The functioning and richness of marine systems (and biological interactions such as parasitism) are continuously influenced by a changing environment. Using hierarchical modelling of species communities (HMSC), the presence and abundance of multiple parasite species of the black-spotted croaker, Protonibea diacanthus (Sciaenidae), was modelled against environmental measures reflecting seasonal change. Protonibea diacanthus were collected in three seasons across 2019–2021 from four locations within the waters of the Northern Territory, Australia. The length of P. diacanthus proved to have a strong positive effect on the abundance of parasite taxa and overall parasitic assemblage of the sciaenid host. This finding introduces potential implications for parasitism in the future as fish body size responds to fishing pressure and climate changes. Of the various environmental factors measured during the tropical seasons of northern Australia, water temperature and salinity changes were shown as potential causal factors for the variance in parasite presence and abundance, with changes most influential on external parasitic organisms. As environmental factors like ocean temperature and salinity directly affect parasite–host relationships, this study suggests that parasite assemblages and the ecological functions that they perform are likely to change considerably over the coming decades in response to climate change and its proceeding effects.

The quantification of the relative mineralogical composition of clay mixtures by powder X-ray diffraction or chemical mass balance methods has been severely hampered by a lack of representative standards. The recent development of elemental mass balance models that do not require standards for all minerals in the mixture may help circumvent this problem. These methods, which are based on the numerical optimization of systems of non-linear equations using the Marquardt algorithm, show promise for mineral quantification. The objective of this study is to make a preliminary assessment of the accuracy of these methods and to compare them to linear models that require standards for all mineral phases. Methods 1 and 2 are based on weighted average solutions to simultaneous linear equations solved for single samples with known standards. Solutions were achieved by a matrix decomposition algorithm and the Marquardt algorithm, respectively. Methods 3 and 4 are based on a set of simultaneous non-linear equations with reduced non-linearity solved by least squares optimization based on the Marquardt algorithm for multiple samples. Illite and halloysite compositions were fixed in Method 3, only the halloysite composition was fixed in Method 4. All models yielded relative weight fractions of the three mineral components; additionally, Methods 3 and 4 yielded compositions of smectite, and smectite and illite, respectively. Ten clay mixtures with varying proportions of the <0.2 μm size fraction of three different reference clays (Wyoming bentonite, Fithian illite, and New Bedford halloysite) were prepared gravi-metrically and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. Accuracy of the four methods was evaluated by comparing the known mineralogical compositions of the mixtures with those predicted by the models. Relative errors of 5 and 10% (randomly +/-) were imposed on the elemental composition of the smectite standard to simulate errors due to lack of good standards. Not surprisingly, the accuracy of Methods 1 and 2 decreased rapidly with increasing error. Because Methods 3 and 4 optimized for the smectite composition and only used it for an initial guess, they were unaffected by the level of introduced error. They accurately quantified the mineralogical compositions of the mixtures and the elemental compositions of smectite, and smectite and illite, respectively.

Understanding historical environmental determinants associated with the risk of elevated marine water contamination could enhance monitoring marine beaches in a Canadian setting, which can also inform predictive marine water quality models and ongoing climate change preparedness efforts. This study aimed to assess the combination of environmental factors that best predicts Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration at public beaches in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, by combining the region’s microbial water quality data and publicly available environmental data from 2013 to 2021. We developed a Bayesian log-normal mixed-effects regression model to evaluate predictors of geometric E. coli concentrations at 15 beaches in the Metro Vancouver Region. We identified that higher levels of geometric mean E. coli levels were predicted by higher previous sample day E. coli concentrations, higher rainfall in the preceding 48 h, and higher 24-h average air temperature at the median or higher levels of the 24-h mean ultraviolet (UV) index. In contrast, higher levels of mean salinity were predicted to result in lower levels of E. coli. Finally, we determined that the average effects of the predictors varied highly by beach. Our findings could form the basis for building real-time predictive marine water quality models to enable more timely beach management decision-making.

We present a calibration component for the Murchison Widefield Array All-Sky Virtual Observatory (MWA ASVO) utilising a newly developed PostgreSQL database of calibration solutions. Since its inauguration in 2013, the MWA has recorded over 34 petabytes of data archived at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. According to the MWA Data Access policy, data become publicly available 18 months after collection. Therefore, most of the archival data are now available to the public. Access to public data was provided in 2017 via the MWA ASVO interface, which allowed researchers worldwide to download MWA uncalibrated data in standard radio astronomy data formats (CASA measurement sets or UV FITS files). The addition of the MWA ASVO calibration feature opens a new, powerful avenue for researchers without a detailed knowledge of the MWA telescope and data processing to download calibrated visibility data and create images using standard radio astronomy software packages. In order to populate the database with calibration solutions from the last 6 yr we developed fully automated pipelines. A near-real-time pipeline has been used to process new calibration observations as soon as they are collected and upload calibration solutions to the database, which enables monitoring of the interferometric performance of the telescope. Based on this database, we present an analysis of the stability of the MWA calibration solutions over long time intervals.

We demonstrate an application evaluating carbon sequestration benefits from federal policy alternatives. Using detailed forest inventory data, we projected carbon sequestration outcomes in the coterminous 48 states for a baseline scenario and three policy scenarios through 2050. Alternatives included (1) reducing deforestation from development, (2) afforestation in the eastern United States and reforestation in the western United States, and (3) reducing stand-replacing wildfires. We used social cost of carbon estimates to evaluate the present value of carbon sequestration benefits gained with each policy. Results suggest that afforestation and reforestation would provide the greatest marginal increase in carbon benefit, far exceeding policy cost.

We describe the motivation and design details of the ‘Phase II’ upgrade of the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. The expansion doubles to 256 the number of antenna tiles deployed in the array. The new antenna tiles enhance the capabilities of the Murchison Widefield Array in several key science areas. Seventy-two of the new tiles are deployed in a regular configuration near the existing array core. These new tiles enhance the surface brightness sensitivity of the array and will improve the ability of the Murchison Widefield Array to estimate the slope of the Epoch of Reionisation power spectrum by a factor of ∼3.5. The remaining 56 tiles are deployed on long baselines, doubling the maximum baseline of the array and improving the array u, v coverage. The improved imaging capabilities will provide an order of magnitude improvement in the noise floor of Murchison Widefield Array continuum images. The upgrade retains all of the features that have underpinned the Murchison Widefield Array’s success (large field of view, snapshot image quality, and pointing agility) and boosts the scientific potential with enhanced imaging capabilities and by enabling new calibration strategies.

The hard-core model has attracted much attention across several disciplines, representing lattice gases in statistical physics and independent sets in discrete mathematics and computer science. On finite graphs, we are given a parameter λ, and an independent set I arises with probability proportional to λ|I|. On infinite graphs a Gibbs measure is defined as a suitable limit with the correct conditional probabilities, and we are interested in determining when this limit is unique and when there is phase coexistence, i.e., existence of multiple Gibbs measures.

It has long been conjectured that on ℤ2 this model has a critical value λc ≈ 3.796 with the property that if λ < λc then it exhibits uniqueness of phase, while if λ > λc then there is phase coexistence. Much of the work to date on this problem has focused on the regime of uniqueness, with the state of the art being recent work of Sinclair, Srivastava, Štefankovič and Yin showing that there is a unique Gibbs measure for all λ < 2.538. Here we explore the other direction and prove that there are multiple Gibbs measures for all λ > 5.3506. We also show that with the methods we are using we cannot hope to replace 5.3506 with anything below 4.8771.

Our proof begins along the lines of the standard Peierls argument, but we add two innovations. First, following ideas of Kotecký and Randall, we construct an event that distinguishes two boundary conditions and always has long contours associated with it, obviating the need to accurately enumerate short contours. Second, we obtain improved bounds on the number of contours by relating them to a new class of self-avoiding walks on an oriented version of ℤ2.

In September 2016, the annual meeting of the International Union for Quaternary Research’s Loess and Pedostratigraphy Focus Group, traditionally referred to as a LoessFest, met in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The 2016 LoessFest focused on “thin” loess deposits and loess transportation surfaces. This LoessFest included 75 registered participants from 10 countries. Almost half of the participants were from outside the United States, and 18 of the participants were students. This review is the introduction to the special issue for Quaternary Research that originated from presentations and discussions at the 2016 LoessFest. This introduction highlights current understanding and ongoing work on loess in various regions of the world and provides brief summaries of some of the current approaches/strategies used to study loess deposits.

We describe the design and performance of the Engineering Development Array, which is a low-frequency radio telescope comprising 256 dual-polarisation dipole antennas working as a phased array. The Engineering Development Array was conceived of, developed, and deployed in just 18 months via re-use of Square Kilometre Array precursor technology and expertise, specifically from the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. Using drift scans and a model for the sky brightness temperature at low frequencies, we have derived the Engineering Development Array’s receiver temperature as a function of frequency. The Engineering Development Array is shown to be sky-noise limited over most of the frequency range measured between 60 and 240 MHz. By using the Engineering Development Array in interferometric mode with the Murchison Widefield Array, we used calibrated visibilities to measure the absolute sensitivity of the array. The measured array sensitivity matches very well with a model based on the array layout and measured receiver temperature. The results demonstrate the practicality and feasibility of using Murchison Widefield Array-style precursor technology for Square Kilometre Array-scale stations. The modular architecture of the Engineering Development Array allows upgrades to the array to be rolled out in a staged approach. Future improvements to the Engineering Development Array include replacing the second stage beamformer with a fully digital system, and to transition to using RF-over-fibre for the signal output from first stage beamformers.

Imazethapyr dose response curves were developed under laboratory and field conditions with the imazethapyr-resistant and -susceptible corn hybrids Pioneer 3180IR, IR denoting a hybrid homozygous for the XA17 gene conferring resistance to imazethapyr, and normal Pioneer 3180, respectively, and their F1 progeny to establish methods of measuring the presence of the XA17 gene and quantifying its impact. At two field locations, absorption of photosynthetically active radiation was a sensitive index of corn injury caused by imazethapyr. Imazethapyr, at 35 g/ha (one half the labeled rate), reduced absorption of photosynthetically active radiation in Pioneer 3180 by 8.3% at 1 wk after treatment. Plant height also was a sensitive index of injury. The minimum rate at which imazethapyr injury was detected in the Pioneer 3180IR/Pioneer 3180 F1 hybrid differed with location. Pioneer 3180IR was not injured by 280 g/ha of imazethapyr. The Pioneer 3180IR/3180 F1 hybrid was injured slightly by imazethapyr at 140 g/ha, but recovered within 5 wk after treatment, and grain yield was not reduced by 280 g/ha of imazethapyr. A seedling assay reliably detected differences between progeny of Pioneer 3180IR and Pioneer 3180IR/3180 F1.

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic. ♯3 ABUTH) grown under monoculture consistently exceeded velvetleaf intercropped with soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. var. ‘Amsoy 71′] in leaf area, nodes with fully developed leaves, canopy width, branches, and number of capsules as early as 3, 3, 4, 5, and 8 weeks, respectively, after simultaneous emergence. Velvetleaf plants without soybean competition eventually developed over nine times the dry matter of velvetleaf intercropped with soybean. The only components of velvetleaf plants sampled which sometimes increased significantly when soybean was defoliated in a manner simulating damage caused by the green cloverworm (GCW) (Plathypena scabra F.) were leaf area, number of leaves, and number of main-stem nodes. Soybeans in Iowa are attacked by the GCW late enough in the growing season that velvetleaf surviving previous weed management efforts benefited only slightly.

Destructive growth analysis of field replacement series experiments with mayweed chamomile and dry field peas was used to determine the competitive relationship between the two species. Mayweed chamomile produced similar amounts of leaf area and dry weight per plant in a dry year and a wet year. On the other hand, dry field peas produced 20% more leaf area and 100% more dry weight per plant in the wet year compared to the dry year. Height, leaf area, and dry weight of peas reached maximum between bloom and pod-set, and then declined. Height and dry weight of mayweed chamomile increased steadily throughout the growing season. Mayweed chamomile leaf area reached a maximum at the beginning of flower stem elongation. Initially, the relative growth rate of mayweed chamomile was about three times greater than the rate for peas, but by 40 to 48 d after planting, rates were similar for both species. Relative yields and relative crowding coefficients for dry weight showed that peas were 3 to 20 times more aggressive than mayweed chamomile. Results of these experiments show that mayweed chamomile is a weak competitor against peas, but because it continues to grow after peas senesce, it could interfere with crop harvest.