Flora Capensis :sistens plantas promontorii Bonae Spei Africes, secundum systema sexuale emendatum, redactas ad classes, ordines, genera et species, cum differentiis specificis, synonymis et descriptionibus /Edidit et praefatus est I. A. Schultes.

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Climate change effects on animal and plant phylogenetic diversity in southern Africa

Much attention has been paid to the effects of climate change on species' range reductions and extinctions. There is however surprisingly little information on how climate change driven threat may impact the tree of life and result in loss of phylogenetic diversity (PD). Some plant families and mammalian orders reveal nonrandom extinction patterns, but many other plant families do not. Do these discrepancies reflect different speciation histories and does climate induced extinction result in the same discrepancies among different groups? Answers to these questions require representative taxon sampling. Here, we combine phylogenetic analyses, species distribution modeling, and climate change projections on two of the largest plant families in the Cape Floristic Region (Proteaceae and Restionaceae), as well as the second most diverse mammalian order in Southern Africa (Chiroptera), and an herbivorous insect genus (Platypleura) in the family Cicadidae to answer this question. We model current and future species distributions to assess species threat levels over the next 70years, and then compare projected with random PD survival. Results for these animal and plant clades reveal congruence. PD losses are not significantly higher under predicted extinction than under random extinction simulations. So far the evidence suggests that focusing resources on climate threatened species alone may not result in disproportionate benefits for the preservation of evolutionary history.

Learning to live together: an exploration and analysis of managing cultural diversity in ten early childhood development centres in South Africa

This study explores how South African Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioners and families meet the needs of the increasing number of children from diverse cultural backgrounds in their care. Research participants were identified through ten ECD centres located in two urban communities in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa. The values and attitudes held by Practitioners and families vis-à-vis cultural diversity was investigated, along with the knowledge and strategies they employ to manage cultural diversity in ECD programmes. The intercultural education model provides the necessary tools to address the challenges identified.

Muntatge i caracterització d'una placa DSSC: Buscant potència

Treball de recerca realitzat per alumnes d'ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l'any 2009. Els objectius inicials foren la construcció d una 'Cèl•lula Solar Sensibilitzada mitjançant un Colorant’ (DSSC) amb el tint d una col llombarda i posterior caracterització segons el dossier 'Nanocrystalline Solar Cell Kit: Recreating Photosynthesis’. Les DSSC (Dye Sensitized Solar Cell) són un tipus de cèl•lules que imiten els principis que la fotosíntesis ha fet servir exitosament durant més de 3,5 bilions d anys. S’han construït algunes DSSC i se n’ha provat la seva eficiència. El seu funcionament es basa en l’energia d’un fotó que excita un electró i el fa saltar de nivell energètic fins que es desprèn de l’àtom de colorant, deixant un forat en la molècula. Aquest electró lliure passa a través de la capa de TiO2 fins arribar a la càrrega on es genera el corrent elèctric. Tot seguit, l’electró arriba al contra-elèctrode i és aquí on entra en contacte amb l’electròlit, el mediador iode/triiode. Aquest regenera l’electró, que anteriorment ha saltat del colorant, oxidant-se ell mateix.

Spatial predictions of phylogenetic diversity in conservation decision making.

Considering genetic relatedness among species has long been argued as an important step toward measuring biological diversity more accurately, rather than relying solely on species richness. Some researchers have correlated measures of phylogenetic diversity and species richness across a series of sites and suggest that values of phylogenetic diversity do not differ enough from those of species richness to justify their inclusion in conservation planning. We compared predictions of species richness and 10 measures of phylogenetic diversity by creating distribution models for 168 individual species of a species-rich plant family, the Cape Proteaceae. When we used average amounts of land set aside for conservation to compare areas selected on the basis of species richness with areas selected on the basis of phylogenetic diversity, correlations between species richness and different measures of phylogenetic diversity varied considerably. Correlations between species richness and measures that were based on the length of phylogenetic tree branches and tree shape were weaker than those that were based on tree shape alone. Elevation explained up to 31% of the segregation of species rich versus phylogenetically rich areas. Given these results, the increased availability of molecular data, and the known ecological effect of phylogenetically rich communities, consideration of phylogenetic diversity in conservation decision making may be feasible and informative.

Genomics of the divergence continuum in an African plant biodiversity hotspot, I: drivers of population divergence in Restio capensis (Restionaceae).

Understanding the drivers of population divergence, speciation and species persistence is of great interest to molecular ecology, especially for species-rich radiations inhabiting the world's biodiversity hotspots. The toolbox of population genomics holds great promise for addressing these key issues, especially if genomic data are analysed within a spatially and ecologically explicit context. We have studied the earliest stages of the divergence continuum in the Restionaceae, a species-rich and ecologically important plant family of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa, using the widespread CFR endemic Restio capensis (L.) H.P. Linder & C.R. Hardy as an example. We studied diverging populations of this morphotaxon for plastid DNA sequences and >14 400 nuclear DNA polymorphisms from Restriction site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing and analysed the results jointly with spatial, climatic and phytogeographic data, using a Bayesian generalized linear mixed modelling (GLMM) approach. The results indicate that population divergence across the extreme environmental mosaic of the CFR is mostly driven by isolation by environment (IBE) rather than isolation by distance (IBD) for both neutral and non-neutral markers, consistent with genome hitchhiking or coupling effects during early stages of divergence. Mixed modelling of plastid DNA and single divergent outlier loci from a Bayesian genome scan confirmed the predominant role of climate and pointed to additional drivers of divergence, such as drift and ecological agents of selection captured by phytogeographic zones. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of population genomics for disentangling the effects of IBD and IBE along the divergence continuum often found in species radiations across heterogeneous ecological landscapes.

'Next generation' biogeography: towards understanding the drivers of species diversification and persistence

The drivers of species diversification and persistence are of great interest to current biogeography, especially in those global biodiversity hotspots' harbouring most of Earth's animal and plant life. Classical multispecies biogeographical work has yielded fascinating insights into broad-scale patterns of diversification, and DNA-based intraspecific phylogeographical studies have started to complement this picture at much finer temporal and spatial scales. The advent of novel next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies provides the opportunity to greatly scale up the numbers of individuals, populations and species sampled, potentially merging intraspecific and interspecific approaches to biogeographical inference. Here, we outline these prospects and issues by using the example of an undisputed hotspot, the Cape of southern Africa. We outline the current state of knowledge on the biogeography of species diversification within the Cape, review the literature for phylogeographical evidence of its likely drivers and mechanisms, and suggest possible ways forward based on NGS approaches. We demonstrate the potential of these methods and current bioinformatic issues with the help of restriction-site-associated DNA (RAD) sequencing data for three highly divergent species of the Restionaceae, an important plant radiation in the Cape. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms that facilitate species diversification and persistence in spatially structured, species-rich environments will require the adoption of novel genomic and bioinformatic tools in biogeographical studies.

La ramaderia extensiva a la Vall d'Alinyà. Un retrat de la ramaderia de muntanya del segle XXI

El projecte se centra en el la vall d’Alinyà, en els terrenys de la Fundació Territori i Paisatge que abasten des dels cims del Port del Comte, a més de 2.000 m d’altitud fins més avall del nucli de Perles en els 500 m, en un ambient de muntanya a la comarca de l’Alt Urgell, Catalunya. L’objectiu principal ha estat diagnosticar la situació de la ramaderia extensiva de la vall, tot predient la seva viabilitat socioeconòmica com a estratègia de futur, tant pel que fa la seva població, com per les característiques d’un paisatge en mosaic molt ben afaiçonat per la mà humana en el passat. Aquesta diversitat paisatgística assegurada per l’existència de la ramaderia extensiva, provoca una riquesa en biodiversitat ecològica, en front del creixement continu de la massa forestal causat per l’abandonament de les activitats a la muntanya. Un dels aspectes estudiats de la ramaderia de la vall, ha estat la gestió dels cinc ramats existents en l’actualitat, dos de vaques, un de cabres, un d’ovelles i un de cavalls. Des de la identificació dels moviments de transtermitància durant les diferents estacions de l’any, a la de l’obtenció dels diferents recursos alimentaris pel bestiar provinents directament de la natura. Les entrevistes personals als ramaders han estat una important font d’informació i de tractament de dades per poder diagnosticar la situació actual del sector i de la figura del pastor com a figura professional clau en la vessant socioeconòmica i paisatgística local. Es van poder identificar clarament els problemes amb els quals es troba la ramaderia extensiva i quins reptes presenta per poder arribar a ser un sector de futur per a la població de la vall. En aquest context es proposen mesures de millora de l’activitat i de difusió dels productes agroramaders de qualitat.

Ultramarathon is an outstanding model for the study of adaptive responses to extreme load and stress.

ABSTRACT: Ultramarathons comprise any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 km (26.2 miles). Studies on ultramarathon participants can investigate the acute consequences of ultra-endurance exercise on inflammation and cardiovascular or renal consequences, as well as endocrine/energetic aspects, and examine the tissue recovery process over several days of extreme physical load. In a study published in BMC Medicine, Schütz et al. followed 44 ultramarathon runners over 4,487 km from South Italy to North Cape, Norway (the Trans Europe Foot Race 2009) and recorded daily sets of data from magnetic resonance imaging, psychometric, body composition and biological measurements. The findings will allow us to better understand the timecourse of degeneration/regeneration of some lower leg tissues such as knee joint cartilage, to differentiate running-induced from age-induced pathologies (for example, retropatelar arthritis) and finally to assess the interindividual susceptibility to injuries. Moreover, it will also provide new information about the complex interplay between cerebral adaptations/alterations and hormonal influences resulting from endurance exercise and provide data on the dose-response relationship between exercise and brain structure/function. Overall, this study represents a unique attempt to investigate the limits of the adaptive response of human bodies.Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/78.

Evolutionary history and its relevance in understanding and conserving southern African biodiversity

Abstract : Understanding how biodiversity is distributed is central to any conservation effort and has traditionally been based on niche modeling and the causal relationship between spatial distribution of organisms and their environment. More recently, the study of species' evolutionary history and relatedness has permeated the fields of ecology and conservation and, coupled with spatial predictions, provides useful insights to the origin of current biodiversity patterns, community structuring and potential vulnerability to extinction. This thesis explores several key ecological questions by combining the fields of niche modeling and phylogenetics and using important components of southern African biodiversity. The aims of this thesis are to provide comparisons of biodiversity measures, to assess how climate change will affect evolutionary history loss, to ask whether there is a clear link between evolutionary history and morphology and to investigate the potential role of relatedness in macro-climatic niche structuring. The first part of my thesis provides a fine scale comparison and spatial overlap quantification of species richness and phylogenetic diversity predictions for one of the most diverse plant families in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), the Proteaceae. In several of the measures used, patterns do not match sufficiently to argue that species relatedness information is implicit in species richness patterns. The second part of my thesis predicts how climate change may affect threat and potential extinction of southern African animal and plant taxa. I compare present and future niche models to assess whether predicted species extinction will result in higher or lower V phylogenetic diversity survival than what would be experienced under random extinction processes. l find that predicted extinction will result in lower phylogenetic diversity survival but that this non-random pattern will be detected only after a substantial proportion of the taxa in each group has been lost. The third part of my thesis explores the relationship between phylogenetic and morphological distance in southern African bats to assess whether long evolutionary histories correspond to equally high levels of morphological variation, as predicted by a neutral model of character evolution. I find no such evidence; on the contrary weak negative trends are detected for this group, as well as in simulations of both neutral and convergent character evolution. Finally, I ask whether spatial and climatic niche occupancy in southern African bats is influenced by evolutionary history or not. I relate divergence time between species pairs to climatic niche and range overlap and find no evidence for clear phylogenetic structuring. I argue that this may be due to particularly high levels of micro-niche partitioning. Résumé : Comprendre la distribution de la biodiversité représente un enjeu majeur pour la conservation de la nature. Les analyses se basent le plus souvent sur la modélisation de la niche écologique à travers l'étude des relations causales entre la distribution spatiale des organismes et leur environnement. Depuis peu, l'étude de l'histoire évolutive des organismes est également utilisée dans les domaines de l'écologie et de la conservation. En combinaison avec la modélisation de la distribution spatiale des organismes, cette nouvelle approche fournit des informations pertinentes pour mieux comprendre l'origine des patterns de biodiversité actuels, de la structuration des communautés et des risques potentiels d'extinction. Cette thèse explore plusieurs grandes questions écologiques, en combinant les domaines de la modélisation de la niche et de la phylogénétique. Elle s'applique aux composants importants de la biodiversité de l'Afrique australe. Les objectifs de cette thèse ont été l) de comparer différentes mesures de la biodiversité, 2) d'évaluer l'impact des changements climatiques à venir sur la perte de diversité phylogénétique, 3) d'analyser le lien potentiel entre diversité phylogénétique et diversité morphologique et 4) d'étudier le rôle potentiel de la phylogénie sur la structuration des niches macro-climatiques des espèces. La première partie de cette thèse fournit une comparaison spatiale, et une quantification du chevauchement, entre des prévisions de richesse spécifique et des prédictions de la diversité phylogénétique pour l'une des familles de plantes les plus riches en espèces de la région floristique du Cap (CFR), les Proteaceae. Il résulte des analyses que plusieurs mesures de diversité phylogénétique montraient des distributions spatiales différentes de la richesse spécifique, habituellement utilisée pour édicter des mesures de conservation. La deuxième partie évalue les effets potentiels des changements climatiques attendus sur les taux d'extinction d'animaux et de plantes de l'Afrique australe. Pour cela, des modèles de distribution d'espèces actuels et futurs ont permis de déterminer si l'extinction des espèces se traduira par une plus grande ou une plus petite perte de diversité phylogénétique en comparaison à un processus d'extinction aléatoire. Les résultats ont effectivement montré que l'extinction des espèces liées aux changements climatiques pourrait entraîner une perte plus grande de diversité phylogénétique. Cependant, cette perte ne serait plus grande que celle liée à un processus d'extinction aléatoire qu'à partir d'une forte perte de taxons dans chaque groupe. La troisième partie de cette thèse explore la relation entre distances phylogénétiques et morphologiques d'espèces de chauves-souris de l'Afrique australe. ll s'agit plus précisément de déterminer si une longue histoire évolutive correspond également à des variations morphologiques plus grandes dans ce groupe. Cette relation est en fait prédite par un modèle neutre d'évolution de caractères. Aucune évidence de cette relation n'a émergé des analyses. Au contraire, des tendances négatives ont été détectées, ce qui représenterait la conséquence d'une évolution convergente entre clades et des niveaux élevés de cloisonnement pour chaque clade. Enfin, la dernière partie présente une étude sur la répartition de la niche climatique des chauves-souris de l'Afrique australe. Dans cette étude je rapporte temps de divergence évolutive (ou deux espèces ont divergé depuis un ancêtre commun) au niveau de chevauchement de leurs niches climatiques. Les résultats n'ont pas pu mettre en évidence de lien entre ces deux paramètres. Les résultats soutiennent plutôt l'idée que cela pourrait être I dû à des niveaux particulièrement élevés de répartition de la niche à échelle fine.

Avaliação da Qualidade do Transporte Colectivo Urbano, na Cidade da Praia, e a Satisfação dos Utentes

A qualidade nas organizações de serviço tem-se tornado num tópico de muita importância, sendo reconhecida como uma variável estratégica para aumentar a sua eficácia e eficiência, ganhar vantagem competitiva e conduzir à satisfação dos seus clientes. Promover uma escala apropriada, que reflicta convenientemente as percepções e as expectativas dos clientes, deve ser uma preocupação tanto dos gestores de empresas como das agências governativas. O presente estudo empírico desenvolve e analisa uma escala de medição da qualidade de serviço, através da aplicação do modelo SERVQUAL, desenvolvido por Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988, 1991), e adaptado para o serviço de transporte colectivo urbano de passageiros (TCUP). O procedimento levado a efeito na presente investigação apresenta 4 fases e 9 etapas, com a combinação do paradigma de Churchill (1979) e entrevistas focus group. A escala final SERVQUAL adaptada, com 23 itens, e as dimensões obtidas indicam que a mesma é altamente fiável (0,891) e válida, demonstrando assim que o procedimento seguido é aplicável e que os seus itens foram desenhados de acordo com as condições do sector. A pesquisa exploratória foi conduzida em Cabo Verde, na cidade da Praia, em Setembro de 2008, com 230 utentes regulares do serviço de TCUP. Os dados confirmam a existência de gaps, encontrando-se a maioria dos inquiridos (67%) insatisfeita com esse serviço. A análise factorial confirmou a existência de cinco dimensões, que determinam a qualidade de serviço no TCUP, na Praia, pela seguinte ordem de importância: “aparência física dos veículos/conforto”, “atenção personalizada/desempenho dos colaboradores”, “empatia”, “conveniência do serviço”, e, por último, “equipamento tangível”. Service quality has become a topic of great importance and it is recognized as a strategic variable to increase its efficiency and effectiveness in getting competitive advantage and leading to customer satisfaction. To seek a proper scale that can reflect perceptions and customers’ expectations accurately should be a concern for business managers as well as government agencies. Present empirical study develops and analyzes a measurement scale of quality service, through the application of SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988, 1991) and adapted for the urban passenger transportation. The procedure followed in present research indicates four phases and nine steps in connection to Churchill paradigm (1979) and focus group interview. The adapted final SERVQUAL scale, with 23 items, and the dimensions obtained indicated that it is highly reliable (0.891) and valid, showing this way that the procedure followed is applicable and their items were drawn according to the sector conditions. This exploratory research was performed in Cape Verde, at Praia in September 2008 with 230 regular’s users of bus service. The data confirms the existence of gaps and that the majority of the inquired are not pleased (67%) with their bus service. The factorial analysis confirms the existence of five dimensions, which determines the service quality in the bus service at Praia according to the following order of importance : “physical appearance of the bus/confort”, “personalized attention/results from the collaborators”, “empathy”, “service convenience” and lastly “tangible equipment”.

Investimento Directo Estrangeiro em Cabo Verde

Os fluxos gerados pela economia de Cabo Verde, desde sempre, foram insuficientes para financiar o seu desenvolvimento, devido aos constrangimentos relativas à falta de recursos naturais, ao défice da balança comercial e à dimensão e fragmentação do território. Neste sentido, o capital estrangeiro surge como um recurso estratégico no desenvolvimento de CV, sendo um instrumento chave para colmatar alguns défices da economia cabo-verdiana. Logo a relevância do estudo proposto, que parte da questão: “Os incentivos e o ambiente oferecidos por CV têm sido suficientemente eficientes para atrair o IDE ou os números poderiam estar melhores?” Na sequência da revisão teórica e da literatura, a fim de obter a resposta à pergunta da pesquisa, analisamos os incentivos e o ambiente oferecidos aos investidores externos, através de instrumentos empreendidos pelo Governo de CV e analisamos a evolução dos fluxos do IDE no país, com especial atenção ao período 2000-2006, a partir de dados estatísticos. A análise posterior – percepção dos investidores externos em CV – deu lugar a um estudo qualitativo, a partir de um inquérito efectuado à uma amostragem probabilística de dez investidores externos, elegidos a partir de critérios fundamentados. Como resultado, observamos que os instrumentos empreendidos pelo Governo na atracção do IDE têm mais de dez anos de existência, não coincidindo com os maiores picos de IDE em CV ocorridos nos dois últimos anos. Observamos, ainda, que, de uma forma geral, os investidores externos privilegiam o mercado cabo-verdiano pela estabilidade política e económica. Por outro lado, apontam grandes constrangimentos a nível de infra-estrutura, ligações marítimas internas e aéreo para o exterior. As formalidades administrativas foram, também, objecto de avaliação negativa por parte dos investidores inquiridos. Posto isto, concluímos que, de uma forma geral, os instrumentos de atracção ao IDE em CV não são suficientemente eficazes para atender às necessidades dos investidores externos. Isto demonstra que há um interessante terreno a ser explorado. The cash flows generated Cape Verde’s economy, so far, have been insufficient to finance its development, due to constraints concerning the lack of natural resources, the trade balance deficit and the geographical distribution and dimension of the territory. In this context, foreign capital appears as a strategic resource for Cape Verde’s development. Foreign investment is a significant instrument to overcome some shortfalls of the cape-verdean economy. Therefore the relevance of this study which is based on the question: "The incentives offered by CV and the environment have been effective enough to attract FDI or the numbers could be better?" Following the literature and theoretical review, in order to get the answer to the research question, we have analyzed the stimulus and environment provided to foreign investors through instruments launched by the Government. We have analysed the evolution of FDI´s flows into the country, with particular focus on the period 2000 - 2006, from statistical data. The subsequent analysis - the perception of foreign investors in CV - produced a qualitative survey study, conduced on a sampling of ten foreign investors, selected from founded criterions. As a result, we observed that the instruments undertaken by the Government in attracting FDI are over than ten years old and the higher FDI peak took place during the two last years. It was noticed that foreign investors choose the cape-verdean market because of its politic and economic stability. On the other hand, foreign investors show great constraints in terms of infrastructure, internal maritime connection and international flight connections. The administrative formalities are also subject of a negative evaluation by the investors surveyed. We have eventually figured out that the attraction instruments for FDI in CV are not effective enough for the needs of foreign investors. This demonstrates that there is a interesting ground to be explored.