British Ecological Society announces 2022 award winners

Grant and Award Announcement

BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

LONG READ

 

IMAGE: BES AWARDS 2022 COLLAGE. TOP ROW (L-R) ANNE MAGURRAN, MARGARET PALMER, RICHARD HOBBS, KATE JONES, KATHLEEN TRESEDER. BOTTOM ROW (L-R) PERPETRA AKITE, CHRIS CLEMENTS, YVONNE BUCKLEY, LYNN DICKS, BES REED ECOLOGICAL NETWORK. view more 

CREDIT: BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Today, the British Ecological Society (BES) announces the winners of its annual awards and prizes, recognising ten distinguished ecologists and groups whose work has benefited the scientific community and society in general.

This year, honorary membership, the highest honour given by the society, has been awarded to three distinguished ecologists based in three different continents: Anne Magurran, Margaret Palmer and Richard Hobbs, representing the global membership of the BES.

The BES REED Ecological Network are named this year’s Equality and Diversity Champions. Established in 2020 by a small group of early career ecologists from under-represented and marginalised ethnicities, the network has gone from strength to strength and now deliver highly successful workshops on allyship.

The 2022 BES award winners are as follows:

Honorary Membership: Anne Magurran, University of St Andrews; Margaret Palmer, The University of Maryland; Richard Hobbs, The University of Western Australia.

Honorary membership is the highest honour we can give and it recognises an exceptional contribution at international level to the generation, communication and promotion of ecological knowledge and solutions.

Anne Magurran

Anne Magurran is a world leader in measuring biodiversity and has studied fish communities throughout her career to explore this topic, as well as the evolution of biodiversity, and the role of predation in the evolution of social behaviour.

Anne is a professor at the University of St Andrews, where she is the university's most cited female scientist. Globally, she is the second most cited female ecologist and evolutionary biologist. Anne is also an international counsellor and advisor on issues of conservation related to biodiversity and engaged in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and in the World Economic Forum in 2018.

On being made an honorary member, Anne said: “The BES was the first society I joined, and helped set me on the path to a career in ecology, so I feel very privileged to be awarded Honorary Membership.

“I hope colleagues and friends around the world will feel part of the award, recognise the importance of their own contributions to ecology, and will be inspired to continue asking important and interesting ecological questions.”

Margaret Palmer

Margaret Palmer is a Professor at the University of Maryland and an international leader in restoration ecology.

Margaret is known for her work at the interface of science and policy. She co-designed and now directs a national synthesis centre (SESYNC) that has championed new approaches to fostering research collaborations between social and natural scientists on problems at the interface of people and the environment.

On being made an honorary member, Margaret said: “This is a great honour, and it rightly belongs to the very smart students, collaborators, and intellectual communities that have surrounded me throughout my career.

“Perhaps the most rewarding path in my career has included brainstorming with and learning from international communities of environmental, social, and legal scholars to advance the sustainability of coupled human-natural systems, and this honour is certainly theirs as well.”

Richard Hobbs

Richard Hobbs is a Professor at the University of Western Australia where he heads up the Ecosystem Restoration and Intervention Ecology Research Group. Throughout his career, Richard  has made outstanding contributions to the science of ecology, conservation and restoration.

Richard is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

On being made an honorary member, Richard said: “I joined the BES during the first year of my PhD in 1977 and attended the winter meeting in Lancaster that year. My first paper was published in Journal of Ecology. Later, I contributed regular essays to the Bulletin from Australia, under the title “From our Southern Correspondent."

“So, the BES has been an important part of my life throughout my career. I’m incredibly honoured to be given this award, and humbled to be joining such an amazing group of ecologists. It’s particularly rewarding for me to be recognised by the society with which I ‘grew up’ professionally.”

 

Marsh Award for Ecology: Kate Jones, University College London

This prize is awarded for an outstanding current research record which is having a significant impact on the development of the science of ecology or its application. It is provided by the Marsh Charitable Trust and administered by the British Ecological Society.

Kate Jones is Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity at University College London (UCL), and the Director of the People and Nature Lab in UCL's new campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Over the course of Kate’s career she has made key advances in modelling and forecasting zoonotic disease outbreaks in humans, breaking down traditional barriers between ecology, climate change and public health to inform global policy.

Kate said: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive this award. Healthy ecosystems are critical for all human endeavours, and ecology is moving centre stage as the foundation to address the pressing issues of our time such as pandemics, climate change, and food security. Over the course of my career, I have seen the BES grow into such a brilliant, vibrant, and inclusive society which I am so proud to be part of. This honour from BES means the world to me.

 

Marsh Award for Climate Change Research: Kathleen Treseder, University of California, Irvine

This prize is awarded for an outstanding contribution to climate change research. It is provided by the Marsh Charitable Trust and administered by the British Ecological Society.

Kathleen Treseder is Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. Over her career she has made many significant contributions to our understanding of how soil fungi mediate ecosystem responses to climate change. Her overarching goal is to improve predictions of future trajectories of global change, by incorporating feedbacks governed by fungi.

On receiving the award, Kathleen said: “I am surprised and grateful to win this award. My lab's mission is to improve predictions of future climate change so we can help society mitigate and adapt to it. I see this award as a sign that we have indeed helped.”

 

Marsh Award for Ecologists in Africa: Perpetra Akite, Makerere University

This prize aims to celebrate the significant scientific achievements of African ecologists and raise their profile in the UK. It is provided by the Marsh Charitable Trust and administered by the British Ecological Society.

Perpetra is one of Uganda’s leading entomologists and experts in butterflies. She has made important advances in improving knowledge around insects in Uganda, contributing to assessing and mapping key ecologically sensitive species in the country. She even has a moth named after her.

Perpetra is also passionate about passing on her knowledge to younger generations and takes part in a great deal of outreach activities at both school and university level. Her goal is to encourage more young people – especially African girls - to begin a career in science.

Perpetra said: “I am so honoured to receive the award, and feel very proud to represent women in ecology from Uganda. This award is simply the right landmark at this point of my ecological career, and I am deeply grateful to the BES for this recognition.

“Ecological excellence is not just about filling up library shelves, but being able to share that information with others. This award will provide me with a platform for relatable professional anchoring and mentorship for the coming generations of female ecologists, who can easily relate to a local achiever while in pursuit of their own ecological careers.”

 

Founders’ Prize: Chris Clements, University of Bristol

This Prize commemorates the enthusiasm and vision of the Society’s founders. It is awarded to an outstanding early career ecologist who is starting to make a significant contribution to the science of ecology.

Chris Clements works on the interface between experimental ecology and conservation biology, with his research focusing on developing and testing early warning signals of population collapse, with a view to predicting regime shifts prior to their occurrence. To do this he and his group synthesise information from mathematical models, small-scale experimental systems, and long-term wild population data.

On receiving the award, Chris said: “I am honestly still overwhelmed by it. The BES is such an institution that it’s hard to express how honoured I feel. Receiving this has really motivated me to continue to do the research I love, as well as making me very thankful to all the people who have helped get me here – fantastic supervisors, collaborators, and now my own students and lab group members.

“The BES has been central to all of this – I’ve been attending the annual meetings since I was a student, and they’ve significantly shaped my research, network of collaborators, and the opportunities I’ve had.”

 

BES Award: Yvonne Buckley, Trinity College Dublin

This Award is made in recognition of exceptional service to the Society.

Yvonne Buckley is Professor of Zoology at Trinity College Dublin and has spent time in Ireland, the UK and Australia throughout her research career. Yvonne is a population ecologist who applies fundamental ecology to pressing challenges for the environment and society.

Yvonne said: “The ecological community of the BES is full of people I look up to and admire so I am absolutely delighted to be recognised in this way. I have had many opportunities throughout my career to work with amazing people. These connections and collaborations have been crucial to the work I’ve done, so I’d like this award to reflect their achievements too.”

 

Ecological Engagement Award: Lynn Dicks, Cambridge University

This Award recognises an ecologist who has bridged the gap between ecology and other groups.

Lynn Dicks is a Lecturer in Animal Ecology at the University of Cambridge. A key part of Lynn’s work focusses on how farmers can benefit from ecosystem services. Lynn and members of the Cambridge Agroecology group work with farmers to co-design research projects and gather data on how they manage their systems with the overall goal of understanding how we can reduce impacts on wildlife in realistic commercial contexts.

On receiving the award, Lynn said: “It feels fantastic to get this recognition for my efforts, over many years, to engage a range of stakeholders in conversations about how and why we should care for biodiversity.

“I owe this award to the many people who’ve taken time out of their busy working lives in NGOs, government departments and businesses, to join these conversations. Ecological research in real working landscapes, linked to real-world policies, simply wouldn’t be possible without their engagement, so thank you to all of them!”

 

Equality and Diversity Champion: BES REED Ecological Network

This annual award recognises an individual or group who have campaigned to highlight the importance of equality and diversity and worked to make a difference or served as an inspiration to others. It honours and celebrates those who have made significant, innovative and cumulatively outstanding contributions to enhancing the practice of equality and diversity in the ecological community.

The REED (Racial and Ethnic Equality and Diversity) ecological network was initially founded by Reuben Fakoya Brooks and then established by a small group of early career ecologists under-represented and marginalised ethnicities in 2020. The network seeks to drive positive change for a more inclusive and representative community of ecologists.

The group have developed a highly successful workshop on allyship that challenges what it means to be an effective ally, focussing on individual and organisational learning.

On receiving the award, Reuben Fakoya Brooks, founder and Chair of the REED ecological network said: “I was extremely taken aback when I had received the notification that I had won the award, but in all honestly I felt rewarded for getting up and taking the first step of a staircase that had not yet been scaled! There is still much, much, much more to be done and I feel like we as a network are just at the beginning.

“Like many awards, they often highlight the individual without giving true representation to the team behind the person. I’m receiving this reward as the Vice-chair Bushra Schuitemaker, as the committee and as all the network members. We are all equally pleased about being rewarded with such a notable accolade!”

 

Awards presentation

The winners will be presented with their prizes during a ceremony held at the BES Annual Meeting which runs from 18 – 21 December in Edinburgh. The meeting will bring together over 1000 ecologists (in person and online) to discuss the latest advances in ecological research across the whole discipline.

https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/events/bes-annual-meeting-2022/

- Ends - 

Conservation schemes for farmland birds in Europe - closing conference of the Birds@Farmland initiative

Meeting Announcement

PENSOFT PUBLISHERS

 

IMAGE: CLOSING CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS@FARMLAND INITIATIVE view more 

CREDIT: BIRDS@FARMLAND. PHOTO CREDIT: BILDAGENTUR ZOONAR GMBH

The Birds@Farmland Initiative developed 22 conservation schemes for birds inhabiting European farmland. These conservation schemes – among others – introduce bird-friendly management of rice fields in Bulgaria, Portugal and Spain, aim at creating grassy field margins in Italian arable land, Corncrake habitat in France, Grey Partridge habitat in Germany, and habitat for a number of species, including Turtle Dove, in Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. They also contribute to combating abandonment of cultivated pastures in Finland. In total the Initiative developed farmland bird conservation schemes for 10 European countries in cooperation with national and regional public authorities, NGOs, farmers’ unions, farm advisory services, hunting associations and other relevant actors. (1)

During the fully online conference, the European Commission and the consortium implementing the initiative (2) will inform on the conservation schemes developed by the initiative as well as priority agricultural systems and flagship species identified for the conservation of farmland birds in Europe, and their practical applications in the years ahead. There will also be opportunity to learn from and discuss a number of case studies illustrating key lessons learned in developing conservation schemes that are effective for birds and attractive to farmers. Ultimately, the success of conservation schemes depends on the availability of funding as well as the acceptance of the schemes by farmers. The conference will thus present an overview of the measures benefiting farmland birds in the national CAP Strategic Plans. It will also explore potential funding sources beyond the CAP and suitable measures to enhance the uptake of conservation schemes by farmers and landowners. Finally, the European Commission will inform about the ‘Task Force for the Recovery of Birds’ which aims at addressing conservation and management challenges for birds in the EU.

The conference will take place on Tuesday, 11 October 2022 | 09:30 - 15:45 (online). We invite representatives of competent authorities, as well as NGOs, Farm advisory services, farming, hunting, and landowners associations, and other relevant actors to participate in the workshop. Please note that participation is limited. Therefore participation is only granted upon receipt of confirmation on the side of the organisers, which will be sent to you in due time before the conference.

Please use this link to register until 16 September 2022. The personal data collected through this registration will be processed in line with the Environment Agency Austria’s Privacy Policy and Additional Privacy Information.

(1) The ten countries targeted by the Birds@Farmland Initiative are: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, and Portugal.

(2) The consortium consists of Environment Agency Austria (lead) and Pensoft Publishers.

How artificial intelligence can explain its decisions

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUHR-UNIVERSITY BOCHUM

 

IMAGE: THEY'VE BROUGHT TOGETHER THE SEEMINGLY INCOMPATIBLE INDUCTIVE APPROACH OF MACHINE LEARNING WITH DEDUCTIVE LOGIC: STEPHANIE SCHÖRNER, AXEL MOSIG AND DAVID SCHUHMACHER (LEFT TO RIGHT). view more 

CREDIT: RUB, MARQUARD

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be trained to recognise whether a tissue image contains a tumour. However, exactly how it makes its decision has remained a mystery until now. A team from the Research Center for Protein Diagnostics (PRODI) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum is developing a new approach that will render an AI’s decision transparent and thus trustworthy. The researchers led by Professor Axel Mosig describe the approach in the journal Medical Image Analysis, published online on 24 August 2022.

For the study, bioinformatics scientist Axel Mosig cooperated with Professor Andrea Tannapfel, head of the Institute of Pathology, oncologist Professor Anke Reinacher-Schick from the Ruhr-Universität’s St. Josef Hospital, and biophysicist and PRODI founding director Professor Klaus Gerwert. The group developed a neural network, i.e. an AI, that can classify whether a tissue sample contains tumour or not. To this end, they fed the AI a large number of microscopic tissue images, some of which contained tumours, while others were tumour-free.

“Neural networks are initially a black box: it’s unclear which identifying features a network learns from the training data,” explains Axel Mosig. Unlike human experts, they lack the ability to explain their decisions. “However, for medical applications in particular, it’s important that the AI is capable of explanation and thus trustworthy,” adds bioinformatics scientist David Schuhmacher, who collaborated on the study.

AI is based on falsifiable hypotheses

The Bochum team’s explainable AI is therefore based on the only kind of meaningful statements known to science: on falsifiable hypotheses. If a hypothesis is false, this fact must be demonstrable through an experiment. Artificial intelligence usually follows the principle of inductive reasoning: using concrete observations, i.e. the training data, the AI creates a general model on the basis of which it evaluates all further observations.

The underlying problem had been described by philosopher David Hume 250 years ago and can be easily illustrated: No matter how many white swans we observe, we could never conclude from this data that all swans are white and that no black swans exist whatsoever. Science therefore makes use of so-called deductive logic. In this approach, a general hypothesis is the starting point. For example, the hypothesis that all swans are white is falsified when a black swan is spotted.

CAPTION

A neural network is initially trained with many data sets in order to be able to distinguish tumour-containing from tumour-free tissue images (input from the top in the diagram). It is then presented with a new tissue image from an experiment (input from the left). Via inductive reasoning, the neural network generates the classification “tumour-containing” or “tumour-free” for the respective image. At the same time, it creates an activation map of the tissue image. The activation map has emerged from the inductive learning process and is initially unrelated to reality. The correlation is established by the falsifiable hypothesis that areas with high activation correspond exactly to the tumour regions in the sample. This hypothesis can be tested with further experiments. This means that the approach follows deductive logic.

CREDIT

PRODI

Activation map shows where the tumour is detected

“At first glance, inductive AI and the deductive scientific method seem almost incompatible,” says Stephanie Schörner, a physicist who likewise contributed to the study. But the researchers found a way. Their novel neural network not only provides a classification of whether a tissue sample contains a tumour or is tumour-free, it also generates an activation map of the microscopic tissue image.

The activation map is based on a falsifiable hypothesis, namely that the activation derived from the neural network corresponds exactly to the tumour regions in the sample. Site-specific molecular methods can be used to test this hypothesis.

“Thanks to the interdisciplinary structures at PRODI, we have the best prerequisites for incorporating the hypothesis-based approach into the development of trustworthy biomarker AI in the future, for example to be able to distinguish between certain therapy-relevant tumour subtypes,” concludes Axel Mosig.

CAPTION

The neural network derives an activation map (on the right) from the microscopic image of a tissue sample (on the left). A hypothesis establishes the correlation between the intensity of activation that was determined solely by calculation and the identification of tumour regions that can be verified in experiments.

CREDIT

PRODI

---

JOURNAL

Medical Image Analysis

DOI

10.1016/j.media.2022.102594 

ARTICLE TITLE

A framework for falsifiable explanations of machine learning models with an application in computational pathology

Albert Einstein’s doctoral certificate returns to UZH

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH

 

IMAGE: MICHAEL SCHAEPMAN, PRESIDENT UZH AND VIDAR HELGESEN, DIRECTOR NOBEL FOUNDATION (ON THE LEFT). view more 

CREDIT: FRANK BRÜDERLI

After traveling the world, Albert Einstein’s doctoral certificate has now returned to where it was issued, the University of Zurich. In 1905, the 26-year-old Albert Einstein submitted his doctoral thesis “Eine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen” (A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions) to UZH. One year later, in January 1906, the mathematics and natural science section of the Faculty of Philosophy awarded him the title Doctor of Philosophy.

Found in the attic

Handed over to Einstein in 1906, the certificate later reappeared in a house at Huttenstrasse 62 in Zurich, where the physicist had lived with his first wife, Milena Marić. It was found there in the attic in 1948 by a young student from the canton of Schwyz, who happened upon the document as well as an honorary doctoral certificate from the University of Geneva. The owner of the house let him keep the two documents. Following extensive clarifications, the authenticity of the document was confirmed by the Vice Consul of the United States of America in Lima in 1957.

From New York to Zurich

Many years later, the holder of Einstein’s diploma, who had since become an engineer, decided to part with the document. It was sold at an auction in Lucerne in 2009, only to re-surface in New York 13 years later. In the spring of 2022, an Einstein expert informed the University of Zurich that the doctoral certificate was up for sale again. The idea that this important piece of contemporary history should return to the place where it had been produced was met with enthusiasm at UZH. “Making the doctoral certificate of our alumnus Albert Einstein available to our students and the broad public was a unique opportunity,” says Michael Schaepman, President of UZH. The University of Zurich was able to acquire the original certificate thanks to a donation given to the UZH Foundation.

The display case containing the doctoral certificate was unveiled today at an event organized by the Swedish Embassy in Switzerland in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s Nobel Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, which he received a year later.

Quantum materials: entanglement of many atoms discovered for the first time

New fur for the quantum cat

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT DRESDEN

 

IMAGE: SCHROEDINGER’S CAT WITH QUANTUM FUR: IN THE MATERIAL LIHOF4, PHYSICISTS FROM THE UNIVERSITIES OF DRESDEN AND MUNICH HAVE DISCOVERED A NEW QUANTUM PHASE TRANSITION AT WHICH THE DOMAINS BEHAVE IN A QUANTUM MECHANICAL FASHION. view more 

CREDIT: C. HOHMANN, MCQST

In physics, Schroedinger’s cat is an allegory for two of the most awe-inspiring effects of quantum mechanics: entanglement and superposition. Researchers from Dresden and Munich have now observed these behaviors on a much larger scale than that of the smallest of particles. Until now, materials that display properties like, e.g., magnetism have been known to have so-called domains – islands in which the materials properties are homogeneously either of one or a different kind (imagine them being either black or white, for example). Looking at lithium holmium fluoride (LiHoF4), the physicists have now discovered a completely new phase transition, at which the domains surprisingly exhibit quantum mechanical features, resulting in their properties becoming entangled (being black and white at the same time). “Our quantum cat now has a new fur because we’ve discovered a new quantum phase transition in LiHoF4 which has not previously been known to exist,” comments Matthias Vojta, Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics at TUD.

Phase transitions and entanglement

We can easily observe the spontaneously changing properties of a substance if we look at water: at 100 degrees Celsius it evaporates into a gas, at zero degrees Celsius it freezes into ice. In both cases, these new states of matter form as a consequence of a phase transition where the water molecules rearrange themselves, thus changing the characteristics of the matter. Properties like magnetism or superconductivity emerge as a result of electrons undergoing phase transitions in crystals. For phase transitions at temperatures approaching the absolute zero at -273.15 degrees Celsius, quantum mechanical effects such as entanglement come into play, and one speaks of quantum phase transitions. “Even though there are more than 30 years of extensive research dedicated to phase transitions in quantum materials, we had previously assumed that the phenomenon of entanglement played a role only on a microscopic scale, where it involves only a few atoms at a time,” explains Christian Pfleiderer, Professor of Topology of Correlated Systems at the TUM.

Quantum entanglement is one of the most astonishing phenomena of physics, where the entangled quantum particles exist in a shared superposition state that allows for usually mutually exclusive properties (e.g., black and white) to occur simultaneously. As a rule, the laws of quantum mechanics only apply to microscopic particles. The research teams from Munich and Dresden have now succeeded in observing effects of quantum entanglement on a much larger scale, that of thousands of atoms. For this, they have chosen to work with the well-known compound LiHoF4.

Spherical samples enable precision measurements

At very low temperatures, LiHoF4 acts as a ferromagnet where all magnetic moments spontaneously point in the same direction. If you then apply a magnetic field exactly vertically to the preferred magnetic direction, the magnetic moments will change direction, which is known as fluctuations. The higher the magnetic field strength, the stronger these fluctuations become, until, eventually, the ferromagnetism disappears completely at a quantum phase transition. This leads to the entanglement of neighboring magnetic moments. “If you hold up a LiHoF4 sample to a very strong magnet, it suddenly ceases to be spontaneously magnetic. This has been known for 25 years,” summarizes Vojta.

What is new is what happens when you change the direction of the magnetic field. “We discovered that the quantum phase transition continues to occur, whereas it had previously been believed that even the smallest tilt of the magnetic field would immediately suppress it,” explains Pfleiderer. Under these conditions, however, it is not individual magnetic moments but rather extensive magnetic areas, so-called ferromagnetic domains, that undergo these quantum phase transitions. The domains constitute entire islands of magnetic moments pointing in the same direction. “We have used spherical samples for our precision measurements. That is what enabled us to precisely study the behavior upon small changes in the direction of the magnetic field,” adds Andreas Wendl, who conducted the experiments as part of his doctoral dissertation.

From fundamental physics to applications

“We have discovered an entirely new type of quantum phase transitions where entanglement takes place on the scale of many thousands of atoms instead of just in the microcosm of only a few,” explains Vojta. “If you imagine the magnetic domains as a black-and-white pattern, the new phase transition leads to either the white or the black areas becoming infinitesimally small, i.e., creating a quantum pattern, bevor dissolving completely.” A newly developed theoretical model successfully explains the data obtained from the experiments. “For our analysis, we generalized existing microscopic models and also took into account the feedback of the large ferromagnetic domains to the microscopic properties,” elaborates Heike Eisenlohr, who performed the calculations as part of her PhD thesis.

The discovery of the new quantum phase transitions is important as a foundation and general frame of reference for the research of quantum phenomena in materials, as well as for new applications. “Quantum entanglement is applied and used in technologies like quantum sensors and quantum computers, amongst other things,” says Vojta. Pfleiderer adds: “Our work is in the area of fundamental research, which, however, can have a direct impact on the development of practical applications, if you use the materials properties in a controlled way.”

Publikation:
Emergence of mesoscale quantum phase transitions in a ferromagnet
Andreas Wendl, Heike Eisenlohr, Felix Rucker, Christopher Duvinage, Markus Kleinhans, Matthias Vojta & Christian Pfleiderer,
Nature 609, 65–70 (2022)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04995-5

More information:
The research has been financially supported by the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments within the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (ct.qmat) and the Cluster of Excellence Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST). In addition, the work has been supported by the European Research Council (ERC) via the Advanced Grant ExQuiSid and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Collaborative Research Centers (SFB) 1143 und  TRR80.

---

JOURNAL

Nature

ARTICLE TITLE

Emergence of mesoscale quantum phase transitions in a ferromagnet

The scent that could save California’s (& MEXICO) avocado

Scientists search for pheromone to disrupt insect mating

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE

 NEWS RELEASE 2-SEP-2022

 

IMAGE: UC RIVERSIDE ENTOMOLOGIST MARK HODDLE ON THE HUNT FOR MEXICAN AVOCADO WEEVILS. view more 

CREDIT: MARK HODDLE/UCR

UC Riverside scientists are on the hunt for a chemical that disrupts “evil” weevils’ mating and prevents them from destroying California’s supply of avocados. 

Avocado weevils, small beetles with long snouts, drill through fruit to lay eggs. The weevil grubs or larvae bore into avocado seeds to feed, rendering everyone’s favorite toast topping inedible. 

“They’re extremely hard to control because they spend most of their time deep inside the fruit, where they’re very well protected from insecticides and natural enemies,” said UCR entomologist Mark Hoddle. 

Not only are the insects reclusive, they are also understudied, making information about them hard to come by. “All books on avocado pest management will tell you these weevils are bad. They’re well recognized, serious pests of avocados, but we know practically nothing about them,” Hoddle said.

One strategy for controlling pests is to introduce other insects that feed on them. However, that is unlikely to work in this case. “Natural enemies of these weevils seem to be extremely rare in areas where this pest is native,” Hoddle said.

To combat avocado weevils in Mexico, an area where they are native, and to prevent them from being accidentally introduced into California, Hoddle is working with Jocelyn Millar, a UCR insect pheromone expert. They are leading an effort to find the weevil’s pheromone, with the goal of using it to monitor these pests and prevent them from mating in avocado orchards. 

Pheromones are chemicals produced and released into the environment by an insect that can be “smelled” by others of its species, and affect their behavior. 

“We could flood avocado orchards with so much pheromone that males and females can’t find each other, and therefore can’t reproduce,” Hoddle said. “This would reduce damage to fruit and enable growers to use less insecticides.” 

Alternative control strategies could include mass trapping, using the pheromone as a lure, or an “attract-and-kill” approach, where the pheromone attracts the weevils to small sources of insecticide.

The work to identify, synthesize and test this pheromone in the field is supported by grants from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, as well as the California Avocado Commission. 

An initial phase of the project sent Hoddle to a base of operations three hours south of Mexico City, an area with large weevil populations. Using a special permit issued by the USDA, Hoddle brought weevils back to UCR’s Insectary and Quarantine facility. 

Hoddle and Sean Halloran, a UCR entomology researcher, captured the chemicals that avocado weevils release into the air. Possible pheromone compound formulas were identified from these crude extracts and are now being synthesized in Millar’s laboratory.  

“Weevil pheromones have complicated structures. When they’re made in a lab, they can have left- or right-handed forms,” said Hoddle. Initially, Millar’s group made a mixture of both forms to see if the blend would work as an attractant, as it is far cheaper to make the blend than the individual left- or right-handed forms. 

Field work in Mexico with the pheromone cocktail by Hoddle, his wife Christina Hoddle, an associate specialist in entomology, and Mexican collaborators did not get a big response from the weevils, suggesting that one of the forms in the blend could be antagonizing the response to the other. 

As the next step, the researchers plan to synthesize the individual forms of the chemicals and test the insects’ response to each in Mexican avocado orchards. 

Because the levels of avocado imports from Mexico are increasing, the risk of an accidental weevil invasion is rising as well. Hoddle is hopeful that the pheromone will be successfully identified and used to lower the risk this pest presents to California’s avocado growers. 

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be awarded these grants, so our work can be implemented in Mexico and benefit California at the same time,” Hoddle said. “The tools we develop now can be used to make sure crops from any exporting country are much safer to import into California.”

CAPTION

Avocado weevil.

CREDIT

Mike Lewis/UCR

  

CAPTION

Weevil damage rendering fruit useless.

CREDIT

Mark Hoddle/UCR

COSMOLOGY

VLBA produces first full 3-D view of binary star-planet system

Technique provides details otherwise unavailable

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY

 

IMAGE: FROM ABOVE A PLANET ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF JUPITER, THIS ARTIST'S CONCEPTION SHOWS THE STAR THAT PLANET IS ORBITING AND THAT STAR'S BINARY COMPANION IN THE DISTANCE. view more 

CREDIT: SOPHIA DAGNELLO, NRAO/AUI/NSF.

By precisely tracing a small, almost imperceptible, wobble in a nearby star's motion through space, astronomers have discovered a Jupiter-like planet orbiting that star, which is one of a binary pair. Their work, using the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), produced the first-ever determination of the complete, 3-dimensional structure of the orbits of a binary pair of stars and a planet orbiting one of them. This achievement, the astronomers said, can provide valuable new insights on the process of planet formation. 

Though more than 5,000 extrasolar planets have been discovered so far, only three have been discovered using the technique -- called astrometry -- that produced this discovery. However, the feat of determining the 3-D architecture of a binary-star system that includes a planet "cannot be achieved with other exoplanet discovery methods," said Salvador Curiel, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

"Since most stars are in binary or multiple systems, being able to understand systems such as this one will help us understand planet formation in general," Curiel said.

The two stars, which together are called GJ 896AB, are about 20 light-years from Earth -- close neighbors by astronomical standards. They are red dwarf stars, the most common type in our Milky Way galaxy. The larger one, around which the planet orbits, has about 44 percent of the mass of our Sun, while the smaller is about 17 percent as massive as the Sun. They are separated by about the distance of Neptune from the Sun, and orbit each other once every 229 years.

For their study of GJ 896AB, the astronomers combined data from optical observations of the system made between 1941 and 2017 with data from VLBA observations between 2006 and 2011. They then made new VLBA observations in 2020. The continent-wide VLBA's supersharp resolution -- ability to see fine detail -- produced extremely precise measurements of the stars' positions over time. The astronomers performed extensive analysis of the data that revealed the stars' orbital motions as well as their common motion through space.

Detailed tracing of the larger star's motion showed a slight wobble that revealed the existence of the planet. The wobble is caused by the planet's gravitational effect on the star. The star and planet orbit a location between them that represents their common center of mass. When that location, called the barycenter, is sufficiently far from the star, the star's motion around it can be detectable.

The astronomers calculated that the planet has about twice the mass of Jupiter and orbits the star every 284 days. Its distance from the star is slightly less than Venus' distance from the Sun. The planet's orbit is inclined roughly 148 degrees from the orbits of the two stars. 

"This means that the planet moves around the main star in the opposite direction to that of the secondary star around the main star," said Gisela Ortiz-León, of UNAM and the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy. "This is the first time that such dynamical structure has been observed in a planet associated with a compact binary system that presumably was formed in the same protoplanetary disk", she added.

"Additional detailed studies of this and similar systems can help us gain important insights into how planets are formed in binary systems. There are alternate theories for the formation mechanism, and more data can possibly indicate which is most likely," said Joel Sanchez-Bermudez, of UNAM. "In particular, current models indicate that such a large planet is very unlikely as a companion to such a small star, so maybe those models need to be adjusted," he added. 

The astrometric technique will be a valuable tool for characterizing more planetary systems, the astronomers said. "We can do much more work like this with the planned Next Generation VLA (ngVLA)," said Amy Mioduszewski, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. "With it, we may be able to find planets as small as the Earth."

The astronomers are reporting their findings in the 1 September issue of the Astronomical Journal.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

---

JOURNAL

The Astronomical Journal

DOI

10.3847/ac7c66 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

3D Orbital Architecture of a Dwarf Binary System and Its Planetary Companion

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

1-Sep-2022

NASA’s Webb takes its first-ever direct image of distant world

Reports and Proceedings

NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

 

IMAGE: THIS IMAGE SHOWS THE EXOPLANET HIP 65426 B IN DIFFERENT BANDS OF INFRARED LIGHT, AS SEEN FROM THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE: PURPLE SHOWS THE NIRCAM INSTRUMENT’S VIEW AT 3.00 MICROMETERS, BLUE SHOWS THE NIRCAM INSTRUMENT’S VIEW AT 4.44 MICROMETERS, YELLOW SHOWS THE MIRI INSTRUMENT’S VIEW AT 11.4 MICROMETERS, AND RED SHOWS THE MIRI INSTRUMENT’S VIEW AT 15.5 MICROMETERS. THESE IMAGES LOOK DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE WAYS THE DIFFERENT WEBB INSTRUMENTS CAPTURE LIGHT. A SET OF MASKS WITHIN EACH INSTRUMENT, CALLED A CORONAGRAPH, BLOCKS OUT THE HOST STAR’S LIGHT SO THAT THE PLANET CAN BE SEEN. THE SMALL WHITE STAR IN EACH IMAGE MARKS THE LOCATION OF THE HOST STAR HIP 65426, WHICH HAS BEEN SUBTRACTED USING THE CORONAGRAPHS AND IMAGE PROCESSING. THE BAR SHAPES IN THE NIRCAM IMAGES ARE ARTIFACTS OF THE TELESCOPE’S OPTICS, NOT OBJECTS IN THE SCENE. (UNLABELED VERSION.) view more 

CREDIT: CREDIT: NASA/ESA/CSA, A CARTER (UCSC), THE ERS 1386 TEAM, AND A. PAGAN (STSCI).

NASA’s JWST takes its first-ever direct image of distant world

Business Announcement

NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

WASHINGTON  –  An astrophysicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is part of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Early Release Science Team for Direct Observations of Exoplanets that released the observations of a super-Jupiter exoplanet, HIP 65426 b, using JWST Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Sept. 1.
 
Jordan Stone, Ph.D., an astrophysicist in NRL’s Remote Sensing Division said this early release of the exoplanet imagery was detected using seven of JWST’s observational filters, representing the first images of an exoplanet to be obtained by JWST, and the first ever direct detection of an exoplanet at wavelengths beyond 5 microns.
 
“One of the things we're most excited about is that we now have the ability to measure the brightness of planets at wavelengths longer than 5 microns,” Jordan Stone, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. said. “So we now have this, highly precise, machine that's giving us the ability to, to measure light from planet surfaces across a really broad wavelength range. And so this is really going to transform our understanding of giant planets.”
 
An exoplanet is any planet beyond our solar system. HIP 65426 b, is a relatively young exoplanet, about 14 million years old, and is located in the constellation Centaurus, about 349 light years from Earth.
 
The JWST NIRCam observes from 0.6 to 5 microns and offers imaging, coronagraphy, and grism slitless spectroscopy; MIRI is a camera and a spectrograph that observes mid to long infrared radiation from 5 microns to 28 microns. It also has coronagraphs, especially for observing exoplanets.
 
HIP 65426 b circles an A type star, which is about twice the size of the sun. The planet orbits its star at about 60 – 100 AU (7.4 – 9.3 billion miles) distance. That is roughly the double the distance Pluto is from the sun. The exoplanet is seven times the mass and about one and a half times the size of Jupiter.
 
JWST, launched on Christmas Day 2021, is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, and the first large strategic mission of the NASA Astrophysics Division to launch since the 1990’s. The infrared observatory is orbiting the Sun about 1 million miles from Earth. Since coming on line, it has produced stunning images and a series of preliminary discoveries.

 
About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil.

Cornell astronomers show how terrain evolves on icy comets

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

NEWS RELEASE 1-SEP-2022

ITHACA, N.Y. – With an eye toward a possible return mission years in the future, Cornell University astronomers have shown how smooth terrains – a good place to land a spacecraft and to scoop up samples – evolve on the icy world of comets.

By applying thermal models to data gathered by the Rosetta mission – which caught up to the barbell-shaped Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko almost a decade ago – they show that the topography influences the comet’s surface activity across hundreds of meters.

“You can have a uniform surface composition on comets and still have hotspots of activity,” said lead author Abhinav S. Jindal, a graduate student in astronomy and member of the research group of Alexander Hayes, associate professor of astronomy. “The topography is driving the activity.”

Comets are icy bodies made of dust, rocks and gas left over from the solar system’s formation about 4.6 billion years ago, Jindal said. They form in the solar system’s outer fringes and have spent eternity cruising through the dark, cosmic freezer of space, far from the sun’s heat.

“Their chemistry has not changed much from when comets formed, making them ‘time capsules’ preserving primordial material from the birth of the solar system,” Jindal said, explaining that these bodies likely seeded early Earth with water and key building blocks of life.

“As some of these comets have been pulled into the inner solar system,” he said, “their surfaces undergo changes. Science is trying to understand the driving processes.”

As Comet 67P loops its way back toward the sun, the body speeds by it to a point called perihelion – its closest approach – and the comet warms up. The Rosetta mission followed the comet as it rounded the sun and studied its activity. The smooth terrains serve as locations where the most changes were observed, making them key to grasping the surface’s evolution.

Jindal and the researchers examined the evolution of 16 topographic depressions in the Imhotep region – the largest smooth terrain deposit on 67P – between June 5, 2015, when activity was first observed, and Dec. 6, 2015, when the final large-scale changes were observed.

The comet went through a process called sublimation – in which the icy parts turned gaseous in the sun’s heat. The comet’s smooth Imhotep region showed a complex pattern of simultaneous eroding scarps (the steep edges of arc-shaped depressions) and material deposition.

Jindal believes science will one day return to Comet 67P. “These comets are helping us to answer the question of where we come from,” he said.

The research was published in the Planetary Science Journal.

For more information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

-30-

---

JOURNAL

The Planetary Science Journal

DOI

10.3847/PSJ/ac7e48