Limitation of the Polarization by Radiation Trapping in a Helium Afterglow Electron Source

A polarized electron source using an optically pumped helium afterglow was built at Orsay. Unfortunately the spin polarization decreases at high metastable densities. Calculations of the radiation trapping effects in a weak magnetic field are presented using the Anderson formalism. Comparison with experimental data leads to the conclusion that these trapping effects are one explanation of this polarization decrease. Effects of the main parameters are studied. Some deductions for a new design can be made

Macroecology of North American Suckers (Catostomidae): Tests of Bergmann\u27s and Rapoport\u27s Rules

Discerning spatial macroecological patterns in freshwater fishes has broad implications for community assembly, ecosystem dynamics, management, and conservation. This study explores the potential interspecific covariation of geographic range (Rapoport\u27s rule) and body size (Bergmann\u27s rule) with latitude in North American sucker fishes (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae). While numerous tests of Rapoport\u27s and Bergmann\u27s rules are documented in the literature, comparatively few of these studies have specifically tested for these patterns, and none have incorporated information reflecting shared ancestry into analyses of North American freshwater fish through a hierarchical model. This study utilized a hierarchical modeling approach with Bayesian inference to evaluate the role that evolution has played in shaping these distributional corollaries. Rapoport\u27s rule was supported at the tribe level but not across family and subfamily groupings. Particularly within the Catostominae subfamily, two tribes reflected strong support for Rapoport\u27s rule while two suggested a pattern was present. Conversely, Bergmann\u27s rule was not supported in Catostomidae. This study provides additional information regarding the pervasiveness of these \u27rules\u27 by expanding inferences in freshwater fishes and specifically addressing the potential for these macroecological patterns to play a role in the distribution of the understudied group Catostomidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Incorporation of Feeding Functional Group Information Informs Explanatory Patterns of Long-term Population Changes in Fish Assemblages

The objective of this study was to evaluate long term trends of fish taxa in southern Lake Michigan while incorporating their functional roles to improve our understanding of ecosystem level changes that have occurred in the system over time. The approach used here highlighted the ease of incorporating ecological mechanisms into population models so researchers can take full advantage of available long-term ecosystem information. Long term studies of fish assemblages can be used to inform changes in community structure resulting from perturbations to aquatic systems and understanding these changes in fish assemblages can be better contextualized by grouping species according to functional groups that are grounded in niche theory. We hypothesized that describing the biological process based on partial pooling of information across functional groups would identify shifts in fish assemblages that coincide with major changes in the ecosystem (e.g., for this study, shifts in zooplankton abundance over time). Herein, we analyzed a long-term Lake Michigan fisheries dataset using a multi-species state space modeling approach within a Bayesian framework. Our results suggested the population growth rates of planktivores and benthic invertivores have been more variable than general invertivores over time and that trends in planktivores can be partially explained by ecosystem changes in zooplankton abundance. Additional work incorporating more ecosystem parameters (e.g., primary production, etc.) should be incorporated into future iterations of this novel modeling concept

Late Pleistocene fishes of the Tennessee River Basin: an analysis of a late Pleistocene freshwater fish fauna from Bell Cave (site ACb-2) in Colbert County, Alabama, USA

The Tennessee River Basin is considered one of the most important regions for freshwater biodiversity anywhere on the globe. The Tennessee River Basin currently includes populations of at least half of the described contemporary diversity of extant North American freshwater fishes, crayfish, mussel, and gastropod species. However, comparatively little is known about the biodiversity of this basin from the Pleistocene Epoch, particularly the late Pleistocene (∼10,000 to 30,000 years B.P.) leading to modern Holocene fish diversity patterns. The objective of this study was to describe the fish assemblages of the Tennessee River Basin from the late Pleistocene using a series of faunas from locales throughout the basin documented from published literature, unpublished reports, and an undocumented fauna from Bell Cave (site ACb-2, Colbert County, AL). Herein we discuss 41 unequivocal taxa from 10 late Pleistocene localities within the basin and include a systematic discussion of 11 families, 19 genera, and 24 identifiable species (28 unequivocal taxa) specific to the Bell Cave locality. Among the described fauna are several extirpated (e.g., Northern Pike Esox lucius, Northern Madtom Noturus stigmosus) and a single extinct (Harelip Sucker Moxostoma lacerum) taxa that suggest a combination of late Pleistocene displacement events coupled with more recent changes in habitat that have resulted in modern basin diversity patterns. The Bell Cave locality represents one of the most intact Pleistocene freshwater fish deposits anywhere in North America. Significant preservational, taphonomic, sampling, and identification biases preclude the identification of additional taxa. Overall, this study provides a detailed look into paleo-river ecology, as well as freshwater fish diversity and distribution leading up to the contemporary biodiversity patterns of the Tennessee River Basin and Mississippi River Basin as a whole