Egg laying site selection by a host plant specialist leaf miner moth at two intra-plant levels in the northern Chilean Atacama Desert

Egg laying site selection by a host plant specialist leaf miner moth at two intra-plant levels in the northern Chilean Atacama Desert. The spatial distribution of the immature stages of the leaf miner Angelabella tecomae Vargas & Parra, 2005 was determined at two intra-plant levels (shoot and leaflet) on the shrub Tecoma fulva fulva (Cav.) D. Don (Bignoniaceae) in the Azapa valley, northern Chilean Atacama Desert. An aggregated spatial pattern was detected for all the immature stages along the shoot, with an age dependent relative position: eggs and first instar larvae were clumped at apex; second, third and fourth instar larvae were mostly found at intermediate positions; meanwhile the spinning larva and pupa were clumped at basis. This pattern suggests that the females select new, actively growing leaflets for egg laying. At the leaflet level, the immature stages were found more frequently at underside. Furthermore, survivorship was higher for larvae from underside mines. All these results highlight the importance of an accurate selection of egg laying site in the life history of this highly specialized leaf miner. By contrast, eventual wrong choices in the egg laying site selection may be associated with diminished larval survivorship. The importance of the continuous availability of new plant tissue in this highly human modified arid environment is discussed in relation with the observed patterns.

Lycaenid caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) eating flowers of Dalea pennellii var. chilensis (Fabaceae) in the northern Chilean Andes

Lycaenid caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) eating flowers of Dalea pennellii var. chilensis (Fabaceae) in the northern Chilean Andes. The shrub Dalea pennellii var. chilensis (Fabaceae) is reported for the first time as a host plant for three Neotropical Polyommatini (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae): Hemiargus ramon (Dognin, 1887), Leptotes trigemmatus (Butler, 1881) and Nabokovia faga (Dognin, 1895), based on two collections performed in the western slopes of the northern Chilean Andes in two consecutive summers. The relative abundance was always above 90% for N. faga while it was always less than 5% for H. ramon and L. trigemmatus. Furthermore, N. faga was not found on inflorescences of other native Fabaceae examined in the study site. This pattern suggests a close relationship between N. faga and D. pennellii var. chilensis, at least at a local scale.

Adsorption of glyphosate in chilean soils and its relationship with unoccupied phosphate binding sites

The objective of this work was to investigate glyphosate adsorption by soils and its relationship with unoccupied binding sites for phosphate adsorption. Soil samples of three Chilean soils series - Valdivia (Andisol), Clarillo (Inceptisol) and Chicureo (Vertisol) - were incubated with different herbicide concentrations. Glyphosate remaining in solution was determined by adjusting a HPLC method with a UV detector. Experimental maximum adsorption capacity were 15,000, 14,300 and 4,700 mg g¹ for Valdivia, Clarillo, and Chicureo soils, respectively. Linear, Freundlich, and Langmuir models were used to describe glyphosate adsorption. Isotherms describing glyphosate adsorption differed among soils. Maximum adjusted adsorption capacity with the Langmuir model was 231,884, 17,874 and 5,670 mg g-1 for Valdivia, Clarillo, and Chicureo soils, respectively. Glyphosate adsorption on the Valdivia soil showed a linear behavior at the range of concentrations used and none of the adjusted models became asymptotic. The high glyphosate adsorption capacity of the Valdivia soil was probably a result of its high exchangeable Al, extractable Fe, and alophan and imogolite clay type. Adsorption was very much related to phosphate dynamics in the Valdivia soil, which showed the larger unoccupied phosphate binding sites. However relationship between unoccupied phosphate binding sites and glyphosate adsorption in the other two soils (Clarillo and Chicureo) was not clear.

A novel metabolite from the Chilean mollusk Siphonaria lessoni

A new and two previously known metabolites possessing a polypropionate carbon skeleton have been isolated from the marine gastropod mollusk Siphonaria lessoni, collected at Chilean coasts. Their structures have been determined by spectroscopical methods.

Moisture sorption isotherms and isosteric heat determination in Chilean papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens)

The moisture sorption isotherms of Chilean papaya were determined at 5, 20, and 45 ºC, over a relative humidity range of 10-95%. The GAB, BET, Oswin, Halsey, Henderson, Smith, Caurie and Iglesias-Chirife models were applied to the sorption experimental data. The goodness of fit of the mathematical models was statistically evaluated by means of the determination coefficient, mean relative percentage deviation, sum square error, root-mean-square error, and chi-square values. The GAB, Oswin and Halsey models were found to be the most suitable for the description of the sorption data. The sorption heats calculated using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation were 57.35 and 59.98 kJ·mol-1, for adsorption and desorption isotherms, respectively.

VARIATION OF MICROFIBRIL ANGLE OF Pinus radiata D. Don IN RELATION TO TREE SPACING IN CHILEAN PLANTATIONS

ABSTRACTFour stands of 28-year-old radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) grown in the eighth region (Biobio) of Chile were sampled to determine the effect of tree spacing on the microfibril angle. The samples were taken at two different stem levels of the tree, 2.5 m and 7.5 m, with increment strip taken in the Nothern direction. The four experimental stands were characterized by the following spacing 2x2, 2x3, 3x4 and 4x4. The microfibril angle was measured by X-ray diffraction with the SilviScan technology at the FP-Innovation-Paprican Division in Vancouver, Canada. The results showed a significant effect of tree spacing on the microfibril angle in both juvenile wood and mature wood as well as at the two stem levels considered. The minimum (9.42º) was reached in 2x2 stand at 7.5 m in mature wood, while maximum microfibril angle (24.54º) was obtained in 2x3 stand at 2.5 m in juvenile wood. Regarding the effect of tree spacing, 4x4 stand had the lowest microfibril angle,except in mature wood at 7.5 m where 4x4 had the highest microfibril angle (11°) of the four stands.

Multivariate analysis of pollen frequency of the native species Escallonia pulverulenta (Saxifragaceae) in Chilean honeys

The aim of this work was the identification of geographic zones suitable for the production of honeys in which pollen grains of Escallonia pulverulenta (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers. (Saxifragaceae) can be detected. The analysis of botanical origin of 240 honey samples produced between La Serena and Puerto Mont (the IV and X Administrative Regions of Chile), allowed the detection of pollen grains of E. pulverulenta in 46 Chilean honeys. The geographic distribution of the honeys studied is presented together with their affinities, through factor analysis and frequency tables. The study was based on the presence of E. pulverulenta pollen. Escallonia pulverulenta pollen percentages oscillated between 0.24% and 78.5%. Seventeen of the studied samples were designated as unifloral - i.e. samples showing more than 45% pollen of a determined plant species. Two of these corresponded to E. pulverulenta (corontillo, madroño or barraco) honeys. The remaining unifloral honeys correspond to 8 samples of Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr (birdsfoot trefoil), 2 samples of Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz (maqui) and 1 sample of Escallonia rubra (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers. (siete camisas), Eucryphia cordifolia Cav. (ulmo or muemo), Weinmannia trichosperma Cav. (tineo), Rubus ulmifolius Schott (blackberry) and Brassica rapa L. (turnip). Honeys with different percentages of E. pulverulenta pollen - statistically analyzed through correspondence analysis - could be associated and assigned to one of three geographic types, defined on the basis of this analysis. The geographical type areas defined were the Northern Mediterranean Zone (samples from the IV Region), Central Mediterranean Zone (samples from the V to the VIII regions including two samples of unifloral Escallonia pulverulenta honey), and Southern Mediterranean Zone (samples from the IX Region).

Scientist-friendly policies for non-native English-speaking authors: timely and welcome

That English is the lingua franca of today's science is an indisputable fact. Publication in English in international journals is a pre-requisite for a research paper to gain visibility in academia. However, English proficiency appears to be taken for granted in the scientific community, though this language can be a hurdle for a number of authors, particularly from non-native English-speaking countries. The influence of English proficiency on the publication output of Brazilian authors has never been assessed. We report our preliminary data on the relationship between the English proficiency of 51,223 researchers registered in the CNPq database and their publication output in international journals. We have found that publication rates are higher for those authors with good command of English, particularly written English. Although our research is still underway and our results are preliminary, they suggest that the correlation between written English proficiency and research productivity should not be underestimated. We also present the comments of some Brazilian scientists with high publication records on the relevance of communication skills to the scientific enterprise.