Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) is a fast-growing perennial grass native to Sub-Saharan Africa that is widely grown across the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a multipurpose forage crop, primarily used to feed cattle in cut and carry feeding systems. Characterization and diversity studies on a small collection of Napier grasses have identified a moderate level...

Many exotic annual grasses are believed to increase wildfire frequency to the detriment of native vegetation by increasing fine fuels and thus, creating a grass-fire cycle. However, information on differences in fuel characteristics between invaded and non-invaded plant communities is lacking, or is basedmainly on speculation and anecdotal evidence. We compared fuel biomass, cover, continuity a...

Native grass carp (Ctenopharygodon idellus) growth hormone, has 5 cysteine amino acid residues, forms two disulphide bridges in its mature form. Recombinant grass carp growth hormone, when over-expressed in E. coli, forms inclusion bodies. In vitro oxidative renaturation of guanidine-hydrochloride dissolved recombinant grass carp growth hormone was achieved by sequential dilution and stepwise d...

Grass growth has been encouraged in arid communities globally to improve grazing. Often exotic species are planted, subsequently spreading beyond their plantings to drastically alter cover and negatively impact native species. We evaluated the effects of the invasive, perennial grass Cenchrus ciliaris on the native woody species Cercidium microphyllum over two growing seasons: 2002 and 2003. To...

Habitat loss and fragmentation have been identified as important factors in the decline of grassland bird populations. However, population declines are apparent even in prairie ecosystems that remain relatively intact suggesting that additional factors are involved. The degradation of breeding habitat may be one such factor, but few studies have examined habitatspecific demography of grassland ...