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A recent expedition in the Potwar Plateau of Pakistan has yielded dental material of three rhinocerotid species Chilotherium intermedium, Alicornops complanatum, and Brachypotherium perimense. The material came from the Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations of the Middle Siwalik Subgroup in Punjab, Pakistan. These specimens are good addition to provide additional morphological characters that show information about the variations in dental characters of theese already recorded species and contribute to recent work on Rhinocerotidae from the Middle Siwalik Subgroup of Pakistan. The studied remains of these three rhinocerotids species whose remains are relatively low in the Middle Siwaliks are good paleontological contribution with some more detailed work suggested here to understand about these genera. Presence of these Siwalik rhinocerotids indicates diverse habitats from forest to savanna environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil macro-fauna regarded as a fundamental indicator, responsive to water pollution's impact on agricultural systems' management options. They are an essential part and hence contributing to the pivotal role in all the agro-ecosystems. In the present study, soil macro-faunal diversity was estimated from cauliflower fields (treated and control) in Faisalabad, district, Pakistan. Soil macro-fauna belonging to three phyla were recorded from cauliflower treated and control fields. The maximum relative abundance was recorded for phylum Mollusca (58.18%) from cauliflower control fields. In cauliflower control fields, the macro-fauna population consisted of 52 species, 44 genera and 24 families and nine orders. The cauliflower treated fields consisted of 58 species, 51 genera and 60 families, and 12 orders. Highest diversity index was found in cauliflower treated fields (3.451); the higher dominance was in cauliflower control fields (0.526). Evenness was recorded higher (0.474) in control cauliflower fields, while richness in cauliflower treated fields was recorded higher (8.855) than in control fields (6.499). These agro-farming practices are destroying important organisms, soil texture, hydrological procedures, detoxification, and nutrients recycling. Presently, it is dire need to make conservation strategies for the survival of fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coccinellid beetles are widely recognized biological control agents and are voracious feeder of cereal aphids. Aphid predation by Coccinellid predators is quite imperative for long-term regulation of their population in agricultural crops. The factual role of natural enemies in biological control depends on their capability to devour large number of pests. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine predatory potential of selected Coccinellid beetles in the laboratory as well as to ascertain their hierarchy in aphid preference. On account of that per day feeding efficacy of four Coccinellid species, Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinella sexmaculata, Coccinella transversalis and Hippodamia variegata as well as their larval instars were determined on aphid species Myzus persicae, Rhopalosiphum padi, Schizaphis graminum, and Sitobion avenae in order to elucidate their efficiency in choice and no choice feeding assays. Coccinella sexmaculata was found to be the most efficient predatory species followed by H. variegata, C. septempunctata and C. transversalis against aphids. Aphids M. persicae and S. avenae were preferred diet for adult and larvae of C. septempunctata as compared to M. persicae and R. padi for C. transversalis. Maximum consumption per day of adult as well as larval instars of C. sexmaculata was observed for S. graminum. Adults of H. variegata fed more on S. avenae while grubs fed more on S. graminum. M. persicae was found to be the potential host for all predatory Coccinellids. Highly significant variations (P<0.001) were observed for per day feeding efficacy of all selected predators and their larvae. Coccinellid predators appeared to have substantial capacity to consume aphids that evinced their ability as viable control agents of aphids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthropods are the major part of the species on earth, theyparticipate significantly in sustaining agricultural ecological systems. Their participation makes them functional bioindicators for determining agro-ecosystem stability. Yet, their abundance and diversity in some terrestrial ecosystems are still undisclosed. This work wasdone to determine the diversity of arthropod fauna in agro-ecosystem of District Faisalabad, Pakistan to compare and analyze the diversity, abundance, and richness of species in different ecological conditions. A total of 245 species belonging to 10 orders,70 families and 2741 specimens were collected from agroecosystem. The diversity parameters used to analyze the diversity of arthropods are Shannon index, Evenness Margalef index, Simpson index and Sorenson similarity index. More distantly it was observed that the most abundantly found orders were Orthoptera, Diptera, and Hemiptera. Orthoptera comprised 23.45%, Diptera 19.55%, Hemiptera 17.43%, Lepidoptera 11.30%, Hymenoptera 11.60%, Coleoptera 7.51%, Aranea 5.10%, Odonata 2.15%, Mantodea 0.94% and Neuroptera 0.91%. Morning fauna exhibit the highest Shannon diversity index (H=4.343) and Margalef index (D = 63.99) while the evening time showed the least Shannon diversity index (H=2.535) and Margalef index (D = 61.49). The arthropods abundance differed significantly in the morning and evening (p<0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The irrigation with sewage wastewater is a severe threat for the existence of soil macro faunal communities. For this reason, it is a dire need to uphold their virtue for future concern. Current research was planned to check the impact of contaminated sewage wastewater on soil macro fauna in selected cauliflower and tomato fields, in district Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 7845 specimens belonging to 160 species were observed during consecutive two years study. Tomato fields showed higher population 35.25% (N=2766) of soil macrofauna in control than treated 27.89% (N=2188) fields, similarly control cauliflower fields showed higher population 27.95% (N=2192) than treated 8.91% (N=699). Overall species richness was higher in tomato (12.57) than in cauliflower (11.54) fields. The Coleoptera was the most frequent order (44 species) in both fields. Maximum diversity index was recorded from control treatment in tomato field (2.937), maximum dominance was documented from tomato field treated with sewage water (0.497) and higher evenness (0.846) was recorded in cauliflower fields irrigated with sewage water. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that selected micronutrients, macronutrients and edaphic factors were correlated to species distribution and a tool to figure out the soil macrofaunal diversity. So, it was concluded that when heavy metals; lead (Pb), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) are present in wastewater they cause hazardous effects on inhabiting soil flora and fauna by reducing quality and quantity of food and functioning of soil macrofauna populations, moreover, decline the soil fauna density and abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nature conservation and social equity issues have been approached in a myriad of ways by conservation, humanitarian, and development practitioners. The rapid and shifting urbanization of the globe makes the interaction of these issues paramount and it is imperative to articulate pathways to harmonizing these relationships readily followed by conservation practitioners. We describe the processes and compare the resulting social equity and conservation objectives of two initiatives purposefully integrating these approaches. A private nonprofit seeking to develop an urban conservation program in the Atlanta metropolitan area purposefully engaged residents from surrounding communities and self‐identified local and sector leaders to identify communities where social equity and conservation objectives could be created together. A public agency, built on a century‐long history of environmental stewardship for migratory birds and pollinators, integrated 20 years of participatory action research to engage the surrounding communities using methods suggested and developed by the communities themselves. In both cases, community‐based research approaches have helped establish cocreated objectives and flexible monitoring and evaluation baselines. Both initiatives found a need to appropriately resource and train staff to remain open to learning and evolving new objectives as additional perspectives emerge and the impact on conservation and equity objectives is assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jassid (Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) is an emerging serious pest of brinjal crop in Pakistan. The present study was carried out for evaluating relative plant resistance/susceptibility of different cultivars of brinjal against the jassid during summer 2009 at PARS, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Fourteen cultivars of brinjal viz. Pusa Purple Round (PPR), Rubi, Vrib-01, Vrib-02-F1, Dilnasheen, Vrib-0401, Vrib-04, Bemissal, Vrib-9901, Nirala, Qaisar, JK_Kajal, Cluster King and Purple QL were tested for their susceptibility against jassid. All the tested cultivars showed significant differences (P=0.05) for the tested parameters viz. pest preference, host plant susceptibility indices (HPSI) as well as yield/plot. The peak infestation time of the pest after sowing of crop was 1st week of June after which it gradually declined. The cultivars Nirala, Bemissal and Vrib-04 appeared as comparatively susceptible showing high population of jassid/leaf while Vrib-9901, Vrib-0401, and Vrib- 02-F1 appeared as intermediate and Rubi, Vrib-01 and Cluster King were observed comparatively as resistant ones with least number of jassid/leaf. The cultivar Bemissal proved the most susceptible varietyamong the tested ones showing maximum level of HPSI (18%) and minimum fruit yield (44.66 kg/plot) while Rubi proved the most resistant cultivar with minimum HPSI (7%) and a maximum fruit yield (81.0 kg/plot). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological risk assessments typically are organized using the processes of planning (a discussion among managers, stakeholders, and analysts to clarify ecosystem management goals and assessment scope) and problem formulation (evaluation of existing information to generate hypotheses about adverse ecological effects, select assessment endpoints, and develop an analysis plan). These processes require modification to be applicable for integrated assessments that evaluate ecosystem management alternatives in terms of their ecological, economic, and social consequences. We present 8 questions that define the steps of a new process we term integrated problem formulation (IPF), and we illustrate the use of IPF through a retrospective case study comparing 2 recent phases of development of the Fire Program Analysis (FPA) system, a planning and budgeting system for the management of wildland fire throughout publicly managed lands in the United States. IPF extends traditional planning and problem formulation by including the explicit comparison of management alternatives, the valuation of ecological, economic and social endpoints, and the combination or integration of those endpoints. The phase 1, limited-prototype FPA system used a set of assessment endpoints of common form (i.e., probabilities of given flame heights over acres of selected land-resource types), which were specified and assigned relative weights at the local level in relation to a uniform national standard. This approach was chosen to permit system-wide optimization of fire management budget allocations according to a cost-effectiveness criterion. Before full development, however, the agencies abandoned this approach in favor of a phase 2 system that examined locally specified (rather than system-optimized) allocation alternatives and was more permissive as to endpoint form. We demonstrate how the IPF process illuminates the nature, rationale, and consequences of these differences, and argue that its early use for the FPA system may have enabled a smoother development path. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010;6:469–483. © 2009 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study examined the predatory preference and its impact on developmental period of Episyrphus balteatus on four aphid species i.e., Brevicoryne brassicae, Schizaphis graminum, Myzus persicae and Rhopalosiphum padi which were abundantly present in the croplands of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Prey consumption by all larval instars was evaluated under laboratory conditions at an average temperature of 20±5°C, 60±5% RH and photoperiod of 16:8 h D: L. Predator-prey interaction between two antagonistic groups of insects (Syrphids: E. balteatus and four aphid species) was determined. The selection of prey species was carried out on the basis of relative abundance of species in cropland data of whole year and predator-prey interaction by applying regression. Results revealed that the developmental duration was recorded significantly longer by consuming B. brassicae and S. graminum while larval growth was significantly greater in the presence of S. graminum (11.5 days) and R. padi (11.4 days) by consuming (410.3) and (397.3) specimens of later two aphid species, respectively. Predatory impact on aphids was more effective on B. brassicae, due to its relatively less consumption and increased growth. Highest number of aphid predation was observed during 3rd instar. These studies are important for effective management and control of these aphid species. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA/PCR based molecular gut analysis of Coccinella septempunctata, Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Hippodamia convergens, Camponotus pennsylvanicus and Solenopsis invicta, for six hemipteran pest species namely Macrosiphum miscanthi, Aphis maidis, Schizaphis graminum, Bemisia tabaci, Empoasca kerri and Drosicha mangiferae was done in the laboratory. Analysis was done by RAPD and Species specific primer techniques. A total of 175 fragments were amplified using 25 RAPD primers. 159 fragments were polymorphic, showing 91% polymorphism. The number of amplification products varied from 6 to 11, with an average of 7.00 per primer. With RAPD technique unique bands of some of the prey species were found in fed predators. A fragment of approx. 400 bp was observed with primer GLI-II in the DNA sample of M. miscanthi and fed C. sexmaculata. Another fragment of approximately 350 bp was observed with primer GLI-03 in the DNA sample of fed H. convergens and in DNA sample of B. tabaci. Species specific primer based gut analysis of C. septempunctata, C. sexmaculata, H. convergens, C. pennsylvanicus and S. invicta, for two major aphid pests namely; S. graminum and A. maidis was also done by using species specific mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II primers derived from ribosomal RNA genes. Approximately 198 bp fragment of A. maidis with primer ClaCOIIF and ClaCOIIR1 was detected in C. septempunctata, C. sexmaculata and H. convergens specimens collected from wheat, brassica and fodder fields. Similarly approximately 111 bp fragment of S. gramiinum with primer GbCOIIF2 and GbCOIIR1 was detected in C. septempunctata, C. sexmaculata and H. convergens collected from wheat, brassica and fodder reconfirming their generalist predator trophic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predation rate of adult and larvae of Coccinella septempunctata, Cheilomenes sexmaculata, and Hippodamia variegata on aphids Macrosiphum miscanthi, Schizaphis graminum, Aphis maidis and jassid Empoasca kerri, the major pests in croplands of Punjab was studied in laboratory. The experiments were carried out at 25°C±5°C, at relative humidity of 60±5 and 12:12 (light: darkness) hours photoperiod. Two experiments were designed. In first experiment, each predator (adult/larvae) was fed a prey species at different densities (30, 40 & 50). In second experiment, all the predators (adult/larvae) were fed different prey species with fixed number (20). The average predation rate ranged from10.6±0.71 to 33±5.43 aphids and 4.8±0.84 to 8.8±1.48 jassid/day. Predation rate of each predator species increased with the increase in prey density of each species. Overall larval feeding rate was 2.0 fold greater than those of adults. Adult Hippodamia variegata and Cheilomenes sexmaculata had greater predation rate as compared to C. septempunctata; whereas larval feeding rate was almost same within each prey density. Predators preferred aphids over jassids. Among the aphids, Schizaphis graminum was the preferred species. Adults did not consume jassid in presence of aphid. Findings may be helpful in understanding the role of some coccinellids as natural pest suppressors and their possible use in biological control programmes against aphid/jassid species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]