Geographic location and phylogeny are the main determinants of the size of the geographical range in aquatic beetles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Why some species are widespread while others are very restricted geographically is one of the most basic questions in biology, although it remains largely unanswered. This is particularly the case for groups of closely related species, which often display large differences in the size of the geographical range despite sharing many other factors due to their common phylogenetic inheritance. We used ten lineages of aquatic Coleoptera from the western Palearctic to test in a comparative framework a broad set of possible determinants of range size: species' age, differences in ecological tolerance, dispersal ability and geographic location.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When all factors were combined in multiple regression models between 60-98% of the variance was explained by geographic location and phylogenetic signal. Maximum latitudinal and longitudinal limits were positively correlated with range size, with species at the most northern latitudes and eastern longitudes displaying the largest ranges. In lineages with lotic and lentic species, the lentic (better dispersers) display larger distributional ranges than the lotic species (worse dispersers). The size of the geographical range was also positively correlated with the extent of the biomes in which the species is found, but we did not find evidence of a clear relationship between range size and age of the species.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings show that range size of a species is shaped by an interplay of geographic and ecological factors, with a phylogenetic component affecting both of them. The understanding of the factors that determine the size and geographical location of the distributional range of species is fundamental to the study of the origin and assemblage of the current biota. Our results show that for this purpose the most relevant data may be the phylogenetic history of the species and its geographical location.</p

Artificial intelligence and creativity for generating architectural images from textual descriptions in Midjourney. Emulating Louis I. Kahn

[EN] Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently causing a cultural transformation in different artistic fields, including Architecture, more specifically in the generation of architectural images from textual descriptions (words). Images, some of them experimental, make us think about how far this new system of artistic creation can go. For López de Mántaras (2017, p.1), creativity, as we know it, has given way to the so-called computational creativity. This new form of creative process needs the storage of a large amount of input data that, made available to textual descriptions, will progressively learn and generate images subject to those same words. In this text, we will reflect on how images of architecture can be generated using the MIDJOURNEY Artificial Intelligence system or program, focusing on the figure of Louis I. Kahn and how this Intelligence interprets certain starting words to generate drawn replicas of the architect's works.[ES] Actualmente la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) está provocando una transformación cultural en diferentes campos artísticos, entre ellos la Arquitectura, más concretamente en la generación de imágenes arquitectónicas a partir de descripciones textuales (palabras). Imágenes, algunas de ellas experimentales, nos hacen pensar hasta dónde puede llegar este nuevo sistema de creación artística. Para López de Mántaras (2017, p.1), la creatividad, tal y como la conocemos, ha dado paso a la llamada creatividad computacional. Esta nueva forma de proceso creativo necesita del almacenaje de una gran cantidad de datos de entrada que, puestos a disposición de descripciones textuales, irá aprendiendo progresivamente y generando imágenes sujetas a esas mismas palabras. En este texto someteremos a reflexión cómo se pueden generar imágenes de arquitectura empleando el sistema o programa de Inteligencia Artificial MIDJOURNEY centrándonos en la figura de Louis I. Kahn y cómo esta Inteligencia interpreta ciertas palabras de inicio para generar réplicas dibujadas de las obras del arquitecto.Molina-Siles, P.; Giménez Ribera, M. (2023). Inteligencia artificial y creatividad para la generación de imágenes arquitectónicas a partir de descripciones textuales en Midjourney. Emulando a Louis I. Kahn. EGA Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 28(49):238-251. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2023.19294238251284

Historical deadly typhoons in the Philippines

© Royal Meteorological Society, 2008. We wish to thank the Archivo General de Indias (Seville) for their kind permission for the publication of two of the images included in this paper.Depto. de Física de la Tierra y AstrofísicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEpu

A synthesis on cave-dwelling spiders in Europe

We provide the first overview on spiders living in subterranean habitats in Europe, including the first European subterranean spider checklist. In Europe, there are 486 spider species known to dwell in caves and other subterranean habitats, distributed across 22 families. Despite a few species being able to colonize caves across the whole continent, approximately 90% of the species show a restricted distribution, occurring exclusively in one or two countries. From a biogeographic perspective, southern Europe emerges as the main hot spot of subterranean spider diversity, showing the highest richness of endemic species. Compared to other temperate regions of the world, some families appear to be well represented and other poorly represented (or lacking) in European subterranean habitats. Overall, it appears that the taxonomical knowledge on subterranean spiders in Europe is sufficient, but not evenly distributed. As this checklist represents a useful baseline for advances in this field, we point out specific areas of interest for future research.Peer reviewe

Identification of Caribbean basin hurricanes from Spanish documentary sources

This paper analyses five hurricanes that occurred in the period 1600 to 1800. These examples were identified during a systematic search in the General Archive of the Indies (AGI) in Seville. The research combined the expertise of climatologists and historians in order to optimise the search and analysis strategies. Results demonstrate the potential of this archive for the assessment of hurricanes in this period and show some of the difficulties involved in the collection of evidence of hurricane activity. The documents provide detailed descriptions of a hurricane's impacts and allow us to identify previously unreported hurricanes, obtain more precise dates for hurricanes previously identified, better define the area affected by a given hurricane and, finally, better assess a hurricane's intensity

Using drones under 250 g for documenting the architectural heritage

[EN] The emergence of drones in recent years has revolutionized the field of photogrammetry due to the advantages that their use entails. opening a new variety of possibilities, as the use of close-range aerial photogrammetry. Therefore, the main objective of this contribution is to analyse the legal limits for this kind of drones under 250 g and to determine the quality of the results that can be obtained when they are used for graphic surveying. The methodology consisted in carrying out the survey of a renaissance courtyard, which is known as the Patio del Embajador Vich, one of the most relevant spaces in the city of Valencia that is currently integrated inside of the Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia. The courtyard constitutes an excellent test bench due to the complexity of its sculptural forms and its combination with the large stucco panels. The photogrammetric survey was carried out with a DJI mini 2 drone, weighting less than 250 gr, equipped with a 1/2.3¿ CMOS sensor with a resolution of 12 Mp. In addition, a survey with a laser scanner Leica RTC 360 was also carried out to compare both of them and to estimate the precision of the photogrammetric survey. Two types of photogrammetric surveys were carried out, the first of which was taken at a medium distance to achieve the restitution of part of the general volume, while the second consisted of a very close-range survey of one of the original capitals, in order to restore a more detailed model. The conclusions of this study, that arises from the comparison and study of the models obtained, will reveal the convenience of using this kind of drones and its application to architectural heritage surveying.This contribution is part of the R+D+i project / Grant PID2020-119469RB-I00, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation/ State Research Agency/10.13039/501100011033.Rodríguez Navarro, P.; Cabezos Bernal, PM.; Gil Piqueras, T.; Giménez Ribera, M. (2022). Using drones under 250 g for documenting the architectural heritage. DisegnareCon. 15(29):1-19. https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.29.2022.1119152

Atlas of Iberian water beetles (ESACIB database)

The ESACIB (‘EScarabajos ACuáticos IBéricos’) database is provided, including all available distributional data of Iberian and Balearic water beetles from the literature up to 2013, as well as from museum and private collections, PhD theses, and other unpublished sources. The database contains 62,015 records with associated geographic data (10×10 km UTM squares) for 488 species and subspecies of water beetles, 120 of them endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and eight to the Balearic Islands. This database was used for the elaboration of the “Atlas de los Coleópteros Acuáticos de España Peninsular”. In this dataset data of 15 additional species has been added: 11 that occur in the Balearic Islands or mainland Portugal but not in peninsular Spain and an other four with mainly terrestrial habits within the genus Helophorus (for taxonomic coherence). The complete dataset is provided in Darwin Core Archive format.Some data sets have been obtained with the support of additional projects from the Spanish Government, especially 023/2007, CGL2007-61665 and CGL2013-48950. DS-F has a “Juan de la Cierva” contract from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer reviewe

Interannual oscillations and trend of snow occurrence in the Andes region since 1885

Using documentary sources, a series of the annual number of snow days in the Mendoza area of Argentina has been constructed. Analysis of the series using Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and the Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) showed that the number of snow days exhibits interdecadal and interannual oscillations with periods of about 28 and five years. Furthermore a positive trend was detected. This temporal pattern is consistent with studies of the variability of global surface temperature, indicating a strong relationship between temperature and snow occurrence in the climate system and the potential for using snow occurrence as an indicator of climate change

Caracterización clínica y anatómica del segmento anterior mediante tecnología de cámara Scheimpflug en un caso de lenticono posterior

Presentamos un caso de pérdida de agudeza visual unilateral no explicable por factores corneales o retinianos en el que se detecta un lenticono posterior mediante tecnología de cámara Scheimpflug. En concreto, se trata de una paciente de 7 años de edad que acude con una disminución de la agudeza visual del ojo derecho desde hacía tres años. La agudeza visual del ojo derecho en lejos es de 0,3 con la mejor corrección y de cerca de 0,8. Se observaron reflejos retinoscópicos en tijera, así como la presencia de una pequeña opacidad lenticular polar posterior mediante biomicroscopía. No tenía antecedentes de patología ocular ni presentaba ninguna alteración compatible con el síndrome de Alport o el síndrome de Morning Glory, así como tampoco presentaba ningún tipo de alergia. Mediante un análisis con un sistema basado en tecnología de cámara Scheimpflug se pudo detectar un encurvamiento de la cara posterior del cristalino, confirmando el diagnóstico de lenticono posterior. La pérdida visual puede ser debida a que el lenticono se encuentra en la zona paracentral del cristalino, pudiendo también contribuir la opacidad congénita del cristalino. En conclusión, el ópticooptometrista, como primer eslabón en la atención visual primaria, puede pensar en el potencial diagnóstico de lenticono cuando no existe una pérdida de agudeza visual sin causa corneal, retiniana o refractiva que lo justifique, siendo la tecnología de cámara Scheimpflug muy útil para la confirmación del diagnóstico