352 research outputs found
Narrow genetic base in forest restoration with holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) in Sicily
In order to empirically assess the effect of actual seed sampling strategy on
genetic diversity of holm oak (Quercus ilex) forestations in Sicily, we have
analysed the genetic composition of two seedling lots (nursery stock and
plantation) and their known natural seed origin stand by means of six nuclear
microsatellite loci. Significant reduction in genetic diversity and significant
difference in genetic composition of the seedling lots compared to the seed
origin stand were detected. The female and the total effective number of
parents were quantified by means of maternity assignment of seedlings and
temporal changes in allele frequencies. Extremely low effective maternity
numbers were estimated (Nfe 2-4) and estimates accounting for both
seed and pollen donors gave also low values (Ne 35-50). These values
can be explained by an inappropriate forestry seed harvest strategy limited to
a small number of spatially close trees
Genetic and growth differences in the outcrossings between two clonal strains of the self-fertilizing mangrove killifish
The populations of the only known self-fertilizing vertebrate Kryptolebias marmoratus (Poey, 1880) (formerly known as Rivulus marmoratus Poey, 1880; Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheilidae) usually consist of different homozygous lineages; however, heterozygous individuals are found occasionally and ratios of homozygosity and heterozygosity in populations are dependent on the proportion of males. However, it is still unclear what impact male-mediated genetic diversity has on the phenotype of K. marmoratus. To clarify this, we attempted outcrossing between male and hermaphrodite of two different clonal strains with different life-history traits using artificial insemination, and examined the genotypes and growth of the hybrid F2 generation. We detected genetic differences between the two clonal strains using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis with 3 primer combinations, and then obtained 11 AFLP markers. From a total of 31 artificial inseminations with two clonal strains, 1 of 13 hatched fish clearly indicated heterozygosity. The hybrid F2 generations were also heterozygous. Moreover, the growths of the hybrid F2 generation were intermediate of the parental strains from days 0 to 30. Therefore, outcrossing changes genetic architecture and the new genotypes potentially result in new phenotypes of the subsequent generations of K. marmoratus. It may also play a role in adaptation to new environments and the facilitation of local adaptation
Fish Spawning Aggregations: Where Well-Placed Management Actions Can Yield Big Benefits for Fisheries and Conservation
Marine ecosystem management has traditionally been divided between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation approaches, and the merging of these disparate agendas has proven difficult. Here, we offer a pathway that can unite fishers, scientists, resource managers and conservationists towards a single vision for some areas of the ocean where small investments in management can offer disproportionately large benefits to fisheries and biodiversity conservation. Specifically, we provide a series of evidenced-based arguments that support an urgent need to recognize fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) as a focal point for fisheries management and conservation on a global scale, with a particular emphasis placed on the protection of multispecies FSA sites. We illustrate that these sites serve as productivity hotspots - small areas of the ocean that are dictated by the interactions between physical forces and geomorphology, attract multiple species to reproduce in large numbers and support food web dynamics, ecosystem health and robust fisheries. FSAs are comparable in vulnerability, importance and magnificence to breeding aggregations of seabirds, sea turtles and whales yet they receive insufficient attention and are declining worldwide. Numerous case-studies confirm that protected aggregations do recover to benefit fisheries through increases in fish biomass, catch rates and larval recruitment at fished sites. The small size and spatio-temporal predictability of FSAs allow monitoring, assessment and enforcement to be scaled down while benefits of protection scale up to entire populations. Fishers intuitively understand the linkages between protecting FSAs and healthy fisheries and thus tend to support their protection
Troponin I and cardiovascular risk prediction in the general population: the BiomarCaRE consortium
Our aims were to evaluate the distribution of troponin I concentrations in population cohorts across Europe, to characterize the association with cardiovascular outcomes, to determine the predictive value beyond the variables used in the ESC SCORE, to test a potentially clinically relevant cut-off value, and to evaluate the improved eligibility for statin therapy based on elevated troponin I concentrations retrospectively
Search for an Invisibly-Decaying Higgs Boson at LEP
A search for a Higgs boson produced in e^+e^- collisions in association with
a Z boson and decaying into invisible particles is performed. Data collected at
LEP with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies from 189 GeV to 209 GeV are
used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.63/fb. Events with
hadrons, electrons or muons with visible masses compatible with a Z boson and
missing energy and momentum are selected. They are consistent with the Standard
Model expectations. A lower limit of 112.3 GeV is set at 95% confidence level
on the mass of the invisibly-decaying Higgs boson in the hypothesis that its
production cross section equals that of the Standard Model Higgs boson.
Relaxing this hypothesis, upper limits on the production cross section are
derived
Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in âs = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fbâ1 of protonâproton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results
Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC
provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of
lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with
a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the
transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the
anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the
nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of
the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp.
Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in
the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies
smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating
nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and
transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of
inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous
measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables,
submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are
available at
http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02
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