Ecological studies of a regulated stream: Huntington River, Emery County, Utah

A 36.9x10 6 m 3 reservoir constructed on Huntington River, Emery County, Utah, resulted in changes in physical habitat, water quality, temperature, and flow regime. The greatest changes in physical habitat resulted from: (1) sediment additions from dam and road construction plus erosion of reservoir basin during filling; and (2) changing stream flow from a spring high runoff regime to a moderated flow regime. Elimination of spring nutrient concentration peaks and overall reduction of total dissolved nutrient availability in the river plus moderate reductions in pH were the most apparent water quality changes below the reservoir. Water temperature changes were an increased diurnal and seasonal constancy, summer depression, and winter elevation, generally limited to a 10–12 km reach below the dam. Physical and chemical changes altered macroinvertebrate community structure, with changes greatest near the dam and progressively less as distance downstream increased. Below the dam: (1) more environmentally tolerant taxa increased their dominance; (2) relative numbers of smaller sized individuals increased in relation to larger individuals; and (3) filter feeding, collector/gatherers, and scrapers gained an advantage over shredders. Insect taxa such as Rhithrogena robusta, Pteronarcella badia, and Ephemerella doddsi were eliminated from stream reaches near the dam, and other taxa such as Arctopsyche grandis, Chironomidae, and Simuliidae increased in numbers. Late spring to early summer egg hatch proved to be a disadvantage to Brachycentrus occidentalis, and B. americanus, with a fall hatch, was less impacted by altered river flow patterns. Macroinvertebrate taxa with small instar larvae present from late summer to early fall were negatively impacted by the unnaturally high July and August flows. The reservoir became a physical barrier to downstream larval drift and upcanyon and downcanyon immigration of adults, resulting in reduced numbers of several species above and below the reservoir.         

Variation in Lewsia kelloggii (Portulacaceae) with description of a new species endemic to Idaho

Lewisia kelloggii has been understood as a rare plant with a disjunct range in California and Idaho. Examination of herbarium specimens and analysis of isozymes in 6 Idaho and 7 California populations revealed consistent differences between plants of the 2 states. Fixed differences in alleles at 2 loci (AAT2 and PGI1) distinguished Idaho from California plants. Genetic identities based on isozymes between Idaho and California populations averaged 0.58, lower than the average for congeneric plant species. Idaho plants were smaller than most California plants, but California plants were variable. The most consistent morphological difference between Idaho and California specimens was the difference in the number of glands on the margins of bracts and sepals. Idaho plants had 0 (-5) pink glands on each margin of these organs, all on teeth near the tips. In California plants these organs had 12-25 glands on each margin, the distal ones elevated on teeth and the proximal ones sessile. We recognize the Idaho plants as a new species, L. sacajaweana , and retain the name L. kelloggii for the California populations.     

The evolution of a trading zone: a case study of the turtle excluder device

This paper explores the evolution of a trading zone by organizing the case study of turtle excluder devices within the model proposed by Collins et al. (2007). The case study offers evidence that trading zones do evolve and that the concepts of enforced and fractionated trading zones hold practical utility for describing and defining the complexities of actual exchanges. In this case a trading zone evolved from enforced to fractionated and ultimately diverged into two trading zones. For each step of the evolution I describe the forces that drove these transitions. Finally, I present an adapted trading zone model that is conceptually a better fit for the turtle excluder device case study.     

Barn owl diet includes mammal species new to the island fauna of the Great Salt Lake

An investigation of the diet of the Common Barn-owl ( Tyto alba ) on Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake, Utah, yielded four mammal species not previously known to occur on any island in the Great Salt Lake ( Microtus pennsylvanicus, M. montanus, Ondatra zibethicus , and a Sorex sp.). Two other species, known from other islands, were added to the list of fauna of Antelope Island ( Perognathus parvus and Reithrodontomys megalotis ). The barn owl diet on Antelope Island was remarkably like that of barn owls feeding in farmlands adjacent to the Great Salt Lake despite major vegetational differences.     

Simultaneity,convention, and gauge freedom

As is well known from Einstein (1905) the choice of a criterion for distant simultaneity is equivalent to stipulating one-way speeds for the transit of light. It is shown that any choice of non-standard synchrony is equivalent to a Lorentz local time boost. From this and considerations from the hole argument, it follows that there is a non-trivial sense in which distant simultaneity is conventional, at least to the extent that the “gauge freedom” arising in the hole argument is non-trivial.     

Visualization of subcellular NAD pools and intra-organellar protein localization by poly-ADP-ribose formation

Poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs) use NAD⁺ as substrate to generate polymers of ADP-ribose. We targeted the catalytic domain of human PARP1 as molecular NAD⁺ detector into cellular organelles. Immunochemical detection of polymers demonstrated distinct subcellular NAD⁺ pools in mitochondria, peroxisomes and, surprisingly, in the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex. Polymers did not accumulate within the mitochondrial intermembrane space or the cytosol. We demonstrate the suitability of this compartment-specific NAD⁺ and poly-ADP-ribose turnover to establish intra-organellar protein localization. For overexpressed proteins, genetically endowed with PARP activity, detection of polymers indicates segregation from the cytosol and consequently intra-organellar residence. In mitochondria, polymer build-up reveals matrix localization of the PARP fusion protein. Compared to presently used fusion tags for subcellular protein localization, these are substantial improvements in resolution. We thus established a novel molecular tool applicable for studies of subcellular NAD metabolism and protein localization.     

On the complexity of self.

Self peptides bound to self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules have been implicated both in positive and in negative selection of T cells during intrathymic development. We report here that the novel MHC-restricted monoclonal antibody Y-Ae detects the MHC class II bound form of a major self peptide. Y-Ae binds approximately 12% of the relevant MHC class II molecules on self antigen presenting cells. The peptide detected by Y-Ae is one of several major peptides eluted from the MHC molecule. These data suggest that self peptides presented by self MHC class II molecules at densities sufficient to signal a CD4 T cell are of very limited complexity. Furthermore, as Y-Ae stains antigen presenting cells that mediate negative selection but not thymic cortical epithelial cells that drive positive selection, differential expression of self peptide:self MHC class II complexes may be a key feature of intrathymic selection.