Search results for "competition"

Under my wing: lesser kestrels and jackdaws derive reciprocal benefits in mixed-species colonies

2011

In mixed-species assemblages, antipredator benefits for a timid species nesting close to a more pugnacious one are often reported. Advantages for the protected species are usually manifested in terms of higher reproductive success than conspecifics nesting remote to the protector species. Whether the protector species also accrues any benefit remains untested, and the species-specific behavioral traits underlying enhanced reproductive output in mixed-species associations remain poorly documented. We studied associations between lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula) nesting in rural buildings in the Gela Plain (Italy). We tested for interspecific interactions of jac…

Narrative and Place

2017

The purpose of this chapter is to explore possible intersections between place and narrative, questioning an understanding that simply associates place with space and narrative with time and infers their separation from that. After introducing two directions from which the problem can be addressed, namely the role of place for the phenomena analyzed in terms of narrative, on the one hand, and the role of narrative for the understanding of place, on the other, the text pursues the first perspective and explores the relation between place and narrative with regard to the theory of the self, ethics, the theory of action and history. The concluding section briefly discusses the way narrative in…

Tamil Diaspora Schools—Ethnic-National Education in a Transnational Space

2012

The 2010 independence jubilees: the politics and aesthetics of national commemoration in Africa

2013

In 2010, as many as seventeen African states celebrated their independence jubilees. The debates surrounding the organisation of these celebrations, and the imagery and performances they employed, reflect the fault lines with which African nation-building has to contend, such as competing political orientations as well as religious, regional and ethnic diversity. The celebrations represented constitutive and cathartic moments of nation-building, aiming to enhance citizens' emotional attachments to the country and inviting to remember, re-enact and re-redefine national history. They became a forum of debate about what should constitute the norms and values that make-up national identity and,…

The Role of Productivity in Increasing Latvian Competitiveness

2018

Productivity is the main key factor for Latvia to increased prosperity, ensuring efficient use of resources. Due to limited availability of resources and the increasing competition in the global markets, it is important for Latvia to support its economic growth through increased productivity.

Testis asymmetry in birds: the influences of sexual and natural selection

2014

Gonad size and shape asymmetries are particularly common in birds. Although some obvious size and shape differences between the left and right testes in birds were first documented more than a century ago, little is known about what influences the variation across species in either the degree or the direction of these asymmetries. Here we show that a left bias in size is the most likely ancestral state in most orders and families, and that there is a weak but significant negative relation between the degree of size and shape asymmetries. In extant species, testis size and shape symmetries increase with the degree of sperm competition (relative testes mass), but those relations are significa…

Productivity increases with variation in aggression among group members in Temnothorax ants

2011

Social insect societies are characterized not only by a reproductive division of labor between the queen and workers but also by a specialization of workers on different tasks. However, how this variation in behavior or morphology among workers influences colony fitness is largely unknown. We investigated in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus whether aggressive and exploratory behavior and/or variation among nest mates in these behavioral traits are associated with an important fitness measure, that is, per worker offspring production. In addition, we studied how body size and variation in size among workers affect this colony fitness correlate. First, we found strong differences in worker b…

Rapid growth of Atlantic salmon juveniles in captivity may indicate poor performance in nature

2011

Abstract The hatchery environment often favours completely different traits than natural selection in the wild. Consequently, hatchery-reared fish are usually larger and more aggressive than their wild counterparts. Increased growth rate and aggression are predicted to be beneficial in feeding competition in hatcheries, but not necessarily in nature, where food resources are spatially and temporally more variable. We compared the growth, condition and mortality of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) juveniles in a common hatchery environment and when feeding on natural prey in semi-natural channels. We found that the growth and survival probability of the fish in the hatchery was ne…

Effetti della competizione interspecifica sull’efficienza di utilizzazione dell’azoto in differenti genotipi di frumento duro al variare della dispon…

2009

A comparison between industrial experts' and novices' haptic perceptual organization: a tool to identify descriptors of the handle of fabrics

2004

Abstract In descriptive analysis, the establishing of the list of attributes is crucial. Attributes should account for consumers' perceptions and be understood by professionals for efficient communication. This work was aimed at identifying the most appropriate attributes for fabric description from the terminology associated with both experts' and novices' haptic perceptual spaces. Eleven industrial experts and two groups of novices (20 males and 20 females) evaluated 26 clothing fabrics. They performed (1) a free-sorting task based on haptic similarities, (2) a description of the previously formed groups, and (3) a hedonic rating task for each fabric. The perceptual organization was simil…