Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem services in development planning: perspectives from a landscape level

Despite much progress in ecosystem services research, a gap still appears to exist between this research and the implementation of landscape management and development activities on the ground, especially within a developing country context. If ecosystem service science is to be operationalised and used by decision-makers directing local development, an in-depth understanding of the implementation context for landscape planning and management, and of the opportunities and challenges for ecosystem services in this context are needed. Very little is known about these opportunities and constraints, largely because of the absence of methods to explore the complexity of the landscape planning, management and implementation context and the possibilities of integrating scientific information into these processes within a real-world setting. This study aims to address this need for information and methods, by focusing on a region in South Africa with a long history of ecosystem service research and stakeholder engagement, and testing a social science approach to explore opportunities and challenges for integrating ecosystem services in landscape planning processes and policies. Our methodological approach recognises the importance of social processes and legitimacy in decision-making, emphasizing the need to engage with the potential end-users of ecosystem service research in order to ensure the relevance of the research. While we discovered challenges for mainstreaming ecosystem service at a local level, we also found strong opportunities in the multi-sectoral planning processes driving development and in how the concept of ecosystem services is framed and aligned with development priorities, especially those relating to disaster risk reduction.     

Modification of Campylobacterjejuni Broiler Colonization by a Feed Additive Composed of Encapsulated Organic Acids and Essential Oils

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a novel feed additive on chicken intestinal colonization and carcass contamination by Campylobacterjejuni. The feed additive was composed of microencapsulated organic acids and essential oils （OA/EO）. The feed additive tested was provided by Jefo Nutrition Inc., St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. Day-old birds were separated into two rooms and subdivided into two groups. Chicken were fed with OA/EO or not fed with OA/EO until they reached 35 d of age. At 14 d of age, chickens received an oral suspension of two well characterized C. jejuni strains, depending on the room they were housed in. The levels of C. jejuni were periodically monitored in the caecum and on the carcasses. C. jejuni colonization was further characterized by the use of high-resolution melt analysis of the C. jejuniflaA gene （HRM-flaA）. The effect of the feed additive was strain-dependent. In room two, the feed additive had no effect on the caecal counts. In room one, at 35 d of age, caecal C. jejuni counts were higher with OA/EO, as opposed to carcasses counts which were lower in the treated group. The HRM-flaA analysis showed that an amplification profile was predominant in birds fed with OA/EO at 35 d of age in room one, suggesting the selection of a C. jejuni strain. In conclusion, the OA/EO seemed to be effective to reduce C. jejuni levels but this effect appeared strain dependent.     

Saproxylic species are linked to the amount and isolation of dead wood across spatial scales in a beech forest

Context

Dead wood is a key habitat for saproxylic species, which are often used as indicators of habitat quality in forests. Understanding how the amount and spatial distribution of dead wood in the landscape affects saproxylic communities is therefore important for maintaining high forest biodiversity.

Objectives

We investigated effects of the amount and isolation of dead wood on the alpha and beta diversity of four saproxylic species groups, with a focus on how the spatial scale influences results.

Methods

We inventoried saproxylic beetles, wood-inhabiting fungi, and epixylic bryophytes and lichens on 62 plots in the Sihlwald forest reserve in Switzerland. We used GLMs to relate plot-level species richness to dead wood amount and isolation on spatial scales of 20–200 m radius. Further, we used GDMs to determine how dead wood amount and isolation affected beta diversity.

Results

A larger amount of dead wood increased beetle richness on all spatial scales, while isolation had no effect. For fungi, bryophytes and lichens this was only true on small spatial scales. On larger scales of our study, dead wood amount had no effect, while greater isolation decreased species richness. Further, we found no strong consistent patterns explaining beta diversity.

Conclusions

Our multi-taxon study shows that habitat amount and isolation can strongly differ in the spatial scale on which they influence local species richness. To generally support the species richness of different saproxylic groups, dead wood must primarily be available in large amounts but should also be evenly distributed because negative effects of isolation already showed at scales under 100 m.

     

Wheat spike fertility: inheritance and relationship with spike yield components in early generations

In wheat, grain number is considered as the product of spike dry weight (SDW) and the number of grains per unit of SDW, that is an indicator of spike fertility (SF). The aim of this study was to determine the heritability of SF and the effect of early selection for high SF on its relationship with other spike yield components. Two field experiments were conducted in the south‐eastern Pampas (Argentina) with 400 F₂ and F_2:3 families obtained from two crosses between varieties with contrasting SF (PIG/SSN and B10/KCJ). Heritability estimates in PIG/SSN and B10/KCJ were, respectively, 0.60 and 0.51 by variance component analysis, 0.43 and 0.43 by F₂ : F₃ parent–offspring regression and 0.30 and 0.28 by realized heritability analysis. The existence of transgressive segregation (i.e. the occurrence of families with SF values that were more extreme than those of the parents) was observed. The top 25% F₃ families with the highest SF had 12% more grains per spike, despite a 13% and 5% decrease in SDW per spike and weight per grain, respectively, than the remaining families. These results give support to the application of early selection for high SF.     

Molecular adaptation of barley to cold and drought conditions

Summary Molecular adaptation to cold and drought involves a series of biochemical and molecular changes leading plants to improve their winter hardiness or drought resistance.We are interested to study the molecular basis of cold acclimation and drought response of barley to survive under stress. Several genes regulated by low temperatures and sometimes by drought have been isolated from the barley genome. In this review the most significant results of our recent work will be presented and discussed.The protein encoded by cDNA clone pt59 and induced in barley by cold was over-expressed in E. coli to produce the matching antibody, which in vivo recognizes a cold-induced protein of 14 kDa (COR14). The COR14 is stored in amounts only slightly greater in the cold resistant Onice than in the susceptible Gitane, although the former has a higher induction-temperature threshold of COR14 than the latter. This fact is an evolutionary advantage enabling the resistant varieties in the field to prepare for the cold well ahead of the susceptible ones.Two other cDNA clones, paf93 and cdr29, are regulated by low temperature and drought stress but not by exogenous ABA treatment. Indeed during the early stage of dehydration, the mRNAs are expressed before the induction of known ABA regulated genes such as dehydrins and when only a small increase occurs in ABA content. The sequence analysis revealed that paf93 encodes for a protein homologous to the cold-regulated protein COR47 of Arabidopsis, whereas cdr29 represents a plant gene homologous to yeast and mammalian sequences coding for acyl-Coenzyme A oxidase.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - COR cold regulated     

Morphological traits of stem to indirect selection of resistance to lodging in Avena sativa L

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - The runout of newly cultivated areas in the world without recurring to the deforestation, demand a necessity to improve yield to sustain a growth...     

Locomotor primitives in newborn babies and their development

How rudimentary movements evolve into sophisticated ones during development remains unclear. It is often assumed that the primitive patterns of neural control are suppressed during development, replaced by entirely new patterns. Here we identified the basic patterns of lumbosacral motoneuron activity from multimuscle recordings in stepping neonates, toddlers, preschoolers, and adults. Surprisingly, we found that the two basic patterns of stepping neonates are retained through development, augmented by two new patterns first revealed in toddlers. Markedly similar patterns were observed also in the rat, cat, macaque, and guineafowl, consistent with the hypothesis that, despite substantial phylogenetic distances and morphological differences, locomotion in several animal species is built starting from common primitives, perhaps related to a common ancestral neural network.     

The physicochemical and tribological properties of oleic acid based triester biolubricants

Currently, increasing pollutants in the environment lead to an increase in the use of plant oil based biolubricants. These products could lead to a significant reduction in environmental pollution and thus contribute to the discovery of a replacement for petroleum-based lubricants. Plant oils are advantageous because they are rapidly biodegradable, renewable, excellent lubricants and inexpensive to produce. However, these oils show poor stability to oxidation and unfavorable properties at low temperatures. Thus, this work outlines modifications in the epoxidation, oxirane ring opening, esterification and acylation reactions used to produce oleic acid based triester derivatives. These products have improved physicochemical and tribological properties that make them good biolubricant base stock candidates. Octyl 9-(lauroyloxy)-10-(behenoxy)octadecanoate 22 has the lowest pour point (−45 °C) while octyl 9-(lauroyloxy)-10-(octyloxy)octadecanoate 16 has the highest onset temperature. Based on the results, an increase in mid chain substituent length improves the pour point and anti-wear properties but conversely lowers the onset temperature.     

Effects of low salinity exposure on immunological,physiological and growth performance in Litopenaeus vannamei

Growth, immunological and physiological parameters of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei reared at different salinity levels (1, 10, 15, 25 and 35 g/L) at stocking density of 214 shrimp/m³ were examined at 1, 30 and 63 days. Results showed that the total haemocyte count (THC) of shrimp decreased with time at all salinity levels, indicating a potential reduction in the resistance of shrimp against pathogens, since a low value of THC indicates a perturbation of the immune system. Glucose and protein values observed in the haemolymph throughout the study indicate that shrimp adapted well to low salinities (1, 10 and 15 g/L). Although of those shrimp reared at 10 g/L only 83.3% survived, at this salinity, shrimp depicted a higher glucose concentration in haemolymph at the beginning and end of the study.