bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Drama, Script, Theatre, and Performance
Authors: Schechner Richard
Published: April 2006

The phenomena called either/all “drama,” “theatre,” “performance” occur among all the world's peoples and date back as far as historians, archeologists, and anthropologists can go. Evidence indicates that dancing, singing, wearing masks and/ or costumes, impersonating either other men, animals, or supernaturals, acting out stories, presenting time at time, isolating and preparing special places and/or times for these presentations, and individual or group preparations or rehearsals are coexistent with the human condition. Of countless examples from paleolithic times none is more interesting than the cave at Tuc d'Audoubert:

A sunken river guards the fearsome Tuc d'Audoubert, two hundred long underground feet of which one breasts or boats upon before the first land; then comes a precarious thirty-foot steep shaft up ladders placed there and slippery pegs; and next a crawl through claustrophobic low passages, to reach the startling footprints of ancient dancers in bare feet and the models of copulating bisons, in clay on the floor beyond.
Women for Women
Authors: Rea Charlotte
Published: April 2006

Women's theatre groups are seeking new forms—forms that have not been derived from the male-oriented and male-dominated theatre that now exists. A search for new content also characterizes these groups, but their most important aspect is their relationship with their audiences. The theatre done by these groups is aimed at a specialized audience and often is performed exclusively for that audience—women. Almost all of the women's theatre groups reserve at least one of their performances for women only, and most prefer to play only for women, even when they admit men.

While women's theatre groups exist in many cities throughout the country, New York provides a base for a large number of troupes. Many of these groups maintain themselves by touring colleges, universities, and women's centers throughout the United States and Canada.
Robert Wilson
Authors: Deák František
Published: April 2006

Robert Wilson's The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin was presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on December 14, 15, 21, and 22. This performance was an unusual event. It consisted of seven acts and lasted for twelve hours. Since Stalin began at seven in the evening and ran until seven the following morning, it became a singular event in the life of the spectator, who had to change his habits in order to attend it. Even before it began, the performance had imposed itself on the spectator by the expectation of its unusual length. At least in part, the duration of the piece was an attempt to physiologically modify the perception of the spectator. During the twelve hours, the spectator had to accommodate himself to the slow tempo of the performance; as he became physically tired (sometimes on the verge of sleep), his mode of perception altered.
Meyerhold's Biomechanics
Authors: Gordon Mel
Published: April 2006

In my Biomechanics, I was able to determine altogether twelve or thirteen rules for the training of an actor. But when I polish it, I'll leave perhaps no more than eight.

Vs. Meyerhold

Biomechanics was a system of actor-training that Meyerhold devised shortly after the Revolution. Although not always clearly understood, it received wide attention during the twenties and thirties due to Meyerhold's unique position as the foremost revolutionary avant-garde director. Curiously, Meyerhold's own conceptions about Biomechanics, which were almost unchanged throughout his career, appeared to be both grandiose and seemingly modest: While maintaining that the mastery of Biomechanics afforded the actor all the essential skills necessary for scenic movement—skills that would take the ordinary actor nearly a life-time to learn, he relegated his own class in Biomechanics at the Meyerhold Workshop to a status equal to that of the other studies in body movement that were taught there, such as acrobatics, modern dance, or eurhythmics.
Disney's America Sings
Authors: Bierman James H.
Published: April 2006

Walking from the Disneyland plaza into Tomorrowland, it is difficult to comprehend at first that the Carousel Theatre, partly visible behind the PeopleMover and the Mission to Mars, is a completely circular building. Once you arrive at the point where a view of the theatre is not blocked by any other structure, your proximity to the wall of the theatre reduces its curve and makes it appear straighter, just as proximity to the earth's surface causes it to seem flat. As a result it is mildly perplexing to pass the turnstiles, after depositing an 85-cent ticket, and follow the metal guide rails that lead to the outer wall of the theatre. However, it is at most a four-minute wait until the entire theatre turns itself and brings a door in front of the spot where you are standing. This door opens automatically, and you are permitted to enter a comfortable 240-seat auditorium just in time for the beginning of America Sings, regardless of what time it is.
American Dramaturgs
Authors: Schechter Joel
Published: April 2006

The dramaturg's profession, which began in eighteenth-century Germany, has only recently been instituted in the United States. During the past decade, new resident and ensemble theatres around the country have added to their staffs the first generation of American dramaturgs. Generally these dramaturgs hold the less Germanic title of Literary Manager or Literary Advisor; but like their European counterparts, they serve as criticsin-residence for non-commercial, subsidized theatre companies.

Delayed arrival of the profession is partially due to America's late development of permanent, non-commercial theatres. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Germany's first important dramaturg, began his career in 1767 when the nation's first permanent, subsidized repertory company hired him to write about its productions at Hamburg. Though the permanence of the Hamburg National Theatre is questionable—it lasted about two years—its plan to develop a repertory of new plays led the theatre to hire Lessing, a playwright/critic who both carefully evaluated new scripts and wrote them.
Percy MacKaye's Masque of Caliban (1916)
Authors: Gordon Mel
Published: April 2006

Just as the widely-heralded American Pageant Movement began to show a decline in both artistry and general interest, Percy MacKaye, the already well-known playwright and poet, staged the gigantic spectacle Caliban on May 25, 1916 at New York City's Lewisohn Stadium. Although not the largest production of the pre-World War I period—MacKaye's collaboration with Thomas Wood Stevens, St. Louis, a Civic Masque (1914) utilized the participation of more than 7,000 St. Louis citizen-actors and was seen by nearly 500,000 spectators during its five-day run—MacKaye's Caliban was thought to be the most lavish and grandiose, as well as best documented, pageant of its time.
The Adriani Lazzi of the Commedia Dell'Arte
Authors: Garfein Herschel , Gordon Mel
Published: April 2006

It would be difficult to think of an historical acting style that affected twentieth-century performance more than the Italian sixteenth-century commedia dell'arte. For avant-garde directors in the 1910's—people like Meyerhold, Evreinov, Reinhardt, Copeau—the commedia, with its reliance on stereotyped characters, masks, broad gestures, and improvised comedy, represented the very theatricality of the theatre. Performing across Europe and elsewhere from 1550 to 1750, often without dramatic texts as such and outside proscenium stages, commedia troupes developed large audiences of all classes, another feature that made their work so attractive to avant-garde directors. Even the most popular entertainments of the first part of the twentieth century—silent and sound motion picture comedy as well as radio comedy—seem closely related to the commedia. Indeed, it is hard to conjure images of the commedia without seeing Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Bert Lahr, the Marx Brothers, or Laurel and Hardy.
The Construction of Reality and Unreality in Japanese Theatre
Authors: Alland Alexander
Published: April 2006

The traditional performing arts of Japan (the various Gaku, Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki) are built on a set of contrasts between understatement and exaggeration; between distance and immediacy. Both setting and performance exploit such negatives as stillness, distance, absence and separation, but these occur against a background of opulence ranging from the elaborate Noh costumes to the technical magic of the Kabuki stage, and the lifelike movements of the Bunraku puppets. Although contrasts pre-dominate, mergings also occur in these theatre forms. Multiple evocations of the sacred appear in even the most secular of texts. One theatre genre evokes the others just as all the arts in Japan interpenetrate one another to a high degree. A constant feature of Japanese theatre is the consistent, if paradoxical, presence of the not-there which infuses the text and action to create a rich fabric of suggested meaning. It is this fact that connects Japanese classical theatre to modern experimental theatre in the West.
Ellen Stewart and La Mama
Authors: Stewart Ellen
Published: April 2006

This article was transcribed and edited from an address given by Ellen Stewart at Millennium Film Workshop, 66 East Fourth Street in New York, on March 26, 1979 as part of a seminar series organized by Howard Guttenplan, director of Millennium. While the material remains as spoken, segments have been rearranged, and answers to questions asked by spectators have been integrated to make a single piece.

The traditional or so-called conventional play has never interested me. It's not because of any great esthetic reason, it is simply that in our house we didn't have a room to ourselves. We slept in the dining room. My mother had radios that she turned on to the soaps, and we had to listen to them whether we wanted to or not. Subsequently, anything that even resembled a soap opera I would try my damnedest not to do. It's something that's lodged in me.
Niche Relationships Among Six Species of Shorebirds on Their Wintering and Breeding Ranges
Authors: Baker Myron Charles , Baker Ann Eileen Miller
Published: April 2006

The dynamics of the organization of a community of six species of migrant predatory shorebirds (Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short—billed Dowitcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Semipalmated Plover) was appraised by studying foraging behavior and habitat utilization under winter conditions in southern Florida and under summer conditions in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Eight foraging methods, defined primarily on the basis of how the bill is used and the pattern of locomotion, constitute the behavioral repertoire of the species. Each foraging method is correlated with a particular rate of locomotion (distance/time) and rate of feeding (pecking or probing/time). Feeding and locomotion rates seem independent of air temperature, number of conspecifics, and total number of shorebirds foraging nearby. Instead, the seasonal changes in these rates are probably related to food density. On the basis of these findings and of differences in rates of feeding and locomotion between species the most reasonable hypothesis is that food density is higher in summer on the breeding grounds and foraging is more selective. Each foraging method is combination with a particular microhabitat defines a statistically different resource. During the winter, on intertidal habitats of southern Florida, shorebirds on the whole exhibit a low behavioral and microhabitat diversity and low resource overlap between species. The small niche breadth in winter is probably a response to food limitation, and each species exists in its exclusive niche where it is optimally adapted and therefore has high foraging efficiency. In summer tundra and taiga habitats of the Arctic, shorebirds generally have a higher behavioral and microhabitat diversity (broader niche) and higher overlap between species. Exceptions to these general patterns exist among the study species. Seasonal differences in prey density, prey behavior, time available for foraging, feeding and locomotion rates, and the pattern of resource partitioning imply that shorebird populations are regulated through competitive processes occurring on their wintering habitats. Conclusions concerning coexistence mechanisms in migratory bird species and residents in seasonal environments may be erroneous if populations are studied only in the breeding season.
The Regulation of Element Concentrations in Mountain Streams in the Northeastern United States
Authors: Vitousek Peter M.
Published: April 2006

Concentrations of elements in streamwater were monitored in 57 watersheds located along elevational and successional gradients in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA. Concentrations of C1— and SO4– decreased with increasing elevation as a result of differences in relative evapotranspiration along the elevation gradient. Concentration of Na+, Ca++, and Mg++ also decreased with increasing elevation, but with a steeper slope. Rock weathering/unit of water flux as well as relative evapotranspiration controls concentrations of these cations. Potassium and NO3— concentrations were highly variable, both seasonally within a stream and among streams. Differences among watersheds in terms of successional status are important in controlling NO3— and K+ concentrations. Streams draining old—aged forested ecosystems had higher concentrations of NO3—, K+, and other plant nutrients than did streams draining intermediate—aged successional ecosystems at the same elevation. Nine spruce—fir watersheds which have no record of logging or other extensive human disturbance had streamwater NO3— concentrations averaging 53 microequivalents/litre, while five other spruce—fir watersheds which had been logged 30 yr previously had streamwater NO3— concentrations averaging 8 meq/1. The major factors controlling streamwater concentrations of elements in these watersheds are factors related to supply (precipitation chemistry, relative evapotranspiration, rock weathering) and to plant accumulation of nutrients. Rapidly—growing successional ecosystems can accumulate a large fraction of inputs of nutrient elements, particularly during the growing season. Steady state ecosystems, those with no net biomass accumulation, have nutrient outputs equal to nutrient inputs. The increased losses of nutrient elements from clearcut watersheds in New Hampshire can be explained in these terms. Clearcut or otherwise disturbed ecosystems may have mineralization in excess of plant uptake, leading to element outputs in excess of inputs. Field experiments demonstrated that the prevention of plant uptake by root trenching led to soil NO3— concentrations comparable to those observed in streamwater in the clearcut watershed at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.
A Model of the Dynamic Exchanges of Water and Energy between a Terrestrial Amphibian and Its Environment
Authors: Tracy C. Richard
Published: April 2006

Mechanistic models of the H2O and energy dynamic interrelationships between a terrestrial amphibian and its environments were developed and applied in a study of the temperature and water relations of the northern leopard frog Rana pipiens Schreber. The models illustrate the relative importance of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, absorbed solar and thermal radiation, substrate temperature, and soil H2O potential on the core temperatures, hydration levels, and rates of hydration level change during desiccation and rehydration for leopard frogs of different size. Leopard frogs' core temperatures are influenced most by ambient air and substrate temperatures, whereas absorbed radiation has a subordinant effect. Evaporative H2O loss rates are strongly influenced by absorbed radiation and virtually not influenced at all by substrate temperature (relative humidity, air temperature, and wind speed were also shown to be strongly influential on evaporative H2O loss). Water uptake from wet soils (ψsoil > —150 mb) is determined primarily by the properties of the frog, whereas H2O uptake from relatively drier soils (ψsoil < —300 mb) is determined by the conductive properties of the soil. Results of computer simulations suggest that leopard frogs in southern Wisconsin environments should not be found at great distances from standing H2O or soils with H2O potentials < —150 mb. Data taken from the literature and viewed in context of the theory of H2O exchange between an amphibian and soil, suggests that leopard frogs may rarely venture from saturated soils (ψ soil = 0). Results of simulations also imply that leopard frogs in most natural environmental circumstances will not generally have core temperatures greatly different from ambient air temperatures; thus, implying that any behavioral thermoregulatory ability would likely be crude. The modeling approach provides an extremely practical technique to study mechanistic interactions of the many environmental variables involved in the temperature and water relations of terrestrial amphibians.
Interspecific Competition between Tadpoles of Rana pipiens and Rana sylvatica: An Experimental Field Study
Authors: DeBenedictis Paul Alfred
Published: April 2006

The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, and the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, occur sympatrically over much of northern North America. Within this area the two appear to show habitat separation. Previous studies have given circumstantial evidence that competition leading to the habitat separation might be occurring between tadpoles of these species. In a pond on the University of Michigan's Edwin S. George Reserve, tadpoles were raised in enclosures where species composition and density of experimental populations were controlled. A preliminary experiment was designed to determine the influence of density and mixing of species on tadpole survival and production of biomass. In a second experiment, in addition to density, food and predation levels were manipulated to determine which were influential in the responses observed. The behavior of tadpoles in the 2 yr was markedly different. In the first experiment tadpoles behaved as if there were no limiting carrying capacity to the pond; mean survivorship was about 14%. There was no evidence of competition. In the second experiment the pond's carrying capacity appeared to be near the lowest density level tested. Both species reacted strongly to each other, behaving like ecological equals. Tadpole survivorship proved sensitive to both predation and food levels. At high predation levels, the effect of mixing species was reduced. Although mixed populations performed less well than those raised alone, I was unable to alter the interaction by adding food to experimental populations even though intraspecies competitive effects were reduced. The original concept of this ecological system was that it would be controlled either by food or by predators. The results of both experiments suggest that this concept was erroneous. Both factors act jointly. The role of food must not be studied without recognition of the extent to which predators can change the impact of tadpoles on their food supply, and vice versa. The results of the first experiment suggest that interspecific competition for food under natural conditions can eventually be demonstrated, because food levels can be sufficiently increased to negate the influence of one species on the other. As ecological systems are feedback systems, future field studies must become more experimental if they are to reveal the underlying mechanisms determining the structure and function of ecosystems.
Role of Resource Allocation, Aggression and Spatial Heterogeneity in Coexistence of Two Competing Intertidal Starfish
Authors: Menge Jane Lubchenco , Menge Bruce A.
Published: April 2006

Previous field experiments indicated that the rocky intertidal starfish Pisaster ochraceus and Leptasterias hexactis compete for food. Here, the method of resource partitioning and mechanisms of competition and of coexistence are examined. Comparisons between the diets, feeding activities (high tide), and location at low tide are made for co—occurring Leptasterias (0.01—11.5 g wet weight) and small (0.01—11.5 g), medium (11.5—100 g), and large (100—550 g) Pisaster. These comparisons suggest that (1) there is no spatial or temporal subdivision of the habitat while feeding, (2) there is some microhabitat separation at low tide, with Leptasterias farther back both in crevices and under rocks, and (3) although the diets of the two species overlap greatly in both size and species of prey eaten, each obtains most of its energy from a different combination of prey size and species. Leptasterias obtains most of its energy from small— to medium—sized mobile prey; small Pisaster depend on small, sessile prey, and medium to large Pisaster depend on larger and more mobile prey. Thus, the food resource is divided along a combination of resource dimensions and not along a single resource "axis." Laboratory experiments indicate (1) that Pisaster is highly aggressive toward Leptasterias, using its pedicellariae to pinch the latter, and (2) the effect of this aggression is to reduce the feeding rate of Leptasterias. Field experiments confirm this result. This aggression is somewhat surprising in light of the complete spatial overlap of the competitors. Coexistence is possible because in nature the smaller seastar evidently acclimates relatively quickly to changes in Pisaster abundance. Leptasterias is not aggressive towards Pisaster, and its location at low tide suggests it avoids close contact with the larger asteroid. The primary competitive advantages of the larger asteroid thus are the ability to reach a larger size (and thus to capture "better" prey), and aggression. The competitive advantage of the smaller starfish is suggested by calculations of the number of calories of prey consumed per gram wet weight of starfish per tidal cycle. These comparisons indicate Leptasterias has a higher rate of energy intake than Pisaster. Since this advantage could conceivably give Leptasterias a great initial size advantage over small Pisaster, aggression may function to reduce the foraging time of the former. As Pisaster recruitment is low, small individuals of this species are rare. Leptasterias may coexist with Pisaster by (1) reproducing at a small size (2 g wet weight vs. 70—90 g in Pisaster) and (2) using a spatial portion of the intertidal (deeper parts of crevices) not normally utilized by Pisaster during low tide when the two species would be in closest association. Pisaster's aggressive superiority may render invasion of this system by large asteroid predators similar to Pisaster impossible.
Experimental Evaluation of Ecological Dominance in a Rocky Intertidal Algal Community
Authors: Dayton Paul K.
Published: April 2006

The mechanisms by which various species exert influence disproportionate to their abundance or mass on the structure of a lower intertidal algal community were evaluated experimentally. These functional roles were evaluated experimentally. These functional roles were evaluated by various controlled manipulations at seven stations along the Washington coastline ranked according to an exposure/desiccation gradient. The algae were divided into three categories: canopy species, which grow above the other species and apparently succeed in competitively dominating the light resources as demonstrated by algal blooms following their removal; obligate understory species, which die after the canopy species are removed; and fugitive species, which are quick to colonize new space. Ecological dominance was exerted in areas of moderate wave exposure by Hedophyllum sessile, which competitively displaces a large number of fugitive algal species and which furnishes a protected habitat for many obligate understory algae that die or defoliate after the removal of Hedophyllum. Hedophyllum loses this dominance in the most exposed areas, although such sites apparently represent its physiologically optimal habitat, because in these areas it is out—competed by Laminaria setchellii and Lessoniopsis littoralis. In these wave exposed habitats Lessoniopsis was demonstrated to exert a strong competitive dominance over all the other species in the association. The molluscan herbivores were not observed to express any measurable effects on the recruitment or survival of the algae. However, the echinoid Strongylocentrotus purpuratus often overexploits its prey and has a pronounced influence on most of the algal species. In this respect S. purpuratus enjoys an important community role singular among the many herbivores. Similarly, Pycnopodia helianthoides and Anthopleura xanthogrammica are disproportionately important carnivores, because their predation on Strongylocentrotus, clearing large areas of urchins, results in patches in which algal succession follows. The rate of algal succession following removal of the dominant algal species or of Strongylocentrotus is proportional to the degree of wave exposure. The Hedophyllum canopy recovery at the Eagle Point area of San Juan Island, a site exposed to relatively little wave action and thus high levels of desiccation, was relatively slow, with only 10%—26% cover reestablished after 3 yr. In contrast, Hedophyllum canopy developed up to 66% cover in only 1 yr in the exposed area of Waadah Island; it then quickly lost its dominance to Laminaria and Lessoniopsis. Algal succession in deeper Portage Head tidepools was found to be relatively slow with no clear dominance expressed after 5 yr.
Presence and Absence of Habitat Shift in Some Widespread Lizard Species
Authors: Schoener Thomas W.
Published: April 2006

This study analyzes the circumstances under which certain lizards shift and fail to shift their habitats. At each of 20 localities, I measured the structural habitats utilized by all the diurnal arboreal lizard species as well as the availability of those habitats. I selected localities so as to include for four widespread species (Anolis grahami, A. sagrei, A. carolinensis, A. distichus) nearly all of the species—combinations in which they occur. Data were fitted to equations that (1) adjust for locality—specific differences in vegetation, and (2) estimate the direction and intensity of apparent interaction between sympatric forms. Shift was valuated both for species and separately for age and sex classes within species. Female—sized individuals shift more frequently than do adult ♂ ♂. Linear equations that evaluate sympatric forms one at a time showed the strongest apparent competitors for a widespread from to be (1) adult ♂ ♂ rather than female—sized individuals, especially when adult ♂ ♂ represent the widespread species; (2) species of similar climatic habitat; (3) classes of similar size (especially against female—sized individuals of widespread species; and (4) classes of large size (especially against adult ♂ ♂). The most abundant classes are the strongest apparent competitors for A. distichus but not for the other widespread species. These results are unchanged or strengthened when different habitat categories or nonlinear equations are used. Combining all sympatric forms into locality—specific linear equations supports Results 1 and 2 but is inconclusive for Results 3 and 4. The parameter proportional to the size of a refugium from interference is estimated for some cases to be significantly greater for female—size individuals than for adult ♂ ♂. In general, results imply that animals similar to widespread forms in some niche dimension other than structural habitat are those most likely to cause shift in structural habitat. In addition, they suggest existence of a competition function with respect to size: in such a function intensity of competition is uniquely determined by the direction and amount of size difference, regardless of the competitors' absolute sizes. Competition intensity appears to (1) decrease overall with increasing difference in size, (2) be greater for a given size difference if the competitor is larger than if it is smaller, and (3) decrease at nonconstant rates, such that near complete size similarity there is a more rapid decline in intensity for smaller than larger competitors. Morphological differences between populations and short—term field observations suggest that both evolutionary and behavioral mechanisms regulate habitat shift.
Mechanism of Invasion and Dominance of Coastal Grassland by Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
Authors: Vivrette Nancy J. , Muller Cornelius H.
Published: April 2006

The invasion of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum into coastal grassland was observed at Surf on the central coast of California, USA. The species became established in areas unoccupied or sparsely occupied by other plants, and then grew into surrounding areas. The following season, few grassland seedlings established beneath dried Mesembryanthemum as compared to adjacent grassland. The reduction in numbers of grassland seedlings did not appear to be the result of limiting levels of moisture, light or macronutrients which were found in lower levels in the grassland, nor to be due to grazing by small mammals, since the pattern persisted in the absence of grazing. The differential pattern of seedling establishment was correlated with high levels of salt found in the soil beneath dried Mesembryanthemum. Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is an annual plant which accumulates salt throughout its lifespan. After the plant dies, this salt is released with leaching by fog and rain. The salt produces a detrimental osmotic environment preventing growth of nontolerant species. The salt does not appear to have a direct toxic influence on grassland species. Osmotic interference resulting from accumulation and release of salt appears to be the means by which Mesembryanthemum crystallinum dominates areas previously occupied by grassland.
Changes in the Carbon Content of Terrestrial Biota and Soils between 1860 and 1980: A Net Release of CO"2 to the Atmosphere
Authors: Houghton R. A. , Hobbie J. E. , Melillo J. M. , Moore B. , Peterson B. J. , Shaver G. R. , Woodwell G. M.
Published: April 2006

Changes in land use over the past two centuries have caused a significant release of CO2 to the atmosphere from the terrestrial biota and soils. An analysis of this release is based on amounts of organic carbon within an ecosystem following changes such as harvest of forests; it is also based on rates of changes, such as conversion of forest to agriculture, deduced from agricultural and forestry statistics. A model is used to calculate the net amount of carbon stored or released each year by the biota and soils of 69 regional ecosystems. Some of the changes, such as afforestation, the growth of harvested forests, and buildup of soil organic matter, result in a storage of carbon; others, such as harvest of forests and increase in pasture and agricultural areas, result in a loss of carbon to the atmosphere. According to this analysis, there has been a net release of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems worldwide since at least 1860. Until °1960, the annual release was greater than release of carbon from fossil fuels. The total net release of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems since 1860 is estimated to have been 180 x 1015 g (a range of estimates is 135—228 x 1015 g). The estimated net release of carbon in 1980 was 1.8—4.7 x 1015 g; for the 22 yr since 1958 the release of C was 38—76 x 1015 g. The ranges reflect the differences among various estimates of forest biomass, soil carbon, and agricultural clearing. Improvements in the data on the clearing of tropical forests alone would reduce the range of estimates for 1980 by almost 60%. Estimates of the other major terms in the global carbon budget, the atmospheric increase in CO2, the fossil fuel release of CO2, and the oceanic uptake of CO2, are all subject to uncertainties. The combined errors in these estimates are large enough that the global carbon budget appears balanced if the low estimate for the biotic release of carbon given above is used (1.8 x 1015 g released in 1980) with the higher estimates of oceanic uptake. If higher estimates for biotic release are used, then the carbon budget does not balance, and the estimates of oceanic uptake or of other factors require revision.
Compensatory Recruitment, Growth, and Mortality as Factors Maintaining Rain Forest Tree Diversity
Authors: Connell Joseph H. , Tracey J. G. , Webb Leonard J.
Published: April 2006

One general hypothesis to explain how forest tree diversity is maintained is that rarer species are favored over commoner species in their reproduction, growth, and/or mortality. Mechanisms acting in this way would continually compensate for the tendency of some species to increase at the expense of others, and would reduce the chance of local extinction of rare species. Two hypotheses concerning such compensatory mechanisms were tested in subtropical and tropical evergreen rain forests in Queensland, Australia.

Hypothesis 1: on the scale of 1—2 ha, commoner species have lower rates of recruitment and growth and higher rates of mortality than do rarer ones. This hypothesis was tested using abundances either of adults or of members of the same size—class, and was rejected for growth and mortality and for recruitment of over—story species, but not rejected for recruitment in subcanopy and understory species in either forest.

Hypothesis 2: the close proximity of other individuals is more deleterious (i.e., causes slower growth or higher mortality) if they are the same species than if they are different species. This hypothesis was accepted for growth or survival of nearest neighbors in several of the seedling size—classes in both forests. In contrast, increased densities of the same species in quadrats had no more deleterious effect on growth and survival than did increased densities of different species. At the scale of proximity to adults, hypothesis 2 predicts that young trees have higher mortality nearer conspecific adults than farther away. In both forests, 90% of the species tested showed no such pattern of mortality of seedlings or saplings, nor was the strength or direction of the deviation from equal mortality correlated with the abundance of adults of that species. Field experiments gave the same results.

In summary, tests of both hypotheses showed that some compensatory trends occurred and that these were very similar in the two forests. The mechanisms producing these compensatory trends may be attacks by natural enemies (grazers, pathogenic fungi, etc.), interference, or, less likely, competition for resources.
Production: Biomass Relationships and Element Cycling in Contrasting Arctic Vegetation Types
Authors: Shaver Gaius R. , Chapin F. Stuart
Published: April 2006

Primary production, plant biomass, plant element content, and various measures of turnover and element cycling were compared among four contrasting tundra vegetation types near Toolik Lake, Alaska. The study sites were selected to represent extreme examples of the wide variation in plant growth form composition that is typical of northern ecosystems. The aim of the research was to determine whether vegetation types that differ in their dominant plant growth form also differ in their production: biomass relationships and overall patterns of element use. The four sites included tussock tundra, a deciduous shrub—dominated riparian tundra, an evergreen heath tundra, and wet sedge tundra. Biomass and element content (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) were determined for both vascular and nonvascular plants, and production estimates were obtained for vascular plants. Production and biomass of most tissues were determined by quadrat harvest methods, with additional, separate determinations of stem secondary growth and belowground rhizome growth as components of net primary production (NPP). Production, biomass, and element content of roots were not determined. Vascular plant biomass (excluding roots) varied by nearly 9 × among sites, from 217 to 1877 g/m2. At least 50% of the vascular biomass at all four sites was belowground stems, but the relative allocation to leaves vs. aboveground stems varied greatly. When mosses and lichens were included, total biomass varied by only 5 × among sites, and lichens were in fact the most abundant plant form at the evergreen heath site. The element content in vascular biomass of these communities varied by 8—21 ×, depending upon the element; including mosses and lichens, element content varied by 6—12 ×. Primary productivity of vascular plants also varied sharply among sites, from 32 to 305 g · m—2 · yr—1 (not including root production). Leaves were the largest single component of NPP at all sites, but the relative importance of above— and belowground stem growth varied considerably. The element requirements of vascular NPP varied by 9—17 ×, depending upon the element. Despite these order—of—magnitude differences among sites in biomass, production, and element requirements, and the dramatic variation in allocation patterns, there was remarkably little difference among sites in the overall production: biomass relationships and element turnover. These overall similarities were due to the dominant effect of stems and rhizomes in the whole—plant and whole—vegetation biomass and element budgets. The wide range of leaf turnover rates and leaf production efficiencies was compensated at the whole—plant level by stem processes, especially element storage. Thus, we conclude that plant growth form composition is not a good indicator of whole—vegetation biomass turnover rates and patterns of element use, although growth form composition is related to total production and biomass.
Optimal Body Size in Lesser Antillean Anolis Lizards‐‐A Mechanistic Approach
Authors: Naganuma Kenneth H. , Roughgarden Jonathan D.
Published: April 2006

For the past twenty years, it has been recognized that body size is convergent among solitary species of Anolis lizards endemic to different island banks of the Lesser Antilles. Community ecologists have assumed that this "solitary size" is an optimal size, yet the basis behind such optimality has not been shown. Our goal in this study was to explore the existence of an energetic basis of an optimal body size in these lizards. A computer model is presented that incorporates quantitative descriptions of lizard metabolism, locomotion, digestion, and visual acuity, and simulates foraging in a sit—and—wait predator. Quantitative estimates of daily foraging energetics are presented, which are then used together with estimates of resting metabolism to simulate growth. An optimal growth strategy is incorporated to determine adult body sizes that maximize lifetime reproductive output. Such optimal body sizes were determined for different prey densities and activity levels, predator life expectancies, and field metabolic rates. Predicted optimal body sizes are close to the observed body sizes of Lesser Antillean anoles, and are relatively insensitive to both levels of prey activity and up to fourfold differences in prey density, while life expectancy and rates of field metabolism may influence predictions. The insensitivity of predicted optimal body size to prey density lends support to the assumption that the solitary size observed among anoles throughout the Lesser Antilles is an optimal body size. Additional findings were made regarding home—range sizes, growth patterns, and visual constraints to foraging performance.
Food Profitability and the Foraging Ecology of Crossbills
Authors: Benkman Craig W.
Published: April 2006

Observations over a two and a half year period in the Northeast United States and adjacent Canada indicate that White—winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) and Red Crossbills (L. curvirostra) shift their diets among the seeds of various conifer species in a seasonal pattern. Both crossbill species forage on white spruce (Picea glauca) in late summer. White—winged Crossbills continue foraging on white spruce or tamarack (Larix laricina) until late autumn or winter, when they switch to black spruce (P. mariana). Red Crossbills switch to white pine (Pinus strobus) in early autumn and to red pine (P. resinosa) or other pines in winter or spring. This pattern of diet shifts is consistent with the hypothesis that crossbills forage to maximize food intake rate. Profitability (milligrams of kernel ingested per second) was measured for crossbills foraging on each of these conifers by observing rates of seed ingestion in the field, and subsequently measuring dry seed kernel masses. Profitability for a given conifer increases as cones and seeds mature, then declines as seeds are shed from the cones. Because conifers differ in the timing of cone ripening, crossbills experience sequential peaks in profitability. Both crossbill species usually foraged predominately on the most profitable conifer species, with switches in conifer use coinciding with shifts in relative profitabilities. However, crossbills often forage on more than one conifer species at a time, even though intake rates might be maximized by foraging on only the most profitable conifer. Predation does not appear to influence diet selection and large—scale patterns of conifer use. Crossbill movements and patterns of abundance, both on local and continent—wide scales, are correlated with patterns of profitability. Dietary overlap between crossbill species is greatest, often approaching 100%, in late summer when seed is most abundant. Overlap then declines rapidly when white pine cones open, and usually remains negligible most of the remainder of the year. Patterns of dietary overlap are a result of differences in profitability for each crossbill species that are largely inherent in the ripening phenology of conifer cones and seed accessibility, not seed depletion by crossbills. Interspecific competition is most likely between White—winged Crossbills and either the smallest form of the Red Crossbill or redpolls (Carduelis sp.) during the late winter of "invasion" years, which occur every 3—4 yr. Intraspecific competition is also likely to be most intense at these times.
The Impact of Preemption on the Zonation of Two Typha Species Along Lakeshores
Authors: Grace James B.
Published: April 2006

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of preemption on rates of competitive displacement and on competitive outcomes for two Typha species (T. latifolia, TL, and T. domingensis, TD) growing along gradients of water depth. Evidence from several experiments indicated that the relative competitive abilities of the two species were size dependent. When TL and TD competed as small seedlings, TD was generally favored while TL was the better competitor when the plants were larger before beginning to compete. Because of this effect, initial density was determined to influence strongly the early outcome of competition. When seeds were sown at high densities, TD gained an early advantage; at lower densities TL was the better competitor. At very low densities, such as when the species competed as clones, TL was very much the better competitor. In the absence of preemption, the results showed that differences in germination, seedling growth, and competitive ability act to create an initial segregation of species at the waterline where establishment occurs. TL is upslope and TD downslope initially, but as the species spread downslope, TL progresses faster because of its greater capacity for vegetative spread, and the result is a widespread overlap along the gradient. Studies of the rate of competitive displacement between established plants yielded an estimate of slightly <6 yr required for complete segregation of two species starting from maximum overlap. Preemption had a strong effect on early growth and distribution of the species. After the initial effects of temporal disadvantage, delayed plants were able to recover under certain circumstances. Both species recovered better in shallow water than in deep water, and, in general, TL recovered better than did TD. Experiments on spatial preemption found that the species moved towards the expected segregation of TL upslope and TD downslope regardless of the initial conditions. This process of recovery was somewhat slower for established stands of adults than for seedlings. Comparison of aerial photographs of natural populations of TL and TD in PAR Pond (South Carolina) in 1980 with distributions in 1984 also suggests that recovery from even large—scale spatial preemption can occur over only a few years time. These results suggest that extreme temporal advantage by either species can lead to extinction of the other species and that the magnitude of the effect depends upon the initial density of seedlings. If both species survive the initial phase of competition and the habitat remains undisturbed, subsequent vegetation spread and competitive displacement can over—come the initial effects of spatial and temporal preemption, resulting in a predictable zonation.
Measuring Resilience in Stochastic Systems
Authors: Ives Anthony R.
Published: April 2006

This paper develops mathematical and statistical techniques for measuring the resilience of inherently stochastic ecological systems. To correspond to the deterministic idea of resilience measured by the return time to equilibrium following perturbation, resilience in stochastic systems is defined as the variability in population densities relative to environmentally driven variability in population growth rates. Stochastic resilience defined in this way is calculated from a community matrix describing the average interaction strengths within and among species. The procedure to calculate stochastic resilience is demonstrated on simulated data sets consisting of time series of population densities. The simplicity of the procedure makes it a potential tool for application to a wide range of ecological communities.
Piscator's Rasputin
Authors: Innes Christopher
Published: April 2006

The theatrical flashpoint In the 1920's was Berlin. The aftermath of war, revolution and putsch; the increasing polarization of society; inflation and depression, which revealed the flaws in industrial capitalism; the example of Russia, which under Lenin still provided an ideal of heroic political action—all formed a creative ferment that found expression on the German stage with its traditional claim to be a “moral tribunal.” The primary challenge was to develop ways of representing a new, distinctively twentiethcentury perception of reality. As Brecht put it:

Just the grasping of a new range of material requires a new dramatic and theatrical form. Can we speak about finance in heroic couplets?…Petroleum struggles against the five-act form…. The dramatic technique of Hebbel and Ibsen is insufficient by far for dramatizing even a simple press release.
Sensorineural deafness, hydrocephalus and structural brain abnormalities in two sisters: The Chudley–McCullough syndrome
Authors: Matteucci Fabio , Tarantino Enrico , Bianchi Maria Cristina , Cingolani Cristina , Fattori Bruno , Nacci Andrea , Ursino Francesco
Published: April 2006

We describe an Italian family in which two sisters have macrocephaly due to hydrocephalus, and sensorineural hearing loss in addition to other brain abnormalities demonstrated by Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The girls, born to healthy non‐consanguineous parents, have borderline psychomotor development delay (probably due to hearing defect) and minor dysmorphisms. The clinical picture fits the Chudley–McCullough syndrome, an autosomal recessive condition, to date described in only five families. Our data, in particular the neuroradiological findings, include all brain anomalies variably reported in previous works (hydrocephalus, corpus callosum partial agenesis, interhemispheric cyst, cerebral and cerebellar cortex dysplasia), thus illustrating the full phenotype of the syndrome. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.