36 research outputs found
Estimating body mass of sperm whales from aerial photographs
We wish to thank FundaciĂłn Biodiversidad for supporting COLCA project and all the ecovolunteers involved in the fieldwork of the Balearic Sperm Whale project. We are grateful to OceanCare (Switzerland) for their continuous support of the sperm whale research and conservation activities of the PCRI since 2008 and to Prof. Kostas Kostarelos and the University of Manchester for organizing the crowd-funding project âNanowhalesâ to cofund the research expedition of 2019 along the Hellenic Trench. This paper represents HIMB and SOEST contribution nos. 1903 and 11568, respectively.Body mass is a fundamental feature of animal physiology. Although sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are the largest toothed predators on earth, body mass is seldom included in studies of their ecophysiology and bioenergetics due to the inherent difficulties of obtaining direct measurements. We used UAVâphotogrammetry to estimate the weight of freeâranging sperm whales. Aerial photographs (23 calves, 11 juveniles, 55 nonmother adults, 13 mothers) were collected in the Eastern Caribbean and Mediterranean Sea during 2017â2020. Body length, widths, and heights (dorsoâventral distance at 5% increments) were measured from dorsal and lateral photographs, while body volume was calculated using an elliptical model. Volume varied noticeably (12.01 ± 4.79 m3) in larger animals (>8 m), indicating fluctuations in body condition of adults and mothers. Volume was converted to mass, using tissueâdensity estimates from catch data, animalâborne tags, and bodyâtissue composition. Average total body density ranged from 834 to 1,003 kg/m3, while the weight predictions matched with existing measurements and weightâlength relationships. Our bodyâmass models can be used to study sperm whale bioenergetics, including interâ and intraseasonal variations in body condition, somatic growth, metabolic rates, and cost of reproduction.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Quantifying the age structure of free-ranging delphinid populations : testing the accuracy of Unoccupied Aerial System photogrammetry
This study was funded by NOAA-PIFSC and RCUH JIMAR (NA19NMF4720181, NA16NMF4320058), CIMAR (NA21NMF4320043), and the Office of Naval Research (N000142012624).Understanding the population health status of long-lived and slow-reproducing species is critical for their management. However, it can take decades with traditional monitoring techniques to detect population-level changes in demographic parameters. Early detection of the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on vital rates would aid in forecasting changes in population dynamics and therefore inform management efforts. Changes in vital rates strongly correlate with deviations in population growth, highlighting the need for novel approaches that can provide early warning signs of population decline (e.g., changes in age structure). We tested a novel and frequentist approach, using Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) photogrammetry, to assess the population age structure of small delphinids. First, we measured the precision and accuracy of UAS photogrammetry in estimating total body length (TL) of trained bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Using a log-transformed linear model, we estimated TL using the blowhole to dorsal fin distance (BHDF) for surfacing animals. To test the performance of UAS photogrammetry to age-classify individuals, we then used length measurements from a 35-year dataset from a free-ranging bottlenose dolphin community to simulate UAS estimates of BHDF and TL. We tested five age classifiers and determined where young individuals (Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Two novel human cytomegalovirus NK cell evasion functions target MICA for lysosomal degradation
NKG2D plays a major role in controlling immune responses through the regulation of natural killer (NK) cells, αÎČ and γΎ T-cell function. This activating receptor recognizes eight distinct ligands (the MHC Class I polypeptide-related sequences (MIC) A andB, and UL16-binding proteins (ULBP)1â6) induced by cellular stress to promote recognition cells perturbed by malignant transformation or microbial infection. Studies into human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) have aided both the identification and characterization of NKG2D ligands (NKG2DLs). HCMV immediate early (IE) gene up regulates NKGDLs, and we now describe the differential activation of ULBP2 and MICA/B by IE1 and IE2 respectively. Despite activation by IE functions, HCMV effectively suppressed cell surface expression of NKGDLs through both the early and late phases of infection. The immune evasion functions UL16, UL142, and microRNA(miR)-UL112 are known to target NKG2DLs. While infection with a UL16 deletion mutant caused the expected increase in MICB and ULBP2 cell surface expression, deletion of UL142 did not have a similar impact on its target, MICA. We therefore performed a systematic screen of the viral genome to search of addition functions that targeted MICA. US18 and US20 were identified as novel NK cell evasion functions capable of acting independently to promote MICA degradation by lysosomal degradation. The most dramatic effect on MICA expression was achieved when US18 and US20 acted in concert. US18 and US20 are the first members of the US12 gene family to have been assigned a function. The US12 family has 10 members encoded sequentially through US12âUS21; a genetic arrangement, which is suggestive of an âaccordionâ expansion of an ancestral gene in response to a selective pressure. This expansion must have be an ancient event as the whole family is conserved across simian cytomegaloviruses from old world monkeys. The evolutionary benefit bestowed by the combinatorial effect of US18 and US20 on MICA may have contributed to sustaining the US12 gene family
Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress
In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ââGreenâ Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instrumentsâ development and satellite missionsâ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion
Altimetry for the future: building on 25 years of progress
In 2018 we celebrated 25âŻyears of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology.
The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the âGreenâ Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instrumentsâ development and satellite missionsâ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion
The collegiate church Saint-Julien at Brioude (Haute-Loire) : Researches on links between church architecture, its iconographic layout and the liturgy of a canonical community in the Middle Ages
Cette thĂšse se constitue de deux analyses statistiques qui sont mises au service de lâĂ©tude de lâidentitĂ© culturelle de Saint-Julien de Brioude. Riche dâun luxuriant passĂ©, la compagnie de Brioude entretenait un rĂ©seau de relations complexes. Les arts et la liturgie ont constituĂ© notre support pour lâĂ©tude identitaire du chapitre. LâĂ©tude du brĂ©viaire brivadois nous a permis de montrer lâoriginalitĂ© de la liturgie brivadoise. Cette liturgie nâĂ©tait pas aussi clermontoise quâon le prĂ©sumait jusquâĂ prĂ©sent. NĂ©e dâun mĂ©tissage mĂȘlant la tradition liturgique aquitaine et vellave, la liturgie de Brioude avait Ă©tĂ© dotĂ©e de piĂšces de chants et dâoraisons propres. La mise en scĂšne spatiale des reliques participait Ă la typicitĂ© de la collĂ©giale que les pĂšlerins visitaient. Ă cĂŽtĂ© du tombeau de Julien, dâautres corps de saints et des reliques faisaient lâobjet de dĂ©votions. Le programme sculptĂ© de la collĂ©giale avait Ă©tĂ© pensĂ© en deux temps. Souvent fidĂšlement liĂ©s aux sujets iconographiques utilisĂ©s dans le diocĂšse de Clermont, les chapiteaux de Brioude avaient Ă©tĂ© agencĂ©s en fonction des zones divisant lâespace ecclĂ©sial. Ces zones gigognes se voisinaient en faisant concurrencer lâagencement des reliques, du mobilier et des images. Le chevet faisait dialoguer lâiconographie du Saint-SĂ©pulcre et des croisades avec le tombeau-reliquaire de Julien et les autels secondaires. Les sculptures Ă©taient utilisĂ©es comme de vĂ©ritables signalĂ©tiques sâanimant autour du drame liturgique. Les images participaient Ă la constitution dâun espace mĂ©moriel participant Ă la mĂ©morisation liturgique de lâhistoire.Cette Ă©tude offre des perspectives dĂ©passant le cadre de la monographie. Liturgie et arts peuvent fournir des Ă©lĂ©ments de comprĂ©hension concrets Ă propos des Ă©changes culturels et des amĂ©nagements de lâespace ecclĂ©sial. Lâorigine familiale des chanoines avait dĂ©terminĂ©e cette zone (le Brivadois) situĂ©e Ă la confluence de lâAquitaine auvergnate et du Velay (zone tampon avec lâEmpire). Le chapitre de Brioude placĂ© au milieu des deux, sans ĂȘtre central, en avait tirĂ© les bĂ©nĂ©fices culturels et un rayonnement propre. Le chapitre de Brioude avait ainsi pu façonner sa collĂ©giale afin de cĂ©lĂ©brer la compagnie canoniale elle-mĂȘme et le saint dont elle dĂ©tenait les reliques. Attirer Ă elle les foules permettait Ă la compagnie aussi bien de faire perdurer la mĂ©moire du saint patron que de leur procurer les ressources essentielles Ă leur fonctionnement. La collĂ©giale Ă©tait rĂ©alisĂ©e comme un marqueur du paysage dĂ©terminant une identitĂ© architecturale attractive.This thesis is made up of two statistical analyses which are at the service of the study of Saint-Julien de Brioudeâs cultural identity. Having had a lush history, the Brioude Company kept a complex web of relationships. Both, art and liturgy, were the frame for the identity study of this chapter. The study of the Brivadois breviary proved how unique the Brivadois liturgy was. Unlike what was thought at first, such liturgy was not as close as to that of Clermont-Ferrand. Born from the blending of liturgical tradition from Aquitaine and Velay, the Brivadois liturgy was endowed with singing pieces and specific orations. The spatial staging of the relics partook of the collegiateâs specificity the pilgrims visited. Next to Julienâs gravestone, other Saintsâ bodies and relics were subjected to devotions.The collegiateâs sculpted program was designed in two times. As they were often faithfully linked with the iconographic subjects used in Clermontâs diocese, Brioudeâs capitals were put together in accordance with the areas dividing the ecclesial space. These nested areas were next to one another and highlighted the differences between the relics, the furniture and the images. The chevet intertwined Saint-SĂ©pulcreâs iconography, along with its Crusades, with Julienâs reliquary gravestone and the secondary altars. The sculptures were used as genuine signage livened up around the liturgical tragedy. The images took part in the setting up of historyâs liturgical memorial space.This study gives new perspectives which go beyond the monographic frame. Liturgy and arts can provide us with tangible understanding elements regarding the cultural exchanges and the layout of the ecclesial space. The canonâs familial origin determined this area (the Brivadois) located at the confluence of Auvergneâs Aquitaine and the Velay (buffer zone with the Empire). From the Brioude chapter located between these two, without being central, it extracted the cultural benefits as well as a very own standing. The Brioude chapter thus managed to shape its collegiate so as to celebrate the canonical company itself and the Saint whom she possessed the relics from. Attracting the crowd enabled the company to carry own the patron Saintâs memory and to provide themselves with the essential resources to make it operate. The collegiate was undertaken as a landscapeâs landmark determining an attractive architectural identity
La collĂ©giale de Saint-Julien de Brioude (Haute-Loire) : Recherches sur les liens entre lâarchitecture ecclĂ©siale, son agencement iconographique, et la liturgie dâune communautĂ© canoniale au Moyen Ăge
This thesis is made up of two statistical analyses which are at the service of the study of Saint-Julien de Brioudeâs cultural identity. Having had a lush history, the Brioude Company kept a complex web of relationships. Both, art and liturgy, were the frame for the identity study of this chapter. The study of the Brivadois breviary proved how unique the Brivadois liturgy was. Unlike what was thought at first, such liturgy was not as close as to that of Clermont-Ferrand. Born from the blending of liturgical tradition from Aquitaine and Velay, the Brivadois liturgy was endowed with singing pieces and specific orations. The spatial staging of the relics partook of the collegiateâs specificity the pilgrims visited. Next to Julienâs gravestone, other Saintsâ bodies and relics were subjected to devotions.The collegiateâs sculpted program was designed in two times. As they were often faithfully linked with the iconographic subjects used in Clermontâs diocese, Brioudeâs capitals were put together in accordance with the areas dividing the ecclesial space. These nested areas were next to one another and highlighted the differences between the relics, the furniture and the images. The chevet intertwined Saint-SĂ©pulcreâs iconography, along with its Crusades, with Julienâs reliquary gravestone and the secondary altars. The sculptures were used as genuine signage livened up around the liturgical tragedy. The images took part in the setting up of historyâs liturgical memorial space.This study gives new perspectives which go beyond the monographic frame. Liturgy and arts can provide us with tangible understanding elements regarding the cultural exchanges and the layout of the ecclesial space. The canonâs familial origin determined this area (the Brivadois) located at the confluence of Auvergneâs Aquitaine and the Velay (buffer zone with the Empire). From the Brioude chapter located between these two, without being central, it extracted the cultural benefits as well as a very own standing. The Brioude chapter thus managed to shape its collegiate so as to celebrate the canonical company itself and the Saint whom she possessed the relics from. Attracting the crowd enabled the company to carry own the patron Saintâs memory and to provide themselves with the essential resources to make it operate. The collegiate was undertaken as a landscapeâs landmark determining an attractive architectural identity.Cette thĂšse se constitue de deux analyses statistiques qui sont mises au service de lâĂ©tude de lâidentitĂ© culturelle de Saint-Julien de Brioude. Riche dâun luxuriant passĂ©, la compagnie de Brioude entretenait un rĂ©seau de relations complexes. Les arts et la liturgie ont constituĂ© notre support pour lâĂ©tude identitaire du chapitre. LâĂ©tude du brĂ©viaire brivadois nous a permis de montrer lâoriginalitĂ© de la liturgie brivadoise. Cette liturgie nâĂ©tait pas aussi clermontoise quâon le prĂ©sumait jusquâĂ prĂ©sent. NĂ©e dâun mĂ©tissage mĂȘlant la tradition liturgique aquitaine et vellave, la liturgie de Brioude avait Ă©tĂ© dotĂ©e de piĂšces de chants et dâoraisons propres. La mise en scĂšne spatiale des reliques participait Ă la typicitĂ© de la collĂ©giale que les pĂšlerins visitaient. Ă cĂŽtĂ© du tombeau de Julien, dâautres corps de saints et des reliques faisaient lâobjet de dĂ©votions. Le programme sculptĂ© de la collĂ©giale avait Ă©tĂ© pensĂ© en deux temps. Souvent fidĂšlement liĂ©s aux sujets iconographiques utilisĂ©s dans le diocĂšse de Clermont, les chapiteaux de Brioude avaient Ă©tĂ© agencĂ©s en fonction des zones divisant lâespace ecclĂ©sial. Ces zones gigognes se voisinaient en faisant concurrencer lâagencement des reliques, du mobilier et des images. Le chevet faisait dialoguer lâiconographie du Saint-SĂ©pulcre et des croisades avec le tombeau-reliquaire de Julien et les autels secondaires. Les sculptures Ă©taient utilisĂ©es comme de vĂ©ritables signalĂ©tiques sâanimant autour du drame liturgique. Les images participaient Ă la constitution dâun espace mĂ©moriel participant Ă la mĂ©morisation liturgique de lâhistoire.Cette Ă©tude offre des perspectives dĂ©passant le cadre de la monographie. Liturgie et arts peuvent fournir des Ă©lĂ©ments de comprĂ©hension concrets Ă propos des Ă©changes culturels et des amĂ©nagements de lâespace ecclĂ©sial. Lâorigine familiale des chanoines avait dĂ©terminĂ©e cette zone (le Brivadois) situĂ©e Ă la confluence de lâAquitaine auvergnate et du Velay (zone tampon avec lâEmpire). Le chapitre de Brioude placĂ© au milieu des deux, sans ĂȘtre central, en avait tirĂ© les bĂ©nĂ©fices culturels et un rayonnement propre. Le chapitre de Brioude avait ainsi pu façonner sa collĂ©giale afin de cĂ©lĂ©brer la compagnie canoniale elle-mĂȘme et le saint dont elle dĂ©tenait les reliques. Attirer Ă elle les foules permettait Ă la compagnie aussi bien de faire perdurer la mĂ©moire du saint patron que de leur procurer les ressources essentielles Ă leur fonctionnement. La collĂ©giale Ă©tait rĂ©alisĂ©e comme un marqueur du paysage dĂ©terminant une identitĂ© architecturale attractive