Search results

Regime shifts in lake ecosystems can occur in response to both abrupt and continuous climate change, and the imprints they leave in paleolimnological records allow us to investigate and better understand patterns and processes governing ecological changes on geological time scales. This synthesis investigates paleolimnological records that display apparent regime shifts and characterizes the shift

To understand host–parasite interactions, it is necessary to quantify variation and covariation in defence traits. We quantified parasite resistance and fitness tolerance of a polymorphic damselfly (Ischnura elegans), an insectwith three discrete female colour morphs but with monomorphic males. We quantified sex and morph differences in parasite resistance (prevalence and intensity of water mite i

Humans have dramatic, diverse and far-reaching influences on the evolution of other organisms. Numerous examples of this human-induced contemporary evolution have been reported in a number of ‘contexts’, including hunting, harvesting, fishing, agriculture, medicine, climate change, pollution, eutrophication, urbanization, habitat fragmentation, biological invasions and emerging/disappearing diseas

Wind tunnels, in which birds fly against an artificially generated air flow, have since long been used to evaluate aerodynamic properties of steady bird flight. A new generation of wind tunnels has also allowed the many processes associated with migratory flights to be studied in captivity. We review how wind tunnel studies of aerodynamics and migratory performance together have helped advancing o

This article describes how natural geothermal soil temperature gradients in Iceland have been used to study terrestrial ecosystem responses to soil warming. The experimental approach was evaluated at three study sites in southern Iceland one grassland site that has been warm for at least 50 years (GO), and another comparable grassland site (GN) and a Sitka spruce plantation (FN) site that have bot

The main challenge for future electricity systems is to match the available electricity from variable renewable resources with the electricity demand in place, time and quantity. One option for increasing electricity system flexibility is to integrate the electricity system with the district heating systems via the use of power-to-heat technologies such as electric boilers. The overarching objecti

Hydrophobins are small secreted proteins that are present as several gene copies in most fungal genomes. Their properties are now well understood: they are amphiphilic and assemble at hydrophilic/hydrophobic interfaces. However, their physiological functions remain largely unexplored, especially within mycorrhizal fungi. In this study, we identified hydrophobin genes and analysed their distributio

We reconstructed the past coastal environment of the Baltic Sea from c. 7300 to 3500 cal. a BP, with a focus on sea surface salinity (SSS). To quantitatively determine the SSS, two methods were employed: measurements of 87Sr/86Sr ratios in mollusc shells (SSSS r) and process length variations of dinoflagellate cysts Operculodinium centrocarpum (SSSpl). The SSSS r was ~6–7 between 6

Effects of the fungicide propiconazole on soil microorganisms were tested using [3H] leucine incorporation and [14C] acetate in ergosterol incorporation to measure bacterial and fungal growth inhibition, respectively. Growth was compared to basal respiration (BR) and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) in soil microcosms established according to the OECD 217 guideline. Fungal growth was most sensi

Climate change has the potential to affect the ecology and evolution of every species on Earth. Although the ecological consequences of climate change are increasingly well documented, the effects of climate on the key evolutionary process driving adaptation - natural selection - are largely unknown. We report that aspects of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, along with the North Atl

We documented the annual cycle of the carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) in the water columns of the Skagerrak and Baltic Sea to obtain an increased understanding of the processes involved controlling the carbon isotopic distribution in shelf seas. The lowest δ13CDIC values (-4.9‰) were found in the low-oxygen, brackish Baltic bottom water whereas the highest value

During the last decade there has been an ongoing controversy regarding the extent to which nitrogen fertilization can increase carbon sequestration and net ecosystem production in forest ecosystems. The debate is complicated by the fact that increased nitrogen availability caused by nitrogen deposition has coincided with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The latter could furthe

Even though anthropogenic nano-sized tungsten carbide nanoparticles (WC NPs) have been found in the environment, there are currently no investigations on their environmental fate. This work studies the interaction between natural organic matter (NOM) and WC NPs, as well as the potential uptake by the aquatic model organism Daphnia magna. We here show that the affinity between WC NPs and humic acid

Background: Soils are important global carbon pools that are under threat from intensive land use through a variety of agricultural practices. Sustainable management of agricultural soils may have the potential to mitigate climate change through increased carbon sequestration and increase their fertility. Among management practices to increase carbon sequestration, crop rotation designs have often

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a cereal grass mainly used as animal fodder and raw material for the malting industry. The map-based reference genome sequence of barley cv. â € Morex' was constructed by the International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium (IBSC) using hierarchical shotgun sequencing. Here, we report the experimental and computational procedures to (i) sequence and assemble more th

In boreal forests, ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are found in soil layers containing decomposed litter and humus-rich soil organic matter (SOM). This chapter summarizes the present understanding of the mechanisms for oxidative decomposition of SOM and the hydrolysis and mobilization of organic N and P sources by ECM fungi. It discusses how these processes may influence the formation and stability of

Fluctuations in soil moisture create drying-rewetting events affecting the activity of microorganisms. Microbial responses to drying-rewetting are mostly studied in soils that are air-dried before rewetting. Upon rewetting, two patterns of bacterial growth have been observed. In the Type 1 pattern, bacterial growth rates increase immediately in a linear fashion. In the Type 2 pattern, bacterial gr

The identification of causal links between microbial community structure and ecosystem functions are required for a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to environmental change. One of the most influential factors affecting plants and microbial communities in soil in managed ecosystems is the current land-use. In forestry, wood ash has been proposed as a liming agent and a fertilizer,

Many separate-sexed organisms have sex chromosomes controlling sex determination. Sex chromosomes often have reduced recombination, specialized (frequently sex-specific) gene content, dosage compensation and heteromorphic size. Research on sex determination and sex chromosome evolution has increased over the past decade and is today a very active field. However, some areas within the field have no