[1] The cosmic-ray neutron probe measures soil moisture over tens of hectares, thus averaging spatially variable soil moisture fields. A previous paper described how variable soil moisture profiles affect the integrated cosmic-ray neutron signal from which depthaverage soil moisture is computed. Here, we investigate the effect of horizontal heterogeneity on the relationship between neutron coun...

Since the classical works by Hjort linked the survival of early life stages of fish to year-class strength and recruitment, fisheries science has struggled to understand the fate of fish eggs and larvae. Here we discuss how food availability will influence growth and survival of larvae when foraging behaviour is flexible and involves predation risk. We use theory to show that small larval fish ...

The effects of temperature on ectotherm growth have been well documented. How temperature affects foraging behavior is less well explored, and has not been studied in larval mosquitoes. We hypothesized that temperature changes foraging behavior in the aquatic larval phase of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti L. Based on empirical results in other systems, we predicted that foraging effort would incre...

The use of mixtures of transgenic insecticidal seed and nontransgenic seed to provide an in-field refuge for susceptible insects in insect-resistance-management (IRM) plans has been considered for at least two decades. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has only recently authorized the practice. This commentary explores issues that regulators, industry, and other stakeholders sho...

Dispersal and adaptation are the two primary mechanisms that set the range distributions for a population or species. As such, understanding how these mechanisms interact in marine organisms in particular - with capacity for long-range dispersal and a poor understanding of what selective environments species are responding to - can provide useful insights for the exploration of biogeographic pa...

Feeding is an important factor for the successful rearing of larvae of the crab species. Further information on the morphological features of the foregut may to reveal larval feeding behaviour and or/whether there is a lecithotrophy in some or even in all stages of the larval cycle. In the present study, the structural development of the foregut and their digestive functions were examined in la...

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Maize crops grown during summer-rainy season in Asian tropics are prone to face both drought and excess moisture stress due uneven distribution patterns of monsoon rains in the region. We attempted to identify the relationship between drought and excess moisture tolerance through evaluation of a set of elite maize inbred lines, including lines with known performance under drought, excess moistu...

The objective of this work was to explain an apparent contradiction in the literature related to the relationship between mean and variance (or standard deviation) of soil moisture fields. Some studies found an increase in soil moisture variance with decreasing mean soil moisture, while others showed a decrease. The evidence of maximum variance in the mid-range of mean soil moisture was also re...