A substantial literature has developed on facultative endosymbionts of insects, often portrayed as having large effects on their hosts, ranging from mutualistic to parasitic. The aphid endosymbiont Regiella insecticola occurs naturally in Myzus persicae and has potential biocontrol applications. Here, we examined the effects of native Regiella in two clones of M. persicae from Australia collected two decades apart, to assess w...

Aphids are pests that cause major economic losses to growers on a global scale. Current management strategies rely heavily on pesticides, but some effective pesticides are being withdrawn, and the efficiency of remaining pesticides is decreasing, as aphids build up resistance. Biological control using predators can provide an important sustainable alternative to pesticides under some circumstances, and the deliberate introduct...

Endosymbionts living within insect cells can modify host fitness and could provide new tools for pest control. The endosymbiont Rickettsiella viridis has been transferred experimentally into the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, a globally important agricultural pest. This Rickettsiella spreads via vertical and horizontal transmission and induces host fitness costs which could potentially suppress pest populations. Endosymbio...

This study aims to quantify the dimensions of an oyster reef over two years via low-cost unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) monitoring and to examine the seasonal volumetric changes. No current study investigated via UAV monitoring the seasonal changes of the reef-building Pacific oyster ( Magallana gigas ) in the German Wadden Sea, considering the uncertainty of measurements and processing. Previous studies have concentrated on...

The Pacific oyster ( Magallana gigas ) is an invasive species in the Wadden Sea transforming parts of it permanently. M. gigas , as an ecosystem engineer, builds reef structures that are characterized by highly complex and variable surfaces consisting of densely packed, sharp-edged individuals connected with cement-like bonds. To investigate the interactions between reef structure, shape and formation and wave as well as tidal...

The new Coordinated Output for Regional Evaluations (CORDEX-CORE) ensemble provides high-resolution, consistent regional climate change projections for the major inhabited areas of the world. It serves as a solid scientific basis for further research related to vulnerability, impact, adaptation and climate services in addition to existing CORDEX simulations. The aim of this study is to investigate and document the climate chan...

SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a previously unknown zoonotic coronavirus that spread worldwide causing a serious pandemic. While reliable nucleic acid–based diagnostic assays were rapidly available, only a limited number of validated serological assays were available in the early phase of the pandemic. Here, we evaluated a novel flow cytometric approach to assess spike-specific antibody responses.HEK 293T cells expressing SARS-CoV-...

The introduction of non-native species with various ecological and functional traits to European forests may be a potential tool for mitigating climate risks. We analyzed the growth sensitivity to climate of seven alien ( Acer rubrum , Betula maximowicziana , Castanea sativa , Cryptomeria japonica , Metasequoia glyptostroboides , Thuja plicata and Tsuga heterophylla ) and two native ( Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies ) tree spe...

Inbreeding effects have been detected in captive populations of threatened species, but the extent to which these effects translate into fitness under field conditions is mostly unknown. We address this issue by comparing the performance of replicated noninbred and inbred Drosophila lines under field and laboratory conditions. We asked whether environment‐dependent effects of inbreeding can be demonstrated for a field‐fitness...