A study of morphology, provenance, and movement of desert sand seas in Africa, Asia, and Australia

A description and classification of major types of sand seas on the basis of morphological pattern and lineation are discussed. The steps involved in analyzing the patterns of deposits on ERTS-1 imagery, where the visible forms are mostly dune complexes rather than individual dunes are outlined. After completion of thematic maps portraying the pattern and lineation of the sand bodies, data on directions and intensity of prevailing and other winds are plotted on corresponding bases, as a preliminary to determination of internal structures through ground truth

A synthesis of sand seas throughout the world

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

The Phylogeography of Rabies in Grenada, West Indies, and Implications for Control

In Grenada, West Indies, rabies is endemic, and is thought to be maintained in a wildlife host, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) with occasional spillover into other hosts. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to improve understanding of rabies epidemiology in Grenada and to inform rabies control policy. Mongooses were trapped island-wide between April 2011 and March 2013 and examined for the presence of Rabies virus (RABV) antigen using the direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT) and PCR, and for serum neutralizing antibodies (SNA) using the fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test (FAVN). An additional cohort of brain samples from clinical rabies suspects submitted between April 2011 and March 2014 were also investigated for the presence of virus. Two of the 171 (1.7%) live-trapped mongooses were RABV positive by FAT and PCR, and 20 (11.7%) had SNAs. Rabies was diagnosed in 31 of the submitted animals with suspicious clinical signs: 16 mongooses, 12 dogs, 2 cats and 1 goat. Our investigation has revealed that rabies infection spread from the northeast to the southwest of Grenada within the study period. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the viruses from Grenada formed a monophyletic clade within the cosmopolitan lineage with a common ancestor predicted to have occurred recently (6–23 years ago), and are distinct from those found in Cuba and Puerto Rico, where mongoose rabies is also endemic. These data suggest that it is likely that this specific strain of RABV was imported from European regions rather than the Americas. These data contribute essential information for any potential rabies control program in Grenada and demonstrate the importance of a sound evidence base for planning interventions

Cities, biodiversity and health: we need healthy urban microbiome initiatives

Current evidence suggests that biodiverse environmental microbiomes contribute positively to human health and could account for known associations between urban green space and improved health. We summarise the state of knowledge that could inform the development of healthy urban microbiome initiatives (HUMI) to re-connect urban populations to biodiverse microbial communities

Browser-Based Application for Telemetry Monitoring of Robotic Assets

AEGSE Virtuoso Charting is an application that enables animated, real-time charting of telemetry streams of data from a rover. These automatically scaled charts are completely interactive, and allow users to choose the variables that they want to monitor. The charts can process data from streams with many variables. This application allows for the simultaneous viewing of up to four individually configured charts on a small touch-screen laptop. The charting application has been tested and found to be extremely robust during long operations. It was left running overnight, with incoming telemetry at 100 Hz, and it did not experience any signs of lost functionality or memory leaks. This robustness is critical for an application that will be used to support vital tests for the Mars Science Laboratory rover. The charting component also provides an interactive interface that allows the engineers to decide how many charts they want on their screen, and which attributes should be plotted on each chart. The application is optimized to make the charts on display take up as much of the available space as possible to maximize the use of the screen real estate. Engineers are also able to plot multiple attributes on the same chart, which enables them to observe the correlation between various attributes

By hook or by crook? Morphometry, competition and cooperation in rodent sperm

Background Sperm design varies enormously across species and sperm competition is thought to be a major factor influencing this variation. However, the functional significance of many sperm traits is still poorly understood. The sperm of most murid rodents are characterised by an apical hook of the sperm head that varies markedly in extent across species. In the European woodmouse Apodemus sylvaticus (Muridae), the highly reflected apical hook of sperm is used to form sperm groups, or “trains,” which exhibited increased swimming velocity and thrusting force compared to individual sperm. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we use a comparative study of murine rodent sperm and demonstrate that the apical hook and sperm cooperation are likely to be general adaptations to sperm competition in rodents. We found that species with relatively larger testes, and therefore more intense sperm competition, have a longer, more reflected apical sperm hook. In addition, we show that sperm groups also occur in rodents other than the European woodmouse. Conclusions Our results suggest that in rodents sperm cooperation is more widespread than assumed so far and highlight the importance of diploid versus haploid selection in the evolution of sperm design and function

Exceptional sperm cooperation in the wood mouse

Spermatozoa from a single male will compete for fertilization of ova with spermatozoa from another male when present in the female reproductive tract at the same time. Close genetic relatedness predisposes individuals towards altruism, and as haploid germ cells of an ejaculate will have genotypic similarity of 50%, it is predicted that spermatozoa may display cooperation and altruism to gain an advantage when inter-male sperm competition is intense. We report here the probable altruistic behaviour of spermatozoa in an eutherian mammal. Spermatozoa of the common wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, displayed a unique morphological transformation resulting in cooperation in distinctive aggregations or 'trains' of hundreds or thousands of cells, which significantly increased sperm progressive motility. Eventual dispersal of sperm trains was associated with most of the spermatozoa undergoing a premature acrosome reaction. Cells undergoing an acrosome reaction in aggregations remote from the egg are altruistic in that they help sperm transport to the egg but compromise their own fertilizing ability

Factors Affecting Set Shot Goal-kicking Performance in the Australian Football League

Set shot goal-kicking is recognized as an important skill in Australian Football (AF), accounting for over half of all goals kicked in the Australian Football League (AFL). However, as knowledge surrounding its performance is limited, this study described the frequency, types, and outcomes of set shots in the AFL and investigated the impact of task, personal, and environmental constraints on goal-kicking performance. We analyzed video footage of set shots from all 198 matches of the 2012 season, collecting data for kick distance, kick angle, player position, player experience (i.e., general and specific), kick outcome, and weather status. We found an average of 23.0 (standard deviation [ SD] = 4.5) set shots/match, with a mean accuracy of 55.0% ( SD = 0.7%). Kicking accuracy decreased with incremental increases in kick distance, with accuracy ranging from 97% (0–15 m) to 36% (≥50 m). Key forwards were more accurate kickers than other players. There was no significant effect of player experience. The number of set shots taken decreased by 13% in wet weather conditions. The primary determinant of elite set shot goal-kicking performance was the interaction of kick distance and angle (task difficulty). This research adds to an understanding of how personal, environmental, and match constraints influence this closed skill performance in AF match play. </jats:p

Terrain Features and Architecture of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Resting Burrows and Reproductive Dens on Arctic Tundra

Burrowing species rely on subterranean and subnivean sites to fulfill important life-history and behavioral processes, including predator avoidance, thermoregulation, resting, and reproduction. For these species, burrow architecture can affect the quality and success of such processes, since characteristics like tunnel width and chamber depth influence access by predators, thermal insulation, and energy spent digging. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) living in Arctic tundra environments dig burrows in snow during winter for resting sites and reproductive dens, but there are few published descriptions of such burrows. We visited 114 resting burrows and describe associated architectural characteristics and non-snow structure. Additionally, we describe characteristics of 15 reproductive den sites that we visited during winter and summer. Although many resting burrows were solely excavated in snow, most incorporated terrain structures including cliffs, talus, river shelf ice, thermokarst caves, and stream cutbanks. Burrows typically consisted of a single tunnel leading to a single chamber, though some burrows had multiple entrances, branching tunnels, or both. Tunnels in resting burrows were shorter than those in reproductive dens, and resting chambers were typically located at the deepest part of the burrow. Reproductive dens were associated with snowdrift-forming terrain features such as streambeds, cutbanks on lake edges, thermokarst caves, and boulders. Understanding such characteristics of Arctic wolverine resting and reproductive structures is critical for assessing anthropogenic impacts as snowpack undergoes climate-driven shifts.Les espèces fouisseuses dépendent de lieux enfouis sous la terre et sous la neige pour satisfaire leurs importants processus de vie et de comportement, y compris l’évitement des prédateurs, la thermorégulation, le repos et la reproduction. Pour ces espèces, l’architecture des terriers peut avoir des effets sur la qualité et la réussite des processus, car des caractéristiques comme la largeur des tunnels et la profondeur des chambres influencent l’accès aux terriers par les prédateurs, l’isolation thermique et l’énergie dépensée pour creuser. L’hiver, les carcajous (Gulo gulo) qui vivent dans les environnements de la toundra de l’Arctique creusent des terriers dans la neige afin de s’en servir comme aires de repos et comme tanières de reproduction. Cependant, peu de descriptions de tels terriers ont été publiées. Nous avons visité 114 terriers de repos, puis nous avons décrit leurs caractéristiques architecturales et les structures connexes n’étant pas recouvertes de neige. Par ailleurs, nous décrivons les caractéristiques de 15 tanières de reproduction que nous avons visitées en hiver et en été. Même si de nombreux terriers de repos ont été uniquement creusés dans la neige, la plupart des terriers incorporaient des structures topographiques, dont des falaises, des talus, de la glace de banquise, des grottes thermokarstiques et des hautes berges de cours d’eau. En général, les terriers étaient composés d’un seul tunnel menant à une seule chambre, bien que certains avaient plusieurs entrées, des galeries, ou les deux. Les tunnels des aires de repos étaient moins longs que ceux des tanières de reproduction, et les chambres de repos étaient généralement situées dans la partie la plus profonde des terriers. Les tanières de reproduction étaient installées dans des caractéristiques topographiques où s’amoncelle la neige, comme les lits de cours d’eau, les hautes berges de lacs, les grottes thermokarstiques et les rochers. Il est essentiel de comprendre les caractéristiques des structures de repos et de reproduction des carcajous de l’Arctique afin d’être en mesure d’évaluer les incidences anthropiques au moment où le manteau neigeux subit des changements liés au climat