Community ecology and genetics of macroinvertebrates in permanent macaronesian streams.

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/1923 on 03.04.2017 by CS (TIS)Extensive community-based sampling and single-species genetic analysis were used to study factors driving stream invertebrate community assembly on islands. Macroinvertebrates and physicochemistry were surveyed in forty-two streams on La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Madeira (Macaronesia). Island faunal relationships and the role of the stream and catchment environment in determining community composition were investigated with multivariate analyses; assemblage nestedness and species richness, occupancy and abundance were also examined. The relationship between genetic differentiation and range size was tested using allozyme variation in selected species. Island species pools differed in community composition and species richness (total, and endemic), broadly as predicted by theory of island biogeography. Stream and island species richness were correlated, showing unsaturated, possibly dispersal-limited, communities, and stream faunas were nested, evidence that assemblages were not random (e.g. only generalist/dispersive taxa occur at species-poor sites). Endemics occurred in more streams than non-endemics, suggesting greater habitat availability for the former, but similar niche width, endemic and non-endemics having similar local abundance. Species richness, community composition and the abundances of individual species were correlated with stream physicochemistry, itself reflecting geology, rainfall, altitudinal zonation of vegetation and the intensity of stream exploitation. Allozyme variation was surveyed in Mesophylax aspersus (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) and Wormaldia tagananana (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae), respectively having widespread and localised distributions. Population structure supported the hypothesis that range size is, at least partly, limited by poor dispersal ability in W tagananana. Genetic variation in Ancylus striatus (Gastropoda: Ancylidae) was typical of polyploidy and selffertilisation/ parthenogenesis. Breeding system has consequences for a species' colonisation ability, and may partially explain the wide distribution of A. striatus within the islands. Variation in community composition reflected patterns at a range of scales. Biogeography detennined the island species pooL whilst local physicochemistry determined richness and community composition within islands. Species characteristics that affect their colonisation and c:\tinction probabilities (e.g. habitat selection at the local- and mesoscaks, dispersal patterns and breeding system). influence hoth the local and regional species pools

Perspectives on the application of technology to enhance learning in an undergraduate nursing degree programme

This paper discusses concepts and practice relating to the use of computer-based technologies for enhancing learning. It draws on examples from a UK nursing degree programme

Roesch: Ask and you shall receive

Student-suggested items such as phone chargers, headphones and computer cables among top non-book checkouts

Four factors driving the price Bitcoin

In this article, we discuss four key factor driving the price of Bitcoin. These include media hype and uptake by peers, political uncertainty and risk (such as the election of Donald Trump or the vote for Brexit), moves by governments and regulators, and the governance of Bitcoin itself

Transformative and troublesome? Students’ and professional programmers’ perspectives on difficult concepts in programming

Programming skills are an increasingly desirable asset for higher education students across disciplines; however, learning to program continues to be difficult to master for many students. The heterogeneity of student cohorts in most computer science courses makes it challenging to isolate the concepts within programming that are particularly hard for all students to understand (i.e., 'threshold concepts'). As a result, there is a lack of consensus over the threshold concepts that are relevant to those learning programming. This paper draws on a qualitative study using focus groups with undergraduates and professional software developers to identify potential threshold concepts in programming. Data from the focus groups were thematically coded and analyzed using a theoretical framework based on established criteria for threshold concepts. In particular, we focused on concepts that were both troublesome and transformative and included other characteristics such as participants' partiality of understanding. Six potential threshold concepts were identified in the majority of the focus groups, including abstract classes, data structures and designing objects. Further analysis of the data identified additional concepts that may hinder rather than help the learning of these threshold concepts, which we have called 'accidental complexities'

Sharing a Class Reader

Performance in International Student Assessment (PISA) data suggests reading for pleasure declines amongst secondary pupils. One explanation could be that pupils are not sharing stories in the same way as in their earlier schooling. When the dialogic practice of reading – talking about books and sharing them orally – is limited or absent, can pupils experience the same levels of engagement? Or, could a ‘classroom community’ fostered on shared reading prevent ‘readicide’ (the ‘killing’ of reading by schools)? These big questions cannot be answered within the parameters of this chapter; however, the popularity of adult book groups appears to demonstrate a desire to return to a shared reading experience as members of a reading community, one that is a ‘fully social activity’ involving friends, family and pupils

Evaluating the bones of adaptive learning: Do the initial promises really increase student engagement and flexible learning within first year anatomy subjects?

[EN] Knowledge of human anatomy is essential in first-year undergraduate allied health courses. Traditionally this discipline has used time and resource intensive laboratory classes, however recent changes in resourcing and student learning preferences have led to a combination of pedagogical approaches being used. The aim of this study was to examine whether the use of Smart Sparrow adaptive and interactive online resources provided real flexibility in learning and influenced both student engagement and motivation to learn for allied health students studying first year anatomy. Twenty adaptive online anatomy lessons were created. These adaptive lessons were evaluated with (i) a student survey amd (ii) inbuilt learning analytics (n = 157). Our results showed that a total of 96% of students agreed or strongly agreed that the resources enhanced overall engagement in the subject and 96% found the resource easy to access. Overall our findings revealed that students overwhelmingly engaged with the lessons, and self-reported improvements in their learning through repeated use of flexible and adaptive learning resources.Linden, K.; Pemberton, L.; Webster, L. (2019). Evaluating the bones of adaptive learning: Do the initial promises really increase student engagement and flexible learning within first year anatomy subjects?. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 331-339. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9346OCS33133

Sharing a Class Reader

Performance in International Student Assessment (PISA) data suggests reading for pleasure declines amongst secondary pupils. One explanation could be that pupils are not sharing stories in the same way as in their earlier schooling. When the dialogic practice of reading – talking about books and sharing them orally – is limited or absent, can pupils experience the same levels of engagement? Or, could a ‘classroom community’ fostered on shared reading prevent ‘readicide’ (the ‘killing’ of reading by schools)? These big questions cannot be answered within the parameters of this chapter; however, the popularity of adult book groups appears to demonstrate a desire to return to a shared reading experience as members of a reading community, one that is a ‘fully social activity’ involving friends, family and pupils