Unexpected post-settlement freshening and increase in charophytes in Bombah Broadwater (Myall Lakes,New South Wales,Australia)

Bombah Broadwater is a shallow coastal lake within the Ramsar-listed Myall Lakes system on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Increased nutrient and sediment loads resulting from catchment modification are thought to have instigated the loss of aquatic plants in the lake, causing it to “switch” from a clear, macrophyte dominated system (similar to the conditions in present day Myall Lake) to a turbid, phytoplankton dominated system. To assess this hypothesis, charophytes, foraminifera and aquatic fauna remains from an 800 year sediment record were examined. The sediment chronology was established using ¹⁴C, ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs radiometric dating and sediment composition. Interestingly, a clear increase in charophytes since European arrival conflicted with the hypothesised aquatic plant loss. Hence, it appears Bombah Broadwater has not undergone a change in stable state since European arrival. An additional and unexpected finding in the patterns of the foraminifera and testate amoeba suggest that Bombah Broadwater has freshened substantially since European arrival. This freshening may have resulted from increased catchment run off as a result of the clearance of catchment vegetation. Since catchment vegetation clearance is widespread in Australia, this finding raises the possibility that post-settlement freshening of coastal lakes may be a common occurrence.     

Quaternary charophytes from Salina del Bebedero, Argentina: their relation with extant taxa and palaeolimnological significance

Charophyte (Charales, green macroscopic algae) assemblages found in Quaternary shoreline sediments from Salina del Bebedero, Argentina, are described in detail, illustrated, and statistically analysed. Fossil gyrogonites, Late Pleistocene and Holocene in age, of Chara cf. hispida var. major (Hartman) Wood, Chara halina García, Chara hornemannii Wallmann, Chara bulbillifera (Donterberg) García, Lamprothamnium haesseliae Donterberg and Lamprothamnium succinctum (Braun ex Ascherson) Wood were identified. A comparison with extant charophyte species of similar ecological requirements allowed for an accurate systematical determination and provided useful data for complementary palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical approaches. On this basis, a reconstruction of palaeo-salinities for the Salina del Bebedero lake, represented by eleven palaeo-beaches, is proposed. Also the associations of charophytes with the ostracods Cyprideis sp., Limnocythere sp., Pampacythere sp., Cypridopsis sp., Darwinula sp., Ilyocypris gibba (Randohr) Brady and Norman, and the foraminifers Ammonia sp., Elphidium gunteri Cole, Quinqueloculina sp., and one species of Discorbacea are analysed, since they are present in both the fossil and modern environments.     

Toxicity assessment of sediments associated with various land-uses in coastal South Carolina, USA, using a meiobenthic copepod bioassay

Coastal urbanization supplies surrounding estuarine environments with urban-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals and pesticide mixtures. In our study, adult female and male copepods (Amphiascus tenuiremis) were chronically exposed to 18 sediment samples collected from sites influenced by different land-uses. Sediment samples were collected from three major suburban areas (Hilton Head, Kiawah Island and the Okatee River watershed) and a pristine site (North Inlet) in coastal South Carolina. Three-sediment bioassays (six sites per bioassay) were conducted by culturing copepods for 14 days in quadruplicate test sediments under flow-through conditions at 20 degrees C and 12:12 LD cycles. Adult survival and copepod reproductive output were quantified. Sediment samples were also analyzed by GC-MS for low and high molecular weight PAHs. Minimal adult mortality was observed in most sediment samples. However, sediments from Hilton Head Island and the Okatee River showed significant effects on copepod reproductive output (i.e., nauplii, copepodites and clutch size). Thus, we determined that reproductive endpoints rather than adult copepod survivorship were more sensitive to effects of contaminated sediments on A. tenuiremis. Furthermore, six (33%) of the 18 sites had a >25% reduction in copepod bioassay endpoints relative to controls, suggesting a high risk to long term A. tenuiremis population maintenance.     

Distribution of soft-bottom polychaetes in two coastal areas of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy): Structural analysis

Multidimensional statistical analysis was used to study the polychaete distribution in soft-bottoms of two coastal areas of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy), which are influenced by the discharges of the rivers Tiber and Ombrone. In both areas the distributional patterns of these organisms are determined mainly by sediment types and related factors such as hydrodynamics, river input, and sedimentation. The grain-size gradient from the coast to the open sea affects not only species composition, but also species richness, diversity and abundance.In both areas three main communities have been identified: a sandy biocoenosis, a mixed-sediment biocoenosis and a muddy biocoenosis. The sandy coastal community is characterized by only a few species, while the intermediate zone of sandy-mud sediments presents the highest species richness and diversity. At the mouth of the River Tiber the influence of the river is more evident than at the mouth of the River Ombrone. This is due to the Tiber's greater river flow, which determines an environmental uniformity and a ‘cenotic continuum’ from sandy to muddy communities. This does not occur at the mouth of the Ombrone, where the river flow is less important and the polychaete communities are better defined.     

Late Holocene marine terraces of the Cartagena region,southern Caribbean: The product of neotectonism or a former high stand in sea-level?

The detailed stratigraphic survey and paleontological study (mollusks, corals, foraminifera and ostracods) of four low-level, ～3 m, marine terrace sections: Punta Canoas, Manzanillo del Mar, Playa de Oro, and Tierra Bomba Island, from the Cartagena region, southern Caribbean, supplemented with 22 radiocarbon dates, reveals that the northern terraces were deposited as parasequences in a clastic depositional system compared to the Tierra Bomba Island succession that was deposited in a carbonate depositional system between ～3600 and ～1700 cal yrs BP. Drier conditions and the southern location of the ITCZ at about 3 ka triggered stronger easterly Trades and more dynamic southwestward sediment drift fed by the Magdalena River mouth, thus promoting the formation of sand spits that ultimately isolated the Cienaga de Tesca coastal lagoon from the Caribbean Sea. Our estimates support the hypothesis that the present position of the terraces is the product of neotectonism rather than a higher 3 ka, sea-level. Upheaval of the terraces varies between ～3.8 mmyr^?1 at Punta Canoas and ～2.2 mmyr^?1 at Tierra Bomba to ～1.5 mmyr^?1 at Manzanillo del Mar and Playa de Oro terraces. Our study corroborates previous contentions on the role of mud diapirism and the dynamics of the Dique Fault as late Holocene upheaval mechanisms.     

Directional interpolation of multicomponent data

A method for interpolation of multicomponent streamer data based on using the local directionality structure is presented. The derivative components are used to estimate a vector field that locally describes the direction with the least variability. Given this vector field, the interpolation can be phrased in terms of the solution of a partial differential equation that describes how energy is transported between regions of missing data. The approach can be efficiently implemented using readily available routines for computer graphics. The method is robust to noise in the measurements and particularly towards high levels of low‐frequent noise that is present in the derivative components of the multicomponent streamer data.     

Evaluation of community leaders’ perception regarding Alerta Rio,the warning system for landslides caused by heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro

Warning systems help reduce damage and save lives in disasters; however, there is a lack of research analyzing the population perception of these systems. In Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), because the city slums face the risk of landslides caused by heavy rains, a siren early warning system named “Alerta Rio” was installed in 102 areas. The purpose of this paper was to understand the perception of community leaders regarding this alert system. To this end, a survey was conducted with community leaders to collect data on whether and why the public do or do not attend to the alert. Results indicated that (1) public adherence to Alerta Rio is low despite the generally positive view of the system, (2) local violence was reported as the reason for staying at home to protect one’s property, and (3) problems with temporary shelters and the routes to them result in lack of people’s involvement in the system. Whereas these factors are similar to population perception regarding other warning systems, the community leaders also raised the public’s lack of trust in the city hall’s adopted concept of risk and in the politicians as a relevant factor in the population perception of Alerta Rio. These factors, together with the lack of prevention policies complementary with the alert system, led to perception of reduced importance of the system. For potential solutions to enhance alarm compliance, this study recommends improvement in communication, educational programs, and public engagement strategies tailored for each target group.