The nature of the thermal structure of hot Jupiter atmospheres is one of the key questions raised by the characterization of transiting exoplanets over the past decade. There have been claims that many hot Jupiters exhibit atmospheric thermal inversions. However, these claims have been based on broadband photometry rather than the unambiguous identification of emission features with spectroscopy, and the chemical species that could cause the thermal inversions by absorbing stellar irradiation at high altitudes have not been identified despite extensive theoretical and observational effort. Here we present high-precision Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 observations of the dayside thermal emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b, which was the first exoplanet suggested to have a thermal inversion. In contrast to previous results for this planet, our observations detect water in absorption at 6.2 sigma confidence. When combined with Spitzer photometry, the data are indicative of a monotonically decreasing temperature with pressure over the range of 1-0.001 bars at 7.7 sigma confidence. We test the robustness of our results by exploring a variety of model assumptions, including the temperature profile parameterization, presence of a cloud, and choice of Spitzer data reduction. We also introduce a new analysis method to determine the elemental abundances from the spectrally retrieved mixing ratios with thermochemical self-consistency and find plausible abundances consistent with solar metallicity (0.06-10 x solar) and carbon-to oxygen ratios less than unity. This work suggests that high-precision spectrophotometric results are required to robustly infer thermal structures and compositions of extrasolar planet atmospheres and to perform comparative exoplanetology.

The efficacy of providing water sources in desert ecosystems to enhance wildlife populations and their distribution continues to be debated among wildlife managers. Some argue wildlife water developments provide a direct benefit to numerous species, while others point to the potential that wildlife water developments alter competition or predation dynamics and disrupt native communities. Additionally, some have argued that the availability of water may become more important to wildlife in the face of vegetative changes associated with expansive fire and conversion of shrub or forest lands to grasslands which alters the thermal landscape available to animals. I evaluated the influence of free water and expansive fire on aspects of the ecology (habitat selection, space use and survival) of Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) in the Mojave Desert of southwestern Washington County, Utah, USA. I attached radio-transmitters to a total of 206 quail (74 adult males, 67 adult females, and 65 juvenile males and females) and monitored them from 2010 – 2013. For chapter one of my thesis, I evaluated the response of marked quail to removal of access to water in a before-after controlled impact (BACI) design. I found little influence of water removal on survival as models with this effect received little to no support and overlap in confidence intervals occurred between treatment and reference groups. Likewise, the distance from the center of the summer home range to the nearest water source did not differ by year (F = 1.63; P = 0.19) or treatment (removal of water) (F = 0.89; P = 0.35) and pairwise comparisons of distances for the treatment by year interaction were not significant (P > 0.05 in all cases). For size of home range area, however, I found strong effects for year (F = 3.07; P = 0.03), treatment (F = 4.67; P = 0.03), and their interaction (F = 7.61; P = 0.01). Mean home range size for quail was 6.10 and 1.63 km2 for animals in the reference area during treatment years (2012 and 2013) compared to 5.07 and 8.99 km2 for quail in the treatment area during 2012 and 2013, respectively. Removal of water influenced size of summer home ranges, but not the location of the summer home range or survival rates. I hypothesize that removal of access to free water required quail in the treatment area to expand their space use patterns in 2013 in order to satisfy water demands via pre-formed water. For chapter two of my thesis, I evaluated habitat selection of Gambel's quail in relation to vegetation type, topographic features, water, and recent (4-7 years) expansive fire. Gambel's quail selected areas of decreased roughness which were closer to water and fire boundaries than random locations. I found that quail preferred moderate (< 10 degrees) hillsides and ravine bottoms. I found no evidence that quail avoided the burned areas within their home ranges and 80% of their telemetry points were <500 meters from a burn edge. The Beaver Dam slope topography strongly influenced habitat selection for Gambel's quail and they showed strong selection for water sources during summer months. These data also suggest that wildfires have had limited impact on habitat selection by this species, four to seven years later.

Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina (Schott) L. Benson, the Pima pineapple cactus, herein referred to as C. scheeri, was declared an endangered species in 1993 and only occurs in a limited range in Arizona, USA and northern Sonora, Mexico between 2,300'-4,500' asl. Development within the range of C. scheeri threatens individuals, but transplanting to conserve them while allowing for development has been considered to be ineffective for conservation due to low post-transplant survival rates in past studies. The construction of a natural gas pipeline provided the opportunity to conduct a transplant experiment on 82 individual C. scheeri transplanted in July and August 2014. The plants were randomized into one of four transplant methods: bare-root with supplemental water, bare-root without supplemental water, soil-and-plant moved with supplemental water, and soil-and-plant moved without supplemental water. Higher than average precipitation occurred during the 2014 monsoon season including after transplanting. A subset of the transplanted C. scheeri (n=17) were transplanted back onto the pipeline after pipeline construction was completed. Survival rates were monitored through December 2016 and compared to undisturbed C. scheeri near the pipeline ROW and those on other sites. For the plants transplanted once, no significant effect of moving the plants with soil compared to no soil (X2 = 2.9, p = 0.09), no significant effect of adding water at the time of transplant compared to not adding water (X2 = 1.2, p = 0.26), and no significant interaction among treatments (X2 = 0.06, p = 0.81) was observed. For plants transplanted twice, a significant effect of moving the plants with the soil compared to no soil (X2 = 5.0, p = 0.02) was found, while due to the random selection of plants to be transplanted twice there was too little data to adequately test other comparisons. There was no significant difference in mortality between the transplanted once (27% mortality) and the transplanted twice (31% mortality) treatments (p = 0.78), but there was a significant difference between transplanted and non-transplanted plants (2% mortality in non-transplanted plants; p < 0.05). Soil series did not appear correlated with mortality. Plants in good condition (scored 4 or 5 on scale of 0-5) at the time of transplanting had low mortality rates (16%) while plants scored 3 or lower had high mortality rates (60%) but deaths did not occur immediately after transplanting: 5 died after 8 or 9 months, 4 after 13-16 months, and 9 after 23 or 24 months. The majority of the deaths occurred after numerous months of declining in condition but six plants died suddenly. Good condition plants were more likely to flower than those in poor condition. Transplanting appears to conserve some of the C. scheeri population which would have otherwise been lost to development.

Cette étude examine la place que les peuples situés à l’ouest de la Vallée du Nil occupent dans la culture pharaonique depuis les premières sources dynastiques jusqu’à la fin du Moyen Empire (3150-1800 av. J.-C.). Le sujet est abordé de manière thématique, d’un point de vue archéologique, historique et linguistique. Après avoir délimité l’espace dans lequel ces peuples évoluent et déterminé leurs différentes représentations dans les sources égyptiennes, il s’agit de mettre en évidence la nature des relations qu’ils entretiennent avec les habitants de la vallée. L’enjeu est de saisir la manière dont ces « Libyens » sont perçus et reconnus dans la société égyptienne. / The present study concentrates on the position of the people living west to the Nile Valley in the Pharaonic culture since the first dynastic sources until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The subject has been thematically organized, from an archaeological, historical and linguistic point of view. After having outlined their geographical area where they have lived and having determined their various representations in the Egyptian sources, the aim if this research is to highlight the nature of the relations they maintained with the inhabitants of the Nile Valley. The goal is to understand how these “Libyans” are perceived and recognized in the Egyptian society.

Dans le désert Libyque (Égypte), l'un des plus arides du monde, l'action du vent trouvant peu de limites, l'ablation et le transport éoliens sont des éléments prégnants de la morphogenèse. Au cœur de ce désert, les oasis de la dépression de Kharga, nées de l'artésianisme et des activités humaines, constituent au contraire, par la profusion de l'eau et de la végétation, des secteurs où les processus de dépôt sont renforcés. L'imbrication entre une région désertique (zone-source de sédiments) et des sites oasiens (zones de dépôt), où s'appliquent des processus opposés, maximise les dynamiques éoliennes et leur impact morphogénétique. Il en découle la formation des paysages du vent, que cette thèse vise à décrire, comprendre et expliquer. Mobilisant des méthodes de géomorphologie, de géoarchéologie, de géohistoire et de sédimentologie, ce travail rend compte de l'impact paysager des interactions entre activités humaines et dynamiques éoliennes depuis la création des oasis il y a 2 500 ans. Il présente un bilan des processus naturels et anthropiques, et aborde la question des conditions de vie des oasiens depuis l'Antiquité.Trois apports principaux résultent de cette recherche :- une typologie des formations constitutives des paysages du vent- une modélisation descriptive du système à leur origine, reposant sur des cycles asynchrones de colonisation et de déprises- un bilan des grandes tendances de l'évolution environnementale et morphogénétique sur le temps long, depuis l'implantation des oasis : les paysages du vent sont nés de la distorsion entre la dégradation environnementale régionale et l'amélioration locale et temporaire des conditions édaphiques résultant des activités humaines. / The limiting features of the wind dynamics are scarce in the Western desert of Egypt, one of the most arid areas in the world: eolian ablation and transport are the prevailing factors of the morphogenesis. Born from artesian waters and human activities, the oases of Kharga basin form an area where the deposition processes are stronger thanks to the large amount of water and vegetation. Eolian dynamics, and their morphogenetic impacts, are strengthened by the nesting of oasis sites (deposition areas) in a desert region (sediment source-zone). The landscapes of the wind are thus formed by the juxtaposition of these areas where opposed processes occur. This thesis aims to describe, understand and explain their development.This work based on geomorphology, geoarchaeology, « géohistoire » and sedimentology gives an account on the impacts on the landscapes of the interactions between eolian dynamics and human activities since the creation of the oases 2 500 years ago. It consists in an overview of the natural and anthropogenic processes and an assessment of the living conditions in the oasis since the Antiquity.The three main results of this research are:- a typology of the elements forming the landscapes of the wind;- a descriptive modelisation of the system at stake in their formations, which is based on an asynchronous cycle of colonisation and abandonment of the sites;- an overview of the main patterns of the long-term environmental and morphogenetic evolution since the creation of the oases.This triple contribution shows that the landscapes of the wind are born from the distortion between the regional environmental trend towards degraded conditions and the local and temporary improvements of the edaphic conditions due to human activities.

Many prey species exhibit antipredator responses in the presence of humans. These responses may lead in turn to behavioral modification and spatiotemporal avoidance strategies that may have implications for long term population dynamics. Our research was developed to measure the potential effects of backcountry recreation on the behavior and distribution of desert bighorn sheep in the Pusch ridge Wilderness Area (PRWA), Arizona, USA. Human use of the PRWA was quantified across the study site using real time observer field counts and modeled use metrics derived from motion activated trail cameras (n=15) placed on six US Forest Service (USFS) trails. We conducted 113 behavioral observations at multiple spatial scales from February of 2015 through May of 2016 to quantify female bighorn activity budgets and responses to human interaction. Bighorn behavior was characterized in a generalized linear model (GLM) to examine how human use and environmental covariates affect changes in the frequency of behaviors within the bighorn activity budget. Our models indicate that interactions between bighorn and humans are complex. An increase in human activity in the PRWA correlates inversely with bighorn time spent grazing. As a potential trade off bighorn significantly increased the frequency of time bedded. These results suggest that bighorn behavioral responses to human activity may carry costs associated with avoidance, however, behavioral analysis alone is not enough to measure the extent of such costs. This research has management implications where multiple use and high levels of human activity have the potential to negatively influence the behavior of wildlife species.

<p> Though humans have over a century of experience with catastrophic marine and terrestrial oil spills, response plans and cleanup techniques are still active areas of research and development. This work evaluated the oil degradation potential and changes in the microbial community following nutrient additions in polluted marine sediment and desert soil. </p><p> Biostimulation experiments on Alaskan beach sediment still contaminated by the <i>Exxon Valdez</i> tanker oil spill demonstrated that ambient air and hydrogen peroxide both serve as suitable sources of oxygen to stimulate aerobic microbial degradation of the oil. The addition of oxygen to the oil-contaminated sediment stimulated the growth of Proteobacteria, which made up 77-92% of the population in the presence of ambient oxygen and 76-88% with hydrogen peroxide. These experiments also revealed that sediment samples collected from a non-contaminated portion of the beach also contained a large fraction of microbial species that are known oil degraders. A phytoremediation experiment using mesquite trees in motor-oil-contaminated desert soil indicated that the use of compost as a soil amendment enhanced oil degradation, while biochar hindered degradation activity.</p>

Drought indices based on monthly precipitation and sometimes temperature are widely used due to their simple calculation with readily available climate data. The portrayal of drought through simple precipitation anomalies or water balances when accounting for temperature may not capture the potentially complex evolution of drought events due to the timing, intensity, and frequency of precipitation events at the daily scale. In this study, we present a new drought index that incorporates a deterministic soil model, HYDRUS-1D, and daily climate data to assess how representative simple drought indices are of soil moisture status in the Southwest. Specifically, we compare our drought index with two widely used drought indices: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Perception-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Modeled soil moisture output was summed into monthly values for direct comparison between indices. SPI and SPEI proved to be representative of soil moisture status at shallow depths, correlating best at a two-month window. SPI correlated higher with our modeled drought index than SPEI in shallow settings across all study sites. Intense drought events were controlled by the magnitude and frequency of precipitation, with large events creating water surplus and then a slow decay in soil moisture until the next large event. Furthermore, heat map correlations indicate that monitoring drought at depth is dependent upon the previous years monsoon, with the best correlating window growing with distance from monsoon onset. Modeled soil moisture showed volumetric water content increased during monsoon season and remained high through the fall and into the winter months. Higher moisture content increased hydraulic conductivity, priming the soil profile for winter recharge. We believe that the addition of a soil physics based drought index greatly improves drought monitoring conditions for the southwest.

Les Apophtegmes des Pères sont parvenus sous la forme de deux collections classiques de la fin du Ve s. qui regroupent les dits des grands ascètes surtout égyptiens des IVe-Ve s., ainsi que des anecdotes illustrant leur enseignement. C’est cette littérature fragmentaire, si influente, qui est étudiée ici pour déterminer ce qu’a été la prière de ces grands moines. Après une présentation des collections, une première partie est consacrée à la terminologie, puis à la typologie et aux modalités de la prière étudiées avec l’aide d’autres textes monastiques de même époque. La deuxième partie, sur le contexte historique, souligne l’importance pour l’évolution de la prière monastique qu’ont eue la polémique avec les messaliens, et celle avec les origénistes. Un dernier chapitre est consacré à un cas particulier important, celui d’Antoine le Grand, qui nous est connu par les Apophtegmes, mais aussi par ses lettres et la Vie que lui consacre Athanase. / The Apophtegmata Patrum reached us in the form of two classical collections of the late fifth century which regroup the sayings of the great ascetics of the fourth and the fifth century, especially Egyptian ones, as well as anecdotes illustrating their teaching. This influential, fragmentary literature is studied here in order to determine what the prayer of those great monks was. After the presentation of collections, Part I is devoted to terminology, then to typology and modalities of prayer which were studied with the help of other monastic texts of the same epoch. Part II examines the historical background and highlights the importance of the controversy with Messalians, and that with Origenists, for the evolution of the monastic prayer. The last chapter is dedicated to an important particular case, that of Anthony the Great, who is known to us by the Apophtegmata, as well as by his letters and his Life written by Athanasius.

Dentre os diversos manejos de cultivo, a fertilização destaca-se por apresentar efeitos diretos sobre a qualidade e padronização, essenciais na floricultura. Porém a fertilização em plantas ornamentais ainda não está bem estabelecida, devido a grande variabilidade de espécies, as quais possuem peculiaridades, que variam de acordo com o genótipo, estádio fenológico e objetivo de produção. Dentre as diversas plantas ornamentais, a rosa do deserto (Adenium obesum), vem se destacando no mercado nacional, por apresentar rusticidade, formas esculturais variadas e floradas intensas, porém não possui muitos estudos relacionados às suas exigências nutricionais. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito de diferentes fertilizações e suas interações com distintos substratos no crescimento inicial de rosa do deserto. Mudas de A. obesum produzidas a partir de sementes, com 60 dias foram transplantadas em vaso com capacidade de 0,415 L, preenchidos com dois tipos de substrato em mistura com areia, sendo: areia + fibra de coco e areia + pó de pinus compostado e mantidos em casa de vegetação com 50% de retenção luminosa. Foram realizadas quatro diferentes fertilizações sendo: sem fertilização, aplicação da solução nutritiva de Hoagland; aplicação de 590 ppm de nitrogênio (N) a partir da diluição de NH3NO4 em água; e aplicação da solução nutritiva de Hoagland modificada pela adição de NH3NO4, elevando a concentração de N para 800 ppm. As soluções foram aplicadas quinzenalmente adicionando 50 mL de cada solução por vaso. A irrigação foi diária, exceto nos dias das fertilizações, efetuada manualmente, aplicando-se uma lâmina de água de 4 mm a cada irrigação. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 2x4, com 10 repetições. Após 150 dias foram avaliados os seguintes parâmetros fitométricos: altura da parte aérea; diâmetro basal do cáudice; número dos ramos; massa seca de raízes, cáudice e folhas; e determinação dos teores e acúmulo de macronutrientes da parte aérea além do pH e EC do substrato. Os parâmetros avaliados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Para todos os parâmetros fitométricos avaliados quando utilizado pinus compostado em mistura com areia, as mudas apresentaram maior desenvolvimento comparado a utilização de fibra de coco misturado com areia. Em relação a utilização das diferentes soluções nutritivas, as mudas tiveram melhor desempenho com a solução de Hoagland modificada para a altura, numero de brotos, diâmetro de cáudice, e massa seca de folhas. Em relação a massa seca de cáudice e massa seca de raízes, a fertilização com a solução de NH3NO4 e com a solução de Hoagland modificada, não diferiram entre si, sendo contudo superiores as demais. Recomenda-se o uso do substrato areia + pó de pinus (1:1 V/V) e da fertilização com solução de Hoagland combinada com solução de nitrato de amônio (590 ppm), por propiciarem melhor crescimento inicial de rosa do deserto. / Among the various managements crop fertilization stands out by having direct effects on the quality and standardization, essential in floriculture. But the fertilization of ornamental plants is not well established due to high variability of species, which has peculiarities that vary according to the genotype, phenological stage and purpose of production. Among the various ornamental plants, desert rose (Adenium obesum: Apocynaceae), has been outstanding in the domestic market, due to its hardiness, sculptural shapes varied and intense flowering, but does not have many studies related to their nutritional requirements. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different fertilizations and their interactions with different substrates in pink initial growth of the desert. A. obesum seedlings grown from seeds, 60 days were transplanted in a pot with 0.415 liter capacity, filled with two types of substrate mixed with sand, as follows: sand + coconut fiber and sand + composted pine dust and kept in a greenhouse with 50% light retention. Four different fertilizations were carried out as follows: no fertilization, application of the Hoagland; application of 590 ppm of nitrogen (N) from NH3NO4 dilution in water; and application of the Hoagland nutrient solution modified by the addition of NH3NO4, raising the concentration of N to 800 ppm. The solutions were applied every two weeks by adding 50 mL of each solution per pot. Irrigation was daily, except on the days of fertilization, performed manually, applying a 4 mm of water at each irrigation. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 2x4 factorial design, with 10 repetitions. After 150 days were evaluated the following fitométricos parameters: shoot height; basal diameter of caudex; number of branches; dry mass of roots, caudex and leaves; and determining the levels and shoot macronutrient accumulation than pH and EC of the substrate. The parameters evaluated were submitted to analysis of variance and means compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. Fitométricos for all parameters evaluated when used composted pine mixed with sand, the seedlings showed higher development compared to use of coconut fiber mixed with sand. Regarding the use of different nutrient solutions, the seedlings performed better with Hoagland solution adjusted for height, number of shoots, caudex diameter and dry mass of leaves. Regarding the dry mass of caudex and dry mass of roots, fertilization with NH3NO4 solution and the solution modified Hoagland, not different, and yet superior to others. It is recommended the use of the substrate sand + pine powder (1: 1 V / V) and fertilization with Hoagland solution combined with ammonium nitrate solution (590 ppm), for they encourage better rose early growth of the desert.