Tardigrades of Fish Creek Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada: A Preliminary Survey

Tardigrades are cosmopolitan animals with a patchy distribution record, largely due to the limited collection history for this phylum rather than actual rarity. Most Canadian records are from near coastal areas, with a few notable exceptions, most recently one study of tardigrades in central Alberta. The present study reports the occurrence of 12 species or species groups in Fish Creek Provincial Park in southern Alberta. Eight of these taxa are new records for Alberta, and two (Diphascon (Diphascon) granifer and Echiniscus granulatus) are new records for Canada

Value Focused Thinking Analysis of C-Band Australia Radar Operations

The radars used for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) are inherently all-weather, day/night sensors capable of around the clock operations. Despite this fact, some radars are operated for fewer than their maximum operating capabilities. The decision-making process for selecting the operating hours of a sensor has historically been based on only a few factors or just one. This research uses the techniques in Value Focused Thinking to develop an evaluation process to score possible alternatives and find the alternative with the most value for the decision maker. By investigating the value that is added by operating an SDA radar, it is possible to create a quantitative evaluation process for determining the most efficient operating schedule for an SDA radar that maximizes benefits to users while minimizing operating costs. In this research, a specific radar is used for the development of this technique. By evaluating the C-Band Australia radar, located in Exmouth, Western Australia, the research found that the quantity of data produced by the radar was the most valuable aspect of the radar and minimizing the hours out of mission per day (i.e., downtime) is the best alternative. The analysis in this research explored the trade-offs between added benefits of operating hours with the additional costs those additional hours will incur. As a result, a recommendation for 24/7 operations was produced and a methodology for evaluating other SDA radars was created

Importance of the Song Recital: Conveying the Emotional Significance of Text Through Song.

This study examines the importance of the Art Song Recital as a genre. Both the historical role and modern use of the Art Song Recital were researched. It was found that the Art Song Recital is still an important genre that offers the performer and audience two features that they cannot get in other types of concerts. These are an intimate connection between audience and performer and a unique emphasis on the text of the songs

Meiofaunal richness in highly acidic hot springs in Unzen-Amakusa National Park, Japan, including the first rediscovery attempt for Mesotardigrada

Extreme environments sometimes support surprisingly high meiofaunal diversity. We sampled runoff from the acidic hot springs of Unzen, Japan. This is the type locality of Thermozodium esakii Rahm, 1937, the only tardigrade in the class Mesotardigrada, which remains contentious in the absence of corroboration or supporting specimens. Our sampling revealed at least three species of arthropods, four rotifers, and five nematodes living in the hot (ca. 40°C) and acidic (ca. pH 2.5) water, but no tardigrades

Gilbert Rahm and the Status of Mesotardigrada Rahm , 1937

The tardigrade class Mesotardigrada was erected on the basis of the description of Thermozodium esakii by Gilbert Rahm in 1937. In some characteristics, T. esakii is intermediate between members of the classes Eutardigrada and Heterotardigrada. The class Mesotardigrada is known only from Rahm's published drawings of T. esakii; no voucher specimens are known, and subsequent attempts to collect it at the locus typicus have been unsuccessful. Among the possible explanations for this situation are that Rahm may have collected specimens of a more typical tardigrade, but misinterpreted what he saw. Alternatively, changes in habitat in the area may have led to the tardigrade's extirpation. Perhaps T. esakii is a rare species, such that recent sampling efforts have been insufficient to rediscover it. Finally, Rahm's 1937 description may be an attempt at deception. Until physical evidence of T. esakii is found, the species, and by extension the class Mesotardigrada, should be considered nomen dubium

Meiofaunal richness in highly acidic hot springs in Unzen-Amakusa National Park, Japan, including the first rediscovery attempt for Mesotardigrada

Extreme environments sometimes support surprisingly high meiofaunal diversity. We sampled runoff from the acidic hot springs of Unzen, Japan. This is the type locality of Thermozodium esakii Rahm, 1937, the only tardigrade in the class Mesotardigrada, which remains contentious in the absence of corroboration or supporting specimens. Our sampling revealed at least three species of arthropods, four rotifers, and five nematodes living in the hot (ca. 40°C) and acidic (ca. pH 2.5) water, but no tardigrades