Interactive effects of pH and temperature on native and alien mussels from the west coast of South Africa

Global warming and ocean acidification influence marine calcifying organisms, particularly those with external shells. Among these, mussels may compensate for environmental changes by phenotypic plasticity, but this may entail trade-offs between shell deposition, growth and reproduction. We assessed main and interactive effects of pH and temperature on four mussel species on the west coast of South Africa (33°48′ S, 18°27′ E) in October 2012 by comparing shell dissolution, shell growth, shell breaking force and condition index of two native species, the ribbed mussel Aulacomya atra and the black mussel Choromytilus meridionalis, and two aliens, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the bisexual mussel Semimytilus algosus. Live mussels and dead shells were exposed for 42 days to seawater of pH 7.5 or 8.0, at 14 °C or 20 °C. Low pH, high temperature and their combination increased shell dissolution of the two aliens but their growth rates and condition indices remained unchanged. Aulacomya atra also experienced greater shell dissolution at a low pH and high temperature, but grew faster in low-pH treatments. For C. meridionalis, shell dissolution was unaffected by pH or temperature; it also grew faster in low-pH treatments, but had a lower condition index in the higher temperature treatment. Shell strength was not determined by thickness alone. In most respects, all four species proved to be robust to short-term reduction of pH and elevation of temperature, but the native species compensated for greater shell dissolution at low pH by increasing growth rate, whereas the aliens did not, so their invasive success cannot be ascribed to benefits accruing from climate change.     

Raman and SEM analysis of a biocolonised hot spring travertine terrace in Svalbard,Norway

Background  

A profile across 8 layers from a fossil travertine terrace from a low temperature geothermal spring located in Svalbard, Norway has been studied using both Raman spectroscopy and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) techniques to identify minerals and organic life signals.     

Statistics of extinct radio pulsars

We study the statistical distribution of extinct radio pulsars at the stage of an ejector. An important element that distinguishes our study from other works is a consistent allowance for the evolution of the angle of inclination of the magnetic axis to the spin axis. We determined the distribution of extinct radio pulsars in spin period for two models: the model with hindered particle escape from the neutron-star surface and the model with free particle escape. The total number of extinct radio pulsars is shown to be much smaller than that in the model in which the evolution of the angle of axial inclination is disregarded. This is because when the evolution of the angle of axial inclination is taken into account, the transition to the stage of a propeller occurs at much shorter neutron-star spin periods (P ～ 5–10 s) than assumed previously.     

On the internal structure of relativistic jets

A magnetohydrodynamic model is constructed for a cylindrical jet embedded in an external uniform magnetic field. It is shown that, as in the force-free case, the total electric current within the jet can be zero. The particle energetics and the magnetic-field structure are determined in a self-consistent way; all jet parameters depend markedly on the physical conditions in the external medium. In particular, we show that a region with subsonic flow can exist in the central jet regions. In real relativistic jets, most of the energy is transferred by the electromagnetic field only at a sufficiently large magnetization parameter σ>10⁶. We also show that, in general, the well-known solution with a central core B _Z =B ₀/(1+?²/? _c ² ) cannot be realized in the presence of an external medium.     

Search for possible connections between isolated radio pulsars and supernova remnants

We have developed a method of searching for the connections between the isolated radio pulsars and supernova remnants, based on the analysis of their kinematic characteristics. We investigate fairly young (τ _ch ≲ 10⁶ yr) radio pulsars with known proper motions and estimated distances (dispersion measures), and supernova remnants located no more than 1–2 kpc away from them. Using a standard empirical radial velocity distribution, we have constructed 100–200 thousand trajectories for each of these pulsars, tracing back their possible motion in the Galactic gravitational field on a time-scale of a few million years. The probabilities of their close encounters with the SNRs at epochs consistent with the age of the pulsar are analyzed. When these probabilities exceed considerably their reference values, obtained by assuming a purely random encounter between the objects, we conclude that the pulsars may have originated in the SNRs under consideration. Out of eight preselected pairs of pulsar-SNR association candidates, two pairs, J 1829-1751 / G16.2-2.7 and J 1833-0827 / G24.7-0.6 may have a common origin with a high probability.     

Search for fast optical activity of SGR 1806-20 at the SAO RAS 6-m telescope

The region of SGR 1806-20 localization was observed during its gamma-ray activity in 2001. The observations have been performed on the 6-meter telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory, using the Panoramic Photometer-Polarimeter (PPP). The search for variability was performed on the 10⁻⁶–10 s time scale, and its results were compared to the properties of corresponding X-ray flares. This work has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant No 04-02-17555), Russian Academy of Sciences (program “Evolution of Stars and Galaxies”), and by the Russian Science Support Foundation. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous referee for his/her valuable comments.