Early plant stages may be the most vulnerable within the life cycle of plants especially in arid ecosystems. Interference from exotic species may exacerbate this condition. We evaluated germination, seedling survival and growth in the endangered Caribbean cactus Harrisia portoricensis, as a function of sunlight exposure (i.e., growing under open and shaded areas), different shade providers (i.e...

Plant-soil feedbacks can affect plant community dynamics by influencing processes of coexistence or invasion, or by maintaining alternate stable states. Darwin's naturalization hypothesis suggests that phylogenetic relatedness should be a critical factor governing such feedbacks in invaded communities but is rarely considered in soil feedback studies. We investigated the effects of soil biota f...

In the past two centuries the New Zealand environment has changed dramatically under the impact of European colonisation and the establishment of intensive agricultural systems. This massive environmental shift has led to major changes in the abundance of our native fauna. Many previously abundant species have been reduced to low numbers or even extinction, but a few endemic species have manage...

A grass-fire cycle in Australian tropical savannas has been postulated as driving the regional decline of the obligate-seeding conifer Callitris intratropica and other fire-sensitive components of the regional flora and fauna, due to proliferation of flammable native grasses. We tested the hypothesis that a high-biomass invasive savanna grass drives a positive feedback process where intense fir...

The effects of climate change on future water availability and water quality are not well understood, making the development of watershed management plans difficult for decision-makers. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) are commonly implemented to mitigate non-point source (NPS) pollution, but future effectiveness is unknown due to climate change. To address these problems, the foll...

abstract. information on forage quality in phenological stage could help range managers to choose suitable grazing method to achieve higher animal performance without detriment to vegetation. vetiver grass (vetiveria zizanioides) is a non-native perennial grass that was introduced to the iran in 2008. this plant is a multi use species that could be considered from different viewpoints. thus, it...

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) is one of the most important freshwater fish that is native to China, and crisp grass carp is a kind of high value-added fishes which have higher muscle firmness. To investigate biological functions and possible signal transduction pathways that address muscle firmness increase of crisp grass carp, microarray analysis of 14,900 transcripts was performed. Co...

Mounting evidence of wildlife population gains from targeted conservation practices has prompted the need to develop and evaluate practices that are integrated into production agriculture systems and targeted toward specific habitat objectives. However, effectiveness of targeted conservation actions across broader landscapes is poorly understood. We evaluated multiregion, multispecies avian den...