Do trophic subsidies affect the outcome of introductions of a non-native freshwater fish?

Understanding how environmental variables and human disturbances influence the outcomes of introductions of non-native freshwater fish is integral to their risk management. This can be complex in freshwater ecosystems that receive subsidies that increase food availability, as these may influence the outcome of introductions through promoting the survival, reproduction and establishment of the introduced propagules through increasing their access to food resources. We determined how natural and/or artificial trophic subsidies affected the reproduction and establishment of the introduced topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) in replicated pond mesocosms. The mesocosms all started with eight mature fish and were run for 100 days during their reproductive season. The subsidies consisted of natural terrestrial prey and/or fishmeal pellets (a common trophic subsidy that can be significant in systems that are used as sport fisheries or for aquaculture). After 100 days, fish in the natural subsidy ponds showed minimal growth and very low reproductive output. Analysis of δC and δN indicated that their progeny, 0+ fish produced in the ponds, exploited the terrestrial prey. By contrast, in ponds where pellets were added, mineral nutrient availability and primary production were significantly increased, and the mature fish fed mainly on the aquatic resources. The increased productivity of the ponds significantly increased fish growth and fitness, resulting in high numbers of 0+ individuals that did feed on the pellets. Thus, subsidies that can increase both primary production and food resources (such as pelletised fishmeal) can significantly influence the ability of colonists to establish a population rapidly. Management efforts to minimise the risk of introductions should thus consider the role of these types of allochthonous subsidies. © 2013 The Authors. Freshwater Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Slip in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, New Zealand

The 3rd September 2010 Mw 7.1 Darfield and 21st February 2011 Mw 6.3 Christchurch (New Zealand) earthquakes occurred on previously unknown faults. We use InSAR ground displacements, SAR amplitude offsets, field mapping, aerial photographs, satellite optical imagery, a LiDAR DEM and teleseismic body-wave modeling to constrain the pattern of faulting in these earthquakes. The InSAR measurements reveal slip on multiple strike-slip segments and secondary reverse faults associated with the Darfield main shock. Fault orientations are consistent with those expected from the GPS-derived strain field. The InSAR line-of-sight displacement field indicates the main fault rupture is about 45 km long, and is confined largely to the upper 10 km of the crust. Slip on the individual fault segments of up to 8 m at 4 km depth indicate stress drops of 6–10 MPa. In each event, rupture initiated on a reverse fault segment, before continuing onto a strike-slip segment. The non-double couple seismological moment tensors for each event are matched well by the sum of double couple equivalent moment tensors for fault slip determined by InSAR. The slip distributions derived from InSAR observations of both the Darfield and Christchurch events show a 15-km-long gap in fault slip south-west of Christchurch, which may present a continuing seismic hazard if a further unknown fault structure of significant size should exist there

Electric power system concepts for integration of advanced sensor and pulsed loads in the DDG-51 class ships

Advanced weapons and sensors increase demand on the electric power systems of Navy surface combatants, driving the need for fully Integrated Power Systems (IPS) such as those found in the DDG-1000 Zumwalt class of ships. The goal of this paper is to introduce novel power system configurations that could potentially be integrated into future flights of the DDG-51 class to support expanded electric power system capability at reasonable cost. Two concepts are presented: the first addresses the need for additional power for advanced sensor systems and the second addresses the need for a more significant increase in capacity to support higher power electric loads.Center for Electromechanic

Phase field analysis of eutectic breakdown.

In this paper an isotropic multi-phase-field model is extended to include the effects of anisotropy and the spontaneous nucleation of an absent phase. This model is derived and compared against a published single phase model. Results from this model are compared against results from other multi-phase models, additionally this model is used to examine the break down of a regular two dimensional eutectic into a single phase dendritic front

Patterns of trophic niche divergence between invasive and native fishes in wild communities are predictable from mesocosm studies

1. Ecological theory attempts to predict how impacts for native species arise from biological invasions. A fundamental question centres on the feeding interactions of invasive and native species: whether invasion will result in increased interspecific competition, which would result in negative consequences for the competing species, or trophic niche divergence, which would facilitate the invader’s integration into the community and their coexistence with native species. 2. Here, the feeding interactions of a highly invasive fish, topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, with three native and functionally similar fishes were studied to determine whether patterns of either niche overlap or divergence detected in mesocosm experiments were apparent between the species at larger spatial scales. Using stable isotope analysis, their feeding relationships were assessed initially in the mesocosms (1000 L) and then in small ponds (600 m2). 3. In the mesocosms, a consistent pattern of trophic niche divergence was evident between the sympatric fishes, with niches shifting further apart in isotopic space than suggested in allopatry, revealing that sharing of food resources was limited. Sympatric P. parva also had a smaller niche than their allopatric populations. 4. In eight small ponds where P. parva had coexisted for several years with at least one of the fish species used in the mesocosms, strong patterns of niche differentiation were also apparent, with P. parva always at a lower trophic position than the other fishes, as also occurred in the mesocosms. Where these fishes were sympatric within more complex fish communities in the large ponds, similar patterns were also apparent, with strong evidence of trophic niche differentiation. 5. Aspects of the ecological impacts of P. parva invasion for native communities in larger ponds were consistent with those in the mesocosm experiments. Their invasion resulted in divergence in trophic niches, partly due to their reduced niche widths when in sympatry with other species, facilitating their coexistence in invaded ecosystems. Our study highlights the utility of controlled mesocosm studies for predicting the trophic relationships that can develop from introductions of non-native species into more complex ecosystems and at larger spatial scales

The phase free, longitudinal, magnetic component of vacuum electromagnetism

A charge $q$ moving in a reference laboratory system with constant velocity {\bf V} in the $X$-axis produces in the $Z$-axis a longitudinal, phase free, vacuum magnetic field which is identified as the radiated ${\bf B}^{(3)}$ field of Evans, Vigier and others.Comment: ReVTeX file, 7pp., no figure

Background Thermal Contributions in Testing the Unruh Effect

We consider inertial and accelerated Unruh-DeWitt detectors moving in a background thermal bath and calculate their excitation rates. It is shown that for fast moving detectors such a thermal bath does not affect substantially the excitation probability. Our results are discussed in connection with a possible proposal of testing the Unruh effect in high energy particle accelerators.Comment: 13 pages, (REVTEX 3.0), 3 figures available upon reques

An Interaction between KSHV ORF57 and UIF Provides mRNA-Adaptor Redundancy in Herpesvirus Intronless mRNA Export

The hTREX complex mediates cellular bulk mRNA nuclear export by recruiting the nuclear export factor, TAP, via a direct interaction with the export adaptor, Aly. Intriguingly however, depletion of Aly only leads to a modest reduction in cellular mRNA nuclear export, suggesting the existence of additional mRNA nuclear export adaptor proteins. In order to efficiently export Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) intronless mRNAs from the nucleus, the KSHV ORF57 protein recruits hTREX onto viral intronless mRNAs allowing access to the TAP-mediated export pathway. Similarly however, depletion of Aly only leads to a modest reduction in the nuclear export of KSHV intronless mRNAs. Herein, we identify a novel interaction between ORF57 and the cellular protein, UIF. We provide the first evidence that the ORF57-UIF interaction enables the recruitment of hTREX and TAP to KSHV intronless mRNAs in Aly-depleted cells. Strikingly, depletion of both Aly and UIF inhibits the formation of an ORF57-mediated nuclear export competent ribonucleoprotein particle and consequently prevents ORF57-mediated mRNA nuclear export and KSHV protein production. Importantly, these findings highlight that redundancy exists in the eukaryotic system for certain hTREX components involved in the mRNA nuclear export of intronless KSHV mRNAs

DFT calculation of the intermolecular exchange interaction in the magnetic Mn4_4 dimer

The dimeric form of the single-molecule magnet [Mn$_4$O$_3$Cl$_4$(O$_2$CEt)$_3$(py)$_3$]$_2$ recently revealed interesting phenomena: no quantum tunneling at zero field and tunneling before magnetic field reversal. This is attributed to substantial antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between different monomers. The intermolecular exchange interaction, electronic structure and magnetic properties of this molecular magnet are calculated using density-functional theory within generalized-gradient approximation. Calculations are in good agreement with experiment.Comment: 4 page

Exclusive Queueing Process with Discrete Time

In a recent study [C Arita, Phys. Rev. E 80, 051119 (2009)], an extension of the M/M/1 queueing process with the excluded-volume effect as in the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) was introduced. In this paper, we consider its discrete-time version. The update scheme we take is the parallel one. A stationary-state solution is obtained in a slightly arranged matrix product form of the discrete-time open TASEP with the parallel update. We find the phase diagram for the existence of the stationary state. The critical line which separates the parameter space into the regions with and without the stationary state can be written in terms of the stationary current of the open TASEP. We calculate the average length of the system and the average number of particles