1,486 research outputs found
Seed weight variation of wyoming sagebrush in Northern Nevada
Seed size is a crucial plant trait that may potentially affect not only immediate seedling success but also the subsequent generation. We examined variation in seed weight of Wyoming sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young), an excellent candidate species for rangeland restoration. The working hypothesis was that a major fraction of spatial and temporal variability in seed size (weight) of Wyoming sagebrush could be explained by variations in mean monthly temperatures and precipitation. Seed collection was conducted at Battle Mountain and Eden Valley sites in northern Nevada, USA, during November of 2002 and 2003. Frequency distributions of seed weight varied from leptokurtic to platykurtic, and from symmetry to skewness to the right for both sites and years. Mean seed weight varied by a factor of 1.4 between locations and years. Mean seed weight was greater (P0.05) in all study situations. Simple linear regression showed that monthly precipitation (March to November) explained 85% of the total variation in mean seed weight ( P=0.079). Since the relationship between mean monthly temperature (June-November) and mean seed weight was not significant (r2=0.00, P=0.431), this emphasizes the importance of precipitation as an important determinant of mean seed weight. Our results suggest that the precipitation regime to which the mother plant is exposed can have a significant effect on sizes of seeds produced. Hence, seasonal changes in water availability would tend to alter size distributions of produced offspring.Fil: Busso, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico Conicet - BahÃa Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Perryman, Barry L.. University of Nevada; Estados Unido
The use of aerial photographs for estimating school sizes of cetaceans
ENGLISH: The accuracy and precision of dolphin school size estimates based on aerial photograph counts were examined using data collected on recent aerial and ship surveys. These estimates were found to be accurate during a 1979research cruise aboard a tuna purse-seiner; dolphin schools were photographed from the ship’s helicopter, encircled with the purse-seine, and then counted as the dolphins were released from the net. A comparison of photographic estimates with these counts indicated that the relationship was fairly close and gave no indication of significantly differing from 1:1. During a 1980 aerial study, photographic estimates from different schools, passes, and camera formats were compared and were found to be quite precise with a standard deviation of approximately 60/0 of school size. Photographic estimates were also compared with estimates made by aerial observers. Most observers tended to underestimate school size, particularly for large schools. The variability among observers was high, indicating that observers should be individually calibrated. SPANISH: Se examinó la exactitud y la precisión de las estimaciones de la magnitud de los cardúmenes de delfines basadas en el cálculo de las fotografÃas aéreas, usando los datos obtenidos en los últimos reconocimientos aéreos y de los barcos. En 1979, durante un crucero de investigación en un cerquero atunero, se encontró que estas estimaciones eran acertadas; se fotografiaron los cardúmenes de delfines desde un helicóptero del barco, cercados con la red y luego se contaron a medida que se libraban los delfines de la red. Una comparación de las estimaciones fotográficas con estos cálculos indicó que la relación era bastante aproximada y no hubo indicación que se diferenció significativamente de la razón 1:1. Durante un estudio aéreo en 1980, se compararon las estimaciones fotográficas de diferentes del cardúmenes, en los pases y los formatos de las cámaras y se encontró que eran bastante precisos, con una desviación normal de cerca del 60/0 de la magnitud cardumen. Se compararon también las estimaciones fotográficas con las estimaciones realizadas por los observadores aéreos. La mayorÃa de los observadores tienden a subestimar la magnitud de los cardúmenes, especialmente los cardúmenes grandes. La variabilidad entre los observadores fue elevada, lo que indica que se deben calibrar individualmente los datos de observadores.
(PDF contains 39 pages.
The Role of the Black Church in Addressing Collateral Damage From the U.S. War on Drugs
This research is a qualitative examination of African American pastors from urban communities who address the needs of congregants and/or local communities affected directly, or indirectly by mass incarceration. The Black Church, because of its unique sociocultural location and historic role as resource for Black social and economic problems, must help supply the answers to the devastating collateral damage of mass incarceration that primarily affect children and families. The study sets out to understand urban pastors’ perceptions of the role of the Church in the post mass incarceration era. Specifically, the study examines the unique contributions of the African American religious experience via strategies, practices and experiences of urban pastors that directly and indirectly address the harms and collateral damage of mass incarceration on individuals, children, families and communities of color. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu
SDSS J080531.84+481233.0: An Unresolved L Dwarf/T Dwarf Binary
SDSS J080531.84+481233.0 is a peculiar L-type dwarf that exhibits unusually
blue near-infrared and mid-infrared colors and divergent optical (L4) and
near-infrared (L9.5) spectral classifications. These peculiar spectral traits
have been variously attributed to condensate cloud effects or subsolar
metallicity. Here I present an improved near-infrared spectrum of this source
which further demonstrates the presence of weak CH4 absorption at 1.6 micron
but no corresponding band at 2.2 micron. It is shown that these features can be
collectively reproduced by the combined light spectrum of a binary with L4.5
and T5 components, as deduced by spectral template matching. Thus, SDSS
J080531.84+481233.0 appears to be a new low-mass binary straddling the L
dwarf/T dwarf transition, an evolutionary phase for brown dwarfs that remains
poorly understood by current theoretical models. The case of SDSS
J080531.84+481233.0 further illustrates how a select range of L dwarf/T dwarf
binaries could be identified and characterized without the need for high
angular resolution imaging or radial velocity monitoring, potentially
alleviating some of the detection biases and limitations inherent to such
techniques.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted by A
Recommended from our members
OER Evidence Report 2013-2014
The Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question ‘What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?’ and identify the particular influence of openness. We do this by working in collaboration with projects across four education sectors (K12, college, higher education and informal) extending a network of research with shared
methods and shared results.
The project combines:
– Targeted research collaboration with high profile OER projects
– A programme of international fellowship
– Global networking and expertise in OER implementation and evaluation
– A hub for research data and excellence in practice
This report is an interim review of evidence recorded against the key hypotheses that focus the research of the
OER Research Hub project
Testing Theoretical Evolutionary Models with AB Dor C and the Initial Mass Function
We assess the constraints on the evolutionary models of young low-mass
objects that are provided by the measurements of the companion AB Dor C by
Close and coworkers and by a new comparison of model-derived IMFs of
star-forming regions to the well-calibrated IMF of the solar neighborhood.
After performing an independent analysis of Close's imaging and spectroscopic
data for AB Dor C, we find that AB Dor C is not detected at a significant level
(SN 1.2) in the SDI images when one narrow-band image is subtracted from
another, but that it does appear in the individual SDI frames as well as the
images at JHK. Using the age of 75-150 Myr for AB Dor from Luhman, Stauffer, &
Mamajek, the luminosity predicted by the models of Chabrier & Baraffe is
consistent with the value that we estimate. We measure a spectral type of
M6+/-1 from the K-band spectrum of AB Dor C, which is earlier than the value of
M8+/-1 from Close and is consistent with the model predictions when a dwarf
temperature scale is adopted. In a test of these models at much younger ages,
we show that the low-mass IMFs that they produce for star-forming regions are
similar to the IMF of the solar neighborhood. If the masses of the low-mass
stars and brown dwarfs in these IMFs of star-forming regions were
underestimated by a factor of two as suggested by Close, then the IMF
characterizing the current generation of Galactic star formation would have to
be radically different from the IMF of the solar neighborhood.Comment: 15 pages, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Spectral Classification and Effective Temperatures of L and T Dwarfs Based of Near-Infrared Spectra
We have obtained near-infrared spectra of L dwarfs, L/T transition objects
and T dwarfs using Subaru. Resulting spectra are examined in detail to see
their dependence on the spectral types. We have obtained bolometric
luminosities of the objects with known parallaxes in our sample, first by
integrating the spectra and second by K band bolometric correction. We derive
the relation between effective temperature and spectral type.Comment: To appear in May 20, 2004 issue of ApJ There is a companion paper by
Tsuji, Nakajima and Yanagisaw
Cool Customers in the Stellar Graveyard IV: Spitzer Search for Mid-IR excesses Around Five DAs
Hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs with metal lines, so-called DAZs, require
external accretion of material to explain the presence of weak metal line
absorption in their photospheres. The source of this material is currently
unknown, but could come from the interstellar medium, unseen companions, or
relic planetesimals from asteroid belt or Kuiper belt analogues. Accurate
mid-infrared photometry of these white dwarfs provide additional information to
solve the mystery of this accretion and to look for evidence of planetary
systems that have survived post main sequence evolution. We present {\em
Spitzer} IRAC photometry accurate to 3% for four DAZs and one DA with
circumstellar absorption lines in the UV. We search for excesses due to unseen
companions or circumstellar dust disks. We use {\em Hubble Space Telescope}
NICMOS imaging of these white dwarfs to gauge the level of background
contamination to our targets as well as rule out common proper motion
companions to WD 1620-391. All of our targets show no excesses due to
companions 20 M, ruling out all but very low mass companions to these
white dwarfs at all separations. No excesses due to circumstellar disks are
observed, and we place limits on what types of disks may still be present.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, Accepted to A
First Astronomical Application of a Cryogenic TES Spectrophotometer
We report on the first astronomical observations with a photon counting pixel
detector that provides arrival time- (delta t = 100ns) and energy- (delta
E_gamma < 0.15eV) resolved measurements from the near IR through the near UV.
Our test observations were performed by coupling this Transition Edge Sensor
(TES) device to a 0.6m telescope; we have obtained the first simultaneous
optical near-IR phase-resolved spectra of the Crab pulsar. A varying infrared
turnover gives evidence of self-absorption in the pulsar plasma. The potential
of such detectors in imaging arrays from a space platform are briefly
described.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
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