Methodological Flaws in Cognitive Animat Research

In the field of convergence between research in autonomous machine construction and biological systems understanding it is usually argued that building robots for research on auton- omy by replicating extant animals is a valuable strategy for engineering autonomous intelligent systems. In this paper we will address the very issue of animat construction, the ratio- nale behind this, their current implementations and the value they are producing. It will be shown that current activity, as it is done today, is deeply flawed and useless as research in the science and engineering of autonomy

Analogical Imperfects and the Fate of Iberian Verbal Morphology in Latin American Spanish

This paper examines the interaction of language-internal and language-external triggers in the formation of Latin American Spanish varieties. The focus of the paper is a scarcely studied morphological variant, namely the non-standard imperfects of the 2nd- and 3rd-conjugation: comer ‘to eat’ → comiba-, caer ‘to fall’ → caiba-, traer ‘to bring’ →traiba-, etc. The study first features a comprehensive dialectal and historical survey of these forms in Spain and Latin America. Later, it focuses on the factors that contributed to their success in traditional Latin American Spanish dialects vs. their relative infrequency in Spain. It will be argued that these forms spread as a result of the simultaneous effect of the intrinsic morphological instability of a particular verbal subclass in Spanish and sociodemographic factors specific to these traditional varieties. This study offers a rationale for the reassessment of the models of dialect contact traditionally applied to Latin American Spanish from the perspective of morphological variation

Pseudospectral methods and numerical continuation for the analysis of structured population models

In this thesis new numerical methods are presented for the analysis of models in population dynamics. The methods approximate equilibria and bifurcations in a certain class of so called structured population models. Chapter 1 consists of an introduction to structured population dynamics, where the state of the art is presented through a classical consumer-resource model [44]. The necessity of new numerical methods for analyzing structured population models is discussed and motivated by their applications to life sciences. In Chapter 2 [44] is extended to a more general class in which a structured population with a unique state at birth interacts with an environment of unstruc- tured populations and interaction variables. Equilibrium types are defined, the model is linearized and a characteristic equation is obtained. Finally, a discussion about equilibria and bifurcations under parameter variation is included. In Chapter 3 a new pseudospectral method for the computation of eigenvalues of linear VFE/DDE systems is presented. The technique consists of constructing a finite approximation of the infinitesimal generator of the solution semigroup. The spectral convergence of the method is proved, and a piecewise variation which speeds up the computations presented and validated with toy models. An exten- sion to deal with structured population models is proposed and validated with the model in [44]. Chapter 4 is devoted to the numerical continuation of equilibrium branches and bifurcation curves under parameter variation for models of the class presented in Chapter 2. A new technique for the curve continuation is presented, where a reduction of the dimension and a simplification of the equilibrium conditions result in new test functions for the detection of transcritical bifurcations, reducing the computational cost. The methods were implemented in the development of routines that were tested and validated with models from the literature

Numerical Bifurcation Analysis of Physiologically Structured Populations: Consumer-Resource, Cannibalistic and Trophic Models

With the aim of applying numerical methods, we develop a formalism for physiologically structured population models in a new generality that includes con- sumer resource, cannibalism and trophic models. The dynamics at the population level are formulated as a system of Volterra functional equations coupled to ODE. For this general class we develop numerical methods to continue equilibria with respect to a parameter, detect transcritical and saddle-node bifurcations and compute curves in parameter planes along which these bifurcations occur. The methods combine curve continuation, ODE solvers and test functions. Finally we apply the method to the above models using existing data for Daphnia magna consuming Algae, and for Perca fluviatilis feeding on Daphnia magna. In particular we validate the methods by deriving expressions for equilibria and bifurcations with respect to which we compute rrors, and by comparing the obtained curves with curves that were computed earlier with other methods. We also present new curves to show how the methods can easily be applied to derive new biological insight. Schemes of algorithms are included

Ozone in Spain's National Parks and Protected Forests

In general, it is difficult to measure air pollutant concentrations in remote areas, as they are mostly national parks and protected areas. Passive samplers provide an accurate and inexpensive method for measuring cumulative exposures of different air pollutants. They have been used to collect ozone data in both laboratory and field at different geographical scales. The objective of the present study is to fill the knowledge gap regarding air quality in remote areas of Spain, such as national parks and protected areas. Because there were no systematic data sets on the main air pollutants that could affect these areas, an air quality measurement network was established between 2001 and 2004 on 19 locations inside Spanish national parks and protected areas. The data collected suggest that ozone levels in mountainous areas are high enough to affect sensitive vegetation. Most of the locations registered moderate-to-high ozone levels, with important interannual variability. Altitudinal ozone gradients were observed in most of the parks with complex topography due to the establishment of local circulations that incorporate polluted air masses from polluted airsheds or even long-range transport (i.e., Canary Islands). Different latitude-dependent, yearly cycles were also observed, showing two, one, or no clear peaks depending on the region. These findings extend to the most southerly locations, except in the Canary Islands, where pollution transported from other regions in the upper transport layers probably led to the high concentrations observed

Environmental and social consequences of the increase in the demand for superfoods world-wide

1.The search for healthy diets has led to a surge in the demand for functional foods or ‘superfoods’, which have now become popular among the middle- and high- income fractions of the society in developed regions of the world. ‘Superfoods’ are predominantly consumed far from their centres of origin and out of their cul- tural context with different environmental and social effects. 2. Here, we present a series of case studies to provide an overview of the different environmental impacts driven by superfood expansion. 3. We show that if these crops are to follow the path of other global commodities, then strong environmental impacts and large carbon footprints are expected in terms of land clearing, use of agrochemicals and transportation during times of high prices (boom) and social problems as farmers have to abandon their liveli- hoods when prices sink below the cost of production (bust). 4. We also showcase how a combination of management practices, consumer choices and policy changes could help in alleviating the ecological footprint of these crops.Both A.M. and M.J.S. are funded through Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science. Research was also supported by the Spanish State Research Agency through María de Maeztu Excellence Unit accreditation (MDM‐2017‐0714) and the Basque Government BERC Programme

Regional Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (RIMTA): Spatially separated, ecologically linked

Aquaculture sustainability is restricted by environmental drawbacks such as the pollution derived from the released organic waste. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) aims to lower the input of this waste by culturing other species of low trophic level which feed on them. Despite the appealing idea of IMTA, its implementation is very limited in marine ecosystems. Focusing on marine fish farming, in general terms, fish farm waste is not expected to constitute a relevant food source for low-trophic level organisms cultured in the water column. We propose Regional Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (RIMTA) as a shift of paradigm in the way IMTA is used to sequester the dissolved exported waste and derived primary production generated by high trophic level cultures. RIMTA advocates for independent allocation of cultures of low and high trophic level species within the same water body. RIMTA implementation should be economically supported through tax benefits or nutrient quota trading schemes. Moving from IMTA to RIMTA should not only foster aquaculture sustainability but also the circular economy and the ecosystem services that the low trophic level cultures provide.C. S. was funded by the contract ‘Juan de la Cierva’ (ref. JCI-2012–12413) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and by the University of Alicante (Ref. UATALENTO 17–11). This work was funded by the project CGL 2015- 70136-R from the MINECO and the EU ERDF funding programme

Darwin's paradise contaminated by marine debris. Understanding their sources and accumulation dynamics

Plastic pollution is a global environmental threat. Remote and pristine islands are not safe from this threat. Here, we estimated beach macro- (>25 mm), meso- (5–25 mm) and microdebris (<5 mm) levels in Galapagos and studied the role of environmental variables determining their accumulation. The vast majority of beach macro- and mesodebris were plastic, while most microdebris were cellulosic. The levels of beach macro-, meso- and microplastics were notably high and comparable with exceptional levels reported in contaminated areas. Oceanic currents and the anthropic pressure of use of the beach were the main factors that determined the level of macro- and mesoplastics, as well as the diversity of items, with more types of items in the beaches facing the predominant current. Microplastic levels were mainly driven by the slope and, to some extent, the grain size of the sediment in the beach. The absence of relationship between the levels of large size debris and the level of microplastics suggests that secondary microplastics that accumulated in the beaches were previously fragmented before arriving to the beach. This differential influence of environmental factors in the accumulation of marine debris according to their size should be taken into account when developing strategies to mitigate plastic pollution. Additionally, this study reports high levels of marine debris reported in a remote and protected area such as Galapagos, which are comparable to areas with direct sources of marine debris. This is especially worrying for Galapagos since the sampled beaches are cleaned at least annually. This fact highlights the global dimension of this environmental threat that demands further extensive international commitment to conserve some of the last paradises on Earth.This study was funded by the University of Alicante (CUD-07/19)