Dredging fundamentally reshapes the ecological significance of 3D terrain features for fish in estuarine seascapes

Context Landscape modification alters the condition of ecosystems and the structure of terrain, with widespread impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Seafloor dredging impacts a diversity of flora and fauna in many coastal landscapes, and these processes also transform three-dimensional terrain features. The potential ecological significance of these terrain changes in urban seascapes has, however, not been investigated. Objectives We examined the effects of terrain variation on fish assemblages in 29 estuaries in eastern Australia, and tested whether dredging changes how fish associate with terrain features. Methods We surveyed fish assemblages with baited remote underwater video stations and quantified terrain variation with nine complementary metrics (e.g. depth, aspect, curvature, slope, roughness), extracted from bathymetry maps created with multi-beam sonar. Results Fish diversity and abundance were strongly linked to seafloor terrain in both natural and dredged estuaries, and were highest in shallow waters and near features with high curvature. Dredging, however, significantly altered the terrain of dredged estuaries and transformed the significance of terrain features for fish assemblages. Abundance and diversity switched from being correlated with lower roughness and steeper slopes in natural estuaries to being linked to features with higher roughness and gentler slopes in dredged estuaries. Conclusions Contrasting fish-terrain relationships highlight previously unrecognised ecological impacts of dredging, but indicate that plasticity in terrain use might be characteristic of assemblages in urban landscapes. Incorporating terrain features into spatial conservation planning might help to improve management outcomes, but we suggest that different approaches would be needed in natural and modified landscapes.

On the Ecological Significance of Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Microbial Populations Undergoing Starvation

Nongenetic cell heterogeneity is present in glucose-starved yeast populations in the form of quiescent (Q) and nonquiescent (NQ) phenotypes. There is evidence that Q cells help the population survive long starvation.

Evaluation of Positive Socio-Economic Phenomena in Territorial Systems of Ecological Stability (Case Study)

One of the active tools that increase the ecological stability of a country are projects related to territorial systems of ecological stability (TSES). An important part of the elaboration of TSES projects is also the evaluation of positive socio-economic phenomena (PSEP). Their evaluation is important for the design of measures that will ensure its proper functioning. The PSEP enter, the spatial system as elements that fulfill important ecological functions and help preserve the natural resources, gene pool, ecological stability and diversity of the landscape. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain their functions in the future. The theoretical and methodological basis for the evaluation of PSEP within TSES is the LANDEP methodology. They are not unique in the area, and they can occur in various combinations. Based on varied combinations of positive phenomena ensuing from nature conservation, protection of water sources, forest and soil sources, mineral resources and cultural or historical resources there are various types of territories with different landscape ecological significance and different ecological stability. The resulting combinations are a limiting input for the proposed activities and must be respected when processing ecostabilization measures within TSES projects. The presented study presents a landscape ecological evaluation of socio-economic phenomena of nature protection and natural resources in a project of the local system of ecological stability which was developed for the agriculturally intensively used area of Dolný Lopašov. It assesses the legal status of the territory and specifies and spatially expresses areas with different representations of important landscape elements which come under legislative protection. Based on the occurrence, abundance, character and combinations of PSEP occurring in the cadastral area of the commune Dolný Lopašov, this specifies 8 degrees of landscape ecological significance. Significance categories form the basis for the overall classification of the territory required for the processing of TSES projects at the local level. The obtained results must be applied to the proposals of measures to increase ecological stability, especially in the central and southern part of the cadastral area of the commune Dolný Lopašov.

The Ecological Significance of Aphid Cornicles and Their Secretions

Aphid cornicles are abdominal appendages that secrete an array of volatile and nonvolatile compounds with diverse ecological functions. The emission of alarm pheromones yields altruistic benefits for clone-mates in the aphid colony, which is essentially a superorganism with a collective fate. Secreted droplets also contain unsaturated triglycerides, fast-drying adhesives that can be lethal when smeared on natural enemies but more often impede their foraging efficiency. The longest cornicles have evolved in aphids that feed in exposed locations and are likely used to scent-mark colony intruders. Reduced cornicles are associated with reliance on alternative defenses, such as the secretion of protective waxes or myrmecophily. Root-feeding and gall-forming lifestyles provide protected feeding sites and are associated with an absence of cornicles. In some eusocial gall-formers, soldier morphs become repositories of cornicle secretion used to defend the gall, either as menopausal apterae that defend dispersing alatae or as sterile first instars that dispatch predators with their stylets and use cornicle secretions as a construction material for gall repair. Collectively, the evidence is consistent with an adaptive radiation of derived cornicle functions molded by the ecological lifestyle of the aphid lineage.

Online Advanced Bacterial Identification Software, an Original Tool for Phenotypic Bacterial Identification

The objective of the study is to present and validate an original online Advanced Bacterial Identification Software, ABIS, by comparison to a commercially available, standardized identification system, API strips and apiweb™ bioMerieux software. Methods and results: presentation of ABIS online software, phenotypic bacterial identification of 16 reference strains and 123 wild isolates by ABIS and apiweb TM bioMerieux software and comparative analysis of results. Closed results were obtained (same taxa) for reference and wild strains of Enterobacteriaceae, Pasteurellaceae, Bacillaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Staphylococcaceae, Streptococcaceae, and other. Conclusions: Apiweb™ confirmed the results of ABIS, overall, average identification percent for ABIS being 91.8% and 90.4% for apiweb TM. ABIS online is a powerful tool for microbiology lab and the Encyclopedia connection provides essential information about the ecological significance, pathology and other features of the identified strains.

Development of ornamental horticulture for residential areas

Aim. Show the ecological significance of ornamental gardening in human life and identify problems of its effective management. Methods. The methods of dialectical cognition of processes and phenomena, monographic empirical and abstract-logical, are used. Results. The issues of the development of domestic ornamental horticulture and floriculture are discussed. A historical overview of landscaping is provided. The researches of domestic and foreign scientists on the toxic effect of pollutants on plant organisms, on the prooxidant-antioxidant balance, and its shift towards the intensification of lipid cross-oxidation in plant tissues, are analyzed. The relevance of research on air transport of harmful substances of human activity in residential areas and the importance of plants in protecting them and residents from the harmful effects of pollutants are shown. Conclusions. Ornamental gardening, floriculture, and landscaping are a promising way to improve the living conditions of the population and neutralize harmful industrial emissions.

Tiny wasps, huge diversity – A review of German Pteromalidae with new generic and species records (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

Despite their ecological and economic importance, hymenopteran parasitoids are severely understudied. Even in countries with a long taxonomic history such as Germany, dating back to the 18th century and including prolific figures like Christian Gottfired Nees von Esenbeck and Otto Schmiedeknecht, those species-rich groups are seldom the subject of comprehensive research efforts, leaving their true diversity unknown. This is often due to their small size of a few millimetres on average, leading to difficulties in their identification and examination. The chalcidoid family Pteromalidae is no exception to this neglect. So far, 735 species have been reported from Germany. Estimating the diversity of this group is not possible, but it has to be assumed that many more species are still to be discovered in Germany. With this study, we improve the knowledge on pteromalid diversity and present new records of 17 genera and 41 species, previously unknown to occur in Germany. We also match and describe previously unknown sexes of two species, based on DNA barcode data. The results of this study were generated as part of the German Barcode of Life Project. The newly-recorded species are illustrated and notes on the biology and distribution are given. The ecological significance of Pteromalidae and potential value as indicators for nature conservation efforts are briefly discussed.

Sequestration of P fractions in the soils of an incipient ferralisation chronosequence on a humid tropical volcanic island

Background Phosphorus (P) is the limiting nutrient in many mature tropical forests. The ecological significance of declining P stocks as soils age is exacerbated by much of the remaining P being progressively sequestered. However, the details of how and where P is sequestered during the ageing in tropical forest soils remains unclear. Results We examined the relationships between various forms of the Fe and Al sesquioxides and the Hedley fractions of P in soils of an incipient ferralitic chronosequence on an altitudinal series of gently sloping benches on Green Island, off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. These soils contain limited amounts of easily exchangeable P. Of the sesquioxide variables, only Fe and Al crystallinities increased significantly with bench altitude/soil age, indicating that the ferralisation trend is weak. The bulk of the soil P was in the NaOH and residual extractable fractions, and of low lability. The P fractions that correlated best with the sesquioxides were the organic components of the NaHCO3 and NaOH extracts. Conclusions The amorphous sesquioxides, Feo and Alo, were the forms that correlated best with the P fractions. A substantial proportion of the labile P appears to be organic and to be associated with Alo in organic-aluminium complexes. The progression of P sequestration appears to be slightly slower than the chemical and mineralogical indicators of ferralisation.