Hunting Down Dead People: Genealogy Resources in the Iowa State University Library

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Numer and type of seeds introduced by footwear of travelers to Svalbard and germination success in 2008

Expanding visitation to Polar regions combined with climate warming increases the potential for alien species introduction and establishment. We quantified vascular plant propagule pressure associated with different groups of travelers to the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, and evaluated the potential of introduced seeds to germinate under the most favorable average Svalbard soil temperature (10°C). We sampled the footwear of 259 travelers arriving by air to Svalbard during the summer of 2008, recording 1,019 seeds: a mean of 3.9 (±0.8) seeds per traveler. Assuming the seed influx is representative for the whole year, we estimate a yearly seed load of around 270,000 by this vector alone. Seeds of 53 species were identified from 17 families, with Poaceae having both highest diversity and number of seeds. Eight of the families identified are among those most invasive worldwide, while the majority of the species identified were non-native to Svalbard. The number of seeds was highest on footwear that had been used in forested and alpine areas in the 3 months prior to traveling to Svalbard, and increased with the amount of soil affixed to footwear. In total, 26% of the collected seeds germinated under simulated Svalbard conditions. Our results demonstrate high propagule transport through aviation to highly visited cold-climate regions and isolated islands is occurring. Alien species establishment is expected to increase with climate change, particularly in high latitude regions, making the need for regional management considerations a priority.

Micro-facies and µXRF element scanning data of Dead Sea sediment cores DSEn and 5017-1

Laminated lake sediments from the Dead Sea basin provide high-resolution records of climatic variability in the eastern Mediterranean region, which is especially sensitive to changing climatic conditions. In this study, we aim on detailed reconstruction of climatic fluctuations and related changes in the frequency of flood and dust deposition events at ca. 3300 and especially at 2800 cal. yr BP from high-resolution sediment records of the Dead Sea basin. A ca. 4-m-thick, mostly varved sediment section from the western margin of the Dead Sea (DSEn - Ein Gedi profile) was analysed and correlated to the new International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project core 5017-1 from the deep basin. To detect even single event layers, we applied a multi-proxy approach of high-resolution microscopic thin section analyses, micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF) element scanning and magnetic susceptibility measurements, supported by grain size data and palynological analyses. Based on radiocarbon and varve dating, two pronounced dry periods were detected at ~3500-3300 and ~3000-2400 cal. yr BP which are differently expressed in the sediment records. In the shallow-water core (DSEn), the older dry period is characterised by a thick sand deposit, whereas the sedimentological change at 2800 cal. yr BP is less pronounced and characterised mainly by an enhanced frequency of coarse detrital layers interpreted as erosion events. In the 5017-1 deep-basin core, both dry periods are depicted by halite deposits. The onset of the younger dry period coincides with the Homeric Grand Solar Minimum at ca. 2800 cal. yr BP. Our results suggest that during this period, the Dead Sea region experienced an overall dry climate, superimposed by an increased occurrence of flash floods caused by a change in synoptic weather patterns.

Dead Sea lake level for the last 260 ka

The rain regime of the Levant during the late Quaternary was controlled primarily by Mediterranean cyclonic systems associated with North Atlantic climate shifts. Lake levels in the Dead Sea basin have been robust recorders of the regional hydrology and generally indicate highstand (wet) conditions throughout glacial intervals and lowstands (dry) during interglacials. However, sporadic deposition of travertines and speleothems occurred in the Negev Desert and Arava Valley during past interglacials, suggesting intrusions of humidity from southern sources probably in association with enhanced activity of mid-latitude Red Sea synoptic troughs and/or low-latitude tropical plumes. The southerly incursions of wetness were superimposed on the long-term interglacial Levantine arid conditions, as reflected by the current prevailing hyperaridity, and could have had an important impact on human migra- tion through the Red Sea-Dead Sea corridor.

Effects of Galleria mellonella cadavers infected with Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema rarum, their macerates and dead infective juveniles on Meloidogyne javanica suppression

Nematodes of the Meloidogyne genus affect to most of crops of an economic importance in Argentina. Researches related to new control strategies are needed to reduce the damage produced by these organisms. The objective of this work was to compare the effects of Galleria mellonella cadavers infected with the Argentine isolates Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Rama Caída and Steinernema rarum NOE, cadaver macerates and dead infective juveniles (IJs) on M. javanica suppression. Experiments were performed using 24-well plates and pepper plants grown in a growth chamber. The entomopathogenic nematodes-infected G. mellonella cadavers, their cadaver macerates and dead IJs were effective in suppressing M. javanica second-stage juveniles under laboratory conditions. The use of H. bacteriophora-infected cadavers caused a significant decrease in the number of galls and egg masses on pepper plants parasitized by M. javanica, in a growth-chamber.

A dispute in the world of the dead : René Descartes and Andreas Rüdiger

En 1731 un autor alemán anónimo publicó un diálogo del muerto continuando la tradición comenzada en la Grecia antigua por Luciano de Samosata. Hoy sobrevive una única copia del texto, publicada sin referencia del lugar de publicación o impresor y se encuentra ahora en el Evangelisches Predigerseminar Bibliothek en Wittenberg. Los protagonistas son el filósofo y físico Andreas Rüdiger (1673-1731) y René Descartes, quien representa en el diálogo a un tipo muy diverso de filósofo de la figura “histórica" que trascendió hasta nosotros en sus obras. Este artículo se propone reconstruir la composición de este texto raro y enigmático y contextualizar la perspectiva ideológica del autor en las controversias que animaban el trasfondo filosófico de las universidades alemanas de los comienzos del siglo XVIII.

Abundance of plant macrofossils, mollusca and ostracoda in sediments obtained near Tessin, north Germany

A depression filled with Late Glacial and Holocene sediments was excavated during the geological exploration and recovery of a dump area near Tessin close to Rostock, and initiated the studies of the present paper. Pebble analysis of three exposed or respectively drilled till horizons as well as pollenanalytical, carpological and faunistical studies carried out allow the stratigraphical subdivision of the Quaternary sequence of the dump area. The basal till was probably the result of dead ice decay, and was lithostratigraphically assigned to the Pomerian Stage (qw2). The palynological results of boreholes RKS 19/93 and A/92 reveal pre-Allerod and other sediments instead of the expected interweichselian deposits. Based on the palynological and carpological findings, we correlated the beginning of the late glacial development in the locality with the end of the Meiendorf-lnterstadial sensu Menke in Bock et al. (1985, doi:10.3285/eg.35.1.18). The limnic-telmatic sedimentation could be observed pollen floristically probably starting with the Meiendorf-lnterstadial (Hippophae-Betula nana-phase) followed by the Bolling-(Betula nana-B. alba s.l.-Artemisia-Helianthemum-Poaceae-phase) and the Allerad-lnterstadial [Betula alba s.l.-(Pinus)-Cyperaceae-phase] lasting up to the Younger Dryas (Juniperus-Artemisia-Poaceae-phase). Sedimentation closed during the Younger Dryas with the accumulation of fine sands. It was reactivated later during the Holocene due to the anthropogene influence (Older and Younger Subatlantic, dampness of the depression by clearing).

¿Por qué fantaseamos con el apocalipsis zombie? Lo que dice de "nosotros" el éxito The Walking Dead y otras ficciones del capitalismo tardío

Fil: Labra, Diego. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

¿Por qué fantaseamos con el apocalipsis zombie? Lo que dice de "nosotros" el éxito The Walking Dead y otras ficciones del capitalismo tardío

Fil: Labra, Diego. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

¿Por qué fantaseamos con el apocalipsis zombie? Lo que dice de "nosotros" el éxito The Walking Dead y otras ficciones del capitalismo tardío

Fil: Labra, Diego. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Contribution of woody habitat islands to the conservation of birds and their potential ecosystem services in an extensive Colombian rangeland

The conservation of birds and their habitats is essential to maintain well-functioning ecosystems including human-dominated habitats. In simplified or homogenized landscapes, patches of natural and semi-natural habitat are essential for the survival of plant and animal populations. We compared species composition and diversity of trees and birds between gallery forests, tree islands and hedges in a Colombian savanna landscape to assess how fragmented woody plant communities affect forest bird communities and how differences in habitat characteristics influenced bird species traits and their potential ecosystem function. Bird and tree diversity was higher in forests than in tree islands and hedges. Soil depth influenced woody species distribution, and canopy cover and tree height determined bird species distribution, resulting in plant and bird communities that mainly differed between forest and non-forest habitat. Bird and tree species and traits widely co-varied. Bird species in tree islands and hedges were on average smaller, less specialized to habitat and more tolerant to disturbance than in forest, but dietary differences did not emerge. Despite being less complex and diverse than forests, hedges and tree islands significantly contribute to the conservation of forest biodiversity in the savanna matrix. Forest fragments remain essential for the conservation of forest specialists, but hedges and tree islands facilitate spillover of more tolerant forest birds and their ecological functions such as seed dispersal from forest to the savanna matrix.