Energetic Consequences for a Northern, Range-Edge Lizard Population

Lizards at the northern, cool edge of their geographic range in the northern hemisphere should encounter environmental conditions that differ from those living near the core of their range. To better understand how modest climate differences affect lizard energetics, we compared daily feeding and metabolism rates of individual Sceloporus occidentalis in two populations during mid-summer. Chuckanut Beach (CB) was a cool, maritime climate in northern Washington State, and Sondino Ranch (SR) was a warmer, drier climate in southern, inland Washington. We found no difference between populations in daily energy expenditure (DEE), as calculated from doubly labeled water estimates. The CB population, however, had significantly higher prey availability and rate of daily energy intake (DEI) as estimated from fecal pellet masses. Consequently, CB lizards had higher size-adjusted body masses than lizards from SR. Within CB, during midsummer, DEE was similar to DEI. Within the SR population, DEE trended higher than DEI during midsummer, but was not significantly different. We found no population differences in lizard activity, active body temperature, or preferred body temperature. Hence, we infer the longer activity season for the SR population may compensate for the low food availability and high daily energy cost of midsummer. Moreover, for the CB population, we infer that cooler temperatures and higher food availability allow the lizards to compensate for the shorter activity. We also suggest the CB population may benefit from the predicted warmer temperatures associated with climate change given the similar activity-period body temperatures and DEE between these lizard populations assuming food availability is sufficient

Nonlinear actuator disk theory and flow field calculations, including nonuniform loading

Actuator disk theory and flow field calculations for propeller induced flow with nonuniform circulation distributio

The 2p yields 1s pionic transition

Pion-atomic transitions, perturbation theory, S waves, and P wave

The 5g yields 4f pionic transition in Th 232 and U 238

X ray energy measurements in 5g yields 4f pionic transitions of Th-232 and U-23

The 2s atomic level in muonic 208-Pb

Relative intensities and energy measurements of 2s level in muonic Pb-20

Joining up health and bioinformatics: e-science meets e-health

CLEF (Co-operative Clinical e-Science Framework) is an MRC sponsored project in the e-Science programme that aims to establish methodologies and a technical infrastructure forthe next generation of integrated clinical and bioscience research. It is developing methodsfor managing and using pseudonymised repositories of the long-term patient histories whichcan be linked to genetic, genomic information or used to support patient care. CLEF concentrateson removing key barriers to managing such repositories ? ethical issues, informationcapture, integration of disparate sources into coherent ?chronicles? of events, userorientedmechanisms for querying and displaying the information, and compiling the requiredknowledge resources. This paper describes the overall information flow and technicalapproach designed to meet these aims within a Grid framework

Breeding Birds at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1985 - 1991

During the summers of 1985-1991, bird censuses were conducted along 13 permanent routes located at the 2315-km2 Idaho National Engineering and Environmental laboratory (INEEL, formerly INEL) in southeastern Idaho. The objectives of the surveys were to (1) compare avifauna in and near facility complex sites with remote, relatively undisturbed habitats, (2) identify trends in populations of sagebrush-obligate species and other common shrug-steppe species, and (3) determine the presence, abundance, and population status of species of special concern. Five routes were official U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division 40.0-km Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes (formerly administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) located in relatively remote portions of the INEEL where access by humans was controlled and limited. Eight shorter routes (5.8-19.2 km in length) were near INEEL facility complexes, which more regularly experienced disturbance by humans. The surveys recorded 25,597 individuals representing 90 species. Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta), Brewer\u27s Sparrows (Spizella breweri), Sage Sparrows (Amphispiza belli), Horned larks (Eremophila alpestris), and Sage Thrashers (Oreoscoptes montanus) comprised 72% of all individuals. Almost half of all species were represented by fewer than 10 individuals. Bird density was significantly greater along facility complex routes. Moreover, because of human-constructed wetlands and structures of various types, facility complex routes had significantly more bird species per unit area, including more species of waterfowl and human associated species. Some year-to-year variation in bird density was related to weather. More individuals were recorded in cooler, wetter years, although such increases were reflected more along facility complex routes. Among sagebrush-obligate species, trend analysis suggests that both Brewer\u27s Sparrows and Sage Sparrows increased significantly in abundance, which may be in contrast to regional trends for these species. Of 5 species of special concern observed, trend analysis could be performed for only 2: Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) and Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus). Both species had more routes with negative regression coefficients and negative trend means, indicating that declines may have occurred, although the goodness-of-fit test for neither species was significant. These data from INEEL should be useful for comparison with future studies at the site and other statues from throughout the Great Basin region

Respiratory Evaporative Water Loss During Hovering and Forward Flight in Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds represent an end point for small body size and water flux in vertebrates. We explored the role evaporative water loss (EWL) plays in management of their large water pool and its use in dissipating metabolic heat. We measured respiratory evaporative water loss (REWL) in hovering hummingbirds in the field (6 species) and over a range of speeds in a wind tunnel (1 species) using an open-circuit mask respirometry system. Hovering REWL during the active period was positively correlated with operative temperature (Te) likely due to some combination of an increase in the vapor-pressure deficit, increase in lung ventilation rate, and reduced importance of dry heat transfer at higher Te. In rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus; 3.3 g) REWL during forward flight at 6 and 10 m/s was less than half the value for hovering. The proportion of total dissipated heat (TDH) accounted for by REWL during hovering at Te\u3e40 °C was b40% in most species. During forward flight in S. rufus the proportion of TDH accounted for by REWL was ~35% less than for hovering. REWL in hummingbirds is a relatively small component of the water budget compared with other bird species (b20%) so cutaneous evaporative water loss and dry heat transfer must contribute significantly to thermal balance in hummingbirds