Adalbert Balog | Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (original) (raw)
Papers by Adalbert Balog
European Journal of Entomology, 2013
A number of aphid species have been shown to produce winged dispersal morphs in the presence of n... more A number of aphid species have been shown to produce winged dispersal morphs in the presence of natural enemies. Previous studies tested specialized aphid predators such as ladybirds or lacewing larvae. We confronted colonies of pea aphids with the polyphagous rove beetles, Drusilla canaliculata and Tachyporus hypnorum. For both predators we found that the percentage of winged morphs increased in predator-attacked pea aphid colonies compared to a control. The behaviour of the two rove beetles species was noticeably different. D. canaliculata mostly foraged on the ground and rarely on the plant, while T. hypnorum was almost exclusively observed on the plants, causing a higher number of aphids to drop to the ground, which resulted in a stronger increase in winged morph production. Our results clearly show that not only monophagous aphid predators but also more polyphagous insect predators, which include aphids in their diet, can induce aphids to produce winged morphs.
Dominance, activity density and prey preferences of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in c... more Dominance, activity density and prey preferences of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in conventionally treated
![Research paper thumbnail of Studies on rove beetles [Coleoptera: Staphylinidae] in Hungarian orchards ecosystems](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/76345188/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Journal of fruit and ornamental plant research, 2006
Dominance and distributions of rove beetles in apple and pear orchards were studied in Hungary. O... more Dominance and distributions of rove beetles in apple and pear orchards were studied in Hungary. Omalium caesum, Sphenoma abdominale, Drusilla canaliculata, Palporus nitidulus, Dexiogyia corticina, Mocyta orbata, Oligota pumilio and Purrolinus laeticeps were the species usually found with higher relative abundance in the orchard staphylinid communities. Although these species occurred in most of the orchards, their abundance varied considerably and their relative abundance in the total sample was under nine percent. Considering the different soil types, staphylinid species were more frequently found in sandy or sandy-loam soils than in clay, but the difference was not significant. The staphylinids were frequently found in the conventionally treated and also in the abandoned plantations. The soil types, herb cover of the orchards and the treatments played role in forming the staphylinid communities in the orchards.
Appte scab, caused by l/enfiiria inaequalis, is one of the most serious diseases of apple through... more Appte scab, caused by l/enfiiria inaequalis, is one of the most serious diseases of apple throughout the Europe. In our atperiments the ascosporous mortality were compared using diferent plant extracts These were: Artemisinin 3%o and 60% (Artemisia annua), Chelidonine 3ok and 6oi (Chelidonium maius), Menthol 396 and 6% (Mentha pipeita), Populin 3% and 6oh (Populus nigra), Linalool + Linalyl acetate + Linalyl acetate 3ok and 6%o (Salvia sclarea), Thynol 3% and 6oz6 (Thymus vulgais) and distillate water ds control. AII extracts used has high mortdlity effects and very low ascosporous germinated after treatments. All extracts used were also tested in Jield experiment in vegetable crops. The results were similar and the mortality of ascosporous high. These results suggest that the chemical components of these extracts have high fungicide effects and they could be used as biopesticides in integrated and biological control of the apple scab.
The abundance, habitat preference, seasonal dynamics and prey preferences of parasitoid rove beet... more The abundance, habitat preference, seasonal dynamics and prey preferences of parasitoid rove beetles Aleochara bipustulata (L.) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) were investigated in 16 Hungarian agricultural fields. Aleochara bipustulata was the 7th most frequent species in the cumulative samples, and widely occurred in woodland areas of mountains with medium height. The species has no particular soil preferences and its activity density was high in conventionally treated crops. Under laboratory conditions we observed that the adults may consume up to five root maggot larvae (Delia radicum) per day. Laboratory studies revealed that adults are often cannibalistic, eating their own eggs. Adults also consume other fly pests as D. platura and D. florilega. Aleochara bipustulata consumed significantly more D. radicum than D. platura and D. florilega. Aleochara bipustulata may be important biological control agent against Delia species in Hungarian agricultural fields because of ...
Were examined the community structure indices (dominance, similarity, diversity) of carabid beetl... more Were examined the community structure indices (dominance, similarity, diversity) of carabid beetles and spiders in the peat bog Mohos in the East of Transylvania (Romania). 2.Studies were carried out in four different habitats: in Scoth pines forest, in birch forest, in meadow and in the nearest beech forest. 3.During the survey the peat bog carabid fauna were the purest (84 specimens belonging to the 17 species) and the beech forest fauna were the richest (606 specimen belonging to the 21 species), while the spider fauna were represented inverse (546 specimens and 48 species in peat bog and 119 specimens and 12 species in beech forest). 4.We can conclude that the habitat structure (soil types, plant cover) and the disturbances have a significant role in forming the dominance of species and also the diversity and the similarity of the communities are highly influenced.
Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 2010
ABSTRACT During the survey, we measured the contamination levels with a broad variety of pesticid... more ABSTRACT During the survey, we measured the contamination levels with a broad variety of pesticides in soil samples collected from Central Romania. Organochlorine, triazine, car-bamate, phenoxy acid and organophosphorus pesticides were analyzed. Among the most detected pollutants, we found pesticides prohibited in the European Union, such as isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs) and DDT, together with their metabolites. In step two, we modelled the complexation phenomenon of pesticides with cyclodextrines, with the aim of obtaining new forms which are less side-effected, more stable and more soluble. We followed the variation of the steric energy during the complexation, computing different structural and energetic factors of the interactions using self-developed formula and software. Water molecules negatively affected the inclusion process because guest molecules must extrude them; consequently the formulation process requires higher energy. We computed mathematical correlations between dates referring to stability of the complexes and steric, respectively, hydrophobic parameters. The complexation phenomenon was relatively good for all pesticides. However, we observed partial inclusion as well. Additionally, we made investigations on insects and observed considerable higher acceptance level of pesticides combined with cyclodextrines in comparison with pure pesticides. This was attributed to the changes in the physical properties and taste of the complexes suggesting that they could be applied in lower concentration.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller dis... more During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller distances from beehives will increase competitions between honeybees and wild bees, while greater distances will have a deleterious effect on competition. The impact on species richness and diversity was tested with distances from beehives, considering that this may differ when large and small wild bee species are considered separately. Altogether 158 species and 13,164 individuals were collected, from which 72% (9,542 individuals) were Apis mellifera. High variation in abundances was detected from one year to another, and the species turnover by sites was 67% in site A, 66% in site V, and 63% in site F. This last one was the site with the previous contact with honeybees. Considering distances from beehives, significant decreases in small bee species diversity were detected from one year to another at each distance except site F, 250 m from hives. The changes in species diversity and commun...
Agricultural land use intensification and deforestation are between the most significant drivers ... more Agricultural land use intensification and deforestation are between the most significant drivers of biodiversity loss of terrestrial systems. However, if used in small scale and extensive way (as in traditionally used farmlands), land use may create a heterogeneous landscape that maintains high biodiversity. Here we evaluate the effect of traditional land use on carabid beetle communities in Eastern Carpathians, Romania. Three sampling areas were selected along a gradient of mountain landscape within the boundaries of the Olt river and mountain zone from Eastern Carpathian region: (i) forests (natural deciduous and pine plantation), (ii) semi natural habitats (willow and clearcut), and (iii) extensively used agricultural areas (apple orchard and cropland). We found that carabid communities react to landscape change induced by land use, the highest species diversity was found in clearcut and willow, whereas arable land contained the highest number of individuals and most of the commo...
1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tirgu Mures, Department of Fundamental Pharmaceutical Scie... more 1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tirgu Mures, Department of Fundamental Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Botany and Cell Biology, Gheorghe Marinescu Str. 38, Tirgu Mures, Romania. 2. Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Republicii Street 42, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 3. Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Technical and Human Science, Sapientia University, Sighisoara Str. 1C. Tirgu-Mures, Romania. 4. Department of Bioenginering, Faculty of Science, Sapientia University, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. *Corresponding authors, email telephone and fax: E. Domokos, E-mail: domokosrzsbet@gmail.com A. Balog, adalbert.balog@ms.sapientia.ro, Tel. 004-0740-562240, Fax. 004-0264-206215.
The dominance, diversity and activity density of rove beetles were studied in Central Eu- ropean ... more The dominance, diversity and activity density of rove beetles were studied in Central Eu- ropean apple and pear orchards. Altogether 6 877 individuals, belonging to 271 species and 11 sub- families were collected. Thirteen species presented a relative abundance from 9 to 2% and amounted to almost 56% of all staphylinids recorded. In dominance order they were: Dinaraea angustula (Gyl- lenhal), Omalium caesum Gravenhorst, Drusilla canaliculata (F.), Sphenoma abdominale Mannerheim, Pal- porus nitidulus (F.), Xantholinus linearis (Olivier), Dexiogya corticina (Erichson), Coprochara bipustulata L., Mocyta orbata (Erichson), Oligota pumilio Kiessenwetter, Xanthlinus longiventris (Olivier), T achyporus hypnorum (F.) and Pycnota vicina (Kraatz). The alpha diversity of staphylinids for different environ- mental conditions was relatively similar but the Shannon-Weiner Index (H` ) was higher than of other similar studies. However, the activity density was higher in pear, in sand and in abandon...
Along term ecological research was carried out in a Hungarian oak forest, in "Bükk" Nat... more Along term ecological research was carried out in a Hungarian oak forest, in "Bükk" National Park starting with 1972. During the faunistical studies 3,602 insect species and more than 200,000 individuals were collected. The dominant orders were Coleoptera (1,051 species), Lepidoptera (803 species), Hymenoptera (470 species) and Diptera (400 species). The relative species abundance (RSA) for all insects collected in all years of sampling period suggests a rather J shape curve than a not clear scaling property. This means that we were able to identify almost three quarters of the insect species from one ha European oak forest during the survey (from 1987 to 2003), and two third of the staphylinides expected. Considering the staphylinid fauna a total number of 160 species and 4,022 individuals were collected. The most widely occurring species in dominance order were: Ocypus biharicus, Pseudocypus mus, Atheta gagatina, Philonthus quisquiliarius, Oxypoda acuminate, Platydracus ...
The population densities of I. typographus and P. chalcographus inside the Carpathian Mountains i... more The population densities of I. typographus and P. chalcographus inside the Carpathian Mountains increasing mostly because of the non-synchronized and divers management strategies. The growing loss of trees from one year to another indicates assessment to determine the influence of the current management practices (or the absence of such) on bark beetle densities. A comprehensive tree-year assessment were made inside the Apuseni Natural Park, with a surface of 75,784 ha, to assess the population density of bark beetles. High abundance of both species were detected from one year to another, both in managed and unmanaged forests, the latter explained by the presence of scattered wind falling trees which represent favorable places for oviposition. General linear modelling revealed that the effect of environmental variables (forest mean age, forest density, altitude and slope) on I. typographus density were only significant under management systems, and only forest age has significantly ...
Many researches on consumer behaviors employing different models and tools in the field of agricu... more Many researches on consumer behaviors employing different models and tools in the field of agricultural and food products marketing have been developed and applied. Nevertheless, decision-making particularities of the consumers have not been explained to the full sense. This paper focuses on the consumer preferences by analyzing the correlation between socio-economic, demographic profiles and the criteria applied in fresh fruit and vegetable purchasing decisions. The research was carried out in Antalya province of Turkey by using the data of 2007. Data gathered by means of questionnaires, applied to some 300 consumers by face-to-face interviews, have been assessed by chi-square analysis. Pearson chi-square test results show that correlation between the gender, education and income variables and the sensitivity to the particularities of some of the products is meaningful on 5% significance level statistically. The research results indicate that appreciation degree of the products’ ta...
Food and Energy Security, 2020
The human population expected to reach 10 billion by 2100, the probability of conflict aggravated... more The human population expected to reach 10 billion by 2100, the probability of conflict aggravated by scarceness over the XXI century is growing. Conflict is likely to be driven by a number of factors: changing climate, urbanization, migration, and food insecurity. According to the FAO 2018 report, global malnutrition rose from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016. Data also highlight that the majority of these people live in countries affected by political conflicts (489 million out of 815 million). While significant food support comes from the USA and the EU, this feeds about 100 million peoples annually across 73 countries, their role is of cure and not prevention. Reducing food conflict in politically fragile countries on a sustained basis requires new investment and partnerships to develop biotechnological solutions including genetically modified crops. According to our analyses, GM Bt crops with the scope of food, feed, and processing can improve food security, and...
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Environmental Science & Policy
Abstract Peatlands cover cca 3% of the planet‘s surface, yet have disproportional role in carbon ... more Abstract Peatlands cover cca 3% of the planet‘s surface, yet have disproportional role in carbon stocking. Our goal is to understand the world peatland degradation and it’s possible CO 2 emissions for two time periods: 2025 and 2050. First we modeled the future degradation of peatlands and the associated carbon emissions. Second, a conceptual representation was developed to understand the most important socio-political factors behind the observed peatland degradation. We found an increase of the degraded peatland surfaces by 17% till in the period of 2008–2025 (summing cca 559,519 km 2 ) and 26% till 2050 (summing 626,048 km 2 ). The highest degradation levels expected for Asia (about 472,197 km 2 until 2050). The global carbon emission resulting from peatland degradation was 1,052.79 Mtone in 1990 and 1298 Mtone in 2008, the differences being largely related to the Asian emissions (47.8% increase from 345 Mtone in 1990 to 722 Mtone in 2008). We expect an increase of carbon emission due to peatland degradation from 2008 to 1582 Mtone until 2025 and to 2118 Mtone until 2050. The model shows that 25% of the current peatlands will be degraded until 2050 and will be responsible for about 8% of the global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.
Crop Protection, 2016
Abstract This study investigated the effects of different GM maize crops on the abundances of rov... more Abstract This study investigated the effects of different GM maize crops on the abundances of rove beetles. It also investigated competition between rove beetles and other epigeic arthropod predatory groups (ground beetles and spiders). Altogether a total of 5926 rove beetle individuals belonging to 25 species were collected. Whilst the average number of rove beetle individuals per replicate per sampling date varied and, moreover, decreased each year, there were no observed differences in rove beetle abundance when compared between isogenic and GM maize plots within the study period. Furthermore, no clear trends on positive correlations between weed coverage and rove beetle abundances were detected. Altogether a total number of 76,070 ground beetle individuals and 11,126 spiders (including all Araneae) were collected with pitfall traps. Analyses revealed a strong negative relationship between rove beetles and the other two groups in each treatment and year. According to the results the effect of interspecific competition on rove beetle abundance in GM maize is much higher than the effects of treatments including both Bt toxins and extra glyphosate applications.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Aphids are renowned plant parasites of agriculture, horticulture and forestry, causing direct phy... more Aphids are renowned plant parasites of agriculture, horticulture and forestry, causing direct physical damage by sucking phloem and especially by transmission of plant pathogenic viruses. The huge yield loss they cause amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars globally, and because of this damage and the intense efforts expended on control, some 20 species are now resistant to pesticides worldwide. Aphids represent an ancient, mainly northern temperate group, although some species occur in the tropics, often as obligate asexual lineages or even asexual ‘species’. However, besides their notoriety as enemies of plant growers, aphids are also extremely interesting scientifically, especially at the molecular and genetic levels. They reproduce mainly asexually, one female producing 10–90 offspring in 7–10 days and therefore, theoretically, could produce billions of offspring in one growing season in the absence of mortality factors (i.e. climate/weather and antagonists). In this overvie...
Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
In the temperate climate wild bees are the most important pollinator organisms. Pollination is es... more In the temperate climate wild bees are the most important pollinator organisms. Pollination is essential for the communities of semi-natural habitats since this ecosystem service directly affects plant reproduction. The diversity of wild bees living in such areas is remarkably high, but they are susceptible to various anthropogenic influences.In our study, the composition and structure of wild bee communities were examined in Romania (Transylvania) at three semi-natural areas near Filia, Merești and Vârghiș. The surveyed areas were used as extensive meadows under relatively low but slightly different anthropogenic influence levels. We collected bees in these areas at several places (9 sampling points/area) by individual netting four times during the season. In the studied areas, 129 bee species were found, which makes up about 18% of the approximately 726 wild bee species registered in Romania. In addition to the high number of species, we also observed high diversity values. Our re...
European Journal of Entomology, 2013
A number of aphid species have been shown to produce winged dispersal morphs in the presence of n... more A number of aphid species have been shown to produce winged dispersal morphs in the presence of natural enemies. Previous studies tested specialized aphid predators such as ladybirds or lacewing larvae. We confronted colonies of pea aphids with the polyphagous rove beetles, Drusilla canaliculata and Tachyporus hypnorum. For both predators we found that the percentage of winged morphs increased in predator-attacked pea aphid colonies compared to a control. The behaviour of the two rove beetles species was noticeably different. D. canaliculata mostly foraged on the ground and rarely on the plant, while T. hypnorum was almost exclusively observed on the plants, causing a higher number of aphids to drop to the ground, which resulted in a stronger increase in winged morph production. Our results clearly show that not only monophagous aphid predators but also more polyphagous insect predators, which include aphids in their diet, can induce aphids to produce winged morphs.
Dominance, activity density and prey preferences of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in c... more Dominance, activity density and prey preferences of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in conventionally treated
Journal of fruit and ornamental plant research, 2006
Dominance and distributions of rove beetles in apple and pear orchards were studied in Hungary. O... more Dominance and distributions of rove beetles in apple and pear orchards were studied in Hungary. Omalium caesum, Sphenoma abdominale, Drusilla canaliculata, Palporus nitidulus, Dexiogyia corticina, Mocyta orbata, Oligota pumilio and Purrolinus laeticeps were the species usually found with higher relative abundance in the orchard staphylinid communities. Although these species occurred in most of the orchards, their abundance varied considerably and their relative abundance in the total sample was under nine percent. Considering the different soil types, staphylinid species were more frequently found in sandy or sandy-loam soils than in clay, but the difference was not significant. The staphylinids were frequently found in the conventionally treated and also in the abandoned plantations. The soil types, herb cover of the orchards and the treatments played role in forming the staphylinid communities in the orchards.
Appte scab, caused by l/enfiiria inaequalis, is one of the most serious diseases of apple through... more Appte scab, caused by l/enfiiria inaequalis, is one of the most serious diseases of apple throughout the Europe. In our atperiments the ascosporous mortality were compared using diferent plant extracts These were: Artemisinin 3%o and 60% (Artemisia annua), Chelidonine 3ok and 6oi (Chelidonium maius), Menthol 396 and 6% (Mentha pipeita), Populin 3% and 6oh (Populus nigra), Linalool + Linalyl acetate + Linalyl acetate 3ok and 6%o (Salvia sclarea), Thynol 3% and 6oz6 (Thymus vulgais) and distillate water ds control. AII extracts used has high mortdlity effects and very low ascosporous germinated after treatments. All extracts used were also tested in Jield experiment in vegetable crops. The results were similar and the mortality of ascosporous high. These results suggest that the chemical components of these extracts have high fungicide effects and they could be used as biopesticides in integrated and biological control of the apple scab.
The abundance, habitat preference, seasonal dynamics and prey preferences of parasitoid rove beet... more The abundance, habitat preference, seasonal dynamics and prey preferences of parasitoid rove beetles Aleochara bipustulata (L.) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) were investigated in 16 Hungarian agricultural fields. Aleochara bipustulata was the 7th most frequent species in the cumulative samples, and widely occurred in woodland areas of mountains with medium height. The species has no particular soil preferences and its activity density was high in conventionally treated crops. Under laboratory conditions we observed that the adults may consume up to five root maggot larvae (Delia radicum) per day. Laboratory studies revealed that adults are often cannibalistic, eating their own eggs. Adults also consume other fly pests as D. platura and D. florilega. Aleochara bipustulata consumed significantly more D. radicum than D. platura and D. florilega. Aleochara bipustulata may be important biological control agent against Delia species in Hungarian agricultural fields because of ...
Were examined the community structure indices (dominance, similarity, diversity) of carabid beetl... more Were examined the community structure indices (dominance, similarity, diversity) of carabid beetles and spiders in the peat bog Mohos in the East of Transylvania (Romania). 2.Studies were carried out in four different habitats: in Scoth pines forest, in birch forest, in meadow and in the nearest beech forest. 3.During the survey the peat bog carabid fauna were the purest (84 specimens belonging to the 17 species) and the beech forest fauna were the richest (606 specimen belonging to the 21 species), while the spider fauna were represented inverse (546 specimens and 48 species in peat bog and 119 specimens and 12 species in beech forest). 4.We can conclude that the habitat structure (soil types, plant cover) and the disturbances have a significant role in forming the dominance of species and also the diversity and the similarity of the communities are highly influenced.
Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 2010
ABSTRACT During the survey, we measured the contamination levels with a broad variety of pesticid... more ABSTRACT During the survey, we measured the contamination levels with a broad variety of pesticides in soil samples collected from Central Romania. Organochlorine, triazine, car-bamate, phenoxy acid and organophosphorus pesticides were analyzed. Among the most detected pollutants, we found pesticides prohibited in the European Union, such as isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs) and DDT, together with their metabolites. In step two, we modelled the complexation phenomenon of pesticides with cyclodextrines, with the aim of obtaining new forms which are less side-effected, more stable and more soluble. We followed the variation of the steric energy during the complexation, computing different structural and energetic factors of the interactions using self-developed formula and software. Water molecules negatively affected the inclusion process because guest molecules must extrude them; consequently the formulation process requires higher energy. We computed mathematical correlations between dates referring to stability of the complexes and steric, respectively, hydrophobic parameters. The complexation phenomenon was relatively good for all pesticides. However, we observed partial inclusion as well. Additionally, we made investigations on insects and observed considerable higher acceptance level of pesticides combined with cyclodextrines in comparison with pure pesticides. This was attributed to the changes in the physical properties and taste of the complexes suggesting that they could be applied in lower concentration.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller dis... more During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller distances from beehives will increase competitions between honeybees and wild bees, while greater distances will have a deleterious effect on competition. The impact on species richness and diversity was tested with distances from beehives, considering that this may differ when large and small wild bee species are considered separately. Altogether 158 species and 13,164 individuals were collected, from which 72% (9,542 individuals) were Apis mellifera. High variation in abundances was detected from one year to another, and the species turnover by sites was 67% in site A, 66% in site V, and 63% in site F. This last one was the site with the previous contact with honeybees. Considering distances from beehives, significant decreases in small bee species diversity were detected from one year to another at each distance except site F, 250 m from hives. The changes in species diversity and commun...
Agricultural land use intensification and deforestation are between the most significant drivers ... more Agricultural land use intensification and deforestation are between the most significant drivers of biodiversity loss of terrestrial systems. However, if used in small scale and extensive way (as in traditionally used farmlands), land use may create a heterogeneous landscape that maintains high biodiversity. Here we evaluate the effect of traditional land use on carabid beetle communities in Eastern Carpathians, Romania. Three sampling areas were selected along a gradient of mountain landscape within the boundaries of the Olt river and mountain zone from Eastern Carpathian region: (i) forests (natural deciduous and pine plantation), (ii) semi natural habitats (willow and clearcut), and (iii) extensively used agricultural areas (apple orchard and cropland). We found that carabid communities react to landscape change induced by land use, the highest species diversity was found in clearcut and willow, whereas arable land contained the highest number of individuals and most of the commo...
1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tirgu Mures, Department of Fundamental Pharmaceutical Scie... more 1. University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tirgu Mures, Department of Fundamental Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Botany and Cell Biology, Gheorghe Marinescu Str. 38, Tirgu Mures, Romania. 2. Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Republicii Street 42, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 3. Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Technical and Human Science, Sapientia University, Sighisoara Str. 1C. Tirgu-Mures, Romania. 4. Department of Bioenginering, Faculty of Science, Sapientia University, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. *Corresponding authors, email telephone and fax: E. Domokos, E-mail: domokosrzsbet@gmail.com A. Balog, adalbert.balog@ms.sapientia.ro, Tel. 004-0740-562240, Fax. 004-0264-206215.
The dominance, diversity and activity density of rove beetles were studied in Central Eu- ropean ... more The dominance, diversity and activity density of rove beetles were studied in Central Eu- ropean apple and pear orchards. Altogether 6 877 individuals, belonging to 271 species and 11 sub- families were collected. Thirteen species presented a relative abundance from 9 to 2% and amounted to almost 56% of all staphylinids recorded. In dominance order they were: Dinaraea angustula (Gyl- lenhal), Omalium caesum Gravenhorst, Drusilla canaliculata (F.), Sphenoma abdominale Mannerheim, Pal- porus nitidulus (F.), Xantholinus linearis (Olivier), Dexiogya corticina (Erichson), Coprochara bipustulata L., Mocyta orbata (Erichson), Oligota pumilio Kiessenwetter, Xanthlinus longiventris (Olivier), T achyporus hypnorum (F.) and Pycnota vicina (Kraatz). The alpha diversity of staphylinids for different environ- mental conditions was relatively similar but the Shannon-Weiner Index (H` ) was higher than of other similar studies. However, the activity density was higher in pear, in sand and in abandon...
Along term ecological research was carried out in a Hungarian oak forest, in "Bükk" Nat... more Along term ecological research was carried out in a Hungarian oak forest, in "Bükk" National Park starting with 1972. During the faunistical studies 3,602 insect species and more than 200,000 individuals were collected. The dominant orders were Coleoptera (1,051 species), Lepidoptera (803 species), Hymenoptera (470 species) and Diptera (400 species). The relative species abundance (RSA) for all insects collected in all years of sampling period suggests a rather J shape curve than a not clear scaling property. This means that we were able to identify almost three quarters of the insect species from one ha European oak forest during the survey (from 1987 to 2003), and two third of the staphylinides expected. Considering the staphylinid fauna a total number of 160 species and 4,022 individuals were collected. The most widely occurring species in dominance order were: Ocypus biharicus, Pseudocypus mus, Atheta gagatina, Philonthus quisquiliarius, Oxypoda acuminate, Platydracus ...
The population densities of I. typographus and P. chalcographus inside the Carpathian Mountains i... more The population densities of I. typographus and P. chalcographus inside the Carpathian Mountains increasing mostly because of the non-synchronized and divers management strategies. The growing loss of trees from one year to another indicates assessment to determine the influence of the current management practices (or the absence of such) on bark beetle densities. A comprehensive tree-year assessment were made inside the Apuseni Natural Park, with a surface of 75,784 ha, to assess the population density of bark beetles. High abundance of both species were detected from one year to another, both in managed and unmanaged forests, the latter explained by the presence of scattered wind falling trees which represent favorable places for oviposition. General linear modelling revealed that the effect of environmental variables (forest mean age, forest density, altitude and slope) on I. typographus density were only significant under management systems, and only forest age has significantly ...
Many researches on consumer behaviors employing different models and tools in the field of agricu... more Many researches on consumer behaviors employing different models and tools in the field of agricultural and food products marketing have been developed and applied. Nevertheless, decision-making particularities of the consumers have not been explained to the full sense. This paper focuses on the consumer preferences by analyzing the correlation between socio-economic, demographic profiles and the criteria applied in fresh fruit and vegetable purchasing decisions. The research was carried out in Antalya province of Turkey by using the data of 2007. Data gathered by means of questionnaires, applied to some 300 consumers by face-to-face interviews, have been assessed by chi-square analysis. Pearson chi-square test results show that correlation between the gender, education and income variables and the sensitivity to the particularities of some of the products is meaningful on 5% significance level statistically. The research results indicate that appreciation degree of the products’ ta...
Food and Energy Security, 2020
The human population expected to reach 10 billion by 2100, the probability of conflict aggravated... more The human population expected to reach 10 billion by 2100, the probability of conflict aggravated by scarceness over the XXI century is growing. Conflict is likely to be driven by a number of factors: changing climate, urbanization, migration, and food insecurity. According to the FAO 2018 report, global malnutrition rose from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016. Data also highlight that the majority of these people live in countries affected by political conflicts (489 million out of 815 million). While significant food support comes from the USA and the EU, this feeds about 100 million peoples annually across 73 countries, their role is of cure and not prevention. Reducing food conflict in politically fragile countries on a sustained basis requires new investment and partnerships to develop biotechnological solutions including genetically modified crops. According to our analyses, GM Bt crops with the scope of food, feed, and processing can improve food security, and...
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Environmental Science & Policy
Abstract Peatlands cover cca 3% of the planet‘s surface, yet have disproportional role in carbon ... more Abstract Peatlands cover cca 3% of the planet‘s surface, yet have disproportional role in carbon stocking. Our goal is to understand the world peatland degradation and it’s possible CO 2 emissions for two time periods: 2025 and 2050. First we modeled the future degradation of peatlands and the associated carbon emissions. Second, a conceptual representation was developed to understand the most important socio-political factors behind the observed peatland degradation. We found an increase of the degraded peatland surfaces by 17% till in the period of 2008–2025 (summing cca 559,519 km 2 ) and 26% till 2050 (summing 626,048 km 2 ). The highest degradation levels expected for Asia (about 472,197 km 2 until 2050). The global carbon emission resulting from peatland degradation was 1,052.79 Mtone in 1990 and 1298 Mtone in 2008, the differences being largely related to the Asian emissions (47.8% increase from 345 Mtone in 1990 to 722 Mtone in 2008). We expect an increase of carbon emission due to peatland degradation from 2008 to 1582 Mtone until 2025 and to 2118 Mtone until 2050. The model shows that 25% of the current peatlands will be degraded until 2050 and will be responsible for about 8% of the global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.
Crop Protection, 2016
Abstract This study investigated the effects of different GM maize crops on the abundances of rov... more Abstract This study investigated the effects of different GM maize crops on the abundances of rove beetles. It also investigated competition between rove beetles and other epigeic arthropod predatory groups (ground beetles and spiders). Altogether a total of 5926 rove beetle individuals belonging to 25 species were collected. Whilst the average number of rove beetle individuals per replicate per sampling date varied and, moreover, decreased each year, there were no observed differences in rove beetle abundance when compared between isogenic and GM maize plots within the study period. Furthermore, no clear trends on positive correlations between weed coverage and rove beetle abundances were detected. Altogether a total number of 76,070 ground beetle individuals and 11,126 spiders (including all Araneae) were collected with pitfall traps. Analyses revealed a strong negative relationship between rove beetles and the other two groups in each treatment and year. According to the results the effect of interspecific competition on rove beetle abundance in GM maize is much higher than the effects of treatments including both Bt toxins and extra glyphosate applications.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Aphids are renowned plant parasites of agriculture, horticulture and forestry, causing direct phy... more Aphids are renowned plant parasites of agriculture, horticulture and forestry, causing direct physical damage by sucking phloem and especially by transmission of plant pathogenic viruses. The huge yield loss they cause amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars globally, and because of this damage and the intense efforts expended on control, some 20 species are now resistant to pesticides worldwide. Aphids represent an ancient, mainly northern temperate group, although some species occur in the tropics, often as obligate asexual lineages or even asexual ‘species’. However, besides their notoriety as enemies of plant growers, aphids are also extremely interesting scientifically, especially at the molecular and genetic levels. They reproduce mainly asexually, one female producing 10–90 offspring in 7–10 days and therefore, theoretically, could produce billions of offspring in one growing season in the absence of mortality factors (i.e. climate/weather and antagonists). In this overvie...
Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
In the temperate climate wild bees are the most important pollinator organisms. Pollination is es... more In the temperate climate wild bees are the most important pollinator organisms. Pollination is essential for the communities of semi-natural habitats since this ecosystem service directly affects plant reproduction. The diversity of wild bees living in such areas is remarkably high, but they are susceptible to various anthropogenic influences.In our study, the composition and structure of wild bee communities were examined in Romania (Transylvania) at three semi-natural areas near Filia, Merești and Vârghiș. The surveyed areas were used as extensive meadows under relatively low but slightly different anthropogenic influence levels. We collected bees in these areas at several places (9 sampling points/area) by individual netting four times during the season. In the studied areas, 129 bee species were found, which makes up about 18% of the approximately 726 wild bee species registered in Romania. In addition to the high number of species, we also observed high diversity values. Our re...