scholarly journals Change in Historical Range of the Ural Owl in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Goffette ◽  
Marceline Denis ◽  
Nadja Pöllath ◽  
Wim Van Neer

A carpometacarpus recovered during archaeological excavations in the town of Quaregnon is the westernmost find ever reported in Europe of a Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), and the first occurrence for Belgium. Both the morphology of the skeletal element and its measurements rule out an identification as any of the other Strigiformes from the Western Palearctic. The provenance of this specimen, that dates to the medieval period (10th-12th centuries AD), is discussed. It is hypothesized that the bird was a wild animal, but the available evidence does not unequivocally determine whether it belonged to a local, breeding population that went extinct or if it came from a more distant population. However, a survey of other zooarchaeological finds of Ural Owl in Europe shows that the species occurred farther west in the past, outside the present natural breeding range. This suggests that Ural Owl may have found suitable nesting biotopes in Belgium and northern France during the medieval period.

1928 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 83-115
Author(s):  
Gladys A. Thornton

Clare is situated in the south-west corner of Suffolk, in the valley of the Stour River. At the present day it is only a village, for its market is no longer held; yet its history shows that in earlier times it was of considerable importance, especially during the medieval period, when it was a favourite residence of the Clare lords. The town then had a busy market and a flourishing cloth-making industry; and at one time it seemed possible that Clare might attain full development as a borough, possessing as it did some burghal characteristics. In the following pages it is proposed to study in detail the history of Clare as a seignorial borough during the Middle Ages, and its subsequent development.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tjerk Hagemeijer

Especially since Ferraz (1974, 1975, 1979), it has been generally accepted that the four Gulf of Guinea creoles (GGCs) — Santome (ST), Angolar (ANG), Lung’ie (LU), and Fa d’Ambô (FA)2 — are closely related languages based on historical and linguistic data. Ferraz shares his view on the type of genetic relation between these creoles in the following quote: To take the GG [Gulf of Guinea] case, it would not be plausible to assume that the contact language which developed in the town of São Tomé and the surrounding areas was the same as that which gave rise to Ang[olar], Pr[incipense], and Pag[alu]4. There are enough differences between each of these languages to rule out such a possibility. It would be closer to the truth to say that the four contact languages show many resemblances because, to a large extent, they grew up together, with slaves and settlers introduced through the central administration in São Tomé. (…). Hence different languages developed in the archipelago rather than dialects of one contact language. (Ferraz 1987: 348) This paper will reassess the linguistic relation between the GGCs and the typological contribution of the African strata. It will be argued that there is substantial linguistic evidence that the GGCs are to a significant extent the result of a common ancestor, which throughout the paper will be labelled the proto-Gulf of Guinea creole (proto-GGC), and that this common ancestor derived most of its features from its Nigerian substrate rather than from western Bantu.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Martha V. Maldonado Bracamontes ◽  
Gerardo Carreón Arroyo ◽  
Isaias Ochoa Gutiérrez

AbstractParnell’s mustached bat, Pteronotus parnellii, is found from southern Sonora and Tamaulipas to Chiapas in Mexico. On October 3, 2012, at 18:30 hr, six and nine-meter nets were placed above water ponds in the Babisal creek located in the “Northern Jaguar Reserve” near the town of Sahuaripa. At 19:50 hrs the six-meter net was checked, and an adult male, without scrotum, of the species Pteronotus parnellii was found at a height of 70cm above ground level. The Sahuaripa region in east-central Sonora, is outside the known distribution range of this species extending it by at least 220 km north of the Sierra de Alamos. The “Northern Jaguar Reserve” where Pteronotus parnellii was found, is a protected area and an important wilderness area for the protection of the northernmost breeding population of jaguars. Key words: Pteronotus parnellii, Reserva Jaguar del Norte, Sonora, october. Palabras clave: Pteronotus parnellii, Reserva Jaguar del Norte, Sonora, octubre.


2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Stiver ◽  
Suzanne H. Alonzo

Abstract Theory suggests that males that are larger than their competitors may have increased mating success, due to both greater competitive ability and increased attractiveness to females. We examined how male mating success varies with male size in the tessellated darter Etheostoma olmstedi. Previous work has shown that large males tend to move around and breed in vacant breeding sites, and consequently provide less care for their eggs, while smaller individuals can be allopaternal, caring for the eggs of other males as well as for their own. We studied female egg deposition in a natural breeding population using artificial breeding sites and in the laboratory, where female choice of spawning site was restricted to two breeding sites tended by two males of different sizes. In both the field and the laboratory, nests tended by larger males were more likely to receive new eggs. Additionally, the mean size of males associated with a nest was positively correlated with both the maximum coverage of eggs at the nest and the number of times new eggs were deposited. We discuss how the increased mating success of larger males, despite their decreased parental care, may help explain allopaternal care in this species.


Neophilology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 287-293
Author(s):  
Tatiyna V. Gorlova

This research is devoted to the study of historical toponyms of the town of Nerekhta, Kostroma Region. The onyms chosen for analysis are from the town’s medieval period associated with the territory’s oldest trade – salt production and saltworks – now lost. Those include names of saltworks Redensky pochinok and Sovkova Movka, that survive in historical documents and are also found in the scientific book of Mikhail Diyev «The History of the Town of Nerekhta». To date, these names have disappeared from the town’s toponomicon due to lack of topicality. Detailed lingual and etymological analysis of the lexical units, which are part of historical toponyms, allows to identify some common features characteristic of Slavic onyms, to establish the territory of their distribution, to trace the transformations they underwent, to identify certain processes of language and ethnic origin of the territory under study; the latter, in turn, helps cast a light upon the history of settlement of Slavs of the previously Finno-Ugric, presumably Merya, lands.


Oryx ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine D.L. Bell ◽  
Joe Parsons ◽  
Timothy J. Austin ◽  
Annette C. Broderick ◽  
Gina Ebanks-Petrie ◽  
...  

Headstarting is a management technique employed to enhance recruitment of turtles into diminished or extirpated marine turtle populations. Although there have been numerous projects worldwide, there has been a paucity of detailed investigations into its efficacy. Between 1980 and 2001, 16,422 captive-raised hatchlings and 14,347 yearling green marine turtles Chelonia mydas were released from the Cayman Turtle Farm. Approximately 80% of all turtles released were subject to some form of tagging, including living tags. A total of 392 tagged animals have been recaptured at intervals of up to 19 years. Of this total, 160 individuals were captured in the Cayman Islands and 232 were recorded from other locations within the wider Caribbean and southeastern USA. There was significant variation in the release-recapture intervals at the three countries with most returns (Cayman, Cuba and Nicaragua). A positive relationship exists between time at large and size at recapture and data suggest growth rates comparable to those of wild green turtles in the region. There have been at least six living tag returns, four involving turtles released as yearlings and two involving turtles released as hatchlings. This demonstrates an age at maturity that may be as short as 15–19 years, depending on stage of release. Results show that some headstarted turtles are moving around the Caribbean, surviving for long periods of time, contributing to the local breeding population, and are possibly displaying shifts in habitat utilization with age similar to those recorded by wild individuals.


1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Relethford

SummaryThe estimation of genetic similarity from correspondence of surnames (isonymy) allows investigation of historical population structure. This study uses surname data from seven isolates located along the west coast of Ireland during the 1890s to assess geographic and historic influences on population structure. Observed genetic variation among populations shows a close fit with the expected isolation by distance model, with estimated parameters of isolation and migration being similar to those obtained in other studies of isolated populations. Local genetic variation appears to be due primarily to the size of the local breeding population, with deviations being explained in terms of recent emigration.


Author(s):  
A. Versaci ◽  
A. Lo Cascio ◽  
L. R. Fauzìa ◽  
A. Cardaci

Abstract. The rock settlement of Vallone Canalotto, which stands in the valleys surrounding the town of Calascibetta – about three kilometres north from Enna, Sicily, Italy – testify to a widespread population of the area from prehistoric times up to the Middle Ages, probably linked to the agricultural and pastoral exploitation of its fertile land. This valuable heritage, dug into very soft limestone banks, is now threatened by significant erosion and disruption phenomena, which, in the absence of adequate safeguarding and maintenance actions, will lead to a progressive loss of material and the consequent collapse of some portions, making the documentable traces more and more paltry. The archaeological complex demonstrates the continuity of the funerary use from the remotest ages to the early Christian era, as testified by the excavation of rupestrian columbaria. In the early medieval period, small rural communities used the hypogeal structures for residential and religious purposes. In the present work, integrated procedures have been put in place for the 3D documentation of these artefacts, whose effectiveness has already been tested by the same team in other Sicilian rock sites. The research aims at the knowledge and cataloguing of places, which are important for the Island’s history but to date only marginally explored. It intends to stimulate and plan adequate conservation and enhancement activities. To improve the attendance of the sites, design proposals have been developed to guarantee greater accessibility to the archaeological areas and their understanding by visitors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Nebbia ◽  
Alessandria Gianfranco

[The breeding of the Red-crested pochard in Piedmont is known since 2006, when it was first described in a pond near the town of Asti. Data were collected from specific databases and from field observations performed in 3 sites located in the Asti province and 2 sites in the Cuneo province, all of them placed along the Tanaro riversides. A further site is located in the province of Alessandria near the Po river along the border of Lombardy. On the whole, in the time span 2006-2019 the number of breeding pairs increased from 2 to a maximum of 7 per year. A total of 64 females with 326 chicks were recorded (average 5.1/female), June being the most favorable month for reproduction. Results point to the occurrence of a seemingly stable small breeding population. The lack of any kind of legal site protection, the anthropogenic disturbance (hunting, fishing, abandoning wastes), and the loss of the ideal habitat for reproduction are among the critical threats for the maintenance of a vital breeding population. There was a probable case of nest parasitism by Mallard duck, which is seldom observed since the opposite situation seems to be more common.]   [Article in Italian]


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