Valley of Fire Petroglyphs: A New Perspective on an Old Idea

This research paper proposes to enhance the approach used in the interpretative methods of petroglyphs, in particular those located in the Valley of Fire State Park in Southern Nevada. Along with the actual content, the contextual element of elevation, in relation to ground level, will be used in an analysis of the petroglyphs located in the park. Intermittently throughout the park petroglyphs are visible at various elevations, from current ground level to the top of the rock formations several hundred feet vertically. It is this contextual element of elevation that will be key in the attempt to begin interpreting both function and meaning. The conceptual framework begins with the idea that different members of society created petroglyphs for their purposes in particular places. In other words, the who (socially defined) is in direct relationship with where the petroglyphs were produced. Analysis will divide the elevation or vertical plane into distinct levels and compare the petroglyphs in each level in an attempt to answer who created them from a social perspective and for what purposes. Specifically, I will investigate the hypothesis that the petroglyphs found at the highest elevation levels are associated primarily with shamanistic activities; that those in the middle elevation levels are associated primarily with hunting activities and rituals; and that those in the lowest elevation levels are associated primarily with everyday, or domestic, activities

Short communication notes on Callicore ines hopp, 1922 in Colombia and description of the female (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Este trabajo presenta registros recientes de Callicore ines (Hopp, 1922) una rara especie restringida en el piedemonte este del sur de la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia. Se consideran algunos datos taxonómicos de la especie, variación y mimetismo respecto a otros ninfálidos de la región, y se describe por primera vez la hembra que era desconocida hasta el momento.This work presents recent records of Callicore ines (Hopp, 1922), a rare species restricted to the Southern foothills of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Some taxonomic data on the species, variation and mimicry with other nymphalids of the region are considered and the previously unknown female is described for the first time

The Bavaria forest (Villavicencio, Meta) revisited: new records added to the checklist of species (LEPIDOPTERA: RHOPALOCERA)

Este trabajo pretende ampliar el listado de mariposas diurnas que habitan en Bavaria, un sector de piedemonte ubicado en la vertiente este de la Cordillera Oriental, en el departamento del Meta, mediantes recientes registros de géneros y especies que no se conocían para el lugar. Lo anterior permite afirmar que dicha región es la mejor muestreada en mariposas de toda la Cordillera Oriental alcanzando un total de 473 especies.This work aims to broaden the list of daytime butterflies that live in Bavaria, a foothills area located on the east gradient of the Eastern Cordillera, in the department of Meta, using recent records of genera and species that were not known for the place. This allows to state that this area is the best sampled region in butterflies throughout the Eastern Cordillera reaching a total of 473 species

Palms and trees resist extreme drought in Amazon forests with shallow water tables

1. The intensity and frequency of severe droughts in the Amazon region has increase in recent decades. These extreme events are associated with changes in forest dynamics, biomass and floristic composition. However, most studies of drought response have focused on upland forests with deep water tables, which may be especially sensitive to drought. Palms, which tend to dominate the less well‐drained soils, have also been neglected. The relative neglect of shallow water tables and palms is a significant concern for our understanding of tropical drought impacts, especially as one third of Amazon forests grow on shallow water tables (<5m deep). 2. We evaluated the drought response of palms and trees in forests distributed over a 600 km transect in central‐southern Amazonia, where the landscape is dominated by shallow water table forests. We compared vegetation dynamics before and following the 2015–16 El Nino drought, the hottest and driest on record for the region (−214 mm of cumulative water deficit). 3. We observed no change in stand mortality rates and no biomass loss in response to drought in these forests. Instead, we observed an increase in recruitment rates, which doubled to 6.78% y‐1 ± 4.40 (mean ± SD) during 2015–16 for palms and increased by half for trees (to 2.92% y‐1 ± 1.21), compared to rates in the pre‐El‐Nino interval. Within these shallow water table forests, mortality and recruitment rates varied as a function of climatic drought intensity and water table depth for both palms and trees, with mortality being greatest in climatically and hydrologically wetter environments and recruitment greatest in drier environments. Across our transect there was a significant increase over time in tree biomass. 4. Synthesis: Our results indicate that forests growing over shallow water tables – relatively under‐studied vegetation that nonetheless occupies one‐third of Amazon forests ‐ are remarkably resistant to drought. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that local hydrology and its interactions with climate strongly constrain forest drought effects, and has implications for climate change feedbacks. This work enhances our understanding of integrated drought effects on tropical forest dynamics and highlights the importance of incorporating neglected forest types into both the modeling of forest climate responses and into public decisions about priorities for conservation

Detection of Mitochondrial COII DNA Sequences in Ant Guts as a Method for Assessing Termite Predation by Ants

Termites and ants contribute more to animal biomass in tropical rain forests than any other single group and perform vital ecosystem functions. Although ants prey on termites, at the community level the linkage between these groups is poorly understood. Thus, assessing the distribution and specificity of ant termitophagy is of considerable interest.We describe an approach for quantifying ant-termite food webs by sequencing termite DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, COII) from ant guts and apply this to a soil-dwelling ant community from tropical rain forest in Gabon. We extracted DNA from 215 ants from 15 species. Of these, 17.2% of individuals had termite DNA in their guts, with BLAST analysis confirming the identity of 34.1% of these termites to family level or better. Although ant species varied in detection of termite DNA, ranging from 63% (5/7; Camponotus sp. 1) to 0% (0/7; Ponera sp. 1), there was no evidence (with small sample sizes) for heterogeneity in termite consumption across ant taxa, and no evidence for species-specific ant-termite predation. In all three ant species with identifiable termite DNA in multiple individuals, multiple termite species were represented. Furthermore, the two termite species that were detected on multiple occasions in ant guts were in both cases found in multiple ant species, suggesting that anttermite food webs are not strongly compartmentalised. However, two ant species were found to consume only Anoplotermes-group termites, indicating possible predatory specialisation at a higher taxonomic level. Using a laboratory feeding test, we were able to detect termite COII sequences in ant guts up to 2 h after feeding, indicating that our method only detects recent feeding events. Our data provide tentative support for the hypothesis that unspecialised termite predation by ants is widespread and highlight the use of molecular approaches for future studies of ant-termite food webs

Estimate of Sunshine Length and Temperature Regime of the Tatras Mountain Lakes

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The effects of content and structure clues on adult poor readers\u27 ability to generate inferences

The study investigated the ability of adult poor readers to use content and/or structure clues to generate inferences. One hundred twenty-eight male and female junior college freshmen enrolled in developmental reading classes read two single-episode stories. The stories, presented one line at a time on a computer, were modified to yield differing levels of inferability at two story locations. Explicit clues, implicit clues, or no clues to deleted story information were provided. Questions asking subjects to recall exact content and infer missing information were given after the stories were read. The number and location of lookbacks, reading times, and decision-making times were also measured. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted on the question and lookback measures. Subjects reading the original stories were better able to recall exact content than subjects reading stories in which information was deleted. Disruption of structure made recall of exact content more difficult. However, approximately half of the responses in the deletion conditions were written in the categorical language of the original story rather than in the language of the story read. These subjects were inferring structure to recall stories. Explicit clues were found to be necessary to draw inferences about the structure of stories, and subjects needed to be prompted by questions to make inferences. Subjects made limited use of lookbacks, primarily at the end of stories, as a strategy to resolve inconsistencies. Means before deletions and means after deletions were obtained for reading time and decision time and a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was conducted. The location of the deleted information was found to affect processing time. Readers attended more to beginnings and endings instead of the internal text disruptions. Though results indicated that readers rely more on structure to recall exact content and generate inferences, the variation among responses make some findings unstable. To allow for a more precise test of the role of structure and content in inferencing, a replication of this study should be carried out with good readers who are more attentive and consistent while reading