Disparate effects of plant genotypic diversity on foliage and litter arthropod communities.

Intraspecific diversity can influence the structure of associated communities, though whether litter-based and foliage-based arthropod communities respond to intraspecific diversity in similar ways remains unclear. In this study, we compared the effects of host-plant genotype and genotypic diversity of the perennial plant, Solidago altissima, on the arthropod community associated with living plant tissue (foliage-based community) and microarthropods associated with leaf litter (litter-based community). We found that variation among host-plant genotypes had strong effects on the diversity and composition of foliage-based arthropods, but only weak effects on litter-based microarthropods.

Coupled map lattice techniques for simulating interfacial phenomena in reaction-diffusion systems.

Interfacial patterns arise due to the dynamical evolution of phase boundaries in physical, chemical and biological systems. Coupled map lattices (CML) offer a useful tool for the simulation of such systems, being able to naturally accommodate the disparate length and time scales inherent in the dynamics of these processes. We illustrate this idea by reviewing work done on applying CML methods to crystal growth and to excitable media.