Uso de repelentes na proteção de árvores dos danos provocados por herbívoros vertebrados.

A introdução de árvores em pastagens com o gado é dificultada pelos danos provocados por pisoteio e forrageamento dos animais. Em outras situações de convivência de herbívoros com árvores tem-se procurado afastar os animais com uso de substâncias repelentes. Os repelentes se baseiam na utilização dos sentidos para provocar a aversão nos animais. Os sentidos em questão são o paladar (sabor amargo associado a um efeito negativo pós-ingestão, criando aversão condicionada), olfato (especialmente odores relacionados com o predador) e dor (estimulação do nervo trigêmeo, como capsaicina). De acordo com o modo como são aplicados, os repelentes podem ser classificados como de área (especialmente os baseados no odor); de contato (especialmente os baseados no sabor); e sistêmicos (uma substância que é absorvida pela planta e distribuída pelos tecidos vegetais, como é o caso do selênio). A pesquisa com repelentes ainda tem um longo caminho a seguir, porque inúmeros fatores afetam o resultado dessas substâncias, entre eles a existência de alimentos alternativos, densidade animal, chuvas e concentração do princípio ativo. Existem poucos trabalhos com bovinos. Alguns produtos foram considerados eficientes para cervídeos e são utilizados em larga escala em países de clima frio. Um desses produtos baseia-se em sólidos de ovos putrefeitos (Deer Away - BGR). Considera-se que tenha eficiência de proteção acima de 85% por um período superior a cinco semanas nas condições utilizadas. O desenvolvimento de produtos com essas características, para uso em mudas florestais expostas a bovinos (ou ovinos) em condições tropicais, poderia alavancar o estabelecimento de sistemas silvipastoris.

Pleasure and instruction in the Prologue of Longus’ “Daphnis and Chloe”

The present study attempts to demonstrate that the ancient Greek novel Daphnis and Chloe systematically explores the problem expressed by Horace in the phrase docere et delectare, and that this purpose is announced in the Prologue. The functions of prologues as such are briefly reviewed. After a consideration of the prologues of the remaining ancient Greek novels, the Prologue of Longus’s Daphnis and Chloe is analyzed line by line. Longus uses the Prologue, then, to establish a series of dialectical tensions that operate throughout the novel, allowing it to delight and instruct at the same time.

Neural Models of Motion Integration, Segmentation, and Probablistic Decision-Making

When brain mechanism carry out motion integration and segmentation processes that compute unambiguous global motion percepts from ambiguous local motion signals? Consider, for example, a deer running at variable speeds behind forest cover. The forest cover is an occluder that creates apertures through which fragments of the deer's motion signals are intermittently experienced. The brain coherently groups these fragments into a trackable percept of the deer in its trajectory. Form and motion processes are needed to accomplish this using feedforward and feedback interactions both within and across cortical processing streams. All the cortical areas V1, V2, MT, and MST are involved in these interactions. Figure-ground processes in the form stream through V2, such as the seperation of occluding boundaries of the forest cover from the boundaries of the deer, select the motion signals which determine global object motion percepts in the motion stream through MT. Sparse, but unambiguous, feauture tracking signals are amplified before they propogate across position and are intergrated with far more numerous ambiguous motion signals. Figure-ground and integration processes together determine the global percept. A neural model predicts the processing stages that embody these form and motion interactions. Model concepts and data are summarized about motion grouping across apertures in response to a wide variety of displays, and probabilistic decision making in parietal cortex in response to random dot displays.

Laminar Cortical Dynamics of Visual Form and Motion Interactions During Coherent Object Motion Perception

How do visual form and motion processes cooperate to compute object motion when each process separately is insufficient? Consider, for example, a deer moving behind a bush. Here the partially occluded fragments of motion signals available to an observer must be coherently grouped into the motion of a single object. A 3D FORMOTION model comprises five important functional interactions involving the brain’s form and motion systems that address such situations. Because the model’s stages are analogous to areas of the primate visual system, we refer to the stages by corresponding anatomical names. In one of these functional interactions, 3D boundary representations, in which figures are separated from their backgrounds, are formed in cortical area V2. These depth-selective V2 boundaries select motion signals at the appropriate depths in MT via V2-to-MT signals. In another, motion signals in MT disambiguate locally incomplete or ambiguous boundary signals in V2 via MT-to-V1-to-V2 feedback. The third functional property concerns resolution of the aperture problem along straight moving contours by propagating the influence of unambiguous motion signals generated at contour terminators or corners. Here, sparse “feature tracking signals” from, e.g., line ends, are amplified to overwhelm numerically superior ambiguous motion signals along line segment interiors. In the fourth, a spatially anisotropic motion grouping process takes place across perceptual space via MT-MST feedback to integrate veridical feature-tracking and ambiguous motion signals to determine a global object motion percept. The fifth property uses the MT-MST feedback loop to convey an attentional priming signal from higher brain areas back to V1 and V2. The model's use of mechanisms such as divisive normalization, endstopping, cross-orientation inhibition, and longrange cooperation is described. Simulated data include: the degree of motion coherence of rotating shapes observed through apertures, the coherent vs. element motion percepts separated in depth during the chopsticks illusion, and the rigid vs. non-rigid appearance of rotating ellipses.

TALLY HORN! ECHOES OF HOOFBEATS AND HAUNTS: RECORDED SELECTIONS FOR HORN AND PIANO

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the European hunting horn was an instrument associated with the thrill of the chase, rustic scenes, and the pageantry of royal hunts. The sound of this horn and the music that evolved from its heritage would inspire composers writing for the modern horn. TALLY HOrn! Echoes of Hoofbeats and Haunts: Recorded Selections for Horn and Piano are two compact discs of works for horn and piano as well as solo horn reflecting this association with the hunt and include additional works of expressive contrast – lyrical pieces and nocturnes. Nine of the pieces reflect the modern horn’s beginnings and they are Abbot’s Alla Caccia, Berge’s Horn-Lokk, Boutry’s Chassacor, Bozza’s En Fôret, Büsser’s La Chasse de St. Hubert, Pessard’s In the Forest, Piantoni’s Air de Chasse, Schmid’s Im Tiefsten Walde, and Vinter’s Hunter’s Moon. By contrast, three of the selections, Gliére’s Nocturne, Strauss’ Nocturno, and Van Ecchaute’s Nachtpoëma are nocturnes that showcase the expressive quality of the horn. In addition, Bush’s Autumn Poem, Bacon’s Song After the Rain, and Webber’s Summer Pastures are included for their lyric qualities and evocations of nature. The largest work of the project is John Williams’s Concerto for Horn. Its five movements feature both hunting horn traits and expressive qualities. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Grace Cho were the two pianists engaged for the recording. The recording engineer was Edward Kelly. The producer was Carlos Rodriquez. The pieces were recorded at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church sanctuary in Spencerville, Maryland between November 2010 and February 2011.

Caza y comercio de cueros de Tupinambis spp. en un departamento de la provincia de San Luis y la relación con los mercados mundiales y las políticas de conservación

p.187-196

RED COATS AND WILD BIRDS: MILITARY CULTURE AND ORNITHOLOGY ACROSS THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH EMPIRE

“Red coats and wild birds: military culture and ornithology across the nineteenth-century British Empire” investigates the intersections between British military culture and the practices and ideas of ornithology, with a particular focus on the British Mediterranean. Considering that British officers often occupied several imperial sites over the course of their military careers, to what extent did their movements shape their ornithological knowledge and identities at “home” and abroad? How did British military naturalists perceive different local cultures (with different attitudes to hunting, birds, field science, etc.) and different local natures (different sets of birds and environments)? How can trans-imperial careers be written using not only textual sources (for example, biographies and personal correspondence) but also traces of material culture? In answering these questions, I centre my work on the Mediterranean region as a “colonial sea” in the production of hybrid identities and cultural practices, and the mingling of people, ideas, commodities, and migratory birds. I focus on the life geographies of four military officers: Thomas Wright Blakiston, Andrew Leith Adams, L. Howard Lloyd Irby, and Philip Savile Grey Reid. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Mediterranean region emerged as a crucial site for the security of the British “empire route” to India and South Asia, especially with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Military stations served as trans-imperial sites, connecting Britain to India through the flow of military manpower, commodities, information, and bodily experiences across the empire. By using a “critical historical geopolitics of empire” to examine the material remnants of the “avian imperial archive,” I demonstrate how the practices and performances of British military field ornithology helped to: materialize the British Mediterranean as a moral “semi-tropical” place for the physical and cultural acclimatization of British officers en route to and from India; reinforce imperial presence in the region; and make “visible in new ways” the connectivity of North Africa to Europe through the geographical distribution of birds. I also highlight the ways in which the production of ornithological knowledge by army officers was entwined with forms of temperate martial masculinity.

SuperWASP-N extrasolar planet candidates between 18 <RA <21h

The SuperWASP-I (Wide Angle Search for Planets-I) instrument observed 6.7 million stars between 8 and 15mag from La Palma during the 2004 May-September season. Our transit-hunting algorithm selected 11626 objects from the 184442 stars within the RA (right ascension) range 18-21h. We describe our thorough selection procedure whereby catalogue information is exploited along with careful study of the SuperWASP data to filter out, as far as possible, transit mimics. We have identified 35 candidates which we recommend for follow-up observations.

SuperWASP-N extrasolar planet candidates from fields 06h

TheWide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) survey currently operates two installations, designated SuperWASP-N and SuperWASP-S, located in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. These installations are designed to provide high time-resolution photometry for the purpose of detecting transiting extrasolar planets, asteroids, and transient events. Here, we present results from a transit-hunting observing campaign using SuperWASP-N covering a right ascension (RA) range of 06h < RA < 16h. This paper represents the fifth and final in the series of transit candidates released from the 2004 observing season. In total, 729 335 stars from 33 fields were monitored with 130 566 having sufficient precision to be scanned for transit signatures. Using a robust transit detection algorithm and selection criteria, six stars were found to have events consistent with the signature of a transiting extrasolar planet based on the photometry, including the known transiting planet XO-1b. These transit candidates are presented here along with discussion of follow-up observations and the expected number of candidates in relation to the overall observing strategy.

El conjunto de azulejos nazaríes de principios del siglo XV del Museo Arqueológico de Córdoba

En este trabajo se analiza la iconografía y se concreta la datación y el origen del conjunto de treinta y cinco azulejos nazaríes decorados en cobalto y reflejo metálico procedentes de la que hemos identificado como capilla de Santiago en la antigua iglesia de San Bartolomé, erigida en la Judería de Córdoba tras el asalto de 1391. Se plantea, asimismo, que Diego Fernández Abencaçin, judeoconverso y alfaqueque mayor del rey y presumiblemente el comitente de la capilla funeraria, fue quien adquirió los azulejos. Hasta ahora, la única interpretación de las escenas figuradas que los decoran apuntaba a una supuesta representación de alegorías de los sentidos; no obstante, la comparación con ejemplos paralelos, el estudio de la indumentaria de los personajes y el estilo nos lleva a identificarlas como materialización de los gustos y aficiones de las clases privilegiadas a comienzos del s. XV: el amor cortés, la caza, la fauna, los ministriles –especialmente el ciego acompañado de lazarillo–, las danzarinas y los catadores de vino; costumbres que el alfaqueque conoció durante sus estancias en la corte y en el desempeño de sus obligaciones, no sólo como redentor de cautivos cristianos, sino como trujimán y enviado del infante don Fernando –futuro rey de Aragón– durante la campaña de Antequera ante la corte nazarita de Granada y en las treguas posteriorment e firmadas con Yusuf III, lo que ha posibilitado concretar la datación de los azulejos entre 1410 y 1415.

Integrating field sports, hare population management and conservation

Conflicts between field sports, animal welfare and species conservation are frequently contentious. In Ireland, the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) competitively tests the speed and agility of two greyhounds by using a live hare as a lure. Each coursing club is associated with a number of discrete localities, known as preserves, which are managed favourably for hares including predator control, prohibition of other forms of hunting such as shooting and poaching and the maintenance and enhancement of suitable hare habitat. We indirectly tested the efficacy of such management by comparing hare abundance within preserves to that in the wider countryside. In real terms, mean hare density was 18 times higher, and after controlling for variance in habitat remained 3 times higher, within ICC preserves than the wider countryside. Whilst we cannot rule out the role of habitat, our results suggest that hare numbers are maintained at high levels in ICC preserves either because clubs select areas of high hare density and subsequently have a negligible effect on numbers or that active population management positively increases hare abundance. The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus Bell, 1837 is one of the highest priority species for conservation action in Ireland and without concessions for its role in conservation, any change in the legal status Of hare coursing under animal welfare grounds, may necessitate an increase in Government subsidies for conservation on private land together with a strengthened capacity for legislation enforcement.

More-than-human histories and the failure of grand state schemes: sylviculture in the New Forest, England

As James Scott’s Seeing Like a State attests, forests played a central role in the rise of the modern state, specifically as test spaces for evolving methods of managing state resources at a distance, and as the location for grand state schemes. Together, such ambitions necessitated both the elimination of local understandings of forest management – to be replaced by centrally controlled scientific precision – and a narrowing of state vision. Forests thus began to be conflated with trees (and their timber) alone. All other aspects of the forest, both human and non-human, were ignored. Through the lens of the 18th and early 19th century New Forest in southern England, this paper examines the impact of government attempts to shift the focus of state forests from being remnant medieval hunting spaces to spaces of income generation through the creation of vast sylvicultural plantations. This state scheme not only reworked the relationship between the metropole and the provinces – something effected through systematic surveys and novel bureaucratic procedures – but also dramatically impacted upon the biophysical and cultural geographies of the forest. By equating forest space with trees alone, the British state failed to legislate for the actions of both local commoners and non-human others in resisting their schemes. Indeed, subsequent oppositions proved not only the tenacity of commoners in protecting their livelihoods but also the destructive power of non-human actants, specifically rabbits and mice. The paper concludes that grand state schemes necessarily fail due to their own internal illogic: the narrowing of state vision creates blind spots in which human and non-human lives assert their own visions.

Changes in the prevalence of badger persecution in Northern Ireland.

Animal populations generally increase after release from hunting pressure and/or cessation of illegal persecution. Implementation of full legislative protection of the Eurasian badger Meles meles in Great Britain is thought to have led to increases in badger abundance due to reduced levels of persecution. Conversely, prevalence of badger persecution in Northern Ireland was historically much higher than in Great Britain, and badger abundance remained stable over time despite similar legislative protection. We examined temporal changes in the prevalence of badger sett disturbance in Northern Ireland from 1990/1993 to 2007/2008 in relation to population status. A total of 56 (12.6%) of 445 setts surveyed during 1990/1993 had been disturbed compared to 29 (4.4%) of 653 setts during 2007/2008. This was a significant decline (-65%) in the incidence of sett disturbance over the 14–18-year period. Most notably, the incidence of digging at badger setts, indicative of local badger baiting activity, declined from 50% to 3.5% of disturbed setts. Signs of recent disturbance were significantly more frequent at disused setts suggesting that once disturbed, badgers may vacate a sett. The number of badger social groups in Northern Ireland did not differ between the two study periods, suggesting that previously high levels of badger persecution did not limit the number of badger social groups. The stability of the badger population in Northern Ireland compared to the growing population in Great Britain cannot be attributed to changes in the prevalence of persecution. Differences in the trajectories of both populations could be due to a range of factors including climate, habitat composition and structure, farming practices or food availability. More work is needed to determine how such factors influence badger population dynamics.

Putting a Price on Prisoner Release: The History of Bail and the Future of Parole

In this article, we argue that the history of bail foretells the future of parole. Under a plancalled the Conditional Post-Conviction Release Bond Act (recently passed into law inthree states), US prisoners can secure early release only after posting ‘post-convictionbail’. As with pre-trial bail, the fledgling model would require prisoners to pay a percent-age of the bail amount to secure their release under the contractual responsibility of acommercial bail agency. If release conditions are breached, bounty hunters are legallyempowered to seize and return the parolee to prison. Our inquiry outlines the origins of this post-conviction bond plan and the research upon which it is based. Drawing on the‘new penology’ framework, we identify several underlying factors that make for a ripeadvocacy environment and set the stage for widespread state-level adoption of this planin the near future. Post-conviction bail fits squarely within the growing policy trendstoward privatization, managerialism, and actuarial justice. Most importantly, though,advocates have the benefit of precedent on their side, as most US states have longrelied on a system of commercial bail bonding and private bounty hunting to manageconditional pretrial release.

Post-mortem examination of a wild muntjac from Northern Ireland.

1. Deer are of major concern with regards to impacts on biodiversity, forestry and agriculture as well as human health. The invasive Reeves’ muntjac deer Muntiacus reevesi, native to Asia but established in Great Britain, has recently appeared in the wild in Ireland.

2. The first verified record in the wild in Northern Ireland was confirmed during June 2009 as a result of a road traffic accident near Newtownards, Co. Down. The second record was a culled animal shot in the grounds of Mount Stewart, Co. Down during June 2011.

3. The current report aimed to perform a detailed investigation of the most recently obtained animal to establish a) its age, b) its genetic relationship with the first animal and c) the threat it might pose in terms of carrying endo- or ecto-parasites or other micro-pathogens, principally viruses and bacteria.

4. Analysis of its dentition suggested the culled animal was 56 weeks old (range 55-57 weeks).

5. Genetic analysis indicated that there was no possibility of a father-son relationship with the buck killed in 2009. There was a 6.25% probability of both individuals being full-sibs and a 25% probability of a half-sib relationship.

6. The deer was free from all the major pathogens. Most significantly, a novel species of Gammaherpesvirus was detected most closely matching type 2 ruminant rhadinovirus (Gammaherpesvirinae) from mule deer. Further sequencing is required to provide a definitive classification. There is no evidence suggesting this virus is pathogenic but its detection is nonetheless of concern.

7. During late 2009 (after the first animal was recovered) and early 2010, there were a number of sightings of muntjac within the vicinity of Mount Stewart. Our results indicate that the animal shot in June 2011 could not have been this same animal, as the shot animal must have been born in spring 2010. Moreover, genetic analysis indicates that the two recovered individuals were highly unlikely to share the same mother and father, suggesting they were the offspring of a minimum of three breeding adults (two fathers and one mother or two mothers and one father). This brings the total number of known individuals to 5 including the two offspring. The location of the breeding adults is unknown and may be either in captivity with subsequent escapees, or deliberate releases, or be free living in the wild. However, a further sighting during early 2012 may suggest a wild origin.