scholarly journals Toward adaptive robotic sampling of phytoplankton in the coastal ocean

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (27) ◽  
pp. eaav3041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trygve O. Fossum ◽  
Glaucia M. Fragoso ◽  
Emlyn J. Davies ◽  
Jenny E. Ullgren ◽  
Renato Mendes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Coastal Ocean ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Embedded Algorithms ◽  
Particle Imaging ◽  
Multiple Field

Currents, wind, bathymetry, and freshwater runoff are some of the factors that make coastal waters heterogeneous, patchy, and scientifically interesting—where it is challenging to resolve the spatiotemporal variation within the water column. We present methods and results from field experiments using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with embedded algorithms that focus sampling on features in three dimensions. This was achieved by combining Gaussian process (GP) modeling with onboard robotic autonomy, allowing volumetric measurements to be made at fine scales. Special focus was given to the patchiness of phytoplankton biomass, measured as chlorophyll a (Chla), an important factor for understanding biogeochemical processes, such as primary productivity, in the coastal ocean. During multiple field tests in Runde, Norway, the method was successfully used to identify, map, and track the subsurface chlorophyll a maxima (SCM). Results show that the algorithm was able to estimate the SCM volumetrically, enabling the AUV to track the maximum concentration depth within the volume. These data were subsequently verified and supplemented with remote sensing, time series from a buoy and ship-based measurements from a fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRf), particle imaging systems, as well as discrete water samples, covering both the large and small scales of the microbial community shaped by coastal dynamics. By bringing together diverse methods from statistics, autonomous control, imaging, and oceanography, the work offers an interdisciplinary perspective in robotic observation of our changing oceans.

Control of Winged Waterprimrose (Jussiaea decurrens) and Northern Jointvetch (Aeschynomene virginica) with Fungal Pathogens

Weed Science ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 497-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Boyette ◽  
G. E. Templeton ◽  
R. J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Oryza Sativa ◽  
Glycine Max ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Liquid Culture ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Growing Region

An indigenous, host-specific, pathogenic fungus that parasitizes winged waterprimrose [Jussiaea decurrens(Walt.) DC.] is endemic in the rice growing region of Arkansas. The fungus was isolated and identified asColletotrichum gloeosporioides(Penz.) Sacc. f.sp. jussiaeae(CGJ). It is highly specific for parasitism of winged waterprimrose and not parasitic on creeping waterprimrose (J. repensL. var.glabrescensKtze.), rice (Oryza sativaL.), soybeans [Glycine max(L.) Merr.], cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.), or 4 other crops and 13 other weeds. The fungus was physiologically distinct from C.gloeosporioides(Penz.) Sacc. f. sp.aeschynomene(CGA), an endemic anthracnose pathogen of northern jointvetch[Aeschynomene virginica(L.) B.S.P.], as indicated by cross inoculations of both weeds. Culture in the laboratory and inoculation of winged waterprimrose in greenhouse, growth chamber and field experiments indicated that the pathogen was stable, specific, and virulent in a wide range of environments. The pathogen yielded large quantities of spores in liquid culture. It is suitable for control of winged waterprimrose. Winged waterprimrose and northern jointvetch were controlled in greenhouse and field tests by application of spore mixtures of CGJ and CGA at concentrations of 1 to 2 million spores/ml of each fungus in 94 L/ha of water; the fungi did not damage rice or nontarget crops.

scholarly journals Alternative Control of Phragmidium rubi-idaei Infecting Two Rubus Species

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1452
Author(s):  
Raluca-Maria Pârlici ◽  
Aurel Maxim ◽  
Stefania Mirela Mang ◽  
Ippolito Camele ◽  
Lucia Mihalescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
In Vitro Tests ◽  
Rust Disease ◽  
Conidia Germination ◽  
The Impact

Organic berry plantations have been gaining popularity among farmers during recent years. Even so, farmers experience serious challenges in disease control management, which is a concern in organic farming. Phragmidiumrubi-idaei (DC) P. Karst is the pathogen responsible for blackberry and raspberry rust disease, one of the most present and active diseases in plantations. The antifungal certified products found on the organic farming market offer the opportunity for an efficient control strategy over plant pathogens in fruit shrub plantations. In this study, 5 natural based products—namely Altosan, Mimox, Canelys, Zitron, and Zeolite—were tested for their fungistatic effect over P. rubi-idaei. The experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions, performing observations over the impact of organic products, used at different concentration levels, on rust conidia germination. Moreover, field experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the efficiency of different treatments for rust control on raspberry (‘Polka’, ‘Veten’ and ‘Heritage’) and blackberry (‘Thorn Free’, ‘Chester’ and ‘Loch Ness’) varieties. Data analysis based on ANOVA tests showed significant differences between the tested variants and the control sample at p < 0.001. Furthermore, LSD test confirmed differences between all substances tested (p < 0.005). The natural products Canelys (formulated with cinnamon) and Zytron (based on citrus extract) have proven the highest inhibitory capacity for conidia germination during in vitro tests registering values of 80.42% and 78.34%, respectively. The same high inhibitory rates against rust pathogen were kept also in the field tests using the same two natural-based products mentioned earlier. In addition, outcomes from this study demonstrated that Zeolite is not recommended for raspberry or blackberry rust control.

Trap response of cutworm moths (Abagrotis orbis) to a sex-attractant lure in grape vineyards

2010 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Landolt ◽  
D. Thomas Lowery ◽  
Lawrence C. Wright ◽  
Constance Smithhisler ◽  
Christelle Gúedot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Vitis Vinifera ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Sex Attractant ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
South Central ◽  
Tetradecenyl Acetate ◽  
Feltia Jaculifera ◽  
Multiple Field ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

AbstractLarvae of Abagrotis orbis (Grote) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are climbing cutworms and can damage grapevines, Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae), in early spring by consuming expanding buds. A sex attractant would be useful for monitoring this insect in commercial vineyards. (Z)-7-Tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate were found in extracts of female abdominal tips. In multiple field experiments, male A. orbis were captured in traps baited with a combination of these two chemicals but not in traps baited with either chemical alone. Males were trapped from mid-September to early October in south-central Washington and south-central British Columbia. Other noctuid moths (Mamestra configurata Walker, Xestia c-nigrum (L.), and Feltia jaculifera (Guenée)) were also captured in traps baited with the A. orbis pheromone and may complicate the use of this lure to monitor A. orbis. Abagrotis discoidalis (Grote) was captured in traps baited with (Z)-7-tetradecenyl acetate but not in traps baited with the two chemicals together.

scholarly journals A horizontally polarizing liquid trap enhances the tabanid-capturing efficiency of the classic canopy trap

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 665-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Á. Egri ◽  
M. Blahó ◽  
D. Száz ◽  
G. Kriska ◽  
J. Majer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Liquid Trap ◽  
Black Sphere ◽  
Combined Trap

AbstractHost-seeking female tabanid flies, that need mammalian blood for the development of their eggs, can be captured by the classic canopy trap with an elevated shiny black sphere as a luring visual target. The design of more efficient tabanid traps is important for stock-breeders to control tabanids, since these blood-sucking insects can cause severe problems for livestock, especially for horse- and cattle-keepers: reduced meat/milk production in cattle farms, horses cannot be ridden, decreased quality of hides due to biting scars. We show here that male and female tabanids can be caught by a novel, weather-proof liquid-filled black tray laid on the ground, because the strongly and horizontally polarized light reflected from the black liquid surface attracts water-seeking polarotactic tabanids. We performed field experiments to reveal the ideal elevation of the liquid trap and to compare the tabanid-capturing efficiency of three different traps: (1) the classic canopy trap, (2) the new polarization liquid trap, and (3) the combination of the two traps. In field tests, we showed that the combined trap captures 2.4–8.2 times more tabanids than the canopy trap alone. The reason for the larger efficiency of the combined trap is that it captures simultaneously the host-seeking female and the water-seeking male and female tabanids. We suggest supplementing the traditional canopy trap with the new liquid trap in order to enhance the tabanid-capturing efficiency.

THE RULE OF COMBINING A PRIORI AND EXPERIMENTAL INFORMATION IN THE TASKS OF MANAGING TESTS OF COMPLEX TECHNICAL PRODUCTS ACCORDING TO THE BERNOULLI SCHEME

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Yu. I. Buryak ◽  
A. A. Skrynnikov
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Experimental Information ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Testing Complex ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Full Scale Tests ◽  
Technical Products

The article is devoted to the substantiation of the procedure for testing complex technical systems to assess the probability of performing the task, taking into account a priori data obtained from the results of modeling, field tests of components and prototypes, operation of analogues, etc. The conditions for the formation of a combined sample consisting of field experiments and experiments counted on the results of modeling are justified. Data uniformity is checked using the Student's criterion. The minimum volume of full-scale tests is determined by the requirement of equality of the amount of Fischer information about the estimated parameter obtained during full-scale tests and at the expense of a priori data A strategy for conducting field experiments is proposed, in which the required quality of evaluating the probability of completing the task is achieved with the minimum possible number of field experiments. At the first stage, a series of experiments with a volume equal to half of the required sample size is performed. At the second stage, the experiments are conducted sequentially with an assessment after each experiment of the requirements for the amount of information about the evaluated parameter and for the uniformity of data. Experiments are terminated when the specified requirements are met, and then a combined sample is formed, which is used to evaluate the probability of the system performing the task. A model example is considered. The estimation of the gain in the number of experiments performed at different probability values was carried out.

scholarly journals Estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration in productive turbid waters using a Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean—the Azov Sea case study

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 024023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoly A Gitelson ◽  
Bo-Cai Gao ◽  
Rong-Rong Li ◽  
Sergey Berdnikov ◽  
Vladislav Saprygin
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Coastal Ocean ◽  
Chlorophyll A Concentration ◽  
Turbid Waters ◽  
Azov Sea

scholarly journals Characterising optical array particle imaging probes: implications for small-ice-crystal observations

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1917-1939
Author(s):  
Sebastian O'Shea ◽  
Jonathan Crosier ◽  
James Dorsey ◽  
Louis Gallagher ◽  
Waldemar Schledewitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Sample Volume ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Cloud Particle ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Imaging Probes ◽  
New Methodologies ◽  
Particle Imaging

Abstract. The cloud particle concentration, size, and shape data from optical array probes (OAPs) are routinely used to parameterise cloud properties and constrain remote sensing retrievals. This paper characterises the optical response of OAPs using a combination of modelling, laboratory, and field experiments. Significant uncertainties are found to exist with such probes for ice crystal measurements. We describe and test two independent methods to constrain a probe's sample volume that remove the most severely mis-sized particles: (1) greyscale image analysis and (2) co-location using stereoscopic imaging. These methods are tested using field measurements from three research flights in cirrus. For these cases, the new methodologies significantly improve agreement with a holographic imaging probe compared to conventional data-processing protocols, either removing or significantly reducing the concentration of small ice crystals (< 200 µm) in certain conditions. This work suggests that the observational evidence for a ubiquitous mode of small ice particles in ice clouds is likely due to a systematic instrument bias. Size distribution parameterisations based on OAP measurements need to be revisited using these improved methodologies.

scholarly journals Improvement of the Corporate Loan Process in the Turkish Banking Sector: A Model

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semra Birgün ◽  
Sudi Apak
Keyword(s):  
Banking Sector ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Mapping Technique ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Value Stream ◽  
Corporate Loan ◽  
High Level ◽  
Six Sigma Approach

The aim of the present study is to develop a model for the integration of lean thinking into the corporate loan process with a special focus on the utilization of the value stream mapping technique. In line with this aim the study proposes a three-legged model specifically for the corporate loan processes of banks in Turkey as a developing country pursuing to integrate into the global financial world. The three dimensions included in the model are operational dimension, staff dimension and customer experience dimension. The study argues that by applying the proposed model based on the lean six sigma approach, banks can achieve and sustain a high level of improvement that would increase speed, value creation, cost-efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction and reduce waste, processing time and effort, duplication and prolonging of transactions, redundancies, risks and errors in the whole corporate loan process.

scholarly journals Fertilization of Algal Resources By an Exotic Snail May Facilitate Invasion

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
Leslie Riley ◽  
Mark Dybdahl ◽  
Robert Hall
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Gross Primary Production ◽  
Nutrient Recycling ◽  
Algal Growth ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Nitrogen Excretion ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Difference

We studied positive and negative effects of snail consumers on their resource to determine if positive consumer effects may be facilitating invasion. Consumer- resource interactions often focus on losses to the resource, even though the resource might benefit if consumers recycle nutrients. The New Zealand mudsnail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, an exotic in western U.S. rivers, attains high densities and dominates macroinvertebrate communities. In one well-studied river, it consumes the majority of primary productivity, cycles most nitrogen and can grow faster at higher densities. In field experiments, we tested the hypothesis that this invasive grazer stimulates algal growth via nitrogen excretion, which might explain its self-facilitation and invasiveness. Using in-stream cages subdivided into "with snails" and "without snails" sections, we examined the response of periphytic algae to snail grazing and excretion and snail excretion alone at various levels of snail biomass. We found that chlorophyll a and GPP (gross primary production) decreased as the biomass of snails increased in the grazed sections. Snail excretion, in the absence of grazing, increased both chlorophyll a and GPP, demonstrating a positive effect of snails on the resource, consistent with the nutrient recycling and enrichment hypothesis. We found no evidence for increased algal growth at intermediate snail densities in grazed treatments, as predicted by the Herbivore Optimization Curve hypothesis. However, the difference in chlorophyll a between "with snails" and "without snails" treatments increased as snail biomass increased. This suggests that snail compensation of the resource, through excretion, decreases at extremely high levels of grazing pressure and the net effect of snail grazing becomes negative. Together, these results suggest that invasiveness in some rivers may be fostered by this self-facilitation and recycling of essential nutrients.

scholarly journals A NEW METHOD OF PERFORMING FIELD TRIALS

1969 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-34
Author(s):  
Bernardo G. Capó
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
New Method ◽  
Numerical Example ◽  
Fertilizer Experiment ◽  
Treatment Experiment

A new method of performing field experiments with relatively small numbers of treatments is described. The requirement to be fulfilled by the layouts of such field tests is specified and examples of possible designs for a 5-treatment experiment are illustrated. The theory of the procedure of calculation is discussed and a numerical example of said calculations is furnished in connection with the interpretation of a fertilizer experiment performed with cotton.

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