Autonomous materials synthesis via hierarchical active learning of nonequilibrium phase diagrams.

Autonomous experimentation enabled by artificial intelligence offers a new paradigm for accelerating scientific discovery. Nonequilibrium materials synthesis is emblematic of complex, resource-intensive experimentation whose acceleration would be a watershed for materials discovery. We demonstrate accelerated exploration of metastable materials through hierarchical autonomous experimentation governed by the Scientific Autonomous Reasoning Agent (SARA).

Managing ecosystems in a sea of uncertainty: invasive species management and assisted colonizations.

Managing ecosystems in the face of complex species interactions, and the associated uncertainty, presents a considerable ecological challenge. Altering those interactions via actions such as invasive species management or conservation translocations can result in unintended consequences, supporting the need to be able to make more informed decisions in the face of this uncertainty. We demonstrate the utility of ecosystem models to reduce uncertainty and inform future ecosystem management.

Optical Identification of Materials Transformations in Oxide Thin Films.

Recent advances in high-throughput experimentation for combinatorial studies have accelerated the discovery and analysis of materials across a wide range of compositions and synthesis conditions. However, many of the more powerful characterization methods are limited by speed, cost, availability, and/or resolution. To make efficient use of these methods, there is value in developing approaches for identifying critical compositions and conditions to be used as knowledge for follow-up characterization with high-precision techniques, such as micrometer-scale synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Comparison of the modified agglutination test and real-time PCR for detection of exposure in feral cats from Phillip Island, Australia, and risk factors associated with infection.

is considered a disease risk for many native Australian species. Feral cats are the key definitive host of in Australia and therefore, investigating the epidemiology of in cat populations is essential to understanding the risk posed to wildlife. Test sensitivity and specificity are poorly defined for diagnostic tests targeting in cats and there is a need for validated techniques.

Circadian rhythms enable efficient resource selection in a human-modified landscape.

Animals access resources such as food and shelter, and acquiring these resources has varying risks and benefits, depending on the suitability of the landscape. Some animals change their patterns of resource selection in space and time to optimize the trade-off between risks and benefits. We examine the circadian variation in resource selection of swamp wallabies () within a human-modified landscape, an environment of varying suitability.

Kinetics of the Topochemical Transformation of (PbSe) (TiSe) (SnSe) (TiSe) to (PbSnSe) (TiSe) .

Solid-state reaction kinetics on atomic length scales have not been heavily investigated due to the long times, high reaction temperatures, and small reaction volumes at interfaces in solid-state reactions. All of these conditions present significant analytical challenges in following reaction pathways. Herein we use in situ and ex situ X-ray diffraction, in situ X-ray reflectivity, high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to investigate the mechanistic pathways for the formation of a layered (PbSnSe)(TiSe) heterostructure, where m is the varying number of TiSe layers in the repeating structure.

Biotelemetry marches on: A cost-effective GPS device for monitoring terrestrial wildlife.

The availability of low-cost wildlife trackers increases the capacity to collect valuable ecological data when research budgets are limited. We converted a commercially available global positioning system (GPS) product into a low-cost tracking device that sends data via the mobile phone network, and assessed its performance under varying conditions. We established a stationary test, deploying devices along a continuum from open urban areas to topographically and structurally complex forested sites.

Structural Changes as a Function of Thickness in [(SnSe)]TiSe Heterostructures.

Single- and few-layer metal chalcogenide compounds are of significant interest due to structural changes and emergent electronic properties on reducing dimensionality from three to two dimensions. To explore dimensionality effects in SnSe, a series of [(SnSe)]TiSe intergrowth structures with increasing SnSe layer thickness (m = 1-4) were prepared from designed thin-film precursors. In-plane diffraction patterns indicated that significant structural changes occurred in the basal plane of the SnSe constituent as m is increased.

The synthesis of [(PbSe)1+δ]m(TiSe2)n[(SnSe2)1+γ]m(TiSe2)n heterostructures with designed nanoarchitectures by self assembly of amorphous precursors.

Targeted heterostructures containing intergrown two dimensional (2D) layers of 3 different constituent layers, SnSe2, PbSe and TiSe2, were prepared by controlling the composition and sequence of elemental bilayers within a designed precursor. Varying the structure of the precursor enabled the number of structural units of each constituent and the sequence of crystalline 2D layers to be precisely controlled. The stacking of the 2D layers, their structures, and the segregation of the elements between them were determined using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques, with the observed sequence of the 2D layers consistent with the targeted intergrowth.

Drivers and annual estimates of marine wildlife entanglement rates: A long-term case study with Australian fur seals.

Methods of calculating wildlife entanglement rates are not standardised between studies and often ignore the influence of observer effort, confounding comparisons. From 1997-2013 we identified 359 entangled Australian fur seals at Seal Rocks, south-eastern Australia. Most entanglement materials originated from commercial fisheries; most frequently entangling pups and juveniles.

Camera trapping: a contemporary approach to monitoring invasive rodents in high conservation priority ecosystems.

Invasive rodent species have established on 80% of the world's islands causing significant damage to island environments. Insular ecosystems support proportionally more biodiversity than comparative mainland areas, highlighting them as critical for global biodiversity conservation. Few techniques currently exist to adequately detect, with high confidence, species that are trap-adverse such as the black rat, Rattus rattus, in high conservation priority areas where multiple non-target species persist.

Could controlling mammalian carnivores lead to mesopredator release of carnivorous reptiles?

Emerging evidence increasingly illustrates the importance of a holistic, rather than taxon-specific, approach to the study of ecological communities. Considerable resources are expended to manage both introduced and native mammalian carnivores to improve conservation outcomes; however, management can result in unforeseen and sometimes catastrophic outcomes. Varanid lizards are likely to be apex- or mesopredators, but being reptiles are rarely considered by managers and researchers when investigating the impacts of mammalian carnivore management.

Self-regulation within outbreak populations of feral house mice: a test of alternative models.

1. Outbreaks of feral house mice, Mus domesticus, in Australia represent a fundamental failure of the behavioural control mechanisms of population density, as proposed in the hypothesis of self-regulation. 2.

Kin interactions and changing social structure during a population outbreak of feral house mice.

Populations of feral house mice (Mus domesticus L.) in Australia undergo multiannual fluctuations in density, and these outbreaks may be partly driven by some change in behavioural self-regulation. In other vertebrate populations with multiannual fluctuations, changes in kin structure have been proposed as a causal mechanism for changes in spacing behaviour, which consequently result in density fluctuations.