A região antártica é foco de constante observação por ser uma região de importante monitoramento climático global. Ao sedimento de fundo marinho está associada uma biota que responde aos processos de alterações ambientais e dentre seus representantes os foraminíferos são considerados bons indicadores marinhos. O objetivo do presente estudo é avaliar a fauna de foraminíferos recentes na Baía do Almirantado durante três verões austral consecutivos (2002/2003, 2003/2004 e 2004/2005) e, através da determinação de algumas variáveis ambientais, compreender melhor a ecologia e a distribuição desses organismos na região. Foram coletadas 56 amostras de sedimento de fundo marinho ao longo da Baía do Almirantado para análise e identificação da fauna de foraminíferos e de variáveis abióticas amostradas na água de fundo e no sedimento. Foram encontradas 66 espécies de foraminíferos bentônicos, sendo 36 espécies aglutinantes e 30 espécies calcárias. As espécies mais freqüentes foram as calcárias Bolivina pseudopunctata, Cassidulinoides parkerianus e Globocassidulina biora, e as aglutinantes Portatrochammina antarctica, Pseudobolivina antarctica e Spiroplectammina biformis. As espécies Portatrochammina antarctica e Pseudobolivina antarctica foram as mais abundantes na porção central e em algumas estações das três enseadas da baía. As regiões mais internas das enseadas apresentaram predominância de espécies hialinas principalmente do gênero Globocassidulina e Cassidulinoides. A predominância de espécies hialinas também foi observada nas estações próximas a desembocadura da Baía do Almirantado com as espécies Bolivina pseudopunctata e Fursenkoina fusiformis. / The Antarctic region is focus of constant scientific surveys because of its importance as global climate changing area. The marine bottom sediment has an associated biota that indicates some environmental changes and among them Foraminifera could be considered as one of the best marine biomarkers. The aim of the present study is describe the recent benthic foraminifera fauna from Admiralty Bay collected during three consecutive austral summers (2002/2003, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005) and better understand its ecology and distribution patterns throughout the bay and its relations with some environmental factors. Fifty-six bottom sediment samples were collected along the Admiralty Bay for analysis and identification of the forams fauna and abiotic factors from sediment and bottom water. We found 66 species of benthic foraminifera, 36 agglutinated and 30 calcareous. The most frequent species were the calcareous Bolivina pseudopunctata, Cassidulinoides parkerianus and Globocassidulina biora, and the agglutinated Portatrochammina antarctica, Pseudobolivina antarctica and Spiroplectammina biformis. The species Portatrochammina antarctica and Pseudobolivina antarctica were the most abundant in the central portion of the bay and in some samples of the three inlets of the bay. The inner parts of the inlets there was a predominance of calcareous such as Globocassidulina spp. and Cassidulinoides spp.. The predominance of calcareous species, such as Bolivina pseudopunctata and Fursenkoina fusiformis was also observed at samples near the connection between the Admiralty Bay and the Bransfield Strait.

A complex trait is a trait or disease that is controlled by both genetic and environmental factors, along with their interactions. Trait architecture encompasses the genetic variants and environmental causes of variation in the trait or disease, their effects on the trait or disease and the mechanism by which these factors interact at molecular and organism levels. It is important to understand trait architecture both from a biological viewpoint and a health perspective. In this thesis, I laid emphasis on exploring the influence of familial environmental factors on complex trait architecture alongside the genetic components. I performed a variety of studies to explore the architecture of anthropometric and cardio-metabolic traits, such as height, body mass index, high density lipoprotein content of blood and blood pressure, using a cohort of 20,000 individuals of recent Scottish descent and their phenotype measurements, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data and genealogical information. I extended a method of variance component analysis that could simultaneously estimate SNP-associated heritability and total heritability whilst considering familial environmental effects shared among siblings, couples and nuclear family members. I found that most missing heritability could be explained by including closely related individuals in the analysis and accounting for these close relationships; and that, on top of genetics, couple and sibling environmental effects are additional significant contributors to the complex trait variation investigated. Subsequently, I accounted for couple and sibling environmental effects in Genome- Wide Association Study (GWAS) and prediction models. Results demonstrated that by adding additional couple and sibling information, both GWAS performance and prediction accuracy were boosted for most traits investigated, especially for traits related to obesity. Since couple environmental effects as modelled in my study might, in fact, reflect the combined effect of assortative mating and shared couple environment, I explored further the dissection of couple effects according to their origin. I extended assortative mating theory by deriving the expected resemblance between an individual and in-laws of his first-degree relatives. Using the expected resemblance derived, I developed a novel pedigree study which could jointly estimate the heritability and the degree of assortative mating. I have shown in this thesis that, for anthropometric and cardio-metabolic traits, environmental factors shared by siblings and couples seem to have important effects on trait variation and that appropriate modelling of such effects may improve the outcome of genetic analyses and our understanding of the causes of trait variation. My thesis also points out that future studies on exploring trait architecture should not be limited to genetics because environment, as well as mate choice, might be a major contributor to trait variation, although trait architecture varies from trait to trait.

No description available.

A região antártica é foco de constante observação por ser uma região de importante monitoramento climático global. Ao sedimento de fundo marinho está associada uma biota que responde aos processos de alterações ambientais e dentre seus representantes os foraminíferos são considerados bons indicadores marinhos. O objetivo do presente estudo é avaliar a fauna de foraminíferos recentes na Baía do Almirantado durante três verões austral consecutivos (2002/2003, 2003/2004 e 2004/2005) e, através da determinação de algumas variáveis ambientais, compreender melhor a ecologia e a distribuição desses organismos na região. Foram coletadas 56 amostras de sedimento de fundo marinho ao longo da Baía do Almirantado para análise e identificação da fauna de foraminíferos e de variáveis abióticas amostradas na água de fundo e no sedimento. Foram encontradas 66 espécies de foraminíferos bentônicos, sendo 36 espécies aglutinantes e 30 espécies calcárias. As espécies mais freqüentes foram as calcárias Bolivina pseudopunctata, Cassidulinoides parkerianus e Globocassidulina biora, e as aglutinantes Portatrochammina antarctica, Pseudobolivina antarctica e Spiroplectammina biformis. As espécies Portatrochammina antarctica e Pseudobolivina antarctica foram as mais abundantes na porção central e em algumas estações das três enseadas da baía. As regiões mais internas das enseadas apresentaram predominância de espécies hialinas principalmente do gênero Globocassidulina e Cassidulinoides. A predominância de espécies hialinas também foi observada nas estações próximas a desembocadura da Baía do Almirantado com as espécies Bolivina pseudopunctata e Fursenkoina fusiformis. / The Antarctic region is focus of constant scientific surveys because of its importance as global climate changing area. The marine bottom sediment has an associated biota that indicates some environmental changes and among them Foraminifera could be considered as one of the best marine biomarkers. The aim of the present study is describe the recent benthic foraminifera fauna from Admiralty Bay collected during three consecutive austral summers (2002/2003, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005) and better understand its ecology and distribution patterns throughout the bay and its relations with some environmental factors. Fifty-six bottom sediment samples were collected along the Admiralty Bay for analysis and identification of the forams fauna and abiotic factors from sediment and bottom water. We found 66 species of benthic foraminifera, 36 agglutinated and 30 calcareous. The most frequent species were the calcareous Bolivina pseudopunctata, Cassidulinoides parkerianus and Globocassidulina biora, and the agglutinated Portatrochammina antarctica, Pseudobolivina antarctica and Spiroplectammina biformis. The species Portatrochammina antarctica and Pseudobolivina antarctica were the most abundant in the central portion of the bay and in some samples of the three inlets of the bay. The inner parts of the inlets there was a predominance of calcareous such as Globocassidulina spp. and Cassidulinoides spp.. The predominance of calcareous species, such as Bolivina pseudopunctata and Fursenkoina fusiformis was also observed at samples near the connection between the Admiralty Bay and the Bransfield Strait.

This thesis describes the construction of a mobile Insect Monitoring Radars (IMR) and investigations of: the reliability of IMRs for observing insect migration in inland Australia; possible biases in IMR migration estimates; the relation between an insect???s size and its radar properties; radar discrimination between insect species; the effect of weather on the migrations of Australian plague locusts and of moths; the scale of these migrations; and here IMRs are best located. The principles of entomological radar design, and the main features of insect migration in inland Australia, are reviewed. The main procedures used in the study are: calculation of radar performance and of insect radar cross sections (RCSs); reanalysis of a laboratory RCS dataset; statistical analysis of a fouryear dataset of IMR and weather observations; and a field campaign using both two existing fixed IMRs and the new mobile unit. Statistical techniques used include correlation, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, and principal components analysis. The original results of this work include design details of the mobile IMR, extension of radar performance calculations to IMRs and evaluation of flight speed biases, a holistic approach to IMR design, the relation of insect RCS magnitudes and polarization patterns to morphological variables, an estimate of the accuracy of the retrieved parameters, evaluations of three approaches (oneparameter, theory-based, and a novel two-stage method) to target identification, and verification of inferred target identities using results from nearby light traps. Possible sites for future IMRs are identified. The major conclusions are that: a mobile IMR can be built with a performance equal to that of a fixed IMR but at half the cost; significant biases in the signal processing results arise from insect speed; locusts and moths can be distinguished if all RCS parameters are used; IMRs can be designed to match particular requirements; weather has a significant effect on insect migration, the best single predictor of insect numbers being temperature; moonlight has no effect; the spatial correlation of migration properties falls to 50% at a separation of 300 km; and migrating insects can be carried by the wind for 500 km in a single night

Regulatorische T-Zellen (Tregs) spielen eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Regulation atopischer Erkrankungen. Die Voraussetzungen für eine allergische Reaktionslage werden schon während der intrauterinen Entwicklung geschaffen. Über den Einfluss der intrauterinen Umgebung auf die Tregs zur Geburt ist bisher wenig bekannt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit sollte in der prospektiven Geburtskohorten-Studie LINA (Einfluss von Lebensstil und Umweltfaktoren auf das Allergierisiko Neugeborener) geklärt werden, inwiefern der Immunstatus der werdenden Mutter, eine atopische Familienanamnese sowie Umweltexpositionen während der Schwangerschaft den Immunstatus der Neugeborenen beeinflussen. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt wurde dabei auf Tregs gelegt. Weiterhin sollte die Relevanz der Tregs zur Geburt für das Allergierisiko im ersten Lebensjahr des Kindes analysiert werden. Die Messung der Anzahl und Funktionalität der Tregs im Blut der werdenden Mutter in der 34. Schwangerschaftswoche und im Nabelschnurblut erfolgte sowohl durchflusszytometrisch in einer Subkohorte (n=24 Mutter-Kind Paare), als auch durch eine methylspezifische qPCR in der gesamten Kohorte der LINA-Studie (n=346 Mutter-Kind Paare). Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit deuten erstmals darauf hin, dass mütterliche Tregs möglicherweise einen regulatorischen Einfluss hinsichtlich der Programmierung des fötalen Immunsystems haben (Hinz et al., Clin Exp Allergy 2010). Die durchflusszytometrische Charakterisierung der Tregs der Mutter-Kind Paare zeigte beim Vergleich der Expression von CD4, CD25, CD127 und FOXP3, dass der Anteil der CD4+CD25high Tregs im Nabelschnurblut deutlich höher war, der Anteil FOXP3 positiver Zellen innerhalb der CD4+CD25high Tregs Population war zur Geburt jedoch signifikant geringer, verglichen mit den werdenden Müttern. Weiterhin war eine geringe Anzahl mütterlicher Tregs während der Schwangerschaft und eine erhöhte Produktion der TH2-Zytokine IL-4, IL-5 und IL-13 mit erhöhten Gesamt-IgE-Spiegeln im Nabelschnurblut verbunden (Hinz et al., 2010). Durch die Quantifizierung der Tregs auf Basis des TSDR-Methylierungsstatus` im FOXP3 Gen, einer spezifischen und zuverlässigen Methode zum Nachweis stabiler Tregs, konnte der Zusammenhang zwischen einer Vielzahl pränataler Faktoren, Tregs zur Geburt und dem Allergierisiko in der gesamten Geburtskohorte geklärt werden (Hinz et al., Allergy 2011). Das männliche Geschlecht des Kindes, die Atopie der Eltern, Rauchen und Desinfektionsmittel-Exposition während der Schwangerschaft sowie eine erhöhte mütterliche Produktion von IFN-γ, IL-13 und IL-17E war mit einer geringeren Treg-Anzahl im Nabelschnurblut assoziiert. Für Kinder mit einer geringeren Treg-Anzahl im Nabelschnurblut war das Risiko für eine atopische Dermatitis und einer Sensibilisierung gegen Nahrungsmittelallergene im ersten Lebensjahr signifikant höher (Hinz et al., 2011).

I primi due capitoli di questa tesi mirano a determinare se il processo decisionale e le scelte di investimento degli individui possono essere influenzati da variabili psicologiche che non hanno alcuna valenza puramente economica. L'analisi empirica, condotta utilizzando dati relativi ai mercati italiano e statunitense, fornisce dei risultati che sono coerenti con l'ipotesi secondo cui esistono svariati fattori psicologici che giocano un ruolo nel processo mentale che produce le scelte di portafoglio degli agenti economici. Il terzo capitolo affronta la teoria della segmentazione di mercato, secondo cui la curva dei rendimenti è articolata in diversi segmenti temporali che sono a tutti gli effetti separati in termini di allocazione degli investimenti da parte degli operatori. / The first two chapters of this dissertation investigate whether some economically-neutral but psychologically-relevant factors can affect investors' decision-making and, in turn, their investment choices. The empirical analysis, conducted on Italian and US stock market data, provides some evidence consistent with the view that several psychological elements indeed play a role in the mental process that generates people's portfolio allocation choices. The third chapter consists in an examination of the market segmentation hypothesis, according to which government bonds with different maturities are not perceived to any extent as substitutes by investors, the consequence being that the yield curve in fact contains different maturity segments that are totally separated from one another.

Este trabajo de tesis doctoral pretende contribuir a mejorar el conocimiento de la biología y la ecología del erizo de mar Paracentrotus lividus desde la perspectiva de su explotación como recurso marisquero. Con este fin se han analizado dos aspectos de la biología de este invertebrado de interés para su explotación sostenible: el ciclo gonadal y la dinámica poblacional de la especie. Para abordar el estudio del ciclo gonadal se realizó un muestreo mensual en tres localidades situadas a lo largo del litoral de Cantabria. En cada localidad se muestreó en dos hábitats contrastados: charcos de marea y fondos infralitorales durante dos épocas de puesta, desde mayo de 2004 hasta septiembre de 2005. Además de muestrear erizos, se tomaron datos de temperatura y de concentración de clorofila para estudiar la relación de la reproducción con los factores ambientales. El ciclo gonadal de P. lividus en Cantabria comienza en el mes de marzo y se extiende hasta el mes de septiembre, con entre uno y dos periodos de puesta a principios de primavera y en verano, en función del año y la población. Las diferencias entre las distintas localidades muestreadas fueron más importantes a las observadas entre los distintos hábitats, si bien en líneas generales todas las poblaciones mostraron un ciclo gonadal similar. El fotoperiodo parece mostrar un importante papel en el control de la vitelogénesis, que se inicia en los meses con menos horas de luz y termina en los meses estivales, con duraciones máximas del día. Otras variables como temperatura y estado nutricional también pueden tener un efecto significativo sobre este ciclo y probablemente son las responsables de algunas de las variaciones del ciclo más importantes observadas en las distintas poblaciones.El estudio de la dinámica poblacional de la especie se realizó en la cala de La Soledad, en la localidad cántabra de Laredo. Durante 40 meses (desde julio de 2004 hasta octubre de 2007) se realizó un muestreo mensual en una zona de esta cala que albergaba una población de P. lividus con más de 16.000 erizos distribuidos en un área aproximada de 1.200 metros cuadrados. La zona de estudio se dividió en 15 cuadrículas imaginarias. En cada cuadrícula se lanzaba cinco veces un cuadrado de área conocida de 0,25 m2, para un total de 75 veces por muestreo. Todos los erizos encontrados dentro del cuadrado de área conocida eran medidos y la densidad anotada. De esta forma se obtenía una distribución de la frecuencia de tallas para la población analizada, así como datos de densidad para cada cuadrícula muestreada.Una vez obtenidas la distribución de frecuencias para todos los meses muestreados, se calculo un modelo de crecimiento para la especie mediante el seguimiento de cohortes. Además, se estudió el reclutamiento de la especie en la zona de estudio, se analizaron los desplazamientos de la especie mediante análisis de densidad en las distintas cuadrículas y se estimó la tasa de mortalidad para algunas de las cohortes estudiadas. El crecimiento de P. lividus en la localidad se ajustó a la curva de Von Bertalanffy, más concretamente a su adaptación estacional, pues presentaba importantes diferencias de crecimiento entre el verano y el invierno. Se obtuvieron dos modelos de crecimiento, muy similares entre sí en el valor de sus parámetros, que fueron unidos en un solo modelo con un valor de K de 0,245 ± 0,03 y un valor de L∞ de 69 ± 4 mm. El reclutamiento no mostró diferencias significativas entre los distintos años estudiados, observándose un doble periodo de asentamiento que coincide con lo observado en el estudio del ciclo gonadal. Además, se observó una relación significativa entre la densidad de juveniles y la densidad de adultos, que permite pensar en la existencia de un reclutamiento denso-dependiente. No se observaron migraciones para el conjunto de la población dentro de la zona de estudio, no obstante se observaron desplazamientos durante el desarrollo del erizo desde zonas de asentamiento hasta zonas de crecimiento, siendo estos especialmente intensos a partir de cierta talla. La mortalidad Z presenta un valor medio para el conjunto de cohortes analizadas de 0,256 para erizos con una edad comprendida entre los ocho y los veintisiete meses. En este periodo, la mortalidad no permanece constante, sino que desciende a medida que los erizos aumentan de talla. / The main objective of this work was to improve the understanding of the biology and ecology of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, from a fishery perspective. With this purpose, two interesting topics in the sustainable fisheries of this invertebrate were analyzed: gonad cycle and populations dynamics. The gonad cycle was studied in three localities along the Cantabrian littoral. In each locality, two habitats were sampled monthly: intertidal rock pools and infralitoral hard bottoms, from May 2004 to September 2005. In each sample, at least 15 sea urchins were collected for each habitat and locality. Moreover, temperature was measured and water samples were collected in plastic bottles to estimate chlorophyll concentration. The reproductive cycle of P. lividus starts in March and lasts until September, with one or two main spawning periods per year (depending on year and population) at the beginning of Spring and during the Summer. The differences between sea urchins from different localities but the same habitat were more important than between urchins of the same locality but different habitat, however all the urchins studied shown a similar reproductive cycle. The photoperiod shows an important role in the vitellogenesis control. This process starts in the months with the lowest photoperiod values and finishes in the highest. Other environmental variables as temperature or nutrional state are important too, causing some of the most important differences observed in the gonad cycle of the analyzed populations. The population dynamics were studied in the cove of La Soledad, in the cantabrian locality of Laredo. Along 40 months (from July 2004 to October 2007) the cove was sampled monthly in an area of 1.200 m2 with more than 16,000 urchins. This area was divided in a grid of 15 squares. In each of them, 5 randomly placed 0.25 m2 quadrats were sampled. All the urchins found in the quadrats were measured and its density counted, getting a frequency distribution of the population analyzed and density values of each square. A growth model for P. lividus was calculated knowing the monthly size-frequency distribution. Moreover, recruitment, migrations and mortality in the studied area were studied.P. lividus growth showed a good fit to the Von Bertalanffy curve, especially to the seasonality model, since the growth showed significant differences between the summer and the winter. Two growth curves were calculated, both of them very similar in growth parameters. Finally, both curves were joined in one model with a K value of 0,245 ± 0,03 and a L∞ de 69 ± 4 mm.The recruitment did not show significant differences between the studied years. A double settlement period was observed, coinciding with the spawning period described in the gonad cycle study. Moreover, a significant relationship between recruits' density and adults' density was observed, suggesting a positive density-dependent factor in the recruitment. The population did not show migrations in the study area. However, during the development of the urchins, movements were observed from settlement areas to growth areas, being especially important from a certain size. The mortality (Z) presented a mean value of 0.256 for all the cohorts analyzed in urchins with an age range between 8 and 27 months. In this period, mortality decreases with the urchins growth.

Magistro darbe tiriama geriamojo vandens tarša geležimi ir manganu bei tam tikri aplinkos veiksniai, kurie gali didinti riziką susirgti įgimtomis širdies ydomis. Darbo objektas – geležis ir manganas geriamajame vandenyje, kenksmingi aplinkos veiksniai, įgimtos širdies ydos, rizika. Darbo tikslas – 1) išanalizuoti tam tikrų aplinkos veiksnių poveikį naujagimių sveikatai ir 2) įvertinti vandens taršos geležimi ir manganu bei kitų aplinkos veiksnių įtaką įgimtų širdies ydų rizikai. Darbo metodai – atvejis-kontrolė tyrimas, naudoti epidemiologijos analizės metodai nustatant suminę ir priskirtinę rizikas ir jų 95 proc. PI. Darbo rezultatai. Įgimtų širdies anomalijų riziką lėmė geležies ir mangano rizikos santykis (RS=1,06; 95 proc. PI=0,74-1,51), ribinis motinos amžius gimdymo metu (RS=1,73; 95 proc. PI=1,07-2,79); šeiminė padėtis (RS=2,82; 95 proc. PI=1,60-4,96); motinos išsilavinimas (RS=1,06; 95 proc. PI=0,74-1,52); motinos rūkymas (RS=2,73; 95 proc. PI=1,75-4,25); cheminės medžiagos darbe (RS=2,04; 95 proc. PI=1,09-4,17); kenksmingi gyvenamosios aplinkos veiksniai, tarp kurių dažniausiai minimi intensyvus eismas (RS=1,21; 95 proc. PI=0,90-2,79), nepalankūs santykiai šeimoje (RS=1,06; 95 proc. PI=0,51-2,18), žmogui tenkantis < nei 1 kambarys (RS=1,16; 95 proc. PI=0,73-1,83) ir kiti kenksmingi veiksniai (RS=1,21; 95 proc. PI=0,73-1,98). Geriamojo vandens tarša geležimi ir manganu bei kiti aplinkos veiksniai turėjo tendenciją didinti įgimtų širdies ydų riziką. / In this Master's work examined the drinking water with iron and manganese, and certain environmental factors, which may increase the risk of congenital heart defects. Work item - the iron and manganese in drinking water and harmful environmental factors, congenital heart failure, the risk. The aim - 1) to analyze certain environmental factors impact the health of the newborn, and 2) to assess the pollution of water with iron and manganese, and other environmental factors influence the risk of congenital heart failure. Working methods - case-control study, the use of analytical methods for determining the epidemiology of the total and attributable risks and their 95 percent. CI. Results of the work. Congenital cardiac anomalies has led to the risk of iron and manganese and the risk ratio (RS=1,06, 95 percent CI=0,74-1,51), the threshold age of the mother during childbirth (RS=1,73, 95 percent CI=1,07-2,79), family situation (RS= 2,82, 95 percent CI=1,60-4,96), maternal education (RS=1,06, 95 percent CI=0,74-1, 52); mother smoking (RS=2,73, 95 percent CI=1,75-4,25), the chemical at work (RS=2,04, 95 percent. CI 1,09-4,17); harmful to residential environmental factors, among which the most frequently referred to traffic congestion (RS = 1.21, 95 percent CI=0,90-2,79), adverse family relations (RS=1,06, 95 percent CI=0.51 -2.18), per person <than 1 room (RS=1,16, 95 percent CI=0,73-1,83), and other nuisances (RS=1.21, 95 percent CI=0, 73-1,98). the risk of heart failure... [to full text]

This thesis describes the construction of a mobile Insect Monitoring Radars (IMR) and investigations of: the reliability of IMRs for observing insect migration in inland Australia; possible biases in IMR migration estimates; the relation between an insect???s size and its radar properties; radar discrimination between insect species; the effect of weather on the migrations of Australian plague locusts and of moths; the scale of these migrations; and here IMRs are best located. The principles of entomological radar design, and the main features of insect migration in inland Australia, are reviewed. The main procedures used in the study are: calculation of radar performance and of insect radar cross sections (RCSs); reanalysis of a laboratory RCS dataset; statistical analysis of a fouryear dataset of IMR and weather observations; and a field campaign using both two existing fixed IMRs and the new mobile unit. Statistical techniques used include correlation, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, and principal components analysis. The original results of this work include design details of the mobile IMR, extension of radar performance calculations to IMRs and evaluation of flight speed biases, a holistic approach to IMR design, the relation of insect RCS magnitudes and polarization patterns to morphological variables, an estimate of the accuracy of the retrieved parameters, evaluations of three approaches (oneparameter, theory-based, and a novel two-stage method) to target identification, and verification of inferred target identities using results from nearby light traps. Possible sites for future IMRs are identified. The major conclusions are that: a mobile IMR can be built with a performance equal to that of a fixed IMR but at half the cost; significant biases in the signal processing results arise from insect speed; locusts and moths can be distinguished if all RCS parameters are used; IMRs can be designed to match particular requirements; weather has a significant effect on insect migration, the best single predictor of insect numbers being temperature; moonlight has no effect; the spatial correlation of migration properties falls to 50% at a separation of 300 km; and migrating insects can be carried by the wind for 500 km in a single night