383 research outputs found
Nuclear spirals as feeding channels to the Supermassive Black Hole: the case of the galaxy NGC 6951
We report the discovery of gas streaming motions along nuclear spiral arms
towards the LINER nucleus of the galaxy NGC 6951. The observations, obtained
using the GMOS integral field spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope,
yielded maps of the flux distributions and gas kinematics in the Halpha,
[NII]6584 and [SII]6717,31 emission lines of the inner 7x5 arcsec^2 of the
galaxy. This region includes a circumnuclear star-forming ring with radius
500pc, a nuclear spiral inside the ring and the LINER nucleus. The kinematics
of the ionized gas is dominated by rotation, but subtraction of a kinematic
model of a rotating exponential disk reveals deviations from circular rotation
within the nuclear ring which can be attributed to (1) streaming motions along
the nuclear spiral arms and (2) a bipolar outflow which seems to be associated
to a nuclear jet. On the basis of the observed streaming velocities and
geometry of the spiral arms we estimate a mass inflow rate of ionized gas of
3x10^(-4) Msun/yr, which is of the order of the accretion rate necessary to
power the LINER nucleus of NGC 6951. Similar streaming motions towards the
nucleus of another galaxy with LINER nucleus -- NGC 1097 -- have been reported
by our group in a previous paper. Taken together, these results support a
scenario in which nuclear spirals are channels through which matter is
transferred from galactic scales to the nuclear region to feed the supermassive
black hole.Comment: 25 pages, 6 eps figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Traitâdemography relationships underlying small mammal population fluctuations
1.Large-scale fluctuations in abundance are a common feature of small mammal populations and have been the subject of extensive research. These demographic fluctuations are often associated with concurrent changes in the average body mass of individuals, sometimes referred to as the âChitty effectâ. Despite the long-standing recognition of this phenomenon, an empirical investigation of the underlying coupled dynamics of body mass and population growth has been lacking.
2.Using long-term life-history data combined with a trait-based demographic approach, we examined the relationship between body mass and demography in a small mammal population that exhibits non-cyclic, large-scale fluctuations in abundance. We used data from the male segment of a 25-year study of the monogamous prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, in Illinois, USA. Specifically, we investigated how traitâdemography relationships and trait distributions changed between different phases of population fluctuations, and the consequences of these changes for both trait and population dynamics.
3.We observed phase-specific changes in male adult body mass distribution in this population of prairie voles. Our analyses revealed that these changes were driven by variation in ontogenetic growth, rather than selection acting on the trait. The resulting changes in body mass influenced most life-history processes, and these effects varied among phases of population fluctuation. However, these changes did not propagate to affect the population growth rate due to the small effect of body mass on vital rates, compared to the overall differences in vital rates between phases. The increase phase of the fluctuations was initiated by enhanced survival, particularly of juveniles, and fecundity whereas the decline phase was driven by an overall reduction in fecundity, survival and maturation rates.
4.Our study provides empirical support, as well as a potential mechanism, underlying the observed trait changes accompanying population fluctuations. Body size dynamics and population fluctuations resulted from different life-history processes. Therefore, we conclude that body size dynamics in our population do not drive the observed population dynamics. This more in-depth understanding of different components of small mammal population fluctuations will help us to better identify the mechanistic drivers of this interesting phenomenon
Genetic Introgression and the Survival of Florida Panther Kittens
Estimates of survival for the young of a species are critical for population models. These models can often be improved by determining the effects of management actions and population abundance on this demographic parameter. We used multiple sources of data collected during 1982â2008 and a live-recapture dead-recovery modeling framework to estimate and model survival of Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) kittens (age 0â1 year). Overall, annual survival of Florida panther kittens was 0.323 Âą 0.071 (SE), which was lower than estimates used in previous population models. In 1995, female pumas from Texas (P. c. stanleyana) were released into occupied panther range as part of an intentional introgression program to restore genetic variability. We found that kitten survival generally increased with degree of admixture: F1 admixed and backcrossed to Texas kittens survived better than canonical Florida panther and backcrossed to canonical kittens. Average heterozygosity positively influenced kitten and older panther survival, whereas index of panther abundance negatively influenced kitten survival. Our results provide strong evidence for the positive population-level impact of genetic introgression on Florida panthers. Our approach to integrate data from multiple sources was effective at improving robustness as well as precision of estimates of Florida panther kitten survival, and can be useful in estimating vital rates for other elusive species with sparse data
Chemical abundance of the LINER galaxy UGCâ4805 with SDSS-IV MaNGA
Chemical abundance determinations in Low-Ionization Nuclear Line Regions (LINERs) are especially complex and uncertain because the nature of the ionizing source of this kind of object is unknown. In this work, we study the oxygen abundance in relation to the hydrogen abundance (O/H) of the gas phase of the UGC 4805 LINER nucleus. Optical spectroscopic data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies (MaNGA) survey was employed to derive the O/H abundance of the UGC 4805 nucleus based on the extrapolation of the disk abundance gradient, on calibrations between O/H abundance and strong emission-lines for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) as well as on photoionization models built with the Cloudy code, assuming gas accretion into a black hole (AGN) and post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (p-AGB) stars with different effective temperatures. We found that abundance gradient extrapolations, AGN calibrations, AGN and p-AGB photoionization models produce similar O/H values for the UGC 4805 nucleus and similar ionization parameter values. The study demonstrated that the methods used to estimate the O/H abundance using nuclear emission-line ratios produce reliable results, which are in agreement with the O/H values obtained from the independent method of galactic metallicity gradient extrapolation. Finally, the results from the WHAN diagram combined with the fact that the high excitation level of the gas has to be maintained at kpc scales, we suggest that the main ionizing source of the UGC 4805 nucleus probably has a stellar origin rather than an AGN.Fil: Krabbe, Angela. Universidade Do Vale Do ParaĂba; BrasilFil: Oliveira, C. B.. Universidade Do Vale Do ParaĂba; BrasilFil: Zinchenko, I. A.. Universitat Ulm. Faculty Of Natural Sciences. Institute Of Theoretical Physics; AlemaniaFil: HernĂĄndez JimĂŠnez, J. A.. Universidad AndrĂŠs Bello; ChileFil: Dors, Oli L.. Universidade Do Vale Do ParaĂba; BrasilFil: Hägele, Guillermo Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂŠcnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de AstrofĂsica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias AstronĂłmicas y GeofĂsicas. Instituto de AstrofĂsica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cardaci, Monica Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂŠcnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de AstrofĂsica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias AstronĂłmicas y GeofĂsicas. Instituto de AstrofĂsica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Telles, N. R.. Universidade Do Vale Do ParaĂba; Brasi
Population Dynamics and Range Expansion in Nine-Banded Armadillos
Understanding why certain species can successfully colonize new areas while others do not is a central question in ecology. The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is a conspicuous example of a successful invader, having colonized much of the southern United States in the last 200 years. We used 15 years (1992â2006) of capture-mark-recapture data from a population of armadillos in northern Florida in order to estimate, and examine relationships among, various demographic parameters that may have contributed to this ongoing range expansion. Modeling across a range of values for Îł, the probability of juveniles surviving in the population until first capture, we found that population growth rates varied from 0.80 for Îł = 0.1, to 1.03 for Îł = 1.0. Growth rates approached 1.0 only when Îł âĽ0.80, a situation that might not occur commonly because of the high rate of disappearance of juveniles. Net reproductive rate increased linearly with Îł, but life expectancy (estimated at 3 years) was independent of Îł. We also found that growth rates were lower during a 3-year period of hardwood removal that removed preferred habitat than in the years preceding or following. Life-table response experiment (LTRE) analysis indicated the decrease in growth rate during logging was primarily due to changes in survival rates of adults. Likewise, elasticity analyses of both deterministic and stochastic population growth rates revealed that survival parameters were more influential on population growth than were those related to reproduction. Collectively, our results are consistent with recent theories regarding biological invasions which posit that populations no longer at the leading edge of range expansion do not exhibit strong positive growth rates, and that high reproductive output is less critical in predicting the likelihood of successful invasion than are life-history strategies that emphasize allocation of resources to future, as opposed to current, reproduction
Epidemiology and individual, household and geographical risk factors of podoconiosis in ethiopia: results from the first nationwide mapping
Although podoconiosis is one of the major causes of tropical lymphoedema and is endemic in Ethiopia its epidemiology and risk factors are poorly understood. Individual-level data for 129,959 individuals from 1,315 communities in 659 woreda (districts) were collected for a nationwide integrated survey of lymphatic filariasis and podoconiosis. Blood samples were tested for circulating Wuchereria bancrofti antigen using immunochromatographic card tests. A clinical algorithm was used to reach a diagnosis of podoconiosis by excluding other potential causes of lymphoedema of the lower limb. Bayesian multilevel models were used to identify individual and environmental risk factors. Overall, 8,110 of 129,959 (6.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.1-6.4%) surveyed individuals were identified with lymphoedema of the lower limb, of whom 5,253 (4.0%, 95% CI 3.9-4.1%) were confirmed to be podoconiosis cases. In multivariable analysis, being female, older, unmarried, washing the feet less frequently than daily, and being semiskilled or unemployed were significantly associated with increased risk of podoconiosis. Attending formal education and living in a house with a covered floor were associated with decreased risk of podoconiosis. Podoconiosis exhibits marked geographical variation across Ethiopia, with variation in risk associated with variation in rainfall, enhanced vegetation index, and altitude
Incorporating ârecruitmentâ in matrix projection models : estimation, parameters, and the influence of model structure
Author Posting. Š The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Ornithology 152, Suppl.2 (2012):585-595, doi:10.1007/s10336-010-0573-1.Advances in the estimation of population parameters
using encounter data from marked individuals have
made it possible to include estimates of the probability of
recruitment in population projection models. However, the
projected growth rate of the population, and the sensitivity
of projected growth to changes in recruitment, can vary
significantly depending upon both the structural form of the
model and how recruitment is parameterized. We show that
the common practices of (1) collapsing some age classes
into a single, terminal âaggregatedâ age-class, and (2) parameterizing
recruitment using the proportion of recruited
individuals (breeders) in a given age-class may confound
analysis of age-based (Leslie) matrix projection models in
some instances, relative to state-based projection models
where recruited and pre-recruited individuals are treated as
separate states. Failing to account for these differences can
lead to misinterpretation of the relative role of recruitment in
the dynamics of an age-structured population.We show that
such problems can be avoided, either by structural changes
to the terminal aggregated age-class in age-based models,
or by using using a state-based model instead. Since all
the metrics of general interest from a classical age-based
matrix models are readily derived from a state-based model
equivalent, this suggests there may be little reason to use the
classical age-based approach in situations where recruitment
is a parameter of interest
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How predation and landscape fragmentation affect vole population dynamics
Background: Microtine species in Fennoscandia display a distinct north-south gradient from regular cycles to stable
populations. The gradient has often been attributed to changes in the interactions between microtines and their predators.
Although the spatial structure of the environment is known to influence predator-prey dynamics of a wide range of species,
it has scarcely been considered in relation to the Fennoscandian gradient. Furthermore, the length of microtine breeding
season also displays a north-south gradient. However, little consideration has been given to its role in shaping or generating
population cycles. Because these factors covary along the gradient it is difficult to distinguish their effects experimentally in
the field. The distinction is here attempted using realistic agent-based modelling.
Methodology/Principal Findings: By using a spatially explicit computer simulation model based on behavioural and
ecological data from the field vole (Microtus agrestis), we generated a number of repeated time series of vole densities
whose mean population size and amplitude were measured. Subsequently, these time series were subjected to statistical
autoregressive modelling, to investigate the effects on vole population dynamics of making predators more specialised, of
altering the breeding season, and increasing the level of habitat fragmentation. We found that fragmentation as well as the
presence of specialist predators are necessary for the occurrence of population cycles. Habitat fragmentation and predator
assembly jointly determined cycle length and amplitude. Length of vole breeding season had little impact on the
oscillations.
Significance: There is good agreement between our results and the experimental work from Fennoscandia, but our results
allow distinction of causation that is hard to unravel in field experiments. We hope our results will help understand the
reasons for cycle gradients observed in other areas. Our results clearly demonstrate the importance of landscape
fragmentation for population cycling and we recommend that the degree of fragmentation be more fully considered in
future analyses of vole dynamics
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