International efforts are underway to establish well-connected systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering at least 10% of the ocean by 2020. But the nature and dynamics of ocean ecosystem connectivity are poorly understood, with unresolved effects of climate variability. We used 40-year runs of a particle tracking model to examine the sensitivity of an MPA network for habitat-forming col...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Malaria resurgence in highland regions of East Africa has been on increase. The spatio-temporal distribution of larval habitats of malaria vectors determines the distribution of adult vectors, hence, disease transmission. Vector's ecology is necessary for strategic vector control through effective plan for source reduction. Mapping of the larval habitats is necessary for...

The evolutionary causes of variation in host specialization among phytophagous insects are still not well understood and identifying them is a central task in insect /host plant biology. Here we examine host utilization of the chrysomelid beetle Oreina elongata that shows interpopulation variation in the degree of specialization. We focus on larval behaviour and on what selection pressures may ...

For most of the family Porcellanidae, which comprises 283 species, larval development remains to be described. Full development has been only described for 52 species, while part of the larval cycle has been described for 45 species. The importance of knowing the complete larval development of a species goes beyond allowing the identification of larval specimens collected in the plankton. Morph...

Genetic loci that influence behavior are often difficult to identify and localize in part due to the quantitative nature of behavioral phenotypes. Previous studies had found an association between pupal lethality and altered larval behavior for mutants of several genes. To facilitate the identification and localization of new mutants that influence larval foraging (movement in the presence of f...

Using the rate of development of blowflies colonising a corpse, accumulated degree hours (ADH), or days (ADD), is an established method used by forensic entomologists to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). Derived from laboratory experiments, their application to field situations needs care. This study examines the effect of the post-feeding larval dispersal time on the ADH and therefore t...

There is no single requirement more crucial to the rational and sustainable control of helminth parasites in grazing animals than a comprehensive knowledge of the epidemiology of the parasite as it interacts with the host in a specific climatic, management and production environment. In its absence, anthelmintic treatment is either given suppressively, which provokes resistance, or therapeutica...

Larval settlement in the fouling polychaete Hydroides elegans Haswell (1883) is mediated by natural biofilms, a complex consortium of marine bacteria, benthic diatoms, protozoa, fungi and adsorbed organic matter. Currently, the inductive effect of natural biofilms on larval settlement is attributed to the bacterial component. In this paper, we present results of an investigation of the diatom c...

Like in most Pacific island countries, dengue is not endemic in Vanuatu, and so, dengue transmission begins with the introduction of the virus via infected humans or mosquitoes into the country. The Ministry of Health, Vanuatu, has been successful in containing dengue transmission whenever the virus has been introduced, through an integrated approach using vertical and horizontal components. Th...