Analysis of coprolites from the extinct mountain goat Myotragus balearicus

Humans colonized the Balearic Islands 5–4 ka ago. They arrived in a uniquely adapted ecosystem with the Balearic mountain goat Myotragus balearicus (Bovidae, Antilopinae, Caprini) as the only large mammal. This mammal went extinct rapidly after human arrival. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of M. balearicus. For the present study ancient DNA analysis (Sanger sequencing, Roche-454, Ion Torrent), and pollen and macrofossil analyses were performed on preserved coprolites from M. balearicus, providing information on its diet and paleo-environment. The information retrieved shows that M. balearicus was heavily dependent on the Balearic box species Buxus balearica during at least part of the year, and that it was most probably a browser. Hindcast ecological niche modelling of B. balearica shows that local distribution of this plant species was affected by climate changes. This suggests that the extinction of M. balearicus can be related to the decline and regional extinction of a plant species that formed a major component of its diet. The vegetation change is thought to be caused by increased aridity occurring throughout the Mediterranean. Previous hypotheses relating the extinction of M. balearicus directly to the arrival of humans on the islands must therefore be adjusted.     

珊瑚生长率重建西沙海域中晚全新世海温变化

珊瑚生长率是记录海洋表层海水温度(SST)的重要指标之一.本文在测量西沙永兴岛海域1个现代滨珊瑚(Porites lutea)和4个中-晚全新世滨珊瑚样品生长率基础上,定量重建了中晚全新世5个特征时段的SST:1887 ～ 2007A.D.(27.27℃)、1993～1936a B.P.(26.73℃)、2985～ 2904a B.P.(26.5℃)、4004～3962a B.P.(26.8℃)和5514～5398a B.P.(27.0℃).这些结果表明5.5～ 1.9ka B.P.期间西沙海域SST总体上呈下降趋势,与中国大陆的平均温度基本同步变化.西沙海域中晚全新世SST的降低趋势受东亚夏季风强度减弱的控制,也可能与这一时期逐渐活跃的ENSO存在联系,而岁差引起的北半球太阳辐射量的减少可能是SST变化的根本驱动因素.     

Stone run (block stream) formation in the Falkland Islands over several cold stages,deduced from cosmogenic isotope (10Be and 26Al) surface exposure dating

Cosmogenic isotope (¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al) surface exposure dating has been applied to valley‐axis and hillslope stone runs (relict periglacial block streams) and their source outcrops in the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic. The data indicate that stone runs are considerably older landforms than previously envisaged and afford no evidence that they are a product of the Last Glacial Maximum; the samples range in apparent ¹⁰Be age from 42k to 731k yr BP, but some of these are minima. The results indicate that valley‐axis stone runs may be up to 700–800k yr old, have simple exposure histories and are composite landforms that developed over several cold stages. Analyses of some hillslope and outcrop samples also demonstrate simple exposure histories with ¹⁰Be ages from 42k to 658k yr BP. In contrast, isotopic ratios from other hillslope and outcrop samples reveal they have had a complex exposure history involving periods of burial or shielding; the samples range in ¹⁰Be age from 59k to 569k yr BP and these are regarded as minimum age estimates. Larger stone runs may be older than smaller runs and there is a possibility that stone runs older than 800k yr exist in other parts of the Falklands. The assertion that glaciation in the Falklands was restricted to the highest uplands is supported by the data, and the potential for age determination of other boulder‐strewn and bedrock landforms, using cosmogenic isotope analysis, in order to extend the geochronology of Quaternary events and processes is noted. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2021年圣克鲁斯群岛MS 6.0地震PKPPKP震相识别

采用云南省地震局3个有人值守国家测震台和5个无人值守国家测震台记录到的2021年11月25日圣克鲁斯群岛M_S 6.0地震波形,运用测震学分析方法,对此次地震进行分析,提出其常见震相的一般性特征,并且重点总结了PKPPKP震相的特征,以免误将该震相分析为1个新地震的P波,分析结果表明PKPPKP震相在震中距约为70°时明显。     

THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLANDS IN ANCIENT CHINA

ＴＨＥＮＯＭＥＮＣＬＡＴＵＲＥＯＦＴＨＥＳＯＵＴＨＣＨＩＮＡＳＥＡＩＳＬＡＮＤＳＩＮＡＮＣＩＥＮＴＣＨＩＮＡ￥ＬｉｕＮａｎｗｅｉ（刘南威）（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＧｅｏｇｒａｐｈｙ，ＳｏｕｔｈＣｈｉｎａＮｏｒｍａｌＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ，Ｇｕａｎｇｚ...     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Marine Resources of Kuwait: Their Role in the Development of Non-oil Resources . Fatimah H. Y. al -Abdul -Razzak Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science . Mark Billinge , Derek Gregory and Ron Martin Entre l'Eden et l'Utopie . Luc Bureau Developments in Political Geography . M. A. Busteed The Elements of Graphing Data . William S. Cleveland Rural Resource Management . Paul J. Cloke and Chris C. Park Third World Atlas . Ben Crow and Alan Thomas Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use . Susan L. Cutter , Hilary Lambert Renwick, and William H. Renwick . Wine Regions of the Southern Hemisphere . Harm Jan de Blij Regional Development: Problems and Policies in Eastern and Western Europe . George Demko The Geographer at Work . Peter R. Gould Change in the Amazon Basin . John Hemming Geography Since the Second World War . R. J. Johnston and P. Claval Urbanization in China: Town and Countryside in a Developing Economy 1949–2000 A.D. , R. J. R. Kirkby Transport and Communications for Pacific Microstates: Issues in Organisation and Management . Christopher C. Kissling Fluvial Forms and Processes . David Knighton The Urban Millennium . Josef W. Konvitz Technological Transition in Cartography . Mark Stephen Monmonier Field Guide to Soils and the Environment: Applications of Soil Surveys . Gerald W. Olson Northern Australia: The Arenas of Life and Ecosystems on Half a Continent . Don Parkes A Killing Rain: The Global Threat of Acid Rain . Thomas Pawlick From the Family Farm to Agribusiness: The Irrigation Crusade in California and the West, 1850–1931 . Donald J. Pisani Hybrid Maize Diffusion in Kenya . Franz -Michael Rundquist Warning and Response to the Mount St. Helens Eruption . Thomas F. Saarinen and James L. Sell Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East , 2nd ed . T. C. Whitmore The Dark Side of the Earth . Robert Muir Wood Categorical Data Analysis for Geographers and Environmental Scientists , Neil Wrigley     

Nutrient concentrations and primary productivity at the Peros Banhos and Salomon atolls in the Chagos Archipelago

Coral atolls are areas of high biological productivity even though they are usually located in regions of the tropical ocean characterized by low primary production and extremely low levels of vital dissolved nutrient materials. Recent studies have indicated the possible importance of in situ dinitrogen fixation on shallow reef flats in supplementing low oceanic nitrate levels and thus contributing to the maintenance of high reef productivity. Variations in the structure of atolls may have a direct bearing on the accumulation of fixed nitrogen and other nutrient materials, and consequently on lagoonal and reefal primary productivity. This paper investigates the effect of differing atoll configurations by comparing neighbouring, but structurally dissimilar, mid-ocean atolls. The findings are discussed in terms of ecosystem function and possible influences on the structural evolution of atolls.     

Reproductive pattern and egg development of the deep-sea crab Paromola cuvieri (Brachyura,Homolidae) around the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic)

This work investigated the biology of Paromola cuvieri in the Atlantic Ocean, including reproductive patterns, sex structure, depth distribution and egg development. Females were more abundant than males, mainly at depths greater than 600 m. Males were dominant in size classes larger than 110 mm carapace width (CW), especially over 120 mm, for which only males were observed. The mean length of both sexes decreased with depth. P. cuvieri appears to have continuous reproduction throughout the year. Large females tend to spawn mainly between summer and winter, but smaller females spawn during the summer. Four maturity categories were identified based on the ovary colour, and these categories were histologically validated. Three categories of testes were identified according to their colour and morphology. Sexual maturity was estimated at sizes between 71.6 and 74.0 mm CW for females and at 91.0 mm CW for males. The relative growth showed changes along the ontogeny, at 73.6 mm CW (females) and 91.3–92.2 mm CW (males). Egg development appears to not be completely synchronous, and two colour patterns can be observed simultaneously. Four stages of egg development were found: eggs undivided and fully filled with yolk in orange egg masses; eggs with a free region of yolk visible in orange or red egg masses; embryos with slightly pigmented, crescent-shaped eyes in brown egg masses; and embryos with visible pigmented structures, enlarged eyes, segmented appendages and abdomen in brown egg masses. The mean number of external eggs carried by females in stage I was estimated to be 315,753±19,267. Three species of barnacle were observed on the exoskeleton: Poecilasma aurantia, Poecilasma crassa and Heteralepas microstoma (Cirripedia, Thoracica).     

北极斯瓦尔巴德群岛中部海域表层海水水质研究

掌握北极海水水质特征及地域分布等第一手数据对北极科考意义重大。该项研究工作是全国青少年北极科考子任务,于2017年夏季在北极斯瓦尔巴德群岛中部海域对表层海水水质特征、地域差异及相关控制因素进行了研究。选取了6个区域共40个采样点采集表层海水样本,从温度、酸碱度、电导率、溶解性总固体量、实际盐度和溶解氧饱和度等方面进行了水质特征测量分析,发现该海域6个区域在海水温度、电导率、溶解性总固体量、实际盐度及溶解氧饱和度等方面均有较大差异,而酸碱度差异不大: 北部冰区水温最低,溶解性总固体量最低,溶解氧含量较高; 西北部海湾溶解氧饱和度最高; 中部海峡溶解性总固体量最高,盐度和电导率最低; 南部海域水温最高,实际盐度和电导率最高,溶解氧饱和度最低; 东部沿海水温偏低。采样点地理位置、洋流情况、地形地貌等因素对表层海水水质均有影响。这些研究成果对补充我国在北极地区的第一手科考数据和进行深入的科考研究具有重要意义。     

辽宁省14市与长山群岛旅游空间相互作用研究

运用旅游空间相互作用理论,以旅游人数、旅游总收入为基础数据,利用旅游空间相互作用模型,测算辽宁省14市、长山群岛与辽宁省14市及长山诸岛3个层次的旅游空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度。得出结论：① 各层级间空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度与距离呈负相关,区域间的空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度随距离增大逐渐减小;② 城市间经济联系度越强,旅游空间相互作用越大,与海岛旅游空间相互作用就越频繁;③ 通过对长山群岛旅游断裂点测算,得出其主要潜在客源地为大连、沈阳、丹东市。