Sources and Sinks of Diversification and Conservation Priorities for the Mexican Tropical Dry Forest

Elucidating the geographical history of diversification is critical for inferring where future diversification may occur and thus could be a valuable aid in determining conservation priorities. However, it has been difficult to recognize areas with a higher likelihood of promoting diversification. We reconstructed centres of origin of lineages and identified areas in the Mexican tropical dry forest that have been important centres of diversification (sources) and areas where species are maintained but where diversification is less likely to occur (diversity sinks). We used a molecular phylogeny of the genus Bursera, a dominant member of the forest, along with information on current species distributions. Results indicate that vast areas of the forest have historically functioned as diversity sinks, generating few or no extant Bursera lineages. Only a few areas have functioned as major engines of diversification. Long-term preservation of biodiversity may be promoted by incorporation of such knowledge in decision-making

Propaganda, publicity and political violence : the presentation of terrorism in Britain, 1944-60

Through a series of case studies, this thesis examines British attitudes to 'terrorism' as practised during various post-war colonial insurgencies. What did British governments and colonial officials understand by this term, as applied to the Jewish insurgents in Palestine at the end of the Mandate, the Malayan Communists, Mau Mau, and EOKA in Cyprus? The thesis focuses particularly on the way in which propaganda has been seen as a crucial component of the terrorist strategy. Consequently, in the attempt to deny insurgents publicity, and to mediate the perception of politically motivated violence held by various domestic and international audiences, British governments have used a wide variety of propaganda and news-management techniques. The thesis thus assesses the role of government propaganda in counter-insurgency. While some attention is paid to the employment of propaganda within the affected colonies themselves (as part of the 'hearts and minds' strategy), the focus is largely on government attempts to influence wider international audiences and, especially, domestic public opinion in Britain. The need to maintain public support at home for campaigns fought against 'terrorism' in the colonies has been a neglected aspect of most writings on counterinsurgency. However, a detailed examination of the files of the Colonial Office and Foreign Office information departments reveals that in each of the selected case studies, particular attention was paid to keeping domestic opinion 'on side'. Not only have various Whitehall departments and the Central Office of Information produced official publicity material on these insurgencies, but the Foreign Office's anti-communist Information Research Department has disseminated more covert material through the Trade Union movement and other channels. In addition, successive governments have sought to influence the press, newsreel and television coverage of events in the disputed territories. How successful was the effort which went into official publicity work and newsmanagement? Gauging the effectiveness of any propaganda campaign is notoriously difficult. However, by looking at the contemporary press, the output of the major newsreel companies and the files of the BBC, I have attempted to assess how far the mass communications media presented a view of terrorism which accorded with the governmental interpretation. What becomes apparent is that while it may have been fairly easy to ensure that 'terrorists' were duly condemned, and labelled as such - language forming an important part of the battle for legitimacy - government publicists have often struggled due to an absence of policy in Whitehall over the future of the colonies concerned, and on account of the behaviour of the Security Forces. Creating favourable publicity for counter-terrorist measures has been a much harder task than the denigration of terrorism itself

Within-and among-year germination in Sonoran Desert winter annuals: bet hedging and predictive germination in a variable environment.

In variable environments, organisms must have strategies to ensure fitness as conditions change. For plants, germination can time emergence with favourable conditions for later growth and reproduction (predictive germination), spread the risk of unfavourable conditions (bet hedging) or both (integrated strategies). Here we explored the adaptive value of within- and among-year germination timing for 12 species of Sonoran Desert winter annual plants. We parameterised models with long-term demographic data to predict optimal germination fractions and compared them to observed germination. At both temporal scales we found that bet hedging is beneficial and that predicted optimal strategies corresponded well with observed germination. We also found substantial fitness benefits to varying germination timing, suggesting some degree of predictive germination in nature. However, predictive germination was imperfect, calling for some degree of bet hedging. Together, our results suggest that desert winter annuals have integrated strategies combining both predictive plasticity and bet hedging

Appendix B. Figures of growth chamber germination percentages for each species collapsed over nonsignificant interactions.

Figures of growth chamber germination percentages for each species collapsed over nonsignificant interactions

Appendix C. Dispersal distance beanplot.

Dispersal distance beanplot

Appendix A. Tables of separate generalized linear models (GLIM) analyses for each species and for seed types of Pectocarya heterocarpa.

Tables of separate generalized linear models (GLIM) analyses for each species and for seed types of Pectocarya heterocarpa

Time-calibrated molecular phylogeny and distribution of species of <i>Bursera</i> in the 11 sub-biogeographical areas.

<p>Asterisks indicate species that are found in the Cape region of the Baja California peninsula. These species were treated as if their distribution included the south of the state of Jalisco (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0003436#s2" target="_blank">materials and methods</a>).</p