Chimpanzee hunting behavior

The pursuit, capture and consumption of small-and medium-sized vertebrates, appears to be typical of all chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) populations, although large variation exists. Red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus sp.) appear to be the preferred prey but intensity and frequency of hunting varies from month to month and between populations. Hunting is a predominately male activity and is typically opportunistic, although there is some evidence of searching for prey. The degree of cooperation during hunting, as well as prey selection, varies between East and West African populations and may be related to the way the kill is divided: in West Africa, hunters often collaborate, with kills tending to be shared according to participation, whereas in East Africa, the kill is typically divided tactically by the male in possession of the carcass, trading meat with females in return for sex or with other males to strengthen alliances, and cooperation in hunting is more limited. The adaptive function of chimpanzee hunting is not well understood, although it appears that it may be both a means to acquire a nutritionally valuable commodity that can then be traded and as a means for males to display their prowess and reliability to one another

Screening in Ionic Systems: Simulations for the Lebowitz Length

Simulations of the Lebowitz length, $\xi_{\text{L}}(T,\rho)$, are reported for t he restricted primitive model hard-core (diameter $a$) 1:1 electrolyte for densi ties $\rho\lesssim 4\rho_c$ and $T_c \lesssim T \lesssim 40T_c$. Finite-size eff ects are elucidated for the charge fluctuations in various subdomains that serve to evaluate $\xi_{\text{L}}$. On extrapolation to the bulk limit for $T\gtrsim 10T_c$ the low-density expansions (Bekiranov and Fisher, 1998) are seen to fail badly when $\rho > {1/10}\rho_c$ (with $\rho_c a^3 \simeq 0.08$). At highe r densities $\xi_{\text{L}}$ rises above the Debye length, \xi_{\text{D}} \prop to \sqrt{T/\rho}, by 10-30% (upto $\rho\simeq 1.3\rho_c$); the variation is portrayed fairly well by generalized Debye-H\"{u}ckel theory (Lee and Fisher, 19 96). On approaching criticality at fixed $\rho$ or fixed $T$, $\xi_{\text{L}}(T, \rho)$ remains finite with $\xi_{\text{L}}^c \simeq 0.30 a \simeq 1.3 \xi_{\text {D}}^c$ but displays a weak entropy-like singularity.Comment: 4 pages 5 figure

Ferromagnetic Transition in One-Dimensional Itinerant Electron Systems

We use bosonization to derive the effective field theory that properly describes ferromagnetic transition in one-dimensional itinerant electron systems. The resultant theory is shown to have dynamical exponent z=2 at tree leve and upper critical dimension d_c=2. Thus one dimension is below the upper critical dimension of the theory, and the critical behavior of the transition is controlled by an interacting fixed point, which we study via epsilon expansion. Comparisons will be made with the Hertz-Millis theory, which describes the ferromagnetic transition in higher dimensions.Comment: 4 pages. Presentation improved. Final version as appeared in PR

Kinetic approach to the cluster liquid-gas transition

The liquid-gas transition in free atomic clusters is investigated theoretically based on simple unimolecular rate theories and assuming sequential evaporations. A kinetic Monte Carlo scheme is used to compute the time-dependent properties of clusters undergoing multiple dissociations, and two possible definitions of the boiling point are proposed, relying on the cluster or gas temperature. This numerical approach is supported by molecular dynamics simulations of clusters made of sodium atoms or C60 molecules, as well as simplified rate equation

Criticality in multicomponent spherical models : results and cautions

To enable the study of criticality in multicomponent fluids, the standard spherical model is generalized to describe an \ns-species hard core lattice gas. On introducing \ns spherical constraints, the free energy may be expressed generally in terms of an \ns\times\ns matrix describing the species interactions. For binary systems, thermodynamic properties have simple expressions, while all the pair correlation functions are combinations of just two eigenmodes. When only hard-core and short-range overall attractive interactions are present, a choice of variables relates the behavior to that of one-component systems. Criticality occurs on a locus terminating a coexistence surface; however, except at some special points, an unexpected ``demagnetization effect'' suppresses the normal divergence of susceptibilities at criticality and distorts two-phase coexistence. This effect, unphysical for fluids, arises from a general lack of symmetry and from the vectorial and multicomponent character of the spherical model. Its origin can be understood via a mean-field treatment of an XY spin system below criticality.Comment: 4 figure

Members are not the only fruit: Volunteer activity in British political parties at the 2010 general election

This is the accepted version of the following article: Fisher, J., Fieldhouse, E. and Cutts, D. (2014), Members Are Not the Only Fruit: Volunteer Activity in British Political Parties at the 2010 General Election. The British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 16: 75–95, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-856X.12011/abstract.Existing research on volunteer activity in political parties has tended to focus on party membership, both in terms of numbers and activities undertaken. Recent developments in British political parties suggest however, an increasing role for party supporters—supporters of parties who are not formal members. Using data collected through surveys of election agents at the 2010 general election, this article examines the extent of supporter activity in constituency (district-level) campaigns, the extent to which active local parties stimulate supporter activity, the correlates of supporter and member activity, and whether supporter activity makes a positive and independent contribution to parties’ constituency campaigns. The article provides an important opportunity to question whether the evolution of party organisations suggests that formal members may be less important than has been previously assumed in the conduct of election campaigns and the extent to which supporter activity complements that of members.Economic and Social Research Counci

The Force Exerted by a Molecular Motor

The stochastic driving force exerted by a single molecular motor (e.g., a kinesin, or myosin) moving on a periodic molecular track (microtubule, actin filament, etc.) is discussed from a general viewpoint open to experimental test. An elementary "barometric" relation for the driving force is introduced that (i) applies to a range of kinetic and stochastic models, (ii) is consistent with more elaborate expressions entailing explicit representations of externally applied loads and, (iii) sufficiently close to thermal equilibrium, satisfies an Einstein-type relation in terms of the velocity and diffusion coefficient of the (load-free) motor. Even in the simplest two-state models, the velocity-vs.-load plots exhibit a variety of contrasting shapes (including nonmonotonic behavior). Previously suggested bounds on the driving force are shown to be inapplicable in general by analyzing discrete jump models with waiting time distributions.Comment: submitted to PNA