1,721,177 research outputs found
Copulatory behaviour in the Bonelli´s Eagle: Assessing the paternity assurance hypothesis
Full text linkWe examined copulatory behaviour in the Bonelli´s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) at nesting sites in the eastern zone of the Baetic Cordillera, southern Spain, between 2010 and 2012. We observed the copulatory behaviour of 15 pairs during the pre-laying period. Bonelli´s Eagles commenced sexual activity ca. 69 days before egg-laying. Ninety-six percent of mounting attempts were successful. Bonelli´s Eagle pairs averaged 99.8 copulation attempts per clutch, with an average copulation frequency of 0.86 copulation attempts per day. Pairs displayed a daily bimodal pattern of copulation activity, with copulations occurring most frequently in the evening. We used our data to test three predictions with regard to the paternity assurance hypothesis. Prediction 1, that within-pair copulations increase with local breeding density, was rejected because our models showed no evidence for it. Prediction 2, that within-pair copulations increase during the female fertile period, was marginally supported. Finally, Prediction 3, that mate attendance increases during the female fertile period, was also rejected because mate-guarding did not increase as the fertile period approached. However, mate-guarding was positively correlated with within-pair copulation frequency. Moderate copulation rates compared to other raptors and the absence of mate-guarding suggest that, in the study area, Bonelli´s Eagles exhibit only partially adaptive behaviour to assure their paternity. A possible explanation could be related to the low number of extra-pair encounters observed (opportunities for which appear to be rare), although the gradual increase in within-pair copulations during the female fertile period is consistent with the sperm competition hypothesis. The results are discussed based on the signalling hypothesis, which proposes that raptors signal territory ownership to conspecifics, and possibly to other raptor species, by copulating frequently and conspicuously in the defended nesting area.</div
Variables used in models to analyse within-pair copulation attempts and intensity of mate-guarding in Bonelli´s Eagles.
No full textVariables used in models to analyse within-pair copulation attempts and intensity of mate-guarding in Bonelli´s Eagles.</p
Prey detectability, more than prey density, affects diet composition of Bonelli´s eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus: conservation implications
No full textOntiveros Diego, Pleguezuelos Juan Manuel, Caro Jesús. Prey detectability, more than prey density, affects diet composition of Bonelli´s eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus: conservation implications. In: Ecologia mediterranea, tome 31,2005. pp. 103-104
L. Bonelli, S. Iasigian, Il turco parlato (lingua usuale di Costantinopoli) : Cenni grammaticali , dialoghi e vocabolario italiano-turco.
No full textSalaville Sévérien. L. Bonelli, S. Iasigian, Il turco parlato (lingua usuale di Costantinopoli) : Cenni grammaticali , dialoghi e vocabolario italiano-turco.. In: Échos d'Orient, tome 14, n°90, 1911. pp. 314-315
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The attitudes of Italian consumers towards jellyfish as novel food
Full text linkThe globalization of food markets and the recent upgrade of the European regulation on novel foods open up new possibilities for the introduction of edible jellyfish in the diet of Europeans. In spite of no tradition of eating jellyfish in Italy and, more generally, in Western countries, several Mediterranean jellyfish species have biological and nutritional features with a large potential as innovative, sustainable novel food and source of bioactive compounds. To evaluate the Italians’ attitude of considering jellyfish as food source, a survey has been carried out on a group of 1445 individuals. A questionnaire was designed to assess the jellyfish consumption attitude (JCA) of respondents and explore the effect of their individual traits (socio-demography, personality, behavior habits, neophobia, disgust sensitivity) on JCA. Gender, age, and travelling habits differently affected JCA. Possible culinary uses and food pairing of jellyfish were also significantly influenced by JCA. Individuals with the highest propensity to accept jellyfish as food are young people, familiar with the sea environment, with high education level or students, and frequent travelers. Food neophobia and sensitivity to disgust are confirmed as personality traits able to strongly impair the acceptability of a novel food. Finally, this work provides insights into the acceptance and rejection variables that should be taken into account when an unfamiliar new food product, such as jellyfish, is planned to be introduced in a new dietary culture and new markets
The Pied Piper: A Parasitic Beetle’s Melodies Modulate Ant Behaviours. Corresponding author
No full textAnts use various communication channels to regulate their social organisation. The main
channel that drives almost all the ants’ activities and behaviours is the chemical one, but it is
long acknowledged that the acoustic channel also plays an important role. However, very little
is known regarding exploitation of the acoustical channel by myrmecophile parasites to
infiltrate the ant society. Among social parasites, the ant nest beetles (Paussus) are obligate
myrmecophiles able to move throughout the colony at will and prey on the ants, surprisingly
never eliciting aggression from the colonies. It has been recently postulated that stridulatory
organs in Paussus might be evolved as an acoustic mechanism to interact with ants. Here,
we survey the role of acoustic signals employed in the Paussus beetle-Pheidole ant system.
Ants parasitised by Paussus beetles produce caste-specific stridulations. We found that
Paussus can “speak” three different “languages”, each similar to sounds produced by different
ant castes (workers, soldiers, queen). Playback experiments were used to test how host
ants respond to the sounds emitted by Paussus. Our data suggest that, by mimicking the
stridulations of the queen, Paussus is able to dupe the workers of its host and to be treated
as royalty. This is the first report of acoustic mimicry in a beetle parasite of ants
The role of the hydraulic resistance of the river bed and the time dependent response of the foundation layers in the assessment of water defences for macrostability and piping
No full textIn the assessment of water defences for macrostability and backward erosion piping the design hydraulic load mostly refers to steady state conditions in equilibrium with the maximum river water level. In this contribution, we show selected results of coupled hydromechanical numerical analyses of a paradigmatic Dutch case, which demonstrate that this assumption leads to high overestimation of the true hydraulic loads at the toe of the water defence embankment. The hydraulic resistance of the bed of the river and the deformability of the foundation layers introduce a decay in the pore pressure time history, which largely reduces the action on the hydraulic protection structure. The finite element model was developed to assist in the assessment of an innovative solution based on passive wells as a measure to reduce the risk for macrostability and piping. It was calibrated on available pore pressure measurements in the foundation of critical sections of the dykes of the river Lek in the Netherlands under the daily tidal action. The model was used to determine the distribution of pore pressure expected in the subsoil of the dykes for the design maximum load. The calibration stage of the model is specifically interesting to the aim of evaluating the reduction of the input pore pressure due to the hydromechanical resistance of the geotechnical system.Accepted author manuscriptGeo-engineerin
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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