Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of Minnesota: An Annotated Checklist and New State Records

Pentatomidae have been relatively poorly documented in Minnesota. Based on literature and museum records, an annotated checklist of the Pentatomidae of Minnesota was created. State-level and county-level records for Minnesota and the distribution of each species in North America are provided. Fifty-one species of Pentatomidae (12 Asopinae, 37 Pentatominae, and 2 Podopinae) are recorded for Minnesota. Of this total, 15 species are newly recorded for the state. Knowledge of the fauna of Pentatomidae in Minnesota will be important for providing baseline data for monitoring of potential shifts in the fauna resulting from the invasions of exotic Pentatomidae. Furthermore, a list of native Pentatomidae will be necessary for monitoring non-target impacts, if classical biological control is implemented for management of exotic Pentatomidae

The Fine-Scale Structure of the neutral Interstellar Medium in nearby Galaxies

We present an analysis of the properties of HI holes detected in 20 galaxies that are part of "The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey" (THINGS). We detected more than 1000 holes in total in the sampled galaxies. Where they can be measured, their sizes range from about 100 pc (our resolution limit) to about 2 kpc, their expansion velocities range from 4 to 36 km/s, and their ages are estimated to range between 3 and 150 Myr. The holes are found throughout the disks of the galaxies, out to the edge of the HI; 23% of the holes fall outside R25. We find that shear limits the age of holes in spirals (shear is less important in dwarf galaxies) which explains why HI holes in dwarfs are rounder, on average than in spirals. Shear, which is particularly strong in the inner part of spiral galaxies, also explains why we find that holes outside R25 are larger and older. We derive the scale height of the HI disk as a function of galactocentric radius and find that the disk flares up in all galaxies. We proceed to derive the surface and volume porosity (Q2D and Q3D) and find that this correlates with the type of the host galaxy: later Hubble types tend to be more porous. The size distribution of the holes in our sample follows a power law with a slope of a ~ -2.9. Assuming that the holes are the result of massive star formation, we derive values for the supernova rate (SNR) and star formation rate (SFR) which scales with the SFR derived based on other tracers. If we extrapolate the observed number of holes to include those that fall below our resolution limit, down to holes created by a single supernova, we find that our results are compatible with the hypothesis that HI holes result from star formation.Comment: 142 pages, 55 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Morphology and reproduction in the Hapalocarcinus marsupialis Stimpson, 1859 species complex (Decapoda: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae)

Symbiotic relationships contribute considerably to the high biodiversity found on coral reefs. Coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) represent a prime example of coral-associated invertebrates that exhibit obligate relationships with their host. The induction of a skeletal modification in the coral, used as a dwelling by the crab, is the most remarkable aspect of this close association. Here we examined Hapalocarcinus marsupialisStimpson, 1859, collected from Pocillopora and Stylophora corals in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Specimens were DNA barcoded, and five distinct clades were revealed, providing further evidence for the hypothesis that H. marsupialis is a species complex. Divergence (COI) between the clades ranged from 3.2 to 15.7%. The putative species were tested for differences in morphology and reproduction. Crabs were examined regarding morphometric characters (carapace length and width, pleon (abdomen), chelae, and growth patterns) and reproductive traits. The data were pooled and analysed by host genus and putative species, which revealed significant differences for most of the measured variables in female crabs. Specimens retrieved from Pocillopora were significantly larger (up to 49 %) and had higher fecundity than those inhabiting Stylophora. For reproductive output (RO) no differences at species- or host-genus level were detected. The average RO of ~70% over all specimens is high compared to other brachyurans, supporting the assumption that symbiotic brachyurans invest more energy in reproduction than their free-living counterparts. Discrepancies with published data on growth and reproduction of Hapalocarcinus are discussed. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of morphometric traits and fecundity in separating the clades in the H. marsupialis complex, and prepare the ground for further morphometric studies on the genus and other symbiotic brachyurans. Moreover, it highlights the need to check for the presence of cryptic species when studying aspects of the biology of a species

Milk consumption and the prepubertal somatotropic axis

© 2007 Rich-Edwards et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

HI Power Spectra and the Turbulent ISM of Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

HI spatial power spectra (PS) were determined for a sample of 24 nearby dwarf irregular galaxies selected from the LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes - The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey) sample. The two-dimensional (2D) power spectral indices asymptotically become a constant for each galaxy when a significant part of the line profile is integrated. For narrow channel maps, the PS become shallower as the channel width decreases, and this shallowing trend continues to our single channel maps. This implies that even the highest velocity resolution of 1.8 km/s is not smaller than the thermal dispersion of the coolest, widespread HI component. The one-dimensional PS of azimuthal profiles at different radii suggest that the shallower PS for narrower channel width is mainly contributed by the inner disks, which indicates that the inner disks have proportionally more cooler HI than the outer disks. Galaxies with lower luminosity (M_B > -14.5 mag) and star formation rate (SFR, log(SFR (M\odot/yr)) < -2.1) tend to have steeper PS, which implies that the HI line-of-sight depths can be comparable with the radial length scales in low mass galaxies. A lack of a correlation between the inertial-range spectral indices and SFR surface density implies that either non-stellar power sources are playing a fundamental role in driving the interstellar medium (ISM) turbulent structure, or the nonlinear development of turbulent structures has little to do with the driving sources.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by Ap

The Stellar and Gas Kinematics of the LITTLE THINGS Dwarf Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569

In order to understand the formation and evolution of dIm galaxies, one needs to understand their three-dimensional structure. We present measurements of the stellar velocity dispersion in NGC 1569, a nearby post-starburst dIm galaxy. The stellar vertical velocity dispersion, $\sigma_{\rm z}$, coupled with the maximum rotational velocity derived from \ion{H}{1} observations, $V_{\rm max}$, gives a measure of how kinematically hot the galaxy is, and, therefore, indicates its structure. We conclude that the stars in NGC 1569 are in a thick disk with a $V_{\rm max} / \sigma_{\rm z}$ = 2.4 $\pm$ 0.7. In addition to the structure, we analyze the ionized gas kinematics from \ion{O}{3} observations along the morphological major axis. These data show evidence for outflow from the inner starburst region and a potential expanding shell near supermassive star cluster (SSC) A. When compared to the stellar kinematics, the velocity dispersion of the stars increase in the region of SSC A supporting the hypothesis of an expanding shell. The stellar kinematics closely follow the motion of the gas. Analysis of high resolution \ion{H}{1} data clearly reveals the presence of an \ion{H}{1} cloud that appears to be impacting the eastern edge of NGC 1569. Also, an ultra-dense \ion{H}{1} cloud can be seen extending to the west of the impacting \ion{H}{1} cloud. This dense cloud is likely the remains of a dense \ion{H}{1} bridge that extended through what is now the central starburst area. The impacting \ion{H}{1} cloud was the catalyst for the starburst, thus turning the dense gas into stars over a short timescale, $\sim$ 1 Gyr. We performed a careful study of the spectral energy distribution using infrared, optical, and ultraviolet photometry producing a state-of-the-art mass model for the stellar disk. This mass modeling shows that stars dominate the gravitational potential in the inner 1 kpc.Comment: 49 pages, 25 figures, accepted in A

The GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey II: The Star Formation Efficiency of Massive Galaxies

We use measurements of the HI content, stellar mass and star formation rates in ~190 massive galaxies with stellar masses greater than 10^10 Msun, obtained from the Galex Arecibo SDSS Survey (GASS) described in Paper I (Catinella et al. 2010) to explore the global scaling relations associated with the bin-averaged ratio of the star formation rate over the HI mass, which we call the HI-based star formation efficiency (SFE). Unlike the mean specific star formation rate, which decreases with stellar mass and stellar mass surface density, the star formation efficiency remains relatively constant across the sample with a value close to SFE = 10^-9.5 yr^-1 (or an equivalent gas consumption timescale of ~3 Gyr). Specifically, we find little variation in SFE with stellar mass, stellar mass surface density, NUV-r color and concentration. We interpret these results as an indication that external processes or feedback mechanisms that control the gas supply are important for regulating star formation in massive galaxies. An investigation into the detailed distribution of SFEs reveals that approximately 5% of the sample shows high efficiencies with SFE > 10^-9 yr^-1, and we suggest that this is very likely due to a deficiency of cold gas rather than an excess star formation rate. Conversely, we also find a similar fraction of galaxies that appear to be gas-rich for their given specific star-formation rate, although these galaxies show both a higher than average gas fraction and lower than average specific star formation rate. Both of these populations are plausible candidates for "transition" galaxies, showing potential for a change (either decrease or increase) in their specific star formation rate in the near future. We also find that 36+/-5% of the total HI mass density and 47+/-5% of the total SFR density is found in galaxies with stellar mass greater than 10^10 Msun. [abridged]Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. GASS publications and released data can be found at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/GASS/index.ph

Little Things

We present LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey) that is aimed at determining what drives star formation in dwarf galaxies. This is a multi-wavelength survey of 37 Dwarf Irregular and 4 Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies that is centered around HI-line data obtained with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA). The HI-line data are characterized by high sensitivity (less than 1.1 mJy/beam per channel), high spectral resolution (less than or equal to 2.6 km/s), and high angular resolution (~6 arcseconds. The LITTLE THINGS sample contains dwarf galaxies that are relatively nearby (less than or equal to 10.3 Mpc; 6 arcseconds is less than or equal to 300 pc), that were known to contain atomic hydrogen, the fuel for star formation, and that cover a large range in dwarf galactic properties. We describe our VLA data acquisition, calibration, and mapping procedures, as well as HI map characteristics, and show channel maps, moment maps, velocity-flux profiles, and surface gas density profiles. In addition to the HI data we have GALEX UV and ground-based UBV and Halpha images for most of the galaxies, and JHK images for some. Spitzer mid-IR images are available for many of the galaxies as well. These data sets are available on-line.Comment: In press in A

Optical and Near-IR Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) in the 2020s

Optical and near-IR Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs, are superconducting photon counting detectors capable of measuring the energy and arrival time of individual OIR photons without read noise or dark current. In this whitepaper we will discuss the current status of OIR MKIDs and MKID-based instruments.Comment: Astro2020 APC Whitepaper. 16 pages, 10 figure