Duty to God/my Dharma/Allah/Waheguru: diverse youthful religiosities and the politics and performance of informal worship

This article was published in the journal, Social and Cultural Geography [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2012.698749This paper draws on a case study of the Scout Movement in the UK to explore the everyday, informal expressions of ‘worship’ by young people that occur outside of ‘designated’ religious spaces and the politics of these performances over time. In analysing the explicit geographies of how young people in UK scouting perform their ‘duty to God’ (or Dharma and so forth), it is argued that a more expanded concept of everyday and embodied worship is needed. This paper also attends to recent calls for more critical historical geographies of religion, drawing on archival data to examine the organisation's relationship with religion over time and in doing so contributes new insights into the production of youthful religiosities and re-thinking their designated domains

Aspects of cold hardiness in Steganacarus magnus (Acari: Cryptostigmata)

Supercooling points and the presence of antifreeze compounds were measured for both nymphs and adults of Steganacarus magnus (Nicolet) collected from a coniferous forest soil in southern England in March, June and November. The mean supercooling point of nymphs was −14.4°C and of adults, −11.7°C. Acclimation to low temperatures (1–2°C) did not alter these values significantly. The total concentration of antifreeze compounds in the nymphs was 4.46 μg mg-1 and in the adults 0.91 μg mg-1. These results are compared with similar data for other species of cryptostigmatic mites

Thermal adaptation in the Arctic collembolan Onychiurus arcticus (Tullberg)

Ecophysiological characteristics, including survival at high and low temperatures, locomotory activity at sub-zero temperatures, supercooling ability and oxygen consumption rates, were investigated for the Arctic springtail Onychiurus arcticus (Tullberg) (Collembola, Onychiuridae). Individuals had a mean (± SE) fresh weight of 428.2±107.6 μg which contained 74.0±10.2% body water. Survival at high temperatures was humidity dependent. After 3h exposure at 100% relative humidity and 30°C, >80% of the animals survived, but at >32.5°C no individual survived. 70% of the animals survived a 1 h exposure at 32.5°C but at 35.0°C all animals died. At 0% relative humidity there were no survivors after 3 h at >25.0°C. At sub-zero temperatures, 60% of the springtails survived for 84 days at −3.0°C, but at −5.0°C survival was reduced to 35%. Individual collembolans showed locomotor activity down to −4°C. O. arcticus was freezing-intolerant and individuals supercooled to −6.1±0.1°C before freezing. This relatively high mean (±SE) supercooling point was stable throughout summer and was unaffected by acclimation temperature. A non-linear relationship existed between oxygen consumption and temperature. Between 0 and 10°C the Q10 was high at 7.0. It declined to 1.6 over the temperature range 10 to 30°C, increasing to 5.8 at higher temperatures. O. arcticus possesses ecophysiological characteristics suited to life in the upper layer of soil and surface vegetation, and beneath snow cover. However, it appears to be poorly adapted to survive severe winter temperatures being intolerant of freezing and with little supercooling ability. Such features may restrict its present distribution in the Arctic, but it seems likely that it would benefit by an increase in environmental temperature

Low summer temperatures: a potential mortality factor for high arctic soil microarthropods?

Throughout the summers of 1992–1994 the low temperature performance of soil microarthropods at Ny Ålesund, Spitsbergen (78 °56′N 10 °53′E), was investigated. Species studied were the Collembola Hypogastrura tullbergi (Schäffer), Onychiurus arcticus (Tullberg) and Onychiurus groenlandicus (Tullberg) and the mites Diapterobates notatus (Thorell), Hermannia reticulata (Thorell), Camisia anomia Colloff and Ceratoppia hoeli (Thor). The results show that: (i) The supercooling ability of these animals decreased rapidly on regaining activity in spring. For example, the supercooling point (scp) of H. tullbergi when heat extracted from frozen ground, decreased from −20 to −8 °C within 4 h. Population scp profiles of all species determined throughout the summer showed distinct bimodal distribution; (ii) starvation for 14 days, desiccation or a combination of both, resulted in little change in the mean scp of the collembolan O. arcticus; (iii) survival of the animals after a brief exposure to a sub-zero temperature was poor, in either humid or dry atmospheres. For example, 77% of H. tullbergi died after cooling to −5 °C at 1 °C min−1. Comparison with scp data indicates that animals died before they froze; (iv) all species examined showed some locomotory ability at temperatures approaching −3 °C; (v) polyols occurred in low concentrations, although elevated levels of glucose were observed in early spring and late autumn in O. arcticus; and (vi) soil temperature declined to −29.6 °C in the winter of 1992/93 and remained below zero for up to 289 days and the animals can be encased in ice for 75% of the year. Average daily soil temperatures for July and August rarely exceed 8 °C and were typically in the range 3–6 °C. Estimation of previous years soil temperatures from screen temperature records indicate that July /August ground surface temperatures < 0 °C occurred on 25 and 28 occasions between 1969–1993 at the polar semi-desert and tundra heath sites respectively; but, that soil temperatures at a depth of 3 cm are buffered against temperature extremes and temperatures below 0 °C are rarely encountered. The consequences for the soil microarthropod fauna of such extended periods of low temperature and the effects of climate change on these species are discussed

Effects of temperature elevation on a field population of Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Spitsbergen

A manipulation experiment was carried out on a field population of the aphid Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum near Ny Ålesund, on the high arctic island of Spitsbergen, using cloches to raise temperature. An average rise in temperature of 2.8 deg. C over the summer season markedly advanced the phenology of both the host plant Dryas octopetala and the aphid. Advanced aphid phenology, with concomitant increases in reproductive output and survival, and successful completion of the life-cycle led to an eleven-fold increase in the number of overwintering eggs. Thermal budget requirements in day degrees above 0°C were calculated for key life-cycle stages of the aphid. Temperature data from Ny Ålesund over the past 23 years were used to calculate thermal budgets for the field site over the same period and these were compared with the requirements of the aphid. Each estimated thermal budget was then adjusted to simulate the effect of a +2, +4, and −2deg. C change in average temperature on aphid performance. This retrospective analysis (i) confirms that the life-cycle of A. svalbardicum is well suited to exploit higher summer temperatures, (ii) indicates that the annual success of local populations are sensitive to small changes in temperature and (iii) suggests that the aphid is living at the limits of its thermal range at Ny Ålesund based on its summer thermal budget requirements

Identification of three previously unknown morphs of Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum Heikinheimo (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Spitsbergen

Identification of three previously unknown morphs of Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum Heikinheimo (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Spitsbergen

Feeding studies on Onychiurus arcticus (Tullberg) (Collembola: Onychiuridae) on West Spitsbergen

The feeding biology of the arctic collembolan Onychiurus arcticus (Tullberg) is described from West Spitsbergen, based on a combination of gut content analyses for field collected and microcosm-living animals, together with laboratory feeding trials. There was wide variation in the food items consumed by individual animals, reflecting the wide choice available in the environment. Most animals fed predominantly on living and dead bryophytes, detritus and to a lesser extent algal cells. Laboratory trials showed that O. arcticus feeds as a herbivore on a range of bryophyte species. The presence of dense aggregations below bird cliffs and elsewhere may reflect the distribution of particularly favourable microenvironments

Extreme adaptive life-cycle in a high arctic aphid, Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum

1 The year-round biology of a high arctic aphid is described for the first time. 2 The life-cycle is shown to be genetically determined, and thus markedly different to temperate species where the observed polymorphism is governed primarily by external environmental cues. 3 The fundatrix, which emerges from the overwintering egg, gives birth directly to sexual morphs, a phenomenon previously undescribed in the Aphidinae. This process is essentially prevented in temperate aphids by an endogenous mechanism, the interval timer. 4 In addition to the sexual morphs, the fundatrix produces a small number of parthenogenetic individuals (viviparae) that give rise to a third generation. This last generation consists exclusively of oviparae and males that would increase the number of overwintering eggs provided there is sufficient thermal budget for them to mature and oviposit before conditions become adverse. 5 The position of particular morphs in the birth sequences of the second and third generations maximize the chances of survival in harsh conditions, whilst enhancing the likelihood that individuals from the third generation will add to the number of overwintering eggs. 6 Guaranteed egg production combined with an in-built flexibility to produce an extra generation in particularly favourable seasons, confer adaptations to the high arctic environment, and ideally suit this aphid to exploit elevated temperatures in an era of climate change

Global change and Arctic ecosystems: conclusions and predictions from experiments with terrestrial invertebrates on Spitsbergen

Extensive studies on invertebrates from Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen, Svalbard and more limited data on aphids from Abisko, Sweden, produced the following main conclusions: (1) The population response to raised summer temperatures differed between the above and the below ground species, both in terms of speed and magnitude. (2) Similar animal communities responded differently to similar temperature manipulations on sites with different vegetation cover and composition. (3) For soil animals the between-year and between-site variations in population densities, were greater than the differences produced by the temperature manipulation experiments at any one site in any year. (4) Infrequent extreme climatic events strongly influence long-term trends in population density and community composition. (5) The population response of invertebrates to climate warming is greatest and most rapid at the coldest sites. (6) The spatial distribution of the above ground insect herbivores on their host plant is temperature limited. (7) The numerical abundance of flying predators/parasitoids of the above-ground herbivores is low. (8) The spatial distribution of some predators may be thermally restricted and less extensive than that of their prey. (9) Habitat temperature is the driving variable determining the flight activity patterns of insects. (10) Increased summer temperatures may alter or disrupt the seasonal patterns of insect emergence, particularly in species where the life cycle is cued into the seasonal rhythm. (11) The common species of arctic soil mites and Collembola are well adapted to survive enhanced summer temperatures, providing that moisture is not limited. (12) Water availability during the summer growing period is probably of greater significance than temperature in determining the survival and success of many arctic soil invertebrate groups. (13) Arctic soil microarthropod species are well adapted to survive and operate at subzero and low positive summer temperatures. (14) Freeze-thaw events represent critical points in the life history of the microarthropods. (15) Supercooling points are sometimes poor indicators of the capacity of arctic soil microarthopods to survive low temperatures. From these findings predictions are made as to how high arctic communities will respond to predicted changes in climate