The Intertidal Burrowing Crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neohelice</Emphasis> (=<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chasmagnathus</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">granulata</Emphasis> Positively Affects Foraging of Rodents in South Western Atlantic Salt Marshes

The role of positive and indirect interactions is often crucial in communities with intense abiotic stress such as salt marshes. The burrowing crab, Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata, is the dominant benthic macroinvertebrate of southwest Atlantic marshes (southern Brazil to Northern Argentinean Patagonia), having strong direct and indirect effects on marsh soil and, in consequence, on marsh vegetation and primary consumers. In this work, we investigate if this crab indirectly modifies habitat use by the granivorous rodents, Akodon azarae and Oligoryzomys flavescens, by increasing nutrient availability and thus enhancing seed production by the marsh plant Spartina densiflora. The study was conducted at the Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon, Argentina (37°32′ S). Rodent frequencies in S. densiflora were positively correlated with crab densities throughout the low and middle marsh. Additionally, the highest quality of S. densiflora and inflorescence density was recorded at the highest crab densities. Experimental manipulation of crab densities shows that N. granulata indirectly enhances the performance of S. densiflora (e.g., decreased fiber content and C/N ratios) and increases density of seeds. Moreover, N. granulata also facilitates S. densiflora seed availability to rodents by concentrating them in sediment mound at their burrows entrances. Experimental rodent exclusions showed that rodent species used S. densiflora seeds, a variable positively related to crab burrow density. Thus, our results show that N. granulata drives the granivorous rodent distribution and the intensity of seeds–rodent interaction trough facilitative and indirect interactions in marsh community.     

Tabelle degli intervalli tpP-tp E tsS-tS per l'analisi dei terremoti ad ipocentro profondo

Riassunto L'A. ha calcolato i valori di t_pP-t_p, in centesimi di secondo, usando la formola di Berlage, per profondità crescenti di 50 in 50 km fino a 800 km e per distanze epicentrali di 200 in 200 km sino a 11.400 km; partendo dai valori di v_o e 1/V dati da Gutenberg e Richter. I valori degli intervalli t_sS-t_S sono stati ottenuti moltiplicando per 1,8 quelli di t_pP-t_p.

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Zusammenfassung Ausgehend aus einer Formel von Berlage, hat der Verf. die Werte von t_pP-t_p, in Hunderstel von Sekunden, berechnet und zwar für Tiefen von je 50 km bis 800 km und für Herdentfernungen von je 200 km bis 11.400 km. Für die Werte von v_o und 1/V wurden diejenigen von Gutenberg und Richter zugrunde gelegt. Die Werte von t_sS-t_S wurden durch Multiplikation mit 1,8 derjenigen von t_pP-t_p erhalten. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A2919006 00005

     

Ellipsoidal density models and hydrostatic equilibrium: Interim report

From the point of view of consistency with the Geodetic Reference System 1967, it would be desirable that the boundary surface of a Standard Earth Model is an exact equipotential ellipsoid. This is incompatible with the requirement that it be a figure of hydrostatic equilibrium. The report investigates the relation between equipotential ellipsoids and equilibrium figures. The principal conclusion is that it is possible to find an ellipsoidal model that has the same distribution of density and flattening (more precisely, of the parameter f′ as defined in the paper) as a hydrostatic model, the deviations being only of second order in the flattening.     

Exploring the relationships between perceived neighborhood boundaries and street network orientation

The neighborhood is a core unit of analysis in urban research, planning, and policy-making. However, perceptual and historical processes oftentimes result in neighborhoods that are not tied to sub-urban jurisdictions. For instance, historic neighborhoods might lack official spatial definitions, hampering neighborhood-based tasks in local offices. In this case, urban practitioners can benefit from readily available spatial proxies, such as the local street network. In this study, we conducted an exploratory analysis that combines neighborhood mapping and street network modeling. By retrieving participants' sketched boundaries and quantifying spatial orientations of sketched polygons and local network patterns, we were able to measure and compare the relationships between the urban fabric and the perceived extents of two historic neighborhoods in Lisbon, Portugal. The results provided insights for enhancing existing definitions of non-official neighborhoods, outlining new urban districts as well as for discussions about the role of the urban form in shaping people's perceptions.     

Aboveground Biomass Patterns of Dominant Spartina Species and Their Relationship with Selected Abiotic Variables in Argentinean SW Atlantic Marshes

Salt marsh zonation patterns generate different abiotic and biotic conditions that can accentuate species inherent differences in primary production and biomass. In South West Atlantic marshes, there are two Spartina species: Spartina alterniflora in the low intertidal and Spartina densiflora in the high intertidal. These two species are generally found in all marshes but with different dominance: In some marshes, the S. densiflora zone occupies higher extents, and in others, the S. alterniflora zone is the one that prevails. We found through field sampling that, in six studied marshes, there is greater S. densiflora live and total (i.e., dead+live) aboveground biomass (g m^?2) in the marshes dominated by S. densiflora than in the ones dominated by S. alterniflora. Spartina alterniflora had similar aboveground biomass in the six marshes, regardless of the dominance of each species. When comparing the two Spartina species within each marsh, S. densiflora had greater live and total biomass in the marshes it dominates. In the marshes dominated by S. alterniflora, both species had similar live and total biomass. In all marshes, there was greater dead S. densiflora biomass. A multivariate analysis using selected abiotic factors (i.e., salinity, latitude, and tidal amplitude) showed that S. alterniflora aboveground biomass patterns are mainly correlated with salinity, while S. densiflora live biomass is mainly correlated with salinity and latitude, dead biomass with salinity and tidal amplitude, and total biomass with salinity alone. We conclude that in S. densiflora dominated marshes, the main processes of that species zone (i.e., nutrient accumulation) will be accentuated because of its higher biomass. We also conclude that climatic conditions, in combination with specific Spartina biotic and ambient abiotic parameters, can affect marsh ecological functions.     

Crystallization and eruption ages of Breccia Museo (Campi Flegrei caldera,Italy) plutonic clasts and their relation to the Campanian ignimbrite

The Campi Flegrei volcanic district (Naples region, Italy) is a 12-km-wide, restless caldera system that has erupted at least six voluminous ignimbrites during the late Pleistocene, including the >300 km³ Campanian ignimbrite (CI) which originated from the largest known volcanic event of the Mediterranean region. The Breccia Museo (BM), a petrologically heterogeneous and stratigraphically complex volcanic deposit extending over 200 km² in close proximity to Campi Flegrei, has long remained contentious regarding its age and stratigraphic relation to the CI. Here, we present crystallization and eruption ages for BM plutonic ejecta clasts that were determined via uranium decay series and (U–Th)/He dating of zircon, respectively. Despite mineralogical and textural heterogeneity of these syenitic clasts, their U–Th zircon rim crystallization ages are indistinguishable with an average age of 49.7 ± 2.5 ka (2σ errors; mean square of weighted deviates MSWD = 1.2; n = 34). A subset of these crystals was used to obtain disequilibrium-corrected (U–Th)/He zircon ages which average 41.7 ± 1.8 ka (probability of fit P = 0.54; n = 15). This age closely overlaps with published CI ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar eruption ages (40.6 ± 0.1 ka) after recalibration to recently revised flux monitor ages. Concordant eruption ages for BM and CI agree with previous chemostratigraphic and paleomagnetic correlations, suggesting their origin from the same eruption. However, they are at variance with recalibrated ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages which have BM postdate CI by 3 ± 1 ka. BM syenites show similar geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopical features of pre-caldera rocks erupted between 58 and 46 ka, but are distinctive from subsequent caldera-forming magmas. Energy-constrained assimilation and fractional crystallization modeling of Nd–Sr isotopic data suggests that pre-caldera magmas formed a carapace of BM-type intrusions in a mid-crust magma chamber (≥8 km depth) shielding the younger CI magma from contamination by Hercynian basement wall rocks. An ~41–50 ka hiatus in crystallization ages implies rapid solidification of these pre-CI intrusions. This argues against protracted pre-eruptive storage of a large volume of CI magma at shallow crustal levels.     

Late Permian–Middle Jurassic lithospheric thinning in Peru and Bolivia, and its bearing on Andean-age tectonics

Integrated studies and revisions of sedimentary basins and associated magmatism in Peru and Bolivia (8–22°S) show that this part of western Gondwana underwent rifting during the Late Permian–Middle Jurassic interval. Rifting started in central Peru in the Late Permian and propagated southwards into Bolivia until the Liassic/Dogger, along an axis that coincides with the present Eastern Cordillera. Southwest of this region, lithospheric thinning developed in the Early Jurassic and culminated in the Middle Jurassic, producing considerable subsidence in the Arequipa basin of southern Peru. This 110-Ma-long interval of lithospheric thinning ended 160 Ma with the onset of Malm–earliest Cretaceous partial rift inversion in the Eastern Cordillera area.The lithospheric heterogeneities inherited from these processes are likely to have largely influenced the distribution and features of younger compressional and/or transpressional deformations. In particular, the Altiplano plateau corresponds to a paleotectonic domain of “normal” lithospheric thickness that was bounded by two elongated areas underlain by thinned lithosphere. The high Eastern Cordillera of Peru and Bolivia results from Late Oligocene–Neogene intense inversion of the easternmost thinned area.     

Indirect effects of the intertidal burrowing crab<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chasmagnathus granulatus</Emphasis> in the habitat use of Argentina’s South West Atlantic salt marsh birds

The burrowing crab,Chasmagnathus granulatus, is the dominant benthic macroinvertebrate of southwest Atlantic salt marshes and tidal flats, having strong ecosystem engineering effects by direct and indirect effects on soil, vegetation, invertebrates, fishes, and birds. Vegetation structure is a main component for bird habitat selection, since greater habitat complexity generates higher niche diversity. This environmental complexity can be modified by species interactions or disturbance events (i.e., by crabs), in turn modifying the associated community. The bird species of salt marshes of the southwest Atlantic are highly dependent on these ecosystems. We assessed the effects of the burrowing crab on the structure of the cordgrass,Spartina densiflora, marshes, and how these changes affected the composition and diversity of birds. This study was conducted at the Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon, Argentina (37°40′S, 57°23′W).S. densiflora marshes were classified within three categories: marshes without burrowing crabs, marshes with low burrow densities, and marshes with high burrow densities. We made vegetation and bird surveys during spring beforeS. densiflora produce seeds and in summer when seeds are abundant. We also manipulated inflorescence (i.e., spike) density (a variable affected by crabs) to assess the effect on bird habitat use. The highest inflorescence density ofS. densiflora and highest bird diversity were recorded at low burrow densities. Cover and height ofS. densiflora were negatively correlated with burrow density. The number of bird species and the number of red-capped wren-spinetail,Spartonoica maluroides, were negatively related with cover and height ofS. densiflora. Experiments confirmed that granivorous species used areas with higher spike densities, a variable related to crab burrow density. Burrowing crabs directly and indirectly affect the cover, height, spike density, and morphologic characteristic of seeds ofS. densiflora marshes. These effects indirectly affect the bird community that uses these marshes, being negatively related toS. maluroides and total bird abundance, and positively related to bird diversity.     

Early warning system for rainfall-triggered landslides based on real-time probabilistic hazard assessment

Natural Hazards - A methodology to define rainfall-landslide thresholds, using a probabilistic model in which the accumulated rainfall at any time is treated as a random variable, is proposed. The...