Recasting the Net: Defining a Gender Agenda for Sustaining Life and Livelihoods in Fishing Communities

Thirty-nine participants from 18 countries, including women fishworkers, representatives of fishworker organizations and NGOs, activists and researchers, met at Mahabalipuram, India, during 7-10 July 2010, to discuss the theme “Recasting the Net: Defining a Gender Agenda for Sustaining Life and Livelihoods in Fishing Communities”. The workshop was meant to reflect on what needs to be done to develop a ‘gender agenda’ for sustaining life and livelihoods in fisheries. It was also organized against the backdrop of the growing international recognition of small-scale fisheries and efforts to enhance their contribution to food security and poverty alleviation, as evidenced in the deliberations of the the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This publication—the proceedings of the Mahabalipuram workshop—will be useful for fishworker organizations, gender activists, researchers, policymakers, fish farmers, members of civil society and anyone interested in gender, fisheries and livelihoods. (PDF contains 89 pages)

Life-history strategies of pike in a high-altitude loch in Scotland

Pike, Esox lucius, are present in Loch Callater at their highest altitude and most extreme habitat in the British Isles, with subarctic winter conditions and extended winter ice-cover. The response of pike in this environment is slower growth, due to a shorter growing season and the low availability of forage fish, giving the poorest reported length-at-age for pike in the British Isles. All pike were mature or had spawned in the same year, with gravid ovaries in April and normal recovering ovaries in June-July. As in other lochs with few prey fishes, the larger pike ate small items such as invertebrates.

Life history tactics of Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland

Popular articles about the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) usually state that ‘the Atlantic salmon is an anadromous species’, e.g. publications by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (North America), Atlantic Salmon Trust (UK), and WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and the life history is depicted as migration of juveniles from fresh water to the marine environment, with a return to where the fish were born as spawning adults. This article reviews the life history tactics of Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland.

A seven year study of the life cycle of the Mayfly Ephemera danica

Ephemera danica Müller, 1764 (Ephemeroptera) is one of the largest mayflies found in the British Isles with some females reaching over 30 mm. It is a common and widespread species found in rivers, lakes and streams throughout Europe and is particularly abundant in many of the lowland rivers of the British Isles. The larvae are burrowers – mainly found where silt accumulates below macrophytes. This article gives a general overview of research work on the factors affecting the life cycle of Ephemera danica over a seven year period (1995–2002) on two rivers, the River Test at Leckford in Hampshire and the North Wey at Tilford in Surrey.

Life cycle of Pisidium obtusale Jenyns. [Translation from: Informatsionnyi Byulleten Biologiya Vnutrennikh Vod No.3 17-21, 1969.]

Pisidium obtusale in the neighbourhood of Borka occurs in deep pools on upland bogs. The majority of water-bodies where this mollusc lives are temporary. Their bottoms are covered with sedges, and sometimes mosses occur. Evidently there is a marked attraction of P. obtusale to places overgrown by willow. In pools remote from scrub or woody vegetation it does not appear. Temporary water-bodies fill up with melt water in the middle or the end of April and finally dry up at the end of July or the beginning of August. Observations on the life cycle of P. obtusale started on 21 April 1966, following on the filling-up of the water-body by melt water. The findings of the study are presented in this paper.

On the feeding of the larvae of Chironomidae during the planktonic period of life [Translation from: Nauch.Dokl.vyssh.Shk.Biol.Nauk 1 19-21, 1965]

It is known that the larvae of Chironomidae in the first stages of life after leaving the egg case, swim for a long time in a body of water. Positive reaction in light, the capability of directed swimming and passive floating in suspension allow the larvae to temporarily carry out a planktonic way of life. This study describes the behaviour of Chironomus dorsalis larvae after leaving the egg case. The feeding of chironomid larvae in the first stages of development was also described.

The role of ciliates in the pelagic life cycle of the Mediterranean [Translation from: Rapports et Proces Verbaux des Reunions-Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer 17, 511-512, 1963]

During hydrographic and plankton studies carried out since 1960 in the coastal zone between the Ebro and Castellon (western Mediterranean), data has been collected which confirms the importance of ciliates in the composition and activity of the plankton. The ciliates in 413 samples of 100 ml of water were counted, having been examined with the Utermohl microscope after sedimentation. The samples studied were distributed according to the density of their population. subject for study. The author concludes that recognition of the role of ciliates as an important link in the food chain of the sea would simplify the interpretation of certain problems posed by the nutrition of certain groups of planktonic animals.

The life capacity of copepod's eggs passed through the gut of Ladoga lake Coregonus [Translation from: Zool.Journal.Moscow 29-5, 476-477, 1950]

This short paper summarises findings of experiments that were carried out using copepod eggs taken from guts of Coregonus which breeds in various Ural lakes. The study showed that copepod eggs can pass through the gut of Coregonus unharmed.

Physiological aspects of the life cycle of the river lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis L

The life cycle of the river lamprey, L. fluviatilis, is reviewed. The larval lamprey, or ammocoete, is a blind, filter-feeding animal, which normally lies concealed in the silt deposits of streams and rivers. After a period of 3-5 years in fresh water the ammocoete undergoes a metamorphosis in the summer months into a sexually immature, non-feeding stage known as the macrophthalia, which is active. This stage migrates downstream in late winter. It adopts a parasitic existence, in intertidal areas. After 18 months it returns to spawn in fresh water, after a final freshwater stage lasting up to 9 months. The river lamprey dies within a few days after the spawning period of 3-4 weeks, and none survive to spawn the following year.

Aspectos do niilismo: inocência e vida no pensamento de Nietzsche.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo analisar uma perspectiva fundamental no pensamento de Nietzsche: ver a vida sob a perspectiva da inocência, mediante uma crítica da formação dos valores da sociedade ocidental que culminaram com a produção do niilismo. A abordagem parte do pressuposto de que a crítica de Nietzsche ao pensamento de Heráclito e da tragédia grega são verdadeiros pilares para sustentação de um modo de dizer sim à vida, ao mesmo tempo em que revela o pensamento de Anaximandro e grande parte da corrente filosófica derivada do platonismo como um modo de dizer não à existência. O confronto entre essas duas posturas, de afirmação e de negação da vida, constitui uma potente reflexão para o entendimento do projeto de mudança de todos os valores e para a compreensão da vida como um fenômeno estético.

From organism to population: the role of life-history theory

The role of life-history theory in population and evolutionary analyses is outlined. In both cases general life histories can be analysed, but simpler life histories need fewer parameters for their description. The simplest case, of semelparous (breed-once-then-die) organisms, needs only three parameters: somatic growth rate, mortality rate and fecundity. This case is analysed in detail. If fecundity is fixed, population growth rate can be calculated direct from mortality rate and somatic growth rate, and isoclines on which population growth rate is constant can be drawn in a ”state space” with axes for mortality rate and somatic growth rate. In this space density-dependence is likely to result in a population trajectory from low density, when mortality rate is low and somatic growth rate is high and the population increases (positive population growth rate) to high density, after which the process reverses to return to low density. Possible effects of pollution on this system are discussed. The state-space approach allows direct population analysis of the twin effects of pollution and density on population growth rate. Evolutionary analysis uses related methods to identify likely evolutionary outcomes when an organism's genetic options are subject to trade-offs. The trade-off considered here is between somatic growth rate and mortality rate. Such a trade-off could arise because of an energy allocation trade-off if resources spent on personal defence (reducing mortality rate) are not available for somatic growth rate. The evolutionary implications of pollution acting on such a trade-off are outlined.

O que faz do conselheiro Aires um cético?

Há um consenso nos meios crítico e acadêmico de que Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis é o maior ficcionista brasileiro. Além da qualidade inegável, sua ficção é notável por sua dimensão, atingindo uma dezena de romances e mais de duzentos contos. Com esta união singular entre extensão e qualidade, a obra machadiana acumulou a maior fortuna crítica no Brasil e uma das maiores da literatura universal. Ainda assim, sua fortuna é a que mais cresce no Brasil. Diante de tamanha dedicação dos estudiosos, em que seria relevante a apresentação de mais uma dissertação sobre o Bruxo do Cosme Velho? Acreditando que, apesar do tamanho da investigação que já se fez sobre Machado, alguns dos aspectos cruciais da vida e da obra do escritor ainda não foram devidamente elucidados, este trabalho nasce com a intenção de contribuir para a diminuição dessa lacuna. Um desses aspectos é o conteúdo filosófico da ficção machadiana. Durante muitas décadas, a ideia de que Machado de Assis se alinhara filosoficamente ao pessimismo foi hegemônica. Entretanto, muitas características da ficção machadiana, tais como o humour e a ironia, podem ser sinais de outra orientação filosófica: o ceticismo. A identificação entre Machado e ceticismo não é, entretanto, algo novo, mas durante a maior parte do tempo, a crítica identificou o ceticismo de Machado com a acepção popular do termo: descrença no campo metafísico e desengano no campo político-social. Este modo de ver o ceticismo acaba por aproximar o termo, e reaproximar Machado de Assis, ao pessimismo. Por outro lado, há algumas décadas, alguns estudiosos brasileiros começaram a verificar que a filosofia da ficção machadiana estaria de fato associada ao ceticismo, mas a outro tipo de ceticismo, o ceticismo pirrônico ou filosófico, iniciado com Pirro de Elis, filósofo grego que viveu entre 360 e 270 a.C., e estabelecido pelos escritos de Sexto Empírico, filósofo e médico do século 2. Fazendo jus à origem grega do termo skepticós, aquele que investiga, o ceticismo pirrônico prima não pela descrença, mas pela busca contínua da verdade. Esta busca se mantém indeterminada em virtude da limitação dos sentidos e do pensamento humanos. Não podemos alcançar a verdade das coisas, mas apenas descrever como elas aparentam. Esta impossibilidade não conduz o pirrônico ao pessimismo, o conduz, ao contrário, à tranquilidade, pois ele aceita a sua limitação, não fica se debatendo contra ela. Na ficção machadiana, o conselheiro Aires é o personagem cético por excelência, a começar pelo tão famoso tédio à controvérsia. Entretanto, apesar da semelhança entre a ficção de Machado de Assis e a filosofia cética, há um problema a ser enfrentado: como o escritor poderia ter criado um personagem tão próximo do pirronismo se Machado nunca chegou a ler uma página de Sexto Empírico?