Many trait-based plant investigations have neglected the intraspecific trait variations. A lot of ecologists consider that this is unreasonable, because intraspecific variation significantly affects various ecological dynamics. However, it is not feasible to record the traits of each plant individually at every community site. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine in which circumsta...

Abstract The lower Rio Grande is a river-dominated estuary that serves as the border between Texas, USA, and Tamaulipas, Mexico. River estuaries encompass section of river influenced by tidal exchange with Gulf Mexico, but connection intermittent can be temporarily open or closed. During 4.8-year study period, mouth was closed 30% time, mostly during average dry climatic conditions, temporary c...

The mouthpart deformities of chironomid larvae are considered as indicators of environmental stress caused by water pollution such as heavy metals, pesticides, but as well by organic contamination. In the present study larvae from the side channels of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta were investigated. The chironomid community of the channels are dominated by species of the genera Goeldichiron...

Phage are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere, with an estimated 10 particles on the planet. They also play a major role in carbon cycling; at least 25% of fixed carbon passes through phage. Their roles as predators of bacteria have important implications for possible marine CO2 sequestration. Metagenomic analyses show that the rank-abundance curve for marine phage communitie...

We examined patterns of non-native plant diversity in protected and managed ponderosa pine/Douglas-®r forests of the Colorado Front Range. Cheesman Lake, a protected landscape, and Turkey Creek, a managed landscape, appear to have had similar natural disturbance histories prior to European settlement and ®re protection during the last century. However, Turkey Creek has experienced logging, graz...

Abstract The Younger Dryas-Holocene transition represents a period of significant thermal change, comparable in magnitude to modern warming, yet colder context and without the effect anthropogenic disturbance. This is useful as reference tackle how biodiversity affected by temperature natural conditions. Here, we addressed change during this southern Baltic coastal lake (Konarzewo Lake, Poland)...

For the first time, size spectra of 28 chironomid genera/species are reported for most common taxa in deep subalpine Lake Maggiore (northwestern Italy). Species-specific length–mass regression models were developed to predict dry masses larval stages Cladotanytarsus sp., Cryptochironomus Polypedilum bicrenatum, P. nubeculosum, and Stictochironomus pictulus. The predicted dry-mass values differe...

Chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae), also known as non-biting midges, are one of the most abundant groups of insects in aquatic habitats. They undergo a complete metamorphosis of four life stages of which three are aquatic (egg, larva, and pupa), and the adult emerges into the air. Chironomids serve as a natural reservoir of Aeromonas and Vibrio cholerae species. Here, we review existing knowle...