Food availability as a major driver in the evolution of life-history strategies of sibling species.

Life-history theory predicts trade-offs between reproductive and survival traits such that different strategies or environmental constraints may yield comparable lifetime reproductive success among conspecifics. Food availability is one of the most important environmental factors shaping developmental processes. It notably affects key life-history components such as reproduction and survival prospect. We investigated whether food resource availability could also operate as an ultimate driver of life-history strategy variation between species. During 13 years, we marked and recaptured young and adult sibling mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii) at sympatric colonial sites. We tested whether distinct, species-specific trophic niches and food availability patterns may drive interspecific differences in key life-history components such as age at first reproduction and survival. We took advantage of a quasi-experimental setting in which prey availability for the two species varies between years (pulse vs. nonpulse resource years), modeling mark-recapture data for demographic comparisons. Prey availability dictated both adult survival and age at first reproduction. The bat species facing a more abundant and predictable food supply early in the season started its reproductive life earlier and showed a lower adult survival probability than the species subjected to more limited and less predictable food supply, while lifetime reproductive success was comparable in both species. The observed life-history trade-off indicates that temporal patterns in food availability can drive evolutionary divergence in life-history strategies among sympatric sibling species

Integral cohomology and chern classes of the special linear group over the ring of integers

This paper is devoted to the complete calculation of the additive structure of the 2-torsion of the integral cohomology of the innite special linear group SL(Z) over the ring of integers Z. This enables us to determine the best upper bound for the order of the Chern classes of all integral and rational representations of discrete groups.</p

European Court of Human Rights case-law on religious freedom: a legal and political analysis

Este artículo analiza los rasgos generales de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos en relación con el artículo 9 del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos, sobre la libertad religiosa, agrupándolos en tres niveles. En primer lugar, el Tribunal entiende la libertad religiosa en el sentido clásico liberal, como un derecho individual que garantiza una protección frente a la coacción del Estado o de otros individuos. Por otra parte, el concepto de igualdad asociado a la libertad religiosa es asumido en su sentido formal, es decir, sin incluir prestaciones positivas o de derechos especiales para los grupos religiosos en situación de desventaja. Finalmente, la jurisprudencia europea deja a los Estados un margen de apreciación bastante amplio al momento de establecer restricciones al derecho en cuestión.This article analyzes the general characteristics of the European Human Rights Court case-law about religious freedom (article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights). First, according to the Court, religious freedom is, in a liberal classical sense, an individual right which guarantees protection against coercion from the State or from other individuals. Second, the idea of equality associated to religious freedom is considered in a formal way, so it does not include the recognition of positive benefits or special rights to disadvantaged groups. Finally, European case-law gives the States a wide margin of appreciation in order to impose limitations on this right

Torsion classes in the cohomology of congruence subgroups

For any prime number p, let Γn, p denote the congruence subgroup of SLn(ℤ) of level p, i.e. the kernel of the surjective homomorphism fp: SLn(ℤ) → SLn(p) induced by the reduction mod p (Fp is the field with p elements). We define using upper left inclusions Γn, p Γn+1, p. Recall that the groups Γn, p are homology stable with M-coefficients, for instance if M = , ℤ[1/p], or ℤ/q with q prime and q ╪ p: Hi(Γn, p; M) Hi(Γp; M) for n ≥ 2i + 5 from [7] (but the homology stability fails if M = ℤ or ℤ/p

On the k-invariants of iterated loop spaces

The purpose of this paper is to give universal bounds for the order of the Postnikov k-invariants of infinite loop spaces. This is done by giving universal bounds for the order of the k-invariants of m-connected r-fold loop spaces in dimensions ≦ r + 2m. An application of the result provides information on the Hurewicz homomorphism between the algebraic K-theory of aring and the homology of its general linear grou

Sexual orientation discrimination and autonomy of religious groups in the Inter-American case law

Religious freedom encompasses the right of religious groups to define the tenets of their faith andto organise themselves according to these tenets, without arbitrary State interference. However, the limitsof religious groups’ autonomy are controversial, especially in those cases where the exercise of religiousautonomy seems to be at odds with non-discrimination standards. The Inter-American Court of HumanRights has adopted many decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, but its case law on religiousfreedom is much scarcer. The two issues converged in the recent decision Pavez Pavez v Chile, in which theCourt set the limits of the autonomy of religious groups when confronted with non-discrimination standards

Environmental Protection in the Argentinian Supreme Court Case Law

According to Article 41 of the Argentinian Constitution, all inhabitants have a right to environmental protection. Citizens have a right to a healthy and balanced environment, suitable for human development and productive activities to satisfy present needs without compromising those of future generations. The paper aims to analyze the tensions implicit in applying this constitutional norm by the Federal Supreme Court using the methodology of public law and legal theory. Indeed, the constitutional provision is broad, and its interpretation can lead to different solutions in a specific case. There are three main issues of legal interest discussed here. First, there is a delicate balance of protecting the environment against private property and economic activity, which the latter also being assured by the constitution. The point is particularly acute in Argentina, whose economy strongly depends on the primary sector. Second, there are tensions between the political branches (legislative/executive) and the judiciary. Environmental standards established by the judiciary are usually higher than those decided by the legislative branch. However, giving the judges the possibility to determine those standards in the absence of any previous legal norm (or even, sometimes, against that norm) could be a source of legal uncertainty. Finally, due to the federal nature of the Argentinian political system, the distribution of legislative and jurisdictional powers between the federal and local governments is disputed. In this equation, leaning towards the federal government may favor more homogeneity in environmental standards, which would simultaneously reduce local autonomy. This paper shows&nbsp;that the Supreme Court tries to balance different constitutional values in resolving these tensions. The difficulty of finding an adequate constitutional balance is usually added to the legal and factual complexity of environmental issues, and the result is not always completely satisfactory. KEYWORDS: Argentina, Environmental Protection, Supreme Court Case Law

Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Autonomy of Religious Groups in the Inter-American Case Law

Religious freedom encompasses the right of religious groups to define the tenets of their faith andto organise themselves according to these tenets, without arbitrary State interference. However, the limitsof religious groups’ autonomy are controversial, especially in those cases where the exercise of religiousautonomy seems to be at odds with non-discrimination standards. The Inter-American Court of HumanRights has adopted many decisions on sexual orientation discrimination, but its case law on religiousfreedom is much scarcer. The two issues converged in the recent decision Pavez Pavez v Chile, in which theCourt set the limits of the autonomy of religious groups when confronted with non-discrimination standards