ALBERT

Description: Reproductive traits in plants tend to evolve rapidly due to various causes that include plant-pollinator coevolution and pollen competition, but the genomic basis of reproductive trait evolution is still largely unknown. To characterize evolutionary patterns of genome wide gene expression in reproductive tissues in the gametophyte and to compare them to developmental stages of the sporophyte, we analyzed evolutionary conservation and genetic diversity of protein-coding genes using microarray-based transcriptome data from three plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana , rice ( Oryza sativa ), and soybean ( Glycine max ). In all three species a significant shift in gene expression occurs during gametogenesis in which genes of younger evolutionary age and higher genetic diversity contribute significantly more to the transcriptome than in other stages. We refer to this phenomenon as "evolutionary bulge" during plant reproductive development because it differentiates the gametophyte from the sporophyte. We show that multiple, not mutually exclusive, causes may explain the bulge pattern, most prominently reduced tissue complexity of the gametophyte, a varying extent of selection on reproductive traits during gametogenesis as well as differences between male and female tissues. This highlights the importance of plant reproduction for understanding evolutionary forces determining the relationship of genomic and phenotypic variation in plants.

Description: There have been many investigations into consistent, individual differences in behavior (animal personalities), but rather less attention has been given to the possibility that individuals might differ consistently in their "cognitive style," which refers to the way information is acquired, processed, stored, or acted on. Both personality and cognition have important fitness consequences, and it has been proposed that variation in cognition could be functionally related to variation in personality. Here, we test this hypothesis using three-spined sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) as a model and adopt a classic T-maze with food reward experimental paradigm. We first confirmed that fish choose the correct arm of the maze significantly more than would be expected by chance and that this improves with trial number. We then explored predictors of individual differences in the speed (time to making a decision) and accuracy (whether the first decision is correct) in decision making. We find bolder behavioral types (who tend to be male) arrive at the correct decision sooner than their shyer conspecifics. However, boldness was not related to decision accuracy. Moreover, we did not find any significant difference in fish’s improvement in decision accuracy over successive trials according to boldness or sex. This suggests that although bolder fish may acquire information more quickly because they make decisions faster, they do not differ from shyer conspecifics in their decision-making accuracy. The absence of such a trade-off might offer a functional explanation for why, in stickleback fish and many other species, bolder individuals tend to initiate movement and shyer individuals to follow—bold leaders may result in faster group decisions without compromising accuracy.

Description: SUMMARY Single-channel seismic and wide-angle reflection data collected in September 2005 were analysed along a 2-D profile of 10 ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) on the continental slope region off Vancouver Island, near ODP Site 889 and IODP Site U1327. The objectives were to determine the shallow P -wave and S -wave velocity structure associated with marine gas hydrates and to estimate the hydrate concentration and distribution in the sediment pore space. Combined traveltime inversion of single-channel and OBS data produced a P -wave velocity model down to the depth of the bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) at 230(±5) m below the seafloor (mbsf). Mean velocities, which increased from 1.50 km s −1 at the seafloor to 1.88 km s −1 at the BSR, are in good agreement with the sonic log data from Sites 889 and U1327. The increase in P -wave velocity of the hydrate-bearing sediments relative to a background no-hydrate velocity was utilized to estimate the hydrate concentration by using effective medium theory. An average concentration of 13 per cent in the interval from 120–230 mbsf was estimated from the P -wave velocity model. Lateral continuity of the model data confirms that these average hydrate concentrations are also found around the drillsites out to distances of a few kilometres. Forward modelling of S -waves was carried out using the data from the OBS horizontal components. Above the BSR, S -wave velocities are higher than a background velocity profile based on a rock physics model and on global averages for unconsolidated sediments. This increase in velocity suggests that the hydrate is distributed as part of the load-bearing matrix to increase the rigidity of the sediment.

Description: Aims We compare performance of ecosystem classification maps and provincial forest inventory data derived from air photography in reflecting ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) biodiversity patterns that are related to the forest canopy mosaic. Our biodiversity surrogacy model based on remotely sensed tree canopy cover is validated against field-collected ground data. Methods We used a systematic sampling grid of 198 sites, covering 84 km 2 of boreal mixedwood forest in northwestern Alberta, Canada. For every site, we determined tree basal area, characterized the ground beetle assemblage and obtained corresponding provincial forest inventory and ecosystem classification information. We used variation partitioning, ordination and misclassification matrices to compare beetle biodiversity patterns explained by alternative databases and to determine model biases originating from air photo-interpretation. Important Findings Ecosystem classification data performed better than canopy cover derived from forest inventory maps in describing ground beetle biodiversity patterns. The biodiversity surrogacy models based on provincial forest inventory maps and field survey generally detected similar patterns but inaccuracies in air photo-interpretation of relative canopy cover led to differences between the two models. Compared to field survey data, air photo-interpretation tended to confuse two Picea species and two Populus species present and homogenize stand mixtures. This generated divergence in models of ecological association used to predict the relationship between ground beetle assemblages and tree canopy cover. Combination of relative canopy cover from provincial inventory with other geo-referenced land variables to produce the ecosystem classification maps improved biodiversity predictive power. The association observed between uncommon surrogates and uncommon ground beetle species emphasizes the benefits of detecting these surrogates as a part of landscape management. In order to complement conservation efforts established in protected areas, accurate, high resolution, wide ranging and spatially explicit knowledge of landscapes under management is primordial in order to apply effective biodiversity conservation strategies at the stand level as required in the extensively harvested portion of the boreal forest. In development of these strategies, an in-depth understanding of vegetation is key.

Description: This paper extends the implicit determinant method introduced by Spence & Poulton (2005, J. Comput. Phys. , 204 , 65–81) to obtain a numerical technique for the calculation of a two-dimensional Jordan block in a parameter-dependent matrix. An important feature of this technique is that the theory is straightforward to understand and an efficient numerical implementation is suggested naturally by the theory. Three interesting physical problems are presented, arising from the panel flutter problem in aerodynamics, the stability of electrical power systems and a problem in quantum mechanics.

Description: Understanding the spectral properties of boundary integral operators in acoustic scattering has important practical implications, such as for the analysis of the stability of boundary element discretizations or the convergence of iterative solvers as the wave number k grows. Yet, little is known about spectral decompositions of the standard boundary integral operators in acoustic scattering. Theoretical results are mainly available on the unit circle, where these operators diagonalize in a simple Fourier basis. In this paper we investigate spectral decompositions for more general smooth domains. Based on the decomposition of the acoustic Green's function in elliptic coordinates, we give spectral decompositions on ellipses. For general smooth domains we show that approximate spectral decompositions can be given in terms of circle Fourier modes transplanted onto the boundary of the domain. An important underlying question is whether the operators are normal. Based on previous numerical investigations it appears that the standard boundary integral operators are normal only when the domain is a ball and here we prove that this is indeed the case for the acoustic single layer potential. We show that the acoustic single, double and conjugate double layer potential are normal in a scaled inner product on the ellipse. On more general smooth domains the operators can be split into a normal component plus a smooth perturbation. Numerical computations of pseudospectra are presented to demonstrate the nonnormal behaviour on general domains.

Description: Several slope failures are observed near the deformation front on the frontal ridges of the northern Cascadia accretionary margin off Vancouver Island. The cause for these events is not clear, although several lines of evidence indicate a possible connection between the occurrence of gas hydrate and submarine landslide features. The presence of gas hydrate is indicated by a prominent bottom-simulating reflector (BSR), at a depth of ~265–275 m beneath the seafloor (mbsf), as interpreted from vertical-incidence and wide-angle seismic data beneath the ridge crests of the frontal ridges. For one slide, informally called Slipstream Slide, the velocity structure inferred from tomography analyses shows anomalous high velocities values of about 2.0 km s –1 at shallow depths of 100 mbsf. The estimated depth of the glide plane (100 ± 10 m) closely matches the depth of these shallow high velocities. In contrast, at a frontal ridge slide just to the northwest (informally called Orca Slide), the glide plane occurs at the same depth as the current BSR. Our new results indicate that the glide plane of the Slipstream slope failure is associated with the contrast between sediments strengthened by gas hydrate and overlying sediments where little or no hydrate is present. In contrast, the glide plane of Orca Slide is between sediment strengthened by hydrate underlain by sediments beneath the gas hydrate stability zone, possibly containing free gas. Additionally, a set of margin perpendicular normal faults are imaged from seafloor down to BSR depth at both frontal ridges. As inferred from the multibeam bathymetry, the estimated volume of the material lost during the slope failure at Slipstream Slide is about 0.33 km 3 , and ~0.24 km 3 of this volume is present as debris material on the ocean basin floor. The 20 per cent difference is likely due to more widely distributed fine sediments not easily detectable as bathymetric anomalies. These volume estimates on the Cascadia margin are approaching the mass failure volume for other slides that have generated large tsunamis—for example 1–3 km 3 for a 1998 Papua New Guinea slide.

Description: We present deep new Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) narrow-band images and William Herschel Telescope (WHT) long-slit spectroscopy of the merging system Mrk273 that show a spectacular extended halo of warm ionized gas out to a radius of ~45 kpc from the system nucleus. Outside of the immediate nuclear regions ( r 〉 6 kpc), there is no evidence for kinematic disturbance in the ionized gas: in the extended regions covered by our spectroscopic slits the emission lines are relatively narrow (full width at half-maximum, FWHM 350 km s –1 ) and velocity shifts small (| V | 250 km s –1 ). This is despite the presence of powerful near-nuclear outflows (FWHM 〉 1000 km s –1 ; | V | 〉 400 km s –1 ; r 〈 6 kpc). Diagnostic ratio plots are fully consistent with Seyfert 2 photoionization to the NE of the nuclear region, however to the SW the plots are more consistent with low-velocity radiative shock models. The kinematics of the ionized gas, combined with the fact that the main structures are aligned with low-surface-brightness tidal continuum features, are consistent with the idea that the ionized halo represents tidal debris left over from a possible triple-merger event, rather than a reservoir of outflowing gas.

Description: This paper applies nonlinear Bayesian inversion to marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) data collected near two sites of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 311 on the northern Cascadia Margin to investigate subseafloor resistivity structure related to gas hydrate deposits and cold vents. The Cascadia margin, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, has a large accretionary prism where sediments are under pressure due to convergent plate boundary tectonics. Gas hydrate deposits and cold vent structures have previously been investigated by various geophysical methods and seabed drilling. Here, we invert time-domain CSEM data collected at Sites U1328 and U1329 of IODP Expedition 311 using Bayesian methods to derive subsurface resistivity model parameters and uncertainties. The Bayesian information criterion is applied to determine the amount of structure (number of layers in a depth-dependent model) that can be resolved by the data. The parameter space is sampled with the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm in principal-component space, utilizing parallel tempering to ensure wider and efficient sampling and convergence. Nonlinear inversion allows analysis of uncertain acquisition parameters such as time delays between receiver and transmitter clocks as well as input electrical current amplitude. Marginalizing over these instrument parameters in the inversion accounts for their contribution to the geophysical model uncertainties. One-dimensional inversion of time-domain CSEM data collected at measurement sites along a survey line allows interpretation of the subsurface resistivity structure. The data sets can be generally explained by models with 1 to 3 layers. Inversion results at U1329, at the landward edge of the gas hydrate stability zone, indicate a sediment unconformity as well as potential cold vents which were previously unknown. The resistivities generally increase upslope due to sediment erosion along the slope. Inversion results at U1328 on the middle slope suggest several vent systems close to Bullseye vent in agreement with ongoing interdisciplinary observations.