Spatial and temporal variation of fish assemblage associated with aquatic macrophyte patches in the littoral zone of the Ayapel Swamp Complex, Colombia

ABSTRACT: Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblage structure associated with aquatic macrophytes in the littoral zone of the ASC. Methods: Specimens were caught between January 2008 and February 2009, over four limnimetric moments, using both cast net and seine net. Data on the temperature, electrical conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen was recorded for the characterization of the water mass in the sites. Results: A total of 34,151 specimens from 44 species were collected. The most abundant species were Eigenmannia virescens, Astyanax caucanus, Astyanax fasciatus, Roeboides dayi and Cyphocharax magdalenae, which together accounted for more than 75% of the sample. Temporal and spatial comparisons showed variation in the environmental conditions and highlighted the existence of heterogeneous abiotic conditions (p0.05) regarding the fish assemblage structure. The multivariate analysis showed no significant relationship between existing environmental conditions and the fish assemblage (p=0.04). The analysis also showed the absence of a relationship between the fish assemblage and environmental variables with respect to the flood pulse and sampling sites (p>0.05). Conclusion: The uniformity of the fish communities that inhabit aquatic macrophyte patches in the littoral region of the ASC may be related to the availability of suitable habitat in structural terms, that probably supports a more abundant and varied wildlife

Nuclear modification factor of D0 mesons in PbPb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV

The transverse momentum (pT) spectrum of prompt D0 mesons and their antiparticles has been measured via the hadronic decay channels D0→K−π+ and D‾0→K+π− in pp and PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the D0 meson pT range of 2–100GeV/c and in the rapidity range of |y|<1. The pp (PbPb) dataset used for this analysis corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 27.4 pb−1 (530 μb−1). The measured D0 meson pT spectrum in pp collisions is well described by perturbative QCD calculations. The nuclear modification factor, comparing D0 meson yields in PbPb and pp collisions, was extracted for both minimum-bias and the 10% most central PbPb interactions. For central events, the D0 meson yield in the PbPb collisions is suppressed by a factor of 5–6 compared to the pp reference in the pT range of 6–10GeV/c. For D0 mesons in the high-pT range of 60–100GeV/c, a significantly smaller suppression is observed. The results are also compared to theoretical calculations

Search for single production of a vector-like T quark decaying to a Z boson and a top quark in proton–proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

A search is presented for single production of a vector-like quark (T) decaying to a Z boson and a top quark, with the Z boson decaying leptonically and the top quark decaying hadronically. The search uses data collected by the CMS experiment in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb⁻¹. The presence of forward jets is a particular characteristic of single production of vector-like quarks that is used in the analysis. For the first time, different T quark width hypotheses are studied, from negligibly small to 30% of the new particle mass. At the 95% confidence level, the product of cross section and branching fraction is excluded above values in the range 0.26–0.04 pb for T quark masses in the range 0.7–1.7 TeV, assuming a negligible width. A similar sensitivity is observed for widths of up to 30% of the T quark mass. The production of a heavy Z′ boson decaying to Tt, with T→tZ, is also searched for, and limits on the product of cross section and branching fractions for this process are set between 0.13 and 0.06 pb for Z′ boson masses in the range from 1.5 to 2.5 TeV

Search for Higgs boson pair production in events with two bottom quarks and two tau leptons in proton–proton collisions at √s =13 TeV

A search for the production of Higgs boson pairs in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Events with one Higgs boson decaying into two bottom quarks and the other decaying into two τ leptons are explored to investigate both resonant and nonresonant production mechanisms. The data are found to be consistent, within uncertainties, with the standard model background predictions. For resonant production, upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for Higgs boson pairs as a function of the hypothesized resonance mass and are interpreted in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. For nonresonant production, upper limits on the production cross section constrain the parameter space for anomalous Higgs boson couplings. The observed (expected) upper limit at 95% confidence level corresponds to about 30 (25) times the prediction of the standard model