Lepidoptera Recorded From the Islands of Western Lake Erie, With a Brief Account of Geology and Flora

A list of Lepidoptera from the islands of western Lake Erie is presented along with a brief account of the geology, flora, and human activities in the area. The checklist contains 169 species representing 27 families. Suggestions are made for the improvement of this preliminary checklist as well as for future research

Selective Predation by Three Esocids: The Role of Prey Behavior and Morphology

We documented differential vulnerability of fathead minnows Pimephales promelas, gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum. and bluegills Lepomis macrochirus to predation by muskellunge Esox masquinongy. northern pike E. lucius. and tiger muskellunge E. masquinongy x E. lucius in a 700-L tank. Individual esocids (150-225 mm in total length) were combined with single species groups (N = 15) of optimal-sized prey (25-30% of predator length for bluegills, 37-43% for fathead minnows, and 30-36% for gizzard shad). Capture ability did not differ among esocids; however, mean captures per strike were higher for fathead minnow (0.67) and gizzard shad (0.78) than for bluegill (0.14). Morphology and antipredatory behavior, unique to each prey species, contributed to this differential vulnerability. In the field, we introduced equal numbers and similar sizes of these esocids into two systems, one with centrarchid prey and one with both centrarchid and gizzard shad prey. As predicted from laboratory work, esocids ate fewer prey and grew more slowly when centrarchids were the only prey than they did when gizzard were available. In a third reservoir, containing bluegills and gizzard shad, esocids strongly preferred gizzard shad over bluegills. To maximize growth and survival, esocids should be stocked in systems with soft-rayed or fusiform prey, such as cyprinids or shad, rather than in centrarchid-dominated systems.This study was supported in part by funds from the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act under project F-57-R

Excess heat might not be entirely from nuclear reactions

Abstract only.During heavy-water electrochemical experiments in the 1980s, Fleischmann and Pons found that more thermal energy came out of their experiments with Pd cathodes than was put in electrically. The excess heat was greater than could be explained by any chemical reactions. Hence, they postulated that the excess energy was due to unexpected nuclear reactions. Now, it is well established experimentally that the amount of excess heat measured in many experiments greatly exceeds what can be attributed to chemistry. For this reason, and also because of numerous reports of nuclear reaction products and energetic radiations, it is widely believed that excess heat is due primarily, and maybe exclusively, to nuclear reactions. Hence, the field is now often called Low Energy Nuclear Reactions. There is an alternative scenario for production of excess heat and the observation of low levels of nuclear reaction products. It is far from new, but has received relatively little attention. Several theorists have postulated the formation of "compact objects" with sizes and energies between those of atoms and nuclei. If such objects do form, they could account for much of the measured excess heat. This paper is a review of the theories of compact objects and their implications