Climate is the predominant environmental driver of freshwater assemblage pattern on large spatial scales, and traits of freshwater organisms have shown considerable potential to identify impacts of climate change. Although several studies suggest traits that may indicate vulnerability to climate change, the empirical relationship between freshwater assemblage trait composition and climate has b...

1. introduction during the past decade, many efforts for investigating the relationship among air pollution and meteorological factors have been undertaken and some statistical methods have been proposed. population increase and technological advancement were among the factors affecting creation and extension of air pollution in big cities, forcing large cities all over the world to contemplate...

The central nervous system is increasingly being recognised as a target organ for vitamin D via its wide-ranging steroid hormonal effects and via the induction of various proteins such as nerve growth factor. This paper proposes that low maternal vitamin D may impact adversely on the developing foetal brain, leaving the affected offspring at increased risk of adult-onset schizophrenia. The hypo...

As changes in climate become more apparent, ecologists face the challenge of predicting species responses to the new conditions. Most forecasts are based on climate envelopes (CE), correlative approaches that project future distributions on the basis of the current climate often assuming some dispersal lag. One major caveat with this approach is that it ignores the complexity of factors other t...

Among tetrapods, viviparity is estimated to have evolved independently within Squamata (lizards and snakes) more than 100 times, most frequently in species occupying cold climate environments. Because of this relationship with cold climates, it is sometimes assumed that many origins of squamate viviparity occurred over the past 2.5-4 Myr during the Pliocene-Pleistocene glaciations; however, thi...

Wetlands are among the most productive and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. However, because of human activities, over half of the wetland ecosystems existing in North America, Europe, Australia, and China in the early 20th century have been lost. Ecological restoration to recover critical ecosystem services has been widely attempted, but the degree of actual recovery of ecosystem...

One- to two-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies being reared in Miyazaki (warm climate) and Hidaka (cold climate), Japan, were administered extended photoperiod (EP) treatment between December 20 and the following April 10, and its effect on growth, endocrine changes, gonadal activation, and hair coat condition was investigated. In colts reared in Miyazaki, no effect of EP treatment was not...

In the last decades, several studies have revealed how critical the urban heat island (UHI) effect can be in cities located in cold climates, such as the Canadian one. Meanwhile, many researchers have looked at the impact of the city design over the urban microclimate, and have raised concerns about the development of too dense cities. Under the effect of the “Places to Growth” plan, the city o...