Background: The Japanese Beetle, Newman, 1838 (Coleoptera, Rutelidae), is a univoltine agricultural pest that poses a serious threat to various agricultural crops. For more than 16 years, the Azorean official authorities have implemented a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programme that is crucial for understanding the dynamics of insect pests, such as the Japanese Beetle, and their impacts on agricultural ecosystems. The significance of this long-term monitoring extends beyond understanding the pest's life cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The coastal habitats in the southern Gulf of Mexico face multiple threats, such as rising water temperatures, acidification, increased turbidity, invasive species and pollutants. This imperils the biodiversity of beaches, wetlands and coral reefs. To address this, there is a need for comprehensive baseline information on marine biodiversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe order Polycladida (Platyhelminthes) in Mexico has historically received limited attention from researchers, primarily due to challenges associated with its low detectability and the scarcity of specialists. This study addresses part of the gap by conducting a comprehensive assessment of polyclad diversity in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Our investigation revealed a total of 27 distinct species, belonging to 17 genera and 12 families, within the suborders Cotylea and Acotylea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF, commonly known as the Portuguese Man o' War, is one of the most venomous members of the Cnidaria yet is poorly understood. This article investigates the toxicity of venom by assessing its behavioral and toxicological effects on . The venom administered orally revealed dose- and time-dependent mortality, with an LD50 of 67.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of pharmaceuticals in urban freshwater has been considered an emerging issue. Although rivers are better studied, the streams crossing the cities, which are prone to higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals, and with a higher potential to affect animals, plant and human health, were never specifically addressed in a review. Thus, here we performed a literature review on the existing pharmaceutical contamination and impacts of these compounds in the urban stream ecosystems.
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