Similar Growth Trends Research Articles

Comparison of Single- and Multinozzle Reacting Swirl Flow Dynamics

This paper compares flow structures in a single- and triple-nozzle swirl combustor. Realistic combustor hardware usually contains several nozzles; however, test facilities for studying flame dynamics commonly use one nozzle. As such, it is important to determine how nozzle–nozzle interactions influence the dynamics of the system. Simultaneous 5 kHz OH planar laser-induced fluorescence and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry measurements were obtained from a premixed, swirling methane–air flame. Time-averaged flowfields of the single- and triple-nozzle configurations are compared, showing agreement in the axial velocities and flow spreading angles. However, the comparison reveals nonnegligible differences in reverse flow velocities of the recirculation zone and in flame spreading angles. The paper then compares the response of the unsteady flowfield to transverse acoustic excitation, for two configurations that excite strong axisymmetric and helical shear-layer disturbances. These disturbances exhibit similar spatial growth and decay trends as well as nearly identical convection speeds upstream of the jet merging region. These results corroborate previous findings, which show that, despite differences in time-averaged quantities, comparable flow dynamics occur in single- and multinozzle swirl flames.

Divergent growth response of Qinghai spruce to recent climate warming in the arid northeastern Tibet Plateau

ABSTRACTDivergent responses of tree growth to climate change have been widely reported from the high altitude forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we developed tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies for the Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) from three sites (DHS, XXG, and TLC) with different hydrothermal conditions in the arid northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and we used these chronologies to observe climate-growth relationships and divergent growth responses of the Qinghai spruce. Cross correlations showed highly significant divergences among the TRW and MXD chronologies. Precipitation was most strongly related to TRW in different spruce trees. At the upper treeline site (XXG) and at the relatively wet site (TLC), where growth was limited by temperature, MXD showed similar growth trends over time. At the dry site (DHS), TRW showed a strong drought stress signal over time, and MXD lost sensitivity to temperature variations. We would like to highlight the necessity for additional studies investigating possible non-stationary growth responses of trees that are experiencing climate warming, especially for studies of MXD at dry sites that are used for temperature reconstruction in arid areas.

A Systematic Comparison of Biosurfactant Effects on Physicochemical Properties and Growth Rates of P. aeruginosa MM1011 and TMU56: A Bioremediation Perspective

The main objective of this research was to focus on enhancing the substrate uptake rate of P. aeruginosa using various biosurfactants as well as carbon sources in the medium culture. While hexadecane and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were chosen as hydrophobic carbon sources, the effects of glucose on two strains of P. aeruginosa , MM1011 and TMU56, were evaluated. Two kinds of biosurfactants, including surfactin and rhamnolipid at higher and lower than the critical micelle concentrations were added into the medium. After that, the response of bacterium based on cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) was measured through the BATH assay. General full factorial technique was used to organize the experiments and analyze the effects of input factors on CSH. Although the both strains showed similar growth trend under conditions of different carbon sources, the order of affinity between the various substrates and the specific growth rates was as PCBs> glucose> nutrient broth> hexadecane. The analysis of variance showed that both type of carbon source and the biosurfactant had a significant effect on the CSH of P. aeruginosa TMU56. However, the P. aeruginosa MM1011 strain had no meaningful reaction in the presence of biosurfactant. High value of coefficient of determination (R 2 =0.95) indicated a good agreement between experimental data and predicted values by models. Moreover, SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the variation in hydrophobicity was a result of fluctuation in the amount of major proteins on the bacteria cell wall. The significant effect of biosurfactant on the P. aeruginosa TMU56 at concentration under critical micelle point was related to the release of more outer membrane proteins (OMPs).

Interaction between science and technology in the field of fuel cells based on patent paper analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse and explore the characteristics of patent–paper pairs (PPPs) in the field of fuel cells.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used bibliometric analysis to analyse the bibliometric records of PPPs identified from 20,758 papers and 8,112 utility patents between 1991 and 2010.FindingsThe findings show that the percentages of papers and patents constituting PPPs were low, but an increasing trend was identified in the absolute number of PPPs. Researchers affiliated with research institutions were the primary contributors to PPPs. Countries with the most papers and patents had the most PPPs, exploiting the advantage of dual knowledge creation. Similar growth trends were observed in the numbers of patents approved and papers published. Patents in PPPs were typically produced earlier than the papers in PPPs. On average, patents were applied for approximately four years before papers were published, and patents were approved only approximately four months before papers were published.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the study was limited to the PPPs in the field of fuel cells, PPPs analysis can be applied to numerous fields.Originality/valuePPPs indicate the coactivity of researchers involved in publishing and patenting. Although this coactivity has been studied, few studies have investigated PPPs. This study helps us better understand the characteristics of papers and patents constituting PPPs, changes in the annual numbers of papers and patents constituting PPPs, delays between papers and patents, as well as individuals, institutions and countries producing numerous PPPs.

In vitro growth characteristics of Fusarium langsethiae isolates recovered from oats and wheat grain in the UK

Fusarium langsethiae is a fungus that has recently been implicated in the contamination of small-grain cereal crops such as oats, wheat and barley with high levels of HT-2 and T-2 toxins in many European countries. The epidemiology of this fungus is not well known and may therefore be a bigger problem than currently thought to be. A study was carried out investigating the in vitro growth characteristics of F. langsethiae isolates from contaminated oats and wheat at various temperatures; 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C. Results indicated similar growth trends of oats and wheat isolates of F. langsethiae. Wheat isolates grew significantly (p<0.001) faster than oat isolates although this difference may have been confounded by the age of cultures, with oat isolates collected one year earlier. The estimated optimum growth temperature for all isolates was 24 °C. Isolates were macro-morphologically categorized as having lobed or entire colony margins, and either possessing one of the following colony colours: white, orange or purple. Since the estimated optimum growth temperature of F. langsethiae is typical in temperate summers when small-grain cereals are flowering, it is possible that this species can infect, colonise and possibly contaminate the developing grains with HT-2 and T-2 toxins which are of food safety concern.

Evaluation of Brazilian wild Hevea germplasm for cold tolerance: genetic variability in the early mature growth

Hevea brasiliensis is a commercially cultivated species for its natural rubber (NR) latex in South East Asian countries. To meet the ever-increasing demand, NR cultivation has been extended to non-traditional regions due to the limited scope of further expansion in traditional rubber-growing areas in India. These areas are often confronted with various abiotic stresses, especially high and low temperatures, which cause reduction in plant growth, thereby increasing its uneconomical immaturity period. Eighteen wild Hevea accessions along with two modern clones RRII 203 and PB 235 and two check clones RRIM 600 and Haiken 1 were evaluated in the early mature growth phase. The site was at Nagrakata, West Bengal, the sub-Himalayan cold-prone region of India. In Hevea, crop production is governed by two major factors, growth-vigor and production capacity. Growth-vigor is of special importance because the production of rubber is a process linked with the early growth of the plant, which results in early tappability and early economic gains. The genotypes exhibited highly significant clonal differences (P = 0.05) for all the growth traits. Tappability percentage in the seventh year, ranged from 0.33 % (AC 3074, AC 3075, AC 3293) to 89.67 % (RO 2727). The most vigorously growing accession (RO 2727) reached tappabile girth early in the seventh year when the girth of plant ranged from 22.38 cm (AC 3293) to 53.12 cm (RO 2727). The general mean was 43.32 cm, and the similar growth trend was exhibited by these accessions in the tenth year also. Annual girth increment (cm a−1) over 3 years ranged from 1.81 cm (AC 3075) to 6.80 cm (RO 2727). The mean winter girth increment (cm a−1) over 4 years ranged from 0.13 cm (AC 3075) to 0.96 cm (RO 2727) as compared to the check clone RRIM 600 (1.11 cm) and Haiken 1 (1.10 cm). Wide differences between the phenotypic coefficient of variation (50.29) and genotypic coefficient of variation (24.82) were observed for winter girth increment. Girth in the tenth year recorded the highest heritability (87 %). Girth was significantly correlated with the other growth traits. The top 30 % of the potential accessions showing high growth vigour and early tappability under cold stress were identified. These ecotypes/selections have high potential value for the development of cold-tolerant clones for these regions and also in broadening the genetic base of the present-day cultivated rubber.

Behavior query discovery in system-generated temporal graphs

Computer system monitoring generates huge amounts of logs that record the interaction of system entities. How to query such data to better understand system behaviors and identify potential system risks and malicious behaviors becomes a challenging task for system administrators due to the dynamics and heterogeneity of the data. System monitoring data are essentially heterogeneous temporal graphs with nodes being system entities and edges being their interactions over time. Given the complexity of such graphs, it becomes time-consuming for system administrators to manually formulate useful queries in order to examine abnormal activities, attacks, and vulnerabilities in computer systems. In this work, we investigate how to query temporal graphs and treat query formulation as a discriminative temporal graph pattern mining problem. We introduce TGMiner to mine discriminative patterns from system logs, and these patterns can be taken as templates for building more complex queries. TGMiner leverages temporal information in graphs to prune graph patterns that share similar growth trend without compromising pattern quality. Experimental results on real system data show that TGMiner is 6-32 times faster than baseline methods. The discovered patterns were verified by system experts; they achieved high precision (97%) and recall (91%).

Use of diluted urine for cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris

ABSTRACTOur aim was to study the biomass growth of microalga Chlorella vulgaris using diluted human urine as a sole nutrient source. Batch cultivations (21 days) were conducted in five different urine dilutions (1:25–1:300), in 1:100-diluted urine as such and with added trace elements, and as a reference, in artificial growth medium. The highest biomass density was obtained in 1:100-diluted urine with and without additional trace elements (0.73 and 0.60 g L−1, respectively). Similar biomass growth trends and densities were obtained with 1:25- and 1:300-diluted urine (0.52 vs. 0.48 gVSS L−1) indicating that urine at dilution 1:25 can be used to cultivate microalgal based biomass. Interestingly, even 1:300-diluted urine contained sufficiently nutrients and trace elements to support biomass growth. Biomass production was similar despite pH-variation from < 5 to 9 in different incubations indicating robustness of the biomass growth. Ammonium formation did not inhibit overall biomass growth. At the beginning of cultivation, the majority of the biomass consisted of living algal cells, while towards the end, their share decreased and the estimated share of bacteria and cell debris increased.

Structural, Thermodynamic, Elastic, and Electronic Properties of α-SnS at High Pressure from First-Principles Investigations

Abstract SnS has potential technical applications, but many of its properties are still not well studied. In this work, the structural, thermodynamic, elastic, and electronic properties of α-SnS have been investigated by the plane wave pseudo-potential density functional theory with the framework of generalised gradient approximation. The calculated pressure-dependent lattice parameters agree well with the available experimental data. Our thermodynamic properties of α-SnS, including heat capacity C P , entropy S, and Gibbs free energy relation of –(G T –H 0) curves, show similar growth trends as the experimental data. At T=298.15 K, our C P =52.31 J/mol·K, S=78.93 J/mol·K, and –(G T –H 0)=12.03 J/mol all agree very well with experimental data C P =48.77 J/mol·K and 49.25 J/mol·K, S=76.78 J/mol·K, and –(G T –H 0)=12.38 J/mol. The elastic constants, together with other elastic properties, are also computed. The anisotropy analyses indicate obvious elastic anisotropy for α-SnS along different symmetry planes and axes. Moreover, calculations demonstrate that α-SnS is an indirect gap semiconductor, and it transforms to semimetal with pressure increasing up to 10.2 GPa. Combined with the density of states, the characters of the band structure have been analysed in detail.

120 Years of U.S. Residential Housing Stock and Floor Space.

Residential buildings are a key driver of energy consumption and also impact transportation and land-use. Energy consumption in the residential sector accounts for one-fifth of total U.S. energy consumption and energy-related CO2 emissions, with floor space a major driver of building energy demands. In this work a consistent, vintage-disaggregated, annual long-term series of U.S. housing stock and residential floor space for 1891–2010 is presented. An attempt was made to minimize the effects of the incompleteness and inconsistencies present in the national housing survey data. Over the 1891–2010 period, floor space increased almost tenfold, from approximately 24,700 to 235,150 million square feet, corresponding to a doubling of floor space per capita from approximately 400 to 800 square feet. While population increased five times over the period, a 50% decrease in household size contributed towards a tenfold increase in the number of housing units and floor space, while average floor space per unit remains surprisingly constant, as a result of housing retirement dynamics. In the last 30 years, however, these trends appear to be changing, as household size shows signs of leveling off, or even increasing again, while average floor space per unit has been increasing. GDP and total floor space show a remarkably constant growth trend over the period and total residential sector primary energy consumption and floor space show a similar growth trend over the last 60 years, decoupling only within the last decade.

Development and characterization of a clinical strain of Coxsackievirus A16 and an eGFP infectious clone.

Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) is one of the major causes of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) worldwide, which is a common illness that affects children. The frequent occurrence of HFMD outbreaks has become a serious public health problem in Asia. Therefore, it is important to understand the pathogenesis and replication of CA16. In this study, a stable infectious cDNA clone of an epidemic strain of Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) was assembled, and subsequently a reporter virus (eGFP-CA16) was constructed by inserting the eGFP gene between the 5'-UTR and the N-terminus of VP4, with the addition of a 2A protease cleavage site (ITTLG) at its C-terminus. This was transfected into Vero cells to generate infectious recombinant viruses. The growth characteristics and plaque morphology, in vitro, in mammalian cells were found to be indistinguishable between the parental and recombinant viruses. Although the eGFP-CA16 showed smaller plaque size as compared to recombinant CA16, both were found to exhibit similar growth trends and EC50 of NITD008. In summary, this stable infectious cDNA clone should provide a valuable experimental system to study CA16 infection and host response. The eGFP-CA16 is expected to provide a powerful tool to monitor eGFP expression in infected cells and to evaluate the antiviral activity of potential antiviral agents in the treatment of CA16 infections.

Complex climate constraints of upper treeline formation in the Pyrenees

In the Pyrenees low temperature and scarce precipitation limit radial growth at treeline. The climatic drivers of treeline formation in mid-latitude mountains are temperature and also moisture variability. Alpine treelines are often induced by a threshold of minimum temperatures above which tree growth is generally not possible anymore. However, this worldwide pattern may not account for more drought-prone mountains, where changes in precipitation can also affect ecosystem functioning and productivity at higher elevations. Here, we aim to determine if tree-ring formation in ecotones along the Pyrenees indeed primarily depends on temperature means or also reflects hydroclimatic changes. The mean duration of the growing season at Pyrenean treelines was 177 days, lasting from mid-May to early November, which corresponds to a mean root-zone temperature of 8.2 °C. Temperatures during the early and late growing season were most critical for mountain pine growth at highest elevations, and above average spring temperatures also contributed to radial enlargement of tracheids. Sites showing more similar soil temperatures also presented more similar long-term growth trends indicating that local conditions trace regional influences on growth. Nevertheless, more wet conditions in summer enhanced growth at treelines subjected to more Mediterranean influence and therefore having a higher summer water deficit. A broader perspective reveals that soil moisture availability during spring and summer, however, also influence ring width formation at other treelines located in mid-latitude mountains separating temperate and semi-arid biomes. Our results suggest re-evaluating the idea of purely temperature-limited treelines, especially in mid-latitude mountains that experience moisture seasonality or where precipitation decreases with increasing elevation.

Diversity in life history of queen and worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L.

Queen and worker European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have similar growth trends but differ greatly in their morphology, physiology, function and developmental timeline. Here, the life history of queen and worker bees was characterized, and reference pictures are provided. The developmental rate of workers was found to differ as much as 3days, even if the two types of bees were laid within 12h of each other. We also present some interesting phenomena with regards to the developmental stages of queen and worker bees.

MO‐G‐18A‐01: Radiation Dose Reducing Strategies in CT, Fluoroscopy and Radiography

Advances in medical x‐ray imaging have provided significant benefits to patient care.According to NCRP 160, there are more than 400 million x‐ray procedures performed annually in the United States alone that contributes to nearly half of all the radiation exposure to the US population. Similar growth trends in medical x‐ray imaging are observed worldwide. Apparent increase in number of medical x‐ray imaging procedures, new protocols and the associated radiation dose and risk has drawn considerable attention. This has led to a number of technological innovations such as tube current modulation, iterative reconstruction algorithms, dose alerts, dose displays, flat panel digital detectors, high efficient digital detectors, storage phosphor radiography, variable filters, etc. that are enabling users to acquire medical x‐ray images at a much lower radiation dose. Along with these, there are number of radiation dose optimization strategies that users can adapt to effectively lower radiation dose in medical x‐ray procedures. The main objectives of this SAM course are to provide information and how to implement the various radiation dose optimization strategies in CT, Fluoroscopy and Radiography.Learning Objectives: To update impact of technological advances on dose optimization in medical imaging. To identify radiation optimization strategies in computed tomography. To describe strategies for configuring fluoroscopic equipment that yields optimal images at reasonable radiation dose. To assess ways to configure digital radiography systems and recommend ways to improve image quality at optimal dose.

Long-term versus daily stem diameter variation in co-occurring mangrove species: Environmental versus ecophysiological drivers

High temporal resolution stem diameter variation (SDV) patterns have been widely recognized as a tool to study fundamental plant physiological mechanisms underlying whole-plant functioning and growth. As an integrative response to hydraulic and carbon related processes, SDV research has greatly improved insights in plant functioning of several herbaceous and woody species. Nevertheless, to date little detailed information on SDV and related physiological processes is available for mangrove species. By measuring continuous tree physiological variables such as stem diameter variations, sap flow and stem water potential in relation to the microclimatic conditions, the water use strategies of two co-occurring mangrove species, Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. and Rhizophora stylosa Griff. were investigated. Even though both species showed a similar long-term growth trend, closely linked to the environmental conditions, their daily SDV pattern was markedly different. While for Avicennia marina the SDV showed the standard daily pattern of morning decline and evening rise, the opposite daily SDV pattern was observed for Rhizophora stylosa. The contrasting patterns of SDV in both species thriving in the same environment indicates the importance and complexity of physiological endogenous mechanisms in addition to environmental conditions in controlling SDV and radial stem growth.

Comparison of occupancy modeling and radiotelemetry to estimate ungulate population dynamics

AbstractRadiotelemetry and unmarked occupancy modeling have been used to estimate animal population growth, but have not been compared for ungulates. We compared white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population growth estimates from radiomarked individuals and occupancy modeling of unmarked individuals and evaluated advantages and disadvantages of each method. Estimates of population growth were obtained using remote camera (N = 54/year) detection/non‐detection occupancy surveys of unmarked deer and from survival and recruitment data of radiomarked adult females (N = 87) and neonate fawns (N = 127) in a predominantly forested region of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2009–2011. We hypothesized that occupancy models and radiotelemetry data would have similar population growth trends because both methods sampled the same temporally closed population. Percent changes in camera trap data generally reflected finite population growth (λ) of radiomarked deer which increased (λ = 1.10 ± 0.01) from 2009 to 2010, but decreased (λ = 0.87 ± 0.02) from 2010 to 2011. Also, unmarked adult female abundance and fawn:adult female ratios generally reflected trends in radiomarked deer survival and recruitment. Royle–Nichols occupancy model abundance estimates had wide confidence intervals, which may preclude using this method from accurately estimating deer population growth. Radiotelemetry provided more precise population growth estimates, while allowing collection of vital rates and location data. However, the Royle–Nichols occupancy model may be preferred to radiotelemetry because it reflected yearly variation in population growth with reduced labor and no invasive marking. Researchers should consider the objectives and logistics of their study when choosing a specific method.

Toward consistent measurements of carbon accumulation: A multi-site assessment of biomass and basal area increment across Europe

The use of tree-ring data in carbon cycle research has so far been limited because traditional study designs are not geared toward quantifying forest carbon accumulation. Existing studies that assessed biomass increment from tree rings were often confined to individual sites and used inconsistent sampling schemes. We applied a consistent biomass-oriented sampling design at five managed forest sites located in different climate zones to assess the annual carbon accumulation in above-ground woody tissues (i.e. stems and branches) and its climate response. Radial growth and biometric measurements were combined to reconstruct the annual biomass increment in individual trees and upscaled to the site level. In addition to this, we estimated that 32–60 trees are required at these five sites to robustly quantify carbon accumulation rates. Tree dimensions and growth rates varied considerably among sites as a function of differing stand density, climatic limitations, and management interventions. Accordingly, mean site-level carbon accumulation rates between 65gCm−2y−1 and 225gCm−2y−1 were reconstructed for the 1970–2009 period. A comparison of biomass increment with the widely used basal area increment (BAI) revealed very similar growth trends but emphasized the merits of biomass assessments due to species-specific BAI/biomass relationship. Our study illustrates the benefits and challenges of combining tree-ring data with biometric measurements and promotes the consistent application of a standardized sampling protocol across large spatial scales. It is thus viewed as a conceptual basis for future use of tree-ring data to approach research questions related to forest productivity and the terrestrial carbon balance.

Developmental changes in testicular interstitium in the Najdi Ram Lambs

This experiment was designed to study the relationship between growth rate and sexual development in Najdi ram lambs. Forty-five Najdi ram lambs were used in nine age groups (1–9th month age), keeping 5 lambs in each group. Results show that mean testis size and scrotal circumference increased at a constant rate, reaching a maximum value of 392.00±2.00g and 25.00±0.32cm respectively, at the age of 9months. A similar trend of growth was observed for the mean body weight, reaching a maximum value of 40.2±0.20kg at the age of 9months. There was a positive correlation between the increasing rates of body weight and size of the testis. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in testis size, scrotal circumference and body weight of lambs between all ages (1–9months). The histological section of testis showed that a small number of mature sperms appeared in the eighth month of age and their numbers increased in the ninth month. In conclusion, the current findings indicated that puberty in Najdi rams occurs between the 8th and 9th months of age.

Study of granule growth kinetics during in situ fluid bed melt granulation using in-line FBRM and SFT probes

Objective: The aim of this work was to study the granule growth kinetics during in situ fluid bed melt granulation process using real-time particle size measurement techniques. In addition, the usefulness of these techniques during scale-up of melt granulation was evaluated.Materials and methods: Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) and spatial filtering technique (SFT) probes were used within the process chamber of fluid bed granulator for real-time in-line granule size analysis.Results: The results demonstrated that the use of in-line particle size probes in fluid bed granulator during the process offers an insightful view of granule growth and allows in-process monitoring of granule chord length changes. The effect of selected critical parameters (binder content, inlet air temperature and product endpoint temperature) on the granule growth was clearly presented by in-line measurements in a laboratory scale. A comparison of granule size measurements from both FBRM and SFT probes showed similar particle growth trends, which were in close correlation to the product temperature. Comparable trends in end granule particle size were observed when comparing different in-line, at-line and off-line particle size measurements.Conclusion: The in-line FBRM and SFT probes were successfully employed in in situ fluid bed melt granulation process to study the influence of critical formulation/process parameters on the granule growth kinetics. The scale-up experiment confirmed the potential of these in-line granule size measurement techniques as a viable tool for process monitoring during the transfer of granulation to the larger scale or another manufacturing site/equipment.

Allometry of the postnatal cranial ontogeny and sexual dimorphism in Otaria byronia (Otariidae)

We studied the cranial postnatal ontogeny of Otaria byronia in order to detect sexual dimorphism in allometric terms, analyzing the rate of growth of functional variables linked to specific capacities as bite and head movements. We used 20 linear measurements to estimate allometric growth applying bivariate and multivariate analyses in females and males separately. Males were also analyzed in two partitioned subsets considering non-adult and adult stages, when the dimorphism is accentuated in order to reach optimal performance for intra-sexual competition. In the comparison of the employed techniques, we detected an empirical relationship between our multivariate results and the ordinary least square bivariate analysis. The quantitative analyses revealed different ontogenetic trajectories between non-adult and adult males in most variables, suggesting that the adult skull is not a scaled version of subadult skull. For instance, variables related with longitudinal dimensions decreased their allometric coefficients when the adult stage was reached, whereas those related with breadth or vertical dimensions increased their values. In adult males this could indicate that skull breadth and height are more important than longitudinal growth, relative to overall skull size. Conversely, inter-sexual comparisons showed that females and non-adult males shared similar ontogenetic growth trends, including more allometric trends than did males along their own ontogenetic trajectory. In general, adult males exhibited higher allometric coefficients than non-adult males in variables associated with bite and sexual behavior, whereas in comparison to females the latter showed higher coefficients values in these variables. Such patterns indicate a complex mode of growth in males beyond the growth extension, and are in partial agreement with changes previously reported for this and other species in the family Otariidae.