Spatial heterogeneity, in the wide sense of pattern complexity and variability, appears to be one of the dominant causes of ecological functions and processes. The most widely used quantification of heterogeneity in environmental studies is based on 10 derived Shannon information theory indices. Yet, such heterogeneity index is not able to quantify the surface patterns of a landscape with a ful...

ABSTRACr.--We attempted to determine why the distribution of Atlapetes rufinucha (Rufousnaped Brush-finch; Emberizinae) is so patchy. This common, sedentary species is found in several discrete areas of the humid Andes separated by distances of hundreds of kilometers, yet the gaps contain seemingly suitable habitat. Mapping of 906 specimen localities by both latitude and elevation shows that th...

Understanding the consequences of habitat fragmentation has come mostly from comparisons of patchy and continuous habitats. Because fragmentation is a process, it is most accurately studied by actively fragmenting large patches into multiple smaller patches. We fragmented artificial seagrass habitats and evaluated the impacts of fragmentation on fish abundance and species richness over time (1 ...

1. I synthesize the understanding of the relationship between landscape structure and animal movement in human-modified landscapes. 2. The variety of landscape structures is first classified into four categories: continuous habitat, patchy habitat with high-quality matrix, patchy habitat with low-quality matrix, and patchy, ephemeral habitat. Using this simplification I group the range of evolv...

Patchy illumination presents foraging animals with a challenge, as the targets being sought may appear to vary in colour depending on the illumination, compromising target identification. We sought to explore how the bumblebee Bombus terrestris copes with tasks involving flower colour discrimination under patchy illumination. Light patches varied between unobscured daylight and leaf-shade, as a...

We investigated how patchy nitrate availability influences growth and functioning of plant roots and generates, through vascular constraints on long-distance transport, aboveground heterogeneity in plant growth and chemistry. We examined two broadleaf tree species, Acer rubrum L. and Betula papyrifera Marsh. Plants were grown either in a split-root setup where a single root received full nutrie...

We present new predictions for temperature (on small angular scales) and polarization (on large angular scales) CMB anisotropies induced during the epoch of reionization (EoR). Using a novel method calibrated from radiation-hydrodynamic simulations we model the EoR in large volumes (L & 2 Gpc/h). We find that the EoR contribution to the kinetic SunyaevZel’dovich power spectrum (patchy kSZ) rang...

Patchy polymeric particles have anisotropic surface domains that can be remarkably useful in diverse medical and industrial fields because of their ability to simultaneously present two different surface chemistries on the same construct. In this article, we report the mechanisms involved in the formation of novel lipid-polymeric hollow patchy particles during their synthesis. By cross-sectioni...