scholarly journals Shaping communicative colour signals over evolutionary time

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 160728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison G. Ossip-Drahos ◽  
José R. Oyola Morales ◽  
Cuauhcihuatl Vital-García ◽  
J. Jaime Zúñiga-Vega ◽  
Diana K. Hews ◽  
...  

Many evolutionary forces can shape the evolution of communicative signals, and the long-term impact of each force may depend on relative timing and magnitude. We use a phylogenetic analysis to infer the history of blue belly patches of Sceloporus lizards, and a detailed spectrophotometric analysis of four species to explore the specific forces shaping evolutionary change. We find that the ancestor of Sceloporus had blue patches. We then focus on four species; the first evolutionary shift (captured by comparison of S. merriami and S. siniferus ) represents an ancient loss of the belly patch by S. siniferus , and the second evolutionary shift, bounded by S. undulatus and S. virgatus , represents a more recent loss of blue belly patch by S. virgatus . Conspicuousness measurements suggest that the species with the recent loss ( S. virgatus ) is the least conspicuous. Results for two other species ( S. siniferus and S. merriami ) suggest that over longer periods of evolutionary time, new signal colours have arisen which minimize absolute contrast with the habitat while maximizing conspicuousness to a lizard receiver. Specifically, males of the species representing an ancient loss of blue patch ( S. siniferus ) are more conspicuous than are females in the UV, whereas S. merriami males have evolved a green element that makes their belly patches highly sexually dimorphic but no more conspicuous than the white bellies of S. merriami females. Thus, our results suggest that natural selection may act more immediately to reduce conspicuousness, whereas sexual selection may have a more complex impact on communicative signals through the introduction of new colours.

Author(s):  
Tetsuya Akaishi ◽  
Tomomi Suzuki ◽  
Harumi Nemoto ◽  
Yusuke Utsumi ◽  
Moe Seto ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study aims to evaluate the long-term impact of living in post-disaster prefabricated temporary housing on social interaction activities and mental health status. Methods: A total of 917 adult residents in a coastal town, whose residences were destroyed by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), were enrolled for the assessment held five years after the disaster. They answered questions about their experience and consequence of living in prefabricated temporary housing after the disaster. Their present scores on five types of self-reported measures regarding the psychosocial or psychiatric status and their present and recalled social interaction activities were cross-sectionally collected. Results: A total of 587 (64.0%) participants had a history of living in prefabricated temporary housing, while the other 330 (36.0%) had not. The prevalence of social interaction activities significantly decreased after the GEJE. However, the experience of living in prefabricated temporary housing did not adversely affect the subsequent social interaction activities or mental conditions of the participants five years after the disaster. Conclusions: Living in post-disaster prefabricated temporary housing may not negatively impact subsequent psychosocial conditions or social interaction activities five years later.


1994 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 77-94
Author(s):  
Ľ. Kresák

The definition, population, extent, origin and evolution of the individual subsystems of comets and transitions between them are discussed, together with presentation of the relevant statistical data and their changes with time. The largest outer subsystems are unobservable, but their existence is documented by the necessity of progressive replenishment of the observable populations, with limited survival times. There is persuasive evidence for two different evolutionary paths, one from the Oort cloud and another from the Kuiper belt. While the extent and accuracy of the data available is increasing rapidly, the Jupiter family of comets is the only one for which the evolutionary time scales do not exceed by many orders of magnitude the history of astronomical observations. The individual comet populations differ from one another not only by the distribution of orbits, but also by the size distribution and aging rate of their members. Their dynamical evolution is coupled with disintegration processes, which make it questionable whether the present state can be interpreted as a long-term average.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S323-S323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Ashbaugh ◽  
James D Cherry ◽  
Sue Gerber ◽  
Stephen G Higgins ◽  
Adva Gadoth ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies suggest a measles-induced immune amnesia that could have long-term immunosuppressive effects via preferential depletion of memory B and T CD150+ lymphocytes. Methods We examined the association between past measles and tetanus antibody levels among children participating in the 2013–2014 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Our sample consisted of 833 children aged 6–59 months whose mothers were selected for interview. Mothers reported (via recall) history of measles within the lifetime of the child. Classification of children who previously had measles was completed using maternal recall and measles immunoglobulin G (IgG) serostatus obtained via dried blood spot (DBS) analysis. A multiplex chemiluminescent immunoassay platform was used to obtain serologic results and Assay Score (AS) was calculated as a ratio to a positive control included in each run. Tetanus serostatus was categorized as being above or below the sample median serology AS value. Tetanus vaccination status was obtained via dated vaccination card and limited to children receiving the complete 3-dose vaccination series. Results The median AS for tetanus serology among the entire sample of 833 children was 0.085, while children with history of measles had a median AS of 0.053 (N = 41) and children with no history of measles had a median AS of 0.088 (N = 792), chi-square P-value < 0.05. A random intercept logistic regression model was used to examine the association between previous measles disease and odds of having below median levels of tetanus antibody. Controlling for potential confounding variables, the odds of a child with past history of measles having less than the median level of tetanus antibody was 3.86 (95% CI: 1.70, 8.78) among children fully vaccinated for tetanus. Conclusion The results suggest that, among children 6–59 months in DRC, measles may have a long-term impact on levels of pre-existing, vaccine-induced immunity to tetanus. These findings suggest the need for laboratory studies examining measles’ impact on pre-existing, vaccine-induced immunity and underscore the need for continued evaluation and improvement of DRC’s measles vaccination program. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Anna von der Goltz

This chapter introduces the book’s protagonists and main subject: the other ‘68ers, a group of centre-right activists who had participated in the West German student movement of the late 1960s and 1970s and later commemorated their efforts as a form of democratic resistance against left-wing radicals. It argues that a close examination of the other ‘68ers’ ideas, experiences, repertoires, and remarkable career trajectories enables us to rethink the history of 1968 and its afterlives in important ways. Studying the hitherto neglected role these individuals played at the time, as well as their life paths and long-term impact on West German political culture, opens up new vistas for understanding the history of protest in 1968, the late Federal Republic, and the role that generation played in postwar Germany. The Introduction also discusses the different sources used for this study, including the oral history methodology on which parts of the book are based.


2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantin Iordachi ◽  
Péter Apor

The downfall of the communist system and the end of the Cold War, the liberalization of historical discourses in Central and Eastern Europe, the opening up of new archival collections for scientific research, the intensification of academic exchange and interaction between local and foreign scholars, and the increasing globalization of the world have challenged scholars to experiment with new transnational approaches to the study of communist regimes, such as shared/entangled history, history of transfers, and histoire croisée. Against this background, the current thematic issue aims to evaluate the potential impact of transnational approaches on the field of communist studies, within the broader frameworks of European and world history. In this introduction, we provide a reappraisal of the history, legacy, and prospects of comparative communist studies, highlighting the potential heuristic advantages posed by the applications of new approaches to the “cross-history” of communist regimes. We argue that transnational research perspectives can fertilize communist studies, leading not only to novel insights but to the transformation of the field itself, by setting it on new foundations. By employing transnational perspectives, scholars are able to challenge the traditional understanding of communist regimes as quasi-isolated national entities, highlighting instead the long-term impact of cross-border linkages and transfers on sociopolitical developments within the Soviet camp. It is our conviction that the entangled history of communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe can function as a laboratory for experimenting with new transnational perspectives, leading to innovative interdisciplinary approaches in a joint effort of scholars from various disciplines and historiographical traditions.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Zawahri

AbstractThird parties have been active in assisting adversarial states to navigate their international river disputes. By using the carrot and stick to facilitate compromise, mediators have also participated in the negotiations leading to the signing of treaties over international rivers. Yet, due to the nature of the issue confronting riparian states, the long-term impact of these efforts is likely to be unstable cooperation rather than cooperation. This is still an important contribution, because the absence of mediation efforts may contribute to an environment of conflict. However, since riparian states confront a relationship that involves the need to continuously manage disputes that arise as states develop their international rivers, a mediator may be more effective in facilitating cooperation if it assists developing states with a history of animosity to establish effectively designed river basin commissions and it oversees the implementation of treaties. Participating in the initial years of a treaty's implementation by coordinating the donor community to underwrite projects can minimize the potential disputes riparians confront. An effectively designed river basin commission can assist in facilitating cooperation long after the mediator has departed from the region. To demonstrate this argument, the article draws on the Indus River case, which has lived through four different phases. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers are used to illustrate the argument's ability to explain other cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-384
Author(s):  
Alexander Unzicker

Since Isaac Newton, many physicists have conveyed the idea of the true laws of nature being governed by “simplicity,” a notion that has rarely been properly defined. When analyzing the history of fundamental physics until 1930, the number of constants of nature appears to be a useful measure for the complexity of theories, as opposed to the notion of simplicity. It can be observed that paradigm-shifting progress is often related to explanations of physical constants, thereby reducing their total number. Thus, it is argued that scientific revolutions are usually characterized by a pattern consisting of (1) a conceptual idea, (2) a mathematical formalism, and (3) a reduction of the number of independent constants of nature. This leads to a better understanding of the long-term impact of physical theories and may help to evaluate the current state of fundamental physics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-335
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Lamar ◽  
Megan Speciale ◽  
Lisa K. Forbes ◽  
Courtney Donovan

Evidence suggests parents experience unique pandemic-related stressors related to isolation, food insecurity, school closures, and unemployment. This study examined 1,048 U.S. parents’ depression, anxiety, stress, and alcohol and substance use behaviors during March and April 2020 to better understand the impact of pandemic-related conditions on parents’ mental health. Mean scores indicated severe levels of depression and stress and extremely severe anxiety. Nearly two thirds (74.7%) indicated alcohol use in the past month, with 26.5% scoring in the range for problem alcohol use. Almost half of the sample reported using at least one substance in the previous 2 weeks. Men had significantly higher alcohol consumption and substance use than women. Depression, anxiety, and stress were higher for parents who consumed alcohol or substances and had a history of depression or anxiety. The long-term impact of COVID-19 is unknown, and mental health care is likely to be in high demand moving forward.


Author(s):  
Tetsuya Akaishi ◽  
Tomomi Suzuki ◽  
Harumi Nemoto ◽  
Yusuke Utsumi ◽  
Moe Seto ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study aims to evaluate the long-term impact of living in postdisaster prefabricated temporary housing on social interaction activities and mental health status. Methods: A total of 917 adult residents in a coastal town, whose residences were destroyed by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), were enrolled for the assessment held 5 y after the disaster. They answered questions about their experience and consequence of living in prefabricated temporary housing after the disaster. Their present scores on 5 types of self-reported measures regarding the psychosocial or psychiatric status and their present and recalled social interaction activities were cross-sectionally collected. Results: A total of 587 (64.0%) participants had a history of living in prefabricated temporary housing, while the other 330 (36.0%) had not. The prevalence of social interaction activities significantly decreased after the GEJE. However, the experience of living in prefabricated temporary housing did not adversely affect the subsequent social interaction activities or mental conditions of the participants 5 y after the disaster. Conclusions: Living in postdisaster prefabricated temporary housing may not negatively impact subsequent psychosocial conditions or social interaction activities 5 y later.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Margirier ◽  
Peter Reiners ◽  
Ismael Casado ◽  
Stuart Thomson ◽  
Alexandra Alvarado ◽  
...  

<p>The Cenozoic growth of the Ecuadorian Andes has been strongly influenced by the compressional reactivation of inherited crustal anisotropies, strike-slip faulting and uplift, and the erosional effects of a wet tropical climate superposed on the deforming orogen. Some authors have linked uplift in the Western Cordillera to the interaction between the South American Plate and the subduction of the oceanic Carnegie Ridge. However, recent studies have alternatively suggested that the tectonic evolution of a northward-escaping crustal sliver in western Ecuador along the Pallatanga strike-slip zone may equally well explain mountain building and topographic growth in this region. While the importance of the Pallatanga Fault has been recognized in the context of seismic hazards, its long-term impact on the development of topography and relief has not been explored in detail. To evaluate the possible roles of oceanic ridge subduction and/or strike-slip motion in prompting the growth of the Western Cordillera, we present new thermochronological data to constrain the deformational history of the Western Cordillera at different latitudes. We focus on two sites in the vicinity of the Pallatanga strike-slip fault (3°S and 1°30’S) and a location farther to the north (0°30’N). Our apatite and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He dates range from 26.0 ± 0.4 Ma to 3.9 ± 0.1 Ma and from 23.7 ± 0.3 to 5.9 ± 0.1 Ma, respectively. The three sampled sites record a clear age-elevation relationship. The inverse modeling of apatite and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He dates and upcoming apatite fission-track data is expected to provide new constraints on the recent uplift and exhumation history of the Western Ecuadorian Andes and thus furnish information on the paleo-geographical evolution of the northern Andes.</p>


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