ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2128-4933
Current Organisations
Macquarie University
,
Zanjan University
,
University of Sydney
,
University of Aberdeen
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-02-2023
DOI: 10.3390/LAND12030559
Abstract: Biochar improves soil physical, biochemical, and microbial properties, leading to the amelioration of soil fertility, which, in turn, results in better growth and yield in crop plants. The current study aimed to evaluate whether using different levels of biochar can enhance soil characteristics and plant attributes. Accordingly, an experimental study was conducted in 2022 using a randomized complete block design with four replications (n = 4) in the experimental glasshouse of the University of Zanjan, in which two regimes of irrigation (D0, full irrigation as the control D1, water scarcity was applied immediately after the flowering stage for two weeks) and four levels of natural mineral biochar (0% as the control treatment, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% of soil weight) were applied. The results indicated that drought substantially decreased the organic carbon content of the soil and the grain yield while increasing the available phosphorous, soil carbohydrate content, and microbial biomass of the soil. Biochar could considerably alter the means of the studied soil quality parameters and the barley grain yield. Adding biochar could be considered a valid strategy to increase the resistance of plants to drought.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 30-11-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.11.29.470426
Abstract: Habitat quality early in life determines in idual fitness, with possible long-term evolutionary effects on groups and populations. In holometabolous insects, larval ecology plays a major role in determining the expression of traits in adulthood, but how ecological conditions during larval stage interact to shape adult life-history and fitness, particularly in non-model organisms, remains subject to scrutiny. Consequently, our knowledge of the interactive effects of ecological factors on insect development is limited. Here, using the polyphagous fly Bactrocera tryoni , we conducted a fully-factorial design where we manipulated larval density and larval diet (protein-rich, standard, and sugar-rich) to gain insights into how these ecological factors interact to modulate adult fitness. As expected, a protein-rich diet resulted in faster larval development, heavier and leaner adults that were more fecund compared with standard and sugar-rich diets, irrespective of larval density. Females from the protein-rich larval diet had overall higher reproductive rate (i.e., eggs per day) than females from other diets, and reproductive rate decreased linearly with density for females from the protein-rich but non-linearly for females from the standard and sugar-rich diets over time. Surprisingly, adult lipid reserve increased with larval density for adults from the sugar-rich diet (as opposed to decreasing, as in other diets), possibly due to a stress-response to an extremely adverse condition during development (i.e., high intraspecific competition and poor nutrition). Together, our results provide insights into how ecological factors early in life interact and shape the fate of in iduals through life-stages in holometabolous insects.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-02-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2019.103969
Abstract: Nutrition is a major mediator of insect life-history trait expression. While the role of macronutrient (carbohydrate and protein) balance on trait expression has received substantial attention, the implications of different classes of specific macronutrients remains virtually unexplored. Here, we addressed this gap by varying the type of carbohydrate in larval diets of the polyphagous fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni (aka 'Queensland fruit fly'). Sourcing insects from a colony maintained using larval diets that contain sucrose, we assessed the effects of sucrose, maltose, and lactose on larval development and adult traits. Replacement of sucrose with lactose resulted in slow larval growth, as well as decreases in pupation, adult emergence and adult body weight for both sexes, although adult lipid reserves were unaffected. Sucrose and maltose were equivalent in terms of larval growth, pupation, adult emergence and adult weight of both sexes. Surprisingly, adults from larvae reared on diets containing maltose had lower lipid reserves than adults from larvae reared on diets containing either lactose or sucrose. The sex ratio of adults at emergence from larvae reared on diets containing lactose and maltose was balanced, but was female-biased in adults from larvae reared on diets containing sucrose. Our results show that carbohydrate sources are not equivalent for development of the Queensland fruit fly, affecting both larval development and adult traits. These findings have implications for understanding the ecology of this highly polyphagous species which infests fruits with highly erse carbohydrate contents, as well as for the rearing and management of this pest species.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-08-2020
DOI: 10.3390/MICROORGANISMS8091289
Abstract: The commensal microbiota is a key modulator of animal fitness, but little is known about the extent to which the parental microbiota influences fitness-related traits of future generations. We addressed this gap by manipulating the parental microbiota of a polyphagous fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) and measuring offspring developmental traits, body composition, and fecundity. We generated three parental microbiota treatments where parents had a microbiota that was non-manipulated (control), removed (axenic), or removed-and-reintroduced (reinoculation). We found that the percentage of egg hatching, of pupal production, and body weight of larvae and adult females were lower in offspring of axenic parents compared to that of non-axenic parents. The percentage of partially emerged adults was higher, and fecundity of adult females was lower in offspring of axenic parents relative to offspring of control and reinoculated parents. There was no significant effect of parental microbiota manipulation on offspring developmental time or lipid reserve. Our results reveal transgenerational effects of the parental commensal microbiota on different aspects of offspring life-history traits, thereby providing a better understanding of the long-lasting effects of host–microbe interactions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-10-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-32930-0
Abstract: The majority of insect species have a clearly defined larval stage during development. Larval nutrition is crucial for in iduals’ growth and development, and larval foraging success often depends on both resource availability and competition for those resources. To date, however, little is known about how these factors interact to shape larval development and behaviour. Here we manipulated the density of larvae of the polyphagous fruit fly pest Bactrocera tryoni (‘Queensland fruit fly’), and the diet concentration of patches in a foraging arena to address this gap. Using advanced statistical methods of machine learning and linear regression models, we showed that high larval density results in overall high larval aggregation across all diets except in extreme diet dilutions. Larval aggregation was positively associated with larval body mass across all diet concentrations except in extreme diet dilutions where this relationship was reversed. Over time, larvae in low-density arenas also tended to aggregate while those in high-density arenas tended to disperse, an effect that was observed for all diet concentrations. Furthermore, larvae in high-density arenas displayed significant avoidance of low concentration diets – a behaviour that was not observed amongst larvae in low-density arenas. Thus, aggregation can help, rather than hinder, larval growth in high-density environments, and larvae may be better able to explore available nutrition when at high-density than when at low-density.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-04-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5206
Location: Russian Federation
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Mohammad Amir Delavar.