Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inviting trouble: Introduced pasture species in northern Australia

Abstract I surveyed the history of exotic pasture introductions in northern Australia to compare the rate of introduction of useful species with that of weeds. Between 1947 and 1985, 463 exotic grasses and legumes in at least 2033 accessions were intentionally introduced into the region, the grasses predominantly from Africa, and the legumes from Central and South America. Of these, only 21 (5%) came to be recommended as useful, while 60 (13%) became listed as weeds. Seventeen of the useful plants were in fact also weeds, leaving only 4 species (<1%) that were useful without causing weed problems. They were far outnumbered by the 43 species (9%) that were weeds but had no recorded use. Of the 60 weeds, 21 were weeds of cropping, 20 were weeds of conservation and 19 were weeds of both sectors. Thirteen were listed as major crop weeds. Growth rate, maximum height, seed size, and continent of origin were unrelated to weediness. Good predictors of weediness were whether a plant was useful, a good performer in trials, or persisted at a field site. In addition, grasses were more likely, and legumes less likely, to be weedy than expected. It is argued that a new form of assessment is required before an exotic plant species is released into the Australian environment as a pasture plant. This would recognize that a successful introduction is almost certain to become a weed in some situations, and would attempt to assess the net national benefit of the proposed introduction.
Linking climate change and species invasion: an illustration using insect herbivores

Climate change and invasive species are two of the most important ecological issues facing the world today. Yet, to date these two factors have largely been viewed independently. In order to prevent large‐scale economic and environmental damage and as a first step towards predicting and preventing invasions, it is important to understand the factors affecting invasions. Here, we focus on insect herbivores and link the climate change and invasive research fields. We illustrate using existing published research that life history traits can be useful indicators of future invasive potential. However, climate change will also affect propagule pressure and the communities into which invaders will arrive. With the aid of a meta‐analysis we show that climate‐induced community changes are likely to increase niche‐availability in the future, further exacerbating the problem of invasive species. It is timely and important that further research linking these two important ecological threats is undertaken.
Environmental Conditions and Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Production under Similar Pond Management Regimes in Alabama and Mississippi

This study was conducted to compare water quality and channel catfish production in earthen ponds located in two dissimilar physiographic regions of the southeastern United States and supplied with water of disparate quality. Ponds at Auburn, Alabama are on acidic Piedmont soils and filled with poorly mineralized runoff water; ponds at Stoneville, Mississippi are on slightly alkaline alluvial clays and filled with groundwater of high total alkalinity and hardness. Channel catfish were stocked at 8,750 fish/ha, fed daily, and provided nightly aeration in 0.04-ha ponds at both sites. Ponds were managed as similarly as possible. Minimum daily water temperatures and pH were higher at Stoneville than at Auburn, and there were greater concentrations of suspended clay turbidity, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, total ammonia-nitrogen, and nitrite-nitrogen at Auburn than at Stoneville. The taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community was broadly different between the two sites. Taste tests revealed off-flavor in fish at both sites, but there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in flavor scores between sites. The quality of flavor was somewhat different between sites, and these differences in quality were thought to result from observed differences in the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton communities. All differences in water quality seemed to be directly or indirectly related to the dissimilarity in the quality of the water supply and soils at the two locations. Although some water quality variables differed between sites and changed over time at both sites, environmental conditions never deteriorated enough at either site to cause serious stress or mortality in fish. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in average net fish production, survival, weight of individual fish at harvest, or feed conversion ratios. Average net fish production and feed conversion ratios, respectively, were 4,905 kg/ha and 1.27 at Auburn and 5,286 kg/ha and 1.27 at Stoneville. The results of this study demonstrate the need for site-specific investigations when conducting certain types of aquaculture research.
Analysis of codon usage in peste des petits ruminant's virus

In this study, it is indicated that the bias of synonymous codon usage of Peste des Petits Ruminants virus (PPRV) gene is lower without intra-specific performance through analysis on PPRV gene synonymous codon usage. The virus has interspecies codon usage specific performance in Morbillivirus. PPRV synonymous codon usage pattern is mainly caused by genetic base, the changes of codon usage bias are mainly caused by pressure of gene mutations. Meanwhile, the gene function also determines PPRV codon usage to some extent. However, the gene length and translation stress have no influence on codon usage patterns in genes of the virus. The codon usage bias pattern of PPRV that we analyzed plays an important role for understanding the evolution process of the virus, in particular to understanding the role of mutation and selection in this process.
Effect of Fimbristylis miliacea Competition with MR220 Rice in Relation to Different Nitrogen Levels and Weed Density

The study was conducted to investigate the severity of competition between rice and Fimbristylis miliacea with application of different levels of nitrogen and different density of F. miliacea. Sixty 25 cm diameter by 30 cm deep clay pots were filled with 6 kg of Bakau series with clay texture ricifields soil. Treatments consisted of a factorial combination of three nitrogen (N) levels and five weed densities and laid out in a RCBD with four replications. The interaction between weed density and nitrogen fertilization had a pronounced influence on rice yield contributing characters and rice yield. At low weed densities (500 plants m -2 ), rice yields increased with higher N fertilization. On the other hand, at the higher weed density (1000 plants m -2 ), increasing N fertilization to 170 kg ha -1 had no significant effect on yield. However, rice yield at this level of N fertilization with the lowest weed density of 250 plants m -2 , was similar to the weed-free treatment. With an efficient weed control program it is possible to increase the fertilizer use efficiency of the crop. When less fertilizer is applied, the productivity per unit of applied fertilizer can be maximized by good weeding practice.
Regulation by Cytokinins of Endogenous Levels of Jasmonic and Salicylic Acids in Mechanically Wounded Tobacco Plants

Plants respond differentially to wounding and pathogens using distinct signaling pathways, so that wound signals are transmitted to jasmonic acid (JA) which induces basic pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, whereas pathogenic signals cause, in addition to JA, accumulation of salicylic acid (SA) which stimulates production of acidic PR proteins. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing a gene for a small GTP binding protein respond abnormally to mechanical wounding to produce SA and consequently acidic PR proteins, suggesting that wound signals cross witli pathogen signaling pathways [Sano et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 10556]. This unusual signal crossing is associated with a highly sensitive wound-response of transgenic plants which, upon wounding, produce JA at least eighteen hours earlier than wild-type plants. When wildtype plants are wounded in the presence of the synthetic cytokinin, benzylaminopurine, production of JA begins six hours earlier than in untreated samples, and also SA begins to accumulate. The cytokinin antagonist, 2-chloro-4-cyclohexylamino-6-ethylamino-s-triazine, erases these effects. Because transgenic plants constitutively produce four- to six-fold higher amounts of endogenous cytokinins than wild-type plants, it is concluded that cytokinins are indispensable for control of endogenous levels of SA and JA.
Assessing the utility of ALOS PALSAR and SPOT 4 to predict timber volumes in even-aged Eucalyptus plantations located in Zululand, South Africa

In commercial forestry, regular terrestrial enumerations of the growing stock are required for the valuation, sustain-able management and planning of current and future timber supplies. In this study we examined whether the combination of synthetic aperture radar (ALOS PALSAR) and optical satellite (SPOT 4) image data can accurately predict the timber volume of even-aged Eucalyptus plantations located in South Africa. Results from this study show that the combination of ALOS PALSAR and SPOT 4 produces a R 2 value of 0.68 for the planted model, whereas the coppiced model produced a R 2 value of 0.55. However, by including stand age as an independent variable in the stepwise model, there was a 15% improvement for the planted model, whereas the coppiced model produced a 27% improvement. The final model developed in this study produced a R 2 value of 0.83 and a RMSE of 31.71 m3 ha−1 for planted stands, whereas the model for coppiced stands produced a R 2 value of 0.82 and a RMSE of 27.70 m3 ha−1. As it is not practical or financially feasible for commercial forestry companies to carry out terrestrial enumerations for all plantations on an annual basis, the model developed in this study presents an alternative and accurate method to calculate timber volume for even-aged Eucalyptus plantations.
Feeding behaviour and performance of different populations of the black currant‐lettuce aphid, Nasonovia ribisnigri, on resistant and susceptible lettuce

When crops are bred for resistance to herbivores, these herbivores are under strong selection pressure to overcome this resistance, which may result in the emergence of virulent biotypes. This is a growing problem for crop species attacked by aphids. The Nr‐gene in lettuce confers near‐complete resistance against the black currant‐lettuce aphid, Nasonovia ribisnigri (Mosely) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Since 2007, populations of N. ribisnigri have been reported in several locations in Europe to infest resistant lettuce varieties that possess the Nr‐gene. The objective of this study was to analyse the behaviour and level of virulence of several N. ribisnigri populations observed to have colonized Nr‐locus‐containing lettuce lines. We analysed the stylet penetration and feeding behaviour, and the performance of these N. ribisnigri populations on resistant and susceptible lettuce lines. Large variation in the degree of virulence to the Nr‐locus‐containing lettuce lines was found among populations of the Nr:1 biotype. The German population was highly virulent on the Nr‐containing resistant lettuce lines, and showed similar feeding behaviour and performance on both the susceptible and resistant lettuces. The French population from Paris was the second most virulent, though reproduction on the resistant lines was reduced. The French population from Perpignan and a population from Belgium, however, showed reduced performance and feeding rate on the resistant compared to the susceptible lettuces. The lettuce background in which the Nr‐gene is expressed influences the level of resistance to the various Nr:1 aphid populations, because the performance and feeding behaviour differed between the aphids on the cultivars (romaine lettuce) compared to the near‐isogenic lines (butterhead/iceberg lettuce). This study also shows that being able to feed on a plant not automatically implies that a population can successfully develop on that plant, because aphids showed phloem ingestion during the 8‐h recording period on resistant lettuce, but were not able to survive and reproduce on the same lettuce line.
Nuclear DNA C-values for biodiversity screening: Case of the Lebanese flora

The geographic position of Lebanon in the Mediterranean basin at the transition of two major landmasses, Eurasia and Africa, has contributed to its high plant diversity and makes its flora particularly interesting to study. This paper contributes to the plant DNA C-value database of native Lebanese taxa. These data should reinforce biodiversity evaluation, systematic and evolution studies involving processes of speciation such as polyploidisation. C-values have been estimated by flow cytometry using propidium iodide as intercalary fluorochrome stain. Each sample comprised at least five individuals. Where possible, several populations were measured for each species. This study presents C-values for 225 taxa belonging to 55 families and 141 genera. C-values are novel for 193 taxa including 126 plants endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean region. These are the first values for 50 genera. In this panel, genome size ranged from 1C = 0.28 pg in Hypericum thymifolium to 54.69 pg in Fritillaria alfredae. The life growth form and life cycle type are analysed according to the genome size class. Cases of polyploidy are reported for some species usually considered as only diploid. Examination of C-value variation through flow cytometry constitutes a powerful tool to screen taxonomic heterogeneity, opening further investigations.
Further taxonomic differentiation in the quadrispinosa complex of Dicraspeda Chaudoir in the Papuan Region and additional records of the genus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Odacanthinae)

The peculiar odacanthine species Dicraspeda quadrispinosa Chaudoir, 1869 is composed of several quite distinct populations which provisionally were described as subspecies (Baehr 2006a). The species ranges from Halmahera in the north-west, through New Guinea and New Britain, to the Solomon Islands in the south-east. From the latter island group, however, the species was so far reliably recorded only from Bougainville Island. The species belongs to the quite diverse Indo-Australian genus Dicraspeda Chaudoir, 1862 which occupies a large range that extends from southern mainland Asia through the Indonesian and Philippine insular belts, the Papuan subregion, into northern and eastern Australia. Within the genus, D. quadrispinosa is distinguished by large size, glossy black colour, and quadrispinose elytra whose spines are remarkably elongate when compared with other species of the genus. Baehr (2006a) examined a large number of specimens throughout the species’ range and described three subspecies: moluccensis from Halmahera, novabritannica from New Britain, and brevipennis from Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands, while the specimens from New Guinea belong to the nominate subspecies. During a recent visit at National Museum of Natural History Naturalis in Leiden and while examining a collection of New Guinean carabid beetles from the Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam, I sorted out a number of specimens of D. quadrispinosa from various localities throughout its range which turned out to be quite different in their external and genitalic morphology and thus herein are described as additional new subspecies. The material includes in particular specimens from a number of islands of the Solomon Archipelago which exhibit strikingly different morphological character states Further taxonomic differentiation in the quadrispinosa complex of Dicraspeda Chaudoir in the Papuan Region and additional records of the genus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Odacanthinae)
Impacts of Lythrum salicaria invasion on plant community and soil properties in two wetlands in central New York, USA

While the spread of the exotic Lythrum salicaria L. across wetlands in North America is thought to negatively affect the performance and diversity of native species, the actual impacts of L. salicaria invasion on community dynamics and ecosystem properties are not well understood. To determine whether L. salicaria affects community aboveground biomass, native species biomass, or soil properties, we studied two common situations in central New York State where L. salicaria invaded (i) an abandoned agricultural field and (ii) a relatively pristine wetland with low species diversity. In the agricultural site, nearly monospecific stands of L. salicaria and Phalaris arundinacea L. had nearly identical shoot mass (approx. 850 g·m–2) but divergent soil characteristics. Inorganic nitrogen was significantly higher under L. salicaria than under P. arundinacea. The low-diversity site is dominated by Carex lacustris Willd. , with distinct areas codominated by either L. salicaria or Typha latifolia L. In this site, we .
Distribution of Karyotypes of the Cryptocercus punctulatus Species Complex (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae) in the Southern Appalachians: Relation to Habitat and History

Abstract The distributional pattern of the four known karyotypes (male 2n = 37, 39, 43, 45) of the Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder species complex is reported, based on 71 sites in the Southern Appalachian Mountains with an emphasis on western North Carolina. Populations with different karyotypes are geographically structured in a mosaic, with at least one karyotype occurring in two disjunct regions. Abrupt geographic transitions between karyotypes suggest a parapatric distribution. We found no overlap in the distribution of the different karyotypes, as recently suggested. Although the boundary zones between karyotypes do not appear to coincide with physical or ecological barriers to dispersal, several transitions between karyotypes occur on or near the highest mountains in the southern Appalachians. We suggest that the different karyotypes arose by vicariance, with current boundaries formed by secondary contact when populations isolated in glacial refugia subsequently spread into high-mountain habitats. Because of their dependence on mature mesic forests, populations of the cockroach likely advance up and down mountainsides in cycles of advances and retreats dictated by climatic oscillations that raise and lower the timberline. We discuss the taxonomic status of the different karyotype groups in the C. punctulatus complex, and conclude that more exacting evidence is required to establish if species-level status is warranted. The conclusions of certain earlier studies are weak because, among other things, karyology was not examined in the sampled specimens, including those designated as types.
Invertebrate distribution across nested geomorphic features in braided-river landscapes

Abstract. River landscapes are increasingly viewed as a collection of nested geomorphic features, the hydrological effects of which juxtapose to create a mosaic of aquatic habitat conditions. We examined how the combined hydrological influences of stream reaches and gravel bars affect the composition of hyporheic invertebrate assemblages along the longitudinal and vertical dimensions of river landscapes. We worked in 12 braided-river valley segments of tributaries to the Rhône River, France. Valley segments were bounded downstream by geological knickpoints so that bedform-induced exchange flows beneath gravel bars and riffles were predictably embedded in exchange flows occurring at the valley-segment scale. In upstream reaches (UR) and downstream reaches (DR) of each valley segment, we collected invertebrates at the heads and tails of gravel bars in the hyporheic zone and at the upstream and downstream ends of riffles in surface channels adjacent to the bars. Patterns of vertical hydraulic gradient and specific conductance and the resulting spatial heterogeneity of temperature, dissolved O2, and particulate organic C suggested that DR were points of flow convergence and water mixing. Specific conductance increased and temperature decreased more steeply along gravel bars in DR, indicating that water from long hyporheic flow paths or lateral aquifers was discharging at the tails of bars in DR. Density hotspots for insect larvae corresponded to hyporheic patches at the heads of bars in DR, which received the highest organic matter inputs from localized downwelling of surface water and were not affected by inputs of cold water from hyporheic flow paths or lateral aquifers. Density of epigean taxa at the tails of bars decreased more steeply with depth in DR than in UR, and density of hypogean taxa increased more steeply. Viewing local hyporheic assemblages as the outcome of a series of environmental filters operating over multiple exchange flows induced by nested geomorphic features provides a general framework that may foster our understanding of biodiversity patterns in river landscapes.
Phylogenetic systematic assessment of the Aspidobothrea (Platyhelminthes, Neodermata, Trematoda)

Phylogenetic systematic analysis of 20 aspidobothrean taxa using 33 transformation series based in comparative morphology yields three most parsimonious trees with a consistency index of 62%. The trees agree with familial‐level relationships of (Rugogastridae (Stichocotylidae (Multicalycidae + Aspidogastridae))) supported by previous phylogenetic systematic assessments, which were based on only 10 transformation series. The analysis does not support completely the current subfamilial classification of the Aspidogastridae: both the Aspidobothriinae [as (Aspidogaster+Lobatostoma)] and the Cotylaspinae [as Cotylogasteroides+Cotylogaster basiri ((Cotylaspis+Lissemysia) (Rohdella (Lophotaspis (Multicotyle+Sychnocotyle)))))] are supported as monophyletic groups. Recognizing Rohdellinae, however, would make the Cotylaspinae paraphyletic. The trees support a basal trichotomy of Cotylogaster michaelis+ Aspidobothriinae + Cotylaspinae. Within the Aspidogastrinae, Aspidogaster conchicola, type species of the genus, is the sister group of all other species currently placed in the genus +Lobatosoma spp. , rendering Aspidogaster paraphyletic.
Book Reviews : Overload and Boredom: Essays on the Quality of Life in the Information Society

In this confusing world we need generalists to help us identify some strategic variables and developments in our societies and to suggest directions and meaning. Daring attempts at generalist analysis should thus be welcomed. Orrin E. Klapp's Overload and Boredom: Essays on the Quality of Life in the Information Society stirs up expectations. These are not lowered by what appears to be the thesis in his book. According to Klapp, in contemporary industrialized societies overload of information causes boredom as often as the absence of stimuli. The proposition is not new, but it needs to be repeated and underscored, with the sales forces of new information technologies constantly trying to convince us that the value of information increases with quantity.