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Myotragus balearicus is the terminal species of a Caprinae lineage that inhabited the Balearic Islands since the Messinian. Myotragus balearicus had a relatively small brain, reported to be half the size of a contemporary bovid of similar size. This study presents a reassessment of its brain size and anatomy. We demonstrate that the brain of M. balearicus is only 17% smaller when compared to Late Miocene taxa. Since the ancestors of M. balearicus were isolated on the Balearics in the Late Miocene, we deduce that the small brain size of M. balearicus is a feature largely retained from its continental ancestor and only partially the result of geographic isolation. The reduction in brain size can be attributed to reduction of the occipital region. We hypothesise that neuroanatomical changes during the evolutionary process of dwarfism were likely influenced by the absence of ecologically relevant predators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The island syndrome is a widespread biological phenomenon that describes a suite of morphological, behavioural, demographic and life‐history changes associated with island dwelling. These similar evolutionary responses among disparate groups of animals and plants represent a remarkable case of convergent evolution. Among animals, birds are a highly suitable group to study the island syndrome; they are a comparatively data‐rich taxon, are frequent island colonisers, and sometimes display extreme adaptations such as the loss of flight. However, the avian island syndrome literature is fragmented, and multiple components are rarely considered together even though many are inextricably linked. We reviewed multi‐species comparative studies, single‐species or population‐level studies and anecdotal accounts, to summarise and assess the support for individual components of the island syndrome for birds, and to identify suites of traits that should be considered together. The weight of evidence for island syndrome patterns in morphology is substantial, but is more partial or even anecdotal for various aspects of behaviour, life history and physiology. Full validation of the island syndrome in birds will require the less‐studied components to be treated in a comparative framework, and for covarying components to be examined in an integrated way. An improved description of the scope of the syndrome will pave the way to understanding its drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Predictable and consistent differences between island and mainland organisms arising from biased colonization/establishment are known as insular assembly rules. Baker's rule is a long‐standing assembly rule predicting that the incidence of dioecy among early island colonizers should be lower than that of the mainland source pool. While Baker's rule is an established pattern of island floras, whether it results from trait correlation or factors other than insularity remains poorly understood. Here, I investigated the relative roles of insularity, climate, and dioecy‐correlated traits in regulating the incidence of dioecy across islands. Location: Southwest Pacific. Methods: I amassed a data set of 485 plant species distributed across eight archipelagos surrounding New Zealand. Trait correlation was estimated using an association rule algorithm. I then used a null model and undirected network models to test for Baker's rule and to disentangle the relative roles of insularity, climate, and dioecy‐correlated traits in filtering dioecy among undifferentiated island colonizers. Results: Some archipelagos conformed to Baker's rule, but the incidence of dioecy was not directly linked to insularity. Instead, it was directly regulated by dioecy‐related traits, that is, fleshy‐fruitedness and woody habit, which in turn were primarily driven by climate. Conclusions: Island assembly rules can result from trait correlation. While results were partially consistent with predictions by Baker's rules, this resulted from dioecy‐related traits being largely excluded from island colonization/establishment because of climatic factors, not insularity. Geographic variation in this plant breeding system can be determined endogenously, rather than by being filtered directly by the characteristics of islands per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptualization of insularity in the context of islands has been widely studied and debated, encompassing both geographical and identity aspects. The academic discussion on the definition of insularity and isolation in the context of islands remains a current topic, along with the economic, social, legal and environmental challenges faced by insular regions. This study aims to deepen the conceptual framework of insularity and structure its issues from various scientific perspectives through quantitative bibliometric analysis. Key focus areas and research gaps have been identified, including the need for enhanced economic policies, better marine resource management, more comprehensive urban development research and improved data on social and political issues. The conclusions emphasize the importance of prioritizing intervention areas and specific policies to address the unique challenges faced by insular regions in terms of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic differentiation in bird vocalisations is a key process for speciation. Calls have received little attention compared to songs, but their simplicity facilitates analysis using mathematical, non-biased, tools, as they can be described by means of very basic variables. Here, we combined PERMANOVA and machine learning techniques to analyse the differentiation in the contact calls of the closely related Dartford (Curruca undata), Marmora's (C. sarda) and Balearic (C. balearica) warblers (formerly in the genus Sylvia). The calls of the three species differed clearly, consistent with phylogenetic reconstructions based on DNA sequences. In C. sarda, significant call differences were observed between the population wintering in Tunisia (migratory) and those of Sardinia and Corsica (mainly sedentary). Such divergence could be favoured by assortative mating of migrant and resident individuals, working as a matching mechanism for reproductive isolation in sympatry. In contrast, there was no clear separation between the accepted subspecies of C. undata. We found, however, significant differences between the Atlantic and Mediterranean biogeographical regions in this species. The divergences detected within C. undata and C. sarda deserve further investigation, using additional traits to elucidate the phylogenetic status of these groups, as well as the factors driving their diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embrithopoda is an extinct clade of herbivorous placental mammals belonging to the afrotherian subclade Paenungulata. Early in their evolutionary history, embrithopods colonized the insular terrane of Balkanatolia, presumably via dispersal across the Tethyan marine barrier that separated Africa from Eurasia during the early Cenozoic. Here we report new embrithopods from the early Eocene locality of Çamili Mezra, Çiçekdaği Basin, central Anatolia, which document the early co-occurrence of two sympatric species of embrithopods, including Crivadiatherium sevketseni sp. nov. and Crivadiatherium sahini sp. nov. The genus Crivadiatherium, otherwise known only from the late Eocene of Romania, is reported for the first time in Anatolia. Hypsamasia seni from the middle Eocene of north-central Anatolia is interpreted as a nomen dubium. Embrithopod specimens previously described as Palaeoamasia sp. nov. from the Eocene-Oligocene transition of the Boyabat Basin in northern Anatolia are identified as a new genus and species, Axainamasia sandersi. The embrithopod fauna of Çamili Mezra indicates that this clade experienced at least a modest adaptive radiation after successfully colonizing Balkanatolia. The Balkanatolian record of embrithopod evolution contrasts with the evolutionary history of this clade in its native Africa, where sympatric embrithopod taxa have never been documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates inter-island accessibility in the Azores Islands (Portugal), a region marked by unique territorial fragmentation and significant distances between islands. Recognizing the pivotal role of sea and air transport in fostering the socioeconomic development of the archipelago by enhancing resident mobility and attracting tourism, we address the challenges posed by the region's low demographic and economic influence and the pronounced imbalances among islands. The methodological approach involves the examination of various accessibility parameters, with a specific focus on hourly operations identified as presenting the most unfavorable ratios of time availability in the destinations. We analyze inter-island sea and air schedules during the winter season, emphasizing their relevance for residents engaged in travel for business, health, administration, and related purposes. We have mainly analyzed the air schedules since it was possible to make the round trip on the same day on only two maritime routes, although these have also been considered. Regarding the study outcomes, they reveal that despite positive efforts to implement air public service obligations (PSO), which mandate specific frequencies, seat allocations, and rate caps, among other examples, the limited attention given to adapting operating hours based on demand undermines the effectiveness of these measures. Contextually, this lack of adjustment results in substantial inconvenience for travelers, particularly those engaged in round-trip operations on the same day, a common scenario in inter-island mobility. In more than 70% of the operational routes, suitable travel times at the destination are significantly compromised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Italy has been the first European Country dealing with SARS-CoV-2, whose diffusion on the territory has not been homogeneous. Among Italian regions, Sardinia represented one of the lowest incidence areas, likely due to its insular nature. Despite this, the impact of insularity on SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity has not been comprehensively described. Methods: In the present study, we performed the high throughput sequencing of 888 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected in Sardinia during the first 23 months of pandemics. In addition, 1439 high-coverage SARS-CoV-2 genomes circulating in Sardinia along three years (December 2019 – January 2023) were downloaded from GISAID, for a total of 2327 viral sequences that were characterized in terms of phylogeny and genomic diversity. Results: Overall, COVID-19 pandemic in Sardinia showed substantial differences with respect to the national panorama, with additional peaks of infections and uncommon lineages that reflects the national and regional policies of re-opening and the subsequent touristic arrivals. Sardinia has been interested by the circulation of at least 87 SARS-CoV-2 lineages, including some that were poorly represented at national and European level, likely linked to multiple importation events. The relative frequency of Sardinian SARS-CoV-2 lineages has been compared to other Mediterranean Islands, revealing a unique composition. Conclusions: The genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Sardinia has been shaped by a complex interplay of insular geography, low population density, and touristic arrivals, leading on the one side to the importation of lineages remaining rare at the national level, and resulting on the other side in the delayed entry of otherwise common variants.

The insular position has serious influence on history and mentality. However, this provision “works” only in conjunction with other factors. Japan and England are island nations, but the history of England is characterized by the maximum number of foreign contacts, while that of Japan, until the middle of the 19th century, by the minimum one. The passive approach to space in Tokugawa period is explained by the following factors: high productivity of rice cultivation, lack of livestock farming, the conviction that Japan has the best climate, and the “closed country” policy. During the Meiji period, under the influence of the West (primarily Great Britain), the attitude towards space changed radically. The sea was conceptualized as a “conducting,” rather than “isolating” environment. The choice of Great Britain as a role model was determined, first of all, by its experience in the conquest of maritime space and the creation of a powerful colonial empire. The transition to a new model of “expanding space” was also justified by references to ancient times, when the Japanese had an “active” character, but the “closed country” policy “spoiled” the Japanese. As a result of military victories over China (1894–1895) and Russia (1904–1905), Japan began to be called “England of the East.” Great Britain ceased to be a role model after its withdrawal from the Japanese-British Alliance Treaty in 1922, and public discourse was directed towards justifying the uniqueness of the Japanese. The established characterization of the Japanese as adherents of tradition is dubious. The appeal to antiquity was indeed of great importance for the Japanese and, in this sense, they can be considered “traditionalists.” But, after the Meiji Revolution, they demonstrated amazing ability to embrace the “new” and destroy the “old,” but often boasted that they were “merely” recollecting their past. The concept of “traditionality” is too broad. Upon closer examination it does not provide much for understanding historical and cultural processes which require careful division into components that have an exact chronological and situational reference.

The false blister beetle tribe Stenostomatini includes only the genus Stenostoma , with four species showing an intriguing distribution: Stenostoma lowei (Madeira), Stenostoma cossyrense (Pantelleria), Stenostoma melitense (Malta and southern Sicily) and Stenostoma rostratum, widely distributed along the Mediterranean and North Atlantic coasts. The evolutionary history leading to this distribution has not been investigated. Here, we explore the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the tribe, adopting an integrative approach that combines morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial COI and nuclear CAD and 28S). Moreover, we propose a new key for species identification and update the knowledge on adult and larval ecology. Finally, we propose the following explanation for the current distribution of the species. The genus originated in the Miocene, with S. lowei belonging to the oldest lineage. The remaining species share a common ancestor, dating to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Stenostoma melitense and S. cossyrense are well differentiated according to morphology, but not according to molecular analysis. The wide distribution of S. rostratum might be related to its strategy of laying eggs within beached driftwood, where larvae develop, easily transported by the currents. Given that neither morphological nor molecular differentiation was detected between the two subspecies of S. rostratum , we propose the new synonymy Stenostoma rostratum septentrionale Švihla, 2005  =  Stenostoma rostratum (Fabricius, 1787) syn. nov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Islands are known to host unique flowering plant assemblages visited by insular insects, including by social bees, a phenomenon thought to potentially impact the honey composition and associated medicinal applications. In this study, we characterized several physical–chemical parameters of honey produced by the stingless bee Meliponula (Axestotrigona) ferruginea with samples collected both from continental (Kenya) and insular (Tanzania) ecosystems. Results: Our results show that stingless bees in islands produce a honey whose composition significantly differs from those produced in the continent, with a significantly higher concentration of bioactive phytochemicals. Conclusion: Our results illustrate how insularity might drive different and unique compositional profiles in honeys and provide evidence that certain groups of compounds found in stingless bee honey from the Afrotropical region have potential therapeutic benefits with medicinal applications that largely remain to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Path to the Digital Decade" features the digital transformation goals that the member states of the European Union must reach by 2030. It also highlights the need to align the digital strategy with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by use of relevant indicators for assessing progress in each single SDG. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), published in 2022, demonstrates how new advances in the digitalisation process have filled several gaps in digital skills and infrastructures; while the DESI Country Profiles witness the lower levels of digital performance of insular territories, compared to the states’ mainland. This paper explores the way digitalisation progress might improve islands’ sustainability performance and equity concerns in the EU. Relevant achievements are assessed by the proposed Index of Islands’ Potential Equity (IIPE), i.e. a composite index, combining an Islands’ Sustainability Index (IIS) for grasping socio-economic and environmental aspects; and an Islands’ Digitalisation Index (IDI), for identifying the level of public/private digital transformation. The results obtained through the IIPE index demonstrate how powerful the strategies of island governments in digitalisation progress can prove in achieving SDGs and rendering island contexts less vulnerable and more competitive in the European scenery.

This article has the objective of study the inter-island aerial accessibility in the Azores Islands (Portugal). As a space with a particular territorial fragmentation and, furthermore, distant between the different islands, air transport is of vital importance for the socioeconomic development of the Archipelago, promoting the mobility of residents and the increase in tourism. This is penalized in the Azores by the low demographic and economic weight, and also by the notorious imbalance between islands. Methodologically, we study several accessibility parameters, focusing on hourly operations, since it is the one that we detected that presents the worst ratios. For this, we take the inter-island air schedules of 12 years (2009-2020) of the winter seasons, with a greater probability of use by residents and, therefore, for reasons of travel related to business, health, administration, etc. As a result of this article, we discovered that although positive work has been done with the introduction of air public service obligations, imposing a certain number of frequencies, seats, rate caps, etc., the little interest in working in an adaptation of the operating hours based on demand, is leading to availability of time for travelers at destination - in a round-trip operation on the same day, very frequent in inter-island mobility, hardly positive for travelers in more than 70% of the operational routes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The recent debate on the theory of evolution focuses on various aspects that arise following the evidence of the advancement of knowledge in genetics and molecular biology. In particular, some researchers are inclined to introduce an extended evolutionary theory involving this hypothesis. Many theoretical hypotheses are based on the ever-increasing knowledge of phenotypic plasticity as well as epigenetic mechanisms. In particular, plasticity increases the complexity of the selection–phenotype–genotype interaction, and the collection of cases deriving from empirical experiments helps understand its role. The case of the blue lizard on islets is particularly intriguing due to the speed of its evolution and the modulation of the genome that make these populations a model of plasticity. We have highlighted the adaptive role of regulation of the genome in tissues such as the brain and testis. This would happen because the phenotype adapted to island life is characterized by inter-individual and sexual interaction behaviors that are controlled by genes differentially expressed in these two districts. The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) living on islets exhibits a melanic skin coloration and a suite of adaptive traits lacking in nearby mainland populations. On islets, the unpredictable environmental conditions and highly fluctuating population densities are believed to have produced reversed island syndrome (RIS). Several physiological, behavioral, and life-history changes based on the RIS could result from positive selection on increased activity of melanocortins. We hypothesize that phenotypes on islets are the product of a plastic variation depending on the regulation of specific genes. Focusing on control systems that determine the insular-adapted phenotype, we demonstrated that reproductive markers, involved in the hypothalamus–hypophysis–gonadal axis, and metabolism markers, flags for hypophysis-melanocortin receptors, are all up-regulated in island lizards under the RIS. This behavior, combined with the observed limited variation in the mitochondrial genome, agrees with the hypothesis that plasticity enables populations to persist in novel environmental conditions and that over time, natural selection will "fine-tune" the population to the environment by modifying the phenotype under selection. We believe that analysis of the transcriptome and the single gene expression, such that all the variations observed in the island populations, can be useful to shed light on evolutionary plasticity as a process affecting animals' populations in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large species that are isolated for thousands of years on islands often evolve extreme degrees of dwarfism. Very little is known about physiological processes that accompany such extreme transitions in extinct dwarf species. We tested whether physiological cycles of bone maintenance (remodelling) in dwarf adult hippopotamuses correlate with insularity-driven body mass shifts that may occur due to variables such as ecological release from predation pressure and change in access to resources. We hypothesised that hippopotamuses with the smallest body size should show higher values of osteocyte lacunae, proxies for osteoblast proliferation during cycles of remodelling, when compared to relatively larger dwarf forms, as well as much larger mainland common hippopotamuses. We examined 20 ribs from three extinct Pleistocene Hippopotamus species spanning a gradient in body size: H. minor (~132 kg, Cyprus), H. creutzburgi (~398 kg, Crete), and H. antiquus (~3200 kg, mainland Greece). Ribs were selected because they reflect bone metabolic rates that are not completely clouded by factors such as biomechanics. Densities of osteocyte lacunae (Ot.Dn) were examined in 864 individual secondary osteons observed in histology sections. We found the highest average Ot.Dn in the H. minor ribs, intermediate Ot.Dn in the H. creutzburgi ribs, and the lowest Ot.Dn in the H. antiquus ribs. It appears that Ot.Dn distinctly separated these three species, possibly signifying a gradient in bone remodelling such that bone tissue optimises maintenance in the face of insularity-driven reduction of body size. We discuss hippopotamus rib bone microstructure and the utility of Ot.Dn in palaeontological analyses for elucidating intricate biological processes occurring in bone of insular fossil mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Path to the Digital Decade" features the digital transformation goals that the member states of the European Union must reach by 2030. It also highlights the need to align the digital strategy with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by use of relevant indicators for assessing progress in each single SDG. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), published in 2022, demonstrates how new advances in the digitalisation process have filled several gaps in digital skills and infrastructures; while the DESI Country Profiles witness the lower levels of digital performance of insular territories, compared to the states' mainland. This paper explores the way digitalisation progress might improve islands' sustainability performance and equity concerns in the EU. Relevant achievements are assessed by the proposed Index of Islands' Potential Equity (IB>E), i.e. a composite index, combining an Islands' Sustainability Index (IIS) for grasping socio-economic and environmental aspects; and an Islands' Digitalisation Index (IDI), for identifying the level of public/private digital transformation. The results obtained through the liPE index demonstrate how powerful the strategies of island governments in digitalisation progress can prove in achieving SDGs and rendering island contexts less vulnerable and more competitive in the European scenery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of cultural characteristics of a nation as well as the peculiarities of its worldview and ethnic psychology are largely influenced by the geographical factor which comprises the location of a country, its climate, the access or absence of access to seas, oceans, etc. One of relatively new terms in the Russian and foreign humanities is “insularity” which is understood as “isolated origin,” or “island location,” or “the island effect.” The notion of insularity is not only constituted by the fact of geographic isolation, but it also includes certain cultural, political, and ethnocultural features. The study aims to analyze the effect of the geographic insulation of Great Britain and Japan on the formation of island mentality and specific socio-cultural characteristics of these two island nations. The authors discuss the defining role of the geographical factor in the formation of the aforesaid characteristics of the British and the Japanese. The article particularly focuses on the study of national character traits typical of the two insular cultures. The study argues that the insular location of Great Britain and Japan as well as the climatic and natural conditions of these countries not only predetermined the specifics of human settlement and their economy but also shaped the mentality and worldviews of the people inhabiting the islands. The key factor in forming the national identity of both the British and the Japanese is the image of the Other, the image of the enemy. The distinction between the Self and the Other has underpinned a number of key national values. At the same time, the insular cultures of the UK and Japan display certain differences. Japan is a country with a distinct hierarchical social organization in which respect for older people and superiors is a key cultural characteristic. In contrast, the UK has a less hierarchical individualistic society. Furthermore, Japan is more conventional from the point of view of its cultural and religious institutions, norms and values. In its turn, the UK is more modern and possesses an ability to flexibly incorporate other cultural traits and new ideas. Finally, Japanese culture focuses more on collectivist practices whereas the UK being partly under the influence of European mentality is more oriented towards individualism and personal freedom.

The conceptualization of insularity in the context of islands has been widely studied and debated, encompassing both geographical and identity aspects. The academic discussion on the definition of insularity and isolation in the context of islands remains a current topic, along with the economic, social, legal and environmental challenges faced by insular regions. This study aims to deepen the conceptual framework of insularity and structure its issues from various scientific perspectives through quantitative bibliometric analysis. Key focus areas and research gaps have been identified, including the need for enhanced economic policies, better marine resource management, more comprehensive urban development research and improved data on social and political issues. The conclusions emphasize the importance of prioritizing intervention areas and specific policies to address the unique challenges faced by insular regions in terms of sustainable development.

This study investigates inter-island accessibility in the Azores Islands (Portugal), a region marked by unique territorial fragmentation and significant distances between islands. Recognizing the pivotal role of sea and air transport in fostering the socioeconomic development of the archipelago by enhancing resident mobility and attracting tourism, we address the challenges posed by the region’s low demographic and economic influence and the pronounced imbalances among islands. The methodological approach involves the examination of various accessibility parameters, with a specific focus on hourly operations identified as presenting the most unfavorable ratios of time availability in the destinations. We analyze inter-island sea and air schedules during the winter season, emphasizing their relevance for residents engaged in travel for business, health, administration, and related purposes. We have mainly analyzed the air schedules since it was possible to make the round trip on the same day on only two maritime routes, although these have also been considered. Regarding the study outcomes, they reveal that despite positive efforts to implement air public service obligations (PSO), which mandate specific frequencies, seat allocations, and rate caps, among other examples, the limited attention given to adapting operating hours based on demand undermines the effectiveness of these measures. Contextually, this lack of adjustment results in substantial inconvenience for travelers, particularly those engaged in round-trip operations on the same day, a common scenario in inter-island mobility. In more than 70% of the operational routes, suitable travel times at the destination are significantly compromised.

This article proposes to present the issue of insularity in the archipelago of Cape Verde, an African country marked by several centuries of Portuguese colonization, with particular emphasis on the analysis of the interrelation between socio-historical factors and linguistic phenomena that occurred in this insular coun-try. Taking into consideration this context, we will draw attention to the importance of insularity in the process of miscegenation of the populations in the colonial era, to the process of the formation of Creole as a result of multilingual contacts, as well as to the long process of the construction of the social identity of Cape Verdeans in the history of this society.

Lawrence’s fascination with the power of natural elements is noticeable practically in every text and particularly in his use of the mystical imagery of the sun, the moon and the sea. In his second novel, The Trespasser, he explores a romantic relationship which ends in tragedy. The semi-passionate and presumably adventurous part of the story is set on an island, surrounded by the overwhelming immensity of the sea that reflects back each subtle impulse of the lovers’ souls. However, the journey for pleasure Siegmund makes (“he gave himself to the breeze and to the sea, feeling like one of the ruddy sails”) turns into the journey that submerges him into the unconscious. This kind of journey C.G. Jung characterized as “the night sea journey” or “a kind of descensus ad inferos – a descent into Hades and a journey to the land of ghosts somewhere beyond this world, beyond consciousness, hence an immersion in the unconscious.”The basic components of the external, physical journey metaphorically evoke the call, the crossing of the threshold, the obstacles, the immersion into the “underworld” (the unconscious “demons” haunting Siegmund), and the inability to go back renewed by the new knowledge. The image of the sea in this respect acts as the powerful and uncontrollable force, the unconscious itself (both collective and individual), thus portending the potential for renewal (rebirth) and failure (death), in equal measure.

Though D.H. Lawrence proudly declared in his 1908 letter to Blanche Jennings that his knowledge of the sea far exceeds that of experienced sailors, he affirmed that he never touched the water when in a boat and that his bathing was restricted to the shore. Apparently, this relationship is defined by surface and depth, and oscillates between the two moods of awe and anxiety. The former is reflected in his poetry, while the latter is pervasive in his prose writings. From a Heideggerean perspective, and with particular focus on Sea and Sardinia where his shifting moods conspicuously drive the narrative, we argue here that Lawrence’s occasionally aggressive reactions stem from a deep-seated anxiety that is heightened by his proximity to the sea. As Dasein, his moods and lived experiences eventually lead to his reconciliation with the existential inevitability of death. The reading which is proposed here juxtaposes Sea and Sardinia with one early and two later poems, “The Sea,” “Mana of the Sea,” and “The Ship of Death,” in order to trace the vicissitudes of his emotional states. Basically, the aim of this study is to draw attention to the transformative power of Lawrence’s angst by analyzing how the shift in attitude towards the sea reflects his acceptance or coming to terms with death.

I begin by revisiting Lawrence’s reading of Dana’s Two Years before the Mast reading it not as a critique of Dana but as a Lawrencian fiction in which the sea plays a central symbolic role. As Lawrence reflects on the vital relation of the human and the non-human, the sea seems to represent its destructive possibilities which Dana and Melville variously encounter, and thereby allow Lawrence to explore. In the Dana essay it is especially necessary, but not easy, to hold in focus the competing levels of the literal and scientific, on the one hand, and the metaphorical and visionary on the other. Sometimes the relation is strained as I suggest occurs in the flogging episode but this double vision is the basis for appreciating Lawrence’s representation of the sea.

Recent empirical and theoretical studies suggest that personality and locomotory performance traits linked to dispersal abilities are crucial components of the dispersal syndromes, and that they can evolve during range expansions and colonization processes. Island colonization is one of the best characterized processes in dispersal biogeography, and its implication in the evolution of phenotypic traits has been investigated over a wide range of temporal scales. However, the effect of island colonization on personality and performance traits of natural populations, and how these traits could drive island colonization, has been little explored. Noteworthy, no studies have addressed these processes in the context of late Pleistocene range expansions. Here, we investigated the contribution of island colonization triggered by postglacial range expansions to intraspecific variation in personality and locomotory performance traits. We compared boldness, exploration, jumping performance, and stickiness abilities in populations from 3 equidistant areas of the Tyrrhenian tree frog Hyla sarda , 2 from the main island (Corsica Island), and 1 from the recently colonized island of Elba. Individuals from Elba were significantly bolder than individuals from Corsica, as they emerged sooner from a shelter (P = 0.028), while individuals from Corsica showed markedly higher jumping and stickiness performance (both P < 0.001), resulting as more performing than those of Elba. We discuss these results in the context of the major microevolutionary processes at play during range expansion, including selection, spatial sorting, founder effects, and their possible interaction with local adaptation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

31 Ocak 2020’de Avrupa Birliği’nden resmi olarak ayrılma sürecini tamamlayan Britanya’nın tarihsel olarak Topluluk ile kurduğu ilişki “tuhaf/isteksiz ortak”, “yarı-ayrık ilişki” gibi tanımlamalar çerçevesinde sürdürülmüştür. Bu ilişkide istisnacılık söylem ve siyasetini benimseyen bir ülke olarak Britanya, ada ülkesi olma halini ve adasallığını hem ulusal kimliğin oluşumuna dahil etmiş hem de Avrupa Ekonomik Topluluğu/Avrupa Birliği politikalarının dışında kalma ya da bunu talep etme meşruiyetini sağlamak için kullanmıştır. Meşruiyetini coğrafyanın doğal ve verili olması kabulünden alan Britanya adasallığının istisnacılık söylem ve siyasetine nasıl bir katkı yaptığı bu çalışmanın temel araştırma sorusudur. Sosyal bilimlerin coğrafi incelemelerindeki tarihsel boşluğu doldurmaya çalışan eleştirel jeopolitik perspektifin kullanıldığı bu çalışmada, araştırma sorusunun cevaplanması için Britanya Parlamentosu’ndaki milletvekillerinin Avrupa Ekonomik Topluluğu/Avrupa Birliği üyelik dönemi boyunca yaptıkları konuşmalar “ada ülkesi olma hali” temelinde incelenmiştir. Bu doğrultuda incelenen söylem örneklerinin Britanya kimliğini Avrupa’nın karşıtı olarak yeniden üretme amacının yanı sıra, Ortak Balıkçılık Politikası ile sınır ve göç politikaları gibi alanlarda istisnacı bir yaklaşımla muafiyet meşruiyeti oluşturmaya katkı sağladığı söylenebilir.

The biogeography of host-parasite dynamics is an area that has received little attention in studies of island ecology. While a few studies have shed insight on patterns of parasitism in insular host populations, more empirical evidence is needed to ascertain how isolation impacts parasites. Biogeography generally theorizes that the physical size of islands and the duration of each island’s isolation can be driving geographic factors controlling species interactions and populations dynamics. To test this, we assessed the effect of island structure and population isolation on the endemic insular lizard Podarcis erhardii and its native hemogregarine parasite (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) in the Cyclades (Aegean Sea). We analyzed the relationships of prevalence and parasitemia of hemogregarine infection with several factors concerning the island (size, time of isolation, spatial isolation, population density) and host (body size) levels using regression and structural equation models, respectively. Regressions indicate that islands with greater host density and islands which have been isolated for shorter timespans tend to have higher hemogregarine prevalences; structural equation models suggest a similar pattern for parasitemia. We hypothesize this may be driven by insular density compensation. Hosts on islands that are more temporally and spatially isolated also tend to have higher prevalence and parasitemia of hemogregarines. Our results indicate that island area, island isolation, and host population density are likely to be significant drivers of changes in host-parasite interactions in fragmented populations.

In this paper, I discuss how Lewis Carroll’s Alice narratives, and in particular his so-called nonsense poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” (from Through the Looking-Glass, 1871), can read as subtexts to the opening chapters of The Boy in the Bush by D.H. Lawrence and M.L. Skinner. First I consider how the dialogue with Lewis Carroll’s texts conveys both Freemantle’s geographic features and its unfamiliarity to new arrivals and how, as a result, Lawrence and Skinner’s narrative subverts geography and chronology creating its own (nonsense) chronotope, a useful Bakhtinian concept to examine anachronisms and anageography.I show how language is reorganized to assert national identity thanks to puns, Australianisms and syllogisms which often re-echo Alice’s experiences in Wonderland or the other side of the looking-glass. Besides these linguistic games, I highlight how the competing voices in this powerful novel, that of the Australian, Mollie Skinner, writing in the romantic tradition of bush adventures also illustrated by Katharine Prichard’s novels, and that of D.H. Lawrence, the Britisher, who infuses the narrative with his own vision of “the spirit of place,” create a tension that nonsense may resolve.

I want to analyse how Lawrence, in Last Poems – that is when his poetic oeuvre reaches its ultimate limit, its edge – proposes a very visual approach to the sea. If scholars have shown interest in the depths of the ocean, in Lawrence’s idea of the sea as a place of origins, as a mysterious profound berth, I will show how he also poeticizes its angles, its “level,” “rim,” “edge,” “lip,” and lines. Lawrence’s phenomenological approach to the sea is poeticized in such a way that the latter repeatedly appears as solid block, almost sharply geometrical, eventually “breaking itself to bits” (which calls to mind the “kaleidoscope tossed at random” of “Moony” in Women in Love). The movements to and out of the sea further poeticize this idea of a clear-cut zone – “sea-ward” vs. “out of the sea” – of a fiercely eternal, sustaining block whose “distance never changes” (“Middle of the World”). And this irreducible distance, Lawrence seems to say, is just as irreducibly cognitive. How does the sea therefore fit itself within the limits of the poems whose genre is by nature constrained? How is this constrain oddly transgressed in “The Ship of Death” – where the sea is this time metaphorical – and Lawrence refers to “the endless ocean of the end” - an intriguing and self-contradictory mise en abyme of this (im)possible “end?”

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Copyright of Romanitas: Revista de Estudos Greco-Latinas is the property of Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: Introduced mammal herbivores are predicted to negatively affect insular flora. However, disentangling which particular traits (1) developed from exaptations and (2) are functional to avoid herbivory remains mainly unknown. This study aims to assess if the flora of continental islands with historic native herbivores are exapted to the introduction of new mammal herbivores and to predict the potential vulnerability of endemic species from islands where mammal herbivores have not been introduced. Location: Balearic Islands. Taxon: 96 Balearic endemic plant species. Methods: We investigated whether the endemic flora on continental islands maintains functional traits that resist introduced mammal herbivores by analysing the chemical and morphological traits related to plant resistance of five individuals for each of 98 species. Also, we measured plant‐size variables to assess plant escape strategies. Overall, we combined these traits with the accessibility to goats. Predictive models were generated for species that inhabit islands where goats have not been introduced to assess their potential vulnerability. Results: Endemic species may defend against new herbivores (e.g. goats) if they contain highly toxic compounds (alkaloids, glycosides, coumarins), spinescent and urticating structures, or specific plant architecture (low plant size, high specific leaf area). If such traits are absent, the species may become extinct—unless they inhabit areas inaccessible to goats. On continental islands, some endemic species are expected to resist the introduction of herbivores, while others may be significantly affected. Main Conclusions: From the ancient connection with the mainland, exaptations may allow the plants to resist the presence of introduced herbivores. However, non‐exapted species could be threatened by the introduction of non‐native ungulates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the emergence of the concepts of 'art islands' and 'art archipelagos' through the lens of creative geography, using cases of artistic rural revitalization in several island settlements around the world to further discuss the diverse impacts and complex social phenomena that the artistic and creative aura of the art islands and art archipelagos brings to the inherently rural communities. Starting from Naoshima, the most influential art island in Japan, this paper also explores the diverse artistic islands of the "non-Naoshima" type and reflects on the creative revitalization under the archipelago effect. Art can reinforce the insularity of the original community with reterritorialization and then create the island as a relational social space against insularity through cultural and creative means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes a fresh look at islands from an historical perspective. It aims to study them through the lens of mobilities, which enables us to consider islands within the context of more global dynamics of which they are a part. The Mediterranean sea and its islands in the modern period are here used as a vantage point to investigate this question, and hence take a step back from what is perhaps a more common monographic approach.

The island is the subject of multiple projections, myths and legends, both poetic and novelistic, on all five continents. A favourite subject for representing exile and solitude, whether voluntary or involuntary, it is ambivalent depending on the context: an asylum or a prison, paradise or hell, synonymous with separation or reunion, arrival or departure, immensity or enclosed space, war or peace, utopia or dystopia, the profane or the sacred. Several bodies of work embody this nomadic and archipelagic way of thinking about insularity, between reality and fiction, and travelogues. This tour will look first at the approach taken by the singer-songwriters who have left their mark on our popular imagination. Secondly, naturalist stories, adventure and fantasy novels and romances have been part of our childhood and adolescence, like rites of passage to adulthood, discovering distant, strange, unknown lands, imaginary or real, wild spaces. Unconsciously inhabiting our modern and contemporary collective, these authors are today revealing themselves to be whistle-blowers, as their awareness of man’s impact on living plants and animals anticipates the concepts of “ecosophy”, literary ecology, “evocentrism”, free evolution, world literature and humanistic ecology.

Hayy Ibn Yaqzân, a philosophical novel from Andalucia by Ibn Tufayl and inspired by Avicenna, tells the story of a self-taught and knowledge-seeking character born on the mythical island of Wak-Wak. Immersed in nature, he manages to detach himself from the contingent and reaches a form of spirituality liberated from external constraints, allowing him to contemplate his relationship with the word, with others and with himself. This “Robinsonade” explores the same themes that will be found later in subsequent texts, such as solitude, whose spatial counterpart is the cave, a place of revelation and rebirth, which leads to the reflection that a semiotics of the island, understood as a place of seclusion, does not correspond to a single pattern.

Pianosa is a 10 km2 Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea which is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. In this island lives a brown hare population which, according to the literature, belongs to the ancestral taxon Lepus europaeus meridei that offers a unique opportunity to observe how the parasite biocoenosis shapes in condition of isolation, limited space availability and high population density. The aim of this work is to describe the helminth component community of a non-managed, isolated, and dense hare population, evaluating host-parasite relationship and parasite community structure. All 26 analyzed hares (13 males and 13 females) were in good physical conditions, and all of them harboured exclusively the nematode Protostrongylus oryctolagi only. This is the first report of this lungworm species in Italy. The estimated overall abundance was 48.15 worms per examined hare (range 3–258, median 50) and the parasites were unevenly distributed across host population, with few hosts having most parasites (aggregated or overdispersed distribution). No significant relationship was detected between the number of isolated parasites and hare sex and weigh. The effect of the isolation of Pianosa's hare population seems to have acted reducing parasite richness, while the high host density is probably the cause of the high prevalence and abundance of the single helminth species collected.In conclusion, despite the low impact of parasites confirmed also by the overdispersed parasite distribution, the low diversity of the studied parasite community sounds a warning for the management of the hare population and the whole Pianosa's ecosystem.

Studies of the effects of insularity on animal signals are scarce, particularly in lizards. Here, we use Lilford's wall lizard from Dragonera (Podarcis lilfordi gigliolii) to ask how island conditions have affected its repertoire of social signals, focusing on two visual signals shared by many Podarcis species: ultraviolet (UV)–blue-reflecting ventrolateral colour patches and visual displays. We examined whether the number or spectral characteristics of the UV–blue patches are associated with traits related to individual quality. We also used visual models to assess visual conspicuousness and to measure sexual dichromatism. We did not observe foot shakes or any other visual displays usually found in continental Podarcis. We found that none of the UV–blue patch variables covaried with morphometric variables indicative of fighting ability or body condition in males, suggesting that this coloration does not signal individual quality. We also found very little sexual dichromatism. In particular, the UV–blue patches of females seem over-expressed and more similar to those of males than those of continental Podarcis. Ancestral state reconstruction reveals that the lack of sexual dimorphism in the UV–blue patches is a derived condition for P. lilfordi gigliolii and other Podarcis living on small islands. Our results thus show a pattern of reduced social signalling in P. lilfordi gigliolii relative to mainland Podarcis , with some signals being lost or under-expressed (visual displays) and others losing their signalling function (UV–blue patches). We hypothesize that these changes are attributable to the high population density of P. lilfordi gigliolii , which discourages territorial behaviour and promotes extreme social tolerance, making most social signals unnecessary. More work will be needed to determine whether this is a common pattern in lizards inhabiting small and densely populated islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes to present the issue of insularity in the archipelago of Cape Verde, an African country marked by several centuries of Portuguese colonization, with particular emphasis on the analysis of the interrelation between socio-historical factors and linguistic phenomena that occurred in this insular country. Taking into consideration this context, we will draw attention to the importance of insularity in the process of miscegenation of the populations in the colonial era, to the process of the formation of Creole as a result of multilingual contacts, as well as to the long process of the construction of the social identity of Cape Verdeans in the history of this society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cistus heterophyllus subsp. carthaginensis is considered one of the most endangered plants of Spain and has been object to many conservation programs and research projects. Until now, only two small spots were located in Europe: a population of one self-incompatible specimen was found in Valencia and another small population in Cartagena, disturbed by human impact and hybridization with close-relatives. Therefore, the conservation of this taxon has been one of the most defeating issues in the current plant conservation strategies of the Mediterranean workgroups. In this study, we report, describe and cense a new population of this taxon located at the furthest accessible area of the isle of Cabrera Gran in Cabrera Archipelago National Park. The population contains 59 individuals of C. heterophyllus subsp. carthaginensis, the most abundant known population of this species, with a high representation of young individuals (83%). However, some threats are currently compromising the stability of this population: the presence of Cistus albidus in surrounding areas is producing hybrids (Cistus × clausonii) and the high abundance of rats and rabbits is affecting the population recruitment. For this reason, urgent conservation actions must be designed to protect and enhance this population. Overall, this new finding offers new insights on the distribution and conservation strategies of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) living on islets exhibits a melanic skin coloration and a suite of adaptive traits lacking in nearby mainland populations. On islets, the unpredictable environmental conditions and highly fluctuating population densities are believed to have produced reversed island syndrome (RIS). Several physiological, behavioral, and life-history changes based on the RIS could result from positive selection on increased activity of melanocortins. We hypothesize that phenotypes on islets are the product of a plastic variation depending on the regulation of specific genes. Focusing on control systems that determine the insular-adapted phenotype, we demonstrated that reproductive markers, involved in the hypothalamus–hypophysis–gonadal axis, and metabolism markers, flags for hypophysis-melanocortin receptors, are all up-regulated in island lizards under the RIS. This behavior, combined with the observed limited variation in the mitochondrial genome, agrees with the hypothesis that plasticity enables populations to persist in novel environmental conditions and that over time, natural selection will “fine-tune” the population to the environment by modifying the phenotype under selection. We believe that analysis of the transcriptome and the single gene expression, such that all the variations observed in the island populations, can be useful to shed light on evolutionary plasticity as a process affecting animals’ populations in general.

As ectotherms, lizards, among the best models in thermal studies, are influenced by many abiotic factors. Interestingly, there is a scarcity of data regarding the impact that insularity may have on thermoregulation. Islands, depending their size and altitude, may differ considerably in the thermal conditions they provide to lizards. Here, we focused on a study system comprising islands that differ in morphological characteristics. We worked with four Rock Agama (Laudakia sp.) insular populations, namely Cyprus, Naxos, Delos, and Corfu. We measured body, operative and preferred temperatures and evaluated thermoregulation effectiveness (E). According to our findings, E differed among populations: Corfu received the lowest E (0.45), Cyprus and Naxos achieved median values (0.66 and 0.67, respectively) and lizards from Delos had the most effective thermoregulation (0.85). Our results underline the complex nature of insularity and its effect on saurian thermoregulation and highlight the importance of studying each insular population separately, taking into account the variable features of islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]