‘An exceedingly simple, little ecosystem’: Devils Hole, endangered species conservation, and scientific environments

Author(s):  
Kevin C. Brown

This article explores the history of the Devils Hole pupfish ( Cyprinodon diabolis ), regarded by scientists as having the smallest range of any vertebrate species in the world, a single 10 × 60 ft pool in the Amargosa Valley of southern Nye County, Nevada, USA. It considers the impact of ‘scientific environments’ on the possibilities for pupfish survival as well as potential human uses of the desert. Scientific environment is defined as the knowledge and conceptualization of the environment produced from particular questions and methods and that influence how a species, habitat or region is managed. Three successive scientific environments have shaped the conservation of the pupfish since the 1890s: the first led by taxonomic analyses of the pupfish, the second by ecological and hydrological investigations of Devils Hole, as well as its surrounding desert, and the third by genetic analysis of pupfish DNA. The science in each era has shaped (and responded to) the way in which federal and state agencies have worked to conserve this critically endangered species. The article contributes to an understanding of how concepts and practices at the heart of ecological sciences develop from, and impact, particular spaces and species.

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-165
Author(s):  
Munetsi Ruzivo

The article seeks, first and foremost, to investigate the origins, growth and development of the Southern Rhodesia Missionary Conference (SRMC) from 1903 to 1945. In the second place, the article will explore the formative factors that lay behind the rise of the ecumenical movement in the then Southern Rhodesia in 1903. In the third place, the study endeavours to examine the impact of the SRMC on the social, religious and political landscape of the country from 1903 to 1945. The research will make use of minutes of the SRMC, newspapers and books with information that date back to the period under investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Lobos ◽  
Nicolás Rebolledo ◽  
Andrés Charrier ◽  
Claudio Correa ◽  
Felipe Rabanal ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-125
Author(s):  
Anton Andreev ◽  
◽  
Daria Pravdiuk

The activities of the Third (Communist) International left a noticeable mark on the political history of Latin America. His ideological, organizational legacy remains a factor in shaping the theory and practice of contemporary leftist governments in the region. This article examines the impact of the legacy of the Comintern on international processes in Latin America, the development of integration projects, foreign policy projects of the left forces of the region. On the basis of archival documents, media materials, documents of parties and governments, the authors show which of the foreign policy guidelines of the Comintern are relevant for the region in the 21st century.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. bcr-2018-226016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajvi Patel ◽  
Ateaya Lima ◽  
Christopher Burke ◽  
Mark Hoffman

A 26-year-old man with history of schizophrenia was admitted for neutropaenia. He was started on clozapine 3 months prior to admission. As a result he had weekly monitoring of his blood counts and on day of admission was noted to have an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 450 cells/μL. He was admitted for clozapine-induced agranulocytosis. Clozapine was held and the patient was started on granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) filgrastim and received two doses without any signs of ANC recovery. On further review, it was noted that the absolute monocyte count (AMC) was also low and tracked with the trend of ANC. We then theorised that the impact of clozapine was on a haematopoietic precursor (colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage, CFU-GM) which gives rise to both monocytic and myeloid lineages. Therefore, sargramostim GM-CSF was started. After two doses, the ANC and AMC started trending up and by the third dose, both counts had fully recovered. He was discharged from the hospital and there are no plans to rechallenge with clozapine. Thus, we demonstrate a case of monocytopenia accompanying clozapine-induced agranulocytosis with successful use of GM-CSF. At least in this case, the target of the clozapine injury appears to be the CFU-GM, explaining the rapid and full response to GM-CSF after lack of response to G-CSF.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 120-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schneider

Abstract The history of Egyptology in the Third Reich has never been the subject of academic analysis. This article gives a detailed overview of the biographies of Egyptologists in National Socialist Germany and their later careers after the Second World War. It scrutinizes their attitude towards the ideology of the Third Reich and their involvement in the political and intellectual Gleichschaltung of German Higher Education, as well as the impact National Socialism had on the discourse within the discipline. A letter written in 1946 by Georg Steindorff, one of the emigrated German Egyptologists, to John Wilson, Professor at the Oriental Institute Chicago, which incriminated former colleagues and exonerated others, is first published here and used as a framework for the debate.


Author(s):  
Robert Miklitsch

This concluding chapter traces the history of classic noir by reflecting on the way in which the genre has been discursively constituted through its beginnings and endings, an act of periodization that typically entails nominating particular films as the first and last noir in order to differentiate the intervening films from, respectively, proto- and neo-noir. While the recent interest in Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) is one sign that Boris Ingster's film has supplanted The Maltese Falcon (1941) as the first, titular American noir, recent transnational readings of the genre have problematized the reflexive determination of classic noir as a strictly American phenomenon. In fact, the impact of Odds against Tomorrow (1959) on transnational neo-noir indicates that the end or terminus of the classical era is just as provisional—just as open to interpretation and therefore, revision—as its origin.


Itinerario ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf von Albertini

As historians, living in the contemporary world, we ask and are asked about the causes of underdevelopment. And, as most of the former colonies belong today to the underdeveloped countries of the Third World, we are confronted with the question as to what importance the colonial era plays in the history of these countries. There is a consensus that the history of colonialism can only be meaningful approached in the broader spectrum of underdevelopment and the specific problems of the Third World. There is no satisfaction in retreatingto the ostensibly objective approach of the historian and wanting tolimit ourselves in showing how colonialism came into being, what administrative structures arose, what economic policies were followed and finally how the colonized revolted and the process of decolonization got under way. Society will simply not allow us to do so. Equally, if not more important, is the question regarding the impact of colonialism on the colonized societies and how far it may be held responsible for the existing structures of underdevelopment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Fukushima ◽  
Jorge Mendoza ◽  
Rick West ◽  
Stuart Longhorn ◽  
Emmanuel Rivera ◽  
...  

CITES is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Regarding spiders, all species listed in CITES are tarantulas. They are included in Appendix II, meaning that they are species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that they may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Many tarantulas are legally and illegally traded in the pet market and they are one of the most traded invertebrate groups. Originally, the CITES list published in 1995 included all the current species of the genus Brachypelma Simon, 1891 plus Aphonopelma pallidum (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) and the so-called Aphonopelma albiceps (Pocock, 1903). After that, some taxonomic changes were done, as well as descriptions of new species in the genus Brachypelma. The objective of this paper is to assess the 21 taxonomically valid spider species listed on CITES according to the IUCN criteria, study the general patterns and trends and advise on possible future conservation actions critical for the survival of endangered species. Amongst all 21 species assessed, 16 had sufficient data on their distribution, ecology and threats to properly understand their current status and suggest possible conservation measures. A decline in the area of occupancy (AOO) and extent of occurrence (EOO) was inferred to almost all species, caused mostly by human activities (urbanisation, roads, agricultural and touristic activities), which often lead to the complete loss of subpopulations across their range. Hurricanes and frequent rising water, which are increasing in frequency due to climate change, can cause decline in habitat quality and consequent change in EOO and AOO of some species and should also be considered when planning conservation actions. Severe fragmentation was detected in 13 species and is therefore one of the most relevant threats to the most endangered Brachypelma species and should be made a priority aspect to deal with when proposing conservation actions for the group. Regarding the loss of individuals in wild populations, the main cause seems to be the overharvesting to meet the illegal trade. The most important conservation actions identified across species include preserving their natural habitat through protected areas, establishing management plans for both the species and their habitats and undertaking systematic monitoring to provide information about population recovery and species re-introduction programmes. In general, we propose to prioritise and support research on the population trends and distribution, as well as on the impact of land use and habitat degradation. Special attention regarding conservation actions and research plans has to be given to the central Pacific coastal area of Mexico, particularly around Guerrero State where five species of Brachypelma occur. Critically, for some of the most endangered species, such as B. baumgarteni and B. hamorii, there is no official protected area in their range of occurrence. It would therefore be highly recommended to establish at least one conservation unit which focuses on protecting each of these species in situ. In some cases, basic taxonomic research is needed before development of any appropriate conservation action can be proposed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff McLay

This article briefly discusses the history of New Zealand Legal Education, with a focus on Victoria University of Wellington. The first part of this paper introduces the American and English models of legal education, discussing the different tensions and contexts of each jurisdiction. The second part of the paper introduces the history of legal education in New Zealand. The author discusses New Zealand's departure from the English model (where a degree was not necessary to practise), academics' tradition of writing textbooks in New Zealand, and the influence of the American legal education system. The third part of the paper discusses the impact of Professor John Salmond and Sir Robert Stout at Victoria University of Wellington. 


1950 ◽  
Vol 44 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. B. Mitford

The late Sir George Hill in the first volume of his monumental History of Cyprus remarks that the Cypriot syllabary is found in use until the third century B.C. This, it may be noted, is the traditional opinion which for some sixty years has stood the test of time. I read therefore with interest on p. 330 of the same volume, among the addenda, that ‘pottery with incised inscriptions, discovered in 1939 in an excavation four miles from Nicosia, shows that the syllabary continued to be used as late as the first century B.C.’ Sir George Hill in effect is here accepting the claim of Mrs. E. H. Dohan and Professor R. G. Kent, which he has hitherto ignored, that the syllabary survived until 50 B.C. Now this is an important claim, partly because it would add from two to three centuries to the life-span of a script already in possession of a long and reputable lineage; more particularly because, if true, it will convict the ancient Cypriot, admittedly a conservative individual, of a degree of conservatism with which I find it hard to credit even him. That there should still have been men in the hinterland of the island under the governorship of Cicero so little affected by the impact of the whole Hellenistic age that they were prepared to write Greek in a manner so uncouth and preserve, incidentally, certain elements of their old Arcadian tongue, is to my thinking highly improbable. A fresh examination of the evidence on which Mrs. Dohan and Professor Kent based their claim is clearly called for.


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