Search results for " Wild"

Update of the distribution and habitat use of the wildcat, pine marten and weasel in Sicily

2020

The wildcat (Felis silvestris), the pine marten (Martes martes) and the weasel (Mustela nivalis) are key members of the mammalian community in Sicily, actually performing the role of top predators and consequently influencing the trophic chain both in natural and agricultural areas. However, despite their protected status, very little information is available regarding their occurrence and ecology. Here, by verifying published studies, collecting personal observations and analyzing novel field data obtained by camera traps, we update their spatial distribution in Sicily, contributing to a better understanding of their habitat use and suggesting future research to improve our knowledge of th…

Tradizioni etnofarmacobotaniche in alcune comunità rurali dei Monti di Trapani (Sicilia occidentale)

2014

Ethnopharmacobotanical traditions in some rural communities of Trapani Mountains (West-Sicily). – The results refer an ethnopharmacobotanical study carried out in the territories of Valderice, Busto Palizzolo, Custonaci and San Vito Lo Capo, in the Trapani Mountains. There are 155 plants used in etno-medicine. The etnofarmacobotanical use of spontaneous and cultivated taxa represents an ecosystem services provided by biodiversity in the traditional agricultural systems of this area.

Eupelmus spermophilus Silvestri (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), an Indigenous Olive Seed Wasp Potentially Harmful to Olive Growing in the Western Cape, …

2021

The objectives of this study were the specific taxonomic confirmation of the main olive seed wasp (OSW) attacking commercial olives in the Western Cape, to investigate monitoring methods and seasonal occurrence of OSW, to determine the potential economic damage of infestations, and to ascertain the geographic distribution of OSW in the regions where olives are cultivated in the Western Cape. Morphological and molecular methods were used to identify all the species obtained from cultivated olives at two trial sites near Stellenbosch and Agter-Paarl. Eupelmus spermophilus Silvestri (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) was by far the most frequent and widespread olive seed wasp. Monitoring with yellow …

Ex situ conservation of Sicilian endemic species in the Botanical garden of Catania University

2009

Climate change effects on trematodiases, with emphasis on zoonotic fascioliasis and schistosomiasis.

2009

The capacity of climatic conditions to modulate the extent and intensity of parasitism is well known since long ago. Concerning helminths, among the numerous environmental modifications giving rise to changes in infections, climate variables appear as those showing a greater influence, so that climate change may be expected to have an important impact on the diseases they cause. However, the confirmation of the impact of climate change on helminthiases has been reached very recently. Only shortly before, helminthiases were still noted as infectious diseases scarcely affected by climate change, when compared to diseases caused by microorganisms in general (viruses, bacteriae, protozoans). Th…

Indigenous yeast communities in the environment of ‘‘Rovello bianco’’ grape variety and their use in commercial white wine fermentation

2009

The indigenous yeast communities associated with several vineyard habitats were analysed. Wild yeasts were isolated, differentiated at strain level and identified. A phylogenetic tree based on partial 26S rRNA genes was constructed. The strains were characterized and the indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae GR1 was then used to carry out a vinification process and compared with a commercial yeast. Wines obtained were subjected to chemical and sensory analysis. The comparison between the two products highlighted differences due to the fer- menting strains employed. The vineyard environment was found to strongly influence the composition of yeast communities, thus, confirming the theory of ‘te…

Phylogenomics of Enterococcus faecalis from wild birds: new insights into host‐associated differences in core and accessory genomes of the species

2019

Wild birds have been suggested to be reservoirs of antimicrobial resistant and/or pathogenic Enterococcus faecalis (Efs) strains, but the scarcity of studies and available sequences limit our understanding of the population structure of the species in these hosts. Here, we analysed the clonal and plasmid diversity of 97 Efs isolates from wild migratory birds. We found a high diversity, with most sequence types (STs) being firstly described here, while others were found in other hosts including some predominant in poultry. We found that pheromone‐responsive plasmids predominate in wild bird Efs while 35% of the isolates entirely lack plasmids. Then, to better understand the ecology of the sp…

Isozyme uniformity in a wild extinct insular plant,Lysimachia minoricensisJ.J. Rodr. (Primulaceae)

1999

Isozyme analyses were conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity of seed accessions of Lysimachia minoricensis (a Balearic endemic plant that became extinct in the wild) provided by 10 European botanical gardens. No isozyme variation was detected after examination of the electrophoretic patterns of 22 putative loci in more than 150 plants. The lack of genetic variation in L. minoricensis is probably due to the shortage of sample propagules originally recovered in the field before its extinction. Extant plants of L. minoricensis are believed to have originated from a single source, therefore limiting their use as seed stocks for restoration projects.

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers detect a single phenotype in Lysimachia minoricensis J.J. Rodr. (Primulaceae), a wild extinct plant

2000

Lysimachia minoricensis is a Mediterranean (Balearic Islands) endemic that is extinct in the wild but extant in botanical gardens. Previously, no variation at 22 isozyme loci was revealed in more than 150 analysed plants. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to examine genetic variation among five individuals from each of eight botanical garden accessions (40 plants). No polymorphisms were detected at 201 amplified bands. This is the first report of RAPD monomorphism in a nonapomictic vascular plant. The lack of detectable genetic variation suggests that an extremely reduced gene pool was recovered in the field before its extinction. Although the screening of other geno…

Seed germination and reproductive features of Lysimachia minoricensis (Primulaceae), a wild-extinct plant.

2002

Lysimachia minoricensis is one of the few Mediterranean endemic plants (Minorca, Balearic islands) that has gone extinct in the wild but which persists as extant germplasm or cultivated plants in several botanical gardens. Reproductive features (seed set, number of seeds per capsule, seed weight) and germination responses to constant temperatures, sea water and dry-heat pre-treatments were investigated to determine the extent to which they may have influenced the extinction of the species. Seed set in Lysimachia is not dependent on pollinators, suggesting a functional selfer breeding system. Most plants produced a large mean number of fruits (23.2) and seeds (466), and the mean production o…