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.     

Dynamics of arrays of floating point-absorber wave energy converters with inter-body and bottom slack-mooring connections

If point absorbers are employed in the extensive exploitation of the offshore wave energy resource, they should be deployed in arrays, the distance between the elements in the array being possibly tens of meters. In such cases, it may be more convenient that the array is spread moored to the sea bottom through only some of its elements, located in the periphery, while the other array elements are prevented from drifting and colliding with each other by connections to adjacent elements. An array of identical floating point absorbers located at the grid points of an equilateral triangular grid is considered in the paper. A spread set of slack-mooring lines connect the peripheric floaters to the bottom. A weight is located at the centre of each triangle whose function is to pull the three floaters towards each other and keep the inter-body mooring lines under tension. The power take-off system (PTO) is a linear damper activated by the buoy heaving motion. The whole system–buoys, moorings and power take-off systems–is assumed linear, so that a frequency domain analysis may be employed. Hydrodynamic interference between the oscillating buoys in array is accounted for. Equations are presented for a set of three identical point absorbers. This is then extended to more complex equilateral triangular grid arrays. Results from numerical simulations, with regular and irregular waves, are presented for the motions and power absorption of hemispherical converters in arrays of three and seven elements and for different mooring parameters and wave incidence angles. Comparisons are given with the unmoored and independently-moored buoy situations.     

Complex size-dependent habitat associations in potamodromous fish species

Knowledge of the distribution of species life stages at multiple spatial scales is fundamental to both a proper assessment of species management and conservation programmes and the ability to predict the consequences of human disturbances for river systems. The habitat requirements of three native cyprinid species—the Iberian barbel Barbus bocagei Steindachner, the Iberian straight-mouth nase Pseudochondrostoma polylepis (Steindachner), and the Northern straight-mouth nase Pseudochondrostoma duriense (Coelho)—were examined at 174 undisturbed or minimally disturbed sites in 8 river catchments across western Iberia, by modelling occurrence and counts of species life stages at two spatial scales—large (regional) and instream (local)—using hurdle models. All the life stages of the barbel showed a negative association with upstream high-gradient river reaches, whereas juvenile P. duriense favoured such areas. Stream width and openness were negatively related with the occurrence of juvenile and small adult barbel, but not with large adults. Juvenile nase, on the other hand, were found to be mainly confined to fast-flowing habitats with high instream cover and coarser substrata. Advanced life stages of the barbel were mainly associated with the “pure” regional and shared components, whereas the purely local attributes accounted for much of the model variation among nases, in particular juveniles, and juvenile barbel. The results of this study are useful for setting or refining management goals, and highlight the need to separately consider life stages when performing conservation-related studies of species distribution.     

Scientists' warning on extreme wildfire risks to water supply

2020 is the year of wildfire records. California experienced its three largest fires early in its fire season. The Pantanal, the largest wetland on the planet, burned over 20% of its surface. More than 18 million hectares of forest and bushland burned during the 2019–2020 fire season in Australia, killing 33 people, destroying nearly 2500 homes, and endangering many endemic species. The direct cost of damages is being counted in dozens of billion dollars, but the indirect costs on water-related ecosystem services and benefits could be equally expensive, with impacts lasting for decades. In Australia, the extreme precipitation (“200 mm day −1 in several location”) that interrupted the catastrophic wildfire season triggered a series of watershed effects from headwaters to areas downstream. The increased runoff and erosion from burned areas disrupted water supplies in several locations. These post-fire watershed hazards via source water contamination, flash floods, and mudslides can represent substantial, systemic long-term risks to drinking water production, aquatic life, and socio-economic activity. Scenarios similar to the recent event in Australia are now predicted to unfold in the Western USA. This is a new reality that societies will have to live with as uncharted fire activity, water crises, and widespread human footprint collide all-around of the world. Therefore, we advocate for a more proactive approach to wildfire-watershed risk governance in an effort to advance and protect water security. We also argue that there is no easy solution to reducing this risk and that investments in both green (i.e., natural) and grey (i.e., built) infrastructure will be necessary. Further, we propose strategies to combine modern data analytics with existing tools for use by water and land managers worldwide to leverage several decades worth of data and knowledge on post-fire hydrology.     

Optimisation of wave energy extraction with the Archimedes Wave Swing

This paper addresses the Archimedes Wave Swing (an offshore wave energy converter, which produces electricity from sea waves). It compares the performances of latching control (a discrete, highly non-linear, intrinsically sub-optimum control strategy), of reactive control, of phase and amplitude control (two optimum control strategies that involve non-causal transfer functions, which have to be implemented with approximations, thus rending the control sub-optimum), and of feedback linearisation control (a non-linear control strategy). From extensive simulations it is concluded that the latter performs clearly better irrespective of the sea state, and leads to a significant increase of absorbed wave power.     

Recruitment of flatfish species to an estuarine nursery habitat (Lima estuary, NW Iberian Peninsula)

One of the present concerns of fish biologists involves defining and identifying nursery habitats in the context of conservation and resource management strategies. Fish nursery studies usually report upon nursery occupation during the latter juvenile stages, despite the fact that recruitment to nurseries can start early in life, during the larval phase. Here we investigated the use of a temperate estuarine nursery area, the Lima estuary (NW Portugal), by initial development stages of flatfish species before and after metamorphosis, integrating the larval and juvenile phases. The Lima estuarine flatfish community comprised twelve taxa, seven of which were present as pelagic larvae, six as juveniles and three as adults. There was a general trend of increasing spring–summer abundance of both larvae and juveniles, followed by a sharp winter decrease, mainly of larval flatfishes. The Lima estuary was used by Solea senegalensis, Platichthys flesus and Solea solea as a nursery area, with direct settlement for the two first species. In contrast, indirect settlement was suggested for S. solea, with metamorphosis occurring outside the estuarine area. Estuarine recruitment of S. senegalensis varied between years, with young larvae occurring in the estuary throughout a prolonged period that lasted 6–9 months, corroborating the protracted spawning season. P. flesus, the second most abundant species, exhibited a typical spring estuarine recruitment, without inter-annual variations. Developed larvae arrived in the estuary during spring, whereas the 0-group juveniles emerged in the following summer period. The present study contributes new insight to our understanding of the economically important S. senegalensis, and highlights the importance of integrating the planktonic larval phase into traditional flatfish nursery studies.     

The spatial and seasonal variation of trace metals in coastal seawater and soft tissue of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chthamalus montagui</Emphasis> around the northwest coast of Portugal

Metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were determined in seawaters and soft tissues of Chthamalus montagui from the northwest coast of Portugal during the four seasons of 2011. The main objectives of this work were to assess seasonal and spatial variations of metals in order to detect hot spots of contamination, to establish correlations between metals in coastal seawaters and C. montagui and to calculate metal bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) in each season. Metal concentrations in coastal seawaters ranged within Cd: 1.2–35 ng L^?1; Cr: 15–87 ng L^?1; Mn: 77–1763 ng L^?1; Cu: 126–1819 ng L^?1; Fe: 430–4048 ng L^?1 and Zn: 2889–16867 ng L^?1 and in C. montagui ranged for Cd: 0.39–1.98 mg kg^?1; Cr: 0.45–3.13 mg kg^?1; Cu: 0.93–5.70 mg kg^?1; Mn: 2.2–20.4 mg kg^?1; Fe: 135–707 mg kg^?1 and Zn: 119–782 mg kg^?1. Significant spatial and seasonal variations were found between: (i) metal concentrations in seawaters and C. montagui tissues; (ii) the distribution of metal concentrations in C. montagui tissues were Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cr > Cd and (iii) C. montagui showed higher bioaccumulation factors for Fe and Cd than for Cu, Mn and Zn in all seasons. Regarding the metal concentrations accumulated in C. montagui tissues during each season of 2011, the ecological quality classifications of the NW coast of Portugal varied from “Class I–Unpolluted” to “Class III–Remarkably Polluted”.     

Can salt marsh plants influence levels and distribution of DDTs in estuarine areas?

Sediments are depositories of toxic substances such as organochlorine pesticides and there is a global need for their removal in contaminated environments. Studies that combine contaminated sediments and phytoremediation are relatively recent and their number has been increasing. This work aimed to investigate whether salt marsh plants (sea club-rush Scirpus maritimus, sea rush Juncus maritimus and sea purslane Halimione portulacoides) can favor DDT and metabolites remediation in estuarine environment. For this purpose the levels of DDT, DDE and DDD were compared in vegetated and non-vegetated sediments from an estuary in the North of Portugal (in-situ study) and from another in the South of Portugal (ex-situ study). Results obtained both in the in-situ study, involving S. maritimus and J. maritimus, and in the ex-situ study, involving H. portulacoides, indicated that these plants did not have a significant role in DDTs removal and/or degradation. Therefore, it seems that the tested plants cannot influence levels and distribution of DDTs in estuarine areas.     

Discrimination of coastal wetland environments in the Amazon region based on multi-polarized L-band airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery

This study assessed the use of multi-polarized L-band images for the identification of coastal wetland environments in the Amazon coast region of northern Brazil. Data were acquired with a SAR R99B sensor from the Amazon Surveillance System (SIVAM) on board a Brazilian Air Force jet. Flights took place in the framework of the 2005 MAPSAR simulation campaign, a German-Brazilian feasibility study focusing on a L-band SAR satellite. Information retrieval was based on the recognition of the interaction between a radar signal and shallow-water morphology in intertidal areas, coastal dunes, mangroves, marshes and the coastal plateau. Regarding the performance of polarizations, VV was superior for recognizing intertidal area morphology under low spring tide conditions; HH for mapping coastal environments covered with forest and scrub vegetation such as mangrove and vegetated dunes, and HV was suitable for distinguishing transition zones between mangroves and coastal plateau. The statistical results for the classification maps expressed by kappa index and general accuracy were 83.3% and 0.734 for the multi-polarized color composition (R-HH, G-HV, B-VV), 80.7% and 0.694% for HH, 79.7% and 0.673% for VV, and 77.9% and 0.645% for HV amplitude image. The results indicate that use of multi-polarized L-band SAR is a valuable source of information aiming at the identification and discrimination of distinct geomorphic targets in tropical wetlands.