Taphonomic signature of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) on bone prey remains

Lloveras L., Cosso A., Solé J., Claramunt-López B., Nadal J. (2017) Taphonomic signature of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) on bone prey remains. Historical Biology. : 1-20.
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Doi: 10.1080/08912963.2017.1319830

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The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the most important birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. This raptor is used to building large nests in high cliffs to which they return for several breeding years accumulating important amounts of their prey skeletal remains. This makes the golden eagle one of the major predators able to accumulate faunal remains in archaeological sites. Despite this fact, the taphonomic signature of golden eagles has not been properly characterized. Here we present the analysis of ingested and non-ingested faunal remains predated and accumulated by this raptor in two different nesting areas from the Iberian Peninsula. Results show how the faunal taxonomic record may vary depending on the ecological zone. Leporids and terrestrial carnivores are the best represented. The observed anatomical representation, breakage and bone surface modification patterns are discussed for different taxa. The taphonomic pattern varies depending on the type of prey and the origin of skeletal materials (non-ingested vs. pellets). Finally, after comparing our results with marks left by other predators, several characteristic features are noted to recognise golden eagles as agents of animal bones accumulations in the fossil record. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Llegeix més

Carbon and nitrogen allocation shifts in plants and soils along aridity and fertility gradients in grasslands of China

Luo, W., Li, M.-H., Sardans, J., Lü, X.-T., Wang, C., Peñuelas, J., Wang, Z., Han, X.-G., Jiang, Y. (2017) Carbon and nitrogen allocation shifts in plants and soils along aridity and fertility gradients in grasslands of China. Ecology and Evolution. : 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1002/ece3.3245

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The influence of Mediterranean riparian forests on stream nitrogen dynamics: A review from a catchment perspective

Lupon A., Sabater F., Bernal S. (2017) The influence of Mediterranean riparian forests on stream nitrogen dynamics: A review from a catchment perspective. Limnetica. 36: 507-523.
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Doi: 10.23818/limn.36.18

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Riparian zones are considered natural filters of nitrogen (N) within catchments because they can substantially diminish the exports of N from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. However, understanding the influence of riparian zones on regulating N exports at the catchment scale still remains a big challenge in ecology, mainly because upscaling plot scale results is difficult, as it is disentangling the effects of riparian, upland, and in-stream processes on stream water chemistry. In this review, we summarize previous studies examining key hydrological and biogeochemical processes by which Mediterranean riparian zones regulate catchment water and N exports.We focus onMediterranean regions because they experience a marked climatic seasonality that facilitates disentangling the close link between climate, riparian hydrology, and stream N exports. We show that Mediterranean riparian soils can be hot spots of N mineralization and nitrification within catchments given their relatively moist conditions and large stocks of N-rich leaf litter. Extremely large nitrification rates can occur during short-Time periods (i.e. hot moments) and lead to increases in stream N loads, suggesting that riparian soils can be a potential source of N to adjacent aquatic systems. Moreover, riparian trees can contribute to decrease riparian groundwater level during the vegetative period, and promote reverse fluxes from the stream to the riparian zone. During periods of high hydrological retention, stream water exports to downstream ecosystem decrease, while stream water chemistry is mostly determined by in-stream processes. Riparian tree phenology can also affect catchment N exports by shaping the temporal pattern of both light and litter inputs into the stream. In spring, light enhances in-stream photoautotrophic N uptake before riparian leaf-out, while riparian leaf litter inputs promote in-stream N mineralization in summer and fall. Finally, we illustrate that the impact of Mediterranean riparian zones on stream hydrology and biogeochemistry increases along the stream continuum, and can ultimately influence catchment N exports to downstream ecosystems. Overall, findings gathered in this review question the well-established idea that riparian zones are efficient N buffers, at least for Mediterranean regions, and stress that an integrated view of upland, riparian, and stream ecosystems is essential for advancing our understanding of catchment hydrology and biogeochemistry. © Asociación Ibérica de Limnología, Madrid. Spain.

Llegeix més

Continuity and change in hunting behaviour among contemporary indigenous peoples

Luz, A.C., Paneque-Gálvez, J., Guèze, M., Pino, J., Macía, M.J., Orta-Martínez, M., Reyes-García, V. (2017) Continuity and change in hunting behaviour among contemporary indigenous peoples. Biological Conservation. 209: 17-26.
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Doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.002

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Can Biochar Protect Labile Organic Matter Against Mineralization in Soil?

MELAS, G.B., ORTIZ, O., ALACAÑIZ, J.M. (2017) Can Biochar Protect Labile Organic Matter Against Mineralization in Soil?. Pedosphere. 27: 822-831.
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Doi: 10.1016/S1002-0160(17)60421-1

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Temperature fine-tunes Mediterranean Arabidopsis thaliana life-cycle phenology geographically

Marcer, A., Vidigal, D.S., James, P.M.A., Fortin, M.-J., Méndez-Vigo, B., Hilhorst, H.W.M., Bentsink, L., Alonso-Blanco, C., Picó, F.X. (2017) Temperature fine-tunes Mediterranean Arabidopsis thaliana life-cycle phenology geographically. Plant Biology. : 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1111/plb.12558

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Can mobile phone-based animated videos induce learning and technology adoption among low-literate farmers? A field experiment in Burkina Faso

Maredia M.K., Reyes B., Ba M.N., Dabire C.L., Pittendrigh B., Bello-Bravo J. (2017) Can mobile phone-based animated videos induce learning and technology adoption among low-literate farmers? A field experiment in Burkina Faso. Information Technology for Development. : 1-32.
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Doi: 10.1080/02681102.2017.1312245

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This article explores an innovative approach to deliver information about new agricultural technology that combines a versatile and potentially lower cost method of developing animated videos with another low-cost method of sharing it on mobile devices (i.e. mobile phone). It describes a randomized controlled field experiment conducted in Burkina Faso to evaluate the effectiveness of animated videos shown on mobile phone compared with the traditional extension method (live demonstration) in inducing learning and adoption of two post-harvest technologies among low-literate farmers. Results suggest that video-based training was as effective as the traditional method in inducing learning and understanding. For technologies that farmers were already aware of animated video shown on the mobile phone was also as effective as live demonstration in inducing adoption. However, in transferring new technologies, the traditional method was more effective in inducing adoption at p 

Llegeix més

Global patterns of phosphatase activity in natural soils

Margalef O., Sardans J., Fernández-Martínez M., Molowny-Horas R., Janssens I.A., Ciais P., Goll D., Richter A., Obersteiner M., Asensio D., Peñuelas J. (2017) Global patterns of phosphatase activity in natural soils. Scientific Reports. 7: 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-01418-8

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Soil phosphatase levels strongly control the biotic pathways of phosphorus (P), an essential element for life, which is often limiting in terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated the influence of climatic and soil traits on phosphatase activity in terrestrial systems using metadata analysis from published studies. This is the first analysis of global measurements of phosphatase in natural soils. Our results suggest that organic P (Porg), rather than available P, is the most important P fraction in predicting phosphatase activity. Structural equation modeling using soil total nitrogen (TN), mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, thermal amplitude and total soil carbon as most available predictor variables explained up to 50% of the spatial variance in phosphatase activity. In this analysis, Porg could not be tested and among the rest of available variables, TN was the most important factor explaining the observed spatial gradients in phosphatase activity. On the other hand, phosphatase activity was also found to be associated with climatic conditions and soil type across different biomes worldwide. The close association among different predictors like Porg, TN and precipitation suggest that P recycling is driven by a broad scale pattern of ecosystem productivity capacity. © 2017 The Author(s).

Llegeix més

Mediterranean landscapes under change: Combining social multicriteria evaluation and the ecosystem services framework for land use planning

Martínez-Sastre, R., Ravera, F., González, J.A., López Santiago, C., Bidegain, I., Munda, G. (2017) Mediterranean landscapes under change: Combining social multicriteria evaluation and the ecosystem services framework for land use planning. Land Use Policy. 67: 472-486.
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Doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.06.001

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Differential impact of hotter drought on seedling performance of five ecologically distinct pine species

Matías, L., Castro, J., Villar-Salvador, P., Quero, J.L., Jump, A.S. (2017) Differential impact of hotter drought on seedling performance of five ecologically distinct pine species. Plant Ecology. 218: 201-212.
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Doi: 10.1007/s11258-016-0677-7

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