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emmarrogers

Frequent mowing puts poisonous weed into survival mode | ScienceDaily - 1 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240603195751.htm

HSR HSR-2025 behavior biology environmental potential research idea botany

shared by emmarrogers on 04 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • The taproot went down further
  • More spikes popped out on the stem
  • The flowers became more toxic
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Although studies have often highlighted weed fitness and defense traits resulting from disturbances like mowing, most were limited to foliar, or leaf, defenses, Kariyat said. That changed when Vasquez and fellow master's biology students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley monitored fields of mowed, unmowed and frequently mowed silverleaf nightshade in and around Edinburg, Texas.
  • "Alejandro's question was, 'how do these flowers differ between mowed and unmowed plants?'"
  • "You are trying to mow these plants so that the plants are getting eliminated," Kariyat said. "But what you are actually doing here, you are making them much worse, much stronger."
  • The observations of mowed, unmowed and frequently mowed areas with silverleaf nightshade provide evidence that could prompt further studies by weed scientists on best management practices, Kariyat said.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Jun 24
       
      Again... when you see a callout like this for more research in an area... especially one that might be feasible with some serious planning/organization... you might be on to something.
  • the study does provide more insight into the defensive capabilities of plants pitted against human disturbance
  • "Continuous mowing differentially affects floral defenses in the noxious and invasive weed Solanum elaeagnifolium in its native range."
  • Journal Reference: Alejandro Vasquez, Alexa Alaniz, Robert Dearth, Rupesh Kariyat. Continuous mowing differentially affects floral defenses in the noxious and invasive weed Solanum elaeagnifolium in its native range. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58672-w
  • Solanum ptychanthum or black nightshade, and Solanum carolinense, or Carolina horsenettle, also produce toxic berries and are native to Arkansas.
    • emmarrogers
      emmarrogers on 04 Jun 24
       
      Could we possibly research different types of weeds similar to the silver Nightshade, like one of these plants?
  • Sean Nash on 04 Jun 24
     
    There is a TON of data that can be measured & analyzed in a study like this. Easier to do in a less time-dependent way in the lab, but easier and more realistic (in vivo) to do if you have access to similar fields that are mowed and unmowed to differing extents. So many variables to examine and consider here for how plants may change physiologically based upon how we interact with them. This goes beyond that analogy I always use for fast evolution in Honors Biology: how dandelion populations become shorter based upon frequent mowing. This gets into the physiological responses. Very cool methinks.
Sean Nash

Mysterious Underwater Acoustic World of British Ponds Revealed in New Study | Current S... - 1 views

currentsciencedaily.com/...sh-ponds-revealed-in-new-study

hydrophone sound survey pond potential research idea biology physics computer science environmental science HSR HSR-2023 HSR-2025

shared by Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • The previously hidden and diverse underwater acoustic world in British ponds has been revealed by a team of researchers at the University of Bristol.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      So... my immediate thought is: How cool would it be to do this here? One thing we DO have: PONDS. See if this *sounds* interesting. Get it? ;)
  • Acoustic monitoring has been shown to effectively survey birds and monkeys in rainforests, and marine mammals in the oceans. However, freshwater environments have remained largely unexplored despite their diverse soundscapes.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      BOOM. Again, "relatively unexplored" is super exciting verbiage to me. Acoustics. Hydrophones. Is this feasible? Is the equipment affordable? If not, could we borrow one? Dig into it. What are the possibilities?
  • analysis of the audio files revealed clear daily acoustic activity cycles in each pond
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      Aside from the exploratory surveys you would do just to see "what's out there" and assess what we CAN learn from listening to a pond, you could make it experimental by comparing ponds you've assessed the health of by other means. In other words, do acoustic comparisons between two ponds correlate with what you find by doing a macroinvertebrate sampling? I really LIKE the possibilities in this one!
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Typically, a nocturnal chorus is made by aquatic insects that compete to attract mates by producing strange scratching sounds as they rub their genitals against their abdomens. During the daytime, however, aquatic plants dominate the underwater orchestra with rhythmic whining and ticking sounds produced as tiny oxygen bubbles are released by plants respiring in the hot sun.
  • Using this acoustic method, the presence of species, and a determination of ecological health, can be inferred simply by listening to the natural world without disturbing the environment or harming the plants and animals within it.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      Here is the obvious value proposition if you could work this out.
  • Publication: Jack A. Greenhalgh, et al., Diel variation in insect-dominated temperate pond soundscapes and guidelines for survey design, Freshwater Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/fwb.14092.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      BEST THING YET: Here is the FULL TEXT of the actual research paper!
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 11 Jun 24
       
      Here is the FULL TEXT of the actual research paper!
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