Intraspecific and interspecific variation in the Cryptotis nigrescens species complex of small-eared shrews (Insectivora, Soricidae) : with the description of a new species from Colombia / Neal Woodman, Robert M. Timm.

n.s. no.74(1993)

Variation morphogeometrics of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Brazil

The morphometrics of the honey bee Apis mellifera L., 1758 has been widely studied mainly because this species has great ecological importance, high adaptation capacity, wide distribution and capacity to effectively adapt to different regions. The current study aimed to investigate the morphometric variations of wings and pollen baskets of honey bees Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier, 1836 from the five regions in Brazil. We used geometric morphometrics to identify the existence of patterns of variations of shape and size in Africanized honey bees in Brazil 16 years after the classic study with this species, allowing a temporal and spatial comparative analysis using new technological resources to assess morphometrical data. Samples were collected in 14 locations in Brazil, covering the five geographical regions of the country. The shape analysis and multivariate analyses of the wing allowed to observe that there is a geographical pattern among the population of Apis mellifera in Brazil. The geographical variations may be attributed to the large territorial extension of the country in addition to the differences between the bioregions.

Space-time variation of the relative abundance of Limnoperna fortunei in deep zones of São Gonçalo Channel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This work describes the spatial-temporal variation of the relative abundance and size of Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) collected in São Gonçalo Channel through bottom trawl with a 0.5 cm mesh, at depths between 3 and 6 m. The estimative of mean relative abundance (CPUE) ranged from 2,425.3 individuals per drag (ind./drag) in the spring to 21,715.0 ind./drag in the fall, with an average of 9,515.3 ind./drag throughout the year. The estimated mean density of L. fortunei for the deep region of São Gonçalo Channel ranged from 1.2 to 10.3 ind./m², and it was recorded a maximum density of 84.9 ind./m² in the fall of 2008. The method of sampling using bottom trawl enabled the capture of L. fortunei under the soft muddy bottom of the channel, in different sizes ranging from 0.4 to 3.2 cm. This shows that the structure of the L. fortunei adult population under the bottom of the São Gonçalo Channel is composed mostly of small individuals (<1.4 cm), which represent up to 74% of the population collected.

Temporal and spatial variation of rocky shores intertidal benthic communities in Southeast Brazil

The relationships between environmental factors and temporal and spatial variations of benthic communities of three rocky shores of the state of Espírito Santo, Southeast Brazil, were studied. Sampling was conducted every three months, from August 2006 to May 2007, using intersection points. Chthamalus bisinuatus (Pilsbry, 1916) (Crustacea) and Brachidontes spp. (Mollusca) were the most abundant taxa, occupying the upper level of the intertidal zone of the rocky shore. The species richness was higher at the lower levels. The invasive species Isognomon bicolor (C. B. Adams, 1845) (Mollusca) occurred at low densities in the studied areas. The clustering analysis dendrogram indicated a separation of communities based on exposed and sheltered areas. According to the variance analyses, the communities were significantly different among the studied areas and seasons. The extent of wave exposure and shore slope influenced the species variability. The Setibão site showed the highest diversity and richness, most likely due to greater wave exposure. The communities showed greater variation in the lower levels where environmental conditions were less severe, relative to the other levels.

Daily variation of zooplankton abundance and evenness in the Rosana reservoir, Brazil: biotic and abiotic inferences

The zooplankton community presents stochastic temporal fluctuation and heterogeneous spatial variation determined by the relationships among the organisms and environmental conditions. We predicted that the temporal and spatial zooplankton distribution is heterogeneous and discrete, respectively, and that the daily variation of most abundant species is related to environmental conditions, specifically the availability of resources. Zooplankton samples were collected daily at three sampling stations in a lateral arm of the Rosana Reservoir (SP/PR). The zooplankton did not present significant differences in abundance and evenness among sampling stations, but the temporal variation of these attributes was significant. Abiotic variables and algal resource availability have significantly explained the daily variation of the most abundant species (p<0.001), however, the species distribution makes inferences on biotic relationships between them. Thus, not only the food resource availability is influential on the abundance of principal zooplankton species, but rather a set of factors (abiotic variables and biotic relationships).

Variation of the ichthyofauna along the Goioerê River: an important tributary of the Piquiri-Paraná basin

The construction of reservoirs is considered an important source of impacts on the fish fauna, severely altering the structure of the assemblage. This paper aimed to describe the structure of the fish assemblage of the Goioerê River, determining its longitudinal distribution and patterns of species dominance. The evaluation of its longitudinal variation in the diversity and abundance of the fish assemblage was conducted in July and October 2004 and January and May 2005. The collections were carried out near the headwaters (Gurucaia), middle stretch (Olaria), just above the falls (Paiquerê) and downstream (Foz). Forty-four species were captured. The Gurucaia fish assemblages differed significantly from Olaria, Paiquerê and Foz. The Olaria assemblages differed significantly from the Foz. Gurucaia showed the lowest diversity and abundance of species. Astyanax aff paranae Eigenmann,1914 (78% of the total) was found to be dominant at this site. Almost the same species richness was found at Olaria and Paiquerê, although Olaria had the greatest abundance of individuals. Astyanax aff paranae, Cyphocharax modestus (Fernández-Yépez, 1948) and Astyanax altiparanae Garutti & Britski, 2000 were the top three dominants and comprised over 71% of the total number of fish caught. At Paiquerê, Astyanax altiparanae, Hypostomus aff ancistroides (Ihering, 1911) and Loricariichthys platymetopon Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1979 composed 58% of the catches. Thirty-one species were recorded at Foz, which presented the greatest richness. The most abundant species were Apareiodon affinis (Steindachner, 1879), Galeocharax knerii (Steindachner, 1879) and A.altiparanae, which contributed to 50% of the total catches in this environment.These results record the fish biodiversity and how the community is longitudinally structured in the Goioerê River, and also demonstrate how this type of evaluation is important to understanding the fish community patterns and finding solutions to problems related to the conservation and management of the basin.

Geographic variation in ectoparasitic mites diversity in Tadarida Brasiliensis (Chiroptera, Molossidae)

Tadarida brasiliensis (Geoffroy, 1824), the Brazilian free-tailed bat, is an insectivorous bat that occurs from southern United States of America to southern South America. In this study we present the first data on diversity of ectoparasitic mites of T. brasiliensis in Brazil. A compilation and analysis of the studies of mite diversity conducted in different points the geographic distribution this bat species are provided. The mites were collected from March 2010 to November 2011 on 160 T. brasiliensis adult bats captured in southern Brazil. Four species of mites have been found: Chiroptonyssus robustipes (Ewing, 1925), Ewingana longa (Ewing, 1938), Ewingana inaequalis (Radford, 1948), and specimens of Cheyletidae. Chiroptonyssus robustipes was the most prevalent species (100%), followed by E. longa (20%), E. inaequalis (10%), and specimens of Cheyletidae (1.25%). The data currently available show that C. robustipes parasitizes T. brasiliensis throughout its region of occurrence, and this mite is highly prevalent and abundant. The two species of Ewingana accompany the geographical distribution of T. brasiliensis, but with much lower prevalence and abundance.

Geographic variation among brown and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in North America / by E. Raymond Hall.

no.13 (1984)

Defining the criteria for the evaluation of self-study multimedia language learning materials: do they facilitate or inhibit learner autonomy?

Durant els darrers anys, s’han publicat un gran nombre de materials multimèdia destinats a l’aprenentatge de llengües, la major part dels quals son CD-ROM dissenyats com a cursos per l’autoaprenentatge. Amb aquests materials, els alumnes poden treballar independentment sense l’assessorament d’un professor, i per aquest motiu s’ha afirmat que promouen i faciliten l’aprenentatge autònom. Aquesta relació, però, no es certa, com Phil Benson i Peter Voller 1997:10) han manifestat encertadament:(…) Such claims are often dubious, however, because of the limited range of options and roles offered to the learner. Nevertheless, technologies of education in the broadest sense can be considered to be either more or less supportive of autonomy. The question is what kind of criteria do we apply in evaluating them? En aquest article presentem una investigació conjunta on es defineixen els criteris que poden ser utilitzats per avaluar materials multimèdia en relació a la seva facilitat per permetre l’aprenentatge autònom. Aquests criteris son la base d’un qüestionari que s’ha emprat per avaluar una selecció de CD-ROM destinats a l’autoaprenentatge de llengües. La estructura d’aquest article és la següent: - Una introducció de l’estudi - Els criteris que s’han utilitzar per la creació del qüestionari - Els resultats generals de l’avaluació - Les conclusions que s’han extret i la seva importància pel disseny instructiu multimèdia

Investigating independent language learning in classroom-based EFL Learners

La recerca efectuada sobre les estratègies d’aprenentatge de llengües ha demostrat que els aprenents que utilitzen estratègies metacognitives (planificació, revisió i avaluació) desenvolupen estratègies cognitives més eficaces (Anderson, 2002). Aquest article descriu les activitats que 43 estudiants de llengua estrangera de la Universitat de Vic van emprendre de forma independent i dedueix les estratègies metacognitives que van utilitzar sense cap formació prèvia en estratègies. Els estudiants van completar un dossier on expressaven les necessitats d’aprenentatge, la planificació i supervisió de les activitats i finalment l’avaluació de l’aprenentatge que havien portat a terme de manera independent fora de les hores lectives. La primera fase de l’anàlisi de les dades revela que, tot i que els estudiants foren capaços d’expressar les necessitats d’aprenentatge en general, la formulació d’objectius i la supervisió de les activitats fou escassa. La discussió gira entorn de la formació dels estudiants de llengües estrangeres en estratègies metacognitives i la integració de l’aprenentatge autònom dins el currículum docent.

Eliciting and fostering learners' metacognitive knowledge about language learning in self-directed learning programs: a review of data collection methods and procedures

Són molts els estudis que avui en dia incideixen en la necessitat d’oferir un suport metodològic i psicològic als aprenents que treballen de manera autònoma. L’objectiu d’aquest suport és ajudar-los a desenvolupar les destreses que necessiten per dirigir el seu aprenentatge així com una actitud positiva i una major conscienciació envers aquest aprenentatge. En definitiva, aquests dos tipus de preparació es consideren essencials per ajudar els aprenents a esdevenir més autònoms i més eficients en el seu propi aprenentatge. Malgrat això, si bé és freqüent trobar estudis que exemplifiquen aplicacions del suport metodològic dins els seus programes, principalment en la formació d’estratègies o ajudant els aprenents a desenvolupar un pla de treball, aquest no és el cas quan es tracta de la seva preparació psicològica. Amb rares excepcions, trobem estudis que documentin com s’incideix en les actituds i en les creences dels aprenents, també coneguts com a coneixement metacognitiu (CM), en programes que fomenten l’autonomia en l’aprenentatge. Els objectius d’aquest treball son dos: a) oferir una revisió d’estudis que han utilitzat diferents mitjans per incidir en el CM dels aprenents i b) descriure les febleses i avantatges dels procediments i instruments que utilitzen, tal com han estat valorats en estudis de recerca, ja que ens permetrà establir criteris objectius sobre com i quan utilitzar-los en programes que fomentin l’aprenentatge autodirigit.

The Third Language in Dubbing

Si tenim en compte que el procés de traducció és un procés complex, el procés de traducció d'un text audiovisual encara ho és més. A part dels problemes tècnics com per exemple la sincronització labial i temporal hi ha altres factors a tenir en compte com és l'ús d'estructures lingüístiques i textuals específiques d'aquest canal de comunicació. Moltes de les pel·lícules que sovint podem veure a la pantalla estan produïdes als Estats Units, i per tant estan en anglès, i hi ha una necessitat imperiosa de traduir-les al català i castellà. A part d'això, en algunes ocasions el text audiovisual original conté més d'una llengua; aquest és el cas de Raid on Rommel i Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, entre d'altres. En aquests casos, ens trobem amb una nova dificultat: el traductor ha de traduir aquesta tercera llengua (o dialecte) a la corresponent cultura d'arribada. Aquest article vol presentar i exposar alguns exemples d'aquest tipus de dificultats així com també les diferents solucions que s'han aportat davant una "tercera" llengua.

Single period Markowitz portfolio selection, performance gauging and duality: a variation on Luenberger's shortage function

Markowitz portfolio theory (1952) has induced research into the efficiency of portfolio management. This paper studies existing nonparametric efficiency measurement approaches for single period portfolio selection from a theoretical perspective and generalises currently used efficiency measures into the full mean-variance space. Therefore, we introduce the efficiency improvement possibility function (a variation on the shortage function), study its axiomatic properties in the context of Markowitz efficient frontier, and establish a link to the indirect mean-variance utility function. This framework allows distinguishing between portfolio efficiency and allocative efficiency. Furthermore, it permits retrieving information about the revealed risk aversion of investors. The efficiency improvement possibility function thus provides a more general framework for gauging the efficiency of portfolio management using nonparametric frontier envelopment methods based on quadratic optimisation.

Reduction, Linearization and stability of relative equilibria for mechanical systems on riemannian manifolds

Consider a Riemannian manifold equipped with an infinitesimal isometry. For this setup, a unified treatment is provided, solely in the language of Riemannian geometry, of techniques in reduction, linearization, and stability of relative equilibria. In particular, for mechanical control systems, an explicit characterization is given for the manner in which reduction by an infinitesimal isometry, and linearization along a controlled trajectory "commute." As part of the development, relationships are derived between the Jacobi equation of geodesic variation and concepts from reduction theory, such as the curvature of the mechanical connection and the effective potential. As an application of our techniques, fiber and base stability of relative equilibria are studied. The paper also serves as a tutorial of Riemannian geometric methods applicable in the intersection of mechanics and control theory.

Flight Plan (Perloff Variation)

Combined media on photographic paper. 42" x 77¼”