specialized early intervention service for this disorder (OPUS). Stigma and fear of the 'psychiatric system' were reported as significant barriers to help seeking, while family members were seen as a crucial support. Moreover, the impact of traumatic events on the experience and development of psychosis was highlighted. Finally, participants were relieved by the prospect of receiving help and the early detection team seemed to create a trusting relationship by offering a friendly, 'anti-stigmatized' space, where long-term symptomatology could be disclosed through accurate and validating questioning. Early detection services have two important functions. One is to make accurate assessments and referrals. The other is to instil hope and trust, and to facilitate further treatment by forming an early therapeutic alliance. The findings in this study provide important insights into the way in which early detection efforts and pathways to care are experienced by service users, with direct implications for improving psychiatric services. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  4. Early experiences with family conflict: implications for arguments with a close friend.

    PubMed

    Herrera, C; Dunn, J

    1997-09-01

    This study examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and their later management of conflicts with a close friend. Thirty-seven children were observed interacting with their mother and older sibling at 33 months and with a friend at 72 months. Children's early use of argument was not associated with their later behavior during disputes with a friend. However, argument used by the mother and sibling that considered the child needs was positively associated with the child's later use of constructive argument and resolution techniques. The mother's use of argument that focused on her own needs was negatively related to these outcomes. These associations were independent of global characteristics of the mother-child and sibling relationships. Moreover, the mother's use of argument predicted the child's later conflict management independent of the child's early argument patterns, emotion understanding, and verbal fluency.

  5. Teacher Attunement: Supporting Students' Peer Experiences in the Early Elementary Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Abigail S.

    2012-01-01

    This multi-method, longitudinal study examines the role of teacher attunement (teacher accuracy in identifying the peer group memberships of individual students) in children's peer experiences in early elementary classrooms (1st-3rd grades). Social cognitive mapping (SCM) procedures assessed and compared students' and teachers'…

  6. DNA Methylation: A Mechanism for Embedding Early Life Experiences in the Genome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Szyf, Moshe; Bick, Johanna

    2013-01-01

    Although epidemiological data provide evidence that early life experience plays a critical role in human development, the mechanism of how this works remains in question. Recent data from human and animal literature suggest that epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, are involved not only in cellular differentiation but also in the…

  7. Synchronising Pedagogy and Musical Experiences in Early Childhood: Addressing Challenges in Preschool Music Education in Kenya

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andang'o, Elizabeth A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines pedagogy in early childhood music education and the resultant learning experiences in music for children in Kenyan preschools. Two important principles proposed for the synchronisation of teaching and learning in early childhood music education are cultural relevance and developmental appropriateness. These terms are…

  8. Oxytocin mediates early experience-dependent cross-modal plasticity in the sensory cortices.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Jing-Jing; Li, Shu-Jing; Zhang, Xiao-Di; Miao, Wan-Ying; Zhang, Dinghong; Yao, Haishan; Yu, Xiang

    2014-03-01

    Sensory experience is critical to development and plasticity of neural circuits. Here we report a new form of plasticity in neonatal mice, where early sensory experience cross-modally regulates development of all sensory cortices via oxytocin signaling. Unimodal sensory deprivation from birth through whisker deprivation or dark rearing reduced excitatory synaptic transmission in the correspondent sensory cortex and cross-modally in other sensory cortices. Sensory experience regulated synthesis and secretion of the neuropeptide oxytocin as well as its level in the cortex. Both in vivo oxytocin injection and increased sensory experience elevated excitatory synaptic transmission in multiple sensory cortices and significantly rescued the effects of sensory deprivation. Together, these results identify a new function for oxytocin in promoting cross-modal, experience-dependent cortical development. This link between sensory experience and oxytocin is particularly relevant to autism, where hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to sensory inputs is prevalent and oxytocin is a hotly debated potential therapy.

  9. Flight height preference for oviposition of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) vectors of sylvatic yellow fever virus near the hydroelectric reservoir of Simplício, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

    PubMed

    Alencar, Jeronimo; Morone, Fernanda; De Mello, Cecília Ferreira; Dégallier, Nicolas; Lucio, Paulo Sérgio; de Serra-Freire, Nicolau Maués; Guimarães, Anthony Erico

    2013-07-01

    In this study, the oviposition behavior of mosquito species exhibiting acrodendrophilic habits was investigated. The study was conducted near the Simplicio Hydroelectic Reservoir (SHR) located on the border of the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Samples were collected using oviposition traps installed in forest vegetation cover between 1.70 and 4.30 m above ground level during the months of April, June, August, October, and December of 2011. Haemagogus janthinomys (Dyar), Haemagogus leucocelaenus (Dyar and Shannon), Aedes albopictus (Skuse), and Aedes terrens (Walker) specimens were present among the collected samples, the first two of which being proven vectors of sylvatic yellow fever (SYF) in Brazil and the latter is a vector of dengue in mainland Asia. As the data set was zero-inflated, a specific Poisson-based model was used for the statistical analysis. When all four species were considered in the model, only heights used for egg laying and months of sampling were explaining the distribution. However, grouping the species under the genera Haemagogus Williston and Aedes Meigen showed a significant preference for higher traps of the former. Considering the local working population of SHR is very large, fluctuating, and potentially exposed to SYF, and that this virus occurs in almost all Brazilian states, monitoring of Culicidae in Brazil is essential for assessing the risk of transmission of this arbovirus.

  10. Minding experience: An exploration of the concept of "experience" in the early French anthropology of Durkheim, Lévy-Bruhl, and Lévi-Strauss.

    PubMed

    Throop, C Jason

    2003-01-01

    In line with the growing concern with the unexamined reliance upon the concept of "experience" in anthropology, this article explores in some detail the various usages and definitions of the concept in the work of three of early French anthropology's most influential theorists: Emile Durkheim (1858-1918), Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1857-1939), and Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-). With its important influence on both British and American anthropology, the early French anthropological tradition, as epitomized in the writings of these three thinkers, has indeed played a pivotal role in shaping many current taken-for-granted understandings of the concept of experience in the discipline of anthropology as a whole. In the process of exploring how experience is viewed by these three scholars, this paper will thus take some initial steps toward the historical contextualization of many of the unquestioned assumptions underpinning current understandings of experience in the discipline of anthropology and the social sciences more generally. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Bringing basic research on early experience and stress neurobiology to bear on preventive interventions for neglected and maltreated children.

    PubMed

    Gunnar, Megan R; Fisher, Philip A

    2006-01-01

    A major focus in developmental psychopathology is on understanding developmental mechanisms and, armed with this information, intervening to improve children's outcomes. Translational research attempts to bridge the distance between understanding and intervention. In the collaborations that have formed the core of our research network on early experience, stress, and prevention science, we have focused on translating basic research on early experiences and stress neurobiology into preventive interventions for neglected and abused children. Our experiences in attempting to move from bench to bedside have led us to recognize the many challenges that face translational researchers. This review provides a brief synopsis of the animal model literature on early experience and stress neurobiology from which we glean several key bridging issues. We then review what is currently known about the impact of childhood neglect and abuse on stress neurobiology in human adults and children. Next, we describe how this work has informed the evaluation of our preventive interventions with maltreated children. Finally, we discuss several considerations that should facilitate a more complete integration of basic research on early experience and stress neurobiology into preventive intervention strategies.

  12. Seeing What They See--A Photovoice Analysis of Exploratory Early Field Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Marshall A.; Culbertson, Avery L.; Robinson, J. Shane; Ramsey, Jon W.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this photovoice study was to investigate what and how pre-service teachers conceive and make meaning of exploration observations of early field experiences (EFEs). EFEs are vital components of the teacher preparation program and include all activities that occur in pre-service teacher education prior to student teaching, including…

  13. Differential gene expression during early embryonic development in diapause and non-diapause eggs of multivoltine silkworm Bombyx mori.

    PubMed

    Ponnuvel, Kangayam M; Murthy, Geetha N; Awasthi, Arvind K; Rao, Guruprasad; Vijayaprakash, Nanjappa B

    2010-11-01

    Quantification of the differential expression of metabolic enzyme and heat-shock protein genes (Hsp) during early embryogenesis in diapause and non-diapause eggs of the silkworm B. mori was carried out by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Data analysis revealed that, the phosphofructokinase (PFK) expression started at a higher level in the early stage (6 h after oviposition) in non-diapause eggs, while in diapause induced eggs, it started at a lower level. However, the PFK gene expression in diapause eggs was comparatively higher than in non-diapause eggs. PFK facilitates use of carbohydrate reserves. The lower level of PFK gene expression in the early stage of diapause induced eggs but comparatively higher level of expression than in non-diapause eggs is due to enzyme inactivation via protein phosphorylation during early embryogenesis followed by de-phosphorylation in later stage. The sorbitol dehydrogenase-2 (SDH-2) gene was down regulated in diapause induced eggs up to 24 h and its expression levels in diapause induced eggs coincided with that of PFK gene at 48h in non-diapause eggs. During carbohydrate metabolism, there is an initial temporary accumulation of sorbitol which acts as protectant. The down regulation of SDH-2 gene during the first 24 hours in diapause induced eggs was due to the requirement of sorbitol as protectant. However, since the diapause process culminates by 48 h, the SDH-2 gene expression increased and coincided with that of PFK gene expression. The trehalase (Tre) gene expression was at a lower level in diapause induced eggs compared to non-diapausing eggs. The induction of Tre activity is to regulate uptake and use of sugar by the tissues. The non-diapause eggs revealed maximum expression of GPase gene with major fluctuations as well as an overall higher expression compared to diapause induced eggs. The diapause process requires less energy source which reflects lower activity of the gene. Heat shock protein (Hsp) genes (Hsp20.4, 40, 70, and 90

  14. Private Management of Public Schools: Early Experiences in Four School Districts. Report to Congressional Committees.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Health, Education, and Human Services Div.

    School districts nationwide are experimenting with a range of reform options, one of which is private management of public schools. This General Accounting Office (GAO) report describes the early experiences of four school districts that contracted with private companies for management of their public schools. Specifically, the report describes:…

  15. Early visual experience and the recognition of basic facial expressions: involvement of the middle temporal and inferior frontal gyri during haptic identification by the early blind

    PubMed Central

    Kitada, Ryo; Okamoto, Yuko; Sasaki, Akihiro T.; Kochiyama, Takanori; Miyahara, Motohide; Lederman, Susan J.; Sadato, Norihiro

    2012-01-01

    Face perception is critical for social communication. Given its fundamental importance in the course of evolution, the innate neural mechanisms can anticipate the computations necessary for representing faces. However, the effect of visual deprivation on the formation of neural mechanisms that underlie face perception is largely unknown. We previously showed that sighted individuals can recognize basic facial expressions by haptics surprisingly well. Moreover, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) in the sighted subjects are involved in haptic and visual recognition of facial expressions. Here, we conducted both psychophysical and functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to determine the nature of the neural representation that subserves the recognition of basic facial expressions in early blind individuals. In a psychophysical experiment, both early blind and sighted subjects haptically identified basic facial expressions at levels well above chance. In the subsequent fMRI experiment, both groups haptically identified facial expressions and shoe types (control). The sighted subjects then completed the same task visually. Within brain regions activated by the visual and haptic identification of facial expressions (relative to that of shoes) in the sighted group, corresponding haptic identification in the early blind activated regions in the inferior frontal and middle temporal gyri. These results suggest that the neural system that underlies the recognition of basic facial expressions develops supramodally even in the absence of early visual experience. PMID:23372547

  16. Early experiences building a software quality prediction model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Agresti, W. W.; Evanco, W. M.; Smith, M. C.

    1990-01-01

    Early experiences building a software quality prediction model are discussed. The overall research objective is to establish a capability to project a software system's quality from an analysis of its design. The technical approach is to build multivariate models for estimating reliability and maintainability. Data from 21 Ada subsystems were analyzed to test hypotheses about various design structures leading to failure-prone or unmaintainable systems. Current design variables highlight the interconnectivity and visibility of compilation units. Other model variables provide for the effects of reusability and software changes. Reported results are preliminary because additional project data is being obtained and new hypotheses are being developed and tested. Current multivariate regression models are encouraging, explaining 60 to 80 percent of the variation in error density of the subsystems.

  17. Sociodemographic differences in women’s experience of early labour care: a mixed methods study

    PubMed Central

    Henderson, Jane; Redshaw, Maggie

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To explore women’s experiences of early labour care focusing on sociodemographic differences, and to examine the effect of antenatal education, using mixed methods. Setting England, 2014. Participants Women who completed postal questionnaires about their experience of maternity care, including questions about antenatal education, early labour and sociodemographic factors, included space for free-text comments. Outcome measures Worries about labour, contact with midwives in early labour and subsequent care. Methods This study was based on secondary analysis of a national maternity survey carried out in England in 2014. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression; qualitative data were analysed using a thematic content analytic approach. Results Completed questionnaires were received from 4578 women (47% response rate). There were significant differences by sociodemographic factors, particularly ethnicity, in women’s worries about early labour. Compared with white women, women from black or minority ethnic groups had an adjusted OR of 1.93 (95% CI 1.56 to 2.39) of feeling worried about not knowing when labour would start. Among women who contacted a midwife at the start of labour, 84% perceived their advice as appropriate, more in older and multiparous women. Overall, 64% of women were asked to come to the hospital at this time, more in multiparous women (adjusted OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.96). Those who did not have access to antenatal education experienced greater worry about early labour. Five themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: ‘Differentiating between early and active labour’, ‘Staff attitudes’, ‘Not being allowed…’, ‘Previous labours’ and ‘Perceived consequences for women’. Conclusion These findings reinforce the importance of providing reassurance to women in early labour, taking care that women do not feel neglected or dismissed. In particular, primiparous and

  18. Effects of Experience on the Brain: The Role of Neuroscience in Early Development and Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Twardosz, Sandra

    2012-01-01

    Research Findings: Research on the effect of experience on the structure and function of the brain across the lifespan pertains directly to the concerns of professionals involved with children's early development and education. This paper briefly reviews (a) the role of experience in shaping the developing brain, (b) individual adaptation to the…

  19. Beyond Surviving: Gender Differences in Response to Early Sexual Experiences with Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, Sally V.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this research project was to explore how men and women constructed a sense of self through narrative following an early sexual experience with an adult. Using narrative inquiry methodology, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted in New South Wales, Australia, with 13 women and 9 men ages between 25 and 70. All participants had an early…

  20. Early tracking would improve the operative experience of general surgery residents.

    PubMed

    Stain, Steven C; Biester, Thomas W; Hanks, John B; Ashley, Stanley W; Valentine, R James; Bass, Barbara L; Buyske, Jo

    2010-09-01

    High surgical complexity and individual career goals has led most general surgery (GS) residents to pursue fellowship training, resulting in a shortage of surgeons who practice broad-based general surgery. We hypothesize that early tracking of residents would improve operative experience of residents planning to be general surgeons, and could foster greater interest and confidence in this career path. Surgical Operative Log data from GS and fellowship bound residents (FB) applying for the 2008 American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination (QE) were used to construct a hypothetical training model with 6 months of early specialization (ESP) for FB residents in 4 specialties (cardiac, vascular, colorectal, pediatric); and presumed these cases would be available to GS residents within the same program. A total of 142 training programs had both FB residents (n = 237) and GS residents (n = 402), and represented 70% of all 2008 QE applicants. The mean numbers of operations by FB and GS residents were 1131 and 1091, respectively. There were a mean of 252 cases by FB residents in the chief year, theoretically making 126 cases available for each GS resident. In 9 defined categories, the hypothetical model would result in an increase in the 5-year operative experience of GS residents (mastectomy 6.5%; colectomy 22.8%; gastrectomy 23.4%; antireflux procedures 23.4%; pancreatic resection 37.4%; liver resection 29.3%; endocrine procedures 19.6%; trauma operations 13.3%; GI endoscopy 6.5%). The ESP model improves operative experience of GS residents, particularly for complex gastrointestinal procedures. The expansion of subspecialty ESP should be considered.

  1. Early Experience and the Development of Cognitive Competence: Some Theoretical and Methodological Issues.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ulvund, Stein Erik

    1982-01-01

    Argues that in analyzing effects of early experience on development of cognitive competence, theoretical analyses as well as empirical investigations should be based on a transactional model of development. Shows optimal stimulation hypothesis, particularly the enhancement prediction, seems to represent a transactional approach to the study of…

  2. Word learning in deaf children with cochlear implants: effects of early auditory experience.

    PubMed

    Houston, Derek M; Stewart, Jessica; Moberly, Aaron; Hollich, George; Miyamoto, Richard T

    2012-05-01

    Word-learning skills were tested in normal-hearing 12- to 40-month-olds and in deaf 22- to 40-month-olds 12 to 18 months after cochlear implantation. Using the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm (IPLP), children were tested for their ability to learn two novel-word/novel-object pairings. Normal-hearing children demonstrated learning on this task at approximately 18 months of age and older. For deaf children, performance on this task was significantly correlated with early auditory experience: Children whose cochlear implants were switched on by 14 months of age or who had relatively more hearing before implantation demonstrated learning in this task, but later implanted profoundly deaf children did not. Performance on this task also correlated with later measures of vocabulary size. Taken together, these findings suggest that early auditory experience facilitates word learning and that the IPLP may be useful for identifying children who may be at high risk for poor vocabulary development. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  3. On the causes of early life experience effects: evaluating the role of mom.

    PubMed

    Tang, Akaysha C; Reeb-Sutherland, Bethany C; Romeo, Russell D; McEwen, Bruce S

    2014-04-01

    Early life experiences are thought to have long-lasting effects on cognitive, emotional, and social function during adulthood. Changes in neuroendocrine function, particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, contribute to these systems-level behavioral effects. In searching for causal mechanisms underlying these early experience effects, pioneering research has demonstrated an important role for maternal care in offspring development, and this has led to two persistent ideas that permeate current research and thinking: first, environmental impact on the developing infant is mediated through maternal care behavior; second, the more care that a mother provides, the better off her offspring. While a good beginning, the reality is likely more complex. In this review, we critically examine these ideas and propose a computationally-motivated theoretical framework, and within this framework, we consider evidence supporting a hypothesis of maternal modulation. These findings may inform policy decisions in the context of child health and development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Word learning in deaf children with cochlear implants: effects of early auditory experience

    PubMed Central

    Houston, Derek M.; Stewart, Jessica; Moberly, Aaron; Hollich, George; Miyamoto, Richard T.

    2013-01-01

    Word-learning skills were tested in normal-hearing 12- to 40-month-olds and in deaf 22- to 40-month-olds 12 to 18 months after cochlear implantation. Using the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm (IPLP), children were tested for their ability to learn two novel-word/novel-object pairings. Normal-hearing children demonstrated learning on this task at approximately 18 months of age and older. For deaf children, performance on this task was significantly correlated with early auditory experience: Children whose cochlear implants were switched on by 14 months of age or who had relatively more hearing before implantation demonstrated learning in this task, but later implanted profoundly deaf children did not. Performance on this task also correlated with later measures of vocabulary size. Taken together, these findings suggest that early auditory experience facilitates word learning and that the IPLP may be useful for identifying children who may be at high risk for poor vocabulary development. PMID:22490184

  5. The Multidimensional Relationship between Early Adult Body Weight and Women’s Childbearing Experiences

    PubMed Central

    Frisco, Michelle L.; Weden, Margaret M.; Lippert, Adam M.

    2011-01-01

    This study has three primary goals that make an important contribution to the literature on body weight and childbearing experiences among United States’ women. It sheds light on the physiological and social nature of this relationship by examining whether the consequences of early adult weight for lifetime childbearing are shaped by historical social context, women’s social characteristics, and their ability to marry. We analyze data from two female cohorts who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79). Cohort 1 entered early adulthood before the U.S. obesity prevalence increased. Cohort 2 entered early adulthood after the obesity prevalence increased. We find that early adult weight is negatively related to the childbearing trajectories and marital status of Cohort 1 but not Cohort 2. Failing to account for race/ethnicity and women’s educational background as confounders masks some of these associations, which are evident for both White and Black women. Our results suggest that the health consequences of body weight do not fully drive its impact on childbearing. Rather, the lifetime fertility consequences of early adult weight are malleable, involve social processes, and are dependent on social context. PMID:21944717

  6. A balancing act in an unknown territory: a metasynthesis of first-time mothers' experiences in early labour.

    PubMed

    Eri, Tine S; Bondas, Terese; Gross, Mechthild M; Janssen, Patricia; Green, Josephine M

    2015-03-01

    to integrate findings of individual studies in order to broaden the understanding of first-time mothers' experiences of early labour. the methodology was metasynthesis which is based on the interpretive meta-ethnography described by Noblit and Hare (1988). Metasynthesis is research on research which synthesises the findings of previous qualitative studies, and the focus is on interpretation and the creation of new knowledge. all included studies originated from high resource countries (USA 2, UK 4, and Scandinavia 5) and all were carried out in a context of hospital based maternity care. a total of 231 women participated in the studies. 11 articles were included. The main results are presented with the metaphor a balancing act in an unknown territory. The 'unknown territory' has a double meaning: as the personal experience of going into labour for the first time and as encountering the maternity care system. On both levels women have to make significant decisions: whether labour really has started and subsequently when to go to the hospital. A key challenge is to balance the arrival on the labour ward at the 'right' time, not too early and not too late. Arriving at the 'right' time leads to a positive path, while arriving 'too soon' might lead to a cascade of negative experiences. The results are further presented with five central themes: 'Finding out if labour has started is absorbing'; 'Dealing with labour at home'; 'Trying to arrive at the labour ward at the right time'; 'There is always a risk of being sent home'; 'Encountering health professionals arouses strong emotions'. the metasynthesis broadens the understanding of first-time mothers' experiences of early labour, and suggests that women's needs when planning a hospital birth are not being adequately met at this stage in the labour process. Three areas of future research are suggested: how to support and strengthen women during pregnancy in order to cope with early labour; women's experiences of early

  7. First-Year Practicum Experiences for Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers Working with Birth-to-3-Year-Olds: An Australasian Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, E. Jayne; Peter, Mira; Sims, Margaret; Rockel, Jean; Kumeroa, Maureen

    2016-01-01

    This article reports on a project, "Collaboration of Universities Pedagogies of Infants' and Toddlers' Development-'down under' (CUPID)," in which the practicum experiences of 1st-year preservice initial teacher education (ITE) students at five universities across Australia and New Zealand (NZ) engaging in early childhood education (ECE)…

  8. Early childhood experiences, parenting and the process of drug dependency among young people in Tehran, Iran.

    PubMed

    Mirlashari, Jila; Demirkol, Apo; Salsali, Mahvash; Rafiey, Hassan; Jahanbani, Jahanfar

    2012-06-01

    Substance abuse has become a major public health problem in Iran. The process of developing an addiction is complex and multifaceted. Early childhood experiences are thought to be one of the important determinants of addictive behaviour. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the early childhood experiences, especially the experiences within the immediate family, of current substance-using young adults in Iran. The study is qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 young men and women who were either in treatment for their addiction or were active drug users at the time of the interviews. Moreover, four interviews have been conducted with family members of participants. The majority of the participants experienced traumatic events during childhood and came from dysfunctional families. There appears to be a significant disconnect between these individuals and their families. An obedience-instilling parenting style and parents' knowledge and attitude toward drug using and prevention were also identified as important determinants of substance use. The results of this research point out the need for early interventions for at-risk families as well as at-risk individuals. © 2011 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  9. Exploring School-Employer Partnerships to Expand Career Development and Early Work Experiences for Youth with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carter, Erik W.; Trainor, Audrey A.; Cakiroglu, Orhan; Cole, Odessa; Swedeen, Beth; Ditchman, Nicole; Owens, Laura

    2009-01-01

    Although career development and early work experiences are associated with improved postschool employment outcomes for youth with disabilities, transition personnel report having few natural community partners to support and enhance these experiences. We surveyed 135 chambers of commerce and other employer networks to examine (a) whether and how…

  10. Troubling Messages: Agency and Learning in the Early Schooling Experiences of Children of Latina/o Immigrants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adair, Jennifer Keys; Colegrove, Kiyomi Sánchez-Suzuki; McManus, Molly

    2018-01-01

    Background/Context: Early childhood education in the United States is currently suspended between the belief that young children learn through dynamic experiences in which they are able to create and experiment, and the belief that young children's emerging literacy and math skills require formal instruction and assessments to ensure future…

  11. How can experience in clinical and community settings contribute to early medical education? A BEME systematic review.

    PubMed

    Dornan, T; Littlewood, S; Margolis, S A; Scherpbier, A; Spencer, J; Ypinazar, V

    2006-02-01

    Review period January 1992-December 2001. Final analysis July 2004-January 2005. BACKGROUND AND REVIEW CONTEXT: There has been no rigorous systematic review of the outcomes of early exposure to clinical and community settings in medical education. OBJECTIVES OF REVIEW: Identify published empirical evidence of the effects of early experience in medical education, analyse it, and synthesize conclusions from it. Identify the strengths and limitations of the research effort to date, and identify objectives for future research. Ovid search of: BEI, ERIC, Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE Additional electronic searches of: Psychinfo, Timelit, EBM reviews, SIGLE, and the Cochrane databases. Hand-searches of:Medical Education, Medical Teacher, Academic Medicine, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Journal of Educational Psychology. Authentic (real as opposed to simulated) human contact in a social or clinical context that enhances learning of health, illness and/or disease, and the role of the health professional. Early: What would traditionally have been regarded as the preclinical phase, usually the first 2 years. Inclusions: All empirical studies (verifiable, observational data) of early experience in the basic education of health professionals, whatever their design or methodology, including papers not in English. Evidence from other health care professions that could be applied to medicine was included. Not empirical; not early; post-basic; simulated rather than 'authentic' experience. Careful validation of selection processes. Coding by two reviewers onto an extensively modified version of the standard BEME coding sheet. Accumulation into an Access database. Secondary coding and synthesis of an interpretation. A total of 73 studies met the selection criteria and yielded 277 educational outcomes; 116 of those outcomes (from 38 studies) were rated strong and important enough to include in a narrative synthesis of results; 76% of those

  12. Experience of Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Abortion in Adolescence and Early Adulthood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boden, Joseph M.; Fergusson, David M.; Horwood, L. John

    2009-01-01

    Objective: The present study examined the associations between the experience of sexual abuse in childhood (CSA) and the number of abortions in adolescence and early adulthood. Method: A 25-year prospective longitudinal study of the health, development, and adjustment of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children (630 females). Measures included…

  13. Insect Attraction versus Plant Defense: Young Leaves High in Glucosinolates Stimulate Oviposition by a Specialist Herbivore despite Poor Larval Survival due to High Saponin Content

    PubMed Central

    Badenes-Perez, Francisco R.; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Heckel, David G.

    2014-01-01

    Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites used in plant defense. For insects specialized on Brassicaceae, such as the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), glucosinolates act as “fingerprints” that are essential in host plant recognition. Some plants in the genus Barbarea (Brassicaceae) contain, besides glucosinolates, saponins that act as feeding deterrents for P. xylostella larvae, preventing their survival on the plant. Two-choice oviposition tests were conducted to study the preference of P. xylostella among Barbarea leaves of different size within the same plant. P. xylostella laid more eggs per leaf area on younger leaves compared to older ones. Higher concentrations of glucosinolates and saponins were found in younger leaves than in older ones. In 4-week-old plants, saponins were present in true leaves, while cotyledons contained little or no saponins. When analyzing the whole foliage of the plant, the content of glucosinolates and saponins also varied significantly in comparisons among plants that were 4, 8, and 12 weeks old. In Barbarea plants and leaves of different ages, there was a positive correlation between glucosinolate and saponin levels. This research shows that, in Barbarea plants, ontogenetical changes in glucosinolate and saponin content affect both attraction and resistance to P. xylostella. Co-occurrence of a high content of glucosinolates and saponins in the Barbarea leaves that are most valuable for the plant, but are also the most attractive to P. xylostella, provides protection against this specialist herbivore, which oviposition behavior on Barbarea seems to be an evolutionary mistake. PMID:24752069

  14. Insect attraction versus plant defense: young leaves high in glucosinolates stimulate oviposition by a specialist herbivore despite poor larval survival due to high saponin content.

    PubMed

    Badenes-Perez, Francisco R; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Heckel, David G

    2014-01-01

    Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites used in plant defense. For insects specialized on Brassicaceae, such as the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), glucosinolates act as "fingerprints" that are essential in host plant recognition. Some plants in the genus Barbarea (Brassicaceae) contain, besides glucosinolates, saponins that act as feeding deterrents for P. xylostella larvae, preventing their survival on the plant. Two-choice oviposition tests were conducted to study the preference of P. xylostella among Barbarea leaves of different size within the same plant. P. xylostella laid more eggs per leaf area on younger leaves compared to older ones. Higher concentrations of glucosinolates and saponins were found in younger leaves than in older ones. In 4-week-old plants, saponins were present in true leaves, while cotyledons contained little or no saponins. When analyzing the whole foliage of the plant, the content of glucosinolates and saponins also varied significantly in comparisons among plants that were 4, 8, and 12 weeks old. In Barbarea plants and leaves of different ages, there was a positive correlation between glucosinolate and saponin levels. This research shows that, in Barbarea plants, ontogenetical changes in glucosinolate and saponin content affect both attraction and resistance to P. xylostella. Co-occurrence of a high content of glucosinolates and saponins in the Barbarea leaves that are most valuable for the plant, but are also the most attractive to P. xylostella, provides protection against this specialist herbivore, which oviposition behavior on Barbarea seems to be an evolutionary mistake.

  15. ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE LARGE-SCALE BIOSPHERE–ATMOSPHERE EXPERIMENT IN AMAZONIA: EARLY RESULTS.

    Treesearch

    M. Keller; A. Alencar; G. P. Asner; B. Braswell; M. Bustamente; E. Davidson; T. Feldpausch; E. Fern ndes; M. Goulden; P. Kabat; B. Kruijt; F. Luizao; S. Miller; D. Markewitz; A. D. Nobre; C. A. Nobre; N. Priante Filho; H. Rocha; P. Silva Dias; C von Randow; G. L. Vourlitis

    2004-01-01

    The Large-scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) is a multinational, interdisciplinary research program led by Brazil. Ecological studies in LBA focus on how tropical forest conversion, regrowth, and selective logging influence carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, trace gas fluxes, and the prospect for sustainable land use in the Amazon region. Early...

  16. Women's experiences of having an early medical abortion at home.

    PubMed

    Hedqvist, Maria; Brolin, Lina; Tydén, Tanja; Larsson, Margareta

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this study was to assess women's experiences of having an early medical abortion at home and to investigate their perceptions of the information provided before the abortion. The study also aimed to investigate possible differences between groups of women. The study is cross-sectional with a descriptive and comparative design. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 119 women who had undergone a medical abortion at home. Almost half of the women (43%, n = 51) experienced the bleeding as more than expected and one-fourth (26%, n = 31) bled for more than four weeks. One-third (34%, n = 41) stated a lack of information, especially about the bleeding and pain. The experience of pain differed between groups. Women who had undergone an earlier abortion and women who had previously given birth experienced the abortion as being less painful than that experienced by first-time gravidae (p < 0.05). The finding that women experience information about the pain and bleeding to be insufficient suggests that information in those areas can be improved. The result that women without previous experience of abortion or childbirth stated the pain as being worse than other groups investigated suggests that special attention should be paid to those women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Romantic Relationship Patterns from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Family and Peer Experiences in Early Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Boisvert, Stéphanie; Poulin, François

    2016-05-01

    The present study identifies and describes romantic relationship patterns from adolescence to adulthood and examines their associations with family and peer experiences in early adolescence. In a 13-year longitudinal study, 281 youth (58 % girls) identified all their romantic partners each year from the ages of 16-24. Dimensions of family relationships (family cohesion, parent-child conflict) and peer relationships (peer likeability, social withdrawal, close friendships, other-sex friendships) were assessed at age 12. Latent class analyses brought out five distinct romantic relationship patterns and significant associations were found with family and peer relationships in early adolescence. These five romantic relationship patterns appeared to follow a continuum of romantic involvement, with romantic relationship patterns situated a both ends of this continuum (later involvement pattern and intense involvement pattern) being associated with more interpersonal experiences in early adolescence.

  18. The Influence of Early Science Experience in Kindergarten on Children's Immediate and Later Science Achievement: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sackes, Mesut; Trundle, Kathy Cabe; Bell, Randy L.; O'Connell, Ann A.

    2011-01-01

    This study explores the impacts of selected early science experiences in kindergarten (frequency and duration of teachers' teaching of science, availability of sand/water table and science areas, and children's participation in cooking and science equipment activities) on children's science achievement in kindergarten and third grade using data…

  19. The Effects of Early Socialization Experiences on Content Mastery and Outcomes: A Mediational Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klein, Howard J.; Fan, Jinyan; Preacher, Kristopher J.

    2006-01-01

    This field study examined how early socialization experiences affect new employee mastery of socialization content and socialization outcomes. New employees reported the realism of their preentry knowledge and the helpfulness of socialization agents. A follow-up survey assessed mastery of socialization content along with role clarity, job…

  20. The Impact of Discrimination on the Early Schooling Experiences of Children from Immigrant Families

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adair, Jennifer Keys

    2015-01-01

    How the young children of immigrants experience their early school years may in large part determine their academic future and negatively affect their emotional, social, and mental development. Children benefit from a positive, supportive learning environment where their contributions are valued; many from immigrant families, however, experience…

  1. Out of the Mouths of Babes: Early College High School Students' Transformational Learning Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonald, Denise; Farrell, Tina

    2012-01-01

    Focus Group interviews with 31 disadvantaged students in an Early College High School (ECHS) program present insights to students' experience in the hybrid school, specifically regarding their perceptions of college readiness. Student "voice" in research can yield significant information when examining aspects of school design that…

  2. Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort.

    PubMed

    Hameed, Mohajer A; Lingam, Raghu; Zammit, Stanley; Salvi, Giovanni; Sullivan, Sarah; Lewis, Andrew J

    2017-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs) in early adolescence. Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test - II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12. Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10-1.92, p = 0.044) and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03-1.22, p = 0.010) is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09-1.97, p = 0.012). Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study's strengths, limitations, and clinical implications.

  3. Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort

    PubMed Central

    Hameed, Mohajer A.; Lingam, Raghu; Zammit, Stanley; Salvi, Giovanni; Sullivan, Sarah; Lewis, Andrew J.

    2018-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs) in early adolescence. Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test – II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12. Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.92, p = 0.044) and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03–1.22, p = 0.010) is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09–1.97, p = 0.012). Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study’s strengths, limitations, and clinical implications. PMID:29375433

  4. Attraction, Oviposition and Larval Survival of the Fungus Gnat, Lycoriella ingenua, on Fungal Species Isolated from Adults, Larvae, and Mushroom Compost.

    PubMed

    Cloonan, Kevin R; Andreadis, Stefanos S; Chen, Haibin; Jenkins, Nina E; Baker, Thomas C

    2016-01-01

    We previously showed that the females of the mushroom sciarid, Lycoriella ingenua (Dufour, 1839) (Diptera: Sciaridae), one of the most severe pests of the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Emil J. Imbach (Agaricales: Agaricaceae), are attracted to the mushroom compost that mushrooms are grown on and not to the mushrooms themselves. We also showed that females are attracted to the parasitic green mold, Trichoderma aggressivum. In an attempt to identify what is in the mushroom compost that attracts female L. ingenua, we isolated several species of fungi from adult males and females, third instar larvae, and mushroom compost itself. We then analyzed the attraction of females to these substrates using a static-flow two choice olfactometer, as well as their oviposition tendencies in another type of assay under choice and no-choice conditions. We also assessed the survival of larvae to adulthood when first instar larvae were placed on each of the isolated fungal species. We found that female flies were attracted most to the mycoparasitic green mold, T. aggressivum, to Penicilium citrinum isolated from adult female bodies, and to Scatylidium thermophilium isolated from the mushroom compost. Gravid female flies laid the most eggs on T. aggressivum, Aspergillus flavus isolated from third instar larval frass, Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from adult male bodies, and on P. citrinum. This egg-laying trend remained consistent under no-choice conditions as females aged. First instar larvae developed to adulthood only on S. thermophilium and Chaetomium sp. isolated from mushroom compost, and on P. citrinum. Our results indicate that the volatiles from a suite of different fungal species act in tandem in the natural setting of mushroom compost, with some first attracting gravid female flies and then others causing them to oviposit. The ecological context of these findings is important for creating an optimal strategy for using possible

  5. Attraction, Oviposition and Larval Survival of the Fungus Gnat, Lycoriella ingenua, on Fungal Species Isolated from Adults, Larvae, and Mushroom Compost

    PubMed Central

    Cloonan, Kevin R.; Andreadis, Stefanos S.; Chen, Haibin; Jenkins, Nina E.; Baker, Thomas C.

    2016-01-01

    We previously showed that the females of the mushroom sciarid, Lycoriella ingenua (Dufour, 1839) (Diptera: Sciaridae), one of the most severe pests of the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Emil J. Imbach (Agaricales: Agaricaceae), are attracted to the mushroom compost that mushrooms are grown on and not to the mushrooms themselves. We also showed that females are attracted to the parasitic green mold, Trichoderma aggressivum. In an attempt to identify what is in the mushroom compost that attracts female L. ingenua, we isolated several species of fungi from adult males and females, third instar larvae, and mushroom compost itself. We then analyzed the attraction of females to these substrates using a static-flow two choice olfactometer, as well as their oviposition tendencies in another type of assay under choice and no-choice conditions. We also assessed the survival of larvae to adulthood when first instar larvae were placed on each of the isolated fungal species. We found that female flies were attracted most to the mycoparasitic green mold, T. aggressivum, to Penicilium citrinum isolated from adult female bodies, and to Scatylidium thermophilium isolated from the mushroom compost. Gravid female flies laid the most eggs on T. aggressivum, Aspergillus flavus isolated from third instar larval frass, Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from adult male bodies, and on P. citrinum. This egg-laying trend remained consistent under no-choice conditions as females aged. First instar larvae developed to adulthood only on S. thermophilium and Chaetomium sp. isolated from mushroom compost, and on P. citrinum. Our results indicate that the volatiles from a suite of different fungal species act in tandem in the natural setting of mushroom compost, with some first attracting gravid female flies and then others causing them to oviposit. The ecological context of these findings is important for creating an optimal strategy for using possible

  6. Egg-laying butterflies distinguish predaceous ants by sight.

    PubMed

    Sendoya, Sebastián F; Freitas, André V L; Oliveira, Paulo S

    2009-07-01

    Information about predation risks is critical for herbivorous insects, and natural selection favors their ability to detect predators before oviposition and to select enemy-free foliage when offspring mortality risk is high. Food plants are selected by ovipositing butterflies, and offspring survival frequently varies among plants because of variation in the presence of predators. Eunica bechina butterflies oviposit on Caryocar brasiliense, an ant-defended plant. Experiments with dried Camponotus and Cephalotes ants pinned to leaves revealed that butterflies use ant size and form as visual cues to avoid ovipositing on plant parts occupied by ants more likely to kill larval offspring. Presence of sap-sucking bugs did not affect butterfly oviposition. This is the first demonstration that visual recognition of predators can mediate egg-laying decisions by an insect herbivore and that an insect will discriminate among different species of potential predators. This unusual behavioral capability permits specialization on a risky, ant-defended food plant.

  7. Classroom Teachers' Feelings and Experiences in Teaching Early Reading and Writing: A Phenomenological Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bastug, Muhammet

    2016-01-01

    The current study aimed to reveal classroom teachers' feelings and experiences in teaching early reading and writing. Phenomenological research design was applied in the qualitative research methodology of the study. The participants of the study were 15 classroom teachers working in different cities. The data were collected through…

  8. Evaluating the Psychological Concomitants of Other-Sex Crush Experiences during Early Adolescence

    PubMed Central

    Bowker, Julie C.; Etkin, Rebecca G.

    2016-01-01

    Very little empirical attention has been paid to other-sex crush experiences during adolescence. As a result, it is not known whether such experiences, which appear to be relatively common, impact psychological adjustment outcomes. This two-wave (3 month interval) longitudinal study of 268 young adolescents (48% girls; M age at Time 1 = 11.84 years) examined the psychological concomitants of other-sex crush experiences (having and being viewed by others as a crush). Anxious-withdrawal and gender were evaluated as moderators. Peer nomination measures at Time 1 assessed both types of crush experiences and mutual friendship involvement, and participants completed self-report measures of loneliness and depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 2. The results from regression analyses revealed significant associations between having an other-sex crush and depressive symptoms at Time 1, after accounting for the effects of mutual friendship. Two interaction effects also revealed that crush status was a risk factor for depressive symptoms at low levels of anxious-withdrawal but a protective factor at high levels. The findings provide the first empirical evidence that other-sex crush experiences are developmentally significant during early adolescence. PMID:26984754

  9. Bullying Mediates Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Childhood and Psychotic Experiences in Early Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Hennig, Timo; Jaya, Edo S; Lincoln, Tania M

    2017-09-01

    Although a childhood diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is known to be linked to psychotic experiences and psychotic disorders in later life, the developmental trajectories that could explain this association are unknown. Using a sample from the prospective population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (N = 8247), we hypothesized that the previously reported association of ADHD combined subtype in childhood and psychotic experiences in early adolescence is mediated by traumatic events and by involvement in bullying. Moreover, we expected this mediation to be specific to ADHD and tested this by comparison with specific phobia. Children with ADHD combined subtype at age 7 were more often involved in bullying at age 10 (OR 3.635, 95% CI 1.973-6.697) and had more psychotic experiences at age 12 (OR 3.362, 95% CI 1.781-6.348). Moreover, children who were involved in bullying had more psychotic experiences (2.005, 95% CI 1.684-2.388). Bullying was a significant mediator between ADHD and psychotic experiences accounting for 41%-50% of the effect. Traumatic events from birth to age 11 were also significantly associated with ADHD combined subtype and psychotic experiences; however, there was no evidence of mediation. Specific phobia was significantly associated with psychotic experiences, but not with bullying. To conclude, bullying is a relevant translating mechanism from ADHD in childhood to psychotic experiences in early adolescence. Interventions that eliminate bullying in children with ADHD could potentially reduce the risk of having psychotic experiences in later life by up to 50%. Clinicians should thus screen for bullying in routine assessments of children with ADHD. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Experience- and egg-mediated oviposition behaviour in the yellow fever mosquito Stegomyia aegypti (=Aedes aegypti)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Animals may adapt foraging behavior in variable environments using environmental information. For repeated behaviors such as feeding or reproduction, past experiences can provide this information to guide future decision-making. By changing behavior to be more efficient in an animal’s specific env...

  11. Early Experiences with the Endovascular Repair of Ruptured Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Jae-Sung; Oh, Se Jin; Sung, Yong Won; Moon, Hyun Jong; Lee, Jung Sang

    2016-01-01

    Background The aim of this study was to report our early experiences with the endovascular repair of ruptured descending thoracic aortic aneurysms (rDTAAs), which are a rare and life-threatening condition. Methods Among 42 patients who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) between October 2010 and September 2015, five patients (11.9%) suffered an rDTAA. Results The mean age was 72.4±5.1 years, and all patients were male. Hemoptysis and hemothorax were present in three (60%) and two (40%) patients, respectively. Hypovolemic shock was noted in three patients who underwent emergency operations. A hybrid operation was performed in three patients. The mean operative time was 269.8±72.3 minutes. The mean total length of aortic coverage was 186.0±49.2 mm. No 30-day mortality occurred. Stroke, delirium, and atrial fibrillation were observed in one patient each. Paraplegia did not occur. Endoleak was found in two patients (40%), one of whom underwent an early and successful reintervention. During the mean follow-up period of 16.8±14.8 months, two patients died; one cause of death was a persistent type 1 endoleak and the other cause was unknown. Conclusion TEVAR for rDTAA was associated with favorable early mortality and morbidity outcomes. However, early reintervention should be considered if persistent endoleak occurs. PMID:27064672

  12. First-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services.

    PubMed

    Cappelletti, Giulia; Nespoli, Antonella; Fumagalli, Simona; Borrelli, Sara E

    2016-03-01

    The aim of this study is to explore first-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services when admitted to hospital or advised to return home after maternity triage assessment. The study was conducted in a second-level maternity hospital in northern Italy with an obstetric unit for both low- and high-risk women. The participants included 15 first-time mothers in good general health with spontaneous labour at term of a low-risk pregnancy who accessed maternity triage during early labour, and were either admitted to hospital or advised to return home. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was conducted. A face-to-face recorded semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant 48-72h after birth. Four key themes emerged from the interviews: (a) recognising signs of early labour; (b) coping with pain at home; (c) seeking reassurance from healthcare professionals; and (d) being admitted to hospital versus returning home. Uncertainty about the progression of labour and the need for reassurance were cited by women as the main reasons for hospital visit in early labour. An ambivalent feeling was reported by the participants when admitted to hospital in early labour. In fact, while the women felt reassured in the first instance, some women subsequently felt dissatisfied due to the absence of one-to-one dedicated care during early labour. When advised to return home, a number of women reported feelings of disappointment, anger, fear, discouragement and anxiety about not being admitted to hospital; however, some of these women reported a subsequent feeling of comfort due to being at home and putting in place the suggestions made by the midwives during the maternity triage assessment. The guidance provided by midwives during triage assessment seemed to be the key factor influencing women׳s satisfaction when advised either to return home or to stay at the hospital during early labour. During antenatal classes and clinics

  13. Early Intervention Experiences of Families of Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grygas Coogle, Christan; Guerette, Amy R.; Hanline, Mary Frances

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of the unique experiences of families who have a young child at risk for or identified with an autism spectrum disorder and their experiences with early intervention. Thirty-nine parents of children with or at risk for an autism spectrum disorder receiving Part C services in a state in the…

  14. Hemispheric differences in processing of vocalizations depend on early experience.

    PubMed

    Phan, Mimi L; Vicario, David S

    2010-02-02

    An intriguing phenomenon in the neurobiology of language is lateralization: the dominant role of one hemisphere in a particular function. Lateralization is not exclusive to language because lateral differences are observed in other sensory modalities, behaviors, and animal species. Despite much scientific attention, the function of lateralization, its possible dependence on experience, and the functional implications of such dependence have yet to be clearly determined. We have explored the role of early experience in the development of lateralized sensory processing in the brain, using the songbird model of vocal learning. By controlling exposure to natural vocalizations (through isolation, song tutoring, and muting), we manipulated the postnatal auditory environment of developing zebra finches, and then assessed effects on hemispheric specialization for communication sounds in adulthood. Using bilateral multielectrode recordings from a forebrain auditory area known to selectively process species-specific vocalizations, we found that auditory responses to species-typical songs and long calls, in both male and female birds, were stronger in the right hemisphere than in the left, and that right-side responses adapted more rapidly to stimulus repetition. We describe specific instances, particularly in males, where these lateral differences show an influence of auditory experience with song and/or the bird's own voice during development.

  15. Student Teachers' Workplace-Based Learning in Sweden on Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: Experiences in Practice Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Workplace-based learning experiences are integral to early childhood teacher education. In Sweden, the objectives of early childhood teacher education programmes require students to develop knowledge and skills about education for sustainability (EfS), in accordance with national policy documents. This includes how to work with EfS in everyday…

  16. Spruce budworm feeding and oviposition are stimulated by monoterpenes in white spruce epicuticular waxes.

    PubMed

    Ennis, Darragh; Despland, Emma; Chen, Fei; Forgione, Pat; Bauce, Eric

    2017-02-01

    Monoterpenes, source of the distinctive odor of conifers, are generally considered plant defensive compounds. However, they are also known to act as long-range insect attractants, as they are volatile and permeate forest airspaces. Moreover, they are lipid soluble and can be absorbed into plant epicuticular waxes. We test their role in short-range host plant choice by both adult females and larvae of a folivorous forest pest (Choristoneura fumiferana). We conducted laboratory assays testing the responses of Eastern spruce budworm to an artificial monoterpene mix (α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, myrcene) and to white spruce (Picea glauca) epicuticular waxes in closed arenas. Ovipositing females preferred filter paper discs treated with P. glauca waxes to controls, and preferred the waxes + monoterpenes treatment to waxes alone. However, females showed no preference between the monoterpene-treated disc and the control when presented without waxes. Feeding larvae prefered wax discs to control discs. They also consumed discs treated with realistic monoterpene concentrations and wax preferentially over wax-only discs, but showed no preference between extremely high monoterpene concentrations and wax-only controls. In an insect-free assay, P. glauca epicuticular wax decreased monoterpene volatilization. These results suggest that P. glauca waxes and realistic concentrations of monoterpenes are stimulatory to both egg-laying females and feeding larvae, and that their effects are synergistic. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  17. Early experience in microtia reconstruction: the first 100 cases.

    PubMed

    Sabbagh, Walid

    2011-04-01

    Auricular reconstruction in Microtia is a challenging operation with a steep learning curve. In view its rarity attaining a high standard for new surgeons is extremely difficult. This study analyses the first 100 microtia cases looking at complications, technique, pattern of progress and aesthetic outcome. The author performed 100 autologous ear reconstructions for microtia over a period of 4 years utilizing the two stage technique popularised by Nagata and Firmin. In 11 cases a temroparietal fascial flap was utilised because of either a low hairline or scarring. Follow up ranged from 3 to 36 months. Data was collected prospectively. There were 7 cases of partial skin necrosis, 3 of which healed with conservative management. In early cases deficiencies were seen in the proportions of the reconstructed ear and the quality of definition. Better shape and definition were evident as more surgical experience was gained. This occurred as a result of increased appreciation of the ear proportions and improved framework carving. Although two stages were planned 21 cases required further procedures. The series demonstrates the early learning curve in microtia reconstruction and underlines the importance of appropriate training and case availability in achieving high quality results in autologous ear reconstruction. Copyright © 2010 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The EOLE experiment: Early results and current objectives

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morel, P.; Bandeen, W. R.

    1972-01-01

    The EOLE experiment with 480 constant level balloons released in the Southern Hemisphere is described. Each balloon floating freely at approximately the 200 mb level, is a precise tracer of the horizontal motion of air masses, the accuracy of which is limited only by the laminated structure of the stratospheric flow, within an RMS uncertainty of 1.5 m/sec. The balloons were found after 2 months to distribute at random over the whole hemisphere outside the tropics, irrespective of their original launching site. Early results of Eulerian and Lagrangian averages of the EOLE wind data are given for describing the mean 200 mb zonal and meridional circulations. The effect of the small scale eddies of two-dimensional turbulence has been studied with respect to the relative eddy diffusion of pairs of balloons and the relative dispersion of triangular clusters. New estimates of the RMS divergence of the 200 mb flow are given, together with their scale dependence which was found to be a logarithmic law.

  19. The International Society for Developmental Psychobiology Annual Meeting Symposium: Impact of Early Life Experiences on Brain and Behavioral Development

    PubMed Central

    Sullivan, Regina; Wilson, Donald A.; Feldon, Joram; Yee, Benjamin K.; Meyer, Urs; Richter-Levin, Gal; Avi, Avital; Michael, Tsoory; Gruss, Michael; Bock, Jörg; Helmeke, Carina; Braun, Katharina

    2007-01-01

    Decades of research in the area of developmental psychobiology have shown that early life experience alters behavioral and brain development, which canalizes development to suit different environments. Recent methodological advances have begun to identify the mechanisms by which early life experiences cause these diverse adult outcomes. Here we present four different research programs that demonstrate the intricacies of early environmental influences on behavioral and brain development in both pathological and normal development. First, an animal model of schizophrenia is presented that suggests prenatal immune stimulation influences the postpubertal emergence of psychosis-related behavior in mice. Second, we describe a research program on infant rats that demonstrates how early odor learning has unique characteristics due to the unique functioning of the infant limbic system. Third, we present work on the rodent Octodon degus, which shows that early paternal and/or maternal deprivation alters development of limbic system synaptic density that corresponds to heightened emotionality. Fourth, ajuvenile model of stress is presented that suggests this developmental period is important in determining adulthood emotional well being. The approach of each research program is strikingly different, yet all succeed in delineating a specific aspect of early development and its effects on infant and adult outcome that expands our understanding of the developmental impact of infant experiences on emotional and limbic system development. Together, these research programs suggest that the developing organism’s developmental trajectory is influenced by environmental factors beginning in the fetus and extending through adolescence, although the specific timing and nature of the environmental influence has unique impact on adult mental health. PMID:17016842

  20. Aesthetic Experience in a Dynamic Cycle: Implications for Early Childhood Teachers and Teacher Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lim, Booyeun

    2005-01-01

    This study describes early childhood teachers' own beliefs and concepts of aesthetic experience in young children. The teachers involved in this study were directly engaged in preschools for 4 and 5 year-olds where arts and aesthetic education are a primary consideration of their integrated curriculum. These teachers identified a variety of…

  1. The Beliefs and Perceived Experiences of Preservice and Early Service Teachers Who Use Facebook

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foss, Nathan D.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify commonly held beliefs and perceived experiences of preservice and early service teachers with regard to their use of the social networking site Facebook. This study included recorded and transcribed interviews of 14 participants as well as observations of their Facebook accounts. The…

  2. Chinese primiparous women's experiences of early motherhood: factors affecting maternal role competence.

    PubMed

    Ngai, Fei-Wan; Chan, Sally W C; Holroyd, Eleanor

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this study was to explore Chinese women's perceptions of maternal role competence and factors contributing to maternal role competence during early motherhood. Developing a sense of competence and satisfaction in the maternal role are considered critical components in maternal adaptation, which have a significant impact on parenting behaviours and the psychosocial development of the child. However, qualitative studies that address maternal role competence are limited in the Chinese population. This was an exploratory descriptive study. A purposive sample of 26 Chinese primiparous mothers participated in a childbirth psychoeducation programme and was interviewed at six weeks postpartum. Data were analysed using content analysis. Women perceived a competent mother as being able to make a commitment to caring for the physical and emotional well-being of child, while cultivating appropriate values for childhood. Personal knowledge and experience of infant care, success in breastfeeding, infant's well-being, availability of social support and contradictory information from various sources were major factors affecting maternal role competency. The findings highlight the importance of understanding Chinese cultural attitudes to childrearing and maternal role competence. New Chinese mothers need information on child care, positive experiences of infant care, social support and consistent information to enhance their maternal role competency. Recommendations are made for Chinese culturally specific guidelines and healthcare delivery interventions to enhance maternal role competence in early motherhood. Nursing and midwifery care should always take into account the cultural beliefs and enable adaptation of traditional postpartum practices. Providing consistent information and positive experience on parenting skills and infant behaviour as well as enhancing effective coping strategies could strengthen Chinese women's maternal role competency. © 2011 Blackwell

  3. Early illness experiences related to unexpected heart surgery: A qualitative descriptive study.

    PubMed

    Chang, Yu-Ling; Tsai, Yun-Fang

    2017-09-01

    Most studies on patients' experiences following emergency cardiac surgery focus on evaluation of patients after their discharge. Few studies have evaluated patients' experiences after being transferred from intensive care and before being discharged. This study aimed to describe patients' experiences in the early stages of recovery following emergency heart surgery. For this exploratory qualitative descriptive study, 13 patients were recruited from a medical centre in northern Taiwan. Participants had undergone emergency heart surgery and had resided in the cardiothoracic surgical ward for ≥6 days following transfer from the ICU; all expected to be discharged from the hospital within 3 days. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in private after the patients had been transferred to the cardiothoracic surgical wards. Audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. Data analysis identified four themes, which represented different recovery stages: sudden and serious symptoms, nightmares and vivid dreams, physical and emotional disturbances, and establishing a new life after emergency surgery. A fifth theme, support for a new lifestyle, occurred between the four stages. Participants experienced symptoms of physical and psychological stress during the early recovery stages following emergency heart surgery. A lack of understanding of the process of recovery increased these difficulties; participants wanted and needed multidisciplinary care and education. Emergency heart surgery does not allow healthcare professionals to inform patients of what to expect post-surgery. Our findings suggest that rather than waiting until discharge to offer disease information and treatment plans, multidisciplinary care should be initiated as soon as possible to facilitate recovery. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Role of early experience in ant enslavement: a comparative analysis of a host and a non-host species

    PubMed Central

    Blatrix, Rumsaïs; Sermage, Claire

    2005-01-01

    Background Ants use the odour of the colony to discriminate nestmates. In some species, this odour is learned during the first days following emergence, and thus early experience has a strong influence on nestmate discrimination. Slave-making ants are social parasites that capture brood of other ant species to increase the worker force of their colony. After emerging in the slave-maker nest, slave workers work as if they were in their own colony. We tested the hypothesis that early experience allows the deception of commonly enslaved species, while non-host species use a different mechanism, which does not involve learning. Results Pupae of a host species, Temnothorax unifasciatus, and a non-host species, T. parvulus, were allowed to emerge in the presence of workers of one of two slave-maker species, Chalepoxenus muellerianus or Myrmoxenus ravouxi. When T. unifasciatus was exposed to slave-makers for 10 days following emergence, they were more aggressive towards their own sisters and groomed the slave-maker more. T. parvulus gave a less clear result: while workers behaved more aggressively towards their sisters when exposed early to C. muellerianus workers, this was not the case when exposed early to M. ravouxi workers. Moreover, T. parvulus workers allogroomed conspecific nestmates less than T. unifasciatus. Allogrooming activity might be very important for the slave-makers because they are tended by their slaves. Conclusion Our findings show that early experience influences nestmate discrimination in the ant T. unifasciatus and can account for the successful enslavement of this species. However, the non-host species T. parvulus is less influenced by the early environment. This might help to explain why this species is never used by social parasites. PMID:16076389

  5. Carambola Cultivar, Fruit Ripeness, and Damage by Conspecific Larvae Influence the Host-Related Behaviors of Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae).

    PubMed

    López-Ley, Jorge Ulises; Toledo, Jorge; Malo, Edi A; Gomez, Jaime; Santiesteban, Antonio; Rojas, Julio C

    2016-02-01

    In this study, we investigated the influence of cultivar type, fruit ripeness, and damage by conspecific larvae on the attraction of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to and oviposition on carambola fruit (Averroha carambola L.). The attraction of both sexes of A. obliqua to fruit of different quality was evaluated through cage experiments in the field, and the oviposition preferences of mated females were examined in laboratory tests. Both sexes, mated or virgin, were more attracted to the "Maha" fruit than to the "Golden Star" fruit, and the females oviposited more frequently on the Maha cultivar than the Golden Star cultivar. Both sexes were more attracted to ripe and half-ripe Maha fruits than to mature green fruit, and although females did not show a preference for ovipositing on half-ripe or ripe fruits, they did not oviposit on mature green fruits. Males did not show a preference for the volatiles from uninfested, artificially damaged, or infested Maha fruits, but females were more attracted to uninfested fruits than to artificially damaged and infested Maha fruits. Furthermore, females preferred to oviposit on uninfested fruits compared with artificially damaged fruit, and they did not oviposit on infested fruits. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Degradation Capacity and Diapause Effects on Oviposition of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

    PubMed

    Samayoa, Ana Clariza; Hwang, Shaw-Yhi

    2018-04-09

    Although well known for its organic waste decomposing capability, much of the biology of Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) remains unknown, including details involving its diapause. The present study provides a better understanding of the effects of diapause on the fecundity and longevity of H. illucens. The daily degradation rates (dry weight of the uneaten residue) of a H. illucens cohort were also evaluated. Data were collected and analyzed based on the age-stage, two-sex life table. The intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproduction rate (R0), and mean generation time (T) were 0.0498 (d-1), 1.0511 (d-1), 118.3 offspring, and 95.8 d, respectively. The maximum net maternity was 22.5 eggs after 88 d. Only 12 females out of 22 were able to successfully oviposit. The number of eggs produced per female ranged from 508 to 1,047. Degradation and consumption occurred during each of the 23 d until all larvae developed into the prepupal stage. The age-stage net consumption rate (Bxj) dropped at day 11 (1.05 mg) and then reached its highest level at day 14 (1.72 mg). The mean degradation rate was 26.69 mg and the total degradation and consumption was 1,921.52 mg. Linking life table data and degradation rates provides the necessary data for predicting a population's growth and its degradation capacity. Results of this study demonstrated the importance of adding moisture during the prepupal stage. This information will provide a better understanding for an implementation program using H. illucens as a biodegrading agent of organic waste matter.

  7. Early Experiences Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development. Working Paper #10

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010

    2010-01-01

    New scientific research shows that environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. Thus, the old ideas that genes are "set in stone" or that they alone determine development have been disproven. In fact, scientists have discovered that early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off and even…

  8. Developing Reflexive Identities through Collaborative, Interdisciplinary and Precarious Work: The Experience of Early Career Researchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Enright, Bryony; Facer, Keri

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the experiences of 24 Early Career Researchers working in interdisciplinary and precarious employment conditions in which they are managing collaborations with multiple partners beyond the university as part of the AHRC's "Connected Communities" Programme. These conditions emerge from conflicting sources--from…

  9. Background experiences, time allocation, time on teaching and perceived support of early-career college science faculty

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sagendorf, Kenneth S.

    The purposes of this research were to create an inventory of the research, teaching and service background experiences of and to document the time allocation and time spent on teaching by early-career college science faculty members. This project is presented as three distinct papers. Thirty early-career faculty in the science disciplines from sixteen different institutions in their first year of employment participated in this study. For the first two papers, a new survey was developed asking participants to choose which experiences they had acquired prior to taking their current faculty position and asking them to document their time allocation and time spent on teaching activities in an average work week. In addition, a third component documents the support early-career college faculty in the sciences are receiving from the perspective of faculty members and their respective department chairpersons and identifies areas of disagreement between these two different groups. Twenty early-career college science faculty and their respective department chairpersons completed a newly-designed survey regarding the support offered to new faculty. The survey addressed the areas of feedback on performance, clarity of tenure requirements, mentoring, support for teaching and scholarship and balancing faculty life. This dissertation presents the results from these surveys, accounting for different demographic variables such as science discipline, gender and institutional category.

  10. Adverse Experiences in Early Childhood and Kindergarten Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Jimenez, Manuel E; Wade, Roy; Lin, Yong; Morrow, Lesley M; Reichman, Nancy E

    2016-02-01

    To examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in early childhood and teacher-reported academic and behavioral problems in kindergarten. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national urban birth cohort. Subjects with primary caregiver-reported information on ACE exposures ascertained at 5 years and teacher-reported outcomes at the end of the child's kindergarten year were included. Outcomes included teacher ratings of academic skills, emergent literacy skills, and behavior. We included 8 ACE exposures on the basis of the original Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kaiser study and created an ACE score by summing individual adversities. We examined the associations between teacher-reported academic and behavioral outcomes and ACE scores by using logistic regression. In the study sample, 1007 children were included. Fifty-five percent had experienced 1 ACE and 12% had experienced ≥ 3. Adjusting for potential confounders, experiencing ≥ 3 ACEs was associated with below-average language and literacy skills (adjusted odds ratio [AORs]: 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.9) and math skills (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-2.9), poor emergent literacy skills, attention problems (AOR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8-6.5), social problems (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0), and aggression (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.6). In this study of urban children, experiencing ACEs in early childhood was associated with below-average, teacher-reported academic and literacy skills and behavior problems in kindergarten. These findings underscore the importance of integrated approaches that promote optimal development among vulnerable children. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  11. Nurses' experiences using a nursing information system: early stage of technology implementation.

    PubMed

    Lee, Ting-Ting

    2007-01-01

    Adoption of information technology in nursing practice has become a trend in healthcare. The impact of this technology on users has been widely studied, but little attention has been given to its influence at the beginning stage of implementation. Knowing the barriers to adopting technology could shorten this transition stage and minimize its negative influences. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' experiences in the early stage of implementing a nursing information system. Focus groups were used to collect data at a medical center in Taiwan. The results showed that nurses had problems with the system's content design, had insufficient training, were concerned about data security, were stressed by added work, and experienced poor interdisciplinary cooperation. To smooth this beginning stage, the author recommends involving nurses early in the system design, providing sufficient training in keyboard entry skills, redesigning workflow, and improving interdisciplinary communication.

  12. Early experience with diverse foods increases intake of nonfamiliar flavors and feeds in sheep.

    PubMed

    Catanese, F; Distel, R A; Provenza, F D; Villalba, J J

    2012-08-01

    This study determined whether early experiences by sheep with monotonous or diverse diets influence intake of unfamiliar flavors and feeds later in life. Thirty 2-mo-old lambs were randomly assigned to 3 treatment diets (n = 10): diverse (DIV), diverse with plant toxins (DIV+T), and monotonous (MON). Lambs in DIV received in 9 successive periods of exposure 4-way choice combinations of 2 foods high in energy and 2 foods high in protein from an array of 6 foods: 3 high in energy [beet pulp, oat grain, and a mix of milo:grape pomace (60:40)] and 3 high in digestible protein (DP) (soybean meal, alfalfa, corn gluten meal). Lambs in DIV+T received the same exposure as DIV, but 2 plant toxins, oxalic acid (1.5%) and quebracho tannins (10%), were randomly added to 2 of the feeds in each of the choice combinations. Lambs in MON received a monotonous balanced diet, made with a mixture of all 6 feeds detailed before. All treatments received their feed in 4 separate buckets. During exposure, treatments did not differ in total daily DMI (P = 0.31), but daily intake of ME was less (P < 0.02) and daily intake of DP was greater (P < 0.03) for lambs in DIV and DIV+T than for lambs in MON. Treatments did not differ in ADG or G:F (P > 0.05). After exposure, lambs were offered a familiar feed (wheat bran) containing novel flavors (maple, garlic, or bitter) and 2-way choices of novel feeds (fescue hay vs. corn distillers grains, rice vs. calf manna, and green peas vs. rolled oats). Intake of maple-flavored wheat bran tended (P = 0.08) to be greater for lambs in DIV than for lambs in DIV+T and MON. Intake of bitter-flavored and garlic-flavored wheat bran were greater (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively) for lambs in DIV and DIV+T than for lambs in MON. During 2-way choice trials, lambs in DIV, but not in DIV+T, showed greater intakes of fescue hay (P = 0.05) and rice (P = 0.04) than lambs in MON. Intake of green peas was greater (P = 0.03) for lambs in DIV and DIV+T than for lambs in

  13. Early Learning Experience and Adolescent Anxiety: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between Japan and England

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Essau, Cecilia A.; Ishikawa, Shin-ichi; Sasagawa, Satoko

    2011-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to compare the frequency of anxiety symptoms among adolescents in Japan and England, and to examine the association between early learning experiences and anxiety symptoms. A total of 299 adolescents (147 from England and 152 from Japan), aged 12 to 17 years were investigated. Results showed that adolescents in…

  14. The contribution of genetics and early rearing experiences to hierarchical personality dimensions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

    PubMed

    Latzman, Robert D; Freeman, Hani D; Schapiro, Steven J; Hopkins, William D

    2015-11-01

    A reliable literature finds that traits are related to each other in an organized hierarchy encompassing various conceptualizations of personality (e.g., Big Three, five-factor model). Recent work suggests the potential of a similar organization among our closest nonhuman relative, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), with significant links to neurobiology suggesting an evolutionarily and neurobiologically based hierarchical structure of personality. The current study investigated this hierarchical structure, the heritability of the various personality dimensions across levels of the hierarchy, and associations with early social rearing experience in a large sample (N = 238) of socially housed, captive chimpanzees residing in 2 independent colonies of apes. Results provide support for a hierarchical structure of personality in chimpanzees with significant associations with early rearing experiences. Further, heritabilities of the various dimensions varied by early rearing, with affective dimensions found to be significantly heritable among mother-reared apes, whereas personality dimensions were largely independent of relatedness among the nursery-reared apes. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on personality profiles across levels of the hierarchy, supporting the importance of considering environmental variation in models of quantitative trait evolution. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. The contribution of genetics and early rearing experiences to hierarchical personality dimensions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

    PubMed Central

    Latzman, Robert D.; Freeman, Hani D.; Schapiro, Steven J.; Hopkins, William D.

    2015-01-01

    A reliable literature finds that traits are related to each other in an organized hierarchy encompassing various conceptualizations of personality (e.g., Big Three, Five Factor Model). Recent work suggests the potential of a similar organization among our closest nonhuman relative, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), with significant links to neurobiology suggesting an evolutionarily- and neurobiologically-based hierarchical structure of personality. The current study investigated this hierarchical structure, the heritability of the various personality dimensions across levels of the hierarchy, and associations with early social rearing experience in a large sample (N = 238) of socially-housed, captive chimpanzees residing in two independent colonies of apes. Results provide support for a hierarchical structure of personality in chimpanzees with significant associations with early rearing experiences. Further, heritabilities of the various dimensions varied by early rearing, with affective dimensions found to be significantly heritable among mother-reared apes, while personality dimensions were largely independent of relatedness among the nursery-reared apes. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on personality profiles across levels of the hierarchy, supporting the importance of considering environmental variation in models of quantitative trait evolution. PMID:25915132

  16. Crossing cultural borders into science teaching: Early life experiences, racial and ethnic identities, and beliefs about diversity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brand, Brenda R.; Glasson, George E.

    2004-02-01

    The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore the development of belief systems as related to racial and ethnic identities of preservice teachers as they crossed cultural borders into science teaching. Data were collected throughout a yearlong teacher preparation program to learn how early life experiences and racial and ethnic identities of preservice teachers influenced both their beliefs about diversity in science classrooms and science teaching pedagogy. Case studies of three preservice teachers from diverse racial and ethnic background are presented: Asian American, African American, and Rural Appalachian. Using Bank's ethnicity typology, findings suggest that racial and ethnic identity, developed in early life experiences of preservice teachers, provided clarity on the rigidity of their beliefs about diversity and how they view science teaching. By learning about the border crossing experiences of preservice teachers in relation to their beliefs about diversity as related to racial and ethnic identities, the researchers hoped to provide insight on preparing preservice teachers for the challenges of working in diverse classrooms.

  17. International Field Experience as an Impetus for Personal and Professional Transformation: Through the Lens of Early Childhood Postsecondary Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonnett, Tina Heather

    2015-01-01

    Research exploring preservice postsecondary students' experiences participating in an international field placement is a relatively new area of study in the domains of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Early Childhood Leadership (ECL). While there is a growing body of literature offering merit to the profound transformations that can occur for…

  18. Parents' early healthcare transition experiences with preterm and acutely ill infants: a scoping review.

    PubMed

    Ballantyne, M; Orava, T; Bernardo, S; McPherson, A C; Church, P; Fehlings, D

    2017-11-01

    Parents undergo multiple transitions following the birth of an ill infant: their infant's illness-health trajectory, neonatal intensive care unit hospitalization and transfers from one healthcare setting to another, while also transitioning to parenthood. The objective of this review was to map and synthesize evidence on the experiences and needs of parents of preterm or ill infants as they transition within and between healthcare settings following birth. The scoping review followed Arskey and O'Malley's () framework, enhanced by Levac et al. (). Relevant studies were identified through a comprehensive search strategy of scientific and grey literature databases, online networks, Web of Science and citation lists of relevant articles. Inclusion criteria encompassed a focus on infants undergoing a healthcare transition, and the experiences and needs of parents during transition. Studies were appraised for design quality, and data relevant to parent experiences were extracted and underwent thematic analysis. A total of 7773 records were retrieved, 90 full texts reviewed and 11 articles synthesized that represented a total sample of 435 parents of preterm or ill infants. Parents reported on their experiences in response to their infant's transition within and between hospitals and across levels of neonatal intensive care unit, intermediate and community hospital care. Ten studies used qualitative research methods, while one employed quantitative survey methods. Four key themes were identified: that of parent distress throughout transition, parenting at a distance, sources of stress and sources of support. Parents' stress resulted from not being informed or involved in the transition decision, inadequate communication and perceived differences in cultures of care across healthcare settings. Opportunities to improve parents' early transition experiences include enhanced engagement, communication, information-sharing and shared decision-making between health care

  19. The role of food experiences during early childhood in food pleasure learning.

    PubMed

    Nicklaus, Sophie

    2016-09-01

    Infants are born equipped to ingest nutrients, but have to learn what to eat. This must occur early, because the mode of feeding evolves dramatically, from "tube" feeding in utero to eating family foods. Eating habits established during early years contribute to the development of subsequent eating habits. Therefore, it is fundamental to understand the most important early periods (between birth and 2 years, i.e. onset of food neophobia) for the development of eating habits and the drivers of this development. The role of pleasure in eating is central, especially during childhood when cognitive drivers of food choices may be less prominent than later in life. It is not easy to define and measure pleasure of eating in early childhood. However, it is possible to identify the characteristics of the eating experience which contribute to drive infant's eating and to shape preferences (food sensory properties; food rewarding properties; social context of eating). The learning processes involve repeated exposure (including to a variety of flavours), association with post-absorptive consequences and with contextual signals (including family members). The important early periods for learning food pleasure start being well identified. Beyond the first flavour discoveries during the prenatal and lactation periods (through the infant's exposure to flavours from foods of the mother's diet), the most important phase may be the beginning of complementary feeding. Infants discover the sensory (texture, taste and flavour) and nutritional properties (energy density) of the foods that will ultimately compose their adult diet; parents are still in charge of providing appropriate foods, timing, context for eating. Inter-individual differences in food pleasure learning, related to temperamental dimensions, or to sensory sensitivity also have to be taken into account. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Sexual Dysfunctions: Relationship to Childhood Sexual Abuse and Early Family Experiences in a Nonclinical Sample.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinzl, Johann F.; And Others

    1995-01-01

    This study evaluated 202 female university students for early familial experience and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in relation to adult sexual disorders: (1) victims of multiple CSA more frequently reported sexual desire disorders; and (2) single-incident victims and nonvictims reported no significantly different rates of sexual dysfunction.…

  1. Early and Later Experience with One Younger Sibling Affects Face Processing Abilities of 6-Year-Old Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cassia, Viola Macchi; Proietti, Valentina; Pisacane, Antonella

    2013-01-01

    Available evidence indicates that experience with one face from a specific age group improves face-processing abilities if acquired within the first 3 years of life but not in adulthood. In the current study, we tested whether the effects of early experience endure at age 6 and whether the first 3 years of life are a sensitive period for the…

  2. Egg clutch patterning in Lestes virens (Odonata, Lestidae) with evolutionary emphasis on endophytic oviposition in lestid dragonflies.

    PubMed

    Matushkina, Natalia A; Buy, Denis; Lambret, Philippe

    2016-12-01

    Egg deposition within plants is one of the most widely distributed and ancient behaviors in Odonata. The resulting clutch consists of eggs placed in peculiar pattern that can be a characteristic for certain groups of Odonata. Despite their importance for paleontological and evolutionary research, data on egg-clutch positioning are missing or insufficient for most species. Here, patterning of egg clutches in Lestes virens was measured and described in detail for the first time. The female usually produces a linear row of single eggs directed at an angle rightward or leftward to the longitudinal axis of plant substrate. Less often eggs are arranged in egg-sets consisting of up to 4 eggs. Apparently, the female insect follows the rigid behavior stereotypes during oviposition and is unable to easily switch to the alternate stereotypical behavior of single egg deposition or production of multiegg sets. Based on a literature review and original data, egg clutch patterning of European Lestidae is overlaid on preexisting phylogenies. The resulting evolutionary scenario of egg-clutch patterning can be considered in the framework of egg-laying behavior in Lestidae. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  3. Adverse early life experience and social stress during adulthood interact to increase serotonin transporter mRNA expression

    PubMed Central

    Gardner, Katherine L.; Hale, Matthew W.; Lightman, Stafford L.; Plotsky, Paul M.; Lowry, Christopher A.

    2009-01-01

    Anxiety disorders, depression and animal models of vulnerability to a depression-like syndrome have been associated with dysregulation of serotonergic systems in the brain. To evaluate the effects of early life experience, adverse experiences during adulthood, and potential interactions between these factors on serotonin transporter (slc6a4) mRNA expression, we investigated in rats the effects of maternal separation (180 min/day from days 2–14 of life; MS180), neonatal handing (15 min/day from days 2–14 of life; MS15), or normal animal facility rearing control conditions (AFR) with or without subsequent exposure to adult social defeat on slc6a4 mRNA expression in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) and caudal linear nucleus. At the level of specific subdivisions of the DR, there were no differences in slc6a4 mRNA expression between MS15 and AFR rats. Among rats exposed to a novel cage control condition, increased slc6a4 mRNA expression was observed in the dorsal part of the DR in MS180 rats, relative to AFR control rats. In contrast, MS180 rats exposed to social defeat as adults had increased slc6a4 mRNA expression throughout the DR compared to both MS15 and AFR controls. Social defeat increased slc6a4 mRNA expression, but only in MS180 rats and only in the “lateral wings” of the DR. Overall these data demonstrate that early life experience and stressful experience during adulthood interact to determine slc6a4 mRNA expression. These data support the hypothesis that early life experience and major stressful life events contribute to dysregulation of serotonergic systems in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. PMID:19781533

  4. Witnessing peer rejection during early adolescence: Neural correlates of empathy for experiences of social exclusion

    PubMed Central

    Masten, Carrie L.; Eisenberger, Naomi I.; Pfeifer, Jennifer H.; Dapretto, Mirella

    2010-01-01

    Neuroimaging studies with adults have begun to reveal the neural bases of empathy; however, this research has focused on empathy for physical pain, rather than empathy for negative social experiences. Moreover, this work has not examined adolescents who may frequently witness and empathize with others who experience negative social experiences like peer rejection. Here, we examined neural activity among early adolescents observing social exclusion compared to observing inclusion, and how this activity related to both trait empathy and subsequent prosocial behavior. Participants were scanned while they observed an individual whom they believed was being socially excluded. At least one day prior to the scan they reported their trait empathy, and following the scan they wrote emails to the excluded victim that were rated for prosocial behavior (e.g., helping, comforting). Observing exclusion compared to inclusion activated regions involved in mentalizing (i.e., dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; DMPFC), particularly among highly empathic individuals. Additionally, individuals who displayed more activity in affective, pain-related regions during observed exclusion compared to inclusion subsequently wrote more prosocial emails to excluded victims. Overall findings suggest that when early adolescents witness social exclusion in their daily lives, some may actually ‘feel the pain’ of the victims and act more prosocially toward them as a result. PMID:20602283

  5. A Behavior-Genetic Study of the Legacy of Early Caregiving Experiences: Academic Skills, Social Competence, and Externalizing Behavior in Kindergarten

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roisman, Glenn I.; Fraley, R. Chris

    2012-01-01

    A critique of research examining whether early experiences with primary caregivers are reflected in adaptation is that relevant longitudinal studies have generally not employed genetically informed research designs capable of unconfounding shared genes and environments. Using the twin subsample (N = 485 pairs) of the Early Childhood Longitudinal…

  6. The Role of Family Experiences and ADHD in the Early Development of Oppositional Defiant Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harvey, Elizabeth A.; Metcalfe, Lindsay A.; Herbert, Sharonne D.; Fanton, John H.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The present study examined the role of family experiences in the early development and maintenance of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms in preschool-age children with behavior problems. Method: Participants were 199 3-year-old children with behavior problems who took part in 4 annual child and family assessments. Results:…

  7. Coffee and its waste repel gravid Aedes albopictus females and inhibit the development of their embryos.

    PubMed

    Satho, Tomomitsu; Dieng, Hamady; Ahmad, Muhammad Hishamuddin Itam; Ellias, Salbiah Binti; Hassan, Ahmad Abu; Abang, Fatimah; Ghani, Idris Abd; Miake, Fumio; Ahmad, Hamdan; Fukumitsu, Yuki; Zuharah, Wan Fatma; Majid, Abdul Hafiz Ab; Kassim, Nur Faeza Abu; Hashim, Nur Aida; Ajibola, Olaide Olawunmi; Al-Khayyat, Fatima Abdulla; Nolasco-Hipolito, Cirilo

    2015-05-14

    of coffee in its habitats during the early phases of its life cycle. The observations that coffee repels gravid females and inhibits larval eclosion provide novel possibilities in the search for novel oviposition deterrents and anti-larval eclosion agents against dengue vectors.

  8. Temperature sequence of eggs from oviposition through distribution: processing--part 2.

    PubMed

    Koelkebeck, K W; Patterson, P H; Anderson, K E; Darre, M J; Carey, J B; Ahn, D U; Ernst, R A; Kuney, D R; Jones, D

    2008-06-01

    The Egg Safety Action Plan released in 1999 raised questions concerning egg temperature used in the risk assessment model. Therefore, a national study was initiated to determine the internal and external temperature sequence of eggs from oviposition through distribution. Researchers gathered data from commercial egg production, shell egg processing, and distribution facilities. The experimental design was a mixed model with 2 random effects for season and geographic region and a fixed effect for operation type (inline or offline). For this report, internal and external egg temperature data were recorded at specific points during shell egg processing in the winter and summer months. In addition, internal egg temperatures were recorded in pre- and postshell egg processing cooler areas. There was a significant season x geographic region interaction (P < 0.05) for both surface and internal temperatures. Egg temperatures were lower in the winter vs. summer, but eggs gained in temperature from the accumulator to the postshell egg processing cooler. During shell egg processing, summer egg surface and internal temperatures were greater (P < 0.05) than during the winter. When examining the effect of shell egg processing time and conditions, it was found that 2.4 and 3.8 degrees C were added to egg surface temperatures, and 3.3 and 6.0 degrees C were added to internal temperatures in the summer and winter, respectively. Internal egg temperatures were higher (P < 0.05) in the preshell egg processing cooler area during the summer vs. winter, and internal egg temperatures were higher (P < 0.05) in the summer when eggs were (3/4) cool (temperature change required to meet USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service storage regulation of 7.2 degrees C) in the postshell egg processing area. However, the cooling rate was not different (P > 0.05) for eggs in the postshell egg processing cooler area in the summer vs. winter. Therefore, these data suggest that season of year and geographic

  9. Alternative Student Growth Measures for Teacher Evaluation: Implementation Experiences of Early-Adopting Districts. REL 2015-093

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCullough, Moira; English, Brittany; Angus, Megan Hague; Gill, Brian

    2015-01-01

    Alternative student growth measures for teacher evaluation: Implementation experiences of early-adopting districts: State requirements to include student achievement growth in teacher evaluations are prompting the development of alternative ways to measure growth in grades and subjects not covered by state assessments. These alternative growth…

  10. Early Career Mathematics Teachers' General Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills: Do Teacher Education, Teaching Experience, and Working Conditions Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    König, Johannes; Blömeke, Sigrid; Kaiser, Gabriele

    2015-01-01

    We examined several facets of general pedagogical knowledge and skills of early career mathematics teachers, asking how they are associated with characteristics of teacher education, teaching experience, and working conditions. Declarative general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) was assessed via a paper-and-pencil test, while early career teachers'…

  11. Associations between maternal experiences of racism and early child health and development: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    Kelly, Yvonne; Becares, Laia; Nazroo, James

    2013-01-01

    Emerging evidence suggests that experienced racism might help explain observed ethnic inequalities in early child health and development. There are few studies outside the US context and none that consider mothers' experiences of racism in relation to a range of early childhood health and developmental markers. The authors used cross-sectional data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 2136 mothers and their 5-year-old children from ethnic minority groups. Measures of racism tapped two dimensions of mothers' experience: perceived frequency of racist attacks in residential area and interpersonal racism. Markers of child health and development were obesity; socioemotional difficulties; cognitive: verbal, non-verbal and spatial ability test scores. There was a suggestion that the mothers' experience of interpersonal racism was associated with an increased risk of obesity ('received insults' OR=1.47; 'treated unfairly' OR=1.57; 'disrespectful treatment by shop staff' OR=1.55), but all CIs crossed 1.0, and size estimates were attenuated on further statistical adjustment. Perception of racism in the residential area was associated with socioemotional difficulties (fully adjusted coefficient=1.40, SE=0.47) and spatial abilities (fully adjusted coefficient=-1.99, SE=0.93) but not with verbal or non-verbal ability scores. Maternal experiences of racist insults were associated with non-verbal ability scores (fully adjusted coefficient=-1.70, SE=0.88). The results suggest that mothers' experienced racism is linked to markers of early child health and development. Interventions that aim to improve early child development and address ethnic health inequalities need to incorporate approaches to tackling racism at all levels of society.

  12. The Social Experience of Early Childhood for Children with Learning Disabilities: Inclusion, Competence and Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nind, Melanie; Flewitt, Rosie; Payler, Jane

    2010-01-01

    This paper tells of the social experiences of three four-year-old children with learning disabilities as they negotiate their daily lives in their homes and early education settings in England. We apply a social model of childhood disability to the relatively unexplored territory of young children and use vignettes drawn from video observation to…

  13. Parent-Child Relationships and Dyadic Friendship Experiences as Predictors of Behavior Problems in Early Adolescence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sentse, Miranda; Laird, Robert D.

    2010-01-01

    This study focused on support and conflict in parent-child relationships and dyadic friendships as predictors of behavior problems in early adolescence (n = 182; M age = 12.9 years, 51% female, 45% African American, 74% two-parent homes). Support and conflict in one relationship context were hypothesized to moderate the effects of experiences in…

  14. Early Labor Force Experiences and Debt Burden. Postsecondary Education Descriptive Analysis Reports. Statistical Analysis Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Choy, Susan P.; Geis, Sonya; Carroll, C. Dennis

    This study used data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) and Beginning Postsecondary Student (BPS) studies to examine: the early labor force experiences of college students who either graduated or dropped out; student borrowing for postsecondary education; and student loan debt burden and repayment status. The B&B group (n=11,000) was…

  15. Voices from the Other Side of the Fence: Early Childhood Teachers' Experiences with Mandatory Regulatory Requirements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bown, Kathryn; Sumsion, Jennifer

    2007-01-01

    Guided by feminist research principles, the study reported in this article contributes to the growing research dialogue on early childhood teachers' experiences with, and perceptions of, the impact of regulatory requirements on their teaching and on their perceptions of themselves as professionals. Specifically, three teachers from metropolitan…

  16. Marijuana Experiences, Voting Behaviors, and Early Perspectives Regarding Marijuana Legalization among College Students from 2 States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreno, Megan A.; Whitehill, Jennifer M.; Quach, Vincent; Midamba, Nikita; Manskopf, Inga

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to understand college students' (1) views and experiences regarding marijuana, (2) voting behaviors, and (3) early perceptions of the impact of legislation. Participants: College students from Washington and Wisconsin were interviewed between May and September 2013. Methods: Participants…

  17. Early Adverse Caregiving Experiences and Preschoolers' Current Attachment Affect Brain Responses during Facial Familiarity Processing: An ERP Study.

    PubMed

    Kungl, Melanie T; Bovenschen, Ina; Spangler, Gottfried

    2017-01-01

    When being placed into more benign environments like foster care, children from adverse rearing backgrounds are capable of forming attachment relationships to new caregivers within the first year of placement, while certain problematic social behaviors appear to be more persistent. Assuming that early averse experiences shape neural circuits underlying social behavior, neurophysiological studies on individual differences in early social-information processing have great informative value. More precisely, ERP studies have repeatedly shown face processing to be sensitive to experience especially regarding the caregiving background. However, studies on effects of early adverse caregiving experiences are restricted to children with a history of institutionalization. Also, no study has investigated effects of attachment security as a marker of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Thus, the current study asks how adverse caregiving experiences and attachment security to (new) caregivers affect early- and mid-latency ERPs sensitive to facial familiarity processing. Therefore, pre-school aged foster children during their second year within the foster home were compared to an age matched control group. Attachment was assessed using the AQS and neurophysiological data was collected during a passive viewing task presenting (foster) mother and stranger faces. Foster children were comparable to the control group with regard to attachment security. On a neurophysiological level, however, the foster group showed dampened N170 amplitudes for both face types. In both foster and control children, dampened N170 amplitudes were also found for stranger as compared to (foster) mother faces, and, for insecurely attached children as compared to securely attached children. This neural pattern may be viewed as a result of poorer social interactions earlier in life. Still, there was no effect on P1 amplitudes. Indicating heightened attentional processing, Nc amplitude responses

  18. Interactions of sex and early life social experiences at two developmental stages shape nonapeptide receptor profiles.

    PubMed

    Hiura, Lisa C; Ophir, Alexander G

    2018-05-31

    Early life social experiences are critical to behavioral and cognitive development, and can have a tremendous influence on developing social phenotypes. Most work has focused on outcomes of experiences at a single stage of development (e.g., perinatal, or post-weaning). Few studies have assessed the impact of social experience at multiple developmental stages and across sex. Oxytocin and vasopressin are profoundly important for modulating social behavior and these nonapeptide systems are highly sensitive to developmental social experience, particularly in brain areas important for social behavior. We investigated whether oxytocin receptor (OTR) and vasopressin receptor (V1aR) distributions of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) change as a function of parental composition within the natal nest or social composition after weaning. We raised pups either in the presence or absence of their fathers. At weaning, offspring were housed either individually or with a same-sex sibling. We also examined whether changes in receptor distributions are sexually dimorphic because the impact of the developmental environment on the nonapeptide system could be sex-dependent. We found that differences in nonapeptide receptor expression were region-, sex-, and rearing condition-specific, indicating a high level of complexity in the ways that early life experiences shape the social brain. We found many more differences in V1aR density compared to OTR density, indicating that nonapeptide receptors demonstrate differential levels of neural plasticity and sensitivity to environmental and biological variables. Our data highlight that critical factors including biological sex and multiple experiences across the developmental continuum interact in complex ways to shape the social brain. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  19. "Look, I Have My Ears Open": Resilience and Early School Experiences among Children in an Economically Deprived Suburban Area in Ireland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tatlow-Golden, Mimi; O'Farrelly, Christine; Booth, Ailbhe; O'Rourke, Claire; Doyle, Orla

    2016-01-01

    Children from economically disadvantaged communities frequently lack the socio-emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills needed for successful early school adjustment. Assessments of early school experience often rely on parent and teacher perspectives, yet children's views are essential to design effective, resilience-promoting school…

  20. Dispersion and oviposition of Aedes albopictus in a Brazilian slum: Initial evidence of Asian tiger mosquito domiciliation in urban environments.

    PubMed

    Ayllón, Tania; Câmara, Daniel Cardoso Portela; Morone, Fernanda Cristina; Gonçalves, Larissa da Silva; Saito Monteiro de Barros, Fábio; Brasil, Patrícia; Carvalho, Marilia Sá; Honório, Nildimar Alves

    2018-01-01

    Aedes albopictus, originally considered as a secondary vector for arbovirus transmission, especially in areas where this species co-exist with Aedes aegypti, has been described in most regions of the world. Dispersion and domiciliation of Ae. albopictus in a complex of densely urbanized slums in Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, was evidenced. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that 1) Ae. albopictus distribution in urban slums is negatively related to distance from vegetation, and 2) these vectors have taken on a domestic life style with a portion of the population feeding, ovipositing, and resting indoors. To do this, we developed an integrated surveillance proposal, aiming to detect the presence and abundance of Aedes mosquitoes. The study, based on a febrile syndrome surveillance system in a cohort of infants living in the slum complex, was performed on a weekly basis between February 2014 and April 2017. A total of 8,418 adult mosquitoes (3,052 Ae. aegypti, 44 Ae. albopictus, 16 Ae. scapularis, 4 Ae. fluviatilis and 5,302 Culex quinquefasciatus) were collected by direct aspiration and 46,047 Aedes spp. eggs were collected by oviposition traps. The Asian tiger mosquito, Ae. albopictus, was aspirated in its adult form (n = 44), and immature forms of this species (n = 12) were identified from the eggs collected by the ovitraps. In most collection sites, co-occurrence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus was observed. Key-sites, such as junkyards, thrift stores, factories, tire repair shops and garages, had the higher abundance of Ae. albopictus, followed by schools and households. We collected Ae. albopictus at up to 400 meters to the nearest vegetation cover. The log transformed (n+1) number of females Ae. albopictus captured at each collection point was inversely related to the distance to the nearest vegetation border. These results show that Ae. albopictus, a competent vector for important arboviruses and more commonly found in areas with higher

  1. Dispersion and oviposition of Aedes albopictus in a Brazilian slum: Initial evidence of Asian tiger mosquito domiciliation in urban environments

    PubMed Central

    Câmara, Daniel Cardoso Portela; Morone, Fernanda Cristina; Gonçalves, Larissa da Silva; Saito Monteiro de Barros, Fábio; Brasil, Patrícia; Carvalho, Marilia Sá; Honório, Nildimar Alves

    2018-01-01

    Aedes albopictus, originally considered as a secondary vector for arbovirus transmission, especially in areas where this species co-exist with Aedes aegypti, has been described in most regions of the world. Dispersion and domiciliation of Ae. albopictus in a complex of densely urbanized slums in Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, was evidenced. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that 1) Ae. albopictus distribution in urban slums is negatively related to distance from vegetation, and 2) these vectors have taken on a domestic life style with a portion of the population feeding, ovipositing, and resting indoors. To do this, we developed an integrated surveillance proposal, aiming to detect the presence and abundance of Aedes mosquitoes. The study, based on a febrile syndrome surveillance system in a cohort of infants living in the slum complex, was performed on a weekly basis between February 2014 and April 2017. A total of 8,418 adult mosquitoes (3,052 Ae. aegypti, 44 Ae. albopictus, 16 Ae. scapularis, 4 Ae. fluviatilis and 5,302 Culex quinquefasciatus) were collected by direct aspiration and 46,047 Aedes spp. eggs were collected by oviposition traps. The Asian tiger mosquito, Ae. albopictus, was aspirated in its adult form (n = 44), and immature forms of this species (n = 12) were identified from the eggs collected by the ovitraps. In most collection sites, co-occurrence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus was observed. Key-sites, such as junkyards, thrift stores, factories, tire repair shops and garages, had the higher abundance of Ae. albopictus, followed by schools and households. We collected Ae. albopictus at up to 400 meters to the nearest vegetation cover. The log transformed (n+1) number of females Ae. albopictus captured at each collection point was inversely related to the distance to the nearest vegetation border. These results show that Ae. albopictus, a competent vector for important arboviruses and more commonly found in areas with higher

  2. Commissioning and Early Operation Experience of the NSLS-II Storage Ring RF System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gao, F.; Rose, J.; Cupolo, J.

    2015-05-03

    The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) is a 3 GeV electron X-ray user facility commissioned in 2014. The storage ring RF system, essential for replenishing energy loss per turn of the electrons, consists of digital low level RF controllers, 310 kW CW klystron transmitters, CESR-B type superconducting cavities, as well as a supporting cryogenic system. Here we will report on RF commissioning and early operation experience of the system for beam current up to 200mA.

  3. Positive and negative early life experiences differentially modulate long term survival and amyloid protein levels in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Lesuis, Sylvie L; Maurin, Herve; Borghgraef, Peter; Lucassen, Paul J; Van Leuven, Fred; Krugers, Harm J

    2016-06-28

    Stress has been implicated as a risk factor for the severity and progression of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Early life experiences determine stress responsivity in later life, and modulate age-dependent cognitive decline. Therefore, we examined whether early life experiences influence AD outcome in a bigenic mouse model which progressively develops combined tau and amyloid pathology (biAT mice).Mice were subjected to either early life stress (ELS) or to 'positive' early handling (EH) postnatally (from day 2 to 9). In biAT mice, ELS significantly compromised long term survival, in contrast to EH which increased life expectancy. In 4 month old mice, ELS-reared biAT mice displayed increased hippocampal Aβ levels, while these levels were reduced in EH-reared biAT mice. No effects of ELS or EH were observed on the brain levels of APP, protein tau, or PSD-95. Dendritic morphology was moderately affected after ELS and EH in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex, while object recognition memory and open field performance were not affected. We conclude that despite the strong transgenic background, early life experiences significantly modulate the life expectancy of biAT mice. Parallel changes in hippocampal Aβ levels were evident, without affecting cognition of young adult biAT mice.

  4. The impact of arthritis on the early employment experiences of young adults: A literature review.

    PubMed

    Jetha, Arif

    2015-07-01

    Young adulthood is an important transitional life phase that can determine a person's career trajectory. To date, little research has examined the influence of arthritis on early work experiences. This literature review aims at examining the impact of arthritis on the early career phase of young adults and identifying the barriers to employment. Two independent reviewers searched bibliographic databases for arthritis conditions and a series of employment-related keywords and subject headings. Information on authors, publication year; study design, sample characteristics (e.g., number of participants, age, gender, arthritis type); work outcomes measured; and specific barriers to employment was recorded. Nine studies were uncovered in the review. All studies examined young people with juvenile arthritis (9 of 9 studies) and consisted of sample sizes with less then 150 participants (6 of 9 studies) who were primarily recruited from clinics (7 of 9 studies). All were cross-sectional designs. Employment status was primarily examined and ranged from 11% to 71%. Although not always statistically significant, young adults with arthritis were less likely to be employed when compared to their healthy peers. Greater disease severity, less educational attainment and being female were related to not participating in paid work. This review brings to light the paucity of studies examining the early employment experiences of young adults with arthritis. There is a need to expand research to contribute to recommendations for sustained and productive employment across the working life course. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Adult attachment and early parental experiences in patients with Crohn's disease.

    PubMed

    Agostini, Alessandro; Rizzello, Fernando; Ravegnani, Gianni; Gionchetti, Paolo; Tambasco, Rosy; Straforini, Giulia; Ercolani, Mauro; Campieri, Massimo

    2010-01-01

    Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammatory bowel disease. The relationship of attachment to the illness is considered to be bidirectional. The authors investigated aspects of this bidirectional relationship. A group of 102 patients with CD and 306 healthy subjects filled out the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. Patients with CD exhibit a predominantly insecure attachment and perceived their parents' behaviors as characterized by low maternal care and high paternal overprotection. The evaluation of attachment style and early parental experiences in patients with CD may shed light on the bidirectional relationship between attachment and illness. These findings may confirm the bidirectional relationship between insecure attachment and chronic illness.

  6. The Hidden Factor in Early Field Experience: Teachers' Perception of the Quality of Life at Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Divins, Barbara; And Others

    This project identified work environment factors in eight schools where a teacher preparation program placed early field experience students and where the university students reported experiencing positive field placements. The purpose was to determine the impact of certain variables on teachers' perception of the quality of their own professional…

  7. Experiences from site-specific landslide early warning systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michoud, C.; Bazin, S.; Blikra, L. H.; Derron, M.-H.; Jaboyedoff, M.

    2013-10-01

    Landslide early warning systems (EWSs) have to be implemented in areas with large risk for populations or infrastructures when classical structural remediation measures cannot be set up. This paper aims to gather experiences of existing landslide EWSs, with a special focus on practical requirements (e.g., alarm threshold values have to take into account the smallest detectable signal levels of deployed sensors before being established) and specific issues when dealing with system implementations. Within the framework of the SafeLand European project, a questionnaire was sent to about one-hundred institutions in charge of landslide management. Finally, we interpreted answers from experts belonging to 14 operational units related to 23 monitored landslides. Although no standard requirements exist for designing and operating EWSs, this review highlights some key elements, such as the importance of pre-investigation work, the redundancy and robustness of monitoring systems, the establishment of different scenarios adapted to gradual increasing of alert levels, and the necessity of confidence and trust between local populations and scientists. Moreover, it also confirms the need to improve our capabilities for failure forecasting, monitoring techniques and integration of water processes into landslide conceptual models.

  8. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Child Health in Early Adolescence

    PubMed Central

    Flaherty, Emalee G.; Thompson, Richard; Dubowitz, Howard; Harvey, Elizabeth M; English, Diana J.; Everson, Mark D.; Proctor, Laura J.; Runyan, Desmond K.

    2013-01-01

    Objective 1) Examine the relationship between previous adverse childhood experiences and somatic complaints and health problems in early adolescence, and 2) examine the role of the timing of adverse exposures. Design Prospective analysis of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect interview data when children were 4, 6, 8, 12 and 14 years old. Setting Children reported or at risk for maltreatment in the South, East, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest United States LONGSCAN sites Participants 933 children. Main Exposures Eight categories of adversity (psychological maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, caregiver’s substance use/alcohol abuse, caregiver’s depressive symptoms, caregiver treated violently, and criminal behavior by household member) experienced during the first 6 years of life, the second six years of life, the most recent 2 years, and overall adversity Outcome Measures Child health problems including poor health, illness requiring a doctor, somatic complaints and any health problem at age 14. Results More than 90% of the youth had experienced an adverse childhood event by age 14. There was a graded relationship between adverse childhood exposures and any health problem, while 2 and ≥3 adverse exposures were associated with somatic complaints. Recent adversity uniquely predicted poor health, somatic complaints and any health problem. Conclusions Childhood adversities, particularly recent adversities, already impair the health of young adolescents. Increased efforts to prevent and mitigate these experiences may improve the health of adolescents and adults. PMID:23645114

  9. When Language Experience Fails to Explain Word Reading Development: Early Cognitive and Linguistic Profiles of Young Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hu, Chieh-Fang; Schuele, C. Melanie

    2015-01-01

    Although language experience is a key factor in successful foreign language (FL) learning, many FL learners fail to achieve performance levels that were predicted on the basis of their FL experience. This retrospective study investigated early cognitive and linguistic correlates of learning English as a foreign language (FL) in a group of…

  10. When Early Experiences Build a Wall to Others’ Emotions: An Electrophysiological and Autonomic Study

    PubMed Central

    Ardizzi, Martina; Martini, Francesca; Umiltà, Maria Alessandra; Sestito, Mariateresa; Ravera, Roberto; Gallese, Vittorio

    2013-01-01

    Facial expression of emotions is a powerful vehicle for communicating information about others’ emotional states and it normally induces facial mimicry in the observers. The aim of this study was to investigate if early aversive experiences could interfere with emotion recognition, facial mimicry, and with the autonomic regulation of social behaviors. We conducted a facial emotion recognition task in a group of “street-boys” and in an age-matched control group. We recorded facial electromyography (EMG), a marker of facial mimicry, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of the recruitment of autonomic system promoting social behaviors and predisposition, in response to the observation of facial expressions of emotions. Results showed an over-attribution of anger, and reduced EMG responses during the observation of both positive and negative expressions only among street-boys. Street-boys also showed lower RSA after observation of facial expressions and ineffective RSA suppression during presentation of non-threatening expressions. Our findings suggest that early aversive experiences alter not only emotion recognition but also facial mimicry of emotions. These deficits affect the autonomic regulation of social behaviors inducing lower social predisposition after the visualization of facial expressions and an ineffective recruitment of defensive behavior in response to non-threatening expressions. PMID:23593374

  11. Influence of temperature on female, embryonic and hatchling traits in syntopic newts, Ichthyosaura alpestris and Lissotriton vulgaris.

    PubMed

    Mettouris, Onoufrios; Dalmyras, Dimitrios; Giokas, Sinos

    2017-01-01

    Amphibian populations have been declining globally for the last several decades, and climate change is often regarded as one of the most important factors driving these declines. Amphibians are particularly sensitive to climatic changes due to their physiological, ecological and behavioral characteristics. Here we performed a laboratory experiment to investigate how temperature affects ovipositing females, eggs and hatchlings in two syntopic populations of alpine newts, Ichthyosaura alpestris, and smooth newts, Lissotriton vulgaris. Female newts were assigned to two different oviposition temperatures (11°C and 14°C) for the duration of their oviposition period. Deposited eggs were equally divided and assigned to three different incubation temperatures (11°C, 14°C and 17°C). We hypothesized that oviposition will be affected by temperature, that the combination of different oviposition and incubation temperatures may have an effect on embryonic and hatchling traits (embryonic mortality, days to hatch and hatchling length), and that these effects might differ between the two newt species. Temperature affected the number of deposited eggs in smooth newts, but not in alpine newts. Larval hatching success was not affected by oviposition or incubation temperature. Temperature effects on hatching time and hatchling length differed between the two species. These results suggest that temperature changes may have disparate effects on amphibian reproduction, even in syntopic taxa. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Early experiences mediate distinct adult gene expression and reproductive programs in Caenorhabditis elegans

    PubMed Central

    Ow, Maria C.; Nichitean, Alexandra M.; Dorus, Steve; Hall, Sarah E.

    2018-01-01

    Environmental stress during early development in animals can have profound effects on adult phenotypes via programmed changes in gene expression. Using the nematode C. elegans, we demonstrated previously that adults retain a cellular memory of their developmental experience that is manifested by differences in gene expression and life history traits; however, the sophistication of this system in response to different environmental stresses, and how it dictates phenotypic plasticity in adults that contribute to increased fitness in response to distinct environmental challenges, was unknown. Using transcriptional profiling, we show here that C. elegans adults indeed retain distinct cellular memories of different environmental conditions. We identified approximately 500 genes in adults that entered dauer due to starvation that exhibit significant opposite (“seesaw”) transcriptional phenotypes compared to adults that entered dauer due to crowding, and are distinct from animals that bypassed dauer. Moreover, we show that two-thirds of the genes in the genome experience a 2-fold or greater seesaw trend in gene expression, and based upon the direction of change, are enriched in large, tightly linked regions on different chromosomes. Importantly, these transcriptional programs correspond to significant changes in brood size depending on the experienced stress. In addition, we demonstrate that while the observed seesaw gene expression changes occur in both somatic and germline tissue, only starvation-induced changes require a functional GLP-4 protein necessary for germline development, and both programs require the Argonaute CSR-1. Thus, our results suggest that signaling between the soma and the germ line can generate phenotypic plasticity as a result of early environmental experience, and likely contribute to increased fitness in adverse conditions and the evolution of the C. elegans genome. PMID:29447162

  13. Teaching Experience and Expectations of Early-Career Academics in Mozambique: The Case of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cossa, Eugénia Flora Rosa; Buque, Domingos Carlos; Fringe, Jorge Jaime dos Santos

    2016-01-01

    This mixed-methods study explored how early-career academics (ECA) at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) acquire pedagogical knowledge, develop their teaching experience as well as examine their expectations regarding the teaching profession. A questionnaire, composed mostly of closed questions and one open-ended question, was applied to 71…

  14. Enduring consequences of early experiences: 40 year effects on survival and success among African elephants (Loxodonta africana).

    PubMed

    Lee, Phyllis C; Bussière, Luc F; Webber, C Elizabeth; Poole, Joyce H; Moss, Cynthia J

    2013-04-23

    Growth from conception to reproductive onset in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) provides insights into phenotypic plasticity, individual adaptive plastic responses and facultative maternal investment. Using growth for 867 and life histories for 2652 elephants over 40 years, we demonstrate that maternal inexperience plus drought in early life result in reduced growth rates for sons and higher mortality for both sexes. Slow growth during early lactation was associated with smaller adult size, later age at first reproduction, reduced lifetime survival and consequently limited reproductive output. These enduring effects of trading slow early growth against immediate survival were apparent over the very long term; delayed downstream consequences were unexpected for a species with a maximum longevity of 70+ years and unpredictable environmental experiences.

  15. Medical students' and facilitators' experiences of an Early Professional Contact course: active and motivated students, strained facilitators.

    PubMed

    von Below, Bernhard; Hellquist, Gunilla; Rödjer, Stig; Gunnarsson, Ronny; Björkelund, Cecilia; Wahlqvist, Mats

    2008-12-02

    Today, medical students are introduced to patient contact, communication skills, and clinical examination in the preclinical years of the curriculum with the purpose of gaining clinical experience. These courses are often evaluated from the student perspective. Reports with an additional emphasis on the facilitator perspective are scarce. According to constructive alignment, an influential concept from research in higher education, the learning climate between students and teachers is also of great importance. In this paper, we approach the learning climate by studying both students' and facilitators' course experiences.In 2001, a new "Early Professional Contact" longitudinal strand through term 1-4, was introduced at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. General practitioners and hospital specialists were facilitators.The aim of this study was to assess and analyse students' and clinical facilitators' experiences of the Early Professional Contact course and to illuminate facilitators' working conditions. Inspired by a Swedish adaptation of the Course Experience Questionnaire, an Early Professional Contact Questionnaire was constructed. In 2003, on the completion of the first longitudinal strand, a student and facilitator version was distributed to 86 students and 21 facilitators. In the analysis, both Chi-square and the Mann-Whitney tests were used. Sixty students (70%) and 15 facilitators (71%) completed the questionnaire. Both students and facilitators were satisfied with the course. Students reported gaining iiration for their future work as doctors along with increased confidence in meeting patients. They also reported increased motivation for biomedical studies. Differences in attitudes between facilitators and students were found. Facilitators experienced a greater workload, less reasonable demands and less support, than students. In this project, a new Early Professional Contact course was analysed from both student and facilitator

  16. Early literacy experiences constrain L1 and L2 reading procedures

    PubMed Central

    Bhide, Adeetee

    2015-01-01

    Computational models of reading posit that there are two pathways to word recognition, using sublexical phonology or morphological/orthographic information. They further theorize that everyone uses both pathways to some extent, but the division of labor between the pathways can vary. This review argues that the first language one was taught to read, and the instructional method by which one was taught, can have profound and long-lasting effects on how one reads, not only in one’s first language, but also in one’s second language. Readers who first learn a transparent orthography rely more heavily on the sublexical phonology pathway, and this seems relatively impervious to instruction. Readers who first learn a more opaque orthography rely more on morphological/orthographic information, but the degree to which they do so can be modulated by instructional method. Finally, readers who first learned to read a highly opaque morphosyllabic orthography use less sublexical phonology while reading in their second language than do other second language learners and this effect may be heightened if they were not also exposed to an orthography that codes for phonological units during early literacy acquisition. These effects of early literacy experiences on reading procedure are persistent despite increases in reading ability. PMID:26483714

  17. Genetic divergence of the seminal signal-receptor system in houseflies: the footprints of sexually antagonistic coevolution?

    PubMed

    Andrés, J A; Arnqvist, G

    2001-02-22

    To understand fully the significance of cryptic female choice, we need to focus on each of those postmating processes in females which create variance in fitness among males. Earlier studies have focused almost exclusively on the proportion of a female's eggs fertilized by different males (sperm precedence). Yet, variance in male postmating reproductive success may also arise from differences in ability to stimulate female oviposition and to delay female remating. Here, we present a series of reciprocal mating experiments among genetically differentiated wild-type strains of the housefly Musca domestica. We compared the effects of male and female genotype on oviposition and remating by females. The genotype of each sex affected both female oviposition and remating rates, demonstrating that the signal-receptor system involved has indeed diverged among these strains. Further, there was a significant interaction between the effects of male and female genotype on oviposition rate. We discuss ways in which the pattern of such interactions provides insights into the coevolutionary mechanism involved. Females in our experiments generally exhibited the weakest, rather than the strongest, response to males with which they are coevolved. These results support the hypothesis that coevolution of male seminal signals and female receptors is sexually antagonistic.

  18. Integrating primary care into community behavioral health settings: programs and early implementation experiences.

    PubMed

    Scharf, Deborah M; Eberhart, Nicole K; Schmidt, Nicole; Vaughan, Christine A; Dutta, Trina; Pincus, Harold Alan; Burnam, M Audrey

    2013-07-01

    This article describes the characteristics and early implementation experiences of community behavioral health agencies that received Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to integrate primary care into programs for adults with serious mental illness. Data were collected from 56 programs, across 26 states, that received PBHCI grants in 2009 (N=13) or 2010 (N=43). The authors systematically extracted quantitative and qualitative information about program characteristics from grantee proposals and semistructured telephone interviews with core program staff. Quarterly reports submitted by grantees were coded to identify barriers to implementing integrated care. Grantees shared core features required by the grant but varied widely in terms of characteristics of the organization, such as size and location, and in the way services were integrated, such as through partnerships with a primary care agency. Barriers to program implementation at start-up included difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified staff and issues related to data collection and use of electronic health records, licensing and approvals, and physical space. By the end of the first year, some problems, such as space issues, were largely resolved, but other issues, including problems with staffing and data collection, remained. New challenges, such as patient recruitment, had emerged. Early implementation experiences of PBHCI grantees may inform other programs that seek to integrate primary care into behavioral health settings as part of new, large-scale government initiatives, such as specialty mental health homes.

  19. Human transgenerational responses to early-life experience: potential impact on development, health and biomedical research

    PubMed Central

    Pembrey, Marcus; Saffery, Richard; Bygren, Lars Olov

    2014-01-01

    Mammalian experiments provide clear evidence of male line transgenerational effects on health and development from paternal or ancestral early-life exposures such as diet or stress. The few human observational studies to date suggest (male line) transgenerational effects exist that cannot easily be attributed to cultural and/or genetic inheritance. Here we summarise relevant studies, drawing attention to exposure sensitive periods in early life and sex differences in transmission and offspring outcomes. Thus, variation, or changes, in the parental/ancestral environment may influence phenotypic variation for better or worse in the next generation(s), and so contribute to common, non-communicable disease risk including sex differences. We argue that life-course epidemiology should be reframed to include exposures from previous generations, keeping an open mind as to the mechanisms that transmit this information to offspring. Finally, we discuss animal experiments, including the role of epigenetic inheritance and non-coding RNAs, in terms of what lessons can be learnt for designing and interpreting human studies. This review was developed initially as a position paper by the multidisciplinary Network in Epigenetic Epidemiology to encourage transgenerational research in human cohorts. PMID:25062846

  20. "Little Bit Afraid 'Til I Found How It Was'": Children's Subjective Early School Experiences in a Disadvantaged Community in Ireland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Rourke, Claire; O'Farrelly, Christine; Booth, Ailbhe; Doyle, Orla

    2017-01-01

    Research shows that children facing socioeconomic risk often have poorer skills at school entry, greater difficulty adjusting to school, more negative school experiences, and lower scholastic achievement, relative to their peers. However, the promotion of positive early school experiences is constrained by a lack of insight into disadvantaged…

  1. Investigating the Use of Vicarious and Mastery Experiences in Influencing Early Childhood Education Majors' Self-Efficacy Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bautista, Nazan Uludag

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the effectiveness of an Early Childhood Education science methods course that focused exclusively on providing various mastery (i.e., enactive, cognitive content, and cognitive pedagogical) and vicarious experiences (i.e., cognitive self-modeling, symbolic modeling, and simulated modeling) in increasing preservice…

  2. Psychosocially influenced cancer: diverse early-life stress experiences and links to breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Schuler, Linda A; Auger, Anthony P

    2010-11-01

    This perspective on Boyd et al. (beginning on page 1398 in this issue of the journal) discusses recent published research examining the interplay between social stress and breast cancer. Cross-disciplinary studies using genetically defined mouse models and established neonatal and peripubertal paradigms of social stress are illuminating biological programming by diverse early-life experiences for the risk of breast cancer. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this programming can lead to the identification of risk factors and sensitive developmental windows, enabling improved prevention and treatment strategies for this devastating disease. ©2010 AACR.

  3. The Effect of Early Classroom Teaching Experience Upon the Attitudes and Performance of Science Teacher Candidates.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conradson, Diane R.

    Reported is a study on effects of early classroom teaching experience upon the attitudes and performance of teacher candidates from a student group primarily composed of science majors or minors. The subjects were paired mainly on their choice of a credential or noncredential program. One of each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental…

  4. The Si Huan Playgroup: An Initiative to Provide Non-Formal Early Childhood Education Experiences to Children of Migrants in Beijing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nyland, Berenice; Nyland, Chris; Gao, Yang; Ng, Josephine; Zeng, Xiaodong

    2016-01-01

    This paper is about an experiment in non-formal early childhood education for migrant children in Beijing. The Si Huan Playgroup was set up by a group of volunteers in 2004 and is built on ideas of early childhood pedagogy, equity, life-long learning and non-formal education. Non-formal education has implications for policy makers as this is a…

  5. Examining negative effects of early life experiences on reproductive and sexual health among female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Oza, Karishma K; Silverman, Jay G; Bojorquez, Ietza; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Goldenberg, Shira M

    2015-02-01

    To explore experiences during childhood and adolescence that influenced reproductive and sexual health among women who had entered the sex industry in adolescence. A qualitative study was conducted using information provided by 25 female sex workers (FSWs) from Tijuana, Mexico, who reported entering the sex industry when younger than 18 years. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants between January 31, 2011, and July 8, 2011. Four interrelated themes that shaped health experiences-early sexual abuse, early illicit drug use, ongoing violence, and limited access to reproductive and sexual health care-were identified. Participants reporting these experiences were at risk of unintended teenaged pregnancy, spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, and untreated sexually transmitted infections. Programs and policies that address social, structural, and individual vulnerabilities during adolescence and adulthood are required to promote reproductive and sexual health among FSWs in Tijuana, Mexico. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Early clinical experience: do students learn what we expect?

    PubMed

    Helmich, Esther; Bolhuis, Sanneke; Laan, Roland; Koopmans, Raymond

    2011-07-01

    Early clinical experience is thought to contribute to the professional development of medical students, but little is known about the kind of learning processes that actually take place. Learning in practice is highly informal and may be difficult to direct by predefined learning outcomes. Learning in medical practice includes a socialisation process in which some learning outcomes may be valued, but others neglected or discouraged. This study describes students' learning goals (prior to a Year 1 nursing attachment) and learning outcomes (after the attachment) in relation to institutional educational goals, and evaluates associations between learning outcomes, student characteristics and place of attachment. A questionnaire containing open-ended questions about learning goals and learning outcomes was administered to all Year 1 medical students (n = 347) before and directly after a 4-week nursing attachment in either a hospital or a nursing home. Two confirmatory focus group interviews were conducted and data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative content analyses. Students' learning goals corresponded with educational goals with a main emphasis on communication and empathy. Other learning goals included gaining insight into the organisation of health care and learning to deal with emotions. Self-reported learning outcomes were the same, but students additionally mentioned reflection on professional behaviour and their own future development. Women and younger students mentioned communication and empathy more often than men and older students. Individual learning goals, with the exception of communicating and empathising with patients, did not predict learning outcomes. Students' learning goals closely match educational goals, which are adequately met in early nursing attachments in both hospitals and nursing homes. Learning to deal with emotions was under-represented as a learning goal and learning outcome, which may indicate that emotional aspects

  7. INEQUITY ISSUES AND MOTHERS' PREGNANCY, DELIVERY AND EARLY-AGE SURVIVAL EXPERIENCES IN ENDE DISTRICT, INDONESIA.

    PubMed

    Pardosi, Jerico Franciscus; Parr, Nick; Muhidin, Salut

    2015-11-01

    Indonesia's infant mortality rates are among the highest in South-East Asia, and there are substantial variations between its sub-national regions. This qualitative study aims to explore early mortality-related health service provision and gender inequity issues based on mothers' pregnancy, delivery and early-age survival experience in Ende district, Nusa Tenggara Timur province. Thirty-two mothers aged 18-45 years with at least one birth in the previous five years were interviewed in depth in May 2013. The results show most mothers have little knowledge about the danger signs for a child's illness. Mothers with early-age deaths generally did not know the cause of death. Very few mothers had received adequate information on maternal and child health during their antenatal and postnatal visits to the health facility. Some mothers expressed a preference for using a traditional birth attendant, because of their ready availability and the more extensive range of support services they provide, compared with local midwives. Unprofessional attitudes displayed by midwives were reported by several mothers. As elsewhere in Indonesia, the power of health decision-making lies with the husband. Policies aimed at elevating mothers' roles in health care decision-making are discussed as measures that would help to improve early-age survival outcomes. Widening the public health insurance distribution, especially among poorer mothers, and equalizing the geographical distribution of midwives and health facilities are recommended to tackle geographical inequities and to increase early-age survival in Ende district.

  8. Sweet and Sour Preferences During Childhood: Role of Early Experiences

    PubMed Central

    Liem, Djin Gie; Mennella, Julie A.

    2009-01-01

    We investigated the effects of early experience on sweet and sour preferences in children. Eighty-three children were divided into four groups based on the type of formula fed during infancy and age. By using a forced-choice, sip-and-swallow procedure, we determined the level of sweetness and sourness preferred in juice. Children who were fed protein hydrolysate formulas, which have a distinctive sour and bitter taste and unpleasant odor, preferred higher levels of citric acid in juice when compared to older children who were fed similar formulas. No such difference was observed between the groups for sweet preference. However, the level of sweetness preferred in juice was related to the sugar content of the child's favorite cereal and whether the mother routinely added sugar to their foods. These data illustrate the wide variety of experiential factors that can influence flavor preferences during childhood. PMID:12430162

  9. Snow, Ice, & Satellites: An Early Career Researcher's Experience with Twitter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pope, A.; Scambos, T. A.

    2014-12-01

    As a doctoral student, I was lucky enough to be able to experiment with a variety of communication and outreach activities (classroom visits, museum events, science festivals, blogging, social media, etc.) to build communication skills and learn how to talk about my science without writing a journal article. More importantly, the wide range of experience helped me identify what worked for me. My favorite way to share my science now? Twitter. To many, Twitter is a frivolous platform for sharing snippets 140 characters or less. To me, however, it is how I can connect directly with the elusive "wider public" and share my science. Specifically, I use satellite imagery (mostly Landsat 8) to study glaciers around the world. I look at long-term change related to climate, and I also investigate new, innovative ways to use satellite imagery to better understand glaciers and ice sheets. Luckily for me, my research is very visual. Whether fieldwork snapshots or satellite data, images make for great, shareable, accessible tweets. In this presentation, I propose to share my experience of tweeting as an early career researcher. I will include successful strategies (e.g. particular #hashtags, creating new content, using story-telling, timely tweets), as well as some not-so-successful attempts. I will also talk about how I built my Twitter network. In addition to anecdotes, I will include evaluation of my Twitter activity using available metrics and analytics (e.g. followers, favorites, re-tweets, Klout score, etc.). While misunderstood by many in the scientific community, Twitter is a platform increasingly being adopted by researchers. Used correctly, it can be a great tool for connecting directly with an interested, non-technical audience eager to learn about your research. With my experiences and evaluation, I will show how both scientists and the networks that they join and create can benefit by using Twitter as a platform for science communication.

  10. Effects of Early Bilingual Experience with a Tone and a Non-Tone Language on Speech-Music Integration

    PubMed Central

    Asaridou, Salomi S.; Hagoort, Peter; McQueen, James M.

    2015-01-01

    We investigated music and language processing in a group of early bilinguals who spoke a tone language and a non-tone language (Cantonese and Dutch). We assessed online speech-music processing interactions, that is, interactions that occur when speech and music are processed simultaneously in songs, with a speeded classification task. In this task, participants judged sung pseudowords either musically (based on the direction of the musical interval) or phonologically (based on the identity of the sung vowel). We also assessed longer-term effects of linguistic experience on musical ability, that is, the influence of extensive prior experience with language when processing music. These effects were assessed with a task in which participants had to learn to identify musical intervals and with four pitch-perception tasks. Our hypothesis was that due to their experience in two different languages using lexical versus intonational tone, the early Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals would outperform the Dutch control participants. In online processing, the Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals processed speech and music more holistically than controls. This effect seems to be driven by experience with a tone language, in which integration of segmental and pitch information is fundamental. Regarding longer-term effects of linguistic experience, we found no evidence for a bilingual advantage in either the music-interval learning task or the pitch-perception tasks. Together, these results suggest that being a Cantonese-Dutch bilingual does not have any measurable longer-term effects on pitch and music processing, but does have consequences for how speech and music are processed jointly. PMID:26659377

  11. Effects of Early Bilingual Experience with a Tone and a Non-Tone Language on Speech-Music Integration.

    PubMed

    Asaridou, Salomi S; Hagoort, Peter; McQueen, James M

    2015-01-01

    We investigated music and language processing in a group of early bilinguals who spoke a tone language and a non-tone language (Cantonese and Dutch). We assessed online speech-music processing interactions, that is, interactions that occur when speech and music are processed simultaneously in songs, with a speeded classification task. In this task, participants judged sung pseudowords either musically (based on the direction of the musical interval) or phonologically (based on the identity of the sung vowel). We also assessed longer-term effects of linguistic experience on musical ability, that is, the influence of extensive prior experience with language when processing music. These effects were assessed with a task in which participants had to learn to identify musical intervals and with four pitch-perception tasks. Our hypothesis was that due to their experience in two different languages using lexical versus intonational tone, the early Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals would outperform the Dutch control participants. In online processing, the Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals processed speech and music more holistically than controls. This effect seems to be driven by experience with a tone language, in which integration of segmental and pitch information is fundamental. Regarding longer-term effects of linguistic experience, we found no evidence for a bilingual advantage in either the music-interval learning task or the pitch-perception tasks. Together, these results suggest that being a Cantonese-Dutch bilingual does not have any measurable longer-term effects on pitch and music processing, but does have consequences for how speech and music are processed jointly.

  12. Schools' Responses to Voucher Policy: Participation Decisions and Early Implementation Experiences in the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Austin, Megan J.

    2015-01-01

    Little is known about the supply side of voucher programs, despite schools' central role in program effectiveness. Using survey and interview data on the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP), I analyze schools' participation decisions and early implementation experiences to understand better how schools respond to program regulations. I find…

  13. Stress Sensitivity, Aberrant Salience, and Threat Anticipation in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study

    PubMed Central

    Reininghaus, Ulrich; Kempton, Matthew J.; Valmaggia, Lucia; Craig, Tom K. J.; Garety, Philippa; Onyejiaka, Adanna; Gayer-Anderson, Charlotte; So, Suzanne H.; Hubbard, Kathryn; Beards, Stephanie; Dazzan, Paola; Pariante, Carmine; Mondelli, Valeria; Fisher, Helen L.; Mills, John G.; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; McGuire, Philip; van Os, Jim; Murray, Robin M.; Wykes, Til; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Morgan, Craig

    2016-01-01

    While contemporary models of psychosis have proposed a number of putative psychological mechanisms, how these impact on individuals to increase intensity of psychotic experiences in real life, outside the research laboratory, remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether elevated stress sensitivity, experiences of aberrant novelty and salience, and enhanced anticipation of threat contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in daily life. We used the experience sampling method (ESM) to assess stress, negative affect, aberrant salience, threat anticipation, and psychotic experiences in 51 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 46 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, and 53 controls with no personal or family history of psychosis. Linear mixed models were used to account for the multilevel structure of ESM data. In all 3 groups, elevated stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and enhanced threat anticipation were associated with an increased intensity of psychotic experiences. However, elevated sensitivity to minor stressful events (χ2 = 6.3, P = 0.044), activities (χ2 = 6.7, P = 0.036), and areas (χ2 = 9.4, P = 0.009) and enhanced threat anticipation (χ2 = 9.3, P = 0.009) were associated with more intense psychotic experiences in FEP individuals than controls. Sensitivity to outsider status (χ2 = 5.7, P = 0.058) and aberrantly salient experiences (χ2 = 12.3, P = 0.002) were more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in ARMS individuals than controls. Our findings suggest that stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and threat anticipation are important psychological processes in the development of psychotic experiences in daily life in the early stages of the disorder. PMID:26834027

  14. Visualizing the Effects of a Positive Early Experience, Tactile Stimulation, on Dendritic Morphology and Synaptic Connectivity with Golgi-Cox Staining

    PubMed Central

    Mychasiuk, Richelle; Gibb, Robbin; Kolb, Bryan

    2013-01-01

    To generate longer-term changes in behavior, experiences must be producing stable changes in neuronal morphology and synaptic connectivity. Tactile stimulation is a positive early experience that mimics maternal licking and grooming in the rat. Exposing rat pups to this positive experience can be completed easily and cost-effectively by using highly accessible materials such as a household duster. Using a cross-litter design, pups are either stroked or left undisturbed, for 15 min, three times per day throughout the perinatal period. To measure the neuroplastic changes related to this positive early experience, Golgi-Cox staining of brain tissue is utilized. Owing to the fact that Golgi-Cox impregnation stains a discrete number of neurons rather than all of the cells, staining of the rodent brain with Golgi-Cox solution permits the visualization of entire neuronal elements, including the cell body, dendrites, axons, and dendritic spines. The staining procedure is carried out over several days and requires that the researcher pay close attention to detail. However, once staining is completed, the entire brain has been impregnated and can be preserved indefinitely for ongoing analysis. Therefore, Golgi-Cox staining is a valuable resource for studying experience-dependent plasticity. PMID:24121525

  15. "Looking and Listening-In": A Methodological Approach to Generating Insights into Infants' Experiences of Early Childhood Education and Care Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sumsion, Jennifer; Goodfellow, Joy

    2012-01-01

    In this article, we describe an observational approach, "looking and listening-in," that we have used to try to understand the experience of an infant in an Australian family day-care home. The article is drawn from a larger study of infants' experiences of early childhood education and care settings. In keeping with the mosaic…

  16. Sensitivity to cocaine in adult mice is due to interplay between genetic makeup, early environment and later experience.

    PubMed

    Di Segni, Matteo; Andolina, Diego; Coassin, Alessandra; Accoto, Alessandra; Luchetti, Alessandra; Pascucci, Tiziana; Luzi, Carla; Lizzi, Anna Rita; D'Amato, Francesca R; Ventura, Rossella

    2017-10-01

    Although early aversive postnatal events are known to increase the risk to develop psychiatric disorders later in life, rarely they determine alone the nature and outcome of the psychopathology, indicating that interaction with genetic factors is crucial for expression of psychopathologies in adulthood. Moreover, it has been suggested that early life experiences could have negative consequences or confer adaptive value in different individuals. Here we suggest that resilience or vulnerability to adult cocaine sensitivity depends on a "triple interaction" between genetic makeup x early environment x later experience. We have recently showed that Repeated Cross Fostering (RCF; RCF pups were fostered by four adoptive mothers from postnatal day 1 to postnatal day 4. Pups were left with the last adoptive mother until weaning) experienced by pups affected the response to a negative experience in adulthood in opposite direction in two genotypes leading DBA2/J, but not C57BL/6J mice, toward an "anhedonia-like" phenotype. Here we investigate whether exposure to a rewarding stimulus, instead of a negative one, in adulthood induces an opposite behavioral outcome. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the long-lasting effects of RCF on cocaine sensitivity in C57 and DBA female mice by evaluating conditioned place preference induced by different cocaine doses and catecholamine prefrontal-accumbal response to cocaine using a "dual probe" in vivo microdialysis procedure. Moreover, cocaine-induced c-Fos activity was assessed in different brain regions involved in processing of rewarding stimuli. Finally, cocaine-induced spine changes were evaluated in the prefrontal-accumbal system. RCF experience strongly affected the behavioral, neurochemical and morphological responses to cocaine in adulthood in opposite direction in the two genotypes increasing and reducing, respectively, the sensitivity to cocaine in C57 and DBA mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Dental caries and fluorosis experience of 8-12-year-old children by early-life exposure to fluoride.

    PubMed

    Do, Loc G; Miller, Jenifer; Phelan, Claire; Sivaneswaran, Shanti; Spencer, A John; Wright, Clive

    2014-12-01

    It is important to evaluate concurrently the benefit for dental caries and the risk for dental fluorosis from early exposure to fluoride among children. To evaluate associations of different levels of exposure to fluoride in early childhood with dental caries and dental fluorosis experience in school children. A Child Dental Health Survey (CDHS) was conducted among school children in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) in 2007. Trained and calibrated examination teams conducted oral epidemiologic examinations to assess caries experience as decayed, missing or filled tooth surfaces of the primary and permanent dentitions (dmfs/DMFS) and fluorosis using the Thylstrup & Fejerskov (TF) index on the maxillary central incisors only. A parental questionnaire collected information on residential histories and tap water usage to enable calculation of percentage of 3-year lifetime exposure to fluoride in water. Use of dietary fluoride supplements was also collected. Dental caries and fluorosis experience were compared among groups by levels of exposure to fluoride from water and fluoride supplements in bivariate and multivariable analysis, controlling for socioeconomic factors. Exposure to different fluoride sources varied in the group of 2611 children aged 8-12 years. Lower household income was significantly associated in both bivariate and multivariable analyses with the greater prevalence and severity of primary tooth caries among 8-10-year-old children and permanent tooth caries among 8-12 year old. Exposure to fluoride in water during the first 3 years of life was associated with both caries and fluorosis experience observed at age 8-12 years. Having higher percentage of 3-year lifetime exposure to fluoride in water was associated with higher prevalence of mostly mild fluorosis, but significantly lower prevalence and severity of caries in the primary and permanent dentitions. There were significant associations of dental caries and fluorosis experience with

  18. Neurolinguistic development in deaf children: the effect of early language experience.

    PubMed

    Leybaert, Jacqueline; D'Hondt, Murielle

    2003-07-01

    Recent investigations have indicated a relationship between the development of cerebral lateralization for processing language and the level of development of linguistic skills in hearing children. The research on cerebral lateralization for language processing in deaf persons is compatible with this view. We have argued that the absence of appropriate input during a critical time window creates a risk for deaf children that the initial bias for left-hemisphere specialization will be distorted or disappear. Two experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis The results of these investigations showed that children educated early and intensively with cued speech or with sign language display more evidence of left-hemisphere specialization for the processing of their native language than do those who have been exposed later and less intensively to those languages.

  19. Children's Individual Experiences in Early Care and Education: Relations with Overall Classroom Quality and Children's School Readiness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Langill, Carolyn C.; Peterson, Carla A.; Luze, Gayle J.; Carta, Judith J.; Atwater, Jane B.

    2010-01-01

    This study examined relations among children's individual experiences, global classroom quality, and school readiness. Preschool children from low-income backgrounds (N = 138; M = 62.16 months; SD = 3.93; range = 55-70) were observed in their early care and education settings, and their language and cognitive skills were assessed. Research…

  20. Women's experiences of three early miscarriage management options: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Smith, Lindsay F; Frost, Julia; Levitas, Ruth; Bradley, Harriet; Garcia, Jo

    2006-03-01

    Miscarriage affects around one in six pregnancies. Much research has taken place identifying the consequences of this for parents but is mainly quantitative. Of the limited qualitative studies, none have explored women's experiences of the methods of miscarriage management received. To assess the social and personal impact of different management methods (expectant, medical and surgical) on women's experience of first trimester miscarriage. Qualitative interviews using a topic guide with a purposive cohort of four categories of women (each management method plus non-participants) 6 months to 1 year after first trimester miscarriage. Focus groups with both research participants and health workers. Women from three hospitals in the South West of England that participated in the Miscarriage Treatment (MIST) trial. Seventy-two interviews were undertaken between September 1999 and June 2000. There were also five focus groups (47 participants) and two feedback sessions (8 participants) with written feedback from 12 women. Interviews lasted 0.5-2.5 hours generating over 2000 A4 pages of transcripts. The transcripts were analysed for common themes, using standard proformas, which were filled in by individual team members and then discussed by the whole research team. Iterative readings in the light of new emerging issues ensured that new themes could be identified throughout the analytical process. All transcripts were then encoded for the identified themes using NUDIST. Common themes emerged across all management options although some were specific to just one or two management options. The five major themes arising out of the data analysis were: intervention; experiences of care; finality; the 'baby'; and pain and bleeding. Women's experiences and beliefs vary widely and their preferences need to be considered in their early miscarriage management. The three methods have different benefits and problems from the women's point of view. Competence and caring from