The discovery of the nest of the Colima Warbler (Vermivora crissalis)

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56278/4/MP033.pd

The birds of Brewster County, Texas.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56282/4/MP037.pd

Hormesis depends upon the life-stage and duration of exposure: examples for a pesticide and a nanomaterial

Tests to assess toxic effects on the reproduction of adult C. elegans after 72 h exposure for two chemicals, (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU)), also known as diuron, and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) indicated potential, although not significant hormesis. Follow up toxicity tests comparing the potential hormesis concentrations with controls at high replication confirmed that the stimulatory effect was repeatable and also statistically significant within the test. To understand the relevance of the hormesis effects for overall population fitness, full life-cycle toxicity tests were conducted for each chemical. When nematodes were exposed to DCMU over the full life-span, the hormesis effect for reproduction seen in short-term tests was no longer evident. Further at the putative hormesis concentrations, a negative effect of DCMU on time to maturation was also seen. For the Ag NPs, the EC50 for effects on reproduction in the life-cycle exposure was substantially lower than in the short-term test, the EC50s estimated by a three parameter log logistic model being 2.9 mg/L and 0.75 mg/L, respectively. This suggests that the level of toxicity for Ag NPs for C. elegans reproduction is dependant on the life stage exposed and possibly the duration of the exposure. Further, in the longer duration exposures, hormesis effects on reproduction seen in the short-term exposures were no longer apparent. Instead, all concentrations reduced both overall brood size and life-span. These results for both chemicals suggest that the hormesis observed for a single endpoint in short-term exposure may be the result of a temporary reallocation of resources between traits that are not sustained over the full life-time. Such reallocation is consistent with energy budget theories for organisms subject to toxic stres

Identifying important resting habitats for the protection of Hawaiian spinner dolphins

With the ever increasing intrusion of anthropogenic activities on wildlife habitats, linking environmental characteristics with behavioural activities is vital for the identification and protection of critical habitats (i.e. those supporting essential life functions such as foraging, breeding or resting)

Developing and testing a robotic MRI/CT fusion biopsy technique using a purpose-built interventional phantom.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to target tumour components in biopsy procedures, while the ability to precisely correlate histology and MRI signal is crucial for imaging biomarker validation. Robotic MRI/computed tomography (CT) fusion biopsy offers the potential for this without in-gantry biopsy, although requires development. METHODS: Test-retest T1 and T2 relaxation times, attenuation (Hounsfield units, HU), and biopsy core quality were prospectively assessed (January-December 2021) in a range of gelatin, agar, and mixed gelatin/agar solutions of differing concentrations on days 1 and 8 after manufacture. Suitable materials were chosen, and four biopsy phantoms were constructed with twelve spherical 1-3-cm diameter targets visible on MRI, but not on CT. A technical pipeline was developed, and intraoperator and interoperator reliability was tested in four operators performing a total of 96 biopsies. Statistical analysis included T1, T2, and HU repeatability using Bland-Altman analysis, Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), and intraoperator and interoperator reliability. RESULTS: T1, T2, and HU repeatability had 95% limits-of-agreement of 8.3%, 3.4%, and 17.9%, respectively. The phantom was highly reproducible, with DSC of 0.93 versus 0.92 for scanning the same or two different phantoms, respectively. Hit rate was 100% (96/96 targets), and all operators performed robotic biopsies using a single volumetric acquisition. The fastest procedure time was 32 min for all 12 targets. CONCLUSIONS: A reproducible biopsy phantom was developed, validated, and used to test robotic MRI/CT-fusion biopsy. The technique was highly accurate, reliable, and achievable in clinically acceptable timescales meaning it is suitable for clinical application

Sex-specific patterns in demography of bottlenose dolphins in coastal and estuarine waters

Inherent difficulties in determining the sex of free-ranging, sexually monomorphic species (where both sexes look the same) often prevents a sex-specific approach to their study. However, accounting for sex-differences in population parameters can have important conservation and management implications, as one sex may be more susceptible to threats than the other

Investigating the effect of enhanced oil recovery on the noble gas signature of casing gases and produced waters from selected California oil fields

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Tyne, R. L., Barry, P. H., Karolyte, R., Byrne, D. J., Kulongoski, J. T., Hillegonds, D. J., & Ballentine, C. J. Investigating the effect of enhanced oil recovery on the noble gas signature of casing gases and produced waters from selected California oil fields. Chemical Geology, 584, (2021): 120540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120540.In regions where water resources are scarce and in high demand, it is important to safeguard against contamination of groundwater aquifers by oil-field fluids (water, gas, oil). In this context, the geochemical characterisation of these fluids is critical so that anthropogenic contaminants can be readily identified. The first step is characterising pre-development geochemical fluid signatures (i.e., those unmodified by hydrocarbon resource development) and understanding how these signatures may have been perturbed by resource production, particularly in the context of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Here, we present noble gas isotope data in fluids produced from oil wells in several water-stressed regions in California, USA, where EOR is prevalent. In oil-field systems, only casing gases are typically collected and measured for their noble gas compositions, even when oil and/or water phases are present, due to the relative ease of gas analyses. However, this approach relies on a number of assumptions (e.g., equilibrium between phases, water-to-oil ratio (WOR) and gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) in order to reconstruct the multiphase subsurface compositions. Here, we adopt a novel, more rigorous approach, and measure noble gases in both casing gas and produced fluid (oil-water-gas mixtures) samples from the Lost Hills, Fruitvale, North and South Belridge (San Joaquin Basin, SJB) and Orcutt (Santa Maria Basin) Oil Fields. Using this method, we are able to fully characterise the distribution of noble gases within a multiphase hydrocarbon system. We find that measured concentrations in the casing gases agree with those in the gas phase in the produced fluids and thus the two sample types can be used essentially interchangeably. EOR signatures can readily be identified by their distinct air-derived noble gas elemental ratios (e.g., 20Ne/36Ar), which are elevated compared to pre-development oil-field fluids, and conspicuously trend towards air values with respect to elemental ratios and overall concentrations. We reconstruct reservoir 20Ne/36Ar values using both casing gas and produced fluids and show that noble gas ratios in the reservoir are strongly correlated (r2 = 0.88–0.98) to the amount of water injected within ~500 m of a well. We suggest that the 20Ne/36Ar increase resulting from injection is sensitive to the volume of fluid interacting with the injectate, the effective water-to-oil ratio, and the composition of the injectate. Defining both the pre-development and injection-modified hydrocarbon reservoir compositions are crucial for distinguishing the sources of hydrocarbons observed in proximal groundwaters, and for quantifying the transport mechanisms controlling this occurrence.This work was supported by a Natural Environment Research Council studentship to R.L.Tyne (Grant ref. NE/L002612/1) and the U.S. Geological Survey (Grant ref. 15-080-250), as part of the California State Water Resource Control Board's Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program (RMP)

Infrared spectroscopy of Nova Cassiopeiae 1993 (V705 Cas). IV. A closer look at the dust

Nova Cassiopeiae 1993 (V705 Cas) was an archetypical dust-forming nova. It displayed a deep minimum in the visual light curve, and spectroscopic evidence for carbon, hydrocarbon and silicate dust. We report the results of fitting the infrared spectral energy distribution with the DUSTY code, which we use to determine the properties and geometry of the emitting dust. The emission is well described as originating in a thin shell whose dust has a carbon:silicate ratio of ~2:1 by number (1.26:1 by mass) and a relatively flat size distribution. The 9.7micron and 18micron silicate features are consistent with freshly-condensed dust and, while the lower limit to the grain size distribution is not well constrained, the largest grains have dimensions \~0.06micron; unless the grains in V705 Cas were anomalously small, the sizes of grains produced in nova eruptions may previously have been overestimated in novae with optically thick dust shells. Laboratory work by Grishko & Duley may provide clues to the apparently unique nature of nova UIR features.Comment: 11 pages, 9 fugure

Basin architecture controls on the chemical evolution and 4He distribution of groundwater in the Paradox Basin

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Tyne, R., Barry, P., Cheng, A., Hillegonds, D., Kim, J.-H., McIntosh, J., & Ballentine, C. Basin architecture controls on the chemical evolution and 4He distribution of groundwater in the Paradox Basin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 589, (2022):117580, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117580.Fluids such as 4He, H2, CO2 and hydrocarbons accumulate within Earth's crust. Crustal reservoirs also have potential to store anthropogenic waste (e.g., CO2, spent nuclear fuel). Understanding fluid migration and how this is impacted by basin stratigraphy and evolution is key to exploiting fluid accumulations and identifying viable storage sites. Noble gases are powerful tracers of fluid migration and chemical evolution, as they are inert and only fractionate by physical processes. The distribution of 4He, in particular, is an important tool for understanding diffusion within basins and for groundwater dating. Here, we report noble gas isotope and abundance data from 36 wells across the Paradox Basin, Colorado Plateau, USA, which has abundant hydrocarbon, 4He and CO2 accumulations. Both groundwater and hydrocarbon samples were collected from 7 stratigraphic units, including within, above and below the Paradox Formation (P.Fm) evaporites. Air-corrected helium isotope ratios (0.0046 - 0.127 RA) are consistent with radiogenic overprinting of predominantly groundwater-derived noble gases. The highest radiogenic noble gas concentrations are found in formations below the P.Fm. Atmosphere-derived noble gas signatures are consistent with meteoric recharge and multi-phase interactions both above and below the P.Fm, with greater groundwater-gas interactions in the shallower formations. Vertical diffusion models, used to reconstruct observed groundwater helium concentrations, show the P.Fm evaporite layer to be effectively impermeable to helium diffusion and a regional barrier for mobile elements but, similar to other basins, a basement 4He flux is required to accumulate the 4He concentrations observed beneath the P.Fm. The verification that evaporites are regionally impermeable to diffusion, of even the most diffusive elements, is important for sub-salt helium and hydrogen exploration and storage, and a critical parameter in determining 4He-derived mean groundwater ages. This is critical to understanding the role of basin stratigraphy and deformation on fluid flow and gas accumulation.This work was supported by a Natural Environment Research Council studentship to R.L. Tyne (Grant ref. NE/L002612/1). We gratefully acknowledge the William F. Keck Foundation for support of this research, and the National Science Foundation (NSF EAR #2120733). J.C. McIntosh and C.J. Ballentine are fellows of the CIFAR Earth4D Subsurface Science and Exploration Program. The authors would like to acknowledge the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Paradox Resources, Navajo Petroleum, US Oil and Gas INC, Anson Resources, Lantz Indergard (Lisbon Valley Mining Co.), Ambria Dell'Oro and Mohammad Marza for help with sampling

Silicate dust in the environment of RS Ophiuchi following the 2006 eruption

We present further Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi, obtained over the period 208-430 days after the 2006 eruption. The later Spitzer IRS data show that the line emission and free-free continuum emission reported earlier is declining, revealing incontrovertible evidence for the presence of silicate emission features at 9.7 and 18microns. We conclude that the silicate dust survives the hard radiation impulse and shock blast wave from the eruption. The existence of the extant dust may have significant implications for understanding the propagation of shocks through the red giant wind and likely wind geometry.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ (Letters