Search results for "Traits"
showing 10 items of 548 documents
Elevated oxidative stress in pied flycatcher nestlings of eumelanic foster fathers under low rearing temperatures
2019
Striking variation in melanin coloration within natural populations is likely due to the different fitness outcomes of alternative phenotypes in varying environmental conditions. There are two types of melanin: eumelanins yield blackish hues, whereas pheomelanins yield reddish hues. The production of eumelanins requires low levels of glutathione (GSH), which is the most important intracellular antioxidant, whereas the production of pheomelanins requires high levels of GSH. We investigated the oxidative status of male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) with different degrees of melanin coloration under different temperatures during the nestling period. Moreover, we assessed the oxidative …
Fishery-induced selection for slow somatic growth in European eel
2012
International audience; Both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that fishing mortality can induce adaptive responses in body growth rates of fishes in the opposite direction of natural selection. We compared body growth rates in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from three Mediterranean stocks subject to different fishing pressure. Results are consistent with the hypotheses that i) fast-growing individuals are more likely to survive until sexual maturity than slow-growing ones under natural conditions (no fishing) and ii) fishing can select for slow-growing individuals by removing fast-growing ones. Although the possibility of human-induced evolution seems remote for a panmictic…
Moving Toward a Strategy for Addressing Climate Displacement of Marine Resources: A Proof-of-Concept
2020
Realistic predictions of climate change effects on natural resources are central to adaptation policies that try to reduce these impacts. However, most current forecasting approaches do not incorporate species-specific, process-based biological information, which limits their ability to inform actionable strategies. Mechanistic approaches, incorporating quantitative information on functional traits, can potentially predict species- and population-specific responses that result from the cumulative impacts of small-scale processes acting at the organismal level, and can be used to infer population-level dynamics and inform natural resources management. Here we present a proof-of-concept study…
Nicodemia madagascariensis(Lam.) R. Parker (Family Scrophulariaceae), a casual alien plant new to Italy
2016
In this note the authors report the first case of naturalization of the Malagasy smoke bush within Italian territory. Along with a description of the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the invaded site, the current demographic and dynamic trends of the detected population by means of growth-ring analysis was also assessed. Moreover, an overview on the history of its introduction in Europe is provided, underlining the key role played by the Mediterranean cities with respect to the acclimatization and spread of alien tropical and subtropical plants. Due to its low frequency under cultivation, the Malagasy smoke bush should not behave as an invader in the future; on the other hand, its abil…
Environmental filtering and spatial effects on metacommunity organisation differ among littoral macroinvertebrate groups deconstructed by biological …
2018
We examined spatial and environmental effects on the deconstructed assemblages of littoral macroinvertebrates within a large lake. We deconstructed assemblages by three biological trait groups: body size, dispersal mode and oviposition behaviour. We expected that spatial effects on assemblage structuring decrease and environmental effects increase with increasing body size. We also expected stronger environmental filtering and weaker spatial effect on the assemblages of flying species compared with assemblages of non-flying species. Stronger effect of environmental filtering was expected on the assemblages with species attaching eggs compared with assemblages of species with free eggs. We u…
Handbook of protocols for standardized measurement of terrestrial invertebrate functional traits
2017
Trait-based approaches are increasingly being used to test mechanisms underlying species assemblages and biotic interactions across a wide range of organisms including terrestrial arthropods and to investigate consequences for ecosystem processes. Such an approach relies on the standardized measurement of functional traits that can be applied across taxa and regions. Currently, however, unified methods of trait measurements are lacking for terrestrial arthropods and related macroinvertebrates (terrestrial invertebrates hereafter). Here, we present a comprehensive review and detailed protocol for a set of 29 traits known to be sensitive to global stressors and to affect ecosystem processes a…
Plant species identities and fertilization influence on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonisation and soil bacterial activities
2016
International audience; Plant species influence soil microbial communities, mainly through their functional traits. However, mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood, and in particular how plant/ microorganism interactions are affected by plant identities and/or environmental conditions. Here, we performed a greenhouse experiment to assess the effects of three plant species on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization, bacterial potential nitrification (PNA) and denitrification activities (PDA) through their functional traits related to nitrogen acquisition and turnover. Three species with contrasting functional traits and strategies (from exploitative to conservat…
Ecological niche features override biological traits and taxonomic relatedness as predictors of occupancy and abundance in lake littoral macroinverte…
2018
The degree to which species ecological and biological traits determine their distribution and abundance has intrigued ecologists for a long time, and it has seen a revival in recent years. This topic is important because it provides information about the determinants of species rarity and their conservation implications. We examined the effects of niche breadth, niche position, biological traits and taxonomic relatedness on the interspecific occupancy–abundance relationship, as well as on occupancy and abundance, in lake littoral macroinvertebrates. We sampled 48 lakes in a boreal lake district, found altogether 155 species, and calculated regional occupancy (as the proportion of sites occu…
Poplar Biochar as an Alternative Substrate for Curly Endive Cultivated in a Soilless System
2020
Imminent necessity for eco-friendly and low-cost substitutes to peat is a defiance in the soilless plant cultivation systems. Wood biochar could entirely or partly substitute peat as a plant growing constituent to produce vegetables. Nevertheless, knowledge concerning potential plant performance of leafy green vegetables grown on wood biochar is restricted. The present study assessed the main physicochemical traits of various growing media constituted by decreasing the content of peat and by increasing the percentages of poplar wood biochar. Yield, nutritional and functional properties of curly endive plants cultivated in a protected environment were also tested. Biochar was pyrolyzed from …
Larval personality does not predict adult personality in a holometabolous insect.
2017
10 pages; International audience; Although personality (consistent inter-individual differences in behavioural traits across time and/or contexts) and behavioural syndromes (suites of correlated personality traits) have been widely studied in the last decades, the origin and development of these traits during ontogeny are still underexplored. In this context, species undergoing metamorphosis are of special interest. To date, however, the persistence of personality traits has been only little investigated in organisms undergoing complete metamorphosis such as in holometabolous insects, although this kind of studies may provide important insights from a functional point of view. Here, we test…