Effect of Environmental Factors on Cyanobacteria Richness in Some Agricultural Soils

The physicochemical variations of soil, such as temperature, pH, nutrients, and the type of plant cultivation, affect the diversity of cyanobacteria, whether heterocystous or not. The aim of this study was to identify the species of cyanobacteria in a soil and the effect of environmental characteristics on cyanobacteria. Soil samples collected from six different agricultural sites in Al Diwaniyah city/Iraq during September 2016 in the autumn season were analyzed, and the physicochemical characteristics of the samples were measured using approved methods.

The results showed significant correlation and differences between cyanobacteria composition, distribution, and physicochemical factors among soil sites. The Agricultural soil was slightly alkaline and moderately saline and contained abundant nutrients, cations and a high percentage of organic matter. All these characteristics influenced the distribution and diversity of cyanobacteria. Ninety-six species were identified, including four heterocystous species represented by Anabaena, Calothrix, Cylnidrospermum, and Nostoc. However, the non-heterocystous were represented by 13 species: Aphanocapsa, Aphanothece, Arthrospira, Chroococcus, Gloeocapsa, Lyngbya, Merismopedia, Microcystis, Microcoleus, Oscillatoria, Phormidium, Schizothrix, and Spirulina. The dominant species of cyanobacteria was Oscillatoria, followed by Phormidium, Chroococcus, Gleocapsa and Lyngbya. The highest value of Shannon’s and Simpson’s diversities were registered in the Ghammas site, which is a paddy field, but the lowest was registered in the Afak site, cultivated with the alfalfa plant. Soil was classified as finely textured with silty clayey characterization, favorable for cyanobacteria growth.     

Factors involved in capillary growth in the heart

Growth of capillaries in the heart occurs under physiological circumstances during endurance exercise training, exposure to high altitude and/or cold, and changes in cardiac metabolism or heart rate elicited by modification of thyroid hormone levels. Capillary growth in all these conditions can be linked with increased coronary blood flow, decreased heart rate, or both. This paper brings evidence that, although increased blood flow due to long-term administration of coronary vasodilators results in capillary growth, a long-term decrease in heart rate induced by electrical bradycardial pacing in rabbits and pigs, or by chronic administration of a bradycardic drug, alinidine, in rats, stimulates capillary growth with little or no change in coronary blood flow. Decreased heart rate results in increased capillary wall tension, increased end-diastolic volume and increased force of contraction, and thus stretch of the capillary wall. This could lead to release of various growth factors possibly stored in the capillary basement membrane. Correlation was found between capillary density (CD) and the levels of low molecular endothelial cell stimulating angiogenic factor (ESAF) both in rabbit and pig hearts with CD increased by pacing. There was no relation between expression of mRNA for basic fibroblast growth factor and CD in sham-operated and paced rabbit hearts. In contrast, mRNA for TGFß was increased in paced hearts, and the possible role of this factor in the regulation of capillary growth induced by bradycardia is discussed.     

Habitat influences on urban avian assemblages

Urbanization is increasing across the globe and there is growing interest in urban ecology and a recognition that developed areas may be important for conservation. We review the factors influencing urban avian assemblages, focusing on habitat type and anthropogenic resource provision, and analyse data from a common bird monitoring scheme to assess some of these issues. The review suggests that (1) local factors are more important than regional ones in determining the species richness of urban avian assemblages, raising the potential for the management of urban sites to deliver conservation; (2) habitat fragmentation frequently influences urban avian assemblages, with the effects of patch size being greater than those of isolation, and (3) urban bird assemblages appear to respond positively to increasing the structural complexity, species richness of woody vegetation and supplementary feeding, and negatively to human disturbance. Data from Britain's Breeding Bird Survey, combined with habitat data obtained from aerial photographs, were used to assess a number of these issues at the resolution of 1‐km squares. Green‐space constituted 45% of these squares, and domestic gardens contributed 50% of this green‐space, though their contribution to large continuous patches of green‐space was negligible. There was no significant positive correlation between the densities of individual species in urban areas and surrounding rural areas. Rural species richness declined with increasing latitude, but urban species richness was not correlated with latitude. This contrast contributes to slightly higher avian species richness in rural squares in Southern England than urban ones. Occupancy and abundance were strongly positively correlated in urban avian assemblages, and some indicator species of conservation concern occurred in few urban areas and at low densities. Such species will require conservation action to be precisely targeted within urban areas. Of the urban indicators of conservation concern, only the House Sparrow Passer domesticus and Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris were more abundant in urban than rural areas. Moreover, the densities of these two species were strongly and positively correlated, indicating that they may be limited by shared resources, such as nest‐sites or supplementary food. There was little evidence that high densities of nest‐predating corvids were associated with reduced densities of their prey species. Species richness and the densities of individual species frequently declined with an increasing number of buildings. Current trends for the densification of many British urban areas are thus likely to be detrimental for many bird species.