Search results for " Specie"
showing 10 items of 2683 documents
Woodland key habitats : a key to effective conservation of forest biodiversity?
2011
Ricerche sulle tecniche di propagazione di specie arbustive autoctone della flora mediterranea e sul loro utilizzo in floricoltura.
2011
Aposematism in the burying beetle? Dual function of anal fluid in parental care and chemical defence
2017
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) bear distinctive and variable orange-black patterning on their elytra and produce an anal exudate from their abdomen when threatened. During breeding, the anal exudates contribute to the antimicrobial defence of the breeding resource. We investigated whether the anal exudates also provide a responsive chemical defence, which is advertised to potential avian predators by the beetle’s orange and black elytral markings. We found that that the orange-black elytral markings of the burying beetle are highly conspicuous for avian predators against range of backgrounds, by using computer simulations. Using bioassays with wood ants, we also showed that the …
First record of Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. (Malvaceae) as a casual alien species in the Mediterranean area
2022
Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. is here reported for the first time as alien species in Italy and in the Mediterranean area. It is a perennial shrub native to Southern America, where it is often considered a ruderal species frequent in cultivated areas. It was found in a population of a few individuals within Opuntia ficus-indica groves of Rocca Palumba territory (Western Sicily). Actually, due to short-term observational period and the low number of plants, Sphaeralcea bonariensis should be considered as a casual species in Italy. The ecological characteristics of the growing stand and the consistency of the population, as well as the possible causes of its introduction, are briefly…
Regional metacommunities in two coastal systems: spatial structure and drivers of plant assemblages
2014
Aim Biogeographical patterns in metacommunities are still poorly understood, and different processes are expected to occur in different habitats. We analysed the regional plant metacommunities of coastal habitats to test whether (1) the influence of space and climate differs between two habitats differentiated along the seashore–inland gradient, and (2) regional variation in species composition of these habitats can be ascribed to different metacommunity paradigms. Location The entire coast of the Iberian Peninsula, south-western Europe. Methods We collected data on the plant species composition of coastal sites on sand dunes across 3000 km of coastline. The sites were classified into two h…
The relationships between urbanization and bird functional traits across the streetscape
2023
Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors The urbanization process leads to changes in bird communities’ taxonomic and functional compositions. Highly urbanized areas generally exhibit a reduced number of bird species sharing few functional traits. However, most urban bird studies focused on vegetation patches in temperate cities. In this study, we investigate how urban environmental attributes – noise, height of buildings, and urban vegetation characteristics – modulate species occurrences and the distribution of functional traits across the streetscape of a tropical metropolis. We predicted diverse trait-environment relationships, but that highly urbanized contexts (e.g., noisy streets with…
Contribution of water soluble ionic species to size-differentiated airborne particulate matter
2009
Characterization and hypericins content in some Hypericum species from Sicily
2014
Different species belonging to the genus Hypericum are distributed into many environments of Sicily, where they represent an important component of wild Sicilian flora (Giardina et al., 2007). Among these, H. perforatum (St John’s Wort) is certainly the most common and famous; its floral parts are largely and traditionally used as a folk herbal remedy for treatment of wounds and burns, and considered an important raw matter for pharmaceutical industry due to their acknowledged antidepressant and sedative properties. Although it is not completely clear yet which compounds are responsible for the biological activity of Hypericum, the European Pharmacopoeia takes as a reference index for evalu…
Habitat area and local habitat conditions outweigh fragmentation effects on insect communities in vineyards
2022
Fragmentation of habitat, for example by intensive agricultural practices, can be detrimental to local biodiversity. However, it often remains unclear whether such biodiversity declines are caused by loss of habitat area or increased fragmentation, and how habitat quality factors into it. In our study system, vegetated vineyards are typically small, and isolated from one another, potentially limiting the distribution and dispersal of organisms. In a full-factorial experiment of a priori selected vegetated vineyard patches of differing size and fragmentation, we aimed to disentangle the effects of habitat area (area of vegetated vineyards), habitat fragmentation (number of vegetated vineyard…
Low mimosine content and nutrient-rich foliage of two Leucaena leucocephala varieties: a potential fodder resource in Mediterranean agroforestry syst…
2022
Leucaena leucocephala is worldwide used for wood production, reforestation and for feeding livestock. To assess the potential use of leucaena for animal nutrition, we analysed the composition of methanolic extracts of leaf samples of two varieties occurring in Sicily (Mediterranean area), also determining the presence of mimosine.