Natural habitats of typical plants growing on ruins of Roman archaeological sites (Rome,Italy)

In this study, we support the hypothesis that wall plant species come mainly from rocky habitats, taking into account that ancient walls show similar characteristics to rocks. The occurrence of wall species in natural habitats was investigated. The main literature concerning wall and natural vegetation of central-southern Italy was viewed. Vegetation synoptic tables were analysed through statistical procedures for comparing occurrence and behaviour of wall species in ruderal habitats as archaeological sites and natural ones.The study pointed out that wall species show similar ecological and coenological features in both habitats. This confirms that the main natural habitat from which wall species come from are rocks, but secondarily also ephemeral Mediterranean meadows and garrigues. Particularly, some wall species belonging to Parietarietea judaicae class are participating in the formation of natural rocky communities of Asplenietea trichomanis. Species occurring on emerging ruins form ephemeral meadows belonging to Helianthemetea guttati, also found in natural Mediterranean environment. On wide tops of ruins, where community dynamism is higher, some perennial herbaceous and shrubby species participate in the formation of impoverished communities matching to natural aspects of Mediterranean maquis. The knowledge of the natural habitat of wall species can be useful for a better management of archaeological sites.     

The final voids: the ambiguity of emptiness in Australian coal mine rehabilitation

In the Australian coal mining region of the Hunter Valley, a political contest is taking shape around the mine final voids, the large holes that are left in the ground after mining has finished. This article describes an effort led by the coal lobby to fill the voids with imaginative and hopeful futures, described as a process of techno-speculative deferral. In contrast, local environmentalists (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) are drawing on dispossession and ongoing extractivism to craft an affective politics of loss around these spaces. The article considers the particular issues around the mine final voids as metonyms of the Anthropocene in order to caution against approaches which celebrate the hopefulness of ruins. Instead, the void's negativity presents an alternative analytical starting point for a politics of the Anthropocene, one which derives from Indigenous dispossession and expands to counter ongoing ruination.     

Environmental alteration and allergophytes

Summary The plant recolonization of wasted biotopes was studied in the Karst region in order to evaluate the incidence of allergophytes. The frequency of allergenic species is higher in habitats with low human disturbance, such as wall, ruins, dumps, roadsides and slopes, colonized by ruderal and semi-ruderal plant associations.     

The image of loss: Jalal Toufic's filmic Beirut

Jalal Toufic's cinematic and literary pieces form a unique corpus within contemporary Arab filmmaking. His esthetic vision—built around a sublime understanding of image as loss—not only connects with the current ruins of the Lebanon he films, but also resonates with the classical tradition of the nasib in Arabic poetry.     

Macroscopic and microscopic studies of the nests and the stages involved in the nesting process of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Centris muralis</Emphasis> Burmeister (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini) bee in the adobe walls,in La Rioja,Argentina

Centris (Wagenknechtia) muralis Burmeister is one of the most common bee species distributed in the xeric region of Argentina. This work describes macro-and micromorphological aspects of the nesting architecture and the stages involved in the process of nesting of C. muralis bee, in the adobe walls of Capayán ruins and recent earthen constructions in Udpinango and Villa Castelli, La Rioja, Argentina. In addition, we discuss the possible factors that may explain the high density of nests observed in the adobe walls of Capayán ruins. These constructions are settled in the northern area of the Monte desert. Our analysis showed that the nest cell walls are strengthened and waterproofed probably by the admixture of organic material to the adobe matrix. Light microscopy of thin sections of the vacated cells showed the inner layers of organic material corresponding to the cocoon, and the outer layer of 0.7 mm thick corresponding to the cell walls consisting mainly of silt and clay, fine sand grains in low rate and absence of grains of sand medium and large. The cell wall was not different in its granulometry from that in the adobe brick, thus suggesting that the cell wall was constructed probably by cementing the particles with bee secretion. The scanning micrographs showed that the cell walls and non-nesting zones exhibited abundant clay crystals in the grain distribution. Pollen from Larrea sp. was observed in high proportions in the nest contents of C. muralis in the Capayán adobe walls.     

北京密云县溪翁庄更新世哺乳动物化石

从密云县溪翁庄化石地点先后获得11种哺乳动物化石,其地质时代属中更新世或晚更新世早期。动物化石的性质和化石地点地形表明,这一带自然环境对人类活动是适宜的,为探索北京猿人的生活范围扩大了地域。     

葡萄斑叶蝉的生物学特性及防治

葡萄斑叶蝉在豫西各地每年发生3代,以成虫在落叶下、杂草丛等越冬。发生盛期在7月下旬及8月上旬。可采用以下方法防治：秋末清扫落叶并销毁;成虫产卵盛期人工摘虫叶;喷洒20％杀灭菊酯3000倍稀释液或50％辛硫磷2000倍稀释液,杀虫效果可达90％。     

Characterization of aerobic bacterial and fungal microbiota on surfaces of historic Scottish monuments

Twenty samples were taken from the inner or outer surfaces of stone monuments of six historic Scottish buildings and ruins. Biofilms developing on mineral substrates were analysed by in situ scanning electron microscopy and cultivation. Various methods were used to characterize the isolates including automated ribotyping, RAPD and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria, and stereomicroscopy and sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) for fungi. Most samples contained microbes between 10(5) and 10(7)cfug(-1) substrate. Actinobacteria belonging to the genus Streptomyces (17 samples/5 monuments) or Arthrobacter (12/3) and Pseudomonas (9/3) were frequently detected. Most streptomycetes were in terms of their 16S rRNA gene sequence most closely related to S. microflavus (10/3) or to the undescribed species S. "vulgaris" (8/3). Indoor and outdoor biofilms exhibited significant differences in their microbiota, as shown by both microscopy and isolation studies. Pigmented coccoid Arthrobacter species were typical for the outdoor samples, whereas Pseudomonas species were common in the indoor samples. Based on the low phylogenetic relationship to a known species (type strain), potential novel pigmented bacterial species belonging to the genera Arthrobacter, Brevundimonas, Cryseobacterium, Deinococcus and Dyadobacter were detected from the outdoor samples and to Pseudomonas from the indoor samples. Hyaline fungal species of Acremonium (10/4) mainly occurred in indoor samples, whereas pigmented species of Cladosporium (8/3), Penicillium (6/3) and Phialophora (6/2) were found outdoors. Using in situ microscopy diatom algae were also detected.     

Caloplaca erodens [sect. Pyrenodesmia], a new lichen species from Italy with an unusual thallus type

Caloplaca erodens is a new species of sect. Pyrenodesmia, characterised by an orbicular, sorediate, bluish-grey thallus which is endolithic but emerges at the periphery with a white, K−, obscurely lobate prothallus. The species is frequent on calcareous outcrops and walls of isolated churches and ruins of the Central Apennines (Sibillini, Gran Sasso), where it may occur in large monospecific populations, from 1000 to 2500 m asl., and is also known from dry sites of the southern Alps. It has been found with apothecia only in the type locality, being predominantly sterile. The reproduction of this lichen is evidently linked to the release of fragments of clusters of photobiont cells and mycobiont hyphae which are continuously exposed with the dissolution of the substratum. Readily distinguished from the apparently similar endolithic C. alociza (which is characterised by numerous apothecia, black, K+ purple prothallus, and esorediate thallus), C. erodens probably belongs to the C. circumalbata complex, whose taxa are always epilithic but have a white, K− prothallus. The phylogenetic position of the new species within sect. Pyrenodesmia as inferred by ITS sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA is shortly discussed.     

Functional fragments of a relictual gametophytic self-incompatibility system are associated with the loci determining flower type of the heterostylous outcrosser Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. and the homostylous selfer F. homotropicum ohnishi

Functional fragments of presumably a relictual gametophytic self-incompatibility system (GSI) linked with the loci determining flower type were discovered by genetic analysis of an unilateral pre-zygotic barrier between the short-styled (thrum) morph of a heterostylous cross-pollinated species, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench., and a self-pollinator with homostylous flowers, F. homotropicum Ohnishi (asseccion C9139). The relic genes of GSI were revealed only in interspecific crosses. However, this is a direct experimental confirmation of a hypothesis proposed by Lewis (1954) which combined the heterostyly supergene components (G, P and A) with "pistil" and "pollen" parts of the S-locus of homomorphic self-incompatibility systems (I1 and I2). Also, this result provides strong evidence for the evolution of heterostyly upon the ruins of a gametophytic self-incompatibility system.     

Frequency of Buddleja davidii Franch. (Buddlejaceae) in Germany along ecological gradients

In Central Europe as in most other temperate regions of the world, Buddleja davidii has become a very successful invader. A thorough observation, documentation and analysis of the spread of invasive species is the precondition for the understanding of invasion processes. Therefore, I documented the occurrence of the species along a west–east transect as well as an altitudinal transect, and I tried to reconstruct the spread of the species in the course of the last decades along railroad areas, which have proved to be the most favorized habitats for colonization of Buddleja. Additionally, a literature review is given on its general spread and distribution in Germany. Based on the investigation of 52 stations, the results show that the species, in Germany, has its optimum in the Rhein-Ruhr- and the Rhein-Main-area, that its abundance significantly decreases from west to east and with increasing altitude. A literature review combined with own investigations shows, that it was very successful in Germany on ruins of World War II but decreased and sometimes totally disappeared in cities of East Germany and of the altitudinal higher regions of Germany, i.e. also in many towns of South Germany. In West Germany, the recent spread started about three decades ago and is still in process. As cold winters seem to be the limiting factor for the spread of Buddleja, even an accelerated spread of this species and perhaps a loss of its ruderal character can be expected, considering the progress of climate change.     

The blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Bioko (Republic of Equatorial Guinea) and the Gulf of Guinea with a description of the larvae of the 'Pomeroy' form of Simulium cervicornutum

Abstract.  Like many other organisms, Simuliidae often show a high degree of endemism on oceanic islands, and the Gulf of Guinea, including its islands, is a region of general biogeographical interest in view of the uniqueness of its flora and fauna. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the Simuliidae in the region, and is the first faunistic record of blackflies from Bioko. Simuliidae (larvae, pupae and neonate adults) were collected from Bioko and from around Mount Cameroon and compared with previous findings from Mount Cameroon, Príncipe and São Tomé. Twenty-seven species are known from the region. Twenty-five species have been recorded around Mount Cameroon, eight species on Bioko, three species on São Tomé and one species on Príncipe. Two taxonomic 'forms' (one on Bioko alone, and one on both Bioko and around Mount Cameroon) and one species (found only on São Tomé) are endemic to the region. A study of the variation in the morphology of Simulium cervicornutum revealed two morphotypes, one from Bioko and around Mount Cameroon and the other from the rest of Africa. The speciation and biogeography of the Simuliidae in the Gulf of Guinea are discussed.     

A comparison of the urban flora of different phytoclimatic regions in Italy

This study is a comparison of the spontaneous vascular flora of five Italian cities: Milan, Ancona, Rome, Cagliari and Palermo. The aims of the study are to test the hypothesis that urbanization results in uniformity of urban floras, and to evaluate the role of alien species in the flora of settlements located in different phytoclimatic regions. To obtain comparable data, ten plots of 1 ha, each representing typical urban habitats, were analysed in each city. The results indicate a low floristic similarity between the cities, while the strongest similarity appears within each city and between each city and the seminatural vegetation of the surrounding region. In the Mediterranean settlements, even the most urbanized plots reflect the characters of the surrounding landscape and are rich in native species, while aliens are relatively few. These results differ from the reported uniformity and the high proportion of aliens which generally characterize urban floras elsewhere. To explain this trend the importance of apophytes (indigenous plants expanding into man-made habitats) is highlighted; several Mediterranean species adapted to disturbance (i.e. grazing, trampling, and human activities) are pre-adapted to the urban environment. In addition, consideration is given to the minor role played by the 'urban heat island' in the Mediterranean basin, and to the structure and history of several Italian settlements, where ancient walls, ruins and archaeological sites in the periphery as well as in the historical centres act as conservative habitats and provide connection with seed-sources on the outskirts.     

洞庭湖区外来入侵植物调查分析及防治对策

[目的] 了解洞庭湖区入侵植物分布规律及其危害,对洞庭湖区入侵植物区系、种类组成、类型、生活型和原产地进行较为深入的研究。[方法] 通过实地调查、采集标本、查阅资料进行统计分析。[结果] 洞庭湖区外来入侵植物共有86种,隶属于24科64属,原产于美洲的有51种,占总数的58.6%,双子叶植物有21科53属73种,单子叶植物仅有5科12属13种,草本植物共84种,占97.6%,洞庭湖区入侵植物科的区系类型主要为世界广布;入侵植物属的区系类型以泛热带分布和世界广布为主。[结论] 洞庭湖区入侵植物种类较多、适应性强、繁殖速度快、繁殖能力强、传播途径多样、区系成分复杂且危害严重,应根据入侵现状对洞庭湖区外来入侵植物采取相应的的防治措施。     

The influence of past land-use on understory plant distributions in a near-natural deciduous forest in Denmark

In regions with a long cultural history, past land-use may strongly determine floristic composition in seemingly natural vegetation. Here we examine if past land-use affects understory plant distribution in near-natural forest in a historically and environmentally heterogeneous setting, namely the 17 ha freshwater island of Borgnr (Denmark). In 107 randomly located 100 m² plots we recorded species composition and various environmental variables. The plots were classified into three groups according to past land-use: (1) Disturbed sites close to 12^th and 20^th century ruins and associated open areas; (2) formerly grazed meadow areas; and (3) forested sites without indications of strong anthropogenic influence. Past land-use, environmental variables and species traits were used to interpret floristic gradients. Unconstrained and constrained ordinations clearly separated plots with different past land-use, and showed that the main floristic gradients on Borgø correlated with hydrological-edaphic conditions and past land-use. Partial constrained ordination using the environmental parameters as covariables showed that past land-use had a unique influence on floristic composition.     

External stimuli mediate collective rhythms: artificial control strategies

The artificial intervention of biological rhythms remains an exciting challenge. Here, we proposed artificial control strategies that were developed to mediate the collective rhythms emerging in multicellular structures. Based on noisy repressilators and by injecting a periodic control amount to the extracellular medium, we introduced two typical kinds of control models. In one, there are information exchanges among cells, where signaling molecules receive the injected stimulus that freely diffuses toward/from the intercellular medium. In the other, there is no information exchange among cells, but signaling molecules also receive the stimulus that directionally diffuses into each cell from the common environment. We uncovered physical mechanisms for how the stimulus induces, enhances or ruins collective rhythms. We found that only when the extrinsic period is close to an integer multiplicity of the averaged intrinsic period can the collective behaviors be induced/enhanced; otherwise, the stimulus possibly ruins the achieved collective behaviors. Such entrainment properties of these oscillators to external signals would be exploited by realistic living cells to sense external signals. Our results not only provide a new perspective to the understanding of the interplays between extrinsic stimuli and intrinsic physiological rhythms, but also would lead to the development of medical therapies or devices.     

Forgetfulness without memory: reconstruction,landscape, and the politics of the everyday in post-earthquake Gujarat,India

For many good reasons, after natural disasters it is common to work with ‘memory’ as part of a collective catharsis and a globalized humanitarian logic. Long-term anthropological research on the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, however, also demonstrates the significance of forgetting in local practice. Immediately after the disaster, people vowed to abandon the sites of their loss, leave the ruins as monuments, and rebuild anew on safer ground. In time, though, life returned to the ruins as the terrible proximity of death receded, as memories and new salience were shaped by acts of reconstruction. The article explores some of the political and social factors that make this form of forgetting possible – or even necessary. Evidence of earlier earthquakes in the same region indicates that such ‘forgetting’ has an established history. Together, ethnographic and archival materials combine to cast doubt over the emphasis on ‘remembering’ as the only ‘memory solution’ to suffering.     

深圳福田鱼塘改造区鸟类监测及评价

深圳福田沙嘴鱼塘定向改造是深圳河治理工程环境补偿项目的一部分。经2000年11月至2002年10月2年的监测,共记录鸟类69种,其中福田新记录5种,福田鸟类的种类记录由189种增加到194种。沙嘴鱼塘改造区的鸟类与该区改造前及下沙对照区相比,鸟类的平均密度、丰度、群落多样性指数等明显提高,说明鱼塘改造取得了积极效果。建议在福田现有基围鱼塘全面进行定向改造,实行生态管理,提高福田湿地的生态承载力,逐步恢复其原有的生态功能。     

武汉东湖水生植物群落演替的研究

 本文根据1992～1993年调查结果并结合前人研究资料,讨论了东湖水生植物群落30多年来的动态变化及其与富营养化和渔业养殖等因素的关系,提出了东湖水生植物群落的演替系列是从微齿眼子菜阶段→微齿眼子菜+大茨藻+金鱼藻+狐尾藻阶段→微齿眼子菜消失阶段→大茨藻阶段→大茨藻+狐尾藻+苦草阶段。同时,还从物种生理生态、补偿和再生能力、生活史及生殖对策、种间关系等方面探讨了水生植物群落演替的物种替代机制及其演替模式,为湖泊水生植被恢复、人工调控和优化提供理论依据。     

Remnant Trees Affect Species Composition but Not Structure of Tropical Second-Growth Forest

Remnant trees, spared from cutting when tropical forests are cleared for agriculture or grazing, act as nuclei of forest regeneration following field abandonment. Previous studies on remnant trees were primarily conducted in active pasture or old fields abandoned in the previous 2–3 years, and focused on structure and species richness of regenerating forest, but not species composition. Our study is among the first to investigate the effects of remnant trees on neighborhood forest structure, biodiversity, and species composition 20 years post-abandonment. We compared the woody vegetation around individual remnant trees to nearby plots without remnant trees in the same second-growth forests (“control plots”). Forest structure beneath remnant trees did not differ significantly from control plots. Species richness and species diversity were significantly higher around remnant trees. The species composition around remnant trees differed significantly from control plots and more closely resembled the species composition of nearby old-growth forest. The proportion of old-growth specialists and generalists around remnant trees was significantly greater than in control plots. Although previous studies show that remnant trees may initially accelerate secondary forest growth, we found no evidence that they locally affect stem density, basal area, and seedling density at later stages of regrowth. Remnant trees do, however, have a clear effect on the species diversity, composition, and ecological groups of the surrounding woody vegetation, even after 20 years of forest regeneration. To accelerate the return of diversity and old-growth forest species into regrowing forest on abandoned land, landowners should be encouraged to retain remnant trees in agricultural or pastoral fields.