Evolution and loss of long-fringed petals

Background: The Cucurbitaceae genus Trichosanthes comprises 90–100 species that occur from India to Japan and southeast to Australia and Fiji. Most species have large white or pale yellow petals with conspicuously fringed margins, the fringes sometimes several cm long. Pollination is usually by hawkmoths. Previous molecular data for a small number of species suggested that a monophyletic Trichosanthes might include the Asian genera Gymnopetalum (four species, lacking long petal fringes) and Hodgsonia (two species with petals fringed). Here we test these groups’ relationships using a species sampling of c. 60% and 4759 nucleotides of nuclear and plastid DNA. To infer the time and direction of the geographic expansion of the Trichosanthes clade we employ molecular clock dating and statistical biogeographic reconstruction, and we also address the gain or loss of petal fringes. Results: Trichosanthes is monophyletic as long as it includes Gymnopetalum, which itself is polyphyletic. The closest relative of Trichosanthes appears to be the sponge gourds, Luffa, while Hodgsonia is more distantly related. Of six morphology-based sections in Trichosanthes with more than one species, three are supported by the molecular results; two new sections appear warranted. Molecular dating and biogeographic analyses suggest an Oligocene origin of Trichosanthes in Eurasia or East Asia, followed by diversification and spread throughout the Malesian biogeographic region and into the Australian continent. Conclusions: Long-fringed corollas evolved independently in Hodgsonia and Trichosanthes, followed by two losses in the latter coincident with shifts to other pollinators but not with long-distance ispersal events. Together with the Caribbean Linnaeosicyos, the Madagascan Ampelosicyos and the tropical African Telfairia, these cucurbit lineages represent an ideal system for more detailed studies of the evolution and function of petal fringes in plant-pollinator mutualisms

Retrospective application of remote sensing to the Tasmanian lakeland

This thesis describes the research undertaken for a degree of Master of Science in a retrospective study of airborne remotely sensed data registered in 1990 and 1993, and field captured data of aquatic humus concentrations for ~ 45 lakes in Tasmania. The aim was to investigate and describe the relationship between the remotely sensed data and the field data and to test the hypothesis that the remotely sensed data would establish further evidence of a limnological corridor of change running north-west to south- east. The airborne remotely sensed data consisted of data captured by the CSIRO Ocean Colour Scanner (OCS) and a newly developed Canadian scanner, a compact airborne spectrographic imager (CASI). The thesis investigates the relationship between the two kinds of data sources. The remotely sensed data was collected with the OCS scanner in 1990 (during one day) and with both the OCS and the CASI in 1993 (during three days). The OCS scanner registers data in 9 wavelength bands between 380 nm and 960 nm with a 10-20 nm bandwidth, and the CASI in 288 wavelength bands between 379.57 nm and 893.5 nm (ie. spectral mode) with a spectral resolution of 2.5 nm. The remotely sensed data were extracted from the original tapes with the help of the CSIRO and supplied software and digital sample areas (band value means) for each lake were subsequently extracted for data manipulation and statistical analysis. Field data was captured concurrently with the remotely sensed data in 1993 by lake hopping using a light aircraft with floats. The field data used for analysis with the remotely sensed data were the laboratory determined g440 values from the 1993 water samples collated with g440 values determined from earlier years. No spectro-radiometric data of the lakes, data of incoming irradiance or ancillary climatic data were captured during the remote sensing missions. The sections of the background chapter in the thesis provide a background to the research both in regards to remote sensing of water quality and the relationship between remotely sensed spectral data and water quality parameters, as well as a description of the Tasmanian lakes flown. The lakes were divided into four groups based on results from previous studies and optical parameters, especially aquatic humus concentrations as measured from field captured data. The four groups consist of the ‘green” clear water lakes mostly situated on the Central Plateau, the ‘brown” highly dystrophic lakes in western Tasmania, the ‘corridor” lakes situated along a corridor of change lying approximately between the two lines denoting the Jurassic edge and 1200 mm isohyet, and the ‘eastern, turbid” lakes make up the fourth group. The analytical part of the research work was mostly concerned with manipulating and analysing the CASI data because of its higher spectral resolution. The research explores methods to apply corrections to this data to reduce the disturbing effects of varying illumination and atmospheric conditions. Three different methods were attempted. In the first method two different standardisation formulas are applied to the data as well as ‘day correction” factors calculated from data from one of the lakes, Lake Rolleston, which had data captured for all three days of the remote sensing operations. The standardisation formulas were also applied to the OCS data. In second method an attempt to reduce the effects of the atmosphere was performed using spectro-radiometric captured in 1988 for one of the lakes flown, Great Lake. All the lake sample data were time normalised using general irradiance data obtained from the University of Tasmania and the sky portion as calculated from Great Lake upwelling irradiance data was then subtracted. The last method involved using two different band ratios to eliminate atmospheric effects. Statistical analysis was applied to the data resulting from the three methods to try to describe the relationship between the remotely sensed data and the field captured data. Discriminant analysis, cluster analysis and factor analysis using principal component analysis (pea) were applied to the remotely sensed data and the field data. The factor scores resulting from the pca were regressed against the field collated data of g440 as were the values resulting from last method. The results from the statistical analysis of the data from the first method show that the lakes group well (100%) against the predetermined groups using discriminant analysis applied to the remotely sensed CASI data. Most variance in the data are contained in the first factor resulting from pca regardless of data manipulation method. Regression of the factor scores against g440 field data show a strong non- linear relationship and a one-sided linear regression test is therefore considered an inappropriate analysis method to describe the dataset relationships. The research has shown that with the available data, correction and analysis methods, and within the scope of the Masters study, it was not possible to establish the relationships between the remotely sensed data and the field measured parameters as hoped. The main reason for this was the failure to retrieve remotely sensed lake signatures adequately corrected for atmospheric noise for comparison with the field data. This in turn is a result of the lack of detailed ancillary information needed to apply available established methods for noise reduction - to apply these methods we require field spectroradiometric measurements and environmental information of the varying conditions both within the study area and within the time frame of capture of the remotely sensed data

New Initiatives for Building Education for Sustainability in Initial Early Childhood Teacher Education in Sweden – Critical Aspects and Noticeable Needs

There is an identified need for research capable of enhancing understanding of effective practice in the embedding of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Initial Early Childhood Teacher education (IECTE). Research further finds that innovative teaching strategies are needed to build new teachers’ capacity to prepare future citizens to manage critical sustainability challenges. This study meets this need by investigating how EfS is implemented in two IECTE programmes at two Swedish universities where EfS is embedded throughout the years of study, and the learning students demonstrate at the end of the programmes in relation to EfS. Findings reveal that students demonstrate a range of understandings related to EfS and the role of the early childhood teacher in EfS. Findings further suggest there is an overall need to deepen IECTE students’ EfS theoretical and pedagogical content knowledge to enable them to close a gap between the theory and teaching of EfS in early childhood education settings

Förskollärares tal om fysik i förskolan

Through the revised curriculum (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2010), science was emphasised, and chemical processes and physical phenomena added as specific content for preschool. However, reviews by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2018) show that preschool teachers are still uncertain about the science content and what it should mean in a preschool context. Therefore, it is of interest to study what happens during planning sessions where preschool teachers plan an object of learning in physics. This article presents the qualitatively different ways as the preschool teachers' statements connected to physics and how the teaching of physics changes during four work team planning sessions. The analysis of video transcripts of the planning sessions shows that the preschool teachers' discussions reflect both uncertainty and certainty about the physics content and the physics teaching. The preschool teachers' talk connected to the content change over time from everyday language to the use of scientific concepts. Over time preschool teachers identify new potential starting points for the object of learning. The object of learning is discussed as a construction process and related to time and to what happens during planning sessions and teaching activities. Finally, the implications for practice are put forward

Remote Sensing of Pasture Quality

Worldwide, farming systems are undergoing significant changes due to economic, environmental and social drivers. Agribusinesses must increasingly deliver products specified in terms of safety, health and quality. Increasing constraints are being placed on them by the market, the community and by government to achieve a financial benefit within social and environmental limits (Dynes et al. 2003). In order to meet these goals, producers must know the quantity and quality of the inputs into their feeding systems, be able to reliably predict the products and by-products being generated, and have the skills to be able to manage their business accordingly. Easy access to accurate and objective evaluation of forage is the first key component to meeting these objectives in livestock systems (Dynes et al. 2003) and remote sensing has considerable potential to be informative and cost-effective (Pullanagari et al. 2012b)

Play-Responsive Teaching in Early Childhood Education

This open access book develops a theoretical concept of teaching that is relevant to early childhood education, and based on children’s learning and development through play. It discusses theoretical premises and research on playing and learning, and proposes the development of play-responsive didaktik. It examines the processes and products of learning and development, teaching and its phylogenetic and ontogenetic development, as well as the ‘what’ of learning and didaktik. Next, it explores the actions, objects and meaning of play and provides insight into the diversity of beliefs about the practices of play. The book presents ideas on how combined research and development projects can be carried out, providing incentive and a model for practice development and research. The second part of the book consists of empirical studies on teacher’s playing skills and examples of play with very young as well as older children

Kvalitet i barnehagelærerutdanning i naturvitenskap: En fellesnordisk studiemodul

This article presents a new joint Nordic study module consisting of a theoretical framework, the kindergarten teacher students’ case study and a reflection talk, in natural science for the kinder-garten teacher education. The module is developed through an interdisciplinary collaboration in the Nordplus network: Learning of science concepts by kindergarten children: Nordic study module for the kindergarten teacher education (NATGREP), with science and quality in the kindergarten teacher education in focus. The introduction describes the Nordic kindergartens shortly, and concepts as quality and competence are shortly discussed. It is followed by the module’s theoretical framework. Then the study module’s development process is described accompanied by reflections of the student’s case studies in relation to the theoretical framework. At the end, the work with the study module is summarised, and the main conclusion is that the study module contributes positively to the students’ skills development, both in science and quality

Satellitbildsbaserad analys av skogslandskapets gröna infrastruktur med tjäder som modellart

En satellitbildsbaserad metod som på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt kan identifiera lämpliga tjäderhabitat skulle vara av stort värde för att kartlägga biologiska värden i skogslandskapet och följa deras utveckling. Ett sådant redskap skulle också kunna användas för planering och uppföljning av effekter av naturvård och skogsbruk med syfte att upprätthålla den bio-logiska mångfalden och skogslandskapets ekosystemtjänster och ge information för både miljömåls- och Natura 2000-uppföljningen. Tjädern kan betraktas som en paraplyart, vilket innebär att dess bevarande anses garantera också andra arters fortlevnad. Anledningen till denna funktion är tjäderns behov av stora områden av relativt öppen mogen tallskog i en mosaik med myrstråk som överlappar habi-tat för ett antal andra signalarter. Metoden är därmed relevant (i andra tillämpningar för att identifiera habitat för ytterligare skyddsvärda och rödlistade arter) för att ta fram informat-ion för utvärdering och uppföljning av hur skogslandskapets värdekärnor kan fungera som grön infrastruktur. Den här rapporten redovisar resultat från en pilotstudie genomförd i Jönköpings län som är ett test av en satellitbildsbaserad metod för att kartlägga skogslandskapets lämplighet för tjäder och indirekt skogens funktionalitet på landskapsnivå. Resultatet är en anpassad modell och kartor (GIS-skikt) som beskriver de habitat som utgör tjäderlämpliga marker i form av HSI-värden, samt statistiska analysresultat. Läget vid två olika tidpunkter, 1985 och 1999 har undersökts och korrelerats med tjäderinventeringsdata. Den tjäderlämpliga mark i Jönköpings län som har identifierats stämmer väl överens med var tjäderlekplatser återfinns i skogslandskapet. Förändringar i habitatklasser och lämplig mark mellan en bastidpunkt (~1985) och en senare tidpunkt (~1999), återspeglas i invente-ringsresultaten genom färre antal spelande tjädrar på lekplatserna

Vad händer med lärandets objekt? : en studie av hur lärare och barn i förskolan kommunicerar naturvetenskapliga fenomen

Det övergripande syftet med detta forskningsarbete är att undersöka hur lärare i förskolan i samtal med barn tar sig an en i Läroplan för förskolan (1998) framskriven innehållsaspekt. Den innehållsaspekt som är i fokus är naturvetenskap. De forskningsfrågor som ställs är: Vad kommuniceras som objekt för lärande i ett naturvetenskapligt sammanhang i förskolan? Vilka akter av lärande framkommer i kommunicerandet av lärandets objekt? Studiens teoretiska referensram utgår från fenomenografi och sociokulturell teori, med särskild förankring i utvecklingspedagogisk forskning. Forskningsprojektet genomfördes på en förskoleavdelning med barn i åldern tre till sex år. Situationer med ett naturvetenskapligt innehåll har dokumenterats med videokamera. Lärarnas ”intended object of learning” var ’Livet i stubben’. Observationerna har skrivits ut i text med fokus på de dialoger som förekom mellan lärare och barn. Materialet har analyserats utifrån lärandets objekt och lärandets akt. Vid en fördjupad analys används tre nivåer av metareflekterande samtal. Denna analys har som syfte att visa i vilken mån det aktuella objektet synliggörs inom de tre nivåerna. Resultatanalysen av lärandets objekt visar på en variation av samtalstema. Resultatanalysen av lärandets akt har synliggjort ’akter som riktning’ och ’akter som uttryckssätt’. Vad som händer med lärandets objekt i förskolan diskuteras i termer av det meningsfulla sammanhanget, betydelsen av att uppfatta sammanhanget och lärarnas goda intentioner med innehållet. Resultaten pekar på att akter som uttryckssätt riskerar att bli ett redskap för innehållets anpassning till rådande omsorgs-, lek- och lärandepraktik. Avslutningsvis problematiseras lärandets objekt i relation till förskolans bildningsideal och framtida vägval för förskolan diskuteras