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Native plants in private gardens can be an important resource for urban native wildlife, and increase species diversity. Additionally, the use of native vegetation can create locally distinct urban landscapes which support residents’ connection and sense of place. However, in research from Phoenix, Arizona, Wheeler et al. (2022) found that native plants made up less than a third of the woody vegetation in front garden areas. Located in the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States, the area is known for being an oasis in the desert where residential landscaping has traditionally been focused on lush and green designs. To understand why native plants lack popularity amongst residents, this research surveyed 416 households about their gardens. It explored resident attitudes, knowledge, plant choice priorities, demographics, and land parcel structure in relation to their choice of garden vegetation.
One of the key findings for the horticultural industry is the opportunity to increase native plant popularity through increasing residents’ knowledge of specific native plant qualities such as wildlife value, maintenance requirements and water use. Particularly in this region, because residents who prioritised plant selection based on low water use had fewer native plants, even though the native Sonoran plants are adapted to low water conditions. A change in the way these plants are marketed could reduce this knowledge gap and encourage the multifaceted benefits of native plants for urban residential spaces. Beyond understanding the attitudes and personal priorities for residents’ garden plants, Wheeler et al. also explored the current barriers to native plant selection. Their findings suggest that greater native plant abundance in the residential landscape was unlikely to be achieved by educational campaigns to increase resident knowledge of native plant identification and care.The authors concluded that marketing campaigns that highlight low water use, and overcoming the barriers of horticultural availability and expense are potential avenues to increase native vegetation in these urban areas.
For further information, visit www.sciencedirect.com
If you would like to learn more about plant selection for challenging climates. AIPH Green City Briefings October 2022 heard from the Executive Director of St Andrew Botanical Gardens on their approach to increase the representation of distinct local landscapes. As part of their response to climate change, the Gardens have adapted their plant selection to reflect the changing conditions in Fife and reduce the garden’s carbon emissions. The landscape architecture Dar London’s Francesco Roesler spoke on Expo Doha 2023 aims to draw attention to the threats of desertification and the potential solutions through the power of plants and innovation. To watch this briefing, click here. | https://aiph.org/latest-news/opportunities-to-increase-native-plants-in-gardens/ |
Producing quality results quickly is the primary objective at Precision Agri-Lab. To ensure accurate and precise data, we have implemented extensive quality control procedures. Daily QC procedures include running method blanks, duplicates, intra-laboratory control samples, and second source calibration verification samples.
Conserve H2O WaterWise Plants
The Pacific Northwest has many spectacular native, hybrid native, and other plants adapted to local climate and soil conditions. Once established, native and adapted plants are very low maintenance, require little to no pesticides or fertilizers, and survive well on minimal water. Read below to learn more about how to choose the right plants for your yard’s micro climates and soil conditions.
Drought-Tolerant Plants for Shade
Water-wise gardening conserves water and helps protect the environment. A xeriscape is a “dry scene” that uses very little water, but a water-wise garden includes any style that is designed to conserve water. | https://extension.oregonstate.edu/search?search=soil&search-filter%5B0%5D=keyword%3Airrigation&search-filter%5B1%5D=keyword%3Aplant%20selection&search-filter%5B2%5D=topic%3APlant%20Diseases&search-filter%5B3%5D=topic%3Asustainability |
Discover a vibrant variety of landscaping options at an upcoming native plant sale at the Lenexa Farmers Market. Browse grasses, flowers, and other plants from local vendors. Be sure to stop by Lenexa Rain to Recreation's table to learn more about how you could get reimbursed for the cost of your plants through Lenexa's Cost Share Program.
Native plants are an excellent choice for your garden. They're adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, so they require less maintenance, fertilizer and watering. They also preserve biodiversity, provide food and shelter for wildlife and support pollinators.
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Things to Consider when Starting Your Vegetable Garden
What to grow, space needs, time needs, ideal calendar, soil preparation, planting, fertilizing, and watering.
Conserve H2O WaterWise Plants
The Pacific Northwest has many spectacular native, hybrid native, and other plants adapted to local climate and soil conditions. Once established, native and adapted plants are very low maintenance, require little to no pesticides or fertilizers, and survive well on minimal water. Read below to learn more about how to choose the right plants for your yard’s micro climates and soil conditions.
To graze or not to graze that is my question.
Q: I have a small dairy goat farm, and at the moment have 5 adult does plus 2 donkeys. In the winter they are confined to the paddock around the barn, but in spring I begin rotating them between 3 small pastures, one ...
Blueberry bacterial and fungal diseases
Pacific Northwest blueberry growers must identify and control a number of bacterial and fungal diseases in order to ensure the highest yields. Fortunately, only a few of the diseases that occur on highbush blueberry in this region cause significant losses when left unchecked.
Landscaping with Roses
Selecting roses for landscape use may seem like an impossible task, but with a few key elements in mind, you can select a rose or a group of roses to complement your new or current landscape.
Pacific NW Native Plants by Plant Community
Useful information about Western Hemlock-Douglas Fir Forest, Prairie, Scrub-Shrub Wetlands, and Mixed Deciduous Forest/Steep Dry Slope.
Pacific Northwest native plants for the woodland garden
Many people think of shade or woodland gardens when they think of growing native plants. In fact, many woodland plants do very well in garden settings. But careful selection and care is essential to making your woodland garden flourish.
Drought-Tolerant Plants for Shade
Water-wise gardening conserves water and helps protect the environment. A xeriscape is a “dry scene” that uses very little water, but a water-wise garden includes any style that is designed to conserve water. | https://extension.oregonstate.edu/search?search=soil&search-filter%5B0%5D=keyword%3Adairy%20goats&search-filter%5B1%5D=keyword%3Afood%20storage&search-filter%5B2%5D=keyword%3Aleaf%20rust&search-filter%5B3%5D=keyword%3Aplant%20selection |
On July 18, 2019, Ohio Governor Mike Dewine signed House Bill 59 of the 133 General Assembly into law, making Ohio one of the first states in the country to have an entire month dedicated to our native plants. This is exciting because it helps to elevate the importance of plants in our state. In particular, it helps to promote the plants that are best suited to live in this state and this region of the United States. Officially, Ohio native plants are the types of plants that were present in Ohio prior to European settlement. They were not brought here after that time or from other regions of the world by people.
As an Ohio native myself, I am quite adapted to the climate and culture here in Ohio. Plants are the same. As a native to the areas where they live, plants are better able to adapt to local soils, temperature and precipitation. Many times, native plants require less supplemental water, nutrients and maintenance which can help to conserve resources. Beyond the plant management positives, native plants are huge support for birds, insects and wildlife.
Local and migratory bird populations rely on plants as a primary food and shelter source. Our backyard feeders could never be enough to sustain these important seed spreaders. Berry yielding plants provide added energy for birds in cooler months and during migratory seasons when birds are flying far distances. Our native poison ivy plants provide berries in the fall and red buckeye trees offer spring blooms full of nectar for migratory red throated hummingbirds. In early spring and summer, birds in Ohio will begin to build nests and will need food for their young. Our native trees provide the most diversity and numbers of caterpillars for baby birds. This provides an additional food source for generations of birds.
Native plants are not only beneficial for the thousands of caterpillar species that eat their leaves, but they are also vital for many bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. For example, several types of mining bees are specialists of native goldenrod and aster plants. Specialist bees will only feed on and collect pollen from a narrow range of plants. Some of these bees even have special structures on their bodies that only hold the size and shape of the pollen grains of very specific plants. Because these bees are native, solitary bees, they’ve adapted to relying on native plants for their survival.
Native oak and beech trees provide an abundance of high protein seeds for squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, woodpeckers, fox, and wild turkeys to eat. Not only do native trees provide food, but they also help to provide places for wildlife to hide and nest. Native species of eastern redcedar provide fleshy cones for food, but because it keeps its leaves all year long, it becomes a perfect tree for birds and other wildlife to hide out from predators. Serviceberry, American redbud and buttonbush are all examples of smaller trees that provide food and shelter for spring wildlife. Plus, they are quite stunning in a landscape.
Help us celebrate Ohio Native Plant Month by visiting the gardens. The best places to view native plants at Inniswood Metro Gardens are in the Sisters’ Garden, along the Spring Run and Boardwalk trails and at the Prairie Garden. Along with the numerous opportunities offered in the Metro Parks surrounding Earth Day, Inniswood will be celebrating native plants with a Top 10 Native Plants for Spring presentation on April 25th and a fun, family-friendly, Children’s Garden Day on April 26th. | https://www.metroparks.net/blog/go-native-and-plant/ |
Combat Climate Change in Your Backyard
About seven years ago, Mike and Caroline Mason of Katonah happened upon a lecture at the Katonah Village Library that changed the way they think about their lawn and garden. During the lecture, given by Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, the Masons learned that the grass and many plants they currently had served as poor “hosts” to native insects, bees, butterflies and birds. “We learned that the native plants require less maintenance, that they provide a home for those native populations, for example, a place for larvae to mature, and the insects in turn are food for the birds,” Mike explained.
Soon after, the Masons began introducing native plants into their garden and yard. They noticed an increase in butterflies, different kinds of bees, and a greater number and variety of birds, emphasizing their joy in having hummingbirds visit their garden, “which are fascinating to watch,” Mike added.
An added benefit of shrinking their lawn is less mowing. This, in turn, means a reduction in carbon pollution contributing to climate change. In maintaining the grass they do have, Mike explained that they never “bother picking up or blowing the clippings.”
Bedford residents Joe and Virginia Maybank noticed similar changes in their property when, about five years ago, they introduced native perennials and committed to using no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
They find native plants to be more disease and pest resistant, while also attracting more birds and bees. They referred to some of their plants hosting a “feeding frenzy” for bees. “Our garden is alive,” remarked Virginia.
The Maybanks also opt to plant native trees and shrubs, which help to sequester carbon dioxide and also look better in Bedford’s environment, in Virginia’s opinion. “They look like they belong here, they grow better, and require less attention,” she commented.
The Maybank’s property is home to native dogwood trees, a sycamore, an American holly, a Chioanthus or fringe tree, a cucumber magnolia, and several types of Viburnum shrubs. Besides being lovely to look at, many of the flowering trees are food sources for birds and small mammals.
Both the Masons and the Maybanks commented on the ease of caring for native plants. They are adapted to the weather extremes and typical rainfall in the area, require less watering and pruning, and generally have longer bloom periods than exotic varieties.
However, it is a long-term effort. Some plants need to be moved around a bit in order to find the place where they are happiest. Virginia also recommends thinking about the whole growing season when choosing your plants. Both couples favor Virginia bluebells, a native spring ephemeral for shady areas. The sky-blue flowers provide an early nectar source for bees and are hardy once settled for a year or two.
Talk to your landscaper and go to a good nursery to get planting advice particular to your yard.
For more resources:
You can visit a native plant garden and attend lectures at the New York Botanical Garden.
The Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College offers classes and their website includes plant lists and links to other resources and sites to visit.
More about the work of Doug Tallamy can be found on YouTube and his website: Bringing Nature Home.
For advice on creating a healthy yard, check out the Outdoor action pages. | https://bedford2030.org/combat-climate-change-in-your-backyard/ |
The City has a permanent maintenance easement along both sides of the canal. It is necessary for workers to walk or access the canal along its banks in order to inspect the channel and carry out repairs. While some vegetation helps stabilize banks, it must also allow inspection and repair.
Garden Planning
Establishing a beautiful, low-maintenance planting requires selecting the appropriate plant for the types of growing conditions in your landscape. For example, each plant requires a certain amount of sun or shade, prefers different levels of soil moisture, and may have particular maintenance needs. The more you learn about the conditions in the area you wish to plant, the more likely you are to succeed in selecting plants that will thrive.
The illustrations show typical moisture levels in relation to the canal water level. When designing your planting and fencing, it is important to make sure maintenance personnel can access the canal for regular inspections. The plant lists provided below should help guide you.
Planting for erosion control and bank stabilization
Choosing plants of varying heights and structures (trees, shrubs, and groundcovers) helps prevent erosion in two important ways.
- The above-ground structure of plants (the stems, branches, and leaves) intercepts rain and slows its progress, lessening its impact as it lands on the ground. This reduces the erosive force of the rain.
- The underground structure of plants (roots and rhizomes) anchors soil and keeps it from washing away or breaking free of the bank in the canal. Root systems also provide natural channels for water to infiltrate into the ground, decreasing runoff.
It is important to plant the canal banks so that the soil remains intact and protected. From both above and below ground, plants work to protect the soil from being lost to the powerful force of water.
Why native plants?
There are several important reasons to use native plants rather than ornamental or cultivated varieties. First, plants that are native to our region are already adapted to local climate, soil, and water conditions and reduce the need for added water, fertilizer, or pesticides. Most native plants need little or no maintenance, which means less time spent mowing and pruning. Native plants also support local ecosystems, providing food and shelter for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. In short, native plants can save people time and money and are good for our environment.
Planting trees
While trees provide shade and habitat, they are a major problem if planted too close to the canal bank, as some soils in the valley are loose and the canal banks are steep. The banks simply cannot bear the weight of a grown tree. Weakened banks can lead to trees falling over and damaging your property, fences, and buildings. When a tree falls, it also can take a large portion of the bank with it, dropping sediment into the channel where it clogs the culverts and adds to visible turbidity.
For these reasons, the City strongly advises citizens to plant trees at least 10 feet away from the canal edge, also known as the top of bank. This also helps meet our visual inspection requirement. Trees can be planted well back from the canal edge and still provide the aesthetic and ecosystem benefits we seek without compromising the canal structure.
Invasive Plants
Non-native plants can have a place in our urban landscaping, if they’re managed. Some plants are so invasive that the City discourages their use altogether, and some have earned a place on Oregon’s official quarantined list. Plants you may recognize from this list of “DO NOT PLANT” species include:
- Scotch broom
- Butterfly bush
- English ivy
- Yellow flag iris
In addition, the City strongly discourages aggressive plants such as
- St. Johns wort
- Bamboo
- Blackberries, raspberries
Weed management is a special challenge in an urban setting. Keep these in mind:
- NO PESTICIDES MAY BE USED WITHIN 10 FEET OF THE CANAL
- Each species has its own appropriate management technique (pulling, spraying, mowing, etc)
- The wrong type of management technique (pulling, spraying, mowing, etc) can actually do more damage than good
- Early identification is the easiest and least expensive way to control weeds and protect your yard
Three types of plant lists
Three carefully thought-out lists of recommended plants are posted here. We encourage property owners to consult the lists when planning their landscaping, whether property is residential, commercial, or agricultural.
All three lists include extensive information about each species, the types of growing conditions they require, and photos. The plant lists are meant to provide an inspirational place to start planning your planting, but are not meant to restrict the plants you may use. We've taken much care to choose plants that will survive and thrive if planted in the proper location, along with making sure that the plants are available at nurseries within a reasonable distance of Albany and Lebanon. Each list was created with a particular user in mind:
- Urban Plants (View Plant List)
The urban plant list comprises species that will look great and perform well near the home landscape. It provides an extensive plant palette to choose from. The few ornamental species in the urban list are locally hardy and should not interfere with any neighboring native vegetation or landscaping. We have avoided plants which are aggressive and might colonize adjacent properties, such as bamboo or ivy.
- Naturalized Area Plants (View Plant List)
This list is for anyone who wishes to use only native plants. Plants on this list can be used in a more naturalized, wild planting, or in a designed landscape. They would be well-suited for large areas where the property owner does not intend to mow or prune frequently and wants a stable, sustainable plant community.
- Farm Plants (View Plant List)
This is a short list of species that are appropriate to plant near an agricultural area. All grass species have been reviewed by the Oregon State University Extension Service and will not interfere with local seed crops. The trees, shrubs, and groundcovers are all native species that will be hardy, without seeding or spreading prolifically.
There are lots of resources and information about weeds within the Willamette Valley and how to control them. | https://weshare.cityofalbany.net/pw/water/planting-along-the-santiam-albany-canal |
What is a rain garden?
A rain garden is a landscaped area planted with native plants and flowers that soaks up rainwater. The garden fills with a few inches of rain water that come off of the roof of a house or building during a storm. After the storm, the water slowly soaks into the ground instead of running off the land into a storm sewer or waterway. Compared with a grassed lawn area, a rain garden allows up to 30% more water to be absorbed.
Are rain gardens hard to maintain?
To keep maintenance low, native plants are best to plant in a rain garden. Native plants are well adapted to their natural surroundings and do not require a lot of maintenance, fertilizers or pesticides. The bulk of rain garden maintenance involves periodic watering and weeding.
Will I need to water my rain garden?
You will need to water the rain garden during the first one or two growing seasons until the plants become established. About an inch of water a week is a good rule of thumb. In later years, the garden will only need to be watered during prolonged dry periods.
Are rain gardens expensive to build?
If you build the rain garden yourself, the main cost is typically the plants and mulch. Choosing smaller plants -- called plugs -- and buying plants and mulch in bulk can help reduce the cost. The average rain garden will cost almost nothing if you do the work yourself and use plants from other parts of your landscaping or receive cuttings from friends or family. City Utilities offers an incentive program to help offset costs for Fort Wayne residents.
Is a rain garden a breeding ground for mosquitoes?
No. Mosquitoes require at least seven days to lay and hatch eggs. In fact, properly designed rain gardens are often mosquito death traps because standing water will only remain for a few hours after a storm. Any remaining water should soak into the ground in less than a day.
Will a rain garden cause water to seep into my basement?
Wet basements are commonly caused by improper grading and drainage around a house foundation. For example, a downspout may empty right onto the ground next to the house or the surface of the yard may slope toward the house. A rain garden can be used to direct water away from the house foundation by routing downspouts toward the garden instead of letting them discharge near the house foundation. | http://www.catchingrainfw.org/frequently-asked-questions-faq |
Developing a landscape plan can seem like a daunting task. So many things to think about.
Whether it is new construction or renovating an existing landscape. It is best to approach it like the old joke. “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Get to know the site.
What kind of light does it get? Full sun, full shade, or most likely a mix. What is the current situation? If it is new construction, you may need to place topsoil. For existing sites, what is already there? Are there trees, shrubs, a lawn? What is the condition of them? Are there existing sidewalks, driveways, or patios/hardscape? What is the topography like? Do you have to deal with significant slopes? Are there any obvious wet areas?
Develop a list of wishes and wants
How will you use the site around your house? How much do you entertain, and for whom? Will you cook or eat outside? If so, how often? Do you wish to incorporate a play area, such as a lawn, for children? What outdoor hobbies or recreation activities do you enjoy? Do you want a flower or vegetable garden? Do you want a deck or patio? A swimming pool or hot tub? How much privacy do you want?
What is your budget?
Are you going to do the work yourself, hire a contractor, or both? What is the timeframe that you are looking at, complete the work all at once, or over several years?
Develop a sketch
Identify the house and existing features such as sidewalks, driveway, fences, utility lines. Identify any existing trees or shrubs that are likely to remain. Also, contact your local municipality, HOA, etc. to determine if there are any setback requirements. Start laying out some macro-level design areas, such as lawn, patio, flower bed, without getting into details of what will be planted.
Sustainable design
The phrase “sustainable design” is used a lot. People have different ideas of what it means, but generally people think of it as an “environmental term”, and to some extent it is. I define sustainable design as a design that has the maximum amount of success with the minimum amount of input, such as water, fertilizer, and most importantly to me, physical effort to maintain. Basically, the right plant in the right location. With enough effort, you can grow almost anything anywhere, but it is easier to select plants that are receptive to the conditions in which they are growing.
Native plants
One definition of a native plant is a plant growing in Pennsylvania before the European settlers arrived. Since they evolved here, they are well adapted to our climate and are generally easier to care for after planting. Many natives like less fertile soil and require little or no fertilization. When planting natives it is still important to match their needs to the growing site. Things to consider are soil type, soil pH, organic content, water retaining characteristics, and sun/shade conditions.
It is also important to consider the ultimate size of the plants to avoid overcrowding. It is generally best to combine plants that grow well in the same natural habitat.
Lawns
Lawns were developed in Europe by wealthy landowners that wanted to bring the meadows closer to the castle. They were generally tended by serfs, and or trimmed by grazing sheep. Most people nowadays don’t have serfs or grazing sheep, so maintenance normally is the responsibility of the homeowner. Lawns by far require the most input of resources in the normal landscape. They require frequent water, normally using municipal water, fertilizer, and chemical treatments, and significant manual labor to keep them trimmed. Many people aspire to a gorgeous, well-manicured lawn, but from a sustainability standpoint, lawns should be minimized.
This can be accomplished by having planting beds as a significant portion of your landscape. Sedges are a good alternative for people that are looking for the look of low, green foliage that is usually provided by a lawn.
General guidelines
When planning your landscaping keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Avoid invasive plants! Just because you can buy it at a store doesn’t mean it isn’t invasive. Some examples are Bradford or callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergia), which are frequently used but are definitely invasive. Check with a reliable source such as Penn State Extension’s invasive plant fact sheets to determine if a plant is invasive.
- Have the soil tested prior to planting.
- Minimize lawns.
- Plant only plants, preferably natives, that are suitable to the conditions where they will be planted.
- Be aware of what wildlife may be sharing the landscaping with you and attempt to select plants that they might find less tasty.
- Always consider the anticipated final size of the plant in determining where to plant it. Don’t plant them too close together, or too close to a structure.
- Always group plants with similar growing needs and compatible size together.
Landscaping doesn’t have to be a scary proposition, but success will normally be directly affected by the amount of research and thought that goes into the planning.
This educational blog is a series of informative articles from the Penn State Master Gardeners volunteers plus news concerning the group and their activities. For more information, click here. | https://venangoextra.com/landscaping-for-beginners |
9 things to consider when designing a landscape
Winter is the ideal time to curl up on the couch with your plant catalogs and sketching paper to plan your new landscape.
A new landscape can pay off both environmentally and economically. According to the American Society of Landscape Architects Homeowners Guide, you can add 15 percent to the value of your house with a 5 percent investment in home landscaping.
In your down time in the winter months, here are nine things to consider when you’re designing an ecologically sound landscape.
BASE MAP: To get started, it is helpful to find a site map of your yard. Use an existing property survey, if you have one. If your survey is not available, Google Earth can provide an aerial view in the form of a satellite photo. To create a map you can edit, trace the details using tracing paper overlaid on your survey or photo. Include existing structures like sheds, decks and pools. Also include any major existing vegetation like hedges or big trees you want to keep in your design.
SITE STUDY: In order to begin planning, you need to analyze your current site. Which areas get the most sun or shade? This will determine what plants you use and where. Water is also an integral component of a successful garden design. Determine how water flows in your yard. Are there particularly wet or dry areas or troublesome downspouts you should locate on your drawing? Once your site map is complete, it is ready to fill with your horticultural heart’s desires.
WISH LIST: Imagine your ultimate landscape design. Maybe it’s a play area for a child, a dog run, a butterfly garden, a fire pit or a more obvious path to the front door. Use another sheet of tracing paper to overlay sketches of these ideas. Don’t be afraid to try several sketches as you work on the design.
ECOLOGICAL GARDENING FUNDAMENTALS: Try to follow nature’s ways in your landscape practices and make your garden more than pretty; make it functional, too. Try some of the following techniques in your design:
COMPOST: Include an area in your yard for a compost pile. Make your own compost and add it to your lawn and beds instead of fertilizer. Just collect “greens” (green leaves and vegetable peels) and “browns” (twigs and old leaves). Mix the greens and browns together in equal parts and turn the pile every couple of days. If it is the color of chocolate and smells good, you have been successful. If it is smelly and slimy, start over. Compost is filled with beneficial critters that will help to sustain your plants.
MOW LESS: Look at your plan and consider how you can reduce your lawn area. Reflect on the considerable savings in money, time and energy if you decrease the size of your lawn. Contemplate planting a meadow, more garden beds, a tree or installing a patio.
USE WATER WISELY: Design your landscape using plants that require less watering and practice conservation by capturing runoff from your downspouts with water barrels. Also consider rain gardens as an element to solve water problems by slowing runoff and letting the water slowly penetrate into the ground, preventing silt and pollution in our streams.
RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE: Think about bloom color, foliage texture and series of flowering times to create interest across several seasons. Choose native plants that have adapted to your local environment. Some prefer sun, some shade, others wet or dry. Look at your drawing and discover the best place to locate them based on their needs and your garden conditions. Native plants have coevolved here and will support the birds, bees and butterflies. They require less water and are more adaptable if sited correctly. Don’t use invasive plants. Wildlife will eat their seeds, spread them around, and lovely wildflowers will be out-competed by them, decreasing biodiversity and reducing the capacity to support a wide variety of wildlife. Local nurseries and plant catalogs can provide ideas on plant selection. Mt. Cuba Center offers classes on native plants, composting and garden design that help home gardeners learn techniques for creating a naturalistic garden.
GARDEN FOR LIFE: Following these basic steps, you can create a healthy, enjoyable and highly functional landscape for your family, environment and the creatures around you, while saving time and money. Doug Tallamy, well known author of “Bringing Nature Home” (a book about how to sustain wildlife with native plants ) always signs his books “Garden like your life depends on it,” because it does!
For more information on including these practices in your landscape, explore the Sustainable Sites Initative at www.sustainablesites.org.
Nature’s Landscapes is a monthly column by Mt. Cuba Center that focuses on the native plants of the Piedmont region, which lies between the Atlantic coastal plain and the Appalachians, stretching from New York to Alabama. Today’s column is written by Rick J. Lewandowski, director of Mt. Cuba Center.
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
The Self Proliferating Garden: Setting a Process in Motion
With Larry Weaner. Create dynamic, ecologically rich landscapes where nature does much of the planting. Learn to capitalize on your plants’ reproductive abilities, and encourage existing, planted and recruited species to populate your landscape. Case studies feature examples from small gardens as well as large properties.
Saturday, January 10, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Introduces key concepts and explores plant selection, spacing, seeding techniques, and strategies for assisting plant proliferation.
Tuesday, January 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
This lecture examines additional strategies for assisting plant proliferation, addresses management concerns, and describes how to influence the seed bank.
$35 per session.
Larry Weaner is a landscape architect with a national reputation for combining environmental sciences with garden design.
Environmental Landscape Design
With Jules Bruck.
Thursdays, from Jan. 22-Feb. 26
Section A: 3-5 p.m.
Section B: 6-8 p.m.
$180
Design a basic plan for a garden that requires less maintenance, fewer input and is well adapted to your local conditions. Change your perspective, and increase the life in your landscape by decreasing space dedicated to lawn. Learn how to measure, inventory, and analyze your site, then make a conceptual design and planting plan.
Dr. Jules Bruck is an associate professor of landscape design at the University of Delaware and owner of Evolution Landscape Design, LLC. Her current research focuses on design-based learning and public perception of sustainable landscape practices. | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/home-garden/2014/12/19/things-consider-designing-landscape/20644883/ |
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stormwater is rain or snow melt that flows over land or impermeable surfaces and does not drain or infiltrate into the ground. Examples of impermeable surfaces are concrete surfaces, asphalt, and building rooftops. The amount of stormwater generated from an impervious surface depends on the amount of precipitation or snow melt present. Naturalized stormwater dry ponds and wet ponds, bioswales and rain gardens retain or detain surface water runoff. This prevents the water from causing erosion or other damage on adjacent properties, helps to prevent flooding and the discharge of sweage by overwhelmed combined storm sewer systems, and retains pollutants such as sediment that are often carried with the runoff, preventing them entering surface waters such as streams and wetlands.
Dry Ponds
Stormwater dry ponds are built to temporarily store excess stormwater and allow some pollutants to settle to the bottom of the basin. These ponds are not meant to store stormwater for long periods of time. The water from dry ponds will slowly drain back onto adjacent land features including wetlands and streams. The purpose of the dry pond is to allow sediment to settle out of the stormwater runoff and to discharge the water gradually, replicating the conditions of naturally vegetated areas. These types of ponds are normally dry and may have natural old field or even woody vegetation. More detailed information on dry ponds can be found here: http://www.stormwatercenter.net/Assorted%20Fact%20Sheets/Tool6_Stormwater_Practices/Pond/Dry%20ED%20Pond.htm
Wet Ponds
A wet pond is similar to a dry pond except that wet ponds are meant to store a specific volume of stormwater for a long period of time. They are also usually larger than dry ponds since they are meant to hold more water. Wet ponds look like small ponds or wetlands and may have a landscaped look around the edges in some communities. More information on wet ponds can be found here: http://www.stormwatercenter.net/Assorted%20Fact%20Sheets/Tool6_Stormwater_Practices/Pond/Wet%20Pond.htm
The size of both dry and wet ponds is dependent on the size of the drainage area as well as the amount of impervious surfaces. Both types of stormwater basins are typically designed for a specific storm event, e.g., a 2-, 5-, or 10-year storm. For more information on detention basins, see Appendices 5-1: Detention Ponds, 5-2: Detention Basin, and 5-3: Retention and Detention Basins.
Bioswales
Bioswales are referred to as any type of ditch, depression, or vegetative area that can convey stormwater and are similar to dry ponds. Typically, bioswales are linear and function similarly to small streams. The bottom, which should be wide and flat, is often vegetated and may consist of riprap stone. Bioswales are designed to maximize water retention time but also allow for water flow, similar to a stream channel. Bioswales are often constructed adjacent to parking lots to treat runoff from pavement. Bioswales are effective in removing sediment and some pollutants from runoff. For more information on bioswales, see Appendix 5-4: Bioswale Fact Sheet and http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/lid/swales.htm
Rain Gardens
A rain garden is an area of land, large or small, that has been dug and planted with plants that will thrive in your climate and the ecosystem created by the garden. It is used to capture rain water from impervious surfaces allows some of the stormwater runoff water to absorb into the ground, rather than draining into storm sewer or onto adjacent properties. Not only do rain gardens capture water, but they can also capture and trap pollutants, attract birds and helpful insects, and enhance the aesthetics of a neighborhood. A rain garden is an excellent way to deal with stormwater runoff from rooftops and driveways. Gutters are easily directed into rain garden areas. The rain garden may be one of the most practical ways for the HOA and the residents to help control stormwater runoff in the community.
A variety of vegetation should be considered for use in rain gardens. Native plants are often suggested for use in rain gardens based on the belief that they are better adapted to local conditions than non-native plants. However, consider using all plants that do well in your area under the soil and site conditions found in your rain garden. Many plant species are tolerant of alternating dry and wet periods during the growing season. These plants are often ideal for rain gardens. There are many grasses, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees that can be used, that have showy foliage and/or flowers. Local nurseries, garden centers, and your Extension Service can help with selection of the appropriate plants for your area.
Rain gardens will require little maintenance, other than to prevent undesirable weedy plants from becoming established, and will be a great success if low maintenance plant materials adapted to the site and soils are used. Typically, rain gardens require the same or less care than a typical landscape bed. The rain garden should be maintained in a natural or at least semi-natural state. This has the added benefit of providing habitat for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife.
For more information, see Appendix 5-5: Rain Gardens and http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/dsfm/shore/documents/rgmanual.pdf.
Benefits
Benefits of naturalized stormwater basins include:
- Reduced peak run-off rate of water during a strong storm
- Reduced flooding of adjacent property and streams by retaining water on site
- Effective trapping of pollutants, especially sediment
- Reduced erosion and other damage to adjacent properties and stream channels from high run-off rates
- Improved neighborhood aesthetics
- Increased wildlife habitat
Technical Best Management Practices
Stormwater control structures, including dry and wet ponds as well as bioswales, are typically designed and constructed at the time of development. Federal, state, and local regulations specify how these structures must be designed and constructed. However, once constructed, maintenance of stormwater control structures may be left to the local HOA.
Dry Ponds and Bioswales
Dry stormwater ponds and bioswales should be planted with low-maintenance plant materials that have been shown to be well-adapted to your area and the site conditions they will be planted in. These are often native plants. The vegetation planted will depend on the frequency and duration of basin flooding. Appropriate plants should be selected for the anticipated “hydrological regime” (frequency and amount of water and saturation) of the basin. Stormwater basins are typically designed by an engineer or architect for a specific storm event over a defined area. Consult plans to determine how much water can be expected within the basin. Your local Soil and Water Conservation District, Stormwater District, or Extension Service can often provide assistance in using, designing, and constructing landscape stormwater management systems.
Wet Ponds
Wet ponds are often planted with vegetation depending on the water depth. Plants such as bulrushes and cattails are preferred for water levels up to two feet in depth. Deeper areas can be planted with floating-leaved plants such as water lilies.
There are numerous commercial sources for seeds and plants for varying degrees of wetness. For a stormwater basin or bioswale, plant species with a high biomass (total volume of living parts) are generally preferred for maximum uptake of nutrients and pollutants. Densely growing, vigorous plants also increase removal of sediment from the stormwater. Generally, herbaceous plants are preferred for stormwater basins because of their higher biomass.
Both dry and wet ponds can provide habitat for native plants and animals.
Naturalized stormwater control structures can be periodically mowed or otherwise maintained to prevent woody vegetation from becoming established. Woody vegetation (trees and large shrubs) can compromise the structural integrity of berms and water control structures as well as reduce the effectiveness of herbaceous vegetation for sediment and pollutant control. Inlet and outlet structures as well as berms should be maintained to keep them in working order and free from debris and obstructions. However, trees and shrubs can be allowed to grow around the perimeter which will provide further stormwater control benefits.
The amount of sediment carried by runoff, normally will drastically decrease after site construction is complete. However, it may be necessary to periodically reshape both dry and wet ponds to remove accumulated sediments. Many stormwater ponds are constructed with a small forebay that stormwater flows through before it enters the main pond. The purpose of the forebay is to allow some of the sediment to settle out before reaching the main pond; this reduces long-term maintenance costs. Sediment from the forebay can be removed much more easily than from the main pond. All stormwater ponds should maintain a volume close to what is specified in plans to make sure they function properly. After basin reshaping and sediment removal, some of the original soil material can be replaced so that appropriate vegetation can quickly re-establish across the basin.
Rain Gardens
Rain gardens require little maintenance after construction. The vegetation that you select for your rain garden should be well maintained and kept weed-free. Plant species that are attractive and fit well with home landscaping in your area can be used.
Owner/Management Best Management Practices
How to Hire a Consultant/Contractor
More likely than not, it will be the responsibility of the HOA to hire contractors to maintain existing stormwater control structures, create new ones, and manage the plants planted or found in these important public health and safety assets.
With the exception of rain gardens, which the individual homeowner can easily construct and maintain, most stormwater control structures require large equipment and professional design and installation. If a contractor is indeed needed, it is important to choose someone with experience in the stormwater field. Your county Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office will be able to provide references for experienced, reliable contractors. If your development was constructed in recent years, it is likely that a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) was written for the project, and this document should be consulted to help plan for any additional stormwater structures or to repair or modify existing structures.
Obtaining Estimates
Ask for an estimate; often there is no charge for this service, and you should get more than one estimate. You can also consider creating a request for bid that details the work you want to accomplish and then provide this to several companies. This way, they are all bidding on the same work and it will be easier to compare their responses. You should not always select the lowest bid. When examining bids to determine which company will provide you the best service, take into account all information such as certifications, credentials, insurance coverage, work description, and cost. And most importantly, get the bid in writing.
Contract Specifications
Most companies provide a contract for services, or you can create your own. The contract should cover some general areas with specific details varying based on the type of project. Basic sections in most contracts are definitions, scope of work, liability and insurance requirements, and payment terms.
Qualifications and Industry Standards
Industry standards are based on federal, state, and local stormwater control regulations. Your contractor should have experience in the design, construction, and maintenance of stormwater control structures. If possible, it may be advisable to hire the contractor who originally constructed the stormwater control structures for the development.
Monitoring/Inspecting the work
It is important that any stormwater control structures be constructed in accordance with all federal, state, and local requirements. Depending on the scale of the project, a SWPPP may be required along with one or more permits. If not already required, request that someone from your county NRCS office come and inspect the work during and after construction.
Understanding Federal, State, and Local Laws and Ordinances
Most stormwater control structures are regulated under the Clean Water Act. A professional who is experienced in the stormwater control field should be involved in any project that involved construction of new stormwater control structures to ensure that all federal, state, and local regulations are followed. Maintenance of existing structures can likely be done without permits, but the specifications for the original structures should be consulted to ensure that maintenance work such as accumulated sediment removal is done correctly. Simple stormwater control projects such as rain gardens can be undertaken by individual homeowners and are not subject to any regulations.
Using Volunteers
Most stormwater control projects require large equipment and must be constructed to comply with federal, state, and local regulations. This work should be left to professionals. Simple stormwater control structures such as rain gardens are an excellent project for volunteers to create on private and HOA controlled areas. With some training and guidance, volunteers can also help with monitoring the amount, types, and conditions of vegetation in and around various stormwater basins, and then alerting HOA management when maintenance is needed. When converting a basin from simply turf to more natural plant materials, volunteers can assist with seeding, planting, weeding, and watering the newly converted areas.
Homeowner Education
Homeowners within subdivisions should have basic knowledge of stormwater control and how they can contribute to reducing stormwater runoff. Individual homeowners should be encouraged to construct rain gardens. The importance of limiting the amount of impervious surfaces should also be emphasized to homeowners. For example, gravel driveways should be promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to concrete and asphalt. As a leader in your association, tell others about the importance of stormwater control.
Sources for Assistance
Your county NRCS office is an important resource. The NRCS staff will have extensive knowledge of stormwater regulations as well as the best stormwater management practices for your local area.
Conclusion
Naturalized stormwater dry and wet ponds along with bioswales and rain gardens are effective and attractive tools that reduce runoff and water-borne pollutants in the community and the larger ecosystem. When properly implemented and maintained, they can function to help reduce the impact of humans on the environment and can become assets to the HOA. | https://www.davey.com/hoa/chapter5.html |
Last year, I decided to try my hand at regenerative gardening. I had read about the benefits of this type of gardening and was curious to see if it would make a difference in my garden. Regenerative gardening is a type of sustainable gardening that focuses on rebuilding soils and restoring ecosystems. It involves using techniques such as composting, mulching, and cover crops to improve the health of the soil. I was surprised at how quickly I saw results. My plants were healthier and more productive, and I noticed an increase in biodiversity in my garden. I also found that I didn’t need to use as many pesticides or herbicides. Overall, I was very pleased with the results of regenerative gardening and would recommend it to anyone interested in sustainable gardening.
Why Should You Consider Using Regenerative Gardening In Your Own Garden
There are many benefits to using regenerative gardening methods in your own garden.
- First, these methods can help to reduce your reliance on external inputs such as fertilizer and irrigation water.
- Second, they can help to improve the health of your soil, leading to healthier plants.
- Third, regenerative gardening practices can help to create a more diverse and resilient ecosystem in your garden, making it better able to withstand environmental stresses.
How To Get Started With Regenerative Gardening
Making your garden more sustainable doesn’t have to be difficult. There are a number of easy things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment.
Access The Soil
The first step is to assess your soil. This will give you an idea of what amendments you may need to add to improve drainage, aeration, and nutrient levels.
Consider Your Climate
It’s also important to consider the climate in your area and choose plants that are well-suited to the conditions.
Use Compost
Next, you’ll want to start using compost in your garden. Compost is rich in nutrients and helps to improve the structure of the soil. You can make your own compost by collecting kitchen scraps and leaves, or you can purchase it from a garden center.
Mulch Your Garden Beds
Consider mulching your garden beds. Mulch helps to protect the soil from erosion and helps to retain moisture. It also provides a valuable food source for insects and other creatures that help to break down organic matter.
Try Companion Planting
Companion planting is a method of growing plants next to each other that benefits both species. For example, beans provide nitrogen to help feed other plants, while pest-repelling plants can help protect vulnerable crops.
Tips For Making Your Garden More Sustainable
When it comes to gardens, sustainability is important. A sustainable garden is one that uses resources in an efficient way and doesn’t damage the environment. There are a number of ways you can make your garden more sustainable. Here are some tips:
Use Native Plants
Native plants are those that naturally occur in your area. They’re adapted to the local climate and don’t require a lot of water or other resources to thrive. Using native plants in your garden can help reduce your impact on the environment.
Use Organic Methods
Another way to make your garden more sustainable is to use organic methods. This means avoiding the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Instead, opt for natural alternatives like compost or mulch. Not only are organic methods better for the environment, but they can also be better for your plants.
Reduce Your Lawn Size
Lawns are notoriously wasteful when it comes to water and other resources. If you want to make your garden more sustainable, consider reducing the size of your lawn or even eliminating it entirely. You can replace it with drought-tolerant plants or create a more natural landscape with native vegetation.
Collect Rainwater
Rainwater is an excellent source of water for your garden. Instead of letting it run off, collect it in a rain barrel or other container and use it to water your plants. This will save you money on your water bill and help reduce strain on local water supplies.
By following these tips, you can make your garden more sustainable and help protect the environment.
The practice of regenerative gardening has been gaining popularity in recent years as more and more gardeners become interested in sustainable gardening practices. Regenerative gardening is based on the principles of regeneration, which is the process of renewing and revitalizing something. In the context of gardening, this means creating a garden that is self-sustaining and capable of regenerating itself. | https://its-a-green-life.com/2022/09/11/what-is-regenerative-gardening-and-how-does-it-work/ |
1 edition of Trade list of collected native plants and hardy perennials found in the catalog.
Published
1929
.
Written in English
Edition Notes
Cover title.
|Statement||grown by J.M. Bassett|
|Contributions||Bassett, J. M., Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||4 unnumbered pages ;|
|ID Numbers|
|Open Library||OL26411320M|
|OCLC/WorldCa||925799787|
"Perennials" is the term used for plants that come back year after year, usually dying back underground each year, only to emerge next season stronger and better. They represent tremendous value for money, as they cover space well, and over a few years can be chopped up or split to create new "free" plants for you to grow or swap with friends, family or even neighbours! Native Plant Suppliers. When you use this site to get a list of native plants that support butterflies and birds in your zip code, some of them are species that aren’t yet available in .
The concept of landscaping with native perennials is simple: plant what grows naturally in your gardening zone, climate, and soil. Plants native to your area are well-adapted to the unique climate and soil conditions found locally. As a result, they are often hardier, . Native plants are valued for their economic, ecological, genetic, and aesthetic benefits in addition to their intrinsic value as living species. The use of native plant material (seeds, cuttings, plants) in vegetation projects plays an important role in the maintenance and restoration of native plant gene pools, communities, and ecosystems, and can help reverse the trend of species loss in.
Short Perennial Mix. Perennials will fill your borders with colour, grace and elegance for many years with the minimum of maintenance. Some will even flower in their first year. To help you make the most of your borders, we have grouped together varieties that can be sown in June or. Native plants can be found at New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham, which offers the largest selection of native trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns, and perennials in New England. Garden in the Woods is open daily, and plants are available for sale throughout the season.
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Dear Internet Archive Community, I’ll get right to it: please support the Internet Archive today. Trade list of collected native plants and hardy perennials / grown by J.M. Bassett Item Preview Trade list of collected native plants and hardy perennials / grown by J.M.
Bassett by J. Bassett (Firm). Oct 02, · Trade list of collected native plants and hardy perennials: fall spring / grown by J.M.
Bassett Item Preview. Sep 06, · The Complete Perennials Book [Ortho] on charlesrosier.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This book combines in-depth information on using, selecting, and growing perennials with inspiring photographs in one easy-to-navigate package.
From start to finish/5(10). Native perennials are indigenous to the United States and Canada. They are significant as they provide very important natural habitats and food sources to many of our native pollinating insects, bees and butterflies. Native plants generally grow well and require little care when grown in proper conditions.
Jan 12, · All perennials & plants are potted & are hardy in the Huronia area. Most are grown from seed at our nursery, where no pesticides or chemicals are used; some are sourced from other Ontario native plant propagators.
wholesale trade list of hardy native lilies, orchids, ferns, aquatic and bog plants, wild flowers, deciduous trees and shrubs, and evergreens / Alpine garden plants Flowers Native plants for cultivation Nurseries (Horticulture) Nursery stock Perennials Plants, Ornamental Prices Seattle Seeds Washington (State) Wholesale trade list.
Feb 07, · Pennsylvania Native Plants / Perennials: Habitat and Culture [Geoffrey L. Mehl] on charlesrosier.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A handy guide to the approximately 1, most popular and common perennials native to Pennsylvania, concentrating on appropriate habitats and cultivation.
Also listed are about /5(7). Download RIS citations. TY - BOOK TI - Wholesale trade list of shade and ornamental trees, shrubs, evergreens, vines and hardy perennials / VL - Wholesale Trade List. Our plants are great in so many ways. Native perennials return every year without having to be replanted.
Some bloom in early Spring and some bloom as late as September. The saying that variety is the spice of life also applies to these flowers. The fact that most perennials are long-lived and reliable is just a small part of their appeal.
We are in the process of developing a data base of native plant nurseries and could use your help. If you know of a nursery promoting and selling native plants in your area not listed, drop us an email with the contact information and we will add.
Another way you can help increase native plant availability is to request that your local nursery carry native plants. Native plants are the foundation of an ecological landscape that supports life and attracts birds, butterflies and pollinators.
For a sustainable planting and the full ecological benefits that natives offer, choose plants that are adapted to and will thrive in the growing conditions where they will be planted. Northeast Natives Perennials is a small, family-owned retail nursery, opened in on our Upper Bucks County, PA property.
Our plant offerings include about 80% plants native to the Northeast U.S. and about 20% non-native plants. Rock Garden Plants, Cottage Garden Plants, Colorful Flowers, Pink Flowers, Savannah Gardens, Florida Native Plants, Full Sun Perennials, Hummingbird Plants, How To Attract Birds Clasping onto this Sharpleaf Penstemon is an Old World Swallowtail (Papilio.
Some of the best plants are North Carolina native plants from our own state. See a list of the best rabbit resistant plants at Plant Delights Nursery.
Rabbit proof plants are vital if Bugs Bunny is ravishing your garden. List of Garden Perennials that start with the letter 'C', such as Cimicifuga racemosa, Curcuma zeodaria, Callirhoe, Crocosmia. A Guide to Native Plant Gardening.
by Center Staff. Native plants come in a variety of sizes from multiple-plant packs to large containers. Choose plants that have good branching structure and look healthy. Don’t let plants wilt in your car; get them home as soon as possible and into the shade until you are able to plant them.
Northern Virginia native plants are easy to maintain and save time and money. Naturally adapted to our local soils and climate, the native plants in this guide require less fertilizer, water, and pesticides, and help reduce the load of chemicals introduced into our environment.
This non-fiction book focuses on the main idea that plants come in all shapes and sizes, but they go through the same stages as they grow. The book uses four common plants to teach students about the different plants life cycles.
I chose this book because of the simple text and colorful illustrations. This book takes you on a native gardening journey across the United States. The photographs and author’s style engage the reader in learning about indigenous landscaping.
Growing and Propagating Wildflowers. by Harry Phillips. A useful book with easy-to-follow instructions for raising native plants from seeds, cuttings and divisions.
We offer over native species and cultivars to help you improve ecosystem function right in your own backyard.
Use one or all of our many plant lists in the footer of this page for planning, then shop on, and Plant More Natives. Like Us on Facebook for weekly posts on what's trending. Jan 15, · Buy RHS Encyclopedia of Perennials UK ed. by DK, Graham Rice (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders/5(37). Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online.
Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu’s.Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, California (Softcover) Barbara Ertter and Mary L. Bowerman, CNPS Press Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope, Sudworth, George B Geology and Plant Life, Arthur Kruckeberg Growing California Native Plants, Marjorie Schmidt Hardy Californians: A Woman's Life with Native Plants, New, expanded edition.DATA UPDATES IN PROGRESS Find the best native plants to help wildlife — based on the research of Dr.
Doug Tallamy. Want to learn more? | https://vumipubuvivagom.charlesrosier.com/trade-list-of-collected-native-plants-and-hardy-perennials-book-31396th.php |
Friday, March 22, is World Water Day, and here in the United States we must learn to preserve this precious resource.
The United States is one of the world's biggest users of water -- a single American can use as much water as 900 Kenyans. As a result, water resources in the United States are shrinking.
In the last five years, there have been water shortages in almost every part of the country, including the worst drought in at least 25 years, which hit 80 percent of the country's farmland in 2012. This year, at least 36 states are expecting local, regional, or statewide water shortages, even if the drought doesn't persist.
Here are five steps you can take to save water in the United States:
1. Eating a little less meat. Switching from a meat-centered weekly menu to a diet rich in vegetables and grains could save 2,500 liters of water a day! And eating grass-fed and locally raised meat, eggs and dairy products can also save water.
2. Steam veggies instead of boiling. In general, steaming vegetables uses less water than boiling, and according to a study in the Journal of Food Quality, it is more nutritious. For example, boiling corn on the cob in a large pot may use 6-8 quarts of water, whereas steaming only uses 1-2 quarts. If you must boil, save the water for your garden or soup stock, or use it to clean pots.
3. Provide support for small-scale, family farms. Agricultural subsidies in the United States disproportionately support large-scale agribusinesses over the small-scale producers who are more likely to be engaged in sustainable food production and may be challenged by drought or commodity price fluctuations. Changes in government support services could reduce this deficit and improve food and water security.
4. Streamline water use in home gardens. During the summer months, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that nearly 40 percent of household water is used for watering lawns and gardens. National Geographic suggests incorporating native plants into your garden that are adapted to the local climate and often require less water. Manually watering plants, instead of using automatic sprinklers, cuts water use by 33 percent, according to the EPA. Consumers can also buy self-watering planters or construct rain barrels that can save you up to 1,300 gallons of water.
5. Reduce food waste. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reports that nearly one-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted throughout production, storage, transportation, consumption and disposal. Learn about your food's shelf life and how long you can store food in your freezer. You can reduce food waste by buying only what you plan to eat, using leftovers to create new meals or donating food you can't use to soup kitchens.
It's more important than ever that, on this World Water Day, Americans find ways to save every drop.
Danielle Nierenberg is a food and agriculture expert and co-founder of Food Tank: The Food Think Tank (www.FoodTank.org). She can be reached at [email protected].
You can read more pieces from The Progressive Media Project by clicking here. | https://progressive.org/op-eds/save-water-world-water-day/ |
lnvasive species are an ecological and economic threat, especially to a resource-based economy like British Columbia's. The Municipality treats invasive species on a priority basis so the plants do not pose a hazard to our residents, pets, and local wildlife.
Visit our Invasive Species Webpage to learn more about invasive species !
Native plants are those that can be traditionally found in a specifc region and have not been introduced through recent horticultural activity. Native plants have adapted to their climate and hardiness zone over thousands of years and can therefore be relatively maintenance free once they are established !
Visit our Native Plant and Drought Tolerant Gardening Webpage for more information. | https://www.northcowichan.ca/EN/main/departments/environmental-services/native-plants.html |
The Selani are the inhabitants of Piral most similar to humans and who supposedly populated Piral most extensively. Because of Piral's greater mass, the Selani tend to be smaller than humans, but they also have a much higher life expectancy.
Tinavar
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By the time of the Selanian Civil War, the Tinavar had been banned to the realm of myth and legend. Some stories suggested these beasts would draw innocent maidens who were pure of heart into the forests during a full moon, never to be seen again.
Ventaren
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Children on Piral only knew the Ventaren as characters in fairy tales. But fishermen on the Sea of Ventara claimed the beautiful sea maidens existed and could lure unsuspecting men to their deaths with their enchanting song. | https://www.peterkrausche.com/ |
10. Bakwas attempts to offer cursed food, whilst Kushtaka seeks to lure sailors to their gruesome deaths
As an innately spiritualistic culture, throughout Native American society there are numerous yet comparable accounts of a wide variety of evil supernatural spirits who prey upon tribes. Bakwas (also known as the wild man of the woods) is one such spirit belonging to the Kwakwaka’wakw people of modern-day British Columbia, similar to the Haida’s “gagit”, the Nuu-chah-nult’s “pukubts”, and the Tsimshian “ba’wis”. Bakwas offers ghost food out of cockle shells to humans stranded in a wood where drowned souls congregate; if they accept and eat the offered food, then they too become a ghostly being like Bakwas.
Equally Kushtaka (or land otter men) are shape-shifting monsters belonging to the folklore of the Tlingit and Tsimshian people of the Pacific Northwest, similar to the Nat’ina of the Dena’ina and the Urayuli of the Yup’ik. Capable of assuming human form, as well as that of otters among other shapes, Kushtaka enjoy tricking sailors to their watery demises. Typically described in legend as imitating the screams of women and children, the Kushtaka ensnares the victim, ideally children, and either brutally kills them or converts them into another Kushtaka; a minority of native narratives place the Kushtaka in a more pleasant light, depicting them as saving those dying at sea by turning them into a fellow Kushtaka. It is believed among tribes people that Kushtaka can be warded away through copper, dogs, fire, or in some instances urine. Due to this setting and the creatures preferred prey, it is widely theorized the origin of the Kushtaka legend was to encourage young children from wandering too close to the ocean. | https://historycollection.com/18-spooky-native-american-monsters-that-will-keep-you-awake-at-night/10/ |
These occurrences happened during a specific time period known as Rusalka Week or Rusal’naia Week. All of this would take place upon first the first week of June.
The fascinating thing is a certain ritual was set in place, which consisted of creating effigies of the Rusalka afterwards destroying them. From doing this, they would appease the dangerous spirits with offerings and music. The men would decorate themselves with garlic and walnuts to ward off any interests; whereas the women would leave their hair unwashed.
The Rusalki were believed to be fish-women. Their homes usually consisted at the bottom of rivers. As the story goes and during the middle of the night, they would wander out into the river banks and dance around in the meadows. Often in harsher areas they were wearing nearly no clothing to cover themselves and appeared as large breasted amazons.
When they saw a handsome man, the Rusalki would lure him by song and dance putting the man into a type of trance. Only then would they take them back to the river floor and at that point the man faced almost certain death. Where land was fertile, these ghostly maidens appeared naked and beautiful. In the north, they were ugly and covered in hair.
It is not clear if these women were undead or not, however in most versions of these stories, they are referred to as “the spirits of girls who died before their time”. They returned to live as spirits in the world, near where they had once lived.
While the primary place where these spirits dwelled upon their death is where they would be found, the Rusalka would wander even climbing trees sitting there singing songs and stroking their hair. It was not unusual to see several if not more of the Rusalka gathering together in circles singing in harmony.
They were referred to or nicknamed as “Willies” who were usually unmarried girls from certain neighborhoods and while alive they traveled in little bands socializing together at festivals.
Their cold-hear ted nature stems from what may have happened to them in their previous life.
After enticing men with their singing and then drowning them; they also would prey upon children also who often were lured with baskets of fruit sprinkled with nectar.
This story is captivating and quite interesting folklore. | https://www.freaklore.com/the-rusalka-women-of-the-sea |
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- "The oldest recorded merpeople were known as sirens (Greece) and it is in warmer waters that we find the beautiful mermaids more frequently depicted in Muggle literature and painting."
- — Newton Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]
The sirens were the earliest recorded race of merpeople. They lived in Greece. Like most merpeople that live in warm water, sirens were exceptionally beautiful as compared to colder water merpeople like selkies and Merrows. It is believed that these merpeople used their singing voices to lure unwary sailors into the water like in Muggle legend.
History
A siren appeared in a portrait in the Prefects' bathroom on the Fifth Floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry inside Hogwarts Castle. It appeared to help the Triwizard Champions chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament in 1994, namely Cedric Diggory.
Behind the scenes
- In mythology, the sirens were island-dwelling maidens that sung beautiful songs to travelling mariners to lure them into sailing closer and crashing on the treacherous rocks around their island homes.
- In the myths, the women were originally half-woman and half-bird.
- It is believed that one day, a giant sea serpent saw the sirens, and ate the bird-halves of the sirens. The sirens, in desperation, killed nearby large fish, and used their bodies to replace their missing limbs. | https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Siren |
The stories of famous ballets retold in picture form. They included:
Giselle – Giselle is a pretty peasant maid, in love with a young man who turns out to be Duke Albrecht, of Silesia, in Germany, When Giselle learns that he is already betrothed to someone else, she dies of a broken heart. In these ports, the spirits of maidens who die before their wedding day join the Wilis — ghostly, sylph-like creatures who haunt the forest glades between midnight and four in the morning, seeking to lure young men to their doom. When the remorseful Albrecht goes to place flowers on Giselle’s grave,the ghostly form of Giselle appears. She is now one of the Wilis.
Swan Lake – Prince Siegfried meets and falls in love with Odette, the Queen of the Swan Maidens. These maidens are under the power of Von Rothbart, a wicked magician. During the hours of daylight they take on the form of swans. Only Siegfried’s betrothal to Odette, and their marriage, can break Von Rothbart’s spell.
The Nutcracker – Clara, the daughter of a high government official, is given a lovely, ornamental nutcracker as a Christmas gift. When Clara returns at midnight to fetch the nutcracker, left behind on a chair, it changes into a smart youth who promises to defend Clara against a strange army of white mice who have poured from a hole in the wall. There is indeed strong magic in the air!
Notes
- The stories appeared on the back page of the comic, in colour. | http://girlscomicsofyesterday.com/2014/08/the-story-of-a-ballet/ |
I recently taught an Awakening The Illuminated Heart workshop near the Cahokia Mounds. The workshop attendees and I went to visit this ancient and historic sacred site. One of the workshop attendees who lives locally shared with me a “story” about one of the mounds where sacrifices occurred.
When we arrived at the site of the mounds, I was drawn to a mound called Maiden Mound also known as mound 72. This mound is a further walk and not near the more popular mounds. As we neared this mound, I saw 3 whitetail deer, a good sign for me. It turns out that this is the mound where it is told that maidens were sacrificed.
I know from a Native American point of view that many times the archeological translation or evidence may tell a story that isn’t what really happened. It is their best educated guess from the remains they find. I did not read the historical marker or sign before I approached the mound. I did however give tobacco and asked for permission to pass and also to connect with those spirits who were there. The workshop attendees did the same.
We did not go there to heal or clear or transmute any residual energies, but rather to listen. We wanted to hear the spirit of those who once lived there and died there. We wanted to hear their story. We spent some time there in meditation. I drummed the four directions as well as for Mother Earth and Father Sky.
The common thread in the stories that were told by the spirits to the workshop attendees was of joyful moments and a good life. Even their deaths were a choice not blood sacrifices as most people would assume. The spirits shared that the word of sacrifice can have more than one meaning. The word of sacrifice used by the educated people who document the artifacts may have miss interpreted the meaning of sacrifice and placed the meaning from their belief system rather than from those who inhabited that area in that long ago age.
Native America, Indian Country, has seen and felt this miss intrepretation many times and many different ways as others try to describe their way of life, their culture. So, what is in a story? The perspective of the storyteller is important. Their vantage point may or may not know the whole story or have the ability to translate the meaning of the story if they don’t know the language. There is truth in the old adage to listen to both sides of the story to truly understanding the meaning.
Hi Judy! You are so welcome. | http://www.sacredhoop.net/awakening-the-illuminated-heart-2/whats-in-a-story/ |
Siberut is home to the Mentawai tribe of approximately 30,000 people. It is believed people first came to inhabit these islands at least several thousand years ago. This Mentawai tribe still maintains the lifestyle and traditions passed down from their ancestors and is a rare indonesian culture that has not been influenced by Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim currents over the last two millenniums. If the mentawai culture disappears, going with it will be one of the last links to indonesia’s early human inhabitants.
The Mentawai people are characterised by their heavy spirituality, their distinctive tradition to sharpen their teeth – a unique and fascinating practice they feel makes one beautiful –and their frequently tattooed bodies, with the most famous being the tattoos of the Sikeiries.
Shamans, or Sikeireis, feature prominently in Mentawai society. The Mentawai people subscribe to Jarayak, a form of animism that stresses the existence of nature spirits, souls and ghosts. The nature spirits are those of the sky, the earth, the sea, and the jungle. There is also the grandfather, the god of earthquakes. They believe people have souls, and so do all animals and plants.
Wildlife
Whilst waiting for your next wave,look past the reef onto the white sandy beaches,take a moment to stare into the thick exotic rainforest that is home to a number of animal species that cannot found anywhere else in the world. A long geographic isolation has resulted in numerous endemic mammals, including four primates. Our favourite being the world’s only exclusively monogamous leaf-monkey, the Mentawai leaf-monkey. It doesn’t stop there, walk through the forest and mangroves to catch a glimpse of any one of the 134 bird species, or come across some snakes, squirrels and chipmunks. The enchanting sounds of this ancient rainforest will be like nothing you have heard before.
Sea life
As the sea will be your home here you will get the chances to snorkel in some of the most pristine waters and experience the underwater wonderland that these islands have on offer. The islands are a part of the “coral triangle” with over 500 species of reef building coral and 300 species of fish, its recognised as part of the “Global centre of marine diversity”. Dolphins (Stenela longirostris) can be seen along the east coast. Other sea mammals such as dugong (Dugong dugong) occasionally can be sighted near the sea grass by the mangrove along with three protected species of sea turtles.
Discover Mentawais
It’s true, you’ve come to score epic waves – but there’s so much more for you to experience if you let the islands lure you in with their breathing taking scenery, exotic wildlife and tribal villages. So don’t hesitate to ask us about Discover Mentawais package options, that will enable you explore this hidden tropical paradise. | https://www.surfinmentawais.com/about/about-the-mentawais/ |
It’s a fishy tale about a fish-tailed woman whose misery led her to lure others to an untimely end.
At Fornham All Saints – one of a trio of Fornhams which includes Fornham St Genevieve and Fornham St Martin – on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds, there was said to be a deep well in which a bad-tempered mermaid lived.
When the mermaid heard children’s chatter and laughter, she would lurk close to the surface of the well and strike if they dared dip their fingers in the cool water, grabbing them with the intention of pulling them underwater to their death.
In Christopher Reeve’s Paranormal Suffolk: True Ghost Stories, the author notes: “At Fornham All Saints, near Bury St Edmunds, there are, or were, four mills, with pools of water known as the ‘Mermaid Pits’. They are said to be have been given that name because a girl, who was unhappily in love, drowned herself in one of them.
“Was she just a girl, who drowned, and afterwards haunted the pit? Or, following her death, did she change into the shape of a mermaid, and then, as is their way, forever attempt to lure humans into the water to join her?”
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Mermaid Close, off Fornham Road near Bury, was known during medieval times as Maremayd Pitts and folklore passed down through the generations suggested the name was linked to the tale of a lovesick girl who drowned herself rather than face life without her true love.
Water from the Mermaid Pits fed into Suffolk’s River Lark, itself a tributary of the River Great Ouse, which flows from its source south of Bury into the Fenlands north of Ely where it joins the Ely Ouse.
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In Alan Murdie’s Ghostwatch column in the Fortean Times of April 2015, he notes: “John Gage’s History and Antiquities of Hengrave (1810 and 1822) states that female water spirits haunted the River Lark through the village.
Gage seems to have been captivated by the idea of female water sprites troubling the builders of a mill around which they were supposed to frolic…further along the River Lark one finds further traces of these beliefs with pools called the Mermaid or Merrymaid Pits. In East Anglia mermaids were not cute fairytale creatures, but often malevolent sirens dragging victims to watery deaths.”
Whether the lovelorn mermaid in the story inhabited a pit or a well, or whether she joined a group of sister sirens who caused havoc in the River Lark, one thing is certain: to disturb her was deadly: a timely reminder to children that deep water should be avoided at all costs. | https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/weird-suffolk-the-mermaid-of-fornham-all-saints-2435034 |
Police say 745 of those taken into custody are foreign nationals living in the country illegally.
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Italy rescue 4,100 boat migrants in mission
All of those rescued were brought to Lampedusa Harbour.
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EU seeks to reassure Libya over plans to stem migrant flow
Nearly 40,000 migrants fleeing war and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have made it to Europe.
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Libya's rival govt to confront EU attacks on traffickers
Public outrage peaked this week after up to 900 migrants died last Sunday when their boat sank.
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Italian prosecutors blame captain for collision in migrant shipwreck
Italian police arrested a 27-year-old Tunisian, who is believed to have been the captain of the ship.
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Migrant deaths since 2013
Migrant deaths since 2013
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EU intensifies efforts to deal with migrant disasters
The plan thrashed out by ministers is aimed at human traffickers profiting from the desperate migrants.
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African migrants infographic
African migrants infographic
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Italy's migrant crisis intensifies
15 African men suspected of throwing about a dozen Christians from a migrant boat were arrested.
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Thousands of boat migrants rescued off North Africa
The Italian coastguard said 5,629 people were rescued from 22 different vessels between 10 and 12 April.
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Cops monitoring borders
Since 1 January two people have died and about 80 others arrested while trying to cross into SA.
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Over 800 migrants saved in Italy, northern Cyprus
The coastguard said it picked up 520 migrants in the Strait of Sicily between Thursday night and Friday.
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The plight of migrants
The plight of migrants
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Record number of migrant deaths at sea
The IOM said 40,000 migrants worldwide are believed to have drowned since 2000.
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Israel closes detention centre for African migrants
Israel outlawed a detention centre where African migrants are held without trial and ordered their released.
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Boat carrying African emigrants sinks
A boat carrying close to 250 migrants sank off the Libyan coast on Sunday.
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Almost 2,000 migrants have drowned this year
The UN Refugee Agency says most of the deaths have been in the past three months.
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Italy finds 19 boat migrants dead, saves over 3,500 since Friday - navy
Thousands attempted to cross to Europe by boat over the weekend, the Italian navy said.
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75 immigrants arrested in Springs
Police say some of them used study permits to enter the country with the intention to do business.
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Libya detains over 400 immigrants
Warning shots were fired at several vessels, and 78 people were rescued from a sinking ship.
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African migrants drown off Yemeni coast
Officials says 42 illegal African migrants drowned off the southern coast of Yemen on Sunday. | https://ewn.co.za/topic/illegal-immigrants?pagenumber=4&perPage=18 |
Why do Wolves Howl at the Moon?
There are myths which say that wolves howl at the moon. Some people believe that the howling of wolves at the moon is only given in stories and it does not happen in real. The ancient stories say that wolves can understand the language of the spirits. When they hear the voices of spirits they howl at them by raising their heads straight high. This is because on the full moon day the voices of the spirits are clearer and hence the wolves try to listen to them. That is the reason why there is hatred in humans for wolves as depicted in the old stories. The raising of their heads indicates that they can make clear sounds by doing that act.
It is also believed that the power of talking to the spirits by wolves has made the humans to aspire for getting that power. It is said that when humans ask the wolf to give him the power they refuse to do it. The wolves were very proud about this gift which they possessed and the humans were unable to snatch that away from the wolves. This is because the spirits had control over these powers of wolves. As the time passed, the number of spirits increased and the wolves were fighting constantly with humans for retaining these powers.
But, later the spirits have taken away the gift from the wolves as they were fighting with humans out of pride. Spirits felt that the wolves were not eligible for this gift. They took away the power from the wolves and gave them the ability to get back the memories of their ancestors. Then the night was silent as the spirits were not visible to the wolves. During the full moon when there is a strong bond developed between the wolves and spirits, the wolves start to howl longing for their powers to be given back to them. That was the reason for the wolves to howl on full moon day.
But, the scientists say that howling of wolves is just a way communicating with each other. As their voices have to be clear they raise their heads straight to make loud noise. They say that howling has nothing to do with the moon. They are nocturnal creatures and hence they are active during the nights and also howl during the night. | https://www.knowswhy.com/why-do-wolves-howl-at-the-moon/?replytocom=111974 |
The Drowned God, also known as He Who Dwells Beneath the Waves, is a sea deity worshiped solely by the ironborn of the Iron Islands in Westeros. The religion of the Drowned God is old, dating back to before the Andal invasion. Most Andal invaders of the Iron Islands converted to the local religion rather than supplant it with the Seven as they did in the south of Westeros. The Drowned God religion supports the ironmen's naval, pirate culture.
Contents
Beliefs
Like the ironborn, the Drowned God is a harsh deity and goes hand in hand with the Old Way. It is said the Drowned God made the ironborn to reave and rape, to carve out kingdoms and to make their names known in fire and blood and song. The Drowned God himself is believed to have brought flame from the sea and sailed the world with fire and sword. The Drowned God's eternal enemy, the Storm God, resides in a hall within the clouds and ravens are his creatures. It is said the two deities have been in conflict for millennia and the sea roils in anger when they engage in battle. However, much like the Drowned God, no one aside from the ironborn believe in the Storm God.
When an ironman drowns, it is said that the Drowned God needed a strong oarsman, and the refrain "What is dead may never die" is used. It is believed he will be feasted in the Drowned God's watery halls, his every want satisfied by mermaids. Libations for those who have died can be poured into the sea by the living. Some ironmen believe that worthy adversaries, even if they do not worship the Drowned God, can go to the god's halls.
Drowning
Drowning and resurrection feature prominently in the prayers and rituals of the Drowned God religion. Sacrificial drowning is the traditional method of execution for the ironmen, but it is also considered a holy act, and the most faithful have no fear of it. Newborns are "drowned" shortly after birth, being submerged into or anointed with saltwater. This is done as part of rites of the god, committing their bodies to the sea, so when they die they may find the Drowned God's halls. Both the method of execution and the newborn rite are referred to as being "given to the Drowned God".
During the anointment ritual, the priest has a person kneel. Using his skin of sea water, he pours a stream of it upon the person's head. As he does this he intones:
Priest: Let <person> your servant be born again from the sea, as you were. Bless him with salt, bless him with stone, bless him with steel. Response: What is dead may never die. Priest: What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger
Drowned Men
- Main article: Drowned men
Clergymen, called drowned men, are drowned a second time in earnest and brought back to life with a crude form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Not all men are successfully revived, however. Drowned men wear roughspun robes of mottled green, grey, and blue, the colours of the Drowned God. They carry driftwood cudgels to show their devotion in battle, as well as skins of saltwater to perform ritual anointment and occasionally drink from to strengthen their faith.
While priests of the Drowned God must not shed the blood of ironborn, they have no such reservation about other methods such as drowning.
Priests of the Drowned God bless new ships, speaking invocations and pouring sea water over prows. "Lord God who drowned for us" is part of the litany of the Drowned God's priests.
History
In his Strange Stone Maester Theron suggests that the religion of the Drowned God originates from the undersea fathers of the Deep Ones. Worship of the old gods as practiced by other First Men of Westeros did not occur in the Iron Islands.
During the Andal invasion, the Faith of the Seven was introduced to the Iron Islands with mixed results. In time, even most Andals of the isles adopted the native religion of the Drowned God.
The dynasty of House Hoare, many of whom supported the Faith, was ill regarded by followers of the Drowned God. King Horgan Hoare become known as Horgan Priestkiller when he suppressed drowned men who had attacked followers of the Faith. King Harmund II Hoare worshipped both the Drowned God and the Seven, referring to "the Eight Gods". Opposed by adherents of both religions, Harmund eventually considered the Drowned God to be an aspect of the Stranger. The Shrike led the drowned men in renouncing the Faith and rebelling against Harmund III Hoare.Halleck Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, spent most of his time in the riverlands and only nominally supported the Drowned God.
Following the death of Halleck's son, King Harren the Black, during House Targaryen's War of Conquest, the priest Lodos claimed to be the living son of the Drowned God. Lord Vickon Greyjoy allowed the Faith of the Seven to return to the Iron Islands in the aftermath of the Conquest. In return for the defeat of a second Lodos by Lord Goren Greyjoy, King Aenys I Targaryen allowed the ironborn to again expel the Faith from the lands of the Drowned God.
Lordsport had a sept of the Faith at the time of Greyjoy's Rebellion, but it was not rebuilt it after its destruction during the war. The Drowned God is again the predominant deity worshiped in the islands.
Recent Events
A Clash of Kings
During the harrying of the Stony Shore, Aeron Greyjoy sacrifices Benfred Tallhart to the Drowned God.
A Feast for Crows
Aeron rejects the claim of Euron Greyjoy to be King of the Isles and the North, insisting the godless Euron is not worthy to sit the Seastone Chair.
During the taking of the Shields, Victarion Greyjoy pays tribute to its casualties, whom he hopes will feast in the Drowned God's halls. | https://gameofthronesfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Drowned_God |
A total of 21 people drowned in Sweden in June 2014. By contrast, 14 people were killed out on the water in June 2013. The increase marks the highest rate for 15 years.
Of the victims; 19 of them were men, one was a three-year-old boy, and only one was a woman. Indeed, 85 percent of all drowning victims in 2013 were male.
"One of the main problems is that a lot of men think they are made of steel and won't get into trouble in the water. Nine out of ten victims are male, which is a very high figure," Anders Wernesten of the Swedish Life Saving Association (Svenska livräddningssällskapet) told The Local.
Wernesten added that many of the victims were older than 50 and were inclined to go swimming far out into the sea.
"What tends to happen is that they get cold and tired. It can also be the case that they have another type of illness which is made worse by being in the water for a long period of time," he said.
Many of the deaths last month were linked to fishing trips. Two men, aged in the 30s and 60s, were found dead in June after going out fishing Lake Hjälmaren in central Sweden.
The following day a 45-year-old man drowned when the canoe he was piloting with his five-year-old son capsized. His son, who was wearing a life jacket, managed to raise the alarm, but his father perished.
A total of ten of the 21 deaths were associated with fishing excursions. Many of the victims were aged over 50, with three of the deceased men being over the age of 80.
However, there were some young victims including a 20-year-old man who drowned during graduation celebrations. The sole woman who died was 29, after she got swept out to sea while swimming.
In almost all cases the wearing of a life jacket could have made significant difference, Wernesten said.
"Wearing a life jacket can be the difference between life and death. In the summer when the weather is warm, like it is this year, the number of deaths increase so people need to be extra careful," said Wernesten.
In 2014 there have already been 50 drowning-related deaths, which is a similar figure to the same time last year. In 2013 a total of 129 died in the water. By contrast, the cooler summer of 2010 claimed 79 lives on the water.
Alcohol is often a factor, Wernesten said.
"It is not unusual to find traces of alcohol in the bloodstream among victims. Put simply, people should not drink and swim and they should be more willing to wear a life jacket," he added.
In a recent survey ordered by insurance agency Försäkringsbolaget IF, 28 percent of Swedes confessed they had not swum 200 metres during the past ten years. In Sweden swimming 200 metres is used as a standard for testing swimming ability, and considered the shortest length one should be able to swim. | https://www.thelocal.se/20140710/swedish-steelmen-account-for-most-drownings/ |
What is an Irish mermaid called?
Merrow (from Irish murúch, Middle Irish murdúchann or murdúchu) is a mermaid or merman in Irish folklore. The term is of Hiberno-English origin.
What does a Merrow look like?
Merrows are practically regular mermaids in the Irish folklore, despite the fact that they are more of a race of sea-beings. they are often described as having green, or white skin, and sea-colored hair. They have webbed fingers, and the same type of tail as a mermaid.
Is selkie Scottish or Irish?
They are found in folktales and mythology originating from the Northern Isles of Scotland. The folk-tales frequently revolve around female selkies being coerced into relationships with humans by someone stealing and hiding their sealskin, thus exhibiting the tale motif of the swan maiden type.
Is a Merrow real?
Merrow Men There is actually very little documented about these loathsome creatures, however they have been described in stories as being covered in emerald scales with a stunted body and limbs. They have green course hair, grotesque pointed teeth and bloodshot eyes.
What is a merfolk?
Definition of merfolk : a legendary people of the sea having human head, trunk, and arms and the tail of a fish — compare mermaid, merman.
What are Scottish mermaids called?
The ceasg [kʲʰɛsk] is a mermaid in Scottish folklore with the upper body of a beautiful woman merging with the tail of a grilse (a young salmon). She is also known in Scottish Gaelic as maighdean na tuinne (“maid of the wave”) or maighdean mhara (“maid of the sea”).
Are there male selkies?
Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands.
What is an Irish Silkie?
In short, the legend of the selkie is Ireland’s concept of a mermaid. What is a selkie? Also called the seal people, the sea people or the mermaid – a selkie is a marine legend that tells of people who are half fish, and half-human. In the water, they are seals, but on land, they shed their skin and take on human form.
What is the male version of a mermaid?
Mermen, the male counterparts of the mythical female mermaids, are legendary creatures, which are male human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes they are described as hideous and other times as handsome.
Can mermaids read minds?
By their abilities Sirens – Dangerous spirits of the sea that can conjure storm and fog, foretell death, read minds and wreak havoc of every level. For a long time, they were one of the sources of blame for many shipwrecks and deaths on long sea journeys.
What is a mythical sea fairy?
Sea Fairies are a species of tiny humanoid creatures with butterfly wings, which fly above the oceans of planet Etheria and emit a luminous glow.
Do selkies have powers?
In the Shetland, the sea-folk were believed to revert to human shape and breathed air in the atmosphere in the submarine homeland, but with their sea-dress (seal-skin) they had the ability to transform into seals to make transit from there to the reefs above the sea.
What is the Irish mermaid story?
One particularly frightening story of the Irish mermaid tells the tale of male merrows who capture the drowned souls of sailors and trap them in pots. These pots are sunk at the bottom of the sea, never to release the poor sailors’ souls…unless a willing human being were to release them.
What are some of the most interesting mermaid stories you know?
Probably my favorite story of a real mermaid encounter is the story of an Irish man who found two dying merrows on the seashore. Apparently they washed up to shore from a bad storm. One was badly hurt and the other was dead. The man wanted to help the merrow and took the merrow home to nurse it back to health.
Why are there so many water legends in Ireland?
The oceans, lakes, and rivers were mysterious to our ancestors. And therefore bodies of water were feared and often the subject of fairy tales and frightening legends. The selkies and merrows weren’t the only water beings in Ireland and Scotland.
Are there mermaids in other cultures?
In fact, if one digs deep enough, one may find a story of a mermaid in almost every culture and ancient society around the world…though they might call the mermaid something different depending on the region. | https://www.true-telecom.com/what-is-an-irish-mermaid-called/ |
Radiio Erena : 14 July 2015
As many as 100 bodies believed to be sub-saharan migrants have been found in the sea and the shores of the Tajoura, a coastal town about 10kms east of Tripoli, according to spokesman for the capital’s anti-immigration department.
Details are still a bit sketchy but a the spokesman said there were women and children among the dead. He could not confirm their numbers or indicate their nationality. They are believed to be the victims of a shipwreck off Tajoura, which is known as a sending spot for migrants heading for Europe on boats.
The bodies recovered in Tajoura are being transferred to a hospital in the capital. More details throughout the day.
If the number of dead is confirmed it would be the biggest tragedy by far since April 18 when 850 migrants are believed to have lost their lives in a single shipwreck off Libya.
A record 1,780 migrants had lost their lives in the Mediterranean up to that point but the deaths slowed down after EU leaders reacted by expanding the search and rescue effort to unprecedented levels. In a statement on Friday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) put the number of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean up to that point at 1,900.
On the same day the statement was issued, however, 12 migrants were recovered dead after the boat they were on capsized off Libya. Earlier in the week, Turkish and Greek coastguard mounted a search for 19 people believed to have drowned while crossing between the two countries. | https://erena.org/dozens-of-bodies-wash-up-on-libyan-shore/ |
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains details of deceased persons.
Memorial for JackJack and Chris, Derbal Yerrigan, 2018. Photo: Michelle Bui.
The local Noongar Community in Perth is still grieving over the recent, tragic deaths of two Aboriginal teenagers (Trisjack Simpson and Christopher Drage, aged 17 and 16 years) who lost their lives in the cold waters of the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River).
The media has reported that the boys drowned as they attempted to ‘dive and swim away’ from local police.
The boys’ deaths are being treated as “deaths in police presence” and the Office of the W.A. Coroner will conduct an inquiry into the full circumstances of the drownings.
The W.A. Police Commissioner, Chris Dawson advised:
“(The) two boys are believed to have got into difficulties in the middle of the river… and (then) succumbed to the conditions…. and were not seen to resurface…this is nothing short of a tragedy”
Commissioner Dawson added: “I offer my condolences to the families of the two boys.”
This is not the first time that a young Aboriginal has drowned in similar circumstances.
In Dubbo in 2003, another Aboriginal youth (known as R.S.), drowned in the nearby local Wambool river (Macquarie River). R.S. drowned near a well-known local bridge, named in honour of a famous Dubbo Aboriginal citizen, Tracker Reilley.
In similar, tragic circumstances to the Derbal Yerrigan drownings, R.S. was observed by Dubbo Police near the ‘traditional’ Macquarie River. In other words, R.S. was now close to the local river “in the presence of police.”
For those with experience of the historical consequences for an Aboriginal person being “followed”, or “pursued”, by police in such circumstances, the “Red Danger” warning lights would have been flashing and the bells would have been clanging.
For R.S., this was now an extremely dangerous situation.
Hannah McGlade discusses Robin Sheiner’s letter at the annual remembrance ceremony for John Pat at Fremantle jail, 23 September 2018.
From a physiological point of view, a cold, free-flowing, freshwater river is a very hazardous environment, even for a strong, fit swimmer.
Royal Australian Navy Clearance Divers are arguably some of the fittest athletes in any Navy. (Under combat conditions, they train to remove explosive mines from ships.) Clearance Divers accept that they cannot swim against a current of about 2.5 knots (approximately ‘walking pace’) for any length of time. Therefore, attempting to swim against a moderate current (say about 3-4 knots) is almost an impossible feat. When a low water temperature (say about 10 degrees Celsius, as in both the Swan and Macquarie River cases) is added to the situation, the danger of hypothermia and drowning increases considerably. The chance of a swimmer drowning in such a river is now very real.
As reported in The Guardian (Australia) “Deaths Inside” database, two other drowning deaths are recorded where the Aboriginal person involved was “trying to flee the police”.
In 2012, a 37-year old Aboriginal man reportedly drowned in the Djarlgarra (Canning River at Thornlie, W.A.). He attempted to evade police. It is believed that he jumped into the Djarlgarra as he tried to flee from police. (His body was not recovered until 7 days later.)
In 2013, a 40-year old Aboriginal man reportedly drowned as he attempted “to evade police” by swimming across the Millewa (Murray River, downstream of Berri, South Australia).
It is reported that neither the 37-year old, nor the 40-year old, were charged with any crime.
Memorial for JackJack and Chris, Derbal Yerrigan, 2018. Photo: Michelle Bui.
It is worth considering the real dangers for Aboriginals when they are being “pursued” or “followed” by police.
Many Aboriginal families have expressed their great anxiety when they are informed that their son, or daughter, is being “pursued” by police (for any reason). It is well known that Aboriginal youths tend to panic in the presence of police.
Whether the youth is ‘justified’ in his/her panic state, the fact is that many do panic.
A possible reason for panic is the fact that most Aboriginal families are aware that a family member (perhaps a distant relative) is likely to have experienced contact with the Juvenile, or Adult, Justice System, or even possibly a family Death in Custody.
Whatever the reason, a panic reaction (usually out of all proportion to any alleged charge) is quite common.
Perhaps the most well-known, recent Aboriginal death in custody which involved police “pursuing”, or “following”, an Aboriginal youth is the case of the death of T.J. Hickey, aged 17 years, in Redfern in February 2004.
T.J. had dealings with the Walgett Children’s Court and probably knew that there was an Apprehension Warrant in existence when he became aware that police were “following” him, as he cycled along the streets of Redfern.
Although there is still some controversy concerning the exact mechanism of T.J.’s death, it is known that he was “peddling very fast” as two Redfern Police vans “followed” him through the streets and lanes of Redfern.
T.J. may have “panicked” seconds before his death.
What is clear is that his body was propelled over the handlebars of his bicycle and that he became impaled onto the steel bars of a fence at the rear of a Tower building in Waterloo. T.J. was impaled by the neck on the steel bars.
As police walked towards him, he was still impaled on the fence. He cried out:
“I want my Mum… I don’t want to die !!”
Justice for T.J Hickey Rally, Gadigal Country, 2018. Photo: Charandev Singh.
What does the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody have to say about Aboriginal Youths and the Justice System ?
Unfortunately, the observations and Recommendations of the Commission are as relevant today as they were at the time they were written by the Learned Commissioners:
The relative dangers of a “Police Pursuit”
The dangers of:
need to be weighed against the danger of harm (or death) of the youth(s).
I feel sure that the Royal Commissioners would urge police to adopt a position of “great caution in their operations.”
As discussed above, there are very real physiological dangers of hypothermia and drowning where a “scared” and “panicking” Aboriginal youth is in close proximity to a free-flowing, cold, fresh-water river.
Without doubt, consideration should be given to an early “calling off” any chase, or pursuit, of Aboriginal youths in such circumstances.
Additional Police Operational Training seems to be required urgently.
Dr Carl Hughes is a forensic pathologist who worked closely on a number deaths in custody inquests with the late Uncle Ray Jackson and the Indigenous Social Justice Association. Read detailed bio here.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are respectfully advised that this website contains images of and references to deceased persons.
All viewers are respectfully advised that the site contains images of and references to the deaths in custody of Indigenous peoples, Black people and refugees that may cause distress. | https://www.deathscapes.org/engagements/dispatch-the-recent-derbal-yerrigan-drownings-and-aboriginal-deaths-in-custody/ |
Full magicians gain access to the full range of magical abilities, spellcasting, summoning, and enchanting, as well as offering full access to the astral plane with both astral perception (p. 159) and astral projection (p. 160).
Aspected magicians are only able to utilize one of the three aspects of magic: spellcasting (Sorcery), summoning (Conjuring), or enchanting (Enchanting). They can access the astral plane with astral perception and projection.
Adepts focus all of their magic inward, fueling their talents with their innate ability to pull mana in rather than channel it outward. Due to this physical connection to their magic, they cannot astrally project and only gain the ability to astrally perceive through training. Adepts have a pool of points equal to their Magic that they use to purchase adept powers.
Mystic adepts are a blend of inward and outward magic. They are capable of casting spells, summoning spirits, and enchanting items, but they also channel a portion of their magic inward to fuel adept talents. They are not able to astrally project due to the anchoring effect of their adept powers, but they can astrally perceive. | https://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=12tnrepl1i669h3668r1sjs00l&topic=29993.0;prev_next=next |
Week 9 Project Submit EBP project with Implementation Plan and Evaluation Plan. Note EBP plan should resemble plan on page 248 of the Melnyx text.
An evaluation plan will:
- Identify the purpose, users, resources and timelines of the evaluation
- Select the key evaluation questions and indicators and the best design to measure intended results
- Sequence evaluation activities (such as completing baseline documentation, conducting participant follow-ups, materials pre-tests, project reviews and special studies)
- Prepare data collection and data analysis plans, including cost as well as results or program data
- Plan for communication, dissemination and use of evaluation results
- Identify the technical competencies needed on the evaluation team(s).
- This step includes:
- Gathering and organizing data in a systematic way to reduce sources of bias and increase validity
- Discerning patterns, trends and comparisons from qualitative and quantitative data
- Linking cost and results data to have a retrospective Cost and Results Analysis (CRA)
- Involving client and stakeholders in interpreting data
- Employing standards to arrive at conclusions.
For the evaluation of effects, the evaluation team will typically conduct a data-gathering exercise similar to the collection of baseline data to describe actual performance. The consistency of sampling tools and indicators will help contrast the levels of performance before and after the interventions and determine whether there have been demonstrable changes. If the evaluation design uses a control group, the team will compare changes in the intervention group with changes (if any) in the control group to arrive at net effects (i.e., changes in the intervention group minus changes in the control group over a similar period of time).
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In this assignment, you will be creating a personality portfolio based on the results of your six leadership assessments that you self-select via an Internet search. The importance of knowing your leadership style, strengths, weaknesses, and which style is best suited for managing change will be imperative to your success in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, whatever role you take on.
Specifically, write an 8- to 10-page report including the following:
- Self-select six leadership assessments via an Internet search. Take the assessments and identify trends and patterns in your strengths and weaknesses indicated by the results of the assessments. Describe these patterns and trends in your report. You must choose assessments that include:
- Leadership and ethics
- Emotional intelligence and leadership
- Diversity and leadership
- Leadership styles
- And two other choices**
- Develop an action plan to address the weaknesses you discovered and how you might use your strengths to overcome the weaknesses.
- Identify a leadership style that is best suited for managing organizational change. Compare and contrast your style with this leadership profile best suited for managing change in organizations.
- Indicate to your potential client why your leadership style is best suited for this company (identify one or use your first scenario in RA 1), including how you could be successful in assisting with managing change within the company.
Your final deliverable should be an 8- to 10-page document in Microsoft Word, utilizing a minimum of eight scholarly sources. The use of a table to display assessment results is encouraged. Apply APA standards for citations and references on slides. | https://nursingtermpaper.com/orag-psychology-creating-a-personality-portfolio/ |
Summary:
Summary: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is projected to become the biggest epidemic disease in the world. People with T2D often progress to complex co-morbidity like cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and liver disease. These associated diseases are driving increased healthcare costs. T2D itself is driving by a complex set of biological, socio-economic, and behavior factors. Effective prevention or management of T2D improves long-term outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
Aims: This study aims to analyze progression of T2D patients to different co-morbidities is universal or is dependent on the population i.e. social determinants, environment, diet, drugs, genotype and compare these across two geographically diverse populations.
The aim(s) of this study is to:
(1) Profile T2D patients from the UK Biobank with respect to the following co-morbidities: cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, and liver diseases
(2) Identify potential markers that track with these comorbidity disease progression
(3) Compare/contrast these results from UK Biobank with patient population from the State of Indiana
(4) Identify specific interesting subsets of the broader patient population for further study.
Scientific Rationale: As progression of T2D patients to any of the complex co-morbidities results in the decline of patient’s quality of life and increases mortality. A similar research project is underway using data from the State of Indiana. Being able to compare and contrast the results across these diverse geographic patient populations, should be able to better identify key factors associated with socio-economic/environment from biological/behavioral.
Project Duration: It is expected this project will be completed in less than two years, depending on availability of appropriate data.
Public Health Impact: This study by cross-comparing with a non-overlapping dataset, should allow key factors to be better identified that can then be used for policies, new interventions, and/or therapeutic targets to slow the current trends and/or reduce the impact of the impacts of diabetes. Identification of these transferable or invariant factors and subsequent validation, should allow a reduction of currently predicted epidemic rates and associated healthcare costs. | https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/2020/06/assessing-prevalence-and-progression-of-type-2-diabetes-comorbidities/ |
Anthropogenic climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events (e.g. flooding, heat waves, and wildfires). As a result, it is often reasoned that as more individuals experience unusual weather patterns that are consistent with changing climate conditions, the more their concern about global warming will increase, and the more motivated they will become to respond and address the problem effectively. Social science research evaluating the relationships between personal experiences with and risk perceptions of climate change, however, show mixed results. Here, we analyze a representative statewide survey of Floridians and compare their risk perceptions of five-year trends in climate change with local weather station data from the five years preceding the survey. The results show that Floridians are unable to detect five-year increases in temperature, but some can detect changes in precipitation. Despite an inability to detect the correct direction of change, respondents were significantly more likely than not to correctly identify the season in which most change occurred. Nevertheless, compared to local experience, risk perceptions of climate change were more strongly predicted by subjective experiences of environmental change, personal beliefs about climate change, and political ideology. Results from the study suggest that long-term changes in climate patterns and extreme weather events need to be interpreted by weather and climate experts within the context of climate change; individuals cannot be expected to detect or comprehend such complex linkages directly. | https://miami.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/detecting-local-environmental-change-the-role-of-experience-in-sh |
Subject Code and Title MGT602 Business Decision Analytics Assessment Research Analysis Report Individual/Group Individual Length Up to 2,000 words Learning Outcomes a) Select and evaluate the usefulness of a range of decision making tools and reflect on your decision-making styles and contrast with other styles to determine the respective levels of rationality and intuition utilised b) Compare, contrast and critically evaluate sources of data as influences for decision-making in a range of business contexts c) Examine and evaluate decision making systems and techniques to engage group decisions and analyse how these can enhance sustainable outcomes d) Critically examine emerging tools and technologies for decision making Submission By 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Friday of Module 6.1 (Week 11) Weighting 40% Total Marks 40 marks Context: Workplaces today are changing rapidly in parallel with rapid advances in technology and means of communication with teams separated in terms of space and time, that is different geograpc locations and time zones, not only witn countries, but also across continents. Ts is sometng that we in Torrens adapt to on a daily basis as part of a global organisation. We need to take into account not only time and space, but other elements of diversity to collaborate effectively for organisational outcomes. Task: Ts assignment is designed for you to critically reflect on key themes for ts subject: individual and group decision-making processes; sources of data and analysis, including usage of data analytics for organisational decision-making, and the influence of bias in effective decision-making. In doing so, you should consider a meaningful work challenge – a project that requires many decisions to be made- that is relevant for you- in your current, or recent workplace. [NOTE: Torrens University is a workplace and you have a special role in it.]. MGT602_Assess 3_Research Analysis 2 of 4 CHECKPOINT: Submit a draft of your outline and discuss your report proposal with your Learning Facilitator by WEEK 9. Your task is to analyse the project from the perspective of decision-making points/stages. In the analysis, you are to consider: 1. The sources of data, and the use of data analytics to identify trends/ patterns that form the evidence for decision-making; 2. Show visualisation of the decision-making process, and analytics to support the decisionmaking; 3. Select at least three decision-making tools and technologies from witn the subject modules and show their application for your project. Consider if the decision would be the same/ different by using multiple methods. 4. Present the findings of your results in a business style report that includes clear headings to guide the reader and visualisation of the data sources/trends/ patterns, and is underpinned with evidence from relevant contemporary literature, including major resources from witn the subject modules. 5. Reference according to the APA 6th. Ed.
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Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a fundamental driver of many lake processes. In the past several decades, many lakes have exhibited a substantial increase in DOM quantity, measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. While increasing DOC is now widely recognized, fewer studies have sought to understand how characteristics of DOM (DOM quality) change over time. Quality can be measured in several ways, including the optical characteristics spectral slope (S275-295), spectral ratio (SR), absorbance at 254 nm (a254), and DOC-specific absorbance (SUVA; a254:DOC). However, long-term measurements of quality are not nearly as common as long-term measurements of DOC concentration. We used 24 years of DOC and absorbance data for seven lakes in the North Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research site in northern Wisconsin, USA to examine temporal trends and synchrony in both DOC concentration and quality. We predicted lower SR and S275-295 and higher a254 and SUVA trends, consistent with increasing DOC and greater allochthony. DOC concentration exhibited both significant positive and negative trends among lakes. In contrast, DOC quality exhibited trends suggesting reduced allochthony or increased degradation, with significant long-term increases in SR in three lakes. Patterns and synchrony of DOM quality parameters suggest they are more responsive to climatic variations than DOC concentration. SUVA in particular tended to increase with greater moisture and decrease with drier conditions. These results demonstrate that DOC quantity and quality can exhibit different complex long-term trends and responses to climate components, with important implications for aquatic ecosystems.
Dataset ID
329
Data Citation SuggestionJane, S., L. Winslow, C. Remucal, and K. Rose. 2017. Long-term trends and synchrony in dissolved organic matter characteristics in Wisconsin, USA lakes: quality, not quantity, is highly sensitive to climate ver 8. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/6038bd9745347610df8a51c92ca0e452. Accessed 2021-12-01. | https://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/index.php/content/long-term-trends-and-synchrony-dissolved-organic-matter-characteristics-wisconsin-usa-lakes |
Existing businesses with at least five years of historical data often rely on the results of a trend analysis in making future staffing predictions. A trend analysis allows the human resources department and the business owner to identify the main causes and issues affecting employee turnover as well as how turnover rates impact the business. Trend analysis results can help in estimating the depth and supply of skills that may be available in the future and from there make projections about future workforce requirements.
Gather Historical Data
Start by gathering detailed historical data for the previous five to 10 years. While employee turnover, years of service and new-hire retention information is the most important, you might also want to consider gathering data relating to hiring and retirement patterns, transfers and promotions. Of particular interest in the data you collect is information relating to employee demographics, education, skills qualifications and previous work experience.
Data Preparation
Organize the data by entering it into a spreadsheet. Another option is to use trend analysis software that does most of the work for you. Establish the sample by deciding on the number of years you plan to analyze, keeping in mind that the smaller the sample size is, the greater the potential for error. That's why having at least five years of data is important. Enter the number of observation periods in the first column of the spreadsheet, followed by the year, turnover data for each year and any additional quantitative and qualitative data you want to include in the trend analysis data chart. Do a cursory inspection and note the presence of any abnormal fluctuations that may be more reflective of, for example, economic conditions than normal employee turnover
Analyze Data Trends
Compare and contrast turnover rates and other employee data for differing periods of time. For example, compare data points such as the number of employees with more than one year of service in the current year against data for the same group for the previous year. Add in data details, one set of data at a time from the data you chose to include in the trend analysis. With each additional set of data, you’ll begin to identify trends such as whether employees remaining with the business had any issues in common with those who left.
Using a Trend Analysis
A trend analysis produces both quantitative and qualitative data results. While quantitative data is most useful for making staffing predictions, qualitative data is useful in a variety of ways. It can help you determine why employees leave and why they choose to stay. This information can be vital in creating employee engagement initiatives intended to increase morale, employee satisfaction and, most of all, productivity. It can also help you determine whether additional training or cross-training is necessary to expand current employees skill sets to improve retention rates.
References
Writer Bio
Based in Green Bay, Wisc., Jackie Lohrey has been writing professionally since 2009. In addition to writing web content and training manuals for small business clients and nonprofit organizations, including ERA Realtors and the Bay Area Humane Society, Lohrey also works as a finance data analyst for a global business outsourcing company. | https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/performing-trend-analysis-staffing-27667.html |
In contrast to the uniform anatomy of the cerebellar cortex, molecular and physiological studies indicate that significant differences exist between cortical regions, suggesting that the spiking activity of Purkinje cells (PCs) in different regions could also show distinct characteristics. To investigate this possibility we obtained extracellular recordings from PCs in different zebrin bands in crus IIa and vermis lobules VIII and IX in anesthetized rats in order to compare PC firing characteristics between zebrin positive (Z+) and negative (Z-) bands. In addition, we analyzed recordings from PCs in the A2 and C1 zones of several lobules in the posterior lobe, which largely contain Z+ and Z- PCs, respectively. In both datasets significant differences in simple spike (SS) activity were observed between cortical regions. Specifically, Z- and C1 PCs had higher SS firing rates than Z+ and A2 PCs, respectively. The irregularity of SS firing (as assessed by measures of interspike interval distribution) was greater in Z+ bands in both absolute and relative terms. The results regarding systematic variations in complex spike (CS) activity were less consistent, suggesting that while real differences can exist, they may be sensitive to other factors than the cortical location of the PC. However, differences in the interactions between SSs and CSs, including the post-CS pause in SSs and post-pause modulation of SSs, were also consistently observed between bands. Similar, though less strong trends were observed in the zonal recordings. These systematic variations in spontaneous firing characteristics of PCs between zebrin bands in vivo, raises the possibility that fundamental differences in information encoding exist between cerebellar cortical regions. | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/phys-pharm/people/nadia-l-cerminara/pub/34186765 |
In the UK, monitoring schemes and surveys for mammals vary markedly in methodologies, and geographical and temporal extent among species, mainly due to the specialised protocols required to detect and identify most species. In this report, we compare results from two very different current annual monitoring schemes – the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the GWCT National Gamebag Census (NGC). Both schemes cover the entire UK, have been running for at least 15 years, and provide quantitative measures of abundance for multiple species, with considerable but not complete overlap in species coverage. This makes it possible to compare both temporal and geographic patterns of abundance and to explore possibilities for combining results across the two schemes.
Resource type Publication
Topic category Environment
Reference date 2012··
Citation
Noble, D.G., Aebischer, N.J., Newson, S.E., Ewald, J.A. & Dadam, D. 2012. A comparison of trends and geographical variation in mammal abundance in the Breeding Bird Survey and the National Gamebag Census. JNCC Report No. 468, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091.
Lineage
This report covers two annual monitoring schemes for mammals, each reporting on a suite of mammal species that overlap in scheme coverage and allow patterns of temporal and spatial change to be compared. | https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/fb98ddde-e7b7-4264-bce6-a328782625ef |
Over the past decade, accelerating rates of species extinction have prompted an increasing number of studies to reduce species diversity experimentally and examine how this alters the efficiency by which communities capture resources and convert those into biomass. So far, the generality of patterns and processes observed in individual studies have been the subjects of considerable debate. Here we present a formal meta-analysis of studies that have experimentally manipulated species diversity to examine how it affects the functioning of numerous trophic groups in multiple types of ecosystem. We show that the average effect of decreasing species richness is to decrease the abundance or biomass of the focal trophic group, leading to less complete depletion of resources used by that group. At the same time, analyses reveal that the standing stock of, and resource depletion by, the most species-rich polyculture tends to be no different from that of the single most productive species used in an experiment. Of the known mechanisms that might explain these trends, results are most consistent with what is called the 'sampling effect', which occurs when diverse communities are more likely to contain and become dominated by the most productive species. Whether this mechanism is widespread in natural communities is currently controversial. Patterns we report are remarkably consistent for four different trophic groups (producers, herbivores, detritivores and predators) and two major ecosystem types (aquatic and terrestrial). Collectively, our analyses suggest that the average species loss does indeed affect the functioning of a wide variety of organisms and ecosystems, but the magnitude of these effects is ultimately determined by the identity of species that are going extinct. | https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/effects-of-biodiversity-on-the-functioning-of-trophic-groups-and- |
Learners are critical, reflective and responsive readers and/or viewers of written/signed and visual texts. They are able to draw comparisons between texts and to compare and contrast themes and issues in texts with those in the contexts in which they live and work. They identify and analyse style and tone/sign size and pace and account for their effectiveness in different texts. They are willing to challenge the assumptions and values expressed in texts.
Unit 1: Critically analyse texts produced for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts
- Reading and/or viewing strategies appropriate to the purposes for reading/viewing are adopted.
- Organisational features of texts are identified. The role of each of the features is explained in relation to usefulness in making meaning of readings and/or viewing.
- Synthesis of information from texts, and generalisation of patterns and trends, result in appropriate conclusions about purpose, audience and context.
Unit 2: Identify and explain the values, attitudes and assumptions in texts
- An understanding of surface and embedded meaning in the text is reflected in presentations of viewpoints.
- Values and views in selected texts are identified and explained in terms of the impact on meaning and target audience.
- Evidence cited from texts in defence of a position is relevant.
Unit 3: Evaluate the effects of content, language and style on readers'/viewers' responses in specific texts
- Content is outlined and its possible effects on different readers/viewers are explored.
- The impact of different writing/signing techniques on reader/viewer perspective are identified and explained in terms of the particular effect produced by each.
- The influence of specific language structures and features is analysed.
- The effect of selected production techniques in visuals is explained
- Duration: 5 Days
- Delivery: Classroom/Online
5 Day Courses: Participants will receive a SpecCon Holdings certificate upon completion of all courses. | https://speccon.co.za/short-courses/analyse-and-respond-text/ |
Moyle, Peter B., Kiernan, Joseph D., Crain, Patrick K., and Quiñones, Rebecca M.
A methodology is presented that allows systematic evaluation of climate change impacts on freshwater fishes in California (121 native fish taxa and 43 aliens). The methodology uses expert opinions of the authors and literature reviews of status and biology of the fishes to score both status of each species (“baseline vulnerability”) and likely impact of climate change (“climate change vulnerability”). Baseline and climate change vulnerability scores were highly correlated with one another and were consistent among different scorers. Native species were found to have both greater baseline and greater climate change vulnerability than alien species. Fifty percent of natives had critical or high baseline vulnerability versus none for aliens; 83 percent had critical or high climate change vulnerability versus 19 percent for aliens. Fishes with high baseline vulnerability were also likely to have highest vulnerability to climate change. These results show that predicted climate change effects on fresh water environments will dramatically change the fish fauna at all scales and at all elevations. The research team concluded that most native fishes will suffer population declines and become more restricted in their distributions; some will likely be driven to extinction, if present trends continue. Fishes requiring cold water (<22°C [72°F]) are particularly likely to go extinct. In contrast, most alien fishes will thrive, with many species likely to increase in abundance and range. However, even many aliens will ultimately be negatively affected through loss of aquatic habitats during severe droughts and stressful conditions in most waterways during summer months. On a regional scale (e.g., San Francisco Bay tributaries), vulnerability patterns follow statewide patterns and indicate the need for conservation strategies adapted to local conditions. Studies of three streams with long‐term data on fish abundance indicate that native and alien species respond in different ways to variability in stream flow, which is likely to become more variable with climate change. | http://climate.calcommons.org/bib/projected-effects-future-climates-freshwater-fishes-california |
Our approach provides data on species richness across independent gradients of land-use intensity and climate. Furthermore, by combining Malaise traps and DNA-metabarcoding, our work is not limited to single factors such as biomass measurements or assessment of single taxa to reveal drivers of insect communities. We found the lowest species richness in arable fields embedded in agricultural landscapes, and the lowest biomass in settlements embedded in urban landscapes. The effects of land-use type were independent of those of local temperatures and climate. Biomass and richness measures differed according to land-use intensity. Our study recorded a difference in insect biomass of 42% from semi-natural to urban environments, but no difference from semi-natural to agricultural environments. This appears to be in contrast with the results documented in a similar analysis6, which showed a temporal decline in insect biomass of >75% in small, protected areas surrounded by an agricultural landscape. Interestingly, in Hallmann et al.6, the few plots in semi-natural landscapes also showed a similar temporal decline as those in agricultural landscapes (Supplementary Fig. 3b). On the other hand, the variation in total BIN richness matched the magnitude of the temporal decline (~35%) determined over a decade in grasslands and forests by Seibold et al.13
The hump-shaped seasonal pattern of biomass and associated daily biomass values were in accordance with the time series of Hallmann et al.6, thus demonstrating the comparability of our space-for-time approach with approaches based on time series (Supplementary Fig. 3). However, the contrasting phenological patterns of biomass and total BIN richness after controlling for temperature are evidence that both facets of biodiversity might respond differently, with biomass more strongly driven by pure season, e.g. via plant phenology or day-length, and BIN richness more dependent on local temperature. Divergent responses of biomass variation and species richness have already been described in temporal studies of insects in freshwater systems27 and nocturnal moths in the United Kingdom19,28,29, but not in studies of terrestrial arthropods, including those recorded in comprehensive datasets of hyper-diverse orders such as Diptera and the Hymenoptera.
The positive relationships between local temperature and biomass variation and BIN richness were consistent with earlier results6,20 and can be explained (1) by the higher activity of species at higher temperatures, which increases the likelihood of trapping30 and (2) by the fact that insects are ectothermic organisms, i.e., their metabolism is enhanced by increasing temperatures, which in turn can lead to higher reproduction and survival rates and thus to larger populations31. Our additional analyses on the negative effects occurring at the highest temperatures did not provide any such indications for our three measures. Moreover, insects, and in particular many endangered insect species in Central Europe, are thermophilic32, which would explain the observed response of total BIN richness, and especially the very steep response of the richness of red-listed species, to local temperature.
Despite the positive or neutral effect of macroclimate and the consistently positive effect of local temperature on insect biomass and BIN richness, global warming can cause shifts in insect communities that threaten biodiversity in specific biomes or elevations7,8,33, by a mismatch between host plant and insect phenology34,35 or by the trait-specific responses of species to climate variations, as shown for butterflies in California33. Nevertheless, the responses of insect populations and insect diversity to climate change are poorly understood, such that clear patterns, with distinct winners and losers, can still not be discerned33. In addition, insect responses to climate change are geographically variable and likely to be disproportionally higher at higher latitudes and elevations or in hot tropical or Mediterranean areas33. However, it is precisely the large topographic variation of mountains that may offer climate pockets that act as refugia, thus allowing insects to survive during periods of extreme climatic conditions or climate variation33,36. Our study supports this possibility, by showing that the responses of total insect richness, the richness of red-listed species, and biomass to higher local temperatures in a cultivated landscape in Central Europe (mean annual temperature of ~5 to 10 °C and annual precipitation between 550 and 2000 mm) are consistently positive. A further rise in temperature, as expected in the near future, poses a high risk of pushing more insect species in our study area to their thermal limits and even to extinction37.
The clear biomass patterns which we show indicate a continuous change of biomass from forests to arable fields and further to settlements, of total BIN richness from forests to arable fields, and of red-listed species richness from forests to meadows and arable fields. This underlines the importance of forests as a backbone of insect diversity in cultivated landscapes, and particularly of forest gaps, which are rich in species within forests13,38. Our study is the first to our knowledge to directly compare forests (and forest gaps) with agricultural and urban habitats. Comparable studies using standardized insect sampling across a broad range of land-use types are rare, but data on the biomass of moths obtained by light trapping in different habitats over many decades19 are consistent with our findings and indicate a general pattern that is independent of the sampling method. At the landscape scale, we found biomass was highest in agricultural landscapes and lowest in urban landscapes, whereas red-listed richness was highest in semi-natural landscapes, followed by urban landscapes and lowest in agricultural landscapes. Although we could not confirm the negative effects of agricultural landscapes on biomass, as described by Hallmann et al.6, our results are in line with those of Seibold et al.13, who reported negative effects of surrounding arable fields on the temporal trends in grasslands in terms of species richness but not insect biomass.
The contrasting pure seasonal patterns of biomass variation and BIN richness, as well as their different responses to land use, may have methodological or biological causes. A possible methodological reason for the low partial effects of season on BIN richness during summer but high partial effects on total biomass is that high insect biomass occurs particularly during periods of high temperatures, which would have increased evaporation of the ethanol used for preservation, accelerating the degradation of DNA. Similar effects were shown for samples stored over long periods39 of time. However, in our study, the collection bottles contained sufficient amounts of ethanol such that a methodological effect due to ethanol evaporation was unlikely. Moreover, high temperatures and not the pure seasonal effect better explained the higher BIN richness in this study. A second methodological reason for the lower BIN richness is that small species are often “overlooked” in biomass-rich samples40,41,42. To avoid this problem, we divided each sample into two fractions (small and large species) and sequenced them separately. With the exclusion of these methodological reasons, the most likely explanation for our findings is a biological one related to the composition of the samples. An increase in large species in certain habitats or at a certain time of year could influence biomass but not necessarily the total number of species. However, our additional models of total biomass using the BIN richness of the most important taxonomic orders as predictors provided an important clue. Across all habitats, biomass variation was best explained by the increase in BIN richness of three species groups, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera. Of the diverse taxa Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, only the BIN richness of the latter positively affected total biomass, and it was principally the richness of the two groups with many large species (Orthoptera and Lepidoptera) driving the pure seasonal effect. This can be explained by the fact that Lepidoptera abundance peaks in July43, thus coinciding with the higher abundances of most species of hemimetabolous Orthoptera during the summer44, and therefore accounting for the purely seasonal peak of insect biomass in summer.
The contrasting responses of biomass variation and BIN richness point to differences in the respective mechanisms. Insect biomass is positively related to productivity and is thus highest in agricultural landscapes and in forests habitats embedded in agricultural landscapes managed to maximize plant productivity and continuous plant biomass45,46. Insect biomass is lowest in urban environments, where productivity is limited due to a high percentage of sealed areas without vegetation. However, insect biomass along gradients of urbanization has been poorly investigated47 such that large differences in the negative effects of urbanization on the abundances of different taxonomic groups cannot be ruled out48. Moreover, urban areas include additional potential stressors, such as light pollution, that might also negatively affect insect biomass49. In contrast to biomass, the richness of all taxa and of threatened species was relatively high in urban habitats. This was especially the case for urban habitats embedded in semi-natural landscapes, although a similar species richness may occur through the interplay of semi-natural habitats with green spaces characterized by a highly variable design and management50 as well as with the natural but also anthropogenically enhanced plant diversity of urban areas47,51,52.
The lowest BIN richness generally observed in our study, in arable fields embedded in agricultural landscapes, is consistent with the results of a recent meta-analysis of insect time series9. In that study, the temporal declines in insect populations of terrestrial invertebrates were largest in regions with generally high agricultural land-use intensity, such as Central Europe and the American Midwest. Our direct comparison of different land-use types independent of gradients of macro- and microclimate suggests that the strong declines in insect richness reported for several taxa5 are indeed driven by intensive agriculture and the associated homogenization of the landscape53, not by urban environments. To assess the significance of our two main results on biomass and species richness, however, it is necessary to consider the proportions of the land-use types in question. In our study, agricultural land comprised 48% of the area whereas settlements accounted for ~12%. Since habitat amount is a fundamental parameter for insect populations, it must also be taken into account in a country-wide strategy11.
Our finding of a lack of significant interactions between the highly significant local temperature and land use contrasts in part with the previously reported strong effects resulting from the interaction between land use and climate along the elevational gradient of the Kilimanjaro. That finding implied that land-use effects are mediated by climate, especially at high elevations17. Interaction effects between land use and climate may thus occur mainly within more extreme climates54 rather than within the temperate climate exemplified by our study region. By considering macroclimate and the directly measured local temperature and humidity as well as land use, we were able to show that pure land-use effects, when evaluated as habitat effects controlled for local temperature and humidity, strongly influence insect populations. However, despite the increasing awareness among scientists and urban planners that land use at local and landscape scales impacts not only insects but also local climate, the implications have mostly been ignored in international climate negotiations55. Trees, with the reduced local temperatures offered by their canopy layer56 and their hosting of a high species richness of insects, as shown in our study, are thus of particular importance as refuges for insect diversity in temperate zones.
By covering the full range of land-use intensities along the climate gradient of a typical cultivated region and measuring both insect biomass and total insect richness, our study’s methodology provided mechanistic insights into the changes of insect populations in areas where a meta-analysis identified the most severe population declines9. Nevertheless, additional studies should focus on biomes other than the cultivated landscapes of the temperate zone, such as cold boreal, dry Mediterranean, or hot tropical areas. Here, the different characteristics of the biome may result in land-use intensification being of less importance than climate change. In addition, the use of metabarcoding to identify all insects within a sample broadens the range for similar space-for-time studies. In contrast to well replicated, standardized time-series data that may require decades to generate the information needed to guide conservation actions, space-for-time approaches covering full gradients of land use and climate are a viable option to identify the drivers of insect decline and thus provide timely information for decision-makers; however, replications from several years should be included to take into account the effects of extreme events.
The weak effect of climate variables on insect biomass but the consistently positive effect of local temperature on biomass variation and BIN richness suggests that, at least within the climate range of our temperate study region, the recent warming that has led to higher local temperatures should promote insect biomass and species richness. However, further warming, extreme heat, and drought events may negatively affect biodiversity, although non-linear responses can be expected in other climates or across longer gradients. Moreover, the strong dependency of local temperature on land use indicates that changes in land use impact local climate conditions, such as by accelerating temperature increases in agricultural and urban regions. The contrasting responses of biomass variation and BIN richness to local and landscape-scale land use point to differential effects of shifts in land use on insect populations, with ongoing urbanization leading to a decline in biomass, and conversion to agriculture to a decline in species richness. Based on our results, we recommend that actions aimed at preventing further insect decline should focus on (1) increasing insect biomass, for example by improving “green” habitats in urban environments57 and reducing the extent of vegetation-free sealed surfaces and (2) stopping the ongoing loss of species, by adapting agri-environmental schemes and promoting habitats dominated by trees, even in urban environments. | https://eco-news.space/2021/ecology/relationship-of-insect-biomass-and-richness-with-land-use-along-a-climate-gradient/ |
A large-scale assessment of temporal trends in meta-analyses using systematic review reports from the Cochrane Library
Fanshawe TR., Shaw LF., Spence GT.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Introduction: Previous studies suggest that many systematic reviews contain meta-analyses that display temporal trends, such as the first study's result being more extreme than later studies' or a drift in the pooled estimate. We assessed the extent and characteristics of temporal trends using all Cochrane intervention reports published 2008-2012. Methods: We selected the largest meta-analysis within each report and analysed trends using methods including a Z-test (first versus subsequent estimates); generalised least squares; and cumulative sum charts. Predictors considered include meta-analysis size and review group. Results: Of 1288 meta-analyses containing at least 4 studies, the point estimate from the first study was more extreme and in the same direction as the pooled estimate in 738 (57%), with a statistically significant difference (first versus subsequent) in 165 (13%). Generalised least squares indicated trends in 717 (56%); 18% of fixed effects analyses had at least one violation of cumulative sum limits. For some methods, meta-analysis size was associated with temporal patterns and use of a random effects model, but there was no consistent association with review group. Conclusions: All results suggest that more meta-analyses demonstrate temporal patterns than would be expected by chance. Hence, assuming the standard meta-analysis model without temporal trend is sometimes inappropriate. Factors associated with trends are likely to be context specific. | https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/publications/680723 |
The Maasai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. With two field offices in the Mara, the Michgan State University based Kay E. Holekamp Lab studies the behavior and physiology of this predator, as well as doing comparison studies between large predators in the Mara Triangle and their counterparts in the eastern part of the Mara.
Since 2008, Amanda Subalusky and Chris Dutton have been working in the Mara River Basin to help develop a trans-boundary river basin management plan between Kenya and Tanzania. In 2010, they had completed a flow assessment for the river to identify the river flows that are required to sustain the ecosytem and the basic needs of 1 million people who depend on its water.
The Mara Predator Project also operates in the Masai Mara, cataloging and monitoring lion populations throughout the region. Concentrating on the northern conservancies where communities coexist with wildlife, the project aims to identify population trends and responses to changes in land management, human settlements, livestock movements and tourism. Sara Blackburn, the project manager, works in partnership with a number of lodges in the region by training guides to identify lions and report sightings. Guests are also encouraged to participate in the project by photographing lions seen on game drives. An online data base of individual Lions is openly accessible, and features information on project participants and focus areas.
Since October 2012, the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project (http://marameru.org/en/) is working in the Mara monitoring cheetah population, estimating population status and dynamics, and evaluating the predator impact and human activity on cheetah behavior and survival. The head of the Project, Dr. Elena Chelysheva, was working in 2001-2002 as Assistant Researcher at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Maasai-Mara Cheetah Conservation Project. At that time, she developed original method of cheetah identification based on visual analysis of the unique spot patterns on front limbs (from toes to shoulder) and hind limbs (from toes to the hip), and spots and rings on the tail (Cat News #41, 2004 http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/01_information/1_3_periodical-reports/cat-news/cat-news.htm). Collected over the years, photographic data allows the Project team tracing kinship between generations and building Mara Cheetah Pedigree. The data collected helps to reveal parental relationship between individuals, survival rate of cubs, cheetah lifespan and personal reproductive history. This work has never been done before and the team is sharing results with the Mara stakeholders and respondents. The ongoing research is a follow-up study, which will compare results with the previous one in terms of cheetah population status and effect of human activity on cheetah behavior and surviving. The project is working in affiliation with Kenya Wildlife Service, Narok and Transmara County Councils and with assistance of Coordinator of Maasai-Mara Cultural Village Tour Association (MMCVTA). The team is cooperating with Mara Hyena Project and working with managers and driver-guides from over 30 different Mara camps and lodges. Rangers and driver/guides are trained cheetah identification techniques and provided with Catalogues of the Mara cheetahs. | https://www.howephotography.co.uk/gallery/africa/maasai-mara-2016-photographic-safaris/ |
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In the frame of the COST ACTION ‘EMBOS’ (Development and implementation of a pan-European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System), coverage of intertidal macroalgae was estimated at a range of marine stations along the European coastline (Subarctic, Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean). Based on these data, we tested whether patterns in macroalgal diversity and distribution along European intertidal rocky shores could be explained by a set of meteo-oceanographic variables. The variables considered were salinity, sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, significant wave height and tidal range and were compiled from three different sources: remote sensing, reanalysis technique and in situ measurement. These variables were parameterized to represent average conditions (mean values), variability (standard deviation) and extreme events (minimum and maximum values). The results obtained in this study contribute to reinforce the EMBOS network approach and highlight the necessity of considering meteo-oceanographic variables in long-term assessments. The broad spatial distribution of pilot sites has allowed identification of latitudinal and longitudinal gradients manifested through species composition, diversity and dominance structure of intertidal macroalgae. These patterns follow a latitudinal gradient mainly explained by sea surface temperature, but also by photosynthetically active radiation, salinity and tidal range. Additionally, a longitudinal gradient was also detected and could be linked to wave height.
Examining how variability in population abundance and distribution is allotted among different spatial scales can inform of processes that are likely to generate that variability. Results of studies dealing with scale issues in marine benthic communities suggest that variability is concentrated at small spatial scales (from tens of centimetres to few metres) and that spatial patterns of variation are consistent across ecosystems characterized by contrasting physical and biotic conditions, but this has not been formally tested. Here we quantified the variability in the distribution of intertidal rocky shore communities at a range of spatial scales, from tens of centimetres to thousands of kilometres, both in the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and tested whether the observed patterns differed between the two basins. We focused on canopy-forming macroalgae and associated understorey assemblages in the low intertidal, and on the distribution of Patella limpets at mid intertidal levels. Our results highlight that patterns of spatial variation, at each scale investigated, were consistent between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, suggesting that similar ecological processes operate in these regions. In contrast with former studies, variability in canopy cover, species richness and limpet abundance was equally distributed among spatial scales, possibly reflecting the fingerprint of multiple processes. Variability in community structure of low intertidal assemblages, instead, peaked at the largest scale, suggesting that oceanographic processes and climatic gradients may be important. We conclude that formal comparisons of variability across scales nested in contrasting systems are needed, before any generalization on patterns and processes can be made.
Coastal ecosystems are highly complex and driven by multiple environmental factors. To date we lack scientific evidence for the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic drivers for the majority of marine habitats in order to adequately assess the role of different stressors across the European seas. Such relationship can be investigated by analysing the correlation between environmental variables and biotic patterns in multivariate space and taking into account non-linearities. Within the framework of the EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) programme, hard bottom intertidal communities were sampled in a standardized way across European seas. Links between key natural and anthropogenic drivers and hard bottom communities were analysed using Boosted Regression Trees modelling. The study identified strong interregional variability and showed that patterns of hard bottom macroalgal and invertebrate communities were primarily a function of tidal regime, nutrient loading and water temperature (anomalies). The strength and shape of functional form relationships varied widely however among types of organisms (understorey algae composing mostly filamentous species, canopy-forming algae or sessile invertebrates) and aggregated community variables (cover or richness). Tidal regime significantly modulated the effect of nutrient load on the cover and richness of understorey algae and sessile invertebrates. In contrast, hydroclimate was more important for canopy algae and temperature anomalies and hydroclimate separately or interactively contributed to the observed patterns. The analyses also suggested that climate-induced shifts in weather patterns may result in the loss of algal richness and thereby in the loss of functional diversity in European hard bottom intertidal areas.
Within the COST action EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) the degree and variation of the diversity and densities of soft-bottom communities from the lower intertidal or the shallow subtidal was measured at 28 marine sites along the European coastline (Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean) using jointly agreed and harmonized protocols, tools and indicators. The hypothesis tested was that the diversity for all taxonomic groups would decrease with increasing latitude. The EMBOS system delivered accurate and comparable data on the diversity and densities of the soft sediment macrozoobenthic community over a large-scale gradient along the European coastline. In contrast to general biogeographic theory, species diversity showed no linear relationship with latitude, yet a bell-shaped relation was found. The diversity and densities of benthos were mostly positively correlated with environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, mud and organic matter content in sediment, or wave height, and related with location characteristics such as system type (lagoons, estuaries, open coast) or stratum (intertidal, subtidal). For some relationships, a maximum (e.g. temperature from 15–20°C; mud content of sediment around 40%) or bimodal curve (e.g. salinity) was found. In lagoons the densities were twice higher than in other locations, and at open coasts the diversity was much lower than in other locations. We conclude that latitudinal trends and regional differences in diversity and densities are strongly influenced by, i.e. merely the result of, particular sets and ranges of environmental factors and location characteristics specific to certain areas, such as the Baltic, with typical salinity clines (favouring insects) and the Mediterranean, with higher temperatures (favouring crustaceans). Therefore, eventual trends with latitude are primarily indirect and so can be overcome by local variation of environmental factors.
The degree of development and operability of the indicators for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) using Descriptor 1 (D1) Biological Diversity was assessed. To this end, an overview of the relevance and degree of operability of the underlying parameters across 20 European countries was compiled by analysing national directives, legislation, regulations, and publicly available reports. Marked differences were found between countries in the degree of ecological relevance as well as in the degree of implementation and operability of the parameters chosen to indicate biological diversity. The best scoring EU countries were France, Germany, Greece and Spain, while the worst scoring countries were Italy and Slovenia. No country achieved maximum scores for the implementation of MSFD D1. The non-EU countries Norway and Turkey score as highly as the top-scoring EU countries. On the positive side, the chosen parameters for D1 indicators were generally identified as being an ecologically relevant reflection of Biological Diversity. On the negative side however, less than half of the chosen parameters are currently operational. It appears that at a pan-European level, no consistent and harmonized approach currently exists for the description and assessment of marine biological diversity. The implementation of the MSFD Descriptor 1 for Europe as a whole can therefore at best be marked as moderately successful.
In September 2014 a group of 130 marine biologists from 26 countries assembled in the 49th European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS) held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The EMBS is a series of annual conferences providing presentations and dialogue in a fairly informal atmosphere – the perfect conditions for encouraging interactions on state-of-art issues in marine science in Europe and beyond. The 49th symposium, organized by the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, included four keynote lectures, 65 oral presentations and 92 poster contributions under the overarching theme ‘A variety of interactions in the marine environment’.
The genetic diversity of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria from seven locations in Europe (two stations in the southern Baltic Sea (the Gulf of Gdansk) and two in the North Sea (Veerse Meer and Oosterschelde), and three additional stations in the Denmark Straits and Bay of Biscay) was determined using starch gel electrophoresis of allozymes. The results showed a low level of genetic variability and a lack of genetic differentation among the populations studied. Basic polymorphism characteristics calculated for populations from the North Sea estuaries and the Gulf of Gdansk were: He 0·094–0·145, Ho 0·092–0·130, percentage of polymorphic loci 33 (0·95 criterion), mean number of alleles per locus 2·0–2·7. The mean value of FST was 0·0133 and not significant. It is concluded that in spite of a low level of genetic polymorphism the soft-shell clam is a successful colonizer. The genetic homogeneity among the populations reflects rapid population extension, alleles neutrality and a high gene flow.
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection. | https://www.cambridge.org/core/search?filters%5BauthorTerms%5D=Herman%20Hummel&eventCode=SE-AU |
National Cyber Security Alliance Recognizes the Clearinghouse as a Data Privacy Day Champion
Did you know that the ninth annual Data Privacy Day was held on January 28? If you work at the Clearinghouse, you did!
The National Student Clearinghouse was one of more than 450 organizations recognized as a “Data Privacy Day Champion” by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) for its work to raise awareness of the importance of privacy. NSCA sponsors Data Privacy Day to educate individuals on how to protect their personal information, and help organizations understand how good data privacy practices protect their customers and users.
The Clearinghouse’s legal department developed a successful internal awareness campaign that reflected the day’s theme of “Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust.” As part of its own “Data Privacy Week 2017,” Clearinghouse employees were provided with a full week of training and information on its privacy policies, compliance, and more.
The Clearinghouse efforts as part of the most successful Data Privacy Day to date were cited in NCSA’s Data Privacy Day 2017 impact report.
“This recognition among our peers in the data privacy space highlights our company’s strong commitment to privacy and the protection of PII entrusted to the Clearinghouse by our clients,” said Mary Chapin, Chief Legal Officer at the Clearinghouse.
Additional Resources: | https://studentclearinghouse.org/nscblog/national-cyber-security-alliance-recognizes-the-clearinghouse-as-a-data-privacy-day-champion/ |
THE Business Secretary, Vince Cable, recently announced that he has launched new measures to “develop the UK’s intellectual property landscape” which should bring tangible benefits for businesses.
The measures are in response to the Hargreaves Report, published last May, which recommended a reform of copyright laws. It is thought that these reforms could add as much as £7.5billion to the economy. The programme will be managed by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) – the Government body responsible for granting intellectual property rights in the UK, including patents, trade marks, and copyright – and will work to raise awareness amongst consumers, support business innovation, and clamp down on copyright infringement.
The measures include a new, superfast patent processing service that will take just 90 days – as opposed to the usual three to five years – and a faster trademarks examination service which will deliver a full report in five days instead of 10. The IPO’s role will also expand from simply granting rights to supporting businesses in understanding growth opportunities.
On announcing the programme, Vince Cable said that there will be further strengthening of the IPO’s intellectual property attaché network, which places a business attaché in challenging overseas markets to help British businesses and to encourage improvements to Britain’s intellectual property environment.
The IPO will also work to educate small businesses in getting the most value from their innovations, and will pilot an intellectual property advisory service for small and medium firms with high-growth potential.
A campaign to be launched this spring will also work to raise awareness among consumers of the importance of intellectual property. Vince Cable said this activity would in particular focus on young people to educate them about their responsibilities in downloading materials and also protecting their own ideas.
In a further attempt to tackle counterfeiting, the City of London police will set up a dedicated intellectual property crime unit that will target illegal downloaders.
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: : Paul Whittingham is a partner and head of business services at regional law firm Ashton KCJ.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We would advise you to seek professional advice before acting on this information.
Ashton KCJ is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (Recognised Body number 45826). | https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/business-law-copyright-reform-offers-benefits-for-businesses-says-paul-2073412 |
ABU DHABI – Abu Dhabi’s DOH and Abu Dhabi Public Health Center scooped eight prestigious awards at the 9th Annual Awards as part of the Globee Business Awards for mounting excellent COVID-19 pandemic response.
The Department of Health -Abu Dhabi is the governing body of the Healthcare Sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, ensuring excellence in healthcare for the community by monitoring population health.
The awards were given in recognition of the UAE’s outstanding response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emirate’s strategy was to raise awareness and use digital solutions to control the pandemic’s impact on the health and safety of the community.
Abu Dhabi set an excellent example in raising awareness among its community, which is made up of citizens and residents from over 200 nationalities – Abu Dhabi, in particular, was able to for all intents and purposes employ the most advanced technologies in its efforts to halt the spread of the pandemic, which is quite significant.
In its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Abu Dhabi essentially ranked above several cities all over the world due to measures that aided in the city’s rapid and effective response to the pandemic.
Abu Dhabi’srobust response to the pandemic ensured that the UAE nation maintained a low positivity rates and one of the world’s lowest mortality rates per capita while adapting and scaling up healthcare provision to protect every member of society.
Accordingly, COVID-19-related mortality rates in Abu Dhabi are among the very best in the world.
As a result of these measures, the community’s health and safety were protected, while an open and competitive economy was maintained.
H.E. Abdullah bin Mohamed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, was named Best CEO of the year 2021. H.E Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, received the Gold award for “Executive Hero of the Year, 2021” for his leadership and efforts in the health sector in response to the emirate’s COVID-19 pandemic.
Al Hamed was able to bring all teams together in order to provide high-quality integrated healthcare services to more than 3 million people in the UAE.
He highlighted, “These awards come as a direct reflection of the continuous support from the UAE’s leadership to enhance the healthcare sector and ensure that it is fully equipped to be able to respond efficiently and successfully to any challenges.”
The CEO World Awards honor the accomplishments of leaders, executives, and their management teams who are responsible for the year’s most outstanding initiatives and achievements.
Chief Executive Officers, are in charge of developing the organization’s short and long-term strategies. Individuals and teams who set industry standards for excellence are recognized in this annual awards program. | https://www.healthcareafrica.info/abu-dhabis-doh-wins-8-globee-business-awards-for-outstanding-covid-19-pandemic-response/ |
With a population whose lifestyle changes, health-related behaviors, and general circumstances develop potential health risks – the UAE is scaling up its healthcare delivery with its smart health objectives.
The UAE’s rapid expansion and economic growth over the last decades have provided several benefits and security to its people. However, alongside these advantages, the significant transformation has resulted in a wide range of continuing public health concerns and long-term issues for the health sector. Aside from these health challenges, there is a need to strengthen the UAE’s healthcare sector to survive the potential shock of emerging health concerns. The UAE has only a few cases of COVID-19 patients, but realities gained in areas including the necessity for every nation’s healthcare system to be proactive, responsive, adaptive, and resilient.
According to a report, most healthcare and services (HHS) organizations in the UAE intend to boost their investments in digital technology and data solutions after “identifying their value and increasing significance during the COVID-19 outbreak.” The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has unveiled plans to “expand” its use of smart health technology, beginning with remote patient monitoring.
Emerging Technologies Shaping Healthcare Delivery in the UAE
Healthcare business strategists and executives of government health institutions are increasingly looking to digital technologies to provide a better, faster, and more responsive approach. Long-term national strategies are aimed at enabling smart city living. And the UAE expects its healthcare sector to be among the most innovative in the world, working alongside key smart infrastructure elements to provide the best possible healthcare outcomes for its residents and tourists. Each of these innovations will play an essential part in the future of healthcare delivery in the UAE.
- Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality – These provide highly sought-after technologies in training and patient involvement.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – This is a technological breakthrough capable of optimizing a wide range of healthcare activities, from patient data gathering to telemedicine, record keeping, medication dispensing and diagnosis, and actual medical procedures.
- Robotics – As robots get more advanced, they appear in hospitals and clinics as drug dispensers, custodians, and patient care platforms. And they are being used to support surgery, increasing the control and skills of human surgeons.
- Blockchain – Because blockchain-based databases are immutable and decentralized, they are a great fit for private health records, where privacy and security are critical.
- Drones – While smart city transportation systems are expected to advance over current networks, drones have the potential to be indispensable for providing fast and dependable deliveries of critical medical supplies, regardless of traffic conditions.
UAE Healthcare Initiatives Promoting Smart Health Delivery
Recently, the country has taken the lead in adopting digital technologies and data solutions. The UAE is reported to have scaled-up technology rapidly due to technological infrastructure and investments in cutting-edge technology.
For instance, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has developed a new data storage system that employs blockchain technology to secure all health-related data, pharmaceutical government and private facilities, health practitioners, and prescription information. It claims that it will significantly improve the security and privacy of all health records while minimizing citizens’ waiting time for appropriate health facilities and services.
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has also built an augmented reality technology that allows UAE doctors to provide ‘hands-on’ virtual help in real-time, no matter where they are. The DHA will continue prioritizing smart technology research, innovation, and deployment across all healthcare delivery and management. At the same time, the organization will maintain its focus on medical education and healthcare specializations. DHA intends to use smart technologies at its healthcare centers to support its in-home healthcare initiatives, which aim to empower patients, keep them on track with their health, and aid in early diagnosis. It would also assist healthcare providers in UAE by giving crucial patient data to enable regular follow-up and improved patient compliance.
Obtaining smart health in UAE will bring life-saving benefits of improving preventive health services, building resilience within health centers, and shortening response and reaction time to all emergency situations using the new technologies discussed. As the UAE implements a broader and more integrated variety of smart health measures and solutions, their synergies will have an even greater impact on public health levels, providing everyone with improved healthcare information, security, access, and support. | https://alleanzagroup.com/uaes-smart-health-healthcare-delivery-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-it/ |
Senior doctors from the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH), a national Hajj/Umrah specific organisation working for the welfare and wellbeing of pilgrims, have issued a warning to prospective pilgrims to safeguard their health from the risk of deadly infectious diseases.
Over two million prospective Hajj pilgrims from around the world will converge at Makkah, Saudi Arabia next month for the Hajj pilgrimage. Pilgrims have always been at high risk of contracting infectious diseases due to the close proximity with millions of people during the pilgrimage, especially at ceremonies and while sharing accommodation and public transport. The infectious diseases can be transmitted through direct person-to-person contact via droplets, nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals. Close and prolonged contact with infected individuals (e.g. sneezing and coughing on someone, sharing an affected person’s used utensils) facilitates the spread of infection. Elderly and sick pilgrims suffering from chronic diseases (i.e. lungs, heart, kidney, liver, and diabetes), children, pregnant women, and those with immune deficiency are at a higher risk of catching infectious diseases.
Senior doctors from the ABH remind the pilgrims with diabetes and other chronic illnesses about the increased risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) due to excessive physical activities being undertaken amongst a large crowded environment. Heat and fatigue will be a great risk specifically to elderly, sick and frail people as temperatures in Makkah are expected to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius during the Hajj period. They need to protect themselves from the sun, dehydration, exhaustion, foot problems, respiratory and bronchial illnesses, and they should wear special socks to avoid foot injuries and frictions. Pilgrims on medication need to take an adequate supply of medicines with them.
Regrettably, many countries are not taking the issue of their pilgrims’ health seriously. Initiatives to educate prospective pilgrims about preventative measures to avoid contracting these diseases are not being implemented vigorously. Due to the lack of awareness of this life-saving information, a vast majority of Hajj pilgrims are at a high risk of contracting infectious diseases.
All efforts should be made to implement the directives issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in which member countries are required to raise awareness amongst the prospective pilgrims of the risks of contracting the deadly and lethal infectious diseases, and the measures they should take to protect themselves.
‘This awareness is also extremely important in eliminating the risk of the spread of these deadly infectious diseases worldwide once the pilgrims return to their home countries,’ said senior doctors from the ABH, in a joint statement. | https://www.abhuk.com/hajj-pilgrims-at-high-risk-of-contracting-deadly-infectious-diseases-warn-senior-doctors/ |
At Symphony, we’re on a mission to help people communicate, collaborate and enjoy their work. Our secure messaging and meetings platform is changing the way people do business in information sensitive industries. Our customers are fast-paced, and rely on Symphony to keep up, while ensuring complete data privacy and information security.
The Information Security team at Symphony has an eye for the intersection of security, compliance, risk management, and business opportunity. We are seeking a passionate and experienced Information Security Engineer to support our commitment to security, by providing security expertise around the architecture and design of cloud assets.
You will design and develop cloud security guidance, perform secure design reviews and contribute to security awareness initiatives that educate our Product Managers and Engineers on building systems that delight our Customers, and are also compliant & meet global security standards. This role reports to the Senior Director of Information Security and is a critical part of Symphony’s Security Program, to help protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information assets across our internal corporate and Customer environments.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Consult with Product and Engineering teams on security solutions to protect the Symphony Platform, with a focus on cloud & infrastructure security
- Perform security reviews, threat modeling for critical Symphony Platform or corporate architecture
- Design and document cloud & infrastructure security guidance for Symphony’s Security risk, compliance, and policy initiatives
- Provide security expertise in the analysis and remediation phases of security events, vulnerabilities, and incidents
- Evangelize security within Symphony, support cloud & infrastructure Security Education Training and Awareness campaigns
- Collaborate with colleagues at all levels of the organization, across all business and technology functions
- Track, triage and schedule component vulnerabilities identified across IT and Cloud infrastructures
- Analyze, identify improvements, and optimize team processes
- Cross-train with team members on all other Information Security initiatives such as general Vulnerability Management, Security Reviews, Security Policy Compliance & Awareness, Customer Engagement & Security Certifications (e.g., SOC 2 / 3)
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Passion for security, team player, creative self-starter who enjoys new challenges
- Experience with Cloud applications (AWS, Google Cloud)
- Excellent listener, with strong verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to communicate complicated security, compliance and technical topics in simple terms
- 3+ years proven experience of combined security and\or IT work experience in a position focused primarily on cloud & infrastructure security
- Knowledge of Information Security standards and secure cloud architecture best practices
- Experience with conducting cloud vulnerability and security assessments a must; network, operating system, database and/or vulnerability assessments and security configuration/hardening audits
- Nice to have:
- AWS Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Security, GCP Cloud Engineer or GCP Cloud Security Engineer
- Java development background
- Python and/or other scripting abilities
- CEH or OSCP certification
- Experience with collaboration tools, mobile applications (iOS or Android) and voice/video
ABOUT SYMPHONY:
Symphony offers a secure team collaboration platform that transforms the way users communicate effectively and securely with a single workflow application. Forging a new path in the industry, Symphony is designed to help individuals, teams, and organizations of all sizes improve productivity while meeting complex data security and regulatory compliance needs. Symphony was founded in October 2014 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, with offices in Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Sophia-Antipolis, Stockholm and Tokyo.
Symphony has raised roughly $460 million from the world’s largest financial institutions and recognized investors such as Bank of America - Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Wells Fargo, UBS, Société Générale as well as Google.
We’re looking for top-notch talent to join our team to help us change the way the world communicates. If you have the skills and savvy to work with a world-class team and an appetite for game-changing disruption, we want to hear from you!
BENEFITS AND PERKS*:
- Regional specific competitive benefits
- Build your own Benefits (BYOB) perk
- Fully stocked kitchen and catered or reimbursed lunches
- Many other fun and exciting benefits and activities!
COMPENSATION:
- Competitive salary
- Bonus Plan
*Benefits and Perks vary based on location.
Symphony reserves the right of ownership for all unsolicited resumes submitted for this requisition and is not responsible for any fees associated with unsolicited resumes.
Any information provided to us will be processed by Symphony in compliance with applicable data privacy laws and regulations, including but not limited to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). Please refer to our Candidate Portal Policy attached for further information about how Symphony processes your personal data, Symphony’s legal basis for such processing, and the rights that you have with respect to your personal data that Symphony processes. For any questions you may have in this regard, please contact [email protected]. | https://www.themuse.com/jobs/symphony/information-security-engineer-cloud-security-e3cb4d |
By: Linda Coniglio, Director of Data Privacy and Information Governance | Innovative Discovery
Fact: 68% of business leaders feel their cybersecurity risks are increasing. It goes without saying, then, that if data privacy and security have been on your mind, or a more frequent topic of discussion at your organization, you’re not alone.
Data Privacy Day is about raising awareness
Many executives, managers, and other leaders have questions about the privacy regulatory landscape. To help answer those questions and raise awareness about Data Privacy issues, Data Privacy Day is an annual event taking place on January 28th. It aims to educate and empower individuals and organizations to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust.
Key objectives about data privacy law
At Innovative Discovery, we track the many laws, regulations and standards that impact the way our organizations collect, store, protect and govern corporate data. Not everyone needs to be privacy or security experts, but everyone needs to know and do enough to understand and apply these laws and underlying principles to daily work activities. Here’s a high-level overview of major privacy regulation objectives:
- Individuals have the legal right to control their data and take recourse if companies don’t respect those rights. The protection of Personal Information (PI) from internal and external bad actors is paramount for organizations and their vendors.
- Individuals must be notified in simple-to-understand text when their data is being collected, for what purposes it is used and with whom it is shared or sold. Individuals must be given a simple, convenient way to opt-out. However, some laws specify opt-in is the requirement.
- Employees must be trained to reduce risk involved when governing personally identifiable information of both customers and employees. Understanding and respecting privacy helps earn customer trust and avoid penalties.
Being proactive
Finally, we are really at the beginning of a data privacy regulation wave, so-to-speak. The big kahuna of privacy regulations starts with the European Union and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation is widely considered the global standard for privacy protection and is many times the starting point for laws in the US and other countries. For example, in the US, the California Consumer Protection Act went into effect January 1st, 2020.
As with any other significant regulatory or industry change, it’s better to stay in front of the wave with a proactive plan, rather than being reactionary to the consequences of a violation or breach. Whether you’re ready to implement change now or later, the following information can serve as a guide and plan to setting you and your organization up for success! Learn more about data privacy law compliance. | https://www.id-edd.com/data-privacy-day-2/ |
Smart cities should, ideally, work as a well-oiled clock, but we’re still far, far away from that.
First of all, smart cities are still being built, one siloed segment at a time, and it will take decades to set up a well-functioning, harmonious whole. Secondly, there are many, many operational, cybersecurity and privacy issues to be solved in the process.
“To achieve a true smart city and improve the quality of life for citizens, it should be a citywide effort. This entails sharing data for collaboration and coordination between previously disconnected people and organizations, including both public and private entities,” says Jack Williams, Director of Industry & Portfolio Marketing at the Safety & Infrastructure division of Hexagon, a multinational supplier of smart cities software, sensors, and other technology.
“Take for example a water main break. When this occurs, many organizations across a city must be informed and involved: the port authority reroutes public transportation, the department of transportation shuts down roads, water utilities implement crisis procedures, the list goes on. By sharing information in one place between all organizations, response can be improved, and impact can be reduced on resources, citizens, and the community.”
In this interview, Williams talks about cybersecurity challenges for smart cities and possible solutions.
What are the key cybersecurity challenges for smart cities? What is “the weakest link”?
Data governance, data ownership, and privacy concerns are the key challenges for any smart city project.
Historically, data-sharing initiatives have been one-way streets with a central entity capturing most of the value and others being limited to a specific type of data or workflow. That’s because cities, regions, and organizations, understandably, don’t want to risk losing ownership and control of their data. Additionally, there are a host of liability and security concerns when it comes to sharing data. For example, is the data placed in a big central repository, or does it come straight from the source? What information is retained by the smart city entity, if any? What audit trail capabilities are available?
These fears lead to siloed workflows where only a select few are privy to vital information and cause organizations to worry about uncontrolled access and data copied or used out of context. Users need a system in which they maintain ownership and control of their data. It’s imperative that each participant be able to decide how and when data is shared, who has access to it, and where it lives.
In terms of the weakest link, as with any system, it’s the human element. Any cybersecurity expert would agree. Providing adequate training to administrators of the data or entities providing data, incorporating checks and balances for data access (2FA, encryption, etc.), and eliminating single points of failure are just some examples of the steps organizations can take to address cybersecurity challenges when sharing data with others.
Are local governments demanding better security? Is awareness of cybersecurity best practices top-of-mind in the community (i.e., smart city vendors and policy makers)?
Data privacy and fear of “big brother” surveillance of citizens and private organizations is a major concern. It oftentimes stands in the way of creating the ecosystem of partners necessary to enable a truly smart city.
However, when you peel back the onion, a lot of times the issue can be resolved through transparency on how data is used, taking extra steps to protect privacy, like incorporating anonymization techniques to protect personally identifiable information (PII), and using best-of-breed cybersecurity policies and solutions that come with native SaaS solutions (e.g., Microsoft’s Azure GovCloud).
Smart cities depend on huge amounts of data shared between departments/agencies, and much of it is sensitive. How should those in charge make sure that this data is protected at all times, against hacking, accidental sharing, and so on?
First, entities sharing data should take responsibility and ownership of what is shared from their source systems. Second, constraint-based sharing rules should be defined at both the “edge” (the source system; on-site) and the application level (the smart city collaboration workspace) to ensure that the data is properly filtered/anonymized and only shared with whom you want, when you want, and how you want. This multi-agent, constraint-based sharing approach provides multiple levels of security to help mitigate potential security issues and ensures compliance with privacy standards (such as GDPR).
Additionally, sharing data with no granular controls can lead to security breaches and clog the UI with unnecessary data that is not useful to other participants in the space. Users need to set rules for what data they share and with whom. However, as events unfold, users should be able to quickly change rules to restrict or grant access to their data. But there should be strict guidelines and policies in place to guide this action.
What are some examples of the wrong approach to securing data in smart cities projects that you’ve witnessed?
Some smart city collaboration approaches (aka interoperability or data sharing initiatives) architect their solutions whereby all the data is stored in a central repository. This is a huge data governance and liability issue for cities and regions trying to establish such initiatives.
Additionally, projects that follow the “forced cooperation” approach, where one single entity is in control of the whole system, are almost always destined to fail. Instead, projects should take a “true collaboration” approach where people and entities choose how they want to engage, with whom they want to engage, and what information they want to share. Having these parameters can prevent a lack of trust from stakeholders and gives control to all participants. A neutral, cloud-based collaboration workspace helps to break down the political and people barriers that derail projects before they get off the ground.
What are some current good approaches to securing the data smart cities depend on?
Start small and build out. It takes an ecosystem of citizens, public and private entities, and NGOs to create a smart city, but it doesn’t happen all at once.
Starting with too many players can be overwhelming and make the scope of integrations too complex. Instead, begin with a small group of organizations, or even a specific city department as there are many sub-departments that often don’t communicate, to build out the proof of concept. By doing so, you can develop champions within organizations who can establish a vision and effectively message the benefits to others to bring them onboard.
Secondly, as I mentioned before, leave participants in charge of their own data. Organizations need to have full control over when and how data is shared and who has access to it.
How do we keep smart cities’ data safe while also preserving the functionality and collaborative benefits of what that data is to be used for?
This is where cloud solutions can help. A cloud-based subscription service that treats data on a “need to know,” or more specifically, “need to use”-only basis gets you up and running in a matter of weeks and gives stakeholders full ownership and control of their data in a workspace where they set their own rules for engagement. Instead of publishing or allowing others to download data, users can access information from the source. Each organization retains ownership and control of its data and who can use it. There is also less risk of uncontrolled copies or information used out of context.
Accountability is another major factor because harnessing data comes with the challenge of protecting citizens’ privacy. To overcome this challenge, data inputs should be depersonalized. There should be defined parameters set and recorded by an agreed human-led process with an individual signing off and being accountable.
Lastly, cities must be transparent with citizens about all projects and the data involved, giving residents a chance to provide feedback and concerns. | https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/06/07/data-sharing-smart-city/ |
Utkarsh Welfare Foundation’s health initiatives are intended to provide free Primary Health Services and awareness to the low income households in the targeted geographies. Outpatient diagnostic services with free medicine are being provided as a part of the initiative. Program is implemented in collaboration with select hospitals, ensuring quality health service under the strict supervision of healthcare professionals and practitioners.
Total outreach under this initiative since inception has been 2,56,582 beneficiaries as on Dec 31, 2019.
Regular Polyclinic
Regular Polyclinics are organized in collaboration with Ramakrishna Sewashram Hospital, Mirzapur and GV Meditech Group, Varanasi. Currently, the program is organized in five districts of Uttar Pradesh (Allahabad, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi).
The total outreach under Regular Polyclinic has been 90,505 beneficiaries.
Mobile Van Polyclinic
Mobile Polyclinics are organized to ensure that the benefits of health initiatives reaches to more number of patients. Mobile Vans equipped with professional medical practitioners and medicines covers the targeted geography.
The total outreach under Mobile Van Polyclinic since inception has been 1,49,820 beneficiaries.
Health Awareness
In addition to the regular and medical mobile van polyclinics; a class-room training on Health awareness program has been started. The objective of health awareness program is aligned with the concept “Prevention is better than cure” and aims to:
- Raise awareness on the various aspects of preventive healthcare measures;
- Educate the target group on information to identify and prevent common diseases;
- Raise awareness on the nutritional needs of young children and mother;
- Build capacity within the community to handle local health issues effectively;
- Promote overall good health of the local community. | https://www.utkarshcoreinvest.com/index.php/CSR/Activities |
UNITED NATIONS WORLD POPULATION DAY – JULY 11
Every year, 11 July is known as World Population Day. The United Nations (UN) celebrates World Population Day every year to reaffirm the human right to plan a family. It promotes activities, events and information around the world to help make this right a reality. You may not have heard of such a day before, but it has been celebrated for almost three decades. The goal of the day is to focus on the importance of demographic issues to the world.
The Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program recommended that it be introduced in 1989. This special day was inspired by the interest of “” on 11 July 1987. It was the day when the world’s population reached 5 billion. “Family planning is a human right” and will be the focus of the 2018 celebration.
The main objective of this initiative is to raise awareness among people about reproductive health issues. This is because many pregnant women suffer from poor reproductive health.
World Population Day, by and large, focuses on the need and importance of controlling the growing world population.
It is the celebration of consciousness; one that tries to get people to know about demographic issues. Population topics include family planning, human rights, right to health, child health, gender equality, child marriage, contraception, sex education and knowledge of sexually transmitted disease.
WORLD POPULATION DAY HISTORY
In 1987, there was a program called “Five Billion Days“, which identified a human population of over 5 billion. Since then, the United Nations Development Program has been working to anticipate, support and offset the needs of a rapidly growing population.
The population was perceived to be out of control, and there was widespread awareness of the need for family planning, ways to alleviate poverty and ensure proper maternal health.
The ongoing difficulty in supporting our current population is already causing serious crimes in the area of human rights and gender equality. As more people come to a world that already does a poor job of caring for their citizens, more of them are victims of human rights violations such as human trafficking and child labor.
World Population Day reminds us that we are part of a growing world and there is a need for a better future for all of us.
INFORMATION ABOUT WORLD POPULATION DAY
World Population Day was established by the UND Program. The reason for its creation was to raise awareness about global demographic issues. The day aims to raise public awareness on various demographic issues including human rights, maternal health, poverty, gender equality and the importance of family planning.
To understand why World Population Day is so important, you need to understand what human overtones are and why it is an important issue. There are many people near the environment using the air of breath, drinking water and food when humans are backward.
There are many different reasons for overpopulation. Of course, the number of most obvious births has increased. However, there are other factors including lack of resources, increase in migration and decline in mortality.
Those who argue for declining population cite various issues to argue for population decline. These risks of mass starvation, impact on quality of life, imminent or potential environmental degradation, involves crossing bearing capacity of the global warming and the earth.
Longevity always increases. In 2000, at the age of 67, worldwide life expectancy began. In 2015, this number increased to 71 years. By 2050, the life expectancy will be 77 years. We see less variation worldwide at this rate.
The world’s population is growing rapidly. Of course, these days are from here. Now, the world’s population is growing by about 83 million people annually.
Fertility decreased worldwide. You may be surprised to know that although the population rate is increasing, birth rates have declined worldwide since the 1960s.
WHY WORLD POPULATION DAY IS CELEBRATED
The celebration aims to pay great attention to the reproductive health issues of the community, which is the leading cause of death and disease for pregnant women worldwide. Every year World Population Day campaign increases the knowledge and skills of people around the world in reproductive health and family planning.
Importance of Family Planning to a Growing Population, Gender Equality, Maternal and Child Health, Poverty, Human Rights, Right to Health, Sexuality Education, Use of Contraceptives, Condoms, Reproductive Health, Pregnancy, Girl Child Education, Child Marriage, and Sexually Transmitted Safety measures like infection.
There is a need for sex-related problems, especially among youth between 15 and 19 years of age. Access to safe and voluntary family planning is a human right. It is central to gender equality and the empowerment of women, and is an important factor for reducing poverty. Investment to provide family planning provides financial and other benefits that drive growth.
There are several objectives to celebrate World Citizens Day
- It is intended to protect and empower youth of both sexes as girls and boys.
- Let them know in detail the deferred sexuality and marriage so that they can understand their responsibilities.
- Educate teens to avoid unwanted pregnancies by using appropriate and friendly teenagers.
- To educate society to remove gender stereotypes from society.
- To educate them on pregnancy-related diseases so that there is increased awareness of the dangers of childbirth.
- Educate them on sexually transmitted diseases (sexually transmitted diseases) to prevent various infections.
- Ensure equal access to primary education for girls and boys.
- Ensuring that there is easy access to reproductive health services everywhere as the primary health care unit for every couple.
HOW TO CELEBRATE WORLD POPULATION DAY
Getting started is not very personal, but the first thing you can do is make sure that you are taking care of your own family planning program properly. Lack of appropriate preventive measures and maternal health monitoring has led to an increase in the proportion in many parts of the world.
If you are lucky enough not to be in those areas, make sure you take advantage of your privileges. While you’re at it, see what you can do to support areas that don’t have access to these materials, and educate ourselves about what makes the world a better place for all of us. Can help build.
Another way to celebrate World Population Day is to spread awareness and raise awareness on the subject. If you have one, you can go to social media or blog to raise awareness about demographic issues and the steps that can be taken to solve them. There will be plenty of facts and infographics on World Population Day, so be sure to share these with your friends, family and followers.
You can use World Population Day to educate yourself about the population. There is even an online population counter so you can keep up to date with the latest demographics. It is interesting to read about the population of different countries and continents and how they have changed over the years. Dig some online and you might be surprised at some information!
FAMILY PLANNING
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of a conference focused on family planning. In 1968, the International Conference on Human Rights was held. For the first time, family planning has been confirmed as a human right. Tehran announced at the conference that parents have the fundamental right to decide the number and number of children.
Millions of women globally still not feeling safe and effective family planning. That is why it was chosen as the 2018 focus. The basic human right is to achieve a safe and effective family planning. This should be a voluntary option. It depends on gender equality and women empowerment. This is the key to reducing poverty.
WORLD POPULATION DAY THEME 2020
According to UNFPA, the theme of World Population Day 2020 this year – Breaking Kovid-19: How to protect the health and rights of women and girls
The UNFPA aims to raise awareness of women’s needs for sexual and reproductive health and risk during the epidemic on World Population Day 2020 this year. In addition, it sheds light on how to make strong progress, how to capture SRHR on the local agenda, and how we will sustain the benefit of the SDGs in Nairobi by 2030.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected individuals, cultures and economies around the world. However, not everyone is equally affected. For example, women who constitute the largest share of major health care workers are exposed to corona virus. Supply networks around the world are disrupting supplies, affecting contraceptive delivery and increasing the risk of unwanted pregnancy. Sexual and reproductive health services are being phased out as countries are closed, the health system suffers and gender-based violence increases.
In addition, women working in the unprotected labor market are highly affected by the financial results of COVID-19 overall. In an egalitarian economy, 60% of women worldwide suffer from poverty. As a result of school closures and the increasing needs of the elderly, women’s unpaid care activities have increased.
Do you know when, why and how Doctor’s Day is celebrated in India?
IBPS RRB 2020 Notification Out: Check Now – Vacancy, Eligibility, Exam Dates, & Syllabus Here, at TAKSHILA LEARNING, we have designed Online Classes for various Courses, such as School from K- 12, Professional Courses, i.e., CA /CS/ CMA Course online /IFRS, Skill Development courses, i.e., Digital Marketing Course, Competitive Exams, i.e., SSC/Banking/Railways/IBPS RRB.
Call at 8800999280 / 8800999283 / 8800999284 fill the form for any other details: | https://www.takshilalearning.com/united-nations-world-population-day/ |
Andrew Wyckoff, the Director for Science, Technology and Industry of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), commented Smart Internet Foundation’s project of the creation a new gTLD for the children “.ДЕТИ”.
We very much agree that the Internet is becoming an essential element of our children’s lives that can bring considerable benefits for their education and development. However, it also exposes them to online risks. We have been working on this issue since 2009, analyzing risks faced by children as users of the Internet and reviewing policies to protect them in OECD countries. The outcome of this work is an OECD Council Recommendation adopted in February 2012 which calls for action by governments and all other stakeholders to address this question. In particular, the Recommendation calls for initiatives which, on the one hand, reduce online threats to foster a safer Internet for children and, on the other hand, enable children to protect themselves from remaining threats, including for example through technical measures. It also stresses the key role played by parents to protect their children online just as they do offline. The Recommendation calls for technical solutions which respect the rights of children and the freedom of other Internet users and recommends that the potential impact of such measures on freedom of expression, privacy protection and the free flow of information be carefully assessed.
Over time, some initiatives have tried to create online spaces where children (and parents) can have a higher degree of certainty that digital content is appropriate to them. For example, a special “kids.us” domain was launched in the early 2000 in the United States. Such initiatives faced challenges such as the business model of content providers or the mechanism to ensure that the content is actually what it claims to be. However, this example is quite old (around 2002) and, technically, it was not a top level domain.
The proposal for a .ДЕТИ tld is interesting. As Internet penetration has considerably increased and the protection of children online is becoming a major public policy issue, it might have better outcomes than comparable experiences in the past if operated and/or designed differently. | https://smartinternet.info/2012/05/andrew-wyckoff-the-director-for-science-technology-and-industry-of-the-oecd-commented-the-activity-of-smart-internet-foundation/ |
The Information Security department manages overall information security risks posed to the company. The department provides multiple services to support all SPE lines of business. Our team focuses on Information Governance, Privacy, and Information Security Awareness and Training programs and initiatives.
Information Governance
• Implement appropriate governance frameworks, policies and processes for information management activities in order to manage risk appropriately;
• Improve overall management of data, with more efficient retrieval of retained data, meet legal and business data retention obligations; and enable defensible disposition of redundant data;
• Influence selection of new technology, appropriate to security, legal, compliance and business needs; and enable decommission of system applications
Privacy
• Maintain the inventory of personal information assets in order to property determine the scope of privacy regulations
• Facilitate with other stakeholders in order to manage privacy compliance assessment programs
• Perform information security and privacy impact assessments for new technologies
Training & Awareness Program
• Educate and raise awareness of SPE employees of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard and protect SPE corporate data and information
Responsibilities:
The candidate will work alongside the Information Governance teams as well as team members from information technology, legal, and various business groups to support our privacy and training & awareness initiatives and programs.
The primary ISAT responsibilities of the intern will include assisting with 1) launch and delivery of SPE White Shirts program, our security awareness champions program; 2) creation and rollout of security awareness events like National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and Phishing Training Campaigns; 3) launch of new compliance training course and development of training videos & courses; 4) tracking metrics that support program goals; 5) working with Corporate Communications on timely, concise messages.
The primary Privacy responsibilities of the intern will include: 1)assisting with GDPR compliance activities; 2) implementation of privacy management framework; 3) participating in privacy impact assessments.
The intern will gain practical, relevant experience on software applications used to run Phishing awareness campaigns, compliance training; and manage enterprise governance, risk and compliance (eGRC); learn how behavioral change can happen within a company culture; learn about reporting metrics and messaging for various levels in the organization; learn the role that awareness and training plays in protecting company information, technology and people; learn about global privacy laws and regulations that impact business organizations.
Qualifications:
• General interest in education & training, human behavior, and changing habits of a culture.
• General awareness and interest in cyber security risks & trending threats.
• General awareness and interest in privacy
• Well-developed interpersonal communication, oral, written and presentation skills); the ability to disseminate information in a clear, professional manner
• Use of Microsoft Office products including Excel, Visio, Project and SharePoint
• Ability to prepare systems and process documentation with the use of flow charts and narration
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Background and/or interest in information security training & awareness, privacy and/or information governance
SPE’s Fall Intern 2017 Program is a 12-week part-time program from September 25-December 15, 2017. All applicants must be enrolled in an accredited degree program for the entire duration of their internship and must be available for the full 12 week session.
*Sony Pictures Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristics.
- Sony Pictures - CA - Culver City Area & Studios
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Year 12 Biology
Unit 4 Area of Study (AOS) 1 in Year 12 Biology focusses on the question, How are species related? To answer this question, students must develop an understanding of the processes involved in the evolution and how to determine the relatedness between species. The School Assessed Coursework (SAC) for this AOS was a Media Response essay. In the lead up to the actual SAC, the Year 12 Biologists were provided with opportunities to practice the task by reading articles or watching documentaries and responding to a stimulus. Their goal was to successfully link the concepts from the course to the examples of evolution in the media. One such practice SAC was based on the David Attenborough documentary “Madagascar: Episode 1 – Island of Marvels”. Students watched the documentary through the Woodleigh subscription to Clickview, and they had just one hour to write an essay responding to the following:
“Madagascar is an island off the coast of Africa, which has been isolated for around 88 million years. It is home to around 10,000 endemic species. Using at least one example from the documentary, explain how the Island may have developed so many endemic species.”
I received many excellent essays, and a credit to the English department, all with an excellent understanding of coherence and cohesion. What follows is an exemplar written by Jussy P:
As the “oldest Island in the world,” according to David Attenborough’s ‘Madagascar’ documentary, Madagascar is home to many species which are found solely on the island – thus giving them the term ‘endemic,’ which denotes their sole existence in one particular location. As acknowledged by David Attenborough, the development of its many unique species is likely to be both due to the geographical isolation of such species (separated spatially from other continents by vast stretches of the ocean) and unique environments on Madagascar, which introduce unique or at least very particular environmental selection pressures on the organisms that live on the Island. Off the coast of Africa, Madagascar is thought to have originated as part of the single continent ‘Pangaea,’ before continental drift caused earth’s landmass to separate into different continents. Being the oldest Island has accounted for the significant evolution many species of organisms have undergone in Madagascar, thus allowing them to be very different from their ancestors and other descendants living in other locations, such as Africa, despite sharing a common ancestor with species endemic to Madagascar.
Many of the species endemic to Madagascar are thought to have descended from organisms in Africa, such as tenrec – with as many as 32 species within the family Tenrecidae living in Madagascar, according to Attenborough. Attenborough believes that individuals belonging to ancestral species of modern tenrecs endemic to Madagascar washed over from Africa in a chance event, for instance, a natural disaster such as a cyclone or storm. Such a chance event has caused geographic isolation (and lack of gene flow between these populations – lack of interbreeding and therefore lack of maintenance of similar gene pools) of a sub-population of tenrecs, subjecting them to different environmental selection pressures due to the unique environments of Madagascar. This is likely to have led to speciation, through different changes in the gene pools of tenrec populations in Madagascar and Africa, due to different environmental selection pressures that caused different characteristics (controlled by different alleles) to increase the change of individuals’ survival long enough to reproduce. This would have ultimately caused speciation of tenrecs in Madagascar from populations in Africa, as an event of allopatric speciation, leading to gene pools so different that even if placed together, individuals of tenrec species in Africa and Madagascar are unlikely to mate and produce fertile offspring.
Evidence for the evolutionary relationships of tenrecs (which led to the theory that they were washed over to Africa by chance) may have originally come from structural features of tenrecs in Madagascar, which were similar to the features of certain species found in Africa. Considering certain features of these species, despite their different locations, to be homologous, scientists are likely to have originally considered structural similarities in features of such organisms to be derived from common ancestry. However, this method of determining evolutionary relationships through the similarities in structural appearances (morphology) of organisms has been proved by later molecular homology techniques (including the analysis of similarities in nucleotide sequences of DNA and amino acid sequences of proteins) to not always be attributable to common ancestry. Take Attenborough’s discussion of Tenrecs, for example; Despite their spines and similar size to hedgehogs, which has commonly allowed them to be mistaken for this different species, tenrecs are only very distantly related to hedgehogs, with most types of tenrecs developing in isolation on the shores of Madagascar and having evolved for a relatively long time in isolation – therefore having only very distance evolutionary relationships to hedgehogs. Such similarities between these species are much more likely to be due to convergent evolution, in which similar environmental selection pressures have led to the development of similar features that have similar functions but aren’t due to common ancestry. This can be seen in the spines of tenrecs and hedgehogs. Despite being similar in appearance and playing similar roles, warding off predators and allowing them to camouflage on forest floors, both organisms would have developed such traits through random mutations occurring in their genes which coded for longer and longer spines. Having high adaptive value due to allowing protection and camouflage, the alleles for longer spine length would have allowed individuals with long-spine alleles to have survived longer than those with shorter spines, allowing them to survive long enough to reproduce and allow their alleles to increase in allele frequency within the population. Eventually, all individuals in both species of hedgehog and tenrec species will have come to possess this trait of having a long spine independently. This process of environmental factors contributing to changing allele frequencies in populations due to specific environmental selection pressures is referred to as natural selection.
The number of endemic species in Madagascar, as acknowledged by Attenborough, is likely to be due to the unique and diverse environments within Madagascar. Separated by mountain ranges along the middle of the Island, Madagascar has huge forests on the western side, and “lush woodland, drenched in the rain” on the eastern side. This rainforest environment is home to many different types of lemur – as many as 38 different species which have great diversity – with some being the size of “mice” while the Indri lemur is the size “of a small child.” The diversity in lemur populations may be due to the varied environments of Madagascar. Different lemur species may have been separated due to prezygotic isolating mechanisms (mechanisms which isolate gene pools of different species which prevent the formation of a zygote through interbreeding) such as geographic isolation, for instance, if different populations of lemur occupied different environments within the diverse environments of Madagascar. The differences in environmental selection pressures may have allowed different traits to provide survival advantages in these different environments, for instance, small lemurs in some rainforest environments may have allowed them to evade their predators – leading to increased frequency of alleles which contribute to the phenotype of a smaller body size (along with environmental factors).
Meanwhile, in a different population of lemur, random germline mutation - changes in nucleotides or larger changes in chromosomes of an organism’s genetic material, within gametes - may have caused the introduction of new alleles allowing increased muscular size or strength in the legs, allowing an increase in jumping abilities. This may have increased the chance of escape from predators by lemurs, thus causing the predecessors of Indri lemurs to develop impressive jumping skills, as Attenborough discusses. Therefore, due to these varied landscapes, which may have resulted in geographical isolation of populations of different species and therefore speciation, Madagascar has developed many different unique species that are found exclusively on the Island. Being the oldest Island on the planet, the length of time that organisms have been isolated on Madagascar is likely to have contributed to the relative amount of evolution through mutation that has allowed the development of such diverse species, as well as genetic drift (change in allele frequencies within a population due to random events, such as death of individuals) – which may have originally been especially prevalent in small populations of species washed over from Africa. Due to the great variation in the habitats in Madagascar, niche partitioning (ecological isolation) may contribute to the continued separation of different related species on Madagascar, for instance, with different lemur species occupying different ecological ‘roles,’ such as their method of finding food, shelter, etc. The length of time different populations of lemur have had isolated gene pools due to such prezygotic isolating mechanisms is likely to have contributed to their very different characteristics. | https://www.woodleigh.vic.edu.au/news/year-12-biology |
Social insects pose some special problems for description of population structure. On the one hand, each individual requires resources and contributes to interactions with other organisms. On the other hand, colony member activity is centered on the nest, and collective foraging territory is defined by proximity to surrounding colonies. Furthermore, food transfer among nestmates (trophallaxis) supports a view of colonies as sharing a collective gut. Hence, each colony appears to function as an ecological unit, with colony size (number of members) determining its individual physiology and behavior. For some social insects, the number of colonies per ha may be a more useful measure of density than is number of individuals per ha.
However, defining colony boundaries and distinguishing between colonies may be problematic for many species, especially those with underground nests. Molecular techniques have proved to be a valuable tool for evaluating related-ness within and among colonies in an area.
Colonies of social Hymenoptera can be monogyne (having one queen) or polygyne (having multiple queens), with varying degrees of relatedness among queens and workers (Pamilo et al. 1997). Intracolonial relatedness can vary among colonies and among populations. In some ants, such as Solenopsis invicta and some Formica species, social polymorphism can be observed, with distinct monogynous (M type) and polygynous (P type) colonies. The two types generally show high relatedness to each other where they occur in the same area. However, gene flow is restricted in the polygynous type and between monogy-nous and polygynous types. Populations of polygynous colonies generally are more genetically differentiated than are those of monogynous colonies in the same area (Pamilo et al. 1997).
Polygyny may be advantageous in areas of intense competition, where the more rapid reproduction by multiple queens may confer an advantage, regardless of the relatedness of the queens. However, additional queens eventually may be eliminated, especially in ant species, with workers often favoring queens on the basis of size or condition rather than which queen is mother to most workers (Pamilo et al. 1997).
Similarly, termite colonies are cryptic and may have variable numbers of reproductive adults. Husseneder and Grace (2001b) and Husseneder et al. (1998) found DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) fingerprinting to be more reliable than aggression tests or morphometry for distinguishing termites from different colonies or sites. As expected, genetic similarity is higher among termites within collection sites than between collection sites (Husseneder and Grace 2001a, Husseneder et al. 1998). Moderate inbreeding often is evident within termite colonies, but low levels of genetic differentiation at regional scales suggest that substantial dispersal of winged adults homogenizes population genetic structure (Husseneder et al. 2003). However, several species are polygynous and may show greater within-colony genetic variation, depending on the extent to which multiple reproductives are descended from a common parent (Vargo et al. 2003). Kaib et al. (1996) found that foraging termites tended to associate with close kin in polygynous and polyandrous colonies of Schedorhinotermes lamanianus, leading to greater genetic similarity among termites within foraging galleries than at the nest center.
Genetic studies have challenged the traditional view of the role of genetic relatedness in the evolution and maintenance of eusociality. Eusociality in the social Hymenoptera has been explained by the high degree of genetic relatedness among siblings, which share 75% of their genes as a result of haploid father and diploid mother, compared to only 50% genes shared with their mother (Hamilton 1964, See Chapter 15). However, this model does not apply to termites. Husseneder et al. (1999) and Thorne (1997) suggested that developmental and ecological factors, such as slow development, iteroparity, overlap of generations, food-rich environment, high risk of dispersal, and group defense, may be more important than genetics in the maintenance of termite eusociality, regardless of the factors that may have favored its original development. Myles (1999) reviewed the frequency of neoteny (reproduction by immature stages) among termite species and concluded that neoteny is a primitive element of the caste system that may have reduced the fitness cost of not dispersing, leading to further differentiation of castes and early evolution of eusociality.
II. POPULATION PROCESSES
The population variables described in the preceding section change as a result of variable reproduction, movement, and death of individuals. These individual contributions to population change are integrated as three population processes: natality (birth rate), mortality (death rate), and dispersal (rate of movement of individuals into or out of the population). For example, density can increase as a result of increased birth rate, immigration, or both; frequencies of various alleles change as a result of differential reproduction, survival, and dispersal. The rate of change in these processes determines the rate of population change, described in the next chapter. Therefore, these processes are fundamental to understanding population responses to changing environmental conditions.
A. Natality
Natality is the population birth rate (i.e., the per capita production of new individuals per unit time). Realized natality is a variable that approaches potential natality—the maximum reproductive capacity of the population—only under ideal environmental conditions. Natality is affected by factors that influence production of eggs (fecundity) or production of viable offspring (fertility) by individual insects. For example, resource quality can affect the numbers of eggs produced by female insects (R. Chapman 1982). Ohgushi (1995) reported that females of the herbivorous ladybird beetle, Henosepilachna niponica, feeding on the thistle, Cirsium kagamontanum, resorbed eggs in the ovary when leaf damage became high. Female blood-feeding mosquitoes often require a blood meal before first or subsequent oviposition can occur (R. Chapman 1982); the cerato-pogonid, Culicoides barbosai, produces eggs in proportion to the size of the blood meal (Linley 1966). Hence, poor quality or insufficient food resources can reduce natality. Inadequate numbers of males can reduce fertility in sparse populations. Similarly, availability of suitable oviposition sites also affects natality.
Natality usually is higher at intermediate population densities than at low or high densities. At low densities, difficulties in attracting mates may limit mating, or may limit necessary cooperation among individuals, as in the case of bark beetles that must aggregate to overcome host tree defenses prior to oviposition (Berryman 1981). At high densities, competition for food, mates, and oviposition sites reduces fecundity and fertility (e.g., Southwood 1975,1977). The influence of environmental conditions can be evaluated by comparing realized natality to potential natality (e.g., estimated under laboratory conditions).
Differences among individual fitnesses are integrated in natality. Differential reproduction among genotypes in the population determines the frequency of various alleles in the filial generation. As discussed earlier in this chapter, gene frequencies can change dramatically within a relatively short time, given strong selection and the short generation times and high reproductive capacity of insects.
Pregnancy And Childbirth
If Pregnancy Is Something That Frightens You, It's Time To Convert Your Fear Into Joy. Ready To Give Birth To A Child? Is The New Status Hitting Your State Of Mind? Are You Still Scared To Undergo All The Pain That Your Best Friend Underwent Just A Few Days Back? Not Convinced With The Answers Given By The Experts? | https://www.78stepshealth.us/plant-species/g-social-insects.html |
Soybean domestication: the origin, genetic architecture and molecular bases.
- BiologyThe New phytologist
- 2017
Novel genomic information enables the search for polymorphisms that underlie variation in agronomic traits and highlights genes that exhibit a signature of selection, leading to the identification of a number of candidate genes that may have played important roles in soybean domestication, diversification and improvement.
Parallel vs. Convergent Evolution in Domestication and Diversification of Crops in the Americas
- BiologyFront. Ecol. Evol.
- 2018
Crops domesticated in the Americas span a spectrum of genetic relatedness, have been domesticated for diverse purposes, and have responded to human selection by changes in many different traits, so provide examples of both parallel and convergent evolution at various levels.
The Impact of Genetic Changes during Crop Domestication
- BiologyAgronomy
- 2018
The outcomes of crop domestication were shaped by selection driven by human preferences, cultivation practices, and agricultural environments, as well as other population genetic processes flowing from the ensuing reduction in effective population size.
Evolutionary insights into plant breeding.
- BiologyCurrent opinion in plant biology
- 2020
The contribution of genetic and genomic approaches to plant domestication studies
- Biology
- 2014
The successful application of genome ‐ wide sequence diversity scan and association mapping based on genotyping ‐ by ‐ sequencing of a large sample is illustrated, showing the high level of diversity at a single locus, PvTFL1y, a homologue of the Arabidopsis TFL1 locus responsible for the determinate growth habit.
Parallelism and convergence in post-domestication adaptation in cereal grasses
- BiologyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
- 2019
Current knowledge regarding trait convergence in the cereal grasses is reviewed and whether the complexity and dynamism of cereal genomes helped these species overcome potential limitations owing to domestication and achieve broad subsequent adaptation, in many cases through parallel means is considered.
A domestication history of dynamic adaptation and genomic deterioration in sorghum
- BiologybioRxiv
- 2018
A temporal series of archaeogenomes of the crop sorghum from a single locality in Egyptian Nubia indicate no evidence for the effects of a domestication bottleneck, but instead reveal a steady decline in genetic diversity over time coupled with an accumulating mutation load.
Genetic Consequences of Interspecific Hybridization, Its Role in Speciation and Phenotypic Diversity of Plants
- BiologyRussian Journal of Genetics
- 2019
The review focuses on the genetic consequences of interspecific hybridization and discusses its role in speciation and increasing the genetic diversity of plants, including the diversity of species…
Plant domestication through an ecological lens.
- BiologyTrends in ecology & evolution
- 2015
Signatures of adaptation in the weedy rice genome
- Biology, MedicineNature Genetics
- 2017
This work uses whole-genome sequences to examine the origin and adaptation of the two major strains of weedy rice found in the United States and finds that de-domestication from cultivated ancestors has had a major role in their evolution.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 143 REFERENCES
Comparative population genomics of maize domestication and improvement
- BiologyNature Genetics
- 2012
A comprehensive assessment of the evolution of modern maize based on the genome-wide resequencing of 75 wild, landrace and improved maize lines finds evidence of recovery of diversity after domestication, likely introgression from wild relatives, and evidence for stronger selection during domestication than improvement.
A bountiful harvest: genomic insights into crop domestication phenotypes.
- BiologyAnnual review of plant biology
- 2013
A diversity of underlying causative mutations affecting phenotypes important in plant domestication and crop improvement, including coding sequence substitutions, presence/absence and copy number variation, transposon activation leading to novel gene structures and expression patterns, diversification following gene duplication, and polyploidy leading to altered combinatorial capabilities are revealed.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA REVEAL SLOW RATES OF EVOLUTION DURING PLANT DOMESTICATION
- BiologyEvolution; international journal of organic evolution
- 2011
This study indicates that the magnitudes of the rates of evolution during the domestication process, including the strength of selection, may be similar to those measured for wild species, and suggests that domestication may be driven by unconscious selection pressures similar to that observed for natural selection.
The Effects of Artificial Selection on the Maize Genome
- BiologyScience
- 2005
Analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 774 genes indicates that 2 to 4% of these genes experienced artificial selection, and candidate selected genes with putative function in plant growth are clustered near quantitative trait loci that contribute to phenotypic differences between maize and teosinte.
SEED DISPERSAL AND CROP DOMESTICATION: SHATTERING, GERMINATION AND SEASONALITY IN EVOLUTION UNDER CULTIVATION
- Biology
- 2009
The evidence indicates that the timescale of this evolution was considerably longer than previously supposed, raising questions about the mode of human mediated selection pressure and increasing the importance of the role of pre-domestication cultivation.
The nature of selection during plant domestication
- BiologyNature
- 2009
It is demonstrated that a synthesis from the twin vantage points of genetics and archaeology can expand the understanding of the nature of evolutionary selection that accompanies domestication.
Plant domestication, a unique opportunity to identify the genetic basis of adaptation
- BiologyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2007
It is concluded that bottom-up approaches to understanding domestication as an adaptive process hold greater promise both for the study of adaptation and as a means to identify genes that contribute to agronomically important traits.
Contrasting Patterns in Crop Domestication and Domestication Rates: Recent Archaeobotanical Insights from the Old World
- Biology, GeographyAnnals of botany
- 2007
Data suggest that in domesticated grasses, changes in grain size and shape evolved prior to non-shattering ears or panicles, suggesting a need to reconsider the role of sickle harvesting in domestication.
Conservation of gene function in the solanaceae as revealed by comparative mapping of domestication traits in eggplant.
- Biology, MedicineGenetics
- 2002
The results suggest that domestication of the Solanaceae has been driven by mutations in a very limited number of target loci with major phenotypic effects, that selection pressures were exerted on the same loci despite the crops' independent domestications on different continents, and that the morphological diversity of these four crops can be explained by divergent mutations at these loci.
Genetic Control of the Domestication Syndrome in Common Bean
- Biology
- 1996
The results suggest that domestication of common bean could have proceeded rapidly and that evolution can proceed through changes involving a few genes with large effect rather than through a gradual accumulation of changes coded by changes with small effects, and that adaptation to rapidly changing environmental conditions may involve genes withLarge phenotypic effects. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Evolution-of-crop-species%3A-genetics-of-and-Meyer-Purugganan/41c91e6a2c9a45b21b2f4504bce7ae2494dea55c |
3 edition of Convergent evolution in warm deserts found in the catalog.
Convergent evolution in warm deserts
Published
1977
by Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, exclusive distributor Halsted Press in Stroudsburg, Pa, [New York]
.
Written in English
Edition Notes
|Statement||edited by Gordon H. Orians, Otto T. Solbrig.|
|Series||US/IBP synthesis series ;, 3|
|Contributions||Orians, Gordon H., Solbrig, Otto Thomas.|
|Classifications|
|LC Classifications||QH104.5.S6 C66|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||xiv, 333 p. :|
|Number of Pages||333|
|ID Numbers|
|Open Library||OL4907798M|
|ISBN 10||087933276X|
|LC Control Number||76056261|
In evolution: Convergent and parallel evolution. Convergence is often associated with similarity of function, as in the evolution of wings in birds, bats, and flies. The shark (a fish) and the dolphin (a mammal) are much alike in external morphology; their similarities are due to convergence, since they have evolved independently. Buy Convergent Evolution () (): Limited Forms Most Beautiful: NHBS - George R McGhee, Jr., MIT Press.
Convergent Evolution vs Divergent Evolution | Shared Traits Explained - Duration: 2 Minute Classroom , views. Master Shi Heng Yi . Convergent Evolution describes the way that unrelated or distantly related organisms develop similar body shapes, organ functions, colors, or adaptations. Convergent evolution is when species of different lineages independently evolve similar features. Examples of Convergent Evolution: 1.
Parallel evolution refers to situations where organisms that are unrelated or distantly related have similar adaptations because of similar environmental pressures. When parallel evolution occurs “in distantly related [organisms] that are morphologically similar in overall appearance” (Armstrong ) it is called convergent evolution. An explanation of convergent evolution. All pictures are from Google. “Convergent Evolution or Common Designer?”:
Harold M. Reed.
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In this book, George McGhee analyzes patterns of convergent evolution on Earth and argues that these patterns offer lessons for the search for life elsewhere in the universe.
Our Earth is a water world; 71 percent of the earth's surface is covered by water.5/5(1). Convergent Evolution In Warm Deserts: An Examination of Strategies and Patterns in Deserts of Argentina and the United States (US/IBP Synthesis Series Vol.
3) [Gordon H. Orians, Otto T. Solbrig] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Convergent Evolution In Warm Deserts: An Examination of Strategies and Patterns in Deserts of Argentina and the United States (US/IBP Author: Gordon H.
Orians. An example of convergent evolution is the similar nature of the flight/wings of insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats. All four serve the same function and are similar in structure, but each. Get this from a library.
Convergent evolution in warm deserts: an examination of strategies and patterns in deserts of Argentina and the United States. [Gordon H Orians; Otto Thomas Solbrig;]. Book: Convergent evolution in warm deserts. An examination of strategies and patterns in deserts of Argentina and the United States.
pppp. Abstract: This book is number 3 in the US/IBP synthesis series and contains a general. Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but Convergent evolution in warm deserts book not present in the last common ancestor of those groups.
The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying. Convergent evolution occurs when species occupy similar ecological niches and adapt in similar ways in response to similar selective pressures.
Traits that arise through convergent evolution are referred to as ‘analogous structures’. They are contrasted with ‘homologous structures’, which. Solbrig, Otto T. and Orians, Gordon H. Convergent evolution in warm deserts: an examination of strategies and patterns in deserts of Argentina and the United States / edited by Gordon H.
Orians, Otto T. Solbrig Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross ; exclusive distributor Halsted. 10 classic examples of convergent evolution, the process by which different animals in similar ecosystems evolve the same general body plan. Bob Strauss is a science writer and the author of several books, including "The Big Book of What, How and Why" and "A Field Guide to the Dinosaurs of North America." our editorial process.
Plants can also undergo convergent evolution to become more similar. Many desert plants have evolved somewhat of a holding chamber for water inside their structures. Even though the deserts of Africa and those in North America have similar climates, the species of flora there are not closely related on the tree of life.
Buy Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful (Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology) by Jr., George R Mcghee, Müller, Gerd B., Schäfer, Katrin, Pradeu, Thomas (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible s: 5.
Convergent evolution is the process by which unrelated or distantly related organisms evolve similar body forms, coloration, organs, and adaptations. Natural selection can result in evolutionary convergence under several different circumstances.
Convergent Evolution in Desert Lizards Some of the most striking examples of convergent evolution are found in desert lizards throughout the world. Australian and North American deserts each support a cryptically colored lizard species that is specialized to eat ants and is protected by sharp spines.
Convergent evolution - Desert Plants from Kew Gardens on OOKL - the place to discover what is in your local museums, galleries, historic houses, zoos, botanic gardens plus lots of other things of interest near you and around the world. Several species of panda have evolved an extra digit, a “false thumb” that assists them in scraping the leaves from the bamboo that is their primary food source.
In fact, when well-known biologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote a book in support of evolution inhe called it The Panda’s Thumb.
Mcghee, G. Convergent dge, MA: MIT Press. Orians, G. and Solbrig, O. Convergent evolution in warm sburg, Pa. Convergent evolution — the repeated evolution of similar traits in multiple lineages which all ancestrally lack the trait — is rife in nature, as illustrated by the examples below.
The ultimate cause of convergence is usually a similar evolutionary biome, as similar environments will select for similar traits in any species occupying the same ecological niche, even if those species are. The main difference between convergent evolution and divergent evolution is that convergent evolution is the development of similar features in two species with different ancestral origins whereas divergent evolution is a process where two different species share a common ancestor.
Key Areas Covered. What is Convergent Evolution. Examples of convergent evolution are wings of insects, birds, bats, streamlined body of dolphins and shark, whereas that of Darwin finches (kind of birds) is the example of divergent evolution. In convergent evolution, species evolve from the different species but develops similar characteristics, like wings of birds and insects.
An analysis of convergent evolution from molecules to ecosystems, demonstrating the limited number of evolutionary pathways available to life. Charles Darwin famously concluded On the Origin of Species with a vision of “endless forms most beautiful” continually evolving.
More than years later many evolutionary biologists see not endless forms but the same, or very similar, forms. Convergent evolution refers to the process where different organisms evolve to form similar traits, despite not being closely related.
This occurs when independent species have had to evolve to survive in similar habitats or have a specific niche to fill. There tends to be a finite number of ways for nature to deal with certain challenges.Convergent evolution is well-known and documented in the terrestrial realm.
Marsupial and placental mammals have converged to similar morphologies and ecological function (Fig. 5).The limited variations on the mammalian body plan are evident in the wolf and catlike carnivores, the arboreal gliders, fossorial herbivores, anteaters, and subterranean insectivores that evolved independently in.
General Overviews. Review papers and textbooks, such as Futuyma tend to focus on how one can identify convergent evolution and on presenting particularly compelling examples of convergence or lack thereof. A few authors have attempted to make broad generalizations based on these observations.
Gould argues that evolution is dominated by historical contingency, while . | https://kakifytakem.johnsonout.com/convergent-evolution-in-warm-deserts-book-43378ff.php |
When a person joins the hobby of reptile keeping and makes the decision to breed animals of any species, they silently make the acknowledgement that they are going to be playing god with the species they choose to reproduce. Not only accelerating evolution through artificial selection, but also picking and choosing which ecological and evolutionary forces, or lack thereof affect their breeding populations. A few key concepts to consider are Gene Flow, Genetic Drift, and the Founder Effect.
Before we dive into the meat of the lesson to be had here, let me explain these concepts.
Background knowledge
Gene flow is just that: the flow of genes between populations. This flow can be uni- or bi-directional. In the context of the hobby, you can think of your breeding groups as populations (see figure 1.) So gene flow could mean adding ‘new blood’ to outcross your breeding group from Breeder X. If Breeder X sends you an animal unrelated to your groups, those are new genes flowing in to your population. (It is important to keep in mind that there are far more genes that make up the genome of the animals other than the ones resulting in differences in phenotype.)
Genetic drift is the probability of new alleles in a population being ‘lost’ or ‘fixed’ in the population (see figure 2.) The simplest way to envision this is to think of albinism in wild caught specimens. Albinism randomly pops up when alleles associated with the phenotype are mutated. But the phenotype (albinism) results in a reduced fitness, so the animal is slightly less likely to survive to reproduce, so that allele may be lost quickly in a population. Conversely, an allele contributing to increased reproductive success, such as one contributing to male coloration in species where females prefer brightly colored males, will likely be ‘fixed’ in the population- meaning that other alleles are not likely to be found when surveying the population.
The founder effect is similar to genetic drift, but on a larger scale. When a new population is established (or for the hobbyists, your new breeding population), the genetic diversity contained within the new population is only a subset of the total diversity available (see figure 3.) Therefore future generations are limited to the amount of diversity that established the population.
Now to get down to the meat of what this article aims to discuss.
How to take these concepts into consideration
Let’s preface this by noting a necessary distinction between breeding for maintaining genetic diversity (conservation breeding) and breeding to fix a certain genetic trait (line-breeding). In the context of conservation style breeding, you are looking at broader strokes, in the entire frame of the genome, not just thinking in the context of specific alleles.
In line-breeding, yes, you’re trying to keep healthy genetic diversity, but meanwhile increasing the prevalence of specific alleles. Therefore, when making considerations for line breeding, you narrow the scope of genetic material you’re thinking about to the alleles affecting a desired look. Alongside of those alleles, instead of thinking about all alleles contributing to the health of the animal, you only take into considerations ones that negatively affect the health of the animals, so line-breeding therefore narrows your ‘field of vision’ (per se), to a handful of alleles in consideration.
Something few people consider when making the decision to breed any species, is maintaining genetic diversity. Sure, most people at least think to not pair siblings. But how can you maximize the genetic diversity in your breeding groups, in order to minimize inbreeding? Secondarily, why is such a task important?
Let me address the importance first. Keeping this diversity –hopefully serving to prevent alleles from being lost from your population due to genetic drift– and avoiding chronic inbreeding is a necessity for any species. However, there are things to consider when assessing how quickly inbreeding will have negative effects. Typically, species with short generation times (i.e. quickly maturing to reproduce, such as leopard geckos) can be affected quickly. However, relative to animals with long generation times (i.e. slow growing to sexual maturity, such as tortoises), the generation counts until detrimental effects manifest themselves may not be drastically different. The reason we may see effects more quickly in fast-maturing species is because their generations are short, so they, for example, may span 15 generations in 15 years, whereas tortoises would have a much more elongated generation time (which will vary based on species.)
The question then becomes the first I asked; how to maximize the generational count before inbreeding takes a toll. Or better yet, simply how to minimize the extent of inbreeding.
When thinking about inbreeding, many people think primarily of mother x son, father x daughter, and sibling x sibling. However, there is still a degree of relatedness between half-siblings and so on.
Breeding programs for conservation take much, if not all, of this into consideration when determining which animals will be paired. This is why we frequently see endangered animals shifted among zoos and breeding facilities. But why should a species need to be endangered for similar precautions to take place?
Thinking about the hobbyist breeder, who has limited space and resources available to them, how might someone of that caliber be able to do their best to take these factors into consideration?
The answer for the hobbyist breeder lies within their foundation stock and careful planning, not only for the coming season or two, but also for the seasons beyond. There is a certain level of genetic diversity in every hobbyist’s foundation breeding stock. Careful considerations should be made when obtaining beginning stock. Sure, some breeders may offer great group discounts, therefore saving you money. However, getting founder animals from various sources maximizes your success at maintaining a degree of diversity (see figure 3) down the road.
So far, I’ve been stressing getting a founding group that has as much diversity as possible. Is that the only way to minimize inbreeding, or are there other ways to do so as well?
There are certainly other ways of keeping the diversity in your breeding groups. Understanding the relatedness between animals (see figure 4) is the key to this, as well as periodically opening your populations to incoming gene flow.
Taken together, the key to keeping genetic diversity in your breeding populations, regardless of the species you choose to breed, is minimizing the initial founder effect (high diversity in initial foundation), and periodically allowing incoming gene flow (outcrossing every few generations)- both serving to minimize negative effects of genetic drift and inbreeding depression.
Once these factors are accounted for, the planning for the pairings for years to come can happen. In the event that you are line breeding or simply looking to propagate a species, it is best to start at least two parallel lines, that will have limited interaction. From there, you would want to minimize the relatedness of each individual pairing.
So as a quick and simple example to take all of these factors into account, if one were to take a crack at propagating a species, and planned on starting with 5 animals, it would be ideal to obtain 3 males, and 2 females. Each would ideally hail from different lines, minimizing founder effect. The optimal five year plan for such a group of animals would be (if simply breeding for propagation while maximizing the genetic diversity of pairings):
Year 1: M1 x F1 [Relatedness ~0], M2 x F2 [Relatedness ~0]
Year 2: M1 x (M1F1) [R 50%], M2 x (M2F2) [R 50%]
Year 3: (M1xM1F1) x F1 [R <50%], (M2xM2F2) x F2 [R <50%]
Year 4: M1 x ((M1xM1F1)xF1) [R <50%], M2 x ((M2xM2F2)xF2) [R <50%]
Year 5: M3 x (M1x((M1xM1F1)xF1)) [R ~0%], M3 x (M2x((M2xM2F2)xF2)) [R ~0%]
Keep in mind, this ‘road map’ only accounts for individual pairings, but this is to give a general idea of how to go about laying out such breeding plans. This generic roadmap can also be extrapolated to larger groups and for longer courses of time.
Additionally, keep in mind the usage of animals here is entirely hypothetical. Many people suggest a founder population of at least six males and six females so that a similar, yet more extrapolated ‘road map’ can be followed. There are many other species-specific factors that will influence ideal founder populations and road map planning. One in particular will be whether a given species is known to retain sperm, and if so, how a female from that species is known to delegate sperm usage (i.e. if courted by multiple males, which male is more likely to have fertilized the offspring.) Depending on how said female partitions sperm, it may be more beneficial to have more males in your founder population, since a single female has the opportunity to fertilize from multiple males. In the event that a single male’s sperm will always outcompete the others (i.e. last male courted fertilizing all consequent offspring), then it would be best tip the balance to being female heavy.
To summarize
When breeding, it is crucial to take these concepts into consideration, such that you can maximize the diversity, therefore minimizing the health risks of the offspring you bring into the world. However, it is critical to open the gates to gene flow every few seasons? No, not exactly. You could line breed for generations without seeing much in terms of negative effects. However, keep in mind that such effects will not always present in a physical manner, but may be affecting the animal’s development, digestion, brain circuitry, etc. It is best to outcross as often as possible as a preventative measure, such that you are serving to your best effort at avoiding inbreeding. | https://geckotime.com/genetic-diversity-of-breeding-groups/ |
Missouri Botanical Garden is conducting a research project with the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) on the species Mead’s milkweed (Asclepias meadii). This species is endemic to tallgrass prairies and listed as federally threatened on the Endangered Species Act. It is a long-lived perennial plant that occupies mature tallgrass prairie habitats in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. The goal of the project is to understand whether a genetic bottleneck or low genetic variation is limiting reproduction and the overall viability of the species. Genetic data from this study will help inform ongoing restoration and conservation efforts with this species.
The initial decline of the species was due to habitat loss and adverse land management practices. Low fecundity was a factor in preventing recovery of the species. Some populations produced only a few or no seed pods each year. This seemed to vary among populations — some populations did successfully produce seed pods each year, but others produced none. It is unknown whether populations that do not produce seed indeed have lower genetic diversity and higher relatedness than those successfully producing seed, or whether other unknown factors are affecting fecundity in Mead’s milkweed.
The Shaw Nature Reserve has created over 300 acres of prairie plantings: “The Reserve’s prairie plantings (on former farmland or pasture) represent this once-vast, nearly treeless ecosystem, of which less than 1% of the original remains intact . . . Prairie plants are introduced by direct seeding, and less often, greenhouse-grown transplants. The tall grasses, reaching as high as 10 feet, remind us of the ocean as they wave in a gentle breeze. Over 70 species of wildflowers bloom in the prairie beginning in May and ending in October. The leaves, stalks, and blossoms of these wildflowers present a fascinating variety of colors, shapes, and textures. Some species, such as goldenrods and sunflowers, spread across the prairie in bright yellow masses in late summer, while to discover other species may require more careful searching among the grasses.” Note: Asclepias meadii does not occur naturally at Shaw Nature Reserve, and it has not been successful at establishing an introduced population on the premises.
Learn more about the Shaw Nature Reserve here. | https://saveplants.org/2018/06/15/may-limiting-reproduction-viability-meads-milkweed/ |
When confronted with an adaptive challenge, such as extreme temperature, closely related species frequently evolve similar phenotypes using the same genes. Although such repeated evolution is thought to be less likely in highly polygenic traits and distantly related species, this has not been tested at the genome scale. We performed a population genomic study of convergent local adaptation among two distantly related species, lodgepole pine and interior spruce. We identified a suite of 47 genes, enriched for duplicated genes, with variants associated with spatial variation in temperature or cold hardiness in both species, providing evidence of convergent local adaptation despite 140 million years of separate evolution. These results show that adaptation to climate can be genetically constrained, with certain key genes playing nonredundant roles.
Evolutionary convergence has provided a window into the constraints that shape adaptation (1, 2). Studies of convergent local adaptation among closely related lineages commonly find evidence of many shared genetic changes (3), but such evidence may be a result of shared standing variation, rather than shared constraints in how genotypes give rise to phenotypes (4–6). Across time scales where shared standing variation is precluded, adaptation sometimes arises by mutations in the same genes, such as melanism via Mc1r and agouti (7). However, such examples of adaptation via large-effect loci may not be representative of the true spectrum of phenotypes (8). Highly polygenic traits may have greater genetic redundancy than traits governed by a single molecular pathway, and might therefore exhibit less repeatable signatures of adaptation (9). Relatively little is known about the genome-wide repeatability of local adaptation in more highly polygenic traits in distantly related species, where shared standing variation is precluded.
We compared signatures of local adaptation in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and interior spruce (Picea glauca, Picea engelmannii, and their hybrids), which inhabit similar environmental gradients across montane and boreal regions of western North America, and last shared a common ancestor more than 140 million years ago (10). Like many conifers, these species show patterns of local adaptation to climate that reflect a tradeoff between competition for light resources and acquisition of freezing tolerance (11, 12). Although some candidate genes have been identified that may drive these phenotypic responses (13, 14), we still know little about the genomic basis of adaptation. Comparative gene expression studies indicate that plastic responses to temperature and moisture are highly conserved in spruce and pine, with ~70% of differentially expressed orthologs showing parallel responses in both species (15) and lower rates of protein evolution (16). Plastic responses to climate appear to be relatively conserved and highly polygenic, but the extent to which local adaptation involves similar responses at the genomic level is unknown.
To characterize the basis of adaptation in these large genomes (~20 Gb), we sampled individuals from >250 populations across their geographic ranges and identified more than 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ~23,000 genes (17). We searched for correlations between individual SNPs and (i) 17 phenotypes measured in growth chambers [genotype-phenotype association (GPA)] and (ii) 22 environmental variables [genotype-environment association (GEA)]. We identified top-candidate genes as those with an exceptional proportion of their total SNPs being GPA or GEA outliers (99th percentile) (17) (Fig. 1A).
The strongest phenotypic signatures of local adaptation to climate were for correlations between fall and winter cold injury traits and low-temperature stress–related environmental factors, including latitude (12) (Fig. 1B). The strength of these correlations was similar in pine and spruce, providing evidence of convergent phenotypic local adaptation. These two phenotypic traits and five environmental factors (hereafter the “main variables”) also showed the strongest signatures of selection, with the largest number of top-candidate genes in both species (Fig. 1, C and D) and greatest mean strength of association (ρ2) across all SNPs (fig. S1). Although these results suggest that adaptation to climate is highly polygenic, not all variables had similar genomic signatures in both species. Many top GEA candidates were found for longitude in pine but not spruce, whereas the converse was true for precipitation falling as snow (Fig. 1D), indicating that these species are divergent in some aspects of adaptation (17).
To study the repeatability of local adaptation on a gene-by-gene basis, for each gene identified as a top candidate for at least one of the seven main variables in one species, we examined the strength of associations in orthologous gene(s) in the other species (Fig. 2). To quantify similarity in signatures of association underlying convergent adaptation (hereafter “signatures of convergence”), we compared the strength of association (ρ2) for all SNPs within each of these top-candidate orthologs to a null distribution constructed from all non–top-candidate orthologs [which we term the “null-W method” (17)]. For the one-to-one orthologs, 22.3 to 27.5% of tested orthologs (spruce) and 5.7 to 11.6% of tested orthologs (pine) were in the 5% tail of the null distribution, and for most variables tested, the observed proportion was significantly higher than expected by chance (Fig. 3; see also fig. S2).
If the observed overlap of gene involvement in local adaptation occurs because of fundamental constraints in how genotype gives rise to phenotype, then duplication and neofunctionalization may increase flexibility in the genetic program (18). Consistent with this prediction, genes duplicated in either species were also more likely to have strong signatures of convergence. Across all comparisons, signatures of convergence were 65% more common in cases where one ortholog was duplicated than in one-to-one orthologs (Fig. 3 shows results on a copy-for-copy basis, mean ratio 1.65, range 0.67 to 4.0; fig. S5 shows results on a per-orthogroup basis, mean ratio 1.98, range 0.67 to 4.3). Independent of convergence signatures, duplicated genes also had a higher probability of being top candidates, although the effect was nonsignificant in most cases (fig. S3). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) between tandem duplicates may be responsible for these patterns, as LD is high among paralogs with at least one member that is a top candidate (fig. S4). However, LD and tandem duplication cannot explain the enrichment of association signatures in the single-copy orthologs to duplicated top candidates (Fig. 3 and fig. S2, orange bars), nor the duplicated orthologs, because binning duplicates before repeating the analysis yielded similar results (fig. S5). Thus, convergent local adaptation and gene duplication are associated in these conifers, possibly as a means to increase genetic flexibility. Alternatively, duplications of genes involved in local adaptation may have been favored under migration-selection balance, due to changes in linkage relationships (19) or dominance-associated masking of migration load (20).
Overall, 47 genes exhibit signatures of convergence at a false discovery rate (FDR) of 5% (or 83 at FDR = 10%), out of 260 and 450 top candidates with identified orthology relationships in pine and spruce, respectively (Table 1; see fig. S6 for phylogenies). This suggests that ~10 to 18% of locally adapted genes are evolving convergently, a lower rate than typically found for candidate genes or quantitative trait loci (3); however, the true proportion may be much higher. Many of the top candidates identified within either species (Fig. 1, C and D) are likely false positives due to the lack of control for population structure (21) or because they are physically linked to a causal locally adapted gene but are not themselves locally adapted. The former artifact is not expected to affect the convergence candidates significantly above the rate represented by our null hypothesis (horizontal gray line, Fig. 3), as drift is unlikely to give rise to the same false positive in both species (17). Although we found evidence of considerable LD among some top candidates (fig. S4), the convergence candidates were not usually in strong LD with each other; hence, this latter artifact is also not causing many false positives (figs. S7 and S8). Because these artifacts are likely to inflate the number of top candidates identified within species but not to significantly affect signatures of convergence, the true proportion of genes adapting convergently may be higher than 10 to 18%.
Data on gene expression in response to climate stress [from (18)] revealed that 61 convergence candidates with expression data had conserved patterns of differential expression in both species, while 17 had divergent patterns (a factor of ~3.5 difference). This is approximately twice the ratio of conserved:divergent expression observed in nonconvergently adapted genes (P = 0.014, Fisher’s exact test; table S6). Genes with signatures of convergence were also enriched for transcription factors and genes involved in biological regulation and RNA metabolism (enrichment significant in spruce convergence candidates but not pine; tables S8 and S9). Thus, although genes involved in convergent local adaptation are disproportionately conserved in their expression, they are also more likely to affect the expression of other genes. Evidence from Arabidopsis suggests that the protein products of several of these convergent genes could be relevant to seasonal transitions and abiotic stress (table S9). For example, PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR 5 (PRR5) directly regulates the circadian clock and associated developmental transitions (22); FY regulates processing of FCA mRNA, which in turn regulates accumulation of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) mRNA (23); and REGULATORY COMPONENT OF ABA RECEPTOR 1 (RCAR1) functions as a sensor of abscisic acid, a key abiotic stress-related phytohormone (24).
Taken together, our results indicate that local adaptation is more repeatable at the genomic level than might be expected, given the highly polygenic basis of these traits (8, 9) and the potential for considerable genetic redundancy. Furthermore, gene duplication appears to contribute importantly to convergence, although the reason for this is unknown. Whether gene duplication is a common facilitator of convergent genotypic evolution across the domains of life remains to be seen.
Our results suggest that long-diverged conifers share a suite of genes that play an important role in adaptation to temperature, and should enable functional annotation and tools for candidate-augmented genomic selection. However, they also show that adaptation is highly polygenic and involves heterogeneous, nonconvergent responses at many other genes. The success of climate change mitigation strategies such as assisted migration and breeding for new climates will depend on a thorough understanding of adaptation to climate (25), and exploration of the genomic basis of adaptation will inform these activities. | http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6306/1431.full?ijkey=UGF2LQga2JNSY&keytype=ref&siteid=sci |
# Parallel evolution
Parallel evolution is the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure.
## Parallel vs. convergent evolution
Given a particular trait that occurs in each of two lineages descended from a specified ancestor, it is possible in theory to define parallel and convergent evolutionary trends strictly, and distinguish them clearly from one another. However the criteria for defining convergent as opposed to parallel evolution often are unclear in practice, so that arbitrary diagnosis is common in some cases.
When two species are similar in a particular character, evolution is defined as parallel if the ancestors shared that similarity; if they did not, the evolution of that character in those species is defined as convergent. However, this distinction is not clear-cut. For one thing, the stated conditions are partly a matter of degree; all organisms share more or less recent common ancestors. In evolutionary biology the question of how far back to look for similar ancestors, and how similar those ancestors need to be for one to consider parallel evolution to have taken place, cannot always be resolved. Some scientists accordingly have argued that parallel evolution and convergent evolution are more or less indistinguishable. Others insist that in practice we should not shy away from the gray area because many important distinctions between parallel and convergent evolution remain.
When the ancestral forms are unspecified or unknown, or the range of traits considered is not clearly specified, the distinction between parallel and convergent evolution becomes more subjective. For instance, Richard Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker describes the striking similarity between placental and marsupial forms as the outcome of convergent evolution, because mammals on their respective ancestral continents had a long evolutionary history before the extinction of the dinosaurs. That period of separation would have permitted the accumulation of many relevant differences. Stephen Jay Gould differed; he described some of the same examples as having started from the common ancestor of all marsupials and placentals, and hence amounting to parallel evolution. And certainly, whenever similarities can be described in concept as having evolved from a common attribute deriving from a single remote ancestral line, that legitimately may be regarded as parallel evolution.
In contrast, where quite different structures clearly have been co-opted to a similar form and function, one must necessarily regard the evolution as convergent. For example, consider Mixotricha paradoxa, a eukaryotic microbe which has assembled a system of rows of apparent cilia and basal bodies closely resembling the system in ciliates. However, on inspection it turns out that in Mixotricha paradoxa, what appear to be cilia actually are smaller symbiont microorganisms; there is no question of parallel evolution in such a case. Again, the differently oriented tails of fish and whales derived at vastly different times from radically different ancestors and any similarity in the resultant descendants must therefore have evolved convergently; any case in which lineages do not evolve together at the same time in the same ecospace might be described as convergent evolution at some point in time.
The definition of a trait is crucial in deciding whether a change is seen as divergent, or as parallel or convergent. For example, the evolution of the sesamoid "thumb" of the giant panda certainly is not parallel to that of the thumbs of primates, particularly hominins, and it also differs morphologically from primate thumbs, but from some points of view it might be regarded as convergent in function and appearance.
Again, in the image above, note that since serine and threonine possess similar structures with an alcohol side chain, the example marked "divergent" would be termed "parallel" if the amino acids were grouped by similarity instead of being considered individually. As another example, if genes in two species independently become restricted to the same region of the animals through regulation by a certain transcription factor, this may be described as a case of parallel evolution - but examination of the actual DNA sequence will probably show only divergent changes in individual basepair positions, since a new transcription factor binding site can be added in a wide range of places within the gene with similar effect.
A similar situation occurs considering the homology of morphological structures. For example, many insects possess two pairs of flying wings. In beetles, the first pair of wings is hardened into elytra, wing covers with little role in flight, while in flies the second pair of wings is condensed into small halteres used for balance. If the two pairs of wings are considered as interchangeable, homologous structures, this may be described as a parallel reduction in the number of wings, but otherwise the two changes are each divergent changes in one pair of wings.
Similar to convergent evolution, evolutionary relay describes how independent species acquire similar characteristics through their evolution in similar ecosystems, but not at the same time, such as the dorsal fins of sharks, cetaceans and ichthyosaurs.
### Examples
Colouration that serves as a warning to predators and for mating displays has evolved in many different species. In the plant kingdom, the most familiar examples of parallel evolution are the forms of leaves, where very similar patterns have appeared again and again in separate genera and families. In Arabidopsis thaliana it has been suggested that populations adapt to local climate through parallel evolution In butterflies, many close similarities are found in the patterns of wing colouration, both within and among families. Old and New World porcupines shared a common ancestor, both evolved strikingly similar quill structures; this is also an example of convergent evolution as similar structures evolved in hedgehogs, echidnas and tenrecs. Some extinct archosaurs evolved an upright posture and likely were warm-blooded. These two characteristics are also found in most mammals. Modern crocodiles have a four chambered heart and a crurotarsal, the latter being also a characteristic of therian mammals. The extinct pterosaurs and the birds both evolved wings as well as a distinct beak, but not from a recent common ancestor. Internal fertilization has evolved independently in sharks, some amphibians and amniotes. The patagium is a fleshy membrane that is found in gliding mammals such as flying lemurs, flying squirrels, sugar gliders and the extinct Volaticotherium. These mammals all acquired the patagium independently. Pyrotherians evolved a body plan similar to proboscideans. The extinct South American litoptern ungulate Thoatherium had legs that are difficult to distinguish from those of horses. The eye of the octopus has the same complicated structure as the human eye. As a result, it is often substituted in studies of the eye when using a human eye would be inappropriate. As the two species diverged at the time animals evolved into vertebrates and invertebrates this is extraordinary. Certain arboreal frog species, 'flying' frogs, in both Old World families and New World families have developed the ability of gliding flight. They have "enlarged hands and feet, full webbing between all fingers and toes, lateral skin flaps on the arms and legs, and reduced weight per snout-vent length". The tree plant habit has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants.
#### Parallel evolution between marsupials and placentals
A number of examples of parallel evolution are provided by the two main branches of the mammals, the placentals and marsupials, which have followed independent evolutionary pathways following the break-up of land-masses such as Gondwanaland roughly 100 million years ago. In South America, marsupials and placentals shared the ecosystem (before the Great American Interchange); in Australia, marsupials prevailed; and in the Old World and North America the placentals won out. However, in all these localities mammals were small and filled only limited places in the ecosystem until the mass extinction of dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. At this time, mammals on all three landmasses began to take on a much wider variety of forms and roles. While some forms were unique to each environment, surprisingly similar animals have often emerged in two or three of the separated continents. Examples of these include the placental sabre-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) and the South American marsupial sabre-tooth (Thylacosmilus); the Tasmanian wolf and the European wolf; likewise marsupial and placental moles, flying squirrels, and (arguably) mice. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_evolution |
What is coevolution in simple words?
What is coevolution in simple words?
coevolution, the process of reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs between pairs of species or among groups of species as they interact with one another. The activity of each species that participates in the interaction applies selection pressure on the others.
What is competitive species coevolution?
Competitive species coevolution: In this type of coevolution, multiple organisms are vying for the same resources. This is evident in the form of plants and the insects that pollinate those plant species.
What is coevolution kid definition?
Coevolution is where the existence of one species is tightly bound up with the life of one or more other species. Species whose lives connect, evolve together. What happens is that survival rates in each species changes as a result of changes in the other species.
What is coevolution example?
Coevolution happens when the evolution of one species depends on the evolution of another species. The species enter something like an evolutionary race. One common example is the relationship between some species of birds and butterflies.
What is the difference between evolution and coevolution?
is that coevolution is (biology) the evolution of organisms of two or more species in which each adapts to changes in the other while evolution is (biology) the change in the genetic composition of a population over successive generations.
Is competition a form of coevolution?
Coevolution includes many forms of mutualism, host-parasite, and predator-prey relationships between species, as well as competition within or between species.
What are 3 examples of coevolution?
Coevolution Examples
- Predator-Prey Coevolution. The predator-prey relationship is one of the most common examples of coevolution.
- Herbivores and plants.
- Acacia ants and Acacias.
- Flowering Plants and Pollinators.
What is the concept of co evolution?
Coevolution, or coevolution, is the reciprocal evolutionary change in a set of interacting populations over time resulting from the interactions between those populations. Usually, the interacting populations are different species, like plant–pollinator, predator–prey, or host–parasite.
What is meant by coevolution quizlet?
Coevolution. Used to describe cases where two or more species reciprocally affect each other’s evolution; when different species have close ecological interactions with one another.
What animal is an example of coevolution?
The most dramatic examples of avian coevolution are probably those involving brood parasites, such as cuckoos and cowbirds, and their hosts. The parasites have often evolved eggs that closely mimic those of the host, and young with characteristics that encourage the hosts to feed them.
What is the difference between evolution and coevolution quizlet?
What is the difference between coevolution, convergent evolution, and divergent evolution? Coevolution: The mutual evolution of two different species interacting with each other. Convergent Evolution: The process by which unrelated species become more similar as they adapt to the same kind of environment. | https://newsbasis.com/what-is-coevolution-in-simple-words/ |
Waving at You!
A juvenile Mimic Octopus - Thaumoctopus mimicus seen during a night dive in the water column. The size of the body is around 2-3 cm, but with very long arms. From the look of it, despite being a Juvenile, it has lost 2 arms and they are already regrowing, this can be seen from the 2 shorter arms.
It seems the juveniles of Mimic Octopus hangs out in the water column at night to hunt tiny planktons and crustaceans before settling to the sandy bottoms when they are bigger.
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what is the water column? Posted one year ago
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The mimic octopus is an Indo-Pacific species of octopus capable of impersonating other local species. They are notable for being able to change their skin color and texture in order to blend in with their environment, such as algae-encrusted rock and nearby coral through pigment sacs known as chromatophores. The mimic octopus possesses chromatophores as well as the unique behaviour of taking shape of various objects and animals. | https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86620/waving_at_you.html |
The wunderpus is also known for its ability to mimic other sea animals. The wunderpus can change its color patterns when disturbed or threatened. This quick-change artist is able to change its appearance, both color and shape, in a quick draw in order to get out of harms way. The change of its color patterns allows the wunderpus octopus to either blend in with its surroundings or mimic a venomous species to scare its threat away. The ability to change patterns and impersonate other species has evolved to ensure the survival of the wunderpus octopus. | https://www.naturefootage.com/stock-video-species/wonderpus/wunderpus-photogenicus |
(Read Aloud for Younger Students)
An organism’s body parts (structures) depends on where it lives – its habitat. Ocean habitats vary and the organisms that live there have many interesting structures and functions that help them survive.
For example, blue whales, eat krill, small shrimp-like organisms, which they filter out of the ocean and swallow without chewing. In fact, a blue whale has no teeth at all, just a large mouth with fringed plates that it uses like a strainer to catch its food. It’s large muscular tongue pushes against the plates to press out all the excess water.
Killer whales do have teeth. They spent much of the year up in the Arctic where they hunt seals. Their slick bodies and powerful fins help them swim fast and cover long distances in the ocean.
Sharks have razor sharp teeth that they use to take large bites out of prey. They often lose their teeth tearing at prey, but another row of teeth are right behind the first one to replace them as they’re lost.
Another ocean predator, the leopard seal, hunts penguins in Antarctica. Penguins are birds, but have adapted wings that are more like fins for swimming after fish. Though they don’t fly, they are fast and agile swimmers and can leap from the ocean onto the ice shelf to escape hungry leopard seals.
The albatross is a sea bird that spends its life soaring over the ocean on long, powerful wings. It only comes on land to breed.
Many ocean animals, from whales to seahorses, use fins or flippers to move, but some sea creatures move with suction cups or water jets. The octopus lacks a bony skeleton, but moves in a very fluid motion squeezing into small place to escape predators or chase prey. Some can even change color to blend in with their surroundings.
Coral, sea anemones, and sponges may look like plants, but are actually animals that attach themselves to the ocean floor. They feed on small bits of food created by schools of fish, sharks, sea turtles, and other reef creatures as they feed nearby. They are swept clean of sand and debris by wave action. Sea anemones have a venomous sting to trap small prey. Clown fish are immune to their sting, and live among the anemones’ tendrils, safe from predators.
Humans have always made useful products from ocean animals and plants. Besides for our dependence on ocean fisheries for food, humans can learn a lot about how to solve problems by studying how ocean animal live. Imagine the products we could develop if we could mimic how the octopus changes color to blend in or how flying fish catch ocean wind currents to glide above the water on extended fins, or how fish in the deep ocean abyss can survive the great pressure down there. We have a lot to learn from ocean creatures. | https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Structure-and-Function-of-Ocean-Organisms |
This opening episode reveals the extraordinary strategies used by both predators and prey.
2015 • Nature
How do polar predators face the challenges of hunting in the most seasonal place on Earth?
2015 • Nature
Predators and their prey hunt and escape in the dense and complex world of the forest.
2015 • Nature
Revealing the strategies predators use to hunt for prey in the big blue.
2015 • Nature
A look at predator and prey strategies in the open arenas of desert and grassland.
2015 • Nature
Predators hunt on the dynamic border between land and sea, where chances are brief.
2015 • Nature
Looking at the planet's top predators through the eyes of scientists trying to save them.
2015 • Nature
Today, Iolo discovers the difficulties birds face in order to stay alive, and the programme includes a dramatic scene in which a sparrow hawk seizes the moment to attack a woodpigeon nest.
3/5 • Secret Life of Birds • 2012 • Nature
Going down into these narrow flooded passageways is not for the faint-hearted but, with only an estimated one percent of the caves explored, it is an opportunity for the team to write themselves into cave diving history, by pushing further in than anyone has before. This is a challenge that tests even the most accomplished cave divers. Steve must face the terrors of being lost in an underwater silt cloud in a cave. But there is a bigger issue at stake. All life in the Yucatan depends on the fresh water in this network of caves, but it's being contaminated by human development. With every metre the team maps, it adds to the knowledge of the system, which, in turns, helps protect it for future generations.
Dr Helen Czerski examines the hottest natural phenomena on the planet - lightning. Bolts of lightning five times hotter than the surface of the sun strike our planet over 3 million times every day - and yet we still know little about this deadly force of nature. Now, specialist photography is revealing how lightning travels through the air, high-speed cameras are unlocking the secrets of upward lightning that's triggered by our urban landscapes, and scientific expeditions are capturing rare images of intense electrical discharges over 80 kilometres wide.
Part 3 • Dangerous Earth • 2016 • Nature
In the wild North Atlantic, massive whale pods, giant turtles and monstrous jellyfish ride the Gulf Stream, a huge ocean current that becomes a migration superhighway and helps warm northern Europe. Meanwhile, fishermen battle for survival in mountainous seas as they try to reap the current's natural fertility.
1/3 • Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth • 2015 • Nature
Everyone loves giraffes, but what do we really know about them? Dr Julian Fennessy starts to reveal their secrets - the most important being that they are disappearing. In an urgent and daring mission, with a determined Ugandan team, he plans to round up 20 of the world's rarest giraffe to take across and beyond the mighty Nile River. The stakes are high, but if they succeed the reward will be a brighter future for an animal we have somehow overlooked.
Natural World • 2016 • Nature
Coral reefs are home to a quarter of all marine species. Survival in these undersea mega-cities is a challenge with many different solutions. A turtle heads to the reef's equivalent of a health spa - but she must use trickery to avoid the queue. A remarkable Grouper uses the fish equivalent of sign language to collaborate with an octopus, flushing their prey out of hiding holes. A metre-long, ferocious-jawed Bobbit Worm hides in its tunnel. Monocle Bream retaliate by squirting water to expose its sandy lair. | https://ihavenotv.com/race-against-time-coasts-the-hunt |
What is the Latin meaning of the phylum and class squid?
The squid is one of the most highly developed invertebrates. It is in the phylum Mollusca, which is derived from the Latin word meaning “soft body”. It belongs to the class Cephalopoda, meaning “head-footed”, because its head is pushed down toward the foot.
Where does squid fit into the marine food web?
In the marine ecosystem squid are secondary or tertiary consumers. Food webs start with the producers, or organisms that can make their own food.
What happens if you rub a squid’s chromatophores?
When the squid wants to change its color, the muscles pull on the color sacs and they get big enough for the color to be seen. If you rub really hard on a white area of the squidâ’s skin, you will be able to break open some of the color sacs and make the color more visible.
What adaptations does the squid have that help it to capture prey quizlet?
1- squirts ink to distract predators. 2. Shoots thru water backward with its siphon.
What is the class of squid?
Class Cephalopoda
Clams, Snails, and Squid: Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda.
What is the Latin meaning of Mollusca?
soft-bodied
Mollusca, meaning “soft-bodied,” is one of the largest phylums in the animal kingdom. The word mollusc (or mollusk) derives from the Latin word “mollis,” which means “soft.” There are an estimated 200,000 species of mollusk worldwide accounting for nearly a quarter of all marine life.
How do squid breathe?
Gills. Squid use oxygen from seawater for respiration. The seawater enters the mantle through the opening near the head, and passes over the gills. Oxygen diffuses from the water into the blood, and is transported to the gill (or branchial) hearts by a network of many blood vessels.
What adaptations does the squid have that allow it to play the role of prey?
They have a sharp beak on their mouths that they use to break open shells. Squid have some unique adaptations. Some can change color, some use bioluminescence to create light, and some shoot ink to cloud the water and lose predators.
Why do squid turn red?
Male Caribbean reef squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea ) turn red to attract females and white to repel other males—and can even split the coloration of their bodies down the middle to attract a female on one side and repel a male on the other!
What role does a squid play in the marine food web?
With at least 300 known species, the squid plays a vital role in marine ecosystems as both predator and prey. Not only do these creatures feed upon many different oceanic species, but they also provide food to many other creatures, and those creatures provide food to other larger predators as well.
What adaptations make cephalopods effective predators in aquatic biome?
What adaptations make cephalopods effective predators in an aquatic biome? In cephalopods, the foot had evolved into to tentacles with suckers, hooks, or adhesive structures. cephalopods swim or walk over the ocean floor in pursuit of their prey, capturing it with their tentacles.
How does the foot of a bivalve differ from snails?
The foot of the bivalve is one singular mass. Its main purpose is for burrowing or digging. The cephalopod foot is made up of tentacle and sucker like structure that are used for locomotion as well as for hunting prey. The snail foot is also one singular mass but is used mainly for crawling like movements.
What is the class of octopus?
CephalopodOctopus / Class
What is the Latin meaning of the class Cephalopoda?
cephalopod (n.) one of a class of mollusks notable for having tentacles attached to a distinct head, 1825, from French cephalopode, from Modern Latin Cephalopoda (the class name), from Greek kephalē “head” (see cephalo-) + pod-, stem of pous “foot” (from PIE root *ped- “foot”).
What is the Latin meaning of annelida?
The annelids /ˈænəlɪdz/ (Annelida /əˈnɛlɪdə/, from Latin anellus, “little ring”), also known as the ringed worms or segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches.
How do cephalopods move?
Perhaps the most common type of locomotion used by cephalopods is jet propulsion. To travel by jet propulsion, a cephalopod such as a squid or octopus will fill its muscular mantle cavity, which is used to get oxygenated-water to their gills, with water and then quickly expel the water out of the siphon.
How do cephalopods taste?
So even if the protein content are basically the same, the texture reflects dramatic differences in the motional behavior of the different species. Still, cephalopods have tastes that are similar to those of other mollusks and partly also bonefish when it comes to umami (Mouritsen and Styrbæk, 2014). | https://www.evanewyork.net/what-is-the-latin-meaning-of-the-phylum-and-class-squid/ |
Narwhals are easily one of the most unique and beloved animals in the world. Research of narwhals in the wild has uncovered a lot about this beloved animal. This includes the species-specific dietary needs required for survival and a host of fascinating physical adaptations for finding their food. Time to dig in and learn all about what foods the narwhal eats!
Despite their popularity, much about this marine mammal dubbed the unicorn of the seas is still unknown. The unforgiving Arctic and North Atlantic habitats of this species make it incredibly difficult to observe in the wild. Additionally, every attempt made to study the narwhal in captivity has failed.
What Does The Narwhal Eat?
Narwhals are carnivores that hunt live prey and have highly specialized dietary needs. They eat halibut, cod, squids, shrimp, and other marine life. This is a major factor that contributes to their inability to survive in captivity. The narwhal’s natural habitats are the cold Atlantic and Arctic oceans from Canada to Russia and Norway. They also migrate to coastal waters in summer and deep water in the winter. This migratory pattern heavily influences the narwhal’s diet and survival in the overly sensitive environment the species thrives in.
Narwhals are large marine mammals that resemble small whales. Between 13-20 feet long and an average of 1.5 tons, they are the size of a bus. That does not include the tusk, which can grow up to ten feet long!
The Complete Narwhal Diet
Research and observation of narwhals in their natural habitat are difficult. Unsuccessful attempts to keep this species in captivity have determined that their diet is specialized. The species is highly dependent on prey that is only found in the icy northern waters they call home.
Narwhal prey consists of species endemic to its natural habitat. This consists primarily of Greenland halibut, polar and Arctic cod, rockfish, flounder, Gonatus squid, and other native fish. Additionally, they will occasionally consume small crustaceans, shrimp, and smaller cephalopods as well.
How Much Do Narwhals Eat?
Narwhals are one of the largest marine mammals found in their natural habitat. Due to their immense size, they can consume copious amounts of food during their most active periods. On average, narwhals eat between 20 and 25 pounds of food a day.
What Do Baby Narwhals Eat?
Baby narwhals are referred to as calves. Much about the reproductive cycle of the species is still unknown. Narwhals are difficult to observe in the wild and they are unable to survive for long in captivity.
Narwhals are marine mammals that birth live young, and narwhal calves canto swim almost immediately after being born. Female narwhals have one or two calves at a time and produce milk rich in fat. Calves will nurse for up to two years while learning to hunt to ensure healthy development. Once weaned, juvenile narwhals hunt alongside the adult members of their pod.
Do Narwhals Compete With Other Animals For Food?
As one of the largest predators in their natural habitat, the narwhal has few competitors for food. Primary competitors for prey are larger whales and sharks, and in coastal migratory paths, they may also compete with polar bears and walruses.
Do Narwhals Change Their Diet By Season?
The season and many experts heavily impact the narwhal dietary habits believe that the species developed its seasonal eating patterns in response to the summer migratory feeding patterns of other whale species.
Narwhals feed intensely during the winter months and consume the highest quantity of their prey during this seasonal period. During the warmer summer season, the narwhal eats extraordinarily little. It relies primarily on fat storage in the form of thick layers of blubber to survive.
This migratory seasonal feeding pattern is the opposite of the migratory patterns of other marine mammals in the summer season. The narwhal may have developed this adaptation to avoid competition, though this has yet to be confirmed.
How Do Narwhals Hunt?
Narwhals travel and hunt in groups of up to twenty members called pods. They use a complex combination of whistles, clicks, and knocking sounds using chambers located near the blowhole. Using this form of communication in addition to echolocation, narwhals hunt together to find prey and avoid predators.
Gender and narwhal calves also separate narwhal pods are grouped with the females. The reason for this split may be to protect smaller females and calves. But the actual reason for this split group formation has not been conclusively determined.
Narwhals are capable of some of the deepest dives ever documented by marine mammals. Narwhals can dive over 5,000 feet to capture prey. The narwhal is also able to shut down all bodily functions not needed while diving including the need to breathe. This allows narwhals to go up to 30 minutes without the need to surface for air. It also keeps them warm while hunting.
The use of the animal’s tusk might be a tool for echolocation. But this is a subject that is hotly debated among narwhal experts and researchers. Currently, there is not enough data to support this theory. The reason for the narwhal tusk is one of many questions we still have about the species.
The narwhal’s tusk is believed to be the evolutionary result of an ingrown tooth. But they do not have teeth in their mouths. Once prey is detected, narwhals produce a vacuum-like suction to pull the food into their mouths and swallow it whole.
Do Narwhals Have Natural Predators?
With its immense size, the narwhal only has a few natural predators to contend with. The primary predators encountered by this species in the wild consist of larger whales, sharks, and humans. Occasionally, narwhals that become trapped within shallow pools and become prey for polar bears and walruses as well.
Narwhals use echolocation to detect approaching predators. When approached male narwhals rotate and move their tusks to intimidate the predator rather than attempt an attack. Otherwise, narwhals evade predators using their deep-diving abilities or by avoiding areas these predators regularly frequent.
The Inuit people have hunted the narwhal for thousands of years. Every part of the animal is used for various purposes from food to lamp oil. The Inuit people of the Arctic continue this practice to this day. The long-held hunting tradition has had little to no negative impact on the species.
Additionally, the industrial-scale hunting of narwhals in the 19th and 20th century did little to threaten the narwhal population. This is remarkable given the heavy impact industrial hunting during this period had on other whale species. However, industrial hunting did cause a significant drop in narwhal numbers from its peak.
Does The Narwhals Diet Impact Other Species?
Narwhals are one of the few large predators in their northern Arctic environment. They are a necessary part of the marine ecosystem. The narwhal’s consumption of its prey keeps the population of those species within reasonable numbers. Without them, the resulting swell in prey populations would negatively impact that ecosystem.
Additionally, the Inuit people located near the Arctic and Northern Atlantic would be negatively impacted should the narwhal face extinction. While these people are capable of survival without the tradition of hunting the narwhal, the Inuit revere the species. The Inuit people hold narwhals in high esteem that is steeped in thousands of years of tradition. The loss of the narwhal would be a hard and emotional blow to the Inuit people and for the world.
Are Narwhals Dangerous To Humans?
Like all wild animals, scientists and researchers highly discourage attempting interactions with narwhals. The narwhal is not considered to be a danger to humans. It does not come close enough to land to be considered a threat.
There are no documented cases in which the narwhal has attacked or harmed a human. The narwhal’s most aggressive action is stunning another animal by hitting it with its tusk.
However, human beings are a very real danger for narwhals. The increasing threats of pollution and climate change have resulted in warmer water temperatures and increased human traffic. These factors can have devastating impacts on the narwhal’s natural habitat.
According to the ICUN Red List, there are approximately 123,000 fully mature adult narwhals left in the wild. The narwhal is listed as a species of Least Concern by the ICUN. But the World Wildlife Federation considers it to be near threatened. This and many other organizations dedicated to conservation believe that the looming threat of climate change may cause narwhal populations to rapidly decline in the future. | https://a-z-animals.com/blog/what-do-narwhals-eat/ |
3) Bony Fishes (Osteichthyes).
What subphylum of phylum Chordata are fish classified into?
Vertebrata.
Why is the classification of Vertebrata somewhat questionable for the jawless fish?
They lack true vertebrae.
two ways that jawless fish may be economically important
Their skin is used in the manufacture of leather goods.
Food source, medicine, sportfishing, aquariums
5 anatomical features that are characteristic of sharks
1) Tail (caudal fin) is well developed and powerful. Usually heterocercal, meaning that the upper lobe is longer than the lower lobe.
2) Upper surface of the body typically features two dorsal fins, the first is usually larger and nearly triangular.
3) Paired pectoral fins are large and pointed in most species
4) Five to seven gill slits behind the head present on each side of body
5) Powerful jaws have rows of numerous sharp, often triangular teeth that are embedded in a tough, fibrous membrane that covers the jaws. A lost or broken tooth is replaced be another, which slowly shifts forward from the row behind it.
two defense mechanisms seen in skates and rays that are not found in sharks
1) Many rays have a whip-like tail usually equipped with stinging spines at the base for defense
2) Some rays and skate have special organs that produce electricity on each side of the head. They can deliver shocks of up to 200 volts that stun the fishes they eat and discourage predators.
Which of the following is NOT one of the three potentially dangerous sharks for human swimmers?
A. hammerhead B. great white C. tiger D. bull
hammerhead
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of bony fish?
A. operculum B. swim bladder C. placoid scales D. homocercal tail
C. placoid scales
What are chromatophores?
Chromatophores are irregularly shaped, pigment-containing cells that have branches radiating from the center. (Chromatophores are common in: crustaceans, cephalopod mollusks, lizards and amphibians, and some fishes.) Chromatophores are often used for camouflage. Many fishes can rapidly change color by contracting and expanding the pigment in the chromatophores.
How are chromatophores similar but different from iridophores?
Iridophores, unlike the other two types of chromatophores, do not produce pigments. Instead they contain deposits of purines. These deposits are crystalline in nature and reflect varying amounts of light. The way the light is reflected is determined by the type of purines and the way the crystals are oriented. These structures control the appearance and reflection of green, blue and red light to our eyes.
warning coloration
Warning coloration is a combination of contrasting colors that warns that an animal is dangerous. Bands of black and yellow are a typical form of warning coloration, found in stinging insects.
cryptic coloration
Cryptic coloration is coloration that allows an organism to match its background in order to become less vulnerable to predation or recognition by prey. (Blending with the environment to deceive predators or prey).
disruptive coloration
Disruptive coloration is a color pattern like stripes, bars, or spots that help break up the outline of a fish. predators can't tell where one fish ends and another begins
countershading
Countershading is a form of disguise in open water. (the animal's back (dorsal side) is dark while its underside (ventral side) is light.)
three ways that fish gill architecture maximizes surface area for gas exchange between the water and the blood.
1) Lamellae- rows of thin plates or disks on each gill filament greatly increase surface are through which gas exchange can take place.
2) Gill raker
3) Capillary beds
Explain how counter-current flow maximizes the diffusion of oxygen from the water to the blood.
The blood in the gills flows in the opposite direction to the water passing over them. When the water has passed over the gill and given up much of its oxygen, it meets blood that has just come from the body and is "hungry" for what oxygen remains in the water.
Fish use a variety of sensory structures to perceive their environment. List three structures and briefly describe how it functions.
1) Highly developed sense of smell, which they use to detect food, mates, and predators, and sometimes to find their way home. They do this with special sensory cells located in olfactory sacs on both sides of the head. Each sac opens to the outside through one or two openings, the nostrils, or nares.
2) Taste buds located in the mouth and on the lips, fins, skin, and barbels (whisker-like organs near the mouth of many bottom feeders).
3) Fish eyes focus by moving farther away or closer to the subject.
4) The lateral line enables fish to detect vibrations in the water, it consists of a system of small canals that run along the head and body. The canals lie in the skin and in the bone or cartilage of the head. They are lined with clusters of sensory cells, or neuromasts, that are sensitive to vibration.
5) ampulle of Lorenzini in cartilaginous fishes can detect weak electrical fields. Helps them locate prey and may also help in navigation.
Suggest three ways in which schooling behavior may be beneficial for fish.
1) Offers protection against predation. Predators may be confused if the school circles a predator or splits into several groups. Also, it is difficult for a predator to aim for just one fish in a cloud of shifting, darting individuals.
2) increase swimming efficiency because the fish in front form an eddy that reduces water resistance for those behind.
3) Feeding or mating
The difference between anadromous and catadromous fishes
Anadromous fishes spend most of their lives at sea but migrate to fresh water to breed. (like salmon)
Catadramous fishes breed at sea and migrate into revers to grow and mature. (a migratory pattern opposite of salmon) (freshwater eels)
Internal fertilization in cartilaginous fish is accomplished through the use of _____ copulatory organs located on the inner edge of the pelvic fins.
claspers
A fish that retains fertilized egg cases inside of her reproductive tract until they hatch and are birthed as live young is said to be...
ovoviparous
Which of these reproductive strategies is the most common among fishes? A. oviparous B. viviparous C. parthenogenesis D. (none of these)
A. oviparous
Vertebrates
Are chordates with a backbone that encloses a nerve cord or spinal cord.
hagfish/ slime eel
Jawless fish that feed mostly on dead or dying fishes
Caudal fin
Tail
heterocercal
upper lobe of tail is longer than the lower lobe
Demersal
Fishes that live on the bottom
homocercal
upper and lower loves of the tail are generally the same size
swim bladder
gas-filled sac just about the stomach and intestine that allows the fish to adjust its buoyancy to keep from sinking or rising
Myomeres
attach to the backbone for support and run along the side of the body
anal fins
used as rudders to steer and provide stability
pelvic fins
help the fish turn, balance, and "brake"
gill rakers
slender projections on the inner surface of the gill arches
cloaca
common passage for the digestive, excretory, & reproductive systems in cartilaginous fishes
gas exchange
the absorption of oxygen to be used in respiration and the elimination of carbon dioxide that results from the same process.
homing behavior
the ability of an animal to find its way back to a home area
courtship
series of behaviors that attract mates
internal fertilization
the sperm is directly transferred from males to females through the acts of copulation
external fertilization
release of gametes into the water (broadcast spawning)
oviparous
spawn eggs (most fishes)
ovoviviparous
Female retains eggs inside her reproductive tract for additional protection. The eggs develop inside of her, then she gives birth to live young.
viviparous
Embryos absorb nutrients from the walls of the mother's reproductive tract. live-bearers
parthenogenesis
the development of an egg into a normal embryo without fertilization by sperm
When did fish first appear in the fossil record?
About 500 million years ago- the first vertebrates
What did fish evolve from?
tadpole larva of a sea squirt or a lacelet because these are chordatas that are invertebrates
Characteristics of jawless fish
o Circular mouth
o No paired fins
o No true backbone
o No scales
o No gill slits, pore-like gill openings
o Body shaped like an eel; long, slender
o Bottom dwellers typically
Ecological purpose of hagfish
Recycle nutrients
Why are Lampreys considered marine?
They are primarily freshwater, but lay their eggs in the ocean.
4 basic characteristics of chordates
1) Single, dorsal, hollow nerve cord
2) Gill slits
3) Notochord
4) post-anal tail
Sharks considered living fossils, why?
haven't changed much in over 100 million years
Largest known fish in the world
Whale Shark (up to 60 ft. long)
Smallest shark
Pygmy shark (10 in. long)
Why fish establish territory
Food, reproduction
Charcharodon carcharias
Great White Shark- eat seals and sea lions, we look like them
Galeocerdo cuvier
Tiger Shark- tropical, eat sea turtles (we look like sea turtles sometimes)
Carcharhinys leucas
Bull Shark- can live in freshwater! can go in shallow water
Largest group of fish
Bony fish
characteristics of bony fish
o Mad of bones
o Gill chamber covered by operculum
o Cycloid scales
o Swim bladder
o Homocercal tail
o Mouth at front of head
o Fin rays
Reasons for migration
Food- most common (skipjack tuna)
Reproduction (salmon)
Catadromous
Freshwater animal that spawns at sea
Anadromous
Marine animal that spawns in freshwater
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... | https://quizlet.com/295629419/marine-biology-chapter-8-flash-cards/ |
The Octopus Animal is a soft-bodied, eight-armed mollusc of the order Octopoda. Around 300 species are recognised and the order is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, Octopus Animal cuttlefish and nautiloids.
Octopus Animal Facts:
- Common name: Octopuses
- Order: octopoda
- Subclass: Coleoidea
- Class: Cephalopoda
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Number of species: About 200
- Size: Arm span from less than 2 in (5 cm) to 33 ft (10 m)
Key features: Octopus Animal Adult body usually round and relatively short; shell usually lacking, but occasionally present or may exist as a reduced internal structure; no lateral fins; 8 arms
all similar in form and linked by a web of skin for part of their length; suckers arranged in 1 or 2 rows; mantle cavity and siphon used in “jet propulsion”; mantle cavity contains 2 gills; well-developed eyes brain and nervous system present; well-developed statocyst for balance and chromatophores for color change and camouflage
Habits: Almost all adults are bottom-dwelling, Octopus Animal predatory marine animals; many are solitary behaviors complex, including use of ink to distract predators
Breeding: sexes separate; male transfers sperm into female’s mantle cavity using arm with specially modified suckers; female often guards her eggs; Octopus Animal planktonic larval phase present in many species
Diet: Powerful carnivores; prey includes crustaceans, fish, and Sometimes other octopuses; toxic saliva injected by well-developed beaklike jaws to subdue prey
Habitat: Widely distributed in most marine environments, more common in shallow coastal habitats
Distribution: All the world’s seas and oceans
Octopus Animal Photos: | http://animalsbirds.com/octopus-animal/ |
Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. The ultimate portrait of our planet looks at the key factors that shape our natural history. The sun and fresh water dominate the lives of all animals and plants on Earth and trigger seasonal migrations, small and large.
Series
:
Planet Earth
In the Grip of the Seasons
2015 Nature
The second episode looks at the challenges of hunting in the Arctic, the most seasonal place on Earth. To a predator, seasonal change is a problem. It means that all the parameters of the hunt - the conditions, the strategies, the prey - change too. The only option for the Arctic's top predators, the wolf, the Arctic fox and the polar bear, is to continually adapt to their changing world, exploiting the good times and enduring the bad.
Series
:
The Hunt
Living with Predators. Conservation
2015 Nature
The final episode of the series visits the frontline of the conflict with the world's top predators, meeting the scientists fighting to save them. Crossing five continents and combining landmark natural history footage with real-life human drama, it checks the pulse of the earth's iconic animals, including lions, tigers, polar bears and blue whales. With three-quarters of the planet's carnivores now in decline, can people find ways to live with predators before they disappear forever?
Series
:
The Hunt
Ice Worlds
2007 Nature
The Arctic and Antarctic experience the most extreme seasons on Earth. Time-lapse cameras watch a colony of emperor penguins, transforming them into a single organism. The film reveals new science about the dynamics of emperor penguin behaviour. In the north, unique aerial images show a polar bear swimming more than 100km. Diving for up to two minutes at a time. The exhausted polar bear later attacks a herd of walrus in a true clash of the Titans.
Series
:
Planet Earth
The Arctic
2011 Culture
The Arctic is the harshest environment on Earth: little food grows, it's dark for months on end, and temperatures stay well below freezing for much of the year. Yet four million people manage to survive here. Human Planet tells remarkable stories of extraordinary people who make their homes in nature's deep freeze. In springtime, Amos and Karl-Frederik set out across the sea ice with their dogs to catch a real-life sea monster: a Greenland shark! Inuit mussel-gatherers venture underneath the sea ice at low tide for a perilous race against time as they gather their food. And the children of Churchill, Manitoba, set out on the most dangerous trick or treating Halloween in the world: they risk coming face-to-face with deadly polar bears on the streets of their town. Who'll get the tastiest snack?
Series
: | http://www.documentarymania.com/results.php?pageNum_Recordset1=1&totalRows_Recordset1=15&search=Polar%20bear&genre= |
SquidPosted on July 17, 2018 - Last modified: August 5, 2018
squid (Teuthida) is his vulgar name, his real name is teutido belonging to the order of the cephalopod molluscs. This order contains two orders known as Myopsin and Oegopsin.
In the seas of the entire planet there are approximately 300 species of squid, being one of the few animals that is capable of living in the extreme waters of Antarctica.
Table of Contents
Features
The squid is a cephalopod similar to the octopus. Like most cephalopods, the squid has a distinct head, mantle, and arms. It is also bilaterally symmetric. Like the cuttlefish, it has two arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs. There are some species known to have 10 arms. In the mature male, a basal half of the left ventral tentacle is hectocotylized and instead of suction cups it has a copulatory pad used for sexual intercourse.
The vast majority of species are about 20 cm long when fully stretched, although other species can reach 60 cm. The colossal squid from the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean is known to be about 14 meters in length.
They have three hearts. Two of them are known as branchial hearts that feed the gills and surround the third heart, the systemic heart that is the largest that sends blood throughout the body. Blood contains the protein hemocyanin to carry oxygen. The systemic heart is made up of three chambers, a lower ventricle and two upper atria.
The mouth features a robust, horny beak affiliate made of chitin and cross-linked proteins, containing no minerals, used to kill and tear prey. Sometimes some whales have indigestible squid beaks in their stomachs. In the mouth we can find the radula, the rough tongue common in all mollusks with the exception of the bibalvia.
The eyes are positioned on both sides of the head, each containing a hard slow. The image is focused like a camera or telescope, rather than changing the shape of the target like the human eye. Squid hearing is quite limited.
The main body mass is enclosed in the mantle that has a swimming fin on each side but they are not the main form of locomotion. The skin is composed of chromatophores that allow it to camouflage itself in its environment by being able to change color.
Below the body are openings to the hollow mantle that contains the gills, excretory and reproductive systems. At the front is the siphon that is used to propel itself with a precise jet. To achieve this, it sucks the water into the mantle and is expelled through the siphon. The direction of the siphon can be adapted to the direction of travel.
Next to the excretory system is the ink sac that allows it to quickly shoot black ink into the hollow of the mantle and then be expelled through the siphon. It is used to mislead the predators after the flight.
Within the hollow mantle, further from the siphon, we can locate the visceral mass covered by a thin and membranous epidermis that protects the main internal organs.
Among the qualities of squid, their intelligence stands out, which is quite high compared to other invertebrates. Some species like the Humboldt squid hunt cooperatively, using active communication. They are also great swimmers and some species can "fly" short distances above the sea surface.
In general, it only lives for a few years in the wild before being eaten. However, some of the larger species can reach 15 years of age.
Habitat
The squid's habitat depends on the species. Some thrive in warm waters in the tropics and others do much better in cooler waters. There are squids in every ocean, however, giant squids are only found in saltwater oceans. They also prefer the depths of the ocean (about 300 meters) where they go unnoticed most of the time.
The ocean with the most varieties of species is the North Atlantic Ocean but they can also be found in large numbers around the Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, and California. It has also been seen in the North Pacific starting in the Bering Sea to the Sea of Japan. Squid have also been found in regions of the Southern Ocean.
Food
The squid is a carnivorous animal and mainly feeds on Kirll and Plankton, although larger species of squid feed on larger pieces such as fish, crabs, and shrimp. If food sources are scarce, they will feed on other smaller squid species.
Predators
Squids have numerous predators and are food sources for fish, sharks and sperm whales (when talking about the giant squid). Their eggs are also consumed when they are deposited in water. On land they also have predators such as birds, penguins, seals and humans.
Reproduction
Squid have an interesting way of reproducing. When it is time to mate they concentrate in large schools, both male and female, swimming rapidly in large circles. Males change color to attract females to them and once the female has shown interest, mating begins.
Females have an ink sac hidden under a set of glands in their gills that serves as a protective shell for the eggs. The male has a tentacle smaller than the rest (the equivalent of the human penis) that he will introduce into the female's ink sac where he will release sperm so that they fertilize the eggs.
It is unknown how the eggs develop inside the female, but the eggs are very small although they depend on the species. The number depends on the species and some lay up to 70.000 eggs, however, the vast majority are eaten by predators.
Finally, the female will leave them hidden between rock crevices or in various holes. It can take about eight weeks for the eggs to hatch and they do not wait for them to hatch, as soon as they are deposited they will go away. So the squid must manage from the beginning and they are already prepared from day one because they already know how to swim, although most will die in their first days of life.
State of conservation
Among the various species of squid, none are in danger of extinction. Although its short life span is cause for concern, mainly due to the overwhelming demand from humans.
Squids are also a species affected by climate change and global warming.
Popular culture
Urban legend
Creak, a giant squid, is perhaps the largest monster ever imagined by mankind. In Norse folklore, it was said that he frequented the seas from Norway to Greenland, passing through Iceland.
The Kraken had a knack for harassing ships and many pseudoscientific reports (including naval officers) said it would attack ships with its strong arms. If this strategy failed, the beast began to circle the ship, creating a ferocious maelstrom to drag the ship down.
Legends say that the Kraken could devour the entire crew of a ship at once.
TV
Without a doubt, the most famous squid is Squidward Tentacles (Squidward Q. Tentacles) Of sponge Bob (SpongeBob SquarePants), a Nickelodeon series released on July 17, 1999.
The neighbor and co-worker of SpongeBob, employee of the Mister crab, is defined by his sharp demeanor and pessimistic attitude in contrast to SpongeBob. SpongeBob's best friend is a starfish named Patrick. | https://a.balogs.xyz/animales-acuaticos/calamar/ |
Octopus Skirting – The octopus is a member of the Haliotidae family, but unlike most Haliotidae, which are carnivorous, this octopus is not primarily an assassin. While it is not quite as agile as the snapping turtle, it is a strong swimmer and has a rather unique swimming method: instead of “pushing off” its entire body to propel itself forward, this octopus simply swivels its entire body around in one fluid movement. This unique swimming style gives this octopus the ability to get itself under water, to hunt, and to return to the surface when it needs to breathe. But how does the octopus do all of this?
Skirting Boards Perth
Most people recognize that an octopus’s coloration is based on the blood and tissue content in its tissues. An octopus’s flesh is generally brown in color, although some species have a red coloring, sometimes even orange. Their skin is red with a thin waxy cap, and they are typically found in shallow water. While the octopus can be found almost anywhere there are bodies of water, their habitat is usually confined to waters of the open sea, which are too deep for them to travel by land.
One interesting note about the octopus is that it moves through the water using two sets of arms and three pairs of fins. The middle pair of fins is used to help them maneuver while they’re swimming, but the other pairs of fins help to balance the octopus while swimming. The octopus also has a large, flat tail, which is used to propel it into the air. When prey is close enough, the octopus will open its mouth and emit a loud roar, making it look like it’s going to attack the prey. If the prey is close enough, the octopus will then “squeeze” the prey, causing the prey to escape from its grasp. | https://midnorthmercantile.us/2020/10/20/ |
It'd make for a strange scout though, since the vampire squid is found at extraordinary depths of 600-900 metres (2,000-3,000 feet) or even more, where there is scarce light and such low oxygen levels that little else can survive. In fact there are no other known cephalopods at this depth. You know, I really like octopus. A life without the octopus... sounds like Hell. Hmmm. Anyway, how does the vampire squid survive in a place that others can't, and if it's not a squid, what is it?
Firstly, the vampire squid has been given its own order: Vampyromorphida. It has eight arms, like octopus, but caped together with a webbing of skin and with suckers only at the further half. The rest is covered in fleshy spines called cirri, that may help in creating a current to draw food toward the mouth. They also have two more long, thin 'velar filaments' with which it can feel the surrounding area and search for prey, or keep in a little pouch when not in use. They're a bit like the tentacles that give squid their ninth and tenth limb, but seem to be appendages that octopus lost millions of years ago.
Yes, vampire squid are old, they used to have a lot more relatives in the Vampyromorphid family but now just one is left, in a place where cephalopod upstarts couldn't get at it.
Despite the dark and the long, feely, antenna arms, vampire squid have big eyes. Really big. The entire animal is only about a foot (30 cms) long and half that is all arms, but they have eyes an inch (2.5 cms) in diameter. A twelvth of the entire length, a sixth of its body! If we take the sixth, we're talking the equivalent of humans with basketball eyeballs! People bouncing eyeballs on the floor and throwing it at each other. Imagine that! Don't imagine that.
They also have soft, gelatinous bodies, full of ammonium rich tissues that have a density similar to that of the surrounding water, allowing them to maintain buoyancy with minimal effort. Which is good because they also have rather weak muscles, but are still agile enough for a burst of speed due to balancing organs that are quite a lot like the inner ear.
When more relaxed, the vampire squid uses fins at the side of its head to slowly 'fly' through the darkness, again requiring minimal effort.
Throw in blue blood that takes up more oxygen than that of other cephalopods and gills with an unusually large surface area and you have a creature that can survive the Oxygen Minimum Zone with aplomb.
Life in the deep sea is tough, but death is tougher, so the vampire squid uses a variety of strategies to avoid and escape predation. For a start there is the simple matter of colour, it is black or red, both of which are invisible in the deep. Secondly, it's almost entirely covered in photophores.
When the vampire moves up to the shallower end of its range it won't be shrouded in blackness, it's surrounded in twilight and just as the vampire has large eyes to make use of the smallest gleam of light, so too do its predators. To combat this, it can emit a bluish colour from the photophores and blend in with its surroundings when seen from below. It also has photoreceptors atop its head, not eyes exactly, but sensitive to movement and shadows above, and it's when that shadow turns out to be something malevolent that the fireworks really begin!
No, not guns, it's more that the vampire squid has impeccable control of its bioluminescent photophores, creating a dazzling and maddening display as they flash and glow, tentacles writhing and the actual vampire darting erratically. Deciphering the actual creature behind it all becomes frustrating in the gloom and to cap it all, it can even light up and then diminish and shrink the luminescence to mimic a creature escaping into the distance, while the vampire itself barely moves. All to conserve energy, and particularly effective when predators themselves can't afford to use up energy on a chase.
Most cephalopods have an ink sac with which they can squirt a load of dark and confusing ink at predators as they make their getaway. In the darkness of the deep sea however, the darkness of ink is pretty much irrelevent. The vampire squid gets around this by using light instead. When the situation appears particularly dire, it squirts sticky, bioluminescent mucus from the tips of its arms which can stay lit up for 10 minutes, dazing and dazzling the predator while the vampire disappears into the shadows. I don't know how sticky this stuff actually is, but it sounds like the vampire can actually watch its assailant glowing in the dark and casually drift away. Clever stuff!
One incredibly odd defense is known as the pineapple posture. Here, the arms are drawn up to expose the jet black underside of the cape. There are no photophores here and the rest of the body disappears inside. The cirri stand out proudly, but are completely harmless. Meanwhile the vampire can light up photophores at the tips of its arms and hold them up, drawing attacks away from the body and toward... well, the tips of its arms, obviously. These can be regenerated if lost, so it's a worthwhile sacrifice.
Wow! There's a lot to say about the vampire squid... from Hell! It's such a remarkable and unique creature, I feel it deserves its remarkable and ridiculous name for this alone. It's incredible the amount of adaptation and strategy it has required to survive in its niche. While octopus and squid went about killing off its ancient relatives, the vampire has survived by living life deeper than the deepest of deep sea squid could. Night of the Living Dead!
Vampire squid squirt sticky, bioluminescent mucus from the tips of their arms, check out some other squirters at In Your Face!: Squirters of the Animal Kingdom.
I have been reading your blog chronologically (from the oldest posts) because there is a lot of awesomeness here! I had never imagined that there could be such bizzarre and cool creatures here on this planet! And the Vampire Squid is probably my favourite so far, it seems to have such great abilities... it is a shame that they are endangered by climate changes etc. caused by humans.
Wow! Thank you so much for your kind words and all the time and effort to read all those posts. I'm glad you're finding it worthwhile!
The Vampire Squid certainly is a very interesting and quietly charismatic creature. Losing them would be utterly tragic! I think everyone who knows about the Vampire Squid loves them at least a little.
Haha! It's difficult not to! | http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2010/10/vampire-squid.html |
The Beluga Whale is one intriguing creature! Though it’s one of the smallest whales, it stands out everywhere.
From the very first glance, the Beluga Whale stands out with its stark white color and friendly appearance.
This species is an Arctic and Sub-Arctic cetacean. Often called the white whale, the beluga shares the same family with the narwhal.
Its adaptation to life in the frigid waters of the Arctic means it has evolved several anatomical and physiological characteristics different from other cetaceans. For instance, its body has a high proportion of blubber, it lacks a dorsal fin, and has a stark all-white body color.
Also, its sharp sense of hearing and echolocation enables it move about under ice yet it can quickly find blowholes under the ice covering so it can breathe.
They are very distinct for a prominent and rounded forehead that houses a “melon.” This melon aids echolocation and changes shape when the animal is vocalizing.
This whale is very vocal and employs various clicks, whistles, and clangs to communicate. Actually, they are so vocal that people call them “sea canaries.”
The Beluga whale is a social mammal and you’ll often find them in groups of about 10 individuals. That number easily increases to hundreds and thousands in the summer months.
Although they swim relatively slowly, they are deep divers and individuals have been sighted as deep as 700 meters (2,300 feet) below the surface.
This whale is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN though some specific populations (Alaska USA, and Ungava Bay Canada), are heading towards an endangered status.
Belugas are very common in aquariums, dolphinariums, and wildlife parks worldwide due to their popularity with the public.
1) Scientific Name
Delphinapterus Leucas
2) Scientific Classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Cetacea
- Family: Monodontidae.
- Genus: Delphinaterus
- Species: Delphinapterus Leucas
3) Life Expectancy
The beluga whale has an average life span of 35 – 50 years.
4) Average/Maximum Length
From 3 meters to 5.5 meters (10 to 18 feet) long.
5) Average/ Maximum Weight
When fully grown, beluga whales on average weigh between 91 to 1588 kg (2000 to 3500 lbs.)
6) Maximum Swimming Speed
The maximum observed swimming speed of a beluga whale is about 17 mph (27.5 km/h) for short distances. Adults routinely swim at speed of about 2 to 6 mph (3 to 9 km/h) when at leisure.
7) Interaction With/Danger To Humans
These whales are sensitive, friendly animals that work closely with humans.
In fact, they reportedly imitate human voices after staying with them for a while!
They can be commonly seen performing shows at local Aquariums and Marine Parks and interacting with people on a daily basis. Due to the fact that they are highly intelligent and friendly to people, they have become a staple for visitors who enjoy exploring and studying marine mammals.
As with most other whale species, belugas are generally non-violent. But of course they will attempt to defend themselves if they feel threatened.
8) Reproduction Details
Male beluga whales become sexually mature at about eight to nine years of age, and females at about four to seven years.
They usually breed in small bays during the spring or early summer and mate with many different partners. Their gestation lasts from 12 to 14 months and breeding females breed only once every two to four years.
Interestingly, group activities during birth are quite fascinating. When the female is in labor, many other female belugas come and act as “midwives” to help during the birth.
The calf can be born either tail or head first. Once the 4-foot calf is born, the “midwives” may help the young beluga to the surface for its first breath.
Thereafter, the calf must get milk from its mother for survival. The beluga whale produces green milk made up of 25 percent fat to help the calf form blubber to stay warm in the Arctic waters.
Other female beluga whales will gather round one of their kind in labor to act as “midwives.”
9) Diet/Hunting Pattern Of The Beluga Whale
In terms of food sources, the beluga whale is not particularly picky and it’s more of an opportunistic feeder. It is known to live on a diet of fish, crustaceans, krill, squid, octopus, crabs, sand worms and other small prey.
In order to maintain their energy these whales may consume on average between 2 and 3 percent of their body weight in food on a daily basis. Their young ones on the other hand are nursed on milk by their mother until they can hunt for food on their own.
Beluga whales often hunt for their prey at or near the bottom of shallow coastal shores and will hunt cooperatively in pods of 5 or more whales. This arrangement helps them herd prey together into tight balls where they can isolate and attack.
During deep dives the marine mammals can reach depths of up to 700 meters (2300 feet) when searching for food.
Belugas are opportunistic feeders and not particular about the species of fish they eat.
10) Alternative Names
- Belukha meaning “white one”
- White whale
- White Porpoise
- Sea Canary
- White Squidhound
11) Population And Conservation Status
Commercial whalers hunted the beluga whale during the peak of the whaling industry mainly during the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.
Before then, some of the indigenous tribes of North America and Russia had been hunting belugas for centuries. And though whale hunting is now under international control since 1973, some of the native Inuit and Alaska groups are permitted to carry out subsistence hunting of belugas.
These whales like so many other large sea mammals are subject to many common threats like:
- Attack from predators like polar bears and killer whales.
- Contamination of rivers.
- Infectious diseases.
Though this whale was listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN in 2008, recent data implies that some sub-populations are now endangered and even critically endangered.
For example, the Cook Inlet in Alaska is now considered as critically endangered. While the eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay populations (both in Canada) are endangered.
Presently, beluga whales number between 60,000 and 80,000 individuals worldwide.
12) Ancestry And History
This whale’s scientific name Delphinapterus Leucas is derived from Greek words meaning “white dolphin without a fin.”
Belugas are members of the toothed whale order. The beluga’s earliest known ancestor is the prehistoric Denebola Brachycephala, a now-extinct whale, from the late Miocene period (11.6 to 5.3 million years ago).
It shares a common ancestor with the narwhal and there is evidence of crossbreeding with narwhals.
13) Distribution and Habitat
These whales are common in the Arctic Ocean’s Coastal waters, though they are found in subarctic waters as well. Especially around North America, Russia and Greenland. Arctic belugas migrate southward in large herds when the sea freezes over.
They inhabit the Arctic Ocean and adjoining seas, including the sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, the Beaufort Sea, Baffin Bay, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Some beluga populations make seasonal migrations while others remain in a relatively small area year round. Environmental conditions determine migration behavior.
This species is under pressure and at this rate, the general beluga whale population is likely to qualify for “Threatened” status within the next 5 years.
References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga_whale
2. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/beluga-whale/
3. https://www.worldwildlife.org/blogs/good-nature-travel/posts/ten-interesting-facts-about-beluga-whales
Photo Credits: | https://www.welovewhales.club/species-profile-the-beluga-whale/ |
Squids are cephalopods. They have elongated bodies, large eyes, eight arms and two tentacles. They have distinct head shapes, and symmetry that helps with their aerodynamics through the water. They are soft bodied like octopuses, but unlike octopuses they have a small skeleton. Their skeletons are very “pen-like” in shape and are made of chitin.
Squids are very ancient creatures. They branched off from other types of cephalopods during the Jurassic period. Crown coleoids (the ancestors of octopuses and squid) diverged at the end of the Paleozoic period. The ancestral coleoid to squids is hypothesized to have a shell unlike its currently alive counterparts.
Unlike the octopus, these creatures grab food with their two tentacles and use the rest of their limbs to restrain the prey. Overall, they have around 10 limbs. On most of their limbs they have multiple suction cups and horned rings. Similarly to the octopus , they use their beak to cut up their food into chunks. Some types of squid also hunt cooperatively instead of hunting alone.
Squids are very efficient swimmers. They move through jet propulsion and have very efficient eyesight. However, they are color blind. They are equally as smart as octopuses. Squids are preyed upon by sharks, other fish, birds, seals, and whales.
Squids can change color. They mainly use this as a defense mechanism and for camouflage. They also use it for communicating with other squid and fish. Some squids are even bioluminescent. Luminescent squids have several light organs that they use to light themselves out.
Squids also eject clouds of ink to distract them from predators and escape from them. The only predator it doesn’t work on is humans. Which is why they never escape from becoming calamari.
Some types of squids are very misleading with their name. The vampire squid for example is more related to octopuses than it is to squids. But cuttlefish for example are considered a type of squid.
There is very little known about the life cycle of a squid. Some squids lay eggs and attach them to floating weeds. While others use the bottom of the ocean floor. Some hatchlings resemble squids as soon as they are born, while others have a planktonic larval stage.
The smallest squid in the world is the Southern Pygmy Squid. The males only grow to about 1.6cm in length. The largest squids are the Giant and Colossal Squids. They are also the largest living invertebrates. The largest giant squids that have been recovered were almost 13 meters in length.
Giant squids have several interesting attributes.
Their eight arms have on average 2 inch wide suckers that are toothed. Their mouths also contain something called a radula. A radula is a tongue-like organ that is covered in rows of teeth. This tongue is located inside the squid’s beak.
Their heads also have eyes that are the size of your average dinner plate. Which are usually around 30 centimeters wide. Their eyes have the largest head to eyes ratio in the animal kingdom. Because of the massive diameter of their eyes, this allows them to see very tiny creatures, and bioluminescent prey.
Just like regular squids their brains are shaped a bit differently than ours. Their brain is shaped like a donut and is fitted around their esophagus.
There is some debate in the science community if giant squids are their unique species, or there are other subspecies of giant squid. There is evidence to suggest there are as many as 8 different species. However, giant squids are hard to track because of their preference to live at very deep parts of the ocean.
The first ever giant squid caught on camera was in 2006. Scientists from Japan's National Science Museum and a team at Discovery Channel teamed up and recorded the squid live.
There are an estimated 500 species of squid that exist in the ocean. Most species are only about an inch long.
Squids are closely related to snails. clams ,and slugs as they are all mollusks.
Scientific Simulations and Visualization
There are many scientific students about squid. We have a lot to learn from them as they can exist in depths of the ocean that are unseen to us.
So of course one particular interesting thing we are studying of squids is their ability to communicate in the dark. Squids at the deepest depths of the ocean are bioluminescent, and emit their own light.
Researchers at Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) suggest that the reason that deep sea squids emit light is for visual communication.They liken the glowing lights to illuminated words on an e-book reader. The squid’s light producing muscles create backlights for the squids color changing skin.It is then suggested that squids use these light and color changing patterns to signal each other.
Squid behavior is almost impossible to study as their behavior changes when they are in captivity. So most observations of their behavior happens in the wild and with ROVs. However, with ROVs , scientists are able to observe the squids' eating behaviors and how they behave in packs. They found enough evidence to suggest that the squid's skin patterns relate to specific situations. Some patterns they observed suggested the animals were communicating precise messages to each other. Deep sea squid do not have great vision, so it is also suggested that their light producing organs help boost their visual communication abilities.
Most of these animals' light producing organs are located between their eyes and the edges of their fins.
Scientists are also studying squid brains as well. So far, they have been able to complete the first MRI map of one.
Wen-Sung Chung of the Queensland Brain Institute and his team are looking into the neural ability of the creatures and how their brain controls their camouflage abilities.They found that squid brains are more complex that rats or mice. They estimated that squid have the intelligence of an average dog.
Squids are subconsciously aware of how their skin works and can communicate complex phrases to other squids.
These scientists found out that some cephalopods have more than 500 million neurons. In comparison, rats have about 200 million.
There are certain characteristics from these creatures that scientists are trying to replicate in Humans. They recently were able to engineer human cells with squid-like transparency. Researchers at the University of California, have been studying the color changing effects of squid skin, and how it can be replicated. As well as how color changing cells could benefit human technology. Specifically,in developments of infrared camouflage and other advanced materials.
Squids such as the females in the species of Doryteuthis opalescens, evade predators by creating striped patterns across their bodies. So finding the engineering equivalent of this effect could help humans immensely.
The researchers were able to borrow some of the intracellular proteins in the creature's skin, and found a way to introduce them into human cells. They also found that this effect is transferable in many different animals.
Squids have special reflective cells called leucophores which can alter the scattering of light across their bodies. Inside of these cells are leucosomes,which are membrane-bound particles. These membrane particles are made up of proteins called reflectins. This produces the squids' camouflage abilities.
After isolating this protein, scientists were able to culture human embryonic kidney cells and genetically engineered them to contain reflectin. They then observed the new cells and watched them distribute reflectin throughout other cells.
There are also 3D simulations scientists are making of squids. Part of what scientists are simulating right now are squid’s giant axon. The axon is the part of the squid that controls jet propulsion. On average, it is around 1.5 mm in diameter. It was first discovered in 1909, but the discovery was ignored until the 1930s. The axon allows the squid to make very fast rapid movements through the water.
The applications of this study are not just limited to propulsion technology for humans. It is also applicable for developing electrically driven implants in humans. Neurons play a key role in the basics of medical research and making these implants work. The more neurons and the faster they simulate a cell, the faster an organ or device works.
Using Fitzhugh-Nagumo equations, they were able to model spike generation and propagation models for squid axons. While also using CFD. While building these models they particularly studied flying squids.(Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (S. oualaniensis)) These are squids that leap out of the water and into the air.
By studying these squids they were able to generate flow fields of the squids “launching phase”, and the parameters the squid needs to launch itself through the air. They discovered that the creatures create a trailing jet and vortex rings to generate thrust. Their jet strategy is to produce greater time-averaged thrust, and lacks propulsion efficiency. Hence why the squids don’t stay in the air too long, or are thrusted very high.
They also found that if the squids could launch themselves at a lower angle than they currently do through the water, they could escape predators faster, and could create a larger flying speed.
Squids can also benefit humans in other ways. There is evidence to suggest that melanin in their ink can protect against Escherichia coli (E.Coli), and Listeria monocytogenes (Bacteria that causes Listeria).
The ink contains bioactive compounds that can be used as antibacterial agents. E.Coli and Listeria are bacteria that can cause food damage and disease in humans, so finding a synthetic antibacterial agent could help prevent deaths and reduce symptoms for both.
The one big factor that prevents us from commonly using the melanin from squid ink, is the fact that the ink is very hard to harvest. So developments of a synthetic version are in progress.
Building Squids in Houdini and in Visual Effects
There aren’t many great references or examples of squids in media or film. Which is a shame. I’d argue a lot of the alien creatures we see in films are inspired by squids, and it's a shame we don’t study them more.
Regardless, this is what I could dig up.
Tutorial wise, there are some great ones out there:
Learn Houdini: Howdini101 - 022 - Squid Base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYoiJewlQY
Learn Houdini: Howdini101 - 023 - Squid Tentacles 01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFvSqh0Qpo
Learn Houdini: Howdini101 - 027 - Squid Tentacles 05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGh_XGaZR-k
Learn Houdini: Howdini101 - 030 - Mr. Squid Basemesh 02: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3aUGkJZqFc
So while writing this, I was giving up hope of finding anything particularly Houdini related. However, I found a file and a houdini forum that was fascinating. I will confirm I’ll be testing this file on squids in the future , because it's beautiful.
A user named Anam Hasan, (user name 212A on the Houdini forum) created some simulated squid skin. You can find the forum here: https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/45213/
By using a combination of VOPs, and solvers, he was able to drive the color and scale of fluorescent dots across a surface. Now the build is not scientifically accurate, but it's the closest example I’ve seen so far. The final results can be animated to follow objects, or static ones.
Cinema wise, there is an excellent breakdown on the Before and Afters blog of the squid shower from Watchmen. Find the article here: https://beforesandafters.com/2020/03/05/how-to-simulate-a-squid-shower/
There was quite a huge amount of research the team did to develop these squids. Making the squid's skin look translucent and realistic was a huge challenge.The Hybrid FX team was able to build multiple layers of geometry in the squids to create better refractions of light, and to define internal organs.
They knew that this process would also lead to long render times, so they developed tools to isolate their many pieces of geometry better when it came to rendering. They also experimented with the Finite Element Method solver and Houdini’s Vellum solver to create realistic squid movements. But then they used a custom RBD simulation because it worked faster, and looked better. Then to maintain the realistic squish and bounce of a real squid, they added their own custom deformer to keep those characteristics.
Life of Pi breakdowns probably contain some of the best concept art I’ve seen in a while of squids. They have some unique studies of the chromatic changes that are needed when considering the bioluminescence of squids. As well as several other underwater creatures.
You can check it out here: https://buf.com/films/life-of-pi/
References: | https://www.katexagoraris.com/misc-5/squid-simulations-and-further-vfx-tricks |
Table of Contents
OverviewThe Broadclub cuttlefish is a rather common cephalopod that ranges from the eastern fringes of the Indian Ocean to Fiji in the Pacific (1). It is usually found along coastal areas, at depths up to 30 m, hunting for shrimps, prawns and small fishes during the day. Like their close relatives, Octopuses and Squids, cuttlefishes are famous for their ability to alter skin colour patterns for camouflage and intra-species communications (2). The cuttlefish forms an important fishery as it is popularly consumed by humans.
Description
Broadclub cuttlefishes can grow up to 50 cm long and weigh up to 10 kg (3). Along Singapore's coasts, juvenile cuttlefishes are more commonly seen, at lengths of 4-6 cm (4). Like most cuttlefishes, the Broadclub cuttlefish has a head with appendages, and mantle with fins along its margins (3).
Its beak comprises 10 appendages (8 arms and 2 tentacles) surrounding its mouth (5). The short tapered arms have 2 to 4 suckers in transverse rows (5) and longitudinal white bands (7). These are used mainly for swimming and the tentacles for feeding, mating, intra-species communication and fighting (8). Tentacles have long stalks and a crescent-shaped club at the end with 5 to 6 suckers in transverse rows (3). Each tentacle has a large central nerve cord that runs along its entire length, allowing the cuttlefish to manoeuvre each of its suckers independently for maximum dexterity (3,8).
The head is robust, slightly narrower than the mantle with prominent eyes that have that are covered by a transparent membrane and conspicuous secondary fold on the eyelid (5). Unlike other cuttlefishes, the Broadclub cuttlefish has a distinctive yellow ring along the ventral margin of its eyes which have "W-shaped" pupils (3,6).
The mantle is oval and slightly flattened dorsoventrally (3). It is usually light brown, yellowish or dark brown, with white mottled markings and bands on dorsal side (2,3,4). There are narrow fins with white transverse stripe and white band, along outer margin of mantle (3,8). Dorsal mantle has numerous large papillae and with series of elongate papillae along each side (3). These create a three-dimensional skin texture and help with camouflage through expressions, such as against a coral background (9). The cuttlebone of the Sepia latimanus is bluntly rounded anteriorly and posteriorly with dorsal surface convex posteriorly and flat anteriorly (3). The spine is short, pointed and stout with keels absent (3).
The species appears to be sexually dimorphic (3,5,8). However, unlike most cuttlefishes, the hectocotylus (one of the arms of male cephalopods, specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female) is absent in the Broadclub cuttlefish (3). At maturity, male Broadclub cuttlefishes are usually darker (a dark-purple shade) and generally differ in size from the females (3,8,9). In Philippines, males are observed to be smaller while in Japan, males are observed to be larger (10).
For more detailed descriptions and an identification key of Sepiidae, more information can be found here.
Behaviour & Biology
Movement & Behaviour
Cuttlefishes are slower swimmers than the more streamlined squids (5). Primarily bottom-dwellers, the Broadclub cuttlefish is usually spotted hovering over a range of habitats, including rocky, sandy and muddy bottoms to seagrass, seaweed and coral reefs, at depths of up to 30 m (3). The depth at which they inhabit is significant as it separates populations for speciation and eventually evolution (11).
Sepia latimanus are usually solitary except during aggregation for mating season (11). However, in a 2015 study in Okinawa, Japan, a group of Sepia latimanus was observed to form schools while exhibiting hunting behaviour (13). It is speculated that forming schools help increase success of foraging by increasing opportunities for finding food and compensate for the disadvantages arising from the lack of parental care in cephalopods (13).
CuttleboneCuttlefishes are able to hover in midwater, with fins along mantle margins undulating as well as arms extended to aid stability (2,6,11). Buoyancy is achieved by regulating the relative amounts of gas and fluid in the chambers of the cuttlebone chambers, which are made of heavy calcium carbonate (7,8,11). These need to be strong enough to resist implosion from hydrostatic pressure, which increases with depth (11). Thus, cuttlebones of cuttlefishes that inhabit different depth differ in density and mass.
Camouflage & Predation
Chromatophores
The most prominent feature of the Broadclub cuttlefish is its colour changing ability. Almost all Cephalopods, except the nautilus, have this ability as they possess chromatophores (2). Within the chromatophores are pigment granules (yellow, brown and red) in an intracellular sac known as cytoelastic sacculus, that has elastic walls (14). Connected to the cell membrane are radially-arranged muscle cells that when contracted, stretches the sacculus into a thin, flat disc (11,14). The diameter of the sacculus expands up to about 7 times its retracted state, increasing its area to about 50 times (12, 15).
In the Broadclub Cuttlefish, this colour-changing mechanism takes on a larger role. Underneath the layer of chromatophores are iridophores and leucophores which are cells that can generate iridescent and reflect light due to the unique pigment crystals within (12,15). By coordinating the multiple layers of pigmented cells, the cuttlefish can create bands of “flashing lights” (7,14,15). This enables the Broadclub cuttlefish to effectively subdue prey which have adapted to see through the cuttlefish’s camouflage (14). Rather than attempting to be inconspicuous, the Broadclub cuttlefish puts on a “Las Vegas style flashy light show” to visually captivate a wary and armed prey (such as crabs) into a trance, long enough for the Broadclub cuttlefish to grab hold of it with a swift strike of its feeding tentacles (12,15).
Papillae
Furthermore, muscles in the cuttlefish’s skin can flex and contort by expressions of its papillae (9) and changing its skin from smooth to very spiky. Although papillae morphology is unknown, it is probable that they depend on a muscular hydrostatic mechanism (6). Each papilla has a fixed maximum size but cuttlefish can control their form and degree of expression from not expressed (i.e., not observable, skin appears smooth) to completely expressed (papillae are extended maximally) (9,14). Papillae are an important aspect of camouflage as they allow cuttlefish to instantly change their textural appearance to capture the 3-dimensional aspect of its surroundings (9).
Excellent camouflage allows the cuttlefish to be exposed during the day to hunt.
Despite this chromatically-active behavior, studies on genetics and physiological discovered that (with one exception) cephalopods lack multiple photoreceptor types, meaning they are "colour-blind" (14). Cephalopods also fail certain behavioral trials designed to test for color vision by opponent spectral channels (14). Cuttlefish arms are innervated and have mechanoreceptors that allow the animal to gather perceptible information from its immediate surroundings (5) and it might seem intuitive that cuttlefish would use them to feel the substrate to gather cues for papillae expression. However, past work has suggested that papillae expression is driven by visual stimuli (14).
Growth & Reproduction
Cephalopods are known to have a characteristic constant growth pattern over their lifespans, even during reproductive season (12). This growth pattern is also observed in the Sepia latimanus. However, individuals may attain sexual maturity at very different sizes, depending upon the combined effects of temperature, light and hatching time (12), theorised to be due to the effect of photo period on gonadal maturation (12).
During mating season, which is usually between April to June, males establish a territory and defend a suitable coral head where the prospective females will visit and lay eggs (7). Courtship is highly ritualized and a conspicuous light display (2,8,12). Male cuttlefish will often compete fiercely for females, flashing bright warnings to their competitors and escalate into fights (2,8). While the larger males usually stand a better chance, there have been observations of smaller males “disguising” as females in an attempt to swim past the competitors and mate with the true females (8), but this has yet to be further studied.
This species mates head-to-head where the male places spermatophores (capsule containing spermatozoa) on the female's buccal membrane (7). Fertilisation takes place internally (2,12). As a female Broadclub cuttlefish can mate with multiple partners but will eventually choose only one spermatophore to fertilise her eggs, males often guard females to ward off rivals (2,12).
After mating, the female retreats to lays her eggs (2). She coats the eggs with a
protective sheath and carefully cements them deep within spaces among coral fingers (8). She leaves the eggs unattended to develop and to hatch on their own as she dies shortly after (7,8,12). It is not unusual for reproduction to make the end of cuttlefishes lifecycle. The eggs harden after they are laid, which makes them challenging for predators to reach and remove from the coral (12), although some coral fishes with long snouts are able to extract the eggs before they harden to consume the contents (16).After 38-40 days, embryos hatch into planktonic stage and live for some time before they grow larger and take up a benthic existence as adults. Juveniles often hide among the coral and coral rubble, mimicking mangrove leaves (3), as shown in the picture above.
Geographical Distribution
The Broadclub Cuttlefish is one of the most common cuttlefish species. It inhabits the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean (1), native to the FAO Marine Fishing Areas. It has a very wide geographic distribution, stretching from southern Mozambique on the East African coast northwards along the Indian Ocean coastline of Asia and the Middle East, throughout Eastern and Southeastern Asia and as far north as Southern Japan, and as far east as northern Australia, Papua and the islands of the Coral Sea (1,3). It is native to many countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen (1).
Common names of the Sepia latimanus in other countries include: Sotong-besar in Indonesia and Kobushime, Kubushime in Japan (3).
In Singapore
These cuttlefishes can also be found along Singapore's shores. They have been spotted along the Southern islands, such as at Pulau Hantu and Sisters' Island, and also along the coast of Tanah Merah. In 2011, divers at Pulau Hantu spotted a cool and calm Broadclub cuttlefish floating near the seabed, disguised as brown algae.
For more pictures of Broadclub Cuttlefishes along Singapore's shores, visit wildsingapore's webpage here.
Human Uses & Threats
Like most cuttlefishes, the Broadclub cuttlefish is popular for human consumption, but also as bait and are marketed fresh, frozen or dried. While it is common, Broadclub cuttlefish is regularly fished for its meat and cuttlebone, which is used as a calcium supplement for many pet animals (8). In the Philippines, the cuttlefish is split open, cuttlebone and viscera removed and dried in the sun without salt (1).
|Photo by Jobazzard|
Many species of cuttlefish are important to fisheries over a great extent of its range (10,16). Fishing activity varies from local, or subsistence fisheries, to major export industries. It is caught in the local fisheries of western Japan and the Philippines using a variety of methods such as jigs, handlines, set nets and spears (10). Cuttlefishes are also an important component of finfish and prawn trawl bycatch (10,16).
Apart from overharvesting, the cuttlefish is also vulnerable to the rising acidity of ocean water (16). Studies have shown that under high pCO2 concentrations, cuttlefishes develop denser cuttlebone which is likely to negatively affect buoyancy regulation and reproduction (17). Other threats include habitat destruction, pollution by runoff and saltation which damages the marine environment (1,3,16). As cuttlefishes feed on shrimps, prawns and small/juvenile fishes, the destruction of coral reefs, such as through bottom trawling and land reclamation, indirectly affects Sepia latimanus.
However, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is unable to assess the Broadclub cuttlefish's and is hence listed as Data Deficient (DD) (1).
Taxonomy & SystematicsThe species Sepia latimanus was first described by Quoy, J. R. and J. P. Gaimard in 1832 (18). It was described in Voyage de decouvertes de l'Astrolabe pendant les annees 1826-1827-1828-1829, Zoologie, under the chapter Mollusques (18).
The type specimen was collected in New Guinea and is deposited at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris (19).
Synonyms
- Ponderisepia eclogaria Iredale, 1926
- Sepia harmeri Robson, 1928
- Sepia rappiana Férussac, 1834 in Férussac and d’Orbigny (1834–1848)
- Sepia mozambica Rochebrune, 1884
- Sepia hercules Pilsbry, 1894
Sepia latimanus is likely to comprises a species complex (1,3). It has been suggested that Duc’s (1978) record of S. hercules Pilsbry, 1894 from Viet Nam is possibly a S. pharaonis instead (3). This requires investigation, particularly considering its fisheries significance. The impact of fishing cannot be evaluated when the distribution boundaries of species within the complex are not established (1). These distribution limits also need to be established before assessing the potential impacts of climate change on its coral reef habitats (1).
Taxonomic HierarchyThe WoRMS taxon tree for Sepia latimanus can be found here.
The hierarchy below is referenced from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (18).
|Kingdom
||Animalia – Animal, animaux, animals
|
| Subkingdom
||Bilateria
|
| Infrakingdom
||Protostomia
|
| Superphylum
||Lophozoa
|
| Phylum
||Mollusca – mollusques, molusco, molluscs, mollusks
|
| Class
||Cephalopoda Cuvier, 1797 – octopuses, squids, calmars, encornets, pieuvres, poulpes, náutilo, polvo, cefalopode, lula
|
| Subclass
||Coleoidea Bather, 1888
|
| Superorder
||Decabrachia Boettger, 1952
|
| Order
||Sepiida Zittel, 1895
|
| Family
||Sepiidae Leach, 1817
|
| Genus
||Sepia Linnaeus, 1758
|
| Subgenus
||Sepia (Sepia) Linnaeus, 1758
|
| Species
||Sepia latimanus Quoy and Gaimard, 1832
|
About the Family SepiidaeThree genera are currently included in the family Sepiidae: Sepia, Sepiella and Metasepia. The number of species in each genus is quite variable: over 100 species in the genus Sepia, 2 species in Metasepia, and 7 species in Sepiella. Sepiid geographical distribution is restricted to European, African and Indo-Western Pacific waters; only 3 are European (20). There are no species in American waters.
However, based on studies conducted, the phylogeny of cuttlefish is still contentious and is continuously being reassessed and stabilized with the introduction of molecular methods and the discovery of new species. Currently, there are 2 main issues with the classification:
1) There is a lack of monophyly in the groupings when assessed with molecular data compared to morphological data (Refer to phylogeny tree below) - The molecular phylogeny agrees with some morphological studies established using shell characters, but the paraphyly of the genus Sepia emphasizes the necessity of reconsidering the weight of some characters (20).
2) Morphological differences, especially in the structure of cuttlebone, are traditionally used to deliminate species but is less than sufficient given the large range of individual varieties - In fact, the cuttlebone shows individual variations; in many species, a sexual dimorphism of the cuttlebone is observed (20). Moreover, specimens of the same species from distant geographical areas present differences in the shape of the shell, which has caused much confusion (20).
In the case of Sepia and Sepia latimanus, groups of ‘Sepia’ were identified, but with no clear phylogenetic link existing between them (20,21). There was no direct correlation between geographical distribution and subgenera or species complex established either on morphological characters or on molecular characters (20). There have been calls to reassess the Sepia, Metasepia and Sepiella groups to reflect molecular information.
Another problem in phylogenetic studies of Sepia latimanus is in scope limitations due to exportation restrictions. The Australian government restricted the international exportation of the Australian giant cuttlefish, Sepia apama (23). Thus, the species is rarely included in phylogenetic analysis. However, in a 2013 study by Kawashima et al., molecular analyses based on complete mt sequences strongly suggest a close relationship between Sepia apama and Sepia latimanus (23). This requires more studies for affirmation, but currently impeded by the exportation restrictions.
This is the consensus tree (12S rDNA, COII, 16S rDNA) constructed by Bonnaud & Boucher-Rodoni (20). It was achieved by combining the trees issued from various analyses. The values at nodes only indicate bootstrap values higher than 50%. This highlights the contentious phylogeny. The paraphyly of the genus Sepia can also be observed. Also, Sepiella and Metasepia do not constitute two specific lineages phylogenetically distinct from the Sepia lineage (20).
Gene SequencesThe following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species (22).
|Image by Encyclopedia of Life.|
There are 5 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
For genetic sequences, feel free to click on the links below:
External Links
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Index to Organism Names
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- World Register of Marine Species
- Wikipedia
References
- Barratt, I. & L. Allcock, 2012.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012 - Sepia latimanus. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T162505A904969.en. Last updated 15 MAr. 2009. (Access 9 Nov. 2015).
- Hanlon, R. T. & J. B. Messenger, 1998. Cephalopod Behaviour. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. Pp. 232.
- Jereb, P. & C.F.E., Roper, 2010. Sepia latimanus Quoy and Gaimard, 1832. In: Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome. Pp. 91-92.
- Tan, R., 2013. Broadclub cuttlefishes, Sepia latimanus, Family Sepiidae. http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/cutbroadclub.htm. Last updated 1 Oct. 2013. (Accessed 7 Nov.2015).
- Jereb, P. & C.F.E., Roper, 2010. Family Sepiidae. In: Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome. Pp. 723-734.
- Mäthger L. M., R. T. Hanlon, J. Håkansson & D.E. Nilsson, 2013. The W-shaped pupil in cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis): functions for improving horizontal vision. Vision Research, 83: 19-24.
- MarineBio Conservation Society. Web, 2013. Broadclub Cuttlefishes, Sepia latimanus. http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=1364. Last updated 14 Jan. 2013. (Accessed 7 Nov.2015).
- Blumenthal, P., 2013. The Bio Blog: Week of Feb. 18-24. https://pascalblumenthal.wordpress.com/2013/02/. Last updated 25 Feb. 2013. (Accessed 7 Nov.2015).
- Allen, J. J., L. M. Mäthger, A. Barbosa & R. T. Hanlon, 2009. Cuttlefish use visual cues to control three-dimensional skin papillae for camouflage. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 195:547–555.
- Reid, A., P. Jereb, & C.F.E. Roper 2005. Family Sepiidae. In: P. Jereb & C.F.E. Roper, eds. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 1. Chambered nautiluses and sepioids (Nautilidae, Sepiidae, Sepiolidae, Sepiadariidae, Idiosepiidae and Spirulidae). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. Rome, FAO. Pp. 57–152.
- Sherrard, K. M., 2000. Cuttlebone Morphology Limits Habitat Depth in Eleven Species of Sepia (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae). Biology Bulletin., 198: 404–414.
- Dan, S. , K. Hamasaki, T. Yamashita, M. Oka & S. Kitada, 2012. Age-based life cycle traits of the broadclub cuttlefish Sepia latimanus confirmed through release−recapture experiments. Aquatic Biology, 17:181-195.
- Yasumuro, H., S, Nakatsuru & Y. Iked, 2015. Cuttlefish can school in the field. Marine Biology, 162:763–771.
- Hanlon, R. T. & J. B. Messenger, 1988. Adaptive coloration in young cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.): the morphology and development of body patterns and their relation to behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 320:437–487.
- Kingston, A. C. N., A. M. Kuzirian, R. T. Hanlon & T. W. Cronin, 2015. Visual phototransduction components in cephalopod chromatophores suggest dermal photoreception. Journal of Experimental Biology, 218: 1596-1602.
- Norman, M.D., 2000. Cephalopods: A world guide. ConchBooks, Hackenheim. Pp. 320.
- Gutowska , M. A., F. Melzner, H. O. Pörtner & S. Meier, 2010. Cuttlebone calcification increases during exposure to elevated seawater pCO2 in the cephalopod Sepia officinalis. Marine Biology. 157: 1653-1663.
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 2003. Sepia latimanus Quoy and Gaimard, 1832. Taxonomic Serial No.: 556372. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=556372. Last updated 5 Jun. 2013. (Accessed 7 Nov. 2015).
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 2013. Sepia latimanus Quoy & Gaimard, 1832. http://www.gbif.org/species/2290748. Last updated 1 Jul. 2013. (Accessed 7 Nov. 2015).
- Bonnaud, L. & R. Boucher-Rodoni, 2006. Morphological character evolution and molecular trees in sepiids (Mollusca: Cephalopoda): Is the cuttlebone a robust phylogenetic marker?. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 89: 139 - 150.
- Tanabe, K., Y. Shigeta, T. Sasaki & H. Hirano, 2010. Molecular phylogeny among East-Asian cuttlefishes using three mitochondrial genes . Cephalopods - Present and Past. Tokai University Press, Tokyo. Pp. 15-21.
- Encyclopedia of Life, 2014. Barcode data: Sepia latimanus. http://www.eol.org/pages/491988/details#molecular_biology. Last updated 7 Sep. 2014. (Accessed 7 Nov 2015).
- Kawashima, Y., H. Nishiharab, T. Akasakia, M. Nikaidob, K. Tsuchiyac, S. Segawac, N. Okada, 2013. The complete mitochondrial genomes of deep-sea squid (Bathyteuthis abyssicola), bob-tail squid (Semirossia patagonica) and four giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama, S. latimanus, S. lycidas and S. pharaonis), and their application to the phylogenetic analysis of Decapodiformes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 69: 980–993.
ContactAll graphics in this webpage are created by me, unless otherwise stated. The photos belong to their respective owners as stated. Permissions have been requested for usage of all photos.
Lim Cheng Ling is contactable at [email protected]. | http://taxo4254.wikispaces.com/Sepia+latimanus?responseToken=04123219ea93fad1eab4d20e4083522c0 |
The Cephalopoda are a group of molluscs characterised by large heads, muscular tentacles (modifications of the molluscan 'foot') and in most cases internalisation or loss of the typical molluscan shell. They move about in the oceans with the aid of fins, tentacles and jet-propulsion (water is taken into the gills and forced out through a fold in the soft mantle, termed the hyponome). Cephalopods include the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, well known for their incredible colour-changing chromatophores and ability to squirt ink (which is convergent with gastropods such as the sea hare Aplysia ). Other important cephalopod groups include the pearly Nautilus, and the extinct Ammonoidea (including ammonites and goniatites), both of which have external, coiled shells.
Cephalopods are a rich source of insights into evolutionary convergence, perhaps the most celebrated example being the camera-eye, which includes also the pupil, correction for spherical aberration, retinal sensitivity, polarized vision, lateral asymmetry of eye use, and crystallin proteins. Other convergences in the sensory systems include the lateral line system and the oculomotor balancing reflex. The cephalopod brain shows interesting convergences, both in terms of anatomy (e.g. blood-brain barrier and cerebellum-like structures) as well as intelligence manifested in aspects of learning, memory, psychology, personality, social play and even a sort of tool use.
Complex behaviour among cephalopods includes lekking and use of a nuptial dance during courtship. Some cephalopods, notably cuttlefish and octopus, show highly accomplished mimicry and camouflage, based largely on changes in the colour and pattern of their chromatophores. Aspects of convergence in terms of anatomy range from the vertebrate-like structure of the cephalopod aorta to the possession of 'statolith' balancing organs and in one octopus (Ocythoe) even a fish-like swim-bladder. Regarding limbs and locomotion, the movement of octopus tentacles rather remarkably converges on the operation of a jointed limb even though there is effectively no anatomical similarity, and a number of small octopuses and the cuttlefish Metasepia pfefferi are known to engage in a form of bipedal locomotion.
Examples of convergence at the molecular level include the blood pigment haemocyanin, which is found in most molluscs and also arthropods, and elastic proteins in the aorta, which are reminiscent of those in the vertebrate heart. Powerful bioluminescence is employed by certain deep sea squid, and other squid have been found to possess bioluminescent 'reverse eyes', uniting them with many other marine and terrestrial animals that employ bioluminescence for signalling or vision.
The extinct ammonoids (ammonites and their predecessors such as goniatites) are well known for their coiled shell, and within the ammonoids we see interesting examples of convergence of shell shape. In addition to echoing patterns of change in shell shape in gastropods, a particularly important example of convergence among ammonoids concerns the pattern of morphospace re-occupation after a mass extinction.
Social play is the hall-mark of the most intelligent of this planet’s species, and there is a particularly striking convergence between birds and mammals.
In effect, two of octopus' arms are applied sucker-side down to the sea-floor and unfurl along their length to provide a rolling locomotion that kinematically can be classified as walking.
In vertebrates the sensitivity of the retina changes during the growth of the animal. In invertebrates this only occurs in the cephalopods, or at least cuttlefish, where this sensitivity has been acquired convergently.
In bees detection of polarized light from different quadrants of the sky is an important component in their navigation.
Personality in the vertebrates might, therefore, be deeply embedded in their phylogeny, although this does not rule out the convergent appearance of more complex personality traits in more advanced vertebrates, notably birds and mammals.
Swim bladders have evolved independently in fish and in Ocythoe octopus females.
A very important component of complex brains is an effective barrier between the blood vascular system and the brain, both to regulate electrolyte balance (e.g. potassium) and exclude potentially harmful substances.
In a number of cases one eye is used in preference to another. This convergent phenomenon is found in octopus (cephalopods), dolphins, birds, and other animals.
Normally one thinks of an eye as a structure that allows light to pour into the body, but in at least some squid (cephalopods) the opposite has been achieved.
Convergence in learning (and by implication memory) is important not only because it will give us clues as to the nature of consciousness, but it will also have a bearing on the reality (or otherwise) of pain and suffering in “primitive” animals.
Cephalopod brains show some striking convergences with those of vertebrates, including optic lobes and a cerebellum-like region.
Ammonoids, perhaps most familiar from the Mesozoic ammonites, are abundant as fossils and typically occur as planispiral forms. They show extensive homeomorphy, that is the same shapes repeatedly evolve.
Other cephalopods achieve reflectivity by employing collagen fibrils, of which the deep-sea Vampyroteuthis is perhaps the most striking example.
In some vertebrates (fish, mammals) and cephalopods we find an interesting convergence whereby some of the incoming ultraviolet is screened out. | http://www.mapoflife.org/topics/category/molluscs-cephalopods/ |
Journal source:
Storero, L.P., Ocampo Reinaldo, M., Narvarte, M. et al. Trophic interactions and isotopic niche of octopuses and sea stars in North Patagonia. Mar Biol 167, 35 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-019-3642-x
Introduction
Our oceans abound with a beautiful and awe-inspiring diversity and abundance of life. From the open waters to the rocky coasts, you might ask, how can so many different types of organisms thrive together in a marine community?
This question has captivated the minds of scientists for many decades. Every organism has its niche, or ‘ecological job,’ which relates to what an organism eats and how its diet changes over time. Understanding an organism’s niche is valuable to scientists because what an organism depends on for survival is key to protecting that species. Knowing what an organism eats also provides insight into how energy is transferred throughout the food web. For example, zooplankton, which reside in the water column, and mussels, which sit on solid surfaces, eat tiny phytoplankton algae by filter-feeding. Different species may feed on various types of algae at different stages of life. By feeding on a buffet of resources, these organisms play a vital role in the transfer of energy in marine food webs which makes food webs both productive and strong.
Intertidal habitats represent one of the most productive and diverse marine communities, boasting large numbers of predators and an array of snails, mussels, and clams. In the rocky shores of Argentinean Northern Patagonia, octopuses and sea stars are two such predators. While both octopuses and sea stars are important predators, it’s not clear what resources they are using. Do they eat the same food? Do they compete head to arm for that tasty crab over there? Or do they coexist by feeding on different types of prey?
What did they do?
Storero and colleagues at Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos Almirante in Argentina set out to understand how the small octopus Octopus tehuelchus, and the sea star Anasterias antarctica, are able to get along in their shared rocky habitat.
The authors used stable isotope analysis (SIA) to identify the main prey and shifts in these species’ diets over time. Most elements have different forms, called isotopes, that can be classified as heavy or light based on the number of neutrons they have. In the marine ecosystem, scientists often focus on carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Different groups of primary producers have distinct carbon and nitrogen signatures because they absorb heavy and light isotopes in differing proportions. Predators tend to have carbon signatures that are nearly identical to their food, and the amount of the heavy nitrogen isotope tends to increase as you move up the food chain. By measuring both isotopes in prey and predators, SIA provides a series of ‘fingerprints’ that scientists can then compare to see what an organism is eating.
The researchers collected several young (small) and old (larger) individuals of each species to see how these predators’ niches differed from each other as well as between small and large individuals. They also surveyed potential prey items by collecting common species of filter-feeders (mussels), scavengers (crabs), and grazers (snails) from the intertidal habitat.
After collecting their samples, body tissue from the predators and potential prey species was analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes using a stable isotope mass spectrophotometer.
The researchers then put the isotope signatures for each species into a mixing model to estimate the relative importance of the different potential prey items to the diets of the different sizes of octopus and sea stars. They also analyzed the degree of specialization these species had for certain prey types, as well as if these predators’ diets consisted of similar prey.
What did they find?
Octopus and sea stars overall had distinct carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures, suggesting that these predators fed on different types of prey. The mixing model indicated that both small and large octopuses fed mainly on filter-feeding mussels, while sea stars appeared to undergo changes in diet as they matured. Small sea-stars appeared to eat a lot of filter-feeders, while medium-sized individuals incorporated scavengers into their diets, and large sea stars fed mainly on grazers.
Isotope signatures also indicated that octopuses and small to medium sized sea stars had more flexible diets than the larger, older sea stars. In other words, octopuses and less mature sea stars are opportunistic feeders that will forage on prey as it is available.
These results provide evidence of resource partitioning between octopuses and sea stars; each species has access to a buffet of prey, but they aren’t competing with each other for the same meals. This study offers insight into the importance of the rocky intertidal zone in supporting healthy populations of two top predators that play an important role in the food web.
Why does this matter?
Storero and colleagues showed, using stable isotope signatures of octopuses and sea stars and their prey, that their populations are fueled by distinct energy pathways. Even when looking at sea stars, a shift in their diet with age showed the importance of multiple prey species in sustaining their populations. It appears as though the availability of many different kinds of prey holds part of the answer as to how octopuses and sea stars both thrive in the intertidal habitat. If healthy populations of these animals are to be maintained in the future, the diversity of prey resources must also be protected.
Kate received her Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Notre Dame and she holds a Masters in Environmental Science & Biology from SUNY Brockport. She currently teaches at a small college in Indiana and is starting out her neophyte research career in aquatic community monitoring. Outside of lab and fieldwork, she enjoys running and kickboxing. | https://oceanbites.org/prey-variety-is-key-to-coexistence-of-octopuses-and-sea-stars/ |
# Geometric abstraction
Geometric abstraction is a form of abstract art based on the use of geometric forms sometimes, though not always, placed in non-illusionistic space and combined into non-objective (non-representational) compositions. Although the genre was popularized by avant-garde artists in the early twentieth century, similar motifs have been used in art since ancient times.
## History
Geometric abstraction is present among many cultures throughout history both as decorative motifs and as art pieces themselves. Islamic art, in its prohibition of depicting religious figures, is a prime example of this geometric pattern-based art, which existed centuries before the movement in Europe and in many ways influenced this Western school. Aligned with and often used in the architecture of Islamic civilations spanning the 7th century-20th century, geometric patterns were used to visually connect spirituality with science and art, both of which were key to Islamic thought of the time.
## Scholarly analysis
Throughout 20th-century art historical discourse, critics and artists working within the reductive or pure strains of abstraction have often suggested that geometric abstraction represents the height of a non-objective art practice, which necessarily stresses or calls attention to the root plasticity and two-dimensionality of painting as an artistic medium. Thus, it has been suggested that geometric abstraction might function as a solution to problems concerning the need for modernist painting to reject the illusionistic practices of the past while addressing the inherently two dimensional nature of the picture plane as well as the canvas functioning as its support. Wassily Kandinsky, one of the forerunners of pure non-objective painting, was among the first modern artists to explore this geometric approach in his abstract work. Other examples of pioneer abstractionists such as Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian have also embraced this approach towards abstract painting. Mondrian's painting "Composition No. 10" (1939–1942) clearly defines his radical but classical approach to the construction of horizontal and vertical lines, as Mondrian wrote, "constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm."
Just as there are both two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries, the abstract sculpture of the 20th century was of course no less affected than painting by geometricizing tendencies. Georges Vantongerloo and Max Bill, for example, are perhaps best known for their geometric sculpture, although both of them were also painters; and indeed, the ideals of geometric abstraction find nearly perfect expression in their titling (e.g., Vantongerloo's "Construction in the Sphere") and pronouncements (e.g., Bill's statement that "I am of the opinion that it is possible to develop an art largely on the basis of mathematical thinking.") Expressionist abstract painting, as practiced by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Clyfford Still, and Wols, represents the opposite of geometric abstraction.
## Relationship with music
Abstract art has also historically been likened to music in its ability to convey emotional or expressive feelings and ideas without reliance upon or reference to recognizable objective forms already existent in reality. Wassily Kandinsky has discussed this connection between music and painting, as well as how the practice of classical composition had influenced his work, at length in his seminal essay Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
## Selected artists
Artists who have worked extensively in geometric abstraction include: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_abstraction |
Abstract Art also called modern art, is the art that doesn’t look like real life. The main purpose of abstract art is to let the viewer interpreting the meaning. Artists paint shapes, colours and forms to achieve its effect. According to Tate “abstract is not representational, it could be based on a subject or may have no source at all in the external world”, a viewer will maybe think it is a total accidental mess of paint and for someone else, it will have an impact that strikes her/him.
Let’s start with a brief of history…
Abstract paintings appeared during the late 19th. In the beginning, many renowned artists followed the methods of classical realism with perspective, shading and other techniques to create historical scenes and subject matter.
Squares with Concentric Circles - 1913 - Kandinsky - Credit
But at the turn of the 20th century, many artists refused to follow rules from their current movement and started to create paintings that didn’t refer to the real world.
In these early days, artists started breaking the idea that painting had to represent something. For example, the impressionist work looks unfinished, the fauvism didn’t use normal colour, and cubism distorted everything. These artists showed that colour, line, form and texture could be the subjects for the painting. This brings us to abstract art.
Tableau I, 1921 - Piet Mondrian - https://www.piet-mondrian.org/
Basically abstract art doesn’t have a recognizable subject, they are not trying to have their work look like something, instead, they focus on colour and form. It is non-objective and non-representational.
Abstract art can be geometric such as the work of Mondrian, or more fluid such as Kandinsky. We can also go further and include figurative abstractions, which represents thing like emotions, sounds or experiences, these are big simplifications of reality.
Abstract art became a hotbed activity in New York during the 1930’s with the abstract expressionism, it is known for its messiness, in extreme applications of paint. For example, Jackson Pollock invented a new dramatic way to apply paint in an experimental manner.
Courtesy of www.Jackson-Pollock.org - Number One, 1950 (Lavender Mist) by Jackson Pollock
Abstract expressionism can also be divided into two categories: Action painting (Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner…) and colour field (Mark Rothko, Jules Olitski…).
How can we appreciate abstract art?
- A good piece of work would be able to hold viewers attention and give an emotional response.
- Ask yourself what are the elements, colours, and textures of the painting?
- What emotions does the painting evoke me? Is the title of the painting influencing me?
Artworks can mean many different things for a person, giving him or her a lot of freedom and room for creativity. Art abstract allows people to explore things that they see in their minds rather than with their eyes.
Abstract art allows you to be free, to express your personality…
How do you feel about abstract art?
Reference: | https://thespacegallery.com.au/blogs/news/what-is-abstract-art |
Unlike representational painting, non-representational is based not on observed reality, but on the unobserved. In non-objective painting, the arrangement of shapes on the picture plane does not signify an identifiable object but an abstraction; which may convey emotions, dreams and/or the unconscious. Through visual examples of past artworks and through practical application, students will be introduced to some of the streams of non-objective painting such as abstract expressionism, minimalism and collage. Instead of trying to create illusion, as is the case with representational painting, students strive to enhance the flatness of the canvas surface through texture and transparencies. To ensure attainment of a personal voice with painting, students will be encouraged to explore and experiment with materials and methods through in-class study and independent assignments. | https://www.humber.ca/course.html?code=VADA%20206 |
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Painting is Communication
The Scream (1893) Norwegian painter Edward Munch
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Content Content is the message the artwork communicates. It is the meaning of the work. The Survivors 1923 Kathe Kollwitz
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Visual Images Visual images are a powerful way to communicate.
Kahlo, Frida The Little Deer 1946 Oil on Masonite 8 7/8 x 11 7/8 in Collection of Mrs. Carolyn Farb, Houston
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Communication Communication is a way of telling others about your thoughts, opinions, reactions and feelings. By the late '30s, Picasso was the most famous artist in the world. He was called upon to depict the brutality of fascist aggression in the Spanish Civil War with his monumental "Guernica".
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Style Style refers to the similarities of work done by an individual or a group of artists, or from a particular place, or time period. Vincent Van Gogh The Starry Night 1889 Oil on Canvas (29 x 36 1/4 in) The Museum of Modern Art, New York
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The objects you recognize are the subject matter of a work of art.
The Figure- From ancient Greece until today, the figure has been one of the most important subjects in art—in painting, drawing, and sculpture. Portraits-If a work of art depicts the personal characteristics of a particular individual or group of individuals, it is a portrait. Self-Portraits-The artist Albrecht Durer was the first to paint a self portrait. Rembrandt painting 29 self-portraits—one almost every year of his adult life. Still Life-A painting or drawing of objects of things that cannot move is called a still life. Landscapes-A work of art which shows the features of the natural environment. Hudson River school artists Thomas Cole and Thomas Moran’s paintings of the western U.S. probably influenced Congress to establish the National Parks System.
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Cityscapes-Views of City Street, plazas, courtyards, buildings, and activities in an urban environment. Animals-Animals of all kinds have been portrayed by artists in many cultures, both in realistic and abstract styles. Genre Subjects-are representations of subjects and/or scenes from everyday life usually painted realistically. The word “genre” refers to the common or ordinary. Narrative-this is art that tells a story. It usually depicts a realistically painted event with interaction and activity. Religious Subjects-Many artworks depict religious figures as subjects. Historical subjects-An artist may choose an historical subject to tell about or record people or events from history.
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Literary Subjects-Subjects taken from writing such as sources from the Bible, or from famous tales, myths and legends. Social Comment-artists also create works of art to visually express their opinions about political or social issues relevant to their lives. Abstraction-it is the simplification of subject matter into basic and often geometric shapes. Abstract works are not realistic. Subject matter may be recognized, or it may become so simplified that it looses its identity and the design and arrangement of shapes become the subject matter. Non-Objective -works that are composed of colors, lines and shapes that are fully abstract, or not representational of anything. The actual subject matter, rather than trees, flowers, or people, might be color or the composition of the work itself. Expressionistic -a work that communicates to the viewer an artist’s personal or emotional feelings about a subject.
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Art Movement web page http://www.artmovements.co.uk/home.htm
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An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time. (usually a few months, years or decades).
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Claude Monet Impressionism
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Max Ernst Surrealism
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Artist Statement Not only does an artist's statement say something about their work (meaning processes/techniques/craftsmanship), but it also should give the viewer many compelling insights about the artist who created the work. (meaning/ideas/ emotions/feelings/inspirations/etc.)
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Artist statements can:
_____ Contain information on your vision and ideas _____ Explain where you got your inspiration or ideas from in creating the work _____ Explain how you incorporated these ideas into your finished work
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Artist Statements can:
_____ Explain why the artist enjoyed working on this piece the most _____ Describe craftsmanship _____ Tell the amount of time spent working on the piece _____ Explain what makes this a successful work of art _____ Tell why this work best represents the artist
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Look at the art movement from the viewport of an art critic and an art historian.
Describe: Tell what you see (the visual facts). Analyze: Mentally separate the parts or elements, thinking in terms of textures, shapes/forms, light/dark or bright/dull colors, types of lines, and sensory qualities. In this step consider the most significant art principles that were used in the artwork. Describe how the artist used them to organize the elements. Interpret: An interpretation seeks to explain the meaning of the work based on what you have learned so far about the artwork, what do you think the artist was trying to say? Judge: After careful observation, analysis, and interpretation of an artwork, you are ready to make your own judgment. This is your personal evaluation based on the understandings of the work(s).
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Your assignment is to create a painting that fits within your chosen art movement.
Do the research before you design your composition. Research is due at the end of third quarter. Painting is due at the end of the semester.
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New Media: Algorithmic Art, Fractal, Vector, Digital on Canvas.
Monthly showcase 1st Edition
https://youtu.be/2H6gOcwkvLY
NB: This artwork is subject to be updated, edited or modified at any time.
This artwork style is a digital representation of how nature uses divine elements, sacred geometry, natural phi, golden ratio, Fibonacci and fractals and combines them to create a new world in the mind of the observer while you dive into this artwork at a higher zoom ratio or large format print size and see just another example of how our minds can create order out of chaos.
It has also been proven to have a calming and natural "stimulating" effect on the observers’ neural and cognitive function which is ideal for environments such as waiting rooms, medical suits, and proven to have positive results with ADHD and other attention type of gifts.
Geometric abstraction is a form of abstract art based on the use of geometric forms sometimes, though not always, placed in non-illusionistic space and combined into non-objective (non-representational) compositions. Although the genre was popularized by avant-garde artists in the early twentieth century, similar motifs have been used in art since ancient times.
Colin Fleming is also a solo guitarist and has written and recorded much collaboration and various projects over the years, and the latest solo album is available on Reverbnation https://www.reverbnation.com/5457464/album/145022
Subjects:
Materials: | https://www.saatchiart.com/art/New-Media-Lively-One-II/1041910/4046269/view |
Gestural abstraction has been around for a long time. Some may be shocked to learn that Gestural abstraction was used as a weapon in the Cold War with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Soviet Union incorporated a style known as "Socialist Realism." This style was intended to depict and glorify the common workers struggle toward socialist progress. The grunt worker was convinced through the arts that their life and work for the country were the most admirable. The style, also visually known as "tractor art," had to be real so the people clearly understood the intent of the art. The everyday person became the subject of the novel, the play, poetry, rousing music and art. Painters would depict happy, muscular peasants and workers in factories and collective farms. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed the Congress of Cultural Freedom (CCF) in 1950. The intent of the CCF was to counter the Socialist Realism style in literature, philosophy, music, and art. Why? To remove the idea that the work of the common labor was meaningful. Under the CCF, the CIA hosted 150 exhibits in Paris, France in 1952. In those exhibits, the art of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning, and others were used to promote this abstraction as the most internationally accepted visual art. It took some help and promoting by Nelson Rockefeller and John Whitney from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to pull this off. The end result was the successful counter to Soviet "Socialist Realism."
At the root of "Action Painting", as mentioned, was a political change in the world. American artists considered "Social" or "Socialist Realism" a dead style. The term "Action Painting" was coined by art critic Harold Rosenberg in late in 1952 as an off-shoot of the "Abstract Expressionist" style. These artists work to create art that communicates largely through form and color in a seemingly quick, gestural stroke. This is why I classify them as "Gestural Abstraction" artists. However one labels these artists, the art is a unique form of abstraction because it is non-representational and non-objective, meaning that it is not based on actual objects, but based on nothing in the physical world.
The color field painters are often referred to as the “second generation” Abstract Expressionists. They evolved from the Action paintings of Jackson Pollock and ideas of Arshile Gorky. The true innovator of color field art was Helen Frankenthaler. This style impacted many artists (like those listed and a great many more). | http://burgher-art-facts.tripod.com/gestural_art.html |
ACME Fine Art’s exhibition of paintings opening on 12 November 2010 will be comprised of a group of modern and contemporary American mosaic artworks created from the mid-20th century forward. The tesserae in the examples selected by Gallery Director David Cowan for this exhibition are dabs or swatches of oil or acrylic paint applied to canvas or panel to a totally modern affect. Some of the mosaic paintings in the exhibition are nature-based abstractions. Others are entirely non-objective, and still others can be characterized as neo-plastic compositions. What they all share is the formal conceit of using distinct small pieces composed to create an artistically complete whole.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s a number of artists who were then studying with, or had recently completed their studies with Hans Hofmann, began experimenting with a painting technique in which small distinct dabs of pigment were applied over most –if not all- of the their canvases. Giorgio Cavallon can be credited with being one of the first to study and popularize this genre. Two of Cavallon’s rare 1940s mosaic canvases will be included in the exhibition.
Another artist who was among the first of this circle to explore mosaic composition in his work was John Grillo, who did so in his Provincetown studio as early as the late 1940s. A separate exhibition of twelve of Mr. Grillo’s important and brilliantly colored early mosaic paintings in oil and in watercolor will run concurrently with the aforementioned group exhibition at ACME Fine Art. Grillo explored the possibilities of non-objective mosaic expression well into the 1950s.
Other notable artists whose mid-20th century work will be represented in the group exhibition are William Freed, Robert Henry, Myrna Harrison, James Gahagan, Selina Trieff, and Jan Müller. Müller was an artist’s artist whose early mosaic explorations -in a variety of shapes and scales- were delightfully lyrical fully abstract color poems. By the mid-1950s Müller’s tesserae were arranged by the artist into figural compositions that led the way to his becoming one of the pioneers of the figurative expressionist movement.
The formal part-and-whole conceit that goes to the essence of the mosaic as a work of art continues to fascinate artists. This will be demonstrated through a wonderfully diverse group of contemporary artworks that have been assembled for the exhibition. Excellent examples by contemporary artists such as Helen Miranda Wilson, Erik Koch, Paul Bowen, and Aviva Sklan will also be featured.
ACME Fine Art’s group exhibition of mosaic paintings will open with a reception from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on 12 November and run through 23 December 2010. For further information please contact the gallery at 617.585.9551. | http://www.acmefineart.com/modern/show-mosaics-press/ |
our future.
Blood Rhythms, Strange Fruit will feature visual
interpretations of Ntozake Shange’s Blood Currents,
Blood Rhythms and Blues Stylin', and various pieces
from Nina Simone’s body of work. Poet Ntozake Shange
and songstress Nina Simone have been among the
most influential contributors to my artistic library for most
of my creative life, and from whom I continue to draw
inspiration.” said Charlotte. “When immersed in
Shange’s Blood Currents, Blood Rhythms and Blues Stylin,’ I am captivated by the
depth of artistry through which Ntozake interlaced life and history through
contemporized metaphors.” Shange’s poem was the muse for twelve of the twenty-two
paintings scheduled for the premiere of this traveling exhibition. The lyrics of Nina
Simone’s work bears a unique and little known history worthy of much discussion. Her
rendition of Strange Fruit is mirrored in Shange's poem. Adding to the depth of the
exhibition will be the contemporary voice of poet Tzynya Pinchback, who was selected
because of her unique artistic style. The visual
representations embodied in her poems
compliment the totality of this project.
In part, Webb’s paintings are an interpretation
of not only the words, but the relationships,
accomplishments and resilience mirrored in her
own life experiences. The resulting dialogue
should prove to be thought provoking for all
who choose to engage.
For more information about the exhibition and
project, email Charlotte Riley-Webb at [email protected].
I admired the works of the 20th century Expressionist painters. I would occasionally explore the realm of nonrepresentational imagery in my earlier paintings. What I did not realize at the time, was that the language I needed to create this new body of work, was already embedded in the unique rhythmic strokes and style of my representational images.
The traditional definition of abstract art: Abstract art is purely non-objective and non-representational; it does not depict the reality of specific objects. At its inception, this genre's movement redefined what art is and began breaking all of the traditional rules of art. Artists began leaving out information, splattering paint, texturing the surfaces, using fewer strokes and bolder colors. I think that it is the "rule breaking" that initiated the "conceptual" or "Abstract" art movement, creating the contrasting perspectives and inspired illusions. I depend on the wonders of nature to supply many of the patterns and designs present in my work and believe that colors, shapes and depths have their own rhythm, weight and importance in art. We can often find the story in music. Representational art is like music with words and abstraction reminiscent of "Blues blue" and "magenta Jazz". They are often based on a theme that takes on different forms or a spiritual experience. In my incorporation of as many of our senses as possible into my paintings, many often speak of the ability to hear my paintings, the rhythms that glide across the canvas, resonating in the melodic tunes embodied within the intensity of the colors, the strength of the lines and boldness of the strokes. It is a common belief that ancient African cultures feared the elements, but in fact, African peoples trust in the continuity of nature, its unchanging cycle of seasons and the succession of day and night. The symbols used to communicate messages within the living world and serve as a link to our ancestors and the supernatural world are, to the untrained eye, abstract in nature. I believe that there are many ways to tell our history.
This genre -- and its "stories" is one of them – has been around for centuries. It is interesting that the viewing public, especially those familiar with my prior works, constantly try to find the stories and recognizable imagery in my abstract paintings. They are pleased if their imagination discovers a face or an animal of sorts. What I have deduced, as an abstract artist, is that it takes an entirely different perception and an openness of the imagination to understand the work and to appreciate it on a deeper level. Because many of the stories in my "Stories" series came from complete strangers, it was the space between the story given me and the way I received it that determined the degree of realism or abstraction I incorporated into the painting. With these conceptual works, the beginning and the end of the story are the same. These paintings take a journey through my soul on the way to the canvas, where they are cultivated and materialize. I am going to ask you as the viewer to take it all in, not necessarily expecting to understand the work immediately, but to take the time to appreciate the essence, created by the textures, lines, strokes, and compositions. And in interpreting the depth of my emotional awareness as an artist, we together just might reach a new level of understanding of this abstract genre. It is after all, the language that I am currently choosing to dare broach the world of the conceptual unknown.
Always Art, | http://www.charlotterileywebb.com/HTML-LIB/ARTIST-html/charlotte-info/ArtistL3-artist-statement.html |
Select one original Representational or Abstract “public” art form, located within the vicinity of where you live, work, attend school or visit during this term, in order to complete the Module 2 Assignment. Read Warnings, Below:
Do not select a famous artist’s composition located at a museum or art gallery
Do not select a “replica” of a famous composition (for example, a poster or photo of Van Gogh’s “Stary Night”)
Do not select a work created by yourself, friend, family member or acquaintance
Do not select a “Non-Representational/Non-Objective” art form or you will not earn points for this assignment (Abstract Subject Matter is not the same as “Abstract” Style Art – Review PPT &/or Course Textbook for examples of Rep., Non-Rep, Abstract Subject Matter).
For Example: if you’ve chosen a composition that only features Visual Elements & Principles of Design (lines, colors, shapes, texture, balance, focal area, scale, proportion…) and does not have a descriptive title alluding to a “subject matter”, then chances are likely it’s not appropriate for this assignment. Here are a few examples of a Non-Representational/Non-Objective Composition (the type you shouldn’t select for this assignment):
(Links to an external site.)
(Links to an external site.)
(Links to an external site.)
The composition must include subject matter, a theme, icons/iconography & content/meaning to be accepted for this assignment. We want students to apply as many concepts as possible, to interpret art forms, which can’t be completed if you select a Non-Representational/Non-Objective composition!
You must include visual imagery with this assignment:
Take digital photographs of the art form selected, as well as yourself next to the chosen art form (required to earn any points). You are expected to view the composition “In-Person”!
Photos must include entire composition (not partial view)
Insert these digital images into your assignment document or you will not earn points!
Important Notice: Due to current Pandemic, students are also allowed to select a composition from their “home” or within their own neighborhood, or a work of art that they’ve previously viewed “in-person” (as long as you provide a photo of yourself next to the composition, it’s “original” and not a poster or picture replica, and it’s not created by a famous artist).
Remember: The composition (art form) chosen can’t be a “replica” of a famous work of art (for example, a poster or photo of a Monet or Van Gogh painting) nor can it be only viewed “on-line” – you must view the composition “in-person” or your assignment will not be accepted and will receive zero (0/100) points.
You must cite sources, as well as include a bibliography, if you’ve consulted the course textbook, an alternative textbook, or online resources to complete this assignment!
For example:
Course textbook terms, concepts, content about art, or additional visuals
Online research related to assignment (terms, concepts, content about art, additional visuals…)
Refer to sample assignment for example
Submit completed Module #2 Assignment by scheduled due date & time to earn points.
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Important Notice:
Complete Module Assignments, as soon as possible, to leave yourself time for upcoming assignments!
Do not submit later than 9:00 pm on assignment due dates (leave yourself some “wiggle” room for errors).
Immediately upon submitting a file, check your submission to ensure it’s the document that you want to submit within an assignment drop box. Students are not allowed to re-submit files after a scheduled due date/time!
Modules may be blocked (unavailable) from student viewing once scheduled due dates have arrived.
Late work is not accepted, therefore plan accordingly.
Should you have questions about an assignment, contact me early during the week (Monday through Thursday, not on the weekends) so that I can address your questions in a timely manner (prior to scheduled due dates).
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In this still life, even elements such as the tell-tale objects that can be gleaned surrounding the fish are rendered rigid so as to add structure to the composition.
Hence the still life is built up using the abstract planes of acid color. This work perfectly recalls the early twentieth century synthetic Cubist method of making abstract elements signify objects through positioning and the addition of details.
Ang Kiukok’s still life of fish were notable for probing into the internal skeletal structure beneath the scales. Often reduced to bare bones and fins, Ang’s Fish provided a sometimes stern, sometimes disconsolate look, with a moon or half moon adrift in the background sky, creating an atmosphere of enchantment.
The painting sums up Ang Kiukok’s attitude toward color orchestration: sour or acid clashes of cool and hot, the pivotal combinations being ultramarines and mandarin reds, cool magentas, and warm grays.
Whenever the color design begins to turn ingratiatingly harmonious or conventionally sweet, he deliberately throws in an unpredictable hue to create a dissonant, piquant effect. This painting contains no riddles, nothing to puzzle the beholder, nothing to stir violent emotions.
The strength of composition is achieved without the hardness and linearity of his other works, which it surpasses also in its unity of pictorial elements. The painting reveals another side to Ang Kiukok’s style of expression by his awkward vitality and tendencies toward exaggeration and angularity.
The atmosphere surrounding what he was painting was a part of its sensational reality, the powerful immediacy of expression which he had finally arrived at in his art. His paintings are mostly extremely forceful but not overly detailed.
Art critics have noted Ang's singular ability to allow his audience to find their own catharsis in the images.
The viewer might initially tend Ang Kiukok’s creations as abstract patterns and constructions, yet the weighty formal arrangements began to disintegrate as colors became more intense, the surface more
agitated, and the character of the subject itself accounts for something.
The extravagant disproportions were not spontaneous but the result of calculated pictorial decisions which transformed an unexceptionable charcoal drawing of a nude model sprawling on a bed into this heroically scaled picture. The painting proves that Ang Kiukok’s works cannot be wholly abstract, in the sense of a non-objective or non-representational work of art, it follows that he did not totally go abstract from the actual image.
The content of the painting accurately reflects its title, in it we can indeed see a fish, but it is so powerfully assembled, so organized and so constructed that all reference to that object is soon forgotten.
The highly charged colors generate immediate emotional response. Strong, biting colors in their maximum intensities emerged on his canvases.
Alice Guillermo wrote: “Ang Kiukok … may produce an image almost literally representational. In either cases, he has produced work so powerful in feeling and so imaginative in design that it contains inexhaustible suggestions for further development. These are not just visual suggestions, but meticulously structured details for which the overall image is more than it’s interpretation to the viewer. The shapes have evolved from Ang Kiukok’s work over the years; they are the vocabulary he feels comfortable with.
The painting is in a way disorienting with its uncentered patterns and no place to gain perspective, testing the imagination with intersecting planes and large to small forms jutting in the picture. The painting makes viewers ask questions to understand how the details actually are in relation to one another. Is that a moon with a red orb in the upper left?
On one hand, the work has Cubistic qualities but at the same time the planes of color are non-representational and in a way cannot be grasped. The Surrealist method of presenting familiar objects in unfamiliar combinations produces a disorienting effect. It is Kiukok’s metaphor of a world where something stable is not what it seems. | https://leon-gallery.com/Page/view?id=U2FsdGVkX1%2BjYvG%2BDmX2OyMmguyL5TZjnXyVmFSFN0c%3D |
Summary art is a type of art wherein an object or a kind is developed in both a simplified means or an exaggerated manner. Neo-plasticism (1920-1940), summary expressionism (1940-1955), conceptual art, up to date realism, photorealism, and hyper realism (1960-1975), and neo-expressionism (1970-1990) are a number of the main developmental phases within the history of summary artwork.
Art that has no intentional beginnings in any material is usually known as “non-objective,” or “non-representational.” A related time period is “minimalism,” or the tendency to take as a lot away from the painterly floor of the canvas as attainable.
One other premise of the movement is that the bodily supplies utilized by artists influence the properties and the characters of the ensuing work. This false impression will not be helped by the endless supply of individuals prepared to spout nonsense about what they think the artist was making an attempt to say.
This helps many artists start their art work. I certainly identify with Picasso’s remark so far as my own paintings are concerned. When asked about subject matter, the Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock mentioned, “I’m the topic”. There are lots of completely different styles and varieties to abstract art.
Different Styles And Varieties To Abstract Artwork
Abstract Artwork Work
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Authentic Summary Art
Summary artwork is called artwork that isn’t an correct representation of a form or object. The rhythm of which the music is performed normally influences how fast or gradual an artist paints in a session. Abstract art painting additionally gained more relevance with the appearance of synthetic cubism and analytical cubism. The early roots of summary artwork shall be traced to the 20th century when people drew footage on grime.
The three major forms of summary art are cubism, neoplasticism, and summary expressionism. Music will be known as as probably the most mathematical in addition to the most abstract type of the humanities. The viewer mustn’t search for a transparent narrative in an abstract painting – it’s not going to tell a story, or consult with an exterior ‘subject’ in the identical manner that a figurative painting will.
Abstract Art Work
Thinking about painting a chunk of original abstract art (artwork created by you)? Summary artwork also covers a broad spectrum of portray types. Other properly-recognized followers of Abstract Expressionism, also referred to as the New York College and Action Portray, are Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko. A easy, common definition of “abstract art” is “not reasonable.” Yet many artists who call their work summary, truly do have a topic in thoughts after they paint.
To create an piece of unique summary artwork, it’s essential to develop a robust imagination and good sense of creativity. Summary Neoplasticism, then again, stems from a concept or principle that art should never be a copy or copy of real objects as we see them by means of our eyes.
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Normally phrases, abstract art work break the monotony of realism and reject the truth that work should depict pragmatism. This creates true a hundred percent abstractness as your brush takes over and thoughts from your mind go right onto your paper. However, a colour field painter is much more concerned on the shapes he makes use of to come up with a masterpiece and the artist may be very specific with the colours used within the painting.
This helps many artists start their artwork. The paintings is created through the use of an analytical method to the item and portray the basic geometric strong of the subject. | http://www.falchionband.com/tribal-tattoos-4.html |
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ABOUT THE HENRY: The Henry Art Gallery was founded as Washington State’s first art museum in 1926, by Seattle entrepreneur Horace C. Henry, on the principle that art stimulates inquiry, fosters knowledge, and builds healthy communities. Located on the campus of the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, the Henry is internationally recognized for its research and presentation of contemporary art.
The mission of the Henry is to advance contemporary art, artists, and ideas. Our vision is to expand thinking through transformative experiences with contemporary art. To that end, Henry curators originate exhibitions and develop youth and public programs to serve as a resource and catalyst for discovery by audiences of all ages. From its earliest days, the Henry has been known for being first in the region to showcase world-renowned contemporary artists, and first in the field to champion emerging talent. The Henry’s facility is 46,200 sq. ft., including 14,500 sq. ft. of exhibition space. We champion a wide variety of artistic practices and are artist-centered and community engaged.
With a permanent collection of over 26,000 objects (including photographs, videos, paintings, works on paper, ceramics, costumes, and textiles), the Reed Collection Study Center, and a location on the University of Washington (UW) campus, the Henry is a key cultural resource and training ground in the visual arts for K–20 students, scholars, artists, and general audiences of all ages. Core values include collaboration, diversity and inclusion, risk-taking, transparency, accountability, excellence, and service.
POSITION PURPOSE: The Senior Curator works with the Henry curatorial staff and Director to articulate the museum’s artistic vision. The Senior Curator works with Henry staff, artists, lenders, institutions, and other partners on researching, planning, organizing, and implementing Henry-generated exhibitions, traveling shows, and artist commissions. This position works with the Director and curatorial staff on collection growth and management, and supports museum development efforts to advance the mission and vision of the Henry.
The Henry’s curatorial team is highly collaborative and works in a non-hierarchal style. The Senior Curator is a key team member who works across the department and across the institution, engaging with visitor services, and institutional advancement. The Senior Curator also works with the senior management team to develop strategies to meet artistic, strategic, and financial goals of the Henry. The Senior Curator is a liaison to the artistic community in Seattle and an ambassador to the national and international art community.
The Senior Curator must be a collaborative team player, an innovative and strategic thinker, and a highly effective manager committed to developing and mentoring staff. This position supervises the Associate Curator; Associate Curator of Collections; and Department Coordinator.
STATUS: University of Washington Exempt Employee
REPORTS TO: Director
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Curatorial:
- Works closely with the Director and curatorial team on setting framework for exhibitions and collection development.
- Conceives of and researches ideas for ongoing and new exhibition projects that support the Henry’s mission, and manages them through completion.
- Authors written materials and summaries, such as checklists, wall texts for exhibitions, preview copy, and online content. Produces brochures and catalogues as projects call for, and authors original content.
- As a member of the curatorial team, contributes to the growth and development of the collection, including acquisitions by gift, recommendation for purchases, and presentations to the Collections Committee.
- The Senior Curator and Associate Curator work closely with the Public and Youth programs team to identify key concepts, artists, and audience engagement strategies related to exhibitions.
- Makes informal and formal presentations on exhibitions and related museum programming to a range of stakeholders, including the public, colleagues, and Henry Board.
- Supports the Associate Curator of Collections in providing collection access online and in the Reed Collection Study Center.
- Cultivates and supports the work of all members of the curatorial team.
- Coordinates the exhibition schedule and budgets with the Manager of Exhibitions and Registration.
- Assures that exhibitions ideas and themes are presented professionally, in a timely and efficient manner, in support of the Henry’s mission, and within budget parameters.
- Meets deadlines and is accountable for meeting exhibition budgets and institutional budgets as they relation to curatorial department.
External Relations
- Contributes to the production of marketing and external communications materials about exhibitions and department activities.
- Generates content to support external relations staff in developing grant proposals.
- Works in conjunction with peers across the department to foster communications with Visitor Experience Representatives and security/frontline staff about upcoming exhibitions.
- Engages with academic and youth outreach by participating in select Henry Teen Art Collective sessions and academic group visits.
- With the curatorial staff, develops and reviews content related to exhibitions, collections, and programs used on the website, and other social media platforms.
Stewardship and Management
- Works collegially across the museum to support the mission, vision, and values of the Henry.
- Serves as an effective and articulate spokesperson for the Henry, maintaining a high degree of professionalism with staff, board, colleagues, museum stakeholders, and the public.
- Maintains a visible presence in the community and the UW. Represents the Henry at external events and functions.
- Stewards donor relations, in communication with External Relations team.
- Serves as curatorial representative to the senior management team, which includes the Director, and department heads for Finance, External Relations, Museum Services, and Human Resources.
- Hires, trains, and promotes the professional growth of those reporting to the Senior Curator, and fosters education of emerging museum professionals.
Other
- Remains current on curatorial and scholarly topics—regionally, nationally, and internationally—related to the mission and goals of the Henry.
- Travels for general or specific research related to the curatorial program and supporting the mission of the Henry.
- Other duties as assigned.
REQUIRED SKILLS:
- Advanced degree in art history with an emphasis on contemporary art and culture, or equivalent level of education and experience required. Minimum of 8 years experience as a contemporary art curator and 3-5 years experience working in a collecting institution.
- Evidence of scholarship, original research, and article and book publication.
- Knowledge of the latest developments in contemporary art and criticism. Knowledge of and ability to adhere to best professional practices, and to ensure that those policies and practices are understood and followed by curatorial staff.
- Experience with public engagement related to exhibitions, programs, and collections for a range of audiences.
- Commitment to teamwork; to leading and sharing leadership; and working for the greater good of the organization.
- Demonstrated management and supervisory skills, including providing constructive performance feedback.
- Excellent time management, problem solving, and analytical skills. Ability to assess priorities and be poised under pressure.
- Proven ability to adhere to museum policies, support executive and Board decisions, and maintain confidentiality.
- Commitment to representing the museum with a high degree of integrity and professionalism, maintaining productive and respectful dialogue with staff and stakeholders.
- Proven success with patron development and with attracting funding from grants and foundations.
- Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Proficiency using a wide range of MS Office products including Outlook, Word and Excel, as well as other software applications.
DESIRED SKILLS:
- Experience working on issues of racial equity and social justice as it relates to organizational structures and curatorial work.
- A global perspective and appreciation for the regional art community.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION: The Henry is committed to racial equity and inclusion. Qualified individuals who bring diverse perspectives to the workplace are encouraged to apply.
To apply for this position, please send cover letter (including salary expectations) and resume to [email protected]. No phone calls, please. Priority consideration will be given to applications received by November 15, 2017. | http://westmuse.org/job_board/senior-curator |
Civil Society FENSA Statement April 2016-1
WHO Member States have been negotiating a proposal for a Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (covering WHO’s interactions with NGOs, Businesses Philanthropic Foundations and Academic institutions.) Another open-ended meeting of WHO Member States starts today – 25-27th April at WHO HQ in Geneva.
Public Interest NGOs, have sent the following statement to Member States.
CLICK HERE for NewsMinute article.
CLICK HERE for IPWatch artice
Civil Society Statement
Save the World Health Organization from the undue influence of corporations and corporate linked entities
Geneva 25th April 2016
The independence, integrity and credibility of World Health Organization (WHO) and its capacity to fulfil its constitutional mandate would be compromised if Member States failed to put in place a robust framework to protect WHO from undue influences, especially by private sector and private sector linked philanthropic foundations and conflicted Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
The Open Ended Inter-Governmental Meeting (OEIGM) will meet for three days, 25-27 April 2016 to finalise the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) following one year of negotiations.
We, members of the public-interest civil society organizations, call on the participants of the meeting to ensure that the framework does not fall below existing safeguards that aim to prevent undue influence from the private sector, and to strengthen them.
For instance, the current guidelines to regulate WHO’s engagement with the private sector restrict the acceptance of financial resources from the private sector to support salaries of WHO staff. The current FENSA draft ignores such restrictions and allows the Secretariat to accept financial support from the private sector to pay staff salaries. Likewise, while not fully applied, current guidelines protection against representatives of groups “that are primarily of a commercial or profit-making nature” establishing “official relations” with the WHO and participating in meetings of governing bodies. The FENSA proposes to explicitly allow international business associations and philanthropic foundations to enter into official relations with WHO.
Without adequate safeguards WHO will not be able to fulfil its constitutional mandate as the directing and coordinating authority in global health, setting norms and standards, and regulating harmful industry practices. The reliance on financial support from the private sector risks leading to the corporate capture of WHO. The draft FENSA shows that there is even no consensus among Member States to explicitly bar WHO from accepting financial resources from the private sector for norms and standard setting activities, which is particularly worrying.
We are concerned that even though various WHO documents, including the draft FENSA text, mention concerns about conflict of interest (COI), WHO lacks a comprehensive policy to manage both individual and institutional COI. Most importantly, the draft FENSA, instead of filling this gap, contains a wrong conceptualisation of conflicts of interest. Were conflicts of interest conceptualized correctly, the entire FENSA text would look different. Similarly, safeguards against risk of undue influence, especially protection against conflict of interest, should be in place, even in the case of humanitarian emergencies.
We regret to note that certain Member States, who were advocates of an early adoption of FENSA, now threaten to block further work on strengthening the framework. We call upon Member States to continue to work for a robust framework that can effectively safeguard WHO’s independence, integrity, credibility and ability to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
Member States should also urgently address the concern of sustainable financing of WHO. It is far too risky to use FENSA as a fund-raising strategy. Currently more than 80 % of WHO’s budget is financed through voluntary tied contributions. This is the most critical cause of WHO’s vulnerability to undue influences. There is an urgent need for Member States to increase their assessed contribution.
We call upon the Member States in the OEIGM:
- To not succumb to pressure to compromise the safeguards against undue influence.
- To rethink and remove the FENSA approach to the private sector elements—e.g. the proposal to involve corporations in programme implementation, advocacy, and the principle of “inclusiveness” for private sector and philanthropic foundations—that could give rise to undue influence and serious conflicts of interest.
- To strengthen rather than weaken the safeguards against undue influence from the private sector, private sector linked entities, and public-private partnerships. At the very least, FENSA should not dilute the existing WHO safeguards.
- To develop a comprehensive system, including a conflict of interest policy based on coherent concepts.
- To ensure that such a comprehensive COI policy addresses the risk of both individual and institutional conflicts of interest.
- To fully protect WHO’s core functions, especially its norm – and standard -setting activities from the undue influence by putting in place clear rules against acceptance of cash or in-kind contributions from NSAs for norm-and standard-setting activities.
- To protect the independence and integrity of WHO from undue influence, even during humanitarian emergencies.
- To urgently lift the freeze on assessed contributions and increase the assessed contributions, and thus reduce WHO’s dependency on voluntary contributions. Such action would resolve WHO’s most important institutional conflict of interest and save resources otherwise spent on implementing an ill-conceived Framework.
Endorsements from:
- All India Drug Action Network
- Argentine Network of Positive People (Redar Positiva)- Argentina
- Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS)
- Baby Milk Action
- Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation
- Berne Declaration
- Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India
- CEFEMINA (Cost Rica)
- Centre for Health Science and Law (CHSL)
- Corporate Accountability International
- Diverse Women for Diversity
- FGEP- Argentina
- Foundation for Research in Science Technology & Ecology
- Geneva Infant Feeding Association (GIFA)
- Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA)
- Health GAP
- IFARMA Foundation
- INFACT Canada
- Initiative for Health & Equity in Society
- Initiativ Liewensufank
- International Baby Food Action Network
- International Code Documentation Centre
- Institute of Alcohol Studies
- IOGT International
- Knowledge Ecology International
- Lactation Consultants of Great Britain
- Medicus Mundi International – Network Health for All
- NCT (formerly National Childbirth Trust)
- People´s Health Movement
- Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+)
- Red Latinoamericana por el Acceso a Medicamentos -RedLAM
- Third World Network
- UK Association of Milk Banks (UKAMB)
- WEMOS
Additional endorsers:
- FIAN
- La Leche League (GB)
- Society for International Development (SID)
- Transnational Institute
. | https://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/9351 |
Since its founding in 1984, the Center has committed to professional integrity in the conduct of its business and in its relationships with all those with whom it works. As a free standing, unaffiliated nonprofit corporation, the Center strives to preserve and maintain its autonomy and independence at all times and in all respects.
Corporate Integrity
The Center adheres to the following guiding principles with respect to all charitable contribution support, all contracts and agreements for services and products, and all marketing activities:
• The Center shall at all times maintain its independence and autonomy to pursue its Mission, Vision, Values and to maintain its public benefit purposes free of outside influence or the appearance of such influence.
• The integrity, professionalism and accountability of all Center programs, publications, communications, research and other projects and activities are solely the responsibility of the Center.
• At all times in the pursuit of its Mission and Vision, the Center shall strive to foster an atmosphere that promotes civil discourse and the robust exchange of ideas.
The Center is and shall be solely responsible for the structure, direction, measurement, administration and control of its programs, projects and events, and for all Center operations. The acceptance of financial support or other beneficence from any outside source, or the fact of a contract or agreement with any other party, does not and shall not mean or imply the Center’s endorsement or approval of any such party’s activities, operations, products or services.
The Center encourages its supporters to permit public acknowledgement by name. The Center does not accept anonymous gifts from corporations, including nonprofit organizations, faith-based and fraternal organizations, professional associations or business leagues. When an individual donor wishes to remain anonymous, gifts and grants with that philanthropic gesture must comply with other provisions of this policy.
All philanthropic support of the Center shall be recognized, disclosed or included on the Center’s website, and in appropriate publications from time to time. Public disclosure of commercial transactions which are protected by agreement or applicable law may be made in a manner consistent with such limitations as determined by the Center CEO with the advice and consent of the board.
Corporate Relationships
All Mission-related and commercial business relationships between and among the Center for Practical Bioethics and all outside parties, including but not limited to, all donors, contributors, for-profit and nonprofit businesses of all types, governmental agencies, associations and academic institutions, shall comply with and adhere at all times to the Center’s Corporate Integrity Policy.
All contracts and agreements, including but not limited to commercial, sales, marketing, advocacy, grants, licensing, joint venture, and sponsorship agreements, entered into by the Center with another party shall comply with and adhere at all times to the Center’s Corporate Integrity Policy.
The Center shall not enter into any contract, agreement, arrangement or relationship at any time, with any party, which does not comply with and adhere to the Center’s current Corporate Integrity Policy.
As a nonprofit corporation organized and operating under the laws of the State of Kansas and qualified as a tax-exempt, public benefit organization under federal law, in furtherance of the Center’s Mission, Vision and public benefit Values, the Center shall comply at all times with all applicable laws and regulations. | https://www.practicalbioethics.org/support-our-mission/corporate-relationships-policy.html |
The Art Fund & AAMC Foundation Conference Travel Fellowship will provide full funding for eight UK-based curators to travel to and attend the AAMC & AAMC Foundation annual conference in New York in May 2019.
This programme has been developed with an aim to enable UK curators to engage meaningfully and with authority on the international stage, developing their own experience and learning while also raising the profile of their institutions and collections abroad.
As well as attendance at the AAMC & AAMC Foundation annual conference, curators will be invited to take part in introductory weekend tours; benefit from a pairing with a peer US-based curator to offer collegial partnership throughout the conference; receive an invitation to the AAMC Foundation’s Program Alumni Reception, a networking event allowing attendees to connect with others engaged in professional development and with AAMC; and enjoy a 2-year AAMC membership allowing access to AAMC’s suite of curatorial development opportunities.
Following the conference, recipients of the travel fellowships will be eligible to draw down additional research and development grants to activate ideas and develop relationships established through the conference.
The conference will take place 4-7 May 2019 preceded by the weekend programme.
$72,000 (c.£55,000) Applications are now open and close 12 February. Eight fellowships available.
Curatorial Network Grants
Curatorial Network Grants are a new annual funding programme open to subject specialist networks (SSNs) and other curatorial networks around the UK. It is designed in direct response to research previously carried out by Art Fund which confirmed a decline in the number of curatorial and subject specialist roles in UK museums over the past decade.
Coupled with a tendency for museums to replace retiring subject specialists with more generalist curators who have responsibility for multiple collection disciplines, the research revealed, among other priorities, a need to ensure that subject specialism and expertise is accessible and shared as widely as possible among museum professionals.
The overall aim of this fund is to encourage the wide sharing of expertise, skills and knowledge across the sector, through SSNs and other curatorial networks, for the benefit of museum collections and audiences. The funding is designed to help networks:
- Capitalise on opportunities to develop and expand their activities
- Develop and share knowledge and skills relating to subject-specialism, professional skills and public engagement
- Collaborate with each other and with museum audiences
- Innovate, test new ideas and share their findings
- Create tangible public outcomes
Applications open 25 February for large grants and close on 24 April. Applications for grants smaller than £5,000 may be submitted on a rolling basis. Funding available: £150,000.
New Collecting Awards
This scheme helps to build collections nationwide. Now in its fifth year, the New Collecting Awards enable the next generation of curators to build critical professional skills by pursuing new avenues of collecting for their museums.
Open to UK curators working with public collections, it provides grants typically between £50,000 and £80,000 to some of the most talented, early-career curators to build new collections for their respective museums. Award recipients also receive a specific allocation to use towards their own professional development, to spend on research, travel and training costs, plus the ongoing support of a mentor, Art Fund staff and trustees.
The New Collecting Awards have been made possible by a number of generous individuals and trusts including the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, the Wolfson Foundation, the Vivmar Foundation and the Coral Samuel Charitable Trust.
Through New Collecting Awards, twenty-three significant projects have been supported which innovate and expand the collections in museums, ranging from Brighton to Glasgow. Projects have included the formation of a fine art collection of LGBT culture and history at Walker Art Gallery, a collection of work exploring war and the digital at the Imperial War Museum and an inspiring new collection of artists’ moving image works at Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton.
Applications open 25 February and close 24 April. Funding available £300,000. | https://advisor.museumsandheritage.com/news/art-fund-announces-500000-funding-support-uk-curators/ |
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