In marine environments, macrofauna living in or on the sediment surface may alter the structure, diversity and function of benthic microbial communities. In particular, microbial nitrogen (N)-cycling processes may be enhanced by the activity of large bioturbating organisms. Here, we study the effect of the burrowing mud shrimp Upogebia deltaura upon temporal variation in the abundance of genes ...

Bioturbation can influence petrophysical properties (e.g., porosity, permeability) of sedimentary rocks and, in consequence, reservoir quality. The impact be positive, negative, or neutral, requiring detailed ichnological analysis. Ophiomorpha , a branched cylindrical burrow with diagnostic peloidal wall, may present bioturbated reservoirs that exhibit both super-permeability and reduced porosi...

Sir, The standard technique for diagnosis of human scabies is by microscopic examination of scales obtained by skin scraping, using a needle in order to ®nd the female mite in her burrow. Epiluminescence microscopy allows in vivo detection of the mite, and consists of skin lesion observation via stereomicroscope after the application of oil and a slide between the lens and the skin (1, 2). We c...

The levels of heavy metals in soil samples from selected major roads under construction, burrow sites (a place where was obtained for road filling) and two use have been investigated. Soil were collected digested using standard methods. digests analyzed Ni, Cr, Zn, Cd, Cu Pb Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. data subjected to descriptive statistics, non linear regression one way analysis var...

We examined changes in the diversity of herbaceous plant species at colony ( ) sites of the plains vizcacha Lagostomus maximus following local extinctions of this species in semi-arid scrub of central Argentina. These large rodents live in social groups, share a communal burrow system, and forage in a common home range around the burrow system. Through intense herbivory, vizcachas create large ...

The field cricket Gryllus campestris used to be very common throughout Europe, but in recent decades its population has declined. We study ecology and behavior of crickets near the Odolanów, Poland, between 2009 2011, with emphasis on the effects of grazing of cattle and horses on insects population. We compared the number of burrows per square meter on both grazed and non-grazed areas and exam...

A central challenge in biology is to understand how innate behaviors evolve between closely related species. One way to elucidate how differences arise is to compare the development of behavior in species with distinct adult traits [1]. Here, we report that Peromyscus polionotus is strikingly precocious with regard to burrowing behavior, but not other behaviors, compared to its sister species P...