The ongoing loss of global biodiversity is endangering ecosystem functioning and human food security. While environmental pollutants are well known to reduce fertility, the potential effects common neonicotinoid insecticides on insect fertility remain poorly understood. Here, we show that field-realistic exposure can drastically impact male fertility. In laboratory, female solitary bees Osmia c...

Pollinating insects provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. Exposure to low doses of neonicotinoid insecticides has sub-lethal effects on social pollinators such as bumblebees and honeybees, disturbing their navigation and interfering with their development. Solitary Hymenoptera are also very important ecosystem service providers, but the sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids...

The Oriental species of Apsilocera Bouček, 1956 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) are revised and the limits of the genus are reevaluated. Bulolosa Bouček, 1990 and Kratinka Bouček, 1988 are treated as synonyms of Apsilocera, syn. n. Bulolosa bidens Bouček and Kratinka brevis Bouček are transferred to Apsilocera as A. bidens (Bouček) and A. brevis (Bouček) comb. n., respectively. Twelve new species (...

Acute toxicity of 4-nonylphenol (NP) was examined in six freshwater species from three phyla - platyhelminthes, arthropoda and mollusca. Values of the 48-hour LC(50) of NP for six species ranged from 20 to 508 ug/L and values of the 96-hour LC(50) for four species ranged from 120 to 457 ug/L. The most sensitive species tested was a water flea, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, with a 48-hour LC(50) of 20 m...

Water mite (Krendowskia sp.) predation on zooplanktonic species from Lake Monte Alegre (São Paulo State, Brazil) was tested in laboratory experiments. One cladoceran, Daphnia gessneri, two copepods, Tropocyclops prasinus and Thermocyclops decipiens, and Chaoborus larvae III and IV were supplied as prey to adult mites. The cladoceran Ceriodaphnia cornuta was used in the experiment with mite nymp...

Histone modifications are widely recognized for their fundamental importance in regulating gene expression in embryonic development in a wide range of eukaryotes, but they have received relatively little attention in the development of marine invertebrates. We surveyed histone modifications throughout the development of a marine annelid, Polydora cornuta, to determine if modifications could be ...