Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) populations have experienced dramatic declines since the mid-19th century along the southern portion of the species range, leading citizen groups to petition the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list the species as endangered in the contiguous US. While there remains no consensus on the mechanisms driving these trends, population decreases in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem suggest climate-related factors, and in particular the indirect influence of sea-surface temperature on puffin prey. Here, we use three species distribution models (SDMs) to evaluate projected shifts in habitat suitable for Tufted Puffin nesting for the year 2050 under two future Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios. Ensemble model results indicate warming marine and terrestrial temperatures play a key role in the loss of suitable Tufted Puffin nesting conditions in the California Current under both business-as-usual (RCP 8.5) and moderated (RCP 4.5) carbon emission scenarios, and in particular, that mean summer sea-surface temperatures greater than 15 °C are likely to make habitat unsuitable for breeding. Under both emission scenarios, ensemble model results suggest that more than 92% of currently suitable nesting habitat in the California Current is likely to become unsuitable. Moreover, the models suggest a net loss of greater than 21% of suitable nesting sites throughout the entire North American range of the Tufted Puffin, regardless of emission-reduction strategies. These model results highlight continued Tufted Puffin declines—particularly among southern breeding colonies—and indicate a significant risk of near-term extirpation in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

Rapid deployment and mobility of lightweight structures, namely inflatable structures, are of growing significance to the military and space communities. When deployment and rigidity are driven by pressure (for example, air or fluid) and materials such as textiles, elastomers and flexible composites are used, significant load carrying capacity per unit weight (or per-unit stowed volume) can be uniquely achieved. Specifically, the pressurized air directly provides the stiffness to support structural loads, thus eliminating the requirement for heavy metal stiffeners that are used in conventional rigid structures. However, the material and system behaviors are not sufficiently understood. Furthermore, predictive-performance analysis methods and test standards are not adequately established because the behaviors of inflatable fabric structures often involve coupled effects from inflation pressure such as fluid-structure interactions (FSI’s), thermo-mechanical coupling and nonlinear constitutive responses of the materials. These effects can restrict the use of conventional design, analysis and test methods. This research explores the mechanics of air-inflated drop-stitch fabric panels subject to bending loads using analytical and experimental methods. Results of experimental four-point bend tests conducted at various inflation pressures are used to validate the analytical method. The predicted and experimental deflections, wrinkling onset moments, ultimate loads, pressure changes, etc. are compared and discussed.

Aegir is a medium-fidelity potential flow code that uses a high-order, non-uniform rational B-Spline (NURBS) based boundary-element method for the computation of steady and unsteady ship hydrodynamics. This paper documents verification and validation for Aegir in its steady-state wave resistance prediction mode and Aegir’s LEAPS to Aegir function. A set of best practice guidelines has been created to aid the user in selecting initial input parameters, which reduces the necessary time for verification. This paper also presents validation of the numerical solution versus physical experiments from publically available ship data sets. Aegir has become more prevalent in the naval ship design community and is now a part of the US Navy’s Integrated Hydrodynamic Design Environment (IHDE).

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Exotic species have been implicated as a major threat to native freshwater fish communities in the Unites States. The San Francisco Estuary watershed has been recognized as one of the most invaded systems where exotics often dominate the fish community. On October 6, 2014, members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected a previously unknown exotic fish in a disconnected pool immediately upstream from the Chowchilla Bifurcation Structure in the San Joaquin River, a major tributary of the San Francisco Estuary. A member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially identified the fish as an Oriental Weatherfish Misgurnus anguillicaudatus using external morphological characteristics. We conducted additional fish sampling near the Chowchilla Bifurcation Structure in November 2014 and collected a total of six additional specimens in disconnected pool habitats. Unexpectedly, genetic and meristic techniques revealed that these specimens were Large-Scale Loach Paramisgurnus dabryanus. To our knowledge this is the first confirmed occurrence of Large-Scale Loach in the United States and the suspected pathway of introduction is release from aquaria. Very little is known about the population in the San Joaquin River. We recommend further evaluation of the ecology, distribution, and abundance of Large-Scale Loach to better understand their potential impact on the fish communities of the San Joaquin River and the likelihood of establishment throughout the United States.