Eco-evolutionary dynamics: intertwining ecological and evolutionary processes in contemporary time

Evolution occurring over contemporary time scales can have important effects on populations, communities, and ecosystems. Recent studies show that the magnitude of these effects can be large and can generate feedbacks that further shape evolution

Special Issue: Evolutionary perspectives on salmonid conservation and management

This special issue of Evolutionary Applications comprises 15 papers that illustrate how evolutionary principles can inform the conservation and management of salmonid fishes. Several papers address the past evolutionary history of salmonids to gain insights into their likely plastic and genetic responses to future environmental change. The remaining papers consider potential evolutionary responses to climate warming, biological invasions, artificial propagation, habitat alteration, and harvesting. All of these papers consider how such influences might alter selective regimes, which should then favour plastic or genetic responses. Some of the papers then go on to document such responses, at least some of which are genetically based and adaptive. Despite the different approaches and target species, all of the papers argue for the importance of evolutionary considerations in the conservation and management of salmonids

Potent and Max-Flow Algorithms

Although Potent purports to use only radial velocities in retrieving the potential velocity field of galaxies, the derivation of transverse components is implicit in the smoothing procedures. Thus the possibility of using nonradial line integrals to derive the velocity field arises. In the case of inhomogeneous distributions of galaxies, the optimal path for integration need not be radial, and can be obtained by using max-flow algorithms. In this paper we present the results of using Dijkstra's algorithm to obtain this optimal path and velocity field.Comment: 9 pages includeing 5 figures, uuencoded compressed PostScript, for Cosmic Velocity Fields, IAP Paris July 1993. UG-COS-JFLS-00

A New Method for Estimating the Distance to Young Open Clusters

We present a new technique for estimating the distance to young open clusters. The method requires accurate measurement of the axial rotation period of late-type members of the cluster: rotation periods are first combined with projected rotation velocities and an estimate of the angular diameter for each star -- obtained using the Barnes-Evans relation between colour and surface brightness. A 'best' cluster distance estimate is then determined using standard techniques from the theory of order statistics which are in common use in the general statistics literature. It is hoped that this new method will prove a useful adjoint to more traditional distance methods, and will provide a better %determination of the distance scale within the solar neighbourhood. (Figures / preprint available on request)Comment: Plain Latex version 3.1, 14 pages, Sussex-AST-93/8-1, to appear in MNRA

‘Flex Your Power’: Energy crises and the shifting rhetoric of the grid

In response to widespread power outages, rolling blackouts, and ubiquitous energy debates, this essay considers our relation to energy and the grid that produces it. First, we investigate California\u27s multimedia Flex Your Power campaign, which defines consumers as nodes of the grid to emphasize their responsibility to maintain a stable energy supply. Second, we examine state and national responses to the 2003 blackout in the Northeastern United States, attending to three strategies through which grid administrators sought to impose order, enact hierarchy, and deindividuate power. We propose that the grid invokes personalization at the local level and abstraction at the national level. These contradictory (but overlapping) narratives show a complex, nuanced set of relations between human society and mechanized processes of power distribution

Are conference special issues worthwhile?

Background: Conference special issues are common, yet their value to journals, authors, and editors might not be clear. Goal: Use citation rates to assess the performance of papers published in special issues, while bearing in mind that citation rates are not the be-all-and-end-all indicator of scientific merit. Data: Citations from Web of Science to papers in the seven previous special issues of the International Conference on Stickleback Behaviour and Evolution – relative to: (1) citations to other papers published in the same journals in the same years, and (2) citations to stickleback papers published elsewhere in the literature in the same years. From the journal perspective: Papers published inside conference special issues have approximately the same performance as papers published outside special issues in the same journal. However, results vary among issues, with some performing worse and some better than other papers published in the same journal. From the author perspective: Papers published inside conference special issues garner fewer citations than papers on the same taxon (stickleback) published elsewhere; but the difference is often only modest. Moreover, the longevity of influence for papers published in recent (2000 onward) special issues appears better than for stickleback papers published elsewhere. Specifically, citation rates to stickleback papers published in special issues tend to increase with time since publication, relative to those stickleback papers published elsewhere. From the editor perspective: Relative to other editing contexts, the collection of papers in a special issue can be more interesting; the review process is more collegial, constructive, and efficient; editorial decisions are more enjoyable; and the opportunity to advance the field is greater

Geniculo-Cortical Projection Diversity Revealed within the Mouse Visual Thalamus.

The mouse dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) is an intermediary between retina and primary visual cortex (V1). Recent investigations are beginning to reveal regional complexity in mouse dLGN. Using local injections of retrograde tracers into V1 of adult and neonatal mice, we examined the developing organisation of geniculate projection columns: the population of dLGN-V1 projection neurons that converge in cortex. Serial sectioning of the dLGN enabled the distribution of labelled projection neurons to be reconstructed and collated within a common standardised space. This enabled us to determine: the organisation of cells within the dLGN-V1 projection columns; their internal organisation (topology); and their order relative to V1 (topography). Here, we report parameters of projection columns that are highly variable in young animals and refined in the adult, exhibiting profiles consistent with shell and core zones of the dLGN. Additionally, such profiles are disrupted in adult animals with reduced correlated spontaneous activity during development. Assessing the variability between groups with partial least squares regression suggests that 4-6 cryptic lamina may exist along the length of the projection column. Our findings further spotlight the diversity of the mouse dLGN--an increasingly important model system for understanding the pre-cortical organisation and processing of visual information. Furthermore, our approach of using standardised spaces and pooling information across many animals will enhance future functional studies of the dLGN.Funding was provided by a Wellcome Trust grant jointly awarded to IDT and SJE (083205, www.wellcome.ac.uk), and by MRC PhD Studentships awarded to MNL and ACH (http://www.mrc.ac.uk/).This is the final version of the article. It was first available from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.014484