Folk Zoological Life-Forms: Their Universality and Growth

Folk zoological life-form terms, like folk botanical life-form terms (Brown 1977a), are added to languages in a highly regular manner. Life-forms of the triad FISH, BIRD, and SNAKE are lexically encoded first, although in no particular order, followed by WUG (e.g., American English hug) and then MAMMAL. Four general principles of naming-behavior underlie these regularities: (1) criteria clustering; (2) conjunctivity (including binary opposition); (3) dimension salience; and (4) marking. In addition, size of folk zoological life-form vocabularies is positively correlated with societal complexity. This is caused by the decay of folk biological taxonomies as societies become more complex. [cognitive anthropology, ethnobiology, folk classification, language universals, language change]     

Local grasses for the control of the invasive vine Mikania micrantha

乡土草本植物对入侵植物薇甘菊的防控 薇甘菊(Mikania micrantha)是在太平洋岛屿和亚洲热带亚热带发现的一种入侵植物。目前防 治薇甘菊的方法并不完善,因此亟需寻找对环境友好的、更有效的防治方法。因此,我们探究了4种草本植物对薇甘菊入侵的防御能力,以期为薇甘菊的生态可持续防治提供科学依据。 本研究选取了4种来自中国本土的多年生禾本科草本植物：藤竹草(Panicum incomtum)、象草(Pennisetum purpureum)、斑茅(Saccharum arundinaceum)和蔓生莠竹(Microstegium vagans)来构建草丛。将薇甘菊种子播种在上述草丛中,同时还将薇甘菊幼苗移栽到上述草丛中,观察草丛是否能阻止薇甘菊幼苗的生长。此外,我们还将薇甘菊移植到现有的草丛中,观察草丛是否能够阻止薇甘菊的再次入侵。最后还在野外将薇甘菊分别与藤竹草和象草一同种植,探究这两种禾本科植物是否能在竞争中胜出。研究结果表明,薇甘菊种子在上述草丛中萌发困难,所有薇甘菊幼苗在3个月内死亡,说明薇甘菊很难在现有的草丛中生存。野外实验表明,薇甘菊盖度在第一年显著低于这些草本植物,两年后全部被这些草本植物取代。据我们所知,本研究首次揭示了高大草本植物,特别是藤竹草和象草,具有作为薇甘菊生物防治的潜力。     

Cross-Cultural Ethnobiology in the Western Balkans: Medical Ethnobotany and Ethnozoology Among Albanians and Serbs in the Pešter Plateau,Sandžak,South-Western Serbia

An ethnobiological study concerning the medical ethnobotany and ethnozoology of two neighbouring communities of Serbians and Albanians living in the Pešter plateau (south-western Serbia) was conducted, the latter representing a diasporic community that immigrated to the area approximately three centuries ago. Sixty-two botanical taxa used in 129 plant-based remedies and 204 folk plant uses were recorded. In addition, 31 animal-derived remedies and 27 mineral or non-indigenous products were also documented. Approximately half of the recorded phytotherepeutical uses have been recorded for the first time in the ethnobotany of the Western Balkans and more than one-third of these uses have no correlation with Western evidence-based phytotherapy. Moreover, while both communities use approximately the same number of medicinal plants, two-thirds of the botanical taxa, but only one-third of plant folk medical uses are found in common among the two communities. These findings demonstrate that the two communities, although having lived in close proximity to each other during the past three centuries and in a relatively low biodiverse environment, have maintained or developed unique phytotherapeutical trajectories. The differences between the two folk medical biologies of these communities are reflective of the specific history of the Albanian diaspora, and of the complex processes of its cultural adaptation over the last three centuries.     

Letting the Air Out: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aire</Emphasis> as an Empty Signifier in Oaxacan Understandings of Illness

“Air (aire, also aigre) in the body” is a frequent explanation of illness according to the traditional medical beliefs in Mexico. Anthropologists have generally scrutinized aire in the context of other common folk illnesses treated by traditional healers (curanderas). However, drawing on my research in the communities of Northern Oaxaca I suggest that aire occupies a more distinct position in the folk medical cosmology than it has usually been credited with. This distinction rests on the notion’s exceptional ambivalence and openness to multiple interpretations. “Air” is recurred to as the cause of illness mainly in situations where every other explanation, either “traditional” or “biomedical,” seems to be inadequate. The physical properties of air—its transparency, invisibility, apparent immateriality, near omnipresence, and virtual “nothingness”—render it a suitable explanation of the last resort. Local understandings of what aire “is” are often vague and elusive, and in many respects the term functions in folk medical discourse as an “empty signifier.”     

The Neurosecretory Neuron in Neuroendocrine Regulatory Mechanisms

The widespread occurrence of neurosecretory neurons in the animalkingdom suggests a functional significance that is basic andspecial. The explanation of the need for this unusual cell typelies in the fact that it forms a link between the nervous andthe endocrine systems whose functional interdependence formsthe basis for the effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms inthe animal world. These two integrative systems function indifferent ways. The neurosecretory cell, with its dual characteristics,and this cell alone, seems capable of receiving messages in"neural" language, and of transmitting this information in modified"endocrine" language to glandular cells. The neurosecretoryneuron occupies a central position in neuroendocrine interactions,not only because it is geared for communication with the endocrineapparatus, but because it serves as a singular channel ("finalcommon path," E. Scharrer, 1965) through which a multitude ofafferent stimuli, after being processed, are channeled to avariety of endocrine way stations and thus exert control overtheir effector organs.     

On the adhesion of vesicles by cell adhesion molecules.

This paper gives a detailed analysis of experiments on the kinetics of aggregation of lipid vesicles containing neural cell adhesion molecules (N-CAM). An explanation for the dependence of the "initial aggregation rate," kagg, on the square of the vesicle concentration is given, accounting both for Brownian motion of the vesicles and shear effects. A model in which trimers of N-CAM are one-half of the molecular unit bridging two vesicles explains the observed dependence of kagg on up to the sixth power of the lateral N-CAM concentration and corroborates electron micrographic evidence for N-CAM "triskelions."     

On phylogenetic inertia: a case of Lixinae weevils

Summary. Among host plants of Lixinae weevils, plant life-form ratio (sensu Raunkiaer) is similar to the plant spectrum of Mediterranean deserts. A possible explanation is that this group of insects formed in desert zones and settled in the steppe rather later. For the first time Raunkiaer’s life-form ratio is compared with a spectrum of food plants of herbivores. This approach may be useful for reconstruction of the genesis of taxa and communities.     

Effects of grass field margin management on food availability for Black-tailed Godwit chicks

Over the last six decades, populations of wader species like the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) have sharply decreased in the Netherlands. Agricultural intensification has led to reduced habitat quality for meadow birds. As a consequence, reproductive success has declined. One of the main drivers of this decline in reproductive success is reduced food availability for meadow bird chicks. Agri-environment schemes (AES), designed to halt this decline, have so far been insufficient. Most of these AES focus on entire fields, but recent research suggests that differences in suitability exist within fields. Grass field margins may be more suitable for meadow bird chicks than the center of intensively managed grass lands. To improve existing meadow bird AES it could be beneficial to implement additional management in field margins of intensively managed grass fields. An already existing type of field margin AES with additional management is the botanical field margin. Here, we evaluate four different types of field margin management, including botanical field margins, focusing on aerial insects (an important part of the diet of Black-tailed Godwit chicks and Redshank chicks) in field centers and margins. Grass field margins contained more large aerial insects than field centers and, more importantly, additional management of the grass field margin increased the number of aerial insects in the margin. We conclude that combining meadow bird AES and botanical field margin management may enhance meadow bird food availability and improve the efficacy of AES.     

Structure and dynamics of southern Chilean natural forests with special reference to the relation of evergreen versus deciduous elements

This contribution aims to improve our knowledge of the structural peculiarities of natural forest communities in southern Chile, paying special attention to leaf lifespan and morphology. Species are classified into 17 life-form categories. Using information contained in Braun-Blanquet relevés, the relative frequency of the life-form categories, based on quantitative importance such as cover degree (not mere species numbers), is calculated for 26 natural forests. Communities are categorized as belonging to six different types: (A) evergreen forests; (B) forests with mixed laurophyll-deciduous canopy; (C) forests with mixed canopy of sclerophyllous or small / needle-leaved evergreens and deciduous species (specifically C.1 with dwarf-shrub or grass field layer, and C.2 with laurophyll and mesophyll shrubs and a relatively sparse field layer); and (D) deciduous forests (specifically D.1 with laurophyll undergrowth, and D.2 with a herbaceous ground cover). In the gradient from warm and dry to cool and wet, the characteristic composition of the structural elements reflects climatic site properties, revealed by the distribution of the vegetation units. This gradient represents a gradual retreat of evergreen elements from top (upper tree layer) to bottom (undergrowth), which always follows the order from laurophyllous to sclerophyllous elements, and from small or needle-leaved to deciduous elements. Finally, this retreat terminates in the rare structural type characterized by purely herbaceous ground cover beneath a deciduous canopy. Shifts between structural types do not necessarily involve variation in species composition. These units, reacting rapidly even to slight changes in site conditions, seem to be especially well-suited to monitor changing climatic effects. Human impact on forests, resulting in community shifts towards vegetation of warmer and drier habitats, causes structural changes, as does natural disturbance.     

Ndumba Folk Biology and General Principles of Ethnobotanical Classification and Nomenclature

Brent Berlin's proposed "general principles of classification and nomenclature" are examined as they apply to folk biology in Ndumba, a Papua New Guinea highlands society. Focusing on Ndumba folk zoology, supplemented with a previous analysis of their folk botany, Berlin's analytical schema for ethnobiological classification is supported, but principles of nomenclature in ethnobiology appear to be in need of reconsideration. [ethnosemantics, folk biology, language universals, Papua New Guinea]     

"You Are a Number, Not a Human Being": Israeli Breast Cancer Patients'' Experiences with the Medical Establishment

In the course of interviews with Israeli women who had recently been treated for breast cancer, we found that our informants tended to offer us "treatment narratives" rather than, or sometimes in addition to, the "illness narratives" made famous by Arthur Kleinman. For the women we interviewed, treatment narratives constitute verbal platforms on which to explore what it means to be human during a period in which one's body, spirit, and social identity are undergoing intense transformations. A central theme in these narratives is the Hebrew word yachas, loosely translated as "attitude," "attention," or "relationship." The women consistently contrasted the good yachas of medical staff who treated them "like humans" or like "real friends" with the bad yachas of staff who treated them like numbers, machines, or strangers. We argue that the women used language (in various contexts) as a means of resisting the medical culture's pattern of treating patients as "nonhumans."     

湖南云山野生木质藤本植物资源及多样性研究

为深入研究湘西南野生藤本植物资源现状及其多样性特征,对湖南云山野生木质藤本植物资源生态特征进行了系统研究。结果表明:(1)湖南云山共有野生木质藤本植物39科101属308种,分别占该区种子植物科、属和种的19.21%、9.32%和20.29%,其中裸子植物1科1属1种,被子植物38科100属307种,蕨类植物缺乏。(2)在生活型上,该区以高位芽藤本植物为主导,占总种数的93.51%,地下芽、地面芽和地上芽藤本植物较少,分别占总种数的4.87%、0.97%和0.65%。(3)在攀援方式上,缠绕藤本具有优势,占总种数的42.86%,搭靠类、卷曲类和吸固类较少,分别占总种数的34.01%、13.62%和9.42%。(4)该区地理成分复杂多样,属级和种级地理成分各有11个分布型,均以热带成分为主,温带成分占有较大比例,说明该区热带成分向温带渗透和过渡的性质。研究认为,湖南云山野生木质藤本植物的生态功能效应明显,用途广泛,具有重要的药用、经济和社会价值,综合效益明显,开发利用潜力巨大。     

Differential use of large summer rainfall events by shrubs and grasses: a manipulative experiment in the Patagonian steppe

In the Patagonian steppe, years with above-average precipitation (wet years) are characterized by the occurrence of large rainfall events. The objective of this paper was to analyze the ability of shrubs and grasses to use these large events. Shrubs absorb water from the lower layers, grasses from the upper layers, intercepting water that would otherwise reach the layers exploited by shrubs. We hypothesized that both life-forms could use the large rainfalls and that the response of shrubs could be more affected by the presence of grasses than vice versa. We performed a field experiment using a factorial combination of water addition and life-form removal, and repeated it during the warm season of three successive years. The response variables were leaf growth, and soil and plant water potential. Grasses always responded to experimental large rainfall events, and their response was greater in dry than in wet years. Shrubs only used large rainfalls in the driest year, when the soil water potential in the deep layers was low. The presence or absence of one life-form did not modify the response of the other. The magnitude of the increase in soil water potential was much higher in dry than in humid years, suggesting an explanation for the differences among years in the magnitude of the response of shrubs and grasses. We propose that the generally reported poor response of deep-rooted shrubs to summer rainfalls could be because (1) the water is insufficient to reach deep soil layers, (2) the plants are in a dormant phenological status, and/or (3) deep soil layers have a high water potential. The two last situations may result in high deep-drainage losses, one of the most likely explanations for the elsewhere-reported low response of aboveground net primary production to precipitation during wet years. Received: 23 January 1997 / Accepted: 19 November 1997     

Differences in distribution patterns around river confluences among hydrophilic vegetation groups

In riparian areas, the distribution patterns of plant species are generally considered to depend on their flooding tolerance. Areas around river confluences are known to experience frequent and/or strong flooding events and provide diverse habitats for plants in riparian areas. However, the degree to which hydrophilic vegetation types increase their distribution around confluences may depend on their flooding tolerance. To test this hypothesis, we compared patch numbers and total areas of ten vegetation groups between confluences and single-flow areas. The vegetation groups were classified on the basis of life form and morphology of dominant species. Additionally, we compared total area of natural bare ground (an index of flooding disturbance) between confluences and single-flow areas. We found that patch numbers of annual grass, forb, and vine, perennial grass and forb, and riparian forest vegetation, as well as total areas of annual forb and vine, perennial grass and forb, bamboo and riparian forest vegetation, and natural bare ground, were greater around river confluences than in single-flow areas. On the other hand, patch numbers of shrub vegetation and total areas of annual grass, perennial vine, willow, and shrub vegetation decreased around confluences. These results suggest that confluences enhance diverse, but not all, types of habitat for hydrophilic vegetation. Thus, river confluences are a key element in maintaining diverse riparian vegetation.     

The remedies of the folk medicine of the Croatians living in Cićarija, northern Istria

An ethnobotanical field study was conducted among the Croatians living in Ci?arija in northern Istria and a very restricted folk pharmacopoeia (of approximately only 30 remedies) was recorded. This finding suggests that a remarkable process of erosion of Traditional Knowledge (TK) may have taken place. The collected data were compared with the ethnobotanical findings of a field study previously conducted among the Istro-Romanians living in the nearby village of Zejane, who probably migrated there around the 14th Century. It was found that more than half of the botanical taxa were being used medicinally across the two communities, and that approximately one third of the actual medicinal plant uses were recorded in both communities. Correspondence analysis carried out comparing the same data with those of the ethnobotanical literature of Istria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia in North-Eastern Italy showed that the folk phytotherapy of the diverse ethnic populations living in multi-cultural Istria appears to be very similar.     

铜壁关自然保护区藤本植物多样性研究

为了解铜壁关自然保护区藤本植物现状,经实地考察对其组成和多样性进行了研究。结果表明:本区有藤本植物676种,隶属于65科209属,双子叶藤本植物具有明显优势,计56科192属597种。生活型组成以高位芽藤本种类为主,占藤本植物种数的81.51%。攀援方式中缠绕藤本具有明显优势,占藤本植物种数的53.99%,并提出了斜倚类藤本植物的概念。极高的降雨量、悬殊的海拔、多样的生境类型、广泛发育的各类原始阔叶林,是本区藤本植物极为丰富的根本原因。     

Celebrating Multi-Religious Co-Existence in Central Kurdistan: the Bio-Culturally Diverse Traditional Gathering of Wild Vegetables among Yazidis,Assyrians, and Muslim Kurds

An ethnobotanical field study focusing on traditional wild vegetables was conducted in 22 villages of Central Kurdistan among three ethno-religious groups: Yazidis, Christian Assyrians, and (Sunni) Muslim Kurds. Through 91 interviews with elderly informants, we recorded the folk uses of 54 identified botanical taxa. We also observed important differences among these three groups in the use of wild vegetables that reflect the historical prevalence of pastoralism versus horticulture among Kurds and Assyrians, respectively. The preservation of the peaceful co-existence of different cultural and religious groups in the study area is crucial for the maintenance of the rich wild plant food local heritage.