One idea to explain the high incidence of specialisation in phytophagous insects is that their nervous systems are simple and unable to efficiently recognise multiple host plants. Here this 'neural limitations' hypothesis is tested using a generalist (the summer winged virginopara) and specialist (the autumn gynopara) morph of a single clone of the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, that are almost...

OBJECTIVE To quantify the total contribution to generalist care made by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) in Washington State. DATA SOURCES State professional licensure renewal survey data from 1998-1999. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. Data on medical specialty, place of practice, and outpatient visits performed were used to estimate productivity of generalist physicia...

Abstract Several recent reappraisals of supposed generalist parasite species have revealed hidden complexes species, each with considerably narrower host ranges. Parasitic wasps that attack gall-forming insects on plants life history strategies are thought to promote specialization, and though many indeed highly specialized, others been described as parasites. Ormyrus labotus Walker (Hymenopter...

BACKGROUND Demographic changes and a predicted rise in the prevalence of chronic illness have led to a range of health policies in the UK (and elsewhere) focused on workforce flexibility and extended roles for the allied health professions. Whilst much academic attention has been paid to extended specialised roles for allied health professionals such as podiatrists, little work has addressed th...

A major challenge in disease ecology is to understand how co-infecting parasite species interact. We manipulate in vivo resources and immunity to explain interactions between two rodent malaria parasites, Plasmodium chabaudi and P. yoelii. These species have analogous resource-use strategies to the human parasites Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax: P. chabaudi and P. falciparum infect red bloo...

Predator-prey systems having a specialist predator often are over-exploitive, unstable and transient while similar systems having a generalist predator show less ßuctuation, more stability and regulation of prey at lower densities. These population dynamics also affect dispersal patterns between specialist and generalist predators. In this study, ambulatory and aerial dispersal were assessed fo...