Predators of juvenile blue crabs outside of refuge habitats in lower Chesapeake Bay

Blue crabsCallinectes sapidus in lower Chesapeake Bay are subject to high rates of predation during the late summer of their first year of growth as they migrate out of vegetated nursery habitats. Predators, potentially contributing to this pattern, were identified in video-recorded field observations of tethered juvenile crabs (20–25 mm carapace width). Predators were also tested in large laboratory tanks containing similarly-sized untethered crabs as prey. Seven different predators attacked tethered crabs in the field. Only two predators, larger blue crabs and northern puffers,Sphoeroides maculatus, consistently succeeded in preying on crabs in both field and laboratory settings. These results confirm the importance of cannibalism on juvenile blue crabs and identify puffers as a potentially overlooked source of predation pressure.     

Study of charge structure and radiation characteristic of intracloud discharge in thunderstorms of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The comprehensive observations on lightning discharges were conducted in Naqu area of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in summer of 2002. The electric structures of thunderstorms and the characteristics of lightning discharges at initial stage were analyzed by using the observation data. The results show that most of intracloud (IC) lightning flashes were polarities inverted in thunderstorms with tripole electric charge structure and occurred between negative charge region located in the middle of the thunderstorm and positive charge region located at the bottom of the thunderstorm. The radiation characteristics of discharge processes in cloud with longer lasting time involved in Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning flashes were similar to that of IC discharges. A lot of radiation pulses were produced in these discharge processes. Because the IC discharges took place at the bottom of thundercloud and were near the ground, they may produce more serious damage to equipment on the ground therefore should not be neglected in lightning protection.     

A brief comparison of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau Flood Basalts: Implications for models of flood basalt emplacement

The nature and style of emplacement of Continental Flood Basalt (CFB) lava flows has been a matter of great interest as well as considerable controversy in the recent past. However, even a cursory review of published literature reveals that the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) and Hawaiian volcanoes provide most of the data relevant to this topic. It is interesting to note, however, that the CRBG lava flows and their palaeotopographic control is atypical of other CFB provinces in the world. In this paper, we first present a short overview of important studies pertaining to the emplacement of flood basalt flows. We then briefly review the morphology of lava flows from the Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) and the Columbia-Oregon Plateau flood basalts. The review underscores the existence of significant variations in lava flow morphology between different provinces, and even within the same province. It is quite likely that there were more than one way of emplacing the voluminous and extensive CFB lava flows. We argue that the establishment of general models of emplacement must be based on a comprehensive documentation of lava flow morphology from all CFB provinces.     

Minority women’s microenterprises in rural areas of the United States of America: African American,Hispanic American and Native American case studies

Women in many rural areas of the US often engage in small-scale businesses as one of several avenues for contributing to household incomes. In those geographical areas that contain a significant minority population, many of the women's businesses display the cultural diversity of the regions in which they live. Likewise, women's roles as economic providers as well as wives and mothers are reflected in the manner in which they operate their businesses. Candida Brush suggests that women's strategies for operating their businesses are highly integrative because women's business decisions are intertwined with familial responsibilities, household economic demands and desires to contribute to their communities. Hispanic and Native American women in the Four Corners region of southwestern US and African American women in central Virginia participated in interviews in which they responded to numerous short answer and open-ended questions about their businesses and decision-making strategies. From these interviews an image emerges of rural minority business women who are operating their businesses at the nexus of family obligations, economic necessities, cultural ties and with a commitment for serving their communities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vegetation dynamics during the late Pleistocene in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil, based on carbon isotopes in soil organic matter

The study place is in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil. A vegetation transect of 78 km was studied among four vegetation types: Restinga (coastal vegetation), Cerrado (woody savanna), Cerradão (dense woody savanna), and Forest, as well as three forested sites around Lagoa do Caçó, located approximately 10 km of the transect. Soil profiles in this transect were sampled for δ¹³C analysis, as well as buried charcoal fragments were used for ¹⁴C dating. The data interpretation indicated that approximately between 15,000 and ∼9000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., arboreal vegetation prevailed in the whole transect, probably due to the presence of a humid climate. Approximately between ∼9000 and 4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., there was the expansion of the savanna, probably related to the presence of drier climate. From ∼4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. to the present, the results indicated an increase in the arboreal density in the area, due to the return to a more humid and probably similar climate to the present. The presence of buried charcoal fragments in several soil depths suggested the occurrence of palaeofires during the Holocene. The vegetation dynamic inferred in this study for northeastern Brazil is in agreement with the results obtained in areas of Amazon region, based on pollen analysis of lake sediments and carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter (SOM), implying than similar climatic conditions have affected these areas during the late Pleistocene until the present.     

Crustal and mantle strengths in continental lithosphere: is the jelly sandwich model obsolete?

The relative importance of the contribution of the lower crust and of the lithospheric mantle to the total strength of the continental lithosphere is assessed systematically for realistic ranges of layer thickness, composition, and temperature. Results are presented as relative strength maps, giving the ratio of the lower crust to upper mantle contribution in terms of crustal thickness and surface heat flow. The lithosphere shows a “jelly sandwich” rheological layering for low surface heat flow, thin to average crustal thickness, and felsic or wet mafic lower crustal compositions. On the other hand, most of the total strength resides in the seismogenic crust in regions of high surface heat flow, crust of any thickness, and dry mafic lower crustal composition.     

Pollution history and recovery of a boreal lake exposed to a heavy bleached pulping effluent load

We examined the effects of heavy pulp mill discharges on the Lake Lievestuoreenjärvi ecosystem and the later recovery of diatom and chironomid communities from age-dated short core samples. Beginning in 1927 the lake received a heavy effluent load from a sulphite pulp mill. Except for the recession during the Second World War and the temporary closure of the mill from 1967 to 1971, the industrial load, containing large quantities of nutrients, organic matter and toxic compounds, increased continuously. In the early 1980s, laboratory documents were falsified by the directors of the mill and the systematic illegal effluent overload led to a collapse of the whole lake ecosystem. In 1985, the outdated plant was finally closed down. Based on the assessment of chemical properties and biological remains of the sediment, we distinguished five developmental phases in the ecological state of the lake. In the pre-industrial phase, the pelagic and profundal benthic communities were dominated by species preferring ultraoligotrophic or oligotrophic lakes. Concomitant with the increasing discharge and deposition of chlorine compounds, resin acids, and mercury, as well as strong acidity and hypolimnetic and epilimnetic anoxia, the ecological status changed in a short period from excellent to bad. Finally, in the early 1960s, the majority of the lake was virtually dead and the aquatic life survived only in the uppermost littoral zone. Since 1985, a fast recovery in the water quality has led to a strong, but temporary eutrophy in pelagic communities. The main peak of eutrophication was caused by the invasion of a species new to the lake,Aulacoseira granulata var.angustissima. Later, the pelagic communities shifted towards oligotrophy, but the original, pre-industrial status has not been re-established. The profundal benthic communities have not achieved the pre-industrial structure, but at present indicate mesotrophy.