Search results for " Biodiversity"
showing 10 items of 376 documents
Runs of homozygosity in the Italian goat breeds: impact of management practices in low-input systems
2021
Abstract Background Climate and farming systems, several of which are considered as low-input agricultural systems, vary between goat populations from Northern and Southern Italy and have led to different management practices. These processes have impacted genome shaping in terms of inbreeding and regions under selection and resulted in differences between the northern and southern populations. Both inbreeding and signatures of selection can be pinpointed by the analysis of runs of homozygosity (ROH), which provides useful information to assist the management of this species in different rural areas. Results We analyzed the ROH distribution and inbreeding (FROH) in 902 goats from the Italia…
Soil, pasture and animal products quality
2013
The management of pasture, through the use of appropriate stocking rates and grazing systems, influences the feeding behaviour of the animals. The impact of animal behaviour on vegetation can be of great importance for the sustainability of pastures and mantaining their biodiversity. Indeed, a different response in terms of quality of animal products is mediated by the ability of animals to concentrate or transform grass components, according to the characteristics of the soil. The herbage ingested by animals provides them with compounds with aromatic characteristics, such as terpenes, and with functional properties beneficial for human health, such as carotenoids, vitamins, polyphenols and…
Fungal biodiversity and in situ conservation in Italy
2011
A remarkable increase in knowledge of fungal biodiversity in Italy has occurred in the last five years. The authors report up-to-date numbers of fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) by regions together with distributional and ecological data on hypogeous fungi. Specific case studies such as alpine fungi, orchid mycorrhizas symbionts, invasive species, and the use of macrofungi as food by red squirrels are analyzed. In situ conservation strategies carried out on target species and/or taxonomic groups are also indicated.
ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY FROM POLYPEPTIDE-RICH EXTRACTS OF THE SEAGRASS POSIDONIA OCEANICA
2021
The present study was carried out to assess the antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm properties of polypeptide-rich extracts isolated from green leaves and rhizomes of Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L. Delile) (Posidoniaceae). The seagrass was collected, washed with freshwater, grinded with liquid nitrogen in order to obtain fine powders that were exposed to extraction by acetic acid and antiproteases. The crude extracts isolated from leaves and rhizomes of P. oceanica were subjected to microbiological assays to evaluate the antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm activity of polypeptide fraction against two reference bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and…
Species diversity of the deep-water gulper sharks (Squaliformes: Centrophoridae:Centrophorus) in North Atlantic waters - current status and taxonomic…
2014
The gulper sharks (genus Centrophorus) are a group of deep-water benthopelagic sharks with a worldwide dis- tribution. The alpha taxonomy of the group has historically been problematic and the number of species included in the genus has varied considerably over the years and is still under debate. Gulper sharks are routinely caught in mid- and deep-water fisheries worldwide and some have shown a considerable decline in abundance in the last few decades. Clear and consistent species discrimination of Centrophorus is essential for an efficient and sustain- able management of these fisheries resources. Our study used molecular cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA gene seque…
Certhia tianquanensis Li, a treecreeper with relict distribution in Sichuan, China
2002
Certhia tianquanensis Li, 1995, is characterised as a distinct species and is combined withC. discolor in the superspeciesC. [discolor]. This probably relict species occupies an extremely small range, and has so far been found at only four sites in western Sichuan, China. It is characterised by a long tail (likeC. discolor), an extremely short bill (similar toC. nipalensis), the patterning on the underside, with white chin and throat and beige chest and abdomen (likeC. himalayana), a striking voice (clearly different fromC. discolor and all otherCerthia species), and a large genetic distance fromC. d. discolor in the cytochrome-b gene. Unlike its closest relativeC. discolor, C. tianquanensi…
Vier Dekaden Weberknechtforschung mit dem 64. Band der ‚Tierwelt Deutschlands‘ – Rückblick, aktueller Stand und Ausblick
2021
A short history of the Opiliones volume in ‘Die Tierwelt Deutschlands’ published by Martens (1978) is presented. The area under consideration comprises Central Europe expanded by large parts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, non-Mediterranean France, Benelux, the complete Alps and in the south-east those parts of Romania and Croatia whose fauna was sufficiently well known. Additions and changes which appeared since 1978 are highlighted: new species discovered in this area, taxonomic changes, important distributional records, as well as changes of faunal composition due to human-mediated influences and climate change are addressed. Perspectives for further research concern faunal inventory …
Effects of Caulerpa cylindracea Sonder (Chlorophyta Caulerpaceae) on marine biodiversity
2019
The chief purpose of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is biodiversity conservation. The effects that invasive alien species (IAS) have on MPAs are not yet fully known, even though assessing them is fundamental. Effective management plans, indeed, also require knowledge on the dis- tribution, spread dynamics and impact of IAS. We report first observations on the effects of Caulerpa cylindracea Sonder (Chlorophyta Caulerpaceae) on the communities living along the coasts of the Island of Favignana (Egadi Islands MPA, Sicily, Italy). We found that C. cylindracea may have negative effects on the habitat where it settles in two different ways: a) affecting the structure of the native algal community…
The genetic heritage of Alpine local cattle breeds using genomic SNP data
2020
Abstract Background Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure provides important control metrics to avoid genetic erosion, inbreeding depression and crossbreeding between exotic and locally-adapted cattle breeds since these events can have deleterious consequences and eventually lead to extinction. Historically, the Alpine Arc represents an important pocket of cattle biodiversity with a large number of autochthonous breeds that provide a fundamental source of income for the entire regional economy. By using genotype data from medium-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, we performed a genome-wide comparative study of 23 cattle populations from the Alpine Arc an…
Scale-dependent plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands: a comparative overview
2016
Here we present an extensive overview of plant diversity values in Palaearctic grasslands for seven standard grain sizes from 0.0001 to 100 m². The data originate from 20 studies, including the Field Workshops of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG), ranging geographically from Spain in the west to Siberia in the east, from Sicily in the south to Estonia in the north and from the sea coast up to 3100 m a.s.l. The majority of data is from dry grasslands (Festuco-Brometea, Koelerio-Corynephoretea, Cleistogenetea squarrosae), but there are also some mesic, wet, saline, acidic, alpine and Mediterranean grasslands included. Among others, we compiled data from 1795 1-m², 1109 10-m² and 338 100…