Markov models of territory occupancy: Implications for the management and conservation of competing species

Markov chains have been frequently used in community ecology to model successional changes, but little attention has been paid to its application in population ecology as a tool to explore the outcomes of species interactions. Markov models can be regarded as >null models> that provide predicted values under a no-change scenario against which the consequences of changes in variables of interest can be assessed. Here we explore Markov chains' potential to project population trends of competing species and derive sensible management strategies. To do that we use six years of field data on territory occupancy and turn-over of two competing top predators in a Mediterranean landscape: the golden and Bonelli's eagles. The results suggest that long-term coexistence of both species in the study area is likely, with the main limitation for their coexistence being the difficulties Bonelli's eagles have in colonising new territories that become available. To avoid future declines in the population of Bonelli's eagle, it is important to take into account that the positive effects of conservation strategies focused on encouraging colonization (e.g. decreasing disperser mortality) are likely to be larger than those focused on avoiding territory abandonment (e.g. decreasing adult mortality). Markov chains are likely to be useful to evaluate the relative merit of alternative management options in other territorial species when patterns of territory occupancy are the only reliable data available, as often happens with large predators. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.Peer Reviewe

Mesozoic palaeogeographic evolution of the External Zones of the Betic Cordillera

14 páginas, 8 figuras.The main events characterizing the Mesozoic palaeogeographic evolution of the External Zones of the Betic Cordillera are outlined. The Triassic sediments show a 'germanic' type lacies over the entire region, ending with Late Triassic evaporites and variegated clays of Keuper facies. At the beginning of the Jurassic a transgression takes place, and a broad shallow-marine carbonate-platform environment appears. During the Carixian (180 Ma) the carbonate platform breaks down leading to the differentiation of two large palaeogeographic units: the Prebetic Zone where shallow-water environments prevailed throughout the Mesozoic, and the Subbetic Zone where the sediments are clearly pelagic. Within the Prebetic Zone, two palaeogeographic realms are differentiated: the External Prebetic ,showing important stratigraphic gaps in the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous sequence, and the Internal Prebetic with a thicker and more continuous stratigraphic sequence. Between the Prebetic and Subbetic Zones, a palaeogeographic realm is distinguished (Intermediate units) where turbiditic and pelagic materials were deposited. This zone corresponds approximately to a slope environment during most of Mesozoic times. In the Subbetic Zone a marked differential subsidence occurs during the Jurassic, leading to trough (Median Subbetic) and swells (External and Internal Subbetic). In the Median Subbetic, the deposits consist mainly of marls, pelagic limestones, radiolarites and calcareous turbidites, with mafic volcanic hand subvolcanic rocks. During the Cretaceous pelagic marls and marty limestones were laid down. Mesozoic sedimentation took place along the southern margin of the European plate, in an Atlantic-type continental margin underlain by continental crust. Three-dimensional schemes, explaining the main palaeogcographic events are included.Peer reviewe

AB0689 The importance of the sun. Vitamin D and spondyloarthritis: our experience in a third level hospital

[EN] Vitamin D plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, so that it has been shown that an adequate level is associated with a lower risk of developing this group of entities as well as a lower severity of them. Specifically, in spondyloarthritis (SpA) the deficiency has been associated with greater aggressiveness and greater radiological progression.S

Role of mTOR-regulated autophagy in spine pruning defects and memory impairments induced by binge-like ethanol treatment in adolescent mice

Adolescence is a brain maturation developmental period during which remodeling and changes in synaptic plasticity and neural connectivity take place in some brain regions. Different mechanism participates in adolescent brain maturation, including autophagy that plays a role in synaptic development and plasticity. Alcohol is a neurotoxic compound and its abuse in adolescence induces neuroinflammation, synaptic and myelin alterations, neural damage and behavioral impairments. Changes in synaptic plasticity and its regulation by mTOR have also been suggested to play a role in the behavioral dysfunction of binge ethanol drinking in adolescence. Therefore, by considering the critical role of mTOR in both autophagy and synaptic plasticity in the developing brain, the present study aims to evaluate whether binge ethanol treatment in adolescence would induce dysfunctions in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions and if mTOR inhibition with rapamycin is capable of restoring both effects. Using C57BL/6 adolescent female and male mice (PND30) treated with ethanol (3 g/kg) on two consecutive days at 48-hour intervals over 2 weeks, we show that binge ethanol treatment alters the density and morphology of dendritic spines, effects that are associated with learning and memory impairments and changes in the levels of both transcription factor CREB phosphorylation and miRNAs. Rapamycin administration (3 mg/kg) prior to ethanol administration restores ethanol-induced changes in both plasticity and behavior dysfunctions in adolescent mice. These results support the critical role of mTOR/autophagy dysfunctions in the dendritic spines alterations and cognitive alterations induced by binge alcohol in adolescence

Automated FISH spots counting in interphase nuclei

ABSTRACT NUMBER 197Work supported by grant CYCIT (TIC92-0922)

Synthesis and characterization of titanium(IV) complexes containing the diphenylphosphino- and diphenylthiophosphoryl-functionalized cyclopentadienyl ligand. Crystal and molecular structure of Ti(η5-C5H4PPh2)Cl3

The trimethylsilyl cyclopentadiene derivative C5H4(SiMe3)PPh2 (1) was treated with TiCl4 to give the air- and moisture-sensitive mono(cyclopentadienyl) compound Ti(η5-C5H4PPh2)Cl3 (4). Reaction of 4 with Mg(CH2C6H5)2(THF)2 gave Ti(η5-C5H4PPh2)(CH2C6H5)3 (5). Reactions of the lithium and thallium derivatives M{C5H4P(S)Ph2} (M=Li (2), Tl (3)) with one equiv. of TiCl4 afforded the mono(cyclopentadienyl) complex Ti{η5-C5H4P(S)Ph2}Cl3 (6), whereas reaction with 0.5 equiv. of TiCl4 gave the bis(cyclopentadienyl) complex Ti{η5-C5H4P(S)Ph2}2Cl2 (8). Compound 6 was also isolated as a minor product from the reaction of Ti{η5-C5H4P(S)Ph2}2Cl2 (8) with one equiv. of TiCl4. The major product was identified as an inseparable mixture of two compounds [Ti{η5-C5H4P(S)Ph2}2Cl2·TiCl4]n (7a and 7b). Reaction of Ti(η5-C5H5)Cl3 with 3 afforded the ‘mixed-ring’ bis(cyclopentadienyl) complex Ti{η5-C5H4P(S)Ph2}(η5-C5H5)Cl2 (9). Compounds 6–9 are very moisture-sensitive and easily decompose to form the cyclopentadiene C5H5P(S)Ph2. Structural data of these complexes indicate η5-coordination of the substituted cyclopentadienyl ligands and this coordination mode was confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis of compound 4.We gratefully acknowledge financial support by DGICYT (ref. no. PB-97-0776), Iberdrola, and the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie

Chaotic advection of reacting substances: Plankton dynamics on a meandering jet

We study the spatial patterns formed by interacting populations or reacting chemicals under the influence of chaotic flows. In particular, we have considered a three-component model of plankton dynamics advected by a meandering jet. We report general results, stressing the existence of a smooth-filamental transition in the concentration patterns depending on the relative strength of the stirring by the chaotic flow and the relaxation properties of planktonic dynamical system. Patterns obtained in open and closed flows are compared.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figues, latex compiled with modegs.cl

Trece años de evaluación compartida en Educación Física

En este trabajo realizamos una revisión de trece años de experiencia docente e investigación educativa sobre la Autoevaluación y la Evaluación Compartida en Educación Física. En una primera parte llevamos a cabo una revisión del estado de la cuestión, describimos el objeto de estudio y la metodología utilizada, para pasar posteriormente a analizar los resultados generales de estos trece años de experimentación. Los resultados los hemos organizado en dos grandes apartados: a-ventajas y posibilidades y b- inconvenientes, dificultades y posibles soluciones, de modo que puedan ser de utilidad para el profesorado interesado en el estudio y la puesta en práctica de este tipo de sistemas de evaluación

Digestibilidad in vitro del alperujo de la comunidad valenciana en ganado vacuno: resultados preliminares

El alperujo es un subproducto reciente en las almazaras tradicionales, por la transformación de los procesos de molturación de 3 fases (aceite, alpechín y orujo) a sistemas de 2 fases (aceite y alperujo), debido a la nueva regulación medioambiental. Presenta una humedad del 65% y hasta un 15% (en materia seca, MS) de aceite. A día de hoy, se producen alrededor de 80.000 toneladas anuales en la Comunidad Valenciana, que son retiradas por orujeras. Su uso directo en la alimentación de la ganadería cercana a la zona de producción es una vía alternativa de aprovechamiento que, además, potencia la economía circular local. El objetivo del trabajo es determinar la digestibilidad in vitro de la MS (DIVMS) del alperujo para ganado bovino. Este trabajo se enmarca en un Proyecto mayor cuyo objetivo es desarrollar un modelo de gestión y aprovechamiento del alperujo en el norte de la Comunidad Valenciana para alimentación de ganado vacuno extensivo

Spatially resolved analysis of neutralwWinds, stars, and ionized gas kinematics with MEGARA/GTC: new insights on the nearby galaxy UGC 10205

We present a comprehensive analysis of the multiphase structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the stellar kinematics in the edge-on nearby galaxy UGC 10205 using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data taken with MultiEspectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía (MEGARA) at the GTC. We explore both the neutral and the ionized gas phases using the interstellar Na I D doublet absorption (LR−V setup, R ∼ 6000) and the Hα emission line (HR−R setup, R ∼ 18000), respectively. The high-resolution data show the complexity of the Hα emission-line profile revealing the detection of up to three kinematically distinct gaseous components. Despite of this fact, a thin-disk model is able to reproduce the bulk of the ionized gas motions in the central regions of UGC 10205. The use of asymmetric drift corrections is needed to reconciliate the ionized and the stellar velocity rotation curves. We also report the detection of outflowing neutral gas material blueshifted by ∼ 87 km s^(−1) . The main physical properties that describe the observed outflow are a total mass M_(out) = (4.55 ± 0.06) × 10^(7) Mʘ and a coldgas mass outflow rate M_(out) = 0.78 0.03 Mʘ yr^(−1) . This work points out the necessity of exploiting highresolution IFS data to understand the multiphase components of the ISM and the multiple kinematical components in the central regions of nearby galaxies