Arm Deflation in the Rare Thorny Sea Star, Poraniopsis inflatus (Asteroidea: Poraniidae), A Defensive Response to other Sea Stars?

The Thorny Sea Star, Poraniopsis inflatus, is rare in the Northeastern Pacific. It lacks pedicellariae or other overt defenses for protection against other predatory sea stars. During an earlier study, a P. inflatus confronted by an asteroid-eating sea star was observed to exhibit a possible defensive reaction: "arm deflation." It was 15 years before another P. inflatus specimen could be obtained and that hypothesis confirmed by testing with individuals of 18 other sea-star species. Contact with individuals of four predatory sea-stars, Asterina miniata, Crossaster papposus, Solaster dawsoni, and Pycnopodia helianthoides, elicited the reaction in the P. inflatus. The specimen collapsed ("deflated") an arm closest to the predatory star, possibly by expelling coelomic fluid, exposing more of its embedded thorns (hence its common name) which may discourage other sea stars from attempting to eat it

Airborne Instruments for the In Situ Detection of ClONO2, NO2, ClO, and BrO in the Stratosphere

Design and construction of an in situ sensor for the detection of stratospheric ClONO2, ClO, BrO, and NO2, was conceived as a two-year program. The experiment has two novel components: a resistive silicon thermal dissociation heater used to fragment ClONO2 into ClO and NO2 and a laser-induced fluorescence sensor for N02. These two new components are integrated into an experiment that uses technology developed in our labs for the ER-2 ClO and ER-2 HO(X) instruments. During the first year we reconstructed our laboratory prototypes for ClONO2 and NO2 detection and made substantial improvements in the calibration apparatus. Results from these laboratory experiments have been used to refine the design of the flight instrument. During this year we began the design of all of the long-lead items required to produce a flight instrument: including the design and fabrication of the air flow system used to direct stratospheric air to our halogen sensors, design and prototyping of an aircraft-compatible thermal dissociation heater, and development and test of a new high powered laser system. Finally, we have designed and released for fabrication several subsystems

An Integrated Surface Seismic/Seismic Profile Case Study: Simonette Area, Alberta

On the basis of conventional surface seismic data, the 13-15-63-25W5M exploratory well was drilled into a low-relief Leduc Formation reef (Devonian Wood-bend Group) in the Simonette area, west-central Alberta, Canada. The well was expected to intersect the crest of the reef and encounter about 50-60 m of pay; unfortunately it was drilled into a flank position and abandoned. The decision to abandon the well, as opposed to whipstocking in the direction of the reef crest, was made after the acquisition and interpretive processing of both near-and far-offset (252 and 524 m, respectively) vertical seismic profile (VSP) data, and after the reanalysis of existing surface seismic data

Low- and High-Relief Leduc Formation Reefs: A Seismic Analysis

Leduc reefs have grown to widely varying heights and aereal extents along the Rimbey-Meadowbrook trend of central Alberta, resulting in significantly different seismic signatures. Three examples considered in this paper include two high-relief or full reefs from the Leduc-Woodbend field, an atoll and a pinnacle, each around 200 m in height but differing greatly in areal extent, about 100 km2 for the atoll and 1 km2 for the pinnacle. The third example, a low-relief or basalt reef from the Morinville field, is about 100 m high and 1 km2 in areal extent. The Leduc-Woodbend and Morinville reefs exhibit quite different seismic signatures. For example, 25 ms of time-structural drape along the top of the Devonian is observed across the Leduc-Woodbend atoll but only 15 ms across the Morinville reef. There is 30 ms of pullup at the Beaverhill Lake level beneath the Leduc- Woodbend atoll, 15 ms for the Morinville reef. Also, it is very difficult to differentiate the Leduc reflection from the Duvernay reflection, with which it merges, on the Morinville (basal-reef) section. In contrast, the Leduc reflection can be correlated readily on the Leduc-Woodbend atoll section; and reflections from the offreef shales (Duvernay and Ireton formations) terminate abruptly against the reef flank. In addition, the amplitude of the underlying Cooking Lake platform reflection varies laterally, depending on the velocity of the overlying formation (Duvernay shale or Leduc reef) and, to a lesser extent, the thickness of the overlying reef. This variation is not as useful in distinguishing between low-relief and high- relief reefs as it is in indicating the presence or absence of reef

Giant Pacific Octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, Attacks on Divers

Documentation is given of four instances of attacks on scuba divers by the giant Pacific octopus

A comparative analysis of pawpaw (Asimina triloba) quality and nutritional data

The North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba [L.] Dunal) from sixteen varieties was analyzed for size, pH, oBrix, firmness, and pulp and skin color. A varietal composite was used to determine nutrient composition. Data from the current study was compared to previous literature values, and all results fit well with previous literature. The average weight of the fruits across all varieties was 194 g and ranged from 122 to 292 g, the pH of the fruits ranged from 5.4 to 6.3, the average oBrix ranged from 18.2% to 26.1%, and firmness ranged from 0.391 kg to 0.727 kg. The color of the skin and the pulp differed by variety but was well-within previously reported values. Pawpaw pulp nutritional values verified the nutritional values previously reported for pawpaw pulp from fruit harvested in Korea and will be used as the basis for inclusion of pawpaw in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Several specific recommendations are made: 1) firmness of 0.2 to 0.7 kg of force can be used to describe ripe pawpaw fruit; 2) the serving size for raw pawpaw pulp is one-half cup (120 g); and 3) pawpaw pulp nutrition compares favorably to that of banana or mango