DOCSLIB.ORG

Integration of Small- and Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of Both Predatory and Non-Predatory Dipterans

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Integration of Small- and Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of Both Predatory and Non-Predatory Dipterans This Accepted Manuscript has not been copyedited and formatted. The final version may differ from this version. Research Articles: Systems/Circuits Integration of Small- and Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of both Predatory and Non-Predatory Dipterans Sarah Nicholas1, Jack Supple3, Richard Leibbrandt1, Paloma T Gonzalez-Bellido2,3 and Karin Nordström1 1Centre for Neuroscience, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, 5001 Adelaide, SA, Australia 2Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA 3Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1695-18.2018 Received: 9 July 2018 Revised: 18 October 2018 Accepted: 21 October 2018 Published: 29 October 2018 Author contributions: S.J.N., J.S., R.L., P.T.G.-B., and K.N. designed research; S.J.N., J.S., and P.T.G.-B. performed research; S.J.N., J.S., P.T.G.-B., and K.N. analyzed data; S.J.N., J.S., R.L., P.T.G.-B., and K.N. edited the paper; S.J.N., J.S., P.T.G.-B., and K.N. wrote the paper; K.N. wrote the first draft of the paper. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing financial interests. This work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0188 to P.T. Gonzalez- Bellido and K. Nordström) and the Australian Research Council (DP170100008 to P.T. Gonzalez-Bellido and K. Nordström and DP180100144 to K. Nordström). We thank Vanshika Sinh for constructive feedback on the manuscript, Malin Thyselius for the Eristalis pictograms and The Adelaide Botanic Gardens for continuous support. Corresponding author: Karin Nordström, [email protected] Cite as: J. Neurosci 2018; 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1695-18.2018 Alerts: Sign up at www.jneurosci.org/alerts to receive customized email alerts when the fully formatted version of this article is published. Accepted manuscripts are peer-reviewed but have not been through the copyediting, formatting, or proofreading process. Copyright © 2018 Nicholas et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed. 1 Integration of Small- and Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of 2 both Predatory and Non-Predatory Dipterans 3 Sarah Nicholas*1, Jack Supple*3, Richard Leibbrandt1, Paloma T Gonzalez-Bellido#2,3, Karin 4 Nordström#1 5 1Centre for Neuroscience, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, 5001 Adelaide, SA, Australia; 6 2Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA; 7 3Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK 8 Corresponding author: Karin Nordström, [email protected] 9 *These authors contributed equally 10 #These authors contributed equally 11 Number of pages: 21 pages 12 Number of figures, tables, multimedia and 3D models (separately): 4 figures, 1 table 13 Number of words for Abstract, Introduction, and Discussion (separately) 14 Abstract: 245 15 Introduction: 641 16 Discussion: 1363 17 Conflict of Interest 18 The authors declare no conflict of interest. 19 Acknowledgements 20 This work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0188 to P.T. 21 Gonzalez-Bellido and K. Nordström) and the Australian Research Council (DP170100008 to P.T. 22 Gonzalez-Bellido and K. Nordström and DP180100144 to K. Nordström). We thank Vanshika Sinh for 23 constructive feedback on the manuscript, Malin Thyselius for the Eristalis pictograms and The Adelaide 24 Botanic Gardens for continuous support. 25 Keywords 26 Motion vision, target detection, target tracking, optic flow, dipteran TSDN, electrophysiology, neural 27 tuning, background clutter 1 28 Abstract 29 For many animals, target motion carries high ecological significance as this may be generated by a 30 predator, prey or potential mate. Indeed, animals whose survival depends on early target detection are 31 often equipped with a sharply tuned visual system, yielding robust performance in challenging 32 conditions. For example, many fast-flying insects use visual cues for identifying targets, such as prey 33 (e.g. predatory dragonflies and robberflies) or conspecifics (e.g. non-predatory hoverflies), and can 34 often do so against self-generated background optic flow. Supporting these behaviors, the optic lobes 35 of insects that pursue targets harbor neurons that respond robustly to the motion of small moving 36 objects, even when displayed against syn-directional background clutter. However, in diptera, the 37 encoding of target information by the descending neurons, which are more directly involved in 38 generating the behavioral output, has received less attention. We characterized target selective 39 neurons by recording in the ventral nerve cord of male and female predatory Holcocephala fusca 40 robberflies and of male non-predatory Eristalis tenax hoverflies. We show that both species have 41 dipteran target-selective descending neurons (dTSDNs) that only respond to target motion if the 42 background is stationary or moving slowly, moves in the opposite direction, or has un-naturalistic 43 spatial characteristics. The response to the target is suppressed when background and target move at 44 similar velocities, which is strikingly different to the response of target neurons in the optic lobes. As the 45 neurons we recorded from are pre-motor, our findings affect our interpretation of the neurophysiology 46 underlying target-tracking behaviors. 47 48 Significance Statement 49 Many animals use sensory cues to detect moving targets that may represent predators, prey or 50 conspecifics. For example, birds of prey show superb sensitivity to the motion of small prey, and 51 intercept these at high speeds. In a similar manner, predatory insects visually track moving prey, often 52 against cluttered backgrounds. Accompanying this behavior, the brains of insects that pursue targets 53 contain neurons that respond exclusively to target motion. We here show that dipteran insects also 54 have target selective descending neurons in the part of their nervous system that corresponds to the 55 vertebrate spinal cord. Surprisingly, and in contrast to the neurons in the brain, these pre-motor 56 neurons are inhibited by background patterns moving in the same direction as the target. 57 2 58 Introduction 59 Target detection and tracking serve important biological functions for animals to efficiently avoid 60 predators, find prey or identify conspecifics. Target detection can be performed by different senses. 61 Bats find prey with echolocation (Falk et al., 2014), squid embryos avoid predators with their lateral line 62 system (York et al., 2016), and insects visually identify conspecifics (Land and Collett, 1974). Often, 63 targets need to be visualized against self-generated optic flow, which is a difficult computational task 64 (Yang et al., 2012; Held et al., 2016), especially in conditions where both local luminance and relative 65 contrast may change rapidly (Mohamed et al., 2014; Ma et al., 2015). Nonetheless, many insects 66 appear to have solved this efficiently, as evidenced by their high-speed pursuits of targets, which is 67 particularly impressive considering that insects carry low-spatial resolution compound eyes and small 68 brains (Land, 1997). 69 Notably, many insects that pursue targets display local adaptations. For example, the eyes of target- 70 pursuing insects often have faster photoreceptors (Weckström and Laughlin, 1995; Burton and 71 Laughlin, 2003; Gonzalez-Bellido et al., 2011) and a region with increased spatial resolution, a fovea, in 72 which they try to place the image of the target during aerial pursuits (Collett, 1980; Olberg et al., 2007; 73 Wardill et al., 2017). The optic lobes harbor target sensitive neurons with receptive fields that often 74 collocate with the optical fovea (Strausfeld, 1980; Barnett et al., 2007), such as small target motion 75 detector (STMD) neurons (O'Carroll, 1993; Nordström et al., 2006). STMDs could relay signals to 76 target-selective descending neurons (TSDNs; Olberg, 1981; Olberg, 1986; Gronenberg and Strausfeld, 77 1990; Namiki et al., 2018) whose receptive fields also colocate with the optical fovea (Gonzalez-Bellido 78 et al., 2013). 79 In the lobula, some hoverfly and dragonfly STMDs show remarkably robust responses to targets 80 moving in visual clutter (Nordström and O'Carroll, 2009). In fact, the STMD response to target motion is 81 unaffected by the addition of background motion with the same velocity (i.e. syn-directional motion, 82 without relative velocity differences; Nordström et al., 2006; Wiederman and O'Carroll, 2011). This can 83 be modelled (Wiederman et al., 2008) using the associated unique spatio-temporal profile, where the 84 target’s dark contrast edge (OFF) is immediately followed by a bright contrast change (ON). Models 85 incorporating temporal correlation of half-wave rectified ON and OFF signals from the same point in 86 space, together with fast adaptation and strong spatial inhibition, lead to robust responses to target 87 motion in visual clutter (Wiederman et al., 2008). To date it is largely unclear how TSDNs respond to 88 targets moving in clutter (except one data trace, see Olberg, 1986). This is important as TSDNs are 89 closer to the motor output (Gonzalez-Bellido et al., 2013), and may thus be more pertinent for 90 interpreting the behavioral relevance of neurophysiological recordings. Besides the TSDNs, there are 3 91 many other descending neurons (Namiki et al., 2018), such as those that respond to background 92 motion (Wertz et al., 2009b; Wertz et al., 2009a). These project to areas of the thoracic ganglia with 93 motor neurons of the neck, wings and halteres (Suver et al., 2016). 94 As the ventral nerve cord forms an information bottleneck between the central processing of visually 95 driven information and peripheral transformation into motor output (Namiki et al., 2018), we here 96 quantified the response to moving targets and visual clutter.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • And Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of Both Predatory and Nonpredatory Dipterans
    The Journal of Neuroscience, December 12, 2018 • 38(50):10725–10733 • 10725 Systems/Circuits Integration of Small- and Wide-Field Visual Features in Target-Selective Descending Neurons of both Predatory and Nonpredatory Dipterans Sarah Nicholas,1* Jack Supple,3* Richard Leibbrandt,1 XPaloma T. Gonzalez-Bellido,2,3# and XKarin Nordstro¨m1# 1Centre for Neuroscience, Flinders University, 5001 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 2Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, and 3Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, United Kingdom For many animals, target motion carries high ecological significance as this may be generated by a predator, prey, or potential mate. Indeed, animals whose survival depends on early target detection are often equipped with a sharply tuned visual system, yielding robust performance in challenging conditions. For example, many fast-flying insects use visual cues for identifying targets, such as prey (e.g., predatory dragonflies and robberflies) or conspecifics (e.g., nonpredatory hoverflies), and can often do so against self-generated back- ground optic flow. Supporting these behaviors, the optic lobes of insects that pursue targets harbor neurons that respond robustly to the motion of small moving objects, even when displayed against syn-directional background clutter. However, in diptera, the encoding of target information by the descending neurons, which are more directly involved in generating the behavioral output, has received less attention. We characterized target-selective neurons by recording in the ventral nerve cord of male and female predatory Holcocephala fusca robberflies and of male nonpredatory Eristalis tenax hoverflies. We show that both species have dipteran target-selective descend- ing neurons that only respond to target motion if the background is stationary or moving slowly, moves in the opposite direction, or has un-naturalistic spatial characteristics.
    [Show full text]
  • A Taxonomic and Ecological Study of the Asilidae of Michigan
    The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 8 Number 2 - Summer 1975 Number 2 - Summer Article 1 1975 June 1975 A Taxonomic and Ecological Study of the Asilidae of Michigan Norman T. Baker University of Minnesota Roland L. Fischer Michigan State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Baker, Norman T. and Fischer, Roland L. 1975. "A Taxonomic and Ecological Study of the Asilidae of Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 8 (2) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol8/iss2/1 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Baker and Fischer: A Taxonomic and Ecological Study of the Asilidae of Michigan THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST A TAXONOMIC AND ECOLOGIC STUDY OF THE ASlLlDAE OF MICHIGAN Norman T. ~akerland Roland L. ~ischer~ ABSTRACT Seventy-two species of Asilidae have been recorded from Michigan. An additional seven which may occur are included. Keys to subfamilies, genera and species are given. Two subfamilies and twenty-five genera are represented. A discussion of specific identification, habitat, and distribution is given where possible. The Laphria canis complex, index complex, and aeatus complex are discussed. One new species, Laphria calvescenta is described. Laphria disparella has been raised from synonymy. Machimus virginicus was removed from Asilus sensu-latu and placed in the genus Machimus.
    [Show full text]
  • Rodrigo Marques Vieira.Pdf
    INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE PESQUISAS DA AMAZÔNIA – INPA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM ENTOMOLOGIA SISTEMÁTICA DE ASILINAE LATREILLE, 1802 (DIPTERA, ASILIDAE) RODRIGO MARQUES VIEIRA Manaus, Amazonas Junho de 2013 RODRIGO MARQUES VIEIRA SISTEMÁTICA DE ASILINAE LATREILLE, 1802 (DIPTERA, ASILIDAE) Orientador: Dr. José Albertino Rafael (INPA) Coorientador: Dr. Torsten Dikow (USNM) Tese apresentada ao Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do título de Doutor em Ciências Biológicas, área de concentração em Entomologia. Manaus, Amazonas Junho de 2013 ii V658 Vieira, Rodrigo Marques Sistemática de Asilinae latreille, 1802 (Diptera, Asilidae) / Rodrigo Marques Vieira. --- Manaus : [s.n.], 2013. xxxii, 435 f. : il. color. Tese (doutorado) --- INPA, Manaus, 2013. Orientador : José Albertino Rafael Coorientador : Torsten Dikow Área de concentração : Entomologia 1. Asilinae Latreille. 2. Asilinae – Filogenia. 3. Asilinae – Taxonomia. 4. Ommatiinae. I. Título. CDD 19. ed. 595.770415 Sinopse: Foi feito um estudo filogenético morfológico de Asilinae e foram propostas hipóteses sobre as relações filogenéticas entre os gêneros da subfamília. Foram descritos dois novos gêneros e 14 espécies novas, além de uma revalidação de gênero, cinco combinações novas, cinco sinonímias e uma designação de lectótipo. Palavras-chave: 1. Asiloidea 2. Filogenia 3. Redescrição 4. Taxonomia 5. Apocleini. iii BANCA EXAMINADORA Dra. Rosaly Ale-Rocha Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA Dra. Lisiane Dilli Wendt Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA Dr. Ronildo Baiatone Alencar Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA Dr. Márcio Luiz Leitão Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA Dr. Paschoal Coelho Grossi Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso – UFMT iv AGRADECIMENTOS Ao INPA pela estrutura oferecida durante o desenvolvimento do projeto.
    [Show full text]
  • New Canadian Records of Asilidae (Diptera) from an Endangered Ontario Ecosystem
    1999 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 257 NEW CANADIAN RECORDS OF ASILIDAE (DIPTERA) FROM AN ENDANGERED ONTARIO ECOSYSTEM Jeffrey H. Skevington 1,2 ABSTRACT The Asilidae (Diptera) of Bosanquet (northern Lambton County, Ontario) are surveyed. Forty-one species are recorded. Twelve species are .published for the first time from Canada: Atomosia puella, Cerotainia albipilosa, Cero­ tainia macrocera, Holcocephala calva, Holopogon (HolopogonJ oriens, Laphria canis, Laphria divisor, Laphria grossa, Lasiopogon opaculus, Machimus notatus, Machimus sadyates, and Neomochtherus auricomus. These species plus the following four are new to Ontario: Laphystia jlavipes, Lasiopogon tetragrammus, Machimus novaescotiae, and Proctacanthella ca­ copiloga. Lambton County, on the southeastern shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, is a unique part of the Great Lakes Region. The coastal dunes and oak savan­ nas of this large (91 k.m long by 66 km wide; 299,645 ha) county support a wealth of plants and animals found nowhere else in Ontario (Bakowsky 1990, Lindsay 1982, Schweitzer 1984, Schweitzer 1993). This area is a col­ lage of unusual and threatened habitats that include coastal sand dunes with associated cedar savanna and wet meadows, the largest remaining frag­ ments ofoak savanna in eastern Canada, and lush floodplain forests contain­ ing plants characteristic of the Carolinian Life Zone. As a result, the insect fauna is diverse and unusual. To date, little has been published summarizing the insect diversity of Lambton County. Species lists can be patched together from general publica­ tions and revisions, but do not provide thorough base-line information on the biodiversity of the area. Skevington and Carmichael (1997) summarized the Odonata fauna of the area, and there is some information on Lepidoptera (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Descending Premotor Target Tracking Systems in Flying Insects
    Descending premotor target tracking systems in flying insects Jack Alexander Supple Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Darwin College September 2019 Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. This dissertation contains fewer than 60,000 words, exclusive of tables, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. i Descending premotor target tracking systems in flying insects By Jack Alexander Supple Abstract The control of behaviour in all animals requires efficient transformation of sensory signals into the task-specific activation of muscles. Predation offers an advantageous model behaviour to study the computational organisation underlying sensorimotor control. Predators are optimised through diverse evolutionary arms races to outperform their prey in terms of sensorimotor coordination, leading to highly specialised anatomical adaptations and hunting behaviours, which are often innate and highly stereotyped. Predatory flying insects present an extreme example, performing complex visually-guided pursuits of small, often fast flying prey over extremely small timescales (Olberg et al., 2007; Wardill et al., 2015, 2017).
    [Show full text]
  • Junio, 2011. No. 4 Editores Celeste Mir Museo Nacional De Historia Natural (MNHNSD)
    Junio, 2011. No. 4 Editores Celeste Mir Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (MNHNSD). Calle César Nicolás Penson, [email protected] Plaza de la Cultura, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Carlos Suriel [email protected] www.museohistorianatural.gov.do Comité Editorial Alexander Sánchez-Ruiz BIOECO, Cuba. [email protected] Altagracia Espinosa Escuela de Biología, UASD, República Dominicana. [email protected] Ángela Guerrero Escuela de Biología, UASD, República Dominicana Antonio R. Pérez-Asso Investigador Asociado, MNHNSD, República Dominicana. [email protected] Blair Hedges Dept. of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, EE.UU. [email protected] Carlos M. Rodríguez MESCyT, República Dominicana. [email protected] César M. Mateo Escuela de Biología, UASD, República Dominicana. [email protected] Christopher C. Rimmer Vermont Center for Ecostudies, EE.UU. [email protected] Daniel E. Perez-Gelabert Investigador Asociado, USNM, EE.UU. [email protected] Esteban Gutiérrez MNHNCu, Cuba. [email protected] Giraldo Alayón García MNHNCu, Cuba. [email protected] James Parham The Field Museum of Natural History, EE.UU. [email protected] José A. Ottenwalder Mahatma Gandhi 254, Gazcue, Sto. Dgo. República Dominicana. [email protected] José D. Hernández Martich Escuela de Biología, UASD, República Dominicana. [email protected] Julio A. Genaro Investigador Asociado, Dept. of Biology, York University, Canadá. [email protected] Miguel Silva Fundación Naturaleza, Ambiente y Desarrollo, República Dominicana. [email protected] Nicasio Viña Dávila BIOECO, Cuba. [email protected] Ruth Bastardo Instituto de Investigaciones Botánicas y Zoológicas, UASD, República Dominicana. [email protected] Sixto J.Incháustegui Grupo Jaragua, Inc. República Dominicana. [email protected] Steven C.
    [Show full text]
  • Robber Flies, Asilidae (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae)1
    Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office. EENY-281 Robber Flies, Asilidae (Insecta: Diptera: Asilidae)1 E. M. Finn2 Introduction The robber flies are an abundant and diverse family within the order Diptera that are known for their predatory behavior. Asilidae diversity can be attributed to their broad distribution; most species tend to occupy a selective niche. As their common name implies, robber flies have voracious appetites and feed on a vast array of other arthropods, which may help to maintain a healthy balance between Figure 1. Adult Ospriocerus abdominalis Say, a robber fly. Credits: Ken Gray, Oregon State University insect populations in various habitats (Joern and Rudd 1982, Shurovnekov 1962). Asilidae adults attack wasps, bees, dragonflies, grasshoppers, other flies, and some spiders. Robber flies are particularly abundant in arid and sunny habitats, which are optimal conditions in which to observe their many morphs and behaviors. Description Asilidae are a family of true flies belonging to the superfamily Asiloidea within the suborder Figure 2. Adult Dioctria media Banks, a robber fly. Credits: Brachycera. To date, there are approximately 6,750 Ken Gray, Oregon State University described species of Asilidae distributed throughout the world (Geller-Grimm 2002). There are nearly contribute information to the study of robber flies, 1,000 North American species of robber flies, with describing several species and more than 80 genera. more than 100 species occurring in Florida. Loew Other mid-nineteenth century contributors include was perhaps the most influential dipterist to Macquart, Walker, Rondani, and Bigot. Later, 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 5: Fauna Known to Occur on Fort Drum
    Appendix 5: Fauna Known to Occur on Fort Drum LIST OF FAUNA KNOWN TO OCCUR ON FORT DRUM as of January 2017. Federally listed species are noted with FT (Federal Threatened) and FE (Federal Endangered); state listed species are noted with SSC (Species of Special Concern), ST (State Threatened, and SE (State Endangered); introduced species are noted with I (Introduced). INSECT SPECIES Except where otherwise noted all insect and invertebrate taxonomy based on (1) Arnett, R.H. 2000. American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of North America North of Mexico, 2nd edition, CRC Press, 1024 pp; (2) Marshall, S.A. 2013. Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY, 732 pp.; (3) Bugguide.net, 2003-2017, http://www.bugguide.net/node/view/15740, Iowa State University. ORDER EPHEMEROPTERA--Mayflies Taxonomy based on (1) Peckarsky, B.L., P.R. Fraissinet, M.A. Penton, and D.J. Conklin Jr. 1990. Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Northeastern North America. Cornell University Press. 456 pp; (2) Merritt, R.W., K.W. Cummins, and M.B. Berg 2008. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America, 4th Edition. Kendall Hunt Publishing. 1158 pp. FAMILY LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE—Pronggillled Mayflies FAMILY BAETIDAE—Small Minnow Mayflies Habrophleboides sp. Acentrella sp. Habrophlebia sp. Acerpenna sp. Leptophlebia sp. Baetis sp. Paraleptophlebia sp. Callibaetis sp. Centroptilum sp. FAMILY CAENIDAE—Small Squaregilled Mayflies Diphetor sp. Brachycercus sp. Heterocloeon sp. Caenis sp. Paracloeodes sp. Plauditus sp. FAMILY EPHEMERELLIDAE—Spiny Crawler Procloeon sp. Mayflies Pseudocentroptiloides sp. Caurinella sp. Pseudocloeon sp. Drunela sp. Ephemerella sp. FAMILY METRETOPODIDAE—Cleftfooted Minnow Eurylophella sp. Mayflies Serratella sp.
    [Show full text]
  • A Preliminary List of the Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of Virginia
    Banisteria, Number 36, pages 3-19 © 2010 Virginia Natural History Society A Preliminary List of the Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of Virginia Paul Bedell 10120 Silverleaf Terrace Richmond, Virginia 23236 [email protected] “Robber-flies are among the most fascinating of all flies, except presumably to other small insects that are about to be snapped up by them.” Harold Oldroyd (1964) ABSTRACT One hundred fifteen species of Asilidae are listed for Virginia based on personal collecting, literature records, and museum specimens. Eleven additional species are considered possible for a total of 126. Four species (Ceraturgus mitchelli Brimley, Cyrtopogon laphriformis Curran, Holopogon oriens Martin, and Lasiopogon appalachensis Cannings) are recorded for the first time from the state. Key words: Asilidae, Diptera, robber flies, Virginia, distribution, phenology. INTRODUCTION harmless to people, neither biting nor serving as vectors of disease. An excellent and highly readable overview The Asilidae, commonly known as robber flies, are of the family Asilidae and its relationship in the order a fascinating family of predaceous Diptera. They are Diptera can be found in the classic book The Natural worldwide in occurrence and number over 7,000 History of Flies by Oldroyd (1964). species, with over 1,000 species in North America The history of the description of Asilidae in (Geller-Grimm, 2009). Robber flies are most common Virginia can be traced back to John Banister, who in open, arid habitats, and in North America are most illustrated a robber fly as “Musca Lupus” in the late abundant and speciose in the southwestern states and 1600s. This drawing is reproduced as figure 63 in Ewan California.
    [Show full text]
  • HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
    HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge April 2017 Draft Final Habitat Management Plans provide long-term guidance for management decisions; set forth goals, objectives, and strategies needed to accomplish Refuge purposes; and, identify the Fish and Wildlife Service’s best estimate of future needs. These plans detail program planning levels that are sometimes substantially above current budget allocations and as such, are primarily for Service strategic planning and program prioritization purposes. The plans do not constitute a commitment for staffing increases, operational and maintenance increases, or funding for future land acquisition. The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants. Since the designation of the first Wildlife Refuge in 1903, the System has grown to encompass more than 150 million acres, 556 National Wildlife Refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 Wetland Management Districts. This page intentionally left blank. Habitat Management Plan for Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Habitat Management Plan (HMP) provides decisions regarding the priority resources of concern (ROC) at the Ohio River Island National Wildlife Refuge (ORINWR) and associated, specific guidance for enhancing and managing habitat for the ROC across the ORINWR for the next 15 years. The ORINWR is situated along the boundaries of four states and extends over 362 river miles. There are no other USFWS Refuges within 160 miles of ORINWR, nor are there any other Refuge lands along the 981-mile long Ohio River.
    [Show full text]
  • Nature Inspired Basic Research at Eglin
    Nature Inspired Basic Research at Eglin 6 October 2014 Ric Wehling & Dr. Jennifer Talley Research Biological Scientist RWWI Integrity Service Excellence Air Force Research Laboratory The Need for Agile Autonomy • Report on Technology Horizons highlights a class of problems RWW has been addressing for years: how to build systems capable of autonomous behavior? • The need is for ‘smart’ systems that can navigate, identify and track ‘targets,’ and perform the mission without having to rely on external aids (GPS, a human in the loop, etc.) • We are looking to Nature for inspiration for the sensor suites and information processing to enable agile autonomous systems DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. 2 Guided Flying Machines Have Common Core Instrumentation ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE RATE Strain gauges, hair cells Gyroscopes Halteres distributed across body Compound Eyes, Ocelli Antennae: Acoustic sensors VISION Gravity sensors Olfactory sensors Seeker Compound Eyes Geomagnetic sensors Air speed sensors etc. DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. 3 Biologically-Inspired Unmanned Autonomous System: GN&C NOVEL Acoustic sensors BIO-INSPIRED Ocelli SENSORS AND Olfactory Sensors PROCESSING Mechanosensors Antennae NAVIGATION, WFOV STATE IMAGE SEEKER VECTOR CONTROL PRO- GUIDANCE AUTOPILOT SENSOR ESTIMATOR AUTHORITY CESSOR LAW IMU: Optic flow Mode Sensing INERTIAL SENSOR Power Materials Structures Airframe Signatures Understand and apply the basic principles; not emulate flying insects DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. 4 In-house Instrumentation Development • Electro Retinography Rig • Stargate (512 UV, blue, green interdigitated 16 x 32 deg fov LED arrays) • Automated goniometer • Flight path characterization • Histology • Environmental monitoring for providing realistic environments during measurements • UV-vis spectral / polarization camera 7 November 2014 DISTRIBUTION A.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents for Plants, Pests & Pathogens
    TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR PLANTS, PESTS & PATHOGENS NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY PLANTS, PESTS, AND PATHOGENS 2009 May 2009 Diseases How to take a good tree sample Normal leaf drop of magnolia and holly Abiotic problems . Cold injury . Mechanical damage . High pH / iron chlorosis Anthracnose (Colletotrichum) on liriope Oak leaf blister (Taphrina) Exobasidium leaf gall of camellia, rhododendron Quince rust (Gymnosporangium clavipes) on callery pear Seiridium canker on Leyland cypress Dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica) Lacebug injury on azalea Insects and another arthropod Some common spring scales Galls . Eriophyid mite galls . Homopteran galls . Midge galls . Wasp galls Millipede (live on web cam) June 2009 Diseases Powdery mildews Daylily leaf streak (Aureobasidium microstictum) Armillaria (mushroom) root rot Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) . Comparison of southern blight and southern bacterial wilt Tomato spotted wilt virus on tomato . Plant virus “Need to know” facts Glyphosate injury on tomato Root knot nematodes Downy mildew of cucurbits (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) Insects Carrot beetle (Bothynus (=Ligyrus) gibbosus) True bugs . A predatory stink bug (Euthyrhynchus floridanus) . Leaf‐footed bug (Leptoglossus sp.) . Stink bug (Euschistus sp.) Townsend scale (Abgrallaspis townsendi) Snail fecal material True flies . Migrating darkwinged fungus gnat larvae (Bradysia sp.) . Warble/bot fly (Cutereba buccata) European earwig (Forficula auricularia) Page 1 of 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR PLANTS, PESTS & PATHOGENS NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY July 2009 Diseases Leaf spot on Loropetalum caused by Pseudocercospora Entomosporium leaf spot on Indian hawthorn Botryosphaeria canker on redbud Two rusts on hemlock . Hemlock‐hydrangea rust (Thekopsora hydrangea) . Hemlock twig rust (Melampsora farlowii) Phytoplasma diseases . Confirmations and suspicions on crape myrtle . Aster yellows on marigold, carrot, coneflower .
    [Show full text]