The European red spider mite, Panonychus ulmi Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a major mite pest affecting a wide range of crops globally. Its rapid development and extensive dispersal enable P. ulmi to form large colonies through arrhenotokous reproduction, which subsequently produces bisexual offspring following oedipal phase mating. In this study, life tables for arrhenotokous and bisexual P. ulmi populations were constructed and assessed using the age-stage two-sex life table theory. To assess whether maternal age affects the offspring sex ratio, 3D life table analysis was conducted for both groups. Population projection for P. ulmi bisexual and arrhenotokous was based on life table data to evaluate the effect of arrhenotokous reproduction on population growth. Bisexual population parameters were r = 0.1828 d−1, λ = 1.2006 d−1, R0 = 44.80 offspring, and T = 20.79 d. The theoretical calculation of these parameters cannot be performed solely based on the survival rate and female fecundity of the P. ulmi arrhenotokous population, as only male offspring were produced during the first seven days before the arrival of the bisexual population. Although arrhenotokous parthenogenesis yields fewer offspring than bisexual reproduction, it significantly influences population dynamics by enabling a single virgin female to establish a bisexual population. Controlling offspring sex ratios enables rapid population growth and colonisation of new habitats. A comprehensive understanding of arrhenotokous reproduction is crucial for developing effective management strategies for P. ulmi. Future research should integrate genomic, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives to bridge the gap between laboratory and field conditions.

In discussions on European Neogene continental chronology, the Kastellios Hill section has played an important role because of the presence of strata with planktonic foraminifers and strata with mammalian remains. With the primary papers written in the 1970s and 1980s, the time is ripe for an update on age and taxonomy of the murid rodents from Kastellios Hill by comparing the fauna with time-equivalent southern and central European faunas. This comparison results in a partly revised faunal list consisting of the dominant Progonomys mixtus n. sp., the less common Cricetulodon cf. C. hartenbergeri Freudenthal, 1967 and P. cathalai Schaub, 1938, and the rare P. hispanicus Michaux, 1971 and cf. Hansdebruijnia neutra (de Bruijn, 1976). Based on the updated species list and magnetic polarity data, the most probable age of the Kastellios Hill mammal localities is 9.3–9.1 Ma (Chron C4Ar.1r, late Vallesian, MN10). The genus Hansdebruijnia is narrowed down to two species in an ancestor–descendant relationship: the ancestral type species H. neutra, which is restricted to southeastern Europe and Anatolia, and the descendant species H. magna (Sen, 1977), representing a new combination and including ‘Occitanomys alcalai’ Adrover et al., 1988 and ‘O. debruijni’ (Hordijk and de Bruijn, 2009). H. magna colonized both southeastern and southwestern Europe.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/ebe0f64c-6900-4efc-ab43-8a4045de6810

We report the first identification of nematode parasitism in a nemertean host (Arctostemma arcticum), representing a novel host-parasite interaction in marine ecosystems. Larvae of the anisakid nematode were discovered within the rhynchocoel of A. arcticum collected from the White Sea, suggesting transmission via ingestion of infected crustaceans – a previously undocumented pathway. The nematode was identified as Phocanema bulbosum through both morphological and molecular analyses.

The presence of nematode in nemertean A. arcticum implies trophic transmission through nemertean predation on infected amphipods, supported by hoplonemertean feeding strategy. While some fish occasionally consume nemerteans, their low predation frequency suggests A. arcticum could act as a dead-end host.

This study expands the known host range of Anisakidae, though it remains uncertain whether nemerteans serve as competent hosts in the P. bulbosum life cycle. Nevertheless, the findings highlight the need to assess nemerteans’ potential influence on parasite dynamics in fisheries and aquaculture, particularly where they coexist with intermediate and definitive hosts.

Seabirds are experiencing a decline in their populations because of climate change and human activities. Understanding their spatiotemporal dynamics is crucial for effective conservation, but the distribution and movement patterns of pelagic seabirds are not yet fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the seasonal movements and wintering areas of Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates monorhis, a Near Threatened species that breeds primarily on islands in the north-western Pacific. The data analyses of geolocators retrieved from four birds showed that Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels migrated across the north-western Pacific and Indian Oceans and wintered in the Arabian Sea. The distance between their breeding colony and the wintering area was approximately 6,700 km, and the tracking distance for a seasonal migration exceeded 12,000 km. The migration pathway was characterised by large-scale movements in both north–south and east–west directions in the Eurasian offshore regions, which previously had been inferred from direct observations at such areas but not empirically confirmed. Wintering areas in the Arabian Sea overlapped with regions where plankton blooms are triggered by the monsoon in winter, which may produce high marine productivity and support the wintering of Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels in this sea area.

The Southern Ocean, a region characterized by high nutrient levels but often low productivity, hosts dynamic picophytoplankton communities crucial for its food web. This study investigated the spatial and inter-annual variability of picophytoplankton abundances and their environmental drivers in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean during the austral summers of 2018 and 2020. Using flow cytometry for picophytoplankton quantification and standard oceanographic methods for environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, silicate), we employed descriptive statistics, inferential group comparisons (t-tests, analysis of variance), principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component regression (PCR) to analyse the dataset. Our analyses revealed significant differences in picophytoplankton abundances and environmental conditions across distinct oceanic fronts, between deep chlorophyll maximum and surface depths and, notably, between the two study years. PCA identified three major environmental gradients explaining over 93.5% of the variance in temperature, salinity, nitrate, phosphate and silicate. PCR confirmed our hypothesis: the abundance and carbon biomass of picoeukaryote II (PEUK-II) picophytoplankton was statistically significant overall (F-statistic = 3.415, P = 0.0290). The model explained 24.2% of the variance in PEUK-II abundance (R2 = 0.242), indicating its sensitivity to dynamic oceanographic conditions, with PC3 (primarily representing a salinity gradient) being a significant predictor. Conversely, Prochlorococcus-like/Synechococcus picophytoplankton abundance was not statistically significant overall (F-statistic = 2.068, P = 0.124), suggesting control by other, potentially non-linear factors. These findings highlight distinct ecological strategies among picophytoplankton groups and are vital for predicting their roles in the Southern Ocean’s microbial food web amidst ongoing environmental change.

Rice cultivated under furrow irrigation faces weed management challenges due to the aerobic conditions favoring terrestrial weed emergence, like Palmer amaranth. Fluridone is an HRAC/WSSA Group 12 herbicide recently registered for use in rice, offering an alternative site of action for Palmer amaranth control. Four site-years of field experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 in furrow-irrigated rice to assess Palmer amaranth control and crop tolerance to fluridone applied preemergence (PRE) alone or with different postemergence programs. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement and four replications. The whole-plot factor was the postemergence program, while the subplot factor was fluridone applied PRE at 0, 84, 168 (1× labeled rate), and 336 g ai ha−1. Postemergence programs included no herbicide, a single florpyrauxifen-benzyl application at 6 wk after rice emergence (WAE), and a weed-free control. The 2× rate of fluridone caused the greatest visual injury compared to the 0.5× rate across site-years at two and five (WAE), ranging from 8% to 34%. The 1× and 2× rates of fluridone provided the greatest Palmer amaranth density reduction four wk after treatment (WAT). However, the effect diminished or became less prominent by eight WAT, reducing control across fluridone treatments. The follow-up application of florpyrauxifen-benzyl reduced Palmer amaranth density at rice harvest in most instances and diminished seed production by ≥ 94% compared to its absence. Fluridone application, regardless of the rate, did not affect rough rice grain yield under weed-free conditions. These findings suggest that integrating fluridone with a subsequent florpyrauxifen-benzyl application enhances Palmer amaranth management in furrow-irrigated rice compared to fluridone alone. However, sequential applications are needed for successful Palmer amaranth control.

The evolutionary history of freshwater sponges (Porifera: Spongillida) in Australasia is poorly understood due to a paucity of fossils. A new genus and new species, Protooncosclera zealandiae n. gen. n. sp., family Potamolepidae, was discovered in southern New Zealand from lacustrine diatomites/spiculites of latest Oligocene–earliest Miocene of the Fossil-Lagerstätte at Foulden Maar. The fossil spicular complement is similar to that of the extant genus Oncosclera but differs from that and all other Spongillida genera by possessing a structured gemmular architecture armed by ornamented strongyles and strongyloxeas, with theca surrounded by a spicular cage of slender acanthoxeas, and a skeletal spicular complement of stout, smooth to spiny oxeas. This is the first fossil (pre-Quaternary) record of freshwater sponges from Australasia and fits into the Gondwana-like distribution of potamolepid freshwater sponges. Its discovery in a subtropical maar lake on the southwestern margin of Zealandia confirms a formerly wider geographic distribution of Potamolepidae in the Cenozoic, followed by range retractions related to post-Early Miocene climate cooling. The stratigraphic distribution of sponge remains at Foulden Maar demonstrates that sponges colonized the isolated maar lake soon after its formation, most likely by passive dispersal by water birds, and then thrived in the shallow water margins of the paleolake for ca. 130,000 years. Sponge remains, skeletal spicules and gemmules, frequently associated with coprolites indicate that sponges were consumed by one or more spongivorous taxa, presumably fish belonging to the Southern Hemisphere family Galaxiidae.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/72a81923-9766-4ae0-b980-28b2e3d98ebe

Effective waterhemp management in crop rotations that include sugar beet requires a proactive approach, starting with robust weed management in the preceding crop. Sugar beet is vulnerable to weeds due to its poor competitiveness during its early growth stages and a limited availability of effective herbicide options within this rotation. This research aimed to evaluate multi-tactic weed management strategies, including planting soybean in narrow rows with low- and high-input treatments, and a high-input treatment plus harvest-time weed seed control (HWSC) simulation, on waterhemp control and seed production in soybean, and their effects on waterhemp density in the following sugar beet crop. Field experiments were conducted from 2021 to 2023 in Franklin, Moorhead, and Rosemount, Minnesota. Soybean planted in narrow rows closed the canopy earlier at Franklin in 2021 and at Moorhead in 2022. Soybean row spacing did not affect waterhemp control, density, biomass, or seed production at any site-year. A high-input treatment consisting of flumioxazin applied preemergence followed by (fb) an early postemergence application of lactofen + acetochlor fb a late-postemergence application of 2,4-D + glyphosate provided ≥95% waterhemp control at harvest at all site-years and seed production was reduced to 0 seeds m−2 at Franklin and Rosemount. At those locations, waterhemp control at harvest was comparable among all high-input herbicide treatments. Soybean planted in narrow rows yielded 9.4% and 18.5% more than soybean planted in wide rows at Franklin and Rosemount, respectively, while no yield difference was observed at Moorhead. Waterhemp emergence in the subsequent season’s sugar beet crop fell by 72% to 92% at the Franklin site in 2022, Moorhead in 2023, and Rosemount in 2023 after high-input herbicide treatments. However, adding HWSC to a high-input treatment did not result in a further reduction of waterhemp density. In this research, 1 yr of effective waterhemp control with high-input herbicide treatments in soybean reduced waterhemp emergence in the following season’s sugar beet crop.

Climate change affects not only temperatures but also rainfall patterns, which can either accentuate or mitigate the effects of warming on water stress in terrestrial insects. Water stress is more likely to affect eggs and larvae due to their small size. Hemlock looper (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) overwinters as eggs, and first-instar larvae must move to settle on host trees in the spring. Their survival depends both on their energy and water reserves that remain after overwintering and on the abiotic conditions present each spring. The effects of humidity (40, 60, and 80%) on the hatching success, time to hatch, and lifespan of unfed first-instar hemlock looper larvae were assessed at two temperatures, at 10 °C and at 22 °C. Lower humidity levels reduced hatching success and increased time to hatch, suggesting that humidity modulates development. On the other hand, higher temperatures reduced hatching success and time to hatch. The survival probability of unfed first-instar larvae was not influenced by ambient humidity but was longer for larvae from eggs reared at high humidity and 10 °C, suggesting that the physiological state of larvae at the time of hatching influences their survival. The ecological significance of these results and how they can influence our management tools are discussed.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is a vector-borne parasite traditionally associated with sylvatic environments. We investigated the prevalence of T. cruzi in triatomines collected from El Paso County, Texas, and southern New Mexico. Specimens were morphologically identified as Triatoma rubida and subjected to quantitative PCR for parasite detection. Molecular sequencing of satellite and microsatellite DNA targets was performed to confirm species identity and assess strain lineage. Infected vectors were collected from both sylvatic and urban locations, including Franklin Mountains State Park and residential areas in El Paso (TX) and Las Cruces (NM). Of the 26 triatomines tested, 88.5% were positive for T. cruzi, representing a significant increase compared to a previous regional study, which reported an infection rate of 63.3%. The high prevalence of T. cruzi-infected T. rubida, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas of El Paso and Las Cruces, underscores the increasing public health significance of Chagas disease along the U.S.–Mexico border. These findings highlight the urgent need for sustained vector surveillance, advanced molecular characterization, and focused public health interventions to reduce transmission risks and raise clinical awareness in affected regions.

The Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus, a Critically Endangered species, faces population declines across its range, yet limited data exist on its nesting ecology and causes of breeding failure. This study used camera trapping and systematic nest searches to locate and monitor nests in southern Ghana to investigate nest-site characteristics and causes of nest failure. Eight active nests were found, mostly on tall native or introduced trees, with an average tree height of 24.94 ± 3.68 m. The nests were positioned at an average hight of 18.7 ± 4.73 m above the ground, typically in a fork formed by at least three branches. Nest-sites were in areas with greater canopy cover, that were closer to water, and with taller surrounding trees compared with non-nesting sites. Nesting success was high with a 75% fledging rate from the studied nests. Camera traps revealed that egg failures at two nests were caused by inadvertent crushing of the eggs by adult vultures while arranging nest materials, and one chick mortality resulted from parental cannibalism. However, adults at one nest successfully re-laid and fledged a chick after the initial egg loss. The findings show higher nest placement in southern Ghana than in previous studies from savanna regions, reflecting differences in habitat structure and available tree species. The study also identified nest destruction by humans and targeted tree removal as major threats to nest success in the study area. The findings highlight the complexity of natural nesting environments, where even unintentional behaviours, such as egg crushing, can affect reproductive outcomes. They also underscore the need to integrate behavioural studies into vulture conservation strategies. Addressing anthropogenic threats, including persecution, nest removal, and loss of nesting and roosting trees, is critical for the survival of this Critically Endangered species.

Male volleyball athletes may be at risk of inadequate energy and carbohydrate intake. This may increase their risk of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) and impair a variety of physiological and psychological systems involved with performance and health. This study explored the eating behaviours and diet quality of international elite volleyball male athletes and their association on hormones associated with acute energy deficit and primary serum REDs indicators outlined in the International Olympic Committee REDs Clinical Assessment Tool 2. Methods: Using a retrospective design, 30 male athletes from a national indoor volleyball programme were assessed using DXA bone mineral density, hematological analysis, anthropometry, restrained eating behaviour via the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 and the Athlete Diet Index (ADI) questionnaire. Results: All participants met or exceeded dietary recommendations for health and sport with ADI mean score of 95.2/125 ± 10.5. Restraint eating was inversely associated with insulin (r = − 0.37; p  < 0.05). Both the ADI total and core nutrition sub-scores were inversely associated with free-triiodothyronine (r = − 0.58; p < 0.01) but not with total testosterone, insulin or leptin. Conclusion: Male volleyball athletes at risk of inadequate energy intake may not necessarily demonstrate signs of poor diet quality.