Distribution and Taxonomic Status of Tarantulas in Arkansas (Theraphosidae: Aphonopelma)

The genus Aphonopelma (Theraphosidae) is marked by a dearth of distributional data and a problematic taxonomy. To develop occurrence information for the genus in Arkansas, I conducted a citizen-science based survey augmented by field work and examination of museum collections. Results of these efforts yielded a significant amount of data that enabled the construction of a county level map of Aphonopelma distribution in Arkansas; a resource hitherto unavailable. Three Aphonopelma species have been described as occurring in Arkansas: A. baergi, A. hentzi, and A. odelli. Specimens were collected from Arkansas and Oklahoma to evaluate taxonomic and historical issues concerning the three species. Morphologically, the specimen series examined comprised a relatively homogeneous group most similar to descriptions of A. hentzi. In light of comparison with specimens examined for this study, species descriptions of A. baergi and A. odelli are marked by such taxonomic uncertainty as to challenge their validity and presence in Arkansas

Of Laws, Men, and Judges

This essay was originally delivered by Judge Warriner as a speech on March 19, 1985, at the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond. Copyright 1985 by D. Dortch Warriner, all rights reserved

Beetle Diversity in an Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) Plantation and Adjacent Bottomland Hardwood Forest in Southeastern Arkansas

Within the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV),some lands cleared of bottomland hardwood forests have the potential to return to forest as a result of private sector and government interests in Populus cultivation. Specifically, monoculture plantings of eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) represent an important component of many recent afforestation efforts in the region. The impact establishment of such monocultures will have on native insect communities in the LMAV is relatively unknown. To evaluate this, beetle (Coleoptera) diversity, abundance, and functional distribution were examined within an intensively managed eastern cottonwood plantation and nearby bottomland hardwood forest in southeastern Arkansas. Beetles were sampled in both settings over the summer of 2000 using Malaise traps. When compared to the heterogeneous bottomland hardwood forest, the beetle morphospecies assemblage collected from the plantation was one characterized by lower species diversity and a depauperate xylophagous and fungivorous beetle fauna. Over half of all beetles trapped in the eastern cottonwood plantation were species considered to be economic pests of Populus

Folding Langmuir Monolayers

The maximum pressure a two-dimensional surfactant monolayer is able to withstand is limited by the collapse instability towards formation of three-dimensional material. We propose a new description for reversible collapse based on a mathematical analogy between the formation of folds in surfactant monolayers and the formation of Griffith Cracks in solid plates under stress. The description, which is tested in a combined microscopy and rheology study of the collapse of a single-phase Langmuir monolayer of 2-hydroxy-tetracosanoic acid (2-OH TCA), provides a connection between the in-plane rheology of LM's and reversible folding

Mimicking Transgenerational Signals of Future Stress: Thermal Tolerance of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Is More Sensitive to Elevated Rearing Temperature Than Exogenously Increased Egg Cortisol

Elevated temperatures resulting from climate change are expected to disproportionately affect ectotherms given their biological function has a direct link to environmental temperature. Thus, as climate change leads to rapid increases in water temperatures in rivers, aquatic ectotherms, such as fish may be highly impacted. Organisms can respond to these stressors through flexible and rapid phenotypic change induced via developmental and/or transgenerational plasticity. In oviparous species, gravid females may translate environmental stress across generations via increased exposure of eggs to maternally derived glucocorticoids (i.e., maternal stress), which has been shown to result in diverse phenotypic effects in offspring. Recent studies suggest these phenotypic changes from maternal glucocorticoids may elicit predictive adaptive responses, where offspring exposed to maternal stress may be better prepared for the stressful environment they will encounter (i.e., environmental match hypothesis). We applied the environmental match hypothesis to examine whether a prenatal exogenous increase in egg cortisol may prepare Chinook salmon offspring (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) to cope with thermal challenges after being reared in chronically elevated temperatures. Specifically, we exposed eggs to aqueous bath of cortisol-dosed (1,000 ng/mL) or control (0 ng/ml) solutions, and then raised both treatments at current (+0°C—contemporary ambient river temperature) or elevated (+3°C—projected future river temperature) thermal regimes. We quantified thermal performance in fish 7–9 month post fertilization using two methods: via critical thermal maximum (CTMax), and energetic responses (in plasma cortisol, glucose, and lactate) to environmentally relevant, but challenging thermal spikes over 3 days. Overall, we found that exposure to elevated rearing temperatures had a large impact on thermal tolerance, where elevated-temperature reared offspring had significantly higher CTMax. In comparison, egg cortisol treatment had little to no clear effects on CTMax and blood energetic response. Our study demonstrates the importance of elevated water temperatures as an inducer of offspring phenotypes (via early developmental cues), and highlights the significance of examining offspring performance in environments with ecologically relevant stressors

Forced Sexual Relations Among Young Women in Developing Countries

Recent research in developing countries suggests that a considerable number of young women may experience forced sex within marriage, but most women may be inhibited from reporting these experiences due to shame, fear of reprisal or deep-rooted unequal gender norms.The consequences of domestic violence can be severe, and in fact, intimate partner violence is one of the leading causes of death among women 15-44 years of age.(1) Papers highlighting the nature and prevalence of coercion among married young women were presented at a global consultative meeting in New Delhi.Evidence comes from small-scale studies and large population-based surveys, such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), from some developing countries. Many women may under report coercion by a partner within marriage, and there are variations in the framing of questions posed, methods of data collection and the reference period, making findings of small-scale studies difficult to compare. However, available data give an idea of the extent and nature of coercion that married young women experience. Studies reveal that sexual coercion within marriage includes deception, verbal threats or psychological intimidation to obtain sex, attempted rape and forced penetrative sex.(2)Forced marital sex can be accompanied by physical or emotional violence. Sexual coercion is observed in marital partnerships in diverse settings such as South Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Although cultural settings and contexts condition the nature of coercion among married young women, there are striking similarities across different settings