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Author

Morgan L. Ruelle

Other affiliations: Clark University, Yale University
Bio: Morgan L. Ruelle is an academic researcher from Cornell University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Agriculture & Food sovereignty. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 22 publications receiving 305 citations. Previous affiliations of Morgan L. Ruelle include Clark University & Yale University.

Papers
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TL;DR: In comparing mtDNA and nuc DNA divergences, only silent substitutions (introns, ITS, mtDNA control region, and synonymous substitutions in coding sequences) were considered and mtDNA divergence was about 30 times greater than that for nucDNA.

68 citations

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TL;DR: It is demonstrated that medicinal plants contribute to health security and sovereignty in a time of instability, and the nutritional as well as medicinal significance of plants in the daily lives of villagers is illustrated.
Abstract: Medicinal plants are indicators of indigenous knowledge in the context of political volatility and sociocultural and ecological change in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Medicinal plants are the primary health care option in this region of Central Asia. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate that medicinal plants contribute to health security and sovereignty in a time of instability. We illustrate the nutritional as well as medicinal significance of plants in the daily lives of villagers. Based on over a decade and half of research related to resilience and livelihood security, we present plant uses in the context of mountain communities. Villagers identified over 58 cultivated and noncultivated plants and described 310 distinct uses within 63 categories of treatment and prevention. Presence of knowledge about medicinal plants is directly connected to their use.

61 citations

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TL;DR: Investigating pastoralists' adaptations to such environmental changes in the Borana zone of southern Ethiopia by integrating ecological knowledge, surveys of plant species composition, and census data on livestock holdings indicated that a proliferation of woody plants and corresponding decline in herbaceous species would have negative impact on forage values for cattle and sheep, whereas goats would remain relatively unaffected, and camels would benefit.

48 citations

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TL;DR: In the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the human body was used as an organic clock to mark the passage of time as mentioned in this paper, and these calendars illustrate that culture does not exist outside of its ecological foundation (i.e. nature), but is firmly situated within it.
Abstract: Villagers in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan integrated the human body into the seasons and rhythms of their ecological relations to generate “calendars of the human body.” These calendars illustrate that culture does not exist outside of its ecological foundation (i.e. nature), but is firmly situated within it. Farmers undertook agro-pastoral and hunting activities using their own bodies not only for labor, but as a measure of the changing tempo of the seasons. Their bodies both interacted with life on the land and acted as organic clocks to mark the passage of time. While these calendars are no longer widely used, memory of their usage survives, and words from the calendars marking specific ecological events in local languages are still in use. This paper (1) investigates the historical presence and human ecological significance of a calendar of the human body; (2) illustrates the diversity of these calendars based on the specific context of their use from valley to valley in the region; (3) demonstrates the complex connectivity of the users (agro-pastoralists) within their habitat; and, (4) explores the efficacy of this calendar in developing anticipatory capacity among villagers in order to reduce anxiety associated with climate change. The calendar of the human body not only measures time, but gives it meaning.

39 citations

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TL;DR: Anticipatory capacity – the ability to envision possible futures and develop a plan of action to deal with uncertainties – is needed urgently and ground-truthing climate models with indigenous ecological knowledge can be used to refine downscaling methods and to inform planning and policies at local, regional, and national levels.
Abstract: Indigenous and rural societies who have contributed least to anthropogenic climate change are facing its harshest consequences. One of the greatest challenges of climate change is lack of predictability, especially at the local scale. An estimated 70-80% of the world’s food is produced by smallholders with less than two hectares of land (FAO 2014; Lowder et al. 2016). These small-scale farmers and herders face an ever-shifting ‘new normal’ climate, increasing inconsistency in the seasonality of temperature and precipitation, and higher frequency of what were once considered extreme weather events (Jolly et al. 2002; Thornton et al. 2014). Climate variability is disrupting food systems and generating a debilitating anxiety (Carroll et al. 2009; Kassam 2009a,b; Coyle and Susteren 2011; UN Human Rights Council 2016). Anticipatory capacity – the ability to envision possible futures and develop a plan of action to deal with uncertainties – is needed urgently (Tschakert and Dietrich 2010). Communities and researchers must create innovative systems to recognize and respond to climate trends and prepare for a greater range of possible scenarios (Reid et al. 2014; Cuerrier et al. 2015). To build anticipatory capacity for climate change, communities need systems that are effective at the scale of the village and valley (Berkes and Jolly 2001; Downing and Cuerrier 2011). While climate scientists have increased model capabilities to make more accurate projections of global climate conditions, the uncertainties of global climate modeling together with those of downscaling methods means that these models are not always reliable at regional and local scales (Salick and Ross 2009). Synergy between indigenous ecological knowledge and climate science has already benefitted many local communities, as well as international understanding of climate change drivers and impacts (Jolly et al. 2002; Nickels et al. 2005; Nyong et al. 2007; Kassam 2009a; Alexander et al. 2011; Boillat and Berkes 2013; Rapinski et al. 2017;). Similarly, ground-truthing climate models with indigenous ecological knowledge can be used to refine downscaling methods and to inform planning and policies at local, regional, and national levels. Projections of climate models are least accurate within mountainous regions, where weather stations are scarce and rugged topographies dramatically alter climate patterns (Hall 2014). In addition, significant environmental degradation in many mountain regions, such as reduction of vegetation cover due to overgrazing or hydrological transformations resulting from road and dam construction, are obscuring the entangled effects of climate change. Nevertheless, food producers in these remote regions require the ability to anticipate patterns of temperature, precipitation, and runoff from glaciers and snowfields. Many indigenous and rural societies have developed unique systems to recognize and respond to climatic trends and variability. Over the course of multiple generations living in particular landscapes, indigenous people have accumulated knowledge of the relative timing of celestial, meteorological, and ecological phenomena. Understanding these relationships has enabled these communities to anticipate weather and other seasonal processes, and thereby coordinate their livelihood activities (Acharya 2011; Turner and Singh 2011). However, indigenous knowledge systems have suffered centuries of disruption and destruction as a result of colonialism, violent conflicts, and loss of land. Global climate change introduces unprecedented rates and magnitudes of change, exacerbating existing inequities (Turner and Clifton 2009). Although * Karim-Aly S. Kassam ksk28@cornell.edu

39 citations


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1,610 citations

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TL;DR: It is suggested that population genetic approaches that rely on large sets of informative markers like single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an alternative framework for delimiting very recently derived species.
Abstract: Despite considerable effort from the systematics community, delimiting species boundaries in recent radiations remains a daunting challenge. We argue that genealogical approaches, although sometimes useful, may not solve this impor- tant problem, because recently derived species often have not had sufficient time to achieve monophyly. Instead, we suggest that population genetic approaches that rely on large sets of informative markers like single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an alternative framework for delimiting very recently derived species. We address two major challenges in applying such markers to species delimitation: discovering markers in nonmodel systems and using them to delimit recently derived species. Using turtles as a test case, we explore the utility of a single, relatively low-coverage genomic resource as an aid in gene and marker discovery. We exploit an end-sequenced bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library from an individual painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) and outline a novel protocol that efficiently identifies primer pairs that amplify homologous sequences across the tree of living turtles. Preliminary data using this library to discover SNPs in Emydura macquarii ,a species that diverged from C. picta ∼210 million years ago, indicate that sequences identified from the Chrysemys BAC library provide useful SNPs even in this very distantly related taxon. Several recent methods in wide use in the population genetics literature allow one to discover potential species, or test existing species hypotheses, with SNP data and may be particularly informative for very recently derived species. As BAC and other genomic resources become increasingly available for scattered taxa across the tree of life, we are optimistic that these resources will provide abun- dant, inexpensive markers that will help delimit boundaries in problematic, recent species radiations. (BAC end sequence; Chrysemys; comparative genomics; Emydura ;r ecent speciation; species delimitation; turtle.)

208 citations

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TL;DR: It is suggested that disruption of mitochondrial function, known to result in a diverse set of human diseases, may frequently underlie reduced fitness in interpopulation and interspecies hybrids in animals.
Abstract: Through the processes of natural selection and genetic drift, allopatric populations diverge genetically and may ultimately become reproductively incompatible. In cases of prezygotic reproductive isolation, candidate systems for speciation genes logically include genes involved in mate or gamete recognition. However, where only postzygotic isolation exists, candidate speciation genes could include any genes that affect hybrid performance. We hypothesize that because mitochondrial genes frequently evolve more rapidly than the nuclear genes with which they interact, interpopulation hybridization might be particularly disruptive to mitochondrial function. Understanding the potential impact of intergenomic (nuclear and mitochondrial) coadaptation on the evolution of allopatric populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus has required a broadly integrative research program; here we present the results of experiments spanning the spectrum of biological organization in order to demonstr...

202 citations

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TL;DR: It is found that most of the Galápagos terrestrial fauna have diversified in parallel to the geological formation of the islands, and the clearest cases occur in taxa with very low vagility and on large islands with diverse habitats.
Abstract: Remote oceanic islands have long been recognized as natural models for the study of evolutionary processes involved in diversification. Their remoteness provides opportunities for isolation and divergence of populations, which make islands remarkable settings for the study of diversification. Groups of islands may share a relatively similar geological history and comparable climate, but their inhabitants experience subtly different environments and have distinct evolutionary histories, offering the potential for comparative studies. A range of organisms have colonized the Galapagos Islands, and various lineages have radiated throughout the archipelago to form unique assemblages. This review pays particular attention to molecular phylogenetic studies of Galapagos terrestrial fauna. We find that most of the Galapagos terrestrial fauna have diversified in parallel to the geological formation of the islands. Lineages have occasionally diversified within islands, and the clearest cases occur in taxa with very low vagility and on large islands with diverse habitats. Ecology and habitat specialization appear to be critical in speciation both within and between islands. Although the number of phylogenetic studies is continuously increasing, studies of natural history, ecology, evolution and behaviour are essential to completely reveal how diversification proceeded on these islands.

185 citations

01 Jan 2010
Abstract: The food sovereignty policy framework seeks to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. Multiple definitions of food sovereignty exist; proponents have yet to agree on a single set of policy proposals.1 With Food Sovereignty: Towards Democracy in Localized Food Systems, Michael Windfuhr and Jennie Jonsén find common ground among various interpretations of food sovereignty and offer a policy agenda. Windfuhr and Jonsén’s analysis of the sources of hunger and malnutrition is compelling, and the authors convincingly explain the shortcomings of traditional responses to these problems. They are not persuasive, however, when arguing that food sovereignty is currently the most effective framework for addressing hunger and malnutrition. Windfuhr and Jonsén begin Food Sovereignty by describing the severity of global hunger and malnutrition. Although enough food is produced to feed the entire world population, 850 million people are hungry and malnourished.2 Windfuhr and Jonsén focus on the suffering of smallholder farmers3 and the rural poor, who comprise nearly three-fourths of the world’s hungry.4 The authors predict that hunger and malnutrition will only increase as absolute global demand for food begins to surpass global supply.5

174 citations