Species distribution models of stray cats were developed using two types of occurrence data: (i) a combined dataset of stray cats and cat colonies in Auckland and projected to the wider New Zealand area; and (ii) population density as an analogue for country-wide stray cat occurrence. These occurrence data, together with sets of environmental variables were used as input to the Maxent modelling...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the impact of intra-urban atmospheric conditions on circulatory and respiratory diseases in elder adults. METHODS Cross-sectional study based on data from 33,212 hospital admissions in adults over 60 years in the city of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, from 2003 to 2007. The association between atmospheric variables from Congonhas airport and bioclimatic index, Physiologi...

Extreme and persistent reductions in annual precipitation and an increase in the mean diurnal temperature range have resulted in patch scale forest mortality following the summer of 2010–2011 within the Forest study area near Perth, Western Australia. The impacts of 20 bioclimatic indicators derived from temperature, precipitation and of actual and potential evapotranspiration are quantified. W...

The appearance of the cactus moth Cactoblastis cactorum in Florida has roused concern over its possible effects on the Opuntia -rich areas of Mexico and the southwestern United States. In this paper we discuss the economic importance of Opuntia in Mexico and propose a method to predict the invasion of the alien species C. cactorum . In Mexico, the products derived from Opuntia are mainly human ...

Over the past century more than 100 indices have been developed and used to assess bioclimatic conditions for human beings. The majority of these indices are used sporadically or for specific purposes. Some are based on generalized results of measurements (wind chill, cooling power, wet bulb temperature) and some on the empirically observed reactions of the human body to thermal stress (physiol...

Taxonomy has far-reaching effects throughout biology, and incorrect taxonomy can be detrimental in many ways. Polymorphic species complexes, many of which exist in the bee genus Anthophora Latreille, lend themselves to such difficulties. This study employs environmental niche mapping (ENM) and traditional morphological analyses to investigate the validity of the subjective synonymy of Anthophor...

The well-known Darwinian evolutionary theory (1859) introduced natural selection as the most important mechanism of evolutionary processes at every level from biological systems, including species, individual organisms... to molecules such as DNA or proteins. In architecture we observe similar evolution processes which lead to the development of various architectural movements and concepts from...