Opportunistic sampling to quantify plastics in the diet of unfledged Black Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo).

PubMed

Acampora, Heidi; Newton, Stephen; O'Connor, Ian

2017-06-30

Seabirds can interact with marine litter, mainly by entanglement or ingestion. The ingestion of plastics can lead to starvation or physical damage to the digestive tract. For chicks, it could additionally lead to reduced growth, affecting survival and fledging. This study quantified the ingestion of plastics by seabird chicks via an opportunistic sampling strategy. When ringing is carried out at colonies, birds may spontaneously regurgitate their stomach contents due to the stress or as a defence mechanism. Regurgitates were collected from nestlings of three different species: Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla, n=38), Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis, n=14) and Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo, n=28). Plastic was present in all species, with the highest frequency of occurrence (FO) in Northern Fulmar chicks (28.6%), followed by Black-legged Kittiwakes (7.9%) and Great Cormorants (7.1%). The observed load of plastics on chicks, which have not yet left the nest, highlights the pervasive nature of plastic pollution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in feathers of Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) from Prince William Sound, Alaska

PubMed Central

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Sullivan, Kelsey; Irons, David; McKnight, Aly

2014-01-01

Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury and selenium were analyzed in the feathers of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from Shoup Bay in Prince William Sound, Alaska to determine if there were age-related differences in metal levels, and in Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani)) from the same region to determine if there were differences in oiled and unoiled birds. Except for mercury, there were no age-related differences in metals levels in the feathers of kittiwakes. Kittiwakes over 13 years of age had the highest levels of mercury. There were no differences in levels of metals in the feathers of oystercatchers from oiled and unoiled regions of Prince William Sound. Except for mercury, the feathers of oystercatchers had significantly higher levels of all metals than those of kittiwakes. Levels of mercury in kittiwake feathers (mean of 2910 ng/g [ppb]) were within the range of many species of seabirds reported for other studies, and were generally below adverse effects levels. PMID:18440597

Impacts of carpool utilization on the Katy Freeway Transitway 42-month after evaluation. Interim report, September 1984-September 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hawkins, H.G.; Christiansen, D.L.

1989-09-01

A major commitment has been made in the Houston area to develop physically separated transitways in the medians of freeways. The lanes are reserved for high-occupancy vehicles. Phase 1 of the first completed transitway opened on the Katy Freeway (I-10) in October 1984. The research study, funded jointly by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, was initiated in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effects of permitting carpools to utilize the transitway. The report documents data collected in October 1988, 3.5 years after carpool utilization of themore » transitway began. The report compares the 1988 data to similar data collected before carpool utilization was permitted (March 1985) and after carpool utilization was permitted (April 1986, October 1987). These comparisons address numerous concerns and provide an indication of the effectiveness of allowing carpools on the transitway.« less

Impacts of carpool utilization on the Katy Freeway transitway 30-month after evaluation. Interim report, September 1984-April 1988

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christiansen, D.L.; McCasland, W.R.

1988-09-01

A major commitment has been made in the Houston area to develop physically separated transitways in the medians of freeways. The lanes are reserved for high-occupancy vehicles. Phase I of the first completed transitway opened on the Katy Freeway (I-10) in October 1984. Phase 2 opened in June 1987. To increase potential utilization of the facility, carpools began using the transitway on a test basis in April 1985. The research study, funded jointly by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, was initiated to undertake a comprehensive analysis of themore » effects of permitting carpool utilization. The report documents the data collected in October 1987, 2.5 years after carpool utilization of the transitway was permitted. In the report, these data are compared to similar data collected both before carpool utilization was permitted and on several occasions after carpool utilization was permitted.« less

Effects of food availability on yolk androgen deposition in the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), a seabird with facultative brood reduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benowitz-Fredericks, Z.M.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Welcker, Jorg; Hatch, Scott A.

2013-01-01

In birds with facultative brood reduction, survival of the junior chick is thought to be regulated primarily by food availability. In black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) where parents and chicks are provided with unlimited access to supplemental food during the breeding season, brood reduction still occurs and varies interannually. Survival of the junior chick is therefore affected by factors in addition to the amount of food directly available to them. Maternally deposited yolk androgens affect competitive dynamics within a brood, and may be one of the mechanisms by which mothers mediate brood reduction in response to a suite of environmental and physiological cues. The goal of this study was to determine whether food supplementation during the pre-lay period affected patterns of yolk androgen deposition in free-living kittiwakes in two years (2003 and 2004) that varied in natural food availability. Chick survival was measured concurrently in other nests where eggs were not collected. In both years, supplemental feeding increased female investment in eggs by increasing egg mass. First-laid (“A”) eggs were heavier but contained less testosterone and androstenedione than second-laid (“B”) eggs across years and treatments. Yolk testosterone was higher in 2003 (the year with higher B chick survival) across treatments. The difference in yolk testosterone levels between eggs within a clutch varied among years and treatments such that it was relatively small when B chick experienced the lowest and the highest survival probabilities, and increased with intermediate B chick survival probabilities. The magnitude of testosterone asymmetry in a clutch may allow females to optimize fitness by either predisposing a brood for reduction or facilitating survival of younger chicks.

Impacts of carpool utilization on the Katy Freeway transitway, 54-month after evaluation. Interim report, Sep 84-Sep 90

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bullard, D.L.

1990-09-01

Within the Houston metropolitan area, a major commitment has been made to develop a system of physically separated transitways in the medians of the existing freeway network. These lanes are reserved for the exclusive use of high-occupancy vehicles. Phase 1 of the first completed transitway opened on the Katy Freeway (I-10W) in October 1984. Initially, only authorized buses and vanpools were designated as eligible users of the transitway. To encourage increased vehicular utilization of the facility, carpools were allowed to use the transitway on a test basis beginning in April 1985. The research study, sponsored by the Metropolitan Transit Authoritymore » of Harris County and the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, was initiated in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effects of permitting carpools to use the transitway. The report documents data collected in October 1989, 4.5 years after carpool utilization of the transitway began. The report compares the 1989 data to similar data collected before carpool utilization was permitted (March 1985) and after carpool utilization was permitted (April 1986, October 1987, October 1988). These comparisons address numerous concerns and provide an indication of the effectiveness of allowing carpools onto the transitway.« less

[Is there an essence of caring? A core of Nursing? Criticism of Katie Erikssons' "Vårdandets ide"].

PubMed

Nielsen, G; Larsen, B

1989-01-01

In her book "Vårdandets Ide" the Finnish nurse, Katie Eriksson puts forward the thesis, that all kind af caring activities do have a common core. To establish this thesis professor Eriksson introduces the Aristotelian notion of an essence: Different kinds of caring activities do have a common set of essential properties constituting the act of caring. In this article we submit a thesis to the contrary: There may exist no set of essential properties common to all kind of caring activities: The belief is induced in us, that there may exist some common core to all caring activities, because the same term, namely "caring", is being used as a general term to cover a wide field of very different kinds of activities. Instead of the traditional Aristotelian craving for generality issuing in the notion of an essence, we suggest the use of the more modern Wittgensteinian concept of a family resemblance: There may be no common core but a set of family resemblances among the different kinds of caring activities. Instead of an abstract philosophical search for the common core of caring activities, we propose nurses to look at the actual use of the term "to care", thereby circumscribing the subject matter of caring. It goes without saying, that this article contains a good deal of philosophical arguments including, of course, an introduction to some basic Aristotelian notions, fundamental distinctions in the theory of definition, and finally the Wittgensteinian concept of family resemblance.

Summary of survey data from the Katy, North, Northwest and Gulf transitways, April 1985 through November 1988. Interim report, September 1984-August 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bullard, D.L.

1989-08-01

In order to improve mobility within the Houston metropolitan area, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation have joined together to implement an extensive system of transitways in the medians of the city's existing freeway system. These lanes are reserved for the exclusive use of high-occupancy vehicles. At present, carpools are permitted to use three of the four transitways in operation. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is currently monitoring the impacts associated with the implementation and operation of these facilities. In addition, TTI is also engaged in an assessment of publicmore » attitudes concerning the transitways. This assessment is being accomplished through the periodic distribution of survey questionnaires to both transitway users and nonusers. The report presents the results of transitway user and nonuser surveys performed in the Katy, North, Northwest and Gulf Transitway corridors. In addition to obtaining socio-economic, demographic and travel information, the surveys were designed to: determine perceptions of transitway utilization; identify why individuals have chosen their present travel mode; and assess commuter attitudes and impacts pertaining to the transitways.« less

The Time Is Now: Wisconsin's Journey towards Improving Early Intervention Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dicker, Marcy

2011-01-01

In 1990 Katie was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss at 26 months of age. Her communication skills were delayed and a hearing loss had been suspected earlier. Several months later, Katie received hearing aids. Her mother was also referred to the county's Birth to 3 Program. In Wisconsin, Birth to 3 Programs were based out of the Department of…

Lysine acetyltransferase inhibitors: structure-activity relationships and potential therapeutic implications.

PubMed

Fiorentino, Francesco; Mai, Antonello; Rotili, Dante

2018-05-01

Lysine acetylation is a post-translational modification of both histone and nonhistone proteins that is catalyzed by lysine acetyltransferases and plays a key role in numerous biological contexts. The dysregulation of this enzyme activity is implicated in many human pathologies such as cancer, neurological and inflammatory disorders. Many lysine acetyltransferase inhibitors (KATi) have been developed so far, but there is still the need for new, more potent, metabolically stable and selective KATi as chemical tools for studying KAT biology and/or as potential therapeutic agents. This review will examine the features of KAT enzymes and related diseases, with particular emphasis on KATi (bisubstrate analogs, natural compounds and synthetic derivatives), analyzing their mechanism of action, structure-activity relationships, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties and potential future applications.

Katie Gaston | NREL

Science.gov Websites

gasification. The new catalytic riser reactor system can be used for ex situ vapor-phase upgrading or steam , and Wood: 1. Parametric Study and Comparison with Literature," Industrial & Engineering

Development of a general-purpose, integrated knowledge capture and delivery system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roberts, A.G.; Freer, E.B.

1991-01-01

KATIE (Knowledge-Based Assistant for Troubleshooting Industrial Equipment) was first conceived as a solution for maintenance problems. In the area of process control, maintenance technicians have become responsible for increasingly complicated equipment and an overwhelming amount of associated information. The sophisticated distributed control systems have proven to be such a drastic change for technicians that they are forced to rely on the engineer for troubleshooting guidance. Because it is difficult for a knowledgeable engineer to be readily available for troubleshooting,maintenance personnel wish to capture the information provided by the engineer. The solution provided has two stages. First, a specific complicated systemmore » was chosen as a test case. An effort was made to gather all available system information in some form. Second, a method of capturing and delivering this collection of information was developed. Several features were desired for this knowledge capture/delivery system (KATIE). Creation of the knowledge base needed to be independent of the delivery system. The delivery path need to be as simple as possible for the technician, and the capture, or authoring, system could provide very sophisticated features. It was decided that KATIE should be as general as possible, not internalizing specifics about the first implementation. The knowledge bases created needed to be completely separate from KATIE needed to have a modular structure so that each type of information (rules, procedures, manuals, symptoms) could be encapsulated individually.« less

``Out To Sea: Life as a Crew Member Aboard a Geologic Research Ship'' - Production of a Video and Teachers Guide.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rack, F. R.; Tauxe, K.

2004-12-01

In May 2002, Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) received a proposal entitled "Motivating Middle School Students with the JOIDES Resolution", from a middle school teacher in New Mexico named Katie Tauxe. Katie was a former Marine Technician who has worked aboard the R/V JOIDES Resolution in the early years of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). She proposed to engage the interest of middle school students using the ODP drillship as the centerpiece of a presentation focused on the lives of the people who work aboard the ship and the excitement of science communicated through an active shipboard experience. The proposal asked for travel funds to and from the ship, the loan of video camera equipment from JOI, and a small amount of funding to cover expendable supplies, video editing, and production at the local Public Broadcasting Station in Los Alamos, NM. Katie sailed on the transit of the JOIDES Resolution through the Panama Canal, following the completion of ODP Leg 206 in late 2002. This presentation will focus on the outcome of this video production effort, which is a 19 minute-long video entitled "Out to Sea: Life as a Crew Member Aboard a Geologic Research Ship", and a teacher's guide that can be found online.

Toward a best practice model for managed lanes in Texas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-09-01

Increasing implementation of managed lanes in the : United States : Katy Freeway Managed Lanes : (KML) offers lessons learned : for other projects : First operational, multilane, : variably priced, managed facility : in Texas : Became oper...

77 FR 65868 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-31

..., long- term, and cumulative impacts on the human and natural environments, including potential impacts... meetings must be sent by mail or email by November 5, 2012, to Ms. Katie Dixon, Ecology and Environment...

Animal Models: New Biosensors and Technologies?Including Those for Bone Regrowth and Wound Healing?Advance Animal Health Care While Also Providing a Fertile Testing Ground for Human Health.

PubMed

Allen, Summer

2017-01-01

Dogs have bad breath. But when Montana sheep rancher Katy Harjes noticed her collie, Hoshi, had particularly bad breath and facial swelling, she was concerned that the symptoms might be a sign of something serious. She was right; ten-year-old Hoshi had squamous cell carcinoma, a common type of oral tumor found in dogs. The cancer had not metastasized, but the damage was extensive enough that part of Hoshi's lower jaw needed to be removed. Luckily, Hoshi was a suitable candidate for a stateof-the-art bone regrowth procedure developed by Frank Verstraete, B.V.Sc, Dr.Med.Vet., M.Med.Vet., and Boaz Arzi, D.V.M., oral surgeons at the University of California (UC), Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Consequently, Katy and Hoshi embarked on a 15-hour road trip to California.

I hope the memory café initiative takes off in hospitals across the UK.

PubMed

Ryan, Bridget

2014-12-15

What a wonderful 'Tea and sympathy' piece from staff nurse Katy Hope and assistant practitioner Jo Pope (Reflections December 3) about the 'memory café' for patients with dementia at the West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance.

Energy Efficient Supercomputing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anypas, Katie

2014-10-17

Katie Anypas, Head of NERSC's Services Department discusses the Lab's research into developing increasingly powerful and energy efficient supercomputers at our '8 Big Ideas' Science at the Theater event on October 8th, 2014, in Oakland, California.

Energy Efficient Supercomputing

ScienceCinema

Anypas, Katie

2018-05-07

Katie Anypas, Head of NERSC's Services Department discusses the Lab's research into developing increasingly powerful and energy efficient supercomputers at our '8 Big Ideas' Science at the Theater event on October 8th, 2014, in Oakland, California.

eBook management in NHS libraries in the North of England: perceptions and practice.

PubMed

Nicholas, Katie

2018-03-01

In this article, Katie Nicholas presents the findings of a very topical piece of research into the use of eBooks in health libraries, which she completed for a Masters dissertation. Katie graduated with an MA in Library and Information Management (Distinction) from Manchester Metropolitan University in July 2017. She would like to acknowledge the support of her supervisor, Rachel Delbridge, in helping her to gain a Distinction in her dissertation. In the article, she points out that the use of eBooks in the NHS is low compared to other sectors and she presents the findings from her research, which help to explain this. She outlines the development of an electronic tool to help library and information staff make sense of the complexity around eBooks and makes further very practical recommendations for practitioners. A. M. © 2018 Health Libraries Group.

75 FR 8754 - Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a License Amendment to Masters...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-25

... their ADAMS accession numbers. 1. National Health Physics Program Request for Decommissioning for... Amendment. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Streit, Health Physicist, Materials Control, ISFSI, and... Veteran Affairs (VA) North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System located in Gainesville, Florida...

78 FR 53456 - Ocean Transportation Intermediary License Reissuances

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-29

... FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION Ocean Transportation Intermediary License Reissuances The Commission gives notice that the following Ocean Transportation Intermediary licenses have been reissued pursuant... Brackenfern Road, Katy, TX 77449. Date Reissued: June 09, 2013. License No.: 023062F. Name: A & M Ocean...

Managed lane travelers : do they pay for travel as they claimed they would?

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-05-01

This study examined if travelers are paying for travel on managed lanes (MLs) as they indicated that they : would in a 2008 survey. To achieve the objectives, an Internet-based stated preference (SP) survey of : Houstons Katy Freeway travelers was...

76 FR 70830 - Proposed Information Collection (Claim for Credit of Annual Leave) Activity: Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-15

... for Credit of Annual Leave) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Human Resources Management, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Human Resources Management (HRM), Department of... to Katie McCullough-Bradshaw, Human Resources Management (058), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810...

76 FR 55817 - Broadcast Applications and Proceedings; Fairness Doctrine and Digital Broadcast Television...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-09

..., Political candidates. Federal Communications Commission. Thomas Horan Chief of Staff, Media Bureau. For the... Doctrine, Personal Attacks, Political Editorials and Complaints Regarding Cable Programming Service Rates..., contact Katie Costello, [email protected] of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, (202) 418-2233...

Understanding Traveler Behavior : The Psychology Behind Managed Lane Use

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-01

Recent analysis of Katy Freeway/Managed Lane (ML) travelers and I-394 Freeway/High : Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane traveler data has found that many travelers pay to use these HOT : lanes and MLs when adjacent toll-free lanes are operating at nearly the ...

75 FR 6369 - Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office... Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92- 463, 86 Stat. 770...: Katie Perine; Office of Basic Energy Sciences; U.S. Department of Energy; Germantown Building...

77 FR 5246 - Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-02

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee AGENCY: Office of Science... of the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Perine; Office of Basic Energy Sciences; U.S. Department of Energy...

78 FR 12271 - Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks Additional Comment In Connect America Cost Model Virtual Workshop

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... Competition Bureau seeks public input on additional questions relating to modeling voice capability and Annual... submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie King, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202...

Automating Battlefield Event Reporting Using Conceptual Spaces and Fuzzy Logic for Passive Speech Interpretation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

SPACES AND FUZZY LOGIC FOR PASSIVE SPEECH INTERPRETATION Katie T. McConky Research Scientist CUBRC Buffalo, NY, U.S.A. mcconky@cubrc.org...ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) CUBRC ,4455 Genesee Street, Suite 106,Buffalo,NY,14225 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING

75 FR 24880 - Administrative Review of Honey from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

... CONTACT: Katie Marksberry or Josh Startup, AD/ CVD Operations, Office 9, Import Administration... reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to... disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305, which continues to govern business proprietary...

Muon g-2 Ring Moving up Illinois River

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none

2013-07-20

This clip shows the "Miss Katie" pushing the muon g-2 ring upstream on the Illinois River, and passing through the Peoria Lock and Dam as it travels toward Lemont, where it will be unloaded onto the special Emmert transporter and driven to Fermilab.

78 FR 38696 - Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-27

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office... Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat... INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Perine; Office of Basic Energy Sciences; U.S. Department of Energy; Germantown...

78 FR 6088 - Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-29

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee AGENCY: Office of Science... Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat... INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Perine, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy; SC-22...

75 FR 27552 - Guidance for Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-17

... effective tools and practices available to reduce water pollution from a variety of nonpoint sources... describe ``proven cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water pollution'' that are appropriate to...: Katie Flahive, USEPA, Office of Water, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave...

Ground-water resources of the Houston district, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Walter N.; Rose, N.A.; Guyton, William F.

1944-01-01

This report covers the current phase of an investigation of the supply of ground water available for the Houston district and adjacent region, Texas,- that has been in progress during the past 10 years. The field operations included routine inventories of pumpage, measurements of water levels in observation wells and collection of other hydrologic data, pumping tests on 21 city-owned wells to determine coefficients of permeability and storage, and the drilling of 13 deep test wells in unexplored parts of the district. Considerable attention has been given to studies of the location of areas or beds of sand that contain salt water. The ground water occurs in beds of sand, sandstone, and gravel of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene age. These formations crop out in belts that dip southeastward from their outcrop areas and are encountered by wells at progressively greater depths toward the southeast. The beds throughout the section are lithologically similar, and there is little agreement among geologists as to their correlation. -In this investigation, however, the sediments, penetrated by the wells are separated into six zones, chiefly on the basis of electrical logs. Most of the water occurs in zone 3, which ranges in thickness from 800 to 1,200 feet. Large quantities of ground water are pumped in three areas in the Houston district, as follows: The Houston tromping area, which includes Houston and the areas immediately adjacent; the Pasadena pumping area, which includes the industrial section extending along the ship channel from the Houston city limits eastward to Deer Park; and the Katy pumping area, an irregular-shaped area of several hundred square miles, which is roughly centered around the town of Katy, 30 miles west of Houston. In 1930 the total combined withdrawal of ground water in the Houston and Pasadena pumping areas averaged about 50 million gallons a day. It declined somewhat during 1932 and 1933 and then gradually increased, until in 1935 the total

Special Section: A Conversation with Katie Couric

MedlinePlus

... at other institutions—to work as part of "Dream Teams"—so new treatments get to patients as ... every contribution—of any size—helps. The first "Dream Teams" funded by Stand Up To Cancer will ...

76 FR 47301 - Medicare Program; Hospice Wage Index for Fiscal Year 2012

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-04

... aggregate cap calculation methodology. This final rule will also revise the hospice requirement for a face-to-face encounter for recertification of a patient's terminal illness. Finally, this final rule will..., (410) 786-2120 for questions regarding hospice wage index and hospice face-to-face requirement. Katie...

Mathematical Modeling of Circadian and Homeostatic Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-16

Currently, Katie is a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Arizona. • Michelle Fleshner, 2009-2010. Michelle will be...Berkeley; Heidi E. Kirsch , University of California, San Francisco; James W. Sleigh, University of Auckland, New Zealand; Andrew J. Szeri, University of

50th Anniversary Open House

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-02

Stennis Space Center Education Office Director Katie Wallace (left) assists a young visitor at an activity table during the 50th Anniversary Open House sponsored by Stennis Space Center on June 2. Stennis hosted the open house as part of its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration.

78 FR 12717 - Hardwood and Decorative Plywood From the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-25

...: Effective Date: February 25, 2013. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Marksberry at (202) 482-7906, AD... of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION... Hurrican Sandy,'' dated October 31, 2012. On Feburary 5, 2013, the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood...

Waste heat recovery on multiple low-speed reciprocating engines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayhew, R.E.

1982-09-01

With rising fuel costs, energy conservation has taken on added significance. Installation of Waste Heat Recovery Units (WHRU) on gas turbines is one method used in the past to reduce gas plant fuel consumption. More recently, waste heat recovery on multiple reciprocating compressor engines has also been identified as having energy conservation potential. This paper reviews the development and implementation of a Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) for multiple low speed engines at the Katy Gas Plant. WHRU's for these engines should be differentiated from high speed engines and gas turbines in that low speed engines produce low frequency, highmore » amplitude pulsating exhaust. The design of a waste heat system must take this potentially destructive pulsation into account. At Katy, the pulsation forces were measured at high amplitude frequencies and then used to design structural stiffness into the various components of the WHRU to minimize vibration and improve system reliability.« less

Waste heat recovery on multiple low-speed reciprocating engines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayhew, R.E.

1984-09-01

With rising fuel costs, energy conservation has taken on added significance. Installation of waste heat recovery units (WHRU's) on gas turbines is one method used in the past to reduce gas plant fuel consumption. More recently, waste heat recovery on multiple reciprocating compressor engines also has been identified as having energy conservation potential. This paper reviews the development and implementation of a WHRU for multiple low-speed engines at the Katy (TX) gas plant. WHRU's for these engines should be differentiated from high-speed engines and gas turbines in that low-speed engines produce low-frequency, high-amplitude pulsating exhaust. The design of a WHRUmore » system must take this potentially destructive pulsation into account. At Katy, the pulsation forces were measured at high-amplitude frequencies and then used to design a pulsation filter and structural stiffness into the various components of the WHRU to minimize vibration and improve system reliability.« less

Winter marine bird and sea otter abundance of Prince William Sound, Alaska: Trends following the t/v Exxon Valdez oil spill from 1990-94. Restoration project 94159. Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration project final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agler, B.A.; Seiser, P.E.; Kendall, S.J.

1995-05-01

We conducted small boat surveys to determine population abundance of marine birds and sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Prince William Sound, Alaska during March 1994. We observed 45 bird and 8 mammal species in Prince William Sound, and we estimated that 320,470 + or - 63,640 marine birds were present. We estimated trends in the March population estimates from 1990-94 by determining whether estimates in the oiled zone changed at the same rate as those in the unoiled zone. For Prince William Sound as a whole, we also examined the population trends from 1990-94 using regression analyses. We found significantmore » positive trends for harlequin duck (Histrionicus), goldeneye, merganser, bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and gull (Larus and Rissa spp.) populations. We also examined the relative abundance of marine bird species groups from 1972 to 1994. During March 1994, we estimated that the sea otter population was 7,746 + or - 2,073 otters. We found no difference in the rate of change between the oiled and unoiled zones from 1990-94, and there was no significant trend in the total number of sea otters in Prince William Sound from 1990-94.« less

The Way Robert Sees It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freado, Mark D.; Wille, A. Katherine

2007-01-01

Robert, a fifteen-year-old resident in a residential treatment program, was diagnosed with significant hearing impairment. He communicates primarily through American Sign Language, although he speaks relatively well and has some hearing ability. Katie, a youth worker who has participated in Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) training, worked…

Come Closer to Feminism: Gratitude as Activist Encounter in Women's and Gender Studies 101

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogan, Katie

2014-01-01

Many teachers of introductory women's and gender studies find themselves in the position of introducing bad news to an already hostile audience. To deal directly with this dilemma, author Katie Hogan has approached student resistance to women's and gender studies (WGST) with carefully constructed syllabi designed to encourage…

Going Paperless: How One School Board Made the Move to Electronic Agendas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Nancy V.

2000-01-01

An effort to improve communications between school board members and the superintendent and administrators of the Katy (Texas) Independent School District has evolved into electronic board agendas and paperless board meetings. Installation of laptop computers, printers, fax machines, and dedicated phone lines in board members' homes was key. (MLH)

Young "Science Ambassadors" Raise the Profile of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ridley, Katie

2014-01-01

Katie Ridley, science coordinator at St. Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Liverpool, UK, states that the inspiration for "science ambassadors" came after embarking on the Primary Science Quality Mark programme at their school. Ridley realized that science was just not recognised as such by the children, they talked about scientific…

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy > Home

Science.gov Websites

Weapons of Mass Destruction Cyber Policy Space Policy ASD for International Security Affairs ASD for collapse content Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Karem ASD for International Security Affairs Randall Assistant Secretary of Defense Katie Wheelbarger PDASD for International Security Affairs David Helvey PDASD

78 FR 48435 - Ocean Transportation Intermediary License Applicants

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-08

... Change. Ever Line Logistics Inc. (NVO & OFF), 147-35 Farmers Blvd., Suite 208, Jamaica, NY 11434, Officer: Caihong Yang, President (QI), Application Type: Name Change to Bona Logistics US Inc. Global Container.... (OFF), 2018 Park Row Drive, Suite 6765, Katy, TX 77449, Officers: Frederick D. Coker, President (QI...

Using adverse outcome pathway analysis to guide development of high-throughput screening assays for thyroid-disruptors

EPA Science Inventory

Using Adverse Outcome Pathway Analysis to Guide Development of High-Throughput Screening Assays for Thyroid-Disruptors Katie B. Paul1,2, Joan M. Hedge2, Daniel M. Rotroff4, Kevin M. Crofton4, Michael W. Hornung3, Steven O. Simmons2 1Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education Post...

Youth at the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barth, Patte, Ed.

2001-01-01

This publication presents information on the outcomes of high school. It begins with an overview, "Youth at the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond," which suggests there are fundamental educational gaps among African American and Latino high school students and White students. The main article, "Are Today's Graduates Ready?" (Kati Haycock…

Michael Griffin Oath Of Office

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-04-14

John H. Marburger, Science Adviser to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), left, talks with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, center, while his wife Rebecca and daughter Katie look on following his swearing-in, Thursday, April 14, 2005, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Renee Bouchard)

The Value of Place

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dentzau, Michael W.

2014-01-01

This commentary seeks to expand the dialogue on place-based science education presented in Katie Lynn Brkich's article, where the connections fifth grade students make between their formal earth science curriculum and their lived experiences are highlighted. The disconnect between the curriculum the students are offered and their immediate…

Variation in caesarean section rates in the US: outliers, damned outliers, and statistics.

PubMed

Smith, Gordon C S

2014-10-01

Gordon C. Smith discusses the study by Katy Kozhimannil and colleagues that examines variations in cesarean section rates in the US and argues for the need for high-quality routine data collection to better understand the reasons for these variations. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Use of an In Vitro, Nuclear Receptor Assay Panel to Characterize the Endocrine-Disrupting Activity Load of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Extracts

EPA Science Inventory

Use of an In Vitro, Nuclear Receptor Assay Panel to Characterize the Endocrine-Disrupting Activity Load of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Extracts Katie B. Paul 1.2, Ruth Marfil-Vega 1 Marc A. Mills3, Steve 0. Simmons2, Vickie S. Wilson4, Kevin M. Crofton2 10ak Rid...

Assessing Inclusion: Strategies for Success. Hot Topics Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philipsen, Maike, Ed.

This collection of 16 readings focuses on the implementation and evaluation of efforts to include students with special needs in general education classrooms. The readings are: (1) "From Segregation to Integration: A Brief History of Special Education and Inclusion" (Katie Blenk and Doris Landau Fine); (2) "National Study on Inclusion: Overview…

Survey of rice blast race identity for blast resistance gene identification in the USA and Puerto Rico

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rice blast disease is a significant threat to stable rice production in the USA and worldwide. The major resistance gene (Pi-ta) located within a cluster of resistance genes on rice chromosome 12 has been demonstrated to confer resistance to the rice blast disease. Katy, a rice cultivar released in ...

Proceedings 2011: Selected Papers from the Fifteenth College-Wide Conference for Students in Languages, Linguistics & Literature (15th, Honolulu, Hawai'i, April 16, 2011)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Britany, Ed.; Sasayama, Shoko, Ed.

2011-01-01

The theme of this year's conference was "Check Your Vision for the Future" with papers highlighting emerging changes in language use and literature, as well as suggestions for improving language teaching and maintenance in the future. The plenary speech was given by Dr. Katie Drager, followed by student presentations. Following a preface…

America's Teacher Colleges: Are They Making the Grade? Hearing before the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session (May 20, 2003).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

A hearing was held to explore whether U. S. teachers' colleges are doing an adequate job. Opening statements by Representative Howard P. McKeon and Representative Dale Kildee set the stage for the testimony of these witnesses: (1) Lisa Graham Keegan, Chief Executive Officer, Education Leaders Council; (2) Kati Haycock, Director, The Education…

Institutional Research When the Only Constant Is Change. Proceedings of the Annual NEAIR Conference (42nd, Burlington, VT, Oct 31-Nov 3, 2015)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Tiffany, Ed.

2015-01-01

The NEAIR 2015 Conference Proceedings is a compilation of papers presented at the Burlington, VT, conference. Papers in this document include:(1) Strategies to Analyze Course and Teaching Evaluation Data (Kati Li); (2) Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Assess a Leadership Mentoring Program (Betty Harper); (3) Flagship Institutions and the Struggle…

The ALAN Review. Winter, 1982.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, W. Geiger, Ed.; Ward, Dan, Ed.

1982-01-01

Articles in this issue focus on adolescent literature. The first article is a reflection by author Katie Letcher Lyle on her personal experiences since the publication of her last novel. The second article examines the dramatic power of the novels of Alice Childress. The third article reports the results of a questionnaire on the reading…

DeWit Sworn In As NASA CFO

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-23

Jeff DeWit, left, is seen during a ceremonial swearing in as the NASA Chief Financial Officer by Vice President Mike Pence as DeWit's wive Marina holds the bible and their children, Delaney, left, Katie, and Jamie look on, Monday, April 23, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Development of the PCAD Model to Assess Biological Significance of Acoustic Disturbance

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

Katie McHugh from the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program compiled data on breathing rates of known dead or rescued individuals (N = 10). RESULTS...Biology 217:1485-1495. Maxwell, S. M., E. L. Hazen, S. J. Bograd, B. S. Halpern, G. A. Breed, B. Nickel , N. M. Teutschel, L. B. Crowder, S. Benson, P. H

Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2011

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM

2011-03-09

Senate - 03/09/2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (All Actions) Notes: For further action, see H.R.6014, which became Public Law 112-253 on 1/10/2013. Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2011

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-29

2011-03-09

House - 03/21/2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. (All Actions) Notes: For further action, see H.R.6014, which became Public Law 112-253 on 1/10/2013. Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2010

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Teague, Harry [D-NM-2

2010-02-04

Senate - 05/19/2010 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Passed HouseHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Michael Griffin Oath Of Office

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-04-14

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, is administered the oath of office by John H. Marburger, right, Science Adviser to the President and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, during a private ceremony at the Old Executive Office Building, Thursday, April 14, 2005, in Washington, while his wife Rebecca and daughter Katie look on. Photo Credit: (NASA/Renee Bouchard)

Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear? Why Knowledge Matters and Why the Draft History NC Will Not Improve It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Katie; Counsell, Christine

2013-01-01

Katie Hall and Christine Counsell attempt to construct a Key Stage 3 scheme of work out of the draft National Curriculum for history that was released for consultation in England in February 2013. They explain the process by which they attempted to convert the programme of study into a coherent, workable plan that would fulfil the stated aims.…

Should I Say Something? Dating and Sexual Aggression Bystander Intervention among High School Youth. National Issue Brief Number 92

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Katie M.; Eckstein, Robert P.; Rodenhizer-Stämpfli , Kara Anne

2015-01-01

Using data from a sample of 218 high school youth from three high schools in New England (one rural, two urban), this brief discusses dating and sexual aggression bystander intervention among high school youth. Authors Katie Edwards, Robert Eckstein, and Kara Anne Rodenhizer-Stämpfli report that an overwhelming majority (93.6 percent) of high…

Everyday Engagement: Making Students and Parents Your Partners in Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ridnouer, Katy

2011-01-01

While there are lots of books about how to engage students more effectively in the classroom, here at last is a book that also makes engaging parents part of a solution to higher student achievement. Top-selling ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) author and classroom teacher Katy Ridnouer explains what you need to do to…

Kathryn Johnson | NREL

Science.gov Websites

from 2001 to 2005. Katie's research interests are centered on control systems and control applications , especially wind energy. Some of her wind energy control projects include controlling the wake to increase the energy capture of wind plants using coordinated turbine control, lidar-based feed forward control

Bolden at Aviation High School

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-16

Aviation High School student, Katie McConville, introduces herself at a lunch and learn session with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 in Des Moines, WA. Aviation High School is a college preparatory aviation- and aerospace-themed school and a premier school of choice for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the Pacific Northwest. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Dunford Gives Middies a Lesson in Leadership | DoDLive

Science.gov Websites

Corner Behind the Lens Dunford Gives Middies a Lesson in Leadership Posted on March 31, 2016 by Katie . Pineiro A group of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen got an unexpected lesson in leadership from the chairman chairman if he had any leadership lessons for the midshipmen. Here's his response: U.S. Marine Gen. Joe

Fall 2007 American Geophysical Union Meeting Student Travel Support for Environmental Nanomaterials Session (#B35) (December 10-14, 2007)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Michael F. Hochella, Jr.

2007-10-01

The purpose of award no. DE-FG02-08ER15925 was to fund travel for students to present at the Fall 2007 American Geophysical Meeting. This was done successfully, and five students (Bin Xie, Qiaona Hu, Katie Schreiner, Daria Kibanova, and Frank-Andreas Weber) gave excellent oral and poster presentations at the meeting. Provided are the conference abstracts for their presentations.

Conservation Plan for the Cerulean Warbler on its nonbreeding range - Plan de conservación para la Reinita Cerúlea sobre su rango no reproductivo

Treesearch

Paula Caycedo; Paul Hamel; Melinda Welton; David Caro; D. Wiedenfield

2010-01-01

This plan was prepared by Paula Caycedo on behalf of American Bird Conservancy and Fundación ProAves with the editorial and technical assistance of Paul Hamel, Melinda Welton, David Caro, David Wiedenfeld, David Mehlman, Deanna Dawson, Katie Fallon, and Paul Salaman. Additional support was provided by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of the U.S. Fish and...

Media Teleconference: NOAA climate forecaster to discuss status of El Niño

Science.gov Websites

Media Contact NOAA HQ John Ewald 240-429-6127 NOAA NCEI Katy Matthews 828-257-3136 NASA GISS Michael Cabbage/ Leslie McCarthy 212-678-5516 / 5507 NASA HQ Steve Cole 202-358-0918 Wednesday: NOAA, NASA to experts from NOAA and NASA will announce new data on 2015 global temperatures during a media

A Feeling of Belonging and Effectiveness Key to Women's Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Victoria

2009-01-01

Katie Tepper is a 20-year-old University of Missouri-Columbia junior who is studying industrial engineering and looks forward to a job in the manufacturing field, but the statistics aren't in her favor when it comes to her major. Only 17.2 percent of engineering majors are women, according to the Engineering Workforce Commission (EWC). And yet,…

German Foreign and Security Policy: Determinants of German Military Engagement in Africa Since 2011

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

Ausland [Litmus test of a nation: The deployment of the Bundeswehr into foreign countries], ed. Christoph Schwegmann (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2011...Ausland [Litmus test of a nation: The deployment of the Bundeswehr into foreign countries], ed. Christoph Schwegman (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2011...21; Katy A. Crossley-Frolick, “Domestic Constraints, German Foreign Policy and Post -Conflict Peacebuilding,” German Politics and Society 31, no

MAGMA: A Liquid Software Approach to Fault Tolerance, Computer Network Security, and Survivable Networking

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-12-01

and Lieutenant Namik Kaplan , Turkish Navy. Maj Tiefert’s thesis, “Modeling Control Channel Dynamics of SAAM using NS Network Simulation”, helped lay...DEC99] Deconinck , Dr. ir. Geert, Fault Tolerant Systems, ESAT / Division ACCA , Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, October 1999. [FRE00] Freed...Systems”, Addison-Wesley, 1989. [KAP99] Kaplan , Namik, “Prototyping of an Active and Lightweight Router,” March 1999 [KAT99] Kati, Effraim

Representations of same-sex relationships between female characters in all-ages comics: Princess Princess Ever After and Lumberjanes.

PubMed

Gillingham, Erica

2018-04-25

Representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in comics for an all-ages readership have emerged in the United States in the early twenty-first century. This essay examines the narrative constructions of same-sex relationships between female characters in two all-ages speculative fiction comics, Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill, and Lumberjanes, created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Brooke Allen.

ARC-2008-ACD08-0186-005

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-30

NASA Ames Robotics Academy Interns at the Lunar Science Institute (LSI) building 17 Interns: David Black, Michael Zwach, Guy Chriqui, Mark Mordarski Jr., Katy Levinson, Daniela Buchman, Scott Strutner, Patrick Crownover, Neil Bhateja, Michael Buchman, John Mueller, Michelle Grau, Ben Silver, Jacques Dolan, Alex Golec Windell Jones, Colin Wilson, Joe DeBlasio, Nick Hayes, Jordan Olive, William Shaw, Ames Education Dept., Mark Leon, Ames Robotics, Josh Weiner, jack Biesiadecki, Andrew Pilloud

Components of productivity in black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla: Response to supplemental feeding

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gill, V.A.; Hatch, Shyla A.

2002-01-01

In contrast to the high productivity of black-legged kittiwakes in Britain, kittiwakes at many colonies in Alaska have failed chronically to reproduce since the mid 1970s. To determine if food is limiting productivity and, if so, at what stages of nesting food shortages are most severe, in 1996 and 1997 we supplementally fed kittiwakes nesting on an abandoned building. The effects of feeding were stronger in 1997 than in 1996, possibly because naturally occurring prey were of poorer quality in 1997. Consumption of supplemental herring declined as egg laying approached then increased slowly during incubation and more rapidly after hatching. All of the six components of productivity we studied were improved by supplemental feeding to some degree. Supplemental food did not significantly alter laying success in either year, although fed pairs bred at slightly higher rates than unfed pairs in 1997, the poorer food year. In 1996 and 1997, extra food noticeably increased clutch size and hatching success, but significantly so only in 1997. Fledging success and productivity were substantially augmented by feeding in both years. Fed pairs fledged twice as many chicks per nest as did unfed pairs in 1996 and three times as many in 1997. Fed and unfed pairs lost most of their potential productivity through the inability to hatch eggs, and secondarily because of their poor success at raising chicks. The benefits of supplemental feeding did not carry over from one stage of breeding to another. Pairs cut off from supplemental food after laying or hatching performed similarly to pairs that had not been previously fed. This study provides benchmark values of breeding performance attainable by kittiwakes in Alaska under optimal conditions. These values are comparable to highly productive colonies in Britain and suggest that differences in life-history characteristics between Pacific and Atlantic breeding populations are primarily controlled by food supply.

Populations and productivity of seabirds at South Marble Island, Glacier Bay, Alaska, during May-July, 1999

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zador, Stephani; Piatt, John F.

1999-01-01

In the course of directed research on glaucous-winged gulls, we investigated the numbers and activities of all breeding and non-breeding seabirds associated with South Marble Island in Glacier Bay, Alaska, during mid-May to late July, 1999. Most observations were made from the island; additional observations were made during transportation to and from the island. Data were collected on the presence and numbers of all seabirds observed. Detailed information on breeding chronology and productivity were also collected for glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens), pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and black oystercatchers (Haemantopus bachmani).

Measuring What Matters Workshop Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-14

Measuring What Matters Workshop Report Katie Stewart Julia Allen Michelle Valdez Lisa Young January 2015 TECHNICAL NOTE CMU/SEI-2015-TN...the approach using a simple objective: teaching a child to properly brush his/her teeth. Next, we demonstrate the approach using a cybersecurity...Ensure you child’s teeth are healthy. G1: Ensure your child has everything needed to brush his/her teeth. G2: Ensure your child is brushing his

Measuring What Matters Workshop Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

Measuring What Matters Workshop Report Katie Stewart Julia Allen Michelle Valdez Lisa Young January 2015 TECHNICAL NOTE CMU/SEI-2015-TN...the approach using a simple objective: teaching a child to properly brush his/her teeth. Next, we demonstrate the approach using a cybersecurity...Ensure you child’s teeth are healthy. G1: Ensure your child has everything needed to brush his/her teeth. G2: Ensure your child is brushing his

Cooperative Navigation for Low-bandwidth Mobile Acoustic Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Ryan M...than can be listed below). Knowing that the following cannot completely suffice, I’ll begin with a big ‘thank you’ to all. First, Ryan , thank you for...Sweets (Ushani), Jie, GT, Alex, Enric, Katie, Sparkison, and Josh, thank you. 90% of the theory presented in this document was developed on the lab

Soft-sediment deformation structures in Cambrian Series 2 tidal deposits (NW Estonia): implications for identifying endogenic triggering mechanisms in ancient sedimentary record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Põldsaar, Kairi

2015-04-01

Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) are documented in several horizons within silt- and sandstones of the Cambrian Series 2 (Dominopolian Stage) Tiskre Formation, and some in the below-deposited argillaceous deposits of the Lükati Formation (northern part of the Baltoscandian Palaeobasin, NW Estonia). The aim of this study was to map, describe, and analyze these deformation features, discuss their deformation mechanism and possible triggers. Load structures (simple load casts, pillows, flame structures, convoluted lamination) with varying shapes and sizes occur in the Tiskre Fm in sedimentary interfaces within medium-bedded peritidal rhythmites (siltstone-argillaceous material) as well as within up to 3 m thick slightly seaward inclined stacked sandstone sequences. Homogenized beds, dish-and-pillar structures, and severely deformed bedding are also found within these stacked units and within a large tidal runoff channel infill. Autoclastic breccias and water-escape channels are rare and occur only in small-scale -- always related to thin, horizontal tidal laminae. Profound sedimentary dykes, sand volcanoes, and thrust faults, which are often related to earthquake triggered soft sediment deformation, were not observed within the studied intervals. Deformation horizon or horizons with large flat-topped pillows often with elongated morphologies occur at or near the boundary between the Tiskre and Lükati formations. Deformation mechanisms identified in this study for the various deformation types are gravitationally unstable reversed density gradient (especially in case of load features that are related to profound sedimentary interfaces) and lateral shear stress due to sediment current drag (in case of deformation structures that not related to loading at any apparent sedimentary interface). Synsedimentary liquefaction was identified as the primary driving force in most of the observed deformation horizons. Clay thixotropy may have contributed in the

Trading Nets for Guns: The Impact of Illegal Fishing on Piracy in Somalia

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

Reconsidering the Letter of Marque,” Public Contract Law Journal 39, no. 3 (Spring 2010): 412–464; Katie Stuhldreher, “To Turn the Tide on Piracy in...18 Ibid; Theodore Richard, “Reconsidering the Letter of Marque,” Public Contract Law Journal 39, no. 3 (Spring 2010): 412–464; Martin Murphy...the Letter of Marque,” Public Contract Law Journal 39, no. 3 (Spring 2010): 412–464. 38 Richey, Warren. “Where will captured Somali pirate get

The Quantum and Fluid Mechanics of Global Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marston, Brad

2008-03-01

Quantum physics and fluid mechanics are the foundation of any understanding of the Earth's climate. In this talk I invoke three well-known aspects of quantum mechanics to explore what will happen as the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide continue to increase. Fluid dynamical models of the Earth's atmosphere, demonstrated here in live simulations, yield further insight into past, present, and future climates. Statistics of geophysical flows can, however, be ascertained directly without recourse to numerical simulation, using concepts borrowed from nonequilibrium statistical mechanicsootnotetextJ. B. Marston, E. Conover, and Tapio Schneider, ``Statistics of an Unstable Barotropic Jet from a Cumulant Expansion,'' arXiv:0705.0011, J. Atmos. Sci. (in press).. I discuss several other ways that theoretical physics may be able to contribute to a deeper understanding of climate changeootnotetextJ. Carlson, J. Harte, G. Falkovich, J. B. Marston, and R. Pierrehumbert, ``Physics of Climate Change'' 2008 Program of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics..

Astro Camp Goes to Florida

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-08-08

Katie Craig, daughter of former Stennis Space Center Deputy Director Mark Craig, launches a 'balloon rocket' with the help of Rebecca Compretta, Astro Camp coordinator at SSC. SSC took Astro Camp on the road to Florida this week to engage children and their parents during activities surrounding the Aug. 8 launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on NASA's STS-118 mission to the International Space Station. Astro Camp is SSC's popular space camp program designed to inspire and educate students using science and math principles.

Astro Camp Goes to Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

Katie Craig, daughter of former Stennis Space Center Deputy Director Mark Craig, launches a 'balloon rocket' with the help of Rebecca Compretta, Astro Camp coordinator at SSC. SSC took Astro Camp on the road to Florida this week to engage children and their parents during activities surrounding the Aug. 8 launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on NASA's STS-118 mission to the International Space Station. Astro Camp is SSC's popular space camp program designed to inspire and educate students using science and math principles.

Development of Ground Water in the Houston District, Texas, 1970-1974

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gabrysch, R.K.

1980-01-01

Total withdrawals of ground water in the Houston district increased 9 percent from about 488 million gallons per day (21.4 cubic meters per second) in 1970 to about 532 million gallons per day (23.3 cubic meters per second) in 1974. The average annual rate of increase from 1960 to 1969 was about 6.3 percent. During 1970-74, increases in pumpage occurred in the Houston, Katy, and NASA areas; decreases occurred in the Pasadena and Alta Lorna areas; and the pumpage in the Baytown-La Porte and Texas City areas remained almost constant.

Single inclusive jet production and the nuclear modification ratio at very forward rapidity in proton-lead collisions with √{sNN } = 5.02 TeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bury, Marcin; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Hameren, Andreas; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Kutak, Krzysztof; Serino, Mirko

2018-05-01

We present calculations of single inclusive jet transverse momentum and energy spectra at forward rapidity (5.2 < y < 6.6) in proton-lead collisions with √{sNN } = 5.02 TeV. The predictions are obtained with the KaTie Monte Carlo event generator, which allows to calculate interactions within the High Energy Factorisation framework. The tree-level matrix element results are subsequently interfaced with the CASCADE Monte Carlo event generator to account for hadronisation. The effects of the saturation of the gluon density, leading to suppression of the cross section, are investigated.

Reconstruction of a high-resolution late holocene arctic paleoclimate record from Colville River delta sediments.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schreiner, Kathryn Melissa; Lowry, Thomas Stephen

2013-10-01

This work was partially supported by the Sandia National Laboratories, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) fellowship program in conjunction with Texas A&M University (TAMU). The research described herein is the work of Kathryn M. Schreiner (Katie) and her advisor, Thomas S. Bianchi and represents a concise description of Katies dissertation that was submitted to the TAMU Office of Graduate Studies in May 2013 in partial fulfillment of her doctorate of philosophy degree. High Arctic permafrost soils contain a massive amount of organic carbon, accounting for twice as much carbon as what is currently stored as carbon dioxide in themore » atmosphere. However, with current warming trends this sink is in danger of thawing and potentially releasing large amounts of carbon as both carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. It is difficult to make predictions about the future of this sink without knowing how it has reacted to past temperature and climate changes. This project investigated long term, fine scale particulate organic carbon (POC) delivery by the high-Arctic Colville River into Simpsons Lagoon in the near-shore Beaufort Sea. Modern POC was determined to be a mixture of three sources (riverine soils, coastal erosion, and marine). Downcore POC measurements were performed in a core close to the Colville River output and a core close to intense coastal erosion. Inputs of the three major sources were found to vary throughout the last two millennia, and in the Colville River core covary significantly with Alaskan temperature reconstructions.« less

The TEFRA medicaid eligibility option for children with severe disabilities: a national study.

PubMed

Semansky, Rafael M; Koyanagi, Chris

2004-01-01

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) Medicaid Eligibility Option, also known as the Katie Beckett Option, was developed to allow children with disabilities from near-poor and middle-income families to qualify for Medicaid. TEFRA has been available since 1982; however, little is known about the number of children served and their qualifying disability. This first national study found that 20 states enrolled nearly 25,000 children in 2001. Only 10 of these states allowed children to qualify because of a mental health disability. Additional research is needed to understand the role of TEFRA in providing insurance to children with disabilities.

Popular culture and sporting life in the rural margins of late eighteenth-century England: the world of Robert Anderson, "The Cumberland Bard".

PubMed

Huggins, Mike

2012-01-01

This study sets out to extend and challenge existing historiography on late eighteenth century British popular culture, customary sports, class and cultural identity, focusing upon the rural geo-political borderland of England. It suggests that prevailing class-based and more London-biased studies need to be balanced with more regionalist-based work, and shows the importance of northern regional leisure variants. The textual and historical analysis draws largely on the published works of a neglected working-class dialect poet, Robert Anderson, living and working in Cumberland, arguing that he represented a strain of ''bardic regionalism,'' a variant of Katie Trumpener’s ''bardic nationalism.''

Plastic debris as nesting material in a Kittiwake-(Rissa tridactyla)-colony at the Jammerbugt, Northwest Denmark.

PubMed

Hartwig, Eike; Clemens, Thomas; Heckroth, Mathias

2007-05-01

This paper continues the investigations of Clemens and Hartwig from 1992 on the proportion of garbage used as nesting material in the Kittiwake colony at Bulbjerg in the Jammerbugt in Northwest Denmark. Whereas in the year 1992 plastic garbage items were included in 39.3% of 466 Kittiwake nests in the Bulbjerg colony, in 2005 57.2% of 311 nests contained plastic debris. Although it has been forbidden to dispose of plastic garbage into the marine environment since the implementation of the MARPOL 73/78-Agreement/Annex V (Regulation for the Prevention of Pollution by Ship Waste) of 1989 and especially since the declaration of the North Sea as a MARPOL-Special Area for garbage in 1991, the pollution of the oceans and the North Sea is still an ubiquitous problem, particularly with regard to plastic waste. Plastic waste is presumably not used preferentially for nest-building, but in the context of available nesting material in the waters surrounding the breeding colony. Therefore the share of garbage parts in nests of certain species of birds is an indicator of the amount of waste in the natural environment in the vicinity of their breeding site.

Pilot Investigation of the Katie Brown Educational Program: A School-Community Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joppa, Meredith C.; Rizzo, Christie J.; Nieves, Amethys V.; Brown, Larry K.

2016-01-01

Background: Schools in the United States are increasingly being urged to address the problem of adolescent dating violence (DV) with their students. Given the limited time available to implement prevention programming during the school day, brief programs are needed. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a widely disseminated,…

Is She Patting Katie? Constraints on Pronominal Reference in 30-Month-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukyanenko, Cynthia; Conroy, Anastasia; Lidz, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

In this study we investigate young children's knowledge of syntactic constraints on Noun Phrase reference by testing 30-month-olds' interpretation of two types of transitive sentences. In a preferential looking task, we find that children prefer different interpretations for transitive sentences whose object NP is a name (e.g., "She's patting…

Behavioral ecology of black-legged kittiwakes during chick rearing in a failing colony

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Bay D.; Hatch, Scott A.

1993-01-01

Compared with their Atlantic counterparts, Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in North Pacific colonies are notably unproductive. A large colony on Middleton Island, Alaska, has in most years since 1981 seen complete breeding failure and the population has declined by half. We compared parent-offspring behaviors in this colony during two years that differed in overall breeding success. Potential indicators of food stress included parental attendance at the nest, foraging trip lengths, chick feeding and begging rates, and sibling aggression. Whereas chick feeding and begging rates were strongly correlated with overall breeding performance, patterns of time allocation by adults (nest attendance and foraging trips) were not. Contrasts between years and comparisons with data from other colonies in and outside Alaska point to food shortage as the likely cause of recurrent breeding failure on Middleton.

Screening for colorectal cancer.

PubMed

He, Jin; Efron, Jonathan E

2011-01-01

March is national colorectal cancer awareness month. It is estimated that as many as 60% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if all men and women aged 50 years or older were screened routinely. In 2000, Katie Couric's televised colonoscopy led to a 20% increase in screening colonoscopies across America, a stunning rise called the "Katie Couric Effect". This event demonstrated how celebrity endorsement affects health behavior. Currently, discussion is ongoing about the optimal strategy for CRC screening, particularly the costs of screening colonoscopy. The current CRC screening guidelines are summarized in Table 2. Debates over the optimum CRC screening test continue in the face of evidence that 22 million Americans aged 50 to 75 years are not screened for CRC by any modality and 25,000 of those lives may have been saved if they had been screened for CRC. It is clear that improving screening rates and reducing disparities in underscreened communities and population subgroups could further reduce colorectal cancer morbidity and mortality. National Institutes of Health consensus identified the following priority areas to enhance the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening: Eliminate financial barriers to colorectal cancer screening and appropriate follow-up of positive results of colorectal cancer screening. Develop systems to ensure the high quality of colorectal cancer screening programs. Conduct studies to determine the comparative effectiveness of the various colorectal cancer screening methods in usual practice settings. Encouraging population adherence to screening tests and allowing patients to select the tests they prefer may do more good (as long as they choose something) than whatever procedure is chosen by the medical profession as the preferred test.

Panel Discussion: Common Themes Across ``Bringing Newcomers Into The Physics Community''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Little, Angela

2014-03-01

I will be facilitating a discussion between the audience and the four speakers in this session: Dimitri Dounas-Frazer, Catherine Good, Casey Miller, and Katie Hinko. They will all be speaking on the same general topic of supporting newcomers to the physics community at critical transition points but come from a set of diverse contexts and perspectives. Their work spans a wide age range of STEM students and they approach their work through many different lenses: as physics faculty, program directors, education and psychology researchers, and combinations thereof. Broad themes across these contexts and perspectives will be explored such as the role of growth mindset, community, and professional development.

Experiencing Violence and Enacting Resilience: The Case Story of a Transgender Youth.

PubMed

DiFulvio, Gloria T

2015-11-01

Research about victimization among sexual minority youth has focused on documenting the prevalence and consequences of such experiences. Lacking in the literature is an in-depth exploration of the social context of both risk and resilience in the face of violence. This is especially true for transgender youth who are largely absent from the dominant discourse. This case story provides an example of how one transgender youth interpreted and adaptively responded to the discrimination and prejudice she encountered. Katie's story illustrates the process of resilience. Despite the adversity she has faced, she shares stories of pride and strength in a culture that considers her as "other." © The Author(s) 2014.

Maternal androgens increase sibling aggression, dominance, and competitive ability in the siblicidal black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla).

PubMed

Müller, Martina S; Roelofs, Yvonne; Erikstad, Kjell Einar; Groothuis, Ton G G

2012-01-01

Animals and plants routinely produce more offspring than they can afford to rear. Mothers can favour certain young by conferring on them competitive advantages such as a leading position in the birth sequence, more resources or hormones. Avian mothers create hatching asynchrony within a clutch and at the same time bestow the eggs with different concentrations of androgens that may enhance or counteract the competitive advantage experienced by early-hatching "core" young. In siblicidal birds, core young assume a dominant social position in the nest due to their size advantage and when threatened with starvation fatally attack subdominant later-hatching "marginal" young. A role for maternal androgens in siblicidal aggression has frequently been suggested but never tested. We studied this in the facultatively siblicidal black-headed kittiwake. We found that marginal eggs contain higher instead of lower concentrations of androgens than core eggs. Surprisingly, exposure to experimentally elevated yolk androgens increased sibling aggression and dominance, even though in nature marginal eggs never produce dominant chicks. We propose the "adoption facilitation hypothesis" to explain this paradox. This cliff-nesting colonial species has a high adoption rate: ejected marginal kittiwake chicks frequently fall into other nests containing chicks of similar or smaller size and exposure to yolk androgens might help them integrate themselves into a foster nest.

Sexually transmitted bacteria affect female cloacal assemblages in a wild bird

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Joël; Mirleau, Pascal; Danchin, Etienne; Mulard, Hervé; Hatch, Scott A.; Heeb, Phillipp; Wagner, Richard H.

2010-01-01

Sexual transmission is an important mode of disease propagation, yet its mechanisms remain largely unknown in wild populations. Birds comprise an important model for studying sexually transmitted microbes because their cloaca provides a potential for both gastrointestinal pathogens and endosymbionts to become incorporated into ejaculates. We experimentally demonstrate in a wild population of kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) that bacteria are transmitted during copulation and affect the composition and diversity of female bacterial communities. We used an anti-insemination device attached to males in combination with a molecular technique (automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis) that describes bacterial communities. After inseminations were experimentally blocked, the cloacal communities of mates became increasingly dissimilar. Moreover, female cloacal diversity decreased and the extinction of mate-shared bacteria increased, indicating that female cloacal assemblages revert to their pre-copulatory state and that the cloaca comprises a resilient microbial ecosystem.

NEWS: Science awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1999-05-01

The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council's award scheme in the public understanding of science and technology for 1999 is currently under way and the first closing date has already passed. The second date for the receipt of applications for the Small Awards scheme is 10 October (open to anyone), with awards ranging from £250 up to the maximum of £10 000 per project. The funding can be used for materials, salaries, travel and subsistence, and there may be a slight preference towards projects involving young people and schools. Subject areas must be those relevant to PPARC: particle physics; space, ionospheric, solar and planetary science; astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. Application documentation can be obtained from PUST Office Room 2232, PPARC, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1SZ (tel: 01793 442002, e-mail: pr_pus@pparc.ac.uk and website http://www.pparc.ac.uk/role/notes.html). And whilst on this same theme, the deadline is fast approaching for a new Institute of Physics scheme intended to recognize work on increasing awareness of the exciting nature of physics and its relevance and impact on everyday life. The Public Awareness of Physics awards will recognize individuals and groups who have demonstrated excellence, inspiration and innovation in bringing physics to the public and assist in raising the status of this kind of activity. There are no restrictions on eligibility and nominees do not have to be members of the Institute of Physics, physicists or physics trained. Nominations may be made by anyone, with up to five awards to be given annually. Further details, nomination guidelines and forms are available from Katie Perry, Public Affairs Department, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1N 3DN (tel: 0171 470 4800, e-mail: katie.perry@iop.org).

Travelers’ Value of Time and Reliability as Measured on Katy Freeway : Final Report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-01

The value of travel time savings (VOT) is an estimate of what travelers would be willing to pay in order to save time on a particular trip. If travelers would pay $1 to reduce their travel time by six minutes, then they have a VOT of $10 per hour. VO...

Katie Gaebel at the Intersections of Resistance: Turkish Immigrant Women in German Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaebel, Katie

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on two main guiding questions: first, what are the experiences of Turkish women in the German educational system; second, to what extent do state policies, cultural pressure, and personal choice influence the decision to pursue higher education? Using intersectionality as a methodology, this paper elucidates how women navigate…

Of bugs and birds: Markov Chain Monte Carlo for hierarchical modeling in wildlife research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Link, W.A.; Cam, E.; Nichols, J.D.; Cooch, E.G.

2002-01-01

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a statistical innovation that allows researchers to fit far more complex models to data than is feasible using conventional methods. Despite its widespread use in a variety of scientific fields, MCMC appears to be underutilized in wildlife applications. This may be due to a misconception that MCMC requires the adoption of a subjective Bayesian analysis, or perhaps simply to its lack of familiarity among wildlife researchers. We introduce the basic ideas of MCMC and software BUGS (Bayesian inference using Gibbs sampling), stressing that a simple and satisfactory intuition for MCMC does not require extraordinary mathematical sophistication. We illustrate the use of MCMC with an analysis of the association between latent factors governing individual heterogeneity in breeding and survival rates of kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). We conclude with a discussion of the importance of individual heterogeneity for understanding population dynamics and designing management plans.

Milky J “Hubble Gotchu" of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon visits Goddard

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Fans of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' know the setup: A guy in a Yankees jacket shows off Hubble images and shouts to the audience that, 'Hubble gotchu!' Monday night's episode showcased footage shot right here at Goddard Space Flight Center. Left to Right: Phil Driggers, Katie Lilly, Milky J “Hubble Gotchu”, Mike Menzel, Amber Straughn, Ray Lundquist. Read more about Milky J's visit here: geeked.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=2066 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Gun

Empirical Research on Decoupling Relationship between Energy-Related Carbon Emission and Economic Growth in Guangdong Province Based on Extended Kaya Identity

PubMed Central

Wang, Wenxiu; Huang, Ningsheng; Zhao, Daiqing

2014-01-01

The decoupling elasticity decomposition quantitative model of energy-related carbon emission in Guangdong is established based on the extended Kaya identity and Tapio decoupling model for the first time, to explore the decoupling relationship and its internal mechanism between energy-related carbon emission and economic growth in Guangdong. Main results are as follows. (1) Total production energy-related carbon emissions in Guangdong increase from 4128 × 104 tC in 1995 to 14396 × 104 tC in 2011. Decoupling elasticity values of energy-related carbon emission and economic growth increase from 0.53 in 1996 to 0.85 in 2011, and its decoupling state turns from weak decoupling in 1996–2004 to expansive coupling in 2005–2011. (2) Land economic output and energy intensity are the first inhibiting factor and the first promoting factor to energy-related carbon emission decoupling from economic growth, respectively. The development speeds of land urbanization and population urbanization, especially land urbanization, play decisive roles in the change of total decoupling elasticity values. (3) Guangdong can realize decoupling of energy-related carbon emission from economic growth effectively by adjusting the energy mix and industrial structure, coordinating the development speed of land urbanization and population urbanization effectively, and strengthening the construction of carbon sink. PMID:24782666

Empirical research on decoupling relationship between energy-related carbon emission and economic growth in Guangdong province based on extended Kaya identity.

PubMed

Wang, Wenxiu; Kuang, Yaoqiu; Huang, Ningsheng; Zhao, Daiqing

2014-01-01

The decoupling elasticity decomposition quantitative model of energy-related carbon emission in Guangdong is established based on the extended Kaya identity and Tapio decoupling model for the first time, to explore the decoupling relationship and its internal mechanism between energy-related carbon emission and economic growth in Guangdong. Main results are as follows. (1) Total production energy-related carbon emissions in Guangdong increase from 4128 × 10⁴ tC in 1995 to 14396 × 10⁴ tC in 2011. Decoupling elasticity values of energy-related carbon emission and economic growth increase from 0.53 in 1996 to 0.85 in 2011, and its decoupling state turns from weak decoupling in 1996-2004 to expansive coupling in 2005-2011. (2) Land economic output and energy intensity are the first inhibiting factor and the first promoting factor to energy-related carbon emission decoupling from economic growth, respectively. The development speeds of land urbanization and population urbanization, especially land urbanization, play decisive roles in the change of total decoupling elasticity values. (3) Guangdong can realize decoupling of energy-related carbon emission from economic growth effectively by adjusting the energy mix and industrial structure, coordinating the development speed of land urbanization and population urbanization effectively, and strengthening the construction of carbon sink.

A mechanistic link between chick diet and decline in seabirds?

PubMed Central

Kitaysky, Alexander S; Kitaiskaia, Evgenia V; Piatt, John F; Wingfield, John C

2005-01-01

A climatic regime shift during the mid-1970s in the North Pacific resulted in decreased availability of lipid-rich fish to seabirds and was followed by a dramatic decline in number of kittiwakes breeding on the Pribilof Islands. Although production of chicks in the mid-1970s was adequate to sustain kittiwake populations in the early 1980s, the disappearance of birds from breeding colonies apparently exceeded recruitment. No mechanism has been proposed to explain why recruitment would differ among fledglings fed lipid-rich or lipid-poor fish during development. Here we show that diets low in lipids induce nutritional stress and impair cognitive abilities in young red-legged kittiwakes, Rissa brevirostris. Specifically, growth retardation, increased secretion of stress hormones and inferior ability to associate food distribution with visual cues were observed in individuals fed lipid-poor diets. We conclude that lipid-poor diets during development affect the quality of young seabirds, which is likely to result in their increased mortality and low recruitment. PMID:16615211

Experimental evidence of vocal recognition in young and adult black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mulard, Hervé; Aubin, T.; White, J.F.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Danchin, E.

2008-01-01

Individual recognition is required in most social interactions, and its presence has been confirmed in many species. In birds, vocal cues appear to be a major component of recognition. Curiously, vocal recognition seems absent or limited in some highly social species such as the black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla. Using playback experiments, we found that kittiwake chicks recognized their parents vocally, this capacity being detectable as early as 20 days after hatching, the youngest age tested. Mates also recognized each other's long calls. Some birds reacted to their partner's voice when only a part of the long call was played back. Nevertheless, only about a third of the tested birds reacted to their mate's or parents' call and we were unable to detect recognition among neighbours. We discuss the low reactivity of kittiwakes in relation to their cliff-nesting habit and compare our results with evidence of vocal recognition in other larids. ?? 2008 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Unifying quantitative life-history theory and field endocrinology to assess prudent parenthood in a long-lived seabird

USGS Publications Warehouse

Satterthwaite, W.H.; Kitaysky, A.S.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Piatt, John F.; Mangel, M.

2010-01-01

Question: Can field measurements of stress hormones help us to assess the prudent parent hypothesis in a long-lived seabird? Organism: Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla. Location: Duck and Gull Islands, Cook Inlet, Alaska, Methods: We examined the statistical relationship between the stress hormone corticosterone and mortality in black-legged kittiwakes. We built a demographic model of the kittiwake life cycle to determine whether the mortality rates associated with persisting in a breeding attempt despite high corticosterone caused the birds to sacrifice more lifetime reproductive output than they gain from one year's breeding. Results: The probability of apparent mortality increased with corticosterone, suggesting some birds incurred increased mortality risk for the sake of breeding. For Duck Island (low reproductive success), it appears birds sacrificed more lifetime reproductive success than a prudent parent would. On Gull Island, it appears most but possibly not all birds were behaving in ways consistent with theory, although definitive statements require larger samples of highly stressed birds. ?? 2010 William H. Satterthwaite.

Food availability affects the maternal transfer of androgens and antibodies into eggs of a colonial seabird

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gasparini, J.; Boulinier, T.; Gill, V.A.; Gil, D.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Roulin, A.

2007-01-01

Mothers can improve the quality of their offspring by increasing the level of certain components in their eggs. To examine whether or not mothers increase deposition of such components in eggs as a function of food availability, we food-supplemented black-legged kittiwake females (Rissa tridactyla) before and during egg laying and compared deposition of androgens and antibodies into eggs of first and experimentally induced replacement clutches. Food-supplemented females transferred lower amounts of androgens and antibodies into eggs of induced replacement clutches than did non-food-supplemented mothers, whereas first clutches presented no differences between treatments. Our results suggest that when females are in lower condition, they transfer more androgens and antibodies into eggs to facilitate chick development despite potential long-term costs for juveniles. Females in prime condition may avoid these potential long-term costs because they can provide their chicks with more and higher quality resources. ?? 2007 The Authors.

Testing the junk-food hypothesis on marine birds: Effects of prey type on growth and development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Romano, Marc D.; Piatt, John F.; Roby, D.D.

2006-01-01

The junk-food hypothesis attributes declines in productivity of marine birds and mammals to changes in the species of prey they consume and corresponding differences in nutritional quality of those prey. To test this hypothesis nestling Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) were raised in captivity under controlled conditions to determine whether the type and quality of fish consumed by young seabirds constrains their growth and development. Some nestlings were fed rations of Capelin (Mallotus villosus), Herring (Clupea pallasi) or Sand Lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) and their growth was compared with nestlings raised on equal biomass rations of Walleye Pollock (Theragra chalcograma). Nestlings fed rations of herring, sand lance, or capelin experienced higher growth increments than nestlings fed pollock. The energy density of forage fish fed to nestlings had a marked effect on growth increments and could be expected to have an effect on pre- and post-fledging survival of nestlings in the wild. These results provide empirical support for the junk-food hypothesis.

Colony attendance and population monitoring of Black-legged Kittiwakes on the Semidi Islands, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hatch, Scott A.; Hatch, Martha A.

1988-01-01

Patterns of colony attendance in Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) were studied over 5 years on the Semidi Islands, western Gulf of Alaska. A census period of 50 days, extending from first egg laying through final hatching, was appropriate because counts made then were subject to the least amount of daily variation. Five counts during that period were sufficient to detect a 25% change in numbers between years; counts made on all 50 days of the census period would detect a 5 to 7% change. There was little evidence for seasonal trends or serial correlation of counts during the census period, but attendance was negatively correlated with wind speed. Half of an apparent 17% increase in population between 1980 and 1981 was due to birds spending more time at their nest sites in the latter year, thereby increasing the mean of attendance counts. Despite such difficulties in the interpretation of attendance counts, birds were considered to be better counting units for population monitoring than nests, because nest densities were subject to large annual fluctuations in breeding effort.

Dynamics of food availability, body condition and physiological stress response in breeding Black-legged Kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Wingfield, J.C.; Piatt, John F.

1999-01-01

1. The seasonal dynamics of body condition (BC), circulating corticosterone levels (baseline, BL) and the adrenocortical response to acute stress (SR) were examined in long-lived Black-legged Kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla, breeding at Duck (food-poor colony) and Gull (food-rich colony) Islands in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. It was tested whether the dynamics of corticosterone levels reflect a seasonal change in bird physiological condition due to reproduction and/or variation in foraging conditions. 2. BC declined seasonally, and the decline was more pronounced in birds at the food-poor colony. BL and SR levels of corticosterone rose steadily through the reproductive season, and BL levels were significantly higher in birds on Duck island compared with those on Gull Island. During the egg-laying and chick-rearing stages, birds had lower SR on Duck Island than on Gull Island. 3. The results suggest that, in addition to a seasonal change in bird physiology during reproduction, local ecological factors such as food availability affect circulating levels of corticosterone and adrenal response to acute stress.

Model-based estimation of individual fitness

USGS Publications Warehouse

Link, W.A.; Cooch, E.G.; Cam, E.

2002-01-01

Fitness is the currency of natural selection, a measure of the propagation rate of genotypes into future generations. Its various definitions have the common feature that they are functions of survival and fertility rates. At the individual level, the operative level for natural selection, these rates must be understood as latent features, genetically determined propensities existing at birth. This conception of rates requires that individual fitness be defined and estimated by consideration of the individual in a modelled relation to a group of similar individuals; the only alternative is to consider a sample of size one, unless a clone of identical individuals is available. We present hierarchical models describing individual heterogeneity in survival and fertility rates and allowing for associations between these rates at the individual level. We apply these models to an analysis of life histories of Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla ) observed at several colonies on the Brittany coast of France. We compare Bayesian estimation of the population distribution of individual fitness with estimation based on treating individual life histories in isolation, as samples of size one (e.g. McGraw & Caswell, 1996).

Subglacial discharges create fluctuating foraging hotspots for sea birds in tidewater glacier bays.

PubMed

Urbanski, Jacek Andrzej; Stempniewicz, Lech; Węsławski, Jan Marcin; Dragańska-Deja, Katarzyna; Wochna, Agnieszka; Goc, Michał; Iliszko, Lech

2017-03-07

Although the processes occurring at the front of an ice face in tidewater glacier bays still await thorough investigation, their importance to the rapidly changing polar environment is spurring a considerable research effort. Glacier melting, sediment delivery and the formation of seabird foraging hotspots are governed by subglacial discharges of meltwater. We have combined the results of tracking black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla equipped with GPS loggers, analyses of satellite images and in situ measurements of water temperature, salinity and turbidity in order to examine the magnitude and variability of such hotspots in the context of glacier bay hydrology. Small though these hotspots are in size, foraging in them appears to be highly intensive. They come into existence only if the subglacial discharge reaches the surface, if the entrainment velocity at a conduit is high and if there is sufficient macroplankton in the entrainment layer. The position and type of subglacial discharges may fluctuate in time and space, thereby influencing glacier bay hydrology and the occurrence of foraging hotspots.

A mechanistic link between chick diet and decline in seabirds?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Kitaiskaia, E.V.; Piatt, John F.; Wingfield, J.C.

2006-01-01

A climatic regime shift during the mid-1970s in the North Pacific resulted in decreased availability of lipidrich fish to seabirds and was followed by a dramatic decline in number of kittiwakes breeding on the Pribilof Islands. Although production of chicks in the mid-1970s was adequate to sustain kittiwake populations in the early 1980s, the disappearance of birds from breeding colonies apparently exceeded recruitment. No mechanism has been proposed to explain why recruitment would differ among fledglings fed lipid-rich or lipid-poor fish during development. Here we show that diets low in lipids induce nutritional stress and impair cognitive abilities in young red-legged kittiwakes, Rissa brevirostris. Specifically, growth retardation, increased secretion of stress hormones and inferior ability to associate food distribution with visual cues were observed in individuals fed lipid-poor diets. We conclude that lipid-poor diets during development affect the quality of young seabirds, which is likely to result in their increased mortality and low recruitment. ?? 2005 The Royal Society.

Subglacial discharges create fluctuating foraging hotspots for sea birds in tidewater glacier bays

PubMed Central

Urbanski, Jacek Andrzej; Stempniewicz, Lech; Węsławski, Jan Marcin; Dragańska-Deja, Katarzyna; Wochna, Agnieszka; Goc, Michał; Iliszko, Lech

2017-01-01

Although the processes occurring at the front of an ice face in tidewater glacier bays still await thorough investigation, their importance to the rapidly changing polar environment is spurring a considerable research effort. Glacier melting, sediment delivery and the formation of seabird foraging hotspots are governed by subglacial discharges of meltwater. We have combined the results of tracking black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla equipped with GPS loggers, analyses of satellite images and in situ measurements of water temperature, salinity and turbidity in order to examine the magnitude and variability of such hotspots in the context of glacier bay hydrology. Small though these hotspots are in size, foraging in them appears to be highly intensive. They come into existence only if the subglacial discharge reaches the surface, if the entrainment velocity at a conduit is high and if there is sufficient macroplankton in the entrainment layer. The position and type of subglacial discharges may fluctuate in time and space, thereby influencing glacier bay hydrology and the occurrence of foraging hotspots. PMID:28266602

KSC-2014-3634

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-22

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA astronauts tour the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and view the Orion forward bay cover for Exploration Flight Test-1. From left, are Jack Fischer, Mark Vande Hei, Katie Rubins and Scott Tingle. At far right is Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin senior manager. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2014-3637

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-22

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA astronauts tour the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left, are Scott Tingle, Jack Fischer, Mark Vande Hei and Katie Rubins. They are standing near the Ogive panels for the Orion Launch Abort System. During processing, the Ogive panels will enclose and protect the Orion spacecraft for Exploration Flight Test-1 and attach to the Launch Abort System. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Dimitri Gerondidakis

Vocation in theology-based nursing theories.

PubMed

Lundmark, Mikael

2007-11-01

By using the concepts of intrinsicality/extrinsicality as analytic tools, the theology-based nursing theories of Ann Bradshaw and Katie Eriksson are analyzed regarding their explicit and/or implicit understanding of vocation as a motivational factor for nursing. The results show that both theories view intrinsic values as guarantees against reducing nursing practice to mechanistic applications of techniques and as being a way of reinforcing a high ethical standard. The theories explicitly (Bradshaw) or implicitly (Eriksson) advocate a vocational understanding of nursing as being essential for nursing theories. Eriksson's theory has a potential for conceptualizing an understanding of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors for nursing but one weakness in the theory could be the risk of slipping over to moral judgments where intrinsic factors are valued as being superior to extrinsic. Bradshaw's theory is more complex and explicit in understanding the concept of vocation and is theologically more plausible, although also more confessional.

Evaluation and enhancement of Texas ramp metering strategies, compliance, and alternative enforcement techniques: Go with the flow Houston. Public outreach plan (revised); Interim research report, September 1995--October 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lancaster, S.; Fette, B.; Busler, L.

This report describes the public outreach plan on the implementation of ramp meters along the Katy Freeway in Houston, Generally, ramp metering is neither beloved nor understood by the public. To gain public awareness, acceptance, compliance and continued support, ramp metering operations should be reinforced by a strong, ongoing public information and outreach campaign that communicates the need for and benefits of the program. Because the term `ramp metering` exhibits restrictions on the public, the phrase `Flow Signals` was developed to better describe the benefits of ramp metering; enhanced flow of traffic, fewer bottlenecks, and fewer trip delays. The logo,more » `Go with the Flow Houston,` and a graphic identity were developed to help communicate the theme throughout the various media where both the primary and secondary messages are intended to reach 15 different audiences. These media will include: a PSA, both static and changeable message signs, a brochure, Internet web site information, letters to specific audience and media relations efforts.« less

Integument coloration signals reproductive success, heterozygosity, and antioxidant levels in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leclaire, Sarah; White, Joël; Arnoux, Emilie; Faivre, Bruno; Vetter, Nathanaël; Hatch, Scott A.; Danchin, Étienne

2011-09-01

Carotenoid pigments are important for immunity and as antioxidants, and carotenoid-based colors are believed to provide honest signals of individual quality. Other colorless but more efficient antioxidants such as vitamins A and E may protect carotenoids from bleaching. Carotenoid-based colors have thus recently been suggested to reflect the concentration of such colorless antioxidants, but this has rarely been tested. Furthermore, although evidence is accruing for multiple genetic criteria for mate choice, carotenoid-based colors have rarely been shown to reflect both phenotypic and genetic quality. In this study, we investigated whether gape, tongue, eye-ring, and bill coloration of chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla reflected circulating levels of carotenoids and vitamins A and E. We further investigated whether integument coloration reflected phenotypic (body condition and fledging success) and genetic quality (heterozygosity). We found that the coloration of fleshy integuments was correlated with carotenoid and vitamin A levels and fledging success but only in males. Furthermore, the coloration of tongue and eye-ring was correlated with heterozygosity in both males and females. Integument colors might therefore be reliable signals of individual quality used by birds to adjust their parental care during the chick-rearing period.

Predation on seabirds by red foxes at Shaiak Island, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petersen, M.R.

1982-01-01

Two Red Foxes (Vulpes fulva) that invaded Shaiak Island before the 1976 nesting season had a marked impact on the nesting success of five of seven species of seabirds breeding on the island that year. Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima), Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens), and Common Murres (Uria aalge), that nest in areas accessible to foxes, did not raise any young to fledging. Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were only slightly more successful; 13 (4.3%) of 300 pairs raised one or more young to fledging. Evidence suggested that 21 (35.6%) of 62 pairs of Tufted Puffins (Lunda cirrhata) lost eggs or chicks to foxes, and foxes killed at least 13 (8.3%) of 156 adult puffins on ten sample plots. Conversely, Black-Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), which nested primarily on cliffs inaccessible to foxes, lost very few nests. There was no apparent change in general nest site selections by seabirds the following year, when foxes were no longer present. Any avoidance by birds of areas vulnerable to fox predation would probably be discernible only after several years of continuous predation.

Model-based estimation of individual fitness

USGS Publications Warehouse

Link, W.A.; Cooch, E.G.; Cam, E.

2002-01-01

Fitness is the currency of natural selection, a measure of the propagation rate of genotypes into future generations. Its various definitions have the common feature that they are functions of survival and fertility rates. At the individual level, the operative level for natural selection, these rates must be understood as latent features, genetically determined propensities existing at birth. This conception of rates requires that individual fitness be defined and estimated by consideration of the individual in a modelled relation to a group of similar individuals; the only alternative is to consider a sample of size one, unless a clone of identical individuals is available. We present hierarchical models describing individual heterogeneity in survival and fertility rates and allowing for associations between these rates at the individual level. We apply these models to an analysis of life histories of Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) observed at several colonies on the Brittany coast of France. We compare Bayesian estimation of the population distribution of individual fitness with estimation based on treating individual life histories in isolation, as samples of size one (e.g. McGraw and Caswell, 1996).

Sustained increase in food supplies reduces broodmate aggression in black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, J.; Leclaire, S.; Kriloff, M.; Mulard, Hervé; Hatch, Shyla A.; Danchin, E.

2010-01-01

The amount of food ingested by chicks has often been suggested as being the main proximate factor controlling broodmate aggression in facultatively siblicidal species. Although several experiments have demonstrated that short-term food deprivation causes a temporary increase in aggression, no study has, to our knowledge, experimentally manipulated overall food supplies and considered long-term effects on chick behaviour and life history traits. We provided supplemental food to breeding pairs of black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla, over an entire breeding season and compared the aggressive behaviour of their chicks with that of chicks of control pairs. Control A-chicks (first to hatch) showed more frequent and intense aggression than their experimental counterparts. Furthermore, the more A-chicks begged and the lower their growth rate the more aggressive they were. The consequences of increased aggression for B-chicks (second to hatch) were lower begging rate, lower growth rate and lower survival. We thus provide evidence that a sustained increase in food availability affects broodmate aggression and chick survival at the nest and we discuss the various proximate and ultimate causes involved in the evolution of broodmate aggression. ?? 2010 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Patterns in prey use among fur seals and seabirds in the Pribilof Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinclair, E. H.; Vlietstra, L. S.; Johnson, D. S.; Zeppelin, T. K.; Byrd, G. V.; Springer, A. M.; Ream, R. R.; Hunt, G. L., Jr.

2008-08-01

We explored correlation in diet trends for five piscivorous predators that reproduce on the Pribilof Islands as illustrative of the shifting structure of the Bering Sea ecosystem. We evaluated the size and species of prey consumed by adult female and juvenile northern fur seals ( Callorhinus ursinus) and adults and chicks of black-legged kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla), red-legged kittiwakes ( Rissa brevirostris), thick-billed murres ( Uria lomvia), and common murres ( Uria aalge) from data collected between July and October 1960-2000. Sample sources included stomachs from seals and seabirds collected on pelagic foraging grounds in the eastern Bering Sea, seal scats from rookeries and seabird regurgitations and whole prey from nest sites on St. Paul and St. George Islands of the Pribilof Island archipelago. Typical prey included small fish and invertebrates (⩽20 cm for seals and ⩽12 cm for seabirds) that concentrate along frontal boundaries of the continental shelf/slope and in the epi-pelagic zone. Squids and fishes including walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma), capelin ( Mallotus villosus), and sand lance ( Ammodytes hexapterus) were variably important in the diet of all five predators. Some prey, such as capelin, were principal in predator diets during the 1960s (seals) and into the early 1980s (seabirds), but declined or disappeared from all predator diets thereafter while others, such as walleye pollock, occurred with increasing frequency from the 1970s forward. As the number of individuals consuming walleye pollock increased, the overall volume of pollock in seabird diets declined. This decline was coincident with a decrease in the age and body size of pollock consumed by both seabirds and fur seals. Squid and pollock were negatively correlated in the diets of their primary consumers, northern fur seals (Pearson's coefficient -0.71, p=0.016) and thick-billed murres (Pearson's coefficient=-0.74, p=0.015) from the 1970s forward. Inter-island variation

Contrasting population trends of piscivorous seabirds in the Pribilof Islands: A 30-year perspective

USGS Publications Warehouse

Byrd, G.V.; Schmutz, J.A.; Renner, H.M.

2008-01-01

The Pribilof Islands provide nesting habitat for one of the largest concentrations of piscivorous seabirds in the North Pacific region. Pribilof breeding populations of black-legged and red-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla and Rissa brevirostris), and common and thick-billed murres (Uria aalge and Uria lomvia) are supported by a highly productive marine food web. Productivity and temperature in this area are influenced by winter sea ice that frequently reaches its maximum extent near the Pribilofs. Although St. George and St. Paul islands, the two largest of the Pribilof group, are situated only 60 km apart, St. George is within 25 km of the shelf break, but St. Paul is approximately 90 km away. In contrast, the local contribution of sea ice-edge productivity in the spring is frequently closer to St. Paul than to St. George. Central place foraging piscivorous seabirds nesting at St. Paul and St. George are likely differentially affected by the relative contributions of the shelf break and ice-edge environments based on juxtaposition. Within the past decade or so, sea ice in the Bering Sea has failed to reach the vicinity of the Pribilofs in some years, and predictions of warming in the future suggest the possibility that direct effects of the ice on the immediate Pribilof environment will be reduced. To evaluate the response of kittiwakes and murres on the two islands to conditions in their foraging environments, we examined population trends over the past 30 years based on data from the seabird monitoring program conducted by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and others. Spatial differences in trends have been more consistent than differences among species, with populations at St. Paul having more enduring declines than those at St. George. At St. George, black-legged kittiwakes and common murres have remained stable. Red-legged kittiwakes and thick-billed murres both declined, but began to rebound in the late 1980s, such that in 2005 population

Individual covariation in life-history traits: seeing the trees despite the forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cam, E.; Link, W.A.; Cooch, E.G.; Monnat, J.-Y.; Danchin, E.

2002-01-01

We investigated the influence of age on survival and breeding rates in a long-lived species Rissa tridactyla using models with individual random effects permitting variation and covariation in fitness components among individuals. Differences in survival or breeding probabilities among individuals are substantial, and there was positive covariation between survival and breeding probability; birds that were more likely to survive were also more likely to breed, given that they survived. The pattern of age-related variation in these rates detected at the individual level differed from that observed at the population level. Our results provided confirmation of what has been suggested by other investigators: within-cohort phenotypic selection can mask senescence. Although this phenomenon has been extensively studied in humans and captive animals, conclusive evidence of the discrepancy between population-level and individual-level patterns of age-related variation in life-history traits is extremely rare in wild animal populations. Evolutionary studies of the influence of age on life-history traits should use approaches differentiating population level from the genuine influence of age: only the latter is relevant to theories of life-history evolution. The development of models permitting access to individual variation in fitness is a promising advance for the study of senescence and evolutionary processes.

Integument coloration signals reproductive success, heterozygosity, and antioxidant levels in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leclaire, S.; White, J.; Arnoux, E.; Faivre, B.; Vetter, N.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Danchin, E.

2011-01-01

Carotenoid pigments are important for immunity and as antioxidants, and carotenoid-based colors are believed to provide honest signals of individual quality. Other colorless but more efficient antioxidants such as vitamins A and E may protect carotenoids from bleaching. Carotenoid-based colors have thus recently been suggested to reflect the concentration of such colorless antioxidants, but this has rarely been tested. Furthermore, although evidence is accruing for multiple genetic criteria for mate choice, carotenoid-based colors have rarely been shown to reflect both phenotypic and genetic quality. In this study, we investigated whether gape, tongue, eye-ring, and bill coloration of chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla reflected circulating levels of carotenoids and vitamins A and E. We further investigated whether integument coloration reflected phenotypic (body condition and fledging success) and genetic quality (heterozygosity). We found that the coloration of fleshy integuments was correlated with carotenoid and vitamin A levels and fledging success but only in males. Furthermore, the coloration of tongue and eye-ring was correlated with heterozygosity in both males and females. Integument colors might therefore be reliable signals of individual quality used by birds to adjust their parental care during the chick-rearing period. ?? Springer-Verlag 2011.

Evidence that pairing with genetically similar mates is maladaptive in a monogamous bird

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mulard, Hervé; Danchin, E.; Talbot, S.L.; Ramey, A.M.; Hatch, Shyla A.; White, J.F.; Helfenstein, F.; Wagner, R.H.

2009-01-01

Background. Evidence of multiple genetic criteria of mate choice is accumulating in numerous taxa. In many species, females have been shown to pair with genetically dissimilar mates or with extra-pair partners that are more genetically compatible than their social mates, thereby increasing their offsprings' heterozygosity which often correlates with offspring fitness. While most studies have focused on genetically promiscuous species, few studies have addressed genetically monogamous species, in which mate choice tends to be mutual. Results. Here, we used microsatellite markers to assess individual global heterozygosity and genetic similarity of pairs in a socially and genetically monogamous seabird, the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. We found that pairs were more genetically dissimilar than expected by chance. We also identified fitness costs of breeding with genetically similar partners: (i) genetic similarity of pairs was negatively correlated with the number of chicks hatched, and (ii) offspring heterozygosity was positively correlated with growth rate and survival. Conclusion. These findings provide evidence that breeders in a genetically monogamous species may avoid the fitness costs of reproducing with a genetically similar mate. In such species that lack the opportunity to obtain extra-pair fertilizations, mate choice may therefore be under high selective pressure. ?? 2009 Mulard et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Serosurvey for Toxoplasma gondii in arctic foxes and possible sources of infection in the high Arctic of Svalbard.

PubMed

Prestrud, Kristin Wear; Asbakk, Kjetil; Fuglei, Eva; Mørk, Torill; Stien, Audun; Ropstad, Erik; Tryland, Morten; Gabrielsen, Geir Wing; Lydersen, Christian; Kovacs, Kit M; Loonen, Maarten J J E; Sagerup, Kjetil; Oksanen, Antti

2007-11-30

Samples (blood or tissue fluid) from 594 arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), 390 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), 361 sibling voles (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis), 17 walruses (Odobenus rosmarus), 149 barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), 58 kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and 27 glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Svalbard and nearby waters were assayed for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using a direct agglutination test. The proportion of seropositive animals was 43% in arctic foxes, 7% in barnacle geese, and 6% (1 of 17) in walruses. There were no seropositive Svalbard reindeer, sibling voles, glaucous gulls, or kittiwakes. The prevalence in the arctic fox was relatively high compared to previous reports from canid populations. There are no wild felids in Svalbard and domestic cats are prohibited, and the absence of antibodies against T. gondii among the herbivorous Svalbard reindeer and voles indicates that transmission of the parasite by oocysts is not likely to be an important mechanism in the Svalbard ecosystem. Our results suggest that migratory birds, such as the barnacle goose, may be the most important vectors bringing the parasite to Svalbard. In addition to transmission through infected prey and carrion, the age-seroprevalence profile in the fox population suggests that their infection levels are enhanced by vertical transmission.

Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli in Migratory Birds Inhabiting Remote Alaska.

PubMed

Ramey, Andrew M; Hernandez, Jorge; Tyrlöv, Veronica; Uher-Koch, Brian D; Schmutz, Joel A; Atterby, Clara; Järhult, Josef D; Bonnedahl, Jonas

2017-12-11

We explored the abundance of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli among migratory birds at remote sites in Alaska and used a comparative approach to speculate on plausible explanations for differences in detection among species. At a remote island site, we detected antibiotic-resistant E. coli phenotypes in samples collected from glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens), a species often associated with foraging at landfills, but not in samples collected from black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a more pelagic gull that typically inhabits remote areas year-round. We did not find evidence for antibiotic-resistant E. coli among 347 samples collected primarily from waterfowl at a second remote site in western Alaska. Our results provide evidence that glaucous-winged gulls may be more likely to be infected with antibiotic-resistant E. coli at remote breeding sites as compared to sympatric black-legged kittiwakes. This could be a function of the tendency of glaucous-winged gulls to forage at landfills where antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections may be acquired and subsequently dispersed. The low overall detection of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in migratory birds sampled at remote sites in Alaska is consistent with the premise that anthropogenic inputs into the local environment or the relative lack thereof influences the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among birds inhabiting the area.

Calculations with off-shell matrix elements, TMD parton densities and TMD parton showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bury, Marcin; van Hameren, Andreas; Jung, Hannes; Kutak, Krzysztof; Sapeta, Sebastian; Serino, Mirko

2018-02-01

A new calculation using off-shell matrix elements with TMD parton densities supplemented with a newly developed initial state TMD parton shower is described. The calculation is based on the KaTie package for an automated calculation of the partonic process in high-energy factorization, making use of TMD parton densities implemented in TMDlib. The partonic events are stored in an LHE file, similar to the conventional LHE files, but now containing the transverse momenta of the initial partons. The LHE files are read in by the Cascade package for the full TMD parton shower, final state shower and hadronization from Pythia where events in HEPMC format are produced. We have determined a full set of TMD parton densities and developed an initial state TMD parton shower, including all flavors following the TMD distribution. As an example of application we have calculated the azimuthal de-correlation of high p_t dijets as measured at the LHC and found very good agreement with the measurement when including initial state TMD parton showers together with conventional final state parton showers and hadronization.

Commitment to Broadening Participation at NOAO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garmany, Catharine D.; Norman, D.

2011-01-01

AURA and NOAO take seriously the importance of Broadening Participation in Astronomy. At the request of the AURA President, each of the AURA centers (NOAO, NSO, STSCI, Gemini) appointed a Diversity Advocates (DA). At NOAO this job is shared by Dara Norman and Katy Garmany, who were appointed by Dave Silva in Jan 2009. The DA's are members of the AURA Committee on Workforce and Diversity (WDC), a designated subcommittee of the AURA Board of Directors. The role of this committee includes reviewing activities and plans on an AURA wide basis aimed at broadening the participation within AURA, and reviewing AURA wide policies on the workforce. At NOAO, the role of the DAs spans a number of departments and activities. They serve on observatory search committees, and offer suggestions on how NOAO job searches can reach the most diverse audience. The DA's job is to insure that NOAO actively pursues every opportunity to increase diversity: to this end they are involved in outreach and educational activities that focus on workplace development and encourage inclusion of woman, minorities and persons with disabilities.

Calculations with off-shell matrix elements, TMD parton densities and TMD parton showers.

PubMed

Bury, Marcin; van Hameren, Andreas; Jung, Hannes; Kutak, Krzysztof; Sapeta, Sebastian; Serino, Mirko

2018-01-01

A new calculation using off-shell matrix elements with TMD parton densities supplemented with a newly developed initial state TMD parton shower is described. The calculation is based on the KaTie package for an automated calculation of the partonic process in high-energy factorization, making use of TMD parton densities implemented in TMDlib. The partonic events are stored in an LHE file, similar to the conventional LHE files, but now containing the transverse momenta of the initial partons. The LHE files are read in by the Cascade package for the full TMD parton shower, final state shower and hadronization from Pythia where events in HEPMC format are produced. We have determined a full set of TMD parton densities and developed an initial state TMD parton shower, including all flavors following the TMD distribution. As an example of application we have calculated the azimuthal de-correlation of high [Formula: see text] dijets as measured at the LHC and found very good agreement with the measurement when including initial state TMD parton showers together with conventional final state parton showers and hadronization.

The effects of "The Work" meditation (Byron Katie) on psychological symptoms and quality of life--a pilot clinical study.

PubMed

Smernoff, Eric; Mitnik, Inbal; Kolodner, Ken; Lev-Ari, Shahar

2015-01-01

"The Work" is a meditative technique that enables the identification and investigation of thoughts that cause an individual stress and suffering. Its core is comprised of four questions and turnarounds that enable the participant to experience a different interpretation of reality. We assessed the effect of "The Work" meditation on quality of life and psychological symptoms in a non-clinical sample. This study was designed as a single-group pilot clinical trial (open label). Participants (n = 197) enrolled in a nine-day training course ("The School for The Work") and completed a set of self-administered measures on three occasions: before the course (n = 197), after the course (n = 164), and six months after course completion (n = 102). Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16), Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ-45.2), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A mixed models analysis revealed significant positive changes between baseline compared to the end of the intervention and six-month follow-up in all measures: BDI-II (t = 10.24, P < .0001), SHS (t = -9.07, P <.0001), QOLI (t = -5.69, P < .0001), QIDS-SR16 (t = 9.35, P < .0001), OQ-45.2 (t = 11.74, P < .0001), STAXI-2 (State) (t = 3.69, P = .0003), STAXI-2 (Trait) (t = 7.8, P < .0001), STAI (State) (t = 11.46, P < .0001), and STAI (Trait) (t = 10.75, P < .0001). The promising results of this pilot study warrant randomized clinical trials to validate "The Work" meditation technique as an effective intervention for improvement in psychological state and quality of life in the general population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in migratory birds inhabiting remote Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramey, Andy M.; Hernandez, Jorge; Tyrlöv, Veronica; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Atterby, Clara; Järhult, Josef D.; Bonnedahl, Jonas

2018-01-01

We explored the abundance of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli among migratory birds at remote sites in Alaska and used a comparative approach to speculate on plausible explanations for differences in detection among species. At a remote island site, we detected antibiotic-resistant E. coli phenotypes in samples collected from glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens), a species often associated with foraging at landfills, but not in samples collected from black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a more pelagic gull that typically inhabits remote areas year-round. We did not find evidence for antibiotic-resistant E. coli among 347 samples collected primarily from waterfowl at a second remote site in western Alaska. Our results provide evidence that glaucous-winged gulls may be more likely to be infected with antibiotic-resistant E. coli at remote breeding sites as compared to sympatric black-legged kittiwakes. This could be a function of the tendency of glaucous-winged gulls to forage at landfills where antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections may be acquired and subsequently dispersed. The low overall detection of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in migratory birds sampled at remote sites in Alaska is consistent with the premise that anthropogenic inputs into the local environment or the relative lack thereof influences the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among birds inhabiting the area.

The adrenocortical stress-response of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks in relation to dietary restrictions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Piatt, John F.; Wingfield, J.C.; Romano, M.

1999-01-01

In this study we examined hormonal responses of Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicks to experimental variations in energy content and nutritional quality (low or high lipid to protein ratio, LPR) of their food. Starting at the age of 10 days, chicks were fed either high or low LPR fish at 30, 50, 70 and 100% of ad libitum energy intake. After 20 days of treatment, chicks were exposed to a standardized acute handling and restraint stress protocol, where a baseline sample was taken immediately after taking a chick from the nest, and three additional blood samples were taken at intervals up to 50 min. Testosterone and corticosterone titres in plasma were measured via radioimmunoassay. We found that baseline testosterone levels were not significantly affected by the experimental treatments. Food-restricted chicks had elevated baseline and acute stress-induced levels of corticosterone compared to chicks fed ad libitum. An elevation of circulating levels of corticosterone in energetically stressed individuals was further magnified by low nutritional quality of food. Baseline and acute stress-induced corticosterone levels of chicks were negatively correlated with their fat reserves. We conclude that the physiological condition of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks can be assessed reliably by measuring circulating levels of corticosterone. We discuss short-and long-term effects of elevated corticosterone secretion in food-stressed nest-bound chicks.

Circumpolar dynamics of a marine top-predator track ocean warming rates.

PubMed

Descamps, Sébastien; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Barrett, Robert T; Irons, David B; Merkel, Flemming; Robertson, Gregory J; Yoccoz, Nigel G; Mallory, Mark L; Montevecchi, William A; Boertmann, David; Artukhin, Yuri; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Signe; Erikstad, Kjell-Einar; Gilchrist, H Grant; Labansen, Aili L; Lorentsen, Svein-Håkon; Mosbech, Anders; Olsen, Bergur; Petersen, Aevar; Rail, Jean-Francois; Renner, Heather M; Strøm, Hallvard; Systad, Geir H; Wilhelm, Sabina I; Zelenskaya, Larisa

2017-09-01

Global warming is a nonlinear process, and temperature may increase in a stepwise manner. Periods of abrupt warming can trigger persistent changes in the state of ecosystems, also called regime shifts. The responses of organisms to abrupt warming and associated regime shifts can be unlike responses to periods of slow or moderate change. Understanding of nonlinearity in the biological responses to climate warming is needed to assess the consequences of ongoing climate change. Here, we demonstrate that the population dynamics of a long-lived, wide-ranging marine predator are associated with changes in the rate of ocean warming. Data from 556 colonies of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla distributed throughout its breeding range revealed that an abrupt warming of sea-surface temperature in the 1990s coincided with steep kittiwake population decline. Periods of moderate warming in sea temperatures did not seem to affect kittiwake dynamics. The rapid warming observed in the 1990s may have driven large-scale, circumpolar marine ecosystem shifts that strongly affected kittiwakes through bottom-up effects. Our study sheds light on the nonlinear response of a circumpolar seabird to large-scale changes in oceanographic conditions and indicates that marine top predators may be more sensitive to the rate of ocean warming rather than to warming itself. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The adrenocorical stress-response of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks in relation to dietary restrictions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Piatt, John F.; Wingfield, J.C.; Romano, M.

1999-01-01

In this study we examined hormonal responses of Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicks to experimental variations in energy content and nutritional quality (low or high lipid to protein ratio, LPR) of their food. Starting at the age of 10 days, chicks were fed either high or low LPR fish at 30, 50, 70 and 100% of ad libitum energy intake. After 20 days of treatment, chicks were exposed to a standardized acute handling and restraint stress protocol, where a baseline sample was taken immediately after taking a chick from the nest, and three additional blood samples were taken at intervals up to 50 min. Testosterone and corticosterone titres in plasma were measured via radioimmunoassay. We found that baseline testosterone levels were not significantly affected by the experimental treatments. Food-restricted chicks had elevated baseline and acute stress-induced levels of corticosterone compared to chicks fed ad libitum. An elevation of circulating levels of corticosterone in energetically stressed individuals was further magnified by low nutritional quality of food. Baseline and acute stress-induced corticosterone levels of chicks were negatively correlated with their fat reserves. We conclude that the physiological condition of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks can be assessed reliably by measuring circulating levels of corticosterone. We discuss short- and long-term effects of elevated corticosterone secretion in food-stressed nest-bound chicks.

In kittiwakes food availability partially explains the seasonal decline in humoral immunocompetence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gasparini, J.; Roulin, A.; Gill, V.A.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Boulinier, T.

2006-01-01

1. The immune system plays an important role in fitness, and interindividual variation in immunocompetence is due to several factors including food supply. 2. Seasonal variation in food resources may therefore explain why immunocompetence in bird nestlings usually declines throughout the breeding season, with chicks born early in the season receiving more food than chicks born later, and thereby possibly developing a more potent immune system. Although there are studies supporting this hypothesis, none has been experimental. 3. We performed an experiment in the kittiwake Rissa tridactyla by manipulating the food supply of pairs that were left to produce a first brood, and of pairs that were induced to produce a late replacement brood. 4. If food supply mediates, at least partially, seasonal variations in chick immunocompetence, non-food-supplemented chicks would show a stronger seasonal decline in immunocompetence than food-supplemented chicks. 5. Food supplementation improved humoral immunocompetence (the production of immunoglobulins Y), but not T-cell immunocompetence (phytohaemagglutinin, PHA response). T-cell immunocompetence of food-supplemented and non-food- supplemented chicks decreased through the season but to a similar extent, whereas the humoral immunocompetence of non-food-supplemented chicks decreased more strongly than that of food-supplemented chicks. 6. Our results suggest that the seasonal decline in humoral immunocompetence can be explained, at least partly, by variations in food supply throughout the breeding season. ?? 2006 British Ecological Society.

A PELAGIC OUTBREAK OF AVIAN CHOLERA IN NORTH AMERICAN GULLS: SCAVENGING AS A PRIMARY MECHANISM FOR TRANSMISSION?

PubMed

Wille, Michelle; McBurney, Scott; Robertson, Gregory J; Wilhelm, Sabina I; Blehert, David S; Soos, Catherine; Dunphy, Ron; Whitney, Hugh

2016-10-01

Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida , is an endemic disease globally, often causing annual epizootics in North American wild bird populations with thousands of mortalities. From December 2006 to March 2007, an avian cholera outbreak caused mortality in marine birds off the coast of Atlantic Canada, largely centered 300-400 km off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Scavenging gulls ( Larus spp.) were the primary species detected; however, mortality was also identified in Black-legged Kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla ) and one Common Raven ( Corvus corax ), a nonmarine species. The most common gross necropsy findings in the birds with confirmed avian cholera were acute fibrinous and necrotizing lesions affecting the spleen, air sacs, and pericardium, and nonspecific hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. The etiologic agent, P. multocida serotype 1, was recovered from 77 of 136 carcasses examined, and confirmed or probable avian cholera was diagnosed in 85 cases. Mortality observed in scavenging gull species was disproportionately high relative to their abundance, particularly when compared to nonscavenging species. The presence of feather shafts in the ventricular lumen of the majority of larid carcasses diagnosed with avian cholera suggests scavenging of birds that died from avian cholera as a major mode of transmission. This documentation of an outbreak of avian cholera in a North American pelagic environment affecting primarily scavenging gulls indicates that offshore marine environments may be a component of avian cholera dynamics.

Evaluation of radio-tracking and strip transect methods for determining foraging ranges of Black-Legged Kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ostrand, William D.; Drew, G.S.; Suryan, R.M.; McDonald, L.L.

1998-01-01

We compared strip transect and radio-tracking methods of determining foraging range of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). The mean distance birds were observed from their colony determined by radio-tracking was significantly greater than the mean value calculated from strip transects. We determined that this difference was due to two sources of bias: (1) as distance from the colony increased, the area of available habitat also increased resulting in decreasing bird densities (bird spreading). Consequently, the probability of detecting birds during transect surveys also would decrease as distance from the colony increased, and (2) the maximum distance birds were observed from the colony during radio-tracking exceeded the extent of the strip transect survey. We compared the observed number of birds seen on the strip transect survey to the predictions of a model of the decreasing probability of detection due to bird spreading. Strip transect data were significantly different from modeled data; however, the field data were consistently equal to or below the model predictions, indicating a general conformity to the concept of declining detection at increasing distance. We conclude that radio-tracking data gave a more representative indication of foraging distances than did strip transect sampling. Previous studies of seabirds that have used strip transect sampling without accounting for bird spreading or the effects of study-area limitations probably underestimated foraging range.

The distribution of seabirds and fish in relation to ocean currents in the southeastern Chukchi Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Piatt, John F.; Wells, John L.; MacCharles, Andrea; Fadely, Brian S.; Montevecchi, W.A.; Gaston, A.J.

1991-01-01

In late August 1988, we studied the distribution of seabirds in the southeastern Chukchi Sea, particularly in waters near a major seabird colony at Cape Thompson. Foraging areas were characterized using hydrographic data obtained from hydroacoustic surveys for fish. Murres (Uria spp.) and Black-legged Kitttiwakes Rissa tridactyla breeding at Cape Thompson fed mostly on Arctic cod, which are known from previous studies to be the most abundant pelagic fish in the region. Our hydroacoustic surveys revealed that pelagic fish were distributed widely, but densities were estimated to be low (e.g., 0.1-10 g∙m-3) throughout the study area and a few schools were recorded. Large feeding flocks of murres and kittiwakes were observed over fish schools with densities estimated to exceed 15 g∙m-3. Fish densities were higher in shallow Alaska Coastal Current waters than offshore in Bering Sea waters, and most piscivorous seabirds foraged in coastal waters. Poor kittiwake breeding success and a low frequency of fish in murre and kittiwake stomachs in late August suggested that fish densities were marginal for sustaining breeding seabirds at that time. Planktivorous Least Auklets Aethia pusilla and Parakeet Auklets Cyclorrhynchus psittacula foraged almost exclusively in Bering Sea waters. Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris and Tufted Puffins Fratercula cirrhata foraged in transitional waters at the front between Coastal and Bering Sea currents.

Development of ground water in the Houston District, Texas, 1970-74

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gabrysch, R.K.

1977-01-01

Total withdrawals of ground water in the Houston district, Texas , increased 9 percent from about 488 million gallons per day in 1970 to about 532 million gallons per day in 1974. The average annual rate of increase from 1960 to 1969 was about 6.3 percent. During 1970-74, increases in pumpage occurred in the Houston, Katy, and NASA areas; decreases occurred in the Pasadena and Alta Loma areas; and the pumpage in the Baytown-La Porte and Texas City areas remained almost constant. Water levels continued to decline throughout the district during 1970-74, but the rate of decline generally was not as great as in previous years. The greatest declines in the past several years were in the Houston area, but the center of decline is still in the Pasadena and Baytown-La Porte areas. The decrease in the rate of decline suggests that the aquifers in the Houston district could support the amount of pumping during 1970-74 with little, if any , further decline. Although saltwater encroachment has probably occurred in the district, particularly in Galveston County, no large increases in chloride were measured at the monitoring points. (Woodard-USGS)

KSC-2013-2211

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The winning students of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. and Marc Doyle, Dupont's global marketing and product director. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

Prime Contract Awards by State or Country, Place and Contractor. Part 14 (West Warwick, Rhode Island - Katy, Texas), FY1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

34 : (0-1 4 " . C’N L- -4 -C 4 L L.4 ’N L-N 04 L--4 L.-4 L-4-4.-4-4 L. In 66 M(-4N4t iu U0 td ~ W 0( w 000 EU U COlw MN to>- 05UN #0 >. ENJNNN w0( H...0 o 10( td o CS1((00000(((((00000(((((00000((CC It 10- 4 M-(0 114- 000 Q -I4 o -4 -4 -4---I-4 -4 -4 - -44 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 " 4 4 . 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4.-4...I. L-4-I4 L. -4 LO00 L- -4 11- r- L.- 4 L-(D LNN4"N4N4NN40 LN4CMN, H 4 01N0 IS ’N N td PI ’U3 IVN iu ( I" 4 ’UN WU VU~))W0)(A 400 (ON 1. I 0410 H022z

Effect of diet, location and sampling year on bioaccumulation of mercury, selenium and cadmium in pelagic feeding seabirds in Svalbard.

PubMed

Øverjordet, Ida Beathe; Gabrielsen, Geir Wing; Berg, Torunn; Ruus, Anders; Evenset, Anita; Borgå, Katrine; Christensen, Guttorm; Lierhagen, Syverin; Jenssen, Bjørn Munro

2015-03-01

Hepatic concentrations of mercury (Hg), selenium (Se) and cadmium (Cd) were determined in black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and little auks (Alle alle) from two fjords in Svalbard (Kongsfjorden; 78°57'N, 12°12'E and Liefdefjorden; 79°37'N, 13°20'E). The inflow of Arctic and Atlantic water differs between the two fjords, potentially affecting element accumulation. Trophic positions (TP) were derived from stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ(15)N), and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ(13)C) were assessed to evaluate the terrestrial influence on element accumulation. Mercury, Cd, TP and δ(13)C varied significantly between locations and years in both species. Trophic position and feeding habits explained Hg and Cd accumulation in kittiwakes, but not in little auks. Biomagnification of Hg and Cd were found in the food webs of both the Atlantic and the Arctic fjord, and no inter-fjord differences were detected. The δ(13)C were higher in the seabirds from Kongsfjorden than in Liefdefjorden, but this did not explain variations in element accumulation. Selenium concentrations were not influenced by Hg accumulation in kittiwakes, indicating baseline levels of Se in this species. In contrast, correlations between Hg and Se and lower Se:Hg ratios in little auks from Kongsfjorden than in Liefdefjorden indicate a more pronounced influence of Se-Hg complex formation in little auks feeding in Atlantic waters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carry-over effects of food supplementation on recruitment and breeding performance of long-lived seabirds

PubMed Central

Vincenzi, Simone; Hatch, Scott; Merkling, Thomas; Kitaysky, Alexander S.

2015-01-01

Supplementation of food to wild animals is extensively applied as a conservation tool to increase local production of young. However, in long-lived migratory animals, the carry-over effects of food supplementation early in life on the subsequent recruitment of individuals into natal populations and their lifetime reproductive success are largely unknown. We examine how experimental food supplementation early in life affects: (i) recruitment as breeders of kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla born in a colony on Middleton Island (Alaska) between 1996 and 2006 (n = 1629) that bred in the same colony through 2013 (n = 235); and (ii) breeding success of individuals that have completed their life cycle at the colony (n = 56). Birds were raised in nests that were either supplemented with food (Fed) or unsupplemented (Unfed). Fledging success was higher in Fed compared with Unfed nests. After accounting for hatching rank, growth and oceanic conditions at fledging, Fed fledglings had a lower probability of recruiting as breeders in the Middleton colony than Unfed birds. The per-nest contribution of breeders was still significantly higher for Fed nests because of their higher productivity. Lifetime reproductive success of a subset of kittiwakes that thus far had completed their life cycle was not affected by the food supplementation during development. Our results cast light on the carry-over effects of early food conditions on the vital rates of long-lived animals and support food supplementation as an effective conservation strategy for long-lived seabirds. PMID:26180065

Temporal Dynamics of Top Predators Interactions in the Barents Sea

PubMed Central

Durant, Joël M.; Skern-Mauritzen, Mette; Krasnov, Yuri V.; Nikolaeva, Natalia G.; Lindstrøm, Ulf; Dolgov, Andrey

2014-01-01

The Barents Sea system is often depicted as a simple food web in terms of number of dominant feeding links. The most conspicuous feeding link is between the Northeast Arctic cod Gadus morhua, the world's largest cod stock which is presently at a historical high level, and capelin Mallotus villosus. The system also holds diverse seabird and marine mammal communities. Previous diet studies may suggest that these top predators (cod, bird and sea mammals) compete for food particularly with respect to pelagic fish such as capelin and juvenile herring (Clupea harengus), and krill. In this paper we explored the diet of some Barents Sea top predators (cod, Black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, Common guillemot Uria aalge, and Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata). We developed a GAM modelling approach to analyse the temporal variation diet composition within and between predators, to explore intra- and inter-specific interactions. The GAM models demonstrated that the seabird diet is temperature dependent while the diet of Minke whale and cod is prey dependent; Minke whale and cod diets depend on the abundance of herring and capelin, respectively. There was significant diet overlap between cod and Minke whale, and between kittiwake and guillemot. In general, the diet overlap between predators increased with changes in herring and krill abundances. The diet overlap models developed in this study may help to identify inter-specific interactions and their dynamics that potentially affect the stocks targeted by fisheries. PMID:25365430

Can non-breeding be a cost of breeding dispersal?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Danchin, E.; Cam, E.

2002-01-01

Breeding habitat selection and dispersal are crucial processes that affect many components of fitness. Breeding dispersal entails costs, one of which has been neglected: dispersing animals may miss breeding opportunities because breeding dispersal requires finding a new nesting site and mate, two time- and energy-consuming activities. Dispersers are expected to be prone to non-breeding. We used the kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) to test whether breeding dispersal influences breeding probability. Breeding probability was associated with dispersal, in that both were negatively influenced by private information (previous individual reproductive success) and public information (average reproductive success of conspecifics) about patch quality. Furthermore, the probability of skipping breeding was 1.7 times higher in birds that settled in a new patch relative to those that remained on the same patch. Finally, non-breeders that resumed breeding were 4.4 times more likely to disperse than birds that bred in successive years. Although private information may influence breeding probability directly, the link between breeding probability and public information may be indirect, through the influence of public information on breeding dispersal, non-breeding thus being a cost of dispersal. These results support the hypothesis that dispersal may result in not being able to breed. More generally, non-breeding (which can be interpreted as an extreme form of breeding failure) may reveal costs of various previous activities. Because monitoring the non-breeding portion of a population is difficult, non-breeders have been neglected in many studies of reproduction trade-offs.

Food availability and offspring sex in a monogamous seabird: insights from an experimental approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merkling, Thomas; Leclaire, Sarah; Danchin, Etienne; Lhuillier, Emeline; Wagner, Richard H.; White, Joël; Hatch, Scott A.; Blanchard, Pierrick

2012-01-01

Sex allocation theory predicts that parents should favor offspring of the sex that provides the greatest fitness return. Despite growing evidence suggesting that vertebrates are able to overcome the constraint of chromosomal sex determination, the general pattern remains equivocal, indicating a need for experimental investigations. We used an experimental feeding design to study sex allocation during 3 years in black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). Intense male–male competition for securing a breeding site is common in this species in which males are heavier and larger than females. Hence, we hypothesized that parents producing fledglings in better than average condition, as supplementarily fed pairs do, would increase their fitness return by producing sons. Conversely, producing daughters would be a better tactic for Unfed parents. Hence, we predicted that Fed parents produce more sons than Unfed parents. This prediction is particularly expected if sexual dimorphism arises as early as during chick rearing, suggesting strong selective pressures for optimal male development. Our results showed that 1) males were heavier and larger than females prior to fledging and that 2) Fed parents produced relatively more male hatchlings than Unfed parents. We interpret this result in terms of a Trivers–Willard-type process. Furthermore, our data revealed that Unfed parents significantly overproduced female hatchlings, whereas offspring sex ratio was balanced among Fed parents. Because the 3 reproductive seasons we considered were particularly poor food years, Unfed parents may have overproduced daughters to avoid the apparent higher reproductive costs of raising sons.

Food availability affects onset of reproduction in a long-lived seabird.

PubMed

Vincenzi, Simone; Hatch, Scott; Mangel, Marc; Kitaysky, Alexander

2013-06-07

Life-history theory predicts that suboptimal developmental conditions may lead to faster life histories (younger age at recruitment and higher reproductive investment), but experimental testing of this prediction is still scarce in long-lived species. We report the effects of an experimental manipulation of food availability during early development and at recruitment on the onset of reproduction and reproductive performance (productivity at first breeding) in a long-lived seabird, the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, breeding on Middleton Island, Alaska. Birds were born and raised in nests with supplemented food ('fed') or unsupplemented control nests ('unfed'), and later recruited into either fed or unfed nests. Fed chicks grew faster than unfed chicks, and males grew faster than females. Birds were more likely to reproduce at younger ages when recruiting into fed nests. Faster growth during development tended to increase age at recruitment in all individuals. Social rank of individuals also affected age at recruitment: B-chicks recruited earlier than A-chicks and singletons recruited later than A- and B-chicks. Productivity increased with the age at recruitment and growth rate as chick, but much of the variability remained unexplained. We conclude that results of this study at least partially support predictions of life-history theory: younger age at first breeding for kittiwakes that experienced suboptimal natal conditions, as well as greater productivity of early recruiting kittiwakes that grew in control nests compared with those that grew in food-supplemented nests.

Variation in energy expenditure among black-legged kittiwakes: Effects of activity-specific metabolic rates and activity budgets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jodice, P.G.R.; Roby, D.D.; Suryan, R.M.; Irons, D.B.; Kaufman, A.M.; Turco, K.R.; Visser, G. Henk

2003-01-01

We sought to determine the effect of variation in time-activity budgets (TABs) and foraging behavior on energy expenditure rates of parent black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). We quantified TABs using direct observations of radio-tagged adults and simultaneously measured field metabolic rates (FMR) of these same individuals (n = 20) using the doubly labeled water technique. Estimated metabolic rates of kittiwakes attending their brood at the nest or loafing near the colony were similar (ca. 1.3 x basal metabolic rate [BMR]), although loafing during foraging trips was more costly (2.9 x BMR). Metabolic rates during commuting flight (7.3 x BMR) and prey-searching flight (6.2 x BMR) were similar, while metabolic rates during plunge diving were much higher (ca. 47 x BMR). The proportion of the measurement interval spent foraging had a positive effect on FMR (R2 = 0.68), while the combined proportion of time engaged in nest attendance and loafing near the colony had a negative effect on FMR (R2 = 0.72). Thus, more than two-thirds of the variation in kittiwake FMR could be explained by the allocation of time among various activities. The high energetic cost of plunge diving relative to straight flight and searching flight suggests that kittiwakes can optimize their foraging strategy under conditions of low food availability by commuting long distances to feed in areas where gross foraging efficiency is high.

Corticosterone facilitates begging and affects resource allocation in the black-legged kittiwake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Wingfield, J.C.; Piatt, John F.

2001-01-01

Parent black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and their dependent chicks respond to food shortages by increasing circulating levels of corticosterone. To examine the behavioral significance of corticosterone release, we experimentally increased levels of circulating corticosterone in parents and chicks up to the levels observed during food shortages. We found that corticosterone-implanted chicks begged more frequently than sham-implanted controls. Corticosterone-implanted chicks in broods of two begged more frequently than singletons. Parent kittiwakes then responded to the increase in corticosterone levels in their chicks by increasing chick-feeding rates. However, feeding rates were not different among corticosterone-implanted chicks in broods of two and singletons. We also found that corticosterone-implanted parents spent more time away from the nest - perhaps foraging - and less time brooding/guarding chicks than sham-implanted controls. Untreated mates of the corticosterone-implanted bird did not compensate for the change in their partner's behavior; consequently, chicks were left unattended about 20% of the time compared to 1% at the control nests. However, corticosterone-implanted parents did not decrease their chick-feeding rates. Our findings suggest two functional implications of the increased corticosterone secretion during food shortages in the black-legged kittiwake: it facilitates begging in chicks, and it affects time allocated by parents to guarding young at the nest. Thus, release of corticosterone might provide a mechanistic link between physiological condition and behavioral interactions among adults and their young.

A pelagic outbreak of avian cholera in North American gulls: Scavenging as a primary mechanism for transmission?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wille, Michelle; McBurney, Scott; Robertson, Gregory J.; Wilhelm, Sabine; Blehert, David; Soos, Catherine; Dunphy, Ron; Whitney, Hugh

2016-01-01

Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is an endemic disease globally, often causing annual epizootics in North American wild bird populations with thousands of mortalities. From December 2006 to March 2007, an avian cholera outbreak caused mortality in marine birds off the coast of Atlantic Canada, largely centered 300–400 km off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Scavenging gulls (Larus spp.) were the primary species detected; however, mortality was also identified in Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and one Common Raven (Corvus corax), a nonmarine species. The most common gross necropsy findings in the birds with confirmed avian cholera were acute fibrinous and necrotizing lesions affecting the spleen, air sacs, and pericardium, and nonspecific hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. The etiologic agent, P. multocida serotype 1, was recovered from 77 of 136 carcasses examined, and confirmed or probable avian cholera was diagnosed in 85 cases. Mortality observed in scavenging gull species was disproportionately high relative to their abundance, particularly when compared to nonscavenging species. The presence of feather shafts in the ventricular lumen of the majority of larid carcasses diagnosed with avian cholera suggests scavenging of birds that died from avian cholera as a major mode of transmission. This documentation of an outbreak of avian cholera in a North American pelagic environment affecting primarily scavenging gulls indicates that offshore marine environments may be a component of avian cholera dynamics.

Impacts of carpool utilization on the Katy Freeway authorized vehicle lane 12-month after evaluation. Interim report, September 1984-August 1986

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christiansen, D.L.; McCasland, W.R.

1986-08-01

The report documents the data collected in April through June 1986, one year after carpool utilization of the authorized vehicle lane (AVL) was permitted. Comprehensive traffic data, both on the AVL and the freeway, were collected. In addition, surveys of transit users on the AVL, vanpool drivers on the AVL, vanpool passengers on the AVL, carpool drivers on the AVL, carpool passengers on the AVL, and motorists not using the AVL were undertaken. In the report, these data are compared to similar data collected before carpool utilization was permitted to identify the impacts of permitting carpools to use the AVL.

KSC-2013-2212

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The winning students and their teachers of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are sponsoring teacher Angela Weeks and Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas sponsoring teacher Elaine Gillum and Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman and sponsoring teacher Jennifer Gordinier of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen and sponsoring teacher Nga Ngo of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

Houston Pre-Freshman Enrichment Program (Houston PREP). Final report, June 9, 1997--July 25, 1997

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-10-01

The 1997 Houston Pre-Freshman Enrichment Program (PREP) was conducted at the campus of the University of Houston-Downtown from June 9 to July 25, 1997. Program participants were recruited from the Greater Houston Area. All participants were identified as high-achieving students with an interest in learning about the engineering and science professions. The goal of the program was to better prepare our pre-college youth prior to entering college as mathematics, science and engineering majors. The program participants were middle school and high school students from the Aldine, Alief, Channel View, Clear Creek, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend, Galena Park, Houston, Humble, Katy, Klein,more » North Forest, Pasadena, Private, and Spring Branch Independent School Districts. Of the 194 students starting the program, 165 students were from economically and socially disadvantage groups under-represented in the engineering and science professions, and 118 of the 194 were women. Our First Year group for 1997 composed of 96% minority and women students. Second and Third Year students combined were 96% minority or women. With financial support from the Center for Computational Sciences and Advanced Distributed Simulation, the Fourth Year Program was added to PREP this year. Twelve students completed the program (83% minority or women).« less

A simple and complete model for wind turbine wakes over complex terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rommelfanger, Nick; Rajborirug, Mai; Luzzatto-Fegiz, Paolo

2017-11-01

Simple models for turbine wakes have been used extensively in the wind energy community, both as independent tools, as well as to complement more refined and computationally-intensive techniques. These models typically prescribe empirical relations for how the wake radius grows with downstream distance x and obtain the wake velocity at each x through the application of either mass conservation, or of both mass and momentum conservation (e.g. Katić et al. 1986; Frandsen et al. 2006; Bastankhah & Porté-Agel 2014). Since these models assume a global behavior of the wake (for example, linear spreading with x) they cannot respond to local changes in background flow, as may occur over complex terrain. Instead of assuming a global wake shape, we develop a model by relying on a local assumption for the growth of the turbulent interface. To this end, we introduce to wind turbine wakes the use of the entrainment hypothesis, which has been used extensively in other areas of geophysical fluid dynamics. We obtain two coupled ordinary differential equations for mass and momentum conservation, which can be readily solved with a prescribed background pressure gradient. Our model is in good agreement with published data for the development of wakes over complex terrain.

Assessing the nutritional stress hypothesis: Relative influence of diet quantity and quality on seabird productivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jodice, Patrick G.R.; Roby, Daniel D.; Turco, K.R.; Suryan, Robert M.; Irons, David B.; Piatt, John F.; Shultz, Michael T.; Roseneau, David G.; Kettle, Arthur B.; Anthony, Jill A.

2006-01-01

Food availability comprises a complex interaction of factors that integrates abundance, taxonomic composition, accessibility, and quality of the prey base. The relationship between food availability and reproductive performance can be assessed via the nutritional stress (NSH) and junk-food (JFH) hypotheses. With respect to reproductive success, NSH posits that a deficiency in any of the aforementioned metrics can have a deleterious effect on a population via poor reproductive success. JFH, a component of NSH, posits specifically that it is a decline in the quality of food (i.e. energy density and lipid content) that leads to poor reproductive success. We assessed each in relation to reproductive success in a piscivorous seabird, the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. We measured productivity, taxonomic composition, frequency, size, and quality of meals delivered to nestlings from 1996 to 1999 at 6 colonies in Alaska, USA, 3 each in Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet. Productivity varied widely among colony-years. Pacific herring Clupea pallasi, sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus, and capelin Mallotus villosus comprised ca. 80% of the diet among colony-years, and each was characterized by relatively high energy density. Diet quality for kittiwakes in this region therefore remained uniformly high during this study. Meal delivery rate and meal size were quite variable among colony-years, however, and best explained the variability in productivity. Parent kittiwakes appeared to select prey that were energy dense and that maximized the biomass provisioned to broods. While these results fail to support JFH, they do provide substantial support for NSH.

Increased energy expenditure by a seabird in response to higher food abundance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jodice, P.G.R.; Roby, D.D.; Suryan, R.M.; Irons, D.B.; Turco, K.R.; Brown, E.D.; Thedinga, J.F.; Visser, G. Henk

2006-01-01

Variability in forage fish abundance strongly affects seabird behavior and reproductive success, although details of this relationship are unclear. During 1997 and 1998, we measured (1) daily energy expenditure (DEE) of 80 parent black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla at 2 colonies in Prince William Sound, Alaska (North Icy Bay and Shoup Bay), (2) abundance of surface-schooling forage fishes within the foraging range of each colony, and (3) diet composition, energy delivery rates to nestlings, and reproductive success of kittiwakes at these same colonies. Female DEE was highest at North Icy Bay in 1998, while male DEE did not differ by colony year. Abundances of Pacific herring Clupea pallasi and sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus were highest near North Icy Bay in 1998 and nearly egual in density, although Age 1+ herring comprised the majority of the diet there. Energy delivery rates to nestlings, nestling growth rates, and productivity were also highest at North Icy Bay in 1998. We suggest that female kittiwakes responded to the increased abundance of Age 1+ herring near North Icy Bay in 1998 by increasing their DEE, which in turn positively affected reproductive success. Given that adult kittiwakes have been shown to suffer decreased survival as a response to increased energy expenditure during brood rearing, the positive correlation we observed between increased abundance of a high quality food source, parental effort, and productivity is consistent with maximizing lifetime reproductive success. The lack of a response in male DEE suggests that brood-rearing roles in kittiwakes differ between genders. ?? Inter-Research 2006.

Summer distribution and ecological role of seabirds and marine mammals in the Norwegian and Greenland seas (June 1988)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joiris, Claude R.

1992-03-01

During the ARK V /2 expedition of RV Polarstern in the Norwegian and Greenland seas in June 1988, 380 half hour counts for marine vertebrates (seabirds, pinnipeds and cetaceans) were carried out. Results are presented as total numbers encountered and then converted into density and food intake. Mean food intake was 2.2 kg fresh weight per km 2 per day for seabirds, with a higher value in Atlantic water (2.5) lower values in polar water and the pack ice (1.7 and 1.9), and an intermediate value at the ice edge. The main species were the alcids (1.5, primarily Little Auk, Alle alle and Brünnich's Guillemot, Urea Iomvia) ,the Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis (0.5), and the Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (0.2). The ecological role of cetaceans was clearly lower, with a mean value of 0.2 and a maximum of 0.7 in Atlantic water (rough evaluation, due to the low number of contacts). The food intake by pinnipeds was 0.55 kg/km 2 day at the ice edge and 0.4 in the pack ice; they were mainly harp, Phoca groenlandica and hooded seals, Cystophora cristata, in one main concentration each and ringed seals, Phoca hispida, scattered on the pack. Data for July 1988 show a great similarity with these results, except for a lower density of alcids, which probably reflects that Little Auk, Brünnich's Guillemot and Common Guillemot, Uria aalge already had started to leave the region.

Climate, copepods and seabirds in the boreal Northeast Atlantic - current state and future outlook.

PubMed

Frederiksen, Morten; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Beaugrand, Grégory; Wanless, Sarah

2013-02-01

The boreal Northeast Atlantic is strongly affected by current climate change, and large shifts in abundance and distribution of many organisms have been observed, including the dominant copepod Calanus finmarchicus, which supports the grazing food web and thus many fish populations. At the same time, large-scale declines have been observed in many piscivorous seabirds, which depend on abundant small pelagic fish. Here, we combine predictions from a niche model of C. finmarchicus with long-term data on seabird breeding success to link trophic levels. The niche model shows that environmental suitability for C. finmarchicus has declined in southern areas with large breeding seabird populations (e.g. the North Sea), and predicts that this decline is likely to spread northwards during the 21st century to affect populations in Iceland and the Faroes. In a North Sea colony, breeding success of three common piscivorous seabird species [black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), common guillemot (Uria aalge) and Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)] was strongly positively correlated with local environmental suitability for C. finmarchicus, whereas this was not the case at a more northerly colony in west Norway. Large seabird populations seem only to occur where C. finmarchicus is abundant, and northward distributional shifts of common boreal seabirds are therefore expected over the coming decades. Whether or not population size can be maintained depends on the dispersal ability and inclination of these colonial breeders, and on the carrying capacity of more northerly areas in a warmer climate. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, J.; Wagner, R.H.; Helfenstein, F.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Mulard, Hervé; Naves, L.C.; Danchin, E.

2008-01-01

Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effects. We studied the impact of sperm aging on black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a monogamous seabird. Kittiwakes comprise a model system because (i) of evidence that females eject their mates' sperm to prevent fertilization by sperm that would be old and degraded by the time of fertilization and result in reduced reproductive performance and (ii) the lack of extra-pair fertilization in this species makes cryptic female choice an unlikely explanation of postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. We experimentally manipulated the age of the sperm fertilizing kittiwake eggs by fitting males with anti-insemination rings for variable periods of time preceding egg-laying. We found evidence that sperm aging negatively affected four sequential stages of reproduction: fertilization potential, rate of embryonic development, embryonic mortality, and chick condition at hatching. These results may be produced by a continuum of a single process of sperm aging that differentially affects various aspects of development, depending on the degree of damage incurred to the spermatozoa. The marked impact of sperm age on female fitness may thus drive postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. These results provide experimental evidence of deleterious effects of sperm aging on a nondomestic vertebrate, underlining its taxonomic generality and its potential to select for a wide array of adaptations. ?? 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

GPS tracking devices reveal foraging strategies of black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kotzerka, Jana; Garthe, Stefan; Hatch, Scott A.

2010-01-01

The Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla is the most abundant gull species in the world, but some populations have declined in recent years, apparently due to food shortage. Kittiwakes are surface feeders and thus can compensate for low food availability only by increasing their foraging range and/or devoting more time to foraging. The species is widely studied in many respects, but long-distance foraging and the limitations of conventional radio telemetry have kept its foraging behavior largely out of view. The development of Global Positioning System (GPS) loggers is advancing rapidly. With devices as small as 8 g now available, it is possible to use this technology for tracking relatively small species of oceanic birds like kittiwakes. Here we present the first results of GPS telemetry applied to Black-legged Kittiwakes in 2007 in the North Pacific. All but one individual foraged in the neritic zone north of the island. Three birds performed foraging trips only close to the colony (within 13 km), while six birds had foraging ranges averaging about 40 km. The maximum foraging range was 59 km, and the maximum distance traveled was 165 km. Maximum trip duration was 17 h (mean 8 h). An apparently bimodal distribution of foraging ranges affords new insight on the variable foraging behaviour of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Our successful deployment of GPS loggers on kittiwakes holds much promise for telemetry studies on many other bird species of similar size and provides an incentive for applying this new approach in future studies.

Windscapes shape seabird instantaneous energy costs but adult behavior buffers impact on offspring.

PubMed

Elliott, Kyle Hamish; Chivers, Lorraine S; Bessey, Lauren; Gaston, Anthony J; Hatch, Scott A; Kato, Akiko; Osborne, Orla; Ropert-Coudert, Yan; Speakman, John R; Hare, James F

2014-01-01

Windscapes affect energy costs for flying animals, but animals can adjust their behavior to accommodate wind-induced energy costs. Theory predicts that flying animals should decrease air speed to compensate for increased tailwind speed and increase air speed to compensate for increased crosswind speed. In addition, animals are expected to vary their foraging effort in time and space to maximize energy efficiency across variable windscapes. We examined the influence of wind on seabird (thick-billed murre Uria lomvia and black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla) foraging behavior. Airspeed and mechanical flight costs (dynamic body acceleration and wing beat frequency) increased with headwind speed during commuting flights. As predicted, birds adjusted their airspeed to compensate for crosswinds and to reduce the effect of a headwind, but they could not completely compensate for the latter. As we were able to account for the effect of sampling frequency and wind speed, we accurately estimated commuting flight speed with no wind as 16.6 ms(?1) (murres) and 10.6 ms(?1) (kittiwakes). High winds decreased delivery rates of schooling fish (murres), energy (murres) and food (kittiwakes) but did not impact daily energy expenditure or chick growth rates. During high winds, murres switched from feeding their offspring with schooling fish, which required substantial above-water searching, to amphipods, which required less above-water searching. Adults buffered the adverse effect of high winds on chick growth rates by switching to other food sources during windy days or increasing food delivery rates when weather improved.

Seabird bycatch in Alaska demersal longline fishery trials: a demographic summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips, Elizabeth M.; Nevins, HannahRose M.; Hatch, Scott A.; Ramey, Andy M.; Miller, Melissa A.; Harvey, James T.

2010-01-01

The seasonal and spatial demographics are summarized for seabirds killed incidentally during gear modification trials for a demersal longline fishery in the Bering Sea. We examined 417 carcasses, including Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis (n = 205), Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens (n = 103), Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris (n = 48), Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus (n = 23), Slaty-backed Gull Larus schistisagus (n = 4), Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla (n = 1), Laysan Albatross Diomedea immutabilis (n = 1), and unidentified gull species Larus spp. (n = 32). There was a significant male bias in the sex ratio of fulmars but not of gulls or shearwaters. For the top three species killed, the age composition of resident species was dominated numerically by adults (Northern Fulmar—86%; Glaucous-winged Gull—63%), whereas migrant species were primarily immature birds (Short-tailed Shearwater—71%). The majority of migratory Short-tailed Shearwaters (88%) were caught in July and August, whereas 70% of resident fulmars and gulls were caught in October and November. Age-class frequencies did not differ by month of capture, indicating that adult mortality is substantial. Eighty percent of the fulmars caught during July and August were within 200 km of two colonies in the Bering Sea, whereas only 7% of fulmars were caught in the same area during September to November. This is one of the first demographic summaries of seabird bycatch in Alaska longline fisheries. Additional studies of the species, age and sex of seabirds subject to fisheries-related mortality will provide data necessary to evaluate population-level impacts.

Contaminants and energy expenditure in an Arctic seabird: Organochlorine pesticides and perfluoroalkyl substances are associated with metabolic rate in a contrasted manner.

PubMed

Blévin, Pierre; Tartu, Sabrina; Ellis, Hugh I; Chastel, Olivier; Bustamante, Paco; Parenteau, Charline; Herzke, Dorte; Angelier, Frédéric; Gabrielsen, Geir W

2017-08-01

Basal metabolic rate (BMR), the minimal energetic cost of living in endotherms, is known to be influenced by thyroid hormones (THs) which are known to stimulate in vitro oxygen consumption of tissues in birds and mammals. Several environmental contaminants may act on energy expenditure through their thyroid hormone-disrupting properties. However, the effect of contaminants on BMR is still poorly documented for wildlife. Here, we investigated the relationships between three groups of contaminants (organochlorines (OCs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and mercury) with metabolic rate (MR), considered here as a proxy of BMR and also with circulating total THs (thyroxine (TT4) and triiodothyronine (TT3)) in Arctic breeding adult black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from Svalbard, during the chick rearing period. Our results indicate a negative relationship between the sum of all detected chlordanes (∑CHLs) and MR in both sexes whereas perfluorotridecanoate (PFTrA) and MR were positively related in females only. MR was not associated with mercury. Additionally, levels of TT3 were negatively related to ∑CHLs but not to PFTrA. The findings from the present study indicate that some OCs (in both sexes) and some PFASs (only in females) could disrupt fine adjustment of BMR during reproduction in adult kittiwakes. Importantly, highly lipophilic OCs and highly proteinophilic PFASs appear, at least in females, to have the ability to disrupt the metabolic rate in an opposite way. Therefore, our study highlights the need for ecotoxicological studies to include a large variety of contaminants which can act in an antagonistic manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KSC-2013-2213

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The winning students and their teachers of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are, Kelvin Manning, the center's associate deputy director sponsoring teacher Angela Weeks and Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas sponsoring teacher Elaine Gillum and Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman and sponsoring teacher Jennifer Gordinier of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen and sponsoring teacher Nga Ngo of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

Timing of breeding and reproductive performance in murres and kittiwakes reflect mismatched seasonal prey dynamics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shultz, M.T.; Piatt, John F.; Harding, A.M.A.; Kettle, Arthur B.; van Pelt, Thomas I.

2009-01-01

Seabirds are thought to time breeding to match the seasonal peak of food availability with peak chick energetic demands, but warming ocean temperatures have altered the timing of spring events, creating the potential for mismatches. The resilience of seabird populations to climate change depends on their ability to anticipate changes in the timing and magnitude of peak food availability and 'fine-tune' efforts to match ('Anticipation Hypothesis'). The degree that inter-annual variation in seabird timing of breeding and reproductive performance represents anticipated food availability versus energetic constraints ('Constraint Hypothesis') is poorly understood. We examined the relative merits of the Constraint and Anticipation Hypotheses by testing 2 predictions of the Constraint Hypothesis: (1) seabird timing of breeding is related to food availability prior to egg laying rather than the date of peak food availability, (2) initial reproductive output (e.g. laying success, clutch size) is related to pre-lay food availability rather than anticipated chick-rearing food availability. We analyzed breeding biology data of common murres Uria aalge and black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla and 2 proxies of the seasonal dynamics of their food availability (near-shore forage fish abundance and sea-surface temperature) at 2 colonies in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA, from 1996 to 1999. Our results support the Constraint Hypothesis: (1) for both species, egg laying was later in years with warmer sea-surface temperature and lower food availability prior to egg laying, but was not related to the date of peak food availability, (2) pre-egg laying food availability explained variation in kittiwake laying success and clutch size. Murre reproductive success was best explained by food availability during chick rearing. ?? 2009 Inter-Research.

Sexing adult black-legged kittiwakes by DNA, behavior, and morphology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jodice, P.G.R.; Lanctot, Richard B.; Gill, V.A.; Roby, D.D.; Hatch, Shyla A.

2000-01-01

We sexed adult Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) using DNA-based genetic techniques, behavior and morphology and compared results from these techniques. Genetic and morphology data were collected on 605 breeding kittiwakes and sex-specific behaviors were recorded for a sub-sample of 285 of these individuals. We compared sex classification based on both genetic and behavioral techniques for this sub-sample to assess the accuracy of the genetic technique. DNA-based techniques correctly sexed 97.2% and sex-specific behaviors, 96.5% of this sub-sample. We used the corrected genetic classifications from this sub-sample and the genetic classifications for the remaining birds, under the assumption they were correct, to develop predictive morphometric discriminant function models for all 605 birds. These models accurately predicted the sex of 73-96% of individuals examined, depending on the sample of birds used and the characters included. The most accurate single measurement for determining sex was length of head plus bill, which correctly classified 88% of individuals tested. When both members of a pair were measured, classification levels improved and approached the accuracy of both behavioral observations and genetic analyses. Morphometric techniques were only slightly less accurate than genetic techniques but were easier to implement in the field and less costly. Behavioral observations, while highly accurate, required that birds be easily observable during the breeding season and that birds be identifiable. As such, sex-specific behaviors may best be applied as a confirmation of sex for previously marked birds. All three techniques thus have the potential to be highly accurate, and the selection of one or more will depend on the circumstances of any particular field study.

Are corticosterone levels a good indicator of food availability and reproductive performance in a kittiwake colony?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lanctot, Richard B.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Gill, Verena A.; Eens, Marcel

2003-01-01

We evaluated the use of corticosterone to gauge forage availability and predict reproductive performance in black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) breeding in Alaska during 1999 and 2000. We modeled the relationship between baseline levels of corticosterone and a suite of individual and temporal characteristics of the sampled birds. We also provided supplemental food to a sample of pairs and compared their corticosterone levels with that of pairs that were not fed. Corticosterone levels were a good predictor of forage availability in some situations, although inconsistencies between corticosterone levels and reproductive performance of fed and unfed kittiwakes suggested that this was not always the case. In general, higher corticosterone levels were found in birds that lacked breeding experience and in birds sampled shortly after arriving from their wintering grounds. All parameters investigated, however, explained only a small proportion of the variance in corticosterone levels. We also investigated whether corticosterone, supplemental feeding, year of the study, breeding experience, body weight, and sex of a bird were able to predict laying, hatching, and fledging success in kittiwakes. Here, breeding experience, year of the study, and body weight were the best predictors of a bird’s performance. Corticosterone level and supplemental feeding were good predictors of kittiwake reproductive performance in some cases. For example, corticosterone levels of birds sampled during the arrival stage reliably predicted laying success, but were less reliable at predicting hatching and fledging success. Counts of active nests with eggs or chicks may be more reliable estimates of the actual productivity of the colony. Supplemental feeding had strong effects on kittiwake productivity when natural forage was poor, but had little effect when natural forage was plentiful.

Dietary restriction causes chronic elevation of corticosterone and enhances stress response in red-legged kittiwake chicks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kitaysky, A.S.; Kitaiskaia, E.V.; Wingfield, J.C.; Piatt, John F.

2001-01-01

Release of corticosterone in hungry kittiwake chicks facilitates begging and allows them to restore depleted energy reserves by increasing parental food provisioning. However, in order to avoid detrimental effects of chronic elevation of corticosterone, chicks might suppress adrenocortical activity in response to prolonged food shortages. In this study we examined temporal dynamics of corticosterone release in red-legged kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris) chicks exposed to prolonged restrictions in energy content and/or nutritional quality (low versus high lipid content) of their food. Starting at the age of 15 days, chicks were fed either high- or low-lipid fish at 40%, 65%, and 100% of ad libitum energy intake. Body mass measurements and baseline plasma samples were taken on a weekly basis after beginning of the treatment. After 3 weeks of treatment, chicks were exposed to a standardized acute handling and restraint stress protocol, where in addition to a baseline sample, three plasma samples were taken at intervals up to 50 min. We found that food-restricted chicks had lower body mass, chronically (during 2-3 weeks) elevated baseline and higher acute stress-induced levels of corticosterone compared to chicks fed ad libitum. Low lipid content of food further exacerbated these effects. An increase in baseline levels of corticosterone was observed within a week after energy requirements of food-restricted chicks exceeded their daily energy intake. A tendency for suppression of adrenocortical activity was observed in treatments fed low-lipid diets only at the end of the experiment. We suggest that nest-bound chicks, if food-stressed, might suffer deleterious effects of chronic elevation of corticosterone.

Prey Patch Patterns Predict Habitat Use by Top Marine Predators with Diverse Foraging Strategies

PubMed Central

Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Battaile, Brian C.; Heppell, Scott A.; Hoover, Brian; Irons, David; Jones, Nathan; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Nordstrom, Chad A.; Paredes, Rosana; Suryan, Robert M.; Waluk, Chad M.; Trites, Andrew W.

2013-01-01

Spatial coherence between predators and prey has rarely been observed in pelagic marine ecosystems. We used measures of the environment, prey abundance, prey quality, and prey distribution to explain the observed distributions of three co-occurring predator species breeding on islands in the southeastern Bering Sea: black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus). Predictions of statistical models were tested using movement patterns obtained from satellite-tracked individual animals. With the most commonly used measures to quantify prey distributions - areal biomass, density, and numerical abundance - we were unable to find a spatial relationship between predators and their prey. We instead found that habitat use by all three predators was predicted most strongly by prey patch characteristics such as depth and local density within spatial aggregations. Additional prey patch characteristics and physical habitat also contributed significantly to characterizing predator patterns. Our results indicate that the small-scale prey patch characteristics are critical to how predators perceive the quality of their food supply and the mechanisms they use to exploit it, regardless of time of day, sampling year, or source colony. The three focal predator species had different constraints and employed different foraging strategies – a shallow diver that makes trips of moderate distance (kittiwakes), a deep diver that makes trip of short distances (murres), and a deep diver that makes extensive trips (fur seals). However, all three were similarly linked by patchiness of prey rather than by the distribution of overall biomass. This supports the hypothesis that patchiness may be critical for understanding predator-prey relationships in pelagic marine systems more generally. PMID:23301063

Protracted treatment with corticosterone reduces breeding success in a long-lived bird.

PubMed

Nelson, Bethany F; Daunt, Francis; Monaghan, Pat; Wanless, Sarah; Butler, Adam; Heidinger, Britt J; Newell, Mark; Dawson, Alistair

2015-01-01

Determining the physiological mechanisms underpinning life-history decisions is essential for understanding the constraints under which life-history strategies can evolve. In long-lived species, where the residual reproductive value of breeders is high, adult survival is a key contributor to lifetime reproductive success. We therefore expect that when adult survival is compromised during reproduction, mechanisms will evolve to redirect resources away from reproduction, with implications for reproductive hormones, adult body mass, nest attendance behaviour and breeding success. We investigated whether manipulating corticosterone, to simulate exposure to an environmental stressor, affected the secretion of prolactin and breeding success in the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. We used implanted Alzet® osmotic pumps to administer corticosterone to incubating kittiwakes at a constant rate over a period of approximately 8days. Manipulated birds were compared with sham implanted birds and control birds, which had no implants. There was no significant difference in the body mass of captured individuals at the time of implantation and implant removal. Corticosterone-implanted males showed lower nest attendance during the chick rearing period compared to sham-implanted males; the opposite pattern was found in females. Corticosterone treated birds showed a marginally significant reduction in breeding success compared to sham-implanted individuals, with all failures occurring at least 1week after implant removal. However, prolactin concentrations at implant removal were not significantly different from initial values. We were unable to measure the profile of change in corticosterone during the experiment. However, our results suggest a delayed effect of elevated corticosterone on breeding success rather than an immediate suppression of prolactin concentrations causing premature failure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behavioral and physiological responses to male handicap in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leclaire, S.; Bourret, V.; Wagner, R.H.; Hatch, Shyla A.; Helfenstein, F.; Chastel, O.; Danchin, E.

2011-01-01

Parental investment entails a trade-off between the benefits of effort in current offspring and the costs to future reproduction. Long-lived species are predicted to be reluctant to increase parental effort to avoid affecting their survival. We tested this hypothesis in black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla by clipping flight feathers of experimental males at the beginning of the chick-rearing period. We analyzed the consequences of this handicap on feeding and attendance behavior, body condition, integument coloration, and circulating levels of corticosterone and prolactin in handicapped males and their mates in comparison to unmanipulated controls. Chicks in both groups were compared in terms of aggressive behavior, growth, and mortality. Handicapped males lost more mass, had less bright integuments, and attended the nest less often than controls. Nevertheless, they fed their chicks at the same rate and had similar corticosterone and prolactin levels. Compared with control females, females mated with handicapped males showed a lower provisioning rate and higher nest attendance in the first days after manipulation. Their lower feeding rate probably triggered the increased sibling aggression and mortality observed in experimental broods. Our findings suggest that experimental females adaptively adjusted their effort to their mate's perceived quality or that their provisioning was constrained by their higher nest attendance. Overall, our results suggest that kittiwake males can decrease their condition for the sake of their chicks, which seems to contradict the hypothesis that kittiwakes should be reluctant to increase parental effort to avoid affecting their survival. ?? 2011 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved.

Temporal trends of mercury in eggs of five sympatrically breeding seabird species in the Canadian Arctic.

PubMed

Braune, Birgit M; Gaston, Anthony J; Mallory, Mark L

2016-07-01

We compared temporal trends of total mercury (Hg) in eggs of five seabird species breeding at Prince Leopold Island in the Canadian high Arctic. As changes in trophic position over time have the potential to influence contaminant temporal trends, Hg concentrations were adjusted for trophic position (measured as δ(15)N). Adjusted Hg concentrations in eggs of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) increased from 1975 to the 1990s, followed by a plateauing of levels from the 1990s to 2014. Trends of adjusted Hg concentrations in eggs of murres, fulmars, black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) had negative slopes between 1993 and 2013. Adjusted Hg concentrations in glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) eggs decreased by 50% from 1993 to 2003 before starting to increase again. Glaucous gull eggs had the highest Hg concentrations followed by black guillemot eggs, and black-legged kittiwake eggs had the lowest concentrations consistently in the five years compared between 1993 and 2013. Based on published toxicological thresholds for Hg in eggs, there is little concern for adverse reproductive effects due to Hg exposure in these birds, although the levels in glaucous gull eggs warrant future scrutiny given the increase in Hg concentrations observed in recent years. There is evidence that the Hg trends observed reflect changing anthropogenic Hg emissions. It remains unclear, however, to what extent exposure to Hg on the overwintering grounds influences the Hg trends observed in the seabird eggs at Prince Leopold Island. Future research should focus on determining the extent to which Hg exposure on the breeding grounds versus the overwintering areas contribute to the trends observed in the eggs. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seabirds as indicators of marine food supplies: Cairns revisited

USGS Publications Warehouse

Piatt, John F.; Harding, Ann M.A.; Shultz, Michael T.; Speckman, Suzann G.; van Pelt, Thomas I.; Drew, Gary S.; Kettle, Arthur B.

2007-01-01

In his seminal paper about using seabirds as indicators of marine food supplies, Cairns (1987, Biol Oceanogr 5:261–271) predicted that (1) parameters of seabird biology and behavior would vary in curvilinear fashion with changes in food supply, (2) the threshold of prey density over which birds responded would be different for each parameter, and (3) different seabird species would respond differently to variation in food availability depending on foraging behavior and ability to adjust time budgets. We tested these predictions using data collected at colonies of common murre Uria aalge and black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla in Cook Inlet, Alaska. (1) Of 22 seabird responses fitted with linear and non-linear functions, 16 responses exhibited significant curvilinear shapes, and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) analysis indicated that curvilinear functions provided the best-fitting model for 12 of those. (2) However, there were few differences among parameters in their threshold to prey density, presumably because most responses ultimately depend upon a single threshold for prey acquisition at sea. (3) There were similarities and some differences in how species responded to variability in prey density. Both murres and kittiwakes minimized variability (CV < 15%) in their own body condition and growth of chicks in the face of high annual variability (CV = 69%) in local prey density. Whereas kittiwake breeding success (CV = 63%, r2 = 0.89) reflected prey variability, murre breeding success did not (CV = 29%, r2< 0.00). It appears that murres were able to buffer breeding success by reallocating discretionary ‘loafing’ time to foraging effort in response (r2 = 0.64) to declining prey density. Kittiwakes had little or no discretionary time, so fledging success was a more direct function of local prey density. Implications of these results for using ‘seabirds as indicators’ are discussed.

Differential responses of seabirds to environmental variability over 2 years in the continental shelf and oceanic habitats of southeastern Bering Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Takashi; Kokubun, Nobuo; Kikuchi, Dale M.; Sato, Nobuhiko; Takahashi, Akinori; Will, Alexis P.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Watanuki, Yutaka

2016-04-01

Seasonal sea-ice cover has been decreasing in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, which might affect ecosystem dynamics and availability of food resources to marine top predators breeding in the region. In this study, we investigated the foraging responses of two seabird species, surface-foraging red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (hereafter, RLKI) and pursuit-diving foraging thick-billed murres Uria lomvia (TBMU) to different marine environmental conditions over 2 years. At-sea distributions of RLKI and TBMU breeding on St. George Island, the largest seabird colony in the region, were recorded using GPS loggers, and blood samples were taken to examine their physiological condition and isotopic foraging niche in a given year. Between the study years, winter ice retreated earlier and summer water temperatures were relatively warmer in 2014 compared to those in 2013. RLKI foraging occurred mostly over the oceanic basin in both years. TBMU, however, foraged mostly over the shelf but showed a relatively higher use of the shelf break and oceanic basin in 2013. The foraging distances from the colony peaked at 250-300 km in 2013 and bimodally at 150-250 and 300-350 km in 2014 for RLKI and tended to be farther in 2013 compared to those in 2014 for TBMU. Plasma levels of corticosterone did not differ between the years in RLKI but differed in TBMU, showing higher levels of physiological stress incurred by murres in 2013, the year of relatively cooler sea surface temperatures with later sea-ice retreat. δ13N (a proxy of trophic level of prey) did not differ between the years in either RLKI or TBMU. These results suggest that the response of ecosystem dynamics to climate variability in the southeastern Bering Sea may differ between the ocean basin and continental shelf regions, which, in turn, may generate differential responses in seabirds relying on those habitats for foraging.

Foraging responses of black-legged kittiwakes to prolonged food-shortages around colonies on the Bering Sea shelf.

PubMed

Paredes, Rosana; Orben, Rachael A; Suryan, Robert M; Irons, David B; Roby, Daniel D; Harding, Ann M A; Young, Rebecca C; Benoit-Bird, Kelly; Ladd, Carol; Renner, Heather; Heppell, Scott; Phillips, Richard A; Kitaysky, Alexander

2014-01-01

We hypothesized that changes in southeastern Bering Sea foraging conditions for black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) have caused shifts in habitat use with direct implications for population trends. To test this, we compared at-sea distribution, breeding performance, and nutritional stress of kittiwakes in three years (2008-2010) at two sites in the Pribilof Islands, where the population has either declined (St. Paul) or remained stable (St. George). Foraging conditions were assessed from changes in (1) bird diets, (2) the biomass and distribution of juvenile pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in 2008 and 2009, and (3) eddy kinetic energy (EKE; considered to be a proxy for oceanic prey availability). In years when biomass of juvenile pollock was low and patchily distributed in shelf regions, kittiwake diets included little or no neritic prey and a much higher occurrence of oceanic prey (e.g. myctophids). Birds from both islands foraged on the nearby shelves, or made substantially longer-distance trips overnight to the basin. Here, feeding was more nocturnal and crepuscular than on the shelf, and often occurred near anticyclonic, or inside cyclonic eddies. As expected from colony location, birds from St. Paul used neritic waters more frequently, whereas birds from St. George typically foraged in oceanic waters. Despite these distinctive foraging patterns, there were no significant differences between colonies in chick feeding rates or fledging success. High EKE in 2010 coincided with a 63% increase in use of the basin by birds from St. Paul compared with 2008 when EKE was low. Nonetheless, adult nutritional stress, which was relatively high across years at both colonies, peaked in birds from St. Paul in 2010. Diminishing food resources in nearby shelf habitats may have contributed to kittiwake population declines at St Paul, possibly driven by increased adult mortality or breeding desertion due to high foraging effort and nutritional stress.

A predictable suite of helminth parasites in the long-billed dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus, from the Chihuahua desert in Texas and Mexico.

PubMed

Canaris, Albert G; Ortiz, Rafael; Canaris, Gay J

2010-12-01

Eighty-eight long-billed dowitchers, Limnodromus scolopaceus, were examined for helminth parasites, 62 from Texas and 26 from Mexico. In total, 3,558 helminth parasites were obtained from this host, 2,273 from Texas birds and 1,285 from birds from Mexico. The component communities consisted of 22 species of helminths in Texas, and 19 in Mexico. Of a total of 26 helminth species recorded from the 2 localities, 15 were common to both, 7 found only in Texas, and 4 only in Mexico. Fifty-nine of 62 Texas birds and 25 of 26 birds from Mexico were infected. The most prevalent helminth for Texas was the cestode Shipleya inermis. The cestode Aploparaksis retroversa was the most abundant, accounting for 37% of the total abundance, and was second highest in prevalence. Five species of cestodes, A. retroversa, Aploparaksis diagonalis, Aploparaksis occidentalis, Aploparaksis rissae, and Shipleya inermis accounted for 79% of total abundance. In the sample from Mexico, S. inermis was also highest in prevalence, followed by the nematode Hystrichis tricolor. The cestode A. retroversa was highest in abundance at 50% of the total, and was third highest in prevalence. Mean species richness, diversity, and evenness were similar among the component communities of Texas and Mexico. A predictable suite of aploparaksid cestodes, together with the cestode S. inermis, constituted 79%, and 61%, of total abundance for the component communities of Texas and Mexico, respectively, and were present in all component communities for locality, season, and year. The cestodes, A. retroversa and S. inermis, were the dominant species in all component communities. Differences among component communities and low similarities for all other comparisons were largely caused by less predictable suites of helminth species. A checklist of helminth parasites reported for long-billed dowitchers is included.

Differential Responses of Arctic Vegetation to Nutrient Enrichment by Plankton- and Fish-Eating Colonial Seabirds in Spitsbergen

PubMed Central

Zwolicki, Adrian; Zmudczyńska-Skarbek, Katarzyna; Matuła, Jan; Wojtuń, Bronisław; Stempniewicz, Lech

2016-01-01

The role of seabirds as sea-land biovectors of nutrients is well documented. However, no studies have examined whether and how colonial seabirds that differ in diet may influence terrestrial vegetation. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe and compare plant communities located in the vicinity of the two most common types of seabird colonies in Arctic, occupied by piscivorous or planktivorous species. Within 46 plots arranged in four transects in the vicinity of planktivorous (little auk, Alle alle) and piscivorous colonies (mixed colony of Brunnich’s guillemot, Uria lomvia, and black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla) we measured the following: guano deposition, physical and chemical characteristics of soil, total nitrogen and its stable isotope signatures in soil and plants, ground vegetation cover of vascular plants and mosses, and the occurrence of lichens, algae and cyanobacteria. Using LINKTREE analysis, we distinguished five plant communities, which reflected declining influence along a birds fertilization gradient measured as guano deposition. SIMPROOF test revealed that these communities differed significantly in species composition, with the differences related to total soil nitrogen content and δ15N, distinctive levels of phosphates, potassium and nitrates, and physical soil properties, i.e., pH, conductivity and moisture. The communities were also clearly distinguished by distance from the bird colony. The two colony types promoted development of specific plant communities: the immediate vicinity of the planktivorous colony characterized by a Deschampsia alpina–Cerastium arcticum community while under the piscivorous colony a Cochlearia groenlandica–Poa alpina community was present. Despite the similar size of the colonies and similar magnitude of guano input, differences between ornithogenic communities were connected mostly to phosphate content in the soil. Our results show that the guano input from seabirds which have different

Differential Responses of Arctic Vegetation to Nutrient Enrichment by Plankton- and Fish-Eating Colonial Seabirds in Spitsbergen.

PubMed

Zwolicki, Adrian; Zmudczyńska-Skarbek, Katarzyna; Matuła, Jan; Wojtuń, Bronisław; Stempniewicz, Lech

2016-01-01

The role of seabirds as sea-land biovectors of nutrients is well documented. However, no studies have examined whether and how colonial seabirds that differ in diet may influence terrestrial vegetation. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe and compare plant communities located in the vicinity of the two most common types of seabird colonies in Arctic, occupied by piscivorous or planktivorous species. Within 46 plots arranged in four transects in the vicinity of planktivorous (little auk, Alle alle ) and piscivorous colonies (mixed colony of Brunnich's guillemot, Uria lomvia , and black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla ) we measured the following: guano deposition, physical and chemical characteristics of soil, total nitrogen and its stable isotope signatures in soil and plants, ground vegetation cover of vascular plants and mosses, and the occurrence of lichens, algae and cyanobacteria. Using LINKTREE analysis, we distinguished five plant communities, which reflected declining influence along a birds fertilization gradient measured as guano deposition. SIMPROOF test revealed that these communities differed significantly in species composition, with the differences related to total soil nitrogen content and δ 15 N, distinctive levels of phosphates, potassium and nitrates, and physical soil properties, i.e., pH, conductivity and moisture. The communities were also clearly distinguished by distance from the bird colony. The two colony types promoted development of specific plant communities: the immediate vicinity of the planktivorous colony characterized by a Deschampsia alpina - Cerastium arcticum community while under the piscivorous colony a Cochlearia groenlandica-Poa alpina community was present. Despite the similar size of the colonies and similar magnitude of guano input, differences between ornithogenic communities were connected mostly to phosphate content in the soil. Our results show that the guano input from seabirds which have different

Regionalizing indicators for marine ecosystems: Bering Sea–Aleutian Island seabirds, climate, and competitors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Piatt, John F.; García-Reyes, Marisol; Zador, Stephani; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Romano, Marc; Renner, Heather

2017-01-01

Seabirds are thought to be reliable, real-time indicators of forage fish availability and the climatic and biotic factors affecting pelagic food webs in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that temporal trends and interannual variability in seabird indicators reflect simultaneously occurring bottom-up (climatic) and competitor (pink salmon) forcing of food webs. To test this hypothesis, we derived multivariate seabird indicators for the Bering Sea–Aleutian Island (BSAI) ecosystem and related them to physical and biological conditions known to affect pelagic food webs in the ecosystem. We examined covariance in the breeding biology of congeneric pelagic gulls (kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla and R. brevirostris) andauks (murres Uria aalge and U. lomvia), all of whichare abundant and well-studiedinthe BSAI. At the large ecosystem scale, kittiwake and murre breeding success and phenology (hatch dates) covaried among congeners, so data could be combined using multivariate techniques, but patterns of responsedifferedsubstantially betweenthe genera.Whiledata fromall sites (n = 5)inthe ecosystemcould be combined, the south eastern Bering Sea shelf colonies (St. George, St. Paul, and Cape Peirce) provided the strongest loadings on indicators, and hence had the strongest influence on modes of variability. The kittiwake breeding success mode of variability, dominated by biennial variation, was significantly related to both climatic factors and potential competitor interactions. The murre indicator mode was interannual and only weakly related to the climatic factors measured. The kittiwake phenology indicator mode of variability showed multi-year periods (“stanzas”) of late or early breeding, while the murre phenology indicator showed a trend towards earlier timing. Ocean climate relationships with the kittiwake breeding success indicator suggestthat early-season (winter–spring) environmental conditions and the abundance of pink salmon affect the

Assessing hypotheses about nesting site occupancy dynamics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bled, Florent; Royle, J. Andrew; Cam, Emmanuelle

2011-01-01

Hypotheses about habitat selection developed in the evolutionary ecology framework assume that individuals, under some conditions, select breeding habitat based on expected fitness in different habitat. The relationship between habitat quality and fitness may be reflected by breeding success of individuals, which may in turn be used to assess habitat quality. Habitat quality may also be assessed via local density: if high-quality sites are preferentially used, high density may reflect high-quality habitat. Here we assessed whether site occupancy dynamics vary with site surrogates for habitat quality. We modeled nest site use probability in a seabird subcolony (the Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla) over a 20-year period. We estimated site persistence (an occupied site remains occupied from time t to t + 1) and colonization through two subprocesses: first colonization (site creation at the timescale of the study) and recolonization (a site is colonized again after being deserted). Our model explicitly incorporated site-specific and neighboring breeding success and conspecific density in the neighborhood. Our results provided evidence that reproductively "successful'' sites have a higher persistence probability than "unsuccessful'' ones. Analyses of site fidelity in marked birds and of survival probability showed that high site persistence predominantly reflects site fidelity, not immediate colonization by new owners after emigration or death of previous owners. There is a negative quadratic relationship between local density and persistence probability. First colonization probability decreases with density, whereas recolonization probability is constant. This highlights the importance of distinguishing initial colonization and recolonization to understand site occupancy. All dynamics varied positively with neighboring breeding success. We found evidence of a positive interaction between site-specific and neighboring breeding success. We addressed local

Seabirds and marine plastic debris in the northeastern Atlantic: A synthesis and recommendations for monitoring and research.

PubMed

O'Hanlon, Nina J; James, Neil A; Masden, Elizabeth A; Bond, Alexander L

2017-12-01

Marine plastic pollution is an increasing, and global, environmental issue. Numerous marine species are affected by plastic debris through entanglement, nest incorporation, and ingestion, which can lead to lethal and sub-lethal impacts. However, in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, an area of international importance for seabirds, there has been little effort to date to assess information from studies of wildlife and plastic to better understand the spatiotemporal variation of how marine plastic affects different seabird species. To improve our understanding of seabirds and marine plastic in this region, we completed a synthesis of the published and grey literature to obtain information on all known documented cases of plastic ingestion and nest incorporation by this group. We found that of 69 seabird species that commonly occur in the northeastern Atlantic, 25 had evidence of ingesting plastic. However, data on plastic ingestion was available for only 49% of all species, with 74% of investigated species recorded ingesting plastic. We found only three published studies on nest incorporation, for the Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) and Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). For many species, sample sizes were small or not reported, and only 39% of studies were from the 21st century, whilst information from multiple countries and years was only available for 11 species. This indicates that we actually know very little about the current prevalence of plastic ingestion and nest incorporation for many species, several of them globally threatened. Furthermore, in the majority of studies, the metrics reported were inadequate to carry out robust comparisons among locations and species or perform meta-analyses. We recommend multi-jurisdictional collaboration to obtain a more comprehensive and current understanding of how marine plastic is affecting seabirds in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sea birds as proxies of marine habitats and food webs in the western Aleutian Arc

USGS Publications Warehouse

Springer, Alan M.; Piatt, John F.; Van Vliet, Gus B.

1996-01-01

We propose that ocean conditions of the Near Islands in the western Aleutian Arc mimic those of the shallow continental shelf of the eastern Bering Sea to the extent that the marine community, including assemblages of forage fishes and their avian predators, has distinctly coastal characteristics. In contrast, marine avifauna and their prey at neighbouring Buldir Island are distinctly oceanic. For example, at the Near Islands, the ratio of thick-billed to common murres, Vria lomvia and U. aalge, is low and black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla, but not red-legged kittiwakes, R. brevirostris, nest there. Diets of murres and kittiwakes are dominated by sand lance, Ammodytes hexapterus, an abundant coastal species. At Buldir Island, thick-billed murres greatly outnumber common murres, red-legged kittiwakes and black-legged kittiwakes are both abundant, and diets of the birds consist primarily of oceanic squid and lantern-fish (Myctophidae). This mesoscale difference in food webs is apparently a consequence of the local physiography. A broad escarpment on the Near physiographic block creates a comparatively expansive, shallow, shelflike habitat around the Near Islands, where a pelagic community typical of coastal regions flourishes. Buldir Island is the only emergent feature of the Buldir physiographic block, with little shallow water surrounding it and, apparently, little opportunity for other than oceanic species to exist. Patterns in the distribution of fishes, and thus of sea birds, throughout the Aleutian Islands might be largely explained by the presence or absence of shelf-like habitat and the relationship between physical environments and food webs. In the larger context of fisheries oceanography, this model for the Aleutian Islands improves our ability to interpret physical and biological heterogeneity in the ocean and its relationship to regional community dynamics and trends in the abundance and productivity of individual species at higher trophic levels.

Marine bird abundance around the Pribilof Islands: A multi-year comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahncke, Jaime; Vlietstra, Lucy S.; Decker, Mary Beth; Hunt, George L., Jr.

2008-08-01

We examined trends in the abundance and distribution of 12 species of marine birds around the Pribilof Islands, southeastern Bering Sea, over the period from 1977 to 2004. We contrasted patterns among piscivores and planktivores and related these to known and hypothesized changes in the abundance and distribution of prey in the vicinity of the islands. Planktivorous and piscivorous species of marine birds showed different patterns of abundance over time. Planktivorous seabirds that breed away from the Pribilof Islands (e.g., short-tailed shearwaters [ Puffinus tenuirostris], fork-tailed storm-petrels [ Oceanodroma furcata] and red phalaropes [ Phalaropus fulicarius]) were scarce in the 1970s, were abundant in the 1980s, and declined in abundance in the 1990s and from 1999 to 2004. Planktivorous alcids combined (parakeet [ Aethia psittacula], crested [ A. cristatella] and least [ A. pusilla]) that breed on the Pribilof Islands showed a similar remarkable four-fold increase from the 1970s to the 1980s, but then a small increase into the 1990s followed by a rapid decline in the 2000s to numbers similar to those present during the 1970s. The abundance of piscivores kittiwakes ( Rissa spp.) and murres ( Una spp.) was high in the 1970s and declined through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. In 1999 and 2004, the total number of all seabirds at sea around the Pribilof Islands was well below the numbers seen at any other survey period. We hypothesize that changes in the abundances and types of seabirds present through time reflect changes in the structure of the marine ecosystem of the eastern Bering Sea shelf. We suggest that changes in pathways of energy flow may be responsible for these shifts, though the possibility that there has been a reduction in productivity cannot be ruled out given the scarcity of available data.

Kittiwake diets and chick production signal a 2008 regime shift in the Northeast Pacific

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hatch, Scott A.

2013-01-01

I examined ~2700 food samples collected from adult and nestling black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla from 1978 through 2011 on Middleton Island in the Gulf of Alaska. The kittiwake diet was composed chiefly of fish, but invertebrates were taken in appreciable quantities in April and May. Upon spring arrival at the colony, adult kittiwakes foraged regularly at night on vertically migrating mesopelagic prey—lanternfishes (Myctophidae), squids, crustaceans, and polychaetes—a behavior they largely discontinued by egg-laying. During incubation and chick-rearing, food samples contained mostly (~85% by weight) Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus, capelin Mallotus villosus, Pacific herring Clupea pallasii, sablefish Anopoploma fimbria, krill (Euphausiidae), and juvenile salmon Onchorynchus gorboscha and O. keta. A salient finding over the longitudinal study was the emergence, twice, of capelin as a dominant forage species—once in 2000 to 2003, and again in 2008 through 2011. Kittiwakes responded to capelin availability by producing markedly higher numbers of fledged young. The 2000 to 2003 event corresponded to a previously documented shift to cooler conditions in the NE Pacific, which apparently was relatively limited in magnitude or duration. The more recent transition appears stronger and may be more lasting. I submit that 2008 was an important turning point, marking a substantive reversal of warm conditions that began with the well-documented regime shift of 1977. That interpretation is consistent with the existence of a ~60 yr cycle in ocean and atmospheric conditions in the North Pacific. All else being equal, it predicts the next 20 to 30 yr will be favorable for species such as kittiwakes and Steller sea lions, which seemed to respond negatively to the 1977 to 2007 warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Meteorite Falls and the Fragmentation of Meteorites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Momeni, Daniel

2016-01-01

In order to understand the fragmentation of objects entering the atmosphere and why some produce more fragments than others, I have searched the Meteoritical Society database for meteorites greater than 20 kilograms that fell in the USA, China, and India. I also studied the video and film records of 21 fireballs that produced meteorites. A spreadsheet was prepared that noted smell, fireball, explosion, whistling, rumbling, the number of fragments, light, and impact sounds. Falls with large numbers of fragments were examined to look for common traits. These were: the Norton County aubrite, explosion and a flare greater than 100 fragments; the Forest City H5 chondrite explosion, a flare, a dust trail, 505 specimens; the Richardton H5 chondrite explosion and light, 71 specimens; the Juancheng H5 chondrite explosion, a rumbling, a flare, a dust trail,1000 specimens; the Tagish Lake C2 chondrite explosion, flare, dust trail, 500 specimens. I conclude that fragmentation is governed by the following: (1) Bigger meteors undergo more stress which results in more specimens; (2) Harder meteorites also require more force to break them up which will cause greater fragmentation; (3) Force and pressure are directly proportional during falls. General observations made were; (1) Meteorites produce fireballs sooner due to high friction; (2) Meteors tend to explode as well because of high stress; (3) Softer meteorites tend to cause dust trails; (4) Some falls produce light as they fall at high velocity. I am grateful to NASA Ames for this opportunity and Derek Sears, Katie Bryson, and Dan Ostrowski for discussions.

Proteomic Characterization of Yersinia pestis Virulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chromy, B; Murphy, G; Gonzales, A

2005-01-05

Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of plague, functions via the Type III secretion mechanism whereby virulence factors are induced upon interactions with a mammalian host. Here, the Y. pestis proteome was studied by two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE) under physiologically relevant growth conditions mimicking the calcium concentrations and temperatures that the pathogen would encounter in the flea vector and upon interaction with the mammalian host. Over 4100 individual protein spots were detected of which hundreds were differentially expressed in the entire comparative experiment. A total of 43 proteins that were differentially expressed between the vector and host growth conditionsmore » were identified by mass spectrometry. Expected differences in expression were observed for several known virulence factors including catalase-peroxidase (KatY), murine toxin (Ymt), plasminogen activator (Pla), and F1 capsule antigen (Caf1), as well as putative virulence factors. Chaperone proteins and signaling molecules hypothesized to be involved in virulence due to their role in Type III secretion were also identified. Other differentially expressed proteins not previously reported to contribute to virulence are candidates for more detailed mechanistic studies, representing potential new virulence determinants. For example, several sugar metabolism proteins were differentially regulated in response to lower calcium and higher temperature, suggesting these proteins, while not directly connected to virulence, either represent a metabolic switch for survival in the host environment or may facilitate production of virulence factors. Results presented here contribute to a more thorough understanding of the virulence mechanism of Y. pestis through proteomic characterization of the pathogen under induced virulence.« less

Correlations between Crustal Structure and Slip on the Cascadia Megathrust (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trehu, A. M.

2013-12-01

A number of active-source seismic imaging experiments of the Cascadia forearc margin have been conducted over the past three decades. Seismic P-wave velocity models derived from these experiments, when combined with geodetic, potential field, morphological and other data, reveal structures in both the upper and lower plate that can be correlated with current microseismic activity, geodetic signals indicating interplate locking, and apparent segmentation of past large plate boundary earthquakes as determined from onshore and offshore paleoseismic data. These data are being interpreted to construct maps of the apparent seismic velocity structure averaged over several km above and below the expected plate boundary and extending from the region characterized by episodic tremor and slip up dip to the deformation front. Preliminary results for the recent CIET, COAST and Ridge-to-Trench experiments that support, challenge or extend an evolving working model for structural constraints on plate boundary deformation in Cascadia will also be discussed. Other co-PIs who have planned and executed the CIET, COAST and Ridge-to-Trench experiments are listed below with the lead PI for each group listed first. CIET (Cascadia Initiative Science Team): Doug Toomey, Emilie Hooft (both at Un. of Oregon); Bob Dziak (Oregon State Un. NOAA); William Wilcock (Un. Washington); Susan Schwartz (UC Santa Cruz); John Collins, Jeff McGuire (WHOI); Maya Tolstoy (LDEO); Richard Allen (UC Berkeley) COAST (Cascadia Open-Access Seismic Transects): Steve Holbrook (Un. Wyoming); Graham Kent (Un. Nevada Reno); Katie Keranen (Un. Oklahoma); Paul Johnson (Un. Washington); Jackie Caplan-Auerbach (Western Washington Un.); Harold Tobin (Un. Wisconson) Ridge-to-Trench: Suzanne Carbotte, Helene Carton, Geoff Abers (all at LDEO); Pablo Canales (WHOI); Mladen Nedimovic (Dalhousie Un.)

Growth faults and salt tectonics in Houston diapir province: relative timing and exploration significance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ewing, T.E.

1983-09-01

Oil and gas accumulation in Gulf Coast Tertiary strata is contolled mainly by regional growth faults and by salt-related structures. Salt forms the most prominent set of structures in the Houston diapir province of southeast Texas. Recent work in three study areas shows that the Tertiary growth-fault trends, so well displayed along strike to the south-west, continue through this salt basin as well, but they have been deformed by later salt movement. In the Katy area, seismic data disclose early (pre-Wilcox) salt pillows downdip of the Cretaceous reef trend. Salt stocks were injected upward from the pillows during Clayborne deposition,more » and were flanked by deep withdrawal basins and turtle structures. In Brazoria County, a major lower Frio growth-fault trend affecting the Houston delta system, was deformed by later salt domes, by a salt-withdrawal basin, and by a possible turtle structure at Chocolate Bayou. A productive geopressured aquifer exists in the salt-withdrawal basin bounded by the previously formed growth faults. In Jefferson County, in contrast, salt-tectonic activity and growth faulting appear to have been coeval. Early salt-cored ridges continued to rise throughout Frio deposition; growth faults occur both updip and downdip. Hydrocarbons accumulated over the salt domes in growth-fault anticlines and in stratigraphic traps. Recognition that shelf-margin growth faulting preceded the development of the present pattern of domes and basins has important implications for hydrocarbon exploration. Growth faults may be migration paths for hydrocarbons; furthermore, early formed traps, distorted by salt movement, may still be found to contain hydrocarbons.« less

Houston prefreshman enrichment program (Houston PREP). Final report, June 10, 1996--August 1, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-10-01

The 1996 Houston Pre-freshman Enrichment Program (PREP) was conducted on the campus of the University of Houston-Downtown from June 10 to August 1, 1996. Program Participants were recruited from the Greater Houston area. All participants were identified as high achieving students with an interest in learning about the engineering and science professions. The goal of the program was to better prepare our pre-college youth prior to entering college as mathematics, science and engineering majors. The program participants were middle school and high school students from the Aldine, Alief, Channel View, Crockett, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend, Galena Park, Houston, Humble, Katy, Klein,more » North Forest, Pasadena, Private, and Spring Branch Independent School Districts. Of the 197 students starting the program, 170 completed, 142 students were from economically and socially disadvantage groups underrepresented in the engineering and science professions, and 121 of the 197 were female. Our First Year group for 1996 composed of 96% minority and women students. Our Second and Third Year students were 100% and 93.75% minority or women respectively. This gave an overall minority and female population of 93.75%. This year, special efforts were again made to recruit students from minority groups, which caused a significant increase in qualified applicants. However, due to space limitations, 140 applicants were rejected. Investigative and discovery learning were key elements of PREP. The academic components of the program included Algebraic Structures, Engineering, Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Physics, Logic and Its Application to Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Problem Solving Seminar using computers and PLATO software, SAT Preparatory Seminars, and Technical Writing.« less

Chemical data and lead isotopic compositions of geochemical baseline samples from streambed sediments and smelter slag, lead isotopic compositions in fluvial tailings, and dendrochronology results from the Boulder River watershed, Jefferson County, Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Unruh, Daniel M.; Fey, David L.; Church, Stan E.

2000-01-01

and thirteen core samples. Sample localities are in table 1 and figures 1 and 2, and site and sample descriptions are in table 2.Geochemical data have been presented for cores through fluvial tailings on High Ore Creek, on upper Basin Creek, and on Jack Creek and Uncle Sam Gulch. Geochemical and lead isotopic data for modern streambed-sediment samples have been presented by Fey and others.Lead isotopic determinations in bed sediments have been shown to be an effective tool for evaluating the contributions from various sources to the metals in bed sediments. However, in order to make these calculations, the lead isotopic compositions of the contaminant sources must also be known. Consequently, we have determined the lead isotopic compositions of five streambed-sediment samples heavily contaminated with fluvial mine waste immediately downstream from large mines in the Boulder River watershed in order to determine the lead isotopic signatures of the contaminants. Summary geochemical data for the contaminants are presented here and geochemical data for the streambed-sediment samples are given by Fey and others.Downstream from the Katie mill site and Jib tailings, fluvial deposits of mill tailings are present on a 10-m by 50-m bar in the Boulder River below the confluence with Basin Creek. The source of these tailings is not known, but fluvial tailings are also present immediately downstream from the Katie mill site, which is immediately upstream from the confluence with Basin Creek. Nine cores of fluvial tailings from this bar were analyzed.Dendrochronology samples were taken at several stream terrace localities to provide age control on the stream terrace deposits. Trees growing on the surfaces of stream terraces provide a minimum age for the terrace deposits, although floods subsequent to the trees' growth could have deposited post-mining overbank deposits around the trees. Historical data were also used to provide estimates of minimum ages of cultural features and to

Changes in thyroid parameters of hatchling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) following embryonic exposure to technical short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs; C10-13, 55.5% CL)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fernie, Kimberly J; Henry, Paula F.; Letcher, Robert J; Palace, Vince; Peters, Lisa; Rattner, Barnett A.; Sverko, Edward; Karouna-Renier, Natalie K.

2015-01-01

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are complex mixtures of polychlorinated n-alkanes categorized according to their carbon chain length: short chain (SCCPs, C10 – C13), medium (C14 - C17), and long chain (C>17), chlorinated paraffins. SCCPs are primarily used in metalworking applications, as flame retardants, and in paints, adhesives, sealants, textiles, plastics and rubber (UNEP 2012). In 2012, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP 2012) reported in the Revised Draft Risk Profile for SCCPs, that CPs were produced in the United States, the European Union (EU), Slovakia, Brazil, India, Japan and China. While annual global consumption of SCCPs is large (>25 tonnes/year), it has sharply declined over the past 20 years. SCCPs are released through wastewater, landfills, and air emissions (UNEP 2012). Concentrations of SCCPs have been reported in fish and marine mammals in North and South America, Europe, Japan, Greenland and the Arctic (UNEP 2012 and references therein). Characterization of SCCP concentrations and exposure in terrestrial wildlife is limited. In 2010, SCCP concentrations were reported in the eggs of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) (4536 ± 40 pg/g wet weight (ww)) and Audouin’s gulls (Larus audouinii) (6364 ± 20 pg/g ww) in Spain (Morales et al. 2012), and little auks (Alle alle) (5 - 88 ng/g ww) and kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) (5 - 44 ng/g ww) in the European Arctic (Reth et al. 2006). In Sweden, muscle of ospreys contained CPs of unspecified chain length (Jansson et al. 1993). Although the toxicity of SCCPs has been demonstrated in aquatic invertebrates, fish, frogs, and laboratory rats, there are limited avian studies and these reported no effects of SCCPs on egg parameters of domestic hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) (UNEP 2012). Despite reported accumulation of SCCPs in wild birds, to our knowledge, exposure-related toxicities and effects with respect to avian wildlife remain unknown.

Differential responses of seabirds to inter-annual environmental change in the continental shelf and oceanic habitats of southeastern Bering Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, T.; Kokubun, N.; Kikuchi, D. M.; Sato, N.; Takahashi, A.; Will, A.; Kitaysky, A. S.; Watanuki, Y.

2015-11-01

Seasonal sea-ice cover has been decreasing in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, which might affect ecosystem dynamics and availability of food resources to marine top predators breeding in the region. In this study, we investigated the foraging responses of two seabird species, surface-foraging red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (hereafter, RLKI) and pursuit-diving foraging thick-billed murres Uria lomvia (TBMU) to the inter-annual change in environmental conditions. Between the study years, winter ice retreated earlier and summer water temperatures were warmer in 2014 compared to those in 2013. At-sea distributions of RLKI and TBMU breeding on St. George Island, the largest seabird colony in the region, were recorded using GPS loggers, and blood samples were taken to examine their physiological condition and isotopic foraging niche in a given year. RLKI foraging occurred mostly over the oceanic basin in both years. TBMU, however, foraged mostly over the shelf, but showed a relatively higher use of the shelf break and oceanic basin in the colder year, 2013. The foraging distances from the colony peaked at 250-300 km in 2013 and, bimodally, at 150-250 and 300-350 km in 2014 for RLKI, and tended to be farther in 2013 compared to those in 2014 for TBMU. Plasma levels of corticosterone did not differ between years in RLKI, but differed in TBMU, showing higher levels of physiological stress incurred by murres during the colder year, 2013. δ13N (a proxy of trophic level of prey) did not differ between the years in either RLKI or TBMU, while δ13C (a proxy of prey origin) were lower in 2014 than in 2013 in both species, suggesting possible differences in influx of oceanic prey items into foraging areas. These results suggest that the response of ecosystem dynamics to climate variability in the southeast Bering Sea may differ between the ocean basin and continental shelf regions, which, in turn, may generate differential responses in seabirds relying on those

A cross-shelf gradient in δ15N stable isotope values of krill and pollock indicates seabird foraging patterns in the Bering Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Nathan M.; Hoover, Brian A.; Heppell, Scott A.; Kuletz, Kathy J.

2014-11-01

Concurrent measurements of predator and prey δ15N isotope values demonstrated that a cross-shelf isotopic gradient can propagate through a marine food web from forage species to top-tier predators and indicate foraging areas at a scale of tens of kilometers. We measured δ13C and δ15N in muscle tissues of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and in whole body tissues of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) and krill (Thysanoessa spp), sampled across the continental shelf break in the Bering Sea in 2008 and in 2009. We found significant basin-shelf differences at fine scales (<100 km) in δ15N among murres but not kittiwakes, and no such differences in δ13C in either seabird species at that scale. We then quantified the multi-trophic signal and spatial structure of a basin-shelf δ15Nitrogen gradient in the central and southern Bering Sea, and used it to contrast foraging patterns of thick-billed murres and kittiwakes on the open ocean. Seabird muscle δ15N values were compared to baselines created from measurements in krill and pollock tissues sampled concurrently throughout the study area. Krill, pollock, and murre tissues from northern, shallow, shelf habitat (<200 m) were enriched 1-2‰ in δ15N relative to samples taken from deeper habitats (>200 m) to the south and west. Krill δ15N baseline values predicted 35-42% of the variability in murre tissue values. Patterns between kittiwakes and prey were less coherent. The persistence of strong spatial autocorrelation among sample values, and a congruence of geospatial patterns in δ15N among murre and prey tissues, suggest that murres forage repeatedly in specific areas. Murre isotope values showed distinct geospatial stratification, coincident with the spatial distribution of three colonies: St. Paul, St. George, and Bogoslof. This suggests some degree of foraging habitat partitioning among colonies.

Determinants of reproductive costs in the long-lived Black-legged Kittiwake: A multiyear experiment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golet, Gregory H.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Irons, David B.; Estes, James A.

2004-01-01

We studied reproductive costs of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA) by removing entire clutches from randomly selected nests over four successive years, and then contrasting survival and fecundity of adults from manipulated and unmanipulated nests in each subsequent year. To elucidate mechanisms that lead to the expression of reproductive costs, we simultaneously characterized several behavioral and physiological parameters among adults in the two treatment groups. We also examined naturally nonbreeding adults that previously bred to determine their survival and future nonbreeding probabilities.Food availability varied during the study, being generally poor at the onset, and improving in later years. Adult nest attendance and body condition (assessed late in the chick- rearing period) varied accordingly among years, and between adults raising chicks and adults that had their eggs removed. Adults from unmanipulated nests incurred significant survival costs in all years, although fecundity costs were strongly expressed in only one of four years. Neither survival nor fecundity costs were strongly influenced by body condition or food availability, and no difference in reproductive costs was detected between the sexes. Although unmanipulated breeders survived at lower rates than manipulated breeders due to costs of reproduction, their survival rates were elevated compared to those of natural nonbreeders, presumably due to differences in individual ability. These findings indicate that models of adult survival must consider not only an organism's reproductive state, but also the factors that lead to that state.Although body condition appeared to be weakly related to survival, it was insufficient to explain the full magnitude of survival costs observed. We suggest that other parameters that were found to differ between treatment groups (e.g., rates of energy turnover, baseline levels of stress, and patterns of allocating body

Reproductive success of kittiwakes and murres in sequential stages of the nesting period: Relationships with diet and oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renner, Heather M.; Drummond, Brie A.; Benson, Anna-Marie; Paredes, Rosana

2014-11-01

Reproductive success is one of the most easily-measured and widely studied demographic parameters of colonial nesting seabirds. Nevertheless, factors affecting the sequential stages (egg laying, incubation, chick-rearing) of reproductive success are less understood. We investigated the separate sequential stages of reproductive success in piscivorous black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) using a 36-year dataset (1975-2010) on the major Pribilof Islands (St. Paul and St. George), which have recently had contrasting population trajectories. Our objectives were to evaluate how the proportion of successful nests varied among stages, and to quantify factors influencing the probability of nest success at each stage in each island. We modeled the probability of nest success at each stage using General Linear Mixed Models incorporating broad-scale and local climate variables, and diet as covariates as well as other measures of reproduction such as timing of breeding and reproductive output in the previous year and previous stage. For both species we found: (1) Success in previous stages of the breeding cycle and success in the prior year better explained overall success than any environmental variables. Phenology was also an important predictor of laying success for kittiwakes. (2) Fledging success was lower when chick diets contained oceanic fish found farther from the colonies and small invertebrates, rather than coastal fish species. (3) Differences in reproductive variables at St. Paul and St. George islands did not correspond to population trends between the two islands. Our results highlight the potential importance of adult condition and annual survival to kittiwake and murre productivity and ultimately, populations. Adult condition carrying over from the previous year ultimately seems to drive annual breeding success in a cascade effect. Furthermore, condition and survival appear to be important contributors to population

Long-term fitness consequences of early conditions in the kittiwake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cam, E.; Monnat, J.-Y.; Hines, J.E.

2003-01-01

1. The long-term fitness consequences of conditions during development are receiving growing attention: they are at the interface between ecological and evolutionary processes. We addressed the influence of the length of the rearing period and 'rank' on fitness components in a long-lived seabird species with deferred breeding: the kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Rank, which depends on hatching order, was used as a surrogate for dominance status in the brood. Rank could be viewed as a random factor affecting individuals regardless of their possible 'intrinsic quality' at birth. The length of the rearing period was used as a surrogate for parental effort. It reflects the interaction between numerous factors such as environmental conditions, parental quality, reproductive decisions and effort, and also offspring decisions and intrinsic quality at birth. 2. There was evidence of an influence of the length of the rearing period on local survival before recruitment. Individuals with shorter rearing periods had lower local survival during the first winter (e.g. the relationship was positive). They may incur higher mortality. In rank 1 prebreeders, this relationship was negative in older age-classes. Longer rearing periods and better condition at independence may be associated with stronger migrating ability, and prebreeders that have not yet made settlement decisions may emigrate permanently to distant locations. Such a complex pattern may reflect age-related changes in the relative contribution of mortality and permanent emigration to local survival. 3. The length of the rearing period had long-term consequences on reproductive performance. The relationship was positive but the rate of increase decreased slightly at higher values of the covariate. 4. There was an unambiguously negative influence of rank on survival before recruitment and recruitment probability, but not on demographic parameters specific to the reproductive stage. Juniors recruited later than elder

Estimated depth to the water table and estimated rate of recharge in outcrops of the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers near Houston, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Noble, J.E.; Bush, P.W.; Kasmarek, M.C.; Barbie, D.L.

1996-01-01

In 1989, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District, began a field study to determine the depth to the water table and to estimate the rate of recharge in outcrops of the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers near Houston, Texas. The study area comprises about 2,000 square miles of outcrops of the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in northwest Harris County, Montgomery County, and southern Walker County. Because of the scarcity of measurable water-table wells, depth to the water table below land surface was estimated using a surface geophysical technique, seismic refraction. The water table in the study area generally ranges from about 10 to 30 foot below land surface and typically is deeper in areas of relatively high land-surface altitude than in areas of relatively low land- surface altitude. The water table has demonstrated no long-term trends since ground-water development began, with the probable exception of the water table in the Katy area: There the water table is more than 75 feet deep, probably due to ground-water pumpage from deeper zones. An estimated rate of recharge in the aquifer outcrops was computed using the interface method in which environmental tritium is a ground-water tracer. The estimated average total recharge rate in the study area is 6 inches per year. This rate is an upper bound on the average recharge rate during the 37 years 1953-90 because it is based on the deepest penetration (about 80 feet) of postnuclear-testing tritium concentrations. The rate, which represents one of several components of a complex regional hydrologic budget, is considered reasonable but is not definitive because of uncertainty regarding the assumptions and parameters used in its computation.

Aspects of Climate Variability in the Pacific and the Western Americas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, David H.

This book, obviously, was a team effort and we would like to express our appreciation to the many who contributed to this effort. A large share of the credit for the papers in this book can go to the reviewers. There is no way that this book could have been completed without the efforts and devotion of the over six dozen formal reviewers, who were often asked to provide extensive re-reviews. In order to do their best many of the reviewers wished to remain anonymous, thus all reviewers will remain so. To you, the reviewers, we express our gratitude. The outstanding illustrations were edited and designed by Jeanne DiLeo-Stevens with the assistance of Charles Sternberg, David R. Jones, and Stacey Chapralis. Martha Nichols was exceptional in editing and in preparing manuscripts for typesetting. Martha and Jeanne DiLeo-Stevens were also exceptional in coordinating the numerous parties and activities involved in completing each paper. This includes assistance from Richard Smith, Raymond Herndon, David Nichols, Lucenia Thomas, and especially Carol Meyers and Elaine Cox (the Nevada District Office)— all of the U.S. Geological Survey. Our thanks also to Pamela Feld of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. Extremely important were Darwin Alt and his staff, especially Sharon Peterson and Lois Fleshmon and Gregg Allord and his staff, Jamaica Pettit and Wendy Danchuk for their efficient typesetting also of the U.S. Geological Survey; and, similarly, Katy Piper, Scripps Institution of Oceanography for her considerable work. It was a pleasure to work with the publications staff at the American Geophysical Union from inception to completion of this monograph. We greatly appreciate the outstanding professional efforts of Donna Ziegenfuss, production coordinator.

Herbert L. Pick Jr. (1930-2012).

PubMed

Rieser, John J; Lockman, Jeffrey J

2013-01-01

Presents an obituary for Herbert L. Pick Jr. For 49 years at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, new students were often greeted by an unassuming guy who rode to work on his bike, helped them carry boxes of books to their offices, and turned out to be a famous professor. Herbert L. Pick Jr. was a fabulous mentor, teacher, and developmental scientist. His work on perception and perceptual development spanned basic and applied science, laboratory and real-world settings. He was honored with the Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) Mentor Award from the American Psychological Association in 1998. He was honored again in 2002, jointly with his wife Anne D. Pick, with a volume of the Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology based on a central theme of their work and titled "Action as an Organizer of Learning and Development." Two weeks before his death he was honored yet again with a Festschrift titled "Realism to Relevance: An Ecological Approach to Perception, Action and Cognition." Former students and academic admirers gave talks focused on the scientific themes Herb championed, namely, effects of experience on learning and development, organism-environment fit, environmental structure, and societal applications of research about basic psychological processes. He gave the final talk, and after thanking everyone in his typically humble way, he discussed his new research on visual-locomotor coordination. Herb died on June 18, 2012. He is greatly missed by Anne, his wife of 50 years; his sister Barbara; his daughters (and their husbands) Cindy (Jon), Karen (John), and Gretchen (Michael); and his grandchildren Alex, Ted, Katy, Joe, Eva, Sam, Rowan, and Culley. He is also missed by his many students, colleagues, friends, and admirers.

Virtual Reality Cue Refusal Video Game for Alcohol and Cigarette Recovery Support: Summative Study.

PubMed

Metcalf, Mary; Rossie, Karen; Stokes, Katie; Tallman, Christina; Tanner, Bradley

2018-04-16

New technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and video games hold promise to support and enhance individuals in addiction treatment and recovery. Quitting or decreasing cigarette or alcohol use can lead to significant health improvements for individuals, decreasing heart disease risk and cancer risks (for both nicotine and alcohol use), among others. However, remaining in recovery from use is a significant challenge for most individuals. We developed and assessed the Take Control game, a partially immersive Kinect for Windows platform game that allows users to counter substance cues through active movements (hitting, kicking, etc). Formative analysis during phase I and phase II guided development. We conducted a small wait-list control trial using a quasi-random sampling technique (systematic) with 61 participants in recovery from addiction to alcohol or tobacco. Participants used the game 3 times and reported on substance use, cravings, satisfaction with the game experience, self-efficacy related to recovery, and side effects from exposure to a virtual reality intervention and substance cues. Participants found the game engaging and fun and felt playing the game would support recovery efforts. On average, reported substance use decreased for participants during the intervention period. Participants in recovery for alcohol use saw more benefit than those in recovery for tobacco use, with a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy, attitude, and behavior during the intervention. Side effects from the use of a virtual reality intervention were minor and decreased over time; cravings and side effects also decreased during the study. The preliminary results suggest the intervention holds promise as an adjunct to standard treatment for those in recovery, particularly from alcohol use. ©Mary Metcalf, Karen Rossie, Katie Stokes, Christina Tallman, Bradley Tanner. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 16.04.2018.

Involvement of the Kynurenine Pathway in Human Glioma Pathophysiology

PubMed Central

Adams, Seray; Teo, Charles; McDonald, Kerrie L.; Zinger, Anna; Bustamante, Sonia; Lim, Chai K.; Sundaram, Gayathri; Braidy, Nady; Brew, Bruce J.; Guillemin, Gilles J.

2014-01-01

The kynurenine pathway (KP) is the principal route of L-tryptophan (TRP) catabolism leading to the production of kynurenine (KYN), the neuroprotectants, kynurenic acid (KYNA) and picolinic acid (PIC), the excitotoxin, quinolinic acid (QUIN) and the essential pyridine nucleotide, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). The enzymes indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO-1), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-2 (IDO-2) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO-2) initiate the first step of the KP. IDO-1 and TDO-2 induction in tumors are crucial mechanisms implicated to play pivotal roles in suppressing anti-tumor immunity. Here, we report the first comprehensive characterisation of the KP in 1) cultured human glioma cells and 2) plasma from patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Our data revealed that interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) stimulation significantly potentiated the expression of the KP enzymes, IDO-1 IDO-2, kynureninase (KYNU), kynurenine hydroxylase (KMO) and significantly down-regulated 2-amino-3-carboxymuconate semialdehyde decarboxylase (ACMSD) and kynurenine aminotransferase-I (KAT-I) expression in cultured human glioma cells. This significantly increased KP activity but significantly lowered the KYNA/KYN neuroprotective ratio in human cultured glioma cells. KP activation (KYN/TRP) was significantly higher, whereas the concentrations of the neuroreactive KP metabolites TRP, KYNA, QUIN and PIC and the KYNA/KYN ratio were significantly lower in GBM patient plasma (n = 18) compared to controls. These results provide further evidence for the involvement of the KP in glioma pathophysiology and highlight a potential role of KP products as novel and highly attractive therapeutic targets to evaluate for the treatment of brain tumors, aimed at restoring anti-tumor immunity and reducing the capacity for malignant cells to produce NAD+, which is necessary for energy production and DNA repair. PMID:25415278

The value of place

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dentzau, Michael W.

2014-03-01

This commentary seeks to expand the dialogue on place-based science education presented in Katie Lynn Brkich's article, where the connections fifth grade students make between their formal earth science curriculum and their lived experiences are highlighted. The disconnect between the curriculum the students are offered and their immediate environment is clear, and we are presented with examples of how they strive to make connections between the content and what they are familiar with—namely their surroundings. "Place" is identified as a term with complex meanings and interpretations, even in the scope of place-based science education, and understanding how the term is used in any given scenario is essential to understanding the implications of place-based education. Is place used as a location, locale or a sense of place? To understand "place" is to acknowledge that for the individual, it is highly situational, cultural and personal. It is just such attributes that make place-based education appealing, and potentially powerful, pedagogically on one hand, yet complex for implementation on the other. The argument is posed that place is particularly important in the context of education about the environment, which in its simplest manifestation, connects formal science curriculum to resources that are local and tangible to students. The incorporation of place in such a framework seeks to bridge the gap between formal school science subjects and students' lived experiences, yet acknowledges the tensions that can arise between accommodating place meanings and the desire to acculturate students into the language of the scientific community. The disconnect between guiding policy frameworks and the reality of the Next Generation Science Standards is addressed opening an avenue for further discussion of the importance of socio-cultural frameworks of science learning in an ever increasing era of accountability.

Weldon Spring Site environmental report for calendar year 1993. Weldon Springs Site Remedial Action Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-05-01

This Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1993 describes the environmental monitoring programs at the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP). The objectives of these programs are to assess actual or potential exposure to contaminant effluents from the project area by providing public use scenarios and dose estimates, to demonstrate compliance with Federal and State permitted levels, and to summarize trends and/or changes in contaminant concentrations from environmental monitoring program. In 1993, the maximum committed dose to a hypothetical individual at the chemical plant site perimeter was 0.03 mrem (0.0003 mSv). The maximum committed dose to a hypothetical individualmore » at the boundary of the Weldon Spring Quarry was 1.9 mrem (0.019 mSv). These scenarios assume an individual walking along the perimeter of the site-once a day at the chemical plant/raffinate pits and twice a day at the quarry-250 days per year. This hypothetical individual also consumes fish, sediment, and water from lakes and other bodies of water in the area. The collective dose, based on an effected population of 112,000 was 0.12 person-rem (0.0012 person-Sv). This calculation is based on recreational use of the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area and the Missouri Department of Conservation recreational trail (the Katy Trail) near the quarry. These estimates are below the U.S. Department of Energy requirement of 100 mrem (I mSv) annual committed effective dose equivalent for all exposure pathways. Results from air monitoring for the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) program indicated that the estimated dose was 0.38 mrem, which is below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard of 10 mrem per year.« less

Confronting pediatric brain tumors: parent stories.

PubMed

McMillan, Gigi

2014-01-01

This narrative symposium brings to light the extreme difficulties faced by parents of children diagnosed with brain tumors. NIB editorial staff and narrative symposium editors, Gigi McMillan and Christy A. Rentmeester, developed a call for stories that was distributed on several list serves and posted on Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics' website. The call asks parents to share their personal experience of diagnosis, treatment, long-term effects of treatment, social issues and the doctor-patient-parent dynamic that develops during this process. Thirteen stories are found in the print version of the journal and an additional six supplemental stories are published online only through Project MUSE. One change readers may notice is that the story authors are not listed in alphabetical order. The symposium editors had a vision for this issue that included leading readers through the timeline of this topic: diagnosis-treatment-acute recovery-recurrence-treatment (again)-acute recovery (again)-long-term quality of life-(possibly) end of life. Stories are arranged to help lead the reader through this timeline.Gigi McMillan is a patient and research subject advocate, co-founder of We Can, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, as well as, the mother of a child who suffered from a pediatric brain tumor. She also authored the introduction for this symposium. Christy Rentmeester is an Associate Professor of Health Policy and Ethics in the Creighton University School of Medicine. She served as a commentator for this issue. Other commentators for this issue are Michael Barraza, a clinical psychologist and board member of We Can, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network; Lisa Stern, a pediatrician who has diagnosed six children with brain tumors in her 20 years of practice; and Katie Rose, a pediatric brain tumor patient who shares her special insights about this world.

Breeding density, fine-scale tracking, and large-scale modeling reveal the regional distribution of four seabird species.

PubMed

Wakefield, Ewan D; Owen, Ellie; Baer, Julia; Carroll, Matthew J; Daunt, Francis; Dodd, Stephen G; Green, Jonathan A; Guilford, Tim; Mavor, Roddy A; Miller, Peter I; Newell, Mark A; Newton, Stephen F; Robertson, Gail S; Shoji, Akiko; Soanes, Louise M; Votier, Stephen C; Wanless, Sarah; Bolton, Mark

2017-10-01

Population-level estimates of species' distributions can reveal fundamental ecological processes and facilitate conservation. However, these may be difficult to obtain for mobile species, especially colonial central-place foragers (CCPFs; e.g., bats, corvids, social insects), because it is often impractical to determine the provenance of individuals observed beyond breeding sites. Moreover, some CCPFs, especially in the marine realm (e.g., pinnipeds, turtles, and seabirds) are difficult to observe because they range tens to ten thousands of kilometers from their colonies. It is hypothesized that the distribution of CCPFs depends largely on habitat availability and intraspecific competition. Modeling these effects may therefore allow distributions to be estimated from samples of individual spatial usage. Such data can be obtained for an increasing number of species using tracking technology. However, techniques for estimating population-level distributions using the telemetry data are poorly developed. This is of concern because many marine CCPFs, such as seabirds, are threatened by anthropogenic activities. Here, we aim to estimate the distribution at sea of four seabird species, foraging from approximately 5,500 breeding sites in Britain and Ireland. To do so, we GPS-tracked a sample of 230 European Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis, 464 Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, 178 Common Murres Uria aalge, and 281 Razorbills Alca torda from 13, 20, 12, and 14 colonies, respectively. Using Poisson point process habitat use models, we show that distribution at sea is dependent on (1) density-dependent competition among sympatric conspecifics (all species) and parapatric conspecifics (Kittiwakes and Murres); (2) habitat accessibility and coastal geometry, such that birds travel further from colonies with limited access to the sea; and (3) regional habitat availability. Using these models, we predict space use by birds from unobserved colonies and thereby map the

Marine predators and persistent prey in the southeast Bering Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigler, Michael F.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Ressler, Patrick H.; Friday, Nancy A.; Wilson, Christopher D.; Zerbini, Alexandre N.

2012-06-01

Predictable prey locations reduce search time and energetic costs of foraging; thus marine predators often exploit locations where prey concentrations persist. In our study, we examined whether this association is influenced by differences among predator species in foraging modes (travel cost, surface feeder or diver) or whether the predator species is a central place forager or not. We examined distributions of two seabird species during their nesting period, the surface-feeding black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and the pursuit-diving thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), and two baleen whale species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), in relation to two key prey, age-1 walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and euphausiids (Euphausiidae). Prey surveys were conducted once each year during 2004 and 2006-2010. Concurrent predator surveys were conducted in 2006-2010 (seabirds) and 2008 and 2010 (whales). We compared the seabird and whale foraging locations to where age-1 pollock and euphausiids were concentrated and considered the persistence of these concentrations, where the time-scale of persistence is year (i.e., a comparison among surveys that are conducted once each year). Euphausiids were widespread and concentrations often were reliably found within specific 37 km×37 km blocks ('persistent hot spots of prey'). In contrast, age-1 pollock were more concentrated and their hot spots were persistent only on coarser scales (>37 km). Both seabird species, regardless of foraging mode, were associated with age-1 pollock but not with euphausiids, even though age-1 pollock were less persistent than euphausiids. The higher travel cost central place foragers, thick-billed murres, foraged at prey concentrations nearer their island colonies than black-legged kittiwakes, which were more widespread foragers. Humpback whales were not tied to a central place and mostly were located only where euphausiids were

Survival costs of chick rearing in black-legged kittiwakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golet, Gregory H.; Irons, David B.; Estes, James A.

1998-01-01

1. We tested for costs of chick rearing in the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus) by removing entire clutches from 149 of 405 randomly selected nests, in which one or both mates was colour-banded. After the manipulation, we monitored adult nest attendance and body condition at unmanipulated and manipulated nests, and measured the survival and fecundity of these adults the following year.2. Late in the chick-rearing period, adults from unmanipulated nests (i.e. with chicks) went on significantly longer foraging trips, and were significantly lighter for their size, than adults from manipulated nests (i.e. without chicks).3. Adults from unmanipulated nests also survived to the following nesting season at a significantly lower rate than those from the manipulated nests (0·898 vs. 0·953), suggesting that attempting to raise chicks can reduce life expectancy by 55%.4. There was a tendency for adults from nests that were unmanipulated in year one to have lower reproductive success in year two, primarily because of reduced fledging success, and a higher incidence of non-breeding.5. These findings suggest that mass loss in kittiwakes during chick rearing may not be adaptive. Raising chicks can lead to reproductive costs, and the causal mechanism appears to be a reduction in body condition.6. We compare our results with previous brood (or clutch) size manipulation experiments that have measured adult body condition, survival and/or future fecundity. Although the empirical evidence suggests that long-lived species are more likely to experience survival costs than short-lived species, we believe the opposite may be true. We suggest that shifting the experimental protocol of cost of reproduction studies from brood enlargements (an approach taken in most prior studies) to brood reductions will provide more accurate quantifications of naturally occurring costs.7. The cost of reproduction is one mechanism proposed to explain the reduced survival rates reported

Kootenai River Focus Watershed Coordination, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Munson, Bob; Munson, Vicki; Rogers, Rox

2003-10-01

The Kootenai River Network Inc. (KRN) was incorporated in Montana in early 1995 with a mission ''to involve stakeholders in the protection and restoration of the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Kootenai River Basin waters''. The KRN operates with funding from donations, membership dues, private, state and federal grants, and with funding through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for a Focus Watershed Coordinator Program. The Focus Watershed Program is administered to KRN as of October 2001, through a Memorandum of Understanding. Katie Randall resigned her position as Watershed Coordinator in late January 2003 and Munson Consulting was contractedmore » to fill that position through the BPA contract period ending May 30, 2003. To improve communications with in the Kootenai River watershed, the board and staff engaged watershed stakeholders in a full day KRN watershed conference on May 15 and 16 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. This Annual General Meeting was a tremendous success with over 75 participants representing over 40 citizen groups, tribes and state/provincial/federal agencies from throughout northern Montana and Idaho as well as British Columbia and Alberta. Membership in the KRN increased during the course of the BPA 02/03 grant period. The board of directors grew in numbers during this same time frame and an Advisory Council was formed to assist in transboundary efforts while developing two reorganized KRN committees (Habitat/Restoration/Monitoring (HRM) and Communication/Education/Outreach (CEO)). These committees will serve pivotal roles in communications, outreach, and education about watershed issues, as well as habitat restoration work being accomplished throughout the entire watershed. During this BPA grant period, the KRN has capitalized on the transboundary interest in the Kootenai River watershed. Jim and Laura Duncan of Kimberley, British Columbia, have been instrumental volunteers who have acted as Canadian liaisons to the

Final LDRD Report: Using Linkography of Cyber Attack Patterns to Inform Honeytoken Placement.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mitchell, Robert; Jarocki, John Charles; Fisher, Andrew N

The war to establish cyber supremacy continues, and the literature is crowded with strictly technical cyber security measures. We present the results of a three year LDRD project using Linkography, a methodology new to the field of cyber security, we establish the foundation neces- sary to track and profile the microbehavior of humans attacking cyber systems. We also propose ways to leverage this understanding to influence and deceive these attackers. We studied the sci- ence of linkography, applied it to the cyber security domain, implemented a software package to manage linkographs, generated the preprocessing blocks necessary to ingest raw data,more » produced machine learning models, created ontology refinement algorithms and prototyped a web applica- tion for researchers and practitioners to apply linkography. Machine learning produced some of our key results: We trained and validated multinomial classifiers with a real world data set and predicted the attacker's next category of action with 86 to 98% accuracy; dimension reduction techniques indicated that the linkography-based features were among the most powerful. We also discovered ontology refinement algorithms that advanced the state of the art in linkography in general and cyber security in particular. We conclude that linkography is a viable tool for cyber security; we look forward to expanding our work to other data sources and using our prediction results to enable adversary deception techniques. Acknowledgements Thanks to Phil Bennett, Michael Bernard, Jeffrey Bigg, Marshall Daniels, Tyler Dean, David Dug- gan, Carson Kent, Josh Maine, Marci McBride, Nick Peterson, Katie Rodhouse, Asael Sorenson, Roger Suppona, Scott Watson and David Zage. We acknowledge support for this work by the LDRD Program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security

Towards a Global High Resolution Peatland Map in 2020

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barthelmes, Alexandra; Barthelmes, Karen-Doreen; Joosten, Hans; Dommain, Rene; Margalef, Olga

2015-04-01

discuss the perspectives and opportunities to complete a global map by collaborative action by 2020. References: Holden J., Chapman P.J., Labadz J.C. 2004 Artificial drainage of peatlands: hydrological and hydrochemical process and wetland restoration. Prog. Phys. Geogr, 28, 95-123. Joosten H. 2011. Sensitising global conventions for climate change mitigation by peatlands. In: Tanneberger F., Wichtmann W. (eds.) 2011. Carbon credits from peatland rewetting. Climate - biodiversity - land use. Science, policy, implementation and recommendations of a pilot project in Belarus. Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, p. 90-94. Joosten H., Tapio-Biström M.-L., Tol S. (eds.) 2012. Peatlands - guidance for climate change mitigation by conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use. Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Series 5. FAO, Rome, L + 96 p. http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/an762e/an762e.pdf. Victoria R., Banwart S., Black H., Ingram J., Joosten H., Milne E., Noellemeyer E. 2012. The benefits of soil carbon. Managing soils for multiple economic, societal, and environmental benefits. UNEP Yearbook 2012, UNEP, Nairobi, pp. 18-33.

Declaring the Republic of the Moon - Some artistic strategies for re-imagining the Moon.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

La Frenais., R.

2014-04-01

Sooner or later, humans are going back to the Moonwhether to mine it, to rehearse for a Mars mission or to just live there. But how will human activity there reflect what has happened on Earth since the last moon mission, to reflect the diversity and political and social changes that have happened since? Can artists imagine what it would be like to live on the Moon? Artists are already taking part in many scientific endeavours, becoming involved in emerging fields such as synthetic bioloogy, nanotechology, ecological remediation and enthusiastically participating in citizen science. There are already artists in Antarctica. It should be inevitable that artists will sooner or later accompany the next visit by humans to the Moon. But why wait? Artists are already imagining how it would be to live on the Moon, whether in their imaginations or though rehearsals in lunar analogues. In the recent exhibition 'Republic of the Moon' a number of visionary strategies were employed, from the use of earth-moon-earth 'moonbouncing' (Katie Paterson) to the breeding and imprinting of real geese as imagined astronauts. (Agnes Meyer-Brandis). The Outer Space Treaty and the (unsigned) Moon treaty were re-analysed and debates and even small demonstrations were organised protesting (or demanding) the industrial exploitation of the Moon. Fortuitously, China's Chang-e mission landed during the exhibition and the life and death of the rover Jade Rabbit brought a real life drama to the Republic of the Moon. There have been other artistic interventions into lunar exploration, including Aleksandra Mir's First Woman on the Moon, Alicia Framis's Moonlife project and of course the historic inclusion of two artistic artefacts into the Apollo missions, Monument to the Fallen Astronaut (still on the Moon) and the Moon Museum, reportedly inserted by an engineer into the leg of the Lunar Exploration Module. With the worldwide race by the Global Lunar X Prize teams to land a rover independently of any

"Keeping it Real -High School Science Curriculum"- Hurricane Katrina and BP Oil Spill inspire creative curriculum by Dave Jungblut, Oakcrest High School Science Teacher, Mays Landing, NJ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jungblut, D.

2011-12-01

devise creative solutions to stop the leak. This project was profiled on June 4th, 2010 on the CBS National News with Katie Couric, "Kids Solution to the BP Oil Spill" http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6549408n&tag=contentMain;contentBody Jungblut continues seeking creative ways to inspire real solutions to real world problems in his classroom as the Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster became a group learning activities for his students.

Impact of Prairie Cover on Hydraulic Conductivity and Storm Water Runoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herkes, D. M. G.; Gori, A.; Juan, A.

2017-12-01

Houston has long struggled to find effective solutions to its historic flooding problems. Conventional strategies have revolved around constructing hard infrastructure such as levees or regional detention ponds to reduce flood impacts. However, there has been a recent shift to explore the implementation of nature-based solutions in reducing flood impacts. This is due to the price of structural mechanisms, as well as their failure to adequately protect areas from flooding during the latest flood events. One alternative could be utilizing the natural water retention abilities of native Texas prairies. This study examines the effect of Texas prairie areas in increasing soil infiltration capacities, thereby increasing floodwater storage and reducing surface runoff. For this purpose, an infiltration study of 15 sites was conducted on lands owned by the Katy Prairie Conservancy within Cypress Creek watershed. Located in Northwest Houston, it is an area which had been heavily impacted by recent flood events. Each sampling site was selected to represent a particular land cover or vegetation type, ranging from developed open space to native prairies. Field test results are then compared to literature values of soil infiltration capacity in order to determine the infiltration benefit of each vegetation type. Test results show that certain vegetation, especially prairies, significantly increase the infiltration capacity of the underlying soil. For example, the hydraulic conductivity of prairie on sandy loam soil is approximately an order of magnitude higher than that of the soil itself. Finally, a physics-based hydrologic model is utilized to evaluate the flood reduction potential of native Texas prairie. This model represents Cypress Creek watershed in gridded cell format, and allows varying hydraulic and infiltration parameters at each cell. Design storms are run to obtain flow hydrographs for selected watch points in the study area. Two scenarios are simulated and compared

Towards a Global High Resolution Peatland Map in 2020

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barthelmes, Alexandra; Barthelmes, Karen-Doreen; Dommain, Rene; Margalef, Olga; Joosten, Hans

2014-05-01

the Southeast African countries Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi) and discuss the perspectives and opportunities to complete a global map by collaborative action by 2020. References: Holden J., Chapman P.J., Labadz J.C. 2004 Artificial drainage of peatlands: hydrological and hydrochemical process and wetland restoration. Prog. Phys. Geogr, 28, 95-123. Joosten H. 2011. Sensitising global conventions for climate change mitigation by peatlands. In: Tanneberger F., Wichtmann W. (eds.) 2011. Carbon credits from peatland rewetting. Climate - biodiversity - land use. Science, policy, implementation and recommendations of a pilot project in Belarus. Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, p. 90-94. Joosten H., Tapio-Biström M.-L., Tol S. (eds.) 2012. Peatlands - guidance for climate change mitigation by conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use. Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Series 5. FAO, Rome, L + 96 p. http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/an762e/an762e.pdf. Victoria R., Banwart S., Black H., Ingram J., Joosten H., Milne E., Noellemeyer E. 2012. The benefits of soil carbon. Managing soils for multiple economic, societal, and environmental benefits. UNEP Yearbook 2012, UNEP, Nairobi, pp. 18-33.

Overcoming the risk of inaction from emissions uncertainty in smallholder agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, N. J.; Ryan, C. M.

2013-03-01

proof of this concept and a platform on which greater functionality and flexibility can be built. We hope that this, and other similar initiatives, will deliver approaches to greenhouse gas accounting that reduce risks and maximize benefits to smallholder farmers. References Beddington J R et al 2012 What next for agriculture after Durban? Science 335 289-90 Coleman K and Jenkinson D S 1996 RothC 26.3 a model for the turnover of carbon in soil Evaluation of Soil Organic Matter Models Using Existing, Long-Term Datasets ed D S Powlson, P Smith and J U Smith (Heidelberg: Springer) Del Grosso S J, Ojima D S, Parton W J, Mosier A R, Petereson G A and Schimel D S 2002 Simulated effects of dryland cropping intensification on soil organic matter and greenhouse gas exchanges using the DAYCENT ecosystem model Environ. Pollut. 116 S75-83 IPCC (Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change) 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme (Hayama: IGES) (www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html) Li C, Frolking S and Harris R 1994 Modeling carbon biogeochemistry in agricultural soils Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 8 237-54 Milori D M B P, Segini A, Da Silva W T L, Posadas A, Mares V, Quiroz R and Ladislau M N 2012 Emerging techniques for soil carbon measurements Climate Change Mitigation and Agriculture ed E Wollenberg, A Nihart, M-L Tapio-Bistrom and M Greig-Gran (Abingdon: Earthscan) Olander L P 2012 Using biogeochemical process models to quantify greenhouse gas mitigation from agricultural management Climate Change Mitigation and Agriculture ed E Wollenberg, A Nihart, M-L Tapio-Bistrom and M Greig-Gran (Abingdon: Earthscan) Parton W J, Schimel D S, Cole C V and Ojima D S 1987 Analysis of factors controlling soil organic matter levels in Great Plains grasslands Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51 1173-9 Plan Vivo 2012 The Plan Vivo Standard For Community Payments for Ecosystem Services Programmes Version 2012 (available

New classification of landslide-inducing anthropogenic activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michoud, C.; Jaboyedoff, M.; Derron, M.-H.; Nadim, F.; Leroi, E.

2012-04-01

Although landslides are usually considered typical examples of natural hazards, they can be influenced by human activities. Many examples can be found in the literature about slope instabilities induced by anthropogenic activities, ranging from small superficial landslides to rock avalanches. Research on this topic is of primary importance for understanding and mitigation of landslide risk. Indeed, slope stabilities influenced by human actions contribute significantly to the risk level because, by definition, they are located where elements at risk and people are present. Within the framework of the European project SafeLand "Living with Landslide Risk in Europe", the authors analyzed the landslides induced by anthropogenic factors in Europe and elsewhere (SafeLand deliverable D1.6). During the bibliographical research, it appeared that a complete and illustrated classification on human activities influencing slope stabilities does not yet exist. Therefore, a new classification was introduced by Michoud et al. (2011) about anthropogenic activities affecting slope stability conditions. This classification takes into account conceptual processes leading to landslides (Terzaghi, 1950; Jaboyedoff and Derron, 2005) and the distinction between destabilization factors and triggering factors (Vaunat et al., 1994; Leroueil et al., 1996). The classification was tested and improved through fifty-eight well-documented case studies, even lots of large landslides, such as Elm, Aberfan, Namsos and Rissa landslides, etc. Furthermore, the boundary between natural and "anthropogenic" landslide triggers (e.g. water run-off modified by new land-uses, creating landslides some km farther), and the time during which changes and reactions are to be considered as direct consequences of human activities were highlighted. Finally, anthropogenic influences can also be positive and examples of (non-voluntary) positive human impacts on slope stability are presented. Jaboyedoff, M. and Derron, M

Towards a numerical run-out model for quick-clay slides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Issler, Dieter; L'Heureux, Jean-Sébastien; Cepeda, José M.; Luna, Byron Quan; Gebreslassie, Tesfahunegn A.

2015-04-01

Highly sensitive glacio-marine clays occur in many relatively low-lying areas near the coasts of eastern Canada, Scandinavia and northern Russia. If the load exceeds the yield stress of these clays, they quickly liquefy, with a reduction of the yield strength and the viscosity by several orders of magnitude. Leaching, fluvial erosion, earthquakes and man-made overloads, by themselves or combined, are the most frequent triggers of quick-clay slides, which are hard to predict and can attain catastrophic dimensions. The present contribution reports on two preparatory studies that were conducted with a view to creating a run-out model tailored to the characteristics of quick-clay slides. One study analyzed the connections between the morphological and geotechnical properties of more than 30 well-documented Norwegian quick-clay slides and their run-out behavior. The laboratory experiments by Locat and Demers (1988) suggest that the behavior of quick clays can be reasonably described by universal relations involving the liquidity index, plastic index, remolding energy, salinity and sensitivity. However, these tests should be repeated with Norwegian clays and analyzed in terms of a (shear-thinning) Herschel-Bulkley fluid rather than a Bingham fluid because the shear stress appears to grow in a sub-linear fashion with the shear rate. Further study is required to understand the discrepancy between the material parameters obtained in laboratory tests of material from observed slides and in back-calculations of the same slides with the simple model by Edgers & Karlsrud (1982). The second study assessed the capability of existing numerical flow models to capture the most important aspects of quick-clay slides by back-calculating three different, well documented events in Norway: Rissa (1978), Finneidfjord (1996) and Byneset (2012). The numerical codes were (i) BING, a quasi-two-dimensional visco-plastic model, (ii) DAN3D (2009 version), and (iii) MassMov2D. The latter two are

Site-specific effects on productivity of an upper trophic-level marine predator: Bottom-up, top-down, and mismatch effects on reproduction in a colonial seabird

USGS Publications Warehouse

Suryan, R.M.; Irons, D.B.; Brown, E.D.; Jodice, P.G.R.; Roby, D.D.

2006-01-01

We investigated the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down factors in limiting productivity of an upper trophic level marine predator. Our primary working hypothesis was that the reproductive success of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) a piscivorous, colonial-nesting seabird, was most limited by the abundance, distribution, and species composition of surface-schooling forage fishes. A secondary working hypothesis was that reproductive loss to kittiwake nest predators was greatest during years of reduced prey availability. We report on a broad-scale, integrated study of kittiwakes and their prey in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Our study spanned five breeding seasons (1995-1999) and focused on three colonies that differed in size (ranging from ca. 220 to ca. 7000 breeding pairs) and proximity to each other (50-135 km apart). Kittiwakes in PWS encountered a variety of aquatic habitats, creating a complex foraging environment for breeding birds. We measured kittiwake reproductive success and foraging activities, while simultaneously measuring the abundance of surface schooling forage fishes throughout the foraging range of breeding kittiwakes. The abundance of primary prey species for kittiwakes (Pacific herring Clupea pallasi, Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus, and capelin Mallotus villosus) varied both annually and regionally, with no one region consistently having the greatest abundance of prey. Likewise, kittiwake reproductive success varied considerably among colonies and years. We found that bottom-up, top-down, timing mismatch, and colony-specific effects were all important to kittiwake productivity. Although bottom-up effects appeared to be strongest, they were not evident in some cases until other effects, such as geographic location (proximity of colony to prey concentrations) and top-down predation, were considered. Important bottom-up effects on kittiwake reproductive success were not only total prey abundance and distribution, but also

[The effects of "The Work" meditation technique on psychological scales among a non-clinical sample].

PubMed

Mitnik, Inbal; Lev-Ari, Shahar

2015-01-01

"The Work" is a meditative technique developed by Byron Katie in 1986 and is practiced by hundreds of thousands of people in more than 30 countries. The technique trains individuals to identify the thoughts that cause stress and suffering in a systematic and comprehensive way and to meditatively "investigate" these thoughts, thus enabling them to experience a different interpretation of reality. The current study aimed to assess the effect of "The Work" meditation on psychological scales among a non-clinical sample. This was a prospective research study conducted without a control group. The intervention consisted of a 9-day workshop of "The Work" meditation technique. Fifty-eight participants completed the following questionnaires before and after the intervention: satisfaction with life (SWLS), sense of coherence (SOC), general well-being (MHI), self-esteem (SES) and demographics. A significant improvement was obtained in all measures after "The Work" intervention: SWLS (21.6 to 25.07, p<0.001); SOC-comprehensibility subscale (4.05 to 4.55, p<0.001), SOC-manageability subscale (4.39 to 4.9, p<0.001) and meaningfulness subscale (4.58 to 5.07, p<0.001); SES (17.61 to 21.56, p<0.001); General wellbeing-well-being subscale (4.34 to 4.87, p<0.001) and distress subscale (3.42 to 2.79, p<0.001). A sense of coherence is an important resource for coping with challenging life events and promoting well-being and health. This resource can be influenced by mind-body interventions. Satisfaction with life is a subjective judgment of satisfaction with one's life in relation to one's own unique criteria. It is a central resource in mental and physical health promotion. "The Work" meditation technique includes cognitive conceptualization and processes, which may have contributed to the increase demonstrated in this scale. Psychological well-being scales also improved--a finding which has health, social and economic implications in the general population. The findings of the

Telemedicine Technologies for Diabetes in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Ming, Wai-Kit; Mackillop, Lucy H; Farmer, Andrew J; Loerup, Lise; Bartlett, Katy; Levy, Jonathan C; Tarassenko, Lionel; Velardo, Carmelo; Kenworthy, Yvonne; Hirst, Jane E

2016-11-09

identified that assessed patient satisfaction or cost of care delivery, and it may be in these areas where these technologies may be found most valuable. ©Wai-Kit Ming, Lucy H Mackillop, Andrew J Farmer, Lise Loerup, Katy Bartlett, Jonathan C Levy, Lionel Tarassenko, Carmelo Velardo, Yvonne Kenworthy, Jane E Hirst. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 09.11.2016.

Perceptions Toward a Smoking Cessation App Targeting LGBTQ+ Youth and Young Adults: A Qualitative Framework Analysis of Focus Groups.

PubMed

Baskerville, N Bruce; Dash, Darly; Wong, Katy; Shuh, Alanna; Abramowicz, Aneta

2016-11-18

perspectives of LGBTQ+ YYA on a smoking cessation intervention delivered through a mobile app. The findings suggested a number of components of a mobile app that were valued and those that were concerning, as well as suggestions on how to make a mobile app cessation program successful. App development for this subpopulation should take into consideration the opinions of the intended users and involve them in the development and evaluation of mobile-based smoking cessation programs. ©N Bruce Baskerville, Darly Dash, Katy Wong, Alanna Shuh, Aneta Abramowicz. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 18.11.2016.

Participants' Perceptions on the Use of Wearable Devices to Reduce Sitting Time: Qualitative Analysis.

PubMed

Takemoto, Michelle; Lewars, Brittany; Hurst, Samantha; Crist, Katie; Nebeker, Camille; Madanat, Hala; Nichols, Jeanne; Rosenberg, Dori E; Kerr, Jacqueline

2018-03-31

participants voted, as several participants reported using a "process of elimination" as opposed to choosing favorites because none of the devices were ideal for reducing sitting time. To overcome the limitations in current devices, future wearable devices designed to reduce sitting time should include the following features: waterproof, long battery life, accuracy in measuring sitting time, real time feedback on progress toward sitting reduction goals, and flexible options for prompts to take breaks from sitting. ©Michelle Takemoto, Brittany Lewars, Samantha Hurst, Katie Crist, Camille Nebeker, Hala Madanat, Jeanne Nichols, Dori E Rosenberg, Jacqueline Kerr. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 31.03.2018.

A stable isotope ( δ13C, δ15N) model for the North Water food web: implications for evaluating trophodynamics and the flow of energy and contaminants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hobson, Keith A.; Fisk, Aaron; Karnovsky, Nina; Holst, Meike; Gagnon, Jean-Marc; Fortier, Martin

The North Water Polynya is an area of high biological activity that supports large numbers of higher trophic-level organisms such as seabirds and marine mammals. An overall objective of the Upper Trophic-Level Group of the International North Water Polynya Study (NOW) was to evaluate carbon and contaminant flux through these high trophic-level (TL) consumers. Crucial to an evaluation of the role of such consumers, however, was the establishment of primary trophic linkages within the North Water food web. We used δ15N values of food web components from particulate organic matter (POM) through polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) to create a trophic-level model based on the assumptions that Calanus hyperboreus occupies TL 2.0 and there is a 2.4‰ trophic enrichment in 15N between birds and their diets, and a 3.8‰ trophic enrichment for all other components. This model placed the planktivorous dovekie ( Alle alle) at TL 3.3, ringed seal ( Phoca hispida) at TL 4.5, and polar bear at TL 5.5. The copepods C. hyperboreus, Chiridius glacialis and Euchaeta glacialis formed a trophic continuum (TL 2.0-3.0) from primary herbivore through omnivore to primary carnivore. Invertebrates were generally sorted according to planktonic, benthic and epibenthic feeding groups. Seabirds formed three trophic groups, with dovekie occupying the lowest, black-legged kittiwake ( Rissa tridactyla), northern fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialis), thick-billed murre ( Uria aalge), and ivory gull ( Pagophilia eburnea) intermediate (TL 3.9-4.0), and glaucous gull ( Larus hyperboreus) the highest (TL 4.6) trophic positions. Among marine mammals, walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus) occupied the lowest (TL 3.2) and bearded seal ( Erignathus barbatus), ringed seal, beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas), and narwhal ( Monodon monoceros) intermediate positions (TL 4.1-4.6). In addition to arctic cod ( Boreogadus saida), we suggest that lower trophic-level prey, in particular the amphipod Themisto libellula, contribute

Web-Based Activity Within a Sexual Health Economy: Observational Study.

PubMed

Turner, Katy Me; Zienkiewicz, Adam K; Syred, Jonathan; Looker, Katharine J; de Sa, Joia; Brady, Michael; Free, Caroline; Holdsworth, Gillian; Baraitser, Paula

2018-03-07

process, suggesting the potential for missed diagnoses. This evaluation shows that users can effectively be transitioned from face-to-face to Web-based services and that this introduces a new population to Web-based service use and changes the focus of clinic-based activity. Further development is underway to optimize the triage and signposting process to support test completion. ©Katy ME Turner, Adam K Zienkiewicz, Jonathan Syred, Katharine J Looker, Joia de Sa, Michael Brady, Caroline Free, Gillian Holdsworth, Paula Baraitser. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 07.03.2018.

Engaging Moms on Teen Indoor Tanning Through Social Media: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Pagoto, Sherry L; Baker, Katie; Griffith, Julia; Oleski, Jessica L; Palumbo, Ashley; Walkosz, Barbara J; Hillhouse, Joel; Henry, Kimberly L; Buller, David B

2016-11-29

. This trial will deliver social media content grounded in theory and will test it in a randomized design with state-of-the-art measures. This will contribute much needed insights on how to employ social media for health behavior change and disease prevention both for indoor tanning and other health risk behaviors and inform future social media efforts by public health and health care organizations. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02835807; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02835807 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6mDMICcCE). ©Sherry L Pagoto, Katie Baker, Julia Griffith, Jessica L Oleski, Ashley Palumbo, Barbara J Walkosz, Joel Hillhouse, Kimberly L Henry, David B Buller. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 29.11.2016.

Internet-Based Assessment of Oncology Health Care Professional Learning Style and Optimization of Materials for Web-Based Learning: Controlled Trial With Concealed Allocation.

PubMed

Micheel, Christine M; Anderson, Ingrid A; Lee, Patricia; Chen, Sheau-Chiann; Justiss, Katy; Giuse, Nunzia B; Ye, Fei; Kusnoor, Sheila V; Levy, Mia A

2017-07-25

or 4.0% more improvement on average; P=.004) and a higher follow-up test score than the control group (0.3 points or 3.3% more improvement on average; P=.02). Although the study demonstrated more learning with learning style-tailored educational materials, the magnitude of increased learning and the largely multimodal learning styles preferred by the study participants lead us to conclude that future content-creation efforts should focus on multimodal educational materials rather than learning style-tailored content. ©Christine M Micheel, Ingrid A Anderson, Patricia Lee, Sheau-Chiann Chen, Katy Justiss, Nunzia B Giuse, Fei Ye, Sheila V Kusnoor, Mia A Levy. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 25.07.2017.

Zooplankton in the Arctic outflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soloviev, K. A.; Dritz, A. V.; Nikishina, A. B.

2009-04-01

content were measured in dominant species to investigate effect of Chl a concentration and phytoplankton composition on ingestion rate. Egg production experiments were carried out under different food conditions. Rare deep water zooplankton species were also investigated to increase our knowledge in the Arctic biodiversity. Copepods Calanus finmarchicus is known as a marker of the Atlantic water mass, Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus, vice versa, are the coldwater Arctic species. In our study we investigated three Calanus species distribution and analyzed their ecological status. Changes in zooplankton composition results in the alteration of energy transfer within the pelagic food web ("cold" and "warm" scenarios) with potential consequences for growth and survival of seabirds Little Auk (Alle alle) and Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). We discuss the advection effect on the zooplankton community, compare the population development phases with phytoplankton bloom phases (match-mismatch), estimate grazing impact on phytoplankton community and consider different life strategies for the three different Calanus species.

Conspecific reproductive success and breeding habitat selection: Implications for the study of coloniality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Danchin, E.; Boulinier, T.; Massot, M.

1998-01-01

Habitat selection is a crucial process in the life cycle of animals because it can affect most components of fitness. It has been proposed that some animals cue on the reproductive success of conspecifics to select breeding habitats. We tested this hypothesis with demographic and behavioral data from a 17-yr study of the Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), a cliff-nesting seabird. As the hypothesis assumes, the Black-legged Kittiwake nesting environment was patchy, and the relative quality of the different patches (i.e., breeding cliffs) varied in time. The average reproductive success of the breeders of a given cliff was predictable from one year to the next, but this predictability faded after several years. The dynamic nature of cliff quality in the long term is partly explained by the autocorrelation of the prevalence of an ectoparasite that influences reproductive success. As predicted by the performance-based conspecific attraction hypothesis, the reproductive success of current breeders on a given cliff was predictive of the reproductive success of new recruits on the cliff in the following year. Breeders tended to recruit to the previous year's most productive cliffs and to emigrate from the least productive ones. Consequently, the dynamics of breeder numbers on the cliffs were explained by local reproductive success on a year-to-year basis. Because, on average, young Black-legged Kittiwakes first breed when 4 yr old, such a relationship probably results from individual choices based on the assessment of previous-year local quality. When breeders changed breeding cliffs between years, they selected cliffs of per capita higher reproductive success. Furthermore, after accounting for the potential effects of age and sex as well as between-year variations, the effect of individual breeding performance on breeding dispersal was strongly influenced by the average reproductive success of other breeders on the same cliff. Individual breeding performance did

Short Text Messages to Encourage Adherence to Medication and Follow-up for People With Psychosis (Mobile.Net): Randomized Controlled Trial in Finland.

PubMed

Välimäki, Maritta; Kannisto, Kati Anneli; Vahlberg, Tero; Hätönen, Heli; Adams, Clive E

2017-07-12

data can provide clear outcomes for pragmatic randomized trials. SMS messaging tailored with the input of each individual patient did not decrease the rate of psychiatric hospital visits after the 12 months of follow-up. Although there may have been other, more subtle effects, the results of these were not evident in outcomes of agreed importance to clinicians, policymakers, and patients and their families. International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 27704027; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN27704027 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6rVzZrbuz). ©Maritta Välimäki, Kati Anneli Kannisto, Tero Vahlberg, Heli Hätönen, Clive E Adams. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 12.07.2017.

Organochlorine residues in eggs of Alaskan seabirds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ohlendorf, H.M.; Bartonek, J.C.; Divoky, G.J.; Klass, E.

1982-01-01

Aleutian Islands and Bristol Bay. However, within some species there were exceptions to this general pattern, and mean concentrations of most chemicals differed from one site to another within the same region.Among eggs of species collected in two or more regions, residue frequencies were highest in those of the fork-tailed storm-petrel, tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata), horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata), pelagic cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), and northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), and lowest in those of common murre (Uria aalge), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), and thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia).On a regional basis, mean concentrations of DDE and PCB's varied significantly among species, but there were few consistent patterns of species differences, except that levels of DDE were always lowest in black-legged kittiwakes and concentrations of PCB's were usually lowest in murres. Also, concentrations of both chemicals (except PCB's in the Gulf of Alaska) were usually higher in northern fulmars than in other species, and the highest concentrations of both DDE and PCB's found in this study were in glaucous-winged gulls in the Aleutian Islands.

Increasing the Availability of Psychological Treatments: A Multinational Study of a Scalable Method for Training Therapists.

PubMed

O'Connor, Marianne; Morgan, Katy E; Bailey-Straebler, Suzanne; Fairburn, Christopher G; Cooper, Zafra

2018-06-08

.19, 95% CI 0.13-0.25), and those who treated a suitable patient during training had an expected change in competence score 1.2 (95% CI 0.4-2.1) points higher than those who did not. Similarly, there was an association between meeting the competence threshold after training and the number of modules completed (odds ratio, OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.07-1.15), and treating at least one patient during training was associated with competence after training (OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.2-4.1). Independent Web-centered training can successfully train large numbers of therapists dispersed across a wide geographical area. This finding is of importance because the availability of a highly scalable method of training potentially increases the number of people who might receive effective psychological treatments. ©Marianne O'Connor, Katy E Morgan, Suzanne Bailey-Straebler, Christopher G Fairburn, Zafra Cooper. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 08.06.2018.

Climate change and control of the southeastern Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, George L., Jr.; Stabeno, Phyllis; Walters, Gary; Sinclair, Elizabeth; Brodeur, Richard D.; Napp, Jeffery M.; Bond, Nicholas A.

2002-12-01

provide forage. The OCH predicts that the ability of large predatory fish populations to sustain fishing pressure will vary between warm and cold regimes. The OCH points to the importance of the timing of ice retreat and water temperatures during the spring bloom for the productivity of zooplankton, and the degree and direction of coupling between zooplankton and forage fish. Forage fish (e.g., juvenile pollock, capelin, Pacific herring [ Clupea pallasii]) are key prey for adult pollock and other apex predators. In the southeastern Bering Sea, important changes in the biota since the mid-1970s include a marked increase in the biomass of large piscivorous fish and a concurrent decline in the biomass of forage fish, including age-1 walleye pollock, particularly over the southern portion of the shelf. Populations of northern fur seals ( Callorhinus ursinus) and seabirds such as kittiwakes ( Rissa spp.) at the Pribilof Islands have declined, most probably in response to a diminished prey base. The available evidence suggests that these changes are unlikely the result of a decrease in total annual new primary production, though the possibility of reduced post-bloom production during summer remains. An ecosystem approach to management of the Bering Sea and its fisheries is of great importance if all of the ecosystem components valued by society are to thrive. Cognizance of how climate regimes may alter relationships within this ecosystem will facilitate reaching that goal.

[Tadeusz Tucholski (1898-1940). A contribution to the scientific biography].

PubMed

Tucholska-Załuska, Hanna

2014-01-01

Assistant professor Tadeusz Tucholski Ph.D., murdered in Katyń, was one of the most outstanding representatives of the younger generation of Polish physical chemist scholars of the interwar period. He published over 30 scientific papers in the field of physical and chemical properties of explosions, kinetics and catalysis and also toxicology and forensics. Thesere searches were partly performed at the University of Poznań, in the period 1926-1939, at the Faculty of Medicine of the Department of Physics where Tucholski was employed as a senior assistant and was the closest associate of professor S. Kalandyk, partly at the Department of Forensic Medicine headed by professor S. Horoszkiewicz in the chemical-toxicological laboratory which Tucholski ranin the years 1931-1939, partly at the Warsaw University of Technology in the Department of Explosives Technology of the Faculty of Chemistry headed by professor T. Urbański, where he had been lecturing "On the latest theories of explosives" since 1937 and in 1934-35 in Cambridge, as a teaching fellow of the National Culture Fund, in Colloid Science Laboratory headed by professor E.K. Rideal. In 1903 Tucholski moved with his parents to Zabaykalye, in 1911--to Brazil. He returned to Poland in 1920, joined the Polish Army and with the 14th Polish Medium Regiment fought on the fronts of the Polish-Bolshevik War. He was drafted to the School of Pyrotechnics Foremen at Corps District Command number VII (Poznań). After graduating, Tucholski remained on active duty as a professional pyrotechnic: from 1921 to 1929 he was appointed the head of the Laboratory of Chemical and Pyrotechnic Ammunition Workshop No. 2 in Poznań and as an inspector of magazines of explosives. In 1927 he was transferred to the reserves, in 1932 after having graduated from the Officer Cadet School in Jarocin, Tucholski was appointed a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve, and later moved from the officers infantry corpsto the army ordnance corps. As

Comparing the Efficacy of a Mobile Phone-Based Blood Glucose Management System With Standard Clinic Care in Women With Gestational Diabetes: Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Mackillop, Lucy; Hirst, Jane Elizabeth; Bartlett, Katy Jane; Birks, Jacqueline Susan; Clifton, Lei; Farmer, Andrew J; Gibson, Oliver; Kenworthy, Yvonne; Levy, Jonathan Cummings; Loerup, Lise; Rivero-Arias, Oliver; Ming, Wai-Kit; Velardo, Carmelo; Tarassenko, Lionel

2018-03-20

2.63 [SD 1.71] readings per day in the intervention and control groups, respectively; P<.001). There was no significant difference in direct health care costs between the two groups, with a mean cost difference of the intervention group compared to control of -£1044 (95% CI -£2186 to £99). There were no unexpected adverse outcomes. Remote blood glucocse monitoring in women with GDM is safe. We demonstrated superior data capture using GDm-health. Although glycemic control and maternal and neonatal outcomes were similar, women preferred this model of care. Further studies are required to explore whether digital health solutions can promote desired self-management lifestyle behaviors and dietetic adherence, and influence maternal and neonatal outcomes. Digital blood glucose monitoring may provide a scalable, practical method to address the growing burden of GDM around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01916694; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01916694 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6y3lh2BOQ). ©Lucy Mackillop, Jane Elizabeth Hirst, Katy Jane Bartlett, Jacqueline Susan Birks, Lei Clifton, Andrew J Farmer, Oliver Gibson, Yvonne Kenworthy, Jonathan Cummings Levy, Lise Loerup, Oliver Rivero-Arias, Wai-Kit Ming, Carmelo Velardo, Lionel Tarassenko. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 20.03.2018.

Factors Associated With Dropout During Recruitment and Follow-Up Periods of a mHealth-Based Randomized Controlled Trial for Mobile.Net to Encourage Treatment Adherence for People With Serious Mental Health Problems.

PubMed

Kannisto, Kati Anneli; Korhonen, Joonas; Adams, Clive E; Koivunen, Marita Hannele; Vahlberg, Tero; Välimäki, Maritta Anneli

2017-02-21

.12% (35/1123) of the participants withdrew from the trial. However, dropout rates from the patient survey (either by paper or telephone interview) were 52.45% (589/1123) and 27.8% (155/558), respectively. Almost all participants (536/563, 95.2%) tolerated the intervention, but those who discontinued were more often women (21/27, 78%; P=.009). Finally, participants' age (P<.001), gender (P<.001), vocational education (P=.04), and employment status (P<.001) seemed to predict their risk of dropping out from the postal survey. Patient recruitment and engagement in the 12-month follow-up conducted with a postal survey were the most vulnerable phases in the SMS text message-based trial. People with serious mental health problems may need extra support during the recruitment process and in engaging them in SMS text message-based trials to ensure robust enough evidence for mental health care. International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 27704027; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN27704027 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6oHcU2SFp). ©Kati Anneli Kannisto, Joonas Korhonen, Clive E Adams, Marita Hannele Koivunen, Tero Vahlberg, Maritta Anneli Välimäki. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 21.02.2017.

EDITORIAL: Greetings from the new Editor-in-Chief

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, P.

2004-04-01

On 1 January, 2004, I assumed the position of Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. I will start by saying that I will do my best to justify the confidence of the journal management and publishing staff in my abilities. I was fortunate to have been able to work, as an Editorial Board member, with my predecessor, the previous Editor-in-Chief, Professor Allister Ferguson. Allister has provided a high degree of intellectual stewardship for the journal in the last five years. He has made the job appear a worthy challenge for me. I therefore take this opportunity to thank Allister on behalf of the Editorial Board and publishing staff of the journal. Several other factors contributed to my decision to accept this position. The first is the group of people who actually go about the business of publishing. The Senior Publisher, Nicola Gulley (and her predecessor Sophy Le Masurier); the Managing Editor, Jill Membrey; the Publishing Administrators, Nina Blakesley and Sarah Towell; the Production Editor, Katie Gerrard and their office staff form an amazing group and have managed to make the operation of the journal incredibly efficient. An index of this is the speed with which incoming manuscripts are processed. The average time between the receipt of a manuscript and its web publication, if accepted, is 130 days. This is three to five times shorter than for most other journals. A factor that contributes to this success is a responsive pool of referees that the publishing staff have as a valuable resource. Ultimately, the standard bearers of any journal are the referees. Therefore, a grateful `thank you' is due from all of us at J. Phys. D to all our referees, who diligently perform this honourable task. The Associate Editors of the journal, Professors Lawler, Margaritondo and O'Grady, also provide immense scientific leadership. They help in defining new directions for the journal and in the publishing process. Last, but not least, a remarkable asset of

EDITORIAL: Theory of Quantum Gases and Quantum Coherence: The Cortona BEC Workshop, 29 October-2 November 2005

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capuzzi, Pablo; Chitra, R.; Menotti, Chiara; Minguzz, Anna; Vignolo, Patrizia

2006-05-01

opportunity to thank all the participants of ICOMP-X, and in particular the contributors to this issue, for the high quality of science presented at the conference and in this journal. The success of the conference would not have been possible without the program committee which included D Charalambidis, L Cocke, R Freeman, Y Fujimura, S Goreslavsky, A L'Huillier, F Krausz, R Levis, S H Lin, A Maquet, J Marangos, K Midorikawa, G Mourou, P Salieres, W Sandner, K Schafer, A Scrinzi, A M Sergeev, H Stapelfeldt, A Starace, J Ullrich, M Vrakking, and K Yamanouchi. A particularly lively atmosphere in the discussions was ensured by many students who were able to participate in the conference, in part due to generous support of the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (CIPI) to the Canadian, and of the US Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences to the American students. Additional support to the conference was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Pfeiffer Vacuum, Femtolasers Produktions GmbH, Roentdek Handels GmbH, Coherent Laser Products, and Amplitude Technologies. Last but not least, the guest editors of this special issue would like to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work done by the staff of J. Phys. B in handling all aspects of the publication process. In particular, we would like to thank Isabelle Auffret-Babak, Alice Malhador and Joanna Dingley from the editorial team, Katie Gerrard in production and the Editor-in-Chief, Professor J-M Rost.

The importance of tidewater glaciers for marine mammals and seabirds in Svalbard, Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lydersen, Christian; Assmy, Philipp; Falk-Petersen, Stig; Kohler, Jack; Kovacs, Kit M.; Reigstad, Marit; Steen, Harald; Strøm, Hallvard; Sundfjord, Arild; Varpe, Øystein; Walczowski, Waldek; Weslawski, Jan Marcin; Zajaczkowski, Marek

2014-01-01

Approximately 60% of Svalbard's land areas are glaciated at the present time. The Archipelago has more than 1100 glaciers (> 1 km2) and 163 of these are “tidewater glaciers” - that is glaciers that terminate (with their calving front) at the sea. It has been known for a long time that these glacier front areas are important feeding areas for seabirds and marine mammals. Herein, we review current knowledge regarding the importance of these areas for these animals and reflect upon the processes that create these apparent “hotspots”. Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, routinely dominate avian assemblages in front of glaciers in Svalbard, but fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, ivory gulls Pagophila eburnea and glaucous gulls Larus hyperboreus also contribute to aggregations, which can sometimes comprise many thousands of individuals. The birds are often found in the so-called “brown zone”, which is an area in front of tidewater glaciers that is ice-free due to currents and muddy due to suspended sediments. Animals at these sites typically have their stomachs full of large zooplankton or fish. These brown zones are also foraging hotspots for Svalbard's ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and white whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Prime breeding habitat for ringed seals in Svalbard occurs deep in the fjords where ice pieces calved from the glacier fronts become frozen into land-fast sea-ice, promoting the accumulation of snow to a depth suitable for ringed seal females to dig out birth lairs above breathing holes in the ice. These pupping areas are important hunting areas for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in spring, especially female bears with cubs of the year during the period following emergence from the winter/birthing den. Glacier-ice pieces floating in coastal areas are also important for all seal species in the region as dry platforms during moulting and also as general resting platforms for both birds and seals. During the last decade there have been several years with a

[Eustachy Gryszkiewicz-Trochimowski (1888-1971) chemist].

PubMed

Morawski, Bogdan

2011-01-01

organic-fluoric combinations. The method was kept in the strictest secrecy and was revealed in 1942 to the English by doctor Sporzyński while visiting Great Britain. The results of the Warsaw research works were laid before professor of the University of Cambridge--H. McCombiem, who presented them as his own discovery, and who took a patent for the method. While doing research works in the Institute, Eustachy Gryszkiewicz-Trochimowski with an approval of army administration since January, 1929, started to work in Industry and Trade Establishments of Chemistry--L. Spiess & Son. Co-operating with the company for 10 years, he elaborated and applied the modified methods of producing many synthetic remedies, and worked out a program of establishment's production that could easily conform with the modern chemical and pharmaceutical factory. The program in the post-war period was continued almost for two decades. Gryszkiewicz-Trochimowski was the only chemist in Poland, who did his research works over synthetic healers. In the period of occupation he worked for a while in the company "Spiess". In 1943 he was informed of the murder in Katyń of his co-worker--captain doctor Wnuk. A perspective of annextion of Polish territories by the Soviets was for him a serious threat and thus he started making attempts at leaving for the west. He left the country under unknown circumstances and found himself in France. After the end of World War II he published a great many of his works that earlier had been kept in secret. In France he was employed in the military scientific and research institution--Centre d'Etudes du Buchet--and was engaged in works over a French program of defence. Having lived to be seventy nine, died on February 25, 1971, in Brazil.

Global Cropland Area Database (GCAD) derived from Remote Sensing in Support of Food Security in the Twenty-first Century: Current Achievements and Future Possibilities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Teluguntla, Pardhasaradhi G.; Thenkabail, Prasad S.; Xiong, Jun N.; Gumma, Murali Krishna; Giri, Chandra; Milesi, Cristina; Ozdogan, Mutlu; Congalton, Russ; Tilton, James; Sankey, Temuulen Tsagaan; Massey, Richard; Phalke, Aparna; Yadav, Kamini

2015-01-01

to biofuels (Bindraban et al., 2009), limited water resources for irrigation expansion (Turral et al., 2009), limits on agricultural intensifications, loss of croplands to urbanization (Khan and Hanjra, 2008), increasing meat consumption (and associated demands on land and water) (Vinnari and Tapio, 2009), environmental infeasibility for cropland expansion (Gordon et al., 2009), and changing climate have all put pressure on our continued ability to sustain global food security in the twenty-first century. So, how does the World continue to meet its food and nutrition needs?. Solutions may come from bio-technology and precision farming, however developments in these fields are not currently moving at rates that will ensure global food security over next few decades. Further, there is a need for careful consideration of possible harmful effects of bio-technology. We should not be looking back 30– 50 years from now, like we have been looking back now at many mistakes made during the green revolution. During the green revolution the focus was only on getting more yield per unit area. Little thought was put about serious damage done to our natural environments, water resources, and human health as a result of detrimental factors such as uncontrolled use of herbicides-pesticides-nutrients, drastic groundwater mining, and salinization of fertile soils due to over irrigation. Currently, there is talk of a “second green revolution” or even an “ever green revolution”, but clear ideas on what these terms actually mean are still debated and are evolving. One of the biggest issues that are not given adequate focus is the use of large quantities of water for food production. Indeed, an overwhelming proportion (60-90%) of all human water use in India goes for producing their food (Falkenmark, M., & Rockström, 2006). But such intensive water use for food production is no longer tenable due to increasing pressure for water use alternatives such as increasing urbanization

Argonne National Laboratory summary site environmental report for calendar year 2007.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Golchert, N. W.

2009-05-22

the outline, partners divided work equally and began to carefully summarize. Groups summaries were edited, not only within groups, but also by other groups, in order to acquire a different perspective. Finally, Mr. Howard, our Biology II instructor, took a final look at the products before sending them off for the final review by Argonne. The final project was a 16-page pamphlet. The students reacted positively to the project. Asked if she was glad that she chose to work on the Argonne project, Katie Hanson said, 'Yes. I have enjoyed having the opportunity to become a published author. Also, it is an honor to be able to work with a prestigious, nationally recognized laboratory such as Argonne'. There were difficult aspects as well. Student Olga Zagariya said the hardest part of the project was 'trying to choose which information to put in the summary and which information to leave out, because it all seemed to be important'. It seems that everyone was satisfied with his or her section.« less

EDITORIAL: Message from the Editor Message from the Editor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Paul

2011-01-01

intrinsic toroidal rotation in tokamaks' (2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 1618-24). The prize was awarded at the Fusion Energy Conference in Daejeon, together with the 2009 Nuclear Fusion Award to Steve Sabbagh. The Board of Editors Roger Weynants retired as a member of the Board of Editors in 2010. On behalf of the Nuclear Fusion office and the Chairman of the Board, Mitsuru Kikuchi, I would like to thank him for his effort in support of the journal; Roger was one of the most active members of the Board and his balanced and competent advice was extremely valuable on many difficult decisions. At the same time we welcome Tony Donne whom I am sure does not need any introduction to the readers of Nuclear Fusion; I am confident he can only further the success of the journal. The Nuclear Fusion office and IOP Publishing Just as the journal depends on the authors and referees, so its success is also due to the tireless and largely unsung efforts of the Nuclear Fusion office in Vienna and IOP Publishing in Bristol. I would like to express my personal thanks to Maria Bergamini-Roedler, Katja Haslinger, Sophy Le Masurier, Yasmin McGlashan, Caroline Wilkinson, Sarah Ryder, Katie Gerrard and Stephanie Kent for the support that they have given to me, the authors and the referees. Season's greetings I would like to wish our readers, authors, referees and Board of Editors season's greetings and thank them for their contributions to Nuclear Fusion in 2010.

Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA): aerial seabird and marine mammal surveys off northern California, Oregon, and Washington, 2011-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Adams, Josh; Felis, Jonathan J.; Mason, John W.; Takekawa, John Y.

2014-01-01

counted (19,033) with Common Murres (Uria aalge) representing the majority of individuals counted (70.4% of total). The remaining six most abundant taxa included: Surf/White-winged Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata/M. fusca; 4.8% of total), Herring/Thayer’s Gulls (Larus argentatus/L. thayeri; 3.8% of total), Cassin’s Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus; 3.8% of total), Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens; 3.7% of total), Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla; 2.0% of total), and Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis; 1.9% of total). During summer, five species comprised >95% of the total number of birds counted (17,063) with the majority comprised of Common Murres (54.1% of total) and Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus; 34.4% of total). The remaining most abundant three taxa included: Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma furcata; 3.3% of total), Western Gulls (2.1% of total), and Leach’s Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa; 1.1% of total). During fall, nine species comprised >85% of the total number of birds counted (23,376) with the majority comprised of Common Murres (50.0% of total) and Sooty Shearwaters (10.5% of total). The remaining seven taxa included Cassin’s Auklets (5.2% of total), Surf/White-winged Scoters (5.1% of total), Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (3.8% of total), Red/Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius/P. lobatus; 3.2% of total), California Gulls (Larus californicus; 3.1% of total), Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis; 2.7% of total), and Sabine’s Gulls (Xema sabini; 2.2% of total). Throughout the entire PaCSEA survey area, average densities (± SE) at sea for all marine birds combined were similar between fall (23.7 ± 1.9 birds km-2) and winter (24.0 ± 1.9 birds km-2) and least during summer (16.3 ± 2.2 birds km-2). Marine bird densities at sea varied according to bathymetric domain and season. Throughout the entire PaCSEA study area average densities (± SE) for all marine birds combined were greatest over the inner-shelf domain

Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackwell, Stephen J.; Simon-Miller, Amy A.; Harder, Jerald W.; Bullock, Mark A.

sessions served to build connections between planetary, solar, astrophysics, and Earth climate scientists. These presentations and discussions allowed broadening of the author teams and tuning of the material in each chapter. Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets is the 38th book in the University of Arizona Press Space Sciences Series. The support and guidance from General Editor Richard Binzel has been critical in timely production of a quality volume. Renée Dotson of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, with support from Elizabeth Cunningham and Katy Buckaloo, provided outstanding help in the management of the book project and especially in the preparation of the chapters for publication. Her quiet reminders and attention to detail are critical in making the Space Science Series such an asset for the planetary science community. As for so many other books in this series, William Hartmann used his artistic skills to masterfully capture the book's theme. Much gratitude is owed to Adriana Ocampo of NASA Headquarters for her support of both the conference and book projects and her shepherding of the NASA contributions from the diverse groups within the Science Mission Directorate. Equally, James Green and Jonathan Rall of NASA Headquarters provided the financial resources and corporate oversight that helped make this book project such a success.

EDITORIAL: Message from the Editor Message from the Editor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Paul

2010-02-01

passing away of the following former members of the Board of Editors: Ravindra Sudan (1975 to 1984), Joe Di Marco (1984 to 1991) and Roy Bickerton (1975 to 1986). The Nuclear Fusion Office and IOP Publishing Just as the journal depends on the authors and referees, so its success is also due to the tireless and largely unsung efforts of the Nuclear Fusion Office in Vienna and IOP Publishing in Bristol. I would like to express my personal thanks to Maria Bergamini-Roedler, Katja Haslinger, Sophy Le Masurier, Yasmin McGlashan, Caroline Wilkinson, Sarah Ryder, Rachael Kriefman and Katie Gerrard for the support that they have given to me, the authors and the referees. Season's Greetings The January special edition delayed this editorial for a month. Nevertheless, I would like belatedly to wish our readers, authors, referees and Board of Editors the season's greetings and thank them for their contributions to Nuclear Fusion in 2009.

EDITORIAL: From reciprocal space to real space in surface science From reciprocal space to real space in surface science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartels, Ludwig; Ernst, Karl-Heinz

2012-09-01

Triest.let's finish—aus basta Some move atoms around to hear how they sound.Karl-Heinz Rieder, Erice, 6 April 1998 From reciprocal space to real space in surface science contents From reciprocal space to real space in surface scienceLudwig Bartels and Karl-Heinz Ernst Karl-Heinz Reider: the quiet pioneerGiorgio Benedek Scattering of CO and N2 molecules by a graphite surfaceJunepyo Oh, Takahiro Kondo, Keitaro Arakawa, Yoshihiko Saito, Junji Nakamura, W W Hayes and J R Manson Helium, neon and argon diffraction from Ru(0001)M Minniti, C Díaz, J L Fernández Cuñado, A Politano, D Maccariello, F Martín, D Farías and R Miranda Enhanced charge transfer in a monolayer of the organic charge transfer complex TTF-TNAP on Au(111)T R Umbach, I Fernandez-Torrente, J N Ladenthin, J I Pascual and K J Franke Extended pattern recognition scheme for self-learning kinetic Monte Carlo simulationsSyed Islamuddin Shah, Giridhar Nandipati, Abdelkader Kara and Talat S Rahman Acetylene on Cu(111): imaging a molecular surface arrangement with a constantly rearranging tipYeming Zhu, Jonathan Wyrick, Kamelia D Cohen, Katie Marie Magnone, Connor Holzke, Daniel Salib, Quan Ma, Dezheng Sun and Ludwig Bartels Coulomb attraction during the carpet growth mode of NaClFriederike Matthaei, Sarah Heidorn, Konrad Boom, Cord Bertram, Ali Safiei, Jörg Henzl and Karina Morgenstern Molecular self-assembly on an insulating surface: interplay between substrate templating and intermolecular interactionsMarkus Kittelmann, Philipp Rahe and Angelika Kühnle Vertical manipulation of native adatoms on the InAs(111)A surfaceJ Yang, C Nacci, J Martínez-Blanco, K Kanisawa and S Fölsch Charge transfer between isomer domains on n+-doped Si(111)-2 × 1: energetic stabilizationR M Feenstra, G Bussetti, B Bonanni, A Violante, C Goletti, P Chiaradia, M G Betti and C Mariani Probing the properties of metal-oxide interfaces: silica films on Mo and Ru supportsLeonid Lichtenstein, Markus Heyde, Stefan Ulrich, Niklas Nilius

EDITORIAL: Incoming Editor-in-Chief

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lidström, Suzanne

2012-04-01

, in his hands, the expansion continued and the transition to electronic production took place. In 2005, an agreement was signed with IOP Publishing and the bustling production work of the in-house team moved abroad to Bristol, leaving just the Editor-in-Chief to man the ship at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 2011, however, as Roger prepared to step down, submissions had reached astounding levels as is evident from figure 1: that year, almost 1500 manuscripts were received by Physica Scripta, now acknowledged to be amongst the fastest growing journals in IOP Publishing, when measured in these terms. The year on year increase stands at 20% and, once again, of the extensive range of topics covered, condensed matter physics had been identified as the subject area in most need of attention because the burden of reviewing had become too great for one editor to oversee alone. Thus, when I joined Physica Scripta in January of this year, securing new External Editors for this field was perceived to be the most urgent task. It is, therefore, with the greatest of pleasure that I am able to announce the arrival of two new editors for this section: Professors David Keen and Tapio Rantala. Physica Scripta statistics Figure 1. The annual submissions made to Physica Scripta in recent years have rocketed and the rejection rate (given as a percentage) has increased rapidly. The modest increase in the number of articles accepted (shaded in blue) reflects a deliberate policy to augment the scientific quality. Professor Rantala has been selected by the Finnish Physical Society to replace Professor Matti Manninen, who is stepping down as the Finnish representative on the journal's Editorial Board. Professor Rantala is a prominent theorist and has been engaged in active research in a number of fields. In his early work, he was interested in surface science and molecular physics, however his expertise is predominantly in the domain of solid or materials physics related to

Outcomes From AAS Hack Day at the 227th AAS Meeting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-01-01

to have a way to quantify if something has changed since the last time we looked at it. Their idea was inspired bya paper about wavelets.FuzzyBlobs: David Nidever (LSST) and Phil Marshall (Slac) worked on a technique to automatically find nearby satellite galaxies to the Milky Way hidden in images from astronomical surveys. The name stems from the fact that satellite galaxies have a low surface brightness and generally appear as faint, fuzzy blobs in images.FabricPoster Fashion (#makeAAS at #hackAAS): What do you get when you bring a sewing machine to a hack day? Dozens of creative garments and accessories fashioned from research posters printed on fabric! This idea was originated on twitterby Emily Rice (CUNY), Josh Peek (STScI), and Ashley Pagnotta (AMNH), and dozens of astronomers including Rachael Livermore (UT Austin) and Haley Fica (Columbia) participated.So pleased with my #hackaas projecttote bag showing off @astr1101s new method of finding R CrB stars! #aas227 pic.twitter.com/1e160XfSQp Ashley Pagnotta (@ashpags) January 9, 2016My knit cowl from strips cut from fabric posters at #aas227 #makeaas #hackaas pic.twitter.com/tguDhDOoMp Katie Frey (@katieefrey) January 9, 2016Good use of #hackaas at #aas227: my research poster is now a stylish skirt! pic.twitter.com/4BPiIfHWnX Rachael Livermore (@rhaegal) January 8, 2016Heres all the #hackaas ex-poster finery at #hackaas from @ashpags @J_M_Silverman and more! pic.twitter.com/ofAYBDjaxH Lucianne Walkowicz (@shaka_lulu) January 8, 2016