Individual differences in the energy cost of self-maintenance (resting metabolic rate, RMR) are substantial and the focus of an emerging research area. These differences may influence fitness because ...self-maintenance is considered as a life-history component along with growth and reproduction. In this review, we ask why do some individuals have two to three times the ‘maintenance costs’ of conspecifics, and what are the fitness consequences? Using evidence from a range of species, we demonstrate that diverse factors, such as genotypes, maternal effects, early developmental conditions and personality differences contribute to variation in individual RMR. We review evidence that RMR is linked with fitness, showing correlations with traits such as growth and survival. However, these relationships are modulated by environmental conditions (e.g. food supply), suggesting that the fitness consequences of a given RMR may be context-dependent. Then, using empirical examples, we discuss broad-scale reasons why variation in RMR might persist in natural populations, including the role of both spatial and temporal variation in selection pressures and trans-generational effects. To conclude, we discuss experimental approaches that will enable more rigorous examination of the causes and consequences of individual variation in this key physiological trait.
ABSTRACT There is an ≈9 ± 2.5 per cent tension between the value of Hubble’s Constant, H0 = 67.4 ± 0.5 km s−1 Mpc−1, implied by the Planck microwave background power spectrum and that given by the ...distance scale of H0 = 73.4 ± 1.7 km s−1Mpc−1. But with a plausible assumption about a Gaia DR2 parallax systematic offset, we find that Gaia parallax distances of Milky Way Cepheid calibrators are ≈12–15 per cent longer than previously estimated. Similarly, Gaia also implies ≈4.7 ± 1.7 per cent longer distances for 46 Cepheids than previous distances on the scale of Riess et al. Then we show that the existence of an ≈150 h−1Mpc ‘Local Hole’ in the galaxy distribution implies an outflow of ≈500 km s−1. Accounting for this in the recession velocities of SNIa standard candles out to z ≈ 0.15 reduces H0 by a further ≈1.8 per cent. Combining the above two results would reduce the distance scale H0 estimate by ≈7 per cent from H0 ≈ 73.4 ± 1.7 to ≈68.9 ± 1.6 km s−1Mpc−1, in reasonable agreement with the Planck value. We conclude that the discrepancy between distance scale and Planck H0 measurements remains unconfirmed due to uncertainties caused by Gaia systematics and an unexpectedly inhomogeneous local galaxy distribution.
There is increasing interest in documenting and explaining the existence of marked intraspecific variation in metabolic rate in animals, with fishes providing some of the best‐studied examples. After ...accounting for variation due to other factors, there can typically be a two to three‐fold variation among individual fishes for both standard and maximum metabolic rate (SMR and MMR). This variation is reasonably consistent over time (provided that conditions remain stable), and its underlying causes may be influenced by both genes and developmental conditions. In this paper, current knowledge of the extent and causes of individual variation in SMR, MMR and aerobic scope (AS), collectively its metabolic phenotype, is reviewed and potential links among metabolism, behaviour and performance are described. Intraspecific variation in metabolism has been found to be related to other traits: fishes with a relatively high SMR tend to be more dominant and grow faster in high food environments, but may lose their advantage and are more prone to risk‐taking when conditions deteriorate. In contrast to the wide body of research examining links between SMR and behavioural traits, very little work has been directed towards understanding the ecological consequences of individual variation in MMR and AS. Although AS can differ among populations of the same species in response to performance demands, virtually nothing is known about the effects of AS on individual behaviours such as those associated with foraging or predator avoidance. Further, while factors such as food availability, temperature, hypoxia and the fish's social environment are known to alter resting and MMRs in fishes, there is a paucity of studies examining how these effects vary among individuals, and how this variation relates to behaviour. Given the observed links between metabolism and measures of performance, understanding the metabolic responses of individuals to changing environments will be a key area for future research because the environment will have a strong influence on which animals survive predation, become dominant and ultimately have the highest reproductive success. Although current evidence suggests that variation in SMR may be maintained within populations via context‐dependent fitness benefits, it is suggested that a more integrative approach is now required to fully understand how the environment can modulate individual performance via effects on metabolic phenotypes encompassing SMR, MMR and AS.
Physical Properties of 15 Quasars at z 6.5 Mazzucchelli, C.; Bañados, E.; Venemans, B. P. ...
The Astrophysical journal,
11/2017, Letnik:
849, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Quasars are galaxies hosting accreting supermassive black holes; due to their brightness, they are unique probes of the early universe. To date, only a few quasars have been reported at (<800 Myr ...after the big bang). In this work, we present six additional quasars discovered using the Pan-STARRS1 survey. We use a sample of 15 quasars to perform a homogeneous and comprehensive analysis of this highest-redshift quasar population. We report four main results: (1) the majority of quasars show large blueshifts of the broad C iv λ1549 emission line compared to the systemic redshift of the quasars, with a median value ∼3× higher than a quasar sample at ; (2) we estimate the quasars' black hole masses ( (0.3-5) × 109 M ) via modeling of the Mg ii λ2798 emission line and rest-frame UV continuum and find that quasars at high redshift accrete their material (with ) at a rate comparable to a luminosity-matched sample at lower redshift, albeit with significant scatter (0.4 dex); (3) we recover no evolution of the Fe ii/Mg ii abundance ratio with cosmic time; and (4) we derive near-zone sizes and, together with measurements for quasars from recent work, confirm a shallow evolution of the decreasing quasar near-zone sizes with redshift. Finally, we present new millimeter observations of the C ii 158 m emission line and underlying dust continuum from NOEMA for four quasars and provide new accurate redshifts and C ii/infrared luminosity estimates. The analysis presented here shows the large range of properties of the most distant quasars.
We present a systematic search for periodically varying quasar and supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidates in the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (MDS). From ∼9000 color-selected quasars in ...an ∼50 °2 sky area, we initially identify 26 candidates with more than 1.5 cycles of variation. We extend the baseline of observations via our imaging campaign with the Discovery Channel Telescope and the Las Cumbres Observatory network and reevaluate the candidates using a more rigorous, maximum likelihood method. Using a range of statistical criteria and assuming the damped random walk model for normal quasar variability, we identify one statistically significant periodic candidate. We also investigate the capabilities of detecting SMBHBs with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope using our study with MDS as a benchmark and explore any complementary multiwavelength evidence for SMBHBs in our sample.
Pan-STARRS Photometric and Astrometric Calibration Magnier, Eugene. A.; Schlafly, Edward. F.; Finkbeiner, Douglas P. ...
The Astrophysical journal. Supplement series,
11/2020, Letnik:
251, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
We present the details of the photometric and astrometric calibration of the Pan-STARRS1 3
π
Survey. The photometric goals were to reduce the systematic effects introduced by the camera and ...detectors, and to place all of the observations onto a photometric system with consistent zero-points over the entire area surveyed, the ≈30,000 deg
2
north of
δ
= −30°. Using external comparisons, we demonstrate that the resulting photometric system is consistent across the sky to between 7 and 12.4 mmag depending on the filter. For bright stars, the systematic error floor for individual measurements is (
σ
g
,
σ
r
,
σ
i
,
σ
z
,
σ
y
) = (14, 14, 15, 15, 18) mmag. The astrometric calibration compensates for similar systematic effects so that positions, proper motions, and parallaxes are reliable as well. The bright-star systematic error floor for individual astrometric measurements is 16 mas. The Pan-STARRS Data Release 2 (DR2) astrometric system is tied to the Gaia DR1 coordinate frame with a systematic uncertainty of ∼5 mas.
Nutritional conditions during key periods of development, when the architecture and
modus operandi of the body become established, are of profound importance in determining the subsequent ...life-history trajectory of an organism. If developing individuals experience a period of nutritional deficit, they can subsequently show accelerated growth should conditions improve, apparently compensating for the initial setback. However, recent research suggests that, although compensatory growth can bring quick benefits, it is also associated with a surprising variety of costs that are often not evident until much later in adult life. Clearly, the nature of these costs, the timescale over which they are incurred and the mechanisms underlying them will play a crucial role in determining compensatory strategies. Nonetheless, such effects remain poorly understood and largely neglected by ecologists and evolutionary biologists.
We announce the discovery of a new Galactic companion found in data from the ESO VST ATLAS survey, and followed up with deep imaging on the 4-m William Herschel Telescope. The satellite is located in ...the constellation of Crater (the Cup) at a distance of ∼170 kpc. Its half-light radius is r
h = 30 pc and its luminosity is M
V
= −5.5. The bulk of its stellar population is old and metal poor. We would probably have classified the newly discovered satellite as an extended globular cluster were it not for the presence of a handful of blue loop stars and a sparsely populated red clump. The existence of the core helium burning population implies that star formation occurred in Crater perhaps as recently as 400 Myr ago. No globular cluster has ever accomplished the feat of prolonging its star formation by several Gyr. Therefore, if our hypothesis that the blue bright stars in Crater are blue loop giants is correct, the new satellite should be classified as a dwarf galaxy with unusual properties. Note that only 10°to the north of Crater, two ultrafaint galaxies Leo IV and Leo V orbit the Galaxy at approximately the same distance. This hints that all three satellites may once have been closely associated before falling together into the Milky Way halo.
Abstract
The Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) Science Consortium has carried out a set of imaging surveys using the 1.4 gigapixel GPC1 camera on the PS1 telescope. As this camera is composed of many individual ...electronic readouts and covers a very large field of view, great care was taken to ensure that the many instrumental effects were corrected to produce the most uniform detector response possible. We present the image-detrending steps used as part of the processing of the data contained within the public release of Pan-STARRS1 Data Release 1 (DR1). In addition to the single image processing, the methods used to transform the 375,573 individual exposures into a common sky-oriented grid are discussed, as well as those used to produce both the image stack and difference combination products.
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