The relationship between community diversity and exotic plants: cause or consequence of invasion?

Invasion ecology has suffered from the artificial separation of invasibility and impact processes in understanding the ationship between diversity and plant invasion. By studying these independently functioning stages of invasion in concert, we can gain great insight into the biological causes and consequences of invasions, and develop crucial information for the generation of adequate management strategies. Our conceptual framework provides a structure to synthesize the current body of research, suggests research needed to fill the gaps in understanding and to organize results from future research. The framework is a powerful tool to guide ecological understanding of the relationship between invasion and diversity across systems, species, and scales. The case studies discussed here clearly show how both the cause and consequence of diversity may operate simultaneously hin an invasion to generate the community associations often noted in static studies. Currently, it is not possible to make generalizations about which mechanism is the most important because of the extreme lack of information for most plant invasions. To understand the nature of the relationship between diversity and invasion, both of these processes must be assessed to determine their relative contribution

Trees Grow on Money: Urban Tree Canopy Cover and Environmental Justice

This study examines the distributional equity of urban tree canopy (UTC) cover for Baltimore, MD, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Raleigh, NC, Sacramento, CA, and Washington, D.C. using high spatial resolution land cover data and census data. Data are analyzed at the Census Block Group levels using Spearman\u27s correlation, ordinary least squares regression (OLS), and a spatial autoregressive model (SAR). Across all cities there is a strong positive correlation between UTC cover and median household income. Negative correlations between race and UTC cover exist in bivariate models for some cities, but they are generally not observed using multivariate regressions that include additional variables on income, education, and housing age. SAR models result in higher r-square values compared to the OLS models across all cities, suggesting that spatial autocorrelation is an important feature of our data. Similarities among cities can be found based on shared characteristics of climate, race/ethnicity, and size. Our findings suggest that a suite of variables, including income, contribute to the distribution of UTC cover. These findings can help target simultaneous strategies for UTC goals and environmental justice concerns

Imaging Oxygen Distribution in Marine Sediments. The Importance of Bioturbation and Sediment Heterogeneity

The influence of sediment oxygen heterogeneity, due to bioturbation, on diffusive oxygen flux was investigated. Laboratory experiments were carried out with 3 macrobenthic species presenting different bioturbation behaviour patterns:the polychaetes Nereis diversicolor and Nereis virens, both constructing ventilated galleries in the sediment column, and the gastropod Cyclope neritea, a burrowing species which does not build any structure. Oxygen two-dimensional distribution in sediments was quantified by means of the optical planar optode technique. Diffusive oxygen fluxes (mean and integrated) and a variability index were calculated on the captured oxygen images. All species increased sediment oxygen heterogeneity compared to the controls without animals. This was particularly noticeable with the polychaetes because of the construction of more or less complex burrows. Integrated diffusive oxygen flux increased with oxygen heterogeneity due to the production of interface available for solute exchanges between overlying water and sediments. This work shows that sediment heterogeneity is an important feature of the control of oxygen exchanges at the sediment–water interface

Urban Principles for Ecological Landscape Design and Maintenance: Scientific Fundamentals

Urban ecology is a rapidly developing scientific discipline with great relevance to sustainable city design and management. Though several frameworks have been proposed in the last 10 years, urban ecology, as yet, has no complete, mature theory. There are, however, general principles emerging that may facilitate the development of such a theory. In the meantime, these principles can serve as useful guides for ecological landscape design and maintenance. This paper aims to use the principles to conceptually frame a series of papers to follow in this special issue. The main ecological principles concerning cities are that: 1) Cities are ecosystems; 2) Cities are spatially heterogeneous; 3) Cities are dynamic; 4) Human and natural processes interact in cities; and 5) Ecological processes are still at work and are important in cities. The first three principles address the structure of cities and the change in structure through time. The remaining two principles focus on ecological processes in cities. We briefly summarize each of these principles and their roots in the ecological and design fields. Each principle points to ecological functions that can be translated into ecosystem services. Application of these principles to ecological landscape design and maintenance is discussed

Autoeficacia en Chile : diferencias entre establecimientos técnico-profesional y científico - humanista”

La asociación entre las variables no cognitivas y el rendimiento académico ha sido ampliamente discutida en el mundo. En este estudio, se explorará dicha relación por medio de un análisis que evidencie la influencia que ejerce la autoeficacia sobre el rendimiento en la prueba de matemáticas del Sistema Nacional Medición de la Calidad de la Educación (SIMCE). Para lograr dicho objetivo, se ajustaron modelos de regresión que incluyeron un set de co-variables asociadas a las características de individuales y de las escuelas que asisten los estudiantes. Los principales hallazgos, evidencian una asociación positiva entre la autoeficacia matemática y el rendimiento en la prueba SIMCE, una asociación entre el nivel socioeconómico y la autoeficacia matemática y diferencias en el desempeño académico dependiendo de si el estudiante asiste a un establecimiento científico-humanista o técnico profesional. De este modo, el estudio sugiere que las variables no cognitivas, particularmente la autoeficacia, son relevantes para avanzar en la mejora de la calidad de educación. Finalmente, se plantean líneas de acción referidas a avanzar en equidad y oportunidades educativas en sociedades altamente segregadas como la chilena.Versión original del auto

Cuerpo háptico

OrfebreEn este trabajo estuvo presente plantear dudas respecto al ejercicio del arte en función de su histórica tradición; uno de los grandes temas del arte tradicional ha sido el cuerpo, visto en la mayoría de sus veces desde una perspectiva muy apegada al campo de la antigüedad clásica filosófica. Un caso podría ser el de un cuerpo desnudo como modelo, esta idea ya está muy desgastada y también muy ligada al precepto de belleza; categoría estética que en estos tiempos resulta ser muy conservadora

Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning

Effective planning for biodiversity in cities and towns is increasingly important as urban areas and their human populations grow, both to achieve conservation goals and because ecological communities support services on which humans depend. Landscape ecology provides important frameworks for understanding and conserving urban biodiversity both within cities and considering whole cities in their regional context, and has played an important role in the development of a substantial and expanding body of knowledge about urban landscapes and communities. Characteristics of the whole city including size, overall amount of green space, age and regional context are important considerations for understanding and planning for biotic assemblages at the scale of entire cities, but have received relatively little research attention. Studies of biodiversity within cities are more abundant and show that longstanding principles regarding how patch size, configuration and composition influence biodiversity apply to urban areas as they do in other habitats. However, the fine spatial scales at which urban areas are fragmented and the altered temporal dynamics compared to non-urban areas indicate a need to apply hierarchical multi-scalar landscape ecology models to urban environments. Transferring results from landscape-scale urban biodiversity research into planning remains challenging, not least because of the requirements for urban green space to provide multiple functions. An increasing array of tools is available to meet this challenge and increasingly requires ecologists to work with planners to address biodiversity challenges. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement is just one strand in urban planning, but is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world

Frida Kahlo Cyborg: uma olhada na sua vida-obra

Due to the strong influence of coloniality of knowledge and the dominance of western Cartesian thought, Latin American thought has reproduced the dualisms surrounding the way in which we think about different dimensions of life: mind-body, nature-culture, natural-artificial. Nevertheless, alternatives that make the structure of dualistic thought tremble and that allow us to think about life from a different place have been proposed. It is in relation to the latter that we reflect about the life-work of Frida Kahlo, an artist who embodied and captured the conditions of  her time in her art: the MexicanRevolution and the militancy of the Latin American left in which she participates, characterised by a strong patriotism. Additionally, she explores the diseases and ailments that she goes through, and the multiple surgeries and rehabilitation procedures she has to undergo, hence the disabledbody acquires a leading role in her works. The aim of this essay is to question how the artist plays with the representations of the body, taking Donna Haraway’s idea of the cyborg as a starting point.  Throughout her work, Frida is and represents bodies that escape hegemony, that transgress andare formed in the ruptures of the binary oppositions of the colonial, patriarchal and western. In this way, Frida Kahlo’s life-work exhibits the microphysics of power as well, shedding light on the instability of the invented limits of technological reason as sovereign of the body and proposing newways of experiencing existence.El pensamiento latinoamericano, debido a las fuertes influencias de la colonialidad del saber y la dominación del pensamiento cartesiano occidental, hareproducido los dualismos en torno a pensar diferentes dimensiones de la vida: cuerpomente, naturaleza-cultura, naturalartificial. Sin embargo, se hanplanteado alternativas que sacuden las estructuras del pensamiento dualista, que permiten pensar la vida desde otro lugar. En relación con esto  reflexionamos sobre la vida-obra de Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), una artista que encarnó y reflejó en su arte las condiciones de su tiempo: la Revolución Mexicana y la militancia de la izquierda latinoamericana, caracterizada por un fuerte patriotismo, en la que participa. Asimismo, explora las enfermedades ydolencias que atraviesa, y lasmúltiples operaciones y procesos  de rehabilitación a los que debe someterse, por lo que el cuerpo discapacitado adquiere un lugar protagónico en su obra. El objetivo de este ensayo es problematizar cómo la artista juega con las representaciones del cuerpo, tomando como punto de partida la idea del cyborg de Donna Haraway. A lo largo de su obra, Frida es y representa cuerpos que se salen de la hegemonía, que transgreden y se forman en las rupturas de las oposiciones binarias de lo colonial, patriarcal y occidental. De este modo, la vida-obra de Frida exhibe también las microfísicas del poder, arrojando luz sobre la inestabilidad de los límites inventados de la razón tecnológica como soberana del cuerpo y proponiendo nuevas formas de experimentar la existencia.O pensamento latinoamericano, devido às fortes influências da colonialidade do saber e do domínio do pensamento cartesiano ocidental, tem reproduzido dualismos em torno do pensamento sobre diferentes dimensões da vida: corpo-mente, natureza-cultura, natural-artificial. No entanto, foram propostasalternativas que abalam as estruturas do pensamento dualista, que nos permitem pensar a vida a partir de outro lugar. A esse respeito, refletimos sobre a vida-obra de Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), artista que encarnou e manifestou em sua arte as condições de seu tempo: a Revolução Mexicana e a militânciada esquerda latinoamericana, caracterizada por um forte patriotismo, em que ela participa. Da mesma forma, explora as doenças e enfermidades pelas  quais passa, e as múltiplas operações e processos de reabilitação aos quais deve se submeter, pelo qual o corpo deficiente adquire um lugar de destaque em seu trabalho. O objetivo deste ensaio é problematizar como a artista joga com as representações do corpo, tomando como ponto de partida a ideia de Donna Haraway sobre o cyborg. Ao longo de sua obra, Frida é e representa corpos que rompem com a hegemonia, que transgridem e se formam nas rupturas das oposições binárias do colonial, patriarcal e ocidental. Dessa forma, a vidaobra de Frida também expõe a microfísica do poder, lançando luz sobre a instabilidade dos limites inventados pela razão tecnológica como soberana do corpo e propondo novas formas de experimentar a existência

The Benefits and Limits of Urban Tree Planting for Environmental and Human Health

Many of the world's major cities have implemented tree planting programs based on assumed environmental and social benefits of urban forests. Recent studies have increasingly tested these assumptions and provide empirical evidence for the contributions of tree planting programs, as well as their feasibility and limits, for solving or mitigating urban environmental and social issues. We propose that current evidence supports local cooling, stormwater absorption, and health benefits of urban trees for local residents. However, the potential for urban trees to appreciably mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution over a wide array of sites and environmental conditions is limited. Consequently, urban trees appear to be more promising for climate and pollution adaptation strategies than mitigation strategies. In large part, this is due to space constraints limiting the extent of urban tree canopies relative to the current magnitude of emissions. The most promising environmental and health impacts of urban trees are those that can be realized with well-stewarded tree planting and localized design interventions at site to municipal scales. Tree planting at these scales has documented benefits on local climate and health, which can be maximized through targeted site design followed by monitoring, adaptive management, and studies of long-term eco-evolutionary dynamics.Peer reviewe