Search results for " Systematics."

Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence, Burnout, Work Engagement, and Self-Efficacy during COVID-19 Lockdown

2023

Teachers’ psychological well-being is a crucial aspect that influences learning in a classroom climate. The aim of the study was to investigate teachers’ emotional intelligence, burnout, work engagement, and self-efficacy in times of remote teaching during COVID-19 lockdown. A sample of 65 teachers (Mage = 50.49), from early childhood through lower secondary education, were recruited during a period of school closure to answer self-report questionnaires and other measures assessing study variables. Results showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers reported higher levels of burnout and lower levels of self-esteem due to multiple challenges related to remote teaching and …

Long-term changes in pigmentation of arctic Daphnia provide potential for reconstructing aquatic UV exposure

2016

Abstract Despite the biologically damaging impacts of solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) in nature, little is known about its natural variability, forcing mechanisms, and long-term effects on ecosystems and organisms. Arctic zooplankton, for example the aquatic keystone genus Daphnia (Crustacea, Cladocera) responds to biologically damaging UV by utilizing photoprotective strategies, including pigmentation. We examined the preservation and content of UV-screening pigments in fossil Daphnia remains (ephippia) in two arctic lake sediment cores from Cornwallis Island (Lake R1), Canada, and Spitsbergen (Lake Fugledammen), Svalbard. The aims were to document changes in the degree of UV-protective p…

Phosphorus limitation enhances parasite impact: feedback effects at the population level

2014

Background Nutrient deficiency affects the growth and population dynamics of consumers. Endoparasites can be seen as consumers that drain carbon (C) or energy from their host while simultaneously competing for limiting resources such as phosphorus (P). Depending on the relative demands of the host and the parasite for the limiting nutrient, intensified resource competition under nutrient limitation can either reduce the parasite’s effect on the host or further reduce the fitness of the nutrient-limited host. So far, knowledge of how nutrient limitation affects parasite performance at the host population level and how this affects the host populations is limited. Results We followed the popu…

Oxidative stress biomarkers in the copepod Limnocalanus macrurus from the northern Baltic Sea : effects of hydrographic factors and chemical contamin…

2015

The importance of phytoplankton production for carbon budgets in a semiarid floodplain wetland

2011

Phytoplankton production (PP) in wetlands is not measured as often as that of macrophytes. A three year-study during a period of sustained high flooding was undertaken in a central Spanish floodplain wetland (Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park) to determine net PP, its spatial heterogeneity and controlling factors, and compare it with primary production in macrophyte communities. This enabled us to estimate carbon budgets for each community. All PP variables showed high spatial and temporal variability among sites, resulting in low coherence even when flooding connected all sites. Net PP corresponded to 25- 36% of submerged plant production and 3-10% of helophyte production. Net PP was con…

Chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oil of Ballota hispanica (L.) Benth. growing wild in Sicily

2015

Ballota L. comprises several relevant species largely used for their excellent therapeutic properties. Ballota hispanica (L.) Benth. is widely used in herbal medicine, and it is sold in herbalist shops for its sedative and antispasmodic properties. Considering its traditional medicinal use and the lack of scientific studies on the volatile components of this species as well as on its biological activities, in this study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of B. hispanica, collected in Sicily, was evaluated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. α-Elemol was the most abundant component of the oil (10.9%), followed by α-ylangene (8.5%),…

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian) stable isotopes (δ18O, δ13C) and Mg/Ca ratios: New palaeoclimate data from Helmsdale, northeast Scotland

2010

Abstract The data presented here provide the first detailed stable isotope ( δ 18 O, δ 13 C) and geochemical (Mg/Ca) investigation of Kimmeridgian–Tithonian belemnites from the Helmsdale Coast, Scotland, UK. Oxygen and carbon stable isotope values from well preserved specimens range from − 2.8 to + 0.3‰ and from − 2.3 to + 2.8‰ respectively. The oxygen isotope data are consistent with palaeotemperatures of up to 24 °C in the Early Kimmeridgian cymodoce Zone and down to 11 °C in the Mid Tithonian rotunda–fittoni Zones. These estimates are strongly supported by the Mg/Ca data, which also indicate a cooling episode (and very similar palaeotemperatures, 11–22 °C) at this time. The cooling event…

A 2600-year record of past polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) deposition at Holzmaar (Eifel, Germany)

2014

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a proxy for climate- and human-related historical fire activity which has rarely been used beyond 1800 AD. We explored the concentration and composition patterns of PAHs together with other proxies (charcoal, C, N, S, δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) in a sediment core of Holzmaar as indicators of variations in climate and anthropogenic activity over the past 2600 years. The concentrations of pyrogenic PAHs remained low (< 500 ng g− 1) from the pre-Roman Iron Age (600 BC) until the first significant increases to ca. 1000–1800 ng g− 1 between 1700 and 1750 AD related to regional iron production. The highest increases in pyrogenic PAH concentrations occurred w…

Unraveling environmental histories from skeletal diaries — Advances in sclerochronology

2013

High-resolution proxy archives from aquatic settings are essential to better understand processes and mechanisms of global change. During the last decade, it has become increasingly evident that calcified tissues of bivalve mollusks and cold-water corals, in particular, can significantly increase our knowledge of seasonal to multi-decadal paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental variability in the extratropical oceans and coastal marine settings. Daily, tidal, fortnightly and annual growth patterns of periodically formed skeletal hard parts provide a means to place the proxy record in a precise temporal context. Their extreme longevity coupled with the running similarity between growth increment…

Variation in Sr uptake in the shell of the freshwater gastropod Bithynia tentaculata from Lake Arreo (northern Spain) and culture experiments

2010

The Sr uptake features in Bithynia tentaculata aragonite shells from monthly collections in Lake Arreo (northern Spain) over a two-year period are compared with those from the same species grown in culture experiments with similar waters under controlled temperature. The shell aragonite of B. tentaculata from Lake Arreo formed in isotopic equilibrium with the lake water. A comparison of the stable oxygen isotope values (δ18O) from the shells and waters allowed the selection of suitable shells for Sr uptake studies. The Sr/Ca molar ratio in B. tentaculata shells (Sr/Cashell) from the lake and from the culture experiments positively correlate with some chemical parameters like conductivity an…