The Effect of Selective Logging on the Nest Density, Foraging Range and Colony Size on the Ground-Dwelling Ant Aphaenogaster Swammerdami Forel, 1886 in Kirindy ForestmMadagascar

Studying the ecology of ants can be a powerful tool for conservation, While the effect of logging is mainly investigated by the comparison of species richness and composition, the impact on individual species are often neglected. This study investigated the effect of selective logging on the nest density, foraging range and colony size on the ground-dwelling ant Aphaenogaster swammerdami in Kirindy forest--Madagascar. This ant is a common ground-dwelling species in Kirindy, a western dry deciduous forest of Madagascar. Sampling was done in two sites of the forest： One part that was selectively lodged and another that have not been logged. Here we show that selective logging led to a decrease in colony size and density, while the foraging range seemed to be unaffected. Higher desiccation stress and lower food availability in the logged forest are most likely to be responsible for these results.

Breeding Status, Nesting Densities ＆ Diet Trends of Two Endangered California Least Tern Colonies

The California least tern （Sternula antillarum browni） is an endangered species. The two largest colonies of this bird species in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA, are located 23 km apart at Alameda Point and Hayward Regional Shoreline. The Alameda Point colony, on the former Naval Air Station, Alameda, has grown at an average rate of 9.2% per year since its discovery in 1976 and has a nesting density ranging from 1-153 nests per ha. Long-term breeding success at Alameda has averaged 0.86 fledglings per breeding pair. Least tems began appearing in 2003, at an island in Hayward enhanced with substrate mediums and social attraction devices. Successful breeding attempts have been observed at the Hayward colony since 2006. The Hayward colony has grown at an average rate of 51.5% per year, has a nesting density ranging from 33-333 nests per ha and long-term breeding success average of 0.87 fledglings per breeding pair. Dropped fish have been collected from both colonies, and silversides （family Atherinopsidae） are the dominant prey. Alameda terns forage on a greater variety of species than the Hayward terns. The regression results indicate the importance of Northern anchovy （Engraulis mordax） to the breeding success of the Alameda colony.

Highly transmitted silver nanowires-SWCNTs conductive flexible film by nested density structure and aluminum-doped zinc oxide capping layer for flexible amorphous silicon solar cells

Indium tin oxide(ITO)is widely used in transparent conductive films(TCFs);however,several disadvan-tages,such as high cost and toxicity of indium,limit its applications.Therefore,it is necessary to develop other materials that can replace ITO.Silver nanowires or single walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs)have attracted considerable interest owing to their unique electrical,optical,and thermal stabilities,and thus,they are ideal for transparent electrodes for flexible or stretchable devices.In this study,we develop a novel architecture of composite TCFs on a polyethylene naphthalate(PEN)flexible substrate.Herein,the silver nanowires-SWCNTs films with nested density structure were fabricated through ultrasonic spraying technology by varying the spraying width.For achieving enhanced transmittance,we combined the larger irregular grids and holes with fewer nanowires stacked in the longitudinal direction,more optical chan-nels,and good carrier transport.Thereafter,aluminum-doped zinc oxide(AZO)was used as capping to the structure for enhancing the optical properties of the TCFs.The silver nanowires-SWCNTs/AZO(ASA)bilayer was obtained in the optimized architecture,which showed superior optoelectronic performance to that shown by commercial ITO with a high optical transmittance of 92%at the wavelength of 550 nm and low sheet resistance of 17/sq.In the specially structured conductive film,the significant improvement in the transmittance and uniformity of the sheet resistance was attributed to the effective nanowire junc-tion contact compared to that in ordinary structure of silver nanowires,which reduced the mean density of small clusters of nanowires.Compared with the silver nanowires-SWCNTs films,the ASA bilayer film exhibited excellent resistance to boiling,mechanical bending(10,000 cycles),and CO_(2)plasma.Moreover,the sheet resistance of ASA changed slightly after the tape tests,thereby illustrating a strong adhesion to the PEN substrate after the enclosure of AZO.Meanwhile,the AZO capping layer can enhance the op-tical transmittance between 600 and 1500 nm.In addition,the amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices with flexible ASA TCFs exhibited a power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 8.67%.After bending for 3000 times,the PCE was decreased to 8.20%,thereby demonstrating the potential of developed films to replace traditional ITO.