scholarly journals Ecological space of the sod-lithogenic soils on the red-brown clays animal community

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
K. V. Andrusevych
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Edaphic Factors ◽  
Ecological Specialization ◽  
Vital Activity ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Living Organisms

The ecological niche is the keystone conception of theoretical ecology. But for its use methodical difficulties appears which can be solved with the help of the number of statistical techniques which includes OMI-analyses. This procedure has given the possibility of visualization of the ecological niche of soil animal community of the sod-lithogenic soils on the red-brown clays. The phenomenon of differentiation of the ecological niche demands the explanation of structuring ecological space and detects of dominant factors which have influenced for the physiognomy of communities of soil animals. The important problem is also to evaluate the role of ecological specialization of animals, which expresses in the terms ecomorphical structure. The usage of RLQ-analyses has permitted to quantity estimate the influence of vegetation features and edaphic factors on the spatial distribution of soil mesofauna. The researching polygon is characterized both the presence of patch with optimal vital activity terms, and with unfavorable conditions. Mesopedobionts within researching polygon have been established as not being ecologically homogeneous. The functional groups A and B embrace in the majority of endogeic animals such as larvae of beetles. The ecologically diverse ecomorphic properties of these groups with high density of the animal community may be determined by the axis number 1. These groups concentrate within 3–4 meters diameter patches with most favorable conditions for vital activity. Such patches are marginal for this polygon. The functional group C is presented by gerpetobiont animals which are able to migrate and relatively tolerant to edaphic factors. That is why centroid of given group is most closely located to the typical condition of this polygon. Considered indicators of soil as environment of living organisms permit to estimate the community’s ecological niche. The quantity characteristics of species ecological niches within researching polygon such as specialization and marginality have been estimated. At first for the characteristics of soil animals’ ecological niches have been used phytoindicator scales and ecomorphical analyses of the vegetations structure and also physiognomy types of it. The selection of functional groups of soil animals and applied for them ecomorphical characteristics are present high information values and conformity of indicator scales for the description of real current types of conditions of ecosystems.

scholarly journals Functional and spatial structure of the urbotechnozem mesopedobiont community

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. N. Kunah
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Groups ◽  
Ecological Diversity ◽  
Soil Animal ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
Rlq Analysis ◽  
Animal Community

The results of studying the spatial structure of soil mesofauna of an urbanotechnozem by OMI- and RLQ-analysis are presented. The research was conducted on 5 June 2012 in the Botanic Garden of Oles Gonchar University (previously – territory of the Park Y. Gagarin, Dnipropetrovsk). The studied plot is situated on the slope of the Krasnopostachekaya balka (48°25'57.43" N, 35°2'16.52" E). The plot consists of 15 transects directed in a perpendicular manner in relation to the talweg. Each transect is made of seven sample points. The distance between points is 2 m. The coordinates of the lower left point were taken as (0; 0). The plot consisted of artificial grassland with a single tree. The vegetation was composed of grassland and steppe, of a mega-mesotrophic, xeromesophilic character. At each point the mesopedobionts were studied (data presented as L-table); temperature, electrical conductivity and soil penetration resistance, and grass height were measured (data presented as R-table). The soil-zoological test area was 25×25 cm. The mesopedobiont community was represented by 28 species and with total abundance 70.1 ind./m2. The following groups were dominant in the ecological structure of the soil animal community; saprohages, pratants, mesotrophocoenomorphs and the endogeic group. The measured edaphic characteristics were shown to play an important role in structurization of the ecological niche of the mesopedobiont community. The usage of morphological or physiological features of animals for the assessment of degree of specific distinctions is applicable for homogeneous taxonomic or ecological groups possessing comparable characteristics which also can be interpreted ecologically. The soil mesofauna is characterized by high taxonomic and ecological diversity of forms,which are difficult to compare by morphological or physiological criteria. The ecological value of characteristics in different groups will be not identical, and the basis for their comparison will be inadequate. Therefore we apply to the description of ecological features an ecomorphic analysis of the soil animals. The organization of communities of soil animals may be considered at the levels of investigated point,biogeocenosis, landscape and regional level. On the basis of landscape-ecological distribution of species in ecological space, their distribution in ecological groups – ecomorphs is established. The regular ratio of an ecomorph in these functional groups will be reflection of their organizational structure and ecological diversity. The obtained data testifies to the justice of this assumption. It is important to note the fact that the functional groups allocated in ecological space by means of the RLQ-analysis show regular patterns of spatial variability. Local functional groups are characterized by ecological characteristics in which any ecomorph may contain species occupying different hierarchical positions. Ascertaining the spatial heterogeneity of the animal community and determinancy of properties of an ecological niche by soil factors is an important result. However, for understanding of the nature of heterogeneity of the spatial variant of ecomorphs the analysis with RLQ-analysis application has been processed. Within a comparatively uniform field the spatial differentiation of the animal community in functional groups has been found. The reality of their existence was not only verified statistically, but also supplemented by a substantial interpretation of the ecomorphic markers of the interrelations between the groups and indicators of the ecological properties of the soil they inhabit. The variation of environmental properties within microsites leads to rearrangement of the ecological frame of the soil animal community. Heterogeneity of a soil body and vegetation mosaic form patterns of the spatial organisation of the soil animal community.

scholarly journals ПРОСТРАНСТВЕННАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ СООБЩЕСТВА ПОЧВЕННЫХ МЕЗОПЕДОБИОНТОВ В УСЛОВИЯХ РЕКРЕАЦИОННОЙ НАГРУЗКИ В ЛЕСОПАРКОВОМ НАСАЖДЕНИИ

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (03) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
O. N. Kunakh ◽  
A. V. Zhukov ◽  
Yu. A. Baljuk
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Functional Group ◽  
Ecological Groups ◽  
Ecological Diversity ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
Rlq Analysis ◽  
Animal Community

<p>In work the results of studying of the spatial organization of soil mesofauna of the artificial forest planting have been processed by OMI- and RLQ-analysis methods. Our research were conducted in June, 6st, 2011 in Oles Gonchar University botanic garden (earlier – territory of park of J. Gagarin, Dnepropetrovsk). The studied plot is situated at a distance of 220 m from the Building 1 of DNU and at a distance of 95 m from Y. Gagarin Avenue (the Southeast direction) (48°25'53.88"С, 35°2'25.82"В). The plot consists of 15 transects directed in a perpendicular manner in relation to the Avenue. Each transect is made of seven sample points. The distance between points is 2 m. The coordinates of the lower left point have been taken as (0; 0). The plot represents artificial forest-park planting. The vegetation has typically wood, mesotrophic and mesophilic character (93.55% – silvants, 70.97% – mesotrophic, 57.84% – mesophiles). At each point the soil mesofauna was studied; temperature, electrical conductivity and soil penetration resistance, dead leaf layer and herbage height were measured. Soil-zoological test area had a size of 25×25 cm.</p> <p>In ecological structure of the soil animal community have been found such groups dominant as saprophages, pratants and stepants, hygrophilous, mesotrophocoenomorphes, endogeic topomorphes. The measured edaphic characteristics have been shown to play an important role in structure of an ecological niche in mesopedobiont community. The basic trends of structure transformation of the animal community of soil mesofauna have been found as soil humidity gradient and edaphic properties variability caused features of a forest vegetation cover. The usage of morphological or physiological features of animals for an estimation of degree of specific distinctions is applicable for homogeneous taxonomic or ecological groups possessing comparable characteristics which also can be interpreted ecologically. The soil mesofauna is characterized by high taxonomic and ecological diversity of forms and comparing which by morphological or physiological criteria it is rather inconvenient. Ecological sense of characteristics in different groups will not be identical, and the basis for their comparison will be inadequate. Therefore we apply to the description of the ecological features ectomorphic analysis of soil animals. The organization of communities of soil animals may be considered at levels of an investigated point, a biogeocenosis, a landscape and regional level. Actually, on the basis of landscape-ecological distribution of species in ecological space their accessory to ecological groups – an ecomorphes is established. Various directions of allocating an ecomorphes at the landscape level conditionally are considered independent and form an ecological matrix (in multidimensional space – a multidimensional matrix, or tensor). As the level of a biogeocenosis correlation degree with the ecomorphes, possibly, will be rather high, therefore soil animals will form local, but functionally significant, groups. The regular ratio of ecomorphes in these functional groups will be a reflection of their organizational structure and an ecological diversity. The obtained data testifies to the justice of the come out assumption. It is important to notice that fact that the functional groups allocated in ecological space by means of the RLQ-analysis, show regular patterns of spatial variability. Local functional groups are characterized by ecological characteristics which reflect in terms one ecomorphes of property of others, occupying the higher hierarchical position. So, it is established that within the studied range, steppe ecomorphes are presented by megatrophic, xerophilous, megatrophocoenomorphes, and mostly phytophagous or predatory forms. Meadow and paludal forms are mainly epigeic (paludal) or anecic (meadow), hygrophilous or ultragygrophilous, saprophagous. The pioneering complex of destructive loci is presented by functional group which has no accurate coenotic status, but gravitates to steppe type. Such result approaches us to an understanding of mechanisms of transformation of community of soil animals under anthropogenic impact. For this purpose it is necessary to return to understanding coenomorphes as indicators of types of circulation of substances and energy flow on A. L. Belgard (1971). In such treatment we observe destruction coenotic system unities of a complex under anthropogenic impact, and the functional group appears at us as situational set of species. Obviously, such treatment is hypothetical and demands the further check. However the considered algorithm of gathering of materials and their statistical processing gives the practical tool for the decision of the given problem.</p> <p><em>Key words: </em>soil mesofauna, ecological niche, spatial ecology, ecomorphes</p>

scholarly journals Effect of traditional agriculture technology on communities of soil invertebrates

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. V. Andrusevich ◽  
M. M. Nazarenko ◽  
T. Yu. Lykholat ◽  
I. P. Grygoryuk
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Invertebrates ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Forest Belt ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Effective Use

The study of peculiarities specific for the spatial organization of communities of living organisms allows to develop principles of the rational and effective use of the biosphere natural resources and optimal adaptation of mankind to the natural environment. The aim of the research was to study communities of the soil mesofauna as an integral indicator of the state of soils under conditions of applying the traditional farming technology, to carry out the quantitative accounting of the soil mesofauna, and assessment of morphometric parameters of sunflower plants in places of selecting soil and zoological samples, to determine the species composition and abundance, as well as to analyze the ecological structure of the soil mesofauna community. Rheophilous species predominate on black steam, and mesophilic species predominate under sunflower. This can be explained by the fact that in the periodic cultivation of black steam, the evaporation from the soil surface is much higher. Ultra-mega-coenotrophs are dominant on black steam, and megacoenotrophs are dominant under sunflower. Since both demonstration trails are laid on one field, but have strategically been divided into a plot under black steam and a plot under sunflower, one can assume a different degree of saturation of the soil solution, as during the growth the crop being cultivated uses soil nutrients. Among topomorphs of soil animals, exactly soil animals are dominant, which is characteristic for both demonstration trails being studied. In the composition of trophomorphs of soil animals, phytophages are dominant in soil of the test demonstration trail on black steam, and in soil of the test demonstration trail, where sunflower was cultivated, phyto- and saprophages predominate in equal proportions. As a result of the correlation analysis, statistically reliable dependences are obtained: – numbers of soil animals in soil of the demonstration trail on black steam – on the distance from forest belt areas (-0.23) and length and width of sunflower leaves - on the distance from forest belt areas (0.53 and 0.53 respectively). The species composition, abundance and distribution in space of soil invertebrates are an informative indicator, which reflects the ecological state of soils, intensity in development of soil horizons as well as intensity of processes occurring in them.

Resistance of Binding Systems of Various Compositions to the Action of Molds

2020 ◽  
Vol 786 (11) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
V.V. STROKOVA ◽  
◽  
V.V. NELUBOVA ◽  
M.N. SIVALNEVA ◽  
M.D. RYKUNOVA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aging Process ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Fungal Resistance ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Vital Activity ◽  
Regulatory Documents ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Biological Corrosion ◽  
Test Objects

The dynamic development of urbanization contributes to an increase in emissions of industrial waste, which is the cause dysfunction of the ecosystem balance and leads to the development of biological corrosion on building materials associated with the products of the vital activity of microorganisms. In this regard, it is necessary to assess the resistance of composites to predict the durability of building structures under conditions of biological influence of microorganisms. Binder systems of various compositions were studied: cementless nanostructured binders (NB) based on quartz sand and granodiorite, gypsum, Portland cement and alumina cement. The toxicity of binders was assessed by biotesting on living organisms – cladocerans Daphnia Magna – according to the criteria of the intensity of their growth and viability. As a result, the high environmental safety of NB is substantiated, and the ranking of the studied binders according to the degree of increase in their toxicity to test objects is presented. Fungal resistance was assessed by the ability of molds for growing and reproduction on the studied samples. It was found that the most active in terms of the development of binders were representatives of the genus Aspergillus, the intensity of growing of which in all variants did not decrease below 3 points. Gypsum and NB were especially vulnerable, where the degree of fouling repeatedly reached 5 points. Even the initially biostable cement, after the aging process, lost its stability at different extent. The obtained results indicate the need to increase the resistance of composites for various purposes under conditions of biocorrosion at the stage of design and updating of regulatory documents, including tests for fungal resistance in the list of mandatory.

scholarly journals Defining the niche for niche construction: evolutionary and ecological niches

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Trappes
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Niche Concept ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
Extreme Habitat

AbstractNiche construction theory (NCT) aims to transform and unite evolutionary biology and ecology. Much of the debate about NCT has focused on construction. Less attention has been accorded to the niche: what is it, exactly, that organisms are constructing? In this paper I compare and contrast the definition of the niche used in NCT with ecological niche definitions. NCT’s concept of the evolutionary niche is defined as the sum of selection pressures affecting a population. So defined, the evolutionary niche is narrower than the ecological niche. Moreover, when contrasted with a more restricted ecological niche concept, it has a slightly different extension. I point out three kinds of cases in which the evolutionary niche does not coincide with realized ecological niches: extreme habitat degradation, commensalism, and non-limiting or super-abundant resources. These conceptual differences affect the role of NCT in unifying ecology and evolutionary biology.

scholarly journals An ecological niche shift for Neanderthal populations in Western Europe 70,000 years ago

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Banks ◽  
Marie-Hélène Moncel ◽  
Jean-Paul Raynal ◽  
Marlon E. Cobos ◽  
Daniel Romero-Alvarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Niche Shift ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Niche Dynamics ◽  
Anatomically Modern Humans

AbstractMiddle Paleolithic Neanderthal populations occupied Eurasia for at least 250,000 years prior to the arrival of anatomically modern humans. While a considerable body of archaeological research has focused on Neanderthal material culture and subsistence strategies, little attention has been paid to the relationship between regionally specific cultural trajectories and their associated existing fundamental ecological niches, nor to how the latter varied across periods of climatic variability. We examine the Middle Paleolithic archaeological record of a naturally constrained region of Western Europe between 82,000 and 60,000 years ago using ecological niche modeling methods. Evaluations of ecological niche estimations, in both geographic and environmental dimensions, indicate that 70,000 years ago the range of suitable habitats exploited by these Neanderthal populations contracted and shifted. These ecological niche dynamics are the result of groups continuing to occupy habitual territories that were characterized by new environmental conditions during Marine Isotope Stage 4. The development of original cultural adaptations permitted this territorial stability.

scholarly journals On the Diversification of the Translation Apparatus across Eukaryotes

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greco Hernández ◽  
Christopher G. Proud ◽  
Thomas Preiss ◽  
Armen Parsyan
Keyword(s):  
Model Organisms ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Translational Machinery ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Profound Knowledge ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Translation Apparatus ◽  
Fundamental Process ◽  
Organismal Complexity ◽  
Living Organisms

Diversity is one of the most remarkable features of living organisms. Current assessments of eukaryote biodiversity reaches 1.5 million species, but the true figure could be several times that number. Diversity is ingrained in all stages and echelons of life, namely, the occupancy of ecological niches, behavioral patterns, body plans and organismal complexity, as well as metabolic needs and genetics. In this review, we will discuss that diversity also exists in a key biochemical process, translation, across eukaryotes. Translation is a fundamental process for all forms of life, and the basic components and mechanisms of translation in eukaryotes have been largely established upon the study of traditional, so-called model organisms. By using modern genome-wide, high-throughput technologies, recent studies of many nonmodel eukaryotes have unveiled a surprising diversity in the configuration of the translation apparatus across eukaryotes, showing that this apparatus is far from being evolutionarily static. For some of the components of this machinery, functional differences between different species have also been found. The recent research reviewed in this article highlights the molecular and functional diversification the translational machinery has undergone during eukaryotic evolution. A better understanding of all aspects of organismal diversity is key to a more profound knowledge of life.

scholarly journals Phytoplankton assemblages in Lake Orta: has functional structure recovered in one of the largest acidic lakes in the world?

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (s2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Morabito
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Phytoplankton Species ◽  
Phytoplankton Assemblages ◽  
Lake Maggiore ◽  
Acidic Lakes ◽  
Physical Features ◽  
She Analysis

Lake Orta (Northern Italy) became one of the world’s largest acidic lakes, following industrial pollution, beginning in the late 1920s. Prior to pollution, Lake Orta supported a rich and diversified phytoplankton community dominated by diatoms, cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. Their taxonomic composition was comparable to that of the nearby Lake Maggiore, which provides a useful reference comparison. After pollution, Lake Orta was so acidic and contaminated with trace metals that only a few tolerant phytoplankton species persisted, supplemented by sudden and short living outbursts of occasional colonists. The lake was limed in 1989-1990. This has permitted the gradual recovery of its chemistry and biology, and many phytoplankton species that inhabit Lake Maggiore are now re-appearing in Lake Orta. I tested the two hypotheses that Lakes Orta and Maggiore would now have a similar phytoplankton taxonomic assemblages, and similar diversity of functional groups given their similar morphometry, physical features and trophic states. The two hypotheses were tested by comparing the phytoplankton assemblages of lakes Maggiore and Orta for the first 10 years after liming, i.e. 1990 to 2001. Phytoplankton was classified according the Reynolds' Morpho Functional Groups and five diversity indices were calculated (<em>S</em>, number of units; <em>H</em>, Shannon-Wiener; <em>E</em>, evenness; <em>D</em>, dominance; <em>J</em>, equitability). SHE analysis (an analysis of diversity changes based on the relationship among species richness (S), H Index (H) and evenness (E)) was also carried out, in order to compare the long term trend of both functional groups and taxa biodiversity. Both taxonomic and the functional composition differed in the two lakes, likely because chemical quality have played a role in <em>taxa</em>selection. Moreover, it was quite clear that, during the first post-liming decade, Lake Orta’s phytoplankton was characterized by low diversity and evenness and by marked year-to-year fluctuations. However, SHE analysis showed that the colonization rate was higher in Lake Orta than in Lake Maggiore, and that the environmental modifications caused by the liming were opening new ecological niches, allowing some colonists to thrive in the changing, albeit still unusual chemical environment of the lake.<p> </p>

Distribution Patterns and Ecological Niches of the Red-tongued Pit Viper (Gloydius ussuriensis) and the Central Asian Pit Viper (Gloydius intermedius) in Cheonmasan Mountain, South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 348-354
Author(s):  
Min Seock Do ◽  
Ki-Baek Nam
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Dry Land ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Geographical Environment

Studies on the distribution of species are important to understanding the interspecific ecological niche and habitat selection through geographic environmental information. Particularly, vipers in the same genus have been an important topic because they show differences in the preferred geographical environment, depending on the distance of the phylogenetic relationship. This study investigated the geographical environment of red-tongued pit vipers (Gloydius ussuriensis) and Central Asian pit vipers (Gloydius intermedius) in the mountainous area, Cheonmasan Mountain County Park, South Korea, from April 2012 to October 2014, to understand the relationships among their habitat characteristics and ecological niche. Red-tongued pit vipers mainly lived in low altitude, wet valley areas with a low solar reflectance, while Central Asian pit vipers inhabited high altitude, dry land with large amounts of sunshine. As a result, our study supports that the ecological niche of red-tongued pit vipers and Central Asian pit vipers, inhibiting in Cheonmasan Mountain was overlapped low according to the majority of geographical environmental variables. The differentiated diet preference might be took into consideration as one of the potential key factors to the ecological niche differentiation among two species.

Introduction

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Species Distribution Modeling ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Distribution Modeling ◽  
Geographic Distributions ◽  
Complex Relationships

This book deals with ecological niche modeling and species distribution modeling, two emerging fields that address the ecological, geographic, and evolutionary dimensions of geographic distributions of species. It provides a conceptual overview of the complex relationships between ecological niches and geographic distributions of species, both across space and (perhaps to a lesser degree) through time. The emphasis is on how that conceptual framework relates to ecological niche modeling and species distribution modeling, which the book argues are complementary and are most broadly applicable to diverse questions regarding the ecology and geography of biodiversity phenomena. Part I of the book introduces the conceptual framework for thinking about and discussing the distributional ecology of species, Part II is concerned with the data and tools that have been used in the early development of the field, and Part III focuses on real-world situations to which these tools have been applied.

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