Ecología trófica de Lacerta lepida en la provincia de León, noroeste de España

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquín Alegre ◽  
José María Salgado ◽  
Angel Hernández

AbstractThe diet of Lacerta lepida in the province of León (NW Spain) was studied through the analysis of 286 faecal pellets collected during May-August. Insecta were the numerically most important prey group, and always represented more than 85 % of prey numbers. Coleoptera and Hymenoptera were the dominant orders. Other important prey groups were Heteroptera and Arachnida. The number of Orthoptera consumed increased gradually from May to August. With respect to the occurrence frequency of prey in the faecal pellets, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera occurred in more than 75% at all times. The lowest trophic diversity was detected in june-july. Seasonal changes in the diet were noteworthy within short-terms and augmented in the long-term. The average length of the invertebrate prey was within the interval 9-14 mm. In terms of energy content, Vertebrata (43.82%), Coleoptera (15.77%), Orthoptera (14.40%) and Hymenoptera (13.95%) were the principal groups. L. lepida is considered to be an opportunistic feeder, although some prey groups are apparently selected.

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley A. Gibson

Diet and food availability of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), was examined at two sites and over two summer and two winter seasons in Astrebla Downs National Park in south-western Queensland. The presence of both invertebrate and plant material in almost all faecal pellets (99.6% and 98.5%, respectively) indicated that bilbies in south-western Queensland are omnivorous. The plant component of the bilby diet consisted predominantly of Dactyloctenium radulans seeds (frequency of occurrence: 94.4%). The major invertebrate prey items were Isop-tera (termites, 73.1%) and Formicidae (ants, 77.6%). The frequency of occurrence of invertebrates in faecal pellets was higher during summer than winter, but the frequency of occurrence of plants was relatively constant regardless of season. Within the invertebrate categories, Isoptera and Acrididae (grasshoppers) displayed the greatest seasonal difference, with a significantly higher proportion of both categories in the diet during summer than winter at both study sites. The availability of invertebrate prey items also varied with season, and for most taxa, frequency of oc-currence was significantly higher in summer than winter. In contrast, the frequency of occurrence of seeds and bulbs (Cyperus bulbosus) varied only slightly with season. Seasonal changes in food availability were reflected by variation in dietary composition; however, relative proportions of some dietary items differed from their proportional availability. Therefore, bilbies were considered to be qualitatively opportunistic; selecting more invertebrates when their apparent availability increased, but continually exploiting the available seeds and bulbs. Additionally, although bilbies appeared to have some preferences for particular food items, several food items were selected almost randomly, and therefore bilbies were also considered to be dietary generalists. Such an opportunistic feeding strategy is advantageous to an arid-zone species as it permits the continuous exploitation of food resources that are unpredictable in their availability both spatially and temporally.


Author(s):  
Laima TAPARAUSKIENĖ ◽  
Veronika LUKŠEVIČIŪTĖ

This study provides the analysis of drought conditions of vegetation period in 1982-2014 year in two Lithuanian regions: Kaunas and Telšiai. To identify drought conditions the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was applied. SPI was calculated using the long-term precipitation record of 1982–2014 with in-situ meteorological data. Calculation step of SPI was taken 1 month considering only vegetation period (May, June, July, August, September). The purpose of investigation was to evaluate the humidity/aridity of vegetation period and find out the probability of droughts occurrence under Lithuanian climatic conditions. It was found out that according SPI results droughts occurred in 14.5 % of all months in Kaunas region and in 15.8 % in Telšiai region. Wet periods in Kaunas region occurred in 15.8 %, and in Telšiai region occurrence of wet periods was – 18.8 % from all evaluated months. According SPI evaluation near normal were 69.7 % of total months during period of investigation in Kaunas and respectively – 65.5 % in Telšiai. The probability for extremely dry period under Lithuania climatic conditions are pretty low – 3.0 % in middle Lithuania and 2.4 % in western part of Lithuania.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4118
Author(s):  
Suen A. N. Lie ◽  
Britt H. B. T. Engelen ◽  
Veronique C. M. L. Timmer ◽  
Nico M. P. Vrijens ◽  
Paolo Asperio ◽  
...  

Background: Dental Class II is the most common indication for combined orthodontic-orthognathic treatment. Intermolar mandibular distraction osteogenesis (IMDO) treatment was performed during the growth spurt, to avoid surgery at a later age. The aim of this study is to present our first experience with IMDO. Methods: This is a retrospective case series of patients who underwent an IMDO. All patients showed mandibular retrognathism, and orthodontic treatment with functional appliances was not successful. Results: In total, 20 patients (mean age of 14.8 years (SD = 0.9 ys) were included. All patients achieved a Class I occlusion. An average length gain of 9.6 mm (SD = 3.7 mm) was reached. In one patient an abscess occurred. Nine patients presented with root fractures of the second molar; three were lost, one treated endodontically. The average time between insertion and removal of the distractors was 4.6 months (SD = 1.5 mths). In one case a premature consolidation was seen. Conclusion: We achieved satisfactory results with IMDO, although undesirable effects occurred. An advantage is the manageable overall treatment time. Open questions concern the occurrence of root fractures. Furthermore, the question of long-term stability is open. The question of dynamic distraction treatment in relation to temporomandibular joint changes can only be answered in the long term.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Kinga Kęska ◽  
Michał Wojciech Szcześniak ◽  
Izabela Makałowska ◽  
Małgorzata Czernicka

Waterlogging (WL), excess water in the soil, is a phenomenon often occurring during plant cultivation causing low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the soil. The aim of this study was to identify candidate genes involved in long-term waterlogging tolerance in cucumber using RNA sequencing. Here, we also determined how waterlogging pre-treatment (priming) influenced long-term memory in WL tolerant (WL-T) and WL sensitive (WL-S) i.e., DH2 and DH4 accessions, respectively. This work uncovered various differentially expressed genes (DEGs) activated in the long-term recovery in both accessions. De novo assembly generated 36,712 transcripts with an average length of 2236 bp. The results revealed that long-term waterlogging had divergent impacts on gene expression in WL-T DH2 and WL-S DH4 cucumber accessions: after 7 days of waterlogging, more DEGs in comparison to control conditions were identified in WL-S DH4 (8927) than in WL-T DH2 (5957). Additionally, 11,619 and 5007 DEGs were identified after a second waterlogging treatment in the WL-S and WL-T accessions, respectively. We identified genes associated with WL in cucumber that were especially related to enhanced glycolysis, adventitious roots development, and amino acid metabolism. qRT-PCR assay for hypoxia marker genes i.e., alcohol dehydrogenase (adh), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (aco) and long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 6 (lacs6) confirmed differences in response to waterlogging stress between sensitive and tolerant cucumbers and effectiveness of priming to enhance stress tolerance.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. H. Ellis ◽  
B. J. Sullivan ◽  
A. T. Lisle ◽  
F. N. Carrick

Faecal pellets were collected under trees used by free-ranging koalas in south-western, central and south-eastern Queensland to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of pellets with respect to the activity of koalas. Deposition of faecal pellets by koalas was analysed according to the time of day at which the tree was occupied. For free-ranging koalas, 47% of daily faecal pellet output was recovered using a collection mat of 8 × 8 m placed under a day-roost tree. The best predictor of pellet production was the presence of a koala in a tree between 1800 hours and midnight. For other periods, there was no relationship between period of tree occupancy and faecal pellet recovery. There was a significant relationship between the average length of tree occupancy and the time of day that a koala entered a tree.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e000339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjiv Chohan ◽  
Sara Ash ◽  
Lorraine Senior

Delirium and intensive care unit acquired weakness are common in patients requiring critical care and associated with higher mortality and poor long-term outcomes. Early mobilisation has been shown to reduce the duration of both conditions and is recommended as part of a strategy of rehabilitation of critically ill patients starting during their stay in intensive care. Our aim was to achieve 95% reliability with a standardised mobilisation process. Multidisciplinary involvement through the use of regular focus groups lead to the development of a standardised process of sitting a ventilated or non-ventilated patient at the side of the bed for a set period of time, which was called the daily dangle. Team learning from Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)cycles, as well as feedback from both staff and patients, allowed us to develop the process and achieve a median 87% reliability. Delirium rates fell from 54.1% to 28.8%. There was no change in average length of stay, and no adverse events. Ownership by the staff, development of the process by staff, iterative testing and learning, and designs for reliability were the factors behind the successful adoption of a new and challenging process. Particular changes which drove reliability were standardisation of the criteria for a dangle, standardisation of the dangle itself and a reminder included on the daily goals checklist.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1217-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wolf ◽  
C. Chwala ◽  
B. Fersch ◽  
J. Garvelmann ◽  
W. Junkermann ◽  
...  

Abstract ScaleX is a collaborative measurement campaign, collocated with a long-term environmental observatory of the German Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO) network in the mountainous terrain of the Bavarian Prealps, Germany. The aims of both TERENO and ScaleX include the measurement and modeling of land surface–atmosphere interactions of energy, water, and greenhouse gases. ScaleX is motivated by the recognition that long-term intensive observational research over years or decades must be based on well-proven, mostly automated measurement systems, concentrated in a small number of locations. In contrast, short-term intensive campaigns offer the opportunity to assess spatial distributions and gradients by concentrated instrument deployments, and by mobile sensors (ground and/or airborne) to obtain transects and three-dimensional patterns of atmospheric, surface, or soil variables and processes. Moreover, intensive campaigns are ideal proving grounds for innovative instruments, methods, and techniques to measure quantities that cannot (yet) be automated or deployed over long time periods. ScaleX is distinctive in its design, which combines the benefits of a long-term environmental-monitoring approach (TERENO) with the versatility and innovative power of a series of intensive campaigns, to bridge across a wide span of spatial and temporal scales. This contribution presents the concept and first data products of ScaleX-2015, which occurred in June–July 2015. The second installment of ScaleX took place in summer 2016 and periodic further ScaleX campaigns are planned throughout the lifetime of TERENO. This paper calls for collaboration in future ScaleX campaigns or to use our data in modelling studies. It is also an invitation to emulate the ScaleX concept at other long-term observatories.


Author(s):  
Raquel Barata ◽  
Raquel Prado ◽  
Bruno Sansó

Abstract. We present a data-driven approach to assess and compare the behavior of large-scale spatial averages of surface temperature in climate model simulations and in observational products. We rely on univariate and multivariate dynamic linear model (DLM) techniques to estimate both long-term and seasonal changes in temperature. The residuals from the DLM analyses capture the internal variability of the climate system and exhibit complex temporal autocorrelation structure. To characterize this internal variability, we explore the structure of these residuals using univariate and multivariate autoregressive (AR) models. As a proof of concept that can easily be extended to other climate models, we apply our approach to one particular climate model (MIROC5). Our results illustrate model versus data differences in both long-term and seasonal changes in temperature. Despite differences in the underlying factors contributing to variability, the different types of simulation yield very similar spectral estimates of internal temperature variability. In general, we find that there is no evidence that the MIROC5 model systematically underestimates the amplitude of observed surface temperature variability on multi-decadal timescales – a finding that has considerable relevance regarding efforts to identify anthropogenic “fingerprints” in observational surface temperature data. Our methodology and results present a novel approach to obtaining data-driven estimates of climate variability for purposes of model evaluation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
G. V. Zuyev

Black Sea sprat Sprattus sprattus phalericus (Risso, 1826) is one of the abundant species of fish in the Sea of Azov – Black Sea basin. Due to its large number sprat plays an extremely important role in the ecosystem of the sea, being an intermediate link between zooplankton and representatives of the highest trophic level – large predatory fish, dolphins, and birds. At the same time sprat is one of the important commercial fish in all the Black Sea countries, steadily being on the second place of catch volume in recent decades (after anchovy). The total catch reaches 100 thousand tons. Turkey and Ukraine are the main producing countries. Monitoring and forecast of biological state of sprat population with rising fishing intensity and climate changes are urgent tasks. The research subject of this article is the long-term (2000–2016) dynamics of biological (qualitative) parameters determining the population fecundity of Black Sea sprat in Crimean region, the current state of reproductive potential, and the conditions for its formation. The article is based on the results of own research. Parameters determining the population fecundity – the length-age structure of the spawning part population, the absolute individual fecundity, and the sex structure population (ratio between females and males) – were studied. In the long-term plan (in 2011–2016 compared with 2000–2004) the average length of spawning females decreased by 1.22 times (from 7.36 to 6.03 cm). It was accompanied by a decrease in the absolute individual fecundity by 2.39 times (from 13 625 to 5690 eggs). The numerical ratio between females and males decreased by 1.23 times (from 1.95 to 1.59). Simultaneously the sprat stock in the northern part of the Black Sea was reduced by more than 2.5 times (from > 500 thousand tons to < 200 thousand tons). As a result, the population fecundity of sprat in Crimean region decreased by more than 7 times (2.39 × 1.23 × 2.5). The conditions of sprat fishing in the northern part of the Black Sea (from the mouth of the Danube River to the Kerch Strait) were studied. They showed 2-fold decrease (from 251.9 thousand tons in 2000–2004 to 129.1 thousand tons in 2011–2016) in the total catch and more than 2.3-fold decrease (from 50.4 to 21.4 thousand tons) in average annual catch in this region. On the contrary, in the Crimean shelf the total catch at that time increased by 1.2 times (from 76.9 to 92.2 thousand tons), and its average annual value remained constant (15.4 thousand tons). While reducing the stock by 2.5 times, this means that the fishing pressure on the Crimean population increased 2.5 times. This fact suggests considering the factor of fishing as the main cause of its degradation. Validity of this version is confirmed by the fact of conjugacy (inverse connection) of interannual fluctuations between the catch and the length-age parameters of sprat in Crimean region in 2003–2013 previously found: catches over 15–16 thousand tons were accompanied by a next year decrease in the fish average length. Regulation of fishing is a necessary condition for preventing further degradation, for restoring and maintaining sustainable state of sprat population in Crimean region and its reproductive potential. The negative impact of natural (climatic and trophic) factors on the state of the population should be recognized as a secondary one. Local overfishing indicates indirectly the structuring of the commercial stock of Black Sea sprat, its division into a number of geographical aggregations (stock units), i. e. the presence of intraspecific differentiation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document