Premium
Marking Insects with Dietary Manganese for Detection by Neutron Activation
Author(s) -
Monro John
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1935547
Subject(s) - manganese , ceratitis capitata , larva , pupa , biology , neutron activation , biological dispersal , invertebrate , zoology , neutron activation analysis , ecology , radiochemistry , botany , neutron , chemistry , tephritidae , pest analysis , population , physics , demography , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , sociology
Pupal Mediterranean fruit—fly (eratits capitata Wied) showed different manganese contents as a result of different natural concentrations of manganese in the larval diet. Adults were marked by feeding the larvae on a diet containing 10 — 4 to 10 — 3 gm MnCl 2 /gm of medium. The marked adults were detected by the height of the 0.84 MeV gamma—ray peak following neutron activation. This method may be useful when large numbers of insects or other invertebrates are to be marked with a non—radioactive marker. Manganese (and other elements) may possibly be administered through food—plants for studies of dispersal.