Fluvial archives as a framework for the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic: patterns of British artefact distribution and potential chronological implications

With the adoption of an ‘expanded chronology’ for the Middle Pleistocene, based on the greater number of warm and cold episodes evident in the marine oxygen isotope record from deep ocean cores, has come the recognition of a meaningful progression of artefact types, something that could not be achieved with reference to the previous ‘compressed chronology’. In Britain, at least, it has been established that Levallois knapping techniques appeared in MIS 9–8, that bout coupé handaxes are indicative of MIS 3 and, rather more tentatively, that assemblages with twisted ovate handaxes in significant numbers represent MIS 11 occupation. Added to these key markers, it is now possible to suggest that further tool types occur preferentially in deposits of particular age: assemblages with significant proportions of cleavers and ‘ficron’ handaxes appear to be correlated with deposits formed at around the time of the MIS 9 interglacial. This newly recognized patterning within the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic record differs markedly from the previous use, in the mid‐20th century, of archaeological typology as a means of dating Pleistocene sequences, which was based on a relative refinement of tool making that is now recognized to be unrelated to age. Indeed, the authors would wish to emphasize that, even with reference to the new scheme presented here, the archaeological record should only be seen as dating evidence ‘of last resort’.     

Hydrology and geomorphology of the Upper White Nile lakes and their relevance for water resources management in the Nile basin

Remote sensing data and digital elevation models were utilized to extract the catchment hydrological parameters and to delineate storage areas for the Ugandan Equatorial Lakes region. Available rainfall/discharge data are integrated with these morphometric data to construct a hydrological model that simulates the water balance of the different interconnected basins and enables the impact of potential management options to be examined. The total annual discharges of the basins are generally very low (less than 7% of the total annual rainfall). The basin of the shallow (5 m deep) Lake Kioga makes only a minor hydrological contribution compared with other Equatorial Lakes, because most of the overflow from Lake Victoria basin into Lake Kioga is lost by evaporation and evapotranspiration. The discharge from Lake Kioga could be significantly increased by draining the swamps through dredging and deepening certain channel reaches. Development of hydropower dams on the Equatorial Lakes will have an adverse impact on the annual water discharge downstream, including the occasional reduction of flow required for filling up to designed storage capacities and permanently increasing the surface areas of water that is exposed to evaporation. On the basis of modelling studies, alternative sites are proposed for hydropower development and water storage schemes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tidal Habitats Support Large Numbers of Invasive Blue Catfish in a Chesapeake Bay Subestuary

The introduction of a non-native freshwater fish, blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, in tributaries of Chesapeake Bay resulted in the establishment of fisheries and in the expansion of the population into brackish habitats. Blue catfish are an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay region, and efforts are underway to limit their impacts on native communities. Key characteristics of the population (population size, survival rates) are unknown, but such knowledge is useful in understanding the impact of blue catfish in estuarine systems. We estimated population size and survival rates of blue catfish in tidal habitats of the James River subestuary. We tagged 34,252 blue catfish during July–August 2012 and 2013; information from live recaptures (n = 1177) and dead recoveries (n = 279) were used to estimate annual survival rates and population size using Barker’s Model in a Robust Design and allowing for heterogeneity in detection probabilities. The blue catfish population in the 12-km study area was estimated to be 1.6 million fish in 2013 (95% confidence interval [CI] adjusted for overdispersion: 926,307–2,914,208 fish). Annual apparent survival rate estimates were low: 0.16 (95% CI 0.10–0.24) in 2012–2013 and 0.44 (95% CI 0.31–0.58) in 2013–2014 and represent losses from the population through mortality, permanent emigration, or both. The tagged fish included individuals that were large enough to exhibit piscivory and represented size classes that are likely to colonize estuarine habitats. The large population size that we estimated was unexpected for a freshwater fish in tidal habitats and highlights the need to effectively manage such species.     

Evaluation of policy options for the live reef food fish trade in the province of Palawan,Western Philippines

The live reef food fish (LRFF) trade has an estimated annual retail value of US$1 billion in the Asia-Pacific region and at least US$30 million in the Philippines. Palawan Province is the trade's center accounting for as much as 55% of the commodity's total export. Concern about the LRFF trade has caused the Palawan Provincial government to take action to regulate the trade. Four key policy options to address the short-term policy objective of developing a sustainable LRFF industry through the reduction of threats associated with destructive fishing and overfishing were proposed. These four policy options and associated analyses were presented to stakeholders at three separate policy consultations. The stakeholders reached a consensus that a regulated LRFF trade was the most sensible option. As a result, the Provincial Government of Palawan took action to enact “The Palawan Live Reef Fish Ordinance of 2006”, which provides for the sustainable and integrated regulation of the LRFF industry. This provincial ordinance will assist in crafting a national policy for the LRFF trade and may also be useful in revising the 1998 Philippine Fisheries Code. The key challenge is how to translate the ordinance provisions into effective on-the-ground actions.     

Developing a conceptual model of marine farming in New Zealand

Survey and Geographic Information System (GIS) data analysis describes the relative influence of biophysical and human variables on site choices made by marine farmers in New Zealand. Community conflicts have grown in importance in determining farm location and different government planning strategies leave distinct signature patterns. Recent legislation empowers local governments to choose among three strategies for future regional aquaculture development. This paper suggests each strategy could result in different spatial outcomes. Simulation modelling of the type described here can provide a better understanding of farmer responses to management approaches and the range of futures that could result from planning choices made today.     

Physical determinants of intertidal communities on dissipative beaches: Implications of sea-level rise

Sea-level rise is likely to cause significant changes in the morphodynamic state of beaches in the higher latitudes, resulting in steeper beaches with larger particle sizes. These physical changes have implications for beach invertebrate communities, which are determined largely by sediment particle size, and hence for ecosystem function. Previous studies have explored the relationships between invertebrate communities and environmental variables such as particle size, beach slope and exposure to wave action, and often these physical variables can be integrated in various indices of morphodynamic state. Most of these studies incorporated a full range of beach types that included wave-dominated surf beaches, where the wave action is harsh enough to enable reliable estimates of breaker height, a parameter included in several of the indices, and concluded that more dissipative beaches with gentler slopes and finer particle sizes often support a higher number of species and greater abundance than more reflective beaches. Whether these predictions remain valid for less wave-dominated beaches, where breaker height is more difficult to determine, is uncertain. In the present study, the abundance of meio- and macrofauna was quantified across a range of beaches in the UK, which are generally towards the lower energy end of the morphodynamic gradient, and their relationships with beach physical properties explored. No significant relationships were found between abundance and the standard morphodynamic indices, but significant relationships were found for both macro- and meiofaunal abundance when these indices were combined with an exposure index (derived from velocity, direction, duration and the effective fetch). All the relationships identified between abundance and combined morphodynamic indices indicated a higher abundance of both macro- and meiofauna on the more dissipative beaches. The reverse was however found for species richness. If predictions that accelerated sea-level rise will move beaches towards a more reflective morphodynamic state are correct, this could lead to declines in the abundance of meio- and macrofauna, with potential adverse consequences for ecosystem functioning.     

Water,restite and granite mineralisation

Dehydration (vapour absent) partial melting reactions in the Earth's crust produce a hydrous granitic melt phase, new anhydrous minerals that are mostly pyroxenes, and new plagioclase more calcic than the initial plagioclase. These solid phases of the melt reaction are restite. If the restite is carried to high levels in the crust as a component of the magma, cooling and crystallisation to granite will result in back reactions in which the H₂O in the melt phase is consumed and is not then available to form a hydrothermal solution. Even in magmas in which some restite has been removed there will be some back reaction and again less H₂O. Only fractional crystallisation will enrich the H₂O in the magma in sufficient amounts to form a substantial quantity of hydrothermal solution and possible mineralisation.