Mortality of game mammals caused by an extreme flooding event in south-western Poland

We examine mortality in five terrestrial species of game animals resulting from an extreme flood event in Central Europe in July 1997. We present species-specific mortality rates and collate them with local abundances to show the susceptibilities of the different species to flood mortality. We also compare mortality rates in areas inundated by the main river and by its tributaries. Data were collected in the catchment area of the Odra River, south-western Poland. Mortality was estimated by surveying for drowned animals in flooded areas of 50 hunting districts (2,876 km²). Total mortality amounted to 3,613 individuals, mostly of roe deer Capreolus capreolus and brown hare Lepus europaeus. Relative to estimates of abundance, mortality was disproportionately high in hares. Drownings of roe deer and wild boar, Sus scrofa were proportional to local abundance. Young individuals were particularly affected. Mortality was low in foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and red deer, Cervus elaphus. The mortality rate increased with the proportion of area flooded and the duration of flooding and was four times higher along the Odra River than along its tributaries. Our data specify, for the first time, direct losses in wild, large animals in response to an extreme flood event. Despite high overall losses, negative long-term effects on populations seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, to lessen the impact, river management focused primarily on human safety should also integrate the needs of wildlife.     

Groundwater supply of lakes: the case of Lake Raduńskie Górne (northern Poland,Kashubian Lake District)

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to locate and describe groundwater outflows in a selected lake basin and measure the spring output of water and the physical characteristics of the studied waters (temperature and conductivity). The final aim was to gauge the effects of the spring output on the lake hydrology. The time scope of the work included the period from January 2011 to September 2012. The spatial scope of the work included the area of Lake Raduńskie Górne and its direct catchment located in the Kashubian Lake District in northern Poland. Four groundwater outflows were located in the course of the study. Their total output was 4.6 L s^?1 and ranged between 0.5 and 2.5 L s^?1. This produces an annual yield of about 145 000 m³ year^?1. These results confirm that one of the forms of supply to the lakes are the under-lake springs. For lakes located in the area of young glacial accumulation this can be decisive.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis Associate editor D. Gerten     

Application of one-dimensional model to calculate water velocity distributions over elastic elements simulating Canadian waterweed plants (Elodea Canadensis)

One-dimensional model for vertical profiles of longitudinal velocities in open-channel flows is verified against laboratory data obtained in an open channel with artificial plants. Those plants simulate Canadian waterweed which in nature usually forms dense stands that reach all the way to the water surface. The model works particularly well for densely spaced plants.     

Landforms and landscape evolution in the Mylliem Granite Area,Meghalaya Plateau,Northeast India

The Mylliem granite is one of many igneous bodies within the basement complex of the Meghalaya Plateau, northeast India. Although relatively small in size at c. 90 km², it is very diverse geomorphologically and shows a range of distinctive landscapes within its limits. Relict flat watershed ridges and topographic basins characterize the northern and eastern part of the pluton, whereas to the southwest the relief becomes higher, with steeper hillslopes and deeply incised valleys. Deep weathering and thick saprolites are abundant, as are residual landforms resulting from stripping of the saprolite: domes, tors and boulders. The major reason behind the diversity of granite landscape of the Mylliem pluton is the progress of headward erosion, initiated at the Dauki fault in the south of the Meghalaya. Headward erosion enhances local relief and hence, weathering systems. Multi‐concave morphology is gradually transformed into multi‐convex one, which is hypothesized to be the specific mode of plateau evolution and scarp retreat in granite bedrock.     

Changing patterns of residential and workplace segregation in the Stockholm metropolitan area

Immigrant–native segregation is present in the spaces in which individuals from different ethnic/racial groups practice their everyday lives; interact with others and develop their ethnic, social and spatial networks. The overwhelming majority of academic research on immigrant segregation has focused on the residential domain, thus largely overlooking other arenas of daily interaction. The present study contributes to the emerging literature on immigrant residential and workplace segregation by examining changes in patterns of residential and workplace segregation over time. We draw our data from the Stockholm metropolitan region, Sweden’s main port of entry for immigrants. The results suggest a close association between residential and workplace segregation. Immigrant groups that are more segregated at home are also more segregated in workplace neighborhoods. More importantly, we found that a changing segregation level in one domain tends to involve a similar trend in the other domain.     

A complex asteroseismic study of the hybrid B-type pulsator ν Eridani

We present results of comprehensive seismic modelling of the B-type main-sequence pulsator ν Eridani, which consists in parallel fitting of the pulsational frequencies and corresponding values of the complex, nonadiabatic parameter f, defined by the bolometric flux perturbation. This kind of studies, which we call complex asteroseismology, provides a unique test of stellar opacities. Our results indicate a preference for the OPAL data.     

Geology,stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis-bearing Quaternary palaeolake(s) of Gorzów Wielkopolski (NW Poland,Central Europe)

The sedimentary succession exposed in the Gorzów Wielkopolski area includes Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) or Early Weichselian (MIS 5d–e) deposits. The sedimentary sequence has been the object of intense interdisciplinary study, which has resulted in the identification of at least two palaeolake horizons. Both yielded fossil remains of large mammals, alongside pollen and plant macrofossils. All these proxies have been used to reconstruct the environmental conditions prevailing at the time of deposition, as well as to define the geological context and the biochronological position of the fauna. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the glaciofluvial layers of the GS3 succession to 123.6 ± 10.1 (below the lower palaeolake) and 72.0 ± 5.2 ka (above the upper palaeolake) indicate that the site formed during the Middle–Late Pleistocene (MIS 6 – MIS 5). Radiocarbon-dating of the lacustrine organic matter revealed a tight cluster of Middle Pleniglacial Period (MIS 3) ages in the range of ~41–32 ka cal bp (Hengelo – Denekamp Interstadials). Holocene organic layers have also been found, with ¹⁴C ages within a range of 4330–4280 cal bp (Neolithic). Pollen and plant macrofossil records, together with sedimentological and geochemical data, confirm the dating to the Eemian Interglacial.     

Blueschist facies metamorphism in Nordenskiöld Land of west‐central Svalbard

Recent fieldwork in Nordenskiöld Land, Svalbard's Southwestern Basement Province, has established the presence of high‐pressure (HP) lithologies. They are strongly retrogressed blueschists consisting mainly of garnet and Ca‐amphibole with remnants of ferroglaucophane and phengite. The pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions were estimated using phase equilibrium modelling in the NCKFMMnASHTO system. P–T estimates based on the garnet, phengite and ferroglaucophane compositional isopleths and modelled paragenetic assemblage indicate peak metamorphism at 470–490 °C and 14–18 kbar. These data fall close to the 7–8 °C km^?1 geotherm, which is similar to that from Motalafjella, the only previously known occurrence of blueschists in Svalbard's Caledonides. The newly discovered blueschists could have formed during the early stage of the Caledonian Orogeny and may represent a vestige of missing marginal basins of the western Iapetus developed at the onset of subduction. The likely counterpart to Svalbard's blueschists is the ophiolitic sequence in the Pearya Terrane of northern Ellesmere Island.     

Simulating low flows over a heterogeneous landscape in southeastern Poland

This paper presents a scheme describing low flow formation processes in areas with different environmental conditions, including the impact of the selection and explanatory power of predictors for a probabilistic model based on the Logit model. The research was carried out using 29 daily streamflow gauges located in the Lublin region of southeastern Poland for the hydrological period 1976–2018. Analysis resulted in two distinct low flow schemes. In the lowland rivers, low flows occur during the warm season and are related to evaporation exceeding precipitation. In the upland rivers, hydrogeological factors related to water levels in the local Cretaceous aquifers determine the occurrence of low flows. This differentiation affects the quality of the predictive models. For lowland rivers, models based on the climatic water balance with a monthly shift have a better fit, while these models used for upland rivers are characterized by an approximately 10% decrease in accuracy. For upland rivers, the combined C_tH_t models without shifts produce the best model fit. The generalized precision of the Logit models is around 80%–90%.