We suggest a fiber micro-knot fabricated on a long-period fiber grating. The long-period fiber grating excites high-order modes into the micro-knot and transfers the output back to the Gaussian mode. We show theoretically and experimentally that these micro-knots have an improved Q-factor, higher stability, and have an increased evanescence wave coupling to the environment than single mode fibe...

This paper presents the research made at the Laboratory of Optics, Lasers and Systems (LOLS) of the Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon, Portugal, in the field of fiber-based sensors. Three areas are considered: sensor encapsulation for natural aqueous environments, refractive index modulation and laser micropatterning. We present the main conclusions on the issues and parameters to tak...

G. Rego*, R. Falate, H. J. Kalinowski, J. L. Fabris, P. V. S. Marques, H. M. Salgado, J. L. Santos Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Av. do Atlântico, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Unidade de Optoelectrónica e Sistemas Electrónicos, INESC-Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal. Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do P...

Many species of reef fishes form large spawning aggregations that are highly predictable in space and time. Prior research has suggested that aggregating fish derive fitness benefits not just from mating at high density but, also, from oceanographic features of the spatial locations where aggregations occur. Using a probabilistic biophysical model of larval dispersal coupled to a fine resolutio...

Many studies have documented long-term changes in adult marine fish distributions and linked these changes to climate change and multi-decadal climate variability. Most marine fish, however, have complex life histories with morphologically distinct stages, which use different habitats. Shifts in distribution of one stage may affect the connectivity between life stages and thereby impact populat...

Dispersal influences ecological dynamics, evolution, biogeography, and biodiversity conservation, but models of larval dispersal in marine organisms make simplifying assumptions that are likely to approximate poorly the temporal dynamics of larval survival and capacity for settlement. In particular, larval mortality rates are typically assumed to be constant throughout larval life; and all larv...

Food availability and temperature are known to trigger phenotypic change, but the interactive effects between these factors are only beginning to be considered. The aim of this study was to examine the independent and interactive effects of long-term stochastic food availability and water temperature on larval survivorship, growth and development of the striped marsh frog, Limnodynastes peronii...

Several aspects of the biology of Xylotrechus arvicola (Olivier), an emerging grape pest, were studied under laboratory conditions. Four diets were tested to rear this species in the laboratory. Among them, only one made rearing from larva to adult possible. The highest mortality, in all cases, was recorded during the first days of larval development. Larvae were kept 45 days at 8°C to break di...

Context Spiny lobsters are critically affected by ocean current movements over their long journey from hatching to swimming post-larvae (puerulus). Methods Isolating three different larval stages of the Western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus), we have applied three-dimensional larval-dispersal modelling techniques Aims To better understand a period unusually low puerulus settlement in late 2000...