The role of cryptic dispersal in shaping connectivity patterns of marine populations in a changing world

Genetic connectivity directly shapes the demographic profile of marine species, and has become one of the most intensely researched areas in marine ecology. More importantly, it has changed the way we design and describe Marine Protected Areas across the world. Population genetics is the preferred tool when measuring connectivity patterns, however, these methods often assume that dispersal patterns are 1) natural and 2) follow traditional meta-population models. In this short review, we formally introduce the phenomenon of cryptic dispersal, where multiple introductory events can undermine these assumptions, resulting in grossly inaccurate connectivity estimates. We also discuss the evolutionary consequences of cryptic dispersal and advocate for a cross-disciplinary approach that incorporates larval transport models into population genetic studies to provide a level of oceanographic realism that will result in more accurate estimates of dispersal. As globalized trade continues to expand, the rate of anthropogenic movement of marine organisms is also expected to increase and as such, integrated methods will be required to meet the inevitable conservation challenges that will arise from it

A proposed stratigraphic package for filling a mid-Proterozoic rift basin under the Bellefontaine Outlier area, Ohio, and the consequences of the rift on the formation of the Outlier

The discovery of a mid-Proterozoic rift basin in the crystalline basement rocks under the Bellefontaine Outlier area, Ohio has had a number of consequences on our understanding of Precambrian tectonics and stratigraphy of western Ohio and the northcentral North American midcontinent. In this study, a new stratigraphic package has been proposed to fill the ancient rift basin and a geolbgical history of the area from the mid-Proterozoic to the Devonian, has been synthesized to study the consequences of this deep basement feature through time. Three new proposed rift basin-filling volcanic and sedimentary units encode the development, maturation, and termination of the rift. A fourth proposed sedimentary unit, lying above the basin-filling sequence, documents the initial changes of the region to a massive foreland basin in front of newly developed Grenvillian thrust sheets during the late-Proterozoic. The lower contact of the Middle Run Formation has also been extended to a much greater depth overlying the fourth proposed unit and represents welldeveloped foreland basin sediments. Another goal of this study considers tectonic events from the mid-Proterozoic initiation of rifting through the Devonian Acadian Orogeny, to explain the development and incomplete Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Bellefontaine Outlier. Compressive forces associated with the Grenville Orogeny may have propagated the rift-defining fault complexes up through the overlying late-Proterozoic strata and imposed significant structural weaknesses that could be exploited by the compressive forces of the Devonian Acadian Orogeny. During the Acadian, the Outlier block may have been exhumed by the reactivated faults and the Devonian Delaware Limestone and Olentangy Shale units, not present within the Outlier block, may have been syntectonically deposited in flanking basins during the exhumation

Identifying knowledge and process gaps from a systematic literature review of net-zero definitions

The use of the term ‘net zero’ has rapidly and recently become mainstream but is often not well-defined in the literature. A brief history of the term was researched, followed by a systematic literature review to consider the research question: how have the different net-zero terms been defined in the literature, and do they indicate knowledge or process gaps which identify future research opportunities? Academic research articles were searched for the term ‘net zero’ and filtered for the term ‘definition’, resulting in 65 articles. Definitions were analysed according to scale: single-building, community, urban-system, and country-wide scale. The search did not return any definitions concerning country-wide emissions (from agriculture, forestry, large-scale transportation, or industrial and mining processes), a surprising outcome given the emissions impact of these areas. The main knowledge and process gaps were found to be in four areas: governance, design, measurement and verification, and circular framework. A clear net-zero definition is required at the appropriate scale (single-building or urban-system scale), which includes explicit system boundaries and emission scopes, life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and should incorporate a dynamic approach. The scale most likely to achieve net zero is the urban-system scale due to the potential synergies of its interacting elements and energy flows

First evidence for the reliability of building co-heating tests

This paper provides powerful evidence empirically demonstrating for the first time the reliability of the co-heating test. The test is widely used throughout Europe to measure the total heat transfer through the fabric of buildings and to calculate the heat-transfer coefficient (HTC; units W/K). A reliable test is essential to address the ‘performance gap’, where in-use energy performance is consistently, and often substantially, poorer than predicted. The co-heating test could meet this need, but its reliability requires confirmation. Seven teams independently conducted co-heating tests on the same detached house near Watford, UK. Despite differences in the weather and in the experimental and analytical approaches, the teams’ final reported HTC measurements were within ±10% of the mean. With further standardization it is likely to be possible to improve upon this reproducibility. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis based upon a 95% confidence interval resulted in an estimated uncertainty in HTC measurements of ±8%. This research addresses persistent doubts about the reliability of the co-heating test. Avenues to further improvement of the test are discussed. This work helps to enable the test’s wider adoption as a component of the regulatory process and thus improvements to standards of house construction

Quantifying the effect of window opening on the measured heat loss of a test house

Opening windows is a common method for controlling air temperature, moisture, air quality and odours in dwellings. Opening a window in winter will increase the heat loss from a house, the additional heat loss will depend on the size of the window opening and the length of time for which the window is open. However, window opening behaviour is unpredictable, varying widely between different dwellings and occupants making it difficult to incorporate into predictions of energy consumption. This paper reports the results of an investigation to quantify the impact of window opening on the measured air tightness and total heat loss in a detached, timber framed test house built in the year 2000 to contemporary building standards, and located at Loughborough University. Blower door tests were used to measure the increase in ventilation caused by opening windows. The additional heat loss due to this ventilation was predicted using a simple model and then compared to the whole house heat loss as measured by a co-heating test. A linear relationship between window opening area and additional ventilation was found, independent of window location. This relationship was used to quantify the additional heat loss for a variety of window opening behaviours. The results show that window opening does not significantly increase heat loss rates in this particular house for all but the most extreme window opening behaviours. The implications of these results for different types of dwelling are discussed

Measuring and mitigating overheating risk in solid wall dwellings retrofitted with internal wall insulation

Upgrading the thermal insulation of UK houses to improve wintertime energy efficiency raises concerns about potential summertime overheating risk. To address these concerns, experiments were conducted in a pair of thermally matched, solid walled houses, located in the UK. One of the pair was retrofitted with internal wall insulation, while the other remained uninsulated; both houses were monitored for four weeks during the summer of 2015. Operative temperatures in the living room and main bedroom were observed to be higher in the internally insulated house in comparison to the uninsulated house. The houses were again monitored for a further three weeks with a simple overheating mitigation strategy applied consisting of night ventilation and shading using internal blinds. The data were normalised for variations in external weather conditions using a linear regression model, with the exponentially-weighted outdoor running mean air temperature as the predictor variable of indoor operative temperature. The results showed that the mitigation strategy was effective at reducing the internal temperature in the internally insulated house to a level similar to that observed in the uninsulated house. The marginal increase in overheating risk should not be considered a barrier to the uptake of IWI in this type of house and location, at this time. Shading devices and secure noise attenuating vents for existing dwellings may be needed as part of a package of refurbishment in the future. It could become a requirement within the Building Regulations [1] to reduce overheating risk when retrofitting existing homes

Are residential and nursing homes adequately screening overseas healthcare workers?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been significant growth in the number of healthcare workers born outside the UK or recruited to the UK from countries with a high prevalence of TB, Hepatitis and other blood borne infections. Government policy recognises the need for occupational health procedures to facilitate treatment for these individuals and to reduce the risk of transmission of disease to patients.</p> <p>The aim of this study was to undertake a survey of nursing and residential homes in South East England, to assess whether homes had occupational health screening policies for healthcare workers who have originated from overseas, and what level of occupational health screening had been undertaken on these employees.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An anonymous survey was sent to all 500 homes in West Sussex assessing occupational health practices for "overseas health care workers", defined as health care workers who had been born outside the UK.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only one employer (0.8%) reported they had an occupational health screening policy specific for healthcare workers who originate from overseas. Over 80% of homes who had recruited directly had no evidence of screening results for HIV, TB, Hepatitis B and C. The commonest countries of origin for staff were the UK, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and India.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that screening of overseas healthcare workers is not routine practice for residential or nursing care homes and requires further input from Primary Care Trust's, Health Care Commission, Commission for Social Care Inspection, and Professional bodies.</p

Predicting the Dispersal Potential of an Invasive Polychaete Pest along a Complex Coastal Biome

Boccardia proboscidea is a recently introduced polychaete in South Africa where it is a notorious pest of commercially reared abalone. Populations were originally restricted to abalone farms but a recent exodus into the wild at some localities has raised conservation concerns due to the species’ invasive status in other parts of the world. Here, we assessed the dispersal potential of B. proboscidea by using a population genetic and oceanographic modeling approach. Since the worm is in its incipient stages of a potential invasion, we used the closely related Polydora hoplura as a proxy due its similar reproductive strategy and its status as a pest of commercially reared oysters in the country. Populations of P. hoplura were sampled from seven different localities and a section of the mtDNA gene, Cyt b and the intron ATPSa was amplified. A high resolution model of the coastal waters around southern Africa was constructed using the Regional Ocean Modeling System. Larvae were represented by passive drifters that were deployed at specific points along the coast and dispersal was quantified after a 12-month integration period. Our results showed discordance between the genetic and modeling data. There was low genetic structure (Φ = 0.04 for both markers) and no geographic patterning of mtDNA and nDNA haplotypes. However, the dispersal model found limited connectivity around Cape Point—a major phylogeographic barrier on the southern African coast. This discordance was attributed to anthropogenic movement of larvae and adult worms due to vectors such as aquaculture and shipping. As such, we hypothesized that cryptic dispersal could be overestimating genetic connectivity. Though wild populations of B. proboscidea could become isolated due to the Cape Point barrier, anthropogenic movement may play the critical role in facilitating the dispersal and spread of this species on the southern African coast

A Domestic Operational Rating for UK homes:Concept, Formulation and Application

A Domestic Operational Rating (DOR) scheme is presented for assessing the energy performance of occupied dwellings. The DOR is complementary to the method used to generate the asset rating of UK dwellings: the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The DOR is transparent, easy to calculate, based on readily available information, producible from daily smart meter data, calculable for any period on a rolling year basis and applicable across all UK homes. The DOR method was developed using a new primary data set collected from 114 homes as part of the DEFACTO project. All were semi-detached, gas centrally heated, privately owned and internet connected properties, located in the English Midlands. The mean daily energy demands are analysed alongside information gathered through an energy survey and household questionnaires. These data are presented and analysed for the first time in this paper. The DOR method, which is described in full, generates metrics that indicate the absolute and relative energy demands, greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs of homes. The DOR ratings for the D114 homes were stable from year to year. Comparing the DOR with homes’ asset (SAP) ratings, indicates that the SAP rating poorly reflects the inter-home variation of households’ actual energy demand. For the D114 homes, it was possible produce a reduced data Domestic Operational Rating, rdDOR, using the energy demands measured on only a few cold days. Although developed in the UK context, the DOR is generally applicable to national, regional or local housing stocks in which daily energy demand is metered. Potential improvements to the DOR, and the need for trials using smart meter data from diverse homes and locations, are discussed