Open for Competition: Domesticates, Parasitic Domesticoids and the Agricultural Niche

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Open for Competition: Domesticates, Parasitic Domesticoids and the Agricultural Niche Fuller, D Q and Stevens, C J 2017 Open for Competition: Domesticates, Parasitic Domesticoids and the Agricultural Niche. Archaeology International, No. 20: pp. 110–121, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ai-359 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open for Competition: Domesticates, Parasitic Domesticoids and the Agricultural Niche Dorian Q. Fuller and Chris J. Stevens This paper explores the relationship of weeds and crop parasites in the domestication of crop-plants within the Old World, drawing predominately on China and the Near East. This relationship is explored using the concept of niche construction in which the act of cultivation sets about chains of feedback in which the ecological worlds of plants and humans became increasingly intertwined resulting in ever increasing spheres of interdependence. Into this domestication entanglement a number of peripheral organisms (termed parasitic domesticoids) were drawn, from the weeds which came to inhabit arable fields, to the insect pests and rodents that came to settle in the grain stores of the first farmers. The evolution and spread of these organisms is then outlined against that of the crop itself. Introduction There is no doubt that the suite of human and population increase, whereas domesti- activities involved in cultivation created coids are parasitic in that they prosper at the environments that would not otherwise expense of domesticates and humans. These exist, and non-human organisms have categories are not necessarily fixed for all adapted to these environments. The adapted, time, as crops can become weeds and vice- co-evolved organisms include domesticated versa some weeds have become crops. These plants (true domesticates) as well as what we categories can be applied beyond the plants will refer to as domesticoids, comprising taxa in the field, in that other organisms, such that tagged along becoming also increas- as rodents and insects can be considered ingly part of the cultivated environment. in these terms. While terms such as synan- These domesticoids include weeds and crop thrope or commensal are often applied to pests. In terms of biological coevolution, such taxa, we suggest that parasitic domesti- domestication creates a symbiotic relation- coid is more fitting, as these taxa have under- ship, in which both organisms, crops and gone adaptions that parallel domestication, people benefit in terms of reproduction making them increasingly dependent on the human created niche of agriculture and sedentism, and parasitic in that they derive UCL Institute of Archaeology, London WC1H 0PY, UK their nutrients at the expense of the cultural Corresponding author: Dorian Q Fuller food production. In other words the culturally ([email protected]) maintained and transmitted agricultural niche Fuller and Stevens: Open for Competition 111 is integral to their survival, and they are more dormancy, increase in seed size and reduction than mere fellow travellers. of seed dispersal aids likes barbs and awns Niche Construction has become widely (Harlan, de Wet and Price 1973). While these accepted as a useful conceptual framework changes ‘improve’ crop plants, they come for the discussion of plant and animal domes- with costs, in that they entrap people in new tication (e.g. Fuller and Lucas 2017; Scott forms of labour, including maintenance of soil 2017; Watkins 2017; Zeder 2016). Cultural fertility and new steps in crop-processing niche construction implicates processes (Fuller, Allaby and Stevens 2010; Fuller and of change via feedback between culturally Lucas 2017; Fuller et al. 2016). Growth in transmitted practices, long-term modifica- archaeobotanical evidence and refinements tions to the environment (clearance, arable in methods have made it possible to docu- soils, etc.), and genetic evolution in various ment not just the presence but also the organisms, not just the human associated quantitative increase in these traits over time, taxa that were the targets of domestication, allowing rates of change to be estimated but fellow travellers, opportunists, and even (Fuller et al. 2014). Such information in turn unseen micro-organisms. can then be related to archaeological context The present paper explores the entangle- and innovations in technology, techniques ments between the evolution of cultivation and labour organization of subsistence. and storage practices with the adaptations Cultivation comes in a wide range of forms in crops, weeds and pests. First, how the but clearance of pre-existing vegetation and domestication syndrome of traits in seed disturbance of the soil is largely universal. crops adapted them to cultivation and pro- More intensive forms of cultivation can be vided increasing returns to yield, but in expected to remove all pre-existing visible doing so forced increased human effort vegetation and, through digging and turning which manifested in the evolution of cultural the soil, influence below ground biomass in practices and technologies. Second, how the terms of tubers and the seedbank. The axe, arable ecosystem constructed new commu- simple digging sticks, and fire, together with nities of parasitic domesticoids, a category human effort, can achieve this (Steensberg applied to storage pests and weeds, with 1986). Cultivation creates a habitat in which some of the latter eventually converging annual disturbance is both uniform and on and becoming true domesticates. Taken highly predictable, sunlight penetrates to together these entail that arable systems, the soil, becoming available for growth and and the social systems that maintained germination, and evapotranspiration often them, acquired an increasing number of increases. This creates a scenario of altered- innovations that were transmitted through competition, in which plants adapted to a combination of genetics, environment and rapid germination are favoured and faster culture. growing plants from more rigorous seedlings can quickly shade out their neighbours, per- Transformation to the Agricultural haps related to increased seed size (Harlan, Niche: Hook and Pull de Wet and Price 1973). Tillage also creates Domestication transforms crops and species deeper cracks which may bury seeds more so that they are better adapted to being deeply than they would be if they had fallen planted and harvested by people, and a set on natural soil surfaces, for which larger of recurrent parallel adaptations is found seeds with more nutrient reserves may also across species. In grain crops, planted from have an advantage. seed and harvested for their seeds, there is a Comparisons across taxa, including those well-documented domestication syndrome: cultivated as vegetables or tubers, indicates including loss of automatic seed dispersal, that increased seed size is a recurrent trait of loss of germination inhibition or seed domesticated species (Kluyver et al. 2017). 112 Fuller and Stevens: Open for Competition Figure 1: Showing size increase plotted on the Y-axis against time on the X-axis for the major crops from the Near East (top) and China (bottom). Average grain and seed size data for given sites and time periods from archaeobotancial data based on that in Fuller et al. 2014. Archaeobotanical data for several species cultivation by providing a predictable clearly documents this increase in average resource base for plants promotes a shift seed size over the millennia of early cultivation to nutrient-acquisition strategies that can (Fig. 1). While increased seed size may some- be contrasted with nutrient conservation times be linked to genetic changes favouring strategies seen in more stable environments other organ enlargements, it appears rather (Milla et al. 2015). as a selected trait, part of a general strategy of In turn increased seed size pulls farmers nutrient acquisition, including higher growth into a greater commitment to cultivars. rate, highly adapted to the nutrient-rich, Larger seeds have a higher caloric value, bare soils and open habitats of competi- augmented by an increased number of tion found in early cultivated fields. Thus grains per ear or panicle harvested. However, Fuller and Stevens: Open for Competition 113 to support this increased yield, each plant crops in cultivated fields, weeds have simi- requires more resources: soil nutrients and larly been selected for such environments. water, hence human efforts towards supplying In particular this has favoured the spread of these must also increase. Some of the taxa with transient seedbanks, which either earliest farming ecologies took advantage of germinate shortly after sowing, characteristic soils naturally replenished by annual flooding. of larger grained grasses and forbs of season- These include many early Pre-Pottery ally dry grassland (Type I), or after winter, Neolithic sites in the Levant, inferred from often characteristic of seasonally disturbed site locations (Scott 2017: 66; Sherratt 2007), coastal and mountain habitats (Type II) and the decrue rice agricultural systems of (Thompson and Grime 1979). In contrast China in use prior to evolution of domesti- are those weeds with persistent seedbanks cated, non-shattering rice (Fuller, Weisskopf (Thompson and Grime 1979) in which a large and Castillo 2016; Weisskopf et al. 2015). But dormant population is maintained in the soil as cultivation expanded, and crops became (Type IV). morphologically closer to domesticated These two contrasting ecologies, along forms, thus more demanding, intensive with intermediate seedbank form (Type III), management of soil conditions became are important
Recommended publications
  • Street Cats, City Rats: Synanthropes and Cinematic Urban Ecologies
    The Cine-Files, Issue 14 (spring 2019) Street Cats, City Rats: Synanthropes and Cinematic Urban Ecologies Graig Uhlin The second season of the BBC documentary series Planet Earth concluded with a somewhat atypical episode that focused on animals in urban environments. The episode, titled “Cities,” highlights the creation of habitats by various animal species out of the “unnatural” landscapes of global metropolises – including peregrine falcons in New York, leopards in Mumbai, and raccoons in Toronto. Urban development encroaches on natural habitats, and as animals move into urban spaces, they must adapt to new terrains in order to survive. The episode at times stresses the similarity of these built environments to the animals’ original environs; New York’s skyscrapers, for instance, provide falcons with tall ledges for nesting and updraft for flight, as well as ample prey at street level. Accordingly, the city is presented as an environment subject to the same competitive pressures seen in nature, wherein animals enact the same dominance rituals and territorial disputes. This ecosystem’s “top predator,” the voiceover narration comments, is humanity; it is people who “make the rules here.” Nonetheless, the episode emphasizes that urban habitats are often beneficial for animals. In Jodhpur, India, langur monkeys have access to an abundant food supply, provided by the residents of the city. This “constantly replenished source of food” enables more time for intra-species play and greater population growth, as the langurs “create troops far larger than in the forests nearby.” Far from functioning as a hindrance to the flourishing of animal life, the urban ecosystem provides a comparative advantage.
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Distribution, Conservation and Functional Relationships
    Irish Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Distribution, Conservation and Functional Relationships Submitted by: Dipl. Biol. Robin Niechoj Supervisor: Prof. John Breen Submitted in accordance with the academic requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Limerick Limerick, April 2011 Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. References and acknowledgements have been made, where necessary, to the work of others. Signature: Date: Robin Niechoj Department of Life Sciences Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Limerick ii Acknowledgements/Danksagung I wish to thank: Dr. John Breen for his supervision, encouragement and patience throughout the past 5 years. His infectious positive attitude towards both work and life was and always will be appreciated. Dr. Kenneth Byrne and Dr. Mogens Nielsen for accepting to examine this thesis, all the CréBeo team for advice, corrections of the report and Dr. Olaf Schmidt (also) for verification of the earthworm identification, Dr. Siobhán Jordan and her team for elemental analyses, Maria Long and Emma Glanville (NPWS) for advice, Catherine Elder for all her support, including fieldwork and proof reading, Dr. Patricia O’Flaherty and John O’Donovan for help with the proof reading, Robert Hutchinson for his help with the freeze-drying, and last but not least all the staff and postgraduate students of the Department of Life Sciences for their contribution to my work. Ich möchte mich bedanken bei: Katrin Wagner für ihre Hilfe im Labor, sowie ihre Worte der Motivation.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to Biology, Dispersal, and Management of the House Fly and Related Flies for Farmers, Municipalities, and Public Health Offi Cials 3
    The Fly Management Handbook A Guide to Biology, Dispersal, Connecticut and Management of the House Agricultural Fly and Related Flies for Experiment Farmers, Municipalities, and Station, Public Health Offi cials New Haven Bulletin 1013 KIRBY C. STAFFORD III, PH.D. Vice Director, State Entomologist May 2008 The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station New Haven, CT 06504 GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are given to Joyce Meader, Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service, Dr. Bruce Sherman, Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Patricia M. Beckenhaupt, Director of Health of the Northeast District Department of Health, and Dr. Louis A. Magnarelli, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), for reviewing the handbook. Their comments and suggestions were sincerely appreciated. I extend a particular thank you to James Rock (emeritus), Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service, for his considerable input and support. Thanks are also extended to Rose Bonito (CAES) for scanning illustrations and pictures and Vickie Bomba-Lewandoski (CAES) for publication and printing assistance. Much of the material on cluster flies is from a CAES fact sheet by Gale E. Ridge (available on the CAES website, www.ct.gov/caes). Thank you, Gale. Several portions on poultry IPM are based on Special Circular 338, Poultry Pest Management for Pennsylvania and the Northeast (1986), by Kirby C. Stafford III and Clarence A. Collison. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR FIGURES Most sources for the pictures and illustrations are noted in the figure captions. Requests for use of photographs and illustrations by the author or CAES may be directed to the author. Permission to use any other material must be obtained from the original source. The historical 1916 illustration of the unsanitary conditions in the introduction is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library (8264); the stable fly and green-bottle fly in Figure 6 and 8, respectively, are from United States Department of Agriculture Farmer’s Bulletin 1408.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthropod Communities in Urban Agricultural Production Systems Under Different Irrigation Sources in the Northern Region of Ghana
    insects Article Arthropod Communities in Urban Agricultural Production Systems under Different Irrigation Sources in the Northern Region of Ghana Louis Amprako 1, Kathrin Stenchly 1,2,3 , Martin Wiehle 1,4,5,* , George Nyarko 6 and Andreas Buerkert 1 1 Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics (OPATS), University of Kassel, Steinstrasse 19, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany; [email protected] (L.A.); [email protected] (K.S.); [email protected] (A.B.) 2 Competence Centre for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (CliMA), University of Kassel, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 25, D-34117 Kassel, Germany 3 Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources (GNR), University of Kassel, Steinstrasse 19, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany 4 Tropenzentrum-Centre for International Rural Development, University of Kassel, Steinstrasse 19, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany 5 International Center for Development and Decent Work, University of Kassel, Kleine Rosenstrasse 1-3, D-34109 Kassel, Germany 6 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University for Development Studies (UDS), P.O. Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 31 May 2020; Accepted: 27 July 2020; Published: 1 August 2020 Abstract: Urban and peri-urban agricultural (UPA) production systems in West African countries do not only mitigate food and financial insecurity, they may also foster biodiversity of arthropods and partly compensate for structural losses of natural environments. However, management practices in UPA systems like irrigation may also contribute to disturbances in arthropod ecology. To fill knowledge gaps in the relationships between UPA management and arthropod populations, we compared arthropods species across different irrigation sources in Tamale.
    [Show full text]
  • Synanthropes
    Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear -- "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.' --Percy Bysshe Shelley Synanthropes Syn-an-thrope. Noun. \’sin-ən-thrōp\ 1. A creature which has evolved to survive in ecological niches created by humans (Ex.: Rats, cockroaches, crows, raccoons, cane toads, house geckos). 2. Any of the various creatures commonly considered to be pests or vermin (Ex.: Rats, cockroaches, crows, raccoons, cane toads, house geckos). 3. An animal which is just a little too human for its own good. This game is copyright 2013 by Ed Turner and Thought Check Games. NPCs now have simple rulesets, to accommodate simple NPCs. Icons made by Lorc. Available on http://game-icons.net Player Characters now have Careers outside of anthropology, which benefit Inspiration credit where it’s due: Jake Richmond’s Ocean for a lot about the team as a whole. Clues, Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse World for a lot about character design and the I talk about Synanthrope fashion a bit.
    [Show full text]
  • Pervasive Captivity and Urban Wildlife
    Ethics, Policy & Environment ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cepe21 Pervasive captivity and urban wildlife Nicolas Delon To cite this article: Nicolas Delon (2020): Pervasive captivity and urban wildlife, Ethics, Policy & Environment, DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2020.1848173 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2020.1848173 Accepted author version posted online: 06 Nov 2020. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cepe21 Publisher: Taylor & Francis & Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Journal: Ethics, Policy & Environment DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2020.1848173 Pervasive captivity and urban wildlife Nicolas Delon [email protected] New College of Florida Division of Humanities Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Environmental Studies 5800 Bay Shore Rd Sarasota, FL 34243 Abstract. Urban animals can benefit from living in cities, but this also makes them vulnerable as they increasingly depend on the advantages of urban life. This article has two aims. First, I provide a detailed analysis of the concept of captivity and explain why it matters to nonhuman animals—because and insofar as many of them have a (non-substitutable) interest in freedom. Second, I defend a surprising implication of the account—pushing the boundaries of the concept while the boundaries of cities and human activities expand. I argue for the existence of the neglected problem of pervasive captivity, of which urban wildlife is an illustration. Many urban animals are confined, controlled and dependent, therefore often captive of expanding urban areas.
    [Show full text]
  • WILDLIFE in the CITY ADAPTING the URBAN FABRIC to MEDIATE the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMALS and HUMANS by ANA CORDERO
    WILDLIFE IN THE CITY ADAPTING THE URBAN FABRIC TO MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMANS by ANA CORDERO 1 WILDLIFE IN THE CITY ADAPTING THE URBAN FABRIC TO MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMANS by ANA CORDERO chair BRADLEY WALTERS co-chair STEPHEN BELTON A thesis presented to the University of Florida in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Architecture Gainesville, Florida, USA, 2018 2 3 BREAKDOWN 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 URBAN GROWTH AS A CATALYST 16 UNPACKING THE WILDLIFE THROUGH A TOOLKIT 34 DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHOSEN CONTEXT 40 REINTERPRETING CONCEPTS AS A MEANS OF DISCOVERING RELATIONSHIPS 58 CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS 76 VISUALIZING IDEAS WITHIN A FRAGMENT OF MANY 94 RECOGNIZING THE FRAGMENTS THAT CREATE THE NETWORK 100 WORKS CITED 102 IMAGES CITED 4 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the beginning of this journey, the only thing that I was sure about was my desire to develop a project around the subject of animals. Throughout my life I have had the op- portunity to be surrounded by different types of animals, whether it was at my Grandpar- ent’s farm in Costa Rica or in my own home with my amazing dog Pluma. I want to thank my family; my mom for teaching me compassion for animals and showing me that a little bit of love for them can go a long way, and especially for supporting me every step of the way and giving me advice no matter in what direction my dreams were headed. To Di- ego, my inspiring role model of a father, for always putting aside time to help me through the difficulties that I encountered in academia or in my life.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. Bezobratlí
    4. BEZOBRATLÍ EEncyklopedieNDFF.inddncyklopedieNDFF.indd 199199 110/25/060/25/06 12:57:5212:57:52 PMPM 200 BEZOBRATLÍ ŽAHAVCI 4.1 CNIDARIA – ŽAHAVCI CNIDARIA – ŽAHAVCI na světě či v Evropě byl zkompilován několikrát mezi 30. a 80. léty 20. století4, 20, 28, kvalitní souhrn údajů z posledních desetiletí k dis- Žahavci jsou zastoupeni v české fauně pouze dvěma řády třídy po- pozici bohužel není. lypovci (Hydrozoa): Hydroida s pěti druhy nezmarů a Limnomedusae, Rozšíření v ČR První nález medúzky sladkovodní v ČR pochází kam patří jediný nepůvodní druh žahavce u nás, medúzka sladko- z roku 1930 z Vltavy v okolí Prahy a dále po proudu (až po Mělník, vodní (Craspedacusta sowerbii). Vzhledem k tomu, že na evrop- kv. 5952–5652). Právě studium vltavské populace umožnilo vznik ském kontinentě je jediným sladkovodním druhem žahavce tvořícím 4. detailní monografi e o tomto druhu od E. Dejdara4. Populace pravdě- medúzová stádia, je v našich vodách zcela nezaměnitelná. podobně postupně zanikla po výstavbě vltavské kaskády a trvalém Medúzka sladkovodní je u nás populárním živočichem již od 30. let ochlazení vltavské vody. Ze 30. letech 20. století pochází také něko- 20. století, kdy byla poprvé v Čechách ve Vltavě pozorována1, lik nálezů z akvárií v Brně a Praze4. a vzhledem k tomu, že se jedná v současnosti o téměř kosmopolit- Další dokladované nálezy medúzky z volné přírody v ČR pocházejí ního živočicha2, 3, ani řada biologů si není vědoma toho, že se jedná z Ostravy (kv. 6175)17, v jejímž okolí bylo pravděpodobně již na přelo- o nepůvodní druh. Ve skutečnosti se však rozšířila po světě ze své mu 50.
    [Show full text]
  • Current Problems of Agrarian Industry in Ukraine
    CURRENT PROBLEMS OF AGRARIAN INDUSTRY IN UKRAINE Accent Graphics Communications & Publishing Vancouver 2019 Reviewers: Gritsan Y. I. – Doctor of Science (Biology), Professor of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University; Lykholat Y. V. – Doctor of Science (Biology), Professor, Head of the Department of Physiology and Introduction of Plants, Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. Skliarov P. M. – Doctor of Science (Veterinary medicine), Professor of the Department of Surgery and Obstetrics of Farm Animals, Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University Approved by the Academic Council of Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University (protocol № 9 from 27.06.2019) Current problems of agrarian industry in Ukraine. Accent Graphics Communications & Publishing, Vancouver, Canada, 2019. – 228 p. ISBN 978-1-77192-487-0 DOI: http://doi.org/10.29013/NMZazharska.CPAIU.228.2019 The monograph is presented in four parts. The first part is devoted to the experimental and theoretical substantiation of the criteria for safety and quality assessment of goat's milk. Parameters of subclinical mastitis in goats, comparison of methods efficiency for determination of somatic cell count in goat milk, moni- toring studies of goat’s and cow’s milk in France and Ukraine, effect of exogenous and endogenous factors on the quality and safety of goat milk are described. The second and third parts are devoted to Coleoptera pests of stored food supplies and field crops. The forth part includes characteristics of Poaceae family members in the steppe zone of Ukraine as the main objects of farm animals feeding. Ecological characteristics of the species according to the Belgard Ekomorph System and their geographical analysis were presented.
    [Show full text]
  • B Is for Bug, O Is for Oikos: a Partial Dictionary of Household Arthropods
    B is for Bug, O is for Oikos: A Partial Dictionary of Household Arthropods By Madeleine Lavin Supervised by Catriona Sandilands A Major Paper submitted to the Faculty of Environmental Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Environmental Studies York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada April 5, 2019 Abstract Arthropods are the most numerous and diverse group of animals on the planet. This work seeks to explore the relations between humans and arthropods within the context of modern, North American homes. The unknown, sometimes undiscovered, or simply overlooked landscapes of human households provides a rich environment in which to explore the lives of arthropods that can offer different, and often humbling, perspectives to humanity. The species I explore are (for the most part) those that have cosmopolitan distributions and have specific adaptations that allow them to live alongside us in our dwelling spaces, our oikos. I reconceptualise human households as a multispecies assemblage, which serves as both a metaphor and a map for my explorations of the situated human-arthropod relations in this environment. I draw on a materialist approach that considers the intra- and interactions between human and nonhuman animals, plants, objects, and other things within human households. Interest in the investigation of human homes from the perspective of the natural and biological sciences has grown in recent years: I pair the scientific study of indoor arthropods with a phenomenological exploration of the lifeworlds of these creatures in order to discover why it is that these organisms make their homes alongside ours; raising the question of who is what to whom? In so doing, I also challenge the notion of what it means to be a pest by looking at the evolution and ecological roles of arthropods alongside human cultural perspectives and histories that make up what we know or think we know about these creatures.
    [Show full text]
  • (Musca Domestica) from a Livestock Farm in Tyumen Region, Russia
    Bulgarian Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 2017 ONLINE FIRST ISSN 1311-1477; DOI: 10.15547/bjvm.2027 Short communication INSECTICIDE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF HOUSE FLIES (MUSCA DOMESTICA) FROM A LIVESTOCK FARM IN TYUMEN REGION, RUSSIA M. A. LEVCHENKO, E. A. SILIVANOVA, G. F. BALABANOVA & R. H. BIKINYAEVA All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Veterinary Entomology and Arachnology, Branch of Tyumen Scientific Centre, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Summary Levchenko, M. A., E. A. Silivanova, G. F. Balabanova & R. H. Bikinyaeva, 2017. Insecti- cide susceptibility of house flies (Musca domestica) from a livestock farm in Tyumen re- gion, Russia. Bulg. J. Vet. Med. (online first). The susceptibility of the field populations of the house fly Musca domestica L. (Diptera:Muscidae) from a livestock farm of the Tyumen region, Russia, to six insecticides (deltamethrin, cypermethrin, thiamethoxam, permethrin, fipronil, chlorfenapyr) is reported. After a forced contact of adult flies of susceptible strains and first generation of field populations with the residues of insecticides at the bottom of glass cups, the median lethal dose of each insecticide was determined by probit analysis. According to the resistance ratio, the susceptibility of the evaluated field population to insecticides increased in the order: cypermethrin < deltamethrin < permethrin ≤ chlorfenapyr < thiamethoxam < fipronil. Key words: field population, insecticides, Musca domestica L., resistance ratio, susceptibility The house fly Musca domestica L. (Dip- using insecticides. In Russia, pyrethroid tera:Muscidae) is a typical representative and neonicotinoid insecticides are most of zoophilous flies that cause significant commonly used to combat ectoparasites of harm to the animals as ectoparasites and animals. Fipronil and chlorfenapyr are interfere with the work of the maintenance among the new classes of insecticides in staff.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesser Sundas Tour Report 2017
    LESSER SUNDAS TOUR REPORT 2017 2nd – 19th JULY 2017 TOUR HIGHLIGHTS Either for rarity value, excellent views or simply a group favourite. • Orange-footed Scrubfowl • Marigold Lorikeet • Flores Hawk-Eagle • Elegant Pitta • Spotted Harrier • Sumba Myzomela • Sumba Buttonquail • Rote Myzomela • Javan Plover • Timor Friarbird • Black-fronted Dotterel • Flores Minivet • Australian Pratincole • Bare-throated Whistler • Wedge-tailed Shearwater • Trumpeting Fantail • Sumba Green-Pigeon • Flores Monarch • Black-backed Fruit Dove • Russet-capped Tesia • Red-naped Fruit Dove • Timor Stubtail • Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon • Rote Leaf Warbler • Eastern Barn Owl • Timor Heleia • Flores Scops Owl • Chestnut-capped Thrush • Rote Boobook • Chestnut-backed Thrush • Little Sumba Boobook • Orange-banded Thrush • Mees’s Nightjar • Timor Warbling-Flycatcher • Glittering Kingfisher • Black-banded Flycatcher • Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher • White-bellied Bushchat • Sumba Hornbill • Timor Flowerpecker • Citron-crested Cockatoo • Flame-breasted Sunbird • Jonquil Parrot • Timor Sparrow • Iris Lorikeet • Komodo Dragon SUMMARY: Once again our Lesser Sundas tour provided a fantastic opportunity to see over 90 Indonesian endemics, including some of the most localized and range-restricted species on the planet. Our tour commenced on Sumba where we pretty much cleaned up on all of the endemics including great looks at Little Sumba Boobook, Mees’s Nightjar, Sumba Hornbill, Sumba Myzomela and others. Next up was Rote Island where we saw Rote Boobook, Rote Myzomela and the distinctive Rote Leaf-Warbler, plus a number of other ‘Timor’ endemics as well. Back on Timor we nailed Timor Boobook, Black-banded Flycatcher and Orange-banded Thrush before setting off to the beautiful island of Flores. Our attempts at Flores Scops-Owl proved rather fruitful with point-blank views that none of us will ever forget, and there was also Flores Hawk-Eagle, more Elegant Pittas, and the dawn chorus of Bare-throated Whistlers just has to be experienced.
    [Show full text]