Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Systems Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Systems Biology

A New Species And Synonymy Of The Neotropical Eucelatoria Townsend And Redescription Of Myiodoriops Townsend, Diego J. Inclán, John O. Stireman Iii Dec 2014

A New Species And Synonymy Of The Neotropical Eucelatoria Townsend And Redescription Of Myiodoriops Townsend, Diego J. Inclán, John O. Stireman Iii

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The New World tropics represents the most diverse region for tachinid parasitoids (Diptera: Tachinidae), but it also contains the most narrowly defined, and possibly the most confusing, tachinid genera of any biogeographic region. This over-splitting of genera and taxonomic confusion has limited progress toward our understanding the family in this region and much work is needed to revise, redefine, and make sense of the profusion of finely split taxa. In a recent analysis of the Neotropical genus Erythromelana Townsend, two species previously assigned to this genus, Euptilodegeeria obumbrata (Wulp) and Myiodoriops marginalis Townsend were reinstated as monotypic genera. In the …


White Fringetree, Chionanthus Virginicus, As A Novel Larval Host For Emerald Ash Boer, Don Cipollini Oct 2014

White Fringetree, Chionanthus Virginicus, As A Novel Larval Host For Emerald Ash Boer, Don Cipollini

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Emerald ash borer is an invasive Asian pest of ash species in North America. All North American species of ash tested so far are susceptible to it, but there are no published reports of this insect developing fully in non-ash hosts in the field in North America. I report here evidence that EAB can attack and complete development in white fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus L., a species native to the southeastern U.S. that is also planted ornamentally.


Native Insect Herbivory Limits Population Growth Rate Of A Non-Native Thistle, James O. Eckberg, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Svata M. Louda Jan 2014

Native Insect Herbivory Limits Population Growth Rate Of A Non-Native Thistle, James O. Eckberg, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Svata M. Louda

Brigitte Tenhumberg Papers

The influence of native fauna on non-native plant population growth, size, and distribution is not well documented. Previous studies have shown that native insects associated with tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum) also feed on the leaves, stems, and flower heads of the Eurasian congener Cirsium vulgare, thus limiting individual plant performance. In this study, we tested the effects of insect herbivores on the population growth rate of C. vulgare. We experimentally initiated invasions by adding seeds at four unoccupied grassland sites in eastern Nebraska, USA, and recorded plant establishment, survival, and reproduction. Cumulative foliage and floral herbivory …


Chasing Tachinids ‘Down Under’: Expeditions Of The Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae Project, Part Ii Eastern Australia, James E. O'Hara, Pierfilippo Cerretti, John O. Stireman Iii, Isaac S. Winkler Jan 2014

Chasing Tachinids ‘Down Under’: Expeditions Of The Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae Project, Part Ii Eastern Australia, James E. O'Hara, Pierfilippo Cerretti, John O. Stireman Iii, Isaac S. Winkler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Last year we documented in the pages of this newsletter an expedition to the Western Cape of South Africa in search of tachinids for the “Phylogeny of World Tachinidae” project (Cerretti et al. 2013). The project itself was discussed in a separate article (Stireman et al. 2013). In this issue of The Tachinid Times we discuss our expedition to eastern Australia in late 2013. This trip took place so recently that we have yet to fully identify our material and as a result cannot record here all of the taxa we collected. Instead, we will add the taxa to a …


Progress Towards A Molecular Phylogeny Of Tachinidae, Year Two, Isaac S. Winkler, John O. Stireman Iii, John K. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Jeremy D. Blaschke Jan 2014

Progress Towards A Molecular Phylogeny Of Tachinidae, Year Two, Isaac S. Winkler, John O. Stireman Iii, John K. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Jeremy D. Blaschke

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We reported last year (Stireman et al. 2013) in The Tachinid Times on our collaborative project, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, to study the phylogeny of Tachinidae on a worldwide scale. Since that report, we have made some significant progress towards our goal of assembling a robust phylogenetic tree for Tachinidae. Notably, Cerretti et al. (in press) completed a phylogenetic study using 135 morphological characters from 180 tachinid genera. Results from this study largely reflect, with some interesting exceptions, what we are finding from preliminary analyses of our molecular data. Although sampling of taxa and genes for the …