Abstract: Capital breeders accumulate nutrients prior to egg development, then use these stores to support offspring development. In contrast, income breeders rely on local nutrients consumed contemporaneously with offspring development. Understanding such nutrient allocations is critical to assessing life-history strategies and habitat use. Despite the contrast between these strategies, it remains challenging to trace nutrients from endogenous stores or exogenous food intake into offspring. Here, we tested a new solution to this problem. Using tissue samples collected opportunistically from wild emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri, which exemplify capital breeding, we hypothesized that the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of individual amino acids (AAs) in endogenous stores (e.g. muscle) and in egg yolk and albumen reflect the nutrient sourcing that distinguishes capital versus income breeding. Unlike other methods, this approach does not require untested assumptions or diet sampling. We found that over half of essential AAs had δ13C values that did not differ between muscle and yolk or albumen, suggesting that most of these AAs were directly routed from muscle into eggs. In contrast, almost all non-essential AAs differed in δ13C values between muscle and yolk or between muscle and albumen, suggesting de novo synthesis. Over half of AAs that have labile nitrogen atoms (i.e. ‘trophic’ AA) had higher δ15N values in yolk and albumen than in muscle, suggesting that they were transaminated during their routing into egg tissue. This effect was smaller for AAs with less labile nitrogen atoms (i.e. ‘source’ AA). Our results indicate that the δ15N offset between trophic-source AAs (Δ15Ntrophic-source) may provide an index of the extent of capital breeding. The value of emperor penguin Δ15NPro-Phe was higher in yolk and albumen than in muscle, reflecting the mobilization of endogenous stores; in comparison, the value of Δ15NPro-Phe was similar across muscle and egg tissue in previously published data for income-breeding herring gulls Larus argentatus smithsonianus. Our results provide a quantitative basis for using AA δ13C and δ15N, and isotopic offsets among AAs (e.g. Δ15NPro-Phe), to explore the allocation of endogenous versus exogenous nutrients across the capital versus income spectrum of avian reproduction.

Abstract: Debris-covered glaciers constitute a large part of the world's cryosphere. However, little is known about their long-term response to multi-millennial climate variability, in particular in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we provide first insights into the response of a debris-covered glacier to multi-millennial climate variability in the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Archipelago, which can be compared to that of recently investigated debris-free glaciers. We focus on the Gentil Glacier and present 13 new 36Cl cosmic-ray exposure ages from moraine boulders. The Gentil Glacier experienced at least two glacial advances: the first one during the Late Glacial (19.0–11.6 ka) at ~14.3 ka and the second one during the Late Holocene at ~2.6 ka. Both debris-covered and debris-free glaciers advanced broadly synchronously during the Late Glacial, most probably during the Antarctic Cold Reversal event (14.5–12.9 ka). This suggests that both glacier types at Kerguelen were sensitive to abrupt temperature changes recorded in Antarctic ice cores, associated with increased moisture. However, during the Late Holocene, the advance at ~2.6 ka was not observed in other glaciers and seems to be an original feature of the debris-covered Gentil Glacier, related to either distinct dynamics or to distinct sensitivity to precipitation changes.

Abstract: Despite significant advances in invertebrate phylogenomics over the past decade, the higher-level phylogeny of Pycnogonida (sea spiders) remains elusive. Due to the inaccessibility of some small-bodied lineages, few phylogenetic studies have sampled all sea spider families. Previous efforts based on a handful of genes have yielded unstable tree topologies. Here, we inferred the relationships of 89 sea spider species using targeted capture of the mitochondrial genome, 56 conserved exons, 101 ultraconserved elements, and 3 nuclear ribosomal genes. We inferred molecular divergence times by integrating morphological data for fossil species to calibrate 15 nodes in the arthropod tree of life. This integration of data classes resolved the basal topology of sea spiders with high support. The enigmatic family Austrodecidae was resolved as the sister group to the remaining Pycnogonida and the small-bodied family Rhynchothoracidae as the sister group of the robust-bodied family Pycnogonidae. Molecular divergence time estimation recovered a basal divergence of crown group sea spiders in the Ordovician. Comparison of diversification dynamics with other marine invertebrate taxa that originated in the Paleozoic suggests that sea spiders and some crustacean groups exhibit resilience to mass extinction episodes, relative to mollusk and echinoderm lineages.

Abstract: We report the discovery of a transiting, temperate, Neptune-sized exoplanet orbiting the nearby (d = 27.5 pc), M3V star TOI-1231 (NLTT 24399, L 248-27, 2MASS J10265947-5228099). The planet was detected using photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and followed up with observations from the Las Cumbres Observatory and the Antarctica Search for Transiting ExoPlanets program. Combining the photometric data sets, we find that the newly discovered planet has a radius of and an orbital period of 24.246 days. Radial velocity measurements obtained with the Planet Finder Spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope confirm the existence of the planet and lead to a mass measurement of 15.5 ± 3.3 M ⊕. With an equilibrium temperature of just 330 K, TOI-1231 b is one of the coolest small planets accessible for atmospheric studies thus far, and its host star’s bright near-infrared brightness (J = 8.88, K s = 8.07) makes it an exciting target for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Future atmospheric observations would enable the first comparative planetology efforts in the 250–350 K temperature regime via comparisons with K2-18 b. Furthermore, TOI-1231's high systemic radial velocity (70.5 km s−1) may allow for the detection of low-velocity hydrogen atoms escaping the planet by Doppler, shifting the H i Lyα stellar emission away from the geocoronal and interstellar medium absorption features.

Abstract: On The 5th Of December 2018, A Magnitude Mw 7.5 Earthquake Occurred Southeast Of Maré, An Island Of The Loyalty Archipelago, New Caledonia. This Earthquake Is Located At The Junction Between The Plunging Loyalty Ridge And The Southernmost Vanuatu Arc, In A Tectonically Very Active Area Regularly Subjected To Strong Seismic Crises And Events Higher Than Magnitude 7 And Up To 8. Widely Felt In New Caledonia It Has Been Immediately Followed By A Tsunami Warning, Confirmed Shortly After By A First Wave Arrival At The Loyalty Islands Tide Gauges (Maré And Lifou), Then Along The East Coast Of Grande Terre Of New Caledonia And In Several Islands Of The Vanuatu Archipelago. Seafloor Initial Deformation Linked To Tsunami Generation Has Been Modeled With Most Numerical Code Using Earthquake Parameters Available From Seismic Observatories. Then The Wave Propagation Has Been Modeled Using Schism, Another Modelling Code Solving The Shallow Water Equations On An Unstructured Grid Based On A New Regional Dem Of ~180 M Resolution And Allowing Refinement In Many Critical Areas. Finally, The Results Have Been Compared To Tide Gauge Records, Field Observations And Testimonials From 2018. The Arrival Times, Wave Amplitude And Polarities Present Good Similarities, Especially In Far-field Locations (Hienghène, Port-vila And Poindimié). Maximum Wave Heights And Energy Maps For Two Different Scenarios Highlight The Fact That The Orientation Of The Source (Strike Of The Rupture) Played An Important Role, Focusing The Maximum Energy Path Of The Tsunami South Of Grande-terre And The Isle Of Pines. However, Both Scenarios Indicate Similar Propagation Toward Aneityum, Vanuatu Southernmost Island, The Bathymetry Acting Like A Waveguide. This Study Has A Significant Implication In Tsunami Hazard Mitigation In New Caledonia As It Helps To Validate The Modelling Code And Process Used To Prepare A Scenarios Database For Warning And Coastal Evacuation.