ALBERT

Description: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230891291_The_Orbital_Theory_of_Pleistocene_Climate_Support_frim_a_Revised_Chronology_of_the_Marine_d18O_Record

Description: In the course of studying the Asteraceae for a proposed Alpine Flora of New Guinea the first author selected the genus Cotula for this separate paper as it showed some variability that was not easily explained. While working on this, Dr. Lloyd’s paper on the genus in the New Zealand Journal of Botany 10 (1972) 277, came to his notice and on corresponding with him it turned out that he had studied the New Guinea species already to some extent but had nothing ready for publication. At the same time, Dr. J. Koster of Leiden, Netherlands, was known to work on a study of all Asteraceae of New Guinea and it soon transpired that when the manuscript was finished and a copy sent to her that very same day she had put down the first words of her manuscript on this genus. She generously allowed us to go ahead with our publication and after Dr. Lloyd had reviewed the first author’s manuscript the paper developed as presented here. This group of small, mat-forming species has been known in New Guinea to date only by C. leptoloba Mattfeld, described from the Wharton Ra. in Papua. Since then, however, it has been collected in several other regions ranging from the Carstensz Mts. in West New Guinea to Mt. Aniata in the southeastern tip of Papua. At first glance the material looked rather homogenous, but on closer look it turned out that at least one species, the material from Mt. Wilhelmina, had to be taken out as new. At this stage, various papers by Dr. Lloyd from Christchurch, New Zealand, drew attention to the group more forcibly and critically. The material available was studied by Dr. Lloyd and he came to the conclusion that at least 4 species should be distinguished, with which the senior author could concur. The differences between the 4 species recognised here are considerable, but the species limits are not well known and the descriptions may need revising when further material is available. Three new species are described below and C. leptoloba is redescribed to include the variation observed in specimens from new localities.

Description: Niger, nitidus, convexus, antennarum apice ferrugineo, tarsis rufis; prothorace inaequali, dense fortiterque punctato; elytris profunde sulcatis, interstitiis convexis, parum latis. — Long. 6 millim. Head with the upper surface somewhat uneven, rather closely and finely, but irregularly, punctate, scarcely shining. Antennae reaching backwards slightly beyond the base of the thorax; piceous-black, at the base with five joints free from sensitive pubescence and therefore somewhat shining; the joints from this to the extremity are somewhat, broader, the penultimate joint being scarcely so long as broad, they are densely pubescent, and the terminal joint — as also the apex of that preceding it — is ferruginous. The thorax is strongly transverse, and very convex in the transverse direction; it is strongly narrowed in front, the sides are somewhat irregular in outline, and are a little rounded and very slightly contracted behind near the hind angles; the base is deeply sinuate on each side of the middle, and also less deeply emarginate in the middle in front of the scutellum; the surface is uneven, bearing several rather indefinite impressions, it is glabrous, and is rendered rough by a deep, coarse punctuation which is somewhat irregularly distributed, the punctures being in some places nearly confluent: the lateral raised margin ceases entirely at about onethird of the length in front of the base. The scutellum is large and quite smooth and shining. The elytra are scarcely twice as long as the thorax; they are very deeply sulcate, the interstices being strongly elevated and rather narrow, the grooves are somewhat indistinctly crenate. The legs are piceous-black, the sulcation of the tibiae is very distinct.

Description: This compilation of stratigraphic and structural data accompanying the (re)issue of the 1:50000 sheets completes the project initiated by Prof. L.U. de Sitter in 1950. The total area mapped comprises about 400 km² in a strip more than 150 km from east to west. This part of the Hercynian tectogene is characterized by a very consistent sequence of Palaeozoic shelf sediments only interrupted by syn- to late-orogenetic flysch-molasse development. Neither of these sequences lend themselves to a simple geosynclinal model. Only the suprastructures of the orogene are exposed here; essentially decollement thrusting and folding. Fold and thrust vergences vary through 180° giving the centripetal pattern of the well-known Knee of Asturias. Very minor amounts of igneous rock have been mapped although activity in some form has been registered throughout most of the systems represented. The degree of metamorphism is so slight to have been negligible for the mapping.

Description: To explain the typical form of the anuran body, the following hypothesis is proposed: The ancestors of Anura, Urodela and Gymnophiona, having probably much in common, were potential competitors, so they each had to develop in a different ecological direction: Gymnophiona in the soil, Urodela on the surface of the soil specializing in the capture of slow moving prey and the Anura on the surface of the soil in the hunting of swift moving prey. Presumably the ancestors of the anurans were slow animals themselves and had to wait hiding until prey passed by. Also, to protect the body against dehydration it was necessary to dig into the soil and — because of the need to catch swift moving prey — to dig backwards, so that the head remained free. In the following discussion several characteristics of recent anurans and of probable ancestral anurans are examined in the light of this hypothesis.

Description: Larvae of the crabs Menippe mercenaria Say (Menippidae), Panopeus herbstii Milne-Edwards, Neopanope sayi Smith (Xanthidae), Sesarma cinereum Bosc (Grapsidae), and Libinia emerginata Leach (Majidae) were reared in the laboratory. Starvation periods different in length and timing within the first zoeal stage were studied as to their effects on later development and survival rate. After 1-3 days of initial feeding, most larvae had accumulated enough reserves to reach the second stage, independently of further food availability. The development of the survivors was delayed in the following stages, and their later mortality rate was higher than the fed controls. Starvation periods commencing directly after hatching of the larvae exert far stronger negative effects than those beginning later. All observations suggest a particularly sensitive phase in the beginning of larval life in brachyurans. When initial starvation periods exceed the point-of-no-return (PNR), the larvae will die later, even if feeding begins long before the energy reserves are depleted. Temporary lack of suitable prey may be an ecological factor controlling the survival of crab larvae as effectively as physical factors.