DOCSLIB.ORG

National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Malawi

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Malawi MALAWI GOVERNMENT Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Natural Resources National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Environmental Affairs Department October 2006 Printed by THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, Lilongwe, Malawi Recommended citation: Environmental Affairs Department 2006. National Biodiversity strategy and action plan. Published by Environmental Affairs Department Private Bag 394 Lilongwe 3 Malawi Tel: (+265) -1 -771 111 Fax: (+265) -1 -773 379 Printed in Malawi by THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, Lilongwe, Malawi ISBN: 99908-26-54-9 2006 Environmental Affairs Department. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or translated in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Environmental Affairs Department. This publication is product of Environmental Affairs Department and was made possible through support provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Norwegian Government. NBSAP drafting team Editors: Augustin C. Chikuni (PhD) Eston Y. Sambo (PhD) Chapter authors Humphrey Nzima Richard Phoya (Prof.) Moses Banda (PhD) Paul Munyenyembe (PhD) Wisdom Changadeya George Phiri (PhD) Kenyatta K. Nyirenda Vincent W. Saka (Prof.) James Chuma (Deceased) Ernest Misomali Judith Kamoto Yanira Ntupanyama FOREWORD Malawi’s Biodiversity is characterised by a large number of species, diverse habitats and ecosystems some of which are important sites of high endemism such as Lake Malawi, Nyika plateau and Mulanje mountain. Lake Malawi, covering about 20% of Malawi’s total area, boasts of over 700 endemic Cichlid species and contains 15% of world's freshwater fish. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. On the other hand, Lake Chilwa which became a Ramsar site in 1997 and also an important bird Sanctuary in Malawi is a wetland of international importance. It annually supports about 153 species of resident and 30 species of migratory water birds. Biodiversity provides various benefits to Malawians such as food, shelter, medicine, income, cultural and spiritual. It is also source of livelihoods and engine of economic growth. Despite these benefits the sustainability of biodiversity is threatened by several factors such as habitat loss (due to agricultural expansion); encroachment into protected areas; disruption of important, fragile but unprotected ecosystems; uncontrolled bush fires; illegal exploitation of forestry and wildlife resources; over-exploitation of freshwater biodiversity and policy failures. The greatest challenge for Malawi is to ensure conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources whilst dealing with equally pressing and important issues of rapid human population growth, extreme poverty, high illiteracy levels, HIV/AIDS and harmonisation of policies and legislation in the country. Despite all these problems Malawi is committed to conserve and sustainably use its biological resources. This is exemplified by the recent efforts to rehabilitate heavily deforested forest reserves (e.g. Ndilande Forest Reserve), putting in place regulatory framework for Access and Benefit Sharing, and developing strategies and action plans for natural resources management, the latest being this Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Delopment of this strategies would not have been possible if Malawi did not put in place enabling policy framework such as the National Environmental Policy (NEP) and the Environmental Management Act (EMA) in 1996. This NBSAP outlines the status of the various biodiversity resources in Malawi and stipulates strategies and actions necessary to ensure the management and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. It further provides strategic guidance for the implementation of Chapter III Section (d) of Malawi's Constitution. The NBSAP recognises the importance of stakeholder participation in biodiversity conservation and the need to improve accessibility and availability of information on biological resources. It also recognises the importance of harmonising sectoral policies and legislation in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and promotion of fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilisation of biodiversity resources and traditional knowledge. Although the Government has taken necessary steps to strengthen our ability to conserve biological resources, programmes proposed in this document will strengthen our co-operative effort in promotion of biodiversity issues through participatory approach and various media. It is my sincere hope therefore that this NBSAP will increase our appreciation of the rich biological resources and that it will provide a strategic framework for reversing the trend of environmental degradation in the country. C. P. MSOSA Secretary for Energy, Mines and Natural Resources (v) Acknowledgements The Environmental Affairs Department on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Mines, Resources and Environmental Affairs is indebted to all local biodiversity experts especially Task Force Leaders and members of the following task forces: the Diversity of Plants in Malawi; Microorganisms; Wild and Indigenous Animals; Ecosystems; Review of Conservation Legislation; Domesticated and Introduced Species; Land Use Management and Biodiversity Conservation; An Inventory of Literature on Biodiversity; for collecting, collating and preparing task force reports that formed the basis for this document. Names all Task Force Leaders and members that the department would like to thank most sincerely are included in Annex One. The department is also thankful to Mr. H. Nzima, Dr. A. Chikuni, Prof. R. Phoya, Prof. V. Saka, Dr. G. Phiri, Dr. P. Munyenyembe, Mr. W. Changadeya, Mr. K. K. Nyirenda, late Mr. J. Chuma, Mr. E. Misomali, Mrs. Y. Ntupanyama and Mrs. J. Kamoto who volunteered to form the drafting team and prepared various chapters of this strategic plan. Special appreciations are due to Dr. A. Chikuni who volunteered to take over the coordination of the NBSAP project from Dr. Z. Vokhiwa upon his retirement, and compiled and edited the document together with Dr. E. Sambo. The department also wishes to thank most sincerely Directors and Heads of natural resource sectors for critical reading of this document. Further appreciations are due to Dr. David Duthie, UNEP Nairobi, Dr. Alan Rogers, GEF Tanzania, Prof. J. Seyani, Commonwealth Science Council UK (now with National Herbarium and Botanic Garden of Malawi) and Prof. CO Dudley, Chancellor College, Malawi for reviewing this document. Further thanks are due to all who contributed to the NBSAP process through their participation in workshops whose names are too many to be mentioned. Further thanks are due to the National Herbarium & Botanic Gardens of Malawi, which through its role as the Chair of the Biodiversity Committee worked very closely with the NBSAP secretariat to guide preparation of this document. The department is also thankful to the Norwegian Government for providing financial support through the NORAD/SADC Biodiversity Support Programme to NHBG towards the finalisation of the NBSAP document, and the financial support it received from Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) and the Malawi Environment Endowment Trust (MEET) during the National Consultative Workshop. Finally the Government of Malawi is also indebted to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The Wild Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), for financial and technical support without which the First National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the NBSAP would not have been possible. (ix) List of figures PAGE Figure 1. Map of Malawi . 3 Figure 2. Biodiversity hotspots of Malawi . 9 Figure 3. Indigenous fruit juices . 10 Figure 4. Deforestation in Malosa Forest Reserve . 12 Figure 5. Examples of rare, threatened and endemic plants not included in list of protected trees . 24 Figure 6. Some reptiles of Malawi . 26 Figure 7. Some frogs of Malawi . 26 Figure 8. Some birds of Malawi . 27 Figure 9. Some threatened mammals of Malawi . 28 Figure 10 Slash and burn (shifting cultivation) in Chitipa District, Northern Region . 29 Eichhornia crassipes Figure 11. Water hyacinth a major invasive aquatic plant . 34 Figure 12. Some fish species of Lake Malawi . 35 Figure 13. Traditional cereals of Malawi . 42 Figure 14. Common and naturalised livestock types . 45 Figure 15. Summary of total fish catches in major waters of Malawi . 47 Figure 16. Analysis of fish catch in Lake Malombe . 47 Figure 17. Common and notorious alien invasive species recorded in Malawi 67 Figure 18. Institutional structures for the implementation of the NBSAP . 104 (xi) Table of contents PAGE Chapter One: Introduction Topography.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Climate . 1 Soils.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Vegetation . 1 Population . 1 Economy.... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Land Tenure . 2 Chapter Two: Malawi’s Rationale for Biodiversity Conservation in Malawi What is Biodiversity? . 5 Importance of biodiversity . 5 Malawi’s response to biodiversity conservation . 7 Threats to biodiversity . 10 Rationale for biodiversity strategy and action plan for Malawi . 12 The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Process
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Distribution Records of Aphids (Hemiptera: Phylloxeroidea, Aphidoidea) Associated with Main Forest-Forming Trees in Northern Europe
    © Entomologica Fennica. 5 December 2012 Distribution records of aphids (Hemiptera: Phylloxeroidea, Aphidoidea) associated with main forest-forming trees in Northern Europe Andrey V. Stekolshchikov & Mikhail V. Kozlov Stekolshchikov, A. V.& Kozlov, M. V.2012: Distribution records of aphids (He- miptera: Phylloxeroidea, Aphidoidea) associated with main forest-forming trees in Northern Europe. — Entomol. Fennica 23: 206–214. We report records of 25 species of aphids collected from four species of woody plants (Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Betula pubescens and B. pendula)at50 study sites in Northern Europe, located from 59° to 70° N and from 10° to 60° E. Critical evaluation of earlier publications demonstrated that in spite of the obvi- ous limitations of our survey, the obtained information substantially contributed to the knowledge of the distribution of aphids in North European Russia, includ- ing Murmansk oblast (103 species recorded to date), Republic of Karelia (58 spe- cies), Arkhangelsk oblast (37 species), Vologda oblast (17 species) and Republic of Komi (29 species). We confirm the occurrence of Cinara nigritergi in South- ern Karelia; Pineus cembrae, Cinara pilosa and Monaphis antennata are for the first time recorded in Norway. A. V.Stekolshchikov, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Univer- sitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia; E-mail: [email protected] M. V. Kozlov, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland; E-mail: [email protected] Received 2 February 2012, accepted 5 April 2012 1. Introduction cades (e.g., Albrecht 2012), no comparable data (with rare exceptions) exist for the northern parts Species distributions and, consequently, spatial of the European Russia.
    [Show full text]
  • Country Environmental Profile for Malawi
    COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES EC Framework Contract EuropeAid/119860/C/SV/multi Lot 6: Environment Beneficiaries: Malawi Request for Services N°2006/122946 Country Environmental Profile for Malawi Draft Report (Mrs. B. Halle, Mr. J. Burgess) August 2006 Consortium AGRIFOR Consult Parc CREALYS, Rue L. Genonceaux 14 B - 5032 Les Isnes - Belgium Tel : + 32 81 - 71 51 00 - Fax : + 32 81 - 40 02 55 Email : [email protected] ARCA Consulting (IT) – CEFAS (GB) - CIRAD (FR) – DFS (DE) – EPRD (PL) - FORENVIRON (HU) – INYPSA (ES) – ISQ (PT) – Royal Haskoning (NL) This report is financed by the European Commission and is presented by AGRIFOR Consult for the Government of Malawi and the European Commission. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Government of Malawi or the European Commission. Consortium AGRIFOR Consult 1 Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations 3 1. Summary 6 1.1 State of the environment 6 1.2 Environmental policy, legislative and institutional framework 8 1.3 EU and other donor co-operation with the Country from an environmental perspective 10 1.4 Conclusions and recommendations 11 2. State of the Environment 15 2.1 Physical and biological environment 15 2.1.1 Climate, climate change and climate variability 15 2.1.2 Geology and mineral resources 16 2.1.3 Land and soils 16 2.1.4 Water (lakes, rivers, surface water, groundwater) 17 2.1.5 Ecosystems and biodiversity 19 2.1.6 Risk of natural disasters 20 2.2 Socio-economic environment 21 2.2.1 Pressures on the natural resources 21 2.2.2 Urban areas and industries 31 2.2.3 Poverty and living conditions in human settlements 35 2.3 Environment situation and trends 37 2.4 Environmental Indicators 38 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Elongation Factor-2: a Useful Gene for Arthropod Phylogenetics Jerome C
    Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution Vol. 20, No. 1, July, pp. 136 –148, 2001 doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.0956, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Elongation Factor-2: A Useful Gene for Arthropod Phylogenetics Jerome C. Regier* ,1 and Jeffrey W. Shultz† *Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Plant Sciences Building, College Park, Maryland 20742; and †Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, Plant Sciences Building, College Park, Maryland 20742 Received September 26, 2000; revised January 24, 2001; published online June 6, 2001 Key Words: Arthropoda; elongation factor-1␣; elon- Robust resolution of controversial higher-level gation factor-2; molecular systematics; Pancrustacea; groupings within Arthropoda requires additional RNA polymerase II. sources of characters. Toward this end, elongation fac- tor-2 sequences (1899 nucleotides) were generated from 17 arthropod taxa (5 chelicerates, 6 crustaceans, INTRODUCTION 3 hexapods, 3 myriapods) plus an onychophoran and a tardigrade as outgroups. Likelihood and parsimony The conceptual framework for understanding organis- analyses of nucleotide and amino acid data sets con- mal diversity of arthropods will remain incomplete and sistently recovered Myriapoda and major chelicerate controversial as long as robustly supported phylogenetic -groups with high bootstrap support. Crustacea ؉ relationships are lacking. This is illustrated by the cur .Pancrustacea) was recovered with mod- rent debate on the phylogenetic placement of hexapods ؍) Hexapoda erate support, whereas the conflicting group Myri- The morphology-based Atelocerata hypothesis maintains Atelocerata) was never recov- that hexapods share a common terrestrial ancestor with ؍) apoda ؉ Hexapoda ered and bootstrap values were always <5%. With myriapods, but the molecule-based Pancrustaea hypoth- additional nonarthropod sequences included, one in- esis maintains that hexapods share a common aquatic del supports monophyly of Tardigrada, Onychophora, ancestor with crustaceans.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cotton Mealybug Phenacoccus Solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) As a New Insect Pest on Tomato Plants in Egypt
    JOURNAL OF PLANT PROTECTION RESEARCH Vol. 55, No. 1 (2015) DOI: 10.1515/jppr-2015-0007 The cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) as a new insect pest on tomato plants in Egypt Samah Sayed Ibrahim1, Fatma Abdelhalim Moharum1, Nesreen Mohamed Abd El-Ghany2* 1 Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, 7 Nadi El-Seid St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt 2 Pests and Plant Protection Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt Received: September 10, 2014 Accepted: February 4, 2015 Abstract: Recently, the mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) was recorded as a new pest on tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) growing in Egypt. The mealybugs specimens were collected from tomato plants in the Qalyoubia governorate during summer season of 2014. The mealybug was identified as P. solenopsis based on the morphological characters and taxonomic key of this species. This study represents the first record of P. solenopsis as a new insect pest attacking tomato plants in Egypt. Key words: Lycopersicon esculentum, mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Introduction was originally described from the USA in 1898. Until In less than a century, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum 1992, this insect was known only in the USA, where it Mill) (Family: Solanaceae) has become a major world was widespread (Ben-Dov 2004). Phenacoccus solenopsis food crop. Today, tomatoes are grown commercially in was reported in Central America, the Caribbean, and Ec- 159 countries. The major producers of tomatoes, in 2009 uador (Fuchs et al. 1991; Williams and Granara de Willink were China, the United States, India, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, 1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Using Multiple Methodologies to Understand Within Species Variability of Adelges and Pineus (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) Tav Aronowitz University of Vermont
    University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2017 Using Multiple Methodologies to Understand within Species Variability of Adelges and Pineus (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) Tav Aronowitz University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Part of the Biology Commons, Entomology Commons, and the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Aronowitz, Tav, "Using Multiple Methodologies to Understand within Species Variability of Adelges and Pineus (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha)" (2017). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 713. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/713 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USING MULTIPLE METHODOLOGIES TO UNDERSTAND WITHIN SPECIES VARIABILITY OF ADELGES AND PINEUS (HEMIPTERA: STERNORRHYNCHA) A Thesis Presented by Tav (Hanna) Aronowitz to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Specializing in Natural Resources May, 2017 Defense Date: March 6, 2016 Thesis Examination Committee: Kimberly Wallin, Ph.D., Advisor Ingi Agnarsson, Ph.D., Chairperson James D. Murdoch, Ph.D. Cynthia J. Forehand, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College ABSTRACT The species of two genera in Insecta: Hemiptera: Adelgidae were investigated through the lenses of genetics, morphology, life cycle and host species. The systematics are unclear due to complex life cycles, including multigenerational polymorphism, host switching and cyclical parthenogenesis. I studied the hemlock adelgids, including the nonnative invasive hemlock woolly adelgid on the east coast of the United States, that are currently viewed as a single species.
    [Show full text]
  • Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Isometopinae) from Borneo with Remarks on the Distribution of the Tribe
    ZooKeys 941: 71–89 (2020) A peer-reviewed open-access journal doi: 10.3897/zookeys.941.47432 RESEARCH ARTICLE https://zookeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Two new genera and species of the Gigantometopini (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Isometopinae) from Borneo with remarks on the distribution of the tribe Artur Taszakowski1*, Junggon Kim2*, Claas Damken3, Rodzay A. Wahab3, Aleksander Herczek1, Sunghoon Jung2,4 1 Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland 2 Laboratory of Systematic Entomology, Depart- ment of Applied Biology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea 3 Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Universiti, BE1410, Darussalam, Brunei 4 Department of Smart Agriculture Systems, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea Corresponding author: Artur Taszakowski ([email protected]); Sunghoon Jung ([email protected]) Academic editor: F. Konstantinov | Received 21 October 2019 | Accepted 2 May 2020 | Published 16 June 2020 http://zoobank.org/B3C9A4BA-B098-4D73-A60C-240051C72124 Citation: Taszakowski A, Kim J, Damken C, Wahab RA, Herczek A, Jung S (2020) Two new genera and species of the Gigantometopini (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Isometopinae) from Borneo with remarks on the distribution of the tribe. ZooKeys 941: 71–89. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.941.47432 Abstract Two new genera, each represented by a single new species, Planicapitus luteus Taszakowski, Kim & Her- czek, gen. et sp. nov. and Bruneimetopus simulans Taszakowski, Kim & Herczek, gen. et sp. nov., are described from Borneo.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from BOLD Or Requested from Other Authors
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Towards a global DNA barcode reference library for quarantine identifcations of lepidopteran Received: 28 November 2018 Accepted: 5 April 2019 stemborers, with an emphasis on Published: xx xx xxxx sugarcane pests Timothy R. C. Lee 1, Stacey J. Anderson2, Lucy T. T. Tran-Nguyen3, Nader Sallam4, Bruno P. Le Ru5,6, Desmond Conlong7,8, Kevin Powell 9, Andrew Ward10 & Andrew Mitchell1 Lepidopteran stemborers are among the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide, able to reduce crop yields by up to 40%. Sugarcane is the world’s most prolifc crop, and several stemborer species from the families Noctuidae, Tortricidae, Crambidae and Pyralidae attack sugarcane. Australia is currently free of the most damaging stemborers, but biosecurity eforts are hampered by the difculty in morphologically distinguishing stemborer species. Here we assess the utility of DNA barcoding in identifying stemborer pest species. We review the current state of the COI barcode sequence library for sugarcane stemborers, assembling a dataset of 1297 sequences from 64 species. Sequences were from specimens collected and identifed in this study, downloaded from BOLD or requested from other authors. We performed species delimitation analyses to assess species diversity and the efectiveness of barcoding in this group. Seven species exhibited <0.03 K2P interspecifc diversity, indicating that diagnostic barcoding will work well in most of the studied taxa. We identifed 24 instances of identifcation errors in the online database, which has hampered unambiguous stemborer identifcation using barcodes. Instances of very high within-species diversity indicate that nuclear markers (e.g. 18S, 28S) and additional morphological data (genitalia dissection of all lineages) are needed to confrm species boundaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Life History of the Madeira Mealybug
    Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 12-2015 Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Life History of the Madeira Mealybug (Phenacoccus madeirensis) and the Molecular Composition of its Host Plant Stephanie Alliene Rhodes Clemson University Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Rhodes, Stephanie Alliene, "Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Life History of the Madeira Mealybug (Phenacoccus madeirensis) and the Molecular Composition of its Host Plant" (2015). All Theses. 2584. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2584 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECTS OF NITROGEN FERTILIZATION ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE MADEIRA MEALYBUG (PHENACOCCUS MADEIRENSIS) AND THE MOLECULAR COMPOSITION OF ITS HOST PLANT A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Entomology by Stephanie Alliene Rhodes December 2015 Accepted by: Dr. Juang-Horng Chong, Committee Co-Chair Dr .Matthew Turnbull, Committee Co-Chair Dr. Peter Adler Dr. Dara Park ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate how different nitrogen fertilization rates of host-plants influence the development, fecundity, and nutritional status of a pest insect, the Madeira mealybug (Phenococcus madeirensis Green, Hemiptera: Psuedococcidae). This study evaluated the effects of nitrogen fertilization (0, 75, 150 and 300 ppm N) on the growth, % nitrogen, % carbon, lipid, and protein contents of basil plants (Ocimum basilicum L., Lamiaceae), and the subsequent impacts of host-plant nutritional status on the life history and total lipid and protein contents of the Madeira mealybug.
    [Show full text]
  • Workflows for Rapid Functional Annotation of Diverse
    insects Article Workflows for Rapid Functional Annotation of Diverse Arthropod Genomes Surya Saha 1,2 , Amanda M. Cooksey 2,3, Anna K. Childers 4 , Monica F. Poelchau 5 and Fiona M. McCarthy 2,* 1 Boyce Thompson Institute, 533 Tower Rd., Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; [email protected] 2 School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, 1117 E. Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; [email protected] 3 CyVerse, BioScience Research Laboratories, University of Arizona, 1230 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA 4 Bee Research Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705, USA; [email protected] 5 National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, 10301 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: fi[email protected] Simple Summary: Genomic technologies are accumulating information about genes faster than ever before, and sequencing initiatives, such as the Earth BioGenome Project, i5k, and Ag100Pest Initiative, are expected to increase this rate of acquisition. However, if genomic sequencing is to be used for the improvement of human health, agriculture, and our understanding of biological systems, it is necessary to identify genes and understand how they contribute to biological outcomes. While there are several well-established workflows for assembling genomic sequences and identifying genes, understanding gene function is essential to create actionable knowledge. Moreover, this functional annotation process must be easily accessible and provide information at a genomic scale to keep up Citation: Saha, S.; Cooksey, A.M.; with new sequence data. We report a well-defined workflow for rapid functional annotation of whole Childers, A.K.; Poelchau, M.F.; proteomes to produce Gene Ontology and pathways information.
    [Show full text]
  • Forest Health Monitoring in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania: a Baseline Report on Selected Forest Reserves
    Forest Health Monitoring in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania: a baseline report on selected forest reserves Seif Madoffe, James Mwang’ombe, Barbara O’Connell, Paul Rogers, Gerard Hertel, and Joe Mwangi Dedicated to three team members, Professor Joe Mwangi, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya and Forest Department, Nairobi; Mr. Charles Kisena Mabula, Tanzania Forest Research Institute, Lushoto, and Mr. Onesmus Mwanganghi, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, who passed away shortly after the completion of the field work for this project. They will always be remembered. FHM EAM Baseline Report Acknowledgements Cooperating Agencies, Organizations, Institutions, and Individuals USDA Forest Service 1. Region 8, Forest Health Protection, Atlanta, GA – Denny Ward 2. Engineering (WO) – Chuck Dull 3. International Forestry (WO) – Marc Buccowich, Mellisa Othman, Cheryl Burlingame, Alex Moad 4. Remote Sensing Application Center, Salt Lake City, UT – Henry Lachowski, Vicky C. Johnson 5. Northeastern Research Station, Newtown Square, PA – Barbara O’Connell, Kathy Tillman 6. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, UT – Paul Rogers 7. Northeastern Area, State & Private Forestry, Newtown Square, PA – Gerard Hertel US Agency for International Development 1. Washington Office – Mike Benge, Greg Booth, Carl Gallegos, Walter Knausenberger 2. Nairobi, Kenya – James Ndirangu 3. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – Dan Moore, Gilbert Kajuna Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania (Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation) – Seif Madoffe, R.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report
    MIOMBO ECOREGION VISION REPORT Jonathan Timberlake & Emmanuel Chidumayo December 2001 (published 2011) Occasional Publications in Biodiversity No. 20 WWF - SARPO MIOMBO ECOREGION VISION REPORT 2001 (revised August 2011) by Jonathan Timberlake & Emmanuel Chidumayo Occasional Publications in Biodiversity No. 20 Biodiversity Foundation for Africa P.O. Box FM730, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe PREFACE The Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report was commissioned in 2001 by the Southern Africa Regional Programme Office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF SARPO). It represented the culmination of an ecoregion reconnaissance process led by Bruce Byers (see Byers 2001a, 2001b), followed by an ecoregion-scale mapping process of taxa and areas of interest or importance for various ecological and bio-physical parameters. The report was then used as a basis for more detailed discussions during a series of national workshops held across the region in the early part of 2002. The main purpose of the reconnaissance and visioning process was to initially outline the bio-physical extent and properties of the so-called Miombo Ecoregion (in practice, a collection of smaller previously described ecoregions), to identify the main areas of potential conservation interest and to identify appropriate activities and areas for conservation action. The outline and some features of the Miombo Ecoregion (later termed the Miombo– Mopane Ecoregion by Conservation International, or the Miombo–Mopane Woodlands and Grasslands) are often mentioned (e.g. Burgess et al. 2004). However, apart from two booklets (WWF SARPO 2001, 2003), few details or justifications are publically available, although a modified outline can be found in Frost, Timberlake & Chidumayo (2002). Over the years numerous requests have been made to use and refer to the original document and maps, which had only very restricted distribution.
    [Show full text]
  • Crambidae Biosecurity Occurrence Background Subfamilies Short Description Diagnosis
    Diaphania nitidalis Chilo infuscatellus Crambidae Webworms, Grass Moths, Shoot Borers Biosecurity BIOSECURITY ALERT This Family is of Biosecurity Concern Occurrence This family occurs in Australia. Background The Crambidae is a large, diverse and ubiquitous family of moths that currently comprises 11,500 species globally, with at least half that number again undescribed. The Crambidae and the Pyralidae constitute the superfamily Pyraloidea. Crambid larvae are concealed feeders with a great diversity in feeding habits, shelter building and hosts, such as: leaf rollers, shoot borers, grass borers, leaf webbers, moss feeders, root feeders that shelter in soil tunnels, and solely aquatic life habits. Many species are economically important pests in crops and stored food products. Subfamilies Until recently, the Crambidae was treated as a subfamily under the Pyralidae (snout moths or grass moths). Now they form the superfamily Pyraloidea with the Pyralidae. The Crambidae currently consists of the following 14 subfamilies: Acentropinae Crambinae Cybalomiinae Glaphyriinae Heliothelinae Lathrotelinae Linostinae Midilinae Musotiminae Odontiinae Pyraustinae Schoenobiinae Scopariinae Spilomelinae Short Description Crambid caterpillars are generally cylindrical, with a semiprognathous head and only primary setae (Fig 1). They are often plainly coloured (Fig. 16, Fig. 19), but can be patterned with longitudinal stripes and pinacula that may give them a spotted appearance (Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 14, Fig. 22). Prolegs may be reduced in borers (Fig. 16). More detailed descriptions are provided below. This factsheet presents, firstly, diagnostic features for the Pyraloidea (Pyralidae and Crambidae) and then the Crambidae. Information and diagnostic features are then provided for crambids listed as priority biosecurity threats for northern Australia.
    [Show full text]