Dietary habits of lesser bandicoot rat (Bandicota Bengalensis) in an agro-ecosystem, Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan

Dietary habits of bandicoot rats (bandicota bengalensis) were investigated in the agricultural crops of the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan by analysing stomach contents. The research activities were conducted in major field crops including wheat-groundnut and in the fallow lands during non-crop season at the field boundaries. The specimens were captured from the fields using kill/snap traps, and dissected to collect their stomach samples for laboratory analysis. Light microscopic slides of the plant material were recovered from stomach samples and the reference materials were collected from the field. Results revealed that the bandicoot rat predominantly fed upon cultivated crops during cropping season but consumed wild vegetation during non-cropping season. There was no significance difference between summer and winter diets. Most frequently consumed crop food items were wheat (Triticum aestivum; 28.57%), groundnut (Arachis hypogea; 11.26%), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor; 10.17%), chickpea (Cicer arietinum; 9.52%), maize (Zea mays; 6.49%), millet (Pennisetum glaucum; 5.84%), barley (Hordeum vulgare; 4.98%) and mustard (Brassica campestris; 4.98%). Among wild vegetation were consumed khbal gha (Cynodon dactylon; 7.79%), baron dhab (Demostachya bipinnata; 7.36%) and Prickly flower (Achyranthes aspera; 3.03%). The study concludes that, in addition to consuming wheat and groundnut crops, the Lesser bandicoot rat also subsists on grasses, weeds, and some fodder crops, as important component of its diet in agro-ecosystem of the Pothwar Plateau.

INFLUENCE OF WATER EXTRACTION METHODS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES ON MEASURED TRITIUM LEVEL

In order to validate the laboratory routine procedure of tritium activity concentration determination in tissue free water of environmental samples, parallel measurements were performed in water extracted from wild vegetation by two methods: azeotropic distillation and lyophilization (recommended by a French standard method). The sample humidity was established using the drying procedure to constant mass of the sample, and isotopic effect that may occur during lyophilization procedure was investigated by deuterium ratio determination in sample and extracted water. Traces of toluene in extracted water by azeotropic distillation made deuterium ration determination useless.

Dietary effects on fitness in captive-reared Hawaiian tree snails

The native terrestrial snail fauna of the Hawaiian Islands faces numerous threats that have led to severe range reductions, population declines, and extinction of species. With the continued declines of many wild populations, a crucial component of preserving Hawaiian terrestrial snail biodiversity is through captive rearing programs, like that implemented by the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Snail Extinction Prevention Program. Rare and endangered tree snails in the family Achatinellidae, which feed on epiphytic microbial communities, are maintained in captivity with a diet that includes native vegetation brought in from nearby forests, as well as a cultured fungus originally isolated from native host trees. Recent mortality events in lab populations have been attributed to wild-gathered vegetation. These events have increased interest in developing a completely manufactured or cultured diet that would eliminate the need for exposure to wild-gathered plants. This study compared survival and egg production in Auriculella diaphana provided with lab-cultured fungus, and those provided with wild vegetation. We compared the number of eggs laid and number of deaths among three treatments: (1) wild collected vegetation only; (2) wild vegetation supplemented with laboratory-cultured fungus; and (3) laboratory cultured fungus only. Mortality did not significantly differ among treatments, but the number of eggs laid was significantly higher in snails provided wild vegetation and cultured fungus (F = 24.998; P < 0.001), compared with those provided with only wild vegetation (t = 1.88, P = 0.032) or only cultured fungus (t = 4.530, P = 0.004). Our results suggest: (1) the existing strain of cultured fungus alone is not sufficient to maintain captive-reared snail populations; (2) the additional energy or calcium provided by the cultured fungus appears to enhance egg reproduction in captive-reared populations; (3) the presence or absence of live vegetation influences snail behavior, including aestivation and egg laying. These results highlight the importance of ongoing research to culture additional species of fungi at a rate that could support captive-reared populations, as the diversity of fungi present in wild epiphytic microbial communities may be important for snail reproductive health.

Living with landmines: Inhabiting a war-altered landscape

Mined land in Cambodia possesses hazardous potential for those willing to risk its inhabitation, but this potentiality is commingled with threat and uncertainty. Mined terrain creates sites where the affordances of place clash with its dangerous materialities. Village residents in this study were engaged in ongoing efforts to physically alter the place they inhabited, but these tectonic processes were not always successful. The presence of military waste transformed the landscape into an unfamiliar ecological terrain of intermingled organic and potentially explosive inorganic elements. By 2009, large swathes of village land had been cleared of both mines and wild vegetation, giving villagers a hard-earned sense of safety. However, ongoing uncertainty remained about the state of the ground and the things buried within it. Amidst the struggle to reclaim the landscape for agriculture, mines sometimes interposed themselves, their detonations damaging bodies and lives and unsettling residents’ sense of place.

Peasants’ Motivations to Maintain Vegetation of Tropical Dry Forests in Traditional Agroforestry Systems from Cuicatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico

The ways traditional rural communities conduct activities to meet their livelihoods commonly contribute to conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Traditional agroforestry systems (TAFS) are expressions of management that deliberately retain wild vegetation coexisting with crops to obtain multiple socio-ecological contributions. However, processes enhancing productive intensification endanger their permanence. This study aimed to 1) identify the peasants’ motivations to maintain the vegetation of tropical dry forest within their agricultural fields, 2) analyze the capacity of TAFS to provide contributions to people’s well-being, and 3) identify factors and processes limiting conservation capacities and possible alternatives. The study was conducted in three communities of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico. We performed a qualitative analysis with information from two workshops with local people, 10 semi-structured interviews with managers of TAFS, participant observation, complementary informal talks, and fieldwork notes. For analyzing the data, we: 1) generated a list of central themes based on the data collected, 2) established preliminary categories of such themes, 3) coded all information through the Atlas. ti software, 4) adjusted the classification of categories and codes to the data, 5) grouped codes and analyzed their relationships. We found that the peasants’ motivations to maintain the wild vegetation are the provision of multiple beneficial contributions: material (edible fruit, medicinal plants, fodder, firewood), regulating (shade, soil fertility, humidity keeping, rain attraction), and nonmaterial (regional flavors, ornamental, ritual), among others, which meet some of their fundamental needs (primarily subsistence, identity, and protection). The main reasons for keeping the wild vegetation were material contributions (62%). Also, we observed that TAFS safeguarding a higher forest cover and species diversity provide a broader range of socio-ecological contributions and potential to satisfy human needs than those with lower cover. Peasant agriculture may allow maintaining biodiversity while satisfying fundamental human needs. However, it needs to be revitalized, made more efficient, profitable, and dignified. The agroecological management implemented by peasants in TAFS is crucial for ensuring the continuity of essential environmental functions and people’s well-being.

Microbial contaminants in wild harvested and traded edible long-horned grasshopper, Ruspolia differens (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) in Uganda

This study investigated the relative abundance and identity of microbial contaminants of the edible long-horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) harvested from the wild and traded in informal markets in Uganda, to reveal high health risk points. Raw samples of whole R. differens were collected from wild vegetation, trapping sites and markets. Additionally, samples of plucked and deep-fried ready-to-eat R. differens were collected from the markets. The samples were cultured on standard media for microbial quantification, and pure cultures were characterised using molecular techniques. Bacterial and fungal counts in deep fried ready-to-eat R. differens were ~3- and 2-fold lower, respectively, than in raw samples. Loads of these microbes in deep fried insects were within recommended food safety limits. The highest bacterial counts were detected in whole R. differens samples from the market followed by trapping points. The fungal counts in the raw R. differens were comparable across the sampling points. The bacterial and fungal counts in R. differens in Kampala were not influenced by district of origin. Seven species of bacteria and seven species of fungi were recorded in R. differens samples. The microbial species were most diverse in samples from trapping points and least diverse in the deep-fried insects. The key pathogenic bacteria detected in marketed R. differens were Staphylococcus sciuri, Acinetobacter baumannii and Serratia marcescens, all of which were absent in wild-caught whole insects. Our results demonstrate that R. differens obtained at the trapping sites and markets are contaminated with potentially harmful microbes, therefore they require processing through deep frying to minimise health risks associated with their consumption. Further studies are warranted to elucidate specific handling practices at distribution and trapping points which may prevent introduction of microbes into R. differens.

Spatio-temporal variation of predatory hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and their relationship with aphids in organic horticultural crops in La Plata, Buenos Aires

Population variations of predatory hoverflies in agroecosystems depend mainly on the resources that crops and wild vegetation provides them as well as death caused by natural enemies. We identified I) aphidophagous hoverfly species in lettuce and broccoli crops in Buenos Aires, II) the seasonal variations of the immature stages and their larval parasitism, and III) the wild plants, surrounding the crops, visited by adults. Fortnightly, 30 leaves were randomly selected in both crops during 2018-2019 and immature stages of syrphids and aphids per leaf were recorded. Adults were manually collected in patches of the wild plants (during 10 min of direct observations), and plants visited by adults were determined. The hoverflies were Allograpta exotica Wiedemann and Toxomerus duplicatus Wiedemann. Only A. exotica was recorded in crops. The dominant aphids were Myzus persicae (Sulzer) in lettuce and Brevycorine brassicae (L.) in broccoli. Parasitism rates ranged between 8 and 100% and the species were Diplazon laetatorius (Fabricius), in both crops, and Pachyneuron aff. nelsoni only in broccoli. Galinsoga parviflora Cav. and Matricaria chamomilla L. were the wild plants most often visited by hoverflies. This work provides basic information for the control of aphids by hoverflies in the framework of conservation biological control

The effect of vegetation in apple orchard edges on the phenology of parasitoids from the subfamily Pimplinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)

Wild vegetation neighbouring orchards may be a factor attracting imagines of parasitoids from the subfamily Pimplinae into fruit tree plantations and thus increase both their species diversity and population size in this habitat. For this reason in the years 2008–2010 a study was initiated on the phenology of 8 dominant Pimplinae species in apple orchards and on their edges, which included shrubberies and roadside avenues of trees and shrubs. Slightly higher numbers of Pimplinae were recorded in orchards compared to their edges. At strong correlation was observed between the counts of Pimplinae in both habitats. The preference of selection of orchards by Pimplinae was observed in the autumn period, while no such preference was found in the spring or summer months. Analyses showed that flowering plants in the orchard edges such as Tilia cordata, Symphoricarpos albus, Cirsium arvense and Galium aparine may have attracted Pimplinae to the orchards.

Prevalence of Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma-Infected Scaphoideus titanus in Different Vineyard Agroecosystems of Northwestern Italy

Quantitative estimates of vector populations and their infectivity in the wild and in cultivated compartments of agroecosystems have been carried out to elucidate the role of the wild compartment in the epidemiology of Flavescence dorée (FD). Seven sites were selected for the investigations in the Piedmont Region of Italy. They were characterized by a high variety of agricultural and ecological landscape features, and included a vineyard surrounded by wild vegetation. In order to describe abundance and prevalence of FD-infected vectors in the cultivated and wild compartments of the vineyard agroecosystem, adults of Scaphoideus titanus were collected by yellow sticky traps inside and outside the vineyard over the period July 10th–September 9th, 2015. They were counted and singly analyzed for the presence of FD phytoplasmas by PCR. Multifactorial correlations among vector population level, prevalence of infected insects inside and outside the vineyards, disease prevalence in cultivated and wild Vitis plants, and location of wild Vitis plants with respect to the vineyard were analyzed. Abundance of S. titanus adults significantly decreased from the end of July onwards, particularly inside the vineyard (average range 22.7 ± 2.5 insects/trap). Percentage of FD-positive S. titanus was significantly higher outside the vineyard (up to 48% on average) compared to inside the vineyard (up to 34% on average), and increased during the season in both compartments.

Habitat Utilization of Field Rats in Crop Fields and Adjacent Natural Vegetation in District Rawalpindi

Current study was designed to assess habitat utilization of field rats in crop fields and adjacent natural vegetation in District Rawalpindi. The rodents are widely distributed and a serious agricultural pest in Pakistan. Relative abundance of rodent populations changes seasonally under field conditions. The field trials were conducted in district Rawalpindi of the Pothwar area, Pakistan. Wild vegetation plays an important role for providing shelter/cover to the rodent during non-crop season. The dominant wild vegetation recorded from field boundaries were: Cynodon dactylon, Achyranthes aspera, Aerva javanica Saccharum griffithii, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Dichanthium annulatum, Desmostachya bipinnata, Imperata cylindrical, Ziziphus nummularia, Sorghum halepense and Capparis deciduas. This vegetation provides shelter and food to rodents when there is no cultivation or at an early stage of crop growth.