The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context

1979 â—½  
Vol 78 (1-2) â—½  
pp. 63-122
Author(s):  
N. Philip Ashmole
Keyword(s):  
Sand Dunes â—½  
The Arctic â—½  
New Information â—½  
Spider Community â—½  
Arctic Conditions â—½  
History Of â—½  
Almost All â—½  
First Time â—½  
Made In â—½  
The Last Glacial

SynopsisThe spider fauna of Shetland is described on the basis of collections made in 1974–75 and earlier published and unpublished data. The number of species recorded is increased from 35 to 90. Work on Ronas Hill and elsewhere has shown that Shetland has a substantial array of montane spiders, many of them occurring at much lower elevations than is normal in mainland Britain: a height of 400 m on Shetland is roughly equivalent—in terms of the spider community—to one of 900 m in the Cairngorms. Shetland appears to lack, however, a number of the arctic-alpine species present at high levels in mainland Scotland and the Faroes. The spider fauna of moorland in Shetland is shown to have closely similar composition to that of a moorland area in the Pennines, although the latter has more species. Other habitats discussed include sand dunes in South Mainland and serpentine heaths in Unst.The new information permits for the first time assessment of the spider fauna of Shetland in its zoogeographic context. Almost all of the species found in Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland are present in both Scotland and Fennoscandia; however, only two-thirds of the Faroes species and less than half of the Iceland species are also found in Shetland.Consideration of the Pleistocene history of the area permits analysis of the origins of the faunas. Some species adapted to arctic conditions may have survived through the last glacial episode in Iceland, where there were ice-free areas, but such survival is most unlikely for the Faroes and Shetland: for Orkney the picture is unclear. There was no subsequent overland immigration to Iceland or the Faroes and little or none to Shetland, but Orkney may have received rather more of its species in this way. The rapid postglacial rise in sea level ensured that the bulk of the species in all these faunas had to colonise over water. Some species were transported by man and a few may have travelled on natural rafts, but the majority seem to have immigrated by ballooning.Orkney probably received all its colonists from mainland Scotland and Shetland could also have done so. Immigration from Fennoscandia, however, was undoubtedly important in the case of Iceland, significant in the Faroes and possibly also contributed to the Shetland fauna. Only Iceland can be shown to have received species from Greenland.In an Appendix the spider species recorded from Orkney, Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland are tabulated and the occurrence of these species on the Scottish mainland and in Fennoscandia and Greenland is indicated.

The Discovery of Diamonds in Siberia and Other Northern Regions: Explorational, Historical, and Personal Notes

1991 â—½  
Vol 10 (2) â—½  
pp. 227-246 â—½  
Author(s):  
Jiří (George) Strnad
Keyword(s):  
White Sea â—½  
The Arctic â—½  
Short List â—½  
Ural Mountains â—½  
Arctic Circle â—½  
Northern Regions â—½  
History Of â—½  
Somerset Island â—½  
First Time â—½  
Made In

Only four known diamond locations are near and north of the Arctic Circle. What is believed to be the oldest diamond find in this region was made in the gravels of the Pasvik River on the U.S.S.R.-Finland-Norway border. This was followed by the discovery of the northern fields of the Yakutian diamondiferous province in the U.S.S.R. Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and southwestern Greenland conclude this short list. Geographically close to the Arctic but south of the Arctic Circle are the diamond locations on the shore of the Beloye More or White Sea and in the Timan Range (U.S.S.R.), western and eastern Alaska (U.S.A.), and in the Mackenzie Mountains (Canada). Farther south and partly in the Subarctic are locations in the Ural Mountains and Yakutia (U.S.S.R.), as well as in Labrador and Saskatchewan (Canada). While the discoveries in Canada and Greenland belong to our times, the history of the others is hidden in ancient records. For the Yakutian fields, which are of major economic importance and among the world leaders in the production of gem quality diamonds, an ancient reference dating back to 1375 is presented here for the first time.

A Well-Ordered Thing

2018 â—½  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century â—½  
History Of Science â—½  
Periodic Table â—½  
The Arctic â—½  
Classic Work â—½  
Hot Air â—½  
History Of â—½  
First Time

Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. This book is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As the book reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. This book is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world's most important minds.

Studies on the Abundance, Distribution and Feeding Habits of some West African Mosquitos

1933 â—½  
Vol 24 (4) â—½  
pp. 493-510 â—½  
Author(s):  
J. A. Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Habits â—½  
Small Region â—½  
West African â—½  
Extensive Search â—½  
New Information â—½  
Tree Holes â—½  
Fallen Leaves â—½  
Almost All â—½  
Breeding Place â—½  
Made In

Almost all of the studies here reported were made in one small region, so that very little new information was secured on the ranges of the species of mosquitos under consideration.Our investigations regarding breeding-places were limited to a few species. Aëdes vittatus was found occasionally breeding in tree-holes in Ibadan. Aëdes irritans adults were taken at Ibadan, which is so far inland that this species must sometimes breed in places other than crab-holes at the edges of salt or brackish water. We did not, however, find the larvae of this species at Ibadan. The favourite breeding-place of Eretmopodites chrysogaster was found to be small collections of water in fallen leaves (especially those of cocoa trees) lying in moist and densely shaded places. Because of the abundance of Mansonia africana in places practically free from Pistia, we conclude that in the vicinity of Lagos it must breed abundantly on other plants. The long flight range of this species was taken into consideration in arriving at this conclusion. An extensive search failed, however, to reveal these plants. M. uniformis, also abundant in the vicinity of Lagos, does not breed there upon Pistia, but an extensive search failed to reveal its breeding-place.

scholarly journals The Argentinean attempts to prove the Theory of General Relativity: the total solar eclipses of 1912, 1914 and 1919

2018 â—½  
Vol 13 (S349) â—½  
pp. 516-519
Author(s):  
Santiago Paolantonio â—½  
Leonardo Pelliza â—½  
Claudio C. Mallamaci â—½  
Néstor Camino â—½  
Mariana Orellana â—½  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Relativity â—½  
The People â—½  
New Information â—½  
History Of â—½  
Solar Eclipses â—½  
Made In

AbstractThe aim of this work is to provide new information about the history of astronomical science and the efforts of the people that have enriched our discipline, often coming from anonymity. Here we compile the attempts made in our country to prove the theory of General Relativity through experiments that, as they were without success, fell into oblivion.

The Short, Lascivious Lives of Two Venetian Theaters, 1580-85

10.2307/1261561 â—½  
2002 â—½  
Vol 55 (3) â—½  
pp. 936-968 â—½  
Author(s):  
Eugene J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Social History â—½  
Commedia Dell'arte â—½  
Italian Opera â—½  
New Information â—½  
History Of â—½  
Opera House â—½  
First Time â—½  
The City

The teatro all'italiana, or Italian opera house with boxes, was one of the most successful building types invented during the Renaissance, but fragmentary and ambiguous evidence has made locating its origins difficult. This article proposes that those origins are to be found in two theaters for commedia dell'arte built in Venice in 1580 and destroyed by order of the Council of Ten in 1585 (m.v.). The history of these two theaters is sketched here for the first time by means of documents recently found in the Archivio di Stato, Venice, that also include new information related to Palladia's Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. The role the two Venetian theaters played in the economic, political and social history of the city is suggested.

Spore assemblages from the Lower Devonian ‘Lower Old Red Sandstone’ deposits of the Rhynie outlier, Scotland

2006 â—½  
Vol 97 (2) â—½  
pp. 167-211 â—½  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Wellman
Keyword(s):  
Lower Devonian â—½  
Geological Structure â—½  
Thermal Maturity â—½  
Red Sandstone â—½  
Good Surface â—½  
New Information â—½  
History Of â—½  
Arthropod Cuticle â—½  
Age Range â—½  
First Time

ABSTRACTSince the late 1980s an extensive programme of trenching/borehole drilling has been undertaken in order to study the Lower Devonian ‘Lower Old Red Sandstone’ deposits of the Rhynie outlier in the Grampian Highlands of Scotland. The boreholes have provided new information on the stratigraphical succession and geological structure of the Rhynie outlier, both of which were hitherto poorly understood due to the paucity of good surface exposure and the complex geological relationships of the deposits. One hundred and eighteen palynological samples were collected, representing much of the stratigraphical sequence of the inlier, of which 106 were productive. Productive samples yield assemblages of well preserved palynomorphs, dominated by spores and phytodebris, but also containing arthropod cuticle and rare freshwater algal remains. The spore assemblages are systematically described and two new genera and six new species proposed. They are similar throughout the sequence and the spores belong to the polygonalis–emsiensis Spore Assemblage Biozone of Richardson & McGregor (1986) and the PoW Oppel Zone (possibly Su Interval Zone) of Streel et al. (1987), indicating an early (but not earliest) Pragian–?earliest Emsian age range, that may possibly be restricted to latest Pragian–?earliest Emsian. The palynomorph assemblages contain only terrestrial forms, supporting sedimentological interpretation of the deposits as ‘Lower Old Red Sandstone’ fluviatile and lacustrine deposits, with occasional extrusive volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments intercalated. The palynomorphs are of variable thermal maturity (within and between samples), probably reflecting differential heating associated with the complex volcanic/hydrothermal system. The new palynological data provide, for the first time, a reliable biostratigraphical age for the deposits, and suggest that they accumulated relatively rapidly. Spore biostratigraphy and thermal maturity studies facilitate correlation of the tectonically complex deposits, and shed light on other aspects of the geological history of the outlier. The palynomorph assemblages also aid interpretation of the biota of the Rhynie basin, including the exceptionally preserved biotas of the Rhynie and Windyfield cherts.

The wartime narrative in US sociology, 1940–1947

2018 â—½  
Vol 21 (4) â—½  
pp. 526-546 â—½  
Author(s):  
Anne Warfield Rawls
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii â—½  
Social Action â—½  
World War â—½  
Disciplinary History â—½  
Scientific Status â—½  
War Effort â—½  
History Of â—½  
The 1960S â—½  
First Time â—½  
Made In

This is an article about the history of US sociology with systematic intent. It goes back to World War II to recover a wartime narrative context through which sociologists formulated a ‘trauma’ to the discipline and ‘blamed’ qualitative and values-oriented research for damaging the scientific status of sociology. This narrative documents a discussion of the changes that sociologists said needed to be made in sociology as a science to repair its status and reputation. While debates among sociologists about theory and method had always been contentious, the wartime narrative insisted for the first time that sociology be immediately unified around quantitative approaches. The narrative of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ science that developed during the war not only undermined the efforts of social interactionists to theorize social action and social justice, but also derailed Parsons’ pre-war effort to bridge differences. The moral coding that is the legacy of the narrative stigmatized important approaches to sociology, leading to a ‘crisis’ in the 1960s that still haunts the discipline. Disciplinary history has overlooked the wartime narrative with the result that the role played by World War II in effecting this crisis has gone unrecognized.

scholarly journals Study of Oil in the North of Russia by the Geological Committee at the End of the 19th Century – the Beginning of the 20th Century

2021 â—½  
Vol 937 (4) â—½  
pp. 042082
Author(s):  
T P Filippova
Keyword(s):  
Field Studies â—½  
The Arctic â—½  
Russian Science â—½  
The North â—½  
New Information â—½  
Wide Range â—½  
Northern Territories â—½  
The 19Th Century â—½  
First Time

Abstract The article draws attention to the study of the historical experience of Russian science in the development of the Arctic and northern territories of Russia. Based on a wide range of archival and published sources, the role of the Geological Committee in the scientific study of the Ukhta oil-bearing region is analyzed. The chronological framework of the study covers the period of the organization’s activity from 1882 to 1929. The field studies carried out by the Geological Committee which started during this period in the Ukhta region are considered in detail. As a result of this activity, this territory was comprehensively studied for the first time, including a detailed geological survey, the search for oil deposits, and an assessment of its industrial potential. It has been determined that as a result of the surveys of the Geological Committee, new information about the features of the geological and orographic structure of the region was obtained and the oil-bearing potential was proved. It has been concluded that the research of the scientists of the committee laid a fundamental basis for the study of the Ukhta oil-bearing region and predetermined its further development history and great significance for the state.

scholarly journals Tarantula phylogenomics: A robust phylogeny of multiple tarantula lineages inferred from transcriptome data sheds light on the prickly issue of urticating setae evolution

10.1101/501262 â—½  
2018 â—½  
Author(s):  
Stephen Foley â—½  
Tim Lueddecke â—½  
Dong-Qiang Chen â—½  
Henrik Krehenwinkel â—½  
Sven Kuenzel â—½  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New World â—½  
Strong Support â—½  
Morphological Data â—½  
Ancestral State â—½  
Transcriptome Data â—½  
Large Size â—½  
The Family â—½  
History Of â—½  
Almost All â—½  
First Time

Mygalomorph spiders of the family Theraphosidae, known to the broader public as tarantulas, are among the most recognizable arachnids on earth due to their large size and widespread distribution. Their use of urticating setae is a notable adaptation that has evolved exclusively in certain New World theraphosids. Thus far, the evolutionary history of Theraphosidae remains poorly understood; theraphosid systematics still largely relies on morphological datasets, which suffer from high degrees of homoplasy, and traditional targeted sequencing of preselected genes failed to provide strong support for supra-generic clades (i.e. particularly those broader than subfamilies). In this study, we provide the first robust phylogenetic hypothesis of theraphosid evolution inferred from transcriptome data. A core ortholog approach was used to generate a phylogeny from 2460 orthologous genes across 25 theraphosid genera, representing all of the major theraphosid subfamilies, except Selenogyrinae. For the first time our phylogeny recovers a monophyletic group that comprises the vast majority of New World theraphosid subfamilies including Aviculariinae and Theraphosinae. Concurrently, we provide additional evidence for the integrity of questionable subfamilies, such as Poecilotheriinae and Psalmopoeinae, and support the non-monophyly of Ischnocolinae. The deeper relationships between almost all subfamilies are confidently inferred for the first time. We also used our phylogeny in tandem with published morphological data to perform ancestral state analyses on urticating setae. This revealed that the evolution of this important defensive trait might be explained by three equally parsimonious scenarios.

scholarly journals A 160,000-year-old history of tectonically controlled methane seepage in the Arctic

Science Advances â—½  
2019 â—½  
Vol 5 (8) â—½  
pp. eaaw1450 â—½  
Author(s):  
Tobias Himmler â—½  
Diana Sahy â—½  
Tõnu Martma â—½  
Gerhard Bohrmann â—½  
Andreia Plaza-Faverola â—½  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water â—½  
Glacial Maximum â—½  
The Arctic â—½  
Gas Reservoirs â—½  
Methane Release â—½  
Last Glacial â—½  
Methane Seepage â—½  
History Of â—½  
Water Gas â—½  
The Last Glacial

The geological factors controlling gas release from Arctic deep-water gas reservoirs through seabed methane seeps are poorly constrained. This is partly due to limited data on the precise chronology of past methane emission episodes. Here, we use uranium-thorium dating of seep carbonates sampled from the seabed and from cores drilled at the Vestnesa Ridge, off West Svalbard (79°N, ~1200 m water depth). The carbonate ages reveal three emission episodes during the Penultimate Glacial Maximum (~160,000 to 133,000 years ago), during an interstadial in the last glacial (~50,000 to 40,000 years ago), and in the aftermath of the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 to 5,000 years ago), respectively. This chronology suggests that glacial tectonics induced by ice sheet fluctuations on Svalbard mainly controlled methane release from Vestnesa Ridge. Data corroborate past methane release in response to Northern Hemisphere cryosphere variations and suggest that Arctic deep-water gas reservoirs are sensitive to temperature variations over Quaternary time scales.

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