1,474 research outputs found
Prunus serotina unleashed: invader dominance after 70 years of forest development
Propagule pressure and disturbance have both been found to facilitate invasion. Therefore, knowledge on the history of introduction and disturbance is vital for understanding an invasion process, and research should focus on areas in which the invasive species has not been deliberately introduced or managed to study unconfounded colonization patterns. Comparing the outcome of such spontaneous colonization processes for different ecosystems might provide a useful framework for setting management priorities for invasive species that enter new, uninvaded areas. We focused on the 70-year spontaneous spread of the invasive tree species Prunus serotina in a pine forest in the Netherlands. To reconstruct the invasion pattern, we combined historical maps, tree ring analysis, spatially explicit tree inventory data, seed density data, and regeneration data for both native and non-native species. Prunus serotina was the only species that showed successful regeneration: the species was present throughout the forest in the tree, shrub, and herb layer. Native species were not able to outgrow the seedling stage. Our data demonstrate that P. serotina is a gap-dependent species with high seed production that builds up a seedling bank. We also compared the results of this study with a similar study on P. serotina colonization in a deciduous forest in Belgium, where P. serotina invasion was not successful. The sharp contrast between the outcomes of the two invasion processes shows the importance of studying an invasive species and the recipient ecosystem jointly and made us raise the hypothesis that herbivore pressure may facilitate P. serotina invasio
Nutcrackers become choosy seed harvesters in a mast-crop year.
As an efficient seed-disperser, Eurasian nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) generally consume and hoard mature, edible pine seeds for future use. In 2009, when the Arolla pine, Pinus. cembra, produced a mast-crop, we investigated cones discarded
by nutcrackers. Most cones were only partly eaten and some mature seeds remained in the distal part. This was in contrast to years of lower seed production when nearly all seeds were harvested from the majority of cones. To determine
whether nutcracker cone-discarding behaviour maximised intake rate, seed kernels and the aborted seeds rate were measured from the different cone parts. In 2009, seeds from cone-tops were on average 17% lighter than in the base and middle sections, and the proportion of aborted seeds in the top part was 81% higher than in the other sections. There was no difference in seed mass and proportion of aborted seeds in cone-tops of intact cones and cones handled by nutcrackers. Regarding each cone as a patch, cone discarding behaviour can be considered as an optimal cone-leaving rule, maximising rate of energy-intake, supporting the Marginal Value Theorem. Hence, we suggest that increased food abundance leads to more selective seed harvesting in nutcrackers
A framework for qualitative communications using big packet protocol
In the current Internet architecture, a packet is a minimal or fundamental unit upon which different actions such as classification, forwarding, or discarding are performed by the network nodes. When faced with constrained or poor network conditions, a packet is subjected to undesirable drops and re-transmissions, resulting in unpredictable delays and subsequent traffic overheads in the network. Alternately, we introduce qualitative communication services which allow partial, yet timely, delivery of a packet instead of dropping it entirely. These services allow breaking down packet payloads into smaller units (called chunks), enabling much finer granularity of bandwidth utilization.
We propose Packet Wash as anew operation in forwarding nodes to support qualitative services. Upon packet error or network congestion, the forwarding node selectively removes some chunk(s) from the payload based on the relationship among the chunks or the individual signiicance level of each chunk. We also present a qualitative communication framework as well as a Packet Wash directive implemented in a newly evolved data plane technology, called Big Packet Protocol (BPP)
Confirmation of Parity Violation in the Gamma Decay of
This paper reports measurements using the technique of On Line Nuclear
Orientation (OLNO) which reexamine the gamma decay of isomeric Hf and specifically the 501 keV 8 -- 6
transition. The irregular admixture of E2 to M2/E3 multipolarity in this
transition, deduced from the forward-backward asymmetry of its angular
distribution, has for decades stood as the prime evidence for parity mixing in
nuclear states. The experiment, based on ion implantation of the newly
developed mass-separated Hf beam at ISOLDE, CERN into an
iron foil maintained at millikelvin temperatures, produces higher degrees of
polarization than were achieved in previous studies of this system. The value
found for the E2/M2 mixing ratio, = -0.0324(16)(17), is in close
agreement with the previous published average value = - 0.030(2), in
full confirmation of the presence of the irregular E2 admixture in the 501 keV
transition. The temperature dependence of the forward-backward asymmetry has
been measured over a more extended range of nuclear polarization than
previously possible, giving further evidence for parity mixing of the 8 and 8 levels and the deduced E2/M2 mixing ratio.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
The MuPix Telescope: A Thin, high Rate Tracking Telescope
The MuPix Telescope is a particle tracking telescope, optimized for tracking
low momentum particles and high rates. It is based on the novel High-Voltage
Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (HV-MAPS), designed for the Mu3e tracking
detector. The telescope represents a first application of the HV-MAPS
technology and also serves as test bed of the Mu3e readout chain. The telescope
consists of up to eight layers of the newest prototypes, the MuPix7 sensors,
which send data self-triggered via fast serial links to FPGAs, where the data
is time-ordered and sent to the PC. A particle hit rate of 1 MHz per layer
could be processed. Online tracking is performed with a subset of the incoming
data. The general concept of the telescope, chip architecture, readout concept
and online reconstruction are described. The performance of the sensor and of
the telescope during test beam measurements are presented.Comment: Proceedings TWEPP 2016, 8 pages, 7 figure
MuPix7 - A fast monolithic HV-CMOS pixel chip for Mu3e
The MuPix7 chip is a monolithic HV-CMOS pixel chip, thinned down to 50 \mu m.
It provides continuous self-triggered, non-shuttered readout at rates up to 30
Mhits/chip of 3x3 mm^2 active area and a pixel size of 103x80 \mu m^2. The hit
efficiency depends on the chosen working point. Settings with a power
consumption of 300 mW/cm^2 allow for a hit efficiency >99.5%. A time resolution
of 14.2 ns (Gaussian sigma) is achieved. Latest results from 2016 test beam
campaigns are shown.Comment: Proceedingsfor the PIXEL2016 conference, submitted to JINST A
dangling reference has been removed from this version, no other change
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