Neglected aspects of North American ethnobotany

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 2326-2330
Author(s):  
David H. French

This symposium paper discusses materials and issues which have been infrequently addressed by ethnobotanists. The worth of familiar ethnobotanical research is not being challenged here, but rather possibilities for enlargement are being suggested. Some recent and potential research is described in the paper. The topics and questions covered include (1) available plants not used, or abandoned, by Native Americans; (2) "principles" of Native botany (other than the uses and names of vascular plants for food and medicine); (3) the relationship of ethnobotany to various (sub)disciplines, especially aspects of linguistics and the "anthropology" of knowledge" (perhaps a neologism); (4) Indian-defined plant entities (taxa) related by similarity, as well as by contrast and inclusion; (5) the occurrence of unnamed Indian taxa, especially on the lowest (cf. species) level; (6) medicines made from single plants versus mixtures, and panaceas versus specific cures; (7) ethnobotany as scholarly activity; (8) the possibility that an ethnobotanical perspective might link the interior of British Columbia with most of California in our thinking and in redrawn ecological and culture area maps.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lianne Wing Yan Ho

Vanitas Obsolescentum is a comment on the obsolescence of contemporary commodity. It draws from prominent theories of obsolescence and appropriates 17th century Dutch Vanitas paintings. This paper begins by addressing themes relevant to the conceptual development of the series, including theories of obsolescence as presented by Packard, Papanek and Slade, the relationship of Dutch Golden Age society to contemporary North American society, Dutch Vanitas paintings, and appropriation of the Vanitas genre in contemporary art history and within this series. It provides a rationale for the use of holography as medium to express concepts of transience and hyperreality. This paper concludes with a discussion of the specifics of Vanitas Obsolescentum, including the symbolism and meaning of each piece within the series.


1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (S168) ◽  
pp. 1-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie M. Behan-Pelletier

AbstractThe oribatid family Eremaeidae is represented in North America by two genera, Eremaeus and Eueremaeus, both widely distributed throughout the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. In North America species in both genera are found in moist to arid habitats from New Mexico to the High Arctic. Reproduction is sexual, and both immatures and adults feed mainly on fungi.Revised diagnoses are presented for the Eremaeidae and genera Eremaeus and Eueremaeus. Eighteen species of Eremaeus, of which 14 are newly proposed, and 24 species of Eueremaeus, of which 15 are newly proposed, are recognized. Identification keys are provided for the world genera of Eremaeidae, and for adults of Eremaeus and Eueremaeus of North America. All but one North American species of these genera are described, and their geographical distributions mapped.North American Eremaeus species include E. appalachicus sp. no v., E. boreomontanus sp. nov., E. brevitarsus (Ewing), E. californiensis sp. nov., E. gracilis sp. nov., E. grandis Hammer, E. kananaskis sp. nov., E. kevani sp. nov., E. megistos sp. nov., E. monticolus sp. nov., E. nortoni sp. nov., E. occidentalis sp. nov., E. oresbios sp. nov., E. plumosus Woolley, E. porosus sp. nov., E. salish sp. nov., E. translamellatus Hammer, and E. walteri sp. nov. The immatures of four of these, E. kananaskis, E. occidentalis, E. oresbios, and E. translamellatus, are described.North American Eueremaeus include Eu. acostulatus sp. nov., Eu. aridulus sp. nov., Eu. columbianus (Berlese), Eu. foveolatus (Hammer), Eu. marshalli sp. nov., Eu. masinasin sp. nov., Eu. michaeli sp. nov., Eu. nahani sp. nov., Eu. nemoralis sp. nov., Eu. proximus (Berlese) comb, nov., Eu. woolleyi (Higgins) comb, nov., Eu. yukonensis sp. nov., and three informal species groups with the following included species in North America: (1) Eu. trionus group—Eu. trionus (Higgins) comb, nov., (2) Eu. stiktos group—Eu. carinatus sp. nov., Eu. higginsi sp. nov., Eu. stiktos (Higgins) comb, nov., Eu. tetrosus (Higgins) comb, nov., (3) Eu. chiatous group—Eu. alvordensis sp. nov., Eu. aysineep sp. nov., Eu. chiatous (Higgins) comb, nov., Eu. danos sp. nov., Eu. lindquisti sp. nov., Eu. magniporosus (Wallwork) comb, nov., and Eu. osoyoosensis sp. nov. The immatures of nine of these, Eu. masinasin, Eu. nahani, Eu. carinatus, Eu. higginsi, Eu. columbianus, Eu. proximus, Eu. woolleyi, Eu. stiktos, and Eu. tetrosus, are described. Kartoeremaeus reevesi Higgins and Eremaeus politus Banks are considered junior subjective synonyms of Eueremaeus columbianus (Berlese).A cladistic analysis of the genera comprising Eremaeidae: Eremaeus, Tricheremaeus, Eueremaeus (and included species groups), Proteremaeus, Carinabella, and Asperemaeus, indicates that Eremaeus is the sister taxon of Carinabella, and that Eueremaeus is the sister taxon of Proteremaeus. Tricheremaeus is the sister taxon of Eremaeus + Carinabella, and Asperemaeus is the sister taxon of Eueremaeus + Proteremaeus. The relationship of the Eremaeidae to the Megeremaeidae and Zetorchestidae is presented. Finally, I discuss the ecology and distribution of North American species of Eremaeidae.


1959 ◽  
Vol 91 (S10) ◽  
pp. 5-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Rae MacKay

AbstractThe late-instar larvae of about 185 species of the North American Olethreutidae are described and most of them illustrated. Included in these are many pests, such as Grapholitha molesta, Carpocapsa pomonella, and Spilonota ocellana on fruit trees, Paralobesia viteana on grapes, Ancylis comptana fragariae on strawberries, Laspeyresia nigricana in pea pods, Laspeyresia caryana in hickory and pecan nuts, Taniva albolineana in spruce needles, and species of Rhyacionia and Petrova on pines. Keys to species groups and to individual species are provided. Of the diagnostic and specialized characters listed, the most useful include the setae, the spinneret, and the shape of the larva, especially of its head and anal shield. The main characters are given for the postulated ancestral larva and for the highly developed larva. Most of the species groups are arranged according to the suggested phylogenetic relationship of their larvae, emphasizing the necessity of a revision of the family. Larvae of some genera previously difficult to classify, such as Pseudogalleria and Hystricophora, indicate the relationship of those genera to other groups; conversely, lack of relationship is clearly shown in other instances, e.g., between Carpocapsa pomonella and Carpocapsa saltitans, and between the two species Epiblema culminana and E. suffusana and other members of the genus Epiblema.


Author(s):  
Adora Kwong ◽  
BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Health ◽  
Dale Chen

Background Electronic e-cigarette ever users has been increasing as of 2015, the most prevalent ever users being young adults aged 20-24 years old. The implication of e-cigarette ever user developing into long term users is a emerging public health concern. Methods Electronic cigarette usage frequency and nicotine consumption was measured through a self-administered online survey of young adults (n= 54). Survey was advertised through social media sites between January 2019 till February 2019. Descriptive and inferential statistic was conducted using NCSS 12 to examine the association between electronic cigarette usage and nicotine consumption. Results Among young adults aged 19 to 24 years old, the frequency of e-cigarette usage was 51% high usage, 31% no usage and 16% medium and low usage. For nicotine consumption, respondents were 25% daily, 40% no use, 18% infrequent, and 14.8% frequent. Conclusion There is an association between more frequent electronic cigarette usage and higher nicotine consumption among young adults in British Columbia. Frequency e-cigarette users were found to consumption nicotine at higher frequency then non users. Further research is needed to fully understand the extent of the relationship of if e-cigarette usage promotes daily nicotine consumption or daily nicotine consumption results in higher e-cigarette usage.  


2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 642-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parraguez ◽  
G. Gajardo

Abstract The populations of Artemia (or brine shrimp) from the Americas exhibit a wide variation in the amount of interphase heterochromatin. There is interest in understanding how this variation affects different parameters, from the cellular to the organismal levels. This should help to clarify the ability of this organism to tolerate brine habitats regularly subject to strong abiotic changes. In this study, we assessed the amount of interphase heterochromatin per nucleus based on chromocenter number (N-CHR) and relative area of chromocenter (R-CHR) in two species of Artemia, A. franciscana (Kellog, 1906) (n=9 populations) and A. persimilis (Piccinelli and Prosdocimi, 1968) (n=3 populations), to investigate the effect on nuclear size (S-NUC). The relationship of the R-CHR parameter with the ionic composition (IC) of brine habitats was also analysed. Our results indicate a significant variation in the amount of heterochromatin both within and between species (ANOVA, p<0.001). The heterochromatin varied from 0.81 ± 1.17 to 12.58 ± 3.78 and from 0.19 ± 0.34% to 11.78 ± 3.71% across all populations, for N-CHR and R-CHR parameters, respectively. N-CHR showed less variation than R-CHR (variation index 15.5-fold vs. 62-fold). At least five populations showed a significant association (p<0.05) between R-CHR and S-NUC, either with negative (four populations, r= from -0.643 to -0.443), or positive (one population, r= 0.367) values.Within each species, there were no significant associations between both parameters (p>0.05). The R-CHR and IC parameters were associated significantly for the magnesium ion (r= 0.496, p<0.05) and also for the chloride, sodium and calcium ions (r = from -0.705 to -0.478, p<0.05). At species level, a significant association between both parameters was also found in A. franciscana populations, for the sulphate and calcium ions, in contrast to A. persimilis. These findings suggest that the amount of interphase heterochromatin modifies the nuclear size in Artemia. Our data also indicate that change in the amount of interphase heterochromatin is in line with the ionic composition of brines. This would be a species-specific phenomenon, whose occurrence may be involved in the ability of this organism to survive in these environments.


BioScience ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 693-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Kaplan ◽  
Wolfgang Hagemann

1958 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuzuko Nagasaki

The fecundity of Pacific herring was investigated from a collection of 600 ovaries gathered from various localities along the British Columbia coast during the winter and early spring of 1954–55. It was found that fecundity depended mainly on body length and to a lesser extent on age, independently of its effect on body length. Certain differences in fecundity, found between herring from various localities when die relationship of fecundity to body length was considered, were not found when the relationship between fecundity, body length and age was considered. These differences were attributed to differences in growth rate. Fecundity of herring of same body length and the same age was found to be significantly higher in northern British Columbia than in southern.


Author(s):  
John Evelev

Focusing on the early work of three well-known American Romantic authors who are not best known as travel writers, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau, the first chapter examines the midcentury rise in popularity of the picturesque travel sketch genre. Writers engaged in this genre used the picturesque to consider the effects of history on the landscape and meditate on America’s past and future. Although modern scholarship has typically dismissed the picturesque travel sketch as superficial, this chapter demonstrates that writers used the spatiotemporal protocols of the picturesque to think through American exceptionalism, particularly the view that the frontier landscape helps to make the nation unique. This topic is filtered through the travelers’ views of picturesque scenery that touch upon the relationship of human to natural time (“deep time”), the resonances of the national past on the present (particularly in the residual presence of Native Americans and the colonial past), and the future effects of spatial expansion and new people (particularly immigrants) on the American landscape.


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