University of California, Santa Cruz

About: University of California, Santa Cruz is a education organization based out in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Population. The organization has 15541 authors who have published 44120 publications receiving 2759983 citations. The organization is also known as: UCSC & UC, Santa Cruz.

Put your money where your mouth is! : Explaining collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy

Abstract: Insights from appraisal theories of emotion are used to integrate elements of theories on collective action. Three experiments with disadvantaged groups systematically manipulated procedural fairness (Study 1), emotional social support (Study 2), and instrumental social support (Study 3) to examine their effects on collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy. Results of structural equation modeling showed that procedural fairness and emotional social support affected the group-based anger pathway (reflecting emotion-focused coping), whereas instrumental social support affected the group efficacy pathway (reflecting problem-focused coping), constituting 2 distinct pathways to collective action tendencies. Analyses of the means suggest that collective action tendencies become stronger the more fellow group members "put their money where their mouth is." The authors discuss how their dual pathway model integrates and extends elements of current approaches to collective action.

Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasonia species.

Abstract: We report here genome sequences and comparative analyses of three closely related parasitoid wasps: Nasonia vitripennis, N. giraulti, and N. longicornis. Parasitoids are important regulators of arthropod populations, including major agricultural pests and disease vectors, and Nasonia is an emerging genetic model, particularly for evolutionary and developmental genetics. Key findings include the identification of a functional DNA methylation tool kit; hymenopteran-specific genes including diverse venoms; lateral gene transfers among Pox viruses, Wolbachia, and Nasonia; and the rapid evolution of genes involved in nuclear-mitochondrial interactions that are implicated in speciation. Newly developed genome resources advance Nasonia for genetic research, accelerate mapping and cloning of quantitative trait loci, and will ultimately provide tools and knowledge for further increasing the utility of parasitoids as pest insect-control agents.

The Geological Record of Ocean Acidification

Abstract: Ocean acidification may have severe consequences for marine ecosystems; however, assessing its future impact is difficult because laboratory experiments and field observations are limited by their reduced ecologic complexity and sample period, respectively. In contrast, the geological record contains long-term evidence for a variety of global environmental perturbations, including ocean acidification plus their associated biotic responses. We review events exhibiting evidence for elevated atmospheric CO2, global warming, and ocean acidification over the past ~300 million years of Earth’s history, some with contemporaneous extinction or evolutionary turnover among marine calcifiers. Although similarities exist, no past event perfectly parallels future projections in terms of disrupting the balance of ocean carbonate chemistry—a consequence of the unprecedented rapidity of CO2 release currently taking place.

Thermal conductivity reduction and thermoelectric figure of merit increase by embedding nanoparticles in crystalline semiconductors.

Abstract: Atomic substitution in alloys can efficiently scatter phonons, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity in crystalline solids to the "alloy limit." Using In0.53Ga0.47As containing ErAs nanoparticles, we demonstrate thermal conductivity reduction by almost a factor of 2 below the alloy limit and a corresponding increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit by a factor of 2. A theoretical model suggests that while point defects in alloys efficiently scatter short-wavelength phonons, the ErAs nanoparticles provide an additional scattering mechanism for the mid-to-long-wavelength phonons.

Relative Sensitivities of Mammalian Carnivores to Habitat Fragmentation

Abstract: I examined the effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of mamma- lian carnivores in coastal southern California and tested the prediction that responses to fragmentation var- ied with the body size of carnivore species. I conducted track surveys for nine native and two exotic carnivore species in 29 urban habitat fragments and 10 control sites. Fragment area and isolation were the two stron- gest landscape descriptors of predator distribution and abundance. Six species were sensitive to fragmenta- tion, generally disappearing as habitat patches became smaller and more isolated; three species were en- hanced by fragmentation, with increased abundance in highly fragmented sites; and two species were tolerant of fragmentation, with little to no effect of landscape variables on their distribution and abundance. Within urban habitat fragments, the carnivore visitation rate increased at sites with more exotic cover and closer to the urban edge, a pattern driven largely by the increased abundance of fragmentation-enhanced carnivores at edge sites. Finally, body size, in conjunction with other ecological characteristics, partially ac- counted for the heterogeneity in responses to fragmentation among carnivore species. These differential sensi- tivities are useful criteria for choosing appropriate focal species for ecological research and conservation planning, a choice that depends on the scale of fragmentation in a region and the commensurate responses of carnivore populations at that scale.