Katherine Mansfield and anima mundi

This presentation proposes a reading of Katherine Mansfield’s work that will begin with the medieval theories of anima mundi or world soul, the concept of an animistic universe in which the earth can be revivified through a spiritus mundi. It will refer to the French theological scholars of the 12th century who were influential in promoting the Pythagoraean-Platonic doctrine of anima mundi through allegories of ‘Dame Nature’: Bernard de Sylvestris of Tours (De Universitate Mundi) and Alanus of Insulis (De Planctu Naturae and Anticlaudianus), Jean de Meun’s continuation of Guillaume de Lorris’s Le Roman de la Rose. This strand of medieval culture and cosmology - often considered as tangential to mainstream European intellectual and Christian religious belief — was popular throughout the Renaissance and has survived in various literary forms in modernist writing, often as a vigorous rebuttal of modernization from an environmental perspective. Although no direct connection with the anima mundi tradition can be traced in Mansfield’s work, her close identification with nature and the non-human is undeniable, and some familiarity with popular survivals of the tradition of nature personified appear, for example, in her interest in the Greek god, Pan. Her creation of transitive, linking relations between herself and the natural world recalls the close participation between man and the rest of creation characteristic of the medieval world view. Certainly anthropomorphic thinking and the perception of human subjectivity as rooted in non-human nature underpin the sense of wonder and the marvellous found in her representations of the created world and her emphasis on its mystery and splendour. This Arcadian, pastoral orientation also appears in her empathy with living creatures, flowers, plants and trees, while cultivated gardens and wild outdoor spaces are settings for epiphanies, sites of revelation and transformation. Yet, I will argue, Mansfield also introduced her own modernist, gendered critique of the tropes and images associated with nature worship. The talk will refer to the traditions associated with anima mundi in relation to stories like ‘Epilogue II’, ‘In the Botanical Gardens’, ‘The Escape’, ‘See-Saw’ and ‘Prelude’, read as modernist adaptations of classical/medieval topoi of the locus amoenus (pleasant place), the hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), and the sacred tree

Genetic diversity in Canadian, mountain and moorland, and Nordic pony populations

The legally binding international declaration of the Convention on Biological Diversity (signed by over 180 countries) recently acknowledged the importance of conserving genetic diversity within livestock species. This study aimed to help Canada assess molecular diversity in its horse and pony (Equus ferus caballus) genetic resources. Here, 24 populations were examined, with special focus on the native Canadian, Mountain and Moorland, and Nordic pony populations, using two well accepted molecular tools. Additional horse breeds and feral populations were also included in this project as some may have influenced the development of the three equine groups of interest. Altogether, 821 individuals were genotyped at 38 microsatellite loci, and 280 individuals were sequenced using a 421 base pair portion of the mitochondrial displacement Hypervariable Region I. Results from the microsatellite analyses indicated that 13.33% of genetic diversity arose from breed differences, whereas 84.60% and 2.07% of diversity arose from within and among individuals respectively. The New Forest and Welsh breeds were found to be the most diverse while having the highest average effective number of alleles and allelic richness (4.31 and 6.01; 4.33 and 5.87 respectively). The Eriskay and Lac La Croix breeds were found to have the lowest average effective number of alleles and allelic richness (2.51 and 3.98; 2.83 and 4.01 respectively). Expected heterozygosities were lowest in the Lac La Croix (0.61) and highest in the Welsh and New Forest (0.74) breeds, whereas observed heterozygosities were highest in the Kerry Bog (0.77) and lowest in the Exmoor (0.57) breeds. The genetic structure and admixture analyses suggested that the most probable number of unique genetic clusters was 21 as opposed to the 24 predefined populations. Results from the mitochondrial sequence data revealed that there were 36 informative sites producing 62 haplotypes, 20 of which were previously unreported. The Connemara was found to have the highest haplotype diversity of the pony breeds (0.89); however, the Highland pony was found to have the highest nucleotide diversity and pairwise difference (0.16 and 6.73 respectively). In contrast, the Fell pony had the lowest haplotype diversity (0.22), and the feral Sable Island population had the lowest nucleotide diversity and pairwise difference (0.01 and 0.29 respectively). Multiple phylogenetic trees were reconstructed and produced similar topologies. In general, the Mountain and Moorland and Nordic breeds were spread among the clades, whereas native Canadian populations were most frequent in the D and E clades. Interestingly, a large portion of ponies were found within the rare E clade as opposed to horses. Information gathered from this project can be incorporated with other available data into pre-existing conservation/breeding programs currently managed by the various breed societies to ensure that the most optimal and sustainable strategies are in place

Agricultural extensification enhances functional diversity but not phylogenetic diversity in Mediterranean olive groves: A case study with ant and bird communities

Agroforests are of well-known importance for biodiversity conservation, especially in the tropics, because they are structurally stable and may resemble natural forests. Previous studies have characterized jointly taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in these agro-ecosystems to comprehensively examine the mechanisms by which agriculture impacts on biodiversity. However, this approach has been barely applied to other woody crops of economic importance, such as olive grove, which is a remarkable overwintering habitat for frugivorous/insectivorous birds from central and northern Europe, and whose original distribution overlaps with the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot. We examined the effects of landscape complexity and intensive management practices at a local scale (recurrent plowing and pesticides use) on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of animal communities inhabiting olive groves. Since the response of functional traits or clades may vary across different taxonomic groups, we conducted our study at two levels: ants, which are considered semi-sessile organisms, and birds, which exhibit a high dispersal capacity. In birds, neither management type nor landscape complexity had an effect on phylogenetic diversity (PD) indices. Extensively managed farms harbored bird communities with higher values of functional diversity (FD), but this effect only was evident when considering cultivated (productive) zones within the farm (i.e., infield diversity). Ant assemblages on intensively managed farms exhibited a lower level of phylogenetic clustering than those located in extensive farms, but this effect vanished when excluding non-cultivated zones. Ant functional diversity increased with landscape complexity. Our results indicate that PD and FD exhibit different responses to farming intensification in olive groves. Although intensive management does not erode PD due to the existence of phylogenetic redundancy, the loss of species associated to modern farming leads to a reduction in FD being this indicative of functional complementarity. This study provides evidence that land-use extensification (extensive farming and landscape diversification) promotes more functionally rich assemblages than modern intensive practices in olive groves. Our findings also show the need to set apart the effect of non-cultivated zones (e.g., hedgerows, margins) when evaluating the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes as the joint consideration of non-cultivated and cultivated areas may obscure the benefits of local extensification on infield biodiversity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Falta de estructura genética en las poblaciones chipriotas de Alectoris chukar (Aves, Galliformes), deducida de los datos de secuenciación del ADNmt

The Chukar (Alectoris chukar cypriotes) is the most common game bird in Cyprus. Since 1990 the Cypriot Government has established a restocking program with captive–reared birds. However, this program has not been guaranteed by checking the genetic nature of wild and farmed samples, either in the areas controlled by the Cypriot Government or in northern Cyprus. The sequencing of both Cytochrome–b and Control Region of the mitochondrial DNA was carried out for 61 Cypriot representatives and 14 specimens of the same subspecies from Crete and Israel. Only the A. chukar maternal lineage was found. A partitioning of Cypriot specimens among different clades was not reliably supported, whereas robust bootstrap values weighted for an evolutionary divergence between Cypriot and Cretan Chukars. An overall genetic homogeny of the Cypriot populations was disclosed, whatever their status (captive vs. wild stocks) and origin (Government controlled vs. occupied areas) would be, a higher nucleotide diversity of the wild vs. captive representatives notwithstanding. Key words: Chukar, Control Region, Cytochrome–b, Genetic diversity, mtDNA, Partridges.Una subespecie de la perdiz chucar (Alectoris chukar cypriotes) es el ave de caza más común de Chipre. A partir de 1990 el gobierno chipriota estableció un programa de repoblación utilizando aves criadas en cautividad. No obstante, dicho programa no ha sido avalado mediante la comprobación de la naturaleza genética de muestras tanto de ejemplares salvajes como de granja, ni en las zonas controladas por el gobierno chipriota ni en el norte de Chipre. Se ha llevado a cabo la secuenciación del citocromo-b y de la región de control del ADN mitocondrial de 61 ejemplares chipriotas y de 14 especimenes de la misma subespecie de Creta y de Israel. Sólo se encontró el linaje materno de A. chukar. No se pudo demostrar con fiabilidad el reparto de los especimenes chipriotas en distintos clados, mientras que unos valores bootstrap muy consistentes sustentaban una divergencia evolutiva entre las perdices chucar chipriotas y cretenses. Se reveló la existencia de una homogeneidad genética en las poblaciones chipriotas, cualquiera que fuera su estatus (linajes cautivos frente a salvajes) o su origen (zonas controladas por el gobierno frente a zonas ocupadas), por más que se diera una mayor diversidad de nucleótidos de los ejemplares salvajes frente a los cautivos. Palabras clave: Perdiz chucar, Región de control, Citocromo-b, Diversidad genética, ADNmt, Perdices

Influence of the pruning system on the fungal community of grapevine (Vitis vinifera)

„Minimalschnitt im Spalier“ (MMS) ist ein neues Reben-Erziehungssystem, das den Winzern die Möglichkeit eröffnet, Einsparungen bei den Produktionskoste vorzunehmen. Bei diesem Erziehungssystem wird der zeit- und arbeitsaufwändige Winterschnitt, der normalerweise per Hand erfolgt, maschinell, mit Hilfe eines Laubschneiders, durchgeführt. Aufgrund dieses ökonomischen Vorteils erlebte der MMS eine erhöhte Popularität unter den Winzern in den letzten Jahren, Tendenz steigend. Jedoch fehlen wichtige Informationen zu einige Kultivierungsaspekten, da es kaum detaillierte Feldstudien zu diesem Erziehungssystem gibt. Einer dieser Aspekte betrifft das Vorkommen von pilzlichen Krankheiten und den entsprechenden Schutz der Reben. Aus diesem Grund war es Ziel dieser Arbeit, basierend auf Langzeitversuchen (2015–2018), den Einfluss des Schnittsystems auf die Pilzgemeinschaft der Rebe zu untersuchen, mit besonderem Hinblick auf phytopathogene Pilze. Ein Teil dieser Arbeit verglich die Laubwandarchitektur und das Mikroklima von MMS-Reben mit Reben in der klassischen Bogenerziehung (BE). Zudem wurde das Auftreten der wichtigsten Pilzkrankheiten, nämlich Falscher Mehltau (FM), Echter Mehltau (EM) und Graufäule (GF), vier Jahre hintereinander in den beiden Erziehungssystemen untersucht. In diesem Zeitraum wurde festgestellt, dass MMS-Reben im Vergleich zu BE-Reben anfälliger sind gegenüber FM und EM. Es wird vermutet, dass das vergleichsweise langsamere Abtrocknen der MSS-Laubwand ein Mikroklima erzeugt, welches das Wachstum und die Verbreitung der Krankheiten begünstigt. GF betreffend waren MMS-Trauben weniger befallen als BE-Trauben, was vermutlich mit der lockeren Traubenarchitektur in MMS-Reben zusammenhängt. Eine Analyse der zeitlichen Entwicklung der Pilzgemeinschaft in äußerlich gesunden Rebtriebe, von zwei Monate bis acht Jahre, ergab, dass schnell wachsende Pilze wie Alternaria spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Diaporthe spp., Epicoccum nigrum, Penicillium spp. und Truncatella angustata charakteristisch sind für junge Triebe (zwei Monate bis ein Jahr). In älteren Trieben (> ein Jahr) allerdings ist die Pilzgemeinschaft mehr durch grapevine trunk disease (GTD)-assoziierte Pilze geprägt, mit Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Diplodia seriata und Eutypa lata als vorherrschende Arten. Diese Daten zeigen, dass Reben mit älteren Trieben, wie bei MSS-Reben zu finden, stärker durch GTDs gefährdet sind als BE-Reben mit ausschließlich einjährigen Trieben. In vier aufeinanderfolgenden Jahren wurde das Vorkommen von externen Esca-Blattsymptomen in zwölf Weinbergen, unterteilt in MMS und BE, untersucht, um herauszufinden, ob und inwieweit, dass Schnittsystem das Auftreten der Blattsymptome beeinflusst. Signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den zwei Erziehungssystemen hinsichtlich der Häufigkeit von Esca-Blattsymptomen wurden in drei von vier Jahren gefunden, jedoch sind die Ergebnisse widersprüchlich. Während in 2016 MMS-Reben häufiger Blattsymptome zeigten als BE-Reben, war es in den Jahren 2017 und 2018 das Gegenteil der Fall. Sporenfallen wurden in einem Weinberg an Trieben von MMS- und BE-Reben befestigt, um das Vorkommen des mit Esca assoziierten Pilzes Phaeomoniella chlamydospora im Jahresverlauf zu erfassen. Neben P. chlamydospora wurden dabei auch andere Arten der Phaeomoniellales isoliert; eine bereits bekannte Art, Neophaeomoniella zymoides, und sechs unbekannte Arten, die neu beschrieben wurden. Die Anzahl an Pilzstämmen und Arten von Phaeomoniellales war tendenziell höher für Sporenfallen, die an Ästen von MMS-Reben befestigt waren. Ein Pathogenitätstest mit Topfpflanzen im Gewächshaus ergab, dass von den acht isolierten Arten der Phaeomoniellales nur P. chlamydospora signifikante Läsionen im Holz verursachen kann. Die Daten, welche in dieser Arbeit generiert wurden, sollen helfen, ein an MMS-Reben angepasstes Pflanzenschutzregime zu entwickeln.The novel grapevine training system “semi minimal pruned hedge” (SMPH), enables farmers to reduce their production costs by replacing the time and labour intensive winter pruning, usually done by hand, with a mechanical pruning approach. Due to its economic benefits, SMPH became more popular in Germany over the last decade and the number of SMPH vineyards is still increasing. However, due to the lack of extended monitoring in the field, some cultivation aspects of SMPH are poorly understood. One important issue is related to the incidence of fungal grapevine diseases and the respective protection of the vines. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to investigate on a long term basis (2015–2018) the influence of the pruning system on the fungal community of grapevine, with special regard to phytopathogenic fungi. One part of this study compared the canopy architecture and microclimate of SMPH and “vertical shoot positioning” (VSP) trained vines. The incidence of major fungal grapevine diseases, i.e. Downy Mildew (DM), Powdery Mildew (PM) and Botrytis Bunch Rot (BR) was surveyed over four consecutive years. Within this time frame it was noted that SMPH trained vines were more susceptible to DM and PM compared to VSP trained vines. It is assumed that the comparatively slower drying process of SMPH canopies produces a microclimate that favours growth and spread of these diseases. By contrast, SMPH bunches were less susceptible to BR compared to VSP bunches, which is probably linked to the more loose bunch architecture. An analysis of the temporal development of the fungal community in healthy grapevine branches covering two months to eight years old branches revealed that fast growing fungi like Alternaria spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Diaporthe spp., Epicoccum nigrum, Penicillium spp., and Truncatella angustata are characteristic for young branches (two months to one year old). However, in older branches (> one year) the fungal community is more characterized by grapevine trunk disease (GTD) associated fungi, with Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Diplodia seriata and Eutypa lata as predominant species. These data show that grapevines with older branches, as found in SMPH trained vines, are more threatened by GTDs than grapevines with only annual branches, as in VSP trained vines. In four consecutive years a monitoring for Esca related foliar symptoms was performed in twelve vineyards each subdivided in SMPH and VSP trained sections to investigate the influence of the training system on symptom occurrence. Significant differences between the two training systems regarding the incidence of Esca foliar symptoms were found in three out of the four years. However, overall the results are inconsistent. While in 2016 SMPH trained vines expressed more symptoms than VSP trained vines, the opposite was the case in 2017 and 2018. Spore traps were placed in a vineyard subdivided into SMPH and VSP trained sections to monitor the incidence of the Esca associated fungus Phaeomoniella chlamydospora over the year. Besides P. chlamydospora also other species of the Phaeomoniellales were isolated, including one known species, Neophaeomoniella zymoides, and six unknown species, which were newly described. The number of fungal strains and species of the Phaeomoniellales tend to be higher for spore traps attached to SMPH trained vines. A pathogenicity test made with potted plants in the greenhouse revealed that of the eight isolated species of the Phaeomoniellales only P. chlamydospora was able to induce significant lesions in the wood. Data collected in this study shall help to developing a plant protection regime adapted to SMPH

An Introduction to Programming for Bioscientists: A Python-based Primer

Computing has revolutionized the biological sciences over the past several decades, such that virtually all contemporary research in the biosciences utilizes computer programs. The computational advances have come on many fronts, spurred by fundamental developments in hardware, software, and algorithms. These advances have influenced, and even engendered, a phenomenal array of bioscience fields, including molecular evolution and bioinformatics; genome-, proteome-, transcriptome- and metabolome-wide experimental studies; structural genomics; and atomistic simulations of cellular-scale molecular assemblies as large as ribosomes and intact viruses. In short, much of post-genomic biology is increasingly becoming a form of computational biology. The ability to design and write computer programs is among the most indispensable skills that a modern researcher can cultivate. Python has become a popular programming language in the biosciences, largely because (i) its straightforward semantics and clean syntax make it a readily accessible first language; (ii) it is expressive and well-suited to object-oriented programming, as well as other modern paradigms; and (iii) the many available libraries and third-party toolkits extend the functionality of the core language into virtually every biological domain (sequence and structure analyses, phylogenomics, workflow management systems, etc.). This primer offers a basic introduction to coding, via Python, and it includes concrete examples and exercises to illustrate the language's usage and capabilities; the main text culminates with a final project in structural bioinformatics. A suite of Supplemental Chapters is also provided. Starting with basic concepts, such as that of a 'variable', the Chapters methodically advance the reader to the point of writing a graphical user interface to compute the Hamming distance between two DNA sequences.Comment: 65 pages total, including 45 pages text, 3 figures, 4 tables, numerous exercises, and 19 pages of Supporting Information; currently in press at PLOS Computational Biolog

Crop Production for Pacific Islands: Instructor Manual

An entry level university course with specific reference to Pacific Island conditions. Instructor's can either use the materials directly from the manual or adapt them to suit their needs. Chapters include: agroecology; climate; world food crops; and crop production. Each chapter contains objectives, vocabulary, lecture outlines, suggested activities, and transparency masters.Funded through the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research Service

Water Stress Enhances the Progression of Branch Dieback and Almond Decline under Field Conditions

Branch dieback and tree decline have been described as a common complex disease worldwide in woody crops, with Botryosphaeriaceae and Diaporthaceae being considered the most frequent fungi associated with the disease symptoms. Their behaviour is still uncertain, since they are considered endophytes becoming pathogenic in weakened hosts when stress conditions, such as water deficiency occur. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to determine if water stress enhances general decline on weakened almond trees subjected to different irrigation treatments under natural field conditions. In parallel, the occurrence of fungal species associated with almond decline was also determined in relation to disease progression by fungal isolation, and morphological and molecular based-methods. The symptoms of branch dieback and general decline were observed over time, mainly in the experimental plots subjected to high water deficiency. Botryosphaeriaceae were the most consistently isolated fungi, and Botryosphaeria dothidea was the most frequent. Collophorina hispanica was the second most frequent species and Diaporthe and Cytospora species were isolated in a low frequency. Most of them were recovered from both asymptomatic and symptomatic trees, with their consistency of isolation increasing with the disease severity. This work reveals the need to elucidate the role of biotic and abiotic factors which increase the rate of infection of fungal trunk pathogens, in order to generate important knowledge on their life cycle