No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse which factors drive migration from Turkey towards Europe and whether the welfare benefits play a major role in the decision making process. The analysis is based on a gravitation model of migration in log-log form. The FE and RE methods were employed as estimation techniques and the Hausman test enabled to distinguish them. The present problem of heteroscedasticity was solved by adjusting the model with robust standard errors. The most important determinants appear to be individual income which immigrants can earn in the states of the EU-15 and welfare benefits provided by the EU-15. The number of acquisition of citizenship, as a proxy for migration policy of countries the EU-15, plays also important role. The limitation of the model is that the rest of the variables are not statistically significant and therefore we do not consider them as important determinants.

In most birds, changing photoperiods from winter to spring and from summer to fall have two consequences: increased feeding followed by migratory activity. To date, the neural system controlling the activation of migratory activity remains unknown, though behavioral observations point to a possible mechanism. During the migration season, diurnal songbirds show extensive disruption of their sleep/wake cycle, sleeping during the day and flying at night. In mammals, similarly altered cycles of activity result from blocking orexin expression in the hypothalamus. It is possible that decreased orexin expression is associated with migratory activity in songbirds. In addition, changes in ingestive behaviors and fuel availability may also be associated with disruptions in the sleep/wake cycles of migratory birds. The studies in my dissertation will address these issues through three main specific aims. First, I will determine that orexin systems are conserved in vertebrate brains. Second, I will test the association between orexin and migratory activity in songbirds. Third, I will confirm the association between fuel availability, orexin expression and migratory activity in songbirds. / text

The use of carotenoid pigments as an archive of feeding behaviour and thus as environmental markers was tested using eggs and juveniles of sea trout and brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) invertebrates from the River Don and ectoparasitic lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Kroyer) of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Carotenoids were analysed by normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the resulting peaks examined in multivariate analyses. Analysis of trout eggs of known parentage suggested that the pigment profile of each egg reflects the migratory history of the maternal fish and it is also representative of the entire egg batch. With the same method, eggs of unknown or disputed parentage could be identified as those of sea trout, brown trout or salmon. Diagnostic properties permitting identification were high amounts of astaxanthin in sea trout eggs; while the presence of lutein, zeaxanthin and a greater number of carotenoid peaks were indicative of brown trout eggs. In hatchery experiments it was established that the diagnostic maternal pigment fingerprint is identifiable for some 1300°d post fertilisation. In this time the majority of carotenoids are metabolised to astaxanthin esters and exogenous feeding will have begun. Muscle tissue carotenoids of juvenile trout in the River Don clearly separated 0+ trout from 1+ fish. The former arrange in a single discrete cluster on the basis of pigmentation, suggesting a common diet throughout the river catchment. Older parr show a specialist diet typical to each region but different from fry, indicating a shift in diet acquisition throughout early life stages. Pigment analysis of stream-living invertebrates and one terrestrial invertebrate revealed that all, except the terrestrial ear-wig, Rhabdiopteryx sp., Gammarus sp. and Leuctra sp., provide a homogeneous pigment profile. In contrast, Gammarus sp. was found to be the supplier of the greatest relative amount of astaxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. The diagnostic potential of carotenoids in sea lice was explored in samples taken from wild and farm Atlantic salmon fed on an artificial diet. Astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, which are pigments diagnostic of a natural and synthetic diet respectively, were detected. The ratio of canthaxanthin-like pigment to astaxanthin (C:A ratio) was 45:1 in farm lice and 8:1 in wild lice. Carotenoid content therefore could potentially be used as a tracer of origin of sea lice in epidemiological investigations.

No description available.

acase@tulane.edu / Tyrannus is a highly diverse genus with respect to migration strategies within the largest adaptive radiation of birds in the world (Tyrannidae). Within the genus, there are Nearctic- Neotropical migrant, Neotropical austral migrant, intratropical migrant, and resident species and subspecies. The overall goal of this dissertation was to use a variety of methods to explain the diversity of migration patterns found in the New World (focusing on the Tyrannus genus) to gain a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of migration in birds. In my first chapter I developed a phylogeny to account for phylogenetic relatedness in analyses demonstrating that natural selection has acted on two morphologies relevant to the strategy-specific niches of migratory versus resident Tyrannus (wing pointedness), which may be part of a suite of co-adaptations that are adaptive for migratory populations. Then I showed that New World migratory passerines are tracking with different aspects of seasonality in the Northern versus the Southern Hemisphere, better equipping further research exploring differential impacts of climate change on different types of migrants. In my final chapter I developed a novel gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) protocol to discover evidence that austral migrant Fork-tailed flycatchers had higher concentrations of oleic and linoleic acid in their diets compared to residents, demonstrating that a diet switch from insects to fruit is important to fuel spring migration, via the accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This study has improved our understanding of the ecology and evolution of migration in birds by extending hypotheses developed for Nearctic migrants into a genus with both Nearctic and austral migrants. Taken together, my findings demonstrate important new information for proximate versus ultimate mechanisms driving the evolution of migration in birds, as well as elucidating important ecological patterns of Nearctic-Neotropical versus Neotropical austral migration that may be important for developing species distribution models and conservation plans under climate change scenarios where both future temperature and rainfall regimes are expected to change. / 1 / Maggie MacPherson

Metal-containing polymers (MCPs) are emerging as a class of interesting materials with promising properties and functions. Although many techniques are available for their synthesis, the range of main-chain MCPs available for material applications is limited. Most well-defined main-chain MCP syntheses rely only on the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of metallocene monomers, thereby new synthetic approaches for novel MCPs are in high demand. In this study a new polymerization technique, migratory insertion polymerization (MIP), was explored and used to produce novel types of MCPs with asymmetric iron repeat-units connected by phosphine-iron (Ph2P-Fe) and iron-acyl (Fe-CO) bonds in the backbone. This research work involved the synthesis, characterization and polymerization of cyclopentadienyl(dicarbonyl)(diphenylphosphinopropyl)iron (FpP). FpP consists of an Fp functional group capable of undergoing a migratory insertion reaction (MIR) and a phosphine group to assist the MIR. FpP was prepared via the reaction between cyclopentadienyl dicarbonyl iron metalate (Fp anion) and (3-chloropropyl)diphenylphosphine, and was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H NMR, 31P NMR, 13C NMR, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopies. The molecules undergo intramolecular cyclization reactions at low concentrations in organic solvents, while polymerization occurs in bulk at 70°C, leading to polymers with number-average molecular weights (Mn) up to 12,000 g/mol and narrow molecular weight distributions (PDI=1.08-1.33). These polymers are soluble in a wide range of organic solvents and have a Tg of 100°C.

Not available / text

Metal-containing polymers (MCPs) are emerging as a class of interesting materials with promising properties and functions. Although many techniques are available for their synthesis, the range of main-chain MCPs available for material applications is limited. Most well-defined main-chain MCP syntheses rely only on the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of metallocene monomers, thereby new synthetic approaches for novel MCPs are in high demand. In this study a new polymerization technique, migratory insertion polymerization (MIP), was explored and used to produce novel types of MCPs with asymmetric iron repeat-units connected by phosphine-iron (Ph2P-Fe) and iron-acyl (Fe-CO) bonds in the backbone. This research work involved the synthesis, characterization and polymerization of cyclopentadienyl(dicarbonyl)(diphenylphosphinopropyl)iron (FpP). FpP consists of an Fp functional group capable of undergoing a migratory insertion reaction (MIR) and a phosphine group to assist the MIR. FpP was prepared via the reaction between cyclopentadienyl dicarbonyl iron metalate (Fp anion) and (3-chloropropyl)diphenylphosphine, and was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H NMR, 31P NMR, 13C NMR, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopies. The molecules undergo intramolecular cyclization reactions at low concentrations in organic solvents, while polymerization occurs in bulk at 70°C, leading to polymers with number-average molecular weights (Mn) up to 12,000 g/mol and narrow molecular weight distributions (PDI=1.08-1.33). These polymers are soluble in a wide range of organic solvents and have a Tg of 100°C.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF MICHAEL D. GASKINS, for the Masters of Science degree in FORESTRY, presented on FEBRUARY 26, 2010, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: A GIS APPROACH TO PRIORITIZE PRIVATE LANDHOLDINGS IN THE LOWER KASKASKIA RIVER CORRIDOR INCORPORATING MIGRATORY BIRD HABITAT CRITERIA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Eric Holzmueller Loss of forested area and corresponding increase in forest fragmentation has decreased Neotropical migrant bird habitat quality across the Midwestern United States. Typically, efforts to increase habitat quality by reforesting agricultural areas are done on a first come, first serve basis. In order to increase the efficiency of these restoration efforts, a prioritized ranking system is needed to obtain the greatest increase in habitat quality possible for the fewest amount of hectares restored to forest. This project examines the use of a GIS based multi-criteria approach to prioritize lands for reforestation in the Kaskaskia River Corridor (KRC), Illinois. We prioritized areas for reforestation based on nine landscape metrics: available agricultural land, forest cover gaps, edge density metric, proximity to river, 200 m corridor area, total forest core area metric, fringe core area, distance to primary core value, and primary core area. The multi-criteria analysis revealed that high priority areas for reforestation were most likely to be close to the riparian corridor and existing large blocks of forest. Analysis of simulated reforestation (0, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 10.0, 25.0, and 50.0% of highest priority parcels reforested) revealed different responses for multiple landscape metrics used to quantify forest fragmentation following reforestation, but indicated that the KRC would get the greatest rate of return on reforestation efforts by reforesting 10.0% of the highest priority areas. This project demonstrates how GIS and a multi-criteria analysis approach can be used to increase the efficiency of restoration projects. This approach should be considered by land managers when attempting to identify the location and quantity of area for restoration within a landscape.