BACKGROUND AND AIMS Large clones of rhizomatous plants are found in many habitats, but little is known about whether such clones also occur on cliff faces where environmental conditions are extremely harsh and heterogeneous. METHODS Using molecular (intersimple sequence repeat, ISSR) markers, the genotypic composition of a cliff-face population of Oxyria sinensis in Sichuan, China, was invest...

Mining of the world's second-largest nickel deposits in the area of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, has caused acidification and metal saturation of some catchments. We conducted artificial stream studies in the years 2001 and 2002 to assess the effects of treated metal mine effluents (MMEs) from three different mining operations discharging to Junction Creek, Sudbury, on two fish species, creek chub...

Future robotic planetary exploration will need to traverse geographically diverse and challenging terrain. Cliffs, ravines, and fissures are of great scientific interest because they may contain important data regarding past water flows. Information about water is critical in the search for past life. Highly sloped terrain is difficult, and in most cases impossible, to safely navigate using a s...

Virtuality is often defined solely as that which lacks or is not material reality, and as such, much of the social order that is uniquely engendered within technologically-mediated realities has been inadequately described. This panel attempts to define virtuality on its own terms, instead of as reality-negative, by showcasing four perspectives of social interaction in virtual space. Panelists ...

In this paper two new and improved methods for digital relief depiction are presented: Interactive analytical shading and digital cliff drawing using fill hachures. Both methods have a long tradition in manual production of mountain maps which has been considered for the implementation of the new software tools. One of the main tasks was the decision to separate between interactive and automati...

Recent research has shown the potential for nonallopatric speciation, but we lack an adequate understanding of the mechanisms of prezygotic barriers and how these evolve in the presence of gene flow. The marine snail Littorina saxatilis has distinct ecotypes in different shore microhabitats. Ecotypes hybridize in contact zones, but gene flow is impeded by assortative mating. Earlier studies hav...