Historical Connectivity and Demography of the Ferocious Reef Crab, Eriphia ferox (Crustacea; Eriphiidae), Demonstrate That Taoyuan Algal Reef Is an Essential Population Source Along the East Taiwan Strait

The east Taiwan Strait is largely fringed by sandy and muddy habitats. However, a massive algal reef made of crustose coralline algae has been found along the coast off Taoyuan city in northwestern Taiwan. The porous structure of Taoyuan Algal Reef harbors high abundance and diversity in marine organisms, including the ferocious reef crab, Eriphia ferox. Such a pivotal geographic location and unique ecological features make Taoyuan Algal Reef a potential stepping stone connecting biotic reefs in the east Taiwan Strait, South China Sea to the south, and even the high latitude of Japan to the north. In this study, we examined the population connectivity and historical demography of E. ferox by analyzing mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) fragments of 317 individuals sampled from 21 localities in the northwestern Pacific. Our analyses of haplotype network and pairwise FST comparisons revealed a lack of phylogeographical structure among E. ferox populations, implying the existence of a migration corridor connecting the South and East China Seas through the east Taiwan Strait. Multiple lines of evidence, including significant values in neutrality tests, unimodally shaped mismatch distributions, and Bayesian skyline plots elucidated the rapid population growth of E. ferox following the sea-level rise after Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 2–10 Ka). Such demographic expansion in E. ferox coincided with the time when Taoyuan Algal Reef started to build up around 7,500 years ago. Coalescent migration analyses further indicated that the large and continuous E. ferox population exclusively found in Datan Algal Reef, the heart of Taoyuan Algal Reef, was a source population exporting migrants both northward and southward to the adjacent populations. The bidirectional gene flow should be attributed to larval dispersal by ocean currents and secondary contact due to historical population expansion. Instead of serving as a stepping stone, our results support that Taoyuan Algal Reef is an essential population source for biotic reef-associated species along the east Taiwan Strait, and highlight the importance of conserving such a unique ecosystem currently threatened by anthropogenic development.

A Survey of Meteorite-specific Minerals

Dozens of exotic materials are found only in meteorites. These “meteorite minerals” are formed in the solar system's cold, long-lived, proto-planetary disk, in the slowly cooling cores of planetesimals, and in high-speed collisions. To the best of our knowledge no recent published work has aggregated information about minerals only found in meteorites in a comprehensive and machine readable manner. Thus, we have compiled a preliminary catalog of 81 known meteorite minerals from the literature to serve as a stepping stone for a future, more extensive effort. We also explore the distribution of these meteorite minerals by meteorite type.

Mapping Mobile Learning Experience in Chinese Language Learning

Advances in mobile technologies have greatly enhanced Chinese language learning. In applying mobile technologies to Chinese language learning, on top of evaluating their impact, one of the key areas is to map where different components of mobile learning experience lie in leveraging mobile technologies for enhancing Chinese language learning. Equipped with the framework of mobile experience, this chapter provides a unique approach to serve as a stepping stone that would lead to more discoveries of innovative and effective ways for mapping mobile learning experience in applying mobile technologies to Chinese language learning around the world.

Multicultural Initial Teacher Training in Greece

Greece's demography has changed rapidly over the last 30 years. Migrants now form a sizable population but are still persistently excluded from mainstream conceptualizations and representations of the national ‘we'. Moreover, although multicultural classrooms have also become the norm, migrant students still face significant educational inequities. This chapter argues that a major stepping stone towards changing this adverse reality can come from the initial teacher training provided to future educators in Greece. Drawing upon teacher trainees' narratives, this chapter critically reflects upon the multicultural initial teacher training currently offered in Greece in an attempt to highlight how multicultural experiential learning contributes to the preparation of more multiculturally competent future educators. Illustrating good practice examples and areas in need of improvement in the training currently offered, this chapter also provides transferable guidelines for the creation of effective multicultural teacher training, based on equity and social justice principles.

Potential Biodiversity Connectivity in the Network of Marine Protected Areas in Western Africa

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) must function as networks with sufficient stepping-stone continuity between suitable habitats to ensure the conservation of naturally connected regional pools of biodiversity in the long-term. For most marine biodiversity, population connectivity is mediated by passively dispersed planktonic stages with contrasting dispersal periods, ranging from a few hours to hundreds of days. These processes exert a major influence on whether threatened populations should be conserved as either isolated units or linked metapopulations. However, the distance scales at which individual MPAs are connected are insufficiently understood. Here, we use a biophysical model integrating high-resolution ocean currents and contrasting dispersal periods to predict connectivity across the Network of MPAs in Western Africa. Our results revealed that connectivity differs sharply among distinct ecological groups, from highly connected (e.g., fish and crustacea) to predominantly isolated ecosystem structuring species (e.g., corals, macroalgae and seagrass) that might potentially undermine conservation efforts because they are the feeding or nursery habitats required by many other species. Regardless of their dispersal duration, all ecological groups showed a common connectivity gap in the Bijagós region of Guinea-Bissau, highlighting the important role of MPAs there and the need to further support and increase MPA coverage to ensure connectivity along the whole network. Our findings provide key insights for the future management of the Network of MPAs in Western Africa, highlighting the need to protect and ensure continuity of isolated ecosystem structuring species and identifying key regions that function as stepping-stone connectivity corridors.