Search results for "FLO"

2019

Aposematic organisms couple conspicuous warning signals with a secondary defense to deter predators from attacking. Novel signals of aposematic prey are expected to be selected against due to positive frequency-dependent selection. How, then, can novel phenotypes persist after they arise, and why do so many aposematic species exhibit intrapopulation signal variability? Using a polytypic poison frog ( Dendrobates tinctorius ), we explored the forces of selection on variable aposematic signals using 2 phenotypically distinct (white, yellow) populations. Contrary to expectations, local phenotype was not always better protected compared to novel phenotypes in either population; in the white po…

Protein hydrolysates and mo-biofortification interactively modulate plant performance and quality of ‘canasta’ lettuce grown in a protected environme…

2021

Since the use of protein hydrolysates (PHs) enhances overall plant performance and quality of vegetables, they might be considered as a toll to face a number of concerns essentially associated to the growing request of premium quality foodstuff realized in agreement with eco-friendly agriculture practices. Molybdenum (Mo) is considered a fundamental trace element for human body. Thus, its shortage determines several disorders mainly related to neurological lesion and esophageal cancer. Biofortification of fruiting and leafy vegetables is a promising tool to prevent Mo deficiency in the human diet. The current study was carried out to assess the interactive effect of plant-derived PHs and Mo…

Gaseous allyl isothiocyanate to inhibit the production of aflatoxins, beauvericin and enniatins by Aspergillus parasiticus and Fusarium poae in wheat…

2016

Abstract There is a growing concern about the presence of mycotoxins in foods, since up to 25% of cereals and cereal foods are contaminated with these compounds. Moreover, the general public is against the use of synthetic preservatives in foods and the use of natural antimicrobials in foods is a current trend. Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a volatile antimicrobial derived from oriental and black mustard. The objective of this work was to evaluate the capacity of gaseous AITC in inhibiting the production of mycotoxins by Aspergillus parasiticus (aflatoxin producer) and Fusarium poae (beauvercin and enniatin producer) in wheat flour. Petri dish lids filled with 2 g of wheat flour were inocu…

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 10

2020

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1.

Alder pollen in Finland ripens after a short exposure to warm days in early spring, showing biennial variation in the onset of pollen ripening

2017

Abstract We developed a temperature sum model to predict the daily pollen release of alder, based on pollen data collected with pollen traps at seven locations in Finland over the years 2000–2014. We estimated the model parameters by minimizing the sum of squared errors (SSE) of the model, with weights that put more weight on binary recognition of daily presence or absence of pollen. The model results suggest that alder pollen ripens after a couple of warm days in February, while the whole pollen release period typically takes up to 4 weeks. We tested the model residuals against air humidity, precipitation and wind speed, but adding these meteorological features did not improve the model pr…

Clutch-size variation in Western Palaearctic secondary hole-nesting passerine birds in relation to nest box design.

2014

Møller, A.P. [et al.]

Impact of plant cover on the cavity-nesting antTemnothorax crassispinus

2017

1. Plant communities influence the availability of important resources for ants, such as nest sites and food, as well as environmental conditions. Thus, plants affect the abundance and distribution of ants. 2. In a field experiment, the influence of plant cover on the settlement of nest sites and per-capita productivity of sexual individuals by the ant Temnothorax crassispinus was analysed. In July 2014, in five areas with patches of alien balsam Impatiens parviflora, and another five of native balsam I. noli-tangere, transects composed of artificial nests were established; the nest sites were situated inside patches of balsams, and outside of them. Four hundred and forty artificial nests w…

Octopamine and dopamine mediate waggle dance following and information use in honeybees.

2020

Honeybees can be directed to profitable food sources by following waggle dances performed by other bees. Followers can often choose between using this social information or relying on memories about food sources they have visited in the past, so-called private information. While the circumstances that favour the use of either social or private information have received considerable attention, still little is known about the neurophysiological basis of information use. We hypothesized that octopamine and dopamine, two biogenic amines with important functions in reward signalling and learning, affect dance use in honeybees. We orally administered octopamine and dopamine when bees collected fo…

Red Listing plants under full national responsibility: Extinction risk and threats in the vascular flora endemic to Italy

2018

Abstract Taxa endemic to a country are key elements for setting national conservation priorities and for driving conservation strategies, since their persistence is entirely dependent on national policy. We applied the IUCN Red List categories to all Italian endemic vascular plants (1340 taxa) to assess their current risk of extinction and to highlight their major threats. Our results revealed that six taxa are already extinct and that 22.4% (300 taxa) are threatened with extinction, while 18.4% (247; especially belonging to apomictic groups) have been categorized as Data Deficient. Italian endemic vascular plants are primarily threatened by natural habitat modification due to agriculture, …

Conserving plant diversity in Europe: outcomes, criticisms and perspectives of the Habitats Directive application in Italy

2016

Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between t…