Relationships between bioturbation by Tylos spinulosus (Crustacea, Isopoda) and its distribution on sandy beaches of north-central Chile

The semi-terrestrial isopod, Tylos spinulosus Dana, is a common inhabitant of the upper shore levels of sandy beaches of north-central Chile (ca. 26–30°S). During daylight hours, this isopod remains buried in the sand, while during the night emerges for feeding on stranded organic detritus, leaving exit holes on the beach surface. After feeding, isopods return to dig in their burrowing zones leaving surface irregularities such as cone-shaped mounds of sand. The burrowing preference of T. spinulosus was studied in the field, by: (i) releasing 30 isopods on artificially prepared sand circles (2 m diameter) having exit holes and mounds similar to those left by the isopods and on circles without holes and mounds, and (ii) counting active and buried isopods 15 min after their release in the experimental arenas. The circles had two densities of holes and mounds: treatments 1 and 2 had 100 and 200 holes, respectively, while treatments 3 and 4 had 100 and 200 mounds, respectively. Other 30 isopods were released on sand circles without these holes and mounds (treatment 5). A significantly higher number of isopods buried in circles with holes and mounds (either inside or outside them), compared with experimental arenas without such structures. These results show that the beach surface heterogeneity resulting from holes and mounds would be one of the processes explaining the patchiness of T. spinulosus and thus, its zonation on the intertidal zones of sandy beaches of north-central Chile.     

Effects of morphodynamic state on macrofauna community of exposed sandy beaches on Galician coast (NW Spain)

It is known that the fauna of the exposed sandy beaches are primarily controlled by physical variables; but how these variables operate along and across the beach still remains fairly under discussion. In our study, we sampled a range of exposed sandy beaches along the Northwest coast of Spain to determine the relationship between the principal physical variables of the beaches (including beach morphodynamic state), and the macrofaunal community. The fauna of these beaches comprise truly marine species along the intertidal zone as well as semi-terrestrial species in the upper and supratidal environments. These two groups respond in a different manner to the physical environment. The first group is directly controlled by the morphodynamic state of the beach, and variations in the physical environment; the second group is not clearly affected by these physical conditions. In this case, other variables such as food availability and the human uses of the upper limits of the beach seem to be more relevant in explaining the patterns observed in the macrofaunal community.     

Ecophysiological response of meiofauna to physicochemical gradients in intertidal sandy sediments

The spatial and ecophysiological preferences of the most abundant meiofaunal taxa inhabiting the sandy intertidal areas of NW Spain are characterised using ecological profiles methodology. Eh and water content are the best variables to explain the spatial distribution of most of the meiofaunal taxa. In general, most of the taxa show good agreement between the spatial and ecophysiological preferences, except for shear strength, mean grain size, carbonate, chlorophyll-a and depth. Eh and water content are the environmental variables that best explain the occurrence and densities of the majority of the meiofaunal taxa.     

A simple data transformation technique for pre-processing survey data at embayed beaches

This note explains a technique used for pre-processing three-dimensional survey data obtained at embayed beaches that exhibit distinct alongshore curvature. Using a log-spiral function fitted to the beach planform, the data is transformed from Cartesian into an alternative alongshore–cross-shore coordinate system. When undergoing this transformation, the curvature in the survey data is effectively removed. This greatly simplifies the application of standard interpolation methods, and in this transformed coordinate system the alongshore and cross-shore directions are now explicitly defined. Using a property unique to the log-spiral, the interpolated data is readily transformed back into the original Cartesian coordinate system for further analyses and interpretation. The practical application and advantages of this technique are then demonstrated using survey data from two embayed beaches in south-eastern Australia.     

Retrieval of Substrate Bearing Strength from Hyperspectral Imagery during the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR’07) Multi-Sensor Campaign

Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) derived from remote sensing can delineate surface properties of substrates such as type, moisture, and grain size. These are critical parameters that determine the substrate bearing strength. Although HSI only sees the surface layer, statistics can be derived that relate surface properties to the likely bearing strength of soils in particular regions. This information can be used to provide an initial map estimate on large scales of potential bearing strength. We describe an initial validation study at the Virginia Coast Reserve relating airborne HSI to in situ spectral and geotechnical measurements through a spectral-geotechnical lookup table (LUT).     

中国砂质海滩区域差异分布的构造成因及其堆积地貌研究

砂质海滩的形成与发育是联系地壳深部过程和地表过程的综合体现．本文根据中国沿岸砂质海滩分布状况调查结果,通过分析其分布规律与中国东部沿海中新生代构造地质分区不同海洋沉积环境的内在联系,探讨了砂质海滩区域性差异分布和堆积地貌的成因特点,从而为我国海岸资源利用的宏观配置和管理提供科学依据．研究得出：（1）中国沿岸砂质海滩的形成与发育受中新生代地质构造带控制,尤其受新构造期地壳断块升降活动差异性的影响,呈现出区域性富集的格局．（2）中国砂质海滩基本形成在构造隆起带岬湾沿岸,并且富集在其中新构造期处于上升区的海岸,这主要在于其区域性海岸环境具有形成砂质沉积的物质基础．（3）构造隆起带滨海泥沙的输沙途径及其再分配形式复杂多样,从而产生了各种不同的砂质海滩堆积地貌类型．（4）根据海岸地貌和沉积成因模式,将中国沿岸砂质海滩划分为岬湾海岸叠置沙体沉积形式、滨外坝沙体连续沉积形式和浪控三角洲平原岸改造沉积形式等3种基本模型．（5）沿海晚第四世纪古夷平地貌面与现代海平面相对高程分布的分析表明,山丘岬湾岸型砂质海滩主要形成在新构造运动下沉区段或构造相对稳定区段,而台地岬湾岸型和泻湖一沙坝岸型形成在上升区段,浪控三角洲平原岸型则分布在断块盆地．     

Morphodynamics of a mesotidal rocky beach: Palmeras beach,Gorgona Island National Natural Park,Colombia

The response of a rocky beach to different possible combinations of hydrodynamic conditions (tides, waves, oceanic currents) has been little studied. In this work, the morphodynamic response to different hydrodynamic forcing is evaluated from sedimentological and geomorphological analysis in seasonal and medium term (19 years) scale in Palmeras beach, located in the southwest of Gorgona Island National Natural Park (NNP), a mesotidal rocky island on the Colombian Pacific continental shelf. Palmeras is an important nesting area of two types of marine turtles, with no anthropogenic stress. In the last years, coastal erosion has reduced the beach width, restricting the safe areas for nesting and conservation of these species. Until now, the sinks, sources, reservoirs, rates, and paths of sediments were unknown, as well as their hydrodynamic forcing. The beach seasonal variability, from October 2010 to August 2012, was analyzed based on biweekly or monthly measurements of five beach profiles distributed every 200 m along the 1.2 km of beach length. The main paths for sediment transport were defined from the modeling of wave currents with the SMC model (Coastal Modeling System), as well as the oceanic currents, simulated for the dry and wet seasons of 2011 using the ELCOM model (Estuary and Lake COmputer Model). Extreme morphologic variations over a time span of 19 years were analyzed with the Hsu and Evans beach static equilibrium parabolic model, from one wave diffraction point which dominates the general beach plan shape. The beach lost 672 m³/m during the measuring period, and erosional processes were intensified during the wet season. The beach trends responded directly to a wave mean energy flux change, resulting in an increase of up to 14 m in the width northward and loss of sediments in the beach southward. This study showed that to obtain the integral morphodynamic behavior of a rocky beach it is necessary to combine information of hydrodynamic, sedimentology and geomorphology in different time scales.     

A new Holocene relative sea‐level curve for Terra Nova Bay,Victoria Land,Antarctica

More than 100 radiocarbon dates of penguin guano and remains, shells and seal skin afford ages for raised beaches adjacent to Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. These dates permit construction of a new relative sea‐level curve that bears on the timing of deglaciation. Recession of the Ross Sea ice‐sheet grounding line from Terra Nova Bay occurred no earlier than 7200 ¹⁴C yr (8000 cal. yr) BP. Retreat along the Victoria Land coast may have been rapid, possibly contributing to eustatic sea‐level rise centred at ca. 7600 cal. yr BP. The presence of a significant amount of ice remaining in the Ross Sea Embayment in Holocene time lessens the chance that Antarctica contributed significantly to meltwater pulse 1A several thousand years earlier. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Population biology and secondary production of the harvested clam Tivela mactroides (Born, 1778) (Bivalvia,Veneridae) in Southeastern Brazil

The population structure, growth and production of the trigonal clam Tivela mactroides were investigated by monthly sampling between January 2003 and October 2004 in two areas (southern and northern) of the intertidal and subtidal zones of Caraguatatuba Bay, Southeastern Brazil. Intertidal sampling was carried out in each area along eight transects perpendicular to the shoreline. In the subtidal zone of both areas, one 50‐m dredging was performed along five sampling stations arranged on three transects perpendicular to the coast. The intertidal abundance of T. mactroides was higher in the southern (more dissipative conditions) than in the northern area. High abundances occurred in February–March 2004 in the south and in September 2004 in the north. The size structure showed that younger individuals dominated in the sublittoral, indicating that recruitment occurs in this zone, followed by the migration of these individuals to the intertidal, where they complete their life cycle. Tivela mactroides showed continuous reproduction, with 26 cohorts detected in the study period. The lower estimates for the growth index (?′ = 3.22), mortality rate (Z = 2.10 year^?1) and turnover rate (P/B = 1.21 year^?1), and conversely the longer life span (2.5 years) of T. mactroides in Caraguatatuba Bay (24°S) compared with Venezuelan populations (10°N) suggests a latitudinal pattern of these life‐history traits. The high production of T. mactroides in Caraguatatuba Bay was due to continuous recruitment and rapid and continuous growth, and demonstrates the importance of T. mactroides as a biological resource for many marine species and for the local residents.