Stream Insect Production as a Function of Alkalinity and Detritus Processing

The study was conducted to determine if aquatic insect production was significantly different between high and low alkalinity mountain streams and if any differences were associated with food availability factors. The major objectives included determining: (1) if annual production differences occur between high and low alkalinity streams; (2) if processing rates of terrestrial detritus differs between high and low alkalinity streams; (3) if detrital processing rates are related to stream insect productivities; (4) if primary productivity varies between high and low alkalinity streams; (5) if toxic effects or micronutrient limitations exist in high or low alkalinity streams that could limit insect survivals. A high alkalinity stream was defined as one having over 150 milligrams per liter average total alkalinity. Six study sites on four high alkalinity streams were located in the Wasatch National Forest near Logan in northern Utah. Six study sites on four low alkalinity streams were located in the Shoshone National Forest near Yellowstone National Park in northern Wyoming. Sites from each region were shown to not differ significantly for all physical parameters tested. The mean annual production of 22 of the 29 invertebrate taxa analyzed were significantly higher in the high alkalinity streams, while 2 taxa were significantly more productive in the low alkalinity streams. The mean annual production of all taxa summed was significantly higher in the high alkalinity streams. All high alkalinity sites had significantly higher production than any low alkalinity site. Alder leaf packs left open to allow invertebrate activity had a significantly higher rate of weight loss in the high alkalinity stream. Alder leaf packs placed inside fine mesh bags to exclude invertebrate activity showed no significant differences in weight loss when the experiments were terminated. The patterns of weight loss for these mesh packs did differ between the two stream types. In the high alkalinity stream, the leaves had a early rapid weight loss phase followed by a period of reduced weight loss. In the low alkalinity stream, the leaves experienced little weight loss during the early phase of the study but lost weight rapidly during the latter phase. The survivorships of all taxa tested did not differ significantly between high and low alkalinity water. Estimates of detrital inputs based on drift measurements and standing crops of detritus collected with invertebrate samples showed no significant differences between regions. The following conclusions resulted from the study. The high alkalinity streams had a significantly much higher production of aquatic invertebrates than did the low alkalinity streams. The high alkalinity streams also had significantly higher standing crops of attached algae and faster processing of alder leaves. Algae and processed allochthonous detritus are two major food sources for many aquatic invertebrates. It is concluded that a major reason for the great difference in invertebrate production between the physically similar high and low alkalinity streams in this study was the availability difference of these two food sources. The insects in the high alkalinity streams had much more of both food types available to them so a much higher annal production of aquatic invertebrates was supported

Monopole Constituents inside SU(n) Calorons

We present a simple result for the action density of the SU(n) charge one periodic instantons - or calorons - with arbitrary non-trivial Polyakov loop P_oo at spatial infinity. It is shown explicitly that there are n lumps inside the caloron, each of which represents a BPS monopole, their masses being related to the eigenvalues of P_oo. A suitable combination of the ADHM construction and the Nahm transformation is used to obtain this result.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure (in three parts), late

Precise Control of Molecular Self-Diffusion in Isoreticular and Multivariate Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Understanding the factors that affect self-diffusion in isoreticular and multivariate (MTV) MOFs is key to their application in drug delivery, separations, and heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we measure the apparent self-diffusion of solvents saturated within the pores of large single crystals of MOF-5, IRMOF-3 (amino-functionalized MOF-5), and 17 MTV-MOF-5/IRMOF-3 materials at various mole fractions. We find that the apparent self-diffusion coefficient of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) may be tuned linearly between the diffusion coefficients of MOF-5 and IRMOF-3 as a function of the linker mole fraction. We compare a series of solvents at saturation in MOF-5 and IRMOF-3 to elucidate the mechanism by which the linker amino groups tune molecular diffusion. The ratio of the self-diffusion coefficients for solvents in MOF-5 to those in IRMOF-3 is similar across all solvents tested, regardless of solvent polarity. We conclude that average pore aperture, not solvent-linker chemical interactions, is the primary factor responsible for the different diffusion dynamics upon introduction of an amino group to the linker

Morphological and Ultrastructural Studies of Plant Cuticular Membranes. I. Sun and Shade Leaves of Quercus velutina (Fagaceae)

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org.Sun and shade leaves of Quercus velutina Lam. were evaluated with respect to differences in gross anatomy, morphology, and cuticle (cuticular membrane (CM|) ultrastructure and micromorphology. Sun leaves are smaller, with more deeply lobed margins, and have more stomata, thicker mesophylls, and thicker CMs when compared with shade leaves. Cuticular membranes are thicker on both the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of sun leaves as a result of deposition of more cuticular components and scaly epicuticular wax. Both the adaxial and abaxial epidermises have the same basic fine structure in sun and shade leaves with respect to the outer periclinal cell wall and overlying CM. The cell wall is lamellate and the CM is composed of a two-zoned, reticulate cuticular layer and an amorphous cuticle proper. The outer periclinal wall and associated CM of the adaxial epidermis is thicker than that of the abaxial epidermis with both epidermal layers thicker in sun leaves compared with shade leaves. Difference in thickness of both epidermal layers, between sun and shade leaves, can be attributed to an increase in the inner reticulate region of the CM of sun leaves. Cells of the abaxial epidermis have ultrastructurally different CMs. Nonstomatal epidermal cells have a distinct amorphous cuticle proper whereas subsidiary cells have reticulations that traverse most of the outer CM. Guard cells have radially aligned reticulations through the entire outer CM and, therefore, lack an amorphous cuticle proper. Moreover, an internal CM, which is only sparsely reticulate, lines substomatal chambers. The internal CM of sun leaves is thicker and extends considerably deeper into substomatal chambers

Spectral correlations of the massive QCD Dirac operator at finite temperature

We use the graded eigenvalue method, a variant of the supersymmetry technique, to compute the universal spectral correlations of the QCD Dirac operator in the presence of massive dynamical quarks. The calculation is done for the chiral Gaussian unitary ensemble of random matrix theory with an arbitrary Hermitian matrix added to the Dirac matrix. This case is of interest for schematic models of QCD at finite temperature.Comment: 19 pages, no figures, LaTeX (elsart.cls) minor changes, one reference adde

The Effect of Bisphenol C on Dania Rerio Immune Development

Undergraduate Basi

Palaeofibulus Gen. nov., a Clamp-Bearing Fungus from the Triassic of Antarctica

No abstract is available for this item