Female-biased sex ratios in marine pelagic copepods: comment on Gusmao et al

Gusmão et al. (2013; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 482:279-298) review causes of sex ratio skew in pelagic copepods and in doing so repeatedly dispute the paper of Hirst et al. (2010) ‘Does predation control adult sex ratios and longevities in marine pelagic copepods?’ Here we respond to some important errors in their citation of our paper and briefly highlight where future work is needed in order to attribute the causes of strong sex ratio skew seen in some copepod families.

Le statuts y stématique du Genévrier oxycédre Junyperus oxycedrus L. (Cupressacées): une contribution d'ordre biochimique et biométrique

Dimensiosis des galbules et/ou teneur en prodelphinidine des aiguilles permettent trés généralement de déterminer les sous-espéces oxycedrus et macrocarpa, respectivement septentrionale-continentale et méridionale-insulaire, du Genévrier oxyeédre Juniperus oxycedrus L. Parcontre, la sous-espéce nord-africaine rufescens (en montagne) ne parah pas distinguable à ces titres de la sous-espéce type. Mais l’étude biochimique plus approfondie d’une (méta)population languedocienne montre l’existence d’un polymorphisme proanthocyanique indépendant de la taille des galbules. Les deux sous-espéces classiquement reconnues pourraient donc n’étre que les formes extremes, homozygotes pour le caractére chimique considéré, d’un méme génóme spécifique. Si les spécimens littoraux (Corse, Majorque, Maghreb) correspondent bien à la pleine expression (= prodelphinidine forte) de ce polymorphisme, certains échantillons «péri-littoraux» (Baléares et Languedoc) trahissent une introgression (actuelle ou ancienne) ayee appartion d’individus hétérozygotes, aux teneurs intermédiaires: des génes «macrocarpa» sont done bien presents au nord de la Méditerranée, méme si le phénoméne n’est pas morphologiquement décelable, et ne mérite pas d’étre formalisé en termes systématiques.

Place et rôle de Juniperus thurifera dans les structures de vegetation des Alpes du Sud

Les formations a genévrier thurifère des Alpes françcaises du sud, présentent un intérêt biogeographique et historique de première importance. Les auteurs étudient les structures de végétation que le genevrier organise dans les étages supraméditerranéen et montagnards.

Vegetatio Litoralis Europaea Notulae Sparsae, I. Foréts et landes Iittorales de CornouaiIIe britannique

Cette premiére note concerne quelques aspects de la végétation des falaises littorales del’extréme sud-ouest de l’Angleterre. Elle y décrit notamment la chénaie de la pointe du Dizzard et la lande á bruyére vagabonde du cap Lizzard.

Réflexions sur l'appauvrissement des syntaxons aux limites chorologiques des unités phytosociologiques supérieurs et quelques-unes de leurs consequences

Con la ayuda de algunos ejemplos, se estudia el comportamiento de los sintáxones en los límites corológicos de las unidades fitosociológicas superiores; se muestra que, a medida que nos alejamos de su centro de gravedad, esas unidades pierden poco a poco sus especies y que, en sus límites corológicos, no quedan más especies características de unidades superiores para definir las comunidades. Se evocan entonces algunas consecuencias de esas observaciones: noción de combinación específica original, interpretación fitosociológica de los sintáxones, nomenclatura fitosociológica.

Bupleurum salicifolium R. Brown in Buch de l'archipel Macaronésien: Taxonomie et Evolution

Se ha realizado un estudio anatómico (frutos y hojas) en 24 poblaciones de Bupleurum salicifolium R. Brown in Buch recogidas en las lslas Canarias Occidentales y Madeira, lo que nos ha permitido evidenciar una estructura uniforme de los frutos. Por el contrario, en las hojas se han observado tres tipos de estructuras, así como la existencia de un canal oleoso, cuya presencia o ausencia coincide con la distribución geográfica de la especie en las diferentes islas. Estas observaciones nos han inducido a hacer una nueva propuesta sistemática: B. salicifolium subsp. salicifolium con dos variedades, var. salicifolium (Madeira y Gomera) y var. robustum comb. nova (Gomera), y subsp. aciphyllum (La Palma, Hierro, Tenerife y Gran Canaria).La importancia de cada uno de los tipos de hojas en las diferentes islas nos ha pemitido asimismo proponer un esquema de dispersión de la especie. La existencia de estructuras consideradas como más primitivas, así como la desaparición de las poblaciones diploides, permiten suponer que B. salicifolium es una especie antigua que conserva su número base de origen x = 8 (En francés).

Temps et Oralité dans le Conte Oral

This article addresses the question of narrative tense usage in a particular variety of performed oral narration in modern French, i.e. oral storytelling. We examine the narrative tense systems used in both traditional and new storytelling, comparing these with well-attested oral and written patterns and with theoretical models such as Benveniste's, Weinrich's and Revaz's. We examine briefly some of the key functions of the tense alternations attested, again comparing these to patterns in other types of discourse, and conclude by considering the nature of the « orality » in question.

Revisited: the inertia tensor as a proprioceptive invariant in humans

A multitude of tasks that we perform on a daily basis require precise information about the orientation of our limbs with respect to the environment and the objects located within it. Recent studies have suggested that the inertia tensor, a physical property whose values are time- and co-ordinate-indepenclent, may be an important informational invariant used by the proprioceptive system to control the movements of our limbs (Pagano et al., Ecol. Psychol. 8 (1996) 43; Pagano and Turvey, Percept. Psychophys. 52 (1992) 617; Pagano and Turvey, J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform. 21 (1995) 1070). We tested this hypothesis by recording the angular errors made by subjects when pointing to virtual targets in the dark. Close examination of the pointing errors made did not show any significant effects of the inertia tensor modifications on pointing accuracy. The kinematics of the pointing movements did not indicate that any on-line adjustments were being made to compensate for the inertia tensor changes. The implications of these findings with respect to the functioning of the proprioceptive system are discussed.

Is perception of upper body orientation based on the inertia tensor? Normogravity versus microgravity conditions

During lateral leg raising, a synergistic inclination of the supporting leg and trunk in the opposite direction to the leg movement is performed in order to preserve equilibrium. As first hypothesized by Pagano and Turvey (J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform, 1995, 21:1070-1087), the perception of limb orientation could be based on the orientation of the limb's inertia tensor. The purpose of this study was thus to explore whether the final upper body orientation (trunk inclination relative to vertical) depends on changes in the trunk inertia tensor. We imposed a loading condition, with total mass of 4 kg added to the subject's trunk in either a symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration. This changed the orientation of the trunk inertia tensor while keeping the total trunk mass constant. In order to separate any effects of the inertia tensor from the effects of gravitational torque, the experiment was carried out in normo- and microgravity. The results indicated that in normogravity the same final upper body orientation was maintained irrespective of the loading condition. In microgravity, regardless of loading conditions the same (but different from the normogravity) orientation of the upper body was achieved through different joint organizations: two joints (the hip and ankle joints of the supporting leg) in the asymmetrical loading condition, and one (hip) in the symmetrical loading condition. In order to determine whether the different orientations of the inertia tensor were perceived during the movement, the interjoint coordination was quantified by performing a principal components analysis (PCA) on the supporting and moving hips and on the supporting ankle joints. It was expected that different loading conditions would modify the principal component of the PCA. In normogravity, asymmetrical loading decreased the coupling between joints, while in microgravity a strong coupling was preserved whatever the loading condition. It was concluded that the trunk inertia tensor did not play a role during the lateral leg raising task because in spite of the absence of gravitational torque the final upper body orientation and the interjoint coupling were not influenced.

The Influence of Child Protection Orientation on Child Welfare Practice

This article reports the findings of the second part of a two-part research project examining the potential for social workers to make changes in their work with families and children. While social workers in the United Kingdom have been encouraged to shift from a child protection to a child welfare orientation in their practice, such changes have been hampered by professional and organisational concern to manage risk. The research explores the influence of a child protection orientation on practice in child welfare cases. The findings, from two file analyses and interviews with twenty-six social workers, indicate that such an influence is indeed apparent. This is evidenced in two ways; firstly patterns of practice in child welfare cases are similar to those in child protection cases. Secondly, while the majority of social workers express an attitudinal desire to move towards a child welfare orientation, they still prioritise the management of risk in their practice. It is argued that social workers need permission from their employing organisations to make changes in their practice. This, in turn, requires such organisations to state clear goals in line with a child welfare orientation and develop holistic strategies to achieve these.