Temporal patterns of feeding by blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in a tidal-marsh creek and adjacent seagrass meadow in the lower Chesapeake Bay

A 24-h study of blue crab feeding periodicity was conducted concurrently in a tidal marsh creek and adjacent seagrass meadow in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Crabs from the grassbed tended to have fuller guts than crabs from the marsh creek. In the grassbed, a weak trend toward nocturnal feeding was observed, with an apparent peak at dusk. During the day, crabs were not easily observed and were assumed to be feeding beneath the eelgrass canopy; at night crabs fed in the canopy. In the marsh creek, feeding was related to the tidal cycle, with guts being fullest at high tide and decreasing to lows just prior to the next high tide. This study suggests the potential importance of habitat on blue crab feeding patterns.     

Comparison of beam trawls for sampling macrofauna of Posidonia seagrass

Beam trawls are a practical method for sampling vagile fauna from deep seagrass beds. The catches of fish and macroinvertebrates associated with Posidonia australis from two beam trawl designs were compared with the catch from a new design of beam trawl. Greater numbers of species and individuals of fish and macroinvertebrates were caught by the new trawl. Its catch also included almost the full range of species taken by the other two trawls. The new trawl was then trialed in the day and at night to compare differences in the catch of species between these times. Trawling at night yielded significantly more species and individuals of macroinvertebrates. In general, more fish were caught at night than during the day, but this was not the case at all sites, nor for all species. We emphasize the need for testing of sampling methods, and consideration of diel behavior patterns, when estimating abundance and species richness of macrofaunal seagrass communities.     

Temporal and vertical distribution of crab larvae in a tidal pass

We investigated the vertical and temporal distributions of portunid zoea andCallinectes megalopae in a tidal pass of the Texas coast. Zoea were equally abundant on ebb and flood tide but were more abundant during the day than at night. Megalopae were more abundant during flood tide and at night than during ebb tide or during the day. We examined the evidence for selective tidal stream transport in both life-history stages. Depth of the centers of mass of the larval distributions and the dispersions around those centers were unrelated to temperature, salinity, current velocity, and time of day. Scaling arguments suggest that the absence of pattern in the vertical distributions was not due to turbulent mixing. There was little evidence that either larval stage used these environmental characteristics as cues for changes in behaviour. However, the presence of megalopae in the water column primarily during flood tide does support the tidal transport hypothesis. Megalopae may have difficulty sensing and reacting to environmental cues in wellmixed estuaries with semidiurnal tides.     

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.     

Upriver migration and abundance of naked goby (Gobiosoma bosci) larvae in the Patuxent River estuary,Maryland

Larvae of the naked goby,Gobiosoma bosci, were collected during the spring and early summer of 1977 in the upper tidal Patuxent River, Maryland. Larvae first appeared in the collections on May 5. Weekly night sampling at 26 stations covering 28 km of the Patuxent illustrated the upriver movement of larvae, at an estimated rate of about 1 km per day. Larval densities quickly reached high levels, with a maximum density of more than 6,000 larvae per 100 m³ at one station on June 16. By June 23, the mean larval density for the entire 28 km stretch of the river was 1,825 larvae per 100 m³. Length-frequency distributions of the larvae illustrate the growth of the larvae, continual recruitment into the population, and a gradient in mean population length over the sampling transect that was due to the presence of the smallest larvae in the lower stations.     

Evaluation of the GPS Precise Point Positioning technique during the 21 July 2017 Kos-Bodrum (East Aegean Sea) Mw 6.6 earthquake

Precise Point Positioning (PPP) algorithms have been widely used in the Global Positioning System (GPS)-based applications. A PPP technique with a single receiver provides effective solutions where accurate absolute positioning is required. This paper provides the performance assessment of GPS PPP for detecting the displacements caused by an earthquake. For this purpose, the earthquake that occurred on 21 July 2017 at Kos-Bodrum with the impact of Mw 6.6 was investigated by analyzing the data of the permanent GPS stations located around the related region with the PPP technique. The location distances of these GPS stations range from 10 to 89 km to the epicenter of this earthquake. GPS data provided from seven permanent stations from the Continuously Operating Reference Stations-Turkey (CORS-TR) and local Bodrum CORS networks were processed to determine the co-seismic displacements during the earthquake. The data of these stations for days of year (DOYs) 200, 201, 202, and 203 were analyzed with post-process static PPP and kinematic PPP methods. GIPSY-OASIS II v6.4 was used for processing the data and all of the solutions were performed in the ITRF2008 reference frame. Two strategies were followed on the post-process static solutions. In the first strategy, 4-day data with 24-h observations were separately analyzed day by day. In the second strategy, the 24-h data were divided into 3-h duration, which is the minimum duration for optimum PPP solutions, and then the analyses were performed. When the displacements between DOYs 200 and 203 are considered in the 24-h data analysis, significant displacements have been observed through northwest direction in the northern stations whereas MUG1 is excluded. Moreover, there is significant displacement through the southeast direction in the station DATC located in the south of the epicenter. When the 3-h solutions are examined, displacements, especially on n and e directions, are observed starting from the solutions, which include Mw 6.6 earthquake. According to the kinematic PPP solutions, the effects of the Mw 6.6 earthquake can be seen clearly in the stations DATC, ORTA, TRKB, and YALI. Considering all outcomes, the PPP technique with both static and kinematic solutions provides effective results for detecting the displacements during the earthquake.     

2004-2013年“雨城”雅安的降水日变化特征分析

利用2004-2013年逐小时降水自动观测数据分析了"雨城"雅安降水的日变化特征.结果表明:近10 a来雅安降水主要表现出单峰型分布特征, 峰值出现在北京时间24:00, 谷值出现在15:00, 夜间降水占年总降水量的74.5%; 降水出现频次也呈现单峰型分布, 峰值出现在01:00, 谷值出现在14:00, 夜间降水次数占全年总次数的66%; 23:00-02:00是雅安最易发生降水的时段, 14:00-16:00 则是最不易出现降水时段. 降水量和降水出现频次日变化形势均表明, 雅安一年四季都具有显著的夜雨特征. 近10 a来, 雅安6 h以上的长持续时间降水事件主要发生在17:00-04:00, 产生的过程降水量占总降水量的80.4%, 对雅安降水总量的贡献占有绝对优势; 持续时间≥24 h的降水事件10 a 累计次数达到74次, 累积降水量达到2 166.8 mm, 占总降水量的14%, 是长持续时间降水事件中对总降水量贡献最大的, 该类事件的影响值得关注.     

Traveling screens as sampling gear for vertical distribution studies

A sampling technique has been developed for increasing the information gathered during routine monitoring of impingement at water intake structures. Samples from impingement catches on traveling screens were taken from the sluiceway of the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant near Southport, North Carolina during the screen wash process so as to divide the catch into vertical catch components. Each component represented 1.2 m of the water column. Results showed differences in day and night vertical distributions of impinged organisms according to the spatial preferences of each species. Impingement during daytime was lower than during night. Impingement of surface-oriented species during daytime occurred at mid-depth, midwater species near the bottom, and bottom species were seldom impinged. During the night surface-oriented species were impinged at the surface, midwater species at mid-depth, and bottom species near the bottom. Residue (animals and debris) which remained within the screen wash system from collection of the previous sample, and those organisms which became impinged on the screens during retrieval of the sample, were used to calculate the rate of “continuous impingement” on the traveling screens. These rates were compared to the impingement catch in order to determine biases in the vertical catch components. Comparison of these rates indicated that impingement estimates determined by routine monitoring methods may under-estimate true impingement rates for certain species. We have concluded that this sampling technique for monitoring impingement at intake structures will increase knowledge of the local biologic system while minimizing the cost of obtaining the information. The technique will also aid in pinpointing specific impingement problems which may be corrected through modifications to the design of the intake structure.     

Nocturnal behavior of gulls in coastal New Jersey

We studied the behavior of gulls at night with an image intensifier telescope to determine whether they were active at night, and the extent of their foraging in coastal habitats of New Jersey in the summer, fall, and winter of 1989–1990. Regression models and Kruskal-Wallis tests indicated that date, time of day, tide, cloud cover, moon phase, and study location all influenced variations in the presence and nocturnal activities of gulls. For each site and species, an, average of 48–88% of the nocturnal surveys recorded gulls foraging or flying about. More laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) foraged at night at Brigantine Beach compared to ring-billed gulls (L. delawarensis) at the northern New Jersey sites. However, more gulls were flying about at the Raritan River site compared to the other places. We suggest that more laughing gulls fed at night compared to ring-billed gulls because the former were breeding. Breeding gulls spend half their time incubating or caring for chicks, and thus might have time constraints on foraging during the day. Laughing gulls foraged at all times of the night on some surveys, but were more frequent around midnight, and the number of flying laughing gulls decreased after 0200 hours. Ring-billed gulls, however, seemed to be equally active all night. Our data indicate that gulls can be active all night, and in all habitats.     

Distribution and community structure of estuarine copepods

Distribution, abundance, and community structure were studied over a 30 month period in the planktonic copepod community of the estuaries near Beaufort, North Carolina. Many of the copepod species showed a demersal distribution during the day and entered the surface waters at night. Several species were largely confined to vegetated littoral areas during the day. The copepod community showed consistent trends of seasonal abundance and succession of dominant species which differed greatly from those found by previous workers, whose methods were inadequate to sample quantitatively the small, demersal copepods which dominated the community. Copepod abundances were higher than found in previous studies and were correlated with water temperature. Species composition changed from a winter community dominated byCentropages spp., to a spring community dominated byAcartia tonsa, to a summer community jointly dominated byParacalanus crassirostris andOithona spp. Copepods were much more important grazers in these estuaries than previous studies had concluded.     

河北秦皇岛灵仙洞斑鬣狗化石的古DNA初步分析

鬣狗科动物曾是一个数量十分可观的群体,在5百万年前曾达到演化的鼎盛时期,留下已鉴定化石种100余种.现生的鬣狗科动物仅有4种,仅分布在亚洲和非洲部分地区.由于该科动物演化至今种类剧减、分布区退缩,部分化石种与现生种的谱系演化关系尚不明确,因此成为古生物学家和进化生物学家关注的生物类群之一.采用现代分子生物学方法,提取扩增河北秦皇岛灵仙洞中鬣狗类化石的线粒体基因组古DNA片段,通过与基因库中已有鬣狗科动物各属种同源序列的对比分析,从分子水平确定该化石为斑鬣狗化石;基于古DNA序列数据构建的系统进化树显示,该地的斑鬣狗个体与我国东北地区及俄罗斯的化石斑鬣狗具有较近的亲缘关系,而与西欧洞穴鬣狗及非洲现生斑鬣狗亲缘关系较远,显示出斑鬣狗演化的分子地理谱系.     

Temporal variation in the utilization of an intertidal creek by the bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli)

A brackish-water, intertidal creek was sampled 19 times during the summer of 1976. Samples were analyzed to determine occurrence, abundance, and diversity of fish species present and to determine patterns of daily fish movement and utilization of intertidal creeks in an old rice field. Samples were collected from the primary station on the ebbing tide with a channel net. Three secondary stations were each sampled twice for comparative results and total biomass and average length per species calculated for each sample. We collected 125,579 individuals with a total biomass of 11.7 kg which represented 23 families and 37 species. Anchoa mitchilli was the dominant species and comprised 96.3% of the total numbers of individuals caught. The next two most abundant fish, Menidia menidia and Fundulus heteroclitus, represented 2.5% and 0.4% of the total numbers caught. The data from the nineteen sample collections were ordered by time of day and the resultant time series sequence of collections simulated a sample collection taken about once every 1.5 hours over 24 hours. A pattern of occurrence was noted for A. mitchilli as increased fish numbers occurred when the creek flooded during the daylight hours and there were significantly reduced numbers when the creek flooded during the early evening or at night. A relationship between light intensity, feeding, and predator avoidance is proposed to explain the creek loading pattern of A. mitchilli.     

Diel variations in gut fullness of juvenile spot,Leiostomus xanthurus (Pisces)

Juvenile spot,Leiostomus xanthurus (Pisces), were collected at 2-h intervals over two 48-h periods in a tidal creek in North Inlet, South Carolina, during July 1986. Gut fullness, dry gut contents weight as a percentage of fish wet weight, was measured to test the hypothesis that feeding intensity is randomly distributed through time. Spot were also collected and serially sacrificed from a holding tank to estimate their gut evacuation rate. Gut fullness was greatest during periods of ebb and high tides and was little affected by the amount of light available. Gut contents were evacuated at a rate of about 15% per hour in the laboratory, in close agreement with field emptying times of about 6 h from peak fullness to empty guts. A conservative estimate of daily ration for juvenile spot (19–42 mm standard length) was 4.5% of their live body weight per day. Studies of spot feeding ecology can be greatly affected by when fish are collected during the tidal cycle.     

The breeding behavior and patterns of movement of horseshoe crabs,Limulus polyphemus,in the vicinity of breeding beaches in Apalachee Bay,Florida

Breeding activity of the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, was quantitatively monitored in Apalachee Bay, Florida, throughout one breeding season. Breeding peaked at times of full and new moon at the hour of high tide. Breeding activity was heavier on night tides than on corresponding day tides of the same date. Males routinely outnumbered females and indications of sperm competition were present. Many horseshoe crabs buried in the intertidal zone throughout the subsequent low tide and returned to the beach to breed again on the following high tide. A tagging study of the horseshoe crab indicated that male animals return to breeding beaches more frequently than females. Most animals tagged at breeding beaches did not move away from the tagging site during a breeding season and were recovered at the point of release. No long-range movements were noted. The sex ratio of animals tagged near breeding beaches was predominately male while it was predominately female for animals collected and tagged 3–6 miles offshore. A nine percent recovery rate was achieved. Existing localized populations are potentially subject to depletion due to heavy collecting pressure on breeding beaches.     

Diel Variation in the Pelagic Fish Assemblage in a Temperate Estuary

The pelagic fish assemblage within a temperate estuary was examined to determine if there were diel differences in species richness, total abundance, biomass, and species composition. These comparisons were made over both seasonal (January–December 1996) and annual (August–November 1995; August–December 1996) scales with pop net collections in a shallow (<2 m MLW) embayment within Great Bay in southern New Jersey, USA. In the complete year of sampling in 1996, more than 335,000 pelagic fish, representing 13 families (23 species), were collected during diel sampling with 12 species constituting over 99.9% of the total catch including Clupea harengus (84%), Menidia menidia (10%), and Anchoa mitchilli (4%). A detailed examination determined that nighttime species richness, total abundance and biomass may have been enhanced during some seasons by using artificial light. Diel variation in species composition was similar regardless of the use of the artificial light in all seasons but fall. Annual comparisons between 1995 and 1996 during late summer and fall found these results to be consistent. In general, these findings point out the importance of sampling during both day and night to understand the movement and abundance patterns of estuarine pelagic fishes and their ecological significance in temperate estuaries.     

Biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur, and free oxygen in a microbial mat

Complete budgets for carbon and oxygen have been constructed for cyanobacterial mats dominated by Microcoleus chthonoplastes from the evaporating ponds of a salt works located in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Included in the budget are measured rates of O2 production, sulfate reduction, and elemental exchange across the mat/brine interface, day and night, at various temperatures and times of the year. We infer from this data the various sinks for O2, as well as the sources of carbon for primary production. To summarize, although seasonal variability exists, a major percentage of the O2 produced during the day did not diffuse out of the mat but was used within the mat to oxidize both organic carbon and the sulfide produced by sulfate reduction. At night, most of the O2 that diffused into the mat was used to oxidize sulfide, with O2 respiration of minor importance. During the day, the internal mat processes of sulfate reduction and O2 respiration generated as much or more inorganic carbon (DIC) for primary production as diffusion into the mat. Also, oxygenic photosynthesis was the most important process of carbon fixation, although anoxygenic photosynthesis may have been important at low light levels during some times of the year. At night, the DIC lost from the mat was mostly from sulfate reduction. Elemental fluxes across the mat/brine interface indicated that carbon with an oxidation state of greater than zero was taken up by the mat during the day and liberated from the mat at night. Overall, carbon with an average oxidation state of near zero accumulated in the mat. Both carbon fixation and carbon oxidation rates varied with temperature by a similar amount. These mats are thus closely coupled systems where rapid rates of photosynthesis both require and fuel rapid rates of heterotrophic carbon oxidation.     

Distribution and abundance of early life history stages of the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus,in tidal marsh creeks near Charleston,South Carolina

A 16-month study of estuarine habitats in poly-, meso-, and oligohaline salinity regimes near Charleston Harbor assessed the distribution and abundance of megalopae and early crab stages of the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus. Blue crab were sampled with a plankton net and a cylindrical drop sampler. Blue crab were most abundant in plankton collections at night, accounting for 68% of the megalopae and over 88% of the juveniles collected in day and night tows combined. At night, densities of megalopae were greatest in surface samples, whereas densities in daylight collections were greater on the bottom. Juvenile densities were greatest on the bottom in both day and night collections, although catch rates at night were more variable than those of the megalopae. This suggests that megalopae, and possibly juvenile stages, experience a diel vertical migration. Results indicate that ingress to estuarine nursery areas occurs at the megalopal stage. Megalopal densities were highest at the polyhaline site, while juvenile blue crab were most abundant in the oligohaline area. Habitat utilization by juvenile blue crab was estimated using a cylindrical drop sampler and Venturi suction pump on three bottom types in the intertidal zone. Densities were greatest over the sandy-mud substrate, although catch rates were much lower than those reported for other geographical areas. These results suggest that juvenile blue crab do not occur in abundance on the marsh surface but remain on the creek bottom, possibly because creek physiography and large tidal amplitudes may restrict accessibility to the marsh surface.     

Diel behavior of rare earth elements in a mountain stream with acidic to neutral pH

Diel (24-h) changes in concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) were investigated in Fisher Creek, a mountain stream in Montana that receives acid mine drainage in its headwaters. Three simultaneous 24-h samplings were conducted at an upstream station (pH = 3.3), an intermediate station (pH = 5.5), and a downstream station (pH = 6.8). The REE were found to behave conservatively at the two upstream stations. At the downstream station, REE partitioned into suspended particles to a degree that varied with the time of day, and concentrations of dissolved REE were 2.9- to 9.4-fold (190% to 830%) higher in the early morning vs. the late afternoon. The decrease in dissolved REE concentrations during the day coincided with a corresponding increase in the concentration of REE in suspended particles, such that diel changes in the total REE concentrations were relatively minor (27% to 55% increase at night). Across the lanthanide series, the heavy REE partitioned into the suspended solid phase to a greater extent than the light REE. Filtered samples from the downstream station showed a decrease in shale-normalized REE concentration across the lanthanide series, with positive anomalies at La and Gd, and a negative Eu anomaly. As the temperature of the creek increased in the afternoon, the slope of the REE profile steepened and the magnitude of the anomalies increased.The above observations are explained by cyclic adsorption of REE onto suspended particles of hydrous ferric and aluminum oxides (HFO, HAO). Conditional partition coefficients for each REE between the suspended solids and the aqueous phase reached a maximum at 1700 hours and a minimum at 0700 hours. This pattern is attributed to diel variations in stream temperature, possibly reinforced by kinetic factors (i.e., slower rates of reaction at night than during the day). Estimates of the enthalpy of adsorption of each REE onto suspended particles based on the field results averaged +82 kJ/mol and are similar in magnitude to estimates in the literature for adsorption of divalent metal cations onto clays and hydrous metal oxides. The results of this study have important implications to the use of REE as hydrogeochemical tracers in streams.     

岩溶关键带土壤—洞穴系统CO2运移的时空变化——以河南鸡冠洞为例

为了了解豫西鸡冠洞岩溶区不同尺度下水-土-气的中CO2的变化特征,探究CO2在岩溶关键带系统的运移关系,2019年5月至2020年10月,利用固态传感器对河南鸡冠洞上覆土壤取样点进行高时间分辨率监测,每隔15 min采集一次数据。结合每月采集洞内空气CO2浓度数据、每月测定洞穴水水化学指标数据及每月监测的降水、气温数据进行全面系统地分析。结果表明:①土壤CO2浓度、洞内空气CO2浓度和洞穴水水化学指标具有明显的季节性变化特征,均表现为夏秋高冬春低;②土壤CO2浓度在昼夜尺度下,白天高于夜晚,夏季的昼夜差值最大,冬季的昼夜差值最小,且昼夜变化滞后气温、土温变化约6 h;③洞内CO2浓度变化、洞穴水离子浓度和水化学指标在昼夜变化上具有同步性;④强降雨条件下（单场降雨量为42.2mm）,土壤水分和土壤温度能及时响应降雨变化,而土壤CO2浓度对降雨的响应滞后2 h。洞穴水、洞穴CO2浓度对降雨的响应与土壤CO2具有相似性;⑤基于月均值的土壤CO2浓度与土壤温度、土壤湿度的相关系数分别为0.67、0.031。垂直方向上,CO2浓度变化依次为土壤>洞穴>空气。昼夜尺度上,土壤CO2浓度变化滞后于气温、土壤温度变化,其原因是受上覆植被光合作用强度影响。CO2在洞穴水运移中以脱气沉积为主,补给洞内空气CO2浓度。在强降雨过程中,土壤CO2浓度变化受控土壤的温度和湿度;而在更长时间尺度上,土壤CO2浓度变化更多地受土壤温度影响,土壤湿度对其影响较小。      

Differential single-frequency GPS monitoring of the La Valette landslide (French Alps)

Recently, Global Positioning System (GPS) surveying techniques have been increasingly employed to monitor landslide movement. Here we present an application of GPS to monitor the La Valette landslide, located in the Ubaye Valley in the southern French Alps. This complex landslide is composed by an upper rotational part, a central part with generally translational movement and a lower part, which occasionally transforms into mud flows during intense rainfall events. Displacement rates average a few centimeters per month, with velocity peaks of some centimeters per day during periods of strong activity. GPS data presented in this study were acquired with two single-frequency GPS receivers Magellan connected to multipath-resistant antennas. The data were processed with the Magellan software MSTAR. Nine points have been set in the studied area, seven of them in the moving area, one in a stable area near the landslide and one on the facing slope, which is used as reference point. For each observation, one GPS receiver is placed on the reference point for the whole day and the second one is placed on each monitored point for 1-h sessions. The distance between the base and monitored point ranges from 480 to 1660 m. Eight survey campaigns were made between October 2000 and October 2002, to follow the evolution of the surface displacements. The maximum cumulative 3-D displacement observed in the area was about 21 m during the period in the center part of the landslide, corresponding to an average rate of movement of about 3 cm/day. The accuracy achieved during the GPS measurements has been evaluated to be about 2.4 cm in E–W direction, about 11 cm in N–S direction and about 7.4 cm in elevation in the worst case. The GPS results have been compared with traditional surveying techniques (EDM) carried out on the same site by RTM Service (Restauration des Terrains en Montagne). The velocities obtained by the two methods are similar. The advantage of the GPS technique is the collection of data for the three spatial coordinates (x, y, z) of each point, which allow to calculate the 3-D displacement vector. These measurements have been combined with SAR interferometric data in order to analyse the temporal evolution of the different landslide sectors.