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Competitive Behaviour (competitive + behaviour)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Determinants for the successful establishment of exotic ants in New Zealand

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 4 2005
Philip J. Lester
ABSTRACT Biological invasions can dramatically alter ecosystems. An ability to predict the establishment success for exotic species is important for biosecurity and conservation purposes. I examine the exotic New Zealand ant fauna for characteristics that predict or determine an exotic species' ability to establish. Quarantine records show interceptions of 66 ant species: 17 of which have established, 43 have failed to establish, whereas nests of another six are periodically observed but have failed to establish permanently (called ,ephemeral' establishment). Mean temperature at the highest latitude and interception variables were the only factors significantly different between established, failed or ephemeral groups. Aspects of life history, such as competitive behaviour and morphology, were not different between groups. However, in a stepwise discriminant analysis, small size was a key factor influencing establishment success. Interception rate and climate were also secondarily important. The resulting classification table predicted establishment success with 71% accuracy. Because not all exotic species are represented in quarantine records, a further discriminant model is described without interception data. Though with less accuracy (65%) than the full model, it still correctly predicted the success or failure of four species not used in the previous analysis. Techniques for improving the prediction accuracy are discussed. Predicting which species will establish in a new area appears an achievable goal, which will be a valuable tool for conservation biology. [source]

Regulated Competition in Social Health Insurance: A Three-Country Comparison

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 3 2006
Stefan Gre
The objectives guiding healthcare reforms in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands were to increase efficiency and consumer satisfaction in the provision of healthcare services. This paper reviews the incentives for and instruments of competition for consumers, sickness funds and healthcare providers in these three countries which are necessary to fulfil these objectives. Incentives for risk selection of sickness funds are high in Germany and Switzerland while they are low in the Netherlands. Incentives for consumer choice are also highest in Germany and Switzerland. In all three countries sickness funds have only a few instruments of competition. The effects of competition have been disappointing so far. The objectives of competitive healthcare reforms can be achieved only if incentives for and instruments of competition consistently support competitive behaviour on the part of market actors. [source]

Picking battles wisely: plant behaviour under competition

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 6 2009
ARIEL NOVOPLANSKY
ABSTRACT Plants are limited in their ability to choose their neighbours, but they are able to orchestrate a wide spectrum of rational competitive behaviours that increase their prospects to prevail under various ecological settings. Through the perception of neighbours, plants are able to anticipate probable competitive interactions and modify their competitive behaviours to maximize their long-term gains. Specifically, plants can minimize competitive encounters by avoiding their neighbours; maximize their competitive effects by aggressively confronting their neighbours; or tolerate the competitive effects of their neighbours. However, the adaptive values of these non-mutually exclusive options are expected to depend strongly on the plants' evolutionary background and to change dynamically according to their past development, and relative sizes and vigour. Additionally, the magnitude of competitive responsiveness is expected to be positively correlated with the reliability of the environmental information regarding the expected competitive interactions and the expected time left for further plastic modifications. Concurrent competition over external and internal resources and morphogenetic signals may enable some plants to increase their efficiency and external competitive performance by discriminately allocating limited resources to their more promising organs at the expense of failing or less successful organs. [source]