Geographic range size and evolutionary age in birds

Together with patterns of speciation and extinction, post-speciation transformations in the range sizes of individual species determine the form of contemporary species-range-size distributions. However, the methodological problems associated with tracking the dynamics of a species' range size over evolutionary time have precluded direct study of such range-size transformations, although indirect evidence has led to several models being proposed describing the form that they might take. Here, we use independently derived molecular data to estimate ages of species in six monophyletic groups of birds, and examine the relationship between species age and global geographic range size. We present strong evidence that avian range sizes are not static over evolutionary time. In addition, it seems that, with the regular exception of certain taxa (for example island endemics and some threatened species), range-size transformations are non-random in birds. In general, range sizes appear to expand relatively rapidly post speciation; subsequently, and perhaps more gradually, they then decline as species age. We discuss these results with reference to the various models of range-size dynamics that have been proposed

Biodiversity's big wet secret: the global distribution of marine biological records reveals chronic under-exploration of the deep pelagic ocean

Background: Understanding the distribution of marine biodiversity is a crucial first step towards the effective and sustainable management of marine ecosystems. Recent efforts to collate location records from marine surveys enable us to assemble a global picture of recorded marine biodiversity. They also effectively highlight gaps in our knowledge of particular marine regions. In particular, the deep pelagic ocean - the largest biome on Earth - is chronically under-represented in global databases of marine biodiversity. Methodology/Principal Findings: We use data from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System to plot the position in the water column of ca 7 million records of marine species occurrences. Records from relatively shallow waters dominate this global picture of recorded marine biodiversity. In addition, standardising the number of records from regions of the ocean differing in depth reveals that regardless of ocean depth, most records come either from surface waters or the sea bed. Midwater biodiversity is drastically under-represented. Conclusions/Significance: The deep pelagic ocean is the largest habitat by volume on Earth, yet it remains biodiversity's big wet secret, as it is hugely under-represented in global databases of marine biological records. Given both its value in the provision of a range of ecosystem services, and its vulnerability to threats including overfishing and climate change, there is a pressing need to increase our knowledge of Earth's largest ecosystem

Biodiversity research sets sail: showcasing the diversity of marine life

The World Congress on Marine Biodiversity was held in the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, from 10 to 15 November 2008, showcasing research on all aspects of marine biodiversity from basic taxonomic exploration to innovative conservation strategies and methods to integrate research into environmental policy

Globular Cluster Scale Sizes in Giant Galaxies: Orbital Anisotropy and Tidally Under-filling Clusters in M87, NGC 1399, and NGC 5128

We investigate the shallow increase in globular cluster half-light radii with projected galactocentric distance $R_{gc}$ observed in the giant galaxies M87, NGC 1399, and NGC 5128. To model the trend in each galaxy, we explore the effects of orbital anisotropy and tidally under-filling clusters. While a strong degeneracy exists between the two parameters, we use kinematic studies to help constrain the distance $R_\beta$ beyond which cluster orbits become anisotropic, as well as the distance $R_{f\alpha}$ beyond which clusters are tidally under-filling. For M87 we find $R_\beta > 27$ kpc and $20 < R_{f\alpha} 13$ kpc and $10 < R_{f\alpha} < 30$ kpc. The connection of $R_{f\alpha}$ with each galaxy's mass profile indicates the relationship between size and $R_{gc}$ may be imposed at formation, with only inner clusters being tidally affected. The best fitted models suggest the dynamical histories of brightest cluster galaxies yield similar present-day distributions of cluster properties. For NGC 5128, the central giant in a small galaxy group, we find $R_\beta > 5$ kpc and $R_{f\alpha} > 30$ kpc. While we cannot rule out a dependence on $R_{gc}$, NGC 5128 is well fitted by a tidally filling cluster population with an isotropic distribution of orbits, suggesting it may have formed via an initial fast accretion phase. Perturbations from the surrounding environment may also affect a galaxy's orbital anisotropy profile, as outer clusters in M87 and NGC 1399 have primarily radial orbits while outer NGC 5128 clusters remain isotropic.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Small Business Sustainability: What is the CPA’s Role?

The purpose of this paper is to provide information for both small businesses and CPAs concerning the importance and possible impact of sustainability reporting and practices on each group. The sustainability reporting process not only considers the economic bottom line, but also includes consideration of how a business impacts society and the environment. The challenges involved in establishing sustainable practices and reporting will be significant. The push for businesses to become more sustainable is a market-driven phenomenon in which consumers are increasingly shopping for products and services provided by companies that practice sustainability. Large multinational corporations are placing greater pressure on small business supply chain vendors to adopt sustainability practices. The sustainability movement creates both threats and opportunities for both LMCs and SMEs, and businesses that fail to develop sustainable strategies could be negatively impacted. CPAs have traditionally provided SMEs with financial, tax and audit services. As sustainability demands increase for SMEs, small and medium-sized CPA firms must develop the knowledge and skills necessary to provide these clients with sustainability services

Frontiers of marine science

On 9–13 October 2010 early career scientists from the UK and Australia across marine research fields were given the opportunity to come together in Perth, Australia to discuss the frontiers of marine research and exchange ideas

A Dynamic Programming Approach to Adaptive Fractionation

We conduct a theoretical study of various solution methods for the adaptive fractionation problem. The two messages of this paper are: (i) dynamic programming (DP) is a useful framework for adaptive radiation therapy, particularly adaptive fractionation, because it allows us to assess how close to optimal different methods are, and (ii) heuristic methods proposed in this paper are near-optimal, and therefore, can be used to evaluate the best possible benefit of using an adaptive fraction size. The essence of adaptive fractionation is to increase the fraction size when the tumor and organ-at-risk (OAR) are far apart (a "favorable" anatomy) and to decrease the fraction size when they are close together. Given that a fixed prescribed dose must be delivered to the tumor over the course of the treatment, such an approach results in a lower cumulative dose to the OAR when compared to that resulting from standard fractionation. We first establish a benchmark by using the DP algorithm to solve the problem exactly. In this case, we characterize the structure of an optimal policy, which provides guidance for our choice of heuristics. We develop two intuitive, numerically near-optimal heuristic policies, which could be used for more complex, high-dimensional problems. Furthermore, one of the heuristics requires only a statistic of the motion probability distribution, making it a reasonable method for use in a realistic setting. Numerically, we find that the amount of decrease in dose to the OAR can vary significantly (5 - 85%) depending on the amount of motion in the anatomy, the number of fractions, and the range of fraction sizes allowed. In general, the decrease in dose to the OAR is more pronounced when: (i) we have a high probability of large tumor-OAR distances, (ii) we use many fractions (as in a hyper-fractionated setting), and (iii) we allow large daily fraction size deviations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

The bending and temperature characteristics of long period gratings written in elliptical core step-index fibre

We describe the characterisation of long period gratings written in elliptical core fibre, which yield a discriminatory sensor for curvature and temperature with a resolution ±0.05m-1 for curvature and ±0.9 °C for temperature