Search results for "Plant-Animal Interactions"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Plant-animal interactions in fire-prone ecosystems
2018
SÍNTESIS Estudiar cómo responden las interacciones ecológicas a las perturbaciones es clave para abordar la creciente pérdida de biodiversidad en diferentes ecosistemas. En la Tierra existen especies que han evolucionado ante la presencia recurrente de perturbaciones naturales, como ocurre en ecosistemas con incendios frecuentes. En ellos el fuego se originó poco después de la aparición de las primeras plantas terrestres y también algunos de los patrones de incendios característicos que todavía permanecen. Sin embargo, las actividades humanas están alterando los patrones naturales de incendios, lo que puede suponer una amenaza incluso para las especies que presentan una rápida recuperación …
High Temperatures Result in Smaller Nurseries which Lower Reproduction of Pollinators and Parasites in a Brood Site Pollination Mutualism
2014
In a nursery pollination mutualism, we asked whether environmental factors affected reproduction of mutualistic pollinators, non-mutualistic parasites and seed production via seasonal changes in plant traits such as inflorescence size and within-tree reproductive phenology. We examined seasonal variation in reproduction in Ficus racemosa community members that utilise enclosed inflorescences called syconia as nurseries. Temperature, relative humidity and rainfall defined four seasons: winter; hot days, cold nights; summer and wet seasons. Syconium volumes were highest in winter and lowest in summer, and affected syconium contents positively across all seasons. Greater transpiration from the…
Volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons emitted by seedlings of Brassica species provide host location cues to Bagrada hilaris
2018
Bagrada hilaris Burmeister, is a stink bug native to Asia and Africa and invasive in the United States, Mexico, and more recently, South America. This species can cause serious damage to various vegetable crops in the genus Brassica, with seedlings being particularly susceptible to B. hilaris feeding activity. In this study, the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by seedlings of three Brassica species on the host preference of B. hilaris was evaluated. In dual choice arena and olfactometer bioassays, adult painted bugs preferred B. oleracea var. botrytis and B. napus over B. carinata. Volatiles from B. oleracea seedlings were collected and bioassayed with B. hilaris adults an…
Macrophytes shape trophic niche variation among generalist fishes.
2017
Generalist species commonly have a fundamental role in ecosystems as they can integrate spatially distinct habitats and food-web compartments, as well as control the composition, abundance and behavior of organisms at different trophic levels. Generalist populations typically consist of specialized individuals, but the potential for and hence degree of individual niche variation can be largely determined by habitat complexity. We compared individual niche variation within three generalist fishes between two comparable lakes in the Czech Republic differing in macrophyte cover, i.e. macrophyte-rich Milada and macrophyte-poor Most. We tested the hypothesis that large individual niche variation…
The ecomorphology of southern African rodent incisors: Potential applications to the hominin fossil record.
2018
AbstractThe taxonomic identification of mammalian fauna within fossil assemblages is a well-established component of paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, many fragmentary specimens recovered from fossil sites are often disregarded as they can be difficult to identify with the precision required for taxonomic methods. For this reason, the large numbers of isolated rodent incisors that are often recovered from hominin fossil bearing sites have generally been seen as offering little interpretive value. Ecomorphological analysis, often referred to as a “taxon-free” method, can potentially circumvent this problem by focusing on the adaptive, rather than the taxonomic significance of rode…
Steroid Biomarkers Revisited - Improved Source Identification of Faecal Remains in Archaeological Soil Material.
2017
Steroids are used as faecal markers in environmental and in archaeological studies, because they provide insights into ancient agricultural practices and the former presence of animals. Up to now, steroid analyses could only identify and distinguish between herbivore, pig, and human faecal matter and their residues in soils and sediments. We hypothesized that a finer differentiation between faeces of different livestock animals could be achieved when the analyses of several steroids is combined (Δ5-sterols, 5α-stanols, 5β-stanols, epi-5β-stanols, stanones, and bile acids). We therefore reviewed the existing literature on various faecal steroids from livestock and humans and analysed faeces …