Patterns of unsuccessful shell-crushing predation along a tidal gradient in two geographically separated salt marshes

Gradients in salt marsh ecosystems that result from reduced tidal inundation time in the high marsh offer an opportunity to assess the importance of predation as a selective agent (indexed by the time-averaged record of unsuccessful predation, which integrates potentially confounding short-term – inter-seasonal and inter-annual – fluctuations in predation pressure). Spatial patterns in selection pressure are expected to decrease landward from the seaward edge of the marsh. Interaction between shell-breaking predators and their snail prey, Littoraria irrorata, however, generated a pattern in the frequency of sublethal injury (shell repair), standardized for snail size, that did not follow this simple, single-variable prediction of decreasing repair frequencies with distance from the seaward edge of the marsh, based on inundation time alone. Patterns of repair frequency increased landward from the seaward edge of the marsh, only declining as predicted after a zone of dense stands of salt marsh grass. The interaction of tidal inundation time and primary habitat structure ( e.g. physical vegetative barriers to dispersion of predators into the marsh) is hypothesized to shape selection gradients in salt marshes, as inferred from the record of unsuccessful predation.     

Spatio-temporal patterns of abundance,size structure and body condition of Atherina boyeri (Pisces: Atherinidae) in a small non-tidal Mediterranean lagoon

Sand smelt, Atherina boyeri, is a very abundant, widespread, locally harvested species, able to successfully survive and reproduce over a wide range of abiotic conditions and aquatic ecosystem types. In the North Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea transitional ecosystems its life history is well known, but very little information is available about the influence of intra-ecosystemic abiotic gradients on micro-scale patterns of distribution, body size and condition of individuals. In a small non-tidal Mediterranean lagoon, the cohorts' structure and evolution of sand smelt was described and the temporal and spatial variability of abundance, size structure and body condition was addressed. The study was carried out at the Acquatina lagoon (Lecce, Italy) where four stations, situated in two habitat types along a confinement gradient, were sampled twice per month for one year with fyke nets. The abundance of collected individuals was very high throughout the sampling period, with a peak in Summer and a constant decrease afterwards. Measured Standard Length ranged from 20 to 90 mm and the majority of individuals were estimated to be within 2 years old. The confined station resulted more abundantly colonized, especially by smaller size classes, and characterized by a narrower size frequency distribution. Also relative body condition showed significant spatial variations, with larger individuals having a better condition than smaller ones where optimal temperature and dissolved oxygen levels were available. Size-specific temporal patterns of body condition followed the seasonal climatic oscillations and the species' cycle of growth and reproduction, with larger individuals reaching higher fatness than smaller ones during Autumn and Winter, thus having more chances to survive and contribute to the reproductive effort. The results of the present study emphasised that, even at a very small scale, the presence of strong environmental gradients can drive movements, habitat preference and condition of individuals and thus promote an intra-ecosystemic spatial heterogeneity comparable to that observed between ecosystems at the land–ocean or geographical scale.     

Diatom succession and silicon removal from freshwater in estuarine mixing zones: From experiment to modelling

Estuaries act as filters for land derived material reducing the river input to the coastal zone. Silicon (Si) removal from freshwater which is tightly linked to the growth of diatoms was studied in the estuarine mixing zone where the mixing of freshwater and seawater results in a salinity gradient. Three planktonic diatom species with different origin and salinity tolerance were grown in an artificial salinity gradient. Salinity stress and nutrient depletion led to a specific succession of the three diatoms along the salinity gradient. When available light was increased, diatoms reached higher biomass and the Si removal from water column was more efficient along the mixing. From this experiment, a conceptual model of Si transformations and removal from freshwater was build and applied to an idealized stratified estuary. Sensitivity analysis with varying initial conditions and parameter values pointed transit time of freshwater in the estuary, freshwater and seawater mixing rate and river turbidity as important interactive factors influencing Si removal from freshwater. Other factors like the total amount and the salinity tolerance of diatoms in the upstream river were shown to significantly affect riverine Si removal from the surface layer of an estuary. Finally it appears that Si removal from freshwater in estuarine mixing zones proceeds in two ways: a first rapid death and sedimentation of planktonic stenohaline diatoms imported from the river and second, the growth and subsequent settling of planktonic euryhaline diatoms of either freshwater or marine origin.     

Local Similarity Relationships In The Urban Boundary Layer

To investigate turbulent structures in an urban boundary layer (UBL) with many tallbuildings, a number of non-dimensional variable groups based on turbulent observationsfrom a 325-m meteorological tower in the urban area of Beijing, China, are analyzedin the framework of local similarity. The extension of surface-layer similarity to localsimilarity in the stable and unstable boundary layer is also discussed. According to localsimilarity, dimensionless quantities of variables: e.g., velocity and temperature standarddeviations _i/u_*l (i=u,v,w) and_T/T_*l,correlation coefficients of uw and wT covariance, gradients of wind and temperature_m and _h, and dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) andtemperature variance and _N can be represented as a functiononly of a local stability parameter z/, where is the local Obukhovlength and z is the height above ground. The average dissipation rates of TKE andtemperature variance are computed by using the u spectrum, and the uw and wTcospectra in the inertial subrange. The functions above were found to be in a goodagreement with observational behaviour of turbulence under unstable conditions, butthere were obvious differences in the stable air.     

Reduced Horizontal Sea Surface Temperature Gradients Under Conditions of Clear Skies and Weak Winds

Consideration of the dependence of various components of the sea-surface heat and momentum fluxes on sea surface temperature (SST) leads to an explanation for the observed reduction in the horizontal temperature gradients in the uppermost layer of the ocean (a few to 10 m in depth). Horizontal temperature gradients within the mixed layer can be masked by a near-surface layer of warm water. This camouflage of horizontal temperature gradients has importance for the remote sensing of SST used by the fishing industry, for the estimation of acoustic transmission, and for the forecasting of hurricane development, among many uses of SST data. Diurnal warming conditions in the Straits of Florida are examined by a simulation calculation and by analysis of observations obtained on moorings deployed on the south-east Florida shelf. When there is net heating (i.e., the solar input is stronger than the combined latent, sensible and longwave radiative heat losses) the originally warmer water experiences less heating than the colder water, leading to a weakening of the horizontal SST gradients as seen by surface buoys or satellites. The warmer water also experiences more mixing and therefore less increase in temperature. The strongest effect of the diurnal heating on wind stress occurs when the SST starts out cooler than the air temperature and the atmosphere is stably stratified. Diurnal warming can then rapidly increase the SST above the air temperature because of reduced wind stress and reduced upper-ocean mixing. After that the wind stress increases as convectively driven turbulence contributes to the atmospheric exchange.     

Modelling white mica pressure‐temperature‐time (P‐T‐t) paths using thermobarometric and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic data

White micas are major rock forming minerals in igneous and metamorphic rocks, and their chemical and isotopic variations can be used to determine pressure, temperature and time (P‐T‐t) histories. We apply ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar multi‐diffusion domain modelling to white micas from blueschists blocks in serpentinite matrix mélange from the exhumed Baja California subduction complex. Thermal history models yielded T‐t paths suggesting that ⁴⁰Ar* resides within multiple diffusion domains with varying ⁴⁰Ar* retentivity. Modelled white mica thermal histories and thermobarometric data were used to forward model continuous P‐T‐t paths. P‐T‐t paths are consistent with previous studies and are interpreted to constrain blueschist block exhumation paths within the Baja accretionary wedge. Our P‐T‐t models use temperature controlled ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step heat data in which argon loss by volume diffusion can be demonstrated, and for which the white mica petrogenesis is known.     

Is proximity to land-based sources of coral stressors an appropriate measure of risk to coral reefs? An example from the Florida Reef Tract

Localized declines in coral condition are commonly linked to land-based sources of stressors that influence gradients of water quality, and the distance to sources of stressors is commonly used as a proxy for predicting the vulnerability and future status of reef resources. In this study, we evaluated explicitly whether proximity to shore and connections to coastal bays, two measures of potential land-based sources of disturbance, influence coral community and population structure, and the abundance, distribution, and condition of corals within patch reefs of the Florida Reef Tract. In the Florida Keys, long-term monitoring has documented significant differences in water quality along a cross-shelf gradient. Inshore habitats exhibit higher levels of nutrients (DIN and TP), TOC, turbidity, and light attenuation, and these levels decrease with increasing distance from shore and connections to tidal bays. In clear contrast to these patterns of water quality, corals on inshore patch reefs exhibited significantly higher coral cover, higher growth rates, and lower partial mortality rates than those documented in similar offshore habitats. Coral recruitment rates did not differ between inshore and offshore habitats. Corals on patch reefs closest to shore had well-spread population structures numerically dominated by intermediate to large colonies, while offshore populations showed narrower size-distributions that become increasingly positively skewed. Differences in size-structure of coral populations were attributed to faster growth and lower rates of partial mortality at inshore habitats. While the underlying causes for the favorable condition of inshore coral communities are not yet known, we hypothesize that the ability of corals to shift their trophic mode under adverse environmental conditions may be partly responsible for the observed patterns, as shown in other reef systems. This study, based on data collected from a uniform reef habitat type and coral species with diverse life-history and stress-response patterns from a heavily exploited reef system, showed that proximity to potential sources of stressors may not always prove an adequate proxy for assigning potential risks to reef health, and that hypothesized patterns of coral cover, population size-structure, growth, and mortality are not always directly related to water quality gradients.     

Spatio-temporal variations in macrozoobenthic assemblage structures in a river-affected lagoon (Idoura Lagoon,Sendai Bay,Japan): Influences of freshwater inflow

Spatio-temporal changes in macrozoobenthic assemblage structure were monitored at 8 stations in a river-affected temperate lagoon (Idoura Lagoon, Japan) from May 1997 to May 1998 to assess animal–environment relationships in estuarine soft-bottom habitats. A total of 29 taxa occurred with a predominance of a few polychaete species including Heteromastus cf. similis, Hediste spp., Pseudopolydora cf. kempi and Prionospio japonica. The community structure differed significantly among four habitat types that were characterized by different salinity, sediment characteristics, and/or bottom elevation. For each habitat, macrozoobenthic community structure changed significantly with time, which was discriminated mostly by the lower density of polyhaline opportunistic species such as P. cf. kempi in warmer period. The salinity in the study area was much lower from May to September, mainly due to irrigation discharge from paddy fields, which seemed to be a lethal factor for the polyhaline species. C/N ratio and δ¹³C value of the sediment implied the accumulation of river-derived organic matters during the high river flow period. Present results showed the significant effects of fluctuating river discharge on the estuarine soft-bottom habitats, suggesting a linkage among terrestrial, riverine and estuarine ecosystems.     

Assessing waterbird habitat use in coastal evaporative systems using stable isotopes (δC, δN and δD) as environmental tracers

Isotopic patterns of biota across salinity gradients in man-made evaporative systems could assist in determining the use of these habitats by animals. Here we report δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δD measurements of a euryhaline fish, the Mediterranean toothcarp (Aphanius fasciatus), inhabiting a range of salinities in the Thyna saltworks near Sfax (Tunisia). The contribution of these salinity niches to egg formation of two typically piscivorous bird species breeding in the area and feeding within saltworks, Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) and Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), was inferred trough a triple-isotope (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δD) Bayesian mixing model. Isotopic trends for fish δ¹⁵N and δD across the salinity gradient followed the equations: δ¹⁵N = e^{(1.1 + 47.68/Salinity)} and δD = −175.74 + Salinity + Salinity²; whereas fish δ¹³C increased as salinity rose (δ¹³C = −10.83 + 0.02·Salinity), after a sudden drop in fish isotopic values for salinities >60 (Practical Salinity Scale) (average fish δ¹³C for salinities <60 = −5.92‰). Both bird species fed largely on low hypersalinity ponds (salinity = 43; average contribution = 37% and 22% for Little Egrets and Little Terns, respectively), although the use of intermediate hypersalinities (salinities 63 and 70) by Little Terns also occurred (16% and 21%, respectively). Isotopic patterns across salinity gradients allow the use of isotopic measurements to inform studies of habitat occupancy within evaporative systems and provide further insights into how wildlife communities interact with them.