Stationarity and ergodicity of vector STAR models

Smooth transition autoregressive models are widely used to capture nonlinearities in univariate and multivariate time series. Existence of stationary solution is typically assumed, implicitly or explicitly. In this paper, we describe conditions for stationarity and ergodicity of vector STAR models. The key condition is that the joint spectral radius of certain matrices is below 1. It is not sufficient to assume that separate spectral radii are below 1. Our result allows to use recently introduced toolboxes from computational mathematics to verify the stationarity and ergodicity of vector STAR models.Peer reviewe

Endophytic Epichloe species and their grass hosts: from evolution to applications

201

Wahlbeteiligung und Wählermobilisierung bei landesweiten Wahlen in Russland

Die Wahlbeteiligung in Russland ist bei Präsidentschaftswahlen generell höher, als bei Parlamentswahlen. Allerdings bestehen auch unterhalb der nationalen Ebene, zwischen den Regionen sowie innerhalb dieser beträchtliche Unterschiede. Bei den Dumawahlen 2016 war die Wahlbeteiligung drastisch gesunken. Eine geringe Wahlbeteiligung kann selbst bei einem überwältigenden Sieg des Amtsinhabers die Legitimität des Wahlergebnisses beeinträchtigen und Unzufriedenheit in der Bevölkerung signalisieren. Eine der wichtigsten Aufgaben der russischen Regierung bei den anstehenden Präsidentschaftswahlen von 2018 dürfte daher die Mobilisierung der Wähler sein

Performance of endophyte infected tall fescue in Europe and North America

201

Alkaloid quantities in endophyte-infected tall fescue are affected by the plant-fungus combination and environment

201

Literature syntheses to inform marine ecosystem management: lessons learned from stakeholder participation

Systematic literature syntheses are a key element in the scientific realm, considering the steadily growing amount of available knowledge. Involving stakeholders in the research process brings a wide range of advantages, like broadening the perspectives on the problem in question, increasing the relevance of results for policy- and decision-making, the public and other end-users and thus enhancing the impact and acceptance of research. While participatory approaches are on the rise, reflections on stakeholder involvement in systematic syntheses on environmental management are scarce. We reflect on the process of involving stakeholders with expertise also from outside academia during three literature syntheses with different foci of marine and coastal ecosystem services in the Baltic Sea. Our analysis is based on notes, e-mails, minutes and recordings of internal project meetings, interviews and workshops involving both researchers and stakeholders. We discuss the challenges the participatory approach introduced and develop lessons learned to support the planning of stakeholder engagement for future literature syntheses. We conclude that stakeholder identification, communication, collaboration and knowledge translation are highly time- and resource-intensive processes. Furthermore, appropriate training and experience are necessary for the design, execution and evaluation of participatory methods tailored to each project stage. Therefore, we underline the importance of adequate consideration of the required resources during project planning and implementation. To encourage and support valuable stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange between the research community and actors of policy and practice, more appreciation of such efforts by funding institutions and within the wider scientific community is needed

Dark septate endophytes: mutualism from by-products?

</p