Phenotypic and genetic differentiation between diadromous and landlocked puyen Galaxias maculatus

This study reports the phenotypic and genetic differences between individuals of puyen Galaxias maculatus from two sites in the same river basin in Tierra del Fuego National Park, southern South America. Individuals from the two sampling sites presented morphometric and genetic differences. The morphometric differences indicated that individuals from Laguna Negra (LN) were short and more robust and had large eyes, whereas those from Arroyo Negro (AN) were thin and elongated and had small eyes. Genetic differences showed that AN individuals had a greater genetic structuration and an older demographic history than LN individuals. The results of this study affirmed that the individuals from the two sampling sites belong to different populations with a high degree of isolation. The demographic history could indicate that the individuals of G. maculatus which migrated to northern areas during the last glaciation settled in the Beagle Channel after its formation. The LN population could have originated after the retreat of the glaciers, migrating from AN.     

Conservation strategies for threatened medicinal plant – Barleria prionitis L. – using in vitro and ex vitro propagation techniques

Over-utilisation and continuous depletion of medicinal plants have affected their supply and loss of genetic diversity. Hence the current study is based on conservation strategies for threatened medicinal plants with special reference to Barleria prionitis L. using in vitro and ex vitro propagation techniques. We have developed here a protocol for plant regeneration of Barleria prionitis L. We have also developed an efficient system of vegetative propagation of Barleria prionitis L. through stem cuttings using revive rooting hormones. These studies can be useful for conservation strategies of this important medicinal plant.     

Some aspects of the biology of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in the Manawatu,New Zealand

In a study area of 16.3 ha of dairy pasture and pine plantations in the Manawatu region of the southern North Island, 150 hedgehogs were marked and 356 recaptures recorded between 1 January 1970 and 24 June 1971. Population density was estimated at between 1.1/ha in winter and 2.5/ha in summer and autumn. Only 11 females and 5 males were considered to be residents, and these used overlapping feeding ranges of similar extent. Concentrations of food organisms became foci of hedgehog activity. During winter, when an estimated 20% of the population died, movement was restricted to the vicinity of the nest site; the hedgehogs hibernated fitfully during July‐October. The breeding season as such extended at least from November to March; some breeding activity was observed in most months, however. The average life span of adults was 1.97 years. The causes of 6 natural deaths and the incidence of abscesses and external parasites were noted.     

New trends in peptide-based anti-biofilm strategies: a review of recent achievements and bioinformatic approaches

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a broad spectrum of activity and unspecific mechanisms of action. Therefore, they are seen as valid alternatives to overcome clinically relevant biofilms and reduce the chance of acquired resistance. This paper reviews AMPs and anti-biofilm AMP-based strategies and discusses ongoing and future work. Recent studies report successful AMP-based prophylactic and therapeutic strategies, several databases catalogue AMP information and analysis tools, and novel bioinformatics tools are supporting AMP discovery and design. However, most AMP studies are performed with planktonic cultures, and most studies on sessile cells test AMPs on growing rather than mature biofilms. Promising preliminary synergistic studies have to be consubstantiated and the study of functionalized coatings with AMPs must be further explored. Standardized operating protocols, to enforce the repeatability and reproducibility of AMP anti-biofilm tests, and automated means of screening and processing the ever-expanding literature are still missing.     

Seasonal dispersal of water beetles (Coleoptera) in an agricultural landscape: a study using Moericke traps in northwest Spain

Information on flight dispersal in water beetles in the Iberian Peninsula is scarce. This study provides new data on the dispersion flight phenology of 21 species captured using Moericke traps in an agricultural system in León province (NW Spain) during two annual cycles (1992 and 1993). The species captured form part of the assemblage of aquatic Coleoptera commonly found in stagnant environments in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Most of them are good flyers and colonisers. These flights are related to two environmental variables: mean atmospheric temperature and rainfall. The results show a clear relation between temperature and the flight period as most of the specimens dispersed during peaks of high mean daily temperatures, and a negative relation with rainfall. With regard to phenology, two types of dispersion strategy were identified: flights in the middle of summer to escape from drought and flights in spring and autumn for colonising new habitats. The first group includes Hydroglyphus geminus (Fabricius) and, in particular, Helophorus brevipalpis Bedel, whose great abundance in the dispersal stage is related to parthenogenetic reproduction and the rapid production of a large number of colonising females. The second strategy corresponds to univoltine species with overwintering adults such as Helophorus alternans Gené or species from the genus Hydroporus Clairville.     

Preparedness as a counter-memory. School desegregation,social chances and life chances

ABSTRACT

How should we understand the conundrum of love for the segregated school – a system built to keep you in your place? In Gone Home. Race and Roots through Appalachia, Karida L. Brown looks at African American teacher’s work in segregated schools and shows how desegregation could be felt in both gains and losses in the black community. Those teachers prepared their students for a world of integration without freedom. This essay proposes a counter-memory of segregation, a relational agency of teachers past that remains to this day. Former students’ commemoration of teachers, principals, and schools dating from the time of institutionalized racial exclusion works as a symbolic reminder in a still-racist world, representing not only the need to be prepared, but also to stay prepared.     

Dominance style of female white‐faced capuchins

Dominance style, the level of tolerance displayed by dominant individuals toward subordinate ones, is exhibited along a continuum from despotic to relaxed. It is a useful concept to describe the nature of dominance relationships in macaque species and it bridges among multiple features of dominance hierarchies, aggression, kinship and conflict resolution. Capuchins share many behavioral similarities with Old World monkeys and like macaques, may exhibit a suite of covarying characteristics related to dominance. Here, we provide an assessment of dominance style by examining measures of aggression and kin bias in 22 adult female white‐faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in three social groups at Santa Rosa Sector, Costa Rica. We found that bidirectionality of aggression was low (mean = 6.9% ± SE 1.6). However, there were few significant correlations between kin relatedness and social behavior (approaching, grooming, proximity, and co‐feeding), even though the intensity of kin bias in grooming was moderate and higher in the larger group. We conclude that patterns of aggression and kin‐biased behavior in our study animals are dissimilar to the patterns of covariation observed in macaque species. While unidirectional aggression suggests a despotic dominance style, the moderate expression of kin bias suggests an intermediate to relaxed classification when compared with results from an analysis of 19 macaque species. Additional studies of capuchin species and behaviors associated with dominance style (i.e., conciliatory tendencies) would help to create a comparative framework for the genus Cebus, and allow for more detailed cross‐species comparison of dominance relationships across all primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 150:591–601, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.