Superior Competitor Research Articles

What drives social co-creation in tourism? An empirical study

Purpose As competition in the industry intensifies, companies must use market-oriented approaches to gain competitive superiority; one of the approaches that can lead to the success of companies in the competitive market is to undertake social co-creation with the help of customers. Although the use of social media for the development of social interactions has expanded, very little attention has been paid to how the concept of social co-creation is formed on social media by users. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of personality traits and website quality on social co-creation, with the mediating role of trust in tourism websites. Design/methodology/approach This research, in terms of purpose, is practical, and in terms of information collection, it is a descriptive survey. The research statistical population is all users of active tourism sites in Iran. The sampling method is non-probability and available sampling. The questionnaire was designed based on the Likert scale and was distributed electronically among the statistical sample. After collecting and reviewing the questionnaires, 203 were used for analysis. The data analysis method in this study is hierarchical multiple regression. Findings The results indicated that personality traits and website quality are correlated with trust and social co-creation. The dimensions of website quality, including quality of information, quality of system and quality of service on tourism websites, have considerable and positive effects on trust. Also, all dimensions of the personality traits, except extraversion and neuroticism, have a considerable and positive effect on trust. Moreover, the correlation between trust and social co-creation is positive. Originality/value According to the review of the digital marketing literature, some researchers examined the influential factors in co-creation, but there is little research about how the interaction of these three concepts (personality traits, website quality and trust) enhances co-creation. This study contributes to the existing literature with empirical evidence of how personality traits and website quality influence co-creation by mediating the role of trust.

Interspecific Competition as Affected by Nitrogen Application in Sweet Corn–Soybean Intercropping System

Corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) intercropping is one of the main traditional intercropping systems used. We hypothesized that sweet corn–soybean intercropping with reduced nitrogen application could improve the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition. We clarified whether sweet corn intercropped with soybean has the advantages of improved crop yield and carbon and nitrogen accumulation and assessed interspecific competition in the intercropping systems. A four-year (2017–2020) field experiment was conducted with three nitrogen application levels (0, 150, and 300 kg∙ha−1) and three planting patterns (monocropped sweet corn, monocropped soybean, sweet corn–soybean intercropping) at Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China. The LER (land equivalent ratio), AG (aggressivity), and CR (competitive ratio) were calculated using the fresh grain yield and nitrogen and carbon accumulation of sweet corn and soybean. The LER values were greater than 1.0 in most of the intercropped patterns, except for the value based on the crops’ fresh grain yield without nitrogen application in 2020. Sweet corn had greater values of CR and AG than soybean in the intercropping system. Compared with common nitrogen application (300 kg∙ha−1), reduced nitrogen application (150 kg∙ha−1) did not significantly reduce the LER or the average CR and AG values. Under reduced nitrogen application, the values of LER, CR, and AG, based on the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition, were not significantly different between the four years. In conclusion, based on the LER, CR, and AG, sweet corn–soybean intercropping had the advantage of crop yield and nitrogen acquisition, and sweet corn was the superior competitor. Sweet corn–soybean intercropping with nitrogen application (150 kg N ha−1) showed good inter-annual stability of crop productivity and competitiveness of the sweet corn.

Statistical modeling and optimization of dexamethasone adsorption from aqueous solution by Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B nanorods: Isotherm, Kinetics, and Thermodynamic

The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment poses a significant threat to human and aquatic animal health. Dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic steroid hormone with endocrine-disrupting effects, is one such compound that needs to be effectively removed before discharging into the environment. This research presents a novel approach utilizing magnetically recyclable Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B NRs as an efficient adsorbent for the treatment of DEX from aqueous solutions. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Response surface methodology based on central composite design (RSM-CCD) was employed to optimize DEX removal efficiency by determining the optimal conditions, including pH, adsorbent dose, time, and DEX concentration. Under the optimized conditions (pH: 5.53, adsorbent dose: 0.185 g/L, time: 16.068 min, and DEX concentration: 33.491 mg/L), Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B NRs revealed remarkable DEX adsorption efficiency of 91 ± 1.34% and adsorption capacity of 180.01 mg/g. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model were found to fit well with the experimental data, indicating a monolayer and chemical adsorption process. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The study also investigated the inhibitory effect of background ions on DEX removal by Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B NRs. Magnesium exhibited superior competitive ability with dexamethasone to occupy the active sites of the adsorbent compared to other background ions. The reuse of the adsorbent over ten consecutive cycles resulted in a 39.46% decrease in removal efficiency. The Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B NRs are surrounded by abundant amounts of functional groups and π-electrons bands that can play a key role in the adsorption and separation of DEX from aqueous environments. The promising results obtained under real conditions highlight the potential of Fe3O4@NH2-MIL88B NRs as a practical and efficient adsorbent for the removal of DEX and other similar corticosteroids from aqueous solutions.

Comparison Performance of K-Medoids and K-Means Algorithms In Clustering Community Education Levels

Education is a mandatory right of all citizens and the key to the nation's superiority in global competition that must get top priority to be examined critically and comprehensively. It is known that compulsory education is at least 12 years, but not all people can do it because of minimal economic conditions. In past years, COVID-19 has also had an impact on the economy, school dropout rates, and falling academic achievement, for example in Central Kalimantan. The size of Central Kalimantan, however, makes it difficult for the government to identify the areas with the worst levels of education. To determine which regions fall into the low and high education categories, it is required to group the province's educational levels. This study also compares two algorithms by measuring their accuracy. By looking at which algorithm has the lowest Davies Bouldin Index (DBI) value, the best degree of performance can be ascertained. To process the data from as many as 1,565 sources, data mining techniques, including the clustering method, were used. K-Means and K-Medoids algorithms were employed in this work as clustering techniques. Based on the outcomes of the cluster created, both algorithms are also put to the test for performance. The results of this study obtained 6 clusters in K-Means with the lowest DBI value of -0.439, while the results in K-Medoids were in 3 clusters with the lowest DBI of -0.866. Based on accuracy testing using DBI, it is known that K-Means results are more optimal with the lowest DBI value in the grouping of education levels compared to K-Medoids. It is also known from the formation of 6 clusters of the K-Means algorithm that the low education level is in cluster_0 which is 1484 villages and the higher education level is as many as 3 villages in cluster_3.

Asymmetry in the reproductive interference between two closely related species of spider mites, Panonychus citri and Panonychus osmanthi (Prostigmata: Tetranychidae).

An incomplete species recognition system may cause reproductive interference. Interspecific mating between Panonychus citri and Panonychus osmanthi produced apparently normal F1 hybrid females. However, the F1 females laid few eggs, and the produced eggs did not hatch (suggesting hybrid breakdown). Several common host plants of P. citri and P. osmanthi have been determined, including Japanese pear, peach, and citrus. However, P. osmanthi has been found only on its particular host plants in the genus Osmanthus. To assess the potential for reproductive interference between P. citri and P. osmanthi, we evaluated the competitiveness (1 ♀ × 2 ♂♂) and preference (2 ♀♀ × 1 ♂) of males in mating and guarding behavior and assessed the effect of second mating on offspring paternity using Japanese pear leaf disks. We found that P. citri males were superior competitors. Moreover, the species recognition ability of P. citri males was lower than that of P. osmanthi males, and frequent occurrence of reproductive interference should therefore be expected. In a mixed population (2 ♀♀ × 2 ♂♂), 41% of females copulated with heterospecific males, although the mating superiority of P. citri was not proven. The ratio of effective second mating with conspecific males after heterospecific mating was higher in the crosses to P. citri females (77.8%) than P. osmanthi females (14.3%). Therefore, P. citri females had more chance than P. osmanthi females to recover from the fitness cost imposed by heterospecific mating through subsequent conspecific mating. To date, P. osmanthi has not been detected on host plants other than Osmanthus species. Reproductive interference by P. citri males may therefore narrow the range of host plants available for P. osmanthi.

Competitive ability, neopolyploid establishment and current distribution of a diploid–tetraploid plant complex

Polyploidy is a pervasive phenomenon in nature and has significantly contributed to the adaptive evolution of plants. The conditions necessary for the spread of neopolyploids in populations of the diploid progenitor are limited; however, the superior competitive ability of neopolyploids may promote its establishment. Here, we assess the contribution of polyploidisation to the divergence of plant traits affecting competitive response, which could explain the successful establishment and current geographic distribution of polyploids. We conducted an intraspecific competition experiment using diploids, neotetraploids and established tetraploids of Jasione maritima var. maritima to determine whether cytotypes differ in phenological, growth and physiological traits and competitive response. Cytotypes respond differently under different competition scenarios with implications for cytotype establishment and distribution. Competition impacted all cytotypes, but neotetraploids were least affected by competition, and the tetraploids were the most impacted. Thus, competitive advantage may have contributed to the displacement of diploid populations and colonisation of new areas by neotetraploids but might have been lost afterwards. Evolutionary changes after polyploidisation have also been detected, and tetraploids invested more in belowground biomass, suggesting that root development might also play a role in colonising southernmost locations. Interestingly, diploids and both tetraploids seem to have different life strategies, the first investing in growth while the latter investing in reserves for the next season. Overall, polyploidisation seems to provide immediate changes that confer an advantage under competition that, together with other factors, may have allowed the establishment of neotetraploids.

Decision variable contribution based adaptive mechanism for evolutionary multi-objective cloud workflow scheduling

Workflow scheduling is vital to simultaneously minimize execution cost and makespan for cloud platforms since data dependencies among large-scale workflow tasks and cloud workflow scheduling problem involve large-scale interactive decision variables. So far, the cooperative coevolution approach poses competitive superiority in resolving large-scale problems by transforming the original problems into a series of small-scale subproblems. However, the static transformation mechanisms cannot separate interactive decision variables, whereas the random transformation mechanisms encounter low efficiency. To tackle these issues, this paper suggests a decision-variable-contribution-based adaptive evolutionary cloud workflow scheduling approach (VCAES for short). To be specific, the VCAES includes a new estimation method to quantify the contribution of each decision variable to the population advancement in terms of both convergence and diversity, and dynamically classifies the decision variables according to their contributions during the previous iterations. Moreover, the VCAES includes a mechanism to adaptively allocate evolution opportunities to each constructed group of decision variables. Thus, the decision variables with a strong impact on population advancement are assigned more evolution opportunities to accelerate population to approximate the Pareto-optimal fronts. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed VCAES, we carry out extensive numerical experiments on real-world workflows and cloud platforms to compare it with four representative algorithms. The numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the VCAES in resolving cloud workflow scheduling problems.

Effect of sludge retention time (SRT) on micro-ecological niche competition kinetics between ammonia-oxidizing organisms (AOO) and nitrite-oxidizing organisms (NOO) in a single system

As a method for controlling the nitrification process, sludge retention time (SRT) control is based on the micro-ecological niche competition between ammonia-oxidizing organisms (AOO) and nitrite-oxidizing organisms (NOO). In this study, AOO and NOO were domesticated and cultured under different SRT conditions (40 d, 20 d, 10 d, and 5 d) in four continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) to investigate the relationship between their ecological niche shift and the typical environmental conditions. As the SRT decreased, the proportion of AOO colonies gradually increased and achieved spatial ecological niche competition superiority, which may be related to their maximum growth rate and ecological niche width. Moreover, the ecological niche width of the typical environmental impact parameters of AOO and NOO changed significantly with the SRT, which may be related to the changes in their internal flora. In addition, a micro-ecological niche competition model and kinetic systems were established and simulated on the basis of existing microbial biochemical models. The established model could be used to simulate and predict the ecological niche shift process of AOO and NOO under different SRT conditions in the CSTRs. In summary, this study explains the mechanism and basic kinetic parameters of SRT control in two-step nitrification based on micro-ecological niche competition theory. And a niche competition model has been established, providing a new method for controlling the process.

Nitrogen Deposition Effects on Invasive and Native Plant Competition: Implications for Future Invasions

Nitrogen (N) deposition has increased dramatically in recent decades, which is significantly affecting the invasion and growth of exotic plants. Whether N deposition leads to invasive alien species becoming competitively superior to native species remains to be investigated. In the present study, an invasive species (Oenothera biennis L.) and three co-occurring native species (Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Vant., Inula japonica Thunb., and Chenopodium album L.) were grown in a monoculture (two seedlings of the same species) or mixed culture (one seedling of O. biennis and one seedling of a native species) under three levels of N deposition (0, 6, and 12 g∙m−2∙year−1). Nitrogen deposition had no effect on soil N and P content. Nitrogen deposition enhanced the crown area, total biomass, leaf chlorophyll content, and leaf N to phosphorus ratio in both invasive and native plants. Oenothera biennis dominated competition with C. album and I. japonica due to its high resource acquisition and absorption capacity (greater height, canopy, leaf chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b ratio, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf N content, leaf mass fraction, and lower root-to-shoot ratio). However, the native species A. argyi exhibited competitive ability similar to O. biennis. Thus, invasive species are not always superior competitors of native species; this depends on the identities of the native species. High N deposition enhanced the competitive dominance of O. biennis over I. japonica by 15.45% but did not alter the competitive dominance of O. biennis over C. album. Furthermore, N deposition did not affect the dominance of O. biennis or A. argyi. Therefore, the species composition of the native community must be considered when preparing to resist future biological invasions. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the invasion mechanisms of alien species under N-loading conditions.

The Partially Degenerate Nonlocal Diffusion Competition Model with a Free Boundary: Invasion of an Inferior or Superior Competitor

The Partially Degenerate Nonlocal Diffusion Competition Model with a Free Boundary: Invasion of an Inferior or Superior Competitor

Heterotypic patterns, psychopathology beyond symptomatology, and the legacy constructs of the DSM-ICD.

This article extends the ideas expressed in a special section on theories of psychopathology by expounding on heterotypic patterns in which different arrangements of symptoms appear over time. With heterotypic continuity, the different arrangements are somewhat predictable; with discontinuity, they are not. Among the reasons the articles in the special section give for heterotypic patterns are the lack of central controllers for producing symptom clusters, the importance of transdiagnostic factors, and the dynamics of gene-environment correlations. The articles also consider what more there is to psychopathology than symptoms-largely by modeling normal, adaptive psychology as flexible and maladaptive psychology too rigid or too pliable. The articles espouse a variety of views on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) legacy disorders moving forward, with some of them seeking to eliminate DSM-ICD categories from the classification of psychopathology and others seeing the DSM-ICD constructs as having continued roles to play. I use Lakatos' notion that elimination of a theory requires that an alternative theory demonstrate competitive superiority to account for why legacy constructs have not been eliminated. I examine a debate about the existence or not of basic emotions and apply it to psychopathology to identify a common ground or potential point of agreement between those who want to eliminate DSM-ICD categories and those who believe DSM-ICD constructs can continue to be useful moving forward. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Does the Evolution of Ontogenetic Niche Shifts Favor Species Coexistence? An empirical test in Trinidadian streams.

A major question in ecology is how often competing species evolve to reduce competitive interactions and facilitate coexistence. One untested route for a reduction in competitive interactions is through ontogenetic changes in the trophic niche of one or more of the interacting species. In such cases, theory predicts that two species can coexist if the weaker competitor changes its resource niche to a greater degree with increased body size than the superior competitor. We tested this prediction using stable isotopes that yield information about the trophic position (δ15 N) and carbon source (δ13 C) of two coexisting fish species: Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) and killifish (Rivulus hartii). We examined fish from locations representing three natural community types: 1) where killifish and guppies live with predators; 2) where killifish and guppies live without predators; and 3) where killifish are the only fish species. We also examined killifish from communities in which we had introduced guppies, providing a temporal sequence of the community changes following the transition from a killifish only to a killifish-guppy community. We found that killifish, which are the weaker competitor, had a much larger ontogenetic niche shift in trophic position than guppies in the community where competition is most intense (killifish-guppy only). This result is consistent with theory for size-structured populations, which predicts that these results should lead to stable coexistence of the two species. Comparisons with other communities containing guppies, killifish and predators and ones where killifish live by themselves revealed that these results are caused primarily by a loss of ontogenetic niche changes in guppies, even though they are the stronger competitor. Comparisons of these natural communities with communities in which guppies were translocated into sites containing only killifish showed that the experimental communities were intermediate between the natural killifish-guppy community and the killifish-guppy-predator community, suggesting contemporary evolution in these ontogenetic trophic differences. These results provide comparative evidence for ontogenetic niche shifts in contributing to species coexistence and comparative and experimental evidence for evolutionary or plastic changes in ontogenetic niche shifts following the formation of new communities.

Effects of salt stress on interspecific competition between an invasive alien plant Oenothera biennis and three native species.

Biological invasions and soil salinization have become increasingly severe environmental problems under global change due to sea-level rise and poor soil management. Invasive species can often outcompete native species, but few studies focus on whether invasive alien species are always superior competitors under increasing stressors. We grew an invasive grass species, Oenothera biennis L., and three native grass species (Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Vant., Chenopodium album L., and Inula japonica Thunb.) as a monoculture (two seedlings of each species) or mixture (one seedling of O. biennis and one native species seedling) under three levels of salt treatments (0, 1, and 2 g/kg NaCl) in a greenhouse. We found that invasive O. biennis exhibited greater performance over native C. album and I. japonica, but lower performance compared to A. argyi, regardless of the soil salinity. However, salinity did not significantly affect the relative dominance of O. biennis. Interspecific competition enhanced the growth of O. biennis and inhibited the growth of I. japonica. Although O. biennis seedlings always had growth dominance over C. album seedlings, C. album was not affected by O. biennis at any salt level. At high salt levels, O. biennis inhibited the growth of A. argyi, while A. argyi did not affect the growth of O. biennis. Salt alleviated the competitive effect of O. biennis on I. japonica but did not mitigate the competition between O. biennis and the other two native species. Therefore, our study provides evidence for a better understanding of the invasive mechanisms of alien species under various salinity conditions.

Adding insult to injury: Light competition and allelochemical weapons interact to facilitate grass invasion

AbstractBiological invasions are a leading ecological issue of the 21st century because of their worldwide contributions to biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystem services. Answering general questions about the mechanisms facilitating the spread of successful invasives is key to understanding how to manage them moving forward. The success of introduced primary producers has often been attributed to superior competitive ability or to their release from natural enemies that constrained them in their native range. In contrast, nonnative primary producers can successfully invade and establish in new areas by releasing allelochemical compounds into the environment that are toxic to the native flora. The interactive effects of allelopathy and competition remain underexplored. Here, we evaluated the mechanism of invasion by Guinea grass, a globally distributed tallgrass from tropical and subtropical Africa with known allelopathic effects associated with 2‐hydroxyphenylacetic acid (2HPAA). We asked if allelopathy and light availability interact to give Guinea grass a competitive advantage during seedling establishment in its introduced range. We used a fully factorial greenhouse experiment in which allelochemical concentrations and light availability treatments were based on empirical measurements of these variables at an invaded site in South Texas. Seedling recruitment and growth were assessed for three native species and for Guinea grass itself. We also described the metabolome (the complete set of small molecules) of an invasive grass for the first time to facilitate a comparison of the effect of the known allelochemical 2HPAA with that of the whole‐plant chemical extract. Shading and allelochemistry each reduced recruitment and growth by themselves, and a significant interaction of these stressors exacerbated the negative effects in the shade, resulting in short plants, low biomass, and ultimately decreased seedling recruitment. The whole‐plant metabolomic extract had significantly stronger effects than pure 2HPAA, and these negative effects were intensified in the shade. Moreover, the mechanism showcased here demonstrated that resource competition and biochemical interference are not mutually exclusive mechanisms that facilitate the spread of a globally distributed invasive species.

Domestic Cattle in a National Park Restricting the Sika Deer Due to Diet Overlap.

Managers need to know the extent of the conflict between livestock and wild animals. Although many studies have reported the conflict between livestock and wild animals, few have checked the extent of the conflict. Cattle raising in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park is considered one of the main driving forces behind the restricted distribution of sika deer. To understand whether foraging competition is contributing to avoidance patterns between sika deer and cattle, we investigated their feeding habits using DNA barcoding and high-throughput sequencing. Our study shows that although cattle are grazers in the traditional division of herbivores, their diet shifted to a predominance of dicotyledonous woody plants, and this diet shift resulted in a high degree of dietary overlap between sika deer and cattle. Moreover, compared to sika deer, cattle diets are more diverse at the species level with a wider ecological niche. Our results confirm that overlapping dietary niches and the superior competitive abilities of cattle contribute to the restricted distribution of the sika deer, which has critical implications for the conservation of their predators. Our study suggests that cattle grazing should be prohibited in the Park and effective measures should be taken for the benefit of sika deer.

스포츠 콘텐츠 서비스 동영상 플랫폼 간 적소분석

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the right width, right overlap, and competitive advantage by applying the right analysis to identify competition among paltforms for video platform sports content users.BR Method: The data were obtained from 550 adults who had experience unsgi 6 types of video platform sports contents, and data were collected through Google onlineq uestionnaire. 516 responses were used for the final analysis, excluding 34 responses that were difficult to use as data, such as duplicate responses and insincere responses. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, paired samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and niche analysis were performed using the SPSS 25.0 statistical program. The significant level of hypothesis verification is set-up as α=.05.BR Results: First, as for the niche breadth of viewing motive among thei xs types of video platform sports content, the mobile user video-based platform showed relativel yhigh satisfaction as it had the widest resource utilization range. It was found that the range of resource utilization was widest. Second, it was found that the most intense competition between the mobile OTT-basedp latform and the fixed OTT-based platform was found for the niche overlap of viewing motivationa nd viewing behavior in the six types of video platform sports content. Third, the competitive superiority in viewing motivation and viewing behavior among the six types of video platform sports content was taht the mobile user video-based platform had an advantage in all factors compared to the mobile portal-based platform, the fixed user video-based platform, the fixed portal-based platform, the mobile OTT-based platform, and the fixed OTT-based platform showed different competitive superiority depending on factors.BR Conclusion: Mobile user video-based platforms have the widest range of rseource utilization and competition between mobile OTT-based and fixed OTT-based platform.s Mobile user video-based platforms have the upper hand in all aspects of user portal-based platform motivation.

Direct and Indirect Competitive Interactions between Ooencyrtus nezarae and Paratelenomus saccharalis Parasitizing Megacopta cribraria Egg Patches.

The present study investigated egg parasitoid interspecific interactions between a generalist, Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and a specialist, Paratelenomus saccharalis Dodd (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) in a laboratory setting using kudzu bug (Megacopta cribraria Fabricius, (Hemiptera: Plataspidae)) eggs as their shared host. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the emergence of wasps from parasitized hosts after the simultaneous and sequential release of wasps, monitor aggressive behavior of P. saccharalis, and quantify intraguild predation of O. nezarae larvae on heterospecific P. saccharalis larvae. Results showed that total host egg parasitism was higher when both wasps were released simultaneously than if wasps were released sequentially. Ooencyrtus nezarae produced more total offspring than P. saccharalis in all sequential/simultaneous treatments but produced male offspring in most cases. In the aggressive behavioral experiment, specialist, P. saccharalis used head butting to fight O. nezarae, but no other aggressions were observed. In an experiment examining intraguild predation, O. nezarae was able to develop in host eggs parasitized by P. saccharalis four days earlier, acting as a superior larval competitor. These findings shed light on the potential interspecific interactions between O. nezarae and P. saccharalis, which may determine their relative abundance and influence their compatibility in kudzu bug biological control programs.

Success factors of great oceanic dispersers: Case of Squamata in the Pacific Ocean

AbstractThe Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world, and it contains many remote archipelagos, some of which are distant more than 4000 km from continents. Despite their isolation, these archipelagos harbour diverse assemblages of squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes), and these species differ greatly in their dispersal ranges. This study tested the hypothesis that there is a spatial effect on the variation among species in dispersal ability and that it is also associated with the evolutionary relationships among species and their life‐history strategies (body size and reproductive mode). The results indicated greater spatial than phylogenetic effects on the variables describing interspecific dispersal. The unisexual reproduction mode in squamates is not associated with a greater ability to colonize than sexual species that rely on similar mechanisms of dispersal. The higher reproductive rate of unisexual taxa might be initially advantageous for establishment on remote oceanic islands because of the unlikely arrival of sexual congenerics, which are frequently superior competitors in island ecosystems. Body size tends to exert a negative effect on the dispersal capacity of island squamates, but this relationship is positive in a subgroup of recently introduced commensal species.

The effect of the proactive marketing dimensions on achieving the competitive superiority in the Egyptian travel agents

The effect of the proactive marketing dimensions on achieving the competitive superiority in the Egyptian travel agents

Ecological succession and the competition-colonization trade-off in microbial communities

BackgroundDuring range expansion in spatially distributed habitats, organisms differ from one another in terms of their patterns of localization versus propagation. To exploit locations or explore the landscape? This is the competition-colonization trade-off, a dichotomy at the core of ecological succession. In bacterial communities, this trade-off is a fundamental mechanism towards understanding spatio-temporal fluxes in microbiome composition.ResultsUsing microfluidics devices as structured bacterial habitats, we show that, in a synthetic two-species community of motile strains, Escherichia coli is a fugitive species, whereas Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a slower colonizer but superior competitor. We provide evidence highlighting the role of succession and the relevance of this trade-off in the community assembly of bacteria in spatially distributed patchy landscapes. Furthermore, aggregation-dependent priority effects enhance coexistence which is not possible in well-mixed environments.ConclusionsOur findings underscore the interplay between micron-scale landscape structure and dispersal in shaping biodiversity patterns in microbial ecosystems. Understanding this interplay is key to unleash the technological revolution of microbiome applications.