Island colonization and evolution of the insular woody habit in Echium L. (Boraginaceae).

Numerous island-inhabiting species of predominantly herbaceous angiosperm genera are woody shrubs or trees. Such "insular woodiness" is strongly manifested in the genus Echium, in which the continental species of circummediterranean distribution are herbaceous, whereas endemic species of islands along the Atlantic coast of north Africa are woody perennial shrubs. The history of 37 Echium species was traced with 70 kb of noncoding DNA determined from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes. In all, 239 polymorphic positions with 137 informative sites, in addition to 27 informative indels, were found. Island-dwelling Echium species are shown to descend from herbaceous continental ancestors via a single island colonization event that occurred < 20 million years ago. Founding colonization appears to have taken place on the Canary Islands, from which the Madeira and Cape Verde archipelagos were invaded. Colonization of island habitats correlates with a recent origin of perennial woodiness from herbaceous habit and was furthermore accompanied by intense speciation, which brought forth remarkable diversity of forms among contemporary island endemics. We argue that the origin of insular woodiness involved response to counter-selection of inbreeding depression in founding island colonies.

A common origin for woody Sonchus and five related genera in the Macaronesian islands: molecular evidence for extensive radiation.

Woody Sonchus and five related genera (Babcockia, Taeckholmia, Sventenia, Lactucosonchus, and Prenanthes) of the Macaronesian islands have been regarded as an outstanding example of adaptive radiation in angiosperms. Internal transcribed spacer region of the nuclear rDNA (ITS) sequences were used to demonstrate that, despite the extensive morphological and ecological diversity of the plants, the entire alliance in insular Macaronesia has a common origin. The sequence data place Lactucosonchus as sister group to the remainder of the alliance and also indicate that four related genera are in turn sister groups to subg. Dendrosonchus and Taeckholmia. This implies that the woody members of Sonchus were derived from an ancestor similar to allied genera now present on the Canary Islands. It is also evident that the alliance probably occurred in the Canary Islands during the late Miocene or early Pliocene. A rapid radiation of major lineages in the alliance is consistent with an unresolved polytomy near the base and low ITS sequence divergence. Increase of woodiness is concordant with other insular endemics and refutes the relictural nature of woody Sonchus in the Macaronesian islands.

A cidade cartão-postal no cinema de Woody Allen

Este trabalho examina a representação das cidades na obra de Woody Allen. No intuito de compreender a saída do cineasta patrimônio da cidade de Nova York para a Europa, retoma-se criticamente a questão da Era da Lista Negra, das runaway productions e dos blockbusters. Para analisar os filmes de Allen na Europa considera-se importante entender como a cidade de Nova York configura-se no início da carreira do diretor, notadamente, em filmes que estabelecem um contraponto entre o Brooklyn e Manhattan. Em seguida, examina-se a questão crítica fundamental do trabalho: o cartão-postal corporativo na Europa. Nesse sentido, propõe-se a análise dos cartões-postais de Barcelona, Paris e Roma. O filme Vicky Cristina Barcelona adquire centralidade nesta pesquisa por apresentar de maneira exemplar a paisagem postiça da cidade encarcerada sob intervenção corporativa.

Woody plants of the western national parks; containing keys for the identification of trees and shrubs, by Virginia Long Bailey and Harold Edwards Bailey.

no.4

Adapting woody species and planting techniques to landfill conditions : field and laboratory investigations /

Mode of access: Internet.