bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Explanation, description, and the meaning of ‘transformation’ in taxonomic evidence
Authors: Brady R H 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The nature of description and its role in scientific procedure is examined. Observation is theory laden, but not necessarily with explanatory theory. Darwin attempted, in the Origin, to absorb all the known facts of current morphology in his notion of homology. His insistence on literal ‘transformation’ between forms, however, forced a confusion between explanation and description that he did not notice. Recent papers have attacked the ‘transformation approach’, arguing that the hierarchy of forms is essentially static rather than successive. While this rejection of Darwin’s literalism appears correct, the emphasis on stasis may be misplaced. Pattern reconstruction must take logical precedence over process explanation, but topological relations can be dynamic without reference to succession. What I have termed ‘literalism’ understands the dynamic as the temporal, and this confusion between the realms of law and event continually leads to a substitution of explanation for description.
Three-item consensus: empirical test of fractional weighting
Authors: Nelson* G , Ladigest† P Y 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Fractional weighting may be used in 3-item analysis in one or both of two procedures: obtaining one or more most parsimonious tree for character data, or obtaining a consensus among trees that represent different data. These procedures are applied to two published sets of molecular sequence data for mammals: five proteins, 128 informative sites (Cytochrome C, Fibrinopeptide A and B, Haemoglobin A and B), and 11 taxa (kangaroo, monkey, sheep, horse, mouse, rabbit, dog, pig, human, cow, ape); seven proteins, 186 informative sites (including Myoglobin and A-Crystallin), and 12 taxa (including cat). Results suggest that 3-item analysis with fractional weighting offers advantages over alternative methods.
Recent past and future extinctions in birds
Authors: Bibby Colin J 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
As a class, birds are second only to terrestrial molluscs in the number of known extinctions in the past few centuries (Jenkins 1992). If we understood extinction processes, we might be able to predict probabilities of future extinctions and target applied research and conservation work. Knowledge of recent past losses of species, either globally or locally, offers some understanding of extinction. Population modelling may give a more rigorous route to insight.
Estimating extinction from molecular phylogenies
Authors: Nee Sean , Holmes Edward C , May Robert M , Harvey Paul H 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Increasing mechanization is turning a trickle of molecular information about phylogenies into a flood. Molecular phylogenies can both describe the hierarchical relationships among taxa by defining clades (monophyletic groups), and provide a time axis by utilizing molecular clocks. Even when those clocks have not been calibrated against real time, molecular phylogenies can still describe the temporal orderings of nodes relative to each other. We have shown elsewhere how many properties of the past, present, and even the future of a clade leave their footprints in its molecular phylogeny, even if that phylogeny is based only on information from extant organisms (Harvey et al. 1991, in press b; Nee et al. 1992). As a consequence, it is possible to use a careful combination of theoretical modelling, statistical analysis, and biological knowledge of the clade under investigation to make inferences about many aspects of the tempo and mode of its evolutionary history. In this chapter we describe how such inferences can be made, and produce illustrative examples to show how extinction rates can be estimated and other components of biodiversity can be measured.
The occurrence of petroleum
Authors: Stoneley Robert 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Except in the case of dry gas (see below), petroleum consists of variable mixtures of the chemical substances known as hydrocarbons. The molecules of these, as the term suggests, are made up predominantly of atoms of carbon and hydrogen in varying abundances, arranged and linked together in many different ways. Some other elements may also be present: oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and metals such as vanadium, copper, and nickel. The molecules can be large and extremely complex. They are commonly described and depicted by semi-graphical chemical formulae, of which a few of the simplest are shown in Fig. 2.1; the formulae of complex ones, even using a form of short-hand, may cover a page!
Many hundreds (literally) of these compounds are present in a single crude oil, and it is their variety that accounts for the wide range in the properties and appearance of oils. The majority of the hydrocarbons fall into three families, the names of which may be familiar to the non-chemist (Fig. 2.1):
Human adaptability research methodology
Authors: Ulijaszek Stanley J 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
A. C. Haddon, in his History of anthropology, divided anthropologists into two classes: field-workers and arm-chair workers (Haddon 1910); the fonncr were seen as collecting the data which the latter might ‘weld into coherent hypotheses’. However, he was quick to point out that ‘the most valuable generalisations are made when the observer is at the same time a generaliser’ (Quiggin 1942). Although a higher value has often been placed on the thinker and generalizer (Parkes 1985; Lasker, 1993), observation, data collection and hypothesis testing based on a wide variety of data have been the hallmark of human adaptability (HA) research. In this chapter, methods employed in HA research from the time of the International Biological Programme (IBP)/HA onward are reviewed, and possible methodological avenues for the future are considered.
The model family
Authors: Mock Douglas W , Schwagmeyer P L , Parker Geoffrey A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
From a comparative perspective, monogamy is a truly anomalous mating system. Its relative scarcity makes intuitive sense when one recognizes that the anisogamy1 that formally defines males (as the purveyors of small gametes) typically leaves them less constrained by parenting tasks (e.g. Bateman 1948; Parker et al. 1972; Trivers 1972). Most males manifest their relative irresponsibility by departing right after insemination, often to seek further mating opportunities. What makes monogamy special as a mating system, then, is the spectacle of males remaining in the picture after fertilization and continuing to invest in their offspring. While it is possible for males to be monogamous for relatively ignoble reasons (e.g. inability to attract additional mating partners), the phenomenon in need of special explanation is the pattern of sizeable male investment that is not met with immediate desertion by the female (as occurs in many polyandrous taxa): in short, we come quickly to the matter of biparental care.
Protozoa, helminths, and arthropods of birds
Authors: Janovy John 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
An enormous body of art, poetry, music, literature, popular science writing, and an equally impressive scientific literature, has grown out of our fascination with birds. In surveying the parasitological literature, one can’t help but feel as if the worms, mites, and lice have been no less fascinated with birds than have humans. Every species of bird that has been studied carefully has been shown to be a host for at least one, and often several, species of parasites. The overwhelming majority of free-living animals are small ectotherms, and while these play host to a large diversity of parasites, it is the large endotherms that support truly rich parasite species assemblages. And among the large endotherms, some of the truly astounding parasite faunas are found in/on birds. A number of parasite groups attain their highest diversity in birds, most notably insects of the order Phthiraptera (formerly Mallophaga), protozoan intracellular blood parasites, and possibly some tapeworms. The number of species of protozoans, helminths, and arthropods that parasitize birds is enormous. The following discussion merely covers the tip of the iceberg.
Not a company man
Authors: Cairns John 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The overwhelming impression from the scientific literature is that researchers are an orderly lot who spend their time working in groups and turning out innumerable publications. john Cairns is not like that at all. He is a brilliant and original experimentalist whose career has been shaped as much by accident as design. Working mainly alone, and publishing relatively little, he has tacked across continents and disciplines, challenging orthodoxy as he goes. Some of his most recent experiments, which he undertook in the context of cancer research, have upset the evolutionary establishment.
The study of mass extinctions
Authors: Hallam A , Wignall P B 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Having been largely ignored throughout most of the history of paleontological and geological research, the subject of mass extinctions has emerged within the last couple of decades as one of the most lively and contentious issues in the whole of science. Not only the Earth sciences community but also physical and biological scientists have involved themselves in the debate, and the media have exhibited intense interest.
Chromatin domains and boundary elements
Authors: Corces Victor G , Gerasimova Tatiana I 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The temporal and spatial expression of eukaryotic genes is regulated by transcription factors through their interaction with enhancer elements. After this initial interaction, enhancer-bound transcription factors cause changes in the transcription complex assembled on the promoter to activate transcription (Thompson and McKnight 1992). The mechanisms of this activation are not well understood and several alternative mechanisms have been put forward to explain this process. Transcriptional activation might involve direct protein-protein interactions through the looping of intervening sequences that separate enhancers and promoters, tracking of the transcription factors from the enhancers to the promoter, changes in chromatin structure that take place upon factor binding to its target sequence and can be transmitted to the promoter to activate transcription, or localization to a particular nuclear compartment that is permissive for gene expression. Independent of the particular details of the process, the intrinsic nature of enhancer-promoter interactions lacks the necessary specificity required for the precise temporal and spatial patterns of gene expression that underlies the development of eukaryotic organisms. To account for the observed specificity in enhancer-promoter interactions it has been proposed that the eukaryotic genome has organizational properties that rely on the ability of chromatin to establish autonomous functional units delimiting levels and patterns of gene expression. Functional specificity of transcriptional enhancers might then be imposed by the existence of chromosomal domains, discrete and topologically independent units of gene expression in which transcription from a specific promoter results only from activation by enhancers located within the same domain, whereas enhancers in a second domain are unable to act on a promoter located in the first one.
Nuclear matrix-associated regions
Authors: Ludérus M E Eva , Driel Roel 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Eukaryotic interphase chromosomes are thought to be organized in topologically independent loop domains. Such loops can be visualized emanating from permeabilized nuclei after extraction of histone proteins (Vogelstein et al. 1980; Jackson et al. 1984; Gerdes et al. 1994). At their bases the loops are fastened to the residual nuclear structure, which is known as nuclear matrix or nuclear scaffold. It is believed that the loop organization of chromatin is important not only for the compaction and spatial organization of the chromatin, but also for the regulation of gene expression. Each loop domain may represent an independent unit of chromatin structure and gene activity.
Mechanisms of heritable gene silencing during development of Drosophila
Authors: Breiling Achim , Paro Renato 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
An unsolved problem in the field of developmental biology is how a determined state can be faithfully maintained over many cell generations. Genetic analysis in Drosophila uncovered two classes of genes which play a role in such a process. The Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax group (trxG) genes were first identified as transcriptional regulators of homeotic selector (HOM) genes. They maintain the differential expression pattern of these important determining factors by keeping either the inactive (PcG) or the active state (trxG) during development. The two groups are not directly involved in the process of pattern formation. They are responsible for ‘freezing’ a developmental decision, such that during the differentiation process appropriate structures can be generated based on the committed programmes of the cells. In Drosophila it was found that the mechanisms of pattern formation rely heavily on differentially localized molecules (morphogens, region-specific transcription factors, etc.). On the other hand, the process of maintaining a determined state, also called ‘cellular memory’, appears to rely on molecules that are expressed in every cell of the developing fly. How can such a set of homogeneously distributed factors memorize differentially determined states of cells? There is increasing evidence that the proteins encoded by the PcG and trxG genes exert such a regulatory role at the level of chromatin structure. Differential patterns of gene expression are encoded in higher order chromatin structures and are epigenetically transmitted from one cell generation to the next.
Woodland, scrub, and hedgerow
Authors: Gilbert Oliver L , Anderson Penny 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Woodland habitat creation entails creating woodland communities that have a diverse structure and contain a wide range of tree, shrub, and ground flora species. It involves making many desisions, one of the most important of which concerns the origin of the material to be used. Here there is a range of choices (Peterken 1995), which become progressively less rigorous: Purists advocate the use of local genetic stock; however, this is rarely available in the quantities required, so the second definition has to be employed using commercially obtained nursery material. The realities of imposing the strictest policy in relation to major timber species, such as oak (Quercus spp.), which have been widely planted in the past, need to be recognized and not allowed to hinder woodland creation.
Heath and moor
Authors: Gilbert Oliver L , Anderson Penny 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Heath and moor are used here in a general sense to embrace all the plant communities, excluding grasslands, that are associated with heathlands and moorlands. In practical terms, the focus is on dwarf-shrub heath, especially heather (Calluna vulgaris), because this is where most habitat creation experience lies. In addition, some attention will be paid to the associated plant communities of wet heath, valley bog, and blanket bog. For simplicity, the generic term ‘heathland’ is used to cover the whole range of such communities in the uplands and lowlands.
Montane and submontane habitats
Authors: Gilbert Oliver L , Anderson Penny 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
This section deals with habitat creation where high altitude or latitude, shallow infertile soils, and the severity of the climate render the communities vulnerable to both natural and human damage. The main threats are the development of ski facilities, damage from trampling, and localized construction or mining projects. On the scale of change in montane and submontane areas, none of these are large or extensive compared with the degradation of communities as a result of overgrazing by sheep and deer (Thompson et al. 1987). Reversal of these effects is more the subject of habitat restoration than habitat creation or repair. Although not at the same elevation, there is a considerable and relevant North American literature relating to the repair of tundra damaged by oil related development or strip mining.
The mollusca: coelomate turbellarians or mesenchymate annelids?
Authors: Haszprvnar Gerhard 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Questions about the origin of the Mollusca and their closest relatives (i.e. their sister group) are as old as Malacology itself. As reviewed in detail by Ghiselin (1988) two main theories have been formulated. Table 1.1 summarizes current opinions and recent references. Many authors have argued on various lines of evidence that the molluscan ancestor was a turbellarian-like organism (Thiele, 1902; Hammersten and Runstrom, 1926; Vagvolgyi, 1967; Salvini-Plawen, 1968, 1972; Table 1.1). It is significant that the majority of these authors investigated aculiferan molluscs. Concerning character evolution most basic assumptions of these authors are additive, meaning that starting from a turbellarian-like ancestral condition specific characters were added or modified towards a higher (more complicated) level of organization.
Allozyme variation in some cretan albinaria (gastropoda): paraphyletic species as natural phenomena
Authors: Schilthuize Menno , Gittenberger Edmund 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The genus Albinaria, represented in Greece, western and southern coastal Turkey, Cyprus and The Lebanon, is extremely speciose. Currently, about 80 species are recognised (Nordsieck, 1977; personal observations). All these snails live, often in large numbers, on or near limestone rocks, where they feed on microflora. This ecological similarity may explain why their diversity is mainly allopatric (sensu Solem, 1984): morphologically characterised species are confined to relatively small geographic areas which do not or hardly overlap. Gittenberger (1991) considered this pattern of diversity to have resulted from “non-adaptive radiation”, the term non-adaptive referring not to any supposed neutral type of evolution, but used in contrast to “adaptive radiation”, where speciation is accompanied by conspicuous nichesegregation.
Systematics and evolution
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The herons are a fairly ancient group of birds. Although bird fossils are rare, herons are exceptionally rare even by avian standards (Bochenski 1995), totalling fewer than 40 identified species. Even the number of existing fossils is a moving target, as the restudy of available material periodically reassigns various specimens to non-heron taxa. Fortunately the lower leg bone of herons, the tarsometatarsus, often the bone preserved in fossils, is quite distinctive (Becker 1985, Olson 1979).
White-necked Heron Ardea pacifica
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Other names: Pacific Heron, Crane in English; Garza Cuelliblanca in Spanish; Héron à téte blanche in French; Weißhalsreiher in German. Ardea pacifica Latham, 180 1. Ind. Orn., Suppl. 1, p. 45: New South Wales. The White-necked Heron is a medium to large, robust looking, grey heron with a completely white neck and head. ADULT: The head and neck are white, with black spotting running vertically down the foreneck.The irises are yellow to green; lores are dark grey to black, often with a cream-green to pale yellow streak from the bill to the eye.
Great Egret Ardea alba
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Action is described as being by far less vigorous than the equivalent display of the Eastern Great Egret (M. Maddock pers. comm.). Eggs are pale green-blue, slightly pitted, and average 58 X 39 mm. Clutch is 4 eggs, occasionally 2–6. Incubation is 28–30 days. Both adults feed young by regurgitation.Young give rasping calls in the nest. Parents continuously attend and guard the nest and small young until 3–4 weeks. Older sib- lings harass the smallest chick, which usually dies. In colonies, young form groups on branches. Generally only two chicks survive. Fledging occurs in 6–7 weeks.
Eastern Great Egret Ardea modesta
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Despite feeding aggregatively, it seems best adapted to feed alone.Through most of the year, the egret preferentially does so. Even when nesting colonially, it tends to fly to feeding areas alone, choose vacant sites, and land away from other feeding birds (Smith 1995b). Feeding in aggregations does not increase efficiency, decrease capture variability, or increase prey intake, and takes more of its time in aggressive interactions (Wiggins 1991, Master et al. 1993). And it tends to capture even smaller prey in aggregations than alone.
Reddish Egret Egretita rufescens
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
High dispersal tendancy, ability to breed in year one, high nesting success, potentially low chick mortality, low first year mortality but relatively short life span suggest that the Cattle Egret is indeed the “r” strategist among herons, a species well adapted to exploiting changing environments through population increases. The Cattle Egret is the heron success story of the twentieth century. It has expanded across the world, responding to human habitat change and is becoming an integral part of the human landscape nearly worldwide.
Snowy Egret Egretta thula
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The Little Blue Heron is a specialist in shallow water stalking, and it benefits from being alone where it can walk very slowly along taking care not to scare its potential prey, or by feeding commensally following another animal capturing the prey it disturbs. Its engagement in feeding aggregations apparently is an extension of its commensal feeding.
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Uncertainty about recent population trends in the USA suggests the need for a range-wide survey, which should be readily possible given the conspicuousness of the birds.An action plan for this species within the southeast USA is desirable in that it has shown a tendency for population shifts. Provision of a suitable dispersion of nesting and feeding sites is crucial, especially given the tenuous future of crayfish aquaculture. In North America, tri-national conservation efforts need to be organized to monitor pesticide burden and determine any populational impact of contaminants.
Green Heron Butorides virescens
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Other names: Green-backed Heron, Little Green Heron, Little Crabier, Poor Joe, Gaulin,Water Witch, Pond Bird in English; Garcita Verde, Garzita azulada, Garza Rayada, Chicuaco, Caga Leche, Cuaco, Crá-Crá, Martinete in Spanish; Heron vert, Krabye rivié, Kio in French; Groene reiger in Dutch.
Chinese Pond-Heron Ardeola bacchius
Authors: Kushlan James A , Hancock James A 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Other names: Paddybird in English; Garcilla China in Spanish; Crabier chinois in French; Bachursrei- her in German; Kara-shirasagi in Japanese Chi lu in Chinese. The Chinese Pond-Heron is a small white bird with golden-buff streaks on its head and back; in the breeding season it turns dark with wine- chestnut head and neck and purple-black back with white wings. ADULT: The non-breeding adult has a golden brown to buff, streaked head.