ABSTRACT
The responses of arthropods to thermal stress are vital in ecological studies in order to understand survival, development, and reproduction. However, this subject is poorly addressed. In the order Mesostigmata, an abundance of species lives in the soil. Among these species, Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley) is a predator used in the control of pest organisms that live in the soil. Mites of this species are commercialized in several countries, including Brazil, presenting efficiency in pest control in several crops. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of thermal shock on S. scimitus females, as well as to monitor the temperature variation in the environment. For each temperature, 80 experimental units were assembled for different periods (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h). Experimental units were maintained at 25 °C, after exposure of the mites. Mortality and oviposition were evaluated. The results showed a 40% reduction in the survival of mites exposed to 37 °C for 4 h, compared to the control treatment (25 °C). Oviposition was less affected at 1 h exposure to temperatures of 19 and 12 °C and thermic fluctuation was observed in the greenhouse, especially inside the slabs. Understanding temperature effects in mites and the thermic fluctuation in the environment is essential to achieve satisfactory results in biological control. It is important to observe the scenario in which predatory mites will be released as these aspects are decisive in predatory activity.
Subject(s)
Mites , Pest Control, Biological , Animals , Brazil , Female , Oviposition , Predatory Behavior , ReproductionABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of wing bands and the behavior of Anastrepha fraterculus in the presence of Megafreya sutrix. The first experiment used specimens of M. sutrix (n = 40), 20 males and 20 females of A. fraterculus and Musca domestica. The second experiment used 20 individuals of M. sutrix (10 males and 10 females) and 120 of A. fraterculus (20 males and 20 females) for each treatment. Marks were made on the wings of the flies: a group with painted wing bands (n = 40) with their wings fully painted; another with highlighted wing bands (n = 40) and normal bands (n = 40). Recordings were made for 15 min or until the fly was preyed upon. The analyses were performed through observation of the recordings and Chi-square test with Yates correction for continuity. The values found for predation of A. fraterculus were significant when compared to M. domestica when evaluating the predation factor, showing that, A. fraterculus is less predated than M. domestica. It was found that the wing patterns did not influence the predatory behavior of M. sutrix.
Subject(s)
Predatory Behavior/physiology , Spiders/physiology , Tephritidae/anatomy & histology , Wings, Animal/anatomy & histology , Animals , Female , Male , Tephritidae/physiology , Wings, Animal/physiologyABSTRACT
In this work we described the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris in a photobioreactor to algal biomass production. The dried biomass was used as feedstock for biodiesel production, it presented 26 percent lipids and via sonocatalysis stage of the methodology resulted in 60 percent of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The FAME content was confirmed by Gas Chromatography (GC).
