Temporal changes in the structure of the crustacean decapod assemblages associated with Cymodocea nodosa meadows from the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean Sea)

The decapod assemblages associated with two shallow meadows of Cymodocea nodosa, located in the same geographical area (Southern Spain) but on different substrates and with different patch size, have been analyzed. They display similar structure (diversity indices not significantly different), without a clear relation of richness and abundances to patch size, and with the same dominant species (the family Hippolytidae and, in particular, Hippolyte leptocerus are characteristic of this habitat). The composition of both crustacean assemblages is influenced by species that are common in neighbouring habitats. Therefore the connectivity among them is an important factor in the qualitative and quantitative structure of these decapod communities. Species richness appears to be higher than in Cymodocea meadows elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Atlantic at a similar depth, perhaps as a consequence of the biogeographical location and the high diversity and connectivity with surrounding biotopes. High evenness values are the result of the structure and location of these meadows, which are fragmented and interspersed with other biotopes (sandy and rocky bottoms), resulting in an ‘ecotone effect’. On the other hand, the structures of the decapod assemblages differ significantly according to sampling period. The abundance and species richness are both related to plant phenology and the dominant species present a positive correlation with the number of leaves per shoot. The maximum abundance of many species is coincident with the greatest seagrass development (spring – summer), which provides more resources (surface, biomass, protection, food). Therefore, seasonality is linked to plant life cycle, but also to the interrelationships and biology of the species, which are adapted and specialized to the environmental features of these shallow habitats.     

Functional diversity of fish and invertebrates in coral and rocky reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific

To define the functional groups of fish and macroinvertebrates in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), visual censuses were performed in 18 areas of four biogeographic provinces: Cortés, Mexican, Panamic and Oceanic Islands. A total of 257 fish and macroinvertebrate species were recorded, and from them, 27 morpho‐functional groups (MFGs) were constructed on the basis of trophic level, maximum size, taxonomy and morphology. Biomass, richness, diversity and evenness of MFGs were calculated for each province and compared statistically; a regression analysis between taxonomic and functional diversity was conducted to observe the relationship between these two indicators. There were significant differences in all ecological indices (p < .002), highlighting the high biomass and richness of MFGs in the Cortés and Oceanic Islands provinces (>400 g/m²), associated with the influence of cold currents in the northernmost region and less fishing pressure in protected areas. A decreasing pattern of MFG richness towards the tropics was observed, which demonstrates that in the ETP, the relationship between habitat heterogeneity and species diversity has been translated into functional complexity. The Mexican province was the most functionally diverse (biomass well distributed in the MFG; H′ = 0.46 ± 0.009). Related to this, it is predicted that biomass is biased towards certain functional groups (i.e., large carnivores), which shows that the H′ index of the MFG is not a good indicator of the conservation status of ETP reefs. Finally, regression analysis suggests that functional diversity increases at low species diversity but eventually reaches an asymptote (almost all possible functions are represented).     

Characterization of abrasion surfaces in rock shore environments of NW Spain

Despite the recent upsurge in rock coast research, many aspects of abrasion and their relationships to other processes remain poorly understood. In this paper, mechanisms subsumed under the general term abrasion were investigated at the beaches of Oia and Sartaña along the Galician coast of NW Spain, in particular at the micro- to meso-scale (mm–cm). Relationships between abrasion and mechanical rock strength served to explore feedbacks between weathering and abrasion on rock coasts, based on measurements of rock surface strength by means of the Equotip (Proceq) method, and stereomicroscope analyses of rock surfaces undergoing varying degrees of abrasion. The results suggest that (1) abrasion along near-vertical rock surfaces leads to a decrease in rock strength with elevation above the top of the basal sediment layer, (2) abrasion processes encompass two different modes, namely, the wave-induced sweeping and dragging of sand and gravel, and the projection of clasts against rock surfaces, each mode depending predominantly on the grain size of the abrasive agent, and (3) the two abrasion modes produce different rock surfaces whose roughness is strongly influenced by the properties of diverse minerals, in particular fracture and cleavage.     

Estimation of potential pollution from mine tailings in the San Pedro River (1993–2005), Mexico–US border

The San Pedro River (SPR) is located in northern Sonora (Mexico) and southeastern Arizona (USA). SPR is a transboundary river that develops along the Sonora (Mexico) and Arizona (USA) border, and is considered the main source of water for a variety of users (human settlements, agriculture, livestock, and industry). The SPR originates in the historic Cananea mining area, which hosts some of the most important copper mineralizations in Mexico. Acid mine drainage derived from mine tailings is currently reaching a tributary of the SPR near Cananea City, resulting in the contamination of the SPR with heavy metals and sulfates in water and sediments. This study documents the accumulation and distribution of heavy metals in surface water along a segment of the SPR from 1993 to 2005. Total concentrations of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn in surface waters are above maximum permissible levels in sampling sites near mine tailing deposits. Nevertheless, a significant decrease in the Fe and SO₄ ²⁻ in surface water (SO₄ ²⁻: 7,180–460.39 mg/L; Fe: 1,600–9.51 mg/L) as well as a gradual decrease in the heavy and transition metal content were observed during the period from 1994 to 2005. Approximately 2.3 km downstream of the mine tailings, the heavy metal content of the water drops quickly following an increase in pH values due to the discharging of wastewater into the river. The attenuation of the heavy metal content in surface waters is related to stream sediment precipitation (accompanied by metal coprecipitation and sorption) and water dilution. Determining the heavy metal concentration led to the conclusion that the Cananea mining area and the San Pedro River are ecosystems that are impacted by the mining industry and by untreated wastewater discharges arising from the city of Cananea (Sonora, Mexico).     

Seasonal changes of antioxidant and oxidative parameters in the coral Pocillopora capitata on the Pacific coast of Mexico

The physiological responses of the coral Pocillopora capitata to environmental conditions common in winter and summer were studied in 2007 during February–March (winter) and June–July (summer) at La Boquita reef (Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico). Shallow and deep sampling stations were established at different distances from a small jetty built next to the Juluapan Lagoon. We analyzed superoxide radicals () and lipid peroxidants (TBARS); the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST); chlorophyll a (Chl a), zooxanthellae density (ZD); and mycosporine‐like amino acids (MAAs). Our results showed that the , TBARS, CAT, GST, MAAs, and Chl a, levels were significantly higher in summer (P < 0.05); no seasonal difference was found for GPx, GR or ZD. We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in winter only for Chl a and ZD at shallow sites and, in contrast, for at deeper sites. The results of this study indicate that increasing temperature and radiation associated with seasonal changes (from winter to summer), the efficiency of the enzymes GST, CR and GPX, and the production of MAAs together form a powerful mechanism for P. capitata to offset the detrimental effects of environmental change.     

Unsteady MHD free-convective flow through a porous medium with hall currents

The two-dimensional unsteady free-convective flow through a porous medium bounded by an infinite vertical plate for an incompressible viscous and electrically conducting fluid is considered, when a strong magnetic field is imposed in a direction which is perpendicular to the free stream and makes an angle to the vertical direction. The effects of Hall currents on the flows are studied for various values of .     

The linear stability of libration points of the photogravitational restricted three-body problem when the smaller primary is an oblate spheroid

This paper deals with the stationary solutions of the planar restricted three-body problem when the more massive primary is a source of radiation and the smaller primary is an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion. The collinear equilibria have conditional retrograde elliptical periodic orbits around them in the linear sense, while the triangular points have long- or short-periodic retrograde elliptical orbits for the mass parameter 0 < _crit, the critical mass parameter, which decreases with the increase in oblateness and radiation force. Through special choice of initial conditions, retrograde elliptical periodic orbits exist for the case = _crit, whose eccentricity increases with oblateness and decreases with radiation force for non-zero oblateness.     

Detection of slow-moving landslides through automated monitoring of surface deformation using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery

Landslides are one of the most damaging natural hazards and have killed tens of thousands of people around the world over the past decade. Slow-moving landslides, with surface velocities on the order of 10⁻²–10² m a⁻¹, can damage buildings and infrastructure and be precursors to catastrophic collapses. However, due to their slow rates of deformation and at times subtle geomorphic signatures, they are often overlooked in local and large-scale hazard inventories. Here, we present a remote-sensing workflow to automatically map slow-moving landslides using feature tracking of freely and globally available optical satellite imagery. We evaluate this proof-of-concept workflow through three case studies from different environments: the extensively instrumented Slumgullion landslide in the United States, an unstable lateral moraine in Chilean Patagonia and a high-relief landscape in central Nepal. This workflow is able to delineate known landslides and identify previously unknown areas of hillslope deformation, which we consider as candidate slow-moving landslides. Improved mapping of the spatial distribution, character and surface displacement rates of slow-moving landslides will improve our understanding of their role in the multi-hazard chain and their sensitivity to climatic changes and can direct future detailed localised investigations into their dynamics.