Revision of the Culicoides (Avaritia) Imicola complex Khamala & Kettle (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Australasian region.

The monophyly of the Imicola complex, a natural species complex within subgenus C. subgen. Avaritia Fox of the biting midge genus Culicoides Latreille, is supported using morphological and molecular analyses.

Myrmecophilous rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) associated with Aenictus hodgsoni (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Thailand, with description of two new genera and three new species.

Three species of rove beetles (subfamily Aleocharinae) were collected from colonies of Aenictus hodgsoni Forel, 1901 in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. They are classified into three genera, including two new genera, and described herein as: Aenictobia siamensis Maruyama, sp. n.

Weight lifting can facilitate appreciative comprehension for museum exhibits.

Appreciation of exhibits in a museum can be equated to a virtual experience of lives in the contexts originally surrounding the exhibits. Here we focus on the importance of weight information, and hence tested whether experiencing a weight during museum exhibit appreciation affects the beholders' satisfaction and recognition memory for the exhibits. An experiment was performed at a museum exhibiting skeletal preparations of animals.

Termitotrox cupido sp. n. (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), a new termitophilous scarab species from the Indo-Chinese subregion, associated with Hypotermes termites.

Termitotrox cupidosp. n. is described from Cambodia and represents the first discovery of Termitotrox Reichensperger, 1915 from the Indo-Chinese subregion of the Oriental region.

Adinopsis nippon, a new species of marsh-dwelling rove beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Deinopsini) from Japan, with an annotated catalogue of Adinopsis species of the world.

Adinopsis nippon sp. n. is described from Japan and represents the first discovery of the genus Adinopsis in the temperate zone of the East Palearctic region.

Female size constrains egg size via the influence of reproductive organ size and resource storage in the seed beetle Callosobruchus chinensis.

The standard egg size model predicts that a mother lays an optimal size of eggs in a given environment. However, there is evidence that larger females lay larger eggs across diverse animal taxa. This positive correlation suggests there are morphological constraints on egg size imposed by the size of the maternal organ through which eggs pass during oviposition.

Optimal investment for enhancing social concern about biodiversity conservation: a dynamic approach.

To maintain biodiversity conservation areas, we need to invest in activities, such as monitoring the condition of the ecosystem, preventing illegal exploitation, and removing harmful alien species. These require a constant supply of resources, the level of which is determined by the concern of the society about biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we study the optimal fraction of the resources to invest in activities for enhancing the social concern y(t) by environmental education, museum displays, publications, and media exposure.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services science for a sustainable planet: the DIVERSITAS vision for 2012-20.

DIVERSITAS, the international programme on biodiversity science, is releasing a strategic vision presenting scientific challenges for the next decade of research on biodiversity and ecosystem services: "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Science for a Sustainable Planet". This new vision is a response of the biodiversity and ecosystem services scientific community to the accelerating loss of the components of biodiversity, as well as to changes in the biodiversity science-policy landscape (establishment of a Biodiversity Observing Network - GEO BON, of an Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - IPBES, of the new Future Earth initiative; and release of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020). This article presents the vision and its core scientific challenges.

Aleocharine rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) associated with Leptogenys Roger, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) II. Two new genera and two new species associated with L. borneensis Wheeler, 1919.

Two new genera and two new species of Aleocharinae (Staphylinidae) from Malaysia are described: Parawroughtonilla Maruyama, gen. n. (type species: Parawroughtonilla hirsutaMaruyama, sp.

Aleocharine rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) associated with Leptogenys Roger, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) I. Review of three genera associated with L. distinguenda (Emery, 1887) and L. mutabilis (Smith, 1861).

Three myrmecophilous genera of Aleocharinae (Staphylinidae) associated with Leptogenys distinguenda (Emery, 1887) and Leptogenys mutabilis (Smith, 1861) are reviewed with descriptions of new taxa: Maschwitzia Kistner, 1989, Togpelenys Kistner, 1989 and Witteia Maruyama & von Beeren, gen. n. (type species: Witteia dentilabrumMaruyama & von Beeren, sp.

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of Photinia glabra (Rosaceae) in Japan.

Climate changes during glacial periods have had significant effects on the present geographic distribution of plant species. To elucidate the evolutionary history of a plant species with a disjunctive distribution, we investigated the geographic distribution patterns of cpDNA haplotypes in Photinia glabra (Rosaceae) growing in broadleaved evergreen forests in Japan. We examined cpDNA in 42 populations of P.

Karyotypic analysis of Skimmia japonica (Rutaceae) and related species.

A karyotypic analysis of three species of Skimmia (Rutaceae) in East Asia was performed that examined 88 individuals from 53 localities. Chromosome numbers of S. japonica, S.

Geographical variation of mandible size and shape in the Japanese wild pig (Sus scrofa leucomystax).

The mandibles of the Japanese wild pigs (Sus scrofa leucomystax) from various geographical locations, which have been stored in the University of Tokyo and National Science Museum, Tokyo were examined. The mandibles from northern localities were larger in size than those from southern localities. The Oita population was significantly smaller than the Honshu populations.