The first record of “spelaeoid” bears in Arctic Siberia

For a long time, “spelaeoid” (cave-bear-like) bears, Ursus (Spelearctos) spp., were believed to be almost purely European animals. Their geographic range has recently been extended to the east, in southern Siberia, Transbaikalia, Kirghizia, Mongolia and Korea. Two unexpected new findings, presented here in detail, significantly change existing views on the distribution of cave bears; both were found in North-Eastern Siberia, far beyond the Arctic Circle, more than 1500 km to the north-east of the previously accepted range.One of the fossils is a mandible, found near the town of Cherskiy at 68.73°N, 161.38°E. The analysis of local geology and accompanying mammal fossils suggests that it comes from the Olyorian Fauna (Early to early Middle Pleistocene). Morphologically, the Cherskiy mandible is closest to Ursus savini, a small middle Pleistocene cave bear from the British Cromer Forest-bed Formation, but differs in having a slightly more advanced dentition, and thus it is described as a new subspecies Ursus savini nordostensis. Another newly recognized fossil of the “spelaeoid” bear is an astragalus found at the Oskhordokh site at 67.54°N, 135.67°E, on a large gravel bar on the right bank of the Adycha River. This specimen is attributed to Ursus cf. deningeri.The paper also presents an interesting example of the interaction between classical and “molecular” palaeontology.The new finds significantly change existing ideas on the ecology and evolution of cave bears, some of the most remarkable members of the extinct Pleistocene megafauna.     

Last straw versus Blitzkrieg overkill: Climate-driven changes in the Arctic Siberian mammoth population and the Late Pleistocene extinction problem

A set of radiocarbon dates on woolly mammoth were obtained from several regions of Arctic Siberia: the New Siberian Islands (n = 68), north of the Yana-Indigirka Lowland (n = 43), and the Taimyr Peninsula (n = 18). Based on these and earlier published dates (n = 201) from the East Arctic, a comparative analysis of the time-related density distribution of ¹⁴C dates was conducted. It was shown that the frequencies of ¹⁴C dates under certain conditions reflect temporal fluctuations in mammoth numbers. At the end of the Pleistocene the number of mammoths in the East Arctic changed in a cyclic manner in keeping with a general “Milankovitch-like” trend. The fluctuations in numbers at the end of the Pleistocene occurred synchronously with paleoenvironmental changes controlled by global climatic change. There were three minima of relative mammoth numbers during the last 50 000 years: 22 000, 14 500–19 000, and 9500 radiocarbon years ago, or around 26 000, 16–20 000, and 10 500 calendar years respectively. The last mammoths lived on the New Siberian Islands, which were connected to the continent at that time, 9470 ± 40 radiocarbon years ago (10 700 ± 70 calendar years BP). This new youngest date approximates the extinction time of mammoths in the last continental refugium of the Holarctic. The adverse combination of environmental parameters was apparently a major factor in the critical reduction in mammoth numbers. The dispersal of humans into the Arctic areas of Siberia no later than 28 000 radiocarbon years ago did not overtly influence animal numbers. Humans were not responsible for the destruction of a sustainable mammoth population. The expanding human population could have become fatal to mammoths during strong the minima of their numbers, one of which occurred at the very beginning of the Holocene.     

厦门东海域鱼类食物网研究

本文分析了厦门东海域58种鱼类的营养关系.根据对它们的食性分析,并依其食料生物的生态类群,将厦门东海域的鱼类食性类型分为:浮游生物食性、底栖生物食性、游泳动物食性、浮游生物和底栖生物、底栖生物和游泳动物食性等5种.该海域鱼类的营养级可分为4级:杂食性鱼类、低级肉食性鱼类、中级肉食性鱼类和高级肉食性鱼类,其中低级肉食性鱼类占优势,为63.79%.本文还分析了厦门东海域鱼类的食物网及其能量流动途径,并提出合理利用和保护厦门东海域鱼类资源的建议.     

准噶尔盆地复杂地区地层压力预测方法研究及应用

准噶尔盆地地层压力分布复杂,长期以来由于地层压力预测不准,在钻井过程中常出现井壁失稳、卡钻、井壁坍塌、钻井液漏失等工程事故,严重影响了钻井速度.为减少工程复杂问题,准确预测地层压力至关重要.为此,在准噶尔盆地开展了断层相关褶皱理论解释复杂构造、利用地质构造建模指导速度建模,求出每层的层速度和真倾角,再用Terzaghi 理论计算地层孔隙压力,计算结果证实地层压力预测精度显著提高.     

Crystal Structure and Chemical Composition of Ludwigite from Vranovac Ore Deposit (Boranja Mountain,Serbia)

The crystal structure of ludwigite from Vranovac ore deposit (Boranja Mt., Serbia) was refined using the X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) Rietveld method in the space group Pbam to a final RB=7.45% and RF=5.26%. It has the unit cell dimensions of: a=9.2515(2) ?; b=12.3109(2) ?; c=3.03712(7) ?; and V=345.91(1) ?3. The calculated distances and angles are mostly in good agreement with the Mg2+-Fe2+ substitutions across the M(1) and M(3) sites, as well as with the Fe3+-Al3+ replacement in the M(4) site. However, the mean observed M(2)-O distance is considerably shorter than prescribed, due to a slight increase of the Fe3+ content in the M(2) site. Such replacement was compensated by slight increase of the Fe2+ content in the M(4) site, resulting in the (Mg1.48Fe2+0.46Fe3+0.05Mn0.02)2.01(Fe3+0.94Fe2+0.04Al0.02)1.00B1.00O5 composition. The formation temperature was estimated to be about 500–600°C. The influences of the various chemical compositions to the crystallographic parameters, M-O distances, M(3) and M(4) sites shift, distortion parameters and estimated valences, were also studied and compared with other reference samples.     

New data on the age of the glaciation in the New Siberian Islands (Russian Eastern Arctic)

To estimate the age of the glaciation in the New Siberian Islands, fossils of small mammals from the Sana-Balagan site (Faddeevsky Island, Russian Eastern Arctic) have been studied. The evolutionary degree of this fauna, which indicates the age of the sediments underlying the glacial deposits, suggests that the glaciation of the New Siberian Islands began no earlier than 190–210 thousand years ago. The new biochronological data in combination with ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dates show that the geological event in question was synchronous with the Moscow glaciation or the Moscow stage of the Dnieper glaciation (the Vychegda glaciation, the final stage of the Saalian, the final stage of the Riss, the end of the MIS 6, 180–140 thousand years ago).     

Dissolved oxygen criteria for freshwater fish in New Zealand: a revised approach

Maintenance of suitable conditions in lowland rivers for both fish passage and resident species is crucial to ensuring the long-term sustainability of fish populations. The dissolved oxygen concentration of water is a key factor controlling habitat quality for fish and a critical measure of stream health. Continued land use intensification and greater exploitation of water resources has contributed towards increasing the frequency and duration of low dissolved oxygen events in lowland rivers and the associated risk of adverse effects on fish communities. Revised guidelines are therefore proposed to support setting of biologically relevant dissolved oxygen limits for the protection of New Zealand freshwater fish communities. These guidelines account for both event magnitude and duration, identify different protection levels based on the risk of negative impacts and are based on current scientific knowledge on the tolerances of New Zealand fish species.     

Toxicity assessment of New Zealand and Pacific dinoflagellates Ostreopsis and Gambierdiscus (Dinophyceae) extracts using bioassays

The dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis produces palytoxin-like compounds (PLTXs) and the genus Gambierdiscus produces ciguatoxins (CTXs) and maitotoxin (MTX). Human illness has been recorded following the consumption of CTX-contaminated finfish. Their effects on the flora and fauna in the environment are largely unexplored. Toxin profiles of extracts of Ostreopsis and Gambierdiscus isolates from the Pacific region were characterised using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Sea urchin (Evechinus chloriticus) fertilisation was unaffected by any algal extracts, but extracts containing maitotoxin-3 (MTX-3, but not MTX or CTXs), or with high concentrations of PLTXs, were toxic to urchin larval development. Gambierdiscus extracts containing CTXs elicited toxic responses in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo toxicity assays; extracts containing only MTX-3 elicited a limited response. Ostreopsis extracts containing PLTXs caused no response. The results demonstrate potential impacts of toxic dinoflagellates on larval organisms and the potential of embryonic assays as toxicity screening tools.     

Assessment of prediction performances of stochastic models: Monthly groundwater level prediction in Southern Italy

Stochastic modelling of hydrological time series with insufficient length and data gaps is a serious challenge since these problems significantly affect the reliability of statistical models predicting and forecasting skills. In this paper, we proposed a method for searching the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average(SARIMA) model parameters to predict the behavior of groundwater time series affected by the issues mentioned. Based on the analysis of statistical indices, 8 stations among 44 available within the Campania region(Italy) have been selected as the highest quality measurements. Different SARIMA models, with different autoregressive, moving average and differentiation orders had been used.By reviewing the criteria used to determine the consistency and goodness-of-fit of the model, it is revealed that the model with specific combination of parameters, SARIMA(0,1,3)(0,1,2) _(12), has a high R~2 value,larger than 92%, for each of the 8 selected stations. The same model has also good performances for what concern the forecasting skills, with an average NSE of about 96%. Therefore, this study has the potential to provide a new horizon for the simulation and reconstruction of groundwater time series within the investigated area.