Parasite communities in Boops boops (L.) (Sparidae) after the Prestige oil-spill: detectable alterations

Environmental pollution affects parasite populations and communities, both directly and through effects on intermediate and final hosts. In this work, we present a comparative study on the structure and composition of metazoan parasite communities in the bogue, Boops boops, from two localities (Galician coast, Spain) affected by the Prestige oil-spill (POS). We focus on the distribution of both individual parasite species and larger functional groupings by using both univariate and multivariate analyses. Our results indicate directional trends in community composition that might be related to the Prestige oil-spill disturbance of the natural coastal communities off Galicia. Endoparasite communities in B. boops reflected a notable change in the composition and abundance of the benthic fauna in the localities studied post-spill probably due to organic enrichment after the POS.     

A precessing jet model for the PN K 3 − 35: simulated radio-continuum emission

The bipolar morphology of the planetary nebula (PN) K 3 − 35 observed in radio-continuum images was modelled with 3D hydrodynamic simulations with the adaptive grid code yguazú-a . We find that the observed morphology of this PN can be reproduced considering a precessing jet evolving in a dense AGB circumstellar medium, given by a mass-loss rate     and a terminal velocity   v _w= 10 km s⁻¹  . Synthetic thermal radio-continuum maps were generated from numerical results for several frequencies. Comparing the maps and the total fluxes obtained from the simulations with the observational results, we find that a model of precessing dense jets, where each jet injects material into the surrounding CSM at a rate     (equivalent to a density of 8 × 10⁴ cm⁻³), a velocity of 1500 km s⁻¹, a precession period of 100 yr and a semi-aperture precession angle of 20° agrees well with the observations.     

Aerosol particles in the Mexican East Pacific. Part II: Numerical simulations of the impact of enhanced CCN on precipitation development

A number of studies have explored the effect of anthropogenic emissions on the development and evolution of precipitation in different types of clouds; however, the magnitude of the effect is still not clear, particularly for the case of deep, mixed-phase clouds. In this study, changes in the parameterization of the autoconversión process were introduced in the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) model to further evaluate this question. The simulations were initialized with cloud droplet distributions measured from an instrumented C-130 aircraft flying 600-800 km offshore in the intertropical convergence zone during the East Pacific Investigations of Climate (EPIC) project. Two contrasting cases were selected, one with and the other without the influence of anthropogenic aerosols. The simulations indicate that the increased cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations lead to a delay in the formation of rain and to a decrease in precipitation that reaches the surface as a result of the inhibition of the autoconversion of cloud water to rain water and the subsequent delay in the formation of hail. In addition, hail forms at higher levels in the cloud for the case of anthropogenic CCN. The most important process in the production of rain water in both cases is the melting of hail. A decrease in the mass of hail that falls below the freezing level in the polluted case, leads to a decrease in the resulting precipitation at the surface. Changes in the initial concentration of CCN do not appear to influence the storm strength in terms of updrafts and cloud top height, suggesting little sensitivity of the cloud dynamics. A control case simulation using the old microphysics scheme produces much more precipitation than either of the clean and polluted cases. In addition, the clean case with the modified parameterization shows a better agreement to observations than the control case. It is suggested to use the new scheme to simulate deep convective development over tropical maritime regions.     

Effects of the Magnetic Field on the Hα Emission from Jets

We present results of MHD axisymmetrical cylindrical simulations performed to study Hα emission maps from jets, with a toroidal field geometry for the magnetic field. Our code uses a linear Riemann solver, integrates equations in 2.5 dimensions and includes the calculation of the ionization fraction and the effects of the emission due to the collisional excitation of [O I] and [O II] lines, radiative recombination of H and the collisional ionization of H and excitation of Lyman-α. The simulations with variable ejection velocities show that the magnetic field produces an increase in the emission from all of the knots except for the first bow shock.     

A numerical and experimental study of the time-evolution of a low Mach number jet

We present a comparison between a plasma-generated 'starting jet' experiment and an axisymmetric numerical simulation of the flow. The experimental flow and the numerical simulation give results that agree both qualitatively and quantitatively, showing that the complex vortical structures arising in the flow are surprisingly well reproduced by the numerical model. This result inspires confidence in the accuracy of astrophysical jet numerical simulations. Also, even though the Mach number of our laboratory jet is somewhat low ( M ∼0.5), the dimensionless parameters of this jet are not very far from those expected for Faranoff–Riley class I radio jets.     

A simulation of a jet with the hiccups

We present results of a numerical simulation of a stellar jet from a source with supersonic variations in the outflow velocity. The simulation is compared with both analytical predictions and observations.     

Marine debris ingestion in loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, from the Western Mediterranean

Marine debris represents an important threat for sea turtles, but information on this topic is scarce in some areas, such as the Mediterranean sea. This paper quantifies marine debris ingestion in 54 juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) illegally captured by fishermen in Spanish Mediterranean waters. Curved carapace length was measured, necropsies were performed and debris abundance and type was recorded. Different types of debris appeared in the gastrointestinal tract of 43 turtles (79.6%), being plastics the most frequent (75.9%). Tar, paper, Styrofoam, wood, reed, feathers, hooks, lines, and net fragments were also present. A regression analysis showed that the volume of debris increased proportionally to the size of the turtles. The high variety of debris found and the large differences in ingestion among turtles indicated low feeding discrimination of this species that makes it specially prone to debris ingestion. Our data suggest that more severe control of litter spills and greater promotion of environmental educational programmes are needed in the Western Mediterranean.     

Herbig-Haro jets from time-dependent sources

A considerable amount of effort has been made towards obtaining a theoretical understanding of the collimated, optically detected outflows (Herbig-Haro objects) ejected by young stars. The most clear results have been obtained for the case of the Herbig-Haro jets, a loosely defined category which groups the Herbig-Haro (HH) objects with jet-like structures of aligned knots. In particular, it has recently been shown that at least some of the characteristics of the HH jets can be straightforwardly explained in terms of models of jets from variable sources. This paper presents a review of the properties of models of jet flows from sources with a variability in the ejection velocity, in the ejection direction, and with a general velocity+direction variability. Also, a comparison between the observational characteristics of HH jets and the predictions from variable source jet models is carried out.     

3D numerical simulations of a radiative Herbig–Haro jet in a supersonic side wind

We have performed 3D numerical simulations of an over-pressurized Herbig–Haro-type jet which propagates into a sidestreaming environment. The interaction between the jet and the sidewind results in a perpendicular acceleration of the jet material, and a consequent curvature of the jet as it moves into the anisotropic medium. We find that an approximately steady configuration is achieved both for a sidewind that is perpendicular to the jet and for a sidewind inclined at 45° towards the jet source. The curvature obtained in both these models is consistent with analytic models of the jet/sidewind problem.   We have also calculated Hα maps, which show an emitting sheath around the upwind (with respect to the sidewind) side of the jet beam. This emitting sheath may explain part of the observed emission from curved stellar jets.