Data and models for exploring sustainability of human well-being in global environmental change

This position paper proposes a vision for the research activity about sustainability in global environmental change (GEC) taking place in the FuturICT flagship project. This activity will be organised in an "Exploratory", gathering a core network of European scientists from ICT, social simulation, complex systems, economics, demographics, Earth system science. These research teams will collaborate in building a self-organising network of data sources and models about GEC and in using new facilities fostering stakeholder participation. We develop examples of concrete directions for this research: world wide virtual population with demographic and some economic descriptors, ecosystem services production and distribution, governance systems at various scales

A synonymic catalogue of the Acari from Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic Islands and the Southern Ocean

The records, taxonomy and geographical distribution of 528 species of Acari collected from the Antarctic, sub-Antarctic islands and the Southern Ocean are collated. Included are free-living and phoretic mites, parasites and nidicoles associated with a variety of birds, seals and other introduced mammals, from terrestrial aquatic, seashore and benthic marine habitats. A number of these Acari have been introduced by humans, to and around research stations and disused whaling stations. A full alphabetical index to all current higher taxa, as well as current/redundant generic and specific names, is provided