Tag loss and movement of stocked yearling rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in southwestern Australia

Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, have been stocked in southwestern Australia since the 1930s. Trials at a research station maintained 868 tagged yearling O. mykiss (age: 14 months; standard length: 208 mm) for up to 375 days. The mean tag loss rate was 0.12% ± 0.040% per day for both single- and double-tagged fish. The tag loss rate was used to interpret tag return data from 7030 single-tagged yearlings stocked into three river systems in southwestern Australia. Recaptures indicated that O. mykiss survived into their second season in all rivers, with the maximum time at liberty of 21 months (longevity of at least 35 months). Upstream and downstream movements of O. mykiss increased with time, although 29% of recaptures were reported from the stocking site. Significantly more O. mykiss were recaptured from the Warren River, and differences remained even when corrected for stocking levels; angler effort had a marginal effect on return rates. Higher return rates from the Warren River may be due to availability of suitable habitat (stream cover, cooler water) for O. mykiss. Results allow the stocking regime to be reviewed to improve fishery performance.     

Adaptive state estimation of groundwater contaminant boundary input flux in a 2-dimensional aquifer

In many circumstances involving heat and mass transfer issues,it is considered impractical to measure the input flux and the resulting state distribution in the domain.Therefore,the need to develop techniques to provide solutions for such problems and estimate the inverse mass flux becomes imperative.Adaptive state estimator(ASE)is increasingly becoming a popular inverse estimation technique which resolves inverse problems by incorporating the semi-Markovian concept into a Bayesian estimation technique,thereby developing an inverse input and state estimator consisting of a bank of parallel adaptively weighted Kalman filters.The ASE is particularly designed for a system that encompasses independent unknowns and/or random switching of input and measurement biases.The present study describes the scheme to estimate the groundwater input contaminant flux and its transient distribution in a conjectural two-dimensional aquifer by means of ASE,which in particular is because of its unique ability to efficiently handle the process noise giving an estimation of keeping the relative error range within 10%in 2-dimensional problems.Numerical simulation results show that the proposed estimator presents decent estimation performance for both smoothly and abruptly varying input flux scenarios.Results also show that ASE enjoys a better estimation performance than its competitor,Recursive Least Square Estimator(RLSE)due to its larger error tolerance in greater process noise regimes.ASE's inherent deficiency of being slower than the RLSE,resulting from the complexity of algorithm,was also noticed.The chosen input scenarios are tested to calculate the effect of input area and both estimators show improved results with an increase in input flux area especially as sensors are moved closer to the assumed input location.     

Significant genetic differentiation among meroplanktonic barrel jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the Mediterranean Sea

Molecular data have shown that jellyfishes are more geographically restricted and evolutionarily divergent than previously thought. We examined genetic variation and divergence within the meroplanktonic barrel jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo in the Mediterranean Sea; specific sampling areas were the northern Adriatic, western Mediterranean and Tunisian coast. A total of 19 sampling sites and 68 sequences of the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene were used. Of the 68 COI sequences, 45 were newly collected specimens which originated from nine sampling sites along the Tunisian coast. A total of 24 haplotypes were obtained and the specimens sampled were characterised by relatively high levels of haplotype diversity (h = 0.866) and low levels of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.004). Haplotype network analysis showed the presence of three distinct phylogenetic lineages (populations), with separate geographic ranges in the northern Adriatic, western Mediterranean and Tunisian coast. The observed genetic differentiation between these three lineages was supported by the presence of significant genetic differentiation between the 19 populations (F_ST = 0.757, p < 0.001). The high level of genetic differentiation detected in the barrel jellyfish investigated could be attributed to either intrinsic and/or extrinsic barriers to genetic exchange between different populations that may have adapted to different environmental conditions.     

Prevailing trends of climatic extremes across Indus-Delta of Sindh-Pakistan

This study examines the variability and change in the patterns of climatic extremes experienced in Indus-Delta of Sindh province of Pakistan, comprising regions of Karachi, Badin, Mohenjodaro, and Rohri. The homogenized daily minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation data for a 36-year period were used to calculate 13 and 11 indices of temperature and precipitation extremes with the help of RClimDex, a program written in the statistical software package R. A non-parametric Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimates were used to determine the statistical significance and magnitude of the calculated trend. Temperatures of summer days and tropical nights increased in the region with overall significant warming trends for monthly maximum temperature as well as for warm days and nights reflecting dry conditions in the study area. The warm extremes and nighttime temperature indices showed greater trends than cold extremes and daytime indices depicting an overall warming trends in the Delta. Historic decrease in the acreage of major crops and over 33% decrease in agriculture credit for Sindh are the indicators of adverse impacts of warmer and drier weather on Sindh agriculture. Trends reported for Karachi and Badin are expected to decrease rice cultivation, hatching of fisheries, and mangroves forest surrounding these cities. Increase in the prevailing temperature trends will lead to increasingly hotter and drier summers resulting to constraints on cotton, wheat, and rice yield in Rohri and Mohenjodaro areas due to increased crop water requirements that may be met with additional groundwater pumping; nonetheless, the depleted groundwater resources would have a direct impact on the region’s economy.     

Influence of saturation on rainfall generated landslides in shale along Murree-Kohala road,Pakistan

On August 10, 2010 a series of landslides of more than 90,000 m³ occurred along the Muree-Kohala road in the northern area of Pakistan. A study was undertaken to evaluate the likely impacts of percent saturation and bulk density on mobilized shear strength along the basal rupture surface of the landslide. A series of unconfined compression test and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed on remolded samples of different densities with varied percentages of saturation. The results of these tests suggest that soil cohesion and friction decreases with increasing saturation. The tests also showed that the shear strength parameters tend to increase with increasing dry density; however, all the samples exhibited a noticeable loss of shear strength with increasing degree of saturation, independent of soil density.Limit equilibrium slope stability analyses were performed along the most probable failure planes, based on shear strength parameters corresponding to degrees of saturation, which varied between 30% to about 100%. This resulted in drop of factor of safety from FS = 1.64 down to 0.51 as the degree of saturation approaches unity.These results suggest that the causative factor in triggering the landslide along Murree-Kohala was the partial saturation of the zone that developed the basal rupture plane. As rain infiltrated the slope, the bulk unit weight of the soil increased, while the shear strength along the developing plane of rupture decreased sufficiently to concentrate shear strain when the material became more than 60% saturation (FS < 1.0).     

A multi‐dating approach applied to proglacial sediments attributed to the Most Extensive Glaciation of the Swiss Alps

Dehnert, A., Preusser, F., Kramers, J. D., Akçar, N., Kubik, P. W., Reber, R. & Schlüchter, C. 2010: A multi‐dating approach applied to proglacial sediments attributed to the Most Extensive Glaciation of the Swiss Alps. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 620–632. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00146.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. The number and the timing of Quaternary glaciations of the Alps are poorly constrained and, in particular, the age of the Most Extensive Glaciation (MEG) in Switzerland remains controversial. This ice advance has previously been tentatively correlated with the Riss Glaciation of the classical alpine stratigraphy and with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 (186–127 ka). An alternative interpretation, based on pollen analysis and stratigraphic correlations, places the MEG further back in the Quaternary, with an age equivalent to MIS 12 (474–427 ka), or even older. To re‐evaluate this issue in the Swiss glaciation history, a multi‐dating approach was applied to proglacial deltaic ‘Höhenschotter’ deposits in locations outside the ice extent of the Last Glacial Maximum. Results of U/Th and luminescence dating suggest a correlation of the investigated deposits with MIS 6 and hence with the Riss Glaciation. Cosmogenic burial dating suffered from large measurement uncertainties and unusually high ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios and did not provide robust age estimates.     

Swell impact on reef sedimentary processes: A case study of the La Reunion fringing reef

Two surface‐sediment sampling campaigns were carried out in November and December 2003, before and after a strong swell event, in the back‐reef area of a microtidal fringing reef on the western coast of La Reunion, Indian Ocean. The spatial distributions of the mean grain size, sorting and skewness parameters are determined, and grain‐size trend analysis is performed to estimate the main sediment transport pathways in the reef. The results of this analysis are compared with hydrodynamic records obtained in the same reef area during fair weather conditions and during swell events. Sediment dynamics inferred from the hydrodynamic records show that significant sediment erosion and transport occur only during swell events and under strongly agitated sea states. Under normal wave conditions, there is a potential for onshore sediment transport from the reef‐flat to the back‐reef, but this transport is episodic and occurs principally during high‐tide stages. Sediment transport trends revealed by the grain‐size trend analysis method show onshore and alongshore low‐energy transport processes that are in agreement with the hydrodynamic records. The grain‐size trend analysis method also provides evidence of an offshore high‐energy transport trend that could be interpreted as a real physical process associated with return flow from the shore to the reef. The impact of swell on the reef sediment dynamics is clearly demonstrated by onshore and alongshore transport. Considering different combinations of the vector transport trends computed through the grain‐size trend analysis approach, more realistic and pertinent results can be obtained by applying an exclusive OR operation (XOR case) on the vectors. The main results presented here highlight a trend towards the accumulation of carbonate sands in the back‐reef area of the fringing reef. These sediments can only be resuspended during extreme events such as storms or tropical cyclones.     

Integrated Futures for Europe’s Mountain Regions: Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Human Livelihoods

Introduction Europe's mountains cover nearly half of the continent's area (Price et al. 2004) and land cover varies significantly (European Commission 2004). In most massifs, except for Sicily, southern Greece, and the British Isles, forest cover is dominant. In northern Europe, grassland is proportionately more important, and much of the mountains of the British Isles is covered by moorland. In central and southern Europe, arable land is of far greater importance than grassland, with Med…     

Quartz latite rheoignimbrite flows of the Etendeka Formation,north-western Namibia

The Etendeka Formation of north-western Namibia consists of a sequence of interbedded quartz latites and tholeiitic basalts and forms part of the Karoo Igneous Province in southern Africa. The age of the Etendeka Formation is approximately 130–135 Ma. The quartz latites make up a significant proportion of the stratigraphic succession (<25% of the total stratigraphic thickness) and form as much as 60% of the outcrop area in the southern Etendeka. Apart from some systematic differences between pitchstones and devitrified quartz latite, largely explained by alteration processes, individual quartz latite units exhibit remarkably uniform compositions with no significant vertical or lateral variation. Geochemistry can be used as a primary criterion for the correlation of major quartz latite units over much of the southern Etendeka area enabling the reconstruction of the Etendeka Formation stratigraphy in this region. Individual quartz latite units occur as voluminous (400–2600 km³), widespread (up to 8800 km²), sheet-like deposits typically between 40 and 300 m thick. Each unit consists of basal, main and upper zones. The main zone generally constitutes over 70% of the thickness of the unit and typically consists of texturally featureless devitrified quartz latite. In contrast the basal and upper zones of the flow are characterised by flow banding, pitchstone lenses and breccia, with rare occurrences of pyroclastic textures. The quartz latites are sparsely porphyritic (<10% phenocrysts) with glassy or devitrified groundmass textures. The phenocrysts consist of plagioclase, pyroxene, titanomagnetite and rare ilmenite. Pyroxene geothermometry indicates high (1000–1100°C) temperatures of crystallisation which, coupled with the absence or primary hydrous phases, indicates that the quartz latites were relatively hot, H₂O-undersaturated magmas. The quartz latites display features common to both rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites and are clearly the products of an unusual eruption style. The local preservation of pyroclastic textures and the broad areal extent of these units lead to the conclusion that the quartz latites are high-temperature rheomorphic ignimbrites (i.e. rheoignimbrites). A combination of high eruption temperature and relatively low viscosity helps to explain the often completely welded and homogeneous textures observed in most quartz latite outcrops in the Etendeka area.     

Bayesian modelling of clusters of galaxies from multifrequency-pointed Sunyaev–Zel'dovich observations

We present a Bayesian approach to modelling galaxy clusters using multi-frequency pointed observations from telescopes that exploit the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect. We use the recently developed multinest technique to explore the high-dimensional parameter spaces and also to calculate the Bayesian evidence. This permits robust parameter estimation as well as model comparison. Tests on simulated Arcminute Microkelvin Imager observations of a cluster, in the presence of primary CMB signal, radio point sources (detected as well as an unresolved background) and receiver noise, show that our algorithm is able to analyse jointly the data from six frequency channels, sample the posterior space of the model and calculate the Bayesian evidence very efficiently on a single processor. We also illustrate the robustness of our detection process by applying it to a field with radio sources and primordial CMB but no cluster, and show that indeed no cluster is identified. The extension of our methodology to the detection and modelling of multiple clusters in multi-frequency SZ survey data will be described in a future work.