Search results for "evolution"
showing 10 items of 11096 documents
Electrofishing as a new method to search for unknown populations of the endangered freshwater pearl musselMargaritifera margaritifera
2016
1. The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera is threatened throughout its Holarctic range, but the occurrence of this species is insufficiently mapped. For the conservation of M. margaritifera, it is important to identify populations more comprehensively. 2. Traditionally mussels have been searched for visually using techniques such as diving and aquascope, both of which are potentially time-consuming and demanding survey methods. 3. In this study, a new search method is presented. As glochidia of M. margaritifera are larval parasites on the gills of salmonid fish, electrofishing and non-destructive examination of salmonids with the naked eye may reveal the presence of glochid…
Harvest Pressure on Coastal Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) from Recreational Fishing Relative to Commercial Fishing Assessed from Tag-Recovery Data
2016
- Marine recreational fishing is a popular outdoor activity. However, knowledge about the magnitude of recreational catches relative to commercial catches in coastal fisheries is generally sparse. Coastal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a target species for recreational fishers in the North Atlantic. In Norway, recreational fishers are allowed to use a variety of traps and nets as well as long-line and rod and line when fishing for cod. From 2005 to 2013, 9729 cod (mean size: 40 cm, range: 15–93 cm) were tagged and released in coastal Skagerrak, southeast Norway. Both high-reward (NOK 500) and low-reward tags (NOK 50) were used in this study. Because some harvested fish (even those posting h…
Linking species interactions with phylogenetic and functional distance in European bird assemblages at broad spatial scales
2017
Aim Understanding the relative contribution of different species interactions in shaping community assembly has been a pivotal aim in community ecology. Biotic interactions are acknowledged to be important at local scales, although their signal is assumed to weaken over longer distances. We examine the relationship between positive, neutral and negative pairwise bird abundance distributions and the phylogenetic and functional distance between these pairs after first controlling for habitat associations. Location France and Finland. Time period 1984 to 2011 (Finland), 2001 to 2012 (France). Major Taxa studied Birds. Methods We used results from French and Finnish land bird monitoring program…
A global perspective on the climate‐driven growth synchrony of neighbouring trees
2020
2 .pdf files: File 1. Author's article final version, Post-Print (19 Pags.- 4 Figs.- 2 Tabls.). File 2. Supplementary Materials (3 Figs.- 2 Tabls.- 1 Model Equation).
Citizen science: a successful tool for monitoring invasive alien species (IAS) in Marine Protected Areas. The case study of the Egadi Islands MPA (Ty…
2018
The chief purpose of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is biodiversity conservation. The effects that invasive alien species (IAS) have on MPAs, and vice versa, are not yet fully known, even though assessing them is crucial for MPA planning. Management plans require sound knowledge of the pathways of introduction, the impact and current distribution of IAS. Monitoring plans are essential for preventing and reducing the risk of IAS introduction. In this respect, the involvement of citizen scientists in gathering data (validated by taxonomic experts) on the occurrence of IAS, that would otherwise be impossible to collect, may be crucial. We report on our experience of citizen science in the Egadi …
Influence of Two N-Fixing Legumes on Plant Community Properties and Soil Nutrient Levels in an Alpine Ecosystem
2013
Abstract Low nitrogen (N) supply is a limiting factor for plant growth in most terrestrial ecosystems. N-fixing legumes therefore have the potential to facilitate surrounding vegetation by increasing soil N levels. This effect should be especially pronounced in low-productivity habitats where ambient soil N levels are low, such as in alpine areas. We examined whether plant species composition, community diversity measures, and soil N levels differed with and without the presence of two alpine legumes, Oxytropis lapponica (Wahlenb.) Gay and Astragalus alpinus L., in a Dryas octopetala heath at Finse, Norway. Species composition and richness differed between plots with and without Oxytropis i…
Species richness and food web structure of soil decomposer community as affected by the size of habitat fragment and habitat corridors
2005
While most ecologists agree that the effects of fragmentation on diversity of organisms are predominantly negative and that the scale of fragmentation defines their severity, the role of habitat corridors in mitigating those effects still remains controversial. This ambiguousness rests largely on various difficulties in experimentation, a problem partially solved in the present paper by the use of easily manipulated soil communities. In this 2.5-year-long field experiment, we investigated the responses of soil decomposer organisms (from microbes to mesofaunal predators) to habitat fragment size, in the presence or absence of habitat corridors connecting the fragments. The habitat fragments …
Seasonal differences in drivers of species richness of waders in inland wetlands of La Mancha Húmeda Biosphere Reserve
2018
This study forms part of the doctoral thesis of M. S. S. G., supported by a grant from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior, Brazil. This study was jointly supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain (MINECO) and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) ‘One way to make Europe’, through the projects: ‘CLIMAWET’ – Climate change mitigation and adaptation in the main types of Iberian Mediterranean wetlands: carbon budget and response models of species and habitats (CGL2015‐69557‐R); and ‘ECOLAKE’ – Ecological patterns in endorheic lakes: keys to their conservation (CGL2012‐38909).
Ionizing radiation from Chernobyl affects development of wild carrot plants.
2016
AbstractRadioactivity released from disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima is a global hazard and a threat to exposed biota. To minimize the deleterious effects of stressors organisms adopt various strategies. Plants, for example, may delay germination or stay dormant during stressful periods. However, an intense stress may halt germination or heavily affect various developmental stages and select for life history changes. Here, we test for the consequence of exposure to ionizing radiation on plant development. We conducted a common garden experiment in an uncontaminated greenhouse using 660 seeds originating from 33 wild carrots (Daucus carota) collected near the Chernobyl nuclear power pl…
The effect of the quality of diet on the functional response of Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819): Implications for integrated multitrophic a…
2017
Abstract The integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (i.e., IMTA) is a practice combining organisms with different trophic levels with the final purpose of transforming the continuous waste of food by targeting species into nutrient input for other non-target species. This practice very often involves filter feeders, such as bivalves, by the use of which bioenergetics budgets are strongly influenced by the quality and quantity of different foods. However, to date, scant information is available, to really understand the rebounds of food availability on the growth performances of these harvested biomasses in the natural environment. By choosing the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis as a model, t…