DEM and GIS analysis of sub-watersheds to evaluate relative tectonic activity. A case study of the North–south axis (Central Tunisia)

Morphotectonic analysis using geomorphic indexes has been developed as a basic tool to identify recent tectonic deformation in specific areas.This study was undertaken to develop an integrated quantitative geomorphic analysis of tectonic activity in the North–south axis, central of Tunisia. Different geomorphic indexes, including elongation ratio (E), drainage basin asymmetry (Af), hypsometric integral (Hi), Valley floor width-to-height ratio (Vf), mountain front sinuosity (Smf), and stream length gradient index (SL) were calculated. The relationships between the calculated indexes, their correlations and their significance (based on p-values) were also investigated.. Using the hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward’s method, these indexes were classified into three classes describing the relative, different effect of tectonics in each fault segment. The higher deformation is concentrated in the NE-SW Boudinar fault, followed, in order of decreasing activity, by Goubrar, Gouleb, and Majoura normal faults. This pattern of variation in the relative degree of tectonic activity is consistent with field evidence.     

A pilot study of genetic differentiation between two phenotypes of a Mediterranean population of the bivalve Cerastoderma glaucum and genetic discrimination with other Cerastoderma glaucum and Cerastoderma edule populations outside the Mediterranean

The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region of 29 individuals of Cerastoderma glaucum (from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the North Sea) and 18 individuals of Cerastoderma edule (from the Atlantic and the North Sea) and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region of 43 individuals of C. glaucum (from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the North Sea) and 9 individuals of C. edule (from the Atlantic and the North Sea) were PCR amplified and sequenced. The ITS1 sequences led us to describe 27 genetic haplotypes, while 21 genetic haplotypes were determined via the COI sequences. The ITS1 and the COI sequences revealed an important genetic variability within the Mediterranean population of C. glaucum, which contained two different phenotypes: orange foot and yellow foot. A genetic differentiation between the two phenotypes was revealed by the nucleotide diversity index (π) and is strengthened by the AMOVA analysis. This result leads us to suspect the presence of two different groups in the same population of C. glaucum. Nevertheless to be confirmed this hypothesis requires further studies using more locations and a larger number of sample sizes.