Springtime grazing by Arctic-breeding geese reduces first- and second-harvest yields on sub-Arctic agricultural grasslands.

Large population increases of Arctic-breeding waterfowls over recent decades have intensified the conflict with agricultural interests in both Eurasia and North America. In the spring-staging region Vesterålen in sub-Arctic Norway, sheep, dairy and meat farmers have reported reduced agricultural grassland yields due to pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus and barnacle geese Branta leucopsis that rest and forage in the region for 3-4 weeks in spring on their way to their breeding grounds on Svalbard. Here, we report from an experimental exclosure design where goose access to plots at three grassland fields in Vesterålen was prevented.

Quantitative assessment of observed versus predicted responses to selection.

Although artificial-selection experiments seem well suited to testing our ability to predict evolution, the correspondence between predicted and observed responses is often ambiguous due to the lack of uncertainty estimates. We present equations for assessing prediction error in direct and indirect responses to selection that integrate uncertainty in genetic parameters used for prediction and sampling effects during selection. Using these, we analyzed a selection experiment on floral traits replicated in two taxa of the Dalechampia scandens (Euphorbiaceae) species complex for which G-matrices were obtained from a diallel breeding design.

Bioactive peptides from microalgae: Focus on anti-cancer and immunomodulating activity.

In addition to the rapidly expanding field of using microalgae for food and feed, microalgae represent a tremendous potential for new bioactive compounds with health-promoting effects. One field where new therapeutics is needed is cancer therapy. As cancer therapy often cause severe side effects and loose effect due to development of drug resistance, new therapeutic agents are needed.

Mitigating Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Wastewater by Sequential Treatment with Novel Nanomaterials.

Wastewater (WW) has been widely recognized as the major sink of a variety of emerging pathogens (EPs), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which may disseminate and impact wider environments. Improving and maximizing WW treatment efficiency to remove these microbial hazards is fundamentally imperative. Despite a variety of physical, biological and chemical treatment technologies, the efficiency of ARG removal is still far from satisfactory.

Chemical profiling of Ulva species for food applications: What is in a name?

Seaweeds are increasingly used in European cuisine. Until the recent use of molecular techniques, species identification was solely based on morphology which cannot easily discriminate morphologically simple but phenotypically plastic taxa such as the green algal genus Ulva. For example, current taxonomic protocol effectively reassigned the previously known European 'Ulva lactuca L.

Evaluating competition for forage plants between honey bees and wild bees in Denmark.

A recurrent concern in nature conservation is the potential competition for forage plants between wild bees and managed honey bees. Specifically, that the highly sophisticated system of recruitment and large perennial colonies of honey bees quickly exhaust forage resources leading to the local extirpation of wild bees. However, different species of bees show different preferences for forage plants.

Studying phenological phenomena in subarctic biomes with international school pupils as citizen scientists.

Citizen science can facilitate in-depth learning for pupils and students, contribute to scientific research, and permit civic participation. Here, we describe the development of the transnational school-based citizen science project . Its primary goal is to introduce pupils (age 12-15; grades 7-10) in northern Norway, Russia, and Finland to the local and global challenges of climate change resulting in life cycle changes at different trophic and ecosystem levels in their backyards.

DNA Metabarcoding Reveals Broad Presence of Plant Pathogenic Oomycetes in Soil From Internationally Traded Plants.

Plants with roots and soil clumps transported over long distances in plant trading can harbor plant pathogenic oomycetes, facilitating disease outbreaks that threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, and food security. Tools to detect the presence of such oomycetes with a sufficiently high throughput and broad scope are currently not part of international phytosanitary testing regimes. In this work, DNA metabarcoding targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was employed to broadly detect and identify oomycetes present in soil from internationally shipped plants.

Global Habitat Suitability of (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae): Key Parasitoids Considered for Its Biological Control.

The present study is the first modeling effort at a global scale to predict habitat suitability of fall armyworm (FAW), and its key parasitoids, namely , and , to be considered for biological control. An adjusted procedure of a machine-learning algorithm, the maximum entropy (Maxent), was applied for the modeling experiments. Model predictions showed particularly high establishment potential of the five hymenopteran parasitoids in areas that are heavily affected by FAW (like the coastal belt of West Africa from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to Nigeria, the Congo basin to Eastern Africa, Eastern, Southern and Southeastern Asia and some portions of Eastern Australia) and those of potential invasion risks (western & southern Europe).

Nitrogen Deficiency and Synergism between Continuous Light and Root Ammonium Supply Modulate Distinct but Overlapping Patterns of Phytohormone Composition in Xylem Sap of Tomato Plants.

Continuous light (CL) or a predominant nitrogen supply as ammonium (NH) can induce leaf chlorosis and inhibit plant growth. The similarity in injuries caused by CL and NH suggests involvement of overlapping mechanisms in plant responses to these conditions; however, these mechanisms are poorly understood. We addressed this topic by conducting full factorial experiments with tomato plants to investigate the effects of NO or NH supply under diurnal light (DL) or CL.

Body Temperature and Activity Rhythms Under Different Photoperiods in High Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan ().

Organisms use circadian rhythms to anticipate and exploit daily environmental oscillations. While circadian rhythms are of clear importance for inhabitants of tropic and temperate latitudes, its role for permanent residents of the polar regions is less well understood. The high Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan shows behavioral rhythmicity in presence of light-dark cycles but is arrhythmic during the polar day and polar night.

Implications of a food system approach for policy agenda-setting design.

A call to governments to enact a strategy for a sustainable food system is high on the global agenda. A sustainable food system presupposes a need to go beyond a view of the food system as linear and narrow, to comprehend the food system as dynamic and interlinked, which involves understanding social, economic and ecological outcomes and feedbacks of the system. As such, it should be accompanied by strategic, collaborative, transparent, inclusive, and reflexive agenda-setting process.

The GenTree Platform: growth traits and tree-level environmental data in 12 European forest tree species.

Background: Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information.

Findings: The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth.

Natural Occurrence of Entomopathogenic Fungi as Endophytes of Sugarcane () and in Soil of Sugarcane Fields.

The natural occurrence of entomopathogenic fungal endophytes in sugarcane () and in soil samples from sugarcane fields was evaluated in Chikwawa District, southern Malawi. Fungi from soil were isolated by baiting using larva. Fungal endophytes were isolated from surface-sterilized plant tissue sections.

Cross-tracking of faecal pollution origins, macronutrients, pharmaceuticals and personal care products in rural and urban watercourses.

This study describes microbial and chemical source tracking approaches for water pollution in rural and urban catchments. Culturable faecal indicator bacteria, represented by Escherichia coli, were quantified. Microbial source tracking (MST) using host-specific DNA markers was applied to identify the origins of faecal contamination.

Tire wear particles concentrations in gully pot sediments.

While tire wear and tear is known to be a major source of microplastics in the environment, its monitoring is still hampered by the lack of analytical methods able to provide concentrations in environmental matrices. Tire wear particles (TWP) present in road runoff enter the drainage system through gully pots, built to prevent sediment deposition in the drainage system, and eventually protect downstream receiving waters. The aim of this study was to detect and quantify TWP in gully pot sediments, by using a novel method combining Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC).

Phenolic Profiles, Antioxidant Activity and Phenotypic Characterization of L. Berries, Cultivated in Lithuania.

L. is an early fruit-bearing plant that originates from harsh environments. Raw materials contain a body of different phenolic origin compounds that determine the multidirectional antioxidant and pharmacological activities.

Seaweed and Seaweed Bioactives for Mitigation of Enteric Methane: Challenges and Opportunities.

Seaweeds contain a myriad of nutrients and bioactives including proteins, carbohydrates and to a lesser extent lipids as well as small molecules including peptides, saponins, alkaloids and pigments. The bioactive bromoform found in the red seaweed has been identified as an agent that can reduce enteric CH production from livestock significantly. However, sustainable supply of this seaweed is a problem and there are some concerns over its sustainable production and potential negative environmental impacts on the ozone layer and the health impacts of bromoform.

Translocation of an arctic seashore plant reveals signs of maladaptation to altered climatic conditions.

Ongoing anthropogenic climate change alters the local climatic conditions to which species may be adapted. Information on species' climatic requirements and their intraspecific variation is necessary for predicting the effects of climate change on biodiversity. We used a climatic gradient to test whether populations of two allopatric varieties of an arctic seashore herb ( ssp.

Variability in the Content of Phenolic Compounds in Plum Fruit.

The aim of this study was to determine the composition and content of phenolic compounds in extracts of plum fruit. Fruit of 17 plum cultivars were analyzed. Fruit samples were collected in 2019 from fruit trees with "Myrobalan" ( Ehrh.

The Qualitative and Quantitative Compositions of Phenolic Compounds in Fruits of Lithuanian Heirloom Apple Cultivars.

As the interest in heirloom cultivars of apple trees, their fruit, and processed products is growing worldwide, studies of the qualitative and quantitative composition of biological compounds are important for the evaluation of the quality and nutritional properties of the apples. Studies on the variations in the chemical composition of phenolic compounds characterized by a versatile biological effect are important when researching the genetic heritage of the heirloom cultivars in order to increase the cultivation of such cultivars in orchards. A variation in the qualitative and quantitative composition of phenolic compounds was found in apple samples of cultivars included in the Lithuanian collection of genetic resources.

Induction and Priming of Plant Defense by Root-Associated Insect-Pathogenic Fungi.

Plants evolved in close contact with a myriad of microorganisms, some of which formed associations with their roots, benefitting from carbohydrates and other plant resources. In exchange, they evolved to influence important plant functions, e.g.

Pulsed Water Mists for Suppression of Strawberry Powdery Mildew.

Powdery mildew () is a destructive and widespread disease of strawberry ( × ), especially when susceptible cultivars are grown in high plastic tunnels or glasshouses. Many powdery mildews thrive in humid environments but free water films on plant surfaces can inhibit conidial germination of some species. We hypothesized that might be directly suppressed by rain through the action of water films and meteoric water.