Search results for "ECOLOGY"
showing 10 items of 15385 documents
Improved camouflage through ontogenetic colour change confers reduced detection risk in shore crabs
2019
Abstract Animals from many taxa, from snakes and crabs to caterpillars and lobsters, change appearance with age, but the reasons why this occurs are rarely tested.We show the importance that ontogenetic changes in coloration have on the camouflage of the green shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), known for their remarkable phenotypic variation and plasticity in colour and pattern.In controlled conditions, we reared juvenile crabs of two shades, pale or dark, on two background types simulating different habitats for 10 weeks.In contrast to expectations for reversible colour change, crabs did not tune their background match to specific microhabitats, but instead, and regardless of treatment, all de…
Supplementary data to: Context-dependent coloration of prey and predator decision making in contrasting light environments
2021
A big question in behavioural ecology is what drives diversity of colour signals. The dataset covers the testing of the context-dependent predator selection on prey coloration. In the first experiment, detectability of artificial visual stimuli to blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) was tested by manipulating stimulus luminance and chromatic context of the background. In the second experiment, the effect of two light environments on the survival of aposematic, colour polymorphic wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) was tested. For detailed description of the material, methods, and results of the study, see the article.
Size-related mortality during overwintering in cavity-nesting ant colonies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
2016
The ongoing process of climate change will result in higher temperatures during winter and therefore might increase the survival of overwintering invertebrates. However, the process may also lead to a reduction in snow cover and expose overwintering invertebrates to lower temperatures, which could result in higher mortality. During a field experiment, I investigated the effects of a reduction in snow cover on the survival of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus, which overwinters in nests located on the ground. Ant colonies differed in the survival rate of the workers in the experimental (from which snow cover was removed) and control group. In the control group, the survival rate was unrelated…
Ecology Approach in Education and Health Care
2017
Abstract In the 21st century, numerous complex challenges in education and health care have come to the fore, among them: 1) how to implement the ecological approach in the education process and health care practice; 2) how to implement study programmes in line with the education trends for sustainable development and the process of formation and development of the ecological competence. The results of this research refer only to the content analysis of the essays written by the first and second year students of the programs in Nursing and Medicine on completing the study course The Ecological Approach in Patient Care. To increase the credibility and validity of the obtained results of the …
Inheritance in the water frog Rana ridibunda Pallas, 1771 - Is it Mendelian or hemiclonal?
2008
The genome of Rana ridibunda has been detected in all known hybridogenetic water frog systems. This raises the question whether R. ridibunda is pre-adapted to reproduce hemiclonally by hybridogenesis. We allozymatically compared genotypes of primary oocytes and somatic cells of R. ridibunda females from several sites in southern France. In case of hemiclonal reproduction only one allele per locus is expected to be detectable in oocytes. However, patterns detected from oocytes of analysed females were not different from those of sexually reproducing water frogs. We therefore conclude that R. ridibunda in southern France reproduces sexually and is not pre-adapted to hemiclonal reproduction.
Chromosome Painting in Cercopithecus petaurista (Schreber, 1774) Compared to Other Monkeys of the Cercopithecini Tribe (Catarrhini, Primates)
2023
The Cercopithecini tribe includes terrestrial and arboreal clades whose relationships are controversial, with a high level of chromosome rearrangements. In order to provide new insights on the tribe’s phylogeny, chromosome painting, using the complete set of human syntenic probes, was performed in Cercopithecus petaurista, a representative species of the Cercopithecini tribe. The results show C. petaurista with a highly rearranged karyotype characterized by the fission of human chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, and 12. These results compared with the literature data permit us to confirm the monophyly of the Cercopithecini tribe (fissions of chromosomes 5 and 6), as previously proposed by ch…
Priorities and gaps in Mediterranean bat research evidence: a systematic review for the early twenty-first century
2022
Bat conservation is one of the top global concerns for research today; however, conservation efforts may still be limited and impotent due to inadequacy and scarcity of data. Hence, identifying research trends, threatening factors, species status, and geographical priorities is an essential tool for future conservation, protection and prioritization. Here we conduct a comprehensive systematic review to identify current research priorities, trends, general patterns and gaps regarding Mediterranean bat researches. A total of 97 studies were found in the years spanning between 2000 and 2021. There were 18 studies with sufficient data for qualitative statistical analysis to investigate the impa…
Evaluating the performance of artificial neural networks for the classification of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates
2014
Abstract Macroinvertebrates form an important functional component of aquatic ecosystems. Their ability to indicate various types of anthropogenic stressors is widely recognized which has made them an integral component of freshwater biomonitoring. The use of macroinvertebrates in biomonitoring is dependent on manual taxa identification which is currently a time-consuming and cost-intensive process conducted by highly trained taxonomical experts. Automated taxa identification of macroinvertebrates is a relatively recent research development. Previous studies have displayed great potential for solutions to this demanding data mining application. In this research we have a collection of 1350 …
Comparing Conservation Value Maps and Mapping Methods in a Rural Landscape in Southern Finland
2015
We tested to what extent conservation value maps are different if the valuation and mapping method is changed. We compared 66 different conservation value and 4 different ecosystem service maps. Using remote sensing and other georeferenced data, we produced 2 different habitat type maps, which were 50 % similar. We valued each mapped habitat type based on rarity corrected potential number of vascular plant species and naturalness using 6 different valuation alternatives. We mapped habitat type connectivity and complementarity using 2 main approaches. The habitat type valuation alternatives were quite similar, but if the habitat type naturalness was taken into account, differences were large…
Methane-oxidizing and photoautotrophic bacteria are major producers in a humic lake with large anoxic hypolimnion
2011
Heterotrophic processes are considered to prevail in lakes with high terrestrial loading and a high content of dissolved organic carbon. However, previous studies have shown abundant methanotrophic bacteria (MOB) and photoautotrophic green sulphur bacteria (GSB) in some boreal lakes. We used genetic and lipid biomarkers to follow the seasonal succession of the abundance and carbon biomass of the major bacterial groups in Lake Mekkojarvi, a small Finnish polyhumic lake with a large anoxic hypolimnion. Biomarkers were based on length heterogeneity analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (LH-PCR) and on phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Representative …