scholarly journals Characteristics of Central American brocket deer resting sites in a tropical mountain cloud forest in eastern Mexico

PeerJ ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. e12587
Author(s):  
Brenda Muñoz Vazquez ◽  
Sonia Gallina Tessaro ◽  
Livia León-Paniagua

The Central American brocket deer is a vulnerable species. Geographically isolated populations have been affected by poaching and habitat fragmentation, leading to local extinctions. It is therefore important to understand this species’ habitat characteristics, particularly of resting sites, which play a crucial role in survival and fitness. We describe the characteristics and distribution patterns of Central American brocket deer resting sites at the microhabitat and landscape scales in San Bartolo Tutotepec, Hidalgo, México. We conducted eight bimonthly field surveys between November 2017 and March 2019, consisting of 32 transects of 500 m length to search for fecal pellets, footprints, scrapes, and browsed plants. At each resting site we identified, we measured canopy closure, horizontal thermal cover, protection from predators for fawns and adults, escape routes, slope from the ground, presence of scrapes, cumulative importance value of the edible plant species, and distance from the resting site to the nearest water resource to characterize the site at the microhabitat scale. At the landscape scale, we identified the type of biotope, elevation, aspect, and slope. We compared all of these parameters from resting sites with a paired randomly selected site to serve as a control. We performed a multiple logistic regression to identify the parameters associated with the resting sites and a point pattern analysis to describe their distribution. We characterized 43 resting sites and their corresponding control plots. At the microhabitat scale, resting sites were associated with higher vertical thermal cover, more concealment cover, more escape routes, more edible plant species, higher slope from the ground, and closer distance to water resources. At the landscape scale, resting sites were associated with beech forest, oak forest, secondary forest, and ravine biotopes and negatively associated with pine forest, houses, and roads. Resting sites had an aggregated spatial pattern from 0 to 900 m, but their distribution was completely random at larger scales. Our study revealed that Central American brocket deer selected places with specific characteristics to rest, at both microhabitat and landscape scales. We therefore suggest that existing habitat be increased by reforesting with native species—particularly Mexican beech forest and oak forest—to improve the deer’s conservation status in the study area.

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 695
Author(s):  
Hongsheng Pan ◽  
Bing Liu ◽  
Coline C. Jaworski ◽  
Long Yang ◽  
Yongqiang Liu ◽  
...  

In agroecosystems, predatory ladybeetles play an important role in restraining aphid population growth and suppressing aphid populations. They can adapt to various habitats and make use of various aphid species associated with multiple host plants during their life cycle. Agricultural landscapes in China are composed of a mosaic of small fields with a diverse range of crops, and how ladybeetles make use of host plant diversity in such landscapes has rarely been documented. In this study, we examined the relationship between aphid densities and ladybeetle densities in two different settings: (i) on the majority of plant species (including crops, trees, and weeds) at a local field scale in 2013 and 2014, and (ii) in paired cotton and maize crop fields at a regional landscape scale in 2013. Overall, we found that aphid abundance determined predatory ladybeetle abundance at both the local field and landscape scales, and there was a positive correlation between aphid densities and ladybeetle densities. However, plant taxa had no significant influence on the predatory ladybeetle abundance at the local field scale. In addition, the effect of aphids on ladybeetles abundance was influenced by the crop type and growing season at the regional landscape scale. There was a significant positive correlation between aphids and ladybeetles populations on cotton only in July and August, whereas the correlation was significant for maize throughout the whole growing season. We also conducted an analysis of the stable carbon isotope ratios of the adult ladybeetles caught in cotton and maize fields (C3 and C4 crops, respectively) in a regional landscape-scale survey in 2013. The δ13Cvalue indicated that most prey aphids for ladybeetles originated from crops where aphids are abundant (cotton in June and July; both maize and cotton in August).These findings improved our understanding of the migration and dispersal of ladybeetles among different habitats and plant species and provided insight into the promotion of the regional conservation and pest control of natural enemies in northern China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 609-618
Author(s):  
R.K. Maikhuri ◽  
Dalbeer S. Parshwan ◽  
Pushpa Kewlani ◽  
Vikram S. Negi ◽  
Sandeep Rawat ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juyang Liao ◽  
Linping Zhang ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Qiaoyun Li ◽  
Danxia Chen ◽  
...  

Food supply from forests is a fundamental component of forest ecosystem services, but information relating to suitability for human consumption and sustainable utilization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in developing countries is lacking. To address this gap in knowledge, diverse datasets of edible plants and macro-fungi were obtained from field collections, historical publications, and community surveys across seven cities in Guangdong Province (GP), southern China. Seven edible parts and five food categories of plant species were classified according to usage and specific nutrient components. Edible plant species were also categorized into different seasons and life forms. Our results show that at least 100 plant species (with 64 plant species producing fruit) and 20 macro-fungi were commonly used as edible forest products in subtropical GP. There were 55 and 57 species providing edible parts in summer and autumn, respectively. Many edible plants had multiple uses. Tree and herbaceous species made up the majority of the total. Our study provides evidence that both edible plants and macro-fungi can enrich the food supply for residents in rural and urban areas by acting as supplemental resources. We therefore suggest that, in spite of the prevalence of imported foods due to modern infrastructure, edible NTFPs from subtropical forests might be leveraged to support the increasing demand for food in an era of rapid urbanization and global change.


2013 ◽  
pp. 27-55
Author(s):  
Rade Cvjeticanin ◽  
Olivera Kosanin ◽  
Milun Krstic ◽  
Marko Perovic ◽  
Marijana Novakovic-Vukovic

This research was carried out in natural stands of sessile oak (Quercus petraea agg. Ehrendorfer 1967) on Miroc mountain. Three comunities were investigated: Pure sessile oak forest (Quercetum montanum Cer. et Jov. 1953. s.l.), sessile oak-common hornbeam forest (Querco-Carpinetum moesiacum Rud. 1949. s.l.) and sessile oak-balkan beech forest (Querco-Fagetum Glis. 1971). Pure sessile oak forests are found on the following soils: dystric ranker and acid cambic soil on sandstone, dystric ranker and acid cambisols on phyllite, and acid cambic soil on schists. Sessile oak-hornbeam forests grow on sandstone, granite and schists. Sessile oak-beech forests are found on acid cambisol on phyllite and sandstone conglomerate. Various ecological conditions (exposition, slope, altitude, soil types and bedrock) on Mt Miroc caused the occurence of diverse sessile oak forest communities, while different states of these forest stands resulted from the implementation of management measures.


Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1724
Author(s):  
Annick Barre ◽  
Els J.M. Van Damme ◽  
Mathias Simplicien ◽  
Hervé Benoist ◽  
Pierre Rougé

Lectins or carbohydrate-binding proteins are widely distributed in seeds and vegetative parts of edible plant species. A few lectins from different fruits and vegetables have been identified as potential food allergens, including wheat agglutinin, hevein (Hev b 6.02) from the rubber tree and chitinases containing a hevein domain from different fruits and vegetables. However, other well-known lectins from legumes have been demonstrated to behave as potential food allergens taking into account their ability to specifically bind IgE from allergic patients, trigger the degranulation of sensitized basophils, and to elicit interleukin secretion in sensitized people. These allergens include members from the different families of higher plant lectins, including legume lectins, type II ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP-II), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), jacalin-related lectins, GNA (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin)-like lectins, and Nictaba-related lectins. Most of these potentially active lectin allergens belong to the group of seed storage proteins (legume lectins), pathogenesis-related protein family PR-3 comprising hevein and class I, II, IV, V, VI, and VII chitinases containing a hevein domain, and type II ribosome-inactivating proteins containing a ricin B-chain domain (RIP-II). In the present review, we present an exhaustive survey of both the structural organization and structural features responsible for the allergenic potency of lectins, with special reference to lectins from dietary plant species/tissues consumed in Western countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariku Berihun ◽  
Eyayu Molla

This study was designed to document the use and conservation of wild edible plants in Bullen district, northwestern Ethiopia. Data was collected through semistructured interview and focus group discussions. The collected data was analyzed through direct matrix ranking, pairwise ranking, and priority ranking methods. In this study, a total of 77 wild edible plant species were identified. Of these plants, trees account for 35.5% followed by shrubs (31.1%). Fruits were the most harvested parts (59.7%) followed by leaves (12.9%), roots and tubers (3.8%), and rhizomes (2.5%). These plants are consumed either raw (57.1%) and/or cooked (17%); most are collected by women (62.5%) and children (20.8%), but the participation of men is stumpy (4.2%). According to pairwise ranking analysis, fruits of Vitex doniana and the leaves of Portulaca quadrifida are the most preferred plant species because of their sweet taste. However, some of the plants have side effects causing abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation. Although religion and cultural norms and values play an important role in the conservation of wild edible plants, population pressure and its associated impacts contributed much to the disappearance of these plants. Thus, community participation is the suggested solution for the conservation and sustainable use of the wild edible plants in the study area.


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