The emergence of complex cultural practices in simple hunter-gatherer groups poses interesting questions on what drives social complexity and what causes the emergence and disappearance of cultural innovations. Here we analyze the conditions that underlie the emergence of artificial mummification in the Chinchorro culture in the coastal Atacama Desert in northern Chile and southern Peru. We pro...

Phalaris brachystachys is a common and troublesome weed in winter cereals in Mediterranean countries. A deterministic model was developed to simulate P. brachystachys seedbank dynamics in the wheat-sunflower rotation, a commonly practiced cropping system in southern Spain, under different herbicide-based management scenarios: no herbicide application, full herbicide dose (standard rate) and two...

Does public debate about the pros and cons of the UK's involvement in Iraq undermine the chances of military success? Radha Iyengar examines the incentives of Iraqi insurgent groups to commit acts of violence, their responses to public opinion in the West, and the lessons for both communications policy and counter-insurgency strategy. T he Chilcot inquiry into the UK's involvement in Iraq betwe...

The emergence of canine parvovirus (CPV) represents a well-documented example highlighting the emergence of a new virus through cross-species transmission. CPV emerged in the mid-1970s as a new pathogen of dogs and has since become endemic in the global dog population. Despite widespread vaccination, CPV has remained a widespread disease of dogs, and new genetic and antigenic variants have aris...

at the crop level, the drought stress accounts for most variations in yield. a controlled glasshouse investigation at day/night temperatures of 22/15°c based at perth city, western australia was performed (in 2006) to assess the influence of different soil moisture contents (field capacity percentage basis) on emergence as well as early plant growth in twenty chickpea genotypes. the experiment ...

Course Structure and Grading: There will be two 50-minute and one 100-minute class meetings each week. Approximately 75% of the meetings will be devoted to lecture and discussion of ecological concepts, and to computer modeling exercises designed to enhance understanding of ecological models and general principles. The other 25% will involve class discussion of journal articles led by instructo...