Leaf traits mediate changes in invertebrate herbivory along broad environmental gradients on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

With the unprecedented rate of biodiversity change in the world today, understanding how diversity gradients are maintained at mesoscales is a key challenge. Drawing on information provided by 3 comprehensive fishery surveys (conducted in different years but in the same season and with the same sampling design), we used boosted regression tree (BRT) models in order to relate spatial patterns of α-diversity in a demersal fish assemblage to environmental variables in the San Matias Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina). We found that, over a 4 yr period, persistent diversity gradients of species richness and probability of an interspecific encounter (PIE) were shaped by 3 main environmental gradients: bottom depth, connectivity with the open ocean, and proximity to a thermal front. The 2 main patterns we observed were: a monotonic increase in PIE with proximity to fronts, which had a stronger effect at greater depths; and an increase in PIE when closer to the open ocean (a ‘bay effect’ pattern). The originality of this work resides on the identification of high-resolution gradients in local, demersal assemblages driven by static and dynamic environmental gradients in a mesoscale seascape. The maintenance of environmental gradients, specifically those associated with shared resources and connectivity with an open system, may be key to understanding community stability.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Agronomic Traits of Sponge Gourd (Luffa cylindrica) Inbred Lines Under Plastic House in Thua Thien Hue

HUE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ◽

10.26459/hueuni-jard.v126i3e.4213 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 126 (3E) ◽

Author(s):

Trương Thị Hồng Hải ◽

Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thể ◽

Phan Thu Thảo

Keyword(s):

Skin Color ◽

Agronomic Traits ◽

Block Design ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Pure Line ◽

Inbred Lines ◽

Fruit Shape ◽

Yield Potential ◽

High Yield ◽

Sponge Gourd

In order to establish the pure line of sponge gourd containing aroma feature, we selected the desirable inbred lines by using a self-pollinating method. The present study was investigated to estimate the morphological traits and fruit quality of 6 sponge gourd inbred lines which generated at 4th generation of an aroma Luffa accession B29 under plastic house conditions. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, from May to November in 2016. Five plants per replication were examined. The results indicated that all inbred lines could grow well under plastic house conditions. The inbred lines had the same stem and leaf traits; whereas fruit shape, skin color and fruit veins color were observed differently among inbred lines. The aromatic trait was retained in all inbred lines either before or after cooking. The high yield was found in lines BC1 and BC2 by 10.1 tons/ha and 10.7 tons/ha, respectively. These inbred lines should be examined in open field condition to confirm the presence of aromatic trait and yield potential before completion of the procedures for recognition of new Luffa varieties.

Download Full-text

Vegetation structure and environmental gradients in the Sallum area, Egypt

Ecologia mediterranea ◽

10.3406/ecmed.2005.1476 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 15-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fawzy M. Salama ◽

Monier Abd El-Ghani ◽

Salah El Naggar ◽

Khadija A. Baayo

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Structure ◽

Environmental Gradients

Download Full-text

Faculty Opinions recommendation of Niche partitioning among Prochlorococcus ecotypes along ocean-scale environmental gradients.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.717949633.793454842 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Jed Fuhrman

Keyword(s):

Environmental Gradients ◽

Niche Partitioning

Download Full-text

Variations with slope in stem and leaf traits of Melica przewalskyi in alpine grassland

Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1258.2014.00125 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (12) ◽

pp. 1307-1314

Author(s):

DANG Jing-Jing ◽

◽

ZHAO Cheng-Zhang ◽

LI Yu ◽

HOU Zhao-Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Traits ◽

Alpine Grassland

Download Full-text

Influence of dry season onQuercus suberL. leaf traits in the Iberian Peninsula

American Journal of Botany ◽

10.1002/ajb2.1280 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 106 (5) ◽

pp. 656-666 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kyra A. Prats ◽

Craig R. Brodersen ◽

Mark S. Ashton

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Dry Season

Download Full-text

Environmental Variation and How its Spatial Structure Influences the Cross-Shelf Distribution of High-Latitude Coral Communities in South Africa

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d11040057 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sean N. Porter ◽

Michael H. Schleyer

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

High Latitude ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

High Tide ◽

Environmental Variation ◽

Shelf Edge ◽

Spatial Differences ◽

Coral Communities

Coral communities display spatial patterns. These patterns can manifest along a coastline as well as across the continental shelf due to ecological interactions and environmental gradients. Several abiotic surrogates for environmental variables are hypothesised to structure high-latitude coral communities in South Africa along and across its narrow shelf and were investigated using a correlative approach that considered spatial autocorrelation. Surveys of sessile communities were conducted on 17 reefs and related to depth, distance to high tide, distance to the continental shelf edge and to submarine canyons. All four environmental variables were found to correlate significantly with community composition, even after the effects of space were removed. The environmental variables accounted for 13% of the variation in communities; 77% of this variation was spatially structured. Spatially structured environmental variation unrelated to the environmental variables accounted for 39% of the community variation. The Northern Reef Complex appears to be less affected by oceanic factors and may undergo less temperature variability than the Central and Southern Complexes; the first is mentioned because it had the lowest canyon effect and was furthest from the continental shelf, whilst the latter complexes had the highest canyon effects and were closest to the shelf edge. These characteristics may be responsible for the spatial differences in the coral communities.

Download Full-text

Propagation of Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia Genotypes and Determination of Their Ornamental Traits Combined with a Genetic Analysis Using ISSR Markers

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020205 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 205

Author(s):

Stefanos Kostas ◽

Stefanos Hatzilazarou ◽

Elias Pipinis ◽

Anastasios Vasileiadis ◽

Panagiotis Magklaras ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Analysis ◽

Germination Rate ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Issr Markers ◽

Pistacia Lentiscus ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Indolebutyric Acid ◽

Single Male ◽

Asexual Propagation

Pistacia lentiscus L. is a dioecious shrub or small tree with high drought resistance, native in the entire Mediterranean basin. The variety ‘Chia’ (mastic tree) is cultivated for the production of mastic gum (a resin produced after wounding of the trunks and thick branches) in the Island of Chios (Greece), but it also has a significant ornamental value. In the present study, ten male and ten female genotypes of P. lentiscus var. Chia from the natural habitats of Chios were selected and examined with respect to the rooting efficiency of their shoot cuttings. The germination ability of the seeds was also tested. The 20 plants were morphologically described, mainly with respect to traits related to their ornamental value. Furthermore, leaves were collected from the 20 genotypes, from which genomic DNA (gDNA) was isolated, followed by amplification of gDNA fragments using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. This was done aiming both at the determination of their genetic distance and the establishment of possible correlations between the amplified bands and certain morphological traits. The results of the study showed that there were differences among the genotypes for both methods of propagation. Regarding the rooting of the shoot cuttings, the best genotype was 8M (cv. ‘Psilophyllos’), achieving a rooting rate of 62.5% in winter with the application of indolebutyric acid (potassium salt of IBA), while regarding the seed germination capacity the genotype 2F exhibited the highest germination rate (57%). Genetic analysis using ISSRs separated the plants into four groups, one group consisting of male genotypes, one of the female genotypes, one consisting of members from both genders and a fourth containing a single male genotype. The genetic analysis of the male genotypes only produced a dendrogram showing the cultivars clustering in three different groups. Regardless of the genetic analysis, it seems that there were correlations between the ISSR markers and the leaf traits and also the gender and the asexual propagation. These correlations can assist future breeding programs of P. lentiscus var. Chia.

Download Full-text