Search results for "LAB"
showing 10 items of 7932 documents
Emigration speed and the production of sexuals in colonies of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus under high and low levels of disturbance
2015
A nest relocation is costly for social insects, and involves hazards. Emigrations were studied in Temnothorax crassispinus ant colonies, which inhabit ephemeral nest sites, and which frequently change their nests. In a laboratory experiment, ant colonies from one group were forced to change their nest sites 10 times over a ca. 3-month period, whilst colonies from the second group were forced to adopt this practice twice (on the beginning of May, and in the second half of July). Colonies of the ant from both the groups reduced their total emigration duration. However, the duration of the transport phase remained unchanged. In the case of colonies with higher level of disturbance, there was n…
The ability of fish ecolabels to promote a change in the sustainability awareness
2021
Abstract Researchers, environmentalists, as well as fisheries and retailers, have been focusing their attention on the design, use and effects that fish ecolabels have on sustainability. The fish processing industry and large retailers have rapidly adopted several market-based standards, with consequences for two major stakeholders: fishermen and consumers. Although the standards have shown rather positive results, from the perspectives of marine biodiversity conservation, the fish industry and trade, it is not clear how they are able to support a change in people’s awareness about sustainability. For this reason, the present work reviews and analyses the literature, produced in the last te…
Eliciting expert knowledge to inform stock status for data-limited stock assessments
2019
Data-limited fisheries are a major challenge for stock assessment analysts, as many traditional data-rich models cannot be implemented. Approaches based on stock reduction analysis offer simple ways to handle low data availability, but are particularly sensitive to assumptions on relative stock status (i.e., current biomass compared to unperturbed biomass). For the vast majority of data-limited stocks, stock status is unmeasured. The present study presents a method to elicit expert knowledge to inform stock status and a novel, user-friendly on-line application for expert elicitation. Expert opinions are compared to stock status derived from data-rich models. Here, it is evaluated how expert…
Removal of acetone from air emissions by biotrickling filters: providing solutions from laboratory to full-scale
2018
A full-scale biotrickling filter (BTF) treating acetone air emissions of wood-coating activities showed difficulties to achieve outlet concentrations lower than 125 mg C m-3, especially for high inlet concentrations and oscillating emissions. To solve this problem, a laboratory investigation on acetone removal was carried out simulating typical industrial conditions: discontinuous and variable inlet concentrations and intermittent spraying. The results were evaluated in terms of removal efficiency and outlet gas emission pattern. Industrial emissions and operational protocols were simulated: inlet load up to 70 g C m-3 h-1 during 2 cycles of 4 h per day and intermittent trickling of 15 min …
Combination of Freezing, Low Sodium Brine and Cold Smoking on the Quality and Shelf-Life of Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) Fillets as a Strategy …
2021
Aquaculture is playing a leading role in both meeting the growing demand for seafood and increasing the sustainability of the fish production sector. Thus, innovative technologies that improve its sustainability, competitiveness, and safety are necessary for growth in the sector. This study aimed to develop cold smoked sea bass fillets from aquaculture. The aptitude of frozen and fresh fillets for cold smoking was investigated by processing both fresh and thawed fillets kept previously at &minus
Hyperparasitoids exploit herbivore-induced plant volatiles during host location to assess host quality and non-host identity
2019
Although consumers often rely on chemical information to optimize their foraging strategies, it is poorly understood how top carnivores above the third trophic level find resources in heterogeneous environments. Hyperparasitoids are a common group of organisms in the fourth trophic level that lay their eggs in or on the body of other parasitoid hosts. Such top carnivores use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to find caterpillars containing parasitoid host larvae. Hyperparasitoids forage in complex environments where hosts of different quality may be present alongside non-host parasitoid species, each of which can develop in multiple herbivore species. Because both the identity of th…
Understanding insect foraging in complex habitats by comparing trophic levels: insights from specialist host-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid systems
2019
Insects typically forage in complex habitats in which their resources are surrounded by non-resources. For herbivores, pollinators, parasitoids, and higher level predators research has focused on how specific trophic levels filter and integrate information from cues in their habitat to locate resources. However, these insights frequently build specific theory per trophic level and seldom across trophic levels. Here, we synthesize advances in understanding of insect foraging behavior in complex habitats by comparing trophic levels in specialist host-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid systems. We argue that resources may become less apparent to foraging insects when they are member of higher trophic …
Neonicotinoids in excretion product of phloem-feeding insects kill beneficial insects
2019
Significance The use of insecticides in agriculture is one of the suggested causes of the decline in insect populations. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely used insecticides. However, they have important negative side effects, especially for pollinators and other beneficial insects feeding on floral nectar and pollen. We identified an exposure route: Neonicotinoids reach and kill beneficial insects when they feed on the most abundant carbohydrate source for insects in agroecosystems, honeydew. Honeydew is the excretion product of phloem-feeding hemipteran insects such as aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, or psyllids. This route of exposure is likely to affect a much wider range of benefi…
Switching from conventional tillage to no-tillage: Soil N availability, N uptake,15N fertilizer recovery, and grain yield of durum wheat
2018
Abstract This 2-year study, performed in a typical Mediterranean environment on three soil types (two Inceptisols and one Vertisol), aimed to improve understanding of the factors that play a major role in determining crop response when soil management shifts from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT). The effects of NT on the soil nitrogen (N) availability, N uptake, 15N fertilizer recovery, and grain yield of durum wheat were evaluated in comparison to CT under five different N fertilization rates (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 kg N ha−1). Compared to CT, NT negatively affected grain yield in one of the two years but only in the two Inceptisols. On average, a considerable grain yield adva…
Exploiting chemical ecology to manage hyperparasitoids in biological control of arthropod pests
2020
Abstract Insect hyperparasitoids are fourth trophic level organisms that commonly occur in terrestrial food webs, yet they are relatively understudied. These top‐carnivores can disrupt biological pest control by suppressing the populations of their parasitoid hosts, leading to pest outbreaks, especially in confined environments such as greenhouses where augmentative biological control is used. There is no effective eco‐friendly strategy that can be used to control hyperparasitoids. Recent advances in the chemical ecology of hyperparasitoid foraging behavior have opened opportunities for manipulating these top‐carnivores in such a way that biological pest control becomes more efficient. We p…