Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aristida beyrichiana (Wiregrass) Establishment and Recruitment: Implications for Restoration

Restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States has focused interest on the regeneration and establishment of Aristida sp. (wiregrass) as a means to reestablish ecological function and structure of the ecosystem. This study examined dispersal distance from planted adults and canopy cover and density effects on establishment and reproduction. In 1994 wiregrass plugs were planted in two densities (500 seedlings/100 m2 and 49 seedlings/100 m2) and three canopy‐thinning treatments (25 m2 basal area/ha, 16 m2 basal area/ha, and 8 m2 basal area/ha) were implemented in a 20‐year‐old longleaf plantation in southwestern Georgia. Due to the intense site preparation and the density of pines planted, virtually no understory vegetation was present. The site was burned in June 1995, which promoted seed production of the planted wiregrass. Results indicate that the 8 m2 basal area/ha treatment results in larger plants that in turn produce a greater number of seedling recruits. No seedling recruitment occurred in control plots. Dispersal distances of up to 594 cm were recorded. Natural seedling recruitment occurred at low‐density transplanting (5 plants/10 m2), denoting that high‐density planting similar to natural density (5 plants/m2) is not required for successful establishment or reproduction. However, overstory thinning in dense pine plantations is required for reproduction and increases the survival of individual plants due to changes in the environmental conditions at the forest floor.
Impacts of climate and land‐use change on wintering bird populations in Finland

Few studies have covered both the eff ects of climate and land-use change on animal populations under a single framework. Besides, the scarce multi-species studies conducted have focused on breeding data, and there is little information published on changes in wintering populations. Here, we relate the pattern of long-term temporal trends of wintering bird populations in Finland, north Europe, to covariates associated with climate and land-use change. Finnish wintering populations have been monitored using ca 10 km winter bird census routes ( � 420 routes counted annually) during 1959 – 2012. Population trends of 63 species were related to migratory strategy, urbanity, and thermal niche measured as species-specifi c centre of gravity of the wintering distribution. Waterbird trends have shown a marked increase compared to landbirds. Among landbirds, forest species have suff ered severe declines, whereas urban species have considerably increased in their wintering numbers. To follow up these results, we produced three multi-species indices (for waterbirds, forest and urban species, respectively), which can improve our ability to detect and monitor the specifi c consequences of climate change and changes in land-use, but at the same time act as a feedback to track the conservation status of the species. Our results suggest that waterbirds are responding to climate change, given their dependence on open water and the correlation with early-winter temperature over the last decades. On the other hand, we believe trends of landbirds have been mainly driven by human-induced land-use changes. While urban species have likely benefi ted from the increase of supplementary feeding, forest species have probably suff ered from the loss of native habitats.
Bioakkumulation von Triclosan bei verschiedenen pH-Werten des Wassers und der Pyrethroide Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin und Permethrin

Der Biokonzentrationsfaktor (BCF) und die Kinetik der Aufnahme und Elimination von 5-Chlor-2-(2,4-dichlorphenoxy)-phenol (Triclosan) im Zebrabarbling wurden bei unterschiedlichen pH-Werten des Wassers bestimmt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, das im Widerspruch zu fruher erhobenen Befunden sowohl die Kinetik der Akkumulation als auch der BCF-Wert von Triclosan vom pH-Wert des Wassers abhangig sind, die Kinetik der Elimination war hingegen unabhangig vom pH-Wert des Wassers. Fur die Pyrethroide Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin und Permethrin, sehr lipophile Substanzen, die als Insektizide Verwendung finden, wurden BCF-Werte an juvenilen Regenbogenforellen im Durchflussystem bestimmt. Dabei resultierten BCF-Werte zwischen 860 und 2200, bezogen auf den Fettgehalt der Fische 27000 bis 64000. Gleichzeitig wurden die LC50-Werte bestimmt und die Wirkung auf Oxidasen der Leber untersucht. Metaboliten der Pyrethroide hatten keinen Einflus auf die gemessene Bioakkumulation, da ihre Konzentrationen unter den Versuchsbedingungen unter der Nachweisgrenze lagen.
Small dams profoundly alter the spatial and temporal composition of zooplankton communities in running waters

We analyzed the influence of a small dam on the temporal and spatial properties of zooplankton communities by comparing the zooplankton composition established prior to the dam's construction to that during 5 years after its construction. The dammed water of a small dam, even just by 1 m, induced spatial changes in the zooplankton communities similar to those induced by a large dam. Changes in the number of taxa and zooplankton densities were observed a few months after the construction of the dam. In particular, in the number of planktonic rotifers such as Keratella cochlearis, Filinia longiseta, Polyarthra longiremis, Trichocerca similis and the larval stages of copepods considerably increased, along with the density of the littoral taxa of rotifers and crustaceans. Cladocerans appeared in the impoundment after the construction of the dam and their abundance increased in the second year after the dam was built. The abundance of all systematic groups of zooplankton increased in subsequent years after the construction of the dam. The small dam had a great effect on the spatial and temporal composition of the zooplankton communities in the stream studied, related to an abrupt change in the physical conditions from those typical of flowing water to those typical of limnetic basins.
North‐south population subdivision of Juniperus seravschanica in Kyrgyzstan revealed through novel plastid DNA markers

Abstract Junipers are main components of semiarid forests in Central Asia. Conservation of these plant genetic resources should be based on an understanding of factors that have shaped species‐level genetic variation. We used Juniperus seravschanica Kom. as a model species to investigate patterns and processes that may be associated with these factors. Novel plastid DNA markers (two minisatellites, one transversion, one indel) were identified and applied to investigate haplotype diversity and population structure in Kyrgyzstan. In total, 540 individuals from 15 populations were analyzed and 11 haplotypes detected. Strong divergence between populations from northern and southern Kyrgyzstan was evident from the haplotype distribution. Gene diversity within populations ranged from 0.083 to 0.765, and was on average higher in southern (0.687) than in northern populations (0.540). A similar pattern was detected in allelic richness. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 11.9% of the total genetic variation was due to differences among regions, 1.5% among populations, and 86.6% within populations. NST was not significantly different from GST (0.125), suggesting no evidence of a phylogeographic pattern. A Mantel test detected a weak but significant isolation‐by‐distance pattern for the whole dataset and southern populations separately. These results suggest that the north of Kyrgyzstan was relatively recently colonized by migrants from southern populations, probably associated with favorable conditions during the early Holocene. The humid Fergana Valley and Fergana Range are probable ecological barriers to gene flow between northern and southern populations.
Filtration and respiration rates of the short-necked clam Paphia undulata (Born, 1778) (Mollusca, Pelecypoda: Veneridae) under laboratory conditions

The filtration and respiration rates of various size classes (35-39.99, 40-44.99,45-49.99, 50-54.99 and 55-59.99 mm) of the short-necked clam Paphia undulata were measured in the laboratory. The effects of three light regimes (0 lux, 172.22 lux and 645.83 lux), three microalgal species ( Isochrysis galbana , Tetraselmis tetrahele and Chaetoceros calcitrans ) and four microalgal concentrations (10, 25, 50 and 100 x 104 cells ml-1) on filtration rates were investigated. Mean filtration rate was highest (0.57 ± 0.04 Lh-1ind.-1) under total darkness. This can be attributed to the natural environment of this species which is characterized by silty substrate and low visibility. Filtration was also highest in the microalga Isochrysis galbana (0.67 ± 0.05). Rates initially increased from low to moderate microalgal concentrations (25 x 104 cells ml-1) and decreased at higher concentrations. Filtration generally decreased with increase in clam size. Light intensity, microalgal species and microalgal concentration showed significant effects on filtration. Respiration of fed clams was higher (0.138 ± 0.026 ml O2h-1ind.-1) than unfed clams (0.053± 0.025 ml O2h-1 nd.-1) and increased with clam size.
Yours, Mine, and Ours: Do Divorce Laws Affect the Intertemporal Behavior of Married Couples?

Divorce laws establish spouses' individual property rights over household resources and determine when divorce is allowed. This paper examines how such laws influence the intertemporal behavior and the welfare of U.S. married couples. I build a model of household choice about consumption, labor supply and divorce under multiple divorce law regimes and I estimate it using exogenous variation in U.S. divorce laws from the 1970s to the 1990s. Couples responded to equal division of property and unilateral divorce by increasing tangible assets up to 19%, which suggests the presence of a strong income effect for the primary earner, and by reducing female employment by over 5 percentage points, because the threat of divorce granted additional bargaining power to married woman. The bargaining weight of women implied by these responses in the model corresponds to a third of the weight of men. This indicates that equal division of assets benefited women when it was first introduced, as they has such low weight in marriage decision. However, counterfactual experiments show that equal division may be potentially detrimental to women as they gain equality in their marriage. When men and women have the same bargaining weight, women are better off in a separate property regime, as they may need more assets than their husband to smooth consumption when going into a divorce.
FOOD GRADE HIDE COLLAGEN IN BOLOGNA EFFECT ON FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES, TEXTURE AND COLOR

Bolognas were made in which 20% of the lean meat (beef and pork) was replaced by wet fibrous hide collagen and formulated to contain approximately 30, 20 or 10 percent fat in the final product. All meat controls (no collagen) were made to have similar fat content. Objective methods were used to analyze the product and paired comparisons of the data were made. The replacement of lean meat with hide collagen did not alter the functional characters such as raw emulsion stability andpH; cook yield, pH, water activity, density and expressible juice of the cooked bologna. The bolognas with collagen had higher (P<0.05) texture (increased Shear force value) compared to bologna with no collagen. As the fat content decreased the bolognas with collagen were less (P<0.05) red in color than the bolognas without collagen. The textural and color changes though detected on instrumental analysis were not perceptible on visual examination of the product.
Genetic Distinctness of the Korean Red-backed Vole (Myodes regulus) from Korea, Revealed by the Mitochondrial DNA Control Region

To identify Korean red-backed voles (Myodes regulus) from Korea by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing, we obtained mtDNA control region sequences of 17 red-backed voles from Korea and northeast China, and these sequences were compared with the corresponding haplotypes of Myodes obtained from GenBank. We identified five red-backed voles from Mt. Changbai and Harbin as M. rufocanus and another three redbacked voles from Harbin as M. rutilus, respectively. Moreover, nine red-backed voles from Korea, showing the average nucleotide distance of 0.66% among nine haplotypes, were different from other species of Myodes, and the average distance between nine haplotypes of red-backed voles from Korea and seven haplotypes of M. rufocanus was 6.41%, whereas the average distance between nine haplotypes of red-backed voles from Korea and five haplotypes of M. rutilus was 14.8%. We identified the red-backed voles from Korea as M. regulus, and found that M. regulus is distinct in its mtDNA control region sequences as well, although we propose further analyses with additional specimens from East Asia using nuclear and mtDNA markers to confirm the distinctness of M. regulus.
The significance of winter activity by the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus): the influence of energy reserves

I tested the hypothesis that big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) found active during winter months may be forced into activity because of reduced energy reserves. I compared the masses and fat reserves of big brown bats found active with inactive (torpid) bats at a hibernaculum, throughout the winter. Active bats were significantly lighter that those in the hibernaculum during the same period. Active bats had significantly lower fat reserves and lean dry mass than inactive individuals. The majority of bats found active were lighter than the predicted mass of bats leaving hibernation in April. The forearm length of active individuals was significantly shorter than inactive bats. Inactive individuals lost mass throughout the winter while there was no significant correlation between the mass of active bats and the date of capture. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that bats may become active at a critically low energy reserve, possibly to find food.
Parasitism and over-wintering status of tachinids (Diptera) on larvae of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), in the Kanto region of Japan

I investigated seasonal changes in the levels of parasitism and the over-wintering status of tachinids on the larvae of Hyphantria cunea. Six species of tachinids were found to parasitize populations of H. cunea at Tsukuba, in central Japan. The rate of parasitism by tachinids was extremely high in the third host generation, especially during the wandering stage. The parasitization rate by the three dominant species, Exorista japonica, Drino inconspicuoides and Compsilura concinnata, was always higher in the wandering larvae than in the feeding larvae. The over-wintering strategy of tachinids differed between species; C. concinnata over-winters at the maggot stage and E. japonica at the early instar maggot and puparial stages. In E. japonica, the rate of over-wintering survival differed greatly between the two over-wintering strategies; individuals over-wintering at the maggot stage within hosts almost all succeeded in adult eclosion in the next year, whereas those over-wintering at the puparial stage out of hosts often died early in the next spring. Many E. japonica maggots over-wintered within hosts collected in late October, suggesting that parasitizing host larvae in late autumn is advantageous for E. japonica. This study provides evidence of different parasitic strategies in tachinid species that use H. cunea as a host.
Carbon Pricing and Emissions: Causal Effects of Britain's Carbon Tax

This study estimates that the introduction of a carbon tax and its two subsequent elevations led to a significant decline in emissions from the British power sector. Using regression discontinuities in time, we find robust and causal evidence that the carbon tax explains around 60% of a total emissions reduction by around 40% during 1 April 2012–31 March 2016. Notably, the substantial increase in the carbon price pushed coal out of the market, whereas gas, as the cleaner technology, filled a large share of the production gap. Our findings suggest that carbon pricing should be viewed as a viable policy option to abate emissions at moderate costs.
Environmental sex determination in response to light and biased sex ratios in Equisetum gametophytes

1 Sexual differentiation of Equisetum (horsetails) gametophytes is influenced by environmental conditions, and wild populations tend to be female biased. We show that photon irradiance has a very significant and reproducible effect on sex determination in three species of Equisetum grown in vitro. 2 Under our experimental conditions, high light levels (PAR = 24–48 µmol m−2 s−1) induce most gametophytes to differentiate as female, whereas only males are observed at PAR < 6 µmol m−2 s−1. Addition of sugar to the culture medium, however, promotes male development, suggesting that the effect of increasing photon irradiance is not related to the accumulation of photosynthates. 3 According to evolutionary theory, environmental sex determination can cause population sex ratios to deviate from unity, and is favoured when the environment consists of patches that differentially affect fitness as a male or a female. However, in two out of three species, we found that the fitness of males increases faster than the fitness of females with increasing light levels, contrary to the predictions of the Charnov and Bull model. 4 We conclude that environmental sex determination in response to light cannot alone account for the female bias in natural populations of Equisetum gametophytes.
Deep-sea foraging pathways: an analysis of randomness and resource exploitation

The foraging paradigm of trace fossil theory has historically accorded random behavior to non-food-limited deposit-feeders and non-random behavior to food-limited feeders. A series of randomness measures derived from empirical modeling, simulation modeling, stochastic modeling and probability theory applied to foraging patterns observed in deep-sea bottom photographs from the Arctic and Antarctic yielded a behavioral continuum of increasing non-randomness. A linear regression of trace positions along the continuum to bathymetric data did not substantiate the optimal foraging efficiency-depth dependence model of trace fossil theory, except that all traces exhibited a greater optimization than that of simulated random foraging. It is hypothesized that optimization as evidenced by non-random foraging strategies represents maximization of the cost/benefit ratio of resource exploitation to risk of predation and that individual foraging patterns reflect an exploration response to the morphometry of a patchily distributed food resource. Differential predation and competition may account for the co-occurrence of random and non-random strategies within the same bathymetric zone.
The presence of sheep leads to increases in plant diversity and reductions in the impact of deer on heather

Summary 1. Grazing has been implicated in the decline of heather-dominated moorlands in Britain, but there has been little consideration of the effects of different species of herbivores on plant diversity. Sheep stocks have recently decreased in Scotland, and quantification of how this affects biodiversity is essential for understanding how different grazing regimes modify upland habitats. 2. We investigated the effects of grazing on plant biodiversity in heather/grass mosaics at 16 upland sites in Scotland. Red deer Cervus elaphus L. were present at all sites, but sheep Ovis aries L. had been removed from half of the sites. Our experimental design incorporated replication at three spatial scales, from a landscape level down to 10 × 10 m plots. 3. We quantified the relative effects of different herbivore species, vegetation structure and rainfall on heather utilisation, species richness and evenness (alpha diversity; Shannon–Wiener index) and beta diversity. 4. At all spatial scales, deer dung counts were higher and heather was shorter when sheep were absent. Furthermore, utilisation of heather was positively correlated with the amount of deer dung, the amount of grass present and smooth grass height. 5. Alpha diversity was consistently positively correlated with the relative amount of grass, but was also positively related to the amount of sheep dung at the largest spatial scale. At the finest scale, alpha diversity was negatively correlated with the amount of deer dung. Beta diversity was higher when sheep were present at all scales. 6. Synthesis and applications. Mixed grazing by sheep and deer appears to be beneficial for increasing both alpha and beta diversity and minimizing damage to heather in the uplands. The absence of sheep is likely to result in expanding deer populations and greater impact on heather. Management of grazing herbivores is an important tool for maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems. Our results indicate that reducing livestock may alter the impacts of wild grazers on their habitats and drive changes in diversity, whereas mixed grazing can enhance habitat quality and maintain plant diversity. Therefore, this effect should be considered when devising policy recommendations.
Industrial road crossings drive changes in community structure and instream habitat for freshwater fishes in the boreal forest

Summary Stream crossing structures are an increasingly prevalent anthropogenic feature on North American riverscapes, particularly in watersheds affected by industrial resource development in sensitive boreal environments. If improperly managed, stream crossings have the potential to alter fish habitat and impede fish movement. This study assessed instream habitat characteristics and fish communities from 33 culverted, bridged and reference streams in an industrialising region of the boreal forest in west-central Alberta. Mixed-effects modelling and multivariate analysis were used to determine impacts of stream crossings at three scales: whole-stream scale, within-stream scale and the interaction of scales. Instream habitat characteristics such as mean depth, water velocity, percent fines, turbidity, water temperature and dissolved oxygen showed significant between-stream as well as within-stream differences among stream crossings. The majority of fish species exhibited significantly lower densities (n m−2) in upstream habitats as compared to downstream habitats, including a significant reduction in Slimy Sculpin densities in culverted streams. Multivariate tests corroborated these results, showing that fish assemblages differ as a function of stream type. This study suggests industrial stream crossings influence abiotic habitat characteristics in freshwater ecosystems, restrict biotic connectivity and impact fish community structure at the whole-stream and within-stream scales. Alterations to stream ecosystems associated with stream crossings may be driving large-scale changes in stream fish communities in the boreal forest. With expanded development expected in much of North America's boreal region, mitigation measures which limit impacts from stream crossings are needed to ensure proper ecosystem function in freshwater systems.