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- Volume 50, 2019
Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics - Volume 50, 2019
Volume 50, 2019
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AREES at 50: A Semicentennial Celebration
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 1–26More LessI survey the 50-year history of the Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, retitled Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics in 2003. An overview of reviews up through 2009 portrays much of the history of the series’ subject areas, revealing both lasting themes and great changes in emphasis, theory, evidence, and understanding. Much of the progress has resulted from conceptual innovation and from momentous advances in computation, data analysis, and molecular methodology, some of which have been reviewed in these volumes. Some of the most significant changes entail intercourse between formerly separate realms of study. If the remarkably long citation life of many reviews is any indication, contributions to this series have helped to shape research questions and conceptual development in ecology, evolution, and systematics and their applications to social concerns that range from antibiotic resistance to the ecological consequences of human actions.
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Cultural Evolution in Animals
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 27–48More LessIn recent decades, a burgeoning literature has documented the cultural transmission of behavior through social learning in numerous vertebrate and invertebrate species. One meaning of “cultural evolution in animals” refers to these discoveries, and I present an overview of key findings. I then address the other meaning of the term focused on cultural changes within a lineage. Such changes in humans, described as “cumulative cultural evolution,” have been spectacular, but relatively little attention has yet been paid to the topic in nonhuman animals, other than asserting that the process is unique to humans. A variety of evidence including both controlled experiments and field observations has begun to challenge this view, and in some behavioral domains, notably birdsong, cultural evolution has been studied for many years. In this review, I dissect concepts of cultural evolution and cumulative culture and appraise the accumulating evidence bearing on their nature and significance for evolutionary biology at large.
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Somatic Mutation and Evolution in Plants
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 49–73More LessSomatic mutations are common in plants, and they may accumulate and be passed on to gametes. The determinants of somatic mutation accumulation include the intraorganismal selective effect of mutations, the number of cell divisions that separate the zygote from the formation of gametes, and shoot apical meristem structure and branching. Somatic mutations can promote the evolution of diploidy, polyploidy, sexual recombination, outcrossing, clonality, and separate sexes, and they may contribute genetic variability in many other traits. The amplification of beneficial mutations via intraorganismal selection may relax selection to reduce the genomic mutation rate or to protect the germline in plants. The total rate of somatic mutation, the distribution of selective effects and fates in the plant body, and the degree to which the germline is sheltered from somatic mutations are still poorly understood. Our knowledge can be improved through empirical estimates of mutation rates and effects on cell lineages and whole organisms, such as estimates of the reduction in fitness of progeny produced by within- versus between-flower crosses on the same plant, mutation coalescent studies within the canopy, and incorporation of somatic mutation into theoretical models of plant evolutionary genetics.
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Beyond Reproductive Isolation: Demographic Controls on the Speciation Process
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 75–95More LessStudies of speciation typically investigate the evolution of reproductive isolation between populations, but several other processes can serve as key steps limiting the formation of species. In particular, the probability of successful speciation can be influenced by factors that affect the frequency with which population isolates form as well as their persistence through time. We suggest that population isolation and persistence have an inherently spatial dimension that can be profitably studied using a conceptual framework drawn from metapopulation ecology. We discuss models of speciation that incorporate demographic processes and highlight the need for a broader application of phylogenetic comparative approaches to evaluate the general importance of population isolation, persistence, and reproductive isolation in speciation. We review diverse and nontraditional data sources that can be leveraged to study isolation and persistence in a comparative framework. This incorporation of spatial demographic information facilitates the integration of perspectives on speciation across disciplines and timescales.
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An Integrative Framework for Understanding the Mechanisms and Multigenerational Consequences of Transgenerational Plasticity
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 97–118More LessTransgenerational plasticity (TGP) occurs when the environment experienced by a parent influences the development of their offspring. In this article, we develop a framework for understanding the mechanisms and multigenerational consequences of TGP. First, we conceptualize the mechanisms of TGP in the context of communication between parents (senders) and offspring (receivers) by dissecting the steps between an environmental cue received by a parent and its resulting effects on the phenotype of one or more future generations. Breaking down the problem in this way highlights the diversity of mechanisms likely to be involved in the process. Second, we review the literature on multigenerational effects and find that the documented patterns across generations are diverse. We categorize different multigenerational patterns and explore the proximate and ultimate mechanisms that can generate them. Throughout, we highlight opportunities for future work in this dynamic and integrative area of study.
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Origins and Assembly of Malesian Rainforests
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 119–143More LessUnraveling the origins of Malesia's once vast, hyperdiverse rainforests is a perennial challenge. Major contributions to rainforest assembly came from floristic elements carried on the Indian Plate and montane elementsfrom the Australian Plate (Sahul). The Sahul component is now understood to include substantial two-way exchanges with Sunda inclusive of lowland taxa. Evidence for the relative contributions of the great Asiatic floristic interchanges (GAFIs) with India and Sahul, respectively, to the flora of Malesia comes from contemporary lineage distributions, the fossil record, time-calibrated phylogenies, functional traits, and the spatial structure of genetic diversity. Functional-trait and biome conservatism are noted features of montane austral lineages from Sahul (e.g., diverse Podocarpaceae), whereas the abundance and diversity of lowland lineages, including Syzygium (Myrtaceae) and the Asian dipterocarps (Dipterocarpoideae), reflect a less well understood combination of dispersal, ecology, and adaptive radiations. Thus, Malesian rainforest assembly has been shaped by sharply contrasting evolutionary origins and biogeographic histories.
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More Than the Sum of Its Parts: Microbiome Biodiversity as a Driver of Plant Growth and Soil Health
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 145–168More LessMicroorganisms drive several processes needed for robust plant growth and health. Harnessing microbial functions is thus key to productive and sustainable food production. Molecular methods have led to a greater understanding of the soil microbiome composition. However, translating species or gene composition into microbiome functionality remains a challenge. Community ecology concepts such as the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning framework may help predict the assembly and function of plant-associated soil microbiomes. Higher diversity can increase the number and resilience of plant-beneficial functions that can be coexpressed and unlock the expression of plant-beneficial traits that are hard to obtain from any species in isolation. We combine well-established community ecology concepts with molecular microbiology into a workable framework that may enable us to predict and enhance soil microbiome functionality to promote robust plant growth in a global change context.
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Consequences of Multispecies Introductions on Island Ecosystems
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 169–190More LessThe rate of non-native species introductions continues to increase, with directionality from continents to islands. It is no longer single species but entire networks of coevolved and newly interacting continental species that are establishing on islands. The consequences of multispecies introductions on the population dynamics and interactions of native and introduced species will depend on the form of trophic limitation on island ecosystems. Freed from biotic constraints in their native range, species introduced to islands no longer experience top-down limitation, instead becoming limited by and disrupting bottom-up processes that dominate on resource-limited islands. This framing of the ecological and evolutionary relationships among introduced species with one another and their ecosystem has important consequences for conservation. Whereas on continents the focus of conservation is on restoring native apex species and top-down limitation, on islands the focus must instead be on removing introduced animal and plant species to restore bottom-up limitation.
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Importance of Pollinator-Mediated Interspecific Pollen Transfer for Angiosperm Evolution
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 191–217More LessUnderstanding how pollen moves between species is critical to understanding speciation, diversification, and evolution of flowering plants. For co-flowering species that share pollinators, competition through interspecific pollen transfer (IPT) can profoundly impact floral evolution, decreasing female fitness via heterospecific pollen deposition on stigmas and male fitness via pollen misplacement during visits to heterospecific flowers. The pollination literature demonstrates that such reproductive interference frequently selects for reproductive character displacement in floral traits linked to pollinator attraction, pollen placement, and mating systems and has also revealed that IPT between given pairs of species is typically asymmetric. More recent work is starting to elucidate its importance to the speciation process, clarifying the link between IPT and current and historical patterns of hybridization, the evolution of phenotypic novelty through adaptive introgression, and the rise of reproductive isolation. Our review aims to stimulate further research on IPT as a ubiquitous mechanism that plays a central role in angiosperm diversification.
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Haploid Selection in “Diploid” Organisms
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 219–236More LessEvolutionary rates and strength of selection differ markedly between haploid and diploid genomes. Any genes expressed in a haploid state will be directly exposed to selection, whereas alleles in a diploid state may be partially or fully masked by a homologous allele. This difference may shape key evolutionary processes, including rates of adaptation and inbreeding depression, but also the evolution of sex chromosomes, heterochiasmy, and stable sex ratio biases. All diploid organisms carry haploid genomes, most notably the haploid genomes in gametes produced by every sexually reproducing eukaryote. Furthermore, haploid expression occurs in genes with monoallelic expression, in sex chromosomes, and in organelles, such as mitochondria and plastids. A comparison of evolutionary rates among these haploid genomes reveals striking parallels. Evidence suggests that haploid selection has the potential to shape evolution in predominantly diploid organisms, and taking advantage of the rapidly developing technologies, we are now in the position to quantify the importance of such selection on haploid genomes.
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Mycorrhizal Fungi as Mediators of Soil Organic Matter Dynamics
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 237–259More LessInhabiting the interface between plant roots and soil, mycorrhizal fungi play a unique but underappreciated role in soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics. Their hyphae provide an efficient mechanism for distributing plant carbon throughout the soil, facilitating its deposition into soil pores and onto mineral surfaces, where it can be protected from microbial attack. Mycorrhizal exudates and dead tissues contribute to the microbial necromass pool now known to play a dominant role in SOM formation and stabilization. While mycorrhizal fungi lack the genetic capacity to act as saprotrophs, they use several strategies to access nutrients locked in SOM and thereby promote its decay, including direct enzymatic breakdown, oxidation via Fenton chemistry, and stimulation of heterotrophic microorganisms through carbon provision to the rhizosphere. An additional mechanism, competition with free-living saprotrophs, potentially suppresses SOM decomposition, leading to its accumulation. How these various nutrient acquisition strategies differentially influence SOM formation, stabilization, and loss is an area of critical research need.
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What Have Long-Term Field Studies Taught Us About Population Dynamics?
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 261–278More LessLong-term studies have been crucial to the advancement of population biology, especially our understanding of population dynamics. We argue that this progress arises from three key characteristics of long-term research. First, long-term data are necessary to observe the heterogeneity that drives most population processes. Second, long-term studies often inherently lead to novel insights. Finally, long-term field studies can serve as model systems for population biology, allowing for theory and methods to be tested under well-characterized conditions. We illustrate these ideas in three long-term field systems that have made outsized contributions to our understanding of population ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. We then highlight three emerging areas to which long-term field studies are well positioned to contribute in the future: ecological forecasting, genomics, and macrosystems ecology. Overcoming the obstacles associated with maintaining long-term studies requires continued emphasis on recognizing the benefits of such studies to ensure that long-term research continues to have a substantial impact on elucidating population biology.
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History and Geography of Neotropical Tree Diversity
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 279–301More LessEarly botanical explorers invoked biogeographic history to explain the remarkable tree diversity of Neotropical forests. In this context, we review the history of Neotropical tree diversity over the past 100 million years, focusing on biomes with significant tree diversity. We evaluate hypotheses for rain forest origins, intercontinental disjunctions, and models of Neotropical tree diversification. To assess the impact of biotic interchange on the Amazon tree flora, we examined biogeographic histories of trees in Ecuador's Yasuní Forest, which suggest that nearly 50% of its species descend from immigrant lineages that colonized South America during the Cenozoic. Long-distance and intercontinental dispersal, combined with trait filtering and niche evolution, are important factors in the community assembly of Neotropical forests. We evaluate the role of pre-Columbian people on Neotropical tree diversity and discuss the future of Neotropical forests in the Anthropocene.
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Climate Change in the Tropics: Ecological and Evolutionary Responses at Low Latitudes
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 303–333More LessClimate change is affecting every ecosystem on Earth. Though climate change is global in scope, literature reviews on the biotic impacts of climate change have focused on temperate and polar regions. Tropical species have distinct life histories and physiologies, and ecological communities are assembled differently across latitude. Thus, tropical species and communities may exhibit different responses to climate change compared with those in temperate and polar regions. What are the fingerprints of climate change in the tropics? This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on impacts of climate change in tropical regions and discusses research priorities to better understand the ways in which species and ecological communities are responding to climate change in the most biodiverse places on Earth.
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Experimental Studies of Evolution and Eco-Evo Dynamics in Guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 335–354More LessGuppies in Trinidad range across aquatic environments with fish communities that vary in risk of predation. These communities are often discrete, separated by waterfalls, with high-predation communities downstream and low-predation communities upstream. This gradient is repeated in many rivers; in each one, we see the same divergence between guppy populations in life history, behavior, morphology, and physiology. We have shown that the agent of selection on the life history, behavior, and physiology in low-predation communities is high population density and the cascade of ecological effects that stems from it. In effect, guppy populations modify their ecosystem and, in so doing, impose selection on themselves and shape their own evolution, which further changes the ecosystem. Evolution unfolds rapidly in this system, which has enabled us to study the dynamics of the process, not just its end points. Those studies enable us to answer some very general questions in ecology and evolutionary biology.
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The Invasion Hierarchy: Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Invasions in the Fossil Record
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 355–380More LessSpecies invasions are pervasive in Earth history, yet the ecological and evolutionary consequences vary greatly. Ancient invasion events can be organized in a hierarchy of increasing invasion intensity from ephemeral invasions to globally pervasive invasive regimes. Each level exhibits emergent properties exceeding the sum of interactions at lower levels. Hierarchy levels correspond to, but do not always exactly correlate with, geographic extent of invasion success. The ecological impacts of lower-level impacts can be negligible or result in temporary community accommodation. Invasion events at moderate to high levels of the hierarchy permanently alter ecological communities, regional faunas, and global ecosystems. The prevalence of invasive species results in evolutionary changes by fostering niche evolution, differential survival of ecologically generalized taxa, faunal homogenization, and suppressing speciation. These impacts can contribute to mass extinctions and biodiversity crises that alter the trajectory of ecological and evolutionary patterns of life. The fossil record provides a long-term record of how invasion impacts may scale up through time, which can augment ecological studies of modern species invasions.
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Interacting Effects of Global Change on Forest Pest and Pathogen Dynamics
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 381–403More LessPathogens and insect pests are important drivers of tree mortality and forest dynamics, but global change has rapidly altered or intensified their impacts. Predictive understanding of changing disease and outbreak occurrence has been limited by two factors: (a) tree mortality and morbidity are emergent phenomena determined by interactions between plant hosts, biotic agents (insects or pathogens), and the environment; and (b) disparate global change drivers co-occur, obscuring net impacts on each of these components. To expand our understanding of changing forest diseases, declines, and outbreaks, we adopt a framework that identifies and organizes observed impacts of diverse global change drivers on the primary mechanisms underlying agent virulence and host susceptibility. We then discuss insights from ecological theory that may advance prediction of forest epidemics and outbreaks. This approach highlights key drivers of changing pest and pathogen dynamics, which may inform forest management aimed at mitigating accelerating rates of tree mortality globally.
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Phylogenetic Comparative Methods and the Evolution of Multivariate Phenotypes
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 405–425More LessEvolutionary biology is multivariate, and advances in phylogenetic comparative methods for multivariate phenotypes have surged to accommodate this fact. Evolutionary trends in multivariate phenotypes are derived from distances and directions between species in a multivariate phenotype space. For these patterns to be interpretable, phenotypes should be characterized by traits in commensurate units and scale. Visualizing such trends, as is achieved with phylomorphospaces, should continue to play a prominent role in macroevolutionary analyses. Evaluating phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) models (e.g., phylogenetic analysis of variance and regression) is valuable, but using parametric procedures is limited to only a few phenotypic variables. In contrast, nonparametric, permutation-based PGLS methods provide a flexible alternative and are thus preferred for high-dimensional multivariate phenotypes. Permutation-based methods for evaluating covariation within multivariate phenotypes are also well established and can test evolutionary trends in phenotypic integration. However, comparing evolutionary rates and modes in multivariate phenotypes remains an important area of future development.
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Spatial Population Genetics: It's About Time
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 427–449More LessMany important questions about the history and dynamics of organisms have a geographical component: How many are there, and where do they live? How do they move and interbreed across the landscape? How were they moving a thousand years ago, and where were the ancestors of a particular individual alive today? Answers to these questions can have profound consequences for our understanding of history, ecology, and the evolutionary process. In this review, we discuss how geographic aspects of the distribution, movement, and reproduction of organisms are reflected in their pedigree across space and time. Because the structure of the pedigree is what determines patterns of relatedness in modern genetic variation, our aim is to thus provide intuition for how these processes leave an imprint in genetic data. We also highlight some current methods and gaps in the statistical toolbox of spatial population genetics.
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Evolutionary and Ecological Consequences of Gut Microbial Communities
Vol. 50 (2019), pp. 451–475More LessAnimals are distinguished by having guts—organs that must extract nutrients from food yet also bar invasion by pathogens. Most guts are colonized by nonpathogenic microorganisms, but the functions of these microbes, or even the reasons why they occur in the gut, vary widely among animals. Sometimes these microorganisms have codiversified with hosts; sometimes they live mostly elsewhere in the environment. Either way, gut microorganisms often benefit hosts. Benefits may reflect evolutionary addiction, whereby hosts incorporate gut microorganisms into normal developmental processes. But benefits often include novel ecological capabilities; for example, many metazoan clades exist by virtue of gut communities enabling new dietary niches. Animals vary immensely in their dependence on gut microorganisms, from lacking them entirely to using them as food or to obligate dependence for development, nutrition, or protection. Many consequences of gut microorganisms for hosts can be ascribed to microbial community processes and the host's ability to shape these processes.
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Previous Volumes
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Volume 54 (2023)
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Volume 53 (2022)
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Volume 52 (2021)
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Volume 51 (2020)
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Volume 50 (2019)
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Volume 49 (2018)
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Volume 48 (2017)
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Volume 47 (2016)
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Volume 46 (2015)
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Volume 45 (2014)
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Volume 44 (2013)
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Volume 43 (2012)
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Volume 42 (2011)
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Volume 41 (2010)
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Volume 40 (2009)
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Volume 39 (2008)
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Volume 38 (2007)
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Volume 37 (2006)
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Volume 36 (2005)
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Volume 35 (2004)
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Volume 34 (2003)
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Volume 33 (2002)
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Volume 32 (2001)
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Volume 31 (2000)
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Volume 30 (1999)
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Volume 29 (1998)
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Volume 28 (1997)
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Volume 27 (1996)
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Volume 26 (1995)
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Volume 25 (1994)
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Volume 24 (1993)
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Volume 23 (1992)
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Volume 22 (1991)
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Volume 21 (1990)
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Volume 20 (1989)
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Volume 19 (1988)
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Volume 18 (1987)
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Volume 17 (1986)
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Volume 16 (1985)
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Volume 15 (1984)
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Volume 14 (1983)
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Volume 13 (1982)
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Volume 12 (1981)
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Volume 11 (1980)
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Volume 10 (1979)
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Volume 9 (1978)
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Volume 8 (1977)
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Volume 7 (1976)
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Volume 6 (1975)
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Volume 5 (1974)
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Volume 4 (1973)
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Volume 3 (1972)
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Volume 2 (1971)
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Volume 1 (1970)
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Volume 0 (1932)