bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stemming the tide: dealing with the imbalance of customer relationship quality with the key contact employee versus with the firm
Authors: Wang Sijun , Davis Lenita
Published: October 2008

Purpose

Current relationship marketing literature has stressed the importance of building customer‐employee bonds. These efforts sometimes result in customer‐employee relationships that overwhelm or supersede the customer‐firm relationships. Previous studies report that such an imbalance weakens the firm's position with the customer. Very little research has investigated what factors contribute to the imbalance and its consequences for the firm's relationship with the customer. This research aims to look at customer relationship quality (RQ) imbalance, specifically the imbalance that favors the employee, and identifies six factors as important antecedents. Also studied are the customers' cognitive and emotional reactions to the termination of the customer‐employee relationship when RQ imbalance favors the employee.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 780 customer‐employee pairs from 72 service firms were surveyed using a structured questionnaire.

Findings

Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant group difference along all six antecedents and three consequences.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study suggest that imbalanced customer relationships might be prevented, or at least predicted, if the causes of such relationship structure are better understood.

Practical implications

Service organizations should be aware of the negative consequences of imbalanced customer relationships and take necessary caution in their company policies in order to eliminate the negative consequences of imbalanced customer relationships.

Originality/value

This study is the first quantitative inquiry into imbalanced customer relationship issues, which are extremely important in the services industry. Thus, it enhances the literature on services management.
Creating value through communities
Authors: Buist William
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine how to create value through communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on the importance of contacts, content and critical mass in a community and the key role of embracing change.

Findings

The paper highlights the importance of network “reach” and of a strategic, transparent framework known to the community. It contends that, without a guiding vision, there is no direction, and rudderless communities wither and die.

Practical implications

The paper argues that those seeking to create and build a community need to design the environment in which it operates in a way that encourages and helps members easily to apply the most beneficial approach for all.

Originality/value

The paper defines the real value of a network as the extent to which people who do not know you are talking about you to other people you do not know.
C.K. Prahalad heralds a new era of innovation
Authors: Allio Robert J.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This interview of C.K. Prahalad, one of the world's leading strategic thinkers, aims to offer corporate leaders a practical look at the radical concepts presented in his The New Age of Innovation (HBP, 2008), written with M.S. Krishnan. A lengthy review of the book is also in this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The questions for this interview were researched by a team of Strategy & Leadership contributing editors. The interview was conducted by Robert J. Allio, a consultant who has previously been a senior executive at major US and Canadian corporations and a business school dean.

Practical implications

Prahalad believes that many businesses will undergo a transformation in the near future as value shifts from offering products to providing co‐created personalized experiences.

Originality/value

Because his new ideas explore the cutting‐edge of management innovation, managers will likely appreciate having Prahalad explain how his new model works. It posits that value will be determined by one customer co‐created experience at a time, defined as n=1; and to compete successfully in this environment, firms must access resources from multiple outside sources, either local or global, defined as R=G. In this interview he discusses the practical steps needed to ready a company to compete in this new business landscape.
The new demography of the 21st century: part 1 – the birthrate surprise
Authors: Walker Martin
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The paper aims to reveal a surprising global drama now unfolding across the world: unpredicted demographic trends portend unexpected social transformations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using recent research, the paper considers the startling implications of some current demographic trends.

Findings

The paper reveals that marketers and strategists need to radically rethink their mindsets based on new trends. For example, by the year 2050, more American babies will be born than Chinese ones.

Research limitations/implications

It is important to note that trends in demography can be particularly misleading.

Practical implications

Many widespread assumptions based on previous demographic trends now seem to be misguided. For example, Northern and western Europeans are now projecting steady population growth over the coming half‐century.

Originality/value

Surprising current trends and factors include: birthrates are falling across most of the developing world, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The one glaring exception to this global trend is sub‐Saharan Africa, which by the end of this century may be home to as much as a third of the human race. Even as Russia is becoming rich with its oil and gas wealth, the death toll – attributed to alcoholism, smoking, improper nutrition, avoidance of healthcare, psychological stress – continues to be unnecessarily high and its young male workforce looks set to fall by half. A great religious revolution will take place this century, as Africa becomes the home of most Christians and to as many Muslims as Asia, and far more than in the Middle East.
Competencies and human resource management: implications for organizational competitive advantage
Authors: Ordóñez de Pablos Patricia , Lytras Miltiadis D.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The paper seeks to analyze in depth the organizational requirements for the exploitation of human resource management towards increased organizational performance, and to provide a conceptual framework for the analysis of human resource management in learning organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes the form of an extensive literature review on human resource management (HRM), organizational learning and human capital.

Findings

The major contribution is the Requirements Framework for the Adoption of Technology Enhanced Learning and Semantic Web Technologies, which can guide strategies of effective competencies management in modern organizations. This framework initiates an interesting discussion of technological issues that go beyond the scope of this paper.

Research limitations/implications

The Requirements Framework provides the basis for an extensive specification of knowledge management strategies. A follow‐up publication will present the practical implications of the “theoretical” abstraction of framework and empirical evidence.

Practical implications

The paper is a very useful source of information and impartial advice for strategists, HRM managers, knowledge management officers and people interesting in exploiting human resource management systems in a knowledge‐intensive organization.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to outline methods and technologies for integrated knowledge and learning and competencies management support in organizations.
Navigation quality as a key value for the webpage of a financial entity
Authors: Bonsón‐Ponte Enrique , Escobar‐Rodríguez Tomás , Flores‐Muñoz Francisco
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The objective of this study is to measure the navigation quality of the corporate webpages of the principal European financial entities, given the vital importance of the accessibility of online content for the successful execution of their operational activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The web quality model proposes a structure that allows the quality of corporate webpages to be analysed according to the three main quality criteria of content, presentation and ease of navigation (navigability). Bonsón et al. take this theoretical framework as their point of departure for analysing the webpages of the principal European financial entities, and they measure the quality of their content in the context of the extra significance these webpages will acquire when the new Basel II international regulations enter into force in the imminent future. In this study, a joint analysis is made of the results of both studies in order to classify European financial entities according to the strategy adopted for their web sites.

Findings

The size of the entity behind the corporate webpage is revealed as the key variable that explains better navigability. There is also a positive relationship between the navigability and the content presented, which shows that companies' strategies for improving the quality of their web site tend to be harmonised in respect of these two criteria.

Practical implications

The approach of most of the entities to their web presence can be characterised as informational in the sense that they are making substantial efforts to improve the content, driven by impending new regulation. However, they are still not utilising various devices available to make their web sites easier to navigate. Better navigability would improve user access to the enhanced information provided.

Originality/value

The resources have been determined that are needed to improve navigability so that these entities can advance their web site strategies and provide a harmonious combination of adequate content and fast, easy access to that content.
Motivation and retention of key people in mergers and acquisitions
Authors: Kummer Christopher
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The most critical aspect leading to success or failure of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is people‐related. Unfortunately, how to handle aspects of “people issues” remains one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish successfully. This paper aims to deal with the question of how to keep employees motivated and to retain them in such complex times as M&A transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

There are a number of reasons why the challenge of motivation and retention of key people is so difficult to master. The paper identifies the five main challenges of motivation and retention in M&As and how to tackle them.

Findings

The key reasons why the motivation and retention of key people during M&As are so difficult to master are that often damage is done prior to the closing of the deal. It is hard to handle the speed at which M&As are concluded and so it can be difficult to quickly and efficiently identify the key people to retain. The right packages need to be designed to retain the right people and communication with employees retained, as well as those not retained, must be maintained.

Practical implications

Keeping key people motivated and committed will help to retain them even during such complex times as M&A transactions, but also beyond. It is essential to prepare, as early as possible, detailed integration plans that include the identification of key people and the design of retention programmes, with the latter assisting in meeting retention goals. Communication of these elements, and other deal‐related issues, must also be effectively maintained.

Originality/value

The paper provides guidance in motivating and retaining key staff in the event of mergers and acquisitions.
The impact of remittance income on rural households in China
Authors: Snyder Steve , Chern Wen S.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of remittance income on rural households in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from a large survey of farming households in three Chinese provinces, the impacts of remittances and other types of income on consumption, production expenditures is evaluated. The econometric models used in this study include logit, tobit and ordinary least squares models.

Findings

It is found that remittances increase nondurable consumption, but not as much as local wages and that there is no difference in the impact on agricultural production spending between remittance and local wages. The large majority of remittances are reported by the households of non‐permanent migrants, suggesting that the fear of losing land allocations has a strong impact on migration decision.

Originality/value

The paper uses a large data set from three distinct provinces of China and is among the first to investigate the different types of remittance and their impacts on both consumption and production activities of Chinese rural households.
Pesticide use and the effect of trade liberalization on environment for rice production
Authors: Huang Chung‐Huang , Huang Ping‐Yi , Ling Yuan‐Yun
Published: October 2008

Purpose

In light of the global concern about the impact of trade liberalization on environment, this paper intends to measure, theoretically as well as empirically, the impact of freer rice trade on environmental quality in terms of chemical intensity, measured by a decreasing scale indicator.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic land allocation model is designed that incorporates rational expectations on rice price and soil degradation due to long‐term cultivation on the same piece of land. Both demands for land and pesticides are derived and empirically estimated using time‐series data in Taiwan.

Findings

The results reveal that chemical intensity may increase with freer trade. The effect of freer trade on chemical intensity was less significant in earlier days such as the 1980s than in recent years. The basic model explains, to some extent, why some country representative conveyed their concerns in the Committee of Trade and Environment under WTO about the environmental degradation due to freer trade in agriculture. It also implies that more investment on environmental protection is warranted in the course of trade liberalization.

Research limitations/implications

Given the dramatic inflation of energy prices, more elaboration on the price specification with respect to pesticides may be warranted for future researches.

Originality/value

The paper develops a rational expectations model to measure the impact of rice trade liberalization on environmental quality.
Secondary income generation
Authors: Moores Brian
Published: October 2008

The secondary income phenomenon Reflect for a moment on the following situations with which most readers will be familiar:
Illegible prescriptions — The liabilities of doctors and pharmacists
Authors: Magrath Paul
Published: October 2008

Prendergast v Sam & Dee Ltd was apparently the first case in which a patient, who had suffered injury after being given the wrong medication, successfully sued not only the pharmacist who dispensed the wrong medication but also the doctor whose illegibly written prescription had misled the pharmacist. In all previous cases of this nature, only the pharmacist has been held liable. Subject to any reversal by the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords, this High Court decision represents a landmark in the law of medical negligence.
Training for nurses: Arguments for change
Authors: Purcell Bob
Published: October 2008

The paper considers current costs of nurse training and dropout rates in the context of a contracting labour market and the need for a fundamental revision of strategy, as well as the use and misuse of the skilled nursing workforce. It proposes the return of the ‘officer class’ model.
Hospital closure: The doctors' right to object
Authors: Magrath Paul
Published: October 2008

In the case of Regina v Tunbridge Wells Health Authority, Ex parte Goodridge and Others, the 24 doctors comprising the General Practitioner Committee of the Tonbridge Cottage Hospital successfully challenged a decision, taken by the Tunbridge Wells Health Authority on 12th January, 1988, and confirmed on 29th March, 1988, to close the hospital temporarily from 1st April, 1988, in order to accommodate budget costs.
Audit and performance indicators: A case study in ophthalmology
Authors: Schnieden Harold , Grimes Michèle
Published: October 2008

The use of performance indicators to develop a case for resources is illustrated. Factors which may lead to ophthalmology becoming a possible problem service for managers are mentioned. A case study is discussed.
The need for medical audit
Authors: Moores Brian
Published: October 2008

To say that ‘quality’ has become a fashionable word in the British National Health Service would be something of an understatement. It would be fatuous to claim that those in the NHS only took an interest in ‘quality’ as a result of the publication of the Griffiths Enquiry Report. It is however, fair to say that since the emergence of that document many more individuals have been assigned a specific brief for the topic. People with ‘quality’ in their job title, often also holding a nurse management portfolio, are a feature of the current NHS landscape.
NHS provision for terminal care: One district's deliberations
Authors: Partridge Martyn
Published: October 2008

In 1987 the Department of Health asked all UK District Health Authorities (DHAs) to review their provision for the terminally ill. This paper describes the deliberations of one district's Terminal Care Working Party culminating in the provision of a comprehensive National Health Service for the terminally ill. Especial emphasis is placed upon the factors in favour of siting these services on a district general hospital (DGH) site.
Enhanced Safety, Health and Environment Outcomes Through Improved Design
Authors: Trethewy Ross W. , Atkinson Maria
Published: October 2008

Improved safety, health and environment outcomes through better design are about eliminating or minimising risks in the preliminary planning stages of a product. Better design provides a foundation for improved outcomes in the development, use and maintenance of a product like plant and equipment or a building. Improved outcomes in design require the many stakeholders who contribute to the design process to critically review its safety, health and environment implications. Therefore, the client, or end user, must be actively involved in the review to ensure that operational requirements and maintenance issues, intrinsically known to the client, are considered by other design stakeholders. For example, safety, health and environment implications inherent in the design of a building project may exist in its construction, use, maintenance and demolition, i.e. its complete lifecycle. Similar implications exist for the design of other products such as plant or equipment, e.g. its manufacture through to decommissioning.
Prefectural Archives and the Documents and Regulations of Chiba Prefecture
Authors: Kamata Tomio
Published: October 2008

Chiba Prefecture has a population of 5.55 million people living within its jurisdiction which consists of the peninsula lying just to the South East of Tokyo. Possessing Narita International Airport and the Port of Chiba, one of Japan's most active ports, Chiba acts as the entryway for Japan to the world. Chiba is also home of Tokyo Disneyland and Nippon Convention Center (Makuhari Messe, a large scale, multipurpose convention facility). As one of the partners in the Trans‐Tokyo Bay Road project, Chiba is industrializing and is advancing to become one of the most active and growing prefectures in Japan.
Serum gastrin and pepsinogens do not correlate with the different grades of severity of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease: a matched case–control study
Authors: MONKEMULLER K. , NEUMANN H. , NOCON M. , VIETH M. , LABENZ J. , WILLICH S. N. , STOLTE M. , HOCKER M. , JASPERSEN D. , LIND T. , MALFERTHEINER P.
Published: October 2008

Background  Gastrin and pepsinogens reflect the functional state of the gastric mucosa.

Aim  To evaluate whether serum gastrin and pepsinogens correlate with the different grades of severity of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Methods  In all, 388 patients with heartburn not taking any form of acid suppressive therapy were matched‐controlled for age and gender and sub‐classified into four groups: group 1 non‐erosive reflux disease (NERD); group 2, erosive reflux disease (ERD) Los Angeles (LA) A and B, group 3, ERD LA C and D; group 4 Barrett’s oesophagus (BO). Fasting serum was analysed for gastrin 17, pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II und Helicobacter pylori using specific EIA tests (GastroPanel; Biohit, Plc). Statistics: Kruskal–Wallis test and analysis of variance.

Results  There was a significant difference among the four groups with respect for pepsinogen I, but not for pepsinogen II, the pepsinogen I pepsinogen II ratio, H. pylori serology and gastrin levels. Pepsinogen I was the lowest in NERD and the highest in BO (median 91.6, mean ± standard deviation 106.2 ± 51.6 vs. median 114.7, mean ± standard deviation 130.4 ± 70.6; P = 0.046). Pepsinogen I levels were higher in H. pylori positive subjects. After adjusting for H. pylori status, the differences in pepsinogen I across patient groups were no longer statistically significant (P = 0.298).

Conclusions  Serum gastrin and pepsinogen I and II do not correlate with the different grades of severity of GERD. The non‐invasive GastroPanel is not useful for the differentiation of the various forms of GERD.
Gastrointestinal complaints among subjects with depressive symptoms in the general population
Authors: HILLILÄ M. T. , HÄMÄLÄINEN J. , HEIKKINEN M. E. , FäRKKILÄ M. A.
Published: October 2008

Background  Patients with depression have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) more often than do nondepressed patients, but the comorbidity of depression and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in the general population has received little study.

Aim  To study the co‐occurrence of depressive and GI symptoms in a general population sample and to assess the rate of health‐care utilization particularly for GI reasons among subjects with depressive symptoms.

Methods  A questionnaire containing the Finnish version of the Beck Depression Inventory Short Form and questions covering GI symptoms according to Rome II criteria was mailed to 5000 randomly selected adults.

Results  Response rate was 73%. Prevalence of depressive symptoms was 17% (95% CI: 15.7–18.2). Frequent abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation, dyspepsia or IBS were present in 54% of those with depressive symptoms and in 29% of nondepressed controls (P < 0.0001). Of those with depressive symptoms, 24% had visited a physician at least once because of abdominal symptoms during the previous year, compared to 13% of controls (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions  Depressive symptoms are prevalent in the general population. They are associated with a high rate of GI symptoms, leading to increased use of health‐care services and work absenteeism because of abdominal complaints.
Meta‐analysis: factors predicting post‐operative recurrence with placebo therapy in patients with Crohn’s disease
Authors: PASCUA M. , SU C. , LEWIS J. D. , BRENSINGER C. , LICHTENSTEIN G. R.
Published: October 2008

Background  The use of placebo in randomized clinical trials (PC‐RCTs) is often required to evaluate drug efficacy in maintenance of Crohn’s disease (CD).

Aim  To determine pooled estimates of placebo rates of maintaining clinical remission and endoscopic recurrence following surgery for CD and identify factors that influenced placebo outcomes.

Methods  We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis of PC‐RCTs evaluating post‐operative maintenance therapies for CD identified from MEDLINE from 1966 to 2005.

Results  Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria. The pooled placebo rate of maintaining clinical remission was 56% (95% CI 47–64%; range 34–89%) during a median follow‐up of 52 weeks (range 12–156 weeks), but significant heterogeneity existed among the studies (P < 0.001). Prior steroid therapy was the only factor found to be associated with maintaining remission (P = 0.04). The pooled placebo endoscopic recurrence rate was 58% (95% CI 51–65%; range 36–80%) during a median follow‐up of 52 weeks (range 12–156 weeks), with significant heterogeneity noted (P = 0.0003). Prior surgery, concomitant small bowel and colonic disease, fistulizing phenotype, or prior immunomodulator therapy influenced endoscopic recurrence (P < 0.05).

Conclusion  Placebo rates in PC‐RCTs evaluating post‐operative clinical and endoscopic recurrence demonstrate significant variability, which is influenced by specific study characteristics.
Review article: the hepatic manifestations of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
Authors: SABBÀ C. , POMPILI M.
Published: October 2008

Background  Liver involvement in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia is mainly characterized by vascular malformations, such as telangiectasies and arteriovenous shunts, which are found in up to 80% of patients.

Aim  To analyse the current knowledge and controversies regarding the epidemiological, pathological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of liver involvement in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia.

Methods  Systematic survey analysis of the indexed studies dealing with the above mentioned topics.

Results  No more than 8% of patients with hepatic vascular abnormalities will have a symptomatic liver disease, mainly consisting in high‐output heart failure, portal hypertension or biliary disease.

Conclusions  Colour Doppler ultrasonography is a non‐invasive, highly accurate and relatively low‐cost procedure for the screening of liver involvement in patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia; computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and angiography can be reserved for the characterization of focal lesions and the study of severely ill patients in whom invasive therapeutic procedures are advisable. Patients with asymptomatic liver involvement should not receive any treatment, while the therapeutic options for symptomatic patients include treatment of the specific complication, invasive procedures for shunt reduction and liver transplantation. The newly developed antiangiogenetic therapies appear to be very promising, but still require further evaluation in clinical trials.
Esomeprazole induces upper gastrointestinal tract transmucosal permeability increase
Authors: MULLIN J. M. , VALENZANO M. C. , WHITBY M. , LURIE D. , SCHMIDT J. D. , JAIN V. , TULLY O. , KEARNEY K. , LAZOWICK D. , MERCOGLIANO G. , THORNTON J. J.
Published: October 2008

Background  Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the most widely used drug classes in the US and are now frontline medications for gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and dyspepsia. In a previous work, we observed that a transmucosal, upper gastrointestinal (GI) leak exists in Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) patients. PPI medications are commonly used by Barrett’s patients.

Aim  To examine if the PPI, esomeprazole, affects the barrier function of the upper GI tract.

Methods  The sucrose permeability test (SPT) was used to assess the possible effect of the PPI, esomeprazole, on upper GI leak in 37 first‐time‐presenting GERD patients and 25 healthy controls.

Results  Esomeprazole induced a significant transmucosal leak in the upper GI tract of patients taking the drug for the first time. The leak occurred quickly, within days of first taking the drug. The leak was also reversed within days of stopping the medication.

Conclusions  This is the first patient‐based study showing that a PPI compromises upper GI barrier function. There are potential implications for transmucosal leak of other medications that a patient on a PPI may be taking, as well as possible leak of endogenous peptides/proteins. The clinical consequences of this phenomenon are currently unknown, but are potentially important.
The nuclear factor kappa-B pathway in airway epithelium regulates neutrophil recruitment and host defence following Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection
Authors: Chen S M , Cheng D-S , Williams B J , Sherrill T P , Han W , Chont M , Saint-Jean L , Christman J W , Sadikot R T , Yull F E , Blackwell T S
Published: October 2008

Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia usually results from a deficit of the innate immune system. To investigate whether inflammatory signalling by airway epithelial cells provides a pivotal line of defence against P. aeruginosa infection, we utilized two separate lines of inducible transgenic mice that express a constitutive activator of the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway (IKTA) or a dominant inhibitor of NF-κB (DNTA) in airway epithelial cells. Compared with control mice, IKTA mice showed an enhanced host response to P. aeruginosa infection with greater neutrophil influx into the lungs, increased expression of Glu-Leu-Arg-positive (ELR+) CXC chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC), superior bacterial clearance and improved survival at 24 h after infection. Neutrophil depletion abrogated the improvement in host defence identified in IKTA mice. In contrast, DNTA mice showed impaired responses to P. aeruginosa infection with higher bacterial colony counts in the lungs, decreased neutrophilic lung inflammation and lower levels of KC in lung lavage fluid. DNTA mice given recombinant KC at the time of P. aeruginosa infection demonstrated improved neutrophil recruitment to the lungs and enhanced bacterial clearance. Our data indicate that the NF-κB pathway in airway epithelial cells plays an essential role in defence against P. aeruginosa through generation of CXC chemokines and recruitment of neutrophils.
Allergy and the nose
Authors: Ciprandi G , Passalacqua G
Published: October 2008

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common immunological disorder and is characterized by an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated inflammation induced by the allergen exposure. This review will consider some issues concerning pathophysiological aspects of AR: impact on asthma, response to decongestion, link with infections, response to specific immunotherapy, relationship with adiposity, effects on quality of life (QoL) and allergic inflammation. AR, even though not a serious illness, may be a clinically relevant disorder as it may present numerous complications and affect QoL, as reported in this review. Therefore, the management of AR patients should be rigorously careful and multi-disciplinary.
Beyond gradual warming: extreme weather events alter flower phenology of European grassland and heath species
Authors: JENTSCH ANKE , KREYLING JUERGEN , BOETTCHER‐TRESCHKOW JEGOR , BEIERKUHNLEIN CARL
Published: October 2008

Shifts in the phenology of plant and animal species or in the migratory arrival of birds are seen as ‘fingerprints’ of global warming. However, even if such responses have been documented in large continent‐wide datasets of the northern hemisphere, all studies to date correlate the phenological pattern of various taxa with gradual climatic trends. Here, we report a previously unobserved phenomenon: severe drought and heavy rain events caused phenological shifts in plants of the same magnitude as one decade of gradual warming. We present data from two vegetation periods in an experimental setting containing the first evidence of shifted phenological response of 10 grassland and heath species to simulated 100‐year extreme weather events in Central Europe. Averaged over all species, 32 days of drought significantly advanced the mid‐flowering date by 4 days. The flowering length was significantly extended by 4 days. Heavy rainfall (170 mm over 14 days) had no significant effect on the mid‐flowering date. However, heavy rainfall reduced the flowering length by several days. Observed shifts were species‐specific, (e.g. drought advanced the mid‐flowering date for Holcus lanatus by 1.5 days and delayed the mid‐flowering date for Calluna vulgaris by 5.7 days, heavy rain advanced mid‐flowering date of Lotus corniculatus by 26.6 days and shortened the flowering length of the same species by 36.9 days). Interestingly, the phenological response of individual species was modified by community composition. For example, the mid‐flowering date of C. vulgaris was delayed after drought by 9.3 days in communities composed of grasses and dwarf shrubs compared with communities composed of dwarf shrubs only. This indicates that responses to extreme events are context specific. Additionally, the phenological response of experimental communities to extreme weather events can be modified by the functional diversity of a stand. Future studies on phenological response patterns related to climate change would profit from explicitly addressing the role of extreme weather events.
Economic determinants of biodiversity change over a 400‐year period in the Scottish uplands
Authors: Hanley Nick , Davies Althea , Angelopoulos Konstantinos , Hamilton Alistair , Ross Alasdair , Tinch Dugald , Watson Fiona
Published: October 2008

Economic forces are recognized as an important driving factor behind current biodiversity losses. This study investigates whether such factors have been important in determining one measure of biodiversity change over the ‘long run’– in our case, 400 years – for upland sites in Scotland.

A combination of palaeoecological, historical and economic methods is used to construct and then analyse a database of factors contributing to changes in plant diversity over time for 11 upland sites.

Using an instrumental variables panel model, we find livestock prices, our proxy for grazing pressure, to be a statistically significant determinant of diversity change, with higher grazing pressures resulting in lower diversity values on average, although site abandonment is also found to result in a fall in plant diversity. Technological change, such as the introduction of new animal breeds, was not found to be a statistically significant determinant.

Using later period data (post 1860) on livestock numbers at the parish (local) level, we were able to confirm the main result noted above (3) in terms of the effects of higher grazing pressures on plant diversity.

Synthesis and applications. This study shows how data from very different disciplines can be combined to address questions relevant to contemporary conservation and understanding. This novel, interdisciplinary approach provides new insights into the role of economic factors as a driver of biodiversity loss in the uplands. Biodiversity levels have varied considerably over 400 years, partly as a function of land management, suggesting that establishing baselines or ‘natural’ target levels for biodiversity is likely to be problematic. Changes in livestock grazing pressures brought about by changes in prices had statistically significant effects on estimated plant diversity, as did land abandonment. This suggests that long‐term management of upland areas for the conservation of diversity should focus on grazing pressures as a key policy attribute. Another policy implication is that drastic cuts in grazing pressures – such as might occur under current reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy – can have adverse biodiversity consequences.
Not everything is everywhere: the distance decay of similarity in a marine host–parasite system
Authors: Pérez‐del‐Olmo Ana , Fernández Mercedes , Raga Juan Antonio , Kostadinova Aneta , Morand Serge
Published: October 2008

Aim We test the similarity–distance decay hypothesis on a marine host–parasite system, inferring the relationships from abundance data gathered at the lowest scale of parasite community organization (i.e. that of the individual host).

Location Twenty‐two seasonal samples of the bogueBoops boops(Teleostei: Sparidae) were collected at seven localities along a coastal positional gradient from the northern North‐East Atlantic to the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Methods We used our own, taxonomically consistent, data on parasite communities. The variations in parasite composition and structure with geographical and regional distance were examined at two spatial scales, namely local parasite faunas and component communities, using both presence–absence (neighbour joining distance) and abundance (Mahalanobis distance) data. The influence of geographical and regional distance on faunal/community divergence was assessed through the permutation of distance matrices.

Results Our results revealed that: (1) geographical and regional distances do not affect the species composition in the system under study at the higher scales; (2) geographical distance between localities contributes significantly to the decay of similarity estimated from parasite abundance at the lowest scale (i.e. the individual host); (3) the structured spatial patterns are consistent in time but not across seasons; and (4) a restricted clade of species (the ‘core’ species of the bogue parasite fauna) contributes substantially to the observed patterns of both community homogenization and differentiation owing to the strong relationship between local abundance and regional distribution of species.

Main conclusions The main factors that tend to homogenize the composition of parasite communities of bogue at higher regional scales are related to the dispersal of parasite colonizers across host populations, which we denote as horizontal neighbourhood colonization. In contrast, the spatial structure detectable in quantitative comparisons only, is related to a vertical neighbourhood colonization associated with larval dispersal on a local level. The stronger decline with distance in the spatial synchrony of the assemblages of the ‘core’ species indicates a close‐echoing environmental synchrony that declines with distance. Our results emphasize the importance of the parasite supracommunity (i.e. parasites that exploit all hosts in the ecosystem) to the decay of similarity with distance.
High sexual reproduction and limited contemporary dispersal in the ectomycorrhizal fungusTricholoma scalpturatum: new insights from population genetics and spatial autocorrelation analysis
Authors: CARRICONDE FABIAN , GRYTA HERVÉ , JARGEAT PATRICIA , MOUHAMADOU BELLO , GARDES MONIQUE
Published: October 2008

Dispersal and establishment are fundamental processes influencing the response of species to environmental changes, and the long‐term persistence of populations. A previous study on the symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungusTricholoma scalpturatumrevealed strong genetic differentiations between populations in Western Europe, suggesting restricted dispersal for this wind‐dispersed cosmopolitan fungus. Two distinct genetic groups (genetic groups 1 and 2), co‐occurring in some locations, were also identified and could correspond to cryptic species. In the present work, we examine the reproductive strategy and dispersal biology of the twoT. scalpturatum's genetic groups. Variable molecular markers (intersimple sequence repeats and intergenic spacer 2–restriction fragment length polymorphisms) and spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to examine fine‐scale patterns (< 140 m) of genetic structure, in an effort to determine the physical scale at which genetic structure exists. A total of 473 fruit bodies were mapped and collected over 3 years from two plots located in the south of France, including 219 and 254 samples from group 1 and group 2, respectively. High genetic diversity and the presence of numerous small genets were observed in both groups. Autocorrelation analyses revealed significant positive spatial genetic structures of genets at close distances (up to few metres for both groups). Mantel tests confirmed this isolation‐by‐distance pattern. These results clearly demonstrate high sexual reproduction and spatial structuring of genets at very small geographical scales in this wind‐dispersed ectomycorrhizal fungal species, a pattern consistent with restricted contemporary dispersal of spores.
Bone‐eating Osedax females and their ‘harems’ of dwarf males are recruited from a common larval pool
Authors: VRIJENHOEK R. C. , JOHNSON S. B. , ROUSE G. W.
Published: October 2008

Extreme male dwarfism occurs in Osedax (Annelida: Siboglinidae), marine worms with sessile females that bore into submerged bones. Osedax are hypothesized to use environmental sex determination, in which undifferentiated larvae that settle on bones develop as females, and subsequent larvae that settle on females transform into dwarf males. This study addresses several hypotheses regarding possible recruitment sources for the males: (i) common larval pool— males and females are sampled from a common pool of larvae; (ii) neighbourhood— males are supplied by a limited number of neighbouring females; and (iii) arrhenotoky— males are primarily the sons of host females. Osedax rubiplumus were sampled from submerged whalebones located at 1820‐m and 2893‐m depths in Monterey Bay, California. Immature females typically did not host males, but mature females maintained male ‘harems’ that grew exponentially in the number of males as female size increased. Allozyme analysis of the females revealed binomial proportions of nuclear genotypes, an indication of random sexual mating. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences from the male harems and their host females allowed us to reject the arrhenotoky and neighbourhood hypotheses for male recruitment. No significant partitioning of mitochondrial diversity existed between the male and female sexes, or between subsamples of worms collected at different depths or during different years (2002–2007). Mitochondrial sequence diversity was very high in these worms, suggesting that as many as 106 females contributed to a common larval pool from which the two sexes were randomly drawn.
Between a whale bone and the deep blue sea: the provenance of dwarf males in whale bone‐eating tubeworms
Authors: WHITEMAN NOAH K.
Published: October 2008

When researchers first caught a glimpse of the lush carpet of pink tubeworms covering the scattered bones of a dead grey whale 2900 m below the surface of Monterey Bay, the excitement onboard the Western Flyer (the mother ship of the remotely operated vehicle the Tiburon) must have been electrifying. The discovery of a new genus and several species of whale bone‐eating Osedax tubeworms (Annelida, Siboglinidae) a mere 6 years ago from the deep sea was itself noteworthy. But what the researchers peering into the video monitors aboard the Western Flyer could not have known at that moment was that in the gelatinous tubes of those worms clung even more peculiar forms: harems of tiny, paedomorphic males of Osedax, numbering in the hundreds at times. Whereas female tubeworms bore into the marrow of whale bones (possibly via enzymes from their endosymbiotic bacteria), the dwarf males secondarily colonize the tubes of the resident females. The number of males in a female's tube increases over time in a curvilinear fashion. Dwarf males are known from all Osedax species examined to date, yet the origin of the males was an open question. In this issue, Vrijenhoek et al. provide compelling evidence that dwarf males found in the tubes of female Osedax worms are derived from a common larval pool and are unlikely to be the sons of host females or the progeny of females in the local genetic neighbourhood. This study provides an important foundation for future work on the ecology and evolution of extreme male dwarfism in Osedax and sexual size dimorphism more generally.
Phylogeography of post‐Pleistocene population expansion in a fungus‐gardening ant and its microbial mutualists
Authors: Mikheyev Alexander S. , Vo Tanya , Mueller Ulrich G.
Published: October 2008

Although historical biogeographical forces, such as climate‐driven range shifts, greatly influence the present‐day population genetic structure of animals and plants, the extent to which they affect microbial communities remains largely unknown. We examined the effect of postglacial expansion on the population structure of the northern fungus‐gardening antTrachymyrmex septentrionalisand compared it with that of its two microbial mutualists: a community of lepiotaceous fungal cultivars and associated antibiotic‐producingPseudonocardiabacteria. The ant population genetic structure showed signs of population expansion and subdivision into eastern and western phylogroups that likely originated in the Pleistocene — a pattern shared by many other North American taxa found in the same region. Although dispersal limitation was present in all three symbionts, as suggested by genetic isolation increasing with distance, the host's east–west subdivision of population genetic structure was absent from the microbial mutualist populations. While neither the cultivar nor thePseudonocardiagenetic structure was correlated with that of the ants, they were significantly correlated with each other. These results show that biogeographical forces may act differently on macro‐ and microscopic organisms, even in the extreme case where microbial mutualists are vertically transmitted from generation to generation and share the same joint ecological niche. It may be that historical climate change played a larger role in determining the population structure of the ant hosts, whereas present‐day environmental forces, such as pathogen pressure, determine the structure of associated microbial populations.
Contrasting patterns of natural variation in global Drosophila melanogaster populations
Authors: NUNES MARIA D. S. , NEUMEIER HANNAH , SCHLÖTTERER CHRISTIAN
Published: October 2008

Despite the popularity of Drosophila melanogaster in functional and evolutionary genetics, the global pattern of natural variation has not yet been comprehensively described in this species. For the first time, we report a combined survey using neutral microsatellites and mitochondrial sequence variation jointly. Thirty‐five populations originating from five continents were compared. In agreement with previous microsatellite studies, sub‐Saharan African populations were the most variable ones. Consistent with previous reports of a single ‘out of Africa’ habitat expansion, we found that non‐African populations contained a subset of the African alleles. The pattern of variation detected for the mitochondrial sequences differed substantially. The most divergent haplotypes were detected in the Mediterranean region while Africa harboured most haplotypes, which were all closely related. In the light of the well‐established African origin of D. melanogaster, our results cast severe doubts about the suitability of mtDNA for biogeographic inference in this model organism.