2,410 research outputs found
Sustainable Partners: Librarians and Instructors Using Threshold Concepts to Reinforce Information Literacy
Our panel presentation describes how an Instructional Designer and Director of First-Year Writing developed a sustainable partnership around the shared threshold concepts of our disciplines. As an instructional designer for the library, Speaker 1 wants to develop a four-year curriculum to support students’ research-based writing across general education and disciplinary courses; as a writing program administrator, Speaker 2 wants to develop a partnership between the first-year writing program and instructional designers and librarians that reinforces the writing concepts supporting the writing curriculum. Using the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and recent research in transfer and first-year writing, including the forthcoming Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies, this back-and-forth conversational panel offers a theoretical rationale for our sustainable partnership, which precedes a university-wide general education renewal process. A faculty survey focused on instructor goals and objectives for library sessions informed the design of a multi-phased, multi-session pilot for Spring 2015. With the intent to move library instructional sessions from skills-based sessions (“Search like this. Filter here.”) to conceptual-based sessions that enable students to apply information literacy concepts to mindfully engage with information ecosystems, the pilot model replaced the traditional one-shot library session with a series of sessions: a large, multi-course lecture followed by two individualized sessions for each writing class; the partnership concluded with a showcase of student research, co-sponsored by the library and writing program. We will conclude with a discussion of our shared assessment practices and preliminary findings, which will shape the Fall 2015 expanded sessions
Host Range Studies with Four Populations of the Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Incognita Acrita Chitwood)
Botany and Plant Patholog
Spitzer bright, UltraVISTA faint sources in COSMOS: the contribution to the overall population of massive galaxies at z=3-7
We have analysed a sample of 574 Spitzer 4.5 micron-selected galaxies with
[4.5]24 (AB) over the UltraVISTA ultra-deep COSMOS field. Our
aim is to investigate whether these mid-IR bright, near-IR faint sources
contribute significantly to the overall population of massive galaxies at
redshifts z>=3. By performing a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis
using up to 30 photometric bands, we have determined that the redshift
distribution of our sample peaks at redshifts z~2.5-3.0, and ~32% of the
galaxies lie at z>=3. We have studied the contribution of these sources to the
galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) at high redshifts. We found that the
[4.5]24 galaxies produce a negligible change to the GSMF
previously determined for Ks_auto<24 sources at 3=<z<4, but their contribution
is more important at 4=~50% of the galaxies with stellar
masses Mst>~6 x 10^10 Msun. We also constrained the GSMF at the highest-mass
end (Mst>~2 x 10^11 Msun) at z>=5. From their presence at 5=<z<6, and virtual
absence at higher redshifts, we can pinpoint quite precisely the moment of
appearance of the first most massive galaxies as taking place in the ~0.2 Gyr
of elapsed time between z~6 and z~5. Alternatively, if very massive galaxies
existed earlier in cosmic time, they should have been significantly
dust-obscured to lie beyond the detection limits of current, large-area, deep
near-IR surveys.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables. Updated to match version in press at
the Ap
Population ecology and conservation of red-billed choughs in Scotland. Final report on Knowledge Transfer Project
This report summarises the results of a Knowledge Transfer Research Project that was
undertaken by Dr Jane Reid (University of Aberdeen), Professor Pat Monaghan, (University
of Glasgow), Dr Eric and Mrs Sue Bignal (Scottish Chough Study Group) and Dr Davy
McCracken (Scottish Agricultural College). Dr Maria Bogdanova was employed as the postdoctoral
research assistant on the project. The work was carried out in partnership with
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Funding was provided by a Knowledge Transfer Grant from the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC, PIs P. Monaghan & J. Reid), with matching partnership funding
and in-kind support from SNH and RSPB.
The overall aims of the project were to develop the scientific understanding of the population
ecology of choughs on Islay, and to use this understanding to inform the development of
appropriate conservation strategies and policies. The project built on existing long-term
research on Islay’s choughs. It involved further analysis of long-term data, plus two years of
intensive fieldwork designed to answer specific questions. The work aimed primarily to
understand the ecology of choughs in their sub-adult years (ie, from fledging to breeding
age). Survival from fledging to breeding is a key factor in causing population change.
However, relatively little was previously known about the behaviour and ecology of choughs
during this time.
This report provides an overview of the results of the scientific study and focuses on
presenting the scientific evidence on which resulting recommendations for chough
conservation management on Islay are based. The report is written with the intention of
presenting the results of the data analyses, and the rationale underlying those analyses, in a
way that is accessible to non-specialists. Further details of analyses and technicalities are
provided in published, peer-reviewed papers and/or are available on request.
The report provides information that will be of use to policy makers and conservation
practitioners, and also highlights topics where further research is required before informed
management decisions can be taken
Star-forming galaxies versus low- and high-excitation radio AGN in the VLA-COSMOS 3GHz Large Project
We study the composition of the faint radio population selected from the
VLA-COSMOS 3GHz Large Project, a radio continuum survey performed at 10 cm
wavelength. The survey covers the full 2 square degree COSMOS field with mean
Jy/beam, cataloging 10,899 source components above . By combining these radio data with UltraVISTA, optical, near-infrared,
and Spitzer/IRAC mid-infrared data, as well as X-ray data from the Chandra
Legacy, and Chandra COSMOS surveys, we gain insight into the emission
mechanisms within our radio sources out to redshifts of . From these
emission characteristics we classify our souces as star forming galaxies or
AGN. Using their multi-wavelength properties we further separate the AGN into
sub-samples dominated by radiatively efficient and inefficient AGN, often
referred to as high- and low-excitation emission line AGN. We compare our
method with other results based on fitting of the sources' spectral energy
distributions using both galaxy and AGN spectral models, and those based on the
infrared-radio correlation. We study the fractional contributions of these
sub-populations down to radio flux levels of 10 Jy. We find that at
3 GHz flux densities above 400 Jy quiescent, red galaxies,
consistent with the low-excitation radio AGN class constitute the dominant
fraction. Below densities of 200 Jy star-forming galaxies begin to
constitute the largest fraction, followed by the low-excitation, and X-ray- and
IR-identified high-excitation radio AGN.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, The many facets of extragalactic radio surveys:
towards new scientific challenges, Bologna 20-23 October 201
Rest-UV Absorption Lines as Metallicity Estimator: the Metal Content of Star-Forming Galaxies at z~5
We measure a relation between the depth of four prominent rest-UV absorption
complexes and metallicity for local galaxies and verify it up to z~3. We then
apply this relation to a sample of 224 galaxies at 3.5 = 4.8) in
COSMOS, for which unique UV spectra from DEIMOS and accurate stellar masses
from SPLASH are available. The average galaxy population at z~5 and log(M/Msun)
> 9 is characterized by 0.3-0.4 dex (in units of 12+log(O/H)) lower
metallicities than at z~2, but comparable to z~3.5. We find galaxies with
weak/no Ly-alpha emission to have metallicities comparable to z~2 galaxies and
therefore may represent an evolved sub-population of z~5 galaxies. We find a
correlation between metallicity and dust in good agreement with local galaxies
and an inverse trend between metallicity and star-formation rate (SFR)
consistent with observations at z~2. The relation between stellar mass and
metallicity (MZ relation) is similar to z~3.5, however, there are indications
of it being slightly shallower, in particular for the young, Ly-alpha emitting
galaxies. We show that, within a "bathtub" approach, a shallower MZ relation is
expected in the case of a fast (exponential) build-up of stellar mass with an
e-folding time of 100-200 Myr. Due to this fast evolution, the process of dust
production and metal enrichment as a function of mass could be more stochastic
in the first billion years of galaxy formation compared to later times.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables; Submitted to Ap
Estimating demographic contributions to effective population size in an age-structured wild population experiencing environmental and demographic stochasticity
We thank everyone who helped with fieldwork on Islay, in particular Sue Bignal and Pat Monaghan, as well as all land-owners and farmers who allowed access to nest sites. We thank Bernt-Erik Sӕther, Steinar Engen and Henrik Jensen for their generous help and discussions. AET was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. JMR was supported by the European Research Council.Peer reviewedPostprin
The VIPERS Multi-Lambda Survey. II. Diving with massive galaxies in 22 square degrees since z = 1.5
We investigate the evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) and
stellar mass density from redshift z=0.2 to z=1.5 of a <22-selected
sample with highly reliable photometric redshifts and over an unprecedentedly
large area. Our study is based on NIR observations carried out with WIRCam at
CFHT over the footprint of the VIPERS spectroscopic survey and benefits from
the high quality optical photometry from the CFHTLS and UV observations with
the GALEX satellite. The accuracy of our photometric redshifts is <
0.03 and 0.05 for the bright (22.5) samples,
respectively. The SMF is measured with ~760,000 galaxies down to =22 and
over an effective area of ~22.4 deg, the latter of which drastically
reduces the statistical uncertainties (i.e. Poissonian error & cosmic
variance). We point out the importance of a careful control of the photometric
calibration, whose impact becomes quickly dominant when statistical
uncertainties are reduced, which will be a major issue for future generation of
cosmological surveys with, e.g. EUCLID or LSST. By exploring the rest-frame
(NUV-r) vs (r-) color-color diagram separating star-forming and quiescent
galaxies, (1) we find that the density of very massive log() >
11.5 galaxies is largely dominated by quiescent galaxies and increases by a
factor 2 from z~1 to z~0.2, which allows for additional mass assembly via dry
mergers, (2) we confirm a scenario where star formation activity is impeded
above a stellar mass log() = 10.640.01, a value that
is found to be very stable at 0.2 < z < 1.5, (3) we discuss the existence of a
main quenching channel that is followed by massive star-forming galaxies, and
finally (4) we characterise another quenching mechanism required to explain the
clear excess of low-mass quiescent galaxies observed at low redshift.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Version to be
publishe
Dark energy constraints and correlations with systematics from CFHTLS weak lensing, SNLS supernovae Ia and WMAP5
We combine measurements of weak gravitational lensing from the CFHTLS-Wide
survey, supernovae Ia from CFHT SNLS and CMB anisotropies from WMAP5 to obtain
joint constraints on cosmological parameters, in particular, the dark energy
equation of state parameter w. We assess the influence of systematics in the
data on the results and look for possible correlations with cosmological
parameters.
We implement an MCMC algorithm to sample the parameter space of a flat CDM
model with a dark-energy component of constant w. Systematics in the data are
parametrised and included in the analysis. We determine the influence of
photometric calibration of SNIa data on cosmological results by calculating the
response of the distance modulus to photometric zero-point variations. The weak
lensing data set is tested for anomalous field-to-field variations and a
systematic shape measurement bias for high-z galaxies.
Ignoring photometric uncertainties for SNLS biases cosmological parameters by
at most 20% of the statistical errors, using supernovae only; the parameter
uncertainties are underestimated by 10%. The weak lensing field-to-field
variance pointings is 5%-15% higher than that predicted from N-body
simulations. We find no bias of the lensing signal at high redshift, within the
framework of a simple model. Assuming a systematic underestimation of the
lensing signal at high redshift, the normalisation sigma_8 increases by up to
8%. Combining all three probes we obtain -0.10<1+w<0.06 at 68% confidence
(-0.18<1+w<0.12 at 95%), including systematic errors. Systematics in the data
increase the error bars by up to 35%; the best-fit values change by less than
0.15sigma. [Abridged]Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Revised version, matches the one to be
published in A&A. Modifications have been made corresponding to the referee's
suggestions, including reordering of some section
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