The widespread tropical gobionelline fish genus Oxyurichthys is monophyletic due to its species sharing two characters considered derived within the Stenogobius Group of the Gobionellinae (Gobioidei: Gobiidae), a transversely broadened (spatulate) third neural spine that is usually bifid, and no preopercular cephalic lateralis canal. It is most closely related to Oligolepis, also of the Indo-we...

The Scotia Sea in the South Atlantic holds a prominent position in geodynamics, because it has been proposed as a potential outlet of asthenosphere from under the shrinking Pacific into the mantle beneath the opening Atlantic. Shear wave splitting and geochemical studies have previously tested this hypothesis. Here, we take a different approach by calculating presentday dynamic topography of th...

The palaemonid shrimp genus Palaemonella Dana, 1852 is currently represented by 21 formally described species worldwide, of which 17 species are known from the Indo-West Pacific. In this study, a new species, P. okunoi, is described and illustrated on the basis of two ovigerous female specimens collected from coastal waters in Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, at depths of 5-30 m. The new ...

Aphoristia (= Symphurus) orientalis Bleeker 1879, collected from an unspecified depth and location in Japanese waters, is the first described species of symphurine tonguefish from Indo-Pacific waters. The original description with accompanying illustration is based on the unique holotype specimen and provides limited diagnostic characters for this taxon. Subsequent to its description, the holot...

During summertime months the low-level airflow over the eastern Pacific is dominated by the circulation associated with the Pacific High typically situated about 1000 km off the west coast of the United States. Subsidence above the Pacific High establishes a sharp temperature inversion at the top of the well-mixed marine boundary layer (MBL) with its depth increasing offshore to the west. A low...

The southern house mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus is a principal vector of human lymphatic filariasis, several encephalitides (including West Nile virus), avian malaria, and poxvirus, but its importance as a vector varies considerably among regions. This species has spread with humans and is ubiquitous in tropical urban and suburban environments. This was the first mosquito to reach Hawaii and...

Records of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (P(CO(2))) and Antarctic temperature have revealed an intriguing change in the magnitude of interglacial warmth and P(CO(2)) at around 430,000 years ago (430 ka), but the global climate repercussions of this change remain elusive. Here, we present a stalagmite-based reconstruction of tropical West Pacific hydroclimate from 570 to 210 ka. The r...

The idea that intraseasonal variability in the tropical west Pacific can act as an effective means of stochastically forcing ENSO episodes is explored. Using the ideas of generalized linear stability theory as they apply to nonnormal dynamical systems, the physical attributes of the coupled ocean–atmosphere system in the Tropics that allow perturbations with structures that are dissimilar to EN...

The ancestry of the Colombian population comprises a large number of well differentiated Native communities belonging to diverse linguistic groups. In the late fifteenth century, a process of admixture was initiated with the arrival of the Europeans, and several years later, Africans also became part of the Colombian population. Therefore, the genepool of the current Colombian population result...

[1] The diurnal cycle of liquid water path (LWP) over the subtropical and tropical oceans is examined using two complete years of TMI (Tropical Rainfall MeasuringMission Microwave Imager) satellite microwave radiometer data. Diurnal amplitudes are a considerable fraction of the mean, especially in low cloud regions to the west of continents, where values of 15–35% are typical. Early morning max...