Can Thermoclines Be a Cue to Prey Distribution for Marine Top Predators? A Case Study with Little Penguins

The use of top predators as bio-platforms is a modern approach to understanding how physical changes in the environment may influence their foraging success. This study examined if the presence of thermoclines could be a reliable signal of resource availability for a marine top predator, the little penguin (Eudyptula minor). We studied weekly foraging activity of 43 breeding individual penguins equipped with accelerometers. These loggers also recorded water temperature, which we used to detect changes in thermal characteristics of their foraging zone over 5 weeks during the penguin’s guard phase. Data showed the thermocline was detected in the first 3 weeks of the study, which coincided with higher foraging efficiency. When a thermocline was not detected in the last two weeks, foraging efficiency decreased as well. We suggest that thermoclines can represent temporary markers of enhanced food availability for this top-predator to which they must optimally adjust their breeding cycle

Genetic determinants of telomere length from 109,122 ancestrally diverse whole-genome sequences in TOPMed

Genetic studies on telomere length are important for understanding age-related diseases. Prior GWAS for leukocyte TL have been limited to European and Asian populations. Here, we report the first sequencing-based association study for TL across ancestrally-diverse individuals (European, African, Asian and Hispanic/Latino) from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We used whole genome sequencing (WGS) of whole blood for variant genotype calling and the bioinformatic estimation of telomere length in n=109,122 individuals. We identified 59 sentinel variants (p-value OBFC1indicated the independent signals colocalized with cell-type specific eQTLs for OBFC1 (STN1). Using a multi-variant gene-based approach, we identified two genes newly implicated in telomere length, DCLRE1B (SNM1B) and PARN. In PheWAS, we demonstrated our TL polygenic trait scores (PTS) were associated with increased risk of cancer-related phenotypes

Caribbean Plate Relative Motions

Any reconstruction of the geological history of the Central America land bridge is dependent on conjectural motions of several lithospheric plates. The most important aspect of a timing sequence for a link between the North and South America land masses is apparently the creation of the Caribbean Plate. The geological record, however, which details a tectonic evolution of the Caribbean Plate and its margins is so enigmatic that many critical questions remain unresolved, and every developed model is couched in some incompatibilities

Comprehensive sonar imaging of the Easter microplate

Recent GLORIA and SeaMARC II sidescan sonar surveys have imaged virtually the whole of the Easter microplate, and revealed unprecedented detail and complexity in its tectonic fabric and history. There is clear evidence of rapid microplate rotation, of rapidly evolving plate boundaries and of complex deformation near the northern and southern microplate boundaries

Petrogenesis of alkalic and calcalkalic volcanic rocks of Mormon Mountain Volcanic Field, Arizona

The Cenozoic Mormon Mountain Volcanic Field (MMVF) of northern Arizona is situated in the transition zone between the Basin and Range and the Colorado Plateau. It is composed of alkalic to sub-alkalic basalts and calcalkalic andesites, dacites, and rhyodacites. Despite their spatial and temporal association, the basalts and the calcalkalic suite do not seem to be co-genetic. The petrogenesis of primitive MMVF basalts can be explained as the result of different degrees of partial melting of a relatively homogenous, incompatible element-enriched peridotitic source. The variety of evolved basalt types was the result of subsequent fractional crystallization of olivine, spinel, and clinopyroxene from the range of primitive basalts. Crustal contamination seems to have occurred, but affected only the highly incompatible element abundances. The formation of MMVF calcalkalic rocks is most readily explained by small to moderate amounts of partial melting of an amphibolitic lower crust. This source is LREE-enriched but depleted in Rb and relatively unradiogenic Sr ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ∼0.7040). Calcalkalic rhyodacites may also be derived from andesitic parents by fractional crystallization. The overall petrogenesis of the MMVF complex is the result of intra-plate volcanism where mantle-derived magmas intrude and pass through thick continental crust.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47345/1/410_2004_Article_BF00376335.pd