Perceived Post-Graduate Job Prospects of University of Montana Wildlife Biology Students

Perceived Post-Graduate Job Prospects of University of Montana Wildlife Biology Students. The wildlife biology job growth over the next decade is projected to be 1% (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022). In courses and through personal experiences students are made aware of the challenges of pursuing a career in this field. I want to determine the perceived post-graduate job prospects current UM Wildlife Biology students hold. Do current students have a positive or negative perception of their job outlook? Further, I want to determine how well students think they have been prepared for a career in this field by our program? I will survey current juniors and seniors in the UM Wildlife Biology Program. They are a key demographic as they are aware of the challenges of their career path and less likely to change majors and are hypothetically committed to acquiring the wildlife degree, and therefore, are the group most focused on career prospects in the wildlife field. An optional survey will be provided in upper division wildlife biology courses and clubs so that we can reach our key demographic. We will ask their opinion regarding certain post-graduation milestones such as getting a job in the wildlife field or pursuing a masters or PhD in this field. The importance of this information is twofold. Firstly, the opinions of undergraduate students are a gauge as to their dedication to continuing into their field of study, particularly one as specialized and competitive as wildlife biology. Secondly, these students represent a large investment in the future of this field both by the university who input facilities and capital, and by the professors who are established influential researchers. The investment of time by these professors represents a reduction in the time they could otherwise be investing in something else either on a professional or personal front. Crucially this is a nonrefundable investment, as there is a fixed amount of time a professor can give towards the effort of training future technicians and biologists. If those trained graduates are not entering or staying in the field but going elsewhere because of their believed prospects, then that represents a failure to recoup the invested resources put into those individuals by the university, the program and their professors. Work Cite U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2022. Zoologists and wildlife biologists : Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/zoologists-and-wildlife-biologists.ht

Pervasive mantle plume head heterogeneity: Evidence from the late Cretaceous Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau

In SW Colombia picritic pillow lavas and tuffs, as well as breccias composed of picritic clasts, occur interspersed with basalts of the Central Cordillera and represent accreted portions of the ∼90 Ma Colombian/Caribbean oceanic plateau (CCOP). We present new geochemical data for these picrites and high-MgO basalts from SW Colombia, along with new data from Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 15 drill sites. The 40Ar/39Ar ages for the CCOP in the Central Colombian Cordillera range from 87 to 93 Ma. Both SW Colombia picrites and Leg 15 basalts are compositionally diverse and range from reasonably enriched ((La/Nd)n > 1 and (εNd)i +8.0). Nb/Y and Zr/Y systematics suggest that the depleted component is not depleted MORB mantle, but is an intrinsic part of the plume. The bulk of the CCOP compositions can be explained by mixing between this depleted mantle and a HIMU component. However, radiogenic isotope systematics indicate the presence of an EM2 (or possibly EM1) component within the plume. Mantle melt modeling suggests that the enriched magma types are the product of deeper, small degree melting of a pervasively heterogeneous plume comprising a refractory matrix with enriched streaks/blobs, whereas shallower, more extensive melting, results in the formation of relatively depleted magmas

Insights Into the Biogeochemical Cycling of Iron, Nitrate, and Phosphate Across a 5,300 km South Pacific Zonal Section (153°E-150°W)

Iron, phosphate, and nitrate are essential nutrients for phytoplankton growth, and hence, their supply into the surface ocean controls oceanic primary production. Here we present a GEOTRACES zonal section (GP13; 30–33°S, 153°E–150°W) extending eastward from Australia to the oligotrophic South Pacific Ocean gyre outlining the concentrations of these key nutrients. Surface dissolved iron concentrations are elevated at >0.4 nmol L−1 near continental Australia (west of 165°E) and decreased eastward to ≤0.2 nmol L−1 (170°W–150°W). The supply of dissolved iron into the upper ocean (<100 m) from the atmosphere and vertical diffusivity averaged 11 ± 10 nmol m−2 d−1. In the remote South Pacific Ocean (170°W–150°W), atmospherically sourced iron is a significant contributor to the surface dissolved iron pool with average supply contribution of 23 ± 17% (range 3% to 55%). Surface water nitrate concentrations averaged 5 ± 4 nmol L−1 between 170°W and 150°W, while surface water phosphate concentrations averaged 58 ± 30 nmol L−1. The supply of nitrogen into the upper ocean is primarily from deeper waters (24–1647 μmol m−2 d−1) with atmospheric deposition and nitrogen fixation contributing <1% to the overall flux along the eastern part of the transect. The deep water N:P ratio averaged 14.5 ± 0.5 but declined to <1 above the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) indicating a high N:P assimilation ratio by phytoplankton leading to almost quantitative removal of nitrate. The supply stoichiometry for iron and nitrogen relative to phosphate at and above the DCM declines eastward leading to two biogeographical provinces: one with diazotroph production and the other without diazotroph production.This research was supported by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology Coasts and Oceans Outcome-Based Investment (COIX0501), and the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects (DP1092892 and DP110100108) and Future Fellowships (FT130100037) programs, University of Tasmania, internal grants to A. R. B. (refs B0018994, B0019024, and L0018934), and University of Technology Sydney Chancellor Fellowship to CSH

The Peculiar SN 2005hk: Do Some Type Ia Supernovae Explode as Deflagrations?

We present extensive u'g'r'i'BVRIYJHKs photometry and optical spectroscopy of SN 2005hk. These data reveal that SN 2005hk was nearly identical in its observed properties to SN 2002cx, which has been called ``the most peculiar known type Ia supernova.'' Both supernovae exhibited high ionization SN 1991T-like pre-maximum spectra, yet low peak luminosities like SN 1991bg. The spectra reveal that SN 2005hk, like SN 2002cx, exhibited expansion velocities that were roughly half those of typical type Ia supernovae. The R and I light curves of both supernovae were also peculiar in not displaying the secondary maximum observed for normal type Ia supernovae. Our YJH photometry of SN 2005hk reveals the same peculiarity in the near-infrared. By combining our optical and near-infrared photometry of SN 2005hk with published ultraviolet light curves obtained with the Swift satellite, we are able to construct a bolometric light curve from ~10 days before to ~60 days after B maximum. The shape and unusually low peak luminosity of this light curve, plus the low expansion velocities and absence of a secondary maximum at red and near-infrared wavelengths, are all in reasonable agreement with model calculations of a 3D deflagration which produces ~0.25 M_sun of 56Ni.Comment: Accepted by PASP, to appear in April 2007 issue, 63 pages, 16 figures, 11 table

Marine Carbonyl Sulfide (OCS) and Carbon Disulfide (CS\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e): A Compilation of Measurements in Seawater and the Marine Boundary Layer

Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) and carbon disulfide (CS2) are volatile sulfur gases that are naturally formed in seawater and exchanged with the atmosphere. OCS is the most abundant sulfur gas in the atmosphere, and CS2 is its most important precursor. They have attracted increased interest due to their direct (OCS) or indirect (CS2 via oxidation to OCS) contribution to the stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer. Furthermore, OCS serves as a proxy to constrain terrestrial CO2uptake by vegetation. Oceanic emissions of both gases contribute a major part to their atmospheric concentration. Here we present a database of previously published and unpublished (mainly shipborne) measurements in seawater and the marine boundary layer for both gases, available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905430 (Lennartz et al., 2019). The database contains original measurements as well as data digitalized from figures in publications from 42 measurement campaigns, i.e., cruises or time series stations, ranging from 1982 to 2019. OCS data cover all ocean basins except for the Arctic Ocean, as well as all months of the year, while the CS2 dataset shows large gaps in spatial and temporal coverage. Concentrations are consistent across different sampling and analysis techniques for OCS. The database is intended to support the identification of global spatial and temporal patterns and to facilitate the evaluation of model simulations

The Carnegie Supernova Project: First Near-Infrared Hubble Diagram to z~0.7

The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) is designed to measure the luminosity distance for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as a function of redshift, and to set observational constraints on the dark energy contribution to the total energy content of the Universe. The CSP differs from other projects to date in its goal of providing an I-band {rest-frame} Hubble diagram. Here we present the first results from near-infrared (NIR) observations obtained using the Magellan Baade telescope for SNe Ia with 0.1 < z < 0.7. We combine these results with those from the low-redshift CSP at z <0.1 (Folatelli et al. 2009). We present light curves and an I-band Hubble diagram for this first sample of 35 SNe Ia and we compare these data to 21 new SNe Ia at low redshift. These data support the conclusion that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. When combined with independent results from baryon acoustic oscillations (Eisenstein et al. 2005), these data yield Omega_m = 0.27 +/- 0.0 (statistical), and Omega_DE = 0.76 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09 (systematic), for the matter and dark energy densities, respectively. If we parameterize the data in terms of an equation of state, w, assume a flat geometry, and combine with baryon acoustic oscillations, we find that w = -1.05 +/- 0.13 (statistical) +/- 0.09 (systematic). The largest source of systematic uncertainty on w arises from uncertainties in the photometric calibration, signaling the importance of securing more accurate photometric calibrations for future supernova cosmology programs. Finally, we conclude that either the dust affecting the luminosities of SNe Ia has a different extinction law (R_V = 1.8) than that in the Milky Way (where R_V = 3.1), or that there is an additional intrinsic color term with luminosity for SNe Ia independent of the decline rate.Comment: 44 pages, 23 figures, 9 tables; Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Early Sasanian landscape modification: New geoarchaeological evidence from the Ardashir Pond in southwest Iran (Palace of Ardashir, third century CE)

The Sasanian period (224–651 CE) marked an era of large‐scale urban projects insouthwest Asia, including Iran's semi‐arid highlands, with particular efforts to ma-nipulate water bodies. This study presents a recent interdisciplinary investigation ofa spring‐fed pond at the entrance of the Palace of Ardashir (Firuzabad plain,southwest Iran), part of a recently registered World Heritage site. Historical ac-counts suggest that the entire water system of the plain, including the pond, un-derwent a hydraulic re‐organization at the beginning of the Sasanian period, a factthat has never been investigated geoarchaeologically. A series of sediment coreswere retrieved from the pond to probe its evolution and examine the extent of itslandscape modification. The cores were sedimentologically described andradiocarbon‐dated with age–depth models established based on 57 AMS (accel-erator mass spectrometry)14C dates to understand the basin's depositional history.The results indicate that (i) Ardashir Pond has existed as part of a larger wetlandcomplex since at least 4500 years ago, (ii) it was substantially enlarged at the be-ginning of the Sasanian era, and (iii) it was abandoned at the end of the Sasanianperiod. The Ardashir Pond is one of the first geoarchaeologically investigated casestudies to demonstrate the Sasanian landscape in the framework of the“Iranshahr”sociopolitical concept