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Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BACKGROUND: The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, is a serious pest of rice, but also damages an aquatic vegetable, water oats (Zizania latifolia Turcz.). The time at which mating occurs is different between populations of rice stem borer associated with rice and those associated with water‐oats, which suggests that undetected cryptic species may be associated with these plant hosts. If true, this would have significant management implications. This study is the first empirical test of this idea, using population genetic tools from two sampling cohorts. We genotyped 320 rice stem borer individuals from 2014, collected from rice and water‐oats across five locations (where they exist in sympatry), using seven microsatellite loci. RESULTS: We found no genetic structuring associated with host plant species. On water oats, some rice stem borers were found that had a similar mating time to the rice population, so in 2016, a second cohort of samples was screened by their timing of mating to get 'pure rice feeders' and 'pure water oats feeders'. These samples were genotyped with microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (COI and COII), and a nuclear gene (EF1‐α). Our mtDNA data suggest a relatively low amount of population subdivision associated with plant host, but the microsatellite data revealed no such genetic structure, and we were only able to identify one haplotype of EF1‐α. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate gene flow between rice and water oats populations of rice stem borer, indicating that water oats will likely provide a refuge for resistance management of Bt rice. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Areawide management has a long history of achieving solutions that target pests, however, there has been little focus on the areawide management of arthropod natural enemies. Landscape ecology studies that show a positive relationship between natural enemy abundance and habitat diversity demonstrate landscape-dependent pest suppression, but have not yet clearly linked their findings to pest management or to the suite of pests associated with crops that require control. Instead the focus has often been on model systems of single pest species and their natural enemies. We suggest that management actions to capture pest control from natural enemies may be forth coming if: (i) the suite of response and predictor variables focus on pest complexes and specific management actions; (ii) the contribution of 'the landscape' is identified by assessing the timing and numbers of natural enemies immigrating and emigrating to and from the target crop, as well as pests; and (iii) pest control thresholds aligned with crop development stages are the benchmark to measure impact of natural enemies on pests, in turn allowing for comparison between study regions, and generalizations. To achieve pest control we will need to incorporate what has been learned from an ecological understanding of model pest and natural enemy systems and integrate areawide landscape management with in-field pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice lines genetically modified with the crystal toxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have experienced rapid development, with biosafety certificates for two Bt rice lines issued in 2009. There has still been no commercial release of these lines yet due to public concerns about human health and environmental risks. Some studies confirmed that Bt rice was as safe as conventional rice to non-target organisms when pesticides were not applied, however, pesticides are still required in Bt rice to control non-lepidopteran pests. In this study, we assessed the environmental effects of two Bt rice lines expressing either the cry1Ab/1Ac or cry2A genes, respectively, by using zooplanktons as indicator species under normal field management practices using pesticides when required. In the whole rice growing season, non-Bt rice was sprayed 5 times while Bt rice was sprayed 2 times, which ensured both rice achieved a normal yield. Field investigations showed that rice type (Bt and non-Bt) significantly influenced zooplankton abundance and diversity, which were up to 95% and 80% lower in non-Bt rice fields than Bt rice fields. Laboratory rearing showed that water from non-Bt rice fields was significantly less suitable for the survival and reproduction of Daphnia magna and Paramecium caudatum in comparison with water from Bt rice fields. Higher pesticide residues were detected in the water from non-Bt than Bt rice fields, accounting for the bad performance of zooplankton in non-Bt field water. Our results demonstrate that Bt rice is safer to aquatic ecosystems than non-Bt rice, and its commercialization will be beneficial for biodiversity restoration in rice-based ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]