355 research outputs found
Reduction of Energetic Demands through Modification of Body Size and Routine Metabolic Rates in Extremophile Fish
Citation: Passow, C. N., Greenway, R., Arias-Rodriguez, L., Jeyasingh, P. D., & Tobler, M. (2015). Reduction of Energetic Demands through Modification of Body Size and Routine Metabolic Rates in Extremophile Fish. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 88(4), 371-383. doi:10.1086/681053Variation in energy availability or maintenance costs in extreme environments can exert selection for efficient energy use, and reductions in organismal energy demand can be achieved in two ways: reducing body mass or metabolic suppression. Whether long-term exposure to extreme environmental conditions drives adaptive shifts in body mass or metabolic rates remains an open question. We studied body size variation and variation in routine metabolic rates in locally adapted populations of extremophile fish (Poecilia mexicana) living in toxic, hydrogen sulfide-rich springs and caves. We quantified size distributions and routine metabolic rates in wild-caught individuals from four habitat types. Compared with ancestral populations in nonsulfidic surface habitats, extremophile populations were characterized by significant reductions in body size. Despite elevated metabolic rates in cave fish, the body size reduction precipitated in significantly reduced energy demands in all extremophile populations. Laboratory experiments on common garden-raised fish indicated that elevated routine metabolic rates in cave fish likely have a genetic basis. The results of this study indicate that adaptation to extreme environments directly impacts energy metabolism, with fish living in cave and sulfide spring environments expending less energy overall during routine metabolism
Adaptive-mutation compact genetic algorithm for dynamic environments
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link
Sexual ornaments, body morphology, and swimming performance in naturally hybridizing swordtails (teleostei: xiphophorus)
Determining the costs of sexual ornaments is complicated by the fact that ornaments are often integrated with other, non-sexual traits, making it difficult to dissect the effect of ornaments independent of other aspects of the phenotype. Hybridization can produce reduced phenotypic integration, allowing one to evaluate performance across a broad range of multivariate trait values. Here we assess the relationship between morphology and performance in the swordtails Xiphophorus malinche and X. birchmanni, two naturally-hybridizing fish species that differ extensively in non-sexual as well as sexual traits. We took advantage of novel trait variation in hybrids to determine if sexual ornaments incur a cost in terms of locomotor ability. For both fast-start and endurance swimming, hybrids performed at least as well as the two parental species. The sexually-dimorphic sword did not impair swimming performance per se. Rather, the sword negatively affected performance only when paired with a sub-optimal body shape. Studies seeking to quantify the costs of ornaments should consider that covariance with non-sexual traits may create the spurious appearance of costs.The open access fee for this work was funded through the Texas A&M University Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Fund
New aerodynamic lens injector for single particle diffractive imaging
An aerodynamic lens injector was developed specifically for the needs of single-particle diffractive imaging experiments at free-electron lasers. Its design allows for quick changes of injector geometries and focusing properties in order to optimize injection for specific individual samples. Here, we present results of its first use at the FLASH free-electron-laser facility. Recorded diffraction patterns of polystyrene spheres are modeled using Mie scattering, which allowed for the characterization of the particle beam under diffractive-imaging conditions and yield good agreement with particle-trajectory simulations
Time-resolved single-particle x-ray scattering reveals electron-density as coherent plasmonic-nanoparticle-oscillation source
Dynamics of optically-excited plasmonic nanoparticles are presently
understood as a series of sequential scattering events, involving
thermalization processes after pulsed optical excitation. One important step is
the initiation of nanoparticle breathing oscillations. According to established
experiments and models, these are caused by the statistical heat transfer from
thermalized electrons to the lattice. An additional contribution by hot
electron pressure has to be included to account for phase mismatches that arise
from the lack of experimental data on the breathing onset. We used optical
transient-absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved single-particle
x-ray-diffractive imaging to access the excited electron system and lattice.
The time-resolved single-particle imaging data provided structural information
directly on the onset of the breathing oscillation and confirmed the need for
an additional excitation mechanism to thermal expansion, while the observed
phase-dependence of the combined structural and optical data contrasted
previous studies. Therefore, we developed a new model that reproduces all our
experimental observations without using fit parameters. We identified
optically-induced electron density gradients as the main driving source.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, 1 supporting information document include
Characterizing the multi-dimensional reaction dynamics of dihalomethanes using XUV-induced Coulomb explosion imaging
Site-selective probing of iodine 4d orbitals at 13.1Â nm was used to characterize the photolysis of CH2I2 and CH2BrI initiated at 202.5Â nm. Time-dependent fragment ion momenta were recorded using Coulomb explosion imaging mass spectrometry and used to determine the structural dynamics of the dissociating molecules. Correlations between these fragment momenta, as well as the onset times of electron transfer reactions between them, indicate that each molecule can undergo neutral three-body photolysis. For CH2I2, the structural evolution of the neutral molecule was simultaneously characterized along the C-I and I-C-I coordinates, demonstrating the sensitivity of these measurements to nuclear motion along multiple degrees of freedom
Acoustic and optical variations during rapid downward motion episodes in the deep north-western Mediterranean Sea
An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) was moored at the deep-sea site
of the ANTARES neutrino telescope near Toulon, France, thus providing a unique
opportunity to compare high-resolution acoustic and optical observations
between 70 and 170 m above the sea bed at 2475 m. The ADCP measured downward
vertical currents of magnitudes up to 0.03 m s-1 in late winter and early
spring 2006. In the same period, observations were made of enhanced levels of
acoustic reflection, interpreted as suspended particles including zooplankton,
by a factor of about 10 and of horizontal currents reaching 0.35 m s-1. These
observations coincided with high light levels detected by the telescope,
interpreted as increased bioluminescence. During winter 2006 deep dense-water
formation occurred in the Ligurian subbasin, thus providing a possible
explanation for these observations. However, the 10-20 days quasi-periodic
episodes of high levels of acoustic reflection, light and large vertical
currents continuing into the summer are not direct evidence of this process. It
is hypothesized that the main process allowing for suspended material to be
moved vertically later in the year is local advection, linked with topographic
boundary current instabilities along the rim of the 'Northern Current'.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure
Coulomb explosion imaging of small polyatomic molecules with ultrashort x-ray pulses
Ultrashort x-ray pulses from free-electron lasers can efficiently charge up and trigger the full fragmentation of molecules. By coincident detection of up to five ions resulting from rapid Coulomb explosion of highly charged iodomethane, we show that the full three-dimensional equilibrium geometry of this prototypical polyatomic system can be determined from the measured ion momenta with the help of a charge buildup model. Supported by simulations of how the ion momenta would reflect specific changes in molecular bond lengths and angles, we demonstrate that Coulomb-explosion imaging with ultrashort x-ray pulses is a promising technique for recording movies of multidimensional nuclear wave packets, including hydrogen motions
Production of XeO * in a CW microwave discharge
A low-power CW microwave discharge at 2.45 GHz was used to produce XeO * excimer molecules. It was found that a total gas pressure between 5 and 20 Torr, absorbed power of about 20â100 W, and an oxygen-to-xenon ratio of 1â¶100 maximized the XeO( 1 Sâ 1 D) green emission at 5200 to 5600 Ă
. The XeO * emission appeared in the cooler parts of the discharge near the containment tube walls and in the electric field nodes of the TM 012 resonant mode.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45480/1/11090_2005_Article_BF01023916.pd
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