Geomorphological evolution of a debris‐covered glacier surface

There exists a need to advance our understanding of debris‐covered glacier surfaces over relatively short timescales due to rapid, climatically induced areal expansion of debris cover at the global scale, and the impact debris has on mass balance. We applied unpiloted aerial vehicle structure‐from‐motion (UAV‐SfM) and digital elevation model (DEM) differencing with debris thickness and debris stability modelling to unravel the evolution of a 0.15 km2 region of the debris‐covered Miage Glacier, Italy, between June 2015 and July 2018. DEM differencing revealed widespread surface lowering (mean 4.1 ± 1.0 m a‐1; maximum 13.3 m a‐1). We combined elevation change data with local meteorological data and a sub‐debris melt model, and used these relationships to produce high resolution, spatially distributed maps of debris thickness. These maps were differenced to explore patterns and mechanisms of debris redistribution. Median debris thicknesses ranged from 0.12 to 0.17 m and were spatially variable. We observed localized debris thinning across ice cliff faces, except those which were decaying, where debris thickened. We observed pervasive debris thinning across larger, backwasting slopes, including those bordered by supraglacial streams, as well as ingestion of debris by a newly exposed englacial conduit. Debris stability mapping showed that 18.2–26.4% of the survey area was theoretically subject to debris remobilization. By linking changes in stability to changes in debris thickness, we observed that slopes that remain stable, stabilize, or remain unstable between periods almost exclusively show net debris thickening (mean 0.07 m a‐1) whilst those which become newly unstable exhibit both debris thinning and thickening. We observe a systematic downslope increase in the rate at which debris cover thickens which can be described as a function of the topographic position index and slope gradient. Our data provide quantifiable insights into mechanisms of debris remobilization on glacier surfaces over sub‐decadal timescales, and open avenues for future research to explore glacier‐scale spatiotemporal patterns of debris remobilization

Climate-mediated diversification of turtles in the Cretaceous

The file attached is the published version of the article

Plasticity versus repeatability in seabird migratory behaviour

Pelagic seabird populations can use several discrete wintering areas, but it is unknown if individuals use the same wintering area year after year. This would have consequences for their population genetic structure and conservation. We here study the faithfulness of individuals to a moulting area within and among years in a small pelagic seabird, the Thin-billed prion, which moult their primary feathers during the early part of the non-breeding period. According to stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of these feathers, 90% of Thin-billed prions moult in Antarctic and 10% in South American waters. Repeated samples from individuals in 2 or 3 years indicated that several birds changed between Antarctic and South American moulting areas or vice versa. However, individuals moulting in an area in one year were more likely to do so again. Four out of five adults maintained highly conserved δ13C over the extended moulting period. One bird, however, had systematic changes in δ13C indicating latitudinal movements between the two areas during moult. Thus, the present data show that this seabird species has a highly flexible migratory strategy, not only at the population level, but also at the individual level, enabling these seabirds to exploit a highly unpredictable environment

KB-Rank: efficient protein structure and functional annotation identification via text query

The KB-Rank tool was developed to help determine the functions of proteins. A user provides text query and protein structures are retrieved together with their functional annotation categories. Structures and annotation categories are ranked according to their estimated relevance to the queried text. The algorithm for ranking first retrieves matches between the query text and the text fields associated with the structures. The structures are next ordered by their relative content of annotations that are found to be prevalent across all the structures retrieved. An interactive web interface was implemented to navigate and interpret the relevance of the structures and annotation categories retrieved by a given search. The aim of the KB-Rank tool is to provide a means to quickly identify protein structures of interest and the annotations most relevant to the queries posed by a user. Informational and navigational searches regarding disease topics are described to illustrate the tool’s utilities. The tool is available at the URL http://protein.tcmedc.org/KB-Rank

Anthropogenic Disturbance Can Determine the Magnitude of Opportunistic Species Responses on Marine Urban Infrastructures

Background: Coastal landscapes are being transformed as a consequence of the increasing demand for infrastructures to sustain residential, commercial and tourist activities. Thus, intertidal and shallow marine habitats are largely being replaced by a variety of artificial substrata (e.g. breakwaters, seawalls, jetties). Understanding the ecological functioning of these artificial habitats is key to planning their design and management, in order to minimise their impacts and to improve their potential to contribute to marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nonetheless, little effort has been made to assess the role of human disturbances in shaping the structure of assemblages on marine artificial infrastructures. We tested the hypothesis that some negative impacts associated with the expansion of opportunistic and invasive species on urban infrastructures can be related to the severe human disturbances that are typical of these environments, such as those from maintenance and renovation works. Methodology/Principal Findings: Maintenance caused a marked decrease in the cover of dominant space occupiers, such as mussels and oysters, and a significant enhancement of opportunistic and invasive forms, such as biofilm and macroalgae. These effects were particularly pronounced on sheltered substrata compared to exposed substrata. Experimental application of the disturbance in winter reduced the magnitude of the impacts compared to application in spring or summer. We use these results to identify possible management strategies to inform the improvement of the ecological value of artificial marine infrastructures. Conclusions/Significance: We demonstrate that some of the impacts of globally expanding marine urban infrastructures, such as those related to the spread of opportunistic, and invasive species could be mitigated through ecologically-driven planning and management of long-term maintenance of these structures. Impact mitigation is a possible outcome of policies that consider the ecological features of built infrastructures and the fundamental value of controlling biodiversity in marine urban systems

A gestural repertoire of 1-2year old human children : in search of the ape gestures

This project was made possible with the generous financial help of the Baverstock Bequest to the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at the University of St Andrews.When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into the thought processes accompanying language, and sign languages are equal to spoken language with all of its features. While some research firmly emphasises the difference between human gestures and those of other apes, the question about whether there are any commonalities has rarely been investigated, and is mostly confined to pointing gestures. The gestural repertoires of nonhuman ape species have been carefully studied and described with regard to their form and function – but similar approaches are much rarer in the study of human gestures. This paper applies the methodology commonly used in the study of nonhuman ape gestures to the gestural communication of human children in their second year of life. We recorded (n=13) children’s gestures in a natural setting with peers and caregivers in Germany and Uganda. Children employed 52 distinct gestures, 46 (89%) of which are present in the chimpanzee repertoire. Like chimpanzees, they used them both singly, and in sequences; and employed individual gestures flexibly towards different goals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe