Combining passive integrated transponder tags with conventional T‐bar tags to improve tag reporting rates in a rock lobster trap fishery

Tag reporting rate is an important parameter required for estimating fishing and natural mortality in fished populations. It is an extremely difficult parameter to estimate and can vary both during the fishing season and between fishing years. Improving tag reporting rates has been identified as a cost‐effective way of improving precision in fishing and natural mortality estimates derived from tagging data. In this study we evaluated the use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to improve tag reporting rates in a lobster (Jasus edwardsii) trap fishery. To minimise the risk of PIT tag ingestion by consumers, we tested insertion of the PIT tag into the base of the antennae, the base of the walking leg, and the base of the telson. The base of the antennae proved to be the best option for lobster health although impacts were observed at all tag insertion sites. We further developed and tested a hybrid tag that combined a conventional external T‐bar tag with a PIT tag embedded within the shaft. PIT tag scanners were positioned in bottlenecks in the capture process so that all lobsters retained on board the vessel were passed through a scanner. Thus, the tag reporting rate was expected to be 100% for the subsample of the fleet fitted with scanners when scanners were operational. Scanner malfunction was a major issue and further engineering solutions are required to ensure that scanners are reliable when working in harsh marine conditions such as on‐board fishing vessels. Advantages of the hybrid tag are: the ability to be detected by both automatic detectors and fishers; known tag‐induced mortality and tag loss rates from previous research; and PIT tagging without risk of human ingestion.     

Measuring depth of settlement in the red rock lobster,Jasus edwardsii

Settlement of the puerulus stage of Jasus edwardsii (Decapoda: Palinuridae) near the shore takes place over a wide depth range. It occurs intertidally, and, as determined by crevice collectors, also takes place down to depths of at least 50 m. At sites along the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, depth of greatest settlement found on collectors varied with locality and time, but was within the upper 11.5 m. Surface‐buoyed collectors caught fewer animals than did collectors at greater depths. Settlement levels generally increased with depth to about 10–12 m, then decreased with increasing depth and distance from shore. The ability of/, edwardsii to settle over a wide depth range may improve its chances of recruitment. A device (closing crevice collector) for measuring puerulus settlement of J. edwardsii at depth is described.     

Biological aspects of pollution in the Heathcote river,Christchurch, New Zealand

The presence and degree of pollution in the Heathcote River was estimated from bacterial and chemical analyses of water sampled at low tide from five stations in summer 1967–68. The river is very badly polluted in the industrial area and downstream of it, but is fairly clean upstream of the industrial area. Results of analyses of micro‐organisms and macrofauna at 20 stations are presented and distributions of these organisms are related to salinity and pollution in the river. Pollution is restricting the macrofauna of the river but is encouraging micro‐organism populations. Three groups of macrofauna are present:

• Those present in clean freshwater only,

• Those tolerating pollution but restricted to freshwater, and

• Those tolerating pollution but restricted to saline water.

The use of these groups of species as biological indicators of pollution in the Heathcote River has been evaluated; pollution appears to be indicated by absence of a group of species rather than by presence of one species.     

First records of Scorpaena onaria (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) from the southwestern Pacific Ocean,and comparisons with the Northern Hemisphere population

Scorpaena onaria Jordan & Snyder (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), previously known only from the northwestern Pacific Ocean, is reported from the southwestern Pacific Ocean for the first time on the basis of 19 specimens. The southwestern Pacific specimens are regarded as a southern population of S. onaria, characterised by a shorter supraocular tentacle and larger body size compared with the northwestern Pacific specimens. The southern population is described in detail including comparisons with all known Indo‐Pacific species of the genus Scorpaena. Analyses of 37 measurements of the southern population of S. onaria found that relative orbit diameter and second anal‐fin spine length became significantly smaller with growth. Initially cycloid, the scales enclosed by the posterior tips of the upper and lower opercular spines and opercular margin change to ctenoid with growth at c. 160–170 mm standard length. A mature female differed from an immature female and males in having a longer upper jaw, steeper dorsal profile of the snout, and shorter nasal spine. As a consequence, the species previously reported as S. neglecta from the Andaman Sea and northwestern Australia was re‐identified as S. onaria.     

Negative diffusion in planetary rings with a nearby moon

This paper analyzes a process that has been observed in simulations of numerous systems where ring material is strongly perturbed by a nearby moon. If the ring particles can be imparted with a forced eccentricity on the order of 10⁻⁵ in a single pass by the moon, particle orbits are observed to move towards regions of higher density as a result of the organized collisions that occur in the dense peaks of the satellite wake. The width of the ring can decrease by as much as 90% if the forced eccentricity is greater than 3 × 10⁻⁵ and the unperturbed geometric optical depth is greater than 0.03. The fractional change in ring width is relatively insensitive to the particle size so long as the particle radius is much less than the product of the semimajor axis and the forced eccentricity. Including a power law particle size distribution with slope of −2.8 spanning a decade in particle radius reduces the fractional width change by about 10% compared to the uniform particle-size case. Adding gravitational interactions between ring particles only has a significant effect on ring confinement if the unperturbed geometric optical depth exceeds .03, but a 40% reduction in ring width is still achieved in a self-gravitating ring of geometric optical depth 0.3 if the forced eccentricity exceeds 3 × 10⁻⁵. This process does not require the material to be in resonance with the moon, nor does it have any minimum mass constraints because particle self-gravity is not required. The collisional damping of satellite wakes therefore provides a simple mechanism by which a single moon can reduce the radial extent of any ringlet that is close to it and has sufficient optical depth for collisions to be significant.     

Is Efate (Vanuatu, SW Pacific) a result of subaerial or submarine eruption? An alternative model for the 1 Ma Efate Pumice Formation

The Efate Pumice Formation (EPF) is a trachydacitic volcaniclastic succession widespread in the central part of Efate Island and also present on Hat and Lelepa islands to the north. The volcanic succession has been inferred to result from a major, entirely subaqueous explosive event north of Efate Island. The accumulated pumice-rich units were previously interpreted to be subaqueous pyroclastic density current deposits on the basis of their bedding, componentry and stratigraphic characteristics. Here we suggest an alternative eruptive scenario for this widespread succession. The major part of the EPF is distributed in central Efate, where pumiceous pyroclastic rock units several hundred meters thick are found within fault scarp cliffs elevated about 800 m above sea level. The basal 200 m of the pumiceous succession is composed of massive to weakly bedded pumiceous lapilli units, each 2-3 m thick. This succession is interbedded with wavy, undulatory and dune bedded pumiceous ash and fine lapilli units with characteristics of co-ignimbrite surges and ground surges. The presence of the surge beds implies that the intervening units comprise a subaerial ignimbrite-dominated succession. There are no sedimentary indicators in the basal units examined that are consistent with water-supported transportation and/or deposition. The subaerial ignimbrite sequence of the EPF is overlain by a shallow marine volcaniclastic Rentanbau Tuffs. The EPF is topped by reef limestone, which presumably preserved the underlying EPF from erosion. We here propose that the EPF was formed by a combination of initial subaerial ignimbrite-forming eruptions, followed by caldera subsidence. The upper volcaniclastic successions in our model represent intra-caldera pumiceous volcaniclastic deposits accumulated in a shallow marine environment in the resultant caldera. The present day elevated position of the succession is a result of a combination of possible caldera resurgence and ongoing arc-related uplift in the region.     

Loss of 40Ar(rad) from leucite-bearing basanite at low temperature: implications on K/Ar dating.

The Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (BBHVF) is located in the central part of Transdanubia, Pannonian Basin, with over 50 alkali basaltic volcanoes. The basanite plug of Hegyestu erupted in the first phase of volcanic activity. K/Ar and Ar/Ar ages were published for the BBHVF. K/Ar and Ar/Ar ages of the leucite-bearing basanite of Hegyestás were conflicting. This is caused by the special Ar retention feature of leucite in this basanite. K/Ar ages measured in the usual way were 25–45% younger, but after HCl treatment of the rock, or after reducing the baking temperature of the argon extraction line from 250°C to 150°C, they became similar to the Ar/Ar ages. All Ar/Ar determinations were performed after HF treatment. HCl treatment dissolved olivine, nepheline, leucite, magnetite and from 1-1 sample analcime or calcite. K dissolution studies from different locations of Hegyestü have shown that K content is mostly ≈2%, but it may decrease to ≈0.3%. HCl treatment dissolved 28.0–63.5% of the K content. The calculated K concentration for the dissolved part of samples with ~2%K was 4.02-6.42%: showing that leucite is responsible for the low temperature loss of ⁴⁰Ar(rad). Ar may release at low temperature from very finegrained mineral, or when the Ar release mechanism changes. A ⁴⁰Ar(rad) degassing spectrum has been recorded in the 55–295°C range of baking temperature and the data were plotted in the Arrhenius diagram. The diagram shows that a change of the structure in the 145–295°C range caused the loss of ⁴⁰Ar(rad). On fractions of HCl treated rock 7.56±0.17 Ma isochron K/Ar age has been determined. This is regarded as minimum age of eruption and it is similar to the Ar/Ar isochron age (7.78±0.07 Ma).     

Pre-Cambrian landscapes in Northwest Scotland

An old land surface carved out of basement gneisses is extensively preserved beneath Torridon Group sandstones (deposited ca. 750 m.y. B.P.). Contoured reconstructions show that relief declines westward from 2000 ft (600 m) to almost nothing over a distance of 25 km. North-northeast trending zones of similar dissection can be traced for 160 km. Weathering up to 2 m deep is locally present in the flat zone. The essentially unweathered land surface forming the mountains probably originated by dissection of a palaeoplain. The flat zone is probably, but not certainly, a relatively young pediplain. All land forms are thought to have developed before, not during, deposition of the overlying sediments.     

Formation processes affecting submerged archaeological sites:An overview

Although the formation processes operating on submerged archaeological sites are just as varied as those affecting terrestrial ones, nautical archaeologists have not yet devoted much attention to them. Most studies to date are concerned with formation processes at particular sites. This article provides an overview of the major depositional and postdepositional formation processes affecting underwater sites. The most obvious depositional process is shipwreck, which takes several different forms. Submerged sites may also be formed by the drowning of coastal areas due to tectonic or eustatic sea level changes. In these cases, rapid submergence preserves sites better than slow inundation, which allows time for waves and currents to tear the site apart. For both shipwrecks and coastal sites, once submergence occurs, the single most important factor for preservation is rapid burial by sediment. A cover of sediment protects both the artifacts themselves and their spatial patterning from destruction by water and marine organisms. Once deposited, underwater sites are subject to modification by both cultural and natural processes. The best understood postdepositional processes include salvaging, treasure hunting, and destruction by marine borers. Others, such as dredging, construction, and bioturbation, have hardly been investigated at this time. Archaeologists need to devote more attention to the effects of marine animals that live in close association with the seabed, as well as marine plants, whose roots may disturb sites located in shallow water. From this study it is clear that maritime archaeologists must consider formation processes when planning projects, rather than thinking of underwater sites as simply “time capsules.” © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.