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.     

Diurnal and tidal patterns of carbon uptake and calcification in geniculate inter‐tidal coralline algae

Research on coralline algal responses to ocean acidification and other environmental stressors has increased in recent years as coralline algae is thought to stand a higher chance of being affected by acidification stress than other macroalgae. To provide context and enhance the existing eco‐physiological framework for climate change studies, it is important to understand the effects of non‐extreme stressors experienced regularly by inter‐tidal coralline algae. In this study, we tested the potentially interacting effects of diurnal and tidal treatments on calcification in the geniculate coralline algae Corallina frondescens and Corallina vancouveriensis using ¹³C‐labeled bicarbonate. Both species deposited more calcium carbonate during the day than at night, and also when submerged (high tide) compared with when emerged (low tide) in their apical and mature segments (intergenicula). These results indicate that inter‐tidal coralline algae do in fact pay a cost for living inter‐tidally at the edge of an adaptive zone.     

On the use of imagery for climate change engagement

This article answers calls from scholars to attend to a research gap concerning the visual representation of climate change. We present results from three Q-methodology workshops held in Melbourne (Australia), Norwich (UK) and Boulder (USA) investigating engagement with climate change imagery drawn from mass media sources. Participants were provided with a concourse of climate change images drawn from a newspaper content analysis carried out across all three countries, and asked to carry out two Q-sorts: first, for salience (‘this image makes me feel climate change is important’) and second, for efficacy (‘this image makes me feel I can do something about climate change’). We found results remarkably consistent both across and within country cohorts. This may indicate the presence of a dominant, mainstream discourse around climate imagery. We found that imagery of climate impacts promotes feelings of salience, but undermines self-efficacy; that imagery of energy futures imagery promotes self-efficacy; and that images of politicians and celebrities strongly undermine saliency, and undermine self-efficacy for the Australian cohort. These results, if widely replicable, have implications for climate change communication and engagement. Our results suggest that imagery plays a role in either increasing the sense of importance of the issue of climate change (saliency), or in promoting feelings of being able to do something about climate change (efficacy) – but few, if any, images seem to do both. Communications strategies should assess the purpose of their messages, considering these findings regarding salience and efficacy in this study, and choose to employ images accordingly.     

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.