Experiments were conducted to determine the response of purple nutsedge tuber sprouting to diurnally alternating temperature. These experiments compared the response to alternating and constant temperatures and determined the effect of the amplitude of alternation and time of exposure to the maximum temperature. Tuber sprouting was more rapid and complete with alternating temperatures than with constant temperatures. Increasing temperature fluctuation from 0 to 6 C for 12 h daily linearly increased total tuber sprouting. As little as 30 min exposure to high temperature per day provided nearly the same level of sprouting as a 12 h alternating temperature cycle. This phenomenon should be considered when conducting studies to describe tuber temperature responses or when predicting tuber sprouting and emergence.

Sprouting percentage was estimated for purple nutsedge tubers in the field from daily fluctuating soil temperatures. Tuber sprouting under alternating temperatures ranging from 20 to 45 C for 14 d responded quadratically to alternations of high and low temperature. A response surface regression of the cumulative sprouting percentage accounted for 88% of the variation. The cumulative sprouting percentage curves were sigmoidal, and the Richards function satisfactorily regressed the characteristics of the curves. A simulation model was developed for the cumulative sprouting percentage by estimating sprouting from daily high and low temperatures and accumulating daily increments of tuber sprouting. Five weeks of soil solarization with clear polyethylene film at Waimanalo, Hawaii raised the mean soil temperature at 15-cm depth by 5.8 C in spring and by 7.2 C in summer. Solarization also increased the mean daily temperature difference from 1.5 to 3.7 C in spring and from 2.3 to 3.8 C in summer. Solarization increased the final sprouting percentage in the field from 74 to 97% in spring and from 97 to 100% in summer. The simulation model estimated the final field sprouting of tubers within 95% confidence intervals of the observed means.

The expansion of invasive non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean is generating an increasing concern about biodiversity protection and human health, with European countries being solicited to apply early warning measures in such circumstances. The recent expansion of the hazardous fish Lagocephalus sceleratus in the Straits of Sicily, the subsequent actions adopted to manage the risk and the feedback received from the public are herein presented, as an example of the interaction between experts and the public in promoting scientific citizenship through an ad hoc action. A rapid increase in media reports related to L. sceleratus had been registered after the launch of the early warning campaign as part of a scientific and health risk communication strategy, and seven new records of this species have emerged shortly after. This study represents a useful contribution to the further bridging of the science-policy gap.

Coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, is a pest of palm trees in the Pacific. Recently, a remarkable degree of palm damage reported in Guam, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has been associated with a particular haplotype (clade I), known as “CRB-G”. In the Palau Archipelago, both CRB-G and another haplotype (clade IV) belonging to the CRB-S cluster coexist in the field. In this study, more than 75% of pheromone trap-captured adults of both haplotypes were Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV)-positive by PCR. No significant difference in OrNV prevalence between the haplotypes was detected. In PCR-positive CRB-G tissue specimens from Palau, viral particles were observed by electron microscopy. Hemocoel injection of CRB larvae with crude virus homogenates from these tissues resulted in viral infection and mortality. OrNV isolated from Palauan-sourced CRB was designated as OrNV-Palau1. Both OrNV-Palau1 and OrNV-X2B, a CRB biological control isolate released in the Pacific, were propagated using the FRI-AnCu-35 cell line for production of inoculum. However, the OrNV-Palau1 isolate exhibited lower viral production levels and longer larval survival times compared to OrNV-X2B in O. rhinoceros larvae. Full genome sequences of the OrNV-Palau1 and -X2B isolates were determined and found to be closely related to each other. Altogether these results suggest CRB adults in Palau are infected with a less virulent virus, which may affect the nature and extent of OrNV-induced pathology in Palauan populations of CRB.

The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, is a pest of palm trees in the Pacific. Recently, a remarkable degree of palm damage reported in Guam, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has been associated with a particular haplotype (clade I), known as “CRB-G”, which can be distinguished by a molecular marker in the mitochondrial gene. In Palau Archipelago, it was reported that CRB-G and other haplotype (clade IV) belonging to the CRB-S cluster coexisted in the field. In this study, more than 75% of pheromone trap-captured adults of both of haplotypes were OrNV-positive by PCR. There was no significant difference in OrNV prevalence between the haplotypes. In tissues of PCR-positive CRB-G specimens from Palau, viral particles were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Hemocoel injection of CRB larvae with crude virus homogenates from these tissues resulted in viral infection and mortality. However, the OrNV isolates from Palauan beetles exhibited a lower level of viral production and longer larval survival times compared to OrNV isolate X2B, a typical isolate used for biological control of CRB in the Pacific. The full genome sequences of the Palauan and X2B isolates were determined and found to be closely related to each other. These results suggest that CRB adults in Palau are infected with a less virulent virus.