Quantitative NME microscopy of iron transport in methanogenic aggregates

Transport of micronutrients (iron, cobalt, nickel, etc.) within biofilms matrixes such as methanogenic granules is of high importance, because these are either essential or toxic for the microorganisms living inside the biofilm. The present study demonstrates quantitative measurements of metal transport inside these biofilms using T1 weighted 3D RARE. It is shown that iron(II)-EDTA diffusion within the granule is independent of direction or the inner structure of the granules. Assuming position dependence of the spin-lattice relaxivity, Fick’s law for diffusion in a sphere can be applied to simulate the diffusion within the methanogenic granules under investigation. A relatively low diffusion coefficient of 2.5*10-11 m2·s-1 was obtained for iron diffusion within the methanogenic granul

Rabbits (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i> L.) in coastal dune grasslands

We describe a field experiment for examining the impact of wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) on the vegetation in two Flemish coastal dune grasslands. When numerous, rabbits had a major impact on the vegetation. This impact can be considered positive in the case of the studied grasslands, as evidenced by a decreasing abundance by dominant grass species and a declining species richness. The decrease of the number of rabbits, due to VHS, may hence negatively affect dune grassland species richness. Introducing large herbivores can be part of the solution for preserving the dune grasslands, and this introduction may even have positive effects on rabbit populations through feeding facilitation

Within-person configurations and temporal relations of personal and perceived parent-promoted life goals to school correlates among adolescents

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Grounded in self-determination theory, this longitudinal study examined the academic correlates of middle and high school students' (N = 923; 33.4% male) intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations (i.e., life goals) and the type of aspirations that they perceive their parents to promote to them. Person-centered analysis revealed 3 meaningful groups: a relatively high intrinsic aspiration group, a relatively moderate intrinsic aspiration group, and a relatively high-intrinsic and high-extrinsic aspiration group. Tukey post hoc comparisons indicated that students in the high intrinsic aspiration group scored higher on mastery-approach goals, effort regulation, and grades than students in the other 2 groups and lower on performance-approach goals and test anxiety than students in the high-high aspiration group. A match between learners' own aspiration profile and the perceived parent-promoted aspiration profile did not alter these between-group differences. Further, intrapersonal fluctuations of intrinsic aspirations covaried with mastery-approach goals over a 1-year time interval, while extrinsic aspirations covaried with performance-approach goals and test anxiety in the same period; none of these within-person associations were consistently moderated by between-student differences in perceived parental aspiration promotion. Instead, perceived parent-promoted intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations were, respectively, positive and negative predictors of between-student differences in positive school functioning. The present results highlight the importance of endorsing and promoting intrinsic aspirations for school adjustment. © 2013 American Psychological Association

Ebony wood identification to battle illegal trade

Horizon 2020(H2020)Computer Systems, Imagery and Medi

Behind the fog : Forest degradation despite logging bans in an East African cloud forest

Habitat destruction and deterioration are amongst the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Increasing demand for agricultural products, timber and charcoal has caused the rapid destruction of natural forests, especially in the tropics. The Taita Hills in southern Kenya are part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and represent a highly diverse cloud forest ecosystem. However, the cloud forest suffers extremely from wood and timber exploitation and transformation into exotic tree plantations and agricultural fields. Existing conservation regulations and moratoriums aim to prevent further forest destruction. In this study, we analyzed land cover change and shifts in landscape configuration for a fraction of the Taita Hills, based on satellite imageries for the years 2003, 2011 and 2018. We found that the coverage of natural cloud forest further decreased between 2003 and 2018, despite the effort to conserve the remaining cloud forest patches and to reforest degraded areas by various conservation and management initiatives. In parallel, the proportion of exotic tree plantations and bushland strongly increased. Moreover, mean natural forest patch size decreased and the degree of interspersion with other land cover types increased notably. Logging bans for indigenous trees seem to have resulted in local opposition to the planting of indigenous trees and thereby hindered the recovering of the cloud forest. We suggest to enhance local awareness on the ecological value of the natural forest by community-based Conservation Forest Associations and to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species in farmer-owned woodlots. Besides, bottom-up management systems that allow for local participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing related to forest resources would be a way forward to achieve the sustainable use and conservation of the last remaining natural forest patches in the Taita Hills. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Drought survival is positively associated with high turgor loss points in temperate perennial grassland species

1. Turgor loss point (πtlp) has been suggested to be a key trait for drought resistance in woody species. In herbaceous grassland species the role of πtlp for species drought survival has not yet been tested, although grasslands are projected to experience more frequent and intense droughts with climate change. 2. To gain insights into the role of πtlp for drought resistance of temperate perennial grassland species, we assessed πtlp of 41 species common in Germany (20 forbs, 21 grasses). We directly related them to the species' comparative whole-plant drought survival and midday leaf water potentials under drought (ΨMD) assessed in a common garden drought experiment, and to species moisture association. 3. Species drought survival increased with increasing πtlp across all species as well as within forbs or grasses separately. ΨMD was positively related to πtlp and drought survival. Our results imply that high πtlp promotes drought survival of common perennial European temperate mesic grassland species by enabling them to maintain high leaf water potentials under drought, i.e., a desiccation avoidance strategy. However, πtlp was not related to species moisture association. 4. The positive relationship between πtlp and drought survival in herbaceous grassland species was opposite to the negative relationship previously established in woody plants, implying that mechanisms of drought resistance differ between woody and herbaceous species. Our results highlight the necessity of directly testing the relationship of functional traits to whole-plant drought survival in different plant life forms, before using trait assessments for predicting plant responses to drought.Funding provided by: DFG Priority Program 1374Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: Infrastructure-Biodiversity-Exploratorie