Search results for "Earth"
showing 10 items of 12204 documents
Impact of drainage and hydrological restoration on vegetation structure in boreal spruce swamp forests
2014
Drainage to increase timber production is a major cause of degradation of boreal peatlands in Europe. As a consequence of the forestry drainage, the area of pristine spruce swamp forests has declined drastically in northern Europe over the past century. In restoration by rewetting, drainage ditches are blocked to restore the pre-disturbance hydrological regime and, ultimately, the biodiversity values and ecosystem functions of pristine spruce swamp forests. In this study, we quantify vegetation recovery and examine mechanisms behind the changes in plant community composition. For this, we surveyed the understorey vegetation of 9 undrained, 9 drained and 18 rewetted spruce swamp forest sites…
A multi-proxy long-term ecological investigation into the development of a late Holocene calcareous spring-fed fen ecosystem (Raganu Mire) and boreal…
2021
Abstract The calcareous substrate of spring-fed fens makes them unique islands of biodiversity, hosting endangered, vulnerable, and protected vascular plants. Hence, spring-fed fens ecosystems require special conservation attention because many of them are destroyed (e.g. drained, forested) and it is extremely difficult or even impossible to restore the unique hydrogeological and geochemical conditions enabling their function. The long-term perspective of paleoecological studies allows indication of former wetland ecosystem states and provides understanding of their development over millennia. To examine the late Holocene dynamics of a calcareous spring-fed fen (Raganu Mire) ecosystem on th…
Integrated membrane bioreactors modelling: A review on new comprehensive modelling framework
2021
International audience; Integrated Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) models, combination of biological and physical models, have been representing powerful tools for the accomplishment of high environmental sustainability. This paper, produced by the International Water Association (IWA) Task Group on Membrane Modelling and Control, reviews the state-of-the-art, identifying gaps for future researches, and proposes a new integrated MBR modelling framework. In particular, the framework aims to guide researchers and managers in pursuing good performances of MBRs in terms of effluent quality, operating costs (such as membrane fouling, energy consumption due to aeration) and mitigation of greenhouse gas…
Molecular phylogeny of the marine dinoflagellate genus Heterodinium (Dinophyceae)
2012
The dinoflagellate genus Heterodinium has unusual morphological characters such as a mid-ventral intercalary plate with a pore, a small plate in the left side of the dorsal epitheca, three antapical plates, and a well-developed anterior cingular list. We obtained the first SSU rDNA sequences from single cells of six species of Heterodinium from Mediterranean coastal and open waters. They included the type species H. scrippsii and H. rigdeniae and representatives of the other subgenera, Sphaerodinium (H. doma, H. milneri, H. globosum) and Platydinium (H. pavillardii). SSU rDNA phylogeny showed that Heterodinium spp. formed a well-supported monophyletic group (100% bootstrap support) composed…
Interspecific variation in total phenolic content in temperate brown algae
2017
Marine algae synthesize secondary metabolites such as polyphenols that function as defense and protection mechanisms. Among brown algae, Fucales and Dictyotales (Phaeophyceae) contain the highest levels of phenolic compounds, mainly phlorotannins, that play multiple roles. Four temperate brown algae (Cystoseira amentacea, Cystoseira compressa, Dictyopteris polypodioides and Padina pavonica) were studied for total phenolic contents. Total phenolic content was determined colorimetrically with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Significant differences in total phenolic content were observed between leathery and sheetlike algae and also within each morphological group. Among the four species, the she…
A review of transgenerational effects of ocean acidification on marine bivalves and their implications for sclerochronology
2020
Abstract Ocean acidification can negatively impact marine bivalves, especially their shell mineralization processes. Consequently, whether marine bivalves can rapidly acclimate and eventually adapt in an acidifying ocean is now increasingly receiving considerable attention. Projecting the fate of this vulnerable taxonomic group is also pivotal for the science of sclerochronology – the study which seeks to deduce records of past environmental changes and organismal life-history traits from various geochemical properties of periodically layered hard tissues (bivalve shells, corals, fish otoliths, etc.). In this review, we provide a concise overview of the long-term and transgenerational respo…
Effects of ocean acidification on embryonic respiration and development of a temperate wrasse living along a natural CO2gradient
2016
We assessed rising CO2 effects on metabolism and development of a nesting wrasse by reciprocal transplant experiments in the field. Offspring brooded under different CO2 conditions exhibited similar responses. However, embryos from High-CO2 site were resilient to a wider range of pCO2 levels than those belonging to current-day conditions.
Guano-Derived Nutrient Subsidies Drive Food Web Structure in Coastal Ponds.
2016
A stable isotope study was carried out seasonally in three coastal ponds (Marinello system, Italy) affected by different gull guano input to investigate the effect of nutrient subsidies on food web structure and dynamics. A marked 15N enrichment occurred in the pond receiving the highest guano input, indicating that gull-derived fertilization (guanotrophication) had a strong localised effect and flowed across trophic levels. The main food web response to guanotrophication was an overall erosion of the benthic pathway in favour of the planktonic. Subsidized primary consumers, mostly deposit feeders, switched their diet according to organic matter source availability. Secondary consumers and,…
Alexandrium pacificum Litaker sp. nov (Group IV): Resting cyst distribution and toxin profile of vegetative cells in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia, Souther…
2015
International audience; A high spatial resolution sampling of Alexandrium pacificum cysts, along with sediment characteristics (% H2O, % organic matter (OM), granulometry), vegetative cell abundance and environmental factors were investigated at 123 study stations in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia). Morphological examination and ribotyping of cells obtained from a culture called ABZ1 obtained from a cyst isolated in lagoon sediment confirmed that the species was A. pacificum. The toxin profile from the ABZ1 culture harvested during exponential growth phase was simple and composed of the N-sulfocarbamoyl toxins C1 (9.82 pg toxin cell−1), the GTX6 (3.26 pg toxin cell−1) and the carbamoyl toxin Neo-S…
Distinct protoconchs recognised in three of the larger Mediterranean Cerithium species (Caenogastropoda: Cerithiidae)
2017
The gastropod genus Cerithium includes several polymorphic species which are hardly distinguishable using a morphological approach based on teleoconch characters. Here we show that protoconch characters can be reliably used to identify the larger Mediterranean species (Cerithium alucastrum, C. repandum and C. vulgatum), and to assess their intraspecific variability. Based on a large amount of morphological data, we show that a multispiral, strongly sculptured protoconch (traditionally associated with C. vulgatum) is found in C. alucastrum. This species originated in the Pliocene. A multispiral, weakly sculptured protoconch, not observed previously, is reported for C. vulgatum. A paucispiral…