Estimating Maximum Performance: Effects of Intraindividual Variation

Researchers often estimate the performance capabilities of animals using a small number of trials per individual. This procedure inevitably underestimates maximum performance, but few studies have examined the magnitude of this effect. In this study we explored the effects of intraindividual variation and individual sample size on the estimation of locomotor performance parameters. We measured sprint speed of the lizard Sceloporus occidentalis at two temperatures (20 degrees C and 35 degrees C), obtaining 20 measurements per individual. Speed did not vary temporally, indicating no training or fatigue effects. About 50% of the overall variation in speed at each temperature was due to intraindividual variation. While speed was repeatable, repeatability decreased slightly with increasing separation between trials. Speeds at 20 degrees C and 35 degrees C were positively correlated, indicating repeatability across temperatures as well. We performed statistical sampling experiments in which we randomly drew a subset of each individual\u27s full set of 20 trials. As expected, the sample\u27s maximum speed increased with the number of trials per individual; for example, five trials yielded an estimate averaging 89% of the true maximum. The number of trials also influenced the sample correlation between mean speeds at 20 degrees C and 35 degrees C; for example, five trials yielded a correlation coefficient averaging 90% of the true correlation. Therefore, intraindividual variation caused underestimation of maximal speed and the correlation between speeds across temperatures. These biases declined as the number of trials per individual increased, and depended on the magnitude of intraindividual variation, as illustrated by running sampling experiments that used modified data sets

Gas diffusivity and permeability through the firn column at Summit, Greenland: measurements and comparison to microstructural properties

The physical structure of polar firn plays a key role in the mechanisms by which glaciers and ice sheets preserve a natural archive of past atmospheric composition. This study presents the first measurements of gas diffusivity and permeability along with microstructural information measured from the near-surface firn through the firn column to pore close-off. Both fine- and coarse-grained firn from Summit, Greenland are included in this study to investigate the variability in firn caused by seasonal and storm-event layering. Our measurements reveal that the porosity of firn (derived from density) is insufficient to describe the full profiles of diffusivity and permeability, particularly at porosity values above 0.5. Thus, even a model that could perfectly predict the density profile would be insufficient for application to issues involving gas transport. The measured diffusivity profile presented here is compared to two diffusivity profiles modeled from firn air measurements from Summit. Because of differences in scale and in firn processes between the true field situation, firn modeling, and laboratory measurements, the results follow a similar overall pattern but do not align; our results constitute a lower bound on diffusive transport. In comparing our measurements of both diffusivity and permeability to previous parameterizations from numerical 3-D lattice-Boltzmann modeling, it is evident that the previous relationships to porosity are likely site-specific. We present parameterizations relating diffusivity and permeability to porosity as a possible tool, though use of direct measurements would be far more accurate when feasible. The relationships between gas transport properties and microstructural properties are characterized and compared to existing relationships for general porous media, specifically the Katz–Thompson (KT), Kozeny–Carman (KC), and Archie's law approximations. While those approximations can capture the general trend of gas transport relationships, they result in high errors for individual samples and fail to fully describe firn variability, particularly the differences between coarse- and fine-grained firn. We present a direct power law relationship between permeability and gas diffusivity based on our co-located measurements; further research will indicate if this type of relationship is site-specific. This set of measurements and relationships contributes a unique starting point for future investigations in developing more physically based models of firn gas transport

Temperature, Activity and Lizard Life Histories

Lizard life-history characteristics vary widely among species and populations. Most authors seek adaptive or phylogenetic explanations for life-history patterns, which are usually presumed to reflect genetic differences. However, lizard life histories are often phenotypically plastic, varying in response to temperature, food availability, and other environmental factors. Despite the importance of temperature to lizard ecology and physiology, its effects on life histories have received relatively little attention. We present a theoretical model predicting the proximate consequences of the thermal environment for lizard life histories. Temperature, by affecting activity times, can cause variation in annual survival rate and fecundity, leading to a negative correlation between survival rate and fecundity among populations in different thermal environments. Thus, physiological and evolutionary models predict the same qualitative pattern of life-history variation in lizards. We tested our model with published life-history data from field studies of the lizard Sceloporus undulatus, using climate and geographical data to reconstruct estimated annual activity seasons. Among populations, annual activity times were negatively correlated with annual survival rate and positively correlated with fecundity. Proximate effects of temperature may confound comparative analyses of lizard life-history variation and should be included in future evolutionary models

Behavioural Plasticity in an Ecological Generalist: Microhabitat Use by Western Fence Lizards

Question: What is the basis for geographic variation in microhabitat use in fence lizards? Hypothesis: Population differences in microhabitat use reflect behavioural plasticity rather than genetic or experiential differences. Organisms: Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis). Field site: Three sites (desert, valley, and mountain) in southern California, USA. Methods: We compared habitat use by free-ranging lizards in three field populations. We also collected lizards from these three populations and studied their microhabitat use in experimental enclosures at a single field site. Results: In the wild, lizards chose higher and shadier perches at the hottest (desert) site, lower and sunnier perches at the coolest (mountain) site, and intermediate perches at the thermally intermediate valley site. However, lizards collected from the three source populations did not differ in microhabitat use in experimental enclosures at a common field site, supporting our hypothesis. Microhabitat choice is an important thermoregulatory mechanism in this species

Dominance of grain size impacts on seasonal snow albedo at deforested sites in New Hampshire

Snow cover serves as a major control on the surface energy budget in temperate regions due to its high reflectivity compared to underlying surfaces. Winter in the northeastern United States has changed over the last several decades, resulting in shallower snowpacks, fewer days of snow cover, and increasing precipitation falling as rain in the winter. As these climatic changes occur, it is imperative that we understand current controls on the evolution of seasonal snow albedo in the region. Over three winter seasons between 2013 and 2015, snow characterization measurements were made at three open sites across New Hampshire. These near-daily measurements include spectral albedo, snow optical grain size determined through contact spectroscopy, snow depth, snow density, black carbon content, local meteorological parameters, and analysis of storm trajectories using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model. Using analysis of variance, we determine that land-based winter storms result in marginally higher albedo than coastal storms or storms from the Atlantic Ocean. Through multiple regression analysis, we determine that snow grain size is significantly more important in albedo reduction than black carbon content or snow density. And finally, we present a parameterization of albedo based on days since snowfall and temperature that accounts for 52% of variance in albedo over all three sites and years. Our improved understanding of current controls on snow albedo in the region will allow for better assessment of potential response of seasonal snow albedo and snow cover to changing climate