| increased acidification in the rhizosphere of cactus seedlings induced by azospirillum brasilense. | acidification of the rhizosphere of cactus seedlings (giant cardon, pachycereus pringlei) after inoculation with the plant growth-promoting bacterium azospirillum brasilense cd, in the presence or absence of ammonium and nitrate, was studied to understand how to increase growth of cardon seedlings in poor desert soils. while ammonium enhanced rhizosphere and liquid culture acidification, inoculation with the bacteria enhanced it further. on the other hand, nitrate increased ph of the rhizosphere ... | 2002 | 12435098 |
| seasonal reliance on nectar by an insectivorous bat revealed by stable isotopes. | many animals have seasonally plastic diets to take advantage of seasonally abundant plant resources, such as fruit or nectar. switches from insectivorous diets that are protein rich to fruits or nectar that are carbohydrate rich present physiological challenges, but are routinely done by insectivorous songbirds during migration. in contrast, insectivorous bat species are not known to switch diets to consume fruit or nectar. here, we use carbon stable isotope ratios to establish the first known c ... | 2014 | 24276770 |
| insectivorous bat pollinates columnar cactus more effectively per visit than specialized nectar bat. | plant-pollinator interactions are great model systems to investigate mutualistic relationships. we compared pollinator effectiveness between facultative and obligate nectar-feeding bats to determine how foraging specialization influences mutualistic interactions in a bat-adapted cactus. we predicted that a specialized nectarivorous bat would deliver more pollen than an opportunistic nectar-feeding bat because of specialized adaptations to nectar feeding that indicate close association with their ... | 2013 | 23234851 |