Competitive effects of fish in structurally simple habitats: perch,invertebrates, and goldeneye in small boreal lakes

We determined the associations between Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis, invertebrates, and common goldeneye Bucephala clangula in boreal lakes. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that perch play a controlling role in small, oligotrophic, acidic, and poorly vegetated boreal lakes, affecting both invertebrate numbers and community structure. In addition, we predicted that perch impact lake usage by goldeneye. In the observational part of our study, we first explored the association between perch, invertebrates and goldeneye (pairs and broods per shore km) in 18 boreal, poorly vegetated lakes. Perch densities were associated negatively with invertebrate abundance and lake usage by goldeneye broods. In the experimental part in three fish-free lakes, we found that upon successful perch introductions, the number and biomass of invertebrates, the proportion of large dytiscids, and lake usage by goldeneye broods significantly decreased. We conclude that perch apparently plays a key role as a predator of invertebrates in boreal lakes with few aquatic macrophytes. It is evident that perch can strongly affect their prey populations and communities, and this predation may have an indirect effect on species, e.g. goldeneye, that consume the same prey.     

The Keurusselkä impact structure,Finland—Impact origin confirmed by characterization of planar deformation features in quartz grains

Abstract– Although the meteorite impact origin of the Keurusselkä impact structure (central Finland) has been established on the basis of the occurrence of shatter cones, no detailed microscopic examination of the impactites from this structure has so far been made. Previous microscope investigations of in situ rocks did not yield any firm evidence of shock features (Raiskila et al. 2008; Kinnunen and Hietala 2009). We have carried out microscopic observations on petrographic thin sections from seven in situ shatter cone samples and report here the discovery of planar fractures (PFs) and planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz and feldspar grains. The detection and characterization of microscopic shock metamorphic features in the investigated samples substantiates a meteorite impact origin for the Keurusselkä structure. The crystallographic orientations of 372 PDF sets in 276 quartz grains were measured, using a universal stage (U‐stage) microscope, for five of the seven distinct shatter cone samples. Based on our U‐stage results, we estimate that investigated shatter cone samples from the Keurusselkä structure have experienced peak shock pressures from approximately 2 GPa to slightly less than 20 GPa for the more heavily shocked samples. The decoration of most of the PDFs with fluid inclusions also indicates that these originally amorphous shock features were altered by postimpact processes. Finally, our field observations indicate that the exposed surface corresponds to the crater floor; it is, however, difficult to estimate the exact diameter of the structure and the precise amount of material that has been eroded since its formation.     

A case study of airborne and satellite remote sensing of a spring bloom event in the Gulf of Finland

The concentrations of chlorophyll-a (chl-a), total suspended solids (TSS) and the absorption coefficient of colored dissolved organic matter (a_CDOM(400)) are estimated in Case II waters using medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS) satellite (full resolution [FR] level 1b, 300 m resolution) and AISA airborne spectrometer data acquired during a spring bloom in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea on April 27, 2004. The accuracy of the estimation is analyzed using empirical band-ratio algorithms together with in situ observations that include water samples analyzed in a laboratory (variation ranges: 22–130 μg/l, 2.9–20 mg/l, and 1.29–2.61 m⁻¹ for chl-a, TSS and a_CDOM(400), respectively). Additional in situ estimates (transects) on these characteristics are available through absorption and scattering coefficients measured with an ac-9 absorption and attenuation meter installed in a flow-through system. The retrieval accuracy (R²) of all three water quality characteristics with MERIS data is close to or above 0.9, while the RMSE is 7.8 μg/l (22%), 0.74 mg/l (16%) and 0.08 m⁻¹ (5%), for chl-a, TSS and a_CDOM(400), respectively. The validity of the chl-a algorithm is tested using nine additional data points. The BIAS-error for these points is 5.2 μg/l and the RMSE is 10.6 μg/l. The effects of changes in the atmospheric characteristics on band-ratio algorithms in cases where no concurrent in situ reference data are available are analyzed using the MODerate spectral resolution atmospheric TRANSmittance algorithm and computer model (MODTRAN). The additional error due to these changes is estimated to be below 20% for the applied ratio algorithms. The water quality data available in the level 2 MERIS-product distributed by the European Space Agency did not include valid results for the date investigated here.     

The two Suvasvesi impact structures,Finland: Argon isotopic evidence for a “false” impact crater doublet

The two neighboring Suvasvesi North and South impact structures in central‐east Finland have been discussed as a possible impact crater doublet produced by the impact of a binary asteroid. This study presents ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronologic data for impact melt rocks recovered from the drilling into the center of the Suvasvesi North impact structure and melt rock from glacially transported boulders linked to Suvasvesi South. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step‐heating analysis yielded two essentially flat age spectra indicating a Late Cretaceous age of ~85 Ma for the Suvasvesi North melt rock, whereas the Suvasvesi South melt sample gave a Neoproterozoic minimum (alteration) age of ~710 Ma. Although the statistical likelihood for two independent meteorite strikes in close proximity to each other is rather low, the remarkable difference in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of >600 Myr for the two Suvasvesi impact melt samples is interpreted as evidence for two temporally separate, but geographically closely spaced, impacts into the Fennoscandian Shield. The Suvasvesi North and South impact structures are, thus, interpreted as a “false” crater doublet, similar to the larger East and West Clearwater Lake impact structures in Québec, Canada, recently shown to be unrelated. Our findings have implications for the reliable recognition of impact crater doublets and the apparent rate of binary asteroid impacts on Earth and other planetary bodies in the inner solar system.     

The Influence of Climate Warming on Soil Frost on Snow-Free Surfaces in Finland

The influence of the predicted climate warming on soil frost conditions in Finland was studied using a climate scenario based on a Hadley Centre (U.K.) global ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (HadCM2) run. HadCM2 results were dynamically downscaled to the regional level using the regional climate model at the Rossby Centre (Sweden). The future period this study focuses on is the end of the 21st century. The study was limited to ground surface conditions in which snow has been removed. The predicted air temperature rise was interpreted in terms of changes in soil frost conditions using an empirical dependence that was found between measured soil frost depths and the sum of daily mean air temperatures calculated from the beginning of the freezing period. On average the annual maximum soil frost depth will decrease in southern and central Finland from the present approx. 100–150 cm by about 50 cm. In northern Finland the change will be from depths of about 200–300 cm to about 100–200 cm depending on station. The annual maximum soil frost depth in the future would thus be about the same in northern Finland as it is in the current climate in southern Finland. In southern Finland after about 100 years the ground will seldom be frozen in December and even in January there will be no soil frost in about half of the years. In Central and northern Finland the probability of completely unfrozen ground in December–March is very small, even in the future.     

Natural bismuth vanadate from the Mutala pegmatite area,Mozambique

Bismuth vanadate (microprobe test) in varying shades of orange color and in well developed crystals (averaging 0.2 mm in size) occurs in bismutite in the Mutala granite pegmatite area, district of Zambezia, Mozambique. Two modifications of BiVO ₄were identified. An orthorhombic form is identical with pucherite and shows a₀ = 5.33₆ Å, b₀ = 5.05₃ Å, c ₀ = 12.02₁ Å. The crystal habit ranges from platy to stout prismatic. The X-ray powder pattern of the monoclinic form matches that of the synthetic monoclinic Bi-orthovanadate with a ₀ = 5.20₅ Å, b ₀ = 11.71₈ Å, c ₀ = 5.09₈ Å, = 90° 25. The crystal habit resembles that of a pyramidal scheelite crystal with the b-axis corresponding to the scheelite c-axis. Multiple twinning is seen on (101), in some instances with a composition plane (010).     

Water quality classification of lakes using 250-m MODIS data

The traditional method used in the water quality classification of Finnish lakes includes the collection of water samples from lakes and their analysis in laboratory conditions. The classification is based on statistical analysis of water quality parameter values and on expert opinion. It is possible to acquire similar information by using radiance values measured with the Earth Observing System Terra/Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this letter, the classification accuracy with MODIS data is about 80%. Only about 0.2% of the 20 391 pixels were misclassified by two or more classes, as a four-class classification system is used.     

Changes in fish mercury concentrations over 20 years in an acidified lake subject to experimental liming

Lake Iso Valkjärvi (southern Finland, Europe) was divided in two with a plastic curtain in 1991. One half was neutralized with CaCO₃, and the other acted as a control. Mercury concentrations of perch (Perca fluviatilis) and northern pike (Esox lucius) in the limed and control side of the lake were studied both before and after the treatment. Average Hg concentrations of perch and pike were 0.40 and 1.2 μg g⁻¹ (ww) in the early 1980s and 0.25 and 0.72 μg g⁻¹ (ww) a decade later at the time of liming. Ten years after the liming the Hg concentrations of perch in the limed and control sides of the lake were 0.21 and 0.28 μg g⁻¹ (ww) and those of pike were 0.69 and 0.43 μg g⁻¹ (ww), respectively. Nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N) for perch in the sampling period 2002–2004 showed wide variation suggesting variable trophic positions for individual fish. Pike formed two groups according to their δ¹⁵N-values, suggesting that zoobenthos dominated the diet of pike around 20 cm in length and fish that of the larger pikes. Because the δ¹⁵N-values of fish were at similar levels in the limed and control sides of L. Iso Valkjärvi, differences in food web structure cannot account for the different fish Hg concentrations. A more likely explanation is water quality induced differences in the dynamics and bioavailability of Hg, leading to decreased formation of methyl Hg.