Ecology

  2012 MAY 18 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to the authors of recent research from Bologna, Italy, "Microsporidiosis of adult honeybees caused by Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae is a common worldwide disease with negative impacts on colony strength and productivity. Few options are available to control the disease at present."

  "The role of the queen in bee population renewal and the replacement of bee losses due to Nosema infection is vital to maintain colony homeostasis. Younger queens have a greater egg laying potential and they produce a greater proportion of uninfected newly eclosed bees to compensate for adult bee losses; hence, a field study was performed to determine the effect of induced queen replacement on Nosema infection in honey bee colonies, focusing on colony strength and honey production. In addition, the impact of long-term Nosema infection of a colony on the ovaries and ventriculus of the queen was evaluated. Queen replacement resulted in a remarkable decrease in the rates of Nosema infection, comparable with that induced by fumagillin treatment. However, detrimental effects on the overall colony state were observed due to the combined effects of stressors such as the queenless condition, lack of brood and high infection rates," wrote C. Botias and colleagues ...read more

  2012 MAY 18 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to the authors of recent research from Sydney, Australia, "Based on combined microsensor measurements of irradiance, temperature and O-2, we compared light energy budgets in photosynthetic microbial mats, with a special focus on the efficiency of light energy conservation by photosynthesis. The euphotic zones in the three studied mats differed in their phototrophic community structure, pigment concentrations and thickness. ...read more

  2012 MAY 11 - (VerticalNews.com) -- "Hyphomycetous fungi - so called 'mould' - are the most important agents of biodeterioration in museums, museums' storage rooms, in libraries, collections and restoration studios. Fungi are able to live at low water activities, they are perfectly adapted to indoor environments and thrive in microclimatic niches caused by condensation, lack of ventilation or water retention by hygroscopic materials," scientists writing in the journal Environmental Microbiology report ...read more