The invasive Northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, transcriptome

Here we provide the supplementary data collection for the upcoming publication of the larval transcriptomic resource for the Northern Pacific Seastar, Asterias amurensis, an invasive marine predator in Australia. A. amurensis is ranked among the most potentially damaging invasive species in Australia and has recently expanded its range along the eastern mainland coast of Australia. As a first step to study the genetic basis of adaptive change and other important evolutionary processes during a contemporary invasive range expansion we de novo assembled and characterised the transcriptome

Attitude Design for the LADEE Mission

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite successfully completed its 148-day science investigation in a low-altitude, near-equatorial lunar orbit on April 18, 2014. The LADEE spacecraft was built, managed and operated by NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC). The Mission Operations Center (MOC) was located at Ames and was responsible for activity planning, command sequencing, trajectory and attitude design, orbit determination, and spacecraft operations. The Science Operations Center (SOC) was located at Goddard Space Flight Center and was responsible for science planning, data archiving and distribution. This paper details attitude design and operations support for the LADEE mission. LADEE's attitude design was shaped by a wide range of instrument pointing requirements that necessitated regular excursions from the baseline one revolution per orbit "Ram" attitude. Such attitude excursions were constrained by a number of flight rules levied to protect instruments from the Sun, avoid geometries that would result in simultaneous occlusion of LADEE's two star tracker heads, and maintain the spacecraft within its thermal and power operating limits. To satisfy LADEE's many attitude requirements and constraints, a set of rules and conventions was adopted to manage the complexity of this design challenge and facilitate the automation of ground software that generated pointing commands spanning multiple days of operations at a time. The resulting LADEE Flight Dynamics System (FDS) that was developed used Visual Basic scripts that generated instructions to AGI's Satellite Tool Kit (STK) in order to derive quaternion commands at regular intervals that satisfied LADEE's pointing requirements. These scripts relied heavily on the powerful "align and constrain" capability of STK's attitude module to construct LADEE's attitude profiles and the slews to get there. A description of the scripts and the attitude modeling they embodied is provided. One particular challenge analysts faced was in the design of LADEE maneuver attitudes. A flight rule requiring pre-maneuver verification of in-flight maneuver conditions by ground operators prior to burn execution resulted in the need to accommodate long periods in the maneuver attitude. This in turn complicated efforts to satisfy star tracker interference and communication constraints in lunar orbit. In response to this challenge, a graphical method was developed and used to survey candidate rotation angles about the thrust vector. This survey method is described and an example of its use on a particular LADEE maneuver is discussed. Finally, the software and methodology used to satisfy LADEE's attitude requirements are also discussed in the context of LADEE's overall activity planning effort. In particular, the way in which strategic schedules of instrument and engineering activities were translated into actual attitude profiles at the tactical level, then converted into precise quaternion commands to achieve those pointing goals is explained. In order to reduce the risk of time-consuming re-planning efforts, this process included the generation of long-term projections of constraint violation predictions for individual attitude profiles that could be used to establish keep-out time-frames for particular attitude profiles. The challenges experienced and overall efficacy of both the overall LADEE ground system and the attitude components of the Flight Dynamics System in meeting LADEE's varied pointing requirements are discussed

Female Choice for Males with Greater Fertilization Success in the Swedish Moor Frog, Rana arvalis

Background: Studies of mate choice in anuran amphibians have shown female preference for a wide range of male traits despite females gaining no direct resources from males (i.e. non-resource based mating system). Nevertheless, theoretical and empirical studies have shown that females may still gain indirect genetic benefits from choosing males of higher genetic quality and thereby increase their reproductive success. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated two components of sexual selection in the Moor frog (Rana arvalis), precopulatory female choice between two males of different size (&lsquo;large&rsquo; vs. &lsquo;small&rsquo;), and their fertilization success in sperm competition and in isolation. Females&rsquo; showed no significant preference for male size (13 small and six large male preferences) but associated preferentially with the male that subsequently was the most successful at fertilizing her eggs in isolation. Siring success of males in competitive fertilizations was unrelated to genetic similarity with the female and we detected no effect of sperm viability on fertilization success. There was, however, a strong positive association between a male&rsquo;s innate fertilization ability with a female and his siring success in sperm competition. We also detected a strong negative effect of a male&rsquo;s thumb length on his competitive siring success.Conclusions/Significance: Our results show that females show no preference for male size but are still able to choose males which have greater fertilization success. Genetic similarity and differences in the proportion of viable sperm within a males ejaculate do not appear to affect siring success. These results could be explained through pre- and/or postcopulatory choice for genetic benefits and suggest that females are able to perceive the genetic quality of males, possibly basing their choice on multiple phenotypic male traits.<br /

Transcatheter Heart Valve Leaflet Assembly Tooling Improvement Final Design Report

Statement of Confidentiality: The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time

Pharmaceutical pollution in marine waters and benthic flora of the southern Australian coastline

Environmental context Most human pharmaceutical waste is discharged to the environment. While the presence of pharmaceuticals in freshwater systems is well documented globally, little is known of the impact on marine ecosystems. We measured pharmaceuticals in a marine environment in south-eastern Australia and found pharmaceutical concentrations around 24 000 times higher in benthic flora than in the marine surface waters. We discuss the potential use of seaweeds as biological indicators of pharmaceutical pollution. Rationale Pharmaceuticals are emerging pollutants of concern with a range of adverse consequences for organisms and ecosystems. Their presence in freshwater and estuarine systems has been well documented, but less is known about their prevalence in open ocean, or their uptake by benthic flora. This preliminary survey of the southern Australian coastline sought to measure the concentrations of key pharmaceuticals in both surface waters and benthic flora. Methodology This study used LC-MS/MS to measure the concentration carbamazepine, tramadol and venlafaxine in (1) samples from wastewater treatment plants, (2) ocean surface waters and (3) several species of benthic flora. Surface waters and benthic flora were sampled at two sites near waste water treatment plant (WWTP) discharges, and one site away from any discharge. Results All three pharmaceuticals were detected in surface water samples with their risk assessed (via risk quotient) as medium risk (carbamazepine) or low risk (venlafaxine, tramadol). All three pharmaceuticals were also detected in benthic flora, particularly in brown macroalgae Tramadol was measured at a maximum of 34.7 ng 

Consistent Paternity Skew through Ontogeny in Peron's Tree Frog (Litoria peronii)

BackgroundA large number of studies in postcopulatory sexual selection use paternity success as a proxy for fertilization success. However, selective mortality during embryonic development can lead to skews in paternity in situations of polyandry and sperm competition. Thus, when assessment of paternity fails to incorporate mortality skews during early ontogeny, this may interfere with correct interpretation of results and subsequent evolutionary inference. In a previous series of in vitro sperm competition experiments with amphibians (Litoria peronii), we showed skewed paternity patterns towards males more genetically similar to the female.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we use in vitro fertilizations and sperm competition trials to test if this pattern of paternity of fully developed tadpoles reflects patterns of paternity at fertilization and if paternity skews changes during embryonic development. We show that there is no selective mortality through ontogeny and that patterns of paternity of hatched tadpoles reflects success of competing males in sperm competition at fertilization.Conclusions/SignificanceWhile this study shows that previous inferences of fertilization success from paternity data are valid for this species, rigorous testing of these assumptions is required to ensure that differential embryonic mortality does not confound estimations of true fertilization success.<br /

The more pieces, the better the puzzle: sperm concentration increases gametic compatibility

The genetic benefits individuals receive from mate choice have been the focus of numerous studies, with several showing support for both intrinsic genetic benefits and compatibility effects on fertilization success and offspring viability. However, the robustness of these effects have rarely been tested across an ecologically relevant environmental gradient. In particular, sperm environment is a crucial factor determining fertilization success in many species, especially those with external fertilization. Here, we test the importance of sperm environment in mediating compatibility-based selection on fertilization using a factorial breeding design. We detected a significant intrinsic male effect on fertilization success at only one of four sperm concentrations. Compatibility effects were significant at the two highest sperm concentrations and, interestingly, the magnitude of the compatibility effect consistently increased with sperm concentration. This suggests that females are able to modify the probability of sperm-egg fusion as the amount of sperm available increases

The Non-Indigenous Ant, Solenopsis invicta, Reduces Loggerhead Shrike and Native Insect Abundance

The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) is an aggressive, non-indigenous species that is a threat to native biota in the southeastern United States. We determined the effect of S. invicta on loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus L.) abundance and investigated a possible mechanism of impact, which is a reduction in insect prey availability. We used a fire ant bait (hydramethylnon) to reduce fire ant populations on one randomly chosen member of each of five pairs of 202-ha study areas in the Texas coastal Bend region, and also measured shrike relative abundance and a volumetric index of insect biomass on the study areas. Loggerhead shrike relative abundance was assessed at five counting stations established along 3.2-km transects through prairie habitat on each study area during the fall of 1992 and 1993. We sampled non-S. invicta invertebrates with 13.3-L capacity UV light traps and found that insect volume, species richness, and diversity were greater on treated sites. More shrikes were observed on areas where S. invicta populations had been reduced. Both insect biomass and shrike abundance were negatively correlated to the level of S. invicta infestation. Our data suggest that shrikes may avoid areas on wintering habitats that have been invaded by S. invicta and that this avoidance may result from reduced insect availability

Protein and bone health across the lifespan

Bone health is determined by the rate of accrual in early life, followed by the rate of age associated bone loss. Dietary protein intake might have a role in bone health across both of these phases via pleiotropic mechanistic pathways. Herein we summarise the pathways through which protein may exert either a positive or negative influence on bone. In Section 1, we describe the acid-ash hypothesis, which states that a high protein intake may lead to an acidic residue that must be neutralised through the leaching of calcium and other minerals from the bone, subsequently leading to demineralisation and bone weakening. Conversely, and as described in Section 2, protein intake may act to strengthen bone by stimulating the activity of various anabolic hormones and growth factors, or by optimising muscle mass and functionality, which itself has an osteogenic influence. The net effect of these contrasting pathways is described in Section 3, where a number of meta-analyses have demonstrated that higher protein intakes have a small positive impact on bone mass and fracture risk. Sometimes higher than recommended protein intakes are advised, e.g., during the earlier and later phases of the lifespan or during reduced energy availability. We conclude that protein is an essential nutrient for bone health, although further research is required to clarify the mechanistic pathways through which it exerts its influence, along with clarification of the quantities, food sources and timing to allow for the optimisation of this protective influence and ultimately a reduction in fracture risk

Size matters: variations in seagrass seed size at local scales affects seed performance

Seed size can have an impact on angiosperm reproductive fitness. Ecological theory predicts plants that will produce larger seeds in stressful environments to increase the chances of seedling survival and numerous small seeds in favourable conditions to increase the number of recruits. We measured seed morphology of the seagrass Heterozostera nigricaulis from four populations under differing environmental conditions in South East Australia. Seed size and mass among sites showed consistent differences over four flowering seasons. Seeds from exposed, ephemeral meadows (Blairgowrie, Edwards Point) were 19%–53% heavier than those from larger, stable meadows at more sheltered sites (Swan Bay, Point Henry). Overall, heavier seeds from exposed sites performed better in germination experiments and persisted (remained viable) longer compared to small seeds from sheltered sites. Seeds from sheltered sites showed contrasting levels of seed performance. Small seeds from Swan Bay had the lowest germination but the proportion of viable seeds after 12 months were much higher (41%) than similar sized seeds from Point Henry (0%). There are clear life history benefits of large seeds that facilitate seed persistence and germination at exposed sites; however, the performance of smaller seeds varied between sites and may be a function of other site-specific advantages