Diversity and distribution of diapausing aquatic invertebrates in inland wetlands: An ecosystem conservation viewpoint

Inland wetlands are worldwide distributed andhavebeenheavily impactedin recent decades by human activities such as commerce, recreation, and food sources. The direct consequences of these activities on aquatic systems are changes in hydrology and salinity alterations, and the introduction of exotic species. Recent large-scale ecological and genetic studies across several countries and continents indicate that population structure, regional endemism, and geographic speciation patterns are common in passively dispersed aquatic invertebrates contradicting previous predictions of homogeneous genetic distribution. This essay discusses the main processes that shape these patterns and determine the biodiversity and geographic distribution of diapausing aquatic invertebrates in inland wetlands. Large-scale geographical studies to describe general patterns and to understand genetic and ecological processes determining the biogeography of cosmopolitan species are needed. Further knowledge of these issues should provide invaluable information allowing development of appropriate conservation management policies for inland waters across entire ecosystems, landscapes, and geographic regions.Peer reviewe

Superficies mínimas: viejos problemas y nuevos avances

Haremos un recorrido por los principales problemas abiertos de la teoría clásica de superficies mínimas en el espacio euclídeo tridimensional, y cuáles son los últimos resultados en este campo.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Reflections on research and narrative practice in Social Work

El propósito de este artículo es realizar una reflexión teórica sobre las aportaciones de la orientación narrativa en la práctica y en la investigación social. El enfoque narrativo en las ciencias sociales ha recibido la influencia de la sociolingüística, de la antropología o la psicología, y de otras teorías como el interaccionismo simbólico o el constructivismo social. En este trabajo se analizan las limitaciones y las posibilidades de la investigación narrativa, en un contexto científico en el que la investigación cualitativa se ha consolidado, a pesar del positivismo imperante. La orientación narrativa ha contribuido además a desarrollar una visión crítica de la práctica del trabajo social, de los discursos profesionales dominantes y de la relación entre el usuario y el trabajador social. El enfoque narrativo, a través de la generación de nuevas historias que facilitan el cambio personal y social, nos aproxima a las experiencias personales considerando que los relatos son creados por los actores sociales, y que éstos son el resultado de un proceso intencional y reflexivo mediado por la cultura.The purpose of this article is to carry out a theoretical reflection on the contributions of narrative in practice and social research. The narrative approach in the social sciences has been influenced by sociolinguistics, anthropology and psychology, and other theories such as symbolic interactionism and social constructivism. In this paper the limitations and possibilities of narrative research are discussed in a scientific context in which qualitative research has been consolidated, despite the prevailing positivism. The narrative approach has also helped to develop a critical view of the social work practice, the dominant professional discourse, and on the user and social worker relationship. The narrative approach, through the generation of new stories that contribute to personal and social change, brings us closer to personal experiences considering these stories are created by social actors, and they are the result of an intentional and reflexive process mediated by culture

The royal stations in the Achaemenid period

Sabemos muy poco sobre las instalaciones que los monarcas aqueménidas establecieron a lo largo de los caminos que recorrían el vasto territorio que gobernaban, donde los viajeros, funcionarios y mensajeros podían abastecerse, descansar y cambiar de montura para proseguir con su viaje. A partir de las informaciones que nos transmiten las fuentes antiguas y las investigaciones arqueológicas podemos hacernos una idea de la distancia que separaba unas de otras, de la diversidad de actividades que tenían lugar y la existencia de estructuras más lujosas destinadas exclusivamente a la familia real y a los altos dignatarios de la corte.Little we know about the facilities that the Achaemenid kings established along the roads that crossed the vast territory they ruled, where travelers, officials and messengers could stock up, rest and change the saddle to continue their journey. Thanks to the information found in ancient sources and archaeological excavations, we can have an idea of the distance between these facilities, the different activities that took place in them, and the more luxurious structures for the exclusive use of the royal family and the high dignitaries of the court

El lobo y la ganadería

Discurso de Ingreso como Académico Correspondient

Identification of students' mental models about the milk transformation in yogurt

A review of the scientific literature reveals that there are still few researches on the conceptions of secondary school students about chemical reactions involving microorganisms, especially those related to the mental models that students use in their explanations. This paper describes a study concerning the different mental models related to the milk transformation into yogurt with 83 students from a Spanish secondary school of 8th and 9th grade (13-16 years) developed in the framework of a research that intends to use the elaboration of this product as a context for the teaching and learning of chemical reactions through modeling approaches. In order to identify the mental models of the students, in this paper we consider the milk transformation into yogurt as a process in which its main components are: the entities involved (milk and bacteria), the interaction between them and the result (yogurt). A simplified school model of this process would involve students considering that bacteria use the sugar in milk to transform it into lactic acid through a chemical reaction to obtain the necessary energy. Using this scheme in interaction with the students' answers, the underlying mental models were identified. Although almost half of the students showed great difficulties explaining the process, five models have been identified. Students often consider the milk transformation into yogurt primarily as a physical process of agglutination or change of state. These models are far from a school model of reference in which the bacteria have a fundamental role in the transformation of milk into yogurt by a chemical reaction.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Colonization and dispersal patterns of the invasive American brine shrimp Artemia franciscana (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) in the Mediterranean region

Cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana are harvested from the Great Salt Lake (GSL) and San Francisco Bay (SFB) saltworks in the USA, and marketed worldwide to provide live food for aquaculture. This species has become invasive across several countries. We investigated (1) if the introduced populations in the Mediterranean region could have originated from these USA populations, (2) how the genetic diversity of Mediterranean compares to that at GSL and SFB, and (3) if genetic patterns in the Mediterranean can shed light on colonization routes. We sequenced a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and screened microsatellites loci from Mediterranean populations and the two putative USA sources. Haplotypes from Mediterranean populations were identical or closely related to those from SFB and GSL, and not related to other available American populations. Microsatellite analyses showed a reduced population diversity for most Mediterranean populations suggesting bottleneck effects, but few populations were showing similar or higher genetic diversity than native ones, which are likely to be admixed from both GSL and SFB because of multiple introductions. Results suggest natural dispersal, potentially via flamingos, between two Spanish populations. Our analyses show that all invaded populations could have originated from those commercialized USA populations. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht