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1
Lévesque, Johann. "Évaluation de la qualité des données géospatiales : approche top-down et gestion de la métaqualité." Thesis, Université Laval, 2007. http://www.theses.ulaval.ca/2007/24759/24759.pdf.
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Depuis l’avènement du numérique, la demande de données par les utilisateurs des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) ne fait qu’augmenter. Les organismes utilisateurs se retrouvent souvent devant plusieurs sources de données géographiques potentielles et ils doivent alors évaluer la qualité de chaque source en fonction de leurs besoins. Pour ce faire, ces organismes pourraient faire appel à un expert en qualité qui pourrait les aider à déterminer s’il y a adéquation (i.e. qualité externe) entre les données et leurs besoins.
Pour utiliser le système MUM, l’expert en qualité doit recueillir de l’information sur les jeux de données. Dans le domaine de la géomatique, cette information se retrouve généralement sous la forme de métadonnées émises par les producteurs de données. Le système MUM, développé par Devillers et al. [2004b], a été conçu initialement en fonction d’une approche bottom-up, où on utilise des métadonnées fines pour extraire des indicateurs globaux de qualité, à l’aide d’opérateurs d’agrégation typiques des outils SOLAP. Il s’agit là d’une solution qui permet de faciliter l’analyse de la qualité, particulièrement dans des contextes de données hétérogènes. Par contre, comme le mentionnent les concepteurs de MUM, le manque de métadonnées fines est un obstacle à l’utilisation du système MUM dans sa forme actuelle. L’objectif de la présente recherche a donc été d’élaborer une méthode de génération des métadonnées dite top-down. Cette méthode permet de générer, lorsque possible, les métadonnées fines (au niveau des occurrences, voire des primitives géométriques) d’un jeu de données à l’aide des métadonnées grossières et des opinions d’experts touchant un ensemble d’occurrences. Cette méthodologie amène l’expert en qualité à utiliser dans certains cas des sources de données différentes. Ceci soulève alors un problème concernant l’hétérogénéité de la fiabilité des sources utilisées pour évaluer la qualité externe. Le concept de métaqualité a été introduit pour répondre à ce problème d’hétérogénéité. Il permet en effet de quantifier le risque lié à l’imperfection de l’information contenue dans les indicateurs de qualité. L’enrichissement du système MUM a donc été réalisé grâce à la conception du modèle E-QIMM (Extented Quality Information Management Model) qui est une extension du modèle QIMM de Devillers [2004] et qui permet d’intégrer la dimension « Métaqualité » dans le processus d’évaluation de la qualité.
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Wigley, Benjamin Joseph. "Savanna woody plant community and trait responses to bottom-up and top-down controls, with a specific focus on the role of mammalian herbivory." Thesis, Lyon 1, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013LYO10133/document.
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Les savanes sont des écosystèmes complexes pilotées par plusieurs mécanismes ascendant (ex: les nutriments du sol ou pluviométrie) ou descendant (ex: feu ou herbivorie), mais l'importance relative de ces mécanismes reste largement débattue. En particulier, le rôle des herbivores brouteurs (browsers) reste mal compris en tant que source de perturbation, et donc de force de pression descendante influant sur la dynamique des savanes. Dans cette étude, deux approches ont été développées pour aborder le rôle des perturbations dans la dynamique des savanes. Dans un première partie, j'ai utilisé une approche comparative inter-site pour explorer les réponses des communautés de plantes, et des principaux traits de ces plantes associés aux feuilles, branches, architecture et défense, aux variations de quatre facteurs : les nutriments dans le sol, la pluviométrie, la pression d'herbivorie et l'intensité du feu. Seize sites de savane, en Afrique du Sud et au Zimbabwe, ont été sélectionnés sur des gradients de chacun de ces facteurs. Les espèces ligneuses dominantes (>80 % de la biomasse) sur chaque site ont été identifiées et échantillonnées, afin de mesurer les traits des feuilles et des branches associés à l'appétence, architecture, ainsi qu'aux défenses physiques et chimiques de ces plantes. Des mesures ont également été faites pour estimer les effets des meso-brouteurs et mega-brouteurs. Des transects ont permis d'estimer la fréquence et l'intensité du feu sur chaque site, et l'effet sur les plantes. En préambule à l'analyse, et devant le manque de protocole standard pour estimer la fertilité des sols dans la littérature écologique, je propose une méthode et un échantillonnage afin de définir de manière robuste la fertilité des sols sur chaque site. Dans cette partie inter-site, huit traits principaux ont été comparés sur le gradient de qualité de sol et de pluviométrie, et bien que quelques relations statistiques existent entre les traits des feuilles, le sol et la pluviométrie, ces relations sont très faibles comparées à celle trouvées dans les méta analyses inter-biomes publiées dans la littérature. Cependant, ces approches interbiome sont dominées par des sites tempérés qui ont des niveaux de perturbations bien inférieurs à ceux des savanes africaines. L'évaluation des effets des meso-brouteurs et mega-brouteurs le long des gradients de sol et de pluviométrie sur vingt traits associés aux défenses structurelles et chimiques des plantes montre que les défenses structurelles sont plus corrélées aux caractéristiques du sol que les défenses chimiques, mais que seules les défenses structurelles sont fortement corrélées à l'impact par les brouteurs. Le niveau d'utilisation des plantes par les mesobrouteurs apparaît plus prévisible en fonction des traits des plantes que celui par les mégabrouteurs. Dans une deuxième partie présentent des résultats de deux études basées sur des expériences d'exclos. Dans le parc national de Kruger, la composition de la communauté, l'abondance et la démographie des ligneux dominants ont été estimées à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de trois exclos de 40 ans, et les brouteurs apparaissent comme ayant un impact significatif sur la distribution, la densité et la structure des populations des espèces arbustives et arborées ayant des traits préférés : forte concentration en azote foliaire et faible teneur en défenses chimiques. L'interaction entre les effets des brouteurs et du feu semble aussi affecter le recrutement des juvéniles ligneux dans les grandes classes de taille. Dans le parc de Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, cinq exclos ont été utilisé pour tester l'effet des brouteurs sur l'architecture, la croissance, les défenses chimiques et structurelles des jeunes individus de sept espèces d'acacia. Des différences nettes apparaissent entre les espèces d'acacia de savane semi-aride et plus humide dans les traits associés à l'appétence, l'architecture et les défenses … [etc]Savannas are complex ecosystems affected by several bottom-up (e.g. soil nutrient availability and rainfall) and top-down (e.g. fire and herbivory) drivers. However, the relative importance of bottom-up vs. top-down drivers in influencing savanna dynamics is still widely debated. Within the top-down (disturbance) category of drivers, the role of mammal browsers in particular in driving savanna functioning is still not well understood. Two approaches were adopted to determine the role of disturbance in savannas. Firstly, by using a comparative approach, I attempted to address the so-called ‘savanna problem’ by investigating how savanna woody plant community compositions and key plant traits relating to the leaves, stems, architecture, and defence are influenced by soil nutrient status, rainfall, fire and browsing. Sixteen sites were selected along gradients of these four drivers from savanna parks throughout South Africa and Zimbabwe. The dominant woody species (species that accounted for >80% of standing biomass) at each site were identified and sampled for the key leaf and stem traits relating to plant functioning, palatability, architecture, physical and chemical defences. Measurements were undertaken for each species in order to determine both meso-browser and mega browser impact. Transects were undertaken in order to determine the relative abundance and the effects of fire on each species at each site. Due to the current lack of standardized soil sampling protocols in the ecological literature, and uncertainty around the definition of what denotes a fertile or infertile soil, I propose a number of standardized protocols and sampled according to these established protocols in order to accurately determine the soil nutrient status at each site. Following this, the relationships between climatic variables and soil nutrients with both species means and community weighted means for eight key leaf traits were explored. Although some significant relationships were found between savanna leaf traits of woody plants, climate, soil nutrients and their interactions, these tended to be weaker than those found in meta-analyses. These broad-scale studies usually include sites from many biome types, many of which are from temperate regions where inherent levels of disturbance are typically much lower than in African savannas. The high levels of disturbance typically found in African savannas are thought to partially account for the high within site variability found in leaf traits and the weak relationships found between leaf traits, soil nutrients and rainfall. To assess the importance of resources vs. disturbance in savannas functioning, the effects of soil nutrients, rainfall, fire and both meso-browser and mega-browser impact on twenty savanna woody plant traits relating to plant palatability, chemical and structural defences were explored. Structural defences were found to be more strongly correlated with soil characteristics than chemical defences, while browser impact was found to be strongly correlated with structural defences but not with chemical defences. Actual browser utilisation tended to be more predictable for meso-browsers than mega-browsers. Secondly using an experimental approach, two sets of herbivore exclosures were utilized to directly test how mammal browsers influenced woody species distributions, abundance, population structure and plant traits relating to palatability and defence. The effects of three longterm herbivore exclosures in the Kruger National Park on savanna woody plant community compositions, population demographics and densities were determined. Browsers were found to have significant impacts on species distributions, densities and population structures by actively selecting for species with favourable traits, particularly higher leaf N. An interaction between browsers and fire which limited the recruitment of seedlings and saplings into larger size classes was also demonstrated… [etc]
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Foulquier, Arnaud. "Écologie fonctionnelle dans les nappes phréatiques : liens entre flux de matière organique, activité et diversité biologiques." Phd thesis, Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I, 2009. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00587833.
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Les réseaux trophiques jouent un rôle primordial dans la régulation des flux de matière et d'énergie au sein des écosystèmes. Dans le cadre des pratiques de recharge artificielle des aquifères, les biocénoses souterraines sont pleinement sollicitées et leur capacité à dégrader les flux de matière organique de surface conditionne le maintien de la qualité des eaux souterraines. L'objectif de ce travail est de déterminer l'influence d'une augmentation des flux de carbone organique dissous sur l'intensité des interactions trophiques entre les communautés microbiennes et les assemblages d'invertébrés au toit des nappes phréatiques rechargées artificiellement avec des eaux de ruissellement pluvial. A travers une approche expérimentale de terrain et de laboratoire, ce travail permet d'évaluer l'intensité des relations existant entre les flux de carbone organique dissous, les conditions environnementales, l'activité et la diversité de communautés microbiennes et l'abondance des communautés d'invertébrés.
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Quevreux, Pierre. "Conséquences des interactions entre voies vertes et brunes sur la stabilité des réseaux trophiques." Thesis, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018USPCC142/document.
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Cette thèse a pour but de comprendre les implications des relations entre réseau trophique vert et réseau trophique brun sur la stabilité et le fonctionnement des réseaux trophiques. Les interactions entre ces deux réseaux, respectivement fondés sur la photosynthèse et la consommation de la matière organique morte, sont essentielles au fonctionnement des écosystèmes : l'un produit de la matière organique à partir de nutriments minéraux et l'autre recycle les nutriments contenus dans la matière organique morte. Cette question est abordée à l'aide de deux modèles théoriques et d'une étude expérimentale. Mon premier modèle montre que la boucle de rétroaction induite par le recyclage des nutriments dans un réseau trophique exclusivement vert a un effet stabilisant sur les dynamiques d'une chaîne trophique et un effet enrichissement à cause de la remise à disposition pour les producteurs primaires des nutriments excrétés par l'ensemble des organismes du réseau trophique. Cependant seul l'effet enrichissement, qui est déstabilisant, persiste dans un modèle de réseau trophique. Mon second modèle intègre le réseau brun de manière explicite et montre que ce réseau est davantage déstabilisé que le réseau vert lorsque la disponibilité en nutriments augmente. Cette effet est amplifié si la majeure partie de l'excrétion se fait sous forme de détritus qui déstabilisent le réseau brun par un effet d'enrichissement. Ce modèle montre également que la survie des consommateurs est améliorée lorsqu'ils peuvent consommer des proies provenant des deux réseaux. Mon expérience en mésocosmes aquatiques a permis d'étudier les effets en cascades entre réseaux vert et brun via une filtration de la lumière (manipulation directe du réseau vert), l'ajout de carbone organique dissous (manipulation directe du réseau brun) et l'ajout de poissons (manipulation de la structure du réseau trophique). Nous n'avons pas observé d'effets en cascade du réseau vert sur le réseau brun et inversement, notamment à cause d'un ajout probablement trop faible de carbone dissout. Les poissons ont eux eu un fort effet sur les deux réseaux avec des effets positifs sur le phytoplancton lorsque la lumière est réduite à cause de la diminution de la limitation par les nutriments grâce à l'excrétion des poissons, une augmentation de la concentration en carbone organique dissout et une modification du profil métabolique de la communauté bactérienne benthique. Un modèle annexe montre quant à lui que la plasticité du métabolisme chez les organismes, c'est-à-dire leur capacité à réduire ou à augmenter leur métabolisme en fonction de la disponibilité en ressources afin de maximiser leur bilan énergétique permet de stabiliser les dynamiques d'une chaine trophique en diminuant la variabilité temporelle des biomasses des espèces. Dans un réseau trophique, cette stabilisation se traduit par une augmentation de la persistance des espèces. Cette thèse a permis de mieux relier l'écologie des communautés à l'écologie fonctionnelle, améliorant ainsi notre compréhension des conséquences de grands processus écosystémiques comme le recyclage des nutriments sur la stabilité des réseaux trophiques et des effets de la structure de ces réseaux sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmesThe aim of this thesis is to understand the implications of the relationships between green and brown food webs on the stability and functioning of food webs. The interactions between these two food webs, based respectively on photosynthesis and the consumption of dead organic matter, are essential for the functioning of ecosystems: one produces organic matter from mineral nutrients and the other one recycles the nutrients contained in dead organic matter. I address this by using two theoretical models and an experimental study. My first model shows that the feedback loop induced by nutrient cycling in an exclusively green food web has a stabilising effect on species dynamics in a food chain and an enrichment effect due to the excretion of nutrients that are available again for primary producers. However, only the enrichment effect, which is destabilising, persists in a food web model. My second model integrates a true brown food web and shows that this food web is more destabilised than the green food web when nutrient availability increases. This effect is amplified if most of nutrients are excreted as detritus that destabilises the brown food web through an enrichment effect. This model also shows that consumer survival is improved when they can consume prey from both green and brown food webs. My experiment in aquatic mesocosms enabled me to study the cascading effects between green and brown food webs thanks to light filtration (direct manipulation of the green food web), the addition of dissolved organic carbon (direct manipulation of the brown food web) and the addition of fish (manipulation of food web structure). We did not observe any cascading effects of the green food web on the brown food web and vice versa, probably because of a too low addition of dissolved carbon. The fish had a strong effect on both green and brown food webs with positive effects on phytoplankton when light is filtered because of the decreased nutrient limitation thanks to fish excretion, an increased concentration of dissolved organic carbon and a change in the metabolic profile of the benthic bacterial community. An additional model shows that the plasticity of metabolic rate, that is the ability of organisms to increase or decrease their metabolic rate depending on resource availability in order to optimise their energy budget, stabilises species dynamics in a food chain model by decreasing biomass time variability. Such a stabilising effect results in increase of species persistence in a complex food web model. This thesis is an additional step to better link community ecology to functional ecology, thus improving our understanding of the consequences on food web stability of major ecosystem processes such as the nutrient cycling and the effects of food web structure on ecosystem functioning
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Skogsholm, Lauren. "Distractibility, Impulsivity, and Activation of Top-down Control Resources." Thesis, Boston College, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1977.
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Thesis advisor: Elizabeth KensingerThesis advisor: Katherine Mickley Steinmetz
Distractibility and impulsivity have long been thought of as two separate psychological processes; however, there is currently evidence that suggests otherwise. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding on the behavioral level of the interaction between these two traits. I proposed a model in which some individuals have a higher than average threshold for activation of the top-down cognitive control resources that are important for directing and maintaining attention as well as for regulating impulsive behaviors. To test the strength of this model I used an experimental paradigm that combined two different types of tasks—a spatial working memory task and a delay discounting of a primary reward (juice) task. Participants were administered the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale in order to be classified in terms of their trait distractibility and trait impulsivity subscale scores. The results suggest that there is indeed an association between the traits of distractibility and impulsivity, and that they may be linked by a common mechanism involving a variable threshold of activation of top-down control resources to regulate these behaviors
Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2011
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: College Honors Program
Discipline: Psychology
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Burkholder, Derek A. "Top Down Control in a Relatively Pristine Seagrass Ecosystem." FIU Digital Commons, 2012. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/799.
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The loss of large-bodied herbivores and/or top predators has been associated with large-scale changes in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems around the world. Understanding the consequences of these declines has been hampered by a lack of studies in relatively pristine systems. To fill this gap, I investigated the dynamics of the relatively pristine seagrass ecosystem of Shark Bay, Australia. I began by examining the seagrass species distributions, stoichiometry, and patterns of nutrient limitation across the whole of Shark Bay. Large areas were N-limited, P-limited, or limited by factors other than nutrients. Phosphorus-limitation was centered in areas of restricted water exchange with the ocean. Nutrient content of seagrasses varied seasonally, but the strength of seasonal responses were species-specific. Using a cafeteria-style experiment, I found that fast-growing seagrass species, which had higher nutrient content experienced higher rates of herbivory than slow-growing species that are dominant in the bay but have low nutrient content. Although removal rates correlated well with nutrient content at a broad scale, within fast-growing species removal rates were not closely tied to N or P content. Using a combination of stable isotope analysis and animal borne video, I found that green turtles (Chelonia mydas) – one of the most abundant large-bodied herbivores in Shark Bay – appear to assimilate little energy from seagrasses at the population level. There was, however, evidence of individual specialization in turtle diets with some individuals foraging largely on seagrasses and others feeding primarily on macroalgae and gelatinous macroplankton. Finally, I used exclusion cages, to examine whether predation-sensitive habitat shifts by megagrazers (green turtles, dugongs) transmitted a behavior-mediated trophic cascade (BMTC) between sharks and seagrasses. In general, data were consistent with predictions of a behavior-mediated trophic cascade. Megaherbivore impacts on seagrasses were large only in the microhabitat where megaherbivores congregate to reduce predation risk. My study highlights the importance of large herbivores in structuring seagrass communities and, more generally, suggests that roving top predators likely are important in structuring communities - and possibly ecosystems - through non-consumptive pathways.
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Best, Maisy Jane. "Top-down and bottom-up influences on response inhibition." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/24650.
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Following exposure to consistent stimulus–stop mappings, response inhibition can become automatised with practice. What is learned is less clear, even though this has important theoretical and practical implications. The main contribution of this thesis is to investigate how stimulus-stop associations are acquired and the conditions under which they influence behaviour. To this end, this thesis addressed several outstanding issues concerning the associative architecture of stop learning, the role of expectancies, and the specificity of learning in inhibition tasks. Experiments 1-4 provide evidence that participants can acquire direct associations between specific stimuli and the stop goal without mediation via a single representation of the stop signal. However, these experiments also suggest that the influence of stimulus-stop associations on behaviour depends on top-down attentional settings: if participants begin to ignore the stop-associated stimuli, the effects of stop learning are diminished or eliminated entirely. Across eight experiments, this thesis provides evidence that participants generate expectancies during stop learning that are consistent with the stimulus-stop contingencies in play. However, Experiments 5-6 indicate that there may be some differences in the relationships between stimulus-stop expectancies and task performance under instructed and uninstructed conditions; stimulus-stop associations that are acquired via task instructions or via task practice have similar effects on behaviour, but seem to differ in how they trigger response slowing for the stop-associated items. Experiments 7-8 investigated the role of signal detection processes during the acquisition of stimulus-stop associations. To distinguish between stimulus-stop learning and stimulus-signal learning, the contingencies between specific stimuli and the stop goal and the contingencies between specific stimuli and the spatial location of the stop signal were independently manipulated. Although these experiments showed evidence of stop/go (goal) learning, there was no evidence that participants acquired the stimulus-signal associations. Across four experiments, this thesis investigated the specificity of stop learning. Experiments 9-10 compared the effects of training on behavioural performance in inhibition (go/no-go) and non-inhibition (two-choice) tasks. The results of these experiments revealed that learning in inhibition and non-inhibition tasks could arise through similar associative mechanisms, but suggest that the effects of training in these tasks could also depend on top-down response settings and general non-associative processes. Experiments 11-12 investigated the neural specificity of stop learning. These experiments also revealed similar effects of training across the go/no-go and two-choice tasks adding weight to the claim that training in inhibition tasks primarily influences task-general processes. Combined, the overall conclusion of this thesis is that bottom-up control can influence response inhibition but what is learned depends on top-down factors. It is therefore important to consider bottom-up factors and top-down factors as dependent, rather than independent, influences on response inhibition.
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Narouei, Masoud. "A Top-Down Policy Engineering Framework for Attribute-Based Access Control." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2020. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1703379/.
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The purpose of this study is to propose a top-down policy engineering framework for attribute-based access control (ABAC) that aims to automatically extract ACPs from requirement specifications documents, and then, using the extracted policies, build or update an ABAC model. We specify a procedure that consists of three main components: 1) ACP sentence identification, 2) policy element extraction, and 3) ABAC model creation and update. ACP sentence identification processes unrestricted natural language documents and identify the sentences that carry ACP content. We propose and compare three different methodologies from different disciplines, namely deep recurrent neural networks (RNN-based), biological immune system (BIS-based), and a combination of multiple natural language processing techniques (PMI-based) in order to identify the proper methodology for extracting ACP sentences from irrelevant text. Our evaluation results improve the state-of-the-art by a margin of 5% F1-Measure. To aid future research, we also introduce a new dataset that includes 5000 sentences from real-world policy documents. ABAC policy extraction extracts ACP elements such as subject, object, and action from the identified ACPs. We use semantic roles and correctly identify ACP elements with an average F1 score of 75%, which bests the previous work by 15%. Furthermore, as SRL tools are often trained on publicly available corpora such as Wall Street Journal, we investigate the idea of improving SRL performance using domain-related knowledge. We utilize domain adaptation and semi-supervised learning techniques and improve the SRL performance by 2% using only a small amount of access control data. The third component, ABAC model creation and update, builds a new ABAC model or updates an existing one using the extracted ACP elements. For this purpose, we present an efficient methodology based on a particle swarm optimization algorithm for solving ABAC policy mining with minimal perturbation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methodology generates much less complex policies than previous works using the same realistic case studies. Furthermore, we perform experiments on how to find an ABAC state as similar as possible to both the existing state and the optimal state. Part of the data utilized in this study was collected from the University of North Texas Policy Office, as well as policy documents from the university of North Texas Health Science Center, for the school years 2015-2016 through 2016-2017.
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Ma, Chuan. "A computational approach to top-down hierarchical supervisory control of DES." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape8/PQDD_0004/MQ45611.pdf.
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Clarke, Stephen E. "Top-down control of sensory focus in bursty pyramidal cell populations." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/36826.
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Through a series of original research articles, this thesis describes the role of neural
network feedback in top-down control of bursty ON and OFF type electrosensory
neurons while processing motion toward (looming) and away (receding) from the
body. Neural codes for motion reversal in weakly electric fish are not simply evoked
by bottom-up sensory input and amplified by feedback; instead, positive feedback
loops must synthesize a directionally invariant representation of motion reversal that
is distributed across both the ON and OFF pyramidal cell populations. Through
balanced excitatory and inhibitory feedback, the system establishes an optimal distance for motion estimation (a sensory focus) that is maintained by the animal during a motion tracking behaviour. Remarkably, this sensory focus is size, direction and speed-invariant. The speed invariance likely derives from the speed invariance of
the electrosensory afferent response, a consequence of timescale-free spike frequency adaptation. Since natural swimming movements are associated with tail-bending that cause spatially diffuse sensory noise, we demonstrate that spatially localized motion processing by the ON and OFF neurons co-occurs with cancellation of the distraction; this supports the circuit's role as a robust `sensory searchlight' mechanism for spatial attention. A simple algorithm for motion tracking is discussed, as well as potential generalizations of the described coding principles to more complex mammalian circuits.
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Silva, Andrievisk Gaudencio Pereira e. "O que controla o crescimento do Fitopl?ncton em lagoas costeiras tropicais? um modelo para a lagoa de Extremoz (RN)." Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 2014. http://repositorio.ufrn.br:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/16008.
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Previous issue date: 2014-03-26Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior
The phytoplankton growth is dependent of several abiotic (nutrients, temperature) and biotic (predation by zooplankton) variables. In this work, a mathematical model was developed in Stella software to understand the planktonic dynamics of Extremoz Lagoon (RN) and to simulate scenarios of different environmental conditions. Data were collected monthly at two points of the lagoon. The state variables are phytoplankton and zooplankton and forcing variables are nitrogen, phosphorus and temperature. The results show that: a) the model are well coupled, especially when some constants assume different values; b) simulated nutrient concentrations reduction decreases phytoplankton biomass, but the increase of nutrients does not stimulate the growth; c) changes in the temperature does not change the phytoplankton biomass; d) changes in zooplankton biomass affect directly and reduces the phytoplankton, indicating a topdown control mechanism; e) changes in the nutrient concentration modified the biomass of zooplankton suggesting a rapid flow of energy between nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton and a ecosystem likely arranged in an inverted pyramid (higher concentration of zooplankton than phytoplankton)
O crescimento fitoplanct?nico ? dependente de uma s?rie de vari?veis abi?ticas (nutrientes, temperatura, luz) e bi?ticas (preda??o por zoopl?ncton e outros fitoplanct?fagos, bact?rias que provocam lise celular no fitopl?ncton). Neste trabalho, um modelo de compartimentos foi desenvolvido no software Stella para entender a din?mica planct?nica da Lagoa de Extremoz (RN) e simular diferentes cen?rios de altera??es em importantes vari?veis ambientais como fitopl?ncton e zoopl?ncton. As medi??es foram realizadas mensalmente em dois pontos da lagoa. As vari?veis de estado s?o fitopl?ncton e zoopl?ncton e as for?antes s?o nitrog?nio, f?sforo e temperatura. Os resultados mostram que: a) o modelo se ajusta bem aos dados, especialmente quando algumas constantes assumem diferentes valores; b) simula??es de redu??es das concentra??es de nutrientes diminuem a biomassa fitoplanct?nica, mas o aumento dos nutrientes n?o favorece o crescimento; c) altera??es na temperatura n?o modificam a biomassa fitoplanct?nica; d) modifica??es na biomassa de zoopl?ncton afetam diretamente e consideravelmente o fitopl?ncton, indicando um mecanismo de controle top-down; e) altera??es nas concentra??es de nutrientes modificam a biomassa do zoopl?ncton sugerindo um r?pido fluxo de energia entre nutrientes, fito e zoopl?ncton e um prov?vel ecossistema arranjado em pir?mide invertida (maior biomassa de zoopl?ncton do que fitopl?ncton)
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Carmel, David Podhorzer. "Top-down control of visual attention and awareness : cognitive and neural mechanisms." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2007. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1444603/.
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Recent behavioural and neural research suggests that awareness is intimately related to top-down cognitive functions such as attention. Here I present a characterization of this relationship, guided by Lavie's load theory. Load theory proposes that perception has limited capacity but proceeds automatically on all stimuli (whether relevant to the task at hand or not) until capacity is exhausted, and that the allocation of processing resources to certain stimuli (rather than to other, competing ones) is guided by executive control functions such as working memory. The theory predicts that increasing the perceptual load of a task will consume capacity, therefore reducing processing of stimuli external to that task it also predicts that increasing working memory load will impair executive control, leading to increased processing of salient ignored stimuli. Here I show that these predictions hold not only for indirect measures of perceptual processing, as has been demonstrated previously, but also for visual awareness - the subjective experience of seeing and being able to report the nature of a visual stimulus. I find that under high perceptual load, observers become less aware of the very presence of other stimuli, even when these stimuli are fully expected and serve as targets. I also show that perceptual load affects the temporal resolution of visual awareness - under high load, the ability to detect a temporal pattern (luminance flicker) is reduced, leading to a subjective percept of steady illumination. In a neuroimaging study, I show that subjective awareness of flicker is associated with activity in frontal and parietal brain regions previously associated with attention and awareness. Next, I investigate the role of executive control in visual awareness by examining the effect of working memory load on binocular rivalry, a fundamental form of visual competition. I find that high working memory load reduces dominance durations in rivalry, suggesting that working memory may serve to maintain perceptual biases during competitive interactions in visual awareness. Finally, I use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to establish a causal role for the previously described right parietal involvement in the control of binocular rivalry. This research therefore indicates that top- down cognitive and neural mechanisms are involved in determining whether visual stimuli will reach awareness, and in shaping the subjective nature of the experience such stimuli evoke.
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Thompson, Catherine. "The persistence of attentional set and its implications for top-down control." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2009. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10692/.
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A top-down attentional set allows selective processing of the most informative aspects of a scene by biasing attention towards task-relevant stimuli and away from task-irrelevant stimuli on the basis of task demands. The work in this thesis explored the characteristics of the attentional set and top-down control by measuring the persistence of a set. That is, the carry-over of a set from a task in which it is appropriate to a subsequent task in which it is inappropriate. Twelve experiments were completed, employing three different methodologies in order to provide converging evidence for the persistence of attentional set. The first method was a rapid serial visual presentation task, the second was a change detection task that was preceded by a visual search task, and the third was a visual search of natural scenes following an unrelated search through letter strings. All three methodologies provided strong evidence for the carry-over effect, whereby the allocation of attention in a second task was influenced by the top-down settings from the first task. This shows that an attentional set is not established solely based on current task demands but is also influenced by previous experience. Carry-over appears to be contingent upon the level of control invested in the task; too much control over the initial top-down set will enhance carry-over, but a high level of control in the second task will attenuate carry-over. In addition, a lack of executive control over the set will also lead to carry-over when the set is highly practiced because task performance will not be monitored, and a change in task demands will not be accompanied by a change in attentional set. Carry-over provided evidence for three different types of attentional set; a location-based set, a feature-based set, and a feature-value-based set. It also indicated that the attentional orienting system can be configured at more than one level according to the task demands, implying that top-down control is more flexible than previously suggested. The work ultimately led to the development of a general model of attentional set (G-MAS) which attempts to explain the current results and account for pertinent findings from the literature.
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Uygun, David. "Top-down and bottom-up control of drug-induced sleep and anaesthesia." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/43958.
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In recent decades, research has unravelled fascinating detail about the molecular mechanisms underpinning pharmacologic loss of consciousness (LOC). However, the systems-level mechanisms are far less clear. Recent genetic approaches, however, enable unprecedented dissection on neural pathways, and they are paving a way for this line of research. The focus of this thesis is to investigate the neuroanatomical substrates of commonly used drugs which reversibly render us unconscious. Zolpidem is a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the GABAA receptor which binds to the benzodiazepine (BZ) site. Because zolpidem binds α1-3,β,γ2 containing GABAA receptors, which are widespread, it acts virtually everywhere. We do not know if zolpidem causes sleep by enhancing GABAergic inhibition throughout the entire brain, or if the therapeutic sleep-inducing property depends upon specific brain circuitry. γ2I77 mice are devoid of zolpidem-sensitivity. But, zolpidem-sensitivity can be restored selectively in brain regions, enabling dissection of the circuitry involved in zolpidem's effect. To isolate the therapeutic effect of zolpidem we deleted GABAA-γ2I77-subunits and replaced them with GABAA-γ2F77-subunits in HDC neurons or frontal-cortex in isolation. We were able to selectively restore zolpidem-sensitivity in target neurons. This conferred zolpidem-enhanced IPSCs locally. Compared with wild-type mice and zolpidem-insensitive γ2I77lox mice, we found that GABAA-γ2F77 receptors in either HDC-neurons or frontal cortex alone were enough to rescue the majority of zolpidem-mediated sleep. The response in HDC-γ2F77 mice was similar to that of an H1-receptor antagonist. By producing a null effect in a negative-control area - the superior colliculus - we show that HDC neurons and the frontal cortex are both substrates involved in zolpidem-mediated sleep. We also investigated the role of synaptic-inhibition onto corticothalamic-neurons in anaesthetic-induced LOC and sleep-wake. To do this, we genetically ablated γ2-subunits from layer-6 corticothalamic-cells by crossing Ntsr1-Cre mice with GABAA-γ2I77lox mice. We found this reduced isoflurane sensitivity, but left sleep-wake behaviours virtually unaffected.
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Oliveira, Iara Bezerra de. "Controle da dinâmica Botton-up e Top-down do bacterioplâncton em reservatórios de região semiárida." Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, 2014. http://tede.bc.uepb.edu.br/tede/jspui/handle/tede/2117.
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Previous issue date: 2014-06-26Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
There are several factors that influence the abundance and biomass bacterioplankton and their interactions in the plankton, among them, the inorganic and organic components, apart from the competition with phytoplankton and zooplankton predation by. Thus, the overall goal of this dissertation is to understand the dynamics of top-down and bottom-up control in bacterioplankton community structure in aquatic ecosystems located in the semiarid region. To this, were examined: i) the upward control (bottom-up) via the drivers of organic and inorganic bacterioplankton community biomass nutrients; ii) control by predation (top-down) and the competition in the semi-arid reservoirs through the relationship between communities (phytoplankton, bacterioplankton, zooplankton). Data were collected in the reservoir Poções and Camalaú, both located on the upper course of river Paraíba, Brazil. With fortnightly collections were conducted in two hydrological periods in 2012: April (dry season in the region) and June (rainy season in the region). In each shell collections occurred at two stations: Station 1- near the entrance of the main tributary (river Paraíba) and Station 2- next to the embankment of the reservoir and, at each station, water samples were collected for physical and chemical analysis and bacterioplankton, besides the realization of measures of primary productivity of phytoplankton. Zooplankton samples were collected by filtering 25 liters of water, plankton net. The data set shows that there is a positive correlation between the biomass of bacteria free and total phosphorus concentration (r 2 =0,14; p <0,05) , total nitrogen (r 2 = 0,10; p <0,05) and net primary production (r 2 = 0,14; p < 0,05) in the studied reservoirs. However, for shells with lower trophic level showed a strong negative correlation (r = -0,54; p< 0,05 ). The zooplankton groups, Rotifera and Cladocera showed a strong negative correlation with the biomass of bacterioplankton in the reservoirs of the semiarid region (r = -0,45; p< 0,05 ). The trophic status is an important factor in determining the dynamics and control of bacterioplankton community in the semiarid region reservoirs factor, where in eutrophic reservoirs considered a contole of combined (Bottom -up and Top -down) while on vessels with lesser degree occurs trophic who determines the biomass of the bacterial community is the bottom- up effect. We can conclude that the relationship between bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton in tropical systems are strong, but dependent on the type of aquatic system and its trophic state. Phytoplankton influences on bacterial dynamics through excretion of organic carbon and zooplankton through direct predation. In general, local factors such as availability of organic carbon, nutrients and presence of predators are sufficient to determine the structure of the microbial food web in the semiarid region systems.
Diversos são os fatores que influenciam a abundância e biomassa bacterioplanctônica e suas interações no plâncton, dentre eles, os componentes inorgânicos e orgânicos, além da competição com o fitoplâncton e a predação pelo zooplâncton. Desse modo, o objetivo geral desta dissertação é compreender a dinâmica do controle top-down e bottom-up na estrutura da comunidade bacterioplanctônica em ecossistemas aquáticos localizados na região semiárida. Para isso, foram analisados: i) o controle ascendente (Bottom-up) através dos nutrientes orgânicos e inorgânicos direcionadores da biomassa da comunidade bacterioplantônica; ii) o controle por predação (Top-down) e a competição em reservatórios do semiárido através da relação entre as comunidades fitoplanctônica, bacterioplanctônica e zooplanctônica. A amostragem foi realizada nos reservatórios de Poções e Camalaú, ambos inseridos no alto curso do rio Paraíba, semiárido brasileiro. Foram realizadas coletas com intervalos quinzenais em dois períodos hidrológicos no ano de 2012: abril (período de menor volume hídrico) e junho (período de maior volume hídrico). Em cada reservatório as coletas ocorreram em duas estações: estação 1 - próxima à entrada do principal tributário (rio Paraíba) e estação 2 - próxima ao talude do reservatório e, em cada estação, foram coletados amostras de água, para análises físicas e químicas e do bacterioplâncton, além da realização de medidas de produtividade primária do fitoplâncton. As amostras do zooplâncton foram coletas pela filtragem de 25 litros de água, em rede de plâncton. O estado trófico é um fator importante para determinar a dinâmica e o controle da comunidade bacterioplanctônica em reservatórios da região semiárida, onde, em reservatórios considerados eutróficos, ocorre um controle do tipo combinado (Bottom-up e Top-down), enquanto em reservatórios com menor grau de trofia (Camalaú) quem determina a biomassa da comunidade bacteriana é o efeito bottom-up. O conjunto de dados mostra que existe uma correlação positiva entre a biomassa de bactérias livres e a concentração de fósforo total (r 2 =0,14; p<0,05), nitrogênio total (r =0,10; p<0,05) e produção primária líquida (r 2 =0,14; p<0,05) nos dois reservatórios estudados. Porém, para os reservatórios com menor grau de trofia a produção primária líquida apresenta uma forte correlação negativa (r 2 = -0,54; p <0,05). Os grupos zooplanctônicos, Rotífera e Cladocera, apresentaram uma forte correlação negativa com a biomassa do bacterioplâncton nos reservatórios da região semiárida (r 2 = -0,45; p<0,05). Podemos concluir que as relações entre as bactérias, fitoplâncton e zooplâncton são fortes nos sistemas tropicais, mas dependentes do tipo de ecossistema aquático e seu estado trófico. O fitoplâncton parece influenciar na dinâmica bacteriana através da excreção de carbono orgânico, e o zooplâncton através da predação direta. Em geral, fatores locais como disponibilidade de carbono orgânico, nutrientes e presença de predadores são suficientes para determinar a estrutura da cadeia trófica microbiana em sistemas de região semiárida.
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Spivak, Amanda C. "Bottom-up and top-down controls on sedimentary ecosystem functioning in a seagrass habitat." W&M ScholarWorks, 2008. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539616861.
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Coastal seagrass ecosystems are complex habitats that are increasingly influenced by human perturbations. Disturbances that affect the strength of bottom-up (i.e. resource availability) and top-down (i.e. consumer) controls may also influence biomass distribution between trophic levels, sediment biogeochemistry, and seagrass ecosystem metabolism. Here, I experimentally tested how top-down and bottom-up perturbations interact with community structure (diversity, food chain length of epibenthic consumers) to alter sediment biogeochemistry and ecosystem metabolism in an experimental eelgrass (Zostera marina ) system. My data indicated that resource availability influenced SOM composition and ecosystem metabolism. Light availability tended to be a stronger determinant of SOM composition while nutrient enrichment affected secondary production of invertebrate grazers more strongly than primary producers or SOM. Top-down predator effects on SOM composition and ecosystem flux rates tended to be weak. However, the strength of the trophic cascade may partly be a function of grazer community composition and grazer susceptibility to predation. Finally, my results indicated that grazer species identity and community composition strongly influenced SOM composition. In addition to the main effects of light, nutrients, predators, and grazers there were a variety of interactive effects between resources and food web composition. Consequently, the effects of resource availability and food web composition on seagrass ecosystem functioning should not be considered in isolation.
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Trinko, Tara Rae. "Bottom-Up and Top-Down Controls on Algal Bloom Frequency in Two Shallow Mesotrophic Lakes." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2008. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/TrinkoTR2008.pdf.
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Schweiger, Oliver. "Hierarchical top-down control of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes across organisational levels and spatial scales." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2005. http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/diss/z2005/0125/.
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Palmeira, Francesca Belem Lopes. "Co-ocorrência, interações tróficas e distribuição potencial da onça-pintada (Panthera onca) no bioma Amazônia." Universidade de São Paulo, 2015. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/11/11150/tde-17092015-111206/.
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Predadores de topo desempenham um papel importante na manutenção dos sistemas em que eles ocorrem porque influenciam diretamente a estrutura e a dinâmica de comunidades. Desta forma, este estudo descreveu alguns mecanismos de co-ocorrência espaço-temporal entre a onça-pintada (Panthera onca) e duas espécies de mesopredadores (Puma concolor e Leopardus pardalis), o seu controle top-down na comunidade de mamíferos e os requerimentos ambientais que determinam a sua distribuição no bioma Amazônia. Para as análises de co-ocorrência espaço-temporal foram utilizados o modelo de ocupação e a densidade de Kernel utilizando os registros de armadilhamento fotográfico (2008-2011). Para descrever o controle top-down foi elaborada uma rede trófica utilizando os itens alimentares consumidos pelas espécies e disponíveis na literatura (1983-2014). Para indicar quais as áreas mais adequadas foi utilizado o modelo de distribuição de espécies utilizando as localizações geográficas de ocorrência da espécie que foram compiladas de três diferentes bases de dados (2000-2013). A ocorrência das duas espécies de mesopredadores não foi diferente nos sítios com e sem a onça-pintada nas quatro temporadas de amostragem. A probabilidade de detecção da jaguatirica foi maior nos sítios com a presença da onça-pintada em apenas uma temporada de amostragem. A sobreposição no período de atividade das espécies de mesopredadores com a onça-pintada foi baixa, com cerca de 55% de sobreposição. Também ocorreu uma mudança razoável no período de atividade das espécies entre as temporadas de amostragem, com mínima de 32% e máxima de 56% de sobreposição. As maiores diferenças na detecção e na sobreposição temporal ocorreram na terceira temporada quando teve o maior número de capturas e recapturas da onça-pintada. A rede trófica apresentou seis níveis e grande riqueza de espécies e densidade de interações. Após a remoção da onça-pintada, houve a perda de um nível trófico e de aproximadamente 20% de interações. Quando comparada a distribuição atual da onça-pintada com a histórica, foi possível constatar a perda de espaço ambiental em áreas mais frias (< 6,3 °C), mais secas (< 288 mm), mais úmidas (> 7517 mm) e com maior elevação (> 3597 m). O modelo de distribuição também indicou que muitas áreas potenciais estão disponíveis à ocorrência da onça-pintada e que algumas merecem atenção, especialmente, nas porções leste e sul da Amazônia onde a espécie corre maior risco de desaparecimento local devido à antropização acelerada. Este estudo forneceu significativa contribuição para a compreensão da população de onça-pintada na Amazônia, bioma que ainda possui a maior lacuna de conhecimento sobre a biologia e ecologia da espécie. Demonstrou o efeito da sua presença na detectabilidade e no período de atividade de outras espécies. Também demonstrou seu papel ecológico como predador de topo exclusivo porque foi a única espécie que predou todas as outras de níveis tróficos inferiores. Descreveu o espaço ambiental originalmente ocupado (distribuição histórica) e o perdido (distribuição atual). Indicou as áreas mais adequadas à sua ocorrência e aquelas potenciais ao seu desaparecimento.Apex predators play an important role in the maintenance of systems in which occur because they directly influence the structure and dynamics of communities Thus, this thesis aims to describe some of the mechanisms of spatio-temporal co-occurrence between the jaguar (Panthera onca) and mesopredators (Puma concolor and Leopardus pardalis), their top-down control on the community and environmental requirements that determine their distribution. To the analyses of spatio-temporal co-occurrence were used the occupancy model and the Kernel density with records derived from camera trapping (2008-2011). To the analysis of trophic networks was used a foodweb model with prey spectra of felids compiled from the available literature (1983-2014). To indicate the most suitable areas to its occurrence was used a species distribution model with geographic location of the species compiled from three different databases. The occupation of the two species of mesopredators was not different among sites with and without jaguar. The probability of detection was different for ocelot, with higher detection on sites with than without jaguar. The overlap in the activity pattern among jaguar and mesopredators was low, with approximately 55% of overlapping. Also there was a reasonable change in the overlap between sampling seasons, with a minimum of 32% and maximum of 56% of the difference in the activity pattern. The differences in the detection and temporal overlap occurred in the third season when occurred the highest number of jaguar captures and recaptures. The trophic network presented six levels and, a high species richness and links density. After removal of the jaguar, a trophic level and approximately 20% of links were lost. When compared historical and current distributions, the loss of environmental space occurred in areas colder (< 6.3 ° C), drier (< 288 mm), wetter (> 7517 mm) and at higher elevation (> 3597 m). The distribution model also indicated that there is many potential suitable areas available to the jaguar occurrence and, some of them deserve attention, particularly, in eastern and southern portions of Amazonia where the species is most at risk of local extinction. This study provided a significant contribution to the knowledge of the population of jaguar in the Amazon biome which still has the largest gap of information on the biology and ecology of the species. It demonstrated the effect of the presence of the species in the detectability and the activity pattern of others. Also, it demonstrated their ecological role as an apex predator exclusive because it was the only one that ate all other species of lower trophic levels. It described the environmental space originally occupied (historical distribution) and lost (current distribution). It indicated potential suitable areas to its occurrence and threatened areas to its disappearance.
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Gkargkas, Konstantinos. "Top-down analyses of the genetic control of yeast growth under a range of physiological conditions." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.609268.
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Heller, Hansraj Christine. "Trophic cascading in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland : the influence of top-down controls on the pelagic food web /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2000. http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/show?type=diss&nr=13631.
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Navarro, Fernanda Keley Silva Pereira. "Avaliação experimental do efeito do controle top-down e bottom-up sobre a cadeia de detritos em ambiente aquático." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UnB, 2014. http://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/15881.
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Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, 2014.Submitted by Albânia Cézar de Melo (albania@bce.unb.br) on 2014-07-01T14:30:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_FernandaKeleySilvaPereiraNavarro.pdf: 2103940 bytes, checksum: af581d8f9ce21ea1340e7dad030e8fdc (MD5)
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Em ecossistemas lóticos, principalmente nas regiões de cabeceira, onde o metabolismo heterotrófico é dominante (P
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Matusz, Pawel Jerzy. "The role of multisensory integration in the bottom-up and top-down control of attentional object selection." Thesis, Birkbeck (University of London), 2013. http://bbktheses.da.ulcc.ac.uk/27/.
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Selective spatial attention and multisensory integration have been traditionally considered as separate domains in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. However, theoretical and methodological advancements in the last two decades have paved the way for studying different types of interactions between spatial attention and multisensory integration. In the present thesis, two types of such interactions are investigated. In the first part of the thesis, the role of audiovisual synchrony as a source of bottom-up bias in visual selection was investigated. In six out of seven experiments, a variant of the spatial cueing paradigm was used to compare attentional capture by visual and audiovisual distractors. In another experiment, single-frame search arrays were presented to investigate whether multisensory integration can bias spatial selection via salience-based mechanisms. Behavioural and electrophysiological results demonstrated that the ability of visual objects to capture attention was enhanced when they were accompanied by noninformative auditory signals. They also showed evidence for the bottom-up nature of these audiovisual enhancements of attentional capture by revealing that these enhancements occurred irrespective of the task-relevance of visual objects. In the second part of this thesis, four experiments are reported that investigated the spatial selection of audiovisual relative to visual objects and the guidance of their selection by bimodal object templates. Behavioural and ERP results demonstrated that the ability of task-irrelevant target-matching visual objects to capture attention was reduced during search for audiovisual as compared to purely visual targets, suggesting that bimodal search is guided by integrated audiovisual templates. However, the observation that unimodal targetmatching visual events retained some ability to capture attention indicates that bimodal search is controlled to some extent by modality-specific representations of task-relevant information. In summary, the present thesis has contributed to our knowledge of how attention is controlled in real-life environments by demonstrating that spatial selective attention can be biased towards bimodal objects via salience-driven as well as goal-based mechanisms.
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Collins, Scott Andrew. "Bottom-Up Controls (Micronutrients and N and P Species) Better Predict Cyanobacterial Abundances in Harmful Algal Blooms Than Top-Down Controls (Grazers)." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2019. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8584.
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The initiation, bloom, and bust of harmful Cyanobacteria and algae blooms (HAB) in lakes are controlled by top-down and bottom-up ecological controls. Excess phosphorous and nitrogen inputs from anthropogenic sources are primary to blame, but eukaryotic grazers may also promote or curb Cyanobacteria dominance. We tracked shifts in bacterial composition, lake chemistry, and eukaryotic grazing community weekly or bi-weekly through spring and summer and modeled the causes of specific Cyanobacterial species blooms and busts across three lakes in Utah, USA, with differing lake trophic states. Regardless of trophic status, all three lakes experienced blooms of varying composition and duration. Aphanizomenon strain MDT14a was the most dominant species in every bloom on Utah Lake, comprising up to 44.16% of the bacterial community. Utah Lake experienced a total of 18 blooms across all sites ranging in duration from one to six weeks. Phormidiaceae sp. (8.5 6.1%) and Microcystis sp. (9.7 4.7%) were the most abundant species in the Deer Creek bloom. Deer creek experienced one bloom at the beginning of fall. Nodularia sp. (9.7 2.1) dominated Great Salt Lake bloom. The Great Salt Lake experienced four separate blooms during the summer months that lasted one to three weeks. Phosphorous concentrations on Utah Lake varied across site and season. Nitrate concentrations on Deer Creek increased over season with a ten-fold increase in concentration. We characterized Cyanobacteria blooms as either bloom communities (growing populations of Cyanobacteria) or as bust communities (declining populations of Cyanobacteria). Using these designations, we modeled the growth and decline of the Cyanobacteria populations across season with top-down and bottom up-controls. Based on generalized least-squared modeling, eukaryotic grazing does not affect relative Cyanobacteria abundances as much as nutrient limitations. Aphanizomenom strain MDT14a was positively correlated with temperature (P < 0.028) and the concentration of K (P = 0.007) and negatively correlated with increases in conductivity (P = 0.0088). Microcystis was positively correlated with increasing levels of SRP (P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with higher Ca concentrations (P = 0.008) and PP (P = 0.008). Busts of Microcystis were related to decreases in nitrate (P = 0.06) and lower total lake depths (P = 0.03). Phormidiaceae sp. relative abundance was negatively correlated with higher levels of TDN (P = 0.01-0.001) and Mg (P = 0.01) and positively correlated with higher S concentrations (P = 0.007). Our findings suggest that micronutrients and more bioavailable forms of P may potentially allow Cyanobacteria to break dormancy and proliferate HAB communities.
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Han, Peng. "Effets bottom-up et top-down des variations de fertilisation et d'irrigation sur des réseaux tri-trophiques en agroécosystèmes." Thesis, Nice, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014NICE4057/document.
Full textAbstract:
Le système « plante-ravageur-ennemi naturel » fournit un modèle de base idéal pour comprendre comment les communautés d'arthropodes sont structurées et comment les interactions (directes et indirectes) entre les différents acteurs contribuent à façonner la structure des communautés. Dans les agroécosystèmes, les forces "top-down" correspondent aux effets de contrôle que les organismes arthropodes des niveaux trophiques supérieurs (par exemple, les prédateurs) ont sur les espèces des niveaux inférieurs (par exemple, leurs proies). Les communautés d'arthropodes peuvent également être influencées par des forces "bottom-up" induites par des variations dans les régimes de fertilisation ou d'irrigation ou par des variations de certains traits des plantes (résistance aux herbivores ou adaptations aux stress environnementaux). De plus, les forces "bottom-up" peuvent affecter l'impact "top-down" des ennemis naturels sur les herbivores soit directement (par exemple, les effets sur prédateur omnivore) ou médiées par les insectes herbivores intermédiaires. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse ont été de comprendre comment les variations de l'apport des ressources dans les agroecoécosytsèmes (disponibilité en azote et en eau) peuvent influencer les interactions entre les plantes, les herbivores et les ennemis naturels. Cette question a été étudiée aussi bien à l'échelle individuelle (traits d'histoire de vie des insectes) que populationnelle (dynamique des populations). Les études ont été réalisées sur deux agroécosystèmes basés sur les cultures de la tomate et du cotonThe “Plant-herbivorous insect-natural enemy” system provides an ideal basic model to understand how the plant-inhabiting arthropod communities are structured and how various mechanisms (i.e. direct and indirect interactions) contribute to shape the community structure. In agro-ecosystems, top-down forces encompass the controlling effects that arthropod organisms of the higher trophic level (e.g., predators) have on species at the next lower level (e.g., prey). Arthropod communities may also be influenced by bottom-up forces induced by environmental variations (e.g. fertilization or irrigation regimes) or plant traits (plant insect-resistance or plant-adaptive traits). Furthermore, bottom-up forces may affect top-down forces on herbivores either directly (e.g., effects on omnivorous predator) or mediated by the intermediate herbivorous insects. In this context, the aims of the PhD study were to disentangle how variations in resource inputs (i.e. nitrogen and water availability) affect interactions among plant, herbivores and their natural enemies at both the individual (life-history traits) and population (population dynamic) levels. The studies were carried out on two agrosystems based on tomato and cotton. On tomato, the system 'Solanum lycopersicum L - leafminer Tuta absoluta - omnivorous predator Macrolphis pygmaeus' was used under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in France. We found strong evidence of bottom-up effects of nitrogen and/or water inputs on the herbivore and the omnivorous predator. Feeding ecology of the predator was also strongly influenced by water availability
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Tuba, Bucak. "Determining The Roles Of Water Level And Fish Predation On Submerged Plant Growth In Shallow Lakes Using Mesocosm Experiment." Master's thesis, METU, 2011. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612995/index.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Four-month mesocosm experiment from June 1st to September 25th, 2009, was conducted
to determine the effect of water level dierence in combination with fish predation
pressure, on submerged macrophyte development, in an eutrophic shallow lake.
Effect of water level fluctuation was simulated by placing enclosures to the different
water depths that included 0.8 m, 1.6 m and 2.3 m on Lake Eymir. These enclosures
having a cylindirical shape and 1.2 m diameter, were open to sediment and
atmosphere interaction. The highest water level mesocosms were cancelled after fifth
sampling due to rapture in the bags, hence this thesis does not include the results of 2.3
m. At each depth, half of the enclosures were stocked with planktivo-omnivorous fish
(Tinca tinca, Alburnus spp.) which are natural fauna of Lake Eymir. Before stocking
of fish, ten shoots of Potamageton pectinatus were added to all of the enclosures in
order to observe submerged macrophyte development.
Sampling for physico-chemical parameters, zooplankton, chlorophyll a, PVI% and periphyton was conducted weekly for the first five weeks, last six samplings were
done biweekly. Macrophyte harvesting for dry weight estimation was done at the end
of the experiment. Throughout the experiment water level decreased 0.41 ±0.06 m in each enclosures. Water level was so critical for macrophyte development that no significant macrophyte growth was observed in enclosures located at 1.6 m (HW). However, fish predation did not prevent the growth of macrophyte in enclosures located at 0.8 m (LW) but it was important in HW enclosure for affecting water clarity. Fish predation affected chlorophyll a, zooplankton and nutrient concentrations and the effect was mostly pronounced at LW enclosures. They had high chlorophyll a and nutrient concentrations but it did not repress macrophyte growth as in temperate lakes. Despite high water clarity in HW fishless enclosures, very low macrophyte biomass may be attributed to enhanced periphyton development. Zooplankton community shifted to small sized ones under fish predation while fishless enclosures had higher zooplankton /phytoplankton ratio for each depth. Hence, regarding these results it can be stated that decrease in water level can compensate the negative effects of fish predation on macrophyte growth in warm Mediterranean lakes.
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Ozen, Arda. "Impact Of Top Down And Bottom Up Controls On The Microbial Loop In Turkish Shallow Lakes: Space For Time Substitute, Monitoring And Mesocosms Approaches." Phd thesis, METU, 2012. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12615058/index.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Bacteria, nanoflagellates and ciliates constitute the microbial loop and it is a model of the pathways of carbon and nutrient cycling through microbial components of pelagic aquatic communities. The current study comprised of a comparative study of the microbial food web community along north to south latitudinal gradient using space for time susbtitute, monitoring and mesocosms experiments with contrasting nutrient and predation states. We investigated effect of fish predation through different zooplankton taxa on microbial loop community with in situ food web experiments in 14 lakes along north to south latitudinal gradient. The effect of seasonality was also determined by monitoring in Lakes Eymir and Mogan between 2010 and 2011. Effects of hydrology and fish through microbial community was studied in mesocosms in Lake Eymir. An implication of global warming along with eutrophication on microbial community was further explored in warmed and nutrient enriched artificial ponds during 4 months in Silkeborg, Denmark.
Our results revealed that temperature, hydrology, fish, macrophytes and seasonality affected the top down control of zooplankton and bottom up control of nutrients on microbial loop and interactions between controls and increase in these controls had a strong negative impact on the contribution and biomass of microbial loop and change the interactions within microbial community. Global warming may also effect the impact of top down and bottom up controls through increasing eutrophication, temperature, change in hydrology and zooplankton composition and in a consequence of that efficiency of microbial loop may decrease in the future warmer, drier and eutrophic conditions.
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Terseleer, Lillo Nathan. "Bottom-up and top-down controls of diatoms in the Belgian coastal zone, Southern North Sea: combining plankton functional type modelling and trait-based approaches." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209321.
Full textAbstract:
Les diatomées sont une composante majeure des écosystèmes marins et sont caractérisées par une grande diversité. L’objectif général de cette thèse est d’étudier les facteurs de contrôle des diatomées dans la Zone Côtière Belge (ZCB). Pour ce faire, la modélisation par groupes fonctionnels et l’approche basée sur les traits sont combinées :la première fournit un cadre écosystémique utile pour étudier les interactions des diatomées avec les compartiments biotiques et abiotiques de l’écosystème, et la seconde permet de représenter de façon efficace leur diversité fonctionnelle.Dans un premier temps, puisque la taille est reconnue comme un trait majeur affectant de nombreux aspects de la valeur sélective du phytoplancton, la dépendance au biovolume de différents traits des diatomées a été établie sur base d’observations disponibles dans la littérature. Cette revue a montré qu’un compromis sépare les diatomées sur base de leur biovolume :les petites espèces sont meilleures compétitrices pour l’acquisition des ressources mais plus sensibles au broutage, et inversement.
Sur cette base, un ré-analyse d’un jeu de données incluant des comptages et mesures de biométrie avec l’identification de 68 taxons dans la ZCB entre 1992 et 2000 a été réalisée, avec une attention particulière pour la structure en termes de taille de la communauté de diatomées. Un regroupement des diatomées en fonction de leur biovolume a été réalisé sur base de leur évolution saisonnière typique. L’analyse de leur évolution temporelle suggère que la communauté des diatomées est composée d’assemblages avec une évolution saisonnière et interannuelle distinctes qui répondent vraisemblablement différemment aux conditions environnementales.
Afin d’étudier plus en profondeur les facteurs environnementaux contrôlant la structure en termes de taille de la communauté des diatomées dans la ZCB, le module diatomées du modèle MIRO, qui représente l’écosystème planctonique de la ZCP, a été modifié afin d’inclure les dépendances à la taille de quatre traits des diatomées. Cet outil reproduit correctement l’évolution saisonnière du biovolume moyen de la communauté, qui est caractérisé par de plus petites diatomées au printemps qui maximisent l’acquisition de ressources tandis que la prévalence du broutage en été induit une transition vers des espèces plus grandes. Le modèle a également été exploité pour étudier la gamme de tailles viables dans la ZCB en fonction des conditions environnementales.
Les résultats du modèle basés sur les traits ont ensuite été analysés sur la période 1992-2000. Les simulations ont mis en évidence les interactions complexes entre les processus physiques, de contrôles par les ressources et par le broutage, qui sont susceptibles de déterminer la variabilité interannuelle de la structure en termes de taille des diatomées dans la ZCB. La comparaison de ce modèle adaptatif avec un modèle plus conventionnel qui ne représente pas de diversité interne aux diatomées suggère que le premier produit une réponse légèrement plus flexible que le dernier, mais que la rigidité de la réponse simulée demeure un problème avec le modèle adaptatif qui reste incapable de représenter des évènements extrêmes de biomasse ou de structure de la communauté. Cela suggère que des développements supplémentaires du modèle sont nécessaires, en particulier du module zooplancton.
Finalement, une fonction écologique particulière est abordée dans une dernière section de cette thèse :la production d’une neurotoxine par certaines diatomées du genre Pseudo-nitzschia. Cette fonction a été incluse comme un métabolisme secondaire dans un modèle idéalisé de la croissance de Pseudo-nitzschia afin d’étudier les facteurs contrôlant la production de la toxine. Il est notamment montré que l’environnement lumineux est déterminant lorsque les conditions menant à la production de toxine sont rencontrées.
/
Diatoms are a key component of marine ecosystems and are characterized by an important diversity. The general objective of this thesis is to investigate the bottom-up and top-down controls of diatoms in the Belgian Coastal Zone (BCZ). This is done through the integration of their functional diversity into a coherent framework. In order to achieve this, Plankton Functional Type modelling and trait-based approaches are combined: the former provides an ecosystem context convenient to study the interactions of diatoms with biotic and abiotic compartments, and the latter allows an efficient representation of their functional diversity.
As a first step, since size is recognized as a master trait shaping many aspects of phytoplankton fitness, the cell volume dependences of diatom functional traits were compiled from observations available in the literature. This review showed that a trade-off distinguishes diatoms on the basis of their cell volume: smaller species are better competitor for resource acquisition but sensitive to grazing, and inversely.
On this basis, a re-analysis of a dataset including diatom cell counts and biometry with the identification of 68 taxa in the BCZ over the 1992-2000 period was carried out, with a focus on the size structure of the diatom community. A clustering of diatoms according to their cell volume was realized on the basis of their average seasonality. Investigation of their time evolution suggested that the diatom community in the area is composed of assemblages with distinct seasonal and interannual evolution that likely respond differently to environmental conditions.
In order to further investigate the bottom-up and top-down constrains on the size structure of the diatom community in the BCZ, the diatom module of the MIRO model, which represents the planktonic ecosystem of the BCZ, was modified in order to accommodate size-dependences of four diatom functional traits. This tool adequately reproduced the seasonal evolution of the mean cell volume of the diatom community, which is characterized by smaller diatoms in spring that maximize resource acquisition while the prevalence of grazing pressures in summer induces a shift towards larger species. The model was also used to investigate the range of viable diatom sizes in response to the bottom-up and top-down pressures in the BCZ.
Results of the trait-based adaptive model were then analysed over the 1992-2000 period. Simulations evidenced the complex interactions between physical, bottom-up and top-down processes that are likely to govern the interannual variability in the size structure of diatom in the area. Comparison of the adaptive model with a more conventional model resolving no diversity within diatoms suggested that the former produces a slightly more flexible response than the latter, but showed that the rigidity of the simulated response persists with the adaptive model which remains unable to catch extreme biomass and community structure events. This calls for further developments of other compartments of the model, more particularly zooplankton.
Finally, a peculiar ecological function is addressed on its own in the last section of this thesis: the toxigenicity of some species of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. This function was added as a secondary metabolism in an idealized model of Pseudo-nitzschia growth in order to investigate the factors affecting toxin production. It notably showed that light was determinant under conditions leading to its production.
Doctorat en Sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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Filiz, Nur. "Impacts Of Nutrients On Periphyton Growth And Periphyton-macroinvertebrates Interactions In Shallow Lakes: A Mesocosm Experiment." Master's thesis, METU, 2012. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614911/index.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Periphyton biomass on artificial strips was observed monthly to see the impacts of nutrient differences on periphyton and periphyton-macroinvertebrates interaction. The experiment was conducted for four months in a mesocosm which were runned at six countries at the same time and with the same steps. Eight enclosures at two meters depth were used that four of them had high nutrient level and the other four had low nutrient level. Sediment, macrophyte, fish, plankton, benthic invertebrates and water were added at the same time and with the same way in all of the countries. Periphyton growth which formed on artificial 32 cm2 strips for June, July, August and September were brushed to filtered mesocosm water and dry mass, ash free dry mass, phosphorus content and chlorophyl-a concentrations were measured. Grazer pressure on the periphyton was observed with a laboratory experiment for July, August and September months. At the end of the mesocosm experiment macrophytes and fish were harvested. Macrophytes&rsquodry mass and fish&rsquo
abundance were measured. Moreover at the end of the experiment epiphyton was also measured. Three kajak cores were taken from sediment for macroinvertebrates at the end of the experiment and identified. All physical features of mesocosm enclosures and PVI data were recorded for every 2 weeks. Periphyton biomass was higher concentrations in HN enclosures than LN tanks. Only dry mass of periphyton biomass showed the opposite because of the marl deposition in LN tanks. This finding was also reinforced by epiphyton samples which was taken at the end of the experiment. LN enclosures had the more abundance of macroinvertebrate. The groups we found in sediment which had big grazer effect on periphyton such as gastropods and Chironomidae. Grazer experiment showed that grazer effect on periphyton increased in time. Although this raise, periphyton growth also increased in LN enclosures with nutrient increasing. This may be indicate that nutrient effect has a stronger effect than grazer pressure on periphyton. As it is explained before in the beginning of the experiment all of the conditions were the same except nutrient level. Thus, bottom-up effect changed the top-down control and at the end of the experiment we saw the more periphyton less macroinvertebrate and more fish in HN tanks while the opposite was seen in LN tanks.
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Kist, Danieli Ledur. "Reguladores da variação temporal e espacial da comunidade bacteriana em lagoa rasa subtropical." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/61920.
Full textAbstract:
O bacterioplâncton é um dos grupos de organismos responsáveis pela remineralização de nutrientes em ecossistemas aquáticos, bem como produtor de biomassa através da alça microbiana. Compreender a dinâmica dessa comunidade em função da variação térmica, disponibilidade de recursos e pressão de predação pode fornecer elementos que auxiliem no gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos, através da aplicação direta desse conhecimento ou como subsídios na interpretação do resultado de simulações através de modelos ecológicos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a existência de heterogeneidade espacial e temporal na estrutura da comunidade bacteriana, densidade, biomassa e riqueza de morfotipos, na Lagoa Mangueira, bem como identificar as variáveis limnológicas que direcionam esses padrões. Foi evidenciada presença de heterogeneidade temporal, sazonal, e espacial do bacterioplâncton associada a dinâmica das variáveis limnológicas. A temperatura e a disponibilidade de nutrientes foram as principais variáveis que regularam as comunidades planctônicas, biomassa algal, bacterioplâncton e zooplâncton. Observou-se controle lateral, competição por nutrientes, entre as comunidades produtoras. O controle descendente, predação, mostrou ter importante efeito sobre o bacterioplâncton, mais especificamente sobre o morfotipo coccus, durante o verão e o inverno, sendo essa comunidade controlada de forma ascendente durante o outono e a primavera, principalmente por nitrogênio. Durante o inverno, a comunidade bacteriana apresentou significativa redução de densidade e biomassa, sendo que essa resposta pode estar relacionada às baixas temperaturas da água. A forma coccus foi o principal morfotipo produtor de biomassa e de maior densidade na lagoa. Importante heterogeneidade espacial foi observada na Lagoa Mangueira para as variáveis abióticas, visto que as regiões norte e sul apresentaram a maior diferenciação espacial, influenciada pela dimensão da lagoa. Fósforo total e carbono orgânico total regularam a comunidade bacteriana no norte da lagoa, especialmente os morfotipos coccus, curved e outros. Entre as zonas da lagoa, a margem oeste e leste foram as mais distintas em função da disponibilidade de nutrientes, destacando-se o carbono inorgânico total. A densidade bacteriana foi maior durante o verão, outono e inverno na região pelágica e durante a primavera na margem oeste da lagoa. A comunidade fitoplanctônica apresentou uma distribuição espacial caracterizada por maiores densidades nas regiões norte e centro da lagoa e na zona pelágica. O fósforo foi a principal variável limitante para as comunidades produtoras, fitoplâncton e bacterioplâncton, sendo o controle ascendente o principal regulador dessas comunidades, visto que o controle descendente não foi observado. Quanto à dinâmica dos organismos planctônicos e das variáveis limnológicas associados ao perfil de profundidade, a Lagoa Mangueira não apresentou estratificação das variáveis e consequentemente das comunidades planctônicas, resultado relacionado a uma possível característica de mistura completa da massa d’água, mesmo com ventos de baixa intensidade. As comunidades planctônicas apresentaram maior densidade durante o inverno, direcionadas pela maior disponibilidade de nitrogênio e fósforo.Bacterioplankton is one of the groups of organisms responsible for the remineralization of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems, as well as a producer of biomass through the microbial loop. Understanding the dynamics of this community due to the thermal variation, resource availability and predation pressure may provide data to assist in the management of water resources through the application of that knowledge or direct subsidies in the interpretation of the results of simulations using ecological models. This work aimed to verify the existence of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in bacterial community structure, density, biomass and richness of morphotypes in Mangueira Lake, as well as identify the limnological variables that drive these patterns. We evidenced the presence of temporal heterogeneity, seasonal and spatial dynamics of bacterioplankton associated with limnological characteristics. The temperature and nutrient availability were the main variables that regulated the planktonic communities, algal biomass, bacterioplankton and zooplankton. There was lateral control, competition for nutrients, between the producing communities. The top down control, predation, was shown to have important effects on the bacterioplankton, more specifically on the coccus morphotype during the summer and winter, and this controlled community in bottom up controled during the fall and spring, mainly nitrogen. During the winter, the community had a significant reduction in bacterial density and biomass, and this response may be related to low water temperatures. Morphotype coccus was the main producing biomass and higher density in the lake. Important spatial heterogeneity was observed at Mangueira Lake for the abiotic variables, whereas the northern and southern regions had the highest spatial differentiation, influenced by the size of the lake. Total phosphorus and total organic carbon regulated bacterial community in the north of the lagoon, especially coccus morphotypes, curved and ‘others’. Among the areas of the lake, the west border and east were the most different depending on the availability of nutrients, especially if the total inorganic carbon. The bacterial density was higher during the summer, autumn and winter in the pelagic region and during the spring on the west border of the lake. The phytoplankton community showed a spatial distribution characterized by higher densities in the north and center of the lake and the pelagic zone. Phosphorus was the main variable limiting communities producing, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton, and bottom up control of these communities, since the top down control was not observed. Considering the dynamics of planktonic organisms and limnological variables associated with the depth profile, the Mangueira Lake did not show stratification of variables and consequently the planktonic communities, the result can be related to a characteristic of complete mixing of water mass, even with low wind intensity. The planktonic communities showed higher densities during the winter, driven by increased availability of nitrogen and phosphorus.
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Aguilar, Fenollosa Ernestina. "Efecto de la gestión de la cubierta vegetal en el control biológico de Tetranychus urticae en mandarino clementino." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Jaume I, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/22694.
Full textAbstract:
Tetranychus urticae es una especie plaga importante en cítricos que puede también alimentarse de otras especies asociadas a la cubierta vegetal de este cultivo. Para determinar el efecto de la gestión de la cubierta vegetal en el control biológico de este ácaro, hemos estudiado la dinámica tanto de ácaros Tetranychidae como Phytoseiidae en cuatro parcelas comerciales de mandarino clementino en las que se aplicó tres estrategias diferentes de gestión de la cubierta vegetal: (1) suelo desnudo, (2) cubierta espontánea y (3) cubierta sembrada de Festuca arundinacea. Los resultados apuntan a que tanto los enemigos naturales (mecanismos "top-down") como la planta huésped (mecanismos "bottom-up") juegan un papel importante en la regulación de los ácaros Tetranychidae.
Por un lado, la selección de dos razas de T. urticae especializadas en F. arundinacea y en Citrus clementina, en la cubierta y en el árbol respectivamente, cuando esta gramínea se utiliza como cubierta podría explicar en parte los resultados obtenidos (regulación "bottom-up") ya que esto impediría a los especímenes de una planta huésped colonizar con éxito la otra. Los ensayos de trasplante recíproco realizados muestran que las dos demos de T. urticae recogidas de clementina y F. arundinacea difieren considerablemente en su éxito en el desarrollo en el huésped alternativo y esto indica la existencia de fenómenos de adaptación local.
Esta adaptación se traduciría en mecanismos "bottom-up" que evitarían que los ácaros que habitan en la cubierta colonicen con éxito la copa de los árboles.
Por otro lado, la composición cualitativa de las comunidades de Phytoseiidae asociados a las diferentes cubiertas podría ser clave en la regulación de las poblaciones de T. urticae y Panonychus citri (regulación "top-down"). Los ácaros Phytoseiidae tipo I y II, depredadores especializados en Tetranychidae, se encuentran de manera consistente en la cubierta de F. arundinacea y esto puede explicar la mejor regulación de las poblaciones de ácaros Tetranychidae en los árboles asociados a esta cubierta. Por el contrario, la disposición más regular de fuentes de alimentación alternativas (polen) en la cubierta natural en relación con la cubierta de F. arundinacea, podría explicar la mayor abundancia de Phytoseiidae tipo IV en la primera. Como consecuencia, los Phytoseiidae tipo I y II, más eficaces en el control de Tetranychidae, podrían sufrir las consecuencias de ser competitivamente inferiores que el Phytoseiidae generalista tipo IV que explota el polen en la cubierta espontánea. Este hecho, en combinación con los períodos de escasez de presa, podría dar lugar a su desaparición del agroecosistema y resultar en un deficiente control de los ácaros Tetranychidae en los árboles asociados a una cubierta natural.
Haciendo balance de gastos e ingresos, la cubierta más favorable fue la de F. arundinacea (entre 44,4 y 74,5% de reducción de costes en relación con la más cara). Festuca arundinacea como cubierta vegetal es una estrategia de control biológico por conservación muy recomendable para los productores de clementina. Aunque su uso no redujo las poblaciones de ácaros en los árboles por debajo del umbral económico, la disminución en la necesidad de tratamientos, hace que la adopción de esta táctica sea una alternativa beneficiosa tanto ecológica como económicamente.
Nuestros resultados apuntan a la cubierta de F. arundinacea, que no permitió el establecimiento de Tetranychus evansi y ofrece una mejor regulación de P. citri y T. urticae que en suelo desnudo o cubierta natural, como la más adecuada para un control más sostenible de los ácaros Tetranychidae en cítricos.
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Silva, Naira Juliana da. "Influência de dinoflagelados potencialmente nocivos sobre o zooplâncton de uma região costeira subtropical: uma abordagem experimental." Universidade de São Paulo, 2013. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/21/21134/tde-03022015-114253/.
Full textAbstract:
Florações de microalgas potencialmente nocivas têm aumentado em termos globais e causado impactos na aquicultura, no turismo, na saúde humana e em vários aspectos do funcionamento dos ecossistemas. No Brasil, uma atenção cada vez maior tem sido dada ao tema, em virtude do elevado potencial de nossas águas para o cultivo de bivalves marinhos, um dos grupos de invertebrados mais afetados. Deste modo, a preocupação com a contaminação de consumidores humanos tem gerado projetos voltados para a detecção de espécies potencialmente nocivas e de suas toxinas, mas ainda há poucos estudos sobre interações alimentares entre as espécies de fitoplâncton e zooplâncton. No presente trabalho interações entre dinoflagelados potencialmente nocivos e organismos pertencentes ao zooplâncton marinho foram investigadas em dois capítulos. Capítulo 1: O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a influência do dinoflagelado potencialmente nocivo Alexandrium tamiyavanichii na alimentação e reprodução do copépode planctônico marinho Temora turbinata. Taxas de produção de ovos e sucesso de eclosão naupliar foram estimadas para fêmeas alimentadas em misturas de A. tamiyavanichii e do dinoflagelado Prorocentrum minimum, tratado aqui como alimento controle. Capítulo 2: O principal objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os efeitos de exsudatos de dinoflagelados e células intactas na sobrevivência e mobilidade de táxons zooplanctônicos de uma região subtropical (Ubatuba, Brasil). Efeitos letais foram observados em cinco dos seis táxons testados, três dos quais (náuplios de copépodes, tintinídeos e larvas de gastrópodes) quando expostos a exsudatos e dois (rotíferos e larvas de braquiúros) quando expostos a células intactas. Em adição, larvas de gastrópodes demonstraram comprometimento da mobilidade após exposição à exsudatos. Apenas larvas de poliquetas não foram aparentemente afetadas no curso dos experimentos.Harmful algae blooms have increased globally and caused impacts in aquaculture, tourism, and human health and in various aspects of ecosystem functioning. In Brazil, increasing attention has been given to this issue, because of the high potential of our waters for marine bivalve farming. Therefore, there are risks of contamination of the crops, and consequent poisoning of the consumers. This concern has led research projects to mostly focus on the detection of potentially harmful species and their toxins, with few initiatives to understand feeding interactions among species of phytoplankton and zooplankton. In this research interactions between potentially harmful dinoflagellates and marine zooplankton were investigated in two chapters. Chapter 1 - This study aims to evaluate the influence of the potentially harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamiyavanichii on Temora turbinata feeding and reproduction. Egg production rates and hatching success were estimated for females fed on mixtures of A. tamiyavanichii and P. minimum. Chapter 2: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of dinoflagellate exudates and intact cells on the survivorship and mobility of zooplankton taxa from a subtropical location (Ubatuba, Brazil). Lethal effects were observed in five out of six taxa investigated, three of which (copepod nauplii, tintinnids and gastropod larvae) when exposed to dinoflagellate exudates and two (rotifers and brachyuran zoeae) when exposed to intact cells. In addition, gastropod larvae displayed mobility impairment during exposure to dinoflagellate exudates. Only polychaete larvae were not apparently affected during the course of the experiments.
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Schneider, Jana [Verfasser], Carola [Akademischer Betreuer] Winkelmann, Thomas U. [Akademischer Betreuer] Berendonk, Dietrich [Akademischer Betreuer] Borchardt, and Alexandra [Akademischer Betreuer] Kroll. "Biomanipulation for eutrophication control in running waters : Top-down effects on benthic key stone grazers / Jana Schneider. Betreuer: Carola Winkelmann. Gutachter: Thomas U. Berendonk ; Dietrich Borchardt ; Alexandra Kroll." Dresden : Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2016. http://d-nb.info/1093412348/34.
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Gerke, Madlen [Verfasser], Carola [Gutachter] Winkelmann, Jost [Gutachter] Borcherding, and René [Gutachter] Sahm. "Biomanipulation in running waters : The potential for top-down control by cypriniform fish in mitigating eutrophication effects in medium-sized rivers / Madlen Gerke ; Gutachter: Carola Winkelmann, Jost Borcherding, René Sahm." Koblenz, 2021. http://d-nb.info/1239648413/34.
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Murray, Bryan David. "Risk-Sensitive Foraging Facilitates Species-Level Trophic Cascades Among Terrestrial Mammals: A Meta-Analysis." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1253037872.
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Castejón, Silvo Inés. "Grazing on the epiphytic community of Posidonia oceanica (L.)Delile: An assessment of its relevance as a buffering process of eutrophication effects." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/84146.
Full textAbstract:
El incremento de disponibilidad de nutrientes produce cambios en la estructura y funcionamiento de los ecosistemas litorales. La eutrofización en los ecosistemas litorales mediterráneos favorece el predominio de algas epifitas de crecimiento rápido que compiten por la luz y los nutrientes con Posidonia oceanica. La herbivoría sobre los epifitos suministra la mayor parte del carbono que asimilan los consumidores primarios y secundarios asociados a la pradera. Esta tesis evalúa la importancia del consumo ejercido por la epifauna asociada a las praderas de P. oceanica en revertir los efectos de la eutrofización sobre la biomasa de algas epifitas. Los resultados muestran un incremento de las tasas de consumo en respuesta a una mayor disponibilidad de biomasa epifita si bien el consumo no es capaz de revertir los efectos del aumento de nutrientes sobre la biomasa epifita. La comunidad íctica tiene un papel marginal en la regulación de la biomasa epifita en la Bahía de Palma.
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Reisinger, Ryan Rudolf. "Abundance and predatory impact of killer whales at Marion Island." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/27643.
Full textAbstract:
Killer whales are the oceans’ apex predator and are known to have important effects on ecosystems. At Subantarctic Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean, they have only been studied opportunistically, resulting in limited knowledge of their ecosystem impact here. This dissertation describes the prey and seasonal abundance, estimates the population size and assesses the predatory impact of killer whales on seals and penguins at Marion Island, using dedicated and opportunistic shore-based observations and photographic identification, from 2006 to 2009. During 823 sightings of killer whales at Marion Island (2006 to 2009) 48 predation events were recorded; in only 10 cases could prey be identified. Killer whales fed on fur seals, elephant seals and penguins. Constant effort (dedicated) observations (259 hours, 2008 to 2009) showed that killer whale abundance, which peaked in September to December with a secondary peak in April to May, is linked to the abundance of seals and penguins. Mark-recapture analyses were performed using nearly 10 000 photographs taken from 2006 to 2009. Following careful quality control criteria 37 individuals were identified and a population size of 42 (95% CI = 35-50) individuals estimated using the open population POPAN parameterization in the software program MARK. The analytical approach is more rigorous than that used in any previous population size assessment at Marion Island. Finally, the above data were integrated to assess whether top-down control of seal and penguin populations at Marion Island is generally plausible using a simple process of elimination. Based on published data I predicted the energetic ingestion requirements of adult male and female killer whales as 1 394 MJ.day-1 and 1 028 MJ.day-1, respectively. Expanding these requirements to the 37 killer whales photographically identified at Marion Island, the population requires 40 600MJ.day-1. Based on available energy density and mass data, I predicted the energy content of available seal and penguin prey and calculated the rates at which killer whales would consume these prey in various scenarios. Penguins and Subantarctic fur seals are relatively insensitive to killer whale predation owing to their large population sizes (10 000s to 100 000s), conversely, the smaller populations (100s to 1 000s) of Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals are sensitive to predation, particularly the latter as they have a high energy content (approximately 2 000 to 9 000 MJ). Populations of these seals are currently increasing or stable and I conclude that presently killer whale predation is not driving population declines, although they clearly have the potential for regulation of these smaller populations. Thus, if population sizes were reduced by bottom-up processes, if killer whale diet shifted, or if prey availability changed, top-down control by killer whales could become significant. This study provides baseline information for the informed management and conservation of killer whales at Marion Island, identifies avenues for further research, and provides a foundation for the continuation of structured and dedicated killer whale research at Marion Island.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Zoology and Entomology
unrestricted
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Nowicki, Robert J. "Effects of Catastrophic Seagrass Loss and Predation Risk on the Ecological Structure and Resilience of a Model Seagrass Ecosystem." FIU Digital Commons, 2016. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2994.
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As climate change continues, climactic extremes are predicted to become more frequent and intense, in some cases resulting in dramatic changes to ecosystems. The effects of climate change on ecosystems will be mediated, in part, by biotic interactions in those ecosystems. However, there is still considerable uncertainty about where and how such biotic interactions will be important in the context of ecosystem disturbance and climactic extremes.
Here, I review the role of consumers in seagrass ecosystems and investigate the ecological impacts of an extreme climactic event (marine heat wave) and subsequent widespread seagrass die-off in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Specifically, I compare seagrass cover, shark catch rates, and encounter rates of air breathing fauna in multiple habitat types before and after the seagrass die-off to describe post-disturbance dynamics of the seagrass community, shifts in consumer abundances, and changes in risk-sensitive habitat use patterns by a variety of mesoconsumers at risk of predation from tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Finally, I conducted a 16 month field experiment to assess whether xi loss of top predators, and predicted shifts in dugong foraging, could destabilize remaining seagrass.
I found that the previously dominant temperate seagrass Amphibolis antarctica is stable, but not increasing. Conversely, an early-successional tropical seagrass, Halodule uninervis, is expanding. Following the die-off, the densities of several consumer species (cormorants, green turtles, sea snakes, and dugongs) declined, while others (Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, loggerhead sea turtles, tiger sharks) remained stable. Stable tiger shark abundances following the seagrass die-off suggest that the seascape of fear remains intact in this system. However, several consumers (dolphins, cormorants) began to use dangerous but profitable seagrass banks more often following seagrass decline, suggesting a relaxation of anti-predator behavior. Experimental results suggest that a loss of tiger sharks would result in a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade (BMTC) in degraded seagrass beds, further destabilizing them and potentially resulting in a phase shift. My work shows that climactic extremes can have strong but variable impacts on ecosystems mediated in part by species identity, and that maintenance of top predator populations may by important to ecological resilience in the face of climate change.
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Sanz, Lázaro Carlos. "Consecuencias ecológicas del enriquecimiento por materia orgánica procedente de la acuicultura y de vertidos de petróleo en ecosistemas costeros." Doctoral thesis, Universidad de Murcia, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/10776.
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El objetivo de esta tesis es estudiar el efecto del enriquecimiento por materia orgánica producida por el cultivo de peces en el mar y por los vertidos de petróleo en el medio marino. Este trabajo intenta explicar las consecuencias ecológicas de los impactos generados por este tipo de contaminación, y en diseñar de test de toxicidad para evaluar la contaminación en el sur de las costas europeas. Específicamente, en relación con el impacto de la acuicultura, los estudios de recuperación durante la Apertura de peces bentónicos de reducción de piscicultura marina, el papel de la depredación en el sistema bentónico dispersión de los residuos y los vínculos horizontales y verticales con un impacto bentónico.The aim of this thesis is to study the effect of organic matter enrichment produced by marinefinfish farming and oil spills on the marine environment. This work is focused on elucidating theecological consequences of the impact generated by this type of pollution, and on designingtoxictity tests to evaluate pollution for southern European coasts. Specifically, related with aquaculture impact, it studies benthic recovery during open sea fish farming abatement, the role of predation in the benthic system and links horizontal and vertical waste dispersion with benthic impact.
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Misic, Bratislav. "Electrophysiological Events Related to Top-down Contrast Sensitivity Control." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/17439.
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Stimulus-driven changes in the gain of sensory neurons are well-documented, but relatively little is known about whether analogous gain-control can also be effected in a top-down manner. A recent psychophysical study demonstrated that sensitivity to luminance contrast can be modulated by a priori knowledge (de la Rosa et al., in press). In the present study, event-related potentials were used to resolve the stages of information processing that facilitate such knowledge-driven adjustments. Groupwise independent component analysis identified two robust spatiotemporal patterns of endogenous brain activity that captured experimental effects. The first pattern was associated with obligatory processing of contextual information, while the second pattern
was associated with selective initiation of contrast gain adjustment. These data suggest
that knowledge-driven contrast gain control is mediated by multiple independent electrogenic sources.
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Li, Xingshan. "Attention and eye movement control: Interaction of top -down and bottom -up information." 2007. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3289254.
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Many studies show that bottom-up and top-down information interactively control attentional deployment. This study explores how these two factors are integrated when controlling attention and eye movements. In this study, attention was affected by top-down factors (informative location cues, strategies) and by a bottom-up factor (an orientation singleton), with the intensity of each manipulated systematically. Results of Experiment 1 showed that one top-down factor (previous knowledge about the target location) can control attention independently from the bottom-up factor. This result raises some difficulties for those models that predict competition between top-down and bottom-up factors to control attention. The study implies separation between the pathways for top-down attention control and bottom-up attention control. This pattern is consistent with recent neuroscience findings, which show that different brain regions are involved in top-down and bottom-up attention control. Strategies were manipulated between Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, participants were encouraged to employ a singleton detection mode; in Experiment 2, participants could not employ a singleton detection mode. Results showed that the singleton could capture attention in Experiment 1; however, only the most salient singletons could capture attention in Experiment 2. This result is only partially consistent with the idea that a singleton could capture attention only when participants employ a singleton detection mode. Singletons with some specific properties could apparently capture attention even when participants could not employ singleton detection mode. Experiment 3 showed that eye movements are also controlled by the interaction of the top-down factors and the bottom-up factors. First saccades went to the singleton location more often if participants employed singleton detection mode than if they used a different strategy. First saccades also went to the singleton location more often when the informativeness of the cue decreased, and when the orientation of the singleton increased. Eye movement control differed from covert attention control in that it showed competition between top-down and bottom-up factors. This difference in overt and covert attentional control probably arises because covert attention can be simultaneously split across multiple locations, while the eyes can only be directed to a single location at any one time.
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"Bottom-up and Top-down Controls on the Microzooplankton Community in the Sargasso Sea." Master's thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.40248.
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abstract: Microzooplankton, mainly heterotrophic unicellular eukaryotes (protists), play an important role in the cycling of nutrients and carbon in the sunlit (euphotic) zone of the world’s oceans. Few studies have investigated the microzooplankton communities in oligotrophic (low-nutrient) oceans, such as the Sargasso Sea. In this study, I investigate the seasonal and interannual dynamics of the heterotrophic protists, particularly the nanoflagellate, dinoflagellate, and ciliate communities, at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series site and surrounding areas in the Sargasso Sea. In addition, I test the hypotheses that the community is controlled though bottom-up and top-down processes. To evaluate the bottom-up hypothesis, that the protists are controlled by prey availability, I test whether the protist abundance co-varies with the abundance of potential prey groups. Predation experiments with zooplankton were conducted and analyzed to test top-down control on the protists. I found distinguishable trends in biomass of the different protist groups between years and seasons. Nanoflagellates and dinoflagellates had higher biomass during the summer (28 ± 5 mgC/m2 and 44 ± 21 mgC/m2) than during the winter (17 ± 8 mgC/m2 and 30 ± 11 mgC/m2). Ciliates displayed the opposite trend with a higher average biomass in the winter (15 ± 9 mgC/m2) than in summer (5 ± 2 mgC/m2). In testing my bottom-up hypothesis, I found weak but significant positive grazer/prey relationships that indicate that nanoflagellates graze on picophytoplankton in winter and on the pico-cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus in summer. I found evidence that ciliates graze on Synechococcus in winter. I found weak but significant negative correlation between dinoflagellates and Prochlorococcus in summer. The predation experiments testing the top-down hypothesis did not show a clear top-down control, yet other studies in the region carried out during our investigation period support predation of the protists by the zooplankton. Overall, my results suggest a combination of bottom-up and top-down controls on these heterotrophic protists, however, further investigation is necessary to reveal the detailed trophic dynamics of these communities.Dissertation/Thesis
Masters Thesis Biology 2016
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Li, Yi-Jen, and 李宜珍. "Top-down vs. bottom-up control on the nitrogen budget of coral reef mesocosms." Thesis, 2011. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/79190385381932616453.
Full textAbstract:
碩士中興大學
生命科學院碩士在職專班
99
The coral reef in Nanwan Bay undergoes the phase shift because of excessive nutrient loading and overfishing. Among them, nitrogen is an important element to affect the primary production. In order to establish the control model for coral degradation, we have investigated the nitrogen budget which states the nitrogen variation in temporal and space in this study. Almost 6% of system nitrogen was absorbed by the control producers of the coral reef mesocosm. The order of major nitrogen pools and their size rank are coral, phytoplankton and Dictyota cervicornis. However, 18% of system nitrogen was immersed by the producers of eutrophic coral reef mesocosm, and the order of the major nitrogen pools and their size rank were Codium edule, coral and phytoplankton. Compared to the herbivores effect in eutrophic mesocosm, the producers coexist with herbivores uptake 18% nitrogen and the producers without herbivores uptake 48%. The major nitrogen pools of existed herbivores are Caulerpa racemosa, Valonia aegagropila and coral, and the others are Codium edule, Caulerpa racemosa, Valonia aegagropila. The nitrogen recycling rate of coexist-herbivores reef is higher than the one doesn’t have herbivores. Our conclusion is that the nitrogen pools in the marine biota would change overtime if more unnecessary nutrients are loaded and the herbivores are removed from coral reef .The extra nitrogen would interfere the marine nitrogen cycling and further the global nitrogen cycle. In the future, the better coral reef management should be focused on the treatment and drain of the sewage, and the marine protected area for saving the coral reef can avoid phase shift.
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"Investigating the Influence of Top-Down Mechanisms on Hemispheric Asymmetries in Verbal Memory." Doctoral diss., 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.18703.
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abstract: It is commonly known that the left hemisphere of the brain is more efficient in the processing of verbal information, compared to the right hemisphere. One proposal suggests that hemispheric asymmetries in verbal processing are due in part to the efficient use of top-down mechanisms by the left hemisphere. Most evidence for this comes from hemispheric semantic priming, though fewer studies have investigated verbal memory in the cerebral hemispheres. The goal of the current investigations is to examine how top-down mechanisms influence hemispheric asymmetries in verbal memory, and determine the specific nature of hypothesized top-down mechanisms. Five experiments were conducted to explore the influence of top-down mechanisms on hemispheric asymmetries in verbal memory. Experiments 1 and 2 used item-method directed forgetting to examine maintenance and inhibition mechanisms. In Experiment 1, participants were cued to remember or forget certain words, and cues were presented simultaneously or after the presentation of target words. In Experiment 2, participants were cued again to remember or forget words, but each word was repeated once or four times. Experiments 3 and 4 examined the influence of cognitive load on hemispheric asymmetries in true and false memory. In Experiment 3, cognitive load was imposed during memory encoding, while in Experiment 4, cognitive load was imposed during memory retrieval. Finally, Experiment 5 investigated the association between controlled processing in hemispheric semantic priming, and top-down mechanisms used for hemispheric verbal memory. Across all experiments, divided visual field presentation was used to probe verbal memory in the cerebral hemispheres. Results from all experiments revealed several important findings. First, top-down mechanisms used by the LH primarily used to facilitate verbal processing, but also operate in a domain general manner in the face of increasing processing demands. Second, evidence indicates that the RH uses top-down mechanisms minimally, and processes verbal information in a more bottom-up manner. These data help clarify the nature of top-down mechanisms used in hemispheric memory and language processing, and build upon current theories that attempt to explain hemispheric asymmetries in language processing.Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Speech and Hearing Science 2013
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Schell, Stephanie A. "Deficient top down control or alternative goals : an examination of negativity bias in dispositional anxiety /." 2009. http://www.library.wisc.edu/databases/connect/dissertations.html.
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Ching-ChunHsu and 許景淳. "Top-down control modulates the cuing effect on the processes of detecting the redundant targets." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/77928946499932973605.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立成功大學
心理學系認知科學碩士班
101
Selective attention has been known to plays an important role in decision making. However, little is known about whether attention can affect the decision process of processing information from spatially independent channels. The current study is conducted to examine the aforementioned issue. We combined the cueing paradigm and the redundant-target detection task. The cue validity was manipulated to modulate the participants’ attention in two experiments. Results showed that when the cue was 50% valid in Experiment 1, the participants adopted parallel self-terminating processing with unlimited to limited capacity. When the cue turned to 100% valid in Experiment 2, all the participants altered to serial self-terminating processing with limited capacity. These results suggested that attention influence the process architecture while detecting the redundant targets. Since all the participants reported that they did not notice the difference of cue validity between the two experiments, the results indicated that the participants implicitly learned the validity and altered their strategy. This study demonstrated the flexibility of the decision mechanism and highlighted the importance of top-down control in selecting a decision strategy.
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陳永義. "Developing a planning and control system for top-down methods in high-rise building construction." Thesis, 1993. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/53339358653737018026.
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Loonis, Roman. "Beta oscillations underlie top-down, feedback control while gamma oscillations reflect bottom-up, feedforward influences." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/26506.
Full textAbstract:
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical to behavioral flexibility and, hence, the top-down control over bottom-up sensory information. The mechanisms underlying this capacity have been hypothesized to involve the propagation of alpha/beta (8-30 Hz) oscillations via feedback connections to sensory regions. In contrast, gamma (30-160 Hz) oscillations are thought to arise as a function of bottom-up, feedforward stimulation. To test the hypothesis that such oscillatory phenomena embody such functional roles, we assessed the performance of nine monkeys on tasks of learning, categorization, and working memory concurrent with recording of local field potentials (LFPs) from PFC. The first set of tasks consisted of two classes of learning: one, explicit and, another, implicit. Explicit learning is a conscious process that demands top-down control, and in these tasks alpha/beta oscillations tracked learning. In contrast, implicit learning is an unconscious process that is automatic (i.e. bottom up), and in this task alpha/beta oscillations did not track learning. We next looked at dot-pattern categorization. In this task, category exemplars were generated by jittering the dot locations of a prototype. By chance, some of these exemplars were similar to the prototype (low distortion), and others were not (high distortion). Behaviorally, the monkeys performed well on both distortion levels. However, alpha/beta band oscillations carried more category information at high distortions, while gamma-band category information was greatest on low distortions. Overall, the greater the need for top-down control (i.e. high distortion), the greater the beta, and the lesser the need (i.e. low distortion), the greater the gamma. Finally, laminar electrodes were used to record from animals trained on working memory tasks. Each laminar probe was lowered so that its set of contacts sampled all cortical layers. During these tasks, gamma oscillations peaked in superficial layers, while alpha/beta peaked in deep layers. Moreover, these deep-layer alpha/beta oscillations entrained superficial alpha/beta, and modulated the amplitude of superficial-layer gamma oscillations. These laminar distinctions are consistent with anatomy: feedback neurons originate in deep layers and feedforward neurons in superficial layers. In summary, alpha/beta oscillations reflect top-down control and feedback connectivity, while gamma oscillations reflect bottom-up processes and feedforward connectivity.
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Schneider, Jana. "Biomanipulation for eutrophication control in running waters: Top-down effects on benthic key stone grazers." Doctoral thesis, 2015. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A29273.
Full textAbstract:
A good ecological status of streams and rivers is crucial for maintaining ecological functionality of running waters. Worldwide eutrophication threatens to change structure and function of freshwater ecosystems (Dodds et al., 2008). To reduce the symptoms of eutrophication in streams and rivers an additional approach, besides the reduction of external nutrient inputs from catchment areas, is needed. Therefore the goal has been set to transfer the approach of biomanipulation, which is widely accepted as tool in water quality management in lakes and reservoirs, to streams.
The objective of this study was accordingly to analyse and evaluate some crucial preconditions for top-down control of stream food webs. For that purpose the present thesis examined effects of fish predation (stone loach and gudgeon) on grazer-periphyton interaction in small streams by assessing predator avoidance by benthic grazers, effects of benthic grazers on periphyton community composition during fish presence/absence and the possibility of top-down control on algal biomass by benthivorous fish.
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YIH, CHEN YUNG, and 陳永義. "Developing a planning and control system for top-down methods in high-rise building construction." Thesis, 1993. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/19739543572646126895.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立臺灣科技大學
營建工程技術學系
81
Having the capacity of shortening construction duration, top- down methods have increasingly beding sdopted in high-rise building construction in recent years. Complexities due to pa- rallel progressing of multiple work faces, need much more att- entions from project management to ensure the success of total contruction prerformance. To assist management in improving job quality, this re- search proposes a systematic approach for construction projects involving top-down methods. There are four major parts in this thesis. The first part presents the nature, as well as, possible types and procedures of top-down methods. The second part pin- points key issues for planning of top-down methods. The third portrays checklists to help management in controlling time, quality, cost, safety, and enviroment protection during costru- ction. The last part illustrate coordinating works required to be done by general contractors.