Abstract: Astronomers do not have a complete picture of the effects of wide-binary companions (semimajor axes greater than 100 au) on the formation and evolution of exoplanets. We investigate these effects using new data from Gaia Early Data Release 3 and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission to characterize wide-binary systems with transiting exoplanets. We identify a sample of 67 systems of transiting exoplanet candidates (with well-determined, edge-on orbital inclinations) that reside in wide visual binary systems. We derive limits on orbital parameters for the wide-binary systems and measure the minimum difference in orbital inclination between the binary and planet orbits. We determine that there is statistically significant difference in the inclination distribution of wide-binary systems with transiting planets compared to a control sample, with the probability that the two distributions are the same being 0.0037. This implies that there is an overabundance of planets in binary systems whose orbits are aligned with those of the binary. The overabundance of aligned systems appears to primarily have semimajor axes less than 700 au. We investigate some effects that could cause the alignment and conclude that a torque caused by a misaligned binary companion on the protoplanetary disk is the most promising explanation.

Abstract: The Antarctic pelagic ecosystem over the continental shelf is dominated by the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarctica (Nototheniidae) which represents up to 90% of the fish biomass. P. antarctica is the only notothenioid species to have an entire pelagic life cycle. This species is characterized by a particularly long larval stage that lasts over a year and a vertical distribution with larvae in the surface layer and the older individuals in deeper ones. The reproductive cycle of P. antarctica is closely linked to seasonal sea ice dynamics and early stages depend on the spatial and temporal match with zooplankton production. P. antarctica is planktivorous at all stages of development, larvae are omnivorous actively feeding on diatoms and small copepods such as Oithona and Oncaea spp., while juveniles and adults are strictly carnivorous and feed mainly on copepods and euphausiids. In the early years of its life-history Antarctic silverfish exhibit primarily a marked transition in terms of trophic ecology between larvae and juveniles. The food resource partitioning is relatively clear between larvae and older life stages with a negligible overlap. Although the shift in diet between juveniles and adults remains less obvious in several geographic locations, juveniles and adults seem to share a similar mid-trophic level around Antarctica.