Begonia cabanillasii (section Baryandra, Begoniaceae), a new species from El Nido, Palawan, the Philippines

While assisting El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area in their biodiversity monitoring of El Nido, Palawan, the authors came across a very distinctive and small population of Begonia. Based on careful investigation, the unknown species is confirmed as new to science, and is the latest addition to the species rich section Baryandra. A new species, Begonia cabanillasii is hereby described and illustrated. It is compared with phenetically similar species B. suborbiculata. Based on guidelines by IUCN, the new species is proposed to be Critically Endangered (CR) C2a.

Micranthes petiolaris variety shealyi: A New Variety of Micranthes (Section Stellares, Saxifragaceae) from South Carolina

A new variety of Micranthes is described from a low-elevation granite outcrop in Pickens County, South Carolina. It is similar to high elevation Micranthes petiolaris populations in leaf morphology and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences, but differs in its annual habit, floral morphology, phenology, and ecology. The variety is known only from the type locality, with most clusters of individuals occurring along the forested boundary of an open granite outcrop, associated with Juniperus virginiana L., and growing upon moist to saturated moss mats and/or shallow soils. A discussion comparing the proposed taxon with M. petiolaris is provided, with notes about the distribution, habitat, and taxonomy of the variety.

Comparing Ground Motion Intensity, Root Mean Square of Acceleration and Time Duration from Four Definitions of Strong Motion

Variation of strong motion intensity, root mean square of ground acceleration and time-duration in seconds obtained from 83 accelerograms of 18 earthquakes with magnitudes between 5 to 7.7 were investigated considering four definitions of strong section of accelerograms given by Vanmarcke-Lai; Bolt, Trifunac-Brady and McCaan-Shah. Strong motion intensities were calculated for all definitions of strong duration. Even though, durations in seconds and root mean square of ground acceleration values resulted quite different among the four definitions of strong sections, both durations in seconds and root mean square of acceleration squared values tend to compensate each other to yield the same strong motion intensity for each definition used. Q-ratio as defined by Vanmarcke-Lai (Peak Ground Acceleration divided by root mean square of acceleration) was found not constant but instead it varied significantly for all strong motion definitions. Similarly, ratio of strong motion intensity over peak ground acceleration squared as defined by Vanmarcke-Lai holds linear for time durations less than 20-30 seconds for all definitions, afterwards it shows large dispersion. Finally, Vanmarcke-Lai time duration in seconds appears to increase from near field distance up to a certain medium distance after which it starts to decrease.