Search results for "conservation."

Can sexual selection theory inform genetic management of captive populations? A review

2014

International audience; Captive breeding for conservation purposes presents a serious practical challenge because several conflicting genetic processes (i.e., inbreeding depression, random genetic drift and genetic adaptation to captivity) need to be managed in concert to maximize captive population persistence and reintroduction success probability. Because current genetic management is often only partly successful in achieving these goals, it has been suggested that management insights may be found in sexual selection theory (in particular, female mate choice). We review the theoretical and empirical literature and consider how female mate choice might influence captive breeding in the co…

L'ex convento e carcere di San Vito di Agrigento. Studi e proposte per la sua conservazione

2020

Il saggio “L’ex convento carcere di San Vito di Agrigento. Studi sulle trasformazioni e proposte per la sua conservazione” indaga l’antico convento dei frati Minori di Agrigento, trasformato nel sec. XIX in carcere di Agrigento. Il convento, costruito fuori le mura della città, era costituito dalla chiesa, dal chiostro e dal convento con le celle e gli spazi comuni dei frati. La nuova destinazione a carcere, con i lavori effettuati tra la metà del sec. XIX, primi e metà del sec. XX, ha in parte distrutto e occultato il convento medievale. Nell’Anno Accademico 2011-2012, i due corsi di Laboratorio di Restauro e Teoria e Storia del Restauro, del Corso di laurea in Architettura, sede di Agrige…

Ex situ conservation of Sicilian endemic species in the Botanical garden of Catania University

2009

In-vitro regeneration of Calendula maritima Guss. (Asteraceae), a threatened plant endemic to Western Sicily

2016

Calendula maritima is a critically endangered endemic plant of Western Sicily. Besides habitat destruction, the hybridization with the contiguous congener species C. fulgida is a major threat to its conservation. For this reason, seed-based propagation and seed storage are not appropriate for conservation purposes. In the present paper we describe a rapid and prolific In vitro plant regeneration method by direct organogenesis from leaves of C. maritima. Leaf explants were cultured on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium in the presence of several plant growth regulator combinations. The best shoot multiplication rate (2.5 shoots/explant) was obtained on the medium containing 4.4 mu M 6-ben…

Thermal analysis and new insights to support decision making in retrofit and relaxation of heat exchanger networks

2011

International audience; Pinch analysis offers a rational framework for identifying energy saving targets and designing efficient heat recovery networks, especially in process industry. Several scientists have contributed to improve and automate the original pinch method over the last decades, increasing its capability to deal with a number of specific issues; the expertise of the analyst, however, remains determinant in achieving optimal results. In this paper a procedure for retrofit of existing networks is proposed, based on an integrate use of several techniques (either existing or innovative). The diagnosis of the existing network and of a "Minimum Energy Requirement" configuration emer…

On thermoeconomics of energy systems at variable load conditions: integrated optimization of plant design and operation

2007

Abstract Thermoeconomics has been assuming a growing role among the disciplines oriented to the analysis of energy systems, its different methodologies allowing solution of problems in the fields of cost accounting, plant design optimisation and diagnostic of malfunctions. However, the thermoeconomic methodologies as such are particularly appropriate to analyse large industrial systems at steady or quasi-steady operation, but they can be hardly applied to small to medium scale units operating in unsteady conditions to cover a variable energy demand. In this paper, the fundamentals of thermoeconomics for systems operated at variable load are discussed, examining the cost formation process an…

Advanced energetics of a Multiple Effects Evaporation (MEE) desalination plant

2010

This paper represents the Part I of a paper in two parts, aimed at proposing a 2nd principle and thermoeconomic analysis for a Multiple Effects Evaporation (MEE) process and discussing solutions for optimization and energy saving. After a brief analysis of the thermochemical fundamentals of desalination, the minimum theoretical work of separation is introduced to represent a reference condition for the assessment of plants' efficiency. A forward feed MEE configuration is then analysed, abandoning the conventional approach to “at overall plant-level”-analysis; a zooming strategy, based on focusing on the physical model of a generic stage (i.e. effect), is preferred to best recognize the marg…

Literature, social media and questionnaire surveys identify relevant conservation areas for Carcharhinus species in the Mediterranean Sea

2023

Sharks support ecosystems’ health, but their populations are facing severe declines worldwide. Knowledge gaps on shark distribution and the negative human perception of them still represent a barrier to the implementation of effective conservation measures. Here we carried out a regional-scale analysis in the Mediterranean Sea using data on requiem shark catches and sightings available in the scientific literature and on social media platforms to: 1) depict the distribution of Carcharhinus species across the basin, 2) identify potentially relevant areas for their conservation, and 3) evaluate people’s attitude toward shark protection. In addition, we administered 112 questionnaires in one o…

Local Extinction of Dragonfly and Damselfly Populations in Low- and High-Quality Habitat Patches

2010

Understanding the risk of extinction of a single population is an important problem in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, including population size, demographic or environmental stochasticity, natural catastrophe, or the loss of genetic diversity. The probability of local extinction may also be higher in low-quality sink habitats than in high-quality source habitats. We tested this hypothesis by comparing local extinction rates of 15 species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) between 1930-1975 and 1995-2003 in central Finland. Local extinction rates were higher in low-quality than in high-quality habitats. Nevertheless, for the thre…

A comparison of three statistical methods for analysing extinction threat status

2013

SUMMARYThe International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List provides a globally-recognized evaluation of the conservation status of species, with the aim of catalysing appropriate conservation action. However, in some parts of the world, species data may be lacking or insufficient to predict risk status. If species with shared ecological or life history characteristics also tend to share their risk of extinction, then ecological or life history characteristics may be used to predict which species may be at risk, although perhaps not yet classified as such by the IUCN. Statistical models may be a means to determine whether there are non-threatened or unclassified species that s…