En dépit de nombreuses confirmations expérimentales, le Modèle Standard, théorie décrivant les particules élémentaires et trois des interactions fondamentales souffre de difficultés théoriques et expérimentales. Ces dernières motivent l’existence d’une physique non décrite jusqu’alors : la Nouvelle Physique. Ce travail se focalise sur la recherche de gluons scalaires, appelés communément sgluons, nouvelles particules prédites dans plusieurs théories de Nouvelle Physique. Une étude phénoménologique considère les différents états finals (de un à quatre quarks top) et signatures (un ou deux leptons chargés) qui peuvent être engendrés par l’existence de sgluons. La sensibilité d’une expérience comme Atlas à ce signal est estimée et montre que l’un des états finals les plus prometteurs est celui contenant quatre quarks top, dans la signature à deux leptons porteurs de la même charge électrique (électron ou muon). La recherche de sgluons dans l’expérience Atlas s’appuie sur les états finals à quatre quarks top dans une signature à deux leptons porteurs de la même charge électrique, des jets étiquetés b et de l’énergie transverse manquante. Elle représente la première recherche mondiale de sgluons dans cet état final. Les principaux enjeux de l’analyse (estimation des bruits de fond, optimisation de la sélection, interprétation statistique) sont détaillés. La comparaison avec les données enregistrées pendant la première partie de l’année 2012 (L = 14:3 fb..1) ne montre pas d’excès significatif. La limite inférieure sur la masse du sgluon est alors de 0.80+0:02..0:03 TeV. L’extension de cette analyse avec le lot complet de données enregistrées en 2012 par Atlas est également présentée dans ce document et permet une sensibilité accrue jusqu’à des masses de sgluons de 0:94 0:03 TeV. Ce document présente également les analyses et résultats relatifs à des études de performances. La première s’attache au système de hautes tensions du calorimètre hadronique à tuiles du détecteur Atlas (TileCal). Elle conclut notamment, au regard des critères établis, que seuls 7 canaux de hautes tensions du TileCal (sur un total de 9852) ont un comportement problématique. La deuxième étude est liée à la réjection de l’effet d’empilement au moyen d’une sélection sur la variable JVF (Jet Vertex Fraction). L’efficacité de cette sélection, calculée dans les données et dans la simulation montre des différences, nécessitant l’apport d’une correction à la simulation. La détermination de facteurs correctifs et de leurs incertitudes systématiques associées est présentée dans ce document. / Despite its experimental confirmations, the Standard Model, which describes both the elementary particles and three of the fundamental interactions, has some theoretical and experimental limitations. As a consequence of these limitations, a Physics not described in the context of the Standard Model could exist : the New Physics. This work focuses on the search for scalar gluons, commonly dubbed sgluons, predicted in various New Physics theories. A phenomenological study considers various final states (containing between two and four top quarks) and signatures (with one or two charged leptons) that could arise from sgluon production. The sensitivity of an Atlas-like experiment to this signal is estimated and the results indicate that one of the most promising final states contains four top quarks in a signature with two charged leptons (electron or muon) of the same electric charge. The search for sgluons within the Atlas experiment uses the previous results. Thus, it only investigates the 4-top topology in a signature containing two same-sign charged leptons, b-jets and missing transverse energy. It represents the first search ever for sgluons in this final state. The main steps of the analysis (background estimation, selection optimisation and statistical interpretation) are detailed. The comparison with the data recorded in the first months of 2012 (L = 14:3 fb..1) shows no significant excess and is interpreted in terms of a limit on the sgluon mass. The latter is found to be 0.80+0:02..0:03 TeV. The extension of this analysis to the full 2012 Atlas dataset is also presented in this document and shows an increased expected sensitivity to sgluon masses up to 0:94 0:03 TeV. Finally, this document also presents the analyses and results of performance studies. The first one is related to the high voltage system of the Atlas Tile Calorimeter (TileCal). The main conclusion is that only 7 channels out of the 9852 TileCal ones are fond to be problematic. The second study focuses on the rejection of the pile-up effect by the means of a selection applied on the so-called JVF (Jet Vertex Fraction) variable. The efficiency of this selection is computed both in data and simulation and shows some differences that have to be corrected in the simulation. The derivation of the correction factors and their associated systematic uncertainties is detailed in this document.

Cette thèse se situe à mi-chemin entre la phénoménologie et la physique de particules expérimentale. Dans la première partie, nous décrivons un calcul de section efficace à order supérieur en développement perturbatif, ainsi que son implementation dans un générateur d'événements Monte Carlo. Nous présentons les corrections au premier order en chromodynamique quantique pour la production de boson de Higgs chargé en association avec un quark top au LHC, en utilisant le formalisme de soustraction de Catani et Seymour. Notre code indépendant nous a permis de valider les résultats donnés par MC@NLO, et nous avons réalisé des études concernant diverses contributions aux erreurs systématiques dues à la simulation d'événements. L'implémention du processus a été réalisée pour le générateur POWHEG. En raison de la quantité de données insuffisante disponible fin 2010 (le détecteur ATLAS a accumulé 35 pb-1 de données de collisions proton-proton), le processus de production de Higgs chargé n'a pas pu être étudié et nous nous sommes tournés vers la caractérisation de bruits de fonds. Dans ce contexte, il s'avère que la production de boson W en association avec un quark top est importante à connaître. Dans la seconde partie de cette thèse, nous mettons en place une analyse spécifique au canal Wt semileptonique, en incluant les effets statistiques et systématiques, pour lesquels nous nous concentrons plus particulièrement sur l'effet dû aux différentes paramétrisations du contenu des protons. Le processus Wt étant inobservable au Tévatron, nous pouvons pour la première fois donner une limite à la setion efficace de production. / This thesis is intended as a bridge between the two highly specialised domains of phenomenology and experimental particle physics. The first part describes in detail a higher order cross section calculation and implementation into a Monte Carlo event generator. We present the calculation of the next-to-leading order (NLO) quantum chromodynamic corrections for charged Higgs boson production in association with a top quark at the LHC, using the Catani-Seymour dipole subtraction method. Building an independent NLO code enabled us to cross-check the implemented version of MC@NLO, and a few studies have been made which focus on different contributions to the theoretical uncertainty attached to the NLO calculation. The actual implementation was performed for another NLO event generator, POWHEG. Considering the small production cross section of charged Higgs production associated with a top quark, an analysis of this channel using the 35 pb-1 of data collected with the ATLAS detector in 2010 from the proton-proton collisions of the LHC, makes no sense, and we switch to a very similar SM channel, namely Wt production. In the second part, we set-up a dedicated analysis for semileptonic Wt and focus on the evaluation of the PDF systematic uncertainty, following the PDF4LHC recommendation. The electroweak single top production cross section at the Tevatron is so low that it hasn't been observed until today, so we are able to set the world's first limit on its production cross section and include the most important systematic uncertainties in our analysis.

Uma das tarefas básicas dos mecanismos atencionais é decidir qual a localização dentro do campo visual, em que devemos prestar atenção primeiro. Um objeto que contenha características distintas, tais como orientação, forma, cor, tamanho, brilho, textura, etc. diferentes, pode atrair a atenção de uma maneira \"bottom-up\". A informação \"top-down\" baseia-se no conhecimento prévio e tem uma grande influência nas localizações atendidas. Inspirado nos mecanismos da Atenção Visual Humana, embora sem a pretensão de simulá-la, este trabalho prevê o desenvolvimento de uma nova metodologia que integra os dois tipos de informações: \"bottom-up\" e \"top-down\". Características \"bottom-up\" são geradas a partir de Momentos e essas informações são utilizadas em mapas de saliência, enquanto que um conhecimento prévio é utilizado para gerar pistas \"top-down\". Neste trabalho, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia específica para a busca e o reconhecimento visual em cenas com múltiplos objetos, utilizando para isso uma rede \"fuzzy\" contendo três subsistemas \"fuzzy\". Dada uma imagem de entrada, o objetivo consiste em se detectar regiões que possam conter informações mais significativas, a fim de que se possa guiar e restringir processamentos mais complexos. A inclusão de mecanismos de atenção (seleção de uma região de interesse dentro da imagem) é de fundamental importância pois os resultados obtidos pelo método podem ser usados para controlar a aquisição da imagem de uma maneira dinâmica. O modelo proposto está estruturado em três estágios principais: O primeiro estágio consiste em se segmentar os objetos e extrair características globais dos mesmos baseadas principalmente na teoria dos momentos, tais como tamanho, orientação, formato e distância e também média de nível de cinza. Por intermédio da comparação de um objeto com os outros presentes na cena, características \"bottom-up\" de conspicuidade são usadas para guiar a atenção ao objeto mais diferente. Por intermédio do uso da lógica \"fuzzy\" é possível inferir com grande flexibilidade algumas regras de decisão baseadas nos princípios de percepção visual tais como as leis Gestalt. O segundo estágio consiste de um subsistema \"fuzzy top-down\" que combina diferentes características de acordo com a relevância das mesmas em diferentes tarefas. Finalmente, o terceiro estágio consiste de um subsistema \"fuzzy\" que integra as informações obtidas dos subsistemas anteriores e fornece um índice geral de saliência, e indica a provável localização do objeto a ser reconhecido. A nova abordagem foi testada com objetos geométricos levando-se em consideração as características que atraem a atenção dos serem humanos / One of the basic tasks assigned to the human attentional mechanisms is to decide which location in the visual field we must pay attention first. An object containing distinctive features (such as different orientation, shape, color, size, shine, texture, etc.) can attract attention in a bottom-up way. Top-down information is based on the previous knowledge and has a large influence on the attended locations. Inspired on human visual attention mechanisms, although it doesn\'t want simulate it, this work presents a new methodology to integrate two different kind of information: bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up features are obtained from Moment Theory and this information is used in salience maps, while a previous knowledge is used to create top-down hints. In this work, an specific methodology to visual search and recognition was developed to be applied to scenes containing multiple objects by a fuzzy net with three fuzzy subsystems. The aim of this methodology is to detect regions that may contain the most significant information, in order to guide and to restrict most complex processing. The inclusion of attentional mechanisms (the selection of a region of interest in the image) is fundamental and can be used to control the image acquisition in a dynamic way. The proposed model is structured in three main stages. The first stage segments the objects and extracts global features of them, based on the Moment Theory such as size, orientation, shape and distance and gray level average. By comparing one object with the other ones present in the scene, bottom-up features of conspicuity are used to guide the attention to the most different object. The Fuzzy Logic allows us to infer with great flexibility some of decision rules based on the visual perception principles such as the Gestalt Laws. The second stage is a top-down fuzzy subsystem that combines different features according to the relevance of them in different tasks. Finally, the third stage is a fuzzy subsystem that integrates the information obtained from the previous sub-systems and gives us a general salience index. The new methodology was tested in geometrical objects considering the feature that attracts attention to human beings

La vie privée est une préoccupation des utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux. Les réseaux sociaux sont une source de données précieuses pour des analyses scientifiques ou commerciales. Cette thèse aborde trois problèmes de confidentialité des réseaux sociaux: l'anonymisation de graphes sociaux, la détection de communautés privées et l'échange de liens privés. Nous abordons le problème d'anonymisation de graphes via la sémantique de l'incertitude et l'intimité différentielle. Pour la première, nous proposons un modèle général appelé Uncertain Adjacency Matrix (UAM) qui préserve dans le graphe anonymisé les degrés des nœuds du graphe non-anonymisé. Nous analysons deux schémas proposés récemment et montrons leur adaptation dans notre modèle. Nous aussi présentons notre approche dite MaxVar. Pour la technique d'intimité différentielle, le problème devient difficile en raison de l'énorme espace des graphes anonymisés possibles. Un grand nombre de systèmes existants ne permettent pas de relâcher le budget contrôlant la vie privée, ni de déterminer sa borne supérieure. Dans notre approche nous pouvons calculer cette borne. Nous introduisons le nouveau schéma Top-m-Filter de complexité linéaire et améliorons la technique récente EdgeFlip. L'évaluation de ces algorithmes sur une large gamme de graphes donne un panorama de l'état de l'art. Nous présentons le problème original de la détection de la communauté dans le cadre de l'intimité différentielle. Nous analysons les défis majeurs du problème et nous proposons quelques approches pour les aborder sous deux angles: par perturbation d'entrée (schéma LouvainDP) et par perturbation d'algorithme (schéma ModDivisive) / Privacy is a serious concern of users in daily usage of social networks. Social networks are a valuable data source for large-scale studies on social organization and evolution and are usually published in anonymized forms. This thesis addresses three privacy problems of social networks: graph anonymization, private community detection and private link exchange. First, we tackle the problem of graph anonymization via uncertainty semantics and differential privacy. As for uncertainty semantics, we propose a general obfuscation model called Uncertain Adjacency Matrix (UAM) that keep expected node degrees equal to those in the unanonymized graph. We analyze two recently proposed schemes and show their fitting into the model. We also present our scheme Maximum Variance (MaxVar) to fill the gap between them. Using differential privacy, the problem is very challenging because of the huge output space of noisy graphs. A large body of existing schemes on differentially private release of graphs are not consistent with increasing privacy budgets as well as do not clarify the upper bounds of privacy budgets. In this thesis, such a bound is provided. We introduce the new linear scheme Top-m-Filter (TmF) and improve the existing technique EdgeFlip. Thorough comparative evaluation on a wide range of graphs provides a panorama of the state-of-the-art's performance as well as validates our proposed schemes. Second, we present the problem of community detection under differential privacy. We analyze the major challenges behind the problem and propose several schemes to tackle them from two perspectives: input perturbation (LouvainDP) and algorithm perturbation (ModDivisive)

Diese Arbeit gibt einen tiefgehenden Einblick in verschiedene Aspekte von auf (In,Ga)N/GaN Heterostrukturen basierenden Leuchtdioden (LEDs), mittels Molekularstrahlepitaxie entlang der Achse von Nanodrähten (NWs) auf Si Substraten gewachsen. Insbesondere wurden die Wachstumsparameter angepasst, um eine Koaleszierung der Nanodrähte zu vermindern. Auf diese Weise konnte die durch die NW-LEDs emittierte Intensität der Photolumineszenz (PL) um einen Faktor zehn erhöht werden. Die opto-elektronischen Eigenschaften von NW-LEDs konnten durch die Verwendung von Indiumzinoxid, anstatt von Ni/Au als Frontkontakt, verbessert werden. Zudem wurde demonstriert, dass auch selektives Wachstum (SAG) von GaN NWs auf AlN gepufferten Si Substraten mit einer guten Leistungsfähigkeit von Geräte vereinbar ist und somit als Wegbereiter für eine neue Generation von NW-LEDs auf Si dienen kann. Weiterhin war es möglich, strukturierte Felder von ultradünnen NWs durch SAG und thermische in situ Dekomposition herzustellen. In den durch die NW-LEDs emittierten Elektrolumineszenzspektren (EL) wurde eine Doppellinenstruktur beobachtet, die höchstwahrscheinlich von den kompressiven Verspannungen im benachbarten Quantentopf, durch die Elektronensperrschicht verursachten, herrührt. Die Analyse von temperaturabhängigen PL- und EL-Messungen zeigt, dass Ladungsträgerlokalisierungen nicht ausschlaggebend für die EL-Emission von NW-LEDs sind. Die Strom-Spannungs-Charakteristiken (I-V) von NW-LEDs unter Vorwärtsspannung wurden mittels eines Modells beschrieben, in das die vielkomponentige Natur der LEDs berücksichtigt wird. Die unter Rückwärtsspannung aktiven Transportmechanismen wurden anhand von Kapazitätstransientenmessungen und temperaturabhänigigen I-V-Messungen untersucht. Dann wurde ein physikalisches Modell zur quantitativen Beschreibung der besonderen I-V-T Charakteristik der untersuchten NW-LEDs entwickelt. / This PhD thesis provides an in-depth insight on various crucial aspects of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on (In,Ga)N/GaN heterostructures grown along the axis of nanowires (NWs) by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. In particular, the growth parameters are adjusted so as to suppress the coalescence of NWs; in this way the photoluminescence (PL) intensity emitted from the NW-LEDs can be increased by about ten times. The opto-electronic properties of the NW-LEDs can be further improved by exclusively employing indium tin oxide instead of Ni/Au as top contact. Furthermore, the compatibility of selective-area growth (SAG) of GaN NWs on AlN-buffered Si substrates with device operation is demonstrated, thus paving the way for a new generation of LEDs based on homogeneous NW ensembles on Si. Ordered arrays of ultrathin NWs are also successfully obtained by combining SAG and in situ post-growth thermal decomposition. A double-line structure is observed in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra emitted by the NW-LEDs; it is likely caused by compressive strain introduced by the (Al,Ga)N electron blocking layer in the neighbouring (In,Ga)N quantum well. An in-depth analysis of temperature dependent PL and EL measurements indicates that carrier localization phenomena do not dominate the EL emission properties of the NW-LEDs. The forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of different NW-LEDs are analysed by means of an original model that takes into account the multi-element nature of LEDs based on NW ensembles by assuming a linear dependence of the ideality factor on applied bias. The transport mechanisms in reverse bias regime are carefully studied by means of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and temperature dependent I-V measurements. The physical origin of the detected deep states is discussed. Then, a physical model able to describe quantitatively the peculiar I-V-T characteristics of NW-LEDs is developed.

Diese Studie stellt die Messung des Wirkungsquerschnitts der elektroschwachen Einzel-Top-Quark-Produktion im t-Kanal vor, bei der das Top-Quark semileptonisch zerfällt. Die Studie basiert auf 4.7 fb^{-1} an Daten aus Proton-Proton-Kollisionen, die vom ATLAS-Detektor am Large Hadron Collider im Jahr 2011 aufgezeichnet wurden. Die ausgewählten Ereignisse beinhalten zwei hochenergetische Jets, von denen einer als von einem b-Quark stammend identifiziert wurde, sowie ein hochenergetisches Elektron oder Myon und fehlende Transversalenergie. Der Fall von drei und vier Jets wird ebenfalls betrachtet, aber schließlich verworfen, da ihre Miteinbeziehung die Präzision des Ergebnisses herabsetzt. Die Ereignisrekonstruktion erfolgt durch einen Chi-Quadrat-basierten kinematischen Fit mit W-Boson- und Top-Quark-Massenzwangsbedingungen. Der Wert des Chi-Quadrat in jedem Ereignis dient dazu, das Ereignis als signal- oder untergrundähnlich zu klassifizieren. Der Wirkungsquerschnitt wird mittels eines template-basierten Maximum-Likelihood-Fits an die Verteilung, die die beste Trennschärfe besitzt, extrahiert: Die Verteilung is derart gewählt, dass die Formunterschiede zwischen Signal und Untergrund bezüglich der Kinematik des typischen leichten Vorwärtsjets des t-Kanals ausgenutzt werden. Eine Beobachtung des Single-Top-t-Kanal-Prozesses mit einer Signifikanz von 5.7 Sigma wird erreicht, und der Wirkungsquerschnitt wird zu 111^{+29}_{-28} pb gemessen. Unter der Annahme |Vtb|^{2} >> |Vtd|^{2} + |Vts|^{2} sowie einer (V-A)-, CP-erhaltenden Wechselwirkung, und unter Berücksichtigung von möglichen anomalen Kopplungen am W-t-b-Vertex, wird der Wert des entsprechenden CKM-Matrixelements mal einem anomalen Formfaktor zu |Vtb*f^{L}_{1}| = 1.30^{+0.13}_{-0.16} bestimmt. Dies führt zu einer unteren Grenze im Standardmodell-Szenario 0 / This study presents the cross-section measurement of electroweak single-top quark production in the t-channel with a semi-leptonically decaying top quark. The study is based on 4.7 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in the year 2011. Selected events contain two highly energetic jets, one of which is identified as originating from a beauty quark, as well as a highly energetic electron or muon and transverse missing energy. The case of three and four jets is also considered but eventually discarded since their inclusion degrades the precision of the result. The event reconstruction is done with a chi-square-based kinematic fit using W boson and top quark mass constraints. The chi-square value in each event serves to classify the event as a signal-like or background-like process. The cross-section is extracted by performing a template-based maximum likelihood fit to the distribution that displays the best discriminatory power: This distribution is chosen such that the shape differences between signal and background with respect to the typical forward light jet kinematics of the t-channel are exploited. An observation of the single-top t-channel process with a significance of 5.7 Sigma is obtained, and the cross-section is measured to be 111^{+29}_{-28} pb. Assuming |Vtb|^{2} >> |Vtd|^{2} + |Vts|^{2} as well as a (V-A), CP-conserving interaction, and allowing for the presence of anomalous couplings at the W-t-b vertex, the associated value of the CKM matrix element times an anomalous form factor is determined as |Vtb*f^{L}_{1}| = 1.30^{+0.13}_{-0.16}. The corresponding lower limit in the standard model scenario 0

The thesis informs a reader about problems of establishing new/small political parties and their activities in Czech Parliament during the period of 2002 -- 2010. The surprising and unexpected results of Chamber of Desputies election that took place in May 2010 and brought considerable transformation of contemporary political establishment in Czech republic, represented the main impulse for writing this thesis. The aim of the thesis was to find out the size of political market openness for new/small political parties during the period of 2002-2010 and simultaneously evaluate what kind of position and substance these new/small political subjects in the political market have. A content of thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part is focused on theoretical theme and includes four chapters. There are mentioned mainly the issues of new/small political parties' definitions, the role of relevant parties in proportional representation systems and also some of the most important attempts of electoral reforms. The second part includes the final chapter that is focused on analysis of the factors that had influence on increase or decrease in chances of new/small parties to be successful in Chamber of Desputies elections from 2002 and thus become the part of political establishment. The fundamental questions were: How have the new/small political parties built up in that period of 2002-2010 and under what circumstances have they become the part of political establishment.

<p>Student recruitment is a subject that seems to be forgotten in the theory of event communication. Yet the area has some specific reoccurring features. Our purpose was to examine these specific features and how to work with these in the best way, and also see how to get the most out of the event communication to the young at event and fairs. Special features we have looked at are the student ambassadors ands their impact, the meaning of a give-away and also if there are any essential factors to get in contact with the young at fairs and events, and if new technology had an important role to play in the area.</p><p>Our research has been inductive, and therefore, we have created our own theory and reflected it to the larger topic of event communication and its theories. Our research method has been triangular, both quantitative and qualitative; interviews with those who work with student recruitment, and surveys to young people in upper secondary school.</p><p>Our study showed the importance of student ambassadors and their specific task to be nice, friendly and outgoing. In comparison, the give-away isn't as important. It mainly has a remembering function and can also make interaction easier. We also found that different events are needed to fill different requirements, meanings and purposes. Information is also important; both to create awareness about the events and fairs, but also information at the event and fairs. This information should first and foremost be through a course catalogue, but also information about the school and the life as a student is important. Regarding to new technology it has a secondary meaning, and shouldn't be over-emphasized.</p>

<p>Based on different integration policies, we aim to examine how five municipalities in Stockholm County are working to promote integration at a local level with focus on voter participation and to some extent, representativeness among foreign-born. Statistics provided by SCB shows that foreign-born tends to vote to a lesser extent than those born in Sweden. Further, we aim to examine the implementation of two policy documents established at a national level concerning integration in contrast to policy documents established at a local level in each different municipality. Further, we aim to examine summaries of actions taken in response to the local integration programs, as well as personal interviews. Each municipality will be considered separately, but we thus seek to make a comparative study. The study will be based on a qualitative approach. The implementation process of both central and local policy decisions concerning the promotion of integration will also be discussed in terms of two existing theories of implementation, based on two different perspectives. The result shows that interaction between different participants, such as local officials and politicians, is of importance for the implementation process. All of the studied municipalities have taken some actions in order to implement their goals concerning integration.</p>

Variable ocean conditions can greatly impact lower trophic level prey assemblages in marine ecosystems, with effects propagating up to higher trophic levels. Our goal was to better understand how varying ocean conditions influence diets and niche overlap among a suite of low- to mid trophic level predators. We studied the diets of common murres (Uria aalge) over 10 contrasting years between 1998 and 2011, a period in which the Northern California Current experienced dramatic interannual variability in ocean conditions. Likewise, murre diets off Oregon varied considerably. Interannual variation in murre chick diets appears to be influenced by environmental drivers occurring before and during the breeding season, at both basin and local spatial scales. While clupeids were an important diet component throughout the study period, in some years murre diets were dominated by Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) and other years by osmerids (likely Allosmerus elongatus and Hypomesus pretiosus). Years in which the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and local sea surface temperatures were above average during summer months also showed elevated levels of clupeids in murre diets, while years with higher winter ichthyoplankton biomass and summer northern copepod biomass anomalies had fewer clupeids and more sand lance and smelts. Years with higher Northern Oscillation Index values during summer months also showed more smelts in the murre diets. Nesting phenology and reproductive success were correlated with diet as well, reflecting demographic consequences of environmental variability mediated through bottom-up food web dynamics. To examine niche overlap between murres and other marine predators we employed collaborative fisheries research with synoptic observations of a major seabird colony to determine the diets of four predator species on the central Oregon coast during two years of contrasting El Niño (2010) vs. La Niña (2011) conditions. The greatest degree of dietary overlap was observed between Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and common murres, with both smelts (Osmeridae) and clupeids (primarily Clupea pallasii) observed as the dominant prey types. Diets differed between El Niño and La Niña conditions for two predators, murres and black rockfish (Sebastes melanops). During La Niña, smelts decreased, while sand lance increased in common murre diets. Black rockfish had fewer larval Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) and a greater proportion of crab species associated with the later spring transition. Chinook salmon and Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) diets were similar during El Niño and La Niña conditions. These findings underscore that the diets of common murres during chick rearing reflect local- and basin-scale biophysical processes in the Northern California Current, and are valuable for understanding the response of upper trophic level organisms to changing oceanographic conditions. Additionally, using multiple predators across several diverse taxa to track changes in prey communities provided a way to detect seemingly subtle changes in prey communities and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of food web dynamics and ecosystem indicators. / Graduation date: 2012