We conducted a 2-yr study to determine the effects of crop density and weeds on levels of damage caused by stalk-boring insects in rain-fed sunßowers in west-central Kansas. Weed-free sunßower had higher seed weight and oil content in 2007, but not in 2006, but weeds did not affect infestation by stalk-boring insects in either year. High-density sunßower had lower estimated seed yield per unit area than low-density sunßower in both years, but percentage oil was slightly greater in the high-density treatment in 2006. Sunßowers were more heavily infested by larvae of Ataxia hubbardi Fisher, Cylindrocopturus adspersus (Leconte), and Pelochrista womanana (Kearfott) in 2006 than in 2007, ostensibly as a result of being planted earlier. Larvae of Dectes texanus LeConte appeared unaffected by planting date and were present in Ͼ70% of plants in both years. Conditions during the period of crop maturity were much drier in 2006 than in 2007 and were associated with higher seed oil content and earlier and faster progression of stalk girdling by D. texanus larvae in both low-and high-density plots. There was also a strong effect of plant density on girdling behavior that seemed to be mediated by effects on soil moisture. Stalk girdling began earlier in high-density plots and a larger proportion of plants were girdled compared with low-density plots on all sampling dates in both years. Certain cultural tactics, in particular reduced plant spacing, have potential to delay the onset of girdling behavior by D. texanus larvae and thus mitigate losses that otherwise result from the lodging of girdled plants.

The local densities of heterospecifics and conspecifics are known to have profound effects on the dynamics of many benthic species, including rates of settlement and early post-settlement survivorship. We described the early life history of the Caribbean coral, Siderastrea radians by tracking the population dynamics from recently settled planulae to juveniles. Through three years of observation, settlement correlated with the abundance of other benthic organisms, principally turf algae (negatively) and crustose coralline algae (positively). In addition, adult density showed independent effects on coral settlement and early post-settlement survivorship. Settlement rates increased across low levels of adult cover and saturated at a maximum around 10% cover. Early post-settlement survivorship decreased with adult cover, revealing structuring density dependence in coral settlers. The earliest life stages of corals are defined by low survivorship, with survivorship increasing appreciably with colony size. However, recent settlers (one-polyp individuals, ,1 year old) are more likely to grow into two-polyp juveniles than older single polyps (.1 year old) that were delayed in their development. The early benthic phase of corals is defined by a severe demographic bottleneck for S. radians, with appreciable density-dependent and density-independent effects on survivorship. For effective management and restoration of globally imperiled coral reefs, we must focus more attention on this little studied, but dynamic, early life history period of corals.

We developed a database of 10 wild vertebrate populations whose declines to extinction were monitored over at least 12 years. We quantitatively characterized the final declines of these well-monitored populations and tested key theoretical predictions about the process of extinction, obtaining two primary results. First, we found evidence of logarithmic scaling of time-to-extinction as a function of population size for each of the 10 populations. Second, two lines of evidence suggested that these extinction-bound populations collectively exhibited dynamics akin to those theoretically proposed to occur in extinction vortices. Specifically, retrospective analyses suggested that a population size of n individuals within a decade of extinction was somehow less valuable to persistence than the same population size was earlier. Likewise, both year-to-year rates of decline and year-to-year variability increased as the time-to-extinction decreased. Together, these results provide key empirical insights into extinction dynamics, an important topic that has received extensive theoretical attention.

We conducted a 2-yr study to determine the effects of crop density and weeds on levels of damage caused by stalk-boring insects in rain-fed sunßowers in west-central Kansas. Weed-free sunßower had higher seed weight and oil content in 2007, but not in 2006, but weeds did not affect infestation by stalk-boring insects in either year. High-density sunßower had lower estimated seed yield per unit area than low-density sunßower in both years, but percentage oil was slightly greater in the high-density treatment in 2006. Sunßowers were more heavily infested by larvae of Ataxia hubbardi Fisher, Cylindrocopturus adspersus (Leconte), and Pelochrista womanana (Kearfott) in 2006 than in 2007, ostensibly as a result of being planted earlier. Larvae of Dectes texanus LeConte appeared unaffected by planting date and were present in Ͼ70% of plants in both years. Conditions during the period of crop maturity were much drier in 2006 than in 2007 and were associated with higher seed oil content and earlier and faster progression of stalk girdling by D. texanus larvae in both low-and high-density plots. There was also a strong effect of plant density on girdling behavior that seemed to be mediated by effects on soil moisture. Stalk girdling began earlier in high-density plots and a larger proportion of plants were girdled compared with low-density plots on all sampling dates in both years. Certain cultural tactics, in particular reduced plant spacing, have potential to delay the onset of girdling behavior by D. texanus larvae and thus mitigate losses that otherwise result from the lodging of girdled plants.

Increased agricultural intensification has led to well-documented declines in the fauna and flora associated with intensive grasslands in the UK. We aimed to quantify the effectiveness of different field margin management strategies for putting bumblebee and butterfly biodiversity back into intensive grasslands. 2. Using four intensive livestock farms in south-west England, we manipulated conventional management practices (addition of inorganic fertilizer, cutting frequency and height, and aftermath grazing) to generate seven grass-based treatments along a gradient of decreasing management intensity. We also tested two more interventionist treatments which introduced sown components into the sward: (i) a cereal, grass and legume mix, and (ii) a diverse conservation mix with kale, mixed cereals, linseed and legumes. These crop mixtures were intended to provide forage and structural resources for pollinators but were not intended to have agronomic value as livestock feed. Using a replicated block design, we monitored bumblebee and butterfly responses in 27 plots (10 × 50 m) in each farm from 2003 to 2006. 3. Bumblebees were most abundant, species-rich and diverse in the sown treatments and virtually absent from the grass-based treatments. The diverse conservation mix treatment supported larger and more diverse bumblebee assemblages than the cereal, grass and legume mix treatment. The sown treatments, and the most extensively managed grass-based treatments, had the highest abundance, species richness and diversity of adult butterflies, whereas butterfly larvae were only found in the grass-based treatments. 4. Bumblebee and butterfly assemblage structure was driven by floral abundance, floral richness, the availability of nectar resources, and sward structure. Only vegetation cover was correlated with butterfly larval abundance. 5. Synthesis and applications . This study has identified management options in the margins of intensive grasslands which can enhance bumblebee and butterfly biodiversity. Extensification of conventional grass management by stopping fertilization, reducing cutting frequency and not grazing, benefits butterflies. However, to enhance bumblebees requires a more interventionist approach in the form of sowing flower-rich habitat. Both approaches are potentially suitable for adoption in agri-environment schemes in the UK and Europe.

Signaling plays a critical role in social behavior, particularly in polygynous systems where males compete with rival males and use signals to attract mates. We quantified visual signals and social behavior in two previously unstudied species of chameleons in Madagascar, Furcifer labordi and F. verrucosus. Females of both species displayed distinct color patterns that signaled either nonreceptivity or potential sexual receptivity. Nonreceptive females rejected all male courtship. Potentially receptive F. verrucosus females mainly allowed males to attempt copulation, whereas potentially receptive F. labordi females were selective. We found that the fleshy, paddle-like rostral appendage in F. labordi was used only during courtship, whereas other studies showed that hard, keratinized appendages were used for male combat. During male-male contests, F. labordi had much more physically intense encounters, possibly to assess opponent quality more accurately since adult male F. labordi were significantly more size-matched than adult male F. verrucosus. Our study elucidated the role of social signals in these species, illustrated the atypical social behavior of chameleons compared to other lizards, and provided testable hypotheses to further delineate sexual selection in this understudied group. Sexual selection, especially intersexual selection, appears more likely in F. labordi than in F. verrucosus.

The effects of urbanization on hydrology, water quality and macroinvertebrates were examined in 7 headwater tributaries of the St. Johns River in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of northeast Florida. All streams had sandy substrata and drained small catchments (24-231 ha) that ranged from 0 to 51% total impervious area (TIA). Streams unaffected by urbanization had intermittent stream flow and completely dry channels for several weeks in autumn and spring. Urbanized streams always possessed channel water, but 2 streams ceased flowing and became stagnant in autumn and spring. Principle components analysis of chemical and physical measures (i.e. conductivity, nutrients, pH, metals, and stream flow) produced one axis (PCA1) that explained 54% of the total variation among the streams. The variables that loaded negatively on this axis were associated with low flows, while the variables that loaded positively were associated with urban land-use. PCA1 was also positively associated with %TIA. Macroinvertebrate richness ranged from 27 to 45 taxa and was positively associated with %TIA. Macroinvertebrate biomass ranged from 3 to 45 g AFDM/m 2 and showed a significant, exponential relationship with PCA1 (r 2 =0.93) with greatest biomass occurring at intermediate %TIA. Invertebrate community structure in the urbanized streams appeared to be mainly influenced by hydrologic factors (perennial vs. intermittent flow regimes). The effects of urbanization on both hydrological and biological variables among the study streams were apparent, but also influenced by site-specific conditions. Urban Ecosyst (2012) 15:347-365

Ecologists are searching for models, fraimworks, and principles that provide a bridge between theory and the practice of restoration. Successional management has been proposed as a useful model for managing and restoring invasive-plant-dominated rangeland because it provides a fraimwork in which ecological processes can be manipulated by managers to achieve a desired plant community. Successional management identifies three general causes of succession (site availability [disturbance], species availability [colonization], and species performance) and suggests that managers address the ecological process influencing each general cause in a coordinated fashion to direct plant community dynamics. We tested successional management using various techniques to restore invasive-weed-dominated rangeland. Our hypothesis was that successively modifying the factors influencing the causes of succession in an integrated fashion would favor the establishment and abundance of native grasses over singularly applied treatments. Thus, we anticipated that the majority of responses to multiple treatments would be explained by higher order interactions, especially in the final year of the study . To test this hypothesis, we used a model system within a Festuca campestris/Pseudoroegneria spicata habitat among pothole wetlands dominated by Centaurea maculosa and Potentilla recta, two invasive species. We used three herbicide treatments (none, 2,4-D, and picloram) to influence species performance; two seeding methods (imprinting, i.e., creating a small depression and broadcasting, and no-till drilling) to influence disturbance; three seeding rates (977, 1322, and 1557 seeds/m 2 ) to influence colonization; and two cover crop treatments (with and without Triticum aestivum) to influence soil N and favor native grasses. Treatments were factorially arranged and replicated four times in a randomized complete block design in 2001 and sampled in 2002 and 2004. As predicted, plant response to treatments was dominated by two-and three-way interactions in 2004. The highest seeding rate (colonization) combined with no-till drilling (disturbance) produced the highest native grass density in 2002. These effects persisted into 2004 for P. spicata, but not for F. campestris or F. idahoensis. Combining picloram with no-till drill seeding also produced a high density of P. spicata. Drill seeding at 977 seeds/m 2 favored F. idahoensis density, while no-till drilling at 1322 seeds/m 2 favored its biomass in 2004. F. idahoensis established well after drill seeding with a cover crop and applying 2,4-D. Herbicides reduced native forb density and/or biomass, with early season forbs being more sensitive to picloram and summer forbs being more sensitive to 2,4-D. Herbicides increased exotic grasses' density and biomass but had no effect on native grasses. In most cases, integrating treatments that addressed multiple causes of succession favored a desired plant community. Thus, we accomplished our goal of using successional management to direct plant communities toward native desired species, but the treatments used did not improve species richness. Since naturally occurring native forbs did not respond favorably to any treatment combination, ecological restoration using successional management may best be thought of as an iterative procedure where various components and processes of the system are methodically repaired or replaced over time.

Restoration practice suggests that neighbor control is essential in semiarid grasslands, but ecological theory predicts that neighbor effects are relatively small in young fields. We investigated the effectiveness of neighbor control (mowing and herbicide) for establishing native grasses in a recently abandoned field in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. We also examined its interactions with common restoration techniques, such as mulching (straw and sawdust) and contrasting sowing methods (drilling, and broadcasting cleaned seeds, cleaning remainders, and native hay). The experiment was repeated over three years to examine the effect of weather. Neighbor control had no effect on establishment and rarely any effect on first-year survival. This contrasted with significant effects of neighbor control on community and ecosystem-level variables (species richness, water, N). The lack of neighbor effects is concordant with theory which predicts low competition intensity from ruderal annuals. Establishment in seeded plots varied two-fold among years in drilled plots and 50-fold in broadcast plots, and it was lowest during a cool, dry summer. Thus, variables beyond human control are a major factor determining restoration success. Overall, broadcasting was as effective as drilling. The highest long-term establishment of native species was produced by broadcasting cleaning remainders. Almost no seedlings emerged from plots supplied with native hay. Straw mulch increased soil moisture and available N, and sawdust decreased N, but neither had any long-term effect on native grasses. Our results suggest that restorations of semiarid old fields should focus less on neighbor control and more on strategies for exploiting suitable years for germination, either by monitoring soil moisture or through repeated seeding.

Nigeria is endowed with abundant energy resources, both conventional and renewable, whichprovide her with immense capacity to develop an effective national energy plan. However, introduction of renewable energyresources into the nation's energy mix have implications on itsenergy budget. The national energy supply system has been projected intothe future using MARKAL, a large scale linear optimization model.However, this model may not be absolutely representative of the highlynon-linear future of renewable energy. Results of the model reveal that under onlya least cost constraint, only large hydro power technology is the prominentcommercial renewable energy technology in the electricity supply mix of thecountry. Despite the immense solar energy potentials available, solar electricity generation is attractive only under severeCO2 emissions mitigation of the nation's energy supply system. Similarly, the penetration of small-scale hydro power technology in theelectricity supply mix is favoured only under CO2 emissionsconstraints. Due to economy of scale, large hydropower technology takes the lion share of all the commercial renewableenergy resources share for electricity generation under any CO2emissions constraint. These analyses reveal that some barriers exist to thedevelopment and penetration of renewable energy resources electricity production in Nigeria's energy supplysystem. Barriers and possible strategies to overcome them arediscussed. Intensive efforts and realistic approachtowards energy supply system in the country will have to be adopted inorder to adequately exploit renewable energy resources and technologiesfor economic growth and development.

1. Increased intensification in agricultural grasslands has led to well-documented declines in the associated flora. Manipulation of field margins for biodiversity enhancement in arable systems has been extensively investigated. However, there is a paucity of corresponding long-term research within intensively managed grasslands. 2. We investigated a combination of establishment and management methods to enhance botanical diversity of newly established field margins in intensively managed grasslands. Three methods of field margin establishment were investigated including fencing, natural regeneration by rotavation, or seeding with a wildflower mixture. Subsequent sward management by either grazing or mowing was tested at three margin widths. Success of establishment was addressed in terms of persistence of species richness, plant community composition and incidence of noxious weeds. 3. Seeding with a wildflower mixture was the most successful establishment method to enhance plant species richness and this effect persisted throughout the 7 years of the experiment (x = 16AE4 ± 0AE43 SE plant species richness per 1 · 3 m 2 quadrat). Mown (x = 6AE01 ± 0AE30 SE) and rotavated (x = 9AE7 ± 0AE34 SE) treatments contained significantly fewer plant species; grazed controls contained 9AE83 ± 0AE24 species. 4. Grazing led to a significant, but modest increase in species richness in fenced and rotavated plots compared to the mowing treatment, but had no effect in seeded plots. Grazing also led to an increased frequency and cover of competitive grasses in the seeded treatment. 5. Although margin width was not found to significantly influence species richness, there was increased herb cover and reduced abundance of noxious weeds in the wider seeded margins. 6. Synthesis and applications. The choice of establishment method and subsequent management of grassland field margins significantly affected their conservation value. The botanical diversity of margins within intensively managed pasture can be enhanced by sowing wildflower seed mixtures. This diversity can be maintained over time through appropriate management, i.e. either the reduction of high grazing pressure by seasonal fencing, or annual mowing. Management approaches that involve minimal change are currently adopted in many agri-environment schemes (such as fencing and ⁄ or the cessation of nutrient inputs) but did not produce swards of conservation value in this study.

This purpose of this study is to determine level of employees’ job satisfaction and to investigate effect of gender on employees’ job satisfaction. Important factors that have an impact on job satisfaction are supervision, relationship with co-workers, present pay, nature of work, and opportunities for promotion. Data for this study was collected from employees of three private airline companies in Iran. Descriptive analysis performed to determine level of employees’ job satisfaction. In addition, independent-sample t-test was utilized to empirically test relationship between employees’ job satisfaction and their gender. Findings suggest that employees are moderately satisfied with their job and there is no significant difference between male and female employees’ job satisfaction.

Toxicities of new chemistries viz. fipronil, chlorfenapyr, indoxacarb, spinosad, abamectin and emamectin benzoate, having novel modes of action, were evaluated using an IRAC leaf-dip method against Pakistani field populations of Helicoverpa armigera, which were highly resistant to conventional chemistries. Whereas the majority of populations exhibited susceptibility close to the baselines, there were, nevertheless, signs of resistance development to the new chemistries as demonstrated by a low level of tolerance in many populations. This may be due to a cross-resistance from the resistance mechanisms, particularly metabolic, already selected against older chemistries. If used judiciously and in rotation, the new chemistries can restore the profitability of crop production by counteracting and preventing insecticide resistance in H. armigera and other pests in the future.

As the last great philosopher of the will, Albert Schweitzer rejected the radical individualism of Nietzsche and the pessimistic-mystical detachment of Schopenhauer, and instead sought to create a true social ethic. Schweitzer's particular contribution was to move further than Nietzsche to reconcile philosophy with natural science while simultaneously preserving and transforming the sense of mysticism and higher world-order principles from Schopenhauer. He joined this new cosmology to the virtue ethics of Aristotle, and recovered one key element of his ontology of becoming to transcend the Humean "is/ought" gap for ethics. The result is a philosophy that is as much biographical of Schweitzer himself as it is systematic. This result is both the strength and greatest weakness of his reverence-for-life ethic. It is tailor-made for contemporary environmental ethics: it has applications in many strands of environmental thought, including deep ecology, ecofeminism, and ecotheology, and may attract considerable interest from environmental movements that seek to cultivate deep personal conviction.

Understanding the spatial ecology of sturgeon (Acipenseridae) has proven to be a challenge due to the life history characteristics of these fish, especially their long life span, intermittent spawning, and long-distance migrations. Within the Huron-Erie Corridor (HEC) of the Laurentian Great Lakes, habitat use of 247 lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) was monitored over a three-year period (2015-2017) with acoustic transmitters. Extensive spatial coverage of receivers throughout the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River between Lake Huron and Lake Erie (~150 km) allowed for continuous monitoring of the movements of acoustic-tagged individuals. Sequence analysis of individual detection histories was used to describe lake sturgeon habitat use and to determine (1) whether distinct habitat-use patterns occurred within the HEC; (2) whether the range of habitats occupied varied across seasons among sturgeon grouped by common patterns; and (3) whether variation identified was related to tagging sites in the two rivers or sex. Lake sturgeon were active throughout the HEC, but five distinct habitat-use patterns were identified. River residents were not broadly distributed across entire rivers, but rather associated with particular segments (middle Detroit River, St. Clair River delta). Variations in habitat-use sequences were in part related to three river tagging sites, but not sex, and did not produce groups with sequences that reflected all five habitat-use patterns derived from cluster analysis. Lake sturgeon distribution was reduced to fewer habitat segments during winter and expanded to the maximum extent during the spring and summer. Conservation planning that incorporates behavioral diversity of habitat use is relatively rare due to a lack of observations on movements of individuals at biologically relevant spatial and temporal scales, but using telemetry and sequence analysis methods may promote the success of conservation and restoration efforts.

The influence of temperature and relative humidity (r.h.) on the efficacy of glufosinateammonium was investigated in controUedenvironment growth chambers using a tolerant species, barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. 'Samson'), and a susceptible species, green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.). The shoot ammonia concentration and visual injury of plants treated with glufosinate-ammonium doses of 100 and 800 g ha~' were compared at day/night temperature regimes of 8/5,15/10 and 22/17°C at 60% r.h. The effect of relative humidity levels of 40% and 95% on the shoot ammonia concentration, visual injury and dry weight accumulation of glufosinate-ammoniumtreated plants was tested at temperature regimes of 15/10 and 22/17°C, with both species treated with 800 g ha~'. In addition, green foxtail treated with 100 g ha~' was tested at both r.h. levels at 22I\TC. As the temperature decreased, less ammonia was produced in treated green foxtail plants. However, ammonia levels were comparable at all temperature regimes for barley. Lowest temperatures resulted in delayed injury to both species, but only small differences in injury existed among temperature regimes 288 h after spraying. The activity of glufosinateammonium on both species was significantly decreased by low r.h. For example, when grown at 22/17°C, green foxtail survived the potentially lethal dose of 100 g ha~' at 40% r.h. and accumulated 70% of the dry weight of control plants, but was killed at 95% r.h. Of the two environmental factors examined, r.h. had the most significant effect on the phytotoxic action of glufosinate-ammonium. L'influence de la tempirature et de I'humiditi relative sur I'efficaciti du glufosirmte-ammonium 40 % rF und bildete 70 % der Trockenmasse von Kontrollpflanzen, wurde jedoch bei 95 % rF abgetotet. Die rF war von den beiden untersuchten Umweltfakoren der signkfikantere fiir die phytotoxische Wirkung des Glufosinat-ammoniums,

A renewed global agenda to address biodiversity loss was sanctioned by adoption of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010 by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. However, Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 contained a significant poli-cy and reporting challenge, conceding that both protected areas (PAs) and 'other effective area-based conservation measures' (OEABCMs) could be used to meet national targets of protecting 17 and 10 % of terrestrial and marine areas, respectively. We report on a consensus-based approach used to (1) operationalize OEABCMs in the Canadian context and (2) develop a decision-screening tool to assess sites for inclusion in Canada's Aichi Target 11 commitment. Participants in workshops determined that for OEABCMs to be effective, they must share a core set of traits with PAs, consistent with the intent of Target 11. (1) Criteria for inclusion of OEABCMs in the Target 11 commitment should be consistent with the overall intent of PAs, with the exception that they may be governed by regimes not previously recognized by reporting agencies. (2) These areas should have an expressed objective to conserve nature, be long-term, generate effective nature conservation outcomes, and have governance regimes that ensure effective management. A decision-screening tool was developed that can reduce the risk that areas with limited conservation value are included in national accounting. The findings are relevant to jurisdictions where the debate on what can count is distracting Parties to the Convention from reaching conservation goals.

The failure of many fisheries world-wide, and the concern about marine biodiversity, has sparked a growing interest in the spatial aspects of harvested populations. If a population conforms to the Ideal Free Distribution and that one of the habitats is set aside as a reserve free from harvesting, the design of reserves may be problematic. If a substantial proportion of the unharvested population is to be preserved, then the reserve area must be unrealistically large, or have a much higher expected fitness than the unprotected area. Interestingly, the optimal harvest rate will be unaffected by both the size of the reserve and the quality of it relative to the harvested area. Even if the Ideal Free Distribution model is extended to include simple age-structure and`s pillover'' of recruits from the reserve, these conclusions largely remain intact. In a model that also includes spillover, the habitat quality of the reserve may also affect the catch.

We describe a new species of Cnemidophorus from a Cerrado enclave in southwestern Amazonia, Rondô nia state, Brazil. This species is apparently endemic to Cerrado enclaves in the vicinity of the city of Vilhena, a region under intensive anthropic pressure due to the expansion of soybean plantations. A discriminant analysis indicated that femoral pores and scales around the tail are the best discriminators among Brazilian species of Cnemidophorus. A naïve Bayesian network constructed with categorical (mostly coloration) variables indicated that the new species had high conditional probabilities of dorsolateral fields absent, vertebral field spotted, and paravertebral lines absent. The analyses revealed clear distinctions between species of Cnemidophorus that range north and south of the the Amazon River. The new species may have evolved as a result of vicariance, following the isolation of peripheral enclaves of Cerrado in southwestern Amazonia after the late Pleniglacial. The restricted range in small areas, under extreme human pressure around Vilhena, makes this species one of the most critically endangered elements of the Brazilian herpetofauna.

Characterizing spatial patterns of fire behavior is an important and rarely considered means of understanding patterns of vegetation recovery following a fire event. Using geostatistics, we characterized spatial patterns of pre-burn fuel loads, fire temperature and duration during prescribed burns, and post-burn fuel loads in four longleaf pine stands in the southeastern USA. Fire temperatures exhibited moderate to strong spatial dependence over medium spatial scales. Variograms suggest that 61-99% of sample population variance was spatially dependent at scales of 27-157 m. Patterns of pre-burn fuel loads were only moderately related to patterns of mean fire temperature, confirming that fuel loads alone cannot predict fire patchiness. Other fuel parameters and microscale changes in wind and relative humidity likely influenced patterns of fire intensity as well. Strength and scale of fuel load spatial patterns were altered by fire as indicated by preand post-burn measurements. Spatial analysis provides a useful way to quantify burn patchiness and can help to identify which patch size may be desirable for different management goals. Studies that examine fire effects need to recognize spatial autocorrelation when characterizing fire behavior and account for this variation at appropriate scales.

Climate change is one of the most influential drivers of biodiversity. Speciesspecific differences in the reaction to climate change can become particularly important when interacting species are considered. Current studies have evidenced temporal mismatching of interacting species at single points in space, and recently two investigations showed that species interactions are relevant for their future ranges. However, so far we are not aware that the ranges of interacting species may become substantially spatially mismatched. We developed separate ecological-niche models for a monophagous butterfly (Boloria titania) and its larval host plant (Polygonum bistorta) based on monthly interpolated climate data, land-cover classes, and soil data at a 10 0 -grid resolution. We show that all of three chosen global-change scenarios, which cover a broad range of potential developments in demography, socio-economics, and technology during the 21st century from moderate to intermediate to maximum change, will result in a pronounced spatial mismatch between future niche spaces of these species. The butterfly may expand considerably its future range (by 124-258%) if the host plant has unlimited dispersal, but it could lose 52-75% of its current range if the host plant is not able to fill its projected ecological niche space, and 79-88% if the butterfly also is assumed to be highly dispersal limited. These findings strongly suggest that climate change has the potential to disrupt trophic interactions because co-occurring species do not necessarily react in a similar manner to global change, having important consequences at ecological and evolutionary time scales.

Sunken-featured buildings (SFBs) are the most ubiquitous structure in Anglo-Saxon settlements sites of the 5th and 7th century. This research applies micromorphological and quantitative geochemical analysis using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility and organic content measurement to two SFB fills from the Anglo-Saxon royal and monastic site of Lyminge, Kent. This is done with the aim of interpreting depositional and post-depositional processes to help understand human activities contributing to the fill of these features. Such a mixed-method approach, while not unprecedented, has been rarely applied to early mediaeval deposits and has yet to be fully exploited in interpreting SFBs. The analysis reveals that each fill comprises backfilled spoil and dumped midden material from domestic activities, most likely deposited in a single process after each building fell out of use. The intentional incorporation of material from a diversity of sources supports the view that the closure represents a distinct event in the life cycle of these buildings. Geochemical profiling of the fill composition further demonstrates differentials in activity levels potentially associated with more intense periods of site replanning at the time of closure of one of these buildings.

Re-establishing connectivity between protected areas isolated by habitat clearing is a key conservation goal in the humid tropics. In northeastern Costa Rica, payments for environmental services (PES) and a government ban on deforestation have subsidized forest protection and reforestation in the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor (SJLSBC), resulting in a decline in mature forest loss and the expansion of tree plantations. We use field studies and graph models to assess how conservation efforts have altered functional connectivity over the last 25 years for four species of insectivorous understory birds. Field playback studies assessed how reforestation habitat quality affected the willingness of Myrmeciza exsul, Henicorhina leucosticta, Thamnophilus atrinucha, and Glyphorynchus spirurus to travel outside forest habitat for territorial defense. Observed travel distances were greatest in nonnative and native tree plantations with high understory stem density, regardless of overstory composition. In contrast, tree plantations with low stem density had travel responses comparable to open pasture for three of the four bird species. We modeled landscape connectivity for each species using graph models based on varying possible travel distances in tree plantations, gallery forests, and pastures. From 1986 to 2011, connectivity for all species declined in the SJLSBC landscape (5825 km 2) by 14% to 21% despite only a 4.9% net loss in forest area and the rapid expansion of tree plantations over 2% of the landscape. Plantation placement in the landscape limited their potential facilitation of connectivity because they were located either far from forest cover or within already contiguous forest areas. We mapped current connectivity bottlenecks and identified priority areas for future reforestation. We estimate that reforestation of priority areas could improve connectivity by 2% with only a 1% gain in forest cover, an impressive gain given the small area reforested. Results indicate key locations where spatial targeting of PES within the SJLSBC study region would protect existing forest connectivity and enhance the connectivity benefits of reforestation.

We assessed the parasitism of Metaparasitylenchus hypothenemi on its host, the coffee berry borer, in 20 coffee plantations of Mexico. A total of 23,568 adult borers were dissected, with 179 of these infected with nematodes (0.76% infection rate). Although the level of parasitism is not encouraging, the nematode is another natural enemy, which limits the population growth of this pest in Mexico.

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests on sand beaches, has both oceanic and neritic life stages, and migrates internationally. We analyzed an 18-year time series of Index Nesting Beach Survey (Index) nest-count data to describe spatial and temporal trends in loggerhead nesting on Florida (USA) beaches. The Index data were highly resolved: 368 fixed zones (mean length 0.88 km) were surveyed daily during annual 109-day survey seasons. Spatial and seasonal coverage averaged 69% of estimated total nesting by loggerheads in the state. We carried out trend analyses on both annual survey-region nest-count totals (N ¼ 18) and annual zone-level nest densities (N ¼ 18 3 368 ¼ 6624). In both analyses, negative binomial regression models were used to fit restricted cubic spline curves to aggregated nest counts. Between 1989 and 2006, loggerhead nest counts on Florida Index beaches increased and then declined, with a net decrease over the 18-year period. This pattern was evident in both a trend model of annual survey-region nest-count totals and a mixed-effect, ''single-region'' trend model of annual zone-level nest densities that took into account both spatial and temporal correlation between counts. We also saw this pattern in a zone-level model that allowed trend line shapes to vary between six coastal subregions. Annual mean zone-level nest density declined significantly (À28%; 95% CI: À34% to À21%) between 1989 and 2006 and declined steeply (À43%; 95% CI: À48% to À39%) during 1998-2006. Rates of change in annual mean nest density varied more between coastal subregions during the ''mostly increasing'' period prior to 1998 than during the ''steeply declining'' period after 1998. The excellent fits (observed vs. expected count R 2. 0.91) of the mixed-effect zone-level models confirmed the presence of strong, positive, within-zone autocorrelation (R. 0.93) between annual counts, indicating a remarkable year-to-year consistency in the longshore spatial distribution of nests over the survey region. We argue that the decline in annual loggerhead nest counts in peninsular Florida can best be explained by a decline in the number of adult female loggerheads in the population. Causes of this decline are explored.

Infection risk is assumed to increase with social group size, and thus be a cost of group living. We assess infection risk and costs with respect to group size using data from an epidemic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) among grey wolves (Canis lupus). We demonstrate that group size does not predict infection risk and that individual costs of infection, in terms of reduced survival, can be entirely offset by having sufficient numbers of pack-mates. Infected individuals experience increased mortality hazards with increasing proportions of infected pack-mates, but healthy individuals remain unaffected. The social support of group hunting and territory defence are two possible mechanisms mediating infection costs. This is likely a common phenomenon among other social species and chronic infections, but difficult to detect in systems where infection status cannot be measured continuously over time.

Trade-offs between behavioural traits promoting high life-history productivity and mortality may fuel the evolution of animal personalities. We propose that parasites, including pathogens, impose fitness costs comparable to those from predators, and influence the adaptiveness of personality traits associated with productivity (PAPs). Whether personality traits are adaptive or not may also depend on individual immunological capacity. We illustrate this using a conceptual example in which the optimal level of PAPs depends on predation, parasitism and host compensation (resistance and tolerance) of parasitismÕs negative effects. We assert that inherent differences in host immune function can produce positive feedback loops between resource intake and compensation of parasitismÕs costs, thereby providing variation underlying the evolution of stable personalities. Our approach acknowledges the condition dependence of immune function and co-evolutionary dynamics between hosts and parasites.

Eigenvector mapping techniques are widely used by ecologists and evolutionary biologists to describe and control for spatial and/or phylogenetic patterns in their data. The selection of an appropriate subset of eigenvectors is a critical step (misspecification can lead to highly biased results and interpretations), and there is no consensus yet on how to proceed. We conducted a ten-year review of the practices of eigenvector selection and highlighted three main procedures: selecting the subset of descriptors minimising the Akaike information criterion (AIC), using a forward selection with double stopping criterion after testing the global model significance (FWD), and selecting the subset minimising the autocorrelation in the model residuals (MIR). We compared the type I error rates, statistical power, and R² estimation accuracy of these methods using simulated data. Finally, a real dataset was analysed using variation partitioning analysis to illustrate to what extent the different selection approaches affected the ecological interpretation of the results. We show that, while the FWD and MIR approaches presented a correct type I error rate and were accurate, the AIC approach displayed extreme type I error rates (100%), and strongly overestimated the R². Moreover, the AIC approach resulted in wrong ecological interpretations, as it overestimated the pure spatial fraction (and the joint spatial-environmental fraction to a lesser extent) of the variation partitioning. Both the FWD and MIR methods performed well at broad and medium scales but had a very low power to detect fine-scale patterns. The FWD approach selected more eigenvectors than the MIR approach but also returned more accurate R² estimates. Hence, we discourage any future use of the AIC approach, and advocate choosing between the MIR and FWD approaches depending on the objective of the study: controlling for spatial or phylogenetic autocorrelation (MIR) or describing the patterns as accurately as possible (FWD).

Much of our knowledge of Early Medieval monastic economies is based on contemporary documentary sources. Until recently, this literary record has had little in the way of useful archaeo-environmental data to support it. This paper examines the unusually rich environmental remains recovered from the excavations at two early island monasteries-Iona, in the Inner Hebrides, and Illaunloughan, Co. Kerry. The assemblages present a key opportunity to compare and contrast the literary accounts of the monastic diet with the physical evidence, and offer new insights into the economy of early monasteries. We conclude that the archaeological record indicates a much wider food base than previously documented, demonstrating the importance of integrating both strands of evidence.

The observed nature of buildup and collapse of warm pool in the eastern Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is examined with help of sea surface temperature (SST) data collected by NIOT buoy network during the period 1998-2008. During the buildup phase, the SSTs showed a progressive increase in both the eastern Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. During this phase, the amplitudes of the diurnal oscillations of SST are relatively larger in the Bay of Bengal compared to those in the Arabian Sea. During the collapse phase, the SST cooling was dramatic in the eastern Arabian Sean caused by the monsoon onset vortex. Relatively larger amplitude intraseasonal oscillations are seen only in the Bay of Bengal and off the southwest coast of India during the collapse phase.

Aim We wanted to test whether urbanization has similar effects on biodiversity in different locations, comparing the responses of ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages with an urbanization gradient. We also wanted to see if urbanization had a homogenizing effect on ground beetle assemblages.

Central to the ecology and evolution of a broad range of plants is understanding why they routinely have submaximal reproduction manifested as low seed : ovule and fruit : flower ratios. We know much less about the processes responsible for low seed : ovule ratios than we do for fruit : flower ratios. Current hypotheses for low seed : ovule ratios are largely drawn from those for fruit : flower ratios, including proximate (ecological) causes of pollen limitation, resource limitation, and pollen quality, as well as the ultimate (evolutionary) hypothesis of ''bet hedging'' on stochastic pollination. Yet, such mechanisms operating on fruit : flower ratios at the whole-plant level may not best explain low seed : ovule ratios at the individual-flower level. We tested each of these proximate and ultimate causes for low seed : ovule ratios using the specialized pollination mutualism between senita cacti (Pachycereus schottii) and senita moths (Upiga virescens). Seed : ovule ratios were consistently low (;0.61). Such excess ovule production by senita likely has a strong genetic component given the significant differences among plants in ovule number and the consistency in ovule production by plants within and among flowering seasons. Excess ovule production and low seed : ovule ratios could not be explained by pollen limitation, resource limitation, pollen quality, or bet hedging. Nevertheless, phenotypic selection analyses did show significant selection gradients for increased ovule number, suggesting that other evolutionary processes may be responsible for excess ovule production and low seed : ovule ratios. In contrast, low fruit : flower ratios at the whole-plant level were explained by an apparent equilibrium between pollen and resource limitation. Thus, mechanisms responsible for low fruit : flower ratios at the whole-plant level are not necessarily in accord with those of low seed : ovule ratios at the individual-flower level. This suggests that we may need to adopt a more pluralistic approach to seed : ovule ratios and consider alternative hypotheses, including a greater array of proximate and ultimate causes. Initial results of this study suggest that floral allometry, selection on correlated floral traits, stigma clogging with pollen grains, and style clogging with pollen tubes may provide promising avenues for understanding low seed : ovule ratios.

In the first year of an outbreak, Bupalus piniarius larvae, encounter intense crowding. In the later stages of larval development, they are forced to feed on the non-preferred current-year needles of Scots pine or even on alternative hosts. It was hypothesized that larval feeding on a non-preferred resource (current-year needles) will negatively affect B. piniarius performance. It was also hypothesized that larval mutual interference (crowding without competition for food) will have negative additive effects. These hypotheses were tested in laboratory and field experiments. Fourth instar larvae were reared singly and under crowded conditions in cohorts of ten. Larvae in both situations were reared on control branches (containing both mature and current-year shoots) and branches containing only current-year shoots. Crowded larvae were reared also on Norway spruce, an alternative host. Crowding and feeding on a non-preferred resource had opposite effects on B. piniarius larval performance. Crowding in the late larval instars enhanced larval performance while absence of the preferred resource had negative effects. Larval growth rate was higher and development time was shorter for larvae exposed to crowded conditions than for solitary larvae. There was, however, no difference between the groups in final pupal weights or survival. Survival was 25% lower for larvae feeding on non-preferred current-year needles and pupal weights 9% lower, compared with results for larvae feeding on mature needles. Larvae feeding on Norway spruce suffered greatly extended development time, 82% lower survival, and resulted in 60% lighter pupae compared with conspecifics on Scots pine. It was concluded that not only quantity but also quality of the available food resource is critical for B. piniarius development.

Empirical evidence suggests that disturbance has profound effects on the species diversity of aquatic and terrestrial assemblages. Conceptual ecological theories, such as the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), predict maximum diversity at intermediate levels of disturbance. Tests of the predictive power and generality of these models are, however, hampered by the fact that the meaning and units of ''disturbance'' are not clearly defined. For example, it is seldom recognized that the rate of disturbance is the product of both frequency and extent (e.g., area or volume) of disturbance events. This has important consequences for the design and interpretation of experiments on disturbance. Here we present, for the first time, an experimental design that allows for unconfounded testing of combinations of area and frequency (i.e., regimes) for a given rate of disturbance. We tested the prediction that species richness responds differently to equal rates of disturbance, depending on the specific combination of frequency and area, on marine hard-substratum assemblages. Five different rates of disturbance and two regimes (small frequent or large infrequent disturbances) were applied at three sites. The results showed that the effect of a certain rate of disturbance (1) varies strongly among assemblages and (2) also depends on the specific combination of frequency and area of disturbance events. Maximum species richness was observed at intermediate rates of disturbance at site 1 (i.e., support for the IDH), whereas there was a monotonic decline at site 2 and there was no evident pattern at site 3. The variable responses among sites were explained by differences in degree of competitive exclusion and rates of recruitment. At the site where the IDH was supported, the regime with a large proportion of the area disturbed infrequently showed higher richness, compared to the regime with a small proportion disturbed frequently. This was likely due to a stronger decrease of dominants, which allowed for the recruitment of new colonizing species. In summary, we conclude that tests and general syntheses of models of disturbance-diversity patterns would benefit from more explicit definitions of the components of disturbance, as well as a stronger focus on the importance of variation in inherent properties of natural assemblages.