Search results for "I+D+I"
showing 10 items of 26665 documents
Tropical Andean forests are highly susceptible to nutrient inputs--rapid effects of experimental N and P addition to an Ecuadorian montane forest.
2012
Tropical regions are facing increasing atmospheric inputs of nutrients, which will have unknown consequences for the structure and functioning of these systems. Here, we show that Neotropical montane rainforests respond rapidly to moderate additions of N (50 kg ha -1 yr -1) and P (10 kg ha -1 yr -1). Monitoring of nutrient fluxes demonstrated that the majority of added nutrients remained in the system, in either soil or vegetation. N and P additions led to not only an increase in foliar N and P concentrations, but also altered soil microbial biomass, standing fine root biomass, stem growth, and litterfall. The different effects suggest that trees are primarily limited by P, whereas some pro…
Drivers of shell growth of the bivalve, Callista chione (L. 1758) - Combined it environmental and biological factors
2018
WOS:000426027100014; Seasonal shell growth patterns were analyzed using the stable oxygen and carbon isotope values of live-collected specimens of the bivalve Callista chione from two sites in the Adriatic Sea (Pag and Cetina, Croatia). Micromilling was performed on the shell surface of three shells per site and shell oxygen isotopes of the powder samples were measured. The timing and rate of seasonal shell growth was determined by aligning the delta O-18(shell)-derived temperatures so that the best fit was achieved with the instrumental temperature curve. According to the data, shells grew only at very low rates or not at all during the winter months, i.e., between January and March. Shell…
Growth patterns and life-history strategies in Placodontia (Diapsida: Sauropterygia)
2015
Placodontia is a clade of durophagous, near shore marine reptiles from Triassic sediments of modern-day Europe, Middle East and China. Although much is known about their primary anatomy and palaeoecology, relatively little has been published regarding their life history, i.e. ageing, maturation and growth. Here, growth records derived from long bone histological data of placodont individuals are described and modelled to assess placodont growth and life-history strategies. Growth modelling methods are used to confirm traits documented in the growth record (age at onset of sexual maturity, age when asymptotic length was achieved, age at death, maximum longevity) and also to estimate undocum…
Biomechanical insights into the dentition of megatooth sharks (Lamniformes: Otodontidae)
2021
AbstractThe evolution of gigantism in extinct otodontid sharks was paralleled by a series of drastic modifications in their dentition including widening of the crowns, loss of lateral cusplets, and acquisition of serrated cutting edges. These traits have generally been interpreted as key functional features that enabled the transition from piscivory to more energetic diets based on marine mammals, ultimately leading to the evolution of titanic body sizes in the most recent forms (including the emblematic Otodus megalodon). To investigate this hypothesis, we evaluate the biomechanics of the anterior, lateral, and posterior teeth of five otodontid species under different loading conditions by…
Le site à ambre et plantes du Cénomanien de Neau (Mayenne, France)
2020
International audience; A new Cenomanian amber- and plant-bearing deposit has been discovered at Neau, in the Mayenne department (France). The Cenomanian fossiliferous lignites are located in karst filling in a substratum of Cambrian limestones. The amber corresponds mainly to tiny millimetric grains, devoid of arthropod inclusions, but rich in microorganisms, especially the sheated bacteria Leptotrichites resinatus , and containing pollen grains ( Classopollis ) and wood fibers (Araucariacae or Cheirolepidiaceae). The lignites provide abundant conifer and ginkgoale cuticle fragments ( Frenelopsis , Eretmophyllum ) and a lot of palynomorphs ( e.g. Gleicheniidites senonicu s, Cyathidites , D…
Lonchidion derenzii, sp. nov., a new lonchidiid shark (Chondrichthyes, Hybodontiforms) from the Upper Triassic of Spain, with remarks on lonchidiid e…
2016
Lonchidiidae Herman, 1977, represents one of the most diverse and controversial families of Hybodontiformes, the sister group of Neoselachii (i.e., modern sharks, skates, and rays). It was initially erected as a monogeneric family including only Lonchidion Estes, 1964, a genus of small euryhaline hybodonts from the Mesozoic. Recently, Cappetta (2012) recognized up to eight genera within the family: Baharyodon, Diplolonchidion, Vectiselachos, Hylaeobatis, Isanodus, Parvodus,Lissodus, andLonchidion, although the content of the family is still under discussion (see, e.g., Rees, 2008; Khamha et al., 2016). Major discrepancies concern the phylogenetic relationships between Lonchidion and Lissodu…
Middle-Late Triassic chondrichthyans remains from the the Betic Range (Spain)
2017
Purpose In the present study, we described, for first time, the chondrichthyan fauna from several Middle-Late Triassic sections in the Betic Domain and compare it with other recent described coeval faunas from the Iberian Ranges. Methods Specimens were retrieved after the dissolution (with 10% acetic acid) of carbonate rocks. Results The assemblage comprises of seven species belonging to six genera (Hybodus plicatilis, Omanoselache bucheri comb. nov., Omanoselache contrarius comb. nov., Lonchidion derenzii, Lissodus aff. L. lepagei, Pseudodalatias henarejensis and cf. Rhomaleodus budurovi), most of them non-nesoselachian. Chondrichthyans remains occur in levels dating from Ladinian to Carni…
Oogenesis and reproductive investment of Atlantic herring are functions of not only present but long-ago environmental influences as well
2017
Following general life history theory, immediate reproductive investment (egg mass × fecundity/body mass) in oviparous teleosts is a consequence of both present and past environmental influences. This clarification questions the frequent use of season-independent (general) fecundity formulas in marine fish recruitment studies based on body metrics only. Here we test the underlying assumption of no lag effect on gametogenesis in the planktivorous, determinate-fecundity Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) displaying large plasticity in egg mass and fecundity, examining Norwegian summer–autumn spawning herring (NASH), North Sea autumn-spawning herring (NSAH), and Norwegian spring-spawning herri…
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum
2017
Tandem running is a primitive recruitment method employed by many ant genera. This study characterizes this behaviour during the recruitment of colony mates to a new nest in an Indian antDiacamma indicum. Tandem leaders who have knowledge of the new nest lead a single follower at a time, to the destination by maintaining physical contact. In order to characterize tandem running, we captured and analysed 621 invitations, 217 paths and 226 termination events. Remarkably, not a single colony member was lost. While invitations were stereotypic in behaviour, termination was not. Analysis of speed revealed that the average transport speed was 4.2 cm s−1. Coupled adult-brood transport was slower t…
Ecological genomics of adaptation to unpredictability in experimental rotifer populations
2019
AbstractElucidating the genetic basis of phenotypic variation in response to different environments is key to understanding how populations evolve. Facultatively sexual rotifers can develop adaptive responses to fluctuating environments. In a previous evolution experiment, diapause-related traits changed rapidly in response to two selective regimes (predictable vs unpredictable) in laboratory populations of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Here, we investigate the genomic basis of adaptation to environmental unpredictability in these experimental populations. We identified and genotyped genome-wide polymorphisms in 169 clones from both selective regimes after seven cycles of selection usi…