Dendritic ecological networks (DENs) are a unique form of ecological networks that exhibit a dendritic network topology (e.g. stream and cave networks or plant architecture). DENs have a dual spatial representation; as points within the network and as points in geographical space. Consequently, some analytical methods used to quantify relationships...
Gene expression profiles of the biological control strain Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 inhabiting pea seed surfaces were revealed using a whole-genome oligonucleotide microarray. We identified genes expressed by Pf-5 under the control of two global regulators (GacA and RpoS) known to influence biological control and secondary metabolism. Transcript levels of 897...
Zinc is an important nutrient but can be lacking in some soil environments, influencing the physiology of soil-dwelling bacteria. Hence, we studied the global effect of zinc limitation on the transcriptome of the rhizosphere biocontrol strain Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 (formerly Pseudomonas fluorescens). We observed that the expression of the putative...
Epigenetic variation is likely to contribute to the phenotypic plasticity and adaptative
capacity of plant species, and may be especially important for long-lived
organisms with complex life cycles, including forest trees. Diverse environmental
stresses and hybridization/polyploidization events can create reversible heritable
epigenetic marks that can be transmitted to subsequent generations...
Assessing the ecological importance of clouds has substantial implications for our basic understanding of ecosystems
and for predicting how they will respond to a changing climate. This study was conducted in a coastal Bishop pine
forest ecosystem that experiences regular cycles of stratus cloud cover and inundation in summer. Our...
It is critical to study factors that are important for origin and maintenance of biological
diversity. A comparative approach involving a large number of populations is
particularly useful.We use this approach to study the relationship between ecological
factors and phenotypic diversity in Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).
Numerous populations of...
Predatorprey interactions are a primary structuring force vital to the resilience of marine communities and sustainability of the worlds oceans. Human influences on marine ecosystems mediate changes in species interactions. This generality is evinced by the cascading effects of overharvesting top predators on the structure and function of marine ecosystems....
Fungal mitospores may function as dispersal units and/ or spermatia, and thus play a role in
distribution and/or mating of species that produce them. Mitospore production in
ectomycorrhizal (EcM) Pezizales is rarely reported, but here we document mitospore production
by a high diversity of EcM Pezizales on three continents, in...
Organisms eating each other are only one of many types of well documented and important interactions among species. Other such types include habitat modification, predator interference and facilitation. However, ecological network research has been typically limited to either pure food webs or to networks of only a few (<3) interaction...
We examined variability in growth rate during the larval stage of northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) in response to physical and biological environmental factors in 2005 and 2006. The onset of spring upwelling was anomalously delayed by 2–3 months until mid-July in 2005; in contrast, spring upwelling in 2006 began as...