Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Book reviewFishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: Volume II. P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen, E. Tortonese (Editors). UNESCO Press, Paris, 1986, pp. 510–1007, FF 250, Dfl 105.00, ISBN 92-3-002308-6

Many studies have recently described and interpreted the community structure and function of fishes inhabiting estuaries and other transitional waters in terms of categories or guilds. The latter describe the main features of the fishes' biology and the way in which they use an estuary. However, the approach has been developed by different workers in different geographical areas and with differing emphasis such that there is now a need to review the guilds proposed and used worldwide. The previous wide use of the guild approach has involved increasing overlap and/or confusion between different studies, which therefore increases the need for standardization while at the same time providing the opportunity to reconsider the types and their use worldwide. Against a conceptual model of the importance of the main features of fish use in estuaries and other transitional waters, this review further develops the guild approach to community classification of fish communities inhabiting those areas. The approach increases the understanding of the use of estuaries by fishes, their interactions and connectivity with adjacent areas (the open sea, coastal zone and freshwater catchments) and the estuarine resources required by fishes. This paper gives a global perspective on this categorization by presenting new or refined definitions for the categories, lists the synonyms from the literature and illustrates the concepts using examples from geographical areas covering north and central America, north and southern Europe, central and southern Africa, Australia and the Indo-Pacific.

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The guild approach to categorizing estuarine fish assemblages: a global review

Vocalizations of anuran amphibians have received much attention in studies of behavioral ecology and physiology, but also provide informative characters for identifying and delimiting species. We here review the terminology and variation of frog calls from a perspective of integrative taxonomy, and provide hands-on protocols for recording, analyzing, comparing, interpreting and describing these sounds. Our focus is on advertisement calls, which serve as premating isolation mechanisms and, therefore, convey important taxonomic information. We provide recommendations for terminology of frog vocalizations, with call, note and pulse being the fundamental subunits to be used in descriptions and comparisons. However, due to the complexity and diversity of these signals, an unequivocal application of the terms call and note can be challenging. We therefore provide two coherent concepts that either follow a note-centered approach (defining uninterrupted units of sound as notes, and their entirety as call) or a call-centered approach (defining uninterrupted units as call whenever they are separated by long silent intervals) in terminology. Based on surveys of literature, we show that numerous call traits can be highly variable within and between individuals of one species. Despite idiosyncrasies of species and higher taxa, the duration of calls or notes, pulse rate within notes, and number of pulses per note appear to be more static within individuals and somewhat less affected by temperature. Therefore, these variables might often be preferable as taxonomic characters over call rate or note rate, which are heavily influenced by various factors. Dominant frequency is also comparatively static and only weakly affected by temperature, but depends strongly on body size. As with other taxonomic characters, strong call divergence is typically indicative of species-level differences, whereas call similarities of two populations are no evidence for them being conspecific. Taxonomic conclusions can especially be drawn when the general advertisement call structure of two candidate species is radically different and qualitative call differences are thus observed. On the other hand, quantitative differences in call traits might substantially vary within and among conspecific populations, and require careful evaluation and analysis. We provide guidelines for the taxonomic interpretation of advertisement call differences in sympatric and allopatric situations, and emphasize the need for an integrative use of multiple datasets (bio-acoustics, morphology, genetics), particularly for allopatric scenarios. We show that small-sized frogs often emit calls with frequency components in the ultrasound spectrum, although it is unlikely that these high frequencies are of biological relevance for the majority of them, and we illustrate that detection of upper harmonics depends also on recording distance because higher frequencies are attenuated more strongly. Bioacoustics remains a prime approach in integrative taxonomy of anurans if uncertainty due to possible intraspecific variation and technical artifacts is adequately considered and acknowledged.

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The use of bioacoustics in anuran taxonomy: theory, terminology, methods and recommendations for best practice

Biological communities are shaped by complex interactions between organisms and their environment as well as interactions with other species. Humans are rapidly changing the marine environment through increasing greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in ocean warming and acidification. The first response by animals to environmental change is predominantly through modification of their behaviour, which in turn affects species interactions and ecological processes. Yet, many climate change studies ignore animal behaviour. Furthermore, our current knowledge of how global change alters animal behaviour is mostly restricted to single species, life phases and stressors, leading to an incomplete view of how coinciding climate stressors can affect the ecological interactions that structure biological communities. Here, we first review studies on the effects of warming and acidification on the behaviour of marine animals. We demonstrate how pervasive the effects of global change are on a wide range of critical behaviours that determine the persistence of species and their success in ecological communities. We then evaluate several approaches to studying the ecological effects of warming and acidification, and identify knowledge gaps that need to be filled, to better understand how global change will affect marine populations and communities through altered animal behaviours. Our review provides a synthesis of the far-reaching consequences that behavioural changes could have for marine ecosystems in a rapidly changing environment. Without considering the pervasive effects of climate change on animal behaviour we will limit our ability to forecast the impacts of ocean change and provide insights that can aid management strategies.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13167

Animal behaviour shapes the ecological effects of ocean acidification and warming: moving from individual to community-level responses

Short communication Occurrence and intensity of intercohort cannibalism of post-hatching stages in the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle

Display of bright and striking color patterns is a widespread way of communication in many animal species. Carotenoid-based coloration accounts for most of the bright yellow, orange, and red displays in invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, being widely considered a signal of individual health. This type of coloration is under the influence of several factors, such as sexual selection, predator pressure, pigment availability, and light transmission. Fish offer numerous examples of visual communication by means of color patterns. We used a small cyprinodontid fish, Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821), as a model species to assess habitat constraints on the color display in male caudal fin. Populations from natural and open/closed artificial habitats were tested for differences in the pigmentation of caudal fins. The most important factors explaining the intensity of coloration were the habitat type and the chlorophyll concentration in the sediment, followed by water turbidity; yellow fins were observed in natural habitats with low chlorophyll concentration and high water turbidity, while orange fins occurred in artificial habitats with high chlorophyll concentration and low turbidity. Furthermore, A. fasciatus in artificial habitats showed a higher somatic and a lower reproductive allotment with respect to natural habitats, according to the existing literature on the species. Furthermore, in closed artificial habitats, where the most intense reddish coloration of caudal fins was observed, a trade-off between somatic growth and the coloration intensity of a carotenoid-based sexual ornament has been observed; in these populations, intensity of caudal fin coloration was negatively related to the somatic allotment. Results of this study suggested how both the pigmentation of male's caudal fin and the life history strategies of the species are constrained by habitat characteristics.

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.4003

Habitat constraints on carotenoid-based coloration in a small euryhaline teleost

Abstract Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV) play a critical role in Water Distribution Networks (WDN): they regulate pressure ensuring an efficient service to users and preventing damage to pipelines. In recent years, the attention of water utilities towards pressure management and leakage control led to the necessity of more flexible and responsive technologies that can guarantee a higher level of pressure control accuracy. Because of this the common performance parameters based on steady state conditions are no longer satisfactory to evaluate the effective behaviour of the devices when used in situations where demand can change. In the present paper the pressure control effectiveness of different types of PRV (electric actuated, pilot operated and direct acting) in variable demand conditions is discussed. The data used are from experimental tests, literature and field application. To assess valves’ pressure control performance, the use of new parameters, which consider the peak of pressure reached during control operations and the accuracy of target pressure regulation, has been proposed. The use of these parameters allows the comparison between different type of valves giving to WDN managers a direct overview on the valves ability to regulate pressure under variable demand conditions. 

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Performances of Pressure Reducing Valves in Variable Demand Conditions: Experimental Analysis and New Performance Parameters

A comparative analysis of habitat quality between artificial and natural creeks in the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus: Implications for conservation

The larger anthropic pressure on the Water Supply Systems (WSS) and the increasing concern for the sustainability of the large energy use for water supply, transportation, distribution, drainage and treatment are determining a new perspective in the management of water systems [...]

Stefano Malavasi

Papers

Short communication Occurrence and intensity of intercohort cannibalism of post-hatching stages in the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle

Habitat constraints on carotenoid-based coloration in a small euryhaline teleost

Performances of Pressure Reducing Valves in Variable Demand Conditions: Experimental Analysis and New Performance Parameters

A comparative analysis of habitat quality between artificial and natural creeks in the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus: Implications for conservation

Application of innovative technologies for active control and energy efficiency in water supply systems