Stockholm University

About: Stockholm University is a education organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 21052 authors who have published 62567 publications receiving 2725859 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Stockholm & Stockholms universitet.

Genomic Outposts Serve the Phylogenomic Pioneers: Designing Novel Nuclear Markers for Genomic DNA Extractions of Lepidoptera

Abstract: Increasing the number of characters used in phylogenetic studies is the next crucial step towards generating robust and stable phylogenetic hypotheses - i.e., strongly supported and consistent across reconstruction method. Here we describe a genomic approach to finding new protein-coding genes for systematics in nonmodel taxa, which can be PCR amplified from standard, slightly degraded genomic DNA extracts. We test this approach on Lepidoptera, searching the draft genomic sequence of the silk moth Bombyx mori, for exons > 500 bp in length, removing annotated gene families, and compared remaining exons with butterfly EST databases to identify conserved regions for primer design. These primers were tested on a set of 65 taxa primarily in the butterfly family Nymphalidae. We were able to identify and amplify six previously unused gene regions (Arginine Kinase, GAPDH, IDH, MDH, RpS2, and RpS5) and two rarely used gene regions (CAD and DDC) that when added to the three traditional gene regions (COI, EF-1alpha and wingless) gave a data set of 8114 bp. Phylogenetic robustness and stability increased with increasing numbers of genes. Smaller taxanomic subsets were also robust when using the full gene data set. The full 11-gene data set was robust and stable across reconstruction methods, recovering the major lineages and strongly supporting relationships within them. Our methods and insights should be applicable to taxonomic groups having a single genomic reference species and several EST databases from taxa that diverged less than 100 million years ago.

Natural and human-induced hypoxia and consequences for coastal areas: synthesis and future development

Abstract: Hypoxia has become a world-wide phenomenon in the global coastal ocean and causes a deterioration of the structure and function of ecosystems. Based on the collective contributions of members of SCOR Working Group #128, the present study provides an overview of the major aspects of coastal hypoxia in different biogeochemical provinces, in- cluding estuaries, coastal waters, upwelling areas, fjords and semi-enclosed basins, with various external forcings, ecosys-

Digital Media and the Personalization of Collective Action : Social Technology and the Organization of Protests against the Global Economic Crisis

Abstract: Changes related to globalization have resulted in the growing separation of individuals in late modern societies from traditional bases of social solidarity such as parties, churches, and other mas ...

Aligning Key Concepts for Global Change Policy: Robustness, Resilience, and Sustainability

Abstract: Globalization, the process by which local social-ecological systems (SESs) are becoming linked in a global network, presents policy scientists and practitioners with unique and difficult challenges. Although local SESs can be extremely complex, when they become more tightly linked in the global system, complexity increases very rapidly as multi-scale and multi-level processes become more important. Here, we argue that addressing these multi-scale and multi-level challenges requires a collection of theories and models. We suggest that the conceptual domains of sustainability, resilience, and robustness provide a sufficiently rich collection of theories and models, but overlapping definitions and confusion about how these conceptual domains articulate with one another reduces their utility. We attempt to eliminate this confusion and illustrate how sustainability, resilience, and robustness can be used in tandem to address the multi-scale and multi-level challenges associated with global change.

Biological Diversity, Ecosystems, and the Human Scale

Abstract: This paper considers the significance of biological diversity in relation to large-scale processes in complex and dynamic ecological-economic systems. It focuses on functional diversity, and its relation to production and maintenance of ecological services that underpin human societies. Within functional groups of organisms two important cat- egories of species are identified: keystone process species and those essential for ecosystem resilience. The latter group represents "natural insurance capital." In addition to basic research on the interplay among biological diversity, functional performance, and resilience in complex self-organizing systems, we suggest that a functional approach has two main implications for a strategy for biodiversity conservation: (1) Biodiversity conservation to assure the resilience of ecosystems is required for all systems, no matter how heavily impacted they are. It should not be limited to protected areas. (2) The social, cultural, and economic driving forces in society that cause biodiversity loss need to be addressed directly. Specifically, (a) differences between the value of biological diversity to the private indi- vidual and its fundamental value to society as a whole need to be removed; (b) social and economic policies that encourage biodiversity loss should be reformed, especially where there is a risk of irreversible damage to ecosystems and diversity; and (c) institutions that are adaptive and work in synergy with ecosystem processes and functions are critical and should be created at all levels.