The tidal flushing of multiple-loop animal burrows

Tidal flushing of animal burrows in mangrove swamps provides an effective and important mechanism for transport of salt and other soluble substances. The burrows have complex morphologies consisting of multiple loops. Using established computational modelling techniques, burrow geometries were simulated from characteristic burrow dimensions and the effect of multiple loops on flushing is studied. The computational models show that flushing is enhanced in multiple-loop burrows as upper loops can be completely evacuated, increasing the volume of burrow water removed. The models indicate that there may be a depth limit to which flushing occurs in complex burrow structures. Periscope loops extend further than one characteristic loop depth and are shown to affect the flushing of burrows if the surface-water plume penetrates to their lower depth. Periscope loops with surface openings on the downstream side of the burrow, relative to the tidal inundation, most frequently experience this condition and thus have a great impact on burrow flushing. Field measurements of salinity agree with the hypothesis that there is a depth limit of flushing for complex burrows that is independent of burrow salinity, and suggest a value of 30–35 cm. The measurements also support the suggestion that significant flushing of burrows occurs within a single tidal event. An experiment considered the movement of animals across the interface created by low-salinity surface water and high-salinity burrow water after a partial flushing event. The motion enhances the effective diffusion coefficient of salt by a factor of at least 10², as compared with free diffusion of salt in water, resulting in a more even distribution of dissolved salt in the burrow water between tidal inundations. This distribution may lead to an increase in the depth to which flushing occurs during subsequent inundations.     

Methods for monitoring tidal flushing in large animal burrows in tropical mangrove swamps

The typically anaerobic nature of mangrove sediments provides significant challenges to the mangrove trees and biota inhabiting them. The burrowing activities and flow of water through the numerous and complex animal burrows perforating the sediments of mangroves have a major influence on the biogeochemistry of the sediments and are important to the enhancement of nutrient and oxygen exchange. Two new methods are presented for monitoring the tidal flushing of Sesarma messa and Alpheus cf macklay burrows in a Rhizophora stylosa mangrove forest – by measuring oxygen content of burrow water and by determining the change in fluorescence of a dye tracer through tidal inundation. A case study using the first of these showed oxygen consumption rates at the burrow wall deep within the burrow were found to be between 210 and 460 μmol O₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. The influx of oxygen during a flood tide was found to be significant and indicated that approximately 40% of the burrow water is flushed during a single tidal event. However, the high consumption rate of oxygen within the burrow resulted in the oxygen concentration remaining at or below one-third of the oxygen content of the flooding tidal water. A test application of the second method, using rhodamine dye as a tracer, indicated that the exchange of water between the burrow and the flooding tide was found to be in the order of 30% of the burrow volume. These new techniques provide a means to further study the nutrient exchange within these burrow systems and verify the initial findings that several tidal inundations are necessary to completely flush the burrows.     

The use of transplanted cultured tropical oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) to monitor Cd levels in North Queensland coastal waters (Australia)

Bivalves are commonly used to detect metal pollution in the marine environment. Commercially cultured Milky oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) were transplanted in various sites along the North Queensland coast and analyzed for two metals of potentially anthropogenic origin (Cd, Zn). To provide additional information, naturally occurring Black Lip oysters (Saccostrea echinata) were also collected at the transplantation sites. The study demonstrated that the oysters species transplanted are good bioindicators of these metal concentrations in tropical waters, sensitive to variations in the environment at concentrations which are much smaller than pollution signals commonly reported for temperate waters. Three transplant experiments were carried out from May 1999 to February 2000. Milky oysters transplanted to offshore areas (Orpheus Is., Kelso Reef) accumulated Cd in the soft parts whereas oysters sampled from cages placed in Ross Creek and the Herbert River estuaries showed a decrease in Cd concentration, which resulted from an increase in dry weight. Dry weight appeared to be an important covariant affecting Cd concentration in the oysters whereas it does not unambiguously affect Zn concentrations. For the duration of the experiments, oysters sampled from the Magnetic Is. reference site showed effectively constant Cd concentrations and total Cd contents which indicates that any seasonal cycle affecting metal concentration is weak. It was found that Cd accumulation in oysters increased as ambient dissolved Cd concentration decreased, from which it was concluded that for these oysters, the predominant source of Cd was from the particulate phase rather than the dissolved phase.     

Field assessment of innovative sensor for monitoring of sediment accumulation at inshore coral reefs

Sediment accumulation rate is a frequently required parameter in environmental and management studies, in particular near coral reefs where sediment accumulation can potentially cause severe impact. However, opportunities to obtain accurate sediment accumulation measurements are often limited by a lack of adequate instrumentation, in particular for high temporal resolution monitoring. For instance the traditional use of sediment traps, as the most widespread technique, offers poor temporal resolution (commonly of weeks) besides having significant hydrodynamic shortcomings. Therefore, a new optical backscatter sediment accumulation sensor (SAS) was developed to continuously measure in situ short-term sediment accumulation in sensitive riverine and coastal environments, enabling high temporal and vertical resolution (order of 1 h and with a deposited thickness resolution in the order of 20 microm respectively). This allows investigations of various parameters that influence accumulation: tides, current, waves, rain, or anthropogenic activity such as sediment dumping. This paper briefly describes the SAS and presents three field applications on nearshore coral reefs at Ishigaki Island (Japan), Lihir Island (Papua New Guinea), and Magnetic Island (Australia).     

Quantifying the suspended sediment discharge to the ocean from the Markham River,Papua New Guinea

The Markham River is a small river draining a tropical mountain range with altitudes between 1000 and 3000 m and discharges directly into a submarine canyon, the head of which is at 30 m depth and reaches depths of 500 m only 4 km from the shore. As such, the Markham discharge system serves as a possible analogue for rivers discharging onto margins during low stands of sea-level. Located in a tectonically active area and with high rainfall, sediment supply is high and episodic and is sometimes related to catastrophic mountain landslides. The river has an estimated sediment load of 12 Mt yr⁻¹. Occasionally, high energy flows are generated at the river mouth which is evident from the channel morphology and sediment distribution. Profiles of salinity and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) show that sediment is dispersed via a plume with components at both the surface, intermediate depth along isopycnal surfaces and near the sea bed. The dispersal pattern of the surface freshwater plume is largely determined by the buoyancy force. The surface plume is very thin with salinity gradients 15 ppt m⁻¹ while a Richardson number greater than unity suggested that the mixing zone is highly stratified. Estimates of the horizontal sediment flux gradient of the surface plume along the estuary axis suggest that about 80% of the sediment discharged is lost from the plume within a distance of 2 km from the river mouth. Particle fall velocities estimated from the vertical flux indicate values less than those of flocculated material. Layers of sediment with SSCs between 500 and 1000 mg l⁻¹ were observed at intermediate depths and near the seabed during periods of both high and intermediate discharge. The mass of sediment in a SSC layer at intermediate depths between 150 and 250 m within the canyon channel was estimated to be equivalent to an average of 2 to 3 days of Markham sediment discharge. SSCs near the seabed of between 250 and 750 mg l⁻¹ suggest that layers of significantly elevated density exist near the seabed, moving under the influence of gravity down steep seabed slopes of the Markham canyon.     

The barnacle Balanus amphitrite as a bioindicator for Cd: Development and application of a simulation model

The efficacy of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite as a bioindicator for Cd in the environment was investigated through simulation exercises in an ecotoxicological simulation model based on field data. The study showed in general that B. amphitrite is a good bioindicator to record mean trends of the Cd bioavailability in the environment. The model correct reflected differences between high and low patterns of Cd concentrations in the barnacle in the field, but it did not accurately reflect short-term temporal variations. A model investigation pointed out three issues that must be taken into account when using B. amphitrite as bioindicator for Cd bioavailability in the environment: (1) variations in the mean weight of the sampled population may affect the barnacle's Cd concentration determination, specially if a size effect for the metal concentration in the organism is not detected; (2) a sampling effort approximately 5 times greater than that of usually applied in such studies would be required to detect an environmental change that caused a realistic increase in the main source of Cd to the barnacle; and (3) barnacle tissue better responds to long-term changes in the Cd level of its sources.     

The Khao Yai Fault on the southern margin of the Khorat Plateau, and the pattern of faulting in Southeast Thailand

A study of Google Earth images has revealed a hitherto-unrecorded gently curved lineament within the southern marginal zone of the Khorat Plateau in eastern Thailand. The lineament, confirmed by digital elevation model (DEM) images, is at least 130 km long and coincides with a dip reversal of the Mesozoic Khorat Group. It is interpreted here as a fault, named the Khao Yai Fault, and it has characteristics which make it unusual within the Khorat Plateau. The fault forms the northern boundary of a belt of several ENE-WSW trending fault splays which are thought to link with the Mae Ping Fault further south; this is interpreted as a left-stepping, sinistral strike-slip duplex about 50 km wide and 150 km long. Apatite fission track data indicate that exhumation began during the earliest Palaeogene.The Khao Yai Fault is considered in its regional context which includes the Cardamomes Mountains of Cambodia, the offshore Phuquoc-Kampot Basin, and the Khao Thalai Red-beds outlier of the Khorat Group in Southeast Thailand. The latter is interpreted as a down-faulted sliver of the Khorat Group in the Tha Mai Fault belt which is thought, in turn, to be a splay of Thailand's other major regional fault, the Three Pagodas Fault. Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic shallow-marine rocks with unusual faunas occur in a limited NNW-SSE trending zone to the west and NNW of the Tha Mai Fault and it is suggested that wrench movement on the fault played a part in the emplacement of these rocks.     

Chronic herbicide exposures affect the sensitivity and community structure of tropical benthic microalgae

The effects of prolonged exposure to low concentrations of herbicides on tropical periphyton (biofilm) communities are largely unknown. Tropical estuarine biofilms established in microcosms were therefore exposed to diuron (photosystem-II-inhibitor) at 2-16μg L(-1) for 4 weeks. The biofilms, consisting of diatoms, filamentous brown algae and cyanobacteria, developed a tolerance to diuron during this period as measured by Phyto-PAM fluorometry. Microscopy and pigment analysis revealed that this decrease in sensitivity was accompanied by a shift in species composition towards communities dominated by diatoms. The combination of techniques enabled the first identification of pollution-induced community tolerance (PICT) in tropical estuarine periphyton in response to chronic herbicide exposures. Community composition changed compared to controls at environmentally relevant concentrations of 1.6μg L(-1), while development of PICT was evident at 6.5μg L(-1) diuron, with no recovery (over 2 weeks) in uncontaminated water, indicating chronic pollution induced shifts in community structure.     

Geological history of the Sibumasu Block in Peninsular Thailand: report of a Geologists’ Association Field Meeting in 2007

It is widely accepted that Thailand consists of two principal blocks or terranes, both of Gondwana origin, which collided and fused in the Late Triassic. The western of the two is the Sibumasu Block, and the purpose of this field meeting was to examine Peninsular Thailand where the succession reveals the nature of Sibumasu's Late Palaeozoic rifting from Gondwana in the context of the overall Phanerozoic history of this block. Sedimentary rocks ranging from Cambrian to Miocene crop out in Peninsular Thailand, as well as granite plutons which are aligned in N-S chains, the western chain of Cretaceous–Palaeogene age and those further east of Triassic age. Of particular importance in that history was the NNE-SSW Khlong Marui Fault belt which coincides with the conspicuous bend of the Peninsula; it formed the (present day) eastern boundary of a Late Palaeozoic rift and has been active intermittently since.