Palynological Evidence for Climatic Change and Human Activity during the Holocene on Minorca (Balearic Islands)

Four pollen diagrams from Minorca (Balearic Islands) have been correlated with other previously studied sequences from Majorca and Minorca to define a Holocene landscape sequence for the region from 8000 yr B.P. to the present. The lower part of the pollen diagrams reflects a climatic phase with more rain and less-marked seasonality than today. Significant quantities ofCorylus, Buxus,and mesophilous taxa are found. In the middle part, between 5000 and 4000 yr B.P., a strong change is recorded in composition and structure of the vegetational landscape, with vegetation appearing that was adapted to Mediterranean conditions. This episode coincided with the first human colonization of the island and also with a widespread climatic change in the western Mediterranean region. The change in taxa was complex and some sclerophyllous taxa suchOleaplayed an important role in the transformation of the landscape physiognomy from the mid-Holocene until the present. Although human activities have removed much of the Mediterranean vegetation on the Balearic Islands, it seems clear that the changes have been brought about, in part, by increasing dryness.     

Subduction,mega-shear systems and Late Palaeozoic basin development in the African segment of Gondwana

 Basins within the African sector of Gondwana contain a Late Palaeozoic to Early Mesozoic Gondwana sequence unconformably overlying Precambrian basement in the interior and mid-Palaeozoic strata along the palaeo-Pacific margin. Small sea-board Pacific basins form an exception in having a Carboniferous to Early Permian fill overlying Devonian metasediments and intrusives. The Late Palaeozoic geographic and tectonic changes in the region followed four well-defined consecutive events which can also be traced outside the study area. During the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous period (up to 330 Ma) accretion of microplates along the Patagonian margin of Gondwana resulted in the evolution of the Pacific basins. Thermal uplift of the Gondwana crust and extensive erosion causing a break in the stratigraphic record characterised the period between 300 and 330 Ma. At the end of this period the Gondwana Ice Sheet was well established over the uplands. The period 260–300 Ma evidenced the release of the Gondwana heat and thermal subsidence caused widespread basin formation. Late Carboniferous transpressive strike-slip basins (e.g. Sierra Australes/Colorado, Karoo-Falklands, Ellsworth-Central Transantarctic Mountains) in which thick glacial deposits accumulated, formed inboard of the palaeo-Pacific margin. In the continental interior the formation of Zambesi-type rift and extensional strike-slip basins were controlled by large mega-shear systems, whereas rare intracratonic thermal subsidence basins formed locally. In the Late Permian the tectonic regime changed to compressional largely due to northwest-directed subduction along the palaeo-Pacific margin. The orogenic cycle between 240 and 260 Ma resulted in the formation of the Gondwana fold belt and overall north–south crustal shortening with strike-slip motions and regional uplift within the interior. The Gondwana fold belt developed along a probable weak crustal zone wedged in between the cratons and an overthickened marginal crustal belt subject to dextral transpressive motions. Associated with the orogenic cycle was the formation of mega-shear systems one of which (Falklands-East Africa-Tethys shear) split the supercontinent in the Permo-Triassic into a West and an East Gondwana. By a slight clockwise rotation of East Gondwana a supradetachment basin formed along the Tethyan margin and northward displacement of Madagascar, West Falkland and the Gondwana fold belt occurred relative to a southward motion of Africa. Received: 2 October 1995 / Accepted: 28 May 1996     

Seismic hazard assessment in the Ionian Islands based on observed macroseismic intensities

Catalogues of actual observed intensities are constructed for three towns in the Ionian Islands. They are used for seismic hazard assessment and the results are compared with those obtained by standard approaches; that is, by statistics applied to the data computed from epicentral parameters. The results show that seismic hazard is better assessed using observed rather than computed data, but preparation of the local catalogue presents non-trivial difficulties.     

Further examples of ventifacts and unusual patterned ground from the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic

Abstract Examples of ventifacts and forms of unusual patterned ground that differ in situation, characteristics and/or origin to types reported previously are described from the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic. The ventifacts, represented by clasts projecting from an eroding tillite shore platform, have been grooved by the passage of windblown sand. The patterned ground forms comprise stone polygons on clay loam regolith, stone polygons on peat, peat‐filled desiccation cracks on peat, and clusters of on‐edge clasts (stone packings) on a gravel beach. Aeolian transport of particles is considered responsible for the infill of the polygonal cracks. The clusters of on‐edge clasts are thought to have developed as a result of wave action, in particular backwash and/or undertow. Although these features occupy small surface areas they provide useful information about local geomorphic processes and testify to the marked diversity of such features in nature.     

南沙群岛海域长腹剑水蚤(Oithona spp.)的种类组成、数量分布及其与环境因子的关系

中小型桡足类是海洋食物网中重要的中间环节,在碳循环里细菌碳和藻类碳向高营养级转化的过程中扮演重要角色。本文通过分析2013年3—4月、6—7月、9—10月和11—12月南沙群岛海域(111°30′E—112°30′E,4°30′N—11°30′N)的生态环境调查数据,对长腹剑水蚤属(Oithona)的种类组成、数量分布及其与环境因子的关系进行了研究。结果表明:(1)南沙群岛海域共出现长腹剑水蚤15种(包括1个未定种),其中线长腹水蚤(Oithona linearis)、粗长腹剑水蚤(O.robusta)和长刺长腹剑水蚤(O.longispina)为南沙群岛海域首次记录,长腹剑水蚤属种类组成沿水深变化的现象较为明显,该属虽然在南沙群岛海域广泛分布,但单种的出现频率较低,其种类出现的季节性较强;(2)南沙群岛海域的长腹剑水蚤可以划分为常见广布组群Ⅰ和低频组群Ⅱ;(3)长腹剑水蚤年均栖息密度为30ind./m3,季节变化呈单峰型,秋季最高、冬季最低,高数量区主要出现在受南沙西部沿岸流和东部沿岸流影响的近岸海域;(4)在0—750m水深范围内,长腹剑水蚤数量沿水深梯度的垂直变化明显,呈现由浅至深数量明显减少的趋势,长腹剑水蚤主要集中分布在0—75m的水层中,75—500m数量急剧降低至最低后,在500—750m基本维持不变;(5)GAM分析表明,纬度、海水温度、盐度和叶绿素a浓度对长腹剑水蚤数量均有影响,以纬度的影响最为显著,其中长腹剑水蚤属最适温度为28.6—29.2℃,最适盐度为32.6—33.2,最适叶绿素a浓度为5—10μg/L;(6)长腹剑水蚤属更适栖息于低温和低盐,且受沿岸流影响的环境中。因此,其数量分布的季节变化与季风驱动的沿岸流势力强弱密切相关。     

Reefs at the edge: coral community structure around Rapa,southernmost French Polynesia

Rapa (27°36′ S, 144°20′ W) is a small (~40 km²) volcanic island isolated in the Southern Austral Archipelago, where direct anthropogenic stressors are extremely limited. Here, we present the results of the first quantitative survey of coral community structure across habitats and depths around the island. Despite its geographical isolation in the depauperate South Central Pacific, its small size and unfavourable environmental conditions (competition with macroalgae, low sea surface temperatures, reduced reef accretion), the diversity of scleractinian corals at Rapa is particularly high (112 species from 32 genera, including 37 species of Acropora) in comparison to other French Polynesian islands and subtropical Pacific locations. Our results indicate that the abundance (>100 colonies per 10 m² recorded at nine of the 17 sampling stations) and cover (>40% at four stations) of corals are relatively high for a marginal reef location. Strong spatial heterogeneity was found, with high variation in diversity, abundance, cover and community composition among stations. Variation in community composition was related to habitat types, with distinct assemblages among fringing reefs within bays, reef formations at bay entrances, and those on the submerged platform surrounding the island. On the platform, a depth gradient was detected, with generic richness, abundance and cover generally greater at deeper stations (18–20 m depth) compared with medium‐depth (10–12 m) and shallow (1–3 m) stations. A gradient was also recorded along bays, with increasing coral diversity and abundance from the bay heads to the bay entrances. The coral community at Rapa was characterized by the presence of several taxa not found in other French Polynesian archipelagos and the rarity of others that are common and abundant in the Society and the Tuamotu islands. Another distinctive feature of reef communities at Rapa is the high cover and dominance of macroalgae, particularly in the shallower parts of the surrounding platform, which probably explains the lower densities of coral colonies recorded there. These characteristics of the diversity and biogeographical composition of coral assemblages at Rapa provide considerable ecological grounds for its conservation.     

基于面向对象影像分析方法的我国西沙珊瑚礁地貌单元信息提取

珊瑚礁地貌单元的空间分布对于理解珊瑚礁生态系统的地质构造过程具有重要作用。然而,基于像素的影像分析方法往往获取不到较高精度的分类结果。本文基于面向对象的影像分析方法,利用Landsat 8卫星影像数据对我国西沙地区的珊瑚环礁进行了地貌单元的遥感信息提取。借鉴于美国千年珊瑚礁测绘项目的工作成果,本文首先针对研究区特点定义了十类珊瑚礁地貌单元类型。然后,基于对象的多层次关系特点,并综合利用对象的光谱、形状、上下文关系等特征,建立合适的分类规则集,获取了研究区较大尺度的珊瑚环礁地貌分区图,其分类精度普遍高于80%。虽然研究结果表明基于面向对象的影像分析方法可以有效的进行珊瑚礁遥感信息提取,但其规则集的可移植性仍需要今后的工作加以改善。     

南沙他国侵占岛礁战略价值及空间格局评价

从建岛潜力、岛礁辐射能力和岛礁承载能力3个方面选取26个指标,采用主客观综合赋权法确定各因子权重,利用线性加权法获得被越南、菲律宾、马来西亚、文莱等国所侵占的南沙44个岛礁的战略价值,并对结果进行空间插值,分析其空间格局特征。结果表明：1）被马来西亚侵占的弹丸礁、越南侵占的南威岛、以及菲律宾侵占的中业岛,其战略价值位列前3,评价得分分别为100、98.42和97.09。2）岛礁辐射能力空间分布格局呈现“NW—SE条带式”,“最高”和“高”等级的区域由研究区西北延伸至东南,然后向东北、西南两侧递减,辐射能力格局中有2个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。承载能力空间分布格局呈现“横向条带式”,由北向南越来越低,有1个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。建岛潜力空间分布格局有3个核心区域及2个次级核心区域。3）岛礁战略价值空间分布格局有3个核心区域,分布于研究区中部、北部及南部,与越南、菲律宾、马来西亚密切相关的核心区域各有1个。越南侵占岛礁最多且空间分布较广,有2个次级核心区域也与越南密切相关,越占岛礁若进一步建设,将形成多核心协同的战略格局,需密切关注。     

Evaluating techniques for mapping island vegetation from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images: Pixel classification,visual interpretation and machine learning approaches

We evaluate three approaches to mapping vegetation using images collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to monitor rehabilitation activities in the Five Islands Nature Reserve, Wollongong (Australia). Between April 2017 and July 2018, four aerial surveys of Big Island were undertaken to map changes to island vegetation following helicopter herbicide sprays to eradicate weeds, including the creeper Coastal Morning Glory (Ipomoea cairica) and Kikuyu Grass (Cenchrus clandestinus). The spraying was followed by a large scale planting campaign to introduce native plants, such as tussocks of Spiny-headed Mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia). Three approaches to mapping vegetation were evaluated, including: (i) a pixel-based image classification algorithm applied to the composite spectral wavebands of the images collected, (ii) manual digitisation of vegetation directly from images based on visual interpretation, and (iii) the application of a machine learning algorithm, LeNet, based on a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) for detecting planted Lomandra tussocks. The uncertainty of each approach was assessed via comparison against an independently collected field dataset. Each of the vegetation mapping approaches had a comparable accuracy; for a selected weed management and planting area, the overall accuracies were 82 %, 91 % and 85 % respectively for the pixel based image classification, the visual interpretation / digitisation and the CNN machine learning algorithm. At the scale of the whole island, statistically significant differences in the performance of the three approaches to mapping Lomandra plants were detected via ANOVA. The manual digitisation took a longer time to perform than others. The three approaches resulted in markedly different vegetation maps characterised by different digital data formats, which offered fundamentally different types of information on vegetation character. We draw attention to the need to consider how different digital map products will be used for vegetation management (e.g. monitoring the health individual species or a broader profile of the community). Where individual plants are to be monitored over time, a feature-based approach that represents plants as vector points is appropriate. The CNN approach emerged as a promising technique in this regard as it leveraged spatial information from the UAV images within the architecture of the learning framework by enforcing a local connectivity pattern between neurons of adjacent layers to incorporate the spatial relationships between features that comprised the shape of the Lomandra tussocks detected.