many contexts, urban forests constitute novel ecosystems (sensu Hobbs et al.2006), where plants and animals that do not share an evolutionary history now co-exist, including many invasive species. Urban forests
their resultant capacity to recover and proliferate (or not) in earthworm casts. Small organisms, particularly microflora and microfauna, with limited ability to move within the soil, may benefit from the (comparatively) long ranging movements of earthworms. Microflora and smaller fauna appear to be...
While humans often curse the very existence of termites on this planet, we're actually the ones to blame for their attacks on our homes. As voracious wood-eaters, termites serve a distinct purpose in forest ecosystems: They break down dead trees, allowing new ones to grow in their place [...
b. Bacteria in aphids that have evolved to produce toxins that prevent developing parasitoid wasps from successfully growing ins How did plant reproduction evolve from lower plants to higher or advanced plants? How do plants and animals adapt to coniferous forests? What are ...
2000b). These methods have been widely used with perennial crops such as fruit orchards and forests, but they can also be applied to annual crops that undergo critical periods of development, such as seedling establishment or flowering. Biological control has a favourable cost-benefit ratio relativ...
likeDendroctonus ponderosaeandIps pini, which create wounds that allow fungal penetration. In turn, the fungi lower the tree’s water content and enhance the microenvironment for the beetles’ developing larvae. This interaction exemplifies mutualistic symbiosis, where the fungi and insects benefit (...
An additional benefit of intercropping relies on the potential increase in predators and parasitoids within the orchard (Ju et al. 2019), which could enhance biocontrol and/or reduce settling of spittle- bugs. Even so, intercropping may influence pest manage- ment in truly diverse ways, based...
providing answers to questions that seem unanswerable, such as ‘why do some insects possess unique stinging capabilities?’ In Algonquin legend, bees were afforded stingers to protect them as they laboured, while wasps pretended to be relatives of the bees in order to gain the same advantage [...
the results show that there is relative benefit for unrelated wasps to be in a social nest, because even though the chances that they will inherit the nest are low, if they are lucky enough to inherit they will produce many offspring. On average, any subordinate in a group will do better...