Search results for "Dati"
showing 10 items of 8549 documents
Diet composition and biomass consumption of harbour seals in Telemark and Aust-Agder, Norwegian Skagerrak
2020
To explore ecosystem dynamics and functions it is vital to obtain knowledge on predator–prey relations. Harbour seals are piscivorous predators that can come into conflict with fisheries. Recently, as the Skagerrak and Kattegat population of harbour seals has increased, claims have emerged that seals are depleting coastal cod populations. The diet of harbour seals in Norwegian Skagerrak was investigated based on otolith identification from scats. The overall seal diet included 20 different fish species/groups. The most important prey (combined index Q i ) were haddock/pollack/saithe (32.7%), genus Trisopterus (Norway pout/poor cod/bib, 12.5%), plaice (12.4%) and herring (10.0%). Plaice also…
Introducing anatomical techniques to subfossil wood
2018
Abstract Successful cross-dating of subfossil wood, ideally in combination with precise information on germination and dieback, requires the accurate detection of tree-ring width (TRW) boundaries along continuous measurement tracks from pith to bark. However, wood decay and the mechanical deformation of cells often challenge the dendrochronological analysis and subsequent paleoclimatic and environmental interpretations. Here, we show that wood anatomical techniques can improve the assessment of heavily degraded and/or deformed material. We apply state-of-the-art sample preparation, thin sectioning and double-staining to a unique collection of Late Glacial pines that were growing ∼13,000 yea…
Biotrickling filter modeling for styrene abatement. Part 1: Model development, calibration and validation on an industrial scale
2017
Abstract A three-phase dynamic mathematical model based on mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfer, diffusion, and biodegradation was calibrated and validated for the simulation of an industrial styrene-degrading biotrickling filter. The model considered the key features of the industrial operation of biotrickling filters: variable conditions of loading and intermittent irrigation. These features were included in the model switching from the mathematical description of periods with and without irrigation. Model equations were based on the mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfe…
Environmental Challenges in the Philippines
2017
The Republic of the Philippines is one of most exposed countries in the world to many “natural” hazards: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, lahar flows, typhoons, flooding, landslides, and sea level rise. Earthquake risks make Metro Manila especially vulnerable, due to the high population density and the poor quality of buildings, partly linked to corruption. This chapter examines the current policies to reduce risk in the metropolis and the scales of vulnerability, both at the national, regional, community and individual levels, focusing on the resilience of people and society when confronted with danger. Their vulnerability is heightened with several forms of environmental degradat…
Bioethics and neuroethics
2019
Neuroethics officially appeared at the start of the 21st century due to the progress made by the neurosciences, as an applied ethics related to bioethics, but also as an independent discipline in its own right. As an applied ethics, it tackles issues bordering on bioethics. As independent neuroethics, it deals with established philosophical problems from a neuroscientific standpoint in the broader sense. It involves two central questions: the design of a framework in which to select, interpret and integrate data from neuroscience on morality and outlining the appropriate method or methods for this new branch of knowledge. In both cases, most neuroethicists curiously claim to take a naturali…
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…
Life‐form diversity across temperate deciduous forests of Western Eurasia: A different story in the understory
2021
[Aim]To analyse the biogeographic patterns of Temperate Deciduous Forests (TDFs) in Western Eurasia based on different life-forms and forests layers and explore their relationships with the current climate, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate and topography.
Long-term changes in the breeding period diet of Bonelli
2019
Context Dietary analyses are essential to achieve a better understanding of animal ecology. In the case of endangered species, assessing dietary requirements is crucial to improve their management and conservation. The Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) has experienced a severe decline throughout its breeding range in Europe and, in Italy, fewer than 50 pairs remain, and only in Sicily. This species is subject to major threats, including changes in landscape composition and, consequently, prey availability, which is further aggravated by the occurrence of viral diseases in the case of rabbits. Aims To provide current data on the diet of the Bonelli’s eagle in Sicily during the breeding peri…
Structure and vulnerability of the multi‐interaction network in macrophyte‐dominated lakes
2019
The network approach is crucial to understand how ecosystems are structured and how they will respond to the disturbances (e.g. the current global change). We have recreated the multi‐interaction network of a shallow freshwater lake dominated by submerged macrophytes (Charophytes), a known system very vulnerable to environmental changes, considering both trophic and non‐trophic relationships among its elements. To minimize the environmental variability, we established it in an experimental mesocosm, including three habitats: the pelagic, the habitat around the meadow and the periphytic community living on macrophytes. We aimed to study the structure of this network and the roles of its elem…
Functional and energetic consequences of climate change on a predatory whelk
2017
Abstract The increasing rise in sea surface temperature caused by human activities currently represents the major threat to biodiversity and natural food webs. In this study we used the Lessepsian mussel Brachidontes pharaonis, one of the most recent invaders of the Mediterranean Sea, as a model to investigate the effect of a novel prey and a chronic increase in temperatures on functional parameters of local consumers, compared to the native mytilid species Mytilaster minimus. In particular we focused on the whelk Stramonita haemastoma, a widespread Mediterranean intertidal predator that actively preys on bivalves, barnacles and limpets, by studying the direct effects of such multiple stres…