Os museus de história natural são instituições multifacetadas. Constituem-se como espaços privilegiados para discussão da teoria evolutiva, uma vez são instituições de pesquisa científica, repositórios de material comparativo e meios de comunicação, especialmente por meio de suas exposições. Neste trabalho, o animal é entendido como interface entre duas áreas: museologia e zoologia. Discute-se, então a musealização da zoologia, ou seja, os processos que tornam um animal objeto de museu (musealia) e o seu uso em narrativas evolutivas de exposições de museus de história natural. Para tanto, foram analisadas exposições de três museus de história natural latino-americanos: \"Las Aves\" - Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia; \"Tiempo y materia. Laberintos de la evolución\" - Museo de La Plata; e \"Conchas, corais e borboletas\" - Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. A heterogeneidade de acervos e recursos expográficos exigiu o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia objetiva e replicável para descrição das exposições, estruturada em: (i) fichas; (ii) matrizes conceituais; e (iii) planta baixa. A partir do detalhamento das exposições realizou-se a análise comparativa, considerando três aspectos: presença de conceitos evolutivas nas narrativas; (ii) abordagem da teoria evolutiva; e (iii) concepção de museologia. Tais análises demonstraram que \"Las Aves\" e \"Conchas, corais e borboletas\" são exposições mais semelhantes, tanto nos conceitos evolutivos presentes na narrativa, como na abordagem sistemática da teoria evolutiva na exposição. \"Tiempo y materia\" mostrou-se como uma exposição diferenciada, pois sua narrativa foi construída a partir do conceito de evolução e não de grupos zoológicos, acumulando o maior número de conceitos evolutivos presentes na narrativa e uma abordagem voltada aos mecanismos evolutivos. Contudo, quanto à concepção de museologia, nas três exposições há o distanciamento entre o visitante e o conteúdo proposto, sendo que a teoria evolutiva é apresentada como fato corroborado pelo acervo, textos e outros recursos expográficos. Quanto a comunicação da teoria evolutiva e o papel comunicacional dos animais em exposições, observou-se que a construção teórica das narrativas está restrita aos textos e que os animais emprestam suas estruturas para ilustração e demonstração de conceitos evolutivos apresentados textualmente, servindo como \"comprovação\" da realidade e materialidade da teoria. / Natural history museums are multifaceted institutions. They constituted a privilege venue for discussion of the Theory of Evolution, as they are institucions of scientific research, and also a commucation medium especially due to its exhibitions. For this study, animals are understood as an interface between two fields: museology and zoology. Submitted for discussion is the musealisation of zoology, that is, the processes that make animals a museum object (musealia) and its use on evolutionary narratives on natural historical museums exhibitions. For this purpose, exhibition in three Latin American natural history museums were analyzed: \"Las Aves\" - Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (Buenos Aires, Argentina); \"Tiempo y materia. Laberintos de la evolución\" - Museo de La Plata (La Plata, Argentina); e \"Conchas, corais e borboletas\" - Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Heterogeneous collections and exhibitions resources demanded the development of an objective and replicable methodology for describing those exhibits, structured in (i) data sheets; (ii) conceptual matrixes; and (iii) ground plan of the facilities. Detailed description of the exhibitions led to a comparative analysis around three items: (a) the presence of evolutionary concepts in their narratives; (b) their approaches on evolutionay theory; and (c) their museological conceotualisation. Analyses demonstrated that \"Las Aves\" and \"Conchas, corais e borboletas\" were more similar to each other, both in the evolutionary concepsts presents and in their systematics-oriented approach on evolutionary theory. On the other hand, \"Tiempo y material\" had its own narrative built on the notion of evolution itself and not on animal taxonomic work. As for their museological conceptualization, in all three exhibitions there is a gap between the visitor and the proposed content, and evolutionary theory is presented as a corroborated fact by the objects, texts and others exhibitions resources. Upon reflecting on the one communication of the evolutionary theory and the communication role of animals in exhibition, one can notice the the theoretical construction of narratives is restrict to the associated texts, and the animal themselves lend their own structures for the illustration and demonstration of textually presented evolutionay concepts, serving as \"proof\" of the reality and materiality.

Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortez is a literary natural history presented in mixed forms of nature memoir, personal essay and redacted field notes. Intended as narrative nonfiction for general readership, it focusses on the natural history of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, attending especially to the littoral zone of the Sea of Cortez. Numbered chapters narrate several sea kayak expeditions led by the author to the Isla Espiritu Santo archipelago of Baja California Sur. Chapters chronicling discrete expeditions are sectioned off by two long interludes that describe natural history explorations in the northern state, Baja California. The title essay, which transitions between the second interlude and the final chapter, investigates natural history from the perspective of material ecocriticism,.

Ischemic stroke is the most common cause of handicap in adults and the third most common cause of death in Sweden. Internal carotid artery atherosclerosis is an important cause and accounts for 20% of ischemic strokes. Screening for carotid atherosclerosis has been debated over the past two decades. The aims of this thesis were (I) to study the prevalence of and risk factors associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis among 65 year old men, (II) to evaluate a simplified ultrasound protocol (the grayscale/mosaic method) for the exclusion of significant carotid artery stenosis for screening purpose, (III) to evaluate the required effect of primary preventive therapy in reducing risk of stroke among patients with asymptomatic carotid disease in order for screening to be cost-effective and (IV) to study natural history of carotid atherosclerosis and outcome five years after screening in 65-year old men. The prevalence of atherosclerotic plaques was high (25%), while the prevalence of >50% stenosis was relatively low (2.0%). Smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease were independent risk factors and individuals with several risk factors had a higher prevalence of stenosis. Most of those at risk were not on any preventive medication. A simplified grayscale/mosaic method was found to have a high negative predictive value for significant carotid stenosis. The minimum stroke risk reduction effect required for preventive intervention to be cost effective was 22%. Carotid atherosclerotic plaque and stenosis 50-79% has a relatively benign development during five years if treated with BMT and risk factor adjustment. Very few progressed to symptomatic disease. More severe stenosis (80-99%) had higher rate of neurological events, and may benefit from additional intervention. In conclusion, prevalence of silent atherosclerotic disease in carotid arteries was common among 65-year-old men. Most of those at risk had no secondary prevention. There is a simple DUS method that could be used for screening purpose. Screening for carotid disease is only cost-effective if the preventive strategy lowers the risk of stroke by 22%. Men with plaques and moderate stenosis have a good prognosis, but among those with severe stenosis there is a need for further intervention. / Screening for asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis

M.Ed. / The aim and purpose of the study is to explore the Natural Science (NS) teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence in Senior Phase township schools in Soweto. An in-depth literature review on theoretical perspective in Natural Science teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence in Senior Phase indicated that these partially addressed the key questions of the study, namely: what are the perceptions ofNatural Science teachers' about their teaching competence in Senior Phase township schools? What competences are perceived to enhance and contribute to Natural Science teaching in Senior Phase schools m Soweto? This study identifies a number of motivational competences that have been derived from current theories. The theory developed from the literature on NS teachers' competences review, facilitated the development of an empirical research. Qualitative research was conducted to explore NS teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence in Senior Phase schools in Soweto. This was with a view to facilitating the improvement thereof wherever necessary. Seven NS teachers from three Diepkloof Senior Phase schools were sampled. It also emerged from the findings of the research that there are, teachers who are not qualified to teach NS subject at the Senior Phase level. There also seems to be a lack of competent N.S. teachers in Senior Phase schools in Soweto. The high numbers of learners in NS classes create challenges for NS teachers to provide individual attention to learners. NS laboratories are poorly equipped and that the district officials do not provide sufficient support to NS teachers so that they can be more effective in their teaching. The study gave the researcher the opportunity to explore the teaching competence ofNS teachers in three Senior Phase township schools in Soweto, where the competence gap had already been expressed. There were many challenges identified by the findings. A comprehensive picture of the many inter-dependant aspects affecting the NS teaching competencies was acquired. The research conducted gave the researcher the motivational framework to establish both the current level ofNS teaching competence and the ideal levels of competences to which the three schools and other schools nationwide could aspire.

The thesis examines the photographic collection of Joseph Denfield, an archivist and historian who experimented with photography over a twenty-year period. The study is located within the field of critical visual studies that focuses on historical photography in its depiction of identities and groups in the context of social change. The thesis pays attention to the manner and extent to which Denfield participated in regional visual economies at various moments during his photographic career in order to establish his contribution towards a visual history in Africa and more broadly Southern Africa. It follows Denfield’s career trajectory chronologically. It begins with a study of his photographic work in Nigeria which was oriented around so-called ‘pagan tribes’ and which was framed within the discourse of ethnography. It then pays attention to his growth as an artist in photography that resulted from years of exhibiting in salons. I read these photographs and texts in relation to his earlier work in Nigeria given the extent to which he drew on anthropological discourses. It is through his involvement with photographic art circles that Denfield developed as a historian as a result of his research into the history of photography and regional visual histories. This took the form of both unearthing historical photographs as well as photographing historical sites to construct the past in particular ways through the visual. At each stage he translated these histories into public forms of representation and power thus he figures among a small group of ‘colonial’ photographers that shaped the visual economy of Southern Africa. Through a detailed study of his work, the thesis thus aims to re-think through new dimensions of visual culture.

O município de São Paulo possui 62.356 ha e apenas 16 % de áreas verdes. Desenvolvemos um estudo sobre a composição de espécies, história natural, diversidade e distribuição das serpentes no município. Ao longo de 44 meses, registramos 38 espécies de cinco famílias. Comparamos a diversidade de espécies de três unidades climáticas: áreas Norte, Central e Sul. Houve predominância de espécies terrícolas e anurófagas. Maior abundância foi observada na estação chuvosa, e deve estar relacionada à abundância de presas e/ou reprodução. A espécie dominante foi Oxyrhopus guibei, com 24 % de dominância, seguida por Sibynomorphus mikanii (21 %) e Bothrops jararaca (16 %). A área Central apresentou maior diversidade, com espécies típicas de diferentes fisionomias vegetais, como Cerrado, Serra da Mantiqueira e Serra do Mar. Historicamente, a região do município apresentava um mosaico de diferentes formações vegetais, que apesar de encontrarem-se fragmentadas atualmente, ainda abrigam conjuntamente alta diversidade de serpentes. / The municipality of São Paulo has 62,356 ha, and only 16 % of green areas. We developed a study on species composition, natural history, diversity and distribution of snakes of the municipality. In 44 months, we recorded 38 species of snakes belonging to five families. We compared the species diversity of three climatic units: Northern, Central and Southern areas. The terrestrial and anurophagous species were predominant. Greater abundance was observed in the rainy season, and should be related to prey abundance and/or reproduction. The dominant species were Oxyrhopus guibei, with 24% of dominance, followed by Sibynomorphus mikanii (21 %), and Bothrops jararaca (16 %). The Central area showed larger diversity, with typical species from different physiognomic forms as Cerrado, Serra da Mantiqueira, and Serra do Mar. Historically, the municipality region showed a mosaic of different physiognomic forms that despite of being fragmented nowadays, still enclose together a high diversity of snakes.

This diploma project intends to investigate the Whole through its individual Parts by two polar logics, plan and mass. Through the museum typology, the idea of singular rooms generate a compound of opposite sensibilities, circulation and program that will offer new exhibition halls for the Botanical Department of the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.  Museum as typology has throughout history dealt with the architectural issues such as spatial sequence, hierarchy and organizing space. Thereby have dealt the question of a Part-to-Whole relationship.  The immediate relation between the individual rooms has been the starting point in my thesis. Rather than beginning with an envelope as a bounding box for a plan, the plan and the individual rooms sets the conditions for the envelope. In my project the spatial logic derives from a process based upon two polar opposites. On the one hand line-work and patterns, and on the other volumetric mass studies. The orthogonal structures in contrast to the swollen and spherical shapes. The relationship of the contrasting formal logics generates opposite meetings and sensibilities such as pressed/ pressured, heavy/light, imprinted/ implanted structures. The awkward relationship does not consider any smooth transitions, but instead a pressed and nesting sensation of which also the programmatic organization and circulation is closely tied to. / Examensarbetet ämnar att undersöka Helheten genom dess individuella Enheter genom två motsatta designförhållanden, plan och massa, 2-dimensionalitet kontra 3-dimensionalitet. Genom museumtypologin genererar sammansättningen av singulära rum en enhetlig struktur av motsatta sensibiliteter, rörelsemönster och program som erbjuder nya utställningsrum åt den Botaniska Enheten för Naturhistoriska Museet i Stockholm. Museum som typologi har genom tiderna handskats med arkitektoniska frågor så som spatiala rörelsemönster, hierarki och organisation. Därigeom även det så kallade Del-till-Helhets-problematiken.  Den direkta relationen mellan individuella rum har varit utgångspunkten i mitt arbete. Istället för att tillsätta en ram för helheten genom dess yttre fasad, har jag varit intresserad av att låta planen och de inre rummen avgöra hur det exteriöra ter sig. Därav har planen varit en viktig utgånspunkt i processen.  I mitt projekt utgår den spatiala logiken från en process som är baserad på två motsatta designstudier. Det 2 dimensionella, planmönstret kontra det 3dimensionella volymstudierna. Det ortogonala i kontrast till det svullna och sfäriska kropparna. Relationen mellan de kontrasterande logikerna genererar motsatta möten, relationer och sensibiliteter så som tryckt/tryckande, tungt/lätt, intryck/implanterat etc. Det påtvingade och obekväma mötet mellan de olika kropparna erbjuder inte några mjuka övergångar, utan snarare en påtryckt och intensiv relation, som även den programatiska organisationen och rörelssemönstret är anknutet till.

The San Luis Valley is a large valley formation in Colorado surrounded on either side by mountain ranges exceeding 4,267 m. Within the Valley, two of the 14 amphibian and reptile species are dwarfed: the short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) and the Great Plains toad (Anaxyrus cognatus). Since its initial reporting in 1968 and confirmation in 1981, no research further investigating this dwarfism has been conducted. I collected morphological measurements to determine the extent and patterns of dwarfism of both species. I then investigated the genetics of both species using mitochondrial DNA to determine whether they are genetically distinct, their colonization histories within the Valley, and whether the Valley functions as a reproductive barrier. Lastly, I report life/natural-history data to determine the effects of dwarfism. Phrynosoma hernandesi and A. cognatus were significantly dwarfed and showed an increase in sexual size dimorphism compared to populations surrounding the Valley. Valley populations of P. hernandesi show high amounts of genetic divergence from populations surrounding the Valley while A. cognatus shows minimal genetic variation throughout its range. Based on the variable distribution of genetic variation in the Valley, historic climate patterns, and fossil records, there are two most likely colonization histories for P. hernandesi: 1.) populations colonized the Valley during a singular event and have since diverged or 2.) populations colonized the Valley during two events that correlate with the two warm, dry periods within the last 0.8 MYA. Dwarfed P. hernandesi consumed diets similar to populations outside the Valley although there is local variation in the diversity of prey items consumed. Phrynosoma hernandesi at Zapata Ranch showed annual variation in body size and morphology while population dynamics correlate with the timing of precipitation. Also, females show a reduced reproductive output, producing fewer neonates but of equal size to non-dwarfed neonates. Collectively, findings from this study suggest that Valley populations represent unique taxa and should be considered for further genetic study to determine their taxonomic and conservation status.

Several reports of North American bumble bee (Bombus Latreille) decline have been documented across the continent, but no study has fully assessed the geographic scope of decline. In this study I discuss the importance of Natural History Collections (NHC) in estimating historic bumble bee distributions and abundances, as well as in informing current surveys. To estimate changes in distribution and relative abundance I compare historic data assembled from a >73,000 specimen database with a contemporary 3-year survey of North American bumble bees across 382 locations in the contiguous U.S.A. Based on my results, four historically abundant bumble bees, B. affinis, B. occidentalis, B. pensylvanicus and B. terricola, have declined by 72 - 96% relative abundance across their native distribution, while B. bifarius, B. bimaculatus, B. impatiens, and B. vosnesenskii appear to be relatively stable. Finally, I provide some notes on the distribution, abundance, and frequency of Nosema bombi infections in Alaskan B. occidentalis.

With the intention of analysing changes in natural history, human variation and the exercise of imperial power across the British Caribbean, this study poses the following questions: How did changes in natural history impact the understandings and applications of human variety, 1700–1750? How did natural history influence the exercise of imperial power in the British Caribbean? The study posits that there is a connection between natural history and imperial power. Through the contexts of the history of natural history and the history of fear, biopolitics acts as a theoretical framework wherethrough two themes of natural history, "spirits" and weaponry, are analysed using the travel writings of Hans Sloane, Henry Barham, Charles Leslie, Griffith Hughes and Patrick Browne. The study finds that natural history mainly manifested itself as a tool of imperial power by manufacturing two primary ways in which humans could, on demand, be excluded from the realm of humanhood. The first consists of an early eighteenth-century "moral conditional humanhood", manifesting as a symptom of natural history’s theological focus. The second is a mid-eighteenth-century "biological conditional humanhood", being a symptom of that time’s natural-historical focus on biology to determine human variation. The study finds support for a connection between natural history and the exercise of imperial power, for instance, concerning how fear is emphasised in the early eighteenth-century – to hide the violence exercised by Europeans – to then become hidden in the mid-eighteenth-century. In addition, human variation presented itself with a malleability, with the enslaved population being more malleable than the native population.