Demand for vine plant material has increased drastically due to the ongoing expansion of viticulture, and recent widespread replanting efforts. Nurseries growers are turning green-grafted vines meet demand. Unfortunately, most vineyard establishment studies have centered around dormant benchgrafted vines. Thus, little is known regarding specific trends green-growing benchgrafts. This study aime...

A new cycloartane-type triterpenoid saponin named riparsaponin (1) was isolated from the stem of Homonoia riparia Lour together with six known compounds. The structure of riparsaponin was determined by using NMR and mass spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography techniques. Additionally, riparsaponin has a significant inhibitory effect on xanthine oxidase in vitro, and the IC50 was 11.16 nmol/mL.

[1] We conducted measurements of methane (CH4) emission and ecosystem respiration on >200 points across the Arctic coastal tundra near Barrow, Alaska, United States, in July 2007 and August 2008. This site contains broad diversity in tundra microtopography, including polygonal tundra, thaw lakes, and drained lake basins. In 2007, we surveyed CH4 emissions across this landscape, and found that s...

Monoecy and protogyny are widespread in wind-pollinated plants and have been interpreted as outcrossing mechanisms, though few studies have investigated their function. Carex, a large genus of anemophilous herbs, is predominantly monoecious and many species are protogynous. We investigated whether monoecy and protogyny limit self-pollination in seven Carex species. We conducted field experiment...

During December/January 1996/97 typical summer syndrome (hyperthermia and a 30% drop in milk yield) occurred in succession in two Holstein dairy herds (n=240 and n=150 milking cows, respectively) on the South African Highveld. These farms are situated in the midst of the prime maize and dairy farming areas of South Africa where this condition had never been diagnosed before. The individual comp...

Recent studies have suggested that the proximal part of the swallow (Hirundo rustica) tail streamer appears to aid turning flight, as expected if streamers evolved initially purely through natural selection for enhanced manoeuvrability. However, the evolution of slender aerodynamically advantageous streamers is also predicted by an alternative hypothesis, which suggests that such a trait could ...

Abstract Earlier snowmelt and more frequent summer drought due to climate warming are considered particularly influential for extratropical alpine plants, which adapted a short growing season high water availability. Here, we explored the combined effects of two drivers with field experiment in late‐successional grassland Swiss Alps (2500 m a.s.l.) over 6–7 years. We advanced delayed by removin...

F. Helfenstein (correspondence), Evolutionary Ecology Group, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected]. R. H. Wagner, Konrad Lorenz Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria. T. Szép, Institute of Environmental Sciences, College of Nyı́regyháza, P.O. Box 166, H-4401 Nyı́regyhá...

We examined developmental and behavioural plasticity of sand martin (Riparia riparia) nestlings hand-reared under laboratory conditions. We created six broods of six 4-day-old nestlings and randomly assigned them to one of the two following feeding regimens, each lasting for 3 days: (1) all nestmates fed a similar, limited amount of food (FR nestlings). This simulated synchronous hatching under...