2,340 research outputs found
Mammal population densities at a global scale are higher in human‐modified areas
Global landscapes are changing due to human activities with consequences for both biodiversity and ecosystems. For single species, terrestrial mammal population densities have shown mixed responses to human pressure, with both increasing and decreasing densities reported in the literature. How the impacts of human activities on mammal populations translates into altered global density patterns remains unclear. Here we aim to disentangle the effect of human impacts on large‐scale patterns of mammal population densities using a global dataset of 6729 population density estimates for 468 mammal species (representing 59% and 44% of mammalian orders and families). We fitted a mixed effect model to explain the variation in density based on a 1‐degree resolution as a function of the human footprint index (HFI), a global proxy of direct and indirect human disturbances, while accounting for body mass, trophic level and primary productivity (normalized vegetation index; NDVI). We found a significant positive relationship between population density and HFI, where population densities were higher in areas with a higher HFI (e.g. agricultural or suburban areas – no populations were located in very high HFI urban areas) compared to areas with a low HFI (e.g. wilderness areas). We also tested the effect of the individual components of the HFI and still found a consistent positive effect. The relationships remained positive even across populations of the same species, although variability among species was high. Our results indicate shifts in mammal population densities in human modified landscapes, which is due to the combined effect of species filtering, increased resources and a possible reduction in competition and predation. Our study provides further evidence that macroecological patterns are being altered by human activities, where some species will benefit from these activities, while others will be negatively impacted or even extirpated
Mammal population densities at a global scale are higher in human-modified areas
Global landscapes are changing due to human activities with consequences for both biodiversity and ecosystems. For single species, terrestrial mammal population densities have shown mixed responses to human pressure, with both increasing and decreasing densities reported in the literature. How the impacts of human activities on mammal populations translates into altered global density patterns remains unclear. Here we aim to disentangle the effect of human impacts on large-scale patterns of mammal population densities using a global dataset of 6729 population density estimates for 468 mammal species (representing 59% and 44% of mammalian orders and families). We fitted a mixed effect model to explain the variation in density based on a 1-degree resolution as a function of the human footprint index (HFI), a global proxy of direct and indirect human disturbances, while accounting for body mass, trophic level and primary productivity (normalized vegetation index; NDVI). We found a significant positive relationship between population density and HFI, where population densities were higher in areas with a higher HFI (e.g. agricultural or suburban areas – no populations were located in very high HFI urban areas) compared to areas with a low HFI (e.g. wilderness areas). We also tested the effect of the individual components of the HFI and still found a consistent positive effect. The relationships remained positive even across populations of the same species, although variability among species was high. Our results indicate shifts in mammal population densities in human modified landscapes, which is due to the combined effect of species filtering, increased resources and a possible reduction in competition and predation. Our study provides further evidence that macroecological patterns are being altered by human activities, where some species will benefit from these activities, while others will be negatively impacted or even extirpated
Spin dynamics of heterometallic Cr7M wheels (M = Mn, Zn, Ni) probed by inelastic neutron scattering
Inelastic neutron scattering has been applied to the study of the spin
dynamics of Cr-based antiferromagnetic octanuclear rings where a finite total
spin of the ground state is obtained by substituting one Cr(III) ion (s = 3/2)
with Zn (s = 0), Mn (s = 5/2) or Ni (s = 1) di-cations. Energy and intensity
measurements for several intra-multiplet and inter-multiplet magnetic
excitations allow us to determine the spin wavefunctions of the investigated
clusters. Effects due to the mixing of different spin multiplets have been
considered. Such effects proved to be important to correctly reproduce the
energy and intensity of magnetic excitations in the neutron spectra. On the
contrary to what is observed for the parent homonuclear Cr8 ring, the symmetry
of the first excited spin states is such that anticrossing conditions with the
ground state can be realized in the presence of an external magnetic field.
Heterometallic Cr7M wheels are therefore good candidates for macroscopic
observations of quantum effects.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B, corrected typos and
added references, one sentence change
Effect of Pressure on Tiny Antiferromagnetic Moment in the Heavy-Electron Compound URu_2Si_2
We have performed elastic neutron-scattering experiments on the
heavy-electron compound URu_2Si_2 for pressure P up to 2.8 GPa. We have found
that the antiferrmagnetic (100) Bragg reflection below T_m ~ 17.5 K is strongly
enhanced by applying pressure. For P < 1.1 GPa, the staggered moment mu_o at
1.4 K increases linearly from ~ 0.017(3) mu_B to ~ 0.25(2) mu_B, while T_m
increases slightly at a rate ~ 1 K/GPa, roughly following the transition
temperature T_o determined from macroscopic anomalies. We have also observed a
sharp phase transition at P_c ~ 1.5 GPa, above which a 3D-Ising type of
antiferromagnetic phase (mu_o ~ 0.4 mu_B) appears with a slightly reduced
lattice constant.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev. Let
Effects of Uniaxial Stress on Antiferromagnetic Moment in the Heavy Electron Compound URu_2Si_2
We have performed the elastic neutron scattering experiments under uniaxial
stress \sigma along the tetragonal [100], [110] and [001] directions for
URu2Si2. For \sigma // [100] and [110], the antiferromagnetic moment \mu_o is
strongly enhanced from 0.02 \mu_B (\sigma=0) to 0.22 \mu_B (\sigma=2.5 kbar) at
1.5 K. The rate of increase d\mu_o/d\sigma is roughly estimated to be ~ 0.1
\mu_B/kbar, which is much larger than that for the hydrostatic pressure (~
0.025 \mu_B/kbar). Above 2.5 kbar, \mu_o shows a tendency to saturate similar
to the behavior in the hydrostatic pressure. For \sigma // [001], on the other
hand, \mu_o shows only a slight increase to 0.028 \mu_B (\sigma = 4.6 kbar)
with a rate of ~ 0.002 \mu_B/kbar. The observed anisotropy suggests that the
competition between the hidden order and the antiferromagnetic state in URu2Si2
is strongly coupled with the tetragonal four-fold symmetry and the c/a ratio,
or both.Comment: 3 pages, 3 eps figures, Proceedings of Int. Conf. on Strongly
Correlated Electrons with Orbital Degrees of Freedom (Sendai, Japan,
September 11-14, 2001
Non-Collinear Magnetism due to Orbital Degeneracy and Multipolar Interactions
The origin of non-collinear magnetism under quadrupolar ordering is
investigated with CeB6 taken as a target system. The mode-mixing effect among
15 multipoles is analyzed based on the Ginzburg-Landau free energy. Then the
lower magnetic transition temperature and the order parameters are derived
within the mean-field approximation. In the presence of pseudo-dipole-type
interactions for the next-nearest neighbors, the observed pattern of
non-collinear ordering is indeed stabilized for certain set of interaction
parameters. The stability of the phase III' in the magnetic field is also
explained, which points to the importance of the next-nearest-neighbor
octupole-octupole interaction. Concerning the phase IV in CexLa1-xB6 with x ~
0.75, a possibility of pure octupole ordering is discussed based on slight
modifications of the strength of interactions.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 70 (6)
(2001
Quadrupole Susceptibility of Gd-Based Filled Skutterudite Compounds
It is shown that quadrupole susceptibility can be detected in Gd compounds
contrary to our textbook knowledge that Gd ion induces pure spin moment
due to the Hund's rules in an coupling scheme. The ground-state multiplet
of Gd is always characterized by =7/2, where denotes total
angular momentum, but in a - coupling scheme, one electron in =7/2
octet carries quadrupole moment, while other six electrons fully occupy =5/2
sextet, where denotes one-electron total angular momentum. For realistic
values of Coulomb interaction and spin-orbit coupling, the ground-state
wavefunction is found to contain significant amount of the - coupling
component. From the evaluation of quadrupole susceptibility in a simple
mean-field approximation, we point out a possibility to detect the softening of
elastic constant in Gd-based filled skutterudites.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Theory of Unconventional Spin Density Wave: A Possible Mechanism of the Micromagnetism in U-based Heavy Fermion Compounds
We propose a novel spin density wave (SDW) state as a possible mechanism of
the anomalous antiferromagnetism, so-called the micromagnetism, in URu_2Si_2
below 17.5[K]. In this new SDW, the electron-hole pair amplitude changes its
sign in the momentum space as in the case of the unconventional
superconductivity. It is shown that this state can be realized in an extended
Hubbard model within the mean field theory. We also examine some characteristic
properties of this SDW to compare with the experimental results. All these
properties well explain the unsolved problem of the micromagnetism.Comment: REVTeX v3.1, 4 pages, 5 figure
29-Si NMR and Hidden Order in URu2Si2
We present new 29-Si NMR spectra in URu2Si2 for varying temperature T, and
external field H. On lowering T, the systematics of the low-field lineshape and
width reveal an extra component (lambda) to the linewidth below T_N ~ 17 K not
observed previously. We find that lambda is magnetic-field independent and
dominates the low-field lineshape for all orientations of H with respect to the
tetragonal c axis. The behavior of lambda indicates a direct relationship
between the 29-Si spin and the transition at T_N, but it is inconsistent with a
coupling of the nuclei to static antiferromagnetic order/disorder of the U-spin
magnetization. This leads us to conjecture that lambda is due to a coupling of
29-Si to the system's hidden-order parameter. A possible coupling mechanism
involving charge degrees of freedom and indirect nuclear spin/spin interactions
is proposed. We also propose further experiments to test for the existence of
this coupling mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
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