scholarly journals Plant morphometry matches beetle diversity: effects of natural adjacent vegetation on grain Amaranth crop under small-holder conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Alejandro Álvarez ◽  
Gemma Clemente-Orta ◽  
Hortensia Carrillo-Ruiz ◽  
Jesus López-Olguín ◽  
Daniel Jiménez-García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Grain Amaranth ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Amaranthus Hypochondriacus ◽  
First Time ◽  
Small Holder ◽  
Diversity Effects

Grain Amaranth, Amaranthus hypochondriacus L., is an emerging arable crop cultivated worldwide. One way to obtain resources from the crop, other than grain, is to grow Amaranths in the dry season and harvest only the leaves. In this environmental condition the response of an Amaranth agroecosystem to the presence of natural and semi-natural habitats or other crops has not been studied yet. We analysed the response of (1) Amaranth morphometry and (2) alpha and beta diversity of beetles to the nearness of adjacent vegetation and natural habitats (such as deciduous forest) at the small-holder conditions. Our results showed that A. hypochondriacus crop plants responded positively to the presence of an ecotone (adjacent vegetation) and the natural habitat (deciduous forest), i.e., A. hypochondriacus plants grew bigger in the section nearest to adjacent vegetation, which was a pattern consistent in time. Moreover, for beetles (considered as a bioindicator group), richness was different amongst the study areas and negatively followed the gradient of perturbation. These results suggest that Amaranth crop is sensitive to the presence of natural and semi-natural habitats but not to other crops in the dry season. In addition, beetles match the response of Amaranth plants. This is the first time that this type of data is recorded in grain Amaranth agroecosystem and it will help to understand the interaction amongst grain Amaranth agroecosystems, biodiversity, and natural adjacent vegetation to boost ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Hábitos alimentarios del murciélago zapotero (Artibeus jamaicensis) en Yucatán.

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Jose Flores Martínez ◽  
Jorge Ortega ◽  
Guillermo Ibarra Manríquez
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Tropical Deciduous Forest ◽  
Artibeus Jamaicensis ◽  
Rain Season ◽  
Anthropogenic Vegetation ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
First Time

Resumen: Se describió el hábito alimentario del murciélago zapotero (Artibeus jamaicensis) en dos cuevas del estado de Yucatán, México, rodeadas con pequeños parches de vegetación nativa (selva baja caducifolia) y vegetación antropogénica (cultivos y huertos familiares) A pesar de los frutos de 28 especies fueron consumidos por los murciélagos, solamente cinco de ellas resultaron dominantes durante todo el año (Cecropia peltata, Solanum hirtum, Ficus spp. (dos especies) y Vitex gaumeri). Diez de las plantas consumidas por A. jamaicensis en este trabajo se reportan por primera vez en su dieta. Cerca de 12 especies fueron registradas en promedio por mes, con el valor más alto hacia finales de la época de lluvias (septiembre) y los valores más bajos cuando se inicia la temporada de menor precipitación (diciembre y enero). Las especies nativas tuvieron siempre una mayor aportación en el número y peso de semillas en la dieta de A. jamaicensis que las cultivadas (75-100% de cada mes), pero el consumo de ambos recursos muestra el oportunismo de la especie para adecuarse a hábitats perturbados.Abstract:Food preferences for the Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) was documented during a year round in two caves of Yucatan, Mexico. Vegetation around the sites was classified as anthropogenic vegetation (crops and backyard house) and scarce remains of original forest (tropical deciduous forest). In spite of 28 species eaten by the Jamaican fruit-eating bat, only five comprise the bulk of the diet (Cecropia peltata, Solanum hirtum, Ficus spp. (two species), and Vitex gaumeri). Ten plant species were reported as the first time in the diet of A. jamaicensis. Around of 12 species were recording each month, with the high values at end of rain season (September) and the lower in the beginning at dry season (December and January). Fruits produced by native plants were preferred over cropped plants (75-100% of each month), but the both kinds of fruits presented in the feces demonstrate the opportunism of the species in disturbed areas.Palabras clave: Artibeus jamaicensis, hábito alimentario, Yucatán, selva baja caducifolia, vegetación secundaria, dominantes, cultivadas, no cultivadas.

scholarly journals Family graveyards form underappreciated local plant diversity hotspots in China's agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Gong ◽  
Liangtao Li ◽  
Jan C. Axmarcher ◽  
Zhenrong Yu ◽  
Yunhui Liu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Habitat Islands ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Ecological Functioning

AbstractIn the intensively farmed, homogenous agricultural landscape of the North China Plain, family graveyards form distinct cultural landscape features. In addition to their cultural value, these graveyards represent semi-natural habitat islands whose potential roles in biodiversity conservation and ecological functioning has remained poorly understood. In this study, we investigated plant species richness on 199 family graveyards of different ages and sizes. In accordance with biogeography theory, both overall and insect-pollinated plant species richness increased with area and age of graveyards. Even small graveyards show a strong potential for conserving local plant richness, and a mosaic of both large and small family graveyards could play an important role in the conservation of farmland biodiversity and related ecosystem functions. The launch of agri-environmental measures that conserve and create semi-natural habitats, in turn benefitting agricultural biodiversity and ecological functioning, has proven difficult in China due to the shortage of dispensable arable land. Given the great value of family graveyards as semi-natural habitats reflected in our study, we propose to focus preliminary efforts on conserving these landscape features as existing, widespread and culturally important semi-natural habitat islands. This would represent an effective, complementary policy to a subsequent re-establishment of other semi-natural habitats for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological functioning in agricultural landscapes.

Aspects of the Water, Electrolyte and Carbohydrate Physiology of the Silvereye, Zosterops Lateralis (Aves).

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 695 ◽  
Author(s):  
IJ Rooke ◽  
SD Bradshaw ◽  
RA Langworthy
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Free Water ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Water Influx ◽  
Zosterops Lateralis ◽  
Total Body ◽  
Free Ranging

Total body water content (TBW) and TBW turnover were measured by means of tritiated water (HTO) in free-ranging populations of silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis, near Margaret River, W.A. Birds were studied in their natural habitats during spring and summer, and compared with a vineyard population in summer. In the natural habitat TBW content was found to be 77.6% in spring, which was not significantly different from that measured in summer (78.3%). Birds in vineyards in summer, however, were dehydrated, with a TBW content of 69.4%. Calculated rates of water influx for spring, summer and summer vineyards birds were 1.44,2.20 and 0.65 ml g.day-' respectively. These water turnover rates are much higher than those of any other bird yet studied. Dehydration was marked in the vineyard birds, with a significantly lower TBW content and an average net water loss of 0.63 ml day-'. Laboratory studies showed that silvereyes have a low tolerance to sodium loading. Their tolerance is, however, quite adequate for them to drink the most concentrated free water available to them in the field. Ingestion of concentrated sugar solutions of up to 25% did not provoke an osmotic diuresis and thus cannot account for the dehydration and negative water balance of vineyard birds.

Tree-Ring Formation, Radial Increment Periodicity, and Phenology of Tree Species from a Seasonal Semi-Deciduous Forest in Southeast Brazil

IAWA Journal ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio S. Lisi ◽  
Mário Tomazello Fo ◽  
Paulo C. Botosso ◽  
Fidel A. Roig ◽  
Vivian R.B. Maria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Rings ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Growth Ring ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Southeast Brazil

Many tropical tree species produce growth rings in response to seasonal environmental factors that influence the activity of the vascular cambium. We applied the following methods to analyze the annual nature of treering formation of 24 tree species from a seasonal semi-deciduous forest of southeast Brazil: describing wood anatomy and phenology, counting tree rings after cambium markings, and using permanent dendrometer bands. After 7 years of systematic observations and measurements, we found the following: the trees lost their leaves during the dry season and grew new leaves at the end of the same season; trunk increment dynamics corresponded to seasonal changes in precipitation, with higher increment (active period) during the rainy season (October–April) and lower increment (dormant period) during the dry season (May–September); the number of tree rings formed after injuries to the cambium coincided with the number of years since the extraction of the wood samples. As a result of these observations, it was concluded that most study trees formed one growth ring per year. This suggests that tree species from the seasonal semi-deciduous forests of Brazil have an annual cycle of wood formation. Therefore, these trees have potential for use in future studies of tree age and radial growth rates, as well as to infer ecological and regional climatic conditions. These future studies can provide important information for the management and conservation of these endangered forests.

scholarly journals Description of the larva of Bromeliagrion rehni (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) with bionomic notes concerning its phytotelmic habitat in central Amazonas, Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene R. da S. Torreias ◽  
Ulisses G. Neiss ◽  
Neusa Hamada ◽  
Ruth L. Ferreira-Keppler ◽  
Frederico A.A. Lencioni
Keyword(s):  
Rainy Season ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Stage Larva ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Apical Region ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

The last-stage larva of Bromeliagrion rehni Garrison in De Marmels & Garrison, 2005 is described and illustrated and bionomics and habitat information on this species are provided. The study was conducted in the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, located near Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil.Twelve samplings were done between April, 2003 and April, 2005: six in the rainy season and six in the dry season. In each sampling month, 12 bromeliads (Guzmania brasiliensis Ule, 1907, Bromeliaceae) were collected, six of which were terrestrial and six epiphytic, yielding144 samples. A total of 75 specimens of B. rehni were collected. The relationship between larval B. rehni abundance and the measured environmental parameters (volume (ml), pH, season and stratum) was significant (ANCOVA, F = 5.296, d.f. = 130, p < 0.001). Larvae were most abundant in the rainy season (p < 0.01) and water volume was positively related to the abundance of B. rehni. Larvae of B. rehni can be distinguished from those of B. fernandezianum (the only species in the genus with described larvae) by the number of setae in the prementum and by the color of the apical region of the femur. The association of this species with phytotelmata of G. brasiliensis is reported here for the first time.

scholarly journals Estimating population and livestock density of mobile pastoralists and sedentary settlements in the south-eastern Lake Chad area

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vreni Jean-Richard ◽  
Lisa Crump ◽  
Abbani Alhadj Abicho ◽  
Ali Abba Abakar ◽  
Abdraman Mahamat II ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Small Ruminants ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Land Use Management ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
Mobile Pastoralists ◽  
Livestock Density ◽  
Density Dynamics ◽  
First Time

Mobile pastoralists provide major contributions to the gross domestic product in Chad, but little information is available regarding their demography. The Lake Chad area population is increasing, resulting in competition for scarce land and water resources. For the first time, the density of people and animals from mobile and sedentary populations was assessed using randomly defined sampling areas. Four sampling rounds were conducted over two years in the same areas to show population density dynamics. We identified 42 villages of sedentary communities in the sampling zones; 11 (in 2010) and 16 (in 2011) mobile pastoralist camps at the beginning of the dry season and 34 (in 2011) and 30 (in 2012) camps at the end of the dry season. A mean of 64.0 people per km2 (95% confidence interval, 20.3-107.8) were estimated to live in sedentary villages. In the mobile communities, we found 5.9 people per km2 at the beginning and 17.5 people per km2 at the end of the dry season. We recorded per km2 on average 21.0 cattle and 31.6 small ruminants in the sedentary villages and 66.1 cattle and 102.5 small ruminants in the mobile communities, which amounts to a mean of 86.6 tropical livestock units during the dry season. These numbers exceed, by up to five times, the published carrying capacities for similar Sahelian zones. Our results underline the need for a new institutional framework. Improved land use management must equally consider the needs of mobile communities and sedentary populations.

Dry Season Den Use by Pygmy Spotted Skunk (Spilogale pygmaea) in a Tropical Deciduous Forest of Mexico

Biotropica ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisette Cantú-Salazar ◽  
Mircea G. Hidalgo-Mihart ◽  
Carlos A. López-González ◽  
Alberto González-Romero
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Tropical Deciduous Forest ◽  
Den Use

scholarly journals Rapid Assessment and Ground Truthing of Habitat Composition and Analysis of Semi-Natural Habitat Diversity of Proposed Greenway Developments

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Julien Carlier ◽  
James Moran
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Matrix Composition ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Land Use Intensification ◽  
Ground Truthing

Across Europe, Greenways upcycle disused railway infrastructure into non-motorised public infrastructure, often with limited consideration to potential ecological synergies. Pre-development, disused transport corridors become relatively undisturbed and potentially host diverse semi-natural habitats. The study objectives were 1) to produce a highly detailed and accurate dataset using remote sensing with rapid assessment techniques for ground truthing and 2) subsequently examine habitat diversity existing along a proposed Greenway. A 7000 ha study corridor was based on a disused railway proposed as a transfrontier Greenway connecting the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The study applied a rapid-assessment virtual validation techniquealongside remote sensing and accuracy assessment. Inter-relationship between seminatural habitat diversity and land-use intensification was examined. Remote sensing accuracies of 89% and 99% for a real and linear habitat classification were obtained. Degrees of land-use intensification were observed throughout the corridor, highlighting the importance of maintaining and enhancing remaining semi-natural habitat that exists along the proposed Greenway route. Through understanding the landscape matrix composition and semi-natural habitat diversity, European Greenwayscan achieve multi-functionality for ecosystem conservation, forming integral components of Green Infrastructure.

scholarly journals Recovery of Globba wengeri (C.E.C. Fisch.) K.J. Williams, critically endangered plant species from Serchhip District in Mizoram, Northeast India

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-181
Author(s):  
Lalnun Mawia ◽  
Vanlalhruaii Ralte ◽  
H. Lalruatsanga ◽  
Zothan Mawia ◽  
P.C. Vanlalhluna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Endangered Plant ◽  
Endangered Plant Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
First Time

Globba wengeri (C.E.C. Fisch.) K.J. Williams, former state flower of Mizoram, a rare and critically endangered plant species, commonly known as ‘dancing girl’, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, is reported in this communication for the first time from Serchhip District in Mizoram at an elevation of about 1187 m a.s.l. It was found on moist, watery and rocky slopes. The plant is under severe threat in the natural habitat and therefore, further studies are required to determine life history and particular survival threats of this species.

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