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Thermal Variation (thermal + variation)
Selected AbstractsTiming of spawning and glochidial release in Scottish freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) populationsFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2003Lee C. Hastie Summary 1. The timing of reproduction was investigated in six Scottish freshwater pearl mussel populations from 1993 to 2002. Gravid females were examined and the release of mussel larvae (glochidia) was monitored. 2. Annual spawning (oviposition) and spat (glochidial release) events occurred during June to July and June to September, respectively. 3. Between-river differences in timing seem to be related to water temperature. Mussels in the warmest rivers tend to spawn and spat first, and vice-versa. 4. Thermal variations also seem to influence the timing of reproduction within rivers, which can be delayed by several weeks during cold years. At least 3000°-days occur between annual episodes of glochidial release. 5. The timing of spawning is determined gradually, probably by a thermal summation effect. 6. The release stage occurs as a sudden, synchronised event, with most of the glochidia spat over 1,2 days, indicating that it is triggered by an environmental cue. Sudden changes in water temperature and/or river level often result in spats, and the underlying mechanism may be respiratory. [source] Preparation, Characterization, and Microwave Properties of RETiNbO6 (RE = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, and Yb) Dielectric CeramicsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 7 2001Mailadil T. Sebastian Microwave ceramic dielectric resonators (DRs) based on RETiNbO6 (RE = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, and Yb) have been prepared using the conventional solid-state ceramic route. The DR samples are characterized using XRD and SEM methods. The microwave dielectric properties are measured using resonant methods and a net work analyzer. The ceramics based on Ce, Pr, Nd, and Sm have dielectric constants in the range 32,54 and positive coefficient of thermal variation of resonant frequency (,f). The ceramics based on Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, and Yb have dielectric constants in the range 19,22 and negative ,f. [source] Effects of nest temperature and moisture on phenotypic traits of hatchling snakes (Tropidonophis mairii, Colubridae) from tropical AustraliaBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006GREGORY P. BROWN Previous research on developmentally plastic responses by reptile embryos has paid relatively little attention to tropical species, or to possible interactions between the effects of thermal and hydric regimes. In the present study, eggs of keelback snakes (Tropidonophis mairii), from a tropical area with strong temporal and spatial variation in soil temperatures and moisture levels, were incubated. The phenotypic traits of hatchling snakes (body size, shape, muscular strength) were affected by moisture content of the incubation medium (vermiculite plus 100% vs. 50% water by mass), by mean incubation temperatures (25.7 vs. 27.9 °C) and by diel thermal variation (diel range 6.0 vs. 8.4 °C). Interactions between these factors were negligible. Cooler, more thermostable, moister conditions resulted in larger offspring, a trait under strong selection in this population. Thermal and hydric conditions covary in potential nest-sites (e.g. deeper nests are more thermostable as well as moister). This covariation may influence the evolution of reaction norms for embryogenesis. For example, if moister nests enhance offspring fitness and are cooler, then selection will favour the ability to develop in cool as well as moist conditions. Thus, the evolution of optimal incubation conditions with respect to one variable (e.g. temperature) may be driven by patterns of association with another variable (e.g. soil moisture) among natural nest-sites. Perhaps for this reason, the thermal optimum for incubation is surprisingly low in this tropical species. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 89, 159,168. [source] Rock thermal data at the grain scale: applicability to granular disintegration in cold environmentsEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 8 2003Kevin Hall Abstract Consideration of the mechanisms associated with the granular disintegration of rock has been limited by available data. In most instances, both the size of the transducer and the nature of the study have negated any applicability of the resulting data to the understanding of grain-to-grain separation within rock. The application of microthermocouples (,0·15 mm diameter) and high-frequency logging (20 s intervals) at a taffoni site on southern Alexander Island and from a rock outcrop on Adelaide Island (Antarctica) provide new data pertaining to the thermal conditions, at the grain scale, of the rock surface. The results show that thermal changes (,T/t) can be very high, with values of 22 °C min,1 being recorded. Although available data indicate that there can be differences in frequency and magnitude of ,uctuations as a function of aspect, all aspects experienced some large magnitude (,2 °C min,1) ,uctuations. Further, in many instances, large thermal changes in more than one direction could occur within 1 min or in subsequent minutes. These data suggest that the surface grains experience rapidly changing stress ,elds that may, with time, effect fatigue at the grain boundaries; albedo differences between grains and the resulting thermal variations are thought to exacerbate this. The available data failed to show any indication of water freezing (an exotherm) and thus it is suggested that microgelivation may not play as large a role in granular breakdown as is often postulated for cold regions, and that in this dry, Antarctic region thermal stress may play a signi,cant role. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of temperature on prey consumption and growth in mass of juvenile trahira Hoplias aff. malabaricus (Bloch, 1794)JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007A. C. Petry The influence of temperature on prey consumption and growth in mass of juvenile trahira Hoplias aff. malabaricus were investigated. Consumption of small-sized lambari Astyanax altiparanae (mean standard length, LS, 5·43 cm) varied from zero to 65 over a period of 30 days. Temperatures ranged from 14 to 34° C and the size of trahiras ranged from 17·5 to 24·7 cm LS. Prey consumption differed significantly among temperatures. Trahiras at 18° C consumed significantly less than those at 30° C. A linear multiple regression model including temperature, prey consumption and LS explained 89·4% of the variability in growth in mass. Some caution is suggested when inferring the impact of H. aff. malabaricus piscivory on assemblage structures in systems that, despite their location in tropical regions, are subjected to seasonal thermal variations. [source] | |||||||||||||