Plant diversity and community structure of Brazilian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Páramos</Emphasis>

In Eastern South America, high altitude grasslands represent a mountain system that has a high number of endemic species. However, studies on the ecology of plant communities in these environments remain scarce. We aimed to evaluate the patterns of biodiversity and structure of plant communities from rocky outcrops in high altitude grasslands of three areas at the Caparaó National Park, southeastern Brazil, by sampling 300 randomly distributed plots. Then, we compared the floristic composition, relative abundance, and biological and vegetation spectra among areas. We classified species as endemic and non-endemic and verified the occurrence of endangered species. Species richness was evaluated by rarefaction analysis on the sampling units. The importance value and species abundance distribution (SAD) models were assessed. We also performed an indicator species analysis. We sampled 58 species belonging to 49 genera and 32 families. The number of species decreased with increasing altitude, with significant differences being observed among areas regarding richness, abundance, and cover. Of the total number of species, 10 are endemic to the Caparaó National Park and 17 are listed on the Brazilian Red List of endangered species. The dominant families on all peaks were Asteraceae and Poaceae. The SAD models showed lognormal and geometric distributions, corroborating the fact that 10 species that were common to all three areas were also the most dominant ones in the communities and showed the highest importance values, which ranged between 35% and 60%. Indicator species analysis revealed that 28 species (48.27%) were indicators. Of these, 42.85% had maximum specificity, meaning that they occurred only in one area. Thus, the number of species per life form ratio was similar among areas, yet vegetation spectra differed, especially for hemicryptophytes. The altimetric difference among the areas showed to be a very important driver in the community assembly, influencing the evaluated variables, however, other drivers as soil depth, slope and water could also influence the community structure on a smaller and local spatial scale.     

Integration of Electrofacies and Hydraulic Flow Units to Delineate Reservoir Quality in Uncored Reservoirs: A Case Study,Nubia Sandstone Reservoir,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Natural Resources Research - Recognition of reservoir quality is an important objective in reservoir characterization process. By definition, the quality of a reservoir is described by its...     

High-frequency monitoring of hydrological and biogeochemical fluxes in forested catchments of southern Chile

The variability of rainfall-dependent streamflow at catchment scale modulates many ecosystem processes in wet temperate forests. Runoff in small mountain catchments is characterized by a quick response to rainfall pulses which affects biogeochemical fluxes to all downstream systems. In wet-temperate climates, water erosion is the most important natural factor driving downstream soil and nutrient losses from upland ecosystems. Most hydrochemical studies have focused on water flux measurements at hourly scales, along with weekly or monthly samples for water chemistry. Here, we assessed how water and element flows from broad-leaved, evergreen forested catchments in southwestern South America, are influenced by different successional stages, quantifying runoff, sediment transport and nutrient fluxes during hourly rainfall events of different intensities. Hydrograph comparisons among different successional stages indicated that forested catchments differed in their responses to high intensity rainfall, with greater runoff in areas covered by secondary forests (SF), compared to old-growth forest cover (OG) and dense scrub vegetation (CH). Further, throughfall water was greatly nutrient enriched for all forest types. Suspended sediment loads varied between successional stages. SF catchments exported 455 kg of sediments per ha, followed by OG with 91 kg/ha and CH with 14 kg/ha, corresponding to 11 rainfall events measured from December 2013 to April 2014. Total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) concentrations in stream water also varied with rainfall intensity. In seven rainfall events sampled during the study period, CH catchments exported less nutrients (46 kg/ha TN and 7 kg/ha TP) than SF catchments (718 kg/ha TN and 107 kg/ha TP), while OG catchments exported intermediate sediment loads (201 kg/ha TN and 23 kg/ha TP). Further, we found significant effects of successional stage attributes (vegetation structure and soil physical properties) and catchment morphometry on runoff and sediment concentrations, and greater nutrients retention in OG and CH catchments. We conclude that in these southern hemisphere, broad-leaved evergreen temperate forests, hydrological processes are driven by multiple interacting phenomena, including climate, vegetation, soils, topography, and disturbance history.     

Classifying GRB 170817A/GW170817 in a Fermi duration–hardness plane

GRB 170817A, associated with the LIGO-Virgo GW170817 neutron-star merger event, lacks the short duration and hard spectrum of a Short gamma-ray burst (GRB) expected from long-standing classification models. Correctly identifying the class to which this burst belongs requires comparison with other GRBs detected by the Fermi GBM. The aim of our analysis is to classify Fermi GRBs and to test whether or not GRB 170817A belongs—as suggested—to the Short GRB class. The Fermi GBM catalog provides a large database with many measured variables that can be used to explore gamma-ray burst classification. We use statistical techniques to look for clustering in a sample of 1298 gamma-ray bursts described by duration and spectral hardness. Classification of the detected bursts shows that GRB 170817A most likely belongs to the Intermediate, rather than the Short GRB class. We discuss this result in light of theoretical neutron-star merger models and existing GRB classification schemes. It appears that GRB classification schemes may not yet be linked to appropriate theoretical models, and that theoretical models may not yet adequately account for known GRB class properties. We conclude that GRB 170817A may not fit into a simple phenomenological classification scheme.     

Area usage estimation and spatiotemporal variability in distribution patterns of southern right whales,Eubalaena australis,of southern Brazil

Southern right whales—Eubalaena australis (Desmoulins, 1822)—migrate seasonally from high‐latitude feeding grounds to coastal breeding and calving grounds at lower latitudes such as the southern coast of Brazil. Understanding how these whales are distributed along the coast is important for monitoring their postwhaling recovery and defining management strategies. In this study, we applied Kernel density estimators to aerial survey data to determine main occurrence and concentration areas of right whales in southern Brazil and investigate inter‐ and intra‐annual distribution patterns between 2003 and 2012. Our results show considerable variation in area usage within and among years, and changes in the general distribution pattern of right whales in the last years of the study. Intra‐annually, higher concentration area tended to expand from July to September and decrease in November. Some areas stood out as high‐density areas for right whales: Ribanceira/Ibiraquera, Itapirubá Sul/Sol, and from Arroio to Gaivota. Some evidences also suggest preferential areas for mother–calf pairs. The higher concentration area of right whales in southern Brazil was estimated at 52,541 km² and the occurrence area was 682.69 km², which is the whole study area. As right whale distribution in the region is likely expanding due to this population's current recovery, our study provides essential information for management plan of the Right Whale Environmental Protection Area.     

A multi‐method approach to dating the burial and skeleton of Kiacatoo Man,New South Wales,Australia

Kiacatoo Man, a large, rugged Aboriginal adult buried in the Lachlan riverine plains of southeastern Australia, was discovered in 2011. Laser‐ablation uranium series analysis on bone yielded a minimum age for the burial of 27.4 ± 0.4 ka (2σ). Single‐grain, optically stimulated luminescence ages on quartz sediment in which the grave had been dug gave a weighted mean age of 26.4 ± 1.5 ka (1σ). Luminescence samples from the grave infill and from sediment beneath the grave exhibit overdispersed dose distributions consistent with bioturbation or other disturbance, which has obscured the burial signal. The overlap between the minimum (U‐series) and maximum (luminescence) ages places the burial between 27.0 and 29.4 ka (2σ). Luminescence ages obtained from the channel belt of between 28 ± 2 and 25 ± 3 ka indicate that fluvial sedimentation was occurring before the Last Glacial Maximum, which is consistent with the broader geomorphic setting. Together, these results are internally and regionally consistent, and indicate that Kiacatoo Man was one of the more ancient individuals so far identified in Australia. His remains are important to our understanding of patterns of biological variation and other processes that have shaped people in the Murray‐Darling Basin through time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The northern Patagonia Somuncura plateau basalts: a product of slab‐induced,shallow asthenospheric upwelling?

The Meseta de Somuncura forms the largest basaltic plateau (20 000 km²) of southern Argentina (extra-Andean domain). Most of these tholeiitic to alkaline rocks were extruded at ˜ 25 Ma (late Oligocene). The absence of rifting–thinning processes, plume activity, or slab-window phenomena leaves only one major possibility for the generation of Somuncura: asthenospheric ('OIB-like') corner flow leading to a transient thermal anomaly above the subducting plate. It is suggested herein that the intake of hot asthenosphere was forced into a favourable topography (concave-up) of the subducting plate, when a major plate reorganization event (Farallon to Nazca) was taking place in late Oligocene to early Miocene time. The fast and vigorous intake of asthenosphere would have been induced by slab roll-back, leading to decoupling of the subducting plate. The Somuncura volcanic episode can be regarded as a marker of the passage from the extremely oblique subduction of Farallon, to the birth of the Nazca plate and roughly perpendicular convergence between South America and Nazca.     

A continuum‐discrete hydromechanical analysis of granular deposit liquefaction

A coupled continuum‐discrete hydromechanical model was employed to analyse the liquefaction of a saturated loose deposit of cohesionless particles when subjected to a dynamic base excitation. The pore fluid flow was idealized using averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the discrete element method was employed to model the solid phase particles. A well established semi‐empirical relationship was utilized to quantify the fluid–particle interactions. The conducted simulations revealed a number of salient micro‐mechanical mechanisms and response patterns associated with the deposit liquefaction. Space and time variation of porosity was a major factor which affected the coupled response of the solid and fluid phases. Pore fluid flow was within Darcy's regime. The predicted response exhibited macroscopic patterns consistent with experimental results and case histories of the liquefaction of granular soil deposits. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.