Sexual dimorphism, deformations, and epibionts of Phrynops tuberosus (Testudines, Chelidae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 311-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues ◽  
José Roberto Feitosa Silva
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Body Condition Index ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year ◽  
Effective Conservation

Studies focusing on the natural history of species are essential for developing effective conservation measures and evaluating ecological hypotheses. To this end, we describe natural history data of the Cotinga River toadhead turtle, Phrynops tuberosus, in the Banabuiú River in Ceará, Brazil, and evaluated sexual dimorphism, epibionts, and mutilation effects. We hand-captured 134 individuals by snorkeling, over a period of one year, resulting in the capture of 94 males, 24 females, and 16 juveniles. Females had larger head width and body mass than males, while males had longer tail length. One quarter of the turtles captured had some sort of injury or deformation, most common injuries being missing claws, mutilations, and shell deformations. We found no difference in body condition index between mutilated and non-mutilated animals. Mollusks, insects, and leeches were found as epibionts on P. tuberosus and most of the captured turtles had extensive algal cover. Future studies should focus on understanding the effect of mutilations on animal fitness and reproductive success.

scholarly journals Natural history of lung function over one year in patients with Parkinson's disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 106396
Author(s):  
David A. Kaminsky ◽  
Donald G. Grosset ◽  
Deena M. Kegler-Ebo ◽  
Salvador Cangiamilla ◽  
Michael Klingler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Lung Function ◽  
Natural History ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year

scholarly journals The Natural History of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Lactation

1989 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 349-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
J S Wand
Keyword(s):  
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Carpal Tunnel ◽  
Surgical Decompression ◽  
Steroid Injections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tunnel Syndrome ◽  
Inflammatory Drugs ◽  
One Year ◽  
Primiparous Women

In a retrospective postal study of 27 women who have developed carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the puerperium, the condition was found to affect predominantly elderly primiparous women (mean age 31.5 years). The condition was associated with breastfeeding in 24 women. The three who did not breastfeed had less severe symptoms which resolved within one month of onset. The symptoms developed a mean of 3.5 weeks following delivery, lasted 6.5 months and started to resolve within 14 days of weaning. Symptomatic treatments with either splint-age, diuretics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or steroid injections provided some benefit. Two patients required surgical decompression. All patients were symptom-free by one year.

scholarly journals The Natural History of Sydney

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Matt W Hayward
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Editorial Team ◽  
Zoological Society ◽  
Natural History Studies ◽  
History Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competitive Nature ◽  
Effective Conservation ◽  
Do So

AUSTRALIA’S relatively recent discovery by Europeans and rapid loss of traditional knowledge without documentation means the accumulated knowledge of our natural history is scant compared to other continents (e.g., search for publications on the top-order predators of each continent for confirmation). Yet, as Mike Archer highlights in the Foreword to this book, this natural history information is fundamental for us to develop effective conservation strategies. Instead of focusing on accumulating this information, the competitive nature of academia limits the value of publishing simple natural history studies because of the low impact such studies invariably have (see Paul Adam’s chapter), while conservation managers are too busy to publish their natural history research particularly while they receive such little incentive to do so. The Natural History of Sydney offers a valuable remedy to this problem and Dan Lunney and his Royal Zoological Society of NSW editorial team deliver once again in servicing the intellectual needs of Australian zoologists.

scholarly journals Slowness as a Strategy of the Contemporary through Films

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-102
Author(s):  
Karen Heald
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Profound Change ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Moving Images ◽  
Contemporary Life ◽  
Critical Media ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year ◽  
Andrei Tarkovsky ◽  
The Impact

In Future Studies and the History of Technology accelerating change is a perceived increase in the rate of technological change throughout history. This may suggest faster and more profound change in the future and may or may not be accompanied by equally profound social and cultural change. Responding to the accelerating technological landscape and contemporary life, this paper researches how the concept of ‘time’ plays a significant role. The author, an experimental filmmaker, charts an experiential journey within several pivotal ‘dream films’, along with relevant artists’ moving images in relation to time and slowness in the moving image as critical media. As contemporary life has become more and more fast paced, and one year on the impact of COVID-19 is still being felt, the idea of stillness is beginning to become a more desirable commodity. The author explores ‘slow cinema’, acknowledging seminal directors Andrei Tarkovsky and Claire Denis, as well as art films which frequently emphasise long takes, offering minimalist aesthetics with little or no narrative. In an endeavour to portray different temporalities and reveal and allude to the invisibility of time, the author relates to Julia Kristeva’s notions of intertextuality, transposition and time, and Lutz Koepnik’s concept of slowness as a strategy of the contemporary. The author discusses four ‘dream films’, where painterly, poetic, non-linear narratives, and ‘in-between’ spaces are played out: FRIDA Travels to Ibiza, Cycle, Llafarganu Papagei and Frock.

scholarly journals Aspects of reproduction and sexual dimorphism of Lygophis flavifrenatus (Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Marques Quintela ◽  
Daniel Loebmann
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Body Dimensions ◽  
New Information

ABSTRACT Lygophis flavifrenatus Cope, 1862 is a terrestrial dispsadid distributed in subtropical Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Herein, we present data on sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology of this very poorly studied species. A total of 108 specimens (55 females, 50 males, three hatchlings with unidentified sex) from Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul were analyzed. Sexual dimorphism by size, body dimensions (tail length, head length, head width) and a number of ventral and subcaudal scales is not well marked in the species. Mature females attain the greater size and have a higher number of ventral scales than mature males. Mature males, in turn, presented longer tail, longer and wider head and a higher number of subcaudal scales. Meanwhile, marked overlaps were observed in ranges of all body dimensions proportions and a number of ventral and subcaudal scales. Females attained sexual maturity at a greater size than males. The smallest mature female showed snout-vent length (SVL) = 402 mm while the smallest mature male presented SVL = 285 mm. Females presented a seasonal reproductive cycle, with advanced stages (advanced development of secondary follicles and development of eggs) occurring in late winter and spring. Hatchlings were found in late summer. It is supposed that only one clutch is laid per cycle, considering that the great majority of secondary follicles found in females carrying eggs were irregular or lamellar shaped (possibly atresic). Clutch sizes varied from 6 to 12 eggs (mean = 8.2) and presented a tendency for positive correlation with progenitors SVL. The present study adds new information to the knowledge about the natural history of snakes from subtropical Neotropics.

The Tasmanian Whitebait, Lovettia seali (Johnston), and the Whitebait Fishery

1950 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Standard Length ◽  
Southern Population ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year

The biology of the aplochitonid Lovettia seali (Johnston), which comprises over 95 per cent. of the Tasmanian whitebait catch, has been studied. Over 78,000 fish from 95 samples were sexed and measured, and 1,200 were classified as to maturity, pigmentation stages, and the presence or absence of food in the stomach. Vertebra counts were made for 1,200 specimens, and there were other observations upon smaller amounts of material. There are marked resemblances to other salmonoids in most points of the biology. There is conspicuous sexual dimorphism. The fish are anadromous and at their ascent are all mature or almost so, and all of the same age (one year by otoliths). After spawning begins there is progressive discoloration and emaciation, followed almost invariably by death. About 0.001 per cent. of the stock consists of two-year fish. The eggs are large compared with the size of fish (extremes of standard length in the adult stock are 33 and 70 mm.) and the incubation period is about three weeks. The larvae drift downstream to the sea. Sex ratio is highly variable, but generally the males greatly outnumber the females. A northern and a southern population can be distinguished, the differences being in growth rate and pigmentation. Each population supports a separate fishery, which operates on the ascending shoals. The history of the fisheries is outlined. The southern fishery has never been important because the fish available at the principal fishing locality are excessively pigmented. More suitable fish could be taken by operating further downstream, where the fish are typically at an earlier stage of maturity. The northern fishery has been vigorously prosecuted and overfishing was probably the cause of the decline in abundance of stock in 1947 and 1948. If there was overfishing, it operated purely by excessive removal of reproducers. The order of the optimum catch is empirically identified and a programme for the management of the stock, aiming at its rehabilitation, is recommended.

The natural history of levator avulsion one year following childbirth: a prospective study

2014 ◽  
Vol 122 (9) ◽  
pp. 1266-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
KWM van Delft ◽  
R Thakar ◽  
AH Sultan ◽  
J IntHout ◽  
KB Kluivers
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Levator Avulsion ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year ◽  
A Prospective Study

Natural history of Phelsuma madagascariensis kochi from a dry forest in Madagascar

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isami Ikeuchi ◽  
Masami Hasegawa ◽  
Akira Mori
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Foraging Mode ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Census Methods ◽  
History Of

AbstractNatural history of the diurnal gecko, Phelsuma madagascariensis kochi, was investigated with mark-and-recapture and census methods from the end of the dry season to the middle of the rainy season in a dry forest of Madagascar. Males were larger than females in snout-vent length, tail length, and body mass, and also had relatively larger head widths. Hatchlings were observed only in the rainy season. The geckos passively followed ambient temperatures, rarely basked, but had lower cloacal temperature than air temperature at high air temperatures. They preferred high and thick trees. The frequency of sighting decreased in the rainy season. Foraging mode was sit-and-wait. Home ranges of male P. madagascariensis kochi did not overlap with each other, but partially overlapped with those of females and unsexed individuals. Several ecological traits of P. madagascariensis kochi such as male-biased sexual size dimorphism and possible home range defense, seemed more similar to those of diurnal, arboreal lizards (some iguanids and agamids) relying on the visual modality, rather than to those of nocturnal geckos.

Natural history of the New Caledonian whiptailed skink Tropidoscincus variabilis (Bavay, 1869) (Squamata: Scincidae)

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
Ross Sadlier ◽  
Aaron Bauer ◽  
Hervé Jourdan ◽  
Glenn Shea
Keyword(s):  
New Caledonia ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Head Length ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Ontogenetic Change ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Depth Increase ◽  
One Year

AbstractTropidoscincus variabilis is a medium-sized, long-limbed and long-tailed skink from New Caledonia with strong ontogenetic change in coloration, juveniles being very brightly coloured. It is primarily an inhabitant of forested habitats, but also occurs in maquis heathlands. Mature females are similar in size to mature males, but have proportionally longer bodies and shorter heads and limbs, and a less brightly orange venter. Body length (axilla-groin length) increases in positive allometry to snout-vent length (SVL), while limb lengths and head length increase in negative allometry to SVL (except in males, where limb length increases isometrically). Head width and depth increase in positive allometry to head length, while tail length increases in isometry with SVL. Reproduction is seasonal in both sexes, with gonadal cycles peaking in late spring. Females lay 2-4 eggs in summer, and young hatch in late summer. More than one year of growth is required to attain maturity. Diet consists of a wide range of invertebrates, particularly arthropods, and with large numbers of spiders and crickets. Juveniles eat more spiders, bugs and isopods than adults. The long limbs and ontogenetic change in coloration of this species are not explained by its known biology.

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