Iranian native hens are a valuable genetic resource, due to their adaptability to harsh conditions of husbandry and environment in rural area. The genetic parameters for various traits of economic importance were studied in an Iranian Native chicken population under short term selection for egg production and body weight for over 2 years. The parameters studied were body weight at day old (BW1)...

medicinal plants have been investigated for possible anti-cancer effects. the aim of the present study was to examine the cytotoxic activity of several medicinal plants on different tumor cell lines. 11 selected plant species which have been used in folkloric prescriptions were collected from different sites of hamedan district of iran. the methanolic extracts of the plants were prepared and th...

The aim of this study is study the inheritance of economic traits in an Iranian Native chickens population by estimating genetic parameters (heritability, genetic, phenotypic and environment correlations) under short-term selection in breeding programs. Identification of genes determining the expression of economically important traits of plants and animals is a main research focus in agricultu...

Invasive species success may depend on ecophysiological attributes present in their native area or derived from changes that took place in the invaded environment. We studied the growth and photosynthetic capacity of Berberis darwinii shrubs growing under different light conditions (gap, forest edge and below the canopy) in their native area of Patagonia, Argentina. Leaf photosynthesis results ...

Fire disturbance is considered a major factor in the promotion of non-native plant species. Non-native grasses are adapted to fire and can alter environmental conditions and reduce resource availability in native coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities of southern California. In these communities persistence of non-native grasses following fire can inhibit establishment and growth of woody...

Freshwater plants affect the ecosystem functioning of shallow aquatic ecosystems. However, because native plants are threatened by environmental change such as eutrophication, global warming and biological invasions, continued ecosystem functioning may be at risk. In this study, we explored how the growth of native and non-native plant species in eutrophic, warm conditions impacts two plant eco...

The tree Melaleuca quinquenervia invades all types of habitats of South Florida leading to up to 80% loss of aboveground diversity. To examine impacts on the belowground ecosystem, we investigated the composition and diversity of nematodes from soils dominated by the invasive tree and compared them with soils supporting native plant communities at six locations across the Florida Everglades ove...

Adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary processes are likely to play important roles in biological invasions but their relative importance has hardly ever been quantified. Moreover, although genetic differences between populations in their native versus invasive ranges may simply reflect different positions along a genetic latitudinal cline, this has rarely been controlled for. To study non-adap...

One of the significant threats to global biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is the spread of invasive plant species (Mooney and Cleland, 2001). Continuing anthropogenic related disturbances such as land conversion, grazing, and habitat fragmentation, combined with international trade and climate change indicate that these trends are likely to continue (Zedler and Scheid, 1988). In this cont...

Invasions by alien plants can change the large-scale functioning of native ecosystems and alter the population dynamics and community structure of native species. Such ecosystem-level changes affect the ways local systems interact with surrounding ecosystems, with downstream ecosystems and groundwater, and with the atmosphere. Large-scale changes in ecosystems caused by biological invasions rep...