Search results for "FUNGI"

Dual action of phosphonate herbicides in plants affected by herbivore—Model study on black bean aphid Aphis fabae rearing on broad bean Vicia faba pl…

2008

Abstract The interactions between plants, herbicides and herbivore insects were studied as an aspect of possible side effect of the using of phosphonate herbicides. The experimental system was composed of phosphonate herbicides, broad bean Vicia faba (L.) plants and black bean aphid Aphis fabae (Scopoli). Two means of herbicide application, namely standard spraying and direct introduction of the herbicide into stem via glass capillary, were examined. The results obtained for N-2-piridylaminomethylene bisphosphonic acid and its derivatives show 10 times higher inhibition of the plant growth if glass capillary mode was used. When plants were infested by aphids 24 h after the use of herbicide,…

Importance of diet and prophylactic treatment on survival and immunity of polyphagous Arctia plantaginis (Arctiidae) larvae

2018

Diet is one of the major factors directly and indirectly influencing insect’s life history traits and risk of getting infected. Additionally the insect’s fitness is severely affected by the broad diversity of parasites they are exposed to. As a consequence insects have developed well-evolved defences. Behavioural responses include self-medication, the ability of insects to change dietary intake in response to an infection. When studying this ability it is of major importance to consider the insects natural diet range. In this thesis I investigated the effect of different host plants on fitness and immunocompetence of polyphagous Arctia plantaginis larvae and whether the larvae can therapeut…

Endurance in excercise is associated with courtship call rate in decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus

2009

Question: Is sexual signalling (courtship call rate) determined by physiological fitness (energy metabolism at rest), endurance during physically demanding activity, an aspect of immune defence (lytic activity) or body mass? Organism: Pedigree laboratory population of decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus). Methods: Behavioural trial of male courtship call rate and measurements of males’ physiological performance. Covariance analysis exploring the determinants of courtship call rate. Results: We found that endurance was strongly positively associated with the courtship call rate. However, neither the lytic activity nor the resting metabolic rate correlated with courtship call rate. Toget…

Biodegradation of pesticides by soil microflora

2006

Nitrogen-fixing cushion Astragalus siculus modulates soil fertility, microclimate, plant facilitation, bacterial and fungal microbiota along an eleva…

2023

Question: Cushion-forming vascular plants are adapted to alpine environments and act as ecosystem engineers by moderating microclimate and creating a fertility island under their canopy. Most of the available studies on cushion ecology have been devoted to plant facilitation, but none used a holistic approach that considers the response of co-existing plant species with other key ecosystem players. Here, we quantified the biogenic effect and facilitation capacity of Astragalus siculus, a spiny nitrogen-fixing cushion plant, and test the hypothesis that the facilitation effect would increase with elevation as stress gradient.Location: Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in the Mediterrane…

The adaptations to tube-dwelling life of Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae) larvae and its eutrophication-tolerant mechanisms

2019

Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae) is a dominant macroinvertebrate species in many eutrophic lakes in subtropical and temperate zones. P. akamusi larvae can migrate deep into the sediment (>30 cm) during summer where is no oxygen. However, to our knowledge, the specific adaptive tactics of its tube-dwelling life (>30 cm) and underlying mechanisms why this species is favored by nutrient-rich lakes remain limited. With the understanding above-mentioned issues, we can provide important information for the development of sensitive biomonitoring. We examined monthly morphological dynamics and physiological adaptations of P. akamusi to anoxic conditions, and environmental relationships…

Intergenerational fitness effects of the early life environment in a wild rodent

2019

The early life environment can have profound, long‐lasting effects on an individual's fitness. For example, early life quality might (a) positively associate with fitness (a silver spoon effect), (b) stimulate a predictive adaptive response (by adjusting the phenotype to the quality of the environment to maximize fitness) or (c) be obscured by subsequent plasticity. Potentially, the effects of the early life environment can persist beyond one generation, though the intergenerational plasticity on fitness traits of a subsequent generation is unclear. To study both intra‐ and intergenerational effects of the early life environment, we exposed a first generation of bank voles to two early life…

Early life of fathers affects offspring fitness in a wild rodent

2019

Intergenerational fitness effects on offspring due to the early life of the parent are well studied from the standpoint of the maternal environment, but intergenerational effects owing to the paternal early life environment are often overlooked. Nonetheless, recent laboratory studies in mammals and ecologically relevant studies in invertebrates predict that paternal effects can have a major impact on the offspring's phenotype. These non‐genetic, environment‐dependent paternal effects provide a mechanism for fathers to transmit environmental information to their offspring, and could allow rapid adaptation. We used the bank vole Myodes glareolus, a wild rodent species with no paternal care, t…

Sex and sexual ornamentation associated with survival of the cyprinid fish, Rutilus rutilus, under disease stress

2013

By conveying information of disease resistance, sexual signals may be used as cues for adaptive mate choice. Here we report observations on survival of laboratory-maintained, wild-collected, sexually mature, ready-to-spawn cyprinid fish, Rutilus rutilus (roach), under accidental epidemic attributed to Flavobacterium psychrophilum, diagnosed using species-specific PCR. The fish were maintained in a single tank. During the 27 days observation period, both the proportion of fish surviving the infection as well as the length-adjusted mean survival time of the fish that died was the highest among the high-ornamented males with large breeding tubercles, intermediary among the low-ornamented males…

Growth and Physiological Performance of a Coastal Species Trifolium fragiferum as Affected by a Coexistence with Trifolium repens, NaCl Treatment and…

2021

The aim of the present study was to analyze the growth and physiological performance of two coexisting species, Trifolium fragiferum, and Trifolium repens, under the effect of NaCl and rhizobial symbiosis. Seeds of T. fragiferum and T. repens were collected from populations in the wild, and plants were cultivated in an automated greenhouse, two plants per container. Three basic types of planting were performed: (1) both plants were T. fragiferum (single species), (2) one T. fragiferum and one T. repens (species coexistence), (3) both plants were T. repens (single species). For every basic type, three subtypes were made: (1) non-inoculated, (2) inoculated with rhizobia taken from T. fargifer…