Phylogeographic patterns in Maguimithrax spinosissimus (Decapoda: Mithracidae) from Colombian Caribbean

The Caribbean king crab Maguimithrax spinosissimus is an important artisanal fisheries resource with a distribution range that includes the Florida Keys and Caribbean Sea islands. We carried out a phylogeographic analysis of M. spinosissimus in one oceanic (Old Providence) and two continental islands (Rosario and Tintipán). We analysed 89 and 49 Control Region (CR) and Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) sequences, respectively. We found genetic differentiation between Old Providence and Rosario?+?Tintipán units (F_ST values of 0.84 for CR and 0.91 for COI gene), and gene flow between Rosario and Tintipán (F_ST values ?0.0085 for CR, P?>?.88; ?0.01 for COI gene, P?>?.99). Our analysis showed two genetic stocks and possibly an isolated biogeographic unit of M. spinosissimus. We suggest managing the species as different populations, and conducting more ecological and biological studies for the determination of possible cryptic species.     

栅藻全转录组测序与类胡萝卜素合成途径相关基因分析

栅藻(Desmodesmus sp.)是一种能产生重要次生代谢产物类胡萝卜素的海洋绿藻,为了深入了解栅藻类胡萝卜素代谢途径及关键酶基因,本研究通过Illumina高通量测序平台对栅藻进行转录组测序.利用Trinity软件对转录组数据进行从头组装,共获得37 634个Unigenes,经过与Nt、Nr、Swiss、Prot、KEGG、COG、GO数据库比对,共有23 235个Unigenes获得注释.GO分类中(level 2)注释最多的分别是代谢过程(metabolic process),细胞组分(cell part)和催化活性(catalytic activity),与KEGG数据库比对发现14 123个Unigenes与128条代谢途径相对应.根据组装和注释的转录组结果,鉴定了栅藻中与类胡萝卜素生物合成途径相关的基因,构建了栅藻类胡萝卜素代谢途径,获得的栅藻转录组数据有利于进一步研究类胡萝卜素代谢途径中相关基因的功能及调控.     

Simulating a century of soil erosion for agricultural catchment management

Agricultural land management requires strategies to reduce impacts on soil and water resources while maintaining food production. Models that capture the effects of agricultural and conservation practices on soil erosion and sediment delivery can help to address this challenge. Historic records of climatic variability and agricultural change over the last century also offer valuable information for establishing extended baselines against which to evaluate management scenarios. Here, we present an approach that combines centennial‐scale reconstructions of climate and agricultural land cover with modelling across four lake catchments in the UK where radiometric dating provides a record of lake sedimentation. We compare simulations using MMF‐TWI, a catchment‐scale model developed for humid agricultural landscapes that incorporates representation of seasonal variability in vegetation cover, soil water balance, runoff and sediment contributing areas. MMF‐TWI produced mean annual sediment exports within 9–20% of sediment core‐based records without calibration and using guide parameter values to represent vegetation cover. Simulations of land management scenarios compare upland afforestation and lowland field‐scale conservation measures to reconstructed historic baselines. Oak woodland versus conifer afforestation showed similar reductions in mean annual surface runoff (8–16%) compared to current moorland vegetation but a larger reduction in sediment exports (26–46 versus 4–30%). Riparian woodland buffers reduced upland sediment yields by 15–41%, depending on understorey cover levels, but had only minor effect on surface runoff. Planting of winter cover crops in the lowland arable catchment halved historic sediment exports. Permanent grass margins applied to sets of arable fields across 15% or more of the catchment led to further significant reduction in exports. Our findings show the potential for reducing sediment delivery at the catchment scale with land management interventions. We also demonstrate how MMF‐TWI can support hydrologically‐informed decision making to better target conservation measures in humid agricultural environments. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecohydrologic separation alters interpreted hydrologic stores and fluxes in a headwater mountain catchment

Recent studies have demonstrated that compartmentalized pools of water preferentially supply either plant transpiration (poorly mobile water) or streamflow and groundwater (highly mobile water) in some catchments, a phenomenon referred to as ecohydrologic separation. The omission of processes accounting for ecohydrologic separation in standard applications of hydrological models is expected to influence estimates of water residence times and plant water availability. However, few studies have tested this expectation or investigated how ecohydrologic separation alters interpretations of stores and fluxes of water within a catchment. In this study, we compare two rainfall‐runoff models that integrate catchment‐scale representations of transport, one that incorporates ecohydrologic separation and one that does not. The models were developed for a second‐order watershed at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (Oregon, USA), the site where ecohydrologic separation was first observed, and calibrated against multiple years of stream discharge and chloride concentration. Model structural variations caused mixed results for differences in calibrated parameters and differences in storage between reservoirs. However, large differences in catchment storage volumes and fluxes arise when considering only mobile water. These changes influence interpreted residence times for streamflow‐generating water, demonstrating the importance of ecohydrologic separation in catchment‐scale water and solute transport.     

Morphological description and population structure of an ophiuroid species from cobalt-rich crust seamounts in the Northwest Pacific: Implications for marine protection under deep-sea mining

Many seamounts are covered with cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, and are increasingly attracting interest for the potential extraction of valuable mineral resources from deep seabed environments. However, the impacts of potential mining activities on the vulnerable seamount ecosystem remain unclear. To enhance the understanding of connectivity in benthic invertebrate populations in the Northwest Pacific, several seamounts were surveyed and biological samples collected. In the present study, the ophiuroid species Ophioplinthaca defensor is reported for the first time from four deep seamounts in the Northwest Pacific, and described, providing more detailed morphological diagnosis characters. To assess the population structure of the species between and within seamounts, two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) were sequenced. In total, 20 haplotypes from 32 COI sequences and 8 haplotypes from 3716S sequences were recovered. The star-shaped TCS networks and non-significant pairwise population differences reveal the absence of distinct population structures between and within seamounts. In addition, the O. defensor population seemed to have undergone a demographic expansion in history. This is the first study on the genetic population structure of a benthic invertebrate from seamounts in the Northwest Pacific, and this results suggest a potentially high, long distance dispersal capacity in O. defensor between seamounts, which could inform the development of the Regional Environmental Management Plans for the cobalt-rich crust seamounts in the area.     

Dunite channels within a harzburgite layer from the Horoman peridotite complex,Japan: Possible pathway for magmas

Two discordant dunite channels in a polished slab were collected from a harzburgite layer in the Horoman orogenic lherzolite massif, Hokkaido, Japan. The dunite channels show extreme grain‐size variations, and include very large olivine megacrysts up to 1.6 m long. Spinel‐rich pyroxenite veins or veinlets occasionally cross‐cut the olivine megacrysts. Mineral compositions differ between channels, and the mineral compositions and textures of the dunite channels and the host harzburgite suggest a replacive origin for the dunites. The Sr and Nd isotopic ratios of clinopyroxene separates from the pyroxenite veins in two dunite channels are different, but these ratios are generally similar to those of mid‐ocean ridge basalts. Assuming the channels formed by the through‐flow of melts, then the trace element compositions of the melts estimated from the clinopyroxenes are broadly similar. The melts have similar features such as enriched in incompatible elements and depleted in heavy rare earth elements, but there are differences in the depletions in Ti and Ba, indicating melts that were different but of similar origins. A Rb–Sr crystallization age (~ 52 Ma) was obtained for clinopyroxene–orthopyroxene pairs in a dunite channel and its host harzburgite. The distinctive dunite channels with megacrysts formed as a result of the through‐flow of mafic magma(s), and those magmas had trace and minor element contents that are indicative of contributions of a melt derived from subducted oceanic lithosphere.     

Performance of the LandSoil expert-based model to map erosion and sedimentation: application to a cultivated catchment in central Belgium

Intensive agricultural practices on sensitive soils induce high erosion rates in central Belgium. Expert-rules models quantify runoff and erosion at catchment scale, avoiding over-parameterization, and can include some direct or indirect connectivity features. The aim of this article is to test the ability of an expert-based model, LandSoil, to quantify runoff and to locate erosion and sedimentation areas in a small cultivated loamy catchment in Belgium during the years 2014, 2015 and 2016. Spatialized data are important for assessing model outputs and the erosive response. Measurements of runoff and observation of spatial erosion/deposition patterns, especially around major connectivity points, permitted an assessment of the reliability of the model results. Runoff modelling gave contrasting results (good linear adjustment at the outlet of the 83 ha sub-catchment (point 1): r² of 0.96, Nash–Sutcliffe criterion of 0.95; less good at the outlet of the 3.9 ha sub-catchment (point 2): r² of 0.28, Nash–Sutcliffe criterion of –0.47). For point 2 the poor results are explained by the very few runoff events observed, a scaling effect and the small area with a single land use. Graduated rulers demonstrate that the model is able to provide a coherent pattern of erosion/deposition. The study highlights great sensitivity to the effect of land use, land allocation, landscape design and slope gradients. Grass strips induce deposition of eroded particles when slopes are gentle (< 2%). Woodland strips decrease connectivity by being in the stream but deposit thinner sediment layers. Field boundaries have a role in the transport, but not really the quantity, of sediments. This model validation in the Belgian loess context allows us to use LandSoil in other similar environments in order to estimate the effects of landscape management scenarios. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring soil erosion on agricultural land: results and implications for the Rother valley,West Sussex,UK

Monitoring has played a key role in understanding the rates, extent and frequency of erosion on agricultural land and this includes projects in Switzerland, Germany and the UK. In this case we focus on highly erodible soils in the Rother valley, West Sussex, southern England on which grow a range of arable crops throughout the year. Erosion rates and extent are high, particularly in response to exceptionally wet periods in the early winter. In the monitored period, rates on summer crops were relatively low due to an absence of intense summer storms. In the years 2015–2020, erosion was localized to where limited areas of bare ground coincided with heavy winter rainfall. Issues of river pollution, associated with excessive sedimentation, off-site flooding and a high degree of connectivity between arable fields and the river, are of increasing concern. Mitigation measures need to be expanded to protect freshwater systems and properties. This study has implications for similar programmes in intensely farmed regions. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating debris-flow and anthropogenic disturbance on 10Be concentration in mountain drainage basins: implications for functional connectivity and denudation rates across time scales

We examine the sensitivity of ¹⁰Be concentrations (and derived denudation rates), to debris-flow and anthropogenic perturbations in steep settings of the Eastern Alps, and explore possible relations with structural geomorphic connectivity. Using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be as a tracer for functional geomorphic connectivity, we conduct sampling replications across four seasons in Gadria, Strimm and Allitz Creek. Sampling sites encompass a range of structural connectivity configurations, including the conditioning of a sackung, all assessed through a geomorphometric index (IC). By combining information on contemporary depth of erosion and sediment yield, disturbance history and post-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) sedimentation rates, we constrain the effects of debris-flow disturbance on ¹⁰Be concentrations at the Gadria sites. Here, we argue that bedrock weakening imparted by the sackung promotes high depth of erosion. Consequently, debris flows recruit sediment beyond the critical depth of spallogenic production (e.g., >3 m), which in turn, episodically, due to predominantly muogenic production pathways, lowers ¹⁰Be concentration by a factor of 4, for at least 2 years. In contrast, steady erosion in Strimm Creek yields very stable ¹⁰Be concentrations through time. In Allitz Creek, we observe two- to fourfold seasonal fluctuations in ¹⁰Be concentrations, which we explain as the combined effects of water diversion and hydraulic structures on sediment mixing. We further show that ¹⁰Be concentration correlates inversely with the IC index, where sub-basins characterized by high concentrations (long residence times) exhibit low IC values (structurally disconnected) and vice versa, implying that, over millennial time scales a direct relation exists between functional and structural connectivity, and that the IC index performed as a suitable metric for structural connectivity. The index performs comparably better than other metrics (i.e., mean slope and mean normalized channel steepness index) previously used to assess topographic controls on denudation rates in active unglaciated ranges. In terms of landscape evolution, we argue that the sackung, by favouring intense debris-flow activity across the Holocene, has aided rapid postglacial reshaping of the Gadria basin, which currently exhibits a topographic signature characteristic of unglaciated debris-flow systems. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delineating extent and magnitude of river flooding to lakes across a northern delta using water isotope tracers

Hydrological monitoring in complex, dynamic northern floodplain landscapes is challenging, but increasingly important as a consequence of multiple stressors. The Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta, Canada, is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance reliant on episodic river ice-jam flood events to recharge abundant perched lakes and wetlands. Improved and systematic monitoring of landscape-scale hydrological connectivity among freshwater ecosystems (rivers, channels, wetlands, and lakes) is needed to guide stewardship decisions in the face of climate change and upstream industrial development. Here, we use water isotope compositions, supplemented by measurements of specific conductivity and field observations, from 68 lakes and 9 river sites in May 2018 to delineate the extent and magnitude of spring ice-jam induced flooding along the Peace and Athabasca rivers. Lake-specific estimates of input water isotope composition (δ_I) were modelled after accounting for influence of evaporative isotopic enrichment. Then, using the distinct isotopic signature of input water sources, we develop a set of binary mixing models and estimate the proportion of input to flooded lakes attributable to river floodwater and precipitation (snow or rain). This approach allowed identification of areas and magnitude of flooding that were not captured by other methods, including direct observations from flyovers, and to demarcate flow pathways in the delta. We demonstrate water isotope tracers as an efficient and effective monitoring tool for delineating spatial extent and magnitude of an important hydrological process and elucidating connectivity in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, an approach that can be readily adopted at other floodplain landscapes.