title: Mapping functional groups can provide insight into ecosystem functioning and potential resilience of intertidal sandflats

authors: Greenfield, Barry L.

subjects: biodiversity

abstract: The ability of species to maintain ecosystem functions under environmental stress depends on their vulnerability, adaptability and potential for dispersal and re-establishment. Species that share traits can perform similar functions, thus offering functional redundancy, and therefore potentially confer resilience in ecosystem function. In this regard, both species abundance and occurrence across a landscape are likely to affect the importance of redundancy. To investigate spatial patterns in functional redundancy, we assessed the degree to which specific functional traits linked to ecosystem function are shared, along with patterns of abundance and distribution, in a macrobenthic community (115 taxa; 23 682 individuals) sampled in 400 plots from a large intertidal area (300 000 m2). We defined 26 functional groups; 85% of these contained more than 1 species and 50% more than 3 species. Most functional group (22 of 26) distributions were non-random (as identified by Moran's I) and fell into 1 of 3 spatial patterns - gradients (n = 8 function groups), and large (n = 2) and small patches (n = 12) - that separate the functional attributes of the macrobenthic community. Only 2 functional groups exhibited low species richness and low abundance, but their widespread occurrence could provide resilience to small-scale disturbances. This spatial consideration of functional group distribution stresses the notion that resilience is likely to be scale-dependent rather than a commodity on offer across a whole system. Our findings emphasise the importance not only of within-functional group species richness but also of abundance and occurrence as a framework to investigate functional diversity and resilience of benthic seafloor communities.

text: Mapping functional groups can provide insight into ecosystem functioning and potential resilience of intertidal sandflats The ability of species to maintain ecosystem functions under environmental stress depends on their vulnerability, adaptability and potential for dispersal and re-establishment. Species that share traits can perform similar functions, thus offering functional redundancy, and therefore potentially confer resilience in ecosystem function. In this regard, both species abundance and occurrence across a landscape are likely to affect the importance of redundancy. To investigate spatial patterns in functional redundancy, we assessed the degree to which specific functional traits linked to ecosystem function are shared, along with patterns of abundance and distribution, in a macrobenthic community (115 taxa; 23 682 individuals) sampled in 400 plots from a large intertidal area (300 000 m2). We defined 26 functional groups; 85% of these contained more than 1 species and 50% more than 3 species. Most functional group (22 of 26) distributions were non-random (as identified by Moran's I) and fell into 1 of 3 spatial patterns - gradients (n = 8 function groups), and large (n = 2) and small patches (n = 12) - that separate the functional attributes of the macrobenthic community. Only 2 functional groups exhibited low species richness and low abundance, but their widespread occurrence could provide resilience to small-scale disturbances. This spatial consideration of functional group distribution stresses the notion that resilience is likely to be scale-dependent rather than a commodity on offer across a whole system. Our findings emphasise the importance not only of within-functional group species richness but also of abundance and occurrence as a framework to investigate functional diversity and resilience of benthic seafloor communities.

year: 2016

title: Formal Models and Refinement for Graphical User Interface Design

authors: Bowen, Judy

subjects: Formal methods

abstract: Formal approaches to software development require that we correctly describe (or specify) systems in order to prove properties about our proposed solution prior to building it. We must then follow a rigorous process  to transform our specification into an implementation to ensure that the properties we have proved are retained. When we design and build the user interfaces of our systems we are similarly keen to ensure that they have certain properties before we build them. For example, do they satisfy the requirements of the user? Are they designed with known good design principles and usability considerations in mind? User-centred design approaches, which incorporate many different techniques which we may consider as informal, seek to consider these issues so that the UIs we build are designed around the needs and capabilities of real users. 

Both formal methods and user-centred design are important and beneficial in the development of underlying system functionality and user interfaces respectively. Given this we would like to be able to use both approaches in one integrated software development process. Their differences, however, make this a challenging objective. In this thesis we present a solution this problem by describing models and techniques which provide a bridge between the existing work of user-centred design practitioners and formal methods practitioners enabling us to incorporate (representations of) informal design artefacts into a formal software development process. We then use these models as the basis for a refinement theory for user interfaces which allows interface designers to retain their informal design methods whilst providing an underlying theory grounded in the trace refinement theory of the Microcharts language.

text: Formal Models and Refinement for Graphical User Interface Design Formal approaches to software development require that we correctly describe (or specify) systems in order to prove properties about our proposed solution prior to building it. We must then follow a rigorous process  to transform our specification into an implementation to ensure that the properties we have proved are retained. When we design and build the user interfaces of our systems we are similarly keen to ensure that they have certain properties before we build them. For example, do they satisfy the requirements of the user? Are they designed with known good design principles and usability considerations in mind? User-centred design approaches, which incorporate many different techniques which we may consider as informal, seek to consider these issues so that the UIs we build are designed around the needs and capabilities of real users. 

Both formal methods and user-centred design are important and beneficial in the development of underlying system functionality and user interfaces respectively. Given this we would like to be able to use both approaches in one integrated software development process. Their differences, however, make this a challenging objective. In this thesis we present a solution this problem by describing models and techniques which provide a bridge between the existing work of user-centred design practitioners and formal methods practitioners enabling us to incorporate (representations of) informal design artefacts into a formal software development process. We then use these models as the basis for a refinement theory for user interfaces which allows interface designers to retain their informal design methods whilst providing an underlying theory grounded in the trace refinement theory of the Microcharts language.

year: 2008

title: Te Kōtihitihi: Ngā Tuhinga Reo Māori, Putanga 3

authors: Temara, Pou

abstract: Koinei te katoa o te Putanga 3 o te puka hautaka, Te Kōtihitihi.

text: Te Kōtihitihi: Ngā Tuhinga Reo Māori, Putanga 3 Koinei te katoa o te Putanga 3 o te puka hautaka, Te Kōtihitihi.

year: 2016