Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of experimental warming on nitrogen concentration and biomass of forage plants for an arctic herbivore

In many arctic herbivores, the growth of young depends upon a synchrony between hatching date and seasonal change in plant nutritive quality. If plants respond more quickly than herbivores to climate warming, this may cause a mismatch between the availability of high‐quality food and the hatching of young. This study examines the impact of experimental warming on the main food plants of an arctic herbivore, the greater snow goose (Chen caerulescens atlanticaL.) breeding on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada. During summers 2007–2009, we increased the temperature using small glasshouses (open‐top chambers, OTC) in two habitats, wetlands and mesic tundra. Every 10 days, we measured above‐ground plant biomass and a proxy of nutritive quality, nitrogen concentration, of graminoid plants in warmed and control plots from snowmelt in June until late July. Open‐top chambers increased mean maximum temperature by up to 2.0 °C in wetlands and 4.6 °C in mesic tundra. Annual warming significantly increased biomass of graminoids by up to 29% in wetlands and 20% in mesic tundra. There was no difference in nitrogen concentration of the four plant species sampled (Dupontia fisheri, Eriophorum scheuchzeri, Arctagrostis latifolia and Luzula spp.) early in the season, but the seasonal decline in nitrogen occurred more rapidly in warmed than in control plots (10% to 14% less nitrogen in warmed plots in July). This effect was consistent across the 3 years of the experiment and independent of annual variation in plant phenology. There was either a weak positive effect or no effect of the warming treatment on the nitrogen biomass of plants depending on species or period of the season. Synthesis. Our results show that warming speeds up plant phenology and the seasonal decline in nutritive quality for arctic herbivores. Because young herbivores like geese are highly sensitive to the nitrogen concentration of their food, a warmer climate will likely reduce their growth. Climate warming may therefore have a negative impact on the population dynamic of arctic herbivores by reducing the quality of their summer forage.
Effects of elevated CO2, nitrogen and fungal endophyte‐infection on tall fescue: growth, photosynthesis, chemical composition and digestibility

Rising global carbon dioxide levels may lead to profound changes in plant composition, regardless of the degree of global warming that may result from the accumulation of this greenhouse gas. We studied the interaction of a CO2 doubling and two levels of nitrogen fertilizer on the growth and chemical composition of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreber cv. KY‐31) when infected and uninfected with the mutualistic fungal endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum Morgan‐Jones and Gams. Two‐year‐old plants were harvested to 5 cm every 4 weeks, and after 12 weeks of growth plants grown in twice ambient CO2 concentrations: photosynthesized 15% more; produced tillers at a faster rate; produced 53% more dry matter (DM) yield under low N conditions and 61% more DM under high N conditions; the % organic matter (OM) was little changed except under elevated CO2 and high N when %OM increased by 3%; lignin decreased by 14%; crude protein (CP) concentrations (as %DM) declined by 21%; the soluble CP fraction (as %CP) increased by 13%; the acid detergent insoluble CP fraction (as %CP) increased by 12%, and in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility declined by 5% under high N conditions but not under low N. Plants infected with the endophytic fungus: photosynthesized 16% faster in high N compared with under low N; flowered earlier than uninfected plants; had 28% less lignin in high N compared with under low N; and had much smaller reductions in CP concentration (as %DM) and smaller increases in the soluble CP fraction (as %CP) and the acid detergent insoluble CP fraction (as %CP) under elevated CO2. Such large and varied changes in plant quality are likely to have large and significant effects on the herbivore populations that feed from these plants.
Efficacy of plant essential oils on post-harvest control of rot caused by Botrytis cinerea on kiwi fruits

Antifungal activity of the essential oils of Carum carvi and Pimpinella anisum against Botrytis cinerea fruit rot of key kiwi fruit was studied. In vitro experiments, antifungal activities of essential oils were tested on potato dextrose agar media. Results of an in vitro experiment showed that these essential oils, at all applied concentrations, inhibited grey mould growth. Black caraway essential oil at concentrations of 600 and 800 μL L−1 inhibited germination spores of grey mould. Then, the fruits were artificially inoculated with a suspension at 1 × 105 conidia/ml and then treated with different concentrations of these essential oils. The results of in vivo conditions showed that black caraway and anise essential oils applied at all concentrations were increasing the shelf life and inhibited the grey mould growth on kiwi fruits completely in comparison to control. The result showed that black caraway and anise oils at a concentration of 800 μL L−1 had higher total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, titrable acidity and antioxidant content compared to untreated fruits.
Population regulation in adult, but not juvenile, resident trout (Salmo trutta) in a Lake District stream

1. Unlike a neighbouring sea-trout population that showed strong density-dependent survival, a resident trout population (Salmo trutta L.) showed simple proportionate survival in the early life-stages. However, this persistent population fluctuated within narrow limits. Mature adults, especially during spawning, were the only possible life-stage left in which regulation might occur.2. An October census, just prior to spawning, was made at five sites (total area 300 m2) from 1965 to 1983. Gravel nests (redds) associated with females of known size were excavated outside these sites to obtain a power-function relationship between egg density per redd and female length (range 181–280 mm, n = 26). This relationship and the census data for females (range 186–284 mm) were used to estimate egg densities in each year-class.3. The census data for the early life-stages (0+, 1+, 2+ trout) confirmed proportionate survival with no evidence for density-dependent regulation. In contrast, the number of spawning females produced in each year-class was strongly density dependent on the initial number of females that laid eggs at the start of the year-class. Similarly, total egg production in each year-class was density dependent on initial egg density.4 Both relationships were well described by the Ricker and Beverton-Holt stock-recruitment models (P < 0.001) and the goodness-of-fit was similar for both models. This study is probably the first to provide clear evidence for fish population regulation in the adult, rather than the juvenile, stage.
Geostatistical analysis of crop yield maps in a long term no tillage system

It is known, for a long time, that crop yields are not uniform at the field. In some places, it is possible to distinguish sites with both low and high yields even within the same area. This work aimed to evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of some crop yields and to identify potential zones for site specific management in an area under no-tillage system for 23 years. Data were analyzed from a 3.42 ha long term experimental area at the Centro Experimental Central of the Instituto Agronomico, located in Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The crop yield data evaluated included the following crops: soybean, maize, lablab and triticale, and all of them were cultivated since 1985 and sampled at a regular grid of 302 points. Data were normalized and analyzed using descriptive statistics and geostatistical tools in order to demonstrate and describe the structure of the spatial variability. All crop yields showed high variability. All of them also showed spatial dependence and were fitted to the spherical model, except for the yield of the maize in 1999 productivity which was fitted to the exponential model. The north part of the area presented repeated high values of productivity in some years. There was a positive cross correlation amongst the productivity values, especially for the maize crops.
Jaguar Panthera onca predation of marine turtles: conflict between flagship species in Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Abstract Predation can be an important driver of population dynamics but can also pose a dilemma to conservation managers if the species interacting are of conservation concern or have a high public profile. For 5 years we conducted regular transect surveys to monitor the spatial and temporal patterns of predation of adult marine turtles by jaguars Panthera onca in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica. Predation occurs throughout the study site on Tortuguero Beach although at lower rates at the northern and southern ends, probably because of increased human presence in these areas. There was a marked increase in predation, from an average of < 2 turtles predated per survey in the first season to > 5 predated per survey in the last, with 676 jaguar-predated marine turtles recorded during the study period. With a minimum of 189 individuals predated in the last season, predation of adult turtles has now reached a magnitude never before recorded in a marine turtle rookery. Although the nesting population of marine turtles in Tortuguero is one of the largest in the world and suffers from both direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, the increase in predation by jaguars makes this ecological interaction relevant to the management of both the jaguar and marine turtle populations. The situation could lead to a potential conflict in conservation strategies that, given the flagship role of the species involved, will need to be addressed both in the context of species management and conservation marketing.
Sympatry and colour variation disguised well-differentiated sister species: Suphrodytes revised with integrative taxonomy including 5 kbp of housekeeping genes (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

The genus Suphrodytes, is currently regarded as a monobasic Palearctic genus with one colour-variable species, S. dorsalis. Here we show with >5 kbp of nuclear and mitochondrial genes and quantitative morphological characters that Suphrodytes consists of two well-defined species, albeit each with variable colour pattern. The primary barcode gene CO1, showed consistent signs of multiple copies, therefore a range of alternative housekeeping genes were screened for information. The two species were reciprocally monophyletic in genetrees from 12S, 16S, CO1, CO2, CytB, H3 and 18S. Explicit species delimitation tests based on the coalescent process model rejected the null hypothesis that the genealogies originated from a single panmictic species. The mitochondrial proteincoding genes were proportionally richest in information followed by 12S and Histone 3. Conservative nuclear 18S had a single fixed diagnostic character. The two species were significantly different in total bodylength, bodyshape, shape of the male aedeagus and parameres. We review the taxonomic literature of Suphrodytes and find S. dorsalis (Fabricius, 1787) and S. figuratus (Gyllenhal, 1826) to be the oldest available names for the respective species, and for which we designate lectotypes. Synonyms are established for both species which are broadly sympatric across the Palearctic and frequently even collected at the same locality.
Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity of Fourteen Essential Oils When Using Dilution and Diffusion Methods

Abstract The lack of solubility and the high degree of volatility of essential oils present significant problems to determining the biological effects of these oils. The activity of 10 essential oils and 4 essential oil blends against a Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. , and a yeast, Candida albicans. , was compared using a dilution assay and two diffusion methods. The tube dilution assay, using a 0.2% agar solution to provide a stable homogeneous dispersion of oils, was used to measure minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The relative merits of using p.-iodonitro tetrazolium dye (INT) or optical density (OD) in measuring MIC of essential oils also were evaluated. All 14 oils were active against both microorganisms. Thyme, mountain savory, and Turkish oregano were the most active oils against S. aureus. with MICs of 0.31–0.42 µl/ml. Thyme, Turkish oregano, and mountain savory also were the most active against C. albicans. with MICs of 0.31–0.42 µl/ml. The MIC values as determined by INT or OD methods are strongly correlated for both microorganisms, and both give an accurate estimation of MIC. In the disk diffusion assay, thyme, Turkish oregano, Melissa, mountain savory, and the Exodus II (E2) blend were most active against S. aureus. In the hole-plate assay, the same oils were active against S. aureus. except for Melissa. For C. albicans. , thyme, Melissa, mountain savory, Turkish oregano, rosewood, E2 blend, and the T1 blend were most active in the disk diffusion assay. The same oils were active against C. albicans. in the hole-plate diffusion assay except for the T1 blend. Of the methods tested, the tube dilution assay best addresses the solubility and volatility concerns of essential oils. We favor the determination of MIC using INT because of several eliminated steps. Although there were differences in the way in which some essential oils responded in the two diffusion methods, the correlations between the disk and hole-plate diffusion methods were high and yielded comparable results. However, results from the dilution assay were weakly correlated with agar diffusion results. Diffusion assays are useful as a qualitative assessment of biological activity of essential oils but are not appropriate in assessing quantitative effects.
Elevation affects the distribution of the two sexes in Daubenton’s bats Myotis daubentonii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Italy

Summary. - In 2000-2001 I investigated sexual segregation in Myotis daubentonii from the Abruzzo (central Italy) population. I captured 133 bats at sites respectively below 880 and above 970 m a.s. l. Females only occurred below 880 m, while males were observed at all sites but were less frequent than expected below 880 m a.s. l. and occurred more than expected above 970 m a.s. l. Of four day roosts examined, the one above 970 m a.s. l. was occupied by males only, while bats from both sexes were captured at those at lower altitudes. A few bats from both sexes were captured at a night roost below 880 m a.s. l. The% Body Condition Index (BCI) was compared between adult males from below 880 m and above 970 m a.s. l. In April-June males from low-elevation sites showed a higher BCI, but no difference occurred in August. The upper elevational limit for females in Italy lies at a higher altitude (ca. 900-950 m a.s.l.) than that recorded in northern Europe. The possible mechanisms (physiological constraints and competition between sexes) leading to sexual segregation in M. daubentonii and in other bat species are discussed. Resume. - En 2000-2001, j'ai etudie la segregation sexuelle au sein d'une population de Myotis dciubentonii des Abruzzes (Italic centrale). J'ai capture 133 sujets en des sites respectivement situes en dessous de 880 m et au-dessus de 970 m. Les femelles ont ete reperees au dessous de 880 m alors que les males ont ete notes sur tous les sites. Ils se sont toutefois averes moins frequents que pouvait s'y attendre en dessous de 880 m, et plus frequents au-dessus de 970 m. Panni les quatre refuges localises, celui situe au-dessus de 970 m etait seulement occupe par des males; alors que des sujets des deux sexes ont ete captures dans ceux de basse altitude. Quelques sujets des deux sexes ont ete captures dans un gite nocturne au dessous de 880 m. II a ete en outre procede a une comparaison entre Tlndice de Condition Corporelle (I.C.C.) des males captures sous 880 m et celui de ceux captures au-dessus de 970 m. En avril-juin, les males des altitudes inferieures temoignaient d'un ICC plus eleve, mais cette difference n'a pas ete observee en aout. En Italic, la limite altitudinale superieure (900-950 m) des femelles est superieure aux valeurs relevees en Europe du Nord. Les possibles mecanismes (contraintes physiologiques et competition inter-sexes) qui conduisent a la segregation sexuelle chez M. daubentonii et autres especes de chiropteres sont l'objet de discussion.
Sinking rates of phytoplankton filaments orientated at different angles: theory and physical model

Measurements of phytoplankton sinking rates are usually performed on samples of randomly oriented cells or colonies and yet the theoretical analyses of results are usually based on formulae restricted to objects oriented either vertically or horizontally. Formulae first published in 1965 but unknown in the phytoplankton literature can be used to calculate sinking rates of prolate ellipsoids and cylinders, shapes commonly encountered in phytoplankton, sinking at a range of angles between vertical and horizontal. The formulae predict a curvilinear decrease in speed from the maximum when oriented at 0° to the vertical, and a horizontal component in the trajectories of cylindrical particles oriented at angles of >0° and < 90°, with filaments with an axial ratio of 100 drifting sideways at up to 25% of the speed of vertical drift. All of these predictions were verified with a physical model of graphite cylinders (pencil leads) sinking in an oil-filled sedimentation column, after corrections for column wall effects were applied. The mean vertical sinking rate of a disperse, randomly oriented population of filaments was also calculated, from the probability of orientation at each angle, and the theoretical speed at that angle.
Dietary metyrapone blocks cortisol synthesis in pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887), stressed by air exposure

Summary Tested was the efficiency of dietary metyrapone (MTP) in the inhibition of cortisol biosynthesis, as a tool to elucidate the effects of this hormone in the tropical fish pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus H.) during air-exposure-induced stress. Moreover, MTP efficiency was shown to be affected by both the dose and time of administration and that a daily dose of 30 mg kg−1 body weight for 10 days reduced the levels of circulating cortisol in stressed fish. The tested method of MTP administration, including the concentration and the time of administration, efficiently regulated cortisol synthesis in a non-invasive manner.
Hydrochory, population dynamics and distribution of the clonal aquatic plant Ranunculus lingua

The dispersal and dynamics of the clonal aquatic plant Ranunculus Lingua were studied in a marginal river population in northern Sweden, where this species is dispersed exclusively by vegetative diaspores (i.e. floating rhizome fragments). The study focused on the extent and range of dispersal, relationships between dispersal and distribution of established stands of R. lingua, and between dispersal and environmental characteristics of the river (i.e. «river status»), the establishment success of vegetative diaspores, and the relative changes in ramet numbers between years. Between 0-8 and 2-9% of the total population of ramets was estimated to disperse each year. Most rhizomes were dispersed within 1 -5 km in a leptokurtic pattern. A river lake functioned as a dispersal barrier, preventing dispersal distances greater than 3 km (.)
Importance of Self-Consistency in Active Learning for Semantic Segmentation

We address the task of active learning in the context of semantic segmentation and show that self-consistency can be a powerful source of self-supervision to greatly improve the performance of a data-driven model with access to only a small amount of labeled data. Self-consistency uses the simple observation that the results of semantic segmentation for a specific image should not change under transformations like horizontal flipping (i.e., the results should only be flipped). In other words, the output of a model should be consistent under equivariant transformations. The self-supervisory signal of self-consistency is particularly helpful during active learning since the model is prone to overfitting when there is only a small amount of labeled training data. In our proposed active learning framework, we iteratively extract small image patches that need to be labeled, by selecting image patches that have high uncertainty (high entropy) under equivariant transformations. We enforce pixel-wise self-consistency between the outputs of segmentation network for each image and its transformation (horizontally flipped) to utilize the rich self-supervisory information and reduce the uncertainty of the network. In this way, we are able to find the image patches over which the current model struggles the most to classify. By iteratively training over these difficult image patches, our experiments show that our active learning approach reaches $\sim96\%$ of the top performance of a model trained on all data, by using only $12\%$ of the total data on benchmark semantic segmentation datasets (e.g., CamVid and Cityscapes).
INFLUENCE OF ABIOTIC FACTORS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON THE FORMATION OF AGGREGATIONS IN COTTON‐BUGS (DYSDERCUS SPP., HETEROPTERA)

The subsocial habits of Dysdercus spp. are manifest first of all by the formation of aggregations, which are based on an inter‐individual attraction. The tendency to establish aggregations is modified by several environmental factors such as temperature, intensity of light, relative humidity of the air and moisture of the substrate. In addition, the fluctuating physiological condition of the insects during their development as well as the daily periodicity of activity have a considerable influence on the aggregation‐tendency.
PERFORMANCE OF SUNFLOWER IN RESPONSE TO EXOGENOUSLY APPLIED SALICYLIC ACID UNDER VARYING IRRIGATION REGIMES

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of sunflower in response of exogenously applied Salicylic Acid (SA) under varying irrigation regimes at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, during spring 2007. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement and replicated thrice. Net plot size was 3 m x 5 m. Irrigation regimes were kept in main plots and foliar application of SA regimes in sub plots. Irrigation regimes comprised of I1: control (Normal irrigations), I2: Irrigation missing at vegetative stage (drought stress at vegetative stage), and I3: Irrigation missing at flowering stage (drought stress at flowering), where as exogenous SA application comprised of F0: Control (no application), F1: Foliar application of 100 ppm SA at vegetative stage, F2: Foliar application of 100 ppm at flowering stage. It was observed that among various irrigation regimes, maximum number of achenes head -1 (1164.67), achene yield (2857.11 kg ha -1 ), biological yield (11412.00 kg ha -1 ), harvest index ( 25.18 % ), and achene oil (41.48 % ), was noted when crop was grown under normal irrigation regimes, where as minimum achene protein content (22.63 %) was recorded when crop was irrigated normally. The minimum values of above parameters were recorded, when crop was missed irrigation at flowering stage. Correspondingly, among different treatments of exogenous application of SA, maximum number of achenes head -1 (986.11), achene yield (2601.00 kg ha -1 ), biological yield (10822.56 kg ha -1 ), harvest index (25.43 % ), and achene oil (40.72 %), and minimum achene protein content (22.92 %) was recorded, when foliar application of SA (100 ppm) was done at vegetative stage. Likewise, the minimum values of above parameters were recorded, when foliar application of SA (100 ppm) was done at flowering stage. It may be concluded that maximum achene yield would be obtained when crop was irrigated normally. Drought stress both at vegetative and flowering stage badly affected the crop growth and yield components but stress at flowering stage was more damaging. Exogenous application of SA significantly ameliorated the negative effects of drought stress at both stages.