Field measurements of intertidal bar evolution on a high‐energy beach system

Nearshore bars play a pivotal role in coastal behaviour, helping to protect and restore beach systems particularly in post‐storm conditions. Examination of bar behaviour under various forcing conditions is important to help understand the short‐ to medium‐term evolution of sandy beach systems. This study carried out over a nine‐week period examines, the behaviour of three intertidal bars along a high energy sandy beach system in northwest Ireland using high‐frequency topographic surveys and detailed nearshore hydrodynamic modelling. Results show that, in general, there was onshore migration for all the bars during the study period, despite the variability observed between bars, which was driven mostly by wave dominated processes. Under the prevailing conditions migration rates of up to 1.83 m day^?1 and as low as 0.07 m day^?1 were observed. During higher wave energy events the migration rates of the bars decelerated in their onshore route, however, under lower wave energy conditions, they quickly accelerated maintaining their shoreward migration direction. Tidal influence appears to be subordinate in these conditions, being restricted to moderating the localized wave energy at low tides and in maintaining runnel configurations providing accommodation space for advancing slip faces. The study highlights the intricate behavioural patterns of intertidal bar behaviour along a high energy sandy coastline and provides new insights into the relative importance of wave and tidal forcing on bar behaviour over a relatively short time period. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metazooplankton communities in the Ahe atoll lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia): Spatiotemporal variations and trophic relationships

Metazooplankton abundance, biomass (<80μm, 200-500μm and >500μm) and community structure in the Ahe atoll were studied together with their relationships with environmental factors (temperature, salinity, wind) and trophic factors (phytoplankton, bacteria, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and ciliates) during three periods in 2008-2009. Meroplankton, mainly bivalve and gastropod larvae, was dominant. Holoplankton was dominated by copepods, the main species being Oithona spp., Paracalanus parvus, Clausocalanus spp., Corycaeus spp., Acartia fossae and Undinula vulgaris. The results suggest a clear wind influence on the structure and horizontal distribution of the zooplankton communities. The metazooplankton appeared to be controlled mainly by food resources, suggesting a bottom-up control. The low nanophytoplankton biomass in contrast to the high abundance of picophytoplankton, HNF and nano-particle grazers (mainly Oithona spp., Paracalanus and bivalve larvae) highlighted the importance of the microbial loop in the food web.     

Rapid physicochemical changes in the high Arctic Lake Kongressvatn caused by recent climate change

High Arctic lakes are among the most sensitive ecosystems and climate change strongly affects their physical properties, especially water temperature, and mixing processes. To study the effect of recent climate change on such a lake in the Arctic environment, we measured water chemistry and temperature from 2005 to 2010 in Kongressvatn, a crenogenic meromictic lake in Spitsbergen (Svalbard). In addition, we monitored water column temperatures during two consecutive years and compared them to regional air temperature data and physicochemical lake data from 1962 and 1968, two relatively cold years. Summer surface water temperature was highly correlated to air temperature, and both have increased by approximately 2°C since 1962. Temperature monitoring during 2?years showed that the warm summer of 2007 resulted in increased water temperatures even in the stratified, denser hypolimnion. Our water chemistry measurements showed that the chemocline position in 2005?C2010 was ca 12?m deeper than in 1962?C1968, and a second, weaker, chemocline appeared at metalimnetic depths of 7?C15?m. During the study period, the water level decreased by 4?m, and this change accelerated between 2008 and 2010. Our data support the hypothesis that water temperatures and stratification patterns are changing rapidly with air temperature, but changes in the catchment, such as glacial retreat and permafrost melting, may have an even stronger impact on lake properties.     

Diatoms reveal complex spatial and temporal patterns of recent limnological change in West Greenland

Diatoms in sediment cores were analysed across a range of stratigraphic resolutions along a transect of 23 lakes spanning the ice-free margin of the west coast of Greenland (~67°N), to explore spatial and temporal patterns of recent (last ~150 years) environmental change in the region. These records display heterogeneous lake development trajectories over the last several centuries. Estimates of species composition turnover (beta-diversity) since 1850 AD are among the lowest for lakes in the Arctic, and are comparable to “unimpacted” reference lakes from temperate regions. Most of the change that occurred in West Greenland lakes pre-dates potential industrial anthropogenic effects, while post-1850 change is well within the natural range of variability for these systems. Nonetheless, a spatial pattern in core “top–bottom” changes is apparent across the transect: lakes in the arid interior of the region, adjacent to the ice sheet, and those with higher pH, register greater change than those in the more maritime climate of the coast. This suggests that climate plays an indirect role in the recent development of these lakes, and that recent anthropogenic forcing has not yet exceeded major ecological thresholds in this region.     

Effect of streambed sediment on benthic ecology

Benthic macroinvertebrates have been commonly used as indicator species for assessment of aquatic ecology. Streambed sediment, or substrate, plays an important role in habitat conditions for macroinvertebrate communities. Field investigations were done to study the benthic diversity and macroinvertebrate compositions in various stream substrata. Sampling sites with different bed sediment, latitude, and climate were selected along the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the East River, and the Juma River, in China. The results show that benthic community structures found in different substrata clearly differ, while those found in substrata of similar composition and flow conditions but in different macroclimates are similar. The study, thus, demonstrates that the benthic macroinvertebrate community is mainly affected by substrate composition and flow conditions, but is generally unaffected by latitudinal position and macroclimate. Taxa richness of the maeroinvertebrate community was found to be the highest on hydrophyte-covered cobbles, high on moss-covered bedrock, and low on clay beds and cobble beds devoid of plant biomass. Sandy beds are compact and unstable, thus, no benthic macroinvertebrates were found colonizing such substrata. Aquatic insects account for most of the macroinvertebrates collected in these rivers. Different insects dominate in different types of substrata： mainly EPT species （Ephemeroptera, Ptecoptera, Tfichoptera） in cobble, gravel, and moss-covered bedrock; and Chironomidae larvae in clay beds. The relation between the number of species in the samples and the size of the sampling area fits a power function of the species area. One square meter （lm） is suggested as the minimum sampling area. A substrate suitability index is proposed by integrating the suitability of sediment, periphyton, and benthic organic materials for macroinvertebrates. The biodiversity of macroinvertebrates increases linearly with the substrate suitability index. Benthic taxa richness increases linearly with the suitability index.     

Ecological influences of Thule Inuit whalers on high Arctic pond ecosystems: a comparative paleolimnological study from Bathurst Island (Nunavut,Canada)

Until recently, major anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems were believed to be rare in North America prior to the period of European colonization. However, recent paleolimnological and archaeological data collected from the Canadian Arctic suggest that the whaling activities of Thule Inuit, who lived in small, nomadic communities, altered freshwater ecosystems centuries earlier. Using a comparative paleolimnological approach from two ponds situated adjacent to a former Thule winter settlement on south-eastern Bathurst Island (Nunavut, Arctic Canada), we record marked ecological changes in pond ecology due to eutrophication from the Thule’s activities. The geography of our study site provided an interesting and rare opportunity for a comparative paleolimnological study of long-term Thule impacts on polar limnology, because our two study ponds (only ~50 m apart) were nearly identical in size and in geological and climatic settings, but differed markedly in the magnitude of Thule influence. Here, we recorded striking changes in diatom species assemblages, spectrally-inferred primary production, and nutrient geochemistry, indicating eutrophication in a small pond draining 18 Thule whale houses. Input of marine-derived nutrients from sea mammal carcasses used by the Thule for both sustenance and the construction of winter settlements, as well as other anthropogenic activities, coincided with a notable increase in the eutrophic diatom taxon Stephanodiscus minutulus, whereas no comparable changes were recorded in the nearby control pond for the duration of the sedimentary record. Although the diatom changes recorded in the affected site persisted after the period of Thule occupation, the most recent sediments and water chemistry suggest that the pond has largely recovered to near pre-impact conditions.     

Assessment of microbiological and biochemical properties of dairy sewage sludge

The rational utilisation of sludge as organic matter application into the soil permits enrichment in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. As dairy sewage sludge contains large amounts of organic matter and minerals, utilisation of such sludge in agriculture appears to be a noteworthy proposal. However, such waste can also be a source of toxic substances, heavy metals, inhibitors, xenobiotics and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, it is so important to monitor its microbiological and biochemical properties in aspect of the safety for human health, natural environment preservation and a suitable level of agricultural production maintenance. The objective of study was the estimation of selected microbiological, biochemical and chemical properties of activated sludge (AS) and waste activated sludge (WAS) originating from the dairy sewage treatment plant. Nitrification and ammonification rates, respiratory, dehydrogenases, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, protease and urease activities were at significantly higher levels in the WAS than in the AS. The pH value of the AS and WAS oscillated within the range of neutral reaction.     

Impacts of milkfish (Chanos chanos) aquaculture on carbon and nutrient fluxes in the Bolinao area,Philippines

Sediment oxygen consumption, TCO2 production and nutrient fluxes across the sediment-water interface were measured in sediments within and along a transect from four fish pens with production of milkfish (Chanos chanos) in the Bolinao area, The Philippines. The four fish pens were each representing a specific period in the production cycling. There was a positive linear relationship between the rates of sedimentation inside the fish pens and the sediment oxygen consumption indicating that the benthic processes were controlled by the input of organic matter from fish production. The nutrient fluxes were generally higher inside the fish pens, and nitrate was taken up (1.7-5.8 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) whereas ammonium (1-22 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) and phosphate (0.2-4.7 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) were released from the sediments. The sediments were enriched in organic matter with up to a factor 4 compared to outside. A mass balance for one crop of milkfish was constructed based on production data and on measured fluxes of nutrients in the fish pens to assess the loss of carbon and nutrients to the environment. There was a loss to the surroundings of carbon and nitrogen of 51-68% of the total input, whereas phosphorus was buried in the sediments inside the fish pens which acted as net sinks of phosphorus. The results obtained suggest that fish pen culture as practiced in the Bolinao area, leads to even greater impacts on benthic carbon and nutrient cycling than those found in suspended cage cultures.     

Quantitative estimates of recent environmental changes in the Canadian High Arctic inferred from diatoms in lake and pond sediments

Diatoms were examined in three lacustrine sediment records from Alert, northern Ellesmere Island, and from Isachsen, Ellef Ringnes Island. Diatom assemblages changed markedly since the mid-19th century following relatively stable community composition that spanned centuries to millennia. Three different assemblages, primarily composed of Fragilaria pinnata, Diadesmis spp., or Pinnularia spp., dominated the pre-1850 period at the three sites, but were replaced with different, more diverse assemblages in recent sediments. These species shifts occurred in the mid- to late-19th century in the Isachsen sites, and in the mid- to late-20th century in our Alert site. This difference in timing appears to be a result of the different sensitivities of lakes and ponds to environmental change, rather than of site-specific chemical properties. Reconstructions of pH using diatom inference models indicated increases from 0.5 to 0.8 pH units at these sites over this period of assemblage change. The diatom-inferred pH record from Alert showed agreement with measured climate data from Alert over the last 30 years. These marked community changes suggest that these sensitive high arctic sites have recently crossed important ecological thresholds due to environmental change, most likely related to recent warming.     

Single and double ITCZ in an aqua-planet model with constant sea surface temperature and solar angle

It has been known for more than a decade that an aqua-planet model with a globally- and temporally-uniform sea surface temperature and solar isolation angle can generate intertropical convergence zones (ITCZ). Employing such a model, previous studies have shown that one of several means can be used to change between a single ITCZ over the equator and a double ITCZ straddling the equator. These means include switching to a different cumulus parametrization scheme, making changes within the cumulus parametrization scheme, and changing other aspects of the model such as horizontal resolution. Here, an interpretation of these findings is offered. In an aqua-planet model with globally and temporally uniform sea surface temperature and solar isolation angle, the latitudinal location of an ITCZ is the latitude where a balance exists between two types of attraction, both resulting from the Earths rotation. The first attraction pulls the ITCZ towards the equator and is not sensitive to changes in model design. It is directly related to the Coriolis parameter, which provides stability to the atmosphere. The second ssattraction pulls the ITCZ poleward and is sensitive to changes in model design. It is related to the convective circulation, modified by the Coriolis force. A balance between the two types of attraction is reached either at the equator or more than 10° north and south of the equator, depending on the shape and magnitude of the attractions. A balance at the equator yields a single ITCZ over the equator, whereas a balance north and south of the equator yields a double ITCZ straddling the equator.