Science topic

Food Chain - Science topic

The sequence of transfers of matter and energy from organism to organism in the form of food. Food chains intertwine locally into a food web because most organisms consume more than one type of animal or plant. Plants, which convert solar energy to food by photosynthesis, are the primary food source. In a predator chain, a plant-eating animal is eaten by a larger animal. In a parasite chain, a smaller organism consumes part of a larger host and may itself be parasitized by smaller organisms. In a saprophytic chain, microorganisms live on dead organic matter.
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Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline: 31 December 2024
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 30 April 2025
The field of research focuses on the pervasive issue of plastic and microplastic contamination within global food systems. As the global population is projected to reach ten billion by 2050, there is an urgent need to increase food production by 50%, which places immense pressure on existing supply chains. The food industry currently produces vast quantities of protein and vegetables, often packaged in plastic, contributing significantly to global plastic production. Despite its versatility, plastic packaging has led to a substantial waste burden, with less than 10% being recycled globally. This waste transforms into micro and nanoplastics, posing severe risks to human health and the environment, including soil fertility loss and contamination of the food chain. While plastic pollution has been a well-documented environmental concern, its impacts on food systems are still in the early stages of exploration. This special issue aims to address these challenges comprehensively, focusing on sustainable and resilient global food systems through analytical techniques and mitigation strategies. This research topic aims to explore the detection and reduction of plastic and microplastics across the entire food chain, from extraction and production to disposal. The main objectives include assessing the sources and impacts of microplastics in food systems, evaluating the effects of plastic usage in agriculture and aquaculture, and identifying alternatives to agricultural plastics. Additionally, the research seeks to understand the contamination of foods with microplastics, the migration of plastic additives into food, and the socioeconomic dimensions of exposure to microplastics through the food supply chain. By addressing these questions, the research aims to contribute to policy and global sustainable development efforts. To gather further insights into the boundaries of plastic and microplastic contamination in food systems, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: - Microplastic sources in food systems from agriculture and aquaculture - Effects of plastic usage in agricultural production on soil and crops - Plastic usage in aquaculture and its effects on cultivated species and the surrounding environment - Alternatives to agricultural plastics and their potential effects on soil, crops, and human health - Contribution of wastewater sludge to the dispersion and increase of microplastic loadings in agricultural production and marine pollution - Contamination of foods with microplastics and migration of plastic additives into food via plastic packaging - Microplastics in processed and unprocessed foods and their potential impacts on human health - Socioeconomic dimensions of exposure to microplastics through the food supply chain
Keywords: Soil pollution, food safety, agroecosystem, microplastic, food contamination, aquaculture
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
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Fungi.
All of them decompose other dead organisms: "Fungi are important decomposers, especially in forests" ( https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/decomposers/ 19 oct 2023). Decomposing the dead is the literally ultimate form of predation.
"The earliest life forms we know of were microscopic organisms (microbes) that left signals of their presence in rocks about 3.7 billion years old" ( https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/life-science/early-life-earth-animal-origins ).
Microbes are sometimes fungi:
"They(microbes) include bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, some green algae, and viruses" ( https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsmicrobiology ).
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Yes, good point Phil Geis . We still have very little clue as to how life kicked off. A fascinating subject I love talking and thinking about, far more interesting than semantics of predator or parasite terminology.
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  1. Rising Global Temperatures: The challenge of rising global temperatures due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases from human activities is a defining issue of the century. This phenomenon, often referred to as global warming, leads to a cascade of effects such as melting ice caps, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events. It directly impacts ecosystems, communities, and economies worldwide.
  2. Biodiversity Loss: The loss of biodiversity, driven by habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change, is a major challenge. As species struggle to adapt to changing conditions, ecosystems become imbalanced, threatening food chains, natural processes, and the stability of ecosystems that humanity relies upon.
  3. Extreme Weather Events: More frequent and severe hurricanes, droughts, floods, and wildfires are becoming increasingly common due to climate change. These events cause widespread devastation, displacement of communities, economic disruptions, and loss of life.
  4. Ocean Acidification and Coral Bleaching: The increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere not only warms the planet but also leads to ocean acidification. This affects marine life, particularly coral reefs. Coral bleaching, caused by warming ocean temperatures, disrupts marine ecosystems and livelihoods dependent on them.
  5. Disruption of Water Resources: Climate change alters precipitation patterns, leading to water scarcity in some regions and more intense rainfall in others. This disruption impacts agriculture, water supply, and sanitation, exacerbating challenges for communities already vulnerable to water stress.
  6. Climate Migration and Refugees: Rising sea levels, extreme weather, and resource scarcity can force populations to migrate or become displaced, potentially leading to social, political, and economic conflicts as well as humanitarian crises.
  7. Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality: Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is a monumental challenge. Achieving global carbon neutrality requires systemic changes in energy production, consumption patterns, and technological innovation.
  8. International Collaboration and Policy: The challenge of fostering international cooperation and agreement to address climate change is crucial. Climate issues cross national boundaries, necessitating cohesive global efforts and policies.
  9. Equity and Climate Justice: The impacts of climate change disproportionately affect vulnerable communities and low-income countries. Achieving climate justice and ensuring that the burden and benefits of mitigation and adaptation are equitably distributed is a significant challenge.
  10. Communication and Public Awareness: Effective communication about the urgency and complexity of climate change is a challenge. Ensuring that the public is informed and engaged is vital to garner support for policy changes and individual actions.
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On Climate Models: From General Circulation Models (GCMs) and Earth System Models (ESMs). General Circulation Models (GCMs)which are the core of weather forecasting Models appeared in the 1960s with the pioneer's work of Manabe (2021 Nobel Prize in Physics). A fundamental point is that is difficult to speak about GCMs and even less of Climate Models without a minimum review starting from Atmosphere Dynamics Models genesis in the 1960s to the actual Earth System Models (ESMs) that participated in the last "CMIP6". These represent the State-of-art of universal knowledge about Climate and its modeling. The results published in 2021 covers 80 ESMs from as many research teams throughout the world. Nowadays, Climate Science and Modelling have attained an international critic-mass never reached in any other domain.
ESMs include a number of components that try to describe the evolution of intercoupled phenomena that govern Climate Phenomena. To understand how this works, one has to know about the progress achieved and still-opened questions related to Climate Models. Mathematically the resolution of the dynamic and the transport equations of physical quantities on more or less important scales provide accurate predetermination in a relatively short time. This is what meteorologists do to deliver us every day their newsletter. This is what the same meteorologists are trying to do with scientists from all sides to build climate models in the long term, sure inaccurate today, exactly as was the 1960s weather model of Manabe, Nobel Prize in Physics 2021, the pioneer of general circulation modeling. The very first general circulation models were based on atmosphere-only physical models (Manabe et al., 1965, Nobel Prize in Physics, 2021), which were quickly improved to take into account the hydrologic cycle and its role in the general circulation of the atmosphere (Smagorinsky et al. 1965). From there, climate modeling has made considerable progress by gradually integrating the many positive or negative feedback processes that occur at different scales between the different components of the system: ocean circulation (Manabe and Bryan, 1969), land hydrological processes (Sellers et al., 1986), sea ice dynamics (Meehl and Washington, 1995), and aerosols (Takemura et al., 2000), biophysical and biogeochemical processes (Cox et al., 2000). Models with these latter components are often called Earth System Models (ESMs) and more recent such models include land and ocean carbon cycle, atmospheric chemistry, dynamic vegetation, and other biogeochemical cycles (Watanabe et al., 2011, Collins et al., 2011). It should be noted that as a whole and for the same reasons, the horns of ESMs, which are based on physical formulations similar to those employed in general circulation models applied in meteorology, have not evolved much, except for the increase in the resolution of the calculations made possible thanks to the increase in the computing capacity or their capacity to assimilate increasingly abundant and precise data; in particular global satellite data, which complements and connects measurements on the ground or at low altitude.
Manabe, S., Smagorinsky, J., & Strickler, R. F. (1965). Simulated climatology of a general circulation model with a hydrologic cycle. Monthly Weather Review, 93(12), 769-798.
Smagorinsky, S. Manabe, and J. L. Holloway, “Numericd Results From a Nine-Level General Circulation Model of the Atmosphere,” Monthly Weather Review, vol. 93, No. 12, Dec. 1965, pp. 727-768.
Manabe, S., & Bryan, K. (1969). Climate calculations with a combined ocean-atmosphere model. J. Atmos. Sci, 26(4), 786-789.
Sellers, P. J., Mintz, Y. C. S. Y., Sud, Y. E. A., & Dalcher, A. (1986). A simple biosphere model (SiB) for use within general circulation models. Journal of the atmospheric sciences, 43(6), 505-531.
Meehl, G. A., & Washington, W. M. (1995). Cloud albedo feedback and the super greenhouse effect in a global coupled GCM. Climate dynamics, 11(7), 399-411.
Takemura, T., Okamoto, H., Maruyama, Y., Numaguti, A., Higurashi, A., & Nakajima, T. (2000). Global three‐dimensional simulation of aerosol optical thickness distribution of various origins. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 105(D14), 17853-17873.
Cox, P. M., Betts, R. A., Jones, C. D., Spall, S. A., & Totterdell, I. J. (2000). Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model. Nature, 408(6809), 184-187.
Watanabe, S., Hajima, T., Sudo, K., Nagashima, T., Takemura, T., Okajima, H., ... & Kawamiya, M. (2011). MIROC-ESM 2010: Model description and basic results of CMIP5-20c3m experiments. Geoscientific Model Development, 4(4), 845-872.
Collins, W. J., Bellouin, N., Doutriaux-Boucher, M., Gedney, N., Halloran, P., Hinton, T., ... & Woodward, S. (2011). Development and evaluation of an Earth-System model–HadGEM2. Geoscientific Model Development, 4(4), 1051-1075.
See Also:
Besbes, M., & Chahed, J. (2023). Predictability of water resources with global climate models. Case of Northern Tunisia. Comptes Rendus. Géoscience, 355(S1), 1-22. Available on:
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The question asks about the potential factors of how GMOs affect the food chain and the natural balance of evolution and how can we mitigate these risks?
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Talking about the harmful effects of GMOs in general is a significant simplification. A recent evaluation of plant genomes has shown that 7% of them are naturally modified organisms with agrobacterial plasmids (see https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tatiana-Matveeva-3/research ).
I participated in the work on safety assessment of genetically modified plants in 1998-2004. Suggested (often imaginary) steps of Greenpeace and other GMO-protestors in the risk recognition were an important motive for choosing them for evaluation without their real value.
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The long-term costs of plastic pollution in Nigeria include the potential for toxic chemicals to enter the food chain. Plastic waste can break down into microplastics, which can absorb and accumulate harmful chemicals and be ingested by marine life. This can lead to the bioaccumulation of toxins in the food chain, posing a risk to both wildlife and human health. Addressing this issue requires improved waste management practices, increased public awareness, and the development of sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. Failure to address the long-term costs of plastic pollution in Nigeria could have significant implications for public health and the environment.
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Estimating the long-term costs of plastic pollution, including the potential for toxic chemicals to enter the food chain, in Nigeria requires a comprehensive approach that considers multiple factors. Here are some steps that could be taken:
  1. Conduct research on the types and amounts of plastic waste being generated and disposed of in Nigeria, and their impacts on the environment and human health.
  2. Investigate the chemical composition of plastic waste in Nigeria, including the presence of toxic chemicals and their potential for leaching into the environment and food chain.
  3. Assess the health impacts of plastic pollution, including the potential for chronic diseases such as cancer, respiratory illnesses, and reproductive problems.
  4. Evaluate the economic costs of plastic pollution, including the costs of cleanup, healthcare, and lost productivity.
  5. Analyze the impact of plastic pollution on ecosystem services, such as the provision of clean water and air, and the contribution of natural resources to economic development.
  6. Develop strategies for reducing plastic pollution and mitigating its impacts on human health and the environment, such as improving waste management practices, promoting recycling, and implementing regulations on the use and disposal of plastics.
By taking these steps, we can begin to understand the long-term costs of plastic pollution in Nigeria, and develop effective strategies for preventing and addressing this critical issue
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The environmental cost of plastic pollution refers to the negative impact that plastic waste has on the natural environment, including both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. This impact can take many forms, such as entanglement of wildlife, ingestion of plastic by animals, and disruption of food webs. Plastic waste can also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, as well as soil and water pollution. The long-term effects of plastic pollution on the environment are still largely unknown, but they could have far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and human health. Addressing the environmental cost of plastic pollution requires a comprehensive approach, including reducing the use of single-use plastics, promoting recycling and waste reduction, and implementing policies to hold companies accountable for their environmental impact.
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The responsibility for the environmental costs of plastic pollution can be shared among multiple actors, including individuals, businesses, and governments.
Individuals:
Individuals are responsible for their plastic consumption and disposal practices. They can reduce their plastic footprint by using reusable bags, bottles, and containers, avoiding single-use plastics, and properly disposing of plastic waste.
Businesses:
Businesses play a significant role in plastic pollution by producing and packaging goods in plastic materials. They can reduce their plastic footprint by using sustainable alternatives to plastic, implementing circular economy models, and promoting responsible waste management practices.
Governments:
Governments can take regulatory action to address plastic pollution, such as implementing bans or taxes on single-use plastics, investing in waste management infrastructure, and promoting sustainable production and consumption practices.
Ultimately, addressing plastic pollution requires collective action from all stakeholders. It is crucial to raise awareness about the issue and encourage individuals, businesses, and governments to take responsibility and work together towards reducing plastic pollution's environmental costs.
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Dear colleagues
I am writing because I wonder which method to use to study the impact of cormorants guano on soil animal food webs. I want to get to know which animal feed on guano. Firstly, I thought to use carbon and nitrogen isotopes, but I heard about fatty acids.
Which method will be best for this study?
Best regards
Mateusz Oszust
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Both carbon and nitrogen isotopes and fatty acid analysis can be useful methods for studying food webs in soil biota in cormorant colonies. Here are some considerations for each method:
Carbon and nitrogen isotopes:
  • Carbon and nitrogen isotopes can be used to track the flow of nutrients through food webs.
  • This method involves analyzing the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the tissues of organisms to determine their position in the food chain.
  • This approach can help identify which organisms are consuming guano and how guano-derived nutrients are being incorporated into the soil food web.
  • However, the interpretation of stable isotope data can be complex and requires careful consideration of factors such as trophic fractionation and baseline values.
Fatty acid analysis:
  • Fatty acid analysis can be used to identify specific food sources for soil biota.
  • This method involves analyzing the fatty acid profiles of organisms to determine the sources of their food.
  • This approach can help identify which organisms are consuming guano and the extent to which guano-derived nutrients are being incorporated into the soil food web.
  • However, the interpretation of fatty acid data can also be complex and requires careful consideration of factors such as diet variability and the influence of environmental factors.
Both of these methods can provide valuable insights into the food webs of soil biota in cormorant colonies. Ultimately, the choice of method may depend on factors such as the specific research questions, the availability of resources and expertise, and the specific characteristics of the soil biota community being studied.
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The Global AI in the Supply chain market reached USD 5,610.8 Million in 2021a across the globe. Increasing attention to artificial intelligence, large statistics, and analytics, and a widening scope are all driving AI growth in the supply chain market globally. Every autonomous and semi-autonomous program implements computer vision. There are several players operating in the global AI in the supply chain market, including FedEx, McLane Company, DHL, Amazon, CSX, XPO Logistics, C.H, and others. The machine learning segment accounted for the largest share of the global AI in the supply chain market.
I tried to find these answers through my research article.
  • Importance of AI and how will impact in Supply chain in the mid-and long-term?
  • What are the ubiquitous movements in AI in the Supply chain?
  • What are the key strategies adopted by leading companies in the AI in Supply chain logistics?
  • How the implementation of AI can make the Supply chain more efficient?
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What is the function of food webs in river ecosystems
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A food web demonstrates the interconnectedness of many food networks. A food web demonstrates how all of the organisms in an ecosystem cooperate to maintain the environment's health.
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I'm doing stable isotope analysis to construct a reservoir food web. For that, I need to collect zooplankton and phytoplankton separately. The use of different mesh sizes solved the problem to some extent but can't obtain pure samples. Are there any methods other than that?
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After segregating through separate mesh sized nets, staining methods can distinguish between both types of phytoplankton
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What problems will arise if there is either an increase or decrease in the number of any component in a food chain or a food web?
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Imbalance the ecosystem.... causes deleterious effect on survival of every living things.
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Co-contamination of fluoride- arsenic , arsenic-lead are prevalent due to geo-genic issues. Sometimes they are also associated with high iron content in ground water. Is co-contamination behave differently in the food cycle in comparison to single contamination?
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geogenic causes are the main cause of those contaminations in the groundwater. the sources of fluoride and arsenic are depends slightly on each other. generally, arsenic contamination depends on iron and manganese. the origin of arsenic and lead in groundwater is different. the health impacts of those individual metals are also different.
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Today there is no an alternative to the concept of sustainable development. Co-evolutionary paradigm is a theoretical and methodological basis for sustainable development of the “biosphere – society” system that is possible through creating the biosphere reserves, ecological network, reserve management, and use of renewable resources (solar, wind, wave, geothermal). Establishing an ecological network actually improves the condition biogeocenosis of Ukraine due to: stabilization of the hydrological regime (protection of surface and groundwater), stop of erosion, improvement of soil, conservation of renewable resources, maintenance of the balance in the natural processes, support of the natural migration of species and biota, reduction in pollution of the environment. However, we can expect positive changes in social and economic plan: historic preservation and development of environmentally friendly forms of farming (apiculture, fish farming, organic animal husbandry, and horticulture), optimization of the use of different areas and their spatial location in the environmental context, creation of comfortable for health living conditions.
What is advisable to do ? It is important for society to have time to realize that the reduction of the natural landscape and biological diversity to buffer threshold value eliminates the stability of the environment that can be restored only through the creation of sewage treatment plants, low-waste production or organic farming.
Аccording to the analysis of literary sources the Fibonacci numbers and the regularity called «golden average»/«golden section» were analyzed. Сybernetic principle of ecosystems genetic memory as biotic diversity was characterized. The combination of the gene pool of biodiversity within the biosphere should be interpreted advisable as a regulatory mechanism for maintaining homeostasis of this mega ecosystem. The first time the possibility of transition to sustainable (balanced) development of «biosphere – society» system based on the principles of the «golden section» was researched, which provides for mandatory the ratio between cultural and natural landscapes at 62% and 38% respectively. It means that biosphere reserves of biological and landscape diversity (resuscitation area of the biosphere) should be created on 38% of the territory of the planet), and other 62% should be occupied by artificial agro and urboecosystems with balanced nature usage.
It is advisable to stick to the concept of natural «golden section», which mandates the relationship between cultural and natural landscapes of the planet at 62 % and 38 % respectively. Humanity must go to the autotrophy. Today it is growing the adapted to adverse environmental conditions plants and receiving high-calorie, high- protein foods. The most important fact is that a human is destined to go down the food chain including the consumption of soy protein rather than to lose 90 % of the energy of food to feed the animals.
It is expedient for humanity (only intelligent sapiens) to listen to the wisdom of nature ("Nature knows best") and move to a balanced use of nature on the basis of coevolutionary symbiotic coexistence of the "society-biosphere" system, where the biosphere is the master and man is the symbiotic consumer. We consider the coevolutionary paradigm as a theoretical and methodological substantiation of the possibility of sustainable development
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Rudyshyn Sergii D. Enviromental Demention of Sustainable Development of “BiospereSociety” System: Discourse “Golden Section”. Екологічний вимір сталого розвитку системи “біосфера-суспільство”: дискурс “золотий перетин” . Сталий розвиток — ХХІ століття. Дискусії 2021: матеріали VII Міжнародної науковопрактичної конференції / Національний університет “Києво-Могилянська академія” / за ред. проф. Хлобистова Є.В. Київ, 2021.С.140-147. Електронне видання. ISBN: 978-617-7668-33-5. URL : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yuri-Kindzerski/publication/357680371_Sustainable_development_-_XXI_century_Discussions_2021_in_Ukrainian/links/61d9e68cb8305f7c4b2ee617/Sustainable-development-XXI-century-Discussions-2021-in-Ukrainian.pdf
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So far, most of methods about inferring the trophic or ecological interactions take account of the circumstance of aquatic ecosystem. Many methods have emerged, such as the method based on body size (Gravel and Poisot et al., 2013) and the method based on published data (Gray and Figueroa et al., 2015). However, these methods have many limitations when applied to terrestrial ecosystems. Are there any generic methods to infer the trophic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems?
Any helpful answers would be appreciated!
Best wishes.
Reference
Gray, C. and D. H. Figueroa, et al. (2015). "Joining the dots: An automated method for constructing food webs from compendia of published interactions." Food Webs 5: 11-20.
Gravel, D. and T. Poisot, et al. (2013). "Inferring food web structure from predator-prey body size relationships." Methods in Ecology and Evolution 4 (11): 1083-1090.
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Hi Xiyang Hao , kindly check whether the below link is helpful for you.
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I have read many papers for this subject. However, many startups are proposing new DLTs for this aiam. Many are based on Ethereum ecossystem, but other ones can be proposed using Cardano, NEO, etc. There is also other DLTs not based on blockchains, for example IOTA. So, what are the best DLTs to develop a new research on fresh food chain with IoT and AI, for instance?
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does any pesticide have been reported to be biomagnified through the food chain or they are more specific to bio-conversation, can it be interlinked, correlated, or have any factors of conversion for different pesticides with species specificity?
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Dear Sharada Shrinivas Pati this is a very good and important technical question, as the bio-magnification or bioaccumulation of pesticides is a growing threat these days. Please note that the first answer has just been copied and pasted from the respective Wikipedia entry on "Biomagnification" at
For more information about this issue please have a look at the following potentially useful article:
Bioconcentration, Bioaccumulation, and Metabolism of Pesticides in Aquatic Organisms
This paper has been posted by the author as public full text on RG, so it can bee freely downloaded as pdf file. The following book chapter has also been posted on RG but not as public full text:
Bioaccumulation of Pesticides and Its Impact on Biological Systems
Perhaps you can access this article through your institution. Alternatively you can request the full text directly from the authors via RG.
The following article published in 2019 highlights the biomagnification of chlorinated pesticides:
BIO MAGNIFICATION OF ORGANOCHLORINE INSECTICIDES IN ARABIAN SEA
You can also search the "Publications" section of RG for the term "biomagnification of pesticides" to find and access other helpful references on this topic:
I hope this helps. Good luck with your research and best wishes, Frank Edelmann
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Is it possible to find studies about palm oil in the beginning of the value chain where post harvest losses are evaluated, especially in big production countries Indonesia and Malaysia? Post-harvest food loss here refers to a decrease in quantity and/ or quality of food mass on the supply side of the food chain
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More than one-third of all the food produced globally intended for human consumption is lost from the point of harvest. One way to contribute to meeting the future global demand for food, and more generally raw materials, is by reducing losses through efficient management of upstream agricultural value chains. Kindly check the following link:
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I need the info to draw a food chain, but didn't get any relevant literature.
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Population growth is a very important parameter in ecological research and laboratory modeling. Even if you find the optimum conditions and nutrition media for an unidentified nematode species, the rate of growth (in pertdishes) is so variable, that you cannot construct the working prediction model. Now I work with nematodes, panagrolaims and didlogastrids from bark of deciduous trees, and I define the single generation cycle time and a fecundity rate (egg laying) per female. However, the futher calculations do not correspond the values which I obtained for the populations as a whole, in the same petridishes. Therefore it is not easy to use the formula for the real ecological processes in the detritus food web. Do you know some publications with right approach to obtain the population growth formula?
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Here is my and my PhD student attempt to solve this controversion between individual and population development values:
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Could there have been some subtle underlying, seemingly unidentifiable cause of death that combined with the closely related catastrophes (eg asteroid impact hypothesis and/or disruption in animal food chain), these got me thinking because discerning virus effects in geological past is not a common practice in geology as far as I can relate, but I am open to insights from experts in this regard. Thank you
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2. Later it turned out that such anomalies exist at the boundary of the Eocene-Oligocene, Permian-Triassic, at the boundary of the Famen-Fran in the Late Devonian and early Phanerozoic. All this indicates that the penetration of cosmic bodies into the Earth's atmosphere in the geological past was not a rare event, but probably occurred with a certain frequency and it is usually associated with the vast majority of large extinctions.
The fall of a large cosmic body should leave traces on the earth's surface in the form of an impact crater. It is established that the oldest of the known craters is located in South Africa. It has a diameter of about 140 km and formed about 2 billion. years ago. Sudbury Crater in Canada was 1.84 ± 0.15 billion. years ago. The vast majority of known impact craters are less than 300 million years old. 65 million years ago, on the border of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, Karsky, Ust-Karsky, Kamensky and Gusevsky (the last two are located on the Black Sea coast) craters with a diameter of 3 to 25 km appeared. The most likely candidate for large craters formed on the Paleogene Cretaceous is now the Chixulub Crater (Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico). Its age exactly corresponds to this boundary, and numerous features - specific minerals and rocks, geochemical anomalies, etc. - confirm the cosmic origin. In addition, among the rocks in which this crater is located, there are sulfates, which could be the cause of the entry into the atmosphere of a significant amount of sulfur dioxide, which is harmful to living organisms. Data were also obtained on the close, if not identical, age of another large crater - Karsky on Pai-Hoi. There is evidence of the existence of such a crater in the Pacific Ocean. It is assumed that the largest crater from the collapsed asteroid is at the bottom of the Barents Sea. There are other views on the problem of extinction.
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Good Morning everyone,
We have conducted studies with microplastic (MP) contamination in different food web levels in an estuary. Now we would like to analyse which heavy metal and POPs which were adsorbed by
MP. In addition, we would like also to analyse the MP in relation to their chemical components. In this way, I ask you, if you know a laboratory which has an interest in realising these analyses.
Thank you very much for your attention,
With my very best regards,
Mario Barletta
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Obrigado Marcelo!
Abraços
Mario
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Pesticide residue refers to the pesticides that may remain on or in food after they are applied to food crops. Many of these chemical residues, especially derivatives of chlorinated pesticides or organophosphate pesticides exhibit bio-accumulation which could build up to harmful levels in the body as well as in the environment.Persistent chemicals can be magnified through the food chain and have been detected in products ranging from meat, and fish, to rice, cereals, nuts, and various fruits and vegetables.
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The pesticides like glyphosate , paraquat , carbofuran, deltamethrin , DDT and endosulfan cause kidney injury.
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In the European Union (EU), before any PPP can be placed on the market or used, it must be Authorised in the EU country concerned. It means that each Member State can decide if Authorise the PPP: https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/authorisation_of_ppp_en
While, the active component against pests/plant diseases, contained in the PPP, that is called
“active substance”, have to be Approved or non-Approved at European level of the Standing Committee for Food Chain and Animal Health: https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/approval_active_substances_en
Therefore, there are two level: 1) European level for the active substances; 2) Member State level for the PPPs.
Question for discussion:
1) How is the procedure in your country: one or more levels? Please, give explanation and references.
2) Do you think that only one central procedure can ensure to speed up and harmonize the decisions? Please, give pros & cons.
3) Do you think that each country should have a legislation more harmonized for pesticide (and food/feed residues) with the Codex Alimentarius? Please, give pros & cons.
Thanks.
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Thanks. It is nice to read you after long time.
The Regulation 1107/2009 has been an effort to harmonize the system among all the countries of the European Union.
However, some grey zones still remain and I have tried to highlight them in the three questions for discussion.
For example, it is true that each MS has its peculiarities and different agricultures; however, it is also true that INSIDE each MS, there are peculiarities and a different agriculture and this is not an obstacle to have a unique national level. For example, in Spain there is only a national authorization and not several Autonomous communities authorizations, although they have very different climatic and agricultural condition (e.g. Galicia and Andalusia).
This means that it would be possible manage all the peculiarities and different agricultures at higher levels, with better harmonization and faster procedures.
Other question is the full harmonization of pesticide (and food/feed residues), for example with the Codex Alimentarius or other approaches, avoiding trade disputes.
There are rooms for many discussions, as also Jacques Drolet pointed out.
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It has been reported that climate change has drifted from its norm in an unprecedented manner since the 1950s. What is the effect of such a climate change on global water resources and world's agriculture? How does this relate to the Malthusian Theory of Population?
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له تأثير كبير وبالأخص في موسم الجفاف .
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It is known that prey birds have frontal vision (attack) whereas pigeons have lateral vision (defense). Do we have other principles observed among animals, mammals, insects, etc?
Keywords: biology, visual perception, food chain, survival instinct
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The human vision is particular and I don't think can be compared with other animal race vision. It's a "straight" binocular vision of maximum 220° divided in 4 areas: foveal area, attentive watch area, induced vision area and lateral vision.
As far as you move from the foveal area, the objects perceived will become more grey going slowly to the dark and from distinctive image to totally blurred image.
The attentive watch area, the induced vision area and the lateral vision compose the peripheral vision.
The leading part of the peripheral vision is to detect visual "mass" and to transmit a message to the foveal vision area saying "Hey! Look! There is "something" to see here!".
The leading part of the foveal vision is to catch is "to call" your eyes and your head to turn where the peripheral vision has detected the visual "mass" and to transmit the different "signs" of the perceived image (color, features, shapes, ...) an electric signal through the optic nerve in the to the sensorial memory who will analyze the semiological data and "preselect" the research elements needed by the working memory.
The human eye does not analyze anything, it only transmits the visual information.
Here are 2 links (sorry in French) that explain what I am talking about.
As urban ethologist, I use many times these visual scales in public spaces audits to help architects in terms of use of semiological elements that correspond to the human hierarchy of ocular capture especially in areas like airports, railways stations, commercial malls, etc.
I hope my definition is understandable and not too much scientific.
Wishing you a nice reading.
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Several methods are available such as phytoremediation, washing, eletrokinetic treatment, and vitrification etc. So, which technique is more feasible and effective?
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I think phytoremediation is the most feasible method for removal of heavy metals from contaminated soil.
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The US military has extensive experience in operating bases around the world, including in Europe. As military personnel have been exposed to environmental toxins, a body of knowledge on various diseases has been accumulated. https://www.hillandponton.com/ultrafine-particle-exposure-and-your-va-disability-claim/ and other diseases found at Ultra-fine particles are found in jet fuels and in auto exhaust as well as in volcanic particulate as found in Catania, Sicily. All of these cause NCD harm to the body. The allowable levels of glyphosate in food or the use of GMO laden soybeans for animal feed also allow for toxins to enter the food chain. Looking at epidemiology studies from other countries will give insight for example on the rate of brain pathologies in children (autism rates) with a 0.98 correlation to tons of glyhphosate applied in the US. Glyphosate residue on US grains is found at 2000 parts per billion in US ready-to-eat cereals and rolled oats. Glyphosate damages gut bacteria, kidney, liver, and cardiovascular system and compromises the immune system allowing for NCDs.
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Wii start looking at
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Hi food web colleagues, diet experts...etc
Our last project started from the crazy idea to build a comprehensive benthic topology food web for the whole North Sea. It quickly seemed impractical for only a few human-beings as we lack data for most non-commercial species. It took almost two years to focus on 152 species, project that got reduced to 50 or so species for practicality.
We still want to go for it but I think we need to find the right people who might have the diet data we need or know where to find them (in situ, lab feeding experiments, published or unpublished data, or inference from other species).
Do you have diet information on species in the North Sea? Know someone who does? We could start from there.
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Hi Pierre!
How it's been since Villefranche?
I do not know if you plan to include zooplankton in there but i've got that paper from the english channel (but i think it is fairly applicable to north sea at least in the great lines):
(i'm sorry for the colors they are ugly but i was begining with R graphics!)
If you want to go further you can look at the references cited in there or you can contact me i should be able to point you to the main references on zooplankton feeding ecology in the north sea
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Hi,
I am moving from analyzing food web network to bipartite network and I was wondering if anyone knew where to start? What books/articles I must read?
I am especially interested in the metrics I could use (modularity among others). Have an overview of those metrics...etc
I screened through the 'bipartite' package in R.
Thanks in advance,
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In our recent published book you can find some good chapters related to this topic. Please check it out:
Dáttilo, W. and Rico-Gray, V. (Eds.) (2018). Ecological Networks in the Tropics: An Integrative Overview of Species Interactions from Some of the Most Species-Rich Habitats on Earth. ISBN: 978-3-319-68227-3. Springer. 201p.
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Emerging contaminants affect the food chain in long term process. I am looking for material related to this topic????
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My current research is actually related to the effect of REE as emerging contaminants on fermented milk products. I guess your field of study more related to organic emerging contaminants.
Good luck with you research.
Thank you for your
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In the modern phylogenies of the Nematoda phylum based of combination of molecular and morphological characters, the parasites mostly situated in the advanced (terminal) clades in lines where the basal clades are bacteriophages or fungivores involved in the detritus food web. If it is a general way of evolution, what can be the cause and survival profit to change the detritus food web for the parasitic habits, with sometimes so complicated life cycles of parasites?
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Thank you, Olivera, interesting.
-Alexander
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Manufacturing became one of the major sources for earning foreign currency. But it pollute the environment in various ways. Water pollution is a great problem, as industries throw chemical wastes into the water bodies. As a result the DO of surface waters decreasing at alarming rate, that finally threats the aquatic plants and animals. It also had negative impacts on human lifestyles, e.g. fishermen became bound to change their profession. It also have adverse impacts on the food chains. What can be done to reduce this sort of water pollution?
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Industrial pollution of surface water can be controlled at the source.
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What are the effects of transgenic DNA in the soil food web? What consequences, if any will these have on soil health?
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Risks are associated with the impact on non-target organisms of the technologies. Studies related to this topic have shown that there is no adverse effect due to the implementation of GMOs on soil arthropod populations. To analyze the possible effects of the release of GMOs in our agricultural systems, we must put them in context in relation to the impact that are generating the technologies that can be substituted by the implementation of GMOs.
The implementation of any technology involves the assessment of risks and the implementation of tactics to mitigate the possible risk.
 
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Ever increasing population, urbanization and modernization are posing problems of sewage disposal and contamination of surface waters like lakes. Species and habitat dynamics in the face of climate change are complex and have many aspects. Increased temperatures and CO2 concentrations will have an effect on different processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition and generally speed up these processes. Climate-induced changes in ice cover period, thermal stratification and nutrient availability and longer growing seasons affect species composition and food web structures.
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"What methods of analysis can I use for water quality assessments?"
Basically there are Biological, Physical and Chemical parameters to asses water quality.
Best thing to new starter is to refer USEPA or your county effluent discharge standards.
In case you want to analyze the impacts due to polluted water etc., there are impact assessment methods such as ISO.
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I need the values to explain the wetability properties.
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I think you shlohd do Atomic Force Microscopy technique.
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Please see my project details for more information.
Thank you kindly for your interest.
Renier P. du Plessis
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I am interested so invite me. I am a palynologist
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Hello evryone!!
I'm a PhD student and I work on planktonic food webs functioning.
So from my data, i should seperate autotrophic planktonic cells from hetrotrophic cells because i work on the grazing activity of microzooplankton on phytoplankton...one of my species called Prorocentrum which is a Dinoflagellate. in Some articles i found that it is an autotrophic dinoflgellate some others said that it is mixotrophic organisms..May you help me to take decision if i should considerate it as autotrophic (so as a prey) or hetrotrophic one (so as a grazer)....
Thank you for advance!!
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Hello, Prorocentrums is fed autotrophic or if there are enough organic substances and a mixotrophic. Depends on the amount of organic matter in your expirement.
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A few months ago I saw an article which described a game to play with students to illustrate bioaccumulation in the aquatic food chain using pennies. Could someone please provide me with the reference?
Thanks,
Jena
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Wow, this first one is great. I hadn't seen it. I will certainly use it with upper grades but the one I saw was more simple, like the second one suggested here, but with pennies. I was hoping to use it with indigenous fishing communities in the Amazon. ~Thanks
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I asked about WHO standards of heavy metals concentration in Marshes water and their accumulated concentration in fishes tissues and consequently impact on human health through food chain .
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Thank you Mr. Maurice Ekpenyong and Mr. agoPankaj Kumar for your help in sending important articles
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We are traing to oarganize a big project on the Mediterranean food Chain, grains!
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I am now trying to develop a project on Frumento-Grano CAMChainç:
Prossima fermata per MedCybus il futuro, anzi i futuri! È la prospettiva strategica di abbracciare il mondo dell’agroalimentare mediterraneo nel dedicarlo alle attese del domani, e a come possiamo prevederlo, comprenderlo, immaginarlo fin da ora. Ne nasce, con il progetto GranoCAMChain, un’affascinante e ottimistica fuga in aventi, dove la tradizione e la sapienza della CAM possono andare d’accordo con la conoscenza scientifico-tecnologica, anche a livello biomolecolare, per gli alimenti mediterranei. Non è fantascienza, immaginata da esperti terapeutici e biotecnologici, ed è un altro domani, narrato in modalità di storytelling per contrastare i rischi eccessivi per l’Homo edens nel fare affidamento acritico sullo sviluppo tecnologico, guidato dal profitto. Le immagini del progetto GranoCAMChain illustrano gli obiettivi dedicati al futuro degli alimenti mediterranei e presentano un comune denominatore. Sono opera dell’arte serbata nella CAM, realizzate dal combinato concorso col la conoscenza scientifico-tecnologica.
As usual your competence will be very valuable!
Tisalutoped'ìficu!
Nicola
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I wonder how much calories can be produced for humans in a year, as beef and dairy products, out of 1 hectare farm of alfalfa?
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Consequent to some food-borne incidents in recent years, there have been significant increase in public health concern and decrease in consumer confidence. Despite significant advances in detection tools, regulations, monitoring and consumer education on food safety, reports of food borne illness outbreaks continue to increase. Within the supply chain which is increasingly becoming more complex in the globalized market, adulteration (unintentional or intentional) is the key food safety issue. Increase in imports of food/processed food items due to cost concerns, availability and consumer demand for diverse food products also provide chances for food contamination/adulteration. Regulatory bodies are comforting with major food safety issues including changes in our food production and supply, environmental changes leading to food contamination, new and emerging bacteria, toxins, and antibiotic resistance and consumer preferences and habits leading to increase in imported foods. At this juncture, what should be the effective strategies to address the emerging challenges to provide safe, healthy, nutritious and sustainable produced food to the world's population?
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I agree with dear Dr Debra Sharon Ferdinand-James
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We, in Algeria, are actively searching partners from Europeans countries in order to submit a proposal in animal or food field:
Topics:
2.2 Preventing emergence of animal and plant pests and diseases. 3.2 Food safety and quality in local food chains
Deadline is close, if we can't this year, we should be ready for the next cal!
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Dear Colleagues,
I am a researcher in CNR (National Research Council, in Rome; alessandra.ricelli@cnr.it). My field of research deals with mycotoxin prevention (in particular ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1 and patulin) in different kinds of food commodities (mainly dry and fresh fruits, cereals). We can discuss and exchange on the subject for next call.
best regards
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I am modeling the radionuclide transfer of radio nuclides to food chain and have failed to calculate the activity dN/dt directly since a sample contains many radioisotopes.
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You are modeling. If you are modeling by activity, dA/dt, then dN/dt is directly related for each radionuclide. Give an example of your problem using two isotopes.
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Working on a manuscript looking at the effects of irrigation diversion points on fishes in small streams. Particularly the effects on fish abundance, biomass, diversity, community food-chain length, and carbon isotope range.
Wondering which journal would be best-suited for submitting this article to. Or any upcoming "special issues" that might be suitable? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Ecohydrology
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I am aware of some work on the affects of anthelmintics on the fauna feeding on dung but was keen to find if wider work has been done on their effects on wider range of pasture insects and the consequence effects on species that feed on them in particular birds. Changes in land use are and to some extent predation are cited as causes of decline of some species of farmland bird, however for some the impact of veterinary medicines on food chains is also a possible contributor and I am keen to find out who and where such wok may have been carried out. Any thoughts welcome.
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Herbal remedies are the current focus of most livestock researches. indigenous knowledge on plants are being backed up with scientific evidences to provide ideal solutions for safe animal production
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Top-down controls are used to describe effects of consumers on primary production while bottom-up is the effect of the producers on their consumers. However, what if they are both affected at the same time? Do we still consider from both sides or is there another better method of properly analysing the effect on the particular food chain?  
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products amount
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I am working on food web stoichiometry and I'm looking for a literature on constrains that may be posed on the bees' development because of N and P scarcity in pollen. Herbivores in general are N and P limited. Is this also true for pollen eaters (pollen is a concentrated sustenance, rich in nutrients)?
Thanks in advance!
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Quite often in environmental-economic literature (e.g. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) welfare theory is used to calculate the supply of "ecosystem services" in "natural capital accounting" (NCA)? 
I am interested in literature which views ecosystems in different ways, especially from a "network" perspective. For example, a food web or food chain seem to me to have network structures. Do you have any suggestions about the most important references in this field? 
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A recent review of ecological networks (Tylianakis and Morris 2017) may provide some information and references. It is focused more on network structure but it does bring up food webs and how structure and ecosystem functioning are related.
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Hello all,
Does anyone know of research indicating that large-polyp stony corals (e.g. Tubastraea coccinea) prey on ichthyoplankton? I am aware that there are several studies that indicate that they can prey on copepods and crustacean nauplius. Generally, I am considering if reefs dominated by predatory corals are more hazardous to settling fish larva than reefs dominated by primary consumer bivalves. I have evidence indicating the bivalves in question are generally primary consumers and the corals are secondary consumers.
Best,
    Ryan
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Thank you very much for your responses, I should note that the habitats I am looking at are artificial structures in the GOM where Tubastraea occupy a abnormally large proportion of the encrusting biomass (in comparison to their natural habitat). I have  found some other research indicating they are secondary consumers:
Thanks again,
Ryan
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Describe phytogeographical elements for the ecological sustainability of a species? List out the phytogeographical elements........
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Dear Binoy,
The dépendes of genetic diversity in wild population can be linked with the presence of different types of water source, ...
and it need to see and calculate reproduite activity of population.
Best regards
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Plants are known naturally to absorb trace minerals (P, Fe, Cu, etc.) from the soil. Some plants, however, are hyperaccumulators, in the sense that they uptake extremely high amounts of a certain mineral. Does this have anything to do with the metabolism of the plant, or is it a product of environmental conditions?
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Its genetically controlled compartmentation and/or defence mechanisms that provide the tolerance.  There is a lot of information on plants such as aribodopsis.   This does not answer the question, why?
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Knowing that they are the only species who can utilize iron this way -- as additional protection and defense from predators through their shells made of iron sulfide -- what are possible threats they can experience from their predators? 
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Vivien:
This link and the references therein would provide you with essential insights:
Best
Syed
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Both macro and microphytes in aquatic environments
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The 14C uptake method is still the most reliable indicator of C assimilation but can be expensive. Using light/dark BOD bottles and a DO meter to look at oxygen evolution is probably the next best approach and doesn't require expensive reagents. I would recommend against using Chl- based estimations unless you only need a really approximate estimation or are interested in relative PP rates.
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Just got a tricky question from a journalist. Is there any data out there on which body parts / organs different mammalian carnivores eat first? She had heard that most predators start with the internal organs. I sthere any data on this?
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Dear John, 
In my experience working with tigers, they will even eat the gastrointestinal tract (although they manage to squeeze the gastrointestinal contents out). Tigers usually start on the rump, before they open the abdominal cavity. I am sending you a paper attached with our findings on this matter. 
I hope it helps, 
Cheers, 
Maria
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We are planning on developing a project on potential use of fly ash generated from thermal power plants. It has both a number of potentials and pitfalls for use in aquaculture. There is risk of a number of environmental risks especially heavy metal contamination. It used in fish pond there will be risk of transfer of contaminants along the food chain. How the project's aim and objectives can be drawn, the technical design and work plan can be made. Above all, how the pre-application treatment of fly ash can be thought for removal and inactivation of heavy metals and other toxic contaminants. 
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Interesting discussion...
Fly ash leachate induces  stress in freshwater fish Channa punctata (Bloch). Source : Environ Int. 2004 Sep;30(7):933-8.DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2004.03.00
 
Abstract : Oxidative stress inducing potential of fly ash leachate (FAL) was studied in a freshwater fish, Channa punctata (Bloch). Fish were exposed to fly ash leachate for 24 h and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was studied as a marker of oxidative stress. Catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities and levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) were also estimated in the exposed fish. FAL (1 ml/l) induced LPO in all the organs and most prominent response was in the gill. It also caused induction of enzymes and glutathione. Liver showed highest level of induction of enzyme activities. The results of this study demonstrate that fly ash constituents have potential to induce oxidative stress in fish and gills are the most vulnerable organs. It is also suggested that in case of exposure to FAL, along with LPO antioxidant defense is also activated to counteract the reactive oxygen species (ROS) at least partly in the initial stages of exposure.
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there is Harris–Benedict equations with its revised version by mifflin, i m confused which one to use ?
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Dear Munib,
Although established around 100 years ago, our students still use the Harris–Benedict prediction in the physical activity lab. Due to changes in lifestyle, new predictions such as the Mifflin St Jeor equation are more accurate. Working with obese patients (BMI 30 or more) the Broca-Index correction makes sense.
All these measurements simply rely on bodyweight, height, age and gender.
If you are able to measure lean body mass by bioelectrical impedance analysis you can predict the daily resting energy expenditure by Katch-McArdle and Cunningham formula, respectively.
Concerning you question, the difference between Harris–Benedict and Mifflin St Jeor equations is around 5 %, with higher accuracy of the later one.
Best wishes
Marc
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I would like to study camel meat industry in a region of southern Algeria, and I'm looking for advice and recommendations, and eventually guides (or article) to develop relevant questions for the various surveys of various stakeholders. I would be very grateful for your help
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Dear Hossem, these articles maybe helpful for your research. there are some important analysis that will be helpful for you. https://anatomiayplastinacion.wikispaces.com/file/view/Camel+meat.pdf