Adaptive behavioural syndromes due to strategic niche specialization

BACKGROUND: Behavioural syndromes, i.e. consistent individual differences in behaviours that are correlated across different functional contexts, are a challenge to evolutionary reasoning because individuals should adapt their behaviour to the requirements of each situation. Behavioural syndromes are often interpreted as a result of constraints resulting in limited plasticity and inflexible behaviour. Alternatively, they may be adaptive if correlated ecological or social challenges functionally integrate apparently independent behaviours. To test the latter hypothesis we repeatedly tested helpers in the cooperative breeder Neolamprologus pulcher for exploration and two types of helping behaviour. In case of adaptive behavioural syndromes we predicted a positive relationship between exploration and aggressive helping (territory defence) and a negative relationship between these behaviours and non-aggressive helping (territory maintenance). RESULTS: As expected, helpers engaging more in territory defence were consistently more explorative and engaged less in territory maintenance, the latter only when dominant breeders were present. Contrary to our prediction, there was no negative relationship between exploration and territory maintenance. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the three behaviours we measured are part of behavioural syndromes. These may be adaptive, in that they reflect strategic specialization of helpers into one of two different life history strategies, namely (a) to stay and help in the home territory in order to inherit the breeding position or (b) to disperse early in order to breed independently.

BYOD: Moving toward a More Mobile and Productive Workforce

In recent years there has been a personal and organizational trend toward mobility and the use of mobile technologies such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets. With this proliferation of devices, the desire to combine as many functions as possible into one device has also arisen. This concept is commonly called convergence. Generally, device convergence has been segmented between devices for work and devices for home use. Recently, however, the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has emerged as organizations attempt to bridge the work/home divide in hopes of increasing employee productivity and reducing corporate technology costs. This paper examines BYOD projects at IBM, Cisco, Citrix, and Intel and then integrates this analysis with current literature to develop and present a BYOD Implementation Success model.

Effects of native pollinator specialization, selfcompatibility and flowering duration of European plant species on their invasiveness elsewhere

1. When entomophilous plants are introduced to a new region, they may leave behind their usual pollinators. In particular, plant species with specialized pollination may then be less likely to establish and spread (i.e. become invasive). Moreover, other reproductive characteristics such as self-compatibility and flowering duration may also affect invasion success. 2. Here, we specifically asked whether plant species' specialization towards pollinator species and families, respectively, as measured in the native range, self-compatibility, flowering duration and their interactions are related to the degree of invasion (i.e. a measure of regional abundance) in non-native regions. 3. We used plant–pollinator interaction data from 119 German grassland sites to calculate unbiased indices of plant specialization towards pollinator species and families for 118 European plant species. We related these specialization indices, flowering duration, self-compatibility and their interactions to the degree of invasion of each species in seven large countries on four non-Eurasian continents. 4. In all models, plant species with long flowering durations had the highest degree of invasion. The best model included the specialization index based on pollinator species instead of the one based on pollinator families. Specialization towards pollinator species had a marginally significant positive effect on the degree of invasion in non-native regions for self-compatible, but not for self-incompatible species. 5. Synthesis. We showed that long flowering duration is related to the degree of invasion in other parts of the world, and a trend that pollinator generalization in the native range may interact with self-compatibility in determining the degree of invasion. Therefore, we conclude that such reproductive characteristics should be considered in risk assessment and management of introduced plant species.

Central European plant species from more productive habitats are more invasive at a global scale

Aim: Accumulating evidence indicates that species may be pre-adapted for invasion success in new ranges. In the light of increasing global nutrient accumulation, an important candidate pre-adaptation for invasiveness is the ability to grow in nutrient-rich habitats. Therefore we tested whether globally invasive species originating from Central Europe have come from more productive rather than less productive habitats. A further important candidate pre-adaptation for invasiveness is large niche width. Therefore, we also tested whether species able to grow across habitats with a wider range of productivity are more invasive. Location: Global with respect to invasiveness, and Central European with respect to origin of study species. Methods  We examined whether average habitat productivity and its width across habitats are significant predictors of the success of Central European species as aliens and as weeds elsewhere in the world based on data in the Global Compendium of Weeds. The two habitat productivity measures were derived from nutrient indicator values (after Ellenberg) of accompanying species present in vegetation records of the comprehensive Czech National Phytosociological Database. In the analyses, we accounted for phylogenetic relatedness among species and for size of the native distribution ranges. Results: Species from more productive habitats and with a wider native habitat-productivity niche in Central Europe have higher alien success elsewhere in the world. Weediness of species increased with mean habitat productivity. Niche width was also an important determinant of weediness for species with their main occurrence in nutrient-poor habitats, but not for those from nutrient-rich habitats. Main conclusions: Our results indicate that Central European plant species from productive habitats and those species from nutrient-poor habitat with wide productivity-niche are pre-adapted to become invasive. These results suggest that the world-wide invasion success of many Central European species is likely to have been promoted by the global increase of resource-rich habitats.

The Role of Small and Medium-sized Centers for Territorial Development in Switzerland

This paper describes the role of small and medium-sized urban centers in Switzerland. Switzerland is a highly urbanized country where small and medium-sized urban centers play an important role in ensuring a balanced national urban system. Besides the four largest metropolitan regions （Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern）, small and medium-sized towns function as central places for a wider, often extensive hinterland. They provide opportunities for living and working and they connect rural and mountain regions to national and international networks. Using secondary statistics and a case study, the paper shows that small and medium-sized urban centers are home to significant concentrations of export-oriented industries. Firms in these value-adding secondary sectors are rooted in these places and benefit from strong local embeddedness while also being oriented towards global markets. Small and medium-sized urban centers also profit from their strong local identities. While these places face various challenges, they function as important pillars in creating a balanced regional development pattern. Swiss regional development policy follows the goal of polycentric spatial development and it employs various instruments that aim to ensure a balanced urban system.

Low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) functional imaging in acute, neuroleptic-naive, first-episode, productive schizophrenia

Functional imaging of brain electrical activity was performed in nine acute, neuroleptic-naive, first-episode, productive patients with schizophrenia and 36 control subjects. Low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA, three-dimensional images of cortical current density) was computed from 19-channel of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity obtained under resting conditions, separately for the different EEG frequencies. Three patterns of activity were evident in the patients: (1) an anterior, near-bilateral excess of delta frequency activity; (2) an anterior-inferior deficit of theta frequency activity coupled with an anterior-inferior left-sided deficit of alpha-1 and alpha-2 frequency activity; and (3) a posterior-superior right-sided excess of beta-1, beta-2 and beta-3 frequency activity. Patients showed deviations from normal brain activity as evidenced by LORETA along an anterior-left-to-posterior-right spatial axis. The high temporal resolution of EEG makes it possible to specify the deviations not only as excess or deficit, but also as inhibitory, normal and excitatory. The patients showed a dis-coordinated brain functional state consisting of inhibited prefrontal/frontal areas and simultaneously overexcited right parietal areas, while left anterior, left temporal and left central areas lacked normal routine activity. Since all information processing is brain-state dependent, this dis-coordinated state must result in inadequate treatment of (externally or internally generated) information.

European veterinary public health specialization: post-graduate training and expectations of potential employers

Residents of the European College of Veterinary Public Health (ECVPH) carried out a survey to explore the expectations and needs of potential employers of ECVPH diplomates and to assess the extent to which the ECVPH post-graduate training program meets those requirements. An online questionnaire was sent to 707 individuals working for universities, government organizations, and private companies active in the field of public health in 16 countries. Details on the structure and activities of the participants' organizations, their current knowledge of the ECVPH, and potential interest in employing veterinary public health (VPH) experts or hosting internships were collected. Participants were requested to rate 22 relevant competencies according to their importance for VPH professionals exiting the ECVPH training. A total of 138 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. While generic skills such as "problem solving" and "broad horizon and inter-/multidisciplinary thinking" were consistently given high grades by all participants, the importance ascribed to more specialized skills was less homogeneous. The current ECVPH training more closely complies with the profile sought in academia, which may partly explain the lower employment rate of residents and diplomates within government and industry sectors. The study revealed a lack of awareness of the ECVPH among public health institutions and demonstrated the need for greater promotion of this veterinary specialization within Europe, both in terms of its training capacity and the professional skill-set of its diplomates. This study provides input for a critical revision of the ECVPH curriculum and the design of post-graduate training programs in VPH.

Persistent Productive Epstein‐Barr Virus Replication in Normal Epithelial Cells In Vivo

Productive Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) replication characterizes hairy leukoplakia, an oral epithelial lesion typically occurring in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Serial tongue biopsy specimens were obtained from HIV‐infected subjects before, during, and after valacyclovir treatment. EBV replication was detected by Southern hybridization to linear terminal EBV genome fragments, reverse‐transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification of EBV replicative gene transcripts, immunohistochemical detection of EBV replicative protein, and in situ hybridization to EBV DNA. EBV replication was detected in both hairy leukoplakia and normal tongue tissues. Valacyclovir treatment completely abrogated EBV replication in vivo, resulting in resolution of hairy leukoplakia when it was present. EBV replication returned in normal tongue epithelial cells after valacyclovir treatment. These data suggest that normal oral epithelium supports persistent EBV infection in individuals infected with HIV and that productive EBV replication is necessary but not sufficient for the pathogenesis of oral hairy leukoplakia.

Productive Diversification and Sustainable Use of Complex Social-Ecological Systems: A Comparative Study of Indigenous and Settler Communities in the Bolivian Amazon

Agricultural and forest productive diversification depends on multiple socioeconomic drivers—like knowledge, migration, productive capacity, and market—that shape productive strategies and influence their ecological impacts. Our comparison of indigenous and settlers allows a better understanding of how societies develop different diversification strategies in similar ecological contexts and how the related socioeconomic aspects of diversification are associated with land cover change. Our results suggest that although indigenous people cause less deforestation and diversify more, diversification is not a direct driver of deforestation reduction. A multidimensional approach linking sociocognitive, economic, and ecological patterns of diversification helps explain this contradiction.