Preference of the Herbivorous Marine Teleost Siganus canaliculatus for Different Macroalgae

The decomposition of a large amount of unexploited macroalgal resource along the coast of China often results in heavy environmental pollution. In order to pave a way of using macroalgae as the dietary ingredient of rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus, one of a few farmed herbivorous marine teleosts in China, its preference(feeding selectivity) for different macroalgae was determined in this study. Seven seaweed species abundantly inhabiting the coast of east Guangdong Province were exposed simultaneously to rabbitfish juveniles in laboratory(multiple-choice feeding) with their content and absolute intake assayed. It was found that the most preferred algae were Ulva prolifera, Gracilaria lemaneiformis and Chaetomorpha linum, less preferred algae were U. pertusa and Porphyra haitanensis, and least preferred ones were Sargassum fusiforme and Corallina sessilis. Such an order did not change when one to four relatively preferred seaweeds were removed. The preferred seaweeds were richer in protein and soluble sugar thus higher in energy than the least preferred. In addition, this fish was found to favor filamentous and flat algae rather than calcified ones. Accordingly, the richness of nutrients and morphological characteristics determined the preference of S. canaliculatus for tested macroalgae.

HOST PLANT PREFERENCES OF BEMISIA TABACI GENNADIUS

The preferences of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius for five host plants:poinsettia, tomato, cabbage,sweet potato and flowering Chinese cabbage, was tested using a Y-tube olfactometer and a desiccator in the labo-ratory. The results show that B. tabaci adults were attracted by the odors of the five plants. The order of prefer-ence was poinsettia > flowering Chinese cabbage > sweet potato > cabbage > tomato. Preference was extremely sig-nificant between poinsettia and the other four plants, and between flowering Chinese cabbage, cabbage and toma-to. There was no significant difference in preference for flowering Chinese cabbage and sweet potato, sweet pota-to, cabbage and tomato or between cabbage and tomato.

Host Preference by Monochamus alternatus (Hope) during Maturation Feeding on Pine Species and Masson Pine Provenances

Host preferences pine of the sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternates (Hope), during maturation feeding on 8 conifer trees and 40 masson pine provenances, were investigated using 3 types of laboratory bioassay of consistent feeding preference, feeding area and visitation frequency. M. alternatus adults have the highest frequency of feeding and prefer to feed on the branches of P. massoniana and P. densiflora and had significant host selectivity on 8 conifer trees in the area of Nanjing. The adult feeding vi...

Feeding and oviposition preference of Helopeltis theivora （Hemiptera： Miridae） on tea in Northeast India

Feeding and oviposition preference studies of Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse, on leaves and stems of tea, Camellia sinensis L.（O）Kuntze, revealed that the insect mostly preferred the second leaf for feeding in comparison to the first, and the third leaf and stems; while the fifth instar nymphs were the most voracious feeders among the life stages, producing themost and largest feeding lesions. The insect preferred to oviposit mainly on stems and very few eggs are found on leaves.

Application of geovisual analytics to modelling the movements of ruminants in the rural landscape using satellite tracking data

Geovisual analytics provides a framework for the development of decision support tools for landscape design,analysis and optimisation.An important application is modelling the spatial-temporal movements of ruminants and their grazing behaviour using global positioning system(GPS)collar units.This study describes the mapping and analysis of spatial distributions of animal waste products(which correlate with farm nitrogen[N]emissions)and also determination of animal feeding preferences(which correlate with animal welfare and production).Segmentation of local regions of animal N emissions provides support in meeting targets for local and international N leaching and greenhouse gas emissions.An agent-based model was used for prescreening in order to gain insights into the clustering behaviour of sheep during feeding activities.Subsequent spatial analysis demonstrated that livestock excreta are not always randomly located,but concentrated around highly localised animal gathering points,separated by the nature of the excretion.In a separate study,the statistical significance of feeding choices was determined by testing a null hypothesis on animal boundary transitions between adjacent pastures using the binomial approximation.The analysis also included compensation for the precision of the GPS sensor,which produced a fuzzy decision boundary.

Dietary composition of birds in isolated ecosystems:a case study of Black Wood Pigeon in Republic of Korea

We studied the feeding ecology of the Black Wood Pigeon(Columba janthina),a species endemic to the East Asian Pacific Islands,and determined the species’dietary composition and food preferences on Ulleung Island,South Korea,through field observations.From March 2016 to February 2018,the diversity of food items consumed was low,with the 10 most common plant species(from a total of 33)accounting for over 80%.Food availability varied depending on plant abundance,but this influence was minimized because of factors such as delayed fruit ripening.Drupes were the most favored food items(60-68%)but were replaced by nuts and weed seeds during the spring and winter months.Dietary composition and food preferences were related to the abundance of food items based on their phenology,but a steady,high preference for Aphananthe aspera was observed throughout the study period.The abundance of Prunus takesimensis in June was correlated with changes in the Black Wood Pigeon population.This study is the first to assess the feeding ecology of Black Wood Pigeons using field observations and suggests that the availability of different food items affects population changes on the East Asian Pacific islands.

Evaluation of the inheritance and dominance of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly (Musca domestica L.) (Diptera: Muscidae)

The house fly,Musca domestica,is a cosmopolitan species known for its pestif-erous nature and potential to mechanically vector numerous human and animal pathogens.Control of adult house flies often relies on insecticides formulated into food baits.How-ever,due to the overuse of these baits,insecticide resistance has developed to all insecti-cide classes currently registered for use in the United States.Field populations of house flies have developed resistance to imidacloprid,the most widely used neonicotinoid in-secticide for fly control,through both physiological and behavioral resistance mecha-nisms.In the current study,we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the inheritance and dominance of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in a lab-selected behaviorally re-sistant house fly strain.Additionally,we conducted feeding preference assays to assess the feeding responses of genetic cross progeny to imidacloprid.Our results confirmed that behavioral resistance to imidacloprid is inherited as a polygenic trait,though it is inherited differently between male and female flies.We also demonstrated that feeding preference assays can be instrumental in future genetic inheritance studies as they provide direct insight into the behavior of different strains under controlled conditions that reveal,interactions between the organism and the insecticide.The findings of this study carry significant implications for pest management and underscore the need for integrated pest control approaches that consider genetic and ecological factors contributing to resistance.