The flying circus. 'El circo volador'.

Dirigido a niños de cinco a ocho años, forma parte del plan de estudios del idioma Inglés en el programa nacional de estudios. La colección fue desarrollada en una serie de televisión de la BBC. Consta de veintiseis episodios, cada uno con una historia diferente, dando además, consejos útiles para enseñar a los niños un buen uso del Inglés. Floppy es un perro que tiene un collar con una llave mágica que le permite cumplir sus deseos, en este caso, transportar a los niños Biff, Kipper y Chip en medio de un aeródromo donde cuatro máquinas voladoras están listas para despegar.Una vez que están en el aire, Chip ha de ser capaz de guiarlas hacia abajo en condiciones de seguridad.

The flying football.

Esta serie llena el vacío entre las Etapas uno y dos, está dirigida principalmente a niños que no están haciendo los avances esperados en la lectura y tienen la necesidad de consolidar sus habilidades, antes de que puedan convertirse en lectores con fluidez. Los textos humorísticos motivan a los niños de edades comprendidas entre los siete y los nueve años, mientras que el uso controlado de estructuras de frases les permitirán acceder al texto fácilmente. A Max le gusta jugar al fútbol en la escuela con sus amigos, pero cuando suena la campana uno de los chicos patea el balón demasiado fuerte y Max cree que nunca lo encontrará.

Establishing Winter Origins of Migrating Lesser Snow Geese Using Stable Isotopes

Increases in Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) populations and large-scale habitat changes in North America have contributed to the concentration of migratory waterfowl on fewer wetlands, reducing resource availability, and enhancing risks of disease transmission. Predicting wintering locations of migratory individuals is critical to guide wildlife population management and habitat restoration. We used stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and hydrogen (δ2H) isotope ratios in muscle tissue of wintering Snow Geese to discriminate four major wintering areas, the Playa Lake Region, Texas Gulf Coast, Louisiana Gulf Coast, and Arkansas, and infer the wintering locations of individuals collected later during the 2007 and 2008 spring migrations in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) of Nebraska. We predicted the wintering ground derivation of migrating Snow Geese using a likelihood-based approach. Our three-isotope analysis provided an efficient discrimination of the four wintering areas. The assignment model predicted that 53% [95% CI: 37-69] of our sample of Snow Geese from the RWB in 2007 had most likely originated in Louisiana, 38% [23-54] had wintered on Texas Gulf Coast, and 9% [0-20] in Arkansas; the assessment suggested that 89% [73-100] of our 2008 sample had most likely come from Texas Gulf Coast, 9% [0-27] from Louisiana Gulf Coast, and 2% [0-9] from Arkansas. Further segregation of wintering grounds and additional sampling of spring migrating Snow Geese would refine overall assignment and help explain interannual variations in migratory connectivity. The ability to distinguish origins of northbound geese can support the development of spatially-adaptive management strategies for the midcontinent Snow Goose population. Establishing migratory connectivity using isotope assignment techniques can be extended to other waterfowl species to determine critical habitat, evaluate population energy requirements, and inform waterfowl conservation and management strategies.

Movements and Habitat Use by Temperate-Nesting Canada Geese During the Postbreeding Period in Southern Québec

Individual behavior that reduces vulnerability to predation can affect population dynamics of animals. Temperate-nesting Canada Geese (Branta canadensis maxima) have increased steadily throughout the Atlantic flyway and have become a nuisance in some parts of their range. The objective of our study was to describe movements and habitat use during the postbreeding period of Canada Geese recently established in southern Québec. More specifically, we wanted to determine whether geese were using areas where hunting was allowed to assess the potential of harvest to control the number of geese. We tracked a sample of geese fitted with radio or conventional alphanumeric collars throughout the fall in three zones characterized by different habitats and hunting pressure. Before the hunting season, geese left the breeding area where hunting was allowed to reach suburban areas where firearm discharge was prohibited or hunters’ numbers were low. These postbreeding movements occurred when juveniles were approximately three months old. We observed few local movements among zones once migrant geese from northern breeding populations reached the study area. Radio-collared geese used mainly natural habitats (75.4 ± 2.6%), followed by urban (14.4 ± 2.7%), and agricultural habitats (10.3 ± 0.8%). They were located 73.8 ± 6.2% of the time in areas where hunting was prohibited. Geese that attended their juveniles during brood rearing were more prone to use areas where firearm discharge was restricted than geese that had abandoned or lost their brood. This study shows that under the prevailing regulations, the potential of hunting to manage the increasing breeding population of Canada Geese in southern Québec is limited.

Density dependence and phenological mismatch: consequences for growth and survival of sub-arctic nesting Canada Geese

The extent to which species are plastic in the timing of their reproductive events relative to phenology suggests how climate change might affect their demography. An ecological mismatch between the timing of hatch for avian species and the peak availability in quality and quantity of forage for rapidly growing offspring might ultimately affect recruitment to the breeding population unless individuals can adjust the timing of breeding to adapt to changing phenology. We evaluated effects of goose density, hatch timing relative to forage plant phenology, and weather indices on annual growth of pre-fledging Canada geese (Branta canadensis) from 1993-2010 at Akimiski Island, Nunavut. We found effects of both density and hatch timing relative to forage plant phenology; the earlier that eggs hatched relative to forage plant phenology, the larger the mean gosling size near fledging. Goslings were smallest in years when hatch was latest relative to forage plant phenology, and when local abundance of breeding adults was highest. We found no evidence for a trend in relative hatch timing, but it was apparent that in early springs, Canada geese tended to hatch later relative to vegetation phenology, suggesting that geese were not always able to adjust the timing of nesting as rapidly as vegetation phenology was advanced. Analyses using forage biomass information revealed a positive relationship between gosling size and per capita biomass availability, suggesting a causal mechanism for the density effect. The effects of weather parameters explained additional variation in mean annual gosling size, although total June and July rainfall had a small additive effect on gosling size. Modelling of annual first-year survival probability using mean annual gosling size as an annual covariate revealed a positive relationship, suggesting that reduced gosling growth negatively impacts recruitment.

High bandwidth, large workspace haptic interaction: flying phantoms

It is well understood that for haptic interaction: free motion performance and closed-loop constrained motion performance have conflicting requirements. The difficulties for both conditions are compounded when increased workspace is required as most solutions result in a reduction of achievable impedance and bandwidth. A method of chaining devices together to increase workspace without adverse effect on performance is described and analysed. The method is then applied to a prototype, colloquially known as 'The Flying Phantom', and shown to provide high-bandwidth, low impedance interaction over the full range of horizontal movement across the front of a human user.

Flying through extratropical cyclone Friedhelm

On 8 December 2011, Cyclone Friedhelm, an explosively deepening cyclone, passed across the UK, causing exceptionally strong winds over Scotland and strong winds over much of the UK. A research flight through this intense cyclone was undertaken as part of the DIAMET project. This article gives an account of the flight as experienced by the authors, who were aboard the aircraft. We describe the objectives of the flight and the measurements obtained, and use photographs taken during the flight to illustrate the cloud structures observed.

Observations on the flight paths of the day-flying moth Virbia lamae during periods of mate location: do males have a strategy for contacting the pheromone plume?

1. To maximize the probability of rapid contact with a female’s pheromone plume, the trajectories of male foraging flights might be expected to be directed with respect to wind flow and also to be energetically efficient. 2. Flights directed either upwind, downwind, or crosswind have been proposed as optimal strategies for rapid and/or energetically efficient plume contact. Other possible strategies are random and Lévy walks, which have trajectories and turn frequencies that are not dictated by the direction of wind flow. 3. The planar flight paths of males of the day-active moth Virbia lamae were recorded during the customary time of its sexual activity. 4. We found no directional preference in these foraging flights with respect to the direction of contemporaneous wind flow, but, because crosswind encompasses twice the possible orientations of either upwind or downwind, a random orientation is in effect a de facto crosswind strategy. 5. A crosswind preference should be favoured when the plume extends farther downwind than crosswind, and this strategy is realized by V. lamae males by a random orientation of their trajectories with respect to current wind direction

Developing temporary manufacturing facilities for residential building: a case of the modern flying factory

The building industry is often berated for its short comings in meeting up with the demand for the provision of new housing. Addressing the need for new housing stock is a challenge that has led to debates among professional bodies, the construction sector, housing industry and government. The introduction of new manufacturing technologies is often offered as a solution, but the challenges of increasing the amount of off-site construction in residential building are well known and well-rehearsed. The modern flying factory (MFF) is a concept that involves the manufacture of specific components or modules in temporary off- or near- site locations using relatively simple and quick to set up and dismantle technologies and processes. The aim is to produce short batches and hence achieve some of the benefits of off-site manufacture on a much smaller scale than in dedicated factory environments. A case study of a modern flying factory being set up to produce pre-assembled utility cupboards for a large residential development in London is presented, involving participant observation and informal interviews with key actors on the design and operationalising of the process. The case reveals that although there are costs, efficiency and health and safety benefits to using MFF approaches, there are also challenges to overcome over the time required to set up and establish the process for relatively short runs, and in evaluating whether the MFF or traditional site based production is most effective for particular aspects of projects.

A morphological view of the relationship between indirect flight muscle maturation and the flying needs of two species of advanced eusocial bees

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Size, taxonomic and biomass distributions of flying insects in Central Amazonia: Forest edge vs. understory

Significantly more individuals and biomass of flying insects were present at the forest edge than in the understory throughout the year, as monitored by flight interception traps, in Central Amazonia. Numbers and biomass of flying insects increased at higher rates at the edge with rainfall, associated with termite swarming behavior and increased Homopteran density. The most abundant insects were Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Isoptera, whose ranked abundances varied with respect to forest edge and understory, as well as with season.

Nest site selection and flying capacity of neotropical wasp Angiopolybia pallens (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the Atlantic Rain Forest, Bahia State, Brazil

In order to evaluate the flying capacity and nest site selection of Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836), we made 17 incursions (136 hours of sample efforts) in Atlantic Rain Forest environments in Bahia state. Our data show this wasp prefers to nest on wide leaves of bushes and short trees (nests between 0.30 and 3m from the ground) placed in half-shady environments (clearings and shadowed cultivations). The logistic regression model using Quasi-Newton method provided a good description of the flying capacity observed in A. pallens (x 2 = 91.52; p≪0.001). According to the logistic regression model, the A. pallens flight autonomy is low, flying for short distances and with an effective radius of action of about 24m measured from their nests, which means a foraging area of nearly 1,800 m 2.