scholarly journals WOODIV, a database of occurrences, functional traits, and phylogenetic data for all Euro-Mediterranean trees

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Christine Monnet ◽  
Kévin Cilleros ◽  
Frédéric Médail ◽  
Marwan Cheikh Albassatneh ◽  
Juan Arroyo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Conservation Biogeography ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

AbstractTrees play a key role in the structure and function of many ecosystems worldwide. In the Mediterranean Basin, forests cover approximately 22% of the total land area hosting a large number of endemics (46 species). Despite its particularities and vulnerability, the biodiversity of Mediterranean trees is not well known at the taxonomic, spatial, functional, and genetic levels required for conservation applications. The WOODIV database fills this gap by providing reliable occurrences, four functional traits (plant height, seed mass, wood density, and specific leaf area), and sequences from three DNA-regions (rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA), together with modelled occurrences and a phylogeny for all 210 Euro-Mediterranean tree species. We compiled, homogenized, and verified occurrence data from sparse datasets and collated them on an INSPIRE-compliant 10 × 10 km grid. We also gathered functional trait and genetic data, filling existing gaps where possible. The WOODIV database can benefit macroecological studies in the fields of conservation, biogeography, and community ecology.

Study on Ecological Restoration of Abolished Strip Mine of Hulunbuir Grassland

2014 ◽  
Vol 496-500 ◽  
pp. 3000-3004
Author(s):  
Wen Bin Guo ◽  
Tian Kun Liu ◽  
Jin Dong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Mine Area ◽  
Waste Land ◽  
Strip Mine ◽  
And Function

Influenced by mining production, the ecological structure and function within the mine area of Hulunbuir grassland has been destroyed. Shut-in strip mine is a typical waste land with degenerated ecological system; therefore, it is necessary to process some ecological restoration projects on vegetation. Theoretical guidance is being badly needed for practice of land-reclamation. This article tries to analyze soil structure and vegetational form in mine area by examples, and adapt method of separately administering different areas which give a good solution of the conflict between strip mine exploitation and ecological restoration in Hulunbuir, provide foundation for further research in this area, as well as have some leading significance to mining development in pasture land area of our nation.

scholarly journals Plant functional trait shifts explain concurrent changes in the structure and function of grassland soil microbial communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 2197-2210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Runa S. Boeddinghaus ◽  
Sven Marhan ◽  
Doreen Berner ◽  
Steffen Boch ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Grassland Soil ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Plant Functional Trait ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals Functional Traits in Lichen Ecology: A Review of Challenge and Opportunity

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 766
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Ellis ◽  
Johan Asplund ◽  
Renato Benesperi ◽  
Cristina Branquinho ◽  
Luca Di Nuzzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Community Assembly ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
And Function

Community ecology has experienced a major transition, from a focus on patterns in taxonomic composition, to revealing the processes underlying community assembly through the analysis of species functional traits. The power of the functional trait approach is its generality, predictive capacity such as with respect to environmental change, and, through linkage of response and effect traits, the synthesis of community assembly with ecosystem function and services. Lichens are a potentially rich source of information about how traits govern community structure and function, thereby creating opportunity to better integrate lichens into ‘mainstream’ ecological studies, while lichen ecology and conservation can also benefit from using the trait approach as an investigative tool. This paper brings together a range of author perspectives to review the use of traits in lichenology, particularly with respect to European ecosystems from the Mediterranean to the Arctic-Alpine. It emphasizes the types of traits that lichenologists have used in their studies, both response and effect, the bundling of traits towards the evolution of life-history strategies, and the critical importance of scale (both spatial and temporal) in functional trait ecology.

scholarly journals The pleurogram, an under-investigated functional trait in seeds

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailton G Rodrigues-Junior ◽  
Carol C Baskin ◽  
Jerry M Baskin ◽  
Orlando C De-Paula
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Water Entry ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Large Structure ◽  
Complete Model ◽  
Physical Dormancy ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Function ◽  
New Hypothesis

Abstract Background A structure called the pleurogram makes up a large part of the seed coat of some species in subfamilies Caesalpinioideae and Mimosoideae of Fabaceae, but little is known about its function. It has been hypothesized that this structure acts as a hygroscopic valve during the maturation drying of seeds. However, a new hypothesis has recently emerged that proposes a distinct function for the pleurogram. Scope Here, we provide an overview of the structure and function of the pleurogram, which is diverse and complex. This large structure can be dislodged, thereby creating a pathway for water entry into water-impermeable seeds. However, the pleurogram is non-functional as a pathway of water into the seed of some species. Thus, the evolutionary history of species with a pleurogram may be related to a loss/gain in its function. A complete model for the function of the pleurogram is proposed. Conclusions The pleurogram may act on several stages of the seed, from maturation to germination. As a hygroscopic valve, it regulates dehydration of the seed during maturation. As a pathway for water entry into the seed, the pleurogram acts as a water gap in seeds with physical dormancy, thereby regulating dormancy break/germination. The occurrence of a pleurogram in several genera of legumes and Cucurbitaceae is confirmed. Single or multiple pleurograms can serve as (the) point(s) of water entry into seeds that do not otherwise have a hilar water gap.

scholarly journals Understanding microbiomes through trait-based ecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Wood ◽  
Ashley E Franks
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Major Goal ◽  
Physiological Trait ◽  
Regeneration Time ◽  
And Function

Ecology is the study of the interactions amongst organisms and their environment1. In microbial ecology, a major goal is to understand how environmental microbiomes impact ecosystem health and function. This desire to mechanistically link micro and macro processes is increasingly highlighting the importance of functional ecology, which aims to develop an understanding of relationships using functional traits, as opposed to species names. A functional trait may be any morphological or physiological trait that influences the performance or fitness of an individual in a given environment, such as regeneration time, size, antibiotic production or motility2. Although it is not possible to measure a given trait for each individual within an environmental microbiome, community-level functional traits can be derived from the community metagenome either directly via shotgun sequencing or predictively (for bacteria) from 16S rRNA profiles3. In understanding environmental microbiomes, functional traits have unique properties that can be utilised to (1) compare microbiomes using an ecological framework, (2) understand processes governing community assembly, and (3) build predictive ecological models.

Global trade-offs in tree functional traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Maynard ◽  
Lalasia Bialic-Murphy ◽  
Constantin M. Zohner ◽  
Colin Averill ◽  
Johan van den Hoogen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Plant Trait ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Structure Tree ◽  
And Function

AbstractDue to massive energetic investments in woody support structures, trees are subject to unique physiological, mechanical, and ecological pressures not experienced by herbaceous plants. When considering trait relationships across the entire plant kingdom, plant trait frameworks typically must omit traits unique to large woody species, thereby limiting our understanding of how these distinct ecological pressures shape trait relationships in trees. Here, by considering 18 functional traits—reflecting leaf economics, wood structure, tree size, reproduction, and below-ground allocation—we quantify the major axes of variation governing trait expression of trees worldwide. We show that trait variation within and across angiosperms and gymnosperms is captured by two independent processes: one reflecting tree size and competition for light, the other reflecting leaf photosynthetic capacity and nutrient economies. By exploring multidimensional relationships across clusters of traits, we further identify a representative set of seven traits which captures the majority of variation in form and function in trees: maximum tree height, stem conduit diameter, specific leaf area, seed mass, bark thickness, root depth, and wood density. Collectively, this work informs future trait-based research into the functional biogeography of trees, and contributes to our fundamental understanding of the ecological and evolutionary controls on forest biodiversity and productivity worldwide.

Structure and function of neural networks in the retina

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
Peter Sterling
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Synaptic Connections ◽  
Visual Axis ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
And Function ◽  
Insight Into

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.

Osseointegration interface of calcified bone and endosseous implants

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1096-1097
Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Structure And Function ◽  
Titanium Implants ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Endosseous Implants ◽  
Ultrastructural Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cacodylate Buffer ◽  
One Year ◽  
And Function

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.

Use of human autoantibodies and immunoelectron microscopy to study structure and function of the nucleolus and nuclear bodies

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 506-507
Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Nuclear Bodies ◽  
Nuclear Interior ◽  
Coiled Bodies ◽  
Interchromatin Granules ◽  
And Function ◽  
Conventional Electron Microscopy ◽  
Perichromatin Granules ◽  
Perichromatin Fibrils

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.

Depletion and Reconstitution of Active E. Coli Ribosomes

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 640-641
Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Protein Biosynthesis ◽  
Large Subunit ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
And Function

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.

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