Search results for "biodiversity."

Antiproliferative Potential of African Medicinal Plants

2013

Increasingly, cancer is recognized as a critical public health problem in Africa. Medicinal plants constitute a good alternative treatment, considering the rich biodiversity of the continent. Scientific evidence of the antiproliferative activity of African medicinal plants is more and more common. The most prominent results reported include the cytotoxic effects of plants of the families Moraceae, Guttiferae, Fabaceae, as well as compounds of the groups of terpenoids and phenolics derived from African plants.

Aerobiology: an ecological indicator for early detection and control of fungal outbreaks in caves

2011

5 pages, 1 table, 13 references.

The energetic cost of humoral immunity in the Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto : is the magnitude sufficient to force energy-based trade-offs?

2005

International audience; 1. Energy saving is often suggested as the basis of a resource trade-off between immunocompetence and other fitness-relevant traits. This suggests that the energetic cost of an immune response is significant and sufficient to force trade-offs. To date, few studies have investigated the energetic cost of the humoral component of the immune system in birds and furthermore, existing results are contradictory. 2. We addressed this question through two experiments. In experiment 1, the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of Collared Doves, Streptopelia decaocto , challenged with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was compared with the BMR of control birds. The energetic cost of immunity…

Land Snail Communities in Limestone Gorges from the Southern Part of the Metaliferi Mountains (Apuseni Mountains, Romania)

2018

Abstract This study focuses on terrestrial gastropod communities in a karst area, where the presence of water and the limestone generates favourable environment for land snails. Three limestone gorges were analysed located in the southeast of the Metaliferi Mountains. Four different habitats in three limestone gorges were analysed – Glodului, Cibului and Mada. A total of 42 species of land snails were identified. The terrestrial gastropod communities in the area are dominated by calciphile species, such as Granaria frumentum, Truncatellina cylindrica and Alopia bielzii madensis. The differences between the analysed habitats are not pronounced enough to be reflected in the structure of the s…

Sectoral policies as drivers of forest management and ecosystems services: A case study in Bavaria, Germany

2023

European countries have national sectoral polices to regulate and promote the provision of a wide range of forest ecosystems services (FES). However, potential incoherencies among these policies can negatively affect the efficient provision of FES. In this work, we evaluated the coherence among three national policies from Germany and their ability to effectively provide FES in the future: the Forest Strategy 2020 (FS), the National Strategy on Biological Diversity (BDS), and the German National Policy Strategy on Bioeconomy (BES). Using forest inventory data from the Federal State of Bavaria, we simulated a range of forest management options under three climate trajectories for 100 years i…

Scientific Opinion addressing the state of the science on risk assessment of plant protection products for in‐soil organisms

2017

Abstract Following a request from EFSA, the Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues developed an opinion on the science behind the risk assessment of plant protection products for in‐soil organisms. The current risk assessment scheme is reviewed, taking into account new regulatory frameworks and scientific developments. Proposals are made for specific protection goals for in‐soil organisms being key drivers for relevant ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes such as nutrient cycling, soil structure, pest control and biodiversity. Considering the time‐scales and biological processes related to the dispersal of the majority of in‐soil organisms compared to terrestrial non…

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in the liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)

2004

PRIMER NOTE; International audience; Six microsatellite markers were isolated from Fasciola hepatica, a re-emerging parasite that causes important veterinary and public health problems. In a sample of 52 liver flukes from a region of hyperendemicity (Bolivian Altiplano), five microsatellite were polymorphic. Our results showed that liver flukes present important genetic variability, suggesting a preferential outcrossing reproduction mode for this hermaphroditic parasite.

Biogeographic patterns of base-rich fen vegetation across Europe

2014

International audience; Questions: What is the distribution of base-rich fen vegetation and the specia- list species along European biogeographic regions? How do the gradients in spe- cies composition correlate to geography and climate at continental scale? What are the implications of such patterns for the classification of these habitats?Location: Fifteen countries of Central, Western and Northern Europe.Methods: We compiled a vegetation plot database of base-rich fens and related communities including vascular plants and bryophytes. The initial data set with 6943 plots was filtered according to the presence of specialists using discriminant analysis. We used DCA to analyse the correlatio…

Developing tools for biodiversity surveys : studies with wood-inhabiting fungi

2010

Aportaciones al conocimiento de los mosquitos (Diptera, Culicidae) de alta montaña presentes en la Península Ibérica

2009

Several larval samplings of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) in different mountainous regions of the peninsular Spain were carried out. A total of 2796 specimens belonging to 18 species were collected, nevertheless the 72.5 % of these finds includes only three of them (Cx. hortensis hortensis, Cx. pipiens and Cs. longiareolata). The adaptation capacity to a varied typology of water bodies together with the marked multivoltinism that characterizes their biotic cycles are postulated as two of the principal reasons that explain their abundances. The altitudinal distribution as well as some information about the bioecology of all the species captured are also exposed.