A new multi‐stage recession model for Proglacial Lake Humber during the retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet

The single most prominent lake associated with the retreat phase of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) was Proglacial Lake Humber. The present research elucidates a revised regional history of Proglacial Lake Humber from its maximum elevation to its demise using a combination of landscape mapping and luminescence dating. The results of mapping multiple Lake Humber strandlines are now best described by an eight‐stage recessional model. Erosional highstands of the lake can be shown to post‐date the BIIS advance that deposited the Skipsea Till at around 17 ka whereas new OSL ages show that Lake Humber was nearing its demise by 15.5±0.8 ka, indicating a possible short‐lived lake. Multiple lake level stands are attributed to the switching of lake outlets from the Lincolnshire Gap to the Humber Gap and to oscillations of the BIIS blocking the latter on more than one occasion and subsequently at a lower elevation with till. The horizontal or near‐horizontal shorelines confirm that isostatic adjustment did not occur during the demise of Lake Humber, indicating that BIIS advances in the North Sea region and Vale of York were not only dynamic but of short duration.     

Reopening of a Remote Tidal Inlet Increases Recruitment of Estuarine-Dependent Nekton

Cedar Bayou, a natural tidal inlet, was recently dredged to allow for direct water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and Mesquite Bay, TX, USA. We quantified changes in densities of juvenile nekton (fish, shrimps, and crabs) and community structure in Mesquite Bay after Cedar Bayou was reopened by collecting samples at both control and impact sites using an epibenthic sled 1 year before (October 2013–April 2014) and after (October 2014–April 2015) opening. Significantly higher densities of total nekton were observed at the impact sites after opening using a before-after control-impact design. Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), post-larval penaeid shrimps (Farfantepenaeus aztecus, F. duorarum, and Litopenaeus setiferus), and Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) were significantly more abundant at impact sites after Cedar Bayou was opened. Multivariate analysis showed a significant change in impact site communities after opening and was driven by an increased presence of estuarine-dependent species. Overall, this study demonstrates that opening tidal inlets, such as Cedar Bayou, and reconnecting Mesquite Bay to the Gulf of Mexico increased the presence of numerous estuarine-dependent species, many of which were not present or occurred at very low densities prior to reopening. Thus, reestablishing the historical connectivity between a productive estuary and the open Gulf of Mexico via Cedar Bayou should reinstitute natural nekton recruitment processes important to the Aransas, Mesquite, and San Antonio Bay regions.     

Riparian management affects instream habitat condition in a dairy stream catchment

Using a space-for-time substitution design, we investigated the response of structural instream habitat and fish populations to different riparian management practices throughout a Dairy Best Practice Catchment. We found a significant negative correlation between the upstream area of stock exclusion fencing and deposited instream fine sediment cover. Furthermore, we determined that this relationship emerges when ≥300?m lengths of upstream riparian area were included in the analysis, indicating the scale at which stock exclusion fencing results in a positive instream habitat response. Specifically, for this historically degraded spring-fed stream, our findings indicate that riparian segments with 5 m wide stock exclusion fences (both banks) are required to achieve instream fine sediment cover below 20% in downstream reaches. Fish were sparse and evenly spread throughout the catchment. Fish distributions were not correlated with reach-scale riparian or instream habitat variables, possibly because the available habitat quality gradient was too narrow.