Insect herbivores were collected from Castanopsis acuminatissima (Fagaceae) at Wau, Papua New Guinea, by beating the foliage of 15 trees during four one-month sampling periods, each representing different leaf-flush events. The association of leaf-chewing beetles with C. acuminatissima was verified with feeding trials. Of 59 species of leaf-chewing beetles that were collected, 36 species could be used in feeding trials. Only 9 of these species fed on C. acuminatissima. A further 27 beetle species were tested in feeding trials but did not feed. Of these, 7 were specialists feeding on other tree species within the surrounding vegetation. Most beetle species collected from C. acuminatissima foliage were probably transient species, dispersing from other tree species. Path analyses showed that herbivore abundance during a particular sampling period was significantly influenced by rainfall, leaf flush of other conspecific trees and air temperature, but not so by the species richness of surrounding vegetation, number of surrounding conspecific trees and size (DBH) of trees sampled. The species richness of leaf-chewing beetles collected on particular study trees depended on that of the surrounding vegetation, thus supporting the hypothesis that most beetle species collected were transient. The abundance of insect herbivores on particular C. acuminatissima trees probably depends on a balance between the leaf flush of conspecific trees and that of the particular tree sampled. The results also emphasize the need to remove transient species in analyses of insect faunas of tropical trees, at the risk of analyzing species richness patterns derived from loosely defined "assemblages" of species., Yves Basset, and Lit
The influence of host intrapatch spatial distribution on parasitoid host acceptance behavior was investigated with Trichogramma principium parasitizing eggs of grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella. Single females were placed in Petri dishes, each containing 60 host eggs arranged either as a compact patch or partitioned into 60 or 12 clusters each consisting of 1 or 5 eggs, respectively. Partitioned patches provoked parasitization more often than compact patches. The percentage of ovipositing females (i.e., females parasitizing at least one of 60 host eggs) increased with the number of clusters, while it was independent of the intercluster distance over intervals of 2.5-15 mm. The mean number of eggs parasitized by ovipositing females during 48 h was almost independent of the host egg spatial pattern. As a result, the rate of parasitization was higher when the hosts were sparsely distributed within a patch than when they were aggregated., Nataliya D. Voinovich, Taisiya Ya. Umarova, Sergey Ya. Reznik, and Lit
Měření rodinných vztahů a charakteristických rodinných interakcí provází mnoho problémů díky nedostatku teorie v dané oblasti, stejně jako interpretaci získaných výsledků. Většinou se zabýváme vztahy v rodině pomocí standardizovaných dotazníků a inventářů nebo jednoduchých seznamů otázek. Existuje však mnoho dalších metod, přístupů a nápadů, jak operacionalizovat vztahy v rodině. Tato studie přináší přehled některých problematických oblastí v měření rodinných vztahů a jejích dopadů, příklady méně používaných nástrojů na měření vztahů a dalších metod, se kterými se setkáváme v souvislosti se zkoumáním vztahů v rodinách. Cílem studie je zmapovat metody, které tvoří alternativu k dotazníkům a inventářům, a prozkoumat jejich možnosti v oblasti měření rodinných vztahů a interakcí. Věnujeme se zejména semiprojektivním a projektivním metodám. Mnoho metod, které jsou zmíněné ve studii, se pro měření vztahů používá jen málo, ale mají velký potenciál pro použití v této oblasti. Ve studii jsou naznačeny některé problémy s interpretací poznatků: kulturní diverzita, problém s rozlišováním subjektivního a osobnostního hlediska, které respondent vnáší do svého hodnocení rodinných vztahů, sociální desirabilita. and A gap in the theoretical background created numerous difficulties and inconsistencies in the measurement of the characteristic of family relationships and family interactions, but also in the interpretation of obtained results. Mostly we deal with family relationships using standardized questionnaires and inventories or simple lists of questions. However, there are many other methods, approaches and ideas on how to operationalize family relationships. This study provides an overview of some of the problematic areas in the measurement of family relationships and its consequences. The aim of the study is to explore methods that form an alternative to the questionnaires and inventories, and explore their potential for the measurement of family relationships and interactions. We pay particular attention to projective techniques. Many methods that are mentioned in the study are uncommon, but they have a great potential for use in this area. The study indicated some problems with the interpretation of results: cultural diversity, the problem of distinguishing subjective and personal point of view, social desirability.
To assess the relationship between chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence (CF) and photosynthetic pigments, soybean was grown under varying phosphorus (P) nutrition at ambient and elevated CO2 (EC). The EC stimulated, but P deficiency decreased plant height, node numbers, and leaf area concomitantly with the rates of stem elongation, node addition, and leaf area expansion. Under P deficiency, CF parameters and pigments declined except that carotenoids (Car) were relatively stable indicating its role in photoprotection. The CF parameters were strongly related with Chl concentration but not with Chl a/b or Car. However, total Chl/Car showed the strongest association with CF parameters such as quantum efficiency and yield of photosystem II. This relationship was not affected by CO2 treatment. The high correlation between CF and total Chl/Car underscores the significance of the quantification of both, Chl and Car concentrations, to understand the photochemistry and underlying processes of photoprotection and mechanisms of excess energy dissipation in a given environment., S. K. Singh, V. R. Reddy, D. H. Fleisher, D. J. Timlin., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Rozchod rodičů je proces, který dlouhodobě ovlivňuje životy všech zúčastněných. Cílem studie je popsat rozchod rodičů z pohledu dítěte. Vnímání rodiny dětmi jsme zkoumali pomocí metody FAST. Děti stavěly typickou, ideální a konfliktní reprezentaci rodiny. Porovnávali jsme skupinu 15 dětí v situaci rozchodu rodičů a skupinu 19 dětí ve stabilním rodinném prostředí bez vážných rodičovských konfliktů, průměrný věk dětí z obou skupin je 9,5 let (rozpětí 5-15 let). Zajímali jsme se o členství v rodině, kohezi a popis konfliktů v rodině. Děti v situaci rozchodu rodičů popisovaly nižší kohezi nejenom ve vztahu mezi rodiči, ale i mezi sebou a oběma rodiči. To je v souladu se zjištěními, která poukazují na horší kvalitu rodičovství po rozchodu rodičů. Děti, jejichž rodiče se v době sběru dat rozcházeli, zahrnovaly do rodiny příbuzné nad rámec primární rodiny. Členství těchto lidí v rodině ale nebylo trvalé. Zdá se, že tyto děti hledají oporu v dalších vztazích v širší rodině, nebo nahrazují kvalitu (zhoršení vztahů po rozchodů rodičů) kvantitou ve vztazích. Popisují také rodinné konflikty s horším výsledkem a nepopisují účinné strategie řešení konfliktů. and The divorce of parents is a situation which in the long term affects life of everyone involved. The aim of this study is to describe the parents’ divorce from the child’s point of view. The perception of the family by children was examined by the FAST method. The children presented a typical, an ideal and a conflict representation of the family. We compared the group of 15 children in a divorce situation with the group of 19 children in stable family environment without significant parental conflicts. The average age of children in both groups was 9,5 years (range 5 – 15 years). We were interested in the family members, cohesion and the description of family conflicts. Children in parents’ divorce described a lower cohesion not only in the parents’ relationship but also between themselves and both parents. This supports the spillover concept in the family and is in harmony with findings, which point out the inferior quality of parenthood after the divorce. Children, whose parents were in the process of divorce during the collecting of data, included into the family also relatives outside the primary family. However, their membership in the family was not permanent. It seems that these children are seeking for support in relationships within the extended family or they substitute the quality (the worsening of quality after the divorce) by quantity in relationships. They also describe family conflicts with worse results, and they don’t describe effective strategies of solving conflicts.
Výzkum se zaměřil na možné vztahy mezi lhaním a emoční inteligencí mezi respondenty v České republice. Emoční inteligence souvisí se sebeklamem a detekcí lži, ale její vztah k lhaní zatím dostatečně zkoumán nebyl. Celkem 112 respondentů vyplnilo dotazník pro analýzu klamavého chování a test emoční inteligence TEIQue. ANOVA a regresní analýza ukázaly signifikantní rozdíly ve lhoucím chování, které mohou být ovlivněny globálním rysem emoční inteligence nebo well-being. Výsledky naznačují, že respondenti s nižší emoční inteligencí říkají méně lží a lžou častěji dospělým než dětem. Výzkum může být přínosný pro intervence v pedagogické a forenzní psychologii nebo v rodinné terapii a může pomoci v porozumění proměnným ovlivňujícím klamavé chování. and This study is focused on finding a possible relation between deception and emotional intelligence among respondents in the Czech Republic. Emotional intelligence is related to self-deception and detection of lying, yet there is not enough information on its possible relation to lying behavior itself. A deception behavior survey and the TEIQue inventory were used to analyse deception characteristics and emotional intelligence among 112 respondents. ANOVA and regression analysis revealed significant differences in lying behavior, which might be influenced by the global trait of emotional intelligence or well-being. Results suggest that respondents with lower emotional intelligence use less lies and tend to lie to adults more often than to children. These results might be beneficial for interventions in pedagogical or forensic psychology or in family therapy and can improve our understanding of variables affecting lying behavior.