Genetic diversity across geographical scales in marine coastal ecosystems: Holothuria arguinensis a model species

Coastal lagoons are considered one of the most productive areas of our planet harboring a large variety of habitats. Their transitional character, between terrestrial and marine environments, creates a very particular ecosystem with important variations of its environmental conditions. The organisms that are able to survive on these ecosystems frequently experience strong selective pressures and constrictions to gene flowwith marine populations, which could contribute to genetic divergence among populations inhabiting coastal lagoon and marine environments. Therefore, the main aims of this study are to asses the genetic diversity and population structure of Holothuria arguinensis across geographical ranges, to test the hypothesis of coastal lagoons as hotspots of genetic diversity in the Ria Formosa lagoon, and to determine the role of exporting standing genetic variation from the lagoon to open sea and their implications to recent geographical expansion events. To reach these objectives, we investigate the genetic structure of H. arguinensis using two mitochondrial DNA markers (COI and 16S) at different spatial scales: i) small, inside Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, South Portugal; 2) large, including most of the geographical distribution of this species (South and Western Portuguese coast and Canary islands); these results will allow us to compare the genetic diversity of lagoonal and marine populations of H. arguinensis. On this framework, its recent geographical expansion events, recorded by Rodrigues (2012) and González-Wangüemert and Borrero-Pérez (2012), will be analyzed considering the potential contribution from lagoonal genetic pool. Non-significant genetic structure and high haplotypic diversity were found inside the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon. Both genes were unable to detect significant genetic differentiation among lagoonal and marine localities, suggesting a high rate of gene flow. The results supported our hypotheses that coastal lagoons are not only acting as hotspots of genetic diversity, but also contributing for the genetic variability of the species, working as a source of new haplotypes and enhancing adaptation to the high variable conditions. Different genetic patterns of colonization were found on H. arguinensis, but they must be studied more deeply.

Breaking old and new ground: a comparative study of coastal and inland naming in Berwickshire

This thesis investigates the place-names of four parishes in Berwickshire and compares coastal and inland naming patterns. Berwickshire is a large county that borders on northern England and historically formed part of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria. Partly due to the survival of extensive archives from the medieval priory of Coldingham, preserved in Durham Cathedral Archives, this county holds some of Scotland’s earliest recorded place- names. The parishes that form the research area are grouped together in the north-east of the county. Two of these parishes, Abbey St Bathans and Bunkle & Preston, are inland, and two, Cockburnspath and Coldingham, have extensive coastlines. The diversity of this group of parishes allows a comparative study of the place-names of coastal and inland areas to be undertaken. The topography of Berwickshire’s thirty-two parishes is very varied, and the four parishes have been chosen to reflect this range of landscapes. The place-names within the four parishes examined in this thesis derive almost exclusively from Old English, Older Scots, Modern Scots including Standard Scottish English, with a small minority derived from Old Norse, Gaelic, and Brittonic. The chronology of Old English, Older Scots, and Modern Scots is defined as given in the Concise Scots Dictionary: Old English is the period up to 1100, Older Scots is the period 1100-1700, and Modern Scots is the period 1700 onwards (CSD, 1985: xiii). Often with place-names it is not possible to give a precise dating for the coining of a toponym. For the purposes of this study, the language label given for a toponym is that of the date of the earliest record of the place-name with earlier linguistic evidence supplementing discussion. This thesis focuses on the names of topographic features, for example hills, rocks and woodland, and the role of perception in their naming. In order to compare the role of perception in inland and coastal naming, this thesis includes a diachronic study of the toponymy of the research area, along with two case studies. The first of these is a study of the toponymy of relief features, which focuses on generic elements in order to compare the perception of one type of referent in the two environments. The second is a study of the ‘colour’ category, which focuses on qualifying elements in order to compare the use of colour terms in the two environments. This thesis is the first comparative study of inland and coastal place-names, and it is one of the first to investigate new ways of using fieldwork as a central part of its methodology. In doing so it proposes innovative and nuanced ways to understand the toponymy of diverse landscapes within a community.

Evaluation of frozen ground conditions along a coastal topographic gradient at Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica) by geophysical and geoecological methods

Geophysical surveying and geoelectricalmethods are effective to study permafrost distribution and conditions in polar environments. Geoelectrical methods are particularly suited to study the spatial distribution of permafrost because of its high electrical resistivity in comparison with that of soil or rock above 0 °C. In the South Shetland Islands permafrost is considered to be discontinuous up to elevations of 20–40ma.s.l., changing to continuous at higher altitudes. There are no specific data about the distribution of permafrost in Byers Peninsula, in Livingston Island, which is the largest ice-free area in the South Shetland Islands. With the purpose of better understanding the occurrence of permanent frozen conditions in this area, a geophysical survey using an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)methodologywas conducted during the January 2015 field season, combined with geomorphological and ecological studies. Three overlapping electrical resistivity tomographies of 78meach were done along the same profile which ran from the coast to the highest raised beaches. The three electrical resistivity tomographies are combined in an electrical resistivitymodel which represents the distribution of the electrical resistivity of the ground to depths of about 13malong 158m. Several patches of high electrical resistivity were found, and interpreted as patches of sporadic permafrost. The lower limits of sporadic to discontinuous permafrost in the area are confirmed by the presence of permafrost-related landforms nearby. There is a close correspondence between moss patches and permafrost patches along the geoelectrical transect.

Skill development for innovative procurement environments in construction

The construction industry should be a priority to all governments because it impacts economically and socially on all citizens. Sector turnover in industrialised economies typically averages 8-12% of GDP. Further, construction is critical to economic growth. Recent Australian studies estimate that a 10% gain in efficiency in construction translates to a 2.5% increase in GDP Inefficiencies in the Australian construction industry have been identified by a number of recent studies modelling the building process. They have identified potential savings in time of between 25% and 40% by reducing non-value added steps in the process. A culture of reform is now emerging in the industry – one in which alternate forms of project delivery are being trialed. Government and industry have identified Alliance Contracting as a means to increase efficiency in the construction industry as part of a new innovative procurement environment. Alliance contracting requires parties to form relationships and work cooperatively to provide a more complete service. This is a significant cultural change for the construction industry, with its well-known adversarial record in traditional contracting. Alliance contracts offer enormous potential benefits, but the Australian construction industry needs to develop new skills to effectively participate in the new relationship environment. This paper describes a collaborative project identifying skill needs for clients and construction professionals to more effectively participate in an increasingly sophisticated international procurement environment. The aim of identifying these skill needs is to assist industry, government, and skill developers to prepare the Australian construction workforce for the future. The collaborating Australian team has been fortunate to secure the Australian National Museum in Canberra as its live case study. The Acton Peninsula Development is the first major building development in the world awarded on the basis of a joint alliance contract.