Seasonal variation and tidal influences on estuarine use by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus)

In order to show that dolphins use estuary habitats differently depending on the season and tidal state, possibly in response to prey distribution, temperature, risk of stranding and accessibility, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) were observed year-round during a 3-year study in the Clarence River estuary (CR) and Richmond River estuary (RR) in northern New South Wales, Australia. Peak dolphin sightings occurred during the spring season and one or 2 h prior to high tide. The spatial distribution of the dolphins in each estuary was analysed using the distance in kilometres that the dolphins travelled upstream with seasons and tidal phase as determinants. A General Linear Model showed that in the CR the dolphin spatial distribution in the estuary was not determined by season (F = 0.434, df = 3, P = 0.729) but was by tidal phase (F = 9.943, df = 3, P < 0.001) and the interaction between season and tidal phase (F = 3.398, df = 9, P < 0.002). However, in the RR the spatial distribution of the dolphin use of the estuary was not determined by either season (F = 1.647, df = 3, P = 0.194) or tidal phase (F = 0.302, df = 3, P = 0.824). In the CR, the spatial distribution of the dolphins was largest on high and flood tides. This pattern of spatial distribution may occur because the CR is a relatively shallow estuary and this increased spatial distribution may reflect a lower stranding risk and an increase in accessibility of shallow areas during periods of higher tide. These areas could also provide access to their preferred prey items of sea mullet (Mugil cephalus) and sand whiting (Sillago ciliata).     

Influence of capture stress, salinity and reproductive status on zinc associated with metallothionein-like proteins in the livers of three marine teleost species

The influence of capture stress, salinity and reproductive status on zinc associated with the metallothionein-like (MT-like) proteins in the livers of three marine teleost species was investigated. In striped mullet, Mugil cephalus L., the zinc associated with the MT-like protein, as determined by gel-permeation HPLC, increased significantly from approximately 102 to 1162 nmol zinc bound/g wet wt 7 days following capture in the field, handling, transportation to the laboratory and transfer to holding tanks. Significant increases were also observed following exposure to reduced salinity for 7 days. Smaller increases were observed in cultured red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, livers following exposure to reduced salinity and physical trauma for 7 days. Finally, there was approximately a 2·5-fold increase in the zinc associated with the MT-like protein in livers of female spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, collected during the reproductive season compared to regressed animals. These findings emphasize the need for establishing the natural fluctuations in MT levels as well as the response to common physical environmental variables before measurement of MT can be used reliably as a biochemical indicator of environmental contamination.     

NPZ Models of Plankton Dynamics: Their Construction, Coupling to Physics, and Application

Nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton (NPZ) models have been in use in oceanography for at least three decades, and are still a common research tool. Given the discoveries of the last two decades, particularly concerning the role of bacteria in the plankton, there are questions as to whether NPZ models can still be supported as a useful tool in planktonic research. Here I review the construction of NPZ models, and some of the physical platforms they have been coupled to. I then discuss the applications of NPZ-physical models, and conclude that they still constitute an important and viable research tool, provided that the questions being explored are clearly stated. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tidally incised valleys on tropical carbonate shelves: An example from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The formation of incised valleys on continental shelves is generally attributed to fluvial erosion under low sea level conditions. However, there are exceptions. A multibeam sonar survey at the northern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, adjacent to the southern edge of the Gulf of Papua, mapped a shelf valley system up to 220 m deep that extends for more than 90 km across the continental shelf. This is the deepest shelf valley yet found in the Great Barrier Reef and is well below the maximum depth of fluvial incision that could have occurred under a − 120 m, eustatic sea level low-stand, as what occurred on this margin during the last ice age. These valleys appear to have formed by a combination of reef growth and tidal current scour, probably in relation to a sea level at around 30–50 m below its present position.

Tidally incised depressions in the valley floor exhibit closed bathymetric contours at both ends. Valley floor sediments are mainly calcareous muddy, gravelly sand on the middle shelf, giving way to well-sorted, gravely sand containing a large relict fraction on the outer shelf. The valley extends between broad platform reefs and framework coral growth, which accumulated through the late Quaternary, coincides with tidal current scour to produce steep-sided (locally vertical) valley walls. The deepest segments of the valley were probably the sites of lakes during the last ice age, when Torres Strait formed an emergent land-bridge between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Numerical modeling predicts that the strongest tidal currents occur over the deepest, outer-shelf segment of the valley when sea level is about 40–50 m below its present position. These results are consistent with a Pleistocene age and relict origin of the valley.

Based on these observations, we propose a new conceptual model for the formation of tidally incised shelf valleys. Tidal erosion on meso- to macro-tidal, rimmed carbonate shelves is enhanced during sea level rise and fall when a tidal, hydraulic pressure gradient is established between the shelf-lagoon and the adjacent ocean basin. Tidal flows attain a maximum, and channel incision is greatest, when a large hydraulic pressure gradient coincides with small channel cross sections. Our tidal-incision model may explain the observation of other workers, that sediment is exported from the Great Barrier Reef shelf to the adjacent ocean basins during intermediate (rather than last glacial maximum) low-stand, sea level positions. The model may apply to other rimmed shelves, both modern and ancient.     

Non‐unique stratal geometries: implications for sequence stratigraphic interpretations

There is now strong evidence that stratal geometries on basin margins are most likely a consequence of multiple controls, not just variations in accommodation. Consequently, correct sequence stratigraphic interpretation of stratal geometries requires an understanding of how multiple different controls may generate similar geometries. Using a simple numerical stratigraphic forward model, we explore the impact of time variable sediment supply and different sediment transport rates on stratal geometries. We demonstrate how four common types of stratal geometry can form by more than one set of controlling parameter values and are thus likely to be non‐unique, meaning that there may be several sets of controlling factors that can plausibly explain their formation. For example, a maximum transgressive surface can occur in the model due to an increase in rate of relative sea‐level rise during constant sediment supply, and due to a reduction in rate of sediment supply during a constant rate of relative sea‐level rise. Sequence boundaries, topset aggradation and shoreline trajectories are also examples of non‐unique stratal geometries. If the model simulations in this work are sufficiently realistic, then the modelled stratal geometries are important examples of non‐uniqueness, suggesting the need for a shift towards sequence stratigraphic methods based on constructing and evaluating multiple hypotheses and scenarios.     

The palaeolimnology of Lake Fidler, a meromictic lake in south-west Tasmania and the significance of recent human impact

Three meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area of south-west Tasmania possess unusual microbiological communities. Their meromixis is maintained by periodic incursions of brackish water from the nearby Gordon River which, in its lower reaches, is a salt-wedge estuary. In 1977 the construction of a dam in the middle reaches of the river restricted penetration of the salt-wedge and meromixis rapidly declined in all three lakes. A palaeolimnological study was carried out on one of the lakes, Lake Fidler, firstly to determine the history of meromixis and its associated microbiological communities, and secondly to assess whether the recent and rapid decline of meromixis is inconsistent with natural rates of development of the Gordon River meromictic lakes. One part of this study included the analysis of the stratigraphy of fossil diatoms from a 17-metre sediment core dating back 8000 yrs. Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Analog Matching were used to compare diatom species assemblages in core samples with diatom samples from a reference dataset consisting of a selection of lake and river sites in the lower Gordon River valley. Five distinct stratigraphic zones were identified in the core. These zones indicated specific stages in the development of the Gordon River lakes from river backwaters to ectogenically-maintained meromictic lakes which will, finally, become terrestrialised by encroaching rainforest. The onset of a stratified water column was identified by the emergence of a dominant freshwater algal flora which suggested that the lake had developed a mixolimnion and become meromictic ca. 2070 ± 50 ¹⁴C yrs ago. In the context of this long history of meromixis, the rapid demise in meromictic stability following construction of the dam is judged to be inconsistent with natural rates of development. The palaeolimnological studies, of which this paper is one part, prompt recommendations for a management strategy to prevent the further decay of these meromictic lakes in the World Heritage Area.     

Zur Geochemie der Diorit-Gruppe

Zusammenfassung Die Granodiorite und QuarzGlimmer-Diorite aus dem Intrusivgebiet von Fürstenstein (Bayerischer Wald), der Diorit des südlichen Vorspessarts mit eingeschalteten Amphibolitschollen und kalifeldspatreichen Schlieren, sowie die Diorite und Hornblendegabbros des mittleren Bergsträßer Odenwaldes wurden geochemisch verglichen. Zur Bestimmung der Haupt-, Neben- und Spurenelemente in 65 Gesteinsproben wurden röntgenspektrometrische, titrimetrische, flammenphotometrische und emissionsspektralanalytische Methoden herangezogen. Zusätzlich fanden 33 chemische Analysen aus der Literatur Verwendung.Die untersuchten Gesteinstypen reichen vom granodioritischen (Bayerischer Wald) über den dioritischen (Spessart) bis zum hornblenditischen (Odenwald) Chemismus, wobei jedes der drei Untersuchungsgebiete eine mehr oder weniger deutliche Gruppierung zeigt. Innerhalb der einzelnen Dioritkomplexe ist nur ein Teil der petrographisch erfaßbaren Gesteinstypen auch durch einen spezifischen Gesteinschemismus gekennzeichnet.Während die Granodiorite des Bayerischen Waldes bis auf die relativ hohen Zr-Gehalte auch im Hinblick auf die Spurenelementführung normale Verhältnisse zeigen, sind die niedrigen Cu-, Ni- und Zn-Gehalte, sowie das hohe K/Rb-Verhältnis in den Odenwald-Dioriten und Hornblendegabbros auffällig. Trotz der großen Streubreite im Hauptchemismus dieser Proben schwanken die SrGehalte nur relativ wenig.Bemerkenswert bei den Spessart-Dioriten ist, daß diese in den Spurenelementgehalten z. T. erheblich unter den von Vinogradov (1962) angegebenen Clarke-Werten bleiben. Die im Diorit eingeschlossenen Amphibolitschollen zeigen deutlich höhere Cu-, Ni- und Zn-Gehalte, sowie niedrigere Sr-und Ba-Gehalte. Die K/Rb-Verhältnisse unterscheiden sich dagegen praktisch kaum. Der Vergleich der Odenwald-Diorite und Hornblendegabbros mit den Amphiboliten zeigt, daß letztere durch niedrigere CaO-Gehalte, etwas größere Zr-Gehalte und ähnlich niedrige Ni-Gehalte gekennzeichnet sind.Im Lichte der geochemischen Ergebnisse wird die Genese der dioritischen Gesteine diskutiert.

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On the geochemistry of the diorite groupComparative investigations of dioritic rocks from Bayerischer Wald, Spessart and Odenwald (South-Germany)

The granodiorites and quartz diorites of the Fürstenstein igneous complex (Bayerischer Wald), the diorites of the Spessart crystalline area (including schollen of amphibolite, and schlieren rich in K-feldspar) as well as the diorites and hornblende gabbros of the central Odenwald igneous complex have been compared. 65 rock specimens have been analyzed for the major and minor elements Si, Ti, Al, Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, P, as well as for the trace elements Zn, Cu, Ni, Rb, Sr, Zr, Ba, and (semiquantitative) V, and Cr using X-ray spectrometric, flame photometric, titrimetric, and UV-spectrometric methods. 33 additional analyses (major and minor elements only) have been taken from literature.The rock types investigated vary from granodiorite to hornblendite in chemical composition. The averages of the three diorite areas plot near quartz diorite, diorite, and gabbro composition, respectively. This grouping is followed very clearly by the trace element content of Zr, Rb and Ba rather than the other ones. The bearing of the geochemical results on the genesis of dioritic rocks is briefly discussed.

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Herrn Prof. Dr. S. Matthes danken wir für sein stetes Interesse am Fortgang der Arbeit sowie für die kritische Durchsicht des Manuskripts. Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft förderte die vorliegende Untersuchung in dankenswerter Weise durch die Gewährung von Sachbeihilfen und apparativen Einrichtungen.     

Building zoned ignimbrites by recycling silicic cumulates: insight from the 1,000 km<Superscript>3</Superscript> Carpenter Ridge Tuff,CO

The ~1,000 km³ Carpenter Ridge Tuff (CRT), erupted at 27.55 Ma during the mid-tertiary ignimbrite flare-up in the western USA, is among the largest known strongly zoned ash-flow tuffs. It consists primarily of densely welded crystal-poor rhyolite with a pronounced, highly evolved chemical signature (high Rb/Sr, low Ba, Zr, Eu), but thickly ponded intracaldera CRT is capped by a more crystal-rich, less silicic facies. In the outflow ignimbrite, this upper zone is defined mainly by densely welded crystal-rich juvenile clasts of trachydacite composition, with higher Fe–Ti oxide temperatures, and is characterized by extremely high Ba (to 7,500 ppm), Zr, Sr, and positive Eu anomalies. Rare mafic clasts (51–53 wt% SiO₂) with Ba contents to 4,000–5,000 ppm and positive Eu anomalies are also present. Much of the major and trace-element variations in the CRT juvenile clasts can be reproduced via in situ differentiation by interstitial melt extraction from a crystal-rich, upper-crustal mush zone, with the trachydacite, crystal-rich clasts representing the remobilized crystal cumulate left behind by the melt extraction process. Late recharge events, represented by the rare mafic clasts and high-Al amphiboles in some samples, mixed in with parts of the crystal cumulate and generated additional scatter in the whole-rock data. Recharge was important in thermally remobilizing the silicic crystal cumulate by partially melting the near-solidus phases, as supported by: (1) ubiquitous wormy/sieve textures and reverse zoning patterns in feldspars and biotites, (2) absence of quartz in this very silicic unit stored at depths of >4–5 km, and (3) heterogeneous melt compositions in the trachydacite fiamme and mafic clasts, particularly in Ba, indicating local enrichment of this element due mostly to sanidine and biotite melting. The injection of hot, juvenile magma into the upper-crustal cumulate also imparted the observed thermal gradient to the deposits and the mixing overprint that partly masks the in situ differentiation process. The CRT provides a particularly clear perspective on processes of in situ crystal-liquid separation into a lower crystal-rich zone and an upper eruptible cap, which appears common in incrementally built upper-crustal magma reservoirs of high-flux magmatic provinces.     

A multi-model ensemble of downscaled spatial climate change scenarios for the Dommel catchment, Western Europe

Regional or local scale hydrological impact studies require high resolution climate change scenarios which should incorporate some assessment of uncertainties in future climate projections. This paper describes a method used to produce a multi-model ensemble of multivariate weather simulations including spatial–temporal rainfall scenarios and single-site temperature and potential evapotranspiration scenarios for hydrological impact assessment in the Dommel catchment (1,350 km²) in The Netherlands and Belgium. A multi-site stochastic rainfall model combined with a rainfall conditioned weather generator have been used for the first time with the change factor approach to downscale projections of change derived from eight Regional Climate Model (RCM) experiments for the SRES A2 emission scenario for the period 2071–2100. For winter, all downscaled scenarios show an increase in mean daily precipitation (catchment average change of +9% to +40%) and typically an increase in the proportion of wet days, while for summer a decrease in mean daily precipitation (−16% to −57%) and proportion of wet days is projected. The range of projected mean temperature is 7.7°C to 9.1°C for winter and 19.9°C to 23.3°C for summer, relative to means for the control period (1961–1990) of 3.8°C and 16.8°C, respectively. Mean annual potential evapotranspiration is projected to increase by between +17% and +36%. The magnitude and seasonal distribution of changes in the downscaled climate change projections are strongly influenced by the General Circulation Model (GCM) providing boundary conditions for the RCM experiments. Therefore, a multi-model ensemble of climate change scenarios based on different RCMs and GCMs provides more robust estimates of precipitation, temperature and evapotranspiration for hydrological impact assessments, at both regional and local scale.     

Updating the Phase 1 habitat map of Wales, UK, using satellite sensor data

The Phase 1 Survey is the most comprehensive and widely used national level map of semi-natural habitats in Wales. However, the survey was based largely on field survey and was conducted over several decades, before being completed in 1997. Given that resources for a repeat survey were limited, this study has used an object-orientated rule-based classification implemented within eCognition of multi-temporal satellite sensor data acquired between 2003 and 2006 to map semi-natural habitats and agricultural land across Wales, thereby allowing a progressive update of the Phase 1 Survey. The classification of objects to Phase 1 habitat classes was undertaken in two steps; firstly the landscape of Wales was divided into objects using orthorectified SPOT-5 High Resolution Geometric (HRG) reflectance data (10 m spatial resolution) and Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) boundaries. A rule-base was then developed to progressively discriminate and map the distribution of 105 sub-habitats across Wales based on time-series of SPOT HRG, Terra-1 Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) LISS-3 data, derived datasets (e.g., vegetation indices, fractional images) and ancillary information (e.g., topography). The rules coupled knowledge of ecology and the information content of these remote sensing data using a combination of thresholds, Boolean operations and fuzzy membership functions. A second rule-base was then developed to translate the more detailed sub-habitat classification to Phase 1 habitat classes. Indicative accuracies of the revised Phase 1 mapping, based on comparisons with the later Phase 2 survey (for selected habitats), were >80% overall and typically between 70% and 90% for many classes. Through this exercise, Wales has become the first country in Europe to produce a national map of habitats (as opposed to land cover) through object-orientated classification of satellite sensor data. Furthermore, the approach can be adapted to allow continual monitoring of the extent and condition of habitats and agricultural land.