Variability and predictability of Antarctic krill swarm structure

Swarming is a fundamental part of the life of Euphausia superba, yet we still know very little about what drives the considerable variability in swarm shape, size and biomass. We examined swarms across the Scotia Sea in January and February 2003 using a Simrad EK60 (38 and 120 kHz) echosounder, concurrent with net sampling. The acoustic data were analysed through applying a swarm-identification algorithm and then filtering out all non-krill targets. The area, length, height, depth, packing-concentration and inter-swarm distance of 4525 swarms was derived by this method. Hierarchical clustering revealed 2 principal swarm types, which differed in both their dimensions and packing-concentrations. Type 1 swarms were generally small (<50 m long) and were not very tightly packed (<10 ind. m⁻³), whereas type 2 swarms were an order of magnitude larger and had packing concentrations up to 10 times greater. Further sub-divisions of these types identified small and standard swarms within the type 1 group and large and superswarms within the type 2 group. A minor group (swarm type 3) was also found, containing swarms that were isolated (>100 km away from the next swarm). The distribution of swarm types over the survey grid was examined with respect to a number of potential explanatory variables describing both the environment and the internal-state of krill (namely maturity, body length, body condition). Most variables were spatially averaged over scales of 100 km and so mainly had a mesoscale perspective. The exception was the level of light (photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)) for which measurements were specific to each swarm. A binary logistic model was constructed from four variables found to have significant explanatory power (P<0.05): surface fluorescence, PAR, krill maturity and krill body length. Larger (type 2) swarms were more commonly found during nighttime or when it was overcast during the day, when surface fluorescence was low, and when the krill were small and immature. A strong pattern of diel vertical migration was not observed although the larger and denser swarms tended to occur more often at night than during the day. The vast majority of krill were contained within a minor fraction of the total number of swarms. These krill-rich swarms were more common in areas dominated by small and immature krill. We propose that, at the mesoscale level, the structure of swarms switches from being predominantly large and tightly packed to smaller and more diffuse as krill grow and mature. This pattern is further modulated according to feeding conditions and then level of light.     

Interactions between groundwater and seasonally ice‐covered lakes: Using water stable isotopes and radon‐222 multilayer mass balance models

Interactions between lakes and groundwater are of increasing concern for freshwater environmental management but are often poorly characterized. Groundwater inflow to lakes, even at low rates, has proven to be a key in both lake nutrient balances and in determining lake vulnerability to pollution. Although difficult to measure using standard hydrometric methods, significant insight into groundwater–lake interactions has been acquired by studies applying geochemical tracers. However, the use of simple steady‐state, well‐mixed models, and the lack of characterization of lake spatiotemporal variability remain important sources of uncertainty, preventing the characterization of the entire lake hydrological cycle, particularly during ice‐covered periods. In this study, a small groundwater‐connected lake was monitored to determine the annual dynamics of the natural tracers, water stable isotopes and radon‐222, through the implementation of a comprehensive sampling strategy. A multilayer mass balance model was found outperform a well‐mixed, one‐layer model in terms of quantifying groundwater fluxes and their temporal evolution, as well as characterizing vertical differences. Water stable isotopes and radon‐222 were found to provide complementary information on the lake water budget. Radon‐222 has a short response time, and highlights rapid and transient increases in groundwater inflow, but requires a thorough characterization of groundwater radon‐222 activity. Water stable isotopes follow the hydrological cycle of the lake closely and highlight periods when the lake budget is dominated by evaporation versus groundwater inflow, but continuous monitoring of local meteorological parameters is required. Careful compilation of tracer evolution throughout the water column and over the entire year is also very informative. The developed models, which are suitable for detailed, site‐specific studies, allow the quantification of groundwater inflow and internal dynamics during both ice‐free and ice‐covered periods, providing an improved tool for understanding the annual water cycle of lakes.     

Palaeoenvironmental significance of the mammalian faunas of Italy since the Pliocene

The evolution of mammalian communities is a significant tool for reconstructing past environments and climate. In this paper, a palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on the study of the Italian mammal faunas ranging from Middle Pliocene to the Holocene is presented using the cenogram method and quantification of temperatures based on arvicolid species richness. These analyses reveal open and arid conditions during glacial periods and less open and more humid conditions during interglacials, with some differences between north and central–south Italy. Northern and Southern communities reflect similar trends in the evolution of palaeoenvironments and in the variation of the temperatures, but differences in estimated temperatures, which indicate a more temperate climate for southern Italy throughout the period, are considered here. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment trapping by a tree belt: processes and consequences for sediment delivery

Restoring belts of perennial vegetation in landscapes is widely recognized as a measure of improving landscape function. While there have been many studies of the transport of pollutants through grass filter strips, few have addressed sediment related processes through restored tree belts. In order to identify these processes and quantify their relative contribution to sediment trapping, a series of rainfall simulations was conducted on a 600 m² hillslope comprising a pasture upslope of a 15 year old tree belt. Although the simulated events were extreme (average recurrence intervals ～10 and 50 yr), the trapping efficiency of the tree belt was very high: at least 94% of the total mass of sediments was captured. All the size fractions were trapped with a minimum Sediment Trapping Ratio (STR) of 91% for the medium‐sized fragments. Fractions < 1·3 µm and > 182 µm were totally captured (STR = 100%). Through the joint analysis of sediment budgets and soil surface conditions, we identified different trapping processes. The main trapping process is the sedimentation (at least 62% of trapped sediment mass) with deposits in the backwater and as micro‐terraces within the tree belt. Modelling results show that the coarsest size fractions above 75 µm are preferentially deposited. Joint infiltration of water and sediments has also been noticed, however, this process alone cannot explain the selective trapping of the finest fractions. We suggest that the finest fractions transported by the overland flow may be trapped by adsorption on the abundant litter present within the tree belt. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of temperature on an alga‐grazer trophic transfer: A dual stable isotope (13C, 15N) labeling experiment

In this study, we examined the impact of temperature on the carbon and nitrogen trophic transfers from a macroalga to a macro‐grazer by the use of dual ¹³C‐ and ¹⁵N‐labeling. Using an experimental approach in mesocosms, individuals of the urchin Psammechinus miliaris were maintained for 1 month at 17°C (mean summer temperature in the Bay of Brest) and at 20°C (maximum summer temperature) and fed with ¹³C‐ and ¹⁵N‐labeled Solieria chordalis. The results showed that the urchins’ ¹³C uptake was 0.30 µg¹³C g dry weight (DW)^?1 at 17°C and 0.14 µg¹³C g DW^?1 at 20°C at the end of the experiment. The lower uptake at the higher temperature may be attributed to a decrease in metabolic activity at 20°C, involving lower feeding and/or respiration rates. Conversely, no significant effect of temperature was detected on ¹⁵N uptake. At the end of the experiment, the urchins’ ¹⁵N uptake was 0.04 µg¹⁵N g DW^?1 at 17°C and 0.03 µg¹⁵N g DW^?1 at 20°C. This suggests that temperature may affect carbon and nitrogen trophic fluxes differently. The use of dual isotope labeling offers interesting prospects and needs to be further extended in order to better understand trophic interactions in marine communities and the consequences of current environmental changes, such as global warming.     

Spatial Variability of Sampling: Grid Size Impact on Atmospheric Metals and Trace Elements Deposition Mapping with Mosses

This paper deals with the spatial heterogeneity structure and the influence of the precision of moss data on results interpretation as real spatial variations of atmospheric heavy metal deposition. Different sizes of map mesh net (unit I of 30 × 30 km, unit II of 10 × 10 km, unit III of 3 × 3 km) have divided an area of 90 × 90 km. The protocol used is a nested design with three levels and random draws. The statistical method of components of variance analysis estimates the associated variability for each mesh size. Our results show the poor precision of this biological tool for map purposes on a little scale (unit III). Furthermore, the high residual variance of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, La, Ti, and U hides the spatial variations associated with mesh sizes. In order to obtain useful maps, it should be reasonable to use a 30 × 30 km mesh size, or even larger, to build spatial variation maps of Pb, Sb and with more caution for Cu, Sr, Rb and Zn. For V, As and Cd, the residual variability of moss data was too important to guarantee any spatial origin to the mapped variations. The cost–benefit study shows that the sampling effort has to be concentrated on unit I of 30 × 30 km to optimize future campaigns, and with a particular stress on the sampling repetitions for Cu, Pb, and Sb.     

High resolution simulation of recent Arctic and Antarctic stratospheric chemical ozone loss compared to observations

Simulations of polar ozone losses were performed using the three-dimensional high-resolution (1^∘ × 1^∘) chemical transport model MIMOSA-CHIM. Three Arctic winters 1999–2000, 2001–2002, 2002–2003 and three Antarctic winters 2001, 2002, and 2003 were considered for the study. The cumulative ozone loss in the Arctic winter 2002–2003 reached around 35% at 475 K inside the vortex, as compared to more than 60% in 1999–2000. During 1999–2000, denitrification induces a maximum of about 23% extra ozone loss at 475 K as compared to 17% in 2002–2003. Unlike these two colder Arctic winters, the 2001–2002 Arctic was warmer and did not experience much ozone loss. Sensitivity tests showed that the chosen resolution of 1^∘ × 1^∘ provides a better evaluation of ozone loss at the edge of the polar vortex in high solar zenith angle conditions. The simulation results for ozone, ClO, HNO₃, N₂O, and NO _y for winters 1999–2000 and 2002–2003 were compared with measurements on board ER-2 and Geophysica aircraft respectively. Sensitivity tests showed that increasing heating rates calculated by the model by 50% and doubling the PSC (Polar Stratospheric Clouds) particle density (from 5 × 10⁻³ to 10⁻² cm⁻³) refines the agreement with in situ ozone, N₂O and NO _y levels. In this configuration, simulated ClO levels are increased and are in better agreement with observations in January but are overestimated by about 20% in March. The use of the Burkholder et al. (1990) Cl₂O₂ absorption cross-sections slightly increases further ClO levels especially in high solar zenith angle conditions. Comparisons of the modelled ozone values with ozonesonde measurement in the Antarctic winter 2003 and with Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement III (POAM III) measurements in the Antarctic winters 2001 and 2002, shows that the simulations underestimate the ozone loss rate at the end of the ozone destruction period. A slightly better agreement is obtained with the use of Burkholder et al. (1990) Cl₂O₂ absorption cross-sections.