Morphological diversity of microstructures occurring in selected recent bivalve shells and their ecological implications

Environmental adaptation of molluscs during evolution has led to form biomineral exoskeleton – shell. The main compound of their shells is calcium carbonate, which is represented by calcite and/or aragonite. The mineral part, together with the biopolymer matrix, forms many types of microstructures, which are differ in texture. Different types of internal shell microstructures are characteristic for some bivalve groups. Studied bivalve species (freshwater species – duck mussel (Anodonta anatina Linnaeus, 1758) and marine species – common cockle (Cerastoderma edule Linnaeus, 1758), lyrate Asiatic hard clam (Meretrix lyrata Sowerby II, 1851) and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758)) from different locations and environmental conditions, show that the internal shell microstructure with the shell morphology and thickness have critical impact to the ability to survive in changing environment and also to the probability of surviving predator attack. Moreover, more detailed studies on molluscan structures might be responsible for create mechanically resistant nanomaterials

Body-size increase in crinoids following the end-Devonian mass extinction

The Devonian period ended with one of the largest mass extinctions in the Earth history. It comprised a series of separate events, which eliminated many marine species and led to long-term post-extinction reduction in body size in some groups. Surprisingly, crinoids were largely unaffected by these extinction events in terms of diversity. To date, however, no study examined the long-term body-size trends of crinoids over this crucial time interval. Here we compiled the first comprehensive data sets of sizes of calyces for 262 crinoid genera from the Frasnian-Visean. We found that crinoids have not experienced long-term reduction in body size after the so-called Hangenberg event. Instead, size distributions of calyces show temporal heterogeneity in the variance, with an increase in both the mean and maximum biovolumes between the Famennian and Tournaisian. The minimum biovolume, in turn, has remained constant over the study interval. Thus, the observed pattern seems to fit a Brownian motion-like diffusion model. Intriguingly, the same model has been recently invoked to explain morphologic diversification within the eucladid subclade during the Devonian-early Carboniferous. We suggest that the complex interplay between abiotic and biotic factors (i.e., expansion of carbonate ramps and increased primary productivity, in conjunction with predatory release after extinction of Devonian-style durophagous fishes) might have been involved not only in the early Mississippian diversity peak of crinoids, but possibly also in their overall passive expansion into larger body-size niches

Floristic diversity in selected city parks in southern Poland

Ecosystems of city parks are one of the most important refuges of biodiversity in urbanized areas. Recently, naturalists have had an increased interest in floristic diversity in regions that have been drastically modified by human activity, particularly in urban spaces. Investigations were conducted at various levels of the biological organization, to protect the environment and to promote floristic diversity. The aim of this study is to present floristic diversity in urban parks in southern Poland. The research was conducted in 10 parks located in 3 cities (Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec and Będzin). These parks have been formed at different times, on various parent rocks. They are both natural and anthropogenic in origin and have different sizes (the smallest being 6 ha and the largest 67 ha). Their common features are way of use and management. The results of this investigation have confirmed 426 vascular plants belonging to 83 families and 247 genera. The highest number of species belongs to Asteraceae and Poaceae. Grabek Park is the most species rich (288) in comparison to the other parks investigated. Research on urban parks shows important links between floral diversity and biodiversity within highly urbanized areas in city centres and in urban spaces in general. This variety includes both native species and alien species, which are often called ‘park species’ with a decorative origin

Experimental neoichnology of crawling stalked crinoids

Stalked crinoids have long been considered sessile. In the 1980s, however, observations both in the field and of laboratory experiments proved that some of them (isocrinids) can actively relocate by crawling with their arms on the substrate, and dragging the stalk behind them. Although it has been argued that this activity may leave traces on the sediment surface, no photographs or images of the traces produced by crawling crinoids have been available. Herein, we present results of neoichnological experiments using the shallowest species of living stalked crinoid, Metacrinus rotundus, dredged from Suruga Bay (near the town of Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, ~ 140 m depth). Our results demonstrate that isocrinids produce characteristic locomotion traces, which have some preservation potential. They are composed of rather deep and wide, sometimes weakly sinuous, central drag marks left by the stalk and cirri, and short, shallow scratch marks made by the arms. Based on the functional morphology and taphonomy, it has been argued that the ability to autotomize the stalk and relocate had already evolved in the oldest stem-group isocrinids (holocrinids), likely in response to increased benthic predation pressure during the so-called Mesozoic marine revolution. Our data show that this hypothesis may be corroborated in the future by ichnological findings, which may provide more direct proof of active locomotion in Triassic holocrinids

Efekt lilipuci - typy, przyczyny i znaczenie dla organizmów znajdujących się pod działaniem niekorzystnych czynników środowiska

In its original version, Lilliput effect (LE) is defined as adaptive response of an organism to the deterioration of environmental conditions, involving after-event reduction of individuals body size in a given population. Currently, four patterns of LE are considered – preferential survival of smaller taxa (extinction of large taxa), dwarfing of taxa, miniaturization combined with additional morphological changes, and LE combined with Lazarus effect. As the main reasons underlying this phenomenon are mentioned: drastic temperature changes (climate warming or cooling), changes in sea salinity, sea acidification, depletion in oxygen of environment (anoxic and hypoxic conditions), sea level fluctuations, loss of symbiotic organisms, collapse in primary production and of food webs. However, LE is considered as effective adaptation for this type of unfavorable conditions, because dwarfed organisms require lower demand for certain environmental resources and quickly reach sexual maturity. The Lilliput effect has been described for many groups of organisms such as vertebrates, invertebrates, protists and plants

Experimental neoichnology of post-autotomy arm movements of sea lilies and possible evidence of thrashing behaviour in Triassic holocrinids

Echinoderms exhibit remarkable powers of autotomy. For instance, crinoids can shed arm and stalk portions when attacked by predators. In some species, it has been reported that the autotomized arms display vigorous movements, which are thought to divert the attention of predators. This phenomenon, however, has not been well explored. Here we present results of experiments using the shallowest water species of living stalked crinoid (Metacrinus rotundus) collected at 140 m depth. A wide range of movements of detached arms, from sluggish writhing to violent flicks, was observed. Interestingly, autotomized arms produce distinct traces on the sediment surface. They are composed of straight or arched grooves usually arranged in radiating groups and shallow furrows. Similar traces were found associated with detached arms of the oldest (Early Triassic) stem-group isocrinid (Holocrinus). This finding may suggest that the origins of autotomy-related thrashing behaviour in crinoids could be traced back to at least the Early Triassic, underscoring the magnitude of anti-predatory traits that occurred during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. A new ethological category, autotomichnia, is proposed for the traces produced by thrashing movements of shed appendages

Integration of the End Cap TEC+ of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

The silicon strip tracker of the CMS experiment has been completed and inserted into the CMS detector in late 2007. The largest sub-system of the tracker is its end cap system, comprising two large end caps (TEC) each containing 3200 silicon strip modules. To ease construction, the end caps feature a modular design: groups of about 20 silicon modules are placed on sub-assemblies called petals and these self-contained elements are then mounted into the TEC support structures. Each end cap consists of 144 petals, and the insertion of these petals into the end cap structure is referred to as TEC integration. The two end caps were integrated independently in Aachen (TEC+) and at CERN (TEC--). This note deals with the integration of TEC+, describing procedures for end cap integration and for quality control during testing of integrated sections of the end cap and presenting results from the testing

Reception Test of Petals for the End Cap TEC+ of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

The silicon strip tracker of the CMS experiment has been completed and was inserted into the CMS detector in late 2007. The largest sub system of the tracker are its end caps, comprising two large end caps (TEC) each containing 3200 silicon strip modules. To ease construction, the end caps feature a modular design: groups of about 20 silicon modules are placed on sub-assemblies called petals and these self-contained elements are then mounted onto the TEC support structures. Each end cap consists of 144 such petals, which were built and fully qualified by several institutes across Europe. Fro

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis