Notes on age at dispersal of beaver (Castor fiber) in an expanding population

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 959-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Hartman

Movements of nine young beavers (Castor fiber) that were trapped at the front of an expanding population were monitored using radiotelemetry. Two years is generally considered the normal age at dispersal in beavers, but in this study the ages at dispersal were evenly distributed between 11 and 23 months. At least one of the females in the study gave birth at 2 years of age. Exploratory movements of three individuals outside the natal terrritory before the time of dispersal were observed. The observed plasticity in age at dispersal and parturition indicates that the rate of increase may be greater than expected at the front of expanding beaver populations.

Author(s):  
Alicja Urbaniak ◽  
Anna Skarpańska-Stejnborn

Abstract. The aim of the study was to review recent findings on the use of POM supplements in athletes of various disciplines and physically active participants. Eleven articles published between 2010 and 2018 were included, where the total number of investigated subjects was 176. Male participants constituted the majority of the group (n = 155), as compared to females (n = 21). 45% of research described was conducted on athletes, whereas the remaining studies were based on highly active participants. Randomised, crossover, double-blind study designs constituted the majority of the experimental designs used. POM supplementation varied in terms of form (pills/juice), dosage (50 ml–500 ml) and time of intervention (7 days–2 months) between studies. Among the reviewed articles, POM supplementation had an effect on the improvement of the following: whole body strength; feeling of vitality; acute and delayed muscle fatigue and soreness; increase in vessel diameter; blood flow and serum level of TAC; reduction in the rate of increase for HR, SBP, CK and LDH; support in the recovery of post-training CK, LDH, CRP and ASAT to their baseline levels; reduction of MMP2, MMP9, hsCRP and MDA; and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase). In the majority of reviewed articles POM supplementation had a positive effect on a variety of parameters studied and the authors recommended it as a supplement for athletes and physically active bodies.


2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 2878-2887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol J. Mottram ◽  
Evangelos A. Christou ◽  
François G. Meyer ◽  
Roger M. Enoka

The rate of change in the fluctuations in motor output differs during the performance of fatiguing contractions that involve different types of loads. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of frequency modulation of motor unit discharge to the fluctuations in the motor output during sustained contractions with the force and position tasks. In separate tests with the upper arm vertical and the elbow flexed to 1.57 rad, the seated subjects maintained either a constant upward force at the wrist (force task) or a constant elbow angle (position task). The force and position tasks were performed in random order at a target force equal to 3.6 ± 2.1% (mean ± SD) of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force above the recruitment threshold of an isolated motor unit from the biceps brachii. Each subject maintained the two tasks for an identical duration (161 ± 93 s) at a mean target force of 22.4 ± 13.6% MVC. As expected, the rate of increase in the fluctuations in motor output (force task: SD for detrended force; position task: SD for vertical acceleration) was greater for the position task than the force task ( P < 0.001). The amplitude of the coefficient of variation (CV) and the power spectra for motor unit discharge were similar between tasks ( P > 0.1) and did not change with time ( P > 0.1), and could not explain the different rates of increase in motor output fluctuations for the two tasks. Nonetheless, frequency modulation of motor unit discharge differed during the two tasks and predicted ( P < 0.001) both the CV for discharge rate (force task: 1–3, 12–13, and 14–15 Hz; position task: 0–1, and 1–2 Hz) and the fluctuations in motor output (force task: 5–6, 9–10, 12–13, and 14–15 Hz; position task: 6–7, 14–15, 17–19, 20–21, and 23–24 Hz). Frequency modulation of motor unit discharge rate differed for the force and position tasks and influenced the ability to sustain steady contractions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-319
Author(s):  
Giorgio Spada ◽  
Daniele Melini

AbstractIt has been recently proposed DeVito [(2019) On the meaning of Fermi's paradox. Futures, 389–414] that a minimal number of contacts with alien radio-communicative civilizations could be justified by their logarithmically slow rate of growth in the Galaxy. Here we further develop this approach to the Fermi paradox, with the purpose of expanding the ensemble of the possible styles of growth that are consistent with the hypothesis of a minimal number of contacts. Generalizing the approach in DeVito (2019), we show that a logarithmic style of growth is still found. We also find that a style of growth following a power law would be admissible, however characterized by an exponent less than one, hence describing a sublinear increase in the number of communicative civilizations, still qualitatively in agreement with DeVito (2019). No solutions are found indicating a superlinear increase in the number of communicative civilizations, following for example an exponentially diverging law, which would cause, in the long run, an unsustainable proliferation. Although largely speculative, our findings corroborate the idea that a sublinear rate of increase in the number of communicative civilizations in the Galaxy could constitute a further resolution of Fermi paradox, implying a constant and minimal – but not zero – number of contacts.


Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Barbara Wiatkowska ◽  
Janusz Słodczyk ◽  
Aleksandra Stokowska

Urban expansion is a dynamic and complex phenomenon, often involving adverse changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This paper uses satellite imagery from Landsat-5 TM, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI, and GIS technology to analyse LULC changes in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The research was carried out in Opole, the capital of the Opole Agglomeration (south-western Poland). Maps produced from supervised spectral classification of remote sensing data revealed that in 20 years, built-up areas have increased about 40%, mainly at the expense of agricultural land. Detection of changes in the spatial pattern of LULC showed that the highest average rate of increase in built-up areas occurred in the zone 3–6 km (11.7%) and above 6 km (10.4%) from the centre of Opole. The analysis of the increase of built-up land in relation to the decreasing population (SDG 11.3.1) has confirmed the ongoing process of demographic suburbanisation. The paper shows that satellite imagery and GIS can be a valuable tool for local authorities and planners to monitor the scale of urbanisation processes for the purpose of adapting space management procedures to the changing environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 218-219
Author(s):  
Andres Fernando T Russi ◽  
Mike D Tokach ◽  
Jason C Woodworth ◽  
Joel M DeRouchey ◽  
Robert D Goodband ◽  
...  

Abstract The swine industry has been constantly evolving to select animals with improved performance traits and to minimize variation in body weight (BW) in order to meet packer specifications. Therefore, understanding variation presents an opportunity for producers to find strategies that could help reduce, manage, or deal with variation of pigs in a barn. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by collecting data from multiple studies and available data sets in order to develop prediction equations for coefficient of variation (CV) and standard deviation (SD) as a function of BW. Information regarding BW variation from 16 papers was recorded to provide approximately 204 data points. Together, these data included 117,268 individually weighed pigs with a sample size that ranged from 104 to 4,108 pigs. A random-effects model with study used as a random effect was developed. Observations were weighted using sample size as an estimate for precision on the analysis, where larger data sets accounted for increased accuracy in the model. Regression equations were developed using the nlme package of R to determine the relationship between BW and its variation. Polynomial regression analysis was conducted separately for each variation measurement. When CV was reported in the data set, SD was calculated and vice versa. The resulting prediction equations were: CV (%) = 20.04 – 0.135 × (BW) + 0.00043 × (BW)2, R2=0.79; SD = 0.41 + 0.150 × (BW) - 0.00041 × (BW)2, R2 = 0.95. These equations suggest that there is evidence for a decreasing quadratic relationship between mean CV of a population and BW of pigs whereby the rate of decrease is smaller as mean pig BW increases from birth to market. Conversely, the rate of increase of SD of a population of pigs is smaller as mean pig BW increases from birth to market.


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