Impulsively started external convection at microscale level is studied numerically in both planar and axisymmetric geometries. Using similarity transformation, the resulting coupled partial and non-linear ordinary differential equations are simultaneously solved by finite differences together with a well established ordinary differential equation solver, over a range of problem parameters. Rarefaction effects within the slip flow regime on the thermal boundary layer response, heat transfer rate and transition time when system experiences sudden changes in surface temperature are analyzed, and a comparison between sudden surface cooling and heating is presented. The results show that the thermal boundary layer thickness, heat transfer rate and the transition time is considerably influenced by the degree of rarefaction. The transition time tends to be less sensitive with increasing rarefaction. The velocity slip and temperature jump factors are found to have opposite effects on the transition time and the heat transfer rate, with the velocity slip factor having the most profound influence on these parameters.

The fine-scale genetic variation and population structure of lichen-forming fungi is little known and sampling strategies are rarely recommended or discussed. I tested if the sample sizes of molecular data sets used in recent population studies of Xanthoria parietina revealed all haplotypes potentially present and, accordingly, quantified how many haplotypes were potentially missing in the samples. Data sets were concatenated from two geographical regions in Scandinavia and investigated if the sampling reached saturation at two levels: 1) individual-based using rarefaction curves and 2) population-based using species accumulation curves. At both levels, the matrices of two molecular markers (IGS and ITS) were analysed separately. The molecular markers show similar and parallel patterns in all analyses. Rarefaction analyses did not reveal different patterns for populations in different habitats, i.e., bark and rock. Species accumulation curves estimated with the Chao 1 richness estimator indicated that 23% of the IGS and 8% of the ITS haplotypes were not detected. Corresponding figures from an abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) were 37% and 18%. Pilot studies are recommended to determine appropriate sample sizes for genetic-based population studies of lichen-forming fungi.