Formation of island ecosystems and genetic change after colonization

Editorial

Formation of island ecosystems and genetic change after colonization     

Sporormiella as a proxy for non-mammalian herbivores in island ecosystems

Spores of the dung-fungi Sporormiella are routinely used as a proxy for past megaherbivore biomass and to pinpoint the timing of extinctions. Further ecological insight can also be gained into the impacts that followed initial human arrival in a region through correlation of spore abundance with other proxies (e.g. pollen, charcoal). Currently, the use of Sporormiella as a palaeoecological proxy has been restricted to landmasses where large-herbivore guilds are dominated by mammals. Here, we use New Zealand as a case study to show that the method can also be applied effectively to islands dominated by large avian herbivores. We examine 44 dung samples from 7 localities to show that Sporormiella spores were widely distributed in the dung of endemic avian herbivores (South Island takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri), kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), and several species of extinct moa, identified by ancient DNA analysis). In addition, we show that Sporormiella spores in a forest soil core from the Murchison Mountains, South Island, accurately trace the post-settlement decline of native avian herbivores, and combined with high-resolution radiocarbon dating reveal severely reduced local herbivore populations by the late 17th Century AD. The spores also trace the subsequent spread of Red deer (Cervus elaphus) introduced to the area in the early 20th Century AD. Our results suggest Sporormiella spores may provide a useful new tool for examining extinctions on numerous islands where terrestrial herbivore guilds were dominated by birds or reptiles. Our findings also highlight the need to consider entire herbivore communities (including birds and reptiles) when examining Late Pleistocene continental Sporormiella records, where the focus has often been tracing the decline of populations of large mammals.     

The origin of island arc high-alumina basalts

A detailed examination of the hypothesis that high-alumina basalts (HAB) in island arcs are primary magmas derived by 50–60% partial melting of subducted ocean crust eclogite shows that this model is unlikely to be viable. Evidence suggests that the overwhelming majority of arc HAB are porphyritic lavas, enriched in Al₂O₃ either by protracted prior crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene, or by plagioclase phenocryst accumulation in magmas of basaltic andesite to dacite composition. Experimentally-determined phase relationships of such plagioclase-enriched (non-liquid) compositions have little bearing on the petrogenesis of arc magmas, and do not rule out the possibility that arc HAB can be derived by fractionation of more primitive arc lavas. Although models invoking eclogite-melting can match typical arc HAB REE patterns, calculations indicate that the Ni and Cr contents of proposed Aleutian primary HAB are many times lower than such models predict. In contrast, Ni vs Sc and Cr vs Sc trends for arc HAB are readily explained by olivine (+Cr-sp) and clinopyroxene-dominated fractionation from more primitive arc magmas. GENMIX major element modelling of several HAB compositions as partial melts of MORB eclogite, using appropriate experimentally (26–34 kb)-determined garnet and omphacite compositions yields exceptionally poor matches, especially for CaO, Na₂O, MgO and Al₂O₃. These mismatches are easily explained if the HAB are plagioclase-accumulative. Groundmasses of arc HAB are shown to vary from basaltic andesite to dacite in composition. Crystal fractionation driving liquid compositions toward dacite involves important plagioclase separation, resulting in development of significant negative Eu anomalies in more evolved lavas. Plagioclase accumulation in such evolved liquids tends to diminish or eliminate negative Eu anomalies. Therefore, the absence of positive Eu anomaly in a plagioclase-phyric HAB does not indicate that plagioclase has not accumulated in that lava. In addition, we show that plagioclase phenocrysts in arc HAB are not in equilibrium with the liquids in which they were carried (groundmass). Exceptional volumes of picrite and olivine basalt occur in the Solomons and Vanuatu arcs; the presence in lavas from these and other arcs (Aleutian, Tonga) of olivine phenocrysts to Fo₉₄, finds no ready explanation in the primary eclogite-derived HAB model. We suggest that most lavas in intra-oceanic arcs are derived from parental magmas with >10% MgO; fractionation of olivine (+Cr-sp) and clinopyroxene drives liquids to basalt compositions with <7% MgO, but plagioclase nucleation is delayed by their low but significant (<1%?) H₂O contents. Thus evolved liquid compositions in the basaltic andesite—andesite range may achieve relatively high Al₂O₃ contents (<17.5%). The majority of arc basalts, however, have Al₂O₃ contents in excess of 18%, reflecting plagioclase accumulation. We give new experimental data to show that HAB liquids may be generated by anhydrous, low-degree (<10%) partial melting of peridotite at P<18 kb. Relative to arc HAB, these experimental melts have notably higher Mg#(69–72) and are in equilibrium with olivine Fo_87–89. Only further detailed trace element modelling will show if they might be parental magmas for some arc HAB.     

The primacy of top-down effects in shallow benthic ecosystems

Individual scientists, scientific organizations, and government agencies have all concluded that eutrophication is among the most detrimental of all human activities in coastal ecosystems; very large amounts of funding have been earmarked to study the negative consequences of nutrient pollution. Most studies of eutrophication have been conducted long after the numbers and diversity of larger marine consumers were dramatically reduced by centuries of intense harvesting. It is now understood that these once abundant predators played pivotal roles in regulating ecosystem structure and function, and that the widespread overharvesting of large consumers can trigger indirect effects that alter species compositions in ways that are very similar to those reported to result from eutrophication. All of this suggests that we should reevaluate whether the many negative effects attributed to eutrophication are actually a result of nutrient additions or whether they may be the result of the indirect effects of dramatically altered coastal food webs. In this essay, we review experimental assessments of the degree to which changes in consumer abundances have indirectly altered the structure of benthic ecosystems in coastal waters, and on the relative importance of top-down and bottom-up effects on coral reefs, rocky shores, and seagrass meadows. We find that the evidence clearly indicates that indirect consumer effects are the primary drivers of coastal benthic ecosystem structure and function.     

The oldest island arc complex of Taimyr: Concerning the issue of the Central-Taimyr accretionary belt formation and paleogeodynamic reconstructions in the arctic

In this paper we provide data on the oldest island arc complex of Taimyr, which was established within the Central-Taimyr accretionary belt. We demonstrate its relationship with the mainly turbiditic back-arc basin complex. U-Pb isotopic data for zircons are presented from a plagiogranite and a plagiorhyodacite, indicating that the island arc formed 961–969 m.y. ago from a substance with a Mezoproterozoic model age: T _Nd(DM) varies from 1170 to 1219 Ma. Paleomagnetic investigations performed on the island arc complex rocks showed that the paleomagnetic pole of the island arc is close to synchronous poles, obtained for the south-east of the Siberian craton. Consequently, the island arc whose relicts are preserved in the modern structure of the Three Sisters Lake region was located in close proximity to the Taimyr margin of Siberia at the moment of its formation and could be separated from the continent by a back-arc basin. The data obtained have a fundamental significance for geodynamic paleoreconstructions in the Arctic sector for the Neoproterozoic.     

The transition to microbial photosynthesis in hot spring ecosystems

Even casual observations of continental hot springs reveal that photosynthesis has its limits. In an effort to explore the transition to photosynthesis, field measurements of temperature and pH were made at 996 hot spring locations at Yellowstone National Park ranging from 14° to 94 °C and pH from 0.8 to 9.7. In addition, sulfide measurements were made in 426 of these locations showing concentrations up to 8820 μg L^? 1 total sulfide. These data indicate that the previously established upper temperature (73–75 °C) for the transition to photosynthesis is reached in many basic hot springs, but that the transition occurs at lower temperature with decreasing pH below ~ 6.5. As an example, no strong evidence for photosynthesis was found above 45 °C at pH ~ 2. In several locations, photosynthesis appears to be suppressed despite temperatures and pH values that permit photosynthesis elsewhere. Sulfide concentrations may be responsible for the suppression of photosynthesis at these sites. Total sulfide concentrations were observed to decrease downstream in hot spring outflow channels. Abiotic processes (degassing, oxidation, mineral precipitation, etc.) are too slow to account for these decreases, suggesting an explanation from microbial sulfide oxidation that is supported by field experiments. Microbial sulfide oxidation may determine the ultimate suitability of some hot springs for microbial photosynthesis.     

The protection of groundwater dependent ecosystems in Otago, New Zealand

Surface waters (streams, rivers, and wetlands) are the most important groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in Otago, New Zealand. Pumping wells in the vicinity can deplete water in the GDE. In Otago, most of the surface water resources are allocated and a method, which would assist in the implementation of water management policy, is needed to acknowledge the strong hydraulic link between surface and shallow groundwater. A simplified method has been developed which derives a numerical relationship between the bore pumping rate and the distance between the bore and surface water body beyond which depletion is considered insignificant. A range of GDE depletion scenarios are examined at various combinations of hydraulic parameters to find a minimum distance for a given pumping rate, at which 90% of the modelled surface water depletion scenarios become less than a threshold GDE depletion after a specified time. A buffer zone, based on the minimum distance is placed around GDEs, and groundwater abstraction rights within the buffer are subject to stricter rules. Applicants wishing to abstract from bores within the buffer zone will need to address the environmental impact of the proposed activity on the GDE.     

The last glaciation of the Arctic volcanic island Jan Mayen

The volcanic island of Jan Mayen, remotely located in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, was covered by a contiguous ice cap during the Late Weichselian. Until now, it has been disputed whether parts of the island south of the presently glaciated Mount Beerenberg area were ever glaciated. Based on extensive field mapping we demonstrate that an ice cap covered all land areas and likely also extended onto the shallow shelf areas southeast and east of the island. Chronological interpretations are based on K-Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of volcanic rocks, cosmogenic nuclide (³⁶Cl) surface exposure dating of bedrock and glacial erratics, and radiocarbon dating. We argue that ice growth started after 34 ka and that an initial deglaciation started some 21.5–19.5 ka in the southern and middle parts of the island. In the northern parts, closer to the present glaciers, the deglaciation might have started later, as evidenced by the establishment of vegetation 17–16 cal. ka BP. During full glaciation, the ice cap was likely thickest over the southern part of the island. This may explain a seemingly delayed deglaciation compared with the northern parts despite earlier initial deglaciation. In a broader context, the new knowledge of the Late Weichselian of the island contributes to the understanding of glaciations surrounding the North Atlantic and its climate history.     

Genesis of island dolostones

Cenozoic ‘island dolostones’ are found on islands throughout the oceans of the world. Due to their geological youth and lack of deep burial, these dolostones provide an opportunity to resolve some of the mysteries surrounding the dolomite problem. In island dolostone bodies, which are of variable size and variable dolomitization, the petrographic and geochemical properties of the dolostones are characterized by geographic and stratigraphic variations. In the larger island‐wide dolostone bodies, like those found on Grand Cayman, there are progressive increases in mole %Ca (%Ca_mean: 53·9 to 57·6%), depletion of the heavier ¹⁸O and ¹³C isotopes (δ¹⁸O_mean: 3·6 to 2·1‰ _VPDB; δ¹³C_mean: 3·1 to 1·4‰ _VPDB), and changes from fabric‐retentive to fabric‐destructive fabrics and a decrease in the amount of dolomite cement from the coastal areas towards the centres of the islands, similar to the Little Bahama Bank. These changes define geographically concentric zones that parallel the coastlines and reflect geochemical modification of the dolomitizing fluid through water–rock interactions, mixing with meteoric water and the changes in the rate and flux of seawater as it flowed from coasts to island interiors. The pattern of dolomitization, however, is not consistent from island to island because geographic and stratigraphic variations, specific to each island, influenced groundwater flow pattern (for example, geometry and size of the islands; the porosity and permeability of the precursor limestone), the duration of the dolomitization reaction, and other factors. The geographic extent of dolomitization and variation in dolomite stoichiometry of island dolostones may be comparable to the reaction stages established in high‐temperature laboratory experiments.     

地下水支撑生态系统研究综述

地下水支撑生态系统（GDEs）是指部分或全部依赖于地下水的生态系统,开展GDEs研究,不仅对于了解GDEs的生态水文特征和过程具有重要学术价值,而且对于保护地下水生态环境、促进地下水可持续利用具有重要的现实意义。通过GDEs的自然和人类活动影响因素、GDEs的类型划分与识别方法、GDEs的生态水文过程模拟等方面的综述,探讨了当前存在的问题,并对未来研究趋势进行了展望。综述认为,GDEs主要受气候变化和地下水利用的影响;GDEs的类型划分要方便野外调查和管理;GDEs的识别,要综合利用水文地质调查、"3S"技术和地下水动物取样分析的方法。建议今后GDEs生态水文过程的模拟要侧重于地表水和地下水的相互作用以及地下水对植被、溶质输移和热交换等方面的贡献大小的研究。     

Magmatism of Kunashir island (Kuril island arc) from aerogeophysical evidence

The existence of a lateral volcanic zoning in the Kuril island arc (KIA) was confirmed by the analysis of the 1: 50 000 scale maps of the abundances of natural radioactive elements (NRE). Trends of the NRE ratios were calculated for the magmatic complexes of the KIA, and their relation to fluidization processes was proved. Based on aerogeophysical data (maps of NRE ratios and the magnetic field), the main cyclic sequence of the formation of active volcanoes and magmatism was distinguished. Multicyclic volcanoes related to mantle sources usually show the predominance of calc-alkaline volcanic complexes, the occurrence of magnetite precipitation processes, and weak development of metasomatic aureoles. Other volcanoes connected to crustal sources are characterized by the development of calcic complexes and extensive hydrothermal-metasomatic systems.     

On island arcs

Older concepts of island arcs, prior to the 1960's, were dominated by the Indonesian model and described in terms of geosynclinal theory, but not altogether fruitfully. Platetectonics theory has given new insights into the genesis, mode of formation, behaviour and ultimate fate of island arcs. Subduction with descent of the lithospheric slab is the governing phenomenon. As the slab descends it contributes directly and indirectly to the formation of a thickened rim (the nascent arc) on the adjacent superposed plate. The direct contribution comes from the upper part of the slab (oceanic crust) and varies progressively in type as the slab sinks more deeply. This results in the island arc series, front to rear, of tholeiitic to calcalkaline to high potash rocks, with concomitant geochemical indices. The indirect contribution stems from the slab's interference with the thermal regime of the intervening mantle and both aids and affects the passage of melts to the surface. A melange of surface and near-surface rocks is piled against the arc edge to form a break in the arc-trench slope and is subject to high pressure metamorphism. As the arc grows in bulk and width, the volcanic axis shifts to the rear. The arc components will then be: trench inner wall—trench slope break—arc trench gap—main volcanic arc. A high temperature metamorphic belt will underly the main arc. Because the hanging slab tends to retreat, and the arc tends to follow, the retroarc area may develop extensional features floored by extrusions from mantle diapirs. The arc will become separated from the nearest continent by a sub-oceanic marginal sea. With further rifting, a remnant arc may be detached from the main arc with an interarc basin between. The subduction zone at this or earlier stage may be choked and flip, with reverse dip, to the other side of the arc. Subsequent retreat consumes the marginal sea so that the arc system re-tracks toward the continent possibly to become accreted to it. Many variables are involved in this general process so that the individual character of arcs is to be expected. Models of continental accretion are not wholly convincing. This, and other primary problems can be solved with more data, but drawn from a wide range of disciplines. In particular, results from experimental geochemistry, seismology and theoretical physics are essential to additional understanding of the major problem, the detailed behaviour of the slab and its effect within the asthenosphere.     

The formation of ooids

Field and laboratory studies suggest that different types of ooids form during quiet and agitated water conditions. Both types have been synthesized in the laboratory. Quiet water types exhibit a radial orientation of carbonate crystals, whereas in those formed in agitated conditions, a tangential orientation is prevalent. Successful laboratory formation of quiet water ooids was accomplished in supersaturated seawater solutions containing humic acids. Negative results were obtained from strictly inorganic solutions, and from those containing simple amino acids, single proteins, mixtures of proteins or mucopolysaccharides, soil and sediment extracts. Partly successful results were obtained using an organic extract from Bahamian ooids. The organic parameters most important in quiet water ooid formation are molecular weight, the presence of carboxyl groups and an ability to participate in hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions, all of which are critical to membrane formation. Membranes form concentric shells which act as growth surfaces for carbonate and also induce the periodicity in carbonate precipitation. Ooids exhibiting a tangential orientation of batten-like crystals have been synthesized under conditions of agitation, supersaturation and without the intervention of organic processes during the precipitation. Complete growth may be divided into agitation, resting and sleeping stages In the agitation stage, quartz nuclei induce an inorganic, heterogeneous nucleation from a supersaturated solution, which finally ceases as a result of Mg²⁺ and possibly H⁺ poisoning of the carbonate surfaces. No further precipitation occurs until the crystal surfaces are reactivated by removal of Mg²⁺ and H⁺ during the resting stage. Following a series of agitation and resting stages, precipitation is inhibited by a degree of poisoning which is not totally removed during the resting stage. For further growth, a new substrate is required and is provided by the development of organic membranes around the grains. This occurs when the grains are buried in the subsurface, the period of organic growth constituting the sleeping stage. Only 2% of an ooid's life is spent growing in the agitated environment, while 95% of its life is spent accreting organic membranes in the subsurface. Our experimental work indicates that ooids of Bahamian type are inorganic precipitates. The tangential arrangement of battens is the result of suspension in an environment where the degree of turbulence is sufficient to induce grain to grain contact of sufficient strength and frequency to inhibit any crystal growth other than tangential. The role of organics is to provide a substrate for further growth after precipitation has slowed to a point when no further accretion is occurring.     

变泥质岩的深熔作用与具铈（Ce）负异常熔体的成因

对美国加州南Sierra Nevada岩基中一个典型的中生代变质表壳岩及其混合岩带进行了详细的野外观察和元素地球化学研究。研究发现:在持久(约为150Ma)的花岗岩侵位作用下,早白垩世变泥质岩发生达角闪岩相的中高级变质作用和部分熔融,导致Isabella混合岩的形成;浅色体具有和变泥质岩及混合岩近平行的REE分布模式,但浅色体的LREE含量相对较低;和变泥质岩相似,混合岩中的浅色体具有显著的Ce负异常。野外观测、岩相观察及元素地球化学特征表明,浅色体显著的Ce负异常是继承了原岩的Ce负异常特征,而不是由于副矿物(磷灰石、独居石或锆石)的差异溶解或结晶分异作用造成的。早白垩世变泥质岩(浅色体的原岩)主要由泥质及沙质海相沉积物组成,局部夹基性火山灰和火山碎屑,形成于与大陆岛弧密切相关的浅海环境。原岩的Ce负异常反映了较还原的浅海沉积环境。具有Ce负异常浅色体的产出表明,如果俯冲带上的沉积岩在俯冲过程中发生部分熔融作用并且所产生的熔体参与大洋型岛弧岩浆作用,最终可以导致具有Ce异常的基性岩浆生成。     

Groundwater evolution, chemical sedimentation and carbonate brine formation on an island in the Okavango Delta swamp, Botswana

The Okavango Delta of semi-arid northern Botswana is a large alluvial fan (22,000 km²) covered by permanent and seasonal swamps from which 96% of the annual discharge is lost by evapotranspiration. Many small islands (1ha) within the permanent swamps are the sites of accumulation of sodium carbonate salts and many contain saline pans. The associated alkaline soils are toxic to vegetation. An understanding of the processes involved in alkalinization could be of potential benefit to long-term conservation planning in this unique ecosystem. The relation between soil chemistry and mineralogy, and swamp and groundwater chemistry were investigated on an island in the swamps. The study revealed that the water table beneath the island is depressed and swamp water enters the groundwater regime of the island from the margins and below, and flows toward the centre. The water becomes progressively more saline, initially owing to transpiration by trees and ultimately by evaporation in the central parts of the island. As a result of increasing salinity, amorphous SiO₂ and magnesium calcite precipitate in the soils beneath the marginal zone of the island, raising the land surface, while the more soluble alkali carbonates are concentrated in the centre of the island as surface crusts and brine ponds. Leaching of these salts into the soil during the rainy season and gravity-driven flow of saline brines in the dry season causes the downward movement of Al and Fe in the central zone of the island. K-feldspar and possibly amorphous allophane develop in the deeper soils under the central zone of the island.