A floristic assessment of grassland diversity loss in South Africa

Background: Land-use effects on grassland flora are difficult to predict due to poor understanding of species losses caused by transformation.Objectives: To determine changes in species diversity and composition by comparing transformed with untransformed grassland.Methods: Floristics of paired plots were sampled within 18 transformed sites (representing agricultural and urban land-uses) and neighbouring untransformed grassland.Results: Endemic and threatened species were negatively affected by transformation, particularly species with belowground bud-banks and storage organs. Species composition, with clear shifts in dominant families, was changed by over 90% on average by transformation.Conclusion: Land-use transformation leads to the loss of native species and increased alien invasive species.

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Transportation Economic and Land Use System

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1617-12 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 1617 (1) ◽

pp. 84-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Louis J. Pignataro ◽

Joseph Wen ◽

Robert Burchell ◽

Michael L. Lahr ◽

Ann Strauss-Wieder

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Information System ◽

Management Tool ◽

Improvement Program ◽

Transportation Projects ◽

Accessible Information ◽

Surface Transportation ◽

Land Use System ◽

Land Use Effects ◽

Computer Based

The purpose of the Transportation Economic and Land Use System (TELUS) is to convert the transportation improvement program (TIP) into a management tool. Accordingly, the system provides detailed and easily accessible information on transportation projects in the region, as well as their interrelationships and impacts. By doing so, TELUS enables public-sector agencies to meet organizational, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, state, and other mandates more effectively. The objectives are accomplished by providing the computer-based capability to analyze, sort, combine, and track transportation projects in or under consideration for a TIP; assessing the interrelationships among significant transportation projects; estimating the regional economic and land use effects of transportation projects; and presenting project information in an easily understood format, including geographic information system formats.

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Urban land use effects of high-speed railway network in China: A spatial spillover perspective

Land Use Policy ◽

10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105417 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 105 ◽

pp. 105417

Author(s):

Fangqu Niu ◽

Zhongling Xin ◽

Dongqi Sun

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

High Speed ◽

Urban Land ◽

Urban Land Use ◽

Railway Network ◽

High Speed Railway ◽

Spatial Spillover ◽

Land Use Effects

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Changes in soil bacterial communities, and carbon and nitrogen metrics as potential indicators of land use effects in a humid tropical forest

Pedobiologia ◽

10.1016/j.pedobi.2021.150730 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 85-86 ◽

pp. 150730

Author(s):

William D. Eaton ◽

Katie M. McGee ◽

Morgan Larimer ◽

Elizabeth Hoke ◽

Olivia Karas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Tropical Forest ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Soil Bacterial Communities ◽

Land Use Effects ◽

Humid Tropical Forest ◽

Soil Bacterial

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Expression of Mst89B and CG31287 is Needed for Effective Sperm Storage and Egg Fertilization in Drosophila

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10020289 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 289

Author(s):

Gurman Grewal ◽

Bahar Patlar ◽

Alberto Civetta

Keyword(s):

Germ Line ◽

Sperm Storage ◽

Mature Sperm ◽

Sperm Production ◽

Cytogenetic Map ◽

Egg Hatchability ◽

Storage Organs ◽

Competitive Success ◽

Paternity Success ◽

And Storage

In Drosophila, male reproductive fitness can be affected by any number of processes, ranging from development of gametes, transfer to and storage of mature sperm within the female sperm storage organs, and utilization of sperm for fertilization. We have previously identified the 89B cytogenetic map position of D. melanogaster as a hub for genes that effect male paternity success when disturbed. Here, we used RNA interference to test 11 genes that are highly expressed in the testes and located within the 89B region for their role in sperm competition and male fecundity when their expression is perturbed. Testes-specific knockdown (KD) of bor and CSN5 resulted in complete sterility, whereas KD of CG31287, Manf and Mst89B, showed a breakdown in sperm competitive success when second to mate (P2 < 0.5) and reduced fecundity in single matings. The low fecundity of Manf KD is explained by a significant reduction in the amount of mature sperm produced. KD of Mst89B and CG31287 does not affect sperm production, sperm transfer into the female bursa or storage within 30 min after mating. Instead, a significant reduction of sperm in female storage is observed 24 h after mating. Egg hatchability 24 h after mating is also drastically reduced for females mated to Mst89B or CG31287 KD males, and this reduction parallels the decrease in fecundity. We show that normal germ-line expression of Mst89B and CG31287 is needed for effective sperm usage and egg fertilization.

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