Population connectivity of an overexploited coastal fish,Argyrosomus coronus (Sciaenidae), in an ocean-warming hotspot

The West Coast dusky kob Argyrosomus coronus is a commercially exploited fish with a distribution confined to the Angola–Benguela Frontal Zone (ABFZ) of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. A previous study revealed that during a recent period of local warming the species extended its distribution into Namibian waters, where it hybridised with the resident and congeneric Argyrosomus inodorus. Environmental changes are a major threat to marine biodiversity and when combined with overfishing have the potential to accelerate the decline of species. However, little is known regarding the evolutionary history and population structure of A. coronus across the ABFZ. We investigated genetic diversity, population structure and historical demographic changes using mtDNA control region sequences and genotypes at six nuclear microsatellite loci, from 180 individuals. A single, genetically homogeneous population was indicated across the distributional range of A. coronus (φ_ST = 0.041, F_ST = 0.000, D = 0.000; p > 0.05). These findings imply that the oceanographic features within the ABFZ do not appear to significantly influence population connectivity in A. coronus, which simplifies management of the species. However, reconstruction of the demographic history points to a close link between the evolutionary history of A. coronus and the environmental characteristics of the ABFZ. This outcome suggests the species’ vulnerability to the rapid environmental changes being observed across this region, and highlights a pressing need for transboundary management to mitigate the impacts of climate change in this global hotspot of seawater temperature changes.     

Terrestrial discharge influences microbioerosion and microbioeroder community structure in coral reefs

Microbioerosion rates and microbioeroder community structure were studied in four Kenyan protected coral-reef lagoons using shell fragments of Tridacna giant clams to determine their response to the influence of terrestrial run-off. Fourteen different microbioeroder traces from seven cyanobacteria, three green algae and four fungi species were identified. The river discharge-impacted reef and ‘pristine’ reef showed similar composition but higher microbioeroder abundance and total cyanobacteria- and chlorophyte-bioeroded areas when compared with the other study reefs. Cyanobacteria dominated during the north-east monsoon (NEM) relative to the south-east monsoon (SEM) season, with algae and cyanobacteria being major microbioeroders in the river-impacted and pristine reefs. The rate of microbioerosion varied between 4.3 g CaCO3 m^?2 y^?1 (SEM) and 134.7 g CaCO₃ m^?2 y^?1 (NEM), and was highest in the river-impacted reef (127.6 g CaCO₃ m^?2 y^?1), which was almost double that in the pristine reef (69.5 g CaCO₃ m^?2 y^?1) and the mangrove-fringed reef (56.2 g CaCO₃ m^?2 y^?1). The microbioerosion rates measured in this study may not be high enough to cause concern with regard to the health and net carbonate production of Kenya’s coral reefs. Nevertheless, predicted increases in the frequency and severity of stresses related to global climate change (e.g. increased sea surface temperature, acidification), as well as interactions with local disturbances and their influence on bioerosion, may be increasingly important in the future.     

Oil dispersal modelling: reanalysis of the Rena oil spill using open-source modelling tools

ABSTRACT

Oil spill forecast modelling is typically used immediately after a spill to predict oil dispersal and promote mobilisation of more effective response operations. The aim of this work was to map oil dispersal after the grounding of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef and to verify the results against observations. Model predictions were broadly consistent with observed distribution of oil contamination. However, some hot spots of oil accumulation, likely due to surf-zone and rip current circulation, were not well represented. Additionally, the model was run with 81 differing wind conditions to show that the events occurring during the grounding represented the typical likely behaviour of an oil spill on Astrolabe Reef. Oil dispersal was highly dependent on prevailing wind patterns; more accurate prediction would require better observations of local wind patterns. However, comparison of predictions with observations indicated that the GNOME model was an effective low-cost approach.     

西太平洋暖池研究综述

西太平洋暖池（Western Pacific Warm Pool）是全球海温最高的海域,汇聚了巨大的热能,在地球气候系统中具有非常重要的作用。本文综述了近30年来有关西太平洋暖池的研究进展,包括西太平洋暖池的维持机制、在不同时间尺度西太平洋暖池的变异特征和物理机制,以及西太平洋暖池的观测和数值模拟等领域的研究进展。西太平洋暖池的维持是现有地形下大气过程和海洋过程相互作用导致的,在季节内到世纪尺度均存在很强的变化。其中：季节内变化的驱动机制主要包括与大气季节内振荡(Madden Julian Oscillation)相关的对流和海表面热通量变化,以及海洋波动等海洋动力过程;季节变化主要是太阳辐射的季节变化导致;在年际尺度上,西太平洋暖池作为El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation的一部分而振荡具有显著年际变化;太平洋代际振荡（Pacific Decadal Oscillation）和大西洋代际振荡（Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation）驱动着西太平洋暖池的年代际变化;世纪尺度的变化显示全球变暖背景下西太平洋暖池存在扩张趋势。人类对西太平洋暖池的系统观测始于海洋观测卫星的使用,随后历经WCRP/TOGA、TAO/TRITON、TOGA-COARE、WOCE、Argo、SPICE、NPOCE等多个观测计划,极大促进了西太平洋暖池的研究。但截止到第五次耦合模式比对计划（Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5）,多数气候模式仍未能克服热带模拟偏差,对西太平洋暖池的模拟效果较差,表明在西太平洋暖池动力学的理解和模拟方面仍有较大进步空间。     

大西洋经向翻转环流对岁差响应的气候背景依赖性

大西洋经向翻转环流（Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation,AMOC）是气候系统重要的组成部分,其强度变化可直接影响南北半球的热量分配,厘清其变化机理对全球变暖背景下的未来预估至关重要。海洋沉积物记录发现,在晚更新世,AMOC的变化与地球岁差周期有紧密联系,但其物理机理尚不清楚。本文利用海洋−大气耦合气候模型—COSMOS（ECHAM5/JSBACH/MPIOM）模型,通过敏感试验,分析在冰盛期冷期和间冰期暖期气候背景下,AMOC对地球岁差变化的响应机理。结果表明：岁差降低引起的北半球夏季太阳辐射增强,会导致间冰期暖期背景下的AMOC显著减弱,但对冰盛期AMOC的影响并不明显。通过进一步分析发现,在间冰期暖期,夏季太阳辐射增强,造成高低纬大西洋海表的升温,同时促进北大西洋高纬度地区的局地降水,两者导致北大西洋表层海水密度降低,共同削弱大西洋深层水生成。而在冰盛期冷期,大西洋高低纬度地区的响应对AMOC的影响反向—副热带升温触发的海盆尺度低压异常,通过其南侧的西风异常削弱大西洋向太平洋的水汽输送,导致净降水增多,海表盐度下降;同时,高纬度升温造成的海冰减少,促进了海洋热丧失,海表失热变重,有利于大西洋深层水的生成,最终两者的共同作用导致AMOC对岁差变化的响应偏弱。本文系统揭示了不同气候背景下,岁差尺度AMOC变化的控制机理,对理解晚更新世AMOC重建记录中持续存在的岁差周期具有重要启示意义。     

气候变化对海洋鱼类群落结构的影响研究进展

全球气候变化影响着海洋生态系统的多个方面,而鱼类群落结构对气候变化的响应机制是探索海洋生态系统演变规律的关键点之一。本文结合国内外相关研究成果,概述了气候变化引起的温度、盐度、CO₂浓度、海平面高度、溶解氧以及海流等的改变对鱼类群落结构的影响,并以太平洋十年涛动(Pacific Decadal Oscillation,PDO)和厄尔尼诺−南方涛动(El Niño Southern Oscillation,ENSO)等典型气候现象为例,探讨了鱼类群落对典型气候现象的响应,讨论了需要解决的重点问题,以期为科学应对气候变化和制定海洋生物多样性保护策略提供依据。     

半封闭海域生态修复策略研究——以渤海为例

渤海作为我国唯一的半封闭型海域,是京津冀城市群蓬勃发展的战略支撑和关键依托,其生态环境的稳定与沿岸人类福祉息息相关,其生态环境修复是近年来该领域的研究热点。文章重点围绕全球气候变化和人类活动对渤海生态环境的影响进行了剖析,通过综合对比分析国内外其他类似水域或地区的生态修复既有成果,立足渤海水域特点和现状,提出动态思维与整体保护原则、生境连通性修复原则、不同时空尺度修复原则等生态修复原则,并指出渤海生态修复需理性规划渔业经济活动,统筹考虑渤海生态与冲淡水之间的关系,建议运用前瞻性的思维模式和理念,合理预测、规划、定位、配置、实施和维护渤海生态系统的稳定,重点探索应对全球气候变化的最佳适应性管理策略。     

Evaluating the Dependence of Vegetation on Climate in an Improved Dynamic Global Vegetation Model

The capability of an improved Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM) in reproducing the impact of climate on the terrestrial ecosystem is evaluated. The new model incorporates the Community Land ModelDGVM (CLM3.0-DGVM) with a submodel for temperate and boreal shrubs, as well as other revisions such as the two-leaf scheme for photosynthesis and the definition of fractional coverage of plant functional types (PFTs). Results show that the revised model may correctly reproduce the global distribution of tempera...     

The Impact of Climatic and Environmental Factors on n-Alkanes Indices in Southwestern Tibetan Plateau

n-Alkanes are widely used in paleoenvironmental reconstructions.However,our understanding of changes in the distribution of n-alkanes with climatic and environmental factors remains unclear in arid/semi-arid regions.We sampled 26 surface sediments from three climatic zones across the southwestern Tibetan Plateau to evaluate the sensitivity of chain length distributions of n-alkanes to climatic and environmental parameters.Our observations demonstrate that average chain length (ACL), proportion of aquatic macrophyte (Paq),carbon preference index (CPI) and ratio of the contents of nC27 and nC31 (nC27/nC31) are all sensitive to hydroclimatic conditions.In contrast to commonly-adopted assumptions,the correlations between these indices and hydrological parameters are not always good,which indicates that the interpretation of n-alkane indices is special on the southwestern Tibetan Plateau.These might be related to the vegetation characteristics and seasonality of biological activity,and need to be considered in paleoclimatic reconstruction.The impact of seasonal precipitation on n-alkanes indices was also evaluated.     

Seasonally Hypersaline Estuaries in Mediterranean-climate Regions

Data collected in three Californian estuaries indicate that hypersaline conditions exist during the dry summers typical of a Mediterranean climate. The generalised seasonal and longitudinal hydrographic structures are described and explained. It is argued that this seasonal hypersalinity is common and that it represents a major class of estuaries. The observed accumulation of salt indicates surprisingly long residence times in small basins which have free exchange with the ocean. This semi-isolation of the inner basin leads to a large build-up or severe depletion of nutrients, pollutants and plankton in these systems. Of concern are the trends to increase pollutant loading in the same systems that are experiencing an increase in residence times owing to freshwater extraction in the watershed.