Search results for " species"

Niche position drives interspecific variation in occupancy and abundance in a highly-connected lake system

2019

Highlights • We studied interspecific variation in occupancy and abundance of freshwater species. • Occupancy and abundance correlated positively for both diatoms and macroinvertebrates. • Niche position had clearest effects on variation in occupancy and abundance. • The more marginal the niche position, the rarer a species is. We examined how niche position, niche breadth, biological traits and taxonomic relatedness affect interspecific variation in occupancy and abundance of two commonly-used biological indicator groups, i.e. diatoms and macroinvertebrates. We studied 291 diatom and 103 macroinvertebrate species that occupied the littoral zones of a large (305 km2) highly-connected freshw…

Partially disarticulated new Miocene burrower bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae) from Cerová (Slovakia) documents occasional preservation of terr…

2015

The state of preservation of the bug Sehirus carpathiensis J.A. Lis, Vršanský & Schlögl, sp. n. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae) from the Lakšárska Nová Ves Formation at Cerová (Slovakia) supports extremely rapid sinking and burial in upper bathyal Early Miocene sediments. The specimen originated from land at most a few kilometers away, but transport via a river can be excluded as the head and wings are still attached. Its most likely source based on fossil flora and the habitat of several living representatives of the genus is a riparian habitat in an adjacent area of land. Phylogenetically the new species is closely related to both Oligocene and living representatives of the genus, thus…

The Utility of Ground Bryophytes in the Assessment of Soil Condition in Heavy Metal-Polluted Grasslands

2022

Bryophytes are commonly used in biomonitoring heavy metal pollution, whereas the bioindicative value of bryophyte communities is a less known issue. The aim of the present study is to recognize the utility of the bryophyte community’s structure in the assessment of soil condition in heavy metal-polluted, dry grasslands. The study plots are examined with respect to bryophytes; vascular plants; concentrations of Zn, Pb, Cd, and As in the soil; total nitrogen and organic carbon content in the soil; and soil pH. The results show that both bryophyte species richness and composition greatly depend on soil chemical characteristics, including heavy-metal pollution levels and soil pH. Three groups o…

Nitrogen-fixing cushion Astragalus siculus modulates soil fertility, microclimate, plant facilitation, bacterial and fungal microbiota along an eleva…

2023

Question: Cushion-forming vascular plants are adapted to alpine environments and act as ecosystem engineers by moderating microclimate and creating a fertility island under their canopy. Most of the available studies on cushion ecology have been devoted to plant facilitation, but none used a holistic approach that considers the response of co-existing plant species with other key ecosystem players. Here, we quantified the biogenic effect and facilitation capacity of Astragalus siculus, a spiny nitrogen-fixing cushion plant, and test the hypothesis that the facilitation effect would increase with elevation as stress gradient.Location: Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in the Mediterrane…

The adaptations to tube-dwelling life of Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae) larvae and its eutrophication-tolerant mechanisms

2019

Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae) is a dominant macroinvertebrate species in many eutrophic lakes in subtropical and temperate zones. P. akamusi larvae can migrate deep into the sediment (>30 cm) during summer where is no oxygen. However, to our knowledge, the specific adaptive tactics of its tube-dwelling life (>30 cm) and underlying mechanisms why this species is favored by nutrient-rich lakes remain limited. With the understanding above-mentioned issues, we can provide important information for the development of sensitive biomonitoring. We examined monthly morphological dynamics and physiological adaptations of P. akamusi to anoxic conditions, and environmental relationships…

Range expansion to novel environments : evolutionary physiology and genetics in Leptinotarsa decemlineata

2010

The Influence of Sewage Sludge and Fly Ash Fertilization on the Total Number of Bacteria (TNB) and Bradyrhizobium Species in Soybean Agroecosystem

2023

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different chemical properties in soil, including changes in magnetic susceptibility and the impact of humic substances from sewage sludge and fly ash on the microbial community in the soybean agroecosystem. A field experiment was carried out using the random plot method on Cambisol with a texture of silt loam. The experiment consisted of 24 plots (six treatments and four replications) using different dozes of sewage sludge and fly ash. The following physicochemical and chemical analyses were performed in the soil samples: pH in KCl, conductivity (λ), total content of heavy metal, magnetic measurements and fractional composition of …

Probabilistic and preferential sampling approaches offer integrated perspectives of Italian forest diversity

2023

Aim: Assessing the performances of different sampling approaches for documenting community diversity may help to identify optimal sampling efforts and strategies, and to enhance conservation and monitoring planning. Here, we used two data sets based on probabilistic and preferential sampling schemes of Italian forest vegetation to analyze the multifaceted performances of the two approaches across three major forest types at a large scale. Location: Italy. Methods: We pooled 804 probabilistic and 16,259 preferential forest plots as samples of vascular plant diversity across the country. We balanced the two data sets in terms of sizes, plot size, geographical position, and vegetation types. F…

Adaptation to stressful environments : invasion success of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

2018

Biological invasions, specifically human-induced dispersals, are one of the major threats to our biodiversity and are predicted to increase. Invasive pests provide an opportunity to study whether adaptation to human-induced environments could promote invasions to other human-induced environments. One major anthropogenic selection pressure is created by pesticides, and pests can be exposed to various pesticides in their native, as well as introduced, ranges. I investigated whether exposure to anthropogenic selection (i.e. insecticides and herbicides) and exposure to multiple anthropogenic stressors selects for higher stress tolerance. I also tested whether parental prolonged diapause or inse…

Living Coccolithophores from the Gulf of Sirte (Southern Mediterranean Sea) during the summer of 2008

2012

The Gulf of Sirte is a largely unexplored area in the southernmost Mediterranean Sea.We are presenting here 2008 summer data on the distribution pattern of living coccolithophores, a main phytoplankton calcifying group, in 105 samples from 20 stations. The survey includes coastal and offshore stations, enabling us to provide indications on the dynamics of phytoplankton productivity in relation to oceanographic processes. The total coccosphere concentrations show higher values in the offshore stations and lower ones for coastal sites. Umbellosphaera tenuis, Emiliania huxleyi, Florisphaera profunda, Syracosphaera pulchra HOL (Calyptrosphaera oblonga) and Rhabdosphaera spp. dominate the assemb…