Changing Microarthropod Communities in Front of a Receding Glacier in the High Arctic

This study was carried out at Ny-Ålesund on Spitsbergen in Svalbard (High Arctic). Eight study sites were established along a transect from the fjord to the snout of the glacier. The sites di ered from each other by the type of vegetation cover and soil characteristics. Soil samples were collected and placed in Tullgren funnels. Extracted arthropods were represented by two groups of mites (Mesostigmata and Oribatida) and springtails (Collembola). The pioneer species that occurred first after retreat of the glacier were representatives of the Collembola (Agrenia bidenticulata and Hypogastrura concolor). Later, other springtails appeared including Folsomia alpha, Folsomia quadrioculata, Hypogastrura concolor, Isotoma anglicana, Sminthurinus concolor and the first species of oribatid mites; Camisia foveolata and Tectocepheus velatus velatus. Arthropod communities recorded along the transect were characterized by large variations in both species composition and abundance of individuals. The greater the distance from the glacier snout, the greater the species richness (2 to 22 species). The mean number of species per sample was the lowest at site 8 (1 0.71) (the closest to the glacier) and greatest at site 1 (14 1.41) (furthest from the glacier). The Simpson’s diversity index (D) was distinctly greater at sites 1 (4.61 0.06) and 3 (3.94 0.11) than at other sites, especially site 8 (1.07 0.06). Densities were least in the samples closest to the glacier (30 to 101 individuals; density 3000–10,100 individuals/m2). At the other locations, abundance was highly variable (905 to 7432 individuals; density 90,500–743,200 individuals/m2). The mean abundances were greatest at sites 2 and 3. The great variations in total abundances observed were often due to the presence or absence of one or more dominant species exhibiting extreme abundance variability between sites. The microarthropod community of the High Arctic is composed of heterogeneous circumpolar species, yet on a landscape scale is extremely dependent on local environmental conditions which may be subject to rapid change

Mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) in the red belt conk, Fomitopsis pinicola (Polyporales), in Polish forests

The fruiting bodies of bracket fungi are a specific microhabitat colonized by various invertebrates of which mites (Acari) are rarely studied, and if they are, the study is usually faunistic. The aim of the research was to determine whether the diversification of mite assemblages (Mesostigmata, Oribatida) inhabiting the fruiting bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola (Sw.) P. Karst. (Polyporales) are connected with the character of the forests and/or the degree of decay (DD) of the fruiting bodies. The research was conducted at Białowieża National Park (BNP), in forests close to natural ones and in Karkonosze National Park (KNP) which was affected by a large-scale forest dieback in the 1980s. Eighty fruiting bodies (40 at each study site) of F. pinicola belonging to four DD categories were collected. In total, 4,345 individuals of 120 mite species were recorded at BNP, and 13,912 individuals of 96 species were recorded at KNP. Analyses revealed that the sample dispersion at each study site was comparable, nevertheless the samples from each study site were clearly grouped into slightly overlapping sets which allow observation of the differences between them. In the less decayed fungi (DD 1 and 2) there were fewer mite species and individual mites than in the more decayed samples (DD 3 and 4). There were also significant differences between the fauna of the fungi in each particular DD: the fauna of DD 1 differed from all others, whereas the fauna of heavily decayed fungi (DD 3 and 4) was more comparable

The role of bracket fungi in creating alpha diversity of invertebrates in the Białowieża National Park, Poland

Bracket fungi are seen mainly as the cause of economic losses in forestry, and their role as creators of biodiversity is relatively poorly understood. The aim of the study was defining the manner in which the degree of decay (DD) of the fruiting bodies determines the character of the invertebrate assemblages colonising them. The effect of this group of fungi on the modification of biodiversity of invertebrates (Aranae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpionida, two groups of mites- Mesostigmata and Oribatida, and Collembola and Insecta) was investigated by analyzing 100 fruiting bodies of 10 species of bracket fungi divided into four DD classes. The material was collected at Białowieża National Park, which is considered to be the largest area of natural forests in the North European Plain. 16 068 invertebrate individuals classified into 224 species were obtained. Oribatid mites (12 543 individuals) constituted the largest group of individuals, which were classified into 115 species with the most numerous Carabodes femoralis (8,811 individuals). Representatives of this group of mites have been reported previously in the publications on bracket fungi; however, the contributions of Oribatida and other groups of invertebrates were not broadly compared. Moreover, the species such as Hoploseius mariae and H. oblongus, which were predominantly found in fruiting bodies of bracket fungi, have also been discerned. The invertebrate fauna differs depending on DD of the samples: In the more decayed samples, a higher number of both individuals and species were recorded compared to the samples with lower DDs; however, this trend proved to be nonlinear. The DCA and cluster analysis revealed a similarity of the invertebrate assemblages from the 2 DD and 4 DD samples. They also indicated that the group 3 DD differed the most from all the other samples. The indicator species analysis identified species characteristic to individual DDs: For group 1 DD, it was, for example, Hoploseius oblongus; for 2 DD - Orchesella bifasciata; and for 3 DD-Chernes cimicoides, while for 4 DD-Dinychus perforatus

Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo

Meeting Abstracts: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo Clearwater Beach, FL, USA. 9-11 June 201

The COYU method and Bennett method. The empirical comparison of decisions concerning uniformity of crop plants cultivars

Każda nowa odmiana roślin uprawnych, zanim zostanie zarejestrowana, musi zostać oceniona m.in. pod względem jej wyrównania. Decyzje dotyczące wyrównania nowych odmian (odmian „kandydatów”) podejmowane są dla wszystkich badanych cech, zarówno ilościowych jak i cech jakościowych. W przypadku cech jakościowych, w próbie o ustalonej wielkości, obserwuje się liczbę roślin nietypowych i jeśli frakcja takich roślin przekracza pewną wartość progową, odmianę uznaje się za nie spełniającą warunku wyrównania. W przypadku cech ilościowych procedura jest bardziej złożona. Porównuje się odchylenia standardowe odmiany-kandydata ze średnim odchyleniem standardowym odmian zarejestrowanych (wysianych w tym samym doświadczeniu). Oficjalnie zalecaną metodą, w krajach stowarzyszonych w organizacji UPOV, jest tzw. procedura COYU. Metoda ta jest skomplikowana obliczeniowo. Dużo prostszą metodą jest badanie jednorodności współczynników zmienności, wtedy można zastosować na przykład test Bennetta. Nowa metoda może zostać wprowadzona do metodyki badań tylko wtedy, gdy wyniki uzyskane za pomocą nowej metody są zbliżone do wyników starej metody. Dlatego w niniejszym opracowaniu, dokonano zestawienia wszystkich otrzymanych wyników porównania, pod względem zgodności, metody COYU i metody Bennetta. Metody te, w ogólności, okazały się zgodne (w niektórych przykładach metoda COYU była bardziej restrykcyjna w innych Bennetta, jednakże różnice te, z reguły, nie były istotne statystycznie).Before registration, each new variety of crop plants, has to be tested in terms of its uniformity. The decisions concerning uniformity of new varieties („candidates”) are taken for all tested characteristics, both quantitative and qualitative. In the case of qualitative characteristics, in the sample of fixed size, the number of non-typical plants is observed and if the fraction of such plants exceeds some threshold, this variety is considered as not fulfilling the condition of uniformity. In the case of quantitative characteristics the procedure is more complicated. The standard deviation of the candidate variety and average of standard deviations of registered varieties (sown in the same trial) is compared. The officially recommended method, in countries associated in UPOV organization, is so called the COYU procedure. This method is computationally complicated. Study of the homogeneity of variation coefficients is a much easier method, then the Bennett’s method can be used. A new method can be introduced to research methodology only when results obtained with new method are similar to the results of the previous one. Therefore, in this study, all the obtained results of comparison of both methods are summarized . These methods, in general, are consistent (in some of examples the COYU method was more restrictive, while in others it was the Bennett’s method, but these differences, usually, were not statistically significant)

The selection of breeding lines of spring barley on the basis of statistical analysis of three year trial series

W pracy przedstawiono wyniki analizy trzyletniego cyklu doświadczeń hodowlanych z rodami jęczmienia jarego. Były to: doświadczenie jednopowtórzeniowe, przedwstępne i wstępne wykonane odpowiednio w 2008, 2009 i 2010 roku przeprowadzone w stacji Hodowli Roślin w Polanowicach (Małopolska Hodowla Roślin). Przedstawiona w pracy koncepcja opracowania wyników serii doświadczeń z nowymi rodami oparta jest na szerokim wykorzystaniu metod statystycznych. Takie podejście umożliwia całościowe spojrzenie na wyniki doświadczeń przeprowadzonych dla rodów jęczmienia jarego z jednej stacji hodowli jak również rodów pochodzących z różnych stacji doświadczalnych. Przeprowadzona analiza wykazała małe zróżnicowanie pomiędzy plonami rodów badanych w doświadczeniu jednopowtórzeniowym. Uwypuklenie zróżnicowania pomiędzy rodami można uzyskać poprzez zastosowanie bardziej zaawansowanych metod statystycznych takich jak analiza wariancji doświadczeń ze wzorcami, analiza wariancji układów hierarchicznych (z powtórzeniami), analiza doświadczeń wieloletnich. Trzyletnia syntetyczna ocena genotypów pochodzących z hodowli Polanowice wykazała występowanie interakcji genotyp × lata objawiającą się niestabilnością w plonowaniu. Oddzielne analizowanie każdego roku badań może spowodować utratę cennych genotypów.In this paper the results of the analysis of three year breeding trial cycle with lines of spring barley is presented. Single replication, pre-preliminary and preliminary trials were conducted in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively. The analyzed trials were conducted at the plant breeding station in Polanowice (Małopolska Hodowla Roślin). The presented conception of description of the results of the trial series with breeding lines and controls is based on an extensive use of the statistical methods. This approach enables a holistic view on the results of the conducted trials for the spring barley lines both from given breeding station and from different experimental stations. The analysis made it possible to show a small variation between the yields of breeding lines in a the not replicated trial. Variation between lines can be demonstrated when more advanced statistical methods, such as analysis of variance of augmented designs, analysis of variance of hierarchical designs or analysis of many years of trials, are used. On the basis of the three year synthetic evaluation of genotypes, which were bred in Polanowice, the interaction genotype × year has been shown by the revealed instability in yielding. A separate analysis of each year of the trials may result in the loss of valuable genotypes

The Effect of Caffeine Supplementation on Resistance and Jumping Exercise: The Interaction with <i>CYP1A2</i> and <i>ADORA2A</i> Genotypes

Purpose: To evaluate the association of CYP1A2 and ADORA2A gene polymorphisms, paraxanthine concentrations, and habitual caffeine (CAF) intake with respect to muscular performance after acute CAF supplementation. Methods: A total of 27 resistance-trained males participating in the study ingested either 5 mg/kg of CAF or PL 45 min before a battery of exercise tests in a cross-over design. DNA was tested for the rs5751876 and rs762551 polymorphisms. Results: CAF improved performance in jumping average power, average velocity, max velocity, bench press in the first set, and peak power in the second set. For the CYP1A2 genotype, C allele carriers improved in jumping average velocity (CAF: 1.77 ± 0.14 m/s, PL: 1.71 ± 0.16 m/s, p p = 0.046). For the ADORA2A genotype, CC (CAF: 1.70 ± 0.20 m/s, PL: 1.67 ± 0.19 m/s, p = 0.005) and CT (CAF: 1.79 ± 0.09 m/s, PL: 1.74 ± 0.11 m/s, p p = 0.021). For CAF habituation, CAF improved jumping average power (p = 0.007) and jumping average velocity (p p > 0.05). Conclusions: CAF may improve jumping and bench press performance, irrespective of genotypes, but the associations with the genotypes in CYP1A2 and ADORA2A genes, as well as habitual CAF intake, are not clear and require further investigation