New distribution record of Cybocephalus kathrynae (Coleoptera, Cybocephalidae) on Mona Island, Puerto Rico

New distribution record of Cybocephalus Kathrynae (Coleoptera, Cybocephalidae) on Mona Island, Puerto Rico. A new record of Cybocephalus kathrynae T.R. Smith (Cybocephalidae) is reported for Puerto Rico. Adults were collected from the flowers of Mammillaria nivosa (Cactaceae) on Mona Island Reserve. Prior to this study, this beetle species was only reported for Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties, Florida, USA.

Flora planctónica en el estrecho de Bransfield y alrededores de la isla Elefante. Verano austral 2003

Estudio de la disponibilidad del alimento como un factor de contribución y abundancia del krill.

Monitoreo y marcación de invertebrados marinos, Callao, Perú, 2014

En los alrededores de la isla San Lorenzo, en el 2014, bimensualmente se efectuaron muestreos en siete estaciones, monitoreando a los bivalvos Argopecten purpuratus, Glycymeris ovata y los crustáceos Romaleon polyodon, Cancer coronatus, Cancer porteri y Hepatus chilensis; también, se efectuaron experimentos de marcación y recaptura para determinar tasas de crecimiento en A. purpuratus, G. ovata, Semele spp., Gari solida y Protothaca thaca. A. purpuratus fue más abundante a finales del año, periodo en el que (como en el 2013) se registraron mayores valores de oxígeno a nivel de fondo del mar. R. polyodon presentó tendencia creciente de la talla media y biomasa. C. coronatus fue observado frecuentemente al norte de la isla San Lorenzo con densidades máximas de 10,67 ejemplares.10min. El cangrejo Platymera gaudichaudii fue observado solo en diciembre con densidades medias de 24 ejemplares.10 min de buceo. Se marcaron 7214 ejemplares y recapturaron 2730 ejemplares. G. ovata tuvo el 80% de recaptura y A. purpuratus 24%. Las tasas de crecimiento presentaron tendencias decrecientes a mayores tallas en todas las especies. En G. ovata la tasa de crecimiento fue mayor en ejemplares liberados en La Pampa diferente al comportamiento en Cabinzas; también se observaron diferencias entre las almejas Semele spp. y Gari solida. La abundancia de G. ovata en mayo y setiembre fue de hasta 190 ejemplares y 648,6 g por m². Las mayores densidades se registraron al noroeste de la isla San Lorenzo, mayor incidencia de esta especie estuvo en el substrato formado por conchuela molida. El rendimiento de G. ovata fue mayor en el área La Pampa respecto a Cabinzas, Palomino y Mal Nombre.

Incremental growth of the Patagonian Torres del Paine laccolith over 90 k.y.

The Miocene Paine Granite in the Torres del Paine Intrusive Complex, southern Chile, is an extraordinary example of an upper crustal mafic and granitic intrusion. The granite intruded as a series of three sheets, each one underplating the previous sheet along the top of the basal Paine Mafic Complex. High-precision U/Pb geochronology on single zircons using isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry yields distinct ages of 12.59 +/- 0.02 Ma and 12.50 +/- 0.02 Ma, respectively, for the first and last sheet of the laccolith. This age relationship is consistent with field observations. The zircon ages define a time frame of 90 +/- 40 k.y. for the emplacement of a >2000-m-thick granite laccollith. These precise U-Pb zircon ages permit identification of the pulses in a 20 k.y. range. The data obtained for the Paine Granite fill the gap between 100 k.y. and 100-1000 yr pulses described in the literature for crustal magma chambers.

Genetic differentiation of continental and island populations of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Europe.

Ten microsatellite loci and a partial sequence of the COII mitochondrial gene were used to investigate genetic differentiation in B. terrestris, a bumble bee of interest for its high-value crop pollination. The analysis included eight populations from the European continent, five from Mediterranean islands (six subspecies altogether) and one from Tenerife (initially described as a colour form of B. terrestris but recently considered as a separate species, B. canariensis). Eight of the 10 microsatellite loci displayed high levels of polymorphism in most populations. In B. terrestris populations, the total number of alleles detected per polymorphic locus ranged from 3 to 16, with observed allelic diversity from 3.8 +/- 0.5 to 6.5 +/- 1.4 and average calculated heterozygosities from 0.41 +/- 0.09 to 0.65 +/- 0.07. B. canariensis showed a significantly lower average calculated heterozygosity (0.12 +/- 0.08) and observed allelic diversity (1.5 +/- 0.04) as compared to both continental and island populations of B. terrestris. No significant differentiation was found among populations of B. terrestris from the European continent. In contrast, island populations were all significantly and most of them strongly differentiated from continental populations. B. terrestris mitochondrial DNA is characterized by a low nucleotide diversity: 0.18% +/- 0.07%, 0.20% +/- 0.04% and 0.27% +/- 0.04% for the continental populations, the island populations and all populations together, respectively. The only haplotype found in the Tenerife population differs by a single nucleotide substitution from the most common continental haplotype of B. terrestris. This situation, identical to that of Tyrrhenian islands populations and quite different from that of B. lucorum (15 substitutions between terrestris and lucorum mtDNA) casts doubts on the species status of B. canariensis. The large genetic distance between the Tenerife and B. terrestris populations estimated from microsatellite data result, most probably, from a severe bottleneck in the Canary island population. Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA data call for the protection of the island populations of B. terrestris against importation of bumble bees of foreign origin which are used as crop pollinators.

Igneous garnet and amphibole fractionation in the roots of island arcs: experimental constraints on andesitic liquids

To evaluate the role of garnet and amphibole fractionation at conditions relevant for the crystallization of magmas in the roots of island arcs, a series of experiments were performed on a synthetic andesite at conditions ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 GPa, 800-1,000 degrees C and variable H2O contents. At water undersaturated conditions and fO(2) established around QFM, garnet has a wide stability field. At 1.2 GPa garnet ? amphibole are the high-temperature liquidus phases followed by plagioclase at lower temperature. Clinopyroxene reaches its maximal stability at H2O-contents <= 9 wt% at 950 degrees C and is replaced by amphibole at lower temperature. The slopes of the plagioclase-in boundaries are moderately negative in T-XH2O space. At 0.8 GPa, garnet is stable at magmatic H2O contents exceeding 8 wt% and is replaced by spinel at decreasing dissolved H2O. The liquids formed by crystallization evolve through continuous silica increase from andesite to dacite and rhyolite for the 1.2 GPa series, but show substantial enrichment in FeO/MgO for the 0.8 GPa series related to the contrasting roles of garnet and amphibole in fractionating Fe-Mg in derivative liquids. Our experiments indicate that the stability of igneous garnet increases with increasing dissolved H2O in silicate liquids and is thus likely to affect trace element compositions of H2O-rich derivative arc volcanic rocks by fractionation. Garnet-controlled trace element ratios cannot be used as a proxy

Characterization of magmatic sulfur in the Aegean island arc by means of the δ34S values of fumarolic H2S, elemental S, and hydrothermal gypsum from Nisyros and Milos islands

A delta(34)S value of +6.3 +/- 1.5% was estimated for the rhyodacitic degassing magma present underneath the hydrothermal system of Nisyros, based on the S isotope ratios of H2S in fumarolic vapors. This value was estimated by modeling the irreversible water-rock mass transfers occurring during the generation of the hydrothermal liquid which separates these fumarolic vapors. The S isotope ratio of the rhyodacitic degassing magma of Nisyros is consistent with fractional crystallization of a parent basaltic magma with an initial delta(34)S value of +4% (+/-at least 1.5%). This positive value could be explained by mantle contamination due to by either transference of fluids derived from subducted materials or involvement of altered oceanic crust, whereas contribution of biogenic sulfides from sediments seems to be negligible or nil. This conclusion agrees with the lack of N-2 and CO2 from thermal decomposition of organic matter contained in subducted sediments, which is a characteristic of the whole Aegean arc system. Since hydrothermal S at Milos and Santorini has isotope ratios similar to those determined at Nisyros, it seems likely that common controlling processes are active throughout the Aegean island arc. (C) 2002 Elsevier, Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The red island and the seven dwarfs: body size reduction in Cheirogaleidae

AimSmall body size in Madagascar's dwarf and mouse lemurs (Cheirogaleidae) is generally viewed as primitive. We investigated the evolution of body size in this family and in its sister-taxon, the Lepilemuridae, from phylogenetic, ontogenetic and adaptive perspectives. LocationMadagascar. MethodsWe used a phylogenetic method to reconstruct the evolution of body size in lemurs, and allometric regression models of gestation periods and static and growth allometries in Cheirogaleidae and Lepilemuridae to test the hypothesis that dwarfing occurred as a result of truncated ontogeny (progenesis). We also examined adaptive hypotheses relating body size to environmental variability, life history, seasonality of reproduction, hypothermy (use of torpor), and a diet rich in plant exudates. ResultsOur results indicated that cheirogaleids experienced at least four independent events of body size reduction from an ancestor as large as living Lepilemuridae, by means of progenesis. Our interpretation is supported by the paedomorphic appearance and parallel ontogenetic trajectories of the dwarf taxa, as well as their very short gestation periods and increased fecundity. Lepilemur species that occupy more predictable environments are significantly larger than those occupying unpredictable habitats. Main conclusionsCheirogaleidae appear to be paedomorphic dwarfs, a consequence of progenesis, probably as an adaptation to high environmental unpredictability. Although the capacity to use hypothermy is related to small body size, this advantage is unlikely to have driven dwarfing in cheirogaleids. We propose that gummmivory/exudativory co-evolved with body size reduction in this clade, probably from a folivorous ancestor. Their small size is derived, and their suitability as models for the ancestral primate' is therefore dubious.

HCFC1 is a common component of active human CpG-island promoters and coincides with ZNF143, THAP11, YY1, and GABP transcription factor occupancy.

In human transcriptional regulation, DNA-sequence-specific factors can associate with intermediaries that orchestrate interactions with a diverse set of chromatin-modifying enzymes. One such intermediary is HCFC1 (also known as HCF-1). HCFC1, first identified in herpes simplex virus transcription, has a poorly defined role in cellular transcriptional regulation. We show here that, in HeLa cells, HCFC1 is observed bound to 5400 generally active CpG-island promoters. Examination of the DNA sequences underlying the HCFC1-binding sites revealed three sequence motifs associated with the binding of (1) ZNF143 and THAP11 (also known as Ronin), (2) GABP, and (3) YY1 sequence-specific transcription factors. Subsequent analysis revealed colocalization of HCFC1 with these four transcription factors at ∼90% of the 5400 HCFC1-bound promoters. These studies suggest that a relatively small number of transcription factors play a major role in HeLa-cell transcriptional regulation in association with HCFC1.

The Island of Drive. Representations, somatic states and the origin of drive

Freud defined the drive as "a concept on the frontier between the mental and the somatic". Today this view that was based on clinical observations interpreted within the psychoanalytical framework, can be revisited in light of the current neuroscientific notions of neuronal plasticity and somatic states. Indeed, through the mechanisms of plasticity experience leaves a trace that forms the neural basis of a representation of the experience. Such a representation R is associated with a somatic state S in the sense taken from the "somatic marker" model of Damasio. Thus, the internal reality of the subject, particularly the unconscious one, is constituted by such connected R's and S's. In the model that we discuss, the posterior insula represents the primary interoceptive cortex where information about somatic states S converges, while in the anterior insula the connection between R and S can take place and establish a neurobiological correlate for the notion of drive. We posit that the re-representations of S associated with R in the anterior insula may correspond to the Vorstellungsrepräsentanz postulated by Freud. We further propose that the tension between R and S established in the anterior insula is discharged according to the notion of drive through the motor arm of the limbic system, namely the anterior cingulate cortex which is heavily connected with the anterior insula.