Ecology of Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus in Western Siberian Populations of the Gypsy Moth (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lymantria dispar</Emphasis> L.)

The impact of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus on the population dynamics of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar L. has been studied. The results have shown that polyhedrosis morbidity in the western Siberian population of the insect is relatively low, compared to that reported for North American and European populations. A possible cause of this situation is found in the high migration activity of moths in the Asian L. dispar populations, which allows the virus load on the biotope to remain relatively stable and insufficient for the initiation of mass viral diseases during population outbreaks.__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 3, 2005, pp. 222–226.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Ilinykh.     

三峡库区虫媒和自然疫源性疾病分析

为了解三峡库区人群近7年来主要虫媒和自然疫源性疾病的发病水平和流行趋势,在选出的15个三峡库区人群健康监测点,按照《三峡库区疾病监测方案》,每月收集传染病发病资料及鼠、蚊类等媒介生物监测资料。结合全国传染病疫情报告系统的有关发病资料,分别进行不同年份、不同地区和不同季节发病趋势的比较和影响因素分析。连续7年的监测结果显示,甲类传染病鼠疫未发生,流行性出血热、钩端螺旋体病、流行性乙型脑炎、疟疾等以病媒生物传播为主要传播途径的虫媒和自然疫源性疾病累计报告病例157例,其总体发病呈下降趋势。疟疾、出血热发病水平明显低于全国,而钩体病和乙脑发病水平则高于全国,除疟疾外的其余3种疾病均伴有小的发病高峰出现,但仍以散发为主。表明这些与环境变化关系较为密切的虫媒和自然疫源性疾病的发生,随着工程施工、移民新址建设和移民搬迁并未发生明显变化。但由于环境因素影响的长期性、复杂性,仍需长期连续地开展监测,密切关注发病趋势的变化。     

Effects of pond salinization on survival rate of amphibian hosts infected with the chytrid fungus

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated in the decline and extinction of amphibian populations worldwide, but management options are limited. Recent studies show that sodium chloride (NaCl) has fungicidal properties that reduce the mortality rates of infected hosts in captivity. We investigated whether similar results can be obtained by adding salt to water bodies in the field. We increased the salinity of 8 water bodies to 2 or 4 ppt and left an additional 4 water bodies with close to 0 ppt and monitored salinity for 18 months. Captively bred tadpoles of green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) were released into each water body and their development, levels of B. dendrobatidis infection, and survival were monitored at 1, 4, and 12 months. The effect of salt on the abundance of nontarget organisms was also investigated in before and after style analyses. Salinities remained constant over time with little intervention. Hosts in water bodies with 4 ppt salt had a significantly lower prevalence of chytrid infection and higher survival, following metamorphosis, than hosts in 0 ppt salt. Tadpoles in the 4 ppt group were smaller in length after 1 month in the release site than those in the 0 and 2 ppt groups, but after metamorphosis body size in all water bodies was similar . In water bodies with 4 ppt salt, the abundance of dwarf tree frogs (Litoria fallax), dragonfly larvae, and damselfly larvae was lower than in water bodies with 0 and 2 ppt salt, which could have knock‐on effects for community structure. Based on our results, salt may be an effective field‐based B. dendrobatidis mitigation tool for lentic amphibians that could contribute to the conservation of numerous susceptible species. However, as in all conservation efforts, these benefits need to be weighed against negative effects on both target and nontarget organisms.     

浙江省萧山市山一村农村生态良性循环与系统管理研究 Ⅴ.农田病虫害综合防治试验与实施

本项调控工程分两步:1984—1986年在山一村106ha农田开展病虫害综合防治试验示范;1987—1989年将试验成果应用于生产。试验研究取得了明显的经济效益、生态效益和社会效益:农药用量比1983年前减少80.6％,稻谷中农药残留不超标(原有机氯农药666残留超标率31.6％);害虫天敌稻田蜘蛛增加83.3—180.0％,稻虱多索线虫增加2倍;防治农药成本减少53.7％。并制定了《山一村农田农药污染防治技术规程》,其主要内容有:开展病虫害“二查二定”,达到防治指标时用药;制定病虫害防治策略,在防治适期内用药;推广高效低残留农药,遵守农药安全间隔期;推广抗性良种,适施N肥,增施P、K肥;保护利用天敌,发挥天敌自然抑制作用。     

大型猪场传染病流行的新特点与免疫程序设计

当前大型猪场疫病流行的新特点有九大类,主要是防疫好口蹄疫、猪瘟、蓝耳、伪狂犬、乙脑、细小病毒及气喘病等.猪群只要疫苗免疫得当,加上合理的药物保健程序,控制好一些继发感染(主要是副猪嗜血杆菌、传染性胸膜肺炎、弓形体、附红细胞体等),猪群则会处于较好的保护状态下,没有必要做很多的疫苗.     

植物诱导抗病性的分子生物学研究进展

植物诱导抗病性是植物抵御病害侵袭的重要机制之一，作为一种经济有效的抗病策略，在农业可持续病害防治中具有广阔的应用前景，日益受到人们的关注．其中系统获得性抗性(SAR)作为植物诱导抗病性的一种重要形式，随着分子生物学实验手段的迅速发展及其在植物抗病机制研究中的应用，其分子机制研究方面已取得了不少进展．图1参58     

Evidence for the Role of Infectious Disease in Species Extinction and Endangerment

Abstract:  Infectious disease is listed among the top five causes of global species extinctions. However, the majority of available data supporting this contention is largely anecdotal. We used the IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species and literature indexed in the ISI Web of Science to assess the role of infectious disease in global species loss. Infectious disease was listed as a contributing factor in <4% of species extinctions known to have occurred since 1500 (833 plants and animals) and as contributing to a species' status as critically endangered in <8% of cases (2852 critically endangered plants and animals). Although infectious diseases appear to play a minor role in global species loss, our findings underscore two important limitations in the available evidence: uncertainty surrounding the threats to species survival and a temporal bias in the data. Several initiatives could help overcome these obstacles, including rigorous scientific tests to determine which infectious diseases present a significant threat at the species level, recognition of the limitations associated with the lack of baseline data for the role of infectious disease in species extinctions, combining data with theory to discern the circumstances under which infectious disease is most likely to serve as an agent of extinction, and improving surveillance programs for the detection of infectious disease. An evidence-based understanding of the role of infectious disease in species extinction and endangerment will help prioritize conservation initiatives and protect global biodiversity.     

Secondary metabolism — evolution and function: Products or processes?

Summary The distinguishing characteristics of secondary metabolism and its associated metabolites are outlined. Current theories relating to the function of secondary metabolism in plants and micro-organisms are enumerated and the view that consideration of the processes rather than the products may best explain the origins of secondary metabolism is discussed.     

湘黄鸡马立克氏病(MD)临床免疫方法及效果研究

通过本次临床试验得出；湘黄鸡马立克氏病(MD)的免疫以CVI988 HVT苗或Rispens CVI988苗为最佳效果，可使该病的临床发病率分别控制在1．33％和1．67％以下，致瘤率为34％左右．用中药进行预防达不到免疫的效果．所以认为用血清I型疫苗是目前衡阳地区湘黄鸡马立克氏病(MD)的唯一有效的免疫方法．     

Courtship display by great frigatebirds, Fregata minor: an energetically costly handicap signal?

We used detailed time-budget observations, mark-resight data, and doubly labeled water estimates of energy expenditure to test whether energy spent on courtship display by male frigatebirds functions as a sexually selected handicap signal. During a 2-day period of time budget observations, males displayed on average 29.5% of the time (range 0–100% for 15 different males), and this value was correlated with an index of season-long display effort. Season-long display effort was strongly predictive of pairing success. Average field metabolic rate (FMR) during the 2-day time budget period was 676.5 kJ/day (range 464.8–1035.0), substantially lower than the mass-specific FMR predicted from studies of other seabirds during incubation or chick-rearing. Despite a low overall FMR, display effort could function as an energetic handicap, either if FMR correlates positively with the amount of courtship performed or if high-quality males display at a high rate because they pay a lower energy cost per unit of display than do low-quality males. We found no relationship between FMR and display rate, despite good power for doing so. We also did not find a significant difference in energy spent divided by courtship time for males that were or were not chosen by females (inferred to be high- and low-quality males, respectively), though the medians differed in the predicted direction (preferred males having lower relative costs than non-preferred males) and the confidence interval on the difference between groups was very wide. Thus, we found evidence that male courtship effort is predictive of pairing success, we rejected one mechanism by which energetic cost of display could function as a handicap, and our test of the alternate energetic handicap mechanism was equivocal.