| BEN |
| BOTANICAL ELECTRONIC NEWS |
|---|
| ISSN 1188-603X |
| No. CDLXVI April 1, 2013 | aceska@telus.net | Victoria, B.C. |
|---|
Abstract [abbreviated]
Ongoing molecular phylogenetic studies of cheilanthoid ferns confirm that the genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae) is polyphyletic. A monophyletic group of species within the hemionitid clade informally called the "C. marginata group" is here shown to be distinct from its closest relatives (the genus Aspidotis) and phylogenetically distant from the type species of Cheilanthes. This group is here segregated from Cheilanthes as the newly described genus, Gaga. ... A total of nineteen species are recognized within Gaga; seventeen new combinations are made, and two new species, Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva, are described.
Etymology
The genus Gaga is named in honor of the American pop singer-songwriter-performer Lady Gaga, for her articulate and fervent defense of equality and individual expression in today's society. Because Lady Gaga speaks to the need for humanity to celebrate broad differences within its own species, we hereby provide her with a scientific namesake that characterizes the struggle to understand the intricate biology underlying cryptic patterns of diversity. Because public funding supports basic research, this naming honor allows us to acknowledge the confluence between science and public interests, and to make our findings more accessible and relevant to the diversity of individuals who fund our work. The name Gaga also echoes one of the molecular synapomorphies that characterizes the genus. At nucleotide positions 598-601 in the matK gene alignment, all Gaga species have "GAGA" , a sequence pattern not seen at this site in any other cheilanthoid fern sampled [e.g. the closely related Aspidotis densa shows GAGG, and the type species of Cheilanthes (C. micropteris) has CAGG].
Studying predator-prey interactions at Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia
We are seeking a field assistant with vast experience in collecting large blood samples from small songbirds captured in mist nets. To demonstrate your bleeding experience provide a list of what bird species you have bled, how many individuals you have bled per species, and state the blood volumes you have collected per species. We require an experienced songbird bleeder to aid us in a conducting a large-scale manipulation looking at the role of fear in affecting songbirds in the Gulf Islands National Park, British Columbia. The position has an anticipated start date of 1 May, and will run until about 1, August 2013. This is a paid position that will provide a monthly stipend of $1500 per month.
Mandatory Qualifications:
Other Qualification (you can still apply if you do not meet of these 'other' qualifications):
Senate Bill 578
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON RURAL COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Be It Enacted by the People [and for the People] of the State of Oregon:
While the question of whether cereals were being used in beer production is an important issue, it has remained a difficult proposition to test. We present some new perspectives ontraditional brewing techniques relevant to this issue, on archaeological remains, and onthe paleoecology of the Near East. Taken together, these observations provide more compelling circumstantial evidence that makes it increasingly likely that brewing of beer was an important aspect of feasting and society in the Late Epipaleolithic.
This article addresses the problem of when brewing began in the Near East. This topic may initially appear as a more mirthful rather than serious area Of scholarly research, yet it is related to a number of critical Theoretical issues such as the role of feasting in early community dynamics and the possible reasons for cereal domestication. Sauer was one of the first scholars to have asked whether the domestication ofcereals was for the purposes of brewing beer rather than for basic subsistence purposes (see Braidwood et al. 1953:515). Braidwood et al. took up the question but were unable to resolve it.
There is a general consensus that the Late Epipaleolithic (especially the Natufian) or derivative Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) cultures provided the Staging ground from which cereal domestication took place, if not the actual
Context of the first cultivation and barely detectable genetic changes. Thus, the issue of whether brewing was occurring in the Late Epipaleolithic of the Near East is of considerable theoretical importance. While we still have no definitive answer to this question, we feel that a more detailed exploration of the plausibility of brewing in the Late Epipaleolithic, especially the Natufian, is warranted given what we now know of the technology and resources used at that time.
Reference
Since August 2012 Boris (Boriss) Lariushin has been prolifically publishing a series of illustrated botanical monographs on major plant families. The problem is that these books are plagiarised from the Internet and published under Lariushin's name without acknowledgement or accreditation of the multiple sources. Although the information and images he copies are freely available, most are protected by a traditional copyright statement or issued with a Creative Commons licence that permits reuse with accreditation. Estonia-based Lariushin ignores this, publishing these books as his own work, and claiming his own copyright (all rights reserved) on these compilations. This flagrant abuse of other people's content is of wide concern to the scientific community as it fundamentally undermines the drive towards Open Access and free availability of scientific information. These books appear to be largely automatically generated, and further volumes are sure to appear - the three volumes on the carrot family Apiaceae only cover about 25% of the genera, and so one presumes that Lariushin is expecting to publish a further nine more volumes just on this family.
Lariushin's first monograph was published in August 2012, and covered the tomato and potato family (Solanaceae) in 2 volumes. This was followed by three volumes on the carrot family (Apiaceae) a few months later (discussed below), and recently two more books have appeared: one on the water-lily family (Nympheaceae) and another on cycads (Cycadaceae), both in January 2013. The publisher is not indicated in any these books, but Amazon.co.uk gives this as CreateSpace, part of the Amazon group of companies (see below). The printer of each volume is Amazon.co.uk .
As specialist on the carrot family (Apiaceae/Umbelliferae), I was naturally interested in these new books which claim to cover "all Apiaceae of the world in several color photos for each species described, detailed descriptions, scientific information" (Amazon listing). At first glance these look impressive publications, liberally illustrated with colour photographs, but alarm bells started to ring when I saw the running head 'Solanaceae Family' throughout all three books - presumably a formatting error carried over from his earlier books. On closer inspection I was disappointed to find that all the information and images given for every species that I checked appears to have been copied from internet websites - including my own work published in the Flora of China. The books do not contain acknowledgment nor accreditation to the multiple sources used. Indeed, the author's own claim of copyright leads one to assume that this is primary information, and all his own work.
A very large proportion of the contents of these books (perhaps almost all?) appears to comprise data copied from Internet sources (see examples below) where it is freely available for people to read, and in a much more flexible, updatable format than in these printed books. Lariushin's actions in publishing and selling these books clearly breaks the copyright and/or licensing arrangements for many sources from which he has plagiarised text and images, and it is surprising that the publisher did not undertake any content checks before agreeing to print these works. School examination boards and universities routinely use automated methods to check student scripts for plagiarism of internet sources, and perhaps Amazon should adopt these technologies (e.g.CrossRef's Cross Check) to check manuscripts that are sent to them.
Lariushin's plagiarism of these sources without accreditation is unacceptable, and disregards the work and intellectual input of the people who actually did the original research. Readers might be interested in looking at Boris Lariushin's own website, where his photos of nature are provided under a Creative Commons Share Alike license (you may copy and reuse, but must attribute the sources and be for non commercial use). He clearly wishes to get accreditation for his own work.
I cannot recommend that anyone buys these books. Indeed, it is a shame that, in common with other botanical institutes, our library has already bought these products, assuming that they are bona fide botanical publications. These books add nothing to the growth of scientific knowledge. If anything they stifle the future free availability of authoritative information as people will think twice about contributing information to websites and other Open Access publications.
For the full original article see http://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/1321
Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l.
Send submissions to aceska@telus.net
BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/