Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of introgression between adjacent taxa of rock-wallabies, Petrogale species (Marsupialia: Macropodidae)

Simple, inexpensive techniques were used to analyse the mtDNA of nine chromosomally distinct populations of Petrogale. Eight of these populations occur in sequence along the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia; six have been described as species. Diagnostic mtDNA morphs were found throughout the latitudinal ranges of four of the described species. A fifth morph spanned the ranges of two described species and three additional taxa which have been designated chromosome races. These five mtDNA morphs, and others with local distributions, were used to assess interactions between the taxa. Limited introgression was indicated across the chromosomal boundaries of P. penicillata/P. herberti and P. inornata/P. assimilis; atypical mtDNA morphs were found within the P. herberti and P. inornata chromosomal distributions. No introgression was detected between P. herberti and P. inornata, whose distributions are separated by the Fitzroy River. Nor was there evidence of recent contact between P. assimilis, P. herberti and P. purpureicollis, despite the late occupancy of parts of the intervening area by unidentified Petrogale. These data, considered in the light of information obtained from previous studies on chromosomes, allozymes and parasites, have contributed to the decision to consider all the eastern representatives of the lateralis-penicillata group of Petrogale as being specifically distinct from each other.
Reduction Scheme for Empirical Risk Minimization and Its Applications to Multiple-Instance Learning.

In this paper, we propose a simple reduction scheme for empirical risk minimization (ERM) that preserves empirical Rademacher complexity. The reduction allows us to transfer known generalization bounds and algorithms for ERM to the target learning problems in a straightforward way. In particular, we apply our reduction scheme to the multiple-instance learning (MIL) problem, for which generalization bounds and ERM algorithms have been extensively studied. We show that various learning problems can be reduced to MIL. Examples include top-1 ranking learning, multi-class learning, and labeled and complementarily labeled learning. It turns out that, some of the generalization bounds derived are, despite the simplicity of derivation, incomparable or competitive with the existing bounds. Moreover, in some setting of labeled and complementarily labeled learning, the algorithm derived is the first polynomial-time algorithm.
Population studies on Acacia melanoxylon R. Br. I. Variation in seed and vegetative characteristics.

Considerable variation in phyllode shape and size was found between populations of Acacia melanoxylon sampled over the wide geographical range (27° of latitude) of this species in tropical and temperate eastern Australia. Communities sampled range from closed-forest to open-forest and grassy woodland. Some evidence of relationships between morphological characters of the phyllodes and environ- mental conditions of the collecting site was found, although such relationships are complex and not easily understood. The most important factors determining phyllode shape and size were the distance of the collecting site from the coast, and the seasonal distribution of the annual rainfall. Phyllodes tended to be smaller and more symmetric in the drier inland areas. Differences were found between seed characteristics of selected populations, although there was no evidence of correlation of these with selected environmental parameters. Seedlings of 17 popu- lations of A. melanoxylon grown under uniform glasshouse conditions showed some differences in leaf morphology. The age at which conversion to phyllodes begins is correlated with the mean annual rainfall at the site of origin of the seeds. The occurrence of this species in such a wide variety of habitats in eastern Australia is probably due to its clinal variation.
Lakes and reservoirs as sentinels, integrators, and regulators of climate change

Climate change is generating complex responses in both natural and human ecosystems that vary in their geographic distribution, magnitude, and timing across the global landscape. One of the major issues that scientists and policy makers now confront is how to assess such massive changes over multiple scales of space and time. Lakes and reservoirs comprise a geographically distributed network of the lowest points in the surrounding landscape that make them important sentinels of climate change. Their physical, chemical, and biological responses to climate provide a variety of information‐rich signals. Their sediments archive and integrate these signals, enabling paleolimnologists to document changes over years to millennia. Lakes are also hot spots of carbon cycling in the landscape and as such are important regulators of climate change, processing terrestrial and atmospheric as well as aquatic carbon. We provide an overview of this concept of lakes and reservoirs as sentinels, integrators, and regulators of climate change, as well as of the need for scaling and modeling these responses in the context of global climate change. We conclude by providing a brief look to the future and the creation of globally networked sensors in lakes and reservoirs around the world.
Effect of site, harvesting stage, and genotype on environmental staining in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)

Seed discoloration due to environmental staining in faba bean leads to poor quality and reduced market price. Environmental staining in faba bean is characterised by a dark brown, grey, or black discoloration of the seed coat at harvest. Its cause is unknown, but it does not appear to be caused by a pathogen. Environmental conditions during pod and seed formation and at maturity are thought to have a large effect on the degree of environmental staining. To test the hypothesis that seeds formed under stressful conditions will have a higher degree of staining, faba bean seeds were harvested at 2 different stages of maturity from trials located in a range of environmental conditions under a Mediterranean-type climate of south-western Australia over 2 seasons. Four faba bean varieties were studied (Fiord, Fiesta, Ascot, and Cairo). The majority of seeds had good colour but across the trials, 3–25% were stained up to an unacceptable level and this varied with location and variety. Seeds formed later in plant development (located on the upper nodes of the plant) had more staining than seeds formed earlier (located on the lower nodes). Seeds formed on small and weak plants had more staining than seeds formed on normal sized healthy plants. Fiord showed a greater amount of staining than Ascot, Fiesta, and Cairo when grown in the mild, southern environments. Early harvesting (at physiological maturity) did not reduce environmental seed staining compared with harvesting at full maturity. Chemical analysis of seed testa and cotyledons revealed that total phenolic contents of the testa and cotyledons increased with staining. An increase in Zn and Na and a decrease in K concentration in the testa were also associated with increased staining levels.
Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes and Interacting Native Species (review)

early 70 y ago mammalogist WJ Hamilton (1939) questioned whether the Florida panther would survive the eradication of its primary food, the whitetailed deer, to control tick fever, a threat to a booming cattle industry in southern Florida. The herd was decimated but the panther survived. In pre-settlement southern Florida, the panther’s dietary alternative would have been rabbits and rodents—unsatisfactory fare for such a large carnivore. Fortunately for the panther, Spanish conquistadors brought domestic swine with them to the New World during the 16th century. As deer were slaughtered, feral descendants of De Soto’s pigs, now naturalized and widespread, likely became the mainstay of the panther’s diet. They were prolific breeders, easy to catch, and the perfect size. Thus, an exotic species may be responsible for the existence of the only known population of Puma concolor in eastern North America. Unfortunately, the stories for most introduced species are benign at best. Often they are the cause of ecological catastrophe for local biodiversity. Humanity, all 6.4 billion of us, are engaged in a huge global experiment—namely, how to support a burgeoning population. Virtually every other animal species that has been well studied exhibits reduced fecundity with increased density. Our immunity to density-dependant population regulation is partly to blame for many of the problems with exotic species. Parts of the experiment include the domination of every land mass, the translocation of species to foreign continents, and the engineering of plant and animal genes to produce more food. George Cox (also author of Alien Species in North America and Hawaii, Island Press 1999) examines the phenomenon of homogenizing the world’s biota in Alien Species and Evolution. The invasion of weedy species, the hybridization of once-disjunct forms, the proliferation of transgenetic crops, introduced diseases, denatured landscapes, and changing climatic patterns have combined to create novel plant and animal communities with unexpected consequences. Who would have imagined that a genetically reduced ant, a rather benign part of the South American fauna, would become an aggressive invader in North America because of its genetic impoverishment? Should it be a surprise that genetically engineered plants and their increasing place in agriculture have spawned an evolutionary arms race with their predators that will make pest control increasingly difficult with traditional herbicides and pesticides? How difficult might the restoration of California coastal areas become with the dominance of a hybrid cordgrass that chokes Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes and Interacting Native Species
Differences in brushtail possum home-range characteristics among sites of varying habitat and population density

Abstract Context. In New Zealand, the Australian brushtail possum is a pest, because this species preys on native birds and transmits bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to livestock. Previous studies on possums have shown that home-range characteristics differ depending on habitat and/or population density. However, direct comparisons between studies are limited because of the use of differing monitoring techniques, some of which are now out-dated and imprecise. Understanding how possum ranging behaviour varies in response to habitat and density may allow the development of more effective and site-specific control operations. For example, variations in home-range characteristics (e.g. home-range overlap with conspecifics) among populations may mean that bTB transmission risk is not uniform among populations, resulting in the need for some sites to be prioritised for control over others. Aims. To investigate whether home-range characteristics varied among three sites of differing habitat and population density, and investigate whether possum home-range characteristics varied between males and females. Methods. Global Positioning System (GPS)- and VHF-tracking were used to compare possum home-range characteristics among three sites. Two sites were within pine (Pinus radiata) habitat and had low-density possum populations, and one site was within oak (Quercus robur) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) habitat, and had a higher-density possum population. Key results. Possum home-range characteristics did not vary between the two low-density sites. However, these populations exhibited considerably larger home-range sizes and home-range overlap between pairs of collared possums than did the high-density population. In addition, the low-density populations used more dens and changed these more often. Across all sites, there were generally no intersexual differences in home-range characteristics. Key conclusions. The present research highlights that the home-range characteristics of possums can vary among populations, depending on habitat and/or population density. Implications. Further research into the drivers of possum home-range characteristics would be beneficial to allow identification of how spatial behaviour is likely to vary depending on habitat and density. This would allow the design of more targeted and therefore effective control strategies that account for these variations in behaviour, such as using a larger spatial scale of control devices where possums are known to range further.
Seasonal and Storm Dynamics of the Hyporheic Zone of a 4th-Order Mountain Stream. II: Nitrogen Cycling

The objective of this study was to quantify subsurface nitrogen fluxes between a riparian forest and a 4th-order mountain stream, McRae Creek, for each season of the year and during storms. A network of wells was installed on a gravel bar and a portion of the adjacent floodplain between 1989 and 1992. Water samples were collected to monitor dissolved nitrogen concentrations. Advected channel water and ground water were enriched in nitrogen relative to the stream; thus, subsurface flow was a net source of nitrogen to the stream in all seasons of the year and during both base-flow periods and storms. Estimates of the flux of advected channel water and the discharge of ground water were combined with changes in mean nitrogen concentrations along subsurface flow paths to estimate nitrogen inputs to the stream. Discharge of ground water from the conifer-dominated flood-plain was the largest source of nitrogen added to the stream: however, more than 50% of this nitrogen was dissolved organic nitrogen. In contrast, two-thirds of the nitrogen from the alder-dominated gravel bar was inorganic. Net nitrogen fluxes from the gravel bar to the stream were lowest during the summer when water table elevations were low. Net fluxes of nitrogen from the gravel bar to the stream were largest during the fall, especially at peak flow during storms when interstitial water in the gravel bar was enriched in NO3-. The estimated annual flux of nitrogen from the riparian forest to McRae Creek was 1.9 g/m2 of streambed, of which 1.0 g/m2 was inorganic. Estimated net annual flux was large relative to the estimated input of nitrogen in litterfall, or the nitrogen required to support estimated rates of primary productivity.
Effect of missing data on the estimate of average daily feed intake in beef cattle

The effect of missing feed intake records on the estimate of feed intake in cattle over a 70-day test period was studied. Two datasets, containing several cattle breeds at different ages, were analysed. The first dataset comprised 300-day-old Angus cattle, while the second dataset consisted of 900-day-old Limousin and Jersey crossbred cattle. A first-, second- and third-order polynomial and a non-linear function were fitted to the intake data. The 3 polynomial functions showed minimal differences in their goodness of fit to the data, with the non-linear function explaining the least variation in intake. Both datasets were analysed over a 70-day test period and shortened tests were compared to the full 70-day test. Tests were shortened by randomly deleting intake records or periodically deleting data on a daily or weekly basis. The effect of missing data on feed intake estimates was evaluated using Pearsons correlation and t-tests. The results suggest that a greater proportion of data can be removed randomly and daily, compared with missing data in weekly blocks. However, when data are removed in weekly blocks, removal in the middle of the test period gives a more accurate estimate of feed intake. It appears that in young growing animals, estimation of daily feed intake is more sensitive to missing feed intake records than for older cattle.
BIOMECHANICAL AND STRUCTURAL MODELING OF HEARING IN BALEEN WHALES

Anthropogenic noise may be a major source of habitat degradation for cetaceans. To assess and mitigate the effects of noise pollution on marine mammals, we need information on how and what they hear. Although hearing in odontocetes, or toothed whales, is well studied, few data are available for mysticetes, or baleen whales. Behavioural and electrophysiological hearing tests are presently impractical for mysticetes, but biomechanical, structural modelling provides hearing estimates based on auditory system anatomy. In this research, three101 dimensional models were produced for minke Balaenoptera acutorostrata, blue Balaenoptera musculus, and humpback Balaenoptera novaeangliae whale inner ears from CT scans and histology to measure key features for estimating hearing ranges, e.g., basilar membrane thickness-towidth ratios. Full head reconstructions were also produced for minke whales based on head CT images and dissections.
Biopesticides: a review of their action, applications and efficacy

A survey is given of the wide range of different materials and organisms that can be classified as biopesticides. Details are given of those currently of commercial importance, and future developments in this area are discussed. It is considered that, while in the immediate future biopesticides may continue to be limited mainly to niche and speciality markets, there is great potential for long-term development and growth, both in their own right and in providing leads in other areas of pest management science.
Decomposition of betacyanins and betaxanthins by heat and pH changes

Authors investigated the decomposition of the main beetroot colourings betanin and vulgaxanthin I as a function of temperature and pH value in acetate and citrate buffer solutions, in a temperature-range between 60 °C and 80 °C and pH range of 3.3–6.2. The temperature dependence of betain decomposition is characterized by a Q10 value of 2.23 ± 0.45, and the reaction rate was doubled by reducing the pH value from 6.2 to 3.3 independent from the type of acid used. Also the interaction between temperature and pH value on colour decomposition was verified. Investigations were carried out at low oxygen content, and under this conditions the reaction was exactly described - considering the time interval of 20 min - by a linear function at 60 °C, pH value 3.3–6.2 and by an exponential function at 70 °C and 80 °C and pH 3.3–4.65. Activation energy for betain degradation is 77.5 ± 6.76 kJ/mol.
Iron‐deficiency stress responses of a chlorosis‐susceptible and a chlorosis‐resistant cultivar of muskmelon as related to root riboflavin excretion

Abstract Cultivar Edisto and an Fe‐inefficient mutant (fefe) muskmelon were noted by Jolley et al. (1991) to differ with Fe‐deficiency stress in their ability to lower their nutrient solution pH, to increase their root Fe‐reductive capacity, to transport Fe to leaves, and to develop chlorosis. These two muskmelon cultivars were Fe‐stressed along with controls, and daily measurements for nutrient solution pH and riboflavin concentrations were taken. Root Fe‐reductive activity and apical leaf chlorophyll content was measured on selected days. Riboflavin excretion by Fe‐deficiency stressed Edisto plants increased by the second day, reached a peak after seven days and declined slightly. Edisto plants with Fe excreted 100 to 300 times less riboflavin than those without Fe. The fefe Fe‐deficiency stressed plants and those with Fe excreted similar very low amounts of riboflavin several fold less than the Edisto plants with Fe. The nutrient solution pH was decreased by Fe‐stressed Edisto plants from pH 5.0 to 3.7.
Anaerobic Oxidation of Ammonium Confirmed in Continuous Flow Treatment Using a Non- woven Biomass Carrier

Research was conducted to probe for useful applications of less commonly considered nitrogen bio-transformation processes including anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) using continuous flow treatment with a non-woven biomass carrier for enrichment of slowly growing organisms. Reactors were seeded with sludge from an industrial denitrification unit process. Following seven weeks of operation under autotrophic anoxic conditions, disappearances of ammonium and nitrite with production of low levels of nitrate were evidenced at stoichiometric ratios approximating that of the anammox reaction documented at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. In subsequent loading rate studies, ammonium and total-nitrogen removal rates of 8.7 and 18.8 mg N l-1h-1, respectively, were achieved (hydraulic retention time, 9 h) . Furthermore a distinctly red biomass growth developed which is characteristic of the responsible microorganism (s) . The sequence of a 16S rDNA clone obtained from the red biomass matched that previously reported for the planctomycete firstly identified responsible for the reaction with a similarity score of 0.928 (99.1% sequence similarity) . To our knowledge, this constitutes the first substantiated confirmation of the biological anammox reaction outside of Europe.
PERIODICITY OF EPIPELIC UNICELLULAR VOLVOCALES (CHLOROPHYCEAE) IN A SHALLOW ACID POOL 1

The occurrence, periodicity and growth of twenty species of unicellular Volvocales on sediments in an acidic pool are described. Minimum populations were recorded in winter, but during the rest of the year standing crops fluctuated rapidly. The greatest species diversity and primary productivity occurred in late spring‐early summer and in autumn, when maximum numbers of Chlamydomonas spp. and Chloromonas spp. increased exponentially on the sediments. The chlamydomonads were more numerous in the epipelon than other major algal components such as diatoms, euglenoids, bluegreen algae and desmids. Growth of the chlamydomonad population occurred after the period of maximum diatom standing crop. Evidence shows that rates of primary production were greater in late spring and late summer when species diversity and standing crop or apparent growth rates of unicellular Volvocales were high. Thus these algae which are normally neglected may be more important in primary productivity than previously believed since they grow during periods when larger algae are scarce. Analysis of the data using the multivariate technique of Reciprocal Averaging confirmed seasonal periodicity in this community of epipelic flagellates. It also identified species with distinctive ecological requirements. A relationship between the bicarbonate‐alkalinity of the overlying water and the chlamydomonad population was demonstrated by ordination analysis.
Taxonomy, Biology, Biogeography, Evolution and Conservation of the Genus Erikssonia Trimen (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

The taxonomy of the genus Erikssonia Trimen, 1891 is reviewed. Three species are recognized in the genus: E. acraeina Trimen, 1891, E. cooksoni Druce, 1905, and one species which is newly described from South Africa, namely E. edgei sp. n. Erikssonia alaponoxa Henning & Henning, 2001 is synonymized with E. acraeina Trimen, 1891. Biological information is provided for E. acraeina and E. cooksoni. The biogeography, evolution and conservation of the species are discussed.