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Citrus; case studies; industry; scientists; Florida
Abstract:
... When governments take actions under their police powers to prevent incursions of diseases, they may damage or destroy private property and a question arises of who should pay for property losses. A court in Florida concluded that the state needed to pay for property destroyed under a citrus canker eradication programme. Because this interpretation of the Florida Constitution’s Just Compensation Cl ...
Frankliniella fusca; Frankliniella occidentalis; Frankliniella schultzei; Frankliniella tritici; Thrips palmi; cucumbers; field experimentation; flowers; fruiting; green beans; monitoring; pepper; pest management; pests; squashes; tomatoes; vegetable crops; Florida
Abstract:
... The flower thrips, Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom), has only recently been recognized as a pest of vegetable crops in south Florida. Little is known about its abundance and impact on vegetable crops in this region. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted comparing F. schultzei abundance in blooms of the 5 key fruiting vegetable crops grown in south Florida, i.e., cucumber, pepper, snap bean, ...
... Several drought indices are available to compute the degree of drought to which crops are exposed. They vary in complexity, generality, and the adequacy with which they represent processes in the soil, plant, and atmosphere. Agricultural Reference Index for Drought (ARID) was developed as a reference index to approximate the water stress factor that is used to affect growth and other physiological ...
... Environmental benefits associated with reduced rates of nitrogen (N) application, while maintaining economically optimum yields have economic and social benefits. Although N is an indispensable plant nutrient, residual soil N could leach out to contaminate groundwater and surface water resources, particularly in sandy soils. A 2-year field study was conducted in an established bermudagrass (Cynodo ...
... Eleven species of picture‐winged flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae: Lipsanini) have been reported attacking maize [Zea mays L. (Poaceae)] ears in the Americas. Four of these species are sweet corn pests in America north of Mexico: Chaetopsis massyla (Walker), Euxesta annonae (Fabricius), E. eluta Loew, and E. stigmatias Loew. Adults of these four species appear at the beginning of each season following ma ...
Juniperus virginiana; Quercus virginiana; carbon sequestration; cities; ecosystem services; ecosystems; forests; hardwood; land cover; land use; longevity; models; mortality; planting; softwood; soil properties; tree and stand measurements; tree growth; trees; Florida
Abstract:
... Information on urban tree growth, mortality and in-growth is currently being used to estimate urban forest structure changes and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration. This study reports on tree diameter growth and mortality in 65 plots distributed among four land use categories, which were established in 2005/2006 in Gainesville, Florida, USA and were re-measured in 2009. Models for mor ...
Calidris canutus; adults; breeding sites; fecundity; fledglings; juveniles; migratory behavior; models; population growth; survival rate; Delaware Bay; Florida; South America
Abstract:
... Populations of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) have declined an estimated 80% in the past 25 years. Declines are primarily attributed to dwindling food resources in Delaware Bay, their last migratory stopover before the breeding grounds. Red Knots wintering in Florida also decreased in numbers, prompting the need to estimate local vital rates to determine whether local factors contribute to decl ...
... Longleaf pine savannas are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, yet are understudied. Ants are a functionally important and diverse group of insects in these ecosystems. It is largely unknown how local patterns of species diversity and composition are determined through the interaction of this dominant animal group with abiotic features of longleaf pine ecosystems. Here we describe ...
... The environmental dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were characterized for a shallow, subtropical, seagrass-dominated estuarine bay, namely Florida Bay, USA. Large spatial and seasonal variations in DOM quantity and quality were assessed using dissolved organic C (DOC) measurements and spectrophotometric properties including excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence with parallel fact ...
biomass production; chlorophyll; coastal water; environmental impact; environmental protection; eutrophication; nutrients; phytoplankton; pollution load; remote sensing; satellites; water pollution; water quality criteria; water quality standards; Florida
Abstract:
... Human activities on land increase nutrient loads to coastal waters, which can increase phytoplankton production and biomass and associated ecological impacts. Numeric nutrient water quality standards are needed to protect coastal waters from eutrophication impacts. The Environmental Protection Agency determined that numeric nutrient criteria were necessary to protect designated uses of Florida’s w ...
... Increased herbivory at lower latitudes is hypothesized to select for more effective plant defenses. Feeding assays with seaweeds and salt marsh plants support this hypothesis, with low‐latitude plants experiencing greater damage in the field and being less palatable than higher‐latitude plants. We tested this hypothesis for freshwater macrophytes because they offered an independent plant lineage a ...
adults; anthropogenic activities; body condition; corticosterone; endangered species; fire break; habitats; humans; males; pastures; plowing; roads; sand; shrublands; traffic; Florida
Abstract:
... Context Anthropogenic disturbances induce physiological and behavioural responses in numerous species. The negative effects of human disturbance are of special concern to threatened and endangered species. Aims The present study aims to compare physiological stress measures and reproductive success of Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) living near roads with jays that live away from road ...
... In the United States, the Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) is a federally endangered species and restricted to the wetlands of south-central Florida where the current population numbers less than 1,500. The Snail Kite is an extreme dietary specialist, previously feeding almost exclusively on one species of snail, the Florida Apple Snail (Pomacea paludosa). Within the past decade, an exo ...
... Species should only persist in local communities if they have functional traits that are compatible with habitat-specific environmental conditions. Consequently, pronounced regional environmental gradients should produce environmental filtering, or a trait-based spatial segregation of species. It is critical to quantify the links between species’ functional traits and their environment in order to ...
... Aquatic floating plants on BioHaven mats were tested for their potential use as a Best Management Practice to be incorporated within existing stormwater detention ponds. Plants were analyzed for their capability to remove nutrient-pollution in parallel with the study of ecological dynamics. Experiments were carried out in cylindrical mesocosms of 5m diameter and 1.2m height, above-ground pools wit ...
... Invasive insects present an ongoing challenge to the safety of U.S. agriculture. A current threat to the U.S. cotton industry is Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Costa), commonly known as the cotton seed bug. Populations are found throughout most of the world except for North America, and the southeastern U.S. is believed to provide a favorable environment for its establishment. A major component in effo ...
... The relative importance of chemical, nematocyst, and nutritional defenses was examined for 18 species of Caribbean sea anemones (actinarians), zoanthids, and mushroom polyps (corallimorpharians) from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas Islands, 2008–2010. Feeding assays were performed using the fish Thalassoma bifasciatum with artificial foods containing crude organic extracts of cnidarian tissues. A ...
... We investigated the potential for a variety of environmental reservoirs to harbor or contribute fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), DNA markers of human fecal contamination, and human pathogens to a freshwater lake. We hypothesized that submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), sediments, and stormwater act as reservoirs and/or provide inputs of FIB and human pathogens to this inland water. Analysis include ...
... While associational defenses have been well documented in many plant and algal ecosystems, this study is the first to document associational resistance in mangroves. Mangrove tree crab (Aratus pisonii) density and herbivory on three life-stages of the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) were documented in pure red versus mixed-species and predominantly non-red mangrove stands containing black (Avicen ...
autocorrelation; available water capacity; carbon; forests; highlands; hydrology; land use; landscapes; wetlands; Florida
Abstract:
... The spatial distribution of soil carbon (C) is controlled by ecological processes that evolve and interact over a range of spatial scales across the landscape. The relationships between hydrologic and biotic processes and soil C patterns and spatial behavior are still poorly understood. Our objectives were to (i) identify the appropriate spatial scale to observe soil total C (TC) in a subtropical ...
... The history of classical biological control of fruit flies in Brazil includes two reported attempts in the past 70 years. The first occurred in 1937 when an African species of parasitoid larvae (Tetrastichus giffardianus) was introduced to control the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata and other tephritids. The second occurred in September 1994 when the exotic parasitoid Diachasmimorpha l ...
... A giant form of Anadyomene, most similar to Anadyomene pavonina (J. Agardh) Wille, a rare and diminutive alga endemic to Florida, appeared as up to 10âm long netâlike strands covering 10%â80% of a 0.5âkm region of the 25â50âm deep Belizean outer reef slope where none had been present up to 12âmonths earlier. This new species, described herein as Anadyomene gigantodictyon Littler et D ...
... Human babesiosis in the United States is caused most commonly by the intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite, Babesia microti. Although a few reports have described evidence of Babesia species in animals in Florida, to date Babesia microti specifically has not been reported from Florida or most other southern states. To determine if the organism is present in vertebrates in the region, small mammals ...
Abutilon; DNA; Euphorbia heterophylla; Euphorbia mosaic virus; Phaseolus vulgaris; Sida golden mosaic virus; Sida rhombifolia; Sida yellow vein virus; green beans; host range; islands; nucleotide sequences; nucleotides; phylogeny; surveys; viruses; weeds; Cuba; Florida
Abstract:
... As a result of surveys conducted during the last few years to search for wild reservoirs of begomoviruses in Cuba, we detected a novel bipartite begomovirus, sida yellow mottle virus (SiYMoV), infecting Sida rhombifolia plants. The complete genome sequence was obtained, showing that DNA-A was 2622 nucleotides (nt) in length and that it was most closely related (87.6% nucleotide identity) to DNA-A ...
... Benghal dayflower is an exotic weed species in the United States that is a challenge to manage in agricultural fields. Research was conducted in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to evaluate the longevity of buried Benghal dayflower seeds. Seeds were buried in the field for 2 to 60 mo at a depth of 20 cm in mesh bags containing soil native to each area. In North Carolina, decline of Benghal day ...
Melaleuca quinquenervia; Oxyops vitiosa; biological control; biological control agents; canopy; herbivores; insects; islands; monitoring; natural enemies; permeability; risk assessment; surveys; tourism; trade; trees; weed control; Bahamas; Brazil; California; Costa Rica; Cuba; Florida; Hawaii; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; South Africa; Texas
Abstract:
... An underlying assumption of classical biological control implies that intentionally introduced natural enemies will remain within the boundaries that delineate the program’s area of implementation. A weed biological control program targeting Melaleuca quinquenervia in Florida, USA has resulted in the release and establishment of Oxyops vitiosa and Boreioglycaspis melaleucae. An international surve ...
... As human–black bear conflicts increase, developing conflict mitigation strategies that account for both biological and social understanding has become a primary objective of managers. We examined black bear habitat use in the Florida Panhandle to understand its impact on the spatial distribution of conflicts. Focus groups were conducted with local residents and wildlife professionals to obtain par ...
Melaleuca quinquenervia; biological control; ecosystems; habitat destruction; insects; invasive species; marshes; plant communities; public lands; seedling production; seeds; tree release; trees; water flow; water supply; Florida
Abstract:
... A massive effort is underway to restore the Florida Everglades, mainly by re-engineering hydrology to supply more water to the system at appropriate times of the year. However, correcting water flow patterns alone will not restore the associated plant communities due to habitat-transforming effects of invasive species, in particular the Australian wetland tree Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S. T. ...
adults; body measurements; breeding; breeding season; eggs; feathers; females; fledglings; human resources; males; molting; nestlings; nests; parakeets; spring; trade; utilities; winter; Florida; South America
Abstract:
... Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) have been in Florida for >40 yrs, having been imported by the thousands for the pet trade. This conspicuous, charismatic species is now widely established, but relatively little is known about its population biology outside South America. We examined 845 parakeets from 385 nests from nest removals and collections by utility company personnel in 2003/2004 and 20 ...
... It has been 40 years since the first recorded toxic bloom of Pyrodinium bahamense occurred in Papua New Guinea in 1972. Subsequently this species has increased in importance as a paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin (PSTs) producer in several regions of the world, especially in the Indo-west Pacific. P. bahamense is a thecate tropical/subtropical euryhaline dinoflagellate. Available data indicate t ...
boating; boats; ecosystems; education; image analysis; models; national parks; probability; water management; Florida
Abstract:
... Recreational motor boating in shallow water can damage submerged natural resources through propeller scarring and these impacts represent one of many factors that affect the health of seagrass ecosystems. Understanding the patterns of seagrass scarring and associations with physical and visitor-use factors can assist in development of management plans that seek to minimise resource damage within m ...
Cucurbitaceae; Didymella bryoniae; boscalid; fungi; growers; gummy stem blight; in vitro studies; leaves; pyraclostrobin; triazole fungicides; watermelons; Florida; Georgia; Indiana; North Carolina; South Carolina
Abstract:
... The fungicide Pristine, a commercial mixture of pyraclostrobin and boscalid, has been used widely on watermelon and other cucurbits to control gummy stem blight, caused by the fungus Didymella bryoniae. Since 2007, isolates of D. bryoniae insensitive to boscalid have been found in Georgia, Indiana, and South Carolina. Most isolates of D. bryoniae obtained in 2009 and 2010 from diseased watermelon ...
... The Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) is listed as a species of conservation concern throughout most of its range. Forest conditions that support the imperiled Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) are thought to provide excellent habitat for the nuthatch, but ambiguity exists because the nuthatch has disappeared from some areas where the woodpecker persists. We studied Brown-headed Nuth ...
... Silicon is considered a beneficial nutrient for sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and yield responses to Si applications on Florida organic soils have been well documented. Growers need calibrated Si recommendations to be able to make cost-effective decisions regarding Si applications. The objective of this study was to develop a soil-test Si calibration based on yield responses to Ca silicate on Evergla ...
Pinus elliottii var. densa; cambium; climatic factors; dormancy; earlywood; ecosystems; growing season; latewood; principal component analysis; solar radiation; trees; variance; wood; Florida
Abstract:
... We determined the temporal and seasonal dynamics of intra-annual cell formation of south Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. densa Little & Dor.), the southernmost native pine in the United States and the foundation species of globally endangered pine rockland ecosystems. To assess intra-annual cambial activity and identify possible relationships between cell production and climatic f ...
... Seagrass meadows in Florida Bay and Shark Bay contain substantial stores of both organic carbon and nutrients. Soils from both systems are predominantly calcium carbonate, with an average of 82.1% CaCO3 in Florida Bay compared with 71.3% in Shark Bay. Soils from Shark Bay had, on average, 21% higher organic carbon content and 35% higher phosphorus content than Florida Bay. Further, soils from Shar ...
... Additive genetic Angus–Brahman differences, heterosis effects, and least squares means for six carcass and six meat palatability traits were estimated using data from 1367 steers from the Angus–Brahman multibreed herd of the University of Florida collected from 1989 to 2009. Brahman carcasses had higher dressing percent (P<0.0001), lower marbling (P<0.0001), smaller ribeye area (P<0.0001), and les ...
... With increasing production costs in the southeastern US, cropping systems that improve agronomic and economic sustainability are critical. A sod-based system utilizing a two year rotation of establishing and grazing bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flueggé) followed by a year of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and a year of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was established in Marianna, FL. The effect of gra ...
electric field; lightning; models; seawater; Florida
Abstract:
... We examine initial rising portions of electric field waveforms of negative first return strokes in natural cloud-to-ground lightning recorded simultaneously at near and far distances from the lightning channel. The near and far field-measuring stations are located at Camp Blanding and in Gainesville, Florida, respectively, separated by a distance of about 45km. A total of five return strokes had b ...
... This paper describes the use of ocean color remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite to characterize turbidity in Lake Okeechobee and its primary drainage basins, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries from 2002 to 2010. Drainage modification and agricultural development in southern Florida transport sediments and nutrients f ...
blueberries; crop yield; data collection; field experimentation; leaves; models; multispectral imagery; prediction; principal component analysis; reflectance; regression analysis; wavelengths; Florida
Abstract:
... Blueberry spectral analysis can provide necessary wavelengths, for use in multispectral imaging that could be applied in blueberry yield estimation system. Samples of fruit and leaves were obtained from a commercial blueberry field in Waldo, Florida and an experimental field in Citra, Florida, USA in 2011. Samples were also collected in 2010 in Waldo. Seven representative southern highbush varieti ...
climate; coasts; data collection; geography; risk; temperature; variance; Florida
Abstract:
... Spatial patterns of changes in the probability, or risks, of annual maximum temperatures over Florida during the second half of the 20th century are examined using a high resolution daily maximum temperature dataset of 833 grid cells. An Annual Maximum Series (AMS) coupled with Extreme Value Theory approach is applied to analyze changes in probabilities of annual maximum temperatures with a focus ...
... High mosquito populations have always been a part of Florida’s environment. While mosquito-transmitted diseases have played a major role in Florida’s history, saltmarsh mosquitoes have not been implicated in these disease outbreaks. However, the impact of high saltmarsh mosquito numbers on the well-being of residents and visitors cannot be underestimated. Coastal wetland management efforts in Flor ...
... Since pre-European settlement, major alterations to the native landscape have been made, due largely to urban and agricultural developments. In south Florida, these activities have caused extensive degradation to native plant communities leaving remnant native lands. Therefore, the floristic quality of these native lands is changing, and a tool to assess their quality is needed. Assignment of coef ...
... An informative and accurate vegetation map for the Greater Everglades of South Florida is in an urgent need to assist with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a $10.5-billion mission to restore the south Florida ecosystem in 30+ years. In this study, we examined the capability of fine spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery collected from Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectr ...
Caretta caretta; coasts; data collection; foraging; habitats; nesting sites; philopatry; primary productivity; sea turtles; telemetry; Florida; Gulf of Mexico; Mexico
Abstract:
... Designing conservation strategies that protect wide-ranging marine species is a significant challenge, but integrating regional telemetry datasets and synthesizing modeled movements and behavior offer promise for uncovering distinct at-sea areas that are important habitats for imperiled marine species. Movement paths of 10 satellite-tracked female loggerheads (Caretta caretta) from three separate ...
... Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt on a wide range of plant hosts. Most strains of R. solanacearum are nonpathogenic below 20°C; however, Race 3 Biovar 2 (R3B2) strains are classified as quarantine pathogens because of their ability to infect crops, cause disease, and survive in temperate climates. We have identified race 1 biovar 1 Phylotype IIB Sequevar 4 strains present in Florida whi ...
aquifers; geographic information systems; geography; groundwater; hydraulic conductivity; karsts; land use; models; nitrates; Florida
Abstract:
... The Floridan aquifer system (FAS) is known to be one of the most productive aquifer systems in the USA. With the FAS being a karst aquifer, it presents unique challenges to land use planners because of inherent vulnerabilities to contamination through direct connections between the aquifer and the surface. In this study a new Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -based index, the Karst Aquifer Vul ...
electric field; tropics; Finland; Florida; Malaysia; Sri Lanka; Sweden
Abstract:
... In this paper, the preliminary breakdown (PB) pulse train preceding the negative first return stroke (RS) is recorded using a broad band antenna system. These analyses were carried out in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Florida, United States. This is a novel initiative at examining and identifying the characteristics of the PB pulse trains in the negative cloud-to-ground flashes observed in Malaysia. T ...
Natural Resources Conservation Service; agricultural land; nutrient management; phosphorus; pollution load; water quality; Alabama; Arkansas; Florida; Georgia; North Carolina; South Carolina
Abstract:
... Forty-eight states in the United States use phosphorus (P) indices to meet the requirements of their Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Code 590 Standard, which provides national guidance for nutrient management of agricultural lands. The majority of states developed these indices without consultation or coordination with neighboring states to meet specific local conditions and policy n ...