scholarly journals Does human influence on coastal grasslands habitats affect predation pressure on snakes?

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 366-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Beux dos Santos ◽  
Mauro Cesar Lamim Martins de Oliveira ◽  
Tatiane Penteado Gonçalves ◽  
Francis de Mattos Almeida ◽  
Daniel Loebmann ◽  
...  

The loss and modification of habitats by humans have been considered key factors in the decline of diversity of species worldwide. However, the real effect caused by these disturbances on the biota is still poorly understood. The assessment of the changes in the network of interspecific interactions, such as predation rates on the native fauna, can be an important tool to diagnose the functionality of disturbed ecosystems. In this study we evaluate the predation rate on snakes in coastal grasslands in South America under human influence. Predation rate of artificial snakes, unlike that obtained in other studies, was lower in human-altered areas than preserved ones. Our findings may be due to a reduction in the abundance and/or richness of species of native predators in more disturbed areas.

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Fairweather ◽  
C. Gibbes ◽  
D. Ridley
Keyword(s):  

2010 ◽  
pp. 41-61
Author(s):  
V. Andreev

The article discusses the concept of "success" in relation to innovative business and its performance. The quantity of innovative projects that can consistently overcome the stages of the innovation process to achieve the desired result is defined. The author presents the results of empirical research of successful and unsuccessful projects of leading Russian innovative companies in various industries, identifies key factors of successful development of new industrial products.


Author(s):  
Maria Giulia Ballatore ◽  
Ettore Felisatti ◽  
Laura Montanaro ◽  
Anita Tabacco

This paper is aimed to describe and critically analyze the so-called "TEACHPOT" experience (POT: Provide Opportunities in Teaching) performed during the last few years at Politecnico di Torino. Due to career criteria, the effort and the time lecturers spend in teaching have currently undergone a significant reduction in quantity. In order to support and meet each lecturers' expectations towards an improvement in their ability to teach, a mix of training opportunities has been provided. This consists of an extremely wide variety of experiences, tools, relationships, from which everyone can feel inspired to increase the effectiveness of their teaching and the participation of their students. The provided activities are designed around three main components: methodological training, teaching technologies, methodological experiences. A discussion on the findings is included and presented basing on the data collected through a survey. The impact of the overall experience can be evaluated on two different levels: the real effect on redesigning lessons, and the discussion on the matter within the entire academic community.


2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1889) ◽  
pp. 20181557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Cooney ◽  
Hannah E. A. MacGregor ◽  
Nathalie Seddon ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias

Sexual selection is proposed to be an important driver of speciation and phenotypic diversification in animal systems. However, previous phylogenetic tests have produced conflicting results, perhaps because they have focused on a single signalling modality (visual ornaments), whereas sexual selection may act on alternative signalling modalities (e.g. acoustic ornaments). Here, we compile phenotypic data from 259 avian sister species pairs to assess the relationship between visible plumage dichromatism—a standard index of sexual selection in birds—and macroevolutionary divergence in the other major avian signalling modality: song. We find evidence for a strong negative relationship between the degree of plumage dichromatism and divergence in song traits, which remains significant even when accounting for other key factors, including habitat type, ecological divergence and interspecific interactions. This negative relationship is opposite to the pattern expected by a straightforward interpretation of the sexual selection–diversification hypothesis, whereby higher levels of dichromatism indicating strong sexual selection should be related to greater levels of mating signal divergence regardless of signalling modality. Our findings imply a ‘trade-off’ between the elaboration of visual ornaments and the diversification of acoustic mating signals, and suggest that the effects of sexual selection on diversification can only be determined by considering multiple alternative signalling modalities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-57
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Dias Martins ◽  
Debora Cantergi ◽  
Jefferson Fagundes Loss

The kihapis a technique used in several oriental martial arts. It is a yell used by practitioners with the ex pectation of enhancing the force of a hit. However, the real effect of using the kihapis unknown. Therefore, this study aims to compare the peak of acceleration of the Dolio-chaguikick in taekwondo performed with and without the use of kihap. Twenty two experienced taekwondo practitioners performed 30 kicks each against a punching bag, alternating in random order with and without kihap, while the acceleration of the punching bag was measured. A t-test was used to compare the difference between the mean acceleration in both conditions. Higher values were found with the use of kihap(7.8 ± 2.8 g) than without the use of kihap(7.1 ± 2.4 g), p< 0.01, r= 0.57. The results indicate that kihapenhances the impact of the kick.


PMLA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-163
Author(s):  
William G. Acree

Between November 1879 and January 1880, the argentine author Eduardo Gutierrez published a serialized narrative of the life of Juan Moreira in the Buenos Aires newspaper La Patria Argentina. Titled simply Juan Moreira, the heroic tale of the real-life outlaw went like this: Moreira was a good gaucho gone bad, who fought to preserve his honor against the backdrop of modernizing forces that were transforming life in this part of South America. His string of crimes and ultimate downfall resulted from his unjust persecution by corrupt state officials. The success of the serial surpassed all expectations. The paper's sales skyrocketed, and the melodramatic narrative soon appeared in book form. Enterprising printers produced tens of thousands of authorized and pirated editions to sell in the Rio de la Plata (Argentina and Uruguay), making Juan Moreira a leading example of everyday reading for the region's rapidly growing literate population and one of Latin America's pre-twentieth-century bestsellers (Acree, Everyday Reading; Gutiérrez, The Gaucho Juan Moreira).


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