Review of the West Indian species of Efferia Coquillett (Diptera: Asilidae): Part 1. Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica

The genus Efferia Coquillett from the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica is reviewed. The fauna now totals 16 species with 6 new species described (Ef. bellardii n. sp., Ef. bromleyi n. sp., Ef. hinei n. sp., Ef. insula n. sp., Ef. pina n. sp., and Ef. vinalensis n. sp.). Cuba has the greatest diversity with 10 species, Jamaica 3, the Bahamas 2, and the Cayman Islands 1. Efferia stylata (Fabricius) is removed from the species list of these West Indian islands. The wings of Ef. caymanensis Scarbrough and Ef. bromleyi, spermathecae of Ef. bromleyi, Ef. cubensis (Bromley), Ef. insula, Ef. nigritarsis (Hine), and terminalia of all species are illustrated. Keys for the identification of the species are provided. Specimens of two additional species from Cuba are in too poor a condition to be described but their terminalia are illustrated and the species are included in the key to the males

A summary of the endemic beetle genera of the West Indies (Insecta: Coleoptera); bioindicators of the evolutionary richness of this Neotropical archipelago

The Caribbean Islands (or the West Indies) are recognized as one of the leading global biodiversity hot spots. This is based on data on species, genus, and family diversity for vascular plants and non-marine vertebrates. This paper presents data on genus level endemicity for the most speciose (but less well publicised) group of terrestrial animals: the beetles, with 205 genera (in 25 families) now recognized as being endemic (restricted) to the West Indies. The predominant families with endemic genera are Cerambycidae (41), Chrysomelidae (28), Curculionidae (26), and Staphylinidae (25). This high level of beetle generic endemicity can be extrapolated to suggest that a total of about 700 genera of all insects could be endemic to the West Indies. This far surpasses the total of 269 endemic genera of all plants and non-marine vertebrates, and reinforces the biodiversity richness of the insect fauna of the West Indies.Las islas del Caribe (o Indias Occidentales) son reconocidas como uno de los principales hotspots de la biodiversidad global. Esto se basa en datos sobre la diversidad de especies, géneros y familias de plantas vasculares y vertebrados no-marinos. Este trabajo presenta datos sobre la endemicidad a nivel genérico para el más especioso (pero menos popularizado) grupo de animales terrestres: los escarabajos, con 205 géneros (en 25 familias) reconocidos al presente como endémicos (restringidos) a las Indias Occidentales. Las familias predominantes en géneros endémicos son Cerambycidae (41), Chrysomelidae (28), Curculionidae (26) y Staphylinidae (25). Este alto nivel de endemicidad genérica en los escarabajos puede extrapolarse a sugerir que alrededor de 700 géneros pudieran ser endémicos entre todos los insectos de las Indias Occidentales. Esto sobrepasa ampliamente el total de 269 géneros endémicos de plantas y vertebrados no-marinos y refuerza la riqueza en biodiversidad de la fauna de insectos en las Indias Occidentales

Sediment transport processes in the Naposta Grande creek, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires province

Se presentan resultados hidráulicos y sedimentológicos de una campaña al arroyo Naposta Grande. A pesar que existe un gran número de obras hidráulicas sobre el curso inferior del arroyo, no existen aún datos publicados acerca del caudal sólido transportados por el mismo. Se ubicó una sección de aforo adecuada, sobre la cual se determinó la batimetrÌa del área. Se midieron las velocidades en verticales separadas 0.5 m en toda la sección y a partir de estos valores se determinaron las curvas de igual velocidad en la sección con las que se calculó el caudal y la distribución de los esfuerzos de corte del fondo. Se obtuvieron muestras del sedimento transportado como carga de fondo por medio de trampas, verificándose transporte diferentes en cada faja. Paralelamente se calculó el transporte como carga de fondo por medio de cuatro diferentes ecuaciones y se comparó con los valores medidos, determinándose cual de las ecuaciones predijo mejor el valor del transporte. De las muestras de sedimento en suspensión se realizaron las curvas granulométricas y se calculó la velocidad de caída ponderada de esos sedimentos. Se estimó la concentración y el transporte de sedimento en suspensión por el método de difusión, determinándose además la distribución de concentraciones en la sección de aforo. Las características particulares del transporte en el curso inferior de arroyo Naposta llevan necesaria mente a determinar el transporte como carga de fondo en distintas fajas ya que la influencia de las orillas provoca una considerable diferencia en el transporte entre la zona de mayor profundidad y las zonas cercanas a las orillas, haciendo riesgoso considerar una sola posición como representativa de la sección en su totalidad. Las comparaciones entre las fórmulas de predicción de transporte como carga de fondo sugieren como la más adecuada a la de Einstein aunque predice en defecto. Le siguen las formulas de Yalin y de Bagnold. La fórmula suiza arrojó resultados muy por encima de los reales, debiéndose esto a que la arena del arroyo es muy fina y dicha ecuación es valida para partículas relativamente grandes (D>2 mm).Hydraulic and sedimentological results of a field survey to the Napostá Grande Creek are presented. The lower, highly meandering course flows through Bahía Blanca City. This part of the creek is greatly affected by hydraulic man-made features such as railways, car and walking bridges, canalisations, a structure that separates the extreme flood water, urban rainwater collection, cleaning, etc. In addition, sand is being extracted from the channel for construction. Despite the remarkable influence that the stream has on the city, there are no quantitative records of the sediment transport within the stream. The objective of this work is to determine the liquid an solid flux over a section, evaluate the dynamic and turbulent characteristics of the flux, find a proper methodology suitable for this particular situation and define a formulation that predicts most accurately the bed load transport in the Napostá Creek. A proper cross-section after a recognition walk along several kilometres along the course of water has been done. As the stream shows several meanders it was difficult to locate an ideal cross section. The one chosen had some problems from the hydraulic point of view (partially symmetrical area, presence of a sand bar located in a rather short straight length), but on the other hand, the accessibility was excellent with available electric supply. Bathymetry of the surrounding area was carried out and a map was produced with isobaths with 0.5 m equidistance. Velocities at vertical profiles separated 0.5 m were obtained with a propeller along the cross-section and, based on these data, equal- velocity curves were drawn over the transversal section. These allowed the determination of the water flux and the bottom shear stress distribution along the cross section and wet perimeter. Within the section, bedload sediment transport was sampled using Helley-Smith kind bedload traps, at various locations, confirming different transport rates at each point. Traps gathered the sediments over 13 minute at each strip in five points, which led to a distribution of the sediment dragged close to the bottom. Higher transport rates were verified on the section thalweg diminishing shorewards. Granulometric curves were determined for the bed load samples and bottom ones. The coarser sediment was trapped only near the thalweg where there is an important velocity concentration. Close to the shores, only the finer fraction of the bedload was captured by the traps meaning that the energy available there does not involve all particle sizes in the movement. Calculation of the predicted bedload sediment transport was done, considering four well known equations (Meyer- Peter-Muller, Einstein, Bagnold and Yalin).The D50 criteria was adopted for the calculation of the bedload. The Swiss formula gave a 100% error in comparison with the measured values, whereas the rest of them showed great accuracy for the methodology employed. Einstein's formula gave the closest value to the measured one but underestimated it. On the other hand Bagnold's equation resulted in 17 % in excess. Yalin's formula produced a 15% understimation, about the same order than Einstein's formulation. Suspended sediment samples were obtained and their granulometry determined through the Oden's Curve technique. Based on them, weighted settling velocities were calculated for each sample (Perez et al., 1997). Suspended sediment concentration profiles were determined by the diffusion method. Then the concentration distribution was integrated over the area so that total flux and flux distribution were obtained. Also a grid was calculated and curves of equal flux are presented. Net suspended sediment transport across the area was found as the addition of the two kind of transports.Fil: Perez Enrri, Daniel Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Perillo, Gerardo Miguel E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentin

Classifications of land covers in San Martín (Mendoza, Argentina)

El objetivo del trabajo fue adoptar un método para clasificar coberturas de suelos en áreas de cultivos intensivos, fundamentándolo en la exactitud de los datos cartografiados. Documentos básicos: bandas 3, 4 y 5 de las imágenes de verano Landsat Thematic Mapper del NE de Mendoza, capturadas el 18/12/95 y el 28/12/97. Se georreferenciaron con el sistema UTM-19s y se clasificaron con los sistemas rígidos de Mínima Distancia, Paralelepípedos y Máxima Probabilidad, o Verosimilitud. Las imá- genes clasificadas se suavizaron con Filtro moda de Pasa-Baja. La exactitud de los mapas se analizó construyendo Matrices de Confusión o de errores de los polígonos de entrenamiento. Se determinaron los índices Kappa Global y Kappa de Acuerdo de cada categoría clasificada. La cartografía con mayor confiabilidad, clasificando los polígonos de entrenamiento, fue el filtro de la imagen obtenida con el clasificador de Máxima Probabilidad procesando 6 bandas: 3, 4 y 5 del '95 y 3, 4 y 5 del '97. Su Kappa Global = 0,91. Descendió a 0,42 cuando se clasificaron los polígonos testigos. Con las clasificaciones incluyendo imágenes de textura las cartografías resultaron más fracturadas que con las seis bandas espectrales. Esta información adicional mejoró la confiabilidad de la categoría de parrales. La cartografía obtenida clasificando imágenes basadas en objetos fue menos fracturada pero de similar la confiabilidad.The objective of the work is to establish the fidelity of the data cartography like coverings or soil used. The basic documents were the bands 3, 4 and 5 of the summer images Landsat Thematic Mapper of the northeastern Mendoza taken on 12/18/95 and 12/28/97. They were georreferenced to the UTM-19s system. Supervised classifications of the images were made. The Minimum Distance, Parallelopipeds and Maximum Probability or Verisimilitude were the rigid classifiers used. The classified images were softened with Filter fashion of Pass-low. The accuracy of the maps was described using an approach based on a confusion matrix or errors of training and test polygons. The Global Kappa index, and the Kappa index of Agreement of each classified Category was obtained. The cartography that gave the highest degree of dependability, using training polygons, with Global Kappa = 0,91, was the filter of the image that was obtained with the classifier of Maximum Probability processing the 6 bands, the 3, 4 and 5 of the '95 and the 3, 4 and 5 of the '97, but fall at 0,42 with test polygons. Classifications including texture images were carried out. A more fractured cartography was obtained that if the six ghastly bands are used, but the accuracy of Grapevine was better. Classification of the images based on object was carried out. The cartography is fewer fractured and the uncertainty of the map was the same.Fil: Perez Valenzuela, Benjamín R.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Ingeniería AgrícolaFil: Salcedo, Carlos E. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Ingeniería AgrícolaFil: De Cara, Daniel E.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Ingeniería Agrícol

Composite Bonded Joint: Repair Development

This report documents the details of my work as a NASA KSC intern for the Fall Session from August 27th to December 14th, 2018. My efforts and contributions were with the Materials Science Branch, a staffed organization within the Laboratories, Development, & Testing (NE-L) Division of the Engineering Directorate. The principle responsibilities of the Materials Science group are to support the design, development, and operations activities for materials and processes with the purpose of providing unique solutions for flight hardware, ground support equipment, and customer requests. My role as an intern focused on assisting engineers in developing repair processes to mature bonded joint technology in support of SLS ? scale hardware. My primary goals for this internship were to become more familiar with composite materials and learn more about processes I was unfamiliar with, such as prepregs and out-of-autoclave processing. This project allowed me to learn new skills such as scarfing and curing composites. Additional goals I had were to learn more about NASA's laboratories and projects under development. This internship not only provided me with those experiences, but also allowed me to build relationships with inspiring engineers; a takeaway I will never forget

Two new species of Dellia Stål, 1878 grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic

The acridid grasshoppers Dellia viridissima sp. nov. and Dellia ciceroana sp. nov. are described and illustrated from Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic. These species inhabit transition and mountain forests between 450 – 1,300 m elevation. D. viridissima sp. nov. was found in close association with the vine Solandra longiflora Tuss. (Solanaceae) suggesting that it could be an oligophagous specialist. D. ciceroana sp. nov. was collected in a more xeric transition forest at the sides of the trail from Puerto Escondido to the heights of the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park. The number of Dellia species known from Hispaniola is increased to six, three of these being from Sierra de Bahoruco

Entomofauna de la Reserva Científica Ébano Verde, Cordillera Central, República Dominicana

Se compila una lista preliminar de las especies de insectos conocidas para la Reserva Científica Ébano Verde (RCEV), Cordillera Central, República Dominicana, a partir de datos publicados en la literatura entomológica y el estudio de recolectas recientes. La lista incluye un total de 350 especies de insectos, clasificadas en 254 géneros, 70 familias y 12 órdenes. Cuatro especies de Syrphidae (Diptera) y una especie de Vespidae (Hymenoptera) constituyen nuevos registros para la República Dominicana y La Española. Estos datos, obviamente, abarcan solo una pequeña porción de la entomofauna total que habita el área. Los mismos deberán servir para impulsar otros estudios entomológicos en la zona y a su vez contribuir con el avance del conocimiento de los insectos en la Cordillera Central dominicana y de otras áreas protegidas de la isla

Brachybaenus domingensis sp. nov. of gryllacridids (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatoidea: Gryllacrididae) from Dominican Republic, Hispaniola

The gryllacridid Brachybaenus domingensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated from specimens collected in various localities of the Dominican Republic. The morphology of the new species is compared to that of the Cuban species Brachybaenus cubensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888), which may be its closest relative. Although these species are similar, diagnostic features of B. domingensis are the yellowish coloration of the face, spines on the anterior tibiae shorter than the eye length, and wings that markedly surpass the abdominal end. In B. cubensis the face is mostly black, the spines in the anterior tibiae are as long or longer than the eye length and the wings barely surpass the abdominal end. This is only the second species of gryllacridids reported from Hispaniola, the fourth species of Brachybaenus Karny in the Caribbean and the 17th species of the genus

New Hispaniola locality record for the endemic beetle Nicrophorus hispaniola Sikes & Peck, 2000 (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorinae)

The endemic Hispaniolan beetle Nicrophorus hispaniola Sikes & Peck, 2000, is reported from the locality of Zapotén, Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, a national park outpost near the border with Haiti. This species appears restricted to Sierra de Bahoruco and Sierra de Neiba in the southwestern corner of the Dominican Republic