A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol that can be used to distinguish Pseudomonas syringae pv. tagetis from other P. syringae pathovars, including those that induce apical chlorosis in several plants of the Asteracaea family and in pea, and closely related P. savastanoi pathovars was developed based on DNA sequences from P. syringae pv. tagetis that are required for tagetitoxin synthesis. ...

Understanding the role of consumers in density-dependent plant population dynamics is a long-standing goal in ecology. However, the generality of herbivory effects across heterogeneous landscapes is poorly understood due to the pervasive influence of context-dependence. We tested effects of native insect herbivory on the population dynamics of an exotic thistle, Cirsium vulgare, in a field expe...

Many marine animals track odor plumes to their source. Although studies of plume-tracking behavior have been performed in unidirectional flow, benthic animals such as crustaceans live in coastal habitats characterized by waves. We compared signal encounters by odor-plume-tracking stomatopods (mantis shrimp) in wave-affected and unidirectional flow in a flume. Stomatopods are small enough that w...

The Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi plateau (OJMHP) is considered to have originated from a starting mantle plume, and have been rifted apart by two spreading ridges. However, the ages of these spreading ridges and their possible interactions with the presumed mantle plume are unclear. The Manihiki-Hikurangi plateau has been rifted apart by the Osbourn Trough which formed the southwestern Pacifi...

We shed light on the fundamental form of the Peregrine soliton as well as on its frequency chirping property by virtue of a pertinent cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. An exact generic Peregrine soliton solution is obtained via a simple gauge transformation, which unifies the recently-most-studied fundamental rogue-wave species. We discover that this type of Peregrine soliton, viabl...

Canada thistle remains the most common and troublesome weed of pastures, roadsides and other areas of low-maintenance sods. Even though numerous herbicides have excellent activity on Canada thistle, the extensive root system of this species complicates longterm management. This paper will discuss recent research conducted in Alberta, Canada investigating the role of pasture fertilization in Can...