Macquarie University

About: Macquarie University is a education organization based out in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Laser. The organization has 14075 authors who have published 47673 publications receiving 1416184 citations. The organization is also known as: Macquarie uni.

Vulnerability of coastal communities to key impacts of climate change on coral reef fisheries.

Abstract: Coral reefs support the livelihood of millions of people especially those engaged in marine fisheries activities Coral reefs are highly vulnerable to climate change induced stresses that have led to substantial coral mortality over large spatial scales Such climate change impacts have the potential to lead to declines in marine fish production and compromise the livelihoods of fisheries dependent communities Yet few studies have examined social vulnerability in the context of changes specific to coral reef ecosystems In this paper, we examine three dimensions of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of 29 coastal communities across five western Indian Ocean countries to the impacts of coral bleaching on fishery returns A key contribution is the development of a novel, network-based approach to examining sensitivity to changes in the fishery that incorporates linkages between fishery and non-fishery occupations We find that key sources of vulnerability differ considerably within and between the five countries Our approach allows the visualization of how these dimensions of vulnerability differ from site to site, providing important insights into the types of nuanced policy interventions that may help to reduce vulnerability at a specific location To complement this, we develop framework of policy actions thought to reduce different aspects of vulnerability at varying spatial and temporal scales Although our results are specific to reef fisheries impacts from coral bleaching, this approach provides a framework for other types of threats and different social-ecological systems more broadly

Evolutionary implications of allozyme and RAPD variation in diploid populations of dioecious buffalograss Buchloë dactyloides

Abstract: Buffalograss, Buchloe dactyloides, is widely distributed throughout the Great Plains of North America, where it is an important species for rangeland forage and soil conservation. The species consists of two widespread polyploid races, with narrowly endemic diploid populations known from two regions: central Mexico and Gulf Coast Texas. We describe and compare the patterns of allozyme and RAPD variation in the two diploid races, using a set of 48 individuals from Texas and Mexico (four population samples of 12 individuals each). Twelve of 22 allozyme loci were polymorphic, exhibiting 35 alleles, while seven 10-mer RAPD primers revealed 98 polymorphic bands. Strong regional differences were detected in the extent of allozyme polymorphism: Mexican populations exhibited more internal gene diversity (He= 0.20, 0.19) than did the Texan populations (He= 0.08, 0.06), although the number of RAPD bands in Texas (n= 62) was only marginally smaller than in Mexico (n= 68). F-statistics for the allozyme data, averaged over loci, revealed strong regional differentiation (mean FRT=+ 0.30), as well as some differentiation among populations within regions (mean FPR=+ 0.09). In order to describe and compare the partitioning of genetic variation for multiple allozyme and RAPD loci, we performed an Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA). AMOVA for both allozyme and RAPD data revealed similar qualitative patterns: large regional differences and smaller (but significant) population differences within regions. RAPDs revealed greater variation among regions (58.4% of total variance) than allozymes (45.2%), but less variation among individuals within populations (31.9% for RAPDs vs. 45.2% for allozymes); the proportion of genetic variance among populations within regions was similar (9.7% for RAPDs vs. 9.6% for allozymes). Despite this large-scale concordance of allozyme and RAPD variation patterns, multiple correlation Mantel techniques revealed that the correlations were low on an individual by individual basis. Our findings of strong regional differences among the diploid races will facilitate further study of polyploid evolution in buffalograss.

Geodynamic evolution of the Pan-African belt in central Africa with special reference to Cameroon

Abstract: The Pan-African belt in central Africa has benefited from the many petrographic, structural, and geochronological studies in the recent years that have improved our understanding of the belt. However, those studies have also produced various and often divergent evolutionary models for the belt, some of which do not even involve well-defined cratons. Following a review of the available data in Cameroon, we propose a model of continent–continent collision that involved the Congo craton and the north-central Cameroon active margin showing Archean to Paleoproterozoic inheritances. This model is based, among others, on (i) the prominent role of the Congo craton as demonstrated by the regional extension of external nappes on its northern edge and the concomitant exhumation of the 620 Ma granulitic rocks believed to have formed at the root of the collision zone, and (ii) the late development of a strike slip fault system in central Cameroon as the result of horizontal movement following the multistage collision....

Interpersonal attraction, social identification and psychological group formation

Abstract: Two perspectives on the nature of the social group and psychological group formation are discussed. The traditional social cohesion approach traces group formation to processes of interpersonal attraction, while the social identity approach defines the group in cognitive terms and considers identification, or self-categorization, to be the mechanism of psychological group formation. On the basis of an experiment by Turner, Sachdev and Hogg (1983) it is hypothesized that interpersonal attraction (positive or negative) is related to group formation only in so far as it enhances intergroup distinctiveness. This hypothesis is experimentally tested in a 2 × 3 (interpersonal liking/disliking per se versus no explicit categorization/random categorization/criterial categorization on the basis of affect) factorial design employing the ‘minimal group’ paradigm. People who like each other and were not explicitly categorized formed a group. This effect was enhanced by criterial categorization but disappeared when categorization was random. Although the results do not support the hypothesis, they are not explicable in social cohesion terms. A social identity explanation is furnished—attraction influences group formation by acting, under certain specifiable conditions, as a cognitive criterion for common category membership. This explanation is located in current theorizing and is proposed as part of a reconceptualization of the relationship between interpersonal attraction and group formation.

Power, politics, and organizational change: winning the turf game

Abstract: When Necessity Commands The Terminology Game Defining Power and Politics Sit in Judgement Men Behaving Badly Women Behaving Badly Entrepreneurial Heroes The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Power-assisted Steering Accounting and Winning Political Expertise Why You Need It, and How To Develop It