Search results for "cc"

Resource availability and goshawk offspring sex ratio variation: a large-scale ecological phenomenon

2002

Summary 1. Local population studies have shown that sex allocation among many birds and mammals seems to be partly non-random and in connection to surrounding factors, such as environmental or parental quality. In this scenario, if environmental quality varies in space and time, it is feasible that environmental quality also comes to influence offspring sex ratio on larger geographical scales. 2. Investigating this idea - using nation-wide data sets on size-dimorphic Finnish northern goshawks Accipiter gentilis from 1989 to 1998 - we found that offspring sex ratio is related to spatial and temporal variation in availability of their main prey, woodland grouse species. 3. In a majority of lo…

Composition, sun protective and antimicrobial activity of lipophilic bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) ext…

2021

Abstract Berries of the genus Vaccinium found in bogs and forest of Northern Europe are a valuable source of biologically active substances containing sterols, unsaturated fatty acids, flavanoids, anthocyanins. The presence of these compounds provides various health benefits of berry use – treatment of urinary tract inflammation, controls levels of sugar in the blood, improves cardiovascular health and reduces negative effects of oxidative stress caused by free radicals. The studied bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) lipids were fractionated using normal-phase chromatography and they were found to contain fatty acids (oleic, linoleic acid), sterols …

Anhydrobiosis in yeasts: Psychrotolerant yeasts are highly resistant to dehydration.

2018

Yeast cells are able to transition into a state of anhydrobiosis (temporary reversible suspension of metabolism) under conditions of desiccation. One of the most efficient approaches for understanding the mechanisms underlying resistance to dehydration-rehydration is to identify yeasts, which are stable under such treatments, and compare them with moderately resistant species and strains. In the current study, we investigated the resistance to dehydration-rehydration of six psychrotolerant yeast strains belonging to two species. All studied strains of Solicoccozyma terricola and Naganishia albida were found to be highly resistant to dehydration-rehydration. The viability of S. terricola str…

Sex ratio at mating does not modulate age fitness effects in Drosophila melanogaster

2019

Abstract Understanding the effects of male and female age on reproductive success is vital to explain the evolution of life history traits and sex‐specific aging. A general prediction is that pre‐/postmeiotic aging processes will lead to a decline in the pre‐ and postcopulatory abilities of both males and females. However, in as much the sexes have different strategies to optimize their fitness, the decline of reproductive success late in life can be modulated by social context, such as sex ratio, in a sex‐specific manner. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate whether sex ratio at mating modulates age effects on male and female reproductive success. As expected, male…

2018

The shell matrix of the pulmonate land snail Helix aspersa maxima.

2012

12 pages; International audience; In mollusks, the shell mineralization process is controlled by an array of proteins, glycoproteins and polysaccharides that collectively constitute the shell matrix. In spite of numerous researches, the shell protein content of a limited number of model species has been investigated. This paper presents biochemical data on the common edible land snail Helix aspersa maxima, a model organism for ecotoxicological purposes, which has however been poorly investigated from a biomineralization viewpoint. The shell matrix of this species was extracted and analyzed biochemically for functional in vitro inhibition assay, for amino acid and monosaccharides composition…

The alien vascular flora of Linosa (Pelagie Islands, Strait of Sicily): update and management proposals

2017

This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the naturalized alien plants of Linosa (Pelagie Archipelago, Sicily), which includes 83 taxa and accounts for 29 % of the total island's flora. Among these plants, 6 are invasive, 49 are naturalized and 28 are casual. With respect to previous available data, our field investigations resulted in the addition of 31 new xenophytes (21 casual and 10 fully naturalized). One of these species is new to the whole European territory (Kleinia anteuphorbia), 6 of them are new to Sicily and 11 are recorded for the first time on circum-Sicilian islets. For each alien plant, we indicate the habitat where the naturalization has been observed by using the codes…

The value of by-catch data: how species-specific surveys can serve non-target species

2019

Camera trapping has a wide range of research application, but, while research designs are often focused on the study of a single focal species, cameras can also record other non-target species. Occupancy modeling using by-catch data can be a valuable resource to gain information on these species maximizing the scientific effort and efficiency of wildlife surveys. In this study, we used by-catch data from a European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) survey in Southern Italy to assess the habitat covariates determinant for the occupancy of the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata). We recorded 33 detections at 17 out of 51 cameras (naive occupancy = 0.33). The best models fitted the data w…

The roles of whole-genome and small-scale duplications in the functional specialization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes

2013

Researchers have long been enthralled with the idea that gene duplication can generate novel functions, crediting this process with great evolutionary importance. Empirical data shows that whole-genome duplications (WGDs) are more likely to be retained than small-scale duplications (SSDs), though their relative contribution to the functional fate of duplicates remains unexplored. Using the map of genetic interactions and the re-sequencing of 27 Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomes evolving for 2,200 generations we show that SSD-duplicates lead to neo-functionalization while WGD-duplicates partition ancestral functions. This conclusion is supported by: (a) SSD-duplicates establish more genetic i…

Vibration Monitoring of the Mechanical Harvesting of Citrus to Improve Fruit Detachment Efficiency

2019

The introduction of a mechanical harvesting process for oranges can contribute to enhancing farm profitability and reducing labour dependency. The objective of this work is to determine the spread of the vibration in citrus tree canopies to establish recommendations to reach high values of fruit detachment efficiency and eliminate the need for subsequent hand-harvesting processes. Field tests were carried out with a lateral tractor-drawn canopy shaker on four commercial plots of sweet oranges. Canopy vibration during the harvesting process was measured with a set of triaxial accelerometer sensors with a datalogger placed on 90 bearing branches. Monitoring of the vibration process, fruit pro…