Comparative leaf anatomy and micromorphology of the Chilean Myrtaceae: Taxonomic and ecological implications

The family Myrtaceae in Chile comprises 26 species in 10 genera. The species occur in a diverse rangeof environments including humid temperate forests, swamps, riparian habitats and coastal xeromorphicshrublands. Most of these species are either endemic to Chile or endemic to the humid temperate forestsof Chile and Argentina. Although many taxa have very restricted distributions and are of conservationconcern, little is known about their biology and vegetative anatomy. In this investigation, we describe andcompare the leaf anatomy and micromorphology of all Chilean Myrtaceae using standard protocols forlight and scanning electron microscopy. Leaf characters described here are related to epidermis, cuticle,papillae, stomata, hairs, mesophyll, crystals, secretory cavities and vascular system. Nearly all the specieshave a typical mesophytic leaf anatomy, but some species possess xerophytic characters such as doubleepidermis, hypodermis, pubescent leaves, thick adaxial epidermis and straight epidermal anticlinal walls,which correlate with the ecological distribution of the species. This is the first report on leaf anatomyand micromorphology in most of these species. We identified several leaf characters with potential tax-onomic and ecological significance. Some combinations of leaf characters can reliably delimitate genera,while others are unique to some species. An identification key using micromorphological and anatomicalcharacters is provided to distinguish genera and species.

Surveillance protocols for management of invasive plants: modelling Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana) in Australia

Aim: To develop a surveillance support model that enables prediction of areas susceptible to invasion, comparative analysis of surveillance methods and intensity and assessment of eradication feasibility. To apply the model to identify surveillance protocols for generalized invasion scenarios and for evaluating surveillance and control for a context-specific plant invasion. Location: Australia. Methods: We integrate a spatially explicit simulation model, including plant demography and dispersal vectors, within a Geographical Information System. We use the model to identify effective surveillance protocols using simulations of generalized plant life-forms spreading via different dispersal mechanisms in real landscapes. We then parameterize the surveillance support model for Chilean needle grass [CNG; Nassella neesiana (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth], a highly invasive tussock grass, which is an eradication target in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Results: General surveillance protocols that can guide rapid response surveillance were identified; suitable habitat that is susceptible to invasion through particular dispersal syndromes should be targeted for surveillance using an adaptive seek-and-destroy method. The search radius of the adaptive method should be based on maximum expected dispersal distances. Protocols were used to define a surveillance strategy for CNG, but simulations indicated that despite effective and targeted surveillance, eradication is implausible at current intensities. Main conclusions: Several important surveillance protocols emerged and simulations indicated that effectiveness can be increased if they are followed in rapid response surveillance. If sufficient data are available, the surveillance support model should be parameterized to target areas susceptible to invasion and determine whether surveillance is effective and eradication is feasible. We discovered that for CNG, regardless of a carefully designed surveillance strategy, eradication is implausible at current intensities of surveillance and control and these efforts should be doubled if they are to be successful. This is crucial information in the face of environmentally and economically damaging invasive species and large, expensive and potentially ineffective control programmes.

Benchmarking Scientific Journals from the Submitting Author’s Viewpoint

Authors of scholarly papers to a large extent base the decision on where to submit their manuscripts on the prestige of journals, taking little account of other possible factors. Information concerning such factors is in fact often not available. This paper argues for the establishment of methods for benchmarking scientific journals, taking into account a wider range of journal performance parameters than is currently available. A model for how prospective authors determine the value of submitting to a particular journal is presented. The model includes eight factors that influence an author’s decision and 21 other underlying factors. The model is a qualitative one. The method proposes to benchmark groups of journals by application of the factors. Initial testing of the method has been undertaken in one discipline.

A Method for Comparing Scholarly Journals as Service Providers to Authors

When authors of scholarly articles decide where to submit their manuscripts for peer review and eventual publication, they often base their choice of journals on very incomplete information abouthow well the journals serve the authors’ purposes of informing about their research and advancing their academic careers. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new method for benchmarking scientific journals, providing more information to prospective authors. The method estimates a number of journal parameters, including readership, scientific prestige, time from submission to publication, acceptance rate and service provided by the journal during the review and publication process. Data directly obtainable from the web, data that can be calculated from such data, data obtained from publishers and editors, and data obtained using surveys with authors are used in the method, which has been tested on three different sets of journals, each from a different discipline. We found a number of problems with the different data acquisition methods, which limit the extent to which the method can be used. Publishers and editors are reluctant to disclose important information they have at hand (i.e. journal circulation, web downloads, acceptance rate). The calculation of some important parameters (for instance average time from submission to publication, regional spread of authorship) can be done but requires quite a lot of work. It can be difficult to get reasonable response rates to surveys with authors. All in all we believe that the method we propose, taking a “service to authors” perspective as a basis for benchmarking scientific journals, is useful and can provide information that is valuable to prospective authors in selected scientific disciplines.

Where to Submit? Journal Choice by Construction Management Authors

Publishers of academic journals can be seen as service providers to authors, in addition to the traditional role of providers of research results to readers. The purpose of this study was to analyse how author choices of journal in construction management are affected by quality and service perceptions. Seven journals were identified and for each 2006 article, one author e-mail address was extracted. A web based questionnaire was sent to 397 authors and 35% responded. It was found that there were three journals regularly followed by at least half the respondents. Most of the other four journals have scopes broader than construction management and receive lower scores for characteristics such as impact on researchers. No open access journals were included, and authors in the field of construction management rarely post openly accessible copies of their manuscripts or publications on the web. Author ranking of journals for their next submission is found to be related to general criteria such as academic status, circulation figures and ISI indexation.

Authors reply to "On uniqueness, transfer and combination of acoustic sources in one-dimensional systems"

The use of electroacoustic analogies suggests that a source of acoustical energy (such as an engine, compressor, blower, turbine, loudspeaker, etc.) can be characterized by an acoustic source pressure ps and internal source impedance Zs, analogous to the open-circuit voltage and internal impedance of an electrical source. The present paper shows analytically that the source characteristics evaluated by means of the indirect methods are independent of the loads selected; that is, the evaluated values of ps and Zs are unique, and that the results of the different methods (including the direct method) are identical. In addition, general relations have been derived here for the transfer of source characteristics from one station to another station across one or more acoustical elements, and also for combining several sources into a single equivalent source. Finally, all the conclusions are extended to the case of a uniformly moving medium, incorporating the convective as well as dissipative effects of the mean flow.

Dislocation Propagation versus Dislocation Nucleation - Authors' Response

No abstract.

Observaciones sobre las especies de truchas criollas.

The genus Percichthys (Serranidae) includes three nominal species in Argentina, trucha, vinciguerrae and altispinis. The authors of this paper examine materials from: 1: the Río Negro river in its inferior course, in front of Viedma; 2: lake Pellegrini, near Neuquén, where the rivers Neuquén and Limay meet and form the Negro; 3: Plottier, near the place just named; 4: Colorado river, in Fortín Uno; 5: Curacó river, a tributary to the Colorado, now cut into separate sections since years ago on account of the lack of water; this river normally would connect the Colorado with the rivers up to the San Juan where the « trucha » lives; 6: Luro or La Salada lagoon, formed by the Colorado river near its mouth; 7: Argentino lake, in the southern Patagonia. These fishes are known as « trucha criolla » or « native trout » although the old Spanish name was « perca », more appropiate. Percichthys altispinis Regan 1905 is a good species ; it has been re-found in the Colorado river, at Fortín Uno. An illustration of it is given, characters of four specimens and a note on its scales. P. trucha C. V. reveeals itself on close examination as a complex species or linnean species (linneon) ; with several combinations of characters, but even more materials are needed to establish if there are geographical races (subspecies). A new examination of the Chilean materials is required (former authors considered them jointly with the Atlantic versant or Argentine materials). Some of the infraspeciíic forms are prognathous, and low finned ; others, the contrary; the head may be normal, or conical and bony; etc. As to P. vinciguerrae its standing as a valid species is doubtfull; perhaps, with P. laevis Jenyns it is a southern form. In the same reduced habitat (lagoon, or isolated course) diversified forms are present; some show parallelism with those of other places ; it is supposed that they show ecological influences according to the year or season of birth or developpment. A thorough study of the scales is given, with epidological characteristics and general conciusions as to the method of measuring and comparing their « reading». There are some marked differences even in the same habitat.