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Potential Growth (potential + growth)
Selected AbstractsAbove- versus below-ground competitive effects and responses of a guild of temperate tree speciesJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009K. David Coates Summary 1The neutral theory debate has highlighted the scarcity of robust empirical estimates of the magnitude of competitive effects and responses within guilds of co-occurring tree species. Our analysis quantifies the relative magnitude of all possible pairwise competitive interactions within a guild of nine co-occurring tree species in temperate forests of northern, interior British Columbia, and explicitly partitions the competitive effects of neighbours into the effects of shading versus the residual effects of ,crowding', assumed to reflect below-ground competition. 2Models that treated neighbours as equivalent in their competitive effects were the most parsimonious for the five species with the smallest sample sizes. For the remaining species (samples sizes of > 150 individuals), the best models estimated separate competition coefficients for all nine species of neighbours. We take this as evidence that species do indeed differ in their competitive effects, but that there can be a minimum sample size required to discriminate between them. 3There was a strong size-dependency in potential growth. Six species showed an optimal growth at a size between 5 and 20 cm diameter. Potential growth declined moderately to strongly as diameter increased. Sensitivity to crowding varied as a function of tree size for five of the nine species; however, this response was not consistent by tree species. 4The magnitude of reduction in growth due to crowding was greater on average than the reduction in growth due to shading, except for the two least shade tolerant conifers. Sensitivity to shading among the conifer species was correlated with their shade tolerance. 5The per capita effects of crowding by different species of neighbours varied widely. A large number of the estimated pairwise per capita competition coefficients were very low. The relative magnitude of the strength of intra- versus interspecific competition also varied widely among the tree species. 6Synthesis. Model selection techniques effectively separated above- and below-ground competition in complex forests, and allowed us to assess differences among species in competitive effects and responses. While below-ground effects were strong, they were due to proximity of neighbours from a very specific (and small) subset of strong competitors within the guild. Response to crowding varied with tree size but the nature of the relationship varied widely among the species. [source] Stream temperature and the potential growth and survival of juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss in a southern California creekFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2007DAVID A. BOUGHTON Summary 1.,We asked whether an increase in food supply in the field would increase the ability of fish populations to withstand climate warming, as predicted by certain bioenergetic models and aquarium experiments. 2.,We subsidised the in situ food supply of wild juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a small stream near the species' southern limit. High-quality food (10% of fish biomass per day) was added to the drift in eight in-stream enclosures along a naturally-occurring thermal gradient. 3.,The temperatures during the experiment were well below the upper thermal limit for the species (means of enclosures ranged from 15.1 to 16.5 °C). Food supplements had no discernible effect on survival, but raised mean (± SD) specific growth rate substantially, from 0.038 ± 0.135 in controls to 2.28 ± 0.51 in feeding treatments. Food supplements doubled the variation in growth among fish. 4.,The mean and variance of water temperature were correlated across the enclosures, and were therefore transformed into principal component scores T1 (which expressed the stream-wide correlation pattern) and T2 (which expressed local departures from the pattern). Even though T1 accounted for 96% of the variation in temperature mean and variance, it was not a significant predictor of fish growth. T2 was a significant predictor of growth. The predicted time to double body mass in an enclosure with a large T2 score (cool-variable) was half that in an enclosure with a low T2 score (warm-stable). 5.,Contrary to expectation, temperature effects were neutral, at least with respect to the main axis of variation among enclosures (cool-stable versus warm-variable). Along the orthogonal axis (cool-variable versus warm-stable), the effect was opposite from expectations, probably because of temperature variation. Subtle patterns of temperature heterogeneity in streams can be important to potential growth of O. mykiss. [source] Responses of shoot growth and survival to water stress gradient in diploid and tetraploid populations of Lolium multiflorum and L. perenneGRASSLAND SCIENCE, Issue 4 2006Shu-ichi Sugiyama Abstract Drought stress is one of the critical environmental factors in determining growth and survival of herbage grasses. In this study, by using a hydroponic culture system including different amounts of polyethylene glycol (PEG), responses of plant shoots to water stress in four different intensities (0 Mpa, ,0.6 Mpa, ,1.2 Mpa and ,1.8 Mpa) were examined in diploid and tetraploid cultivars of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and perennial ryegrass (L. perenne). Since freezing injury is caused by cell dehydration, freezing tolerance was also examined for six subzero temperatures (,11, ,12, ,14, ,16, ,18 and ,20°C) in both species. L. multiflorum had a larger shoot biomass at all stress intensities and a lower survival rate under severe water stress and freezing stress conditions than L. perenne. Thus, there was a trade-off (negative correlation) between potential growth under a stress-free condition and survival under a severe stress condition in diploid and tetraploid cultivars of both species. This trade-off was mediated by tissue water content. High water content led to a high growth rate through increasing specific leaf area, while low water content resulted in a high tissue osmotic potential that could confer high cell dehydration tolerance. [source] Above- versus below-ground competitive effects and responses of a guild of temperate tree speciesJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009K. David Coates Summary 1The neutral theory debate has highlighted the scarcity of robust empirical estimates of the magnitude of competitive effects and responses within guilds of co-occurring tree species. Our analysis quantifies the relative magnitude of all possible pairwise competitive interactions within a guild of nine co-occurring tree species in temperate forests of northern, interior British Columbia, and explicitly partitions the competitive effects of neighbours into the effects of shading versus the residual effects of ,crowding', assumed to reflect below-ground competition. 2Models that treated neighbours as equivalent in their competitive effects were the most parsimonious for the five species with the smallest sample sizes. For the remaining species (samples sizes of > 150 individuals), the best models estimated separate competition coefficients for all nine species of neighbours. We take this as evidence that species do indeed differ in their competitive effects, but that there can be a minimum sample size required to discriminate between them. 3There was a strong size-dependency in potential growth. Six species showed an optimal growth at a size between 5 and 20 cm diameter. Potential growth declined moderately to strongly as diameter increased. Sensitivity to crowding varied as a function of tree size for five of the nine species; however, this response was not consistent by tree species. 4The magnitude of reduction in growth due to crowding was greater on average than the reduction in growth due to shading, except for the two least shade tolerant conifers. Sensitivity to shading among the conifer species was correlated with their shade tolerance. 5The per capita effects of crowding by different species of neighbours varied widely. A large number of the estimated pairwise per capita competition coefficients were very low. The relative magnitude of the strength of intra- versus interspecific competition also varied widely among the tree species. 6Synthesis. Model selection techniques effectively separated above- and below-ground competition in complex forests, and allowed us to assess differences among species in competitive effects and responses. While below-ground effects were strong, they were due to proximity of neighbours from a very specific (and small) subset of strong competitors within the guild. Response to crowding varied with tree size but the nature of the relationship varied widely among the species. [source] The importance of hormone receptor analysis in osteosarcoma cells growth submitted to treatment with estrogen in association with thyroid hormoneCELL BIOCHEMISTRY AND FUNCTION, Issue 1 2008Patricia Pinto Saraiva Abstract Bone tumor incidence in women peaks at age 50,60, coinciding with the menopause. That estrogen (E2) and triiodothyronine (T3) interact in bone metabolism has been well established. However, few data on the action of these hormones are available. Our purpose was to determine the role of E2 and T3 in the expression of bone activity markers, namely alkaline phosphatase (AP) and receptor activator of nuclear factor ,B ligand (RANKL). Two osteosarcoma cell lines: MG-63 (which has both estrogen (ER) and thyroid hormone (TR) receptors) and SaOs-29 (ER receptors only) were treated with infraphysiological E2 associated with T3 at infraphysiological, physiological, and supraphysiological concentrations. Real-time RT-PCR was used for expression analysis. Our results show that, in MG-63 cells, infraphysiological E2 associated with supraphysiological T3 increases AP expression and decreases RANKL expression, while infraphysiological E2 associated with either physiological or supraphysiological T3 decreases both AP and RANKL expression. On the other hand, in SaOs-2 cells, the same hormone combinations had no significant effect on the markers' expression. Thus, the analysis of hormone receptors was shown to be crucial for the assessment of tumor potential growth in the face of hormonal changes. Special care should be provided to patients with T3 and E2 hormone receptors that may increase tumor growth. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||