The role of landscape changes in shaping Alpine species distribution

Ecosystems are deeply affected by the human activity and land use and land cover change is recognized as one of the most important causes of the alarming loss of biodiversity. In this scenario is fundamental to identify the most endangered areas where developing conservation purposes. The Alpine regions are of particular interest because they are characterized by rare and fragile ecosystems with a high level of endemism well adapted to harsh condition and particular sensitive to changes. Taking in account that the landscape is the result of natural and human processes is fundamental to reconstruct what happened in the past, describe the present through monitoring activities and try to predict the future events. Therefore in biodiversity conservation the remote sensing images are useful to define the landscape structure and to evaluate its changes. Considering the importance of the scale-dependency of ecological processes, we propose a multi-temporal and scale approach to describe the landscape structures and their role in shaping Alpine species distribution. The study area is the Gran Paradiso National Park, and we will focus both on test areas and both at the landscape scale. During the first step we will set a low-cost procedure of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) survey adapted to Alpine environment in order to obtain high temporal and spatial resolution images in test areas. In the second step we will focus on the interpretation of the aerial images already available to reconstruct the land cover changes during the last decades and we compare the results with the UAV images. In the last step the analysis will be extended to entire Park landscape using satellite data. This multiscale analysis of landscape changes allow us to study how the environmental patterns affect the animal distribution using both a multi-taxa approach and considering a single target species. These results are essential for an adaptive management, balanced in space and time

A new robust diagnostic polymerase chain reaction for determining the mating status of female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

The principal malaria vector in Africa, Anopheles gambiae, contains two pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes. The Y chromosome is only associated with males and other Y chromosome-specific DNA sequences, which are transferred to women during mating. A reliable tool to determine the mating status of dried wild An. gambiae females is currently lacking. DNA was extracted from dried virgin and mated females and used to test whether Y chromosome-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers can be successfully amplified and used as a predictor of mating. Here we report a new PCR-based method to determine the mating status among successfully inseminated and virgin wild An. gambiae females, using three male-specific primers. This dissection-free method has the potential to facilitate studies of both population demographics and gene flow from dried mosquito samples routinely collected in epidemiologic monitoring and aid existing and new malaria-vector control approaches

Tertiary-Quaternary subduction processes and related magmatism in the Alpine-Mediterranean region

During Tertiary to Quaternary times, convergence between Eurasia and Africa resulted in a variety of collisional orogens and different styles of subduction in the Alpine-Mediterranean region. Characteristic features of this area include arcuate orogenic belts and extensional basins, both of which can be explained by roll-back of subducted slabs and retreating subduction zones. After cessation of active subduction, slab detachment and post-collisional gravitational collapse of the overthickened lithosphere took place. This complex tectonic history was accompanied by the generation of a wide variety of magmas. Most of these magmas (e.g. low-K tholeiitic, calc-alkaline, shoshonitic and ultrapotassic types) have trace element and isotopic fingerprints that are commonly interpreted to reflect enrichment of their source regions by subduction-related fluids. Thus, they can be considered as ‘subduction-related’ magmas irrespective of their geodynamic relationships. Intraplate alkali basalts are also found in the region generally postdated the ‘subduction-related’ volcanism. These mantle-derived magmas have not been, or only slightly, influenced by subduction-related enrichment. This paper summarises the geodynamic setting of the Tertiary-Quaternary “subduction-related” magmatism in the different segments of the Alpine-Mediterranean region (Betic-Alboran-Rif province, Central Mediterranean, the Alps, Carpathian-Pannonian region, Dinarides and Hellenides, Aegean and Western Anatolia), and discusses the main characteristics and compositional variation of the magmatic rocks. Radiogenic and stable isotope data indicate the importance of continental crustal material in the genesis of these magmas. Interaction with crustal material probably occurred both in the upper mantle during subduction (‘source contamination’) and in the continental crust during ascent of mantle-derived magmas (either by mixing with crustal melts or by crustal contamination). The 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb isotope ratios indicate that an enriched mantle component, akin to the source of intraplate alkali mafic magmas along the Alpine foreland, played a key role in the petrogenesis of the ‘subduction-related’ magmas of the Alpine-Mediterranean region. This enriched mantle component could be related to mantle plumes or to long-term pollution (deflection of the central Atlantic plume and recycling of crustal material during subduction) of the shallow mantle beneath Europe since the late Mesozoic. In the first case, subduction processes could have had an influence in generating asthenospheric flow by deflecting nearby mantle plumes due to slab roll-back or slab break-off. In the second case, the variation in the chemical composition of the volcanic rocks in the Mediterranean region can be explained by “statistical sampling” of the strongly inhomogeneous mantle followed by variable degrees of crustal contamination

Struttura, informazione, modelli : il contributo di Valentino Braitenberg

Braitenberg's neuroanatomical research was carried out in the endeavour to identify the network structures specific to a given part of the brain. But, more generally, his work concerns the functional interpretation of brain structures. Yet, since computers came into play in the 1950s, Braitenberg was well aware of their potential for bridging the gap between neuronal structures and mechanisms, namely, for building up models of brain functions. In this paper we shall argue that the relationships between structure, information and models constitute the spine of Braitenberg's systemic-cybernetic thinking. In a nutshell, the quest for a model calls for the interplay between structure and information. Meanwhile, defining information in terms of structure leads to reconsider the meaning of a model at a certain level of explanation. In this perspective, we begin by discussing his noteworthy contributions to functional neuroanatomy, in particular those related to charting the visual cortex, where Braitenberg explicitly addresses the issue of how to set up a model so to in efficiently account for the underlying neural mechanisms. Then, we consider his unconventional approach to the concept of information, which is shaped in terms of structural information, rendering it a powerful tool for understanding and thus modelling the neural mechanisms of cognitive functions. The paper concludes by suggesting and discussing some implications of Braitenberg's view for most recent and lively debate on models and levels of explanation in the behavioural sciences

Nitrate leaching in grazed grasslands of different composition and age

In a field experiment at Research Centre Foulum a suction cup technique was used to investigate nitrate leaching from grassland depending on composition (grass-clover or perennial ryegrass), management (grazing or cutting) and age of the swards. In 1997-2001 was investigated the successive nitrate leaching from 4-7 year old grazed grass-clover and ryegrass with cut plots of similar age and spring barley as reference. In 2000-2001 the simultaneous nitrate leaching from newly established swards, swards grazed for 1 and 7 years and swards cut for 7 years was investigated. In the newly established swards nitrate leaching from grass-clover and ryegrass were similar but at increasing sward age nitrate leaching from the fertilized ryegrass increased dramatically compared to a constant low level from the unfertilized grass-clover. Apparently, the clover component of grass-clover was able to equalize differences in soil nitrogen availability in swards of different age. The results of N2 fixation studies in swards of different age in 2001 will be used in the interpretation of the nitrate leaching data

Microscopic Analysis of Thermodynamic Parameters from 160 MeV/n - 160 GeV/n

Microscopic calculations of central collisions between heavy nuclei are used to study fragment production and the creation of collective flow. It is shown that the final phase space distributions are compatible with the expectations from a thermally equilibrated source, which in addition exhibits a collective transverse expansion. However, the microscopic analyses of the transient states in the reaction stages of highest density and during the expansion show that the system does not reach global equilibrium. Even if a considerable amount of equilibration is assumed, the connection of the measurable final state to the macroscopic parameters, e.g. the temperature, of the transient ''equilibrium'' state remains ambiguous.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 8 postscript figures, Proceedings of the Winter Meeting in Nuclear Physics (1997), Bormio (Italy

Keeping company with hope and despair. Family therapists' reflections and experience of working with childhood depression

The BIOMED international outcome study on childhood depression offered a unique opportunity for the systematic treatment of children and families with major depression using systemic psychotherapy. This paper describes the experiences of clinicians working with the families referred and the theoretical and clinical models that evolved during the treatment process. The concept of 'keeping company with hope and despair' emerged as an overarching framework for thinking about the quality of the therapeutic relationship in this developing area of clinical practice. We illustrate our systemically informed interventions with case examples and discuss the role played by therapists' 'use of self' in engaging and fostering change in families gripped by depression

Model a Catchment Basin

The purpose of this resource is to introduce what a catchment basin is and how it works. Students will make a 3-dimensional model of a catchment basin to understand how water moves through the basin and explore how water is affected when there are changes in the basin. Educational levels: Primary elementary, Intermediate elementary, Middle school, High school