Search results for "suitability"
showing 10 items of 31 documents
Experimental observations of upstream overdeepening
2005
The issue of morphodynamic influence in meandering streams is investigated through a series of laboratory experiments on curved and straight flumes. Both qualitative and quantitative observations confirm the suitability of the recent theoretical developments (Zolezzi & Seminara 2001) that indicate the occurrence of two distinct regimes of morphodynamic influence, depending on the value of the width ratio of the channel β. The threshold value βR separating the upstream from the downstream influence regimes coincides with the resonant value discovered by Blondeaux & Seminara (1985). Indeed it is observed that upstream influence may occur only in relatively wide channels, while narrower stream…
The Recent Change in the Italian Policies for Photovoltaics: Effects on the Energy Demand Coverage of Grid-Connected PV Systems Installed in Urban Co…
2016
In July 2013, the Italian photovoltaic (PV) support policies changed the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism and turned to a tax credits program, which is currently in force. The aim of this paper is to investigate how such a radical change has influenced the electricity demand coverage of the PV systems installed in urban contexts. A methodology, which connects the economic assessment to a detailed architectural and energy suitability analysis, was applied to some case studies to analyse the relationships between the physical parameters related to multi-storey buildings (roof shapes, number of floors and area of flats) and the most relevant economic and financial features affecting the viabilit…
Predictive habitat suitability models to aid the conservation of elasmobranchs in Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica)
2021
Abstract Worldwide there is increasing concern for elasmobranch species given that their biological and ecological characteristics make them highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. The disappearance of these species could affect the structure and function of marine ecosystems, which would induce changes in trophic interactions at the community level. For effective conservation and management of elasmobranchs detailed knowledge of their habitat preferences is essential. Yet, there is a poor understanding of their spatial ecology. Isla del Coco National Park is an oceanic island in Pacific Costa Rica and renowned for being a sanctuary for migratory pelagic species, such as elasmobranchs and ot…
Predicting future thermal habitat suitability of competing native and invasive fish species: From metabolic scope to oceanographic modelling
2015
Global increase in sea temperatures has been suggested to facilitate the incoming and spread of tropical invaders. Here, we determined the effect of temperature on the aerobic metabolic scope of two competing fish species, one native and one invasive, and we predicted their future thermal habitat suitability.
Environmental suitability model for the lanner falcon Falco biarmicus feldeggii: planning, study and monitoring the Sicilian population
2017
The identification of suitable areas, by spatially explicit distribution models, is crucial for conservation of threatened species as the lanner falcon Falco biarmicus feldeggii. Monitoring and collecting data on lanner falcon during years has proven to be essential for better defining the areas of species environmental suitability. Recent research shows that breeding performances of this species are strongly influenced by bioclimatic factors, especially monthly temperature and rainfall, or linked to landscape morphology, such as the slope of territories. These environmental parameters combined with species productivity (number of fledged juveniles per checked pair) of geo-referenced breedi…
Adhesive root hairs facilitate Posidonia oceanica seedling settlement on rocky substrates
2015
Posidonia oceanica, the dominant Mediterranean seagrass, has been historically described as a species typically growing on mobile substrates whose development requires precursor communities. During more than 10 years of direct observations, we noticed that P. oceanica seedlings were often firmly anchored to rocky reefs, even at exposed sites. Thus, we analysed the ultrastructural features of seedling root systems to identify specific traits that may represent adaptations for early seedling anchorage on rocky bottoms. Subapical sections of adventitious roots were obtained from 2-3 months old specimens collected in the field and were observed at SEM revealing an extensive coverage of adhesive…
The effect of environmental uncertainty and diapause investment on the occurrence of specialist and generalist species
2014
The evolution of specialist and generalist strategies is a central topic in ecology with strong implications for the biodiversity and structure of communities. Environmental unpredictability has been suggested as a key factor affecting the relative advantages of generalist species. However, life cycle features, like diapause, can also play a major role in the competitive dynamics between generalists and specialists. Zooplanktonic communities of continental waters are suitable models to study this; they inhabit water bodies that vary temporally with different degrees of uncertainty and rely on the production of diapause stages to survive across the year. We developed a simple theoretical mod…
“TEACHING REAL NUMBERS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL: AN ONTO-SEMIOTIC APPROACH TO THE INVESTIGATION AND EVALUATION OF THE TEACHERS' DECLARED CHOICES”
The thesis addresses the topics of investigating teachers' declared choices of practices concerning real numbers and the continuum in the high school in Italy, evaluating their didactical suitability and the impact of a deep reflexion about some historical and didactical issues on the teachers' decision-making process. Our research hypothesis was that teachers' choices of teaching sequences concerning real numbers, with particular attention to the representations of real numbers, could be very relevant in order to interpret some of the well-known students' difficulties. After a pilot study in form of a teaching experiment and a literature review concerning students' and teachers' difficulti…