Kerkennah Islands Research Articles

Lamellodiscus theroni sp. nov. (Monogenea, Diplectanidae), a gill parasite from Diplodus puntazzo (Teleostei, Sparidae) from the Mediterranean Sea

AbstractWe propose to name as Lamellodiscus theroni sp. nov., the gill parasite of Diplodus puntazzo (Cetti) that was reported by Euzet (1984) as L. ergensi Euzet and Oliver, 1966 in Kerkennah Island (Tunisia). L. theroni sp. nov. was also found specific to D. puntazzo in Algiers Bay (Algeria) and in Gulf of Lion (France). The host specificity of various Lamellodiscus species on D. puntazzo is briefly discussed. Within Lamellodiscus, L. theroni belongs to the “ignoratus” group characterized by a “lyre” shaped male copulatory organ and to the “ergensi” subgroup, characterized by a complex morphology of the haptoral dorsal bars. L. theroni differs from the five other species of this subgroup (L. ergensi, L. kechemirae, L. tomentosus, L. sanfilippoi, L. baeri) by the morphology and the size of the haptoral dorsal bar. L. theroni, as well as, L. hilii, L. bidens, L. impervius, was only reported on the sparid Diplodus puntazzo. These parasite species are all considered as oioxenic.

Celestial Navigators and Navigation Stories

Fishermen of the Kerkennah Islands in Tunisia, Moce Islanders in Fiji, and navigation instructors at the United States Naval Academy are the focus of a contemporary study of modern day navigation by the stars. The differences between these communities are obvious, but one of the similarities is the focus of this paper: the stories they tell about navigation. This cultural astronomy project primarily used methods from anthropology, especially ethnography. The stories were collected during interviews in each community from 1998 through 2003. Representative examples of their stories are presented and analyzed. Analysis includes what can be learned and what can be inferred about the navigators, their marine environment, and their relationship to the sky. Though the structure of their stories have parallels, community dependent and reflects different relationships to the sky and to new navigation technologies are emphasised.

Acquiring culture: cross cultural studies in child development

Preface. Gustav Jahoda and I.M. Lewis Introduction: Child Development in Psychology and Anthropology Part 1: Non-verbal Processes in the Acquisition of Culture 1. Colwyn Trevarthen Universal Co-operative Motives: How Infants Begin to Know the Language and Culture of their Parents 2. John Blacking Dance and Music in Venda Children's Cognitive Development 1956-8 3. Angela Hobart The Shadow Play and Operetta as Mediums of Education in Bali Part 2: Cognitive Development and Indigenous Psychology 4. Signe Howell From Child to Human: Chewong Concepts of Self 5. Joanna Overing Personal Autonomy and the Domestication of the Self in Piaroa Society 6. Ida Nicolaisen Concepts and Learning Among the Punan Bah of Sarawak Part 3: Cognitive Development, Gender and Hierarchy 7. Christina Toren Children's Perceptions of Gender and Hierarchy in Fiji 8. Katherine Platt Cognitive Development and Sex Roles on the Kerkennah Islands of Tunisia 9. Tarama Dragadze Sex Roles and State Roles in Soviet Georgia: Two Styles of Infant Socialisation. Christina Toren Annotated Bibliography: Recent Studies of Ethnography of Childhood. Index

Flux hydriques et métabolisme énergétique dans un peuplement de Lacertidés des îles Kerkennah (Tunisie)

Water flux and daily energy expenditure were measured with doubly labeled water (3HH18O) in two insectivorous sympatric species of Lacertidae of Kerkennah islands (Tunisia), Eremias olivieri (mean body mass: 1.1 g) and Acanthodactylus pardalis (4.5 g) in a semiarid environment. Water turnover and field metabolic rate of Eremias olivieri (174 μL H2O g−1 d−1 and 250 J g−1 d−1) were, respectively, 2.5 and 5 times higher than those of Acanthodactylus pardalis (70 μL H2O g−1 d−1 and 52 J g−1 d−1). The water turnover of Eremias olivieri is one of the highest known among insectivorous lizards, and the daily energy expenditure of Acanthodactylus pardalis one of the lowest. The most plausible explanations are the differences in the size of the prey eaten by each species at this time of the season and in the duration of daily activity; the daily activity of Acanthodactylus pardalis is short (4.5 h d−1) although it is a sit-and-wait predator, whereas Eremias olivieri is active regularly every day for a longer period (7.5 h d−1) although it is an active forager. The high values of water turnover in Eremias olivieri suggest that food is not the only source of water for lizards in this particular insular environment.

Régime alimentaire d’un Lacertidae Eremias olivieri (Audouin) des îles Kerkennah en Tunisie

The seasonal and local variations of the diet of the lizard Eremias olivieri (Lacertidae) were studied on the Kerkennah islands, off the coast of Tunisia. A total of 247 stomach was examined. The wide range of the food items ingested, and the lack of a close relationship between the size of the prey and that of the predator, emphasizes the dietary opportunism of Eremias olivieri. Such a diet is considered as adaptive to the scarcity of food resources of the semi-desertic environment of the Kerkennah islands.