Search results for " position"
showing 10 items of 548 documents
Environmental and biological factors are joint drivers of mercury biomagnification in subarctic lake food webs along a climate and productivity gradi…
2021
Subarctic lakes are getting warmer and more productive due to the joint effects of climate change and intensive land-use practices (e.g. forest clear-cutting and peatland ditching), processes that potentially increase leaching of peat- and soil-stored mercury into lake ecosystems. We sampled biotic communities from primary producers (algae) to top consumers (piscivorous fish), in 19 subarctic lakes situated on a latitudinal (69.0-66.5 degrees N), climatic (+3.2 degrees C temperature and +30% precipitation from north to south) and catchment land-use (pristine to intensive forestry areas) gradient. We first tested how the joint effects of climate and productivity influence mercury biomagnific…
Short-Term Vegetation Recovery after a Grassland Fire in Lithuania: The Effects of Fire Severity, Slope Position and Aspect
2016
In Lithuania, fire is frequently used by farmers as a tool to remove dry grass, improve soil nutrient status and help soil tilling. However, little is known about the ecological impacts of these fires, including vegetation recovery. The objective of this work is to study the impacts of a spring grassland fire on vegetation recuperation on an east-facing (A) and a west-facing slope (B), considering fire severity and slope position, 10, 17, 31 and 46 days after the fire. Because of their effects on fire behaviour, aspect, steepness and heterogeneity of topography favoured higher fire severity on slope B than on slope A. Three different slope positions were identified on slope A – flat top, mi…
Defoliation of two-wire vertical trellis: effect on grape quality
2017
ABSTRACTBasal leaves were removed from Cabernet Sauvignon vines trained to a two-wire vertical trellis at fruit set and at veraison. Leaf removal did not modify total soluble solids and titratable acidity at harvest. Defoliation at fruit set of lower cordon recovered the grape anthocyanin composition gap between upper and lower cordons and that produced a positive effect on anthocyanin synthesis. Hence, control of the upper cordon and defoliation of fruit set of the lower cordon treatments showed comparable values of anthocyanins. Defoliation at veraison did not produce any appreciable effect. This study shows that skin anthocyanin composition in a two-wire vertical trellis can be modified …
EST based phylogenomics of Syndermata questions monophyly of Eurotatoria
2008
Abstract Background The metazoan taxon Syndermata comprising Rotifera (in the classical sense of Monogononta+Bdelloidea+Seisonidea) and Acanthocephala has raised several hypotheses connected to the phylogeny of these animal groups and the included subtaxa. While the monophyletic origin of Syndermata and Acanthocephala is well established based on morphological and molecular data, the phylogenetic position of Syndermata within Spiralia, the monophyletic origin of Monogononta, Bdelloidea, and Seisonidea and the acanthocephalan sister group are still a matter of debate. The comparison of the alternative hypotheses suggests that testing the phylogenetic validity of Eurotatoria (Monogononta+Bdel…
From clear lakes to murky waters – tracing the functional response of high-latitude lake communities to concurrent ‘greening’ and ‘browning’
2019
Climate change and the intensification of land use practices are causing widespread eutrophication of subarctic lakes. The implications of this rapid change for lake ecosystem function remain poorly understood. To assess how freshwater communities respond to such profound changes in their habitat and resource availability, we conducted a space-for-time analysis of food-web structure in 30 lakes situated across a temperature-productivity gradient equivalent to the predicted future climate of subarctic Europe (temperature +3 degrees C, precipitation +30% and nutrient +45 mu g L-1 total phosphorus). Along this gradient, we observed an increase in the assimilation of pelagic-derived carbon from…
Ontogenetic shift in the trophic role of the invasive killer shrimp Dikerogammarus villosus: a stable isotope study
2021
AbstractThe introduction of the amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus in European fresh waters is to date recognized as a threat to the integrity of invaded communities. Predation by D. villosus on native benthic invertebrates is assumed as the key determinant of its ecological impact, yet available information describe the species as a primary consumer as well as a carnivore depending on local conditions. Here, we assessed the trophic position (TP) of D. villosus in Lake Trasimeno, a recently invaded lentic system in central Italy, using the CN isotopic signatures of individuals captured in winter spanning two orders of magnitude in body size. TP estimations were compared with those characteriz…
An annotated checklist of bryophytes of Europe, Macaronesia and Cyprus
2020
Introduction. Following on from work on the European bryophyte Red List, the taxonomically and nomenclaturally updated spreadsheets used for that project have been expanded into a new checklist for the bryophytes of Europe. Methods. A steering group of ten European bryologists was convened, and over the course of a year, the spreadsheets were compared with previous European checklists, and all changes noted. Recent literature was searched extensively. A taxonomic system was agreed, and the advice and expertise of many European bryologists sought. Key results. A new European checklist of bryophytes, comprising hornworts, liverworts and mosses, is presented. Fifteen new combinations are propo…
Berry characterisation of cv shiraz according to position on the rachis
2016
In this study, characterisation of the physical and compositional parameters of berries located in different positions on the rachis of Shiraz/R99 bunches was done. Berries were divided according to position on the rachis (apical, median and basal) and berry weight, resulting in four berry weight classes, averaging 0.86 g, 1.29 g, 1.74 g and 2.26 g and 0.74, 1.18, 1.59 and 2.09 cm3, respectively. The berries were analysed individually. The fresh weight of the berries comprised approximately 4% seeds, 20% skin and 76% flesh. Different percentage distributions were found for each class of berry weight and according to position on the rachis. From the top to the bottom rachis position, an incr…
Peer-to-peer cooperative GNSS-based localization for stationary reference nodes in wireless sensor networks
2017
Most localization algorithms in wireless sensor networks rely on a few reference nodes with known locations to estimate the locations of unknown nodes. The locations of reference nodes can be either manually configured or, more practically, obtained by means of some satellite-based positioning system(s). However, satellite-based locations may be inaccurate and imprecise, which results in reduced location accuracy of localization algorithms. This paper proposes a peer-to-peer cooperative GNSS-based localization algorithm for stationary reference nodes to improve their relative location accuracy and precision. The algorithm applies simple statistical methods and GNSS-based information from mu…
Traffic data acquirement by unmanned aerial vehicle
2017
This paper presents a methodology aimed to acquire traffic flow data through the employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The study is focused on the determination of driving behavior parameters of road users and on the reconstruction of traffic flow Origin/Destination matrix. The methodology integrates UAV flights with video image processing technique, and the capability of geographic information systems, to represent spatiotemporal phenomena. In particular, analyzing different intersections, the attention of the authors is focused on users’ gap acceptance in a naturalistic drivers’ behavior condition (drivers are not influenced by the presence of instruments and operators on the roa…