Search results for "Herb"

Egg and larval load assessment and its influence on oviposition behaviour of the leaf beetle Galerucella nymphaeae

1993

The oviposition behaviour of the water-lily beetle Galerucella nymphaeae was examined. This species is a specialist herbivore on the floating leaves of nymphaeids Nymphaeaceae and especially on the yellow water-lily, Nuphar lutea. Females lay their eggs in clutches on the leaves, and after hatching, the larvae feed on the leaves. The quality of the leaves decreases quickly after the larvae hatch, and eventually the leaves will sink below the water surface, whereupon the eggs, 1st-instar larvae and pupae are killed by drowning. The influence of conspecific eggs, larvae and feeding tracks on the oviposition preferences of the beetles was tested. Females were allowed to choose between fresh le…

Dicrocoelium dendriticum found in a Bronze Age cemetery in western Iran in the pre-Persepolis period: The oldest Asian palaeofinding in the present h…

2015

Dicrocoeliasis of animals and humans is caused by trematode species of the genus Dicrocoelium, mainly Dicrocoelium dendriticum in ruminants of the Holarctic region. D. dendriticum may be considered an old parasite, probably related to the appearance and diversification of Eurasian ovicaprines, occurred 14.7-14.5 million years ago. The oldest palaeoparasitological findings of Dicrocoelium in domestic animals and humans date from more than 5000 years BC in Europe. Eggs of D. dendriticum have been found in a burial of a Bronze Age cemetery (2600-2200 BC) close to Yasuj city, southwestern Iran. This is the oldest finding of D. dendriticum in the Near East, where present human infection reports …

Interactions between willows and insect herbivores under enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation

2002

We studied the effects of elevated ultraviolet-B radiation on interactions between insect herbivores and their host plants by exposing two species of phytochemically different willows, Salix myrsinifolia and S. phylicifolia, to a modulated increase in ultraviolet radiation in an outdoor experiment and monitoring the colonisation of insect herbivores on these willows. We examined the effect of increased ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation on (1) the quality of willow leaves, (2) the distribution and abundance of insect herbivores feeding on these willows, (3) the resulting amount of damage, and (4) the performance of insect larvae feeding on the exposed plant tissue. Six clones of each of the two…

Belowground responses by AM fungi and animal trophic groups to repeated defoliation in an experimental grassland community

2005

Abstract We tested a hypothesis that the effects of defoliation on plants and soil organisms vary with the number of successive defoliations. We established a 23-week greenhouse experiment using replicated grassland microcosms that were composed of three plant species, Trifolium repens , Plantago lanceolata and Phleum pratense , growing together in grassland soil with a diverse soil community. The experiment consisted of two treatment factors-defoliation and harvest time-in a fully factorial design. The defoliation treatment had two levels, i.e. no trimming and trimming of plants every 2 weeks, and the harvest time five levels, i.e. harvests after 1–3, 5 and 7 trimmings. Shoot production (t…

Helminth communities of two lizard populations (Lacertidae) from Canary Islands (Spain): Host diet-parasite relationships

2005

Abstract A parasitological survey has been carried out to determine the relationships between host diet and parasite fauna. Diet, and infracommunities and component communities of two subspecies of lacertid lizards, Gallotia galloti galloti (Oudart, 1839) and G. g. palmae (Boettger et Müller, 1914) from Tenerife and La Palma islands (Canary Islands, Spain), have been analysed. High values of parasite infection parameters were found in both subspecies, which were only infected by nematodes of the family Pharyngodonidae. Plant matter was mainly consumed by both lizard subspecies and relevant amounts of mineral matter were also found in both hosts. Diet of these lacertid lizards was correlate…

Daurian pikas ( Ochotona daurica ) and grassland condition in eastern Mongolia

2003

Pikas ( Ochotona spp.) are burrowing herbivorous mammals believed to play a keystone role in determining the biodiversity of steppe ecosystems. Impacts of domestic livestock grazing on the distribution and abundance of the Daurian pika Ochotona daurica were investigated in eastern Mongolia where the species is widespread and abundant. Effects of pikas on plant species richness and vegetation coverage were examined at different distances from burrow systems. Daurian pikas were nearly absent from severely grazed study sites, and incidence of the species increased with decreasing grazing intensity. The number of occupied burrow systems and usage of burrows was higher in sites with lower grazin…

An investigation of the pharmacological applications used for the Ancient Egyptian systemic model ‘ra-ib’ compared with modern Traditional Chinese Me…

2020

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Ancient Egyptian texts only offer glimpses into their conceptual understandings of the inner-body and illness manifestation. Explanations of how prescribed materia medica were believed to work are rare and obscure, often resulting in modern approximations for ancient terminology such as ‘ra-ib’—an ancient Egyptian classification predominantly translated as ‘stomach’—leading to misunderstandings of historical texts, and therefore their use of pharmacology. Aim of the study To investigate the ra-ib and the explanatory models of illness from the Egyptian perspective, and to explore the link between these and the prescribed selection of materia medica. To…

Kriittinen teoria ja Marx

2011

Response of soil bacterial community structure to successive perturbations of different types and intensities

2008

SummaryIn soil, genetic structure modifications of indigenousbacterial community consecutively to a severe stress(mercury contamination) were delayed when thecommunity was pre-exposed to various minor per-turbations (heat, copper and atrazine). Such minorperturbations induced transitory community struc-ture modifications leading to an increase of commu-nity stability towards a severe mercury stress. Theseresults illustrated well the short-term pre-adaptationprocess for bacterial community hypothesizing thatcommunity submitted to perturbations become moreresistant to withstand another stress. Compared with other environmental matrices of the bio-sphere, soils are considered as the main reservo…

Isolation and characterisation of Nocardioides sp. SP12, an atrazine-degrading bacterial strain possessing the gene trzN from bulk- and maize rhizosp…

2003

International audience; We report the characterisation of Nocardioides sp. SP12, an atrazine-degrading bacteria isolated from atrazine-treated bulk- and maize rhizosphere soil. Based on 16S rDNA alignment, strain SP12 showed close phylogenic relationships with Nocardioides sp. C157 and Nocardioides simplex. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of strain SP12 were longer than those of other Nocardioides sp. and present Ala- and Ile-tRNA unlike Actinomycetales. Nocardioides sp. SP12 presents a novel atrazine catabolic pathway combining trzN with atzB and atzC. Atrazine biodegradation ends in a metabolite that co-eluted in HPLC with cyanuric acid. This metabolite shows an absorption spe…