Intra-annual wood anatomical variability in European beech in response to elevation, management and climate in the Central Apennines, Italy

<p>European beech (<em>Fagus sylvatica</em>) is a widespread and economically important temperate tree species in Europe. Expected future warmer temperatures and severe drought events, especially in Mediterranean areas, could affect vitality and productivity of beech stands that historically were under intensive management in those areas. In this study, we aim to address the lack of knowledge on intra-annual wood anatomical responses of beech to environmental variability and silvicultural practices by investigating three beech stands along an elevational gradient (1200 to 1950 m a.s.l.) in the Apennines (Italy). Several wood cell anatomical features were quantified on increment cores collected from five trees per stand. Results showed that high-elevation trees are hydraulically limited, and mid-elevation trees meet their hydraulic requirements with a different anatomical setup/configuration compared to low and high sites. Maximum xylem vessel size and theoretical hydraulic conductivity were associated with the temperatures of previous summer, previous winter and current summer as well as precipitation at the onset of radial growth and at time of maximum growth rates. Cessation of coppicing did not trigger main intra-annual differences in wood anatomical traits. Similarly, years with extreme climate (e.g. mean temperature and/or precipitation values above or below one standard deviation) did not have strong effects on intra-annual wood anatomical traits, maybe due to buffering through the several active sapwood rings present in beech. In conclusion, elevation had a higher impact on intra-annual wood anatomical traits in the studied trees than either cessation of silvicultural practices or years with extreme climate.</p>

Distribution of Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae) in Grassland Regions of Alberta, Canada

The geographic distribution of the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni Stiles, was determined in Alberta, Canada, by drag sampling at 86 and 89 sites during 2011 and 2012, respectively. Tick density and prevalence varied between years, averaging (range) 1.0 (0–26.2) and 5.9 (0–110) ticks/1,000 m2 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Ticks were detected at 24.4% and 42.7% of the sites sampled in each respective year. Tick density and presence declined in a northerly direction to 51.6°N and in a westerly direction to ca. 113°W, except for a small area of high density at the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the southeastern portion of the province. Ticks were most abundant in the Dry Mixedgrass and Montane natural subregions and in areas with Brown Chernozemic, Regosol, and Solodized Solonetzic great soil groups. A logistic regression model indicated that tick presence was increased in the Dry Mixedgrass natural subregion and in regions with greater temperatures during the previous summer and normal winter precipitation but was reduced in areas with Dark Brown Chernozemic soils. The model will be useful for predicting tick presence and the associated risk of tick-borne diseases in the province.

Skillful prediction of winter Arctic Oscillation from previous summer in a linear empirical model

The winter Arctic Oscillation (WAO), as a primary atmospheric variability mode in the Northern Hemisphere, plays a key role in influencing mid-high-latitude climate variations. However, current dynamical seasonal forecasting systems have limited skills in predicting WAO with lead time longer than two months. In this study, we design a linear empirical model using two effective precursors from anomalies of the Arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) and the tropical sea surface temperature (SST) initiated in preceding late summer (August) which are both significantly correlated with WAO in recent four decades. This model can provide a skillful prediction of WAO at about half-year lead started from previous summer and perform much better than the dynamical models. Such a significantly prolonged lead time is owed to the stable precursor signals extracted from the SIC and SST anomalies over specific areas, which can persist from previous August and be further enhanced through autumn months. Validation results show that this model can produce a 20-year independent-validated prediction skill of 0.45 for 1999–2018 and a 39-year cross-validated skill of 0.67 for 1980–2018, providing a potentially effective tool for earlier predictions of winter climate variations at mid-high latitudes.

Forest Fire Danger Assessment Using Meteorological Trends

The chapter presents the results of research in the Republic of Buryatia, where the number and area of fires have increased over the past 20 years due to the rise in temperature and aridity. Most of the fires are registered in the large river valleys where pine forests are formed, which have low soil moisture capacity. Fewer fires occurred on the Eastern Sayans, Khamar-Daban ridges, and the Stanovoye Highlands, where the precipitation maximum falls. A correlation analysis was carried out between meteorological parameters and fires in climate-contrasting forests. The lack of precipitation at the end of the previous summer, combined with the hot and dry spring weather of the current year, have a significant impact on fires in the arid ecosystems of the Transbaikal middle mountains. In the humid coastal climate of the Eastern Baikal region, the high temperature of the air determines the fires, but there is no precipitation.

FORMATION OF LOCAL SETTLEMENTS BY FOUNDERS OF THE POLYSTES WASPS OF DIFFERENT MORPHOTYPES

In 2003–2013 and in 2019, an analysis of the relationship between phenotypic variability and the behavior of overwintered foundresses of 4 Palearctic Polistes wasp species from 12 local settlements was performed. It is shown that the structure and organization of melanin patterns of foundresses and their behavior in spring depend on the biocenotic environment of the colonies in which they were raised the previous summer, as well as on the weather conditions of wintering and nesting period. The system of polymorphism in primitive eusocial wasps, which is involved in providing population adaptations, in particular, nesting strategies, is discussed.

The queen is led? Bumblebee (Bombus spp.) nest-searching on sea wall banks may be influenced by cutting and sward height

English sea wall flood defences support an important grassland habitat for bumblebees (Bombus spp.). However, annual cutting in midsummer (July–August) could negatively affect them. The mowing regime on a sea wall at Goldhanger Creek in Essex was changed to a late cut (after 15 September) and nest-searching behaviour was compared with an adjacent sea wall cut in midsummer (normal cut in August). Sward height and the number of queens nest-searching were significantly higher on the normal cut sea wall than on the late cut one. Tall grass swards resulting from a cut early in the previous summer may be important for nest-searching compared to those mown late, although there is probably an interaction with sea wall aspect and soil type. The landward slope was also more attractive for nesting than the flat folding (berm) due to the longer vegetation where nests under construction were located (of Bombus humilis and B. terrestris).

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

This study reveals, for the first time, an interspecific synchronization in long-term stress levels. Previously, acute stress, has been shown to be highly contagious both among humans and between individuals of other species. Here, long-term stress synchronization in dogs and their owners was investigated. We studied 58 dog-human dyads and analyzed their hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) at two separate occasions, reflecting levels during previous summer and winter months. The personality traits of both dogs and their owners were determined through owner-completed Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and human Big Five Inventory (BFI) surveys. In addition, the dogs’ activity levels were continuously monitored with a remote cloud-based activity collar for one week. Shetland sheepdogs (N = 33) and border collies (N = 25), balanced for sex, participated, and both pet dogs and actively competing dogs (agility and obedience) were included to represent different lifestyles. The results showed significant interspecies correlations in long-term stress where human HCC from both summer and winter samplings correlated strongly with dog HCC (summer: N = 57, χ2 = 23.697, P < 0.001, β = 0.235; winter: N = 55, χ2 = 13.796, P < 0.001, β = 0.027). Interestingly, the dogs’ activity levels did not affect HCC, nor did the amount of training sessions per week, showing that the HCC levels were not related to general physical activity. Additionally, there was a seasonal effect in HCC. However, although dogs’ personalities had little effects on their HCC, the human personality traits neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness significantly affected dog HCC. Hence, we suggest that dogs, to a great extent, mirror the stress level of their owners.

Cloistered Virtue

This chapter focuses on Marvell’s Upon Appleton House (c.1651) and explores how Marvell uses the ruins of Nun Appleton Priory in this poem to meditate on the ruination of state-run religion during the puritan revolution of the mid-seventeenth century. The chapter sets the poem’s representation of Marvell’s patron—Thomas, third lord Fairfax—against the backdrop of the Scottish invasion of England in early August 1651, arguing that despite Fairfax’s decision the previous summer to resign his role as lord general of the parliamentary army, the poem nevertheless envisages a role for Fairfax in the military defence of northern England in August 1651, as governor of the important garrison town of Hull. Scotland, however, was not the only threat facing England in summer 1651. For the Fairfaxes, and other English presbyterians, the English church was a garden paradise overrun by the weeds of sectarianism, and it was English sectarianism that presbyterians on both sides of the border blamed for the outbreak of England’s war with Scotland in 1650. The chapter explores how Marvell gives voice in Upon Appleton House to presbyterian anxieties over the rise of sectarianism in the early 1650s, focusing on the poem’s representation of Nun Appleton’s meadows, garden, and priory ruins. In these catholic ruins, the chapter argues, Marvell sees English protestant sins reflected, and thus the poem’s remembrance of the dissolution of the monasteries is also an opportunity for a presbyterian meditation on the iconoclasm of English sectarians in the early 1650s.

Zika: an ongoing threat to women and infants

Recent data from the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, shows a sharp drop in the number of reported occurrences of Zika during the summer of 2016/2017, compared to the previous summer. There is still a much higher incidence among women than men, almost certainly due to sexual transmission. An unexpected feature of the new data is that there are proportionally far more cases affecting children under 15 months than older age classes. By comparing incidence rates in 2016/2017 and 2015/2016, we were able to deduce the proportion of reported cases affecting men and women, and verify that gender disparity is still present. Women and children are still risk groups for Zika infection, even during non-epidemic seasons.

Evidence for the linkage of survival of anadromous Arctic char and brown trout during winter to marine growth during the previous summer

Data from a 25-year study of anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in the River Halselva provided evidence that survival during winter was linked to marine growth during the previous summer. The study supported the “critical size and critical period” hypothesis, which postulates that regulation of the abundance of adult salmonids occurs in two major phases. The first phase is marine mortality that occurs shortly after smolts enter salt water, and the second is during the following winter, when individuals that have not attained a critical size are unable to meet minimum metabolic requirements and die. In the present study, growth during summer appeared to be more important to winter survival than body size. Size-selective mortality occurred both at sea during summer and in fresh water during winter and was more evident for first-time migrants than repeat migrants.