Chapter 18: Vulnerability of pelagic systems of the Great Barrier Reef to climate change

This review focuses on pelagic environments. The oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is dynamic and is the physical template to which organisms respond. Planktonic assemblages are the basis of pelagic food chains and they provide a rich supply of food for high trophic groups (eg fishes, birds and whales) as well as the larvae and adults of benthic assemblages (Figure 18.1). Changes in pelagic systems, therefore, cannot be viewed in isolation from other habitats (such as coral reefs). Plankton ranges from tiny viruses (less than 1 micron) and bacteria, to larger plant (phytoplankton) and animal plankton (zooplankton).This is Chapter 18 of Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment. The entire book can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/11017/13

Scoping current and future genetic tools, their limitations and their applications for wild fisheries management

The overarching goal of this project was to prepare a document that summarises past, present and emerging ways in which research using genetic technology can assist the Australian fishing industry to maintain productive and sustainable harvests. The project achieved the following specific objectives: 1. Documented existing and prospective biotechnologies and genetic analysis tools that are relevant to wild fisheries management, and their availability and application at a national and international level; 2. Documented the FRDC’s past and current investment in biotechnology and genetic tools used in wild fisheries management research; 3. Documented the different biotechnology and genetic tools that are being used in wild fisheries management research in Australia, and the nature and location of key research groups; 4. Described what management question each tool has been used for (e.g. stock structure, biomass estimation, product provenance, disease monitoring); 5. Identified those tools and approaches (existing and future) most likely to deliver significant advances in fisheries management; 6. Identified the potential for collaborations which could improve the focus and impact of work in this area

Negligible evidence for regional genetic population structure for two shark species Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837) and Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) with contrasting biology

Biodiversity of sharks in the tropical Indo-Pacific is high, but species-specific information to assist sustainable resource exploitation is scarce. The null hypothesis of population genetic homogeneity was tested for scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini, n = 237) and the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus, n = 207) from northern and eastern Australia, using nuclear (S. lewini, eight microsatellite loci; R. acutus, six loci) and mitochondrial gene markers (873 base pairs of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4). We were unable to reject genetic homogeneity for S. lewini, which was as expected based on previous studies of this species. Less expected were similar results for R. acutus, which is more benthic and less vagile than S. lewini. These features are probably driving the genetic break found between Australian and central Indonesian R. acutus (F-statistics; mtDNA, 0.751–0.903, respectively; microsatellite loci, 0.038–0.047 respectively). Our results support the spatially homogeneous monitoring and management plan for shark species in Queensland, Australia

Measurement of the Transverse Spin Transfer Coefficient D_nn(0˚) for (p,n) Reactions at 160 MeV

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440

Measurements of Gamow-Teller Strength Distributions in Masses 13 and 15

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440

Excitation of Giant Spin-Isospin Multipole Vibrations in 54,56-Fe and 58,60-Ni

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 81-14339 and by Indiana Universit

The price of rapid exit in venture capital-backed IPOs

This paper proposes an explanation for two empirical puzzles surrounding initial public offerings (IPOs). Firstly, it is well documented that IPO underpricing increases during “hot issue” periods. Secondly, venture capital (VC) backed IPOs are less underpriced than non-venture capital backed IPOs during normal periods of activity, but the reverse is true during hot issue periods: VC backed IPOs are more underpriced than non-VC backed ones. This paper shows that when IPOs are driven by the initial investor’s desire to exit from an existing investment in order to finance a new venture, both the value of the new venture and the value of the existing firm to be sold in the IPO drive the investor’s choice of price and fraction of shares sold in the IPO. When this is the case, the availability of attractive new ventures increases equilibrium underpricing, which is what we observe during hot issue periods. Moreover, I show that underpricing is affected by the severity of the moral hazard problem between an investor and the firm’s manager. In the presence of a moral hazard problem the degree of equilibrium underpricing is more sensitive to changes in the value of the new venture. This can explain why venture capitalists, who often finance firms with more severe moral hazard problems, underprice IPOs less in normal periods, but underprice more strongly during hot issue periods. Further empirical implications relating the fraction of shares sold and the degree of underpricing are presented

Quantum Coherence in a Single Ion due to strong Excitation of a metastable Transition

We consider pump-probe spectroscopy of a single ion with a highly metastable (probe) clock transition which is monitored by using the quantum jump technique. For a weak clock laser we obtain the well known Autler-Townes splitting. For stronger powers of the clock laser we demonstrate the transition to a new regime. The two regimes are distinguished by the transition of two complex eigenvalues to purely imaginary ones which can be very different in magnitude. The transition is controlled by the power of the clock laser. For pump on resonance we present simple analytical expressions for various linewidths and line positions.Comment: 6 figures. accepted for publication in PR

A comparative study of electrical potential sensors and Ag/AgCl electrodes for characterising spontaneous and event related electroencephalagram signals

For exactly 90 years researchers have used electroencephalography (EEG) as a window into the activities of the brain. Even now its high temporal resolution coupled with relatively low cost compares favourably to other neuroimaging techniques such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). For the majority of this time the standard electrodes used for non-invasive monitoring of electrical activities of the brain have been Ag/AgCl metal electrodes. Although these electrodes provide a reliable method for recording EEG they suffer from noise, such as offset potential drift, and usability issues, for example, difficult skin preparation and cross-coupling of adjacent electrodes. In order to tackle these issues a prototype Electric Potential Sensor (EPS) device based on an auto-zero operational amplifier has been developed and evaluated. The absence of 1/f noise in these devices makes them ideal for use with signal frequencies of ~10 Hz or less. The EPS is a novel active ultrahigh impedance capacitively coupled sensor. The active electrodes are designed to be physically and electrically robust and chemically and biochemically inert. They are electrically insulated (anodized) and scalable. A comprehensive study was undertaken to compare the results of neural signals recorded by the EPS with a standard commercial EEG system. These studies comprised measurements of both free running EEG and Event Related Potentials (ERPs). Results demonstrate that the EPS provides a promising alternative, with many added benefits compared to standard EEG sensors, including reduced setup time, elimination of sensor cross-coupling, lack of a ground electrode and distortion of electrical potentials encountered when using standard gel electrodes. Quantitatively, highly similar signals were observed between the EPS and EEG sensors for both free running and evoked brain activity with cross correlations of higher than 0.9 between the EPS and a standard benchmark EEG system. Future developments of EPS-based neuroimaging include the implementation of a whole head ultra-dense EPS array, and the mapping of distributions of scalp recorded electrical potentials remotely

Defining the stock structure of northern Australia's threadfin salmon species

The requirement for Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australian jurisdictions to ensure sustainable harvest of fish resources relies on robust information on the resource status. In northern Australia management of inshore fisheries that target blue threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum) and king threadfin (Polydactylus macrochir) is independent for each of these jurisdictions. However, the lack of information on the stock structure and biology of threadfins means that the appropriate spatial scale of management is not known and assessment of the resource status is not possible. Establishing the stock structure of blue and king threadfin would also immensely improve the relevance of future resource assessments for fishery management of threadfins across northern Australia. This highlighted the urgent need for stock structure information for this species