The time budget and feeding ecology of the pukeko (Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus, Temminck 1820) a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University

The annual and seasonal time budget and feeding ecology of pukeko Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus are described both as a composite day and diurnally. The study shows pukeko do not spend equal time in all activities in all habitats over the day, for each season or over the year. They spend by far the bulk of their time feeding (75-90%), and less time to attentiveness, bodily maintenance, and social encounters. However time allocated to all activities varies with habitat. By far most time is spent in dryland (pasture), and less in turn in rush margins, swamp and water. Bimodal activity patterns (dawn and dusk) are described for each season, whereas feeding effort is unimodal peaking in the mid to late afternoon. Direct sampling of an adjacent population indicates pukeko gradually increase the length of tiller taken and quantity of ingesta consumed over the day. Pukeko do not peck at the same rate or feed at the same intensity in all habitats, at all times of the day, for each season or over the year - feeding fastest and most intensely in rush margin and mud areas, and slower and less intensely in dryland, swamp and water. However considering use of habitats over the year pukeko feed most intensively and extensively in dryland, but less in rush margin, mud, swamp and water. Feeding in the latter three habitats is linked notably with seasonal availability (and/or quality) of forage. Evidence indicates pukeko are able to gauge seasonally the availability (and/or quality) of forage, and allocate their feeding effort appropriately

Special Issue : Highlights from the ITS European Congress in Glasgow (2016)

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An investigation into the feasibility and potential benefits of shared taxi services to commuter stations

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Experimental Potentials for the XΣ+2 and AΠ2 States of NaHe

Experimental potentials for the XΣ+2 and AΠ2 states of the NaHe molecule are presented. The potentials are generated from the temperature dependence of the red wing of the Na resonance line perturbed by He. For the AΠ2 state an unexpectedly large value is obtained for De=480(50) cm−1at Re=4.4(2)a0. The physical basis for this result, which indicates an important role for the internal structure of the rare gas in determining the repulsive part of the alkali-rare-gas interaction, is discussed

Group and phase velocity mismatch fringes in triple sum-frequency spectroscopy

The effects of group and phase velocity mismatch are well-known in optical harmonic generation, but the non-degenerate cases remain unexplored. In this work we develop an analytic model which predicts velocity mismatch effects in non-degenerate triple sum-frequency mixing, TSF. We verify this model experimentally using two tunable, ultrafast, short-wave-IR lasers to demonstrate spectral fringes in the TSF output from a 500 $\mu$m thick sapphire plate. We find the spectral dependence of the TSF depends strongly on both the phase velocity and the group velocity differences between the input and output fields. We define practical strategies for mitigating the impact of velocity mismatches

Two Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Contaminant Gases

Two catalysts for the selective oxidation of trace amounts of contaminant gases in air have been developed for use aboard the International Space Station. These catalysts might also be useful for reducing concentrations of fumes in terrestrial industrial facilities especially facilities that use halocarbons as solvents, refrigerant liquids, and foaming agents, as well as facilities that generate or utilize ammonia. The first catalyst is of the supported-precious-metal type. This catalyst is highly active for the oxidation of halocarbons, hydrocarbons, and oxygenates at low concentrations in air. This catalyst is more active for the oxidation of hydrocarbons and halocarbons than are competing catalysts developed in recent years. This catalyst completely converts these airborne contaminant gases to carbon dioxide, water, and mineral acids that can be easily removed from the air, and does not make any chlorine gas in the process. The catalyst is thermally stable and is not poisoned by chlorine or fluorine atoms produced on its surface during the destruction of a halocarbon. In addition, the catalyst can selectively oxidize ammonia to nitrogen at a temperature between 200 and 260 C, without making nitrogen oxides, which are toxic. The temperature of 260 C is higher than the operational temperature of any other precious-metal catalyst that can selectively oxidize ammonia. The purpose of the platinum in this catalyst is to oxidize hydrocarbons and to ensure that the oxidation of halocarbons goes to completion. However, the platinum exhibits little or no activity for initiating the destruction of halocarbons. Instead, the attack on the halocarbons is initiated by the support. The support also provides a high surface area for exposure of the platinum. Moreover, the support resists deactivation or destruction by halogens released during the destruction of halocarbons. The second catalyst is of the supported- metal-oxide type. This catalyst can selectively oxidize ammonia to nitrogen at temperatures up to 400 C, without producing nitrogen oxides. This catalyst converts ammonia completely to nitrogen, even when the concentration of ammonia is very low. No other catalyst is known to oxidize ammonia selectively at such a high temperature and low concentration. Both the metal oxide and the support contribute to the activity and selectivity of this catalyst

A Third Planet Orbiting HIP 14810

We present new precision radial velocities and a three-planet Keplerian orbit fit for the V = 8.5, G5 V star HIP 14810. We began observing this star at Keck Observatory as part of the N2K Planet Search Project. Wright et al. (2007) announced the inner two planets to this system, and subsequent observations have revealed the outer planet planet and the proper orbital solution for the middle planet. The planets have minimum masses of 3.9, 1.3, and 0.6 M_Jup and orbital periods of 6.67, 147.7, and 952 d, respectively. We have numerically integrated the family of orbital solutions consistent with the data and find that they are stable for at least 10^6 yr. Our photometric search shows that the inner planet does not transit.Comment: ApJL, accepte

A tool to aid redesign of flexible transport services to increase efficiency in rural transport service provision

This research was supported by the Research Councils UK Digital Economy programme award (reference: EP/G066051/1) to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub, at the University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Functional requirements document for the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Scientific Computing Facilities (SCF) of the NASA/MSFC Earth Science and Applications Division, 1992

Five scientists at MSFC/ESAD have EOS SCF investigator status. Each SCF has unique tasks which require the establishment of a computing facility dedicated to accomplishing those tasks. A SCF Working Group was established at ESAD with the charter of defining the computing requirements of the individual SCFs and recommending options for meeting these requirements. The primary goal of the working group was to determine which computing needs can be satisfied using either shared resources or separate but compatible resources, and which needs require unique individual resources. The requirements investigated included CPU-intensive vector and scalar processing, visualization, data storage, connectivity, and I/O peripherals. A review of computer industry directions and a market survey of computing hardware provided information regarding important industry standards and candidate computing platforms. It was determined that the total SCF computing requirements might be most effectively met using a hierarchy consisting of shared and individual resources. This hierarchy is composed of five major system types: (1) a supercomputer class vector processor; (2) a high-end scalar multiprocessor workstation; (3) a file server; (4) a few medium- to high-end visualization workstations; and (5) several low- to medium-range personal graphics workstations. Specific recommendations for meeting the needs of each of these types are presented