Performance in one stage of a complex life cycle may affect performance in the subsequent stage. Animals that start a new stage at a smaller size than conspecifics may either always remain smaller or they may be able to "catch up" through plasticity, usually elevated growth rates. We study how size at and date of metamorphosis affected subsequent performance in the terrestrial juvenile stage an...

High adult mortality rate is expected to select for early maturation. However, physiological constraints or size-related reproductive benefits might select for delayed maturation, especially in small-bodied species. Additionally, the mating system and the relative intensity of mate competition can modify the timing of maturation. Here, we investigate the influence of mortality rate and mating s...

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) maturity model is conceptualized as a five-stage maturity model. To identify the maturity stage of SISP, a model for assessment of SISP is developed. The development of these models is based on the ‘Integral Engineering’ approach and a unique implementation of the Analytical Network Process theory (ANP). The SISP assessment model is structured as a ...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge management (KM) maturity of credit unions. The application of a maturity model to fifteen credit unions in North America revealed that an overall level of KM maturity of credit unions is at an early stage of development, but there are signs of future improvement. Credit unions attempt to increase their efficiency through KM solu...

evaluation of essential oil yield, morphological and phenological traits of seven populations of twochamomilespecies )matricaria aurea and m. recutita), were carried out using randomized completely blocks design (rcbd) in three replications in alborz research station in karaj, iran during 2011-2012. data were collected for 12 morphological and phenological traits. analysis of variance showed si...

Drastic changes in both ageand length-at-maturity of cod (Gadus morhua) on Flemish Cap have been observed during this decade. In the present paper, growth by cohort in this period was analyzed and compared with the observed trend in maturation. Different cohorts displayed different growth rates, the strongest 1990 year-class showing fastest growth. The compensatory response to lower population ...

this experiment was conducted to consider the effects of maturity and cutting time on chemical composition and available protein content of alfalfa hay for dairy cows.. alfalfa hay harvested at two maturity stages (pre-bloom and early bloom) and two cutting times (morning and afternoon). available protein was predicted using nrc (2001) and dve/oeb (1994) models. in the nrc model (2001), alfalfa...

Angiosperm diversification has been associated with plant-animal interactions such as seed dispersal and pollination and life-history characters such as rapid growth and fast reproduction. This paper relates a life-history character (age at maturity) to woody angiosperm diversification. Here I present a comparative analysis of data drawn from the literature, indicating that time to first reprod...