Birds like it Corky: the influence of habitat features and management of ‘montados’ in breeding bird communities

In the southwest part of the Iberian Peninsula the dominant land-use are the Portuguese montados and Spanish dehesas, parkland forested areas of anthropogenic origin dominated by cork oak. They form a wooded matrix with open areas, scattered woodlands and undisturbed patches of Mediterranean forest and scrublands. The montados are characterized by a rich bird community. We have focus our study in a multidisciplinary approach, evaluating how management and landscape patterns influence the bird community in order to identify potential threats to its conservation. The study was conducted in the Site of Community Importance of Serra de Monfurado were 70% of the area is cork and holm oaks. We used data from 120 10-min point counts. Using variation partitioning, we determined the independent and joint effects of Forest, Management and Habitat variables. The variation captured in bird assemblage was 65.06%. Most of the explained variation was related to the Habitat and Management variables. The explanatory variables that were high-lighted as important predictors were variables that reflected tree and shrub density and cork removal. Modelling for forest species through generalized linear models (GLM) emphasize that the management plays an important role in the species distribution. The most important variables selected in models reflected cattle grazing and cork removal. Our results point out that the type of management is crucial to maintain the equilibrium in bird community associated to montados. Farmland and forest species will benefit from areas with different tree densities, small patches of Mediterranean scrubs in the understory and correct livestock numbers.     

Forest structure, composition, and tree diversity response to a gradient of regeneration harvests in the mid-Cumberland Plateau escarpment region, USA

Upland hardwood stands on mesic, escarpment-oriented sites on the Cumberland Plateau region of northeastern Alabama provide a myriad management opportunities. Stands are primarily managed for Quercus, but the high species diversity allows for management that targets multiple species. Stand composition is unique in that dominant species include shade tolerant species such as Acer saccharum, intermediate tolerant Quercus spp. and Carya spp., and intolerant Liriodendron tulipifera. Three replications of five levels of disturbance were created to assess species compositional changes; disturbances included three levels of harvest intensity, a mid-story herbicide treatment, and a control. After eight growing seasons, there were no discernable differences in species richness, diversity or evenness. Importance values based on relative basal area and relative density also changed little, except for clearcuts where L. tulipifera greatly increased. An initial gradient in basal area, canopy cover, and light created by harvesting or thinning dissipated following five growing seasons. Options exist for future stand management, including promoting two-aged or uneven-aged systems. Maintenance of Quercus will require additional tending.     

Collection of Lupinus angustifolius L. Germplasm and Characterisation of Morphological and Molecular Diversity

Lupinus angustifolius L. is a Mediterranean species, domesticated in the 20th century, representing an important grain legume crop in Australia and other countries. This work is focused on the collection of wild germplasm and on the characterisation of morphological and molecular diversity of germplasm accessions. It reports the collection of 81 wild L. angustifolius accessions from the South and Centre of Portugal, available at the ‘Instituto Superior de Agronomia Gene Bank’, with subsequent morphological and molecular characterisation of a selection of these and other accessions. A multivariate analysis of morphological traits on 88 L. angustifolius accessions (including 59 wild Portuguese accessions, 15 cultivars and 14 breeding lines) showed a cline of variation on wild germplasm, with plants from Southern Portugal characterised by earlier flowering, higher vegetative development and larger seeds. AFLP and ISSR molecular markers grouped modern cultivars as sub-clusters within the wider diversity of wild germplasm, revealing the narrow pool of genetic diversity on which domesticated accessions are based. The importance of preserving, characterising and using wild genetic resources for L. angustifolius crop improvement is outlined by the results obtained.     

Effect of heat treatment on the antioxidant activity of extracts from citrus peels

The effect of heat treatment on the antioxidant activity of extracts from Citrus unshiu peels was evaluated. Citrus peels (CP) (5 g) were placed in Pyrex Petri dishes (8.0 cm diameter) and heat-treated at 50, 100, or 150 degrees C for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min in an electric muffle furnace. After heat treatment, 70% ethanol extract (EE) and water extract (WE) (0.1 g/10 mL) of CP were prepared, and total phenol contents (TPC), radical scavenging activity (RSA), and reducing power of the extracts were determined. The antioxidant activities of CP extracts increased as heating temperature increased. For example, heat treatment of CP at 150 degrees C for 60 min increased the TPC, RSA, and reducing power of EE from 71.8 to 171.0 microM, from 29.64 to 64.25%, and from 0.45 to 0.82, respectively, compared to non-heat-treated control. In the case of WE from CP heat-treated at the same conditions (150 degrees C for 60 min), the TPC, RSA, and reducing power also increased from 84.4 to 204.9 microM, from 15.81 to 58.26%, and from 0.27 to 0.96, respectively. Several low molecular weight phenolic compounds such as 2,3-diacetyl-1-phenylnaphthalene, ferulic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldoxime, 5-hydroxyvaleric acid, 2,3-diacetyl-1-phenylnaphthalene, and vanillic acid were newly formed in the CP heated at 150 degrees C for 30 min. These results indicated that the antioxidant activity of CP extracts was significantly affected by heating temperature and duration of treatment on CP and that the heating process can be used as a tool for increasing the antioxidant activity of CP.     

Rust-proofing wheat for a changing climate

This paper offers projections of potential effects of climate change on rusts of wheat and how we should factor in a changing climate when planning for the future management of these diseases. Even though the rusts of wheat have been extensively studied internationally, there is a paucity of information on the likely effects of a changing climate on the rusts and their influence on wheat production. Due to the lack of published empirical research we relied on the few published studies of other plant diseases, our own unpublished work and relevant information from the vast literature on rusts of wheat to prepare this overview. Three broad areas of potential risks from a changing climate were described: increased loss from wheat rusts, new rust pathotypes evolving faster and the reduced effectiveness of rust resistances. Increased biomass of wheat crops grown in the presence of elevated CO₂ concentrations and higher temperatures will increase the leaf area available for attack by the pathogen leading to increased inoculum production. If changed weather conditions were to accelerate the life cycle of a pathogen, the increased inoculum can lead to severe rust epidemics in many environments. Likewise should the effects of climate change result in more conducive conditions for rust development there will also be a corresponding increase in the rate of evolution of new pathotypes which could increase the rate of appearance of new virulences. The effectiveness of some rust resistance genes is influenced by temperature and crop development stage. Climate change may directly or indirectly influence the effectiveness of some resistance genes but this can not be ascertained due to a complete lack of knowledge. Since disease resistance breeding is a long term strategy it is important to determine if any of the important genes may become less effective due to climate change. Studies must be made to acquire new information on the rust disease triangle to increase the adaptive capacity of wheat under climate change. Leadership within the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) is needed to broker research on rust evolution and the durability of resistance under climate change.     

Observed flow compensation associated with the MOC at 26.5 degrees N in the Atlantic

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), which provides one-quarter of the global meridional heat transport, is composed of a number of separate flow components. How changes in the strength of each of those components may affect that of the others has been unclear because of a lack of adequate data. We continuously observed the MOC at 26.5 degrees N for 1 year using end-point measurements of density, bottom pressure, and ocean currents; cable measurements across the Straits of Florida; and wind stress. The different transport components largely compensate for each other, thus confirming the validity of our monitoring approach. The MOC varied over the period of observation by +/-5.7 x 10(6) cubic meters per second, with density-inferred and wind-driven transports contributing equally to it. We find evidence for depth-independent compensation for the wind-driven surface flow.     

Mutations in dynein link motor neuron degeneration to defects in retrograde transport

Degenerative disorders of motor neurons include a range of progressive fatal diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although the causative genetic alterations are known for some cases, the molecular basis of many SMA and SBMA-like syndromes and most ALS cases is unknown. Here we show that missense point mutations in the cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain result in progressive motor neuron degeneration in heterozygous mice, and in homozygotes this is accompanied by the formation of Lewy-like inclusion bodies, thus resembling key features of human pathology. These mutations exclusively perturb neuron-specific functions of dynein.