Search results for "Habitat management"

Nectar-Inhabiting Bacteria Affect Olfactory Responses of an Insect Parasitoid by Altering Nectar Odors

2022

AbstractFloral nectar is ubiquitously colonized by a variety of microorganisms among which yeasts and bacteria are the most common. Microorganisms inhabiting floral nectar can alter several nectar traits, including nectar odor by producing microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Evidence showing that mVOCs can affect the foraging behavior of insect pollinators is increasing in the literature, whereas the role of mVOCs in altering the foraging behavior of third-trophic level organisms such as insect parasitoids is largely overlooked. Parasitoids are frequent visitors of flowers and are well known to feed on nectar. In this study, we isolated bacteria inhabiting floral nectar of buckwhe…

On the pyrophytism in the Mediterranean area

2015

Authors briefly present some observations and reflections on the “seeding strategy” of some plant species (Cistus spp., Cistaceae, in particular) in the Mediterranean area in relation to fire: they conclude it does not seem a specific adaptation to wildfires (as suggested in a relevant part of the recent literature), but a generalistic adaptation to open, high energy and variable habitats with aleatory fluctuations. The difference is important both for theoretical and applied aspects, e.g. for the correct management of Cistus species and of other Mediterranean species and habitats. Fire is undoubtedly a major ecological factor in the Mediterranean area. Many botanists have postulated the re…

The role of chemical cues in the host finding behaviour of Trissolcus basalis from a Conservation Biological Control perspective

In assessing successful biological control programs by parasitoids, the knowledge of important traits, such as the host finding capability, i.e. the ability to find host and food resources, play the key role. Moreover, parasitoids in their natural environment parasitoids deal with a variable mixtures of natural cues. Some chemical cues are used by the wasps to locate their hosts, some ones drive wasps to feeding resources. The parasitoid response to these cues can fluctuate according to biotic factors and abiotic condition. This dissertation focus in details on the role of two important tools, such as selective flowering plants as food resources to add within a crop area and the traces left…

Rehabilitation of two northern river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) populations impacted by various anthropogenic pressures : lessons learnt in the p…

2019

The pioneering work done during the past three decades in the regulated Rivers Perhonjoki and Kalajoki, Finland, to study and rehabilitate river lamprey populations is presented. The effects of various anthropogenic activities and rehabilitation measures are evaluated based on habitat surveys and long-term monitoring of larval densities, numbers of adults migrating upstream and of transformers migrating downstream. Telemetric tracking and tagging experiments were used to determine the efficacy of fishways. Lamprey populations in both rivers decreased in the 1980s and 1990s. This was linked to obstructed upstream migration of adults and deterioration of habitats for different life stages due…

Applied Chemical Ecology to Enhance Insect Parasitoid Efficacy in the Biological Control of Crop Pests

2018

The field application of semiochemicals, used by parasitoids to find mates and to locate their hosts, is a promising environmentally sustainable and highly specific pest control strategy and an attractive alternative to the use of pesticides. In this chapter, we first examine research progress dealing with the effect of semiochemical cues on parasitoid foraging strategy. In the second part, we review the possible field applications of these chemical cues to enhance pest control strategies, either through direct pest control or by manipulating parasitoid behaviour. We then consider novel approaches, such as the “attract and reward” strategy, combining semiochemical application and habitat ma…

Management of Alluvial Forests Included in Natura 2000 91E0* Habitat Type in Maramureş Mountains Nature Park

2015

Abstract The Natura 2000 habitat type 91E0* Alluvial forests of Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae) include three subtypes of forests. In the Maramureș Mountains Nature Park (MMNP) the alluvial forests are represented by Alnus incana forest situated on the banks of mountain rivers. Starting from 2007, 70% of the MMNP is also a Natura 2000 site of community interest. In the standard form for the site are listed 18 Natura 2000 habitat types, but that of alluvial forests 91E0* is not listed either due to an error or lack of available research data. Our study seeks to provide information regarding this high conservation value habitat such as: str…

Fire in Protected Areas - the Effect of Protection and Importance of Fire Management

2012

Fires are important but socially and economically unwanted disturbances of the ecosystems. They cannot be considered as a problem, they are global phenomena. Protected areas are created to protect biodiversity, and strict protection is often applied, forgetting that fire had shaped that that we aim to protect. This harsh protection is producing important changes in the protected habitats and is increasing their vulnerability to destructive wildfires. Thus, it is of major interest to incorporate fire management in the protected areas plan, including the (re)use of prescribed fire and traditional burning in order to reintroduce fire regimens, fundamental to the landscape sustainability. This …

Managing conservation values of protected sites: How to maintain deciduous trees in white-backed woodpecker territories

2020

Successional and other temporal habitat changes may also affect conservation areas and reduce their conservation value. Active management to promote vulnerable habitat features may be an effective, but controversial, solution. Old deciduous trees and deciduous dead wood in boreal forest reserves are examples of habitat features that may be lost during succession, yet several threatened species, including the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), are dependent on them. Encroaching spruce have been removed from white-backed woodpecker territories to promote the regeneration of deciduous trees and to preserve habitat quality, although the efficiency of this treatment is unclear. In t…

Enhancement of the Diversity of Pollinators and Beneficial Insects in Intensively Managed Vineyards

2021

Simple Summary The continuous intensification of agricultural production has resulted in higher yields and more yield security. However, these achievements went along with the substitution of heterogeneous agricultural landscapes by homogeneous ones with poor crop diversity, short crop rotations, and thanks to the high efficacy of modern herbicides and also to minimum in-crop diversity. A severe increase in plot size led to the elimination of ecologically valuable structural elements that had provided floral resources and nesting sites. Over the few last decades, several studies have been conducted to try to find solutions against insect decline and to preserve biodiversity. In the present …