•Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) is a modeling and analysis method to investigate complex systems.•We reviewed research published from 2010 through 2016.•The ENA field is topically diverse ...including food webs, urban metabolism, and ecosystem theory.•The coauthorship network indicates a highly collaborative group of scientists.•We identify opportunities to build a more applicable science for ecosystem theory and management.
Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) combines modeling and analysis used to investigate the structure, function, and evolution of ecosystems and other complex systems. ENA is applied to network models that trace the movement of thermodynamically conserved energy or matter through the system. Investigators use ENA to answer a range of questions such as the following. What is the impact of fishing on the marine food web? Which species control the flux of nitrogen in an estuary? What is the ecological relationship among species in the food web when direct and indirect influences are considered? Would a proposed regulation make a city more sustainable? The field has grown since its inception in the 1970s, but it has rarely been systematically reviewed. This absence of reviews likely hinders the development of the field as a whole, obscures the diversity of its applications, and makes it difficult for new investigators to learn, develop, and apply the techniques. The objective of the work presented in this paper was to systematically review ENA research published in 2010 through 2016 to (1) identify the topic diversity, (2) expose methodological development, (3) highlight applications, and (4) assess collaboration among ENA scholars. To accomplish this, we used a combination of bibliometric, network (e.g., social network), and feature analyses. Our search identified 186 records. A topic network built from the bibliographic records revealed eight major topic clusters. The largest groups centered on food webs, urban metabolism, and ecosystem theory. Co-author analysis identified 387 authors in a collaboration network with eight larger components. The largest component contained 56% of the authors. This review shows ENA to be a topically diverse and collaborative science domain, and suggests opportunities to further develop ENA to better address issues in theoretical ecology and for environmental impact assessment and management.
A test facility to study the light-transmission properties of scintillating fiber waveguides for tracking applications in high-energy physics is being developed. A light-tight box 2 m in length has ...been built, and data acquisition hardware and software is in place for testing various aspects of scintillating fibers and waveguides. Scintillating fibers have been excited with radioactive sources, ultraviolet light sources, and light-emitting diodes. Various photodetectors such as photomultiplier tubes, photodiodes, charge-coupled devices and solid-state photomultipliers have been utilized to detect the transmitted light. Studies of attenuation length and transmission through splices are presented.< >
Edge glow in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminate structures is an ignition risk for composite fuel tanks and must be understood and mitigated or eliminated to ensure the safety ...of aircraft in the event of a lightning strike. Edge glow refers to visible light at cut edges of composite structures that can be recorded on film when high peak currents of short duration pass through composite structural members. The visible light observed can be due to blackbody radiation, electrical break down of the gasses in the immediate vicinity of the structural edge and hot plasma particles ejected due to the decomposition of the composite resins. Our analysis addresses the simulated temperatures, interply voltages and current densities from lightning direct effects in a generic 16-ply CFRP laminate coupon as a function of time and peak driving current. These simulations are compared to experimentally recorded light on film images from digital and instant photography during the driving current pulse and physical effects captured by post-test optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The insight gained from a fundamental understanding of edge glow phenomena can lead to improved edge glow mitigation and confinement schemes.
The need for experimental data to determine the taxonomic relationships within Polemonium foliosissimum A. Gray was indicated by previous works dealing with the genus. A synthesis of the data, ...gleaned from systematic studies, indicated the presence of four closely related taxa, which were assigned varietal rank. These varieties were: var. flavum (Greene) Comb. nov.; var. foliosissimum (A. Gray) Comb. nov.; var. Molle (Greene) Comb. nov.; and var. alpinum (Brand) Comb. nov.
A statistical analysis of morphological variation and a chromatographic analysis of flavonoid variation were performed to determine taxonomic relationships among the species of Tilia of eastern North ...America. No apparent morphological discontinuities were seen between populations within the sample area although two characters (involving leaf pubescence and gland length) showed definite patterns of geographical variation. Flavonoid patterns showed definite differences between northern and southern populations with an intermediate zone in the Smoky Mountain region. The continuous nature of the morphological and flavonoid variation suggested that the genus as represented in eastern North America should be regarded as one species, Tilia americana L.
The presence of a hybrid swarm in Utah between Polemonium delicatum Ryd. and P. foliosissimum A. Gray var. molle (Greene) Anway was determined. Analysis indicated the swarm to be basically bilateral, ...with the majority of backcrosses being unilateral with P. foliosissimum var. molle.
