Influence of different tropical fruits on biological and behavioral aspects of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera, Tephritidae)

Influence of different tropical fruits on biological and behavioral aspects of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera, Tephritidae). Studies on Ceratitis capitata, a world fruit pest, can aid the implementation of control programs by determining the plants with higher vulnerability to attacks and plants able to sustain their population in areas of fly distribution. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of eight tropical fruits on the following biological and behavioral parameters of C. capitata: emergence percentage, life cycle duration, adult size, egg production, longevity, fecundity, egg viability, and oviposition acceptance. The fruits tested were: acerola (Malpighia glabra L.), cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), star fruit (Averrhoa carambola L.), guava (Psidium guajava L.), soursop (Annona muricata L.), yellow mombin (Spondias mombin L.), Malay apple (Syzygium malaccense L.), and umbu (Spondias tuberosa L.). The biological parameters were obtained by rearing the recently hatched larvae on each of the fruit kinds. Acceptance of fruits for oviposition experiment was assessed using no-choice tests, as couples were exposed to two pieces of the same fruit. The best performances were obtained with guava, soursop, and star fruit. Larvae reared on cashew and acerola fruits had regular performances. No adults emerged from yellow mombin, Malay apple, or umbu. Fruit species did not affect adult longevity, female fecundity, or egg viability. Guava, soursop, and acerola were preferred for oviposition, followed by star fruit, Malay apple, cashew, and yellow mombin. Oviposition did not occur on umbu. In general, fruits with better larval development were also more accepted for oviposition.

Tawny Owl Strix aluco as a bioindicator of Barn Owl Tyto alba breeding and the effect of winter severity on Barn Owl reproduction

In the temperate zone, food availability and winter weather place serious constraints on European Barn Owl Tyto alba populations. Using data collected over 22years in a Swiss population, we analysed the influence of early pre-breeding food conditions and winter severity on between-year variations in population size and reproductive performance. To estimate pre-breeding food conditions, we attempted a novel approach based on an index that combines Tawny Owl Strix aluco reproductive parameters and the occurrence of wood mice Apodemus sp. in their diet. Tawny Owls breed earlier in the season than Barn Owls and are strongly dependent on the abundance of wood mice for breeding. This index was strongly positively associated with the number of breeding pairs and early breeding in the Barn Owl. Winter severity, measured by snow cover and low temperatures, had a pronounced negative influence on the size of the breeding population and clutch size. Food conditions early in the breeding season and winter severity differentially affect the Barn Owl life cycle. We were able to use aspects of the ecology and demography of the Tawny Owl as an indicator of the quality of the environment for a related species of similar ecology, in this case the Barn Owl.

Habitat-quality effects on metapopulation dynamics in greater white-toothed shrews, Crocidura russula.

The effects of patch size and isolation on metapopulation dynamics have received wide empirical support and theoretical formalization. By contrast, the effects of patch quality seem largely underinvestigated, partly due to technical difficulties in properly assessing quality. Here we combine habitat-quality modeling with four years of demographic monitoring in a metapopulation of greater white-toothed shrews (Crocidura russula) to investigate the role of patch quality on metapopulation processes. Together, local patch quality and connectivity significantly enhanced local population sizes and occupancy rates (R2 = 14% and 19%, respectively). Accounting for the quality of patches connected to the focal one and acting as potential sources improved slightly the model explanatory power for local population sizes, pointing to significant source-sink dynamics. Local habitat quality, in interaction with connectivity, also increased colonization rate (R2 = 28%), suggesting the ability of immigrants to target high-quality patches. Overall, patterns were best explained when assuming a mean dispersal distance of 800 m, a realistic value for the species under study. Our results thus provide evidence that patch quality, in interaction with connectivity, may affect major demographic processes.

The adaptive dynamics of niche constructing traits in spatially subdivided populations: evolving posthumous extended phenotypes.

Niche construction, by which organisms modify the environment in which they live, has been proposed to affect the evolution of many phenotypic traits. But what about the evolution of a niche constructing trait itself, whose expression changes the pattern of natural selection to which the trait is exposed in subsequent generations? This article provides an inclusive fitness analysis of selection on niche constructing phenotypes, which can affect their environment from local to global scales in arbitrarily spatially subdivided populations. The model shows that phenotypic effects of genes extending far beyond the life span of the actor can be affected by natural selection, provided they modify the fitness of those individuals living in the future that are likely to have inherited the niche construction lineage of the actor. Present benefits of behaviors are thus traded off against future indirect costs. The future costs will generally result from a complicated interplay of phenotypic effects, population demography and environmental dynamics. To illustrate these points, I derive the adaptive dynamics of a trait involved in the consumption of an abiotic resource, where resource abundance in future generations feeds back to the evolutionary dynamics of the trait.

The future of longevity: background and perspectives

In many developed countries, including Switzerland, the ongoing increase in life expectancy is driven by the mortality decline among older persons. This has important consequences for both the provision of health care and the management of pension funds. In this context, the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics mandated a small group of experts to provide a critical review on the future evolution of mortality in developed countries. The report starts with an analysis of the past trends in life expectancy. Longevity is defined here as the duration (or the length) of life as observed in population or in individuals. The oldest and still most used indicators of longevity are life expectancy at birth (LE0) at a population level, and maximum life span (MLS) at the individual level (page 9) and in healthy life expectancy (page 19). A discussion on the future evolution of mortality and health is then presented (page 27). A set of recommendations is finally proposed (page 39).

Embarazos de adolescentes extranjeras en España: ser madre o abortar

Las adolescentes extranjeras son madres, más frecuentemente que las españolas. Eso implica una futura desigualdad en la continuación de los estudios, en el acceso a una mejor calificación y por ende, empleo y futuros ingresos. Las razones que se apuntan son normalmente, culturales: el sexo fuera del matrimonio está mejor aceptado en ciertas culturas extra-europeas -aunque no en otras- y por ende, sus consecuencias, también.El objetivo de este trabajo es poner en evidencia el riesgo de embarazo y de ser madres a tan temprana edad, del colectivo de adolescentes extranjeras -sin distinción de origen- en el contexto de una sociedad europea, la española.Se trata de construir y analizar indicadores de fecundidad y de IVE (Interrupción voluntaria del embarazo), compararlos con las adolescentes locales o el conjunto de adolescentes que viven en España, con el fin de delimitar un problema de salud cuyas opciones de salida implican un marco de valores. Lo reciente de las migraciones extranjeras y de las reunificaciones familiares hace pensar que las adolescenteshan sido socializadas en la sociedad de origen y viven ahora, en otro contexto y en otras circunstancias. Por lo pronto,la diferencia de niveles y las tendencias, se apartan de lo observado para el conjunto de España.

Concept de first responders en Suisse romande: état des lieux et perspectives [Concept of first responders in Western Switzerland: current situation and future perspectives].

The notion of "First Responder" (FR) refers to the system of first-aid volunteers who act to initiate the first-aid care before the classical emergency help arrives. In 2011, the French-speaking Switzerland counts 19 groups, divided up between four cantons (Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Valais). The geographical distribution of those FR shows the stakes of these peripherical areas, with the accessibility difficulties for the emergency services, and a low demography of ambulances and doctors. The number of interventions carried out by the FR has significantly increased during the last years. The association of a quality formation, an excellent knowledge of the ground and a quick intervention has a positive impact on the survival of the patients with vital emergency or traumatic conditions.

El reemplazo por las migraciones: natalidad y fecundidad de los extranjeros en España

Resulta muy difícil estimar el aporte al crecimiento natural de las personas venidas de fueras y nuevos residentes, de acuerdo con la propuesta de Naciones Unidas. Históricamente, No ha habido acuerdo acerca de la fecundidad de los migrantes. Andorka consideró que la migración producía un efecto depresor en la fecundidad. Estudios sobre la fecundidad de los migrantes internos en la sociedad catalana han mostrado el contraste entre un creciente indicador sintético de fecundidad (ISF) y un efecto reducido en la fecundidad longitudinal. Un intento de explicación basado en el tiempo, nacimientos pospuestos y adaptación, se presenta. Se trata de una combinación de la propuesta de Andorka del efecto depresor de la fecundidad, con un segundo tiempo de recuperación en destino. Esta Hipótesis en dos Tiempos (H2T) tiene carácter tentativo. Considera sólo un efecto de calendario. Se utilizan datos oficiales de la Encuesta de Fecundidad de 1999, de un Censo anterior y de natalidad. La H2T se considera una explicación posible de las altas tasas de natalidad de Europa y América.Estimaciones sobre la evolución de los nacimientos futuros de mujeres extranjeras, en al menos dos escenarios, son contemplados al final del artículo.

Embarazos de adolescentes extranjeras en España: ser madre o abortar

Las adolescentes extranjeras son madres, más frecuentemente que las españolas. Eso implica una futura desigualdad en la continuación de los estudios, en el acceso a una mejor calificación y por ende, empleo y futuros ingresos. Las razones que se apuntan son normalmente, culturales: el sexo fuera del matrimonio está mejor aceptado en ciertas culturas extra-europeas -aunque no en otras- y por ende, sus consecuencias, también.El objetivo de este trabajo es poner en evidencia el riesgo de embarazo y de ser madres a tan temprana edad, del colectivo de adolescentes extranjeras -sin distinción de origen- en el contexto de una sociedad europea, la española.Se trata de construir y analizar indicadores de fecundidad y de IVE (Interrupción voluntaria del embarazo), compararlos con las adolescentes locales o el conjunto de adolescentes que viven en España, con el fin de delimitar un problema de salud cuyas opciones de salida implican un marco de valores. Lo reciente de las migraciones extranjeras y de las reunificaciones familiares hace pensar que las adolescenteshan sido socializadas en la sociedad de origen y viven ahora, en otro contexto y en otras circunstancias. Por lo pronto,la diferencia de niveles y las tendencias, se apartan de lo observado para el conjunto de España.

Movimientos sociales e identificación demográfica de sujetos étnicos: una mirada desde Argentina

Contar a las personas que forman grupos o subpoblaciones no es un proceso neutro. Se ha reconocido que está condicionado por factores sociales. El relativo reciente interés de las autoridades de diversos países por conocer con más exactitud sus poblaciones nativas, con el fin de definir y llevar a cabo políticas concretas, ha dado como resultado un tratamiento específico en el recuento y cuantificación de estas poblaciones y la incorporación de preguntas censales, así como la realización de encuestas especiales para poder conocer estos grupos. Desde hace años y como consecuencia de una política de corrección, se ha optado por la autoidentificación como método para incorporar a los individuos en los diversos grupos de adscripción; o sea, la declaración del individuo sobre su pertenencia o no al grupo. Esto ha provocado algunos problemas, pero básicamente, se ha considerado la mejor opción.La hipótesis de este trabajo pone en relación al menos dos procesos que interactúan en una relación positiva de incremento. Por una parte, se reconoce un incremento de sujetos que no puede obedecer a los componentes del crecimiento de la población (e.j. migración). Por la otra, más personas se reconocen como indígenas. En un proceso de retro-alimentación, el reconocimiento de sus derechos y la realización de planes específicos, se acompaña de un incremento en la identificación de los individuos con el grupo.En este trabajo, se toma como ejemplo la evolución de las mediciones de los pueblos indígenas en la República Argentina. Cuando se explotaron los resultados del Censo del 2001, que ha vuelto a incorporar la pregunta, se pudo construir una muestra y realizar la Encuesta Complementaria de pueblos indígenas (ECPI) cuyos resultados han sido publicados. Los objetivos de este trabajo serían, en primer lugar, constatar el crecimiento de los efectivos, más allá de los factores demográficos usuales. En segundo lugar, analizar los resultados en la ECPI (2004-05) sobre cuestiones como pertenencia, descendencia y autoidentificación.

Informe del Consell Social de la Llengua Catalana sobre polítiques de foment del català entre la joventut

S'hi fa una diagnosi aprofundida de la situació sociolingüí­stica catalana actual centrada en els usos lingüí­stics dels joves i el seu ecosistema de determinació. Alhora s'hi proposen mesures concretes de política lingüística en diversos camps, importants per a fer possible l'extensió de l'ús del català  en aquest segment generacional.

La Ley de Estabilidad Presupuestaria en el largo plazo: efecto del ciclo demográfico

La actual situación económica y las perspectivas presupuestarias a largo plazo han suscitado una discusión acerca de la conveniencia de la Ley de Estabilidad Presupuestaria. Este trabajo, empleando contabilidad generacional, evalúa la sostenibilidad de la política fiscal española ampliando el horizonte temporal más allá del ciclo de los negocios, considerando los efectos del ciclo demográfico. Los resultados muestran que, aunque el proceso de consolidación fiscal ha mejorado ostensiblemente la situación financiera de las AA.PP, se sigue trasladando al futuro una deuda implí­cita sustancial

Transition to parenthood: The role of social interaction and endogenous networks

Empirical studies indicate that the transition to parenthood is influenced by an individual's peer group. To study the mechanisms creating interdepen- dencies across individuals' transition to parenthood and its timing we apply an agent-based simulation model. We build a one-sex model and provide agents with three different characteristics regarding age, intended education and parity. Agents endogenously form their network based on social closeness. Network members then may influence the agents' transition to higher parity levels. Our numerical simulations indicate that accounting for social inter- actions can explain the shift of first-birth probabilities in Austria over the period 1984 to 2004. Moreover, we apply our model to forecast age-specific fertility rates up to 2016.

Joint evolution of dispersal and inbreeding load.

Inbreeding avoidance is often invoked to explain observed patterns of dispersal, and theoretical models indeed point to a possibly important role. However, while inbreeding load is usually assumed constant in these models, it is actually bound to vary dynamically under the combined influences of mutation, drift, and selection and thus to evolve jointly with dispersal. Here we report the results of individual-based stochastic simulations allowing such a joint evolution. We show that strongly deleterious mutations should play no significant role, owing to the low genomic mutation rate for such mutations. Mildly deleterious mutations, by contrast, may create enough heterosis to affect the evolution of dispersal as an inbreeding-avoidance mechanism, but only provided that they are also strongly recessive. If slightly recessive, they will spread among demes and accumulate at the metapopulation level, thus contributing to mutational load, but not to heterosis. The resulting loss of viability may then combine with demographic stochasticity to promote population fluctuations, which foster indirect incentives for dispersal. Our simulations suggest that, under biologically realistic parameter values, deleterious mutations have a limited impact on the evolution of dispersal, which on average exceeds by only one-third the values expected from kin-competition avoidance.

Ectoparasite affects choice and use of roost sites in the great tit, Parus major

Many diurnal bird species roost at night in holes. As a regular visitor of a hole they are therefore a welcome host for several species of ectoparasites. The interactions of ectoparasites with the behaviour, life-history traits and population demography of their hosts are largely unknown. In the present study the effects of the haematophagous hen flea, Ceratophyllus gallinae , on the great tit's choice of winter roost site were investigated experimentally. Three experiments tested (1) whether great tits prefer a clean nestbox to one containing an old, but parasite-free nest, (2) whether they prefer a parasite-free nestbox to one infested with the haematophagous hen flea, and (3) whether they prefer not to use a nestbox when there is only an infested box available in their territory. In the first experiment there was no discrimination and both kinds of boxes were used equally often. In the second experiment the great tits clearly preferred to roost in the box without ectoparasites. In the third experiment a significantly higher proportion of the infested nestboxes were not used for roosting compared with the parasite-free boxes. Recently the validity of the conclusions drawn from nestbox studies where the naturally occurring detrimental ectoparasites are eliminated by the routine removal of old nests between breeding seasons has been questioned. This study shows that ectoparasites affect host behaviour and therefore lends support to that criticism.