Adaptation of the antioxidant defence system in hydrothermal-vent mussels (Bathymodiolus azoricus) transplanted between two Mid-Atlantic Ridge sites

The vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus is the dominant member of the Northern Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) hydrothermal megafauna, and lives in an environment characterized by temporal and spatial variations in the levels of heavy metals, methane and hydrogen sulphide, substances which are known to increase reactive oxygen species levels in the tissues of exposed organisms. To evaluate the effects of two contrasting hydrothermal environments on the antioxidant defence system of this vent mussel species, a 2‐week transplant experiment was carried out involving mussels collected from the relatively deep (2300 m), and chemical rich, Rainbow vent field. These were transplanted to the shallower (1700 m), and relatively less toxic, Lucky Strike vent field. To achieve this objective, levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT), total glutathione peroxidase (GPx), selenium‐dependent glutathione peroxidase and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were measured in the gills and mantle tissues of resident and transplant mussels before and after the transplant experiment. With the exception of CAT, the gills of the transplanted mussels had significantly higher antioxidant enzyme activity compared with the basal levels in the donor (Rainbow) and recipient (Lucky Strike) populations; whereas the antioxidant enzyme levels in the mantle tissues of the transplants reflected the baseline levels of activity in the native Lucky Strike mussels after 2 weeks. In contrast, LPO levels were significantly higher in both tissue types in the transplants than in either the source or the recipient populations, which suggested a response to hydrostatic pressure change (note, the transplant animals were brought to the surface for transportation between the two vent fields). The fact that the Rainbow mussels survived the transplant experience indicates that B. azoricus has a very robust constitution, which enables it to cope behaviourally, physiologically and genetically with the extreme conditions found in its naturally contaminated deep‐sea environment.     

Large wood distribution,mobility, and recruitment in an inter‐dam river reach: A comparison with geomorphic process on the Garrison Reach of the Missouri River pre and post the historical 2011 flood

This study assessed the effect of the largest flood since dam regulation on geomorphic and large wood (LW) trends using LW distributions at three time periods on the 150 km long Garrison Reach of the Missouri River. In 2011, a flood exceeded 4390 m³/s for a two‐week period (705% above mean flow; 500 year flood). LW was measured using high resolution satellite imagery in summer 2010 and 2012. Ancillary data including forest character, vegetation cover, lateral bank retreat, and channel capacity. Lateral bank erosion removed approximately 7400 standing trees during the flood. Other mechanisms, that could account for the other two‐thirds of the measured in‐channel LW, include overland flow through floodplains and islands. LW transport was commonly near or over 100 km as indicated by longitudinal forest and bank loss and post‐flood LW distribution. LW concentrations shift at several locations along the river, both pre‐ and post‐flood, and correspond to geomorphic river regions created by the interaction of the Garrison Dam upstream and the Oahe Dam downstream. Areas near the upstream dam experienced proportionally higher rates of bank erosion and forest loss but in‐channel LW decreased, likely due to scouring. A large amount of LW moved during this flood, the chief anchoring mechanism was not bridges or narrow channel reaches but the channel complexity of the river delta created by the downstream reservoir. Areas near the downstream dam experienced bank accretion and large amounts of LW deposition. This study confirms the results of similar work in the Reach: despite a historic flood longitudinal LW and channel trends remain the same. Dam regulation has created a geomorphic and LW pattern that is largely uninterrupted by an unprecedented dam regulation era flood. River managers may require other tools than infrequent high intensity floods to restore geomorphic and LW patterns. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The scattering of regular surface waves by a fixed,half-immersed,circular cylinder

A train of regular surface waves is incident upon a fixed, half-immersed, circular cylinder; the waves are partially reflected and partially transmitted, and also induce hydrodynamic forces on the cylinder. In order to give a theoretical study of this problem, we make the familiar assumptions of classical hydrodynamics and then solve the linear, two-dimensional, diffraction boundary-value problem, using Ursell's multipole method. Accurate numerical results are presented (in the form of tables) for four important (complex) quantities; these are the reflection and transmission coefficients, and two dimensionless coefficients which describe the horizontal and vertical forces on the cylinder. We have also made an experimental study, in which we measured the forces on the cylinder, and the reflection coefficient. These measurements are compared with the linear theory, and also with other experimental data; discrepancies are noted and an attempt to analyse them is made. We have also measured the mean horizontal forces on the cylinder; these results are compared with the predictions of a simple formula obtained by Longuet-Higgins.     

Alkaline phosphatase activity in the western English Channel: Elevations induced by high summertime rainfall

Alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was determined in bulk particulate material and in a single-cell (ELF) assay at station L4 in the western English Channel during the summer of 2007. Throughout this period, the UK experienced its heaviest summertime rainfall since records began in 1914; with the result that riverine run-off into coastal waters was also elevated relative to long-term averages. Between May and August 2007, three distinct periods of elevated river run-off were observed which resulted in salinity minima at L4 on days 141, 190 and 232. An extended period of high river run-off between days 170 and 210 was responsible for decreases in near-surface salinity at L4 from 35.2068 to a minimum on day 190 of 34.7422. This contributed to the development of haline stratification which supported the development of an intense bloom of the centric diatom Chaetoceros debelis, with maximum observed chlorophyll a concentration of 8.69 μg l⁻¹. Minima in salinity, and maxima in chlorophyll concentration on day 190 were coincident with a peak in river-derived dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) of 1.9 μmol l⁻¹ which was >5 times greater than the summertime mean and 24 times the concentrations experienced at L4 on weeks immediately before and after. There was no accompanying increase in dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and the DIN:DIP ratio increased to 49. With the inherent phosphorus stress that this caused, rates of APA increased from <4 to 42.4 nmolP l⁻¹ h⁻¹. ELF analysis on day 197 identified two taxa actively expressing alkaline phosphatase: the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans and ciliate Tiarana sp.     

中国西部地区猎隼(Falco cherrug)繁殖生物学与保护

自2001-2006年,中国科学院与英国鸟类研究中心联合对新疆准噶尔盆地和昆仑山、青海玉树地区、西藏那曲地区的猎隼(Falco cherrug)分布状况与繁殖生态进行深入调查。考察行程上万公里。卫星跟踪显示在俄罗斯、蒙古繁殖的猎隼迁往青藏高原越冬。但是,实地调查表明,在新-青-藏还有一些繁殖种群;繁殖区的海拔高度从600 m,上升至5 200 m。根据观察,猎隼喜欢沿用旧巢,多数巢属于"垃圾巢"。因为高原缺乏合适的巢材,那些人类遗弃的皮管、铁丝、皮带、破布、汽车零件、骨片、绳子等垃圾充斥于巢穴之中。考察期间,共找到100多只猎隼成鸟、约35个猎隼巢或巢区;分布地点涉及昆仑山脉、准噶尔盆地、卡拉麦里山脉、北塔山、可可西里、唐古拉山脉等,包括新疆奇台、且末、青河、塔城,青海楚玛尔河、五道梁、曲麻莱、雁石坪、玉树,西藏安多、那曲等。猎隼巢址多位于悬崖凹陷处(21个)、河岸砂土洞(5)、桥梁(2)等处;巢高于地面7~30 m。通常沿用渡鸦、大鵟、棕尾鵟、金雕的旧巢,有同步繁殖现象。附近有鼠兔、雪雀、地鸦、岩鸽、石鸡、沙鸡等活动。巢区沿着山脉或者丘陵连续分布,巢间距最近2.5 km,通常4~8 km或更远。在准噶尔盆地其繁殖密度1.1~1.6对/1 000 km2。通常4~5月产卵,窝卵数3~5枚;5月上旬和中旬已有部分幼鸟出壳。虽然在中国捕捉猎隼现象十分猖獗,但考察结果依然令人振奋。建议中国猎隼研究小组(CSRG)积极开展国际合作,通过卫星跟踪、GPS定位、电子微芯片标记(PIT)、DNA指纹图谱分析、人工猎隼栖架和巢穴招引技术等,不断完善监测手段和管理机制,为猎隼的保护与合理利用做出努力。     

The effects of river restoration on catchment scale flood risk and flood hydrology

A rising exposure to flood risk is a predicted consequence of increased development in vulnerable areas and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change. In the face of this challenge, a continued reliance on engineered at‐a‐point flood defences is seen as both unrealistic and undesirable. The contribution of ‘soft engineering’ solutions (e.g. riparian forests, wood in rivers) to integrated, catchment scale flood risk management has been demonstrated at small scales but not larger ones. In this study we use reduced complexity hydrological modelling to analyse the effects of land use and channel changes resulting from river restoration upon flood flows at the catchment scale. Results show short sections of river‐floodplain restoration using engineered logjams, typical of many current restoration schemes, have highly variable impacts on catchment‐scale flood peak magnitude and so need to be used with caution as a flood management solution. Forested floodplains have a more general impact upon flood hydrology, with areas in the middle and upper catchment tending to show reductions in peak magnitude at the catchment outflow. The most promising restoration scenarios for flood risk management are for riparian forest restoration at the sub‐catchment scale, representing 20–40% of the total catchment area, where reductions in peak magnitude of up to 19% are observed through de‐synchronization of the timings of sub‐catchment flood waves. Sub‐catchment floodplain forest restoration over 10–15% of total catchment area can lead to reductions in peak magnitude of 6% at 25 years post‐restoration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SOIL GEOMORPHOLOGY AS AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: A REVIEW OF FOUR RECENT BOOKS

Relict barrier beaches occur around the margins of many former pluvial lakes in the California desert. In common with modern barrier beaches along ocean coasts, these relict barriers possess geometric and compositional properties indicative of beach-forming processes, notably waves and currents. Because lake waves are a direct response to wind action, past wave climates may in turn be used to infer paleowind regimes. Where beaches of known age occur, wave climates and wind regimes may be invoked for specific time intervals. Using barrier beaches from former Lake Mojave and Lake Manly, this paper explores the extent to which the above theory may be applied to invoke past processes and wind regimes. The data indicate beach emplacement mainly by wave-related accretion and overwash generated by winds similar in direction to those of today, doubtless influenced then as now by topographic corridors. However, textural properties, predicted wave heights and entrainment velocities indicate that sustained southerly winds were probably twice as strong (by a factor ranging from 1.2 to 2.2 or more) and probably more persistent than today, at least towards the close of pluvial conditions. [Key words: barrier beaches, wave climate, paleoclimate, paleowinds, pluvial lakes, Quaternary, California desert.]     

Assessing the abilities of intrinsic and specific vulnerability models to indicate groundwater vulnerability to groups of similar pesticides: a comparative study

With continued population growth and increasing use of fresh groundwater resources, protection of this valuable resource is critical. A cost effective means to assess risk of groundwater contamination potential will provide a useful tool to protect these resources. Integrating geospatial methods offers a means to quantify the risk of contaminant potential in cost effective and spatially explicit ways. This research was designed to compare the ability of intrinsic (DRASTIC) and specific (Attenuation Factor; AF) vulnerability models to indicate groundwater vulnerability areas by comparing model results to the presence of pesticides from groundwater sample datasets. A logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between the environmental variables and the presence or absence of pesticides within regions of varying vulnerability. According to the DRASTIC model, more than 20% of the study area is very highly vulnerable. Approximately 30% is very highly vulnerable according to the AF model. When groundwater concentrations of individual pesticides were compared to model predictions, the results were mixed. Model predictability improved when concentrations of the group of similar pesticides were compared to model results. Compared to the DRASTIC model, the AF model more accurately predicts the distribution of the number of contaminated wells within each vulnerability class.