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We studied the emotions experienced by students during the last two years of compulsory secondary education (15 and 16 years old) when learning physics and chemistry. The objective of this piece of research was to establish different relationship between emotions felt by students and variables like the didactic methodology or the kind of science they are learning. We have collected data from different subject blocks such as those related to matter, energy and electricity or kinematics and dynamics, and they were processed and analysed in order to establish relationships by courses. The sample comprised 282 students. The results revealed that pupils mainly experience more positive emotions towards the content of chemistry than towards that of physics. There is also a decrease in the mean frequency of positive emotions such as joy as they pass from K-9 to K-10, and an increase in negative emotions such as boredom. The pupils who experienced positive emotions towards chemistry content related these to how the teacher taught the subject, rather than to the content itself. Negative emotions towards physics contents were linked to the exclusive use of the textbook, solving physics problems, or giving oral presentations.

Under natural conditions sea turtle eggs are subjected to a changing thermal environment, but little is known about the effect of these temperature fluctuations during incubation on the performance and phenotype of hatchlings. The aim of this study was to determine how incubation temperature pattern (increasing or stable) and incubation temperature regime (low or high) affect incubation and hatching duration, hatching and emergence success, hatchling phenotype (carapace length and weight) and self-righting interval at hatching. Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) clutches were collected at different beaches on the Cape Verde archipelago and divided among incubators with different temperature regimes and patterns. Minimum straight carapace length and weight of all individuals were measured at hatching. In addition, the hatching duration and the time interval required for each hatchling to self-right were recorded. Results showed that incubation temperature regimes influenced all studied parameters more than the increasing temperature pattern. Low incubation temperature regimes, both in the increasing and stable pattern, increased the incubation time, produced bigger hatchlings and caused a slower righting response compared to the high temperature regimes. An optimal range of incubation temperatures was determined by assessing the most favorable values for hatchlings, although some differences were found in the higher temperatures of this optimal range between different rookeries. This means that turtle incubation in the laboratory should, as far as possible, follow the natural incubation temperature fluctuation of the studied rookery.

Scedosporium apiospermum is a filamentous fungus that can cause cutaneous or extracutaneous disease. A large number of cases have been published over the last decades, mainly in patients immunocompromised as a result of their disease or treatment. These kinds of infections can progress rapidly and become disseminated, leading to very serious or even fatal complications. We report two new cases of skin infection by Scedosporium apiospermum from our hospital.

Amphibian populations are declining worldwide, but for many taxa, robust estimates of demographic parameters to assess population state or trends are scarce or absent. We provide robust estimates of adult apparent survival of the endemic Mallorcan midwife toad Alytes muletensis using individual capture-recapture data collected over 4 yr in a 60 m2 cistern. Moreover, we combined the vital rates into a stage-structured population model to estimate the expected long-term growth rate of the population. Apparent survival estimates of males and females were similar (0.737 ± 0.042 and 0.726 ± 0.045, respectively) indicating that the egg-carrying behavior of males, typical of this species, does not reduce its survival probability. We found evidence of a low local survival of juveniles compared with adults, most likely due to permanent dispersal. Adult population size estimation provided higher tadpole:adult ratios than previously reported for this endangered species, suggesting an overestimation of the previous adult population size. Model projections suggested a stable population, since λ, the expected asymptotic growth rate of the population, was close to 1.00.

Parasites are able to negatively affect the locomotor performance of their hosts, and consequently, their biological fitness. In this study, we examine the relationship between parasitism and burst speed in an insular population of Lilford's Wall Lizard (Podarcis lilfordi (Gunther, 1874)). Podaras lilfordi is normally infected with haemogregarine blood parasites and mites in our study location, Aire Island (Balearic Islands, Spain). Unlike the results from other studies on lizards, we found a significant negative correlation between intensity of infection by haemogregarines and burst speed. Body condition is also significantly related to burst speed. Thus, lizards with a lower blood parasite load and better body condition show a faster sprint speed. Intensity of infection by haemoparasites shows a lack of correlation with both body condition and mite load. Our results are compared with those from other lizard species living in different habitats. We discuss the influence of insular environmental conditions on locomotor performances, such as low predation pressure, lack of competitors, and high lizard densities. Key words: burst speed, blood parasites, ectoparasites, body condition, islands, predation pressure, Lilford's Wall Lizard, Podarcis lilfordi. Les parasites peuvent avoir une incidence negative sur la performance locomotrice de leurs hotes et, du coup, l'aptitude biologique de ces derniers. Nous examinons le lien entre le parasitisme et la vitesse de pointe dans une population insulaire de lezards de Lilford (Podarcis lilfordi (Gunther, 1874)). Podarcis lilfordi est normalement infecte par des parasites sanguins hemogregariens et des acariens dans la zone d'etude, l'ile Aire (Baleares, Espagne). Contrairement aux resultats d'autres etudes sur des lezards, nous avons note une correlation negative significative entre l'intensite de l'infection aux hemogregariens et la vitesse de pointe. L'etat d'embonpoint est egalement significativement relie a cette vitesse. Ainsi, les lezards presentant une charge sanguine en parasites relativement faible et un meilleur etat d'embonpoint ont une vitesse de pointe plus grande. L'intensite de l'infection aux hemoparasites n'est pas correlee a l'etat d'embonpoint, ni a la charge d'acariens. Nos resultats sont compares a des resultats portant sur d'autres especes de lezards vivant dans des habitats differents. Nous abordons l'influence des conditions ambiantes insulaires, telles que la faible pression de predation, l'absence de concurrents et la densite elevee de lezards, sur la performance locomotrice. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: vitesse de pointe, parasites sanguins, ectoparasites, etat d'embonpoint, iles, pression de predation, lezard de Lilford, Podarcis lilfordi., Introduction Locomotor capabilities, such as the maximal sprint speed or burst speed, are good indicators of performance abilities (Robson and Miles 2000). In addition, there is a clear link between [...]

Temporal changes in adult sex ratio of animal populations might be due to differences in movements, survival or detection probabilities. We used data from an intensive capture–mark–recapture study of 720 lizards at the islet of Aire (Balearic Islands, Spain) to investigate the demographic mechanisms underlying the spring uneven sex ratio. We simultaneously estimated survival (f), the proportion of transient animals (p) and the probability of recapture (p) of lizards at the study plot. We then estimated population size using open population models for individually based data and compared these with the observed values. Results indicated that males had a higher probability of recapture than females, but this was not sufficient to generate the observed male-biased sex ratio. The proportion of transient males decreased at the end of spring in parallel with the end of the blooming period of the dead horse arum,Helicodiceros muscivorus, a short-lasting food and thermoregulation resource for lizards during spring. Changes in the proportion of transients suggested that sex-dependent movements, most likely linked to a monopolising behaviour of this plant resource, were responsible for the observed difference in the number of males and females. Our results reveal how the interplay of behavioural and ecological factors explains short-term changes in population dynamics and shapes the movement patterns within the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Morphological adaptations of amphisbaenians for a fossorial life constrain their ecological demands in a greater way than for epigeal reptiles. Studies on the diet of amphisbaenians suggest that most species are generalists, although others seem more selective. However, there is no information on the diet preferences of almost any species because most studies did not evaluate the availability of prey in the environment. We analysed the spring diet selection of a population of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni from the Chafarinas Islands, in North Africa. We specifically examined diet estimated from faecal material collected from live amphisbaenians and compared diet with the availability of invertebrates in the soil. Results indicate that the diet of T. wiegmanni amphisbaenians consists of some of the types of invertebrates that are more commonly found under rocks used by amphisbaenians, such as insect larvae, snails, isopods, beetles and ants. This diet could be initially considered generalist, and probably opportunistic. However, the comparison of proportions of prey types in the diet and those available in the habitat revealed that T. wiegmanni does not eat prey at random, but selects some particular prey types (insect larvae and pupae and, surprisingly, snails), while others (ants and isopods) are consumed less than expected by their abundance. We did not found differences between sexes or age classes in diet composition. We discuss how diet preferences could be due to selection of the more profitable or easily captured prey. There are many aspects of the feeding and foraging biology of amphisbaenians that remain unknown and further studies are clearly needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two monophyletic sister species of wall lizards inhabit the two main groups of Balearic Islands: Podarcis lilfordi from islets and small islands around Mallorca and Menorca and Podarcis pityusensis from Ibiza, Formentera and associated islets. Genetic diversity within the endangered P. lilfordi has been well characterized, but P. pityusensis has not been studied in depth. Here, 2430 bp of mt DNA and 15 microsatellite loci were analysed from P. pityusensis populations from across its natural range. Two main genetic groupings were identified, although geographical structuring differed slightly between the mt DNA and the nuclear loci. In general, individuals from islets/islands adjacent to the main island of Ibiza were genetically distinct from those from Formentera and the associated Freus islands for both mt DNA and the nuclear loci. However, most individuals from the island of Ibiza were grouped with neighbouring islets/islands for nuclear loci, but with Formentera and Freus islands for the mitochondrial locus. A time-calibrated Bayesian tree was constructed for the principal mitochondrial lineages within the Balearics, using the multispecies coalescent model, and provided statistical support for divergence of the two main P. pityusensis lineages 0.111-0.295 Ma. This suggests a mid-late Pleistocene intraspecific divergence, compared with an early Pleistocene divergence in P. lilfordi, and postdates some major increases in sea level between 0.4 and 0.6 Ma, which may have flooded Formentera. The program IMa2 provided a posterior divergence time of 0.089-0.221 Ma, which was similar to the multispecies coalescent tree estimate. More significantly, it indicated low but asymmetric effective gene copy migration rates, with higher migration from Formentera to Ibiza populations. Our findings suggest that much of the present-day diversity may have originated from a late Pleistocene colonization of one island group from the other, followed by allopatric divergence of these populations. Subsequent gene flow between these insular groups seems likely to be explained by recent human introductions. Two evolutionary significant units can be defined for P. pityusensis but these units would need to exclude the populations that have been the subjects of recent admixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]