bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extracts from The Cochrane Library: Tonsillectomy for periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis syndrome (PFAPA)
Authors: Kuppersmith Ronald B. , Schams Scott T. , Rosenfeld Richard M.
Published: September 2010

The “Cochrane Corner” is a quarterly section in the journal that highlights systematic reviews relevant to otolaryngology– head and neck surgery, with invited commentary to aid clinical decision making. This installment features a Cochrane Review titled “Tonsillectomy for periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis syndrome (PFAPA),” which suggests beneficial effects of surgery for up to 18 months, but also cautions that the risks of intervention must be balanced against a favorable natural history.
A Quillen model structure for Gray-categories
Authors: Lack Stephen
Published: September 2010

A Quillen model structure on the category Gray-Cat of Gray-categories is described, for which the weak equivalences are the triequivalences. It is shown to restrict to the full subcategory Gray-Gpd of Gray-groupoids. This is used to provide a functorial and model-theoretic proof of the unpublished theorem of Joyal and Tierney that Gray-groupoids model homotopy 3-types. The model structure on Gray-Cat is conjectured to be Quillen equivalent to a model structure on the category Tricat of tricategories and strict homomorphisms of tricategories.
An Ordinary Country
Authors: Menon Dilip
Published: September 2010

South Africans see themselves as a nation that loves sport, but with the World Cup in football imminent, there appears to be a sense of exhaustion both in the media and among the population. One important reason is that football does not dominate the public imagination of sport, as cricket and rugby do. The game is played and loved in the black townships, the fortunes of African football-playing nations are followed devotedly, and players such as Didier Drogba have a larger-than-life standing in the country. But football has not become a metaphor for the nation, as rugby and cricket have become. Whether this reflects a racial affiliation alone is hard to get at, because the local team, Bafana (which could be genially translated as “the boys”), are eighty-eighth in the FIFA rankings, without a ghost of a chance of winning the Cup, while at rugby and cricket, South Africa are world beaters.
Encystment and excystment of the paramphistomid trematode Zygocotyle lunata
Authors: LeSage K.E. , Fried B.
Published: September 2010

This study reports further observations on encystment and excystment of the paramphistomid trematode Zygocotyle lunata. Of numerous substrates tested in the laboratory for cercarial encystment, i.e. plastic and glass dishes, Styrofoam™, aluminium foil, snail shells, and cheesecloth, all but cheesecloth allowed for 100% encystment within 4 h of cercarial release at 28°C. Numerous physical and chemical factors were tested to kill cysts, and their capacity to do so was determined by the subsequent inability of cysts to excyst within a chemical excystment medium. Vinegar, Italian salad dressing, soy sauce and 10% solutions of sucrose, acetic acid and sodium chloride were the most detrimental. Freezing, boiling and storage of cysts for more than 2 years also killed them. Several marinades such as lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and various concentrations of potassium permanganate, did not kill the majority of cysts tested. Since Z. lunata is a potential foodborne trematode for humans and animals, it is important to determine suitable ways to control or kill these cysts.
ON THE COMPLETENESS CONDITION IN NONPARAMETRIC INSTRUMENTAL PROBLEMS
Authors: D’Haultfoeuille Xavier
Published: September 2010

The notion of completeness between two random elements has been considered recently to provide identification in nonparametric instrumental problems. This condition is quite abstract, however, and characterizations have been obtained only in special cases. This paper considers a nonparametric model between the two variables with an additive separability and a large support condition. In this framework, different versions of completeness are obtained, depending on which regularity conditions are imposed. This result allows one to establish identification in an instrumental nonparametric regression with limited endogenous regressor, a case where the control variate approach breaks down.
Beyond elite capture? Community-based natural resource management and power in Mohammed Nagar village, Andhra Pradesh, India
Authors: SAITO-JENSEN MOEKO , NATHAN IBEN , TREUE THORSTEN
Published: September 2010

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) projects and policies often aim to improve the livelihoods of rural people who depend on natural resources, and to promote democratic decision making and equitable benefit distribution at the local level. However, a growing number of critics argue that CBNRM is susceptible to elite capture. This paper contributes to the debate on elite capture under CBNRM by studying joint forest management (JFM) in Andhra Pradesh (India) and, in particular, the case of Mohammed Nagar village. The paper addresses the following four questions: (1) How has the Indian Government formally addressed the risk of elite capture? (2) What actually happened over time when formal structures of JFM interacted with the pre-existing social structure in Mohammed Nagar? (3) When JFM results in elite capture, is this owing to the formal structures and/or the pre-existing social structure? (4) How can CBNRM be designed to avoid or minimize elite capture? Based on a reading of official government documents, the Indian Government has addressed the risk of elite capture, by ensuring representation of different social groups in the decision making bodies, regular elections, collective action in rule making and implementation, and transparency in record keeping. Nevertheless, during Mohammed Nagar's 10 years of JFM history elite capture did occur. This confirms that elite capture is a possible outcome of CBNRM. Yet, the subsequent fall of elite capture in the village also indicates that this is not necessarily a permanent outcome, and that CBNRM may in fact promote democratic and equitable resource management in the long-term. In Mohammed Nagar elite capture was largely owing to pre-existing social structures and to weaknesses in the official rules that were meant to safeguard the interests of marginalized groups. Accordingly, in CBNRM project design and implementation, pre-existing social structures' potential promotion of elite capture need to be taken into account and formal measures that might alleviate the adverse effects and/or reduce this risk must be identified.
Non‐random pairing with respect to past breeding experience in the common toad (Bufo bufo)
Authors: Reading C. J.
Published: September 2010

A 20‐year study of a common toad Bufo bufo population in south Dorset, U.K. was carried out between 1980 and 1999. On average, c. 33% of all experienced males and females arriving each year did so during the first quarter of each breeding season with only 18% arriving during the last quarter. Conversely, a slightly higher proportion (27%) of all inexperienced (first‐time breeders) males and females arrived during the last quarter season than during the first quarter (22%). In 18 of the 20 years, the proportion of inexperienced females found paired with inexperienced males was significantly higher than could be expected from the proportion of inexperienced males in the pond, suggesting that selective pairing was occurring. One potential effect of pairings between inexperienced male and female toads, coupled with the sex difference in the age of attaining sexual maturity, might be a reduction in the incidence of sibling matings (inbreeding) in the common toad. This is particularly relevant in a species that is both highly philopatric and which congregates in large numbers every spring to breed in very localized areas.
Intraspecific interactions among oophagous tadpoles (Chirixalus eiffingeri: Rhacophoridae) living in bamboo stumps in Taiwan
Authors: Kam Yeong‐Choy , Su Yahn‐Jauh , Liu Jin‐Liang , Lin Yao‐Sung
Published: September 2010

We studied the intraspecific interactions among oophagous Chirixalus eiffingeri tadpoles that occupied the same water‐filled bamboo stumps at Chitou, Taiwan. We monitored the growth of newly‐hatched tadpoles in unoccupied and occupied bamboo stumps in the field where the latter contained large tadpoles that hatched from earlier clutches. The growth of the small, late‐hatching tadpoles in occupied nests was suppressed by the presence of large, early‐hatching tadpoles. However, small tadpoles that were physically separated from large tadpoles in a perforated container grew at about the same rate as small tadpoles living in pools without large tadpoles. Thus, the slower growth of the late‐hatching tadpoles was probably caused by behavioural interference competition with the early‐hatching tadpoles. In the laboratory, we kept large and small tadpoles together in containers and did not feed them for 6 days. The large tadpoles did not cannibalize the small tadpoles. Although large tadpoles may scavenge dead tadpoles, the effects of scavenging on growth were negligible. Interactions among cohabiting C. eiffingeri tadpoles are similar to those among the oophagous tadpoles of several hylid species that use phytotelmata. Results suggest that behavioural interference competition is the principal type of intraspecific interactions among the oophagous, non‐predatory tadpoles of hylid and rhacophorid frogs.
Comparative demography of black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) in Ontario and Maryland
Authors: Blouin‐Demers Gabriel , Prior Kent A. , Weatherhead Patrick J.
Published: September 2010

This study investigated how demographic characteristics of black rat snakes Elaphe obsoleta are affected by the length of the active season, and also used the resulting demographic data to determine the proximate factors responsible for male‐biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in the species. Demographic data collected from 1981 to 1998 in Ontario (ON; 583 males and 588 females) and from 1942 to 1976 in Maryland (MD; 180 males and 150 females) were used to develop growth models with the von Bertalanffy growth equation. Instantaneous growth rates declined significantly with increasing snout–vent length (SVL) in males and females of each population. The growth models predicted age using SVL satisfactorily, but the accuracy of the model decreased significantly with increasing SVL. As predicted, based on the brevity of their active season (ON ≊ 135 days, MD ≊ 190 days), rat snakes of both sexes from Ontario had lower and more variable instantaneous growth rates and matured at a more advanced age (ON ≊ 9 years, MD ≊ 4 years) than snakes from Maryland. However, the rapid growth and early maturation in Maryland snakes occurred at the expense of longevity (maximum: ON ≊ 30 years, MD ≊ 20 years). Slower growth and later maturation will make rat snakes in Ontario less capable of recovering from population declines. Within each population, males grew faster than females. Survivorship for Ontario snakes did not vary by sex, but increased significantly with increasing SVL. The demographic consequence of sex differences in growth was a male‐biased sex ratio among larger snakes. Because SSD is a function of males growing faster than females, SSD in black rat snakes is probably a product of sexual selection, suggesting that large size confers a mating advantage in males.
Differences in physiological tolerance between coexisting taxa of the Madeiran land snail genusHeterostomaunder controlled humidity and simulated rainfall
Authors: Craze Paul G. , Lace Lesley A.
Published: September 2010

The Madeiran land snail genusHeterostomacontains two taxa distinguished by differences in genital anatomy: one has full hermaphroditic genitalia (euphallic) while the other lacks the distal male organs (hemiphallic). Snails from the Madeiran islands of Porto Santo and Ilhéu de Cima were kept under controlled conditions differing in humidity and simulated rainfall. There were four treatments: (1) low humidity, no rainfall; (2) low humidity, rainfall; (3) high humidity, no rainfall; (4) high humidity, rainfall. For snails from Porto Santo there were viability differences between taxa under all treatments such that hemiphallics were most viable under treatment 1 and euphallics were more viable under all other treatments. There were no significant differences between taxa taken from Ilhéu de Cima. This may be a real effect or the result of smaller sample size or a combination of both. Under all conditions, both taxa from both islands show a time‐dependent reduction in viability in response to rainfall. Taxa from Porto Santo also respond differently to humidity with hemiphallics surviving for less time than euphallics at high humidity. These results are interpreted as showing a difference in physiological tolerance between taxa from Porto Santo with respect to humidity. It is suggested that this ecological difference may have been a factor in the divergence of the taxa, perhaps through interaction with genital anatomy variation. No firm conclusions can yet be drawn regarding samples taken from Ilhéu de Cima.
Behavioural interactions, basal plasma luteinizing hormone concentrations and the differential pituitary responsiveness to exogenous gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone in entire colonies of the naked mole‐rat (Heterocephalus glaber)
Authors: van der Westhuizen L. A. , Bennett N. C. , Jarvis J. U. M.
Published: September 2010

Agonistic and sexual interactions as well as plasma bioactive luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations were monitored in all the adults of two colonies of the naked mole‐rat Heterocephalus glaber at three phases in the pregnancy of the breeding female. Blood samples were collected at early (days 1–15), mid (days 30–40) and late (days 55–65) phases of her pregnancy, and the circulating basal plasma LH and the response to administration of 0.1 μg gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) were examined. In both colonies it was found that non‐breeding males and females showed depressed basal LH concentrations and responses to a GnRH challenge. However, there was considerable variation between individuals, in terms of both basal plasma and post‐GnRH concentrations of LH, implying that certain individuals were more suppressed than others. The responses were more pronounced in non‐breeding males than in non‐breeding females, and this is discussed in light of the reproductive skew occurring within colonies. Few agonistic interactions occurred between the breeding female and the majority of the colony members, and overall, there was no clear relationship between plasma LH and the amount of aggression received from the breeding female. However, in one colony there was a significant positive correlation between basal plasma LH concentrations of non‐breeding females and agonistic interactions received by them from the breeding female. In this same colony, older females and older and heavier males received most of the aggression from the breeding female. The second colony did not show this trend, possibly because it had recently lost many large animals during fighting for succession; in this colony sexual interactions were elevated.
Soaring behaviour in the Samoan flying fox (Pteropus samoensis)
Authors: Thomson Susan C. , Brooke Anne P. , Speakman John R.
Published: September 2010

Bats seldom soar because it is behaviour generally associated with the use of thermals, which are normally of insufficient strength at night to support the behaviour. Daylight flying bats, however, such as the Samoan flying fox Pteropus samoensis may be able to exploit thermals for soaring. This may give the bats one of two advantages. It may reduce the energy costs of transport because gliding flight is much cheaper than active flapping flight. However, because less endogenous heat is generated by soaring, a second advantage may be that it reduces the thermal stress placed on these bats. Thermal stress is a factor that we have shown previously probably constrains the daylight flying behaviour of this species. Observations of the patterns of soaring behaviour at two sites on American Samoa in March and October 1995 supported the predictions of the energy saving but not the hyperthermia avoidance hypothesis. Soaring was a common behaviour under all conditions and was used extensively when conditions did not pose a threat of hyperthermia. In March, the bats also adopted flight patterns over time that exposed them to areas of the valleys where insolation was greatest, presumably increasing their risk of hyperthermia but bringing energy saving benefits. Modelling the expected heat flows during soaring and flapping flight using an established model revealed that soaring reduced the risk of hyperthermia, when flying in the shade of clouds, because of the energy savings resulting from reduced endogenous heat production. However, when soaring in sunlight, these savings are more than offset by the increased exogenous heat uptake, because a greater proportion of the wing surface is exposed when soaring. Despite its low endogenous energy cost, soaring in sunlight is not thermally advantageous, and the behaviour of the bats reflected this fact.
Food selection of wintering common cranes (Grus grus) in holm oak (Quercus ilex) dehesas in south‐west Spain in a rainy season
Authors: Avilés Jesús M. , Sánchez Juan M. , Parejo Deseada
Published: September 2010

In the holm oak Quercus ilex dehesas of the Iberian Peninsula, several food types occur that can be selected by birds through the winter. In this framework, diet composition and diet selection of common cranes Grus grus was studied during a rainy wintering season. The winter diet of the common crane is mostly herbivorous in the holm oak dehesas of south‐west Spain with <10% of items being of animal origin. Leaves and stems of sown cereal, bulbs, acorns and cereal grain are the most common vegetable food types. The diversity of the overall winter diet was similar among juveniles and among adults with and without juveniles in attendance. However, there were differences in diet composition between juvenile birds and their parents. Furthermore, the diet composition of adult cranes with juveniles in attendance was different from that of adult cranes without juveniles in attendance. Foraging abilities of juvenile cranes did not vary significantly through the winter, suggesting a low effect of experience on diet differences between age classes. Our results point toward the existence of diet differences among the three considered crane categories related with differential habitat selection by family groups. The monthly pattern of choice of each food type differed from those expected according to the monthly pattern of food availability in the study area. Cereal grain was the most preferred food type when it was available. When cereal seed germinated, cranes shifted to acorns and bulbs which were then more profitable.
Population ecology of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in a fragmented woodland ecosystem on the Island of Jersey, Channel Islands
Authors: Magris L. , Gurnell J.
Published: September 2010

The Channel Island of Jersey is 116 km2 but has only 540 ha of woodland distributed in 237 wooded fragments with mean size of 2.5 ha. Despite this, the island supports 300 to 600 red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris, a species that is under threat in mainland Britain from habitat fragmentation, disease and the spread of the alien grey squirrel S. carolinensis. Grey squirrels are not present on Jersey. Between 1994 and 1997, using trapping and tracking techniques, we studied how red squirrels survive on Jersey by focusing on three local populations in sites B, C and S with contrasting food availability. The primary squirrel foods at site B were autumn tree seeds, at site C autumn tree seeds and summer conifer cones, and at site S autumn tree seeds and ad libitum, year‐round supplementary food provided by local people. The densities of squirrels in site C (mean over 3 years 0.97 ha−1) and site S (1.21 ha−1) were more than one and a half times that of site B (0.68 ha−1), which relied on autumn seeds. Body mass and condition, and early breeding (spring litters) were not affected by food availability although conception occurred as early as November, earlier than in mainland Britain. Less than 50% of females produced summer litters, and 88% of non‐breeders did not receive supplementary food. Turnover rates were lowest and most stable in site B. Annual residency was not influenced by the size of the natural tree seed crop. Cat and road kills caused two out of three reported deaths. This island population seems to remain viable as a result of an extended breeding season and increased population densities in sites with summer or supplementary food. The results emphasize the beneficial effects of extra food provided by local people. This provides a buffering effect against variations in natural food availability, and seems to be important for their long‐term survival.
Delayed maturity, group fission and the limits of group size in female Cape ground squirrels (Sciuridae: Xerus inauris)
Authors: Waterman Jane M.
Published: September 2010

Female Cape ground squirrels Xerus inauris live in matrilineal kin groups in which the number of reproductive positions is limited to three females. Field observations on a population in Namibia revealed that the mechanisms by which group size was limited were reproductive suppression and group fission. Sub‐adult females attained sexual maturity at 8 months of age when only a single adult female was present in their social group, whereas sub‐adult females in groups with more than one adult female matured at 12 months of age. Social groups with more than three breeding females subsequently split into smaller groups. Several hypotheses for limiting group size were considered. There was no evidence of higher ectoparasite loads on females in larger groups, nor was survival of adult females affected by group size. Although adult females have lower body masses and higher mortality during the winter when food is more scarce, feeding competition alone does not seem to limit group size. Groups that split continued to overlap in their feeding ranges and there was no seasonal difference in juvenile survival. However, juvenile survival was affected by group size. The greatest cost of being in a larger group was lower juvenile survival. Larger groups use larger feeding ranges, and because squirrels return to their sleeping burrow when threatened, not just to the nearest refuge, slower juveniles have greater exposure to predators. Thus, although competition for food resources may be important, predation seems to be a major constraint on female group size as well as the primary selective force leading to female group formation.
Predatory strike of the tentacled snake (Erpeton tentaculatum)
Authors: Smith Tamara L. , Povel G. David E. , Kardong Kenneth V.
Published: September 2010

The tentacled snake Erpeton tentaculatum lives its entire life in fresh water where it feeds mostly on fish. Because the tentacled snake strikes underwater, the physical demands differ from those of air, and require modified methods of prey capture compared to terrestrial snakes. To examine this, we scored the feeding behaviours of five snakes and used multiple high‐speed films of two snakes striking fishes. In the pre‐strike phase, the snake usually assumed a J‐shaped posture with its head turned posteriorly at the neck and its body held straight. The snake waited in such a rigid posture for the fish to move into the very narrow ‘window’ between turned head and body. Tentacles remained erected, and motionless. The strike was extremely rapid, occurring typically from pre‐set J‐shaped postures, not from sigmoidal body coils. As the head turned and travelled to the fish, the mouth opened and water collected in the ballooning throat. Significant suction feeding was absent. The fish was secured on buccal teeth and quickly swallowed by unilateral displacements of the jaws. Prey capture and swallowing exhibited specialized modifications of the general snake predatory behaviour to address the hydrodynamic demands of such an underwater strike.
Behavioural responses of killer whales (Orcinus orca) to whale‐watching boats: opportunistic observations and experimental approaches
Authors: Williams Rob , Trites Andrew W. , Bain David E.
Published: September 2010

Johnstone Strait provides important summer habitat for the northern resident killer whales Orcinus orca of British Columbia. The site is also an active whale‐watching area. A voluntary code of conduct requests that boats do not approach whales closer than 100 m to address perceived, rather than demonstrated, effects of boat traffic on killer whales. The purpose of the study was to test the relevance of this distance guideline. Relationships between boat traffic and whale behaviour were studied in 1995 and 1996 by shore‐based theodolite tracking of 25 identifiable focal animals from the population of 209 whales. Individual killer whales were repeatedly tracked in the absence of boats and during approaches by a 5.2 m motorboat that paralleled each whale at 100 m. In addition, whales were tracked opportunistically, when no effort was made to manipulate boat traffic. Dive times, swim speeds, and surface‐active behaviours such as breaching and spy‐hopping were recorded. On average, male killer whales swam significantly faster than females. Whales responded to experimental approaches by adopting a less predictable path than observed during the preceding, no‐boat period, although males and females used subtly different avoidance tactics. Females responded by swimming faster and increasing the angle between successive dives, whereas males maintained their speed and chose a smooth, but less direct, path. Canonical correlations between whale behaviour and vessel proximity are consistent with these conclusions, which suggest that weakening whale‐watching guidelines, or not enforcing them, would result in higher levels of disturbance. High variability in whale behaviour underscores the importance of large sample size and extensive experimentation when assessing the impacts of human activity on killer whales.
First record of Parvidrilidae (Annelida, Oligochaeta) in Europe with a description of a new species (Parvidrilus spelaeus sp. nov.) and comments on the family and its phyletic relationships
Authors: Martínez‐Ansemil Enrique , Sambugar Beatrice , Giani Narcisse
Published: September 2010

A new species of the oligochaete family Parvidrilidae Erséus, 1999 is described from several subterranean waterbodies of southern Europe. A comparison with the type species suggests that the so called ‘genital body’ and ‘copulatory organ’ of the latter can be interpreted as the atrium and spermathecae, respectively. A critical analysis of the most important diagnostic features known is made to increase understanding of the real position of the Parvidrilidae in a natural system within the Oligochaeta. The parvidrilids seem to be closely related to the Phreodrilidae. Waiting for the results of molecular and ultrastructural analyses, and considering the dorsal crotchets ‘buried’ in the body wall as an autapomorphy for the phreodrilids, the rank of family for the parvidrilids is maintained on the basis of the three following autapomorphies: the location of the setae in a marked posterior position within the segments; the lateral development of the clitellum, with large clitellar cells in relation to the body diameter; the singular glandular pouches present in the mid‐dorsal line of the mesosomial segments.
Low costs, high output: reproduction in an insular pit‐viper (Gloydius shedaoensis, Viperidae) from north‐eastern China
Authors: Li‐xin Sun , Shine Richard , Debi Zhao , Zhengren Tang
Published: September 2010

Current life‐history paradigms predict that an organism's total reproductive output is determined by its intrinsic level of ‘reproductive effort’ (RE), interacting with local resource availability. In turn, RE is driven by ‘costs of reproduction’. Within the total allocation, selective forces on offspring size ultimately determine both the number and size of offspring (because of a trade‐off between these two traits). Although patterns of life‐history variation are broadly consistent with this scenario, the evidence is weak: it is generally difficult to measure ‘costs’ or selective forces on offspring size. To test this paradigm, we need a study organism which differs in these respects from related taxa, so that we can unequivocally generate predictions about life‐history traits. A remarkable island population of Asian pit‐vipers Gloydius shedaoensis was studied for which (unlike mainland conspecifics) ‘costs of reproduction’ are low, food availability is high, and there is intense selection for large offspring size. Maternal body sizes and condition, and offspring numbers and sizes were quantified for 79 litters over 2 years. As predicted, the snakes display high reproductive output per female (relative to maternal body mass, litter mass is about twice as high as in related taxa), large offspring size (about three times the mass of related taxa) and a strong trade‐off between offspring size and litter size. Reproductive output was only weakly correlated with maternal body size, and output was adjusted mostly by manipulating litter size rather than offspring size. Reproductive output varied between years, but maternal body condition after parturition did not. Measures of reproductive output (such as the mass or energy content of the litter) bear little relationship to ‘costs of reproduction’ in this system.
Inter‐specific variation inMacropuscrania: form, function and phylogeny
Authors: Milne Nicholas , O'Higgins Paul
Published: September 2010

Morphological variation was studied in the crania of seven species of kangaroos and wallabies (Macropus). How function and phylogeny interact to influence cranial form amongst adults of diverse species was considered. Thirty‐six, three‐dimensional landmarks were acquired on each of 65 adultMacropusspecimens from Western Australia. The different species occupy a wide range of habitats and latitudes and there are well‐known differences in diet among the species. Size and shape variability was examined using the methods of geometric morphometrics. Aspects of inter‐specific variation explained by principal components were visualized and examined for correlations with size, latitude, and diet. The first principal component correlates strongly with inter‐specific differences in latitude and it primarily contrasts species on the basis of the relative length of the snout anterior to the molar teeth, this being greater in species that live in cooler climates. Species scores on the second principal component correlate strongly with centroid size such that smaller crania have more flexed muzzles. Principal component three separates the short grass‐eating, red kangarooM. rufus, from all other species (most of which eat tough herbage from trees and shrubs). This principal component represents differences in the masticatory apparatus. Variation on the fourth principal component also seems to be functionally interpretable in terms of further differences in the masticatory apparatus ofM. agilis. The relationship between phylogeny and cranial form was investigated by comparing a phenogram based on the shape distances between taxa with a consensus phylogeny drawn from the literature onMacropusgenetics, ecology and morphology. The phenogram shows considerable similarity to current taxonomic views, but, our results also indicate differences that are related to function. Thus, this study serves to unravel the interaction of functional and phylogenetic influences on cranial form amongstMacropusspecies and raises further issues relating to ontogeny and phylogeny.
The western pond turtle (Clemmys marmorata) in the Mojave River, California, USA: highly adapted survivor or tenuous relict?
Authors: Lovich Jeff , Meyer Kathie
Published: September 2010

Aspects of the ecology of populations of the western pond turtle Clemmys marmorata were investigated in the Mojave River of the central Mojave Desert, California, U.S.A. One population occupied man‐made ponds and the other occurred in natural ponds in the flood plain of the Mojave River. Both habitats are severely degraded as a result of ground water depletion from human activities along the river and one is infested with the exotic shrub saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima. Mean female carapace length (CL) was significantly greater (14.4 cm) than that of males (13.7 cm). Live juveniles were not detected during the period of study. Shelled eggs were visible in X‐radiographs from 26 May to 14 July. Mean clutch size was 4.46 and ranged from 3 to 6 eggs. Clutch size did not vary between 1998 and 1999 but was significantly correlated with CL for both years combined, increasing at the rate of 0.548 eggs/cm CL. Gravid female CL ranged from 13.3–16.0 cm. Some females nested in both years. Mean X‐ray egg width (21.8 mm) was not significantly correlated with CL or clutch size. X‐ray egg width differed more among clutches than within, whether including CL as a co‐variate or not. Nesting migrations occurred from 6 June to 8 July with minimum round trip distances ranging from 17.5–585 m with a mean of 195 m. Mean estimated time of departure as measured at the drift fence was 18:13. Most females returned to the ponds in the early morning. Nesting migrations required females to be out of the water for estimated periods of 0.83 to 86 h. The destination of nesting females was typically fluvial sand bars in the channel of the dry riverbed. Overall, the ecology of C. marmorata in the Mojave River is very similar to that reported for populations in less severe habitats along the west coast of the United States. Notable exceptions include long nesting migrations to sandbars in the dry river channel, a possible result of human modifications to the environment, and an apparent lack of terrestrial overwintering behaviour in Mojave River populations. The general similarity of desert and coastal populations is possibly a reflection of their recent geographic separation. Overall, populations in the Mojave River exhibit few obvious adaptations to living in the desert and are considered to be tenuous relicts of the Pleistocene. The small size and tenuous status of these populations suggests that immediate conservation action is needed, including establishment of satellite populations as a hedge against extirpation.
The effect of establishing native woodland on habitat selection and ranging of moorland mountain hares (Lepus timidus), a flexible forager
Authors: Rao Shaila J. , Iason Glenn R. , Hulbert Ian A. R. , Racey Paul A.
Published: September 2010

Mountain hares Lepus timidus L. typify species that occupy a broad geographic range and have flexible foraging and nutritional strategies. Such species may show a range of responses to habitat modification. This study aimed to provide a basis for prediction of the impact of mountain hares on woodland establishment, and of woodland establishment on mountain hare distribution. The selection of and the extent of incorporation of new woodland into the home range of mountain hares was investigated in an area where Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. woodland was establishing within their usual habitat in Britain, upland heather moorland. Seasonal home, day and night‐range sizes of radio‐tracked mountain hares were determined using the multinuclear probability polygon technique and analysed using residual maximum likelihood (REML). Habitat selection was analysed using compositional analysis. Three main habitat types were available to hares: heather moorland with trees, heather moorland and grassland‐mire. Mean home‐range size of mountain hares in summer was 10.3 ha and in winter 9.6 ha. There were no significant seasonal or sex differences in home‐range size. Females selected grassland‐mire habitat in summer and showed no strong selection for any habitat in winter. Males selected heather moorland in both summer and winter. Heather moorland with trees was not selected preferentially by mountain hares of either sex in summer or winter. The absence of selection for areas of newly establishing‐Scots pine woodland suggests that any browsing damage to trees by hares is most likely to be a function of the local abundance of mountain hares, rather than a result of active preference of hares for the modified habitat.
A new high-resolution bathymetry model for the Terre Adélie and George V continental margin, East Antarctica
Authors: Beaman Robin J. , O’Brien Philip E. , Post Alexandra L. , De Santis Laura
Published: September 2010

The Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC) surveys to the Terre Adélie and George V continental margin highlight the requirement for a revised high-resolution bathymetry model that can be used as a spatial tool for improving information on the physical environment of the region. We have combined shiptrack singlebeam and multibeam bathymetry, coastline data, and land and ice sheet topographic data to develop a new regional-scale bathymetry grid, called GVdem (short for George V digital elevation model). The GVdem grid spans an area between 138–148°E and 63–69°S, with a cell pixel size of 0.001-arcdegree (c. 100 m). The revised digital elevation model is a large improvement over previously available regional-scale grids from the area, and highlights seabed physiographic detail not formerly observed in this part of East Antarctica. In particular, the extent and complexity of the rugged inner-shelf valleys are revealed, and their spatial relationship with large shelf basins and adjacent flat-topped banks. The new grid also reveals further insight into the spatial distribution of the submarine canyons found on the continental slope.
To germinate or not to germinate: more than just a question of dormancy
Authors: Thompson Ken , Ooi Mark K.J.
Published: September 2010

Consider the following four quotations concerning the distinction between breaking dormancy and stimulating germination.
The Calabi–Yau equation on the Kodaira–Thurston manifold
Authors: Tosatti Valentino , Weinkove Ben
Published: September 2010

We prove that the Calabi–Yau equation can be solved on the Kodaira–Thurston manifold for all given T2-invariant volume forms. This provides support for Donaldson's conjecture that Yau's theorem has an extension to symplectic 4-manifolds with compatible but non-integrable almost complex structures.
Identification of Hydrangeaceae accessions of wild origin from Jeju, Korea, using molecular markers
Authors: Joung Young Hee , Suh Jeung Keun , Lee Nam Sook , Eum Sang Mi , Choi Ik-Young , Roh Mark S.
Published: September 2010

Hydrangea and Schizophragma are popular horticultural and ornamental plants. This study was designed to identify unknown accessions of Hydrangeaceae that have leaf morphological characters different from Hydrangeaanomala subsp. petiolaris and Schizophragma hydrangeoides in Jeju, Korea. A total of 29 accessions of Hydrangea and Schizophragma from the wild were collected and analyzed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL) gene. Morphological characteristics of leaves and shoot apices of several accessions were also examined. Based on the RAPD markers, SNPs of the (rbcL) gene and morphological characteristics of apical buds, the unknown accessions were identified as H. anomala var. petiolaris.
Distribution of O+ ions in the plasma sheet and locations of substorm onsets
Authors: Ono Y. , Christon S. P. , Frey H. U. , Lui A. T. Y.
Published: September 2010

We discuss the effect of O+ ions on substorm onsets by examining the relation between the substorm onset location and the distribution of the O+/H+ number density ratio before the onset in the various regions within the plasma sheet (−8 RE > XGSM > −32 RE). We use 9–212 keV/e ion flux data observed by Geotail/Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC)/Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) instrument and the IMAGE/Far Ultra‐Violet (FUV) substorm onset list presented by Frey et al. [Frey, H. U., S. B. Mende, V. Angelopoulos, and E. F. Donovan (2004), Substorm onset observations by IMAGE‐FUV, J. Geophys. Res., 109, A10304, doi:10.1029/2004JA010607]. The results are summarized as follows. Substorm onsets, which we identify by auroral initial brightenings, are likely to occur in the more dusk‐(dawn‐)ward region when the O+/H+ number density ratio is high in the dusk (dawn) side. This property is observed only in the near‐Earth plasma sheet (at −8 RE > XGSM > −14 RE). The above‐mentioned property holds in each of two groups: substorm events due to internal instability of the magnetosphere (i.e., internally triggered substorms) and events due to external changes in the solar wind or the interplanetary magnetic field (i.e., externally triggered substorms). Thus, we conclude that the substorm onset location depends on the density of O+ ions in the near‐Earth plasma sheet prior to onset, whether the substorm is triggered internally or externally.
A simulation study of dynamics in the distant Jovian magnetotail
Authors: Fukazawa Keiichiro , Ogino Tatsuki , Walker Raymond J.
Published: September 2010

In late February 2007, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Jupiter and repeatedly observed tailward moving plasma structures in Jupiter's distant tail (x > −2000 RJ). There were no solar wind observations in the outer solar system at this time. In this study, we have used a new magnetohydrodynamic model with a 1500 RJ long tail to investigate the propagation of these structures under different solar wind conditions. In the simulation we find that periodic plasmoid ejection from a reconnection line in Jupiter's plasma sheet can occur when the solar wind dynamic pressure is low and the IMF has a northward component along the dipole direction. In particular, periodic plasmoids which are similar to New Horizon observations are reproduced when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was oscillating from northward to southward with a 10 h period similar to what would be expected for a rotating planetary magnetic field interacting with an IMF with only a y component. When the IMF had a southward component along the dipole direction, high‐latitude reconnection can form plasmoid‐like structures. As a result plasma structures moving tailward can be found over a large region of the tail, as is observed. Oscillations in the solar wind dynamic pressure lead to oscillations in the plasma sheet.
A spatial shift of precipitation from the sea to the land caused by introducing submicron soluble aerosols: Numerical modeling
Authors: Noppel H. , Pokrovsky A. , Lynn B. , Khain A. P. , Beheng K. D.
Published: September 2010

Precipitation in the eastern Mediterranean takes place during the cold season, when sea surface temperature is higher than the land surface temperature by 5°C–10°C. This temperature difference leads to the formation of the land breeze‐like circulation, which interacts with dominating westerlies and leads to an intense cloud formation over the sea ∼10–20 km from the coastal line. As a result, most of the precipitation falls on the sea without reaching the land. At the same time the eastern Mediterranean region experiences a lack of freshwater. For investigating a possibility to shift the release of precipitation from sea to land, numerical simulations were performed using the Hebrew University 2‐D cloud model and the 3‐D Weather Research and Forecasting model, both operating with spectral bin microphysics, and the 3‐D COSMO model of the German Weather Service applying a two‐moment bulk parameterization for cloud physics. The respective results indicate that an increase in concentration of small aerosols leads to a delay in raindrop formation and fosters the formation of extra ice particles with low settling velocity. This ice is advected inland by the background wind. As a result, precipitation over land increases at the expense of precipitation over sea by 15%–20%. The spatial shift of precipitation from sea to land can be as large as 50–70 km depending on the wind speed of the background flow. These results suggest a new possibility to enhance precipitation in a particular region by cloud seeding with small aerosols.
Seasonal persistence of ozone and zonal wind anomalies in the equatorial stratosphere
Authors: Tegtmeier S. , Fioletov V. E. , Shepherd T. G.
Published: September 2010

Analysis of the variability of equatorial ozone profiles in the Satellite Aerosol and Gas Experiment‐corrected Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet data set demonstrates a strong seasonal persistence of interannual ozone anomalies, revealing a seasonal dependence to equatorial ozone variability. In the lower stratosphere (40–25 hPa) and in the upper stratosphere (6–4 hPa), ozone anomalies persist from approximately November until June of the following year, while ozone anomalies in the layer between 16 and 10 hPa persist from June to December. Analysis of zonal wind fields in the lower stratosphere and temperature fields in the upper stratosphere reveals a similar seasonal persistence of the zonal wind and temperature anomalies associated with the quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO). Thus, the persistence of interannual ozone anomalies in the lower and upper equatorial stratosphere, which are mainly associated with the well‐known QBO ozone signal through the QBO‐induced meridional circulation, is related to a newly identified seasonal persistence of the QBO itself. The upper stratospheric QBO ozone signal is argued to arise from a combination of QBO‐induced temperature and NOx perturbations, with the former dominating at 5 hPa and the latter at 10 hPa. Ozone anomalies in the transition zone between dynamical and photochemical control of ozone (16–10 hPa) are less influenced by the QBO signal and show a quite different seasonal persistence compared to the regions above and below.
Tropospheric‐stratospheric wave propagation during El Niño‐Southern Oscillation
Authors: Weare Bryan C.
Published: September 2010

Traditional and 3‐D extended Eliassen‐Palm (EP) fluxes for the globe between the 3 and 600 hPa levels are used to calculate El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) composites. Few of the warm minus cold departures of the traditional EP fluxes are significant at the 95% confidence level. In contrast, the ENSO composite differences of the longitudinally dependent extended EP flux have broad regions of significance for a wide range of latitudes, longitudes, and heights. During an ENSO event, there are significant vertical fluxes of wave energy across the tropopause over the subtropical Pacific. In addition, there is substantial meridional exchange of wave energy in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in this region. Proceeding northward, the changes in the stratosphere are associated with meridional exchanges of wave energy and strong vertical fluxes of wave energy across the Pacific and North America. The higher‐latitude changes have a westward tilt with height and eastward group velocities, both suggesting the importance of Rossby waves. In the Atlantic region, there are strong downward fluxes of wave energy, which may be part of an important ENSO pathway into Europe. Overall, these results strongly suggest the importance of nonzonally averaged dynamics in the stratospheric responses to ENSO.