Affirmative reaction: new formations of white masculinity

Within the politics of nationalism and nation-building, the emigration of ethnic and religious minorities, whether voluntary or involuntary, appears to be a commonly occurring practice. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, modern Turkey still carried the legacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious diversity in which its Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities had official minority status based upon the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, throughout the twentieth century, Turkey's non-Muslim minority populations have undergone a mass emigration experience in which thousands of their numbers have migrated to various countries around the globe. While in the 1920s the population of non-Muslims in the country was close to 3 per cent of the total, today it has dropped to less than two per thousand. This article analyses the emigration of non-Muslim people from Turkey and relates this movement to the wider context of nation-building in the country.     

Turkish nationalism and the Kurdish question

This article addresses the ways in which Turkish nationalism has perceived the Kurdish question. It is shown that both Turkish nationalism and the Kurdish question have passed through some paradigmatic moments in the twentieth century. This, I argue, has shaped the way that the Kurdish question has been perceived by Turkish nationalism. While the Kurdish question had been seen by Turkish nationalism mostly in terms of a fatal rivalry between the backward, pre-modern and tribal past and the prosperous present in the first half of the century, it was perceived in terms of a tension between the peripheral economy and national market in the fifties and sixties. In the 1970s, the Kurdish unrest was believed to be a product of communist incitement. Despite this impurity in perception, one thing has remained nearly unchanged for Turkish nationalism: Kurds could become Turkish. In other words, Turkish nationalism of the republican era has principally perceived Kurds as future-Turks. However, the signs in circulation at present indicate that the confidence of Turkish nationalism as to Kurds’ potential of becoming Turkish is not as firm as it used to be. At present, Turkish nationalism seems to be getting prepared to abandon its contention that Kurds are future-Turks.     

A critical note on ‘exclusive recognition’

Cenk Saracoglu conceptualizes the antipathy towards Kurdish migrants manifesting in certain cities of Turkey since the early 2000s as ‘exclusive recognition’ in his article ‘“Exclusive recognition”: the new dimensions of the question of ethnicity and nationalism in Turkey’ published in Ethnic and Racial Studies 32(4). According to the author, these recent developments represent ‘a historically specific ethnicization process’ and its sources cannot be found directly and only in historical discourses and policy of mainstream Turkish nationalism. In this note, I contradict the author's claims by asserting that the recent manifestations of anti-Kurdish sentiments are an extension of the ongoing policies of Turkish national identity based on Turkish nationalism.     

Helophorus erzurumicus sp. n., a new species from Turkey and some notes on H. ponticus Angus, 1988 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

A new species of Helophorus Fabricius, 1775 is described from Erzurum, northeastern Turkey: Helophorus erzurumicus. In addition, distributional and morphological notes on H. ponticus Angus, 1988 are presented.     

Water mites of the genus Sperchon Kramer (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Sperchontidae) from Turkey,with description of a new species from Taurus Mountains (southern Turkey)

A new water mite species Sperchon (Hispidosperchon) serapae n. sp. is described. The material was collected from a slow-flowing stream during field study on the water mite fauna of the Lakes region in southwestern Turkey. An updated list of hitherto known species of Sperchon Kramer from Turkey, including nomenclatural changes and numerous new locality records to the species, is also given.     

First Record of Steinernema kraussei (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) from Turkey and Its Virulence against Agrotis segetum (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

During a survey of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey in 2009–2012, a steinernematid species was recorded and isolated using the Galleria-baiting method. The isolate was identified as Steinernema kraussei based on its morphological and molecular properties. The analysis of the ITS rDNA sequence placed the Turkish population of S. kraussei in the “feltiae-kraussei” group in the clade that contains different isolates of the species. This is the first record of S. kraussei from Turkey. The efficacy of S. kraussei was tested on Agrotis segetum (Lepidoptera: Noctuidea) larvae at different densities (100, 300, and 500 infective juveniles (IJs) g⁻¹ dry sand ) in laboratory conditions at 25 °C. The highest mortality (98%) was obtained with 500 IJs g⁻¹ dry sand within 7 d after inoculation. Our results indicate that the new isolate is a highly promising biological control agent against A. segetum, one of the most serious soil pests of agricultural area and fruits worldwide.     

Embryos produced from fertilization with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)-infected semen and the risk of disease transmission to embryo transfer (ET) recipients and offspring

Bovine diarrhea virus (BVDV) causes a variety of economically important enteric and infertility problems in cattle. For that reason, several countries have eradicated the disease, and some others have schemes in progress to achieve freedom. Although there is a considerable amount of information about the risk of BVDV transmission through contaminated semen used for artificial insemination (AI), there is no evidence to indicate whether the resulting embryos, when used for embryo transfer, can lead to the transmission of BVDV to recipients or offspring. For this experiment, semen from a bull persistently infected with BVDV (10⁵ 50% tissue culture infective doses/mL NY strain) was used for insemination (two times at estrus) of BVDV-seronegative, superovulated cows (N = 35). Embryos were collected 7 days after insemination and subsequently were washed according to the International Embryo Transfer Society recommendations or left unwashed. Out of 302 collected oocytes and embryos, 173 (57%) were fertilized and the remaining 129 (43%) had degenerated. Infectious BVDV was detected in 24% (17/71) of unwashed and 10% (8/77) of washed embryos, and in all (N = 11) follicular fluid samples, oviductal epithelial cells, endometrium, and corpora lutea tissues as determined by the virus isolation test. After transfer of 39 washed embryos to 27 BVDV-seronegative recipients, 12 (44%) cows became pregnant and 17 calves free of BVDV and BVDV antibodies, including five sets of twins, were born. After embryo transfer, all pregnant and nonpregnant recipients remained free of BVDV and antibodies. In conclusion, results herein suggest that BVDV can be transmitted by AI resulting in the production of some proportion of contaminated embryos. However, it appears that such embryos, when washed according to International Embryo Transfer Society and the World Organization for Animal Health guidelines do not cause BVDV transmission to recipients or their offspring.     

Optimizing conditions for treating goat semen with cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins prior to freezing to improve cryosurvival

The fertility of goat sperm is highly variable and new methods for improving sperm cryosurvival are needed. Cholesterol plays important roles in membrane fluidity, cold shock sensitivity and cryodamage, and treating sperm from cold-shock sensitive species with cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins (CLC) prior to cryopreservation enhances sperm cryosurvival. The aim of this study was to develop a CLC-treatment to optimize goat sperm cryopreservation. A total of 45 ejaculates coming from eleven adult Murciano-Granadina bucks were used and three experiments were conducted to determine: (1) the optimal CLC concentration to treat goat sperm; (2) the optimal time to treat the sperm (before or after seminal plasma removal); and (3) optimal freezing diluent (either of two Tris-citrate diluents containing 2% or 20% egg yolk and 4% glycerol or a skim milk diluent with 7% glycerol) to cryopreserve goat sperm. Goat sperm cryosurvival rates were greatest when they were treated with 1 mg CLC/120 × 10⁶ sperm prior to freezing. The benefit was also greatest if the sperm were treated with CLC after seminal plasma removal. Finally, CLC treatment improved sperm cryosurvival rates for sperm frozen in all three diluents, however, CLC treatment was most effective for sperm frozen in egg-yolk diluents. In conclusion, treating goat sperm, with CLC prior to cryopreservation, improved sperm cryosurvival rates. In addition, CLC treatment was effective for all freezing diluents tested, making this technology practical for the industry using current cryopreservation techniques. Nevertheless, additional studies should be conducted to determine how CLC might affect sperm functionality and fertilizing ability.     

Descriptions of new taxa of the Clausiliidae from Turkey (Mollusca: Stylommatophora)

Summary

Several new taxa of the Clausiliidae were described From Turkey: Dobatia multidentifera n. sp., Albinaria monocristata n. sp., Albinaria basalifera n. sp., Roseniella (Chavchetia) n. subgen., Roseniella (Chavchetia) rufina n. sp., Armenica euprepes truncata n. ssp., Armenica multispirata n. sp., Armenica bicarinata grisea n. ssp., Kazancia n. gen., and Kazancia monticola n. sp. Investigations were made of the genital morphology of some species, and the arrangement of the taxa in Nordsieck’s classification (H, NORDSIECK 1979) is discussed.     

On the migration of the Whimbrel,Numenius phaeopus,in Turkey

Abstract

The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a scarce but regular passage visitor in Turkey. Spring migration has its peak in April, autumn migration in August/September (medians are April 23th and August 29th). Detailed information on flock size, wintering, main resting sites etc. is given and compared with other Middle East countries.