Search results for "ITS"
showing 10 items of 4946 documents
Angiosperm to Gymnosperm host-plant switch entails shifts in microbiota of the Welwitschia bug, Probergrothius angolensis (Distant, 1902).
2019
The adaptation of herbivorous insects to new host plants is key to their evolutionary success in diverse environments. Many insects are associated with mutualistic gut bacteria that contribute to the host's nutrition and can thereby facilitate dietary switching in polyphagous insects. However, how gut microbial communities differ between populations of the same species that feed on different host plants remains poorly understood. Most species of Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) are specialist seed-feeders on plants in the family Malvaceae, although populations of one species, Probergrothius angolensis, have switched to the very distantly related Welwitschia mirabilis plant in the Nami…
Methanotrophs are core members of the diazotroph community in decaying Norway spruce logs
2018
Dead wood is initially a nitrogen (N) poor substrate, where the N content increases with decay, partly due to biological N2 fixation, but the drivers of the N accumulation are poorly known. We quantified the rate of N2 fixation in decaying Norway spruce logs of different decay stages and studied the potential regulators of the N2-fixation activity. The average rate for acetylene reduction in the decaying wood was 7.5 nmol ethylene g−1d−1, which corresponds to 52.9 μg N kg−1d−1. The number of nifH copies (g−1 dry matter) was higher at the later decay stages, but no correlation between the copy number and the in vitro N2 fixation rate was found. All recovered nifH sequences were assigned to t…
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…
Soil legacy determines arbuscular mycorrhizal spore bank and plant performance in the low Arctic
2020
AbstractHuman impact is rapidly changing vegetation globally. The effect of plant cover that no longer exists in a site may still affect the development of future vegetation. We focused on a little studied factor—arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus spore bank—and its effect on three test plant species. In a low Arctic field site, plots were maintained for 6 years, devoid of any vegetation or with a Solidago virgaurea monoculture cover. We analysed the AM fungal morphospecies composition and identified 21 morphospecies in the field plots. The AM morphospecies community was dominated by members of Acaulosporaceae. Monoculturing under low Arctic field conditions changed the soil AM spore commun…
Determination of fatty acids content, global antioxidant activity and energy value of weed seeds from agricultural fields in France.
2016
18 pages; International audience; The ecological consequences of seed size variation have been studied extensively in plants. Curiously, little attention has been paid to the qualitative and quantitative variation of the seed-stored molecules and on their ecological significance. Here, we analysed the oil content and oil composition of ca. 200 weed seed species from agricultural fields in France based on single seed accessions, concentrating on interspecies differences and ignoring within-species variation. The relationships between seed weight, oil %, fatty acids (FAs) and the energetic value of the seed and its antioxidant properties were also investigated. The antioxidant activity could …
Forty questions of importance to the policy and practice of native oyster reef restoration in Europe
2020
© 2020 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Oyster reefs are among the most threatened marine habitats globally. In Europe, oyster reefs have been extirpated from most locations within their historical range. Active restoration of the native oyster (Ostrea edulis) in Europe has grown substantially in recent years. In sharing experiences between oyster restoration projects in Europe at the Native Oyster Restoration Alliance conference, NORA2, in Edinburgh in May 2019, it became apparent that a number of similar barriers are experienced. This study identified the top 40 questions, which, if answered, would have the greatest inf…
Will legal international rhino horn trade save wild rhino populations?
2020
Wild vertebrate populations all over the globe are in decline, with poaching being the second-most-important cause. The high poaching rate of rhinoceros may drive these species into extinction within the coming decades. Some stakeholders argue to lift the ban on international rhino horn trade to potentially benefit rhino conservation, as current interventions appear to be insufficient. We reviewed scientific and grey literature to scrutinize the validity of reasoning behind the potential benefit of legal horn trade for wild rhino populations. We identified four mechanisms through which legal trade would impact wild rhino populations, of which only the increased revenue for rhino farmers cou…
Length of activity season drives geographic variation in body size of a widely distributed lizard
2013
Understanding the factors that drive geographic variation in life history is an important challenge in evolutionary ecology. Here, we analyze what predicts geographic variation in life-history traits of the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara, which has the globally largest distribution range of all terrestrial reptile species. Variation in body size was predicted by differences in the length of activity season, while we found no effects of environmental temperature per se. Females experiencing relatively short activity season mature at a larger size and remain larger on average than females in populations with relatively long activity seasons. Interpopulation variation in fecundity was largely…
Traits mediate niches and co‐occurrences of forest beetles in ways that differ among bioclimatic regions
2021
Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the role of traits in beetle community assembly and test for consistency in these effects among several bioclimatic regions. We asked (1) whether traits predicted species’ responses to environmental gradients (i.e. their niches), (2) whether these same traits could predict co-occurrence patterns and (3) how consistent were niches and the role of traits among study regions. Location Boreal forests in Norway and Finland, temperate forests in Germany. Taxon Wood-living (saproxylic) beetles. Methods We compiled capture records of 468 wood-living beetle species from the three regions, along with nine morphological and ecological species traits. Eight …
Does plant diversity influence phosphorus cycling in experimental grasslands?
2011
Plant diversity was shown to influence the N cycle, but plant diversity effects on other nutrients remain unclear. We tested whether plant species richness or the presence/absence of particular functional plant groups influences P partitioning among differently extractable pools in soil, P concentrations in soil solution, and exploitation of P resources (i.e. the proportion of total bioavailable P in plants and soil that was stored in aboveground biomass) by the plant community in a 5-year biodiversity experiment in grassland.The experimental grassland site established in 2002 had 82 plots with different combinations of numbers of species (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 60) and functional groups (grasses,…