Insect Behaviour. Symposium no. 3 of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Ed. P. T. Haskell. London: The Royal Entomological Society, 1966. viii, 113 pp. $6.35. ..

Excerpt: The science of zoology is expanding at such a rate that it is difficult for even the relatively narrow specialist to keep up with the ever- increasing literature on his subject, and almost impossible to assimilate recent findings in the entire field of zoological research. The international congresses of zoology and entomology have helped, considerably by facilitating personal contact between workers of different nationalities. On a more modest scale, the symposia of the Royal Entomological Society of London have provided a useful means of bringing together entomologists in an atmosphere conducive to the free exchange of ideas and information

The Effect of External Pressures on Sentencing Judges

Aldoupolis v. Commonwealth illustrates three potential types of pressure on a sentencing judge: public opinion, opinions voiced by influential political figures, and opinions expressed by the press. This Comment explores the question of whether a sentencing judge may consider any of these pressures without violating the constitutional principles of procedural due process, the proscription against cruel and unusual punishment, equal protection, double jeopardy, and the common law-statutory proscription against abuse of discretion. Emphasis will be placed on public opinion, which often parallels the voices of those least heard by the criminal justice system: the victims

Interactions between neighbouring plants

This thesis addresses the issue of interactions between neighbouring plants by looking at theory and models used in the study of wild plants with a view to applying them in the design of agroforests. In Part I difficulties of designing mixed crop stands are considered. Grime's model of the ecological strategies pursued by wild plants is described and its potential usefulness pointed out. Experimental results are presented suggesting that stress tolerant trees may interfere less with an understorey component than do competitive trees through the different patterns of spatial occupation manifested by their roots. Part II describes a statistical method to determine how any measurable attribute of one plant depends on the proximity and/or other characters of neighbouring plants. The method overcomes the need for unfeasibly large numbers of treatments encountered by conventional field trial methods. The method has the potential to offer a firm basis for the design of optimized plant production systems; and will also allow ecologists to detect and quantify interactions between wild plants in the field. Part III, using concepts of Evolutionary Game Theory, examines the question of cooperation in plants: both between the green plant and its associated vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi; and between neighbouring green plants connected by common VAM fungal hyphae. Exploring the implications for plants of Axelrod and Hamilton's (1981) Game Theoretic approach to the evolution of cooperative behaviour, it examines a logical problem in the view that the relationship between a green plant and associated VAM fungus is mutually beneficial. That the association is of mutual benefit would be insufficient to explain its persistence, and the fact that it does persist tells us something about its structure. It is shown that no logical paradox exists in postulating the simultaneous existence of competition for resources and of resource-sharing cooperation between a given pair of neighbouring green plants; and that at least a certain minimal type of cooperation may be deemed to exist between connected plant neighbours. Putting together findings from two fields - direct nutrient transfers and biotic specialisation - solves problems for both, and provides evidence for inter-plant cooperation. Possible evolutionary stages through which cooperation could have passed are discussed. Given this theory it can no longer safely be assumed that plants do not cooperate, and experimental results are presented suggesting that they may be able to. Scientific and economic implications are indicated for all three areas covered. Fertile ground exists for further research and suggestions are made for directions and methods

Open Access needs terminology to distinguish between Gold OA funding models

Shedding further light on the wider open access debate, Martin Eve calls for a more precise terminology for the variety of Gold OA business models that currently exist to help correct the false assumption in many academics’ minds that Gold OA necessarily requires an Article Processing Charge (APC)