Habitat provision of barnacle tests for overcrowded periwinkles

In habitats where competition for space is a shaping force of animal distribution such as in the intertidal rocky ecosystem, new habitats are readily taken by colonising species. We examined the importance of empty Chthamalus spp. tests as a habitat for the intertidal common periwinkle Melaraphe neritoides on Portuguese rocky shores. The role played by the space between neighbouring barnacles as a habitat for other species has been largely studied with regard to how an ecosystem functions, whereas the equivalent role of empty barnacle tests remains largely unknown. The small periwinkle is one of the most abundant snails in European rocky shores and is an important prey for key mobile predators. Biological facilitation is common in the rocky intertidal zone, where biological structures often potentiate the abundance of other species. The role played by barnacles as biological facilitators through habitat provision is not fully understood. In this study, the abundance and morphometric features of empty barnacle tests and their occupants were examined across shore levels and shores with differing exposures, as these are important gradients explaining barnacle distribution. The availability of empty barnacle tests was also experimentally manipulated to examine the percentage, time and length of occupation. Empty barnacles were more abundant on the midshore of sheltered shores and barnacle tests were wider on the upper shore but taller on the midshore. The minimum barnacle test occupation rate by the periwinkle was 70%. Barnacle shell height was an important factor determining snail occupation, where taller barnacles harboured significantly more, but not necessarily larger, snails. Snails outside the barnacle tests were significantly larger than those found within, suggesting that this crustacean group has an increased importance as a habitat for juvenile snails, thus potentially influencing the population dynamics of M. neritoides. We found that occupation of experimentally created empty barnacles was extremely high (70%) on the day after, and remained at 100% after 3 months of monitoring. Our study is the first of its kind to focus on the features of barnacle tests that snails occupy and their occupying snail traits. According to our results, it is clear that barnacles have an important role in providing additional habitat for young gastropods. The small periwinkle is an important grazer and prey for intertidal and subtidal foraging predators; hence, the potential refuge role of barnacle tests for juvenile M. neritoides may be important in the dynamics of intertidal communities.     

High connectivity and directional gene flow in European Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of Ciona intestinalis sp. A

Understanding the factors that cause population divergence has long been of interest to marine biologists in their attempts to interpret the effect of human‐mediated vectors. Broadcast‐spawning species with limited dispersal capability are excellent candidates to measure the present‐day patterns of genetic diversity. The tunicate Ciona intestinalis (Ascidiacea) is comprised of a complex of morphologically cryptic species that form vigorous aggregates in eutrophic habitats (harbors, gulfs and lagoons) where they can compete with the epibenthic community and cause biofouling problems. This study investigated biogeographic variability and migration patterns of C. intestinalis sp. A along Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts using microsatellite markers. Data presented here on 371 specimens collected from 17 populations reveal high genetic polymorphism, but with a deficit of heterozygote deficiency. Absence of evidence for isolation by distance suggests that the genetic patterns do not reflect the geographic distribution of sampled populations. Substantial gene flow and artificial potential for dispersal boost high levels of within‐population genetic variability and prevent genetic differentiation within and between seas. A predominant eastward migration pattern was revealed by the data set, with very limited opportunity for C. intestinalis sp. A to travel westward. This directional movement indicates that other properties (e.g. habitat quality, genetic traits, mating system, life cycle) may cause adaptive divergence at a large biogeographic scale.     

Chemistry of the heavily urbanized Bagmati River system in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: export of organic matter, nutrients, major ions, silica, and metals

Water quality in less-developed countries is often subject to substantial degradation, but is rarely studied in a systematic way. The concentration and flux of major ions, carbon, nitrogen, silicon, and trace metals in the heavily urbanized Bagmati River within Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, are reported. The concentrations of all chemical species increased with distance downstream with the exceptions of protons and nitrate, and showed strong relationships with population density adjacent to the river. Total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dominated by NH₄, was found in high concentrations along the Bagmati drainage system. The export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and TDN were 23 and 33 tons km^?2 year^?1, respectively, at the outlet point of the Kathmandu Valley, much higher than in relatively undeveloped watersheds. The cationic and silica fluxes were 106 and 18 tons km^?2 year^?1 at the outlet of the Bagmati within Kathmandu Valley, and 36 and 32 tons km^?2 year^?1 from the relatively pristine headwater area. The difference between headwaters and the urban site suggests that the apparent weathering flux is three times higher than the actual weathering rate in the heavily urbanized Bagmati basin. Fluxes of cations and silica are above the world average, as well as fluxes from densely populated North American and European watersheds. End-member composition of anthropogenic sources like sewage or agricultural runoff is needed to understand the drivers of this high rate of apparent weathering.     

Intermittent mixing processes occurring before Plinian eruptions of Popocatepetl volcano,Mexico: insights from textural–compositional variations in plagioclase and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes

Volcán Popocatépetl has explosively erupted in Plinian style at least five times in the last 23,000 years. Extreme deviations in composition and the occurrence of dissolution features in plagioclase and pyroxene, and the occasional presence of xenocrysts of Cr-rich Fe–Ti oxides and Mg-rich olivines and pyroxenes indicate that magma mixing has been a major process affecting the magmatic system. The nearly invariant composition of the erupted products (andesitic–dacitic) suggests, however, that mixing is not acting alone and must be balanced by assimilation and/or crystallization. To investigate the magmatic processes that have modified the Plinian magmas, textural and compositional variations and growth rates in plagioclase were used to approximate the frequency of mixing events affecting each magma. Systematic analysis of Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes was carried out on plagioclase, pyroxene, and pumice matrix glass to constrain the extent of assimilation of upper crustal rocks. Additionally, a series of phase equilibrium experiments were carried out to constrain the depth where such mixing and assimilation occurred. We find that magma was stored at one of two different depths beneath Popocatépetl with magma mixing acting in both reservoirs. Mixing frequency and the relative impact on mineral compositions and textures has varied with time. Assimilation of calcareous rocks underneath Popocatépetl has not been pervasive and does not contribute significantly to the evolution of the Plinian magmas. The similar compositions of magmas with diverse mixing histories suggest that fractional crystallization, and possibly assimilation of deep crust, takes place at depth and that intermediate magmas ascend into the upper crust already differentiated.     

Evolution of the mass function of dark matter haloes

We use a high-resolution ΛCDM numerical simulation to calculate the mass function of dark matter haloes down to the scale of dwarf galaxies, back to a redshift of 15, in a  50 h ⁻¹ Mpc  volume containing 80 million particles. Our low-redshift results allow us to probe low-σ density fluctuations significantly beyond the range of previous cosmological simulations. The Sheth & Tormen mass function provides an excellent match to all of our data except for redshifts of 10 and higher, where it overpredicts halo numbers increasingly with redshift, reaching roughly 50 per cent for the  10¹⁰–10¹¹ M_⊙  haloes sampled at redshift 15. Our results confirm previous findings that the simulated halo mass function can be described solely by the variance of the mass distribution, and thus has no explicit redshift dependence. We provide an empirical fit to our data that corrects for the overprediction of extremely rare objects by the Sheth & Tormen mass function. This overprediction has implications for studies that use the number densities of similarly rare objects as cosmological probes. For example, the number density of high-redshift  ( z ≃ 6) QSOs  , which are thought to be hosted by haloes at 5σ peaks in the fluctuation field, are likely to be overpredicted by at least a factor of 50 per cent. We test the sensitivity of our results to force accuracy, starting redshift and halo-finding algorithm.     

Synthetic Spectra of Long-Period Variables: A First Comparison with ISO Observations

Exploratory synthetic spectra were computed for carbon-rich long-period variables. We used dynamic model atmospheres of Höfner &; Dorfi (1997) and calculated partial pressures, absorption- and scattering coefficients as input for the spectral synthesis code of Jørgensen et al. (1992). First ISO SWS-observations of the carbon-Mira T Dra are compared with our synthetic spectra.     

Systems for Hazards Identification in High Mountain Areas： An Example from the Kullu District, Western Himalaya

Methods and techniques for the identification, monitoring and management of natural hazards in high mountain areas are enumerated and described. A case study from the western Himalayan Kullu District in Himachal Pradesh, India is used to illustrate some of the methods. Research on the general topic has been conducted over three decades and that in the Kullu District has been carried out since 1994. Early methods of hazards identification in high mountain areas involved intensive and lengthy fieldwork and mapping with primary reliance on interpretation of landforms, sediments and vegetation thought to be indicative of slope fail ures, rock falls, debris flows, floods and accelerated soil surface erosion. Augmented by the use of airphotos and ad hoc observations of specific events over time, these methods resulted in the gradual accumulation of information on hazardous sites and the beginnings of a chronology of occurrences in an area. The use of historical methods applied to written and photographic material, often held in archives and libraries, further improved the resolution of hazards information. In the past two decades, both the need for, and the ability to, accurately identify potential hazards have increased. The need for accurate information and monitoring comes about as a result of rapid growth in population, settlements, transportation infrastructure and intensified land uses and, therefore, risk and vulnerability in mountain areas. Ability has improved as the traditional methods of gathering and manipulating data have been supplemented by the use of remotesensing, automated terrain modeling, global positioning systems and geographical information systems. This paper focuses on the development and application of the latter methods and techniques to characterize and monitor hazards in high mountain areas.     

Model Atmospheres of AGB Stars: Dynamics, Molecules and Dust

The atmospheres and circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars are characterized by complex physical phenomena like shock waves caused by stellar pulsation or formation of molecules and dust which often lead to a heavy mass loss and have a strong influence on IR properties as observed by ISO. To allow a physical interpretation of various observations we have constructed improved dynamical model atmospheres of long-period variables. In this contribution we mainly investigate the dependence of the atmospheric structure and its variability on stellar pulsation, molecular opacities and time-dependent dust formation. IR spectra resulting from our models are discussed in detail by Loidl et al. (1997b) and compared to ISO-SWS spectra obtained by Hron et al. (1997). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Are livestock a troublesome commodity?

Rather than making a uniform case for understanding the neoliberalization of ranching and pastoralism, the articles in this volume show how everyday practices are made through historically and geographically specific struggles over the characteristics of production, exchange and rule, in which livestock play a particularly important role. Collectively, I believe the articles in this volume highlight the significant relationship between cattle and capitalism, and make a compelling argument that to understand the material implications of neoliberalism we need to pay more attention to livestock as an important and rapidly changing medium of livelihood production and accumulation strategy around the world.