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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences

University of South Florida

Journal

2017

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The Blurred Line Between Photic And Aphotic Environments: A Large Mexican Cave With Almost No Dark Zone, Luis M. Mejía-Ortíz, Tanja Pipan, David C. Culver, Peter Sprouse Dec 2017

The Blurred Line Between Photic And Aphotic Environments: A Large Mexican Cave With Almost No Dark Zone, Luis M. Mejía-Ortíz, Tanja Pipan, David C. Culver, Peter Sprouse

International Journal of Speleology

Sistema Muévelo Rico is a 1.2 km long cave in Quintana Roo, less than 2 km from the Caribbean Sea. We measured illuminance to a level of 0.1 lux, organic matter (weight loss on ignition), temperature, and relative humidity. The last two were measured at hourly intervals for nearly one year. Approximately one-third of the cave has illuminance values greater than 0.01 lux, and most of the rest of the cave has light as well. Temperature and relative humidity were relatively constant, but they showed a daily cycle at all stations, albeit with different strengths. Organic matter averaged 8%, intermediate …

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Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species, Eugen Nitzu, Marius Vlaicu, Andrei Giurginca, Ioana N. Meleg, Ionut Popa, Augustin Nae, Ştefan Baba Dec 2017

Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species, Eugen Nitzu, Marius Vlaicu, Andrei Giurginca, Ioana N. Meleg, Ionut Popa, Augustin Nae, Ştefan Baba

International Journal of Speleology

Endemic and rare species as bioindicators of habitat vulnerability were used to develop protection and management plans for biotope prioritization (mainly islands habitats, lava tubes or groundwaters). Due to their narrow distribution, the endemic species (species confined to a restricted geographic area) are more susceptible to ecological disequilibrium and habitat loss than the widespread ones. Consequently, endemics become endangered in the context of ecological disturbance caused by anthropogenic pressure, making them suitable candidates to assess environmental preservation needs. Taking into consideration that most of the stygobitic and troglobitic species are endemic and confined to specific karst areas, based on their …

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Parts Of The Whole: Why I Teach This Subject This Way, Dorothy Wallace Jul 2017

Parts Of The Whole: Why I Teach This Subject This Way, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

The importance of mathematics to biology is illustrated by search data from Google Scholar. I argue that a pedagogical approach based on student research projects is likely to improve retention and foster critical thinking about mathematical modeling, as well as reinforce quantitative reasoning and the appreciation of calculus as a tool. The usual features of a course (e.g., the instructor, assessment, text, etc.) are shown to have very different purposes in a research-based course.

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Bat Urea-Derived Minerals In Arid Environment. First Identification Of Allantoin, C4H6N4O3, In Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave, United Arab Emirates, Philippe Audra, Pavel Bosák, Fernando Gázquez, Didier Cailhol, Roman Skála, Lenka Lisá, Šárka Jonášová, Amos Frumkin, Martin Knez, Tadej Slabe, Nadja Zupan Hajna, Asma Al-Farraj Feb 2017

Bat Urea-Derived Minerals In Arid Environment. First Identification Of Allantoin, C4H6N4O3, In Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave, United Arab Emirates, Philippe Audra, Pavel Bosák, Fernando Gázquez, Didier Cailhol, Roman Skála, Lenka Lisá, Šárka Jonášová, Amos Frumkin, Martin Knez, Tadej Slabe, Nadja Zupan Hajna, Asma Al-Farraj

International Journal of Speleology

Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave is a small cave in United Arab Emirates (UAE) that hosts a bat colony which is the source of guano deposits and peculiar centimeter-long yellowish stalactites. The mineralogy and geochemistry of these deposits were analyzed using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic microanalysis (EDX), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and stable isotope composition (δ13C and δ15N). Urea CO(NH2)2 was found to be the main compound of these stalactites, while allantoin C4H6N4O3 was found to be an accessory urea byproduct. This paper …

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How Random Noise And A Graphical Convention Subverted Behavioral Scientists' Explanations Of Self-Assessment Data: Numeracy Underlies Better Alternatives, Edward Nuhfer, Steven Fleisher, Christopher Cogan, Karl Wirth, Eric Gaze Jan 2017

How Random Noise And A Graphical Convention Subverted Behavioral Scientists' Explanations Of Self-Assessment Data: Numeracy Underlies Better Alternatives, Edward Nuhfer, Steven Fleisher, Christopher Cogan, Karl Wirth, Eric Gaze

Numeracy

Despite nearly two decades of research, researchers have not resolved whether people generally perceive their skills accurately or inaccurately. In this paper, we trace this lack of resolution to numeracy, specifically to the frequently overlooked complications that arise from the noisy data produced by the paired measures that researchers employ to determine self-assessment accuracy. To illustrate the complications and ways to resolve them, we employ a large dataset (N = 1154) obtained from paired measures of documented reliability to study self-assessed proficiency in science literacy. We collected demographic information that allowed both criterion-referenced and normative-based analyses of self-assessment data. …

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