Thomas Groot results 33
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Ongoing shifts in climate and land use have altered interactions between trees and insect herbivores, changing biotic disturbance regimes. However, as these changes are complex and vary across host species, insect taxa, and feeding guilds, they remain poorly understood. We compiled annual records of forest insect disturbance from 15 countries in temperate and boreal Europe, spanning the period from 2000 to 2022. The dataset co...
An increase in biotic interactions towards lower latitudes is one of the most consistent patterns in ecology. Higher temperatures and more stable climatic conditions at low latitudes are thought to enhance biotic interactions, accelerating biological evolution and leading to stronger anti-herbivore defences in plants. However, some studies report contradictory findings, highlighting the need for further investigation into the...
A predatory mite as potential biological control agent of Bemisia tabaci on tomato plantsNARA Subscribed
Several natural enemies are known as predators of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci , which is one of the most invasive pests worldwide and has developed high resistance to pesticides. However, biological control of this pest on tomato is often difficult because the plant’s glandular trichomes release substances that are toxic to arthropods and hinder the foraging of natural enemies. Therefore, adaptation of natural enemies to this...
Predatory mites as potential biological control agents for tomato russet mite and powdery mildew on tomatoNARA Subscribed
Tomato plants are attacked by numerous pests and diseases, including the tomato russet mite Aculops lycopersici and powdery mildew, Oidium neolycopersici . Natural enemies of tomato pests are often hindered by the tomato trichomes, while russet mites live under and among these leaf hairs and are therefore protected from these enemies. To find natural enemies that are adapted to tomato and its trichomes, we collected a predator...
The largest light-harvesting antenna in nature, the chlorosome, is a heterogeneous helical BChl self-assembly that has evolved in green bacteria to harvest light for performing photosynthesis in low-light environments. Guided by NMR chemical shifts and distance constraints for Chlorobaculum tepidum wild-type chlorosomes, the two contrasting packing modes for syn-anti parallel stacks of BChl c to form polar 2D arrays, with dipo...
Decomposing drivers in avian insectivory: Large‐scale effects of climate, habitat and bird diversityNARA Subscribed
Aim Climate is a major driver of large‐scale variability in biodiversity, as a likely result of more intense biotic interactions under warmer conditions. This idea fuelled decades of research on plant‐herbivore interactions, but much less is known about higher‐level trophic interactions. We addressed this research gap by characterizing both bird diversity and avian predation along a climatic gradient at the European scale. Loc...
Using the IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa to inform decision‐makingNARA Subscribed
The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is an important tool for biological invasion policy and management and has been adopted as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standard to measure the severity of environmental impacts caused by organisms living outside their native ranges. EICAT has already been incorporated into some national and local decision‐making procedures, making it a...
Plastic photodegradation under simulated marine conditionsNARA Subscribed
Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and...
This study evaluated the effectiveness of selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD) application three times daily (t.i.d.) compared to the standard four times daily (q.i.d.). Retrospective equivalence (combined non-inferiority and non-superiority design) study with a before-and-after design on a tertiary ICU in which the SDD frequency was reduced from q.i.d. to t.i.d. All patients with ICU admissions ≥72h and with ≥2 sur...
Historical isolation facilitates species radiation by sexual selection: Insights from Chorthippus grasshoppersNARA Subscribed
Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that species radiations are facilitated when a trait under divergent natural selection is also involved in sexual selection. It is yet unclear how quick and effective radiations are where assortative mating is unrelated to the ecological environment and primarily results from sexual selection. We address this question using sympatric grasshopper species of the genus Chorthippus , wh...
Maternal effect determines drought resistance of eggs in the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilisNARA Subscribed
The ability of an organism to adapt to short-term environmental changes within its lifetime is of fundamental importance. This adaptation may occur through phenotypic plasticity. Insects and mites, in particular, are sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, especially during the juvenile stages. We studied the role of phenotypic plasticity in the adaptation of eggs to different relative humidity conditions, in the pre...
Under drought stress, Phytoseiulus persimilis females are able to lay drought-resistant eggs through an adaptive maternal effect. The mechanisms making these eggs drought resistant still remain to be investigated. For this purpose, we studied the physiological differences between drought-resistant and drought-sensitive eggs. We compared the volume and the surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA:V) of the eggs, their sex ratio, their...
Correction to: Strategic crossing of biomass and harvest index—source and sink—achieves genetic gains in wheatNARA Subscribed
The original article was corrected. Author Muhammad Kundi should instead read: Muhammad Sohail.
Strategic crossing of biomass and harvest index—source and sink—achieves genetic gains in wheatNARA Subscribed
To accelerate genetic gains in breeding, physiological trait (PT) characterization of candidate parents can help make more strategic crosses, increasing the probability of accumulating favorable alleles compared to crossing relatively uncharacterized lines. In this study, crosses were designed to complement “source” with “sink” traits, where at least one parent was selected for favorable expression of biomass and/or radiation...
Benefits of Investing in Ecosystem RestorationNARA Subscribed
Measures aimed at conservation or restoration of ecosystems are often seen as net‐cost projects by governments and businesses because they are based on incomplete and often faulty cost‐benefit analyses. After screening over 200 studies, we examined the costs (94 studies) and benefits (225 studies) of ecosystem restoration projects that had sufficient reliable data in 9 different biomes ranging from coral reefs to tropical fore...
Maternal influences on population dynamics: evidence from an exploited freshwater fishNARA Subscribed
We used a field experiment, population modeling, and an analysis of 30 years of data from walleye ( Sander vitreus ; a freshwater fish) in Lake Erie to show that maternal influences on offspring survival can affect population dynamics. We first demonstrate experimentally that the survival of juvenile walleye increases with egg size (and, to a lesser degree, female energy reserves). Because egg size in this species tends to inc...