While ecological interactions have been identified as determinant for biological control efficiency, the role of evolution remains largely underestimated in biological control programs. With the restrictions on the use of both pesticides and exotic biological control agents (BCAs), the evolutionary optimization of local BCAs becomes central for improving the efficiency and the resilience of biological control. In particular, we need to better account for the natural processes of evolution to fully understand the interactions of pests and BCAs, including in biocontrol strategies integrating human manipulations of evolution (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe balance between risk and benefit of exploiting resources drives life-history evolution in organisms. Predators are naturally recognized as major drivers of the life-history evolution of their prey. Although prey may also influence the life-history evolution of their predators in the context of an evolutionary arms race, there is far more evidence of the role of predators than of prey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScientific projects frequently involve measurements of thermophysical, thermochemical, and other related properties of chemical compounds and materials. These measured property data have significant potential value for the scientific community, but incomplete and inaccurate reporting often hampers their utilization. The present IUPAC Technical Report summarizes the needs of chemical engineers and researchers as consumers of these data and shows how publishing practices can improve information transfer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper reports the results of an investigation of industrial requirements for thermodynamic and transport properties carried out during the years 2019-2020. It is a follow-up of a similar investigation performed and published 10 years ago by the Working Party (WP) of Thermodynamics and Transport Properties of European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE). The main goal was to investigate the advances in this area over the past 10 years, to identify the limitations that still exist, and to propose future R&D directions that will address the industrial needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoccinellidae (Coleoptera), commonly known as ladybirds or ladybugs, are a highly diversified family comprising nearly 6000 described species (Vandenberg 2002) distributed in 2 subfamilies and 24 tribes (Seago et al. 2011). The genus Nephus Mulsant, 1846, present worldwide, is currently placed in the vast Coccidulini tribe (Seago et al.
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