Detecting Unresolved Binaries in TESS Data with Speckle Imaging

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is conducting a two-year wide-field survey searching for transiting exoplanets around nearby bright stars that will be ideal for follow-up characterization. To facilitate studies of planet compositions and atmospheric properties, accurate and precise planetary radii need to be derived from the transit light curves. Since 40 - 50% of exoplanet host stars are in multiple star systems, however, the observed transit depth may be diluted by the flux of a companion star, causing the radius of the planet to be underestimated. High angular resolution imaging can detect companion stars that are not resolved in the TESS Input Catalog, or by seeing-limited photometry, to validate exoplanet candidates and derive accurate planetary radii. We examine the population of stellar companions that will be detectable around TESS planet candidate host stars, and those that will remain undetected, by applying the detection limits of speckle imaging to the simulated host star populations of Sullivan et al. (2015) and Barclay et al. (2018). By detecting companions with contrasts of delta m < 7 - 9 and separations of ~0.02 - 1.2'', speckle imaging can detect companion stars as faint as early M stars around A - F stars and stars as faint as mid-M around G - M stars, as well as up to 99% of the expected binary star distribution for systems located within a few hundred parsecs.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal; 16 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Comparative Immune Function in Wild Birds

Over the last several decades, interest in quantifying immune function in comparative studies of wild animals has grown appreciably. Now, the field of ecological immunology is undergoing a transition, and ¿second generation¿ studies are being designed and carried out. With a greater appreciation of the complexity of immune systems, these second generation studies are commonly distinguished from their antecedents by making comparisons using multiple assays and including multiple species. I worked to advance this transition by developing novel approaches to comparative immunology, exploring the interrelationships among indices of immune function, and applying multiple indices to a question of comparative avian evolution. First, I worked to develop individual methodologies that would be broadly applicable given the numerous limitations of field-based immunology. I present methodological details on two assays¿a hemolysis-hemagglutination assay and a bacteria killing assay, and I report on intra- and inter-specific comparisons using both. Relatedly, using ten species of waterfowl, I examine how these and other indices correlate at both the individual and species levels. Next, with an interest in developing a better understanding of the evolutionary forces molding immune function, I set out to broadly compare immune function in 15 phylogenetically matched pairs of bird populations from North America and from the islands of Hawaii, Bermuda, and the Gal¿pagos. If immune defenses were costly, populations from relatively disease-free, oceanic islands are expected to exhibit attenuated immune function in response to reduced pathogen and parasite pressure. In fact, many island animals exhibit this postulated ¿island syndrome,¿ one facet of which is increased susceptibility to disease. After employing three protocols to measure eight indices of immune function, I found no support for my hypothesis. Rather than evidence of depauperate parasite communities and inherent costs of immune defenses selecting for reduced immune function, I found that several indices were elevated in island birds. I suggest that life on islands is accompanied by an apparent reorganization of the relative importance of various immune components. Finally, in collaborative efforts with investigators here and at other institutions, I apply the hemolysis-hemagglutination assay to address a variety of questions across three diverse avian study systems

On a Multinational Assessment of Rotavirus Disease in Europe

Rotaviruses were discovered in the 1960s in animals and in the 1970s in humans; the latter discovery was made by an intrepid group who performed duodenal biopsies on children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) [1]. By the late 1970s, data already clearly indicated that rotavirus was the cause of the annual winter peak of AGE affecting young children, as well as a frequent cause of severe gastroenteritis in various animal species (e.g., [2–5]). Use of the retrospectroscope clarified or left as tantalizing the suggestion that rotaviruses were the cause of the annual “winter vomiting syndrome” first described in children in 1910 in Japan [6] and in 1929 in the United States [7]. The recognition of that winter peak was a result of improved water and sewage handling that markedly reduced exposure to bacterial and parasitic pathogens but not to the common viral pathogens