Etant entendu que parler c’est exister pour l’autre. Le donne algerine nella guerra di liberazione

Until recent years the only scholarly reference about women in the Algerian revolution was Les femmes algériennes dans la guerre (Paris, Plon, 1991) by former fighter Djamila Amrane. Starting from 2000, a great deal of memoirs, books and essays have been published, authored by women and focusing both on women’s role and experience during the battle of Algiers, and on the revolutionary process in a broader sense. This paper focuses on some of these women’s narratives, underlying the difference between their narrations and the State discourse. Though tackling taboo subjects like torture and sexual violence, women authors are nevertheless aware of the social and political implication of their struggle; today, after sixty years of independence, they still struggle for their right to be full citizens of Algeria

Morir d’amore a Port-Royal. La breve vita di Jacqueline Pascal tra fede e obbedienza

Jacqueline Pascal, a passionate girl, in the raisonnable religion of Port-Royal looked for a space where she could devote herself entirely to God. Choosing to be a nun in a world where women were forced to become nuns or wives, she never stops to wonder, and question the boundaries of obedience: is the Church the path leading to God or is it God himself who is the path ? Her letters are the place where the devastating conflict between faith and obedience is enacted, involving the entire abbey

Exceptional sea turtle nest records in 2011 suggest an underestimated nesting potential in Sicily (Italy)

We report seven nesting events by loggerhead sea turtles in Sicily (Italy) in 2011. In comparison to past records, this number is relatively high and may be at least in part due to an awareness campaign carried out in 2011 to solicit such reports. This suggests that Sicily may host a much higher nesting activity than previously thought and higher monitoring effort is recommended, especially in certain coastal tracts. Sand temperatures and incubation periods indicate that the beaches monitored so far in the southern coast are not optimal for development, resulting in low hatching success, and produce a majority of males. Five 2011 nests and two past nests from the same area had mtDNA haplotype CC-A2.1, the most common in the Mediterranean

Altitudinal variation in body size in the Rice Frog (Rana limnocharis) in southwestern China

Bergmann’s rule states that, within species of endotherms, individuals tend to be larger in cooler environments, and has been reputed to apply to some ectotherms including amphibians. However, the validity of the rule has been debated, questioning whether Bergmann’s clines are generally present in anurans. In the view, we studied altitudinal variation in body size in the rice frog (Rana limnocharis) among populations from Sichuan province located at three altitudes to find if there exist any differences in a relatively small altitudinal range (290-375 m). The results showed that individuals from higher altitudes tended to be larger in body size than lower altitudes, which was consistent with Bergmann’s cline. Moreover, when the effect of age was removed, variation in body size of the frogs across altitudes still remained. Our findings suggested that age affected the pattern of variation in body size across the altitudinal cline, we also discussed that factors other than age also contributed to size differences among populations

The mitogenome of Elaphe bimaculata (Reptilia: Colubridae) has never been published: a case with the complete mitochondrial genome of E. dione

The steppes ratsnake, Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773), is widely distributed across Eurasia, but the systematics and phylogeography of this species remain poorly studied. Sequencing of the full mitochondrial genome of this species provides a reference for its further study. Here, we report the full mitochondrial genome of an E. dione specimen from Krasnoyarsk Krai (East Siberia, Russia). We found that it is highly similar to the previously reported mitochondrial genome of the sister species, E. bimaculata. Both species misidentification by the authors of E. bimaculata mitogenome and the introgressive hybridization between these taxa can possibly explain this observation

Advertisement call of Scinax littoralis and S. angrensis (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae), with notes on the reproductive activity of S. littoralis

Scinax littoralis and S. angrensis are poorly known Atlantic forest endemic species from the Scinax catharinae group, which is known from southern and southeastern Brazil. Herein, we describe the advertisement calls of these two species and compare them to other species within the S. catharinae group. Additionally, we provide information on breeding sites, and calling activity in S. littoralis. Advertisement calls of S. angrensis and S. littoralis are composed of multi-pulsed notes with multiple frequency bands and frequency modulation. Scinax littoralis has a higher minimum and maximum frequency, and lower dominant frequency than S. angrensis, while Scinax littoralis has a longer call. Scinax littoralis appears to be a habitat generalist, occurring from secondary to mature forests, and breeding both in temporary and in permanent ponds. Male S. littoralis were usually observed calling perched on shrub stems, and displayed satellite behavior when the male density was high

No short term effect of Clinostomum complanatum (Trematoda: Digenea: Clinostomatidae) on survival of Triturus carnifex (Amphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae)

In this paper we evaluated the effects of the metacercariae of C. complanatum on body condition and survival probability of the Italian crested newt. We studied two populations of T. carnifex, with one of the two infected by the trematode, in central Italy, for a year. We found that: i) paedomorphic newts were more likely to be infected; ii) cysts were mostly located on the head and into the mouth; iii) the infection did not affect the body size of newts; iv) survival probabilities of infected and not infected newts from the same population did not differ, and it was similar to the survival of newts from the not-infected population. We conclude that, at least in the short term, the metacercariae of C. complanatum are not damaging for T. carnifex

Escape by the Balearic Lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) is affected by elevation of an approaching predator, but not by some other potential predation risk factors

Many predation risk factors to affect escape behavior by lizards, but effects of some potential risk factors are unknown or are variable among species. We studied effects of several risk factors on escape responses by the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi, Lacertidae) on escape responses. Escape was elicited by an approaching experimenter who recorded flight initiation distance (predator-prey distance when escape begins) and distance fled. When an experimenter approached from above (upslope), flight initiation distance and distance fled were longer than when the experimenter approached from below. This novel effect suggests that lizards exposed to aerial predation might have been naturally selected to respond rapidly to predators approaching from above or that effects of path inclination of escape ability may differ between predators and prey in a manner requiring a larger margin of safety during approaches from above than below. Although sex differences in aspects of escape occur in some lizards, including lacertids, no sex difference was observed in P. lilfordi. Because vigilance and some other aspects of antipredatory behavior exhibit cortical lateralization, we tested effects of approach from the left and right sides of lizards. As predicted by optimal escape theory, side of approach did not affect flight initiation distance. Because many lizards have color vision and respond to pigmentation of conspecifics in social settings, researchers have often worn only drably colored clothing when simulating predators. This precaution may be unnecessary because flight initiation distance did not differ among investigator shirt colors (red, orange, olive)

One scute ring per year in Testudo graeca? A novel method to identify ring deposition patterns in tortoises

A reliable estimation of individuals’ age is helpful to conduct demographic studies on wildlife populations. In tortoises, many studies have estimated individuals’ age by counting growth rings on their scutes, assuming one ring per year (1:1 ratio). However, the accuracy of this method is controversial. The ring deposition pattern can vary depending on species, or even populations, and should be studied comprehensively. We studied the ring deposition pattern of Testudo graeca in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, using recaptures of 156 individuals between 2004 and 2010. We used a novel approach to explore the ring deposition pattern and to test possible differences between localities and individuals. Our results revealed that most analysed individuals (57.4%) showed a 1:1 ratio, in which rings were deposited during months of activity (spring to autumn). However, we found a trend to count less rings than years, which underestimated 1 year every 3 or 4 years. No differences in the deposition patterns were found among sites, sizes or sexes because the halt in growth during hibernation equally affects all tortoises in all sites. Our results support that the assumed 1:1 ratio in the assignment of individuals’ age is too simplistic. Since ring deposition patterns are complex, the use of statistical approaches capable of handling deviations from the assumed deposition ratios can help to better depict population age structures

Diet of a restocked population of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis in NW Italy

Recently several projects have been implemented for the conservation of the European turtle Emys orbicularis, but few aspects of the captive-bred animals released into the wild have been described. In this note we report about the trophic habits of a small restocked population of the endemic subspecies E. o. ingauna that is now reproducing in NW Italy. Faecal contents from 25 individuals (10 females, 11 males and 4 juveniles) were obtained in June 2016. Overall, 11 taxonomic categories of invertebrates were identified, together with seeds and plant remains. Plant material was present in 24 out of 25 turtle faecal contents, suggesting that ingestion was deliberate. There were no differences between the dietary habits of females and males, and the trophic strategy of adult individuals was characterised by a relatively high specialization on dragonfly nymphae. These findings suggest that captive bred turtles are adapting well to the wild and that restocked individuals assumed an omnivorous diet, a trophic behaviour typical of other wild turtle populations living in similar habitats