Species composition and seasonal capture rates of terrestrial amphipods in a lowland and highland forest in Tasmania

Composition of the amphipod fauna and seasonal changes in captures in pitfall traps were compared at a lowland forest in northeastern Tasmania and three sites in highland forest in central Tasmania. The number of species at the highland sites (five) was greater than for the lowland area (two), possibly due to the greater development of the litter habitat and the moister, more humid conditions at the highland sites. Capture rates were correlated with temperature, but not rainfall, at both the lowland and highland areas. However, minium temperature was most significant for the highland sites, and maximum temperature was most significant at the lowland area. Captures at the highland sites were proportionally greater in autumn and lower in summer and showed a peak in October which was not present at the lowland area. Capture rates are most likely influenced by both activity levels and population size, as determined by seasonal reproductive patterns. It is, therefore, possible that the differences in the seasonality of captures at the highland and lowland areas may be related to different patterns of reproductive activity at the different altitudes

TOI-1416: A system with a super-Earth planet with a 1.07 d period

TOI-1416 (BD+42 2504, HIP 70705) is a V =10 late G- or early K-type dwarf star. TESS detected transits in its Sectors 16, 23, and 50 with a depth of about 455 ppm and a period of 1.07 days. Radial velocities (RVs) confirm the presence of the transiting planet TOI-1416 b, which has a mass of 3.48 ± 0.47 M• and a radius of 1.62 ± 0.08 R•, implying a slightly sub-Earth density of 4.500.83+0.99 g cm3. The RV data also further indicate a tentative planet, c, with a period of 27.4 or 29.5 days, whose nature cannot be verified due to strong suspicions of contamination by a signal related to the Moon s synodic period of 29.53 days. The nearly ultra-short-period planet TOI-1416 b is a typical representative of a short-period and hot (Teq ≈ 1570 K) super-Earth-like planet. A planet model of an interior of molten magma containing a significant fraction of dissolved water provides a plausible explanation for its composition, and its atmosphere could be suitable for transmission spectroscopy with JWST. The position of TOI-1416 b within the radius-period distribution corroborates the idea that planets with periods of less than one day do not form any special group. It instead implies that ultra-short-period planets belong to a continuous distribution of super-Earth-like planets with periods ranging from the shortest known ones up to ≈ 30 days; their period-radius distribution is delimited against larger radii by the Neptune Desert and by the period-radius valley that separates super-Earths from sub-Neptune planets. In the abundance of small, short-periodic planets, a notable plateau has emerged between periods of 0.6- 1.4 days, which is compatible with the low-eccentricity formation channel. For the Neptune Desert, its lower limits required a revision due to the increasing population of short-period planets; for periods shorter then 2 days, we establish a radius of 1.6 R• and a mass of 0.028 Mjup (corresponding to 8.9 M•) as the desert s lower limits. We also provide corresponding limits to the Neptune Desert against the planets insolation and effective temperatures

A Vision of the Future of Science: Reintegrating of the Study of Humans and the Rest of Nature

Envisioning is a primary tool in futures studies (Garrett 1993; Slaughter 1993; Kouzes and Posner 1996; Razak 1996; Adesida and Oteh 1998). There has also been significant practical success in using envisioning and "future searches" in organizations and communities around the world (Weisbord 1992; Weisbord and Janoff 1995). This experience has shown that it is quite possible for disparate (even adversarial) groups to collaborate on envisioning a desirable future, given the right forum