Exploiting Macrofauna Diadromy for Assessing Anthropogenic Impact in American Samoa Streams.

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyStream biomonitoring is increasingly used to identify and monitor changes in water quality, stream habitat, and even the surrounding watershed. An effective biomonitoring protocol must comprise attributes able to discriminate human-caused changes from natural variation. We attempted to identify such attributes for streams of American Samoa, which, in turn, might also have widespread applicability to other oceanic islands. Owing to the diadromous nature of the macrofauna, we assessed species richness, diversity, composition, dominance, and biomass of freshwater fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks in 50 m sections in midreaches of five streams with and five streams without anthropogenic influences at the estuarine reach. We electrofished for fishes and crustaceans, and we picked mollusks from stream substrates. We discovered that two species of neritid snails of the pan-Pacific genus Clithon were significantly more abundant in the midreach of streams undisturbed by human impacts at the estuarine reach, making them potentially useful bioindicators throughout the South Pacific

Organic residue analysis of Egyptian votive mummies and their research potential

YesVast numbers of votive mummies were produced in Egypt during the Late Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods. Although millions remain in situ, many were removed and have ultimately entered museum collections around the world. There they have often languished as uncomfortable reminders of antiquarian practices with little information available to enhance their value as artefacts worthy of conservation or display. A multi-disciplinary research project, based at the University of Manchester, is currently redressing these issues. One recent aspect of this work has been the characterization of natural products employed in the mummification of votive bundles. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the well-established biomarker approach, analysis of 24 samples from 17 mummy bundles has demonstrated the presence of oils/fats, natural waxes, petroleum products, resinous exudates, and essential oils. These results confirm the range of organic materials employed in embalming and augment our understanding of the treatment of votives. In this first systematic initiative of its kind, initial findings point to possible trends in body treatment practices in relation to chronology, geography, and changes in ideology which will be investigated as the study progresses. Detailed knowledge of the substances used on individual bundles has also served to enhance their value as display items and aid in their conservation.RCB is supported by a PhD studentship from the Art and Humanities Research Council (43019R00209). L.M. and S.A.W. are supported by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Award (RPG-2013-143)

Solar Wind Turbulence and the Role of Ion Instabilities

International audienc

Magnetic fields in cosmic particle acceleration sources

We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result in specific features in the observed photon radiation of the sources. Equally important, magnetic field amplification by the CR currents and pressure anisotropies may affect the shocked gas temperatures and compression, both in the shock precursor and in the downstream flow, if the shock is an efficient CR accelerator. Strong fluctuations of the magnetic field on scales above the radiation formation length in the shock vicinity result in intermittent structures observable in synchrotron emission images. Resonant and non-resonant CR streaming instabilities in the shock precursor can generate mesoscale magnetic fields with scale-sizes comparable to supernova remnants and even superbubbles. This opens the possibility that magnetic fields in the earliest galaxies were produced by the first generation Population III supernova remnants and by clustered supernovae in star forming regions.Comment: 30 pages, Space Science Review

State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity

Policy environment for the tourism sector's adaptation to climate change in the South Pacific - the case of Samoa

Samoa and its neighbouring Pacific Island Countries are highly vulnerable to climate change risks because their population and infrastructure are mostly located on lowlying coastal areas. Impacts of climate change are potentially disastrous to tourism, the major economic sector in the region. This research examines the conduciveness of the policy environment in Samoa for the tourism sector to adapt to climate change along three dimensions: stakeholders’ will and commitment, resources available, and policymaking mechanisms [Wong, E.P.Y., Mistilis, N., & Dwyer, L. (2011). A framework for analyzing intergovernmental collaboration – the case of ASEAN tourism. Tourism Management, 32, 367–376]. Samoa is used as an exemplar case study to understand how the Pacific island tourism sector can best adapt to climate change. It was found that the policy environment in Samoa is generally conducive. However, there is a strong need for closer public–private cooperation

I quit! Is there an association between leaving teaching and improvements in mental health?

The mental health and well‐being of teachers is an issue of great policy concern. This is particularly true in England, where high workload and the associated stress is thought to be leading to a recruitment and retention crisis within the education profession. But do individuals who decide to leave teaching for another career actually see their well‐being and mental health improve? We provide new evidence on this matter for individuals aged between 40 and 65, using the rich information gathered as part of the UK Biobank study. Our analysis shows that individuals who choose to leave teaching are somewhat happier in their work, but do not generally experience any improvement in their general well‐being or mental health. We hence caution those middle‐aged teachers who are thinking of leaving teaching that the grass may not necessarily be greener on the other side