The Ecological Importance of Allelopathy

Author(s):  
José L. Hierro ◽  
Ragan M. Callaway

Allelopathy (i.e., chemical interaction among species) was originally conceived as inclusive of positive and negative effects of plants on other plants, and we adopt this view. Most studies of allelopathy have been phenomenological, but we focus on studies that have explored the ecological significance of this interaction. The literature suggests that studies of allelopathy have been particularly important for three foci in ecology: species distribution, conditionality of interactions, and maintenance of species diversity. There is evidence that allelopathy influences local distributions of plant species around the world. Allelopathic conditionality appears to arise through coevolution, and this is a mechanism for plant invasions. Finally, allelopathy promotes species coexistence via intransitive competition, modifications of direct interactions, and (co)evolution. Recent advances additionally suggest that coexistence might be favored through biochemical recognition. The preponderance of phenomenological studies notwithstanding, allelopathy has broad ecological consequences. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 52 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clark Barrett

Psychological research in small-scale societies is crucial for what it stands to tell us about human psychological diversity. However, people in these communities, typically Indigenous communities in the global South, have been underrepresented and sometimes misrepresented in psychological research. Here I discuss the promises and pitfalls of psychological research in these communities, reviewing why they have been of interest to social scientists and how cross-cultural comparisons have been used to test psychological hypotheses. I consider factors that may be undertheorized in our research, such as political and economic marginalization, and how these might influence our data and conclusions. I argue that more just and accurate representation of people from small-scale communities around the world will provide us with a fuller picture of human psychological similarity and diversity, and it will help us to better understand how this diversity is shaped by historical and social processes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Author(s):  
Susana Marcos ◽  
Eduardo Martinez-Enriquez ◽  
Maria Vinas ◽  
Alberto de Castro ◽  
Carlos Dorronsoro ◽  
...  

As the human eye ages, the crystalline lens stiffens (presbyopia) and opacifies (cataract), requiring its replacement with an artificial lens [intraocular lens (IOL)]. Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the world. The increase in IOL designs has not been paralleled in practice by a sophistication in IOL selection methods, which rely on limited anatomical measurements of the eye and the surgeon's interpretation of the patient's needs and expectations. We propose that the future of IOL selection will be guided by 3D quantitative imaging of the crystalline lens to map lens opacities, anticipate IOL position, and develop fully customized eye models for ray-tracing-based IOL selection. Conversely, visual simulators (in which IOL designs are programmed in active elements) allow patients to experience prospective vision before surgery and to make more informed decisions about which IOL to choose. Quantitative imaging and optical and visual simulations of postsurgery outcomes will allow optimal treatments to be selected for a patient undergoing modern cataract surgery. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, Volume 23 is June 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Máximo Langer

This article documents the diffusion of plea bargaining and other mechanisms to reach criminal convictions without a trial and argues that their spread implies what this article terms an administratization of criminal convictions in many corners of the world. Criminal convictions have been administratized in two ways: ( a) Trial-avoiding mechanisms have given a larger role to nonjudicial, administrative officials in the determination of who gets convicted and for which crimes, and ( b) these decisions are made in proceedings that do not include a trial with its attached defendants’ rights. The article also proposes a way this phenomenon could be quantitatively measured by articulating the rate of administratization of criminal convictions, a metric to allow for comparison among different jurisdictions. The article then presents cross-national data from 26 jurisdictions on their rate of administratization of criminal convictions and different hypotheses that may help explain variation across jurisdictions on this rate. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Criminology, Volume 4 is January 13, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Zierer ◽  
David Rüscher ◽  
Uwe Sonnewald ◽  
Sophia Sonnewald

Root and tuber crops have been an important part of human nutrition since the early days of humanity, providing us with essential carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. Today, they are especially important in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, where they help to feed an ever-growing population. Early induction and storage organ size are important agricultural traits, as they determine yield over time. During potato tuberization, environmental and metabolic status are sensed, ensuring proper timing of tuberization mediated by phloem-mobile signals. Coordinated cellular restructuring and expansion growth, as well as controlled storage metabolism in the tuber, are executed. This review summarizes our current understanding of potato tuber development and highlights similarities and differences to important tuberous root crop species like sweetpotato and cassava. Finally, we point out knowledge gaps that need to be filled before a complete picture of storage organ development can emerge. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 72 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Author(s):  
Stefanie Walter

In recent years, the world has seen a rising backlash against globalization. This article reviews the nature, causes, and consequences of the globalization backlash. It shows that, contrary to a popular narrative, the backlash is not associated with a large swing in public opinion against globalization but is rather a result of its politicization. The increasing influence of globalization-skeptic actors has resulted in more protectionist, isolationist, and nationalist policies, some of which fundamentally threaten pillars of the contemporary international order. Both material and nonmaterial causes drive the globalization backlash, and these causes interact and mediate each other. The consequences are shaped by the responses of societal actors, national governments, and international policy makers. These responses can either yield to and reinforce the global backlash or push back against it. Understanding these dynamics will be an important task for future research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny C.A. Read

Most animals have at least some binocular overlap, i.e., a region of space that is viewed by both eyes. This reduces the overall visual field and raises the problem of combining two views of the world, seen from different vantage points, into a coherent whole. However, binocular vision also offers many potential advantages, including increased ability to see around obstacles and increased contrast sensitivity. One particularly interesting use for binocular vision is comparing information from both eyes to derive information about depth. There are many different ways in which this might be done, but in this review, I refer to them all under the general heading of stereopsis. This review examines the different possible uses of binocular vision and stereopsis and compares what is currently known about the neural basis of stereopsis in different taxa. Studying different animals helps us break free of preconceptions stemming from the way that stereopsis operates in human vision and provides new insights into the different possible forms of stereopsis. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Author(s):  
Patrick Le Galès

Not all politics is local. Not even local politics is necessarily local. The reemergence of local politics is not comparable to the nationalization of politics but is rather an element making multilevel policies more or less interconnected. This global review (not including North America) suggests that the rise of local politics is explained by three set of processes—( a) democratization, including protest, ( b) economic globalization, urbanization, and the deepening of territorial inequalities, and ( c) decentralization or deconcentration and the rise of local governance and policies. The rise of local politics is not a revival of the past but an element of the politics of scale taking. All over the world, local politics is increasingly about policies, governance, and political choice. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Author(s):  
Diane Lillo-Martin ◽  
Jonathan Henner

Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual iconicity, and the use of spatial locations to represent referents, locations, and movement events. Unfortunately, the vast majority of deaf children do not receive accessible linguistic input in infancy, and these children experience language deprivation. Negative effects on language are observed when first-language acquisition is delayed. For those who eventually begin to learn a sign language, earlier input is associated with better language and academic outcomes. Further research is especially needed with a broader diversity of participants. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics, Volume 7 is January 14, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
György Buzsáki ◽  
Sam McKenzie ◽  
Lila Davachi

By linking the past with the future, our memories define our sense of identity. Because human memory engages the conscious realm, its examination has historically been approached from language and introspection and proceeded largely along separate parallel paths in humans and other animals. Here, we first highlight the achievements and limitations of this mind-based approach and make the case for a new brain-based understanding of declarative memory with a focus on hippocampal physiology. Next, we discuss the interleaved nature and common physiological mechanisms of navigation in real and mental spacetime. We suggest that a distinguishing feature of memory types is whether they subserve actions for single or multiple uses. Finally, in contrast to the persisting view of the mind as a highly plastic blank slate ready for the world to make its imprint, we hypothesize that neuronal networks are endowed with a reservoir of neural trajectories, and the challenge faced by the brain is how to select and match preexisting neuronal trajectories with events in the world. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth K. Johnson ◽  
Marieke van Heugten ◽  
Helen Buckler

Adult processing of other-accented speech is fast, dependent on lexical access, and readily generalizable to new words. But what does children's processing of other-accented speech look like? Although many acquisition researchers have emphasized how other-accented speech presents a formidable challenge to young children, we argue that the field has perhaps underestimated children's early accent processing abilities. In support of this view, we present evidence that 2-year-olds’ accent processing abilities appear to be in many respects adult-like, and discuss the growing literature on children's ability to cope with multi-accent input in the natural world. We outline different theoretical outlooks on the transition children make from infancy to later childhood, and discuss how the growing sophistication of infants’ accent processing abilities feeds into their social perception of the world (and perhaps vice versa). We also argue that efficient processing and meaningful interpretation of accent variation are fundamental to human cognition, and that early proficiency with accent variation (along with all of the implied representational and learning capacities) is difficult to explain without assuming the early emergence of abstract speech representations. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics, Volume 8 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


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