Predation and Functional Responses of Carcinus maenas and Cancer magister in the Presence of the Introduced Cephalaspidean Philine orientalis

An increasing number of examples suggest that interactions among introduced species are ecologically important and relevant to the management of invaded systems. We investigated the potential for the introduced cephalaspidean sea slug Philine orientalis to interfere with the feeding of the introduced European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and the native Dungeness crab (Cancer magister). We observed co-occurrence of crab species and P. orientalis at field sites in Bodega Harbor and Tomales, San Pablo, and San Francisco Bays. In laboratory and field experiments, we determined whether crab feeding was suppressed by P. orientalis and the duration of this suppression for individual crabs. We also used foraging response models to explore changes in the feeding rate of crabs with varying densities of P. orientalis and small bivalve prey. We found that P. orientalis deterred predation by green and Dungeness crabs on small clams in laboratory feeding trials, but not in field experiments with green crabs and P. orientalis. Foraging models predicted that P. orientalis would only affect crab feeding in the field under specific conditions of crab, P. orientalis, and prey densities. These foraging models bridged an important gap between lab and field experiments and allowed us to predict how changes in species abundances at two trophic levels might alter the importance of crab suppression by P. orientalis.     

Spatial patterns and correlates of mortality due to selected non-communicable diseases among adults in South Africa, 2011

South Africa has a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) compared to other African countries. Government has predicted that NCDs will be a major threat of health in the country in the next 20–30 years and recommended a significant reduction in NCDs. This research studies spatial patterns of deaths resulting from chronic lower respiratory diseases (CLRD), malignant neoplasms of digestive organs (MNDO), diabetes mellitus (DM) and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) among adults aged 15–69 years in 2011 at municipality level. The study uses secondary data from the civil registration system; population census; and supplementary information from the Business Register and a database of public health facilities. Moran’s Index, hot spot analysis and geographically weighted regression were applied to measure spatial autocorrelation of age-standardised death rates; to identify municipalities of high risk of deaths due to selected NCDs; and associated socio-economic and demographic factors. Clusters of high risk of deaths from selected NCDs were identified, with those for CLRD and MNDO mainly in the urban municipalities around the mid and western parts of the country while for DM and CVD they occurred mostly in the urban and rural north-eastern part, as well as in the urban municipalities of Northern Cape for CVD. Hot spots showed differential socio-economic and demographic risk factors in NCDs, which included sex, urbanisation, density of public hospitals; death occurrence in health facilities; smoking; asbestos roofing; mining and quarrying businesses. Findings highlight the importance of community-specific interventions and the need for a neighbourhood-based approach in tackling NCDs.     

Very short-term spatio-temporal wind power prediction using a censored Gaussian field

Wind power is a renewable energy resource, that has relatively cheap installation costs and it is highly possible that will become the main energy resource in the near future. Wind power needs to be integrated efficiently into electricity grids, and to optimize the power dispatch, techniques to predict the level of wind power and the associated variability are critical. Ideally, one would like to obtain reliable probability density forecasts for the wind power distributions. We aim at contributing to the literature of wind power prediction by developing and analysing a spatio-temporal methodology for wind power production, that is tested on wind power data from Denmark. We use anisotropic spatio-temporal correlation models to account for the propagation of weather fronts, and a transformed latent Gaussian field model to accommodate the probability masses that occur in wind power distribution due to chains of zeros. We apply the model to generate multi-step ahead probability predictions for wind power generated at both locations where wind farms already exist but also to nearby locations.     

An overview of Fiji's fisheries development

Development and societal changes in the twentieth century have transformed the nature of fishing in Fiji. This paper attempts to consolidate a large amount of decentralized work on the development of Fijian fisheries to address the long-term sustainability and economic viability of Fiji's marine resources. Taking a broad perspective, this paper provides an overview that connects the historic context of Fiji's fisheries development with economic policy to address overfishing. The analysis highlights the need for an overarching management approach that encompasses the integration of Fiji's offshore and inshore fisheries to ensure the achievement of long-term economic benefits.     

Responses of Native and Invasive Floating Aquatic Plant Communities to Salinity and Desiccation Stress in the Southeastern US Coastal Floodplain Forests

Low-lying coastal ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico are already experiencing the effects of elevated salinity from sea-level rise and are predicted to face extreme events such as extended saltwater inundation, intense Atlantic hurricanes, and episodic drought. The ability of coastal plant communities to survive stresses from these events depends largely on how these communities respond to the stresses. Our understanding of how plant communities dominated by native vs. invasive plants respond to extreme events is limited. Utilizing controlled greenhouse experiments, we assessed the responses of floating aquatic macrophyte communities, dominated by native or invasive plants, of the coastal floodplains, Louisiana, USA, to a gradient of chronic salinity, mimicking sea-level rise; a gradient of acute salinity, mimicking hurricane storm surges; and a gradient of desiccation stress, mimicking episodic drought. We found that salinity and desiccation stress effects on plant communities depended on the degree of plant invasion; plant community cover decreased precipitously as severity of stress increased. Specifically, extreme salinity led to a decrease in plant cover of >?90% when communities were dominated by invasive plants, whereas increased desiccation stress led to decreased plant cover of 100% when communities were dominated by native species. At low to moderate salinity, invasive dominated plant communities performed better than native dominated. These responses to salinity and desiccation stress may drive large-scale shifts in plant community structure, including loss of species. Our results underscore the importance of evaluating plant community responses to environmental extremes to determine the potential for future effects on dynamics and functioning of low-lying coastal floodplain ecosystems experiencing effects of climate change.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001344

The Rehai Geothermal Field,located in Tengcbong County,in central-western Yunnan Province, is the largest and most intensively studied geothermal held in China.A wide physicochemical diversity of springs(ambient to ~97℃;pH from≤.8 to≥9.3) provides a multitude of niches for extremophilic microorganisms.A variety of studies have focused on the cultivation,identification,basic physiology,taxonomy,and biotechnological potential of thermophilic microorganisms from Rehai.Thermophilic bacteria isolated from Rehai belong to the phyla Firmicutes and Deinococcus-Thenmts. Firmicutes include neutrophilic or alkaliphilic Anoxybacillus,Bacillus,Caldalkalibacillus.Caldanaerobacier, Laceyella,and Geobacillus,as well as thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus and Sulfobacillus. Isolates from the Deinococcus-Thermus phylum include several Meiothermus and Thennus species.Many of these bacteria synthesize thermostable polymer-degrading enzymes that may be useful for biotechnology. The thermoacidophilic archaea Acidianus.Melal/osp/utera.and Suljolobus have also been isolated and studied.A few studies have reported the isolation of thermophilic viruses belonging to Siphoviridae(TTSP4 and TTSPIO) and Fuselloviridae(STSVl) infecting Thennus spp.and Suljolobus spp..respectively.More recently,cultivation-independent studies using 16S rRNA gene sequences, shotgun metagenomics,or "functional gene" sequences have revealed a much broader diversity of microorganisms than represented in culture.Studies of the gene and mRNA encoding the large subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase(imioA) of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea(AOA) and the tetraether lipid erenarchaeol. a potential biomarker for AOA.suggest a wide diversity,but possibly low abundance,of thermophilic AOA in Rehai.Finally,we introduce the Tengchong Partnerships in International Research and Education(PIRE) project,an international collaboration between Chinese and U.S.scientists with the goal of promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation to gain a more holistic and global view of life in terrestrial geothermal springs.     

Evaluation of hydrologic impact of an irrigation curtailment program using Landsat satellite data

Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) is the source of the Klamath River that flows through southern Oregon and northern California. The UKL Basin provides water for 81,000+ ha (200,000+ acres) of irrigation on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project located downstream of the UKL Basin. Irrigated agriculture also occurs along the tributaries to UKL. During 2013–2016, water rights calls resulted in various levels of curtailment of irrigation diversions from the tributaries to UKL. However, information on the extent of curtailment, how much irrigation water was saved, and its impact on the UKL is unknown. In this study, we combined Landsat-based actual evapotranspiration (ETa) data obtained from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance model with gridded precipitation and U.S. Geological Survey station discharge data to evaluate the hydrologic impact of the curtailment program. Analysis was performed for 2004, 2006, 2008–2010 (base years), and 2013–2016 (target years) over irrigated areas above UKL. Our results indicate that the savings from the curtailment program over the June to September time period were highest during 2013 and declined in each of the following years. The total on-field water savings was approximately 60 hm³ in 2013 and 2014, 44 hm³ in 2015, and 32 hm³ in 2016 (1 hm3 = 10,000 m³ or 810.7 ac-ft). The instream water flow changes or extra water available were 92, 68, 45, and 26 hm³, respectively, for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Highest water savings came from pasture and wetlands. Alfalfa showed the most decline in water use among grain crops. The resulting extra water available from the curtailment contributed to a maximum of 19% of the lake inflows and 50% of the lake volume. The Landsat-based ETa and other remote sensing datasets used in this study can be used to monitor crop water use at the irrigation district scale and to quantify water savings as a result of land-water management changes.     

Environmental co-operation in the Baltic Sea region: A Lithuanian perspective

International co-operation is vital if the ecological crisis in the Baltic Sea is to be reversed. Organisations such as the Baltic Co-operation Council and HELCOM and agreements such as the Helsinki Convention, the Baltic Sea Declaration, and the Gdansk Convention, already exist to facilitate co-operation. Successful implementation of these conventions requires commitment at the national level. Lithuania's commitment is hampered by internal economic, and political problems which must be surmounted if the country is to reduce its impact on the Baltic Sea.Part of the following article is published in Baltic Studies in Australia II: AABS; Melbourne, 1993 — the proceedings from the 7th bi-annual Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (Australasian Section) held in Melbourne, September, 1993.