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Park TYS, Nielsen ML, Parry LA, Sørensen MV, Lee M, Kihm JH, Ahn I, Park C, de Vivo G, Smith MP, Harper DAT, Nielsen AT, Vinther J. A giant stem-group chaetognath. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadi6678. [PMID: 38170772 PMCID: PMC10796117 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Chaetognaths, with their characteristic grasping spines, are the oldest known pelagic predators, found in the lowest Cambrian (Terreneuvian). Here, we describe a large stem chaetognath, Timorebestia koprii gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, which exhibits lateral and caudal fins, a distinct head region with long antennae and a jaw apparatus similar to Amiskwia sagittiformis. Amiskwia has previously been interpreted as a total-group chaetognathiferan, as either a stem-chaetognath or gnathostomulid. We show that T. koprii shares a ventral ganglion with chaetognaths to the exclusion of other animal groups, firmly placing these fossils on the chaetognath stem. The large size (up to 30 cm) and gut contents in T. koprii suggest that early chaetognaths occupied a higher trophic position in pelagic food chains than today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae-Yoon S. Park
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
- University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Morten Lunde Nielsen
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
- School of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology Research Group, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth NG12 5GG, UK
| | - Luke A. Parry
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
| | | | - Mirinae Lee
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Hoon Kihm
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
- University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Inhye Ahn
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
- University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Changkun Park
- Division of Earth Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Giacinto de Vivo
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy
| | - M. Paul Smith
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
| | - David A. T. Harper
- Palaeoecosystems Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Arne T. Nielsen
- Department of Geoscience and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, Copenhagen DK-1350, Denmark
| | - Jakob Vinther
- School of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology Research Group, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Ioannou CC, Carvalho LAB, Budleigh C, Ruxton GD. Virtual prey with Lévy motion are preferentially attacked by predatory fish. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:695-699. [PMID: 37434636 PMCID: PMC10332449 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Of widespread interest in animal behavior and ecology is how animals search their environment for resources, and whether these search strategies are optimal. However, movement also affects predation risk through effects on encounter rates, the conspicuousness of prey, and the success of attacks. Here, we use predatory fish attacking a simulation of virtual prey to test whether predation risk is associated with movement behavior. Despite often being demonstrated to be a more efficient strategy for finding resources such as food, we find that prey displaying Lévy motion are twice as likely to be targeted by predators than prey utilizing Brownian motion. This can be explained by the predators, at the moment of the attack, preferentially targeting prey that were moving with straighter trajectories rather than prey that were turning more. Our results emphasize that costs of predation risk need to be considered alongside the foraging benefits when comparing different movement strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luis Arrochela Braga Carvalho
- School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Chessy Budleigh
- School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Graeme D Ruxton
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, Greenside Place, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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Wilson N, Valler V, Cassidy M, Boyd M, Mani L, Brönnimann S. Impact of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 on islands and relevance to future sunlight-blocking catastrophes. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3649. [PMID: 36871039 PMCID: PMC9985606 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30729-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Island nations may have potential long-term survival value for humanity in global catastrophes such as sun-blocking catastrophes from nuclear winter and large magnitude volcanic eruptions. One way to explore this issue further is to understand the impact on islands after the largest historically observed volcanic eruption: that of Mt Tambora in 1815. For each of the 31 large, populated islands selected, we conducted literature searches for relevant historical and palaeoclimate studies. We also analysed results from a reconstruction (EKF400v2), which uses atmospheric-only general circulation model simulations with assimilated observational and proxy data. From the literature review, there was widespread evidence for weather/climate anomalies in 1815-1817 for these islands (29/29 for those with data). But missing data was an issue for other dimensions such as impaired food production (seen in 8 islands out of only 12 with data). Based on the EKF400v2 reconstruction for temperature anomalies (compared to the relatively "non-volcanic" reference period of 1779 to 1808), the islands had lower temperature anomalies in the 1815-1818 period than latitudinally equivalent continental sites (at 100 km and 1000 km inland). This was statistically significant for the great majority of the comparisons for group analyses by hemisphere, oceans, and temperate/tropical zone. When considering just the islands, all but four showed statistically anomalous temperature reductions in the 1816-1817 period (for most p < 0.00001). In the peak impact year of 1816, the lowest anomalies were seen for islands in the Southern Hemisphere (p < 0.0001), the Indian Ocean (p < 0.0001), and in the tropics and subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere (p = 0.0057). In conclusion, the findings of both the literature review and reconstruction simulations suggest climatic impacts of the Tambora eruption for nearly all these 31 large islands, albeit less than for continental sites. Islands with the smallest temperature anomalies were in the Southern Hemisphere, in particular the Indian Ocean and the tropics and subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick Wilson
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
| | - Veronika Valler
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michael Cassidy
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Matt Boyd
- Adapt Research Ltd, Reefton, New Zealand
| | - Lara Mani
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Stefan Brönnimann
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Abstract
Males and females of the same species share the majority of their genomes, yet they are frequently exposed to conflicting selection pressures. Gene regulation is widely assumed to resolve these conflicting sex-specific selection pressures, and although there has been considerable focus on elucidating the role of gene expression level in sex-specific adaptation, other regulatory mechanisms have been overlooked. Alternative splicing enables different transcripts to be generated from the same gene, meaning that exons which have sex-specific beneficial effects can in theory be retained in the gene product, whereas exons with detrimental effects can be skipped. However, at present, little is known about how sex-specific selection acts on broad patterns of alternative splicing. Here, we investigate alternative splicing across males and females of multiple bird species. We identify hundreds of genes that have sex-specific patterns of splicing and establish that sex differences in splicing are correlated with phenotypic sex differences. Additionally, we find that alternatively spliced genes have evolved rapidly as a result of sex-specific selection and suggest that sex differences in splicing offer another route to sex-specific adaptation when gene expression level changes are limited by functional constraints. Overall, our results shed light on how a diverse transcriptional framework can give rise to the evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea F Rogers
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Daniela H Palmer
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Alison E Wright
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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Dingle KE, Didelot X, Quan TP, Eyre DW, Stoesser N, Marwick CA, Coia J, Brown D, Buchanan S, Ijaz UZ, Goswami C, Douce G, Fawley WN, Wilcox MH, Peto TEA, Walker AS, Crook DW. A Role for Tetracycline Selection in Recent Evolution of Agriculture-Associated Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotype 078. mBio 2019; 10:e02790-18. [PMID: 30862754 PMCID: PMC6414706 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02790-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing clinical importance of human infections (frequently severe) caused by Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 078 (RT078) was first reported in 2008. The severity of symptoms (mortality of ≤30%) and the higher proportion of infections among community and younger patients raised concerns. Farm animals, especially pigs, have been identified as RT078 reservoirs. We aimed to understand the recent changes in RT078 epidemiology by investigating a possible role for antimicrobial selection in its recent evolutionary history. Phylogenetic analysis of international RT078 genomes (isolates from 2006 to 2014, n = 400), using time-scaled, recombination-corrected, maximum likelihood phylogenies, revealed several recent clonal expansions. A common ancestor of each expansion had independently acquired a different allele of the tetracycline resistance gene tetM Consequently, an unusually high proportion (76.5%) of RT078 genomes were tetM positive. Multiple additional tetracycline resistance determinants were also identified (including efflux pump tet40), frequently sharing a high level of nucleotide sequence identity (up to 100%) with sequences found in the pig pathogen Streptococcus suis and in other zoonotic pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Each RT078 tetM clonal expansion lacked geographic structure, indicating rapid, recent international spread. Resistance determinants for C. difficile infection-triggering antimicrobials, including fluoroquinolones and clindamycin, were comparatively rare in RT078. Tetracyclines are used intensively in agriculture; this selective pressure, plus rapid, international spread via the food chain, may explain the increased RT078 prevalence in humans. Our work indicates that the use of antimicrobials outside the health care environment has selected for resistant organisms, and in the case of RT078, has contributed to the emergence of a human pathogen.IMPORTANCEClostridium difficile PCR ribotype 078 (RT078) has multiple reservoirs; many are agricultural. Since 2005, this genotype has been increasingly associated with human infections in both clinical settings and the community. Investigations of RT078 whole-genome sequences revealed that tetracycline resistance had been acquired on multiple independent occasions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a rapid, recent increase in numbers of closely related tetracycline-resistant RT078 (clonal expansions), suggesting that tetracycline selection has strongly influenced its recent evolutionary history. We demonstrate recent international spread of emergent, tetracycline-resistant RT078. A similar tetracycline-positive clonal expansion was also identified in unrelated nontoxigenic C. difficile, suggesting that this process may be widespread and may be independent of disease-causing ability. Resistance to typical C. difficile infection-associated antimicrobials (e.g., fluoroquinolones, clindamycin) occurred only sporadically within RT078. Selective pressure from tetracycline appears to be a key factor in the emergence of this human pathogen and the rapid international dissemination that followed, plausibly via the food chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E Dingle
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Protection Research Unit on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Xavier Didelot
- School of Life Sciences and Department of Statistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - T Phuong Quan
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Protection Research Unit on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - David W Eyre
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Stoesser
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Charis A Marwick
- Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - John Coia
- Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Derek Brown
- Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | | | - Umer Z Ijaz
- University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gill Douce
- University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Warren N Fawley
- Department of Microbiology, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Mark H Wilcox
- Department of Microbiology, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy E A Peto
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Protection Research Unit on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - A Sarah Walker
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Protection Research Unit on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Derrick W Crook
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NIHR Oxford Health Protection Research Unit on Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Herbert-Read JE, Kremer L, Bruintjes R, Radford AN, Ioannou CC. Anthropogenic noise pollution from pile-driving disrupts the structure and dynamics of fish shoals. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20171627. [PMID: 28954915 PMCID: PMC5627215 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Noise produced from a variety of human activities can affect the physiology and behaviour of individual animals, but whether noise disrupts the social behaviour of animals is largely unknown. Animal groups such as flocks of birds or shoals of fish use simple interaction rules to coordinate their movements with near neighbours. In turn, this coordination allows individuals to gain the benefits of group living such as reduced predation risk and social information exchange. Noise could change how individuals interact in groups if noise is perceived as a threat, or if it masked, distracted or stressed individuals, and this could have impacts on the benefits of grouping. Here, we recorded trajectories of individual juvenile seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in groups under controlled laboratory conditions. Groups were exposed to playbacks of either ambient background sound recorded in their natural habitat, or playbacks of pile-driving, commonly used in marine construction. The pile-driving playback affected the structure and dynamics of the fish shoals significantly more than the ambient-sound playback. Compared to the ambient-sound playback, groups experiencing the pile-driving playback became less cohesive, less directionally ordered, and were less correlated in speed and directional changes. In effect, the additional-noise treatment disrupted the abilities of individuals to coordinate their movements with one another. Our work highlights the potential for noise pollution from pile-driving to disrupt the collective dynamics of fish shoals, which could have implications for the functional benefits of a group's collective behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise Kremer
- Department of Agronomy, Agroequipments, Farming and Environment, AgroSup Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Rick Bruintjes
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Naveira Garabato AC, MacGilchrist GA, Brown PJ, Evans DG, Meijers AJS, Zika JD. High-latitude ocean ventilation and its role in Earth's climate transitions. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2017; 375:rsta.2016.0324. [PMID: 28784714 PMCID: PMC5559419 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The processes regulating ocean ventilation at high latitudes are re-examined based on a range of observations spanning all scales of ocean circulation, from the centimetre scales of turbulence to the basin scales of gyres. It is argued that high-latitude ocean ventilation is controlled by mechanisms that differ in fundamental ways from those that set the overturning circulation. This is contrary to the assumption of broad equivalence between the two that is commonly adopted in interpreting the role of the high-latitude oceans in Earth's climate transitions. Illustrations of how recognizing this distinction may change our view of the ocean's role in the climate system are offered.This article is part of the themed issue 'Ocean ventilation and deoxygenation in a warming world'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - D Gwyn Evans
- Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK
| | | | - Jan D Zika
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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Marlton GJ, Williams PD, Nicoll KA. On the detection and attribution of gravity waves generated by the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2016; 374:rsta.2015.0222. [PMID: 27550763 PMCID: PMC5004052 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2015.0222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Internal gravity waves are generated as adjustment radiation whenever a sudden change in forcing causes the atmosphere to depart from its large-scale balanced state. Such a forcing anomaly occurs during a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow cools part of the Earth's surface. The resulting atmospheric gravity waves are associated with pressure and temperature perturbations, which in principle are detectable both at the surface and aloft. In this study, surface pressure and temperature data from two UK sites at Reading and Lerwick are examined for eclipse-driven gravity wave perturbations during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse over northwest Europe. Radiosonde wind data from the same two sites are also analysed using a moving parcel analysis method, to determine the periodicities of the waves aloft. On this occasion, the perturbations both at the surface and aloft are found not to be confidently attributable to eclipse-driven gravity waves. We conclude that the complex synoptic weather conditions over the UK at the time of this particular eclipse helped to mask any eclipse-driven gravity waves.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'.
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Affiliation(s)
- G J Marlton
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - P D Williams
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - K A Nicoll
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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