ICESat-2 Applications for Investigating Emerging Volcanoes

Submarine volcanism in shallow waters (<100 m), particularly in remote settings, is difficult to monitor quantitatively and, in the rare formation of islands, it is challenging to understand the rapid-paced erosion. However, these newly erupted volcanic islands become observable to airborne and/or satellite remote sensing instruments. NASA’s ICESat-2 satellite laser altimeter, combined with visible imagery (optical and microwave), provide a novel method of evaluating the elevation characteristics of newly emerged volcanoes and their subaerial eruption products. Niijima Fukutoku-Okanoba (NFO) is a submarine volcano 1300 km south of Tokyo (Ogasawara Archipelago of Japan) that periodically breaches the ocean surface to create new islands that are subsequently eroded. The recent eruption in August 2021 is a rare opportunity to investigate this island evolution using high-resolution satellite datasets with geodetic-quality ICESat-2 altimetry. Lansdat-8 and Planet imagery provide a qualitative analysis of the exposed volcanic deposits, while ICESat-2 products provide elevation profiles necessary to quantify the physical surface structures. This investigation determines an innovative application for ICESat-2 data in evaluating newly emerged islands and how the combination of satellite remote sensing (visible and lidar) to investigate these short-lived volcanic features can improve our understanding of the volcanic island system in ways not previously possible.

Increased insula activity precedes the formation of subjective Gestalt

The constructive nature of human perception sometimes leads us to perceiving rather complex impressions from simple sensory input. Bistable stimuli give us a rare opportunity to study the neural mechanisms behind this process. Such stimuli can be visually interpreted as simple or as more complex on the basis of the same sensory input. Previous studies demonstrated increased activity in the superior parietal cortex when participants perceived an illusory Gestalt impression compared to a simpler interpretation of individual elements. Here we tested whether activity related to the illusory Gestalt can be detected not only during, but also prior to it, by examining the slow fluctuations of resting-state-fMRI activity before the stimulus onset. We presented 31 participants with a bistable motion stimulus, which can be perceived either as four moving dot pairs (local) or two moving illusory squares (global). This allowed us to isolate the specific neural mechanisms that accompany the experience of an illusion under matched sensory input. fMRI was used to measure brain activity in a sparse event-related design. We observed stronger IPS and putamen responses to the stimulus when participants perceived the global interpretation compared to local, confirming the previously reported role of these areas in perceptual grouping. Most importantly, we also observed that the global stimulus interpretation was preceded by an increased activity of the bilateral dorsal insula, which is known to process saliency and gate information for conscious access. Our data suggest an important role of the dorsal insula in shaping an internally generated illusory Gestalt percept.

Behavioural Development of Three Former Pet Chimpanzees a Decade after Arrival at the MONA Sanctuary

Chimpanzees used as pets and in the entertainment industry endure detrimental living conditions from early infancy onwards. The preferred option for ending their existence as pet or circus chimpanzees is their rescue and transfer to a primate sanctuary that will provide them with optimal living and social conditions, so that they can thrive. In this case study, we had the rare opportunity to compare the activity budgets of three chimpanzees from their time as pets in 2004 to their time living at the MONA sanctuary in 2020, after almost a decade in the centre. We found their behaviour patterns changed in accordance with the sanctuaries’ rehabilitation objectives. Resting periods increased considerably while vigilance simultaneously declined sharply. Moreover, the chimpanzees’ social competence increased as allogrooming became the predominant social behaviour, and agonistic interactions diminished even though they were living within a larger social group at the sanctuary. All three chimpanzees expanded their allogrooming and proximity networks at the sanctuary, which included new group members, but they maintained the closest relationships to those conspecifics who they were rescued with. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the sanctuary environment and social group setting made it possible for these three chimpanzees to improve their social competence and increase their well-being over time.

Ambivalent fatherland: The Chinese National Salvation Movement in Malaya and Java, 1937–41

China's resistance to Japanese aggression escalated into a full-scale war in 1937. The continuously deteriorating situation stimulated the rise of Chinese nationalism in the diaspora communities worldwide. The Japanese invasion of China, accompanied by the emergence of the National Salvation Movement (NSM) in Southeast Asia, provided the overseas Chinese with a rare opportunity to re-examine their ‘Chineseness’, as well as their relationships with the colonial states and the increasingly self-aware indigenous populations. This research problematises traditional approaches that tend to regard the NSM as primarily driven by Chinese patriotism. Juxtaposing Malaya and Java at the same historical moment, the article argues that the emergence of the NSM was more than just a natural result of the rising Chinese nationalism. Local politics and the shifting political orientations of overseas Chinese communities also profoundly shaped how the NSM played out in different colonial states.

COVID-19 Restrictions in a Nature Reserve Reveal the Costs of Human Presence for the Threatened Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana)

The increasing pressure of ecotourism on wildlife in their natural habitats leads many wild animals to alter their behaviors. The restrictions issued in many places due to COVID-19 provide a rare opportunity to examine wildlife behavior in nature reserves with reduced human presence, and to reveal the impact of human visitation on the behaviors and fitness of local wildlife species. In 2019 and 2020 we placed trail cameras next to two natural springs in the Israeli Negev Desert, Ein-Avdat and Ein-Shaviv, located 9 km apart. Both sites serve as the main water source for local Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) populations, but Ein-Avdat is situated within a popular national park into which visitors’ entrance was restricted due to COVID-19 regulations in 2020, while Ein-Shaviv is more remote and thus attracts only few visitors regardless of COVID-19 regulations. Our study revealed that during 2020, ibex in Ein-Avdat arrived to drink earlier in the day and the population’s Female:Kids ratio more than doubled. These changes were not observed in Ein-Shaviv. We found that the daily number of visitors in Ein-Avdat affected the arrival time of ibex to the water pool. We conclude that the reduced number of visitors to Ein-Avdat in 2020 compared to 2019 may have allowed ibex to arrive in preferred hours, and may have contributed to the increased kid-to-females ratio. Our study shows that behavioral adaptions to human visitation in nature reserves might carry a high fitness cost.

Negotiating the Slope: Prefabricated Hillside Dwellings Meet Nordic Influence

<p>In Wellington we are faced with the difficult task of building on our undulating topography. It does however offer inhabitants stunning vistas and to architects the rare opportunity to explore new ways of building, generating distinctive typologies. However, it is questionable whether a bespoke construction method is the most appropriate means for building houses on hillsides in present times. Prefabrication has been a prevalent housing construction method in Scandinavia and for many years and offers a number of advantages, particularly to difficult sites (Smith 255). It is emerging as an option for housing in New Zealand but faces significant problems when confronted with sloped topography (Rouillard 137). The prefabrication movement has become synonymous with the stylistic outcome of modernist detached dwellings, and while this marriage may be an outgrowth of intention rather than a technical requirement, challenging the rectilinear is relatively unheard of (Smith 251). The stylistic concerns embedded by fanciers of 50’s modernism are inherent to the representation of manufactured housing (Smith 251). For prefabrication to become popular in present day society misconceptions regarding stylistic limitations must be resolved. Residential architecture has the potential to shape our architectural identity more significantly than civic buildings. I propose this because we form a closer relationship to ‘home,’ and as a typology they cover a significant proportion of our landscape. To understand how to form an architectural response in the context of Wellington, I looked to contemporary Norwegian architecture which demonstrates contextualising architecture to the landscape. The stylistic character of Norwegian design, and parallels which made their principles applicable to New Zealand, were additional incentives for this focus. This thesis is broken into four parts; background research, design explorations, design discussions and conclusion. In background research, I establish parameters for constructing houses on hill sites. Technical limitations are presented and a range of hillside typologies are identified. Prefabricated systems internationally offered are documented accompanied by the technologies available specifically in New Zealand. The design exploration section illustrates two designs which explore how a hillside typology can be augmented with a prefabricated system. Each is assessed in relation to response to topography and adaptation of Norwegian ideologies. The design discussion revolves around a hillside development of five residential structures and their interconnectivity. Leading into the discussion is a detailed analysis of the prefabrication system implemented, and the modifications to that system which were tested through design. Here, the construction sequence is mapped. This is followed by an architectural discussion on site, access, planning and materials. The conclusions drawn in the final section tie together all these elements.</p>

Negotiating the Slope: Prefabricated Hillside Dwellings Meet Nordic Influence

<p>In Wellington we are faced with the difficult task of building on our undulating topography. It does however offer inhabitants stunning vistas and to architects the rare opportunity to explore new ways of building, generating distinctive typologies. However, it is questionable whether a bespoke construction method is the most appropriate means for building houses on hillsides in present times. Prefabrication has been a prevalent housing construction method in Scandinavia and for many years and offers a number of advantages, particularly to difficult sites (Smith 255). It is emerging as an option for housing in New Zealand but faces significant problems when confronted with sloped topography (Rouillard 137). The prefabrication movement has become synonymous with the stylistic outcome of modernist detached dwellings, and while this marriage may be an outgrowth of intention rather than a technical requirement, challenging the rectilinear is relatively unheard of (Smith 251). The stylistic concerns embedded by fanciers of 50’s modernism are inherent to the representation of manufactured housing (Smith 251). For prefabrication to become popular in present day society misconceptions regarding stylistic limitations must be resolved. Residential architecture has the potential to shape our architectural identity more significantly than civic buildings. I propose this because we form a closer relationship to ‘home,’ and as a typology they cover a significant proportion of our landscape. To understand how to form an architectural response in the context of Wellington, I looked to contemporary Norwegian architecture which demonstrates contextualising architecture to the landscape. The stylistic character of Norwegian design, and parallels which made their principles applicable to New Zealand, were additional incentives for this focus. This thesis is broken into four parts; background research, design explorations, design discussions and conclusion. In background research, I establish parameters for constructing houses on hill sites. Technical limitations are presented and a range of hillside typologies are identified. Prefabricated systems internationally offered are documented accompanied by the technologies available specifically in New Zealand. The design exploration section illustrates two designs which explore how a hillside typology can be augmented with a prefabricated system. Each is assessed in relation to response to topography and adaptation of Norwegian ideologies. The design discussion revolves around a hillside development of five residential structures and their interconnectivity. Leading into the discussion is a detailed analysis of the prefabrication system implemented, and the modifications to that system which were tested through design. Here, the construction sequence is mapped. This is followed by an architectural discussion on site, access, planning and materials. The conclusions drawn in the final section tie together all these elements.</p>

Genetic Causes and Consequences of Sympatric Morph Divergence in Salmonidae: A Search for Mechanisms

Repeatedly and recently evolved sympatric morphs exhibiting consistent phenotypic differences provide natural experimental replicates of speciation. Because such morphs are observed frequently in Salmonidae, this clade provides a rare opportunity to uncover the genomic mechanisms underpinning speciation. Such insight is also critical for conserving salmonid diversity, the loss of which could have significant ecological and economic consequences. Our review suggests that genetic differentiation among sympatric morphs is largely nonparallel apart from a few key genes that may be critical for consistently driving morph differentiation. We discuss alternative levels of parallelism likely underlying consistent morph differentiation and identify several factors that may temper this incipient speciation between sympatric morphs, including glacial history and contemporary selective pressures. Our synthesis demonstrates that salmonids are useful for studying speciation and poses additional research questions to be answered by future study of this family. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, Volume 10 is February 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The grass versus the people: sacred roots of environmental conflict in the Chilonga communal lands in Zimbabwe

This article analyses a conflict that erupted in 2021 between the government of Zimbabwe and the people of Chilonga in the south of the country over the expropriation of their ancestral for the production of lucerne grass. The people of Chilonga resisted being displaced from land to which they are deeply attached and have a sacred connection. This conflict provides a rare opportunity to analyze the often marginalized, muted and misunderstood sacred roots of the environmental conflict that shape collective agency. The article uses the concepts of emplacement and disemplacement to comprehend the deeper and more intangible impacts of displacing people from their grazing lands, sources of water and traditional herbs and medicines, and sacred sites—natural resources they claim to be sacred. Thus, while disemplacement has been used to explain why people find themselves moving, the article uses it to show the opposite: why they resist moving and demonstrate the not easily measured losses upon which resistance to moving hinges.

A New Early Cretaceous lizard in Myanmar Amber with Exceptionally Preserved Integument

We here report on a well-preserved juvenile lizard specimen in Albian amber (ca. 110 mya) from the Hkamti site in Myanmar. This new taxon, Retinosaurus hkamtiensis gen. et sp. nov., is represented by an articulated skull and the anterior portion of the trunk, including the pectoral girdle and forelimbs. The ocular skeleton (scleral ossicles) and eyelid are also visible, and the specimen exhibits pristine detail of the integument (of both head and body). In a combined molecular and morphological analysis, Retinosaurus was consistently recovered as a scincoid lizard (i.e. Scinciformata), as the sister taxon to the Mexican Cretaceous genus Tepexisaurus + Xantusiidae. However, the phylogenetic position of Retinosaurus should be interpreted with caution. We cannot not rule out the possibility that Retinosaurus represents a separate lineage of uncertain phylogenetic position, as it is the case for many Jurassic and Cretaceous taxa. Nonetheless, this fossil offers a rare opportunity to glimpse the external appearance of one group of lizards during the Early Cretaceous.