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Topic Review
Invasion of African Clarias gariepinus in Bangladesh
The African catfish Clarias gariepinus has been introduced for aquaculture in Bangladesh due to the scarcity of indigenous C. batrachus fingerlings. The African catfish Clarias gariepinus is a highly carnivorous species and predates small indigenous freshwater fishes when escaping into natural water bodies. However, the government of Bangladesh has banned the farming of C. gariepinus due to the carnivorous nature of this species. The introduction of C. gariepinus caused native biodiversity loss due to its predatory nature.
  • 1.7K
  • 25 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Opuntia (Cactaceae; Opuntioideae) Flower-Visiting Insects
Opuntia species are cacti with high ecological, economic and conservation interest in semiarid environments, particularly in Mexico. Despite the economic and cultural importance of Opuntia, there is a significant lack of knowledge about the flower-visiting insects and their taxonomic identity. Although some Opuntia species could be visited by birds such as hummingbirds, the most dominant taxonomic group of pollinators are the insects. 
  • 1.7K
  • 19 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Fungi in Seed Germplasm Collections
Seeds can harbor a wide range of microorganisms, especially fungi, which can cause different sanitary problems. Seed quality and seed longevity may be drastically reduced by fungi that invade seeds before or after harvest. Seed movement can be a pathway for the spread of diseases into new areas. Some seed-associated fungi can also produce mycotoxins that may cause serious negative effects on humans, animals and the seeds themselves. Seed storage is the most efficient and widely used method for conserving plant genetic resources. The seed storage conditions used in gene banks, low temperature and low seed moisture content, increase seed longevity and are usually favorable for the survival of seed-borne mycoflora. Early detection and identification of seed fungi are essential activities to conserve high-quality seeds and to prevent pathogen dissemination.
  • 1.6K
  • 06 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Ailanthus altissima as a Source of Natural Pesticides
The extensive use of pesticides may negatively affect human health. Additionally, it is one of the main reasons for the decline of pollinators and is thus a hazard for most crops and biodiversity as a whole. Good candidates for the replacement of pesticides with ones less toxic to humans and pollinators are natural products (bioactive compounds extracted from plants), even though it should be kept in mind that some of them can be toxic too. Ailanthus altissima (Mill.), swingle, known also as tree of heaven, (Simaroubaceae) is one of the most aggressive alien invasive plants. It demonstrates a high tolerance to various habitat conditions and a potent propagation ability. This plant has a prominent ability to suppress the seed development of local vegetation.
  • 1.6K
  • 06 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Human Communities in Protected Natural Areas
The mission of natural heritage conservation through different modalities has its main instrument in the creation and management of protected natural areas (PNAs) based on a conservation culture of natural ecosystems and sustainable development. Protected areas are well received throughout the world as environmental policy tools characterized by the preservation and protection of diverse ecosystems, where the original environment has not been essentially altered, producing a series of increasingly valued environmental services.
  • 1.5K
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Ecosystem Services Provided by Seaweeds
The ecosystem services can be divided using two major classification systems, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) and the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). In the MEA system, the ecosystem services are divided into four major service clusters: supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural. On the other hand, the CICES system regards the “MEA supporting services” as organism natural function (and not an ecosystem service). Thus, this function is the basis for all the three CICES ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, and cultural) provided by one organism. These ecosystem services can be analyzed for the type of habitat, fauna or flora. Seaweeds, or marine macroalgae, are one of the key organisms in estuarine and seawater habitats ecosystems, which currently is of extreme importance due to the climate changes and the blue–green economy. Seaweeds and humankind have been interlinked from the beginning, mainly as a food source, fibers, biochemicals, natural medicine, ornamental resources, art inspiration, and esthetic values in several coastal communities. Moreover, currently they are being studied as green carbon, carbon sequestration, and as a possible source for the biomedical and pharmaceutical areas. 
  • 1.5K
  • 18 Jan 2023
Topic Review
The Orchids of Wetland Vegetation in Central Balkans
The orchid family (Orchidaceae) is one of the largest and most diverse families in the plant kingdom, with approximately 28,000 species and 880 genera. Because of their germination limitation, mycorrhizal specificity and pollinator specialization, orchids are particularly vulnerable to changes in ecosystem balance, especially changes in moisture content, light regime, nutrient availability and competition levels. Habitat changes or their complete destruction have led to the extinction or decline in abundance and distribution of many orchids and, consequently, many species are protected by laws and/or are included in Red Data Books. Therefore, knowledge of the habitats and ecological preferences of orchids is a prerequisite for their appropriate conservation.
  • 1.5K
  • 05 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Ecosystem Services Potential of Endemic Floras
Natural, sustainable products arise in many fields, wild plants are reconsidered as providers of traditional or innovative applications. The notion of ecosystem services (ES) provides a frame to evaluate their benefits, but is still scarcely applied to endemic floras.
  • 1.5K
  • 31 May 2022
Topic Review
Conservation in South African Indigenous Goat Ecotypes
Goats were amongst the first livestock to be domesticated more than 10,000 years ago for their meat, milk, skin, and fiber. They were introduced to Southern Africa by migrating nations from Central Africa to the south. Due to local adaptation to the different agro-ecological zones and selection, indigenous goats are identified as ecotypes within the indigenous veld goat breed. Their ability to thrive in a resource-limited production system and in challenging environmental conditions makes them valuable animal resources for small-scale and emerging farmers. They play important roles in household agriculture and cultural activities as well as in poverty alleviation. 
  • 1.5K
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Butterfly Community Diversity in the Qinling Mountains
The Qinling Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in China and a global biodiversity research and conservation hotspot. However, there is a lack of systematic research and survey of butterfly diversity in this region. Based on the butterfly taxa, combined with the changes in natural climate, altitude gradient and season in the Qinling Mountains, the butterfly diversity and community structure changes in 12 counties in the middle Qinling Mountains were analyzed by transect surveys and platform data analyses. A total of 9626 butterflies were observed, belonging to 427 species across 175 genera and 5 families. The species richness on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountains is higher than that on the northern slope.
  • 1.4K
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Alternative System for Secondary Metabolite Production
Medicinal plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds widely used as medicaments, food additives, perfumes, and agrochemicals. These secondary compounds are produced under stress conditions to carry out physiological tasks in plants. Secondary metabolites have a complex chemical structure with pharmacological properties. The widespread use of these metabolites in a lot of industrial sectors has raised the need to increase the production of secondary metabolites. Biotechnological methods of cell culture allow the conservation of plants, as well as the improvement of metabolite biosynthesis and the possibility to modify the synthesis pathways.
  • 1.3K
  • 11 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Herpesvirus Infection in Strix Owls
The herpesvirus partial DNA polymerase gene was detected using polymerase chain reaction in oropharyngeal swabs of 16 out of 170 owls examined that were captured in or near nest boxes. Herpesvirus was detected in Ural owls (Strix uralensis), in both adults and young, but not in tawny owls (Strix aluco). In yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), as the main prey of tawny owls and Ural owls in the area, herpesvirus was detected in the organs of 2 out of 40 mice captured at the same locations as the owls. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the herpesvirus sequences detected in the Ural owls differed from the herpesvirus sequences detected in the yellow-necked mice. The results indicate that herpesvirus infection exists in the breeding wild Ural owl population. However, herpesvirus-infected owls did not show any clinical or productivity deviances and, based on a phylogenetic comparison of detected herpesvirus sequences and sequences obtained from Genbank database, it seems that mice and other rodents are not the source of owl infections. The most probable transmission pathway is intraspecific, especially from adults to their chicks, but the origin of herpesvirus in owls remains to be investigated.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Parent Origin and Wolves' Conflict
We researched whether the behavior of young migrating wolves (loners), after they leave the pack, resembles parent pack (PP) behavior. Fourteen loners entering the Netherlands could be identified and genetically linked to their PPs. Like their PPs, some young wolves killed sheep and were near humans, others killed sheep and did not approach humans, while two loners were unproblematic, they did not kill sheep nor were they in proximity to humans. Thus, the PP behavior did predict loner’s behavior and human-wildlife conflicts may be similar between young wolves and their PPs. However, conflicts need not arise. To achieve that, new prevention methods are proposed to teach wolves in the PP not to approach sheep and humans. As a result, new generations may not be problematic when leaving the PP.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
All-Russian Collection of Plant Cell Cultures
The collections of plant cell cultures maintained in vitro are valuable sources of strains with unique ecological and biotechnological traits. Such collections play a vital role in bioresource conservation, science, and industry development. Here is an overview of All-Russian Collection of Plant Cell Cultures at the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPPRAS). The total collection holdings comprise about 120 cell cultures of medicinal and model plant species. Several plant cell culture strains have been adapted for cultivation in bioreactors from laboratory (5–20-L) to pilot (75-L) to semi-industrial (630-L) scale for the production of biomass with high nutritive or pharmacological value. Some of the strains with proven biological activities are currently used to produce cosmetics and food supplements. Here is also provided a brief information on the current collection composition and major activities, their use in research, biotechnology, and commercial application. The most interesting studies performed with collection strains were highlighted.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Invasive Species in Marine Protected Areas of Turkey
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of the most effective conservation tools in the management of marine ecosystem alterations around the world, by maintaining natural ecological processes, increasing ecosystem resilience, preserving genetic diversity, ensuring the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems, restoring the biomass and structure of species assemblages, and providing socio-economic benefits. The majority of Mediterranean MPAs are at a high risk of invasion and their boundaries offer almost no protection from many high-impact invasive species.
  • 1.2K
  • 26 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Domestication Process of African Vigna Species
Legumes are one of the most economically important and biodiverse families in plants recognised as the basis to develop functional foods. Among these, the Vigna genus stands out as a good representative because of its relatively recent African origin as well as its outstanding potential. Africa is a great biodiversity centre in which a great number of species are spread, but only three of them, Vigna unguiculata, Vigna subterranea and Vigna vexillata, were successfully domesticated.
  • 1.2K
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest
Fungi represent an essential component of ecosystems, functioning as decomposers and biotrophs, and they are one of the most diverse groups of Eukarya. In the tropics, many species are unknown. In this work, high-throughput DNA sequencing was used to discover the biodiversity of soil fungi in the Aguarongo forest reserve, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in Ecuador. The rDNA metabarcoding analysis revealed the presence of seven phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Glomeromycota, Chytridiomycota, and Monoblepharomycota. A total of 440 identified species were recorded. They mainly belonged to Ascomycota (263) and Basidiomycota (127). In Mortierellomycota, 12 species were recorded, among which Podila verticillata is extremely frequent and represents the dominant species in the entire mycobiota of Aguarongo. 
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Medicago tunetana (Murb.) A.W. Hill
Medicago tunetana (Murb.) A.W. Hill, a perennial endemic pastoral species, grows at the canopy of Pinus halepensis Mill. plantations forest of the Tunisian Dorsal. Although M. tunetana is an interested pasture legume with its abiotic stress tolerance  rhizome production, it is a rare species and threatened to disappear because of overgrazing. Whereas, it could contribute in the agro-pastoral systems development in its native regions of Tunisian ridge.
  • 1.2K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Biomarker Studies in Stress Biology
Endpoints assessed at the population or community level are most often the result of the sum of effects on individuals, arising from the effects at the cellular and molecular levels. Within this framework, these lower biological level endpoints are more responsive at an early stage of exposure, making them potential toolboxes to be used as early-warning markers to address stress. Given this, by linking responses and understanding organisms’ metabolism and physiology, the possibilities for the use of biomarkers in stress biology are vast.
  • 1.2K
  • 10 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Pollution Biomarkers for Marine Biodiversity
Marine biodiversity is threatened by several anthropogenic pressures. Pollution deriving from the discharge of chemical contaminants in the sea represents one of the main threats to the marine environment, influencing the health of organisms, their ability to recover their homeostatic status, and in turn endangering biodiversity. Molecular and cellular responses to chemical pollutants, known as biomarkers, are effect-based methodologies useful for detecting exposure and for assessing the effects of pollutants on biota in environmental monitoring. Pollution biomarkers can be useful tools for monitoring and assessment of pollution threats to marine biodiversity, both in the environmental quality monitoring of protected areas and the assessment of the health status of species at risk.
  • 1.2K
  • 15 Jul 2021
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