Simulating forest cover change in the northeastern U.S.: decreasing forest area and increasing fragmentation

Landscape Ecology - Understanding how the Northern Forest landscape has changed and is likely to change, both in terms of forest extent and forest configuration, has important implications for...     

Population‐level effects of egg predation on a native planktivore in a large freshwater lake

Using a 37‐year recruitment time series, we uncovered a field pattern revealing a strong, inverse relationship between bloater Coregonus hoyi recruitment success and slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus biomass in Lake Michigan (United States), one of the largest freshwater lakes of the world. Given that slimy sculpins (and deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii) are known egg predators that spatiotemporally overlap with incubating bloater eggs, we used recently published data on sculpin diets and daily ration to model annual bloater egg consumption by sculpins for the 1973–2010 year‐classes. Although several strong year‐classes were produced in the late 1980s when the proportion of eggs consumed by slimy sculpins was extremely low (i.e., <0.001) and several weak year‐classes were produced when the proportion of bloater eggs consumed was at its highest (i.e., >0.10–1.0), egg predation failed to explain why recruitment was weak for the 1995–2005 year‐classes when the proportion consumed was also low (i.e., <0.02). We concluded that egg predation by slimy and deepwater sculpins could have limited bloater recruitment in some years, but that some undetermined factor was more important in many other years. Given that slimy sculpin densities are influenced by piscivorous lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, the restoration of which in Lake Michigan has lagged behind those in lakes Superior and Huron, our study highlights the importance of an ecosystem perspective when considering population dynamics of fishes.     

Association of Potato Psyllid (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactericera cockerelli</Emphasis>; Hemiptera: Triozidae) with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycium</Emphasis> spp. (Solanaceae) in Potato Growing Regions of Washington,Idaho, and Oregon

Potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (?ulc), causes economic damage to potato crops throughout the major potato growing regions of western North America. When cultivated crops are not available, potato psyllid often occurs on non-crop hosts. In the southern U.S. and northern Mexico, native species of Lycium (Solanaceae) are important non-crop hosts for the psyllid. We determined whether Old World species of Lycium now widespread in the Pacific Northwest are reservoirs of potato psyllid in this growing region. We examined Lycium spp. across a wide geographic region in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho at irregular intervals during three growing seasons. Potato psyllids were present at all locations. To determine whether Lycium is also a host during intervals of the year in which the potato crop is not available, we monitored a subset of these sites over the entire year. Six sites were monitored at 1- to 3-week intervals from June 2014 to June 2016. Psyllids were present on Lycium throughout the year at all sites, including during winter, indicating that Lycium is also a host when the potato crop is seasonally not available. Psyllid populations included a mixture of Northwestern and Western haplotypes. We observed well-defined spring and fall peaks in adult numbers, with peaks separated by long intervals in which psyllid numbers were very low. Seasonal patterns in psyllid numbers on these non-native Lycium hosts were very similar to what has been observed on native Lycium in the desert southwest region of the U.S. Our findings demonstrate that potato psyllid associates with Lycium across a broad geographic region within the Pacific Northwest. These results will assist in predicting sources of potato psyllid colonizing potatoes in this important growing region.     

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Biological Properties of Essential Oils Obtained by Hydrodistillation and Steam Distillation of Laurus nobilis L.

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The purpose of this study was to compare the yield, chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of essential oils isolated from leaves of Laurus...     

Establishment techniques affect productivity,nutritive value and atmospheric N2 fixation of two sunn hemp cultivars

Nitrogen fertilization is a common practice for sustaining forage production in forage systems in southeastern United States. Warm-season annual legumes may be an alternative forage to warm-season perennial grasses that do not require N fertilization. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) is a fast-growing, warm-season annual legume native to India and Pakistan. The objective of this 2-year study was to assess the herbage accumulation (HA), atmospheric N₂ fixation (ANF) and nutritive value of sunn hemp. Treatments were the factorial arrangement of two sunn hemp cultivars (“Crescent Sun” and “Blue Leaf”), three seeding rates (17, 28 and 39 kg seed/ha) and seed inoculation (inoculated or non-inoculated seeds), distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Crescent sun had greater HA (3,218 vs. 1764 kg DM/ha) and ANF (41 vs. 25 kg N/ha). Blue leaf had greater crude protein (CP) (188 vs. 176 g/kg) and in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM) concentrations (564 vs. 531 g/kg) than crescent sun. Non-inoculated seed had greater CP than inoculated seed, 188 and 177 g/kg, respectively, and inoculation did not affect HA. Intermediate seeding rate (28 kg/ha) decreased HA (2002 kg DM/ha), while HA from high and low seeding rates (17 and 39 kg/ha, respectively) did not differ (2,863 and 2,615 kg DM/ha respectively). Planting non-inoculated crescent sun at 17 kg/ha seeding rate is a feasible management practice to produce sunn hemp in subtropical regions; however, inoculation should always be recommended for proper establishment.     

A 3-Year Adaptation Study of Three Distinct Grapevine Cultivars under Midwestern Field Conditions

Simultaneous responses of American (Concord), European (Pinot Noir), and American-European hybrid (Traminette) cultivars to seasonal and diurnal variation in field environmental conditions were assessed to propose suitable cultivars for potential use for selection and breeding in grapevines in dry areas. ‘Pinot Noir’ had higher gas exchange parameters, higher water potential, and chlorophyll fluorescence, while ‘Concord’ had the lowest values in all three seasons and experienced moderate stress by the end of each season. The dry conditions in 2005 caused water potential to decline sharply compared to values recorded in 2004 and 2006. ‘Pinot Noir’ and ‘Traminette’ exhibited a mild stress, while ‘Concord’ exhibited a moderate stress in 2006. Photosynthetic rate decreased slightly during the summer with a slight recovery at the beginning of September, and did not differ across the seasons among cultivars. Stomatal conductance followed the same pattern. However, in both 2004 and 2005, stomatal conductance dropped sharply late in the season because of frequently occurring high temperatures that were greater than 32 °C. Maximum morning values of Fv/Fm were within the optimal range. The study suggests the presence of marginal photoinhibition during mid-summer in Concord cultivars, because no full recovery of photochemical efficiency early in the evening was observed. The European cultivar (Pinot Noir) and the American-European hybrid (Traminette) are more adapted to field conditions in Kansas than Concord cultivars. However, high cold-mortality of Pinot Noir due to high sensitivity to cold winter temperature makes the hybrid cultivars the most suitable cultivar for Midwest regions with relatively cold winters.     

Genome-wide detection of genetic loci associated with soybean aphid resistance in soybean germplasm PI 603712

Soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) has become one of the major pests of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in North America since 2000. At least four biotypes of soybean aphid have been confirmed in the United States. Genetic characterization of new sources of soybean aphid resistance will facilitate the expansion of soybean gene pool for soybean aphid resistance and thus will help to develop soybean aphid resistant cultivars. To characterize the genetic basis of soybean aphid resistance in PI 603712, a newly identified resistant germplasm line, 142 F₂ plants derived from the cross ‘Roberts’ × PI 603712 and their parents were evaluated for soybean aphid resistance in the greenhouse, and were genotyped with BARCSoySNP6K Illumina Infinium II BeadChip. A genome-wide molecular linkage map was constructed with 1495 polymorphic SNP markers. QTL analysis revealed that PI 603712 possessed two major loci associated with soybean aphid resistance, located on chromosome 7 and 16, respectively. The locus on chromosome 7 was dominantly expressed and positioned about one Mega-base-pair distant from the previously identified resistance locus Rag1. The locus on chromosome 16 was positioned near the previously identified resistance locus Rag3 and expressed partially dominance or additive effect. Interestingly, two minor loci were also detected on chromosomes 13 and 17 but the alleles from PI 603712 decreased the resistance. In developing soybean aphid resistant cultivars through marker-assisted selection, an appropriate combination of resistance loci should be selected when PI 603712 is used as a donor parent of resistance.     

Turbidity‐induced changes in emergent effects of multiple predators with different foraging strategies

Abstract – In natural systems, prey frequently interact with multiple predators and the outcome often cannot be predicted by summing the effects of individual predator species. Multiple predator interactions can create emergent effects for prey, but how those change across environmental gradients is poorly understood. Turbidity is an environmental factor in aquatic systems that may influence multiple predator effects on prey. Interactions between a cruising predator (largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides) and an ambush predator (muskellunge Esox masquinongy) and their combination foraging on a shared prey (bluegill Lepomis macrochirus) were examined across a turbidity gradient. Turbidity modified multiple predator effects on prey. In clear water, combined predators consumed in total more prey than expected from individual predator treatments, suggesting risk enhancement for prey. In moderately turbid water, the predators consumed fewer prey together than expected, suggesting a risk reduction for prey. At high turbidity, there were no apparent emergent effects; however, the cruising predator consumed more prey than the ambush predator, suggesting an advantage for this predator. Understanding multiple predator traits across a gradient of turbidity increases our understanding of how complex natural systems function.