Search results for "NEC"
showing 10 items of 9363 documents
Resource profitability, but not caffeine, affects individual and collective foraging in the stingless beePlebeia droryana
2019
ABSTRACT Plants and pollinators form beneficial relationships, with plants offering resources in return for pollination services. Some plants, however, add compounds to nectar to manipulate pollinators. Caffeine is a secondary plant metabolite found in some nectars that affects foraging in pollinators. In honeybees, caffeine increases foraging and recruitment to mediocre food sources, which might benefit the plant, but potentially harms the colonies. For the largest group of social bees, the stingless bees, the effect of caffeine on foraging behaviour has not been tested yet, despite their importance for tropical ecosystems. More generally, recruitment and foraging dynamics are not well und…
Eco-geomorphological connectivity and coupling interactions at hillslope scale in drylands: Concepts and critical examples
2020
The diagnosis of land degradation requires a deep understanding of ecosystem functioning and evolution. In dryland systems, in particular, research efforts must address the redistribution of scarce resources for vegetation, in a context of high spatial heterogeneity and non-linear response. This fact explains the prevalence of eco-hydrological perspectives interested in runoff processes and, the more recent, focused on connectivity as an indicator of system resource optimisation. From a geomorphological perspective and reviewing the concepts of eco-hydro-geomorphological interactions operating in ecosystems, this paper explores the effects of erosion on vegetation configuration through two …
Can green infrastructure help to conserve biodiversity?
2017
The gradually decreasing connectivity of habitats threatens biodiversity and ecological processes valuable to humans. Green infrastructure is promoted by the European Commission as a key instrument for the conservation of ecosystems in the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020. Green infrastructure has been defined as a network of natural and semi-natural areas, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. We surveyed Finnish experts' perceptions on the development of green infrastructure within the existing policy framework. Our results show that improving the implementation of existing conservation policy instruments needs to be an integral part of developing green infr…
Updated checklist and distribution of large branchiopods (Branchiopoda: Anostraca, Notostraca, Spinicaudata) in Tunisia
2016
Temporary ponds are the most peculiar and representative water bodies in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where they often represent diversity hotspots that greatly contribute to the regional biodiversity. Being indissolubly linked to these ecosystems, the so-called “large branchiopods” are unanimously considered flagship taxa of these habitats. Nonetheless, updated and detailed information on large branchiopod faunas is still missing in many countries or regions. Based on an extensive bibliographical review and field samplings, we provide an updated and commented checklist of large branchiopods in Tunisia, one of the less investigated countries of the Maghreb as far as inland w…
Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) and Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in the Ligurian Sea: Two additional invasive species detections made…
2017
The non-indigenous crabs Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) and Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) are reported from Genoa and La Spezia, respectively, in the Ligurian Sea at the northern rim of the Mediterranean Sea. Both specimens were collected by fishermen who then brought them to the attention of professional scientists. This illustrates the importance of engaging local communities in detecting non-indigenous species and monitoring their spread. © 2017 The Author(s). Journal compilation & 2017 REABIC.
Trophic flexibility of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus in invaded coastal systems of the Apulia region (SE Italy): A stable isotope analys…
2017
Abstract The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is recognized as an Invasive Alien Species in the Mediterranean Sea. However, its trophic role and feeding flexibility in invaded benthic food webs have been addressed only recently. Here, field samplings were conducted in winter and summer in five coastal systems of the Apulia region (SE Italy), three located on the Ionian Sea (Mar Piccolo, Torre Colimena, and Spunderati) and two on the Adriatic Sea (Acquatina and Alimini Grande). Captured blue crabs were weighed and had their δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopic signatures measured; their trophic level (TL) was estimated using the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis as isotopic baseline. C. sapidus a…
The trophic position of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 in the food web of Parila Lagoon (South Eastern Adriatic, Croatia): A…
2016
The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is to date widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea, where is recognized as an Invasive Alien Species. Noticeably, while records of its occurrence are increasing, quantitative information on its functional role in the benthic food webs of invaded coastal habitats are scarce. Here, carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures were measured in C. sapidus and other representative taxa of the benthic flora and fauna sampled in summer in the Parila Lagoon, a coastal basin located in the Neretva River estuary area (Croatia). d 15 N values of individual blue crab specimens were used to calculate their trophic position (TP) , using the filter feeder mussel M…
A global occurrence database of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus
2021
The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is a portunid native to the western Atlantic, from New England to Uruguay. The species was introduced in Europe in 1901 where it has become invasive; additionally, a significant northward expansion has been emphasized in its native range. Here we present a harmonized global compilation of C. sapidus occurrences from native and non-native distribution ranges derived from online databases (GBIF, BISON, OBIS, and iNaturalist) as well as from unpublished and published sources. The dataset consists of 40,388 geo-referenced occurrences, 39,824 from native and 564 from non-native ranges, recorded in 53 countries. The implementation of quality controls imp…
Nectar protection in arid-adapted flowers of Zygophyllaceae-Zygophylloideae
2018
Abstract The survival of plants in arid areas depends on efficient adaptation to extreme environments. The protection against nectar loss is an important challenge for flowers in arid environments. Flowers of arid-adapted Zygophyllaceae subfamily Zygophylloideae are characterized by a peculiar structure called staminal scales (SS). The special arrangement of SS around the perigynous disc nectary (DN) suggests their adaptive function for protection against nectar loss. We aim to test the protective function of SS and to understand the synorganised evolution of SS and DN in relation to nectar protection. We, first, manipulate flowers by removal of SS in two representatives of Zygophylloideae.…
Stable coexistence of genetically divergent Atlantic cod ecotypes at multiple spatial scales
2018
Abstract Coexistence in the same habitat of closely related yet genetically different populations is a phenomenon that challenges our understanding of local population structure and adaptation. Identifying the underlying mechanisms for such coexistence can yield new insight into adaptive evolution, diversification and the potential for organisms to adapt and persist in response to a changing environment. Recent studies have documented cryptic, sympatric populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in coastal areas. We analysed genetic origin of 6,483 individual cod sampled annually over 14 years from 125 locations along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast and document stable coexistence of two gene…