5,543 research outputs found
Sex- and season-dependent behaviour in a flightless insect, the Auckland tree weta (Hemideina thoracica)
In a polygynous mating system, males frequently compete by locating and defending sites with resources essential to female survival and reproduction. We investigated seasonal changes in site occupancy in a sexually dimorphic, harem-forming insect, the Auckland tree weta (Hemideina thoracica). First we established artificial cavities as diurnal refuge cavities and potential harem guarding sites. We then examined cavity occupancy changes, and, based on our knowledge of prior occupants, determined sex-specific patterns of arrival, departure, and aggregation at a population level throughout the year. Both season and the sex of prior occupants influenced weta occupancy patterns. Most observations were of single females. However, both males and females moved into cavities previously occupied by a weta of the opposite sex more often than expected by chance alone. Females avoided cavities where other females were present, except during summer when most harems formed. In early summer, male and female tree weta previously living apart began co-habiting. Generally there was little relationship between the number and sex of the weta inside cavities and female departure rates from cavities. Males who were sharing with other males departed cavities more frequently than single males, as might be expected in a polygynous species with male-male combat. Males were less likely to depart if they were sharing a cavity with a harem of more than two females during the summer-autumn period. Analysis of departure rates from artificial cavities indicates males are more mobile than females only in winter and spring. Based on our arrival and departure data, and high occupancy of artificial cavities, we suggest that female weta at this site are mobile and may search for mates during the summer. The data are consistent with a polygynandrous mating system as inferred for other tree weta species (Hemideina spp.)
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The Bisexuality Report: Bisexual inclusion in LGBT equality and diversity
Complementary Currencies for Sustainable Development in Kenya
This paper is a report on the development of a complementary currency system that allows Kenyans in informal settlements to trade goods and services and meet sustainable development objectives. The system in this report, Bangla-Pesa, uses a âcollaborative creditâ model through a network of local business, whose owners often struggle to meet their basic needs (also known as âmutual creditâ). The paper documents the reasons for its creation, how it was launched, the immediate positive benefits upon launch, and some of the difficulties faced. Bangla-Pesa is shown to have facilitated, upon its launch, exchanges of roughly 50 Euros in value per day among 109 businesses, which is projected to raise living standards in the community primarily through the utilization of excess business capacity. After only a week of circulation â Bangla-Pesa represented an estimated 22 total trade among community members. This systemâs implementation and governance model are detailed with the aim of improving upon and replicating the model for future sustainable development programs
A GPU-Enabled, High-Resolution Cosmological Microlensing Parameter Survey
In the era of synoptic surveys, the number of known gravitationally lensed
quasars is set to increase by over an order of magnitude. These new discoveries
will enable a move from single-quasar studies to investigations of statistical
samples, presenting new opportunities to test theoretical models for the
structure of quasar accretion discs and broad emission line regions (BELRs). As
one crucial step in preparing for this influx of new lensed systems, a
large-scale exploration of microlensing convergence-shear parameter space is
warranted, requiring the computation of O(10^5) high resolution magnification
maps. Based on properties of known lensed quasars, and expectations from
accretion disc/BELR modelling, we identify regions of convergence-shear
parameter space, map sizes, smooth matter fractions, and pixel resolutions that
should be covered. We describe how the computationally time-consuming task of
producing ~290000 magnification maps with sufficient resolution (10000^2
pixel/map) to probe scales from the inner edge of the accretion disc to the
BELR can be achieved in ~400 days on a 100 teraflop/s high performance
computing facility, where the processing performance is achieved with graphics
processing units. We illustrate a use-case for the parameter survey by
investigating the effects of varying the lens macro-model on accretion disc
constraints in the lensed quasar Q2237+0305. We find that although all
constraints are consistent within their current error bars, models with more
densely packed microlenses tend to predict shallower accretion disc radial
temperature profiles. With a large parameter survey such as the one described
here, such systematics on microlensing measurements could be fully explored.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Comparing Narratives of Personal and Preferred Partner Characteristics in Online Dating Advertisements
This study explored online personal ads of 294 heterosexual and homosexual men and women in the United States through a qualitative analysis and comparison of participant-generated âpersonalâ and âpreferred partnerâ narratives. Nine characteristics were identified and combined into three overarching categories: physical, lifestyle, and personality characteristics. These three personal and preferred partner characteristics were examined for difference by gender, sexual orientation, age and desired relationship type of the advertisers. Main effects emerged for all four predictors, most notably for age and desired relationship type. Additionally, this study explored the possibility that personal and preferred partner narratives contained similar constellations of characteristics, finding significant correlations on all three variables, lending support for the matching hypothesis in dating partner characteristics
The Quasar Accretion Disk Size - Black Hole Mass Relation
We use the microlensing variability observed for nine gravitationally lensed
quasars to show that the accretion disk size at 2500 Angstroms is related to
the black hole mass by log(R_2500/cm) = (15.6+-0.2) +
(0.54+-0.28)log(M_BH/10^9M_sun). This scaling is consistent with the
expectation from thin disk theory (R ~ M_BH^(2/3)), but it implies that black
holes radiate with relatively low efficiency, log(eta) = -1.29+-0.44 +
log(L/L_E) where eta=L/(Mdot c^2). These sizes are also larger, by a factor of
~3, than the size needed to produce the observed 0.8 micron quasar flux by
thermal radiation from a thin disk with the same T ~ R^(-3/4) temperature
profile. More sophisticated disk models are clearly required, particularly as
our continuing observations improve the precision of the measurements and yield
estimates of the scaling with wavelength and accretion rate.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJ
Sizes and Temperature Profiles of Quasar Accretion Disks from Chromatic Microlensing
Microlensing perturbations to the flux ratios of gravitationally lensed
quasar images can vary with wavelength because of the chromatic dependence of
the accretion disk's apparent size. Multiwavelength observations of microlensed
quasars can thus constrain the temperature profiles of their accretion disks, a
fundamental test of an important astrophysical process which is not currently
possible using any other method. We present single-epoch broadband flux ratios
for 12 quadruply lensed quasars in eight bands ranging from 0.36 to 2.2
microns, as well as Chandra 0.5--8 keV flux ratios for five of them. We combine
the optical/IR and X-ray ratios, together with X-ray ratios from the
literature, using a Bayesian approach to constrain the half-light radii of the
quasars in each filter. Comparing the overall disk sizes and wavelength slopes
to those predicted by the standard thin accretion disk model, we find that on
average the disks are larger than predicted by nearly an order of magnitude,
with sizes that grow with wavelength with an average slope of ~0.2 rather than
the slope of 4/3 predicted by the standard thin disk theory. Though the error
bars on the slope are large for individual quasars, the large sample size lends
weight to the overall result. Our results present severe difficulties for a
standard thin accretion disk as the main source of UV/optical radiation from
quasars.Comment: 21 pages, 9 tables, 10 figures. Fairly significant changes made to
match published version, including the addition of an extra table, and extra
figure, and some explanatory tex
Resource Recovery from Waste: Restoring the Balance between Resource Scarcity and Waste Overload
Current societal patterns of production and consumption drive a twin environmental crisis of resource scarcity and waste overload. Positioning waste and resource management in the context of ecosystem stewardship, this article relates increasing resource demand and waste production to the violation of planetary boundaries and human rights. We argue that a transition towards a circular economy (CE) that contributes to a resilient environment and human well-being is necessary to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The transition requires scientific and technological progress, including the development of low-energy biogeochemical technologies for resource recovery, and multi-dimensional value assessment tools integrating environmental, social, and economic factors. While the urgency to adopt a CE is well-recognised, progress has been slow. Coordinated change is required from multiple actors across society. Academia can contribute through participatory action research. This article concludes with the participation strategy of the Resource Recovery from Waste programme, aiming for changes in mentality, industry practices, and policies and regulations in the waste and resource management landscape in the UK
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