Fishing‐induced evolution of growth: concepts,mechanisms and the empirical evidence

The interest in fishing‐induced life‐history evolution has been growing in the last decade, in part because of the increasing number of studies suggesting evolutionary changes in life‐history traits, and the potential ecological and economic consequences these changes may have. Among the traits that could evolve in response to fishing, growth has lately received attention. However, critical reading of the literature on growth evolution in fish reveals conceptual confusion about the nature of ‘growth’ itself as an evolving trait, and about the different ways fishing can affect growth and size‐at‐age of fish, both on ecological and on evolutionary time‐scales. It is important to separate the advantages of being big and the costs of growing to a large size, particularly when studying life‐history evolution. In this review, we explore the selection pressures on growth and the resultant evolution of growth from a mechanistic viewpoint. We define important concepts and outline the processes that must be accounted for before observed phenotypic changes can be ascribed to growth evolution. When listing traits that could be traded‐off with growth rate, we group the mechanisms into those affecting resource acquisition and those governing resource allocation. We summarize potential effects of fishing on traits related to growth and discuss methods for detecting evolution of growth. We also challenge the prevailing expectation that fishing‐induced evolution should always lead to slower growth.     

The effect of air-bubble barriers in containing oil-slick movement

Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the performance of an air-bubble barrier and to determine the oil volume passage rate through such a barrier under various oil sample, wind, wave and current conditions. Two empirical equations were derived based on the laboratory data. The first equation determines the relationship between current velocity and the minimum airflow rate required to avoid oil flow through the barrier from the surface. The second equation predicts the dimensionless oil volume passage rate through the barrier under the surface per unit width when the required minimum airflow rate is given in order to prevent oil flow through the barrier from the surface. If the current and wind speed are given, both the minimum required airflow rate for avoiding oil flow through the barrier from the surface, and the dimensionless oil volume passage rate through the barrier under the surface per unit width can be determined.     

Trophic structure and functioning in a eutrophic and poorly flushed lagoon in southwestern Taiwan

Tapong Bay, a eutrophic and poorly flushed tropical lagoon, supports intensive oyster culture. Using the Ecopath approach and network analysis, a mass-balanced trophic model was constructed to analyze the structure and matter flows within the food web. The lagoon model is comprised of 18 compartments with the highest trophic level of 3.2 for piscivorous fish. The high pedigree index (0.82) reveals the model to be of high quality. The most-prominent living compartment in terms of matter flow and biomass in the lagoon is cultured oysters and bivalves, respectively. The mixed trophic impacts indicate that phytoplankton and periphyton are the most-influential living compartments in the lagoon. Comparative analyses with the eutrophic and well-flushed Chiku Lagoon and non-eutrophic tropical lagoons show that high nutrient loadings might stimulate the growth and accumulation of phytoplankton and periphyton and therefore support high fishery yields. However, net primary production, total biomass, fishery yields per unit area, and mean transfer efficiency of Tapong Bay were remarkably lower than those of Chiku Lagoon. The lower transfer efficiency likely results from the low mortality of cultured oysters and invasive bivalves from predation or the lower density of benthic feeders constrained by the hypoxic bottom water as a result of poor flushing. This might therefore result in a great proportion of flows to detritus. However, the hypoxic bottom water might further reduce the recycling of the entering detritus back into the food web. In contrast to many estuaries and tropical lagoons, poor flushing of this eutrophic tropical lagoon might induce a shift from detritivory to herbivory in the food web.     

On the boundary-layer flow over a Canadian Archipelago polynya

A numerical model is presented for predicting boundary-layer parameters for flow over a polynya, i.e., an isolated lead of open water that recurs annually at the same geographical location during Arctic winters. As the flow encounters a polynya, it experiences a sudden change from a cold, dry, rough, snow-covered ice surface to a warmer, wetter, and smoother open water surface. The present model includes both the heat balance equation and the vapor conservation equation in addition to the usual mass continuity equation, x-momentum equation, and the turbulent energy equation. In addition, the buoyancy term is added to the energy equation to account for the buoyancy force introduced by the underlying warmer surface. To close the system, the present model uses the Glushko-type mixing length relationship. During the numerical calculations, a fully implicit finite-difference method was used, and stable numerical solutions were obtained for a fetch over 1 km. Comparison of model results with measured results over a polynya in the Canadian Archipelago show good agreement.     

Soil erosion assessment using geomorphological remote sensing techniques: an example from southern Italy

The aim of this study is to assess of the distribution and map the geomorphological effects of soil erosion at the basin scale identifying newly‐formed erosional landsurfaces (NeFELs), by means of an integration of Landsat ETM 7+ remotely sensed data and field‐surveyed geomorphological data. The study was performed on a 228·6 km²‐wide area, located in southern Italy. The study area was first characterized from a lithological, pedological, land‐use and morpho‐topographic point of view and thematic maps were created. Then, the georeferenced Landsat ETM 7+ satellite imagery was processed using the RSI ENVI 4.0 software. The processing consisted of contrast stretching, principal component analysis (PCA), decorrelation stretching and RGB false colour compositing. A field survey was conducted to characterize the features detected on the imagery. Particular attention was given to the NeFELs, which were located using a global positioning system (GPS). We then delimited the Regions of Interest (ROI) on the Landsat ETM 7+ imagery, i.e. polygons representing the ‘ground‐truth’, discriminating the NeFELs from the other features occurring in the imagery. A simple statistical analysis was conducted on the digital number (DN) values of the pixels enclosed in the ROI of the NeFELs, with the aim to determine the spectral response pattern of such landsurfaces. The NeFELs were then classified in the entire image using a maximum likelihood classification algorithm. The results of the classification process were checked in the field. Finally, a spatial analysis was performed by converting the detected landsurfaces into vectorial format and importing them into the ESRI ArcViewGIS 9.0 software. Application of these procedures, together with the results of the field survey, highlighted that some ‘objects’ in the classified imagery, even if displaying the same spectral response of NeFELs, were not landsurfaces subject to intense soil erosion, thus confirming the strategic importance of the field‐checking for the automatically produced data. During the production of the map of the NeFELs, which is the final result of the study, these ‘objects’ were eliminated by means of simple, geomorphologically‐coherent intersection procedures in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. The overall surface of the NeFELs had an area of 22·9 km², which was 10% of the total. The spatial analysis showed that the highest frequency of the NeFELs occurred on both south‐facing and southwest‐facing slopes, cut on clayey‐marly deposits, on which fine‐textured and carbonate‐rich Inceptisols were present and displaying slope angle values ranging from 12° to 20°. The comparison of two satellite imageries of different periods highlighted that the NeFELs were most clearly evident immediately after summer tillage operations and not so evident before them, suggesting that these practices could have played an important role in inducing the erosional processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building stone employed in the historical monuments of Eastern Sicily (Italy). An example: the ancient city centre of Catania

An archaeometric study of the stone materials employed in the Late Baroque historical monuments of the ancient city centre of Catania was carried out. Lithological maps of a selection of monuments, transferred to a digital format, revealed that the stone materials are both magmatic and sedimentary rocks, the colours of which are matched in a peculiar type of bichromy. Particular attention focused on sedimentary rocks, which consist of various types of limestone quarried near the city of Syracuse (Hyblean Plateau, south-eastern Sicily). Carbonate rocks were characterised in terms of mineralogy, petrography and geochemistry, by studying rock samples from both monuments and historical extraction sites. Results showed that, although only one name was historically attributed to the above lithotypes (i.e. “Pietra di Siracusa‘’), they were quarried from many locations and, as they belong to various geological formations, they therefore exhibit great variety. In order to examine the durability of Hyblean limestones employed in works of cultural heritage interest, salt crystallisation tests were carried out according to standard procedure norms (UNI EN 12370 (1999) Determination of resistance to crystallisation of salts, 6p). Results are consistent with the forms of deterioration observed in the monuments, and highlight the close relationship between textural characteristics and damage. Our purpose is to provide a basic tool, which may be useful both for conserving monuments of cultural heritage and for their restoration.     

Diesel oil and PCB-degrading psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from Antarctic seawaters (Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea)

Fifty-seven Antarctic marine bacteria were examined for their ability to degrade commercial diesel oil as the sole organic substrate at both 4 °C and 20 °C. Based on the preliminary screening, two isolates (B11 and B15) with high capacity to degrade diesel oil were selected and their biodegradation efficiency was quantified by gas chromatographic analysis. As expected for psychrotrophs, diesel oil biodegradation was slower at 4 °C than at 20 °C. The two strains also mineralized the C₂₈ n-paraffin octacosane at 20 °C and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at 4 °C and 20 °C.     

湖南省地层结构与盆地格架

本文以湖南省岩石地层展布特点为前提,以北西-南东向横切地层剖面为基础。探讨了我省地层结构与盆地格架。笔者通过地层结构分析。对地层分区界线、物源区、主导构造作用特点等进行了讨论,从而建立了沉积盆地格架。指出我省盆地是在陆壳基底上,受扬子陆块与华夏陆块的双重控制。沉积范围不断缩小的沉积盆地。这种认识的确立,对各盆地期沉积层的变形、岩浆岩的分带与侵位方式、隐伏矿床的探索等都将产生新的联系。     

High‐resolution mapping of Manawatu palaeochannels

New remote sensing techniques, such as airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), have led to a dramatic increase in terrain information, providing new opportunities for landform analysis. A major advance in using LiDAR‐derived high‐resolution topography (HRT) is the capability to provide an accurate and detailed terrain morphology. This study aims to use LiDAR HRT to identify palaeochannels of the Manawatu River (New Zealand) using an automated procedure based on the statistical analysis of landform curvature. The approach can provide rapid assessment and classification of floodplain topography. The proposed analysis is crucial, especially for intensively used floodplains requiring effective flood management and mitigation.     

Microtremors and volcanic explosions at Stromboli — Part 2

A seismic survey was carried out at Stromboli volcano during August 1973. Statistical and spectral analyses of volcanic tremor and explosion quakes were performed. The statistical analysis has shown that the value of them coefficient in Ishimoto & Iida’s relation is high and that the hourly frequencies of events are fairly constant. The spectral analysis has shown a similarity in shape between tremors and explosion quakes. These events have the dominant frequency of 5 Hz at the craters area.