2,113 research outputs found

    Back to the Future? Understanding Change in Food Habits of Farmers' Market Customers

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    farmers' markets, food habits, Italy, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

    The anthropocene biogeography of alien birds on islands: Drivers of their functional and phylogenetic diversities

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    A branch of island biogeography has emerged to explain alien species diversity in the light of the biogeographic and anthropogenic context, yet overlooking the functional and phylogenetic facets. Evaluating alien and native birds of 407 oceanic islands worldwide, we built structural equation models to assess the direct and indirect influence of biotic, geographic, and anthropogenic contexts on alien functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD). We found that alien taxonomic richness was the main predictor of both diversities. Anthropogenic factors, including colonization pressure, associated with classic biogeographical variables also strongly influenced alien FD and PD. Specifically, habitat modification and human connectivity markedly drove alien FD, especially when controlled by taxonomic richness, whereas the human population size, gross domestic product, and native PD were crucial at explaining alien PD. Our findings suggest that humans not only shape taxonomic richness but also other facets of alien diversity in a complex way

    Observations on development and anomalies in the appendicular skeleton of sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax L. 1758, larvae and juveniles

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    The development of the fin skeleton has been studied in both the wild and hatchery sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax L., larvae, in order to identify and define morphofunctional criteria for larval quality assessments. The cartilaginous and bony skeletal elements of the larvae were studied and standard length and notochord flexure recorded. Fin anomalies were present in reared larvae, whereas they were rare or absent in specimens from the wild. These anomalies were recognizable from the very beginning of skeletal development, indicating that environmental, genetic and broodstock management factors influence even the very early stages of larval development

    Farmers’ Markets, Producer and Consumer Behaviour: Analysis of Interactions with the Metrics of Sustainability

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    This paper provides insights of the Italian farmers' markets (FMs) experience. These short food chains can be conceptualized among the so-called "alternative agro-food networks", which reject the traditional food chains features - productivity, products standardization and industrial organization - to focus on other issues such as quality, local production and "naturality" of agro-food production.The main objective of the paper is to evaluate the sustainability of FMs, through the analysis of the demand and the supply side. The analysis is based on a survey administered in 13 Italian FMs, involving 158 farmers and 458 consumers. Data are used to evaluate consumers' demand for sustainability within FMs and sustainability indicators at the farm level. These indicators support a classification of the farms, aimed at analysing their motivation to participate in the markets and the extent to which they are able to meet consumers' demand.Results show that FMs might be able to favour the spreading of a more sustainable economy. However, farms should improve their business strategies in order to meet consumers' demand for sustainability. In this respect, agricultural policies at the European and local level can play a role, in order to enhance sustainable practices within the farms

    Compatibility of chemical insecticides and entomopathogenic fungi for control of soybean defoliating pest, Rachiplusia nu.

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    Fil: Pelizza, Sebastián Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios en Parasitología y Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Schalamuk, Santiago. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Química Inorgánica; ArgentinaFil: Simón, María Rosa. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Stenglein, Sebastián Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Biología Funcional y Biotecnología. Azul; ArgentinaFil: Pacheco Marino, Suani Giovanna. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria Ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout. La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Scorsetti, Ana Clara. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Botánica Carlos Spegazzini; Argentin

    Patterns and drivers of climatic niche dynamics during biological invasions of island-endemic amphibians, reptiles, and birds

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    Shifts between native and alien climatic niches pose a major challenge for predicting biological invasions. This is particularly true for insular species because geophysical barriers could constrain the realization of their fundamental niches, which may lead to underestimates of their invasion potential. To investigate this idea, we estimated the frequency of shifts between native and alien climatic niches and the magnitude of climatic mismatches using 80,148 alien occurrences of 46 endemic insular amphibian, reptile, and bird species. Then, we assessed the influence of nine potential predictors on climatic mismatches across taxa, based on species' characteristics, native range physical characteristics, and alien range properties. We found that climatic mismatch is common during invasions of endemic insular birds and reptiles: 78.3% and 55.1% of their respective alien records occurred outside of the environmental space of species' native climatic niche. In comparison, climatic mismatch was evident for only 16.2% of the amphibian invasions analyzed. Several predictors significantly explained climatic mismatch, and these varied among taxonomic groups. For amphibians, only native range size was associated with climatic mismatch. For reptiles, the magnitude of climatic mismatch was higher for species with narrow native altitudinal ranges, occurring in topographically complex or less remote islands, as well as for species with larger distances between their native and alien ranges. For birds, climatic mismatch was significantly larger for invasions on continents with higher phylogenetic diversity of the recipient community, and when the invader was more evolutionarily distinct. Our findings highlight that apparently common niche shifts of insular species may jeopardize our ability to forecast their potential invasions using correlative methods based on climatic variables. Also, we show which factors provide additional insights on the actual invasion potential of insular endemic amphibians, reptiles, and birds
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