Two-dimensional maps in multi-dimensional worlds: A case of community-based mapping in Northern Thailand

Community-based mapping has become a necessary tool for development work worldwide - its adoption is near hegemonic. Mapping community land, however, can have unforeseen consequences in part due to its tendency to render what are complex configurations of social-ecological relationships into two-dimensional form. I argue that one of the key limitations to commonly practiced community-based mapping is the assumption that the spatial organization of resource use and management is an abstract entity that can be mapped independent of the social relations that produce it. This paper uses a case study from Northern Thailand to show how mapping techniques that fix and simplify fluid and complex associations can inadvertently prescribe changes to how residents manage their land, effectively becoming not only a tool for securing land tenure but also a tool for the spatial re-organization of land-use and management.     

Detrital subsidy to the supratidal zone provides feeding habitat for intertidal crabs

Beach-cast wrack of marine origin is considered a spatial subsidy to the marine-terrestrial transition zone. We found that the wrack line on sand and gravel beaches of Vancouver Island was frequented by intertidal purple shore crabs,Hemigrapsus nudus (Dana 1851) and densely colonized by detritivorous talitrid amphipods. Amphipods spend the day buried in sand and forage on beach wrack during the night.H. nudus were found in supratidal wrack putches immediately after nightly high tides in field censuses, but spent most of the day and ebb tides either submerged subtidally or hidden underneath intertidal rocks and boulders. In feeding trials, intertidal shore crabs were capable of preying on talitrid amphipods. We considerH. nudus an omnivore feeding on both fresh and decaying macroalgae as well as animal prey. Although living supratidally, amphipods were significantly preferred over intertidal littorine snails by foraging shore crabs. Handling time of amphipods was significantly shorter than for littorine snails. While amphipods had a reduced risk of predation byH. nudus when buried in the sand, foraging undern eath wrack patches did not reduce predation pressure on amphipods by shore crabs. Rates of amphipod consumption by shore crabs were higher at darkness than daylight. In addition to an apparent day-night rhythm, tidal height and time elapsed since previous high tide had a significant influence on shore crab density wrack. We conclude that beach-cast wrack acts as a spatial subsidy by virtue of providing a valuable food source to talitrid amphipods, which are in turn consumed by shore crabs that ride the nightly high tide into supratidal wrack patches to reduce the risk of passing bare sand on theiry way to a feeding habitat rich in valuable prey.     

Does variable channel morphology lead to dynamic salmon habitat?

Stream channel morphology forms the template upon which hydraulic aspects of aquatic habitat are created, yet spatial and temporal variability in habitat imposed by changing morphology is not well understood. This paper presents a conceptual model linking sediment supply patterns to spatial and temporal variability in channel form and aquatic habitat. To evaluate this model, change over time in three habitat variables is quantified using a 2D hydrodynamic modeling approach. A 45-year record of topographic data from Carnation Creek, a catchment in coastal British Columbia, is used for the flow modeling. Using the Nays2DH modeling platform, water depths and velocities are simulated in eight channel segments located at different positions relative to locations of historical colluvial input using seven flow levels ranging from 3% to 400% of mean annual discharge (0.02 to 3.31 m s ). Results indicate that habitat availability changes through time as a result of sediment supply-driven changes to channel morphology and wood loads, but patterns in habitat vary as a function of dominant channel segment morphology. Spatial and temporal variability in morphology also influences the relationship between habitat availability and river discharge, leading to non-stationary habitat-discharge rating curves. When habitat areas are predicted by applying these curves to daily flow series spanning annual dry seasons, over 50% of the variance in cumulative seasonal habitat area can be explained by year-to-year changes in channel morphology and wood loading, indicating that changing morphology is an important factor for driving temporal habitat variability. This variance is related to the morphological variability of a channel segment, which in turn is associated with the segment position relative to zones of colluvial input. Collectively, these results suggest that variability in habitat is impacted by channel morphology, and can be evaluated partly on the basis of a channel's sediment supply regime. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The emergence of a Galápagos shield volcano, Roca Redonda

Roca Redonda volcano is a mostly submarine shield volcano that rises nearly 3 km from the adjacent seafloor. Over twenty lava flows and palagonite tuff are exposed in a 60 meter high oblong outcrop above sea level, and several other flows are exposed in the shallow water surrounding the islet. Thick, slightly alkaline picritic flows form the base of the section. Thinner picrites interbedded with sparsely porphyritic alkali-olivine basaltic pahoehoe toes characterize the upper section. The subaerial section probably records the filling of a palagonite tuff cone with younger lavas. Numerous fumaroles that may have a magmatic component are present in the shallow (<30 m) submarine zone and indicate that the volcano is probably still active. Three lava types are exposed: the basal picrites with 19% > MgO > 14%, high-Mg basalts with MgO of about 9%, and low-Mg basalts with MgO of about 6%. The Sr and Nd isotopic ratios of the three lava types are within analytical uncertainty. Olivine compositions indicate that the picrites are basaltic liquids that have accumulated olivine whose composition is in equilibrium with the host basaltic liquid. Apparently, basaltic magmas percolated through dunite and troctolite that had crystallized from slightly older Roca Redonda basaltic magma. Lavas from Roca Redonda have enriched trace element contents and isotopic ratios relative to nearby Wolf volcano, but they are quite similar to lavas from Cerro Azul and Ecuador volcanoes. The common characteristic of these volcanoes is that they lie on the periphery of the archipelago and are in a stage of subaerial growth. This suggests that Galápagos volcanoes may go through a juvenile alkaline stage before a mature tholeiitic stage, analogous to the Loihi stage of Hawaiian volcanism. A low ³He/⁴He ratio in olivine from one of the picrites indicates a small contribution by the Galápagos mantle plume. Received: 15 December 1997 / Accepted: 6 May 1998     

Evolutionary events of Cainozoic Ostracoda of western Philippine Sea and paleoceanographical implications

The Oligocene ostracod fauna of IISDP Site 292 of the western Philippine Sea was marked by high density, diversity and origination, probably reflecting a favorable period for deep-sea Ostraroda; while the sharp decrease in dtmsity and diversity as well as the repeatedly occurring vxtinctions in thc. Neogene may indicate the deterioration in bottom-water environmcnts at that tlme. Five rriajor faunal changes have been recognized in terms of density, diversity and evolutionary artivity (origination and extinction), occurring in the earliest Oligocene (PI8), mid-Oligocene (P21), earliest Miocene (N4), early Middle Miocene (N8) and late Pliocene (N21). respectively. These changes in ostracod faunas are suggested to represent short-term events related to global paleoceanographical changes and to record the Cainozoic cooling history of the West Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea deep-water. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49676287).     

The Multiple Sources and Patterns of Methane inNorth Sea Waters

The methane concentration in the atmosphere andsurface water was surveyed along 58° N acrossthe North Sea. In addition, the vertical methanedistribution in the water column was determined at sixstations along the transect. The methane contents ofthe surface water as well as in the water column wereextremely inhomogeneous. Input by freshwater fromriver discharge and injection of methane from thesediment were both observed. The survey continued fromthe western side of the North Sea to the Elbe Riverestuary. The Elbe River appears to have low methaneconcentrations compared to other European rivers, itsaverage input into the North Sea is estimated to be70 nmol s-1 of methane. Near 58° N,1°40' E, an abandoned drill site releases about 25 % ofthe North Sea's emission of methane to the atmosphere.The advective methane transport induced by watercirculation was assessed for May 16, 1994, using a 3-DNorth Sea circulation model. For the period of thissurvey, the North Sea's source strength foratmospheric methane is estimated using in situwind velocities. In comparison to the advectivetransport by the water circulation, the gas flux tothe atmosphere appears to be the dominant sink ofNorth Sea methane. This flux is estimated to bebetween 1500 · 106 mol a-1 and 3100 ·106mol a-1, depending on the relationbetween wind speed and gas transfer velocity.     

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in benthic invertebrates from two sites in Antarctica

Samples of marine benthic invertebrates collected from two sites in the Antarctic have been analysed for both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in order to establish baseline concentrations for some classes of hydrocarbons.Samples from Signy Island, a pristine site, contained low concentrations of the hydrocarbons determined, whereas those from King Edward Cove, South Georgia, contained significantly higher concentrations. King Edward Cove has a known history of pollution from whaling operations.Platt & Mackie (1979) have suggested that the hydrocarbons in sediments from King Edward Cove are a result of the world-wide dissemination of the pyrolysis products of fossil fuels. Our work suggests, in contrast, that the hydrocarbons in the benthos are derived from local sources.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy: A suggested approach to trace metal analysis in marine environments

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy analysis of marine samples from different environments appears to differentiate between adsorbed and structural Mn (II) and Fe (III) sites in the sediment. This suggests that EPR may provide a means of distinguishing different environmental influences on sediment. Acid extract solutions from sediment samples exhibit clearly defined EPR spectra due to Mn(II), Ti(III), Fe(III), and VO(IV), which are amenable to qualitative and quantitative analysis at concentrations below one part per million. Spectra of several shellfish vary considerably, both between species, and within a species, depending on sampling localities. Resonances from Mn(II), Mo(V), and Fe(III) can be obtained. Mn(II) is substituted for Ca(II) in the calcite structure of some shells. The low detection limits, small sample size, required and identification of oxidation states by EPR complement other analytical techniques and may prove useful in marine systems.