Nicole Kalberer

Ethics Committee Northwest and Central Switzerland

The influence of soil matric potential on sharp eyespot was examined in wheat seedlings following seed treatment with the fungicide cyproconazole. Emergence of wheat was tested at matric potentials between 0 and -850 hPa in non-infested soil and in soil infested with Rhizoctonia cerealis. Optimal shoot emergence was at -50 and -20 hPa in non-infest...

The current literature about histological alterations and artefacts associated with postmortem computed tomography angiography (PMCTA) is scarce and limited to qualitative research. The aim of this study was to describe and quantify histological alterations and artefacts in histologic specimens of the inner organs. The spleen, the liver, the kidney...

Infrared photography is interesting for a use in forensic science and forensic medicine since it reveals findings that normally are almost invisible to the human eye. Originally, infrared photography has been made possible by the placement of an infrared light transmission filter screwed in front of the camera objective lens. However, this set-up i...

1. Alternative life histories may be maintained in populations due to variation in the costs and benefits of the underlying strategies. In this study, potential costs of dispersal by flight were investigated as an alternative life‐history strategy in the mountain‐living chrysomelid beetle O reina cacaliae . 2. In this species, previous mark–recaptu...

The primary olfactory centres of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta, the antennal lobes, contain a small number of sexually dimorphic glomeruli: the male-specific macroglomerular complex and the large female glomeruli. These glomeruli play important roles in sex-specific behaviours, such as the location of conspecific females and the selection of approp...

In order to assess the risks of transgenic crops for honey bee colonies, we studied the development of hypopharyngeal glands of adult workers. We introduced 50 newly emerged adult bees into small, queenright colonies of c. 250 bees. Bees were fed either Bt-transgenic maize pollen (MON 810) or a sugar solution containing either purified Bt-toxin (Cr...

Oreina cacaliae (Schrank) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has a 2-year life cycle that it has to complete within the short warm seasons of the harsh alpine environment. Three years of field observations and experiments revealed that not all beetles overwintered in the soil next to their principal host Adenostyles alliariae (Asteraceae), as was previous...

In order to assess the potential impacts of transgenic plants on larvae of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, information on pollen consumption is needed. We here report on experiments that were conducted with small bee colonies kept in field cages (8 × 14 m) containing only flowering maize plants as protein source. Fully grown worker bee larvae were f...

Early in spring, just after the snow melts, the leaf beetle Oreina cacaliae feeds on flowers of Petasites paradoxus. Later in spring they switch to their principle host plant Adenostyles alliariae. The attractiveness of short- and long-term damaged host plants was studied in a wind tunnel. The spring host P. paradoxus was more attractive to the bee...

La chrysomèle alpine Oreina cacaliae passe les hivers soit dans le sol proche de la plante-hôte principale, Adenostyles alliariae, soit à une certaine distance de cet hôte après un vol. Au printemps, les coléoptères quittent les sites où ils ont passé l'hiver et ils s'envolent vers les fleurs de Petasites paradoxus où ils mangent jusqu'à l'émergenc...