Diel variability of feeding activity in haddock (Melanogrammus aeglifinus) larvae in the East Shetland area, North Sea

Investigations of factors affecting feeding success in fish larvae require knowledge of the scales of variability of the feeding process itself and the indices used to assess this variability. In this study, we measured short-term (diel) variability in feeding rates of wild haddock (Melanogrammus aeglifinus) larvae four times per day during a 10-d cruise in the northern North Sea. Feeding activity was evaluated using indices of gut fullness, prey digestive state and biochemical measurements (tryptic enzyme activity). The gut fullness and the enzyme activity indices indicated moderate to high rates of food consumption throughout the cruise. Time series analysis of the three indices showed significant diel variability in all indices and enabled identification of significant lags between food uptake and peak digestive enzyme activity. The typical pattern of food consumption and digestion was characterized by maximal ingestion of prey early in the evening (19:00 hrs) and peak digestive enzyme activity at 01:00 hrs. The time scale over which enzyme activities reacted to prey ingestion was ca. 6 h, and is consistent with expectations from controlled laboratory experiments with other larval fish species. Significant diel variability in tryptic enzyme activity suggests that attempts to relate this measure of feeding success to other variables (e.g. food concentrations) should take care to accommodate natural cycles in feeding activity before making statistical comparisons

Three-mode analytical methods for crop improvement programs

Datatheorie voor analyse van individuele verschille

Classifying infants in the Strange Situation with three-way mixture method clustering

Datatheorie voor analyse van individuele verschille

Poster Abstract:Deploying a 6LoWPAN, CoAP, low power, wireless sensor network

In order to integrate equipment from different vendors, wireless sensor networks need to become more standardized. Using IP as the basis of low power radio networks, together with application layer standards designed for this purpose is one way forward. This research focuses on implementing and deploying a system using Contiki, 6LoWPAN over an 868 MHz radio network, together with CoAP as a standard application layer protocol. A system was deployed in the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland as an environmental sensor network, measuring streams, temperature profiles in peat and periglacial features. It was found that RPL provided an effective routing algorithm, and that the use of UDP packets with CoAP proved to be an energy efficient application layer. This combination of technologies can be very effective in large area sensor networks

Britain’s highest bog: can we unlock its secrets?

The Glenfeshie Mòine Mhór (Great Moss) is Britain’s highest bog, the largest bog in the Cairngorm Mountains (Scotland) and a water source area for the River Spey. The area was managed primarily for sport hunting for about two centuries, but deer numbers have been heavily reduced in the last decade to allow regeneration of natural woodland and the return to more natural condition of all ecosystems including peatland. However, it may not be realistic to expect spontaneous improvement in peatland condition and ecosystem services provision in the harsh environment of the Mòine Mhór, which retains snow cover for more than half the year and differs floristically from lower-altitude bogs. To understand whether and where management intervention may be required, we need first to understand how the system works at scales ranging from microform to macrotope, and from sub-catchment to whole-system level. Multi-disciplinary condition and process studies (involving various collaborators) are in progress, with a current emphasis on streamflow generation and fluvial carbon loads. This presentation develops two sub-themes. First, ground survey and GIS analysis are used to address the questions: what are the special features of this bog; what is the nature and extent of degradation; and what are the implications for water delivered to the outflow streams? Secondly, a striking feature is the bare peat patches which were favourite resting places for deer on warm, dry summer days. The occurrence of seasonally extreme surface conditions seems a likely factor in preventing their recolonisation by bog plants now. Information about these conditions that cannot readily be accessed through direct observation, originating from temperature sensors and delivered at 60-minute intervals via a low power internet link, is explored in this context. Finally, we discuss aspects of the suitability of our investigation methods for remote and intermittently accessible field sites such as the Mòine Mhór

Diel variability of feeding activity in haddock larvae in the East Shetland area, North Sea

Investigations of factors affecting feeding success in fish larvae require knowledge of the scales of variability of the feeding process itself and the indices used to assess this variability. In this study, we measured short-term (diel) variability in feeding rates of wild haddock larvae 4 times per day during a 10-day cruise in the northern North Sea. Feeding activity was evaluated using indices of gut fullness, prey digestive state and biochemical measurements (tryptic enzyme activity). The gut fullness and the enzyme activity indices indicated moderate-high rates of food consumption throughout the cruise. Time series analysis of the three indices showed significant diel variability in all indices and enabled identification of significant lags between food uptake and peak digestive enzyme activity. The typical pattern of food consumption and digestion was characterized by maximal ingestion of prey early in the evening (7 pm) and peak digestive enzyme activity at 1 am. The timescale over which enzyme activities reacted to prey ingestion was ca. 6 hours and is consistent with expectations from controlled laboratory experiments with other larval fish species. Significant diel variability in tryptic enzyme activity suggests that attempts to relate this measure of feeding success to other variables (e. g., food concentrations) should take care to accommodate natural cycles in feeding activity before making statistical comparisons

An analytical approach to characterize morbidity profile dissimilarity between distinct cohorts using electronic medical records

AbstractWe describe a two-stage analytical approach for characterizing morbidity profile dissimilarity among patient cohorts using electronic medical records. We capture morbidities using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-9) codes. In the first stage of the approach separate logistic regression analyses for ICD-9 sections (e.g., “hypertensive disease” or “appendicitis”) are conducted, and the odds ratios that describe adjusted differences in prevalence between two cohorts are displayed graphically. In the second stage, the results from ICD-9 section analyses are combined into a general morbidity dissimilarity index (MDI). For illustration, we examine nine cohorts of patients representing six phenotypes (or controls) derived from five institutions, each a participant in the electronic MEdical REcords and GEnomics (eMERGE) network. The phenotypes studied include type II diabetes and type II diabetes controls, peripheral arterial disease and peripheral arterial disease controls, normal cardiac conduction as measured by electrocardiography, and senile cataracts