Scales of predator detection behavior and escape in Fissurella limbata: A field and laboratory assessment

The consumptive effects of predators are widely acknowledged, but predation can also impact prey populations through non‐consumptive effects (NCEs) such as costly antipredator behavioral responses. The magnitude of antipredator behavioral responses by prey is determined by an assessment of risk using sensory cues, which in turn is modulated by the environmental context. We studied the detection behavior and escape response of the keyhole limpet Fissurella limbata from the predatory sea star Heliaster helianthus. Through laboratory and field experimental trials, we quantified the distance and time of predator detection behavior by the prey, and measured their active escape responses when elicited. We found that predator detection by the limpet was chiefly mediated by distance, with experimental individuals capable of detecting predator presence effectively up to distances of at least 50 cm in the field and 70 cm under laboratory conditions. Our results indicate that this prey species is able to evaluate the proximity of its predator and use it as an indication of predation risk; therefore, predator–prey distance appears to be a primary predictor of the magnitude of the antipredator response. Given the tight relationship between predator distance and prey movement and the important role herbivores can play, particularly in this ecosystem, we expect that NCEs will cascade to the patterns of abundance and composition of rocky shore communities through changes in prey foraging behavior under risk.     

极地低压对费拉姆海峡大西洋入流水天气尺度变化的影响

The Atlantic inflow in the Fram Strait(78°50′N) has synoptic scale variability based on an array of moorings over the period of 1998–2010. The synoptic scale variability of Atlantic inflow, whose significant cycle is 3–16 d, occurs mainly in winter and spring(from January to April) and is related with polar lows in the Barents Sea. On the synoptic scale, the enhancement(weakening) of Atlantic inflow in the Fram Strait is accompanied by less(more)polar lows in the Barents Sea. Wind stress curl induced by polar lows in the Barents Sea causes Ekman-transport,leads to decrease of sea surface height in the Barents Sea, due to geostrophic adjustment, further induces a cyclonic circulation anomaly around the Barents Sea, and causes the weakening of the Atlantic inflow in the Fram Strait. Our results highlight the importance of polar lows in forcing the Atlantic inflow in the Fram Strait and can help us to further understand the effect of Atlantic warm water on the change of the Arctic Ocean.     

基于经验模态分解和小波分解估算海气通量涡相关计算中的截断时间尺度

基于时长38天的海表风场实测数据,应用经验模态分解(EmpiricalModeDecomposition,EMD)和小波分解(Wavelet Decomposition, WD)这两种数据处理方法首先对涡相关法中的截断时间尺度(CutoffTimescale,CTS)进行估算,结果显示:基于EMD与WD方法估算出的CTS一般都在40秒左右(EMD的结果略小),远远小于传统涡相关法中CTS的取值(固定为10分钟),且EMD和WD的使用使得每一段数据都能够根据自身的湍流特点而获得合适的CTS; EMD方法和WD方法有效的去除了计算结果中的非湍部分,且对通量传输方向的刻画也更加合理,极大提高了通量的计算精度,所得通量与传统方法计算的通量偏差平均值高达45%;研究还对EMD和WD的优缺点进行了对比分析,结果表明EMD相比于WD有更高的自主性,而WD对信号的分离程度则更高。     

发现于我国渤海辽东湾的海洋甲藻新种-渤海异冒藻(Heterocapsa bohaiensis sp. nov.)

A small armed dinoflagellate bloomed in the aquaculture ponds off the coast of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea of China,resulting in heavy mortalities of the cultured prawns(Penaeus japonicus) and larvae of Chinese mitten handed crabs(Eriocheir sinensis). The bloom-forming species was successfully isolated, and cellular morphology of the specimen was consequently investigated through light, fluorescent and electron microscopy. The small((14.4±1.6) μm in length) ellipsoid cells show typical Heterocapsa thecal plate arrangement(Po, cp, 5′, 3 a, 7′′, 6 c,5 s, 5′′′, 2′′′′). The episome is evidently bigger than the hyposome. One to three spherical pyrenoids are located above or beside the large elongated nucleus. The body scale is characterized by a triangle basal plate with one central upright and nine peripheral spines. Above all, Heterocapsa bohaiensis could be distinguished from other Heterocapsa species by the combination of the cell size, morphology, cellular structure and body scale. Sequence analyses of both ITS and LSU regions reveal the significant genetic divergence between H. bohaiensis and other established species in this genus, further supporting novelty of this species. Noticeably, different sample treatment methods resulted in morphological variation of the apical pore complex(APC) of H. bohaiensis, which needs to be taken into account in future study.     

Importance of wave-induced bed liquefaction in the fine sediment budget of Cleveland Bay,Great Barrier Reef

Data from a three-year long field study of fine sediment dynamics in Cleveland Bay show that wave-induced liquefaction of the fine sediment bed on the seafloor in shallow water was the main process causing bed erosion under small waves during tradewinds, and that shear-induced erosion prevailed during cyclonic conditions. These data were used to verify a model of fine sediment dynamics that calculates sediment resuspension by both excess shear stress and wave-induced liquefaction of the bed. For present land-use conditions, the amount of riverine sediments settling on the bay may exceed by 50–75% the amount of sediment exported from the bay. Sediment is thus accumulating in the bay on an annual basis, which in turn may degrade the fringing coral reefs. For those years when a tropical cyclone impacted the bay there may be a net sediment outflow from the bay. During the dry, tradewind season, fine sediment was progressively winnowed out of the shallow, reefal waters.     

Dissolved organic nitrogen dynamics in the North Sea: A time series analysis (1995–2005)

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) dynamics in the North Sea was explored by means of long-term time series of nitrogen parameters from the Dutch national monitoring program. Generally, the data quality was good with little missing data points. Different imputation methods were used to verify the robustness of the patterns against these missing data. No long-term trends in DON concentrations were found over the sampling period (1995–2005). Inter-annual variability in the different time series showed both common and station-specific behavior. The stations could be divided into two regions, based on absolute concentrations and the dominant times scales of variability. Average DON concentrations were 11 μmol l⁻¹ in the coastal region and 5 μmol l⁻¹ in the open sea. Organic fractions of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) averaged 38 and 71% in the coastal zone and open sea, respectively, but increased over time due to decreasing dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations. In both regions intra-annual variability dominated over inter-annual variability, but DON variation in the open sea was markedly shifted towards shorter time scales relative to coastal stations. In the coastal zone a consistent seasonal DON cycle existed with high values in spring–summer and low values in autumn–winter. In the open sea seasonality was weak. A marked shift in the seasonality was found at the Dogger Bank, with DON accumulation towards summer and low values in winter prior to 1999, and accumulation in spring and decline throughout summer after 1999. This study clearly shows that DON is a dynamic actor in the North Sea and should be monitored systematically to enable us to understand fully the functioning of this ecosystem.     

银川平原植被生长与地下水关系研究

干旱区植被生长与地下水的关系是生态水文地质学研究的热点之一。西北内陆干旱地区降水稀少,植被的生长发育与地下水的关系极为密切,从大尺度上研究地下水变化的生态效应问题对生态环境的保护和恢复具有重要的意义。借助遥感方法,结合地下水观测数据,在区域尺度上定量地研究了中国银川平原地区地下水埋深及矿化度与植被生长的关系。结果表明:适宜植被生长的地下水埋深范围约为1~6m,当地下水位埋深为3.5m左右时,植被长势最好。而在水位埋深为3.5m左右的地区,植被生长的相对好坏又受地下水矿化度的影响。当地下水矿化度为0.9g/L时对该地区植被的生长最为有利。     

下扬子地区幕府山组陆缘海-台地黑色细粒沉积岩系沉积学和孔隙结构特征

黑色细粒沉积岩系沉积学和孔隙结构研究对于沉积环境恢复、页岩气储层评价和有利储层预测具有重要意义.利用下扬子地区最新完钻的XYZ-1钻井资料,综合钻井岩心、岩石薄片、XRD分析、氩离子-场扫描电镜等手段,开展幕府山组细粒沉积岩系的沉积学和孔隙结构研究.结果表明,幕府山组岩性组成以块状、纹层状深色(碳质)泥岩、浅灰色纹层状...     

Sediment infiltration traps: their use to monitor salmonid spawning habitat in headwater tributaries of the Cascapédia River,Québec

Sediment infiltration can clog salmon nests and reduce egg survival. As a countermeasure, environmental managers often deploy infiltration traps to monitor sediment infiltration. Traps provide a repeatable means of measuring infiltration and enable comparisons to be made between sites. Results from infiltration rates measured with traps have also been used to estimate infilling rates into salmon nests. Application of these data is questionable, as the composition of the bed and the amount of fine sediment within the bed is known to affect infiltration rates. Thus, infiltration rates measured with infiltration traps may differ from the infiltration rates occurring in redd and riffle gravels. To examine how relationships between sediment infiltration rates varied between four watersheds, we continuously monitored suspended sediment transport, shear stress and infiltration rates at four sites over 5 months. We also compared infiltration rates measured with infiltration traps with changes in the hydraulic conductivity and subsurface grain size distribution of adjacent artificially constructed salmon nests and natural riffle gravels. Among the four watersheds, clear differences in sediment infiltration rates were observed. The differences correlated with the subsurface silt content but no strong relationship existed between land‐use or basin physiography/geology. Despite observing an average of 30 kg m⁻² of sediment finer than 2 mm being deposited in the infiltration traps during the study, no change in redd or riffle substrate was observed. If the deposition rates measured with the traps reflect the processes in redds, enough sediment would have been deposited to inhibit egg emergence. However, no reduction in egg survival to the eyed stage was observed. In summary, our results show that infiltration traps with clean gravels can be used to detect intersite differences in sediment transport regimes. Extrapolations of sediment infiltration rates measured with such collectors to estimate infiltration rates in redds or riffles is, however, flawed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multifractal behaviour of long‐term karstic discharge fluctuations

Karstic watersheds are highly complex hydrogeological systems that are characterized by a multiscale behaviour corresponding to the different pathways of water in these systems. The main issue of karstic spring discharge fluctuations consists in the presence and the identification of characteristic time scales in the discharge time series. To identify and characterize these dynamics, we acquired, for many years at the outlet of two karstic watersheds in South of France, discharge data at 3‐mn, 30‐mn and daily sampling rate. These hydrological records constitute to our knowledge the longest uninterrupted discharge time series available at these sampling rates. The analysis of the hydrological records at different levels of detail leads to a natural scale analysis of these time series in a multifractal framework. From a universal class of multifractal models based on cascade multiplicative processes, the time series first highlights two cut‐off scales around 1 and 16 h that correspond to distinct responses of the aquifer drainage system. Then we provide estimates of the multifractal parameters α and C₁ and the moment of divergence q_D corresponding to the behaviour of karstic systems. These results constitute the first estimates of the multifractal characteristics of karstic spingflows based on 10 years of high‐resolution discharge time series and should lead to several improvements in rainfall‐karstic springflow simulation models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.