Siphonophore community biodiversity and spatio-temporal distribution concerning the oceanographic parameters in the Patagonian Fjord Ecosystem during the winter season

This study describes the spatial distribution and abundance of siphonophores concerning oceanographic variables (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) in the northern Chilean Patagonian Fjord Ecosystem, from Guafo Passage (43°30’S) to Elefantes Gulf (46°40’S) during the winter of 2012. Twelve species were identified, ten belonging to suborder Calycophorae and two assigned to suborder Physonectae. The species Chelophyes appendiculata and Sphaeronectes gamulini are new records for this study area. Dominant species were Muggiaea atlantica (63.15%), Lensia conoidea (21.85%), and Sphaeronectes koellikeri (9.91%). Species richness showed a negative latitudinal gradient, and the highest densities were found in North Moraleda Channel (5316 ind 1000 m-3) and the lowest in South Moraleda Channel, near Elefantes Gulf (71 ind 1000 m-3). Some species showed a significant and positive association with some oceanographic variables, e.g., M. atlantica showed a positive association with dissolved oxygen, L. conoidea with temperature and negative association with dissolved oxygen, Sphaeronectes fragilis, S. koellikeri, and C. appendiculata showed a positive association with salinity. Eudoxids (sexual reproductive stage) were found for M. atlantica, L. conoidea, and Dimophyes arctica, indicating that the PFE conditions are suitable for some siphonophore species even in winter.Postprint (published version

Does embodied training improve the recognition of mid-level expressive movement qualities sonification?

This research is a part of a broader project exploring how movement qualities can be recognized by means of the auditory channel: can we perceive an expressive full-body movement quality by means of its interactive sonification? The paper presents a sonification framework and an experiment to evaluate if embodied sonic training (i.e., experiencing interactive sonification of your own body movements) increases the recognition of such qualities through the auditory channel only, compared to a non-embodied sonic training condition. We focus on the sonification of two mid-level movement qualities: fragility and lightness. We base our sonification models, described in the first part, on the assumption that specific compounds of spectral features of a sound can contribute to the cross-modal perception of a specific movement quality. The experiment, described in the second part, involved 40 participants divided into two groups (embodied sonic training vs. no training). Participants were asked to report the level of lightness and fragility they perceived in 20 audio stimuli generated using the proposed sonification models. Results show that (1) both expressive qualities were correctly recognized from the audio stimuli, (2) a positive effect of embodied sonic training was observed for fragility but not for lightness. The paper is concluded by the description of the artistic performance that took place in 2017 in Genoa (Italy), in which the outcomes of the presented experiment were exploited

Propagacion generativa y vegetativa y caracteristicas de floracion de Cananthera spp. y Calydorea xiphioides

Resumen (Spanish, English)67 p.Conanthera spp. y Calydorea xiphioides forman parte de la flora nativa chilena, y por su gran atractivo ornamental podrían ser explotadas comercialmente. Por esta razón, se hace imprescindible iniciar estudios de domesticación, comenzando por la propagación generativa y vegetativa de ellas. Con el propósito de conocer la respuesta germinativa de semillas de Conantheraspp. y Calydorea xiphioides, se evaluaron diferentes métodos germinativos tales como escarificación mecánica, prefrío (5°C por cinco días), lavado de semilla (flujo continuo de agua por dos días) en semillas de ocho meses en almacenamiento. Debido a la escasa respuesta germinativa en Conanthera spp.serealizó un segundo ensayo con semillas de once meses en almacenamiento, evaluando la aplicación de ácido giberélico en dosis de 1, 50, 100 y 150 ppm e inmersión en ácido sulfúrico por 5 y 10 minutos, y en semillas de dos semanas en almacenamiento, se evaluó solamente escarificación mecánica. El mayor porcentaje de germinación de Conanthera spp. correspondió a un 90%, que se obtuvo en semillas de dos semanas en almacenamiento y sin testa, la cual fue eliminada mecánicamente. Por otro lado, Calydorea xiphioides presentó una alta capacidad germinativa en semillas de ocho meses en almacenamiento, sin manifestar diferencias en los porcentajes de germinación en los métodos aplicados. En ambas especies, las semillas germinaron dentro de un periodo de dos meses y medio, cualquiera fuera el tratamiento aplicado. En la propagación vegetativa de Conanthera spp. se estudiaron los efectos de los diferentes tamaños del cormo; grande (>0,91 g), mediano (0,31 a 0,9 g) y pequeño (50,3 g), tratamientos de división (grandes divididos en dos y cuatro secciones verticales, y medianos dividido en dos secciones) y el periodo de almacenamiento de los cormos, sobre la capacidad multiplicativa, porcentaje y características de la floración. La mayor capacidad reproductiva se observó al plantar cormos grandes divididos en dos secciones sin almacenamiento (en receso) y el mayor porcentaje de floración (100%) se observó en cormos grandes enteros con brote, al momento de la plantación. En Calydorea xiphioides se evaluó el efecto de los diferentes tamaños del bulbo grande (>0,4 g) y pequeño (<0,4 g), tratamientos de división (bulbos grandes divididos en dos y cuatro secciones verticales, y bulbos pequeños divididos en dos secciones) y el período de almacenamiento de los bulbos, sobre la capacidad multiplicativa, porcentaje y características de la floración. La mayor capacidad de reproducción se observó al plantar bulbos grandes divididos en dos secciones sin almacenamiento. La floración sólo se desarrolló en unidades enteras con y sin almacenamiento, obteniéndose el mayor porcentaje en bulbos grandes enteros, floreciendoun533%delosindividuosplantado

Use of an Inverse Method for Time Series to Estimate the Dynamics of and Management Strategies for the Box Jellyfish Carybdea marsupialis

14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, supporting Information https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137272Frequently, population ecology of marine organisms uses a descriptive approach in which their sizes and densities are plotted over time. This approach has limited usefulness for design strategies in management or modelling different scenarios. Population projection matrix models are among themost widely used tools in ecology. Unfortunately, for the majority of pelagic marine organisms, it is difficult to mark individuals and follow themover time to determine their vital rates and built a population projectionmatrixmodel. Nevertheless, it is possible to get time-series data to calculate size structure and densities of each size, in order to determine the matrix parameters. This approach is known as a “demographic inverse problem” and it is based on quadratic programming methods, but it has rarely been used on aquatic organisms.We used unpublished field data of a population of cubomedusae Carybdea marsupialis to construct a population projection matrix model and compare two different management strategies to lower population to values before year 2008 when there was no significant interaction with bathers. Those strategies were by direct removal of medusae and by reducing prey. Our results showed that removal of jellyfish fromall size classes was more effective than removing only juveniles or adults.When reducing prey, the highest efficiency to lower the C. marsupialis population occurred when prey depletion affected prey of all medusae sizes. Our model fit well with the field data and may serve to design an efficient management strategy or build hypothetical scenarios such as removal of individuals or reducing prey. TThis This sdfsdshis method is applicable to othermarine or terrestrial species, for which density and population structure over time are availableThis research was carried out under contract LIFE 08 NAT ES 0064 (to CB and VLF) cofinanced by the European Commission (www. cubomed.eu), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Dirección General del Agua of the Regional Government of Valencia and the Fundación Biodiversidad. This work was also partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Education and Science co-funded by FEDER This research was carried out under contract LIFE 08 NAT ES 0064 (to CB and VLF) cofinanced by the European Commission (www.cubomed.eu), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Dirección General del Agua of the Regional Government of Valencia and the Fundación Biodiversidad. This work was also partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Education and Science co-funded by FEDERPeer Reviewe

Fertirrigacion del cultivo de tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum MILL.) bajo manejo organico , en invernadero

Resumen (Spanish, English)59 p.Se condujo una investigación en producción orgánica de tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) bajo condiciones de invernadero durante la temporada 2000-2001 en la estación experimental Panguilemo de Talca, VII Región (35° 26’ Latitud Sur ; 71° 40’ Longitud Oeste, 90 m.s.n.m. ), con el objetivo de evaluar productividad (total, comercial, distribución de calibres, principales causas de descarte de los frutos) y calidad (sólidos solubles y presión de pulpa) de cuatro niveles de fertilización orgánica, para lo que se utilizó un diseño de bloques al azar. El cultivo se estableció con una densidad de 3,1 plantas/m2, producidas en speedling. Los tratamientos 2 y 3 (175 y 225% de fertilización estándar, respectivamente) arrojaron los más altos rendimientos total y comercial, siendo estadísticamente iguales y superando las 117 t/ha; diferenciándose de los tratamientos 0 y 1 (100 y 75% de fertilización estándar, respectivamente). Para los sólido solubles y presión de pulpa, medidos en los distintos racimos, se observó diferencias estadísticas, variando a medida que avanzaba el período de cosecha, aumentando el valor del primero y disminuyendo la presión

The dancer in the eye: Towards a multi-layered computational framework of qualities in movement

This paper presents a conceptual framework for the analysis of expressive qualities of movement. Our perspective is to model an observer of a dance performance. The conceptual framework is made of four layers, ranging from the physical signals that sensors capture to the qualities that movement communicate (e.g., in terms of emotions). The framework aims to provide a conceptual background the development of computational systems can build upon, with a particular reference to systems analyzing a vocabulary of expressive movement qualities, and translating them to other sensory channels, such as the auditory modality. Such systems enable their users to "listen to a choreography" or to "feel a ballet", in a new kind of cross-modal mediated experience

Lifeguard assistance at Spanish Mediterranean beaches: Jellyfish prevail and proposals for improving risk management

Although beaches can be hazardous environments, few studies have identified injuries in broad coastal areas. We performed a retrospective descriptive study of injuries and other services provided by lifeguards during 2012 along the Spanish Mediterranean beaches. The trend in jellyfish stings was also examined for the period 2008–2012 using a standardised Sting Index. Obtaining data relied on voluntary cooperation of local authorities, resulting in data provided from 183 cities out of 234 present in the study area and 760 beach lifeguard stations (LGS) out of about 1200. Lifeguard stations provided an average of 89 days of service per year, from late June to the beginning of September. A total of 176,021 injuries were reported, of which jellyfish stings were the main need for assistance with 59.7% (n = 116,887) of the injuries and 257.0/LGS, followed by wounds (14.4%, 50.9/LGS), and sunburn (3.3%, 15.8/LGS). Apart from attending injuries, beach lifeguard services provided 21,174 other services such as help to disabled people (57.9/LGS), blood pressure measurements (12.7/LGS), rescues at sea (6.5/LGS), lost children (5.7/LGS), and transfers to the hospital (4.6/LGS). Official reported fatalities for all the beaches in 2012 were 24. We proposed a Sting Index (SI) to allow comparisons of the incidence of stings between years and/or localities by standardising jellyfish stings by the total of all injuries. Historical data were consistent enough to calculate SI between 2010 and 2012 and showed an oscillating pattern without a clear trend (2008: 2.4, 2009: 1.3, 2010: 2.4, 2011: 2.0, 2012: 2.6). Estimation of total number of jellyfish stings for all the beaches present in the area would reach 184,558 for 2012. There were very few fatalities in comparison with other coastal regions, probably due to the combination of a calm sea, a low number of high dangerous situations, and a high percentage of lifeguarded beaches during the bathing season. Nevertheless, although Spanish Mediterranean beaches could be described as low risk, we propose measures to facilitate a precautionary management to prevent injuries based on a real-time beach assistance database of injuries to identify high-incidence assistance categories.This research was carried out under contract LIFE 08 NAT ES 0064 (to CB and VF) co-financed by the European Commission (www.cubomed.eu), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (Dirección General de Sostenibilidad de la Costa y el Mar) contract 2013/28-5158, the Dirección General del Agua of the Regional Government of Valencia (grant T7588000/512.10) and the Fundación Biodiversidad (grant LIFE Cubomed 2013/2014)

Deterministic Factors Overwhelm Stochastic Environmental Fluctuations as Drivers of Jellyfish Outbreaks

16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, supporting Information http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141060Jellyfish outbreaks are increasingly viewed as a deterministic response to escalating levels of environmental degradation and climate extremes. However, a comprehensive understanding of the influence of deterministic drivers and stochastic environmental variations favouring population renewal processes has remained elusive. This study quantifies the deterministic and stochastic components of environmental change that lead to outbreaks of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranen Sea. Using data of jellyfish abundance collected at 241 sites along the Catalan coast from 2007 to 2010 we: (1) tested hypotheses about the influence of time-varying and spatial predictors of jellyfish outbreaks; (2) evaluated the relative importance of stochastic vs. deterministic forcing of outbreaks through the environmental bootstrap method; and (3) quantified return times of extreme events. Outbreaks were common in May and June and less likely in other summer months, which resulted in a negative relationship between outbreaks and SST. Cross- and along-shore advection by geostrophic flow were important concentrating forces of jellyfish, but most outbreaks occurred in the proximity of two canyons in the northern part of the study area. This result supported the recent hypothesis that canyons can funnel P. noctiluca blooms towards shore during upwelling. This can be a general, yet unappreciated mechanism leading to outbreaks of holoplanktonic jellyfish species. The environmental bootstrap indicated that stochastic environmental fluctuations have negligible effects on return times of outbreaks. Our analysis emphasized the importance of deterministic processes leading to jellyfish outbreaks compared to the stochastic component of environmental variation. A better understanding of how environmental drivers affect demographic and population processes in jellyfish species will increase the ability to anticipate jellyfish outbreaks in the futureThe authors gratefully acknowledge financial support by the European Community Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) for the project VECTORS (grant agreement no. 266445) (URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html). AC was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT – PFCHA/Doctorado al Extranjero 4a Convocatoria, 72120016).Peer Reviewe

A system to support the learning of movement qualities in dance: A case study on dynamic symmetry

In this paper, we present (i) a computational model of Dynamic Symmetry of human movement, and (ii) a system to teach this movement quality (symmetry or asymmetry) by means of an interactive sonification exergame based on IMU sensors and the EyesWeb XMI software platform. The implemented system is available as a demo at the workshop