Spatial and temporal variation in subtidal molluscan diversity amongst temperate estuarine habitats

Effective management of marine ecosystems is enhanced when detailed information on biodiversity is available. Key information to underpin management actions and conservation planning includes relationships between species assemblages and environmental gradients, and information on species distributions. We conducted a subtidal biodiversity assessment of surface‐dwelling subtidal molluscs in eight a priori defined habitat types using underwater visual censuses to quantitatively explore relationships between molluscan assemblages, and their correlation with benthic habitats and abiotic variables. In addition, variations in diversity were examined for two key habitat types (areas dominated by Dendronephthya australis and by filter feeders) over a period of 15 months to examine temporal change. We found that molluscs form distinct assemblages within subtidal habitats, but that assemblages within key habitats show inherent temporal variability. Regional (gamma) diversity of molluscs was found to result from a combination of: (i) within habitat alpha diversity, which increased with habitat complexity; (ii) between habitat beta diversity, with significant differences in molluscan assemblages amongst habitats with differing benthic growth, substrate type, and depth; and (iii) temporal beta diversity, with significant changes detected in molluscan assemblages over time. The results demonstrate how habitats and abiotic variables (principally depth and substrate type) combine to contribute to molluscan biodiversity in temperate estuaries, and illustrate the value of these factors as surrogates for surface‐dwelling subtidal molluscs in conservation planning.     

Measurement and modeling of bed shear stress under solitary waves

Direct measurements of bed shear stresses (using a shear cell apparatus) generated by non-breaking solitary waves are presented. The measurements were carried out over a smooth bed in laminar and transitional flow regimes (~ 10⁴ < R_e < ~ 10⁵). Measurements were carried out where the wave height to water depth (h/d) ratio varied between 0.12 and 0.68; maximum near bed velocity varied between 0.16 m/s and 0.51 m/s and the maximum total shear stress (sum of skin shear stress and Froude–Krylov force) varied between 0.386 Pa and 2.06 Pa. The total stress is important in determining the stability of submarine sediment and in sheet flow regimes. Analytical modeling was carried out to predict total and skin shear stresses using convolution integration methods forced with the free stream velocity and incorporating a range of eddy viscosity models. Wave friction factors were estimated from skin shear stress at different instances over the wave (viz., time of maximum positive total shear stress, maximum skin shear stress and at the time of maximum velocity) using both the maximum velocity and the instantaneous velocity at that phase of the wave cycle. Similarly, force coefficients obtained from total stress were estimated at time of maximum positive and negative total stress and at maximum velocity. Maximum positive total shear stress was approximately 1.5 times larger than minimum negative total stress. Modeled and measured positive bed shear stresses are well correlated using the best convolution model, but the model underestimates the data by about 4%. Friction factors are dependent on the choice of normalizing using the maximum velocity, as is conventional, or the instantaneous velocity. These differ because the stress is not in phase with the velocity in general. Friction factors are consistent with previous data for monochromatic waves, and vary inversely with the square-root of the Reynolds number. The total shear stress leads the free stream fluid velocity by approximately 50°, whereas the skin friction shear stress leads by about 30°, which is similar to that reported by earlier researchers.     

Use of Continuous Plankton Recorder information in support of marine management: applications in fisheries, environmental protection, and in the study of ecosystem response to environmental change

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey was conceived from the outset as a programme of applied research designed to assist the fishing industry. Its survival and continuing vigour after 70 years is a testament to its utility, which has been achieved in spite of great changes in our understanding of the marine environment and in our concerns over how to manage it. The CPR has been superseded in several respects by other technologies, such as acoustics and remote sensing, but it continues to provide unrivalled seasonal and geographic information about a wide range of zooplankton and phytoplankton taxa. The value of this coverage increases with time and provides the basis for placing recent observations into the context of long-term, large-scale variability and thus suggesting what the causes are likely to be. Information from the CPR is used extensively in judging environmental impacts and producing quality status reports (QSR); it has shown the distributions of fish stocks, which had not previously been exploited; it has pointed to the extent of ungrazed phytoplankton production in the North Atlantic, which was a vital element in establishing the importance of carbon sequestration by phytoplankton.The CPR continues to be the principal source of large-scale, long-term information about the plankton ecosystem of the North Atlantic. It has recently provided extensive information about the biodiversity of the plankton and about the distribution of introduced species. It serves as a valuable example for the design of future monitoring of the marine environment and it has been essential to the design and implementation of most North Atlantic plankton research.     

Sediment-starved sand ridges on a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf off west-central Florida

High-resolution side-scan mosaics, sediment analyses, and physical process data have revealed that the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic, inner shelf of west-central Florida supports a highly complex field of active sand ridges mantled by a hierarchy of bedforms. The sand ridges, mostly oriented obliquely to the shoreline trend, extend from 2 km to over 25 km offshore. They show many similarities to their well-known counterparts situated along the US Atlantic margin in that both increase in relief with increasing water depth, both are oriented obliquely to the coast, and both respond to modern shelf dynamics. There are significant differences in that the sand ridges on the west-central Florida shelf are smaller in all dimensions, have a relatively high carbonate content, and are separated by exposed rock surfaces. They are also shoreface-detached and are sediment-starved, thus stunting their development. Morphological details are highly distinctive and apparent in side-scan imagery due to the high acoustic contrast. The seafloor is active and not a relict system as indicated by: (1) relatively young AMS ¹⁴C dates (<1600 yr BP) from forams in the shallow subsurface (1.6 meters below seafloor), (2) apparent shifts in sharply distinctive grayscale boundaries seen in time-series side-scan mosaics, (3) maintenance of these sharp acoustic boundaries and development of small bedforms in an area of constant and extensive bioturbation, (4) sediment textural asymmetry indicative of selective transport across bedform topography, (5) morphological asymmetry of sand ridges and 2D dunes, and (6) current-meter data indicating that the critical threshold velocity for sediment transport is frequently exceeded. Although larger sand ridges are found along other portions of the west-central Florida inner shelf, these smaller sand ridges are best developed seaward of a major coastal headland, suggesting some genetic relationship. The headland may focus and accelerate the N–S reversing currents. An elevated rock terrace extending from the headland supports these ridges in a shallower water environment than the surrounding shelf, allowing them to be more easily influenced by currents and surface gravity waves. Tidal currents, storm-generated flows, and seasonally developed flows are shore-parallel and oriented obliquely to the NW–SE trending ridges, indicating that they have developed as described by the Huthnance model. Although inner shelf sand ridges have been extensively examined elsewhere, this study is the first to describe them in a low-energy, sediment-starved, dominantly mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sedimentary environment situated on a former limestone platform.     

Ouachita, Appalachian, and Ancestral Rockies deformations recorded in mesoscale structures on the foreland Ozark plateaus

Mesoscale structures in Paleozoic rocks of the Ozark plateaus reveal four Pennsylvanian deformation episodes in midcontinent North America. The two earliest episodes can be assigned to progressive northwestward docking of the Ouachita terrane with North America. Early extensional structures (Event 1) indicate a northwest/southeast maximum horizontal stress (Hmax) during Early Pennsylvanian Ouachita terrane advance. Event 2 extensional and strike-slip structures indicate Hmax across the Ozark plateaus that varies systematically from north-northwest/south-southeast in the south to northeast/southwest in the north. This suggests development of a slip-line deformation field in response to minor northeastward lateral escape of lithospheric blocks away from the northwestward-moving Ouachita terrane's leading edge, which acted as an indenter in western Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, and Texas. Younger contractional and strike-slip structures of Event 3 indicate northeast/southwest Hmax across the entire Ozark plateaus, and deformation orientation and intensity are not readily assigned to Ouachita foreland deformation and may be related to Middle Pennsylvanian Ancestral Rockies contractional deformation. Finally, Event 4 contractional structures indicate northwest/southeast Hmax consistent with southern Appalachian late stage convergence.Deformation episodes are localized along basement fault zones, particularly at major bends, suggesting minor restraining-bend uplifts along strike-slip faults. Geometries of conjugate normal fault and hybrid shear joint arrays indicate localized areas of high differential stress consistent with basement block uplift at these bends. High-angle faults reactivated in a reverse sense and bedding-parallel veins suggest tensile minimum stresses and pore fluid pressures exceeding lithostatic stress, consistent with brine pulses driven into the midcontinent during Late Paleozoic orogeny (as proposed by other authors).     

Environmental heterogeneity affects input, storage, and transformation of coarse particulate organic matter in a floodplain mosaic

Quantifying spatial and temporal dynamics of organic matter (OM) is critical both for understanding ecosystem functioning and for predicting impacts of landscape change. To determine the influence of different habitats and coarse particulate OM (CPOM) types upon floodplain OM dynamics, we quantified aerial input, lateral surface transfer, and surface storage of CPOM over an annual cycle on the near-natural floodplain of the River Tagliamento in NE-Italy. Using these data, we modelled floodplain leaf dynamics, taking account of the spatial distribution and hydrologic connectivity of habitats, and using leaf storage as a response variable. Mean aerial CPOM input to the floodplain was similar from riparian forest and islands, but surface transfer was greater from islands, supporting the suggestion that these habitats act as “islands of fertility” along braided rivers. Leaves were the lateral conveyor of energy to more open parts of the floodplain, whereas CPOM was mainly stored as small wood in vegetated islands and riparian forest. Simulating the loss of habitat diversity (islands, ponds) decreased leaf storage on the whole floodplain, on exposed gravel and in large wood accumulations. In contrast, damming (loss of islands, ponds and floods plus floodplain overgrowth) greatly increased storage on exposed gravel. A random shuffle of habitats led to a storage increase on exposed gravel, while that in large wood accumulations and ponds declined. These results disentangle some of the complexities of CPOM dynamics in floodplain ecosystems, illustrate the value of models in understanding ecosystem functioning at a landscape level, and directly inform river management practice.     

Automatic Location of Swarm Earthquakes from Local Network Data

An advanced method of automated seismic phase picking and exact location and magnitude determination of swarm micro-earthquakes from local network data is presented. The phase picker is applied in two steps: first, S-wave groups are identified using a polarisation detector, and then corresponding P-wave groups are searched for. The times of maximum P- and S-amplitudes are then used as starting points for the determination of accurate P- and S-arrival times. The maximum S-wave amplitudes are utilised for determining local magnitudes. The whole procedure is checked by simultaneous preliminary hypocentre location providing estimates of local magnitudes and a compatibility check of the candidate P- and S-phases. The closest station to the earthquake cluster is used as a master, and the phase search at the remaining stations is governed by the P- and S-phases identified at the master station. Thanks to the use of apriori information on the approximate position of hypocentres, the procedure is also capable of picking the individual P- and S-phases of sequences of overlapping swarm events. The performance of the procedure was tested by comparison of the automatically and interactively created catalogues of the January 1997 NW-Bohemia micro-earthquake swarm. With stations located at epicentral distances between 0 and 20 km, the difference between hypocentre coordinates obtained by automatic and interactive processing did not exceed 80 m for 86% events. All events above magnitude 0.5 were identified, and the automatically determined polarity of first P-wave motion proved to be correct in 89% of them.