Seed germination responses to light influence the timing of weed emergence and management outcomes. We evaluated (1) variation in light-dependent germination among germplasm sources, (2) the relationship between primary dormancy and far-red light–enforced germination inhibition, and (3) the role of seed size in light-dependent dormancy. Between 2022 and 2025, germination of 70 kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A. J. Scott] populations and 49 common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) accessions was evaluated under three light environments—dark, red, and far red—for both freshly harvested and stored seed. Bassia scoparia germination did not differ among light environments (ANOVA, P = 0.67), indicating weak photoblastic regulation at the species level. In contrast, C. album exhibited pronounced differences in light-dependent germination among accessions (P < 0.0001). Accessions with greater primary dormancy, defined as the difference between germination of freshly harvested and stored seed, exhibited stronger far-red-enforced germination inhibition, indicating coordinated regulation of dormancy depth and light sensitivity. Seed weight was not strongly associated with primary dormancy (Spearman’s ρ = 0.057, P = 0.11) or far-red suppression (ρ = 0.50, P = 0.06). These results indicate that variation in light-dependent dormancy and germination in C. album is governed primarily by genetic and physiological regulation of light perception rather than by seed size.

The response of Grapholita molesta (Busck) males to three-component sex pheromone blends containing a 100% ratio of the major sex pheromone component, (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate and a 10% ratio of (Z)-8-dodecenol, but with varying ratios of (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate (0.4, 5.4, 10.4, 30.4, and 100.1% E-blends) was tested with populations in eight stone and pome fruit orchards in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Traps baited with the 5.4% E-blend caught significantly more males than traps with any other blend with all populations. Significantly more males were caught in traps baited with the 10.4% E-blend than in traps with the remaining blends, except with the 0.4% E-blend in Turkey. Significant differences in male moth catches occurred between the other blends with the 0.4>30.4% E-blend, and the 30.4>100.1% E-blend. Male moth catches with the 100.1% E-blend only differed from the hexane control in Chile. No apparent differences were noted to these blends in populations collected from pome or stone fruits. Flight tunnel assays to synthetic blends with a subset of populations were similar to the field results, but the breadth of the most attractive E-blends was wider. Flight tunnel assays also demonstrated a high level of male–female cross-attraction among field-collected populations. Female gland extracts from field-collected populations did not show any significant variation in their three-component blends. The only exceptions in these assays were that long-term laboratory populations were less responsive and attractive, and produced different blend ratios of the two minor components than recently collected field populations.

Intraspecific variation in characters such as arm sucker and gill lamellae counts in octopodids is yet to be thoroughly investigated, potentially hampering our ability to recognize species. In this study, data from 13 specimens of Muusoctopus hydrothermalis collected at four hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise between 8°38′N and 12°48′N are considered. Although the northern and southern octopuses differ minimally in size, mean sucker count by arm in the northern group is 11.7 to 22.8% higher than it is in the southern group; in addition these octopuses typically have an additional gill lamella and bulkier funnel organs. The arms of each individual carry a different number of suckers. The difference is significant on nonadjacent arms, a pattern that merits examination in a broader taxonomic context. Why these differences exist among conspecifics remains unknown, the incidence of parasitic copepods is not different between the groups and the between-group variation in arm suckers seen here compares well with a previous report of variation among 18 specimens from the type locality. Increases in meristic characters (counts) in fish are attributed to lower temperatures during embryonic development following Jordan's rule. Northern and southern vents offer the octopuses a wide temperature range, but vent fluid chemistry differs. Northern vent fluids may be more toxic; if so, developing octopus embryos may survive only minimal vent fluid exposure and therefore develop at low temperatures. At the less toxic southern vents, eggs may survive greater exposure to vent fluids and thus develop at higher temperatures.