Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Assessment of Poecilogony in Marine Invertebrates: Phenomenon or Fantasy?

Poecilogony, defined as more than one mode of reproduction within a single species, has been reported in various invertebrates, including mollusks and polychaetes. Many cases that have been described involve planktotrophic and non-planktotrophic development in allopatric populations, or instances of planktonic larval stages and benthic juveniles being found together, but not associated with adults. There is always the possibility of mis-assignment of larvae to adults of the wrong species. Most cases that offer these kinds of evidence are now known to involve cryptic species, not poecilogony.There are a few species in which release of young occurs both at metamorphosis and a day or so before. There may be cases in which extracellular yolk or nurse-egg production is variable and allows the release of larvae at different stages, but no actual instance is known. A few instances are known of allopatric populations with different modes of development and other differences in reproductive characters that lack re.
The Effect of Incorporating Different Levels of Locally Produced Canola Seeds (Brassica napus, L.) In the Diet of Laying Hen

Research in King Faisal University proved that canola seeds can be successfully planted in Al- Hassa area of Saudi Arabia. The objectives of this study were to determine the chemical analysis and metabolizable energy of a locally produced full fat canola seeds (LPFFCS). Also to determine the possibility of using locally produced canola seeds in the layer diet. The chemical analysis of the seeds showed that it contained 95.4% DM, 25.6% CP, 38.2% EE, 4% ash and 6.8% CF. ME, calculated from the determined TME showed a 4128 Kcal/kg value. Essential and non-essential amino acids were also determined as well as Na, Cl, Ca, P, Cu. Zn and Fe. It was concluded that with the exception of protein level canola seeds are very much similar to SBM in many aspects. Five levels of whole canola seeds; 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30% were used in the diets of 100 white leghorn pullets at age of 20 weeks. The results of this experiment showed that including up to 10% whole canola in the layer diet made no harm to the performance of these birds in terms of hen-day egg production, egg mass, feed conversion and egg weight. Feed intake increased with increasing level of canola seeds in the diet. However most of these differences were season dependent. Hen-day production, egg mass and egg weight were very much lower when birds fed 30% canola. The highest production rate was found in the fall season when birds fed 5 and 10% canola seeds (90 and 88%, respectively). No specific trend was observed on the effect of canola on egg specific gravity and yolk index. However, haugh unit was higher, yolk color was darker, weight gain was lower in birds fed 30% canola seeds. It was concluded that incorporating up to 5% LPFFCS in the layer diet might benefit the producer if economically priced.
Developmental and phenological responses of wheat to sowing dates

th and 25 th Dec. Minimum days to emergence and tillering were recorded in early planted wheat. In comparison late planted wheat took less time to switch into other phenophases like jointing, booting and grain formation stages due to high temperature during lateral growth stages of late planted wheat. Likely, early planted wheat accumulated less growing degree days (GDD) and photo thermal units (PTU) for emergence but accumulated more GDD and PTU to switch into next phenophases from tillering to grain development. Nonetheless late planted wheat required more helio-thermal units (HTU) only during grain formation stage. However, total growth period of wheat was substantially decreased from 166 days in early planted (25 th Oct) to 110 days in late planted (25 th Dec) being a photosensitive in nature. Tested wheat cultivars behaved differently and LS-08 and AS-02 had higher grain yield and heat use efficiency (HUE) due to higher tillering capacity and longer growth period, whereas performance of short duration cultivar (TD-1) was poor. In conclusion, wheat cultivars LS-08 and AS-02 planted on 10 th Nov produced more grain yield and had higher HUE.
Assessment of floral composition, structure and natural regeneration of the Tano Offin Globally Significant Biodiversity Area of Ghana

Threats of forest degradation of the Tano Offin Globally Significant Biodiversity Area present the need to generate eco-information pertinent for its conservational purposes. Ten 50 m × 50 m plots (tree layer) were assessed for plant life forms with diameter ≥ 10 cm. A 10 m × 10 m plot (shrub layer) was located within each of the 50 m × 50 m plots where plant life forms with diameter < 10 cm were assessed. 1 m × 1 m quadrats (herb layer) were laid at the corners of the 50 m × 50 m plots and its centre for canopy closure and natural regeneration assessments. Plant species (240) belonging to 59 families were identified: 171 trees, 41 lianas, 11 shrubs, 7 herbs, 7 herbaceous climbers, 1 epiphyte, 1 grass and 1 fern. Species diversity (H´) of the tree, shrub and herb layers was 2.55, 2.54 and 2.48 respectively. The average maximum tree height was 46.19 m and the basal area was 28.36 m2/ha, which is below the 35 m²/ha conventional basal area value of tropical forests. Celtis mildbraedii and Rinorea welwitschii were the most structurally significant species at the tree and shrub layers, respectively, and a total of 75 tree species were regenerating.
Relationships between nitrogen uptake and carbon assimilation in whole plants of tall fescue

Abstract. The present study investigates the relationships between nitrogen uptake, transpiration, and carbon assimilation. Plants growing on nutrient solution were enclosed for 10–16 d in a growth chamber, where temperature, photon flux density, vapour saturation deficit and CO2 concentration were controlled. One of these factors was modified every 4 to 5 d. Shoot photosynthesis and root and shoot respiration were recorded every half-hour. Nitrogen uptake from the root medium and plant transpiration were measured daily. In most cases, an increase in photon flux density led to increases in transpiration, net daily carbon assimilation, and nitrogen uptake. By modifying transpiration rate without changing photosynthesis (varying vapour saturation deficit), or by modifying transpiration and carbon assimilation in opposite ways (varying CO2 air concentration), it was shown that nitrogen uptake does not follow transpiration, but is linked to the carbon uptake of the plant. When light was increased from low to intermediate levels, the N uptake/C assimilation ratio remained constant. At higher photon flux density, this ratio declined markedly. It is proposed that in the first case, growth is limited by carbohydrate availability, thus any increase in carbon assimilation leads to a proportional increase in nitrogen uptake, in contrast to the second situation where carbohydrates may accumulate in the plant without further nitrogen requirement.
Density estimates of birds inhabiting fragments of cloud forest in southern Ecuador

Summary Between June and September 1995 estimates were made of the population densities of birds inhabiting fragments of unprotected montane cloud forests in southern Ecuador. The study focused on 10 species: Bearded Guan Penelope barbata, Golden-plumed Parakeet Leptosittaca branickii, Red-faced Parrot Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops, White-capped Parrot Pionus seniloides, Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan Andigena hypoglauca, Barred Fruiteater Pipreola arcuata, Turquoise Jay Cyanolyca turcosa, Great Thrush Turdus fuscater, Hooded Mountain-tanager Buthraupis montana, and Mountain Cacique Cacicus leucoramphus. Species assemblages and population densities varied greatly between sites, despite the presence of similar habitats and altitudinal ranges. Substantial populations of the threatened Bearded Guan, Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Golden-plumed Parakeet were found in areas previously unstudied, as well as in areas previously known to be important. Currently unprotected areas are important for the conservation of montane cloud forest birds.
Similarity is Relative: Hierarchy of Genetic Similarities in the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Hawaii

Abstract Termites (Isoptera) have a strong hierarchical structure due to their social organization. To interpret genetic differences within and among termite populations it is first necessary to create a quantitative scale to determine the meaning of “different. ” To accomplish this, the entire hierarchy of genetic similarities in a Hawaiian population of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) was defined by multilocus DNA fingerprinting using the oligonucleotide (GTG)5 as a probe. The genetic background similarity in the population, based on the genetic similarity between unrelated termites, was 0.21 and falls in the range of other natural invertebrate and vertebrate populations. The mean genetic similarity of termites collected from the same collection site was 0.64 (range, 0.58–0.72). This equals an average relatedness of 0.54 within collection sites. The genetic similarity among the offspring of an artificially outbred laboratory colony lies in the same magnitude (0.65). However, genetic similarity within field colonies was significantly lower than the genetic similarity within laboratory colonies derived from pairs of siblings (mean 0.79). This indicates moderate inbreeding within most of the field colonies. This wide range of genetic similarities defines the basis for a detailed description of the population structure as well as the identification of individual colonies of C. formosanus.
Recruitment failure of coastal predatory fish in the Baltic Sea coincident with an offshore ecosystem regime shift

Ljunggren, L. , Sandstrom, A. , Bergstrom, U. , Mattila, J., Lappalainen, A. , Johansson, G. , Sundblad, G. , Casini, M. , Kaljuste, O. , and Eriksson, B. K. 2010. Recruitment failure of coastal predatory fish in the Baltic Sea coincident with an offshore ecosystem regime shift. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 000- 000. The dominant coastal predatory fish in the southwestern Baltic Sea, perch and pike, have decreased markedly in abundance during the past decade. An investigation into their recruitment at 135 coastal sites showed that both species suffered from recruitment failures, mainly in open coastal areas. A detailed study of 15 sites showed that areas with recruitment problems were also notable for mortality of early-stage larvae at the onset of exogenous food-intake. At those sites, zooplankton abundance predicted 83 and 34% of the variation in young of the year perch and pike, respectively, suggesting that the declines were caused by recruitment failure attributable to zooplankton food limitation. Incidences of recruitment failure match in time an offshore trophic cascade that generated massive increases in planktivorous sprat and decreases in zooplankton biomass in the early 1990s. Therefore, sprat biomass explained 53% of the variation in perch recruitment from 1994 to 2007 at an open coastal site, where three- spined stickleback also increased exponentially after 2002. The results indicate that the dramatic change in the offshore ecosystem may have propagated to the coast causing declines of the dominating coastal predators perch and pike followed by an increase in the abundance of small-bodied fish.
Processes governing riverine fish species richness are scale-independent

The ability of macroecological approaches to identify the mechanisms that underlie spatial patterns in species richness has been heavily debated in part because of continued attention to the role of scale-dependence in the mechanisms regulating biodiversity. Here we show that species abundance is a scale-independent predictor of species richness for riverine fish. We modelled local species richness of riverine fish in 976 rivers in the continental United States and used this parameterized local model to predict regional species richness at increasingly coarser scales that were defined according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ecoregion classes (Ecoregion III: fine scale, Ecoregion II: medium scale, and Ecoregion I: coarse scale). We found that the locally parameterized model predicted species richness most accurately at the coarsest scale, explaining 80% of the variability in total species richness. An inverse set of models, which used the coarsest scale data to parameterize models tested at finer scales, showed that 38% of the variability in local species richness was explained by the coarse scale model. Total abundance was the single most important predictor of species richness across all scales with a slope ranging from 0.4–0.56 on a log-log plot. Although the specific mechanisms linking total species richness and energetic constraints may be scale-dependent, total abundance may be a scale-independent predictor of the total number of species that can be supported in a given area.
A REPORT ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SOME ENDOPARASITIC HELMINTHS IN SELECTED FISH SPECIES OF TENALI, GUNTUR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

The study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of parasites in selected fish species of Tenali region, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. A total of 174 fish specimens including Anabas oligolepis Bleeker, Catla catla Hamilton, Channa punctatus Bloch, Cirrhinus mrigala Linnaeus, Labeo rohita Hamilton and Mastacembelus armatus Lacepede were examined for the parasites from 2009-2010. Only three species, Genarchopsis goppo Ozaki, 1925; Camallanus sp. from Channa punctatus and a metacercaria of Clinostomum gideoni Bhalerao, 1942 from Anabas oligolepis were obtained. The other four fish species showed no infection with the helminths. The present study reveals that parasite diversity of freshwater fishes in this area is very poor and might be due to the nutritive habitat and healthy nature.
Temporal changes in stem decay and dead and sound wood volumes in the northeastern Canadian boreal forest

Yield tables used for stand-level predictions of standing volume typically do not account for the presence of dead trees and stem decay. Yet, recently dead trees, referred to as dead and sound wood (DSW), could be considered as a valuable supplemental wood source. Conversely, stem decay can cause important losses during product recovery. Accordingly, the general objective of this study was to characterize the patterns of change of stem decay and of DSW as functions of time since the last fire (TSF). The amount of stem decay and of DSW per tree species were measured in two chronosequences of 30 stands each, covering more than 1000 years in the northeastern Canadian boreal forest. Stand-level decay volume increased during the first 150 years following fire and then stabilized. This volume was mainly composed of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) when TSF 200 years. Conversely, the volume of DSW declined rapidly after fire and increased.
Impact of soil solarization on the ciliate community structure of a greenhouse soil

Abstract Soil solarization is an ecologically friendly method of controlling various plant pathogens and pests, but also affects non-pathogenic members of the soil biota. Here, we studied the impact of soil solarization on the community structure of soil ciliates using a culture-independent molecular approach, namely denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of targeted 18S rRNA gene fragments. Greenhouse soil with added organic fertilizers was solarized for 33 days at an average temperature of 47–48°C. Solarization caused a drastic change in the ciliate community. The variation between replicates was large, which suggested that the distribution of ciliates was spatially heterogeneous in the soil, probably due to their decreased numbers. In contrast, non-solarized soil had a stable and homogeneous ciliate community during the experimental period. In solarized soil, most of the original ciliate community recovered 76 days after solarization. Sequence analysis of DGGE fragments indicated that both r-selected and K-selected species of ciliates were affected by solarization but recovered with time after solarization. Our results demonstrated both the vulnerability and resilience of the ciliate community to soil solarization and also the utility of using molecular-based analysis of ciliate communities as bioindicators of soil stress caused by solarization.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Herpetofaunal Sampling Techniques across a Gradient of Habitat Change in a Tropical Forest Landscape

Abstract To improve our understanding of the distribution and abundance of amphibians and reptiles in tropical forests, herpetologists need to understand the relative effectiveness of different sampling techniques. However, current studies are biased by a focus on certain methods, species groups, or geographic regions. To address this problem, we conducted the first standardized comparison of patterns of species richness, rank-abundance, and community structure for both passive and active sampling methods for the study of herpetofauna in a tropical forest landscape. Moreover, we compare the effectiveness of these methods in primary and secondary forests and Eucalyptus plantation. Although different methods captured significantly different numbers of species and individuals, almost all techniques provided complementary benefits for the sampling of both lizards and leaf litter amphibians. The use of a limited set of methods can severely bias our understanding of changes in amphibian and lizard community structure in response to large-scale habitat change. Contrary to other studies, we recommend the use of pitfall traps in all studies, even Rapid Assessments (RAP), because they are indispensable for sampling many cryptic species, as well as being particularly cost effective for large-scale research. Because of the combination of complementary methods in sampling effectiveness, and the influence of method choice on taxon responses to habitat change, we recommend the use of multiple sampling techniques wherever possible. Synchronous adoption of multiple techniques in field studies will help improve sample representation and, thus, the understanding of species distributions and human impacts on herpetofauna in tropical forests.
Pollen character IstIcs In some Diospyros sPecIes

Aim of the work was to study the general characteristics and essential morphological traits of pollen grains viz the size, shape of pollen grains and number, form and position of apertures in Diospyros kaki L.f. , D. virginiana L. , D. lotus L. species and interspecies hybrid of D. virginiana × D. kaki. Significant differences were detected among the tested species and the interspecific hybrid as well as between individual genotypes of D. lotus, especially in the equatorial axis.
ACIDIFICATION AND pH BUFFERING CAPACITY OF ALLUVIAL SOILS UNDER SUGARCANE

Changes in soil pH water (pHw) were investigated on a sugarcane plantation in the Ramu Valley of Papua New Guinea. The plantation was established in 1979 from natural grassland and the dominant soils were Fluvents and Vertisols. Statistical analysis of the topsoil pHw data (n = 541) showed a significant (α = 0.01) decrease from 6.5 to 5.7 between 1979 and 1996. Based on samples from 80 fields at different sampling times, the average decrease in topsoil pHw was calculated to be 0.4 units after 10 years of continuous sugarcane cultivation (r2 = 0.481). Between 1986 and 1996, subsoil pHw also decreased significantly (α < 0.05) by 0.4 and 0.3 units in the 0.30–0.45 and 0.45–0.60 m horizons respectively. The acidification trend accelerated in the 1990s when trash-harvesting replaced pre-harvesting burning and sulphate of ammonia became the dominant nitrogen fertilizer. Between 1991 and 1995, average nitrogen application rates were 90 ka ha−1 a−1 which resulted in an annual addition of 11.6 kmol H+ ha−1. The soil buffer capacity was estimated to be 125 kmol H+ ha−1 pH−1 which implied that the pHw could further decrease by 0.5 unit after five annual applications of 90 kg N ha−1 pH−1 as sulphate of ammonia. Although these soils were young in pedological terms and they had been cultivated for less than 20 years, they had acidified significantly and this could affect sugarcane production adversely if such trend were to continue.
Development of Promising Seedless Citrus Mutants through Gamma Irradiation

Citrus are highly heterozygous, polygenic plants with a long juvenile period, whereby conventional breeding is laborious, time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, mutation breeding was carried out. Bud woods of two Indonesian local commercial mandarin (Citrus reticulata L. Blanco) cv. SoE and Garut, and pummelo (Citrus grandis L. Osbeck) cv Nambangan were exposed to Gamma-ray doses of 20, 40 and 60Gy, and irradiated bud woods were then budded onto rootstocks cv. Japanche citroen. Three-year-old untreated and irradiated plants grown in pots were checked for fruit characters such as seeds number per fruit, and color of flesh and skin. Selected promising mutant lines were found in terms of seedlessness in cvs SoE mandarin and Nambangan pummelo, and nearly seedless cultivars were found in cvs Soe, Garut and Nambangan when bud woods were irradiated at 20 and 40Gy. The performance of promising mutant lines obtained is now being observed and are propagated in the field to confirm their stability.
Weed seed destruction by arthropods and rodents in low-input soybean agroecosystems

Weed seed consumption experiments involving comparison of rates of seed loss by seed feeders were conducted over a five-week period in low-input (no insecticide, low herbicide usage) conventional- and no-tillage soybean agroecosystems. Seeds of four broadleaf weed species (ragweed [Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.], pigweed [Amaranthus retroflexus L.], sicklepod [Cassia obtusifolia L.], and jimsonweed [Datura stramonium L.]) and one grain crop species (wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] ) were provided in a free choice design at densities of 10, 25, and 50 seeds/24 cm 3 . Approximately 2.3 times more seeds overall, and 1.4 times more large seeds as a group were consumed in notillage systems than in conventional-tillage systems. In our experimental low-input, notillage treatments, large ground beetles (Carabidae: Coleoptera) (15–25 mm) and mice preferentially fed on the larger seed species, while small carabids (
Phosphorus release rates from freshwater sediments affected by fish farming

The main wastes from fish production are fish faeces and uneaten feed, rich in nitrogen and phosphorus (P), which have the potential to alter the trophic state of the water body. It has been estimated that about 66% of P in fish feed accumulates on the bottom sediments. The P associated with these sediments can be released to the water column. The objectives of this work were to: (a) assess the release of phosphorus from sediments affected by intensive production of salmonids in two lakes in Patagonia, Argentina: Lago Moreno (PMOR) and Alicura Reservoir (PALI); (b) evaluate the efficiency of anionic exchange membranes (AEMs) for the determination of P release rates from sediments and compare this technique with the traditional chemical method; and (c) assess the usefulness of AEMs in estimating the labile fraction of phosphorus from sediments affected by fish farms. For all the conditions assayed, the release rates estimated with AEMs were higher than those estimated by syringe (n = 23, P= 0.001). The AEMs appear to have higher sensitivity than chemical methods, particularly at low concentrations. The AEMs are more reliable for the estimation of labile P, particularly in sediments low in labile P concentration. The difference between the release rates estimated by the AEMs and the syringe are indicative of the amount of labile P that will be available in the water over the short term. The release rates were higher under anaerobic conditions than under aerobic conditions for the two types of sediments affected by fish farms. The calcium and organic matter content of sediments, rather than the iron concentration, appears to control the availability of P.