The isotopic signature of the “arthropod rain” in a temperate forest

Forest canopy is densely populated by phyto-, sapro-, and microbiphages, as well as predators and parasitoids. Eventually, many of crown inhabitants fall down, forming so-called ‘arthropod rain’. Although arthropod rain can be an important food source for litter-dwelling predators and saprophages, its origin and composition remains unexplored. We measured stable isotope composition of the arthropod rain in a temperate mixed forest throughout the growing season. Invertebrates forming arthropod rain were on average depleted in 13C and 15N by 1.6‰ and 2.7‰, respectively, compared to the soil-dwelling animals. This difference can be used to detect the contribution of the arthropod rain to detrital food webs. Low average δ13C and δ15N values of the arthropod rain were primarily driven by the presence of wingless microhytophages, represented mainly by Collembola and Psocoptera, and macrophytophages, mainly aphids, caterpillars, and heteropterans. Winged arthropods were enriched in heavy isotopes relative to wingless specimens, being similar in the isotopic composition to soil-dwelling invertebrates. Moreover, there was no consistent difference in δ13C and δ15N values between saprophages and predators among winged insects, suggesting that winged insects in the arthropod rain represented a random assemblage of specimens originating in different biotopes, and are tightly linked to soil food webs.

Diversity of Lepidoptera in urban parks at Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia

Urban parks are a valuable habitat for Lepidoptera, which are often neglected despite their potential role as pollinators and important food source for small animals. Lepidoptera in urban parks in Pasir Gudang are still under-studied. Yet, there is no publication on Lepidoptera in these urban parks. The objectives of this study were to determine and to compare the diversity of Lepidoptera in three urban parks (Laman Rekreasi Sungai Buluh, Tasik Dahlia and Taman Bandar) at Pasir Gudang, Johor. Visual Encounter Survey (VES) method was used to capture the Lepidoptera from February 2021 until April 2021. Four sampling sessions were conducted for each study site. A total of nine species from 117 individuals comprised of family Pieridae (43%), Nymphalidae (29%) and Lycaenidae (28%) were recorded from this study. The most abundant species were Zizula hylax and Elymnias hypermnestra, while Leptosia nina was the least abundant. The results from this study showed that the diversity of Lepidoptera have established in these three urban parks. Diversity of Lepidoptera in Tasik Dahlia was significantly lower compared to the other two study sites. The findings from this study could be useful as a baseline data for future research and conservation management of the order Lepidoptera around the urban parks and indirectly can support the sustainable development of the urban parks.

Effects of crude oil on juvenile threespine stickleback somatic and immune development

Aquatic oil spills have resounding effects on surrounding ecosystems, and thus significant resources are committed to oil spill responses to remove the oil from the environment as quickly as possible. Oil has immunotoxic effects and may be particularly harmful to larval and juvenile fish as it can cause a number of developmental defects and stunt growth. In spite of significant efforts to clean oil, it is unclear whether larval and juvenile fish can recover from the effects of oil and no work has been done on the effect crude oil has on developing threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish. Threespine stickleback are a ubiquitous sentinel species in the northern hemisphere and are an important food source for many larger, economically valuable fish. As fish with fully marine, anadromous, and freshwater populations, stickleback are exposed to oil in a variety of aquatic environments. We hypothesized that oil exposure would suppress both growth and immunity of developing stickleback, but that fish health could be recovered by removal of the crude oil. Fish were exposed to Alaska North Slope crude oil and then were moved to water without crude oil for two weeks (depuration). Measurements of growth and immunity were taken before and after the depuration. We found that crude oil effected different developmental pathways independently, significantly impacting some but not others. This is the first study to examine the effect crude oil has on early stages of stickleback development, and that stickleback fish are unable to recover from exposure after being transferred to clean water for two-weeks, suggesting larval/juvenile stickleback exposed to crude oil need longer than two-weeks to recover if they are able to recover at all.

Direct Evidence for Geophyte Exploitation in the Wyoming Basin

In the Wyoming Basin, archaeological sites dating from the Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric are often found associated with or adjacent to dense populations of Cymopterus bulbosus (springparsley), a nutritious geophyte that would have been an important food source for prehistoric humans living in the region. Experimental data have shown that the caloric return rates of C. bulbosus were enough to support seasonal exploitation by foragers, yet there has been no direct evidence for the use of this geophyte from the archaeological record. In this study, we examine starch granules from 10 ground stone tools excavated from two stratified, multicomponent archaeological sites in the Wyoming Basin to determine if C. bulbosus was collected and consumed in the past. Taproots of C. bulbosus were collected from two populations in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological sites in order to develop a modern starch reference. Identification of Cymopterus starch granules is based on a systematic study of those reference granules. The presence of Cymopterus starch on the ground stone artifacts suggests that prehistoric foragers were collecting and consuming these geophytes. These findings support previous hypotheses about geophyte use in southern Wyoming and therefore have implications for increasing human populations as well as settlement and subsistence decisions.

Marine Microplastics and Seafood: Implications for Food Security

Seafood is an important food source, and this chapter addresses the food safety concerns related to plastic particles in different seafood. Here we focus on those species which are commonly consumed by humans, such as bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods, echinoderms, crustaceans, and finfish. The objectives of this chapter are to (1) outline the major sources, fate, and transport dynamics of microplastics in marine ecosystems, (2) provide a critical assessment and synthesis of microplastics in seafood taxa commonly consumed by humans, (3) discuss the implications of microplastics with regard to human health risk assessments, and (4) suggest future research priorities and recommendations for assessing microplastics in marine ecosystems in the context of global food security and ocean and human health.

Seedling Functional Types and Cotyledons Shape Some Species of Woody Plant

ABSTRACT Woody plant produce small to large seeds which can affect germination process. Cotyledons as an important food source for early growth of seedlings. The position, function, and type of cotyledons when seeds germinate varies. This research aimed to determine cotyledons characters of woody plant seedlings collection in Bogor Botanic Gardens. The position, function and type of cotyledons were observed for 65 species of seedlings.This research used an observative method and was analyzed descriptively.The position of cotyledons when the seeds germinate are epigeal (above the ground) and hypogeal (remain in the soil). The epigeal cotyledons type found in 44 species that is higher than hypogeal cotyledons type (21 species). The function of cotyledons for seedlings is to reserve food or photosynthesis. Species with cotyledon reserve type were more than foliar cotyledons type (43 species and 22 species, respectively). The proportion of seedling types CER (cryptocotylar-epigeal-reservoir), CHR (cryptocotylar-hypogeal-reservoir), PEF (phanerocotylar-epigeal-foliaceous), PER (phanerocotylar-epigeal-reservoir), PHR (phanerocotylar-hypogeal-reservoir) were 3.08%, 16.92%, 33,85%, 29,23%, 16,92%, respectively.

Infective prey leads to a partial role reversal in a predator-prey interaction

An infective prey has the potential to infect, kill and consume its predator. Such a prey-predator relationship fundamentally differs from the predator-prey interaction because the prey can directly profit from the predator as a growth resource. Here we present a population dynamics model of partial role reversal in the predator-prey interaction of two species, the bottom dwelling marine deposit feeder sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and an important food source for the sea cucumber but potentially infective bacterium Vibrio splendidus. We analyse the effects of different parameters, e.g. infectivity and grazing rate, on the population sizes. We show that relative population sizes of the sea cucumber and V. Splendidus may switch with increasing infectivity. We also show that in the partial role reversal interaction the infective prey may benefit from the presence of the predator such that the population size may exceed the value of the carrying capacity of the prey in the absence of the predator. We also analysed the conditions for species extinction. The extinction of the prey, V. splendidus, may occur when its growth rate is low, or in the absence of infectivity. The extinction of the predator, A. japonicus, may follow if either the infectivity of the prey is high or a moderately infective prey is abundant. We conclude that partial role reversal is an undervalued subject in predator-prey studies.

Evaluation of By-Products of Potato Peel as Food Additive

: The potato plant is an important food source produced all over the world and it provides a significant portion of daily energy intake in nourishment. In addition, a significant rate of vitamins, fibre, mineral matters, protein, and fat can be obtained by consuming potato. In this study, the production, consumption, and usage areas of potato, a crucial source of our diet, and the possibilities of using it as food additives with the nutritional properties of its peel have been investigated. Generally, potato is consumed after its peel is removed in the homes and industrial areas and many of these peels are disposed off as wastes. Studies show that potato peel has a high content of dietary fibre, protein, carbohydrate, mineral matters, vitamin, phenolic, and antioxidant. The use of potato peel as food additives have also been discussed in this study.

IMPACT OF CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGIES ON SOYBEAN PRODUCTION AND QUALITY

Legumes are considered the second most important food source after cereals. One of high protein legume – soybeans is new species for growing in Latvia. Biochemical composition of soybeans is variable dependent on varieties, and highly affected by environmental factors, including fertilisation and the presence of Rhizobium bacteria. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate a chemical composition of soya (Glycine max L) differently fertilized and grown in different places in Latvia. In this study was evaluated protein, fat, fibre content and yield of soybean variety ’Laulema’ grown at different (F1-F6) fertilisation background in Stende and Vilani. Overall results of a three-year analysis (2018-2020) showed that the protein content of soybean ‘Laulema’ ranged from 31.0 to 38.9%, values of total crude fat ranged from 19.4 to 22.4, but crude fibre 10.5-13.7%. Significant difference was observed among fertilisation background, year and climatic conditions. Soybean productivity depends to a large extent on climatic conditions. Providing favourable conditions for the development of Rhizobium bacteria and the availability of balanced nutrients for plants, soybean yield can reach 2 - 3 t ha-2 also in Latvia

Variabilidad genética en mamey (Pouteria sapota (JAQ.) H.E. Moore & Stearn) basada en marcadores moleculares y morfología de fruto

The mamey (Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H.E. Moore & Stearn) has been an important food source in Mexico and Central America from where it originates, as well as in other tropical areas of the world where it has been introduced. Despite the importance of this phytogenetic resource and the variability that has been previously reported, parameters of genetic variability and diversity have not been established that allow for sustainable development and commercial exploitation plans to be carried out. The objective of this work was to determine the genetic variability in a population of mamey from the state of Colima, based on molecular markers and characteristics of the fruit. A sample of plants from the state of Yucatán was used as reference germplasm with the origin. It was found that there is a high level of intrapopulation genetic variability and a considerable degree of differentiation in terms of allelic frequencies between the samples from Colima and Yucatán, the ISTR and ISSR markers proved to be useful in the segregation of the samples based on their origin.