Search results for "Ability"
showing 10 items of 18559 documents
Population variability in space and time.
2000
One of the most ubiquitous phenomena of all natural populations is their variability in numbers in space and time. However, there are notable differences among populations in the way the population size fluctuates. One of the major challenges in population and community ecology is to explain and understand this variety and to find possible underlying rules that might be modified from case-to-case. Population variability also has a spatial component because fluctuations are often synchronized over relatively large distances. Recently, this has led to growing interest in how 'internal' (density-dependent) processes interact with 'external' factors such as environmental variability.
Non-linear regional weather-growth relationships indicate limited adaptability of the eastern Baltic Scots pine
2021
Abstract Under changing climate, temporal and spatial stability (stationarity) of growth responses of trees to weather and climate, which has often been presumed without explicit testing, is crucial for prediction of productivity and sustainability of forests. However, considering evolutionary adaptation of tree populations to wide spatiotemporal ecological gradients, extrapolation of linear responses, which could be observed in limited parts of the gradients (certain locality), can result in biased results. Accordingly, the plasticity of responses of tree-ring width of the eastern Baltic populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) to meteorological conditions across the regional climat…
A global analysis of complexity–biodiversity relationships on marine artificial structures
2020
Aim Topographic complexity is widely accepted as a key driver of biodiversity, but at the patch‐scale, complexity–biodiversity relationships may vary spatially and temporally according to the environmental stressors complexity mitigates, and the species richness and identity of potential colonists. Using a manipulative experiment, we assessed spatial variation in patch‐scale effects of complexity on intertidal biodiversity. Location 27 sites within 14 estuaries/bays distributed globally. Time period 2015–2017. Major taxa studied Functional groups of algae, sessile and mobile invertebrates. Methods Concrete tiles of differing complexity (flat; 2.5‐cm or 5‐cm complex) were affixed at low–high…
Spray-Drying Performance and Thermal Stability of L-Ascorbic Acid Microencapsulated with Sodium Alginate and Gum Arabic
2019
[EN] The potential of sodium alginate (ALG) and gum arabic (GA) as wall polymers for Lascorbic acid (AA) encapsulation as a tool for their preservation against the thermo-oxidative degradation was investigated. The influence of such polymers used as wall material on the AAcontent, size, encapsulation efficiency, encapsulation yield and thermo-oxidative stability were evaluated. The AA-microparticles were obtained using the spray-drying technique. An experimental Taguchi design was employed to assess the influence of the variables in the encapsulation process. The microparticles morphology and size distribution were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and laser diffraction. The the…
On the use of Persian gum for the development of antiviral edible coatings against murine norovirus of interest in blueberries.
2021
In the last decades, berries have been identified as important vehicles for the transmission of foodborne viruses and different strategies are being explored to eliminate or reduce viral contamination in these fruits. The aim of this work was to develop novel edible coatings with antiviral properties for inactivating and reducing murine norovirus (MNV). Firstly, the effect of gelatin (G) addition on Persian gum (PG) films was studied in terms of microstructural, mechanical, optical, and water barrier properties. The following PG:G ratios were considered: 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100. Microstructure analysis revealed the compatibility of both hydrocolloids since no phase separation …
Spatial Variation of Soil Seed Bank under Cushion Plants in a Subalpine Degraded Grassland
2017
Cushion plants can affect wind speed and sediment movement patterns which probably modify the water and sediment redistribution along slopes and increase the accumulation of seeds under and around their canopies. This study was carried out to assess the spatial variability of soil seed bank (SSB) and seed bank composition around cushion plants to estimate the SSB potential for restoration of degraded area. Twenty cushions of Onobrychis cornuta were selected in a mountainous rangelands in northern Alborz in Iran, measuring density, richness and composition of SSB at four locations of each cushion (upslope edge, downslope edge, center and outside). SSB composition and density were determined …
Plant functional and taxonomic diversity in European grasslands along climatic gradients
2021
Aim European grassland communities are highly diverse, but patterns and drivers of their continental-scale diversity remain elusive. This study analyses taxonomic and functional richness in European grasslands along continental-scale temperature and precipitation gradients. Location Europe. Methods We quantified functional and taxonomic richness of 55,748 vegetation plots. Six plant traits, related to resource acquisition and conservation, were analysed to describe plant community functional composition. Using a null-model approach we derived functional richness effect sizes that indicate higher or lower diversity than expected given the taxonomic richness. We assessed the variation in abso…
Toward a mechanistic understanding of vulnerability to hook-and-line fishing: Boldness as the basic target of angling-induced selection
2017
In passively operated fishing gear, boldness-related behaviors should fundamentally affect the vulnerability of individual fish and thus be under fisheries selection. To test this hypothesis, we used juvenile common-garden reared carp (Cyprinus carpio) within a narrow size-range to investigate the mechanistic basis of behavioral selection caused by angling. We focused on one key personality trait (i.e., boldness), measured in groups within ponds, two morphological traits (body-shape and head-shape), and one life-history trait (juvenile growth capacity) and studied mean standardized selection gradients caused by angling. Carp behavior was highly repeatable within ponds. In the short-term, ov…
Selection on fish personality differs between a no-take marine reserve and fished areas
2021
9 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures.-- This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
Fishery-dependent and -independent data lead to consistent estimations of essential habitats
2016
AbstractSpecies mapping is an essential tool for conservation programmes as it provides clear pictures of the distribution of marine resources. However, in fishery ecology, the amount of objective scientific information is limited and data may not always be directly comparable. Information about the distribution of marine species can be derived from two main sources: fishery-independent data (scientific surveys at sea) and fishery-dependent data (collection and sampling by observers in commercial vessels). The aim of this paper is to compare whether these two different sources produce similar, complementary, or different results. We compare them in the specific context of identifying the Es…