A Geographic Perspective of Cuban Landscapes

Beginning in the era of the Spanish conquest and taking the reader right up to the present day, this book focuses on how the landscape of Cuba has changed and evolved into the environment we see today. It illustrates the range of factors – economic, political and cultural – that have determined Cuba’s physical geography, and explores the shifting conservation measures which have been instituted in response to new methods in agriculture and land management. The text uses historical documents, fieldwork, Geographic Information System (GIS) data and remotely-sensed satellite imagery to detail Cuba’s extensive land-use history as well as its potential future. The author goes further to analyze the manner, speed and methods of landscape change, and examines the historical context and governing agendas that have had an impact on the relationship between Cuba’s inhabitants and their island. Gebelein also assesses the key role played by agricultural production in the framework of international trade required to sustain Cuba’s people and its economy. The book concludes with a review of current efforts by Cuban and other research scientists, as well as private investors, conservation managers and university professors who are involved in shaping Cuba’s evolving landscape and managing it during the country’s possible transition to a more politically diverse, enfranchised and open polity.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/books/1001/thumbnail.jp

Astronaut-Acquired Photography of Earth: Its History and Continued Applicability in Quantitative Analyses

Aerial and satellite photography has been used extensively in many different research efforts, for example, atmospheric studies, vegetation analysis, and change detection. Archives of historical aerial and satellite photography are a valuable resource to the science community. There is currently an archive of over 450,000 photographs of Earth taken by United States astronauts dating back to the early 1960\u27s. This archive covers the majority of the Earth\u27s surface and offers imagery taken by a variety of camera configurations including film and digital, various lenses, different look angles, and changing solar illuminance. There is extensive repeat coverage over many regions of the world\u27s landscape. These photographs have been increasingly analyzed in order to assess their potential as a remote sensing resource. The objectives of this paper are to give the reader an evolutionary history of astronaut-acquired imagery of Earth, and to discuss the many scientific analyses that have been successfully completed using this underutilized resource

A Cis-Regulatory Map of the Drosophila Genome

Systematic annotation of gene regulatory elements is a major challenge in genome science. Direct mapping of chromatin modification marks and transcriptional factor binding sites genome-wide1, 2 has successfully identified specific subtypes of regulatory elements3. In Drosophila several pioneering studies have provided genome-wide identification of Polycomb response elements4, chromatin states5, transcription factor binding sites6, 7, 8, 9, RNA polymerase II regulation8 and insulator elements10; however, comprehensive annotation of the regulatory genome remains a significant challenge. Here we describe results from the modENCODE cis-regulatory annotation project. We produced a map of the Drosophila melanogaster regulatory genome on the basis of more than 300 chromatin immunoprecipitation data sets for eight chromatin features, five histone deacetylases and thirty-eight site-specific transcription factors at different stages of development. Using these data we inferred more than 20,000 candidate regulatory elements and validated a subset of predictions for promoters, enhancers and insulators in vivo. We identified also nearly 2,000 genomic regions of dense transcription factor binding associated with chromatin activity and accessibility. We discovered hundreds of new transcription factor co-binding relationships and defined a transcription factor network with over 800 potential regulatory relationships

Using species distribution models as a tool to discover new populations of Phaedranassa brevifolia Meerow, 1987 (Liliopsida: Amaryllidaceae) in Northern Ecuador

Phaedranassa brevifolia Meerow (1987) is an endangered plant species endemic to Ecuador. Until recently, this species was only known by the type location and four other adjacent subpopulations in a restricted area of less than four km2. We combined geo-referenced occurrences of this species and bioclimatic variables to generate a prospective species distribution model. Using the resulting map as a guide for field work, we found three new populations of P. brevifolia, increasing its geographic distribution to 16 km2. © 2014 Check List and Authors

Correction: Muddy boots beget wisdom: Implications for rare or endangered plant species distribution models (Diversity, (2019) 11, 1, 10.3390/d11010010)

1. Error in Figure An error on our paper [1] came to our attention. The reason for the correction is a mistake in Figure 1. The names of the species were switched between P. schizantha and P. dubia. The correct new Figure 1 is shown below: The above error did not change the results and conclusions of our paper. However, the authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the readers by this error. (Figure Presented). Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Muddy Boots Beget Wisdom: Implications for Rare or Endangered Plant Species Distribution Models

Species distribution models (SDMs) are popular tools for predicting the geographic ranges of species. It is common practice to use georeferenced records obtained from online databases to generate these models. Using three species of Phaedranassa (Amaryllidaceae) from the Northern Andes, we compare the geographic ranges as predicted by SDMs based on online records (after standard data cleaning) with SDMs of these records confirmed through extensive field searches. We also review the identification of herbarium collections. The species’ ranges generated with corroborated field records did not agree with the species’ ranges based on the online data. Specifically, geographic ranges based on online data were significantly inflated and had significantly different and wider elevational extents compared to the ranges based on verified field records. Our results suggest that to generate accurate predictions of species’ ranges, occurrence records need to be carefully evaluated with (1) appropriate filters (e.g., altitude range, ecosystem); (2) taxonomic monographs and/or specialist corroboration; and (3) validation through field searches. This study points out the implications of generating SDMs produced with unverified online records to guide species-specific conservation strategies since inaccurate range predictions can have important consequences when estimating species’ extinction risks

Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton–proton collisions at √s=900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC

The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton–proton collisions at s=900 GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|η|<0.8) over the transverse momentum range 0.15<pT<10 GeV/c. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for |η|<0.8 is 〈pT〉INEL=0.483±0.001 (stat.)±0.007 (syst.) GeV/c and 〈pT〉NSD=0.489±0.001 (stat.)±0.007 (syst.) GeV/c, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger 〈pT〉 than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET