Synthesis of knowledge on the effects of fire and fire surrogates on wildlife in US dry forests

Summary: Dry forests throughout the United States are fire-dependent ecosystems, and much attention has been given to restoring their ecological function. As such, land managers often are tasked with reintroducing fire via prescribed fire, wildland fire use, and fire-surrogate treatments such as thinning and mastication. During planning, managers frequently are expected to anticipate effects of management actions on wildlife species. This document represents a synthesis of existing knowledge on wildlife responses to fire and fire-surrogate treatments, presented in a useful, management-relevant format. Based on scoping meetings and dialogue with public lands managers from throughout the United States, we provide detailed, species-level, summary tables for project biologists and fire managers trying to anticipate the effects of fire and fire-surrogate treatments on local wildlife species

Novel resources: opportunities for and risks to species conservation

During the Anthropocene, ongoing rapid environmental changes are exposing many species to novel resources. However, scientists’ understanding of what novel resources are and how they impact species is still rudimentary. Here, we used a resource‐based approach to explore novel resources. First, we conceptualized novel resource use by species along two dimensions of novelty: namely, ecosystem novelty and resource novelty. We then examined characteristics that influence a species’ response to a novel resource and how novel resources can affect individuals, populations, species, and communities. In addition, we discuss potential management complications associated with novel resource use by threatened species. As conservation and management embrace global environmental change, it is critical that ecologists improve the current understanding of the opportunities and risks that novel resources present to species conservation

Rotating Resonator-Oscillator Experiments to Test Lorentz Invariance in Electrodynamics

In this work we outline the two most commonly used test theories (RMS and SME) for testing Local Lorentz Invariance (LLI) of the photon. Then we develop the general framework of applying these test theories to resonator experiments with an emphasis on rotating experiments in the laboratory. We compare the inherent sensitivity factors of common experiments and propose some new configurations. Finally we apply the test theories to the rotating cryogenic experiment at the University of Western Australia, which recently set new limits in both the RMS and SME frameworks [hep-ph/0506074].Comment: Submitted to Lecture Notes in Physics, 36 pages, minor modifications, updated list of reference

Management recommendations for the northern goshawk in the southwestern United States

Present forest conditions--loss of a herbaceous and shrubby understory, reductions in the amount of older forests, and increased areas of dense tree regeneration--reflect the extent of human influence on these forests. These changes may also be affecting goshawk populations. Information on goshawk nesting habitat and foraging behavior, and the food and habitats of selected goshawk prey, was therefore synthesized to develop a set of management objectives, desired forest conditions, and management recommendations. Key objectives of the guidelines are to provide (1) nesting, post-fledging, and foraging areas for goshawks, and (2) habitat to support abundant populations of 14 primary goshawk prey. Thinning trees in the understory, creating small openings in the forest, and prescribed fires should help produce and maintain the desired forest conditions. Other habitat elements critical for maintaining both goshawk and prey populations include abundant snags and large downed logs, woody debris, interspersion of different tree sizes across the landscape, and the majority of a goshawk's home range in older-aged forests. These guidelines should also benefit forest health, soil productivity, and the habitats of other old-growth dependent plants and animals

Evidence for a narrow dip structure at 1.9 GeV/c2^2 in 3π+3π−3\pi^+ 3\pi^- diffractive photoproduction

A narrow dip structure has been observed at 1.9 GeV/c$^2$ in a study of diffractive photoproduction of the $~3\pi^+3\pi^-$ final state performed by the Fermilab experiment E687.Comment: The data of Figure 6 can be obtained by downloading the raw data file e687_6pi.txt. v5 (2nov2018): added Fig. 7, the 6 pion energy distribution as requested by a reade

From Spectroscopy to the Strong Coupling Constant with Heavy Wilson Quarks

In this work we present lattice calculations of the masses of P-wave mesons using Monte Carlo simulations. Our valence fermions are defined by the Wilson action. Our gauge fields are generated with both dynamical staggered fermions at a lattice coupling $\beta\equiv 6/g^2=5.6$ for sea quark masses of $am_q=0.010$ and 0.025, and in the quenched approximation at $\beta=6.0$. We present results for charm and charmonium spectroscopy and use them to compute the strong coupling constant $\alpha_s$. We compare our results to those of other recent lattice calculations and experiments.Comment: 45 pages, uuencoded compressed PostScript fil

The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix

Demonstration of surface electron rejection with interleaved germanium detectors for dark matter searches

The SuperCDMS experiment in the Soudan Underground Laboratory searches for dark matter with a 9-kg array of cryogenic germanium detectors. Symmetric sensors on opposite sides measure both charge and phonons from each particle interaction, providing excellent discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils, and between surface and interior events. Surface event rejection capabilities were tested with two 210 Pb sources producing ∼130 beta decays/hr. In ∼800 live hours, no events leaked into the 8–115 keV signal region, giving upper limit leakage fraction 1.7 × 10−5 at 90% C.L., corresponding to < 0.6 surface event background in the future 200-kg SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment