Search results for "biodiversity"
showing 10 items of 2393 documents
Dal mare al museo. Il recupero di uno scheletro di stenella striata, Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833)
2022
In 2021, the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein” of the University of Palermo acquired a new specimen, the complete skeleton of Stenella coeruleoalba, a striped dolphin stranded in 2018 in Marinella di Selinunte, Castelvetrano (Sicily, Southern Italy). The project herein described is the result of a collaboration among the Bio-Reconstruction Laboratory of the IAS-CNR of Capo Granitola, the IZS of Palermo, the company Naturaliter and the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein”. In Natural History Museums, cetaceans are an excellent tool to facilitate scientific dissemination aimed at the conservation of marine biodiversity. The work herein described is presented as an example of good practices in reco…
Global diversity and geography of soil fungi
2014
Fungi play integral roles in soil nutrient cycling, but the determinants of fungal diversity and biogeographic patterns of key functional groups remain poorly understood. By using pyrosequencing data from hundreds of globally distributed soil samples, we demonstrated fungal diversity that expands upon the taxonomic and molecular diversity recorded so far. Except for ectomycorrhizal symbionts, fungal functional group richness was unrelated to plant diversity and plant-to-fungus richness ratio declined exponentially towards the poles. Climatic factors, followed by edaphic and spatial variables, constituted the best predictors of fungal richness and community composition at the global scale. F…
Personality predicts social dominance in female zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, in a feeding context.
2011
6 pages; International audience; Although personality has been defined as a suite of correlated behaviours, most studies of animal personality actually consider correlations between a few traits. We examined the repeatability and correlational structure of five potential personality traits (activity, neophobia, exploratory tendencies, risk-taking behaviour and obstinacy), in female zebra finches. In addition, we assessed to what extent personality influenced social dominance in a feeding context in this gregarious species. All personality traits were found to be highly repeatable within individuals. In addition, except for obstinacy, all of them were related to each other, thus defining a b…
Biopiracy in India: Seed diversity and the scramble for knowledge.
2018
Abstract Background: Biopiracy has usually been discussed mostly in the context of the life sciences, sometimes in dialogue with legal debates or political implications. This paper provides a humanities perspective on contemporary discussions of biopiracy and biopatenting. Hypothesis It proceeds from the hypothesis that contemporary debates and practices of biopiracy can be understood as harking back to colonial legacies, which systematically disregard “native” knowledge or seek to appropriate it for their own purposes. Results Drawing on the work of Vandana Shiva, the present article seeks to redefine the notion of ownership of knowledge from a cultural studies perspective. Exploring the 2…
Differential Effects of Antibiotic Therapy on the Structure and Function of Human Gut Microbiota
2013
The human intestinal microbiota performs many essential functions for the host. Antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics (AB), are also known to disturb microbial community equilibrium, thereby having an impact on human physiology. While an increasing number of studies investigate the effects of AB usage on changes in human gut microbiota biodiversity, its functional effects are still poorly understood. We performed a follow-up study to explore the effect of ABs with different modes of action on human gut microbiota composition and function. Four individuals were treated with different antibiotics and samples were taken before, during and after the AB course for all of them. Changes in the…
Global change and human vulnerability to vector-borne diseases
2013
This e-book presents a collection of research and review articles related to the spread, control and basic understanding of vector borne diseases all over the world. It is well known that a multidisciplinary point of view is necessary in order to develop a global vision of this emergent problem. Therefore, in order to promote this holistic approach to the knowledge of vector borne diseases, this e-book contains a total of 19 collaborations of entomologists, epidemiologists, virologists, parasitologists, bacteriologists, zoologists and veterinarians of Europe, Africa, Asia, and America. The title perfectly reflects some of the global factors that are behind the emergence and/or reemergence o…
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…