Search results for "classification"
showing 10 items of 29475 documents
The plasticity of breeding system in arid-adapted Zygophylloideae
2019
Abstract The assurance of reproductive success is an important challenge for arid-adapted plants. Self-compatibility is suggested as a mechanism to compensate for the inadequate breeding opportunities in extreme environments. Zygophylloideae is an arid-adapted subfamily which has successfully radiated in different ranges of arid habitats. In order to study the significance of selfing for the reproductive success of the Zygophylloideae, we calculated pollen ovule ratios (P/O) and conducted bagging experiments for autogamy and xenogamy in eleven representative members of Zygophylloideae and three species of the sister subfamilies Tribuloideae and Larreoideae. Our results revealed an extremely…
Trail-following pheromones in basal termites, with special reference to Mastotermes darwiniensis
2007
0098-0331 (Print) Journal Article; In the framework of an evolutionary study, trail pheromones have been studied in the most basal extant termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), and two other basal termites, the Termopsidae Porotermes adamsoni (Porotermitinae) and Stolotermes victoriensis (Stolotermitinae). Although workers of M. darwiniensis do not walk in single file while exploring a new environment under experimental conditions and are unable to follow artificial trails in 'open field' experiments, they do secrete a trail-following pheromone from their sternal glands. This unique behavior might reflect a primitive function of communication of the sternal gland. The major co…
Fauna Europaea: Coleoptera 2 (excl. series Elateriformia, Scarabaeiformia, Staphyliniformia and superfamily Curculionoidea)
2015
Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including synonyms) of all living European land and freshwater animals, their geographical distribution at country level (up to the Urals, excluding the Caucasus region), and some additional information. The Fauna Europaea project covers about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. This represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many users in science, government, industry, nature conservation an…
Evidence of a highly complex phylogeographic structure on a specialist river bird species, the dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
2008
This study details the phylogeographic pattern of the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), a Palearctic, temperate, passerine bird that is exclusively associated with flowing water. Our results reveal a complex phylogeographic structure with at least five distinct lineages for the Western Palearctic region. As for many species of the Western Palearctic fauna and flora, this genetic structure is probably linked to the isolation of populations in different southern refuges during glacial periods. Furthermore, the isolation of populations in Scandinavia and/or Eastern regions, but also in Morocco and probably in Corsica, was accentuated by ecological and biogeographic barriers during Quate…
Assessing larval food quality for phytophagous insects: are the facts as simple as they appear?
2006
9 pages; International audience; We argue here that host plant quality affects many life-history traits of herbivorous insects and these traits often interact. Studies that look only at a limited number of traits often fail to determine the overall effect of plant quality on larval performance and adult fitness. Parameters such as mating success and adult longevity are frequently neglected even though they are affected by larval feeding and are crucial to overall fitness. To illustrate this, we examined a whole suite of life-history traits of the moth Lobesia botrana after rearing larvae of this grape pest on three different grape cultivars. Development time, mating success, fecundity, egg …
Fertigation Management and Growth-Promoting Treatments Affect Tomato Transplant Production and Plant Growth after Transplant
2020
Plant biostimulants are of interest as they can stimulate plant growth and increase resource utilization. There is still no information on the use of plant growth-promoters under variable nutritional conditions in the nursery and the effects on tomato seedling growth and plant performance after transplant. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of gibberellic acid (GA3) or bacterial biostimulant treatments to enhance the growth and quality of greenhouse-grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicum &lsquo
Effect of Bacterial Inoculum and Fertigation Management on Nursery and Field Production of Lettuce Plants
2020
Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria have been applied to different vegetable crops but there is still no information on the effect of bacterial biostimulant application under variable nutritional level on lettuce seedlings and their performance after transplanting in the field. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a bacterial biostimulant to enhance growth and quality of lettuce seedlings fertigated with increasing nutrient rates and to assess the efficacy of these treatments on lettuce head production. Lettuce seedlings were inoculated with 1.5 g L&minus
The past and the present in decision-making: the use of conspecific and heterospecific cues in nest site selection
2014
International audience; Nest site selection significantly affects fitness, so adaptations for assessment of the qualities of available sites are expected. The assessment may be based on personal or social information, the latter referring to the observed location and performance of both conspecific and heterospecific individuals. Contrary to large-scale breeding habitat selection, small-scale nest site selection within habitat patches is insufficiently understood. We analyzed nest site selection in the migratory Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis in relation to present and past cues provided by conspecifics and by resident tits within habitat patches by using long-term data. Collared F…
Evaluation of some growth regulator effects on encapsulated in vitro-derived microcuttings of three Italian Ficus carica L. genotypes.
2017
In this study, the encapsulation technology based on the calcium alginate coating was applied to some Ficus carica L. genotypes. Uninodal microcuttings (3-4 mm long), excised from in vitro proliferating shoots of three Italian cultivars (‘Bifera’, ‘Palazzo’ and ‘Catalanisca’), were employed. The influence of three different plant growth regulators (PGRs): 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), meta-topolin (MT) and zeatine (ZEA), added to the artificial endosperm, were evaluated. Particularly, the viability, regrowth and conversion parameters of the synthetic seeds were registered after 60 days from the sowing on a hormone-free medium. Results showed that the cultivars ‘Catalanisca’ and ‘Palazzo’ showe…
Temperature differences associated with colour do not determine where the acorn ant Temnothorax crassispinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) chooses to nest
2021
Temperature is an important factor for invertebrates. Social insects build nests, which along with their ability to thermoregulate, provide shelter from extreme temperatures. However, for many species of ants the most common method of controlling the temperature inside a nest is to choose a suitable nest site. During a fi eld experiment, the choice of nest site by the acorn ant Temnothorax crassispinus, a species which lives in coniferous and mixed forests, was studied. It typically occupies ephemeral nest sites and can move to a new nest site several times in one season. It was predicted that in early spring, dark coloured nest sites would be warmer and thus more frequently occupied by ant…