Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2020
Abstract
There has been much recent research interest in the existence of a major axis of life‐history variation along a fast–slow continuum within almost all major taxonomic groups. Eco‐evolutionary models of density‐dependent selection provide a general explanation for such observations of interspecific variation in the "pace of life." One issue, however, is that some large‐bodied long‐lived “slow” species (e.g., trees and large fish) often show an explosive “fast” type of reproduction with many small offspring, and species with “fast” adult life stages can have comparatively “slow” offspring life stages (e.g., mayflies). We attempt to explain such life‐history evolution using the same eco‐evolutionary modeling approach but with two life stages, separating adult reproductive strategies from offspring survival strategies. When the population dynamics in the two life stages are closely linked and affect each other, density‐dependent selection occurs in parallel on both reproduction and survival, producing the usual one‐dimensional fast–slow continuum (e.g., houseflies to blue whales). However, strong density dependence at either the adult reproduction or offspring survival life stage creates quasi‐independent population dynamics, allowing fast‐type reproduction alongside slow‐type survival (e.g., trees and large fish), or the perhaps rarer slow‐type reproduction alongside fast‐type survival (e.g., mayflies—short‐lived adults producing few long‐lived offspring). Therefore, most types of species life histories in nature can potentially be explained via the eco‐evolutionary consequences of density‐dependent selection given the possible separation of demographic effects at different life stages.
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Authors
Elena Albertsen Øystein H. Opedal Geir Hysing Bolstad Rocio Perez-Barrales Thomas F Hansen Christophe Pelabon William Scott ArmbrusterAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Elena Albertsen Øystein Hjorthol Opedal Geir Hysing Bolstad Rocío Pérez-Barrales Thomas F Hansen Christophe Pelabon William Scott ArmbrusterAbstract
Spatiotemporal variation in natural selection is expected, but difficult to estimate. Pollinator‐mediated selection on floral traits provides a good system for understanding and linking variation in selection to differences in ecological context. We studied pollinator‐mediated selection in five populations of Dalechampia scandens (Euphorbiaceae) in Costa Rica and Mexico. Using a nonlinear path‐analytical approach, we assessed several functional components of selection, and linked variation in pollinator‐mediated selection across time and space to variation in pollinator assemblages. After correcting for estimation error, we detected moderate variation in net selection on two out of four blossom traits. Both the opportunity for selection and the mean strength of selection decreased with increasing reliability of cross‐pollination. Selection for pollinator attraction was consistently positive and stronger on advertisement than reward traits. Selection on traits affecting pollen transfer from the pollinator to the stigmas was strong only when cross‐pollination was unreliable and there was a mismatch between pollinator and blossom size. These results illustrate how consideration of trait function and ecological context can facilitate both the detection and the causal understanding of spatiotemporal variation in natural selection.
Authors
Svenja B. KroegerAbstract
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Authors
Svenja B. Kroeger Daniel T. Blumstein Kenneth B. Armitage Jane Margaret Reid Julien G.A. MartinAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Perennial versus short term (<3 years) grass vegetation cover is likely to have considerable differences in root density and thus carbon (C) inputs to soil. Carbon inputs are important to maintain soil organic carbon (SOC) and may even increase it. In Norway and Scandinavia, the SOC content in soil is often higher than in other parts of Europe, due to the cold climate and high precipitation (i.e. slower turnover rates for soil organic matter) and a dominance of animal production systems with a large amount of grassland. Here we aimed to evaluate differences in SOC content, down to 60 cm depth, of a long-term grassland (without ploughing for decades) and a short-term grassland (frequently renewed by ploughing) under contrasting climate, soil and management conditions. Quantification of SOC was carried out on three long-term experimental sites on an extended latitude gradient in West and North Norway. The samples were taken from 4 depth increments (0-5, 5-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm) in treatments that have not been ploughed for at least 43 years, and in treatments that were ploughed every third year until 2011. Preliminary results suggest that there is no significant difference in SOC storage down to 60 cm between long-term and short-term grasslands.
Abstract
The stramenopile alga Nannochloropsis evolved by secondary endosymbiosis of a red alga by a heterotrophic host cell and emerged as a promising organism for biotechnological applications, such as the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids and biodiesel. Peroxisomes play major roles in fatty acid metabolism but experimental analyses of peroxisome biogenesis and metabolism in Nannochloropsis are not reported yet. In fungi, animals, and land plants, soluble proteins of peroxisomes are targeted to the matrix by one of two peroxisome targeting signals (type 1, PTS1, or type 2, PTS2), which are generally conserved across kingdoms and allow the prediction of peroxisomal matrix proteins from nuclear genome sequences. Because diatoms lost the PTS2 pathway secondarily, we investigated its presence in the stramenopile sister group of diatoms, the Eustigmatophyceae, represented by Nannochloropsis. We detected a full-length gene of a putative PEX7 ortholog coding for the cytosolic receptor of PTS2 proteins and demonstrated its expression in Nannochloropsis gaditana. The search for predicted PTS2 cargo proteins in N. gaditana yielded several candidates. In vivo subcellular targeting analyses of representative fusion proteins in different plant expression systems demonstrated that two predicted PTS2 domains were indeed functional and sufficient to direct a reporter protein to peroxisomes. Peroxisome targeting of the predicted PTS2 cargo proteins was further confirmed in Nannochloropsis oceanica by confocal and transmission electron microscopy. Taken together, the results demonstrate for the first time that one group of stramenopile algae maintained the import pathway for PTS2 cargo proteins. To comprehensively map and model the metabolic capabilities of Nannochloropsis peroxisomes, in silico predictions needs to encompass both the PTS1 and the PTS2 matrix proteome.
Abstract
Several scientific groups have concluded that the use of biochar as an on-farm management tool for carbon sequestration should be further investigated. Review articles also pinpoint the use of biochar to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the entire agricultural production, and this should be studied using whole-chain models. Biochar is added to animal diets with the main purpose of enhancing animal health. There are indications that biochar fed to ruminants may reduce enteric methane emission. Twenty-four ewe lambs were fed one of two diets, a control diet (no biochar) and a biochar diet (1.4% biochar). There were no differences in dry matter intake and average daily growth rate between animals. An expected reduction in enteric methane emissions from animals fed the biochar diet was not detected. We conclude that the effect on enteric methane emissions may depend on structure and properties of the biochar offered. We suggest further research on biomass and pyrolysis of biochar to accommodate several properties as a feed additive for farm animals.