Sex Pheromone Mediates Resource Partitioning Between and .

The spotted-wing drosophila, and the cosmopolitan vinegar fly feed on soft fruit and berries and widely overlap in geographic range. The presence of reduces egg-laying in , possibly because outcompetes larvae feeding in the same fruit substrate. Flies use pheromones to communicate for mating, but pheromones also serve a role in reproductive isolation between related species.

Comparative transcriptome profiling reveals distinct regulatory responses of secondary defensive metabolism in species (Solanaceae) under plant development and herbivory-mediated stress.

Differential expression of genes is key to mediating developmental and stress-related plant responses. Here, we addressed the regulation of plant metabolic responses to biotic stress and the developmental variation of defense-related genes in four species of the genus with variable patterns of metabolite accumulation and development. We combine transcriptome profiling with phylogenomic techniques to analyze gene expression and coexpression in plants subjected to damage by a specialist folivore insect.

Inter-annual variation in the abundance of specialist herbivores determines plant resistance in .

The expression of plant resistance traits against arthropod herbivores often comes with costs to other essential plant functions such as growth and fitness. These trade-offs are shaped by the allocation of limited resources. However, plants might also possess the capability to allocate resources to both resistance and growth, thereby ensuring their survival when under herbivore attacks.

Pioneer tree species accelerate restoration of tree-related microhabitats in 50-year-old reserves of Białowieża Forest, Poland.

Retention of structural elements such as deadwood and habitat trees at the level of forest stands has been promoted to integrate biodiversity conservation into multiple-use forest management. The conservation value of habitat trees is largely determined by the presence, richness, and abundance of tree-related microhabitats (TreMs). Since TreMs are often lacking in intensively managed forests, an important question of forest conservation is how the abundance and richness of TreMs may be effectively restored.

Coprophagy in moose: A first observation.

Coprophagy, the eating of feces, has been documented in a wide range of species but appears to be rare or difficult to detect in deer (Cervidae). Here, we report the first observation of coprophagy in moose , which was recorded using camera collars on free-ranging moose in Norway. The footage shows an instance of allocoprophagy by an adult female moose in spring (May).

Striving for Stability in the Dough Mixing Quality of Spring Wheat under the Influence of Prolonged Heat and Drought.

The effects of prolonged heat and drought stress and cool growing conditions on dough mixing quality traits of spring wheat ( L.) were studied in fifty-six genotypes grown in 2017 and 2018 in southern Sweden. The mixing parameters evaluated by mixograph and the gluten protein characteristics studied by size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) in dough were compared between the two growing seasons which were very different in length, temperature and precipitation.

Effect of flowering stage and storage conditions on pollen quality of six male date palm genotypes.

Availability of efficient male genotypes is critical for successful artificial pollination and regular bearing of female date palms. The effect of flowering stage and storage conditions on pollen quality of six male date palm genotypes encoded 'ABD1', 'P4', 'P3', 'P8', 'P7' and 'P13'were evaluated. Pollen collected from spathes developed at the middle of flowering stage exhibited the best viability (90%) and germinability (85%) compared to other stages.

Insect defoliation modulates influence of climate on the growth of tree species in the boreal mixed forests of eastern Canada.

Increasing air temperatures and changing precipitation patterns due to climate change can affect tree growth in boreal forests. Periodic insect outbreaks affect the growth trajectory of trees, making it difficult to quantify the climate signal in growth dynamics at scales longer than a year. We studied climate-driven growth trends and the influence of spruce budworm ( Clem.

Effects of operational taxonomic unit inference methods on soil microeukaryote community analysis using long-read metabarcoding.

Long amplicon metabarcoding has opened the door for phylogenetic analysis of the largely unknown communities of microeukaryotes in soil. Here, we amplified and sequenced the ITS and LSU regions of the rDNA operon (around 1500 bp) from grassland soils using PacBio SMRT sequencing. We tested how three different methods for generation of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) effected estimated richness and identified taxa, and how well large-scale ecological patterns associated with shifting environmental conditions were recovered in data from the three methods.

Seed rain and soil seed bank in Chinese fir plantations and an adjacent natural forest in southern China: Implications for the regeneration of native species.

The natural regeneration of native broadleaved species underneath forest monoculture plantations is important to recover ecosystem functions and to mitigate adverse environmental effects. To understand how seed rain and soil seed bank facilitate natural regeneration, we surveyed their density and composition in a monoculture Chinese fir plantation, a mixed Chinese fir-broadleaf plantation, and an adjacent natural broadleaved forest for two years in southern China. Twenty-eight species (16 families) were in seed rain, and 45 species (27 families) were in soil seed bank.

Pollinators and herbivores interactively shape selection on strawberry defence and attraction.

Tripartite interactions between plants, herbivores, and pollinators hold fitness consequences for most angiosperms. However, little is known on how plants evolve in response-and in particular what the net selective outcomes are for traits of shared relevance to pollinators and herbivores. In this study, we manipulated herbivory ("presence" and "absence" treatments) and pollination ("open" and "hand pollination" treatments) in a full factorial common-garden experiment with woodland strawberry ( L.

Macronutrient balancing in free-ranging populations of moose.

At northern latitudes, large spatial and temporal variation in the nutritional composition of available foods poses challenges to wild herbivores trying to satisfy their nutrient requirements. Studies conducted in mostly captive settings have shown that animals from a variety of taxonomic groups deal with this challenge by adjusting the amounts and proportions of available food combinations to achieve a target nutrient balance. In this study, we used proportions-based nutritional geometry to analyze the nutritional composition of rumen samples collected in winter from 481 moose () in southern Sweden and examine whether free-ranging moose show comparable patterns of nutrient balancing.

The effects of host plant species and larval density on immune function in the polyphagous moth .

Immune functions are costly, and immune investment is usually dependent on the individual's condition and resource availability. For phytophagous insects, host plant quality has large effects on performance, for example growth and survival, and may also affect their immune function. Polyphagous insects often experience a large variation in quality among different host plant species, and their immune investment may thus vary depending on which host plant species they develop on.

Potential natural polymer-based nanofibres for the development of facemasks in countering viral outbreaks.

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly increased the demand for facemasks as a measure to reduce the rapid spread of the pathogen. Throughout the pandemic, some countries such as Italy had a monthly demand of ca. 90 million facemasks.

Wild strawberry shows genetic variation in tolerance but not resistance to a generalist herbivore.

Plants' defenses against herbivores usually include both resistance and tolerance mechanisms. Their deployment has predominantly been studied in either single-plant genotypes or multiple genotypes exposed to single herbivores. In natural situations, however, most plants are attacked by multiple herbivores.

Odorant receptor phylogeny confirms conserved channels for sex pheromone and host plant signals in tortricid moths.

The search for mates and food is mediated by volatile chemicals. Insects sense food odorants and sex pheromones through odorant receptors (ORs) and pheromone receptors (PRs), which are expressed in olfactory sensory neurons. Molecular phylogenetics of ORs, informed by behavioral and functional data, generates sound hypotheses for the identification of semiochemicals driving olfactory behavior.

Influence of canopy openness, ungulate exclosure, and low-intensity fire for improved oak regeneration in temperate Europe.

Failed oak regeneration is widely reported in temperate forests and has been linked in part to changed disturbance regimes and land-use. We investigated if the North American fire-oak hypothesis could be applicable to temperate European oaks (, ) using a replicated field experiment with contrasting canopy openness, protection against ungulate browsing (fencing/no fencing), and low-intensity surface fire (burn/no burn). Survival, relative height growth (RGR), browsing damage on naturally regenerated oaks (≤300 cm tall), and changes in competing woody vegetation were monitored over three years.

Distinct seasonal dynamics of responses to elevated CO in two understorey grass species differing in shade-tolerance.

Understorey plant communities are crucial to maintain species diversity and ecosystem processes including nutrient cycling and regeneration of overstorey trees. Most studies exploring effects of elevated CO concentration ([CO]) in forests have, however, been done on overstorey trees, while understorey communities received only limited attention.The hypothesis that understorey grass species differ in shade-tolerance and development dynamics, and temporally exploit different niches under elevated [CO], was tested during the fourth year of [CO] treatment.

Seasonal drivers of understorey temperature buffering in temperate deciduous forests across Europe.

Aim: Forest understorey microclimates are often buffered against extreme heat or cold, with important implications for the organisms living in these environments. We quantified seasonal effects of understorey microclimate predictors describing canopy structure, canopy composition and topography (i.e.

Tolerance and overcompensation to infection by in the wild perennial climber .

Studies of infection by -the causal agent of potato late blight-in wild species can provide novel insights into plant defense responses, and indicate how wild plants might be influenced by recurrent epidemics in agricultural fields. In the present study, our aim was to investigate if different clones of (a relative of potato) collected in the wild differ in resistance and tolerance to infection by a common European isolate of . We performed infection experiments with six genotypes (clones) both in the laboratory and in the field and measured the degree of infection and plant performance traits.

Folivory has long-term effects on sexual but not on asexual reproduction in woodland strawberry.

Plant fitness is often a result of both sexual and asexual reproductive success and, in perennial plants, over several years. Folivory can affect both modes of reproduction. However, little is known about the effects of folivory on resource allocation to the two modes of reproduction simultaneously and across years.

Capturing genetic variation in crop wild relatives: An evolutionary approach.

Crop wild relatives (CWRs) offer novel genetic resources for crop improvement. To assist in the urgent need to collect and conserve CWR germplasm, we advance here the concept of an "evolutionary" approach. Central to this approach is the predictive use of spatial proxies of evolutionary processes (natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift) to locate and capture genetic variation.