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Topic Review
Rodrigues
Rodrigues (French: Île Rodrigues [il ʁɔdʁiɡ]; Creole: Rodrig) is a 108 km2 (42 sq mi) autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 560 km (350 mi) east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reef, and some tiny uninhabited islands lie just off its coast. The island used to be the tenth District of Mauritius; it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin. Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens. (As of 2014), the island's population was about 41,669, according to Statistics Mauritius. Most of the inhabitants are of African descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishing, farming, handicraft and a developing tourism sector. The island (together with Agaléga and Saint Brandon) forms part of the larger territory of the Republic of Mauritius with the President as head of state and the Chief Commissioner as head of government.
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Río Negro Province
Río Negro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈneɣɾo], Black River) is a province of Argentina , located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Viedma, and its largest city is Bariloche. Other important cities include General Roca and Cipolletti.
  • 1.1K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Restrictions on Geographic Data in China
Due to national security concerns, the use of geographic information in China is restricted to entities that obtain a special authorization from the administrative department for surveying and mapping under the State Council. Consequences of the restriction include fines for unauthorized surveys, lack of geotagging information on many cameras when the GPS chip detects a location within China, incorrect alignment of street maps with satellite maps in various applications, and seeming unlawfulness of crowdsourced mapping efforts such as OpenStreetMap.
  • 2.5K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Remote Sensing of Geomorphodiversity Linked to Biodiversity
Remote sensing (RS) enables a cost-effective, extensive, continuous and standardized monitoring of traits and trait variations of geomorphology and its processes, from the local to the continental scale. RS technologies can record geomorphic traits, their diversity and variations, from which the other four geomorphodiversity characteristics are derived. However, compared to in situ measurements, RS approaches can only record certain parts of these geomorphic traits and their variations. This is because capturing geomorphic traits and diversity using RS approaches is limited by various constraints, namely: (1) the characteristics and spatial-temporal distribution of geomorphic traits; (2) the characteristics of geomorphological processes; as well as (3) the RS sensor characteristics, the chosen RS platforms and the characteristics of RS data-processing and classification information. These constraints and limitations define the detectability, feasibility, accuracy, depth of information, repeatability, and, thus, standards disability in monitoring the five geomorphic characteristics using RS approaches.
  • 421
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
Reinforcement (Speciation)
Reinforcement is a process of speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation (further divided to pre-zygotic isolation and post-zygotic isolation) between two populations of species. This occurs as a result of selection acting against the production of hybrid individuals of low fitness. The idea was originally developed by Alfred Russel Wallace and is sometimes referred to as the Wallace effect. The modern concept of reinforcement originates from Theodosius Dobzhansky. He envisioned a species separated allopatrically, where during secondary contact the two populations mate, producing hybrids with lower fitness. Natural selection results from the hybrid's inability to produce viable offspring; thus members of one species who do not mate with members of the other have greater reproductive success. This favors the evolution of greater prezygotic isolation (differences in behavior or biology that inhibit formation of hybrid zygotes). Reinforcement is one of the few cases in which selection can favor an increase in prezygotic isolation, influencing the process of speciation directly. This aspect has been particularly appealing among evolutionary biologists. The support for reinforcement has fluctuated since its inception, and terminological confusion and differences in usage over history have led to multiple meanings and complications. Various objections have been raised by evolutionary biologists as to the plausibility of its occurrence. Since the 1990s, data from theory, experiments, and nature have overcome many of the past objections, rendering reinforcement widely accepted,:354 though its prevalence in nature remains unknown. Numerous models have been developed to understand its operation in nature, most relying on several facets: genetics, population structures, influences of selection, and mating behaviors. Empirical support for reinforcement exists, both in the laboratory and in nature. Documented examples are found in a wide range of organisms: both vertebrates and invertebrates, fungi, and plants. The secondary contact of originally separated incipient species (the initial stage of speciation) is increasing due to human activities such as the introduction of invasive species or the modification of natural habitats. This has implications for measures of biodiversity and may become more relevant in the future.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Reindeer Distribution
The reindeer is a widespread and numerous species in the northern Holarctic, being present in both tundra and taiga (boreal forest). Originally, the reindeer was found in Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Russia , Mongolia, and northern China north of the 50th latitude. In North America, it was found in Canada , Alaska (United States ), and the northern contiguous USA from Washington to Maine. In the 19th century, it was apparently still present in southern Idaho. It also occurred naturally on Sakhalin, Greenland, and probably even in historical times in Ireland. During the late Pleistocene era, reindeer were found further south, such as at Nevada, Tennessee , and Alabama in North America and Spain in Europe. Today, wild reindeer have disappeared from many areas within this large historical range, especially from the southern parts, where it vanished almost everywhere. Populations of wild reindeer are still found in Norway , Finland , Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, and Canada . Domesticated reindeer are mostly found in northern Fennoscandia and Russia, with a herd of approximately 150–170 semi-domesticated reindeer living around the Cairngorms region in Scotland. The last remaining wild tundra reindeer in Europe are found in portions of southern Norway . A few reindeer from Norway were introduced to the South Atlantic island of South Georgia in the beginning of the 20th century. The South Georgian reindeer totaled some estimated 2600 animals in two distinct herds separated by glaciers. Although the flag and the coat of arms of the territory contain an image of a reindeer, they were eradicated from 2013 to 2017 because of the environmental damage they caused. Around 4000 reindeer have been introduced into the French sub-Antarctic archipelago of Kerguelen Islands. East Iceland has a small herd of about 2500–3000 animals. Caribou and reindeer numbers have fluctuated historically, but many herds are in decline across their range. This global decline is linked to climate change for northern, migratory caribou and reindeer herds and industrial disturbance of caribou habitat for sedentary, non-migratory herds.
  • 4.0K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Reda Mansour
Reda Mansour (Arabic: رضا منصور, Hebrew: רדא מנצור‎) is an Israeli-Druze poet, historian and diplomat. He has published three books of Hebrew poetry and received the University of Haifa Miller Award as well as the State President Scholarship for young writers. Mansour was born (1965) in the Druze village of Isfiya in northern Israel. He has a Ph. D from the University of Haifa's Middle East History Department and a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government where he was a Wexner Israel Fellow. He studied Spanish in Salamanca University (dating back to 1218, is the oldest and also one of the most prestigious universities in Spain), and a general studies semester in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His field of research is the Changes in the Perception of Identity and Social Environment as Evident in the Intellectual Discourse in Syria During the Third Decade of the "Corrective Movement" 1988-2003.
  • 250
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Rank-Size Distribution
Rank-size distribution is the distribution of size by rank, in decreasing order of size. For example, if a data set consists of items of sizes 5, 100, 5, and 8, the rank-size distribution is 100, 8, 5, 5 (ranks 1 through 4). This is also known as the rank-frequency distribution, when the source data are from a frequency distribution. These are particularly of interest when the data vary significantly in scale, such as city size or word frequency. These distributions frequently follow a power law distribution, or less well-known ones such as a stretched exponential function or parabolic fractal distribution, at least approximately for certain ranges of ranks; see below. A rank-size distribution is not a probability distribution or cumulative distribution function. Rather, it is a discrete form of a quantile function (inverse cumulative distribution) in reverse order, giving the size of the element at a given rank.
  • 2.7K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Pyrolysis of Biosolids to Produce Biochars
Biochar is a solid, charcoal material that can be used in different applications such as its use in agriculture as a soil enhancer in which moisture content is sustained for long periods of times. Biosolids or biosludges will refer to any form of sludge that has undergone some form of treatment (e.g., chemical, biological, heat treatment, etc.) in order to transform it into a less hazardous and organic form. More importantly, there seems to be an inconsistency in defining what classifies as biosolids, hence, a unified definition is established and provided. The aim is to enable the scientific community as a whole to use a standard definition that allows for synergies to take place. Specifically, the pyrolysis process is selected and is known as a thermochemical technique in which heat and an oxygen-free environment facilitate the decomposition of the feedstock into different products, depending on the operating parameters.
  • 658
  • 14 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Prognathodon
Prognathodon is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Mosasaurinae subfamily, alongside genera like Mosasaurus and Clidastes. Prognathodon has been recovered from deposits ranging in age from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian in the Middle East, Europe, New Zealand, and North America. Prognathodon means "forejaw tooth", which originates from the Latin pro- ("earlier" or "prior"), Greek gnathos ("jaw") and odṓn ("tooth"). Twelve nominal species of Prognathodon are recognised, from North America, northern and western Africa, the Middle East, western Europe and New Zealand. Due to the sometimes clear differences between them and the incomplete nature of many of the specimens, the systematics of the genus and which species should properly be considered Prognathodon is controversial. Some species have been assigned to other genera, such as Dollosaurus and Brachysaurana, but this has also been questioned. Prognathodon is known for its massively built jaws and teeth. Its distinct feeding adaptations have generated much interest in its ecology ever since its discovery, though direct evidence of its diet, such as gastric residues, is rare.
  • 1.4K
  • 19 Oct 2022
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