Search results for " Botany"
showing 10 items of 1545 documents
Soil feedback does not explain mowing effects on vegetation structure in a semi-natural grassland
2009
Due to its ability to create aboveground conditions that favour plant diversity, mowing is often used to preserve the high conservation value of semi-natural species-rich grasslands. However, mowing can also affect belowground conditions. By decreasing plant carbon supply to soil, mowing can suppress the activity of soil decomposers, diminish plant nutrient availability and thus create a feedback on plant growth. In this study, we first documented the effects of three-year mowing on plant community structure in a species-rich grassland. We found that mowing decreased the total areal cover of woody plants and increased the total cover of leguminous forbs. At the species level, mowing further…
Fremmede arter i Norge: resultater fra kvantitative økologiske risikovurderinger
2020
1. Due to globalisation, trade and transport, the spread of alien species is increasing dramatically. Some alien species become ecologically harmful by threatening native biota. This can lead to irreversible changes in local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and, ultimately, to biotic homogenisation. 2. We risk-assessed all alien plants, animals, fungi and algae, within certain delimitations, that are known to reproduce in Norway. Mainland Norway and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard plus Jan Mayen were treated as separate assessment areas. Assessments followed the Generic Ecological Impact Assessment of Alien Species (GEIAA) protocol, which uses a fully quantitative set of criteria.…
Flexibility in otherwise consistent non-breeding movements of a long-distance migratory seabird, the long-tailed skua
2017
Quantifying within- and between-individual variation in animal migration strategies is a first step towards our understanding of the ability of migrants to adjust to changes in the en - vironment. We studied consistency (or, conversely, flexibility) in movement patterns at large (>1000 km) to meso-scales (100−1000 km) during the non-breeding season of the long-tailed skua Stercorarius longicaudus, a long-distance migratory Arctic seabird, using light-based geolocation. We obtained 97 annual tracks of 38 individuals and quantified similarity between routes. Overall, tracks of the same individual were generally within about 200 to 300 km of their previous year’s route, and more similar than t…
Exploiting the diversity of tomato: the development of a phenotypically and genetically detailed germplasm collection
2020
[EN] A collection of 163 accessions, including Solanum pimpinellifolium, Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme and Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum, was selected to represent the genetic and morphological variability of tomato at its centers of origin and domestication: Andean regions of Peru and Ecuador and Mesoamerica. The collection is enriched with S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme from the Amazonian region that has not been analyzed previously nor used extensively. The collection has been morphologically characterized showing diversity for fruit, flower and vegetative traits. Their genomes were sequenced in the Varitome project and are publicly available (solgenomics.net/projects/…
Mycotoxin Profile and Phylogeny of Pathogenic Alternaria Species Isolated from Symptomatic Tomato Plants in Lebanon
2021
The tomato is one of the most consumed agri-food products in Lebanon. Several fungal pathogens, including Alternaria species, can infect tomato plants during the whole growing cycle. Alternaria infections cause severe production and economic losses in field and during storage. In addition, Alternaria species represent a serious toxicological risk since they are able to produce a wide range of mycotoxins, associated with different toxic activities on human and animal health. Several Alternaria species were detected on tomatoes, among which the most important are A. solani, A. alternata, and A. arborescens. A set of 49 Alternaria strains isolated from leaves and stems of diseased tomato plant…
Mapping quantitative trait loci affecting biochemical and morphological fruit properties in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)
2016
Eggplant berries are a source of health-promoting metabolites including antioxidant and nutraceutical compounds, mainly anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid; however, they also contain some anti-nutritional compounds such as steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGA) and saponins, which are responsible for the bitter taste of the flesh and with potential toxic effects on humans. Up to now, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for the metabolic content are far from being characterized in eggplant, thus hampering the application of breeding programs aimed at improving its fruit quality. Here we report on the identification of some QTL for the fruit metabolic content in an F2 intraspecific mapping population of 156…
Chemical partitioning and DNA fingerprinting of some pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) varieties of different geographical origin
2019
The genus Pistacia (Anacardiaceae family) is represented by several species, of which only P. vera L. produces edible seeds (pistachio). Despite the different flavor and taste, a correct identification of pistachio varieties based on the sole phenotypic character is sometimes hard to achieve. Here we used a combination of chemical partitioning and molecular fingerprinting for the unequivocal identification of commercial pistachio seed varieties (Bronte, Kern, Kerman, Larnaka, Mateur and Mawardi) of different geographical origin. The total phenolic content was higher in the variety Bronte followed by Larnaka and Mawardi cultivars. The total anthocyanin content was higher in Bronte and Larnak…
Herbicidal potential of aqueous extracts from Melia azedarach L., Artemisia arborescens L., Rhus coriaria L. and Lantana camara L.
2017
In the search for new strategies for weed management in agricultural systems, a great interest is to use the plant extracts to replace or integrate, chemical weed control. Two experiments were done to test the effects of plant water extracts from Chinaberry (Melia azedarach L.), Tree Wormwood (Artemisia arborescens (Vaill.) L.), Sicilian Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) and Lantana (Lantana camara L.) on seed germination of Rocket (Eruca sativa Mill.), Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), Bladderflower (Araujia sericifera Brot.) and Psyllium (Plantago psyllium L). The water extracts (pure and 50% mixtures) from the donor species were applied on seeds of recipient plants. In second experiment in pots, thes…
Natural selection against offshore Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Skagerrak fjords?
2016
Master's thesis Aquatic Ecology BIO500 - University of Agder 2016 The marine environment was previously presumed to be demographically “open”, and marineorganisms were thought to have pronounced gene flow over vast areas due to their potentialof dispersal during early life stages. However, recent studies have suggested a degree of selfrecruitmentwithin segments of coastal and offshore areas for several marine species. Two ofthe forces acting on this structuring are retention of early life stages and homing of adultindividuals. This study looks at the distribution of early life stages of the Atlantic cod (Gadusmorhua) in two Norwegian fjords divided into inshore-offshore transects, and study…
Analysering av miljø-DNA for kartlegging av marin fiskefauna
2016
Masteroppgave akvatisk økologi BIO500 - Universitetet i Agder 2016 Marine ecosystems worldwide are currently threatened due to overfishing and other humanimpacts. To monitor marine fish, which represents a main component in present monitoring ofmarine ecosystem health, one is mainly depending on invasive and selective methods. Thesemethods are also dependent on physical identification of species, which in many cases can bedifficult, or in some cases, impossible. Such limitations of traditional surveillance methodshave created a demand for alternative methods. One such alternative is the environment-DNAmethod, i.e. analysis of genetic material from a sample collected in the environment.In th…