Social perceptions of the impacts and benefits of invasive alien species: Implications for management

Research on biological invasions has traditionally focused on the ecological component of invasive alien species, either without considering or by considering in a restricted way, the knowledge of the social component. An understanding of the human dimension of invasions is critical to effectively tackle the problems associated with invasive alien species. We distributed questionnaires to evaluate the social perceptions and attitudes of different stakeholder groups affected by invasive alien species in the Doñana social-ecological system (SW Spain). Our analysis served to characterize respondents based on their knowledge and perceptions of the impacts of invasive alien species, and the attitudes toward their introduction and eradication. Hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses identified five categories of respondents, and potential support of eradication programs was assessed using a contingent valuation approach. The five stakeholder groups differed in their degree of knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to pay for eradication. The fact that different stakeholders have remarkably different perceptions about the impacts and benefits caused by invasive alien species, and different attitudes toward their introduction or eradication should be considered in any decision-making process regarding their management, particularly when developing appropriate educational and informative programs. Consultation with different stakeholders should also be encouraged from the onset of any decision-making process. In this way, trade-offs involved in IAS management are directly addressed and successful implementation of management practices is facilitated.     

Influence of light on the Monilinia laxa–stone fruit interaction

Light represents a signal for the regulation of virulence in many microbial pathogens. Two stone fruits, nectarines and cherries, were used to investigate the influence of light on brown rot caused by Monilinia laxa. Three single-spore isolates were inoculated on nectarines and incubated under different white lights, red light, blue light, green light, and black light with two photoperiods. In addition, to understand the effect of daylight irradiance on brown rot, M. laxa was inoculated on different cherry cultivars and incubated under two simulated solar irradiations. Significantly higher disease severity and sporulation were reported on inoculated nectarines incubated under 58 W white light for 12 hr light/12 hr darkness than on nectarines incubated in continuous darkness. Only red light caused a significant increase in the incidence and severity of the disease in nectarines inoculated with the three M. laxa isolates, compared to fruit incubated under white light. High light intensity (185.45 W/m²), caused greater brown rot severity in all cherry cultivars, both early and late varieties, than low irradiance (145.85 W/m²). Significant up-regulation of the pathogenicity-related MlPNL2 gene was observed as an early response after cherry inoculation under high-intensity light, especially in late cherry cultivars, while MlPG1 expression did not show any changes under different light irradiances. M. laxa was shown to be a light-responsive fungal pathogen, and light seemed to play an active role in brown rot development.     

Comparison of the postoperative analgesic effects of cimicoxib,buprenorphine and their combination in healthy dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy

Objective

To determine the noninferior postoperative analgesic efficacy of cimicoxib compared to buprenorphine following elective ovariohysterectomy in healthy bitches.

Cyclin D1 immunohistochemical expression and somatic mutations in canine oral melanoma

Canine oral melanoma (COM) is the most frequent tumour with oral localization in dogs. Copy number gains and amplifications of CCND1, a gene coding for Cyclin D1, are the most frequent chromosomal aberrations described in human non‐UV induced melanomas. Twenty‐eight cases of COM were retrieved from paraffin‐blocks archives. A total of 4 μm thick sections were immunostained with an antibody against human Cyclin D1 and Ki‐67. Cyclin D1 and Ki‐67 expressions were scored through two counting methods. DNA was extracted from 20 μm thick sections of formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded blocks. Pathological and surrounding healthy tissue was extracted independently. Cyclin D1 immunolabelling was detected in 69% (18/26) while Ki‐67 was present in 88.5% (23/26) of cases. Statistical analysis revealed correlation between two counting methods for Cyclin D1 (r = 0.54; P = .004) and Ki‐67 (r = 0.56; P = .003). The correlation found between Ki‐67 and Cyclin D1 indexes in 16/26 cases labelled by both antibodies (r = 0.7947; P = .0002) suggests a possible use of Cyclin D1 index as prognostic marker. Polymerase chain reaction analysis on CCND1 coding sequence revealed the presence of nine somatic mutations in seven samples producing synonymous, missense and stop codons. Since none of the single‐nucleotide polymorphisms was found to be recurrent, it is suggested that overexpression of Cyclin D1 may be the consequence of alterations of CCND1 upstream regions or other genetic aberrations not detectable with the methodology used in this study. Future studies are needed to verify the potential use of Cyclin D1 index as prognostic indicator and to highlight the molecular events responsible for Cyclin D1 overexpression in COMs.     

The effectiveness of grafting to improve tomato fruit quality

The possibility of applying grafting to improve fruit quality has been scarcely investigated. Different shoot tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) genotypes were grafted onto distinctly-different tomato rootstocks and the effect of the rootstock on two important fruit quality parameters, soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA), was studied under both non-saline and saline conditions. Increased SSC and TA in fruits from grafted plants grown under saline conditions were observed on different grafting combinations. One of these rootstocks (cv. Radja) was able to induce increases in both fruit yield and fruit quality traits of the scion. When recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the crossing of the cultivated tomato and wild tomato (Solanum cheesmaniae) were tested as rootstocks, using the commercial hybrid ‘Boludo’ as scion, the rootstock also improved SSC and TA when grafted plants were grown under non-saline conditions. On the whole, these results show the effectiveness of grafting with respect to upgrading of fruit quality in tomato, which is of great importance as grafting is a rapid and efficient alternative to achieve this goal.     

Susceptibility of grapevine rootstocks to Cylindrocarpon liriodendri and C. macrodidymum

The susceptibility of the grapevine rootstocks most commonly used in Spain to Cylindrocarpon liriodendri and C. macrodidymum was evaluated. Rooted cuttings of rootstocks 110-R, 1103-P, 140-R, 161-49C, 196-17C, Fercal and SO4 were inoculated by dipping their roots in conidial suspensions (5 × 10⁵ conidia mL⁻¹) of both pathogens and placed in a greenhouse. One month later, each plant was drench inoculated with 20 mL of the corresponding spore solution to guarantee root infection. After four months of incubation, root disease severity index (RSDI) and dry weights of shoot and root were recorded for each plant. RSDI was the best variable to show the effect of the inoculation with C. liriodendi and C. macrodidymum. According to this, all rootstocks inoculated were affected by the disease in some degree, being the rootstock 110-R the most susceptible to both pathogens.     

Calcareous amendments in truffle culture: A soil nutrition hypothesis

Several statistical studies have indicated that a high concentration of active carbonate in the soil favours Tuber melanosporum fruit body production. The amount of active carbonate is significantly higher and the total carbonate is significantly lower inside than outside the T. melanosporum brûlés. These statistical patterns and other works show that T. melanosporum mycelia may acidify their immediate soil environment and solubilise carbonated fractions. Subsequently, the particular environmental conditions of brûlé soils may favour a secondary carbonate precipitation with a net increase in active carbonate which would in turn favour T. melanosporum mycelia. The greater brûlé size and fruiting are simultaneously both related to how well the fungus is growing, suggesting that the model which best explains the cause-effect of all these observations is a feedback process. Other statistical studies suggest that active carbonate favours increased fruiting of T. melanosporum as compared with Tuber aestivum, Tuber mesentericum and Tuber rufum, which has led to the use of calcareous amendments in truffle culture. We have studied the carbonated fractions of 46 soil samples from T. melanosporum plantations contaminated and uncontaminated with Tuber brumale (a serious problem in truffle culture), and it appears that the use of calcareous amendments does not serve to eradicate T. brumale from these plantations. However, we have observed the positive effect of calcareous amendments on the production of fruit bodies of both species. The similar response by T. melanosporum and T. brumale to soil active carbonate may be related to the close phylogenetic relationships between both species. Based on these findings, we propose a new soil nutrition hypothesis as a guide for research procedures in truffle soil ecology. Soils which are high in active carbonate lead to host plant chlorosis, which is a symptom of an underlying nutrient deficiency. This nutrient deficiency could lead to greater colonisation of T. melanosporum ectomycorrhizas and favour the growth of mycelia, fruit body production and brûlé development, which in turn encourages the formation of new amounts of active carbonate on the basis of the proposed feedback model.     

Volatile organic compound emission and biochemical properties of degraded Ultisols ameliorated by no tillage and liming

The Ultisols in the Raña de Cañamero area in Southwest Spain showed aluminum (Al) phytotoxicity, and the clearance of natural vegetation and decades of intensive conventional agriculture caused the deplation of soil organic matter (SOM). Therefore, we studied the long-term effects of no tillage and liming using sugar beet foam (SF) and red gypsum (RG), alone or in combination, on the restoration of Ultisols affected by acidification, Al phytotoxicity, and SOM depletion. We measured the main soil chemical properties, soil microbial biomass, soil enzyme activities involved in carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur mineralization, and the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The results indicated that liming effectively neutralized the soil acidity in the long term and, in combination with no tillage, significantly increased soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Twenty-three VOCs were detected using the proton transfer reaction-time of flight (PTR-ToF) technique, and both liming and tillage changed the VOC emission patterns. The greatest difference in VOC emission pattern was observed between no-tilled un-amended soils and tilled lime-amended soils, suggesting the activation of different metabolic pathways within the microbial communities of soils under different management. Differences in VOC emission patterns could be attributed to the decomposition of carbohydrates, which were also sustained by the higher enzyme activities in the lime-amended soils.     

Oil quality and sensory evaluation of almond (Prunus amygdalus) stored after electron beam processing

The changes in the lipid fraction and the deterioration of its quality were studied in almonds (Prunus amygdalus) of the variety Guara after treatment with accelerated electrons at doses of 3, 7, and 10 kGy, during a storage period of 5 months. In almond oil, the most significant difference from the nutritional point of view was seen in the fatty acid linolenic (18:3), which shows at 3 kGy a maintenance of the initial content during the whole storage period, whereas, at 7 and 10 kGy, the content in 18:3 disappears from the first moment. The quality indices of the oil (K(232), K(270)) decreased at all doses and remained stable during the time of storage. The peroxide value did not show changes at the doses of 3 and 7 kGy, in non-irradiated samples, but significantly increased when the maximum dose of 10 kGy was applied. These changes were reflected in the sensory analysis, in which the tasters did not find sensory differences between the controls and those irradiated at doses of 3 or 7 kGy, whereas almonds irradiated at 10 kGy exhibited a rancid flavor and a significant decrease in general quality.