Search results for "Behavior and Systematics"
showing 10 items of 6517 documents
Oviposition Cues for a Specialist Butterfly–Plant Chemistry and Size
2008
The oviposition choice of an insect herbivore is based on a complex set of stimuli and responses. In this study, we examined the effect of plant secondary chemistry (the iridoid glycosides aucubin and catalpol) and aspects of size of the plant Plantago lanceolata, on the oviposition behavior of the specialist butterfly Melitaea cinxia. Iridoid glycosides are known to deter feeding or decrease the growth rate of generalist insect herbivores, but can act as oviposition cues and feeding stimulants for specialized herbivores. In a previous observational study of M. cinxia in the field, oviposition was associated with high levels of aucubin. However, this association could have been the cause (b…
Soil and Regulated Deficit Irrigation Affect Growth, Yield and Quality of ‘Nero d’Avola’ Grapes in a Semi-Arid Environment
2021
The present work studied the effect of two consecutive years of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) compared to rain fed management on the vegetative growth, yield, and quality of ‘Nero d’Avola’ grapes. The trial was conducted separately in two soils (vertisol and entisol) located at the top and bottom hillside of the same vineyard. Vertisol was characterized by greater depth, organic matter, exchangeable K20, and total N than entisol. RDI was based on an irrigation volume at 25% of estimated crop evapotranspiration (ETc) up to end of veraison and 10% of estimated ETc up to 15 days before harvest. Predawn water potential (PDWP) was used as indicator of plant water status and irrigation timin…
Potential Effects of Essential Oils Extracted from Mediterranean Aromatic Plants on Target Weeds and Soil Microorganisms
2020
Essential oils (EOs), extracted from aromatic plants, have been proposed as candidates to develop natural herbicides. This study aimed to evaluate the herbicidal potential of Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., Mentha ×
Detecting Mild Water Stress in Olive with Multiple Plant-Based Continuous Sensors.
2021
A comprehensive characterization of water stress is needed for the development of automated irrigation protocols aiming to increase olive orchard environmental and economical sustainability. The main aim of this study is to determine whether a combination of continuous leaf turgor, fruit growth, and sap flow responses improves the detection of mild water stress in two olive cultivars characterized by different responses to water stress. The sensitivity of the tested indicators to mild stress depended on the main mechanisms that each cultivar uses to cope with water deficit. One cultivar showed pronounced day to day changes in leaf turgor and fruit relative growth rate in response to water w…
Effects of Irrigation with Different Sources of Water on Growth, Yield and Essential Oil Compounds in Oregano
2020
Aromatic plants can benefit from the use of treated wastewater to satisfy their water requirements, but the effects on the essential oil yield and quality need an assessment. The aims of this study were to assess the effects of freshwater and treated wastewater obtained from a Sicilian (Italy) pilot-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland system on plant growth and yield, essential oil yield and composition of oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart) and soil characteristics. The system had a total surface area of 100 m2 and was planted with giant reed and umbrella sedge. An experimental open field of oregano was set up close to the system. Two years and two diff…
Pre and post-settlement movements of juvenile green turtles in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean
2018
Abstract Detailed knowledge on migratory routes connecting distant breeding, developmental and foraging areas is a key prerequisite for the successful management of marine vertebrates. The present study combines stable isotopes analysis of carapace scutes and satellite tracking of juvenile green turtles as an experimental approach to understand the pre and post settlement (recruit to neritic habitats) movements in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. To this end, carapace scute biopsies were collected from 20 turtles foraging on coastal rocky outcrops in East Uruguay and sliced in successive 30-μm layers using a cryostat. The δ15N and δ13C values of the newest layer increased significantly with…
Nomenclatural synopsis of cirsium sect. Eriolepis (asteraceae) in Italy
2021
The names of the Italian taxa in Cirsium sect. Eriolepis are discussed. The accepted names are: Cirsium echinatum, C. eriophorum subsp. eriophorum, C. eriophorum subsp. spathulatum, C. ferox, C. italicum, C. lacaitae, C. lobelii, C. morisianum, C. scabrum, C. tenoreanum, C. vallis-demonii subsp. vallis-demonii, C. vallis-demonii subsp. calabrum comb. nov., and C. vulgare (= C. crinitum, C. sylvaticum). Four accepted names are typified by specimens preserved at FI (one lectotype), G (one lectotype and one neotype), P (one lectotype), and by illustrations (two lectotypes). Several other heterotypic synonyms of taxa described from Italy are discussed and six of them are typified. A new combina…
A note on leaf venation and the circumscription of Tephroseris (Asteraceae–Senecioneae)
2020
Molecular phylogenetic results had shown that Tephroseris, a genus differentiated from its closest relatives by its pinnately veined leaves, also contains species with palmate leaf venation. This had led to the conclusion that leaf venation is a homoplasious character in the lineage containing Tephroseris. We here take a closer look at leaf venation in Tephroseris and other species of Asteraceae–Senecioneae. We found that leaf venation in Tephroseris is distinct from leaf venation in Jacobaea vulgaris and Senecio vulgaris, which both have pinnately veined leaves as typical for most species of their respective genera, and that description of the leaves of Tephroseris as pinnately veined is i…
Jellyfish Impacts on Marine Aquaculture and Fisheries
2020
Over the last 50 years, there has been an increased frequency and severity of negative impacts affecting marine fishery and aquaculture sectors, which claimed significant economic losses due to the interference of stinging gelatinous organisms with daily operational activities. Nevertheless, original scientific information on jellyfish-related incidents, their consequences, and potential preventative and mitigation countermeasures is limited and scattered across gray literature, governmental technical reports, and communication media. A literature scan searching for records of any interactions between jellyfish and the marine fishery/aquaculture sectors were carried out. Out of 553 papers, …
Risk of inbreeding : problem of mate choice and fitness effects?
2016
Mating with close kin may cause inbreeding depression with negative consequences to offspring and local populations. There exist mechanisms like kin-recognition or sex-specific dispersal to avoid mating with kin. In fluctuating population densities, like in many small mammals, both very low and very high densities provide conditions for inbreeding, if kin males are prone to stay in their natal area. Females are choosy and male dominance is thought to be the key feature when selecting mating partners. The aim of this study was to test the possible discrepancy in mate choice and negative fitness effects of inbreeding in two experiments, one in the laboratory and one in field enclosures. We as…