establishment of plant organ cultures. Since then protocols have been developed for cultivating many genera of carnivorous plants in vitro, including: Aldrovanda, Byblis, Cephalotus, Darlingtonia, Dionaea, Drosera, Drosophyllum, Genlisea, Heliamphora, Nepenthes, Pinguicula, Sarracenia, and Utricularia. However, the purposes for growing carnivorous plants in vitro are quite diverse. It is useful...

A total of forty two resident animals representing eighteen wildlife species at the Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB) Zoo Park were screened for nematode helminths between May and June 2013. Freshly voided faeces from the animals were subjected to basic coprology tests (Direct Microscopic Examination and Concentration Techniques). Trichuris specie. was the most prevalent nematode in pr...

In aquatic species of carnivorous utricularia, about 10 - 50 % of the total biomass consists of bladders. Utricularia bladders are physiologically very active organs though their chlorophyll content may greatly be reduced. To specify energetic costs of carnivory, respiration (RD) and net photosynthetic rate (PN) were compared in bladders and leaves or shoot segments of six aquatic utricularia s...

Mercury, cadmium, and lead concentrations of ashed plants and insects samples were investigated and compared with those of soil to reveal their biogeochemical processes along food chains in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, China. Concentration factors of each fragments of the soil-plant-the herbivorous insect-the carnivorous insect food chain were 0.18, 6.57, and 7.88 for mercury; 6.82, 2.01, a...

• The mineral nutrition of terrestrial carnivorous plants was investigated under glasshouse conditions to elucidate ecophysiological adaptations of this plant group. • In Drosera capillaris and D. capensis, absorption of N, P, K, and Mg from insects was relatively efficient (> 43%), whereas that of Ca was not. Carnivorous plants (D. capensis, D. peltata, D. scorpioides, and Dionaea muscipula) e...

BACKGROUND Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest terrestrial carnivores of all time, and consequently its ecology and diet have been the focus of much discussion. However, there is little direct evidence of diet or feeding habits in this species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Examination of museum collections has revealed four specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex that bear tooth marks made by l...

In this study, the feeding habits of blue swimming crab (Portunus segnis) in the Northeast Persian Gulf were investigated. A total of 722 specimens were collected using bottom trawl. The samples were transferred to the laboratory in order to further analysis after freezing. All individuals were dissected and their stomach was removed. The results showed the vacancy index of stomach (CV) was 34....

Carnivorous plants are striking examples of evolutionary convergence, displaying complex and often highly similar adaptations despite lack of shared ancestry. Using available carnivorous plant genomes along with non-carnivorous reference taxa, this study examines the convergence of functional overrepresentation of genes previously implicated in plant carnivory. Gene Ontology (GO) coding was use...

Nepenthes pitcher plants display interspecific diversity in pitcher form and diets. This species-rich genus might be a conspicuous candidate for an adaptive radiation. However, the pitcher traits of different species have never been quantified in a comparative study, nor have their possible adaptations to the resources they exploit been tested. In this study, we compare the pitcher features and...