Search results for "Science and technology"

Landslides and gully slope erosion on the banks of the Gauja River between the towns of Sigulda and Līgatne

2013

This study examines contemporary and past slope erosion processes in the Gauja River valley and adjoining area between the towns of Sigulda and Līgatne. In the field survey landslides and gullies were mapped. Spatial landslide and gully data were correlated with the landslide- and gully-related features (local relief, slope lithology, slope form, slope angle and density of gullies). A novel approach was applied to establish the relationships between slope processes and factors influencing them. This approach uses correlation between raster values of landslide-related factors in specific slope sections and the number of slope processes in these sections to determine the areas prone to slope …

Pyriproxyfen, a juvenoid hormone analog, does not induce male production in parthenogenetic lineages of Eucypris virens (Crustacea: Ostracoda)

2007

Analogs of juvenoid hormones are increasingly recommended for controlling insect pests in agriculture. One of these analogs, pyriproxyfen, was found to be very potent in inducing male production in Daphnia under laboratory conditions, even after acute exposure. Other studies also demonstrated a major role of juvenoid hormones for the sex determination in arthropods that have sex chromosomes. We exposed parthenogenetic lineages of the freshwater ostracod Eucypris virens to a wide range of pyriproxyfen concentrations, and compared mortality and fecundity between treated and control animals. Animals exposed to the highest concentrations of pyriproxyfen (3-30 nM) experienced a higher mortality …

First record of Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) in Italy, with notes on distribution and conservation status (Copepoda, Cal…

2011

Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) was found in a temporary pool in the Pineta di Classe coastal pine-wood (Ravenna, northern Italy). This is the first official record of a species belonging to the subgenus Gigantodiaptomus of Italian fauna, and it widens the known distribution of this rare diaptomid to the Mediterranean basin. In order to supply data on this rare and poorly known species, original drawings for the Italian population have been provided, and some overlooked morphological features have been highlighted. In light of the growing evidence of the existence of a number of cryptic species in the Diaptomidae family, and considering the variability observed in …

Distribution of recent ostracods in inland waters of Sicily (Southern Italy)

2006

From 2003 to 2005, freshwater ostracods were sampled in 67 water bodies of mainland Sicily (Provinces of Agrigento, Caltanisetta, Catania, Enna, Palermo, Messina, Ragusa, Siracusa and Trapani) located from sea level up to 1300 m a.s.l. This survey took into account streams, springs, wells, but especially temporary and ephemeral habitats (e.g., flooded meadows, temporary ponds). The aim of this research was to give the first comprehensive picture of the regional ostracod fauna and establish relationships between the distribution of ostracod species and some habitat features. Altogether, 21 ostracod taxa belonging to five families (Candonidae, Ilyocyprididae, Cyprididae, Notodromadidae, and L…

Studies on the zooplankton of the deep subalpine Lake Garda

1999

The specific composition and seasonal dynamics of the zooplankton of Lake Garda have been studied through monthly surveys in two annual cycles (December 1994-November 1995 and January-December 1997). The assemblage is largely dominated by Copipo-diaptomus steueri, a typical calanoid presently identified in deep (Garda, Iseo) and shallow lakes of NE Italy and in the hinterland of the central Adriatic region (Dalmatia and Marche Region). Cladocerans and the smaller rotifers represent a significant component of the zooplankton from spring to autumn. A re-examination of the results obtained in previous studies does not seem to demonstrate substantial shifts in the composition of the dominant sp…

Experimental test on the use of MS-222 for ostracod anaesthesia: concentration, immersion period and recovery time

2010

Anaesthesia of animals may be useful for different purposes, particularly for veterinary reasons or in experimental research, for manipulation or treatment of immobilized but alive animals. Its use in crustaceans is not uncommon, but it has never been described for Ostracoda. We provide brief and preliminary guidelines on the use of the tricaine mesylate (MS-222) on the widespread freshwater ostracod Eucypris virens and we show that this compound is an effective anaesthetic used as a bath treatment at minimum concentrations of 500 mg L-1. This value is considerably higher than that recommended for other aquatic animals like fish. Recovery time, ranging from 5 to 15 minutes, is mostly determ…

Interpolative mapping of mean precipitation in the Baltic countries by using landscape characteristics

2011

Maps of the long-term mean precipitation involving local landscape variables were generated for the Baltic countries, and the effectiveness of seven modelling methods was compared. The precipitation data were recorded in 245 meteorological stations in 1966–2005, and 51 location-related explanatory variables were used. The similarity-based reasoning in the Constud software system outperformed other methods according to the validation fit, except for spring. The multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) was another effective method on average. The inclusion of landscape variables, compared to reverse distance-weighted interpolation, highlights the effect of uplands, larger water bodies …

Peer review report 1 on âControls on runoff generation along a steep climatic gradient in the Eastern Mediterraneanâ

2017

Impact of climate change on the timing of strawberry phenological processes in the Baltic States

2016

Climate change has been shown to impact aspects of agriculture and phenology. This study aims to quantify changes in the timing of garden strawberry blooms and harvests in the Baltic States using Regional Climate Models (RCMs). First, parameters for a strawberry phenology model based on the growing degree day (GDD) methodology were determined. Growing degree days were calculated using a modified sine wave method that estimates the diurnal temperature cycle from the daily maximum and minimum temperature. Model parameters include the base temperature and the required cumulative GDD sum, estimated from phenological and meteorological observations in Latvia for the years 2010–2013 via iterative…

First record of conulariids from the Tērvete Formation, Upper Devonian of Latvia

2020

Phosphatized remains belonging to conulariids have been found in the Middle Famennian (Upper Devonian) deposits of the TÄrvete Formation of Latvia for the first time. The ornamentation pattern and characteristics of the exoskeleton indicate that the conulariids, represented by two incomplete and flattened specimens, belong to a single species within the genus Paraconularia. Paraconularia sp. from the TÄrvete Formation differs from Conularia latviensis Delle from the JoniÅ¡kis Formation in size and details of the morphology of the periderm; however, most probably, the species C. latviensis also belongs to the genus Paraconularia. Finding well-preserved almost complete conulariids agrees with…