Some Physicochemical Characteristics,Bioactive Content and Antioxidant Characteristics of Non-Sprayed Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) Fruits from Turkey

Increasing consumer demands for indigenous, non-sprayed with pesticides and less-known or “forgotten” fruits necessitate knowledge on their breeding, cultivation, biochemical content, harvesting and marketing. Anatolia is rich for wild edible fruit species and barberry is abundant throughout Anatolia. The aim of this study was to determine some important physicochemical characteristics, bioactive content and antioxidant capacity of fruits from nineteen promising barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) genotypes grown in the Coruh valley, Northeastern Anatolia. The results indicated genotype-specific differences for most of the physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity and the content of some bioactive compounds. Fruit mass ranged from 0.073 (‘Coruh-7’) to 0.267 g (‘Coruh-11’). Total phenolic content ranged from 2532 (‘Coruh-’) to 3719 mg GAE per liter fruit juice (‘Coruh-11’). The genotype ‘Coruh-12’ had the highest total monomeric anthocyanin content (1004 mg per liter fruit juice) as cyanidin-3-glucoside. The highest total antioxidant capacity was observed in fruits of ‘Coruh-8’ and ‘Coruh-9’ genotypes with all three antioxidant-determining methods. We conclude that the barberry fruits represent a good source of bioactive phytochemicals because of their high phenolic and anthocyanin contents.     

Compensatory growth response of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) under cycled starvation and restricted feeding rate

The compensatory growth response of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) that faced cycling starvation and restricted ration was assessed. Juveniles (10.5 g) were stocked into 15 tanks at a density of 25 fish per tank. Five different feeding regimes were tested on triplicate groups of fish: C_Satiation: control fed for 60 days without deprivation, C_Restricted: 25% restricted feeding, S‐R: 1 day starvation then 4 days C_Restricted feeding, R‐F: 1 day C_Restricted feeding then 4 days C_Satiation feeding, and, finally, S‐F: 1 day starvation then 4 days C_Satiation feeding. The specific growth rate of fish in the C_Satiation (2.5 ± 0.06% day^?1), S‐F (2.5 ± 0.11% day^?1) and R‐F (2.4 ± 0.18% day^?1) were significantly higher than that of C_Restricted (2.2 ± 0.05% day^?1) or S‐R (2.0 ± 0.01% day^?1). Fish in S‐F group were able to achieve catching up with the C_Satiation. There was no significant difference in feed conversion rates but R‐F and S‐F consumed approximately 34% more feed than C_Satiation following the first re‐feeding day. Although, the highest lipid content was observed in C_Satiation (14.4%), S‐R (33.3% dry matter) had the highest water content compared with the C_Satiation and C_Restricted (37.8% and 36.9% dry matter respectively). In conclusion, it may be concluded that sea bass has rapid response to cycling starvation/re‐feeding and that a 25% restricted feeding ratio is insufficient to invoke a compensatory growth response in sea bass.     

Network thinking in riverscape conservation – A graph-based approach

Graph theoretic approaches have received increased interest recently in landscape planning and conservation in the terrestrial realm, because these approaches facilitate the effective modelling of connectivity among habitats. We examined whether basic principles of graph theory can be extended to other ecosystems. Specifically, we demonstrate how a network-based context can be used for enhancing the more effective conservation of riverine systems. We first show how to use graph theoretic techniques to model riverscapes at the segment level. Then we use a real stream network (Zagyva river basin, Hungary) to examine the topological importance of segments in maintaining riverscape connectivity, using betweenness centrality, a commonly used network measure. Using the undirected graph model of this riverscape, we then prioritize segments for conservation purpose. We examine the value of each of the 93 segments present in the Zagyva river basin by considering the conservation value of local fish assemblages, connectivity and the size of the habitat patches. For this purpose we use the ‘integral index of connectivity’, a recently advocated habitat availability index. Based on the results the selection of the most valuable habitat segments can be optimized depending on conservation resources. Because of their inherent advantage in the consideration of connectivity relationships, we suggest that network analyses offer a simple, yet effective tool for searching for key segments (or junctions) in riverscapes for conservation and environmental management. Further, although the joint consideration of aquatic and terrestrial networks is challenging, the extension of network analyses to freshwater systems may facilitate the more effective selection of priority areas for conservation in continental areas.     

浅述木麻黄沿海防护林造林技术

利用木麻黄营造沿海沙地防护林,不仅符合适地适树的造林原则,而且也是保护和恢复全省海防林带生态工程的有效途径之一.因此持续性发展木麻黄沿海防护林、苗木品种和造林技术至关重要.文章介绍了木麻黄沿海防护林造林技术,并对以后的造林工作提出了一些建议.     

Forest loss with urbanization predicts bird extirpations in Vancouver

Forest loss with accompanying urbanization is often permanent as forests are replaced by impervious concrete structures or surfaces. The remaining forest patches are usually isolated and too small to maintain viable populations of forest-dependent wildlife species. Consistent with the species-area function (S = cA^z), extirpation of species should follow forest loss. However, this has rarely ever been tested in the urban landscape. We determined whether the observed number of forest-dependent bird extirpations occurring after forest loss matches that predicted by the species-area function in Vancouver (study area ∼126.7 km²), British Columbia, Canada. Prior to European settlement in 1859, Vancouver was covered completely by coastal western hemlock forest. Based on published historical maps of forest cover and present Landsat imagery of Vancouver, we estimated that approximately 87% of the forest area in Vancouver has been converted to urban development. Using the species-area function, we then predicted that approximately 14 bird species closely associated with lowland forest should have been extirpated. This figure is significantly greater than the three bird species known to have been extirpated in Vancouver. When we constrained the comparison to bird species closely associated with lowland forest and restricted in their distribution in British Columbia, we found a close match between the observed and predicted number of extirpations, suggesting that bird species closely associated with lowland forest and restricted in their geographic distribution are most prone to extirpation as a result of forest loss. Given that urban areas are situated in productive habitats with inherently high species richness, it is important that local land-use plans incorporate the conservation of habitat fragments from the onset and place particular emphasis on the regionally restricted forest-dependent species.     

铁冬青物候观测

在雷州半岛建立固定样地对铁冬青的形态特征、生物学特性、物候规律及生长规律等进行观测研究。结果表明:(1)铁冬青人工林的开花、结实和果实成熟期比天然林略早,低纬度、阳坡比高纬度、阴坡的种子成熟期提早15~20 d;铁冬青的人工林一般10年生开始开花结实,花芽形成期在2—3月,3月中旬开始开花,4月为盛花期,5月上旬—7月幼果形成,11月下旬—翌年2月果实成熟。(2)铁冬青天然林种子比人工林的种子发芽率高,孤立木种子比纯林的种子发芽率明显高,老树比幼树种子发芽率高,而不同种源间发芽率、发芽时间差异不明显。(3)2年生的铁冬青的生长随着气温与降雨量增大而加快,铁冬青的树高、地径与冠幅的生长高峰期出现于7月、8月和9月,这3个月占全年生长量的60%左右。     

Effect of accelerated aging on some physical and mechanical properties of bamboo

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of accelerated aging on compression strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, color change, volumetric swelling, and volumetric shrinkage of bamboo specimens with and without node sections. In the study, these properties were compared with those of Scots pine and beech wood specimens. Depending on bamboo sections, the aging procedure reduced modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and compression strength. Bamboo specimens showed relatively high strength properties compared to wood specimens due to having high density. Strength properties increased from bottom to top of bamboo culms. The presence of nodes in the specimens reduced compression strength and modulus of rupture but affected modulus of elasticity slightly. Remarkable color changes in specimens were observed after aging. Volumetric swelling and shrinkage of bamboo specimens exposed to aging decreased probably due to heat effect of aging procedure.     

Characterizing connectivity relationships in freshwaters using patch-based graphs

Spatial graphs in landscape ecology and conservation have emerged recently as a powerful methodology to model patterns in the topology and connectivity of habitat patches (structural connectivity) and the movement of genes, individuals or populations among these patches (potential functional connectivity). Most spatial graph’s applications to date have been in the terrestrial realm, whereas the use of spatially explicit graph-based methods in the freshwater sciences has lagged far behind. Although at first patch-based spatial graphs were not considered suitable for representing the branching network of riverine landscapes, here we argue that the application of graphs can be a useful tool for quantifying habitat connectivity of freshwater ecosystems. In this review we provide an overview of the potential of patch-based spatial graphs in freshwater ecology and conservation, and present a conceptual framework for the topological analysis of stream networks (i.e., riverscape graphs) from a hierarchical patch-based context. By highlighting the potential application of graph theory in freshwater sciences we hope to illustrate the generality of spatial network analyses in landscape ecology and conservation.