Shape variation is widespread in nature and embodies both a response to and a source for evolution and natural selection. To detect patterns of shape evolution, one must assess the quantitative genetic underpinnings of shape variation as well as the selective environment that the organisms have experienced. Here we used geometric morphometrics to assess variation in plastron shell shape in 1314...

We formalize the notion of nesting probabilistic programming queries and investigate the resulting statistical implications. We demonstrate that query nesting allows the definition of models which could not otherwise be expressed, such as those involving agents reasoning about other agents, but that existing systems take approaches that lead to inconsistent estimates. We show how to correct thi...

In the peacock blenny Salaria pavo large males with well-developed secondary sexual characters establish nests and attract females while small "sneaker" males mimic female sexual displays in order to approach the nests of larger males and parasitically fertilize eggs. These alternative reproductive tactics are sequential, as sneakers irreversibly switch into nesting males. This transition invol...

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been a species of global concern for decades. As an attempt to study health status of nesting green turtles, Blood biochemistry and hematological values were obtained from 18 clinically normal, nesting female green sea turtles on the northern coast of the sea of Oman. Mean curved carapace length (CCL) was 111±4 cm with a range of 103—122 cm. Barnacles were ...

—Ostional Beach, Costa Rica, supports a large mass nesting (arribada) aggregation of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea). A large number of egg clutches is lost to egg harvest and to nest destruction by nesting females after every arribada. Accordingly, the purpose of our study was to generate estimates of the net number of clutches left incubating from clutch densities with the us...

Abstract: The randomness and fuzziness of digital image semantics are hot issues in the field of classification technology, so a new semantic representation of digital image based on cloud model is proposed and a semantic vector space is constructed. In the space, semantic classifications of digital images are completed by calculating the semantic class certainty degree (SCCD). In addition, we ...

Nest site has influence on incubation duration and hatching success of two Neotropical turtles, the giant Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis expansa) and yellow-spotted side-neck turtle (Podocnemis unifilis--'Tracajá'). The 2000 and 2001 nesting seasons have been monitored at the Javaés River in Bananal Island, Brazil. Although they nest on the same beaches, there is a separation of the nesting ar...

To measure the costs and benefits of an aerial 1080 possum control operation to kereru and kaka in Whirinaki Forest Park, individuals of both species were radio-tagged from October 1998 to June 2002. We monitored birds in one treatment and one non-treatment study area to compare toxin-related mortality, nesting success and survival. The poison operation involved the spreading of non-toxic carro...