Population Growth in Space and Time

How great an effect does self-generated spatial structure have on logistic population growth? Results are described from an individual based model (IBM) with spatially localized dispersal and competition, and from a deterministic approximation to the IBM describing the dynamics of the first and spatial moments. The dynamical system incorporates a novel closure that gives a close approximation to the IBM in the presence of strong spatial structure. Population growth given by the spatial logistic equation can differ greatly from that of the non-spatial logistic model. Numerical simulations show that populations may grow more slowly or more rapidly than would be expected from the non-spatial model, and may reach their maximum rate of increase at densities other than half of the carrying capacity. Populations can achieve asymptotic densities substantially greater than or less than the carrying capacity of the non-spatial logistic model, and can even tend toward extinction. These properties of the spatial logistic equation are caused by a local dispersal and competition which effect spatial structure, which in turn affects population growth. Accounting for these spatial processes brings the theory of single-species population growth a step closer to the growth of real spatially-structured populations

Causes and Effects of Small-Scale Spatial Structure in Plant Populations

Small-scale spatial structure is important in plant ecology. Plants interact primarily with their immediate neighbors and the view of the community as seen by an individual plant can be quite different from large-scale spatial average. We describe a spatial statistic that captures the plant's-eye view and use it to illustrate the strong spatial structure present in a grassland community. Many processes affect small-scale spatial structure, including intraspecific competition, dispersal of propagules, interactions with other species and the spatial structure of the environment. Spatial structure in turn affects the the vital processes of growth, birth and death; the dynamics of plant communities thus involve a coupling of spatial structure and the vital processes. We describe recent work towards making this coupling explicit by means of individual-based models and the dynamics of spatial moments

Testing the performance of environmental DNA metabarcoding for surveying highly diverse tropical fish communities: A case study from Lake Tanganyika

Background and Aims Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding provides a highly sensitive method of surveying freshwater fish communities, although studies to date have largely been restricted to temperate ecosystems. Due to limited reference sequence availability and challenges identifying closely related and rare species in diverse tropical ecosystems, the effectiveness of metabarcoding methods for surveying tropical fish communities from eDNA samples remains uncertain. To address this, we applied an eDNA metabarcoding approach to survey Lake Tanganyika's (LT) species‐rich littoral fish communities. Materials and Methods As this system contains many closely related species, particularly cichlid fishes, we used four primer sets including a cichlid‐specific primer set (Cichlid_CR). A reference database was built for the 12s, 16s, and control region for 358 fish species including over 93% of known cichlids. Results and Discussion In silico and in situ results demonstrated wide variability in the taxonomic resolution of assignments by each primer with the cichlid‐specific marker (Cichlid_CR) enabling greater species‐level assignments for this highly diverse family. A greater number of non‐cichlid teleost species were detected at sites compared to the visual survey data. For cichlid species however, sequencing depth substantially influenced species richness estimates obtained from eDNA samples, with increased depths producing estimates comparable to that obtained from the visual survey data. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of sequencing depth and local reference databases when undertaking metabarcoding studies within diverse ecosystems, as well as demonstrating the potential of eDNA metabarcoding for surveying diverse tropical fish communities, even those containing closely related species within evolutionary radiations

Heteromyopia and the spatial coexistence of similar competitors

Most spatial models of competing species assume symmetries in the spatial scales of dispersal and interactions. This makes analysis tractable, and has led to the conclusion that segregation of species in space does not promote coexistence. However, these symmetries leave parts of the parameter space uninvestigated. Using a moment-approximation method, we present a spatial version of the Lotka–Volterra competition equations to investigate effects of removing symmetries in the distances over which individuals disperse and interact. Some spatial segregation of the species always comes about due to competition, and such segregation does not necessarily lead to coexistence. But, if interspecific competition occurs over shorter distances than intraspecific competition (heteromyopia), spatial segregation becomes strong enough to promote coexistence. Such coexistence is most likely when the species have similar dynamics, in contrast to the competition–colonization trade-off that requires large competitive differences between species

Population growth in space and time: Spatial logistic equations

How great an effect does self-generated spatial structure have on logistic population growth? Results are described from an individual based model (IBM) with spatially localized dispersal and competition, and from a deterministic approximation to the IBM describing the dynamics of the first and spatial moments. The dynamical system incorporates a novel closure that gives a close approximation to the IBM in the presence of strong spatial structure. Population growth given by the spatial logistic equation can differ greatly from that of the non-spatial logistic model. Numerical simulations show that populations may grow more slowly or more rapidly than would be expected from the non-spatial model, and may reach their maximum rate of increase at densities other than half of the carrying capacity. Populations can achieve asymptotic densities substantially greater than or less than the carrying capacity of the non-spatial logistic model, and can even tend toward extinction. These properties of the spatial logistic equation are caused by a local dispersal and competition which effect spatial structure, which in turn affects population growth. Accounting for these spatial processes brings the theory of single-species population growth a step closer to the growth of real spatially-structured populations

Degenerate Primer IDs and the birthday problem

[No abstract available

Roadmap for the next-generation of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar energy collectors

For hybrid photovoltaic-thermal collectors to become competitive with other types of solar energy converters, they must offer high performance at fluid outlet temperatures above 60 °C, as is required for space heating and domestic hot water provision, which together account for nearly 50% of heat demand. A roadmap is presented of the technological advances required to achieve this goal. Strategies for reducing convective, radiative and electrical losses at elevated temperature are discussed, and an experimental characterisation of a novel transparent low-emissivity coating for photovoltaic solar cells is presented. An experimentally-validated simulation formalism is used to project the performance of different combinations of loss-reduction strategies implemented together. Finally, a techno-economic analysis is performed to predict the price points at which the hybrid technologies along the roadmap become competitive with non-hybrid photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies. The most advanced hybrid technology along the roadmap employs an evacuated cavity, a transparent low-emissivity coating, and silicon heterojunction photovoltaic cells