Search results for "AA"
showing 10 items of 16992 documents
New insight to the role of microbes in the methane exchange in trees: evidence from metagenomic sequencing
2021
Methane (CH4) exchange in tree stems and canopies and the processes involved are among the least understood components of the global CH4 cycle. Recent studies have focused on quantifying tree stems as sources of CH4 and understanding abiotic CH4 emissions in plant canopies, with the role of microbial in situ CH4 formation receiving less attention. Moreover, despite initial reports revealing CH4 consumption, studies have not adequately evaluated the potential of microbial CH4 oxidation within trees. In this paper, we discuss the current level of understanding on these processes. Further, we demonstrate the potential of novel metagenomic tools in revealing the involvement of microbes in the C…
Comparable response of wild rodent gut microbiome to anthropogenic habitat contamination
2021
Abstract Species identity is thought to dominate over environment in shaping wild rodent gut microbiota, but it remains unknown whether the responses of host gut microbiota to shared anthropogenic habitat impacts are species-specific or if the general gut microbiota response is similar across host species. Here, we compare the influence of exposure to radionuclide contamination on the gut microbiota of four wild mouse species: Apodemus flavicollis, A. sylvaticus, A. speciosus and A. argenteus. Building on the evidence that radiation impacts bank vole (Myodes glareolus) gut microbiota, we hypothesized that radiation exposure has a general impact on rodent gut microbiota. Because we sampled (…
Infection, specificity and host manipulation of Australapatemon sp. (Trematoda, Strigeidae) in two sympatric species of leeches (Hirudinea)
2017
SUMMARYFactors that drive parasite specificity and differences in infection dynamics among alternative host species are important for ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions, but still often poorly known in natural systems. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal dynamics of infection, host susceptibility and parasite-induced changes in host phenotype in a rarely explored host–parasite system, theAustralapatemonsp. trematode infecting two sympatric species of freshwater leeches,Erpobdella octoculataandHelobdella stagnalis. We show significant variation in infection abundance between the host species in both space and time. Using experimental infections, we also show that most of th…
Cryptogams signify key transitions of bacteria and fungi in Arctic sand dune succession.
2020
•Primary succession models focus on aboveground vascular plants. However, the prevalence of mosses and lichens, i.e. cryptogams, suggests they play a role in soil successions. Here, we explore whether effects of cryptogams on belowground microbes can facilitate progressive shifts in sand dune succession. •We linked aboveground vegetation, belowground bacterial and fungal communities, and soil chemical properties in six successional stages in Arctic inland sand dunes: bare sand, grass, moss, lichen, ericoid heath and mountain birch forest. •Compared to the bare sand and grass stages, microbial biomass and the proportion of fungi increased in the moss stage, and later stage microbial groups a…
When phenotypes fail to illuminate underlying genetic processes in fish and fisheries science
2019
Abstract Advances in genetic and genomic technologies have become widely available and have potential to provide novel insights into fish biology and fisheries science. In the present overview, we explore cases for which genomic analyses have proven instrumental in the rejection of hypotheses that have been well-motivated based on phenotypic and ecological properties of individuals and populations. We focus on study systems for which information derived using genomic tools contradicts conclusions drawn from traditional fisheries science methodologies and assumptions. We further illustrate the non-intuitive interplay of genomics and ecology in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) owing to the re…
Parameterising a public good: how experiments on predation can be used to predict cheat frequencies
2016
Chemical defence is superficially easy to understand as a means for individuals to protect themselves from enemies. The evolution of chemical defence is however potentially complex because such defences may cause the generation of a public good, protecting members of the population as a whole as well as individuals that deploy toxins defensively. If a public good of protection exists, it may be exploited and degraded by “cheats” that do not invest in defence. This can in turn lead to complex frequency (and density) dependent effects in toxin evolution. To investigate this we used ecologically relevant predators (Great tits, Parus major) and examined how individual and public benefits vary d…
Female sexual signaling in a capital breeder, the European glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca
2021
AbstractTheory predicts that because costs constrain female sexual signaling, females are expected to have a low signaling effort that is increased with passing time until mating is secured. This pattern of signaling is expected to result from females balancing the costs associated with a higher than optimal signaling effort and those costs associated with a low signaling effort that increase the likelihood of delayed mating. We tested whether this prediction applies in the common glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca (Coleoptera, Lampyridae), a capital breeding species in which females glow at night to attract males. Contrary to predictions, we found that the duration of female sexual signaling sig…
Effect of weak magnetic fields on the in vitro propagation of Genista aetnensis (Raf. Ex Biv.) Dc.
2017
Over the years, many studies have emphasized the importance of the magnetic fields (MF), used as a safe alternative choice to improve agricultural production. The induction effect of different magnetic fields varies depending on the species, explants typology, intensity of magnetic field and period of exposure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the application of a continuous magnetic field induction, at different exposure times, as a production enhancement for in vitro culture of Genista aetnensis, an endemic shrub commonly named 'Mount Etna broom'. An in vitro protocol has been settled for the conservation of the species. Plantlets cultured onto a solified Murashige and Skoo…
Environmentally‐induced noise dampens and reddens with increasing trophic level in a complex food web
2019
Stochastic variability of key abiotic factors including temperature, precipitation and the availability of light and nutrients greatly influences species’ ecological function and evolutionary fate. Despite such influence, ecologists have typically ignored the effect of abiotic stochasticity on the structure and dynamics of ecological networks. Here we help to fill that gap by advancing the theory of how abiotic stochasticity, in the form of environmental noise, affects the population dynamics of species within food webs. We do this by analysing an allometric trophic network model of Lake Constance subjected to positive (red), negative (blue), and non‐autocorrelated (white) abiotic temporal …
Epigenetic and Genetic Contributions to Adaptation in Chlamydomonas
2017
Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation or histone modifications, can be transmitted between cellular or organismal generations. However, there are no experiments measuring their role in adaptation, so here we use experimental evolution to investigate how epigenetic variation can contribute to adaptation. We manipulated DNA methylation and histone acetylation in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii both genetically and chemically to change the amount of epigenetic variation generated or transmitted in adapting populations in three different environments (salt stress, phosphate starvation, and high CO2) for two hundred asexual generations. We find that reducing the …