Search results for " Garden"
showing 10 items of 105 documents
Hierarchical networks of food exchange in the black garden ant Lasius niger
2020
In most eusocial insects, the division of labour results in relatively few individuals foraging for the entire colony. Thus, the survival of the colony depends on its efficiency in meeting the nutritional needs of all its members. Here, we characterise the network topology of a eusocial insect to understand the role and centrality of each caste in this network during the process of food dissemination. We constructed trophallaxis networks from 34 food-exchange experiments in black garden ants (Lasius niger). We tested the influence of brood and colony size on (i) global indices at the network level (i.e. efficiency, resilience, centralisation and modularity) and (ii) individual values (i.e. …
Medieval Monastery Gardens in Iceland and Norway
2021
Gardening was an important part of the daily duties within several of the religious orders in Europe during the Middle Ages. The rule of Saint Benedict specified that the monastery should, if possible, contain a garden within itself, and before and above all things, special care should be taken of the sick, so that they may be served in very deed, as Christ himself. The cultivation of medicinal and utility plants was important to meet the material needs of the monastic institutions, but no physical garden has yet been found and excavated in either Scandinavia or Iceland. Especially the Cistercians were well known for being pioneer gardeners, but also other orders like the Benedictines and A…
Grasslands provide diverse opportunities for bird species along an urban-rural gradient
2021
Urbanisation is a major cause of biodiversity loss but careful habitat management and provision of green space within cities can help to mitigate its negative effects. Grasslands occupy large surface areas and have many functions but only a few studies have begun to explore how birds exploit these habitats in urban contexts. We hypothesized that the value of grasslands for nesting and feeding birds is likely to depend both on landscape context, and on local characteristics (grassland size, use and vegetation structure). We surveyed local habitat characteristics, breeding bird presence, abundance and foraging activity in 47 grassland sites, distributed along an urban-rural gradient in two Fr…
Phylogeny, biogeography, and morphological ancestral character reconstruction in the Mediterranean genus Fumana (Cistaceae)
2020
Fumana is a diverse genus of the Cistaceae family, consisting of 21 currently accepted species. In this study, nuclear (ITS) and plastid (matK, trnT‐L) molecular markers were used to reconstruct the phylogeny and to estimate divergence times, including 19 species of Fumana. Phylogenetic analyses (Bayesian Inference, Maximum Parsimony and Maximum Likelihood) confirmed the monophyly of Fumana and did not support the infrageneric divisions previously established. The results support four main clades that group species that differ in vegetative and reproductive characters. Given the impossibility to define morphological characters common to all species within the clades, our proposal is to reje…
Do phase-dependent life history traits in cyclic voles persist in a common environment?
2019
Phenotype and life history traits of an individual are a product of environmental conditions and the genome. Environment can be current or past, which complicates the distinction between environmental and heritable effects on the phenotype in wild animals. We studied genome–environment interactions on phenotype and life history traits by transplanting bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from northern and southern populations, originating from low or high population cycle phases, to common garden conditions in large outdoor enclosures. The first experiment focused on the persistence of body traits in autumn-captured overwintering populations. The second experiment focused on population growth and …
Non-consumptive effects between predators depend on the foraging mode of intraguild prey.
2020
Predator non-consumptive effects (NCE) are a suite of phenotypic responses of prey to avoid predation that cascade down food webs and can have a stronger impact than predation itself. However, the role of NCE in intraguild interactions remains understudied. Thus, multi-species experiments based on species traits are needed to improve our understanding of the impact of NCE on community structure. We investigated NCE of ants on 17 spider species as intraguild prey (8 cursorial and 9 sedentary) to test the influence of spider hunting mode on the strength of NCE. Sedentary spiders select a habitat patch and wait for prey, whereas cursorial spiders roam around searching for prey. Because activel…
A Systematic Literature Review of Historic Garden Management and Its Economic Aspects
2020
Historic gardens are important parts of humanity’s built heritage within the designed landscape, providing many environmental, economic and socio-cultural benefits. Management is a key part of their conservation, perhaps the most difficult because it is costly, must be continual, and requires a skilled workforce. This systematic review looks at the literature addressing historic garden management, with special attention regarding the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. Academic studies on this subject come from many different disciplines, making it both stimulating and fragmented. It is now time to consolidate these interdisciplinary efforts into a clear vision, in…
Old sleeping Sicilian beauty: seed germination in the palaeoendemic Petagnaea gussonei (Spreng.) Rauschert (Saniculoideae, Apiaceae).
2015
Petagnaea gussonei (Apiaceae) is a perennial herbaceous species endemic to northeast Sicily (Nebrodi Mountains). It is considered a remnant of the Sicilian Tertiary flora, and is endangered according to the Red List. There is no information in the literature about the germinability of its seeds, even though seed production is know to occur. The aim of this study was to obtain data to better understand seed germination of this species and its biological implications. Thus, several approaches were employed: vitality analyses, gibberellic acid supply, germination and soil microbial flora analyses via end-point and qPCR. The results suggest that seed germination occurs after ca. 1.5 years at a …
Botanical Garden
2013
The Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia was founded in 1922. In the 15 hectare territory of the garden you can find greenhouses and outdoor collections with about 6000 different plants from the dunes of the Baltic sea, forests of Australia, jungle of the Amazon, mountains of Caucasus, deserts of Mexico and Far East representing different regions of the world.
Baltic Botanic Gardens in 2009-2010: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
2012
The periodical issue of Baltic Botanic Gardens includes information about the main events in the botanical gardens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2009-2010. It contains statistical information about the gardens and eight articles about the collections, research and public activities of the botanical gardens.