bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Theatre of Memè Perlini
Authors: Mele Rino
Published: April 2006

After having worked with Giancarlo Nanni as a scenographer, Memè Perlini began his career as a director in 1973 with a signal work in the history of Italian experimental theatre: Pirandello, Chi? (Who's Pirandello?). The production is based entirely on the relationship between light and objects. It does not interpret a script. On the dark stage, the actors move as though in a performance for themselves, hidden from the spectators, revealed only by flashes of light. It is a darkness full of phantoms—like the unconscious of the representation, like the deep structure from which emerges traces of violent struggle.

In the dark theatrical space, Perlini, from the front of the stage, works with small projectors on the magma of unknown actions. He cuts out square and rectangular pieces of light—very precise areas in which he captures details, parts of bodies, parts of objects.
City Lights, A Performance
Authors: Stran'amore
Published: April 2006

The gymnasium measured 24 × 18 meters. The space was articulated primarily through the use of light. All other elements were reduced to two dimensions, so that the space appeared empty even though there was a “street” represented by a narrow strip of asphalt that entered from the open door and transversed the entire gymnasium. An obstacle on the side of the street was represented by a circle of 60-watt light bulbs attached to a metal base. Another obstacle was a sheet of plexiglass on which was projected a slide showing a window. To the right of the entrance were eighteen red velvet theatre seats with large plates of glass leaning on them to prevent anyone from sitting down. On the floor, perpendicular to the street, were six strips of wood that copied the line of vertical beams that supported the ceiling.
Answers
Authors: Theatre Squat
Published: April 2006

The Metropolis, choking in garbage, burning in flames; with her breathtaking buildings of the dying Babylon, her graffitied subway-trains, free citizens, black people and orthodox Jews, the capital of the existing but unwanted empire.

If you can stand the tropical summer, the crude violence, the empty faces, the unveiled money-battle, the Soho snobbery, the total authority of the Market, you can manage your fate, which is the only tradition here.

We did not want to create a play about New York (especially not about America); we have never wanted to create a play about something, because theatre is not about something but it is from something, it is itself; from a given place, from the social and personal forms of life. It is conceptual and existential at the same time. And it is In and From New York where one can come to speak.
Seraikella Chhau: Talking to Guru Kedar Nath Sahoo
Authors: Awasthi Suresh
Published: April 2006

SAHOO: I am now sixty years old; I started dancing at the age of four. I belong to the tradition. My father and grandfather were dancers. I belong to the Kansari caste, which is engaged In the practice of these dances; its main vocation is the making of household utensils. My family also made works of art in gold and other material. In our country often a particular caste or community is involved in the practice of a particular craft or a form of dance and theatre. Arts are community based and family based. The techniques are passed from father to son, from one generation to the other. Since the transmission of the techniques is oral, this pattern works more effectively than any other.
The Teyyam Kettu of Northern Kerala
Authors: Ashley Wayne
Published: April 2006

Slaughtered goats are scattered everywhere, lying in pools of blood outside the temple compound. Decapitated chickens have been thrown together in large separate piles. The god Karin Camundi's mask lies discarded atop one of the mounds of carcasses, soaked with blood and feathers. The paint is soiled and the image of the god has begun to blur. There are no drums, no firecrackers. It is predawn, and the only light is a faint blue glow. Some of the sacrificial goats hanging from trees are being skinned and prepared for selling. The temple grounds are empty after the previous night's festivities, when hundreds of anxious spectators crowded together, pressing to catch a glimpse of their god gulping down blood of the sacrificial animals. The flies come with the day. This is the aftermath of one of the bloodiest performances of teyyam kettu—a highly structured ritual folk performance in the Cannanore District, Kerala State, Southwestern India.
Jim Neu's Him or Me
Authors: Bunn Marguerite Oerlemans
Published: April 2006

Him or Me: a portrait of a detective drama, the second of Jim Neu's plays to be presented in New York, opened at the Squat Theatre on March 9, 1979. The performers were Nancy Shinkle, Carol Mullins, John Nesci, Jim Neu and Bob Feldman, saxophonist. Recorded music was composed by Lenny Pickett. Bill Wert designed the projections. The play was directed by Jim Neu and John Nesci.

The audience is seated in tiers of seats facing a square, flat performing area which is quite bare. The large storefront window of the Squat Theatre is concealed by a white backdrop that doubles as a screen and onto which slides are projected from backstage. Lighting, pink and white, is projected from overhead and from two downstage side spots. Scene settings are suggested by light and music with a minimum of props—table, chairs, a divan, etc.
The Theatre of Mistakes
Authors: Creese Robb
Published: April 2006

More than five years ago, a group of young English artists formed a workshop in London under the direction of Anthony Howell. This group, eventually to be known as the Theatre of Mistakes, uses improvisational exercises—strictly controlled by formal structure—to develop performances.

Howell concedes that he was influenced in particular by an exercise of the Living Theatre, used in Paradise Now, in which one person performed an action and another copied it. The interaction was far more interesting to Howell than anything the traditional theatre could offer. And he also felt that this exercise was more significant than the “histrionics” of the Living Theatre because it implied a new means of working in a group to create performance art.

For the next two years, such concepts as repetition of each other's actions were used as the basis for exercises for the group, and performances were built from chosen exercises.
Colosimo's Freud, Mein Freund
Authors: Prosperi Mario
Published: April 2006

Gianni Colosimo is the founder and sole member of the Teatro Ludico Libidinale (Ludicrous Libidinal Theatre). His performance, the title of which means “Freud, My Friend,” announces a personal poetics in autoperformance. Colosimo does individually what others in the so-called Post Avant-Garde (T77) do collectively; that is, he plays with “symptoms” of his own pathology and puts them together in a sort of “kinetic” analysis. He tries to materialize the process of “forming” his unconscious, according to Freudian schemes of assimilation. Colosimo identifies himself with the Oedipus character, but the onstage “analysis” is more a cruel ceremony (as in Artaud) than the kind of analytical cruelty that has come to be identified with the Post Avant-Garde and Body artists. The myth is, for him, more important than the materials.
Self-Performance: Allan Kaprow's Activities
Authors: Hindman James T.
Published: April 2006

In March, 1976, the FramartGaiiery of Naples, Italy, sponsored the performance of an original Allan Kaprow work, Maneuvers. By previous arrangement, Kaprow had been commissioned to prepare a performance scenario of his choice to be performed, under his supervision and with his participation, by friends and patrons of the gallery.

Kaprow designed and sent on ahead a brief scenario of actions that could be carried out in unspecified locations, private or public, by participants working in couples. No formal audience would be present, and couples would be generally free to choose the place and time for performing each phase of the scenario. Because there would be no direct supervision of the couples as they performed, participants would be on their own to interpret the directions given in the scenario. Any even number could participate in the event.
Oedipus on Via degli Scialoia
Authors: Favari Pietro
Published: April 2006

For many reasons in Roman theatres, both large and small, you always have to wait at least 20 minutes beyond the announced curtain time. These are vaguely anguishing waits, in which one is forced to stay in the company of strangers in foyers, corridors, and hallways that come to resemble doctors’ waiting rooms. One of these Beckett-like waits became an organic part of Itinerario-Corpo (“Body-Itinerary”), presented by the Teatro Autonomo di Roma from March through June, 1979, on the two upper floors of a private apartment building on Via degli Scialoia.

Via degli Scialoia is neither a street of theatres nor of artists, like Via Margutta, nor is it a loft area such as is found in New York City. It is one of a group of streets located north of Piazza del Popolo between the Tiber and the Villa Borghese park.
An Encounter of Codes
Authors: Reeder Roberta
Published: April 2006

Some discussions of the semiotics of theatre limit themselves to one tradition of performance, while others use examples from different theatre traditions to illustrate their theories. Rarely, however, has there been an attempt to examine what occurs when a tale or element that is an integral part of one cultural code is translated into the performance code of another very different culture. An interesting example of this is John Emigh's production of Little Red Riding Shawl, which is presented within forms associated with the Balinese topeng tradition. (Although many productions of topeng use several actors, Emigh's performance is based on topeng pajegan [T82], the oldest form of topeng, where one actor plays all the roles in succession.) We will look at what modifications the topeng codes undergo in the course of the performance, what extratextual information is required of the audience, and how Emigh employs the various performance codes in order to convey messages on many different levels.
Notes Toward a Semiotic Analysis
Authors: Pavis Patrice
Published: April 2006

There is no question, in these few pages, of presenting methods of semiotic analysis applied to the theatre or even of completely describing a performance and its structural principles. Rather, beginning with some theoretical concepts and a montage of photographs we simply would like to develop some thoughts on a performance and its semiotic analysis and to try to find a middle ground between concrete description and abstract semiotic theory: an approach, therefore, determinedly practical and theoretical that could contribute to a new phase of theatrical semiotics. Following some indispensible epistomological reflections on the justification of an approach derived from linguistics and structuralism, and following the examination of general models of theatrical functioning, it is imperative that the facts and the hypotheses be verified by comparison with precise analyses and practical observations of theatrical production.
Vanessa James: Designer
Authors: Neimark Jill
Published: April 2006

For the last 15 years Vanessa James has been creating her sumptuous stage environments out of materials such as garbage bags, plastic wrap, scrapped plastics, synthetic fabric, foam rubber, mirrors, corrugated cardboard and acrylic paint. She culls her “stuffs” from corporations like Mobile Oil and International Paper, as well as the waste bins of commercial studios where she works during the day. By night she creates her art works for the stage. They have been part of more than 50 productions in the United States and England, and have been exhibited at galleries in New York, Cambridge, Salt Lake City and Bristol, as well as Studio 54, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the George Washington Bridge. Her creations combine the remote, formal beauty of previous centuries with the products of contemporary industry.
The Sophocles/Hölderlin Antigone and the System
Authors: Rouse John
Published: April 2006

Despite various differences in their internal organization, the majority of German theatres share a common profile. They are usually large-scale, publicly-controlled cultural institutions, with more than 80 percent of their budgets covered by public subsidies. Within these complexes, which can include opera and dance facilities, a relatively stable theatre company (artist contracts normally run from one to three years) strives to satisfy the demands of a predominantly subscription audience by mounting as many as fourteen productions a season in full repertory.

Such theatres confront their artistic staffs with a number of problems. The pressures created by the subscription system are the worst, but not the only ones. The manifold details concerned with administering such huge physical plants and executing the paperwork that comes with governmental subsidy are handled by a large, expensive bureaucracy with a vested interest in making sure the stamping-out of productions runs smoothly.
Brecht in Eclipse?
Authors: Weber Carl
Published: April 2006

On March 4, 1953, Brecht noted in his journal: “Our performances in Berlin achieve hardly any response anymore. In the pre1ss, reviews appear months after opening night and they contain nothing except a few meager sociological analyses….The efforts won't be quite meaningless only if the mode of acting can be revived at some later time, i.e. if its teaching potential will once be realized.” Brecht's Berliner Ensemble had been working for four years and had mounted ten productions, among them Mother Courage; Puntila; The Motherand The Tutor, but Brecht voiced his deep disappointment about the lack of impact he sensed. Many of us who were active in the Berlin theatre in those days wouldn't have been in complete agreement with his pessimistic statement.
Dana Reitz
Authors: Jowitt Deborah
Published: April 2006

Improvisation has always had a shaky reputation in the dance field. All too often, it's been shown up as a license for playing around, a grand and ultimately disturbing notion of freedom. Some dancers never get beyond reproducing movements they've learned, simply jumbled around in a satisfyingly lawless way. During the 1950s most dancers and choreographers of any consequence associated improvisation with the windy impressionism they had encountered in children's classes or even in college dance departments (“be a cloud”). The Judson Church choreographers of the 1960s, however looked on it with some favor — particularly as the individual's unplanned working-out of a predetermined task — and there have always been some, like the contemporary Japanese dancer Min Tanaka, who improvise in performance because, clearly, anything other than a response to the immediate climate (interior and exterior) would be unthinkable.
Blondell Cummings: The Ladies and Me
Authors: Dixon-Stowell Brenda
Published: April 2006

Blondell Cummings has worked with Meredith Monk's company, The House, since 1969. She performed in Juice (1969), Needle Brain Lloyd and the System's Kid (1970), Vessel (1971), Education of the Girlchild (1973), Chacon (1974), the film of Quarry (1976) and Venice/Milan (1976). In addition to working independently, she now performs with the Nimbus Dance Theatre Company and Bill T. Jones' Everybodyworks. The Cycle Arts Foundation presented a program of Cumming' works May 1-4, 1980, at the Warren Street Performance Loft in lower Manhattan, offering The Ladies and Me (1979) that will be discussed here, and A Friend (1980). Excerpts from The Ladies and Me were performed on October 10, 1980, at the All-Craft Community Center on St. Mark's Place in New York as part of the Women's One World Festival.
Mary Wigman: The Early Years 1913- 1925
Authors: Odom Maggie
Published: April 2006

The early years of Mary Wigman's career as a dancer involved a search for a new dance form. She found no medium for communication in the dance styles of the early 20th century. The prevailing techniques of ballet and popular stage dancing concerned themselves with unreality and illusion. Isadora Duncan was startling the world by dancing barefoot to the music of the great composers, but her inspiration derived from a bygone era. Mary Wigman's dance was a deeply personal message of its time, and neither the form, the music nor the subject matter of any existing dance style could completely and satisfactorily express this message.

Wigman returned to the fundamentals of dance as she examined the expressivity of movement and the function of movement in space with an awareness that was remarkable for its time.
The Modern and Late Quaternary Vegetation of the Campbell‐Dolomite Uplands, near Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada
Authors: Ritchie J. C.
Published: April 2006

The Campbell—Dolomite uplands comprise a small area (140 km2) of outcropping, faulted dolomite, limestone, and shale east of the Mackenzie River Delta, ~ 40 km south of the northern limit of trees. The major landforms are bedrock ridges and plateaux, steep colluvium, stable slopes, shorelines, and depressions. A principal component analysis of vegetation—cover data from 150 stands suggest that much of the variation within the heterogeneous vegetation is correlated with these broad habitat categories. Stable surfaces bear an open spruce woodland with alder, tree and dwarf birch, and a varied lichen—heath—Dryas ground vegetation. A glacially modified karstic (solution) depression contains a small (8 ha), relatively deep (22 m), apparently meromictic lake, which yielded a 12,000—yr core of sediment. A conventional percentage diagram, an influx diagram, and numerical analysis (principal components) suggest a sequence of pollen assemblage zones as follows: (1) Salix—Gramineae—Artemisia: 13,000 to 11,300 radiocarbon yr ago, (2) Betula (shrub)—Salix—Gramineae—Artemisia: 11,300 to 10,300, (3) Betula—Populus: 10,300 to 9,700, (4) Betula—Populus—Juniperus: 9,700 to 8,900, (5) Picea—Betula (tree and shrub)—Juniperus: 8,900 to 6,500, and (6) Picea—Betula—Alnus: 6,500 to present. Both percentage data and numerical analyses show that none of the pollen assemblage zones 1 to 5 has a modern analogue. With 1 exception, these patterns of change in pollen spectra can be interpreted parsimoniously without reference to regional environmental change. They suggest an initial phase of migration of willow and herbs from adjacent unglaciated Megaberingia (North Yukon and Alaska), followed rapidly by dwarf birch and later poplar. Megaberingian floristic elements (e.g., Plantago canescens, Selaginella sibirica) reached the area during this early phase of migration. Subsequently arriving from the south along the Mackenzie valley were juniper, ericads, spruce, and finally alder, which intensified competition and restricted the early Megaberingian herb types to open, unstable habitats where they persist today. Slow soil development (humus accumulation, rising permafrost table) probably favoured the spread of the palynologically 'silent' elements–lichens, ericads, and Dryas (the dominants of the modern ground vegetation). Changes in the influx values of Picea suggest a climatically induced increase in tree density and/or pollen production during the period 9,000—7,000 BP (Zone 5).
Drift and Production of Two Aquatic Insects in a Mountain Stream
Authors: Pearson William D. , Kramer Robert H.
Published: April 2006

The relationships between drift rates, population density, production rates, key environmental factors, and movements of adults were studied in two populations of stream insects, the caddisfly Oligophlebodes sigma and the mayfly Baetis bicaudatus. Samples of benthic invertebrates (424 total) were collected every 28 days at four stations on Temple Fork of the Logan River, Utah, from October 1967 to September 1969. Samples of drift invertebrates (181 total) were collected every 14 days at three stations on Temple Fork during the same period. During June—September a day and a night drift sample (681 total) were collected every other day. Drift rates of O. sigma larvae were greatest (5,987 g/year) when biomass in the benthos (2.56 g/m2) and production (4.30 g/m2 per year) were greatest. Total production (dry weight) of O. sigma larvae in the stream (bottom area = 29,487 m2) was 89.0 kg in 1968 and 80.8 kg in 1969. Total production of B. bicaudatus nymphs was 41.3 kg in 1968 and 39.8 kg in 1969. Drift rates of O. sigma larvae were related directly to biomass in the benthos over an entire year. Drift rates of O. sigma and B. bicaudatus were not related directly to density expressed as numbers/area in the benthos. Drift rates were correlated positively and significantly (r = 0.78 and 0.55 for day drift of O. sigma and B. bicaudatus, respectively) with density during the months of June—September for both O. sigma larvae and B. bicaudatus nymphs. Discharge, distance below the spring source of Temple Fork, and densities of competing aquatic insects were other factors of significance in the multiple—regression analyses of factors affecting drift rates of the two insects. The 17 or 18 independent variables used in the multiple—regression analyses accounted for 65% and 55% of the variability in day drift rates of O. sigma and B. bicaudatus, respectively. Adult O. sigma (but not B. bicaudatus) undertook a definite upstream migration estimated at 2—3 km. This flight of adults resulted in a concentrated deposition of eggs in the upper reaches of the stream. The advantage of the upstream flight may be that it stores reproductive products in areas where they are relatively safe from effects of anchor ice during winter and of floods in late winter and early spring.
Organization of a Tropical Guild of Nectarivorous Birds
Authors: Feinsinger Peter
Published: April 2006

Fourteen months' observations on hummingbird foraging patterns in successional habitats at Monteverde, Costa Rica, showed that one territorial species (Amazilia saucerottei) dominated rich resource clumps, modified all other species' patterns, and thus organized the nectarivorous bird guild. The principal nonterritorial species (Chlorostilbon canivetii), which Amazilia usually excluded from rich resources, traplined dispersed flowers and interfered with foraging patterns of other nonterritorial species. The 12 additional hummingbird species that foraged in the study habitats included species important in nearby communities, specialists on particular resources, and highly migratory opportunists. Foraging pattern diverged along several dimensions, including (1) the species or flower density of the individual plant; (2) the strata of flowers within the plant; and, since nectar was renewed at variable rates, (3) the time of day. Analysis of foraging patterns along these dimensions required that a hierarchy of niche breadth and overlap measures be defined and contrasted. Patterns compared over an entire year showed that the two principal species exploited the broadest niches, but overlapped only 17%. In no case did overall foraging patterns overlap more than 21%, and overlaps between many approached zero. These values, however, did not reveal the degree of exclusion from resources that were potentially exploitable, or the intensity of competition. Statistical correlations showed that most month—to—month changes in niche breadth, niche overlap, and population size could be attributed to shifts in the resource base. Of the 16 plant species exploited by hummingbirds, the forb Lobelia laxiflora and the tree Inga brenesii were responsible for most fluctuations in resource levels. Flowering peaks of both species attracted large numbers of hummingbirds; in general, numbers and diversity of hummingbirds rose with increased flower abundance rather than increased flower diversity. Lobelia nectar was effectively superabundant, and niche overlap during Lobelia peaks was high. Birds foraging in Inga trees, however, could diverge along spatial and diurnal dimensions, and overlap during Inga peaks was much lower. In between Lobelia and Inga peaks, the two principal hummingbird species usually dominated the guild, and expanded their niches but overlapped little. Each hummingbird species responded to that particular patterns of resource states it could best exploit, and the guild as a whole tracked the entire resource base. The cycle of resource flushes entrained these patterns to an annual rhythm.
Forests of the Catskill Mountains, New York
Authors: McIntosh Robert P.
Published: April 2006

The modern forest of the Catskill Mountain region, New York, particularly the area within the New York State Forest Preserve, was studied and compared with the presettlement forest as determined from surveyors' records. The most notable changes were a marked drop in the proportion of beech (Fagus grandiflora) and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and increases in sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red oak (Quercus borealis), and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus). Reproduction and size—class data suggest that in old—growth hemlock stands hemlock is replaced by hardwoods and is not a part of a homogeneous climax forest in spite of its prominence in the presettlement forest. Beech does not give evidence, in the dynamics of the modern forest, of returning to its presettlement dominance. Some pioneer stands are as rich in species and as diverse as are those usually thought of as climax. The comparison of presettlement and recent forests is related to recent discussion of climax concept.
Energy Flow in Bear Brook, New Hampshire: An Integrative Approach to Stream Ecosystem Metabolism
Authors: Fisher Stuart G. , Likens Gene E.
Published: April 2006

An annual energy budget is presented for Bear Brook, a small undisturbed second—order stream in northeastern United States. The ecosystem approach, in which all input and output fluxes of potential energy as organic matter are considered, is used to describe the dynamics of energy flow in a 1,700—m segment of the stream. The annual input of energy to the system is 6,039 Kcal/m2. Over 99% of this is allochthonous, from the surrounding forested watershed or from upstream areas. Autochthonous primary production by mosses accounts for less than 1% of the total energy available to the ecosystem. Algae and vascular hydrophytes are absent from the stream. Meteorologic inputs (litter and throughfall) from the adjacent forest account for 44% of annual energy input. Most of this is in particulate form. The remaining 56% of input enters by geologic vectors (inflowing surface and subsurface waters). Eighty—three per cent of the geologic input and 47% of the total input of energy occur as dissolved organic matter. Approximately 4,730 Kcal/m2 of organic detritus, nearly equally divided between leaves and branches, is stored within the system. The size of this detritus reservoir is stable from year to year. The turnover time of the branch compartment is about 4.2 years; of the leaf compartment, about 1 year. Although much of the annual input of energy is in a dissolved state, dissolved organic matter does not tend to accumulate in the system and displays a very rapid rate of turnover. Sixty—six per cent of annual energy input is exported to downstream areas in stream water. The remaining 34% is lost as heat through consumer activity. Bear Brook is a strongly heterotrophic steady—state system in which import and export of organic matter play a significant role. A conceptual scheme is presented by which import, export, photosynthesis, and respiration may be used to describe the functional dynamics and developmental processes of ecosystems.
Autecological Studies of Three Species of Callitriche Native in California
Authors: McLaughlin Esther G.
Published: April 2006

Study of three species of Callitriche from California revealed different degrees of tolerance of varying environmental conditions which help explain the plants' occurrence. Plants were studied in nature and experimentally under sterile conditions. Callitriche palustris occurs over a wide geographical range in highly divergent habitats, but C. longipedunculata and C. hermaphroditica grow in more restricted conditions, the former being confined to low altitude vernal pools in central and southern California. Callitriche palustris tolerated wider temperature ranges for seed germination and flowering than did the other two species, and tolerated lower light intensity and higher osmotic pressure for growth and flowering than did C. longipedunculata. At low temperatures C. palustris flowered in both 8— and 16—h photoperiods; C. longipedunculata flowered only in 16—h photoperiods. Dormancy of C. palustris seed could be overcome with milder treatments than could dormancy of C. longipedunculata seed. Callitriche palustris, a highly protogynous species, was able to set normal amounts of viable seed at temperatures permitting formation of only pistillate flowers. Circumstantial evidence indicates that much of this species' reproduction in nature is apomictic. Apomixis would tend to preserve the highly tolerant genotypes this species has evolved.
Energy‐Exchange Analysis of the Belding Ground Squirrel and Its Habitat
Authors: Morhardt Sylvia Staehle , Gates David M.
Published: April 2006

An analysis is made of energy exchange between Belding ground squirrels (Citellus beldingi beldingi) and the microhabitats which they occupy during their annual summer period of activity. A natural population was observed, and the microclimates of six different types of microhabitats which the squirrels typically occupied are quantitatively described. Methods are derived for calculating the average radiation absorbed by a geometric model which is used to represent the squirrel at different orientations to the sun. The average absorbed radiation is plotted as a function of air temperature in climate diagrams that describe the thermal conditions occurring hourly in the microhabitats on clear, partly cloudy, and stormy days. The physiological and physical properties of the animals which affect energy exchange were measured in an open—flow metabolic apparatus. Body temperature, surface temperature, metabolic rate rate of evaporative water loss, and conductance are expressed as functions of effective ambient temperature. The capabilities of the squirrels for maintaining energy balance under extreme combinations of air temperature, absorbed radiation, and wind speed were calculated from physiological data by using an energy—budget equation, and are expressed on climate diagrams similar to those describing the thermal environments of the microhabitats. By comparing a climate diagram for a microhabitat with that for a squirrel, one can determine whether or not the squirrel is capable of maintaining thermal equilibrium in that microhabitat during any hour of the day. The net gain or loss of energy can be calculated from the climate diagrams for an animal in an environment in which it cannot maintain thermal equilibrium. The rate of change in body temperature resulting from energy imbalance is discussed in terms of its significance for animals occupying thermally unsuitable habitats. A method is proposed for comparing the nearly blackbody radiation environment of a metabolic chamber to complex natural thermal environments. With this technique it is possible to use laboratory data taken for a species at different blackbody ambient temperatures to estimate the physiological responses of that species to any natural environment where the wind speed, air temperature, and absorbed radiation are known.
Biological Accommodation in the Benthic Community at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Authors: Dayton Paul K. , Robilliard Gordon A. , Paine Robert T. , Dayton Linnea B.
Published: April 2006

Studies of the benthos between 30 and 60 m at Cape Armitage, McMurdo Sound. Antarctica, reveal an epifaunal community in which sponges and their asteroid and nudibranch predators predominate. Field experiments demonstrated that, with the exception of Mycale accrata, the growth rates of the sponges are too slow to measure in one year. Mycale, however, was observed to increase its mass as much as 67%. Because of its more rapid growth rate, Mycale appears to be the potential dominant in competition for substratum space, the resource potentially limiting to the sessile species. This conclusion is supported by observations of Mycale growing over and, in some cases, apparently having smothered many other sessile species representing at least three phyla. The densities and size frequency distributions of all the predators were measured; numerous feeding observations allowed an accurate appraisal of dietary compositions. Because of the predators' very slow consumption rates, however, direct measures of ingestion and its impact on prey populations were not possible. Estimates of the ingestion rates were derived from measurements of predator respiration rates, growth rates, and gonad growth. Data from the field surveys and the energetics studies suggest that Mycale is prevented from dominating the space resource by the predation of two asteroids. Perknaster fuscus antarcticus and Acodontaster conspicuus. Adult Perknaster specialize on Mycale, and the sponge provides a small proportion of the diet of A. conspicuus. Acodontaster conspicuus and the dorid nudibranch Austrodoris memurdensis are the most important predators on three species of rossellid sponges (Rossella racovitzae, R. nuda, and Scolymastra joubini). Despite this relatively heavy consumption and despite the fact that none of these sponges has a refuge in growth from potential mortality from A. conspicuus, very large standing crops of the rossellid sponges have accumulated. This accumulation appears to result from predation on larval and young A. conspicuus and Austrodoris by Odontaster validus, which is primarily a detrital feeder and apparently acts as a filter against the settlement and survival of the A. conspicuus and Austrodoris larvae. In addition, predation upon adult A. conspicuus by O. validus and the actinian urticinopsis antarcticus annually kills approximately 3.5% of the A. conspicuus population. This mortality exceeds the apparent rate at which A. conspicuus escape the larval filter.
The Macrobenthos of Moreton Bay
Authors: Stephenson W. , Williams W. T. , Lance G. N.
Published: April 2006

The macrobenthos of Moreton Bay is diverse, with 355 species collected from 400 dredged stations. Many of these species are distributed throughout the Indo—West—Pacific area, others have an Australian distribution (possibly some may also occur in the northern hemisphere), and others are known as yet only from Moreton Bay. The occurrence of the richest sites near the edges of the bay can be attributed to either favorable hydrographic—sedimentary conditions or to the location of these sites on the periphery of areas worked by prawn trawlers. Infrequently occurring species dominate the epifauna, and frequently occurring species dominate the infauna. Neither the infrequent species nor the four most frequent species show seasonal changes, but some seasonal change is evident in other species. Species occurring in more than eight sites usually showed a distribution pattern, but species patterns could not, by inspection, be classified into group patterns. By limiting consideration to the 32 commonest species six somewhat uncertain groups could be recognized related to substratum. Computer analyses were attempted involving successively: (1) reduction of data (species occurring infrequently were eliminated; correlation coefficients and non—metric coefficients between pairs of the remainder were computed, and species never appearing above an arbitrary limit were excluded); (2) clumping of sites (eight meaningful site patterns were derived by using clumps of contiguous sites, which is equivalent to increasing the "quadrat size" and thus increasing the frequency of coincidences); (3) defining species—groups (the above site pattern was used, and additional species were included); and (4) establishing site—group species—group coincidences (this involved a double standardization and choice of the level of classification of species—group (six) which appeared to give optimal clarity). Site—groups are not uniquely defined by the presence of a species—group which occurs nowhere else; instead, differences between site—groups are quantitative. The site—groups conform to a topographical pattern related to a complex including hydrographic and sedimentary factors and possible human activity. The species—groups are generally large and ill—defined. Results are compared with more classical studies of benthic communities, and a distinction is here made between constant and faithful species.
Switching in General Predators: Experiments on Predator Specificity and Stability of Prey Populations
Authors: Murdoch William W.
Published: April 2006

"Switching" in predators which attack several prey species potentially can stabilize the numbers in prey populations. In switching, the number of attacks upon a species is disproportionately large when the species is abundant relative to other prey, and disproportionately small when the species is relatively rare. The null case for two prey species can be written: P1/P2 = cN1/N2, where P1/P2 is the ratio of the two prey expected in the diet, N1/N2 is the ratio given and c is a proportionality constant. Predators were sea—shore snails and prey were mussels and barnacles. Experiments in the laboratory modelled aspects of various natural situations. When the predator had a strong preference (c) between prey the data and the "null case" model were in good agreement. Preference could not altered by subjecting predators to training regimens. When preference was weak the data did not fit the model replicates were variable. Predators could be trained easily to one or other prey species. From a number of experiments it was concluded that in the weak—preference case no switch would occur in nature except where there is an opportunity for predators to become trained to the abundant species. A patchy distribution of the abundant prey could provide this opportunity. Given one prey species, snails caused a decreasing percentage mortality as prey numbers increased. This occurred also with 2 prey species present when preference was strong. When preference was weak the form of the response was unclear. When switching occurred the percentage prey mortality increased with prey density, giving potentially stabilizing mortality. The consequences of these conclusions for prey population regulation and for diversity are discussed.
Effect of Vegetation Changes on the Fertility of a Newfoundland Forest Site
Authors: Damman A. W. H.
Published: April 2006

In Newfoundland many sites occupied by Picea mariana forests and Kalmia angustifolia heathland formerly supported an Abies balsamea forest. Stands of each cover type were studied to determine whether these vegetation changes affect the fertility of the sites. They were selected on the basis of similarity of soil conditions; all occurred on well—drained, sandy glaciofluvial soils and had developed after a forest fire about 65 years ago. In the Kalmia heath the raw humus horizon weighed 293 tons/ha and contained 3,070 kg N, 436 kg Ca, 118 kg P, and 99 kg K per hectare. In contrast, the raw humus of the Picea forest weighed 87 tons/ha and that of the Abies forest only 65 tons/ha; nutrient contents were proportionally lower with N showing the largest, and K the smallest, differences between cover types. The annual return of organic matter and nutrients is highest in the Abies forest and lowest in the Kalmia heath. Litter fall is the single most important source in the forests, but annual root mortality contributes most in the Kalmia heath. Additions from the moss layer amounted to about one—tenth of the annual return in the forests. The rate of organic—matter decomposition decreases from Abies to Picea to Kalmia cover type, with accumulations in the raw humus representing 14, 21, and 78 times the annual supply of the present stands, respectively. Mineralization of N and P show the same trend, but Ca and K mineralization are slower in the Kalmia heath only. A comparison of the nutrients in the Abies and Kalmia cover types showed that actual losses of K, and possibly Ca, had occurred from the Kalmia ecosystem during the 65—year period since the fire, and that the quantity of N in the Kalmia ecosystem was about double that in the Abies cover type. A net input of more than 23 kg/ha per year is required to account for this increase. No reliable comparison could be made between the Picea and Abies ecosystems, but the data available do not indicate any obvious fertility changes beyond a greater immobilization of nutrients in the raw humus of the Picea forest.
Population Ecology of Two Sympatric Species of Subarctic Microtine Rodents
Authors: Whitney Paul
Published: April 2006

Small mammals were live trapped on four grids in the taiga woods near Fairbanks, Alaska. Populations were censused at 2—wk intervals during the snow—free months and 4—wk intervals when snow was on the ground. One Microtus oeconomus population reached a peak of 73—83 animals/ha in 1969. Numbers declined over winter and no Microtus were captured until 1972 when the population density began to increase. A sympatric population of Clethrionomys rutilus did not show a 3—4 yr cycle and reached densities of 52—62 animals/ha in the autumn of each year of the study. Live trap survival data and sumilatneous climatological data indicate that overwinter survival was high for both species. Survival was good for Microtus ♀ ♀, while Clethrionomys ♀ ♀ had several periods of poor survival. In ♂ ♂, periods of low survival occurred during population increase and high density. These periods of low survival did not occur at the same time in both species. Nestling survival was poor in both microtines during population increase in 1969, and remained low for the whole breeding season for Microtus. Both species experienced weight losses during late summer and fall periods. Live trapping indicated that this decrease was due to individual weight losses that were as great as 35% over a 3—mo period. The C. rutilus population in the Fairbanks area had a broad niche in that it was found in many habitat types and morphological, physiological and ecological characteristics were variable. The M. oeconomus population, on the other hand, had a narrower niche and was more specialized than the C. rutilus population. It is hypothesized that niche breadth and variation in characteristics of the species are a determining factor for microtine cycling. Cyclic behavior should not be thought of as a product of latitude, or a universal characteristic of small microtines, but as an adaptation to a less variable niche.
Primary Production in the Plankton Community of a Tropical Lake
Authors: Lewis William M.
Published: April 2006

The primary production of Lake Lanao, Philippines, was studied over a 15—mo period by in situ application of C—14 and oxygen—difference techniques. Supporting data include weather, water chemistry, light penetration, and standing crop of both autotrophs and heterotrophs. A statistical treatment of production estimates precedes the presentation of data. Extensive comparison of the oxygen and C—14 methods indicates that the C—14 method as applied in Lake Lanao measures net primary production. Data from time—course experiments show no evidence of diurnal rhythms in the efficiency of photosynthesis per unit area of lake surface. Heterogeneity studies based on transect data indicate that at low to moderate levels of production, the probability that production at an index station will differ from the average for the lake on a given date by more than 30% is less than .05, while the comparable probability for high levels of production is .35. There is no significant difference between stations in mean primary production for the study period. Vertical profiles of photosynthesis exhibit light inhibition on all but the most overcast days. The threshold for inhibition at the surface is near 133 kerg/cm2°s during calm weather and somewhat lower in windy weather. The mean threshold for inhibition 1 m or more below the surface is lower than at the surface (101 kerg/cm2°s). The lake is exceptionally transparent (mean extinction coefficient, 0.38) considering its high productivity and has a vertical dispersion of production that is similar to temperate oligotrophic lakes. The characteristic is explained in terms of the low amounts of dissolved and suspended matter in the euphotic zone, high production per unit of standing crop, and great amount of mixing in the upper water column. Net primary production average 1.7 gC/m2°day, and gross primary production is 2.6 gC/m2°day. Autotrophs account for 80% of respiration in the euphotic zone. Factors controlling seasonal variation are related to resource supply rather than to temperature or biomass removal. Between 12 and 30% of seasonal variation in production can be accounted for by variations in incident light. Light limitation also occurs due to thickening of the zone of mixing during the circulation period and during storms. Nutrient supply is the dominant controlling factor during stratification. Nutrient depletion is relieved at frequent intervals by changes in the depth of mixing associated with storms. High sustained production on a low nutrient base is explained by rapid transfer of nutrients from the zone of decomposition back to the euphotic zone. General conclusions are drawn concerning the relative importance of seasonal and aperiodic variation in regulating the resource supply of temperate and tropical plankton communities.
The Development and Field Test of a Tactical Model of the Planktivorous Feeding of White Crappie (Pomoxis Annularis)
Authors: Wright David I. , O'Brien W. John
Published: April 2006

A computer model was developed to predict the feeding selectivity of planktivorous white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) from a known distribution of zooplankton. The model was based on the assumption that each predation event could be subdivided into a series of independent steps: prey location, pursuit, attack, and retention. The probability that white crappie successfully completed each step was determined for potential zooplankton prey species in a series of laboratory experiments. The four steps were then incorporated into a stochastic model where the probability of a particular prey type being consumed is equal to the product of the probabilities of the individual steps. The model was field tested by sampling fish, zooplankton, and physical parameters from discrete depth strata in a small reservoir on nine dates from October 1978 through November 1979. The model proved to be very accurate at predicting the species and size distribution of the ingested prey across the range of light intensities, turbidities, temperatures, and zooplankton densities encountered. Prey consumption could not be characterized as simply size selective; rather, it reflected the selectivity expressed at each step in the feeding cycle.
An Experimental Study of the Effect of Lizards on Web‐Spider Communities
Authors: Spiller David A. , Schoener Thomas W.
Published: April 2006

To determine the effect of lizards on web—spider populations, we conducted an 18—mo field experiment in the Bahamas. Densities of individuals of each common spider species were about three times as high in lizard—removal enclosures as in control enclosures with lizards or in unenclosed plots with lizards; spider densities in control enclosures and unenclosed plots were nearly identical. In the most common spider species, Metepeira datona, lizards reduced juvenile and adult abundance, as well as adult female survivorship and prey consumption. Numbers of spider species were higher where lizards were removed than where they were present; hence, lizards did not promote spider species coexistence in this system. Numbers and biomasses of aerial insects caught in sticky traps were higher in lizard—removal enclosures than in controls; hence, higher spider predation on insects where lizards had been removed did not completely compensate for the lack of lizards. Comparisons between control enclosures and unenclosed plots revealed that the enclosures reduced insect numbers and biomasses. This study and others have demonstrated that lizards play a major role in structuring web—spider communities in the West Indies. Several lines of evidence indicate that predation is the major interaction between lizards and spiders, although some evidence for competition also exists.