Too much of a good thing: Lessons from compromised rootworm Bt maize in the US Corn Belt.

Widespread use of genetically engineered maize targeting the corn rootworm complex ( species) has raised concerns about insect resistance. Twelve years of university field trial and farm survey data from 10 US Corn Belt states indicate that maize hybrids expressing toxins derived from the bacterium (Bt maize) exhibited declining protection from rootworm feeding with increased planting while pest pressures simultaneously decreased. The analysis revealed a tendency to overplant Bt maize, leading to substantial economic losses; this was particularly striking in eastern Corn Belt states.

A global dataset of fossil fungi records from the Cenozoic.

There is a substantial geologic record of microfossils belonging to the fungal kingdom, however there is a need for a curation of these fossil fungi records which is up-to-date, convenient, and manipulable. Here we present MyCeno (Mycology of the Cenozoic) 2.0: a dataset containing more than 3,000 records of fossil fungi from the Cenozoic era (66 million years ago to present) and from more than 200 locations around the world.

Insecticide application prevents honey bees from realizing benefits of native forage in an agricultural landscape.

Health and population status of bees is negatively affected by anthropogenic stressors, many of which co-occur in agricultural settings. While pollinator habitat (often involving plantings of native forbs) holds promise to benefit both managed and wild bees, important issues remain unresolved. These include whether conventional, broad-spectrum insecticide use negates these benefits and how non-native, managed honey bees affect wild bees in these areas.

A novel placement method of a calibration-free pH capsule for continuous wireless measurement of intragastric pH in horses.

Background: Current methods to measure intragastric pH in horses have limitations. A wireless capsule has been designed for continuous esophageal pH monitoring in humans.

Objectives: To (1) determine the feasibility and describe the methodology of measuring intragastric pH wirelessly in horses; and (2) determine attachment duration of the capsules.

Summer-Wet Hydrologic Cycle during the Middle Miocene of the United States: New Evidence from Fossil Fungi.

Hydrologic reconstructions from North America are largely unknown for the Middle Miocene. Examination of fungal palynomorph assemblages coupled with traditional plant-based palynology permits delineation of local, as opposed to regional, climate signals and provides a baseline for study of ancient fungas. Here, the Fungi in a Warmer World project presents paleoecology and paleoclimatology of 351 fungal morphotypes from 3 sites in the United States: the Clarkia Konservat-Lagerstätte site (Idaho), the Alum Bluff site (Florida), and the Bouie River site (Mississippi).