Empirical evidence for large-scale human impact on intertidal aggregations, larval supply and recruitment ofPyura praeputialisaround the Bay of Antofagasta, Chile

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricio H. Manríquez ◽  
Juan Carlos Castilla ◽  
Verónica Ortiz ◽  
María Elisa Jara
Author(s):  
Christoph Schwörer ◽  
Erika Gobet ◽  
Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen ◽  
Sarah Bögli ◽  
Rachel Imboden ◽  
...  

AbstractObserving natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established at ca. 6,000 cal bp, coinciding with the first indicators of agricultural activity in the region and a transient climatic shift to cooler and moister conditions. Human impact on the vegetation remained initially very low, only increasing during the Bronze Age, at ca. 3,400 cal bp. Large-scale forest openings and the establishment of the present-day cultural landscape occurred only during the past 500 years. The persistence of highly diverse mixed forest under absent or low anthropogenic disturbance until the Early Middle Ages corroborates the role of human impact in the impoverishment of temperate forests elsewhere in Central Europe. The preservation or reestablishment of such diverse forests may mitigate future climate change impacts, specifically by lowering fire risk under warmer and drier conditions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 440 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick J. L. Michaux ◽  
Anthony F. J. Moffat ◽  
André-Nicolas Chené ◽  
Nicole St-Louis

Abstract Examination of the temporal variability properties of several strong optical recombination lines in a large sample of Galactic Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars reveals possible trends, especially in the more homogeneous WC than the diverse WN subtypes, of increasing wind variability with cooler subtypes. This could imply that a serious contender for the driver of the variations is stochastic, magnetic subsurface convection associated with the 170 kK partial-ionization zone of iron, which should occupy a deeper and larger zone of greater mass in cooler WR subtypes. This empirical evidence suggests that the heretofore proposed ubiquitous driver of wind variability, radiative instabilities, may not be the only mechanism playing a role in the stochastic multiple small-scaled structures seen in the winds of hot luminous stars. In addition to small-scale stochastic behaviour, subsurface convection guided by a global magnetic field with localized emerging loops may also be at the origin of the large-scale corotating interaction regions as seen frequently in O stars and occasionally in the winds of their descendant WR stars.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiano A. Piccolo ◽  
Anja M. Maier ◽  
Sune Lehmann ◽  
Chris A. McMahon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Sebastián-González ◽  
JM Barbosa ◽  
JM Pérez-García ◽  
Z Morales-Reyes ◽  
F Botella ◽  
...  

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. Here, we aim to describe large-scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using 2,485 carcasses monitored between 1991 and 2018. First, we evaluated how scavenger richness (number of species) and diversity (Shannon diversity index) varied among seasons (cold vs. warm, wet vs. dry). Then, we studied the potential effects of human impact and a set of macroecological variables related to climatic conditions on the scavenger assemblages. Vertebrate scavenger richness ranged from species-poor to species rich assemblages (4–30 species). Both scavenger richness and diversity also showed some seasonal variation. However, in general, climatic variables did not drive latitudinal patterns, as scavenger richness and diversity were not affected by temperature or rainfall. Rainfall seasonality slightly increased the number of species in the community, but its effect was weak. Instead, the human impact index included in our study was the main predictor of scavenger richness. Scavenger assemblages in highly human-impacted areas sustained the smallest number of scavenger species, suggesting human activity may be overriding other macroecological processes in shaping scavenger communities. Our results highlight the effect of human impact at a global scale. As species-rich assemblages tend to be more functional, we warn about possible reductions in ecosystem functions and the services provided by scavengers in human-dominated landscapes in the Anthropocene.


Author(s):  
Taha Yasseri ◽  
Jannie Reher

AbstractThrough a large-scale online field experiment, we provide new empirical evidence for the presence of the anchoring bias in people’s judgement due to irrational reliance on a piece of information that they are initially given. The comparison of the anchoring stimuli and respective responses across different tasks reveals a positive, yet complex relationship between the anchors and the bias in participants’ predictions of the outcomes of events in the future. Participants in the treatment group were equally susceptible to the anchors regardless of their level of engagement, previous performance, or gender. Given the strong and ubiquitous influence of anchors quantified here, we should take great care to closely monitor and regulate the distribution of information online to facilitate less biased decision making.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1172-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Go Suzuki ◽  
Wataru Okada ◽  
Yoko Yasutake ◽  
Hidekazu Yamamoto ◽  
Iwao Tanita ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 1738-1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Dell

Drug trade-related violence has escalated dramatically in Mexico since 2007, and recent years have also witnessed large-scale efforts to combat trafficking, spearheaded by Mexico's conservative PAN party. This study examines the direct and spillover effects of Mexican policy toward the drug trade. Regression discontinuity estimates show that drug-related violence increases substantially after close elections of PAN mayors. Empirical evidence suggests that the violence reflects rival traffickers' attempts to usurp territories after crackdowns have weakened incumbent criminals. Moreover, the study uses a network model of trafficking routes to show that PAN victories divert drug traffic, increasing violence along alternative drug routes. (JEL D72, D85, K42, O17, Z13)


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (sp) ◽  
pp. 458-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam-Yi Yun ◽  
◽  
Masanori Hamada

We studied relationships between evacuation place and time, predisaster preparedness, and evacuation behavior and survival rate for both the dead and missing and the survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In order to elucidate the human impact, thousands of witnesses in areas from Tohoku to Kanto were analyzed. With a sample data number of 1,153, results show that behavior during the disaster differed for survivors and the dead and missing and that actual evacuation was associated positively with a higher survival rate. Based on these results, integrated strategies are proposed and discussed for the reduction of casualties in future large-scale natural disasters.


1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodo B. Schlegelmilch ◽  
Adamantios Diamantopoulos ◽  
Alix Love

The need for charity services in Britain is increasing, particularly since the introduction of government incentives such as ‘Care in the Community’. However, large scale surveys of individual giving in Britain have indicated that donations to charity are at best remaining static. Careful administrative use of funds and accurate targeting of donors are therefore vital to a charity’s survival. Utilises empirical data from a nation‐wide survey to investigate in how far it is possible to accurately identify likely donors. Provides suggestions on how such information may be utilised in formulating fund‐raising strategies.


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