Search results for "limit"
showing 10 items of 2826 documents
Low temperature trumps high food availability to determine the distribution of intertidal mussels Perna perna in South Africa
2016
Explanations of species distributions often assume that the absence of a species is due to its inability to tolerate an environmental variable. Recent modelling techniques based on the dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory offer an effective way of identifying how interacting environmental parameters influence distributions through non-lethal effects on growth and development. The mussel Perna perna is an abundant ecosystem engineer around the coasts of Africa, South America and the Arabian peninsula, with an unexplained 1500 km lacuna in its distribution on the west coast of South Africa. We used a DEB approach to explain its distribution in southern Africa and test the hypothesis that this l…
Long-term modelling of weed control strategies: analysis of threshold-based options for weed species with contrasted competitive abilities
2002
A simple life-cycle-based demography model was adapted for two contrasting weed species (Alopecurus myosuroides and Poa annual. This model included a seed production function that accounted for population self-regulation through weed:weed interactions. The A. myosuroides version of the model was tested with field data. Long-term simulations of population demography were then performed to investigate the relationship between weed control strategies based on density thresholds and both the frequency of herbicide use and the long-term economic profitability. This study confirms that threshold-based weed management strategies are more cost-effective than spraying every year and may allow import…
Limits and targets for a regional sustainability assessment: an interdisciplinary exploration of the threshold concept
2008
Part 5. Regional and local evaluation-18 ; International audience; Some encompassing terminology is required in order to accommodate different conceptual approaches in the three pillars of sustainability. So, this chapter provides a literature review exploring the threshold concept. In environmental research – especially in ecology – thresholds are often associated with limits which have certain system-inherent processes. In social and economic disciplines, if the notion of limit or critical limit is present, the concept of targets is often more appropriate which are linked to political objectives and social acceptability. The concept of threshold is accommodated within the general framewor…
Context-dependent coloration of prey and predator decision making in contrasting light environments
2022
A big question in behavioral ecology is what drives diversity of color signals. One possible explanation is that environmental conditions, such as light environment, may alter visual signaling of prey, which could affect predator decision-making. Here, we tested the context-dependent predator selection on prey coloration. In the first experiment, we tested detectability of artificial visual stimuli to blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) by manipulating stimulus luminance and chromatic context of the background. We expected the presence of the chromatic context to facilitate faster target detection. As expected, blue tits found targets on chromatic yellow background faster than on achromatic gre…
DNA barcoding of marine fishes from Saudi Arabian waters of the Gulf
2019
We used the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (coI) gene DNA to barcode 117 endemic Gulf and cosmopolitan Indo-West Pacific fish species belonging to 54 families and 13 orders. Novel DNA barcodes were provided for 18 fish species (Trachinocephalus sp., Nematalosa sp., Herklotsichthys lossei, Upeneus doriae, Trachurus indicus, Apogonichthyoides taeniatus, Verulux cypselurus, Favonigobius sp., Suezichthus gracilis, Sillago sp., Brachirus orientalis, Pegusa sp., Lepidotrigla bispinosa, Lepidotrigla sp., Grammoplites suppositus, Hippichthys sp., Paramonacanthus sp. and Triacanthus sp.). The species delimitation analysis, conducted with Poisson tree processes- Bayesian PTP (PTP-bPTP) and nucleotide-d…
Plant functional and taxonomic diversity in European grasslands along climatic gradients
2021
Aim European grassland communities are highly diverse, but patterns and drivers of their continental-scale diversity remain elusive. This study analyses taxonomic and functional richness in European grasslands along continental-scale temperature and precipitation gradients. Location Europe. Methods We quantified functional and taxonomic richness of 55,748 vegetation plots. Six plant traits, related to resource acquisition and conservation, were analysed to describe plant community functional composition. Using a null-model approach we derived functional richness effect sizes that indicate higher or lower diversity than expected given the taxonomic richness. We assessed the variation in abso…
Prolonged stigma and flower lifespan in females of the gynodioecious plant Geranium sylvaticum
2017
tIn gynodioecious plants females need a reproductive advantage over hermaphrodites to be maintainedin the same population. Generally, three main proximate causes for a female advantage are considered:inbreeding avoidance, different resource allocation patterns, and differences in ecological interactions.A mechanism potentially causing a female advantage that is rarely discussed is a difference in flo-ral longevity between the genders. Females may have a longer stigma lifespan than hermaphrodites,which can affect pollination. Stigma and flower lifespan are rarely documented in gynodioecious species,although it is a common observation in dioecious species that female plants flower longer than…
Colorimetic biosensing dispositive based on reagentless hybrid biocomposite: Application to hydrogen peroxide determination
2016
Abstract An efficient approach to enhance the performance of colorimetric biosensors has been developed. The biosensor is based on the co-immobilization of the reagent 3,3′,5,5′-teramethylbencidine (TMB) and the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in a PDMS-TEOS-SiO2NPs support. The HRP, in presence of H2O2, catalyzes the oxidation of TMB, producing a blue color. The generated biosensor, doped with the substrate (TMB) and the enzyme (HRP) (entrapped or adsorbed), has been used to determine H2O2 in real samples. Firstly, the immobilization of TMB and HRP in the composite has been studied in order to find the best suitable configuration. The kinetic parameters Vmax (maximum reaction rate) and…
Comprehensive analysis of photoinitiators and primary aromatic amines in food contact materials using liquid chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spec…
2018
Abstract A comprehensive strategy for the analysis of UV-ink photoinitiators and primary aromatic amines (PAAS) in food-packaging materials such as, juice tetrabricks, pouches and bags has been developed using liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-Orbitrap-HRMS). The methodology includes both quantitative target analysis and post-run target screening analysis. The quantitative method was validated after a previous optimisation of the single-stage Orbitrap fragmentation through the Higher-Energy Collisional Dissociation (HCD) Cell. Overall, the quantitative method presented recoveries ranging from 78% to 119%, with a precision (RSD) lower than 20%, f…
SiC Based Latching Current Limiter for High Voltage Space Power Distribution Systems
2018
This study presents a novel Latching Current Limiter topology, based on a N-channel Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET as the main switching element. The design has been carried out using only discrete components, without digital controllers. This design has been validated by simulation and with a prototype. Tests have been performed at 1000V, modifying the limitation times, current-limiting values and eventually checking the proper operation of the system.