Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Fish Screens to Prevent Entrainment of Westslope Cutthroat Trout into Irrigation Canals

Abstract Irrigation canals entrain anadromous and potamodromous salmonids of all life stages during their annual migrations. Fish screens may reduce or eliminate entrainment, but few studies exist on their benefits and these studies have evaluated effects on anadromous populations only. The benefits of fish screens for nonanadromous salmonids are largely unknown. Postspawn adult and downstream-migrating juvenile westslope cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi are potentially entrained into irrigation canals on Skalkaho Creek, Montana. We quantified entrainment rates into the canals using telemetry and driftnetting before (2003) and after (2004) installation of fish screens on three canals. No radio-tagged adults were entrained in 2003, but most adults were residents and therefore did not migrate past the canals. In 2004, 79% of the radio-tagged adult migratory fish were entrained at either screened or unscreened canals, but all those entrained in screened canals were successfully bypassed back to Sk.
Grapevine decline in Italy caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae

The first report of a dieback of grapevine caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Sicily (Italy) is given. About twelve per cent of the vines in the cv. Insolia vineyard surveyed, showed spur dieback, retarded growth and wood necrosis. Isolation trials and pathogenicity tests are briefl y reported, together with morphological, cultural and molecular characters on which identification was based.
Genetic variability and correlation studies in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

The present study was conducted in order to investigate genetic variability and to understand the relationship and contribution of characters towards total dry matter and root length. The investigation was carried out at Main Agricultural Research Station, UAS, Raichur during Rabi 2012-13, 32 genotypes were evaluated in RBD fashion under root structures. At flowering stage all morphological and root characters were scored. The total dry matter content was assessed after drying the root, stem, leaf, petiole and flower of the plant at 70 0 C in an oven. High GCV coupled with high PCV recorded for most of the characters except stem girth, SPAD reading and number of leaves, indicating more variability for these traits and are less influenced by the environment. High heritability coupled with high GAM reported for all the traits under study suggested for the greater effectiveness for selection and improvement expected for these traits in future generations. The total dry matter and root length had very highly significant positive association with plant height, root volume, fresh root weight, dry root weight, fresh stem weight, dry stem weight, fresh leaf weight and dry leaf weight indicating the importance of root characters in determining the moisture stress tolerance and putforthing the total dry matter content of the plant.
Systematic status of the mid-Tertiary neobatrachian frog Calyptocephalella canqueli from Patagonia (Argentina), with comments on the evolution of the genus

Fil: Muzzopappa, Paula. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Geologia. Laboratorio de Paleontologia Evolutiva de Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas; Argentina
A review of phylogenetic hypotheses for lizards of the genus Sceloporus (Phrynosomatidae): implications for ecological and evolutionary studies

4 Resumen . 4 Introduction . 5 Acknowledgments . 7 The Smith Phylogeny . 8 Introduction . 8 Small-Bodied, Small-Scaled Radiation . 10 Large-Bodied, Large-Scaled Radiation . 13 The Larsen and Tanner Hypothesis . 17 Introduction . 17 Characters Analyzed . 21 Numerical Methodology . 22 Results of Data Analysis . 23 Additional Species . 28 Biogeographic Scenario . 28 Chromosomally Based Alternatives to Smith and Larsen-Tanner Hypotheses . 30 Introduction . 30 Chromosomal Data Base . 35 Small-Bodied, Small-Scaled Radiation . 38 Large-Bodied, Large-Scaled Radiation . 50 Additional Chromosomal Data and Comments on Taxonomic Problems . 57 Phylogenetic Summary . 59 Discussion . 65 I. Historical Biogeography . 65 II. Evolution of Viviparity . 71 III. Evolution of Heteromorphic Sex Chromosomes . 74 IV. Speciation and Hybridization Issues . 78 V. Social Behavior and Sexual Selection . 82 VI. Ecology and the Evolution of Life-History Strategies . 89 VII. Other Issues. 93 Summary . 94 References . 95
Assessment of the impact of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 GNSS RO observations on mid- and low-latitude ionosphere specification and forecast using observing system simulation experiments

This presentation will demonstrate (A) how the Ensemble Square Root Filter (EnSRF) [Whitaker and Hamill, 2001] can be used to assimilate sTEC observations effectively, and (B) impacts of FORMOSAT7/COSMIC-2 GNSS RO data on lowand mid-latitude ionospheric specification and forecasting. Synthetic RO sTEC data are assimilated into a coupled model of thermosphere, ionosphere, and plasmasphere by using EnSRF.
Some aspects of the biology and host-parasite interactions of Isospora spp. (Protozoa: Coccidiida) of passerine birds

In wild bird populations parasites are at least as important as predators. The subject of this work was Isospora, a genus of intestinal coccidia that has been rarely studied in passerine birds. We established a method of estimating the intensity of Isospora infection and showed diurnal periodicity in oocysts output. We studied fauna of Isospora species and their host specificity. Ground feeders are more frequently and intensively infected than bird species feeding in the air. The young birds are more intensively infected than adult ones because of higher level of chronic infection and higher susceptibility to re-infection. During autumn migration there was no difference in prevalence of infection between birds on the Courish Spit and on the island of Helgoland, whereas the intensity of infection was lower on the island than on land, and this difference was more pronounced in long-distance migrants. Under natural cirumstances most birds are likely to be able to tolerate Isospora infection. However, in young birds, by infection with high doses, re-infection, or particular environmental constraints these parasites may have profound effects on fitness and survival.
Preservation of Avian Malaria Parasites by Low-Temperature Freezing.∗

Summary Seven species of avian malaria plasmodia have been successfully preserved for periods up to 90 days by low-temperature freezing. Very rapid freezing” and thawing seem of more importance than the occurrence of fairly considerable temperature variations. For maintaining stocks of malaria for research or class use this method of preservation has much potential importance. It is probable that all species of plasmodia can be preserved in this way equally well. And it does not appear that different stages of the parasite are much differently affected.
Additional carbon sequestration benefits of grassland diversity restoration

1. In Europe, grassland agriculture is one of the dominant land uses. A major aim of European agri-environment policy is the management of grassland for botanical diversity conservation and restoration, together with the delivery of ecosystem services including soil carbon (C) sequestration. 2. To test whether management for biodiversity restoration has additional benefits for soil C sequestration, we investigated C and nitrogen (N) accumulation rates in soil and C and N pools in vegetation in a long-term field experiment (16 years) in which fertilizer application and plant seeding were manipulated. In addition, the abundance of the legume Trifolium pratense was manipulated for the last 2 years. To unravel the mechanisms underlying changes in soil C and N pools, we also tested for effects of diversity restoration management on soil structure, ecosystem respiration and soil enzyme activities. 3. We show that the long-term biodiversity restoration practices increased soil C and N storage especially when these treatments were combined with the recent promotion of the legume Trifolium pratense, sequestering 317 g C and 35 g N m−2 year−1 in the most successful management treatment. These high rates of C and N accumulation were associated with reduced ecosystem respiration, increased soil organic matter content and improved soil structure. Cessation of fertilizer use, however, reduced the amount of C and N contained in vegetation. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings show that long-term diversity restoration practices can yield significant benefits for soil C storage when they are combined with increased abundance of a single, sub-ordinate legume species. Moreover, we show that these management practices deliver additional ecosystem benefits such as N storage in soil and improved soil structure.
Correlações entre características estruturais e valor nutritivo de perfilhos em pastos de capim-braquiária diferidos e adubados com nitrogênio

Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk tillers were sampled on deferred and nitrogen-fertilized pastures (0, 40, 80 and 120kg/ha of N), in order to evaluate correlations among its structural characteristics, morphological composition and nutritional value. Randomized block design with three repetitions was used. It was not observed correlation between the number of tillers and weight. However, positive correlations among the tiller weights, stem length, dead leaf number, and percentage of 0green stem were found; p- negative correlation was found for the number of green leaf and percentage green leaf. Correlations among the number of tillers, crude protein, potentially digestible neutral detergent fiber and potentially digestible dry matter were positive; correlations between neutral detergent fiber and indigestible neutral detergent fiber were negative. On the other hand, the tiller weights showed positive correlation with the neutral detergent fiber and indigestible neutral detergent fiber rates and negative association with the potentially digestible dry matter. The number of green leaf showed positive correlations with crude protein, potentially digestible neutral detergent fiber and potentially digestible dry matter; negative correlations were found for the neutral detergent fiber and indigestible neutral detergent fiber. Morphological composition of tillers and nutritional value of Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk were determined by its structural characteristics. On deferred Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk pastures, it happened compensation between the tiller size and nutritional value.
Getting the most out of advanced farm management technologies: roles of technology suppliers and dairy industry organisations in supporting precision dairy farmers

The use of advanced management technologies is increasing in pasture-based dairy systems, an evolution that has been termed precision dairying. This change has been driven, at least in part, by a continual increase in the scale of dairy farming and an associated drive for efficiencies, and technological advances in the area of sensors and automated devices for animal and resource management. In this paper, a survey of New Zealand precision dairy farmers is presented, highlighting lessons from farmers for technology developers and industry. Respondents indicated that they invested in technologies such as electronic identification, milk meters, automated cup removers, and automated drafting for labour saving and to make herd management easier. Most were positive about their investments, with perceived benefits from saved time during milking, decreased farm workforce requirement, and increased farm profitability. Farmers also felt there was unused functionality in their herd management systems and that they could benefit from increased support and training to get more from their technology. Technology suppliers need to refocus on after-sales service and tailor their support programs to stages of learning development, while creating a value proposition for farmers to pay for such services. Dairy industry organisations need to take the lead in building awareness of the opportunities such technologies offer, while facilitating access to independent information about technology capability and investment.
Hydraulic Management Drives Heat Budgets and Temperature Trends in a Mediterranean Reservoir

By contrast to the more regular and predictable temperate lakes, heat budgets and temperature dynamics in Mediterranean reservoirs are characterized by a marked interannual variability. In the present paper, the heat content, annual Birgean heat budget (ABHB), and thermal structure of Sau Reservoir were examined during a period of hypolimnetic withdrawal between 1980 and 1985, and during a period of withdrawal at intermediate depths between 1996 and 2003. The two study periods were also characterized by a wide range of stored water volume fluctuations. Results were used to develop and validate an empirical model to predict annual and monthly heat dynamics statistics and mixed layer depth as a function of hydraulic management parameters such as water volume and selective withdrawal depth. During the hypolimnetic withdrawal period elevated ABHB and deep mixed layer depths were recorded in the reservoir, which behaved as a heat trap. By contrast, intermediate depth withdrawal promoted a shallower and more stable thermocline, thus increasing the cold hypolimnetic water volume and decreasing heat content and ABHB. The study reveals that hydraulic management constitutes the main driver of the heat and thermal dynamics in reservoirs with multiple withdrawal outlets. By contrast with the increasing temperature trends recorded in many natural lakes, the hydraulic management in Sau Reservoir induced a progressive reduction in water temperature and heat content in the system, thus partially counteracting the possible deleterious effects of global warming. Our intensive study in a single, highly-dynamic ecosystem constitutes a new approximation to the study of thermal structure and heat dynamics in water bodies.
Grain mold fungi and their effect on sorghum grain quality

The major grain mold fungi of sorghum in South Africa were determined by assaying five sorghum cultivars from three localities in 2002 and eight localities in 2003. The predominant fungal genera from all the cultivars and localities were Alternaria, Curvularia, Epicoccum, Fusarium and Phoma spp. in order of frequency isolated. The relative frequency of grain mold fungal isolates differed with locality. Grain mold fungi were least frequently encountered at Bethlehem followed by Heilbron. The incidence of grain mold fungi correlated negatively with milling quality and certain malting properties of sorghum grain were affected. The effect of fungal isolates on various grain quality parameters was examined by inoculating sorghum panicles under glasshouse conditions. All inoculated fungi reduced grain germination in a range of 5.0-50.1% with Curvularia lunata resulting in the highest reduction (50.1%) followed by a mixed population of fungi (30.2%). Fusarium proliferatum, A. alternata, F. graminearum, P. sorghina and an inoculum mixture of equal proportions of the five test fungi significantly (P≤ 0.05) reduced 1000 kernel mass by 31.5, 26.2, 21.3, 10.6 and 7.4%, respectively. Fusarium thapsinum and C. lunata yielded a 3.8 and 0.5% reduction in 1000 kernel mass, respectively. Fusarium thapsinum, F. proliferatum and the mixed fungal population followed by P. sorghina, C. lunata and A. alternata resulted in higher levels of grain discolouration in glasshouse studies. A significant increase in mycotoxin concentration on grains inoculated with different grain mold fungi was recorded. These results indicated that various fungi are involved in the grain mold disease complex and that both qualitative and quantitative losses of sorghum may result.
Climate‐change adaptation on rangelands: linking regional exposure with diverse adaptive capacity

The ecological consequences of climate change are predicted to vary greatly throughout US rangelands. Projections show warming and drying in the southern Great Plains and the Southwest, warmer and drier summers with reduced winter snowpack in the Northwest, and warmer and wetter conditions in the northern Great Plains. Primarily through their combined effects on soil water availability, these climatic changes will modify plant production and community composition, which will, in turn, affect the livelihoods of humans who rely upon livestock grazing. The ability of rangeland managers to assess risk and prepare for climate change varies greatly and reflects their different adaptive capacities. Geographically specific exposure to climate change and a diverse adaptive capacity to counteract these changes will require development of varied adaptation strategies that can accommodate the various needs and abilities of livestock managers.
The role of growth history in determining age and size at maturation in exploited fish populations

Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on investigating whether decreased ages and sizes at maturation in exploited fish populations could be evolutionary responses to selective fishing. To this end, the main focus has been on isolating the effects of growth changes from the process of maturation, but little effort has been invested in assessing how growth actually affects ages and sizes at maturation in a population. Here, we develop a probabilistic description of the process of maturation, which makes explicit the mathematical links between maturation, growth and the probabilistic maturation reaction norm. Apart from providing a mathematically explicit yet heuristically simple framework for assessing the role of growth in the age and size at maturation, we demonstrate by simulation that changes in growth rates can result in considerable shifts in the age and size at maturation. Focusing more attention on growth histories of individuals would provide a better position to understand the processes constituting phenotypic shifts in the age and size at maturation and help in disentangling environmentally induced plastic changes in maturation from those caused by evolutionary responses to fisheries-induced selection.
Cell cycle and physiological characteristics of Synechococcus (WH7803) in chemostat culture

The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus spp. is one of the most abundant picoplanktonic photoautotrophs in the world's oceans. When grown in nitrogen-limited chemostat culture under continuous light, Synechococcus strain WH7803 displays a bimodal DNA histogram. Consequently, the duration of each growth phase can be computed from the proportion of cells in each cell cycle phase. We measured cellular DNA distribution, carbon and nitrogen content, and pigment composition of Synechococcus WH7803 in a series of chemostat experiments with growth rate ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 d -1 , Flow cytometric data showed that the duration of each cell cycle phase increased linearly with doubling time, and the fraction of cells in the S and G 2 phases, f S+G2 , was relatively constant at growth rates of less than 1 doubling d -1 . Cellular carbon and nitrogen contents were about 200 and 40 fg cell -1 , respectively, but were much higher for slowly growing cells. The carbon to nitrogen ratio, the carbon to chlorophyll a ratio, and the ratio of zeaxanthin to chlorophyll a all decreased with increasing growth rate. These observed relationships are useful for applying cell cycle analysis to estimate growth rate, or for using cell abundance or pigment concentrations to estimate biomass and productivity of Synechococcus in the sea.
Nitrogen Fertigation Concentration and Timing of Application Affect Nitrogen Nutrition, Yield, Firmness, and Color of Apples Grown at High Density

A randomized complete block, split-plot experiment with six replicates was established and maintained for the first six fruiting seasons (1999 to 2004) in a high-density apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf. ] orchard on M.9 rootstock planted in Apr. 1998. This report assesses responses to six main-plot fertigation treatments, each containing three tree subplots of five different cultivars (Ambrosia, Cameo, Fuji, Gala, and Silken). Fertigation treatments were a factorial combination of two nitrogen (N) rates and three N application timings. N was applied at low (28 mg N/L) or high (168 mg N/L) concentrations daily at 0 to 4, 4 to 8, or 8 to 12 weeks after full bloom (wafb). Under greater N inputs, all cultivars had increased midsummer leaf and harvested fruit N concentrations, decreased fruit firmness, and in heavy crop years, decreased percent red color. Annual yield of all cultivars was significantly increased by N rate in a single year, but their cumulative yields were not different between treatments as a result of rate or timing. Altering the timing of N application within 12 wafb only affected leaf and fruit tissue N concentration. Leaf N was higher after 4 weeks of fertigation any time, although concentrations declined over the growing season, reaching minimum values around harvest. Fruit N was increased by fertigation 4 to 12 wafb. Yield, fruit firmness, and color were unaffected by fertigation timing. Critical fruit quality issues for 'Gala' and 'Silken' were small fruit size, for Ambrosia low fruit numbers, and for 'Cameo' soft fruit. 'Fuji', which achieved high yield and leaf N concentration and firm fruit, had poor red color regardless of N treatments.
Sexual, seasonal and group size differences in the allocation of time between vigilance and feeding in the greater rhea, Rhea americana

We studied the effect of sex and group size on the proportion of time a greater rhea, Rhea americana, allocates to vigilance and feeding during the breeding and the non-breeding seasons. We analysed 175 records of focal animals that were feeding alone or in groups of 2 to 26 birds. In both seasons, males spent more time in vigilance and less time in feeding than females. Both sexes spent more time in vigilance and less time in feeding during the breeding season. Sexual and seasonal differences in vigilance were the result of different mechanisms. Males had shorter feeding bouts than females but there were no sexual differences in the length of the vigilance bouts. On the contrary, seasonal differences were the result of males and females having longer vigilance bouts during the breeding season but there were no seasonal differences in the length of the feeding bouts. During the non-breeding season, individual vigilance was higher in rheas foraging alone than in groups. In this case, solitary birds had longer vigilance and shorter feeding bouts than birds foraging in groups. We discuss the possible effect of intragroup competition and food availability on the allocation of time between feeding and vigilance in this species.
Abundance and vertical distribution of a bromeliad-dwelling zygopteran larva, Mecistogaster modesta, in a Costa Rican rainforest (Odonata: Pseudostigmatidae)

Abstract We compared the larval abundance of Mecistogaster modesta between bromeliads at ground level and canopy level in a primary tropical wet forest. Zygopteran abundance correlated strongly with bromeliad diameter at both levels. Although the per-bromeliad zygopteran abundance did not differ between vertical levels, M. modesta showed a strong vertical distribution in abundance owing to the variation in bromeliad size and density along a vertical gradient, with more and larger bromeliads closer to ground level than to the canopy. We predict M. modesta larval abundance to be 171 ± 65 (s.e.) per hectare, with >80% of larvae below halfway to the lower canopy limit. The total prey abundance or species richness did not differ between ground and canopy bromeliads, further suggesting that apart from bromeliad size, habitat quality for M. modesta was similar between vertical levels. Effects of habitat size on larval abundance patterns are addressed by comparing habitat volume and basal resource mass with diameter. Finally, larger-scale spatial patterns in zygopteran abundance are discussed with reference to bromeliad distributions.