Search results for "Cut"

Effect of methylparaben in Artemia franciscana.

2017

In this study, the toxicity of methylparaben (MeP) an emerging contaminant, was analysed in the sexual species Artemia franciscana, due to its presence in coastal areas and marine saltworks in the Mediterranean region. The acute toxicity (24 h-LC50) of MeP in nauplii was tested and its chronic effect (9 days) evaluated by measuring survival and growth under two sublethal concentrations (0.0085 and 0.017 mg/L). Also, the effect on several key enzymes involved in: antioxidant defences (catalase (CAT) and gluthathion-S-transferase (GST)), neural activity (cholinesterase (ChE)) and xenobiotic biotransformation (carboxylesterase (CbE), was assessed after 48 h under sublethal exposure. The result…

Evolution of sexually dimorphic pheromone profiles coincides with increased number of male‐specific chemosensory organs in Drosophila prolongata

2019

Abstract Binary communication systems that involve sex‐specific signaling and sex‐specific signal perception play a key role in sexual selection and in the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits. The driving forces and genetic changes underlying such traits can be investigated in systems where sex‐specific signaling and perception have emerged recently and show evidence of potential coevolution. A promising model is found in Drosophila prolongata, which exhibits a species‐specific increase in the number of male chemosensory bristles. We show that this transition coincides with recent evolutionary changes in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. Long‐chain CHCs that are sexually monomorphic …

Responses of boreal carabid beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) to clear-cutting and top-soil preparation

2006

Today, forestry is the most important disturbance force in Fennoscandian boreal forests, having remarkably altered fauna and flora in this biome. However, since the late 1900s, forest-management practices have been modified to better consider biodiversity while harvesting timber. For example, green-tree retention, gap felling, and lighter top-soil preparation methods (harrowing) have been introduced, but little is known about the ecological effects of these changes. We sampled carabid beetles in seven clear-cut stands that were subsequently harrowed. We studied the effects of (1) clear-cut size by comparing carabid catches of small gaps (ca. 0.16 ha) with those of larger clear-cuts (ca. 2 h…

Succession in ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in deciduous forest clear-cuts - an Eastern European case study

2017

Clear-cutting, the main method of harvesting in many forests in the world, causes a series of dramatic environmental changes to the forest habitat and removes habitat resources for arboreal and epigeal species. It results in considerable changes in the composition of both plant and animal communities. Ants have many critical roles in the maintenance and functioning of forest ecosystems. Therefore, the response of ants to clear-cutting and the time it takes for an ant community to recover after clear-cutting are important indicators of the effect of this harvesting technique on the forest ecosystem. We investigated ground-dwelling ant communities during secondary succession of deciduous fore…

The genome sequencing of an albino Western lowland gorilla reveals inbreeding in the wild

2013

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.

Optimal conservation resource allocation under variable economic and ecological time discounting rates in boreal forest

2016

Resource allocation to multiple alternative conservation actions is a complex task. A common trade-off occurs between protection of smaller, expensive, high-quality areas versus larger, cheaper, partially degraded areas. We investigate optimal allocation into three actions in boreal forest: current standard forest management rules, setting aside of mature stands, or setting aside of clear-cuts. We first estimated how habitat availability for focal indicator species and economic returns from timber harvesting develop through time as a function of forest type and action chosen. We then developed an optimal resource allocation by accounting for budget size and habitat availability of indicator…

Nutritional symbionts enhance structural defence against predation and fungal infection in a grain pest beetle

2022

ABSTRACT Many insects benefit from bacterial symbionts that provide essential nutrients and thereby extend the hosts’ adaptive potential and their ability to cope with challenging environments. However, the implications of nutritional symbioses for the hosts’ defence against natural enemies remain largely unstudied. Here, we investigated whether the cuticle-enhancing nutritional symbiosis of the saw-toothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis confers protection against predation and fungal infection. We exposed age-defined symbiotic and symbiont-depleted (aposymbiotic) beetles to two antagonists that must actively penetrate the cuticle for a successful attack: wolf spiders (Lycosidae) an…

Effects of temperature and CO2 on relative haemocyanin expression of the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

2009

Microbial communities involved in biogas production exhibit high resilience to heat shocks

2017

We report here the impact of heat-shock treatments (55 and 70 °C) on the biogas production within the acidification stage of a two-stage reactor system for anaerobic digestion and biomethanation of grass. The microbiome proved both taxonomically and functionally very robust, since heat shocks caused minor community shifts compared to the controls, and biogas yield was not decreased. The strongest impact on the microbial profile was observed with a combination of heat shock and low pH. Since no transient reduction of microbial diversity occured after the shock, biogas keyplayers, but also potential pathogens, survived the treatment. All along the experiment, the heat-resistant bacterial prof…

Characteristics of Acute Toxicity Dynamics of Selected Toxicants on Aquatic Crustaceans

2019

Abstract Determining the value of a half-effective or half-life concentration or dose of toxicant is the main purpose of acute toxicity studies, and this is also the most commonly used value in the toxicity characteristics of substances. By conducting tests that meet the criteria and requirements for the determination of acute toxicity, due to the use of appropriate mathematical tools and concentrations resulting in complete lethal effects in the studied groups, considerably more important values can be achieved, which give a possibility for the analysis of the entire process’s dynamics, as well as determining the threshold values of the effect time and toxicant concentration. This was the …