scholarly journals Quantitative abilities of invertebrates: a methodological review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elia Gatto ◽  
Olli J. Loukola ◽  
Christian Agrillo
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Cognitive Skill ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Methodological Review ◽  
Ecological Relevance

AbstractQuantitative abilities are widely recognized to play important roles in several ecological contexts, such as foraging, mate choice, and social interaction. Indeed, such abilities are widespread among vertebrates, in particular mammals, birds, and fish. Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies on the quantitative abilities of invertebrates. In this review, we present the current knowledge in this field, especially focusing on the ecological relevance of the capacity to process quantitative information, the similarities with vertebrates, and the different methods adopted to investigate this cognitive skill. The literature argues, beyond methodological differences, a substantial similarity between the quantitative abilities of invertebrates and those of vertebrates, supporting the idea that similar ecological pressures may determine the emergence of similar cognitive systems even in distantly related species.

Artificial cognitive systems: Where does argumentation fit in?

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Fox
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Mental Processes ◽  
Cognitive Agents ◽  
Formal Framework ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractMercier and Sperber (M&S) suggest that human reasoning is reflective and has evolved to support social interaction. Cognitive agents benefit from being able to reflect on their beliefs whether they are acting alone or socially. A formal framework for argumentation that has emerged from research on artificial cognitive systems that parallels M&S's proposals may shed light on mental processes that underpin social interactions.

scholarly journals Contact-Chemosensory Evolution Underlying Reproductive Isolation in Drosophila Species

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosei Sato ◽  
Daisuke Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Sibling Species ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Neural Activities

The main theme of the review is how changes in pheromone biochemistry and the sensory circuits underlying pheromone detection contribute to mate choice and reproductive isolation. The review focuses primarily on gustatory and non-volatile signals in Drosophila. Premating isolation is prevalent among closely related species. In Drosophila, preference for conspecifics against other species in mate choice underlies premating isolation, and such preference relies on contact chemosensory communications between a female and male along with other biological factors. For example, although D. simulans and D. melanogaster are sibling species that yield hybrids, their premating isolation is maintained primarily by the contrasting effects of 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), a predominant female pheromone in D. melanogaster, on males of the two species: it attracts D. melanogaster males and repels D. simulans males. The contrasting preference for 7,11-HD in males of these two species is mainly ascribed to opposite effects of 7,11-HD on neural activities in the courtship decision-making neurons in the male brain: 7,11-HD provokes both excitatory and inhibitory inputs in these neurons and differences in the balance between the two counteracting inputs result in the contrasting preference for 7,11-HD, i.e., attraction in D. melanogaster and repulsion in D. simulans. Introduction of two double bonds is a key step in 7,11-HD biosynthesis and is mediated by the desaturase desatF, which is active in D. melanogaster females but transcriptionally inactivated in D. simulans females. Thus, 7,11-HD biosynthesis diversified in females and 7,11-HD perception diversified in males, yet it remains elusive how concordance of the changes in the two sexes was attained in evolution.

The Social Uses of Alcoholic Beverages in a Peruvian Community

1971 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Doughty
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Systematic Observation ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
The North

The research for this paper was conducted over several years, beginning with intensive investigation in 1960-61 in Huaylas, Ancash, Peru, a bilingual Andean district in the north central highlands. The study focuses upon the traditional social context in which alcoholic beverages are consumed, examines the extent of alcohol consumption and the ritual functions of drinking in certain situations. It is shown that the use of alcoholic drinks is highly patterned and integral to normal social interaction. The drinking ritual itself provides a mechanism which can facilitate social solidarity in a moderately stratified social system by legitimizing social relations between peers and individuals of different social sectors. As such, the drinking behavior served to promote certain community activities, such as public work projects. The dysfunctional aspects of drinking were found to be minimal in this context. With increased involvement of these people in urban-industrial life, however, these traditions assume other functions, and may be harmful to individuals. Data were gathered principally through systematic observation of social interaction and event analysis. Interviews were conducted with individuals from all sectors of the district society. Quantitative information was obtained from local tax records, police archives, businesses and from demographic materials gathered by the author.

Vessel-based optical data and artificial intelligence for sampling mega-plastic concentrations on the high seas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin de Vries ◽  
Matthias Egger ◽  
Thomas Mani ◽  
Laurent Lebreton
Keyword(s):  
Object Detection ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Localization Algorithm ◽  
Surface Mass

<p>Remote sensing of marine debris has seen recent successes in coastal regions. However, these approaches focus on the detection of large accumulations of marine debris, often mixed with organic waste and related to events. Individual large plastic items (macroplastics, > 50cm) in remote marine environments are a substantial part of the marine debris surface mass budget, yet  remain poorly quantified.</p><p>Current knowledge on the accumulation of macroplastic debris at the ocean surface is mostly limited due to methodological constraints. Macroplastics are typically too large for collection by neuston trawls. Furthermore, the relatively small sea surface area typically investigated during offshore research expeditions often is too small to account for the low areal concentrations of macroplastics. Given the importance of macroplastic in the global ocean plastic mass balance, quantitative information on the spatiotemporal distribution of macroplastics afloat in the surface ocean are urgently needed.</p><p>By now, our location-enabled action camera's on-board vessels of opportunity have recorded a vast amount of optical data from the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean (approximately 1 million images). By selection and labelling of occurrences of debris in images, we have trained an object detection and localization algorithm. We use the camera’s intrinsic parameters to estimate relevant sampling parameters, such as size and distance of each object detected. An overview of numerical concentrations is generated by combining the object detection solution with bulk processing of the optical data. The first results are promising and well-comparable to sampling methods applicable to smaller debris size classes, such as surface neuston nets.</p>

scholarly journals Genomic compatibility occurs over a wide range of parental genetic similarity in an outcrossing plant

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1570) ◽  
pp. 1333-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Willi ◽  
Josh Van Buskirk
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Inbreeding Depression ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Hybrid Breakdown ◽  
Offspring Performance ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Broad Scale

The theory of inbreeding and outbreeding suggests that there is a hump-shaped relationship between the genetic similarity of sexually reproducing parents and the performance of their offspring. Inbreeding depression occurs when genetic similarity is high, whereas hybrid breakdown is expected when genetic similarity is low. Between these extremes, the effect of genetic similarity on fitness is unclear. We studied the shape of this relationship by crossing 65 target genotypes of the clonal, self-incompatible Ranunculus reptans with partner genotypes spanning a broad scale of genetic similarity, ranging from crosses within populations to between-population crosses and hybridisation with a closely related species. Offspring were raised in outdoor tubs. Results revealed a quadratic relationship between parental genetic distance and offspring performance, with the clonal component of fitness more strongly hump-shaped than the sexual component. Optimal genetic similarity encompassed a broad range of within-population and between-population crosses. This pattern of genomic compatibility has important implications for the evolution of mating systems and mate choice.

scholarly journals Host-guest interactions: First-generation Filipino immigrants in New Zealand and their visiting friends and relatives (VFR) from the Philippines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Robert Charles Garcia Capistrano
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Social ◽  
Visiting Friends And Relatives

<p>This thesis examines social interactions between Filipino immigrant-hosts residing in New Zealand and their visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) from the Philippines as guests. The growth of migration and immigrant communities globally has become a major source of tourists resulting from developing and extending relationships and kinship in the receiving country of the immigrant-hosts. Despite advances in VFR travel research, most studies focus on the VFR travellers and generally neglect the significance of the host as a factor in the overall travel experience. There is a need to examine host-guest relationships in the context of VFR travel research as travel and tourism have by and large neglected issues of sociality and how it is concerned with social relations. Similarly, there is an element of “othering” comprised in the host-guest relationship when the social interaction is a meeting of strangers. However, this study explores social interactions where the actors take on host and guest roles that are layered upon other elements of their pre-existing relationships. This research recognises that while the hosts and guests may share a similar cultural background, the social interactions under study take place in a different cultural setting.  The overall question that guides this research is: “How are social interactions between immigrant-hosts and their VFRs understood and interpreted by them?” Currently, there is a lack of conceptual and theoretical understanding of VFR travel and the host-guest phenomenon, as well as of the meanings and interpretations resulting from their social interactions. The underpinning paradigm for this thesis is hermeneutic phenomenology, which seeks to understand the truths derived from the experiences. This paradigm guides the study to derive an understanding of the social interactions and the meanings that immigrant-hosts and their guests attach to situations. A holistic approach was utilised to examine the social interactions of the immigrant-host and VFR relationship incorporating social exchange theory and the theory of emotional solidarity which will enable consideration of the various dimensions of social interaction.  Individual and family/group interviews were conducted after the visit in order to provide a comprehensive approach and capture the range of interactions that occur between hosts and guests. The immigrant-host families and VFRs were interviewed after the post-visit phase in New Zealand and the Philippines, respectively. This study therefore incorporates multiple perspectives in studying VFR travel across time and space. Through thematic analysis and qualitative metasynthesis, the meanings provided by the hosts and guests to situations which occurred during the visit are analysed in order to give a voice to these groups.  The social interactions between immigrant-hosts and VFRs are dynamic, multidimensional and multi-faceted when examined from the multiple perspectives of the hosts and guests. The findings indicate that friendship and kinship appear to be special relationships to which people attach great importance, both personally and culturally, as friends and relatives provide a sense of identity and reaffirm social ties. This thesis contributes to current knowledge in interpreting the meanings of friendship and kinship in a cultural context and how it relates to VFR travel which may have an implication for both tourism and migration and on understanding the social interactions of immigrant-hosts living in their new homeland and their families and friends who visit them.</p>

Quantitative assessment of villous motility

1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (2) ◽  
pp. G250-G256 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Womack ◽  
J. A. Barrowman ◽  
W. H. Graham ◽  
J. N. Benoit ◽  
P. R. Kvietys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Intestine ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Quantitative Assessment ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Intermediate Frequency ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Physiological Importance ◽  
Observation Period

A videomicroscopic method was used to quantitatively analyze villous motility in the dog small intestine. The frequency and duration of villous contractions (retractions) were measured in the duodenum, midjejunum, and distal ileum under controlled conditions. A pronounced gradient of villous motility was evident along the bowel. The duodenum exhibited the highest frequency (7.3 +/- 0.1/min) and longest duration (2.6 +/- 0.1 s) of contraction; the jejunum exhibited an intermediate frequency and duration of contraction (4.0 +/- 0.1/min, 2.1 +/- 0.1 s), and the lowest values were measured in the ileum (2.0 +/- 0.1/min and 1.8 +/- 0.1 s). In contrast to the retraction movements, the frequency of pendular villous movements (whipping, swaying movements without shortening) was highest in the jejunum and lowest in the duodenum. The frequency and duration of villous contractions (retractions) remained relatively constant over a 2-h observation period. Reducing mucosal surface temperature from 38 to 30 degrees C caused the frequency of contraction to fall by 33% and the duration to increase by 106%. Varying the suffusate pH within the physiological range of 5.0-7.4 produced no significant effects on jejunal villous motility. Suffusion with glucose (140 and 280 mM) failed to alter villous motility. However, amino acid (15 and 30 mM) and fatty acid (10 mM) solutions significantly increased contraction frequency by 30-50% and 90%, respectively. The videomicroscopic method provides useful quantitative information, which should extend current knowledge regarding the regulation and physiological importance of villous motility.

scholarly journals Strong, but incomplete, mate choice discrimination between two closely related species of paper wasp

2018 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E Miller ◽  
Andrew W Legan ◽  
Zoe A Flores ◽  
Hong Yu Ng ◽  
Michael J Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Closely Related Species

Economic and Social Interactions in the Piedmont Village Tradition-Mississippian Boundarylands of Southeastern North America, AD 1200–1600

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-92
Author(s):  
Eric E. Jones ◽  
Maya B. Krause ◽  
Caroline R. Watson ◽  
Grayson N. O'Saile
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Interaction Patterns ◽  
The North ◽  
American Southeast ◽  
Tool Types ◽  
High Degree

This research seeks to understand the economic and social interaction patterns among dispersed Piedmont Village Tradition communities in the North American Southeast, AD 1200–1600. Piedmont Village Tradition communities lived adjacent to Mississippian societies and have been categorized as a peripheral society because of this spatial relationship. We examine economic behaviors by constructing fall-off curves of local versus nonlocal lithic material proportions at settlement sites and examining the reduction behaviors and tool types at sites. The results support a possible gateway model for the acquisition and distribution of nonlocal materials that linked spatially proximate communities. To examine social interaction patterns, we conducted a Brainerd-Robinson analysis of ceramic attributes from six sites and combined our results with work by Rogers (1993). The results show sites with stylistic similarities are not the same sites that share lithic resources. We conclude that these spatially non-overlapping artifact patterns result from a heterarchical social organization with a high degree of independence between economic and social interactions. Finally, we contextualize our results within the current knowledge of Mississippian and Piedmont Village Tradition societies in the region to broaden the discussion of gateways in reciprocity-based economies, societies traditionally thought of as peripheral to complex societies, and coalescence.

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