Infection of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), by the microsporidian parasite Perezia fumiferanae Thorn, retards both larval and pupal development and reduces pupal weight, fecundity, and adult longevity. These effects are more pronounced among the female insects. There is no evidence that the parasite affects male fertility, mate choice, or the fertility of eggs produced. The parasite causes some mortality, most of which occurs before the fifth instar. Among larvae infected orally, mortality seems to be related to the size of the initial dose. Mortality occurs equally in both sexes. The development and survival of the first instar and overwintering second instar are not affected by the parasite. It is suggested that the parasite causes most of the observed results by reducing the insect's ability to assimilate its food. Mortality, however, is believed to be due to the destruction of the mid-gut or Malpighian tubules.
Limited tests indicate that the microsporidian parasite Perezia fumiferanae is restricted to insect hosts of the genus Choristoneura and for practical purposes to the single species Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.). Frozen spores of this parasite were found to be infectious longer than those kept under other conditions but no spores were infectious after 6 months' storage. There are two distinct methods of infection, oral and congenital. Immature eggs within infected female insects are infected by schizonts which develop into spores after the eggs are laid. All infected females, regardless of the degree of infection, transmit the parasite to their offspring, and for practical purposes all the progeny of such females are infected. Offspring of heavily infected females appear to contain more spores than those of lightly infected females. Infected males are sometimes capable of transmitting the parasite to a portion of their offspring. Congenital transmission is responsible for the passage of the parasite from host generation to generation. Increase in the incidence of the parasite occurs by oral ingestion of spores but the habits of the host larvae restrict most transmission to the late larval instars.
The life cycle of a microsporidian parasite of the forest tent caterpillar is described. The microsporidian attacks primarily the silk glands and the mid-gut epithelium but other tissues are also infected. Observations are made on the ejection of the polar filament. It is apparent that the microsporidian is a new species and the name Perezia disstriae n. sp. is proposed.
The European green crab (Carcinus maenas), native to northwestern Europe and Africa, is among the top 100 most damaging invasive species globally. In some regions, including the Atlantic coast of North America, C. maenas has caused long-term degradation of eelgrass habitats and bivalve, crab, and finfish populations, while areas are near the beginning of the invasion cycle. Due to high persistence and reproductive potential of C. maenas populations, most local and regional mitigation efforts no longer strive for extirpation and instead focus on population control. Long-term monitoring and rapid response protocols can facilitate early detection of introductions that is critical to inform management decisions related to green crab control or extirpation. Once C. maenas are detected, local area managers will need to decide on management actions, including whether and what green crab control measures will be implemented, if local invasion might be prevented or extirpated, and if population reduction to achieve functional eradication is achievable. Due to the immense operational demands likely required to extirpate C. maenas populations, combined with limited resources for monitoring and removal, it is unlikely that any single government, conservation and/or academic organization would be positioned to adequately control or extirpate populations in local areas, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts. Community-based monitoring, and emerging methods such as environmental DNA (eDNA), may help expand the spatial and temporal extent of monitoring, facilitating early detection and removal of C. maenas. While several C. maenas removal programs have succeeded in reducing their populations, to our knowledge, no program has yet successfully extirpated the invader; and the cost of any such program would likely be immense and unsustainable over the long-term. An alternative approach is functional eradication, whereby C. maenas populations are reduced below threshold levels such that ecosystem impacts are minimized. Less funding and effort would likely be required to achieve and maintain functional eradication compared to extirpation. In either case, continual control efforts will be required as C. maenas populations can quickly increase from low densities and larval re-introductions.
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