Relative effect of food supplementation and natural resources on female red deer distribution in a Mediterranean ecosystem

Supplementary feeding is a widespread game management practice in several red deer (Cervus elaphus) populations, with important potential consequences on the biology of this species. InMediterranean ecosystems food supplementation occurs in the rutting period, when it may change mating system characteristics. We studied the role of food supplementation relative to natural resources in the spatial distribution, aggregation, and mean harem size of females in Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) during the rut. We studied 30 red deer populations of southwestern Spain, 63% of which experienced supplementary feeding. Using multivariate spatial analyses we found that food supplementation affected distribution of females in 95% of the populations in which it occurred. Green meadows present during the mating season acted as an important natural resource influencing female distribution. Additionally, the level of female aggregation and mean harem size were significantly higher in those populations in which food supplementation determined female distribution than in populations in which female distribution did not depend on supplementary feeding. Because female aggregation and mean harem size are key elements in sexual selection, supplementary feeding may constitute an important anthropogenic element with potential evolutionary implications for populations of Iberian red deer.

Natural Disaster and Intangible Heritage: Beyond the Horizon

When 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, many monuments, temples and houses turned into rubbles killing more than 8,000 people and injuring above 21,000. This unfortunate and tragic natural disaster brought international attention to Nepal. But in this time of despair and pain there was a sign of hope that should be acknowledged well, the spirit of community facing the disaster. This paper is about the indigenous community of Kathmandu on how they organized an important traditional festival just four months after the disaster when most the people were still living in the makeshifts, along with the smaller aftershock continuing almost everyday. In the country like Nepal with numerous intangible heritages, which is, still living is not taken seriously by the concerned authorities and mostly been neglected. It is the indigenous community who has been carrying out those heritages, as they are inseparable aspect of the social life. With this paper it tries look at the community involvement and intangible heritage of Kathmandu Valley, which is a part of my PhD research thesis.

THE NEW WORLD (DIS)ORDER AND THE CONFLICTS EVOLUTION

The World Order is a concept in constant mutation that has lost a lot of what characterized it when it was established with the Peace of Westphalia. The conflicts also went through changes. They lost its State distinctiveness and became dispersed and chaotic due to multipolarization. These two concepts share some connections and both dissociated from their traditional definition. This paper aims to establish a connection between the contemporary World Order and the conflicts evolution. The threats to the stability of the World Order contribute to the current disorder and reflects how the conflicts distanced themselves from the clausewitzian battles. To understand how these threats impact the World Order stability and evince the conflicts evolution two cases of study were selected: the nuclear proliferation in Iran and the crisis in Ukraine. These two examples will help establishing the link between the contemporary World Disorder and the conflicts evolution.