Local versus regional processes: can soil characteristics overcome climate and fire regimes by modifying vegetation trajectories?

We analysed charcoal and pollen from sediments obtained from two lakes in the northwestern mixed‐wood Canadian boreal forest in order to reconstruct fire‐return intervals and vegetation dynamics over the last 8000 years. Sites were selected with contrasting soil properties (mesic versus dry‐sandy soils), allowing an estimation of the potential influence of soils on long‐term vegetation and fire dynamics. The sites likely experienced fewer fires during the period extending from 8000 to 4000 cal. a BP than over the last 4000 years. At both sites, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) populations were most extensive shortly after deglaciation, with vegetation later shifting towards mixed woodlands with less P. strobus and more extensive Picea and Pinus banksiana populations. This gradual vegetation shift was probably induced by the establishment of colder and moister conditions along with a fire‐regime change. In spite of the parallel long‐term vegetation trajectories, vegetation composition differed between the two sites in both the past and present. Whereas Picea was more abundant at the mesic site, the fire‐adapted P. banksiana populations were more extensive at the sandy‐soil site. These differences in vegetation composition indicate that, in addition to climate changes and fire occurrence, soil properties also influenced vegetation dynamics. A likely increase in fire frequency in the Canadian boreal forest during the 21st century might therefore favour the expansion of these two disturbance‐adapted trees with spatial heterogeneity in the populations due to varying soil types. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dendrogeomorphic reconstruction of past debris‐flow activity using injured broad‐leaved trees

Tree‐ring records from conifers have been regularly used over the last few decades to date debris‐flow events. The reconstruction of past debris‐flow activity was, in contrast, only very rarely based on growth anomalies in broad‐leaved trees. Consequently, this study aimed at dating the occurrence of former debris flows from growth series of broad‐leaved trees and at determining their suitability for dendrogeomorphic research. Results were obtained from gray alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench), silver birch and pubescent birch (Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh.), aspen (Populus tremula L.), white poplar, black poplar and gray poplar (Populus alba L., Populus nigra L. and Populus x canescens (Ait.) Sm.), goat willow (Salix caprea L.) and black elder (Sambucus nigra L.) injured by debris‐flow activity at Illgraben (Valais, Swiss Alps). Tree‐ring analysis of 104 increment cores, 118 wedges and 93 cross‐sections from 154 injured broad‐leaved trees allowed the reconstruction of 14 debris‐flow events between AD 1965 and 2007. These events were compared with archival records on debris‐flow activity at Illgraben. It appears that debris flows are very common at Illgraben, but only very rarely left the channel over the period AD 1965–2007. Furthermore, analysis of the spatial distribution of disturbed trees contributed to the identification of six patterns of debris‐flow routing and led to the determination of preferential breakout locations of events. The results of this study demonstrate the high potential of broad‐leaved trees for dendrogeomorphic research and for the assessment of the travel distance and lateral spread of debris‐flow surges. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Responses of four Indo-West Pacific seagrass species to shading

Seagrasses of the Great Barrier Reef predominantly occur in coastal regions where terrestrial inputs modify water quality and photosynthetic light is highly variable. Responses to shading were tested for Cymodocea serrulata, Halodule uninervis, Thalassia hemprichii and Zostera muelleri. In aquaria, four light treatments - high (66% surface light), moderate (31%), low (14%) and very low light (1%) treatments - were applied for 102d. Stress responses in the low and very low light treatments occurred in the following sequence: metabolic and physiological changes (reduced growth, increased pigment concentrations and photosynthetic efficiency); shedding (leaf loss, shoot loss) and production of new, altered tissue (leaves with reduced length, width and thickness). Complete shoot loss was projected after 76 (Z. muelleri) to 130d (T. hemprichii). Responses were slower in the low than in the very low treatment, therefore, efforts to minimize water quality degradation will be rewarded with delayed impacts to seagrasses.     

Marine conservation policy in Seychelles: Current constraints and prospects for improvement

The marine assets of Seychelles are fundamental to the national economy through generating income derived from tourism and fisheries. Marine management institutions and policies have undergone radical changes since 2008, reflecting a number of drivers and initiatives at international and national levels. Through using the example of Curieuse Marine National Park in the inner Seychelles, we demonstrate how these are affecting marine conservation with respect to coastal development, governance of marine protected areas and livelihood security within resource-dependent communities. These issues are of significance with respect to the current and future viability of marine conservation and resource management in Seychelles. Potential mitigating strategies are suggested which could lead to more effective governance and conservation of marine protected areas in Seychelles and similar small island developing states.     

Crater modification and geologic activity in Enceladus' heavily cratered plains: Evidence from the impact crater distribution

Although we can observe current activity on Saturn's satellite Enceladus with Cassini, insight into past activity is best achieved (for now) through studying the impact crater distributions. Furthermore, approximation of terrain ages can only be attained through calculations using crater densities and estimations of impact rates in the saturnian system. Here we focus on what the impact crater distribution in Enceladus' heavily cratered plains can tell us about Enceladus' geologic history. We use Cassini ISS images to count craters in the heavily cratered plains on Enceladus, along with Rhea, Dione, Tethys and Mimas as references, to develop and compare their size-frequency distributions. Comparisons of our counts show that Enceladus' cratered plains distribution is unique in that it appears to have a relative deficiency of craters for diameters ?2 km and ?6 km compared to the other satellites' heavily cratered plains. Our data also indicates that the impact crater density within the cratered plains changes with latitude. Specifically, both the north and south mid-latitude regions have approximately three times higher density than the equatorial region. We hypothesize that the “missing” small and large craters in Enceladus' cratered plains is due to a combination of viscous relaxation of the larger craters, and burial of the relaxed large craters and small craters by south polar plume and possibly E-ring material. We also conclude that the spatial density distribution is not consistent with recent polar wander.     

An assessment of the latent and sensible heat flux on the simulated regional climate over Southwestern South Atlantic Ocean

A Regional Climate Model (RegCM3) 10-year (1990–1999) simulation over southwestern South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) is evaluated to assess the mean climatology and the simulation errors of turbulent fluxes over the sea. Moreover, the relationship between these fluxes and the rainfall over some cyclogenetic areas is also analyzed. The RegCM3 results are validated using some reanalyses datasets (ERA40, R2, GPCP and WHOI). The summer and winter spatial patterns of latent and sensible heat fluxes simulated by the RegCM3 are in agreement with the reanalyses (WHOI, R2 and ERA40). They show large latent heat fluxes exchange in the subtropical SAO and at higher latitudes in the warm waters of Brazil Current. In particular, the magnitude of RegCM3 latent heat fluxes is similar to the WHOI, which is probably related to two factors: (a) small specific humidity bias, and (b) the RegCM3 flux algorithm. In contrast, the RegCM3 presents large overestimation of sensible heat flux, though it simulates well their spatial pattern. This simulation error is associated with the RegCM3 underestimation of the 2-m air temperature. In southwestern SAO, in three known cyclogenetic areas, the reanalyses and the RegCM3 show the existence of different physical mechanisms that control the annual cycles of latent/sensible heating and rainfall. It is shown that over the eastern coast of Uruguay (35°–43°S) and the southeastern coast of Argentina (44°–52°S) the sea-air moisture and heat exchange play an important role to control the annual cycle of precipitation. This does not happen on the south/southeastern coast of Brazil.     

South Atlantic Ocean cyclogenesis climatology simulated by regional climate model (RegCM3)

A detailed climatology of the cyclogenesis over the Southern Atlantic Ocean (SAO) from 1990 to 1999 and how it is simulated by the RegCM3 (Regional Climate Model) is presented here. The simulation used as initial and boundary conditions the National Centers for Environmental Prediction—Department of Energy (NCEP/DOE) reanalysis. The cyclones were identified with an automatic scheme that searches for cyclonic relative vorticity (ζ₁₀) obtained from a 10-m height wind field. All the systems with ζ₁₀ ≤ ?1.5 × 10^?5 s^?1 and lifetime equal or larger than 24 h were considered in the climatology. Over SAO, in 10 years were detected 2,760 and 2,787 cyclogeneses in the simulation and NCEP, respectively, with an annual mean of 276.0 ± 11.2 and 278.7 ± 11.1. This result suggests that the RegCM3 has a good skill to simulate the cyclogenesis climatology. However, the larger model underestimations (?9.8%) are found for the initially stronger systems (ζ₁₀ ≤ ?2.5 × 10^?5 s^?1). It was noted that over the SAO the annual cycle of the cyclogenesis depends of its initial intensity. Considering the systems initiate with ζ₁₀ ≤ ?1.5 × 10^?5 s^?1, the annual cycle is not well defined and the higher frequency occurs in the autumn (summer) in the NCEP (RegCM3). The stronger systems (ζ₁₀ ≤ ?2.5 × 10^?5 s^?1) have a well-characterized high frequency of cyclogenesis during the winter in both NCEP and RegCM3. This work confirms the existence of three cyclogenetic regions in the west sector of the SAO, near the South America east coast and shows that RegCM3 is able to reproduce the main features of these cyclogenetic areas.     

Anesthesia and critical-care delivery in weightlessness: A challenge for research in parabolic flight analogue space surgery studies

Background

Multiple nations are actively pursuing manned exploration of space beyond low-earth orbit. The responsibility to improve surgical care for spaceflight is substantial. Although the use of parabolic flight as a terrestrial analogue to study surgery in weightlessness (0 g) is well described, minimal data is available to guide the appropriate delivery of anesthesia. After studying anesthetized pigs in a 0 g parabolic flight environment, our group developed a comprehensive protocol describing prolonged anesthesia in a parabolic flight analogue space surgery study (PFASSS). Novel challenges included a physically remote vivarium, prolonged (>10 h) anesthetic requirements, and the provision of veterinary operating room/intensive care unit (ICU) equivalency on-board an aircraft with physical dimensions of <1.5 m² (Falcon 20). Identification of an effective anesthetic regime is particularly important because inhalant anesthesia cannot be used in-flight.

Methods

After ethical approval, multiple ground laboratory sessions were conducted with combinations of anesthetic, pre-medication, and induction protocols on Yorkshire-cross specific pathogen-free (SPF) pigs. Several constant rate infusion (CRI) intravenous anesthetic combinations were tested. In each regimen, opioids were administered to ensure analgesia. Ventilation was supported mechanically with blended gradients of oxygen. The best performing terrestrial 1 g regime was flight tested in parabolic flight for its effectiveness in sustaining optimal and prolonged anesthesia, analgesia, and maintaining hemodynamic stability. Each flight day, a fully anesthetized, ventilated, and surgically instrumented pig was transported to the Flight Research Laboratory (FRL) in a temperature-controlled animal ambulance. A modular on-board surgical/ICU suite with appropriate anesthesia/ICU and surgical support capabilities was employed.

Results

The mean duration of anesthesia (per flight day) was 10.28 h over four consecutive days. A barbiturate and ketamine-based CRI anesthetic regimen supplemented with narcotic analgesia by bolus administration offered the greatest prolonged hemodynamic stability through an IV route (within multiple transport vehicles and differing gravitational environments). Standardization and pre-packaging of anesthesia, emergency pharmaceuticals, and consumables were found to facilitate the interchange of the veterinary anesthesia team members between flights. This operational process was extremely challenging.

Conclusions

With careful organization of caregivers, equipment and protocols, providing anesthesia and life support in weightlessness is theoretically possible. Unfortunately, human resource costs are extensive and likely overwhelming. Comprehensive algorithms for extended spaceflight must recognize these costs prior to making assumptions or attempting to provide critical care in space.     

Recruitment,habitat selection and larval photoresponse of Paraleucilla magna (Porifera,Calcarea) in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Little is known about the recruitment and behaviour of sponge larvae, especially of the class Calcarea. The calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna is very common in Southeast Brazil, where it is considered a cryptogenic species. This study quantified recruitment rates in shaded and illuminated habitats for 2 years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and analyzed larval photoresponses of this species. Four structures, each containing a shaded and an illuminated surface, were exchanged every 3 months for 2 years. The number of recruits was quantified on each plate. In the laboratory, larvae of P. magna were placed in half‐shaded Petri dishes and the number of settlers in each side was counted after 24 h. Paraleucilla magna recruited continuously throughout the experiment. Recruits occurred in greater abundance on shaded surfaces than on illuminated surfaces, and the larvae were negatively phototactic in vitro. Despite the possible influence of other factors in the recruitment of sponges (such as sedimentation, competition and predation), the prevalence of P. magna in shaded habitats may also be related to larval choice.     

Tree-ring reconstruction of past debris flows based on a small number of samples—possibilities and limitations

Tree-ring analyses have often been used in the past for the reconstruction of spatiotemporal patterns of previous debris-flow activity, often yielding very precise and extensive data for torrents where information on former activity was largely missing. Unless dendrogeomorphology is slated for multimillion Euro developments, the large sets of tree-ring series that are usually used in these studies render analysis time-consuming and not necessarily very cost-effective. In this study, we present results on past debris flows obtained with 35 Larix decidua Mill. trees growing on the cone of the Torrent de Pétérey (Zinal, Valais, Swiss Alps). It is concluded that studies based on a limited number of samples may yield valuable data on past events, but that the reconstructed frequency remains widely incomplete and indications on the spatial aspects of past events are only fragmentary.