Search results for "Systematics"
showing 10 items of 6702 documents
Induction of DNA damage and expression of heat shock protein HSP70 by polychlorinated biphenyls in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula Olivi
1999
The effects of different polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) including toxic coplanar non-ortho (PCB77) and non-planar mono-ortho (PCB118) and di-ortho (PCB153) congeners on the extent of DNA damage as well as on the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were investigated in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula Olivi (Porifera; Demospongiae). A time-dependent increase in the number of DNA single-strand breaks, expressed as strand scission factor (SSF), was found after injection of a single dose of 25 mu g of PCB 118 or PCB 153 per gram wet mass of S. domuncula, using Fast Micromethod assay, which is based on the unwinding of DNA under alkaline conditions. The number of strand breaks ind…
Dianthus borbonicus (Caryophyllaceae), a new species from Sicily
2015
Dianthus borbonicus a new species occurring in North-Western Sicily is described and illustrated. It is a rare chasmophyte belonging to the D. sylvestris group, which is exclusive of a rupestrian stand near Rocca Busambra (Ficuzza). Its macro- and micromorphological features (seed testa sculptures, and leaf anatomy), ecology, conservation status and a comparison with the related species are provided too.
Can female preference explain sexual dichromatism in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca?
1990
How important female choice is for the evolution of male secondary sexual characteristics is controversial. Two field and one laboratory experiment, using the pied flycatcher, were performed to test the female choice aspect of sexual selection. In addition, non-manipulative data from 5 years are presented. The observational data suggest a slight preference for dark males by females but in field experiments in which males had territories at random sites (i.e. they did not choose a territory) or the colour of concurrently arriving males was altered, there was no preference for darker ones. Similarly, oestradiol-treated females did not prefer black or brown males in the laboratory. Thus, there…
Insecticidal Activity of Strains of Bacillus thuringiensis on Larvae and Adults of Bactrocera oleae Gmelin (Dipt. Tephritidae)
1999
The olive fly, Bactrocera oleae, is the key pest on olives in the Mediterranean area. The pest can destroy, in some cases, up to 70% of the olive production. Its control relies mainly on chemical treatments, sometimes applied by aircraft over vast areas, with their subsequent ecological and toxicological side effects. Bacillus thuringiensis is a spore-forming soil bacterium which produces a protein crystal toxic to some insects, including the orders of Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera and other invertebrates. The aim of this study was to search for isolates toxic to B. oleae. Several hundred B. thuringiensis isolates were obtained from olive groves and olive presses in different areas o…
AN ANALYSIS OF CONTINENT-WIDE PATTERNS OF SEXUAL SELECTION IN A PASSERINE BIRD
2006
Patterns of selection are widely believed to differ geographically, causing adaptation to local environmental conditions. However, few studies have investigated patterns of phenotypic selection across large spatial scales. We quantified the intensity of selection on morphology in a monogamous passerine bird, the barn swallow Hirundo rustica, using 6495 adults from 22 populations distributed across Europe and North Africa. According to the classical Darwin-Fisher mechanism of sexual selection in monogamous species, two important components of fitness due to sexual selection are the advantages that the most attractive males acquire by starting to breed early and their high annual fecundity. W…
Seasonal pattern of mannitol and malate accumulation in leaves of two manna ash species (Fraxinus ornusL. andF. angustifoliaVahl) growing in Sicily
2002
ABSTRACT The content of mannitol and malate was assayed enzimatically during spring, summer and autumn, in leaves of two species of ash, Fraxinus ornus L. and Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl, traditionally cultivated in Sicily for the extraction of manna. Both species contain high levels of mannitol and show, on a dry weight basis, a 65–80% increase in the summer content of this polyol. The malate content differs in the two species: in F. ornus it shows a summer increase, but it is relatively low (65–115 µmol g-1 DW), while in F. angustifolia it is higher (275–318 µmol g-1 DW), but remains more or less constant throughout the year. The results suggest that in these species, under the local field…
Helminth Communities in Audouin's Gulls, Larus audouinii from Chafarinas Islands (Western Mediterranean)
1999
A survey of intestinal helminth communities of Audouin's s gulls Larus audouinii, from their breeding colonies in Chafarinas Islands, western Mediterranean, Spain was conducted to determine the abundance and species diversity of intestinal parasites of these birds. The sample of 58 gulls harbored intestinal helminth infracommunities composed of species that are gull generalists, including the digeneans Cardiocephalus longicollis, Knipowitschiatrema nicolai, Condylocotyla pilodora, and Aporchis massiliensis, and the cestode Tetrabothrius cylindraceus. Two nematodes are waterfowl generalists (Cosmocephalus obvelatus and Paracuaria adunca), whereas the digenean Acanthotrema armata is an Audoui…
Impact of human disturbance and beliefs on the tree agama Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis in a South African communal settlement
2009
We investigated the effects of human disturbance and attitudes on the density of the tree agama Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis in a densely populated rural settlement in South Africa. In this environment agamas live on trees that are harvested for firewood or maintained for fruit production. We conducted visual encounter surveys of A. a. atricollis and interviewed local households to establish whether human attitudes and actions could affect tree agama populations. Although local residents viewed tree agamas negatively (50% of interviewees claimed to have killed an agama) and acted to exclude them from their environment, tree agama density in villages was higher than that of adjacent c…
The phylogeny of the European high mountain genus Adenostyles (Asteraceae-Senecioneae) reveals that edaphic shifts coincide with dispersal events.
2013
UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Heterogeneity of edaphic conditions plays a large role in driving the diversification of many plant groups. In the Alps and other European high mountains, many closely related calcicole and calcifuge plant taxa exist. To better understand patterns and processes of edaphic differentiation, the phylogeny of the edaphically variable genus Adenostyles was studied. The genus contains three species, of which A. alpina has five subspecies. Each species and subspecies is largely confined to either calcareous or noncalcareous substrates. • METHODS We analyzed the phylogeny of Adenostyles using DNA sequences of nrITS, nrETS, nuclear chalcone synthase, and three plastid…
GASTROINTESTINAL HELMINTHS OF THE DUSKY DOLPHIN, LAGENORHYNCHUS OBSCURUS (GRAY, 1828), OFF PATAGONIA, IN THE SOUTHWESTERN ATLANTIC
1999
The stomachs and intestines of 23 dusky dolphins incidentally caught in a trawl fishery off Patagonia were surveyed for helminths. All the dolphins were parasitized, with a total of 3,936 helminth individuals. Only five species occurred, of which three were common (prevalence ± 10%): Anisakis simplex, Braunina cordiformis and Hadwenius sp. A. simplex was present in all the dolphins and showed the highest abundance and mean intensity (104.9 individuals/infected host). B. cordiformis was next most common (87%), and Hadwenius sp. third (52.2%). A. simplex was found mostly in the stomach (94.8%), B. cordiformis in the duodenal ampulla (51.4%), and Hadwenius sp. in the stomach (64.5%). The rare …