Seasonal changes in the distribution of the tsetse flies, Glossina pallidipes Austen and G. longipennis Corti, along a transect from riverine thickets out into open plains were monitored along with tsetse density, climatic factors, vegetation and host abundance. Dispersal of tsetse into open country was quantified using the mean spread. During and after the rains both species extended their distribution out into open country up to at least 3.5 km from riverine thicket areas. The mean spread of G. longipennis was greater than that of G. pallidipes. The spread of males and females was very similar, as was the spread of different age categories of parous females, but nulliparous flies and females carrying second instar larvae were under-represented in samples from open areas. This seasonal dispersal can be accounted for by random diffusion with an average root mean square displacement of about 175 m per day. Observed degrees of spread were best correlated with humidity conditions prior to sampling, but multiple regression models suggested that host abundance, vegetation as measured by Normalised Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI), and, in the case of G. longipennis, tsetse density, were also factors in determining the degree of spread. The significance of these findings in relation to tsetse control is discussed.

A method is described for optimizing models by linking simulation procedures with a non-linear regression programme. It is then possible to work towards a parsimonious model which contains those, and only those, variables required for an optimum fit. Using the observed values, and the predicted values from each simulation, the optimizing routine calculates the value of an appropriate loss function. It then makes small changes in the parameters governing the simulation, recalculates the predicted values and the first and second derivative of the loss function with respect to each parameter. The algorithm uses this information to minimize the loss function for a given formulation of the model. The model is improved by adding variables which can be shown statistically to improve the fit, and by removing those which do not. The use of the technique is illustrated with reference to a series of weekly estimates of the total numbers, births and survival probabilities of a population of male and female tsetse flies Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood. Simulation involved following the lives of cohorts of flies, and of all their progeny, from the time they were deposited as larvae. Development and reproduction were regarded as fixed functions of temperature, but mortality rates of pupae and of adult flies depended on meteorological and biological variables, plus the level of trapping imposed on the population. Potential factors were added singly and the model thereby improved in an objective, stepwise manner. The best fit was achieved when effects on adult survival due to maximum temperature, various modes of trapping, and an annual cycle were included in the model. The optimized simulation technique has been used here in improving a model which describes a biological population but it could equally be used to improve models in any situation where data are fitted using simulation procedures.

As is evident from Director Dan Green's detailed report below, the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) continues to function in a very reliable and efficient way. The electronic telegrams (CBETs) introduced in 2002 have proved to be a great success; they allow for very rapid dissemination of more extensive information than there is room for on printed Circulars, and they are frequently cited in the astronomical literature. The workload on the Director seems to be forever increasing. It is therefore gratifying that an Assistant Director, Gareth Williams, has been appointed. Since he also serves as Associate Director of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) and performs many of the computations on which the CBETs and the Circulars are based, the ties and mutual benefits between the CBAT and the MPC have been made even stronger.

Since the IAU General Assembly in Sydney in July 2003, the WGPSN has conducted its business through numerous e-mail exchanges between the members. A nomenclature workshop was held at Hardingasete, western Norway on September 1–3, 2005. That meeting was attended by eight members from the WG and two from the Task Groups (TG) for the small bodies and for the outer solar system. Input to the meeting had also been received by e-mail from other members.