Is the relationship between mast-seeding and weather in oaks related to their life-history or phylogeny?

13 páginas.-- 2 figuras.-- 7 tablas.-- 47 referencias.-- Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.1490/suppinfo.-- Koenig_et_alAlthough the functional basis of variable and synchronous seed production (masting behavior) has been extensively investigated, only recently has attention been focused on the proximate mechanisms driving this phenomenon. We analyzed the relationship between weather and acorn production in 15 species of oaks (genus Quercus) from three geographic regions on two continents, with the goals of determining the extent to which similar sets of weather factors affect masting behavior across species and to explore the ecological basis for the similarities detected. Lag-1 temporal autocorrelations were predominantly negative, supporting the hypothesis that stored resources play a role in masting behavior across this genus, and we were able to determine environmental variables correlating with acorn production in all but one of the species. Standard weather variables outperformed “differential-cue” variables based on the difference between successive years in a majority of species, which is consistent with the hypothesis that weather is linked directly to the proximate mechanism driving seed production and that masting in these species is likely to be sensitive to climate change. Based on the correlations between weather variables and acorn production, cluster analysis failed to generate any obvious groups of species corresponding to phylogeny or life-history. Discriminant function analyses, however, were able to identify the phylogenetic section to which the species belonged and, controlling for phylogeny, the length of time species required to mature acorns, whether they were evergreen or deciduous, and, to a lesser extent, the geographic region to which they are endemic. These results indicate that similar proximate mechanisms are driving acorn production in these species of oaks, that the environmental factors driving seed production in oaks are to some extent phylogenetically conserved, and that the shared mechanisms driving acorn production result in some degree of synchrony among coexisting species in a way that potentially enhances predator satiation, at least when they have acorns requiring the same length of time to mature.This study was supported by National Science Foundation grant DEB- 1256394; Andalusian projects Anasinque- PE2010- RNM- 5782, P07- RNM02688, and P10- AGR6501; Spanish MEC projects Heteromed REN2002- 4041- C02- 02, Dinamed CGL2005- 5830- C03- 01, and Interbos CGL2008- 04503- C03- 01; a postdoctoral contract of the Andalusian Government (to IMPR); and a post-doctoral contract of the Operative Program of the European Social Fund (to MDC).Peer reviewe

Superb fairy-wrens: Making the worst of a good job

Cilj ovoga rada jest metodička obrada intervjua kao retoričke vrste u okviru predmeta Hrvatski jezik te u nastavi izbornoga predmeta Govorništvo. Intervju je jedna od najkorištenijih govorničkih vrsta, a definira se (Škarić, 2000) kao vrsta razgovora između dviju osoba od kojih jedna pita (intervjuist), a druga odgovara (intervjuirani). U nastavne svrhe izabrano je razlikovanje triju vrsta intervjua: intervju za javnost, radni intervju i intervju s velikim ličnostima. S obzirom na to da se njime razvijaju govorno-jezične kompetencije, aktivno slušanje i kritičko mišljenje, intervju bi se trebao obrađivati kao nastavna jedinica u formalnom obrazovanju. Kurikularna reforma stavlja naglasak upravo na govorno umijeće te razvijanje komunikacijskih kompetencija kod učenika, a to bi se moglo postići na nastavi Govorništva kao predmeta u srednjoškolskom obrazovanju jer nastavnici hrvatskoga jezika nemaju dovoljno vremena razvijati te kompetencije i vještine kod učenika. Napravljene su dvije pripreme sata s temom intervjua namijenjene izvedbi na nastavi Govorništva u gimnaziji.The goal of this thesis is methodical approach to interview as a rhetoric category in the frame of the school subject Croatian language as well as the extra curricular subject of Rhetoric. Interview is one of the most common used rhetoric category, an it is defined (Škarić, 2000) as a type of conversation between two people where one is asking (the interviewer), and the other is answering (the interviewee). In the purpose of education there are three relevant categories of the interview: interview for the public, working interview and interview with the public figures. Having in mind that it develops speech-language competence, active listening and critical thinking, interview should be a teaching unit in the formal education. Curricular reform emphasizes the importance of speaking skills and the development of communication competence within the pupils, and that could be achieved in the class of Rhetoric as an extra curricular subject in high school education because the teachers of Croatian language do not have the time to develop these competence and skills. There are two plans for the unit interview that are designated for the teaching of Rhetoric in gymnasium

Weather cues associated with masting behavior dampen the negative autocorrelation between past and current reproduction in oaks

10 páginas.-- 3 figuras.-- 2 tablas.-- 45 referencias.-- Additional Supporting Information may be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of the articleResearch Article: Free Access in the publisher https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1210Premise of the Study: The influence of weather conditions on masting and the ecological advantages of this reproductive behavior have been the subject of much interest. Weather conditions act as cues influencing reproduction of individual plants, and similar responses expressed across many individuals lead to population-level synchrony in reproductive output. In turn, synchrony leads to benefits from economies of scale such as enhanced pollination success and seed predator satiation. However, there may also be individual-level benefits from reproductive responses to weather cues, which may explain the origin of masting in the absence of economies of scale. In a previous study, we found support for a mechanism whereby individual responses to weather cues attenuate the negative autocorrelation between past and current annual seed production—a pattern typically attributed to resource limitation and reproductive tradeoffs among years. Methods: Here we provide a follow-up and more robust evaluation of this hypothesis in 12 species of oaks (Quercus spp.), testing for a negative autocorrelation (tradeoff) between past and current reproduction and whether responses to weather cues associated with masting reduce the strength of this negative autocorrelation. Key Results: Our results showed a strong negative autocorrelation for 11 of the species, and that species-specific reproductive responses to weather cues dampened this negative autocorrelation in 10 of them. Conclusions: This dampening effect presumably reflects a reduction in resource limitation or increased resource use associated with weather conditions, and suggests that responses to weather cues conferring these advantages should be selected for based on individual benefitsThis study was supported by a National Science Foundation grant DEB‐1256394 to WDK, by the Ramon y Cajal Research Programme (RYC‐2013‐13230) to XM, by a Spanish National Research Grant (AGL2015‐70748‐R) to XM, by the Spanish MEC projects Heteromed (REN2002‐4041‐C02‐02), Dinamed (CGL2005‐5830‐C03‐01) and Interbos (CGL2008‐04503‐C03‐01) to IMPR, and by the Andalusian Anasinque‐PE2010‐RNM‐5782 project to IMPR.Peer reviewe