Temperature and salinity tolerances of Stage 1 zoeae predict possible range expansion of an introduced portunid crab, Charybdis japonica, in New Zealand

The successful invasion of a non-native species depends on several factors, including initial colonization and establishment of a self-sustaining population. Populations of the non-native paddle crab Charybdis japonica were first recognized in the Waitemata Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand in 2000, most likely arriving in ballast waters of an Asian merchant vessel. A survey completed in 2003 found C. japonica throughout the Waitemata Harbour, and further sampling in 2009 has revealed several well established populations in estuaries up to 70 km from the putative invasion point. As the potential for further establishment of C. japonica beyond this area may depend on the temperature and salinity tolerances of their free swimming larvae, we quantified the survival of newly-hatched Stage 1 C. japonica zoeae subjected to temperatures ranging from 11 to 43°C or salinities from 5 to 45‰ in the laboratory. Upon hatching, replicate C. japonica zoeae were directly transferred from 21°C and 34.6‰ seawater to either an experimental temperature or salinity level. Behaviour and death rates of the larvae were monitored over a 24 h period in the absence of food. Comparisons of zoeal survival rates to historical sea surface temperatures and salinities show that C. japonica Stage 1 zoeae tolerate a broad range of temperatures and salinities and could survive natural conditions throughout New Zealand. This gives C. japonica the potential to invade many other New Zealand estuaries and harbours

Applying Grover's algorithm to AES: quantum resource estimates

We present quantum circuits to implement an exhaustive key search for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and analyze the quantum resources required to carry out such an attack. We consider the overall circuit size, the number of qubits, and the circuit depth as measures for the cost of the presented quantum algorithms. Throughout, we focus on Clifford$+T$ gates as the underlying fault-tolerant logical quantum gate set. In particular, for all three variants of AES (key size 128, 192, and 256 bit) that are standardized in FIPS-PUB 197, we establish precise bounds for the number of qubits and the number of elementary logical quantum gates that are needed to implement Grover's quantum algorithm to extract the key from a small number of AES plaintext-ciphertext pairs.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables; to appear in: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQCrypto 2016

Building Cost and Performance Metrics: Data Collection Protocol, Revision 1.0

This technical report describes the process for selecting and applying the building cost and performance metrics for measuring sustainably designed buildings in comparison to traditionally designed buildings

Current research, pressing issues, and lingering questions in marine invasion science: lessons from the Tenth International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions (ICMB-X)

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Fowler, A. E., Blakeslee, A. M. H., Bortolus, A., Dias, J., Tepolt, C. K., & Schwindt, E. Current research, pressing issues, and lingering questions in marine invasion science: lessons from the Tenth International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions (ICMB-X). Aquatic Invasions, 15(1), (2020): 1-10, doi:10.3391/ai.2020.15.1.01.Research on marine bioinvasions is an inherently international collaboration. Species range boundaries have become more fluid in recent decades as a result of enhanced human globalization, leading to species translocations across international boundaries through high profile vectors (e.g., shipping, hull fouling, aquaculture, etc.) (Ruiz et al. 2000; Seebens et al. 2013). Global trade and anthropogenic activities that promote invasive species spread continue to increase, rising by an average of 70% since 1970, with no sign of saturation (Pagad et al. 2015; Seebens et al. 2017). Even though these numbers are primarily based on terrestrial systems, recent work has demonstrated that marine ecosystems are as severely impacted by invasive species as by other human activities including overfishing, pollution (including plastics), climate change, and ocean acidification (Diaz et al. 2019). Species introductions to seas, coasts, and estuaries are therefore a global threat to human and non-human populations alike. As such, scientists and managers are increasingly focused on prevention and management, risk analysis and prioritization, and innovative technologies to detect novel species.The ICMB-X was supported by CONICET, MINCyT, SCTeIP Chubut, Consejo Federal de Inversiones, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Administración Portuaria de Puerto Madryn (APPM), Office of Naval Research Global, Aluar Aluminio Argentino, Madryn Bureau, Ente Mixto Puerto Madryn, Municipalidad de Puerto Madryn, and FAO-GEF-SAyDS

A taste for aliens : contribution of a novel prey item to native fishes’ diet

Non-indigenous species (NIS) can alter food web structure and function in many ways. While the predatory and competitive roles of NIS in aquatic environments are commonly studied, their role as a prey item for native predators is often overlooked. As the northern Baltic Sea lacks native crabs, the omnivorous estuarine Harris mud crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) is a novel invader to the system and provides an opportunity to observe how the species enters the prey field of predatory fish. In fall 2013, 1185 stomachs from 17 fish species were dissected and analyzed for the presence of R. harrisii. Fishermen had previously reported finding crabs mostly in the stomachs of perch (Perca fluviatilis), a frequent catch in recreational and commercial fisheries, but our study also found large numbers of crabs in four-horned sculpins (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) and small numbers in other species’ stomachs (Rutilus rutilus, Leuciscus ide, Gymnocephalus cernuus, and Blicca bjoerkna). In the study area occupied by R. harrisii, four-horned sculpins were the most frequent predator, with 83% having at least one crab in their stomach. In comparison, 7% of perch and roach had consumed R. harrisii. Most crabs eaten were 10–12 mm (carapace width), despite broader size range available (1–26 mm). Predation on R. harrisii in this system may be limited by the predators’ gape size (i.e., physical feeding restriction). These results highlight the need to understand the role of novel invasive species as prey items for native species, ultimately increase understanding of whether native predators can control NIS populations.peerReviewe

A taste for aliens: contribution of a novel prey item to native fishes’ diet

Non-indigenous species (NIS) can alter food web structure and function in many ways. While the predatory and competitive roles of NIS in aquatic environments are commonly studied, their role as a prey item for native predators is often overlooked. As the northern Baltic Sea lacks native crabs, the omnivorous estuarine Harris mud crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) is a novel invader to the system and provides an opportunity to observe how the species enters the prey field of predatory fish. In fall 2013, 1185 stomachs from 17 fish species were dissected and analyzed for the presence of R. harrisii. Fishermen had previously reported finding crabs mostly in the stomachs of perch (Perca fluviatilis), a frequent catch in recreational and commercial fisheries, but our study also found large numbers of crabs in four-horned sculpins (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) and small numbers in other species’ stomachs (Rutilus rutilus, Leuciscus ide, Gymnocephalus cernuus, and Blicca bjoerkna). In the study area occupied by R. harrisii, four-horned sculpins were the most frequent predator, with 83% having at least one crab in their stomach. In comparison, 7% of perch and roach had consumed R. harrisii. Most crabs eaten were 10–12 mm (carapace width), despite broader size range available (1–26 mm). Predation on R. harrisii in this system may be limited by the predators’ gape size (i.e., physical feeding restriction). These results highlight the need to understand the role of novel invasive species as prey items for native species, ultimately increase understanding of whether native predators can control NIS populations.KeywordsNon-indigenous species Novel invasion Predation control Food web Baltic Sea Rhithropanopeus harrisii </div