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Warm Springs, Early Lay Dates, and Double Brooding in a North American Migratory Songbird, the Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Townsend, Andrea K.; Sillett, T. Scott; Lany, Nina K.; Kaiser, Sara A.; Rodenhouse, Nicholas L.; Webster, Michael S.; Holmes, Richard T.
Numerous studies have correlated the advancement of lay date in birds with warming climate trends, yet the fitness effects associated with this phenological response have been examined in only a small number of species. Most of these species–primarily insectivorous cavity nesters in Europe–exhibit fitness declines associated with increasing asynchrony with prey. Here, we use 25 years of demographic data, collected from 1986 to 2010, to examine the effects of spring temperature on breeding initiation date, double brooding, and annual fecundity in a Nearctic - Neotropical migratory songbird, the black-throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). Data were collected from birds breeding at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA, where long-term trends toward warmer springs have been recorded. We found that black-throated blue warblers initiated breeding earlier in warmer springs, that early breeders were more likely to attempt a second brood than those starting later in the season, and that double brooding and lay date were linked to higher annual fecundity. Accordingly, we found selection favored earlier breeding in most years. However, in contrast to studies of several other long-distance migratory species in Europe, this selection pressure was not stronger in warmer springs, indicating that these warblers were able to adjust mean lay date appropriately to substantial inter-annual variation in spring temperature. Our results suggest that this North American migratory songbird might not experience the same fecundity declines as songbirds that are unable to adjust their timing of breeding in pace with spring temperatures. PMID:23565154
An inexpensive method for quantifying incubation patterns of open-cup nesting birds, with data for black-throated Blue warblers
Joyce, Elizabeth M.; Sillett, T. Scott; Holmes, Richard T.
Quantifying incubation patterns has often involved long observation periods in the field, video cameras, or the use of other electronic devices that sometimes require the partial destruction of clutches and insertion of artificial eggs. In this study, we used an inexpensive, nondestructive method involving temperature probes combined with data loggers to examine the incubation rhythm of female Black-throated Blue Warblers (Dendroica caerulescens). The method provided detailed records of on–off patterns for females for selected 24-h periods during incubation. Female warblers spent an average (±SE) of 64.0% of daylight hours incubating in bouts lasting 20.5 ± 1.5 min and made 2.4 ± 0.1 departures from the nest/h on trips that lasted 10.6 ± 0.7 min. Incubation bouts were longer and females spent more time incubating per hour in the mornings and late afternoons than at mid-day. Older females had longer incubation bouts and tended to have shorter incubation periods than did yearling females, suggesting that experienced individuals were more effective incubators. Because of its ease of use and because nests with probes were not depredated at a higher rate than controls, we suggest that the temperature probe/data logger method is an efficient and effective way to quantify incubation rhythms for open-cup nesting birds.
Plumage Genes and Little Else Distinguish the Genomes of Hybridizing Warblers.
Toews, David P L; Taylor, Scott A; Vallender, Rachel; Brelsford, Alan; Butcher, Bronwyn G; Messer, Philipp W; Lovette, Irby J
When related taxa hybridize extensively, their genomes may become increasingly homogenized over time. This mixing via hybridization creates conservation challenges when it reduces genetic or phenotypic diversity and when it endangers previously distinct species via genetic swamping [1]. However, hybridization also facilitates admixture mapping of traits that distinguish each species and the associated genes that maintain distinctiveness despite ongoing gene flow [2]. We address these dual aspects of hybridization in the golden-winged/blue-winged warbler complex, two phenotypically divergent warblers that are indistinguishable using traditional molecular markers and that draw substantial conservation attention [3-5]. Whole-genome comparisons show that differentiation is extremely low: only six small genomic regions exhibit strong differences. Four of these divergence peaks occur in proximity to genes known to be involved in feather development or pigmentation: agouti signaling protein (ASIP), follistatin (FST), ecodysplasin (EDA), wingless-related integration site (Wnt), and beta-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2). Throat coloration-the most striking plumage difference between these warblers-is perfectly associated with the promoter region of agouti, and genotypes at this locus obey simple Mendelian recessive inheritance of the black-throated phenotype characteristic of golden-winged warblers. The more general pattern of genomic similarity between these warblers likely results from a protracted period of hybridization, contradicting the broadly accepted hypothesis that admixture results from solely anthropogenic habitat change in the past two centuries [4]. Considered in concert, these results are relevant to both the genetic architecture of avian feather pigmentation and the evolutionary history and conservation challenges associated with these declining songbirds. PMID:27546575
Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism of the Black-throated Sparrow in central Arizona
Johnson, M.J.; van Riper, Charles, III
From 1994-1996 we investigated effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) nesting success in the Verde Valley of central Arizona. Of 56 Black-throated Sparrow nests, 52% were parasitized. Black-throated Sparrows appear to respond to natural parasitism by accepting the cowbird egg, deserting the nest, or burying the cowbird egg. Removal and damage of host eggs by female cowbirds effectively reduced clutch size from an average of 3.4 to 1.9 eggs. Because of this reduced clutch size, Black-throated Sparrow reproductive success was significantly lower in parasitized nests (0.2 young fledged/ nest) as compared to nonparasitized nests (1.6 young fledged/nest). When comparing cowbird parasitism between two habitat types, we found significantly higher parasitism frequencies in crucifixion-thorn (Canotia holacantha) versus creosote-bush (Larrea divaricata) habitat. We argue that this difference in parasitism is due to the greater number of tall perches (e.g., shrubs >4 m) available in crucifixion-thorn habitat, providing vantage points for female cowbirds to better find Black-throated Sparrow nests.
Complex hybridization dynamics between golden-winged and blue-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera and Vermivora pinus) revealed by AFLP, microsatellite, intron and mtDNA markers.
Vallender, R; Robertson, R J; Friesen, V L; Lovette, I J
Blue-winged (Vermivora pinus) and golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) have an extensive mosaic hybrid zone in eastern North America. Over the past century, the general trajectory has been a rapid replacement of chrysoptera by pinus in a broad, northwardly moving area of contact. Previous mtDNA-based studies on these species' hybridization dynamics have yielded variable results: asymmetric and rapid introgression from pinus into chrysoptera in some areas and bidirectional maternal gene flow in others. To further explore the hybridization genetics of this otherwise well-studied complex, we surveyed variation in three nuclear DNA marker types--microsatellites, introns, and a panel of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs)--with the goal of generating a multilocus assay of hybrid introgression. All markers were first tested on birds from phenotypically and mitochondrially pure parental-type populations from outside the hybrid zone. Searches for private alleles and assignment test approaches found no combination of microsatellite or intron markers that could separate the parental populations, but seven AFLP characters exhibited significant frequency differences among them. We then used the AFLP markers to examine the extent and pattern of introgression in a population where pinus-phenotype individuals have recently invaded a region that previously supported only a chrysoptera-phenotype population. Despite the low frequency of phenotypic hybrids at this location, the AFLP data suggest that almost a third of the phenotypically pure chrysoptera have introgressed genotypes, indicating the presence of substantial cryptic hybridization in the history of this species. The evidence for extensive cryptic introgression, combined with the lack of differentiation at other nuclear loci, cautions against hybrid assessments based on single markers or on phenotypic traits that are likely to be determined by a small number of loci. Considered in concert, these
Addressing Potential Cumulative Impacts of Development on Threatened Species: The Case of the Endangered Black-Throated Finch
Vanderduys, Eric Peter; Reside, April E.; Grice, Anthony; Rechetelo, Juliana
Where threatened biodiversity is adversely affected by development, policies often state that "no net loss" should be the goal and biodiversity offsetting is one mechanism available to achieve this. However, developments are often approved on an ad hoc basis and cumulative impacts are not sufficiently examined. We demonstrate the potential for serious threat to an endangered subspecies when multiple developments are planned. We modelled the distribution of the black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta) using bioclimatic data and Queensland's Regional Ecosystem classification. We overlaid granted, extant extractive and exploratory mining tenures within the known and modelled ranges of black-throated finches to examine the level of incipient threat to this subspecies in central Queensland, Australia. Our models indicate that more than half of the remaining P. cincta cincta habitat is currently under extractive or exploratory tenure. Therefore, insufficient habitat exists to offset all potential development so "no net loss" is not possible. This has implications for future conservation of this and similarly distributed species and for resource development planning, especially the use of legislated offsets for biodiversity protection. PMID:26934622
Addressing Potential Cumulative Impacts of Development on Threatened Species: The Case of the Endangered Black-Throated Finch.
Vanderduys, Eric Peter; Reside, April E; Grice, Anthony; Rechetelo, Juliana
Where threatened biodiversity is adversely affected by development, policies often state that "no net loss" should be the goal and biodiversity offsetting is one mechanism available to achieve this. However, developments are often approved on an ad hoc basis and cumulative impacts are not sufficiently examined. We demonstrate the potential for serious threat to an endangered subspecies when multiple developments are planned. We modelled the distribution of the black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta) using bioclimatic data and Queensland's Regional Ecosystem classification. We overlaid granted, extant extractive and exploratory mining tenures within the known and modelled ranges of black-throated finches to examine the level of incipient threat to this subspecies in central Queensland, Australia. Our models indicate that more than half of the remaining P. cincta cincta habitat is currently under extractive or exploratory tenure. Therefore, insufficient habitat exists to offset all potential development so "no net loss" is not possible. This has implications for future conservation of this and similarly distributed species and for resource development planning, especially the use of legislated offsets for biodiversity protection. PMID:26934622
Hybrid origin of Audubon's warbler.
Brelsford, Alan; Milá, Borja; Irwin, Darren E
Several animal species have recently been shown to have hybrid origins, but no avian examples have been documented with molecular evidence. We investigate whether the Audubon's warbler (Dendroica auduboni), one of four visually distinct species in the yellow-rumped warbler complex, has originated through hybridization between two other species in this group, the myrtle warbler (D. coronata) and black-fronted warbler (D. nigrifrons). Analysis of nuclear amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and sequence markers shows that Audubon's warblers are genetically intermediate and carry a mixture of alleles otherwise found only in one or the other of their putative parental species. Audubon's warblers also carry two deeply divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages, each shared with only one putative parental form. Broad clines between Audubon's and black-fronted warblers in AFLP markers call into question the validity of these two forms as full species; nevertheless, our results suggest that the Audubon's warbler probably originated through hybridization between two long-diverged species. It is likely that more cases of avian species of hybrid origin will be revealed by surveys of variation in nuclear DNA and other traits. PMID:21435063
A warbler in trouble: Dendroica cerulea
Robbins, C.S.; Fitzpatrick, J.W.; Hamel, P.B.
The Cerulean Warbler, like other Neotropical migrants, has suffered extensive loss of breeding habitat during the past century. It differs from many other migrants in its preference for mature floodplain forest with tall trees, a habitat that has become scarce over much of the warbler's original nesting range. Sensitivity to fragmentation within remaining suitable tracts places this warbler at an additional disadvantage. Furthermore, Cerulean Warblers winter strictly in primary, humid evergreen forest along an extremely narrow elevational zone at the base of the Andes. This zone is among the most intensively logged and cultivated regions of the Neotropics. From 1966 to 1987 the Cerulean Warbler showed the most precipitous decline of any North American warbler (3.4% per year). Unless steps are taken to protect large tracts of habitat of this ecologically specialized species, both on the breeding grounds and in the Andean foothills, we believe the future of this warbler is in serious jeopardy.
Profound Climatic Effects on Two East Asian Black-Throated Tits (Ave: Aegithalidae), Revealed by Ecological Niche Models and Phylogeographic Analysis
Wang, Wenjuan; Lin, Congtian; Gao, Bin; Yang, Xiaojun; Zhang, Zhengwang; Lei, Fumin
Although a number of studies have assessed the effects of geological and climatic changes on species distributions in East Asian, we still have limited knowledge of how these changes have impacted avian species in south-western and southern China. Here, we aim to study paleo-climatic effects on an East Asian bird, two subspecies of black-throated tit (A. c. talifuensis–concinnus) with the combined analysis of phylogeography and Ecological Niche Models (ENMs). We sequenced three mitochondrial DNA markers from 32 populations (203 individuals) and used phylogenetic inferences to reconstruct the intra-specific relationships among haplotypes. Population genetic analyses were undertaken to gain insight into the demographic history of these populations. We used ENMs to predict the distribution of target species during three periods; last inter-glacial (LIG), last glacial maximum (LGM) and present. We found three highly supported, monophyletic MtDNA lineages and different historical demography among lineages in A. c. talifuensis–concinnus. These lineages formed a narrowly circumscribed intra-specific contact zone. The estimated times of lineage divergences were about 2.4 Ma and 0.32 Ma respectively. ENMs predictions were similar between present and LGM but substantially reduced during LIG. ENMs reconstructions and molecular dating suggest that Pleistocene climate changes had triggered and shaped the genetic structure of black-throated tit. Interestingly, in contrast to profound impacts of other glacial cycles, ENMs and phylogeographic analysis suggest that LGM had limited effect on these two subspecies. ENMs also suggest that Pleistocene climatic oscillations enabled the formation of the contact zone and thus support the refuge theory. PMID:22195047
Breeding habitat use by sympatric and allopatric populations of Wilson's Warblers and Yellow Warblers
Ruth, J.M.; Stanley, T.R.
We studied Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) and Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) habitat use in allopatric and sympatric populations in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in order to better understand the different habitat needs and interactions of these two species. Foraging Wilson's Warblers and Yellow Warblers used very similar habitat, both selecting larger, more open shrubs. In spite of similar foraging habitat, comparisons of habitat use by the two species at the sympatric sites yielded no evidence of foraging habitat partitioning or exclusion. There was evidence of nesting habitat partitioning. Wilson's Warblers nested on the ground, with some evidence that they used smaller, more densely stemmed shrubs under which to nest. Yellow Warblers are shrub nesters and selected larger, more open shrubs in which to nest. Results provide no evidence that Yellow Warblers can be blamed for population declines in Wilson's Warblers.
Vicariance biogeography in the Pleistocene and speciation in North American wood warblers: a test of Mengel's model.
Bermingham, E; Rohwer, S; Freeman, S; Wood, C
It is widely believed that habitat fragmentation during the Pleistocene initiated speciation events in many songbird genera. One such vicariance model for avian speciation in the Pleistocene was developed by R. M. Mengel for North American birds. This model suggests that the first Pleistocene glacial advance reduced the area of an extensive, eastern North American deciduous forest, forcing adaptation by some species to boreal forest. This, in turn, facilitated the development of transcontinental range expansions during interglacials. Subsequent glacial advances repeatedly fragmented the ranges of these species into eastern and western populations; western isolates speciated to form the multispecies groups observed among various North American birds. We used mtDNA restriction site data to reconstruct the phylogeny of the black-throated green warbler complex-the group that Mengel considered the best fit to his model. Contrary to Mengel's model, the phylogeny indicates that not all western endemics were derived from an eastern ancestor. Instead, our results imply a mix, wherein some western endemics were budded off an eastern source, as Mengel posits, while others probably resulted from intermontane isolations in the west. PMID:11607307
Predicting cerulean warbler habitat use in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee
Buehler, D.A.; Welton, M.J.; Beachy, T.A.
We developed a habitat model to predict cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) habitat availability in the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee. We used 7 remotely sensed vegetation and topographic landform explanatory variables and known locations of territorial male cerulean warblers mapped in 2003 as the response variable to develop a Mahalanobis distance statistic model of potential habitat. We evaluated the accuracy of the model based on field surveys for ceruleans during the 2004 breeding season. The model performed well with an 80% correct classification of cerulean presence based on the validation data, although prediction of absence was only 54% correct. We extrapolated from potential habitat to cerulean abundance based on density estimates from territory mapping on 8 20-ha plots in 2005. Over the 200,000-ha study area, we estimated there were 80,584 ha of potential habitat, capable of supporting about 36,500 breeding pairs. We applied the model to the 21,609-ha state-owned Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area to evaluate the potential effects of coal surface mining as one example of a potential conflict between land use and cerulean warbler conservation. Our models suggest coal surface mining could remove 2,954 ha of cerulean habitat on Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area and could displace 2,540 breeding pairs (23% of the Royal Blue population). A comprehensive conservation strategy is needed to address potential and realized habitat loss and degradation on the breeding grounds, during migration, and on the wintering grounds.
An intergeneric hybrid wood warbler (Seiurus x Dendroica)
Short, L.L., Jr.; Robbins, C.S.
A peculiar specimen of wood warbler was taken from a mist net just inland from the beach at Ocean City, Maryland, on 17 September 1965. The specimen appears to represent a hybrid of the Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis) and the Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata). This unique intergeneric hybrid suggests the close relationship of Seiurus and Dendroica, and thus tends to corroborate their adjacent position in most classifications of wood warblers.
Cerulean Warbler occurrence and habitat use of Oklahoma
Leslie,, David M., Jr.; O'Connell, Timothy J.; Cavalieri, Vincent S.
Dendroica cerulea (Cerulean Warbler) is a migrant songbird that has declined rangewide in recent decades. We surveyed 150 sites in 2006–2007 to determine if this species still occupied its former breeding range in Oklahoma. We located Cerulean Warblers at 5 sites and confirmed breeding on north slopes of two heavily forested ridges in the Ouachita Mountains. We did not encounter Cerulean Warblers in any bottomland hardwoods, despite the former widespread distribution and abundance of the species in such habitats. While habitat loss and degradation may limit occurrence of Cerulean Warbler in some areas, the pattern of decline for this species at the edge of its range in Oklahoma is also consistent with abandonment of peripheral range as the range-wide population declines.
Shifting foundations and metrics for golden-cheeked warbler recovery
Hatfield, Jeff S.; Weckerly, Floyd W.; Duarte, Adam
Using the golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) as a case study, this paper discusses what lessons can be learned from the process of the emergency listing and subsequent development of the recovery plan. Are the metrics for recovery in the current warbler plan appropriate, including population size and distribution (recovery units), migration corridors, and wintering habitat? In other words, what happened, what can we learn, and what should happen (in general) in the future for development of such plans? We discuss the number of recovery units required for species persistence and estimate the number of male warblers in protected areas across the breeding range of the species, using newly published density estimates. We also discuss future monitoring strategies to estimate warbler population trends and dispersal rates.
Pair interactions in red-faced warblers
Barber, P.M.; Martin, T.E.; Smith, Kimberly G.
Forty pairs of breeding Red-faced Warblers (Cardellina rubrifrons) were observed in 1992 and 1993 on the Mogollon Rim, Arizona. Intrusions by extra-pair males, interactions between pair members, and other pair interaction behaviors were recorded. The majority of intrusions occurred during the building stage of the nesting cycle. Males responded to intrusions during nest building by decreasing intra-pair distance. Males maintained shorter intra-pair distances by following the female when she initiated movements and by not initiating pair movements themselves. Intra-pair distances were as short or shorter during the incubation period as during nest building, and were shorter during incubation than during egg laying. Males continued to follow females beyond the expected fertile period. Possible explanations for continued mate following include: males guard their mates against predators, males guard their paternity for future nesting attempts, and males respond to extra-pair male intrusions, which continue during incubation.
Habitat use by Swainson's Warblers in a managed bottomland forest
Somershoe, S.G.; Hudman, S.P.; Chandler, C.R.
The Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) is a locally distributed and relatively uncommon Neotropical migrant songbird that breeds in the bottomland forests of the southeastern United States and spends the nonbreeding season in the Caribbean Basin. Populations of Swainson's Warblers have declined during recent decades as bottomland forests have come under increasingly intensive management and large areas have been converted to other land uses. We examined the habitat around song perches used by male Swainson's Warblers at Big Hammock Wildlife Management Area, a managed bottomland forest along the Altamaha River in Tattnall County, Georgia. We quantified 20 features of habitat structure in areas occupied by Swainson's Warblers (occupied plots) and two sets of controls: unoccupied plots adjacent to occupied plots (adjacent control plots) and unoccupied plots throughout the management area (general control plots). Occupied plots and adjacent control plots both differed in structure from the general control plots. We detected no significant differences, however, in vegetation structure between occupied plots and adjacent control plots. General control plots tended to have a greater number of trees, greater basal area, and a complete canopy, whereas occupied and adjacent control plots had high densities of small stems, cane, herbaceous ground cover, and leaf litter; this latter pattern is typical of documented Swainson's Warbler breeding habitat. Lack of significant differences in vegetation structure may be due to great variation in habitat structure around song perches, small sample size, or scarcity of Swainson's Warblers. Future research should focus on quantifying habitat characteristics around nest sites, song perches, and feeding areas. Our results suggest that management of bottomland habitats by thinning forests and encouraging regeneration of canebrakes is needed for successful conservation of Swainson's Warblers.
78 FR 68370 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical Corrections for Kirtland's Warbler
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
...; Technical Corrections for Kirtland's Warbler AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Direct... kirtlandii (Kirtland's warbler) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are revising... documents a taxonomic change (scientific name) to Kirtland's warbler (50 CFR 17.11(h)). The basis for...
Migration, mitochondria, and the yellow-rumped warbler.
Toews, David P L; Mandic, Milica; Richards, Jeffrey G; Irwin, Darren E
Discordance between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA has been noted in many systems. Asymmetric introgression of mitochondria is a common cause of such discordances, although in most cases the drivers of introgression are unknown. In the yellow-rumped warbler, evidence suggests that mtDNA from the eastern, myrtle warbler, has introgressed across much of the range of the western form, the Audubon's warbler. Within the southwestern United States myrtle mtDNA comes into contact with another clade that occurs in the Mexican black-fronted warbler. Both northern forms exhibit seasonal migration, whereas black-fronted warblers are nonmigratory. We investigated the link between mitochondrial introgression, mitochondrial function, and migration using novel genetic, isotopic, biochemical, and phenotypic data obtained from populations in the transition zone. Isotopes suggest the zone is coincident with a shift in migration, with individuals in the south being resident and populations further north becoming increasingly more migratory. Mitochondrial respiration in flight muscles demonstrates that myrtle-type individuals have a significantly greater acceptor control ratio of mitochondria, suggesting it may be more metabolically efficient. To our knowledge this is the first time this type of intraspecific variation in mitochondrial respiration has been measured in wild birds and we discuss how such mitochondrial adaptations may have facilitated introgression. PMID:24102562
The conservation management of Kirtland's warbler Dendroica kirtlandii
Kepler, C.B.; Irvine, G.W.; DeCapita, M.E.; Weinrich, J.
Kirtland's Warbler Dendroica kirtlandii breeds in young jack pine Pinus banksiana forests on sandy soils in Michigan's lower peninsula, where there were 502 censused singing males in 1951 and 167 in 1974 and 1987. An ongoing control programme for the Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater, a nest parasite, resulted in immediate and continued improvement in warbler reproductive success which was not, however, matched by an increase in warbler numbers until the 1990S. From three 1,000 ha reserves in the 1960s, currently over 54,000 ha are managed for the warbler. Despite the establishment of managed plantations, over 70% of arblers censused in the past 15 years have occupied habitat created by wildfires. Optimal habitat consists of more than 5,000 trees per hectare in a mosaic of dense patches interspersed with small openings. Nearly 70% of adult and 30% of juvenile warblers departing for the Bahamian wintering grounds return each spring, and the Michigan singing male population increased from 212 (1989) to 397 (1992) as abundant habitat, resulting from a 1980 wildfire, became available at Mack Lake. This suggets that lack of optimal habitat in Michigan has been the species's major problem.
Kirtland's warbler diet as determined through fecal analysis
Deloria-Sheffield, C.M.; Millenbah, Kelly F.; Bocetti, C.I.; Sykes, P.W., Jr.; Kepler, C.B.
The endangered Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) nests primarily in large (>32 ha) stands of young (5- to 25-yr-old) jack pine (Pinus banksiana) which grow on Grayling sand soil. These specific habitat requirements restrict the Kirtland's Warbler breeding range to only 13-16 counties in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Although the nature of the species' affinity for this habitat is poorly understood, one theory suggests that higher prey abundance in young jack pine may play a role. To explore further the hypothesis that Kirtland's Warblers choose nesting habitat due to prey abundance, a more thorough knowledge of the warblers' diet is needed. To better understand the diet, we identified arthropod and plant fragments found in 202 Kirtland's Warbler fecal samples, collected from June to September, 1995-1997. The major food items recorded were spittlebugs and aphids (Homoptera; found in 61% of all samples), ants and wasps (Hymenoptera; 45%), blueberry (Vaccinium augustifolium; 42%), beetles (Coleoptera; 25%), and moth larvae (Lepidoptera; 22%).
Cerulean Warbler Technical Group: Coordinating international research and conservation
Dawson, D.K.; Wigley, T.B.; Keyser, P.D.
Effective conservation for species of concern requires interchange and collaboration among conservationists and stakeholders. The Cerulean Warbler Technical Group (CWTG) is a consortium of biologists and managers from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry, who are dedicated to finding pro-active, science-based solutions for conservation of the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea). Formed in the United States in 2001, CWTG's scope soon broadened to address the species' ecology and conservation on both the breeding and non-breeding ranges, in partnership with biologists from South and Central America. In 2004, CWTG launched the Cerulean Warbler Conservation Initiative, a set of activities aimed at addressing information and conservation needs for the species. These include (1) studies in the core breeding range to assess Cerulean Warbler response to forest management practices and to identify mined lands that could be reforested to benefit the species, (2) ecological and demographic studies on the winter range, and (3) surveys of Cerulean Warbler distribution on the breeding and winter ranges and during migration. A rangewide conservation action plan has been completed, along with a more detailed conservation plan for the non-breeding range. CWTG and partners now move forward with on-the-ground conservation, while still addressing unmet information needs.
Hybridization but No Evidence for Backcrossing and Introgression in a Sympatric Population of Great Reed Warblers and Clamorous Reed Warblers
Hansson, Bengt; Tarka, Maja; Dawson, Deborah A.; Horsburgh, Gavin J.
Hybridization is observed frequently in birds, but often it is not known whether the hybrids are fertile and if backcrossing occurs. The breeding ranges of the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and the clamorous reed warbler (A. stentoreus) overlap in southern Kazakhstan and a previous study has documented hybridization in a sympatric population. In the present study, we first present a large set of novel microsatellite loci isolated and characterised in great reed warblers. Secondly, we evaluate whether hybridization in the sympatric breeding population has been followed by backcrossing and introgression. We isolated 181 unique microsatellite loci in great reed warblers. Of 41 loci evaluated, 40 amplified and 30 were polymorphic. Bayesian clustering analyses based on genotype data from 23 autosomal loci recognised two well-defined genetic clusters corresponding to the two species. Individuals clustered to a very high extent to either of these clusters (admixture proportions ≥0.984) with the exception of four previously suggested arundinaceus–stentoreus hybrid birds that showed mixed ancestry (admixture proportions 0.495–0.619). Analyses of simulated hybrids and backcrossed individuals showed that the sampled birds do not correspond to first–fourth-generation backcrosses, and that fifth or higher generation backcrosses to a high extent resemble 'pure' birds at this set of markers. We conclude that these novel microsatellite loci provide a useful molecular resource for Acrocephalus warblers. The time to reach reproductive isolation is believed to be very long in birds, approximately 5 Myrs, and with an estimated divergence time of 2 Myrs between these warblers, some backcrossing and introgression could have been expected. However, there was no evidence for backcrossing and introgression suggesting that hybrids are either infertile or their progeny inviable. Very low levels of introgression cannot be excluded, which still may be an important
Age-Ratios and Condition of En Route Migrant Blackpoll Warblers in the British Virgin Islands
Boal, Clint W.
The en route migration ecology of Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata) is poorly understood, yet intriguing. Blackpoll Warblers undertake the longest open water migration of any wood warbler species, traveling from northeastern North America to South America, with the first potential landfall being the West Indies. This migration requires substantial energy reserves and subjects Blackpoll Warblers to unpredictable weather events, which may influence survival. Few studies have examined age ratios or condition of Blackpoll Warblers while the warblers are en route through the Caribbean region. I captured and banded Blackpoll Warblers in the British Virgin Islands over 10 consecutive autumn migrations. Ratios of hatch-year to adult Blackpoll Warblers were variable but averaged lower than the ratios reported at continental departure locations. Average mass of Blackpoll Warblers was less than that reported at continental departure locations, with 26% of adults and 40% of hatch-year birds below the estimated fat free mass; hatch-year birds were consistently in poorer condition than adults. Blackpoll Warblers captured in the British Virgin Islands were also in poorer condition than those reported from the Dominican Republic and Barbados; this may be because of the British Virgin Islands being the first landfall after the transatlantic crossing, whereas Blackpoll Warblers arriving at the other Caribbean study locations may have had opportunities for stopover prior to arrival or have departed from farther south on the continent. However, this suggests that the British Virgin Islands likely provide important stopover habitat as a first landfall location for Blackpoll Warblers arriving from the transatlantic migration route.
Sex- and age-related differences in the timing and body condition of migrating Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jakubas, Dariusz; Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Katarzyna
The migration strategies of birds may vary strongly between species and also between age and/or sex groups. We studied the autumn migration and body condition of molecularly sexed Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus (211 and 208 ind., respectively) at a stopover site on Lake Druzno, Northern Poland, in 2008. Immature male Reed Warblers were caught significantly later than females (median dates 9 days later), but in the Sedge Warbler, both sexes of immatures migrated at about the same time. Adult males and females of both species did not differ in their time of migration. Adult and immature males of both species were larger (wing length and body mass) than females. In both species, fat reserves were similar in both sexes of both age classes. Adults of both sexes of Reed and Sedge Warbler were generally caught earlier than immatures. In both species, the body mass and fat reserves of immatures were generally less than in adults. The autumn protogyny of immature Reed Warblers may allow smaller females to limit competition with bigger males during migration and at the wintering grounds. In the Sedge Warbler, which tends to match its migration to peak of occurrence of superabundant food at stopover sites, both sexes gain an advantage from migrating at the same time. Since part of the measured wing length variation in both species was explained by sex differences, temporal trends in wing length recorded at stopover sites should be interpreted with caution.
First evidence of regular common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, parasitism on eastern olivaceous warblers, Hippolais pallida elaeica
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Antonov, Anton; Stokke, Bård G.; Moksnes, Arne; Røskaft, Eivin
Coevolution is defined as specialized relationships between species that lead to a reciprocal evolutionary change. A particularly suitable model system for studying coevolution is the interactions between obligate avian brood parasites and their hosts. The common cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus, hereafter cuckoo) is a well-known brood parasite, which utilizes a range of smaller passerines as hosts. However, warblers of the genus Hippolais have rarely been reported as being victims of cuckoos, and furthermore, few data exist on the occurrence of antiparasite defenses in these hosts. In this study, we examined possible host-parasite coevolution between cuckoos and eastern olivaceous warblers ( Hippolais pallida elaeica, hereafter olivaceous warblers) in three closely situated areas in northwestern Bulgaria. The olivaceous warbler has never been reported to be a regular cuckoo host. However, the present study, carried out in 2001-2003 shows that the olivaceous warbler is regularly and heavily parasitized by the cuckoo in this area. Parasitism rate was high (26.6%, 34/128) and consistent among years, with some variation between areas. The cuckoo egg mimicry was moderately good, and olivaceous warbler rejection rate of such eggs was 50%. Cuckoo eggs laid in olivaceous warbler nests had a whitish to whitish-green ground color, and the majority appeared to be distinctly different from cuckoo eggs found in other host species in the area. The olivaceous warbler proved to be a rather good host for cuckoos as 20.6% (7/34) of cuckoo eggs laid produced fledglings, a breeding success comparable to other suitable hosts in Europe. This is the first in-depth study of brood parasitism in a warbler of the genus Hippolais, and cuckoos parasitizing olivaceous warblers probably represent a previously unknown gens.
Isotopic variation across the Audubon's-myrtle warbler hybrid zone.
Toews, D P L; Brelsford, A; Irwin, D E
Differences in seasonal migratory behaviours are thought to be an important component of reproductive isolation in many organisms. Stable isotopes have been used with success in estimating the location and qualities of disjunct breeding and wintering areas. However, few studies have used isotopic data to estimate the movements of hybrid offspring in species that form hybrid zones. Here, we use stable hydrogen to estimate the wintering locations and migratory patterns of two common and widespread migratory birds, Audubon's (Setophaga auduboni) and myrtle (S. coronata) warblers, as well as their hybrids. These two species form a narrow hybrid zone with extensive interbreeding in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, which has been studied for over four decades. Isotopes in feathers grown on the wintering grounds or early on migration reveal three important patterns: (1) Audubon's and myrtle warblers from allopatric breeding populations winter in isotopically different environments, consistent with band recovery data and suggesting that there is a narrow migratory transition between the two species, (2) most hybrids appear to overwinter in the south-eastern USA, similar to where myrtle warblers are known to winter, and (3) some hybrid individuals, particularly those along the western edge of the hybrid zone, show Audubon's-like isotopic patterns. These data suggest there is a migratory divide between these two species, but that it is not directly coincident with the centre of the hybrid zone in the breeding range. We interpret these findings and discuss them within the context of previous research on hybrid zones, speciation and migratory divides. PMID:24779396
Conflicting patterns of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA diversity in Phylloscopus warblers.
Bensch, Staffan; Irwin, Darren E; Irwin, Jessica H; Kvist, Laura; Akesson, Susanne
Molecular variation is often used to infer the demographic history of species, but sometimes the complexity of species history can make such inference difficult. The willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, shows substantially less geographical variation than the chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, both in morphology and in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) divergence. We therefore predicted that the willow warbler should harbour less nuclear DNA diversity than the chiffchaff. We analysed sequence data obtained from multiple samples of willow warblers and chiffchaffs for the mtDNA cytochrome b gene and four nuclear genes. We confirmed that the mtDNA diversity among willow warblers is low (pi = 0.0021). Sequence data from three nuclear genes (CHD-Z, AFLP-WW1 and MC1R) not linked to the mitochondria demonstrated unexpectedly high nucleotide diversity (pi values of 0.0172, 0.0141 and 0.0038) in the willow warbler, on average higher than the nucleotide diversity for the chiffchaff (pi values of 0.0025, 0.0017 and 0.0139). In willow warblers, Tajima's D analyses showed that the mtDNA diversity, but not the nuclear DNA diversity, has been reduced relative to the neutral expectation of molecular evolution, suggesting the action of a selective sweep affecting the maternally inherited genes. The large nuclear diversity seen within willow warblers is not compatible with processes of neutral evolution occurring in a population with a constant population size, unless the long-term effective population size has been very large (N(e) > 10(6)). We suggest that the contrasting patterns of genetic diversity in the willow warbler may reflect a more complex evolutionary history, possibly including historical demographic fluctuations or historical male-biased introgression of nuclear genes from a differentiated population of Phylloscopus warblers. PMID:16367838
Temporal and spatial variation of hematozoans in Scandinavian willow warblers.
Bensch, Staffan; Akesson, Susanne
We examined temporal and geographical distribution of Haemoproteus sp. and Plasmodium sp. parasites in Swedish willow warblers, Phylloscopus trochilus. Parasite lineages were detected with molecular methods in 556 birds from 41 sites distributed at distances up to 1,500 km. Two mitochondrial lineages of Haemoproteus sp. were detected, WW1 in 56 birds and WW2 in 75 birds, that differed by 5.2% sequence divergence. We discuss the reasons behind the observed pattern of variation and identify 3 possible causes: (1) variation in the geographic distribution of the vector species, (2) the degree of parasite sharing with other bird species coexisting with the willow warbler, and (3) timing of transmission. Our results support a fundamental and rarely tested assumption of the now classical Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis of sexual selection, namely, that these parasites vary in both time and space. Such fluctuations of parasites and the selection pressure they supposedly impose on the host population are likely to maintain variation in immune system genes in the host population. PMID:12760661
Re-evaluating Bay-breasted Warbler breeding range: nine-years presence in Lower Michigan
Ellison, K.; Sykes, P.W., Jr.; Bocetti, C.I.
The breeding range of the Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea) is thought to include only the northernmost portions of six northeastern and northcentral states in the United States. During a 10-year banding study of Kirtland's Warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) in northern Lower Michigan, we caught 44 Bay-breasted Warblers outside of their reported migration dates during 9 of the 10 years. Two birds captured in 1997 were in breeding condition; one possessed a cloacal protuberance and the other a full brood patch. We also captured two hatching year birds with fleshy rictal flanges in 1997. We suggest that these records indicate a long term presence of Bay-breasted Warblers on breeding grounds considerably farther south than previously recorded.
Cerulean warbler use of regenerated clearcut and two-age harvests
Wood, P.B.; Duguay, J.P.; Nichols, J.V.
We examined use of 2 silvicultural treatments (clearcut and two-age harvests), 15-18 years post-harvest by cerulean warblers (Dendroica cerulea) in mixed mesophytic and northern hardwood forests of the Allegheny Mountain region in West Virginia. Cerulean warbler abundance and occurrence were greater in 70-80-year-old mature forests than in 15-18-year-old clearcuts. Although abundance did not differ statistically between clearcut and two-age treatments, it was almost 5 times greater in the two-age treatments, likely because they provided a more complex canopy structure. Abundance of cerulean warblers in unharvested periphery stands adjacent to clearcut and two-age harvests was similar to that in unharvested control stands, suggesting that small harvests within mature forest do not negatively impact cerulean warbler abundance in the remaining forest, only within the clearcut harvests themselves.
Landsat TM as a Tool for Locating Habitat for Cerulean Warblers
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Kellner, Chris
I believe that I made significant strides in three areas between fall of 1997 and fall of 2000 when I concluded my participation in the JOVE program. First, I acquired skill in digital remote sensing. This was significant to me because it had been 20 years since I had done any work utilizing remote sensing. I used my new skills in two classroom settings (forest ecology and GIS). In addition, I will participate as an instructor of digital remote sensing in a workshop for secondary educators this coming spring. Second, I received funding from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Forest Service to supplement JOVE funds. Third, and most importantly, a students and I developed a technique using LandSAT TM for identifying habitat for cerulean warblers. We developed a habitat model using logistic regression to discriminate between pixels that had a high probability of representing good cerulean warbler habitat and pixels that had a low probability of representing cerulean warbler habitat. Using this model, we located five significant populations of cerulean warblers in the Ozark National Forest of Arkansas. These populations were unknown before the initiation of this research and further represent a significant proportion of the known cerulean warblers in Arkansas. Preliminary findings were presented at the Ornithological Societies of America meeting in August of 1999. I also presented findings at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Research Symposium held in June of 2000. Finally, one paper is in press: James, D. A., C.J. Kellner, J. Self, and J. Davis., 'Breeding season distribution of cerulean warblers in Arkansas in the 1990's'. In addition, one paper is under construction: 'Population fluctuation and habitat selection by cerulean warblers in upland forests of Arkansas,' and one paper is under consideration: 'LandSAT TM and Logistic regression for identification of cerulean warbler habitat in upland forests of Arkansas.'
Spatiotemporal variation in range-wide Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat
Duarte, Adam; Jensen, Jennifer; Hatfield, Jeffrey S.; Weckerly, Floyd
Habitat availability ultimately limits the distribution and abundance of wildlife species. Consequently, it is paramount to identify where wildlife habitat is and understand how it changes over time in order to implement large scale wildlife conservation plans. Yet, no work has quantified the degree of change in range-wide breeding habitat for the golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), despite the species being listed as endangered by the U.S. federal government. Thus, using available geographic information system (GIS) data and Landsat satellite imagery we quantified range-wide warbler breeding habitat change from 1999-2001 to 2010-2011. We detected a 29% reduction in total warbler breeding habitat and found that warbler breeding habitat was removed and became more fragmented at uneven rates across the warbler's breeding range during this time period. This information will assist researchers and managers in prioritizing breeding habitat conservation efforts for the species and provide a foundation for more realistic carrying capacity scenarios when modeling golden-cheeked warbler populations over time. Additionally, this study highlights the need for future work centered on quantifying golden-cheeked warbler movement rates and distances in order to assess the degree of connectivity between increasingly fragmented habitat patches.
Differential autumn migration of the aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Katarzyna; Jakubas, Dariusz; Foucher, Julien; Dziarska-Pałac, Joanna; Dugué, Hubert
Relatively little attention has been paid to sex differences in the migration of birds in autumn. We studied the autumn migration strategy of molecularly sexed males and females in the globally threatened aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola. We captured 176 birds at a stopover site in the Loire estuary at Donges, France. The median date for the passage of adults was 8 days earlier in males than females, although the timing of migration in first-year males and females was similar. This indicates that males, who are without parental duties, can start their migration earlier than females and first-year birds. Adults were significantly heavier than immature birds but did not have higher fat scores. In both age categories, more males (two to three times more) were captured. However, various factors (including tape-luring) can affect observed sex ratio.
Differential autumn migration of the aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola.
Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Katarzyna; Jakubas, Dariusz; Foucher, Julien; Dziarska-Pałac, Joanna; Dugué, Hubert
Relatively little attention has been paid to sex differences in the migration of birds in autumn. We studied the autumn migration strategy of molecularly sexed males and females in the globally threatened aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola. We captured 176 birds at a stopover site in the Loire estuary at Donges, France. The median date for the passage of adults was 8 days earlier in males than females, although the timing of migration in first-year males and females was similar. This indicates that males, who are without parental duties, can start their migration earlier than females and first-year birds. Adults were significantly heavier than immature birds but did not have higher fat scores. In both age categories, more males (two to three times more) were captured. However, various factors (including tape-luring) can affect observed sex ratio. PMID:24154543
El Grupo Cerúleo: collaboration to assess nonbreeding range of cerulean warbler in South America
Colorado, G.; Hamel, P.; Rodewald, A.; Thogmartin, W.
Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea. Parulidae) has been listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature because of recent population declines. An international, proactive approach to Cerulean Warbler conservation, the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group, was founded in 2001. One of its subcommittees, El Grupo Cerúleo, addresses nonbreeding season issues to promote the protection of this bird through habitat conservation, field research on Cerulean Warbler winter ecology, public awareness, and the development of a predictive model to allow for assessment and monitoring of Cerulean Warbler. Most of the recent efforts of this group have been devoted to studying and understanding the spatial distribution of the Cerulean Warbler in South America through predictive models as a highly necessary strategy to elucidating the bird's occurrence, and thereby to identify and locate important nonbreeding habitats and areas of concentration in the Neotropics. To address this issue, members of EI Grupo Cerúleo developed five hypothetical models of potential distribution of the bird in the northern Andes based on existing historical records and surveys conducted by EI Grupo members. In order to validate the model output, we selected locations to verify the occurrence of the species, based on a stratified-random design, using locations where the Cerulean Warbler was predicted to occur by all five models. We elaborated field protocols to survey these locations. Resulting data will be structured for analysis using the techniques of occupancy modeling. Basic survey designs to carry out the fieldwork as well as preliminary results of the first year's fieldwork are presented. - See more at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/31535#sthash.Lt3G7a8H.dpuf
Avian response to timber harvesting applied experimentally to manage Cerulean Warbler breeding populations
Sheehan, James; Wood, Petra Bohall; Buehler, David A.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Larkin, Jeffrey L.; Rodewald, Amanda D.; Wigley, T. Bently; Boves, Than J.; George, Gregory A.; Bakermans, Marja H.; Beachy, Tiffany A.; Evans, Andrea; McDermott, Molly E.; Newell, Felicity L.; Perkins, Kelly A.; White, Matthew
Timber harvesting has been proposed as a management tool to enhance breeding habitat for the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), a declining Neotropical–Nearctic migratory songbird that nests in the canopy of mature eastern deciduous forests. To evaluate how this single-species management focus might fit within an ecologically based management approach for multiple forest birds, we performed a manipulative experiment using four treatments (three intensities of timber harvests and an unharvested control) at each of seven study areas within the core Cerulean Warbler breeding range. We collected pre-harvest (one year) and post-harvest (four years) data on the territory density of Cerulean Warblers and six additional focal species, avian community relative abundance, and several key habitat variables. We evaluated the avian and habitat responses across the 3–32 m2 ha−1 residual basal area (RBA) range of the treatments. Cerulean Warbler territory density peaked with medium RBA (∼16 m2 ha−1). In contrast, territory densities of the other focal species were negatively related to RBA (e.g., Hooded Warbler [Setophaga citrina]), were positively related to RBA (e.g., Ovenbird [Seiurus aurocapilla]), or were not sensitive to this measure (Scarlet Tanager [Piranga olivacea]). Some species (e.g., Hooded Warbler) increased with time post-treatment and were likely tied to a developing understory, whereas declines (e.g., Ovenbird) were immediate. Relative abundance responses of additional species were consistent with the territory density responses of the focal species. Across the RBA gradient, greatest separation in the avian community was between early successional forest species (e.g., Yellow-breasted Chat [Icteria virens]) and closed-canopy mature forest species (e.g., Ovenbird), with the Cerulean Warbler and other species located intermediate to these two extremes. Overall, our results suggest that harvests within 10–20 m2 ha−1 RBA yield the largest
An experimental test of dietary enzyme modulation in pine warblers Dendroica pinus.
Levey, D J; Place, A R; Rey, P J; Martínez Del Rio, C
Modulation of gut function is important in an ecological and evolutionary context because it likely determines what food items an animal can and cannot eat. We examined how diet affects activity of digestive enzymes in an omnivorous bird, the pine warbler (Dendroica pinus). Pine warblers were fed insect-based, fruit-based, and seed-based diets for approximately 54 d. We then measured activity of amylase, maltase, sucrase, aminopeptidase-N, trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase A, carboxypeptidase B, pancreatic lipase, and carboxyl ester lipase. We predicted that carbohydrase activities would be highest in birds fed the diet highest in carbohydrates (fruit based), protease activities would be highest in those fed the diet highest in protein (insect based), and lipase activities would be highest in those fed the diets highest in lipid (insect based and seed based). Also, we predicted that pine warblers would exhibit greater dietary modulation of enzyme activity than reported for a less omnivorous congener, the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata). All predictions were upheld, supporting the hypothesis that pine warblers modulate the activity of digestive enzymes in proportion to demand from substrates in the diet. PMID:10521325
The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host.
Avilés, J M; Vikan, J R; Fossøy, F; Antonov, A; Moksnes, A; Røskaft, E; Shykoff, J A; Møller, A P; Jensen, H; Procházka, P; Stokke, B G
The obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. Whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. In this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of its main European hosts, the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Secondly, we investigated whether cuckoos inhabiting reed warbler populations with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring cuckoo gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur. PMID:21054625
The Chewing Lice (Insecta, Phthiraptera) Fauna of the Swainson's Warbler, Limnothlypis swainsonii (Aves, Parulidae).
Valim, Michel P; Reiley, Bryan M
We examined Swainson's warblers (Limnothlypis swainsonii (Audubon, 1834), Aves: Parulidae) for lice fauna during 2 yr at three study sites in Arkansas, USA. A total of 66 individuals were examined; eight birds (10.6%) were parasitized with 16 lice of two new species belonging to two genera Myrsidea Waterson, 1915 (Amblycera: Menoponidae) and Brueelia Kéler, 1936 (Ischnocera: Philopteridae). Parasitological parameter data are given on the prevalence of lice on Swainson's warblers. Species descriptions and illustrations are provided for Myrsidea bensoni sp. nov. and Brueelia limnothlypiae sp. nov.; including a key for females of the genus Myrsidea that parasitize Parulidae (Passeriformes). PMID:26336250
A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves)
Lovette, I.J.; Perez-Eman, J. L.; Sullivan, J.P.; Banks, R.C.; Fiorentino, I.; Cordoba-Cordoba, S.; Echeverry-Galvis, M.; Barker, F.K.; Burns, K.J.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Bermingham, E.
The birds in the family Parulidae-commonly termed the New World warblers or wood-warblers-are a classic model radiation for studies of ecological and behavioral differentiation. Although the monophyly of a 'core' wood-warbler clade is well established, no phylogenetic hypothesis for this group has included a full sampling of wood-warbler species diversity. We used parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods to reconstruct relationships among all genera and nearly all wood-warbler species, based on a matrix of mitochondrial DNA (5840 nucleotides) and nuclear DNA (6 loci, 4602 nucleotides) characters. The resulting phylogenetic hypotheses provide a highly congruent picture of wood-warbler relationships, and indicate that the traditional generic classification of these birds recognizes many non-monophyletic groups. We recommend a revised taxonomy in which each of 14 genera (Seiurus, Helmitheros, Mniotilta, Limnothlypis, Protonotaria, Parkesia, Vermivora, Oreothlypis, Geothlypis, Setophaga, Myioborus, Cardellina, Basileuterus, Myiothlypis) corresponds to a well-supported clade; these nomenclatural changes also involve subsuming a number of well-known, traditional wood-warbler genera (Catharopeza, Dendroica, Ergaticus, Euthlypis, Leucopeza, Oporornis, Parula, Phaeothlypis, Wilsonia). We provide a summary phylogenetic hypothesis that will be broadly applicable to investigations of the historical biogeography, processes of diversification, and evolution of trait variation in this well studied avian group. ?? 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Reed warbler hosts fine-tune their defenses to track three decades of cuckoo decline.
Thorogood, Rose; Davies, Nicholas B
Interactions between avian hosts and brood parasites can provide a model for how animals adapt to a changing world. Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) hosts employ costly defenses to combat parasitism by common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). During the past three decades cuckoos have declined markedly across England, reducing parasitism at our study site (Wicken Fen) from 24% of reed warbler nests in 1985 to 1% in 2012. Here we show with experiments that host mobbing and egg rejection defenses have tracked this decline in local parasitism risk: the proportion of reed warbler pairs mobbing adult cuckoos (assessed by responses to cuckoo mounts and models) has declined from 90% to 38%, and the proportion rejecting nonmimetic cuckoo eggs (assessed by responses to model eggs) has declined from 61% to 11%. This is despite no change in response to other nest enemies or mimetic model eggs. Individual variation in both defenses is predicted by parasitism risk during the host's egg-laying period. Furthermore, the response of our study population to temporal variation in parasitism risk can also explain spatial variation in egg rejection behavior in other populations across Europe. We suggest that spatial and temporal variation in parasitism risk has led to the evolution of plasticity in reed warbler defenses. PMID:24299407
Kirtland's warblers on the nesting grounds during the post- breeding period
Sykes, P.W., Jr.; Kepler, C.B.; Jett, D.A.; DeCapita, M.E.
Information indicates that a substantial number of breeding birds remain in Michigan through September, and a few individuals probably remain into early October. Migration apparently consists of two waves of migrants: an early departure (mid-August to early September); and late departure (late September). Based on our findings, we recommend that major Kirtland's warbler areas be kept closed into mid-September.
Reed Warbler Hosts Fine-Tune their Defenses to Track Three Decades of Cuckoo Decline
Thorogood, Rose; Davies, Nicholas B
Interactions between avian hosts and brood parasites can provide a model for how animals adapt to a changing world. Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) hosts employ costly defenses to combat parasitism by common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). During the past three decades cuckoos have declined markedly across England, reducing parasitism at our study site (Wicken Fen) from 24% of reed warbler nests in 1985 to 1% in 2012. Here we show with experiments that host mobbing and egg rejection defenses have tracked this decline in local parasitism risk: the proportion of reed warbler pairs mobbing adult cuckoos (assessed by responses to cuckoo mounts and models) has declined from 90% to 38%, and the proportion rejecting nonmimetic cuckoo eggs (assessed by responses to model eggs) has declined from 61% to 11%. This is despite no change in response to other nest enemies or mimetic model eggs. Individual variation in both defenses is predicted by parasitism risk during the host's egg-laying period. Furthermore, the response of our study population to temporal variation in parasitism risk can also explain spatial variation in egg rejection behavior in other populations across Europe. We suggest that spatial and temporal variation in parasitism risk has led to the evolution of plasticity in reed warbler defenses. PMID:24299407
Becoming-Speckled Warbler: Re/Creating Australian Natural History Pedagogy
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stewart, Alistair
The speckled warbler and other woodland birds of south-eastern Australia have declined dramatically since European settlement; many species are at risk of becoming locally and/or nationally extinct. Coincidently, Australian environmental education research of the last decade has largely been silent on the development of pedagogy that reflects the…
Arthropod prey of Wilson's Warblers in the understory of Douglas-fir forests
Hagar, J.C.; Dugger, K.M.; Starkey, E.E.
Availability of food resources is an important factor in avian habitat selection. Food resources for terrestrial birds often are closely related to vegetation structure and composition. Identification of plant species important in supporting food resources may facilitate vegetation management to achieve objectives for providing bird habitat. We used fecal analysis to describe the diet of adult Wilson's Warblers (Wilsonia pusilla) that foraged in the understory of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in western Oregon during the breeding season. We sampled arthropods at the same sites where diet data were collected, and compared abundance and biomass of prey among seven common shrub species. Wilson's Warblers ate more caterpillars (Lepidoptera larvae), flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and Homoptera than expected based on availability. Deciduous shrubs supported higher abundances of arthropod taxa and size classes used as prey by Wilson's Warblers than did evergreen shrubs. The development and maintenance of deciduous understory vegetation in conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest may be fundamental for conservation of food webs that support breeding Wilson's Warblers and other shrub-associated, insectivorous songbirds.
Cerulean Warbler abundance and occurrence relative to large-scale edge and habitat characteristics
Wood, P.B.; Bosworth, S.B.; Dettmers, R.
We examined Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) abundance and occurrence in southwestern West Virginia, where the coal-mining technique of mountaintop removal mining-valley fill converts large contiguous tracts of deciduous forest to forest patches surrounded by early successional habitats. Our study objectives were to quantify abundance and occurrence of Cerulean Warblers relative to (1) distance from the edge of extensive reclaimed grasslands and (2) habitat structure and landscape characteristics. Cerulean Warbler abundance increased with distance from the edge and edge effects extended 340 m into the forest. Percent occurrence did not vary with distance from mine edge, suggesting a degree of tolerance to the extensive edge occurring at the interface of forest and reclaimed lands. Abundance and occurrence were greater on ridges and midslopes than in bottomlands; consequently, disturbances such as mountaintop mining in which ridges are removed may have a greater impact on populations compared to other sources of fragmentation where ridges are not disturbed. It was found that, in addition to outright loss of forested habitat, mountaintop mining-valley fill alters the spatial configuration of forested habitats, creating edge and area effects that negatively affect Cerulean Warbler abundance and occurrence in the reclaimed mine landscape.
Occurrence of the Connecticut Warbler increases with size of patches of coniferous forest
The Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) is a rare and declining Neotropical migrant that breeds in north-central United States and south-central Canada. To better understand the habitat needs of this species, we analysed habitat and landscape at three spatial scales (buffer ra...
Seasonal dietary shifting in yellow-rumped warblers is unrelated to macronutrient targets.
Marshall, Taylor J; Dick, Morag F; Guglielmo, Christopher G
Dietary shifting, for example from insects to fruits, is a common mechanism used in migratory songbirds to accumulate fat to fuel migratory flights. We examined a potential underlying cause of dietary shifting in yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) by comparing energy and protein intake goals of birds during fall migration and winter. We offered captive warblers pairs of three diets differing in macronutrient composition in both the fall and winter. Using the principles of the geometric framework of nutrition we evaluated protein and energy intake to determine if consumption of the diet pairs was adjusted to meet an energy or protein intake target, and if the target differed seasonally. Regardless of season, the warblers preferred the diet with the lowest protein content and highest carbohydrate content. Total energy intake was maintained relatively constant during migration, at around 60 kJ/day, regardless of diet combination, and at about 50 kJ/day during winter. This suggests that warblers consume macronutrients available to them without protein limitations to reach their total energy intake target. When the diet combination offered allows, the warblers mixed their diet intake to consume roughly 0.5 g/day of protein, regardless of season, which suggested a constant protein target. Our findings suggest that songbirds prefer to alter non-protein energy intake proportionally to meet changing energy demand, rather than an overall increase in macronutrient intake. Additionally, they have the ability to shift their diet based on availability, resulting in high flexibility in their macronutrient intakes to maintain energy intake. PMID:26626955
Speciation and rapid phenotypic differentiation in the yellow-rumped warbler Dendroica coronata complex.
Milá, Borja; Smith, Thomas B; Wayne, Robert K
The relative importance of the Pleistocene glacial cycles in driving avian speciation remains controversial, partly because species limits in many groups remain poorly understood, and because current taxonomic designations are often based on phenotypic characteristics of uncertain phylogenetic significance. We use mtDNA sequence data to examine patterns of genetic variation, sequence divergence and phylogenetic relationships between phenotypically distinct groups of the yellow-rumped warbler complex. Currently classified as a single species, the complex is composed of two North American migratory forms (myrtle warbler Dendroica coronata coronata and Audubon's warbler Dendroica coronata auduboni), and two largely sedentary forms: Dendroica coronata nigrifrons of Mexico, and Dendroica coronata goldmani of Guatemala. The latter are typically considered to be races of the Audubon's warbler based on plumage characteristics. However, mtDNA sequence data reveal that sedentary Mesoamerican forms are reciprocally monophyletic to each other and to migratory forms, from which they show a long history of isolation. In contrast, migratory myrtle and Audubon's warblers form a single cluster due to high levels of shared ancestral polymorphism as evidenced by widespread sharing of mtDNA haplotypes despite marked phenotypic differentiation. Sedentary and migratory forms diverged in the early Pleistocene, whereas phenotypic differentiation between the two migratory forms has occurred in the Holocene and is likely the result of geographical isolation and subsequent range expansion since the last glaciation. Our results underscore the importance of Quaternary climatic events in driving songbird speciation and indicate that plumage traits can evolve remarkably fast, thus rendering them potentially misleading for inferring systematic relationships. PMID:17181728
Daughters on request: about helpers and egg sexes in the Seychelles warbler.
Komdeur, Jan
The Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) was an endangered endemic of the Seychelles islands where, until 1988, the entire population of ca. 320 birds was restricted to the one island of Cousin Island (29 ha). Additional breeding populations were successfully established on the islands of Aride (68 ha, 1988) and Cousine (26 ha, 1990) and now with the existence of ca. 2000 warblers on three islands the conservation status of the warbler has improved from endangered to vulnerable. Emigration from the island is extremely rare, so birds that disappeared were known to have died. Almost every bird on Cousin Island has been individually colour ringed and monitored throughout all breeding attempts during a 17-year period (1985-2002; total ca. 2400 birds). These birds were also blood sampled for molecular parentage and sex analyses. Therefore the lifetime reproductive success of many birds is known. Although warblers can breed independently in their first year, some individuals remain in their natal territory as subordinates, and often help by providing nourishment to non-descendant offspring. The frequency of 'helping' is affected by habitat saturation and variation in territory quality (insect prey availability). The long-term benefits of helping are higher for daughters than for sons, and it is therefore no wonder that most helpers are daughters from previous broods. Furthermore, on low-quality territories breeding pairs raising sons gain higher fitness benefits than by raising daughters, and vice versa on high-quality territories. Female breeders adaptively modify the sex of their single-egg clutches according to territory quality: male eggs on low quality and female eggs on high quality. The Seychelles warbler is a beautiful example of behavioural and life-history adaptations to restricted circumstances. PMID:12590765
Increasing evidence of the role of gene flow in animal evolution: hybrid speciation in the yellow-rumped warbler complex.
Jacobsen, Frode; Omland, Kevin E
In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Brelsford et al. (2011) present strong evidence for a case of hybrid speciation within the yellow-rumped warbler complex. Although homoploid hybrid speciation has now been documented in many animals (Mallet 2007), it seems rare in tetrapods (Mavárez & Linares 2008) and it has barely even been mentioned in birds (Price 2008). Brelsford and colleagues thus present the first detailed molecular evidence suggesting that hybrid speciation can occur in birds. Brelsford et al. (2011) posit that Audubon's warbler (Dendroica auduboni) constitutes a hybrid species originating from the admixture of two distinct parental lineages, represented today by myrtle warbler (D. coronata) and black-fronted warbler (D. nigrifrons). The authors present three major lines of molecular evidence suggesting that this is not simply a case of a hybrid swarm or limited introgression. PMID:21739625
Landscape and local effects on occupancy and densities of an endangered wood-warbler in an urbanizing landscape
Reidy, Jennifer; Thompson III, Frank R.; Amundson, Courtney; O'Donnell, Lisa
Landscape composition and habitat structure were important determinants of warbler occupancy and density, and the large intact patches of juniper and mixed forest on BCP (>2100 ha) supported a high density of warblers. Increasing urbanization and fragmentation in the surrounding landscape will likely result in lower breeding density due to loss of juniper and mixed forest and increasing urban land cover and edge.
Murray Gibson
Argonne's Murray Gibson is a physicist whose life's work includes finding patterns among atoms. The love of distinguishing patterns also drives Gibson as a musician and Blues enthusiast."Blue" notes are very harmonic notes that are missing from the equal temperament scale.The techniques of piano blues and jazz represent the melding of African and Western music into something totally new and exciting.
Murray Gibson
Argonne's Murray Gibson is a physicist whose life's work includes finding patterns among atoms. The love of distinguishing patterns also drives Gibson as a musician and Blues enthusiast."Blue" notes are very harmonic notes that are missing from the equal temperament scale.The techniques of piano blues and jazz represent the melding of African and Western music into something totally new and exciting.
SWS2 visual pigment evolution as a test of historically contingent patterns of plumage color evolution in warblers.
Bloch, Natasha I; Morrow, James M; Chang, Belinda S W; Price, Trevor D
Distantly related clades that occupy similar environments may differ due to the lasting imprint of their ancestors-historical contingency. The New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae) are ecologically similar clades that differ strikingly in plumage coloration. We studied genetic and functional evolution of the short-wavelength-sensitive visual pigments (SWS2 and SWS1) to ask if altered color perception could contribute to the plumage color differences between clades. We show SWS2 is short-wavelength shifted in birds that occupy open environments, such as finches, compared to those in closed environments, including warblers. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate New World warblers were derived from a finch-like form that colonized from the Old World 15-20 Ma. During this process, the SWS2 gene accumulated six substitutions in branches leading to New World warblers, inviting the hypothesis that passage through a finch-like ancestor resulted in SWS2 evolution. In fact, we show spectral tuning remained similar across warblers as well as the finch ancestor. Results reject the hypothesis of historical contingency based on opsin spectral tuning, but point to evolution of other aspects of visual pigment function. Using the approach outlined here, historical contingency becomes a generally testable theory in systems where genotype and phenotype can be connected. PMID:25496318
SWS2 visual pigment evolution as a test of historically contingent patterns of plumage color evolution in Warblers
Bloch, Natasha I.; Morrow, James M.; Chang, Belinda S.W.; Price, Trevor D.
Distantly related clades that occupy similar environments may differ due to the lasting imprint of their ancestors – historical contingency. The New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae) are ecologically similar clades that differ strikingly in plumage coloration. We studied genetic and functional evolution of the short-wavelength sensitive visual pigments (SWS2 and SWS1) to ask if altered color perception could contribute to the plumage color differences between clades. We show SWS2 is short-wavelength shifted in birds that occupy open environments, such as finches, compared to those in closed environments, including warblers. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate New World warblers were derived from a finch-like form that colonized from the Old World 15-20Ma. During this process the SWS2 gene accumulated 6 substitutions in branches leading to New World warblers, inviting the hypothesis that passage through a finch-like ancestor resulted in SWS2 evolution. In fact, we show spectral tuning remained similar across warblers as well as the finch ancestor. Results reject the hypothesis of historical contingency based on opsin spectral tuning, but point to evolution of other aspects of visual pigment function. Using the approach outlined here, historical contingency becomes a generally testable theory in systems where genotype and phenotype can be connected. PMID:25496318
The interacting effects of food, spring temperature, and global climate cycles on population dynamics of a migratory songbird.
Townsend, Andrea K; Cooch, Evan G; Sillett, T Scott; Rodenhouse, Nicholas L; Holmes, Richard T; Webster, Michael S
Although long-distance migratory songbirds are widely believed to be at risk from warming temperature trends, species capable of attempting more than one brood in a breeding season could benefit from extended breeding seasons in warmer springs. To evaluate local and global factors affecting population dynamics of the black-throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens), a double-brooded long-distance migrant, we used Pradel models to analyze 25 years of mark-recapture data collected in New Hampshire, USA. We assessed the effects of spring temperature (local weather) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation index (a global climate cycle), as well as predator abundance, insect biomass, and local conspecific density on population growth in the subsequent year. Local and global climatic conditions affected warbler populations in different ways. We found that warbler population growth was lower following El Niño years (which have been linked to poor survival in the wintering grounds and low fledging weights in the breeding grounds) than La Niña years. At a local scale, populations increased following years with warm springs and abundant late-season food, but were unaffected by spring temperature following years when food was scarce. These results indicate that the warming temperature trends might have a positive effect on recruitment and population growth of black-throated blue warblers if food abundance is sustained in breeding areas. In contrast, potential intensification of future El Niño events could negatively impact vital rates and populations of this species. PMID:26242236
Biometry and phenology of two sibling Phylloscopus warblers on their circum-Mediterranean migrations
Zduniak, Piotr; Yosef, Reuven; Bensusan, Keith J.; Perez, Charles E.; Tryjanowski, Piotr
Abstract The Mediterranean Sea is known as an ecological barrier for numerous migratory birds flying from European breeding grounds to African wintering sites. Birds generally avoid migration over open sea and fly over land. In the Mediterranean Basin, few land bridges or bottlenecks for migratory birds exist. The narrowest are at the western and eastern extremes: the Strait of Gibraltar and Israel. Comparative studies between these locations are extremely rare to date. Therefore, in order to elucidate the differences between the two flyways, we compared data collected simultaneously for two sister leaf warbler species, the Bonelli's Warbler complex, Phylloscopus bonelli and Phylloscopus orientalis, at ringing stations in the western Mediterranean Basin Gibraltar, and the eastern Eilat, Israel. Data on biometrics and passage dates of individuals trapped at Gibraltar and Eilat were used, and it was found that mean arrival date of Western Bonelli's Warblers at Gibraltar was 15 days later than Eastern Bonelli's Warblers at Eilat. Furthermore, Western Bonelli's Warblers had shorter wings than Eastern Bonelli's Warblers. On the other hand, birds in Eilat were in poorer body condition than individuals in Gibraltar. The comparison between geographically distant stop-over sites contributes to furthering our understanding of the development of migration strategies across ecological barriers in sibling species. Our study showed that populations that breed in southwestern Europe migrate through Gibraltar and winter in West Africa are able to accomplish migration in comparatively good body condition. This is in contrast to those that winter in East Africa, migrate through Israel and have to endure the combined challenge of crossing the Sahel, Sahara and Sinai deserts before reaching their breeding grounds across southeast Europe and southwest Asia. Hence, the discrepancies described between the western and the eastern flyway suggest that individuals in the west, in
Multiple plumage traits convey information about age and within-age-class qualities of a canopy-dwelling songbird, the Cerulean Warbler
Boves, Than J.; Buehler, David A.; Wood, Petra Bohall; Rodewald, Amanda D.; Larkin, Jeffrey L.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Wigley, T. Ben
Colorful plumage traits in birds may convey multiple, redundant, or unreliable messages about an individual. Plumage may reliably convey information about disparate qualities such as age, condition, and parental ability because discrete tracts of feathers may cause individuals to incur different intrinsic or extrinsic costs. Few studies have examined the information content of plumage in a species that inhabits forest canopies, a habitat with unique light environments and selective pressures. We investigated the information content of four plumage patches (blue-green crown and rump, tail white, and black breast band) in a canopy-dwelling species, the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), in relation to age, condition, provisioning, and reproduction. We found that older males displayed wider breast bands, greater tail white, and crown and rump feathers with greater blue-green (435–534 nm) chroma and hue than males in their first potential breeding season. In turn, older birds were in better condition (short and long term) and were reproductively superior to younger birds. We propose that these age-related plumage differences (i.e. delayed plumage maturation) were not a consequence of a life history strategy but instead resulted from constraints during early feather molts. Within age classes, we found evidence to support the multiple messages hypothesis. Birds with greater tail white molted tails in faster, those with more exaggerated rump plumage (lower hue, greater blue-green chroma) provisioned more, and those with lower rump blue-green chroma were in better condition. Despite evidence of reliable signaling in this species, we found no strong relationships between plumage and reproductive performance, potentially because factors other than individual differences more strongly influenced fecundity.
Digestive response to restricted feeding in migratory yellow-rumped warblers.
Lee, Kelly A; Karasov, William H; Caviedes-Vidal, Enrique
Smaller guts and slow initial mass gains at stopover sites have led to the idea that digestive physiology limits refueling rates in migrating birds. We tested the digestive-limitation hypothesis in yellow-rumped warblers using food restriction to simulate infrequent feeding during migration, which may cause a reduction in alimentary tract mass. Restricted birds had small intestine, pancreas, and liver masses 18%-22% lower than ad lib.-fed controls. Total activities of sucrase, maltase, aminopeptidase, and amylase were significantly lower in restricted birds, while those of trypsin and chymotrypsin were not. Only aminopeptidase mass-specific activity was significantly lower in restricted birds. Previously restricted birds were able to feed and digest at a high rate immediately following return to ad lib. feeding. Digestive efficiency did not differ between groups. These results suggest that before migration yellow-rumped warblers have some spare digestive capacity to compensate for declines in their digestive organ masses during migration. PMID:12177834
Reed warblers migrating through Portugal: climatic influence on stopover ecology over the last decade.
Araújo, Pedro M; da Silva, Luís P; Paiva, Vitor H; Ramos, Jaime A
The arrival and breeding dates of small migrant birds have advanced throughout Europe. This study evaluates the hypothesis of a faster migration along the migratory route, which should lead to a decrease in stopover duration in staging areas over the last decades. Several climatic predictors were analysed as proxies to understand the stopover ecology of reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus migrating through Central Portugal. The minimum stopover duration of migratory reed warblers decreased significantly over the last decade during both the spring and autumn migrations. Warmer conditions en route should increase food availability, increasing the body condition of departing birds and the quality of departing sites en route to Portugal, such that migrants will reduce the stopover duration at Portuguese reedbeds. PMID:26948014
Breeding population density and habitat use of Swainson's warblers in a Georgia floodplain forest
Wright, E.A.
I examined density and habitat use of a Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) breeding population in Georgia. This songbird species is inadequately monitored, and may be declining due to anthropogenic alteration of floodplain forest breeding habitats. I used distance sampling methods to estimate density, finding 9.4 singing males/ha (CV = 0.298). Individuals were encountered too infrequently to produce a Iow-variance estimate, and distance sampling thus may be impracticable for monitoring this relatively rare species. I developed a set of multivariate habitat models using binary logistic regression techniques, based on measurement of 22 variables in 56 plots occupied by Swainson's Warblers and 110 unoccupied plots. Occupied areas were characterized by high stem density of cane (Arundinaria gigantea) and other shrub layer vegetation, and presence of abundant and accessible leaf litter. I recommend two habitat models, which correctly classified 87-89% of plots in cross-validation runs, for potential use in habitat assessment at other locations.
Microsatellite DNA markers for delineating population structure and kinship among the endangered Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii)
King, T.L.; Eackles, M.S.; Henderson, A.P.; Bocetti, C.I.; Currie, D.; Wunderle, J.M., Jr.
We document the isolation and characterization of 23 microsatellite DNA markers for the endangered Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), a Nearctic/Neotropical migrant passerine. This suite of markers revealed moderate to high levels of allelic diversity (averaging 7.7 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity (averaging 72%). Genotypic frequencies at 22 of 23 (95%) markers conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations, and no linkage disequilibrium was observed in blood samples taken from 14 warblers found on the wintering grounds in the Bahamas archipelago. Multilocus genotypes resulting from this suite of markers should reduce the amount of resources required for initiating new genetic studies assessing breeding structure, parentage, demographics, and individual-level ecological interactions for D. kirtlandii. ?? 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Case study: Prioritization strategies for reforestation of minelands to benefit Cerulean Warblers
McDermott, Molly E.; Shumar, Matthew B.; Wood, Petra Bohall
The central Appalachian landscape is being heavily altered by surface coal mining. The practice of Mountaintop Removal/Valley Fill (MTRVF) mining has transformed large areas of mature forest to non-forest and created much forest edge, affecting habitat quality for mature forest wildlife. The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative is working to restore mined areas to native hardwood forest conditions, and strategies are needed to prioritize restoration efforts for wildlife. We present mineland reforestation guidelines for the imperiled Cerulean Warbler, considered a useful umbrella species, in its breeding range. In 2009, we surveyed forest predicted to have Cerulean Warblers near mined areas in the MTRVF region of West Virginia and Kentucky. We visited 36 transect routes and completed songbird surveys on 151 points along these routes. Cerulean Warblers were present at points with fewer large-scale canopy disturbances and more mature oak-hickory forest. We tested the accuracy of a predictive map for this species and demonstrated that it can be useful to guide reforestation efforts. We then developed a map of hot spot locations that can be used to determine potential habitat suitability. Restoration efforts would have greatest benefit for Cerulean Warblers and other mature forest birds if concentrated near a relative-abundance hot spot, on north- and east-facing ridgetops surrounded by mature deciduous forest, and prioritized to reduce edges and connect isolated forest patches. Our multi-scale approach for prioritizing restoration efforts using an umbrella species may be applied to restore habitat impacted by a variety of landscape disturbances.
Senescence in the wild: Insights from a long-term study on Seychelles warblers.
Hammers, Martijn; Kingma, Sjouke A; Bebbington, Kat; van de Crommenacker, Janske; Spurgin, Lewis G; Richardson, David S; Burke, Terry; Dugdale, Hannah L; Komdeur, Jan
Senescence--the progressive age-dependent decline in performance--occurs in most organisms. There is considerable variation in the onset and rate of senescence between and within species. Yet the causes of this variation are still poorly understood, despite being central to understanding the evolution of senescence. Long-term longitudinal studies on wild animals are extremely well-suited to studying the impact of environmental and individual characteristics (and the interaction between the two) on senescence, and can help us to understand the mechanisms that shape the evolution of senescence. In this review, we summarize and discuss the insights gained from our comprehensive long-term individual-based study of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). This species provides an excellent model system in which to investigate the evolution of senescence in the wild. We found that Seychelles warblers show senescent declines in survival and reproduction, and discuss how individual characteristics (body condition, body size) and environmental effects (low- versus high-quality environments) may affect the onset and rate of senescence. Further, we highlight the evidence for trade-offs between early-life investment and senescence. We describe how key cellular and physiological processes (oxidative stress and telomere shortening) underpinning senescence are affected by individual and environmental characteristics in the Seychelles warbler (e.g. food availability, reproductive investment, disease) and we discuss how such physiological variation may mediate the relationship between environmental characteristics and senescence. Based on our work using Seychelles warblers as a model system, we show how insights from long-term studies of wild animals may help unravel the causes of the remarkable variation in senescence observed in natural systems, and highlight areas for promising future research. PMID:26344178
Reproductive success and habitat characteristics of Golden-winged Warblers in high-elevation pasturelands
Wood, Petra; Aldinger, Kyle R.
The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is one of the most rapidly declining vertebrate species in the Appalachian Mountains. It is the subject of extensive range-wide research and conservation action. However, little is known about this species' breeding ecology in high-elevation pasturelands, a breeding habitat with conservation potential considering the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service's Working Lands for Wildlife program targeting private lands in the Appalachian Mountains. We located 100 nests of Golden-winged Warblers in pastures in and around the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia during 2008–2012. Daily nest survival rate (mean ± SE = 0.962 ± 0.006), clutch size (4.5 ± 0.1), and number of young fledged per nest attempt (2.0 ± 0.2) and successful nest (4.0 ± 0.1) fell within the range of values reported in other parts of the species' range and were not significantly affected by year or the presence/absence of cattle grazing. Classification tree analysis revealed that nests were in denser vegetation (≥52%) and closer to forest edges (<36.0 m) and shrubs (<7.0 cm) than random locations within the male's territory. Successful nests had significantly more woody cover (≥9%) within 1 m than failed nests. Our results suggest that cattle grazing at 1.2–2.4 ha of forage/animal unit with periodic mowing can create and maintain these characteristics without interfering with the nesting of Golden-winged Warblers. High-elevation pasturelands may provide a refuge for remaining populations of Golden-winged Warblers in this region.
Influence of habitat amount, arrangement, and use on population trend estimates of male Kirtland's warblers
Donner, D.M.; Probst, J.R.; Ribic, C.A.
Kirtland's warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) persist in a naturally patchy environment of young, regenerating jack pine forests (i.e., 5-23 years old) created after wildfires and human logging activities. We examined how changing landscape structure from 26 years of forest management and wildfire disturbances influenced population size and spatial dispersion of male Kirtland's warblers within their restricted breeding range in northern Lower Michigan, USA. The male Kirtland's warbler population was six times larger in 2004 (1,322) compared to 1979 (205); the change was nonlinear with 1987 and 1994 identified as significant points of change. In 1987, the population trend began increasing after a slowly declining trend prior to 1987, and the rate of increase appeared to slow after 1994. Total amount of suitable habitat and the relative area of wildfire-regenerated habitat were the most important factors explaining population trend. Suitable habitat increased 149% primarily due to increasing plantations from forest management. The relative amount and location of wildfire-regenerated habitat modified the distribution of males among various habitat types, and the spatial variation in their abundance across the primary breeding range. These findings indicate that the Kirtland's warbler male population shifted its use of habitat types temporally and spatially as the population increased and as the relative availability of habitats changed through time. We demonstrate that researchers and managers need to consider not only habitat quality, but the temporal and the spatial context of habitat availability and population levels when making habitat restoration decisions. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Metabolizable energy in Chinese tallow fruit for Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Cardinals, and American Robins
Baldwin, M.J.; Barrow, W.C., Jr.; Jeske, C.; Rohwer, F.C.
The invasive exotic Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) produces an abundant fruit crop, which is primarily bird-dispersed. The fruit pulp of tallow is lipid-rich, high in saturated fatty acids, and consumed by many bird species. Long-chained fatty acids can be difficult for many birds to digest and we investigated the ability of tallow consumers to assimilate energy in the pulp. We used the total collection method and compared apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of tallow fruit for three species of birds with differing fruit composition in their natural diets. All birds exhibited nitrogen deficits and lost body mass during the trials. Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) lost more mass (8.73%/day) than Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) (5.29%/day) and American Robins (Turdus migratorius) (5.48%/day), and had larger nitrogen deficits (-120.1 mg N/g diet) than both species as well (-36.4 mg N/g diet and -68.9 mg N/g diet, respectively). Food intake relative to metabolic body mass was highest in Yellow-rumped Warblers (0.70 g-dry/g 0.75??day). Northern Cardinal and American Robin food intake was lower and did not differ from each other (both species: 0.13 g-dry/g 0.75??day). Nitrogen corrected values of AME were used to make species comparisons. Yellow-rumped-Warblers exhibited the highest values of AME (30.00 kJ/g), followed by American Robins (23.90 kJ/g), and Northern Cardinals (14.34 kJ/g). We suggest tallow may be an important winter food source for Yellow-rumped Warblers where their ranges overlap.
Population increase in Kirtland's warbler and summer range expansion to Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, USA
Probst, J.R.; Donner, D.M.; Bocetti, C.I.; Sjogren, S.
The threatened Kirtland's warbler Dendroica kirtlandii breeds in stands of young jack pine Pinus banksiana growing on well-drained soils in Michigan, USA. We summarize information documenting the range expansion of Kirtland's warbler due to increased habitat management in the core breeding range in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan during 1990?2000. We collected records and conducted searches for the species in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin over 1978?2000. During that time 25 males were found in Wisconsin and 90 males in the Upper Peninsula. We documented colonization of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by six ringed males from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Four ringed birds also moved back to the core breeding range, including two males that made two-way movements between the core breeding range and the Upper Peninsula. Thirty-seven females were observed with males from 1995 to 2000, all in Michigan. Nesting activities were noted for 25 pairs and at least nine nests fledged young. One male ringed as a fledgling returned to breed in two subsequent years. After a 19-year period of population stability, the Kirtland's warbler population increased four-fold during 1990?2000, most likely in response to a tripling in habitat area. This increase in sightings and documented breeding may be related to habitat availability in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and to saturation of habitat in the main breeding range. The increase in extra-limital records during 1995?1999 corresponds to the time when the population went from the minimum to the maximum projected population densities, and a decline in natural wildfire habitat was just offset by new managed habitat for the Kirtland's warbler.
Habitat Use and Body Mass Regulation among Warblers in the Sahel Region during the Non-Breeding Season.
Vafidis, James O; Vaughan, Ian P; Jones, T Hefin; Facey, Richard J; Parry, Rob; Thomas, Robert J
Migratory birds face significant challenges across their annual cycle, including occupying an appropriate non-breeding home range with sufficient foraging resources. This can affect demographic processes such as over-winter survival, migration mortality and subsequent breeding success. In the Sahel region of Africa, where millions of migratory songbirds attempt to survive the winter, some species of insectivorous warblers occupy both wetland and dry-scrubland habitats, whereas other species are wetland or dry-scrubland specialists. In this study we examine evidence for strategic regulation of body reserves and competition-driven habitat selection, by comparing invertebrate prey activity-density, warbler body size and extent of fat and pectoral muscle deposits, in each habitat type during the non-breeding season. Invertebrate activity-density was substantially higher in wetland habitats than in dry-scrubland. Eurasian reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus occupying wetland habitats maintained lower body reserves than conspecifics occupying dry-scrub habitats, consistent with buffering of reserves against starvation in food-poor habitat. A similar, but smaller, difference in body reserves between wet and dry habitat was found among subalpine warblers Sylvia cantillans but not in chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita inhabiting dry-scrub and scrub fringing wetlands. Body reserves were relatively low among habitat specialist species; resident African reed warbler A. baeticatus and migratory sedge warbler A. schoenobaenus exclusively occupying wetland habitats, and Western olivaceous warblers Iduna opaca exclusively occupying dry habitats. These results suggest that specialists in preferred habitats and generalists occupying prey-rich habitats can reduce body reserves, whereas generalists occupying prey-poor habitats carry an increased level of body reserves as a strategic buffer against starvation. PMID:25426716
Predicting patch occupancy in fragmented landscapes at the rangewide scale for an endangered species: an example of an American warbler
Collier, Bret A.; Groce, Julie E.; Morrison, Michael L.; Newnam, John C.; Campomizzi, Andrew J.; Farrell, Shannon L.; Mathewson, Heather A.; Snelgrove, Robert T.; Carroll, Raymond J.; Wilkins, Robert N.
Aim Our objective was to identify the distribution of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) in fragmented oak–juniper woodlands by applying a geoadditive semiparametric occupancy model to better assist decision-makers in identifying suitable habitat across the species breeding range on which conservation or mitigation activities can be focused and thus prioritize management and conservation planning. Location Texas, USA. Methods We used repeated double-observer detection/non-detection surveys of randomly selected (n = 287) patches of potential habitat to evaluate warbler patch-scale presence across the species breeding range. We used a geoadditive semiparametric occupancy model with remotely sensed habitat metrics (patch size and landscape composition) to predict patch-scale occupancy of golden-cheeked warblers in the fragmented oak–juniper woodlands of central Texas, USA. Results Our spatially explicit model indicated that golden-cheeked warbler patch occupancy declined from south to north within the breeding range concomitant with reductions in the availability of large habitat patches. We found that 59% of woodland patches, primarily in the northern and central portions of the warbler's range, were predicted to have occupancy probabilities ≤0.10 with only 3% of patches predicted to have occupancy probabilities >0.90. Our model exhibited high prediction accuracy (area under curve = 0.91) when validated using independently collected warbler occurrence data. Main conclusions We have identified a distinct spatial occurrence gradient for golden-cheeked warblers as well as a relationship between two measurable landscape characteristics. Because habitat-occupancy relationships were key drivers of our model, our results can be used to identify potential areas where conservation actions supporting habitat mitigation can occur and identify areas where conservation of future potential habitat is possible. Additionally, our results can be
Habitat Use and Body Mass Regulation among Warblers in the Sahel Region during the Non-Breeding Season
Vafidis, James O.; Vaughan, Ian P.; Jones, T. Hefin; Facey, Richard J.; Parry, Rob; Thomas, Robert J.
Migratory birds face significant challenges across their annual cycle, including occupying an appropriate non-breeding home range with sufficient foraging resources. This can affect demographic processes such as over-winter survival, migration mortality and subsequent breeding success. In the Sahel region of Africa, where millions of migratory songbirds attempt to survive the winter, some species of insectivorous warblers occupy both wetland and dry-scrubland habitats, whereas other species are wetland or dry-scrubland specialists. In this study we examine evidence for strategic regulation of body reserves and competition-driven habitat selection, by comparing invertebrate prey activity-density, warbler body size and extent of fat and pectoral muscle deposits, in each habitat type during the non-breeding season. Invertebrate activity-density was substantially higher in wetland habitats than in dry-scrubland. Eurasian reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus occupying wetland habitats maintained lower body reserves than conspecifics occupying dry-scrub habitats, consistent with buffering of reserves against starvation in food-poor habitat. A similar, but smaller, difference in body reserves between wet and dry habitat was found among subalpine warblers Sylvia cantillans but not in chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita inhabiting dry-scrub and scrub fringing wetlands. Body reserves were relatively low among habitat specialist species; resident African reed warbler A. baeticatus and migratory sedge warbler A. schoenobaenus exclusively occupying wetland habitats, and Western olivaceous warblers Iduna opaca exclusively occupying dry habitats. These results suggest that specialists in preferred habitats and generalists occupying prey-rich habitats can reduce body reserves, whereas generalists occupying prey-poor habitats carry an increased level of body reserves as a strategic buffer against starvation. PMID:25426716
Museum DNA reveals the demographic history of the endangered Seychelles warbler
Spurgin, Lewis G; Wright, David J; van der Velde, Marco; Collar, Nigel J; Komdeur, Jan; Burke, Terry; Richardson, David S
The importance of evolutionary conservation – how understanding evolutionary forces can help guide conservation decisions – is widely recognized. However, the historical demography of many endangered species is unknown, despite the fact that this can have important implications for contemporary ecological processes and for extinction risk. Here, we reconstruct the population history of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) – an ecological model species. By the 1960s, this species was on the brink of extinction, but its previous history is unknown. We used DNA samples from contemporary and museum specimens spanning 140 years to reconstruct bottleneck history. We found a 25% reduction in genetic diversity between museum and contemporary populations, and strong genetic structure. Simulations indicate that the Seychelles warbler was bottlenecked from a large population, with an ancestral Ne of several thousands falling to <50 within the last century. Such a rapid decline, due to anthropogenic factors, has important implications for extinction risk in the Seychelles warbler, and our results will inform conservation practices. Reconstructing the population history of this species also allows us to better understand patterns of genetic diversity, inbreeding and promiscuity in the contemporary populations. Our approaches can be applied across species to test ecological hypotheses and inform conservation. PMID:25553073
Effects of stop-level habitat change on cerulean warbler detections along breeding bird survey routes in the central appalachians
McElhone, P.M.; Wood, P.B.; Dawson, D.K.
We examined the effects of habitat change on Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) populations at stops along Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes in the central Appalachians. We used aerial photographs to compare early (1967/1971), middle (1982/1985), and late (2000/2003) periods and compared 1992 and 2001 National Land Cover Data (NLCD). Mean Cerulean Warbler detections per stop decreased at 68 BBS stops between the early (0.05) and middle (0.01) time periods and their distribution became more restricted (15 vs. 3% of stops), but the amount of deciduous/mixed forest increased. Mean detections at 240 stops decreased from the middle (0.09) to the late (0.06) time periods, but the deciduous/mixed forest land cover and fragmentation metrics did not change. The amounts of deciduous/mixed forest, core forest area, and edge density in the NLCD analysis decreased from 1992 to 2001, whereas the amount of non-forest land cover increased. The number of Cerulean Warbler detections did not change (1992 ?=? 0.08, 2001 ?=? 0.10; P ?=? 0.11). The lack of concordance between Cerulean Warbler detections and broad habitat features suggests that smaller, microhabitat features may be most important in affecting Cerulean Warbler breeding habitat suitability. ?? 2011 by the Wilson Ornithological Society.
Effects of habitat change along Breeding Bird Survey routes in the central Appalachians on Cerulean Warbler population
McElhone, P.; Wood, P.W.; Dawson, D.
The cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is one of the highest priority bird species in the eastern United States because populations have declined 4.3% annually during 1966?2005 based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to land use changes is thought to be one of the major factors contributing to the decline. BBS routes, the primary source for monitoring bird population trends, include 50 sampling stops every 0.8 km. Although data from BBS routes are extrapolated to determine regional trends in bird populations, it is important to understand the effects of habitat changes at the stop-level along BBS routes. Route-level analysis of habitat changes may mask important changes that are occurring at a smaller scale particularly for the cerulean warbler which displays several micro-scale habitat preferences. We are examining cerulean warbler habitat and population changes in its core breeding range of the Ohio Hills and Cumberland Plateau physiographic regions. We quantified land cover changes within 300 m of BBS routes in the core cerulean warbler breeding range of Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky by digitizing aerial photographs from two time periods: the 1980s and 2004. We also quantified land cover changes within 300 m of BBS routes with the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) from 1992 and 2001. The hand-digitized aerial photos will be compared with the NLCD to determine how similar the two methods are in quantifying land cover changes. We then compared stop-level land cover changes with stop level changes in cerulean warbler detections within the same time periods along the BBS routes. This will allow for a more detailed analysis of how well habitat changes along BBS routes reflect the changes in cerulean warbler populations.
Blue gods, blue oil, and blue people.
Fairbanks, V F
Studies of the composition of coal tar, which began in Prussia in 1834, profoundly affected the economies of Germany, Great Britain, India, and the rest of the world, as well as medicine and surgery. Such effects include the collapse of the profits of the British indigo monopoly, the growth in economic power of Germany based on coal tar chemistry, and an economic crisis in India that led to more humane tax laws and, ultimately, the independence of India and the end of the British Empire. Additional consequences were the development of antiseptic surgery and the synthesis of a wide variety of useful drugs that have eradicated infections and alleviated pain. Many of these drugs, particularly the commonly used analgesics, sulfonamides, sulfones, and local anesthetics, are derivatives of aniline, originally called "blue oil" or "kyanol." Some of these aniline derivatives, however, have also caused aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, and methemoglobinemia (that is, "blue people"). Exposure to aniline drugs, particularly when two or three aniline drugs are taken concurrently, seems to be the commonest cause of methemoglobinemia today. PMID:8065194
Circannual variation in blood parasitism in a sub-Saharan migrant passerine bird, the garden warbler.
Hellgren, O; Wood, M J; Waldenström, J; Hasselquist, D; Ottosson, U; Stervander, M; Bensch, S
Knowing the natural dynamics of pathogens in migratory birds is important, for example, to understand the factors that influence the transport of pathogens to and their transmission in new geographical areas, whereas the transmission of other pathogens might be restricted to a specific area. We studied haemosporidian blood parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon in a migratory bird, the garden warbler Sylvia borin. Birds were sampled in spring, summer and early autumn at breeding grounds in Sweden, on migration at Capri, Italy and on arrival and departure from wintering staging areas in West Africa: mapping recoveries of garden warblers ringed in Fennoscandia and Capri showed that these sites are most probably on the migratory flyway of garden warblers breeding at Kvismaren. Overall, haemosporidian prevalence was 39%, involving 24 different parasite lineages. Prevalence varied significantly over the migratory cycle, with relatively high prevalence of blood parasites in the population on breeding grounds and at the onset of autumn migration, followed by marked declines in prevalence during migration both on spring and autumn passage. Importantly, we found that when examining circannual variation in the different lineages, significantly different prevalence profiles emerged both between and within genera. Our results suggest that differences in prevalence profiles are the result of either different parasite transmission strategies or coevolution between the host and the various parasite lineages. When separating parasites into common vs. rare lineages, we found that two peaks in the prevalence of rare parasites occur; on arrival at Swedish breeding grounds, and after the wintering period in Africa. Our results stress the importance of appropriate taxonomic resolution when examining host-parasite interactions, as variation in prevalence both between and within parasite genera can show markedly different patterns. PMID:23621369
No evidence for assortative mating within a willow warbler migratory divide
Introduction In contact zones, genetic mixing of two taxa can be restricted by prezygotic (e.g. assortative mating) or postzygotic (lower fitness of hybrid offspring) barriers, or a combination of the two. A hybrid zone between two willow warbler subspecies (Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus, P. t. acredula) with distinctive migratory strategies occurs in central Sweden. These subspecies exhibit differences in migratory direction and distance, resulting in geographically distinct wintering areas in Africa. The subspecies may have diverged from a common refuge after the last ice age, and neutral genetic markers are homogeneous across their range. By contrast, several phenotypic traits and genetic markers of two chromosomal regions previously identified show steep clines across the divide. The evolutionary forces that maintain this migratory divide remain unknown. Here we use plumage colour, morphology, genetic markers and feather stable nitrogen-isotopes (δ15N) to assess if assortative mating between migratory phenotypes could be acting as a possible mechanism for keeping the two forms genetically separate and maintaining the migratory divide. We colour-ringed a willow warbler breeding population in the central part of the hybrid zone and observed the breeding population to assess phenotypic and genotypic traits of social pairs. Results Our data suggest that wintering area and genetic ancestry had an effect on male arrival time to the breeding grounds which could contribute to assortment. However, evidence for assortative mating could not be detected based on a comparison of plumage colour, morphology and δ15N between social mates. Conclusion This finding was strengthened by analyses of subspecies-specific genetic markers, which allowed us to identify the presence of a large proportion of potential hybrids and backcrosses at the study site. Our results supported the hypothesis that pre-mating isolation in willow warblers is weak, resulting in extensive
Phylogeography of a Habitat Specialist with High Dispersal Capability: The Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides
Neto, Júlio M.; Arroyo, José L.; Bargain, Bruno; Monrós, Juan S.; Mátrai, Norbert; Procházka, Petr; Zehtindjiev, Pavel
In order to describe the influence of Pleistocene glaciations on the genetic structure and demography of a highly mobile, but specialized, passerine, the Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioides), mitochondrial DNA sequences (ND2) and microsatellites were analysed in c.330 individuals of 17 breeding and two wintering populations. Phylogenetic, population genetics and coalescent methods were used to describe the genetic structure, determine the timing of the major splits and model the demography of populations. Savi's Warblers split from its sister species c.8 million years ago and have two major haplotype groups that diverged in the early/middle Pleistocene. One of these clades originated in the Balkans and is currently widespread, showing strong evidence for population expansion; whereas the other is restricted to Iberia and remained stable. Microsatellites agreed with a genetic break around the Pyrenees, but showed considerable introgression and a weaker genetic structure. Both genetic markers showed an isolation-by-distance pattern associated with the population expansion of the eastern clade. Breeding populations seem to be segregated at the wintering sites, but results on migratory connectivity are preliminary. Savi's Warbler is the only known migratory bird species in which Iberian birds did not expand beyond the Pyrenees after the last glaciation. Despite the long period of independent evolution of western and eastern populations, complete introgression occurred when these groups met in Iberia. Mitochondrial sequences indicated the existence of refugia-within-refugia in the Iberian Peninsula during the last glacial period, which is surprising given the high dispersal capacity of this species. Plumage differences of eastern subspecies seemed to have evolved recently through natural selection, in agreement with the glacial expansion hypothesis. This study supports the great importance of the Iberian Peninsula and its role for the conservation of genetic
A hierarchical spatial model of avian abundance with application to Cerulean Warblers
Thogmartin, W.E.; Sauer, J.R.; Knutson, M.G.
Surveys collecting count data are the primary means by which abundance is indexed for birds. These counts are confounded, however, by nuisance effects including observer effects and spatial correlation between counts. Current methods poorly accommodate both observer and spatial effects because modeling these spatially autocorrelated counts within a hierarchical framework is not practical using standard statistical approaches. We propose a Bayesian approach to this problem and provide as an example of its implementation a spatial model of predicted abundance for the Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) in the Prairie-Hardwood Transition of the upper midwestern United States. We used an overdispersed Poisson regression with fixed and random effects, fitted by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. We used 21 years of North American Breeding Bird Survey counts as the response in a loglinear function of explanatory variables describing habitat, spatial relatedness, year effects, and observer effects. The model included a conditional autoregressive term representing potential correlation between adjacent route counts. Categories of explanatory habitat variables in the model included land cover composition and configuration, climate, terrain heterogeneity, and human influence. The inherent hierarchy in the model was from counts occurring, in part, as a function of observers within survey routes within years. We found that the percentage of forested wetlands, an index of wetness potential, and an interaction between mean annual precipitation and deciduous forest patch size best described Cerulean Warbler abundance. Based on a map of relative abundance derived from the posterior parameter estimates, we estimated that only 15% of the species' population occurred on federal land, necessitating active engagement of public landowners and state agencies in the conservation of the breeding habitat for this species. Models of this type can be applied to any data in which the response
Territory Tenure Increases with Repertoire Size in Brownish-Flanked Bush Warbler
Xia, Canwei; Wei, Chentao; Zhang, Yanyun
Song repertoire size is often cited as a classic example of a secondary sexual trait in birds. Models of sexual selection and empirical tests of their predictions have often related secondary sexual traits to longevity. However, the relationship between repertoire size and longevity is unclear. Using capture-mark-recapture studies in two populations of the brownish-flanked bush warbler Cettia fortipes, we found that males with a repertoire size of three maintained territory tenure for a longer duration than did males with a repertoire size of two. These results provide evidence that even a minimal difference in repertoire size can serve as a potential signal of territory tenure capability. PMID:25822524
K.L. Borgmann; S.F. Pearson; D.J. Levey; C.H. Greenberg
Borgmann, K.L., S.F. Pearson, D.J. Levey, and C.H. Greenberg. 2004. Wintering yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata) track manipulated abundance of Myrica cerifera fruits. The Auk 121(1):74-87. Abstract: Food availability during winter may determine habitat use and limit populations of overwintering birds, yet its importance is difficult to judge because few studies have experimentally tested the response of nonbreeding birds to changes in resource abundance. We experimentally examined the link between fruit availability and habitat use by manipulating winter abundance of Myrica cerifera L. (Myricaceae) fruits in managed longleaf (Pinus palustris) and loblolly (P. taeda) pine stands in South Carolina. Myrica cerifera is a common understory shrub in the southeastern United States and provides lipid-rich fruit in late winter (February and March), when insects and other fruits are scarce. On treatment plots, we covered fruiting M. cerifera shrubs with netting in early winter to prevent birds from eating their fruits. In late February, when M. cerifera fruit crops were largely depleted elsewhere on our study site, we uncovered the shrubs and documented the response of the bird community to those patches of high fruit availability. Relative to control plots, total bird abundance (excluding the most common species, Yellow-rumped Warbler [Dendroica coronata]) and species richness did not change after net removal. Yellow-rumped Warblers, however, became significantly more abundant on treatment plots after net removal, which suggests that they track M. cerifera fruit abundance. We suggest that M. cerifera plays a role in determining the local distribution of wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers at our study site. To put these results into a management context, we also examined the effect of prescribed fire frequencies on M. cerifera fruit production. Across pine stands with different fire regimes, M. cerifera fruit abundance increased with the number of years since burning
Diet of Wilson's warblers and distribution of arthropod prey in the understory of Douglas-fir forests
Hagar, Joan C.; Dugger, Kate; Starkey, Edward E.
Availability of food resources is an important factor in avian habitat selection. Food resources for terrestrial birds often are closely related to vegetation structure and composition. Identification of plant species important in supporting food resources may facilitate vegetation management to achieve objectives for providing bird habitat. We used fecal analysis to describe the diet of adult Wilson's Warblers (Wilsonia pusilla) that foraged in the understory of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in western Oregon during the breeding season. We sampled arthropods at the same sites where diet data were collected, and compared abundance and biomass of prey among seven common shrub species. Wilson's Warblers ate more caterpillars (Lepidoptera larvae), flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and Homoptera than expected based on availability. Deciduous shrubs supported higher abundances of arthropod taxa and size classes used as prey by Wilson's Warblers than did evergreen shrubs. The development and maintenance of deciduous understory vegetation in conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest may be fundamental for conservation of food webs that support breeding Wilson's Warblers and other shrub-associated, insectivorous songbirds.
Phylogeography and genetic structure of northern populations of the yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia).
Milot, E; Gibbs, H L; Hobson, K A
Phylogeographic patterns of intraspecific variation can provide insights into the population-level processes responsible for speciation and yield information useful for conservation purposes. To examine phylogeography and population structure in a migratory passerine bird at both continental and regional geographical scales, we analysed 344 bp of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequence from 155 yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia) collected from seven locations across Canada and from Alaska. There is a major subdivision between eastern (Manitoba to Newfoundland) and western (Alaska and British Columbia) populations which appears to have developed during the recent Pleistocene. Some localities within these two regions also differ significantly in their genetic composition, suggesting further subdivision on a regional geographical scale. Eastern and western birds form distinct phylogeographic entities and the clustering of all western haplotypes with two eastern haplotypes suggests that the western haplotypes may be derived from an eastern lineage. Analyses based on coalescent models support this explanation for the origin of western haplotypes. These results are consistent with important features of Mengel's model of warbler diversification. From a conservation perspective they also suggest that individual populations of migrant birds may form demographically isolated management units on a smaller scale than previously appreciated. PMID:10849283
Behavioral activities of male Cerulean Warblers in relation to habitat characteristics
Wood, Petra Bohall; Perkins, Kelly A.
Activities of 29 male Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) were quantified on two sites in West Virginia during May–June 2005. Singing and foraging were the most common of 11 observed behavioral activities (81.6%), while maintenance and mating behaviors were uncommonly observed. Male activity differed among vegetative strata (P = 0.02) with lower- and mid-canopy strata used most often (70% of observations), especially for foraging, perching, and preening. The upper-canopy was used primarily for singing, particularly within core areas of territories and in association with canopy gaps. Foraging occurred more than expected outside of core areas. Males were associated with canopy gaps during 30% of observations, but the distribution of behavioral activities was not significantly related (P = 0.06) to gap presence. Males used 23 different tree species for a variety of activities with oaks (Quercus spp.) used most often on the xeric site and black cherry (Prunus serotina) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the mesic site. Tree species used for singing differed between core and non-core areas (P < 0.0001) but distribution of singing and foraging activity did not differ among tree species (P = 0.13). Cerulean Warblers appear to be flexible in use of tree species. Their use of different canopy strata for different behavioral activities provides an explanation for the affinity this species exhibits for a vertically stratified forest canopy.
Description of nests, eggs, and nestlings of the endangered nightingale reed-warbler on Saipan, Micronesia
Mosher, S.M.; Fancy, S.G.
We describe the first verified nests, eggs, and nestlings of the Nightingale Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus luscinia), an endangered species endemic to the Mariana Islands, Micronesia. Nest composition, nest dimensions, and eggs were studied on the island of Saipan. Nests were located within three habitat types: upland introduced tangantangan (Leucaena leucocephala) forest, a native mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) wetland, and a native reed (Phragmites karka) wetland. Nesting substrates included five native and two introduced tree species and one native reed species. Nests were composed primarily of dry vine stems, needle-like branchlets of ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia), and tangantangan petioles. Nests were compact to bulky in construction and were secured to a forked arrangement of branches or stems. The background color of eggs ranged from white to cream to ivory-buff. Eggs were spotted, speckled, and blotched with gray, brown, black, and rust colored markings. Clutch size was 2-4, with a mode of two. Hatchlings were altricial with closed eyelids and devoid of natal down with dark gray to black skin. Nestlings examined prior to fledging resembled the adult plumage, except for the lack of the yellow supercilium found in adults. The nests and eggs have some characteristics similar to those of other Acrocephaline warblers found throughout Micronesia and Polynesia.
Social pairing of Seychelles warblers under reduced constraints: MHC, neutral heterozygosity, and age
Wright, David J.; Brouwer, Lyanne; Mannarelli, Maria-Elena; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan
The prevalence and significance of precopulatory mate choice remains keenly debated. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in vertebrate adaptive immunity, and variation at the MHC influences individual survival. Although MHC-dependent mate choice has been documented in certain species, many other studies find no such pattern. This may be, at least in part, because in natural systems constraints may reduce the choices available to individuals and prevent full expression of underlying preferences. We used translocations to previously unoccupied islands to experimentally reduce constraints on female social mate choice in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), a species in which patterns of MHC-dependent extrapair paternity (EPP), but not social mate choice, have been observed. We find no evidence of MHC-dependent social mate choice in the new populations. Instead, we find that older males and males with more microsatellite heterozygosity are more likely to have successfully paired. Our data cannot resolve whether these patterns in pairing were due to male–male competition or female choice. However, our research does suggest that female Seychelles warblers do not choose social mates using MHC class I to increase fitness. It may also indicate that the MHC-dependent EPP observed in the source population is probably due to mechanisms other than female precopulatory mate choice based on MHC cues. PMID:26792973
Coping with Shifting Nest Predation Refuges by European Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Halupka, Lucyna; Halupka, Konrad; Klimczuk, Ewelina; Sztwiertnia, Hanna
Predation, the most important source of nest mortality in altricial birds, has been a subject of numerous studies during past decades. However, the temporal dynamics between changing predation pressures and parental responses remain poorly understood. We analysed characteristics of 524 nests of European reed warblers monitored during six consecutive breeding seasons in the same area, and found some support for the shifting nest predation refuge hypothesis. Nest site characteristics were correlated with nest fate, but a nest with the same nest-site attributes could be relatively safe in one season and vulnerable to predation in another. Thus nest predation refuges were ephemeral and there was no between-season consistency in nest predation patterns. Reed warblers that lost their first nests in a given season did not disperse farther for the subsequent reproductive attempt, compared to successful individuals, but they introduced more changes to their second nest sites. In subsequent nests, predation risk remained constant for birds that changed nest-site characteristics, but increased for those that did not. At the between-season temporal scale, individual birds did not perform better with age in terms of reducing nest predation risk. We conclude that the experience acquired in previous years may not be useful, given that nest predation refuges are not stable. PMID:25522327
A hierarchical analysis of population change with application to Cerulean Warblers
Link, W.A.; Sauer, J.R.
Estimation of population change from count surveys is complicated by variation in quality of information among sample units, by the need for covariates to accommodate factors that influence detectability of animals, and by multiple geographic scales of interest. We present a hierarchical model for estimation of population change from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Hierarchical models, in which population parameters at different geographic scales are viewed as random variables, provide a convenient framework for summary of population change among regions, accommodating regional variation in survey quality and a variety of distributional assumptions about observer effects and other nuisance parameters. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods provide a convenient means for fitting these models and also allow for construction of estimates of derived variables such as weighted regional trends and composite yearly population indices. We construct an overdispersed Poisson regression model for estimation of trend and year effects for Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea), accommodating nuisance covariates for observer and start-up effects, and estimating abundance- and area-weighted annual indices at regional and continent-wide geographic scales. A goodness-of-fit test is also presented for the model. Cerulean Warblers declined at a rate of 3.04% per year over the interval 1966-2000.
Simulating range-wide population and breeding habitat dynamics for an endangered woodland warbler in the face of uncertainty
Adam Duarte; Hatfield, Jeffrey; Todd M. Swannack; Michael R. J. Forstner; M. Clay Green; Floyd W. Weckerly
Population viability analyses provide a quantitative approach that seeks to predict the possible future status of a species of interest under different scenarios and, therefore, can be important components of large-scale species' conservation programs. We created a model and simulated range-wide population and breeding habitat dynamics for an endangered woodland warbler, the golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia). Habitat-transition probabilities were estimated across the warbler's breeding range by combining National Land Cover Database imagery with multistate modeling. Using these estimates, along with recently published demographic estimates, we examined if the species can remain viable into the future given the current conditions. Lastly, we evaluated if protecting a greater amount of habitat would increase the number of warblers that can be supported in the future by systematically increasing the amount of protected habitat and comparing the estimated terminal carrying capacity at the end of 50 years of simulated habitat change. The estimated habitat-transition probabilities supported the hypothesis that habitat transitions are unidirectional, whereby habitat is more likely to diminish than regenerate. The model results indicated population viability could be achieved under current conditions, depending on dispersal. However, there is considerable uncertainty associated with the population projections due to parametric uncertainty. Model results suggested that increasing the amount of protected lands would have a substantial impact on terminal carrying capacities at the end of a 50-year simulation. Notably, this study identifies the need for collecting the data required to estimate demographic parameters in relation to changes in habitat metrics and population density in multiple regions, and highlights the importance of establishing a common definition of what constitutes protected habitat, what management goals are suitable within those protected
Phylogeography of Indonesian and Sino-Himalayan region bush warblers (Cettia, Aves).
Olsson, Urban; Alström, Per; Gelang, Magnus; Ericson, Per G P; Sundberg, Per
We present a hypothesis for the phylogeny and phylogeography of a group of bush warblers in the genus Cettia, based on parts of the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene and the nuclear myoglobin intron II (in all approximately 1.7 kb). Ancestral areas were reconstructed by dispersal-vicariance analysis and constrained Bayesian inference. The results suggest that the insular taxa in the Cettia vulcania group are most closely related to Cettia flavolivacea, and originated from a dispersal by an ancestral population in the Himalayas towards the south, to the Sunda region. From this population, a second dispersal along a different route colonized China and northern Vietnam. Hence, the Chinese taxon intricata and Vietnamese oblita, currently allocated to C. flavolivacea, are more closely related to the vulcania group than to the other taxa in the flavolivacea group, and we propose that they be treated as conspecific with C. vulcania, restricting C. flavolivacea to Myanmar and the Himalayas. PMID:16854603
Magnetic orientation of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) under 1.4 MHz radiofrequency magnetic field.
Kavokin, Kirill; Chernetsov, Nikita; Pakhomov, Alexander; Bojarinova, Julia; Kobylkov, Dmitry; Namozov, Barot
We report on the experiments on orientation of a migratory songbird, the garden warbler (Sylvia borin), during the autumn migration period on the Courish Spit, Eastern Baltics. Birds in experimental cages, deprived of visual information, showed the seasonally appropriate direction of intended flight with respect to the magnetic meridian. Weak radiofrequency (RF) magnetic field (190 nT at 1.4 MHz) disrupted this orientation ability. These results may be considered as an independent replication of earlier experiments, performed by the group of R. and W. Wiltschko with European robins (Erithacus rubecula). Confirmed outstanding sensitivity of the birds' magnetic compass to RF fields in the lower megahertz range demands for a revision of one of the mainstream theories of magnetoreception, the radical-pair model of birds' magnetic compass. PMID:24942848
Effects of an unseasonable snowstorm on red-faced Warbler nesting success
Decker, Karie L.; Conway, C.J.
Earlier initiation of nests by breeding birds may reflect an adaptive response to changes in food availability or warming of spring temperatures, but the consequences of initiating nests too early may be severe, particularly at high elevations. A rare snowstorm in late May 2008 resulted in nest abandonment by 68% of Red-faced Warblers (Cardellina rubrifrons) breeding in a high-elevation riparian ecosystem of southeastern Arizona. In addition, climate data from our study site from 1950 to 2008 revealed higher-than-average springtime temperatures during the past 10 years. If birds respond to this increase in springtime temperatures by nesting earlier their vulnerability to spring snowstorms may increase. ?? 2009 by The Cooper Ornithological Society. All rights reserved.
Magnetic orientation of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) under 1.4 MHz radiofrequency magnetic field
Kavokin, Kirill; Chernetsov, Nikita; Pakhomov, Alexander; Bojarinova, Julia; Kobylkov, Dmitry; Namozov, Barot
We report on the experiments on orientation of a migratory songbird, the garden warbler (Sylvia borin), during the autumn migration period on the Courish Spit, Eastern Baltics. Birds in experimental cages, deprived of visual information, showed the seasonally appropriate direction of intended flight with respect to the magnetic meridian. Weak radiofrequency (RF) magnetic field (190 nT at 1.4 MHz) disrupted this orientation ability. These results may be considered as an independent replication of earlier experiments, performed by the group of R. and W. Wiltschko with European robins (Erithacus rubecula). Confirmed outstanding sensitivity of the birds' magnetic compass to RF fields in the lower megahertz range demands for a revision of one of the mainstream theories of magnetoreception, the radical-pair model of birds' magnetic compass. PMID:24942848
Allelic Variation in a Willow Warbler Genomic Region Is Associated with Climate Clines
Larson, Keith W.; Liedvogel, Miriam; Addison, BriAnne; Kleven, Oddmund; Laskemoen, Terje; Lifjeld, Jan T.; Lundberg, Max; Åkesson, Susanne; Bensch, Staffan
Local adaptation is an important process contributing to population differentiation which can occur in continuous or isolated populations connected by various amounts of gene flow. The willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is one of the most common songbirds in Fennoscandia. It has a continuous breeding distribution where it is found in all forested habitats from sea level to the tree line and therefore constitutes an ideal species for the study of locally adapted genes associated with environmental gradients. Previous studies in this species identified a genetic marker (AFLP-WW1) that showed a steep north-south cline in central Sweden with one allele associated with coastal lowland habitats and the other with mountainous habitats. It was further demonstrated that this marker is embedded in a highly differentiated chromosome region that spans several megabases. In the present study, we sampled 2,355 individuals at 128 sites across all of Fennoscandia to study the geographic and climatic variables associated with the allele frequency distributions of WW1. Our results demonstrate that 1) allele frequency patterns significantly differ between mountain and lowland populations, 2) these allele differences coincide with extreme temperature conditions and the short growing season in the mountains, and milder conditions in coastal areas, and 3) the northern-allele or "altitude variant" of WW1 occurs in willow warblers that occupy mountainous habitat regardless of subspecies. Finally these results suggest that climate may exert selection on the genomic region associated with these alleles and would allow us to develop testable predictions for the distribution of the genetic marker based on climate change scenarios. PMID:24788148
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vandaveer, Walter R., IV; Mosher, Mel
Presents a modification of the classic Blue Bottle demonstration that involves the alkaline glucose reduction of methylene blue. Uses other indicators in the classic Blue Bottle to produce a rainbow of colors. (JRH)
Mercury occurrence in prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea) inhabiting a National Priorities List site and reference areas in southern Alabama.
Adair, Blakely M; Reynolds, Kevin D; McMurry, Scott T; Cobb, George P
Mercury occurrence in prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea) was evaluated over two years in southern Alabama. Mercury was found in warbler nestlings and adults inhabiting National Priority List (NPL) sites in McIntosh, Alabama. Food items that were collected from nestlings also contained elevated mercury. When mercury concentrations in soil, food, and nestling were plotted at each nest box location, the distribution of mercury in the three matrices yielded information that direct bioaccumulation factors could not. There were site differences in mercury accumulation in nestlings inhabiting the NPL sites. Nestling mercury accumulation correlated with solid mercury concentrations near the nest box where the nestling was raised. Trophic transport of mercury was poorly defined by mercury in food; however, closer examination of prey items shows that food source influences accumulation. Mercury distributions in matrices provide useful information of uptake that can be integrated with risk assessment endpoints. PMID:12520399
Hooded-Warbler Nesting Success Adjacent to Group-Selection and Clearcut Edges in a Southeastern Bottomland Forest
Moorman, C.E.; Guynn, D.C., Jr.; Kilgo, J.C.
Location and monitoring of Hooded-Warbler nests in a bottomland forest and examined the effects of edge proximity, edge type and nest-site vegetation on nesting success. Probability of parasitism by Brown-headed cowbirds was higher near clearcut edges and parasitism reduced clutch-size and numbers of fledglings per successful nest. Study was conducted in a primarily forested landscape, so cowbird abundance or negative edge effects may have been low relative to agricultural landscapes in the South.
Harvest-related edge effects on prey availability and foraging of hooded warblers in a bottomland hardwood forest.
John Kilgo
The effects of harvest-created canopy gaps in bottomland hardwood forests on arthropod abundance and, hence, the foraging ecology of birds are poorly understood. I predicted that arthropod abundance would be high near edges of group-selection harvest gaps and lower in the surrounding forest, and that male Hooded Warblers (Wilsonia citrina) foraging near gaps would find more prey per unit time than those foraging in the surrounding forest. In fact, arthropod abundance was greater >100 m from a gap edge than at 0-30 m or 30-100 m from an edge, due to their abundance on switchcane (Arundinaria gigantea); arthropods did not differ in abundance among distances from gaps on oaks (Quercus spp.) or red maple (Acer rubrum). Similarly, Hooded Warbler foraging attack rates were not higher near gap edges: when foraging for fledglings, attack rate did not differ among distances from gaps, but when foraging for themselves, attack rates actually were lower 0-30 m from gap edges than 30-100 m or >100 m from a gap edge. Foraging attack rate was positively associated with arthropod abundance. Hooded Warblers apparently encountered fewer prey and presumably foraged less efficiently where arthropods were least abundant, i.e., near gaps. That attack rates among birds foraging for fledglings were not affected by distance from gap (and hence arthropod abundance) suggests that prey availability may not be limiting at any location across the forest, despite the depressing effects of gaps on arthropod abundance.
Evolutionary dynamics of Rh2 opsins in birds demonstrate an episode of accelerated evolution in the New World warblers (Setophaga)
Price, Trevor D.
Low rates of sequence evolution associated with purifying selection can be interrupted by episodic changes in selective regimes. Visual pigments are a unique system in which we can investigate the functional consequences of genetic changes, therefore connecting genotype to phenotype in the context of natural and sexual selection pressures. We study the RH2 and RH1 visual pigments (opsins) across 22 bird species belonging to two ecologically convergent clades, the New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae), and evaluate rates of evolution in these clades along with data from 21 additional species. We demonstrate generally slow evolution of these opsins: both Rh1 and Rh2 are highly conserved across Old World and New World warblers. However, Rh2 underwent a burst of evolution within the New World genus Setophaga, where it accumulated substitutions at 6 amino acid sites across the species we studied. Evolutionary analyses revealed a significant increase in dN/dS in Setophaga, implying relatively strong selective pressures to overcome long-standing purifying selection. We studied the effects of each substitution on spectral tuning and found they do not cause large spectral shifts. Thus substitutions may reflect other aspects of opsin function, such as those affecting photosensitivity and/or dark-light adaptation. Although it is unclear what these alterations mean for color perception, we suggest that rapid evolution is linked to sexual selection, given the exceptional plumage colour diversification in Setophaga. PMID:25827331
Habitat selection and ecological speciation in Galápagos warbler finches (Certhidea olivacea and Certhidea fusca).
Tonnis, Brandon; Grant, Peter R; Grant, B Rosemary; Petren, Kenneth
We investigated phylogeographic divergence among populations of Galápagos warble finches. Their broad distribution, lack of phenotypic differentiation and low levels of genetic divergence make warbler finches an appropriate model to study speciation in allopatry. A positive relationship between genetic and geographical distance is expected for island taxa. Warbler finches actually showed a negative isolation by distance relationship, causing us to reject the hypothesis of distance-limited dispersal. An alternative hypothesis, that dispersal is limited by habitat similarity, was supported. We found a positive correlation between genetic distances and differences in maximum elevation among islands, which is an indicator of ecological similarity. MtDNA sequence variation revealed monophyletic support for two distinct species. Certhidea olivacea have recently dispersed among larger central islands, while some Certhidea fusca have recently dispersed to small islands at opposite ends of the archipelago. We conclude that females have chosen to breed on islands with habitats similar to their natal environment. Habitat selection is implicated as an important component of speciation of warbler finches, which is the earliest known divergence of the adaptive radiation of Darwin's finches. These results suggest that small populations can harbour cryptic but biologically meaningful variation that may affect longer term evolutionary processes. PMID:15940826
Continuous variation rather than specialization in the egg phenotypes of cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) parasitizing two sympatric reed warbler species.
Drobniak, Szymon M; Dyrcz, Andrzej; Sudyka, Joanna; Cichoń, Mariusz
The evolution of brood parasitism has long attracted considerable attention among behavioural ecologists, especially in the common cuckoo system. Common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) are obligatory brood parasites, laying eggs in nests of passerines and specializing on specific host species. Specialized races of cuckoos are genetically distinct. Often in a given area, cuckoos encounter multiple hosts showing substantial variation in egg morphology. Exploiting different hosts should lead to egg-phenotype specialization in cuckoos to match egg phenotypes of the hosts. Here we test this assumption using a wild population of two sympatrically occurring host species: the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and reed warbler (A. scirpaceus). Using colour spectrophotometry, egg shell dynamometry and egg size measurements, we studied egg morphologies of cuckoos parasitizing these two hosts. In spite of observing clear differences between host egg phenotypes, we found no clear differences in cuckoo egg morphologies. Interestingly, although chromatically cuckoo eggs were more similar to reed warbler eggs, after taking into account achromatic differences, cuckoo eggs seemed to be equally similar to both host species. We hypothesize that such pattern may represent an initial stage of an averaging strategy of cuckoos, that--instead of specializing for specific hosts or exploiting only one host--adapt to multiple hosts. PMID:25180796
Comparison of neotropical migrant landbird populations wintering in tropical forest, isolated forest fragments, and agricultural habitats
Robbins, C.S.; Dowell, B.A.; Dawson, D.K.; Colon, J.A.; Estrada, R.; Sutton, A.; Sutton, R.; Weyer, D.
Neotropical migrant bird populations were sampled at 76 sites in seven countries by using mist nets and point counts during a six-winter study. Populations in major agricultural habitats were compared with those in extensive forest and isolated forest fragments. Certain Neotropical migrants, such as the Northern Parula, American Redstart, and the Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, Black-and-white, and Hooded warblers, were present in arboreal agricultural habitats such as pine, cacao, citrus, and shade coffee plantations in relatively large numbers. Many north temperate zone shrub-nesting species, such as the Gray Catbird, White-eyed Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Indigo Bunting, also used agricultural habitats in winter, as did resident hummingbirds and migrant orioles. Ground-foraging migrants, such as thrushes and Kentucky Warblers, were rarely found in the agricultural habitats sampled. Although many Neotropical migrants use some croplands, this use might be severely limited by overgrazing by cattle, by intensive management (such as removal of ground cover in an orchard), or by heavy use of insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
Evaluation of mist-net sampling as an index to productivity in Kirtland's Warblers
Bart, J.; Kepler, C.; Sykes, P.; Bocetti, C.I.
In summary, in our study (1) capture rates (number of HY birds/number of AHY birds) were not useful as a direct measure of productivity in Kirtland's Warblers because HY birds were about 1.7 times more likely than AHY birds to be captured in mist nets; (2) capture rates varied substantially among sites, presumably because of changes in habitat that affected movements during late summer (thus, capture rates at a single site did not provide a useful index to population-wide productivity); and (3) population-wide capture rates provided useful indices to population-wide productivity. As noted previously, the first two conclusions are already accepted by specialists in the use of mist netting to index productivity. Our study presents the first evidence that annual variation in relative capture rates is sufficiently small that mist netting at multiple sites in a region can provide a useful index to region-wide productivity. The region must be large relative to late-summer movements by the study species, which means that obtaining habitat-specific productivity rates will be possible only within large patches of habitat. It should also be recognized that many species will move much farther than Kirtland's Warblers (owing to their limited breeding distribution). Our results suggest that mist-netting programs like MAPS and the Constant Effort Sites used in Britain can provide useful measures of temporal patterns, large-scale spatial patterns, and year-specific patterns in avian productivity. Furthermore, unlike most nest-monitoring studies, mist netting in late summer measures season-long productivity, the quantity of greatest use in most demographic analyses. Late-summer mist netting thus appears to be a useful method for studying avian productivity provided that investigators realize that results from at least six to eight sites that are well distributed across a large region must be combined to obtain a valid index, and that results obtained in this manner describe
Blue-green eggshell coloration is not a sexually selected signal of female quality in an open-nesting polygynous passerine
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Honza, Marcel; Požgayová, Milica; Procházka, Petr; Cherry, Michael I.
It has been proposed that blue-green egg colours have evolved as a post-mating signal of female quality, selected by males allocating their parental effort in response to the strength of this signal. We tested two main assumptions of the sexually selected egg coloration hypothesis: (1) whether the intensity of eggshell blue-green chroma (BGC) reflects female quality; and (2) whether males make their decisions on the level of parental care that they provide according to the intensity of eggshell BGC. As a model species, we chose the facultatively polygynous great reed warbler ( Acrocephalus arundinaceus). In this species, females simultaneously paired with the same male, compete for his nest attendance and could benefit from signalling their quality through egg coloration. However, we found no association between the variation in eggshell BGC and the measures of female quality (physical condition, mean egg volume and age). Moreover, great reed warbler males did not adjust their investment (as measured in terms of nest defence against a brood parasite) in relation to the eggshell BGC. We conclude that blue-green egg coloration in this open-nesting passerine is unlikely to have a signalling function. Rather, the large colour variation among clutches of individual females may depend on yearly fluctuations in environmental conditions.
Assessment of indirect pesticide effects on worm-eating warbler populations in a managed forest ecosystem.
Awkerman, Jill A; Marshall, Matthew R; Williams, Alan B; Gale, George A; Cooper, Robert J; Raimondo, Sandy
Ecological risk assessments rarely evaluate indirect pesticide effects. Pesticides causing no direct mortality in wildlife can still reduce prey availability, resulting in a lower reproductive rate or poor juvenile condition. Few studies have examined these consequences at the population level. We use a four-year data set from a forest ecosystem in which Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk) was applied to control gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar L.). Lower worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus) productivity on Btk plots contributed to an intrinsic growth rate <1. Altered provisioning behavior by adults led to lower nestling mass in Btk-treated plots, and simulations of reduced juvenile survival expected as a result further reduced population growth rate. The present study explored different spatial representations of treated areas, using a two-patch matrix model incorporating dispersal. Minimal migration from areas with increasing subpopulations could compensate for detrimental reductions in reproductive success and juvenile survival within treated subpopulations. We also simulated population dynamics with different proportions of treated areas to inform management strategies in similar systems. Nontoxic insecticides are capable of impacting nontarget populations with consistent, long-term use and should be evaluated based on the spatial connectivity representative of habitat availability and the time period appropriate for risk assessment of pesticide effects in wildlife populations. PMID:21538489
Annual variation in foraging ecology of prothonotary warblers during the breeding season
Petit, L.J.; Petit, D.R.; Petit, K.E.; Fleming, W.J.
We studied foraging ecology of Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) along the Tennessee River in west-central Tennessee during the breeding seasons of 1984-1987. We analyzed seven foraging variables to determine if this population exhibited annual variation in foraging behavior. Based on nearly 3,000 foraging maneuvers, most variables showed significant interyear variation during the four prenestling and three nestling periods we studied. This interyear variation probably was due -to proximate, environmental cues--such as distribution and abundance of arthropods--which, in turn, were influenced by local weather conditions. Researchers should consider the consequences of combining foraging behavior data collected in different years, because resolution of ecological trends may be sacrificed by considering only general patterns of foraging ecology and not the dynamics of those activities. In addition, because of annual variability, foraging data collected in only one year, regardless of the number of observations gathered, may not provide an accurate concept of the foraging ecology in insectivorous birds.
Incipient speciation despite little assortative mating: the yellow-rumped warbler hybrid zone.
Brelsford, Alan; Irwin, Darren E
Hybrid zones between recently diverged taxa are natural laboratories for speciation research, allowing us to determine whether there is reproductive isolation between divergent forms and the causes of that isolation. We present a study of a classic avian hybrid zone in North America between two subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata). Although previous work has shown very little differentiation in mitochondrial DNA across this hybrid zone, we identified two nuclear loci (one sex-linked and one autosomal) that show fixed differences across the hybrid zone, in a close concordance with patterns of plumage variation. Temporal stability and limited width of the hybrid zone, along with substantial linkage disequilibrium between these two diagnostic markers in the center of the zone, indicate that there is moderate reproductive isolation between these populations, with an estimated strength of selection maintaining the zone of 18%. Pairing data indicate that assortative mating is either very weak or absent, suggesting that this reproductive isolation is largely due to postmating barriers. Thus, despite extensive hybridization the two forms are distinct evolutionary groups carrying genes for divergent adaptive peaks, and this situation appears relatively stable. PMID:19624726
Persistent diel melatonin rhythmicity during the Arctic summer in free-living willow warblers.
Silverin, Bengt; Gwinner, Eberhard; Van't Hof, Thomas J; Schwabl, Ingrid; Fusani, Leonida; Hau, Michaela; Helm, Barbara
Arctic environments are challenging for circadian systems. Around the solstices, the most important zeitgeber, the change between night and day, is reduced to minor fluctuations in light intensities. However, many species including songbirds nonetheless show clear diel activity patterns. Here we examine the possible physiological basis underlying diel rhythmicity under continuous Arctic summer light. Rhythmic secretion of the hormone melatonin constitutes an important part of the songbird circadian system and its experimental suppression, e.g., by constant light, usually leads to behavioral arrhythmia. We therefore studied melatonin patterns in a free-living migratory songbird, the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), that maintains diel activity during the Arctic summer. We compared melatonin profiles during late spring and summer solstice in two Swedish populations from the south (58 degrees N) and near the Arctic circle (66 degrees N). We found the northern Swedish population maintained clear diel changes in melatonin secretion during the summer solstice, although peak concentrations were lower than in southern Sweden. Melatonin levels were highest before midnight and in good accordance with periods of reduced activity. The maintenance of diel melatonin rhythmicity under conditions of continuous light may be one of the physiological mechanisms that enables continued functioning of the circadian system. PMID:19374903
Host intra-clutch variation, cuckoo egg matching and egg rejection by great reed warblers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cherry, Michael I.; Bennett, Andrew T. D.; Moskát, Csaba
Prevailing theory predicts that lower levels of intra-clutch variation in host eggs facilitate the detection of brood parasitism. We assessed egg matching using both human vision and UV-VIS spectrophotometry and then followed the nest fate of great reed warblers naturally parasitised by European cuckoos. Rejection was predicted by the following three variables: matching between cuckoo and host eggs on the main chromatic variable defined by principal components analysis of the egg spectra (which has a strong loading in the UV); the number of host eggs in the nest; and human estimates of intra-clutch variation. The first variable is not correlated to human estimates of matching, which do not predict rejection. In line with another recent study, rejection rates were predicted by higher levels of intra-clutch variation in the host eggs, suggesting that higher rather than lower levels of intra-clutch variation can facilitate the discrimination of cuckoo eggs by hosts. We suggest that the importance of intra-clutch variation is context dependent, with intra-clutch variation being important when there is good matching between the host and the cuckoo eggs. Our results also suggest that both spectrometric and human visual assessments of egg matching and intra-clutch variation are prudent: the former provide the best method of estimating reflectance variation, whereas the latter include some assessment of patterns of maculation.
Age-specific haemosporidian infection dynamics and survival in Seychelles warblers.
Hammers, Martijn; Komdeur, Jan; Kingma, Sjouke A; Hutchings, Kimberly; Fairfield, Eleanor A; Gilroy, Danielle L; Richardson, David S
Parasites may severely impact the fitness and life-history of their hosts. After infection, surviving individuals may suppress the growth of the parasite, or completely clear the infection and develop immunity. Consequently, parasite prevalence is predicted to decline with age. Among elderly individuals, immunosenescence may lead to a late-life increase in infection prevalence. We used a 21-year longitudinal dataset from one population of individually-marked Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) to investigate age-dependent prevalence of the GRW1 strain of the intracellular protozoan blood parasite Haemoproteus nucleocondensus and whether infections with this parasite affect age-dependent survival. We analyzed 2454 samples from 1431 individuals and found that H. nucleocondensus infections could rarely be detected in nestlings. Prevalence increased strongly among fledglings and peaked among older first year birds. Prevalence was high among younger adults and declined steeply until ca 4 years of age, after which it was stable. Contrary to expectations, H. nucleocondensus prevalence did not increase among elderly individuals and we found no evidence that annual survival was lower in individuals suffering from an infection. Our results suggest that individuals clear or suppress infections and acquire immunity against future infections, and provide no evidence for immunosenescence nor an impact of chronic infections on survival. PMID:27431430
Age-specific haemosporidian infection dynamics and survival in Seychelles warblers
Hammers, Martijn; Komdeur, Jan; Kingma, Sjouke A.; Hutchings, Kimberly; Fairfield, Eleanor A.; Gilroy, Danielle L.; Richardson, David S.
Parasites may severely impact the fitness and life-history of their hosts. After infection, surviving individuals may suppress the growth of the parasite, or completely clear the infection and develop immunity. Consequently, parasite prevalence is predicted to decline with age. Among elderly individuals, immunosenescence may lead to a late-life increase in infection prevalence. We used a 21-year longitudinal dataset from one population of individually-marked Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) to investigate age-dependent prevalence of the GRW1 strain of the intracellular protozoan blood parasite Haemoproteus nucleocondensus and whether infections with this parasite affect age-dependent survival. We analyzed 2454 samples from 1431 individuals and found that H. nucleocondensus infections could rarely be detected in nestlings. Prevalence increased strongly among fledglings and peaked among older first year birds. Prevalence was high among younger adults and declined steeply until ca 4 years of age, after which it was stable. Contrary to expectations, H. nucleocondensus prevalence did not increase among elderly individuals and we found no evidence that annual survival was lower in individuals suffering from an infection. Our results suggest that individuals clear or suppress infections and acquire immunity against future infections, and provide no evidence for immunosenescence nor an impact of chronic infections on survival. PMID:27431430
Early diversification of sperm size in the evolutionary history of the old world leaf warblers (Phylloscopidae).
Supriya, K; Rowe, M; Laskemoen, T; Mohan, D; Price, T D; Lifjeld, J T
Sperm morphological traits are highly variable among species and are commonly thought to evolve by post-copulatory sexual selection. However, little is known about the evolutionary dynamics of sperm morphology, and whether rates of evolutionary change are variable over time and among taxonomic groups. Here, we examine sperm morphology from 21 species of Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopidae), a group of generally dull, sexually monochromatic birds, which are known to have high levels of extra-pair paternity. We found that sperm length differs markedly across species, spanning about 40% of the range observed across a larger selection of passerine birds. Furthermore, we found strong support for an 'early-burst' model of trait evolution, implying that the majority of divergence in sperm length has occurred early in the evolutionary history of this clade with subsequent evolutionary stasis. This large early divergence matches the early divergence reported in ecological traits (i.e. body size and feeding behaviour). Our findings demonstrate that rates of evolution in sperm morphology can change over time in passerine taxa, and that evolutionary stasis in sperm traits can occur even in species exhibiting characteristics consistent with moderate-to-high levels of sperm competition. It remains a major challenge to identify the selection mechanisms and possible constraints responsible for these variable rates of sperm evolution. PMID:26781541
The impact of conservation-driven translocations on blood parasite prevalence in the Seychelles warbler.
Fairfield, Eleanor A; Hutchings, Kimberly; Gilroy, Danielle L; Kingma, Sjouke A; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan; Richardson, David S
Introduced populations often lose the parasites they carried in their native range, but little is known about which processes may cause parasite loss during host movement. Conservation-driven translocations could provide an opportunity to identify the mechanisms involved. Using 3,888 blood samples collected over 22 years, we investigated parasite prevalence in populations of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) after individuals were translocated from Cousin Island to four new islands (Aride, Cousine, Denis and Frégate). Only a single parasite (Haemoproteus nucleocondensus) was detected on Cousin (prevalence = 52%). This parasite persisted on Cousine (prevalence = 41%), but no infection was found in individuals hatched on Aride, Denis or Frégate. It is not known whether the parasite ever arrived on Aride, but it has not been detected there despite 20 years of post-translocation sampling. We confirmed that individuals translocated to Denis and Frégate were infected, with initial prevalence similar to Cousin. Over time, prevalence decreased on Denis and Frégate until the parasite was not found on Denis two years after translocation, and was approaching zero prevalence on Frégate. The loss (Denis) or decline (Frégate) of H. nucleocondensus, despite successful establishment of infected hosts, must be due to factors affecting parasite transmission on these islands. PMID:27405249
The impact of conservation-driven translocations on blood parasite prevalence in the Seychelles warbler
Fairfield, Eleanor A.; Hutchings, Kimberly; Gilroy, Danielle L.; Kingma, Sjouke A.; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan; Richardson, David S.
Introduced populations often lose the parasites they carried in their native range, but little is known about which processes may cause parasite loss during host movement. Conservation-driven translocations could provide an opportunity to identify the mechanisms involved. Using 3,888 blood samples collected over 22 years, we investigated parasite prevalence in populations of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) after individuals were translocated from Cousin Island to four new islands (Aride, Cousine, Denis and Frégate). Only a single parasite (Haemoproteus nucleocondensus) was detected on Cousin (prevalence = 52%). This parasite persisted on Cousine (prevalence = 41%), but no infection was found in individuals hatched on Aride, Denis or Frégate. It is not known whether the parasite ever arrived on Aride, but it has not been detected there despite 20 years of post-translocation sampling. We confirmed that individuals translocated to Denis and Frégate were infected, with initial prevalence similar to Cousin. Over time, prevalence decreased on Denis and Frégate until the parasite was not found on Denis two years after translocation, and was approaching zero prevalence on Frégate. The loss (Denis) or decline (Frégate) of H. nucleocondensus, despite successful establishment of infected hosts, must be due to factors affecting parasite transmission on these islands. PMID:27405249
Chemical Magnetoreception: Bird Cryptochrome 1a Is Excited by Blue Light and Forms Long-Lived Radical-Pairs
Liedvogel, Miriam; Maeda, Kiminori; Henbest, Kevin; Schleicher, Erik; Simon, Thomas; Timmel, Christiane R.; Hore, P. J.; Mouritsen, Henrik
Cryptochromes (Cry) have been suggested to form the basis of light-dependent magnetic compass orientation in birds. However, to function as magnetic compass sensors, the cryptochromes of migratory birds must possess a number of key biophysical characteristics. Most importantly, absorption of blue light must produce radical pairs with lifetimes longer than about a microsecond. Cryptochrome 1a (gwCry1a) and the photolyase-homology-region of Cry1 (gwCry1-PHR) from the migratory garden warbler were recombinantly expressed and purified from a baculovirus/Sf9 cell expression system. Transient absorption measurements show that these flavoproteins are indeed excited by light in the blue spectral range leading to the formation of radicals with millisecond lifetimes. These biophysical characteristics suggest that gwCry1a is ideally suited as a primary light-mediated, radical-pair-based magnetic compass receptor. PMID:17971869
... Talk with your health provider.Medications that slow blood clotting (Anticoagulant / Antiplatelet drugs)Blue-green algae might slow blood clotting. Taking blue-green algae along with medications that ...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wellman, Whitney E.; Noble, Mark E.
Compares the revised Blue Bottle formulation to the classical Blue Bottle. Indicates that the revised formulation gives a somewhat bluer solution, but initially slower reduction when compared to the classical formulation. (Author/KHR)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Berger, J. Joel
Describes some of the advantages of an elementary science activity in which students discover that blowing through a straw into a bromthymol blue solution changes the color to yellow. Directions are provided for preparing the bromthymol blue solution. (JR)
... when someone eats parts of the blue nightshade plant. This article is for information only. DO NOT ... is found in the blue nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara ) plant, especially in the fruit and leaves.
Gospel and Blues Improvisation.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smallwood, Richard
The similarities and differences between blues and gospel music are identified and the author suggests that both blues and gospel music have inherent improvisational qualities. Methods of capitalizing on these qualities are presented. Selected readings and recordings are included. (KC)
Blue nightshade poisoning occurs when someone eats parts of the blue nightshade plant. This article is for information only. DO NOT use it to treat or manage an actual poison exposure. If you or someone you ...
Migration and the evolution of sexual dichromatism: evolutionary loss of female coloration with migration among wood-warblers
Simpson, Richard K.; Johnson, Michele A.; Murphy, Troy G.
The mechanisms underlying evolutionary changes in sexual dimorphism have long been of interest to biologists. A striking gradient in sexual dichromatism exists among songbirds in North America, including the wood-warblers (Parulidae): males are generally more colourful than females at northern latitudes, while the sexes are similarly ornamented at lower latitudes. We use phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis to test three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses for the evolution of sexual dichromatism among wood-warblers. The first two hypotheses focus on the loss of female coloration with the evolution of migration, either owing to the costs imposed by visual predators during migration, or owing to the relaxation of selection for female social signalling at higher latitudes. The third hypothesis focuses on whether sexual dichromatism evolved owing to changes in male ornamentation as the strength of sexual selection increases with breeding latitude. To test these hypotheses, we compared sexual dichromatism to three variables: the presence of migration, migration distance, and breeding latitude. We found that the presence of migration and migration distance were both positively correlated with sexual dichromatism, but models including breeding latitude alone were not strongly supported. Ancestral state reconstruction supports the hypothesis that the ancestral wood-warblers were monochromatic, with both colourful males and females. Combined, these results are consistent with the hypotheses that the evolution of migration is associated with the relaxation of selection for social signalling among females and that there are increased predatory costs along longer migratory routes for colourful females. These results suggest that loss of female ornamentation can be a driver of sexual dichromatism and that social or natural selection may be a stronger contributor to variation in dichromatism than sexual selection. PMID:26019159
Experimentally simulating paternity uncertainty: immediate and long-term responses of male and female reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus.
Hoi, Herbert; Krištofík, Ján; Darolová, Alžbeta
In many socially monogamous species, both sexes seek copulation outside the pair bond in order to increase their reproductive success. In response, males adopt counter-strategies to combat the risk of losing paternity. However, no study so far has tried to experimentally prove the function of behaviour for paternity assurance. Introducing a potential extra-pair partner during the female fertile period provides a standardised method to examine how pair members respond immediately (e.g. increase mate guarding or copulation frequency) or long term (e.g. later parental investment and paternity uncertainty). In this study on a socially monogamous passerine species, we experimentally confronted pairs of reed warblers with a conspecific male (caged male simulating an intruder) during egg-laying. Our results revealed that occurrence of an intruder during that period triggered aggression against the intruder, depending on the presence of the female. The male territory owner also attacked the female partner to drive her away from the intruder. Thus territory defence in reed warblers also serves to protect paternity. The increase in paternity uncertainty did not affect later paternal investment. Paternal investment was also independent of the actual paternity losses. In females, the experiment elicited both, immediate and long-term responses. E.g. female copulation solicitations during the intruder experiment were only observed for females which later turned out to have extra-pair chicks in their nest. In relation to long term response females faced with an intruder invested later less in offspring feeding, and had less extra-pair chicks in their nests. Extra-pair paternity also seems to be affected by female quality (body size). In conclusion female reed warblers seem to seek extra-pair fertilizations but we could demonstrate that males adopt paternity assurance tactics which seems to efficiently help them to reduce paternity uncertainty. PMID:23658637
Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler
Lemke, Hilger W.; Tarka, Maja; Klaassen, Raymond H. G.; Åkesson, Mikael; Bensch, Staffan; Hasselquist, Dennis; Hansson, Bengt
Recent technological advancements now allow us to obtain geographical position data for a wide range of animal movements. Here we used light-level geolocators to study the annual migration cycle in great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a passerine bird breeding in Eurasia and wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. We were specifically interested in seasonal strategies in routes and schedules of migration. We found that the great reed warblers (all males, no females were included) migrated from the Swedish breeding site in early August. After spending up to three weeks at scattered stopover sites in central to south-eastern Europe, they resumed migration and crossed the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert without lengthy stopovers. They then spread out over a large overwintering area and each bird utilised two (or even three) main wintering sites that were spatially separated by a distinct mid-winter movement. Spring migration initiation date differed widely between individuals (1-27 April). Several males took a more westerly route over the Sahara in spring than in autumn, and in general there were fewer long-distance travels and more frequent shorter stopovers, including one in northern Africa, in spring. The shorter stopovers made spring migration on average faster than autumn migration. There was a strong correlation between the spring departure dates from wintering sites and the arrival dates at the breeding ground. All males had a high migration speed in spring despite large variation in departure dates, indicating a time-minimization strategy to achieve an early arrival at the breeding site; the latter being decisive for high reproductive success in great reed warblers. Our results have important implications for the understanding of long-distance migrants' ability to predict conditions at distant breeding sites and adapt to rapid environmental change. PMID:24205374
Annual cycle and migration strategies of a trans-Saharan migratory songbird: a geolocator study in the great reed warbler.
Lemke, Hilger W; Tarka, Maja; Klaassen, Raymond H G; Åkesson, Mikael; Bensch, Staffan; Hasselquist, Dennis; Hansson, Bengt
Recent technological advancements now allow us to obtain geographical position data for a wide range of animal movements. Here we used light-level geolocators to study the annual migration cycle in great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a passerine bird breeding in Eurasia and wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. We were specifically interested in seasonal strategies in routes and schedules of migration. We found that the great reed warblers (all males, no females were included) migrated from the Swedish breeding site in early August. After spending up to three weeks at scattered stopover sites in central to south-eastern Europe, they resumed migration and crossed the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert without lengthy stopovers. They then spread out over a large overwintering area and each bird utilised two (or even three) main wintering sites that were spatially separated by a distinct mid-winter movement. Spring migration initiation date differed widely between individuals (1-27 April). Several males took a more westerly route over the Sahara in spring than in autumn, and in general there were fewer long-distance travels and more frequent shorter stopovers, including one in northern Africa, in spring. The shorter stopovers made spring migration on average faster than autumn migration. There was a strong correlation between the spring departure dates from wintering sites and the arrival dates at the breeding ground. All males had a high migration speed in spring despite large variation in departure dates, indicating a time-minimization strategy to achieve an early arrival at the breeding site; the latter being decisive for high reproductive success in great reed warblers. Our results have important implications for the understanding of long-distance migrants' ability to predict conditions at distant breeding sites and adapt to rapid environmental change. PMID:24205374
The Effects of Supplementary Food on the Breeding Performance of Eurasian Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus; Implications for Climate Change Impacts.
Vafidis, James O; Vaughan, Ian P; Jones, T Hefin; Facey, Richard J; Parry, Rob; Thomas, Robert J
Understanding the mechanisms by which climate variation can drive population changes requires information linking climate, local conditions, trophic resources, behaviour and demography. Climate change alters the seasonal pattern of emergence and abundance of invertebrate populations, which may have important consequences for the breeding performance and population change of insectivorous birds. In this study, we examine the role of food availability in driving behavioural changes in an insectivorous migratory songbird; the Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. We use a feeding experiment to examine the effect of increased food supply on different components of breeding behaviour and first-brood productivity, over three breeding seasons (2012-2014). Reed warblers respond to food-supplementation by advancing their laying date by up to 5.6 days. Incubation periods are shorter in supplemented groups during the warmest mean spring temperatures. Nestling growth rates are increased in nests provisioned by supplemented parents. In addition, nest predation is reduced, possibly because supplemented adults spend more time at the nest and faster nestling growth reduces the period of vulnerability of eggs and nestlings to predators (and brood parasites). The net effect of these changes is to advance the fledging completion date and to increase the overall productivity of the first brood for supplemented birds. European populations of reed warblers are currently increasing; our results suggest that advancing spring phenology, leading to increased food availability early in the breeding season, could account for this change by facilitating higher productivity. Furthermore, the earlier brood completion potentially allows multiple breeding attempts. This study identifies the likely trophic and behavioural mechanisms by which climate-driven changes in invertebrate phenology and abundance may lead to changes in breeding phenology, nest survival and net reproductive
The Effects of Supplementary Food on the Breeding Performance of Eurasian Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus; Implications for Climate Change Impacts
Vaughan, Ian P.; Jones, T. Hefin; Facey, Richard J.; Parry, Rob; Thomas, Robert J.
Understanding the mechanisms by which climate variation can drive population changes requires information linking climate, local conditions, trophic resources, behaviour and demography. Climate change alters the seasonal pattern of emergence and abundance of invertebrate populations, which may have important consequences for the breeding performance and population change of insectivorous birds. In this study, we examine the role of food availability in driving behavioural changes in an insectivorous migratory songbird; the Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. We use a feeding experiment to examine the effect of increased food supply on different components of breeding behaviour and first-brood productivity, over three breeding seasons (2012–2014). Reed warblers respond to food-supplementation by advancing their laying date by up to 5.6 days. Incubation periods are shorter in supplemented groups during the warmest mean spring temperatures. Nestling growth rates are increased in nests provisioned by supplemented parents. In addition, nest predation is reduced, possibly because supplemented adults spend more time at the nest and faster nestling growth reduces the period of vulnerability of eggs and nestlings to predators (and brood parasites). The net effect of these changes is to advance the fledging completion date and to increase the overall productivity of the first brood for supplemented birds. European populations of reed warblers are currently increasing; our results suggest that advancing spring phenology, leading to increased food availability early in the breeding season, could account for this change by facilitating higher productivity. Furthermore, the earlier brood completion potentially allows multiple breeding attempts. This study identifies the likely trophic and behavioural mechanisms by which climate-driven changes in invertebrate phenology and abundance may lead to changes in breeding phenology, nest survival and net reproductive
Male Kirtland's Warblers' patch-level response to landscape structure during periods of varying population size and habitat amounts
Donner, D.M.; Ribic, C.A.; Probst, J.R.
Forest planners must evaluate how spatiotemporal changes in habitat amount and configuration across the landscape as a result of timber management will affect species' persistence. However, there are few long-term programs available for evaluation. We investigated the response of male Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) to 26 years of changing patch and landscape structure during a large, 26-year forestry-habitat restoration program within the warbler's primary breeding range. We found that the average density of male Kirtland's Warblers was related to a different combination of patch and landscape attributes depending on the species' regional population level and habitat amounts on the landscape (early succession jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests; 15-42% habitat cover). Specifically, patch age and habitat regeneration type were important at low male population and total habitat amounts, while patch age and distance to an occupied patch were important at relatively high population and habitat amounts. Patch age and size were more important at increasing population levels and an intermediate amount of habitat. The importance of patch age to average male density during all periods reflects the temporal buildup and decline of male numbers as habitat suitability within the patch changed with succession. Habitat selection (i.e., preference for wildfire-regenerated habitat) and availability may explain the importance of habitat type and patch size during lower population and habitat levels. The relationship between male density and distance when there was the most habitat on the landscape and the male population was large and still increasing may be explained by the widening spatial dispersion of the increasing male population at the regional scale. Because creating or preserving habitat is not a random process, management efforts would benefit from more investigations of managed population responses to changes in spatial structure that occur through habitat gain
Emulating Natural Disturbances for Declining Late-Successional Species: A Case Study of the Consequences for Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea)
Boves, Than J.; Buehler, David A.; Sheehan, James; Wood, Petra Bohall; Rodewald, Amanda D.; Larkin, Jeffrey L.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Newell, Felicity L.; George, Gregory A.; Bakermans, Marja H.; Evans, Andrea; Beachy, Tiffany A.; McDermott, Molly E.; Perkins, Kelly A.; White, Matthew; Wigley, T. Bently
Forest cover in the eastern United States has increased over the past century and while some late-successional species have benefited from this process as expected, others have experienced population declines. These declines may be in part related to contemporary reductions in small-scale forest interior disturbances such as fire, windthrow, and treefalls. To mitigate the negative impacts of disturbance alteration and suppression on some late-successional species, strategies that emulate natural disturbance regimes are often advocated, but large-scale evaluations of these practices are rare. Here, we assessed the consequences of experimental disturbance (using partial timber harvest) on a severely declining late-successional species, the cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea), across the core of its breeding range in the Appalachian Mountains. We measured numerical (density), physiological (body condition), and demographic (age structure and reproduction) responses to three levels of disturbance and explored the potential impacts of disturbance on source-sink dynamics. Breeding densities of warblers increased one to four years after all canopy disturbances (vs. controls) and males occupying territories on treatment plots were in better condition than those on control plots. However, these beneficial effects of disturbance did not correspond to improvements in reproduction; nest success was lower on all treatment plots than on control plots in the southern region and marginally lower on light disturbance plots in the northern region. Our data suggest that only habitats in the southern region acted as sources, and interior disturbances in this region have the potential to create ecological traps at a local scale, but sources when viewed at broader scales. Thus, cerulean warblers would likely benefit from management that strikes a landscape-level balance between emulating natural disturbances in order to attract individuals into areas where current structure is
Experimentally Simulating Paternity Uncertainty: Immediate and Long-Term Responses of Male and Female Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus
In many socially monogamous species, both sexes seek copulation outside the pair bond in order to increase their reproductive success. In response, males adopt counter-strategies to combat the risk of losing paternity. However, no study so far has tried to experimentally prove the function of behaviour for paternity assurance. Introducing a potential extra-pair partner during the female fertile period provides a standardised method to examine how pair members respond immediately (e.g. increase mate guarding or copulation frequency) or long term (e.g. later parental investment and paternity uncertainty). In this study on a socially monogamous passerine species, we experimentally confronted pairs of reed warblers with a conspecific male (caged male simulating an intruder) during egg-laying. Our results revealed that occurrence of an intruder during that period triggered aggression against the intruder, depending on the presence of the female. The male territory owner also attacked the female partner to drive her away from the intruder. Thus territory defence in reed warblers also serves to protect paternity. The increase in paternity uncertainty did not affect later paternal investment. Paternal investment was also independent of the actual paternity losses. In females, the experiment elicited both, immediate and long-term responses. E.g. female copulation solicitations during the intruder experiment were only observed for females which later turned out to have extra-pair chicks in their nest. In relation to long term response females faced with an intruder invested later less in offspring feeding, and had less extra-pair chicks in their nests. Extra-pair paternity also seems to be affected by female quality (body size). In conclusion female reed warblers seem to seek extra-pair fertilizations but we could demonstrate that males adopt paternity assurance tactics which seems to efficiently help them to reduce paternity uncertainty. PMID:23658637
Emulating natural disturbances for declining late-successional species: A case study of the consequences for Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea)
Boves, Than J.; Buehler, David A.; Sheehan, James; Wood, Petra Bohall; Rodewald, Amanda D.; Larkin, Jeffrey L.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Newell, Felicity L.; George, Gregory A.; Bakermans, Marja H.; Evans, Andrea; Beachy, Tiffany A.; McDermott, Molly E.; Perkins, Kelly A.; White, Matthew; Wigley, T. Bently
Forest cover in the eastern United States has increased over the past century and while some late-successional species have benefited from this process as expected, others have experienced population declines. These declines may be in part related to contemporary reductions in small-scale forest interior disturbances such as fire, windthrow, and treefalls. To mitigate the negative impacts of disturbance alteration and suppression on some late-successional species, strategies that emulate natural disturbance regimes are often advocated, but large-scale evaluations of these practices are rare. Here, we assessed the consequences of experimental disturbance (using partial timber harvest) on a severely declining late-successional species, the cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea), across the core of its breeding range in the Appalachian Mountains. We measured numerical (density), physiological (body condition), and demographic (age structure and reproduction) responses to three levels of disturbance and explored the potential impacts of disturbance on source-sink dynamics. Breeding densities of warblers increased one to four years after all canopy disturbances (vs. controls) and males occupying territories on treatment plots were in better condition than those on control plots. However, these beneficial effects of disturbance did not correspond to improvements in reproduction; nest success was lower on all treatment plots than on control plots in the southern region and marginally lower on light disturbance plots in the northern region. Our data suggest that only habitats in the southern region acted as sources, and interior disturbances in this region have the potential to create ecological traps at a local scale, but sources when viewed at broader scales. Thus, cerulean warblers would likely benefit from management that strikes a landscape-level balance between emulating natural disturbances in order to attract individuals into areas where current structure is
Organophosphate pesticide method development and presence of chlorpyrifos in the feet of nearctic-neotropical migratory songbirds from Canada that over-winter in Central America agricultural areas.
Alharbi, Hattan A; Letcher, Robert J; Mineau, Pierre; Chen, Da; Chu, Shaogang
Recent modeling analysis suggests that numerous birds may be at risk of acute poisoning in insecticide-treated fields. Although the majority of avian field studies on pesticides have focused on treated seed, granule, insect or vegetation (oral exposure) ingestion, dermal exposure is an important exposure route when birds come into contact with deposited pesticides on foliage and other surfaces. Some nearctic-neotropical migratory songbirds are likely exposed to pesticides on their non-breeding habitats and include treated crops, plantations or farmlands. In the present study, we developed a method for four environmentally-relevant organophosphate (OP) pesticides (fenthion, fenamiphos, chlorpyrifos and diazinon) in the feet of migratory songbirds (i.e. Common yellowthroat, Gray catbird, Indigo bunting, America redstart, Northern waterthrush, Northern parula, and an additional 12 species of warblers). A total of 190 specimens of the 18 species of songbirds were sampled from available window-killed birds (spring of 2007 and 2011) in downtown Toronto, Canada. The species that were available most likely over-wintered in Mexican/Central American crops such as citrus, coffee and cacao. The feet of the dead birds were sampled and where OP foot exposure likely occurred during over-wintering foraging on pesticide-treated crops. Chlorpyrifos was the only measurable OP (pg mg feet weight(-1)) and in the 2011-collected feet of Black throated blue warbler (0.5), Tennessee warbler (1.0), Northern parula (1.2), Northern waterthrush (0.6), Common yellowthroat (1.0) and the Blue winged warbler (0.9). Dermal contact with OP pesticides during over-wintering in agricultural areas resulted in low levels of chlorpyrifos and long time retention on the feet of a subset of songbirds. PMID:26421621
Survival during the Breeding Season: Nest Stage, Parental Sex, and Season Advancement Affect Reed Warbler Survival
Wierucka, Kaja; Halupka, Lucyna; Klimczuk, Ewelina; Sztwiertnia, Hanna
Avian annual survival has received much attention, yet little is known about seasonal patterns in survival, especially of migratory passerines. In order to evaluate survival rates and timing of mortality within the breeding season of adult reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), mark-recapture data were collected in southwest Poland, between 2006 and 2012. A total of 612 individuals (304 females and 308 males) were monitored throughout the entire breeding season, and their capture-recapture histories were used to model survival rates. Males showed higher survival during the breeding season (0.985, 95% CI: 0.941–0.996) than females (0.869, 95% CI: 0.727–0.937). Survival rates of females declined with the progression of the breeding season (from May to August), while males showed constant survival during this period. We also found a clear pattern within the female (but not male) nesting cycle: survival was significantly lower during the laying, incubation, and nestling periods (0.934, 95% CI: 0.898–0.958), when birds spent much time on the nest, compared to the nest building and fledgling periods (1.000, 95% CI: 1.00–1.000), when we did not record any female mortality. These data (coupled with some direct evidence, like bird corpses or blood remains found next to/on the nest) may suggest that the main cause of adult mortality was on-nest predation. The calculated survival rates for both sexes during the breeding season were high compared to annual rates reported for this species, suggesting that a majority of mortality occurs at other times of the year, during migration or wintering. These results have implications for understanding survival variation within the reproductive period as well as general trends of avian mortality. PMID:26934086
Phylogeographical approaches to assessing demographic connectivity between breeding and overwintering regions in a Nearctic-Neotropical warbler (Wilsonia pusilla).
Kimura, M; Clegg, S M; Lovette, I J; Holder, K R; Girman, D J; Milá, B; Wade, P; Smith, T B
We characterized the pattern and magnitude of phylogeographical variation among breeding populations of a long-distance migratory bird, the Wilson's warbler (Wilsonia pusilla), and used this information to assess the utility of mtDNA markers for assaying demographic connectivity between breeding and overwintering regions. We found a complex pattern of population differentiation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation among populations across the breeding range. Individuals from eastern North America were differentiated from western individuals and the eastern haplotypes formed a distinct, well-supported cluster. The more diverse western group contained haplotype clusters with significant geographical structuring, but there was also broad mixing of haplotype groups such that no haplotype groups were population specific and the predominance of rare haplotypes limited the utility of frequency-based assignment techniques. Nonetheless, the existence of geographically diagnosable eastern vs. western haplotypes enabled us to characterize the distribution of these two groups across 14 overwintering locations. Western haplotypes were present at much higher frequencies than eastern haplotypes at most overwintering sites. Application of this mtDNA-based method of linking breeding and overwintering populations on a finer geographical scale was precluded by the absence of population-specific markers and by insufficient haplotype sorting among western breeding populations. Our results suggest that because migratory species such as the Wilson's warbler likely experienced extensive gene flow among regional breeding populations, molecular markers will have the greatest utility for characterizing breeding-overwintering connectivity at a broad geographical scale. PMID:12207712
Migratory Reed Warblers Need Intact Trigeminal Nerves to Correct for a 1,000 km Eastward Displacement.
Kishkinev, Dmitry; Chernetsov, Nikita; Heyers, Dominik; Mouritsen, Henrik
Several studies have shown that experienced night-migratory songbirds can determine their position, but it has remained a mystery which cues and sensory mechanisms they use, in particular, those used to determine longitude (east-west position). One potential solution would be to use a magnetic map or signpost mechanism like the one documented in sea turtles. Night-migratory songbirds have a magnetic compass in their eyes and a second magnetic sense with unknown biological function involving the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1). Could V1 be involved in determining east-west position? We displaced 57 Eurasian reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) with or without sectioned V1. Sham operated birds corrected their orientation towards the breeding area after displacement like the untreated controls did. In contrast, V1-sectioned birds did not correct for the displacement. They oriented in the same direction after the displacement as they had done at the capture site. Thus, an intact ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve is necessary for detecting the 1,000 km eastward displacement in this night-migratory songbird. Our results suggest that V1 carries map-related information used in a large-scale map or signpost sense that the reed warblers needed to determine their approximate geographical position and/or an east-west coordinate. PMID:23840374
The roles of time and ecology in the continental radiation of the Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopus and Seicercus)
Price, Trevor D.
Many continental sister species are allopatric or parapatric, ecologically similar and long separated, of the order of millions of years. Sympatric, ecologically differentiated, species, are often even older. This raises the question of whether build-up of sympatric diversity generally follows a slow process of divergence in allopatry, initially without much ecological change. I review patterns of speciation among birds belonging to the continental Eurasian Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopus and Seicercus). I consider speciation to be a three-stage process (range expansions, barriers to gene flow, reproductive isolation) and ask how ecological factors at each stage have contributed to speciation, both among allopatric/parapatric sister species and among those lineages that eventually led to currently sympatric species. I suggest that time is probably the critical factor that leads to reproductive isolation between sympatric species and that a strong connection between ecological divergence and reproductive isolation remains to be established. Besides reproductive isolation, ecological factors can affect range expansions (e.g. habitat tracking) and the formation of barriers (e.g. treeless areas are effective barriers for warblers). Ecological factors may often limit speciation on continents because range expansions are difficult in 'ecologically full' environments. PMID:20439279
Breeding biology of the Three-striped warbler in Venezuela: A contrast between tropical and temperate parulids
Cox, W.A.; Martin, T.E.
We document reproductive life history traits of the Three-striped Warbler (Basileuterus tristriatus) from 146 nests in Venezuela and compare our results to data from the literature for other tropical and temperate parulid species. Mean (?? SE) clutch size was 1.96 ?? 0.03 eggs (n = 96) and fresh egg mass was 2.09 ?? 0.02 g. The incubation period was 15.8 ?? 0.2 days (n = 23) and the nestling period was 10.5 ?? 0.3 days (n = 12). Males did not incubate and rarely provided food for females during incubation. Females had 57 ?? 2% (n = 49) nest attentiveness (% of time on the nest incubating), which caused egg temperature to commonly become cold relative to development. Both adults fed nestlings and feeding rates increased with nestling age. The growth rate constant for nestlings based on mass was K 0.490, which is slower than for north temperate warblers. Predation was the primary source of nest failure and only 22% of nests were successful based on a Mayfield daily predation rate of 0.048 ?? 0.006. Our literature review indicates parulids differ strongly in life histories between temperate and tropical/subtropical sites with species in the tropics having, on average, smaller clutches, longer incubation periods, lower nest attentiveness, longer off-bouts, and longer nestling periods. ?? 2009 by the Wilson Ornithological Society.
Fuelling in front of the barrier—are there age based behavioral differences in Garden Warblers Sylvia borin?
Henshaw, Ian; Kullberg, Cecilia; Nikolopoulou, Stamatina; Fransson, Thord
Garden Warblers Sylvia borin were studied during autumn stopover in Crete before crossing the barrier of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. Birds followed with transmitters show extensive stopover periods, which were longer in first-year birds, 16 days, compared with adult birds, 14 days. The distribution of body masses from birds trapped in fig trees were used to estimate the departure body mass and the results found indicate that both age categories on average depart with a fuel load close to 100% of lean body mass. The movement of transmitter birds shows differences between first-year and adult birds. Adult birds move further away from the release site and many also left the study area. Several were found settled outside the study area, up to 17 km away, indicating that they regularly make longer stopover movements. It is suggested that this might be a result of that they return to a place where they stayed during an earlier migration. It was shown that stopover site fidelity exists and nine garden warblers were recaptured in the area during a following autumn. The results found highlights the importance of stopover areas close to the Sahara Desert. PMID:24711970
Assessment of error rates in acoustic monitoring with the R package monitoR
Katz, Jonathan; Hafner, Sasha D.; Donovan, Therese
Detecting population-scale reactions to climate change and land-use change may require monitoring many sites for many years, a process that is suited for an automated system. We developed and tested monitoR, an R package for long-term, multi-taxa acoustic monitoring programs. We tested monitoR with two northeastern songbird species: black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) and ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla). We compared detection results from monitoR in 52 10-minute surveys recorded at 10 sites in Vermont and New York, USA to a subset of songs identified by a human that were of a single song type and had visually identifiable spectrograms (e.g. a signal:noise ratio of at least 10 dB: 166 out of 439 total songs for black-throated green warbler, 502 out of 990 total songs for ovenbird). monitoR's automated detection process uses a 'score cutoff', which is the minimum match needed for an unknown event to be considered a detection and results in a true positive, true negative, false positive or false negative detection. At the chosen score cut-offs, monitoR correctly identified presence for black-throated green warbler and ovenbird in 64% and 72% of the 52 surveys using binary point matching, respectively, and 73% and 72% of the 52 surveys using spectrogram cross-correlation, respectively. Of individual songs, 72% of black-throated green warbler songs and 62% of ovenbird songs were identified by binary point matching. Spectrogram cross-correlation identified 83% of black-throated green warbler songs and 66% of ovenbird songs. False positive rates were for song event detection.
Ravnik, Miha; Fukuda, Jun-ichi
Cholesteric blue phases of a chiral liquid crystal are interesting examples of self-organised three-dimensional nanostructures formed by soft matter. Recently it was demonstrated that a polymer matrix introduced by photopolymerization inside a bulk blue phase not only stabilises the host blue phase significantly, but also serves as a template for blue phase ordering. We show with numerical modelling that the transfer of the orientational order of the blue phase to the surfaces of the polymer matrix, together with the resulting surface anchoring, can account for the templating behaviour of the polymer matrix inducing the blue phase ordering of an achiral nematic liquid crystal. Furthermore, tailoring the anchoring conditions of the polymer matrix surfaces can bring about orientational ordering different from those of bulk blue phases, including an intertwined complex of the polymer matrix and topological line defects of orientational order. Optical Kerr response of templated blue phases is explored, finding large Kerr constants in the range of K = 2-10 × 10(-9) m V(-2) and notable dependence on the surface anchoring strength. More generally, the presented numerical approach is aimed to clarify the role and actions of templating polymer matrices in complex chiral nematic fluids, and further to help design novel template-based materials from chiral liquid crystals. PMID:26412643
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fontes, Kris
In the December 1997 issue of "SchoolArts" is a lesson titled "Blue Willow Story Plates" by Susan Striker. In this article, the author shares how she used this lesson with her middle-school students many times over the years. Here, she describes a Blue Willow plate painting project that her students made.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sinclair, Bryan
Discusses the history of the blues and presents a list of resources that are designed to introduce the blues, both as a feeling and as an influential part of American music and culture. Includes picture books and nonfiction for young readers, nonfiction for older readers, Web sites, and compact disks. (LRW)
Effect of Brood Age on Nestling Diet and Prey Composition in a Hedgerow Specialist Bird, the Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria
Orłowski, Grzegorz; Wuczyński, Andrzej; Karg, Jerzy
The composition and quality of food provided to nestling birds influence their growth and development and offers key insight into the ecological requirements of birds. One bird species whose feeding ecology is poorly understood is the Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria), which utilizes semi-natural shrubby vegetation in agroecosystems. Because Barred Warbler nestlings vary greatly in body mass we hypothesised that diet and prey properties (size, diversity, taxonomic composition, and chitin content and resulting body hardness and digestibility) would differ as the nestlings aged. We quantified the diet based on faecal analysis, sampling faecal sacs from the nestlings pooled into three age classes: 2-3 days old, 4-6 d old, and 7-9 d old. Nestlings were provided a wide diversity of food and a strong relationship existed between food characteristics and nestling age. The youngest nestlings (2-3 d old) had the lowest values of each dietary characteristic (diversity, number and total biomass of prey, and individual prey weight), that were significantly lower than the oldest nestlings (7-9 d old). Nestlings aged 4-6 d exhibited intermediate dietary characteristics. Differences in dietary composition of the six major food types showed marked differences between the individual broods and age categories. Percentages of the number and biomass of soft-bodied prey were highest in the diet of 2-3 d and 4-6 d old nestlings, and decreased with increasing age, whereas the opposite trend was observed in the percentage of intermediately and heavily chitinised prey. Parent Barred Warblers probably preferentially select soft-bodied prey for the youngest nestlings, and satisfy the greater energy demands of the older ones by providing them with a greater variety of prey containing more chitin, as well as plant food. The provisioning of less-readily digestible prey to older nestlings suggests that as the quality of food decreases the quantity increases, implying that the youngest nestlings
Monitoring free-living Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone) in a most highly radiocontaminated area of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
Ishida, Ken; Tanoi, Keitaro; Nakanishi, Tomoko M.
The Fukushima–Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) accident is an IAEA level 7 event, the same as that of Chernobyl, while the amount of radionuclides released is not comparable. Radioactivity attributed to the F1NPP accident was detected 250 km away from the F1NPP. Although we have not yet systematically studied the effect of radionuclides on the environment and wildlife, one of three Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone), captured in Akaugi district in August 2011, was observed to have a conspicuous lesion near the cloaca, which is rare in Japan. All of the birds' feathers were strongly contaminated. Further study is needed to determine the significance of this result. We emphasize the importance of continuing assessment of the effects of the F1NPP accident on wildlife. PMID:26825298
Monitoring free-living Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone) in a most highly radiocontaminated area of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
Ishida, Ken; Tanoi, Keitaro; Nakanishi, Tomoko M
The Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) accident is an IAEA level 7 event, the same as that of Chernobyl, while the amount of radionuclides released is not comparable. Radioactivity attributed to the F1NPP accident was detected 250 km away from the F1NPP. Although we have not yet systematically studied the effect of radionuclides on the environment and wildlife, one of three Japanese Bush Warblers (Cettia diphone), captured in Akaugi district in August 2011, was observed to have a conspicuous lesion near the cloaca, which is rare in Japan. All of the birds' feathers were strongly contaminated. Further study is needed to determine the significance of this result. We emphasize the importance of continuing assessment of the effects of the F1NPP accident on wildlife. PMID:26825298
Using Nocturnal Flight Calls to Assess the Fall Migration of Warblers and Sparrows along a Coastal Ecological Barrier
Smith, Adam D.; Paton, Peter W. C.; McWilliams, Scott R.
Atmospheric conditions fundamentally influence the timing, intensity, energetics, and geography of avian migration. While radar is typically used to infer the influence of weather on the magnitude and spatiotemporal patterns of nocturnal bird migration, monitoring the flight calls produced by many bird species during nocturnal migration represents an alternative methodology and provides information regarding the species composition of nocturnal migration. We used nocturnal flight call (NFC) recordings of at least 22 migratory songbirds (14 warbler and 8 sparrow species) during fall migration from eight sites along the mainland and island coasts of Rhode Island to evaluate five hypotheses regarding NFC detections. Patterns of warbler and sparrow NFC detections largely supported our expectations in that (1) NFC detections associated positively and strongly with wind conditions that influence the intensity of coastal bird migration and negatively with regional precipitation; (2) NFCs increased during conditions with reduced visibility (e.g., high cloud cover); (3) NFCs decreased with higher wind speeds, presumably due mostly to increased ambient noise; and (4) coastal mainland sites recorded five to nine times more NFCs, on average, than coastal nearshore or offshore island sites. However, we found little evidence that (5) nightly or intra-night patterns of NFCs reflected the well-documented latitudinal patterns of migrant abundance on an offshore island. Despite some potential complications in inferring migration intensity and species composition from NFC data, the acoustic monitoring of NFCs provides a viable and complementary methodology for exploring the spatiotemporal patterns of songbird migration as well as evaluating the atmospheric conditions that shape these patterns. PMID:24643060
The direction of celestial rotation influences the development of stellar orientation in young garden warblers (Sylvia borin)
Weindler; Baumetz; Wiltschko
The study presented here was conducted in order to analyze the role of the direction of celestial rotation in the development of stellar orientation in young migratory birds. The test birds were garden warblers, Sylvla borin, which leave their breeding ground on a southwesterly compass course. The birds were hand-raised and, during the premigratory period, exposed to an artificial 'sky' in the local geomagnetic field. For the control group C, the star pattern was rotating in the natural direction, with the centre of rotation and magnetic North coinciding. For the three experimental groups, the star pattern was rotating in the opposite direction; for group E1, the centre of rotation coincided with magnetic North, for group E2 the centre of rotation was at magnetic West and for group E3 it was at magnetic East. During autumn migration, the birds were tested without magnetic information under the same, now stationary, sky. All four groups were able to use stellar information for orientation, but only the control group preferred the normal southwesterly course. The three experimental groups, in contrast, all oriented towards a significantly different direction, preferring due south. The results for group E1 showed less scatter than those for the other two experimental groups. These results indicate that the direction of celestial rotation is crucial for the development of the normal migratory course with respect to the stars in young garden warblers. Establishing the species-specific southwesterly migratory course requires an interaction between celestial rotation and magnetic cues; this interaction appears to depend on the natural direction of celestial rotation. Rotation in the reverse direction allowed the birds to respond only in a manner that oriented them away from the centre of rotation. PMID:9320019
Individual quality explains association between plumage colouration, arrival dates and mate acquisition in yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia)
Background In many bird species colour traits influence social dominance and breeding success. In our study we first evaluated whether the colour of the basic plumage (tail feathers grown at the end of the breeding season), that provides an index of individual quality, influenced winter habitat use by yellow warblers. We then evaluated whether winter habitat use (inferred using δ13C and δ15N signatures of winter grown greater-coverts) influenced alternate plumage colouration, after controlling for individual quality using basic plumage colouration. Finally, we investigated whether basic and alternate plumage colouration influenced arrival dates, mate acquisition, breeding phenology and reproductive success of yellow warblers breeding in southern (Revelstoke, B.C.) and arctic (Inuvik, N.W.T.) Canada. Results The colour (chroma and hue) of tail feathers, grown on the breeding grounds, was not related to subsequent winter habitat use. Greater covert and tail feather colour (chroma and hue) were correlated, suggesting genetics and/or individual quality played a role in pigment deposition. After controlling for individual difference in tail colour, δ13C values did not explain any variation in greater covert colour, but birds with high δ15N signatures had greater coverts with higher chroma. Male arrival dates varied with tail chroma in Revelstoke and tail hue in Inuvik. Males that arrived early paired with older and/or more colourful mates that initiated clutches earlier, and at one site (Revelstoke) were more likely to fledge young. In addition, in Revelstoke (but not Inuvik) males with high tail hue also acquired more colourful mates. In contrast, after controlling for individual differences in tail colour, greater covert colour did not affect male arrival date, the quality of the mate obtained or reproductive success in either population. Conclusions Our results suggest that plumage colour effects on breeding phenology and mate acquisition result from differences
Using nocturnal flight calls to assess the fall migration of warblers and sparrows along a coastal ecological barrier.
Smith, Adam D; Paton, Peter W C; McWilliams, Scott R
Atmospheric conditions fundamentally influence the timing, intensity, energetics, and geography of avian migration. While radar is typically used to infer the influence of weather on the magnitude and spatiotemporal patterns of nocturnal bird migration, monitoring the flight calls produced by many bird species during nocturnal migration represents an alternative methodology and provides information regarding the species composition of nocturnal migration. We used nocturnal flight call (NFC) recordings of at least 22 migratory songbirds (14 warbler and 8 sparrow species) during fall migration from eight sites along the mainland and island coasts of Rhode Island to evaluate five hypotheses regarding NFC detections. Patterns of warbler and sparrow NFC detections largely supported our expectations in that (1) NFC detections associated positively and strongly with wind conditions that influence the intensity of coastal bird migration and negatively with regional precipitation; (2) NFCs increased during conditions with reduced visibility (e.g., high cloud cover); (3) NFCs decreased with higher wind speeds, presumably due mostly to increased ambient noise; and (4) coastal mainland sites recorded five to nine times more NFCs, on average, than coastal nearshore or offshore island sites. However, we found little evidence that (5) nightly or intra-night patterns of NFCs reflected the well-documented latitudinal patterns of migrant abundance on an offshore island. Despite some potential complications in inferring migration intensity and species composition from NFC data, the acoustic monitoring of NFCs provides a viable and complementary methodology for exploring the spatiotemporal patterns of songbird migration as well as evaluating the atmospheric conditions that shape these patterns. PMID:24643060
Spatio-temporal variation in territory quality and oxidative status: a natural experiment in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)
van de Crommenacker, Janske; Komdeur, Jan; Burke, Terry; Richardson, David S
1.Fluctuations in the quality of the habitat in which an animal lives can have major consequences for its behaviour and physiological state. In poor-quality habitat with low food availability, metabolically intensive foraging activity is likely to result in increased generation of reactive oxygen species, while scarcity of food can lead to a weakening of exogenously derived antioxidant defences. The consequent oxidant/antioxidant imbalance may lead to elevated oxidative stress. 2.Although the link between food availability and oxidative stress has been studied in the laboratory, very little is known about this relationship in the wild. Here, we investigate the association between territory quality (measured through food availability) and oxidative stress in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). 3.Seychelles warblers are insectivorous birds that inhabit a fixed feeding territory year round. Individuals experience profound and rapid local fluctuations in territory quality within these territories, owing to changing patterns of vegetation defoliation resulting from seasonal changes in prevailing wind direction and wind-borne salt spray. 4.As expected, oxidant generation (measured as reactive oxygen metabolites; ROMs) was higher when territory quality was low, but there was no correlation between territory quality and antioxidant capacity (OXY). The negative correlation between territory quality and ROMs was significant between individuals and approached significance within individuals, indicating that the pattern resulted from individual responses to environmental variation. 5.ROMs and OXY levels within individuals were positively correlated, but the relationship between territory quality and ROMs persisted after including OXY as a covariate, implying that oxidative stress occurs in low territory quality conditions. 6.Our results indicate that the oxidative stress balance of an individual is sensitive to relatively short-term changes in territory quality
Kim, W Chan; Mauborgne, Renée
Despite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil profitably increased revenue 22-fold over the last ten years by reinventing the circus. Rather than competing within the confines of the existing industry or trying to steal customers from rivals, Cirque developed uncontested market space that made the competition irrelevant. Cirque created what the authors call a blue ocean, a previously unknown market space. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In red oceans--that is, in all the industries already existing--companies compete by grabbing for a greater share of limited demand. As the market space gets more crowded, prospects for profits and growth decline. Products turn into commodities, and increasing competition turns the water bloody. There are two ways to create blue oceans. One is to launch completely new industries, as eBay did with online auctions. But it's much more common for a blue ocean to be created from within a red ocean when a company expands the boundaries of an existing industry. In studying more than 150 blue ocean creations in over 30 industries, the authors observed that the traditional units of strategic analysis--company and industry--are of limited use in explaining how and why blue oceans are created. The most appropriate unit of analysis is the strategic move, the set of managerial actions and decisions involved in making a major market-creating business offering. Creating blue oceans builds brands. So powerful is blue ocean strategy, in fact, that a blue ocean strategic move can create brand equity that lasts for decades. PMID:15559577
... bruises. This can raise a question about possible child abuse. It is important to recognize that Mongolian blue ... Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 11. Read More Benign Child abuse - physical Rashes Update Date 4/14/2015 Updated ...
An NCI Cancer Currents blog by the NCI acting director thanking the cancer community for contributing to the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel report, which was presented to the National Cancer Advisory Board on September 7.
Methylene blue unresponsive methemoglobinemia
Patnaik, Sibabratta; Natarajan, Manivachagan Muthappa; James, Ebor Jacob; Ebenezer, Kala
Acquired methemoglobinemia is an uncommon blood disorder induced by exposure to certain oxidizing agents and drugs. Although parents may not give any history of toxin ingestion; with the aid of pulse-oximetry and blood gas analysis, we can diagnose methemoglobinemia. Prompt recognition of this condition is required in emergency situations to institute early methylene blue therapy. We report an unusual case of severe toxic methemoglobinemia, which did not respond to methylene blue, but was successfully managed with exchange transfusion. PMID:24872659
[Adaptive features of the ecology and annual cycle of the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus L.) at the northern boundary of the Siberian part of the range].
Ryzhanovskiĭ, V N
The ecology of the willow warbler in the north of Western Siberia is considered, and the adaptations that enable the spread of this species to the Subarctic are analyzed. It is established that one of the key factors that caused the change in the range of this species is the northward distribution of shrubs and, hence, the biomass of insects (available food items of these birds). PMID:25739309
The Auk 121(1):46-57, 2004 We conducted winter censuses of two short-distance migrants, Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) and Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata), over seven years in five different habitats to determine whether their local abundances could be predicted by fruit pulp biomass. Sampled habitats were stands of upland and bottomland hardwood, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), longleaf pine (P. palustris), and young «10 years) longleaf pine. Hermit Thrush abundance, which was highest in bottomland hardwood habitats, was positively related to total dry mass of fruit pulp. Those results are consistent with the hypothesis that resource availability affects the local distribution of migrant passerines on their wintering grounds. Our results also indicate that bottomland hardwood habitats in the southeastern United States may be especially important to wintering Hermit Thrushes. Yellow-rumped Warbler abundance was correlated with ripe-fruit pulp dry mass of Myrica cerifera, a major source of winter food for that species. However, because M. cerifera pulp dry mass was confounded with habitat type, we could not distinguish the relative importance of fruit resources and habitat for Yellow- rumped Warblers. Our results underscore the importance of fruit to wintering birds. However, the overall percentage of variation in winter bird abundance explained by differences in ripe-fruit biomass was modest, indicating that other factors are also important.
Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)
This manuscript summarizes descriptions for two newly released Lonicera caerulea L., blue honeysuckle, cultivars released for northern production. This fruit is popular in Russia and in Japan, particularly Hokkaido. It has possibility as a new fruit cultivar for North America. The University of Sask...
The impact of translocations on neutral and functional genetic diversity within and among populations of the Seychelles warbler
Wright, David J; Spurgin, Lewis G; Collar, Nigel J; Komdeur, Jan; Burke, Terry; Richardson, David S
Translocations are an increasingly common tool in conservation. The maintenance of genetic diversity through translocation is critical for both the short- and long-term persistence of populations and species. However, the relative spatio-temporal impacts of translocations on neutral and functional genetic diversity, and how this affects genetic structure among the conserved populations overall, have received little investigation. We compared the impact of translocating different numbers of founders on both microsatellite and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I diversity over a 23-year period in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). We found low and stable microsatellite and MHC diversity in the source population and evidence for only a limited loss of either type of diversity in the four new populations. However, we found evidence of significant, but low to moderate, genetic differentiation between populations, with those populations established with fewer founders clustering separately. Stochastic genetic capture (as opposed to subsequent drift) was the main determinant of translocated population diversity. Furthermore, a strong correlation between microsatellite and MHC differentiation suggested that neutral processes outweighed selection in shaping MHC diversity in the new populations. These data provide important insights into how to optimize the use of translocation as a conservation tool. PMID:24689851
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Descalzi, Doug; Gillett, John; Gordon, Carlton; Keener, ED; Novak, Ken; Puente, Laura
The primary goal in designing the Blue Emu was to provide an airline with a cost efficient and profitable means of transporting passengers between the major cities in Aeroworld. The design attacks the market where a demand for inexpensive transportation exists and for this reason the Blue Emu is an attractive investment for any airline. In order to provide a profitable aircraft, special attention was paid to cost and economics. For example, in manufacturing, simplicity was stressed in structural design to reduce construction time and cost. Aerodynamic design employed a tapered wing which reduced the induced drag coefficient while also reducing the weight of the wing. Even the propulsion system was selected with cost effectiveness in mind, yet also to maintain the marketability of the aircraft. Thus, in every aspect of the design, consideration was given to economics and marketability of the final product.
Anderco, Denisa; Lazăr, Elena; Tăban, Sorina; Miclea, Fl; Dema, Alis
We report the case of a 69-year-old patient with no significant personal urological history. The clinical and ultrasound examination revealed a prostatic gland with increased volume and homogenous appearance. After transurethral resection, multiples gray-brown-blackish prostatic chips were obtained, which could be confused with a malignant melanoma. The histological routine examination in conjunction with the histochemical (Fontana-Masson) and immunohistochemical (S100, HMB45) reactions established the diagnosis of prostatic blue nevus. The presence of melanin in prostatic tissue is an unusual aspect, being encountered three distinct lesions: blue nevus, melanosis and malignant melanoma. Recognition and correct classification of each of these three entities is fundamental, concerning the clinical and prognosis implications. PMID:20809037
Population and habitat viability assessments for Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos: Usefulness to Partners in Flight Conservation Planning
Beardmore, C.J.; Hatfield, J.S.
Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos are Neotropical migratory birds that are federally listed as endangered. Recovery plans for both species advise the use of viability modeling as a tool for setting specific recovery and management targets. Population and Habitat Viability Assessment workshops were conducted to develop population targets and conservation recommendations for these species. Results of the workshops were based on modeling demographic and environmental factors, as well as discussions of management issues, management options, and public outreach strategies. The approach is intended to be iterative, and to be tracked by research and monitoring efforts. This paper discusses the consensus-building workshop process and how the approach could be useful to Partners in Flight. Population and Habitat Viability Assessments (PHVA) were used to develop population targets and conservation recommendations for Golden-cheeked Warblers (Dendroica chrysoparia) and Black-capped Vireos (Vireo atricapillus). This paper explains what PHVAs are, discusses how they are conducted, describes the general results that are produced, and suggests how Partners in Flight (PIF) might use a similar process for bird conservation planning. Detailed results of the assessments are not discussed here; however they can be found elsewhere (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1996a, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1996b). PHVAs were considered for Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos because they are controversial, endangered species, and the species? recovery plans list PHVAs as tools to develop recovery recommendations. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) realized that the data needed to perform PHVAs for these species is limited, but that various conservation efforts, such as the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan and other endeavors, were proceeding without benefit of the biological summarization and guidance that a PHVA could provide.
Recent status and trends of the land bird avifauna on Saipan, Mariana Islands, with emphasis on the endangered Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinia
Camp, R.J.; Pratt, T.K.; Marshall, A.P.; Amidon, F.; Williams, L.L.
The avifauna of the Mariana Islands, an archipelago in the western Pacific, faces the threats of rapid economic development and the spread of non-native species, particularly a devastating predator, Brown Tree Snake Boiga irregularis. In this paper, we examine the status and trends of the land bird fauna of Saipan Island based on three island-wide surveys conducted in 1982, 1997, and 2007. During this period, the human population on Saipan increased more than four-fold and much of the island has been developed. The surveys employed standard point-transect methods based on Distance Sampling. Remarkably, we found nearly all species of land birds - 11 native species and three introduced species - to be common or abundant. The exception was the Micronesian Megapode Megapodius laperouse, a historically rare species that was not observed on the 2007 survey, although it does persist on Saipan and other Mariana islands. A comparison of species densities among the three surveys showed that seven species, mainly fruit and seed-eaters, had increased and three species of insectivorous birds had decreased - Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons, Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinia, and Golden White-eye Cleptornis marchei. Of these three, Nightingale Reed-warbler is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and as an Endangered Species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reed-warbler densities on Saipan decreased by more than half between 1982 and 2007. Although point transect sampling worked well for this species, density estimates and trends assessment could be improved by reallocating sampling stations among habitats and by more frequent sampling. ?? BirdLife International 2009.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01This is the original Voyager 'Blue Movie' (so named because it was built from Blue filter images). It records the approach of Voyager 1 during a period of over 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in speed and direction of the various zones of the atmosphere. The interaction of the atmospheric clouds and storms shows how dynamic the Jovian atmosphere is.As Voyager 1 approached Jupiter in 1979, it took images of the planet at regular intervals. This sequence is made from 66 images taken once every Jupiter rotation period (about 10 hours). This time-lapse movie uses images taken every time Jupiter longitude 68W passed under the spacecraft. These images were acquired in the Blue filter from Jan. 6 to Feb. 3 1979. The spacecraft flew from 58 million kilometers to 31 million kilometers from Jupiter during that time.This time-lapse movie was produced at JPL by the Image Processing Laboratory in 1979.
Age-specific survival of male golden-cheeked warblers on the Fort Hood Military Reservation, Texas
Duarte, Adam; Hines, James E.; Nichols, James D.; Hatfield, Jeffrey S.; Weckerly, Floyd W.
Population models are essential components of large-scale conservation and management plans for the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia; hereafter GCWA). However, existing models are based on vital rate estimates calculated using relatively small data sets that are now more than a decade old. We estimated more current, precise adult and juvenile apparent survival (Φ) probabilities and their associated variances for male GCWAs. In addition to providing estimates for use in population modeling, we tested hypotheses about spatial and temporal variation in Φ. We assessed whether a linear trend in Φ or a change in the overall mean Φ corresponded to an observed increase in GCWA abundance during 1992-2000 and if Φ varied among study plots. To accomplish these objectives, we analyzed long-term GCWA capture-resight data from 1992 through 2011, collected across seven study plots on the Fort Hood Military Reservation using a Cormack-Jolly-Seber model structure within program MARK. We also estimated Φ process and sampling variances using a variance-components approach. Our results did not provide evidence of site-specific variation in adult Φ on the installation. Because of a lack of data, we could not assess whether juvenile Φ varied spatially. We did not detect a strong temporal association between GCWA abundance and Φ. Mean estimates of Φ for adult and juvenile male GCWAs for all years analyzed were 0.47 with a process variance of 0.0120 and a sampling variance of 0.0113 and 0.28 with a process variance of 0.0076 and a sampling variance of 0.0149, respectively. Although juvenile Φ did not differ greatly from previous estimates, our adult Φ estimate suggests previous GCWA population models were overly optimistic with respect to adult survival. These updated Φ probabilities and their associated variances will be incorporated into new population models to assist with GCWA conservation decision making.
Adcyap1 polymorphism covaries with breeding latitude in a Nearctic migratory songbird, the Wilson's warbler (Cardellina pusilla).
Bazzi, Gaia; Galimberti, Andrea; Hays, Quentin R; Bruni, Ilaria; Cecere, Jacopo G; Gianfranceschi, Luca; Hobson, Keith A; Morbey, Yolanda E; Saino, Nicola; Guglielmo, Christopher G; Rubolini, Diego
Understanding the genetic background of complex behavioral traits, showing multigenic control and extensive environmental effects, is a challenging task. Among such traits, migration is known to show a large additive genetic component. Yet, the identification of specific genes or gene regions explaining phenotypic variance in migratory behavior has received less attention. Migration ultimately depends on seasonal cycles, and polymorphism at phenological candidate genes may underlie variation in timing of migration or other aspects of migratory behavior. In this study of a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird, the Wilson's warbler (Cardellina pusilla), we investigated the association between polymorphism at two phenological candidate genes, Clock and Adcyap1, and two aspects of the migratory phenotype, timing of spring migration through a stopover site and inferred latitude of the breeding destination. The breeding destination of migrating individuals was identified using feather deuterium ratio (δ (2)H), which reliably reflects breeding latitude throughout the species' western breeding range. Ninety-eight percent of the individuals were homozygous at Clock, and the rare heterozygotes did not deviate from homozygous migration phenology. Adcyap1 was highly polymorphic, and allele size was not significantly associated with migration date. However, Adcyap1 allele size significantly positively predicted the inferred breeding latitude of males but not of females. Moreover, we found a strong positive association between inferred breeding latitude and Adcyap1 allele size in long-distance migrating birds from the northern sector of the breeding range (western Canada), while this was not the case in short-distance migrating birds from the southern sector of the breeding range (coastal California). Our findings support previous evidence for a role of Adcyap1 in shaping the avian migratory phenotype, while highlighting that patterns of phenological candidate gene
Assessing the Cost of Helping: The Roles of Body Condition and Oxidative Balance in the Seychelles Warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)
van de Crommenacker, Janske; Komdeur, Jan; Richardson, David S.
In cooperatively breeding species, helping close relatives may provide important fitness benefits. However, helping can be energetically expensive and may result in increased generation of reactive oxygen species. Consequently, an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance can lead to higher oxidative stress susceptibility. Given the potential costs of helping, it may be that only individuals with a sufficiently good body condition and/or stable oxidative balance can afford to help. Knowledge about relationships between social status and oxidative balance in cooperatively breeding systems is still limited. Studying these relationships is important for understanding the costs of helping and physiological pressures of reproduction. Here we evaluate the relationship between helping behaviour, body condition and oxidative balance in a wild population of the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). In this species, some subordinate individuals help dominant birds with the rearing of young, while others refrain from any assistance. We assessed body condition and oxidative parameters of birds of different social status caught during different breeding stages. We found that, prior to breeding, female subordinates that did not subsequently help (non-helpers) had significantly lower body condition and higher ROMs (reactive oxygen metabolites) than helpers and dominants. During the later stages of breeding, body condition was low in dominants and helpers, but high in non-helpers. Differences in oxidative balance between individuals of different social status were found only during nest care: Dominant males occupied with guarding behaviours tended to have relatively high oxidative stress susceptibility. Furthermore, dominant and helper females showed elevated antioxidant capacity (measured as OXY) in the weeks just prior to egg-laying, possibly representing a change in their reproductive physiology. The results imply that an individuals' oxidative balance may
Palaeoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in Sylvia warblers
Background The Old World warbler genus Sylvia has been used extensively as a model system in a variety of ecological, genetic, and morphological studies. The genus is comprised of about 25 species, and 70% of these species have distributions at or near the Mediterranean Sea. This distribution pattern suggests a possible role for the Messinian Salinity Crisis (from 5.96-5.33 Ma) as a driving force in lineage diversification. Other species distributions suggest that Late Miocene to Pliocene Afro-tropical forest dynamics have also been important in the evolution of Sylvia lineages. Using a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis and other methods, we seek to develop a biogeographic hypothesis for Sylvia and to explicitly assess the roles of these climate-driven events. Results We present the first strongly supported molecular phylogeny for Sylvia. With one exception, species fall into one of three strongly supported clades: one small clade of species distributed mainly in Africa and Europe, one large clade of species distributed mainly in Africa and Asia, and another large clade with primarily a circum-Mediterranean distribution. Asia is reconstructed as the ancestral area for Sylvia. Long-distance migration is reconstructed as the ancestral character state for the genus, and sedentary behavior subsequently evolved seven times. Conclusion Molecular clock calibration suggests that Sylvia arose in the early Miocene and diverged into three main clades by 12.6 Ma. Divergence estimates indicate that the Messinian Salinity Crisis had a minor impact on Sylvia. Instead, over-water dispersals, repeated loss of long-distance migration, and palaeo-climatic events in Africa played primary roles in Sylvia divergence and distribution. PMID:21672229
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
This spectacular Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 'blue marble' image is based on the most detailed collection of true-color imagery of the entire Earth to date. Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet. Most of the information contained in this image came from MODIS, illustrating MODIS' outstanding capacity to act as an integrated tool for observing a variety of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric features of the Earth. The land and coastal ocean portions of this image is based on surface observations collected from June through September 2001 and combined, or composited, every eight days to compensate for clouds that might block the satellite's view on any single day. Global ocean color (or chlorophyll) data was used to simulate the ocean surface. MODIS doesn't measure 3-D features of the Earth, so the surface observations were draped over topographic data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center. MODIS observations of polar sea ice were combined with observations of Antarctica made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's AVHRR sensor-the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. The cloud image is a composite of two days of MODIS imagery collected in visible light wavelengths and a third day of thermal infra-red imagery over the poles. A large collection of imagery based on the blue marble in a variety of sizes and formats, including animations and the full (1 km) resolution imagery, is available at the Blue Marble page. Image by Reto Stockli, Render by Robert Simmon. Based on data from the MODIS Science Team
Kim, W Chan; Mauborgne, Renée
Ten years ago, two INSEAD professors broke ground by introducing "blue ocean strategy," a new model for discovering uncontested markets that are ripe for growth. In this article, they apply their concepts and tools to what is perhaps the greatest challenge of leadership: closing the gulf between the potential and the realized talent and energy of employees. Research indicates that this gulf is vast: According to Gallup, 70% of workers are disengaged from their jobs. If companies could find a way to convert them into engaged employees, the results could be transformative. The trouble is, managers lack a clear understanding of what changes they could make to bring out the best in everyone. Here, Kim and Mauborgne offer a solution to that problem: a systematic approach to uncovering, at each level of the organization, which leadership acts and activities will inspire employees to give their all, and a process for getting managers throughout the company to start doing them. Blue ocean leadership works because the managers' "customers"-that is, the people managers oversee and report to-are involved in identifying what's effective and what isn't. Moreover, the approach doesn't require leaders to alter who they are, just to undertake a different set of tasks. And that kind of change is much easier to implement and track than changes to values and mind-sets. PMID:24956870
Blue emitting undecaplatinum clusters
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chakraborty, Indranath; Bhuin, Radha Gobinda; Bhat, Shridevi; Pradeep, T.
A blue luminescent 11-atom platinum cluster showing step-like optical features and the absence of plasmon absorption was synthesized. The cluster was purified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) suggest a composition, Pt11(BBS)8, which was confirmed by a range of other experimental tools. The cluster is highly stable and compatible with many organic solvents.A blue luminescent 11-atom platinum cluster showing step-like optical features and the absence of plasmon absorption was synthesized. The cluster was purified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) suggest a composition, Pt11(BBS)8, which was confirmed by a range of other experimental tools. The cluster is highly stable and compatible with many organic solvents. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Details of experimental procedures, instrumentation, chromatogram of the crude cluster; SEM/EDAX, DLS, PXRD, TEM, FT-IR, and XPS of the isolated Pt11 cluster; UV/Vis, MALDI MS and SEM/EDAX of isolated 2 and 3; and 195Pt NMR of the K2PtCl6 standard. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr02778g
The sky on Pluto is blue! Kind of. This is Pluto in an Minute. So it's not exactly the case that the sky on Pluto is blue, rather, what the New Horizons science team has found in recent images do...
Blue ellipticals in compact groups
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zepf, Stephen E.; Whitmore, Bradley C.
By studying galaxies in compact groups, the authors examine the hypothesis that mergers of spiral galaxies make elliptical galaxies. The authors combine dynamical models of the merger-rich compact group environment with stellar evolution models and predict that roughly 15 percent of compact group ellipticals should be 0.15 mag bluer in B - R color than normal ellipticals. The published colors of these galaxies suggest the existence of this predicted blue population, but a normal distribution with large random errors can not be ruled out based on these data alone. However, the authors have new ultraviolet blue visual data which confirm the blue color of the two ellipticals with blue B - R colors for which they have their own colors. This confirmation of a population of blue ellipticals indicates that interactions are occurring in compact groups, but a blue color in one index alone does not require that these ellipticals are recent products of the merger of two spirals. The authors demonstrate how optical spectroscopy in the blue may distinguish between a true spiral + spiral merger and the swallowing of a gas-rich system by an already formed elliptical. The authors also show that the sum of the luminosity of the galaxies in each group is consistent with the hypothesis that the final stage in the evolution of compact group is an elliptical galaxy.
Blue moons and Martian sunsets.
Ehlers, Kurt; Chakrabarty, Rajan; Moosmüller, Hans
The familiar yellow or orange disks of the moon and sun, especially when they are low in the sky, and brilliant red sunsets are a result of the selective extinction (scattering plus absorption) of blue light by atmospheric gas molecules and small aerosols, a phenomenon explainable using the Rayleigh scattering approximation. On rare occasions, dust or smoke aerosols can cause the extinction of red light to exceed that for blue, resulting in the disks of the sun and moon to appear as blue. Unlike Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is dominated by micron-size dust aerosols, and the sky during sunset takes on a bluish glow. Here we investigate the role of dust aerosols in the blue Martian sunsets and the occasional blue moons and suns on Earth. We use the Mie theory and the Debye series to calculate the wavelength-dependent optical properties of dust aerosols most commonly found on Mars. Our findings show that while wavelength selective extinction can cause the sun's disk to appear blue, the color of the glow surrounding the sun as observed from Mars is due to the dominance of near-forward scattering of blue light by dust particles and cannot be explained by a simple, Rayleigh-like selective extinction explanation. PMID:24663457
Blue upconversion thulium laser
Nguyen, D.C.; Faulkner, G.E.; Weber, M.E.; Dulick, M.
Upconversion has been an active area of research for at least two decades, mainly because of its wide ranging applications from infrared quantum counters, visible-emitting phosphors, to upconversion lasers. The upconversion lasers have recently become attractive with the advent of semiconductor laser diodes as the pump source. In an upconversion laser, the laser active ion is excited by internal upconversion of near-ir or red light via multiphoton excitation or cooperative processes and emits anti-Stokes visible light. Since the laser diode output wavelength can be composition turned to match the upconversion laser ion absorption lines, a substantial fraction of the ions can be driven into higher energy levels, thus enhancing the upconversion process. These upconversion solid-state lasers offer a potentially simple and compact source of visible coherent light with semiconductor laser diode excitation. We recently reported a novel upconversion thulium laser that emits blue light at 77 K. In this paper additional data on this 77 K upconversion laser as well as preliminary results on the room temperature upconversion laser are presented. In these demonstrations, dye lasers were used instead of diode lasers because they were more readily available than high power semiconductor laser diodes and their wavelengths could be adjusted easily. 14 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.
Blue metal complex pigments involved in blue flower color
Takeda, Kosaku
The blue pigment of cornflower, protocyanin, has been investigated for a long time, but its precise structure was not entirely explained until recently. The molecular structure of the pigment was recently shown to be a metal complex of six molecules each of anthocyanin and flavone glycoside, with one ferric iron, one magnesium and two calcium ions by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The studies provided the answer to the question posed in the early part of the last century, "why is the cornflower blue and rose red when both flowers contain the same anthocyanin?" This work was achieved on the basis of the results of long years of the studies made by many researchers. In this review, the author focuses on the investigations of the blue metal complex pigments involved in the bluing of flowers, commelinin from Commelina commusis, protocyanin from Centaurea cyanus, protodelphin from Salvia patens and hydrangea blue pigment. PMID:25792777
Okuno, Tsutomu
Short-wavelength visible light (blue light) of the Sun has caused retinal damage in people who have stared fixedly at the Sun without adequate protection. The author quantified the blue-light hazard of the Sun according to the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines by measuring the spectral radiance of the Sun. The results showed that the exposure limit for blue light can be easily exceeded when people view the Sun and that the solar blue-light hazard generally increases with solar elevation, which is in accordance with a model of the atmospheric extinction of sunlight. Viewing the Sun can be very hazardous and therefore should be avoided except at very low solar elevations.
Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Eurasian/African reed warbler complex (Acrocephalus, Aves). Disagreement between morphological and molecular evidence and cryptic divergence: A case for resurrecting Calamoherpe ambigua Brehm 1857.
Olsson, Urban; Rguibi-Idrissi, Hamid; Copete, José Luis; Arroyo Matos, José Luis; Provost, Pascal; Amezian, Mohamed; Alström, Per; Jiguet, Frédéric
A tree based on the mitochondrial cyt b gene for 278 samples from throughout the range of the Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus - African Reed Warbler A. baeticatus complex shows well-supported geographically structured divergence for eight distinct lineages. The phylogenetic structuring together with the clarification of priority, provided by sequence data from seven type specimens, suggests that both taxonomy and distribution boundaries are in need of revision. The Iberian and Moroccan populations form a well-supported clade, and we propose that these are treated as taxonomically distinct, under the name ambiguus (Brehm, 1857). We propose that the names scirpaceus, fuscus, avicenniae, ambiguus, minor, cinnamomeus, hallae and baeticatus are used for the well supported clades in the complex, which we recommend to treat as one polytypic species, A. scirpaceus, pending studies of gene flow and assortative mating in the contact zones. PMID:27233439
Consider the Kirtland's Warbler
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dustin, Daniel L.; Schwab, Keri A.
This paper challenges the conventional wisdom of departments of parks and recreation taking sport management under their "wing." Based on a review of the sport management literature and a polling of sport management and park and recreation educators, we argue that departments of parks and recreation are but temporary refuges for migratory sport…
Migratory Bird Pathways and the Gulf of Mexico: Importance of Louisiana's Coast
Smith, Gregory J.; Barrow, Wylie
Because of its geographic position, Louisiana plays an important role in the hemispheric-scale phenomenon known as the Nearctic-Neotropical bird migration system. Each year millions of landbirds migrate across or near to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Birds migrate in large, broad fronts that sometimes exceed 2 million individuals, and there is an advantage for them to take a direct north-south route (the shortest distance). * During migration seasons, nearly all of the migratory landbird species of the eastern United States, as well as many western species, use the coastal plains of the western gulf. * Spring migrants arrive with depleted energy reserves and depend on Louisiana's coastal habitats to provide food and cover after long gulf crossings. * Fall migrants depend on Louisiana?s coastal habitats for food to store fat reserves just prior to gulf crossings in autumn. * Mortality during the migratory period can be high. Recent research on the black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens) indicates that more than 85% of the annual mortality for the species occurs during migration. Migrants en route tend to concentrate in habitats adjacent to ecological barriers; DOI land managers need to identify key coastal landscape features that are important to these birds. Because of the vastness of the North American continent, it is nearly impossible to delineate movement patterns and migration pathways by using traditional ground-based surveys.
Escalation of aggressive vocal signals: a sequential playback study
Hof, David; Podos, Jeffrey
Rival conspecifics often produce stereotyped sequences of signals as agonistic interactions escalate. Successive signals in sequence are thought to convey increasingly pronounced levels of aggressive motivation. Here, we propose and test a model of aggressive escalation in black-throated blue warblers, presenting subjects with two sequential and increasingly elevated levels of threat. From a speaker outside the territorial boundary, we initiated an interaction (low-threat level), and from a second speaker inside the territory, accompanied by a taxidermic mount, we subsequently simulated a territorial intrusion (escalated threat level). Our two main predictions were that signalling behaviours in response to low-threat boundary playback would predict signalling responses to the escalated within-territory threat, and that these latter signalling behaviours would in turn reliably predict attack. We find clear support for both predictions: (i) specific song types (type II songs) produced early in the simulated interaction, in response to boundary playback, predicted later use of low-amplitude 'soft' song, in response to within-territory playback; and (ii) soft song, in turn, predicted attack of the mount. Unexpectedly, use of the early-stage signal (type II song) itself did not predict attack, despite its apparent role in aggressive escalation. This raises the intriguing question of whether type II song can actually be considered a reliable aggressive signal. Overall, our results provide new empirical insights into how songbirds may use progressive vocal signalling to convey increasing levels of threat. PMID:23926156
Approaches for the direct estimation of rate of increase in population size using capture-recapture data
Nichols, J.D.; Sillett, T. Scott; Hines, J.E.; Holmes, Richard T.
Recent developments in the modeling of capture-recapture data permit the direct estimation and modeling of population growth rate Pradel (1996). Resulting estimates reflect changes in numbers of birds on study areas, and such changes result from movement as well as survival and reproductive recruitment. One measure of the 'importance' of a demographic vital rate to population growth is based on temporal covariation (i.e., do changes in population growth follow changes in vital rates). If data are available to estimate vital rates or their components, then such data can be combined with capture-recapture data in order to estimate parameters of the relationship between population growth and the vital rate. These methods are illustrated using capture-recapture and nest observation data for Black-throated Blue Warblers, Dendroica caerulescens, from a long-term study at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. Population growth rate was found to be positively associated with the proportion of birds that double-brood. We encourage use of these methods and believe they will prove to be very useful in research on, and management of, migratory bird populations.
Experimental food supplementation reveals habitat-dependent male reproductive investment in a migratory bird.
Kaiser, Sara A; Sillett, T Scott; Risk, Benjamin B; Webster, Michael S
Environmental factors can shape reproductive investment strategies and influence the variance in male mating success. Environmental effects on extrapair paternity have traditionally been ascribed to aspects of the social environment, such as breeding density and synchrony. However, social factors are often confounded with habitat quality and are challenging to disentangle. We used both natural variation in habitat quality and a food supplementation experiment to separate the effects of food availability-one key aspect of habitat quality-on extrapair paternity (EPP) and reproductive success in the black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens. High natural food availability was associated with higher within-pair paternity (WPP) and fledging two broods late in the breeding season, but lower EPP. Food-supplemented males had higher WPP leading to higher reproductive success relative to controls, and when in low-quality habitat, food-supplemented males were more likely to fledge two broods but less likely to gain EPP. Our results demonstrate that food availability affects trade-offs in reproductive activities. When food constraints are reduced, males invest in WPP at the expense of EPP. These findings imply that environmental change could alter how individuals allocate their resources and affect the selective environment that drives variation in male mating success. PMID:25673677
Effects on forest birds of DDT used for gypsy moth control in Pennsylvania
Hotchkiss, N.; Pough, R.H.
1. Systematic censuses of the birds on three 40-acre tracts of forest near Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, were made between May 1 and June 27, 1945, to determine the breeding populations....2. Between May 24 and June 1 a 600-acre area enclosing the first (Mile Square) was sprayed by airplane with DDT in oil solution at 5 pounds per acre. On June 9 a 350-acre area enclosing the second tract (Maple Lake) was sprayed with 1pound of DDT per acre. The third tract (Check) was not treated....3. Within 48 hours after treatment of the Mile Square tract, five sick birds were found with symptoms of DDT poisoning, and all died. Two other dead birds were found, and two nests apparently were abandoned. Species involved were red-eyed vireo (3), black-and-white warbler, black-throated blue warbler (nest abandoned), ovenbird (bird died, nest abandoned), redstart, and scarlet tanager....Within 48 hours after application of DDT to the final portion of the tract (on June 1) the population of living birds appeared to have been much reduced, and this condition continued. Before spraying the population total for all species was 1.6 pairs (3.2 birds) per acre. Three days after spraying had been completed there were only two singing males in the entire area; but on June 13 the estimated population was 0.5 bird per acre.....4. After DDT was applied to the Maple Lake tract, careful watch was kept for changes in the bird population and as to nest conditions there and on the Check tract. The apparent total reduction for all species in the Maple Lake tract was from 2.7 pairs to 2.6 pairs per acre; and in the Check tract from 2.7 pairs to 2.4 pairs per acre. Neither these changes nor the observed abandonment of nests and nestling mortality could be attributed to use of DDT.
Methylene blue related sterile endophthalmitis.
Lim, A K E; Ulagantheran V, V; Siow, Y C; Lim, K S
To report a case of methylene blue related endophthalmitis. Observational case report. Review of clinical record, photographs. A 60 year old man developed endophthalmitis after methylene blue was accidentally used to stain the anterior capsule during phacoemulsification of cataract. His left visual acuity deteriorated from 6/12 to 6/36 two weeks after the operation. Despite intensive treatment with topical and intravitreal antibiotics, his condition deteriorated. A vitrectomy and silicone oil injection eventually managed to control the progression of the disease and salvage the eye. However the visual outcome remained poor due to corneal decompensation and retinal ischemia. Both vitreous tap and vitreous biopsy were negative for any organism. Methylene blue is extremely toxic to ocular structures and should not be used intraocularly. PMID:19248701
Van Orden, Guy; Hollis, Geoff; Wallot, Sebastian
Much effort has gone into elucidating control of the body by the brain, less so the role of the body in controlling the brain. This essay develops the idea that the brain does a great deal of work in the service of behavior that is controlled by the body, a blue-collar role compared to the white-collar control exercised by the body. The argument that supports a blue-collar role for the brain is also consistent with recent discoveries clarifying the white-collar role of synergies across the body's tensegrity structure, and the evidence of critical phenomena in brain and behavior. PMID:22719730
Nguyen, D.C.; Faulkner, G.E.
A blue-green laser (450--550 nm) uses a host crystal doped with Tm[sup 3+]. The Tm[sup 3+] is excited through upconversion by a red pumping laser and an IR pumping laser to a state which transitions to a relatively lower energy level through emissions in the blue-green band, e.g., 450.20 nm at 75 K. The exciting laser may be tunable dye lasers or may be solid-state semiconductor laser, e.g., GaAlAs and InGaAlP. 3 figs.
Crater Lake: blue through time
Larson, Gary L.; Buktenica, Mark; Collier, Robert
Blue is the color of constancy, hence the term true blue. The unearthly blueness of Crater Lake reflects its pristine character and gives scientists a focal point for studying human impacts on aquatic environments over long periods of time. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Park Service, and Oregon State University have systematically studied the lake for the last two decades. Long-term monitoring of this lake is a priority of Crater Lake National Park and will continue far into the future.
Van Orden, Guy; Hollis, Geoff; Wallot, Sebastian
Much effort has gone into elucidating control of the body by the brain, less so the role of the body in controlling the brain. This essay develops the idea that the brain does a great deal of work in the service of behavior that is controlled by the body, a blue-collar role compared to the white-collar control exercised by the body. The argument that supports a blue-collar role for the brain is also consistent with recent discoveries clarifying the white-collar role of synergies across the body's tensegrity structure, and the evidence of critical phenomena in brain and behavior. PMID:22719730
Nguyen, Dinh C.; Faulkner, George E.
A blue-green laser (450-550 nm) uses a host crystal doped with Tm.sup.3+. The Tm.sup.+ is excited through upconversion by a red pumping laser and an IR pumping laser to a state which transitions to a relatively lower energy level through emissions in the blue-green band, e.g., 450.20 nm at 75 K. The exciting laser may be tunable dye lasers or may be solid-state semiconductor laser, e.g., GaAlAs and InGaAlP.
Blue light emitting thiogallate phosphor
Dye, Robert C.; Smith, David C.; King, Christopher N.; Tuenge, Richard T.
A crystalline blue emitting thiogallate phosphor of the formula RGa.sub.2 S.sub.4 :Ce.sub.x where R is selected from the group consisting of calcium, strontium, barium and zinc, and x is from about 1 to 10 atomic percent, the phosphor characterized as having a crystalline microstructure on the size order of from about 100 .ANG. to about 10,000 .ANG. is provided together with a process of preparing a crystalline blue emitting thiogallate phosphor by depositing on a substrate by CVD and resultant thin film electroluminescent devices including a layer of such deposited phosphor on an ordinary glass substrate.
Blue light hazard and aniridia.
Abadi, R. V.; Dickinson, C. M.
The fundi of three patients with aniridia were photographed with a 470 nm illuminating light source. No apparent change in contrast was observable throughout the macular region. This would suggest an absence of the macular pigment. The likelihood of aniridics being more susceptible than normal persons to blue light damage is discussed. Images PMID:3978071
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fisher, Diane
It is so obvious that the sky is blue in the daytime and black at night, but it took the smartest humans thousands of years of observation, thought, discussion, conjecture, and analysis to finally come up with answers that make scientific sense as to why the sky is these colors. This article discusses light and the scientific research…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McDaniel, Lynda
Guntersville Elementary School, a preK-2 school in Alabama, earned the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools award through creative programs addressing school readiness, parent education, and the need for extended-day and summer activities; a progressive curriculum; and various community partnerships. (SV)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bodine, John J.
Describes the Blue Lake Ceremony of the Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. Reproduces the 1906 account of the ceremony by anthropologist Matilda Coxe Stevenson and notes modern verification and change. Discusses the importance of this annual August pilgrimage and initiation rite to the preservation of Taos culture. (SV)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kraftmakher, Yaakov
A brief review of lighting technologies is presented. Unavoidable restrictions for incandescent light bulbs caused by the Planck distribution and properties of the human eye are illustrated. The efficiency and luminous efficacy of thermal radiation are calculated for various temperatures; the results clearly show the limitations for thermal radiators. The only way to overcome these limitations is using non-thermal radiators, such as fluorescent lamps and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Unique advantages of LEDs undoubtedly made a revolution in this field. A crucial element of this progress is the blue LEDs (Nobel Prize 2014). Some experiments with a blue and a green LED are described: (i) the luminescence triggered in a green-yellow phosphor inside a white LED by the blue LED; (ii) radiant spectra and 'efficiency droop' in the LEDs; (iii) modulation of the blue LED up to 4 MHz; and (iv) the h/e ratio from the turn-on voltage of the green LED. The experiments are suitable for undergraduate laboratories and usable as classroom demonstrations.
The Blues Poetry of Langston Hughes
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Waldron, Edward E.
The author discusses the criteria of the blues as an American art form. He then shows how Langston Hughes captures the mood, the feeling, the rhythm and the impact of the blues in his poetry. (Author/LF)
Practical utility of the blue spectral region
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ross, D. S.
Some aspects of multispectral photography in the blue region are discussed briefly, and sample images are submitted to demonstrate the potential utility of the blue multispectral record for oceanography.
21 CFR 73.50 - Ultramarine blue.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
... ultramarine blue is a blue pigment obtained by calcining a mixture of kaolin, sulfur, sodium carbonate, and... order to vary the shade. The pigment is a complex sodium aluminum sulfo-silicate having the...
21 CFR 73.50 - Ultramarine blue.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
... ultramarine blue is a blue pigment obtained by calcining a mixture of kaolin, sulfur, sodium carbonate, and... order to vary the shade. The pigment is a complex sodium aluminum sulfo-silicate having the...
21 CFR 73.50 - Ultramarine blue.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
... ultramarine blue is a blue pigment obtained by calcining a mixture of kaolin, sulfur, sodium carbonate, and... order to vary the shade. The pigment is a complex sodium aluminum sulfo-silicate having the...
21 CFR 73.50 - Ultramarine blue.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
... ultramarine blue is a blue pigment obtained by calcining a mixture of kaolin, sulfur, sodium carbonate, and... order to vary the shade. The pigment is a complex sodium aluminum sulfo-silicate having the...
21 CFR 73.50 - Ultramarine blue.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
... ultramarine blue is a blue pigment obtained by calcining a mixture of kaolin, sulfur, sodium carbonate, and... order to vary the shade. The pigment is a complex sodium aluminum sulfo-silicate having the...
Visual modeling reveals cryptic aspect in egg mimicry of Himalayan Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) on its host Blyth's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus reguloides).
Yang, Can-Chao; Cai, Yan; Liang, Wei
Brood parasitism and egg mimicry of Himalayan Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) on its host Blyth's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus reguloides) were studied in south-western China from April to July 2009. The cuckoo laid a white egg with fine brown markings on the blunt end. The eggs were conspicuously bigger than the host's own, with 2.06 g in mass and 1.91 cm(3) in volume. Visual modeling showed that the cuckoo eggs, which from the human eye appeared to mimic the host eggs to a great extent, were completely different from the host eggs in both hue and chroma. The characters of the Himalayan Cuckoo nestling, reported for the first time, included two triangular and black patches on its gape, which appeared from four days old and became darker with age and growth. While this character also exists in nestlings of Oriental Cuckoo (C. optatus), it has not been found for other Cuculus species. Our results reveal cryptic aspects in the cuckoo-host egg color matching, which are not visible to the naked human eye, and indicate that high mimetic cuckoo eggs rejected by hosts, as determined by human observers in previous studies, might not be mimetic as birds see them. PMID:21842542
Effects of asymmetric nuclear introgression, introgressive mitochondrial sweep, and purifying selection on phylogenetic reconstruction and divergence estimates in the Pacific clade of Locustella warblers.
Drovetski, Sergei V; Semenov, Georgy; Red'kin, Yaroslav A; Sotnikov, Vladimir N; Fadeev, Igor V; Koblik, Evgeniy A
When isolated but reproductively compatible populations expand geographically and meet, simulations predict asymmetric introgression of neutral loci from a local to invading taxon. Genetic introgression may affect phylogenetic reconstruction by obscuring topology and divergence estimates. We combined phylogenetic analysis of sequences from one mtDNA and 12 nuDNA loci with analysis of gene flow among 5 species of Pacific Locustella warblers to test for presence of genetic introgression and its effects on tree topology and divergence estimates. Our data showed that nuDNA introgression was substantial and asymmetrical among all members of superspecies groups whereas mtDNA showed no introgression except a single species pair where the invader's mtDNA was swept by mtDNA of the local species. This introgressive sweep of mtDNA had the opposite direction of the nuDNA introgression and resulted in the paraphyly of the local species' mtDNA haplotypes with respect to those of the invader. Тhe multilocus nuDNA species tree resolved all inter- and intraspecific relationships despite substantial introgression. However, the node ages on the species tree may be underestimated as suggested by the differences in node age estimates based on non-introgressing mtDNA and introgressing nuDNA. In turn, the introgressive sweep and strong purifying selection appear to elongate internal branches in the mtDNA gene tree. PMID:25849039
On Seeing Reddish Green and Yellowish Blue.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Crane, Hewitt D.; Piantanida, Thomas P.
Stabilization of the retinal image of the boundary between a pair of red/green or yellow/blue stripes, but not their outer edges, results in the entire region being perceived simultaneously as both red/green or yellow/blue. This suggests that the percepts of reddish-green/yellowish-blue apparently are possible in corticocortical color vision…
75 FR 65525 - Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Claim Management Services, Inc. Operations, a Division of...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... on September 3, 2010 (75 FR 54187). The workers supply claims processing services and customer... Employment and Training Administration Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Claim Management Services, Inc... Adjustment Assistance (TAA), applicable to workers and former workers of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield,...
Status of Blue Ridge Reservoir
Not Available
This is one in a series of reports prepared by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for those interested in the conditions of TVA reservoirs. This overview of Blue Ridge Reservoir summarizes reservoir and watershed characteristics, reservoir uses and use impairments, water quality and aquatic biological conditions, and activities of reservoir management agencies. This information was extracted from the most current reports and data available, as well as interview with water resource professionals in various federal, state, and local agencies. Blue Ridge Reservoir is a single-purpose hydropower generating project. When consistent with this primary objective, the reservoir is also operated to benefit secondary objectives including water quality, recreation, fish and aquatic habitat, development of shoreline, aesthetic quality, and other public and private uses that support overall regional economic growth and development. 8 refs., 1 fig.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gibson, J. Murray
In looking at the commonalities between music and science, one sees that the musician's palette is based on the principles of physics. The pitch of a musical note is determined by the frequency of the sound wave. The scales that musicians use to create and play music can be viewed as a set of rules. What makes music interesting is how musicians develop those rules and create ambiguity with them. I will discuss the evolution of western musical scales in this context. As a particular example, ``Blue'' notes are very harmonic notes that are missing from the equal temperament scale. The techniques of piano blues and jazz represent the melding of African and Western music into something totally new and exciting. Live keyboard demonstrations will be used. Beyond any redeeming entertainment value the talk will emphasize the serious connections between science and art in music. Nevertheless tips will be accepted.
Stewart, R.E.
The food habits of Blue Grouse vary from a simple winter diet that is made up predominantly of coniferous needles to a complex diet during the summer months, characterized by great variety of foods including green leaves, fruits and seeds, flowers, animal matter and coniferous needles. The spring and fall, which represent the transition periods between these two, are characterized by feeding habits that are generally intermediate. The diets of the two species of Blue Grouse, Dendrugapus obscurus and Dendragapus juliginosus, are quite similar as far as major types of food are concerned, but they differ considerably in the species that are taken. Such differences reflect differences in the vegetation within the ecologic and geographic ranges occupied by the two species.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nelson, Michael
Scholarly books with "identity" and "culture" in the title have loomed large on academic publishing lists for several years. Scholarly books with "Sinatra" in the title are a more recent phenomenon. Despite his six-decade career as the Voice (the 1940s), the Chairman of the Board (the 50s and 60s), and Ol' Blue Eyes (the 70s through his death, in…
Models of Individual Blue Stragglers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sills, Alison
This chapter describes the current state of models of individual blue stragglers. Stellar collisions, binary mergers (or coalescence), and partial or ongoing mass transfer have all been studied in some detail. The products of stellar collisions retain memory of their parent stars and are not fully mixed. Very high initial rotation rates must be reduced by an unknown process to allow the stars to collapse to the main sequence. The more massive collision products have shorter lifetimes than normal stars of the same mass, while products between low mass stars are long-lived and look very much like normal stars of their mass. Mass transfer can result in a merger, or can produce another binary system with a blue straggler and the remnant of the original primary. The products of binary mass transfer cover a larger portion of the colour-magnitude diagram than collision products for two reasons: there are more possible configurations which produce blue stragglers, and there are differing contributions to the blended light of the system. The effects of rotation may be substantial in both collision and merger products, and could result in significant mixing unless angular momentum is lost shortly after the formation event. Surface abundances may provide ways to distinguish between the formation mechanisms, but care must be taken to model the various mixing mechanisms properly before drawing strong conclusions. Avenues for future work are outlined.
The Cryptochrome Blue Light Receptors.
Yu, Xuhong; Liu, Hongtao; Klejnot, John; Lin, Chentao
Cryptochromes are photolyase-like blue light receptors originally discovered in Arabidopsis but later found in other plants, microbes, and animals. Arabidopsis has two cryptochromes, CRY1 and CRY2, which mediate primarily blue light inhibition of hypocotyl elongation and photoperiodic control of floral initiation, respectively. In addition, cryptochromes also regulate over a dozen other light responses, including circadian rhythms, tropic growth, stomata opening, guard cell development, root development, bacterial and viral pathogen responses, abiotic stress responses, cell cycles, programmed cell death, apical dominance, fruit and ovule development, seed dormancy, and magnetoreception. Cryptochromes have two domains, the N-terminal PHR (Photolyase-Homologous Region) domain that bind the chromophore FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide), and the CCE (CRY C-terminal Extension) domain that appears intrinsically unstructured but critical to the function and regulation of cryptochromes. Most cryptochromes accumulate in the nucleus, and they undergo blue light-dependent phosphorylation or ubiquitination. It is hypothesized that photons excite electrons of the flavin molecule, resulting in redox reaction or circular electron shuttle and conformational changes of the photoreceptors. The photoexcited cryptochrome are phosphorylated to adopt an open conformation, which interacts with signaling partner proteins to alter gene expression at both transcriptional and posttranslational levels and consequently the metabolic and developmental programs of plants. PMID:21841916
Uncovering Blue Diffuse Dwarf Galaxies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
James, Bethan; Koposov, Sergey; Stark, Daniel; Belokurov, Vasily; Pettini, Max; Olszewski, Edward W.
Extremely metal-poor galaxies (XMPs) and the star-formation within their chemically pristine environments are fundamental to our understanding of the galaxy formation process at early times. However, traditional emission-line surveys detect only the brightest metal-poor galaxies where star-formation occurs in compact, starbursting environments, and thereby give us only a partial view of the dwarf galaxy population. To avoid such biases, we have developed a new search algorithm based on the morphological, rather then spectral, properties of XMPs and have applied to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database of images. Using this novel approach, we have discovered ~100 previously undetected, faint blue galaxies, each with isolated HII regions embedded in a diffuse continuum. In this talk I will present the first results from follow-up optical spectroscopy of this sample, which reveals these blue diffuse dwarfs (BDDs) to be young, very metal-poor and actively forming stars despite their intrinsically low luminosities. I will present evidence showing that BDDs appear to bridge the gap between quiescent dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies and blue compact galaxies (BCDs) and as such offer an ideal opportunity to assess how star-formation occurs in more `normal' metal-poor systems.
Localized Eruptive Blue Nevi after Herpes Zoster
Colson, Fany; Arrese, Jorge E.; Nikkels, Arjen F.
A 52-year-old White man presented with a dozen small, well-restricted, punctiform, asymptomatic, blue-gray macules on the left shoulder. A few months earlier, he had been treated with oral acyclovir for herpes zoster (HZ) affecting the left C7–C8 dermatomes. All the blue macules appeared over a short period of time and then remained stable. The patient had not experienced any previous trauma or had tattooing in this anatomical region. The clinical diagnosis suggested blue nevi. Dermatoscopy revealed small, well-limited, dark-blue, compact, homogeneous areas evoking dermal blue nevi. An excisional biopsy was performed and the histological examination confirmed a blue nevus. As far as we are aware of, this is the first report of eruptive blue nevi following HZ, and it should be included in the differential diagnosis of zosteriform dermatoses responding to an isotopic pathway. In addition, a brief review concerning eruptive nevi is presented. PMID:27462219
Inflation and alternatives with blue tensor spectra
Wang, Yi; Xue, Wei E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
We study the tilt of the primordial gravitational waves spectrum. A hint of blue tilt is shown from analyzing the BICEP2 and POLARBEAR data. Motivated by this, we explore the possibilities of blue tensor spectra from the very early universe cosmology models, including null energy condition violating inflation, inflation with general initial conditions, and string gas cosmology, etc. For the simplest G-inflation, blue tensor spectrum also implies blue scalar spectrum. In general, the inflation models with blue tensor spectra indicate large non-Gaussianities. On the other hand, string gas cosmology predicts blue tensor spectrum with highly Gaussian fluctuations. If further experiments do confirm the blue tensor spectrum, non-Gaussianity becomes a distinguishing test between inflation and alternatives.
Polish Terms for "Blue" in the Perspective of Vantage Theory
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stanulewicz, Danuta
The Polish set of terms for blue includes, inter alia, the following adjectives: "niebieski" "blue", "blekitny" "(sky) blue", "granatowy" "navy blue", "lazurowy" "azure", "modry" "(intense) blue" and "siny" "(grey) violet-blue". The adjective "niebieski" is the basic term; however, it shares some of its functions with "blekitny", which is…
Adsorption of Methylene Blue, Bromophenol Blue, and Coomassie Brilliant Blue by α-chitin nanoparticles.
Dhananasekaran, Solairaj; Palanivel, Rameshthangam; Pappu, Srinivasan
Expelling of dyestuff into water resource system causes major thread to the environment. Adsorption is the cost effective and potential method to remove the dyes from the effluents. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the adsorption of dyestuff (Methylene Blue (MB), Bromophenol Blue (BPB) and Coomassie Brilliant Blue (CBB)) by α-chitin nanoparticles (CNP) prepared from Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) shell waste. On contrary to the most recognizable adsorption studies using chitin, this is the first study using unique nanoparticles of ⩽50 nm used for the dye adsorption process. The results showed that the adsorption process increased with increase in the concentration of CNP, contact time and temperature with the dyestuff, whereas the adsorption process decreased with increase in the initial dye concentration and strong acidic pH. The results from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that the interaction between dyestuff and CNP involved physical adsorption. The adsorption process obeys Langmuir isotherm (R (2) values were 0.992, 0.999 and 0.992 for MB, BPB and CBB, and RL value lies between 0 and 1 for all the three dyes) and pseudo second order kinetics (R (2) values were 0.996, 0.999 and 0.996 for MB, BPB and CBB) more effectively. The isotherm and kinetic models confirmed that CNP can be used as a suitable adsorbent material for the removal of dyestuff from effluents. PMID:26843977
Adsorption of Methylene Blue, Bromophenol Blue, and Coomassie Brilliant Blue by α-chitin nanoparticles
Dhananasekaran, Solairaj; Palanivel, Rameshthangam; Pappu, Srinivasan
Expelling of dyestuff into water resource system causes major thread to the environment. Adsorption is the cost effective and potential method to remove the dyes from the effluents. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the adsorption of dyestuff (Methylene Blue (MB), Bromophenol Blue (BPB) and Coomassie Brilliant Blue (CBB)) by α-chitin nanoparticles (CNP) prepared from Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) shell waste. On contrary to the most recognizable adsorption studies using chitin, this is the first study using unique nanoparticles of ⩽50 nm used for the dye adsorption process. The results showed that the adsorption process increased with increase in the concentration of CNP, contact time and temperature with the dyestuff, whereas the adsorption process decreased with increase in the initial dye concentration and strong acidic pH. The results from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that the interaction between dyestuff and CNP involved physical adsorption. The adsorption process obeys Langmuir isotherm (R2 values were 0.992, 0.999 and 0.992 for MB, BPB and CBB, and RL value lies between 0 and 1 for all the three dyes) and pseudo second order kinetics (R2 values were 0.996, 0.999 and 0.996 for MB, BPB and CBB) more effectively. The isotherm and kinetic models confirmed that CNP can be used as a suitable adsorbent material for the removal of dyestuff from effluents. PMID:26843977
Uncovering blue diffuse dwarf galaxies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
James, Bethan L.; Koposov, Sergey; Stark, Daniel P.; Belokurov, Vasily; Pettini, Max; Olszewski, Edward W.
Extremely metal poor (XMP) galaxies are known to be very rare, despite the large numbers of low-mass galaxies predicted by the local galaxy luminosity function. This paper presents a subsample of galaxies that were selected via a morphology-based search on Sloan Digital Sky Survey images with the aim of finding these elusive XMP galaxies. By using the recently discovered XMP galaxy, Leo P, as a guide, we obtained a collection of faint, blue systems, each with isolated H II regions embedded in a diffuse continuum, that have remained optically undetected until now. Here we show the first results from optical spectroscopic follow-up observations of 12 of ˜100 of these blue diffuse dwarf (BDD) galaxies yielded by our search algorithm. Oxygen abundances were obtained via the direct method for eight galaxies, and found to be in the range 7.45 < 12 + log (O/H) < 8.0, with two galaxies being classified as XMPs. All BDDs were found to currently have a young star-forming population (<10 Myr) and relatively high ionization parameters of their H II regions. Despite their low luminosities (-11 ≲ MB ≲ -18) and low surface brightnesses (˜23-25 mag arcsec-2), the galaxies were found to be actively star forming, with current star formation rates between 0.0003 and 0.078 M⊙ yr-1. From our current subsample, BDD galaxies appear to be a population of non-quiescent dwarf irregular galaxies, or the diffuse counterparts to blue compact galaxies and as such may bridge the gap between these two populations. Our search algorithm demonstrates that morphology-based searches are successful in uncovering more diffuse metal-poor star-forming galaxies, which traditional emission-line-based searches overlook.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kafka, Stella; De Propris, Roberto
We propose to obtain high resolution spectroscopy for a sample of 17 blue stragglers in M67, in order to measure abundances of Beryllium, Carbon, Oxygen and the Carbon isotope (13C/12C) abundance ratio. The main aim of this project is to measure indications of deep mixing and therefore elucidate the processes responsible for the formation of these stars, whether stellar collisions, WUMa type mass transfer or Algol-like binary evolution. The data will also allow us to measure the importance of magnetic fields and search for faint companions via their effect on other spectral lines
Mitochondrial restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence variation among closely related avian species and the genetic characterization of hybrid Dendroica warblers.
Lovette, I J; Bermingham, E; Rohwer, S; Wood, C
To address several interconnected goals, we used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences to explore evolutionary relationships among four potentially hybridizing taxa in a North American avian superspecies (Dendroica occidentalis, D. townsendi, D. virens, and D. nigrescens). We first compared the results of a previous restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-based study with 1453 nucleotides from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), ATP-synthase 6 (ATPase 6), and ATP-synthase 8 (ATPase 8) genes. Separate phylogenetic analyses of the RFLP and sequence data provided identical and well-supported hierarchical species-level reconstructions that grouped occidentalis and townsendi as sister taxa. We then explored several general features of mitochondrial evolution via a comparison of the RFLP and sequence data sets. Qualitative rate differences that seemed evident in highly autocorrelated comparisons of RFLP vs. sequence pairwise distances were not supported when autocorrelation was removed. We also noted a high variance in corresponding RFLP and sequence distances after the removal of autocorrelation effects. This variance suggests that caution should be used when combining RFLP and sequence-based data in studies that require the large-scale synthesis of divergence estimates drawn from sources employing different molecular techniques. Finally, we used our parallel RFLP and sequence data to design and validate a rapid and inexpensive polymerase chain reaction-RFLP (PCR-RFLP) protocol for determining species-specific mitochondrial haplotypes. This PCR-RFLP technique will be applied in ongoing studies of the occidentalis/townsendi hybrid zone, where the historic and geographical complexity of the interbreeding populations necessitates the genotyping of thousands of individual warblers. PMID:10564448
Composition of Bacterial Assemblages in Different Components of Reed Warbler Nests and a Possible Role of Egg Incubation in Pathogen Regulation
Darolová, Alžbeta; Krištofík, Ján; Majtan, Juraj; Hoi, Herbert
Bacteria play a central role in animal health. Yet, little is known about the acquisition of bacteria and the extent to which bacteria are acquired from different environmental sources. For example, bird nests host diverse bacteria associated with the eggs, nestlings and nesting material, but previous research has typically focussed on only a limited number of nest components at a time. It therefore remains unknown to what extent bacteria are transmitted between these components. Using both molecular and culture techniques, we characterised nest-associated bacterial assemblages throughout the entire nesting cycle of reed warblers by sampling bacteria on eggs before and during incubation, within nestling faeces, and on the nesting material of post-breeding nests. We found that bacterial assemblages clustered by nest component. Yet some overlap existed between nest components, suggesting that bacterial transmission across components is likely to occur. Eggs and nestlings from the same nest harboured more similar bacteria than expected by chance, suggesting an influence of environment or genetics on bacterial assemblages. Bacterial loads were not lower on incubated eggs. Instead, incubation was associated with a change in the structure of assemblages, including a decrease in potentially-harmful Gram-negative bacteria. In addition we show for the first time, that incubation is associated with the complete extinction of harmful haemolytic bacteria. Overall, our study appears to be the first to demonstrate differences in bacterial assemblages between bird nest components. In addition, we highlight the complexity of nest bacterial assemblages and provide new insights into the benefits of incubation. PMID:25493434
Differential catabolism of muscle protein in garden warblers (Sylvia borin): flight and leg muscle act as a protein source during long-distance migration.
Bauchinger, U; Biebach, H
Samples of flight and leg muscle tissue were taken from migratory garden warblers at three different stages of migration: (1) pre-flight: when birds face an extended flight phase within the next few days, (2) post-flight: when they have just completed an extended flight phase, and (3) recovery: when they are at the end of a stop-over period following an extended flight phase. The changes in body mass are closely related to the changes in flight (P<0.001) and leg muscle mass (P<0.001), suggesting that the skeletal muscles are involved in the protein metabolism associated with migratory flight. From pre- to post-flight, the flight and the leg muscle masses decrease by about 22%, but are restored to about 12% above the pre-flight masses during the recovery period. Biochemical analyses show that following flight a selective reduction occurred in the myofibrillar (contractile) component of the flight muscle (P<0.01). As this selective reduction accounts only for a minor part of the muscle mass changes, sarcoplasmic (non-contractile) and myofibrillar proteins of both the flight and leg muscle act as a protein source during long-distance migration. As a loss of leg muscle mass is additionally observed besides the loss in flight muscle mass, mass change seems not to be strictly associated with the mechanical power output requirements during flight. Whereas the specific content of sarcoplasmic proteins in the flight muscle is nearly twice as high as that in the leg muscle (P<0.001), the specific content of myofibrillar proteins differs only slightly (P < 0.05), being comparably low in both muscles. The ratio of non-contractile to contractile proteins in the flight muscle is one of the highest observed in muscles of a vertebrate. PMID:11409626
Geothermal Technologies Program Blue Ribbon Panel Recommendations
The Geothermal Technologies Program assembled a geothermal Blue Ribbon Panel on March 22-23, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a guided discussion on the future of geothermal energy in the United States and the role of the DOE Program. The Geothermal Blue Ribbon Panel Report captures the discussions and recommendations of the experts. An addendum is available here: http://www.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/pdfs/gtp_blue_ribbon_panel_report_addendum10-2011.pdf
The Blue Marble 43 Years Later
Atmospheric Science Data Center
article title: The Blue Marble 43 Years Later View larger image Here ... points over more than four decades apart. The iconic "Blue Marble" view on the left was taken 43 years ago on December 7, 1972 from Apollo ... points over more than four decades apart. The iconic "Blue Marble" view on the left was taken 43 years ago on December 7, 1972 from Apollo ...
The Blue Dots Initiative and Roadmapping Exercise
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Coudé du Foresto, V.
The Blue Dots initiative (a grassroot effort to build a scientific community in Europe around the exoplanet theme) is introduced. The Blue Dots activities include the elaboration of a roadmap towards the spectroscopic characterization of habitable exoplanets, a summary of which is presented here. While the roadmap will need to be updated regularly, it is expected that the methodology developed within Blue Dots will provide a durable framework for the elaboration of future revisions.
Morphological responses of wheat to blue light
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Barnes, C.; Bugbee, B.
Blue light significantly increased tillering in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown at the same photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). Plants were grown under two levels of blue light (400-500 nm) in a controlled environment with continuous irradiation. Plants received either 50 micromoles m-2 s-1 of blue light or 2 micromoles m-2 s-1 blue light from filtered metal halide lamps at a total irradiance of 200 micromoles m-2 s-1 PPF (400-700 nm). Plants tillered an average of 25% more under the higher level of blue light. Blue light also caused a small, but consistent, increase in main culm development, measured as Haun stage. Leaf length was reduced by higher levels of blue light, while plant dry-mass was not significantly affected by blue light. Applying the principle of equivalent light action, the results suggest that tillering and leaf elongation are mediated by the blue-UV light receptor(s) because phytochrome photoequilibrium for each treatment were nearly identical.
Polymer stabilized and dispersed blue phases
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kemiklioglu, Emine
Blue phase liquid crystal (BPLC) materials have potential for advanced applications of display material and technology based on their optical behaviors, such as field-induced birefringence and sub-millisecond response time, which is at least one order of magnitude faster than the present nematic liquid crystal based displays. Since blue phases appear in the narrow temperature range between the chiral nematic and the isotropic phases, there is a temperature range limitation for the application of blue phase liquid crystal. In this dissertation, we have developed blue phase liquid crystal materials with a wide temperature range and low driving voltage. The first goal was to develop wide-temperature range blue phase liquid crystal materials using several stabilization methods notably polymer stabilization, doping of carbon-nanotubes and bent-core molecules. The temperature range could be expanded more than 54°C via the polymer stabilization. The second goal was to explore the polymer dispersed blue phase liquid crystal combining the advantages of the polymer dispersion method and blue phase materials. Polymer encapsulated blue phase films showed a large Kerr constant, low switching voltage and fast response time. Moreover, the temperature range of encapsulated blue phase films were successfully expanded from 9°C to 54°C .
Optically tuneable blue phase photonic band gaps
Liu, H.-Y.; Wang, C.-T.; Hsu, C.-Y.; Lin, T.-H.; Liu, J.-H.
This study investigates an optically switchable band gap of photonic crystal that is based on an azobenzene-doped liquid crystal blue phase. The trans-cis photoisomerization of azobenzene deforms the cubic unit cell of the blue phase and shifts the photonic band gap. The fast back-isomerization of azobenzene was induced by irradiation with different wavelengths light. The crystal structure is verified using Kossel diffraction diagram. An optically addressable blue phase display, based on Bragg reflection from the photonic band gap, is also demonstrated. The tunable ranges are around red, green, and blue wavelengths and exhibit a bright saturated color.
Long-persistence blue phosphors
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Yen, William M. (Inventor); Jia, Weiyi (Inventor); Lu, Lizhu (Inventor); Yuan, Huabiao (Inventor)
This invention relates to phosphors including long-persistence blue phosphors. Phosphors of the invention are represented by the general formula: MO . mAl.sub.2 O.sub.3 :Eu.sup.2+,R.sup.3+ wherein m is a number ranging from about 1.6 to about 2.2, M is Sr or a combination of Sr with Ca and Ba or both, R.sup.3+ is a trivalent metal ion or trivalent Bi or a mixture of these trivalent ions, Eu.sup.2+ is present at a level up to about 5 mol % of M, and R.sup.3+ is present at a level up to about 5 mol % of M. Phosphors of this invention include powders, ceramics, single crystals and single crystal fibers. A method of manufacturing improved phosphors and a method of manufacturing single crystal phosphors are also provided.
Blue enhanced light sources: opportunities and risks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lang, Dieter
Natural daylight is characterized by high proportions of blue light. By proof of a third type of photoreceptor in the human eye which is only sensitive in this spectral region and by subsequent studies it has become obvious that these blue proportions are essential for human health and well being. In various studies beneficial effects of indoor lighting with higher blue spectral proportions have been proven. On the other hand with increasing use of light sources having enhanced blue light for indoor illumination questions are arising about potential health risks attributed to blue light. Especially LED are showing distinct emission characteristics in the blue. Recently the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health & safety ANSES have raised the question on health issues related to LED light sources and have claimed to avoid use of LED for lighting in schools. In this paper parameters which are relevant for potential health risks will be shown and their contribution to risk factors will quantitatively be discussed. It will be shown how to differentiate between photometric parameters for assessment of beneficial as well as hazardous effects. Guidelines will be discussed how blue enhanced light sources can be used in applications to optimally support human health and well being and simultaneously avoid any risks attributed to blue light by a proper design of lighting parameters. In the conclusion it will be shown that no inherent health risks are related to LED lighting with a proper lighting design.
Blue Skies, Coffee Creamer, and Rayleigh Scattering
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liebl, Michael
The first physical explanation of Earths blue sky was fashioned in 1871 by Lord Rayleigh. Many discussions of Rayleigh scattering and approaches to studying it both in and out of the classroom are available. Rayleigh scattering accounts for the blue color of the sky and the orange/red color of the Sun near sunset and sunrise, and a number of…
Blue collection bag after ileal diversion.
Hildreth, T A; Cass, A S
Five children with ileal diversions have shown asymptomatic blue staining of the urine collection bags. A tryptophan derivative (indican) in the urine that oxidizes to indigo blue on exposure to air is thought to be the cause of this benign transient phenomenon. PMID:628994
Delta Blues Scholarship and Imperialist Nostalgia.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nye, William P.
When Delta blues are considered to be "folk music," the genre is inextricably tied to the neocolonial, sharecropping system of cotton production characteristic of the Mississippi Delta region between the Civil War and World War II. "Imperialist nostalgia," then, arises in accounts which pay primary and positive tribute to blues performances…
Featured Molecules: Ascorbic Acid and Methylene Blue
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Coleman, William F.; Wildman, Randall J.
The WebWare molecules of the month for May are featured in several articles in this issue. "Arsenic: Not So Evil After All?" discusses the pharmaceutical uses of methylene blue and its development as the first synthetic drug used against a specific disease. The JCE Classroom Activity "Out of the Blue" and the article "Greening the Blue Bottle" feature methylene blue and ascorbic acid as two key ingredients in the formulation of the blue bottle. You can also see a colorful example of these two molecules in action on the cover. "Sailing on the 'C': A Vitamin Titration with a Twist" describes an experiment to determine the vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content of citrus fruits and challenges students, as eighteenth-century sea captains, to decide the best fruit to take on a long voyage. Fully manipulable (Chime) versions of these and other molecules are available at Only@JCE Online.
Elementary theorems regarding blue isocurvature perturbations
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chung, Daniel J. H.; Yoo, Hojin
Blue CDM-photon isocurvature perturbations are attractive in terms of observability and may be typical from the perspective of generic mass relations in supergravity. We present and apply three theorems useful for blue isocurvature perturbations arising from linear spectator scalar fields. In the process, we give a more precise formula for the blue spectrum associated with the axion model of Kasuya and Kawasaki [Axion Isocurvature Fluctuations with Extremely Blue Spectrum, Phys. Rev. D 80, 023516 (2009).], which can in a parametric corner give a factor of O (10 ) correction. We explain how a conserved current associated with Peccei-Quinn symmetry plays a crucial role and explicitly plot several example spectra including the breaks in the spectra. We also resolve a little puzzle arising from a naive multiplication of isocurvature expression that sheds light on the gravitational imprint of the adiabatic perturbations on the fields responsible for blue isocurvature fluctuations.
Patch dynamics and the timing of colonization-abandonment events by male Kirtland's Warblers in an early succession habitat
Donner, Deahn M.; Ribic, Christine; Probst, John R.
Habitat colonization and abandonment affects the distribution of a species in space and time, ultimately influencing the duration of time habitat is used and the total area of habitat occupied in any given year. Both aspects have important implications to long-term conservation planning. The importance of patch isolation and area to colonization–extinction events is well studied, but little information exists on how changing regional landscape structure and population dynamics influences the variability in the timing of patch colonization and abandonment events. We used 26 years of Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) population data taken during a habitat restoration program (1979–2004) across its historical breeding range to examine the influence of patch attributes and temporal large-scale processes, specifically the rate of habitat turnover and fraction of occupied patches, on the year-to-year timing of patch colonization and abandonment since patch origin. We found the timing of patch colonization and abandonment was influenced by patch and large-scale regional factors. In this system, larger patches were typically colonized earlier (i.e., at a younger age) and abandoned later than smaller patches. Isolated patches (i.e., patches farther from another occupied patch) were generally colonized later and abandoned earlier. Patch habitat type affected colonization and abandonment; colonization occurred at similar patch ages between plantation and wildfire areas (9 and 8.5 years, respectively), but plantations were abandoned at earlier ages (13.9 years) than wildfire areas (16.4 years) resulting in shorter use. As the fraction of occupied patches increased, patches were colonized and abandoned at earlier ages. Patches were abandoned at older ages when the influx of new habitat patches was at low and high rates. Our results provide empirical support for the temporal influence of patch dynamics (i.e., patch destruction, creation, and succession) on
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Luttermoser, D. G.
A high-dispersion spectral atlas of cool red giant stars in the blue and violet is presented. The spectra were obtained over a six-year time period with the stellar spectrograph of the McMath-Pierce Telescope on Kitt Peak. Both N-type carbon stars and M-type oxygen-rich stars are presented from 3900 to 4600 Å, with the M-type stars containing both semiregular and Mira-type variables. The dominant absorption features in these stars at these wavelength result primarily from neutral metals, especially iron, and the CH and CN diatomic molecules. The Miras also show strong emission lines during some of their pulsation cycle. Many of these emission lines result from fluorescence from the Mg II h & k lines in the UV. For these fluoresced features, comparisons are made between the Miras and the semiregular carbon-rich and oxygen-rich variables. Where the oxygen-rich semiregulars show no hint of fluorescence in these features, the carbon stars show a definite ``filling-in'' of the absorption lines.
Semiconducting layered blue phosphorus: a computational study.
Zhu, Zhen; Tománek, David
We investigate a previously unknown phase of phosphorus that shares its layered structure and high stability with the black phosphorus allotrope. We find the in-plane hexagonal structure and bulk layer stacking of this structure, which we call "blue phosphorus," to be related to graphite. Unlike graphite and black phosphorus, blue phosphorus displays a wide fundamental band gap. Still, it should exfoliate easily to form quasi-two-dimensional structures suitable for electronic applications. We study a likely transformation pathway from black to blue phosphorus and discuss possible ways to synthesize the new structure. PMID:24836265
Retinal Effects Of Blue Light Exposure
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ham, William T.; Mueller, Harold A.; Ruffolo, J. J.
Recent research has shown that blue light exposure is an important factor in certain types of retinal injury. The mammalian ocular media transmits the spectral band 400-1400 nm to the retina. The short wavelengths (400-550 nm) produce a photochemical or actinic type of damage, while the longer wavelengths (550-1400 nm) produce thermal damage. Distinction between the two types of retinal damage are discussed briefly and the importance of the blue light effect for solar retinitis and eclipse blindness is emphasized. The significance of blue light retinal injury is summarized for various environmental and occupational exposures.
Blue jays nest in an unusual structure
Muths, Erin L.; Lyons, Curtis P.; Sedgwick, James A.
We describe a successful Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) nest in an unusual structure on the side of a building. The nest was located near the edge of the species' range along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The nest was completely obvious, suggesting that the structure itself provided adequate cover and sercurity for the jays. Blue Jays appear to be declining in some areas of the United States such as the Southeast. Structures such as the one we describe may be more useful in attracting Blue Jays than the nesting platforms available commercially.
Blue outliers among intermediate redshift quasars
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Marziani, P.; Sulentic, J. W.; Stirpe, G. M.; Dultzin, D.; Del Olmo, A.; Martínez-Carballo, M. A.
[OIII]λ 5007 "blue outliers"—that are suggestive of outflows in the narrow line region of quasars—appear to be much more common at intermediate z (high luminosity) than at low z. About 40~% of quasars in a Hamburg ESO intermediate z sample of 52 sources qualify as "blue outliers" (i.e., quasars with [OIII]λλ 4959,5007 lines showing large systematic blueshifts with respect to rest frame). We discuss major findings on what has become an intriguing field in active galactic nuclei research and stress the relevance of "blue outliers" to feedback and host galaxy evolution.
Prussian Blue as a Prebiotic Reagent
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ruiz-Bermejo, M.; Menor-Salván, C.; Osuna-Esteban, S.; Veintemillas-Verdaguer, S.
Ferrocyanide has been proposed as a potential prebiotic reagent and the complex salt Prussian Blue, Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3, might be an important reservoir of HCN, in the early Earth. HCN is considered the main precursor of amino acids and purine and pyrimidine bases under prebiotic conditions. Recently, we observed the formation of Prussian Blue in spark discharge experiments using saline solutions of ferrous chloride, FeCl2. Using Prussian Blue as starting material in ammonium suspensions, we obtained organic compounds containing nitrogen. These results seem to indicate that Prussian Blue could have been first, a sink of HCN, and then in subsequent reactions, triggered by pH fluctuations, it might have lead to organic life precursors.
Blue Origin Conducts Pad Escape Test
Blue Origin conducted a successful pad escape test Oct. 19 at the company's West Texas launch site, firing its pusher escape motor and launching a full-scale suborbital crew capsule from a simulate...
Blue Ribbon Panel Report - BRP - Cancer Moonshot
The Blue Ribbon Panel Report outlines 10 recommendations to accelerate progress against cancer. The panel was established to ensure that the Cancer Moonshot's approaches are grounded in the best science.
Blue Origin successfully fires the thrust chamber assembly for its new 100,000 pound thrust BE-3 liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen rocket engine. As part of the company's Reusable Booster System (RBS)...
Blue Ribbon Panel 2016 Video Playlist
Blue Ribbon Panel members discuss recommendations from the panel report that was presented to the National Cancer Advisory Board on September 7, 2016. The playlist includes an overview video and 10 videos on the specific recommendations.
Blue Ribbon Commission Tour of Hanford Site
Paul Saueressig
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future toured the Department of Energy's Hanford Site on July 14, 2010. Commission members, invited guests, and members of the public visited facilities that store high-level, radioactive waste.
Blue irradiance intercomparison in the medical field
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ferreira, Antonio F. G.
This work presents the results of a blue irradiance intercomparison among industrial laboratories of medical devices companies. This intercomparison aims to support the metrological issues of medical equipment manufactures regarding the blue irradiance infant phototherapy equipment requirements on the international standard IEC 60601-2-50:2000. The results showed a low agreement of participants' measurements according to normalized error criterion. The major explanation for this result is associated to an incorrect equipment choice and long recalibration period.
Studies on plasma processing of blue dust
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Samal, S. K.; P, Sindhoora L.; Mishra, S. C.; Mishra, B.
Plasma smelting was carried out using blue dust and petroleum coke mixtures for five different compositions. By altering percentage of reductant and type of plasma forming gas, recovery rate and degree of metallization were calculated in order to examine the extent of reduction of blue dust. The products were characterized by XRD and optical microscopy techniques. The results of these investigations exhibited that highest degree of metallization and recovery rate of about 98% and 86% respectively, were achieved for nitrogen plasma smelted products.
Barium Enhancement in NGC 6819 Blue Stragglers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Milliman, Katelyn; Mathieu, Robert D.; Schuler, Simon C.
Possible formation pathways for blue straggler stars include mergers in hierarchical triple systems, stellar collisions during dynamical encounters, and mass transfer from a giant companion. Extensive work on the blue stragglers in the old open cluster NGC 188 (7 Gyr) has led to exciting discoveries including a binary secondary mass distribution peaked at 0.5 MSolar and the detection of three young white dwarf binary companions. These indicate that mass transfer from an asymptotic giant branch star is the dominant mechanism for blue straggler formation in open clusters. Such mass transfer events should pollute the surface abundance of the blue straggler with nucleosynthesis products from the evolved donor. The other formation pathways, mergers and collisions, are predicted to produce no such enhancements. In an effort to move beyond NGC 188 and into other open clusters we present the first results of a surface abundance study of the blue stragglers in the intermediate-aged open cluster NGC 6819 (2.5 Gyr) using the Hydra multi-object spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope. This part of our study centers on the s-process element barium as a tracer of formation via mass transfer. We compare the blue straggler surface abundance of barium to that of a sample of main-sequence stars in NGC 6819 and find multiple blue stragglers with anomalous abundances. Surprising, most of the blue stragglers with barium anomalies show no radial-velocity evidence for a companion. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation under grant AST- 0908082 and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium.
Axion isocurvature fluctuations with extremely blue spectrum
Kasuya, Shinta; Kawasaki, Masahiro
We construct an axion model for generating isocurvature fluctuations with blue spectrum, n{sub iso}=2-4, which is suggested by recent analyses of admixture of adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations with independent spectral indices, n{sub ad}{ne}n{sub iso}. The distinctive feature of the model is that the spectrum is blue at large scales while scale invariant at small scales. This is naturally realized by the dynamics of the Peccei-Quinn scalar field.
Stylish or safe blue-block eyewear
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ciosek, Jerzy
The subject of modern, save and stylish eyewear is entertaining not only to people with unwell eyesight. Many people use glasses with anti-UV or blue-block coatings, glasses for driving or working with a computer. There were investigated the blue-block eyewear. There were analyzed reflected radiation at 300 - 400 nm wavelengths with cross- incidence. The traditional eyewear with classical or stylish frame may not protect sight against the UV radiation.
MitoBlue: a nontoxic and photostable blue-emitting dye that selectively labels functional mitochondria.
Sánchez, Mateo I; Martínez-Costas, José; Mascareñas, José L; Vázquez, M Eugenio
We report the discovery of a fluorogenic dye, N(1),N(3)-di(2-aminidonaphthalen-6-yl) propane-1,3-diamine, MitoBlue, which selectively stains functional mitochondria while displaying low toxicity, bright blue emission, and high resistance to photobleaching. Additionally, we show that a biotin-labeled MitoBlue derivative can be used as a handle for the delivery of streptavidin-tagged species to the mitochondria. PMID:25325672
MitoBlue: A Nontoxic and Photostable Blue-Emitting Dye That Selectively Labels Functional Mitochondria
We report the discovery of a fluorogenic dye, N1,N3-di(2-aminidonaphthalen-6-yl) propane-1,3-diamine, MitoBlue, which selectively stains functional mitochondria while displaying low toxicity, bright blue emission, and high resistance to photobleaching. Additionally, we show that a biotin-labeled MitoBlue derivative can be used as a handle for the delivery of streptavidin-tagged species to the mitochondria. PMID:25325672
Blue-white screening liquid can eliminate false positives in blue-white colony screening.
Zhang, Y S
Although blue-white screening based on α-complementation has been widely used in the screening of genetically modified bacteria, only a single blue-white screening is typically not enough to eliminate false positives. Sometimes, a secondary blue-white screening for the target colonies is required. In this study, two methods were used to investigate the feasibility of secondary blue-white screening for target colonies on lysogeny broth (LB)-ampicillin agar plates. The first method consisted of covering the target colonies grown on LB-ampicillin plate medium with a sterilized filter paper soaked in a solution of 60 μL 20 mg/mL X-gal and 8 μL 20% IPTG. The second method was that blue and white colonies were randomly selected from the blue-white screening plate medium and then re-streaked onto the blue-white screening medium. The colonies were then treated by two methods and incubated at 37°C for 12 h. The results showed that some of the white colonies treated by the two methods showed results similar to the colonies grown on the blue-white screening medium. These results indicate that the target colonies grown on blue-white screening medium can still be used to carry out a secondary blue-white screening. Thus, a blue-white screening liquid was successfully developed. Using the blue-white screening liquid, false positives can be eliminated directly based on the color of the target colonies. This will greatly improve the screening efficiency of positive clones and has important practical implications. PMID:27323169
Blue space geographies: Enabling health in place.
Foley, Ronan; Kistemann, Thomas
Drawing from research on therapeutic landscapes and relationships between environment, health and wellbeing, we propose the idea of 'healthy blue space' as an important new development Complementing research on healthy green space, blue space is defined as; 'health-enabling places and spaces, where water is at the centre of a range of environments with identifiable potential for the promotion of human wellbeing'. Using theoretical ideas from emotional and relational geographies and critical understandings of salutogenesis, the value of blue space to health and wellbeing is recognised and evaluated. Six individual papers from five different countries consider how health can be enabled in mixed blue space settings. Four sub-themes; embodiment, inter-subjectivity, activity and meaning, document multiple experiences within a range of healthy blue spaces. Finally, we suggest a considerable research agenda - theoretical, methodological and applied - for future work within different forms of blue space. All are suggested as having public health policy relevance in social and public space. PMID:26238330
Blue-phase liquid crystal droplets
Martínez-González, José A.; Zhou, Ye; Rahimi, Mohammad; Bukusoglu, Emre; Abbott, Nicholas L.; de Pablo, Juan J.
Blue phases of liquid crystals represent unique ordered states of matter in which arrays of defects are organized into striking patterns. Most studies of blue phases to date have focused on bulk properties. In this work, we present a systematic study of blue phases confined into spherical droplets. It is found that, in addition to the so-called blue phases I and II, several new morphologies arise under confinement, with a complexity that increases with the chirality of the medium and with a nature that can be altered by surface anchoring. Through a combination of simulations and experiments, it is also found that one can control the wavelength at which blue-phase droplets absorb light by manipulating either their size or the strength of the anchoring, thereby providing a liquid–state analog of nanoparticles, where dimensions are used to control absorbance or emission. The results presented in this work also suggest that there are conditions where confinement increases the range of stability of blue phases, thereby providing intriguing prospects for applications. PMID:26460039
Safe thyroidectomy with intraoperative methylene blue spraying
Background We aimed to minimalize operative complications by spraying of methylene blue stain on thyroid glands and the perithyroidal area. Material and methods The intra-operative methylene blue spraying technique was used prospectively on a total of 56 patients who had undergone primary (not recurrent) thyroid surgery for a variety of thyroid diseases. Bilateral total thyroidectomy was performed in all cases. After superior but before inferior pole ligation, 0.5ml of methylene blue was sprayed over the thyroid lobe and perilober area. Tissues, especially parathyroides, the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and the inferior thyroid artery, were identified and evaluated. Results Recurrent laryngeal nerve and arteries were not stained and thus they remained white in all cases while all other tissues were stained blue. Within three minutes parathyroid glands washed out the blue stain and the original yellow color was regained. Thyroid tissue wash-out time was not less than 15 minutes; perithyroideal muscles, tendinous and lipoid structures took no less than 25 minutes. Conclusion The safety of intravascular methylene blue guidance on thyroid surgery is known. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of the spraying technique, a new technique which ensures not only identification of parathyroid glands within three minutes, but also identification of recurrent laryngeal nerves and inferior thyroid arteries. PMID:23148801
49 CFR 218.23 - Blue signal display.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Blue signal display. 218.23 Section 218.23..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD OPERATING PRACTICES Blue Signal Protection of Workers § 218.23 Blue signal display. (a) Blue signals displayed in accordance with § 218.25, 218.27, or 218.29 signify...
49 CFR 218.23 - Blue signal display.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Blue signal display. 218.23 Section 218.23..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD OPERATING PRACTICES Blue Signal Protection of Workers § 218.23 Blue signal display. (a) Blue signals displayed in accordance with § 218.25, 218.27, or 218.29 signify...
Comparison of Alcian Blue, Trypan Blue, and Toluidine Blue for Visualization of the Primo Vascular System Floating in Lymph Ducts
Kim, Da-Un; Han, Jae Won; Jung, Sharon Jiyoon; Lee, Seung Hwan; Cha, Richard; Chang, Byung-Soo; Soh, Kwang-Sup
The primo vascular system (PVS), floating in lymph ducts, was too transparent to be observed by using a stereomicroscope. It was only detectable with the aid of staining dyes, for instance, Alcian blue, which was injected into the lymph nodes. Some dyes were absorbed preferentially by the PVS than the lymph wall. It remains a standing problem to know what dyes are absorbed better by the PVS than the lymph walls. Such information would be useful to unravel the biochemical properties of the PVS that are badly in need for obtaining large amount of PVS specimens. In the current work we tried two other familiar dyes which were used in PVS research before. We found that Trypan blue and toluidine blue did not visualize the PVS. Trypan blue was cleared by the natural washing. Toluidine blue did not stain the PVS, but it did leave stained spots in the lymph wall and its surrounding tissues, and it leaked out of the lymph wall to stain surrounding connective tissues. These completely different behaviors of the three dyes were found for the first time in the current work and provide valuable information to elucidate the mechanism through which some special dyes stained the PVS preferentially compared to the lymphatic wall. PMID:26379749
Allergic contact dermatitis caused by the blue pigment VINAMON® Blue BX FW - a phthalocyanine blue in a vinyl glove.
Weimann, Stefanie; Skudlik, Christoph; John, Swen Malte
A 44-year-old metalworker suffered from severe hand eczema in spite of treatment with corticosteroid ointments. He had been using protective cotton gloves with blue PVC anti-slip dots on the finger tips. On clinical examination, the backs of both hands were erythematous and thickened while the finger tips showed vesicles. There was a positive patch test reaction to the blue PVC dots of an unworn cotton glove at 72, 96, 120 hours. To identify the causative chemicals, we carried out further patch tests using ingredients of the glove and cupric sulfate. The patient reacted to the blue dye VYNAMON(®) Blue BX FW (PB 15) at two concentrations - 10% at 72 and 96 hours, and 50% at 48 and 72 hours. This dye is a very strong and brilliant blue with red-copper tones and resistant to fire and weathering. The cupric-phthalocyanine complexes are used as pigments in cosmetics (e. g. CI 74160, 74180, 74260). To the best of our knowledge, no allergic reactions to this dye have been described, particularly not in gloves. PMID:20163502
Variations on the "Blue-Bottle" Demonstration Using Food Items That Contain FD&C Blue #1
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Staiger, Felicia A.; Peterson, Joshua P.; Campbell, Dean J.
Erioglaucine dye (FD&C Blue #1) can be used instead of methylene blue in the classic "blue-bottle" demonstration. Food items containing FD&C Blue #1 and reducing species such as sugars can therefore be used at the heart of this demonstration, which simply requires the addition of strong base such as sodium hydroxide lye.
76 FR 19466 - Wellpoint, Inc. D/B/A/Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, et al.; Amended Certification Regarding...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... January 26, 2011 (76 FR 4731). At the request of the State agency, the Department reviewed the... Employment and Training Administration Wellpoint, Inc. D/B/A/Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, et al.; Amended.../Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield Enterprise Provider Data Management Team Including On-Site Leased...
Formation Channels for Blue Straggler Stars
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Davies, Melvyn B.
In this chapter we consider two formation channels for blue straggler stars: (1) the merger of two single stars via a collision, and (2) those produced via mass transfer within a binary. We review how computer simulations show that stellar collisions are likely to lead to relatively little mass loss and are thus effective in producing a young population of more-massive stars. The number of blue straggler stars produced by collisions will tend to increase with cluster mass. We review how the current population of blue straggler stars produced from primordial binaries decreases with increasing cluster mass. This is because exchange encounters with third, single stars in the most massive clusters tend to reduce the fraction of binaries containing a primary close to the current turn-off mass. Rather, their primaries tend to be somewhat more massive and have evolved off the main sequence, filling their Roche lobes in the past, often converting their secondaries into blue straggler stars (but more than 1 Gyr or so ago and thus they are no longer visible today as blue straggler stars).
Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Blue Energy Harvesting.
Khan, Usman; Kim, Sang-Woo
Blue energy in the form of ocean waves offers an enormous energy resource. However, it has yet to be fully exploited in order to make it available for the use of mankind. Blue energy harvesting is a challenging task as the kinetic energy from ocean waves is irregular in amplitude and is at low frequencies. Though electromagnetic generators (EMGs) are well-known for harvesting mechanical kinetic energies, they have a crucial limitation for blue energy conversion. Indeed, the output voltage of EMGs can be impractically low at the low frequencies of ocean waves. In contrast, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are highly suitable for blue energy harvesting as they can effectively harvest mechanical energies from low frequencies (<1 Hz) to relatively high frequencies (∼kHz) and are also low-cost, lightweight, and easy to fabricate. Several important steps have been taken by Wang's group to develop TENG technology for blue energy harvesting. In this Perspective, we describe some of the recent progress and also address concerns related to durable packaging of TENGs in consideration of harsh marine environments and power management for an efficient power transfer and distribution for commercial applications. PMID:27408982
GEMS: The destiny of Blue Spheroidal Galaxies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Häußler, Boris; Bell, Eric F.; Barden, Marco; McIntosh, Daniel H.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Borch, Andrea; Beckwith, Steven V. W.; Caldwell, John A. R.; Heymans, Catherine; Jahnke, Knud; Jogee, Shardha; Koposov, Sergey E.; Meisenheimer, Klaus; Peng, Chien Y.; Sánchez, Sebastian F.; Somerville, Rachel S.; Wisotzki, Lutz; Wolf, Christian
One of the key predictions of hierarchical galaxy formation models is that a significant fraction of elliptical galaxies form in late merging events. One of the most important observations of such an assembly is the existence of blue spheroidal galaxies, which have spheroid-dominated morphologies and blue colors indicating recent star formation, as an intermediate step in the evolution of elliptical galaxies. We present results from the GEMS survey showing the properties of these galaxies derived from 2-D galaxy fitting of the ˜8000 galaxies with photometric redshifts in the 28'x28' HST mosaic. For the first time we were able to divide the observed population of blue elliptical galaxies into sub-populations of different stellar masses. We found that massive blue ellipticals are likely to be the progenitors of red elliptical galaxies while low-mass blue ellipticals have half-light radii considerably in excess of those measured for low-mass present day elliptical galaxies and instead have larger sizes similar to present-day disk-dominated systems with substantial bulges (see Figure)
"Blue and seven phenomena" among Japanese students.
Saito, M
To investigate color and number preferences in Japan, 586 university undergraduates (239 men and 347 women; M age = 20.9 yr.) were asked to name a color (Question 1), to name their preferred color (Question 2), and to name their preferred number between zero and nine (Question 3). The results showed that Japanese students chose blue (33.5%) or red (26.0%) when asked to name a color but that red was not chosen as frequently as blue as a preferred color (red: 11.1%, blue: 37.1%). Sex differences were found on both Questions 1 and 2 by chi-squared test. Black was chosen more by men, while pink was selected more by women. 22.5% subjects also selected the number seven, supporting Simon's observation of the "blue-seven phenomenon." The reasons given for the choice showed that seven was "a lucky number" and "represented happiness" among Japanese students. Four colors (blue, red, white, and black) accounted for 76.8% and 65.1% of responses to Questions 1 and 2, respectively, and odd numbers 68.4% for Question 3. PMID:10597589
Spring leaf phenology, insect abundance and the timing of breeding by birds in a North American temperate forest
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lany, N.; Ayres, M. P.; Stange, E.; Sillett, S.; Rodenhouse, N.; Holmes, R. T.
Climate patterns on planet Earth display conspicuous variation among years and the phenology of biological events, when measured by day of the year, shows correspondingly high interannual variation. For many species, survival and reproductive success is influenced by the timing of their annual rhythms relative to that of other species with which they interact. The historically high interannual variation in climate has selected for adaptive plasticity in the phenology of biological populations, but climate change challenges the ability of populations to maintain appropriate phenology. Understanding the physiological mechanisms by which organisms respond to existing variation will help predict situations where the phenological associations among interacting species may break down. We used a 22-year time series of phenological observations of two foundational deciduous tree species at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire USA to develop and parameterize a mechanistic Bayesian model of spring leaf development . The interannual variation in timing of leafout has been high (range of 31 days since 1960, standard deviation = 6.7 days). For both tree species, thermal sum accounts for more than 80% of the variation in day of leafout for both species but a threshold based on photoperiod or early spring soil temperatures also plays a role after which development progresses as a simple linear function of degree days above 4 C. We also analyzed a corresponding time series of the timing of arrival and nesting of a common, migratory, insectivorous bird (Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Dendroica caerulescens) in the same forest. The arrival of these warblers on their breeding grounds was slightly responsive to interannual variation in leafout; the change in the median date of warbler arrival per change in date of leafout is 0.15 ± 0.08 d. Thus, the timing of warbler arrival has only varied by about one week relative to a range of about one month in the timing of
Effects of spatial habitat heterogeneity on habitat selection and annual fecundity for a migratory forest songbird
Cornell, K.L.; Donovan, T.M.
Understanding how spatial habitat patterns influence abundance and dynamics of animal populations is a primary goal in landscape ecology. We used an information-theoretic approach to investigate the association between habitat patterns at multiple spatial scales and demographic patterns for black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) at 20 study sites in west-central Vermont, USA from 2002 to 2005. Sites were characterized by: (1) territory-scale shrub density, (2) patch-scale shrub density occurring within 25 ha of territories, and (3) landscape-scale habitat patterns occurring within 5 km radius extents of territories. We considered multiple population parameters including abundance, age ratios, and annual fecundity. Territory-scale shrub density was most important for determining abundance and age ratios, but landscape-scale habitat structure strongly influenced reproductive output. Sites with higher territory-scale shrub density had higher abundance, and were more likely to be occupied by older, more experienced individuals compared to sites with lower shrub density. However, annual fecundity was higher on sites located in contiguously forested landscapes where shrub density was lower than the fragmented sites. Further, effects of habitat pattern at one spatial scale depended on habitat conditions at different scales. For example, abundance increased with increasing territory-scale shrub density, but this effect was much stronger in fragmented landscapes than in contiguously forested landscapes. These results suggest that habitat pattern at different spatial scales affect demographic parameters in different ways, and that effects of habitat patterns at one spatial scale depends on habitat conditions at other scales. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.
Stable hydrogen isotopic compositions in plants and animals can provide ecosystem-hydrology connections: Santeelah Creek watershed
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fogel, M. L.; Newsome, S.; Graves, G.
Connecting a watershed to its ecosystem can be accomplished with stable isotope tracers of hydrogen and oxygen at the natural abundance level. We have concentrated our study on a watershed with a significant altitudinal gradient in North Carolina. The Santeelah Creek watershed extends from 700 to 1600 m and is host to a robust population of black-throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens; BTBW), which feed almost exclusively on caterpillars and small insects during their breeding and molting periods in June and July. The forests in this watershed are composed of a rich flora, including Betula, Rhododendron, Acer, Quercus, along with shrubs, ferns, and mosses. The δD of plants and insects along with creek and spring water samples provided us with background information that we extrapolated to the landscape scale. In addition, we have 13 years of δD data of feathers collected from over 500 specimens of BTBW that were collected from specific territories throughout the watershed. Variations in δD of plants within the watershed was not correlated with altitude, however, specific plant species (e.g. Betula vs. ferns) provide a direct link to the within watershed hydrology, because the δD values of plants are dependent not only on the δD of source water, but also growth temperature and the amount of evaporative transpiration. The δD values of BTBW feathers also do not vary with altitude, but vary annually and correlate with the amount of growing season and annual precipitation from the previous year when feathers were grown. While the δD of avian feathers has become a proven technique for tracing the natal origins of birds, our dataset allows us to delve further into the connections between water-primary producers-consumers-predators that will provide insight into how these analyses are truly linked to the hydrology of their environment.
Blue-green atomic mercury photodissociation laser
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fill, E.; Gerck, E.
The accomplishment of a blue-green Hg laser after dissociating HgI2 with a KrF laser is reported. The iodide was contained in a cell with an aluminum mirror, and heating with the KrF laser caused green laser emission at 180 C and a blue line above 210 C, with total emission increasing up to 260 C and then tailing off. The emitted wavelengths were measured at 435-8 and 546.1 nm, with the pulse shape having a duration of 1 ns with peak power of 3 kW for the blue and an order of magnitude less for the green. The KrF laser was tuned to emit at 248 nm, and no decrease in the resulting emissions were detected after 10,000 pulses in the iodide laser.
Blue light inhibits proliferation of melanoma cells
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Becker, Anja; Distler, Elisabeth; Klapczynski, Anna; Arpino, Fabiola; Kuch, Natalia; Simon-Keller, Katja; Sticht, Carsten; van Abeelen, Frank A.; Gretz, Norbert; Oversluizen, Gerrit
Photobiomodulation with blue light is used for several treatment paradigms such as neonatal jaundice, psoriasis and back pain. However, little is known about possible side effects concerning melanoma cells in the skin. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of blue LED irradiation with respect to proliferation of melanoma cells. For that purpose we used the human malignant melanoma cell line SK-MEL28. Cell proliferation was decreased in blue light irradiated cells where the effect size depended on light irradiation dosage. Furthermore, with a repeated irradiation of the melanoma cells on two consecutive days the effect could be intensified. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting with Annexin V and Propidium iodide labeling did not show a higher number of dead cells after blue light irradiation compared to non-irradiated cells. Gene expression analysis revealed down-regulated genes in pathways connected to anti-inflammatory response, like B cell signaling and phagosome. Most prominent pathways with up-regulation of genes were cytochrome P450, steroid hormone biosynthesis. Furthermore, even though cells showed a decrease in proliferation, genes connected to the cell cycle were up-regulated after 24h. This result is concordant with XTT test 48h after irradiation, where irradiated cells showed the same proliferation as the no light negative control. In summary, proliferation of melanoma cells can be decreased using blue light irradiation. Nevertheless, the gene expression analysis has to be further evaluated and more studies, such as in-vivo experiments, are warranted to further assess the safety of blue light treatment.
Eastward migration of blue-winged teal
Sharp, B.
Of 3,789 recoveries of blue-winged teal (Anas discors) banded prior to the hunting season in the prairie pothole region, 183 (4.8 percent) were recovered, due east in New England, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces during the subsequent hunting season. Of 19 recoveries looked at in detail, all were banded as either hatching-year (flying young) or local (flightless young) birds. A blue-winged teal banded in Minnesota in September was retrapped in October in South Carolina, before being shot later that month in Colombia, South America.
Blue Skies, Coffee Creamer, and Rayleigh Scattering
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Liebl, Michael
The first physical explanation of Earths blue sky was fashioned in 1871 by Lord Rayleigh. Many discussions of Rayleigh scattering and approaches to studying it both in and out of the classroom are available.2-5 Rayleigh scattering accounts for the blue color of the sky and the orange/red color of the Sun near sunset and sunrise, and a number of classroom demonstrations have been described for showing the effects.6-11 This paper describes how these demonstrations can be enhanced by using a spectrometer to measure the preferential scattering of the shorter wavelength light.
Change in NO2 reveals Parade Blue is cleaner than APEC Blue
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Liu, Haoran; Liu, Cheng; Xie, Zhouqing; Xie, Pinhua; Xing, Chengzhi; Xu, Jin; Liu, Jianguo
The spectacular Parade Blue (blue sky), and APEC Blue (blue sky) were renowned worldwide caused by the limiting discharge policy of the Chinese government. For evaluating the reduction of these two events, we analyzed the variation of NO2 columns Beijing by looking at a long-term monitoring using Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations from August 2014 to November 2015, covering Grand Military Parade (GMP, September 2015) and APEC (November 2014) period. We found that the NO2 columns abruptly decreased both GMP and APEC. However, change in the MAX-DOAS and the OMI NO2 during GMP was larger than during APEC via comparison with the same period in 2014, indicating Parade Blue is cleaner than APEC Blue. The spatial distribution of NO2 and backward trajectories together with meterological parameters suggested that GMP Blue may be due to the regional significant decreasing discharge in peripheral cities. No weekend effect during GMP further confirmed the role of controlling discharge. This study provides direct evidence that it is possible to clean air in China.
T's and Blues. Specialized Information Service.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Do It Now Foundation, Phoenix, AZ.
This compilation of journal articles provides basic information on abuse of Talwin, a mild prescription painkiller (T's), and Pyribenzamine, a nonprescription antihistimine (Blues). These two drugs, taken in combination, produce an effect similar to that produced by heroin. Stories from "Drug Survival News,""Emergency Medicine," and "FDA Consumer"…
Practices of Blue Ribbon Catholic Schools, 2001.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kealey, Robert J., Comp.
For almost 20 years, the U.S. Department of Education has invited schools to seek the Blue Ribbon School Award. A large number of Catholic schools have received this award. For this publication, the Department of Elementary Schools Executive Committee requested principals of awarded schools to write a short article on an exemplary school program…
Nanotubes based on monolayer blue phosphorus
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Montes, E.; Schwingenschlögl, U.
We demonstrate structural stability of monolayer zigzag and armchair blue phosphorus nanotubes by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The vibrational spectrum and electronic band structure are determined and analyzed as functions of the tube diameter and axial strain. The nanotubes are found to be semiconductors with a sensitive indirect band gap that allows flexible tuning.
Blue nano titania made in diffusion flames.
Teleki, Alexandra; Pratsinis, Sotiris E
Blue titanium suboxide nanoparticles (including Magneli phases) were formed directly without any post-processing or addition of dopants by combustion of titanium-tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) vapor at atmospheric pressure. Particle size, phase composition, rutile and anatase crystal sizes as well as the blue coloration were controlled by rapid quenching of the flame with a critical flow nozzle placed at various heights above the burner. The particles showed a broad absorption in the near-infrared region and retained their blue color upon storage in ambient atmosphere. A high concentration of paramagnetic Ti3+ centres was found in the substoichiometric particles by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Furthermore particles with controlled band gap energy from 3.2 to 3.6 eV were made by controlling the burner-nozzle-distance from 10 to 1 cm, respectively. The color robustness and extent of suboxidation could be further enhanced by co-oxidation of TTIP with hexamethyldisiloxane in the flame resulting in SiO2-coated titanium suboxide particles. The process is cost-effective and green while the particles produced can replace traditional blue colored, cobalt-containing pigments. PMID:19421486
Visualising DNA in Classrooms Using Nile Blue
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Milne, Christine; Roche, Scott; McKay, David
Giving students the opportunity to extract, manipulate and visualise DNA molecules enhances a constructivist approach to learning about modern techniques in biology and biotechnology Visualisation usually requires agarose gel electrophoresis and staining. In this article, we report on an alternative DNA stain, Nile Blue A, that may be used in the…
Blue-noise halftoning for hexagonal grids.
Lau, Daniel L; Ulichney, Robert
In this paper, we closely scrutinize the spatial and spectral properties of aperiodic halftoning schemes on rectangular and hexagonal sampling grids. Traditionally, hexagonal sampling grids have been shunned due to their inability to preserve the high-frequency components of blue-noise dither patterns at gray-levels near one-half, but as will be shown, only through the introduction of diagonal correlations between dots can even rectangular sampling grids preserve these frequencies. And by allowing the sampling grid to constrain the placement of dots, a particular algorithm may introduce visual artifacts just as disturbing as excess energy below the principal frequency. If, instead, the algorithm maintains radial symmetry by introducing a minimum degree of clustering, then that algorithm can maintain its grid defiance illusion fundamental to the spirit of the blue-noise model. As such, this paper shows that hexagonal grids are preferrable because they can support gray-levels near one-half with less required clustering of minority pixels and a higher principal frequency. Along with a thorough Fourier analysis of blue-noise dither patterns on both rectangular and hexagonal sampling grids, this paper also demonstrates the construction of a blue-noise dither array for hexagonal grids. PMID:16671307
The blue rubber bleb [corrected] nevus syndrome.
Feingold, Robert M
The blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome, a rare condition characterized by lesions of the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and other parts of the body, can result in serious gastrointestinal bleeding and other adverse results and be challenging to manage. The clinical features and treatment of this rare disorder are reviewed here. PMID:19518008
Geographical Study of American Blues Culture
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Strait, John B.
Music is not often utilized in teaching geography, despite the fact that many scholars orient their research around analyzing both the historical and spatial dimensions of musical expression. This article reports on the use of a teaching module that utilizes blues culture as a lens to understand the geographical history of the United States. The…
Blue whales respond to anthropogenic noise.
Melcón, Mariana L; Cummins, Amanda J; Kerosky, Sara M; Roche, Lauren K; Wiggins, Sean M; Hildebrand, John A
Anthropogenic noise may significantly impact exposed marine mammals. This work studied the vocalization response of endangered blue whales to anthropogenic noise sources in the mid-frequency range using passive acoustic monitoring in the Southern California Bight. Blue whales were less likely to produce calls when mid-frequency active sonar was present. This reduction was more pronounced when the sonar source was closer to the animal, at higher sound levels. The animals were equally likely to stop calling at any time of day, showing no diel pattern in their sensitivity to sonar. Conversely, the likelihood of whales emitting calls increased when ship sounds were nearby. Whales did not show a differential response to ship noise as a function of the time of the day either. These results demonstrate that anthropogenic noise, even at frequencies well above the blue whales' sound production range, has a strong probability of eliciting changes in vocal behavior. The long-term implications of disruption in call production to blue whale foraging and other behaviors are currently not well understood. PMID:22393434
Blue LED irradiation to hydration of skin
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Menezes, Priscila F. C.; Requena, Michelle B.; Lizarelli, Rosane F., Z.; Bagnato, Vanderlei S.
Blue LED system irradiation shows many important properties on skin as: bacterial decontamination, degradation of endogenous skin chromophores and biostimulation. In this clinical study we prove that the blue light improves the skin hydration. In the literature none authors reports this biological property on skin. Then this study aims to discuss the role of blue light in the skin hydration. Twenty patients were selected to this study with age between 25-35 years old and phototype I, II and III. A defined area from forearm was pre determined (A = 4.0 cm2). The study was randomized in two treatment groups using one blue light device (power of 5.3mW and irradiance of 10.8mW/cm2). The first treatment group was irradiated with 3J/cm2 (277seconds) and the second with 6J/cm2 (555 seconds). The skin hydration evaluations were done using a corneometer. The measurements were collected in 7, 14, 21 and 30 days, during the treatment. Statistical test of ANOVA, Tukey and T-Student were applied considering 5% of significance. In conclusion, both doses were able to improve the skin hydration; however, 6J/cm2 has kept this hydration for 30 days.
Quirks of dye nomenclature. 3. Trypan blue.
Cooksey, C J
Trypan blue is colorant from the 19(th) century that has an association with Africa as a chemotherapeutic agent against protozoan (Trypanosomal) infections, which cause sleeping sickness. The dye still is used for staining biopsies, living cells and organisms, and it also has been used as a colorant for textiles. PMID:24867494
Heparin sensing: Blue-chip binding
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Shriver, Zachary; Sasisekharan, Ram
Heparin is an anionic polysaccharide that has tremendous clinical importance as an anticoagulant. Several dyes have been developed that can detect heparin, and the latest example -- named Mallard Blue -- has now been shown to have excellent sensing properties under biologically relevant conditions.
A Discography of the Real Blues
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tudor, Dean
A short account of the rise and decline of the Blues and a discussion of the artists who performed it is followed by an annotated bibliography of periodicals, books, records and tapes related to this form of Black" music. (184 references) (NH)
[The dangers of blue light: True story!].
Renard, G; Leid, J
The dangers of the blue light are the object of numerous publications, for both the scientific community and the general public. The new prolific development of light sources emitting potentially toxic blue light (415-455nm) ranges from LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lamps for interior lighting to television screens, computers, digital tablets and smartphones using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology. First we will review some technical terms and the main characteristics of light perceived by the human eye. Then we will discuss scientific proof of the toxicity of blue light to the eye, which may cause cataract or macular degeneration. Analysis of the light spectra of several light sources, from natural light to LED lamps, will allow us to specify even better the dangers related to each light source. LED lamps, whether used as components for interior lighting or screens, are of concern if they are used for extended viewing times and at short distance. While we can protect ourselves from natural blue light by wearing colored glasses which filter out, on both front and back surfaces, the toxic wavelengths, it is more difficult to protect oneself from LED lamps in internal lighting, the use of which should be restricted to "white warmth" lamps (2700K). As far as OLED or AMOLED screens are concerned, the only effective protection consists of using them occasionally and only for a short period of time. PMID:27039979
Agonism and dominance in female blue monkeys.
Klass, Keren; Cords, Marina
Agonistic behavior features prominently in hypotheses that explain how social variation relates to ecological factors and phylogenetic constraints. Dominance systems vary along axes of despotism, tolerance, and nepotism, and comparative studies examine cross-species patterns in these classifications. To contribute to such studies, we present a comprehensive picture of agonistic behavior and dominance relationships in wild female blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), an arboreal guenon, with data from 9 groups spanning 18 years. We assessed where blue monkeys fall along despotic, tolerant, and nepotistic spectra, how their dominance system compares to other primates, primarily cercopithecines, and whether their agonistic behavior matches socioecological model predictions. Blue monkeys showed low rates of mainly low-intensity agonism and little counter-aggression. Rates increased with rank and group size. Dominance asymmetry varied at different organizational levels, being more pronounced at the level of interactions than dyad or group. Hierarchies were quite stable, had moderate-to-high linearity and directional consistency and moderate steepness. There was clear maternal rank inheritance, but inconsistent adherence to Kawamura's rules. There was little between-group variation, although hierarchy metrics showed considerable variation across group-years. Overall, blue monkeys have moderately despotic, moderately tolerant, and nepotistic dominance hierarchies. They resemble other cercopithecines in having significantly linear and steep hierarchies with a generally stable, matriline-based structure, suggesting a phylogenetic basis to this aspect of their social system. Blue monkeys most closely match Sterck et al.'s [1997] Resident-Nepotistic-Tolerant dominance category, although they do not fully conform to predictions of any one socioecological model. Our results suggest that socioecological models might better predict variation within than across clades, thereby
Developing the urban blue: Comparative health responses to blue and green urban open spaces in Germany.
Völker, Sebastian; Kistemann, Thomas
Recently, new perspectives upon healthy urban open spaces propose that open spaces can be regarded as urban green or blue spaces. However, there has so far been very little research into blue environments and their benefits for mental well-being. Our article focuses on the effects of water in cities, "urban blue" (as compared to "urban green"), on human health and well-being. To assess the mental well-being of visitors, we conducted qualitative semi-standardised interviews (n=113), asking which differences in well-being occur when visiting urban green and blue spaces in high-density areas of the inner city in Dusseldorf and Cologne, Germany. Although we found many similarities, some health-enhancing effects for users turned out to be prominent for urban blue in the four conceptual therapeutic landscape dimensions: experienced, symbolic, social and activity space. These effects include enhanced contemplation, emotional bonding, participation, and physical activity. The results suggest that urban blue as a health-promoting factor needs more detailed and accurate determination and examination of its general and local health-enhancing effects. PMID:25475835
76 FR 35909 - Temporary Concession Contract for Blue Ridge Parkway
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... National Park Service Temporary Concession Contract for Blue Ridge Parkway AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of proposed award of temporary concession contracts for Blue Ridge Parkway, NC/VA... Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia, for a term not to exceed 3 years. The visitor...
77 FR 55895 - Permanent Closure of Cincinnati Blue Ash Airport
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... Federal Aviation Administration Permanent Closure of Cincinnati Blue Ash Airport AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of permanent closure of Cincinnati Blue Ash Airport (ISZ). SUMMARY: The... Cincinnati advising that on August 29, 2012, it was permanently closing Cincinnati Blue Ash Airport...
Is blue light good or bad for plants?
Dougher, T A; Bugbee, B G
Blue photons are energetically expensive so the most energy-efficient lamps contain the least blue light. Blue photons are not used efficiently in photosynthesis, but blue light has dramatic effects on plant development. We studied the growth and development of soybean, wheat, and lettuce plants under high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps with yellow filters creating five fractions of blue light (0.5%, 3.5%, 6%, 1 8%, and 26% blue) at 500 micromoles m-2 s-1 and (< 0.1%, 1.7%, 6%, 12%, and 26%) at 200 mol m-2 s-1. The response was species dependent. Lettuce was highly sensitive to blue light fraction and had an optimum dry weight and leaf area at about 6% blue, but results were complicated by sensitivity to lamp type. Wheat and soybean were less sensitive to blue light, but dry mass and leaf area decreased steadily with increasing blue light. Blue light fraction significantly affected specific leaf area (SLA, m2 kg-1) and chlorophyll in lettuce, but had no significant effect on wheat and soybeans. The data suggest that lettuce benefits from some added blue light, but soybean and wheat may not. PMID:11541668
49 CFR 173.216 - Asbestos, blue, brown or white.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
... 49 Transportation 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Asbestos, blue, brown or white. 173.216 Section... Class 7 § 173.216 Asbestos, blue, brown or white. (a) Asbestos, blue, brown or white, includes each of the following hydrated mineral silicates: chrysolite, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite...
49 CFR 173.216 - Asbestos, blue, brown or white.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
... 49 Transportation 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Asbestos, blue, brown or white. 173.216 Section... Class 7 § 173.216 Asbestos, blue, brown or white. (a) Asbestos, blue, brown or white, includes each of the following hydrated mineral silicates: chrysolite, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite...
49 CFR 173.216 - Asbestos, blue, brown or white.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
... 49 Transportation 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Asbestos, blue, brown or white. 173.216 Section... Class 7 § 173.216 Asbestos, blue, brown or white. (a) Asbestos, blue, brown or white, includes each of the following hydrated mineral silicates: chrysolite, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite...
49 CFR 173.216 - Asbestos, blue, brown or white.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Asbestos, blue, brown or white. 173.216 Section... Class 7 § 173.216 Asbestos, blue, brown or white. (a) Asbestos, blue, brown or white, includes each of the following hydrated mineral silicates: chrysolite, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite...
49 CFR 173.216 - Asbestos, blue, brown or white.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
... 49 Transportation 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Asbestos, blue, brown or white. 173.216 Section... Class 7 § 173.216 Asbestos, blue, brown or white. (a) Asbestos, blue, brown or white, includes each of the following hydrated mineral silicates: chrysolite, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite...
Sensitive colorimetric cytotoxicity measurement using alarmar blue.
Page, B; Page, M
Cytotoxicity testing of anticancer drugs requires techniques which are sensitive, reproductible and applicable to large scale testing using automated instruments. End point staining of cells or viability stains are reliable but they are often not sensitive enough or not suitable for automation. We have already described a fluorometric cytotoxicity assay using a non fluorescent substrate, Alarmar Blue, which upon reduction in living cells, yields a fluorescent product. This assay is sensitive and highly reproductible but it is limited since automated fluorescent plate readers are not found frequently in laboratories. The conditions are now described for using Alamar Blue as a substrate in a colorimetric cytotoxicity assay. This new economical assay could be used with advantage for large scale screening of cytotoxic agents in microtitration plates. PMID:21597689
Phycobilisomes in Blue-Green Algae
Wildman, Ruth B.; Bowen, C. C.
Fifteen species of freshwater blue-green algae, including unicellular, filamentous, and colonial forms, were subjected to a variety of fixatives, fixation conditions, and stains for comparison of the preservation of phycobilisomes. Absorption spectra of the corresponding in vivo and released photosynthetic pigments, in 10 of the species that were maintained in culture, demonstrated the presence of phycocyanin in all 10 species and phycoerythrin in only 2 of them. Spectroscope and electron microscope evidence was obtained for localization of phycobiliproteins in phycobilisomes of Nostoc muscorum. Phycobilisomes were observed in all species examined in situ, strenghening the hypothesis that phycobilisomes are common to all phycobiliprotein-containing photosynthetic blue-green algae. Images PMID:4204443
Experiencing Blues at the Crossroads: A Place-Based Method for Teaching the Geography of Blues Culture
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Strait, John
This article offers a pedagogical module that explores the geography of blues culture across the Mississippi Delta. By focusing on blues culture, rather than simply blues music itself, this project provides a forum for understanding the broader geographical conditions from which this musical form emerged. This module utilizes place-based…
Eta Carinae and Other Luminous Blue Variables
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Corcoran, M. F.
Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are believed to be evolved, extremely massive stars close to the Eddington Limit and hence prone to bouts of large-scale, unstable mass loss. I discuss current understanding of the evolutionary state of these objects, the role duplicity may play and known physical characteristics of these stars using the X-ray luminous LBVs Eta Carinae and HD 5980 as test cases.
Combined Cellular Blue Nevus and Trichoepithelioma
Martin, Richard; Emanuel, Patrick
Biphasic lesions composed of melanocytic and epithelial components are not uncommon. Combined trichoepithelioma and cellular blue naevus is a rare lesion that may mimic melanoma clinically. The authors describe what they believe to be the fourth case of this rare tumor and review the literature. Recent descriptions of malignant basomelanocytic tumors have raised interesting questions surrounding the pathogenesis of lesions composed of these cell lineages. PMID:24003350
Luminescence conversion of blue light emitting diodes
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Schlotter, P.; Schmidt, R.; Schneider, J.
Using blue-emitting GaN/6HSiC chips as primary light sources, we have fabricated green, yellow, red and white emitting LEDs. The generation of mixed colors, as turquoise and magenta is also demonstrated. The underlying physical principle is that of luminescence down-conversion (Stokes shift), as typical for organic luminescent dye molecules. A white emitting LED, using an inorganic converter, Y3Al5O12:Ce3+( ), has also been realized.
Red, Green, and Blue Astro-combs
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Phillips, David; Glenday, Alex; Li, Chih-Hao; Korzennik, Sylvain; Noah Chang, Guoqing; Chen, Li-Jin; Benedick, Andrew; Kaertner, Franz; Sasselov, Dimitar; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Walsworth, Ronald
Searches for extrasolar planets using the periodic Doppler shift of stellar lines are approaching Earth-like planet sensitivity. Astro-combs, a combination of an octave spanning femtosecond laser and a mode-filtering cavity provide a likely route to increased calibration precision and accuracy. We present results from three astro-combs operating in the red/near-IR, green and blue spectral ranges. Light from a 1-GHz, octave-spanning Ti:Sapphire laser is filtered by a Fabry-Perot Cavity (FPC) constructed from Doubly-Chirped Mirrors to produce a red astro-comb with 100 nm of optical bandwidth. This astro-comb has calibrated an astrophysical spectrograph at the 1 m/s level. In the blue astro-comb, Ti:Sapphire comb light, doubled in a BBO crystal is filtered to 50 GHz mode spacing with an FPC. The blue astro-comb has performed 50 cm/s calibrations. In the ``green'' astro-comb, light from the 1 GHz Ti:Sapphire comb laser is broadened in a photonic crystal fiber optimized to produce light in the green. This 1-GHz spaced green light is then filtered to roughly 40 GHz via an FPC with zero group delay dispersion mirrors, providing approximately 50 nm of astro-comb light centered near 550 nm.
Vranas, P
Quantum Chromodynamics is the theory of nuclear and sub-nuclear physics. It is a celebrated theory and one of its inventors, F. Wilczek, has termed it as '... our most perfect physical theory'. Part of this is related to the fact that QCD can be numerically simulated from first principles using the methods of lattice gauge theory. The computational demands of QCD are enormous and have not only played a role in the history of supercomputers but are also helping define their future. Here I will discuss the intimate relation of QCD and massively parallel supercomputers with focus on the Blue Gene supercomputer and QCD thermodynamics. I will present results on the performance of QCD on the Blue Gene as well as physics simulation results of QCD at temperatures high enough that sub-nuclear matter transitions to a plasma state of elementary particles, the quark gluon plasma. This state of matter is thought to have existed at around 10 microseconds after the big bang. Current heavy ion experiments are in the quest of reproducing it for the first time since then. And numerical simulations of QCD on the Blue Gene systems are calculating the theoretical values of fundamental parameters so that comparisons of experiment and theory can be made.
Blue Rose perimeter defense and security system
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Blackmon, F.; Pollock, J.
An in-ground perimeter security system has been developed by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport based upon fiber optic sensor technology. The system, called Blue Rose, exploits the physical phenomenon of Rayleigh optical scattering, which occurs naturally in optical fibers used traditionally for Optical Time Domain Reflectometry techniques to detect sound and vibration transmitted by intruders such as people walking or running and moving vehicles near the sensor. The actual sensor is a single-mode optical fiber with an elastomeric coating that is buried in the ground. A long coherence length laser is used to transmit encoded light down the fiber. Minute changes in the fiber in response to the intrusion produce phase changes to the returning backscattered light signal. The return light signal contains both the actual intrusion sound and the location information of where along the fiber the intrusion has occurred. A digital, in-ground, Blue Rose system has been built and is now operational at NUWC. Due to the low cost of the optical fiber sensor and unique benefits of the system, the Blue Rose system provides an advantage in long perimeter or border security applications and also reduces security manning requirements and therefore overall cost for security.
Automated detection of Antarctic blue whale calls.
Socheleau, Francois-Xavier; Leroy, Emmanuelle; Pecci, Andres Carvallo; Samaran, Flore; Bonnel, Julien; Royer, Jean-Yves
This paper addresses the problem of automated detection of Z-calls emitted by Antarctic blue whales (B. m. intermedia). The proposed solution is based on a subspace detector of sigmoidal-frequency signals with unknown time-varying amplitude. This detection strategy takes into account frequency variations of blue whale calls as well as the presence of other transient sounds that can interfere with Z-calls (such as airguns or other whale calls). The proposed method has been tested on more than 105 h of acoustic data containing about 2200 Z-calls (as found by an experienced human operator). This method is shown to have a correct-detection rate of up to more than 15% better than the extensible bioacoustic tool package, a spectrogram-based correlation detector commonly used to study blue whales. Because the proposed method relies on subspace detection, it does not suffer from some drawbacks of correlation-based detectors. In particular, it does not require the choice of an a priori fixed and subjective template. The analytic expression of the detection performance is also derived, which provides crucial information for higher level analyses such as animal density estimation from acoustic data. Finally, the detection threshold automatically adapts to the soundscape in order not to violate a user-specified false alarm rate. PMID:26627784
The Blue Comet: A Railroad's Astronomical Heritage
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rumstay, Kenneth S.
Between 1929 February 21 and 1941 September 27, the Central New Jersey Railroad operated a luxury passenger train between Jersey City and Atlantic City. Named The Blue Comet, the locomotive, tender, and coaches sported a unique royal blue paint scheme designed to evoke images of celestial bodies speeding through space. Inside each car were etched window panes and lampshades featuring stars and comets. And each coach sported the name of a famous comet on its side; these comets were of course named for their discoverers. Some of the astronomers honored in this unique fashion remain famous to this day, or at least their comets do. The names D'Arrest, Barnard, Encke, Faye, Giacobini, Halley, Olbers, Temple, Tuttle, and Westphal are familiar ones. But Biela, Brorsen, deVico, Spitaler, and Winnecke have now largely faded into obscurity; their stories are recounted here. Although more than sixty years have elapsed since its last run, The Blue Comet, perhaps the most famous passenger train in American history, lives on in the memories of millions of passengers and railfans. This famous train returned to the attention of millions of television viewers on the evening of 2007 June 3, in an episode of the HBO series The Sopranos. This work was supported by a faculty development grant from Valdosta State University.
The effect of graphene on liquid-crystalline blue phases
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lavrič, M.; Tzitzios, V.; Kralj, S.; Cordoyiannis, G.; Lelidis, I.; Nounesis, G.; Georgakilas, V.; Amenitsch, H.; Zidanšek, A.; Kutnjak, Z.
The stabilization of liquid-crystalline blue phases is recently attracting considerable interest because of the envisioned applications in fast optical displays and tunable photonic crystals. We report on the effect of surface-functionalized graphene nanosheets on the blue phase range of a chiral liquid crystal. Calorimetric and optical measurements, reproducible on heating and cooling, demonstrate that the resulting soft nanocomposite exhibits an increased blue phase temperature stability range for a minute concentration of dispersed graphene. The impact is stronger on the ordered, cubic structured blue phase I. These findings suggest that anisotropic nanoparticles may be of great usefulness for stabilizing blue phases.
Why are blue zhamanshinites blue Liquid immiscibility in an impact melt
Zolensky, M.E. ); Koeberl, C. )
The authors report here a study of the cause of the coloration of blue zhamanshinites, which are glassy impact melt rocks from the Zhamanshin crater in the USSR. They find that the blue color results from Rayleigh scattering from spherical, 100 nm-diameter inclusions of a separate Ca-Fe-Mg-P-rich silicate glass. These observations can best be explained by the operation of liquid immiscibility in the zhamanshinite melt, and suggest that liquid immiscibility may have a more general role in impactite evolution.
Why are blue zhamanshinites blue? Liquid immiscibility in an impact melt
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Zolensky, Michael E.; Koeberl, Christian
A study of the cause of the coloration of blue zhamanshinites, which are glassy impact melt rocks from the Zhamanshin crater in the USSR are reported. It is found that the blue color results from Rayleigh scattering from spherical, 100 nm-diameter inclusions of a separate Ca-Fe-Mg-P-rich silicate glass. These observations can best be explained by the operation of liquid immiscibility in the zhamanshinite melt, and suggest that liquid immiscibility may have a more general role in impactite evolution.
Sills, Alison; Glebbeek, Evert; Chatterjee, Sourav; Rasio, Frederic A. E-mail: email@example.com E-mail: email@example.com
We created artificial color-magnitude diagrams of Monte Carlo dynamical models of globular clusters and then used observational methods to determine the number of blue stragglers in those clusters. We compared these blue stragglers to various cluster properties, mimicking work that has been done for blue stragglers in Milky Way globular clusters to determine the dominant formation mechanism(s) of this unusual stellar population. We find that a mass-based prescription for selecting blue stragglers will select approximately twice as many blue stragglers than a selection criterion that was developed for observations of real clusters. However, the two numbers of blue stragglers are well-correlated, so either selection criterion can be used to characterize the blue straggler population of a cluster. We confirm previous results that the simplified prescription for the evolution of a collision or merger product in the BSE code overestimates their lifetimes. We show that our model blue stragglers follow similar trends with cluster properties (core mass, binary fraction, total mass, collision rate) as the true Milky Way blue stragglers as long as we restrict ourselves to model clusters with an initial binary fraction higher than 5%. We also show that, in contrast to earlier work, the number of blue stragglers in the cluster core does have a weak dependence on the collisional parameter Γ in both our models and in Milky Way globular clusters.
Nile Blue derivatives as lysosomotropic photosensitizers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lin, Chi-Wei; Shulok, Janine R.; Kirley, S. D.; Cincotta, Louis; Foley, James W.
The benzophenoxazines, including several Nile blue analogues, are a unique group of dyes that localize selectively in animal tumors. Chemical modifications of Nile blue A can yield derivatives with high 1O2 quantum yields. These derivatives represent a group of potentially effective photosensitizers for selective phototherapy of malignant tumors. In vitro evaluation of these derivatives has indicated that those with high 1O2 yields are very effective in mediating the photocytotoxicity of tumor cells. This photodynamic effect is most likely mediated through the action of 1O2, since photoirradiation under D2O enhanced and under hypoxic conditions diminished the photocytotoxic action. The subcellular localization of these photosensitizers in bladder tumor cells in culture was examined by light and fluorescence microscopies as well as by histochemical and biochemical studies. The results indicate that these dyes are localized primarily in the lysosome. The cellular uptake and retention of these dyes is energy- and pH-dependent. Agents such as nigericin, which alter the transmembrane pH gradient, reduced uptake and enhanced efflux of the dyes, while agents such as valinomycin, which reduce cellular membrane potential, had no effect on the uptake. These findings are consistent with having ion-trapping as the mechanism for the uptake of these dyes. Photoirradiation of sensitizer-treated cells obliterated lysosomes in a light-dose and drug-dose dependent fashion. Release of the hydrolytic enzymes may be the main cause for subsequent cell death since the cytolytic effect was reduced by a specific inhibitor of lysosomal proteolytic enzyme. A lysosomotropic photosensitization mechanism is therefore proposed for the photocytotoxic action of the Nile blue derivatives. This mechanism may provide an approach to the development of new photosensitizers for the effective and selective destruction of malignant tumors.
Blue, green, orange, and red upconversion laser
Xie, P.; Gosnell, T.R.
A laser is disclosed for outputting visible light at the wavelengths of blue, green, orange and red light. This is accomplished through the doping of a substrate, such as an optical fiber or waveguide, with Pr{sup 3+} ions and Yb{sup 3+} ions. A light pump such as a diode laser is used to excite these ions into energy states which will produce lasing at the desired wavelengths. Tuning elements such as prisms and gratings can be employed to select desired wavelengths for output. 11 figs.
Blue, green, orange, and red upconversion laser
Xie, Ping; Gosnell, Timothy R.
A laser for outputting visible light at the wavelengths of blue, green, orange and red light. This is accomplished through the doping of a substrate, such as an optical fiber or waveguide, with Pr.sup.3+ ions and Yb.sup.3+ ions. A light pump such as a diode laser is used to excite these ions into energy states which will produce lasing at the desired wavelengths. Tuning elements such as prisms and gratings can be employed to select desired wavelengths for output.
Blue running of the primordial tensor spectrum
Gong, Jinn-Ouk
We examine the possibility of positive spectral index of the power spectrum of the primordial tensor perturbation produced during inflation in the light of the detection of the B-mode polarization by the BICEP2 collaboration. We find a blue tilt is in general possible when the slow-roll parameter decays rapidly. We present two known examples in which a positive spectral index for the tensor power spectrum can be obtained. We also briefly discuss other consistency tests for further studies on inflationary dynamics.
Blue compact dwarfs - Extreme dwarf irregular galaxies
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Thuan, Trinh X.
Observational data on the most extreme members of the irregular dwarf (dI) galaxy class, the blue compact dwarfs (BCDs), are characterized, reviewing the results of recent investigations. The properties of the young stellar population, the ionized gas, the older star population, and the gas and dust of BCDs are contrasted with those of other dIs; BCD morphology is illustrated with sample images; and the value of BCDs (as nearby 'young' chemically unevolved galaxies) for studies of galaxy formation, galactic evolution, and starburst triggering mechanisms is indicated.
Slow-blue PanSTARRS transients
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
MacLeod, Chelsea L.; Bruce, Alastair; Lawrence, Andy; Ward, Martin; Collinson, James; Elvis, Martin; Gezari, Suvi; Smartt, Steven; Smith, Ken; Wright, Darryl; Fraser, Morgan
Photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of 50 blue, nuclear "transients" in PanSTARRS-1 has revealed different types of extremely variable AGN. The majority show a gradual brightening by ~2 mag from the SDSS observation a decade ago and may represent a new class of AGN microlensed by foreground galaxies. Spectra from the William Herschel Telescope identify these as z~1 AGN with atypical spectroscopic properties. We present an analysis of their photometric and spectroscopic variability in an effort to constrain the detailed structure of the source AGN.
Spectroscopic surveys of faint blue stars
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Wegner, Gary; Boley, Forrest I.; Swanson, Steven R.; Mcmahan, Robert K.
Spectroscopy of 450 faint blue stars obtained with the spectrograph and intensified Reticon scanner on the 1.3 m telescope at the McGraw Hill Observatory located at Kitt Peak are examined. The study is limited to objects brighter than V = 17.0 in magnitude. It is found that the relative numbers of objects such as white dwarfs, QSOs and CVs in the Kisco survey (Noguchi et al. 1980) is similar to that in the survey of Green et al., (1986).
Maya Blue Paint: An Ancient Nanostructured Material
Jose-Yacaman; Rendon; Arenas; Serra Puche MC
Maya blue paint was often used in Mesoamerica. The origin of its color and its resistance to acids and biocorrosion have not been fully understood. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray microanalysis studies of authentic samples show that palygorskite crystals in the paint form a superlattice that probably occurs as a result of mixing with indigo molecules. An amorphous silicate substrate contains inclusions of metal nanoparticles encapsulated in the substrate and oxide nanoparticles on the surface. The beautiful tone of the color is obtained only when both the particles and the superlattice are present. PMID:8662502
Nonlinear Pulsation Modeling of Luminous Blue Variables
Despain, Kate M.; Guzik, Joyce A.; Cox, Arthur N.
Using an updated version of the Ostlie and Cox (1993) nonlinear hydrodynamics code, we show the results of Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) envelope models based on evolution models of initial mass 50-80 M solar. including mass loss. The models use OPAL opacities, contain 60-120 Lagrangian zones, include time dependent convection, and are given an initial photospheric radial velocity amplitude of 1 km/sec. Our goal is to explain the reason for the LBV instability strip and suggest a cause for LBV outbursts observed in massive stars in our Galaxy as well as the LMC and SMC.
Measuring star formation rates in blue galaxies
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Gallagher, John S., III; Hunter, Deidre A.
The problems associated with measurements of star formation rates in galaxies are briefly reviewed, and specific models are presented for determinations of current star formation rates from H alpha and Far Infrared (FIR) luminosities. The models are applied to a sample of optically blue irregular galaxies, and the results are discussed in terms of star forming histories. It appears likely that typical irregular galaxies are forming stars at nearly constant rates, although a few examples of systems with enhanced star forming activity are found among HII regions and luminous irregular galaxies.
Blue Marble Space Institute essay contest
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wendel, JoAnna
The Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, based in Seattle, Wash., is inviting college students to participate in its essay contest. Essays need to address the question, "In the next 100 years, how can human civilization prepare for the long-term changes to the Earth system that will occur over the coming millennium?" According to the institute, the purpose of the contest is "to stimulate creative thinking relating to space exploration and global issues by exploring how changes in the Earth system will affect humanity's future."
Investigations of blue emitting phosphors for thermometry
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Särner, Gustaf; Richter, Mattias; Aldén, Marcus
Blue emitting phosphors are investigated and reported for possible use in thermometry. Currently reported thermographic phosphors in general have the drawback of long emission lifetimes obstructing the possibility to time gate for background discrimination. An additional problem is that many thermographic phosphors have emission in the red spectral region, making them vulnerable for black body radiation at high temperatures. This work reports the temperature sensitivity for nine phosphors considered suitable for accurate temperature measurements in harsh conditions both in single points and in two dimensions (2D).
The curious conversion of Empire Blue Cross.
Robinson, James C
The for-profit conversion of Empire Blue Cross in New York challenges the case law and conventional policy wisdom that financial assets from formerly nonprofit organizations should be used to endow independent charitable foundations. The appropriation of Empire's assets by state government itself, and their subsequent deployment to subsidize health care institutions and repay political obligations, changes the conversion process from one that pits nonprofits against for-profits to one that pits private, nonprofit organizations against public-sector programs in the competition for new financial resources. PMID:12889758
An anion channel in Arabidopsis hypocotyls activated by blue light.
Cho, M H; Spalding, E P
A rapid, transient depolarization of the plasma membrane in seedling stems is one of the earliest effects of blue light detected in plants. It appears to play a role in transducing blue light into inhibition of hypocotyl (stem) elongation, and perhaps other responses. The possibility that activation of a Cl- conductance is part of the depolarization mechanism was raised previously and addressed here. By patch clamping hypocotyl cells isolated from dark-grown (etiolated) Arabidopsis seedlings, blue light was found to activate an anion channel residing at the plasma membrane. An anion-channel blocker commonly known as NPPB 15-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid] potently and reversibly blocked this anion channel. NPPB also blocked the blue-light-induced depolarization in vivo and decreased the inhibitory effect of blue light on hypocotyl elongation. These results indicate that activation of this anion channel plays a role in transducing blue light into growth inhibition. PMID:8755616
An anion channel in Arabidopsis hypocotyls activated by blue light
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cho, M. H.; Spalding, E. P.; Evans, M. L. (Principal Investigator)
A rapid, transient depolarization of the plasma membrane in seedling stems is one of the earliest effects of blue light detected in plants. It appears to play a role in transducing blue light into inhibition of hypocotyl (stem) elongation, and perhaps other responses. The possibility that activation of a Cl- conductance is part of the depolarization mechanism was raised previously and addressed here. By patch clamping hypocotyl cells isolated from dark-grown (etiolated) Arabidopsis seedlings, blue light was found to activate an anion channel residing at the plasma membrane. An anion-channel blocker commonly known as NPPB 15-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid] potently and reversibly blocked this anion channel. NPPB also blocked the blue-light-induced depolarization in vivo and decreased the inhibitory effect of blue light on hypocotyl elongation. These results indicate that activation of this anion channel plays a role in transducing blue light into growth inhibition.
Differential migration of Blue Grouse in Colorado
Cade, Brian S.; Hoffman, Richard W.
We examined migration of adult Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) in north-central Colorado by radio tracking 13 males and 19 females. Elevational changes associated with movements to winter areas were greater for males (median = 488 m, range = 183-671 m) than females (median = 122 m, range = -61-760 m). Males (median = 10.5 km, range = 1.0-29.4 km) also moved farther than females (median = 1.0 km, range = 0.1-28.0 km), resulting in partial segregation of sexes during winter. Directional orientation of movements to wintering areas was nonrandom for long-distance (>3 km) migrants. Median elevational change (122 m) and distance (0.6 km) between the first-winter and first-breeding areas for seven juvenile females were similar to movements of adult females. Males (median = 7 July) departed breeding areas earlier than females (median = 11 August), but arrived (median = 14 October) on winter areas about the same time as females (median = 23 October). Both sexes exhibited fidelity to winter areas. The average distance between winter locations ranged from 94 to 312 m (median = 135 m) for 11 radio-marked adults, suggesting Blue Grouse were sedentary on their winter ranges.
Maya blue: a clay-organic pigment?
Van Olphen, H
Maya Blue, a pigment used by the Mayas in Yucatan, is remarkably stable: the color is not destroyed by hot concentrated mineral acids or by heating to about 250 degrees C. The principal constituent is the colorless mineral attapulgite. It is proposed that the pigment is an adsorption complex of attapulgite and natural indigo; a synthetic equivalent may be prepared from attapulgite and either indoxylester or indigo, or by applying the vat-dyeing technique, with reduced indigo.The low dye content of the pigment (less than 0.5 percent) indicates that the dye is absorbed only on the external surfaces of the attapulgite particles and not throughout the channels in their structures. The complex as such is not stable to acids, but the stability displayed by Maya Blue is achieved simply by heating the complex to from 75 degrees to 150 degrees C for several days. An analogous stable pigment can be prepared from sepiolite and indigo. No stable pigments could be prepared from clays with platelike structures or from zeolites. PMID:17778806
Phenothiazinium photosensitisers XI. Improved toluidine blue photoantimicrobials.
Wainwright, Mark; O'Kane, Ciara; Rawthore, Sophie
The phenothiazinium derivative toluidine blue O (TBO) is widely employed as a photoantimicrobial agent in clinical trialling, particularly in dentistry. However, its activity against a range of pathogenic microbial species is not significantly different to that of the standard photoantimicrobial methylene blue. In the current study, derivatives of TBO with varying hydrocarbon substitution in chromophore position 2 were synthesised via the established anilinethiosulphonic route, using the mild oxidant silver(II) carbonate to allow substituent preservation. The resulting series of analogues demonstrated the expected increases in visible absorption wavelength and lipophilicity with increasing hydrocarbon content, as well as decreased aggregation for derivatives with bulkier substituents, and all produced singlet oxygen on illumination in vitro. Screening against a range of bacterial and fungal pathogens relevant to infection control showed remarkable increases in activity relative to the parent compound, particularly against the clinically important Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, in order to demonstrate clinical relevance, the photoactivities of the new derivatives against microbial targets were compared to conventional antibacterial and antifungal drugs, as well as biocides commonly used for local disinfection. Activity here was also generally greater than that of the conventional agents used for comparison, considerably so relative to the local disinfectant agents. PMID:27093001
Pulsations and outbursts of luminous blue variables
Cox, A.N.; Guzik, J.A.; Soukup, M.S.; Despain, K.M.
We propose an outburst mechanism for the most luminous stars in our and other galaxies. These million solar luminosity stars, with masses (after earlier mass loss) of between 20 and maybe 70 solar masses, are pulsationally unstable for both radial and low-degree nonradial modes. Some of these modes are ``strange,`` meaning mostly that the pulsations are concentrated near the stellar surface and have very rapid growth rates in linear theory. The pulsation driving is by both the high iron line opacity (near 150,000 K) and the helium opacity (near 30,000 K) kappa effects. Periods range from 5 to 40 days. Depending on the composition, pulsations periodically produce luminosities above the Eddington limit for deep layers. The radiative luminosity creates an outward push that readily eases the very low gamma envelope to very large outburst radii. A key point is that a super-Eddington luminosity cannot be taken up by the sluggish convection rapidly enough to prevent an outward acceleration of much of the envelope. As the helium abundance in the envelope stellar material increases by ordinary wind mass loss and the luminous blue variable outbursts, the opacity in the deep pulsation driving layers decreases. This makes the current Eddington luminosity even higher so that pulsations can then no longer give radiative luminosities exceeding the limit. For the lower mass and luminosity luminous blue variables there is considerably less iron line opacity driving, and pulsations are almost all caused by the helium ionization kappa effect.
Raphael Meldola, his blue and his times.
Travis, A S
Raphael Meldola (1849-1915), English industrial and academic chemist, spectroscopist, naturalist, educator and lobbyist for science, is today almost a forgotten scientist whose life is celebrated only with a medal awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry that honors achievement by younger chemists. In the 1870-80s, however, he invented a number of important synthetic dyestuffs including the cotton dyes isamine blue and Meldola's blue, and also naphthol green B, all of which have had application in biology and medicine. I describe here the early emergence of the synthetic dye industry, the first science-based industry, Meldola's role in its development, and his own inventions. Meldola's wide ranging achievements in science led to appointments as president of important professional scientific and manufacturers' societies. He was a fervent disciple of natural selection, a correspondent of Charles Darwin, and a prominent 19(th)-century neo-Darwinian. In 1886, drawing on analogies with evolutionary theory, he warned the British that neglect of science, particularly chemistry, would lead to industrial decline and even extinction, though his message generally was ignored, at least until 1914. PMID:22148999
Blue LEDs feasibility for tissue fluorescence analysis
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dets, Sergiy M.; Denisov, Nikolay A.
We considered the limited number of light-induced fluorescence applications for marketed ultra-bright blue LEDs where they can compete with versatile laser sources. Satisfactory optical output and miniature size as well as low power consumption of blue LEDs emitting at 470 nm allow to consider them as a promising alternatives to metal vapor or gas lasers used in many expires LIF applications. Available to authors LEDs form Hewlett-Packard, Micro Electronics Corp., Nichia Chemical Industries Ltd. and Toyoda Gosei Co. were tested to comply with demands to a tissue excitation source for portable spectroscopes. The optical performance of LEDs has shown that selected group of InGaN LEDs could be successfully used for that. The miniature illuminator that includes LED, focusing condenser, filter set and distal fiberoptic light concentrator was designed and tested in conjunction with portable CCD- equipped spectroscope. Operating in dark condition the proposed LED illuminator provides the level of fluorescence signal sufficient to detect spectral abnormalities in human Caucasian skin and excised gastrointestinal samples. All tissue autofluorescence data taken under LED illumination were compared with readings under He-Cd laser excitation and showed a good match. A new diagnostic designs based on LEDs were considered for clinical use.
Twisted bilayer blue phosphorene: A direct band gap semiconductor
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ospina, D. A.; Duque, C. A.; Correa, J. D.; Suárez Morell, Eric
We report that two rotated layers of blue phosphorene behave as a direct band gap semiconductor. The optical spectrum shows absorption peaks in the visible region of the spectrum and in addition the energy of these peaks can be tuned with the rotational angle. These findings makes twisted bilayer blue phosphorene a strong candidate as a solar cell or photodetection device. Our results are based on ab initio calculations of several rotated blue phosphorene layers.
The Return of the Blue Butterfly
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Santos, Anabela
The Return of the Blue Butterfly The English writer Charles Dickens once wrote: "I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free". But are they really? The work that I performed with a group of students from 8th grade, had a starting point of climate change and the implications it has on ecosystems. Joining the passion I have for butterflies, I realized that they are also in danger of extinction due to these climatic effects. Thus, it was easy to seduce my students wanting to know more. Luckily I found Dr. Paula Seixas Arnaldo, a researcher at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, who has worked on butterflies and precisely investigated this issue. Portugal is the southern limit of butterfly-blue (Phengaris alcon), and has been many years in the red book of endangered species. Butterfly-blue is very demanding of their habitat, and disappears very easily if ideal conditions are not satisfied. Increased fragmentation of landscapes and degradation of suitable habitats, are considered the greatest challenges of the conservation of Phengaris butterfly in Portugal. In recent decades, climate change has also changed butterfly-blue spatial distribution with a movement of the species northward to colder locations, and dispersion in latitude. Butterflies of Europe must escape to the North because of the heat. Dr. Paula Seixas Arnaldo and her research team began a project, completed in December 2013, wanted to preserve and restore priority habitats recognized by the European Union to help species in danger of disappearing with increasing temperature. The blue butterfly is extremely important because it is a key indicator of the quality of these habitats. In the field, the butterflies are monitored to collect all possible data in order to identify the key species. Butterflies start flying in early July and cease in late August. Mating takes about an hour and occurs in the first days of life. The gentian-peat (Gentiana pneumonanthe) serves as the host plant for
Jupiter in blue, ultraviolet and near infrared
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
2000-01-01These three images of Jupiter, taken through the narrow angle camera of NASA's Cassini spacecraft from a distance of 77.6 million kilometers (48.2 million miles) on October 8, reveal more than is apparent to the naked eye through a telescope.The image on the left was taken through the blue filter. The one in the middle was taken in the ultraviolet. The one on the right was taken in the near infrared.The blue-light filter is within the part of the electromagnetic spectrum detectable by the human eye. The appearance of Jupiter in this image is, consequently, very familiar. The Great Red Spot (below and to the right of center) and the planet's well-known banded cloud lanes are obvious. The brighter bands of clouds are called zones and are probably composed of ammonia ice particles. The darker bands are called belts and are made dark by particles of unknown composition intermixed with the ammonia ice.Jupiter's appearance changes dramatically in the ultraviolet and near infrared images. These images are near negatives of each other and illustrate the way in which observations in different wavelength regions can reveal different physical regimes on the planet.All gases scatter sunlight efficiently at short wavelengths; this is why the sky appears blue on Earth. The effect is even more pronounced in the ultraviolet. The gases in Jupiter's atmosphere, above the clouds, are no different. They scatter strongly in the ultraviolet, making the deep banded cloud layers invisible in the middle image. Only the very high altitude haze appears dark against the bright background. The contrast is reversed in the near infrared, where methane gas, abundant on Jupiter but not on Earth, is strongly absorbing and therefore appears dark. Again the deep clouds are invisible, but now the high altitude haze appears relatively bright against the dark background. High altitude haze is seen over the poles and the equator.The Great Red Spot, prominent in all images, is
Blue Light Protects Against Temporal Frequency Sensitive Refractive Changes
Rucker, Frances; Britton, Stephanie; Spatcher, Molly; Hanowsky, Stephan
Purpose Time spent outdoors is protective against myopia. The outdoors allows exposure to short-wavelength (blue light) rich sunlight, while indoor illuminants can be deficient at short-wavelengths. In the current experiment, we investigate the role of blue light, and temporal sensitivity, in the emmetropization response. Methods Five-day-old chicks were exposed to sinusoidal luminance modulation of white light (with blue; N = 82) or yellow light (without blue; N = 83) at 80% contrast, at one of six temporal frequencies: 0, 0.2, 1, 2, 5, 10 Hz daily for 3 days. Mean illumination was 680 lux. Changes in ocular components and corneal curvature were measured. Results Refraction, eye length, and choroidal changes were dependent on the presence of blue light (P < 0.03, all) and on temporal frequency (P < 0.03, all). In the presence of blue light, refraction did not change across frequencies (mean change −0.24 [diopters] D), while in the absence of blue light, we observed a hyperopic shift (>1 D) at high frequencies, and a myopic shift (>−0.6 D) at low frequencies. With blue light there was little difference in eye growth across frequencies (77 μm), while in the absence of blue light, eyes grew more at low temporal frequencies and less at high temporal frequencies (10 vs. 0.2 Hz: 145 μm; P < 0.003). Overall, neonatal astigmatism was reduced with blue light. Conclusions Illuminants rich in blue light can protect against myopic eye growth when the eye is exposed to slow changes in luminance contrast as might occur with near work. PMID:26393671
FIrpic: archetypal blue phosphorescent emitter for electroluminescence.
Baranoff, Etienne; Curchod, Basile F E
FIrpic is the most investigated bis-cyclometallated iridium complex in particular in the context of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) because of its attractive sky-blue emission, high emission efficiency, and suitable energy levels. In this Perspective we review the synthesis, structural characterisations, and key properties of this emitter. We also survey the theoretical studies and summarise a series of selected monochromatic electroluminescent devices using FIrpic as the emitting dopant. Finally we highlight important shortcomings of FIrpic as an emitter for OLEDs. Despite the large body of work dedicated to this material, it is manifest that the understanding of photophysical and electrochemical processes are only broadly understood mainly because of the different environment in which these properties are measured, i.e., isolated molecules in solvent vs. device. PMID:25388935
Blue star-forming isolated elliptical galaxies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lacerna, I.; Hernández-Toledo, H. M.; Avila-Reese, V.; Abonza-Sane, J.; del Olmo, A.
The isolated environment seems to favor the formation of blue, star-forming galaxies that are not observed in a high-density environment such as the Coma supercluster. These galaxies, with masses between 7 × 10^9 and 2 × 10^10 h‑2 Msun, are also the youngest galaxies from a sample of isolated elliptical galaxies with light-weighted stellar ages ˜1 < Gyr and exhibit bluer colors toward the galaxy center. Around 30-60% of their present-day luminosity, but only <5% of their present-day mass, is due to star formation in the last 1 Gyr. The color and star-formation activity in these galaxies could be explained by rejuvenation of ellipticals by recent (<1 Gyr) cold gas accretion.
Identification of human megakaryocytes with rhodanile blue.
Kass, L
Using the oxazine dye rhodanile blue, large typical megakaryocytes and small megakaryocytes (micromegakaryocytes) from the bone marrows of normal persons, and from patients with a variety of preleukemic disorders, acute lymphoblastic and nonlymphoblastic leukemia, chronic granulocytic leukemia, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura as an example of nonmalignant but abnormal megakaryocytopoiesis, showed intense pink staining of the cytoplasm. This pink metachromasia was not obliterated by prior digestion with either diastase or ribonuclease, but was markedly diminished or obliterated by preincubation with hyaluronidase, suggesting that the stain may detect a high content of acid mucopolysaccharides in megakaryocytes. Since the stain is simple, direct, and reproducible, it may represent a useful addition to the cytochemistry of megakaryocytes and complement the more complex immunologic techniques available currently. PMID:2580502
Retrofitting outlet tunnel for Blue River Project
Shen, Y.Y.; Stow, J.A.; Edmister, T.D.
The major development of the Blue River Project is to use the existing tunnel to supply water to a penstock and turbine located in a proposed powerhouse. The flood release through the tunnel is presently discharged by open channel flow. After the modification, the outlet and a new gate structure will be pressurized to allow combined usage of hydropower and flood release. The velocity through the new gate will increase by almost 70 percent. A complex transition was designed to house the bifurcation to penstock and to the new dual gate structure. A comprehensive physical model study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the transition. Turbulent pressure fluctuation tests and analyses were performed from upstream of the bifurcation through the new gates. A revised transition was designed to minimize any potential pressure fluctuation and cavitation problems.
Efficient blue electroluminescence from a fluorinated polyquinoline
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Parker, I. D.; Pei, Q.; Marrocco, M.
High efficiency blue electroluminescence is demonstrated from a polyquinoline ether, a new class of soluble, electroluminescent, polyaromatic polymer. Multilayer devices (consisting of hole and electron transport layers in addition to the emissive polyquinoline layer) show an internal quantum efficiency in excess of 4% at 450 nm. Light emitted from these devices is easily visible in room light with luminence levels of 30 cd/m2 at 55 V with a current density of 9 mA/cm2. The transport layers are shown to serve a dual function—to modify the carrier injection properties and to block passage of carriers of the opposite polarity thereby trapping carriers in the emissive layer.
Approaches toward a blue semiconductor laser
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ladany, I.
Possible approaches for obtaining semiconductor diode laser action in the blue region of the spectrum are surveyed. A discussion of diode lasers is included along with a review of the current status of visible emitters, presently limited to 670 nm. Methods are discussed for shifting laser emission toward shorter wavelengths, including the use of II-IV materials, the increase in the bandgap of III-V materials by addition of nitrogen, and changing the bandstructure from indirect to direct by incorporating interstitial atoms or by constructing superlattices. Non-pn-junction injection methods are surveyed, including avalanche breakdown, Langmuir-Blodgett diodes, heterostructures, carrier accumulation, and Berglund diodes. Prospects of inventing new multinary semiconducting materials are discussed, and a number of novel materials described in the literature are tabulated. New approaches available through the development of quantum wells and superlattices are described, including resonant tunneling and the synthesis of arbitrary bandgap materials through multiple quantum wells.
Blue Skies Research and the global economy
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Braben, Donald W.
Robert Solow's seminal work of the 1950s showed that science and technology are major sources of long-term global economic growth. But we have recently changed the ways that science and technology are managed. Industrial and academic research once thrived on individual freedom and flair. Progressively for the past three decades or so, however, research has been focused on short-term objectives selected by consensus. Global per-capita growth has steadily declined. Scientific enterprise is losing diversity. Blue Skies Research can help to restore diversity and to create the new technologies that can stimulate growth, but funding agencies nowadays rarely allow total freedom. A new coefficient of adventurousness is described. Its use, or other means, may help restore economic growth to its former levels.
Sunspot temperatures from red and blue photometry
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chapman, G. A.; Cookson, A. M.; Preminger, D. G.
Photometric images are used to measure the temperature of sunspots at different wavelengths. Images at 672.3 nm and 472.3 nm are obtained at the San Fernando Observatory using the CFDT2 (2.5'' x 2.5'' pixels). Images at 607.1 nm and 409.4 nm are obtained by the PSPT at Mauna Loa Observatory. Monochromatic intensities are converted to temperatures as in Steinegger et al (1990). The pixel by pixel temperature for a sunspot is converted into a bolometric contrast for that sunspot according to Chapman et al (1994). Sunspot temperatures, i.e., their bolometric contrasts, are calculated from both red (672.3 nm) and blue wavelengths (472.3 nm) and compared.
Dwyer, Joseph R
Lightning is a particularly unsettling product of bad weather. It causes more deaths and injuries in the U.S. than either hurricanes or tornadoes do, and it strikes without warning, sometimes with nothing but blue sky overhead. In central Florida, where I live, thunderstorms are a daily occurrence during the summer, and so, ironically, people in the Sunshine State often spend their afternoons indoors to avoid the risk of death from the sky. Worldwide, lightning flashes about four million times a day, and bolts have even been observed on other planets. Yet despite its familiarity, we still do not know what causes lightning. It is a misconception that Benjamin Franklin solved the puzzle when he conducted his famous kite experiment in 1752. PMID:15882023
Blue laser inorganic write-once media
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chen, Bing-Mau; Yeh, Ru-Lin
With the advantages of low cost, portability and compliance with ROM disc, write once disk has become the most popular storage media for computer and audio/video application. In addition, write once media, like CD-R and DVD-/+ R, are used to store permanent or nonalterable information, such as financial data transitions, legal documentation, and medical data. Several write once recording materials, such as TeO[1], TeOPd[2] and Si/Cu [3] have been proposed to realize inorganic write once media. Moreover, we propose AlSi alloy [4] to be used for recording layer of write once media. It had good recording properties in DVD system although the reflectivity is too low to be used for DVD-R disk. In this paper, we report the further results in blue laser system, such as the static and dynamic characteristics of write once media.
Red spectra from white and blue noise
Balmforth, N. J.; Provenzale, A.; Spiegel, E. A.; Martens, M.; Tresser, C.; Wu, C. W.
The value of maps of the interval in modelling population dynamics has recently been called into question because temporal variations from such maps have blue or white power spectra, whereas many observations of real populations show time-series with red spectra. One way to deal with this discrepancy is to introduce chaotic or stochastic fluctuations in the parameters of the map. This leads to on–off intermittency and can markedly redden the spectrum produced by a model that does not by itself have a red spectrum. The parameter fluctuations need not themselves have a red spectrum in order to achieve this effect. Because the power spectrum is not invariant under a change of variable, another way to redden the spectrum is by a suitable transformation of the variables used. The question this poses is whether spectra are the best means of characterizing a fluctuating variable.
Blue Marble: Remote Characterization of Habitable Planets
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Woolf, Neville; Lewis, Brian; Chartres, James; Genova, Anthony
The study of the nature and distribution of habitable environments beyond the Solar System is a key area for Astrobiology research. At the present time, our Earth is the only habitable planet that can be characterized in the same way that we might characterize planets beyond the Solar System. Due to limitations in our current and near-future technology, it is likely that extra-solar planets will be observed as single-pixel objects. To understand this data, we must develop skills in analyzing and interpreting the radiation obtained from a single pixel. These skills must include the study of the time variation of the radiation, and the range of its photometric, spectroscopic and polarimetric properties. In addition, to understand whether we are properly analyzing the single pixel data, we need to compare it with a ground truth of modest resolution images in key spectral bands. This paper discusses the concept for a mission called Blue Marble that would obtain data of the Earth using a combination of spectropolarimetry, spectrophotometry, and selected band imaging. To obtain imagery of the proper resolution, it is desirable to place the Blue Marble spacecraft no closer than the outer region of cis-lunar space. This paper explores a conceptual mission design that takes advantage of low-cost launchers, bus designs and mission elements to provide a cost effective observing platform located at one of the stable Earth-moon Lagrangian points (L4, L5). The mission design allows for the development and use of novel technologies, such as a spinning moon sensor for attitude control, and leverages lessons-learned from previous low-cost spacecraft such as Lunar Prospector to yield a low-risk mission concept.
Evolution of local luminous compact blue galaxies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rabidoux, Katherine; Pisano, Daniel J.
Luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) are a type of very blue, very compact star-forming galaxy that was common at z~1 but is rare in the local universe. While it is clear from this discrepancy that LCBGs must be a rapidly-evolving class of galaxy, it is not clear what type(s) of galaxy they become. Fortunately, since they are bright and nearby, the rare examples of z~0 LCBGs are easily studied across a large range of wavelengths. We have conducted a study of z~0 analogs to the z~1 LCBGs to investigate their galaxy-wide internal properties in order to determine what is triggering their current episode of star formation, for how long the star formation can continue, and what the galaxies may become once their star formation rates decrease from current levels. We have taken resolved H I observations of nine LCBGs and unresolved radio continuum observations of 35 LCBGs and combined this data with archival broad-band data to probe their global properties. We conclude that LCBGs are rotationally-supported, star-forming disk galaxies that, while they may be forming small central bulges or bars, are highly unlikely to evolve into dwarf elliptical, dwarf spheroidal, or elliptical galaxies on their own due to their masses and rotation velocities. LCBGs will likely fade to be spiral galaxies with lower surface brightnesses once their current episodes of star formation conclude. In addition, we have modeled the SEDs of the LCBGs in our sample to determine whether LCBGs' star formation is ramping up or winding down, and for how much longer their current active phase of star formation will last. We have begun to put together a picture of the current evolutionary stage of this class of galaxies, and have better constrained their future evolutionary paths.
Underwater Chaotic Lidar using Blue Laser Diodes
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rumbaugh, Luke K.
The thesis proposes and explores an underwater lidar system architecture based on chaotic modulation of recently introduced, commercially available, low cost blue laser diodes. This approach is experimentally shown to allow accurate underwater impulse response measurements while eliminating the need for several major components typically found in high-performance underwater lidar systems. The proposed approach is to: 1. Generate wideband, noise-like intensity modulation signals using optical chaotic modulation of blue-green laser diodes, and then 2. Use this signal source to develop an underwater chaotic lidar system that uses no electrical signal generator, no electro-optic modulator, no optical frequency doubler, and no large-aperture photodetector. The outcome of this thesis is the demonstration of a new underwater lidar system architecture that could allow high resolution ranging, imaging, and water profiling measurements in turbid water, at a reduced size, weight, power and cost relative to state-of-the-art high-performance underwater lidar sensors. This work also makes contributions to the state of the art in optics, nonlinear dynamics, and underwater sensing by demonstrating for the first time: 1. Wideband noise-like intensity modulation of a blue laser diode using no electrical signal generator or electro-optic modulator. Optical chaotic modulation of a 462 nm blue InGaN laser diode by self-feedback is explored for the first time. The usefulness of the signal to chaotic lidar is evaluated in terms of bandwidth, modulation depth, and autocorrelation peak-to-sidelobe-ratio (PSLR) using both computer and laboratory experiments. In laboratory experiments, the optical feedback technique is shown to be effective in generating wideband, noise-like chaotic signals with strong modulation depth when the diode is operated in an external-cavity dominated state. The modulation signal strength is shown to be limited by the onset of lasing within the diode's internal
Underwater Chaotic Lidar using Blue Laser Diodes
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rumbaugh, Luke K.
The thesis proposes and explores an underwater lidar system architecture based on chaotic modulation of recently introduced, commercially available, low cost blue laser diodes. This approach is experimentally shown to allow accurate underwater impulse response measurements while eliminating the need for several major components typically found in high-performance underwater lidar systems. The proposed approach is to: 1. Generate wideband, noise-like intensity modulation signals using optical chaotic modulation of blue-green laser diodes, and then 2. Use this signal source to develop an underwater chaotic lidar system that uses no electrical signal generator, no electro-optic modulator, no optical frequency doubler, and no large-aperture photodetector. The outcome of this thesis is the demonstration of a new underwater lidar system architecture that could allow high resolution ranging, imaging, and water profiling measurements in turbid water, at a reduced size, weight, power and cost relative to state-of-the-art high-performance underwater lidar sensors. This work also makes contributions to the state of the art in optics, nonlinear dynamics, and underwater sensing by demonstrating for the first time: 1. Wideband noise-like intensity modulation of a blue laser diode using no electrical signal generator or electro-optic modulator. Optical chaotic modulation of a 462 nm blue InGaN laser diode by self-feedback is explored for the first time. The usefulness of the signal to chaotic lidar is evaluated in terms of bandwidth, modulation depth, and autocorrelation peak-to-sidelobe-ratio (PSLR) using both computer and laboratory experiments. In laboratory experiments, the optical feedback technique is shown to be effective in generating wideband, noise-like chaotic signals with strong modulation depth when the diode is operated in an external-cavity dominated state. The modulation signal strength is shown to be limited by the onset of lasing within the diode's internal
77 FR 68117 - Blue Summit Wind, LLC; Notice of Petition for Declaratory Order
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... Energy Regulatory Commission Blue Summit Wind, LLC; Notice of Petition for Declaratory Order Take notice... (Commission) Rules of Practice and Procedure 18 CFR 385.207(a)(2), Blue Summit Wind, LLC (Blue Summit) filed a...) interconnection facilities that deliver power from the Blue Summit's wind energy generator (Blue Summit...
Lund, Karen; Benham, John R.
During field studies of the Blue Joint Wilderness Study Area, Montana, and the Blue Joint Roadless Area, Idaho, areas of substantiated resource potential for epithermal precious-metal vein deposits were identified in areas of hydrothermal alteration and fossil hot springs activity in the Eocene volcanic rocks. Areas with substantiated resource potential for cobalt, copper, silver, and barite resources of the sediment-hosted type were identified in the Proterozoic quartz schist of the eastern part of the area. Probable potential exists for molybdenum in a prophyry system; anomalously high molybdenum values are coincident with high values for precious and base metals and uranium in some places. The geologic terrane precludes the occurrence of fossil fuel resources.
New York's Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 1934-1990: the complicated politics of nonprofit regulation.
Marmor, T R
The story of New York Blue Cross is one of complex interaction with state and federal regulators and also with hospitals, the medical profession, commercial insurers, and the public, who make up the regulatory environment. Negotiation, cooperation, and adaptation among parties whose goals and assumptions were partly parallel characterize the relationships. As we can see from New York Blue Cross's origins and its role in the development and administration of certificate-of-need legislation, Medicare, insurance practice and regulation, and hospital rate setting, this story does not represent the capture of government by a special interest, nor the gradual souring of a public interest organization, nor disinterested and distant government regulation. PMID:1800576
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
3 CFR - Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
... 3 The President 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Memorandum of January 29, 2010 Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Memorandum for the Secretary of Energy Expanding our Nation's capacity to generate clean nuclear energy is crucial...
On the use of a single blue band in oceanography
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Sherman, J. W., III
The selection of a single blue band to quantitatively measure ocean chlorophyll is dependent upon the altitude and spectral bandwidth of the filter. These relationships are discussed, and the conclusion made that a blue band from 0.44 to 0.50 microns would best serve this oceanographic application.
The Blue Stragglers of the Old Open Cluster NGC 188
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mathieu, Robert D.; Geller, Aaron M.
The old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188 has yielded a wealth of astrophysical insight into its rich blue straggler population. Specifically, the NGC 188 blue stragglers are characterised by: A binary frequency of 80 % for orbital periods less than 104 days;
Using the Blue Gourami in Ethological and Embryological Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thompson, Theresa; Pollak, Edward I.
Lists advantages in the use of the blue gourami in laboratory experiments on reproduction and embryogenesis. Materials and procedures for maintaining and spawning blue gouramis are provided. Also includes details on microscopic examination of developing embryos and histological techniques for microscope slide preparation. (CS)
Blue starters∷ Brief upward discharges from an intense Arkansas thunderstorm
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wescott, E. M.; Sentman, D. D.; Heavner, M. J.; Hampton, D. L.; Osborne, D. L.; Vaughan, O. H., Jr.
This paper documents the first observations of a new stratospheric electrical phenomenon associated with thunderstorms. On the night of 30 June (UT 1 July) 1994, 30 examples of these events, which we have called "blue starters," were observed in a 6 m 44 s interval above the very energetic Arkansas thunderstorm where blue jets were first observed. The blue starters are distinguished from blue jets by a much lower terminal altitude. They are bright and blue in color, and protrude upward from the cloud top (17-18 km) to a maximum 25.5 km (83,655 ft.) in altitude. All blue starters events were recorded from two small areas near Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas where hail 7.0 cm in diameter was falling. Comparison to cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes revealed: 1. Blue starters were not observed to be coincident with either positive or negative CG flashes, but they do occur in the same general area as negative CG flashes; 2. Cumulative distributions of the negative CG flashes in ±5 s before and after the starter and within a radius of 50 km shows a significant reduction for about 3 s following the event in the two cells where starters and jets were observed. The energy deficit is approximately 109 J. It is possible that blue starters are a short-lived streamer phenomenon.
[Blue nevus syndrome: endoscopic treatment by sclerosis and banding ligation].
Sala Felis, T; Urquijo Ponce, J J; López Viedma, B; Pertejo Pastor, V; Berenguer Lapuerta, J
The blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome is a rare entity characterized by the presence of cavernous hemangiomas in the skin and gastrointestinal tract with frequent digestive hemorrhages. Different therapeutic modalities exist: medical treatment, surgical resection; and most recently, endoscopic therapy has been described. We present a patient with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome treated with combined endoscopic therapy: sclerosis and band ligation. PMID:10228324
75 FR 5485 - Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... HOUSE, WASHINGTON, January 29, 2010 [FR Doc. 2010-2421 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am] Billing code 6450-01-P ... Documents#0;#0; ] Memorandum of January 29, 2010 Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future... material. Accordingly, I request that you establish a Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear...
75 FR 13757 - Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy... announcing an open meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (the Commission)....
Blue Ribbon Schools: Elementary and Secondary School Recognition Programs.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination.
Since the Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established by the Secretary of Education in 1982, it has developed into a national school-improvement strategy. This brochure outlines the three purposes of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program: (1) identify and recognize outstanding public and private schools across the nation; (2) make research-based…
36 CFR 7.34 - Blue Ridge Parkway.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Blue Ridge Parkway. 7.34 Section 7.34 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SPECIAL REGULATIONS, AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM § 7.34 Blue Ridge Parkway. (a) Snowmobiles. After consideration of any special situations,...
36 CFR 7.34 - Blue Ridge Parkway.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Blue Ridge Parkway. 7.34 Section 7.34 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SPECIAL REGULATIONS, AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM § 7.34 Blue Ridge Parkway. (a) Snowmobiles. After...
Contemporary Use of Ticagrelor in Interventional Practice (from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium).
Karve, Amrita M; Seth, Milan; Sharma, Manoj; LaLonde, Thomas; Dixon, Simon; Wohns, David; Gurm, Hitinder S
Ticagrelor has greater antiplatelet activity than clopidogrel and is approved for use in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). There are limited data on use of ticagrelor in real-world practice. We assessed ticagrelor use in 64,600 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention from January 2012 to March 2014 at 47 Michigan hospitals in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium. Preprocedural risk of major adverse events was estimated with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium risk prediction models. The proportion of patients receiving clopidogrel, prasugrel, and ticagrelor was 72% (n = 46,864), 20% (n = 12,596), and 8% (n = 5,140), respectively, using ticagrelor increasing over time. Ticagrelor was used at 45 hospitals, ranging from 0.5% to 64.9% of discharges. Patients receiving ticagrelor were older (63.6 vs 59.4), more often women (32.9% vs 26.7%), and were more likely to present with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (24.4% vs 18.8%), cardiogenic shock within 24 hours (1.3% vs 0.9%), and anginal class IV (47.8% vs 43.0%) (p <0.05). Compared with prasugrel, ticagrelor was prescribed in patients with a higher predicted risk of percutaneous coronary intervention complications: contrast nephropathy (2.5% vs 1.6%), transfusion (2.2% vs 1.4%), and death (1.2% vs 0.7%) (p <0.001); >10% of patients were given prasugrel or ticagrelor for a non-ACS indication. Ticagrelor is prescribed to a higher risk population, and 1 in 10 patients prescribed ticagrelor or prasugrel did not have ACS. PMID:25846767
Comparative metabolism and genotoxicity of the structurally similar nitrophenylenediamine dyes, HC Blue 1 and HC Blue 2, in mouse hepatocytes.
Kari, F W; Driscoll, S M; Abu-Shakra, A; Strom, S C; Jenkins, W L; Volosin, J S; Rudo, K M; Langenbach, R
Previous studies indicated that HC Blue 1 induced heptocellular carcinomas in B6C3F1 mice whereas the structurally similar nitroaromatic amine HC Blue 2 did not. In an attempt to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms responsible for their different carcinogenic potencies, comparative metabolism and genetic toxicity studies were undertaken. Eighteen-hour urinary recovery of administered radioactivity was equivalent for both compounds following oral gavage (100 mg/kg) in female B6C3F1 mice. By HPLC analysis, HC Blue 1 yielded 3 major polar metabolite peaks, one of which was susceptible to glucuronidase. In vivo metabolism of HC Blue 2 yielded a single major metabolite peak which was not hydrolyzed by glucuronidase. Metabolism by B6C3F1 mouse hepatocytes yielded metabolite profiles which were qualitatively similar to the profiles observed after in vivo metabolism. HC Blue 1 was metabolized by hepatocytes at approximately twice the rate of HC Blue 2. Cytogenetic evaluations of mouse hepatocytes after in vitro treatment indicated HC Blue 1 was more potent than HC Blue 2 in inducing chromosomal aberrations while both chemicals showed weak activity for inducing sister-chromatid exchanges. Furthermore, in the V79 cell metabolic cooperation assay, HC Blue 1, but not HC Blue 2, inhibited cell-to-cell communication suggesting a non-genotoxic activity may be present for HC Blue 1. It is concluded that qualitative and quantitative differences exist in the metabolism of these compounds and that genotoxic as well as nongenotoxic effects may contribute to their different carcinogenic potencies. PMID:2361189
How does the blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) flash its blue rings?
Mäthger, Lydia M; Bell, George R R; Kuzirian, Alan M; Allen, Justine J; Hanlon, Roger T
The blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), one of the world's most venomous animals, has long captivated and endangered a large audience: children playing at the beach, divers turning over rocks, and biologists researching neurotoxins. These small animals spend much of their time in hiding, showing effective camouflage patterns. When disturbed, the octopus will flash around 60 iridescent blue rings and, when strongly harassed, bite and deliver a neurotoxin that can kill a human. Here, we describe the flashing mechanism and optical properties of these rings. The rings contain physiologically inert multilayer reflectors, arranged to reflect blue-green light in a broad viewing direction. Dark pigmented chromatophores are found beneath and around each ring to enhance contrast. No chromatophores are above the ring; this is unusual for cephalopods, which typically use chromatophores to cover or spectrally modify iridescence. The fast flashes are achieved using muscles under direct neural control. The ring is hidden by contraction of muscles above the iridophores; relaxation of these muscles and contraction of muscles outside the ring expose the iridescence. This mechanism of producing iridescent signals has not previously been reported in cephalopods and we suggest that it is an exceptionally effective way to create a fast and conspicuous warning display. PMID:23053367
UNC Health Systems and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina patient-centered medical home collaborative.
Bradley, Don; Rubinow, David R
UNC Health Systems and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina have entered into a joint venture that is designed to improve patient outcomes and experience and to control medical costs for patients with chronic conditions. This commentary reviews the impetus for, and the anticipated outcomes of, the model practice. PMID:21901922
76 FR 71355 - United States et al. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, Inc. et al.; Proposed Final...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... health- insurance company that has vigorously and effectively competed against Blue Cross to provide... Cross is a nonprofit corporation based in Helena, Montana. Blue Cross sells a range of commercial health... each of these geographic areas. 3. The hospital defendants are each non-profit corporations...
Production and Processing Traits of Blue Catfish, Blue Catfish X Channel Catfish Hybrids, and Two Strains of Channel Catfish
Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)
Channel catfish is the primary species used in commercial catfish farming. However, increased incidence of disease and associated economic losses have led to speculation that other catfish species or hybrids also have potential. In this study production and processing traits of blue catfish, blue x ...
Isolation and Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes from Blue Crab Meat (Callinectus sapidus) and Blue Crab Processing Plants
Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive, intracellular food borne pathogen which causes a severe disease called listeriosis in high risk groups. However, there is limited information about the prevalence and sources of L. monocytogenes in blue crab and blue crab processing plants in Maryland. The...
Blue glass: A new impactite variety from Zhamanshin crater, USSR
Koeberl, C. )
A new variety of impact glass has been discovered at Zhamanshin impact crater (USSR). The crater has been known as the source of different impact glasses such as irghizites and Si-rich zhamanshinites (Si-rich varieties) and Si-poor (andesitic) zhamanshinites. The newly discovered impact glass is of distinct blue color and shows a layered structure with numerous small vesicles. The blue color ranges between the layers from opaque turquoise to very dark blue. The layers of blue glass are usually connected with layers of greyish or brownish color showing normal Si-rich zhamanshinite composition. The major and trace element chemistry of the blue glass differs from the chemistry of other Si-rich impact glasses from the Zhamanshin crater in several ways. One of the most distinct features is the high CaO content (up to about 7 wt.%), and the different CaO/MgO ratios. Volatile trace elements are generally intermediate between irghizites and Si-rich zhamanshinites, or even higher than in Si-rich zhamanshinites, reflecting the inhomogeneity of the blue glass. REE abundances are slightly larger than in Si-rich zhamanshinites and irghizites and show a less pronounced Eu anomaly. Impact mixing of country rocks present at the crater seems capable of explaining the chemistry of the blue glass.
Methylene Blue Inhibits Caspases by Oxidation of the Catalytic Cysteine.
Pakavathkumar, Prateep; Sharma, Gyanesh; Kaushal, Vikas; Foveau, Bénédicte; LeBlanc, Andrea C
Methylene blue, currently in phase 3 clinical trials against Alzheimer Disease, disaggregates the Tau protein of neurofibrillary tangles by oxidizing specific cysteine residues. Here, we investigated if methylene blue can inhibit caspases via the oxidation of their active site cysteine. Methylene blue, and derivatives, azure A and azure B competitively inhibited recombinant Caspase-6 (Casp6), and inhibited Casp6 activity in transfected human colon carcinoma cells and in serum-deprived primary human neuron cultures. Methylene blue also inhibited recombinant Casp1 and Casp3. Furthermore, methylene blue inhibited Casp3 activity in an acute mouse model of liver toxicity. Mass spectrometry confirmed methylene blue and azure B oxidation of the catalytic Cys163 cysteine of Casp6. Together, these results show a novel inhibitory mechanism of caspases via sulfenation of the active site cysteine. These results indicate that methylene blue or its derivatives could (1) have an additional effect against Alzheimer Disease by inhibiting brain caspase activity, (2) be used as a drug to prevent caspase activation in other conditions, and (3) predispose chronically treated individuals to cancer via the inhibition of caspases. PMID:26400108
Methylene Blue Inhibits Caspases by Oxidation of the Catalytic Cysteine
Pakavathkumar, Prateep; Sharma, Gyanesh; Kaushal, Vikas; Foveau, Bénédicte; LeBlanc, Andrea C.
Methylene blue, currently in phase 3 clinical trials against Alzheimer Disease, disaggregates the Tau protein of neurofibrillary tangles by oxidizing specific cysteine residues. Here, we investigated if methylene blue can inhibit caspases via the oxidation of their active site cysteine. Methylene blue, and derivatives, azure A and azure B competitively inhibited recombinant Caspase-6 (Casp6), and inhibited Casp6 activity in transfected human colon carcinoma cells and in serum-deprived primary human neuron cultures. Methylene blue also inhibited recombinant Casp1 and Casp3. Furthermore, methylene blue inhibited Casp3 activity in an acute mouse model of liver toxicity. Mass spectrometry confirmed methylene blue and azure B oxidation of the catalytic Cys163 cysteine of Casp6. Together, these results show a novel inhibitory mechanism of caspases via sulfenation of the active site cysteine. These results indicate that methylene blue or its derivatives could (1) have an additional effect against Alzheimer Disease by inhibiting brain caspase activity, (2) be used as a drug to prevent caspase activation in other conditions, and (3) predispose chronically treated individuals to cancer via the inhibition of caspases. PMID:26400108
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Romero, Nichols; Enkovaara, Jussi; Dulak, Marcin; Glinsvad, Christian; Larsen, Ask; Mortensen, Jens; Shende, Sameer; Morozov, Vitali; Greeley, Jeffrey
Density function theory (DFT) is the most widely employed electronic structure method due to its favorable scaling with system size and accuracy for a broad range of molecular and condensed-phase systems. The advent of massively parallel supercomputers have enhanced the scientific community's ability to study larger system sizes. Ground state DFT calculations of systems with O (103) valence electrons can be routinely performed on present-day supercomputers. The performance of these massively parallel DFT codes at the scale of 1 - 10K execution threads are not well understood; even experienced DFT users are unaware of Amdahl's Law and the non-trivial scaling bottlenecks that are present in standard O (N3) DFT algorithms. The GPAW code was ported an optimized for the Blue Gene/P. We present our algorithmic parallelization strategy and interpret the results for a number of benchmark tests cases. Lastly, I will describe opportunities for computer allocations at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. This work has been supported by the Academy of Finland (Project 110013), Tekes MASI-program, Danish Center for Scientific Computing, Lundbeck Foundation, Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.
Blue photoluminescent carbon nanodots from limeade.
Suvarnaphaet, Phitsini; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar; Wetcharungsri, Jutaphet; Porntheeraphat, Supanit; Hoonsawat, Rassmidara; Ajayan, Pulickel Madhavapanicker; Tang, I-Ming; Asanithi, Piyapong
Carbon-based photoluminescent nanodot has currently been one of the promising materials for various applications. The remaining challenges are the carbon sources and the simple synthetic processes that enhance the quantum yield, photostability and biocompatibility of the nanodots. In this work, the synthesis of blue photoluminescent carbon nanodots from limeade via a single-step hydrothermal carbonization process is presented. Lime carbon nanodot (L-CnD), whose the quantum yield exceeding 50% for the 490nm emission in gram-scale amounts, has the structure of graphene core functionalized with the oxygen functional groups. The micron-sized flake of the as-prepared L-CnD powder exhibits multicolor emission depending on an excitation wavelength. The L-CnDs are demonstrated for rapidly ferric-ion (Fe(3+)) detection in water compared to Fe(2+), Cu(2+), Co(2+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+) and Ni(2+) ions. The photoluminescence quenching of L-CnD solution under UV light is used to distinguish the Fe(3+) ions from others by naked eyes as low concentration as 100μM. Additionally, L-CnDs provide exceptional photostability and biocompatibility for imaging yeast cell morphology. Changes in morphology of living yeast cells, i.e. cell shape variation, and budding, can be observed in a minute-period until more than an hour without the photoluminescent intensity loss. PMID:27612786
Red and blue shifted hydridic bonds.
Jabłoński, Mirosław
By performing MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ ab initio calculations for a large set of dimer systems possessing a R-H hydridic bond involved in diverse types of intermolecular interactions (dihydrogen bonds, hydride halogen bonds, hydride hydrogen bonds, and charge-assisted hydride hydrogen bonds), we show that this is rather an elongation than a shortening that a hydride bond undergoes on interaction. Contrary to what might have been expected on the basis of studies in uniform electric field, this elongation is accompanied by a blue instead of red shift of the R-H stretching vibration frequency. We propose that the "additional" elongation of the R-H hydridic bond results from the significant charge outflow from the sigma bonding orbital of R-H that weakens this bond. The more standard red shift obtained for stronger complexes is explained by means of the Hermansson's formula and the particularly strong electric field produced by the H-acceptor molecule. PMID:25043253
Age determination of blue-winged teal
Dane, C.W.
Primary feather length, markings on the greater secondary coverts, and the degree of bill spotting were evaluated as characters for use in the spring to distinguish first-year, blue-winged teal (Anas discors) females from older ones. The length of the 10th primary feather did not prove suitable to separate different aged females. Extreme primary lengths might be used to determine the age of some males. In females that have been through a postnuptial molt the greater secondary coverts have a more symmetrical, and more acutely angled, white, inverted 'V'-marking. Any female with a 'V' subjectively classified as good has gone through at least one postnuptial molt, and a female with no sign of a 'V' on the coverts is a juvenile or yearling before her first postnuptial molt. By measuring the longest bill spot on the upper mandible of each known-age female, it was possible to determine the age of some female teal. Because the spots fade during the breeding season, no lower size limit could be set to delineate first-year females at that time of year, but any nest-trapped hen with a spot longer than 10 mm was considered to be older than 1 year. Upper and lower limits were also established to distinguish some yearlings and 2-year-olds in the fall.
The University of Montana's Blue Mountain Observatory
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Friend, D. B.
The University of Montana's Department of Physics and Astronomy runs the state of Montana's only professional astronomical observatory. The Observatory, located on nearby Blue Mountain, houses a 16 inch Boller and Chivens Cassegrain reflector (purchased in 1970), in an Ash dome. The Observatory sits just below the summit ridge, at an elevation of approximately 6300 feet. Our instrumentation includes an Op-Tec SSP-5A photoelectric photometer and an SBIG ST-9E CCD camera. We have the only undergraduate astronomy major in the state (technically a physics major with an astronomy option), so our Observatory is an important component of our students' education. Students have recently carried out observing projects on the photometry of variable stars and color photometry of open clusters and OB associations. In my poster I will show some of the data collected by students in their observing projects. The Observatory is also used for public open houses during the summer months, and these have become very popular: at times we have had 300 visitors in a single night.
Spectroscopy of Methylene Blue-Smectite Suspensions.
Jacobs; Schoonheydt
Aqueoussuspensions of different Na-smectite type clay minerals were exchanged with methylene blue (Mb) and analyzed by visible spectroscopy. The spectra show bands of two types of monomers, protonated Mb, Mb-dimers, and higher aggregates. Their relative importance and the bandwidth was found to depend on parameters such as the particle morphology, the degree of dispersion, and the extent and location of the layer charge of the smectite. This can be qualitatively explained by the relative importance of three types of interactions, Mb-surface, H(2)O-surface, and Mb-Mb interactions. For hectorite and laponite at small loadings, H(2)O-surface interactions are dominant. Mb-islands are formed with a characteristic monomer absorption at 653 nm. Monomers at the surface absorb at 670 nm as found in barasym and saponite. Wyoming bentonite takes an intermediate position. As the loading increases Mb-Mb and Mb-surface interactions become dominant, giving rise to monomers absorbing at 670 nm, dimers, and higher aggregates. The bandwidths of the absorption bands reflect the structure of the clay particle associates. Copyright 1999 Academic Press. PMID:10550246
Methylene blue-related corneal edema and iris discoloration.
Timucin, Ozgur Bulent; Karadag, Mehmet Fatih; Aslanci, Mehmet Emin; Baykara, Mehmet
We report the case of a 70-year-old female patient who developed corneal edema and iris discoloration following the inadvertent use of 1% methylene blue instead of 0.025% trypan blue to stain the anterior capsule during cataract phacoemulsification surgery. Copious irrigation was performed upon realization of incorrect dye use. Corneal edema and iris discoloration developed during the early postoperative period and persisted at 24-months follow-up. However, keratoplasty was not required. The intracameral use of 1% methylene blue has a cytotoxic effect on the corneal endothelium and iris epithelium. Copious irrigation for at least 30 min using an anterior chamber maintainer may improve outcomes. PMID:27224079
Ultra fast polymer network blue phase liquid crystals
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hussain, Zakir; Masutani, Akira; Danner, David; Pleis, Frank; Hollfelder, Nadine; Nelles, Gabriele; Kilickiran, Pinar
Polymer-stabilization of blue phase liquid crystal systems within a host polymer network are reported, which enables ultrafast switching flexible displays. Our newly developed method to stabilize the blue phase in an existing polymer network (e.g., that of a polymer network liquid crystal; PNLC) has shown wide temperature stability and fast response speeds. Systems where the blue phase is stabilized in an already existing polymer network are attractive candidates for ultrafast LCDs. The technology also promises to be applied to flexible PNLC and/or polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) displays using plastic substrate such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Blue Nile Rainfall Experiment: Validation Results
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gebremichael, M.
The accuracy of three widely-used, near-global, high-resolution satellite rainfall products (CMORPH, TMPA-RT v7, TMPA-RP v7) is assessed over the Blue Nile River Basin, a basin characterized by complex terrain and tropical monsoon. The assessment is made using dense experimental networks of rain gauges deployed at two, 0.25°×0.25°, sites that represent contrasting topographic features: the lowland plain (mean elevation of 719 m.a.s.l.) site and the highland mountain (mean elevation of 2268 m.a.s.l.). The investigation period covers the summer seasons of 2012 through 2014. Compared to the highland mountain site, the lowland plain site exhibits marked extremes of rain intensity, higher rain intensity, lower frequency of rain occurrence, and smaller seasonal rainfall accumulation. All the satellite products considered tend to overestimate the mean rainfall rate at the lowland plain site, but underestimate it at the highland mountain site. The satellite products miss more rainfall at the highland mountain site than at the lowland plain site. The satellite products underestimate the heavy rain rates at both sites. Both sites have uncertainty (root mean square error) values greater than 100% for 3 hour accumulations of less than 5 mm, or daily accumulations of less than 10 mm, and the uncertainty values decrease with increasing rainfall accumulation. Among the satellite products, CMORPH suffers from a large positive bias at the lowland plain site, and TMPA-RP and TMPA-RT miss a large number of rainfall events that contribute nearly half of the total rainfall at the lowland plain.
On the Triple Origin of Blue Stragglers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Perets, Hagai B.; Fabrycky, Daniel C.
Blue straggler stars (BSSs) are stars observed to be hotter and bluer than other stars with the same luminosity in their environment. As such they appear to be much younger than the rest of the stellar population. Two main channels have been suggested to produce such stars: (1) collisions between stars in clusters or (2) mass transfer between, or merger of, the components of primordial short-period binaries. Here we suggest a third scenario, in which the progenitors of BSSs are formed in primordial (or dynamically formed) hierarchical triple stars. In such configurations, the dynamical evolution of the triples through the Kozai mechanism and tidal friction can induce the formation of very close inner binaries. Angular momentum loss in a magnetized wind or stellar evolution could then lead to the merger of these binaries (or to mass transfer between them) and produce BSSs in binary (or triple) systems. We study this mechanism and its implications and show that it could naturally explain many of the characteristics of the BSS population in clusters, most notably the large binary fraction of long-period BSS binaries; their unique period-eccentricity distribution (with typical periods > 700 days); and the typical location of these BSSs in the color-magnitude diagram, far from the cluster turnoff point of their host clusters. We suggest that this scenario has a major (possibly dominant) role in the formation of BSSs in open clusters and give specific predictions for the BSSs population formed in this manner. We also note that triple systems may be the progenitors of the brightest planetary nebulae in old elliptical galaxies, which possibly evolved from BSSs.
White Arctic vs. Blue Arctic: Making Choices
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pfirman, S. L.; Newton, R.; Schlosser, P.; Pomerance, R.; Tremblay, B.; Murray, M. S.; Gerrard, M.
As the Arctic warms and shifts from icy white to watery blue and resource-rich, tension is arising between the desire to restore and sustain an ice-covered Arctic and stakeholder communities that hope to benefit from an open Arctic Ocean. If emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere continue on their present trend, most of the summer sea ice cover is projected to be gone by mid-century, i.e., by the time that few if any interventions could be in place to restore it. There are many local as well as global reasons for ice restoration, including for example, preserving the Arctic's reflectivity, sustaining critical habitat, and maintaining cultural traditions. However, due to challenges in implementing interventions, it may take decades before summer sea ice would begin to return. This means that future generations would be faced with bringing sea ice back into regions where they have not experienced it before. While there is likely to be interest in taking action to restore ice for the local, regional, and global services it provides, there is also interest in the economic advancement that open access brings. Dealing with these emerging issues and new combinations of stakeholders needs new approaches - yet environmental change in the Arctic is proceeding quickly and will force the issues sooner rather than later. In this contribution we examine challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities related to exploring options for restoring Arctic sea ice and potential pathways for their implementation. Negotiating responses involves international strategic considerations including security and governance, meaning that along with local communities, state decision-makers, and commercial interests, national governments will have to play central roles. While these issues are currently playing out in the Arctic, similar tensions are also emerging in other regions.
Improved wound healing in blue LED treated superficial abrasions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rossi, Francesca; Tatini, Francesca; Pini, Roberto; Bacci, Stefano; De Siena, Gaetano; Cicchi, Riccardo; Pavone, Francesco; Alfieri, Domenico
A blue-LED photocoagulator device was designed in order to induce a selective photocoagulation effect in superficial bleeding. An in vivo study in rat back skin evidenced an improved healing process in the LED treated abrasions.
Nested Paleozoic successor basins in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge
Tull, J.F.; Groszos, M.S. )
Field studies in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge and its southwest extension, the Talladega belt, indicate that in at least three regions, polydeformed and metamorphosed turbidite-dominated sequences unconformably overlie rifted-margin continental-terrace wedge clastic rocks and overlying carbonate-platform deposits. These sequences are (1) the Talladega Group (in the Talladega belt), (2) the Walden Creek Group (along the west flank of the Blue Ridge), and (3) the Mineral Bluff Formation (within the core of the Blue Ridge). Paleontologic evidence indicates that the Talladega and Walden Creek Groups are in part as young as Silurian-Devonian. The presence of these anomalously young sequences unconformably above the trailing-margin stratigraphy in the Blue Ridge brings into question conventional ideas of the timing and nature of the tectonic evolution of the ancient continental margin.
44. Blue Coal Corporation Office Building (foreground), Huber Breaker (left), ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
44. Blue Coal Corporation Office Building (foreground), Huber Breaker (left), Retail Coal Storage Bins (far center) Photograph taken by George Harven - Huber Coal Breaker, 101 South Main Street, Ashley, Luzerne County, PA
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
20. GROVE OF TREES -- PINES, MULBERRY, JUNIPER, BLUE SPRUCE -- TRANSPLANTED FROM NEW MEXICO MANZANO MOUNTAINS, WEST OF BUILDINGS 4 AND T-59, LOOKING NORTHWEST - U. S. Veterans Administration Medical Center, 2100 Ridgecrest Southeast, Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, NM
1. Historic American Buildings Survey From The Blue Book, Official ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
1. Historic American Buildings Survey From The Blue Book, Official Souvenir View Book Panama Pacific International Exposition - 1915 VIEW FROM THE EAST - Palace of Fine Arts, Baker Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
Valuing the European 'coastal blue carbon' storage benefit.
Luisetti, T; Jackson, E L; Turner, R K
'Blue' carbon ecosystems are important carbon storage providers that are currently not protected by any international mechanism, such as REDD. This study aims to contribute to raising awareness in the political domain about the 'blue' carbon issue. This analysis also provides guidance in terms of how to value stock and flows of ecosystem services adding to the debate begun by the Costanza et al. (1997) paper in Nature. Through scenario analysis we assess how human welfare benefits will be affected by changes in the European coastal blue carbon stock provision. The current extent of European coastal blue carbon has an accounting stock value of about US$180 million. If EU Environmental Protection Directives continue to be implemented and effectively enforced, society will gain an appreciating asset over time. However, a future policy reversal resulting in extensive ecosystem loss could mean economic value losses as high as US$1 billion by 2060. PMID:23623654
The toxicology of Octopus maculosa: the blue-ringed octopus.
Bonnet, M S
The biotoxicology of the Australian blue-ringed octopus is detailed with the view of introducing it as a remedy into the homoeopathic Materia Medica and stimulating the second step of proving this venom. PMID:10582647
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
MANCHESTER MILLS, PRINT WORKS: BLUE DYE AND SOAPING; PRINTING AND BLEACHING BUILDINGS. PHOTOCOPY OF c. 1905 VIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST. From the collection of Mr. George Durette, Photographer, Manchester, N. H. - Amoskeag Millyard, Canal Street, Manchester, Hillsborough County, NH
48. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
48. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA., Photographer, Date unknown SECTION THROUGH BUILDING, LOOKING NORTH - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
50. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
50. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angleles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown ENTRANCE AND TYPICAL BAY ON FLOWER STREET - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
45. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
45. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown SECOND FLOOR PLAN - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
44. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
44. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown FIRST FLOOR PLAN - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
53. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
53. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown DETAILS OF CORRIDORS ON SECOND - TWELFTH FLOORS - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
47. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
47. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angleles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown WEST ELEVATION - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
51. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
51. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown EXTERIOR, ELEVATION DETAILS - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
52. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
52. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown DETAILS OF MAIN FLOOR ELEVATOR LOBBY - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
49. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
49. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown SECTION THROUGH BUILDING, LOOKING EAST - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
46. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
46. Photocopy of drawing (Source unknown, 1928) Rapid Blue Print Co., Los Angeles, CA, Photographer, Date unknown NORTH ELEVATION - Richfield Oil Building, 555 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
View of secondfloor Blue Lodge lobby from the southwest. Left ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
View of second-floor Blue Lodge lobby from the southwest. Left door leads to the hallway to Norman Hall. Central door opens to the Egyptian Hall inner vestibule. - Masonic Temple, 1 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
Suzanne Newton's "I Will Call it Georgie's Blues".
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Scales, Pat
Summarizes Suzanne Newton's children's book, "I Will Call It Georgie's Blues." Includes discussion questions about the book, and a list of activities. Provides an annotated bibliography of fiction, picture books, nonfiction, and biography titles about jazz and jazz musicians. (AEF)
Beat the Winter Blues: Shedding Light on Seasonal Sadness
... exit disclaimer . Subscribe Beat the Winter Blues Shedding Light on Seasonal Sadness As the days get shorter, ... clock" responds to cues in your surroundings, especially light and darkness. During the day, your brain sends ...
Nested Paleozoic "successor" basins in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tull, James F.; Groszos, Mark S.
Field studies in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge and its southwest extension, the Talladega belt, indicate that in at least three regions, polydeformed and metamorphosed turbidite-dominated sequences unconformably overlie rifted-margin continental-terrace wedge clastic rocks and overlying carbonate-platform deposits. These sequences are (1) the Talladega Group (in the Talladega belt), (2) the Walden Creek Group (along the west flank of the Blue Ridge), and (3) the Mineral Bluff Formation (within the core of the Blue Ridge). Paleontologic evidence indicates that the Talladega and Walden Creek Groups are in part as young as Silurian-Devonian. The presence of these anomalously young sequences unconformably above the trailing-margin stratigraphy in the Blue Ridge brings into question conventional ideas of the timing and nature of the tectonic evolution of the ancient continental margin.
Exfoliation of Egyptian Blue and Han Blue, Two Alkali Earth Copper Silicate-based Pigments
Johnson-McDaniel, Darrah; Salguero, Tina T.
In a visualized example of the ancient past connecting with modern times, we describe the preparation and exfoliation of CaCuSi4O10 and BaCuSi4O10, the colored components of the historic Egyptian blue and Han blue pigments. The bulk forms of these materials are synthesized by both melt flux and solid-state routes, which provide some control over the crystallite size of the product. The melt flux process is time intensive, but it produces relatively large crystals at lower reaction temperatures. In comparison, the solid-state method is quicker yet requires higher reaction temperatures and yields smaller crystallites. Upon stirring in hot water, CaCuSi4O10 spontaneously exfoliates into monolayer nanosheets, which are characterized by TEM and PXRD. BaCuSi4O10 on the other hand requires ultrasonication in organic solvents to achieve exfoliation. Near infrared imaging illustrates that both the bulk and nanosheet forms of CaCuSi4O10 and BaCuSi4O10 are strong near infrared emitters. Aqueous CaCuSi4O10 and BaCuSi4O10 nanosheet dispersions are useful because they provide a new way to handle, characterize, and process these materials in colloidal form. PMID:24796494
Incidentally Detected Blue Nevus of Endocervix: a Case Report
Bhat, Shaila Talengala; Shivamurthy, Archana; Kini Rao, Anuradha Calicut
Blue nevi are uncommon, asymptomatic lesions of the uterine cervix. These lesions are not often detected clinically or on colposcopy. Careful histopathological examination is required. The nevus cells are said to originate from the immature melanoblasts of the neural crest. These lesions need to be differentiated from malignant melanoma and melanosis of the cervix. We present here a case report of incidentally detected cervical blue nevus in a 52 year old lady. PMID:26351493
Methylene blue treatment in experimental ischemic stroke: a mini review
Jiang, Zhao; Duong, Timothy Q
Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability. Methylene blue, a drug grandfathered by the Food and Drug Administration with a long history of safe usage in humans for treating methemoglobinemia and cyanide poisoning, has recently been shown to be neuroprotective in neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries. The goal of this paper is to review studies on methylene blue in experimental stroke models. PMID:27042692
Blue Mountain Lake, New York, earthquake of October 7, 1983.
Wendt, G.
The October 7 earthquake near Blue Mountain Lake in the central Adirondack Mountains registered a preliminary Richter magnitude of 5.2. It was widely felt throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada and occurred in an area that has been periodically shaken by earthquakes throughout recorded history. Since 1737, at least 346 felt earthquakes have occurred in New York; an earthquake of similar magnitude last shook the Blue Mountain Lake area on June 9, 1975.
Mica deposits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina
Lesure, Frank Gardner
Pegmatites in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina are important sources of sheet and scrap mica, feldspar, kaolin, and quartz. Small amounts of beryl, columbite-tantalite, monazite, samarskite, and uranium minerals also have been produced. The mica-bearing pegmatites occur in mica and hornblende gneiss and schist throughout the Blue Ridge province but are concentrated in the Spruce Pine and Franklin-Sylva districts.
Intense excitation source of blue-green laser
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Han, K. S.
An intense and efficient excitation source for blue-green lasers useful for the space-based satellite laser applications, underwater strategic communication, and measurement of ocean bottom profile is being developed. The source in use, hypocycloidal pinch plasma (HCP), and a newly designed dense-plasma focus (DPF) can produce intense UV photons (200 to 300 nm) which match the absorption spectra of both near UV and blue green dye lasers (300 to 400 nm). During the current project period, the successful enhancement of blue-green laser output of both Coumarin 503 and LD490 dye through the spectral conversion of the HCP pumping light has been achieved with a converter dye BBQ. The factor of enhancement in the blue-green laser output energy of both Coumarin 503 and LD490 is almost 73%. This enhancement will definitely be helpful in achieving the direct high power blue-green laser (> 1 MW) with the existing blue green dye laser. On the other hand the dense-plasma focus (DPF) with new optical coupling has been designed and constructed. For the optimization of the DPF device as the UV pumping light source, the velocity of current sheath and the formation of plasma focus have been measured as function of argon or argon-deuterium fill gas pressure. Finally, the blue-green dye laser (LD490) has been pumped with the DPF device for preliminary tests. Experimental results with the DPF device show that the velocity of the current sheath follows the inverse relation of sq st. of pressure as expected. The blue-green dye (LD490) laser output exceeded 3.1 m at the best cavity tuning of laser system. This corresponds to 3J/1 cu cm laser energy extraction.
Detection of Blue Screen Special Effects in Videos
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Xu, Junyu; Yu, Yanru; Su, Yuting; Dong, Bo; You, Xingang
A new approach to detect digital special effects of blue screen compositing is proposed in this paper. Based on the different qualities between the foreground and background, some statistical features of quantized discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients in the composited videos are extracted to expose the compositing operation. The experimental results show that our proposed algorithm can successfully detect the blue screen compositing in videos.
Electrochemistry of Prussian blue films on metal and semiconductor electrodes
Viehbeck, A.; DeBerry, D.W.
The electrochemical properties of Prussian blue films on Pt and spark anodized n-type TiO/sub 2/ electrodes were investigated. Evidence for four redox states for Prussian blue was obtained. While the oxidation of Everitt's salt to Prussian blue involves the high spin iron atoms, the oxidation of Prussian blue to Berlin green and Berlin green to Prussian yellow involves the low spin hexacyanoferrate groups. The Prussian blue/Everitt's salt redox system (E/sub 0/ = +0.2V vs. SCE) is the most stable and reversible couple. The diffusion coefficients for reduction and oxidation of this redox couple are 5.0 x 10/sup -9/ and 2.7 x 10/sup -9/ cm/sup 2//S, respectively. The photoelectrochromic behavior of Prussian blue on semiconductor TiO/sub 2/ electrodes is discussed. The films deposited on TiO/sub 2/ have short-circuit memory, and lateral color spreading through the film is slow. A light addressable electrochromic display is described.
Blue whale vocalizations recorded around New Zealand: 1964-2013.
Miller, Brian S; Collins, Kym; Barlow, Jay; Calderan, Susannah; Leaper, Russell; McDonald, Mark; Ensor, Paul; Olson, Paula A; Olavarria, Carlos; Double, Michael C
Previous underwater recordings made in New Zealand have identified a complex sequence of low frequency sounds that have been attributed to blue whales based on similarity to blue whale songs in other areas. Recordings of sounds with these characteristics were made opportunistically during the Southern Ocean Research Partnership's recent Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage. Detections of these sounds occurred all around the South Island of New Zealand during the voyage transits from Nelson, New Zealand to the Antarctic and return. By following acoustic bearings from directional sonobuoys, blue whales were visually detected and confirmed as the source of these sounds. These recordings, together with the historical recordings made northeast of New Zealand, indicate song types that persist over several decades and are indicative of the year-round presence of a population of blue whales that inhabits the waters around New Zealand. Measurements of the four-part vocalizations reveal that blue whale song in this region has changed slowly, but consistently over the past 50 years. The most intense units of these calls were detected as far south as 53°S, which represents a considerable range extension compared to the limited prior data on the spatial distribution of this population. PMID:24606296
Copper blue in an ancient glass bead: a XANES study
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Veiga, J. P.; Figueiredo, M. O.
The blue colour in ancient soda-lime glasses has been attributed to the presence of copper and/or cobalt but the origin of different shades is not yet fully interpreted. As a contribution to this question, a non-destructive X-ray absorption study at [ Cu]K-edge was undertaken on the blue (turquoise) layer from a "Nueva Cadiz" type tubular glass bead dated pre-XVII century where copper is the unique colouring agent. Minerals configuring two distinct blue tonalities due to Cu (2+) in similar square coordination were selected as basic model compounds: azurite, which is a classical navy-blue pigment used in ancient wall paintings over plaster, and chalcanthite, displaying exactly the same turquoise-blue tonality of tubular glass beads manufactured since the Egyptian Antiquity. Theoretical modelling of the XAFS spectra was undertaken using the FEFF code. The IFEFFIT software package was used for fitting the calculated spectra to experimental data. EXAFS results are discussed in view of the crystal structures of copper minerals chosen to model the speciation state and structural situation of that element prevailing in the turquoise-blue archaeological glass. Special attention is focused on the difficulties in theoretical modelling [ Cu]K-XANES spectra of ancient glasses with different colourings.
Blue Stragglers in Globular Clusters: Observations, Statistics and Physics
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Knigge, Christian
This chapter explores how we might use the observed statistics of blue stragglers in globular clusters to shed light on their formation. This means we will touch on topics also discussed elsewhere in this book, such as the discovery and implications of bimodal radial distributions and the "double sequences" of blue stragglers that have recently been found in some clusters. However, we will focus particularly on the search for a "smoking gun" correlation between the number of blue stragglers in a given globular cluster and a physical cluster parameter that would point towards a particular formation channel. As we shall see, there is little evidence for an intrinsic correlation between blue straggler numbers and stellar collision rates, even in dense cluster cores. On the other hand, there is a clear correlation between blue straggler numbers and the total (core) mass of the cluster. This would seem to point towards a formation channel involving binaries, rather than dynamical encounters. However, the correlation between blue straggler numbers and actual binary numbers—which relies on recently determined empirical binary fractions—is actually weaker than that with core mass. We explain how this surprising result may be reconciled with a binary formation channel if binary fractions depend almost uniquely on core mass. If this is actually the case, it would have significant implications for globular cluster dynamics more generally.
Final report on the safety assessment of disperse Blue 7.
Disperse Blue 7 is an anthraquinone dye used in cosmetics as a hair colorant in five hair dye and color products reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hair dyes containing Disperse Blue 7, as "coal tar" hair dye products, are exempt from the principal adulteration provision and from the color additive provision in sections 601 and 706 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 when the label bears a caution statement and "patch test" instructions for determining whether the product causes skin irritation. Disperse Blue 7 is also used as a textile dye. The components of Disperse Blue 7 reportedly include Disperse Turquoise ALF Granules, Disperse Turquoise LF2G, Reax 83A, Tamol SW, and Twitchell Oil. No data were available that addressed the acute, short-term, or chronic toxicity of Disperse Blue 7. A mouse lymph node assay used to predict the sensitization potential of Disperse Blue 7 was negative. Although most bacterial assays for genotoxicity were negative in the absence of metabolic activation, consistently positive results were found with metabolic activation in Salmonella strains TA1537, TA1538, and TA98, which were interpreted as indicative of point mutations. Studies using L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells appeared to confirm this mutagenic activity. Mammalian assays for chromosome damage, however, were negative and animal tests found no evidence of dominant lethal mutations. Cases reports describe patients patch tested with Disperse Blue 7 to determine the source of apparent adverse reactions to textiles. In most patients, patch tests were negative, but there are examples in which the patch test for Disperse Blue 7 was positive. In general, anthraquinone dyes are considered frequent causes of clothing dermatitis. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel determined that there was a paucity of data regarding the safety of Disperse Blue 7 as used in cosmetics. The following data are needed in order to arrive at a conclusion on the safety of
Structure of a Precursor to the Blue Components Produced in the Blue Discoloration in Japanese Radish (Raphanus sativus) Roots.
Teranishi, Katsunori; Masayasu, Nagata
The internal blue discoloration in Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus L.) roots has been reported to be a physiological phenomenon after harvest and poses a significant problem for farmers. To avoid this discoloration, the fundamental development of new radish cultivars that do not undergo discoloration and/or improved cultivation methods is required. Elucidating the chemical mechanism leading to this discoloration could help overcome these difficulties. To determine the mechanism underlying this discoloration, this study was designed to probe the structure of a precursor to the blue components generated during the discoloration process. Soaking fresh roots in aqueous H2O2 resulted in rapid blue discoloration, similar to the natural discoloration. Using a H2O2-based blue discoloration assay, the precursor was extracted and isolated from the fresh roots and identified as the glucosinolate, 4-hydroxyglucobrassicin, via spectroscopy and chemical synthesis. PMID:27128155
Red, White, and the Blues Part 3 of 4: The New Beat of the Blues: R&B
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cassinos-Carr, Cathy
When rhythm & blues--or, as it is more commonly called, R&B, was first born, it did not even have a name. Prior to 1949, all black popular music, including jazz, blues, and gospel, was known as "race music." But by the end of the 1940s, the music had become so successful that it gained a new-found respect--and Billboard magazine, realizing that…
Magnetic Properties of selected Prussian Blue Analogs
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Shrestha, Manjita
Prussian Blue Analogs (PBAs) of composition M[M(C,N)6 ] 2.xH2O are bimetallic cyanide complexes, where M and M are bivalent or trivalent transition metals and x is number of water molecule per unit cell. The PBAs form cubic framework structures, which consist mostly of alternating MIIIN6 and MIIC 6 octahedrals. However, occupancies of the octrahedrals are not perfect: they may be empty and the charges are balanced by the guest water molecules at the lattice site (C or N site) or the interstitial site (between the octahedrals) of the unit cell. Most (but not all) PBAs exhibit negative thermal expansion behavior, i.e. volume decrease with increasing temperature. Another area of interest in PBA research is the occurrence of unusual magnetic properties. Similar to other molecular magnets, large crystal-field splitting due to the octrahedral environment may result in a combination of low- or high-spin configurations of the localized magnetic moments, i.e. spin crossover effects may be found. My dissertation focuses on the magnetic properties of the selected 3d transition-metal PBAs, namely metal hexacyanochromates M3[Cr(C,N)6 ]2.xH2O, metal hexcyanoferrates M3[Fe(C,N)6]2.xH2O and metal hexcyanocobaltates M3[Co(C,N)6]2 .xH2O where M = Mn, Co, Ni and Cu. In particular, I analyzed the temperature and field dependencies of the bulk magnetic response of those PBAs. My results show that the magnetic susceptibility of all studied PBAs follows the Curie-Weiss behavior in the paramagnetic region up to room temperature; however, some of the compounds exhibit long-range magnetic order at lower temperatures (ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic). In particular, the data provide evidence for magnetic ground states for most of the metal hexacyanochromates and all of the metal hexacyanoferrates but none of the hexacyanocobaltates that were studied. For each of the compounds, my analysis provides a measure of the effective magnetic moment, which is then compared with the predicted
40 CFR 425.60 - Applicability; description of the through-the-blue subcategory.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
... through-the-blue subcategory. 425.60 Section 425.60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Through-the-Blue Subcategory § 425.60 Applicability; description of the through-the-blue subcategory. The... processes raw or cured cattle or cattle-like hides through the blue tanned state by hair pulp unhairing...
76 FR 81004 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: "Woman in Blue, Against...
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
... From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office ] DEPARTMENT OF STATE Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Woman in Blue, Against Blue Water..., 2003), I hereby determine that the object ``Woman in Blue, Against Blue Water'' by Edvard...
40 CFR 425.60 - Applicability; description of the through-the-blue subcategory.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
... through-the-blue subcategory. 425.60 Section 425.60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Through-the-Blue Subcategory § 425.60 Applicability; description of the through-the-blue subcategory. The... processes raw or cured cattle or cattle-like hides through the blue tanned state by hair pulp unhairing...
Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability
Hoekstra, Arjen Y.; Mekonnen, Mesfin M.; Chapagain, Ashok K.; Mathews, Ruth E.; Richter, Brian D.
Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996–2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity – as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins – can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption. PMID:22393438
Global monthly water scarcity: blue water footprints versus blue water availability.
Hoekstra, Arjen Y; Mekonnen, Mesfin M; Chapagain, Ashok K; Mathews, Ruth E; Richter, Brian D
Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996-2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity--as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins--can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption. PMID:22393438
Blue and grey water footprint of textile industry in China.
Wang, Laili; Ding, Xuemei; Wu, Xiongying
Water footprint (WF) is a newly developed idea that indicates impacts of freshwater appropriation and wastewater discharge. The textile industry is one of the oldest, longest and most complicated industrial chains in the world's manufacturing industries. However, the textile industry is also water intensive. In this paper, we applied a bottom-up approach to estimate the direct blue water footprint (WFdir,blue) and direct grey water footprint (WFdir,grey) of China's textile industry at sector level based on WF methodology. The results showed that WFdir,blue of China's textile industry had an increasing trend from 2001 to 2010. The annual WFdir,blue surpassed 0.92 Gm(3)/yr (giga cubic meter a year) since 2004 and rose to peak value of 1.09 Gm(3)/yr in 2007. The original and residuary WFdir,grey (both were calculated based on the concentration of chemical oxygen demand (CODCr)) of China's textile industry had a similar variation trend with that of WFdir,blue. Among the three sub-sectors of China's textile industry, the manufacture of textiles sector's annual WFdir,blue and WFdir,grey were much larger than those of the manufacture of textile wearing apparel, footware and caps sector and the manufacture of chemical fibers sector. The intensities of WFdir,blue and WF(res)dir,grey of China's textile industry were year by year decreasing through the efforts of issuing restriction policies on freshwater use and wastewater generation and discharge, and popularization of water saving and wastewater treatment technologies. PMID:24334900
Neurometabolic mechanisms for memory enhancement and neuroprotection of methylene blue
Rojas, Julio C.; Bruchey, Aleksandra K.; Gonzalez-Lima, F.
This paper provides the first review of the memory-enhancing and neuroprotective metabolic mechanisms of action of methylene blue in vivo. These mechanisms have important implications as a new neurobiological approach to improve normal memory and to treat memory impairment and neurodegeneration associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Methylene blue's action is unique because its neurobiological effects are not determined by regular drug-receptor interactions or drug-response paradigms. Methylene blue shows a hormetic dose-response, with opposite effects at low and high doses. At low doses, methylene blue is an electron cycler in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, with unparalleled antioxidant and cell respiration-enhancing properties that affect the function of the nervous system in a versatile manner. A major role of the respiratory enzyme cytochrome oxidase on the memory-enhancing effects of methylene blue is supported by available data. The memory-enhancing effects have been associated with improvement of memory consolidation in a network-specific and use-dependent fashion. In addition, low doses of methylene blue have also been used for neuroprotection against mitochondrial dysfunction in humans and experimental models of disease. The unique auto-oxidizing property of methylene blue and its pleiotropic effects on a number of tissue oxidases explain its potent neuroprotective effects at low doses. The evidence reviewed supports a mechanistic role of low-dose methylene blue as a promising and safe intervention for improving memory and for the treatment of acute and chronic conditions characterized by increased oxidative stress, neurodegeneration and memory impairment. PMID:22067440
Enhanced Deep Blue aerosol retrieval algorithm: The second generation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hsu, N. C.; Jeong, M.-J.; Bettenhausen, C.; Sayer, A. M.; Hansell, R.; Seftor, C. S.; Huang, J.; Tsay, S.-C.
The aerosol products retrieved using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) collection 5.1 Deep Blue algorithm have provided useful information about aerosol properties over bright-reflecting land surfaces, such as desert, semiarid, and urban regions. However, many components of the C5.1 retrieval algorithm needed to be improved; for example, the use of a static surface database to estimate surface reflectances. This is particularly important over regions of mixed vegetated and nonvegetated surfaces, which may undergo strong seasonal changes in land cover. In order to address this issue, we develop a hybrid approach, which takes advantage of the combination of precalculated surface reflectance database and normalized difference vegetation index in determining the surface reflectance for aerosol retrievals. As a result, the spatial coverage of aerosol data generated by the enhanced Deep Blue algorithm has been extended from the arid and semiarid regions to the entire land areas. In this paper, the changes made in the enhanced Deep Blue algorithm regarding the surface reflectance estimation, aerosol model selection, and cloud screening schemes for producing the MODIS collection 6 aerosol products are discussed. A similar approach has also been applied to the algorithm that generates the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Deep Blue products. Based upon our preliminary results of comparing the enhanced Deep Blue aerosol products with the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements, the expected error of the Deep Blue aerosol optical thickness (AOT) is estimated to be better than 0.05 + 20%. Using 10 AERONET sites with long-term time series, 79% of the best quality Deep Blue AOT values are found to fall within this expected error.
Hurricane preparedness: Current procedures at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida.
Devaney, Everett
This paper discusses experience, methodology and recommendations for successful business continuity and disaster recovery planning for health care organisations. Hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters are a regular occurrence in Florida. Low-lying coastal areas are at increased risk, with populations in inland areas as far as 200-300 miles with potential to suffer heavy damage. This case study shows how one institution, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, provides and maintains emergency response plans for critical functions, services or processes before, during and after a disaster, in support of its 8.3 million customers, its stakeholders and colleagues such as providers and vendors. Even though modern tracking gives fair warning regarding hurricanes, the use of specific and tested emergency response planning is critical to allow business continuity decision-making well before disaster strikes. This study examines how functional units within a health care organisation can plan and prepare to protect the public who depend on their services and resources, as well as minimise the risk to employees and business stakeholders. Coordination of a Contingency Response Team (within the functional units) and an Enterprise Operations Centre must be well managed to minimise adverse customer service disruptions and at the same time minimise impact to the company. Decision making and communications are strictly organised to protect stakeholders, make temporary business rule changes, allow for alternative business processes and handle benefit decisions, following methodology known, tested and used in past scenarios. In summary, the paper explores key points to achieve active and engaged business continuity in the face of natural disasters - (1) planning & coordination, (2) monitoring, (3) response/activation and (4) recovery. PMID:21339100
Biomedical applications and chemical nature of three dyes first synthesized by Raphael Meldola: isamine blue, Meldola's blue and naphthol green B.
Hope-Roberts, M; Horobin, R W
Brief accounts are given of the chemical nature, and past and current biomedical applications of three dyes first synthesized by Raphael Meldola: isamine blue, Meldola's blue and naphthol green B. PMID:22149360
Genomic copy number analysis of a spectrum of blue nevi identifies recurrent aberrations of entire chromosomal arms in melanoma ex blue nevus.
Chan, May P; Andea, Aleodor A; Harms, Paul W; Durham, Alison B; Patel, Rajiv M; Wang, Min; Robichaud, Patrick; Fisher, Gary J; Johnson, Timothy M; Fullen, Douglas R
Blue nevi may display significant atypia or undergo malignant transformation. Morphologic diagnosis of this spectrum of lesions is notoriously difficult, and molecular tools are increasingly used to improve diagnostic accuracy. We studied copy number aberrations in a cohort of cellular blue nevi, atypical cellular blue nevi, and melanomas ex blue nevi using Affymetrix's OncoScan platform. Cases with sufficient DNA were analyzed for GNAQ, GNA11, and HRAS mutations. Copy number aberrations were detected in 0 of 5 (0%) cellular blue nevi, 3 of 12 (25%) atypical cellular blue nevi, and 6 of 9 (67%) melanomas ex blue nevi. None of the atypical cellular blue nevi displayed more than one aberration, whereas complex aberrations involving four or more regions were seen exclusively in melanomas ex blue nevi. Gains and losses of entire chromosomal arms were identified in four of five melanomas ex blue nevi with copy number aberrations. In particular, gains of 1q, 4p, 6p, and 8q, and losses of 1p and 4q were each found in at least two melanomas. Whole chromosome aberrations were also common, and represented the sole finding in one atypical cellular blue nevus. When seen in melanomas, however, whole chromosome aberrations were invariably accompanied by partial aberrations of other chromosomes. Three melanomas ex blue nevi harbored aberrations, which were absent or negligible in their precursor components, suggesting progression in tumor biology. Gene mutations involving GNAQ and GNA11 were each detected in two of eight melanomas ex blue nevi. In conclusion, copy number aberrations are more common and often complex in melanomas ex blue nevi compared with cellular and atypical cellular blue nevi. Identification of recurrent gains and losses of entire chromosomal arms in melanomas ex blue nevi suggests that development of new probes targeting these regions may improve detection and risk stratification of these lesions. PMID:26743478
Sustainable Life on the Blue Frontier
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Helvarg, D.
the 1950s suggest we now have the technological capacity for a new energy transition to non-carbon systems including photovoltaics, wind-turbines, biofuels and hydrogen fuel-cells. A (largely) hydrogen based economy could also lead to a decentralized power grid less vulnerable to terrorism and the increased natural disasters we can expect in the coming greenhouse century. Sustainable development of limited resources and the shift to renewable forms of agriculture, water-planning, energy and other technologies will ultimately depend not simply on earth science, but on a highly political process which will (hopefully) combine the best-available science, and society's values to determine public policy that benefits the long-term interests of our blue planet's varied residents, recognizing that our economy is a fully owned subsidiary of our environment.
The BlueSky Smoke Modeling Framework: Recent Developments
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sullivan, D. C.; Larkin, N.; Raffuse, S. M.; Strand, T.; ONeill, S. M.; Leung, F. T.; Qu, J. J.; Hao, X.
BlueSky systems—a set of decision support tools including SmartFire and the BlueSky Framework—aid public policy decision makers and scientific researchers in evaluating the air quality impacts of fires. Smoke and fire managers use BlueSky systems in decisions about prescribed burns and wildland firefighting. Air quality agencies use BlueSky systems to support decisions related to air quality regulations. We will discuss a range of recent improvements to the BlueSky systems, as well as examples of applications and future plans. BlueSky systems have the flexibility to accept basic fire information from virtually any source and can reconcile multiple information sources so that duplication of fire records is eliminated. BlueSky systems currently apply information from (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Hazard Mapping System (HMS), which represents remotely sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES); (2) the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) interagency project, which derives fire perimeters from Landsat 30-meter burn scars; (3) the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GeoMAC), which produces helicopter-flown burn perimeters; and (4) ground-based fire reports, such as the ICS-209 reports managed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Efforts are currently underway to streamline the use of additional ground-based systems, such as states' prescribed burn databases. BlueSky systems were recently modified to address known uncertainties in smoke modeling associated with (1) estimates of biomass consumption derived from sparse fuel moisture data, and (2) models of plume injection heights. Additional sources of remotely sensed data are being applied to address these issues as follows: - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
Scibelli, Samantha; Newberg, Heidi Jo; Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Yanny, Brian
We present a census of the 12,060 spectra of blue objects ((g – r){sub 0} < –0.25) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 (DR8). As part of the data release, all of the spectra were cross-correlated with 48 template spectra of stars, galaxies, and QSOs to determine the best match. We compared the blue spectra by eye to the templates assigned in SDSS DR8. 10,856 of the objects matched their assigned template, 170 could not be classified due to low signal-to-noise ratio, and 1034 were given new classifications. We identify 7458 DA white dwarfs, 1145 DB white dwarfs, 273 rarer white dwarfs (including carbon, DZ, DQ, and magnetic), 294 subdwarf O stars, 648 subdwarf B stars, 679 blue horizontal branch stars, 1026 blue stragglers, 13 cataclysmic variables, 129 white dwarf-M dwarf binaries, 36 objects with spectra similar to DO white dwarfs, 179, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and 10 galaxies. We provide two tables of these objects, sample spectra that match the templates, figures showing all of the spectra that were grouped by eye, and diagnostic plots that show the positions, colors, apparent magnitudes, proper motions, etc., for each classification. Future surveys will be able to use templates similar to stars in each of the classes we identify to automatically classify blue stars, including rare types.
The Associated Sferics of the ISUAL Blue Luminous Events
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Chou, J. K.; Hsu, R. R.; Su, H. T.; Chen, A. B. C.; Kuo, C. L.; Huang, S. M.; Chang, S. C.; Wu, Y. J.; Kang-Ming, P.; Frey, H. U.; Takahashi, Y.; Lee, L. C.
ISUAL has recorded many mystic blue luminous events (BLEs) that emit clear middle ultraviolet to blue emissions (230-450 nm) but contain dim red emissions (653-754 nm). Most BLEs appear to be dot-like on the ISUAL images, and a few BLEs develop further into blue jets or type II gigantic jets (GJs). The associated sferics of the BLEs in the extremely low frequency to the very low frequency (ELF/VLF) band and the low frequency (LF) band exhibit similar features to those of the VLF/LF waveform for the narrow bipolar events (NBEs). The ISUAL BLE is conjectured to be the accompanied light emissions from the NBE-like event. Both positive and negative discharge polarity-types for the BLEs have been found. Based on the sferics and the ISUAL optical data, a NBE-like event is found to be related to a rapidly-flowing current of the initiation discharge in the thunderstorm, while a blue jet or a type II GJ is suggested to be associated with the slowly-varying current of the ensuing discharge. The selected six blue jets and one type II GJ occurring within 3,500 km from the NCKU sferics-detecting stations are inferred to be positive upward discharges. The spectral characteristics of BLEs resemble those of the emissions mostly from the non-thermal air plasmas produced by the locally-enhanced electric field, rather than those from the hot air plasmas in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE).
Census of Blue Stars in SDSS DR8
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Scibelli, Samantha; Newberg, Heidi Jo; Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Yanny, Brian
We present a census of the 12,060 spectra of blue objects ((g - r)0 < -0.25) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 (DR8). As part of the data release, all of the spectra were cross-correlated with 48 template spectra of stars, galaxies, and QSOs to determine the best match. We compared the blue spectra by eye to the templates assigned in SDSS DR8. 10,856 of the objects matched their assigned template, 170 could not be classified due to low signal-to-noise ratio, and 1034 were given new classifications. We identify 7458 DA white dwarfs, 1145 DB white dwarfs, 273 rarer white dwarfs (including carbon, DZ, DQ, and magnetic), 294 subdwarf O stars, 648 subdwarf B stars, 679 blue horizontal branch stars, 1026 blue stragglers, 13 cataclysmic variables, 129 white dwarf-M dwarf binaries, 36 objects with spectra similar to DO white dwarfs, 179, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and 10 galaxies. We provide two tables of these objects, sample spectra that match the templates, figures showing all of the spectra that were grouped by eye, and diagnostic plots that show the positions, colors, apparent magnitudes, proper motions, etc., for each classification. Future surveys will be able to use templates similar to stars in each of the classes we identify to automatically classify blue stars, including rare types.
Three-dimensional colloidal crystals in liquid crystalline blue phases
Ravnik, Miha; Alexander, Gareth P.; Yeomans, Julia M.; Žumer, Slobodan
Applications for photonic crystals and metamaterials put stringent requirements on the characteristics of advanced optical materials, demanding tunability, high Q factors, applicability in visible range, and large-scale self-assembly. Exploiting the interplay between structural and optical properties, colloidal lattices embedded in liquid crystals (LCs) are promising candidates for such materials. Recently, stable two-dimensional colloidal configurations were demonstrated in nematic LCs. However, the question as to whether stable 3D colloidal structures can exist in an LC had remained unanswered. We show, by means of computer modeling, that colloidal particles can self-assemble into stable, 3D, periodic structures in blue phase LCs. The assembly is based on blue phases providing a 3D template of trapping sites for colloidal particles. The particle configuration is determined by the orientational order of the LC molecules: Specifically, face-centered cubic colloidal crystals form in type-I blue phases, whereas body-centered crystals form in type-II blue phases. For typical particle diameters (approximately 100 nm) the effective binding energy can reach up to a few 100 kBT, implying robustness against mechanical stress and temperature fluctuations. Moreover, the colloidal particles substantially increase the thermal stability range of the blue phases, for a factor of two and more. The LC-supported colloidal structure is one or two orders of magnitude stronger bound than, e.g., water-based colloidal crystals. PMID:21368186
Blue whale habitat and prey in the California Channel Islands
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fiedler, Paul C.; Reilly, Stephen B.; Hewitt, Roger P.; Demer, David; Philbrick, Valerie A.; Smith, Susan; Armstrong, Wesley; Croll, Donald A.; Tershy, Bernie R.; Mate, Bruce R.
Whale Habitat and Prey Studies were conducted off southern California during August 1995 (WHAPS95) and July 1996 (WHAPS96) to (1) study the distribution and activities of blue whales and other large whales, (2) survey the distribution of prey organisms (krill), and (3) measure physical and biological habitat variables that influence the distribution of whales and prey. A total of 1307 cetacean sightings included 460 blue whale, 78 fin whale and 101 humpback whale sightings. Most blue whales were found in cold, well-mixed and productive water that had upwelled along the coast north of Point Conception and then advected south. They were aggregated in this water near San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, where they fed on dense, subsurface layers of euphausiids both on the shelf and extending off the shelf edge. Two species of euphausiids were consumed by blue whales, Thysanoessa spinifera and Euphausia pacifica, with evidence of preference for the former, a larger and more coastal species. These krill patches on the Channel Island feeding grounds are a resource exploited during summer-fall by the world's largest stock of blue whales.
Blue Dravite from the Szklary Pegmatite (Lower Silesia, Poland)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pieczka, Adam
Blue-coloured tourmaline occurring in the Szklary pegmatite forms the outermost zone in some zoned tourmaline crystals. This tourmaline is an Al-bearing dravite poor in Ti, Mn and F, whereas the crystal core is, in contrast, an Al-bearing schorl with significantly higher Ti. The visible blue tint is the result of a reduction in the quantity of Fe2↔Ti4+ electron transitions, probably also responsible for the yellowish tint of the core. In the Fe-Mg-Altotal system, the compositions of tourmaline varieties showing blue tints are shifted along the border of the miscibility gap into the field of tourmalines occurring in Al-rich metapelites and metapsammites. The formation of the blue dravite within the Szklary dike can be explained in a similar way to that of blue dravites from Li-poor granitic pegmatites in the Moldanubicum (the Czech Republic). Both minerals originated by direct replacement of cordierite (found also in the border zone of the Szklary dike) reacting with pegmatite-derived, acidic, B-rich fluids.
Spectrophotometric determination of nitrite and nitrate using phosphomolybdenum blue complex.
Zatar, N A; Abu-Eid, M A; Eid, A F
A method for spectrophotometric determination of nitrite and nitrate is described. This method is based on the reduction of phosphomolybdic acid to phosphomolybdenum blue complex by sodium sulfide. The obtained phosphomolybdenum blue complex is oxidized by the addition of nitrite and this causes a reduction in intensity of the blue color. The absolute decrease in the absorbance of the blue color or the rate of its decrease is found to be directly proportional to the amount of nitrite added. The absorbance of the phosphomolybdenum blue complex is monitored spectrophotometrically at 814 nm and related to the concentration of nitrite present. The effect of different factors such as acidity, stability of the complex, time, temperature, phosphate concentration, molybdenum concentration, sodium sulfide concentration and the tolerance amount of other ions have been reported. Maximum absorbance is at 814 nm. The range of linearity using the conventional method is 0.5-2.0 ppm with molar absorptivity of 1.1 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1). and a relative standard deviation of 2.6% for five measurements. The range of linearity using the reaction rate method is 0.2-3.6 ppm with a relative standard deviation of 2.4% for five measurements. The method is applied for determination of nitrite and nitrate in water, meat products and vegetables. PMID:18967772
Toluidine blue color perception in identification of oral mucosal lesions.
Güneri, Pelin; Epstein, Joel B; Ergün, Selin; Boyacioğlu, Hayal
The objective of this study is to examine observer agreement on the rank of the color tones after toluidine blue staining of a mucosal lesion. Cohort study with repeated measures is the design of the study. Twenty observers ranked and scored 8 specified areas on the color images of a lesion before and after toluidine blue application in two sessions. Inter and intra-observer variations were analyzed with Cohen's kappa. The L* (the black-white axis), a* (red-green axis), and b* (yellow-blue axis) values were measured and set as the gold standards. Intra and inter-observer agreements were к = 0.86 and к = 0.854. All color parameters were effective on the color ranking order (pL* = 0.00, pa* = 0.007, pb* = 0.00), although L* and b* were more effective on the ranking of the samples than a*. Areas that appeared pale blue visually had a significant blue component, but the observers were confused with the effect of whiteness of the area in clinical decision making. PMID:20336473
Effects of blue light on pigment biosynthesis of Monascus.
Chen, Di; Xue, Chunmao; Chen, Mianhua; Wu, Shufen; Li, Zhenjing; Wang, Changlu
The influence of different illumination levels of blue light on the growth and intracellular pigment yields of Monascus strain M9 was investigated. Compared with darkness, constant exposure to blue light of 100 lux reduced the yields of six pigments, namely, rubropunctatamine (RUM), monascorubramine (MOM), rubropunctatin (RUN), monascorubrin (MON), monascin (MS), and ankaflavin (AK). However, exposure to varying levels of blue light had different effects on pigment production. Exposure to 100 lux of blue light once for 30 min/day and to 100 lux of blue light once and twice for 15 min/day could enhance RUM, MOM, MS, and AK production and reduce RUN and MON compared with non-exposure. Exposure to 100 lux twice for 30 min/day and to 200 lux once for 45 min/day decreased the RUM, MOM, MS, and AK yields and increased the RUN and MON. Meanwhile, the expression levels of pigment biosynthetic genes were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR. Results indicated that gene MpPKS5, mppR1, mppA, mppB, mmpC, mppD, MpFasA, MpFasB, and mppF were positively correlated with the yields of RUN and MON, whereas mppE and mppR2 were associated with RUM, MOM, MS, and AK production. PMID:27033206
Proteomics meets blue biotechnology: a wealth of novelties and opportunities.
Hartmann, Erica M; Durighello, Emie; Pible, Olivier; Nogales, Balbina; Beltrametti, Fabrizio; Bosch, Rafael; Christie-Oleza, Joseph A; Armengaud, Jean
Blue biotechnology, in which aquatic environments provide the inspiration for various products such as food additives, aquaculture, biosensors, green chemistry, bioenergy, and pharmaceuticals, holds enormous promise. Large-scale efforts to sequence aquatic genomes and metagenomes, as well as campaigns to isolate new organisms and culture-based screenings, are helping to push the boundaries of known organisms. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics can complement 16S gene sequencing in the effort to discover new organisms of potential relevance to blue biotechnology by facilitating the rapid screening of microbial isolates and by providing in depth profiles of the proteomes and metaproteomes of marine organisms, both model cultivable isolates and, more recently, exotic non-cultivable species and communities. Proteomics has already contributed to blue biotechnology by identifying aquatic proteins with potential applications to food fermentation, the textile industry, and biomedical drug development. In this review, we discuss historical developments in blue biotechnology, the current limitations to the known marine biosphere, and the ways in which mass spectrometry can expand that knowledge. We further speculate about directions that research in blue biotechnology will take given current and near-future technological advancements in mass spectrometry. PMID:24780860
Physics of the Blues: Music, Fourier and Wave - Particle Duality
Gibson, J. Murray
Art and science are intimately connected. There is probably no art that reveals this more than music. Music can be used as a tool to teach physics and engineering to non-scientists, illustrating such diverse concepts as Fourier analysis and quantum mechanics. This colloquium is aimed in reverse, to explain some interesting aspects of music to physicists. Topics include: What determines the frequency of notes on a musical scale? What is harmony and why would Fourier care? Where did the blues come from? (We' re talking the 'physics of the blues', and not 'the blues of physics' - that's another colloquium). Is there a musical particle? The presentation will be accompanied by live keyboard demonstrations. The presenter will attempt to draw tenuous connections between the subject of his talk and his day job as Director of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.
Better to be red than blue in virtual competition.
Ilie, Andrei; Ioan, Silvia; Zagrean, Leon; Moldovan, Mihai
In the 2004 Olympic Games, opponents wearing red athletic uniforms were more likely to win against opponents wearing blue uniforms. To investigate whether this color bias extends to the world of virtual competition, we compared the performance of red and blue teams in a popular multiplayer first-person-shooter (FPS) computer game. For 3 consecutive months, we collected data from a publicly available global statistics server. Outcomes from 1,347 matches played by the top 10 players on the same virtual arena were included. Red teams won 54.9% of matches, and this effect was highly significant. Our data suggest that joining the red team may offer a slight advantage over the blue team in virtual competition, and this should be accounted for when designing FPS games. It is likely that "seeing red" may trigger a powerful psychological distractor signal in human aggressive competition that can affect the outcome of sports and virtual contests alike. PMID:18537513
Blue light irradiation suppresses dendritic cells activation in vitro.
Fischer, Michael R; Abel, Manuela; Lopez Kostka, Susanna; Rudolph, Berenice; Becker, Detlef; von Stebut, Esther
Blue light is a UV-free irradiation suitable for treating chronic skin inflammation, for example, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and hand- and foot eczema. However, a better understanding of the mode of action is still missing. For this reason, we investigated whether dendritic cells (DC) are directly affected by blue light irradiation in vitro. Here, we report that irradiation neither induced apoptosis nor maturation of monocyte-derived and myeloid DC. However, subsequent DC maturation upon LPS/IFNγ stimulation was impaired in a dose-dependent manner as assessed by maturation markers and cytokine release. Moreover, the potential of this DC to induce cytokine secretion from allogeneic CD4 T cells was reduced. In conclusion, unlike UV irradiation, blue light irradiation at high and low doses only resulted in impaired DC maturation upon activation and a reduced subsequent stimulatory capacity in allogeneic MLRs with strongest effects at higher doses. PMID:23879817
[Immunostimulating activity of the lipopolysaccharides of blue-green algae].
Besednova, N N; Smolina, T P; Mikheĭskaia, L V; Ovodova, R G
The whole cells of blue-gree algae and lipopolysaccharides isolated from these cells were shown to stimulate the production of macro-(mainly) and microglobulin antibodies in rabbits. The macro- and microphage indices in rabbits increased significantly after the injection of LPS isolated from blue-green algae 24--48 hours before infecting the animals with a virulent Y. pseudotuberculosis strain. Besides, the inhibiting action of this strain on the migration of phagocytes to the site of infection was abolished immediately after the injection. The use of the indirect hemagglutination test allowed to prove the absence of close antigenic interrelations between blue-green algae and the following organisms: Spirulina platensis, Microcystis aeruginosa, Phormidium africanum and P. uncinatum. PMID:117655
Improving code blue response through the use of simulation.
Huseman, Kelley F
In this research project, the response times to chest compressions, first defibrillation, and first dose of epinephrine in cardiac arrest were measured over a 3-month period through retrospective chart reviews. All nursing staff then participated in random, unannounced mock code blue drills using a high-fidelity patient simulator. After 3 months of code blue drills, the variables were again measured in patient code blue situations and compared with the response times before training. At the conclusion of this study, the response times for start of chest compressions and epinephrine administration improved significantly; the response time to defibrillation did not improve significantly. The response times were measured for an additional 3-month period to assess if the improvement was sustained. PMID:22617782
McQuinn, Kristen B. W.; Skillman, Evan D.; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; Weisz, Daniel R.; Williams, Benjamin F.; Dolphin, Andrew E.; Holtzman, Jon
We derive the optical luminosity, colors, and ratios of the blue and red helium burning (HeB) stellar populations from archival Hubble Space Telescope observations of nineteen starburst dwarf galaxies and compare them with theoretical isochrones from Padova stellar evolution models across metallicities from Z = 0.001 to 0.009. We find that the observational data and the theoretical isochrones for both blue and red HeB populations overlap in optical luminosities and colors and the observed and predicted blue to red HeB ratios agree for stars older than 50 Myr over the time bins studied. These findings confirm the usefulness of applying isochrones to interpret observations of HeB populations. However, there are significant differences, especially for the red HeB population. Specifically, we find (1) offsets in color between the observations and theoretical isochrones of order 0.15 mag (0.5 mag) for the blue (red) HeB populations brighter than M{sub V} {approx} -4 mag, which cannot be solely due to differential extinction; (2) blue HeB stars fainter than M{sub V} {approx} -3 mag are bluer than predicted; (3) the slope of the red HeB sequence is shallower than predicted by a factor of {approx}3; and (4) the models overpredict the ratio of the most luminous blue to red HeB stars corresponding to ages {approx}< 50 Myr. Additionally, we find that for the more metal-rich galaxies in our sample (Z {approx}> 0.5 Z{sub sun}), the red HeB stars overlap with the red giant branch stars in the color-magnitude diagrams, thus reducing their usefulness as indicators of star formation for ages {approx}> 100 Myr.
Circadian Rhythms in Stomatal Responsiveness to Red and Blue Light.
Gorton, H. L.; Williams, W. E.; Assmann, S. M.
Stomata of many plants have circadian rhythms in responsiveness to environmental cues as well as circadian rhythms in aperture. Stomatal responses to red light and blue light are mediated by photosynthetic photoreceptors; responses to blue light are additionally controlled by a specific blue-light photoreceptor. This paper describes circadian rhythmic aspects of stomatal responsiveness to red and blue light in Vicia faba. Plants were exposed to a repeated light:dark regime of 1.5:2.5 h for a total of 48 h, and because the plants could not entrain to this short light:dark cycle, circadian rhythms were able to "free run" as if in continuous light. The rhythm in the stomatal conductance established during the 1.5-h light periods was caused both by a rhythm in sensitivity to light and by a rhythm in the stomatal conductance established during the preceding 2.5-h dark periods. Both rhythms peaked during the middle of the subjective day. Although the stomatal response to blue light is greater than the response to red light at all times of day, there was no discernible difference in period, phase, or amplitude of the rhythm in sensitivity to the two light qualities. We observed no circadian rhythmicity in net carbon assimilation with the 1.5:2.5 h light regime for either red or blue light. In continuous white light, small rhythmic changes in photosynthetic assimilation were observed, but at relatively high light levels, and these appeared to be attributable largely to changes in internal CO2 availability governed by stomatal conductance. PMID:12231947
Temporal dynamics of blue and green virtual water trade networks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Konar, M.; Dalin, C.; Hanasaki, N.; Rinaldo, A.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.
Global food security increasingly relies on the trade of food commodities. Freshwater resources are essential to agricultural production and are thus embodied in the trade of food commodities, referred to as "virtual water trade." Agricultural production predominantly relies on rainwater (i.e., "green water"), though irrigation (i.e., "blue water") does play an important role. These different sources of water have distinctly different opportunity costs, which may be reflected in the way these resources are traded. Thus, the temporal dynamics of the virtual water trade networks from these distinct water sources require characterization. We find that 42 × 109 m3 blue and 310 × 109 m3 green water was traded in 1986, growing to 78 × 109 m3 blue and 594 × 109 m3 green water traded in 2008. Three nations dominate the export of green water resources: the USA, Argentina, and Brazil. As a country increases its export trade partners it tends to export relatively more blue water. However, as a country increases its import trade partners it does not preferentially import water from a specific source. The amount of virtual water that a country imports by increasing its import trade partners has been decreasing over time, with the exception of the soy trade. Both blue and green virtual water networks are efficient: 119 × 109 m3 blue and 105 × 109 m3 green water were saved in 2008. Importantly, trade has been increasingly saving water over time, due to the intensification of crop trade on more water-efficient links.
Temporal dynamics of blue and green virtual water trade networks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Konar, M.; Dalin, C.; Hanasaki, N.; Rinaldo, A.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.
Global food security increasingly relies on the trade of food commodities. Freshwater resources are essential to agricultural production and are thus embodied in the trade of food commodities, referred to as "virtual water trade." Agricultural production predominantly relies on rainwater (i.e., "green water"), though irrigation (i.e., "blue water") does play an important role. These different sources of water have distinctly different opportunity costs, which may be reflected in the way these resources are traded. Thus, the temporal dynamics of the virtual water trade networks from these distinct water sources require characterization. We find that 42 × 109 m3 blue and 310 × 109 m3 green water was traded in 1986, growing to 78 × 109 m3 blue and 594 × 109 m3 green water traded in 2008. Three nations dominate the export of green water resources: the USA, Argentina, and Brazil. As a country increases its export trade partners it tends to export relatively more blue water. However, as a country increases its import trade partners it does not preferentially import water from a specific source. The amount of virtual water that a country imports by increasing its import trade partners has been decreasing over time, with the exception of the soy trade. Both blue and green virtual water networks are efficient: 119 × 109 m3 blue and 105 × 109 m3 green water were saved in 2008. Importantly, trade has been increasingly saving water over time, due to the intensification of crop trade on more water-efficient links.
A comprehensive analysis of small-passerine fatalities from collision with turbines at wind energy facilities.
Erickson, Wallace P; Wolfe, Melissa M; Bay, Kimberly J; Johnson, Douglas H; Gehring, Joelle L
Small passerines, sometimes referred to as perching birds or songbirds, are the most abundant bird group in the United States (US) and Canada, and the most common among bird fatalities caused by collision with turbines at wind energy facilities. We used data compiled from 116 studies conducted in the US and Canada to estimate the annual rate of small-bird fatalities. It was necessary for us to calculate estimates of small-bird fatality rates from reported all-bird rates for 30% of studies. The remaining 70% of studies provided data on small-bird fatalities. We then adjusted estimates to account for detection bias and loss of carcasses from scavenging. These studies represented about 15% of current operating capacity (megawatts [MW]) for all wind energy facilities in the US and Canada and provided information on 4,975 bird fatalities, of which we estimated 62.5% were small passerines comprising 156 species. For all wind energy facilities currently in operation, we estimated that about 134,000 to 230,000 small-passerine fatalities from collision with wind turbines occur annually, or 2.10 to 3.35 small birds/MW of installed capacity. When adjusted for species composition, this indicates that about 368,000 fatalities for all bird species are caused annually by collisions with wind turbines. Other human-related sources of bird deaths, (e.g., communication towers, buildings [including windows]), and domestic cats) have been estimated to kill millions to billions of birds each year. Compared to continent-wide population estimates, the cumulative mortality rate per year by species was highest for black-throated blue warbler and tree swallow; 0.043% of the entire population of each species was estimated to annually suffer mortality from collisions with turbines. For the eighteen species with the next highest values, this estimate ranged from 0.008% to 0.038%, much lower than rates attributed to collisions with communication towers (1.2% to 9.0% for top twenty species). PMID
Inferences about population dynamics from count data using multi-state models: a comparison to capture-recapture approaches
Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Zipkin, Elise; Scott, Sillett T.; Chandler, Richard; Royle, J. Andrew
Wildlife populations consist of individuals that contribute disproportionately to growth and viability. Understanding a population's spatial and temporal dynamics requires estimates of abundance and demographic rates that account for this heterogeneity. Estimating these quantities can be difficult, requiring years of intensive data collection. Often, this is accomplished through the capture and recapture of individual animals, which is generally only feasible at a limited number of locations. In contrast, N-mixture models allow for the estimation of abundance, and spatial variation in abundance, from count data alone. We extend recently developed multistate, open population N-mixture models, which can additionally estimate demographic rates based on an organism's life history characteristics. In our extension, we develop an approach to account for the case where not all individuals can be assigned to a state during sampling. Using only state-specific count data, we show how our model can be used to estimate local population abundance, as well as density-dependent recruitment rates and state-specific survival. We apply our model to a population of black-throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) that have been surveyed for 25 years on their breeding grounds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. The intensive data collection efforts allow us to compare our estimates to estimates derived from capture–recapture data. Our model performed well in estimating population abundance and density-dependent rates of annual recruitment/immigration. Estimates of local carrying capacity and per capita recruitment of yearlings were consistent with those published in other studies. However, our model moderately underestimated annual survival probability of yearling and adult females and severely underestimates survival probabilities for both of these male stages. The most accurate and precise estimates will necessarily require some amount of intensive
A Comprehensive Analysis of Small-Passerine Fatalities from Collision with Turbines at Wind Energy Facilities
Erickson, Wallace P.; Wolfe, Melissa M.; Bay, Kimberly J.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Gehring, Joelle L.
Small passerines, sometimes referred to as perching birds or songbirds, are the most abundant bird group in the United States (US) and Canada, and the most common among bird fatalities caused by collision with turbines at wind energy facilities. We used data compiled from 116 studies conducted in the US and Canada to estimate the annual rate of small-bird fatalities. It was necessary for us to calculate estimates of small-bird fatality rates from reported all-bird rates for 30% of studies. The remaining 70% of studies provided data on small-bird fatalities. We then adjusted estimates to account for detection bias and loss of carcasses from scavenging. These studies represented about 15% of current operating capacity (megawatts [MW]) for all wind energy facilities in the US and Canada and provided information on 4,975 bird fatalities, of which we estimated 62.5% were small passerines comprising 156 species. For all wind energy facilities currently in operation, we estimated that about 134,000 to 230,000 small-passerine fatalities from collision with wind turbines occur annually, or 2.10 to 3.35 small birds/MW of installed capacity. When adjusted for species composition, this indicates that about 368,000 fatalities for all bird species are caused annually by collisions with wind turbines. Other human-related sources of bird deaths, (e.g., communication towers, buildings [including windows]), and domestic cats) have been estimated to kill millions to billions of birds each year. Compared to continent-wide population estimates, the cumulative mortality rate per year by species was highest for black-throated blue warbler and tree swallow; 0.043% of the entire population of each species was estimated to annually suffer mortality from collisions with turbines. For the eighteen species with the next highest values, this estimate ranged from 0.008% to 0.038%, much lower than rates attributed to collisions with communication towers (1.2% to 9.0% for top twenty species). PMID
Inferences about population dynamics from count data using multistate models: a comparison to capture–recapture approaches
Zipkin, Elise F; Sillett, T Scott; Grant, Evan H Campbell; Chandler, Richard B; Royle, J Andrew
Wildlife populations consist of individuals that contribute disproportionately to growth and viability. Understanding a population's spatial and temporal dynamics requires estimates of abundance and demographic rates that account for this heterogeneity. Estimating these quantities can be difficult, requiring years of intensive data collection. Often, this is accomplished through the capture and recapture of individual animals, which is generally only feasible at a limited number of locations. In contrast, N-mixture models allow for the estimation of abundance, and spatial variation in abundance, from count data alone. We extend recently developed multistate, open population N-mixture models, which can additionally estimate demographic rates based on an organism's life history characteristics. In our extension, we develop an approach to account for the case where not all individuals can be assigned to a state during sampling. Using only state-specific count data, we show how our model can be used to estimate local population abundance, as well as density-dependent recruitment rates and state-specific survival. We apply our model to a population of black-throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) that have been surveyed for 25 years on their breeding grounds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. The intensive data collection efforts allow us to compare our estimates to estimates derived from capture–recapture data. Our model performed well in estimating population abundance and density-dependent rates of annual recruitment/immigration. Estimates of local carrying capacity and per capita recruitment of yearlings were consistent with those published in other studies. However, our model moderately underestimated annual survival probability of yearling and adult females and severely underestimates survival probabilities for both of these male stages. The most accurate and precise estimates will necessarily require some amount of
A comprehensive analysis of small-passerine fatalities from collisions with turbines at wind energy facilities
Erickson, Wallace P.; Wolfe, Melissa M.; Bay, Kimberly J.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Gehring, Joelle L.
Small passerines, sometimes referred to as perching birds or songbirds, are the most abundant bird group in the United States (US) and Canada, and the most common among bird fatalities caused by collision with turbines at wind energy facilities. We used data compiled from 39 studies conducted in the US and Canada to estimate the annual rate of small-bird fatalities. It was necessary for us to calculate estimates of small-bird fatality rates from reported all-bird rates for 30% of studies. The remaining 70% of studies provided data on small-bird fatalities. We then adjusted estimates to account for detection bias and loss of carcasses from scavenging. These studies represented about 15% of current operating capacity (megawatts [MW]) for all wind energy facilities in the US and Canada and provided information on 4,975 bird fatalities, of which we estimated 62.5% were small passerines comprising 156 species. For all wind energy facilities currently in operation, we estimated that about 134,000 to 230,000 small-passerine fatalities from collision with wind turbines occur annually, or 2.10 to 3.35 small birds/MW of installed capacity. When adjusted for species composition, this indicates that about 368,000 fatalities for all bird species are caused annually by collisions with wind turbines. Other human-related sources of bird deaths, (e.g., communication towers, buildings [including windows]), and domestic cats) have been estimated to kill millions to billions of birds each year. Compared to continent-wide population estimates, the cumulative mortality rate per year by species was highest for black-throated blue warbler and tree swallow; 0.043% of the entire population of each species was estimated to annually suffer mortality from collisions with turbines. For the eighteen species with the next highest values, this estimate ranged from 0.008% to 0.038%, much lower than rates attributed to collisions with communication towers (1.2% to 9.0% for top twenty species).
Classification of Ultra Blue Sources in the Kepler Field
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Odden, Caroline; Seebode, S.; Childers, J. M.; Melton, C.; McCutcheon, M.; Ciardi, D.; Howell, S. B.
Our study focused on a sample of ~200 ultra blue sources in the Kepler Field extracted from the Howell-Everett UBV survey. Utilizing data from this survey, the KIC, 2MASS, GALEX, and WISE, we generated spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for every object. We compared these SEDs with known SEDs of a variety of standard blue sources as well as visually examining HEASARC, UBV, DSS, 2MASS, and WISE image data. We were able to categorize our sources as stars, white dwarfs, cataclysmic variables, active galactic nuclei, x-ray binaries, planetary nebula nuclei, or other. We will present examples of our classification process and a table of results.
How the ``Blues'' reveals the intimacy of music and physics
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gibson, J. Murray
Little do most people know when they hear blues piano - and you'll hear some live in this talk - that physics permeates the style, as it does all of music. Why should you care? By deconstructing blues piano the intimacy of physics, mathematics and music will be revealed in its glory.[1] The exercise says something about how the brains of the music composer and of the listener must be intimately linked to the physical principles of acoustics. And it provides a great vehicle to explain physical phenomena to non-scientists - everything from quantum mechanics to protein structure.
Aromatic herbs in Corsican blue tit nests: The 'Potpourri' hypothesis
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lambrechts, Marcel M.; Dos Santos, Anabelle
This study reports that Corsican blue tit ( Parus caeruleus ogliastrae) nests contain between one to five aromatic herb species between the onset of egg laying till the chicks' finished growth 13 d after hatching. An herb removal experiment during the chick stage shows that blue tits bring fresh aromatic material 1-5 d after herb removal. Nests with a series of distinct odour classes easily perceived by humans have never been reported in birds. A new 'Potpourri' hypothesis is proposed that may explain the functional significance of this behaviour.
Allergic contact dermatitis to acrylates in disposable blue diathermy pads.
Sidhu, S. K.; Shaw, S.
We report 2 cases of elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis to acrylates from disposable blue diathermy pads used on patients who underwent routine surgery. Their reactions were severe, and took approximately 5 weeks to resolve. Both patients gave a prior history of finger tip dermatitis following the use of artificial sculptured acrylic nails, which is a common, but poorly reported, cause of acrylate allergy. Patch testing subsequently confirmed allergies to multiple acrylates present in both the conducting gel of disposable blue diathermy pads, and artificial sculptured acrylic nails. We advocate careful history taking prior to surgery to avoid unnecessary exposure to acrylates in patients already sensitized. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:10364952
Prussian blues as a cathode material for lithium ion batteries.
Shen, Lian; Wang, Zhaoxiang; Chen, Liquan
Prussian blues (or iron cyanides) and their analogues are attractive in both fundamental studies and industrial applications owing to their chemical and structural diversity. The large open space in their framework provides tunnels and space for the transport and storage of lithium ions. Two Prussian blues were synthesized by a co-precipitation method. The nanosized Fe4 [Fe(CN)6 ]3 and cubic FeFe(CN)6 deliver reversible capacities of 95 mAh g(-1) and 138 mAh g(-1) , respectively. In comparison, FeFe(CN)6 shows cycling and rate performances superior to Fe4 [Fe(CN)6 ]3 . PMID:25111752
The Blue Obelisk—Interoperability in Chemical Informatics
Guha, Rajarshi; Howard, Michael T.; Hutchison, Geoffrey R.; Murray-Rust, Peter; Rzepa, Henry; Wegner, Jörg; Willighagen, Egon L.
The Blue Obelisk Movement (http://www.blueobelisk.org/) is the name used by a diverse Internet group promoting reusable chemistry via open source software development, consistent and complimentary chemoinformatics research, open data, and open standards. We outline recent examples of cooperation in the Blue Obelisk group: a shared dictionary of algorithms and implementations in chemoinformatics algorithms drawing from our various software projects; a shared repository of chemoinformatics data including elemental properties, atomic radii, isotopes, atom typing rules, and so forth; and Web services for the platform-independent use of chemoinformatics programs. PMID:16711717
Red-green-blue laser emission from cascaded polymer membranes.
Zhai, Tianrui; Wang, Yonglu; Chen, Li; Wu, Xiaofeng; Li, Songtao; Zhang, Xinping
Red-green-blue polymer laser emission is achieved in a free-standing membrane device consisting of three distributed feedback cavities. The polymer membrane is fabricated via interference lithography and a simple lift-off process. Multilayer structures can be assembled by cascading several polymer membranes. Thus optically pumped, simultaneous, red-green-blue laser emission is obtained from a three-layer cascaded membrane structure. This simple and low-cost fabrication technique can be used for compact, integrated laser sources. PMID:26580128
Osteoma in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva).
Cardoso, João Felipe Rito; Levy, Marcelo Guilherme Bezerra; Liparisi, Flavia; Romão, Mario Antonio Pinto
Osteoma is an uncommon bone formation documented in avian species and other animals. A blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) with clinical respiratory symptoms was examined because of a hard mass present on the left nostril. Radiographs suggested a bone tumor, and the mass was surgically excised. Histopathologic examination revealed features of an osteoma. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an osteoma in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot. Osteoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in birds with respiratory distress and swelling of the nostril. PMID:24344513
Observation of blue satellite bands and photoassociation at ultracold temperatures
Pichler, Marin; Qi Jianbing; Stwalley, William C.; Beuc, Robert; Pichler, Goran
We have observed atomic line self-broadening of Cs near 7P{sub 3/2} and 7P{sub 1/2} atomic lines at ultracold temperatures using a magneto-optical trap and resonant ionization detection. We have observed blue satellite band features at detunings of 560 and 800 MHz, respectively, as well as sharp hyperfine-split photoassociative spectra on the red wings of each line and also on the blue wings. Possible explanations of these features are discussed.
A Second Luminous Blue Variable in the Quintuplet Cluster
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Geballe, T. R.; Najarro, F.; Figer, D. F.
H- and K-band moderate-resolution and 4 μm high-resolution spectra have been obtained for FMM 362, a bright star in the Quintuplet Cluster near the Galactic center. The spectral features in these bands closely match those of the Pistol Star, a luminous blue variable and one of the most luminous stars known. The new spectra and previously obtained photometry imply a very high luminosity for FMM 362, L>=106 Lsolar, and a temperature of 10,000-13,000 K. Based on its luminosity, temperature, photometric variability, and similarities to the Pistol Star, we conclude that FMM 362 is a luminous blue variable.
Analysis of separated flow using image enhanced thymol blue visualization
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Henderson, J. M.; Disimile, Peter J.
Image processing techniques have been developed which enhance the quality of thymol blue visualization. These new techniques allow meaningful quantitative data to be obtained from images using thymol blue flow visualization at velocities up to twice as high as the previous limit. As a demonstration of these techniques, measurements have been taken of the physical dimensions of the separation regions developing immediately downstream of a symmetric bifurcation. These measurements are then used to elicit trends in the separation physical dimensions as a function of flow rate. This particular information is applicable to a variety of flow separation problems found in biological flows and turbomachinery.
How Long Will I Be Blue? Prolonged Skin Staining Following Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Using Intradermal Patent Blue Dye
Gumus, Metehan; Gumus, Hatice; Jones, Sue E; Jones, Peter A; Sever, Ali R; Weeks, Jennifer
Summary Background Blue dye used for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in breast cancer patients may cause prolonged skin discoloration at the site of injection. The aim of this study was to assess the duration of such skin discoloration. Patients and Methods 236 consecutive patients who had undergone breast conserving surgery and SLNB for breast cancer were reviewed prospectively from January 2007 to December 2009. Results Of the 236 patients, 2 had undergone bilateral surgery, and 41 had been examined in consecutive yearly reviews. Blue discoloration remained visible at the injection site after 12, 24, and > 36 months in 36.5, 23.6, and 8.6% of the patients, respectively. Conclusion The use of patent blue for identification of the sentinel lymph node in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery may result in prolonged discoloration of the skin at the injection site. PMID:24415970
Blue Mountain, Humboldt County, Nevada, U.S.A
Ted Fitzpatrick, Brian D. Fairbank
The report documents the drilling of well Deep Blue No.2, the second deep geothermal test hole at the Blue Mountain Geothermal Area, Humboldt County, Nevada. The well was drilled by Noramex Corp, a Nevada company, with funding support from the US Department of Energy, under the DOE's GRED II Program. Deep Blue No.2 was drilled as a 'step-out' hole from Deep Blue No.1, to further evaluate the commercial potential of the geothermal resource. Deep Blue No.2 was designed as a vertical, slim observation test hole to a nominal target depth of 1000 meters (nominal 3400 feet). The well tests an area of projected high temperatures at depth, from temperature gradients measured in a group of shallow drill holes located approximately one kilometer to the northeast of observation hole Deep Blue No.1. The well is not intended for, or designed as, a commercial well or a production well. Deep Blue No.2 was spudded on March 25, 2004 and completed to a total depth of 1127.76m (3700 ft) on April 28, 2004. The well was drilled using conventional rotary drilling techniques to a depth of 201.17 m (660 ft), and continuously cored from 201.17m (660 ft) to 1127.76m (3700 ft). A brief rig-on flow-test was conducted at completion to determine basic reservoir parameters and obtain fluid samples. A permeable fracture zone with measured temperatures of 150 to 167°C (302 to 333°F) occurs between 500 to 750m (1640 to 2461ft). The well was left un-lined in anticipation of the Phase III - Flow and Injection Testing. A further Kuster temperature survey was attempted after the well had been shut in for almost 3 weeks. The well appears to have bridged off at 439m (1440ft) as the Kuster tool was unable to descend past this point. Several attempts to dislodge the obstruction using tube jars were unsuccessful. Deep Blue No.2 encountered variably fractured and veined, fine-grained rocks of the Singas Formation, and intruded by minor strongly altered fine-grained felsic dikes, and less altered
Spinning like a blue straggler: the population of fast rotating blue straggler stars in ω Centauri
Mucciarelli, A.; Lovisi, L.; Ferraro, F. R.; Dalessandro, E.; Lanzoni, B.
By using high-resolution spectra acquired with FLAMES-GIRAFFE at the ESO/VLT, we measured the radial and rotational velocities for 110 blue straggler stars (BSSs) in ω Centauri, the globular cluster-like stellar system harboring the largest known BSS population. According to their radial velocities, 109 BSSs are members of the system. The rotational velocity distribution is very broad, with the bulk of BSSs spinning at less than ∼40 km s{sup –1} (in agreement with the majority of such stars observed in other globular clusters) and a long tail reaching ∼200 km s{sup –1}. About 40% of the sample has v{sub e} sin i > 40 km s{sup –1} and about 20% has v{sub e} sin i > 70 km s{sup –1}. Such a large fraction is very similar to the percentage of fast rotating BSSs observed in M4. Thus, ω Centauri is the second stellar cluster, beyond M4, with a surprisingly high population of fast spinning BSSs. We found a hint of radial behavior for a fraction of fast rotating BSSs, with a mild peak within one core radius, and a possible rise in the external regions (beyond four core radii). This may suggest that recent formation episodes of mass transfer BSSs occurred preferentially in the outskirts of ω Centauri, or that braking mechanisms able to slow down these stars are least efficient in the lowest density environments.
Blue light dose–responses of leaf photosynthesis, morphology, and chemical composition of Cucumis sativus grown under different combinations of red and blue light
Hogewoning, Sander W.; Trouwborst, Govert; Maljaars, Hans; Poorter, Hendrik; van Ieperen, Wim; Harbinson, Jeremy
The blue part of the light spectrum has been associated with leaf characteristics which also develop under high irradiances. In this study blue light dose–response curves were made for the photosynthetic properties and related developmental characteristics of cucumber leaves that were grown at an equal irradiance under seven different combinations of red and blue light provided by light-emitting diodes. Only the leaves developed under red light alone (0% blue) displayed dysfunctional photosynthetic operation, characterized by a suboptimal and heterogeneously distributed dark-adapted Fv/Fm, a stomatal conductance unresponsive to irradiance, and a relatively low light-limited quantum yield for CO2 fixation. Only 7% blue light was sufficient to prevent any overt dysfunctional photosynthesis, which can be considered a qualitatively blue light effect. The photosynthetic capacity (Amax) was twice as high for leaves grown at 7% blue compared with 0% blue, and continued to increase with increasing blue percentage during growth measured up to 50% blue. At 100% blue, Amax was lower but photosynthetic functioning was normal. The increase in Amax with blue percentage (0–50%) was associated with an increase in leaf mass per unit leaf area (LMA), nitrogen (N) content per area, chlorophyll (Chl) content per area, and stomatal conductance. Above 15% blue, the parameters Amax, LMA, Chl content, photosynthetic N use efficiency, and the Chl:N ratio had a comparable relationship as reported for leaf responses to irradiance intensity. It is concluded that blue light during growth is qualitatively required for normal photosynthetic functioning and quantitatively mediates leaf responses resembling those to irradiance intensity. PMID:20504875
Blue Hills Regional Grad Fulfills Dream, Becomes Astronaut
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bass, Judy
This article features Scott D. Tingle, a former career and technical education (CTE) student who always aimed high. November 4, 2011 marked the official culmination of a cherished, virtually lifelong dream of his--becoming an astronaut. It was a goal he had in mind even when he was a high school student in the 1980s at Blue Hills Regional…
Ancient origin and maternal inheritance of blue cuckoo eggs.
Fossøy, Frode; Sorenson, Michael D; Liang, Wei; Ekrem, Torbjørn; Moksnes, Arne; Møller, Anders P; Rutila, Jarkko; Røskaft, Eivin; Takasu, Fugo; Yang, Canchao; Stokke, Bård G
Maternal inheritance via the female-specific W chromosome was long ago proposed as a potential solution to the evolutionary enigma of co-existing host-specific races (or 'gentes') in avian brood parasites. Here we report the first unambiguous evidence for maternal inheritance of egg colouration in the brood-parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus. Females laying blue eggs belong to an ancient (∼2.6 Myr) maternal lineage, as evidenced by both mitochondrial and W-linked DNA, but are indistinguishable at nuclear DNA from other common cuckoos. Hence, cuckoo host races with blue eggs are distinguished only by maternally inherited components of the genome, which maintain host-specific adaptation despite interbreeding among males and females reared by different hosts. A mitochondrial phylogeny suggests that blue eggs originated in Asia and then expanded westwards as female cuckoos laying blue eggs interbred with the existing European population, introducing an adaptive trait that expanded the range of potential hosts. PMID:26754355
Tracking the Performance Evolution of Blue Gene Systems
Kerbyson, Darren J.; Barker, Kevin J.; Gallo, Diego S.; Chen, Dong; Brunheroto, Jose R.; Ryu, Kyung D.; Chiu, George L.; Hoisie, Adolfy
— IBM's Blue Gene supercomputer has evolved through three generations from the original Blue Gene/L to P to Q. A higher level of integration has enabled greater single-core performance, and a larger concurrency per compute node. Although these changes have brought with them a higher overall system peak-performance, no study has examined in detail the evolution of perfor-mance across system generations. In this work we make two significant contri-butions – that of providing a comparative performance analysis across Blue Gene generations using a consistent set of tests, and also in providing a validat-ed performance model of the NEK-Bone proxy application. The combination of empirical analysis and the predictive performance model enable us to not only directly compare measured performance but also allow for a comparison of sys-tem configurations that cannot currently be measured. We provide insights into how the changing characteristics of Blue Gene have impacted on the application performance, as well as what future systems may be able to achieve.
REVIEW ARTICLE Blue extension of optical fibre supercontinuum generation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Travers, J. C.
Supercontinuum generation in optical fibres pumped with high power pulse sources in the modulation instability regime is reviewed. The physical mechanisms and supercontinuum dynamics are described in detail. Routes to optimized output in terms of spectral flatness and particularly blue and ultraviolet spectral extent are presented, including the use of cascaded and tapered photonic crystal fibres.
A House Divided? The Psychology of Red and Blue America
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Seyle, D. Conor; Newman, Matthew L.
Recently it has become commonplace in America for commentators and the public to use the terms "red" and "blue" to refer to perceived cultural differences in America and American politics. Although a political divide may exist in America today, these particular terms are inaccurate and reductive. This article presents research from social…
Redressing the Law in Kathryn Bigelow's "Blue Steel."
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Self, Robert T.
Argues that the dominant themes in Bigelow's "Blue Steel" are female subservience, masculine authority, sex as economic exchange and guilty pleasure, woman as threatening and domestic, and castration anxiety. Analyzes Jamie Lee Curtis's portrayal of the protagonist, Megan Turner, as being androgynous when in uniform, and as possessor of power. (PA)
Career/Life Planning for Blue Collar Workers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Russell, Mary
Lockheed Corporation's approach to career development for blue collar workers is based on these principles: providing accurate, current information for decision making, encouraging employees' personal and professional development, and integrating career planning into existing procedures and structures. (CPAD Network, 1190 South Bascom Avenue,…
The Blue Ribbon: An American Way of Life.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Weber, Joseph A.; McCullers, John C.
The notion that blue ribbons serve to increase the motivation and performance of 4-H youth may not always be true. Studies of the effect of such incentives give cause for reevaluation of the present reward structure in light of current 4-H philosophy. (SK)
7. Photo copy of blue print sheet, (original in Forest ...
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
7. Photo copy of blue print sheet, (original in Forest Service Office, Elkins, WV), George W. Root, draftsman, July, 1931. MAIN FLOOR PLAN SHOWING JOIST FRAMING, FOUNDATION PLAN, MAIN FLOOR PLAN, SECOND FLOOR PLAN, END ELEVATION AT SLOUGH. - Parsons Nursery, Packing Building, South side of U.S. Route 219, Parsons, Tucker County, WV
33 CFR 100.910 - Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL. 100.910 Section 100.910 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... Island, IL. (a) Regulated Area. A regulated area is established to include all waters of the Calumet...
33 CFR 100.910 - Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL. 100.910 Section 100.910 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... Island, IL. (a) Regulated Area. A regulated area is established to include all waters of the Calumet...
33 CFR 100.910 - Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Southland Regatta; Blue Island, IL. 100.910 Section 100.910 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... Island, IL. (a) Regulated Area. A regulated area is established to include all waters of the Calumet...
Blue light-activated hypocrellin B damages ovarian cancer cells
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jiang, Y.; Leung, A. W. N.; Xiang, J. Y.; Xu, C. S.
In the present study, a novel blue light source from LED was used to activate hypocrellin B in ovarian cancer HO-8910 cells. Hyppcrellin B concentration was kept at 2.5 μM and light doses from 0.5-4.0 J/cm2. Photocytotoxicity was investigated using MTT reduction assay and light microscopy after light irradiation. Cellular morphology was observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). MTT assay showed that the cytotoxicity of blue light-activated hypocrellin B in HO-8910 cells increased along with light dose. The observations from light microscopy reinforced the above results. TEM showed that microvillin disappearance, vacuole formation, chromatin condensation, and topical apoptotic body were observed in the cells treated by both light and hypocrellin B. The findings demonstrated that blue light from LED source could effectively activate hypocrellin B to cause the destruction of HO-8910 cells, indicating that Blue light-activated hypocrellin B might be potential therapeutic strategy in the management of ovarian cancer.
Langston Hughes's Jess B. Semple and the Blues
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Klotman, Phillis R.
An analysis of the factors responsible for the popularity of the Jesse B. Semple tales of Langston Hughes: the appeal of the skit technique, the simplicity in the development of theme and character, reader identification, and the intermittent sound of the blues in prose. (EH)
Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey
41. PHOTOGRAPHY OF BLUE PRINT (MINNEAPOLIS CITY ENGINEER) END AND CENTRE CASTING OF CAST STEEL, MASONRY CASTING OF CAST IRON CASTING, FOR MINNEAPOLIS STEEL ARCH (4 x 5 negative) - Steel Arch Bridge, Hennepin Avenue spanning west channel of Mississippi River, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN
IUE observations of luminous blue star associations in irregular galaxies
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lamb, S. A.; Hunter, D. A.; Gallagher, J. S., III
Two regions of recent star formation in blue irregular galaxies were observed with the IUE in the short wavelength, low dispersion mode. The spectra indicate that the massive star content is similar in these regions and is best fit by massive stars formed in a burst and now approximately 2.5 to 3.0 million years old.