Modeling seagrass density and distribution in response to changes in turbidity stemming from bivalve filtration and seagrass sediment stabilization

In many areas of the North American mid-Atlantic coast, seagrass beds are either in decline or have disappeared due, in part, to high turbidity that reduces the light reaching the plant surface. Because of this reduction in the areal extent of seagrass beds there has been a concomitant diminishment in dampening of water movement (waves and currents) and sediment stabilization. Due to ongoing declines in stocks of suspension-feeding eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the same region, their feeding activity, which normally serves to improve water clarity, has been sharply reduced. We developed and parameterized a simple model to calculate how changes in the balance between sediment sources (wave-induced resuspension) and sinks (bivalve filtration, sedimentation within seagrass beds) regulate turbidity. Changes in turbidity were used to predict the light available for seagrass photosynthesis and the amount of carbon available for shoot growth. We parameterized this model using published observations and data collected specifically for this purpose. The model predicted that when sediments were resuspended, the presence of even quite modest levels of eastern oysters (25 g dry tissue weight m^?2) distributed uniformly throughout the modeled domain, reduced suspended sediment concentrations by nearly an order of magnitude. This increased water clarity, the depth to which seagrasses were predicted to grow. Because hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) had a much lower weight-specific filtration rate than eastern oysters; their influence on reducing turbidity was much less than oysters. Seagrasses, once established with sufficiently high densities (>1,000 shoots m^?2), damped waves, thereby reducing sediment resuspension and improving light conditions. This stabilizing effect was minor compared to the influence of uniformly distributed eastern oysters on water clarity. Our model predicted that restoration of eastern oysters has the potential to reduce turbidity in shallow estuaries, such as Chesapeake Bay, and facilitate ongoing efforts to restore seagrasses. This model included several simplifiying assumptions, including that oysters were uniformly distributed rather than aggregated into offshore reefs and that oyster feces were not resuspended.     

A new method to describe seagrass habitat sampled during fisheries-independent monitoring

We explain a new method of quantifying seagrass cover and describing seagrass species composition during fisheries-independent monitoring. This new method is similar to a point-intercept method developed to estimate arboreal crown cover, but it uses an aquascope designed for shallow water. The method does not require a diver. Seagrass cover (cover ratio) distinguished different percentage cover categories in 0.25-m² seagrass plots. Estimates of species composition determined by using the new method were most similar to those obtained by using estimates of aboveground biomass. Within each 141-m² area sampled with a 21.3-m fish seine, we accurately estimated seagrass cover ratio and species composition with six observations that typically required less than 6 total minutes. Within such areas, 42 trials were conducted to evaluate the precision with which different observers estimated seagrass cover ratio and species composition. In 98% of the trials, observers attained statistically similar estimates of cover ratio, and in 100% of the trials in areas with multiple seagrass species, observers attained statistically similar estimates of species composition. We conclude that the new method provided efficient and reasonably accurate means to quantify seagrass cover and species composition.     

Postsettlement patterns of habitat use by sciaenid fishes in subtropical seagrass meadows

Spatial and temporal patterns of distribution and abundance were examined for postsettlement sciaenids collected from seagrass meadows in the Aransas Estuary, Texas. Overall, 5443 sciaenid larvae and early juveniles were identified from biweekly epibenthic sled collections taken from August 1994 to August 1995. Eight species were present in seagrass meadows, with five accounting for over 99.9% of sciaenids collected: silver perch (Bairdiella chrysoura), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Settlement to seagrass meadows was partitioned temporally with little overlap among the five species. Postsettlers from inshore spawners (B. chrysoura, C. nebulosus, S. ocellatus) inhabited seagrass meadows during the spring and summer, while individuals from offshore spawners (L. xanthurus, M. undulatus) were present in the late fall and winter. Densities ofB. chrysoura, C. nebulosus, S. ocellatus were highest for small individuals (4–8 mm SL) and these taxa remained in seagrass sites through the early juvenile stage. Conversely,L. xanthurus andM. undulatus maintained longer pelagic periods and generally entered seagrass meadows at larger sizes (10–14 mm SL). Moreover, these taxa were only temporary residents of selected seagrass meadows, apparently migrating to alternative habitats shortly after arrival. During peak settlement, mean and maximum densities among species ranged from 0.1 m^?2 to 0.8 m^?2 and 0.7 m^?2 to 23.8 m^?2, respectively. Density and mean size of possettlement sciaenids differed significantly between seagrass species (Halodule wrightii, Thalassia testudinum) and among sites within the estuary.     

Recruitment of juvenile marine fishes to seagrass habitat in a temperature Australian estuary

We investigated the relationship between distance from the ocean and the recruitment of ocean-spawned juvenile fish to seagrass shallows within marine dominated Lake Macquarie, a coastal barrier lagoon in Southeast Australia. Samples were taken by seine net every 6 wk between June 1986 and June 1987, at 20 sites established at various distances from the entrance channel. The fish fauna was diverse: 80 species from 39 families were caught, with the Gobiidae, Monacanthidae, Syngnathidae, Tetraodontidae, Mugilidae, Atherinidae, Clupeidae, Mullidae, Sparidae, and Blenniidae being well represented. Ambassis jacksoniensis, Atherinomorus ogilbyi, and Gerres subfasciatus accounted for 46% of all individuals. Thirty-two species were classified as ocean spawners, 38 as lagoon spawners, and 10 as unknown in terms of spawning area. Newly settled juveniles of ocean spawners were concentrated near the lagoon's entrance, where most recruited in spring. This pattern occurred in the absence of a salinity gradient: distance from the ocean coupled with weak internal water circulation appears to limit larval distribution and hence juvenile recruitment. Small juveniles of Rhabdosargus sarba were sufficiently abundant for their subsequent dispersal to be directly traced. On the basis of results for this species, and indirect evidence of dispersal for several others, it is suggested that ocean-spawned juveniles, after settling near the entrance, gradually disperse as they grow and change their habitat. Thus, further from the entrance, their recruitment to seagrass shallows is later, at larger sizes, and in smaller numbers. Newly settled juveniles of lagoon spawners, however, were widely distributed within the lagoon. The optimal recruitment of ocean-spawned juveniles to similar coastal lagoons may depend on suitable habitat being available near the entrance. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY081 00003     

Diel variation in immigration of fishes and decapod crustaceans to artificial seagrass habitat

Fish and decapod entry into small (1.5 m²) artificial seagrass habitats positioned on an open sand area in a New Jersey estuary was examined to determine if immigration varied between day and night. To encounter the structured habitats, colonizers had to cross an expanse of bare sand, with its presumably higher predation risk. Contrasts in abundance in the artificial seagrass plots between dawn and dusk indicated higher nighttime immigration for four species, including the fishesFundulus heteroclitus andMyoxocephalus aenaeus, and the caridean shrimpsPalaemonetes vulgaris andHippolyte pleuracanthus. Size-frequency distributions of colonizers varied between day and night for two fish species,Menidia menidia andSyngnathus fuscus, with a greater proportion of smaller individuals immigrating to the artificial seagrass at night.Callinectes sapidus also displayed a diel contrast in size distribution but, for this species, proportionately more small individuals colonized the plots during the day. We suggest that diel variability in predation risk and/or diel patterns in motor activity may be responsible for these patterns in immigration.     

Anomiid (bivalve) bioerosion on Pleistocene pectinid (bivalve) shells,Rhodes, Greece

A trace fossil, Centrichnus eccentricus, was found beneath a saddle oyster (Anomia ephippium) that was preserved undisturbed on its substratum (a shell of Pecten jacobaeus), at the site of attachment of the calcified byssus.     

Modeling nonlinear seagrass clonal growth: Assessing the efficiency of space occupation across the seagrass flora

The clonal growth of 9 seagrass species was modeled using a simulation model based on observed clonal growth rules (i.e., spacer length, rhizome elongation rates, branching rates, branching angle) and shoot mortality rates for seagrass species. The results of the model confirmed the occurrence of complex, nonlinear growth of seagrass clones derived from internal dynamics of space occupation. The modeled clones progressed from a diffuse-limited aggregation (DLA), dendritic growth, identified with a guerrilla strategy of space occupation, to a compact (Eden) growth, comparable to the phalanx strategy of space occupation, once internal recolonization of gaps, left by dead shoots within the clone, begins. The time at which seagrass clones shifted from diffuse limited to compact growth was predictable from the branching angle and frequency of the species and varied from 1 yr to several decades among species. As a consequence the growth behavior and the apparent growth strategy of the species changes with the development of the clones. The results of the model demonstrate that the emergent complexity of seagrass clonal growth is contained within the simple set of growth rules that can be used to represent clonal growth.     

Experimental studies of predation on polychaetes associated with seagrass beds

Predation on benthic polychaetes associated with seagrass beds was examined in laboratory and field predator inclusion experiments with one fish and three invertebrate predators. Predation had differential effects on polychaete taxa which depended on their microhabitat utilization patterns. The magnitude of predation effects strongly depended on the predator species, with the shrimpPenaeus duorarum having the greatest impact and the pinfishLagodon rhomboides the least. Abundance of spionid polychaetes, which are located near the sediment-water interface, was reduced most often by predation. Nereid and capitellid polychaete abundances were reduced by some predators and not by others. The results emphasize the need for more detailed natural history information on polychaete species in order to improve the interpretation of results from predation experiments.     

Role of larger herbvores in seagrass communities

The nutritional ecology of macroherbivores in seagrass meadows and the roles of grazing by urchins, fishes and green turtles in tropical systems and waterfowl in temperate systems are discussed in this review. Only a few species of animals graze on living seagrasses, and apparently only a small portion of the energy and nutrients in seagrasses is usually channeled through these herbivores. The general paucity of direct seagrass grazers may be a function of several factors in the composition of seagrasses, including availability of nitrogen compounds, presence of relatively high amounts of structural cell walls, and presence of toxic or inhibitory substances. The macroherbivores, however, can have a profound effect on the seagrass plants, on other grazers and fauna associated with the meadow, and on chemical and decompositional processes occurring within the meadow. Grazing can alter the nutrient content and digestibility of the plant, as well as its productivity. Removal of leaf material can influence interrelations among permanent and transient faunal residents. Grazing also interrupts the detritus cycle. Possible consequences of this disruption, either through acceleration or through decreased source input, and the enhancement of intersystem coupling by increased export and offsite fecal production, are discussed. The extent and magnitude of these effects and their ecological significance in the overall functioning of seagrass meadows only can be speculated, and probably are not uniform or of similar importance in both tropical and temperate seagrass systems. However, areas grazed by large herbivores provide natural experiments in which to test hypotheses on many functional relations in seagrass meadows.     

广西西部早三叠世双壳类组合

<正> 广西西部早三叠世地层发育,分布广泛,化石丰富。前人对其有不少研究。早期主要有徐瑞粦(1932)、许德佑(1936—1937,1938)、赵金科等(1940—1943)对本区有关地层进行调查研究。解放后,菊石由赵金科(1959)系统深入地研究,建立了广西西部下三叠统逻楼群8个菊石带,为华南早三叠世地层分类奠定了基础。到1976年,早三叠世     

Fourier analysis of bivalve outlines: Implications on evolution and autecology

Fourier analysis of shape provides a unique means of studying morphologic variation of bivalves, especially in terms of their evolution and autecology. Amplitude spectra resulting from analysis may be refined, summarized, and further evaluated by a series of statistical measures designed to extract the maximum amount of information from outline features. Root mean square error comparison of harmonics, combined with a modified analysis of variance design and Snedecor's F-test, permits identification of significant amplitudes. Intra- and interspecific variation may be expressed as variance about mean power estimates derived from significant amplitudes for each species. Variance estimates of 14 species of heterodont bivalves indicate that venerid bivalves show considerably more intraspecific shape variability than do tellinid species. In both groups, however, species characterized by more elongate shells show less intraspecific variability. Evolutionary and environmental implications of interspecific shape variance in bivalves suggest that future comprehensive examination of specimens, collected in situ, may be fruitful.     

World frontiers of settlement

In the world of earlier scientists a frontier was an exciting concept, term and line. It is not quite so now. Presently frontiers are zones that are partially settled and with limited transportation. They vary in size but in total area and in location they present significant potentials for population growth absorption. From about 1900 to 1940 frontier development was international and intercontinental in scope; now it is primarily national or regional in scale. Currently about as much of the total area in world frontiers is in stability as in growth and there are considerable areas of decline. The present trend is toward more stability while urbanization is dominating; until these two really change only major military causes will produce notable variations in frontier use while individual national political policies will result in local geographical pulses of minor advances and retreats. Yet, there is much potential area for new food production and settling, the world is still largely in a growth syndrome, and there are alternatives that also should be considered.     

非饱和中等压缩性土地基沉降预测的研究

为研究非饱和中等压缩性土地基各施工阶段的沉降特性,针对胶济客专沿线的工程地质情况,结合建设和运营过程中现场沉降监测、室内固结试验以及数值模拟等方法,研究了不同加固方法非饱和中等压缩性土地基的沉降规律、初始饱和度对非饱和土固结变形的影响等。结果表明:非饱和中等压缩性土地基在分级填筑的情况下,路基填筑期（4个月左右）可完成总沉降的75%以上,经过短期放置（4个月左右）可完成总沉降的90%以上;气相连续的非饱和粉质粘土,低饱和度时固结完成时间比高饱和度时缩短;不同加固方法对地基沉降变形特性影响不同;放置期的确定应考虑地基加固方法的不同,对于采用的三种加固方法,只要放置期不少于6个月,其工后沉降都满足无砟轨道沉降控制要求。     

地基固结变形反分析研究

某水库库底地基变形较大,蓄水初期曾引起库底沥青混凝土防渗护面开裂。为研究进一步蓄水后可能产生的更大沉降及对沥青混凝土防渗护面的影响,对库底地基土层进行了反分析,研究地基土层的有关参数,利用反分析得到的参数进行了有限元正分析,研究地基的固结特性,为预测进一步蓄水后地基的沉降提供了重要依据。     

The effects of tributyltin within aThalassia seagrass ecosystem

Flow-through seagrass core microcosms were used to examine responses of species and processes to a logarithmic gradient of dosing with¹⁴C-labeled tributyltin-chloride (TBT-CI). Experiments involved delivery of TBT-CI to the water column of replicate cores of a treatment (n=16) once per week; one-half of the cores were sacrificed after 3 wk of dosing, the others were dosed for 6 wk. Initial water column concentrations for the three treatments averaged 0.205, 2.23, and 22.21 μg I^?1, expressed as the TBT⁺ cation, but these concentrations dropped rapidly. Retained¹⁴C tracer, an estimate of total organotin species, was distributed to sediments, plants, and other biological tissues, all of whose tracer concentrations increased with time. Measures to indicate responses of both autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms were made; in general, treatment effects were demonstrable statistically only at the highest dose level. Accumulation of chlorophyll and biomass on glass slides was highest when suspended for the entire experiment in the water of the highest treatment; this unexpected result was perhaps an indirect effect related to reduced grazing activity in the microcosms. The highest dose of TBT-CI resulted in virtual population mortality of a few macrobenthic species and decreased loss of plant material in litter bags, both demonstrated within the first 3 wk of dosing. Reduced litter loss was coincident with mortality of an amphipod (Cymadusa compta) capable of shredding plant material, and a causal relation between the two effects is plausible. Thus, if concentrated to similar levels in aThalassia bed, TBT⁺ may have direct species-level effects and process-level effects, potentially causing ecosystem change via disruption of a species-process linkage influential in seagrass detrital food web dynamics.     

Influence of stone column installation on settlement reduction

The paper presents numerical simulations investigating the settlement reduction caused by stone columns in a natural soft clay. The focus is on the influence of the soft soil alteration caused by column installation. A uniform mesh of end-bearing columns under a distributed load was considered. Therefore, the columns were modelled using the “unit cell” concept, i.e. only one column and the corresponding surrounding soil in axial symmetry. The properties of the soft clay correspond to Bothkennar clay, which is modelled using S-CLAY1 and S-CLAY1S, which are Cam clay type models that account for anisotropy and destructuration. The Modified Cam clay model is also used for comparison. Column installation was modelled independently to avoid mesh distortions, and soft soil alteration was directly considered in the initial input values. The results show that the changes in the stress field, such as the increase of radial stresses and mean stresses and the loss of overconsolidation, are beneficial for high loads and closely spaced columns but, on the contrary, may be negative for low loads, widely spaced columns and overconsolidated soils. Moreover, whilst the rotation of the soil fabric reduces the settlement, in contrast the soil destructuration during column installation reduces the improvement.     

Sorting of bivalve populations in a beach environment

Size sorting of shells and valves of transported death assemblages of Mytilus edulis is shown to have taken place, and greatly affected size-frequency distributions of shell accumulations deposited in a beach environment. Selective transport and deposition of different size grades gives histograms which may be strongly skewed or multimodal, and include numerous small shells. The usually predicted bell-shaped distributions for sorted assemblages are not always produced. Little evidence of growth and mortality rates can be deduced with confidence from the transported assemblages.     

试论徽派建筑形成的几个条件——兼谈徽派建筑的继承和弘扬

徽派建筑在中国建筑史上占有重要地位,是珍贵的中国古代文化遗产。皖南山区地理环境、建筑材料、经济状况、社会形态、精神意识和文化氛围,是徽派建筑形成的主要条件。     

环境因素对路基沉降影响的分析

在秦沈线的路基沉降观测过程中,发现在上部填土荷载恒定不变的情况下,不同区段、路基的不同平面位置上测得的沉降过程曲线,有的发生陡降,有的发生较大沉降后又产生回弹.在详细分析了沉降过程曲线、地下水位变化曲线等资料的基础上,发现上述异常现象是抽取地下水和冻融作用这两个环境因素所致,抽取地下水会引起沉降猛增,而冻融作用会使沉降发生往复变化.本文较为详细地阐述了这两个环境因素影响沉降过程的方式,并且就抽取地下水对沉降的影响作了一些量化的分析.