Deer reduce habitat quality for a woodland songbird: evidence from settlement patterns, demographic parameters, and body condition.

Understanding avian responses to ungulate-induced habitat modification is important because deer populations are increasing across much of temperate Europe and North America. Our experimental study examined whether habitat quality for Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) in young woodland in eastern England was affected by deer, by comparing Blackcap behavior, abundance, and condition between paired plots (half of each pair protected from deer). The vegetation in each pair of plots was the same age. The Blackcap is an ideal model species for testing effects of deer on avian habitat quality because it is dependent on dense understory vegetation and is abundant throughout much of Europe. We compared timing of settlement, abundance, age structure (second-year vs. after-second-year), and phenotypic quality (measured as a body condition index, body mass divided by tarsus length) between experimental and control plots. We used point counts to examine Blackcap distribution, and standardized mist netting to collect demographic and biometric data. Incidence of singing Blackcaps was higher in nonbrowsed than in browsed plots, and singing males were recorded in nonbrowsed plots earlier in the season, indicating earlier and preferential territory establishment. Most Blackcaps, both males and females, were captured in vegetation prior to canopy closure (2–4 years of regrowth). Body condition was superior for male Blackcaps captured in nonbrowsed plots; for second-year males this was most marked in vegetation prior to canopy closure. We conclude that deer browsing in young woodland can alter habitat quality for understory-dependent species, with potential consequences for individual fitness and population productivity beyond the more obvious effects on population density

Energy Projects in Milton Keynes: Energy Consultative Unit Progress Report 1976-1981

The Energy Consultative Unit was a joint Open University/MKDC body set up by Professor Jake Chapman, founder of the OU Energy Research Group. This report describes the work carried out on energy-related projects in Milton Keynes over the period 1976-1981, many of them involving the Open University. After a short explanation of how energy is used in the UK, the report introduces the Energy Consultative Unit projects and summarises the main conclusions drawn from the Unit's work. It then describes the projects on which the Unit has worked and summarises other energy projects under way in the new city. It does not go into the projects in detail, but there are a number of technical reports available for people who want to study them in more depth, and these are listed in the back of the report. The projects represent the work of a considerable number of people and a list of acknowledgements, indicating who should be contacted for further information, is also set out at the back of the report

An improved source model for aircraft interior noise studies

There is concern that advanced turboprop engines currently being developed may produce excessive aircraft cabin noise levels. This concern has stimulated renewed interest in developing aircraft interior noise reduction methods that do not significantly increase take off weight. An existing analytical model for noise transmission into aircraft cabins was utilized to investigate the behavior of an improved propeller source model for use in aircraft interior noise studies. The new source model, a virtually rotating dipole, is shown to adequately match measured fuselage sound pressure distributions, including the correct phase relationships, for published data. The virtually rotating dipole is used to study the sensitivity of synchrophasing effectiveness to the fuselage sound pressure trace velocity distribution. Results of calculations are presented which reveal the importance of correctly modeling the surface pressure phase relations in synchrophasing and other aircraft interior noise studies

An experimental investigation of the interior noise control effects of propeller synchrophasing

A simplified cylindrical model of an aircraft fuselage is used to investigate the mechanisms of interior noise suppression using synchrophasing techniques. This investigation allows isolation of important parameters to define the characteristics of synchrophasing. The optimum synchrophase angle for maximum noise reduction is found for several interior microphone positions with pure tone source excitation. Noise reductions of up to 30 dB are shown for some microphone positions, however, overall reductions are less. A computer algorithm is developed to decompose the cylinder vibration into modal components over a wide range of synchrophase angles. The circumferential modal response of the shell vibration is shown to govern the transmission of sound into the cylinder rather than localized transmission. As well as investigating synchrophasing, the interior sound field due to sources typical of propellers has been measured and discussed

Support of ASTP/KOSMOS fundulus embryo development experiment

Results from the Kosmos Biosatellite 782 flight are presented. Experiments with fish hatchlings are discussed along with postflight observation and testing. The preparation of fertilized eggs for the experiments is described

Artificial atmosphere control system

Two-gas control system has been developed which uses existing hardware. Three systems are used for control, monitoring, and safety backup. Pure oxygen will be supplied to maintain safe pressure level should something go wrong

The Influence of Nuclear Composition on the Electron Fraction in the Post-Core-Bounce Supernova Environment

We study the early evolution of the electron fraction (or, alternatively, the neutron-to-proton ratio) in the region above the hot proto-neutron star formed after a supernova explosion. We study the way in which the electron fraction in this environment is set by a competition between lepton (electron, positron, neutrino, and antineutrino) capture processes on free neutrons and protons and nuclei. Our calculations take explicit account of the effect of nuclear composition changes, such as formation of alpha particles (the alpha effect) and the shifting of nuclear abundances in nuclear statistical equilibrium associated with cooling in near-adiabatic outflow. We take detailed account of the process of weak interaction freeze-out in conjunction with these nuclear composition changes. Our detailed treatment shows that the alpha effect can cause significant increases in the electron fraction, while neutrino and antineutrino capture on heavy nuclei tends to have a buffering effect on this quantity. We also examine the effect on weak rates and the electron fraction of fluctuations in time in the neutrino and antineutrino energy spectra arising from hydrodynamic waves. Our analysis is guided by the Mayle & Wilson supernova code numerical results for the neutrino energy spectra and density and velocity profiles.Comment: 38 pages, AAS LaTeX, 8 figure

Method and apparatus for minimizing multiple degree of freedom vibration transmission between two regions of a structure

Arrays of actuators are affixed to structural elements to impede the transmission of vibrational energy. A single pair is used to provide control of bending and extensional waves and two pairs are used to control torsional motion. The arrays are applied to a wide variety of structural elements such as a beam structure that is part of a larger framework that may or may not support a rigid or non-rigid skin. Electrical excitation is applied to the actuators that generate forces on the structure. These electrical inputs may be adjusted in their amplitude and phase by a controller in communication with appropriate vibrational wave sensors to impede the flow of vibrational power in all of the above mentioned wave forms beyond the actuator location. Additional sensor elements can be used to monitor the performance and adjust the electrical inputs to maximize the attenuation of vibrational energy

The art of being human : a project for general philosophy of science

Throughout the medieval and modern periods, in various sacred and secular guises, the unification of all forms of knowledge under the rubric of ‘science’ has been taken as the prerogative of humanity as a species. However, as our sense of species privilege has been called increasingly into question, so too has the very salience of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’ as general categories, let alone ones that might bear some essential relationship to each other. After showing how the ascendant Stanford School in the philosophy of science has contributed to this joint demystification of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’, I proceed on a more positive note to a conceptual framework for making sense of science as the art of being human. My understanding of ‘science’ is indebted to the red thread that runs from Christian theology through the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment to the Humboldtian revival of the university as the site for the synthesis of knowledge as the culmination of self-development. Especially salient to this idea is science‘s epistemic capacity to manage modality (i.e. to determine the conditions under which possibilities can be actualised) and its political capacity to organize humanity into projects of universal concern. However, the challenge facing such an ideal in the twentyfirst century is that the predicate ‘human’ may be projected in three quite distinct ways, governed by what I call ‘ecological’, ‘biomedical’ and ‘cybernetic’ interests. Which one of these future humanities would claim today’s humans as proper ancestors and could these futures co-habit the same world thus become two important questions that general philosophy of science will need to address in the coming years