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Negative future thinking pervades emotional disorders. This hybrid efficacy–effectiveness trial tested a four-session, scalable online cognitive-bias-modification program for training more positive episodic prediction. Nine hundred fifty-eight adults (73.3% female, 86.5% White, 83.4% from United States) were randomly assigned to positive conditions with ambiguous future scenarios that ended positively, 50/50 conditions that ended positively or negatively, or a control condition with neutral scenarios. As hypothesized (preregistration: https://osf.io/jrst6), positive-training participants improved more than control participants in negative expectancy bias (d= −0.58), positive expectancy bias (d= 0.80), and self-efficacy (d= 0.29). Positive training was also superior to 50/50 training for expectancy bias and optimism (d= 0.31). Training gains attenuated yet remained by 1-month follow-up. Unexpectedly, participants across conditions improved comparably in anxiety and depression symptoms and growth mindset. Targeting a transdiagnostic process with a scalable program may improve bias and outlook; however, further validation of outcome measures is required.

Abstract:Examining shift s in sport organizations’ social media content from before to during the pandemic-induced stoppage of play provides insight into digital branding during crises. Drawing on consumer-based brand equity and the context, content, and process framework, we examined adjustments made to brand image portrayal on Instagram and corresponding consumer engagement during the lockdown for two sport organizations at different seasonality stages. Results highlight how the National Basketball Association (NBA), facing the loss of their core product, utilized a need-based adjustment, while the National Football League (NFL) exhibited an opportunity-based adjustment. Analyses of consumer responses gauged the effectiveness of these two approaches, finding that the NFL was able to increase engagement, while the NBA suffered from declining engagement. Further investigation found that the NBA is still plagued by declined engagement since the pandemic, underscoring the importance of appropriate and effective digital branding during a crisis. While helping to fill the dearth of knowledge on how sport organizations operate under conditions outside of normalcy, this research improves our understanding of how social media content is managed during a crisis.

The results from this study extend previous research by empirically testing the involvement based Psychological Continuum Model (PCM)segmentation procedure on sports spectators. To date, the procedure has only been verified using sports participants, although the PCM was developed with a broader range of sports consumers in mind. The validity of the procedure is confirmed using two online surveys, which gather data from spectators at both the league (n=761) and team (n=623) level. A three-step segmentation procedure then places respondents into the PCM stages--awareness, attraction, attachment and allegiance. ANOVA tests indicate that the four groups significantly differ from one another on attitudinal and behavioural measures for both league and team spectators. Findings suggest that the PCM is an appropriate framework to investigate fan development at both league and team levels. Thus sports marketers are provided with a research segmentation tool capable of helping them to better understand their heterogeneous consumer bases and thus guide marketing decisions. Keywords spectator segmentation sports fans psychological continuum model PCM, Executive summary This research broadens the understanding of sports spectator segmentation by providing evidence of validity for a segmentation tool which groups sports spectators into stages of increasing psychological connections. [...]

Abstract This study examined how different factors contribute to attitudes and the behaviour of spectators attending an Australian Football League game. The results revealed that four factors--Team Interest, Vicarious Achievement, [...]

Abstract This paper examines the impact of the national sports lottery (toto) in 2001 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the Japan Professional Soccer League--J. League. In 2001 J. [...]

Abstract: The present data illustrate the effectiveness of utilizing theoretically guided models to develop consumer-based micro-segmentation strategies. The results provide marketers with a powerful discriminant function calculated from six variables [...]

A 30-item Sport Interest Inventory (SII) was developed and validated for measuring ten unique motives related to consumer interest at an international sporting event. Spectators (N=1,321) attending five different US venues during the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup were administered the SII. Analysis revealed that sport and team interest, excitement, supporting women's opportunity in sport, aesthetics and vicarious achievement explained 35 per cent of the variance in spectators' interest in the event. Results provide sport marketers with consumer-based marketing strategies, particularly for women's sport. Keywords: Spectator, Motives, Soccer, Marketing, Executive Summary The current study describes the development of the Sports Interest Inventory (SII) and its usefulness in understanding consumer interest in a sporting event. Based upon a review of [...]

This paper examines the relationship between brand associations (anything in the consumer's mind linked to a specific team brand) and brand loyalty in US professional sport. To study the relationship between 13 brand association dimensions and brand loyalty, a survey of professional sport consumers was completed (N =929). Results of multiple regression analysis revealed positive relationships between fan identification, escape, nostalgia, and product delivery, and brand loyalty. Negative relationships were found between tradition, star players, and peer group acceptance, and brand loyalty. Keywords: Brand management, Brand loyalty, Professional sport, Executive Summary This research broadens the understanding of brand management in professional sport by examining the relationship between brand associations (anything in the consumer's mind linked to a specific brand) [...]

The impact of combined addition of high levels of bismuth up to 120 wt ppm and cerium up to 2000 wt ppm on the graphite morphology in GJS 450-18 with 3.2 wt% carbon and 3.2 wt% silicon was studied. Experiments were conducted with insulated keel blocks with a solidification time of 40 min. Samples from the thermal centre of the castings were analysed by optical microscopy, and the forms and sizes of graphite particles were characterised. Bismuth addition, even at 25 wt ppm, resulted in an altered graphite form in the last-to-freeze regions resembling intercellular lamellar graphite (ILG). Additions of 45 wt ppm or more Ce to these Bi-containing melts prevented the formation of ILG and produced chunky graphite (CHG) instead. ILG did not appear for ratios Bi/Ce > 1.5, while CHG could not be found for ratios Bi/Ce < 0.7. Only one type of graphite degeneration (either ILG or CHG) was present in each sample, thus rendering their formation mutually exclusive. Larger amounts of Ce between 300 and 500 wt ppm resulted in the formation of predominantly graphite form V, while no degenerations could be observed. The addition of Ce to a Bi-contaminated cast iron melt to avoid ILG formation and achieve a regular graphite structure with mainly form VI graphite is not possible. Instead, form V replaces form VI as the predominantly formed morphology. Ce levels higher than 1000 wt ppm resulted in the formation of large areas of undercooled graphite in the last-to-freeze regions regardless of the Bi content in the cast iron melt.

Microfocus radioscopy can be used for 100 % inspection of ceramic preforms produced by ceramic injection molding. Technique also is suitable for evaluating molded parts to be sintered Development of [...]

Abstract:As social media becomes an increasingly dominant and important component of sport organizations’ marketing and communication strategies, effective marketing measurement techniques are required. Using social media data of a Division I football team, this research demonstrates how predictive analytics can be used as a marketing measurement tool. A support vector machine model was compared to a standard linear regression with respect to accurately predicting Facebook posts’ total interactions. The predictive model was used as (i) a planning tool to forecast future post engagement based on a variety of post characteristics and (ii) an evaluation tool of a marketing campaign by providing accurate benchmarks to compare against achieved engagement metrics. Results indicated the support vector machine model outperformed the standard linear regression and the marketing campaign was unsuccessful in achieving its goals. This research provides a foundation for future use of predictive analytics in social media and sport management scholarship.

Research on the experiences of employees has been plentiful over the last decade; however, work examining the experiences of collegiate recreation employees is limited. In order to enhance employee well-being, it is important that management understands the experiences of their employees and can invest in job supports that best suit the needs of their employees. Therefore, this research study examined the impact of work and family conflict, workaholism, work engagement, burnout, and coping on employees within the industry of collegiate recreation. In this study, 2,474 National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) professional and student members were sent a survey in which 621 participated and 522 were analyzed. Results indicate employees with young children and those in early career positions may experience significant work–family conflict/family–work conflict and burnout.

AbstractAlthough research has documented the health benefits of physical activity and use of park and recreational facilities, the relationships of these factors to healthcare costs remain unexplored at the population level. Building upon a social-ecological model, we analyzed county-level data to examine the extent to which physical activity rate and access to parks and recreational facilities were related to the healthcare costs for older adults (i.e., those 65 years and above) in U.S. counties. The results revealed that older adults’ physical activity rate in a county was negatively associated with the county’s healthcare costs of these adults. Also, access to parks and recreational facilities was negatively associated with older adults’ healthcare costs through the physical activity rate. These findings indicate that access to parks and recreational facilities correlates with increased physical activity levels among older adults, which might reduce their healthcare costs in communities.

This research focused on the identification and tracking of subgroups of vessels of interest, owners, operators, ports, cargoes, and specific activities associated with artificial reef enhancement and construction in the South China Sea. Historical automated information system (AIS) tracks and current maritime databases were used to develop sociogram depictions of the gray (licit but only partially transparent) maritime network that connects these nodes (ships, events, organizations, ports, activities). Social network matrices were dynamically updated by open source databases to provide insights into real-time awareness and tracking for operational purposes.

ABSTRACTAdventure racing, the combination of adventure sports in a competitive setting, has increased in popularity as part of growing adventurous leisure participation. This study reports results from a survey of 717 adventure racing participants in Australia examining sporting identity, motivations and contributions to physical activity. Participants were motivated to engage in the event by physical, nature and adventure elements, with social factors also being important for teams. Participants are unlikely to identify themselves as adventure racers, rather having a specific sport that they regularly participate in. Whilst adventure racing has limited tourism potential, it offers positive participation aspects to individuals, and a variety of commercial opportunities for sponsors and host destinations.

ABSTRACTAccumulating evidence suggests that physically active leisure represents an important correlate of life satisfaction; however, the role that personality has on leisure involvement and life satisfaction remains ambiguous. This study explored whether the big-five personality traits explain running involvement and life satisfaction. Participants (N= 742) were recruited from a distance-running event held in the United States. The results revealed that conscientiousness had positive indirect effects on life satisfaction through attraction, centrality, and self-expression. Openness to experience also had positive indirect effects on life satisfaction through attraction and self-expression. These findings indicate that greater life satisfaction occurs for individuals with high conscientiousness and openness to experience through the enjoyment derived from running and the expression of identity through running.

The development of stronger team identity has previously been explained through the social identity aspect of belonging. Although this has contributed much to our understanding of sport fans, it has neglected an alternative explanation for team identity, specifically the search for distinctiveness. How then do fans develop stronger team identity by 'standing out' as opposed to 'fitting in'? This paper provides evidence of seven identity management strategies used by fans with a strong psychological connection to their chosen team. Saturation sampling was employed to interview 29 South African rugby union fans via semi-structured interviews, followed by a directed approach to content analysis. The results contribute a stronger explanation of how the psychological need for optimal distinctiveness functions within the attachment process towards stronger fan loyalty, and provides a more complete explanation for the way in which fans can 'stand out' while still belonging.

AbstractThis study empirically tested the development of motivation within the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) in the context of running. Different types of behavioral regulation and future exercise intentions were examined within the framework's distinct stages. Data were collected through an online survey of participants in a mass-participation running event (n= 1,083). Participants were placed into stages according to their level of running involvement using a three-step staging algorithm. MANOVA revealed significant positive relationships between stage of involvement and autonomous types of behavioral regulation and future exercise intentions. The results indicate that the PCM framework is able to account for the development of behavioral regulation. This contribution answers calls to empirically test theoretical frameworks for physically active leisure that help recreation and health professionals to understand maintenance of physically active behaviors.

AbstractWhile there has been tremendous growth in participation rates of women in distance running, the percentage of women participating in full marathons has plateaued. This study investigated this phenomenon by exploring whether differences in constraints and constraint negotiation across gender within this serious leisure activity can explain this difference. Survey research was used to collect data from 3,453 marathon and half-marathon finishers. Comparisons found different barriers across both gender and distance. Additional findings suggest, however, that constraints associated with women in leisure in general do not adequately explain the participation differences, and that women may merely define the parameters of serious leisure within distance running differently than men.

The dynamic nature of destination image (DI) has been widely recognized. However, studies using longitudinal repeated measures to trace image change over time are limited. The first author and her colleagues have examined the structural stability of the DI held by a group of sport tourists over a 10-month interval after attending a marathon event, by adopting a tripartite attitudinal perspective. Their study revealed a significant decay in the affective DI and conative DI, but not in the cognitive DI. The current paper serves as an extended study to find out: first, will the decay of affective DI and conative DI held by sport tourists persist over time? Second, what factors will influence sport tourists’ DI decay over time? Three online surveys were conducted to monitor the post-event DI change of 50 non-local marathon participants over 20 months after returning from the host destination. GLM Repeated Measures Analyses revealed that the post-event affective DI significantly declined in the first 10 months, but then rebounded in the following 10 months, while the conative DI showed a continuous decline over the 20 months. Furthermore, the change pattern of conative DI was moderated by the psychological connection level that a sport tourist has with the host destination. Relevant theoretical and managerial implications are addressed to provide insights for both researchers and practitioners.

AbstractMarathon running is a leisure behavior that has seen tremendous growth during the past decade. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of factors associated with commitment to running for marathon participants. This study was designed to investigate the relationships among negotiation-efficacy, leisure involvement, and psychological commitment for individuals who had participated in a marathon event. A three-facet involvement measure was confirmed and then combined with negotiation-efficacy to predict commitment to running. The results revealed that two involvement dimensions and negotiation-efficacy explained 72% of the variance in commitment. A discussion of findings from the study as well as practical implications and suggestions for future research are presented.

Little is known about the long-term physical activity (PA) behaviours of women after participating in a non-elite mass participation sporting event (MPSE). Three months post-event, 95 women reported their intentions to participate in: 1) the same event the following year; 2) other triathlons and/or other MPSE. The results suggest a strong association between the psychological connection model (PCM) and behavioural intentions. Most women with low intentions to repeat the event were in attraction while most women with high intentions to return were in attachment. These results show that, in addition, to providing short-term inducement for increased PA, short-distance MPSEs have the potential to act as ‘gateway’ events for other MPSE.

AbstractThis paper examines the role of recreation motives and motives for charitable giving in the development of participants' attachment to a charity sport event across two different events. Online questionnaires were administered within a pilot study, and then given to participants in the 2007 Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) LIVESTRONGChallenge (N=568) and the 2007 3M Half Marathon and Relay (N=689). Regression analysis revealed both recreation-based and charity-based motives contribute to attachment to the events. The findings also demonstrate that the charity-based motives make a stronger contribution for the 2007 LAF LIVESTRONGChallenge, while recreation-based motives make a stronger contribution for the 2007 3M Half Marathon and Relay. Suggestions are made for the creation of participant profiles based upon the motives.

AbstractThe current study tested the validity of the Psychological Continuum Model and its usefulness in understanding the progressive nature of participation in recreational golf. Attitudinal and behavioral characteristics that underpin each of the framework's four different stages of increased participation were examined. Surveys were collected from recreational golfers and non-golfers (N=1224) in southern Queensland Australia. A three-step staging procedure classified respondents into one of four stages: Awareness, Attraction, Attachment and Allegiance. MANOVA comparisons supported the distinct nature of progressive stages of participation and revealed consistent, positive links between each level's attitudinal and behavioral indicators. Evidence supports the framework's ability to distinguish distinct stages of physically active leisure and practical insights are offered on how recreation professionals can promote and maintain activity levels in adults.

AbstractThe present study examines the impact of constraints on motivation, activity attachment, and future behavior of recreational skiers. Two hundred and ninety four (N=294) recreational skiers participated in the study and completed questionnaires measuring leisure constraints, strength of motivation, activity attachment and behavioural intentions. A confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the nine-factor measurement model. The SEM analysis indicated negative relationships between constraints and motivation, and between constraints and activity attachment. Positive relationships were observed between motivation and activity attachment, as well as between motivation and future behavioural intentions. These results provide empirical support for the interaction of activity attachment with constraints and motivation. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed with reference to the negotiation of leisure constraints proposition.

AbstractThis article responds to calls to develop pragmatically relevant theories for studying physically active leisure. Empirical evidence supports a method of operation- alizing a stage-based framework capable of stimulating paradigmatic evolution and building a Theory of Participation (TOP). A staging algorithm using involvement facets is tested on two contextually disparate samples: a single-gender competitive sport of Rugby League participation in Australia and a non-gender specific context of recreational skiing in Greece. Results indicate progressive development of sport involvement can be classified into four stages of awareness, attraction, attachment and allegiance with discrete psychological and behavioral outcomes. Support for the presented hypotheses from both studies and suggestions for future research are offered.

Brand loyalty has emerged as a complex construct with a wide variety of antecedents that have been evaluated in the existing research. Using the psychological continuum model (PCM) as its theoretical framework, this paper examines the mediational role of brand trust in the relationship between brand associations and loyalty within two separate contexts of the sport brand environment. In making this examination, the authors try to determine whether brand trust does impact this relationship as well as whether this impact is different between the two separate contexts. A questionnaire was distributed to two separate samples (N=70 and 100) to measure seven brand associations, brand trust and brand loyalty and compare results for managed sport brands versus a fitness brand. Results reveal that brand trust mediates the link between brand loyalty and the management and popularity of the brand across both samples. For the managed sport brands, the links between brand loyalty and both nostalgia and vicarious achievement were also mediated. The authors propose that brand managers work to leverage brand trust through social responsibility, consumer satisfaction and quality customer service in an effort to increase consumer brand loyalty.

This study evaluated a possible anticipation bias when ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were obtained during submaximal progressive exercise testing. Perceptual estimates were obtained using the CR-10 category-ratio scale. 13 subjects, 7 men and 6 women (Mage = 26.8 ± 6.4 yr., height = 2.7 ± .17 m, weight = 73.0 ± 18.2 kg, VO2peak = 46.7 ± 5.6 ml · kg−1· min−1for men and 47.8 ± 7.3 ml · kg−1· min.−1for women) recruited from the university student population participated. Each subject underwent two submaximal progressive exercise tests separated by at least 48 hr. using the cycle as test mode and the YMCA protocol. Power outputs established during the first test were presented in random order during the second test. Differentiated RPE for the Peripheral, Respiratory-Metabolic, and the undifferentiated signals, and heart rate, were measured during the last 15 sec. of each of the four stages of exercise. In comparing responses between the two tests, significant differences were observed for both heart rate and the Respiratory-Metabolic signal during power output 4, using repeated-measures analysis of variance. However, a 95% limit of agreement test was significant only for heart rate as the 95% confidence interval for the Respiratory-Metabolic signal overlapped zero and thus was not significantly different. No significant differences were found for the undifferentiated or peripheral signals between the two tests. Results indicate that both undifferentiated and differentiated RPE are given without significant anticipation bias during submaximal progressive cycle exercise.

Does ecological divergence drive species-level evolutionary diversification? How so and to what degree? These questions were central to the thinking of the evolutionary synthesis. Only recently, however, has the ecology of speciation become an important focus of empirical study. Here, we argue that ecologically specialized, phylogenetically diverse, and experimentally tractable herbivorous insect taxa offer great opportunities to study the myriad mechanisms by which ecology may cause reproductive isolation and promote speciation. We call for the development and integrated experimental study of a taxonomic diversity of herbivore model systems and discuss the availability and recent evaluation of suitable taxa. Most importantly, we describe a general comparative framework that can be used to rigorously test a variety of hypotheses about the relative contributions and the macroevolutionary generality of particular mechanisms. Finally, we illustrate important issues for the experimental analysis of speciation ecology by demonstrating the consequences of specialized host associations for ecological divergence and premating isolation in Neochlamisus bebbianaeleaf beetles.

Eukaryotes often form intimate endosymbioses with prokaryotic organisms. Cases in which these symbionts are transmitted cytoplasmically to host progeny create the potential for co–speciation or congruent evolution among the distinct genomes of these partners. If symbionts do not move horizontally between different eukaryotic hosts, strict phylogenetic congruence of their genomes is predicted and should extend to relationships within a single host species. Conversely, even rare ‘host shifts’ among closely related lineages should yield conflicting tree topologies at the intraspecific level. Here, we investigate the historical associations among four symbiotic genomes residing within an aphid host: the mitochondrial DNA of Uroleucon ambrosiaeaphids, the bacterial chromosome of their Buchnerabacterial endosymbionts, and two plasmids associated with Buchnera. DNA sequence polymorphisms provided a significant phylogenetic signal and no homoplasy for each data set, yielding completely and significantly congruent phylogenies for these four genomes and no evidence of horizontal transmission. This study thus provides the first evidence for strictly vertical transmission and ‘co–speciation’ of symbiotic organisms at the intraspecific level, and represents the lowest phylogenetic level at which such coevolution has been demonstrated. These results may reflect the obligate nature of this intimate mutualism and indicate opportunities for adaptive coevolution among linked symbiont genomes.

Uroleucon ambrosiaecollected from the eastern and the southwestern United States were studied in relation to host‐plant probing. In the field, eastern aphids are highly specific on Ambrosia trifida, while southwestern aphids feed on Ambrosia trifidaplus many other species in the family Asteraceae. Electrical penetration graphs of insects on the principal host, A. trifida, and an additional host of southwestern populations, Heterotheca subaxillaris, revealed regional differentiation in host‐associated aphid behaviors, specifically in the first phase of subcuticular probing, and in phloem finding activities. Eastern aphids used A. trifidamore efficiently than southwestern aphids, but were demonstrably less vigorous in their probing activities on H. subaxillaris.

Theoretical studies and a few recent experimental reports suggest that the evolution of diet breadth in herbivorous insects is constrained by a limited neural ability to efficiently process large amounts of information in short periods of time. This neural–constraints hypothesis predicts that generalist herbivores should make slower or poorer decisions than specialists when selecting plants, because generalists must discriminate and decide among stimuli from a wider variety of potential hosts. The present study compares the speed with which host–associated decisions are made in specialist versus generalist populations of the aphid Uroleucon ambrosiae. Populations of U. ambrosiaefrom eastern North America are highly specific to the host plant Ambrosia trifida(Asteraceae), whereas those from the American southwest also feed on a variety of other taxa from the Asteraceae. Experiments with winged (alate) and wingless (apterous) individuals showed that host–finding, host–selection, host–acceptance, host–sampling and host–settling were more efficiently performed by the eastern specialists. These very consistent results provide evidence that strongly supports the neural–constraints hypothesis.

This work explores the possibility that constraints on genetic variation guide host shifts and are responsible for the evolutionary conservatism of host affiliation in phytophagous insects. To this end, we used full- and half-sib breeding designs to screen two species of the North American bettle genus Ophraellafor genetic variation in larval and adult feeding responses to several host plants of other species of Ophraella. All the plants are in the family Asteraceae. In O. conferta, we observed effectively no feeding response, and hence no genetic variation in response, to three of five test plant species; only those plants related to the species' natural hosts evoked genetically variable responses. In O. artemisiae, adults displayed genetic variation in response to a congener of the natural host, but not to two distantly related plants. However, significant variation among full-sib broods in larval feeding suggests the existence of nonadditive genetic variance in feeding response to all five species of test plants—although survival was very low on most of them. The results suggest that patterns of presence versusapparent absence of detectable genetic variation may be related to the chemical similarity of plants to the insects' natural hosts, but not evidently to the phylogenetic history of host affiliation within the genus. Almost all genetic correlations in responses to host plants were not significantly different from zero; the few significant correlations were positive, and negative correlations that might explain host specificity were not found. Our data do not explain why exclusive shifts to new hosts should occur, but the apparent lack of genetic variation in responses to some plants suggests that the direction of host shifts is genetically constrained.

This study represents the first characterization of parasitoid guilds associated with Neochlamisus leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a group for which minimal information on parasitoids existed previously. Specifically, we combine morphotaxonomic and DNA barcode methods to document the identities and host associations of hymenopteran parasitoids that emerge from egg, larval, and pupal stages of seven Neochlamisus species and four Neochlamisus bebbianae (Brown) “host forms.” Data derive from 7,839 specimens reared from field-collected Neochlamisus eggs, larvae, and pupae. Twenty-two species of parasitoid were identified, of which 17 had not previously been documented from Neochlamisus. These represented seven families: Eulophidae (six species), Ichneumonidae (six sp.), Pteromalidae (four sp.), Eupelmidae (three sp.), Chalcididae (one sp.), Eurytomidae (one sp.), and Torymidae (one sp.). Twenty of 22 species were reared from N. bebbianae, the host for which sampling was most intensive. Considerable overlap was observed in the parasitoid guilds associated with different Neochlamisus taxa, but differences in guild composition were also observed. N. bebbianae is of interest to evolutionary biologists because populations associated with different tree taxa (different “host forms”) exhibit host-plant-specific ecological differentiation and appear to be undergoing ecological speciation. This work will allow for future explorations into whether parasitoids identified here likewise exhibit host-beetle-associated differentiation, such that ecological speciation “cascades” across trophic levels.

Leaf beetle taxa belonging to the Camptosomata use their fecal material to construct cases within which their larvae develop. Despite this intriguing behavior, the fine-scale natural history of very few camptosomates has been determined. Here, we present a highly detailed account of fecal case construction and associated behaviors and life history patterns in Neochlamisus casebearers. This study documents diverse elements of oviposition and egg case construction, larval development and case enlargement, pupal case formation, and adult maturation and emergence. Using an independently derived method, we further document temporal and spatial aspects of larval case architecture. Assays of 10 Neochlamisus taxa in the laboratory are supplemented with field observations in perhaps the single most comprehensive description of case-associated camptosomate biology.

Molecular genetic analyses of populations showing phenotypic variation can provide important insights into the nature and limits of species. This is especially true when interpopulation variation is assessed in a phylogenetic context. The current study applies this approach to evaluate the evolutionary status of the leaf beetle Calligrapha multipunctata variety suturella, a taxon described from a single locality in New Hampshire, but not further discussed in the literature. Here, we report on the collection of material that greatly extends the geographic range of this taxon and on the analysis of cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial DNA sequences from these specimens and related Calligrapha species. We find that sequences from geographically overlapping populations of C. m. suturella and C. m. bigsbyana form two distinct, phylogenetically divergent clades that exhibit appreciable differentiation (4.5%) at the nucleotide level. This mtDNA differentiation was also evident in each of three localities where both types were collected together on the same host plant. Our results indicate an absence of gene flow between C. m. suturella and C. m. bigsbyana and argue for the recognition of C. m. suturella as a distinct biological species. Accordingly, we elevate its status to C. suturella and provide a detailed diagnosis and description for this new species. Based on an absence of male specimens, a phenotypic similarity to C. m. bigsbyana, and the existence of other parthenogenetic Calligrapha, we speculate that C. suturella may be a parthenogenetic species of hybrid origin.

Nominally polyphagous species of herbivorous insects sometimes are comprised of multiple morphologically similar biological species with more specialized appetites. When meristic morphological traits cannot be found to distinguish such suspected sibling species, molecular data are increasingly sought as a source of evidence. A role for morphology in distinguishing such taxa might be reclaimed, however, by recent advances in geometric morphometric methods, such as the statistical analysis of partial-warp scores from the thin-plate spline. We employed this method to detect and characterize subtle shape differences among populations and between sexes of the nominal leaf beetle species Neochlamisus bebbianae. Using the thin-plate spline, the shapes of specimens from seven beetle populations collected from five host plants in five eastern North American localities were calculated. These shapes were analyzed by MANOVA, revealing significant variation in both uniform and nonuniform components of shape among test populations. Significant sexual dimorphism in size, shape, and allometric relationships were also documented across these populations. More interestingly, our study provided evidence of sibling species where traditional taxonomic approaches have failed. Individual MANOVAs revealed significant shape variation between sympatric populations from different host plants in each of three localities. Because these sympatric shape differences were significant when adjusted for size, they cannot be attributed to allometric consequences of size variation among test populations. Because certain beetle populations differed significantly in size and shape when reared in a common environment, these morphometric traits may have a genetic basis. Together, these results are consistent with an earlier suggestion that N. bebbianae represents a complex of host-specific races or sibling species, a hypothesis that has received additional support from recent studies on host use traits, sex ratios, and mitochondrial DNA. In sum, these analyses demonstrate the power and utility of the thinplate spline as a morphological means of discriminating among closely related and anatomically homogeneous taxa.