Seasonal decline in breeding performance of the Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus

The effects of timing of breeding on reproductive parameters of Kelp Gulls Larus dominicanus were studied in Patagonia, Argentina, during 1998 and 1999. Yearly and spatial variation in the study were assessed by sampling nests during two field seasons and in different areas within the colony, and accounted for variation with respect to breeding synchrony and breeding density. In both years and in three study areas, individuals laying earlier had higher hatching success, a larger number of chicks fledged, heavier chicks at one month and higher breeding success. Significant variation between study areas within the colony and between years was observed only for breeding success and number of chicks fledged. No effects of breeding synchrony on breeding parameters were detected. Timing of breeding, independent of study year and area, had no effect on either clutch size or egg size. Our results document for the first time the seasonal decline in breeding performance in the Kelp Gull, a species widely distributed in the southern hemisphere.Fil: Garcia Borboroglu, Jorge Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Yorio, Pablo Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Moreno, Juan. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Potti Sánchez, Jaime. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Españ

Universal decoherence induced by an environmental quantum phase transition

Decoherence induced by coupling a system with an environment may display universal features. Here we demostrate that when the coupling to the system drives a quantum phase transition in the environment, the temporal decay of quantum coherences in the system is Gaussian with a width independent of the system-environment coupling strength. The existence of this effect opens the way for a new type of quantum simulation algorithm, where a single qubit is used to detect a quantum phase transition. We discuss possible implementations of such algorithm and we relate our results to available data on universal decoherence in NMR echo experiments

A new species of Mysella from Patagonia (Bivalvia: Galeommatoidea)

The poorly known diversity of the genus Mysella in the southwestern Atlantic is improved with the description of a new species from San Julian Bay, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Mysella patagona new species is characterized by the relative large, strikingly subquadrate, slightly inequilateral and flat shell; a cleft hinge plate, with two widely diverging teeth in the right valve, and a cylindrical internal ligament located in a deep ligamental pit. From the anatomical point of view, M. patagona new species is characterized by the presence of inner and outer demibranchs, with very few interlamellar junctions. The marked subquadrate shell outline easily distinguishes M. patagona from any other Mysella species currently known from the Magellan Region.Fil: Ituarte, Cristian Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: Martin, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica San Julián; ArgentinaFil: Zelaya, Diego Gabriel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Market opportunity recognition in the Chilean wine industry : traditional versus relational marketing approaches

The aim of this paper is to examine how wine firms implement their marketing strategies based on the recognition of market opportunities by their Chief Executive Officers (CEO). Firstly, we describe the marketing activities in 69 traditional Chilean wine firms. Then, we had in-depth interviews with CEOs of two wineries which were analysed using cognitive maps to uncover the cognitive process responsible for recognizing and executing market activities. Our findings indicate there is similar set of strategic resources across the wineries but CEOs' different perceptions of resources’ usefulness in the implementation of marketing strategies let them to select diverse strategies to increase both price per bottle and wine sales. The paper provides three contributions. Firstly, we compare the benefit of implementing traditional and relational marketing strategies in the Chilean wine industry. Secondly, we show that CEO’s perception of feedback processes among the available resources affects the recognition of market opportunities and the marketing strategy in wine firms

The sea anemone Bunodactis octoradiata (Anthozoa: Actiniaria) from southern Patagonia: morphological study and new records

Bunodactis Verril, 1899 comprises at present 19 nominal species of sea anemones. The validity of the genus is under discussion. The description of the species, Bunodactis octoradiata Carlgren, 1899, is insufficient for reliable identification, and although subsequent works have provided additional information on the species, its description still needs to be complemented. Herein we describe B. octoradiata based on histological sections of the internal anatomy, and give a complete and detailed description of the external anatomy. The cnidom is composed of spirocysts, basitrichs and microbasic p-mastigophores; their distribution in the organism, sizes and relative abundances are provided. The presence of zooxanthellae is reported for the first time. Bunodactis octoradiata is distributed in groups that vary from 5.6 to 45 ind./m2 in the field. Additionally, our data extends the distribution of the species along the coast of southern Patagonia (47°44'36"-49°15'13"S and 65°50'26"-67°39'45"W).Fil: Garese, Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Longo, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Martin, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Academica San Julian; ArgentinaFil: Acuña, Fabian Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentin

Del petróleo a la bio-inteligencia. Cambio de matriz productiva y economía del conocimiento. Discurso, realidad y proyecciones del caso ecuatoriano

Este artículo pretende analizar críticamente y exponer el proceso de apropiación y explotación de los recursos en Ecuador, el cual se vincula con el objetivo político de la soberanía sobre aquellos recursos y los procesos propuestos de cambio de la matriz productiva, junto a la búsqueda de construcción de una economía social del conocimiento, enfatizando en la relevancia de la planificación, la inversión en ciencia y tecnología, y la institucionalización de estas acciones en normas, leyes, organismos y políticas públicas. La propuesta se realiza a través de la revisión, estudio y análisis de documentación oficial, complementada con material de prensa y contrastada con información emanada de fuentes institucionales. Finalmente, se establecen algunas propuestas y conclusiones como elementos que pudiesen contribuir en los procesos señalados particularmente en Ecuador, y, más ampliamente, en otras experiencias de apropiación y utilización soberana de los recursos naturales y búsqueda del desarrollo en América Latina

Echinoderms diversity in the Southwestern Atlantic

Studies of biodiversity of echinoderms from South America have increased in recent years. Here we summarize sampling done on three expeditions along the Argentinean coast (35º - 55º S) and near the Antarctic Peninsula. The first campaign, Mejillón II (M-II; 2009), was carried out between 35º - 39º S and covered a depth range between 10 to 140 m. The second was part of the Summer Antarctic Campaign 2011 (CAV-III; 2011) that took place around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland and South Orkney Islands (depth range between 67 to 754 m). The last cruise was the final stretch of the Summer Antarctic Campaign 2011 (CAV-IV; 2011), from 39º - 55º S and between 30 - 140 m depth. As result, 74 stations have been studied, of which 68 had at least one echinoderm specimen. From the total number of stations, the occurrence percentages for each class were Asteroidea (68 %), Echinoidea (64 %), Ophiuroidea (55 %), Holothuroidea (51 %) and Crinoidea (20 %). In the M-II campaign, echinoderms were presented in 94 % of the sampled stations, with Echinoidea most frequent (74 %). In the CAV-III campaign echinoderms were presented in all the stations; Ophiuroidea were found in all stations. The lowest occurrence of echinoderms was found in the CAV-IV campaign (82 %), where Asteroidea was present in the 73 % of the samples, and crinoids were absent.Fil: Martinez, Mariano Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Arribas, Lorena Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Berecoechea, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Brogger, Martin Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Penchaszadeh, Pablo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

A geometrical view of scalar modulation instability in optical fibers

Full models of scalar modulation instability (MI) in optical fibers available in the literature usually involve complex formulations. In this paper, we present a novel approach to the analysis of MI in optical fibers by means of a simple geometrical description in the power vs. frequency plane. This formulation allows to relate the shape of the MI gain to any arbitrary dispersion profile of the medium, thus providing a simple insight. As a result, we derive a straightforward explanation of the non-trivial dependence of the cutoff power on high-order dispersion and derive explicitly the power that maximizes the gain. Our approach puts forth a tool to synthesize a desired MI gain with the potential application to a number of parametric-amplification and supercontinuum-generation devices whose initial-stage dynamics rely upon modulation instability.Fil: Hernandez, Santiago Martin. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Fierens, Pablo Ignacio. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Bonetti, Juan Ignacio. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Alfredo Daniel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Grosz, Diego Fernando. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Supporting strategy using system dynamics

This paper presents a protocol for supporting strategy development via system dynamics (SD) modeling in consultation with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of small organizations; it also reports on the effectiveness of this protocol one year after an initial study was conducted. The protocol was applied in five small organizations; it involves the development of a SD model that is used to generate scenarios of alternative strategic situations an organization may face. We found that when the CEOs identified more feedback loops and causal relationships among key resources through their modeling analyses, they increased their capacities to generate new strategic ideas through more developed mental models. However, those CEOs who were not able to generate alternative strategic ideas to overcome the challenges of scenarios presented during the simulation sessions found it difficult to make strategic decisions when the scenarios occurred one year after our intervention. This finding suggests that SD modeling can affect firm performance when the facilitation process helps CEOs reflect on potential strategic actions that can be taken in the future. When CEOs cannot change their strategic plans by imagining what should be done in a challenging scenario, they are not able to address challenging situations when they arise