Projected rainfall and temperature changes over Malaysia at the end of the 21st century based on PRECIS modelling system

This study investigates projected changes in rainfall and temperature over Malaysia by the end of the 21st century based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2, A1B and B2 emission scenarios using the Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS). The PRECIS regional climate model (HadRM3P) is configured in 0.22° × 0.22° horizontal grid resolution and is forced at the lateral boundaries by the UKMO-HadAM3P and UKMOHadCM3Q0 global models. The model performance in simulating the present-day climate was assessed by comparing the modelsimulated results to the Asian Precipitation - Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation (APHRODITE) dataset. Generally, the HadAM3P/PRECIS and HadCM3Q0/PRECIS simulated the spatio-temporal variability structure of both temperature and rainfall reasonably well, albeit with the presence of cold biases. The cold biases appear to be associated with the systematic error in the HadRM3P. The future projection of temperature indicates widespread warming over the entire country by the end of the 21st century. The projected temperature increment ranges from 2.5 to 3.9°C, 2.7 to 4.2°C and 1.7 to 3.1°C for A2, A1B and B2 scenarios, respectively. However, the projection of rainfall at the end of the 21st century indicates substantial spatio-temporal variation with a tendency for drier condition in boreal winter and spring seasons while wetter condition in summer and fall seasons. During the months of December to May, ~20-40% decrease of rainfall is projected over Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, particularly for the A2 and B2 emission scenarios. During the summer months, rainfall is projected to increase by ~20-40% across most regions in Malaysia, especially for A2 and A1B scenarios. The spatio-temporal variations in the projected rainfall can be related to the changes in the weakening monsoon circulations, which in turn alter the patterns of regional moisture convergences in the region.     

Cambrian Stem-group Cnidarians with a New Species from the Cambrian Series 3 of the Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

Five species, Lipopora lissa Jell and Jell, 1976, Lipopora daseia Jell and Jell, 1976, Tretocylichne perplexa Engelbretsen, 1993 from Australia, Cambroctoconus orientalis Park, Woo, Lee, Lee, Lee, Han and Chough, 2011 from China, and Cambroctoconus kyrgyzstanicus Peel, 2014 from Kyrgyzstan, belonging to the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians have been documented in the fossil record. Cambroctoconus coreaensis sp. nov., interpreted here as a stem-group cnidarian, from the Seokgaejae section in the Daegi Formation, Taebaek Group (Cambrian Series 3), Taebaeksan Basin, central-eastern Korean Peninsula, has a slender cup-shaped skeleton. A cladistic analysis produced 21 most parsimonious trees, which invariably placed the six stem-group cnidarians below the crown-group, but their relationships within the stem-group are unresolved. Nine out of the 21 trees suggest a monophyletic relationship for the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians, whereas in six other trees a monophyly of Cambroctoconus and Tretocylichne appeared as the sister-group to the crown-group cnidarians with Lipopora at the most basal branch. This result may reflect the fact that crown-group cnidarians evolved in the Precambrian, and suggests that the diversity of stem-group cnidarians was a result of an independent radiation in the Cambrian.     

Settlement-Size Larval Red Drum (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sciaenops ocellatus</Emphasis>) Respond to Estuarine Chemical Cues

Planktonic larvae combine directed swimming and functional sensory systems to locate benthic habitats. Some adult marine fishes use chemical cues for orientation to specific habitats, but olfactory function for estuarine fish larvae has received little research attention. This laboratory study quantified behavioral responses of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae to estuarine chemical cues to examine the role of water chemistry as an orientation cue for locating or remaining in settlement habitat. Spontaneous activity (kinesis) was measured for pre-settlement-size larvae exposed to artificial sea water (as a negative control) and one of six treatments (sterilized sea water, sea water from a channel at ebb tide, sea water from a channel at flood tide, sea water from seagrass habitat, tannic acid dissolved in sterilized sea water, or lignin dissolved in sterilized sea water). Larvae that reached a size of competency to settle (approximately 10 mm standard length) swam faster when exposed to lignin dissolved in sterilized sea water than in other treatments; smaller larvae showed no response. Olfactory preference (taxis) was tested using a paired-choice experiment. Settlement-size larvae preferred water from seagrass beds to artificial sea water. The observed chemokinesis and chemotaxis in response to lignin dissolved in sterilized sea water and sea water from a seagrass bed demonstrate that red drum larvae can distinguish and respond to different water masses and suggest that chemical stimuli from seagrass settlement habitat may aid in orientation and movement to or retention in suitable settlement sites.     

Order classification of river watershed divides based on processing digital elevation models

The principles and the algorithm of order classification of river watershed divides are outlined. It is shown that a formal application of any available order classification procedures for river watershed divides is not theoretically grounded as well as being impractical, because the physical mechanisms for formation of watershed divide network are different from those operating in the river network. We have formulated the basic principle of determining the watershed divides order on the basis of a serial sequence of sections constituting the travel path of an arbitrary water drop from the watershed divide to the outlet section of the basin. It is suggested that the order N should be assigned to the section of the watershed divide belonging to the full divide line of the N-order basin only if the travel path from it to the N-order stream is “full” in the topological sense, i.e. includes sections of all orders, from 1 to N. Also, we present a variant of determining the order on the basis of so-called higher-order triplets, incomplete sequences of sections of three neighboring orders along the travel path, with the higher of them determining the watershed divide order. The use of triplets is a subjective procedure of generalization that eliminates the influence of recent random erosional incisions on the forms of stable high-order watersheds. We outline the variants of the technique for identifying the network of watershed divides and calculating their orders, based on processing the digital elevation models (DEM) through the use of standard GIS ArcMap tools. Results are obtained in the form of a correlated classification of river and watershed networks which are rationally interpreted and hold promise for investigating the structure, functioning and evolution of river systems. The study revealed the existence of formation “cores” of river systems, i.e. regions within which the system reaches a higher stream order and which are bounded by watersheds of the same order.