A New Family of Galeaspids (Jawless Stem-Gnathostomata) from the Early Silurian of Chongqing, Southwestern China

A new genus and species of agnathan Eugaleaspidiformes (Galeaspida), Yongdongaspis littoralis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Llandovery (lower Silurian) Huixingshao Formation at Yongdong Town, Xiushan County, Chongqing, southwestern China. This new Telychian taxon morphologically exhibits some transitional states between Sinogaleaspidae and a cluster of higher eugaleaspidiforms containing Tridensaspidae, Eugaleaspidae, Yunnanogaleaspis, and Nochelaspis, which we term here as the ‘eugaleaspid cluster’. Phylogenetic analysis of an extended character matrix of Galeaspida reveals Yongdongaspis, on which Yongdongaspidae fam. nov. is erected, as the sister taxon of this ‘eugaleaspid cluster’, supported by two synapomorphies, the presence of one median transverse canal, and two lateral transverse canals leaving from the infraorbital canal. As the first fish described from the Llandovery Huixingshao Formation in Chongqing, Yongdongaspis provides new fossil evidence for the subdivision and correlation of the Upper Red Beds in South China.     

分步分层拟三维水流数学模型及其在廉州湾潮流计算中的应用

以Navier-Stokes方程为基础,经代数坐标变换导出模式方程,然后在该坐标系下将三维流场进行垂直分层,并在每一层内积分模式方程。在数值模拟求解方面,采用分步、特征差分近似与Galerkin集中质量有限元相结合的方法进行求解。在实际应用方面,对广西廉州湾潮流进行了三维模拟计算。     

A computer model for forecasting ocean wave parameters at specific sites around the the New Zealand coast

An applications model for forecasting frequency‐directional wave spectra at any appropriately specified site is described. There are two stages to the calculations. Firstly, a spectrum is calculated based on results at nearby gridpoints from an ocean wave prediction model. This is then adjusted to make the spectrum consistent with the local wind history. Verifications of the model are made at sites off Cape Egmont and Great Barrier Island, North Island, New Zealand. These give encouraging results for the shape of the frequency spectrum, with reasonable skill evident in the energetic parts of the spectrum. The significant wave heights also agree well, with the model estimates explaining two thirds of the measured variance.     

Land use effects on habitat,water quality,periphyton, and benthic invertebrates in Waikato,New Zealand,hill‐country streams

Water quality, habitat, and biota were compared during spring amongst c. 100 m reaches on 11 streams draining pasture, native (podocarp‐broadleaf) forest, and exotic pine forest established on pasture 15 years previously. Differences were greatest between the pasture and native forest streams. Only 1–3% of incident light reached native and pine forest streams whereas 30% reached pasture streams. Pasture streams had 2.2°C higher mean temperature than the native streams, and 5‐fold higher nitrate, 30‐fold higher algal biomass, and 11‐fold higher gross photosynthesis. Native streams were 60% wider than pasture, with pine streams intermediate. Pine and pasture streams had 3‐fold higher suspended solids and fine sediment stored in the streambed than native streams. Woody debris volume was 17‐fold greater in pine than pasture streams, with native streams intermediate. Invertebrate taxa richness did not differ between land uses. Community composition differed most between pasture and native forest, with pine forest streams intermediate. Invertebrate densities were 3‐fold higher in pasture than native streams, mainly because of more chironomids and snails, but mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies densities were 2–3‐fold higher in forest streams than pasture.     

A comparative study of representative 2D microstructures in Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri,Switzerland) inferred form BIB-SEM and MIP methods

A combination of Broad-Ion-Beam (BIB) polishing and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has been used to study qualitatively and quantitatively the microstructure of Opalinus Clay in 2D. High quality 2D cross-sections (ca. 1 mm²), belonging to the Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay, were investigated down to the nanometre scale. In addition Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and X-Ray powder Diffraction experiments have been used to extend characterization of the microstructure to the mm–cm scale on bulk volume sample material. Interestingly, both end-member samples of the Opalinus Clay show qualitatively similar mineralogy and pore characteristics as well as a comparable pore size distribution and pore morphology within the different mineral phases and mineral aggregates. Differences between the facies are mainly due to variations in mineral size and mineral amount present in the alternating layers of the different facies. Six different porous mineral phases have been identified and the pores have been subdivided into ten different pore types. Pores visible in the SEM images are most abundant in the clay matrix and these seem to follow a power law distribution with a power law exponent of ca. 2.25 independent of the sample location. Furthermore, all common mineral grains show characteristic porosity, pore shape and pore size distribution in 2D and are proposed to be considered as elementary building blocks for Opalinus Clay. Combined these homogeneous elementary building blocks make up the heterogeneous fabric of the different facies of Opalinus Clay. Based on extrapolation of the power law size distribution in the clay matrix below SEM resolution results in a porosity of 10–25% for clay rich layers (60–90% of clay matrix), whereas sand and carbonate layers show an extrapolated porosity of 6–14%. These extrapolated porosities are in agreement with water-loss and physical porosity measurements performed on bulk material of comparable samples.     

海洋腹毛目纤毛虫—束状全列虫的形态学以及与相近种的比较

报道了一种采自青岛沿岸养殖水体的自由生纤毛虫——束状全列虫。文中对其形态学作了重新描述,利用蛋白银技术研究了其纤毛图式,并与其它相近种作了比较。     

A 2D Mathematical Model for Sediment Transport by Waves and Tidal Currents

In this study, the combined actions of waves and tidal currents in estuarine and coastal areas are considered and a 2D mathematical model for sediment transport by waves and tidal currents has been established in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. Non-equilibrium transport equations of suspended load and bed load are used in the model. The concept of background concentration is introduced, and the formula of sediment transport capacity of tidal currents for the Oujiang River estuary is obtained. The Dou Guoren formula is employed for the sediment transport capacity of waves. Sediment transport capacity in the form of mud and the intensity of back silting are calculated by use of Luo Zaosen＇ s formula. The calculated tidal stages are in good agreement with the field data, and the calculated velocities and flow directions of 46 vertical lines for 8 cross sections are also in good agreement with the measured data. On such a basis, simulations of back silting after excavation of the waterway with a sand bar under complicated boundary conditions in the navigation channel induced by suspended load, bed load and mud by waves and tidal currents are discussed.     

天然气水合物注热水分解前缘热作用因素分析

为研究天然气水合物注热水分解前缘的热作用影响,建立了考虑孔隙介质中水合物饱和度的分解前缘数学模型,并进行迭代分析求解;实验测温前缘和电阻前缘与数学模型拟合前缘较好的吻合,误差控制在8%以内;分析了注热水温度和速率对分解前缘的热作用影响:温度对分解前缘影响的误差不超过8.71%,较大流速对分解前缘影响误差为4.53%,在提高注入热水温度的同时以较大注入速率能减小对水合物分解前缘的热作用影响。     

Population structure and connectivity in the Atlantic scleractinian coral Montastraea cavernosa (Linnaeus, 1767)

Coral reefs are increasingly threatened worldwide by a variety of biological and physical factors, including disease, bleaching and ocean acidification. Understanding levels of connectivity among widespread populations can assist in conservation efforts and the design of marine protected areas, as larval dispersal scales affect population demography. This study examined genetic connectivity and morphological variation of the broadcast spawning coral Montastraea cavernosa (L., 1767) among five locations in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. Analysis of mtDNA and nuclear rRNA internal transcribed spacers, at both the local and regional scale, revealed that the majority of variation existed within locations rather than among them. Likewise, the majority of pairwise comparisons were non‐significant between sites and locations. These results suggest that moderate to high gene flow occurs within and among populations of M. cavernosa in the Western Atlantic. The phylogeographic signature and significant pairwise comparisons among several locations, however, indicate that populations are also partially maintained through self‐seeding and that gene flow may be restricted over large geographic distances. Additionally, while some anatomical variation is likely attributable to phenotypic plasticity, variations in skeletal morphology between Jamaica and other locations correspond with significant pairwise genetic distances and the presence of private sequence types (limited to a single location), suggesting selection to local environmental conditions.