Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Parker
Keyword(s):  
Woody Plant ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Mimosa Pudica ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Tropical Crops ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Ornamental Species

Abstract M. pudica is an annual or biannual sub-woody plant native to South America. It was introduced outside of its native range as an ornamental species, and is still available for sale today. This species is typically present in disturbed areas in much of the tropics where it has naturalized. It can be readily and accidentally dispersed thanks to its propagules that stick to mammals' hairs and human clothing. M. pudica can become extremely weedy in disturbed sites, often forming monotypic ground cover, and is a major weed of many tropical crops. It is classified as invasive in a wide range of countries in Asia and the Pacific and is regarded as an undesirable import in to Florida, USA and Australia (ISSG, 2017). It is also reported as invasive in Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

scholarly journals Coastal Wave Extremes around the Pacific and Their Remote Seasonal Connection to Climate Modes

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Julien Boucharel ◽  
Loane Santiago ◽  
Rafael Almar ◽  
Elodie Kestenare
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Wind Wave ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Opposite Hemisphere ◽  
Ocean Surface Waves ◽  
First Order ◽  
Coastal Waves ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Tropics

At first order, wind-generated ocean surface waves represent the dominant forcing of open-coast morpho-dynamics and associated vulnerability over a wide range of time scales. It is therefore paramount to improve our understanding of the regional coastal wave variability, particularly the occurrence of extremes, and to evaluate how they are connected to large-scale atmospheric regimes. Here, we propose a new “2-ways wave tracking algorithm” to evaluate and quantify the open-ocean origins and associated atmospheric forcing patterns of coastal wave extremes all around the Pacific basin for the 1979–2020 period. Interestingly, the results showed that while extreme coastal events tend to originate mostly from their closest wind-forcing regime, the combined influence from all other remote atmospheric drivers is similar (55% local vs. 45% remote) with, in particular, ~22% coming from waves generated remotely in the opposite hemisphere. We found a strong interconnection between the tropical and extratropical regions with around 30% of coastal extremes in the tropics originating at higher latitudes and vice-versa. This occurs mostly in the boreal summer through the increased seasonal activity of the southern jet-stream and the northern tropical cyclone basins. At interannual timescales, we evidenced alternatingly increased coastal wave extremes between the western and eastern Pacific that emerge from the distinct seasonal influence of ENSO in the Northern and SAM in the Southern Hemisphere on their respective paired wind-wave regimes. Together these results pave the way for a better understanding of the climate connection to wave extremes, which represents the preliminary step toward better regional projections and forecasts of coastal waves.

Setaria verticillata (bristly foxtail).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Parker
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Setaria Verticillata ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Successful Invader

Abstract S. verticillata is listed by Holm et al. (1979) as a 'serious' or 'principal' weed in 11 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Pacific. From its origins in Europe and perhaps Africa, it has been accidentally introduced to many other countries across the world. It is often listed as one of the two or three most important weeds in a wide range of crops, within and outside its native range, and it can also become dominant in grassland. The combination of ready dispersal by its 'sticky' seed and seed-heads, and its C4 physiology and rapid growth make it an extremely successful invader. It adapts to local conditions rapidly and has developed resistance to atrazine and other herbicides.

scholarly journals Lathyrus odoratus (sweet pea).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Secondary Forests ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Lathyrus Odoratus ◽  
Annual Herb ◽  
Near Threatened ◽  
Sweet Pea

Abstract Lathyrus odoratus is a fast-growing, annual herb native only to southwest Italy and Sicily, but widely introduced as an ornamental. The ability of this species to tolerate a wide range of habitats, including disturbed areas, roadsides, secondary forests, as well as natural forests, means that it has the potential to spread much further than it has to date. This species has a climbing or sprawling habit, and consequently, has the capability to displace native species. Currently it is considered invasive in New Zealand and 'possibly invasive' in the Dominican Republic. However, in its native range it is listed as Near Threatened, as it is subject to wild collection threat due to its commercial value.

Systematics, Biogeography, and Morphological Character Evolution of the Hemiepiphytic Subfamily Monsteroideae (Araceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Zuluaga ◽  
Martin Llano ◽  
Ken Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
R Package ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Seed Shape ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Tropics

The subfamily Monsteroideae (Araceae) is the third richest clade in the family, with ca. 369 described species and ca. 700 estimated. It comprises mostly hemiepiphytic or epiphytic plants restricted to the tropics, with three intercontinental disjunctions. Using a dataset representing all 12 genera in Monsteroideae (126 taxa), and five plastid and two nuclear markers, we studied the systematics and historical biogeography of the group. We found high support for the monophyly of the three major clades (Spathiphylleae sister to Heteropsis Kunth and Rhaphidophora Hassk. clades), and for six of the genera within Monsteroideae. However, we found low rates of variation in the DNA sequences used and a lack of molecular markers suitable for species-level phylogenies in the group. We also performed ancestral state reconstruction of some morphological characters traditionally used for genera delimitation. Only seed shape and size, number of seeds, number of locules, and presence of endosperm showed utility in the classification of genera in Monsteroideae. We estimated ancestral ranges using a dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model as implemented in the R package BioGeoBEARS and found evidence for a Gondwanan origin of the clade. One tropical disjunction (Monstera Adans. sister to Amydrium Schott–Epipremnum Schott) was found to be the product of a previous Boreotropical distribution. Two other disjunctions are more recent and likely due to long-distance dispersal: Spathiphyllum Schott (with Holochlamys Engl. nested within) represents a dispersal from South America to the Pacific Islands in Southeast Asia, and Rhaphidophora represents a dispersal from Asia to Africa. Future studies based on stronger phylogenetic reconstructions and complete morphological datasets are needed to explore the details of speciation and migration within and among areas in Asia.

scholarly journals Metabolic engineering in woody plants: challenges, advances, and opportunities

aBIOTECH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Yu ◽  
Cody S. Bekkering ◽  
Li Tian
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Metabolic Engineering ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Transformation ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
High Biomass ◽  
Generation Times ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Biochemical Diversity

AbstractWoody plant species represent an invaluable reserve of biochemical diversity to which metabolic engineering can be applied to satisfy the need for commodity and specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy. Woody plants are particularly promising for this application due to their low input needs, high biomass, and immeasurable ecosystem services. However, existing challenges have hindered their widespread adoption in metabolic engineering efforts, such as long generation times, large and highly heterozygous genomes, and difficulties in transformation and regeneration. Recent advances in omics approaches, systems biology modeling, and plant transformation and regeneration methods provide effective approaches in overcoming these outstanding challenges. Promises brought by developments in this space are steadily opening the door to widespread metabolic engineering of woody plants to meet the global need for a wide range of sustainably sourced chemicals and materials.

scholarly journals Chance long-distance or human-mediated dispersal? How Acacia s.l. farnesiana attained its pan-tropical distribution

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 170105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Bell ◽  
Haripriya Rangan ◽  
Manuel M. Fernandes ◽  
Christian A. Kull ◽  
Daniel J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Old World ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Spanish Explorers ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Old World Tropics

Acacia s.l. farnesiana , which originates from Mesoamerica, is the most widely distributed Acacia s.l. species across the tropics. It is assumed that the plant was transferred across the Atlantic to southern Europe by Spanish explorers, and then spread across the Old World tropics through a combination of chance long-distance and human-mediated dispersal. Our study uses genetic analysis and information from historical sources to test the relative roles of chance and human-mediated dispersal in its distribution. The results confirm the Mesoamerican origins of the plant and show three patterns of human-mediated dispersal. Samples from Spain showed greater genetic diversity than those from other Old World tropics, suggesting more instances of transatlantic introductions from the Americas to that country than to other parts of Africa and Asia. Individuals from the Philippines matched a population from South Central Mexico and were likely to have been direct, trans-Pacific introductions. Australian samples were genetically unique, indicating that the arrival of the species in the continent was independent of these European colonial activities. This suggests the possibility of pre-European human-mediated dispersal across the Pacific Ocean. These significant findings raise new questions for biogeographic studies that assume chance or transoceanic dispersal for disjunct plant distributions.

scholarly journals Impact of dams and irrigation schemes in Anopheline (Diptera: Culicidae) bionomics and malaria epidemiology

2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Sanchez-Ribas ◽  
Gabriel Parra-Henao ◽  
Anthony Érico Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Control Measures ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Irrigation Scheme ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Malaria Epidemiology ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
And Control ◽  
Anopheline Mosquitoes

Irrigation schemes and dams have posed a great concern on public health systems of several countries, mainly in the tropics. The focus of the present review is to elucidate the different ways how these human interventions may have an effect on population dynamics of anopheline mosquitoes and hence, how local malaria transmission patterns may be changed. We discuss different studies within the three main tropical and sub-tropical regions (namely Africa, Asia and the Pacific and the Americas). Factors such as pre-human impact malaria epidemiological patterns, control measures, demographic movements, human behaviour and local Anopheles bionomics would determine if the implementation of an irrigation scheme or a dam will have negative effects on human health. Some examples of successful implementation of control measures in such settings are presented. The use of Geographic Information System as a powerful tool to assist on the study and control of malaria in these scenarios is also highlighted.

Parasitic infection and chronic energy deficiency in adults

Parasitology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 107 (S1) ◽  
pp. S159-S167 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Shetty ◽  
N. Shetty
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Energy Deficiency ◽  
Chronic Energy Deficiency ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Relationship Of

Interactions between infection and nutrition have been well recognized for several years now since they contribute directly to the health of individuals and communities. Malnourished individuals are specially prone to developing infections while infections themselves can lead to profound changes in the nutritional status of the individual. Health workers in developing countries in the tropics have long recognized the mutually aggravating interactions of malnutrition and infection. The importance of this synergistic relationship between infection and nu-tritional status has been studied extensively in the case of young children. The nutritional status of a young child is a critical determinant of both c morbidity and mortality resulting from a wide range of infections: bacterial, viral, or parasitic. Chandra (1983), in his review on the relationship of nutrition, immunity and infection has categorized the wide range of infectious agents (bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic) into those that are definitely, variably or minimally influenced by the nutritional status of the child.

Vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae in disturbed and revegetated sites from La Gran Sabana, Venezuela

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Cuenca ◽  
Milagros Lovera
Keyword(s):  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular

Savannas growing on stony, old and nutrient-poor soils of southern Venezuela were severely disturbed by removal of the soil organic layers with bulldozers for road building. Introduced species Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria humidicola, Pueraria phaseoloides, and Calopogonium sp. were sown. The substrate was fertilized and limed. Plant cover, vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae colonization, spore number, and most probable number of propagulels in undisturbed savanna, disturbed nonrevegetated savanna, and six revegetated savannas were assessed. The perturbation reduced the mycorrhizal propagule number in comparison with the undisturbed savanna. In the nonrevegetated areas the mean percent ground cover 2 years after disturbance was low (0.04%). In revegetated areas an increase in mycorrhizal propagule number occurred and the mycorrhizal colonization of the sown species was high. In restored areas there was an increase in species of nonmycotrophic Amaranthaceae. The results support other predictions on the mycorrhizae in successional biomes, because in the extremely nutrient-poor soils studied the colonizing species were mainly mycotrophic. The reclamation program applied in disturbed areas was useful because it has allowed the recovery of vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum and there was an increase in the recolonization of native plants. Key words: disturbance, endomycorrhizae, revegetation, savanna, vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae.

scholarly journals Improving Habitat Quality at the Local and Landscape Scales Increases Wild Bee Assemblages and Associated Pollination Services in Apple Orchards in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panlong Wu ◽  
Piaopiao Dai ◽  
Meina Wang ◽  
Sijie Feng ◽  
Aruhan Olhnuud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bee Diversity ◽  
Landscape Scales

Bees provide key pollination services for a wide range of crops. Accumulating evidence shows the effect of semi-natural habitats at the landscape level and local management practices on bee diversity in fields. However, most of the evidence is derived from studies in North America and Europe. Whether this paradigm is applicable in China, which is characterized by smallholder-dominated agricultural landscapes, has rarely been studied. In this study, we aimed to investigate how bee diversity affected apple production, and how landscape and local variables affected bee diversity and species composition on the Northern China Plain. The results showed that bees significantly increased apple fruit set compared to bagged controls. Wild bee diversity was positively related to apple seed numbers. Higher seed numbers reduced the proportion of deformed apples and thus increased fruit quality. Wild bee abundance was positively correlated with flowering ground cover, and both the abundance and species richness of wild bees were positively affected by the percentage of semi-natural habitats. We conclude that apple quality can benefit from ecological intensification comprising the augmentation of wild bees by semi-natural habitats and flowering ground cover. Future pollination management should therefore reduce the intensification level of management at both the local and landscape scales.

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