Prevalence and composition of fishing gear debris in the nests of northern gannets (Morus bassanus) are related to fishing effort

Bycatch and indirect mortality associated with global fishing operations affect non-target species. Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) and other seabirds incorporate marine debris, much of it originating in fisheries, into their nests, at times resulting in entanglement. We compared the prevalence and composition of marine debris in nests at two gannet colonies in Newfoundland before and after a basin-wide ground fish closure in 1992, and at the species' largest colony in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where fishing effort is low. The proportion of nests with marine debris decreased following the fishery closure, and the proportion of nests with fishing gear was related exponentially to the number of gillnets set around breeding colonies. Assessing the composition of gannet nests could provide a useful index of the prevalence of fishing debris and could be used to assess entanglement risk of other animals in the marine environment over decadal scales.     

Calculation of primary and secondary flow and boundary shear stresses in a meandering channel

Turbulent flow in a meandering channel is computed with two Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes solving the Navier–Stokes equations by employing different turbulence closure approaches. The first CFD code solves the steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) using an isotropic turbulence closure. The second code is based on the concept of Large Eddy Simulation (LES). LES resolves the large-scale turbulence structures in the flow and is known to outperform RANS models in flows in which large-scale structures dominate the statistics. The results obtained from the two codes are compared with experimental data from a physical model study. Both, LES and RANS simulation, predict the primary helical flow pattern in the meander as well as the occurrence of an outer-bank secondary cell. Computed primary as well as secondary flow velocities are in reasonably good agreement with experimental data. Evidence is given that the outer-bank secondary cell in a meander bend is the residual of the main secondary cell of the previous bend. However, the RANS code, regardless of the turbulence model employed, overpredicts the size and strength of the outer-bank secondary cell. Furthermore, only LES is able to uphold the outer-bank second secondary cell beyond the bend apex until the exit of the bend as turbulence anisotropy contributes to its persistence. The presence of multiple secondary cells has important consequences for the distribution of shear stresses along the wetted perimeter of the channel, and thereby the sediment transport in meandering channels. Consequently, even though LES is expected to compute the bed-shear stresses along the wetted perimeter of the channel with a higher degree of accuracy than the RANS model, comparisons between LES and RANS computed wall shear stresses agree well. These findings are useful for practitioners who need to rely on RANS model predictions of the flow in meandering channels at field scale.     

Flow banding in basaltic pillow lavas from the Early Archean Hooggenoeg Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa

Well-preserved pillow lavas in the uppermost part of the Early Archean volcanic sequence of the Hooggenoeg Formation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt exhibit pronounced flow banding. The banding is defined by mm to several cm thick alternations of pale green and a dark green, conspicuously variolitic variety of aphyric metabasalt. Concentrations of relatively immobile TiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Cr in both varieties of lava are basaltic. Compositional differences between bands and variations in the lavas in general have been modified by alteration, but indicate mingling of two different basalts, one richer in TiO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, FeO^t and probably Ni and Cr than the other, as the cause of the banding. The occurrence in certain pillows of blebs of dark metabasalt enclosed in pale green metabasalt, as well as cores of faintly banded or massive dark metabasalt, suggest that breakup into drops and slugs in the feeder channel to the lava flow initiated mingling. The inhomogeneous mixture was subsequently stretched and folded together during laminar shear flow through tubular pillows, while diffusion between bands led to partial homogenisation. The most common internal pattern defined by the flow banding in pillows is concentric. In some pillows the banding defines curious mushroom-like structures, commonly cored by dark, variolitic metabasalt, which we interpret as the result of secondary lateral flow due to counter-rotating, transverse (Dean) vortices induced by the axial flow of lava towards the flow front through bends, generally downward, in the tubular pillows. Other pillows exhibit weakly-banded or massive, dark, variolitic cores that are continuous with wedge-shaped apophyses and veins that intrude the flow banded carapace. These cores represent the flow of hotter and less viscous slugs of the dark lava type into cooled and stiffened pillows.     

The dogma of matters neutrino-transparency

In this paper the observed underrepresentation of solar neutrinos in the various detector experiments performed is tentatively interpreted as a result of a substantial and often variable obsorption of neutrinos by various layers of the Sun, contrary to the dogma of neutrino-transparency by matter.     

Computer studies of the evolution of planetary and satellite systems

This paper describes two computer experiments carried out with a CDC-Cyber 74 program (Barricelliet al., 1979) for computer simulation of a large number of objects in orbit about a central body or primary. The first experiment was started with 125 planets of which the two largest ones had coplanar orbits and masses comparable to those of Jupiter and Saturn, respectively. Their semimajor axes and eccentricities were, however, much larger. The smaller planets had a distribution promoting the formation of an axial meeting area. The experiment gives information relevant to the question of focusing of planetary orbits into a common plane and to the question of the formation and stability of an axial meeting area. Together with the next experiment, it also gives information about the development of commensurabilities (or resonances) with the largest planets.The second experiment started with 55 planets none of them with a mass greater than about 20% of Jupiter's but several of them with orbits close to a common plane. The aim of the experiment was to investigate whether successive captures followed by planetary fusion (Barricelli, 1972a) could lead to the formation of major planets comparable to Jupiter and Saturn, and in similar orbits. Also this experiment gives information relevant to the commensurability problem.     

Interpretation of grazing impacts on Mars by the axial rotation theory

This paper calls attention to the fact that the distribution of grazing impacts on Mars, as described by Schultz and Lutz-Garihan (1982), agrees with the distribution predictable by the theory of planetary axial rotation based on the transmission of mass and angular momentum from a satellite system to its primary (Barricelli, 1972). A few additional implications of the theory are pointed out.     

Alpine Activity Patterns of Mitopus morio （Fabricius, 1779） are Induced by Variations in Temperature and Humidity at Different Scales in Central Norway

Our research addresses questions about how micro-climate affects activity abundance of a common and widespread harvestman in an alpine ecosystem. Activity patterns of the Harvestman Mitopus morio （Fabricius, 1779） were studied along different alpine gradients in the central Norwegian Scandes. Within a nested design, we surveyed 18 alpine habitats with pitfall traps and microclimatological equipment along oceanic-continental, two elevational, and （fine-scaled） microtopographic gradients. Sites in the oceanic region of the Scandes showed generally higher abundance of M. morio than sites in the continental region. Furthermore, along the elevational gradient, middle-alpine sites showed higher abundances than low-alpine sites. These general patterns are best explained by higher humidity in the oceanic region and in the middlealpine belt. Focusing at a finer scale, i.e. one elevational level within each region, revealed partly opposing activity patterns within relatively short distances. While in the western middle-alpine belt these patterns were best explained by humidityrelated measures but now with higher activity abundance during drier conditions, in the drier eastern middle-alpine belt heat sums rather than humidity were found to be the best explanatoryvariables for the observed patterns. Hence, our results imply a pronounced different reaction of the two populations towards climatic variables that partly even contradict the previously described general pattern. Regardless whether these differences in activity abundance in M. morio are a form of phenotypic plasticity or adaptation, our findings stress the importance of detailed autecological knowledge combined with fine-scaled climatic measurements when aiming at predictions about possible future ecosystem structures and spatiotemporal phenomena. M. morio proves to be an ideal biogeographic model organism for understanding spatio-temporal responses of alpine ecosystems under modified climatic conditions.     

Towards a Higher Comparability of Geothermometric Data obtained by Raman Spectroscopy of Carbonaceous Material. Part I: Evaluation of Biasing Factors

Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) is frequently used to determine metamorphic peak temperatures from the structural order of carbonaceous material enclosed in metasediments. This method provides a quick, robust and relatively cheap geothermometer. However, the comparability of the RSCM parameter is low as there are at least three major sources of biasing factors. These sources are the spectral curve‐fitting procedure, the sample characteristics itself and the experimental design including the used Raman system. To assess the impacts of the biasing factors on RSCM, a series of experiments was performed. The experiments showed that curve‐fitting is strongly influenced by individual operator‐bias and the degrees of freedom in the model, implying the need for a standardised curve‐fitting procedure. Due to the diversity of components (optics, light detection device, gratings, etc.) and their combinations within the Raman systems, different Raman instruments generally give differing results. Consequently, to estimate comparable metamorphic temperatures from RSCM data, every Raman instrument needs its own calibration. This demands a reference material series that covers the entire temperature calibration range. Although sample heterogeneity will still induce some variation, a reference material series combined with standardised curve‐fitting procedures will significantly increase the overall comparability of RSCM data from different laboratories.     

Nitrogen Retention in Coastal Marine Sediments—a Field Study of the Relative Importance of Biological and Physical Removal in a Danish Estuary

The aim of this study was to elucidate the relative importance of physical versus biological loss processes for the removal of microphytobenthic (MPB) bound nitrogen in a coastal environment at different times of the year via a dual isotope labeling technique. We used ⁵¹Cr, binding to inorganic sediment particles but not participating in any biological processes, and ¹⁵N–NO₃ ^?, taken up by the MPB and turned over as part of the MPB nitrogen pool. Retention, down-mixing, and export of ¹⁵N were due to both biological and physical processes, so that by comparing retention of the two isotopes, we were able to discern the relative importance of physical and biological processes. The isotope marking was supplemented with measurements of sediment chlorophyll biomass and oxygen fluxes, allowing us to evaluate MPB biomass as well as primary production vs. respiration in the sediment. In spring/early summer, the system was characterized by tight N cycling and high N retention: any remineralized N was immediately taken up and retained in the MPB biomass. In late summer and autumn, the system was still physically stable, but high biological mediated N losses were observed. In early winter, the system was physically dominated due to low MPB biomasses and activity combined with a significant storm event. Our data support the hypothesis that the relative balance between physical and biological processes in determining retention and removal of MPB-bound nitrogen changes seasonally.