Search results for " diversity"
showing 10 items of 1302 documents
Development and localization of microsatellite markers for the sibling species Chironomus riparius and Chironomus piger (Diptera: Chironomidae)
2006
Five variable microsatellite loci are reported for the nonbiting midge species Chironomus riparius and Chironomus piger. All loci show considerable intraspecific variation and species-specific alleles, which allow to discriminate among the two closely related species and their interspecific hybrids, and to estimate genetic diversity within and between populations. Additionally, the loci were localized on C. riparius polytene chromosomes to verify their single copy status and investigate possible chromosomal linkage. The described markers are used in different studies with regard to population and ecological genetics and evolutionary ecotoxicology of Chironomus.
Short-term responses of soil macroarthropod community to clear felling and alternative forest regeneration methods
2003
Abstract We studied the influence of clear felling and new alternative forest regeneration methods on soil macroarthropods during the first 3 years after the harvesting. We focused on changes in the abundances of functional groups, and community structure at the levels of species (Coleoptera) or higher taxa. The experiment was carried out in central Finland in spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands on 1 ha study plots. The following five treatments were used in addition to the untreated controls: (1) selection felling (70% of the stand volume retained), (2) gap felling (0.1–0.2 ha gaps felled), (3) gap felling with site preparation, (4) retention felling (small groups of trees retained on …
Species of Acryptolaria Norman, 1875 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) collected by US Antarctic and sub-Antarctic expeditions.
2020
Acryptolaria is a worldwide genus of deep-water benthic hydroids. The genus has relatively high species diversity, with 36 species described so far, yet most of them have been reported only occasionally. As a result, scientific knowledge of their ecology and distribution is scarce. Here I present the results of the study of species of Acryptolaria collected during several Antarctic and sub-Antarctic expeditions under the United States Antarctic Research Program between 1958 and 1986. Eight species were found in the collection (plus one determined to the genus level), with A. operculata having the highest occurrence. Acryptolaria flabellum is reported for the second time; the study also repr…
New ECCO model documents for Material Deposit and Transfer Agreements in compliance with the Nagoya Protocol
2020
The European Culture Collections Organisation presents two new model documents for Material Deposit Agreement (MDA) and Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) designed to enable microbial culture collection leaders to draft appropriate agreement documents for, respectively, deposit and supply of materials from a public collection. These tools provide guidance to collections seeking to draft an MDA and MTA, and are available in open access to be used, modified, and shared. The MDA model consists of a set of core fields typically included in a deposit form to collect relevant information to facilitate assessment of the status of the material under access and benefit sharing (ABS) legislation. It a…
Plant facilitation and phylogenetics
2013
The relationship between facilitation and evolutionary ecology is poorly understood. We review five issues elucidating how the phylogenetic relatedness of species provides insight into the role of facilitation in community assembly: (a) Are the facilitative interactions more common between species that differ in a regeneration niche? (b) Are facilitative interactions more common between distantly related species? (c) Do communities governed by facilitation (rather than competition) have higher phylogenetic diversity? (d) As facilitated juvenile plants mature, do they compete with their nurses more often if they are closely related to them? (e) How does the phylogenetic signature in a commun…
The Argument Dependency Model
2015
This chapter summarizes the architecture of the extended Argument Dependency Model (eADM), a model of language comprehension that aspires toward neurobiological plausibility. It combines design principles from neurobiology with insights on cross-linguistic diversity. Like other current models, the eADM posits that auditory language processing proceeds along two distinct streams in the brain emanating from auditory cortex: the antero-ventral and postero-dorsal streams. Both streams are organized hierarchically and information processing takes place in a cascaded fashion. Each stream has functionally unified computational properties congruent with its role in primate audition. While the dorsa…
A Test of the Relationship Between Argumentativeness and Individualism/Collectivism in the United States and Finland
2016
This study explored relationships between argumentativeness and collectivism/individualism in Finland and the United States. Data were gathered in the United States (n = 412) and Finland (n = 261). The analysis suggested: (a) collectivism was negatively correlated with argumentativeness, (b) individualism was positively correlated with argumentativeness, and (c) Finnish participants reported lower levels of argumentativeness than Americans. Cultural differences between the United States and Finland are discussed as reasons for the differences between the nations on argumentativeness.
Sensitizing Foreign Language Learners to Cultural Diversity Through Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence
2011
Language and culture are intricately interwoven thus teaching and learning a language inevitabely involves teaching and learning culture of its users. However, this always raises a question about which culture is involved, how the concept is understood and what it means for foreign language learners as well as for native speakers of the language involved. Culture is not monolithic, it comprises a variety of cultural practices that people engage in across a range of social configurations they participate in. The present chapter addresses current concepts of culture in the context of foreign/second language learning, discusses how they relate to foreign language teaching practices (as illustr…
An Analysis of the Influence of Noneffective Instructions in Linear Genetic Programming
2020
Abstract Linear Genetic Programming (LGP) represents programs as sequences of instructions and has a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) dataflow. The results of instructions are stored in registers that can be used as arguments by other instructions. Instructions that are disconnected from the main part of the program are called noneffective instructions, or structural introns. They also appear in other DAG-based GP approaches like Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP). This article studies four hypotheses on the role of structural introns: noneffective instructions (1) serve as evolutionary memory, where evolved information is stored and later used in search, (2) preserve population diversity, (3)…
CSCL for NGO's Cross cultural Virtual Teams in Africa: An Ethiopian Children Advocacy Case Study against Exclusion and toward Facilitation of Express…
2005
This exploratory pilot study shows that NGO's involved in Children Advocacy through Arts in Africa are willing to use a groupware, meaning a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Innovative ideas and best practices among NGOs would be shared easily worldwide. Little scientific information is available to help them make a sound choice. This study suggests that some NGOs based in Ethiopia/Africa have specific needs which should translate in specific context analysis and interface development: 1) an intercultural approach to creativity, arts and innovation, and 2) emphasis should be placed on tools to facilitate asynchronous systematic conception and sharing of intra an…