Samples of agricultural soils were collected across North Carolina in 1992 and Nebraska in 1993 to determine which indices of nematode communities could be applied to distinguish ecological pattern at regional geographic scales. Sampling density was proportional to the area of agriculture in each region of each state. Maturity indices (based on life-history characteristics) were calculated to d...

Interest in the sustainability of farming practices has increased in response to environmental problems associated with conventional agricultural management often adopted for the production of herbaceous crops, ornamentals, and fruit crops. Availability of measures of the status of the soil ecosystem is of immediate importance, particularly for environmental assessment and monitoring programs. ...

BACKGROUND Classically, estuarine planktonic research has focussed largely on the physico-chemical drivers of community assemblages leaving a paucity of information on important biological interactions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Within the context of trophic cascades, various treatments using in situ mesocosms were established in a closed estuary to highlight the importance of predation ...

This guide docwnenu me use and background of a program wriuen for MSDOS Computers, in QUICKBASIC 4.5, for straighliorward consLNction and pammctrization of sleady-nate trophic modelJ of aquatic ecosystems. The ECOPATH n program is structured around a system of linear equations as suggested by 1J. Polovina and coworkers, and also incorporates routines from lhe computation of variow network flow ...

We still do not understand the pathogenesis of the majority of pituitary adenomas or why, once formed, their behaviour tends to be so benign. Understanding trophic activity in the normal pituitary may be the key. Despite the fact that changes in indices of cell division and programmed cell death that are too small to measure can produce highly significant fluxes in cell populations, little by l...

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central issue in ecology. The insurance hypothesis suggests that biodiversity could improve community productivity and reduce the temporal variability of main ecosystem processes. In the present study, we used a plankton community that was investigated from 2011 to 2014 in Lake Nansihu to test this hypothesis and explore the m...

Despite being inside a protected area, Lake Sumidouro has been impacted by the anthropogenic occupation of the surrounding area since the 1970's, compromising the ecological integrity of the lake and the sustainable use of natural resources. This study examined the current trophic classification of the lake and developed methods for improving it through an integrated analysis of morphometric an...