Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unravelling the complex structure of forest soil food webs: higher omnivory and more trophic levels

Food web topologies depict the community structure as distributions of feeding interactions across populations. Although the soil ecosystem provides important functions for aboveground ecosystems, data on complex soil food webs is notoriously scarce, most likely due to the difficulty of sampling and characterizing the system. To fill this gap we assembled the complex food webs of 48 forest soil communities. The food webs comprise 89 to 168 taxa and 729 to 3344 feeding interactions. The feeding links were established by combining several molecular methods (stable isotope, fatty acid and molecular gut content analyses) with feeding trials and literature data. First, we addressed whether soil food webs (n = 48) differ significantly from those of other ecosystem types (aquatic and terrestrial aboveground, n = 77) by comparing 22 food web parameters. We found that our soil food webs are characterized by many omnivorous and cannibalistic species, more trophic chains and intraguild-predation motifs than other food webs and high average and maximum trophic levels. Despite this, we also found that soil food webs have a similar connectance as other ecosystems, but interestingly a higher link density and clustering coefficient. These differences in network structure to other ecosystem types may be a result of ecosystem specific constraints on hunting and feeding characteristics of the species that emerge as network parameters at the food-web level. In a second analysis of land-use effects, we found significant but only small differences of soil food web structure between different beech and coniferous forest types, which may be explained by generally strong selection effects of the soil that are independent of human land use. Overall, our study has unravelled some systematic structures of soil food-webs, which extends our mechanistic understanding how environmental characteristics of the soil ecosystem determine patterns at the community level.
Effects of Environmental Factors on Germination and Emergence of Swallowwort

Swallowwort, a twining perennial of the Asclepiadaceae family, has become increasingly invasive in cultivated fields, orchards, fence rows, natural areas, and roadsides of some provinces in Iran. The ability of this weed to establish and develop from seed was studied in laboratory and greenhouse experiments. Optimum germination temperature was 25 C. Germination did not occur at ≤ 15 C either in dark or light. In temperature fluctuation experiments, maximum germination occurred at 30/22 C, but light fluctuations had no effect on swallowwort seed germination. At pH 4 to 9 seed germination was 44 to 66%. Osmotic potential up to −0.2 MPa had little effect on germination. Seed germination was less than 5% at −0.8 Mpa. Swallowwort seeds were not able to germinate at 300 mM NaCl; however, there was 12% germination at the 200 mM concentration. Maximum emergence occurred when the seeds were planted at 1.5 cm depth. Seedlings did not emerge when planted at 6.5 cm depth. Germination percentage of the seeds kept under immersed (water) conditions was similar to those of nonimmersing periods; however, seedling growth was greater in treatments without immersing periods. Nomenclature: Swallowwort, Cynanchum acutum L.
The Effect of the Energy Protein Ratio of the Diet, Strain, and Age at Slaughter on Performance and Carcass Quality of Turkey Broilers

Abstract Two experiments involving 1300 turkeys of two Small White strains were conducted to investigate the effects of diets of varying energy: protein ratios at two nutrient densities on the performance of starting poults and the effects of varying energy: protein ratios on performance and carcass quality of growing/finishing turkeys to 12 and 14 weeks of age. Diets with energy:protein ratios, changing at 3-week intervals, of 10.75, 11.4, 13.8, 14.5, and 16.0 kcal (45.1, 47.4, 57.6, 60.5, and 67.0 kJ) TME/g protein resulted in more rapid growth than diets with wider energy: protein ratios. There was no evidence of a reduced requirement for protein (i.e., wider energy:protein ratio) in diets of higher nutrient density. Turkeys of one strain grew more rapidly, utilized feed more efficiently, but finished more slowly than turkeys of another strain. Increasing energy: protein ratios did not improve carcass finish but reduced the yields of thigh meat and breast meat per kilogram eviscerated weight.
Treatment of adult Coleoptera with a chitin synthesis inhibitor affects mortality and development time of their progeny

A group of insect growth regulators, the chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs), are being more widely used as many insects have become resistant to broad‐spectrum insecticides. This study investigated the mode of action of one CSI, particularly looking at the delayed effect of treating adult insects on the survival and development of their progeny. The study describes the responses of adult stored grain beetles Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Curculionidae) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Bostrichidae) to wheat treated with chlorfluazuron. For both species, wheat treated with chlorfluazuron reduced progeny survival at a constant rate from 1 day to 8 weeks after it had been treated. There was a direct, negative concentration‐time relationship between the treatment of the adults with chlorfluazuron‐treated wheat and the survival and developmental rate of their progeny. Adults that were pre‐exposed for one or more weeks before oviposition to wheat treated with chlorfluazuron had significantly lower progeny survival than adults that were not pre‐exposed. The EC95 values were 16‐fold higher for R. dominica and 40‐fold higher for S. oryzae from assays without pre‐exposure, than with pre‐exposure. Pre‐exposure of R. dominica with 0.1 mg kg−1 and of S. oryzae with 0.4 mg kg−1 of chlorfluazuron reduced progeny survival by 95%. Higher concentrations of chlorfluazuron produced a reduction in mean population developmental time of several days. These findings have important implications for bioassays of CSIs, since pre‐exposure of the adults can significantly reduce the numbers of F1 progeny. Therefore standard bioassays may seriously underestimate the efficacy of the CSI being assayed.
The Tertiary Marsupialia

The best test of the relations in density between molten and solidified rock is apparently to compare the density of the rock just before fusion, or at least near that point, with the density of the same rock after melting. This would give a comparison between the crystalline and liquid states, while the usual method only affords a comparison between the liquid and the glassy or semi-glassy states. It would also save any error arising from cells in the cooled rock, if a solid mass was chosen in the first place. Again the fresh unaltered varieties of a rock should be chosen instead of such old and altered ones as those usually experimented upon. In all discussions relating to the question of the liquidity of the earth's interior, it is to be borne in mind that the chief portion of our knowledge of the properties of liquids is derived from the study of water, a mobile liquid-while liquid rock, as lava or melted iron, is viscous, and its laws and properties may on experiment be found to differ considerably from those of watery under like conditions. Also in these solids the passage from the solid to the liquid state or the reverse is not abrupt as is the case with water, for every grade of viscosity exists between the normal solidity and the approximately perfect liquid condition. This is especially the case with iron and seems to be so for the common rocks. (To be continued.)
A crop-weather model for prediction of rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield using an empirical-statistical technique

Rice is the staple food in many countries and is grown in varied climates from per-humid to semiarid areas. Crop-weather models were used to predict rice yield in India. However, in spite of a significant influence of solar radiation on rice yield, none of these models used solar radiation as one of the predictors. In this paper, an attempt was made to predict the first season (June-September) rice yield at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India by including solar radiation as one of the predictors. Ten years (1987/88-1996/97) data were used for the study. Seven predictors viz., percentage of rice area during first season (X 1 ), number of days with minimum temperature below 22 °C in August and September (X 2 ), average daily maximum temperature for three months (July, August and September; X 3 ), average daily minimum temperature for three months (July, August and September; X 4 ), total of average sunshine hours in August and September (X 5 ), and total rainfall of July, August and September (X 6 ) total average solar radiation of August and September (X 7 ) were selected based on earlier report. Full model and stepwise regression analysis were performed using MSTAT computer package. The full model regression without solar radiation as predictor (Model I) recorded comparatively less R 2 (0.6292). Inclusion of solar radiation (Model II) enhanced the R 2 value considerably (R 2 = 0.9464). Seven variables were further subjected to stepwise regression analysis and only four predictors were retained in the final model (Model III) with an R 2 value of 0.9234. The model III with minimum parameters Y = 22119.5758 + 19.6898, X 1 - 150.9261, X 2 - 1126.7501, X 4 + 0.7179 X7 can be used to predict the first season rice yield (Y) at Coimbatore, India.
Effects of a severe flood on instream habitat and trout populations in seven New Zealand rivers

Abstract The effects of a major flood on instream habitat and trout numbers in 7 rivers in the South Island, New Zealand, were determined by drift diving (snorkeling) sections of each of the rivers before and after the event. A general coarsening of the substrate was noted in runs and pools but not in riffles. In most of the rivers there was significant scouring of pools but little change of run and riffle habitats. In 6 of the 7 rivers, brown trout (Salmo trutta) abundance decreased significantly, with small fish (10–20 cm fork length) being reduced by 90–100%, medium fish (20–40 cm FL) by 62–87%, and large fish (> 40 cm FL) by 26–57 %. Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) occurred in 3 of the rivers but were not present in 2 of these after the flood. In the third river the abundance of largera in bow trout increased substantially whereas that of small fish decreased by 94%. The percentages of trout remaining in the surveyed reaches after the flood were highly correlated with river gradient and instream cover.
Long-term trends in food habits of a relict brown bear population in northern Spain: the influence of climate and local factors

Relict endangered populations may be especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A data series for the period 1974–2003 was used to examine shifts in brown bear Ursus arctos food habits in its south-westernmost European population. This focused on the hyperphagic season, when bears gain the fat that is essential for winter dormancy and reproduction. General climatic indicators were predictors of diet trends. Other variables potentially able to modify brown bear food habits at the local scale were accounted for by considering two areas where local conditions changed in different ways during the study period. General climatic indicators such as temperature and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index were good predictors of some diet trends, although local factors seemed to modulate the potential response of food habits to recent climate change. Boreal and temperate food items decreasingly contributed to brown bear diet, replaced by increasing contributions of southern foods, which suggested that warmer temperatures might determine the occurrence of some food items in the diet of Cantabrian brown bears through effects on plant distribution and phenology. At the local scale, high cattle density in one of the study areas limited food sources available for brown bears. Important food sources for brown bears, such as heath-like Vaccinium formations and old-growth oak forest in the Cantabrian Mountains, require increased levels of protection.
Analysis of Jovian low-frequency radio emissions based on stereoscopic observations with Juno and Earth-based radio telescopes

Observations of Jupiter’s low-frequency radio emissions were made using the radio and plasma wave instrument (Waves) onboard the Juno spacecraft in polar orbit around Jupiter since July 5, 2016. Waves is designed to monitor the electric fields of waves from 50 Hz to 41 MHz with an electric dipole antenna and the magnetic fields of waves from 50 Hz to 20 kHz with a magnetic search coil sensor. The Juno spacecraft rotates with a period of 30 s, which modulates the spectral intensity sensed with the dipole antenna. We report early results of the Juno Waves investigation on (1) the direction–finding measurements of broadband kilometric (bKOM) radiation just before Juno’s first perijove, (2) one concurrent decametric (DAM) radiation from the Juno spacecraft near Jupiter and the Nançay Decameter Array in France during Juno’s interplanetary cruise, and (3) the statistical properties of Jovian DAM radio occurrence probability at 16 MHz obtained from Juno data of June 21 to December 10, 2016, then compared with the previous statistical results of the Cassini and Voyager observations during their Jupiter flybys.
A new choristodere (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Lower Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province, China, and phylogenetic relationships of Monjurosuchidae

The publication of the scientific name Monjurosuchus splendens in 1940 documented the first tetrapod fossil of the later world-renowned Jehol Biota. For more than half a century since this discovery, however, Monjurosuchus has remained as a monotypic genus of the family Monjurosuchidae, and the relationships of the family with choristoderes have not been correctly recognized until quite recently. In this paper, a new monjurosuchid is named and described based on a nearly complete skull and postcranial skeleton from the Early Cretaceous Chiufotang Formation exposed near Chaoyang, western Liaoning Province, China. This new material documents the first occurrence of monjurosuchid choristoderes outside the type Lingyuan area, and extends the geological range of the family from the Yixian Formation to the younger Chiufotang Formation. Cladistic analyses were conducted with inclusion of monjurosuchids, and the results support the placement of the family Monjurosuchidae as a primitive clade outside the Neochoristodera. A new classification scheme is proposed for choristoderes on the basis of the recovered phylogenetic framework of the group. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 145, 427–444.
Discriminative stimulus properties of idazoxan: mediation by both α2 adrenoceptor antagonism and 5‐HT1A receptor agonism

Idazoxan is reference α2 adrenoceptor antagonist and has been extensively used preclinically to support the “α2/D2 receptor hypothesis” for atypical antipsychotic effects. However, previous studies have shown that the anticataleptic and discriminative stimulus properties of idazoxan may be mediated by 5‐HT1A receptor agonism. The present study was conducted to further assess the role of α2 adrenoceptor antagonism and 5‐HT1A receptor agonism in the discriminative stimulus properties of idazoxan using a 5.0‐mg/kg training dose in rats. Idazoxan produced full‐stimulus generalization to itself, the α2 adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine, and the 5‐HT1A receptor partial agonist, 8‐OH‐DPAT. Both the α2 adrenoceptor agonists clonidine and guanfacine, and the 5‐HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635, partially blocked the discriminative stimulus effects of idazoxan. Finally, partial stimulus generalization occurred to the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine. On the basis of these findings, both α2 adrenoceptor antagonism and 5‐HT1A receptor agonism appear to contribute to the discriminative stimulus effects of idazoxan. Thus, the role of 5‐HT1A receptor agonism should be considered when evaluating the behavioral effects of idazoxan. Drug Dev Res 71: 261–267, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses of ten Pythium species using isozyme polymorphisms

Isozyme analysis of 13 enzymes was used to compare 204 isolates of the following 10 Pythium species from diverse geographic locations: P. aphanidermatum, P. arrhenomanes, P. deliense, P, graminicola, P. heterothallicum, P. irregulare, P. myriotylum, P. spinosum, P. torulosum, and P. ultimum. Morphologically distinct species could be differentiated by banding patterns (.)
Application of chemical and biological agents for the management of frosty pod rot (Moniliophthora roreri) in Costa Rican cocoa (Theobroma cacao).

This article describes two field trials carried out at La Lola, Costa Rica, to assess control measures against frosty pod rot of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) caused by Moniliophthora (Crinipellis) roreri. In the first, factorial, trial the control agents were applied using motorised mistblowers (MMs) and hydraulic sprayers fitted with a narrow angle cone nozzle. There was an interaction between agents and application methods; together with previous application data for the most active fungicide (copper hydroxide), these trials indicate that best yields are achieved with sprays that maximise deposits on pods. We describe the droplet size spectra produced by a Stihl SR400 MM under a range of conditions because this has become the standard method of fungicide application in this series of trials at La Lola. The factor that had the largest effect on droplet size spectrum was the presence or the absence of a detachable baffle plate in front of the air-shear nozzle. In both trials described here, MMs were fitted with baffle plates, a formulation pump and restrictor transmitting 550 mL min - 1 to deliver an estimated equivalent of 190 L ha - 1 . Copper hydroxide as prophylactic applications at 1500 g a.i. ha - 1 have, to date, shown the most consistent (but incomplete) improvement in healthy pod yield. Use of copper fungicides may be cost effective when farm-gate cocoa prices exceed approximately $1.25 kg - 1 . In these trials, isolates of the hyper-parasitic fungi Clonostachys byssicola and Trichoderma asperellum and two off-patent triazole fungicides (bitertanol and triadimenol) made no significant improvement to healthy yields. The systemic oxathiin fungicide flutolanil, at a dosage of 300 g a.i. ha - 1 , appears to protect pods substantially at early stages but gives proportionately less control of M. roreri than copper at later stages of pod development.
Ultrastructure of Stomatal Development in Ginkgo biloba

We present the first ultrastructural study of stomatal development in the “living fossil” gymnosperm species Ginkgo biloba. The Ginkgo lineage occupies a pivotal position in seed-plant phylogenies, but as most representatives are known only from fossils, the developmental pattern in G. biloba is critical for inferring patterns of stomatal evolution among seed plants. The distinctive fan-shaped leaf morphology of Ginkgo is related to its unusual petiolar vasculature. Our results show that both cell lineages and cell interactions control stomatal patterning in this species. Both perigenous and mesoperigenous patterns of stomatal development are present, contrary to earlier reports of exclusively perigenous development. Ginkgo resembles grasses in possessing asymmetric divisions in perigenous neighbor cells but resembles Arabidopsis in possessing amplifying divisions within the stomatal lineage, though these divisions are relatively chaotic in Ginkgo. The degree of asymmetry in meristemoidal divisions is less marked in Ginkgo than in Arabidopsis, a factor that influences the relative orientations of stomata in mature epidermal tissue. The role of asymmetric divisions represents a crucial question in determining stomatal classification.
Effects of Topping Pima Cotton on Lint Yield and Boll Retention1

Substantial mid- and late-season topping of American Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) plants occurs in field plantings. Lygus bug (Lygus hesperus Knight) feeding is the apparent cause of topping. The effects of mid to late.season topping on lint yield and several yield components of ‘Pima S-4’ cotton were examined. Topping of Pima S-4 cotton in mid-July, early.August, and mid-August reduced plant height, reduced the number of main stem nodes, increased boll set on top fruiting branches, and resulted in additional branch nodes on top fruiting branches. Plants topped 17 July produced 300%, 100%, and 60% more bolls on the first, second, and third branch, respectively, below the point of topping than did the check plants. The effect was less when topping was later in the season. The yield patterns in lower branches were not different from the checks. Topping did not affect: 1) lint yield (3 years), 2) number of bolls set, seed/boll, 4) lint/boll, 5) lint/seed, 6) seed weight, days to boll maturity, or 8) pink bollworm infestation. Fruit set was not delayed by topping. Fruiting points, which aborted on normal plants, produced bolls on topped plants up to the potential for the cultivar and environment. This has important implications for studies on insect damage to plants and for efforts to increase lint yield by reducing boll abscission.
An Assessment of Impervious Surface Areas in Rhode Island

Abstract Impervious surface area (ISA) has emerged as a key indicator to explain and predict ecosystem health in relationship to watershed development. In this study, we extracted the information of ISA for the state of Rhode Island using 1-m spatial resolution true-color digital orthophotography data. We employed an object-oriented algorithm of multiple-agent segmentation and classification (MASC) that we developed for ISA information extraction. The result indicates that, as of 2004, 10% of the state land has been covered by ISA. The major population centers and historical cities, such as Providence, Woonsocket, and Newport, have ISA over 30%. The heavily settled suburban communities have ISA between 10 and 30%. Only 17 out of 39 towns in the state have less than 10% ISA. The average ISA for the coastal towns is 14%. Because most stream-quality indicators are predicted to decline when watershed ISA exceeds 10%, the results from this study serve as an alarming indicator for managing the state's watershed and coastal ecosystems. The tested MASC model could be extended to coastal Massachusetts and Connecticut to provide a more comprehensive indication of the impacts of human-induced land-cover change on southern New England's coast.
Egg loss among spruce grouse inhabiting lodgepole pine forests

The loss of eggs from clutches deposited in simulated and natural nests of spruce grouse was investigated during the spring of 1983 in lodgepole pine forests of southwestern Alberta. Two-thirds of all clutches, both in simulated and natural nests, were partially or completely lost. Density of simulated nests had no impact on proportional loss. Evidence suggests that nests under a conifer-dominated canopy, in an area lacking extensive shrub coverage, and at distances greater than 15 m from trails were the most vulnerable to egg predators. We conclude that red squirrels were the principle predator destroying these clutches.