Influence of Floristic Structure, Vegetation Density and Nutrient Content on the Occurrence and Abundance of Invasive Species in Aquatic Communities

Dinoflagellates of the genus Ceratium are generally marine organisms, but rare occurrences in freshwater have been observed in Brazil. In this paper we are recording for the first time the presence of Ceratium furcoides, an invasive species, in a shallow, natural intermittent pool formed at a high-altitude at the southern end of the Iron Quadrangle, an iron-mining district of Minas Gerais State (Southeast Brazil). Samples were collected in October and November of 2010 (rainy period). The population density of this organism observed in Lagoa Seca (“Dry Pool”) was very low, at most 4 ind L–1. Mountain lakes are extremely vulnerable to atmospheric deposition of organisms, making them valuable witnesses both of the many forms of impact arising from human activities and of the extended global connections that facilitate the dispersion and introduction of new species over great distances. Studies on the population dynamics of C. furcoides in natural tropical systems are still rare and very recent to the brazilian scenario and hence the monitoring of its dynamics and the potential impact on aquatic communities of its becoming established are essential to an understanding of the process of bioinvasion by this species.

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DNA-based monitoring for assessing the effect of invasive species on aquatic communities in the Amazon basin of Ecuador

ARPHA Conference Abstracts ◽

10.3897/aca.4.e65376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Christine Van der Heyden ◽

Lenin Riascos ◽

Andrea Carrera-Gonzalez ◽

Katherine Elizabeth Apunte Ramos ◽

Marcela Carbrera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Field Work ◽

Aquatic Communities ◽

Fast Detection ◽

Invasive Fishes ◽

Dna Database ◽

Next Generation Sequencing Ngs ◽

Generation Sequencing

Ecuador is well-known as one of the most biodiverse countries, but this species richness is being threatened by invasive alien species. The early detection of these invasive species is crucial for their fast and successful eradication and for limiting their effects on aquatic communities. Therefore, a Belgian VLIR-UOS project was started that aims at the development of a fast detection method to monitor the Ecuadorian Amazon river basin for the presence of invasive fishes, macroinvertebrates and amphibians. An (e)DNA field lab, equipped with miniaturized and portable DNA-processing equipment, such as centrifuges, thermal cyclers, and electrophoresis equipment (MiniPCR), was developed. In the next phase, the Nanopore Next-Generation sequencing (NGS) technique (MinION) will be optimized to enable the eDNA-based biomonitoring of tropical aquatic environments in the field. The fast detection of invasive species may help to prevent their further spread and perhaps even facilitate their eradication, and will promote more effective actions for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, new DNA-sequences of amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and fishes are being incorporated into the newly developed Ecuadorian DNA database. We also focus on building and strengthening the capacities of staff and students (Ecuadorian as well as Belgian) through theses, practical courses, field work, trainings and internships.

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Community ecology of invasions: direct and indirect effects of multiple invasive species on aquatic communities

Ecology ◽

10.1890/11-1821.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 93 (6) ◽

pp. 1254-1261 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

Daniel L. Preston ◽

Jeremy S. Henderson ◽

Pieter T. J. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Community Ecology ◽

Indirect Effects ◽

Direct And Indirect Effects ◽

Aquatic Communities

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Growth and Development of the Native Ruellia caroliniensis and Invasive Ruellia tweediana

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.39.5.1015 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 1015-1019 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sandra B. Wilson ◽

P. Chris Wilson ◽

Joseph A. Albano

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Competitive Advantage ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Native Species ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Dry Conditions ◽

Potassium Use Efficiency ◽

Use Efficiency

Invasive species have disrupted thousands of acres of natural areas in Florida and appear to have a physiological competitive advantage over native species. The influence of light and temperature on germination was determined for the invasive Mexican petunia (Ruellia tweediana Griseb.) and native wild petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis Steud.). Seeds were collected and germinated in incubators with light or darkness at 15, 24, 33, and 30/20 °C. Light increased germination for each species, except at 15 °C (R. caroliniensis). For R. caroliniensis, highest germination (86% to 94%) occurred at 33 °C and 30/20 °C. Highest germination of R. tweediana (98% to 100%) occurred at 30/20 °C. Studies also were initiated to determine if R. tweediana has a competitive advantage over the native species when grown under wet and dry substrate conditions. Growth and development measurements after 8 weeks under controlled conditions revealed that R. tweediana grown in wet conditions had the greatest dry weight increase as compared to other treatments. Ruellia caroliniensis had higher specific leaf area when grown in wet or dry conditions, as compared to R. tweediana. Throughout the experiment, net CO2 assimilation of R. caroliniensis grown under dry or wet conditions was consistently lower than that of R. tweediana. Shoot nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiencies were generally greatest for R. tweediana plants grown in wet conditions. For shoot nutrient content, significant species × moisture interactions occurred for measured phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca). When grown in wet conditions, R. tweediana had less shoot P and Ca as compared to dry conditions. For root nutrient content, species × moisture interactions were insignificant for each measured nutrient, with the exception of potassium (K). Potassium use efficiency of R. tweediana roots grown in wet conditions was higher than that of R. tweediana grown in dry conditions and R. caroliniensis grown in wet conditions.

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Impact of Year-Round Grazing by Horses on Pasture Nutrient Dynamics and the Correlation with Pasture Nutrient Content and Fecal Nutrient Composition

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9080500 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 500 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ringmark ◽

Skarin ◽

Jansson

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Crude Protein ◽

Nutrient Dynamics ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Vegetation Density ◽

Strong Correlations ◽

Pasture Quality ◽

Grass Sward ◽

The Impact

Horse grazing may benefit biodiversity, but the impact of year-round grazing on nutrient dynamics has not been evaluated previously. This study compared pasture quality in a forest-grassland landscape grazed year-round by horses with that in exclosed mown areas. Twelve Gotlandsruss stallions were kept without supplementary feeding in three enclosures (~0.35 horse/ha) outside Uppsala, Sweden, from May 2014 to September 2016. Each enclosure contained three mown exclosures, where grass sward samples were collected monthly and analyzed for chemical composition and vegetation density. Fecal grab samples were collected and analyzed for crude protein (CP) and organic matter (OM) content. There were no differences in exclosure pasture energy or CP content between enclosures (p > 0.05). In grazed areas, there were differences in grass energy and CP content (p > 0.05) between enclosures. During the three summers studied, energy and CP content increased in the enclosures, but decreased in the exclosures. By the end, biomass content/ha was greater in the enclosures than in the exclosures. Fecal OM and CP content showed moderate to strong correlations with pasture nutrient content (r = 0.3–0.8, p < 0.05). Thus, in contrast to monthly mowing, horse grazing diversified pasture chemical composition and increased its nutritive value.

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Asteretum lanceolati: Xenospontaneous community on wet and riparian habitats

Glasnik Sumarskog fakulteta ◽

10.2298/gsf1103073o ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 73-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dragica Obratov-Petkovic ◽

Ivana Bjedov ◽

Dragana Skocajic ◽

Danijela Djunisijevic-Bojovic ◽

Matilda Djukic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Electric Conductivity ◽

Soil Analysis ◽

Life Forms ◽

Cichorium Intybus ◽

Cirsium Arvense ◽

Calystegia Sepium ◽

Riparian Habitats ◽

Floristic Structure

Invasive species Aster lanceolatus grows on moist habitats on the whole territory of Serbia. In Belgrade, this species is recorded with a higher degree of presence at a number of localities. With the aim to investigate the community in which this species is dominant, the wide area of Serbia was researched, and 8 localities on the territory of Belgrade were chosen for the analysis of the community. Floristic structure of the community was determined by the standard Braun-Blanquet method (1964), phytogeographical analysis was performed according to Gajic (1980, 1984), and determination of life forms according to Raunkier (Ellenberg, Mueller-Dombois, 1967). pH soil analysis and electric conductivity (EC) were performed at all investigated localities. It was established that the community dominates the moist habitats of Belgrade. It is composed of 104 species and among them Aster lanceolatus Willd., Cichorium intybus L., Agropyrum repens (L.) Beauv., Calystegia sepium (L.) R. Br., Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., Symphytum officinale L. and Rumex obtusifolius L. are the most frequent. In relation to life forms, the community has hemicriptophytes character, and in relation to phytogeography Euroasian and Middle Europaean floral elements are dominant, with a high presence of cosmopolitan and adventive floral elements. On the locialities Veliko Ratno ostrvo (island) and Makis, EC values point to the fact that the amount of nutrient in the soil is higher than at other localities.

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Invasive Species

10.1017/9781139019606 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species

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Towards a European Food Composition Data Interchange Platform

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000113 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 209-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Simone Bell ◽

Heikki Pakkala ◽

Michael P. Finglas

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Content ◽

Food Composition ◽

Consumer Information ◽

Health Claims ◽

Composition Data ◽

European Committee ◽

Food Properties ◽

Data Interchange ◽

Food Composition Data ◽

Definition Of

Food composition data (FCD) comprises the description and identification of foods, as well as their nutrient content, other constituents, and food properties. FCD are required for a range of purposes including food labeling, supporting health claims, nutritional and clinical management, consumer information, and research. There have been differences within and beyond Europe in the way FCD are expressed with respect to food description, definition of nutrients and other food properties, and the methods used to generate data. One of the major goals of the EuroFIR NoE project (2005 - 10) was to provide tools to overcome existing differences among member states and parties with respect to documentation and interchange of FCD. The establishment of the CENs (European Committee for Standardisation) TC 387 project committee on Food Composition Data, led by the Swedish Standards Institute, and the preparation of the draft Food Data Standard, has addressed these deficiencies by enabling unambiguous identification and description of FCD and their quality, for dissemination and data interchange. Another major achievement of the EuroFIR NoE project was the development and dissemination of a single, authoritative source of FCD in Europe enabling the interchange and update of data between countries, and also giving access to users of FCD.

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