315 research outputs found
Habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic factors affect wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris occupancy and detectability on Mt Etna
Knowledge of patterns of occupancy is crucial for planning sound biological management and for identifying areas which require paramount conservation attention. The European wildcat Felis silvestris is an elusive carnivore and is classified as âleast concernâ on the IUCN red list, but with a decreasing population trend in some areas. Sicily hosts a peculiar wildcat population, which deserves conservation and management actions, due to its isolation from the mainland. Patterns of occupancy for wildcats are unknown in Italy, and especially in Sicily. We aimed to identify which ecological drivers determined wildcat occurrence on Mt Etna and to provide conservation actions to promote the wildcatsâ long-term survival in this peculiar environment. The genetic identity of the wildcat population was confirmed through a scat-collection which detected 22 different wildcat individuals. We analysed wildcat detections collected by 91 cameras using an occupancy frame work to assess which covariates influenced the detection (p) and the occupancy (Ï) estimates. We recorded 70 detections of the target species from 38 cameras within 3377 trap-days. Wildcat detection was positively influenced by the distance to the major paved roads and negatively affected by the presence of humans. Wildcat occupancy was positively associated with mixed forest and negatively influenced by pine forest, fragmentation of mixed forest and altitude. A spatially explicit predicted occupancy map, validated using an independent dataset of wildcat presence records, showed that higher occupancy estimates were scattered, mainly located on the north face and at lower altitude. Habitat fragmentation has been claimed as a significant threat for the wildcat and this is the first study that has ascertained this as a limiting factor for wildcat occurrence. Conservation actions should promote interconnectivity between areas with high predicted wildcat occupancy while minimising the loss of habitat
Record of a 10-year old European Wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber, 1777 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) from Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy
We recaptured the Wildcat after nine years, hence we think that 10 years is the minimum reasonable age estimation for this individual. This age estimate still lies at the lower range when compared to ages of captive Wildcats ranging from 12â16 year
Deep near-infrared luminosity function of a cluster of galaxies at z=0.3
The deep near-infrared luminosity function of AC118, a cluster of galaxies at
z=0.3, is presented. AC118 is a bimodal cluster, as evidenced both by our
near-infrared images of lensed galaxies, by public X-ray Rosat images and by
the spatial distribution of bright galaxies. Taking advantage of the extension
and depth of our data, which sample an almost unexplored region in the depth
vs. observed area diagram, we derive the luminosity function (LF), down to the
dwarf regime (M*+5), computed in several cluster portions. The overall LF,
computed on a 2.66 Mpc2 areas (H_0=50 km/s/Mpc), has an intermediate slope
(alpha=-1.2). However, the LF parameters depend on the surveyed cluster region:
the central concentration has 2.6^{+5.1}_{-1.7} times more bright galaxies and
5.3^{+7.2}_{-2.3} times less dwarfs per typical galaxy than the outer region,
which includes galaxies at an average projected distance of ~580 kpc (errors
are quoted at the 99.9 % confidence level). The LF in the secondary AC118 clump
is intermediate between the central and outer one. In other words, the
near-infrared AC118 LF steepens going from high to low density regions. At an
average clustercentric distance of ~580 kpc, the AC118 LF is statistically
indistinguishable from the LF of field galaxies at similar redshift, thus
suggesting that the hostile cluster environment plays a minor role in shaping
the LF at large clustercentric distances, while it strongly affects the LF at
higher galaxy density.Comment: ApJ, in press. The whole paper with all high resolution images is
available at http://www.na.astro.it/~andreon/listapub.htm
Numerical study of a non-equilibrium interface model
We have carried out extensive computer simulations of one-dimensional models
related to the low noise (solid-on-solid) non-equilibrium interface of a two
dimensional anchored Toom model with unbiased and biased noise. For the
unbiased case the computed fluctuations of the interface in this limit provide
new numerical evidence for the logarithmic correction to the subnormal L^(1/2)
variance which was predicted by the dynamic renormalization group calculations
on the modified Edwards-Wilkinson equation. In the biased case the simulations
are in close quantitative agreement with the predictions of the Collective
Variable Approximation (CVA), which gives the same L^(2/3) behavior of the
variance as the KPZ equation.Comment: 15 pages revtex, 4 Postscript Figure
K-band luminosity (mass) segregation in AC118 at z=0.31
Using new observations of the galaxy cluster A118 at intermediate redshift
(z=0.31) in the Ks band, we were able to detect the cluster from the center to
half the Abell radius (1.5 Mpc, Ho=50 km/s/Mpc) and possibly to 2.0 Mpc. The
analysis of both the spatial distribution of galaxies of various luminosities
and of the luminosity function (LF) of galaxies in different cluster locations
strongly confirms and extends to larger clustercentric radii the luminosity
segregation found in a previous analysis of this cluster restricted to a
smaller cluster area: there is an excess of bright galaxies in the cluster core
(inside 250 Kpc) or a deficit of dwarfs in the remain part of the cluster.
Outside the cluster core and as far as 1.5 or even 2 Mpc, the giant-to-dwarf
ratio is constant. Because of the luminosity segregation, the LF of the AC118
shows a larger number of bright galaxies per unit dwarf in the core than in
other cluster locations. All non-core LFs, computed at several cluster
locations, are compatible each other. These results hold both including or
excluding the galaxies located in an overdensity found in the far South of
AC118 and in the second clump in galaxy density at the cluster North-West.
Since the near-infrared emission is a good tracer of the stellar mass, we
interpret the segregation found as a mass segregation.Comment: A&A in pres
Properties of mm galaxies: Constraints from K-band blank fields
We have used the IRAM Plateau de Bure mm interferometer to locate with
subarcsecond accuracy the dust emission of three of the brightest 1.2mm sources
in the NTT Deep Field (NDF) selected from our 1.2mm MAMBO survey at the IRAM
30m telescope. We combine these results with deep B to K imaging and VLA
interferometry. Strikingly, none of the three accurately located mm galaxies
MMJ120546-0741.5, MMJ120539-0745.4, and MMJ120517-0743.1 has a K-band
counterpart down to the faint limit of K>21.9. This implies that these three
galaxies are either extremely obscured and/or are at very high redshifts
(z>~4). We combine our results with literature data for 11 more (sub)mm
galaxies that are identified with similar reliability. In terms of their K-band
properties, the sample divides into three roughly equal groups: (i) undetected
to K~22, (ii) detected in the near-infrared but not the optical and (iii)
detected in the optical with the possibility of optical follow-up spectroscopy.
We find a trend in this sample between near-infrared to submm and submm to
radio spectral indices, which in comparison to spectral energy distributions
(SEDs) of low redshift infrared luminous galaxies suggests that the most
plausible primary factor causing the extreme near-infrared faintness of our
objects is their high redshift. We show that the near-infrared to radio SEDs of
the sample are inconsistent with SEDs that resemble local far-infrared cool
galaxies with moderate luminosities, which were proposed in some models of the
submm sky. We briefly discuss the implications of the results for our
understanding of galaxy formation.Comment: aastex, 5 figures. Accepted by Ap
Angle of Repose and Angle of Marginal Stability: Molecular Dyanmics of Granular Particles
We present an implementation of realistic static friction in molecular
dynamics (MD) simulations of granular particles. In our model, to break
contacts between two particles, one has to apply a finite amount of force,
determined by the Coulomb criterion. Using a two dimensional model, we show
that piles generated by avalanches have a {\it finite} angle of repose
(finite slopes). Furthermore, these piles are stable under tilting
by an angle smaller than a non-zero tilting angle , showing that
is different from the angle of marginal stability ,
which is the maximum angle of stable piles. These measured angles are compared
to a theoretical approximation. We also measure by continuously
adding particles on the top of a stable pile.Comment: 14 pages, Plain Te
2MASS J03105986+1648155AB - A new binary at the L/T transition
The transition from the L to the T spectral type of brown dwarfs is marked by
a very rapid transition phase, remarkable brightening in the J-band and a
higher binary frequency. Despite being an active area of inquiry, this
transition regime still remains one of the most poorly understood phases of
brown dwarf evolution. We resolved the L dwarf 2MASS J03105986+1648155 for the
first time into two almost equally bright components straddling the L/T
transition. Since such a co-eval system with common age and composition
provides crucial information of this special transition phase, we monitored the
system over 3 years to derive first orbital parameters and dynamical mass
estimates, as well as a spectral type determination. We obtained resolved high
angular resolution, near-IR images with HST and the adaptive optics instrument
NACO at the VLT including the laser guide star system PARSEC. Based on two
epochs of astrometric data we derive a minimum semi-major axis of 5.2 +- 0.8
AU. The assumption of a face-on circular orbit yields an orbital period of 72
+- 4 years and a total system mass of 30-60 Mjup. This places the masses of the
individual components of the system at the lower end of the mass regime of
brown dwarfs. The achieved photometry allowed a first spectral type
determination of L9 +- 1 for each component. In addition, this seems to be only
the fifth resolved L/T transition binary with a flux reversal. While ultimate
explanations for this effect are still owing, the 2MASS J03105986+1648155
system adds an important benchmark object for improving our understanding of
this remarkable evolutionary phase of brown dwarfs. Additionally, the
observational results of 2MASS J03105986+1648155 AB derived with the new PARSEC
AO system at the VLT show the importance of this technical capability. The
updated AO system allows us to significantly extend the sample of brown dwarfs
observable with high-resolution from the ground and hence to reveal more of
their physical properties.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication by A&
ESO Imaging Survey: infrared observations of CDF-S and HDF-S
This paper presents infrared data obtained from observations carried out at
the ESO 3.5m New Technology Telescope (NTT) of the Hubble Deep Field South
(HDF-S) and the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). These data were taken as part
of the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS) program, a public survey conducted by ESO to
promote follow-up observations with the VLT. In the HDF-S field the infrared
observations cover an area of ~53 square arcmin, encompassing the HST WFPC2 and
STIS fields, in the JHKs passbands. The seeing measured in the final stacked
images ranges from 0.79" to 1.22" and the median limiting magnitudes (AB
system, 2" aperture, 5sigma detection limit) are J_AB~23.0, H_AB~22.8 and
K_AB~23.0 mag. Less complete data are also available in JKs for the adjacent
HST NICMOS field. For CDF-S, the infrared observations cover a total area of
\~100 square arcmin, reaching median limiting magnitudes (as defined above) of
J_AB~23.6 and K_AB~22.7 mag. For one CDF-S field H-band data are also
available. This paper describes the observations and presents the results of
new reductions carried out entirely through the un-supervised, high-throughput
EIS Data Reduction System and its associated EIS/MVM C++-based image processing
library developed, over the past 5 years, by the EIS project and now publicly
available. The paper also presents source catalogs extracted from the final
co-added images which are used to evaluate the scientific quality of the survey
products, and hence the performance of the software. This is done comparing the
results obtained in the present work with those obtained by other authors from
independent data and/or reductions carried out with different software packages
and techniques. The final science-grade catalogs and co-added images are
available at CDS.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 13 pages, 12 figures; a full
resolution version of the paper is available from
http://www.astro.ku.dk/~lisbeth/eisdata/papers/4528.pdf ; related catalogs
and images are available through http://www.astro.ku.dk/~lisbeth/eisdata
Probiotic Bacillus subtilis 29,784 improved weight gain and enhanced gut health status of broilers under necrotic enteritis condition
The study investigated the benefit of a Bacillus subtilis probiotic (Bs 29,784) in necrotic enteritis (NE)-challenged broilers. Four treatments were performed with 312 male day-old Ross 308 reared in floor pens from day 0 to day 35: 2 groups fed control diet without or with NE challenge (CtrlNC and CtrlNE); 2 groups fed probiotic and antibiotic supplements in the control diet with NE challenge (ProNE and AntNE). Necrotic enteritis challenge procedures commenced with inoculation of Eimeria spp 1Â mL/bird per os at day 9 and Clostridium perfringens EHE-NE18 (approximately 108Â cfu/mL) 1Â mL/bird per os at day 14 and day 15. Performance parameters were measured on day 16 and day 35. Lesion, cecal microbiota, and jejunal gene expression were analyzed on day 16. Necrotic enteritis challenge significantly suppressed the performance parameters compared with CtrlNC: 27% weight gain reduction, 11 points feed conversion ratio (FCR) increase at day 16, and 12% weight gain reduction, 5-point FCR increase at day 35. By day 35, ProNE and AntNE treatments enabled significantly higher weight gain (4 and 9%, respectively) than CtrlNE. Compared with CtlrNE and contrary to AntNE, ProNE treatment exhibited upregulation of genes coding for tight junctions proteins (CLDN1, JAM2, TJP1), cytokines (IL12, interferon gamma, TGFÎČ), and Toll-like receptors (TLR5, TLR21) suggesting enhanced immunity and intestinal integrity. 16S NGS analysis of cecal microbiota at day 16 showed a decreased alpha diversity in challenged groups. Principal component analysis of operational taxonomic unit (OTU) abundance revealed that ProNE and AntNE grouped closely while both distantly from CtrlNC and CtrlNE, which were separately grouped, indicating the similar effects of ProNE and AntNE on the OTU diversity that were however different from both CtrlNC and CtrlNE. Microbiota analysis revealed an increase of genera Faecalibacterium, Oscillospira, and Butyricicoccus; and a decrease of genera Ruminococcus, Lactobacillus, and Bacteroides; and an increase of the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio in ProNE and AntNE groups compared with the CtlrNE group. It is concluded that Bs 29,784 may enable improved health of broiler chickens under NE conditions thus performance implications
- âŠ