Regional Caddisfly (Trichoptera) Indicator Species for Mid-Order Michigan and Minnesota Streams

Nearly 150,000 caddisfly specimens representing 238 species were analyzed from 166 5–15m wide streams within Michigan and Minnesota to deter- mine the characteristic indicator species of 5 previously-established regions of caddisfly biological diversity. Based on a combination of relative frequency and abundance, 35 of these species indicated a particular region or regions. Indicator species in forested regions constituted a balance of trophic functional groups, whereas indicator species from agricultural regions were dominated by filtering collectors. While it was difficult to determine if species were indicating natural habitat type or differences in anthropogenic disturbance, establishing indicator species now will render potential future changes to the fauna easier to evaluate

Validation of CTmax Protocols Using Cased and Uncased \u3ci\u3ePycnopsyche Guttifer\u3c/i\u3e (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) Larvae

The critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of a northern Lower Michigan population of Pycnopsyche guttifer was determined using four rates of temperature increase (0.10, 0.33, 0.50, and 0.70oC per minute), and two case states (intact and removed). Across all temperature increase rates, larvae removed from their cases had a significantly lower mean CTmax than those remaining in their cases, suggesting that the case can increase the larva’s ability to tolerate thermal stress, possibly due to respiratory advantages. Regardless of case state, mean CTmax was significantly lower at the 0.10oC per minute increase rate than the other three rates, likely due to increased exposure time. Our results indicate that CTmax studies done using 0.33–0.70oC per minute increase protocols would be comparable with each other, but not with studies using an increase rate of 0.10oC per minute

Evaluation of Minnesota Geographic Classifications Based on Caddisfly (Trichoptera) Data

The ability to partition the variation of faunal assemblages into homogenous units valuable for biomonitoring is referred to as classification strength (CS). In this study, the CSs of three types of geographic classifications: watershed basin, ecological region, and caddisfly region, were compared based on 248 light trap samples of adult caddisflies collected in Minnesota during 1999–2001. The effect on CS of three different levels of taxonomic resolution: family, genus, and species, was also assessed. Primary (broadest possible) a priori classification by watershed basin and ecological region had a lower CS than did secondary classification by these regions. Caddisfly region, an a posteriori classification based directly on caddisfly distribution data, had nearly twice the CS of any a priori classification. CS decreased approximately 20% with a decrease in taxonomic resolution from species to genus, and from genus to family. These results suggest that geographic classification, spatial scale, and taxonomic resolution are all important factors to consider when sampling aquatic insects, and that widely used a priori geographic classifications are not the ideal units for sampling the aquatic biota

Uplift Quadratic Program in Irish Electricity Price Setting

Bord Gis required a deeper insight into the dynamics of Uplift prices. The aim of the group was to apply a variety of analytical tools to the problem in order to satisfy Bord Gis requirements. The group conducted a KKT Optimality Analysis of the quadratic program used to determine the Uplift prices, performed statistical analysis to identify the binding constraints and their sensitives to the Uplift prices, simulated a synthetic stochastic process that is consistent with the Uplift pricing series and investigated alternative objective functions for the quadratic program

Updated Conservation Status of Protected Minnesota Caddisflies

Seven of the 13 Minnesota Trichoptera species with official protected status were located in the state during 1997-2001, including four species – Agapetus tomus, Asynarchus rossi, Hydroptila novicola, and Polycentropus milaca – not collected in nearly 40 years. Three species – Chilostigma itascae, Oxyethira ecornuta, and Polycentropus milaca – appear rare in Minnesota, two – Agapetus tomus and Asynarchus rossi – appear rare but locally abundant, and two – Hydroptila novicola and Oxyethira itascae – were found throughout northern Minnesota suggesting that they are more abundant than previously thought. Five listed species were not collected during this study and are currently of unknown conservation status. One listed species, Setodes guttatus, almost certainly does not occur in Minnesota and should be delisted

On the constraints defining BPS monopoles

We discuss the explicit formulation of the transcendental constraints defining spectral curves of SU(2) BPS monopoles in the twistor approach of Hitchin, following Ercolani and Sinha. We obtain an improved version of the Ercolani-Sinha constraints, and show that the Corrigan-Goddard conditions for constructing monopoles of arbitrary charge can be regarded as a special case of these. As an application, we study the spectral curve of the tetrahedrally symmetric 3-monopole, an example where the Corrigan-Goddard conditions need to be modified. A particular 1-cycle on the spectral curve plays an important role in our analysis.Comment: 29 pages, 7 eps figure

Analysis of the Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the Manistee River Watershed, Michigan

We document 134 caddisfly species and their seasonal and habitat affinities based on 93 samples collected from 26 sites throughout the Manistee River watershed in the lower peninsula of Michigan from May through September, 2010. Eleven of these species: Banksiola dossuaria (Say), Cheumatopsyche aphanta Ross, Cheumatopsyche pasella Ross, Hydroptila xera Ross, Ironoquia lyrata (Ross), Lepidostoma vernale (Banks), Neotrichia vibrans Ross, Nyctiophylax affinis (Banks), Oxyethira aeola Ross, Oxyethira rivicola Blickle and Morse, and Polycentropus timesis (Denning) are reported from Michigan for the first time. More than 85% of species reached peak adult abundance during June or July, although a few species reached peak abundance or emerged exclusively during the other months. Overall species richness reached its peak during early July, with a smaller peak of unique species in September. Caddisfly faunas in lakes, small streams, medium rivers, and large rivers were all distinct from each other, suggesting that the overall watershed is following patterns predicted by the River Continuum Concept. It is likely that the Michigan caddisfly fauna contains considerably more species than what is currently known

Gamma and neutron dose measurements for a thermal tungsten nuclear rocket critical experiment

Measurements of gamma and neutron dose distributions in core of thermal tungsten nuclear rocket experimen