Academic literature on the topic 'Lek mass-rearing'

Our studies have shown that additional introduction of feed additive “Elevit” into the rearing gilts’ diet at a dosage of 1.0; 1.5; 2.0% during their breeding from 4 to 8 months allows to increase the gilts’ live weight by 3.9; 7.0; 9.5%, respectively, with average daily gains also increasing in comparison to the control group by 6.4; 11.6; 15.7%. Also, when reaching 8 months, gilts of experimental groups exceeded their peers from the control group in heart mass by 3.2; 4.1; 6.3%; lungs - by 3.7; 4.0; 4.2%; liver - by 5.1; 5.8; 6.2%, respectively. When rearing gilts reached the age of 8 months, a study of their reproductive function was carried out. So, we have established that gilts receiving “Elevit” feed additive together with the diet at a dosage of 1.0; 1.5; 2.0% exceeded their peers from the control group in fertilization indicator by 4.5; 5.4; 5.4%, and multifertility - by 4.3; 6.2; 7.5% respectively. The increase in these indicators led to an increase in the total number of experimental piglets received from rearing sows by 36, 3; 47.1; 48.7% compared to control.

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a pest of Asian origin, has been causing severe damage to Italian agriculture. The application of classical biological control by the release of Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), an exotic egg parasitoid, appears to be one promising solution. In Italy, releases of T. japonicus in the field were authorized in 2020. In this study, some parameters that could influence the rearing of T. japonicus in insectaries were investigated. A significantly higher production of progeny was observed on host eggs stored at 6 °C (86.5%) compared to −24 °C (48.8%) for up to two months prior to exposure to parasitism. There were no significant differences in progeny production from single females in a vial provided with only one egg mass (83.2%) or 10 females inside a cage with 6 egg masses (83.9%). The exposure of parasitoids to refrigerated (6 °C) egg masses of H. halys for 72 h led to a significantly higher production of progeny (62.1%) compared to shorter exposures for 48 (44.0%) or 24 h (37.1%). A decline in production of progeny by the same female was detected between the first (62.1%) and the second parasitization (41.3%). Adult parasitoids stored at 16 °C for up to 90 days had an 87.1% survival rate, but a significant decrease in progeny production was detected. These parameters could be adjusted when rearing T. japonicus for specific aims such as the production of individuals for field release or colony maintenance.

The advent of novel genetic methods has led to renewed interest in the sterile insect technique (SIT) for management of insect pests, owing to applications in mass rearing and in the production of sterile offspring without use of irradiation. An area-wide management programme for codling moth, Cydia pomonella, has employed the SIT and other management practices over a large area (3395 to 7331 ha) of orchards and neighbouring urban, public, or First Nations lands in British Columbia, Canada, for 25 years. This project is the first to employ the SIT for C. pomonella, and the longest-running application of area-wide techniques for its control, anywhere. It was derived from basic research and applied trials from the 1960s onwards. Many biological challenges were overcome, and lessons learnt, in transferring from small- to large-scale applications of mass rearing and the SIT, with particular regard to Lepidoptera. Research has proven essential to identifying, if not resolving, issues that threaten the implementation and success of any such programme. The major challenges encountered, and the resulting research, are reviewed, as well as future directions. Recommendations are given for application of the SIT as part of any area-wide management programme for C. pomonella.

Mass-rearing of mosquitoes under laboratory conditions is an important part of several new control techniques that rely on the release of males to control mosquito populations. While previous work has investigated the effect of larval density and diet amount on colony productivity, the role of the size of the container in which larval development takes place has been relatively ignored. We investigated the role of container size in shaping life history and how this varied with density and food availability in Aedes aegypti, an important disease vector and target of mass-rearing operations. For each treatment combination, immature development time and survival and adult body size and fecundity were measured, and then combined into a measure of productivity. We additionally investigated how larval aggregation behaviour varied with container size. Container size had important effects on life history traits and overall productivity. In particular, increasing container size intensified density and diet effects on immature development time. Productivity was also impacted by container size when larvae were reared at high densities (1.4 larva/ml). In these treatments, the productivity metric of large containers was estimated to be significantly lower than medium or small containers. Regardless of container size, larvae were more likely to be observed at the outer edges of containers, even when this led to extremely high localized densities. We discuss how container size and larval aggregation responses may alter the balance of energy input and output to shape development and productivity.

The increasing demands on natural resources to provide food and feed has led to increased global initiatives to improve production sustainability and efficiency. The use of insects as an alternate source of protein for human food and production-animal feed is one such avenue gaining attention. With there being a large variety of insect species endemic to each region, there is likely to be an ideal candidate for each specific production system and region. Insects require less land and water than do terrestrial animals, have high feed-conversion efficiency (FCE) and emit low levels of greenhouse gases (GHG). Insect species currently investigated for mass production include black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), mealworms and crickets. In western societies, it is less likely that wide-scale adoption of insects as a food source will occur, although speciality products with ‘hidden’ insects, such as cricket flour, are commercially available. It is likely to be more achievable for insects to be included into the diets of production and companion animals. While there has been significant investment in research and development of large-scale insect-production systems, such facilities are yet to start producing at a significant scale. The safety and efficacy of insects as a food or feed must be established in conjunction with the development of mass rearing facilities and the optimisation of insect-rearing substrates. Insects also have nutraceutical properties that may have beneficial impacts on animal health and growth, with scope for these properties to be exploited as feed or food additives. The present review will explore the following question: ‘are insects a future livestock industry for Australia?’.

AbstractIn order to evaluate the effect of exercise training and spontaneous physical activity on growth performance, carcass composition, and locomotory ability 48 female and 48 entire male pigs were subjected to one of three treatments: individual housing in pens of 2-5 m2 (confined; C), individual housing and treadmill training for 15 minlday at a speed of 4 km/h, 5 days/week for a period of 70 days (trained; T) and group-housing equal to 0·9 m2 per animal (free; F). Pigs in treatment C and T did not differ with regard to daily gain, food intake, kg food per kg gain and carcass lean content. Training did, however, induce significant cardiac hypertrophy (by a proportion of 0·06). In treatment F (i.e. large pens), daily gain was 135 g lower than in treatment C. Dissection of the carcasses showed that treatment F increased the weight of m. psoas major (by 30 g) and the total carcass bone mass (by 130 g) when compared with treatment C. Proportions of carcass lean and intramuscular fat were unaffected by treatment F. Likewise, leg weakness and osteochondrosis did not differ between treatments, whereas the locomotory ability was positively affected by rearing in large pens (treatment F) but not by treadmill training (treatment T). Thus, physical activity in large pens induced various adaptations throughout the body.

The main objective of broiler rearing industry is production of high quality broiler carcasses that will be acceptable for consumers; Acceptability depends on the quality and quantity of edible parts of carcasses, and the amount of muscle mass in carcass. Feeding strategy in growing broiler chickens should be to produce animals with maximum lean body mass, highest feed conversion ratio and maximum body weight. Continuous genetic selection and improvement in nutrition have led to a very fast growth rate in modern strains. That early-life fast growth rate is accompanied by a number of problems, such as body fat deposition, high incidence of metabolic disorders, high mortality, and high incidence of skeletal diseases. The feed restriction programs is on of the main techniques in growth curve manipulation for increasing production efficiency in broiler chicken in alleviate the incidence of some metabolic diseases and can be used to produce a leaner bird and reduce the unfavorable effects of fat on human health, and to reduce fat deposition in broiler carcasses could be profitable in broiler chickens production. This article implicated on new findings in about different feed restriction programs effects on production efficiency and carcass quality in broiler chickens.

Black soldier flies (BSFs, Hermetia illucens) are becoming a prominent research model encouraged by the insect as food and feed and waste bioconversion industries. Insect mass-rearing facilities are at risk from the spread of viruses, but so far, none have been described in BSFs. To fill this knowledge gap, a bioinformatic approach was undertaken to discover viruses specifically associated with BSFs. First, BSF genomes were screened for the presence of endogenous viral elements (EVEs). This led to the discovery and mapping of seven orthologous EVEs integrated into three BSF genomes originating from five viral families. Secondly, a virus discovery pipeline was used to screen BSF transcriptomes. This led to detecting a new exogenous totivirus that we named hermetia illucens totivirus 1 (HiTV1). Phylogenetic analyses showed this virus belongs to a clade of insect-specific totiviruses and is closely related to the largest EVE located on chromosome 1 of the BSF genome. Lastly, this EVE was found to express a small transcript in some BSFs infected by HiTV1. Altogether, this data mining study showed that far from being unscathed from viruses, BSFs bear traces of past interactions with several viral families and of present interactions with the exogenous HiTV1.

Although several emerging mosquito control technologies are dependent on mass releases of adult males, methods of sex-sorting that can be implemented globally have not yet been established. RNAi screens led to the discovery of siRNA, which targets gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), a gene which is well conserved in multiple species of mosquitoes and located at the sex-determining M locus region in Aedes aegypti. Silencing the A. aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Anopheles gambiae, Culex pipiens, and Culex quinquefasciatus GGT genes resulted in female larval death, with no significant impact on male survival. Generation of yeast strains that permitted affordable expression and oral delivery of shRNA corresponding to mosquito GGT genes facilitated larval target gene silencing and generated significantly increased 5 males:1 female adult ratios in each species. Yeast targeting a conserved sequence in Culex GGT genes was incorporated into a larval mass-rearing diet, permitting the generation of fit adult male C. pipiens and C. quinquefasciatus, two species for which labor-intensive manual sex separation had previously been utilized. The results of this study indicate that female-specific yeast-based RNAi larvicides may facilitate global implementation of population-based control strategies that require releases of sterile or genetically modified adult males, and that yeast RNAi strategies can be utilized in various species of mosquitoes that have progressed to different stages of sex chromosome evolution.

The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major pest of horticulture in eastern Australia, is a relatively poor coloniser of new habitat. This thesis examines behavioural properties that might limit the ability of B. tryoni to establish new populations. As the potential for B. tryoni to establish an outbreak population may be most directly limited by mechanisms associated with dispersal and mating behaviour, these two factors were the focus of this research project. The relevance of dispersal and mating behaviour for control of outbreak populations was assessed. Dispersal (i) Dispersal patterns of males and females are not different. Dispersal of post-teneral male B. tryoni from a point within an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was monitored following temporally replicated releases. Application of sterile insect technique (SIT) requires knowledge of dispersal from a release point so that effective release rates can be determined. In addition, dispersal following introduction to new habitat can lead to low or negative population growth and an Allee effect. In Spring and Autumn, 2001 – 2003, three different strains of B. tryoni were released: (1) wild flies reared from infested fruit collected in the Sydney Basin; (2) a laboratory-reared strain with a colour mutation (white marks); and (3) sterile flies obtained by gamma-irradiation of a mass-reared strain. Dispersal was monitored using a grid of traps baited with the male attractant, cuelure. During the majority of releases, flies were massmarked using a self-marking technique and fluorescent pigment powder to enable identification of recaptured flies. A preliminary study found that fluorescent pigment marks had no effect on adult survival and marks did not fade significantly in the laboratory over a period of five weeks after eclosion. As cuelure repels inseminated sexually mature female B. tryoni, unbaited, coloured flat sticky traps, and black and yellow sticky sphere traps baited with a food lure (protein autolysate solution) were used to supplement traps baited with cuelure. The effectiveness of these two sticky trap types was assessed, and recaptures used to compare patterns of dispersal from a release point by male and female B. tryoni. Fluorescent yellow (chartreuse), green, and clear unbaited flat sticky traps were relatively ineffective for monitoring dispersal of sterile male and female B. tryoni, recapturing only 0.1% of released sterile flies. Monitoring dispersal with sticky ball traps baited with protein autolysate solution was more successful, with yellow spheres and black spheres recapturing 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Trap colour had no effect on recaptures on flat sticky traps or sticky spheres. Equal recapture rates on yellow and black sticky sphere traps suggests that the odour of yeast autolysate solution was more important than colour for attraction of post-teneral flies to traps. Using the results of recaptures on odoriferous black and yellow sticky sphere traps within one week of release, regression equations of male and female recaptures per trap were found to be similar (Figure 4-3). This is the first study to clearly indicate that post-teneral dispersal patterns of male and female B. tryoni released from a point do not differ, enabling the use of existing models to predict density of both sexes of B. tryoni following post-teneral dispersal. (ii) Males disperse further in Spring than in Autumn, but this is not temperature-related. Analysis of replicated recaptures in traps baited with cuelure revealed that dispersal of male B. tryoni in an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was higher in Spring than in Autumn (Figure 5-6). As the maximum daily temperature was significantly higher in Spring than in Autumn this result was unexpected, since earlier studies have found that B. tryoni disperse at the onset of cool weather in search of sheltered over-wintering sites. Dispersal of post-teneral B. tryoni may have been affected by habitat suitability; it was found that seasonal trends in dispersal could have been influenced by local habitat variables. Low mean dispersal distances in Autumn may be explained by the presence of fruiting hosts in the orchard, or the availability of resources required by over-wintering flies. There was no significant correlation between temperature and mean dispersal distance, suggesting that higher rates of dispersal cannot be explained by temperature-related increases in activity. Recapture rate per trap was significantly negatively correlated with increasing daily maximum and average temperature. This may have consequences for detection of B. tryoni outbreaks in quarantine areas due to reduced cuelure trap efficiency. (iii) Maturity and source variation affect dispersal and response to cuelure. This research indicated that most male and female B. tryoni do not disperse far from a release point, suggesting that an invading propagule would not spread far in the first generation. However, there is considerable variation in flight capability among individuals. Comparison of wild, laboratory-reared white marks, and gamma-irradiated sterile male B. tryoni indicated that mean dispersal distance and redistribution patterns were not significantly affected by fly origin. Despite no difference in dispersal distance from the release point, recaptures of wild and sterile males per Lynfield trap baited with cuelure were highest within one week after release, whereas recaptures of white marks males per trap increased in the second week. This result may offer evidence to support the hypothesis that sterile male B. tryoni respond to cuelure at an earlier age. Rearing conditions used to produce large quantities of males for sterilisation by gamma-irradiation may select for earlier sexual maturity. Mating Behaviour (i) Density and sex ratio do not affect mating, except at low densities. Demographic stochasticity in the form of sex ratio fluctuations at low population density can lead to an observed Allee effect. The effect of local group density and sex ratio on mating behaviour and male mating success of a laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni was examined in laboratory cages. In the laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni used in this study, a group of one female and one male was sufficient for a good chance of mating success. The proportion of females mated and male mating success was not significantly affected by density or sex ratio, although variability in male mating success was higher at low density. This could indicate that mating success of B. tryoni can be reduced when local group density is low owing to decreased frequency in encounters between males and females. (ii) Mass-reared males exhibit aberrant mating behaviour, but this does not reduce mating success. Strong artificial selection in mass-rearing facilities may lead to decreased competitiveness of sterile males released in SIT programs as a result of alteration or loss of ecological and behavioural traits required in the field. The effects of domestication and irradiation on the mating behaviour of males of B. tryoni were investigated by caging wild, mass-reared and sterile (mass-reared and gammairradiated) males with wild females. Mating behaviour of mass-reared males was different from that of wild males, but behaviour of wild and sterile males was similar. Mass-reared males were found to engage in mounting of other males much more frequently than wild and sterile males, and began calling significantly earlier before darkness. Male calling did not appear to be associated with female choice of mating partners, although this does not exclude the possibility that calling is a cue used by females to discriminate between mating partners. Conditions used to domesticate and rear large quantities of B. tryoni for SIT may select for an alternative male mating strategy, with mass-reared males calling earlier and exercising less discrimination between potential mating partners. Despite differences in behaviour of wild, mass-reared and sterile males, frequency of successful copulations and mating success were similar. (iii) Pheromone-calling by males was increased in larger aggregations but this did not result in significantly more female visits. Finally, large laboratory cages with artificial leks were used to investigate the importance in B. tryoni of male group size for female visitation at lek sites and initiation of male pheromone-calling. Calling propensity of male B. tryoni was increased by the presence of conspecific males. Females visited the largest lek more frequently than single males, but there was no correlation between lek size and female visitation. Female B. tryoni had a limited capacity to perceive a difference between the number of calling males; female visitation at leks was only weakly associated with male calling, suggesting that lek size and the number of pheromone-calling males may not be the only factor important in locating mates in B. tryoni. The weak, but positive correlation between male calling and female visitation may indicate that passive attraction maintains lek-mating in B. tryoni. Further studies are essential on mating behaviour of B. tryoni, including identification of male mating aggregations in the field, measurement of habitat variables associated with male aggregations, the influence of density on wild B. tryoni mating success, and the role of pheromone-calling, in order to optimise use of SIT for control of this pest.

The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major pest of horticulture in eastern Australia, is a relatively poor coloniser of new habitat. This thesis examines behavioural properties that might limit the ability of B. tryoni to establish new populations. As the potential for B. tryoni to establish an outbreak population may be most directly limited by mechanisms associated with dispersal and mating behaviour, these two factors were the focus of this research project. The relevance of dispersal and mating behaviour for control of outbreak populations was assessed. Dispersal (i) Dispersal patterns of males and females are not different. Dispersal of post-teneral male B. tryoni from a point within an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was monitored following temporally replicated releases. Application of sterile insect technique (SIT) requires knowledge of dispersal from a release point so that effective release rates can be determined. In addition, dispersal following introduction to new habitat can lead to low or negative population growth and an Allee effect. In Spring and Autumn, 2001 � 2003, three different strains of B. tryoni were released: (1) wild flies reared from infested fruit collected in the Sydney Basin; (2) a laboratory-reared strain with a colour mutation (white marks); and (3) sterile flies obtained by gamma-irradiation of a mass-reared strain. Dispersal was monitored using a grid of traps baited with the male attractant, cuelure. During the majority of releases, flies were massmarked using a self-marking technique and fluorescent pigment powder to enable identification of recaptured flies. A preliminary study found that fluorescent pigment marks had no effect on adult survival and marks did not fade significantly in the laboratory over a period of five weeks after eclosion. As cuelure repels inseminated sexually mature female B. tryoni, unbaited, coloured flat sticky traps, and black and yellow sticky sphere traps baited with a food lure (protein autolysate solution) were used to supplement traps baited with cuelure. The effectiveness of these two sticky trap types was assessed, and recaptures used to compare patterns of dispersal from a release point by male and female B. tryoni. Fluorescent yellow (chartreuse), green, and clear unbaited flat sticky traps were relatively ineffective for monitoring dispersal of sterile male and female B. tryoni, recapturing only 0.1% of released sterile flies. Monitoring dispersal with sticky ball traps baited with protein autolysate solution was more successful, with yellow spheres and black spheres recapturing 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Trap colour had no effect on recaptures on flat sticky traps or sticky spheres. Equal recapture rates on yellow and black sticky sphere traps suggests that the odour of yeast autolysate solution was more important than colour for attraction of post-teneral flies to traps. Using the results of recaptures on odoriferous black and yellow sticky sphere traps within one week of release, regression equations of male and female recaptures per trap were found to be similar (Figure 4-3). This is the first study to clearly indicate that post-teneral dispersal patterns of male and female B. tryoni released from a point do not differ, enabling the use of existing models to predict density of both sexes of B. tryoni following post-teneral dispersal. (ii) Males disperse further in Spring than in Autumn, but this is not temperature-related. Analysis of replicated recaptures in traps baited with cuelure revealed that dispersal of male B. tryoni in an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was higher in Spring than in Autumn (Figure 5-6). As the maximum daily temperature was significantly higher in Spring than in Autumn this result was unexpected, since earlier studies have found that B. tryoni disperse at the onset of cool weather in search of sheltered over-wintering sites. Dispersal of post-teneral B. tryoni may have been affected by habitat suitability; it was found that seasonal trends in dispersal could have been influenced by local habitat variables. Low mean dispersal distances in Autumn may be explained by the presence of fruiting hosts in the orchard, or the availability of resources required by over-wintering flies. There was no significant correlation between temperature and mean dispersal distance, suggesting that higher rates of dispersal cannot be explained by temperature-related increases in activity. Recapture rate per trap was significantly negatively correlated with increasing daily maximum and average temperature. This may have consequences for detection of B. tryoni outbreaks in quarantine areas due to reduced cuelure trap efficiency. (iii) Maturity and source variation affect dispersal and response to cuelure. This research indicated that most male and female B. tryoni do not disperse far from a release point, suggesting that an invading propagule would not spread far in the first generation. However, there is considerable variation in flight capability among individuals. Comparison of wild, laboratory-reared white marks, and gamma-irradiated sterile male B. tryoni indicated that mean dispersal distance and redistribution patterns were not significantly affected by fly origin. Despite no difference in dispersal distance from the release point, recaptures of wild and sterile males per Lynfield trap baited with cuelure were highest within one week after release, whereas recaptures of white marks males per trap increased in the second week. This result may offer evidence to support the hypothesis that sterile male B. tryoni respond to cuelure at an earlier age. Rearing conditions used to produce large quantities of males for sterilisation by gamma-irradiation may select for earlier sexual maturity. Mating Behaviour (i) Density and sex ratio do not affect mating, except at low densities. Demographic stochasticity in the form of sex ratio fluctuations at low population density can lead to an observed Allee effect. The effect of local group density and sex ratio on mating behaviour and male mating success of a laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni was examined in laboratory cages. In the laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni used in this study, a group of one female and one male was sufficient for a good chance of mating success. The proportion of females mated and male mating success was not significantly affected by density or sex ratio, although variability in male mating success was higher at low density. This could indicate that mating success of B. tryoni can be reduced when local group density is low owing to decreased frequency in encounters between males and females. (ii) Mass-reared males exhibit aberrant mating behaviour, but this does not reduce mating success. Strong artificial selection in mass-rearing facilities may lead to decreased competitiveness of sterile males released in SIT programs as a result of alteration or loss of ecological and behavioural traits required in the field. The effects of domestication and irradiation on the mating behaviour of males of B. tryoni were investigated by caging wild, mass-reared and sterile (mass-reared and gammairradiated) males with wild females. Mating behaviour of mass-reared males was different from that of wild males, but behaviour of wild and sterile males was similar. Mass-reared males were found to engage in mounting of other males much more frequently than wild and sterile males, and began calling significantly earlier before darkness. Male calling did not appear to be associated with female choice of mating partners, although this does not exclude the possibility that calling is a cue used by females to discriminate between mating partners. Conditions used to domesticate and rear large quantities of B. tryoni for SIT may select for an alternative male mating strategy, with mass-reared males calling earlier and exercising less discrimination between potential mating partners. Despite differences in behaviour of wild, mass-reared and sterile males, frequency of successful copulations and mating success were similar. (iii) Pheromone-calling by males was increased in larger aggregations but this did not result in significantly more female visits. Finally, large laboratory cages with artificial leks were used to investigate the importance in B. tryoni of male group size for female visitation at lek sites and initiation of male pheromone-calling. Calling propensity of male B. tryoni was increased by the presence of conspecific males. Females visited the largest lek more frequently than single males, but there was no correlation between lek size and female visitation. Female B. tryoni had a limited capacity to perceive a difference between the number of calling males; female visitation at leks was only weakly associated with male calling, suggesting that lek size and the number of pheromone-calling males may not be the only factor important in locating mates in B. tryoni. The weak, but positive correlation between male calling and female visitation may indicate that passive attraction maintains lek-mating in B. tryoni. Further studies are essential on mating behaviour of B. tryoni, including identification of male mating aggregations in the field, measurement of habitat variables associated with male aggregations, the influence of density on wild B. tryoni mating success, and the role of pheromone-calling, in order to optimise use of SIT for control of this pest.