Divine Word College

About: Divine Word College is a education organization based out in Epworth, Iowa, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Work (physics). The organization has 26 authors who have published 49 publications receiving 507 citations.

DNA barcoding of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake, Philippines

Abstract: This study represents the first molecular survey of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake and the first DNA barcoding attempt in Philippine fishes. Taal Lake, the third largest lake in the Philippines, is considered a very important fisheries resource and is home to the world’s only freshwater sardine, Sardinella tawilis. However, overexploitation and introduction of exotic fishes have caused a massive decline in the diversity of native species as well as in overall productivity of the lake. In this study, 118 individuals of 23 native, endemic and introduced fishes of Taal Lake were barcoded using the partial DNA sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. These species belong to 21 genera, 17 families and 9 orders. Divergence of sequences within and between species was determined using Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distance model, and a neighbour-joining tree was generated with 1000 bootstrap replications using the K2P model. All COI sequences for each of the 23 species were clearly discriminated among genera. The average within species, within genus, within family and within order percent genetic divergence was 0.60%, 11.07%, 17.67% and 24.08%, respectively. Our results provide evidence that COI DNA barcodes are effective for the rapid and accurate identification of fishes and for identifying certain species that need further taxonomic investigation.

Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values

Abstract: Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values. Veronica Strang. New York: New York University Press, 1997.310 pp.

population regulation, ecology, and political economy in preindustrial Iceland

Abstract: Social controls on sex and marriage, rooted in the political economy, regulated population in preindustrial Iceland. Married women had high fertility, offset by low illegitimacy and a means prerequisite for marriage. The number of married householders in their childbearing years responded to changes in population pressure, adjusting fertility and moving the population toward about 50,000, a level determined by both the sub-Arctic environment and the political economy, which discouraged full use of available technology. [population regulation, population and agriculture, population and environment, population and political economy, preindustrial Iceland]

Household Gardens and their Niche in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Abstract: In recent years, small-scale urban food production at the household or community level has increasingly attracted the interest of policy-makers, urban planners, and development specialists [20, 25, 26]. With accelerating world-wide rural-urban migration, food pressure in cities and towns will no doubt assume greater nutritional and political importance than it already has. Many national governments face the choice between increasing national food output and importing often costly basic foodstuffs. The policy of importation has two pitfalls: it depletes foreign exchange earnings and it creates a national dependency on subsistence food commodities from the outside. As efforts are made to promote urban food production, those concerned with policy design should take into account the fact that in many Third World countries urban food production in backyard gardens already exists. A study of these small-scale urban agricultural systems can aid in the formulation of potentially more successful plans for projects. An understanding of locally adapted methods that function well will serve to guide the promotion and improvement of urban food production on a larger scale. The purpose of this study of urban gardening in Papua New Guinea is threefold: (i) to analyse the economic importance of urban food production in the National Capital District, (ii) to place urban food production within its ecological niche, and (iii) to provide specific information that can be used to derive general principles for the improvement of future household garden programmes in Papua New Guinea and other areas of the world. Traditional urban food production in Papua New Guinea is of particular interest because it is such a widespread phenomenon [21]. In the National Capital District (NCD), which comprises the Port Moresby wider metropolitan area, about four-fifths of all households take part in some form of food production with a mean area per garden of 372 square metres, which seems considerable for an urban setting.