Mock observations with the Millennium Simulation: cosmological downsizing and intermediate-redshift observations

Only by incorporating various forms of feedback can theories of galaxy formation reproduce the present-day luminosity function of galaxies. It has also been argued that such feedback processes might explain the counterintuitive behaviour of 'downsizing' witnessed since redshifts z ≃ 1–2. To examine this question, observations spanning 0.4 < z < 1.4 from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe (DEEP)2/Palomar survey are compared with a suite of equivalent mock observations derived from the Millennium Simulation, populated with galaxies using the galform code. Although the model successfully reproduces the observed total mass function and the general trend of 'downsizing', it fails to accurately reproduce the colour distribution and type-dependent mass functions at all redshifts probed. This failure is shared by other semi-analytical models which collectively appear to 'over-quench' star formation in intermediate-mass systems. These mock lightcones are also a valuable tool for investigating the reliability of the observational results in terms of cosmic variance. Using variance estimates derived from the lightcones, we confirm the significance of the decline since z ∼ 1 in the observed number density of massive blue galaxies which, we argue, provides the bulk of the associated growth in the red sequence. We also assess the limitations arising from cosmic variance in terms of our ability to observe mass-dependent growth since z ∼ 1

Airships: A New Horizon for Science

The "Airships: A New Horizon for Science" study at the Keck Institute for Space Studies investigated the potential of a variety of airships currently operable or under development to serve as observatories and science instrumentation platforms for a range of space, atmospheric, and Earth science. The participants represent a diverse cross-section of the aerospace sector, NASA, and academia. Over the last two decades, there has been wide interest in developing a high altitude, stratospheric lighter-than-air (LTA) airship that could maneuver and remain in a desired geographic position (i.e., "station-keeping") for weeks, months or even years. Our study found considerable scientific value in both low altitude (< 40 kft) and high altitude (> 60 kft) airships across a wide spectrum of space, atmospheric, and Earth science programs. Over the course of the study period, we identified stratospheric tethered aerostats as a viable alternative to airships where station-keeping was valued over maneuverability. By opening up the sky and Earth's stratospheric horizon in affordable ways with long-term flexibility, airships allow us to push technology and science forward in a project-rich environment that complements existing space observatories as well as aircraft and high-altitude balloon missions.Comment: This low resolution version of the report is 8.6 MB. For the high resolution version see: http://kiss.caltech.edu/study/airship

Metabolic suppression in thecosomatous pteropods as an effect of low temperature and hypoxia in the eastern tropical North Pacific

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Biology 159 (2012): 1955-1967, doi:10.1007/s00227-012-1982-x.Many pteropod species in the eastern tropical north Pacific Ocean migrate vertically each day, transporting organic matter and respiratory carbon below the thermocline. These migrations take species into cold (15-10ºC) hypoxic water (< 20 µmol O2 kg-1) at depth. We measured the vertical distribution, oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion for seven species of pteropod, some of which migrate and some which remain in oxygenated surface waters throughout the day. Within the upper 200 meters of the water column, changes in water temperature result in a ~60-75% reduction in respiration for most species. All three species tested under hypoxic conditions responded to low O2 with an additional ~35-50% reduction in respiratory rate. Combined, low temperature and hypoxia suppress the metabolic rate of pteropods by ~80-90%. These results shed light on the ways in which expanding regions of hypoxia and surface ocean warming may impact pelagic ecology.This work was funded by National Science Foundation grants to K. Wishner and B. Seibel (OCE – 0526502 and OCE – 0851043) and to K. Daly (OCE – 0526545), the University of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Fellowship program.2013-06-3

Fitting Euphausia superba into Southern Ocean food-web models: a review of data sources and their limitations

This paper aims to provide the overview needed to include krill in food-web models and to guide modellers to key sources of data. It describes the strengths of each method of sampling krill, i.e. with nets (for historical time series, demographic information and live krill), acoustics (distribution, time series, biomass and swarm-scale information), the fishery (sustained sampling in one place and wide area and time coverage) and via predators (long time series, demographic indices). Each data source has caveats and more efforts to combine them are recommended. Observations that krill occupy the underice layer, the 0–10 m layer, the deeper water column and the benthos have fundamental implications, both for assessing biomass and for modelling the food web. Temporally, the intense (order of magnitude) interannual variability in krill population size within the southwest (SW) Atlantic sector is a major scale of variability, driven by sea-ice and climate effects on recruitment. This variability masks top–down predation controls that may operate over multi-decadal scales. Growth in spring, summer and autumn is now fairly well quantified, but mortality remains an enigma. We are still not yet confident which are the major predators of krill but studies increasingly suggest that they are not currently birds or mammals. Krill feed across three trophic levels and can control food populations through locally high grazing impact and nutrient regeneration. They also have fundamental regional differences in overwintering strategies, on-shelf/off-shelf distributions, relationships with sea-ice and diet. Whether this reflects ‘subpopulations’ with regionally specific life cycles is still unclear. However, caution is urged when scalingup food-web models and their parameterisations, either from individual to schooling krill, or from one region to another

The overwintering of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, from an ecophysiological perspective

A major aim of this review is to determine which physiological functions are adopted by adults and larvae to survive the winter season with low food supply and their relative importance. A second aim is to clarify the extent to which seasonal variation in larval and adult krill physiology is mediated by environmental factors with a strong seasonality, such as food supply or day light. Experimental studies on adult krill have demonstrated that speciWc physiological adaptations during autumn and winter, such as reduced metabolic rates and feeding activity, are not caused simply by the scarcity of food, as was previously assumed. These adaptations appear to be inXuenced by the local light regime. The physiological functions that larval krill adopt during winter (reduced metabolism, delayed development, lipid utilisation, and variable growth rates) are, in contrast to the adults, under direct control by the available food supply. During winter, the adults often seem to have little association with sea ice (at least until early spring). The larvae, however, feed within sea ice but mainly on the grazers of the ice algal community rather than on the algae themselves. In this respect, a miss-match in timing of the occurrence of the last phytoplankton blooms in autumn and the start of the sea ice formation, as has been increasingly observed in the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region, will impact larval krill development during winter in terms of food supply and consequently the krill stock in this region

C19- Evaluation du profil d’acide gras et statuts d’oxydation de sept huiles alimentaires commercialisées au Bénin

Introduction : Les populations béninoises consomment au quotidien des huiles végétales de différent profil d’acides gras (AG) insaturés comme saturés, leur conférant des vitesses d’oxydabilité différentes. Les produits d’oxydation primaire (radicaux peroxydes) et secondaire (aldéhydes) sont nuisibles à la santé humaine et justifient la nécessité d’une évaluation de ces huiles alimentaires. Méthodologie : Cette étude préliminaire porte sur 7 marques d’huile dont 1 de tournesol, 2 de coton et 2 d’origine végétale non précisée, toutes raffinées, ainsi que 1 d'arachide et 1 de palme rouge de production artisanale locale. Le profil d’AG a été réalisé, après méthylation des AG, au moyen d’un GC-FID Trace 1310 (Thermo, Italy), équipé d’un Triplus autosampler (Thermo, Italy). La séparation a été réalisée sur une colonne capillaire RT2560 (100m x 0,25mm, df : 0,25µm) avec une injection de 1 µL on-column à 225°C. Le temps d’analyse est de 83 min avec un gradient de température du four allant de 80-235°C. Le H2 est utilisé comme gaz vecteur à 1,2 ml/min. L’oxydation primaire et secondaire ont été déterminées par l’indice de peroxyde (IP) et l’indice de p-anisidine (Ip-A) selon la méthode AOCS. Résultats et Discussion : L’analyse des résultats rapporte les données suivantes : L’huile de tournesol contient 60% d’acide linoléique (AL), 29% d’acide oléique (AO) ; le coton 54% d’AL, 17% d’AO et 24% d’acide palmitique (AP) contre 33%, 43% et 13% respectivement pour l’huile d'arachide. Le profil d’AG des 02 huiles raffinées et de l’huile de palme rouge est similaire avec 40- 41% d’AP et 41-46% d’AO. Les 02 marques d’huile de coton et 01 de tournesol présentent une forte oxydation primaire avec des valeurs de IP de 16; 25 et 28,9 méq O2 actif/kg (norme < 15). Les huiles d’arachide (IP=3), de palme (IP=6,6) et les 2 huiles végétales raffinées (IP= 10,35 et 12,38) sont conformes. Quant à l’oxydation secondaire, toutes les huiles analysée sont conformes, 0≤.Ip-A≤ 6,21 (norme < 10) après 6 semaines de conservation dans les conditions classiques (fermeture non scellée). Conclusion : Cette étude préliminaire révèle que les huiles de coton et de tournesol subissent une oxydation rapide comparée aux huiles d’arachide et de palme. Des huiles de palme blanchies sans étiquetage adéquate sont commercialisées et tromperaient la vigilance des populations

Oceanic circumpolar habitats of Antarctic krill

Surveys of Euphausia superba often target localised shelves and ice edges where their growth rates and predation losses are atypically high. Emphasis on these areas has led to the current view that krill require high food concentrations, with a distribution often linked to shelves. For a wider, circumpolar perspective, we compiled all available net-based density data on postlarvae from 8137 mainly summer stations from 1926 to 2004. Unlike Antarctic zooplankton, the distribution of E. superba is highly uneven, with 70% of the total stock concentrated between longitudes 0° and 90°W. Within this Atlantic sector, krill are abundant over both continental shelf and ocean. At the Antarctic Peninsula they are found mainly over the inner shelf, whereas in the Indian–Pacific sectors krill prevail in the ocean within 200 to 300 km of the shelf break. Overall, 87% of the total stock lives over deep oceanic water (>2000 m), and krill occupy regions with moderate food concentrations (0.5 to 1.0 mg chl a m–3). Advection models suggest some northwards loss from these regions and into the low chlorophyll belts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). We found possible evidence for a compensating southwards migration, with an increasing proportion of krill found south of the ACC as the season progresses. The retention of krill in moderately productive oceanic habitats is a key factor in their high total production. While growth rates are lower than over shelves, the ocean provides a refuge from shelf-based predators. The unusual circumpolar distribution of krill thus reflects a balance between advection, migration, top–down and bottom–up processes