Wheat germ oil was added to a larval liquid diet for rearing Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to optimize fruit fly quality. Effects of various concentrations of wheat germ oil at 0.04, 0.07, 0.15, 0.30, and 0.66% and their possible mode of action were evaluated. Results suggest that addition of wheat germ oil does not affect pupal weight, larval developmental period, adult e...

In this study we investigated the presence and possible genetic basis of polymorphic melanism in the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) moth. Adult moths were classified into pattern-based phenotypes and wing darkness was measured to quantify the degree of melanization. We found that two distinct phenotypes, melanic and simple, are present in these moths. Although the full melanic ph...

Climate change is expected to affect fish populations worldwide through a number of mechanisms. To help understand consistent, failed Lake Erie yellow perch (Perca flavescens) year-classes following warm winters during 1975–2010, we used a combined laboratory-experimental and population-modeling approach. We hypothesized that climate change would negatively affect yellow perch by 1) increasing ...

Both the quality and spatial configuration of a habitat can affect the distribution of its inhabitants. However, few studies have directly compared the relative effects of the two. In this paper, we focus on spatial patterns in the distribution of an oak-specific moth, Tischeria ekebladella. At the landscape level, the species was more often present on well-connected trees than on isolated tree...

there are various factors affecting the fighting fish larval survival including nutrition, substrate, water quality, pathogen and stress. experiments were conducted to study the effect of substrate and live feed on larval survival of fighting fish fry. nine small glass aquaria (60 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm) were used as breeding tanks. equal pieces (80 cm2) of rigifoam (t1), polythene (t2) and banana ...

The effects of dietary pH and viscosity on larval development of the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), were studied in the laboratory using a gel-based and a cellulose fiber-based media. The mean initial pH of the standard gelled diet was lower (6.5 +/- 0.3) than that of the standard cellulose fiber-based diet (6.8 +/- 0.6). As larval development ...

"For tautog aqua culture to advance, the effect of diet quality on egg production, larval survival and larval growth must be quantified" (Perry and Ramseyer, 1997). This request for analytical assistance required a special laboratory that is familiar with dealing with both biochemical analyses and the concepts of morphological growth and development of embryos. Our laboratory accepted the chall...

Marine invertebrates often have complex life histories that include a swimming planktivorous larval stage, at which time they are vulnerable to a variety of stressors, including those associated with nutritional stress and harmful algal blooms. Lipid stores have been shown to be especially important for post-metamorphic survivorship and growth in a variety of marine invertebrates. We investigat...

We provide the first information on the morphology of the immature stages (egg, larva, and pupa), oviposition and larval behavior, and host plant, for the Brazilian crescent butterfly Ortilia liriope (Cramer), based on material from Santarém Municipality, Pará State, Northern Brazil. Females of O. liriope lay eggs in clusters. After hatching, larvae eat the exochorion and remain gregarious in a...

Enrichment of live foods by essential nutrients such as highly unsaturated fatty acids is an important tool for improvement of larval fish quality. In this study, nutritional effects of Artemia urmiana enriched by fish and plant oils on growth, survival rate, body compositions and resistance against thermal, salinity and hypoxic stresses in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss were examined. Six ...