Intertemporal Choice of Marine Ecosystem Exploitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn-Jonsen, Lars

Management, however, requires models that can link the ecosystem level to the operation level, so this paper examines an ecosystem production model and shows that it is suitable for applying ground rent theory. This model is the simplest possible that incorporates the principles of size as the main......, it is probably detrimental from an economic point of view. The marine ecosystem therefore requires an ecosystem management for economic reasons; in this context, models like the one presented here can serve as useful planning tools....... determinant of the predator--prey interaction, the inclusion of mass balance in the predator--prey allocation, and mortality and somatic growth as consequences of the predator--prey allocation. The model needs to be parameterized for the specific ecosystem and the price and cost functions must be established...

Marine and coastal ecosystem services on the science-policy-practice nexus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drakou, Evangelia G.; Kermagoret, Charlène; Liquete, Camino; Ruiz-Frau, Ana; Burkhard, Kremena; Lillebø, Ana I.; Oudenhoven, van Alexander P.E.; Ballé-Béganton, Johanna; Rodrigues, João Garcia; Nieminen, Emmi; Oinonen, Soile; Ziemba, Alex; Gissi, Elena; Depellegrin, Daniel; Veidemane, Kristina; Ruskule, Anda; Delangue, Justine; Böhnke-Henrichs, Anne; Boon, Arjen; Wenning, Richard; Martino, Simone; Hasler, Berit; Termansen, Mette; Rockel, Mark; Hummel, Herman; Serafy, El Ghada; Peev, Plamen

2017-01-01

We compared and contrasted 11 European case studies to identify challenges and opportunities toward the operationalization of marine and coastal ecosystem service (MCES) assessments in Europe. This work is the output of a panel convened by the Marine Working Group of the Ecosystem Services

Mapping Cumulative Impacts of Human Activities on Marine Ecosystems

OpenAIRE

, Seaplan

2018-01-01

Given the diversity of human uses and natural resources that converge in coastal waters, the potential independent and cumulative impacts of those uses on marine ecosystems are important to consider during ocean planning. This study was designed to support the development and implementation of the 2009 Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan. Its goal was to estimate and visualize the cumulative impacts of human activities on coastal and marine ecosystems in the state and federal waters off of Ma...

Primary production of tropical marine ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bhattathiri, P.M.A.

Among tropical marine ecosystems estuaries are one of the highly productive areas and act as a nursery to large number of organisms. The primary production in most of the estuaries is less during the monsoon period. Post-monsoon period shows...

Marine Research Infrastructure collaboration in the COOPLUS project framework - Promoting synergies for marine ecosystems studies

Science.gov (United States)

Beranzoli, L.; Best, M.; Embriaco, D.; Favali, P.; Juniper, K.; Lo Bue, N.; Lara-Lopez, A.; Materia, P.; Ó Conchubhair, D.; O'Rourke, E.; Proctor, R.; Weller, R. A.

2017-12-01

Understanding effects on marine ecosystems of multiple drivers at various scales; from regional such as climate and ocean circulation, to local, such as seafloor gas emissions and harmful underwater noise, requires long time-series of integrated and standardised datasets. Large-scale research infrastructures for ocean observation are able to provide such time-series for a variety of ocean process physical parameters (mass and energy exchanges among surface, water column and benthic boundary layer) that constitute important and necessary measures of environmental conditions and change/development over time. Information deduced from these data is essential for the study, modelling and prediction of marine ecosystems changes and can reveal and potentially confirm deterioration and threats. The COOPLUS European Commission project brings together research infrastructures with the aim of coordinating multilateral cooperation among RIs and identifying common priorities, actions, instruments, resources. COOPLUS will produce a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) which will be a shared roadmap for mid to long-term collaboration. In particular, marine RIs collaborating in COOPLUS, namely the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory: EMSO (Europe), the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI, USA), Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), and the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, Australia), can represent a source of important data for researchers of marine ecosystems. The RIs can then, in turn, receive suggestions from researchers for implementing new measurements and stimulating cross-cutting collaborations and data integration and standardisation from their user community. This poster provides a description of EMSO, OOI, ONC and IMOS for the benefit of marine ecosystem studies and presents examples of where the analyses of time-series have revealed noteworthy environmental conditions, temporal trends and events.

Marine ecosystem analysis for wolsung nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.; Kim, Y.H.; Cho, T.J.

1982-01-01

Environmental surveys to provide base-line data for assessing the potential impact of the operation of Wolseong NPP on marine ecosystems were performed at 3-month intervals in 1981. Physico-chemical properties of seawater and gross beta activities in seawater and marine organisms were examined. The result shows that the ecosystems are non-polluted, typical of near-shore waters. The results of ecological surveys are summarized as follows: A total of 84 taxa of phytoplankton diatom were identified. Of the species, about 70 % are described as neritic species, and the major bloom occurred in September. The analysis of diversity indices shows that the community is very stable. The dominant species of zooplankton were protozoan Noctiluca scintillans and copepods. A total of 83 species of marine algae were identified. The algal community was more diverse in September-December than in March-July, and the dominant species were Chondria crassicaulis and Corallina pilulifera. Total algal production per unit area (0.25 m 2 ) was, on the average, 20 g-dry. The biomass of bacterial population was highest in December, and the result of multiple regression analysis indicates that the important environmental factors are nutrients, salinity and temperature. Primary productivities measured by Carbon-14 method were 1.11 mg C/m 3 /hr at 1 m depth, and 1.45 mg C/m 3 /hr at 6 m depth. As a whole the marine ecosystems adjacent Wolseong NPP site are thought to be stable. (author)

The Economics of Marine Ecosystem Services – the Fisheries Case

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravensbeck, Lars

of five papers, but additionally five other documents have been authored or co-authored in relation to the thesis. The first document is a book chapter that surveys the state of art in some main areas related to green accounting and the links to economic value of ecosystem services particularly those......The thesis “The Economics of Marine Ecosystem Services − the Fisheries Case” focuses on some of the issues in marine resources economics that have attracted significant interest in recent years. Historically, the central issue has been fisheries economics and how to management fish stocks to obtain...... in the formation of flows of ecosystem services from the oceans it is possible to integrate classical fisheries economics with a broader ecosystem approach. The core element of the thesis is the combination of fisheries economics, an ecosystem approach and extended, applied bioeconomic models. The thesis consists...

Bridging the gap between policy and science in assessing the health status of marine ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angel Borja

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Human activities, both established and emerging, increasingly affect the provision of marine ecosystem services that deliver societal and economic benefits. Monitoring the status of marine ecosystems and determining how human activities change their capacity to sustain benefits for society requires an evidence-based Integrated Ecosystem Assessment approach that incorporates knowledge of ecosystem functioning and services. Although there are diverse methods to assess the status of individual ecosystem components, none assesses the health of marine ecosystems holistically, integrating information from multiple ecosystem components. Similarly, while acknowledging the availability of several methods to measure single pressures and assess their impacts, evaluation of cumulative effects of multiple pressures remains scarce. Therefore, an integrative assessment requires us to first understand the response of marine ecosystems to human activities and their pressures and then develop innovative, cost-effective monitoring tools that enable collection of data to assess the health status of large marine areas. Conceptually, combining this knowledge of effective monitoring methods with cost-benefit analyses will help identify appropriate management measures to improve environmental status economically and efficiently. The European project DEVOTES (DEVelopment Of innovative Tools for understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good Environmental Status specifically addressed these topics in order to support policy makers and managers in implementing the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Here, we synthesize our main innovative findings, placing these within the context of recent wider research, and identifying gaps and the major future challenges.

The geography of spatial synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Jonathan A; Sheppard, Lawrence W; Anderson, Thomas L; Kastens, Jude H; Bjørnstad, Ottar N; Liebhold, Andrew M; Reuman, Daniel C

2017-07-01

Spatial synchrony, defined as correlated temporal fluctuations among populations, is a fundamental feature of population dynamics, but many aspects of synchrony remain poorly understood. Few studies have examined detailed geographical patterns of synchrony; instead most focus on how synchrony declines with increasing linear distance between locations, making the simplifying assumption that distance decay is isotropic. By synthesising and extending prior work, we show how geography of synchrony, a term which we use to refer to detailed spatial variation in patterns of synchrony, can be leveraged to understand ecological processes including identification of drivers of synchrony, a long-standing challenge. We focus on three main objectives: (1) showing conceptually and theoretically four mechanisms that can generate geographies of synchrony; (2) documenting complex and pronounced geographies of synchrony in two important study systems; and (3) demonstrating a variety of methods capable of revealing the geography of synchrony and, through it, underlying organism ecology. For example, we introduce a new type of network, the synchrony network, the structure of which provides ecological insight. By documenting the importance of geographies of synchrony, advancing conceptual frameworks, and demonstrating powerful methods, we aim to help elevate the geography of synchrony into a mainstream area of study and application. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Reviewing evidence of marine ecosystem change off South Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recent changes have been observed in South African marine ecosystems. The main pressures on these ecosystems are fishing, climate change, pollution, ocean acidification and mining. The best long-term datasets are for trends in fishing pressures but there are many gaps, especially for non-commercial species. Fishing ...

Environmental Impacts—Marine Ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brander, Keith; Ottersen, Geir; Bakker, J.P.

2016-01-01

This chapter presents a review of what is known about the impacts of climate change on the biota (plankton, benthos, fish, seabirds and marine mammals) of the North Sea. Examples show how the changing North Sea environment is affecting biological processes and organisation at all scales, including...... the physiology, reproduction, growth, survival, behaviour and transport of individuals; the distribution, dynamics and evolution of populations; and the trophic structure and coupling of ecosystems. These complex responses can be detected because there are detailed long-term biological and environmental records...

Review on the Progress of Marine Ecosystem Management

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yao Xuefen; Zhang Luoping

2007-01-01

Along with the industrial development, adverse impacts on the natural environment become more serious, and ecosystem health and ecological security have also been deteriorated.The traditional environment management focused on the shortterm and economic benefits. Such managing pattern is not accommodating to the new situation of increasingly global environment problems and large scale marine environment problems.This paper introduces the advance and definition of a new managing pattern-ecosystem management. Meanwhile, the connotation of ecosystem management was summarized as seven points: Sustainability; Human is an important aspect of ecosystem management; Cooperation is the foundation of ecosystem management; Maintain health and security of ecosystem; Ecological diversity protection characters ecosystem management; Maintain the integrity of ecosystem; Ecosystem management must be founded on scientific theories and precise information. Somebody said Ecosystem Management is "a new label of old ideas". However, there is an essential difference between ecosystem management and traditional environmental management. In the last part of this paper, the differences of the approaches between ecosystem management and traditional environmental management are compared.

The marine ecosystems at Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp. SR-Site Biosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aquilonius, Karin [ed.; Studsvik Nuclear AB (Sweden)

2010-12-15

The overall objective of this report is to provide a thorough description of the marine ecosystems at the sites Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp, to identify processes in these ecosystems of importance to transfer and accumulation of radionuclides and, finally based on this knowledge, develop parameters to be used for the marine ecosystem in the safety analysis SR-Site. The report includes a thorough description of the major components in the marine ecosystems in Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp, and covers the following areas: chemical and physical characteristics, climate and meteorology, morphology and regolith, biota in the marine ecosystem, human impact, water exchange and historical evolution at the sites. The site specific characteristics are compared with marine data from the Baltic region. Marine ecosystem modeling and mass balances calculations for carbon and a number of other elements were carried out to further improve the understanding of the marine ecosystems. Important processes for the safety assessment are identified, described and evaluated according to a systematic method. The derivation of marine ecosystem parameters and the resulting parameters is presented. The last chapter of the report aims at summarizing the knowledge of the marine ecosystems at the two areas. In comparison with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Proper, salinity is somewhat lower in Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp respectively. The nitrogen and phosphorus levels at the two sites are low to moderately high compared with environmental monitoring data for corresponding areas in the Baltic Sea. In Forsmark, nitrogen seems to be the limiting nutrient during the summer months. In Laxemar-Simpevarp, nitrogen seems to be the limiting nutrient in the outer areas and phosphorus in the inner bays. This coincides with the general conditions in the Bothnian Sea (Forsmark) and the Baltic Proper (Laxemar-Simpevarp). The annual mean water temperature in Forsmark is slightly higher than the

The marine ecosystems at Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp. SR-Site Biosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aquilonius, Karin

2010-12-01

The overall objective of this report is to provide a thorough description of the marine ecosystems at the sites Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp, to identify processes in these ecosystems of importance to transfer and accumulation of radionuclides and, finally based on this knowledge, develop parameters to be used for the marine ecosystem in the safety analysis SR-Site. The report includes a thorough description of the major components in the marine ecosystems in Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp, and covers the following areas: chemical and physical characteristics, climate and meteorology, morphology and regolith, biota in the marine ecosystem, human impact, water exchange and historical evolution at the sites. The site specific characteristics are compared with marine data from the Baltic region. Marine ecosystem modeling and mass balances calculations for carbon and a number of other elements were carried out to further improve the understanding of the marine ecosystems. Important processes for the safety assessment are identified, described and evaluated according to a systematic method. The derivation of marine ecosystem parameters and the resulting parameters is presented. The last chapter of the report aims at summarizing the knowledge of the marine ecosystems at the two areas. In comparison with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Proper, salinity is somewhat lower in Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp respectively. The nitrogen and phosphorus levels at the two sites are low to moderately high compared with environmental monitoring data for corresponding areas in the Baltic Sea. In Forsmark, nitrogen seems to be the limiting nutrient during the summer months. In Laxemar-Simpevarp, nitrogen seems to be the limiting nutrient in the outer areas and phosphorus in the inner bays. This coincides with the general conditions in the Bothnian Sea (Forsmark) and the Baltic Proper (Laxemar-Simpevarp). The annual mean water temperature in Forsmark is slightly higher than the

The developing framework of marine ecotoxicology: Pollutants as a variable in marine ecosystems?

Science.gov (United States)

Luoma, Samuel N.

1996-01-01

Marine ecosystems include a subset in which at least some interrelated geochemical, biochemical, physiological, population and community characteristics are changed by pollutants. Moderate contamination is relatively widespread in coastal and estuarine ecosystems, so the subset of ecosystems with at least some processes affected could be relatively large. Pollutant influences have changed and will probably continue to change on time scales of decades. Biological exposures and dose in such ecosystems are species-specific and determined by how the species is exposed to different environmental media and the geochemistry of individual pollutants within those media. Bioaccumulation models offer significant promise for interpreting such exposures. Biological responses to pollutants need to be more directly linked to exposure and dose. At the level of the individual this might be improved by better understanding relationships between tissue concentrations of pollutants and responses to pollutants. Multi-discipline field and laboratory studies combined with advanced understanding of some basic processes have reduced the ambiguities in interpreting a few physiological/organismic responses to pollutants in nature. Recognition of pollutant-induced patterns in population responses could lead to similar advances. A rational framework for ecotoxicology is developing, but its further advance is dependent upon better integration of ecotoxicology with basic marine ecology and biology.

Cumulative effects of planned industrial development and climate change on marine ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cathryn Clarke Murray

2015-07-01

Full Text Available With increasing human population, large scale climate changes, and the interaction of multiple stressors, understanding cumulative effects on marine ecosystems is increasingly important. Two major drivers of change in coastal and marine ecosystems are industrial developments with acute impacts on local ecosystems, and global climate change stressors with widespread impacts. We conducted a cumulative effects mapping analysis of the marine waters of British Columbia, Canada, under different scenarios: climate change and planned developments. At the coast-wide scale, climate change drove the largest change in cumulative effects with both widespread impacts and high vulnerability scores. Where the impacts of planned developments occur, planned industrial and pipeline activities had high cumulative effects, but the footprint of these effects was comparatively localized. Nearshore habitats were at greatest risk from planned industrial and pipeline activities; in particular, the impacts of planned pipelines on rocky intertidal habitats were predicted to cause the highest change in cumulative effects. This method of incorporating planned industrial development in cumulative effects mapping allows explicit comparison of different scenarios with the potential to be used in environmental impact assessments at various scales. Its use allows resource managers to consider cumulative effect hotspots when making decisions regarding industrial developments and avoid unacceptable cumulative effects. Management needs to consider both global and local stressors in managing marine ecosystems for the protection of biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services.

An integrated approach to manage coastal ecosystems and prevent marine pollution effects

Science.gov (United States)

Marcelli, Marco; Bonamano, Simone; Carli, Filippo Maria; Giovacchini, Monica; Madonia, Alice; Mancini, Emanuele; Molino, Chiara; Piermattei, Viviana; Manfredi Frattarelli, Francesco

2016-04-01

This work focuses an integrated approach based on Sea-Use-Map (SUM), backed by a permanent monitoring system (C-CEMS-Civitavecchia Coastal Environmental Monitoring System). This tool supports the management of the marine coastal area, contributing substantially to ecosystem benefits evaluation and to minimize pollution impacts. Within the Blue Growth strategy, the protection of marine ecosystems is considered a priority for the sustainable growth of marine and maritime sectors. To face this issue, the European MSP and MSFD directives (2014/89/EU; 2008/56/EC) strongly promote the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach, paying particular attention to the support of monitoring networks that use L-TER (long-term ecological research) observations and integrate multi-disciplinary data sets. Although not largely used in Europe yet, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI), developed in 1979 by NOAA (and promoted by IMO in 2010), can be considered an excellent example of ecosystem-based approach to reduce the environmental consequences of an oil spill event in a coastal area. SUM is an ecosystem oriented cartographic tool specifically designed to support the sustainable management of the coastal areas, such as the selection of the best sites for the introduction of new uses or the identification of the coastal areas subjected to potential impacts. It also enables a rapid evaluation of the benefits produced by marine areas as well as of their anthropogenic disturbance. SUM integrates C-CEMS dataset, geomorphological and ecological features and knowledge on the coastal and maritime space uses. The SUM appliance allowed to obtain relevant operational results in the Civitavecchia coastal area (Latium, Italy), characterized by high variability of marine and coastal environments, historical heritage and affected by the presence of a big harbour, relevant industrial infrastructures, and touristic features. In particular, the valuation of marine ecosystem services based on

Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates: queryable global layers of environmental and anthropogenic variables for marine ecosystem studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeager, Lauren A; Marchand, Philippe; Gill, David A; Baum, Julia K; McPherson, Jana M

2017-07-01

Biophysical conditions, including climate, environmental stress, and habitat availability, are key drivers of many ecological processes (e.g., community assembly and productivity) and associated ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and fishery production). Furthermore, anthropogenic impacts such as coastal development and fishing can have drastic effects on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Scientists need to account for environmental variation and human impacts to accurately model, manage, and conserve marine ecosystems. Although there are many types of environmental data available from global remote sensing and open-source data products, some are inaccessible to potential end-users because they exist as global layers in high temporal and spatial resolutions which require considerable computational power to process. Additionally, coastal locations often suffer from missing data or data quality issues which limit the utility of some global marine products for coastal sites. Herein we present the Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates dataset for the global oceans, which consists of environmental and anthropogenic variables summarized in ecologically relevant ways. The dataset includes four sets of environmental variables related to biophysical conditions (net primary productivity models corrected for shallow-water reflectance, wave energy including sheltered-coastline corrections) and landscape context (coral reef and land cover within varying radii). We also present two sets of anthropogenic variables, human population density (within varying radii) and distance to large population center, which can serve as indicators of local human impacts. We have paired global, summarized layers available for download with an online data querying platform that allows users to extract data for specific point locations with finer control of summary statistics. In creating these global layers and online platform, we hope to make the data accessible to a

A protocol for the intercomparison of marine fishery and ecosystem models: Fish-MIP v1.0

Science.gov (United States)

Tittensor, Derek P.; Eddy, Tyler D.; Lotze, Heike K.; Galbraith, Eric D.; Cheung, William; Barange, Manuel; Blanchard, Julia L.; Bopp, Laurent; Bryndum-Buchholz, Andrea; Büchner, Matthias; Bulman, Catherine; Carozza, David A.; Christensen, Villy; Coll, Marta; Dunne, John P.; Fernandes, Jose A.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Hobday, Alistair J.; Huber, Veronika; Jennings, Simon; Jones, Miranda; Lehodey, Patrick; Link, Jason S.; Mackinson, Steve; Maury, Olivier; Niiranen, Susa; Oliveros-Ramos, Ricardo; Roy, Tilla; Schewe, Jacob; Shin, Yunne-Jai; Silva, Tiago; Stock, Charles A.; Steenbeek, Jeroen; Underwood, Philip J.; Volkholz, Jan; Watson, James R.; Walker, Nicola D.

2018-04-01

Model intercomparison studies in the climate and Earth sciences communities have been crucial to building credibility and coherence for future projections. They have quantified variability among models, spurred model development, contrasted within- and among-model uncertainty, assessed model fits to historical data, and provided ensemble projections of future change under specified scenarios. Given the speed and magnitude of anthropogenic change in the marine environment and the consequent effects on food security, biodiversity, marine industries, and society, the time is ripe for similar comparisons among models of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Here, we describe the Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project protocol version 1.0 (Fish-MIP v1.0), part of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP), which is a cross-sectoral network of climate impact modellers. Given the complexity of the marine ecosystem, this class of models has substantial heterogeneity of purpose, scope, theoretical underpinning, processes considered, parameterizations, resolution (grain size), and spatial extent. This heterogeneity reflects the lack of a unified understanding of the marine ecosystem and implies that the assemblage of all models is more likely to include a greater number of relevant processes than any single model. The current Fish-MIP protocol is designed to allow these heterogeneous models to be forced with common Earth System Model (ESM) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) outputs under prescribed scenarios for historic (from the 1950s) and future (to 2100) time periods; it will be adapted to CMIP phase 6 (CMIP6) in future iterations. It also describes a standardized set of outputs for each participating Fish-MIP model to produce. This enables the broad characterization of differences between and uncertainties within models and projections when assessing climate and fisheries impacts on marine ecosystems and the

A protocol for the intercomparison of marine fishery and ecosystem models: Fish-MIP v1.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. P. Tittensor

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Model intercomparison studies in the climate and Earth sciences communities have been crucial to building credibility and coherence for future projections. They have quantified variability among models, spurred model development, contrasted within- and among-model uncertainty, assessed model fits to historical data, and provided ensemble projections of future change under specified scenarios. Given the speed and magnitude of anthropogenic change in the marine environment and the consequent effects on food security, biodiversity, marine industries, and society, the time is ripe for similar comparisons among models of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Here, we describe the Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project protocol version 1.0 (Fish-MIP v1.0, part of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, which is a cross-sectoral network of climate impact modellers. Given the complexity of the marine ecosystem, this class of models has substantial heterogeneity of purpose, scope, theoretical underpinning, processes considered, parameterizations, resolution (grain size, and spatial extent. This heterogeneity reflects the lack of a unified understanding of the marine ecosystem and implies that the assemblage of all models is more likely to include a greater number of relevant processes than any single model. The current Fish-MIP protocol is designed to allow these heterogeneous models to be forced with common Earth System Model (ESM Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5 outputs under prescribed scenarios for historic (from the 1950s and future (to 2100 time periods; it will be adapted to CMIP phase 6 (CMIP6 in future iterations. It also describes a standardized set of outputs for each participating Fish-MIP model to produce. This enables the broad characterization of differences between and uncertainties within models and projections when assessing climate and fisheries impacts on marine ecosystems

Synchrony in Dyadic Psychotherapy Sessions

Science.gov (United States)

Ramseyer, Fabian; Tschacher, Wolfgang

Synchrony is a multi-faceted concept used in diverse domains such as physics, biology, and the social sciences. This chapter reviews some of the evidence of nonverbal synchrony in human communication, with a main focus on the role of synchrony in the psychotherapeutic setting. Nonverbal synchrony describes coordinated behavior of patient and therapist. Its association with empathy, rapport and the therapeutic relationship has been pointed out repeatedly, yet close evaluation of empirical studies suggests that the evidence remains inconclusive. Particularly in naturalistic studies, research with quantitative measures of synchrony is still lacking. We introduce a new empirical approach for the study of synchrony in psychotherapies under field conditions: Motion Energy Analysis (MEA). This is a video-based algorithm that quantifies the amount of movement in freely definable regions of interest. Our statistical analysis detects synchrony on a global level, irrespective of the specific body parts moving. Synchrony thus defined can be considered as a general measure of movement coordination between interacting individuals. Data from a sequence of N = 21 therapy sessions taken from one psychotherapy dyad shows a high positive relationship between synchrony and the therapeutic bond. Nonverbal synchrony can thus be considered a promising concept for research on the therapeutic alliance. Further areas of application are discussed.

Sources, factors, mechanisms and possible solutions to pollutants in marine ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mostofa, Khan M.G.; Liu, Cong-Qiang; Vione, Davide; Gao, Kunshan; Ogawa, Hiroshi

2013-01-01

Algal toxins or red-tide toxins produced during algal blooms are naturally-derived toxic emerging contaminants (ECs) that may kill organisms, including humans, through contaminated fish or seafood. Other ECs produced either naturally or anthropogenically ultimately flow into marine waters. Pharmaceuticals are also an important pollution source, mostly due to overproduction and incorrect disposal. Ship breaking and recycle industries (SBRIs) can also release various pollutants and substantially deteriorate habitats and marine biodiversity. Overfishing is significantly increasing due to the global food crisis, caused by an increasing world population. Organic matter (OM) pollution and global warming (GW) are key factors that exacerbate these challenges (e.g. algal blooms), to which acidification in marine waters should be added as well. Sources, factors, mechanisms and possible remedial measures of these challenges to marine ecosystems are discussed, including their eventual impact on all forms of life including humans. -- Review of sources, factors, mechanisms and possible remedial measures of key pollutants (contaminants, toxins, ship breaking, overfishing) in marine ecosystems

Marine ecosystem analysis for Kori nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, C.H.; Kim, Y.H.; Cho, T.S.

1980-01-01

The effect of both radioactive and thermal effluents discharged from the plant on aquatic ecosystem is one of the primary concerns in evaluating the environmental impact due to the operation of the nuclear power plant. Biological alteration of aquatic ecosystems may be resulted from radioactive effluents, thermal pollution and chemical releases. There is also another possible synergistic effect, that is, the combination of the above stresses, which may cause an impact severer than that of the sum of the individual impact. This report deals with species diversity and seasonal variations of those numbers of phytoplankton, marine algae and microorganisms, and distribution of radioactivity of marine organisms, as well as those data pertaining to sea water analysis. The present survey is designed to provide a partial baseline information for environmental impact assessment of Kori nuclear plant unit no. 1. (author)

Sensitivity of euphotic zone properties to CDOM variations in marine ecosystem models

OpenAIRE

Urtizberea, Agurtzane; Dupont, Nicolas; Rosland, Rune; Aksnes, Dag L.

2013-01-01

In marine ecosystem models, the underwater light intensity is commonly characterized by the shading of phytoplankton in addition to a background light attenuation coefficient. Colour dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important component of the background light attenuation, and we investigate how variation in CDOM attenuation affects euphotic zone properties in a general marine ecosystem model. Our results suggest that euphotic zone properties are highly sensitive to CDOM variations occurr...

Biomanipulation - a tool in marine ecosystem management and restoration?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Möllmann, Christian; Hansson, Lars-Anders

2010-01-01

Widespread losses of production and conservation values make large-scale ecosystem restoration increasingly urgent. Ecological restoration by means of biomanipulation, i.e., by fishing out planktivores as to reduce the predation pressure on herbivorous zooplankton, has proven an effective tool...... in restoring degraded lakes and coastal ecosystems. Whether biomanipulation may prove a useful restoration method in open and structurally complex marine ecosystems is however still unknown. To promote a recovery of the collapsed stock of Eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua), large-scale biomanipulation of sprat...

Optimal foraging in marine ecosystem models: selectivity, profitability and switching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Visser, Andre W.; Fiksen, Ø.

2013-01-01

ecological mechanics and evolutionary logic as a solution to diet selection in ecosystem models. When a predator can consume a range of prey items it has to choose which foraging mode to use, which prey to ignore and which ones to pursue, and animals are known to be particularly skilled in adapting...... to the preference functions commonly used in models today. Indeed, depending on prey class resolution, optimal foraging can yield feeding rates that are considerably different from the ‘switching functions’ often applied in marine ecosystem models. Dietary inclusion is dictated by two optimality choices: 1...... by letting predators maximize energy intake or more properly, some measure of fitness where predation risk and cost are also included. An optimal foraging or fitness maximizing approach will give marine ecosystem models a sound principle to determine trophic interactions...

Persistence of trophic hotspots and relation to human impacts within an upwelling marine ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Santora, Jarrod A; Sydeman, William J; Schroeder, Isaac D; Field, John C; Miller, Rebecca R; Wells, Brian K

2017-03-01

Human impacts (e.g., fishing, pollution, and shipping) on pelagic ecosystems are increasing, causing concerns about stresses on marine food webs. Maintaining predator-prey relationships through protection of pelagic hotspots is crucial for conservation and management of living marine resources. Biotic components of pelagic, plankton-based, ecosystems exhibit high variability in abundance in time and space (i.e., extreme patchiness), requiring investigation of persistence of abundance across trophic levels to resolve trophic hotspots. Using a 26-yr record of indicators for primary production, secondary (zooplankton and larval fish), and tertiary (seabirds) consumers, we show distributions of trophic hotspots in the southern California Current Ecosystem result from interactions between a strong upwelling center and a productive retention zone with enhanced nutrients, which concentrate prey and predators across multiple trophic levels. Trophic hotspots also overlap with human impacts, including fisheries extraction of coastal pelagic and groundfish species, as well as intense commercial shipping traffic. Spatial overlap of trophic hotspots with fisheries and shipping increases vulnerability of the ecosystem to localized depletion of forage fish, ship strikes on marine mammals, and pollution. This study represents a critical step toward resolving pelagic areas of high conservation interest for planktonic ecosystems and may serve as a model for other ocean regions where ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning of pelagic ecosystems is warranted. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Recreational impacts on the fauna of Australian coastal marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardiman, Nigel; Burgin, Shelley

2010-11-01

This paper reviews recent research into the ecological impacts of recreation and tourism on coastal marine fauna in Australia. Despite the high and growing importance of water-based recreation to the Australian economy, and the known fragility of many Australian ecosystems, there has been relatively limited research into the effects of marine tourism and recreation, infrastructure and activities, on aquatic resources. In this paper we have reviewed the ecological impacts on fauna that are caused by outdoor recreation (including tourism) in Australian coastal marine ecosystems. We predict that the single most potentially severe impact of recreation may be the introduction and/or dispersal of non-indigenous species of marine organisms by recreational vessels. Such introductions, together with other impacts due to human activities have the potential to increasingly degrade recreation destinations. In response, governments have introduced a wide range of legislative tools (e.g., impact assessment, protected area reservation) to manage the recreational industry. It would appear, however, that these instruments are not always appropriately applied. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simple rules can guide whether land- or ocean-based conservation will best benefit marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Megan I; Bode, Michael; Atkinson, Scott; Klein, Carissa J; Metaxas, Anna; Beher, Jutta; Beger, Maria; Mills, Morena; Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Tulloch, Vivitskaia; Possingham, Hugh P

2017-09-01

Coastal marine ecosystems can be managed by actions undertaken both on the land and in the ocean. Quantifying and comparing the costs and benefits of actions in both realms is therefore necessary for efficient management. Here, we quantify the link between terrestrial sediment runoff and a downstream coastal marine ecosystem and contrast the cost-effectiveness of marine- and land-based conservation actions. We use a dynamic land- and sea-scape model to determine whether limited funds should be directed to 1 of 4 alternative conservation actions-protection on land, protection in the ocean, restoration on land, or restoration in the ocean-to maximise the extent of light-dependent marine benthic habitats across decadal timescales. We apply the model to a case study for a seagrass meadow in Australia. We find that marine restoration is the most cost-effective action over decadal timescales in this system, based on a conservative estimate of the rate at which seagrass can expand into a new habitat. The optimal decision will vary in different social-ecological contexts, but some basic information can guide optimal investments to counteract land- and ocean-based stressors: (1) marine restoration should be prioritised if the rates of marine ecosystem decline and expansion are similar and low; (2) marine protection should take precedence if the rate of marine ecosystem decline is high or if the adjacent catchment is relatively intact and has a low rate of vegetation decline; (3) land-based actions are optimal when the ratio of marine ecosystem expansion to decline is greater than 1:1.4, with terrestrial restoration typically the most cost-effective action; and (4) land protection should be prioritised if the catchment is relatively intact but the rate of vegetation decline is high. These rules of thumb illustrate how cost-effective conservation outcomes for connected land-ocean systems can proceed without complex modelling.

Adaptation of Australia’s Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change: Using Science to Inform Conservation Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna E. Johnson

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The challenges that climate change poses for marine ecosystems are already manifesting in impacts at the species, population, and community levels in Australia, particularly in Tasmania and tropical northern Australia. Many species and habitats are already under threat as a result of human activities, and the additional pressure from climate change significantly increases the challenge for marine conservation and management. Climate change impacts are expected to magnify as sea surface temperatures, ocean chemistry, ocean circulation, sea level, rainfall, and storm patterns continue to change this century. In particular, keystone species that form the foundation of marine habitats, such as coral reefs, kelp beds, and temperate rocky reefs, are projected to pass thresholds with subsequent implications for communities and ecosystems. This review synthesises recent science in this field: the observed impacts and responses of marine ecosystems to climate change, ecological thresholds of change, and strategies for marine conservation to promote adaptation. Increasing observations of climate-related impacts on Australia’s marine ecosystems—both temperate and tropical—are making adaptive management more important than ever before. Our increased understanding of the impacts and responses of marine ecosystems to climate change provides a focus for “no-regrets” adaptations that can be implemented now and refined as knowledge improves.

Damped trophic cascades driven by fishing in model marine ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ken Haste; Pedersen, Martin

2010-01-01

The largest perturbation on upper trophic levels of many marine ecosystems stems from fishing. The reaction of the ecosystem goes beyond the trophic levels directly targeted by the fishery. This reaction has been described either as a change in slope of the overall size spectrum or as a trophic...... cascade triggered by the removal of top predators. Here we use a novel size- and trait-based model to explore how marine ecosystems might react to perturbations from different types of fishing pressure. The model explicitly resolves the whole life history of fish, from larvae to adults. The results show...... that fishing does not change the overall slope of the size spectrum, but depletes the largest individuals and induces trophic cascades. A trophic cascade can propagate both up and down in trophic levels driven by a combination of changes in predation mortality and food limitation. The cascade is damped...

Polar marine ecosystems: major threats and future change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clarke, A. [British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Harris, C.M. [Environmental Research and Assessment, Grantchester (United Kingdom)

2003-07-01

This review of polar marine ecosystems covers both the Arctic and Antarctic, identifying the major threats and, where possible, predicting their possible state(s) in 2025. Although the two polar regions are similar in their extreme photoperiod, low temperatures, and in being heavily influenced by snow and ice, in almost all other respects they are very different. The Arctic Ocean is a basin surrounded by continental landmasses close to, and influenced by, large populations and industrial activities. In contrast, the Southern Ocean is contiguous with all the other great oceans and surrounds a single land mass; Antarctica is remote from major centres of population and sources of pollution. Marine environments in both Polar Regions have been highly disturbed by fishing activity, but, in terms of pollution, some areas remain among the most pristine in the world. There are, however, both local and global pressures. Over the 2025 time horizon, the greatest concern for the Arctic is probably the ecological implications of climate change, particularly insofar as sea ice extent and duration are likely to be affected. Such changes are not expected to be as pronounced in the Southern Ocean over this time period, and concerns are related more to direct threats from harvesting of marine living resources, and the ability to manage these fisheries sustainably. In both Polar Regions, the capacity of marine ecosystems to withstand the cumulative impact of a number of pressures, including climate change, pollution and overexploitation, acting synergistically is of greatest concern. (author)

Marine-ecosystem analysis for the Kori nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.; Kim, Y.H.

1979-01-01

The effects of radioactive effluents and warm water discharged from the plant on aquatic ecosystem is one of the primary considerations in evaluating the impact due to the operation of the nuclear power plant. Biological alteration of aquatic ecosystems may be resulted from radioactive effluents, thermal pollution and chemical releases; there is also the possible synergistic effect, that is, the combination of the above stresses, which may cause an effect greater than that of the sum of the individual effects. This report deals with species diversity and seasonal vegetation of phytoplankton, marine algae and microorganisms, radioactive contamination of marine organisms, and lateral distribution of sea water temperature from discharge point. The present investigation is designed to provide a partial baseline information for environmental safety against Kori nuclear power plant. (author)

The Smithsonian-led Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO): Proposed Model for a Collaborative Network Linking Marine Biodiversity to Ecosystem Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, J. E.

2016-02-01

Biodiversity - the variety of functional types of organisms - is the engine of marine ecosystem processes, including productivity, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Biodiversity remains a black box in much of ocean science, despite wide recognition that effectively managing human interactions with marine ecosystems requires understanding both structure and functional consequences of biodiversity. Moreover, the inherent complexity of biological systems puts a premium on data-rich, comparative approaches, which are best met via collaborative networks. The Smithsonian Institution's MarineGEO program links a growing network of partners conducting parallel, comparative research to understand change in marine biodiversity and ecosystems, natural and anthropogenic drivers of that change, and the ecological processes mediating it. The focus is on nearshore, seabed-associated systems where biodiversity and human population are concentrated and interact most, yet which fall through the cracks of existing ocean observing programs. MarineGEO offers a standardized toolbox of research modules that efficiently capture key elements of biological diversity and its importance in ecological processes across a range of habitats. The toolbox integrates high-tech (DNA-based, imaging) and low-tech protocols (diver surveys, rapid assays of consumer activity) adaptable to differing institutional capacity and resources. The model for long-term sustainability involves leveraging in-kind support among partners, adoption of best practices wherever possible, engagement of students and citizen scientists, and benefits of training, networking, and global relevance as incentives for participation. Here I highlight several MarineGEO comparative research projects demonstrating the value of standardized, scalable assays and parallel experiments for measuring fish and invertebrate diversity, recruitment, benthic herbivory and generalist predation, decomposition, and carbon sequestration. Key

Structured ecosystem-scale approach to marine water quality management

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Taljaard, Susan

2006-10-01

Full Text Available and implement environmental management programmes. A structured ecosystem-scale approach for the design and implementation of marine water quality management programmes developed by the CSIR (South Africa) in response to recent advances in policies...

In hot water: the future of Australia's coastal and marine ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, Anthony J; Poloczanska, Elvira

2007-01-01

Full text: Full text: Marine ecosystems are extremely important economically and ecologically to Australia in terms of tourism, coastal defence, resources, and ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and waste disposal. Australia is also a globally important repository of biodiversity. Here we describe the observed and potential future impacts of climate change on Australia's marine diversity. Climate simulations project oceanic warming, an increase in stratification, a strengthening of the Eastern Australian Current, increased ocean acidification, a rise in sea level, and altered storm and rainfall regimes, which taken collectively will fundamentally change marine ecosystems. There has already been widespread bleaching of tropical corals, poleward shifts of temperate fish and plankton populations, and a decline in cold-water giant kelp off Tasmania. Future changes are likely to be even more dramatic and have considerable economic and ecological consequences, especially in 'hot spots' of climate change such as theTasman Sea and the Great Barrier Reef area. Corals are likely to bleach more frequently and decline in abundance in response to both warming and ocean acidification. Planktonic animals with calcium carbonate shells, such as winged pteropod snails and coccolithophorid phytoplankton, are likely to decline as increased ocean acidification impairs their ability to maintain carbonate body structures. The projected high warming off south-east Australia is of particular concern. Marine ecosystems in this region are already stressed by high metal concentrations, sewage pollution, and overfishing, and climate models project that this region will warm more than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere this century because of enhanced southerly penetration of the East Australian Current. Venomous jellyfish and harmful algal blooms, which are major threats to human health, will potentially extend further south and occur more frequently. Temperate species

Differential contribution of demographic rate synchrony to population synchrony in barn swallows.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, Michael; von Hirschheydt, Johann; Grüebler, Martin U

2015-11-01

Populations of many species show temporally synchronous dynamics over some range, mostly caused by spatial autocorrelation of the environment that affects demographic rates. Synchronous fluctuation of a demographic rate is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for population synchrony because population growth is differentially sensitive to variation in demographic rates. Little is known about the relative effects of demographic rates to population synchrony, because it is rare that all demographic rates from several populations are known. We develop a hierarchical integrated population model with which all relevant demographic rates from all study populations can be estimated and apply it to demographic data of barn swallows Hirundo rustica from nine sites that were between 19 and 224 km apart from each other. We decompose the variation of the population growth and of the demographic rates (apparent survival, components of productivity, immigration) into global and local temporal components using random effects which allowed the estimation of synchrony of these rates. The barn swallow populations fluctuated synchronously, but less so than most demographic rates. The highest synchrony showed the probability of double brooding, while fledging success was highly asynchronous. Apparent survival, immigration and total productivity achieved intermediate levels of synchrony. The growth of all populations was most sensitive to changes in immigration and adult apparent survival, and both of them contributed to the observed temporal variation of population growth rates. Using a simulation model, we show that immigration and apparent survival of juveniles and adults were able to induce population synchrony, but not components of local productivity due to their low population growth rate sensitivity. Immigrants are mostly first-time breeders, and consequently, their number depends on the productivity of neighbouring populations. Since total productivity was synchronized

Typology and indicators of ecosystem services for marine spatial planning and management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bohnke-Henrichs, A.; Baulcomb, C.; Koss, R.; Hussain, S.; Groot, de R.S.

2013-01-01

The ecosystem services concept provides both an analytical and communicative tool to identify and quantify the link between human welfare and the environment, and thus to evaluate the ramifications of management interventions. Marine spatial planning (MSP) and Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) are a

Effects of acidification on olfactory-mediated behaviour in freshwater and marine ecosystems: a synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Leduc, Antoine O H C; Munday, Philip L; Brown, Grant E; Ferrari, Maud C O

2013-01-01

For many aquatic organisms, olfactory-mediated behaviour is essential to the maintenance of numerous fitness-enhancing activities, including foraging, reproduction and predator avoidance. Studies in both freshwater and marine ecosystems have demonstrated significant impacts of anthropogenic acidification on olfactory abilities of fish and macroinvertebrates, leading to impaired behavioural responses, with potentially far-reaching consequences to population dynamics and community structure. Whereas the ecological impacts of impaired olfactory-mediated behaviour may be similar between freshwater and marine ecosystems, the underlying mechanisms are quite distinct. In acidified freshwater, molecular change to chemical cues along with reduced olfaction sensitivity appear to be the primary causes of olfactory-mediated behavioural impairment. By contrast, experiments simulating future ocean acidification suggest that interference of high CO2 with brain neurotransmitter function is the primary cause for olfactory-mediated behavioural impairment in fish. Different physico-chemical characteristics between marine and freshwater systems are probably responsible for these distinct mechanisms of impairment, which, under globally rising CO2 levels, may lead to strikingly different consequences to olfaction. While fluctuations in pH may occur in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, marine habitat will remain alkaline despite future ocean acidification caused by globally rising CO2 levels. In this synthesis, we argue that ecosystem-specific mechanisms affecting olfaction need to be considered for effective management and conservation practices.

Manatees as sentinels of marine ecosystem health: are they the 2000-pound canaries?

Science.gov (United States)

Bonde, R.K.; Aguirre, A.A.; Powell, J.

2004-01-01

The order Sirenia is represented by three species of manatees and one species of dugong distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and considered vulnerable to extinction. The sentinel species concept is useful to identify indicators of the environment and may reflect the quality of health in marine ecosystems. The single species approach to evaluate ecological health may provide a series of “snap shots” of environmental changes to determine if animal, human, or ecosystem health may be affected. Under this concept, marine vertebrates may be good integrators of changes over space and time, and excellent sentinels of ecosystem health. Based on their life history, manatees may or may not be ideal sentinels, as they are robust, long-lived species and appear remarkably resilient to natural disease and the effects of human-related injury and trauma. These characteristics might be the result of an efficient and responsive immune system compared to other marine mammals. Although relatively immune to infectious agents, manatees face other potentially serious threats, including epizootic diseases and pollution while in large aggregations. Manatees can serve as excellent sentinels of harmful algal blooms due to their high sensitivity, specifically to brevetoxicosis, which has caused at least two major die-offs in recent times. Threats to manatees worldwide, such as illegal hunting and boat collisions, are increasing. Habitat is being lost at an alarming rate and the full effects of uncontrolled human population growth on the species are unknown. The manatee may serve as a sentinel species, prognosticating the deleterious effects of unhealthy marine and aquatic ecosystems on humans. We have identified a number of critical research needs and opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration that could help advance the use of the sentinel species concept in marine ecosystem health and monitoring of disease emergence using our knowledge on these magnificent

Modeling the impact of watershed management policies on marine ecosystem services with application to Hood Canal, WA, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, D. A.; Kim, C.; Marsik, M.; Spiridonov, G.; Toft, J.; Ruckelshaus, M.; Guerry, A.; Plummer, M.

2011-12-01

Humans obtain numerous benefits from marine ecosystems, including fish to eat; mitigation of storm damage; nutrient and water cycling and primary production; and cultural, aesthetic and recreational values. However, managing these benefits, or ecosystem services, in the marine world relies on an integrated approach that accounts for both marine and watershed activities. Here we present the results of a set of simple, physically-based, and spatially-explicit models that quantify the effects of terrestrial activities on marine ecosystem services. Specifically, we model the circulation and water quality of Hood Canal, WA, USA, a fjord system in Puget Sound where multiple human uses of the nearshore ecosystem (e.g., shellfish aquaculture, recreational Dungeness crab and shellfish harvest) can be compromised when water quality is poor (e.g., hypoxia, excessive non-point source pollution). Linked to the estuarine water quality model is a terrestrial hydrology model that simulates streamflow and nutrient loading, so land cover and climate changes in watersheds can be reflected in the marine environment. In addition, a shellfish aquaculture model is linked to the water quality model to test the sensitivity of the ecosystem service and its value to both terrestrial and marine activities. The modeling framework is general and will be publicly available, allowing easy comparisons of watershed impacts on marine ecosystem services across multiple scales and regions.

Cooperative Learning and Interpersonal Synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Vink, Roy; Wijnants, Maarten L; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Bosman, Anna M T

2017-04-01

Cooperative learning has been shown to result in better task performance, compared to individual and competitive learning, and can lead to positive social effects. However, potential working mechanisms at a micro level remain unexplored. One potential working mechanism might be the level of interpersonal synchrony between cooperating individuals. It has been shown that increased levels of interpersonal synchrony are related to better cognitive performance (e.g., increased memory). Social factors also appear to be affected by the level of interpersonal synchrony, with more interpersonal synchrony leading to increased likeability. In the present study, interpersonal synchrony of postural sway and its relation to task performance and social factors (i.e., popularity, social acceptance, and likeability) was examined. To test this, 183 dyads performed a tangram task while each child stood on a Nintendo Wii Balance Board that recorded their postural sway. The results showed that lower levels of interpersonal synchrony were related to better task performance and those dyads who were on average more popular synchronized more. These results contradict previous findings. It is suggested that for task performance, a more loosely coupled system is better than a synchronized system. In terms of social competence, dyad popularity was associated with more interpersonal synchrony.

Calcium Isotopic Evidence for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Structure Prior to the K/Pg Extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Jeremy E; Vincent, Peggy; Tacail, Théo; Khaldoune, Fatima; Jourani, Essaid; Bardet, Nathalie; Balter, Vincent

2017-06-05

The collapse of marine ecosystems during the end-Cretaceous mass extinction involved the base of the food chain [1] up to ubiquitous vertebrate apex predators [2-5]. Large marine reptiles became suddenly extinct at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, whereas other contemporaneous groups such as bothremydid turtles or dyrosaurid crocodylomorphs, although affected at the familial, genus, or species level, survived into post-crisis environments of the Paleocene [5-9] and could have found refuge in freshwater habitats [10-12]. A recent hypothesis proposes that the extinction of plesiosaurians and mosasaurids could have been caused by an important drop in sea level [13]. Mosasaurids are unusually diverse and locally abundant in the Maastrichtian phosphatic deposits of Morocco, and with large sharks and one species of elasmosaurid plesiosaurian recognized so far, contribute to an overabundance of apex predators [3, 7, 14, 15]. For this reason, high local diversity of marine reptiles exhibiting different body masses and a wealth of tooth morphologies hints at complex trophic interactions within this latest Cretaceous marine ecosystem. Using calcium isotopes, we investigated the trophic structure of this extinct assemblage. Our results are consistent with a calcium isotope pattern observed in modern marine ecosystems and show that plesiosaurians and mosasaurids indiscriminately fall in the tertiary piscivore group. This suggests that marine reptile apex predators relied onto a single dietary calcium source, compatible with the vulnerable wasp-waist food webs of the modern world [16]. This inferred peculiar ecosystem structure may help explain plesiosaurian and mosasaurid extinction following the end-Cretaceous biological crisis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A structured ecosystem-scale approach to marine water quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These, in turn, created the need for holistic and integrated frameworks within which to design and implement environmental management programmes. A structured ecosystem-scale approach for the design and implementation of marine water quality management programmes developed by the CSIR (South Africa) in ...

Assessment of the impact of increased solar ultraviolet radiation upon marine ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Worrest, R. C.; Vandyke, H.

1978-01-01

Reduction of the earth's ozone layer, with a resultant increase in transmission of solar ultraviolet radiation in the 290 to 320nm waveband (UV-B), via space shuttle operations through the stratosphere is considered. It is shown that simulated solar ultraviolet radiation can, under experimental conditions, detrimentally affect the marine organisms that form the base of the food web of oceanic and estuarine ecosystems. Whether a small increase in biologically harmful ultraviolet radiation might overwhelm these mechanisms and produce changes that will have damaging consequences to the biosphere is discussed. The potential for irreversible damage to the productivity, structure and/or functioning of a model estuarine ecosystem by increased UV-B radiation and whether these ecosystems are highly stable or amenable to adaptive change is studied. Data are provided to assess the potential impact upon marine ecosystems if space shuttle operations contribute to a reduction of the stratospheric ozone layer and the sensitivity of key community components to increased UV-B radiation is examined.

Ecosystem model of the entire Beaufort Sea marine ecosystem: a tool for assessing food-web structure and ecosystem changes from 1970 to 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Suprenand, P. M.; Hoover, C.

2016-02-01

The Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem is approximately a 476,000 km2 area in the Arctic Ocean, which extends from -112.5 to -158° longitude to 67.5 to 75° latitude. Within this Arctic Ocean area the United States (Alaskan) indigenous communities of Barrow, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut, and the Canadian (Northwest Territories) indigenous communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, and Sachs Harbour, subsist by harvesting marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates from the Beaufort Sea to provide the majority of their community foods annually. The ecosystem in which the indigenous communities harvest is considered a polar habitat that includes many specialized species, such as polar bears that rely on sea-ice for foraging activities and denning, or ice algae that are attached to the cryosphere. However, the polar habitat has been experiencing a diminishing sea-ice extent, age, and seasonal duration, with concomitant increases in sea surface temperatures (SSTs), since the 1970s. Changes in sea-ice and SST have consequences to the Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem, which includes animal habitat losses, alterations to trophodynamics, and impacts to subsistence community harvesting. The present study was aimed at capturing trophodynamic changes in the Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem from 1970 to 2014 using a fitted spatial-temporal model (Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace) that utilizes forcing and mediation functions to describe animal/trophodynamic relationships with sea-ice and sea surface temperature, as well as individual community harvesting efforts. Model outputs reveals similar trends in animals population changes (e.g., increasing bowhead whale stock), changes in apex predator diets (e.g., polar bears eating less ringed seal), and changes in animal distributions (e.g., polar bears remaining closer to land over time). The Beaufort Sea model is a dynamic tool for Arctic Ocean natural resource management in the years to come.

Prosocial Consequences of Interpersonal Synchrony

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Abstract. The capacity to establish interpersonal synchrony is fundamental to human beings because it constitutes the basis for social connection and understanding. Interpersonal synchrony refers to instances when the movements or sensations of two or more people overlap in time and form. Recently, the causal influence of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality has been established through experiments. The current meta-analysis is the first to synthesize these isolated and sometimes contradictory experiments. We meta-analyzed 60 published and unpublished experiments that compared an interpersonal synchrony condition with at least one control condition. The results reveal a medium effect of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality with regard to both attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, experimenter effects and intentionality moderate these effects. We discuss the strengths and limitations of our analysis, as well as its practical implications, and we suggest avenues for future research. PMID:28105388

marine survival ecosystem indicators - Estimating the ecosystem indicators of anadromous salmonids in the Puget Sound region

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The objective of this project is to develop a simple approach for estimating the marine survival and causes of trends in survival. Data is a summary of ecosystem...

Impacts of discarded plastic bags on marine assemblages and ecosystem functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Dannielle Senga; Boots, Bas; Blockley, David James; Rocha, Carlos; Thompson, Richard

2015-05-05

The accumulation of plastic debris is a global environmental problem due to its durability, persistence, and abundance. Although effects of plastic debris on individual marine organisms, particularly mammals and birds, have been extensively documented (e.g., entanglement and choking), very little is known about effects on assemblages and consequences for ecosystem functioning. In Europe, around 40% of the plastic items produced are utilized as single-use packaging, which rapidly accumulate in waste management facilities and as litter in the environment. A range of biodegradable plastics have been developed with the aspiration of reducing the persistence of litter; however, their impacts on marine assemblages or ecosystem functioning have never been evaluated. A field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of conventional and biodegradable plastic carrier bags as litter on benthic macro- and meio-faunal assemblages and biogeochemical processes (primary productivity, redox condition, organic matter content, and pore-water nutrients) on an intertidal shore near Dublin, Ireland. After 9 weeks, the presence of either type of bag created anoxic conditions within the sediment along with reduced primary productivity and organic matter and significantly lower abundances of infaunal invertebrates. This indicates that both conventional and biodegradable bags can rapidly alter marine assemblages and the ecosystem services they provide.

Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katsanevakis, Stelios; Stelzenmuller, Vanessa; Filatova, Tatiana

2011-01-01

Conventional sectoral management and piecemeal governance are considered less and less appropriate in pursuit of sustainable development. Ecosystem based marine spatial management (EB-MSM) is an approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, rather

Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: review of concepts, policies, tools and critical issues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katsanevakis, S.; Stelzenmueller, V.; South, A.; Hoof, van L.J.W.; Hofstede, ter R.

2011-01-01

Conventional sectoral management and piecemeal governance are considered less and less appropriate in pursuit of sustainable development. Ecosystem based marine spatial management (EB-MSM) is an approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, rather

The marine ecosystem services approach in a fisheries management perspective

OpenAIRE

Søren Anker Pedersen; Hans Lassen; Hans Frost

2015-01-01

This paper reviews the concepts of marine ecosystem services and their economic valuation in a European fisheries management perspective. We find that the concept is at best cumbersome for advising on how best to regulate fisheries even in an ecosystem context.We propose that operational fisheries management must consider three different types of analysis, the yield of and the effect of fishing on the commercial species, the effects of fishing on habitats and non-commercial species and finall...

Concepts and approaches for marine ecosystem research with reference to the tropics

OpenAIRE

Matthias Wolff

2002-01-01

The present article gives an overview on the leading concepts and modelling approaches for marine ecosystems’ research including (1) The trophodynamic theory of pelagic ecosystems, (2) Compartment/network models, (3) Mesocosm experiments and (4) Individual based modelling approaches and virtual ecosystems (VE). The main research questions addressed, as well as the potential and limits of each approach, are summarized and discussed and it is shown how the concept of ecosystem has changed over ...

Marine ecosystem response to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Edwards

Full Text Available Against the backdrop of warming of the Northern Hemisphere it has recently been acknowledged that North Atlantic temperature changes undergo considerable variability over multidecadal periods. The leading component of natural low-frequency temperature variability has been termed the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO. Presently, correlative studies on the biological impact of the AMO on marine ecosystems over the duration of a whole AMO cycle (∼60 years is largely unknown due to the rarity of continuously sustained biological observations at the same time period. To test whether there is multidecadal cyclic behaviour in biological time-series in the North Atlantic we used one of the world's longest continuously sustained marine biological time-series in oceanic waters, long-term fisheries data and historical records over the last century and beyond. Our findings suggest that the AMO is far from a trivial presence against the backdrop of continued temperature warming in the North Atlantic and accounts for the second most important macro-trend in North Atlantic plankton records; responsible for habitat switching (abrupt ecosystem/regime shifts over multidecadal scales and influences the fortunes of various fisheries over many centuries.

Identification, definition and quantification of goods and services provided by marine biodiversity: Implications for the ecosystem approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beaumont, N.J.; Austen, M.C.; Atkins, J.P.; Burdon, D.; Degraer, S.; Dentinho, T.P.; Serous, S.; Holm, P.; Horton, T.; Ierland, van E.C.; Marboe, A.H.; Starkey, D.J.; Townsend, M.; Zarzycki, T.

2007-01-01

This paper identifies and defines ecosystem goods and services provided by marine biodiversity. Case studies have been used to provide an insight into the practical issues associated with the assessment of marine ecosystem goods and services at specific locations. The aim of this research was to

IPCC workshop on impacts of ocean acidification on marine biology and ecosystems. Workshop report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Field, C.B.; Barros, V.; Stocker, T.F.; Dahe, Q.; Mach, K.J.; Plattner, G.-K.; Mastrandrea, M.D.; Tignor, M.; Ebi, K.L.

2011-09-15

Understanding the effects of increasing atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations on ocean chemistry, commonly termed ocean acidification, as well as associated impacts on marine biology and ecosystems, is an important component of scientific knowledge about global change. The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will include comprehensive coverage of ocean acidification and its impacts, including potential feedbacks to the climate system. To support ongoing AR5 assessment efforts, Working Group II and Working Group I (WGII and WGI) of the IPCC held a joint Workshop on Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biology and Ecosystems in Okinawa, Japan, from 17 to 19 January 2011. The workshop convened experts from the scientific community, including WGII and WGI AR5 authors and review editors, to synthesise scientific understanding of changes in ocean chemistry due to increased CO{sub 2} and of impacts of this changing chemistry on marine organisms, ecosystems, and ecosystem services. This workshop report summarises the scientific content and perspectives presented and discussed during the workshop. It provides syntheses of these perspectives for the workshop's core topics: (i) the changing chemistry of the oceans, (ii) impacts of ocean acidification for individual organisms, and (iii) scaling up responses from individual organisms to ecosystems. It also presents summaries of workshop discussions of key cross-cutting themes, ranging from detection and attribution of ocean acidification and its impacts to understanding ocean acidification in the context of other stressors on marine systems. Additionally, the workshop report includes extended abstracts for keynote and poster presentations at the workshop. (Author)

Improving Marine Ecosystem Models with Biochemical Tracers

Science.gov (United States)

Pethybridge, Heidi R.; Choy, C. Anela; Polovina, Jeffrey J.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.

2018-01-01

Empirical data on food web dynamics and predator-prey interactions underpin ecosystem models, which are increasingly used to support strategic management of marine resources. These data have traditionally derived from stomach content analysis, but new and complementary forms of ecological data are increasingly available from biochemical tracer techniques. Extensive opportunities exist to improve the empirical robustness of ecosystem models through the incorporation of biochemical tracer data and derived indices, an area that is rapidly expanding because of advances in analytical developments and sophisticated statistical techniques. Here, we explore the trophic information required by ecosystem model frameworks (species, individual, and size based) and match them to the most commonly used biochemical tracers (bulk tissue and compound-specific stable isotopes, fatty acids, and trace elements). Key quantitative parameters derived from biochemical tracers include estimates of diet composition, niche width, and trophic position. Biochemical tracers also provide powerful insight into the spatial and temporal variability of food web structure and the characterization of dominant basal and microbial food web groups. A major challenge in incorporating biochemical tracer data into ecosystem models is scale and data type mismatches, which can be overcome with greater knowledge exchange and numerical approaches that transform, integrate, and visualize data.

Diverse effects of invasive ecosystem engineers on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions: A global review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guy-Haim, Tamar; Lyons, Devin A; Kotta, Jonne; Ojaveer, Henn; Queirós, Ana M; Chatzinikolaou, Eva; Arvanitidis, Christos; Como, Serena; Magni, Paolo; Blight, Andrew J; Orav-Kotta, Helen; Somerfield, Paul J; Crowe, Tasman P; Rilov, Gil

2018-03-01

Invasive ecosystem engineers (IEE) are potentially one of the most influential types of biological invaders. They are expected to have extensive ecological impacts by altering the physical-chemical structure of ecosystems, thereby changing the rules of existence for a broad range of resident biota. To test the generality of this expectation, we used a global systematic review and meta-analysis to examine IEE effects on the abundance of individual species and communities, biodiversity (using several indices) and ecosystem functions, focusing on marine and estuarine environments. We found that IEE had a significant effect (positive and negative) in most studies testing impacts on individual species, but the overall (cumulative) effect size was small and negative. Many individual studies showed strong IEE effects on community abundance and diversity, but the direction of effects was variable, leading to statistically non-significant overall effects in most categories. In contrast, there was a strong overall effect on most ecosystem functions we examined. IEE negatively affected metabolic functions and primary production, but positively affected nutrient flux, sedimentation and decomposition. We use the results to develop a conceptual model by highlighting pathways whereby IEE impact communities and ecosystem functions, and identify several sources of research bias in the IEE-related invasion literature. Only a few of the studies simultaneously quantified IEE effects on community/diversity and ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding how IEE may alter biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships should be a primary focus of future studies of invasion biology. Moreover, the clear effects of IEE on ecosystem functions detected in our study suggest that scientists and environmental managers ought to examine how the effects of IEE might be manifested in the services that marine ecosystems provide to humans. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Uncertainties in projecting climate-change impacts in marine ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Payne, Mark; Barange, Manuel; Cheung, William W. L.

2016-01-01

with a projection and building confidence in its robustness. We review how uncertainties in such projections are handled in marine science. We employ an approach developed in climate modelling by breaking uncertainty down into (i) structural (model) uncertainty, (ii) initialization and internal variability......Projections of the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems are a key prerequisite for the planning of adaptation strategies, yet they are inevitably associated with uncertainty. Identifying, quantifying, and communicating this uncertainty is key to both evaluating the risk associated...... and highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with doing a better job. We find that even within a relatively small field such as marine science, there are substantial differences between subdisciplines in the degree of attention given to each type of uncertainty. We find that initialization...

Exit from Synchrony in Joint Improvised Motion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Assi Dahan

Full Text Available Motion synchrony correlates with effective and well-rated human interaction. However, people do not remain locked in synchrony; Instead, they repeatedly enter and exit synchrony. In many important interactions, such as therapy, marriage and parent-infant communication, it is the ability to exit and then re-enter synchrony that is thought to build strong relationship. The phenomenon of entry into zero-phase synchrony is well-studied experimentally and in terms of mathematical modeling. In contrast, exit-from-synchrony is under-studied. Here, we focus on human motion coordination, and examine the exit-from-synchrony phenomenon using experimental data from the mirror game paradigm, in which people perform joint improvised motion, and from human tracking of computer-generated stimuli. We present a mathematical mechanism that captures aspects of exit-from-synchrony in human motion. The mechanism adds a random motion component when the accumulated velocity error between the players is small. We introduce this mechanism to several models for human coordinated motion, including the widely studied HKB model, and the predictor-corrector model of Noy, Dekel and Alon. In all models, the new mechanism produces realistic simulated behavior when compared to experimental data from the mirror game and from tracking of computer generated stimuli, including repeated entry and exit from zero-phase synchrony that generates a complexity of motion similar to that of human players. We hope that these results can inform future research on exit-from-synchrony, to better understand the dynamics of coordinated action of people and to enhance human-computer and human-robot interaction.

Increasing evidence for the important role of Labyrinthulomycetes in marine ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Raghukumar, S.; Damare, V.S.

This review summarizes increasing evidence for the role of Labyrinthulomycetes in marine ecosystems gathered over the last six decades. It focuses on their diversity, habitats, biomass, productivity and overall role in food webs and remineralization...

Marine Ecosystems Analysis (MESA) Program, New York Bight Surficial Sediment Analyses

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Marine Ecosystems Analysis (MESA) Program, New York Bight Study was funded by NOAA and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Atlas was a historical...

Forage fish interactions: A symposium on creating the tools for ecosystem-based management of marine resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peck, M.A.; Neuenfeldt, Stefan; Essington, V.M.

2014-01-01

Forage fish (FF) have a unique position within marine foodwebs and the development of sustainable harvest strategies for FF will be a critical step in advancing and implementing the broader, ecosystem-based management of marine systems. In all, 70 scientists from 16 nations gathered for a symposium...... on 12–14 November 2012 that was designed to address three key questions regarding the effective management of FF and their ecosystems: (i) how do environmental factors and predator–prey interactions drive the productivity and distribution of FF stocks across ecosystems worldwide, (ii) what...

Current status and future prospects for the assessment of marine and coastal ecosystem services: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies.

Ecosystem Pen Pals: Using Place-Based Marine Science and Culture to Connect Students

Science.gov (United States)

Wiener, Carlie S.; Matsumoto, Karen

2014-01-01

The marine environment provides a unique context for students to explore both natural and cultural connections. This paper reports preliminary findings on Ecosystem Pen Pals, an ocean literacy program for 4th and 5th graders focused on using a pen pal model for integrating traditional ecological knowledge into marine science. Surveys with…

The Sea Around Us Project: documenting and communicating global fisheries impacts on marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pauly, Daniel

2007-06-01

The Sea Around Us Project, initiated by the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia, PA, and located at the Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, started in mid 1999. Its goal was (and still is) to investigate the impact of fisheries on marine ecosystems and to propose policies to mitigate these impacts. Although conceived as a global activity, the project first emphasized the data-rich North Atlantic as a test bed for developing its approaches, which rely on mapping of catch data and indicators of ecosystem health derived from the analysis of long catch time series data. Initial achievements included mapping the decline, throughout the North Atlantic basin, of high-trophic level fishes from 1900 to the present and the presentation of compelling evidence of change in the functioning of the North Atlantic ecosystems, summarized in a 2003 book. The Central and South Atlantic were the next basins to be tackled, with emphasis on the distant-water fleet off West Africa, culminating in a major conference in Dakar, Senegal, in 2002. The project then emphasized the North Pacific, Antarctica, and marine mammals and the multiplicity of tropical Indo-Pacific fisheries before it turned completely global, with all our major analyses and reports (e.g., on the interactions between marine mammals and fisheries, on fuel consumption by fleets, on the catches of small-scale fisheries, on subsidies to fisheries) being based on global studies. Broadly, the work of the project is aimed at a reappraisal of fisheries, from the benign activity that many interested people still perceive them to be, to a realization that they have become the driver for massive loss of biodiversity in the ocean. Moreover, the emphasis on global estimates (rather than local estimates of dubious generality) has allowed the project to contribute to various global initiatives (e.g., developing the Marine Trophic Index for the Convention on Biological Diversity, quantifying marine

Ecosystem productivity is associated with bacterial phylogenetic distance in surface marine waters.

Science.gov (United States)

Galand, Pierre E; Salter, Ian; Kalenitchenko, Dimitri

2015-12-01

Understanding the link between community diversity and ecosystem function is a fundamental aspect of ecology. Systematic losses in biodiversity are widely acknowledged but the impact this may exert on ecosystem functioning remains ambiguous. There is growing evidence of a positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem productivity for terrestrial macro-organisms, but similar links for marine micro-organisms, which help drive global climate, are unclear. Community manipulation experiments show both positive and negative relationships for microbes. These previous studies rely, however, on artificial communities and any links between the full diversity of active bacterial communities in the environment, their phylogenetic relatedness and ecosystem function remain hitherto unexplored. Here, we test the hypothesis that productivity is associated with diversity in the metabolically active fraction of microbial communities. We show in natural assemblages of active bacteria that communities containing more distantly related members were associated with higher bacterial production. The positive phylogenetic diversity-productivity relationship was independent of community diversity calculated as the Shannon index. From our long-term (7-year) survey of surface marine bacterial communities, we also found that similarly, productive communities had greater phylogenetic similarity to each other, further suggesting that the traits of active bacteria are an important predictor of ecosystem productivity. Our findings demonstrate that the evolutionary history of the active fraction of a microbial community is critical for understanding their role in ecosystem functioning. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nonverbal synchrony and affect in dyadic interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang eTschacher

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In an experiment on dyadic social interaction, we invited participants to verbal interactions in cooperative, competitive, and 'fun task' conditions. We focused on the link between interactants' affectivity and their nonverbal synchrony, and explored which further variables contributed to affectivity: interactants' personality traits, sex, and the prescribed interaction tasks. Nonverbal synchrony was quantified by the coordination of interactants' body movement, using an automated video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Traits were assessed with standard questionnaires of personality, attachment, interactional style, psychopathology and interpersonal reactivity. We included 168 previously unacquainted individuals who were randomly allocated to same-sex dyads (84 females, 84 males, mean age 27.3 years. Dyads discussed four topics of general interest drawn from an urn of eight topics, and finally engaged in a fun interaction. Each interaction lasted five minutes. In between interactions, participants repeatedly assessed their affect. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found moderate to strong effect sizes for synchrony to occur, especially in competitive and fun task conditions. Positive affect was associated positively with synchrony, negative affect was associated negatively. As for causal direction, data supported the interpretation that synchrony entailed affect rather than vice versa. The link between nonverbal synchrony and affect was strongest in female dyads. The findings extend previous reports of synchrony and mimicry associated with emotion in relationships and suggest a possible mechanism of the synchrony-affect correlation.

Identification, definition and quantification of goods and services provided by marine biodiversity: implications for the ecosystem approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Beaumont, N J; Austen, M C; Atkins, J P; Burdon, D; Degraer, S; Dentinho, T P; Derous, S; Holm, P; Horton, T; van Ierland, E; Marboe, A H; Starkey, D J; Townsend, M; Zarzycki, T

2007-03-01

This paper identifies and defines ecosystem goods and services provided by marine biodiversity. Case studies have been used to provide an insight into the practical issues associated with the assessment of marine ecosystem goods and services at specific locations. The aim of this research was to validate the definitions of goods and services, and to identify knowledge gaps and likely difficulties of quantifying the goods and services. A validated theoretical framework for the assessment of goods and services is detailed, and examples of the goods and services at a variety of case study areas are documented. These results will enable future assessments of marine ecosystem goods and services. It is concluded that the utilisation of this goods and services approach has the capacity to play a fundamental role in the Ecosystem Approach, by enabling the pressures and demands of society, the economy and the environment to be integrated into environmental management.

Current Status and Future Prospects for the Assessment of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G.; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Background Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. Methodology/Principal Findings We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. Conclusions/Significance This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies. PMID:23844080

Identifying marine pelagic ecosystem management objectives and indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trenkel, Verena M.; Hintzen, Niels T.; Farnsworth, Keith D.

2015-01-01

. Overall 26 objectives were proposed, with 58% agreement in proposed objectives between two workshops. Based on published evidence for pressure-state links, examples of operational objectives and suitable indicators for each of the 26 objectives were then selected. It is argued that given the strong......International policy frameworks such as the Common Fisheries Policy and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive define high-level strategic goals for marine ecosystems. Strategic goals are addressed via general and operational management objectives. To add credibility and legitimacy...... scale in some cases. In the evidence-based approach used in this study, the selection of species or region specific operational objectives and indicators was based on demonstrated pressure-state links. Hence observed changes in indicators can reliably inform on appropriate management measures. (C) 2015...

Marine and coastal ecosystem services on the science–policy–practice nexus: challenges and opportunities from 11 European case studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drakou, E.G.; Kermagoret, C.; Liquete, C.; Ruiz-Frau, A.; Burkhard, K.; Lillebø, A.I.; van Oudenhoven, A.P.E.; Ballé-Béganton, J.; Rodrigues, J.G.; Nieminen, E.; Oinonen, S.; Ziemba, A.; Gissi, E.; Depellegrin, D.; Veidemane, K.; Ruskule, A.; Delangue, J.; Böhnke-Henrichs, A.; Boon, A.; Wenning, R.; Martino, S.; Hasler, B.; Termansen, M.; Rockel, M.; Hummel, H.; El Serafy, G.; Peev, P.

2017-01-01

We compared and contrasted 11 European case studies to identify challenges and opportunitiestoward the operationalization of marine and coastal ecosystem service (MCES) assessments inEurope. This work is the output of a panel convened by the Marine Working Group of theEcosystemServices Partnership

Investigating fine-scale spatio-temporal predator-prey patterns in dynamic marine ecosystems: a functional data analysis approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Embling, C.B.; Illian, J.; Armstrong, E.; van der Kooij, J.; Sharples, J.; Camphuysen, K.C.J.; Scott, B.E.

2012-01-01

1. Spatial management of marine ecosystems requires detailed knowledge of spatio-temporal mechanisms linking physical and biological processes. Tidal currents, the main driver of ecosystem dynamics in temperate coastal ecosystems, influence predator foraging ecology by affecting prey distribution

Effectiveness of marine protected areas in managing the drivers of ecosystem change: a case of Mnazi Bay Marine Park, Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Machumu, Milali Ernest; Yakupitiyage, Amararatne

2013-04-01

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are being promoted in Tanzania to mitigate the drivers of ecosystem change such as overfishing and other anthropogenic impacts on marine resources. The effectiveness of MPAs in managing those drivers was assessed in three ecological zones, seafront, mangrove, and riverine of Mnazi Bay Marine Park, using Participatory Community Analysis techniques, questionnaire survey, checklist and fishery resource assessment methods. Eleven major drivers of ecosystem change were identified. Resource dependence had a major effect in all ecological zones of the park. The results indicated that the park's legislations/regulations, management procedures, and conservation efforts are reasonably effective in managing its resources. The positive signs accrued from conservation efforts have been realized by the communities in terms of increased catch/income, awareness and compliance. However, some natural and anthropogenic drivers continued to threaten the park's sustainability. Furthermore, implementation of resource use and benefit sharing mechanisms still remained a considerable challenge to be addressed.

Interactions of aquaculture, marine coastal ecosystems, and near-shore waters: A bibliography. Bibliographies and literature of agriculture (Final)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanfman, D.T.; Coleman, D.E.; Tibbitt, S.J.

1991-01-01

The bibliography contains selected literature citations on the interactions of aquaculture and marine coastal ecosystems. The focus is on aquaculture effluents and their impact on marine coastal ecosystems and waterways as well as the impact of pollutants on aquaculture development. Factors affecting these issues include domestic and industrial wastes, thermal discharges, acid rain, heavy metals, oil spills, and microbial contamination of marine waters and aquatic species. Coastal zone management, environmenal impact of aquaculture, and water quality issues are also included in the bibliography

Foreword to the thematic cluster: the Arctic in Rapid Transition—marine ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika Kędra

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The Arctic is warming and losing sea ice. Happening at a much faster rate than previously expected, these changes are causing multiple ecosystem feedbacks in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART initiative was developed by early-career scientists as an integrative, international, multidisciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic network to study changes and feedbacks among the physical and biogeochemical components of the Arctic Ocean and their ultimate impacts on biological productivity on different timescales. In 2012, ART jointly organized with the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists their second science workshop—Overcoming Challenges of Observation to Model Integration in Marine Ecosystem Response to Sea Ice Transitions—at the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Sopot. This workshop aimed to identify linkages and feedbacks between atmosphere–ice–ocean forcing and biogeochemical processes, which are critical for ecosystem function, land–ocean interactions and productive capacity of the Arctic Ocean. This special thematic cluster of Polar Research brings together seven papers that grew out of workgroup discussions. Papers examine the climate change impacts on various ecosystem elements, providing important insights on the marine ecological and biogeochemical processes on various timescales. They also highlight priority areas for future research.

A comparison of community and trophic structure in five marine ecosystems based on energy budgets and system metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Gaichas, Sarah; Skaret, Georg; Falk-Petersen, Jannike; Link, Jason S.; Overholtz, William; Megrey, Bernard A.; Gjøsæter, Harald; Stockhausen, William T.; Dommasnes, Are; Friedland, Kevin D.; Aydin, Kerim

2009-04-01

Energy budget models for five marine ecosystems were compared to identify differences and similarities in trophic and community structure. We examined the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, the combined Norwegian/Barents Seas in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Comparable energy budgets were constructed for each ecosystem by aggregating information for similar species groups into consistent functional groups. Several ecosystem indices (e.g., functional group production, consumption and biomass ratios, cumulative biomass, food web macrodescriptors, and network metrics) were compared for each ecosystem. The comparative approach clearly identified data gaps for each ecosystem, an important outcome of this work. Commonalities across the ecosystems included overall high primary production and energy flow at low trophic levels, high production and consumption by carnivorous zooplankton, and similar proportions of apex predator to lower trophic level biomass. Major differences included distinct biomass ratios of pelagic to demersal fish, ranging from highest in the combined Norwegian/Barents ecosystem to lowest in the Alaskan systems, and notable differences in primary production per unit area, highest in the Alaskan and Georges Bank/Gulf of Maine ecosystems, and lowest in the Norwegian ecosystems. While comparing a disparate group of organisms across a wide range of marine ecosystems is challenging, this work demonstrates that standardized metrics both elucidate properties common to marine ecosystems and identify key distinctions useful for fisheries management.

Regime shifts in demersal assemblages of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem: a comparative assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkman, Stephen P.; Yemane, Dawit; Atkinson, Lara J.

2015-01-01

Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community‐level sh......Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community...

Effects of near-future ocean acidification, fishing, and marine protection on a temperate coastal ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornwall, Christopher E; Eddy, Tyler D

2015-02-01

Understanding ecosystem responses to global and local anthropogenic impacts is paramount to predicting future ecosystem states. We used an ecosystem modeling approach to investigate the independent and cumulative effects of fishing, marine protection, and ocean acidification on a coastal ecosystem. To quantify the effects of ocean acidification at the ecosystem level, we used information from the peer-reviewed literature on the effects of ocean acidification. Using an Ecopath with Ecosim ecosystem model for the Wellington south coast, including the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (MR), New Zealand, we predicted ecosystem responses under 4 scenarios: ocean acidification + fishing; ocean acidification + MR (no fishing); no ocean acidification + fishing; no ocean acidification + MR for the year 2050. Fishing had a larger effect on trophic group biomasses and trophic structure than ocean acidification, whereas the effects of ocean acidification were only large in the absence of fishing. Mortality by fishing had large, negative effects on trophic group biomasses. These effects were similar regardless of the presence of ocean acidification. Ocean acidification was predicted to indirectly benefit certain species in the MR scenario. This was because lobster (Jasus edwardsii) only recovered to 58% of the MR biomass in the ocean acidification + MR scenario, a situation that benefited the trophic groups lobsters prey on. Most trophic groups responded antagonistically to the interactive effects of ocean acidification and marine protection (46%; reduced response); however, many groups responded synergistically (33%; amplified response). Conservation and fisheries management strategies need to account for the reduced recovery potential of some exploited species under ocean acidification, nonadditive interactions of multiple factors, and indirect responses of species to ocean acidification caused by declines in calcareous predators. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Marine ecosystems in alteration under global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prestrud, Paal

2004-01-01

It is commonly thought among fishermen, researchers and in the fishing industries that the administration and harvesting of the fish resources is more important for the stock of fish than are changes in the climate. However, many scientific investigations now link changes in temperature with changes in the spreading, survival and beginning of life processes. There is solid evidence that there are important changes in progress in the North Atlantic marine ecosystem caused by global warming. If the heating of the water masses continues, it will probably have a large impact on the ocean's productivity and consequently for the fishing industry

Steep spatial gradients of volcanic and marine sulfur in Hawaiian rainfall and ecosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bern, Carleton R., E-mail: cbern@usgs.gov [U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 (United States); Department of Geography University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060 (United States); Chadwick, Oliver A. [Department of Geography University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060 (United States); Kendall, Carol [U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States); Pribil, Michael J. [U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 (United States)

2015-05-01

Sulfur, a nutrient required by terrestrial ecosystems, is likely to be regulated by atmospheric processes in well-drained, upland settings because of its low concentration in most bedrock and generally poor retention by inorganic reactions within soils. Environmental controls on sulfur sources in unpolluted ecosystems have seldom been investigated in detail, even though the possibility of sulfur limiting primary production is much greater where atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic sulfur is low. Here we measure sulfur isotopic compositions of soils, vegetation and bulk atmospheric deposition from the Hawaiian Islands for the purpose of tracing sources of ecosystem sulfur. Hawaiian lava has a mantle-derived sulfur isotopic composition (δ{sup 34}S VCDT) of − 0.8‰. Bulk deposition on the island of Maui had a δ{sup 34}S VCDT that varied temporally, spanned a range from + 8.2 to + 19.7‰, and reflected isotopic mixing from three sources: sea-salt (+ 21.1‰), marine biogenic emissions (+ 15.6‰), and volcanic emissions from active vents on Kilauea Volcano (+ 0.8‰). A straightforward, weathering-driven transition in ecosystem sulfur sources could be interpreted in the shift from relatively low (0.0 to + 2.7‰) to relatively high (+ 17.8 to + 19.3‰) soil δ{sup 34}S values along a 0.3 to 4100 ka soil age-gradient, and similar patterns in associated vegetation. However, sub-kilometer scale spatial variation in soil sulfur isotopic composition was found along soil transects assumed by age and mass balance to be dominated by atmospheric sulfur inputs. Soil sulfur isotopic compositions ranged from + 8.1 to + 20.3‰ and generally decreased with increasing elevation (0–2000 m), distance from the coast (0–12 km), and annual rainfall (180–5000 mm). Such trends reflect the spatial variation in marine versus volcanic inputs from atmospheric deposition. Broadly, these results illustrate how the sources and magnitude of atmospheric deposition can exert controls

Steep spatial gradients of volcanic and marine sulfur in Hawaiian rainfall and ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bern, Carleton R.; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Kendall, Carol; Pribil, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Sulfur, a nutrient required by terrestrial ecosystems, is likely to be regulated by atmospheric processes in well-drained, upland settings because of its low concentration in most bedrock and generally poor retention by inorganic reactions within soils. Environmental controls on sulfur sources in unpolluted ecosystems have seldom been investigated in detail, even though the possibility of sulfur limiting primary production is much greater where atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic sulfur is low. Here we measure sulfur isotopic compositions of soils, vegetation and bulk atmospheric deposition from the Hawaiian Islands for the purpose of tracing sources of ecosystem sulfur. Hawaiian lava has a mantle-derived sulfur isotopic composition (δ 34 S VCDT) of − 0.8‰. Bulk deposition on the island of Maui had a δ 34 S VCDT that varied temporally, spanned a range from + 8.2 to + 19.7‰, and reflected isotopic mixing from three sources: sea-salt (+ 21.1‰), marine biogenic emissions (+ 15.6‰), and volcanic emissions from active vents on Kilauea Volcano (+ 0.8‰). A straightforward, weathering-driven transition in ecosystem sulfur sources could be interpreted in the shift from relatively low (0.0 to + 2.7‰) to relatively high (+ 17.8 to + 19.3‰) soil δ 34 S values along a 0.3 to 4100 ka soil age-gradient, and similar patterns in associated vegetation. However, sub-kilometer scale spatial variation in soil sulfur isotopic composition was found along soil transects assumed by age and mass balance to be dominated by atmospheric sulfur inputs. Soil sulfur isotopic compositions ranged from + 8.1 to + 20.3‰ and generally decreased with increasing elevation (0–2000 m), distance from the coast (0–12 km), and annual rainfall (180–5000 mm). Such trends reflect the spatial variation in marine versus volcanic inputs from atmospheric deposition. Broadly, these results illustrate how the sources and magnitude of atmospheric deposition can exert controls over

Ocean acidification and warming in the Norwegian and Barents Seas: impacts on marine ecosystems and human uses

OpenAIRE

Koenigstein, Stefan; Gößling-Reisemann, Stefan

2014-01-01

This report synthesizes the results about the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and ecosystem services in Norway, from interviews and a workshop with stakeholders in 2013.

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Govers, Laura L.; Man in 't Veld, Willem A.; Meffert, Johan P.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.; van Rijswick, Patricia C. J.; Heusinkveld, Jannes H. T.; Orth, Robert J.; van Katwijk, Marieke M.; van der Heide, Tjisse

2016-01-01

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is

Species richness accelerates marine ecosystem restoration in the Coral Triangle.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Susan L; Ambo-Rappe, Rohani; Sur, Christine; Abbott, Jessica M; Limbong, Steven R

2017-11-07

Ecosystem restoration aims to restore biodiversity and valuable functions that have been degraded or lost. The Coral Triangle is a hotspot for marine biodiversity held in its coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests, all of which are in global decline. These coastal ecosystems support valuable fisheries and endangered species, protect shorelines, and are significant carbon stores, functions that have been degraded by coastal development, destructive fishing practices, and climate change. Ecosystem restoration is required to mitigate these damages and losses, but its practice is in its infancy in the region. Here we demonstrate that species diversity can set the trajectory of restoration. In a seagrass restoration experiment in the heart of the Coral Triangle (Sulawesi, Indonesia), plant survival and coverage increased with the number of species transplanted. Our results highlight the positive role biodiversity can play in ecosystem restoration and call for revision of the common restoration practice of establishing a single target species, particularly in regions having high biodiversity. Coastal ecosystems affect human well-being in many important ways, and restoration will become ever more important as conservation efforts cannot keep up with their loss. Published under the PNAS license.

Measurement of changes in marine benthic ecosystem function following physical disturbance by dredging

OpenAIRE

Wan Hussin, Wan Mohd Rauhan

2012-01-01

Measuring the impact of physical disturbance on macrofaunal communities and sediment composition is important given the increased demand for the exploitation and disturbance of marine ecosystems. The aim of the present investigation was to provide a comprehensive study about the extent to which the disturbance (especially aggregate dredging) may affect benthic ecosystem function. The first part of the thesis concerns a field investigation of the impacts of dredging on the be...

Can schooling regulate marine populations and ecosystems?

Science.gov (United States)

Maury, Olivier

2017-08-01

Schools, shoals and swarms are pervasive in the oceans. They have to provide very strong advantages to have been selected and generalized in the course of evolution. Auto-organized groups are usually assumed to provide facilitated encounters of reproduction partners, improved protection against predation, better foraging efficiency, and hydrodynamic gains. However, present theories regarding their evolutionary advantages do not provide an unambiguous explanation to their universality. In particular, the mechanisms commonly proposed to explain grouping provide little support to the formation of very large groups that are common in the sea (e.g. Rieucau et al., 2014). From literature review, data analysis and using a simple mathematical model, I show that large auto-organized groups appear at high population density while only small groups or dispersed individuals remain at low population density. Following, an analysis of tuna tagging data and simple theoretical developments show that large groups are likely to expose individuals to a dramatic decrease of individual foraging success and simultaneous increase of predatory and disease mortality, while small groups avoid those adverse feedbacks and provide maximum foraging success and protection against predation, as it is usually assumed. This would create an emergent density-dependent regulation of marine populations, preventing them from outbursts at high density, and protecting them at low density. This would be a major contribution to their resilience and a crucial process of ecosystems dynamics. A two-step evolutionary process acting at the individual level is proposed to explain how this apparently suicidal behaviour could have been selected and generalized. It explains how grouping would have permitted the emergence of extremely high fecundity life histories, despite their notorious propensity to destabilize populations. The potential implications of the ;grouping feedback; on population resilience, ecosystem

Microbial characterization of toluene-degrading denitrifying consortia obtained from terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Y-J; Joo, Y-H; Hong, I-Y; Ryu, H-W; Cho, K-S

2004-10-01

The degradation characteristics of toluene coupled to nitrate reduction were investigated in enrichment culture and the microbial communities of toluene-degrading denitrifying consortia were characterized by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. Anaerobic nitrate-reducing bacteria were enriched from oil-contaminated soil samples collected from terrestrial (rice field) and marine (tidal flat) ecosystems. Enriched consortia degraded toluene in the presence of nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor. The degradation rate of toluene was affected by the initial substrate concentration and co-existence of other hydrocarbons. The types of toluene-degrading denitrifying consortia depended on the type of ecosystem. The clone RS-7 obtained from the enriched consortium of the rice field was most closely related to a toluene-degrading and denitrifying bacterium, Azoarcus denitrificians (A. tolulyticus sp. nov.). The clone TS-11 detected in the tidal flat enriched consortium was affiliated to Thauera sp. strain S2 (T. aminoaromatica sp. nov.) that was able to degrade toluene under denitrifying conditions. This indicates that environmental factors greatly influence microbial communities obtained from terrestrial (rice field) and marine (tidal flat) ecosystems.

Coupling ecosystems exposure to nitrogen and species sensitivity to hypoxia: modelling marine eutrophication in LCIA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cosme, Nuno Miguel Dias; Koski, Marja; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Characterisation modelling in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) quantifies impacts of anthropogenic emissions by applying substance-specific impact potentials, or Characterisation Factors (CF), to the amount of substances emitted. Nitrogen (N) emissions from human activities enrich coastal marine...... ecosystems and promote planktonic growth that may lead to marine eutrophication impacts. Excessive algal biomass and dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion typify the ecosystem response to the nutrient input. The present novel method couples a mechanistic model of coastal biological processes that determines...... the ecosystem response (exposure) to anthropogenic N enrichment (eXposure Factor, XF [kgO2·kgN-1]) with the sensitivity of species exposed to oxygen-depleted waters (Effect Factor, EF [(PAF)·m3·kgO2-1], expressed as a Potentially Affected Fraction (PAF) of species). Thus, the coupled indicator (XF*EF, [(PAF)·m3...

Century-scale Changes in Environmental Synchrony and Variability and their Effects on Populations of Birds and Reproduction of Trees

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, W.

2016-12-01

The ecological impacts of modern global climate change are detectable in a wide variety of phenomena ranging from shifts in species ranges to changes in community composition and human disease dynamics. Thus far, however, little attention has been given to temporal changes in environmental spatial synchrony-the coincident change in abundance or value across the landscape-or environmental variability, despite the importance of these factors as drivers of population rescue and extinction and reproductive dynamics of both animal and plant populations. We quantified spatial synchrony of widespread North American wintering birds species using Audubon Christmas Bird Counts over the past 50 years and seed set variability (mast fruiting) among trees over the past century and found that both spatial synchrony of the birds and seed set variability have significantly increased over these time periods. The first of these results was mirrored by significant increases in spatial synchrony of mean maximum air temperature across North America, primarily during the summer, while the second is consistent with the hypothesis that climate change is resulting in greater seed set variability. These findings suggest the potential for temporal changes in envioronmental synchrony and variability to be affecting a wide range of ecological phenomena by influencing the probability of population rescue and extinction and by affecting ecosystem processes that rely on the resource pulses provided by mast fruiting plants.

Divergent ecosystem responses within a benthic marine community to ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroeker, Kristy J; Micheli, Fiorenza; Gambi, Maria Cristina; Martz, Todd R

2011-08-30

Ocean acidification is predicted to impact all areas of the oceans and affect a diversity of marine organisms. However, the diversity of responses among species prevents clear predictions about the impact of acidification at the ecosystem level. Here, we used shallow water CO(2) vents in the Mediterranean Sea as a model system to examine emergent ecosystem responses to ocean acidification in rocky reef communities. We assessed in situ benthic invertebrate communities in three distinct pH zones (ambient, low, and extreme low), which differed in both the mean and variability of seawater pH along a continuous gradient. We found fewer taxa, reduced taxonomic evenness, and lower biomass in the extreme low pH zones. However, the number of individuals did not differ among pH zones, suggesting that there is density compensation through population blooms of small acidification-tolerant taxa. Furthermore, the trophic structure of the invertebrate community shifted to fewer trophic groups and dominance by generalists in extreme low pH, suggesting that there may be a simplification of food webs with ocean acidification. Despite high variation in individual species' responses, our findings indicate that ocean acidification decreases the diversity, biomass, and trophic complexity of benthic marine communities. These results suggest that a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function is expected under extreme acidification scenarios.

ICES and PICES strategies for coordinating research on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, S.; Hollowed, Anne B.; Barange, Manuel

2014-01-01

organizations to develop a research initiative that focuses on their shared interests. A phased implementation will ensure that SICCME will be responsive to a rapidly evolving research area while delivering ongoing syntheses of existing knowledge, thereby advancing new science and methodologies......The social, economic, and ecological consequences of projected climate change on fish and fisheries are issues of global concern. In 2012, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) established a Strategic Initiative...... on Climate Change Effects on Marine Ecosystems (SICCME) to synthesize and to promote innovative, credible, and objective science-based advice on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere. SICCME takes advantage of the unique and complementary strengths of the two...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in marine ecosystems of the American continents: foresight from current knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Susan D; Kannan, Kurunthachalam

2009-01-01

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of synthetic halogenated organic compounds used in commercial and household products, such as textiles, furniture, and electronics, to increase their flame ignition resistance and to meet fire safety standards. The demonstrated persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxic potential of these compounds in animals and in humans are of increasing concern. The oceans are considered global sinks for PBDEs, as higher levels are found in marine organisms than in terrestrial biota. For the past three decades, North America has dominated the world market demand for PBDEs, consuming 95% of the penta-BDE formulation. Accordingly, the PBDE concentrations in marine biota and people from North America are the highest in the world and are increasing. Despite recent restrictions on penta- and octa-BDE commercial formulations, penta-BDE containing products will remain a reservoir for PBDE release for years to come, and the deca-BDE formulation is still in high-volume use. In this paper, we review all available data on the occurrence and trends of PBDEs in the marine ecosystems (air, water, sediments, invertebrates, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals) of North and South America. We outline here our concerns about the potential future impacts of large existing stores of banned PBDEs in consumer products, and the vast and growing reservoirs of deca-BDE as well as new and naturally occurring brominated compounds on marine ecosystems.

Eyeblink Synchrony in Multimodal Human-Android Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatsukawa, Kyohei; Nakano, Tamami; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Yoshikawa, Yuichiro

2016-12-23

As the result of recent progress in technology of communication robot, robots are becoming an important social partner for humans. Behavioral synchrony is understood as an important factor in establishing good human-robot relationships. In this study, we hypothesized that biasing a human's attitude toward a robot changes the degree of synchrony between human and robot. We first examined whether eyeblinks were synchronized between a human and an android in face-to-face interaction and found that human listeners' eyeblinks were entrained to android speakers' eyeblinks. This eyeblink synchrony disappeared when the android speaker spoke while looking away from the human listeners but was enhanced when the human participants listened to the speaking android while touching the android's hand. These results suggest that eyeblink synchrony reflects a qualitative state in human-robot interactions.

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Govers, Laura L; Man In 't Veld, Willem A; Meffert, Johan P; Bouma, Tjeerd J; van Rijswick, Patricia C J; Heusinkveld, Jannes H T; Orth, Robert J; van Katwijk, Marieke M; van der Heide, Tjisse

2016-08-31

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition, we tested the effects of Halophytophthora sp. Zostera and Phytophthora gemini on Z. marina seed germination in a full-factorial laboratory experiment under various environmental conditions. Results suggest that Phytophthora species are widespread as we found these oomycetes in eelgrass beds in six countries across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Infection by Halophytophthora sp. Zostera, P. gemini, or both, strongly affected sexual reproduction by reducing seed germination sixfold. Our findings have important implications for seagrass ecology, because these putative pathogens probably negatively affect ecosystem functioning, as well as current restoration and conservation efforts. © 2016 The Author(s).

Modeling the role and impact of alien species and fisheries on the Israeli marine continental shelf ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Corrales, X.; Ofir, E.; Coll, M.; Goren, M.; Edelist, D.; Heymans, J. J.; Gal, G.

2017-06-01

The ecosystems of the Israeli Mediterranean coast have undergone significant changes in recent decades mainly due to species invasions and fishing. In order to characterize the structure and functioning of the marine continental shelf of the Israeli Mediterranean coast and assess temporal changes, we developed a food web model representing two time periods: 1990-1994 and 2008-2012. The 1990-1994 and 2008-2012 food web models were composed of 39 and 41 functional groups, respectively. Functional groups ranged from primary producers to top predators, and included six and eight alien functional groups, respectively, encompassing several crustacean and fish species. Input data included local surveys and fishery statistics, published data on stomach content analyses, and the application of empirical equations to estimate consumption and production rates. Results of the competitive interactions between alien and native species and changes in trophic flows between food web components highlight the increasing impact of alien species over time. Fishing had noticeable impacts in both time periods and played an important role in the ecosystem. Despite different productivity rates and other environmental differences, the Israeli marine ecosystem shared common structural and functional traits with other Mediterranean marine ecosystems. This is the first attempt to study the ecosystem of the Levant region using mass-balance models and to integrate such a large amount of alien species into food web analyses.

Ocean Futures Under Ocean Acidification, Marine Protection, and Changing Fishing Pressures Explored Using a Worldwide Suite of Ecosystem Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Olsen

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Ecosystem-based management (EBM of the ocean considers all impacts on and uses of marine and coastal systems. In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in EBM tools that allow testing of alternative management options and help identify tradeoffs among human uses. End-to-end ecosystem modeling frameworks that consider a wide range of management options are a means to provide integrated solutions to the complex ocean management problems encountered in EBM. Here, we leverage the global advances in ecosystem modeling to explore common opportunities and challenges for ecosystem-based management, including changes in ocean acidification, spatial management, and fishing pressure across eight Atlantis (atlantis.cmar.csiro.au end-to-end ecosystem models. These models represent marine ecosystems from the tropics to the arctic, varying in size, ecology, and management regimes, using a three-dimensional, spatially-explicit structure parametrized for each system. Results suggest stronger impacts from ocean acidification and marine protected areas than from altering fishing pressure, both in terms of guild-level (i.e., aggregations of similar species or groups biomass and in terms of indicators of ecological and fishery structure. Effects of ocean acidification were typically negative (reducing biomass, while marine protected areas led to both “winners” and “losers” at the level of particular species (or functional groups. Changing fishing pressure (doubling or halving had smaller effects on the species guilds or ecosystem indicators than either ocean acidification or marine protected areas. Compensatory effects within guilds led to weaker average effects at the guild level than the species or group level. The impacts and tradeoffs implied by these future scenarios are highly relevant as ocean governance shifts focus from single-sector objectives (e.g., sustainable levels of individual fished stocks to taking into account competing

Exploring industry specific social welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement in linked terrestrial and marine ecosystems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roebeling, P.C.; Hendrix, E.M.T.; Grieken, van M.E.

2009-01-01

Marine ecosystems are severely affected by water pollution originating from coastal catchments, while these ecosystems are of vital importance from an environmental as well as an economic perspective. To warrant sustainable economic development of coastal regions, we need to balance the marginal

Timing anthropogenic stressors to mitigate their impact on marine ecosystem resilience

OpenAIRE

Wu, Paul Pao-Yen; Mengersen, Kerrie; McMahon, Kathryn; Kendrick, Gary A.; Chartrand, Kathryn; York, Paul H.; Rasheed, Michael A.; Caley, M. Julian

2017-01-01

Better mitigation of anthropogenic stressors on marine ecosystems is urgently needed to address increasing biodiversity losses worldwide. We explore opportunities for stressor mitigation using whole-of-systems modelling of ecological resilience, accounting for complex interactions between stressors, their timing and duration, background environmental conditions and biological processes. We then search for ecological windows, times when stressors minimally impact ecological resilience, defined...

Fate and effects of petroleum hydrocarbons in marine coastal ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderhorst, J.R.

1977-01-01

Preliminary results are reported from field and laboratory studies on the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on marine organisms of Northwest Pacific coastal ecosystems. Chemical methods for the characterization of test solutions for specific hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, and heptodecane) were developed concurrently with population and community studies of the effects of short-term and chronic exposures. Results are reported from studies on algae (Ulva), clams (protothaca staminea), crustaceans (Anomyx and Neomysis) and burrowing worms

Spike synchrony reveals emergence of proto-objects in visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Anne B; von der Heydt, Rüdiger

2015-04-29

Neurons at early stages of the visual cortex signal elemental features, such as pieces of contour, but how these signals are organized into perceptual objects is unclear. Theories have proposed that spiking synchrony between these neurons encodes how features are grouped (binding-by-synchrony), but recent studies did not find the predicted increase in synchrony with binding. Here we propose that features are grouped to "proto-objects" by intrinsic feedback circuits that enhance the responses of the participating feature neurons. This hypothesis predicts synchrony exclusively between feature neurons that receive feedback from the same grouping circuit. We recorded from neurons in macaque visual cortex and used border-ownership selectivity, an intrinsic property of the neurons, to infer whether or not two neurons are part of the same grouping circuit. We found that binding produced synchrony between same-circuit neurons, but not between other pairs of neurons, as predicted by the grouping hypothesis. In a selective attention task, synchrony emerged with ignored as well as attended objects, and higher synchrony was associated with faster behavioral responses, as would be expected from early grouping mechanisms that provide the structure for object-based processing. Thus, synchrony could be produced by automatic activation of intrinsic grouping circuits. However, the binding-related elevation of synchrony was weak compared with its random fluctuations, arguing against synchrony as a code for binding. In contrast, feedback grouping circuits encode binding by modulating the response strength of related feature neurons. Thus, our results suggest a novel coding mechanism that might underlie the proto-objects of perception. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/356860-11$15.00/0.

Editorial: Global in scope and regionally rich: an IndiSeas workshop helps shape the future of marine ecosystem indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shin, Y.J.; Bundy, A.; Piet, G.J.

2012-01-01

This report summarizes the outcomes of an IndiSeas workshop aimed at using ecosystem indicators to evaluate the status of the world’s exploited marine ecosystems in support of an ecosystem approach to fisheries, and global policy drivers such as the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological

A global mismatch in the protection of multiple marine biodiversity components and ecosystem services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Holt, Ben G.; MacKenzie, Brian R.

2018-01-01

spatial scale. We demonstrate a pronounced spatial mismatch between the existing degree of protection and all the conservation priorities above, highlighting that neither the world's most diverse, nor the most productive ecosystems are currently the most protected ecosystems. Furthermore, we show...... more effectively than the existing degree of protection, which at best is only marginally better than a random expectation. Therefore, a holistic perspective is needed when designating an appropriate degree of protection of marine conservation priorities worldwide....

Adaptation of Australia’s Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change: Using Science to Inform Conservation Management

OpenAIRE

Johnson, Johanna E.; Holbrook, Neil J.

2014-01-01

The challenges that climate change poses for marine ecosystems are already manifesting in impacts at the species, population, and community levels in Australia, particularly in Tasmania and tropical northern Australia. Many species and habitats are already under threat as a result of human activities, and the additional pressure from climate change significantly increases the challenge for marine conservation and management. Climate change impacts are expected to magnify as sea surface temper...

Rapid assessment of risks to a mobile marine mammal in an ecosystem-scale marine protected area.

Science.gov (United States)

Grech, A; Marsh, H

2008-06-01

Ecosystem-scale networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) are important conservation tools, but their effectiveness is difficult to quantify in a time frame appropriate to species conservation because of uncertainties in the data available. The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a mobile marine species that occurs in shallow inshore waters of an ecosystem-scale network of MPAs (the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area [GBRWHA]). We developed a rapid approach to assess risk to dugongs in the region and evaluate options to ameliorate that risk. We used expert opinion and a Delphi technique to identify and rank 5 human factors with the potential to adversely affect dugongs and their sea grass habitats: netting, indigenous hunting, trawling, vessel traffic, and poor-quality terrestrial runoff. We then quantified and compared the distribution of these factors with a spatially explicit model of dugong distribution. We estimated that approximately 96% of habitat of high conservation value for dugongs in the GBRWHA is at low risk from human activities. Using a sensitivity analysis, we found that to decrease risk, commercial netting or indigenous hunting had to be reduced in remote areas and the effects of vessel traffic, terrestrial runoff, and commercial netting had to be reduced in urban areas. This approach enabled us to compare and rank risks so as to identify the most severe risks and locate specific sites that require further management attention.

Assessment of goods and services, vulnerability, and conservation status of European seabed biotopes: a stepping stone towards ecosystem-based marine spatial management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. SALOMIDI

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The goal of ecosystem-based marine spatial management is to maintain marine ecosystems in a healthy, productive and resilient condition; hence, they can sustainably provide the needed goods and services for human welfare. However, the increasing pressures upon the marine realm threaten marine ecosystems, especially seabed biotopes, and thus a well-planned approach of managing use of marine space is essential to achieve sustainability. The relative value of seabed biotopes, evaluated on the basis of goods and services, is an important starting point for the spatial management of marine areas. Herein, 56 types of European seabed biotopes and their related goods, services, sensitivity issues, and conservation status were compiled, the latter referring to management and protection tools which currently apply for these biotopes at European or international level. Fishing activities, especially by benthic trawls, and marine pollution are the main threats to European seabed biotopes. Increased seawater turbidity, dredged sediment disposal, coastal constructions, biological invasions, mining, extraction of raw materials, shipping-related activities, tourism, hydrocarbon exploration, and even some practices of scientific research, also exert substantial pressure. Although some first steps have been taken to protect the European sea beds through international agreements and European and national legislation, a finer scale of classification and assessment of marine biotopes is considered crucial in shaping sound priorities and management guidelines towards the effective conservation and sustainability of European marine resources.

Ballast water management that adapts to climate changes and reduces harmful bio-invasions in marine eco-systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard; Hansen, Mette Sanne

2015-01-01

food-webs and eco-systems. Economic impacts include reductions in fisheries production and algae blooms harmful for fish farms, tourism and human health. Due to the rising temperatures of the Oceans, organisms that prefer a warm climate may take roots in marine ecosystems that were previously too cold...... in marine ecosystem of changed factors in the shipping sector, for instance change of number, size, and design of vessels as well as treatment technologies of ballast water. New areas for shipping due to climate changes are also included. Our study would contribute to improve decision support tools, usable...... for them. In addition, future changes of temperature, storm patterns and sea-currents may also change shipping routes and ballast water management practices. Based on methods like stock taking, trend tracking and scenario modeling the paper aims to evaluate possible ecological and economic impacts...

Payments for coastal and marine ecosystem services: prospects and principles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohammed, Essam Yassin

2012-05-15

Coastal and marine resources provide millions of impoverished people across the global South with livelihoods, and provide the world with a range of critical 'ecosystem services', from biodiversity and culture to carbon storage and flood protection. Yet across the world, these resources are fast-diminishing under the weight of pollution, land clearance, coastal development, overfishing, natural disasters and climate change. Traditional approaches to halt the decline focus on regulating against destructive practices, but to little effect. A more successful strategy could be to establish payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes, or incorporate an element of PES in existing regulatory mechanisms. Examples from across the world suggest that PES can work to protect both livelihoods and environments. But to succeed, these schemes must be underpinned by robust research, clear property rights, equitable benefit sharing and sustainable finance.

A singular evolutive extended Kalman filter to assimilate real in situ data in a 1-D marine ecosystem model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Hoteit

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK filter is used to assimilate real in situ data in a water column marine ecosystem model. The biogeochemistry of the ecosystem is described by the European Regional Sea Ecosystem Model (ERSEM, while the physical forcing is described by the Princeton Ocean Model (POM. In the SEEK filter, the error statistics are parameterized by means of a suitable basis of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs. The purpose of this contribution is to track the possibility of using data assimilation techniques for state estimation in marine ecosystem models. In the experiments, real oxygen and nitrate data are used and the results evaluated against independent chlorophyll data. These data were collected from an offshore station at three different depths for the needs of the MFSPP project. The assimilation results show a continuous decrease in the estimation error and a clear improvement in the model behavior. Key words. Oceanography: general (ocean prediction; numerical modelling – Oceanography: biological and chemical (ecosystems and ecology

Submarine canyons represent an essential habitat network for krill hotspots in a Large Marine Ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Santora, Jarrod A; Zeno, Ramona; Dorman, Jeffrey G; Sydeman, William J

2018-05-15

Submarine canyon systems are ubiquitous features of marine ecosystems, known to support high levels of biodiversity. Canyons may be important to benthic-pelagic ecosystem coupling, but their role in concentrating plankton and structuring pelagic communities is not well known. We hypothesize that at the scale of a large marine ecosystem, canyons provide a critical habitat network, which maintain energy flow and trophic interactions. We evaluate canyon characteristics relative to the distribution and abundance of krill, critically important prey in the California Current Ecosystem. Using a geological database, we conducted a census of canyon locations, evaluated their dimensions, and quantified functional relationships with krill hotspots (i.e., sites of persistently elevated abundance) derived from hydro-acoustic surveys. We found that 76% of krill hotspots occurred within and adjacent to canyons. Most krill hotspots were associated with large shelf-incising canyons. Krill hotspots and canyon dimensions displayed similar coherence as a function of latitude and indicate a potential regional habitat network. The latitudinal migration of many fish, seabirds and mammals may be enhanced by using this canyon-krill network to maintain foraging opportunities. Biogeographic assessments and predictions of krill and krill-predator distributions under climate change may be improved by accounting for canyons in habitat models.

Global change in marine ecosystems: implications for semi-enclosed Arabian seas

KAUST Repository

Duarte, Carlos M.

2015-12-07

Global Change has been defined as the impact of human activities on the key processes that determine the functioning of the Biosphere. Global Change is a major threat for marine ecosystems and includes climate change as well as other global impacts such as inputs of pollutants, overfishing and coastal sprawl. The Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas, including the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, have supported human livelihoods in the Arabian Peninsula over centuries and continue to do so, but are also threatened by Global Change. These threats are particularly severe as Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas already present rather extreme conditions, in terms of temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration. The vulnerability of the unique marine ecosystems of the Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas to Global Change vectors is largely unknown, but predictions based on first principles suggest that they may be at or near the tipping point for many pressures, such as warming and hypoxia. There is an urgent need to implement international collaborative research programs to accelerate our understanding of the vulnerability of Semi-enclosed Arabian Seas to Global Change vectors in order to inform conservation and management plans to ensure these Seas continue to support the livelihoods and well-being of the Arab nations.

The Subjective Sensation of Synchrony: An Experimental Study

KAUST Repository

Llobera, Joan; Charbonnier, Caecilia; Chagué , Sylvain; Preissmann, Delphine; Antonietti, Jean-Philippe; Ansermet, Franç ois; Magistretti, Pierre J.

2016-01-01

People performing actions together have a natural tendency to synchronize their behavior. Consistently, people doing a task together build internal representations not only of their actions and goals, but also of the other people performing the task. However, little is known about which are the behavioral mechanisms and the psychological factors affecting the subjective sensation of synchrony, or “connecting” with someone else. In this work, we sought to find which factors induce the subjective sensation of synchrony, combining motion capture data and psychological measures. Our results show that the subjective sensation of synchrony is affected by performance quality together with task category, and time. Psychological factors such as empathy and negative subjective affects also correlate with the subjective sensation of synchrony. However, when people estimate synchrony as seen from a third person perspective, their psychological factors do not affect the accuracy of the estimation. We suggest that to feel this sensation it is necessary to, first, have a good joint performance and, second, to assume the existence of an attention monitoring mechanism that reports that the attention of both participants (self and other) is focused on the task.

The Subjective Sensation of Synchrony: An Experimental Study

KAUST Repository

Llobera, Joan

2016-02-12

People performing actions together have a natural tendency to synchronize their behavior. Consistently, people doing a task together build internal representations not only of their actions and goals, but also of the other people performing the task. However, little is known about which are the behavioral mechanisms and the psychological factors affecting the subjective sensation of synchrony, or “connecting” with someone else. In this work, we sought to find which factors induce the subjective sensation of synchrony, combining motion capture data and psychological measures. Our results show that the subjective sensation of synchrony is affected by performance quality together with task category, and time. Psychological factors such as empathy and negative subjective affects also correlate with the subjective sensation of synchrony. However, when people estimate synchrony as seen from a third person perspective, their psychological factors do not affect the accuracy of the estimation. We suggest that to feel this sensation it is necessary to, first, have a good joint performance and, second, to assume the existence of an attention monitoring mechanism that reports that the attention of both participants (self and other) is focused on the task.

From nitrogen enrichment to oxygen depletion: a mechanistic model of coastal marine ecosystems response

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cosme, Nuno Miguel Dias; Koski, Marja; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Nitrogen (N) emissions from anthropogenic sources may enrich coastal waters and lead to marine eutrophication impacts. Processes describing N-limited primary production (PP), zooplankton grazing, and bacterial respiration of sinking organic carbon, were modelled to quantify the potential dissolved...... oxygen (DO) consumption as a function of N input. Such indicator is the basis for an eXposure Factor (XF) applied in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) to estimate impacts from N enrichment. The Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) biogeographical classification system was adopted to address the spatial...

Evaluating Threats in Multinational Marine Ecosystems: A Coast Salish First Nations and Tribal Perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph K Gaydos

Full Text Available Despite the merit of managing natural resources on the scale of ecosystems, evaluating threats and managing risk in ecosystems that span multiple countries or jurisdictions can be challenging. This requires each government involved to consider actions in concert with actions being taken in other countries by co-managing entities. Multiple proposed fossil fuel-related and port development projects in the Salish Sea, a 16,925 km2 inland sea shared by Washington State (USA, British Columbia (Canada, and Indigenous Coast Salish governments, have the potential to increase marine vessel traffic and negatively impact natural resources. There is no legal mandate or management mechanism requiring a comprehensive review of the potential cumulative impacts of these development activities throughout the Salish Sea and across the international border. This project identifies ongoing and proposed energy-related development projects that will increase marine vessel traffic in the Salish Sea and evaluates the threats each project poses to natural resources important to the Coast Salish. While recognizing that Coast Salish traditions identify all species as important and connected, we used expert elicitation to identify 50 species upon which we could evaluate impact. These species were chosen because Coast Salish depend upon them heavily for harvest revenue or as a staple food source, they were particularly culturally or spiritually significant, or they were historically part of Coast Salish lifeways. We identified six development projects, each of which had three potential impacts (pressures associated with increased marine vessel traffic: oil spill, vessel noise and vessel strike. Projects varied in their potential for localized impacts (pressures including shoreline development, harbor oil spill, pipeline spill, coal dust accumulation and nearshore LNG explosion. Based on available published data, impact for each pressure/species interaction was rated as

Marine ecosystem modeling beyond the box: using GIS to study carbon fluxes in a coastal ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijnbladh, Erik; Jönsson, Bror Fredrik; Kumblad, Linda

2006-12-01

Studies of carbon fluxes in marine ecosystems are often done by using box model approaches with basin size boxes, or highly resolved 3D models, and an emphasis on the pelagic component of the ecosystem. Those approaches work well in the ocean proper, but can give rise to considerable problems when applied to coastal systems, because of the scale of certain ecological niches and the fact that benthic organisms are the dominant functional group of the ecosystem. In addition, 3D models require an extensive modeling effort. In this project, an intermediate approach based on a high resolution (20x20 m) GIS data-grid has been developed for the coastal ecosystem in the Laxemar area (Baltic Sea, Sweden) based on a number of different site investigations. The model has been developed in the context of a safety assessment project for a proposed nuclear waste repository, in which the fate of hypothetically released radionuclides from the planned repository is estimated. The assessment project requires not only a good understanding of the ecosystem dynamics at the site, but also quantification of stocks and flows of matter in the system. The data-grid was then used to set up a carbon budget describing the spatial distribution of biomass, primary production, net ecosystem production and thus where carbon sinks and sources are located in the area. From these results, it was clear that there was a large variation in ecosystem characteristics within the basins and, on a larger scale, that the inner areas are net producing and the outer areas net respiring, even in shallow phytobenthic communities. Benthic processes had a similar or larger influence on carbon fluxes as advective processes in inner areas, whereas the opposite appears to be true in the outer basins. As many radionuclides are expected to follow the pathways of organic matter in the environment, these findings enhance our abilities to realistically describe and predict their fate in the ecosystem.

Marine Ecosystem Modeling Beyond the Box: Using GIS to Study Carbon Fluxes in a Coastal Ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wijnbladh, Erik; Joensson, Bror Fredrik; Kumblad, Linda

2006-01-01

Studies of carbon fluxes in marine ecosystems are often done by using box model approaches with basin size boxes, or highly resolved 3D models, and an emphasis on the pelagic component of the ecosystem. Those approaches work well in the ocean proper, but can give rise to considerable problems when applied to coastal systems, because of the scale of certain ecological niches and the fact that benthic organisms are the dominant functional group of the ecosystem. In addition, 3D models require an extensive modeling effort. In this project, an intermediate approach based on a high resolution (20x20 m) GIS data-grid has been developed for the coastal ecosystem in the Laxemar area (Baltic Sea, Sweden) based on a number of different site investigations. The model has been developed in the context of a safety assessment project for a proposed nuclear waste repository, in which the fate of hypothetically released radionuclides from the planned repository is estimated. The assessment project requires not only a good understanding of the ecosystem dynamics at the site, but also quantification of stocks and flows of matter in the system. The data-grid was then used to set up a carbon budget describing the spatial distribution of biomass, primary production, net ecosystem production and thus where carbon sinks and sources are located in the area. From these results, it was clear that there was a large variation in ecosystem characteristics within the basins and, on a larger scale, that the inner areas are net producing and the outer areas net respiring, even in shallow phyto benthic communities. Benthic processes had a similar or larger influence on carbon fluxes as advective processes in inner areas, whereas the opposite appears to be true in the outer basins. As many radionuclides are expected to follow the pathways of organic matter in the environment, these findings enhance our abilities to realistically describe and predict their fate in the ecosystem

Characterizing driver-response relationships in marine pelagic ecosystems for improved ocean management.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunsicker, Mary E; Kappel, Carrie V; Selkoe, Kimberly A; Halpern, Benjamin S; Scarborough, Courtney; Mease, Lindley; Amrhein, Alisan

2016-04-01

Scientists and resource managers often use methods and tools that assume ecosystem components respond linearly to environmental drivers and human stressors. However, a growing body of literature demonstrates that many relationships are-non-linear, where small changes in a driver prompt a disproportionately large ecological response. We aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the relationships between drivers and ecosystem components to identify where and when non-linearities are likely to occur. We focused our analyses on one of the best-studied marine systems, pelagic ecosystems, which allowed us to apply robust statistical techniques on a large pool of previously published studies. In this synthesis, we (1) conduct a wide literature review on single driver-response relationships in pelagic systems, (2) use statistical models to identify the degree of non-linearity in these relationships, and (3) assess whether general patterns exist in the strengths and shapes of non-linear relationships across drivers. Overall we found that non-linearities are common in pelagic ecosystems, comprising at least 52% of all driver-response relation- ships. This is likely an underestimate, as papers with higher quality data and analytical approaches reported non-linear relationships at a higher frequency (on average 11% more). Consequently, in the absence of evidence for a linear relationship, it is safer to assume a relationship is non-linear. Strong non-linearities can lead to greater ecological and socioeconomic consequences if they are unknown (and/or unanticipated), but if known they may provide clear thresholds to inform management targets. In pelagic systems, strongly non-linear relationships are often driven by climate and trophodynamic variables but are also associated with local stressors, such as overfishing and pollution, that can be more easily controlled by managers. Even when marine resource managers cannot influence ecosystem change, they can use information

A marine eutrophication impacts assessment method in LCIA coupling coastal ecosystems exposure to nitrogen and species sensitivity to hypoxia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cosme, Nuno Miguel Dias; Koski, Marja; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Characterisation modelling in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) aims at quantifying potential impacts of anthropogenic emissions. It delivers substance-specific Characterisation Factors (CF) expressing ecosystem responses to marginal increments in emitted quantities. Nitrogen (N) emissions from e.......g. agriculture and industry enrich coastal marine ecosystems. Excessive algal growth and dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion typify the resulting marine eutrophication. LCIA modelling frameworks typically encompass fate, exposure and effect in the environment. The present novel method couples relevant marine...... biological processes of ecosystem’s N exposure (Exposure Factor, XF) with the sensitivity of select species to hypoxia (Effect Factor, EF). The XF converts N-inputs into a sinking carbon flux from planktonic primary production and DO consumed by bacterial respiration in bottom waters, whereas EF builds...

Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling associated with Typhoons/ Hurricane and their impacts on marine ecosystem (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, D. L.

2010-12-01

DanLing TANG South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Guangzhou, China Phone (86) 13924282728; Fax/Tel: (86) 020 89023203 (off), 020 89023191 (Lab),Email,lingzistdl@126.com, Typhoon / hurricane activities and their impacts on environments have been strengthening in both intensity and spatial coverage, along with global changes in the past several decades; however, our knowledge about impact of typhoon on the marine ecosystem is very scarce. We have conducted a series studies in the South China Sea (SCS), investigating phytoplankton, sea surface temperature (SST), fishery data and related factors before, during, and after typhoon. Satellite remote sensing and in situ observation data obtained from research cruise were applied. Our study showed that typhoon can support nutrients to surface phytoplankton by inducing upwelling and vertical mixing, and typhoon rain can also nourish marine phytoplankton; both typhoon winds and rain can enhance production of marine phytoplankton. Slow-moving typhoon induced phytoplankton blooms of higher Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), the strong typhoon induced phytoplankton blooms of a large area. We conservatively estimate that typhoon periods may account for 3.5% of the annual primary production in the oligotrophic SCS. It indicated that one typhoon may induce transport of nutrient-rich water from depth and from the coast to offshore regions, nourishing phytoplankton biomass. More observations confirmed that typhoon can induce cold eddy, and cold eddy can support eddy-shape phytoplankton bloom by upwelling. We have suggested a new index to evaluate typhoon impact on marine ecosystem and environment. This is the first time to report moving eddies and eddy-shape phytoplankton blooms associated with tropical cyclone, the relationship among tropical cyclone, cold eddy upwelling and eddy-shape phytoplankton bloom may give some viewpoint on the tropical cyclone's affection on the mesoscale circulation. Those studies may

Whale Multi-Disciplinary Studies: A Marine Education Infusion Unit. Northern New England Marine Education Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Maine Univ., Orono. Coll. of Education.

This multidisciplinary unit deals with whales, whaling lore and history, and the interaction of the whale with the complex marine ecosystem. It seeks to teach adaptation of marine organisms. It portrays the concept that man is part of the marine ecosystem and man's activities can deplete and degrade marine ecosystems, endangering the survival of…

Contribution of waterborne nitrogen emissions to hypoxia-driven marine eutrophication: modelling of damage to ecosystems in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cosme, Nuno Miguel Dias

Marine eutrophication refers to the ecosystem response to the loading of a growth limiting nutrient, typically nitrogen (N), to coastal waters, where it may cause several impacts. One of the possible impact pathways to these impacts involves the excessive depletion of dissolved oxygen hypoxia) in...... and atmospheric deposition as a consequence of fossil fuels combustion.......Marine eutrophication refers to the ecosystem response to the loading of a growth limiting nutrient, typically nitrogen (N), to coastal waters, where it may cause several impacts. One of the possible impact pathways to these impacts involves the excessive depletion of dissolved oxygen hypoxia......) in bottom waters. Hypoxia is identified as an important and widespread cause of disturbance to marine ecosystems and has been linked to the increasing anthropogenic pressure. This is driven by environmental emissions of reactive nitrogen, mainly from N-containing fertilizers used in agriculture...

Influences on and measures of unintentional group synchrony

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa Ellamil

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Many instances of large-scale coordination occur in real-life social situations without the explicit awareness of the individuals involved. While the majority of research to date has examined dyadic interactions – those between two individuals – during intentional or deliberate coordination, the present review surveys the handful of recent studies investigating behavioral and physiological synchrony across groups of more than two people when coordination was not an explicit goal. Both minimal (e.g., visual information, shared location and naturalistic (e.g., choir singing part, family relationship group interactions appear to promote unintentional group synchrony although they have so far only been studied separately. State differences in unintentional group synchrony, or the relative presence of coordination in various conditions, have tended to be assessed differently, such as using correlation-type relationships, compared to its temporal dynamics, or changes over time in the degree of coordination, which appear to be best captured using phase differences. Simultaneously evaluating behavioral, physiological, and social responses as well systematically comparing different synchrony measures could further our understanding of the influences on and measures of group synchrony, allowing us to move away from studying individual persons responding to static laboratory stimuli and towards investigating collective experiences in natural, dynamic social interactions.

Hysteresis in audiovisual synchrony perception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Rémy Martin

Full Text Available The effect of stimulation history on the perception of a current event can yield two opposite effects, namely: adaptation or hysteresis. The perception of the current event thus goes in the opposite or in the same direction as prior stimulation, respectively. In audiovisual (AV synchrony perception, adaptation effects have primarily been reported. Here, we tested if perceptual hysteresis could also be observed over adaptation in AV timing perception by varying different experimental conditions. Participants were asked to judge the synchrony of the last (test stimulus of an AV sequence with either constant or gradually changing AV intervals (constant and dynamic condition, respectively. The onset timing of the test stimulus could be cued or not (prospective vs. retrospective condition, respectively. We observed hysteretic effects for AV synchrony judgments in the retrospective condition that were independent of the constant or dynamic nature of the adapted stimuli; these effects disappeared in the prospective condition. The present findings suggest that knowing when to estimate a stimulus property has a crucial impact on perceptual simultaneity judgments. Our results extend beyond AV timing perception, and have strong implications regarding the comparative study of hysteresis and adaptation phenomena.

Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Andrew; Murphy, Eugene J; Meredith, Michael P; King, John C; Peck, Lloyd S; Barnes, David K.A; Smith, Raymond C

2006-01-01

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the fastest rates of regional climate change on Earth, resulting in the collapse of ice shelves, the retreat of glaciers and the exposure of new terrestrial habitat. In the nearby oceanic system, winter sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas has decreased in extent by 10% per decade, and shortened in seasonal duration. Surface waters have warmed by more than 1 K since the 1950s, and the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has also warmed. Of the changes observed in the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region to date, alterations in winter sea ice dynamics are the most likely to have had a direct impact on the marine fauna, principally through shifts in the extent and timing of habitat for ice-associated biota. Warming of seawater at depths below ca 100 m has yet to reach the levels that are biologically significant. Continued warming, or a change in the frequency of the flooding of CDW onto the WAP continental shelf may, however, induce sublethal effects that influence ecological interactions and hence food-web operation. The best evidence for recent changes in the ecosystem may come from organisms which record aspects of their population dynamics in their skeleton (such as molluscs or brachiopods) or where ecological interactions are preserved (such as in encrusting biota of hard substrata). In addition, a southwards shift of marine isotherms may induce a parallel migration of some taxa similar to that observed on land. The complexity of the Southern Ocean food web and the nonlinear nature of many interactions mean that predictions based on short-term studies of a small number of species are likely to be misleading. PMID:17405211

Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Andrew; Murphy, Eugene J; Meredith, Michael P; King, John C; Peck, Lloyd S; Barnes, David K A; Smith, Raymond C

2007-01-29

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the fastest rates of regional climate change on Earth, resulting in the collapse of ice shelves, the retreat of glaciers and the exposure of new terrestrial habitat. In the nearby oceanic system, winter sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas has decreased in extent by 10% per decade, and shortened in seasonal duration. Surface waters have warmed by more than 1 K since the 1950s, and the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has also warmed. Of the changes observed in the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region to date, alterations in winter sea ice dynamics are the most likely to have had a direct impact on the marine fauna, principally through shifts in the extent and timing of habitat for ice-associated biota. Warming of seawater at depths below ca 100 m has yet to reach the levels that are biologically significant. Continued warming, or a change in the frequency of the flooding of CDW onto the WAP continental shelf may, however, induce sublethal effects that influence ecological interactions and hence food-web operation. The best evidence for recent changes in the ecosystem may come from organisms which record aspects of their population dynamics in their skeleton (such as molluscs or brachiopods) or where ecological interactions are preserved (such as in encrusting biota of hard substrata). In addition, a southwards shift of marine isotherms may induce a parallel migration of some taxa similar to that observed on land. The complexity of the Southern Ocean food web and the nonlinear nature of many interactions mean that predictions based on short-term studies of a small number of species are likely to be misleading.

New Typical Vector of Neurotoxin β-N-Methylamino-l-Alanine (BMAA in the Marine Benthic Ecosystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aifeng Li

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA has been identified as an environmental factor triggering neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS and Alzheimer’s disease (AD. We investigated the possible vectors of BMAA and its isomers 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB and N-2(aminoethylglycine (AEG in marine mollusks collected from the Chinese coast. Sixty-eight samples of marine mollusks were collected along the Chinese coast in 2016, and were analyzed by an HILIC-MS/MS (hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer method without derivatization. BMAA was detected in a total of five samples from three species: Neverita didyma, Solen strictus, and Mytilus coruscus. The top three concentrations of free-form BMAA (0.99~3.97 μg·g−1 wet weight were detected in N. didyma. DAB was universally detected in most of the mollusk samples (53/68 with no species-specific or regional differences (0.051~2.65 μg·g−1 wet weight. No AEG was detected in any mollusk samples tested here. The results indicate that the gastropod N. didyma might be an important vector of the neurotoxin BMAA in the Chinese marine ecosystem. The neurotoxin DAB was universally present in marine bivalve and gastropod mollusks. Since N. didyma is consumed by humans, we suggest that the origin and risk of BMAA and DAB toxins in the marine ecosystem should be further investigated in the future.

Marine nutrient contributions to tidal creeks in Virginia: spawning marine fish as nutrient vectors to freshwater ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Macavoy, S. E.; Garman, G. C.

2006-12-01

Coastal freshwater streams are typically viewed as conduits for the transport of sediment and nutrients to the coasts. Some coastal streams however experience seasonal migrations of anadromous fish returning to the freshwater to spawn. The fish may be vectors for the delivery of marine nutrients to nutrient poor freshwater in the form of excreted waste and post-spawning carcasses. Nutrients derived from marine sources are 13C, 15N and 34S enriched relative to nutrients in freshwater. Here we examine sediment, particulate organic matter (POM), invertebrates and fish in two tidal freshwater tributaries of the James River USA. The d15N of POM became elevated (from 3.8 to 6.5%), coincident with the arrival of anadromous river herring (Alosa sp), indicating a pulse of marine nitrogen. However, the elevated 15N was not observed in sediment samples or among invertebrates, which did not experience a seasonal isotopic shift (there were significant differences however among the guilds of invertebrate). Anadromous Alosa aestivalis captured within the tidal freshwater were 13C and 34S enriched (-19.3 and 17.2%, respectively) relative to resident freshwater fishes (-26.4 and 3.6% respectively) captured within 2 weeks of the Alosa. Although it is likely that marine derived nitrogen was detected in the tidal freshwater, it was not in sufficient abundance to change the isotope signature of most ecosystem components.

VECTORS of change in the marine environment: Ecosystem and economic impacts and management implications

Science.gov (United States)

Austen, M. C.; Crowe, T. P.; Elliott, M.; Paterson, D. M.; Peck, M. A.; Piraino, S.

2018-02-01

Human use of the European marine environment is increasing and diversifying. This is creating new mechanisms for human induced-changes in marine life which need to be understood and quantified as well as the impact of these changes on ecosystems, their structures (e.g. biodiversity) and functioning (e.g. productivity), and the social and economic consequences that arise. The current and emerging pressures are multiple and interacting, arising, for example, from transport, platforms for renewable and non-renewable energy, exploitation of living and non-living resources, agricultural and industrial discharges, together with wider environmental changes (including climate change). Anticipating the future consequences of these pressures and vectors of change for marine life and of adaptation and mitigation measures (such as the introduction of new technologies and structures, new ballast water practices, ocean and offshore wind energy devices and new fishing strategies) is a prerequisite to the development and implementation of strategies, policies and regulations to manage the marine environment, such as the IMO Convention on ballast water management and the EU Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Challenges in integrative approaches to modelling the marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic: Physics to fish and coasts to ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holt, Jason; Icarus Allen, J.; Anderson, Thomas R.

2014-01-01

It has long been recognised that there are strong interactions and feedbacks between climate, upper ocean biogeochemistry and marine food webs, and also that food web structure and phytoplankton community distribution are important determinants of variability in carbon production and export from...... for quantitative tools to support ecosystem-based management initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to review approaches to the modelling of marine ecosystems with a focus on the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, and to highlight the challenges they face and suggest ways forward. We consider...

Spring fasting behavior in a marine apex predator provides an index of ecosystem productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Rode, Karyn D.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Douglas, David C.; Muhlenbruch, Vanessa L; Atwood, Todd C.; Regehr, Eric V.; Richardson, Evan; Pilfold, Nicholas; Derocher, Andrew E.; Durner, George M.; Stirling, Ian; Amstrup, Steven C.; St Martin, Michelle; Pagano, Anthony M.; Simac, Kristin

2018-01-01

The effects of declining Arctic sea ice on local ecosystem productivity are not well understood but have been shown to vary inter-specifically, spatially, and temporally. Because marine mammals occupy upper trophic levels in Arctic food webs, they may be useful indicators for understanding variation in ecosystem productivity. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are apex predators that primarily consume benthic and pelagic-feeding ice-associated seals. As such, their productivity integrates sea ice conditions and the ecosystem supporting them. Declining sea ice availability has been linked to negative population effects for polar bears but does not fully explain observed population changes. We examined relationships between spring foraging success of polar bears and sea ice conditions, prey productivity, and general patterns of ecosystem productivity in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (CSs). Fasting status (≥7 days) was estimated using serum urea and creatinine levels of 1,448 samples collected from 1,177 adult and subadult bears across three subpopulations. Fasting increased in the Beaufort Sea between 1983–1999 and 2000–2016 and was related to an index of ringed seal body condition. This change was concurrent with declines in body condition of polar bears and observed changes in the diet, condition and/or reproduction of four other vertebrate consumers within the food chain. In contrast, fasting declined in CS polar bears between periods and was less common than in the two Beaufort Sea subpopulations consistent with studies demonstrating higher primary productivity and maintenance or improved body condition in polar bears, ringed seals, and bearded seals despite recent sea ice loss in this region. Consistency between regional and temporal variation in spring polar bear fasting and food web productivity suggests that polar bears may be a useful indicator species. Furthermore, our results suggest that spatial and temporal ecological variation is important in

Studies on 14C labelled chlorpyrifos in model marine ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandit, G.G.; Mohan Rao, A.M.; Kale, S.P.; Murthy, N.B.K.; Raghu, K.

1997-01-01

Chlorpyrifos is one of the widely used organophosphorus insecticides in tropical countries. Experiments were conducted with 14 C labelled chlorpyrifos to study the distribution of this compound in model marine ecosystem. Less than 50 per cent of the applied activity remained in water in 24 h. Major portion of the applied chlorpyrifos (about 4.2 % residue per g) accumulated into the clams with sediment containing a maximum of 5 to 6 per cent of applied compound. No degradation of chlorpyrifos was observed in water or sediment samples. However, metabolic products were formed in clams. (author). 4 refs., 3 tabs

The Effect of Different Phases of Synchrony on Pain Threshold in a Drumming Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip Sullivan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Behavioral synchrony has been linked to endorphin activity (Cohen et al., 2010; Sullivan and Rickers, 2013; Sullivan et al., 2014; Tarr et al., 2015, 2016; Weinstein et al., 2016. This has been called the synchrony effect. Synchrony has two dominant phases of movement; in-phase and anti-phase. The majority of research investigating synchrony’s effect on endorphin activity has focused on in-phase synchrony following vigorous activities. The only research to investigate the effects of anti-phase synchrony on endorphin activity found that anti-phase synchronized rowing did not produce the synchrony effect (Sullivan et al., 2014. Anti-phase synchrony, however, is counter-intuitive to the sport of rowing and may have interfered with the synchrony effect. This study investigated the effect of anti-phase synchrony on endorphin activity in a different task (i.e., drumming. University students (n = 30 were asked to drum solo and in in-phase and anti-phase pairs for 3 min. Pain threshold was assessed as an indirect indicator of endorphin activity prior to and following the task. Although the in-phase synchrony effect was not found, a repeated measures ANOVA found that there was a significant difference in pain threshold change among the three conditions [F(2,24 = 4.10, = 0.255, p < 0.05. Post hoc t-tests showed that the anti-phase condition had a significantly greater pain threshold change than both the solo and in-phase conditions at p < 0.05. This is the first time that anti-phase synchrony has been shown to produce the synchrony effect. Because anti-phase drumming may have required more attention between partners than in-phase synchrony, it may have affected self-other merging (Tarr et al., 2014. These results support Tarr et al.’s (2014 model that multiple mechanisms account for the effect of synchrony on pain threshold, and suggest that different characteristics of the activity may influence the synchrony effect.

Pallidal gap junctions-triggers of synchrony in Parkinson's disease?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schwab, B.C.; Heida, T.; Zhao, Y.; Gils, S.A. van; Wezel, R.J.A. van

2014-01-01

Although increased synchrony of the neural activity in the basal ganglia may underlie the motor deficiencies exhibited in Parkinson's disease (PD), how this synchrony arises, propagates through the basal ganglia, and changes under dopamine replacement remains unknown. Gap junctions could play a

Pallidal gap junctions - Triggers of synchrony in Parkinson's disease?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schwab, B.C.; Heida, Tjitske; Zhao, Yan; van Gils, Stephanus A.; van Wezel, Richard Jack Anton

2014-01-01

Although increased synchrony of the neural activity in the basal ganglia may underlie the motor deficiencies exhibited in Parkinson's disease (PD), how this synchrony arises, propagates through the basal ganglia, and changes under dopamine replacement remains unknown. Gap junctions could play a

Towards ecosystem-based management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tam, Jamie C.; Link, Jason S.; Rossberg, Axel G.; Rogers, Stuart I.; Levin, Philip S.; Rochet, Marie-Joelle; Bundy, Alida; Belgrano, Andrea; Libralato, Simone; Tomczak, Maciej; Wolfshaar, van de K.E.; Pranovi, Fabio; Gorokhova, Elena; Large, Scott I.; Niquil, Nathalie; Greenstreet, Simon P.R.; Druon, Jean-Noel; Lesutiene, Jurate; Johansen, Marie; Preciado, Izaskun; Patricio, Joana; Palialexis, Andreas; Tett, Paul; Johansen, Geir O.; Houle, Jennifer; Rindorf, Anna

2017-01-01

Modern approaches to Ecosystem-Based Management and sustainable use of marine resources must account for the myriad of pressures (interspecies, human and environmental) affecting marine ecosystems. The network of feeding interactions between co-existing species and populations (food webs) are an

The marine ecosystems of the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica: state of knowledge and management perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quesada Alpizar, Marco A.; Cortes, Jorge

2006-01-01

A review of the existing scientific literature on marine ecosystems in the South Pacific of Costa Rica is presented. Most of the information generated to date concentrates on the Golfo Dulce area, a tropical fiord and only anoxic basin in the American pacific coast. Even thought there is a considerable amount of information available, there are still many aspects of the marine ecosystems of the region that remain unstudied. Among these, those concerning circulation patterns, mangrove dynamics, biodiversity of soft sediments and deep waters, and the ecology of commercially important species of mollusks, crustaceans and fish, stand out. Special attention should be placed on the study of Golfo Dulce, Isla del Cano and the Terraba-Sierpe mangrove system, give their biological importance and unique regional character. Coastal management in the region should be based on the best scientific information available integrating biological, social and economic criteria; and seeking the improvement of inter-institutional coordination in order to achieve integrative solutions to the existing threats to marine resources. (author) [es

A Demonstration Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON): Understanding Marine Life and its Role in Maintaining Ecosystem Services

Science.gov (United States)

Muller-Karger, F. E.; Iken, K.; Miller, R. J.; Duffy, J. E.; Chavez, F.; Montes, E.

2016-02-01

The U.S. Federal government (NOAA, NASA, BOEM, and the Smithsonian Institution), academic researchers, and private partners are laying the foundation for a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The goals of the network are to: 1) Observe and understand life, from microbes to whales, in different coastal and continental shelf habitats; 2) Define an efficient set of observations required for implementing a useful MBON; 3) Develop technology for biodiversity assessments including emerging environmental DNA (eDNA), remote sensing, and image analysis methods to coordinate with classical sampling; 4) Integrate and synthesize information in coordination with the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), the international Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network(GEO BON), and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) sponsored by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC); and 5) Understand the linkages between marine biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and the social-economic context of a region. Pilot projects have been implemented within three NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries (Florida Keys, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands), the wider Santa Barbara Channel, in the Chukchi Sea, and through the Smithsonian's Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network (TMON) at several sites in the U.S. and collaborating countries. Together, these MBON sites encompass a wide range of marine environments, including deep sea, continental shelves, and coastal habitats including estuaries, wetlands, and coral reefs. The present MBON partners are open to growth of the MBON through additional collaborations. Given these initiatives, GEO BON is proposing an MBON effort that spans from pole to pole, with a pathfinder effort among countries in the Americas. By specializing in coastal ecosystems—where marine biodiversity and people are concentrated and interact most—the MBON and TMON initiatives aim to provide policymakers with the science to

The elusive baseline of marine disease: are diseases in ocean ecosystems increasing?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica R Ward

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Disease outbreaks alter the structure and function of marine ecosystems, directly affecting vertebrates (mammals, turtles, fish, invertebrates (corals, crustaceans, echinoderms, and plants (seagrasses. Previous studies suggest a recent increase in marine disease. However, lack of baseline data in most communities prevents a direct test of this hypothesis. We developed a proxy to evaluate a prediction of the increasing disease hypothesis: the proportion of scientific publications reporting disease increased in recent decades. This represents, to our knowledge, the first quantitative use of normalized trends in the literature to investigate an ecological hypothesis. We searched a literature database for reports of parasites and disease (hereafter "disease" in nine marine taxonomic groups from 1970 to 2001. Reports, normalized for research effort, increased in turtles, corals, mammals, urchins, and molluscs. No significant trends were detected for seagrasses, decapods, or sharks/rays (though disease occurred in these groups. Counter to the prediction, disease reports decreased in fishes. Formulating effective resource management policy requires understanding the basis and timing of marine disease events. Why disease outbreaks increased in some groups but not in others should be a priority for future investigation. The increase in several groups lends urgency to understanding disease dynamics, particularly since few viable options currently exist to mitigate disease in the oceans.

Establishing a Statistical Link between Network Oscillations and Neural Synchrony.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pengcheng Zhou

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Pairs of active neurons frequently fire action potentials or "spikes" nearly synchronously (i.e., within 5 ms of each other. This spike synchrony may occur by chance, based solely on the neurons' fluctuating firing patterns, or it may occur too frequently to be explicable by chance alone. When spike synchrony above chances levels is present, it may subserve computation for a specific cognitive process, or it could be an irrelevant byproduct of such computation. Either way, spike synchrony is a feature of neural data that should be explained. A point process regression framework has been developed previously for this purpose, using generalized linear models (GLMs. In this framework, the observed number of synchronous spikes is compared to the number predicted by chance under varying assumptions about the factors that affect each of the individual neuron's firing-rate functions. An important possible source of spike synchrony is network-wide oscillations, which may provide an essential mechanism of network information flow. To establish the statistical link between spike synchrony and network-wide oscillations, we have integrated oscillatory field potentials into our point process regression framework. We first extended a previously-published model of spike-field association and showed that we could recover phase relationships between oscillatory field potentials and firing rates. We then used this new framework to demonstrate the statistical relationship between oscillatory field potentials and spike synchrony in: 1 simulated neurons, 2 in vitro recordings of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells, and 3 in vivo recordings of neocortical V4 neurons. Our results provide a rigorous method for establishing a statistical link between network oscillations and neural synchrony.

Fine-Scale Cartography of Human Impacts along French Mediterranean Coasts: A Relevant Map for the Management of Marine Ecosystems.

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Florian Holon

Full Text Available Ecosystem services provided by oceans and seas support most human needs but are threatened by human activities. Despite existing maps illustrating human impacts on marine ecosystems, information remains either large-scale but rough and insufficient for stakeholders (1 km² grid, lack of data along the coast or fine-scale but fragmentary and heterogeneous in methodology. The objectives of this study are to map and quantify the main pressures exerted on near-coast marine ecosystems, at a large spatial scale though in fine and relevant resolution for managers (one pixel = 20 x 20 m. It focuses on the French Mediterranean coast (1,700 km of coastline including Corsica at a depth of 0 to 80 m. After completing and homogenizing data presently available under GIS on the bathymetry and anthropogenic pressures but also on the seabed nature and ecosystem vulnerability, we provide a fine modeling of the extent and impacts of 10 anthropogenic pressures on marine habitats. The considered pressures are man-made coastline, boat anchoring, aquaculture, urban effluents, industrial effluents, urbanization, agriculture, coastline erosion, coastal population and fishing. A 1:10 000 continuous habitat map is provided considering 11 habitat classes. The marine bottom is mostly covered by three habitats: infralittoral soft bottom, Posidonia oceanica meadows and circalittoral soft bottom. Around two thirds of the bottoms are found within medium and medium high cumulative impact categories. Seagrass meadows are the most impacted habitats. The most important pressures (in area and intensity are urbanization, coastal population, coastal erosion and man-made coastline. We also identified areas in need of a special management interest. This work should contribute to prioritize environmental needs, as well as enhance the development of indicators for the assessment of the ecological status of coastal systems. It could also help better apply and coordinate management measures

Fine-Scale Cartography of Human Impacts along French Mediterranean Coasts: A Relevant Map for the Management of Marine Ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Holon, Florian; Mouquet, Nicolas; Boissery, Pierre; Bouchoucha, Marc; Delaruelle, Gwenaelle; Tribot, Anne-Sophie; Deter, Julie

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by oceans and seas support most human needs but are threatened by human activities. Despite existing maps illustrating human impacts on marine ecosystems, information remains either large-scale but rough and insufficient for stakeholders (1 km² grid, lack of data along the coast) or fine-scale but fragmentary and heterogeneous in methodology. The objectives of this study are to map and quantify the main pressures exerted on near-coast marine ecosystems, at a large spatial scale though in fine and relevant resolution for managers (one pixel = 20 x 20 m). It focuses on the French Mediterranean coast (1,700 km of coastline including Corsica) at a depth of 0 to 80 m. After completing and homogenizing data presently available under GIS on the bathymetry and anthropogenic pressures but also on the seabed nature and ecosystem vulnerability, we provide a fine modeling of the extent and impacts of 10 anthropogenic pressures on marine habitats. The considered pressures are man-made coastline, boat anchoring, aquaculture, urban effluents, industrial effluents, urbanization, agriculture, coastline erosion, coastal population and fishing. A 1:10 000 continuous habitat map is provided considering 11 habitat classes. The marine bottom is mostly covered by three habitats: infralittoral soft bottom, Posidonia oceanica meadows and circalittoral soft bottom. Around two thirds of the bottoms are found within medium and medium high cumulative impact categories. Seagrass meadows are the most impacted habitats. The most important pressures (in area and intensity) are urbanization, coastal population, coastal erosion and man-made coastline. We also identified areas in need of a special management interest. This work should contribute to prioritize environmental needs, as well as enhance the development of indicators for the assessment of the ecological status of coastal systems. It could also help better apply and coordinate management measures at a relevant

Assimilation of the Observational Data in the Marine Ecosystem Adaptive Model at the Known Mean Values of the Processes in the Marine Environment

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I.Е. Тimchenko

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Assimilation of observational data in the marine ecosystem adaptive models constructed by the adaptive balance of causes method is considered. It is shown that the feedback balance between the ecosystem variables and the rates of their change used in the method equations, permits to introduce a stationary state of the ecosystem characterized by the observed mean values of the variables. The method for assessing the normalized coefficients of influences based on application of the Euler theorem on homogeneous functions to the functions representing material balances of biochemical reactions of the substance transformation is proposed. It is shown that the normalized ratios of the modeled process mean values can be used as the estimates of the reaction product derivatives obtained on the basis of their resources included in the equations of material balances. One-dimensional adaptive model of the sea upper layer ecosystem is constructed as an example; it is based on the scheme of cause-effect relations of the Fasham, Dacklow and McKelvie model of plankton dynamics and nitrogen cycle It is shown that in such a model, observational data is assimilated by automatic adaptation of the model variables to the assimilated information providing that the substance material balance are preserved in the transformation reactions. The data simulating both observations of the chlorophyll a concentrations and the marine environment dynamics are assimilated in the model. Time scenarios of the biochemical processes are constructed; they confirm applicability of the proposed method for assessing the effect coefficients based on the ratios of the simulated process mean values.

Effects of acidification on olfactory-mediated behaviour in freshwater and marine ecosystems: a synthesis

OpenAIRE

Leduc, Antoine O. H. C.; Munday, Philip L.; Brown, Grant E.; Ferrari, Maud C. O.

2013-01-01

For many aquatic organisms, olfactory-mediated behaviour is essential to the maintenance of numerous fitness-enhancing activities, including foraging, reproduction and predator avoidance. Studies in both freshwater and marine ecosystems have demonstrated significant impacts of anthropogenic acidification on olfactory abilities of fish and macroinvertebrates, leading to impaired behavioural responses, with potentially far-reaching consequences to population dynamics and community structure. Wh...

The role of sustained observations in tracking impacts of environmental change on marine biodiversity and ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mieszkowska, N; Sugden, H; Firth, L B; Hawkins, S J

2014-09-28

Marine biodiversity currently faces unprecedented threats from multiple pressures arising from human activities. Global drivers such as climate change and ocean acidification interact with regional eutrophication, exploitation of commercial fish stocks and localized pressures including pollution, coastal development and the extraction of aggregates and fuel, causing alteration and degradation of habitats and communities. Segregating natural from anthropogenically induced change in marine ecosystems requires long-term, sustained observations of marine biota. In this review, we outline the history of biological recording in the coastal and shelf seas of the UK and Ireland and highlight where sustained observations have contributed new understanding of how anthropogenic activities have impacted on marine biodiversity. The contributions of sustained observations, from those collected at observatories, single station platforms and multiple-site programmes to the emergent field of multiple stressor impacts research, are discussed, along with implications for management and sustainable governance of marine resources in an era of unprecedented use of the marine environment. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Marine ecosystem acoustics (MEA): Quantifying processes in the sea at the spatio-temporal scales on which they occur

KAUST Repository

Godøl, Olav Rune

2014-07-22

Sustainable management of fisheries resources requires quantitative knowledge and understanding of species distribution, abundance, and productivity-determining processes. Conventional sampling by physical capture is inconsistent with the spatial and temporal scales on which many of these processes occur. In contrast, acoustic observations can be obtained on spatial scales from centimetres to ocean basins, and temporal scales from seconds to seasons. The concept of marine ecosystem acoustics (MEA) is founded on the basic capability of acoustics to detect, classify, and quantify organisms and biological and physical heterogeneities in the water column. Acoustics observations integrate operational technologies, platforms, and models and can generate information by taxon at the relevant scales. The gaps between single-species assessment and ecosystem-based management, as well as between fisheries oceanography and ecology, are thereby bridged. The MEA concept combines state-of-the-art acoustic technology with advanced operational capabilities and tailored modelling integrated into a flexible tool for ecosystem research and monitoring. Case studies are presented to illustrate application of the MEA concept in quantification of biophysical coupling, patchiness of organisms, predator-prey interactions, and fish stock recruitment processes. Widespread implementation of MEA will have a large impact on marine monitoring and assessment practices and it is to be hoped that they also promote and facilitate interaction among disciplines within the marine sciences.

Job Stress and Dyadic Synchrony in Police Marriages: A Preliminary Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

ROBERTS, NICOLE A.; LEONARD, RACHEL C.; BUTLER, EMILY A.; LEVENSON, ROBERT W.; KANTER, JONATHAN W.

2015-01-01

Despite reports documenting adverse effects of stress on police marriages, few empirical studies focus on actual emotional behaviors of officers and spouses. In this preliminary investigation, 17 male police officers and their nonpolice wives completed daily stress diaries for 1 week and then participated in a laboratory-based discussion about their respective days. Conversations were video-recorded and coded for specific emotional behaviors reflecting hostility and affection, which are strong predictors of marital outcomes. We examined associations between officers’ job stress (per diaries and the Police Stress Survey) and couples’ emotional behavior (mean levels and behavioral synchrony) using a dyadic repeated measures design capitalizing on the large number of observations available for each couple (1020 observations). When officers reported more job stress, they showed less hostility, less synchrony with their wives’ hostility, and more synchrony with their wives’ affection; their wives showed greater synchrony with officers’ hostility and less synchrony with officers’ affection. Therefore, for officers, greater job stress was associated with less behavioral negativity, potentially less attunement to wives’ negativity, but potentially greater attunement to wives’ affection—perhaps a compensatory strategy or attempt to buffer their marriage from stress. These attempts may be less effective, however, if, as our synchrony findings may suggest, wives are focusing on officers’ hostility rather than affection. Although it will be important to replicate these results given the small sample, our findings reveal that patterns of behavioral synchrony may be a key means to better understand how job stress exacts a toll on police marriages. PMID:23763686

When 1+1 can be >2: Uncertainties compound when simulating climate, fisheries and marine ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Karen; Brown, Jaclyn N.; Sen Gupta, Alex; Nicol, Simon J.; Hoyle, Simon; Matear, Richard; Arrizabalaga, Haritz

2015-03-01

Multi-disciplinary approaches that combine oceanographic, biogeochemical, ecosystem, fisheries population and socio-economic models are vital tools for modelling whole ecosystems. Interpreting the outputs from such complex models requires an appreciation of the many different types of modelling frameworks being used and their associated limitations and uncertainties. Both users and developers of particular model components will often have little involvement or understanding of other components within such modelling frameworks. Failure to recognise limitations and uncertainties associated with components and how these uncertainties might propagate throughout modelling frameworks can potentially result in poor advice for resource management. Unfortunately, many of the current integrative frameworks do not propagate the uncertainties of their constituent parts. In this review, we outline the major components of a generic whole of ecosystem modelling framework incorporating the external pressures of climate and fishing. We discuss the limitations and uncertainties associated with each component of such a modelling system, along with key research gaps. Major uncertainties in modelling frameworks are broadly categorised into those associated with (i) deficient knowledge in the interactions of climate and ocean dynamics with marine organisms and ecosystems; (ii) lack of observations to assess and advance modelling efforts and (iii) an inability to predict with confidence natural ecosystem variability and longer term changes as a result of external drivers (e.g. greenhouse gases, fishing effort) and the consequences for marine ecosystems. As a result of these uncertainties and intrinsic differences in the structure and parameterisation of models, users are faced with considerable challenges associated with making appropriate choices on which models to use. We suggest research directions required to address these uncertainties, and caution against overconfident predictions

The Large Marine Ecosystem Approach for 21st Century Ocean Health and International Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Honey, K. T.

2014-12-01

The global coastal ocean and watersheds are divided into 66 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), which encompass regions from river basins, estuaries, and coasts to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves and margins of major currents. Approximately 80% of global fisheries catch comes from LME waters. Ecosystem goods and services from LMEs contribute an estimated US 18-25 trillion dollars annually to the global economy in market and non-market value. The critical importance of these large-scale systems, however, is threatened by human populations and pressures, including climate change. Fortunately, there is pragmatic reason for optimism. Interdisciplinary frameworks exist, such as the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) approach for adaptive management that can integrate both nature-centric and human-centric views into ecosystem monitoring, assessment, and adaptive management practices for long-term sustainability. Originally proposed almost 30 years ago, the LME approach rests on five modules are: (i) productivity, (ii) fish and fisheries, (iii) pollution and ecosystem health, (iv) socioeconomics, and (v) governance for iterative adaptive management at a large, international scale of 200,000 km2 or greater. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank, and United Nations agencies recognize and support the LME approach—as evidenced by over 3.15 billion in financial assistance to date for LME projects. This year of 2014 is an exciting milestone in LME history, after 20 years of the United Nations and GEF organizations adopting LMEs as a unit for ecosystem-based approaches to management. The LME approach, however, is not perfect. Nor is it immutable. Similar to the adaptive management framework it propones, the LME approach itself must adapt to new and emerging 21st Century technologies, science, and realities. The LME approach must further consider socioeconomics and governance. Within the socioeconomics module alone, several trillion-dollar opportunities exist

Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

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Nicholas Meskhidze

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Using satellite data for the surface ocean, aerosol optical depth (AOD, and cloud microphysical parameters, we show that statistically significant positive correlations exist between ocean ecosystem productivity, the abundance of submicron aerosols, and cloud microphysical properties over different parts of the remote oceans. The correlation coefficient for remotely sensed surface chlorophyll a concentration ([Chl-a] and liquid cloud effective radii over productive areas of the oceans varies between −0.2 and −0.6. Special attention is given to identifying (and addressing problems from correlation analysis used in the previous studies that can lead to erroneous conclusions. A new approach (using the difference between retrieved AOD and predicted sea salt aerosol optical depth, AODdiff is developed to explore causal links between ocean physical and biological systems and the abundance of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN in the remote marine atmosphere. We have found that over multiple time periods, 550 nm AODdiff (sensitive to accumulation mode aerosol, which is the prime contributor to CCN correlates well with [Chl-a] over the productive waters of the Southern Ocean. Since [Chl-a] can be used as a proxy of ocean biological productivity, our analysis demonstrates the role of ocean ecology in contributing CCN, thus shaping the microphysical properties of low-level marine clouds.

The local field potential reflects surplus spike synchrony

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Denker, Michael; Roux, Sébastien; Lindén, Henrik

2011-01-01

While oscillations of the local field potential (LFP) are commonly attributed to the synchronization of neuronal firing rate on the same time scale, their relationship to coincident spiking in the millisecond range is unknown. Here, we present experimental evidence to reconcile the notions...... of synchrony at the level of spiking and at the mesoscopic scale. We demonstrate that only in time intervals of significant spike synchrony that cannot be explained on the basis of firing rates, coincident spikes are better phase locked to the LFP than predicted by the locking of the individual spikes....... This effect is enhanced in periods of large LFP amplitudes. A quantitative model explains the LFP dynamics by the orchestrated spiking activity in neuronal groups that contribute the observed surplus synchrony. From the correlation analysis, we infer that neurons participate in different constellations...

Reorganization of a large marine ecosystem due to atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure: a discontinuous regime shift in the Central Baltic Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moellmann, C; Diekmann, Rabea; Muller-Karulis, B

2009-01-01

the Baltic Sea, the largest brackish water body in the world ocean, and its ecosystems are strongly affected by atmospheric and anthropogenic drivers. Here, we present results of an analysis of the state and development of the Central Baltic Sea ecosystem integrating hydroclimatic, nutrient, phyto......Marine ecosystems such as the Baltic Sea are currently under strong atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure. Besides natural and human-induced changes in climate, major anthropogenic drivers such as overfishing and anthropogenic eutrophication are significantly affecting ecosystem structure...

Measuring Group Synchrony: A Cluster-Phase Method for Analyzing Multivariate Movement Time-Series

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Michael eRichardson

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A new method for assessing group synchrony is introduced as being potentially useful for objectively determining degree of group cohesiveness or entitativity. The cluster-phase method of Frank and Richardson (2010 was used to analyze movement data from the rocking chair movements of six-member groups who rocked their chairs while seated in a circle facing the center. In some trials group members had no information about others’ movements (their eyes were shut or they had their eyes open and gazed at a marker in the center of the group. As predicted, the group level synchrony measure was able to distinguish between situations where synchrony would have been possible and situations where it would be impossible. Moreover, other aspects of the analysis illustrated how the cluster phase measures can be used to determine the type of patterning of group synchrony, and, when integrated with multi-level modeling, can be used to examine individual-level differences in synchrony and dyadic level synchrony as well.

Analysis of chemical factors affecting marine ecosystem around nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Kwan Sik; Choi, Yoon Dong; Chun, Ki Jeong; Kim, Jin Kyu; Jung, Kyeong Chai; Lee, Yeong Keun; Park, Hyo Kook

1994-06-01

The ecological data of the coastal area of Youngkwang nuclear power plant from 1987 to 1993 were comprehensively analyzed, and various physical and chemical properties of sea water and sediments were measured. Major factors affecting phytoplankton standing crops were suspended substances, nitrate, and silicate. The contents of iron, chromium, copper, and sulfur in sediments sampled from the discharge channel were slightly higher than those in the other areas. In order to qantify the chemical impacts on marine ecosystem, it is desirable that a systematic survey be made through the whole year cycle to assure the consistency and confidence of the related data. (Author)

Measurements of spatial population synchrony: influence of time series transformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chevalier, Mathieu; Laffaille, Pascal; Ferdy, Jean-Baptiste; Grenouillet, Gaël

2015-09-01

Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain spatial population synchrony: dispersal among populations, and the spatial correlation of density-independent factors (the "Moran effect"). To identify which of these two mechanisms is driving spatial population synchrony, time series transformations (TSTs) of abundance data have been used to remove the signature of one mechanism, and highlight the effect of the other. However, several issues with TSTs remain, and to date no consensus has emerged about how population time series should be handled in synchrony studies. Here, by using 3131 time series involving 34 fish species found in French rivers, we computed several metrics commonly used in synchrony studies to determine whether a large-scale climatic factor (temperature) influenced fish population dynamics at the regional scale, and to test the effect of three commonly used TSTs (detrending, prewhitening and a combination of both) on these metrics. We also tested whether the influence of TSTs on time series and population synchrony levels was related to the features of the time series using both empirical and simulated time series. For several species, and regardless of the TST used, we evidenced a Moran effect on freshwater fish populations. However, these results were globally biased downward by TSTs which reduced our ability to detect significant signals. Depending on the species and the features of the time series, we found that TSTs could lead to contradictory results, regardless of the metric considered. Finally, we suggest guidelines on how population time series should be processed in synchrony studies.

Patterns and drivers of fish community assembly in a large marine ecosystem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pécuchet, Lauréne; Törnroos, Anna; Lindegren, Martin

2016-01-01

. To determine assembly rules, ecological similarities of co-occurring species are often investigated. This can be evaluated using trait-based indices summarizing the species’ niches in a given community. In order to investigate the underlying processes shaping community assembly in marine ecosystems, we...... investigated the patterns and drivers of fish community composition in the Baltic Sea, a semi-enclosed sea characterized by a pronounced environmental gradient. Our results showed a marked decline in species- and functional richness, largely explained by decreasing salinities. In addition, habitat complexity...

Modelling marine community responses to climate-driven species redistribution to guide monitoring and adaptive ecosystem-based management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marzloff, Martin Pierre; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Hamon, Katell G.; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; Putten, Van Ingrid E.; Pecl, Gretta T.

2016-01-01

As a consequence of global climate-driven changes, marine ecosystems are experiencing polewards redistributions of species – or range shifts – across taxa and throughout latitudes worldwide. Research on these range shifts largely focuses on understanding and predicting changes in the distribution of

Synchrony - Cyberknife Respiratory Compensation Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozhasoglu, Cihat; Saw, Cheng B.; Chen Hungcheng; Burton, Steven; Komanduri, Krishna; Yue, Ning J.; Huq, Saiful M.; Heron, Dwight E.

2008-01-01

Studies of organs in the thorax and abdomen have shown that these organs can move as much as 40 mm due to respiratory motion. Without compensation for this motion during the course of external beam radiation therapy, the dose coverage to target may be compromised. On the other hand, if compensation of this motion is by expansion of the margin around the target, a significant volume of normal tissue may be unnecessarily irradiated. In hypofractionated regimens, the issue of respiratory compensation becomes an important factor and is critical in single-fraction extracranial radiosurgery applications. CyberKnife is an image-guided radiosurgery system that consists of a 6-MV LINAC mounted to a robotic arm coupled through a control loop to a digital diagnostic x-ray imaging system. The robotic arm can point the beam anywhere in space with 6 degrees of freedom, without being constrained to a conventional isocenter. The CyberKnife has been recently upgraded with a real-time respiratory tracking and compensation system called Synchrony. Using external markers in conjunction with diagnostic x-ray images, Synchrony helps guide the robotic arm to move the radiation beam in real time such that the beam always remains aligned with the target. With the aid of Synchrony, the tumor motion can be tracked in three-dimensional space, and the motion-induced dosimetric change to target can be minimized with a limited margin. The working principles, advantages, limitations, and our clinical experience with this new technology will be discussed

Multiple stressors, nonlinear effects and the implications of climate change impacts on marine coastal ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, Judi E; Ellis, Joanne I; Thrush, Simon F

2016-08-01

Global climate change will undoubtedly be a pressure on coastal marine ecosystems, affecting not only species distributions and physiology but also ecosystem functioning. In the coastal zone, the environmental variables that may drive ecological responses to climate change include temperature, wave energy, upwelling events and freshwater inputs, and all act and interact at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. To date, we have a poor understanding of how climate-related environmental changes may affect coastal marine ecosystems or which environmental variables are likely to produce priority effects. Here we use time series data (17 years) of coastal benthic macrofauna to investigate responses to a range of climate-influenced variables including sea-surface temperature, southern oscillation indices (SOI, Z4), wind-wave exposure, freshwater inputs and rainfall. We investigate responses from the abundances of individual species to abundances of functional traits and test whether species that are near the edge of their tolerance to another stressor (in this case sedimentation) may exhibit stronger responses. The responses we observed were all nonlinear and some exhibited thresholds. While temperature was most frequently an important predictor, wave exposure and ENSO-related variables were also frequently important and most ecological variables responded to interactions between environmental variables. There were also indications that species sensitive to another stressor responded more strongly to weaker climate-related environmental change at the stressed site than the unstressed site. The observed interactions between climate variables, effects on key species or functional traits, and synergistic effects of additional anthropogenic stressors have important implications for understanding and predicting the ecological consequences of climate change to coastal ecosystems. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Enhancing "theory of mind" through behavioral synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Baimel, Adam; Severson, Rachel L; Baron, Andrew S; Birch, Susan A J

2015-01-01

Theory of mind refers to the abilities underlying the capacity to reason about one's own and others' mental states. This ability is critical for predicting and making sense of the actions of others, is essential for efficient communication, fosters social learning, and provides the foundation for empathic concern. Clearly, there is incredible value in fostering theory of mind. Unfortunately, despite being the focus of a wealth of research over the last 40 years relatively little is known about specific strategies for fostering social perspective taking abilities. We provide a discussion of the rationale for applying one specific strategy for fostering efficient theory of mind-that of engaging in "behavioral synchrony" (i.e., the act of keeping together in time with others). Culturally evolved collective rituals involving synchronous actions have long been held to act as social glue. Specifically, here we present how behavioral synchrony tunes our minds for reasoning about other minds in the process of fostering social coordination and cooperation, and propose that we can apply behavioral synchrony as a tool for enhancing theory of mind.

A multitrophic model to quantify the effects of marine viruses on microbial food webs and ecosystem processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weitz, Joshua S.; Stock, Charles A.; Wilhelm, Steven W.

2015-01-01

Viral lysis of microbial hosts releases organic matter that can then be assimilated by nontargeted microorganisms. Quantitative estimates of virus-mediated recycling of carbon in marine waters, first established in the late 1990s, were originally extrapolated from marine host and virus densities......, host carbon content and inferred viral lysis rates. Yet, these estimates did not explicitly incorporate the cascade of complex feedbacks associated with virus-mediated lysis. To evaluate the role of viruses in shaping community structure and ecosystem functioning, we extend dynamic multitrophic...

Chemical pollution in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic marine ecosystems: an overview of current knowledge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savinova, T N; Gabrielsen, G W; Falk-Petersen, S

1995-02-01

This report is part of a research project in the framework of the Norwegian-Russian Environmental Cooperation, which was initiated in 1991 to elucidate the present status of environmental contaminants in the highly sensitive Arctic aquatic ecosystem, with special focus on sea birds. Although these ecosystems are the least polluted areas in the world, they are contaminated. The main pathways of contamination into Arctic and sub-Arctic marine ecosystems are atmospheric transport, ocean currents and rivers and in some areas, dumping and ship accidents. A literature survey reveals: (1) there is a lack of data from several trophic levels, (2) previous data are difficult to compare with recent data because of increased quality requirement, (3) not much has been done to investigate the effects of contaminants on the cellular level, at individual or population levels. 389 refs., 7 figs., 32 tabs.

Audiovisual Temporal Recalibration for Speech in Synchrony Perception and Speech Identification

Science.gov (United States)

Asakawa, Kaori; Tanaka, Akihiro; Imai, Hisato

We investigated whether audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could change after observation of the audiovisual temporal mismatch. Previous studies have revealed that audiovisual synchrony perception is re-calibrated after exposure to a constant timing difference between auditory and visual signals in non-speech. In the present study, we examined whether this audiovisual temporal recalibration occurs at the perceptual level even for speech (monosyllables). In Experiment 1, participants performed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task (i.e., a direct measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) in terms of the speech signal after observation of the speech stimuli which had a constant audiovisual lag. The results showed that the “simultaneous” responses (i.e., proportion of responses for which participants judged the auditory and visual stimuli to be synchronous) at least partly depended on exposure lag. In Experiment 2, we adopted the McGurk identification task (i.e., an indirect measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) to exclude the possibility that this modulation of synchrony perception was solely attributable to the response strategy using stimuli identical to those of Experiment 1. The characteristics of the McGurk effect reported by participants depended on exposure lag. Thus, it was shown that audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could be modulated following exposure to constant lag both in direct and indirect measurement. Our results suggest that temporal recalibration occurs not only in non-speech signals but also in monosyllabic speech at the perceptual level.

Psychosocial effects of perceived emotional synchrony in collective gatherings.

Science.gov (United States)

Páez, Dario; Rimé, Bernard; Basabe, Nekane; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Zumeta, Larraitz

2015-05-01

In a classic theory, Durkheim (1912) predicted that because of the social sharing of emotion they generate, collective gatherings bring participants to a stage of collective effervescence in which they experience a sense of union with others and a feeling of empowerment accompanied by positive affect. This would lead them to leave the collective situation with a renewed sense of confidence in life and in social institutions. A century after Durkheim's predictions of these effects, though, they remained untested as a whole. This article reports 4 studies, 2 correlational, 1 semilongitudinal, and 1 experimental, assessing the positive effects of participation in either positively valenced (folkloric marches) or negatively valenced (protest demonstrations) collective gatherings. Results confirmed that collective gatherings consistently strengthened collective identity, identity fusion, and social integration, as well as enhancing personal and collective self-esteem and efficacy, positive affect, and positive social beliefs among participants. In line with a central tenet of the theory, emotional communion, or perceived emotional synchrony with others mediated these effects. Higher perceived emotional synchrony was associated with stronger emotional reactions, stronger social support, and higher endorsement of social beliefs and values. Participation in symbolic collective gatherings also particularly reinforced identity fusion when perceived emotional synchrony was high. The respective contributions of perceived emotional synchrony and flow, or optimal experience, were also assessed. Whereas perceived emotional synchrony emerged as strongly related to the various social outcomes, flow was observed to be related first to collective efficacy and self-esteem, and thus, to encompass mainly empowerment effects. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Enabling the Integrated Assessment of Large Marine Ecosystems: Informatics to the Forefront of Science-Based Decision Support

Science.gov (United States)

Di Stefano, M.; Fox, P. A.; Beaulieu, S. E.; Maffei, A. R.; West, P.; Hare, J. A.

2012-12-01

Integrated assessments of large marine ecosystems require the understanding of interactions between environmental, ecological, and socio-economic factors that affect production and utilization of marine natural resources. Assessing the functioning of complex coupled natural-human systems calls for collaboration between natural and social scientists across disciplinary and national boundaries. We are developing a platform to implement and sustain informatics solutions for these applications, providing interoperability among very diverse and heterogeneous data and information sources, as well as multi-disciplinary organizations and people. We have partnered with NOAA NMFS scientists to facilitate the deployment of an integrated ecosystem approach to management in the Northeast U.S. (NES) and California Current Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). Our platform will facilitate the collaboration and knowledge sharing among NMFS natural and social scientists, promoting community participation in integrating data, models, and knowledge. Here, we present collaborative software tools developed to aid the production of the Ecosystem Status Report (ESR) for the NES LME. The ESR addresses the D-P-S portion of the DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) management framework: reporting data, indicators, and information products for climate drivers, physical and human (fisheries) pressures, and ecosystem state (primary and secondary production and higher trophic levels). We are developing our tools in open-source software, with the main tool based on a web application capable of providing the ability to work on multiple data types from a variety of sources, providing an effective way to share the source code used to generate data products and associated metadata as well as track workflow provenance to allow in the reproducibility of a data product. Our platform retrieves data, conducts standard analyses, reports data quality and other standardized metadata, provides iterative

Impacts of warming on phytoplankton abundance and phenology in a typical tropical marine ecosystem

KAUST Repository

Gittings, John; Raitsos, Dionysios E.; Krokos, George; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2018-01-01

In the tropics, thermal stratification (during warm conditions) may contribute to a shallowing of the mixed layer above the nutricline and a reduction in the transfer of nutrients to the surface lit-layer, ultimately limiting phytoplankton growth. Using remotely sensed observations and modelled datasets, we study such linkages in the northern Red Sea (NRS) - a typical tropical marine ecosystem. We assess the interannual variability (1998-2015) of both phytoplankton biomass and phenological indices (timing of bloom initiation, duration and termination) in relation to regional warming. We demonstrate that warmer conditions in the NRS are associated with substantially weaker winter phytoplankton blooms, which initiate later, terminate earlier and are shorter in their overall duration (~ 4 weeks). These alterations are directly linked with the strength of atmospheric forcing (air-sea heat fluxes) and vertical stratification (mixed layer depth [MLD]). The interannual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) is found to be a good indicator of phytoplankton abundance, but appears to be less important for predicting bloom timing. These findings suggest that future climate warming scenarios may have a two-fold impact on phytoplankton growth in tropical marine ecosystems: 1) a reduction in phytoplankton abundance and 2) alterations in the timing of seasonal phytoplankton blooms.

Impacts of warming on phytoplankton abundance and phenology in a typical tropical marine ecosystem

KAUST Repository

Gittings, John

2018-01-29

In the tropics, thermal stratification (during warm conditions) may contribute to a shallowing of the mixed layer above the nutricline and a reduction in the transfer of nutrients to the surface lit-layer, ultimately limiting phytoplankton growth. Using remotely sensed observations and modelled datasets, we study such linkages in the northern Red Sea (NRS) - a typical tropical marine ecosystem. We assess the interannual variability (1998-2015) of both phytoplankton biomass and phenological indices (timing of bloom initiation, duration and termination) in relation to regional warming. We demonstrate that warmer conditions in the NRS are associated with substantially weaker winter phytoplankton blooms, which initiate later, terminate earlier and are shorter in their overall duration (~ 4 weeks). These alterations are directly linked with the strength of atmospheric forcing (air-sea heat fluxes) and vertical stratification (mixed layer depth [MLD]). The interannual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) is found to be a good indicator of phytoplankton abundance, but appears to be less important for predicting bloom timing. These findings suggest that future climate warming scenarios may have a two-fold impact on phytoplankton growth in tropical marine ecosystems: 1) a reduction in phytoplankton abundance and 2) alterations in the timing of seasonal phytoplankton blooms.

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Temperate Coastal Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries in the Northeast Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Haigh, Rowan; Ianson, Debby; Holt, Carrie A.; Neate, Holly E.; Edwards, Andrew M.

2015-01-01

As the oceans absorb anthropogenic CO2 they become more acidic, a problem termed ocean acidification (OA). Since this increase in CO2 is occurring rapidly, OA may have profound implications for marine ecosystems. In the temperate northeast Pacific, fisheries play key economic and cultural roles and provide significant employment, especially in rural areas. In British Columbia (BC), sport (recreational) fishing generates more income than commercial fishing (including the expanding aquaculture industry). Salmon (fished recreationally and farmed) and Pacific Halibut are responsible for the majority of fishery-related income. This region naturally has relatively acidic (low pH) waters due to ocean circulation, and so may be particularly vulnerable to OA. We have analyzed available data to provide a current description of the marine ecosystem, focusing on vertical distributions of commercially harvested groups in BC in the context of local carbon and pH conditions. We then evaluated the potential impact of OA on this temperate marine system using currently available studies. Our results highlight significant knowledge gaps. Above trophic levels 2–3 (where most local fishery-income is generated), little is known about the direct impact of OA, and more importantly about the combined impact of multi-stressors, like temperature, that are also changing as our climate changes. There is evidence that OA may have indirect negative impacts on finfish through changes at lower trophic levels and in habitats. In particular, OA may lead to increased fish-killing algal blooms that can affect the lucrative salmon aquaculture industry. On the other hand, some species of locally farmed shellfish have been well-studied and exhibit significant negative direct impacts associated with OA, especially at the larval stage. We summarize the direct and indirect impacts of OA on all groups of marine organisms in this region and provide conclusions, ordered by immediacy and certainty. PMID

Restoration of marine ecosystems following the end-Permian mass extinction: pattern and dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Z.

2013-12-01

Life came closest to complete annihilation during the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). Pattern and cause of this great dying have long been disputed. Similarly, there is also some debate on the recovery rate and pattern of marine organisms in the aftermath of the EPME. Some clades recovered rapidly, within the first 1-3 Myr of the Triassic. For instance, foraminiferal recovery began 1 Myr into the Triassic and was not much affected by Early Triassic crises. Further, some earliest Triassic body and trace fossil assemblages are also more diverse than predicted. Others, ie. Brachiopods, corals etc., however, did not rebound until the Middle Triassic. In addition, although ammonoids recovered fast, reaching a higher diversity by the Smithian than in the Late Permian, much of this Early Triassic radiation was within a single group, the Ceratitina, and their morphological disparity did not expand until the end-Spathian. Here, I like to broaden the modern ecologic network model to explore the complete trophic structure of fossilized ecosystems during the Permian-Triassic transition as a means of assessing the recovery. During the Late Permian and Early Triassic, primary producers, forming the lowest trophic level, were microbes. The middle part of the food web comprises primary and meso-consumer trophic levels, the former dominated by microorganisms such as foraminifers, the latter by opportunistic communities (i.e. disaster taxa), benthic shelly communities, and reef-builders. They were often consumed by invertebrate and vertebrate predators, the top trophic level. Fossil record from South China shows that the post-extinction ecosystems were degraded to a low level and typified by primary producers or opportunistic consumers, which are represented by widespread microbialites or high-abundance, low-diversity communities. Except for some opportunists, primary consumers, namely foraminifers, rebounded in Smithian. Trace-makers recovered in Spathian, which also saw

GIS-based health assessment of the marine ecosystem in Laizhou Bay, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Debin; Gao, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Hua; Xu, Fuxiang; Zheng, Xiangyu; Ai, Jinquan; Hu, Xiaoke; Huang, Guopei; Zhang, Haibo

2017-12-15

According to 2014-2016 monitoring data, an assessment index system including water quality, depositional environment and ecosystem was built to evaluate the health statue of marine ecosystem in the Laizhou Bay using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The results, spatialized in ArcGIS software, show: while the comprehensive ecological health index is 0.62, the ecological environmental quality in the Laizhou Bay is in a sub-healthy state; the unhealthy area is mainly concentrated in southwestern inshore region, and impacted by serious environmental problems, such as water eutrophication and heavy metal pollution; the northwestern and southeastern inshore regions are in a sub-healthy state, while the eastern inshore and northern areas are in the healthiest state. The land-based pollutants that discharge into the sea may be the leading factors that are causing ecological environment deterioration in the Laizhou Bay, and the reclamation work ongoing around the port has exacerbated the ecological risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity of secondary production and export flux to choice of trophic transfer formulation in marine ecosystem models

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Thomas R.; Hessen, Dag O.; Mitra, Aditee; Mayor, Daniel J.; Yool, Andrew

2013-09-01

The performance of four contemporary formulations describing trophic transfer, which have strongly contrasting assumptions as regards the way that consumer growth is calculated as a function of food C:N ratio and in the fate of non-limiting substrates, was compared in two settings: a simple steady-state ecosystem model and a 3D biogeochemical general circulation model. Considerable variation was seen in predictions for primary production, transfer to higher trophic levels and export to the ocean interior. The physiological basis of the various assumptions underpinning the chosen formulations is open to question. Assumptions include Liebig-style limitation of growth, strict homeostasis in zooplankton biomass, and whether excess C and N are released by voiding in faecal pellets or via respiration/excretion post-absorption by the gut. Deciding upon the most appropriate means of formulating trophic transfer is not straightforward because, despite advances in ecological stoichiometry, the physiological mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain incompletely understood. Nevertheless, worrying inconsistencies are evident in the way in which fundamental transfer processes are justified and parameterised in the current generation of marine ecosystem models, manifested in the resulting simulations of ocean biogeochemistry. Our work highlights the need for modellers to revisit and appraise the equations and parameter values used to describe trophic transfer in marine ecosystem models.

Methodological Advances for Detecting Physiological Synchrony During Dyadic Interactions

OpenAIRE

McAssey, M.P.; Helm, J.; Hsieh, F.; Sbarra, D.; Ferrer, E.

2011-01-01

A defining feature of many physiological systems is their synchrony and reciprocal influence. An important challenge, however, is how to measure such features. This paper presents two new approaches for identifying synchrony between the physiological signals of individuals in dyads. The approaches are adaptations of two recently-developed techniques, depending on the nature of the physiological time series. For respiration and thoracic impedance, signals that are measured continuously, we use...

Organization of marine phenology data in support of planning and conservation in ocean and coastal ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Kathryn A.; Fornwall, Mark D.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Griffis, R.B.

2014-01-01

Among the many effects of climate change is its influence on the phenology of biota. In marine and coastal ecosystems, phenological shifts have been documented for multiple life forms; however, biological data related to marine species' phenology remain difficult to access and is under-used. We conducted an assessment of potential sources of biological data for marine species and their availability for use in phenological analyses and assessments. Our evaluations showed that data potentially related to understanding marine species' phenology are available through online resources of governmental, academic, and non-governmental organizations, but appropriate datasets are often difficult to discover and access, presenting opportunities for scientific infrastructure improvement. The developing Federal Marine Data Architecture when fully implemented will improve data flow and standardization for marine data within major federal repositories and provide an archival repository for collaborating academic and public data contributors. Another opportunity, largely untapped, is the engagement of citizen scientists in standardized collection of marine phenology data and contribution of these data to established data flows. Use of metadata with marine phenology related keywords could improve discovery and access to appropriate datasets. When data originators choose to self-publish, publication of research datasets with a digital object identifier, linked to metadata, will also improve subsequent discovery and access. Phenological changes in the marine environment will affect human economics, food systems, and recreation. No one source of data will be sufficient to understand these changes. The collective attention of marine data collectors is needed—whether with an agency, an educational institution, or a citizen scientist group—toward adopting the data management processes and standards needed to ensure availability of sufficient and useable marine data to understand

Synchrony and Physiological Arousal Increase Cohesion and Cooperation in Large Naturalistic Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Joshua Conrad; Jong, Jonathan; Bilkey, David; Whitehouse, Harvey; Zollmann, Stefanie; McNaughton, Craig; Halberstadt, Jamin

2018-01-09

Separate research streams have identified synchrony and arousal as two factors that might contribute to the effects of human rituals on social cohesion and cooperation. But no research has manipulated these variables in the field to investigate their causal - and potentially interactive - effects on prosocial behaviour. Across four experimental sessions involving large samples of strangers, we manipulated the synchronous and physiologically arousing affordances of a group marching task within a sports stadium. We observed participants' subsequent movement, grouping, and cooperation via a camera hidden in the stadium's roof. Synchrony and arousal both showed main effects, predicting larger groups, tighter clustering, and more cooperative behaviour in a free-rider dilemma. Synchrony and arousal also interacted on measures of clustering and cooperation such that synchrony only encouraged closer clustering-and encouraged greater cooperation-when paired with physiological arousal. The research helps us understand why synchrony and arousal often co-occur in rituals around the world. It also represents the first use of real-time spatial tracking as a precise and naturalistic method of simulating collective rituals.

Temporal Synchrony Detection and Associations with Language in Young Children with ASD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Patten

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Temporally synchronous audio-visual stimuli serve to recruit attention and enhance learning, including language learning in infants. Although few studies have examined this effect on children with autism, it appears that the ability to detect temporal synchrony between auditory and visual stimuli may be impaired, particularly given social-linguistic stimuli delivered via oral movement and spoken language pairings. However, children with autism can detect audio-visual synchrony given nonsocial stimuli (objects dropping and their corresponding sounds. We tested whether preschool children with autism could detect audio-visual synchrony given video recordings of linguistic stimuli paired with movement of related toys in the absence of faces. As a group, children with autism demonstrated the ability to detect audio-visual synchrony. Further, the amount of time they attended to the synchronous condition was positively correlated with receptive language. Findings suggest that object manipulations may enhance multisensory processing in linguistic contexts. Moreover, associations between synchrony detection and language development suggest that better processing of multisensory stimuli may guide and direct attention to communicative events thus enhancing linguistic development.

Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabian eRamseyer

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011, which extends previous findings by differentiating movements pertaining to head and upper-body regions. Method: In a sample of 70 patients (37 female, 33 male treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic, we quantified nonverbal synchrony with an automated objective video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Head- and body-synchrony was quantified during the initial 15 minutes of video-recorded therapy sessions. Micro-outcome was assessed with self-report post-session questionnaires provided by patients and their therapists. Macro-outcome was measured with questionnaires that quantified attainment of treatment goals and changes in experiencing and behavior at the end of therapy. Results: The differentiation of head- and body-synchrony showed that these two facets of motor coordination were differentially associated with outcome. Head-synchrony predicted global outcome of therapy, while body-synchrony did not, and body-synchrony predicted session outcome, while head-synchrony did not. Conclusions: The results pose an important amendment to previous findings, which showed that nonverbal synchrony embodied both outcome and interpersonal variables of psychotherapy dyads. The separation of head- and body-synchrony suggested that distinct mechanisms may operate in these two regions: Head-synchrony embodied phenomena with a long temporal extension (overall therapy success, while body-synchrony embodied phenomena of a more immediate nature (session-level success. More explorations with fine-grained analyses of synchronized phenomena in nonverbal behavior may shed additional light on the embodiment of

Nested synchrony – a novel cross-scale interaction among neuronal oscillations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simo eMonto

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Neuronal interactions form the basis for our brain function, and oscillations and synchrony are the principal candidates for mediating them in the cortical networks. Phase synchrony, where oscillatory neuronal ensembles directly synchronize their phases, enables precise integration between separated brain regions. However, it is unclear how neuronal interactions are dynamically coordinated in space and over time. Cross-scale effects have been proposed to be responsible for linking levels of processing hierarchy and to regulate neuronal dynamics. Most notably, nested oscillations, where the phase of a neuronal oscillation modulates the amplitude of a faster one, may locally integrate neuronal activities in distinct frequency bands. Yet, hierarchical control of inter-areal synchrony could provide a more comprehensive view to the dynamical structure of oscillatory interdependencies in the human brain.In this study, the notion of nested oscillations is extended to a cross-frequency and inter-areal model of oscillatory interactions. In this model, the phase of a slower oscillation modulates inter-areal synchrony in a higher frequency band. This would allow cross-scale integration of global interactions and, thus, offers a mechanism for binding distributed neuronal activities.We show that inter-areal phase synchrony can be modulated by the phase of a slower neuronal oscillation using magnetoencephalography. This effect is the most pronounced at frequencies below 35 Hz. Importantly, changes in oscillation amplitudes did not explain the findings. We expect that the novel cross-frequency interaction could offer new ways to understand the flexible but accurate dynamic organization of ongoing neuronal oscillations and synchrony.

Species distribution models of two critically endangered deep-sea octocorals reveal fishing impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems in central Mediterranean Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauria, V; Garofalo, G; Fiorentino, F; Massi, D; Milisenda, G; Piraino, S; Russo, T; Gristina, M

2017-08-14

Deep-sea coral assemblages are key components of marine ecosystems that generate habitats for fish and invertebrate communities and act as marine biodiversity hot spots. Because of their life history traits, deep-sea corals are highly vulnerable to human impacts such as fishing. They are an indicator of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), therefore their conservation is essential to preserve marine biodiversity. In the Mediterranean Sea deep-sea coral habitats are associated with commercially important crustaceans, consequently their abundance has dramatically declined due to the effects of trawling. Marine spatial planning is required to ensure that the conservation of these habitats is achieved. Species distribution models were used to investigate the distribution of two critically endangered octocorals (Funiculina quadrangularis and Isidella elongata) in the central Mediterranean as a function of environmental and fisheries variables. Results show that both species exhibit species-specific habitat preferences and spatial patterns in response to environmental variables, but the impact of trawling on their distribution differed. In particular F. quadrangularis can overlap with fishing activities, whereas I. elongata occurs exclusively where fishing is low or absent. This study represents the first attempt to identify key areas for the protection of soft and compact mud VMEs in the central Mediterranean Sea.

Megafauna of vulnerable marine ecosystems in French mediterranean submarine canyons: Spatial distribution and anthropogenic impacts

OpenAIRE

Fabri, Marie-claire; Pedel, Laura; Beuck, L.; Galgani, Francois; Hebbeln, D.; Freiwald, A.

2014-01-01

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) in the deep Mediterranean Sea have been identified by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as consisting of communities of Scleractinia (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), Pennatulacea (Funiculina quadrangularis) and Alcyonacea (Isidella elongata). This paper deals with video data recorded in the heads of French Mediterranean canyons. Quantitative observations were extracted from 101 video films recorded during the MEDSEACAN cruise in...

Description of the East Brazil Large Marine Ecosystem using a trophic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kátia M.F. Freire

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to describe the marine ecosystem off northeastern Brazil. A trophic model was constructed for the 1970s using Ecopath with Ecosim. The impact of most of the forty-one functional groups was modest, probably due to the highly reticulated diet matrix. However, seagrass and macroalgae exerted a strong positive impact on manatee and herbivorous reef fishes, respectively. A high negative impact of omnivorous reef fishes on spiny lobsters and of sharks on swordfish was observed. Spiny lobsters and swordfish had the largest biomass changes for the simulation period (1978-2000; tunas, other large pelagics and sharks showed intermediate rates of biomass decline; and a slight increase in biomass was observed for toothed cetaceans, large carnivorous reef fishes, and dolphinfish. Recycling was an important feature of this ecosystem with low phytoplankton-originated primary production. The mean transfer efficiency between trophic levels was 11.4%. The gross efficiency of the fisheries was very low (0.00002, probably due to the low exploitation rate of most of the resources in the 1970s. Basic local information was missing for many groups. When information gaps are filled, this model may serve more credibly for the exploration of fishing policies for this area within an ecosystem approach.

One in the Dance: Musical Correlates of Group Synchrony in a Real-World Club Environment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa Ellamil

Full Text Available Previous research on interpersonal synchrony has mainly investigated small groups in isolated laboratory settings, which may not fully reflect the complex and dynamic interactions of real-life social situations. The present study expands on this by examining group synchrony across a large number of individuals in a naturalistic environment. Smartphone acceleration measures were recorded from participants during a music set in a dance club and assessed to identify how group movement synchrony covaried with various features of the music. In an evaluation of different preprocessing and analysis methods, giving more weight to front-back movement provided the most sensitive and reliable measure of group synchrony. During the club music set, group synchrony of torso movement was most strongly associated with pulsations that approximate walking rhythm (100-150 beats per minute. Songs with higher real-world play counts were also correlated with greater group synchrony. Group synchrony thus appears to be constrained by familiarity of the movement (walking action and rhythm and of the music (song popularity. These findings from a real-world, large-scale social and musical setting can guide the development of methods for capturing and examining collective experiences in the laboratory and for effectively linking them to synchrony across people in daily life.

One in the Dance: Musical Correlates of Group Synchrony in a Real-World Club Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellamil, Melissa; Berson, Joshua; Wong, Jen; Buckley, Louis; Margulies, Daniel S

2016-01-01

Previous research on interpersonal synchrony has mainly investigated small groups in isolated laboratory settings, which may not fully reflect the complex and dynamic interactions of real-life social situations. The present study expands on this by examining group synchrony across a large number of individuals in a naturalistic environment. Smartphone acceleration measures were recorded from participants during a music set in a dance club and assessed to identify how group movement synchrony covaried with various features of the music. In an evaluation of different preprocessing and analysis methods, giving more weight to front-back movement provided the most sensitive and reliable measure of group synchrony. During the club music set, group synchrony of torso movement was most strongly associated with pulsations that approximate walking rhythm (100-150 beats per minute). Songs with higher real-world play counts were also correlated with greater group synchrony. Group synchrony thus appears to be constrained by familiarity of the movement (walking action and rhythm) and of the music (song popularity). These findings from a real-world, large-scale social and musical setting can guide the development of methods for capturing and examining collective experiences in the laboratory and for effectively linking them to synchrony across people in daily life.

Assessing the state of pelagic fish communities within an ecosystem approach and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shephard, Samuel; Rindorf, Anna; Dickey-Collas, Mark

2014-01-01

Pelagic fish are key elements in marine foodwebs and thus comprise an important part of overall ecosystem health. We develop a suite of ecological indicators that track pelagic fish community state and evaluate state of specific objectives against Good Environmental Status (GES) criteria. Indicator...

Ocean Futures Under Ocean Acidification, Marine Protection, and Changing Fishing Pressures Explored Using a Worldwide Suite of Ecosystem Models

OpenAIRE

Erik Olsen; Isaac C. Kaplan; Cameron Ainsworth; Gavin Fay; Sarah Gaichas; Robert Gamble; Raphael Girardin; Cecilie H. Eide; Thomas F. Ihde; Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna; Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna; Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna; Kelli F. Johnson; Marie Savina-Rolland; Howard Townsend

2018-01-01

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of the ocean considers all impacts on and uses of marine and coastal systems. In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in EBM tools that allow testing of alternative management options and help identify tradeoffs among human uses. End-to-end ecosystem modeling frameworks that consider a wide range of management options are a means to provide integrated solutions to the complex ocean management problems encountered in EBM. Here, we leverage the glo...

The role of a dominant predator in shaping biodiversity over space and time in a marine ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellingsen, Kari E; Anderson, Marti J; Shackell, Nancy L; Tveraa, Torkild; Yoccoz, Nigel G; Frank, Kenneth T

2015-09-01

1. Exploitation of living marine resources has resulted in major changes to populations of targeted species and functional groups of large-bodied species in the ocean. However, the effects of overfishing and collapse of large top predators on the broad-scale biodiversity of oceanic ecosystems remain largely unexplored. 2. Populations of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were overfished and several collapsed in the early 1990s across Atlantic Canada, providing a unique opportunity to study potential ecosystem-level effects of the reduction of a dominant predator on fish biodiversity, and to identify how such effects might interact with other environmental factors, such as changes in climate, over time. 3. We combined causal modelling with model selection and multimodel inference to analyse 41 years of fishery-independent survey data (1970-2010) and quantify ecosystem-level effects of overfishing and climate variation on the biodiversity of fishes across a broad area (172 000 km(2) ) of the Scotian Shelf. 4. We found that alpha and beta diversity increased with decreases in cod occurrence; fish communities were less homogeneous and more variable in systems where cod no longer dominated. These effects were most pronounced in the colder north-eastern parts of the Scotian Shelf. 5. Our results provide strong evidence that intensive harvesting (and collapse) of marine apex predators can have large impacts on biodiversity, with far-reaching consequences for ecological stability across an entire ecosystem. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Biogeochemical studies of technetium in marine and estuarine ecosystems. Progress report, 1 July 1980-31 July 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beasley, T.M.

1981-01-01

This report summarizes progress from July 1980 through July 1981 on studies dealing with the biogeochemical behavior of technetium in marine and estuarine ecosystems. While the duration of the research has been slightly over two years, the results of our experiments have substantially extended our understanding of the environmental behavior of Tc

Marine-derived nutrients, bioturbation, and ecosystem metabolism: reconsidering the role of salmon in streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Holtgrieve, Gordon W; Schindler, Daniel E

2011-02-01

In coastal areas of the North Pacific Ocean, annual returns of spawning salmon provide a substantial influx of nutrients and organic matter to streams and are generally believed to enhance the productivity of recipient ecosystems. Loss of this subsidy from areas with diminished salmon runs has been hypothesized to limit ecosystem productivity in juvenile salmon rearing habitats (lakes and streams), thereby reinforcing population declines. Using five to seven years of data from an Alaskan stream supporting moderate salmon densities, we show that salmon predictably increased stream water nutrient concentrations, which were on average 190% (nitrogen) and 390% (phosphorus) pre-salmon values, and that primary producers incorporated some of these nutrients into tissues. However, benthic algal biomass declined by an order of magnitude despite increased nutrients. We also measured changes in stream ecosystem metabolic properties, including gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER), from three salmon streams by analyzing diel measurements of oxygen concentrations and stable isotopic ratios (delta O-O2) within a Bayesian statistical model of oxygen dynamics. Our results do not support a shift toward higher primary productivity with the return of salmon, as is expected from a nutrient fertilization mechanism. Rather, net ecosystem metabolism switched from approximately net autotrophic (GPP > or = ER) to a strongly net heterotrophic state (GPP disturbance enhanced in situ heterotrophic respiration. Salmon also changed the physical properties of the stream, increasing air-water gas exchange by nearly 10-fold during peak spawning. We suggest that management efforts to restore salmon ecosystems should consider effects on ecosystem metabolic properties and how salmon disturbance affects the incorporation of marine-derived nutrients into food webs.

Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution shifts in marine benthic ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, C.; Vidal, M.; Canals, M.; Kersting, D. K.; Amblas, D.; Aspillaga, E.; Cebrián, E.; Delgado-Huertas, A.; Díaz, D.; Garrabou, J.; Hereu, B.; Navarro, L.; Teixidó, N.; Ballesteros, E.

2015-01-01

Ocean acidification is receiving increasing attention because of its potential to affect marine ecosystems. Rare CO2 vents offer a unique opportunity to investigate the response of benthic ecosystems to acidification. However, the benthic habitats investigated so far are mainly found at very shallow water (less than or equal to 5 m depth) and therefore are not representative of the broad range of continental shelf habitats. Here, we show that a decrease from pH 8.1 to 7.9 observed in a CO2 vent system at 40 m depth leads to a dramatic shift in highly diverse and structurally complex habitats. Forests of the kelp Laminaria rodriguezii usually found at larger depths (greater than 65 m) replace the otherwise dominant habitats (i.e. coralligenous outcrops and rhodolith beds), which are mainly characterized by calcifying organisms. Only the aragonite-calcifying algae are able to survive in acidified waters, while high-magnesium-calcite organisms are almost completely absent. Although a long-term survey of the venting area would be necessary to fully understand the effects of the variability of pH and other carbonate parameters over the structure and functioning of the investigated mesophotic habitats, our results suggest that in addition of significant changes at species level, moderate ocean acidification may entail major shifts in the distribution and dominance of key benthic ecosystems at regional scale, which could have broad ecological and socio-economic implications. PMID:26511045

Sessile and mobile components of a benthic ecosystem display mixed trends within a temperate marine reserve.

Science.gov (United States)

Howarth, Leigh M; Pickup, Sarah E; Evans, Lowri E; Cross, Tim J; Hawkins, Julie P; Roberts, Callum M; Stewart, Bryce D

2015-06-01

Despite recent efforts to increase the global coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs), studies investigating the effectiveness of marine protected areas within temperate waters remain scarce. Furthermore, out of the few studies published on MPAs in temperate waters, the majority focus on specific ecological or fishery components rather than investigating the ecosystem as a whole. This study therefore investigated the dynamics of both benthic communities and fish populations within a recently established, fully protected marine reserve in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran, United Kingdom, over a four year period. A combination of photo and diver surveys revealed live maerl (Phymatolithon calcareum), macroalgae, sponges, hydroids, feather stars and eyelash worms (Myxicola infundibulum) to be significantly more abundant within the marine reserve than on surrounding fishing grounds. Likewise, the overall composition of epifaunal communities in and outside the reserve was significantly different. Both results are consistent with the hypothesis that protecting areas from fishing can encourage seafloor habitats to recover. In addition, the greater abundance of complex habitats within the reserve appeared to providing nursery habitat for juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) and scallops (Pecten maximus and Aequipecten opercularis). In contrast, there was little difference in the abundance of mobile benthic fauna, such as crabs and starfish, between the reserve and outside. Similarly, the use of baited underwater video cameras revealed no difference in the abundance and size of fish between the reserve and outside. Limited recovery of these ecosystem components may be due to the relatively small size (2.67 km(2)) and young age of the reserve (<5 years), both of which might have limited the extent of any benefits afforded to mobile fauna and fish communities. Overall, this study provides evidence that fully protected marine reserves can encourage seafloor habitats to recover, which in

Transitions to Synchrony in Coupled Bursting Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Dhamala, Mukeshwar; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Ding, Mingzhou

2004-01-01

Certain cells in the brain, for example, thalamic neurons during sleep, show spike-burst activity. We study such spike-burst neural activity and the transitions to a synchronized state using a model of coupled bursting neurons. In an electrically coupled network, we show that the increase of coupling strength increases incoherence first and then induces two different transitions to synchronized states, one associated with bursts and the other with spikes. These sequential transitions to synchronized states are determined by the zero crossings of the maximum transverse Lyapunov exponents. These results suggest that synchronization of spike-burst activity is a multi-time-scale phenomenon and burst synchrony is a precursor to spike synchrony.

Transitions to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhamala, Mukeshwar; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Ding Mingzhou

2004-01-01

Certain cells in the brain, for example, thalamic neurons during sleep, show spike-burst activity. We study such spike-burst neural activity and the transitions to a synchronized state using a model of coupled bursting neurons. In an electrically coupled network, we show that the increase of coupling strength increases incoherence first and then induces two different transitions to synchronized states, one associated with bursts and the other with spikes. These sequential transitions to synchronized states are determined by the zero crossings of the maximum transverse Lyapunov exponents. These results suggest that synchronization of spike-burst activity is a multi-time-scale phenomenon and burst synchrony is a precursor to spike synchrony

Challenges in integrative approaches to modelling the marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic: Physics to fish and coasts to ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Jason; Icarus Allen, J.; Anderson, Thomas R.; Brewin, Robert; Butenschön, Momme; Harle, James; Huse, Geir; Lehodey, Patrick; Lindemann, Christian; Memery, Laurent; Salihoglu, Baris; Senina, Inna; Yool, Andrew

2014-12-01

It has long been recognised that there are strong interactions and feedbacks between climate, upper ocean biogeochemistry and marine food webs, and also that food web structure and phytoplankton community distribution are important determinants of variability in carbon production and export from the euphotic zone. Numerical models provide a vital tool to explore these interactions, given their capability to investigate multiple connected components of the system and the sensitivity to multiple drivers, including potential future conditions. A major driver for ecosystem model development is the demand for quantitative tools to support ecosystem-based management initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to review approaches to the modelling of marine ecosystems with a focus on the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, and to highlight the challenges they face and suggest ways forward. We consider the state of the art in simulating oceans and shelf sea physics, planktonic and higher trophic level ecosystems, and look towards building an integrative approach with these existing tools. We note how the different approaches have evolved historically and that many of the previous obstacles to harmonisation may no longer be present. We illustrate this with examples from the on-going and planned modelling effort in the Integrative Modelling Work Package of the EURO-BASIN programme.

Neuronal synchrony detection on single-electron neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oya, Takahide; Asai, Tetsuya; Kagaya, Ryo; Hirose, Tetsuya; Amemiya, Yoshihito

2006-01-01

Synchrony detection between burst and non-burst spikes is known to be one functional example of depressing synapses. Kanazawa et al. demonstrated synchrony detection with MOS depressing synapse circuits. They found that the performance of a network with depressing synapses that discriminates between burst and random input spikes increases non-monotonically as the static device mismatch is increased. We designed a single-electron depressing synapse and constructed the same network as in Kanazawa's study to develop noise-tolerant single-electron circuits. We examined the temperature characteristics and explored possible architecture that enables single-electron circuits to operate at T > 0 K

Marine spatial planning (MSP: A first step to ecosystem-based management (EBM in the Wider Caribbean

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John C Ogden

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The rapid decline of coastal ecosystems of the Wider Caribbean is entering its fifth decade. Some of the best science documenting this decline and its causes has been done by the laboratories of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean (AMLC. Alarmed at the trends, Caribbean conservation pioneers established marine protected areas (MPAs which spread throughout the region. Unfortunately, many have little or no protection and are now known to be too small to be effective in sustaining coastal ecosystems. Marine spatial planning (MSP holds much promise to encompass the large geographic scales of the ecological processes and human impacts that influence coastal ecosystems and adjacent lands. The AMLC, through the scientific expertise and the national political connections of its member institutions, is well-positioned to help implement a pilot project. MSP a first step in ecosystem-based management and has had considerable success elsewhere. It holds our best chance of sustaining human use and conserving the coral reefs and associated ecosystems. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (Suppl. 3: 71-79. Epub 2010 October 01.La rápida disminución de los ecosistemas costeros del Mar Caribe está entrando en su quinta década. Algunos de los mejores aportes científicos que documentan este descenso y sus causas han sido realizados por los laboratorios de la Asociación de Laboratorios Marinos del Caribe (ALMC. Alarmados por las tendencias, los pioneros de la conservación del Caribe establecieron áreas marinas protegidas (MPAs que se extendieron por toda la región. Desafortunadamente, muchas de estas áreas tienen poca o ninguna protección y ahora se conoce que son demasiado pequeñas para ser efectivas en el mantenimiento de los ecosistemas costeros. La planificación espacial marina (MSP es promisoria para englobar las grandes escalas geográficas de los procesos ecológicos y los impactos humanos que influyen en los ecosistemas costeros y las

Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance

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Koole, Sander L.; Tschacher, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship– or alliance– and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist’s brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another’s internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients’ emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains. PMID:27378968

Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Koole, Sander L; Tschacher, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship- or alliance- and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist's brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another's internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients' emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains.

Assimilation of Ocean-Color Plankton Functional Types to Improve Marine Ecosystem Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ciavatta, S.; Brewin, R. J. W.; Skákala, J.; Polimene, L.; de Mora, L.; Artioli, Y.; Allen, J. I.

2018-02-01

We assimilated phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) derived from ocean color into a marine ecosystem model, to improve the simulation of biogeochemical indicators and emerging properties in a shelf sea. Error-characterized chlorophyll concentrations of four PFTs (diatoms, dinoflagellates, nanoplankton, and picoplankton), as well as total chlorophyll for comparison, were assimilated into a physical-biogeochemical model of the North East Atlantic, applying a localized Ensemble Kalman filter. The reanalysis simulations spanned the years 1998-2003. The skill of the reference and reanalysis simulations in estimating ocean color and in situ biogeochemical data were compared by using robust statistics. The reanalysis outperformed both the reference and the assimilation of total chlorophyll in estimating the ocean-color PFTs (except nanoplankton), as well as the not-assimilated total chlorophyll, leading the model to simulate better the plankton community structure. Crucially, the reanalysis improved the estimates of not-assimilated in situ data of PFTs, as well as of phosphate and pCO2, impacting the simulation of the air-sea carbon flux. However, the reanalysis increased further the model overestimation of nitrate, in spite of increases in plankton nitrate uptake. The method proposed here is easily adaptable for use with other ecosystem models that simulate PFTs, for, e.g., reanalysis of carbon fluxes in the global ocean and for operational forecasts of biogeochemical indicators in shelf-sea ecosystems.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)-degrading potential bacteria from marine ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar, India.

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Balasubramanian, V; Natarajan, K; Hemambika, B; Ramesh, N; Sumathi, C S; Kottaimuthu, R; Rajesh Kannan, V

2010-08-01

Assessment of high-density polyethylene (HDPE)-degrading bacteria isolated from plastic waste dumpsites of Gulf of Mannar. Rationally, 15 bacteria (GMB1-GMB15) were isolated by enrichment technique. GMB5 and GMB7 were selected for further studies based on their efficiency to degrade the HDPE and identified as Arthrobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp., respectively. Assessed weight loss of HDPE after 30 days of incubation was nearly 12% for Arthrobacter sp. and 15% for Pseudomonas sp. The bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbon (BATH) assay showed that the cell surface hydrophobicity of Pseudomonas sp. was higher than Arthrobacter sp. Both fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis and protein content of the biofilm were used to test the viability and protein density of the biomass. Acute peak elevation was observed between 2 and 5 days of inoculation for both bacteria. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum showed that keto carbonyl bond index (KCBI), Ester carbonyl bond index (ECBI) and Vinyl bond index (VBI) were increased indicating changes in functional group(s) and/or side chain modification confirming the biodegradation. The results pose us to suggest that both Pseudomonas sp. and Arthrobacter sp. were proven efficient to degrade HDPE, albeit the former was more efficacious, yet the ability of latter cannot be neglected. Recent alarm on ecological threats to marine system is dumping plastic waste in the marine ecosystem and coastal arena by anthropogenic activity. In maintenance phase of the plastic-derived polyethylene waste, the microbial degradation plays a major role; the information accomplished in this work will be the initiating point for the degradation of polyethylene by indigenous bacterial population in the marine ecosystem and provides a novel eco-friendly solution in eco-management.

Spatial synchrony of a highly endemic fish Assemblage (Segredo Reservoir, Iguaçu River, Paraná State, Brazil

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W. M. Domingues

Full Text Available In this study, patterns of spatial synchrony in population fluctuations (cross-correlation of an endemic fish assemblage of a Neotropical reservoir (Segredo Reservoir, Iguaçu River, Paraná State, Brazil were reported. First, the level of population synchrony for 20 species was estimated. Second, population synchrony was correlated, using the Mantel test, with geographical distances among sites (n = 11 and also environmental synchrony (temperature. Nine species presented significant correlations between spatial synchrony and geographic distances (Astyanax sp. b, Astyanax sp. c, Pimelodus sp., Hoplias malabaricus, Crenicichla iguassuensis, Hypostomus derbyi, Hypostomus myersi, Rhamdia branneri, and R. voulezi. Considering the ecology of the species and the significant relationship between population and environmental synchronies, it seems that environmental stochasticity is the most plausible hypothesis in explaining the observed synchrony patterns.

Effects of isolation and fishing on the marine ecosystems of Easter Island and Salas y Gómez, Chile

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Friedlander, Alan M.; Ballesteros, Enric; Beets, Jim; Berkenpas, Eric; Gaymer, Carlos F.; Gorny, Matthias; Sala, Enric

2013-01-01

1. An expedition to Salas y Gómez and Easter islands was conducted to develop a comprehensive baseline of the nearshore marine ecosystem, to survey seamounts of the recently created Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park (MMHMP) – a no-take marine reserve of 150 000 km2 – and to compare these results with Easter Island where the marine ecosystem is similar but has no marine protection. 2. Live coral cover was surprisingly high at both Easter Island (53%) and Salas y Gómez (44%), especially considering their sub-tropical location, high wave energy environments, and geographic isolation. 3. Endemic and regionally-endemic species comprised 77% of the fish abundance at Easter Island and 73% at Salas y Gómez. Fish biomass at Salas y Gómez was relatively high (1.2 t ha-1) and included a large proportion of apex predators (43%), whereas at Easter Island it was almost three times lower (0.45 t ha-1) with large predators accounting for less than 2% of the biomass, despite good habitat quality. 4. The large cohort of small sharks and the absence of larger sharks at Salas y Gómez suggest mesopredator release consistent with recent shark fishing. The fish fauna at the seamounts between Easter Island and Salas y Gómez, outside of MMHMP, harboured 46% endemic species, including a new species of damselfish (Chromis sp. nov.) and probably a new species of Chimaera (Hydrolagus). Numerous seamounts adjacent to Salas y Gómez are currently not included in the MMHMP. 5. This expedition highlights the high biodiversity value of this remote part of the Pacific owing to the uniqueness (endemicity) of the fauna, large apex predator biomass, and geographic isolation.

Synchrony of physiological activity during mother-child interaction: moderation by maternal history of major depressive disorder.

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Woody, Mary L; Feurer, Cope; Sosoo, Effua E; Hastings, Paul D; Gibb, Brandon E

2016-07-01

Family environment plays an important role in the intergenerational transmission of major depressive disorder (MDD), but less is known about how day-to-day mother-child interactions may be disrupted in families with a history of MDD. Disruptions in mother-child synchrony, the dynamic and convergent exchange of physiological and behavioral cues during interactions, may be one important risk factor. Although maternal MDD is associated with a lack of mother-child synchrony at the behavioral level, no studies have examined the impact of maternal MDD on physiological synchrony. Therefore, this study examined whether maternal history of MDD moderates mother-child physiological synchrony [measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)] during positive and negative discussions. Children aged 7-11 years and mothers with either a history of MDD during the child's lifetime (n = 44) or no lifetime diagnosis of any mood disorder (n = 50) completed positive and negative discussion tasks while RSA was continuously recorded for both child and mother. Results indicated significant between-dyad and within-dyad group differences in physiological synchrony during positive and negative discussions. Between-dyad analyses revealed evidence of synchrony only among never depressed dyads, among whom higher average mother RSA during both discussions was associated with higher average child RSA. Within-dyad analyses revealed that never depressed dyads displayed positive synchrony (RSA concordance), whereas dyads with a history of maternal MDD displayed negative synchrony (RSA discordance) during the negative discussion and that the degree of negative synchrony exhibited during the negative discussion was associated with mothers' and children's levels of sadness. These results provide preliminary evidence that physiological synchrony is disrupted in families with a history of maternal MDD and may be a potential risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of depression. © 2016

Marine Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Governance of the Oceans

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Robin Kundis Craig

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Governance of marine biodiversity has long suffered from lack of adequate information about the ocean’s many species and ecosystems. Nevertheless, even as we are learning much more about the ocean’s biodiversity and the impacts to it from stressors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and marine pollution, climate change is imposing new threats and exacerbating existing threats to marine species and ecosystems. Coastal nations could vastly improve their fragmented approaches to ocean governance in order to increase the protections for marine biodiversity in the climate change era. Specifically, three key governance improvements would include: (1 incorporation of marine spatial planning as a key organizing principle of marine governance; (2 working to increase the resilience of marine ecosystems be reducing or eliminating existing stressors on those ecosystems; and (3 anticipation of climate change’s future impacts on marine biodiversity through the use of anticipatory zoning and more precautionary regulation.

A psychophysical investigation of differences between synchrony and temporal order judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Scott A; Petrini, Karin; Cheng, Adam; Pollick, Frank E

2013-01-01

Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process.

[Evaluation of ecosystem service and emergy of Wanshan Waters in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Chuan-xin; Chen, Pi-mao; Zhang, An-kai; Yuan, Hua; Li, Guo-ying; Shu, Li-ming; Zhou, Yan-bo; Li, Xiao-guo

2015-06-01

The method for monetary value and emergy value analysis of ecosystem service was used in this paper to analyze the change in value of marine ecosystem service of Wanshan District, Zhuhai from 2007 to 2012. The result showed that the monetary value and emergy value of marine ecosystem service of Wanshan District, Zhuhai rose to 11512840000 yuan and 1.97 x 10(22) sej from 7721630000 yuan and 1.04 x 10(22) sej, respectively. Both monetary value and emergy value could forecast the change in the value of marine ecosystem service, but they reflected different value structures and ecological energy, which could be used to more objectively evaluate the ecosystem service. Ecological civilization development, as an inherent driving force to impel the development of marine ecosystem service structure, was important for rational exploitation of marine resources and optimization of marine ecosystem service.

Coral reefs - Specialized ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Wafar, M.V.M.

This paper discusses briefly some aspects that characterize and differentiate coral reef ecosystems from other tropical marine ecosystems. A brief account on the resources that are extractable from coral reefs, their susceptibility to natural...

Nonverbal Synchrony in Psychotherapy: Coordinated Body Movement Reflects Relationship Quality and Outcome

Science.gov (United States)

Ramseyer, Fabian; Tschacher, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony--the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement--in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome. Method: Using an…

Study of plutonium cycle in marine ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merino Pareja, J.; Sanchez Cabeza, J. A.; Molero Savall, J.; Masque Barri, P.

1998-01-01

The distribution, transport and accumulation mechanisms of transuranics (and other radionuclides) in the marine environment depend on the source term, biogeochemical cycles, transport with the water masses, sedimentation processes and transfer mechanisms in the trophic chain. The biogeochemical behaviour of plutonium, which has been the focus of our work, was studied using the following approaches: determination of the physico-chemical speciation of plutonium in marine waters, vertical flux in the water column, uptake by marine organisms (phytoplankton and zooplankton) and distribution in dements cores. A preliminary model of the accumulation and distribution of plutonium in the first levels of the marine food chain in the Irish Sea has also been formulated. All this information allowed us to obtain an integrated view of the behaviour of plutonium in the marine environment. (Author) 14 refs

Audio-visual synchrony and feature-selective attention co-amplify early visual processing.

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Keitel, Christian; Müller, Matthias M

2016-05-01

Our brain relies on neural mechanisms of selective attention and converging sensory processing to efficiently cope with rich and unceasing multisensory inputs. One prominent assumption holds that audio-visual synchrony can act as a strong attractor for spatial attention. Here, we tested for a similar effect of audio-visual synchrony on feature-selective attention. We presented two superimposed Gabor patches that differed in colour and orientation. On each trial, participants were cued to selectively attend to one of the two patches. Over time, spatial frequencies of both patches varied sinusoidally at distinct rates (3.14 and 3.63 Hz), giving rise to pulse-like percepts. A simultaneously presented pure tone carried a frequency modulation at the pulse rate of one of the two visual stimuli to introduce audio-visual synchrony. Pulsed stimulation elicited distinct time-locked oscillatory electrophysiological brain responses. These steady-state responses were quantified in the spectral domain to examine individual stimulus processing under conditions of synchronous versus asynchronous tone presentation and when respective stimuli were attended versus unattended. We found that both, attending to the colour of a stimulus and its synchrony with the tone, enhanced its processing. Moreover, both gain effects combined linearly for attended in-sync stimuli. Our results suggest that audio-visual synchrony can attract attention to specific stimulus features when stimuli overlap in space.

Influence of the submarine orography on the distribution of long-lived radionuclides in the Palomares marine ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasco, C.; Anton, M.P.

1997-01-01

To trace the consequences of the Palomares accident which occurred in southeastern Spain in 1966, a number of studies were performed upon sediments collected in the adjacent marine ecosystem in 1985. The research revealed a land-to-sea transport of part of the transuranics residual contamination still remaining in the affected area after the clean-up operations. The transfer routes to the Mediterranean sea (via river flooding and airborne relocation) were elucidated through the reconstruction of the sediment cores' depositional history. Present investigations focus on the distribution of Pu, Am and Cs along the complex system of submarine canyons shaping the orography of the Palomares marine environment. Marine samples were collected in 1991 to evaluate the possible removal of the radionuclides deposited in the continental shelf towards the deep sea, favoured by the strong turbidity currents and/or the topography of the canyon itself. (Author)

Marine Viruses: Key Players in Marine Ecosystems

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Mathias Middelboe

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Viruses were recognized as the causative agents of fish diseases, such as infectious pancreatic necrosis and Oregon sockeye disease, in the early 1960s [1], and have since been shown to be responsible for diseases in all marine life from bacteria to protists, mollusks, crustaceans, fish and mammals [2].[...

Dynamic binding of visual features by neuronal/stimulus synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwabuchi, A

1998-05-01

When people see a visual scene, certain parts of the visual scene are treated as belonging together and we regard them as a perceptual unit, which is called a "figure". People focus on figures, and the remaining parts of the scene are disregarded as "ground". In Gestalt psychology this process is called "figure-ground segregation". According to current perceptual psychology, a figure is formed by binding various visual features in a scene, and developments in neuroscience have revealed that there are many feature-encoding neurons, which respond to such features specifically. It is not known, however, how the brain binds different features of an object into a coherent visual object representation. Recently, the theory of binding by neuronal synchrony, which argues that feature binding is dynamically mediated by neuronal synchrony of feature-encoding neurons, has been proposed. This review article portrays the problem of figure-ground segregation and features binding, summarizes neurophysiological and psychophysical experiments and theory relevant to feature binding by neuronal/stimulus synchrony, and suggests possible directions for future research on this topic.

A Psychophysical Investigation of Differences between Synchrony and Temporal Order Judgments

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Scott A.; Petrini, Karin; Cheng, Adam; Pollick, Frank E.

2013-01-01

Background Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. Methodology/Principal Findings Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. Conclusions Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process. PMID:23349971

A psychophysical investigation of differences between synchrony and temporal order judgments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott A Love

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process.

Assessment of Multivariate Neural Time Series by Phase Synchrony Clustering in a Time-Frequency-Topography Representation

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M. A. Porta-Garcia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Most EEG phase synchrony measures are of bivariate nature. Those that are multivariate focus on producing global indices of the synchronization state of the system. Thus, better descriptions of spatial and temporal local interactions are still in demand. A framework for characterization of phase synchrony relationships between multivariate neural time series is presented, applied either in a single epoch or over an intertrial assessment, relying on a proposed clustering algorithm, termed Multivariate Time Series Clustering by Phase Synchrony, which generates fuzzy clusters for each multivalued time sample and thereupon obtains hard clusters according to a circular variance threshold; such cluster modes are then depicted in Time-Frequency-Topography representations of synchrony state beyond mere global indices. EEG signals from P300 Speller sessions of four subjects were analyzed, obtaining useful insights of synchrony patterns related to the ERP and even revealing steady-state artifacts at 7.6 Hz. Further, contrast maps of Levenshtein Distance highlight synchrony differences between ERP and no-ERP epochs, mainly at delta and theta bands. The framework, which is not limited to one synchrony measure, allows observing dynamics of phase changes and interactions among channels and can be applied to analyze other cognitive states rather than ERP versus no ERP.

Saharan dust inputs and high UVR levels jointly alter the metabolic balance of marine oligotrophic ecosystems

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Cabrerizo, Marco J.; Medina-Sánchez, Juan Manuel; González-Olalla, Juan Manuel; Villar-Argaiz, Manuel; Carrillo, Presentación

2016-10-01

The metabolic balance of the most extensive bioma on the Earth is a controversial topic of the global-change research. High ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels by the shoaling of upper mixed layers and increasing atmospheric dust deposition from arid regions may unpredictably alter the metabolic state of marine oligotrophic ecosystems. We performed an observational study across the south-western (SW) Mediterranean Sea to assess the planktonic metabolic balance and a microcosm experiment in two contrasting areas, heterotrophic nearshore and autotrophic open sea, to test whether a combined UVR × dust impact could alter their metabolic balance at mid-term scales. We show that the metabolic state of oligotrophic areas geographically varies and that the joint impact of UVR and dust inputs prompted a strong change towards autotrophic metabolism. We propose that this metabolic response could be accentuated with the global change as remote-sensing evidence shows increasing intensities, frequencies and number of dust events together with variations in the surface UVR fluxes on SW Mediterranean Sea. Overall, these findings suggest that the enhancement of the net carbon budget under a combined UVR and dust inputs impact could contribute to boost the biological pump, reinforcing the role of the oligotrophic marine ecosystems as CO2 sinks.

Discussion of skill improvement in marine ecosystem dynamic models based on parameter optimization and skill assessment

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Shen, Chengcheng; Shi, Honghua; Liu, Yongzhi; Li, Fen; Ding, Dewen

2016-07-01

Marine ecosystem dynamic models (MEDMs) are important tools for the simulation and prediction of marine ecosystems. This article summarizes the methods and strategies used for the improvement and assessment of MEDM skill, and it attempts to establish a technical framework to inspire further ideas concerning MEDM skill improvement. The skill of MEDMs can be improved by parameter optimization (PO), which is an important step in model calibration. An efficient approach to solve the problem of PO constrained by MEDMs is the global treatment of both sensitivity analysis and PO. Model validation is an essential step following PO, which validates the efficiency of model calibration by analyzing and estimating the goodness-of-fit of the optimized model. Additionally, by focusing on the degree of impact of various factors on model skill, model uncertainty analysis can supply model users with a quantitative assessment of model confidence. Research on MEDMs is ongoing; however, improvement in model skill still lacks global treatments and its assessment is not integrated. Thus, the predictive performance of MEDMs is not strong and model uncertainties lack quantitative descriptions, limiting their application. Therefore, a large number of case studies concerning model skill should be performed to promote the development of a scientific and normative technical framework for the improvement of MEDM skill.

Evaluation of mangrove ecosystem service functions of Ximen Island Marine Specially Protected Areas in Yueqing Bay, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, D. G.; Sun, L.; Tan, Y. H.; Shi, A. Q.; Cheng, J.

2017-08-01

Taking the mangrove ecosystem of Ximen Island National Marine Specially Protected Areas as the research object, the ecological service value of the mangrove forest was evaluated and analyzed using a market value method, an ecological value method and a carbon tax method. The results showed that the ecosystem service value of the mangrove forest on Ximen Island is worth a total of 16,104,000 CNY/a. Among the value of individual ecosystem services, the direct value of material production function and leisure function reached 1,385,000 CNY/a, with a ratio of 8.6%. The indirect value of disturbance regulation, gas regulation, water purification, habitat function and culture research reached 14,719,000 CNY/a, with a ratio of 91.4%. Among the above sub-items, the proportion of disturbance regulation value, habitat function value and cultural research function value reached 78.8%, which reflects the important scientific value and ecological value of the Ximen Island mangrove ecosystem, especially its vital importance in providing a habitat for birds and playing a role in disaster prevention and mitigation.

Regionalizing indicators for marine ecosystems: Bering Sea–Aleutian Island seabirds, climate, and competitors

Science.gov (United States)

Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Piatt, John F.; García-Reyes, Marisol; Zador, Stephani; Williams, Jeffrey C.; Romano, Marc; Renner, Heather

2017-01-01

Seabirds are thought to be reliable, real-time indicators of forage fish availability and the climatic and biotic factors affecting pelagic food webs in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that temporal trends and interannual variability in seabird indicators reflect simultaneously occurring bottom-up (climatic) and competitor (pink salmon) forcing of food webs. To test this hypothesis, we derived multivariate seabird indicators for the Bering Sea–Aleutian Island (BSAI) ecosystem and related them to physical and biological conditions known to affect pelagic food webs in the ecosystem. We examined covariance in the breeding biology of congeneric pelagic gulls (kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla and R. brevirostris) andauks (murres Uria aalge and U. lomvia), all of whichare abundant and well-studiedinthe BSAI. At the large ecosystem scale, kittiwake and murre breeding success and phenology (hatch dates) covaried among congeners, so data could be combined using multivariate techniques, but patterns of responsedifferedsubstantially betweenthe genera.Whiledata fromall sites (n = 5)inthe ecosystemcould be combined, the south eastern Bering Sea shelf colonies (St. George, St. Paul, and Cape Peirce) provided the strongest loadings on indicators, and hence had the strongest influence on modes of variability. The kittiwake breeding success mode of variability, dominated by biennial variation, was significantly related to both climatic factors and potential competitor interactions. The murre indicator mode was interannual and only weakly related to the climatic factors measured. The kittiwake phenology indicator mode of variability showed multi-year periods (“stanzas”) of late or early breeding, while the murre phenology indicator showed a trend towards earlier timing. Ocean climate relationships with the kittiwake breeding success indicator suggestthat early-season (winter–spring) environmental conditions and the abundance of pink salmon affect the

CIEMAT results in the frame of the european project Mechanisms governing the behaviour and transport of transuranics (analogues) and other radionuclides in marine ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasco, C.; Anton, M.P.

1996-01-01

This report summarises the objectives and more relevant conclusions obtained by CIEMAT in the frame of the project Mechanisms governing the behaviour and transport of transuranics (analogues) and other radionuclides in marine ecosystems. The overall objective of this project was to identify the basic mechanisms and define the key parameters governing the physico-chemical speciation, vertical and horizontal mobility, biological magnification, incorporation to seabed sediments and ultimate fate of transuranium and other long-lived radionuclides in the marine environment, with a view to providing high-quality data of a universal character for use in the development and validation of predictive models based on fundamental mechanisms rather than the simpler box-model approach. This research was carried out in different European marine ecosystems: those directly affected by controlled releases from Nuclear Industries and/or accidents and those characterized by being preferent radionuclides accumulation sites (submarine canyons, estuaries, etc.). (Author)

Tonal synchrony in mother-infant interaction based on harmonic and pentatonic series.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Puyvelde, Martine; Vanfleteren, Pol; Loots, Gerrit; Deschuyffeleer, Sara; Vinck, Bart; Jacquet, Wolfgang; Verhelst, Werner

2010-12-01

This study reports the occurrence of 'tonal synchrony' as a new dimension of early mother-infant interaction synchrony. The findings are based on a tonal and temporal analysis of vocal interactions between 15 mothers and their 3-month-old infants during 5 min of free-play in a laboratory setting. In total, 558 vocal exchanges were identified and analysed, of which 84% reflected harmonic or pentatonic series. Another 10% of the exchanges contained absolute and/or relative pitch and/or interval imitations. The total durations of dyads being in tonal synchrony were normally distributed (M=3.71, SD=2.44). Vocalisations based on harmonic series appeared organised around the major triad, containing significantly more simple frequency ratios (octave, fifth and third) than complex ones (non-major triad tones). Tonal synchrony and its characteristics are discussed in relation to infant-directed speech, communicative musicality, pre-reflective communication and its impact on the quality of early mother-infant interaction and child's development. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Local changes in the excitability of the cerebellar cortex produce spatially restricted changes in complex spike synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Sarah P; Lang, Eric J

2009-11-11

Complex spike (CS) synchrony patterns are modulated by the release of GABA within the inferior olive (IO). The GABAergic projection to most of the IO arises from the cerebellar nuclei, which are themselves subject to strong inhibitory control by Purkinje cells in the overlying cortex. Moreover, the connections between the IO and cerebellum are precisely aligned, raising the possibility that each cortical region controls its own CS synchrony distribution. This possibility was tested using multielectrode recordings of CSs and simple spikes (SSs) in crus 2a of anesthetized rats. Picrotoxin or muscimol was applied to the cerebellar cortex at the borders of the recording array. These drugs induced significant changes in CS synchrony and in CS and SS firing rates and changes in post-CS pauses and modulation of SS activity. The level of CS synchrony was correlated with SS firing rate in control, and application of picrotoxin increased both. In contrast, muscimol decreased CS synchrony. Furthermore, when picrotoxin was applied only at the lateral edge of the array, changes in CS synchrony occurred sequentially across the recording array, with cells located in the lateral half of the array having earlier and larger changes in CS synchrony than cells in the medial half. The results indicate that a double-inhibitory feedback circuit from Purkinje cells to the IO provides a mechanism by which SS activity may regulate CS synchrony. Thus, CS synchrony may be a physiologically controlled parameter of cerebellar activity, with the cerebellum and IO comprising a series of self-updating circuits.

Fate of 14C-labelled compounds in marine environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kale, S.P.; Raghu, K.; Sherkhane, P.D.; Murthy, N.B.K.

1999-01-01

Model ecosystems have played an important role in predicting environmental behavior of agrochemicals. The microcosms used in these studies generally include soil units containing usual biotic components common for that ecosystem. In present studies, scope of two such ecosystems has been extended to study the fate of 14 C-labelled pesticides in marine environment. 14 C-labelled pesticides used in these studies were chlorpyrifos, DDT and HCH. Two systems were developed in laboratory simulating marine environment to study the fate of these pesticides. The first system was developed in an all glass aquarium tank with marine sediments, seawater, clams and algae and is referred to as marine ecosystem. The second system was developed to permit the total 14 C-mass balance studies. It contained marine sediments under moist (60% water holding capacity) or flooded conditions and it is referred to as continuous flow system. Fate of 14 C-DDT was studied in marine ecosystem while degradation of 14 C-chlorpyrifos and 14 C-HCH was studied in continuous flow system. 14 C-DDT did not bioaccumulate in clams while at the end of 60 days 50% of the applied 14 C-activity was present in sediment fraction of marine ecosystem. 14 C-HCH degradation showed about 22-26% mineralization while 45-55% of the applied activity was recovered as organic volatiles. No significant bound residues were formed. 14 C-chorpyrifos underwent considerable degradation in marine environment. TCP was the major degradation product. (author)

Discovery of the oldest .i.Gobius./i. (Teleostei, Gobiiformes) from a marine ecosystem of Early Miocene age

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Reichenbacher, B.; Gregorová, R.; Holcová, K.; Šanda, R.; Vukić, J.; Přikryl, Tomáš

2018-01-01

Roč. 16, č. 6 (2018), s. 493-513 ISSN 1477-2019 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-21523S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Gobiidae * Miocene * comparative anatomy * marine ecosystem * Outer Carpathian flysh zone * Outer Carpathian flysch zone * Ždánice-Hustopeče Formation Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy OBOR OECD: Paleontology Impact factor: 2.963, year: 2016

Coastal marine contamination in Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garay T, Jesus A; Marin Z, Bienvenido; Velez G, Ana Maria

2002-01-01

The paper tries about the problem of the marine contamination and their marked influence in the health of the coastal ecosystems, of their narrow relationship with the growing increase of the populations that they inhabit the coastal areas and of equal it forms, with the increment of the domestic, agricultural and industrial activities that, for the wrong handling and inadequate control of the solid and liquid waste, they affect the marine environment with significant implications at ecological, socioeconomic level and of health. Another component of the environmental problem of the marine ecosystems in the country, resides in that don't exist in general normative on the chemical quality and sanitary for its marine waters, that which limits the categorization of this agreement ecosystems with its environmental quality, conditioning this the lack of adequate mechanisms to mitigate the causes that originate the deterioration of the quality of the Colombian coasts

Contamination of port zone sediments by metals from Large Marine Ecosystems of Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Buruaem, Lucas M; Hortellani, Marcos A; Sarkis, Jorge E; Costa-Lotufo, Leticia V; Abessa, Denis M S

2012-03-01

Sediment contamination by metals poses risks to coastal ecosystems and is considered to be problematic to dredging operations. In Brazil, there are differences in sedimentology along the Large Marine Ecosystems in relation to the metal distributions. We aimed to assess the extent of Al, Fe, Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn contamination in sediments from port zones in northeast (Mucuripe and Pecém) and southeast (Santos) Brazil through geochemical analyses and sediment quality ratings. The metal concentrations found in these port zones were higher than those observed in the continental shelf or the background values in both regions. In the northeast, metals were associated with carbonate, while in Santos, they were associated with mud. Geochemical analyses showed enrichments in Hg, Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn, and a simple application of international sediment quality guidelines failed to predict their impacts, whereas the use of site-specific values that were derived by geochemical and ecotoxicological approaches seemed to be more appropriate in the management of the dredged sediments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hatching synchrony in birds

OpenAIRE

Tippeltová, Zuzana

2011-01-01

This bachelor thesis is about hatching synchrony in birds. Generally, among birds there are two types of hatching - asynchronous and synchronous- and the type of hatching is primarily determined by the time of the onset of incubation. In many bird species, including most precocial ones, incubation does not begin until the last egg has been laid, which results in hatching of all the eggs within a few hours. In synchronously-hatched broods, all the chicks are about the same age. Thus no single ...

Marine genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveira Ribeiro, Ângela Maria; Foote, Andrew David; Kupczok, Anne

2017-01-01

Marine ecosystems occupy 71% of the surface of our planet, yet we know little about their diversity. Although the inventory of species is continually increasing, as registered by the Census of Marine Life program, only about 10% of the estimated two million marine species are known. This lag......-throughput sequencing approaches have been helping to improve our knowledge of marine biodiversity, from the rich microbial biota that forms the base of the tree of life to a wealth of plant and animal species. In this review, we present an overview of the applications of genomics to the study of marine life, from...

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas A J Graham

Full Text Available Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Nicholas A J; McClanahan, Tim R; MacNeil, M Aaron; Wilson, Shaun K; Polunin, Nicholas V C; Jennings, Simon; Chabanet, Pascale; Clark, Susan; Spalding, Mark D; Letourneur, Yves; Bigot, Lionel; Galzin, René; Ohman, Marcus C; Garpe, Kajsa C; Edwards, Alasdair J; Sheppard, Charles R C

2008-08-27

Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.

Early development of synchrony in cortical activations in the human.

Science.gov (United States)

Koolen, N; Dereymaeker, A; Räsänen, O; Jansen, K; Vervisch, J; Matic, V; Naulaers, G; De Vos, M; Van Huffel, S; Vanhatalo, S

2016-05-13

Early intermittent cortical activity is thought to play a crucial role in the growth of neuronal network development, and large scale brain networks are known to provide the basis for higher brain functions. Yet, the early development of the large scale synchrony in cortical activations is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the early intermittent cortical activations seen in the human scalp EEG show a clear developmental course during the last trimester of pregnancy, the period of intensive growth of cortico-cortical connections. We recorded scalp EEG from altogether 22 premature infants at post-menstrual age between 30 and 44 weeks, and the early cortical synchrony was quantified using recently introduced activation synchrony index (ASI). The developmental correlations of ASI were computed for individual EEG signals as well as anatomically and mathematically defined spatial subgroups. We report two main findings. First, we observed a robust and statistically significant increase in ASI in all cortical areas. Second, there were significant spatial gradients in the synchrony in fronto-occipital and left-to-right directions. These findings provide evidence that early cortical activity is increasingly synchronized across the neocortex. The ASI-based metrics introduced in our work allow direct translational comparison to in vivo animal models, as well as hold promise for implementation as a functional developmental biomarker in future research on human neonates. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ounanian, Kristen; Delaney, Alyne; Carballo Cárdenas, Eira

2017-01-01

and using different narratives of marine restoration, and being confronted with different forms of uncertainties. The paper’s overall contribution is the synthesis of these seemingly disparate components (narratives of restoration, uncertainty in decision making, and governance arrangements) to evaluate...... the impact of existing (maritime and environmental) policies, the governance setting, definitions of restoration and uncertainties on the effectiveness of marine restoration projects. Such a synthesis is a necessary move toward a systematic evaluation of ways to govern and formally institutionalize marine...

Emotional lability and affective synchrony in borderline personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenleber, Michelle; Berghoff, Christopher R; Tull, Matthew T; DiLillo, David; Messman-Moore, Terri; Gratz, Kim L

2016-07-01

Extant research on emotional lability in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has focused almost exclusively on lability of individual emotions or emotion types, with limited research considering how different types of emotions shift together over time. Thus, this study examined the temporal dynamics of emotion in BPD at the level of both individual emotions (i.e., self-conscious emotions [SCE], anger, and anxiety) and mixed emotions (i.e., synchrony between emotions). One hundred forty-four women from the community completed a diagnostic interview and laboratory study involving 5 emotion induction tasks (each of which was preceded and followed by a 5-min resting period or neutral task). State ratings of SCE, anger, and anxiety were provided at 14 time points (before and after each laboratory task and resting period). Hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that women with BPD reported greater mean levels of SCE and Anxiety (but not Anger), and greater lability of Anxiety. Women with BPD also exhibited greater variability in lability of all 3 emotions (suggestive of within-group differences in the relevance of lability to BPD). Results also revealed synchrony (i.e., positive relations) between each possible pair of emotions, regardless of BPD status. Follow-up regression analyses suggest the importance of accounting for lability when examining the role of synchrony in BPD, as the relation of SCE-Anger synchrony to BPD symptom severity was moderated by Anger and SCE lability. Specifically, synchronous changes in SCE and Anger were associated with greater BPD symptom severity when large shifts in SCE were paired with minor shifts in Anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Climate-induced trends in predator–prey synchrony differ across life-history stages of an anadromous salmonid

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Donovan A.; Kovach, Ryan; Vulstek, Scott C.; Joyce, John E.; Tallmon, David A.

2017-01-01

Differential climate-induced shifts in phenology can create mismatches between predators and prey, but few studies have examined predator–prey mismatch across multiple life-history stages. We used long-term data from a warming stream with shifting salmonid migration timings to quantify intra-annual migration synchrony between predatory Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) and Pacific salmon prey and examined how predator–prey synchrony has been influenced by climate change. We demonstrate that Dolly Varden have become increasingly mismatched with spring downstream migrations of abundant pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) juveniles. However, Dolly Varden have remained matched with fall upstream migrations of spawning Pacific salmon, including coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), and pink salmon. Downstream predator–prey migration synchrony decreased over time and with higher temperatures, particularly with pink salmon. In contrast, upstream migration synchrony was temporally stable and increased with rising temperatures. Differing trends in Dolly Varden predator–prey synchrony may be explained by the direct use of salmon to cue upstream migration, but not downstream migration. Overall, we show that climate change can have differing impacts on predator–prey synchrony across life-history stages.

Infanticide and within-clutch competition select for reproductive synchrony in a cooperative bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Riehl, Christina

2016-08-01

Reproduction among members of social animal groups is often highly synchronized, but neither the selective advantages nor the proximate causes of synchrony are fully understood. Here I investigate the evolution of hatching synchrony in the Greater Ani (Crotophaga major), a communally nesting bird in which several unrelated females contribute eggs to a large, shared clutch. Hatching synchrony is variable, ranging from complete synchrony to moderate asynchrony, and is determined by the onset of incubation of the communal clutch. Data from a 10-year field study indicate that individual reproductive success is highest in synchronous groups, and that nestlings that hatch in the middle of the hatching sequence are most likely to survive. Nestling mortality is high in asynchronous clutches because early-hatching nestlings are more likely to be killed by adult group members, whereas late-hatching nestlings are more likely to starve due competition with their older nest-mates. Therefore, the timing of hatching appears to be under stabilizing selection from infanticide and resource competition acting in concert. These results provide empirical support for models predicting that synchrony may evolve as an adaptive counter-strategy to infanticide, and they highlight the importance of competition in shaping the timing of reproduction in social groups. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Interactions of Patients with Schizophrenia Indicates Socio-Communicative Deficits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeno Kupper

Full Text Available Disordered interpersonal communication can be a serious problem in schizophrenia. Recent advances in computer-based measures allow reliable and objective quantification of nonverbal behavior. Research using these novel measures has shown that objective amounts of body and head movement in patients with schizophrenia during social interactions are closely related to the symptom profiles of these patients. In addition to and above mere amounts of movement, the degree of synchrony, or imitation, between patients and normal interactants may be indicative of core deficits underlying various problems in domains related to interpersonal communication, such as symptoms, social competence, and social functioning.Nonverbal synchrony was assessed objectively using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA in 378 brief, videotaped role-play scenes involving 27 stabilized outpatients diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia.Low nonverbal synchrony was indicative of symptoms, low social competence, impaired social functioning, and low self-evaluation of competence. These relationships remained largely significant when correcting for the amounts of patients' movement. When patients showed reduced imitation of their interactants' movements, negative symptoms were likely to be prominent. Conversely, positive symptoms were more prominent in patients when their interaction partners' imitation of their movements was reduced.Nonverbal synchrony can be an objective and sensitive indicator of the severity of patients' problems. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of nonverbal synchrony may provide novel insights into specific relationships between symptoms, cognition, and core communicative problems in schizophrenia.

Global Marine Fisheries with Economic Growth

OpenAIRE

Sugiawan, Yogi; Islam, Moinul; Managi, Shunsuke

2017-01-01

This study explores the state of global marine fisheries and empirically analyzes its relationship to economic factors. We apply the pooled mean group estimator method to examine 70 fishing countries for the period of 1961-2010. We use both catch and the estimated size of stock as proxies for marine ecosystems. Our results confirm that economic growth initially leads to the deterioration of marine ecosystems. However, for a per capita income level of approximately 3,827 USD for the catch mode...

Network periodic solutions: patterns of phase-shift synchrony

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golubitsky, Martin; Wang, Yunjiao; Romano, David

2012-01-01

We prove the rigid phase conjecture of Stewart and Parker. It then follows from previous results (of Stewart and Parker and our own) that rigid phase-shifts in periodic solutions on a transitive network are produced by a cyclic symmetry on a quotient network. More precisely, let X(t) = (x 1 (t), ..., x n (t)) be a hyperbolic T-periodic solution of an admissible system on an n-node network. Two nodes c and d are phase-related if there exists a phase-shift θ cd in [0, 1) such that x d (t) = x c (t + θ cd T). The conjecture states that if phase relations persist under all small admissible perturbations (that is, the phase relations are rigid), then for each pair of phase-related cells, their input signals are also phase-related to the same phase-shift. For a transitive network, rigid phase relations can also be described abstractly as a Z m permutation symmetry of a quotient network. We discuss how patterns of phase-shift synchrony lead to rigid synchrony, rigid phase synchrony, and rigid multirhythms, and we show that for each phase pattern there exists an admissible system with a periodic solution with that phase pattern. Finally, we generalize the results to nontransitive networks where we show that the symmetry that generates rigid phase-shifts occurs on an extension of a quotient network

Geostatistical modelling of the spatial life history of post-larval deepwater hake Merluccius paradoxus in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, T; Kristensen, K; Fairweather, T. P.

2017-01-01

paradoxus are not reflected in the current assessment and management practices for the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem. In this study, we compiled data from multiple demersal trawl surveys from the entire distribution area and applied state-of the-art geostatistical population modelling (Geo...

Climate warming and estuarine and marine coastal ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, V.S.

1994-01-01

Estuaries are physically controlled, resilient coastal ecosystems harboring environmentally tolerant species in diluted seawater. Marine coastal systems are less stressed physically and contain some environmentally less tolerant species. Both systems are biologically productive and economically significant. Because of their complex structure and function, it is difficult to predict accurately the effects of climate change, but some broad generalizations can be made. If climate warming occurs, it will raise sea-level, heat shallow waters, and modify precipitation, wind, and water circulation patterns. Rapid sea-level rise could cause the loss of salt marshes, mangrove swamps, and coral reefs, thus diminishing the ecological roles of these highly productive systems. Warmer waters could eliminate heat-sensitive species from part of their geographical range while allowing heat-tolerant species to expand their range, depending on their ability to disperse. Most thermally influenced losses of species will probably only be local, but changed distributions may lead to changed community function. It is more difficult to predict the effects of modified precipitation, wind, and water circulation patterns, but changes could affect organisms dependent on such patterns for food production (e.g., in upwelling regions) or for retention in estuaries. Aquacultural and fishery-related enterprises would be affected negatively in some regions and positively in others. 73 refs

Fisheries management, the ecosystem approach, regionalisation and the elephants in the room

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoof, van L.J.W.

2015-01-01

Many definitions of the ecosystem approach circulate, the common denominator being the system approach which seeks to take the entirety of a marine ecosystem into consideration. As marine ecosystems cover large geographical areas this approach calls for cooperation between the riparian states. This

Combined effects of global climate change and regional ecosystem drivers on an exploited marine food web

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niiranen, S.; Yletyinen, J.; Tomczak, M.T.

2013-01-01

approach to project how the interaction of climate, nutrient loads, and cod fishing may affect the future of the open Central Baltic Sea food web. Regionally downscaled global climate scenarios were, in combination with three nutrient load scenarios, used to drive an ensemble of three regional...... biogeochemical models (BGMs). An Ecopath with Ecosim food web model was then forced with the BGM results from different nutrient-climate scenarios in combination with two different cod fishing scenarios. The results showed that regional management is likely to play a major role in determining the future......Changes in climate, in combination with intensive exploitation of marine resources, have caused large-scale reorganizations in many of the world's marine ecosystems during the past decades. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is one of the systems most affected. In addition to being exposed...

Neural synchrony in cortical networks: history, concept and current status

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Uhlhaas

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Following the discovery of context-dependent synchronization of oscillatory neuronal responses in the visual system, the role of neural synchrony in cortical networks has been expanded to provide a general mechanism for the coordination of distributed neural activity patterns. In the current paper, we present an update of the status of this hypothesis through summarizing recent results from our laboratory that suggest important new insights regarding the mechanisms, function and relevance of this phenomenon. In the first part, we present recent results derived from animal experiments and mathematical simulations that provide novel explanations and mechanisms for zero and nero-zero phase lag synchronization. In the second part, we shall discuss the role of neural synchrony for expectancy during perceptual organization and its role in conscious experience. This will be followed by evidence that indicates that in addition to supporting conscious cognition, neural synchrony is abnormal in major brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. We conclude this paper with suggestions for further research as well as with critical issues that need to be addressed in future studies.

Interactional synchrony in chimpanzees: Examination through a finger-tapping experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lira; Tomonaga, Masaki

2015-05-11

Humans often unconsciously coordinate behaviour with that of others in daily life. This interpersonal coordination, including mimicry and interactional synchrony, has been suggested to play a fundamental role in social interaction. If this coordinative behavior is socially adaptive, it may be shared with other highly social animal species. The current study targeted chimpanzees, which phylogenetically are the closest living relatives of humans and live in complex social groups, and examined whether interactional synchrony would emerge in pairs of chimpanzees when auditory information about a partner's movement was provided. A finger-tapping task was introduced via touch panels to elicit repetitive and rhythmic movement from each chimpanzee. We found that one of four chimpanzees produced significant changes in both tapping tempo and timing of the tapping relative to its partner's tap when auditory sounds were provided. Although the current results may have limitations in generalizing to chimpanzees as a species, we suggest that a finger-tapping task is one potential method to investigate interactional synchrony in chimpanzees under a laboratory setup.

Marine mammal strandings and environmental changes: a 15-year study in the St. Lawrence ecosystem.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie-Hélène Truchon

promising step in integrating stranding records to monitor the consequences of environmental changes in marine ecosystems over long time scales.

Mother-adolescent physiological synchrony in naturalistic settings: within-family cortisol associations and moderators.

Science.gov (United States)

Papp, Lauren M; Pendry, Patricia; Adam, Emma K

2009-12-01

In this study, the authors examined parent-adolescent cortisol associations in 45 families with adolescent children (24 girls; M age = 15.78 years, SD = 1.44 years). Family members' salivary cortisol levels were measured seven times a day on 2 typical weekdays. Family members provided reports of demographic and health variables, and adolescents rated parent-child relationship characteristics. After accounting for the effects of time of day and relevant demographic and health control variables on cortisol levels, hierarchical linear models indicated the presence of significant covariation over time in mother-adolescent cortisol (i.e., physiological synchrony). Furthermore, moderating tests revealed that mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony was strengthened among dyads characterized by mothers and adolescents spending more time together, and in families rated higher on levels of parent-youth shared activities and parental monitoring or supervision. Analysis of momentary characteristics indicated that maternal presence at the time of cortisol sampling lowered adolescent cortisol levels but did not account for mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony. Within-family physiological synchrony was amplified in momentary contexts of elevated maternal negative affect and elevated adolescent negative affect.

Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: coupled dynamics and effects on marine life.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobler, Christopher J; Baumann, Hannes

2016-05-01

There is increasing recognition that low dissolved oxygen (DO) and low pH conditions co-occur in many coastal and open ocean environments. Within temperate ecosystems, these conditions not only develop seasonally as temperatures rise and metabolic rates accelerate, but can also display strong diurnal variability, especially in shallow systems where photosynthetic rates ameliorate hypoxia and acidification by day. Despite the widespread, global co-occurrence of low pH and low DO and the likelihood that these conditions may negatively impact marine life, very few studies have actually assessed the extent to which the combination of both stressors elicits additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects in marine organisms. We review the evidence from published factorial experiments that used static and/or fluctuating pH and DO levels to examine different traits (e.g. survival, growth, metabolism), life stages and species across a broad taxonomic spectrum. Additive negative effects of combined low pH and low DO appear to be most common; however, synergistic negative effects have also been observed. Neither the occurrence nor the strength of these synergistic impacts is currently predictable, and therefore, the true threat of concurrent acidification and hypoxia to marine food webs and fisheries is still not fully understood. Addressing this knowledge gap will require an expansion of multi-stressor approaches in experimental and field studies, and the development of a predictive framework. In consideration of marine policy, we note that DO criteria in coastal waters have been developed without consideration of concurrent pH levels. Given the persistence of concurrent low pH-low DO conditions in estuaries and the increased mortality experienced by fish and bivalves under concurrent acidification and hypoxia compared with hypoxia alone, we conclude that such DO criteria may leave coastal fisheries more vulnerable to population reductions than previously anticipated. © 2016

Biogeochemical cycling of lignocellulosic carbon in marine and freshwater ecosystems: relative contributions of procaryotes and eucaryotes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benner, R.; Moran, M.A.; Hodson, R.E.

1986-01-01

The relative contributions of procaryotes and eucaryotes to the degradation of the lignin and polysaccharide components of lignocellulosic detritus in two marine and two freshwater wetland ecosystems were determined. Two independent methods - physical separation of bacteria from fungi and other eucaryotes by size fractionation, and antibiotic treatments - were used to estimate procaryotic and eucaryotic contributions to the degradation of [ 14 C-lignin]lignocelluloses and [ 13 C-polysaccharide]lignocelluloses in samples of water and decaying plant material from each environment. Both methods yielded similar results; bacteria were the predominant degraders of lignocellulose in each of the aquatic ecosystems. These results indicate a basic difference between the microbial degradation of lignocellulosic material in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Fungi have long been considered the predominant degraders of lignocellulose in terrestrial systems; our results indicate that in aquatic systems bacteria are the predominant degraders of lignocellulose

Measuring Multimodal Synchrony for Human-Computer Interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reidsma, Dennis; Nijholt, Antinus; Tschacher, Wolfgang; Ramseyer, Fabian; Sourin, A.

2010-01-01

Nonverbal synchrony is an important and natural element in human-human interaction. It can also play various roles in human-computer interaction. In particular this is the case in the interaction between humans and the virtual humans that inhabit our cyberworlds. Virtual humans need to adapt their

An Association between Auditory-Visual Synchrony Processing and Reading Comprehension: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Mossbridge, Julia; Zweig, Jacob; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2017-03-01

The perceptual system integrates synchronized auditory-visual signals in part to promote individuation of objects in cluttered environments. The processing of auditory-visual synchrony may more generally contribute to cognition by synchronizing internally generated multimodal signals. Reading is a prime example because the ability to synchronize internal phonological and/or lexical processing with visual orthographic processing may facilitate encoding of words and meanings. Consistent with this possibility, developmental and clinical research has suggested a link between reading performance and the ability to compare visual spatial/temporal patterns with auditory temporal patterns. Here, we provide converging behavioral and electrophysiological evidence suggesting that greater behavioral ability to judge auditory-visual synchrony (Experiment 1) and greater sensitivity of an electrophysiological marker of auditory-visual synchrony processing (Experiment 2) both predict superior reading comprehension performance, accounting for 16% and 25% of the variance, respectively. These results support the idea that the mechanisms that detect auditory-visual synchrony contribute to reading comprehension.

A motion capture study to measure the feeling of synchrony in romantic couples and in professional musicians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Preissmann

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed that the subjective feeling of synchrony in subjects involved in a mirror imitation task was modulated by objective behavioral measures, as well as contextual factors such as task difficulty and duration of the task performance. In the present study, we extended our methodology to investigate possible interindividual differences. We hypothesized that being in a romantic relationship or being a professional musician can modulate both implicit and explicit synchronisation and the feeling of synchrony as well as the ability to detect synchrony from a third person perspective. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant differences between people in a romantic relationship and control subjects. However, we observed differences between musicians and control subjects. For the implicit synchrony (spontaneous synchronization during walking, the results revealed that musicians that had never met before spontaneously synchronized their movements earlier among themselves than control subjects, but not better than people sharing a romantic relationship. Moreover, in explicit behavioral synchronisation tasks (mirror game, musicians reported earlier feeling of synchrony and had less speed errors than control subjects. This was in interaction with tasks difficulty as these differences appeared only in tasks with intermediate difficulty. Finally, when subjects had to judge synchrony from a third person perspective, musicians had a better performance to identify if they were present or not in the videos. Taken together, our results suggest that being a professional musician can play a role in the feeling of synchrony and its underlying mechanisms.

Brief Report: A Pilot Study of Parent-Child Biobehavioral Synchrony in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Jason K.; Fenning, Rachel M.; Howland, Mariann A.; Baucom, Brian R.; Moffitt, Jacquelyn; Erath, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

The theory of biobehavioral synchrony proposes that the predictive power of parent-child attunement likely lies in the manner with which behaviors are aligned with relevant biological processes. Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may challenge the formation of behavioral and physiological synchrony, but maintenance of such parent-child…

Interpersonal synchrony enhanced through 20 Hz phase-coupled dual brain stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Knoblich, Günther; Dunne, Laura; Keller, Peter E.

2017-01-01

Abstract Synchronous movement is a key component of social behavior in several species including humans. Recent theories have suggested a link between interpersonal synchrony of brain oscillations and interpersonal movement synchrony. The present study investigated this link. Using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over the left motor cortex, we induced beta band (20 Hz) oscillations in pairs of individuals who both performed a finger-tapping task with the right hand. In-phase or anti-phase oscillations were delivered during a preparatory period prior to movement and while the tapping task was performed. In-phase 20 Hz stimulation enhanced interpersonal movement synchrony, compared with anti-phase or sham stimulation, particularly for the initial taps following the preparatory period. This was confirmed in an analysis comparing real vs pseudo pair surrogate data. No enhancement was observed for stimulation frequencies of 2 Hz (matching the target movement frequency) or 10 Hz (alpha band). Thus, phase-coupling of beta band neural oscillations across two individuals’ (resting) motor cortices supports the interpersonal alignment of sensorimotor processes that regulate rhythmic action initiation, thereby facilitating the establishment of synchronous movement. Phase-locked dual brain stimulation provides a promising method to study causal effects of interpersonal brain synchrony on social, sensorimotor and cognitive processes. PMID:28119510

POPULATION SYNCHRONY WITHIN AND AMONG LEPIDOPTERA SPECIES IN RELATION TO WEATHER, PHYLOGENY, AND LARVEL PHENOLOGY

Science.gov (United States)

1. The population dynamics of native herbivore species in central Appalachian deciduous forests were studied by analysing patterns of synchrony among intra- and interspecific populations and weather. 2. Spatial synchrony of 10 Lepidoptera species and three weather variables (min...

Assessment of Marine Litter in the Barents Sea, a Part of the Joint Norwegian–Russian Ecosystem Survey

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Bjørn E. Grøsvik

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study presents a large-scale monitoring of marine litter performed in the joint Norwegian–Russian ecosystem monitoring surveys in the period from 2010 to 2016 and contribute to documentation of the extent of marine litter in the Barents Sea. The distribution and abundance of marine litter were calculated by recordings of bycatch from the pelagic trawling in upper 60 m, from bottom trawling close to the sea floor, and floating marine debris at surface by visual observations. The study is comprehensive regarding coverage and number with registrations from 2,265 pelagic trawls and 1,860 bottom trawls, in addition to surface registration between the stations. Marine litter has been recorded from 301 pelagic and 624 of the bottom trawl catches. In total, 784 visual observations of floating marine debris were recorded during the period. Marine litter has been categorized according to volume or weight of the material types plastic, wood, metal, rubber, glass, paper, and textile. Marine litter is observed in the entire Barents Sea and distribution vary with material densities, ocean currents and depth. Plastic dominated number of observations with marine litter, as 72% of surface observations, 94% of pelagic trawls, and 86% of bottom trawls contained plastic. Observations of wood constituted 19% of surface observations, 1% of pelagic trawls, and 17% of bottom trawls with marine litter. Materials from other categories such as metal, rubber, paper, textile, and glass were observed sporadically. Recordings of wood dominated surface observations (61.9 ± 21.6% by volume and on seafloor (59.4 ± 35.0% by weight, while plastic dominated marine litter observations in upper 60 m depth (86.4 ± 16.5% by weight over these 7 years. Based on recordings and volume or area covered, mean levels of plastic in the upper 60 m of the Barents Sea were found to 0.011 mg m−3 (pelagic and 2.9 kg km−2 at sea floor over the study period. Average levels of marine

Megafauna of vulnerable marine ecosystems in French mediterranean submarine canyons: Spatial distribution and anthropogenic impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Fabri, M.-C.; Pedel, L.; Beuck, L.; Galgani, F.; Hebbeln, D.; Freiwald, A.

2014-06-01

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) in the deep Mediterranean Sea have been identified by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean as consisting of communities of Scleractinia (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), Pennatulacea (Funiculina quadrangularis) and Alcyonacea (Isidella elongata). This paper deals with video data recorded in the heads of French Mediterranean canyons. Quantitative observations were extracted from 101 video films recorded during the MEDSEACAN cruise in 2009 (Aamp/Comex). Qualitative information was extracted from four other cruises (two Marum/Comex cruises in 2009 and 2011 and two Ifremer cruises in 1995 and 2010) to support the previous observations in the Cassidaigne and Lacaze-Duthiers canyons. All the species, fishing impacts and litter recognized in the video films recorded from 180 to 700 m depth were mapped using GIS. The abundances and distributions of benthic fishing resources (marketable fishes, Aristeidae, Octopodidae), Vulnerable Marine Species, trawling scars and litter of 17 canyons were calculated and compared, as was the open slope between the Stoechades and Toulon canyons. Funiculina quadrangularis was rarely observed, being confined for the most part to the Marti canyon and, I. elongata was abundant in three canyons (Bourcart, Marti, Petit-Rhône). These two cnidarians were encountered in relatively low abundances, and it may be that they have been swept away by repeated trawling. The Lacaze-Duthiers and Cassidaigne canyons comprised the highest densities and largest colony sizes of scleractinian cold-water corals, whose distribution was mapped in detail. These colonies were often seen to be entangled in fishing lines. The alcyonacean Callogorgia verticillata was observed to be highly abundant in the Bourcart canyon and less abundant in several other canyons. This alcyonacean was also severely affected by bottom fishing gears and is proposed as a Vulnerable Marine Species. Our studies on anthropogenic

Effects of exotic fish farms on bird communities in lake and marine ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, Jaime E.; Arriagada, Aldo M.; Fontúrbel, Francisco E.; Camus, Patricio A.; Ávila-Thieme, M. Isidora

2013-08-01

Salmon farming is a widespread activity around the world, also known to promote diverse environmental effects on aquatic ecosystems. However, information regarding the impact of salmon farming on bird assemblages is notably scarce. We hypothesize that salmon farming, by providing food subsidies and physical structures to birds, will change their local community structure. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a seasonal monitoring of bird richness, abundance, and composition at paired salmon pen and control plots in two marine and two lake sites in southern Chile, from fall 2002 to summer 2004. Overall, salmon farming had no significant effects on species richness, but bird abundance was significantly and noticeably higher in salmon pens than in controls. Such aggregation was mainly accounted for by the trophic guilds of omnivores, diving piscivores, carrion eaters, and perching piscivores, but not by invertebrate feeders, herbivores, and surface feeders. Species composition was also significantly and persistently different between salmon pens and controls within each lake or marine locality. The patterns described above remained consistent across environment types and seasons indicating that salmon farming is changing the community structure of birds in both lake and marine habitats by promoting functional and aggregation responses, particularly by favoring species with broader niches. Such local patterns may thus anticipate potential threats from the ongoing expansion of the salmon industry to neighboring areas in Chile, resulting in regional changes of bird communities, toward a less diverse one and dominated by opportunistic, common, and generalist species such as gulls, vultures, and cormorants.

Cumulative human impacts on marine predators.

Science.gov (United States)

Maxwell, Sara M; Hazen, Elliott L; Bograd, Steven J; Halpern, Benjamin S; Breed, Greg A; Nickel, Barry; Teutschel, Nicole M; Crowder, Larry B; Benson, Scott; Dutton, Peter H; Bailey, Helen; Kappes, Michelle A; Kuhn, Carey E; Weise, Michael J; Mate, Bruce; Shaffer, Scott A; Hassrick, Jason L; Henry, Robert W; Irvine, Ladd; McDonald, Birgitte I; Robinson, Patrick W; Block, Barbara A; Costa, Daniel P

2013-01-01

Stressors associated with human activities interact in complex ways to affect marine ecosystems, yet we lack spatially explicit assessments of cumulative impacts on ecologically and economically key components such as marine predators. Here we develop a metric of cumulative utilization and impact (CUI) on marine predators by combining electronic tracking data of eight protected predator species (n=685 individuals) in the California Current Ecosystem with data on 24 anthropogenic stressors. We show significant variation in CUI with some of the highest impacts within US National Marine Sanctuaries. High variation in underlying species and cumulative impact distributions means that neither alone is sufficient for effective spatial management. Instead, comprehensive management approaches accounting for both cumulative human impacts and trade-offs among multiple stressors must be applied in planning the use of marine resources.

A Motion Capture Study to Measure the Feeling of Synchrony in Romantic Couples and in Professional Musicians

KAUST Repository

Preissmann, Delphine

2016-10-27

The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed that the subjective feeling of synchrony in subjects involved in a mirror imitation task was modulated by objective behavioral measures, as well as contextual factors such as task difficulty and duration of the task performance. In the present study, we extended our methodology to investigate possible interindividual differences. We hypothesized that being in a romantic relationship or being a professional musician can modulate both implicit and explicit synchronization and the feeling of synchrony as well as the ability to detect synchrony from a third person perspective. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant differences between people in a romantic relationship and control subjects. However, we observed differences between musicians and control subjects. For the implicit synchrony (spontaneous synchronization during walking), the results revealed that musicians that had never met before spontaneously synchronized their movements earlier among themselves than control subjects, but not better than people sharing a romantic relationship. Moreover, in explicit behavioral synchronization tasks (mirror game), musicians reported earlier feeling of synchrony and had less speed errors than control subjects. This was in interaction with tasks difficulty as these differences appeared only in tasks with intermediate difficulty. Finally, when subjects had to judge synchrony from a third person perspective, musicians had a better performance to identify if they were present or not in the videos. Taken together, our results suggest that being a professional musician can play a role in the feeling of synchrony and its underlying mechanisms. © 2016 Preissmann, Charbonnier, Chagué, Antonietti, Llobera, Ansermet and Magistretti.

A joint behavioral and emotive analysis of synchrony in music therapy of children with autism spectrum disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Venuti

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background Synchrony is an essential component of interactive exchanges. In mother-infant interaction, synchrony underlies reciprocity and emotive regulation. A severe lack of synchrony is indeed a core issue within the communication and interaction deficit that characterizes autism spectrum disorders (ASD in accordance with the DSM-5 classification. Based on emerging evidence that music therapy can improve the communication and regulation ability in children with ASD, we aim to verify quantitatively whether: 1 children with ASD improve synchrony with their therapist during music therapy sessions, and 2 this ability persists in different structured contexts. Participants and procedure Twenty-five children, aged from 4 to 6 years (M = 57.80, SD = 16.70, with an autistic disorder diagnosis based on DSM IV-TR and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS, participated in the study. An observational tool for coding behaviors and emotive states of synchrony (Child Behavioral and Emotional status Code [CBEC] and Adult Behavioral and Emotional status Code [ABEC] was applied in video recorded sessions of improvisational music therapy (IMT for the subject-therapist pair. For each subject, we considered the 20 central minutes of the first, tenth and twentieth session of IMT. To verify the persistence of effect in a different context with a different adult, we administered and coded the interactive ADOS section (anticipation of a routine with objects applied after session 20 of therapy. Results During the IMT cycle, the amount of synchronic activity increases, with a significant difference from Session 1 to Session 20 in behavioral synchrony and emotional attunement. Also, the increase of synchrony is confirmed at the end of the therapy cycle as measured by an interactive ADOS section. Conclusions Synchrony is an effective indicator of efficacy for music therapy in children with ASD, in particular to evaluate the expansion of positive emotive

Methodological challenges in assessing the environmental status of a marine ecosystem: case study of the Baltic Sea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henn Ojaveer

Full Text Available Assessments of the environmental status of marine ecosystems are increasingly needed to inform management decisions and regulate human pressures to meet the objectives of environmental policies. This paper addresses some generic methodological challenges and related uncertainties involved in marine ecosystem assessment, using the central Baltic Sea as a case study. The objectives of good environmental status of the Baltic Sea are largely focusing on biodiversity, eutrophication and hazardous substances. In this paper, we conduct comparative evaluations of the status of these three segments, by applying different methodological approaches. Our analyses indicate that the assessment results are sensitive to a selection of indicators for ecological quality objectives that are affected by a broad spectrum of human activities and natural processes (biodiversity, less so for objectives that are influenced by a relatively narrow array of drivers (eutrophications, hazardous substances. The choice of indicator aggregation rule appeared to be of essential importance for assessment results for all three segments, whereas the hierarchical structure of indicators had only a minor influence. Trend-based assessment was shown to be a useful supplement to reference-based evaluation, being independent of the problems related to defining reference values and indicator aggregation methodologies. Results of this study will help in setting priorities for future efforts to improve environmental assessments in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere, and to ensure the transparency of the assessment procedure.

Studies on marine ecosystem in particular emphasis on phytoplankton (lecture by the member awarded the oceanographic society of Japan prize for 1992). Shokubutsu plankton wo chushintoshita kaiyo seitaikei ni kansuru kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, M. (The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan). Faculty of Science)

1993-06-25

This paper, while introducing major study results of the author, summarizes his studies on ecosystems in lakes and oceans with respect mainly to phytoplanktons. The studies include the following subjects: A proposal on mathematical model equations to estimate growth of photosynthetic bacterial populations in deep lake beds; evaluation of stimulative effects for photosynthetic production provided by fertilizer application in lakes, and influences of phytoplanktons on population structures; evaluation on effects imposed on ecosystems from dumping chemical substances, as observed in experimental ecosystems that incorporate part of marine ecosystems; correlation between red-tide life absorbing proliferation stimulating substances and red tide generation; growth of high-concentration phytoplankton populations containing algae as a dominant species in local upwelling environments in oceans; and verification on establishment of specific phytoplankton populations containing pico-phytoplankton as a dominant species in oligotrophic environments in open seas. The paper mentions influences of the author's book, Biological Oceanographic Processes under joint authorship with Parsons on marine ecosystem researchers. 66 refs., 8 figs.

Geographic variation in forest composition and precipitation predict the synchrony of forest insect outbreaks

Science.gov (United States)

Kyle J. Haynes; Andrew M. Liebhold; Ottar N. Bjørnstad; Andrew J. Allstadt; Randall S. Morin

2018-01-01

Evaluating the causes of spatial synchrony in population dynamics in nature is notoriously difficult due to a lack of data and appropriate statistical methods. Here, we use a recently developed method, a multivariate extension of the local indicators of spatial autocorrelation statistic, to map geographic variation in the synchrony of gypsy moth outbreaks. Regression...

Seventy-one important questions for the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, E C M; Favaro, Brett; Aguirre, A Alonso; Bauer, Amy L; Blight, Louise K; Cigliano, John A; Coleman, Melinda A; Côté, Isabelle M; Draheim, Megan; Fletcher, Stephen; Foley, Melissa M; Jefferson, Rebecca; Jones, Miranda C; Kelaher, Brendan P; Lundquist, Carolyn J; McCarthy, Julie-Beth; Nelson, Anne; Patterson, Katheryn; Walsh, Leslie; Wright, Andrew J; Sutherland, William J

2014-10-01

The ocean provides food, economic activity, and cultural value for a large proportion of humanity. Our knowledge of marine ecosystems lags behind that of terrestrial ecosystems, limiting effective protection of marine resources. We describe the outcome of 2 workshops in 2011 and 2012 to establish a list of important questions, which, if answered, would substantially improve our ability to conserve and manage the world's marine resources. Participants included individuals from academia, government, and nongovernment organizations with broad experience across disciplines, marine ecosystems, and countries that vary in levels of development. Contributors from the fields of science, conservation, industry, and government submitted questions to our workshops, which we distilled into a list of priority research questions. Through this process, we identified 71 key questions. We grouped these into 8 subject categories, each pertaining to a broad component of marine conservation: fisheries, climate change, other anthropogenic threats, ecosystems, marine citizenship, policy, societal and cultural considerations, and scientific enterprise. Our questions address many issues that are specific to marine conservation, and will serve as a road map to funders and researchers to develop programs that can greatly benefit marine conservation. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants' Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerson, Sarah A; Schiavio, Andrea; Timmers, Renee; Hunnius, Sabine

2015-01-01

In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat) and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early) music perception and cognition.

Concepts and approaches for marine ecosystem research with reference to the tropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Wolff

2002-06-01

Full Text Available The present article gives an overview on the leading concepts and modelling approaches for marine ecosystems’ research including (1 The trophodynamic theory of pelagic ecosystems, (2 Compartment/network models, (3 Mesocosm experiments and (4 Individual based modelling approaches and virtual ecosystems (VE. The main research questions addressed, as well as the potential and limits of each approach, are summarized and discussed and it is shown how the concept of ecosystem has changed over time. Aquatic biomas spectra (derived from the theory of pelagic ecosystems can give insight into the trophic structure of different systems, and can show how organism sizes are distributed within the system and how different size groups participate in the system’s metabolism and production. Compartment/network models allow for a more detailed description of the trophic structure of ecosystems and of the energy/biomass fluxes through the explicit modelling of P/B-and food consumption rates and biomasses for each system compartment. Moreover, system indices for a characterization and comparison with other systems can be obtained such as average trophic efficiency, energy throughput, and degree of connectivity, degree of maturity, and others. Recent dynamic extensions of trophic network models allow for exploring past and future impacts of fishing and environmental disturbances as well as to explore policies such as marine protected areas. Mesocosm experiments address a multitude of questions related to aquatic processes (i.e. primary production, grazing, predation, energy transfer between trophic levels etc. and the behaviour of organisms (i.e. growth, migration, response to contaminants etc. under semi-natural conditions. As processes within mesocosms often differ in rate and magnitude from those occurring in nature, mesocosms should be viewed as large in vitro experiments designed to test selected components of the ecosystem and not as an attempt to enclose

Timing anthropogenic stressors to mitigate their impact on marine ecosystem resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Paul Pao-Yen; Mengersen, Kerrie; McMahon, Kathryn; Kendrick, Gary A; Chartrand, Kathryn; York, Paul H; Rasheed, Michael A; Caley, M Julian

2017-11-02

Better mitigation of anthropogenic stressors on marine ecosystems is urgently needed to address increasing biodiversity losses worldwide. We explore opportunities for stressor mitigation using whole-of-systems modelling of ecological resilience, accounting for complex interactions between stressors, their timing and duration, background environmental conditions and biological processes. We then search for ecological windows, times when stressors minimally impact ecological resilience, defined here as risk, recovery and resistance. We show for 28 globally distributed seagrass meadows that stressor scheduling that exploits ecological windows for dredging campaigns can achieve up to a fourfold reduction in recovery time and 35% reduction in extinction risk. Although the timing and length of windows vary among sites to some degree, global trends indicate favourable windows in autumn and winter. Our results demonstrate that resilience is dynamic with respect to space, time and stressors, varying most strongly with: (i) the life history of the seagrass genus and (ii) the duration and timing of the impacting stress.

Marine Ecological Footprint of Italian Mediterranean Fisheries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica de Leo

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The capacity of marine and coastal ecosystems to sustain seafood production and consumption is seldom accounted for and is not included in the signals that guide economic development. In this article, we review estimates of marine and coastal areas aimed at sustaining catches for seafood consumption. The aim of this paper is the assessment of the interactions between the environment, intended as a set of ecological subsystems in natural equilibrium, including the marine ecosystem, and the process of fisheries systems. In particular we analyze fisheries in Italy, which is the third biggest economy and the greatest consumer of seafood in the Eurozone, conducting an in-depth analysis of the Marine Ecological Footprint (MEF that evaluates the marine ecosystem area exploited by human populations to supply seafood and other marine products and services. The positioning of Italian fisheries shows a level of sustainability next to the threshold value. The analysis in the present study highlights the importance of absolute indicators in providing rough estimates about human dependence on ecological systems and recognizes the importance of those indicators, such as the Marine Footprint (expressed in % of Primary Production Required/Primary Production, in ensuring a high level of precision and accuracy in quantifying human activity impact on the environment.

Group Rhythmic Synchrony and Attention in Children

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Alexander K Khalil

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of time, is an often-overlooked yet critical context for human interaction. This study tests the relationship between the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting with the ability to attend in 102 elementary schoolchildren. Impairments in temporal processing have frequently been shown to exist in clinical populations with learning disorders, particularly those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD. Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting—an instance of the type of temporal processing necessary for successful interaction and learning—would be correlated with the ability to attend across the continuum of the population. A music class is an ideal setting for the study of interpersonal timing. In order to measure synchrony in this context, we constructed instruments that allowed the recording and measurement of individual rhythmic performance. The SWAN teacher questionnaire was used as a measurement of attentional behavior. We find that the ability to synchronize with others in a group music class can predict a child’s attentional behavior.

Culture fishery resources of the tropical marine ecosystems

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Parulekar, A.H.

The exploited marine living resources, through capture fisheries, have their own limitations of resource potential, marine pollution and ever increasing operational cost. A plausible way to fulfil the increasing demand of seafood is through...

A proposed ecosystem-based management system for marine waters: linking the theory of environmental policy to the practice of environmental management

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Rafael Sardà

2014-12-01

Full Text Available New coastal and marine management strategies have recently been developed in many countries and regions. From an ecosystem approach perspective, the aim of such strategies is the maintenance of ecosystem integrity while enabling the sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services. There is, however, a need for harmonized definitions and standardized processes to deal not only with the interjurisdictional and multidisciplinary complexities that are associated with such strategies but also with the extensive timelines and resources implicated in the planning and implementation of these strategies. The ecosystem-based management system proposed here is based on three pillars that facilitate the integration of an ecosystem approach to coastal and oceans policy development, regardless of the ecosystem or administrative scales. The managerial pillar is based on classical risk-management systems that incorporate environmental considerations and objectives within a continuous improvement cycle of adaptive management. The managerial pillar is supported by governance structures that provide oversight and thereby ensure that planning and implementation activities adhere to modern environmental principles. The information pillar ensures that data and scientific advice are based on current knowledge, and the participation pillar brings together communication and consultation requirements as indicated by the principles of the ecosystem approach.

52 Million Points and Counting: A New Stratification Approach for Mapping Global Marine Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, D. J.; Sayre, R.; Breyer, S.; Butler, K. A.; VanGraafeiland, K.; Goodin, K.; Kavanaugh, M.; Costello, M. J.; Cressie, N.; Basher, Z.; Harris, P. T.; Guinotte, J. M.

2016-12-01

We report progress on the Ecological Marine Units (EMU) project, a new undertaking commissioned by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) as a means of developing a standardized and practical global ecosystems classification and map for the oceans, and thus a key outcome of the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). The project is one of four components of the new GI-14 GEO Ecosystems Initiative within the GEO 2016 Transitional Work plan, and for eventual use by the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The project is also the follow-on to a comprehensive Ecological Land Units project (ELU), also commissioned by GEO. The EMU is comprised of a global point mesh framework, created from 52,487,233 points from the NOAA World Ocean Atlas; spatial resolution is ¼° by ¼° by varying depth; temporal resolution is currently decadal; each point has x, y, z, as well as six attributes of chemical and physical oceanographic structure (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate) that are likely drivers of many ecosystem responses. We implemented a k-means statistical clustering of the point mesh (using the pseudo-F statistic to help determine the numbers of clusters), allowing us to identify and map 37 environmentally distinct 3D regions (candidate `ecosystems') within the water column. These units can be attributed according to their productivity, direction and velocity of currents, species abundance, global seafloor geomorphology (from Harris et al.), and much more. A series of data products for open access will share the 3D point mesh and EMU clusters at the surface, bottom, and within the water column, as well as 2D and 3D web apps for exploration of the EMUs and the original World Ocean Atlas data. Future plans include a global delineation of Ecological Coastal Units (ECU) at a much finer spatial resolution (not yet commenced), as well as global ecological freshwater ecosystems (EFUs; in earliest planning stages). We will

Marine pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, R.B.

1992-01-01

The effects of petroleum, waste materials, halogenated hydrocarbons, radioactivity and heat on the marine ecosystem, the fishing industry and human health are discussed using the example of the North Sea. (orig.) [de

Effects of trophic skewing of species richness on ecosystem functioning in a diverse marine community.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pamela L Reynolds

Full Text Available Widespread overharvesting of top consumers of the world's ecosystems has "skewed" food webs, in terms of biomass and species richness, towards a generally greater domination at lower trophic levels. This skewing is exacerbated in locations where exotic species are predominantly low-trophic level consumers such as benthic macrophytes, detritivores, and filter feeders. However, in some systems where numerous exotic predators have been added, sometimes purposefully as in many freshwater systems, food webs are skewed in the opposite direction toward consumer dominance. Little is known about how such modifications to food web topology, e.g., changes in the ratio of predator to prey species richness, affect ecosystem functioning. We experimentally measured the effects of trophic skew on production in an estuarine food web by manipulating ratios of species richness across three trophic levels in experimental mesocosms. After 24 days, increasing macroalgal richness promoted both plant biomass and grazer abundance, although the positive effect on plant biomass disappeared in the presence of grazers. The strongest trophic cascade on the experimentally stocked macroalgae emerged in communities with a greater ratio of prey to predator richness (bottom-rich food webs, while stronger cascades on the accumulation of naturally colonizing algae (primarily microalgae with some early successional macroalgae that recruited and grew in the mesocosms generally emerged in communities with greater predator to prey richness (the more top-rich food webs. These results suggest that trophic skewing of species richness and overall changes in food web topology can influence marine community structure and food web dynamics in complex ways, emphasizing the need for multitrophic approaches to understand the consequences of marine extinctions and invasions.

Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants' Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions.

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Sarah A Gerson

Full Text Available In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early music perception and cognition.

Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants’ Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Timmers, Renee; Hunnius, Sabine

2015-01-01

In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat) and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early) music perception and cognition. PMID:26111226

Arseno-sugars from brown kelp (Ecklonia radiata) as intermediates in cycling of Arsenic in a marine ecosystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edmonds, J S; Francesconi, K A

1981-02-12

The high concentration (relative to seawater) of arsenic in many marine animals eaten as human food has stimulated interest in the cycling of arsenic in the marine environment. Although arsenic is present in arsenobetaine ((CH/sub 3/)/sub 3/As/sup +/CH/sub 2/COO/sup -/) in the wester rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus), the dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) and the school whiting (Sillago bassensis) it is not clear what intermediate stages are involved in the biosynthesis of this compound from arsenate, the major form of arsnenic in seawater. We now report the isolation of the two main arsenical constituents of the brown kelp, Ecklonia radiata, and their identification as a 2-hydroxy-3-sulphopropyl-5-deoxy-5-(dimethylarsenoso)furanoside and a 2,3-dihydroxypropyl-5-deoxy-5-(dimethylarsenoso)furanoside. A ..beta..-ribo structure for the sugar system is strongly indicated in each case. Ecklonia is the major organisms that concentrates arsenic in the coastal ecosystem to which the western rock lobster and school whiting belong. It is clear that the compounds described here could readily be further metabolized to arsenobetaine and may well be the source of arsenobetaine in marine fauna associated with the region.

Activation of the marine ecosystem model 3D CEMBS for the Baltic Sea in operational mode

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Dzierzbicka-Glowacka, Lidia; Jakacki, Jaromir; Janecki, Maciej; Nowicki, Artur

2013-04-01

The paper presents a new marine ecosystem model 3D CEMBS designed for the Baltic Sea. The ecosystem model is incorporated into the 3D POPCICE ocean-ice model. The Current Baltic Sea model is based on the Community Earth System Model (CESM from the National Center for Atmospheric Research) which was adapted for the Baltic Sea as a coupled sea-ice model. It consists of the Community Ice Code (CICE model, version 4.0) and the Parallel Ocean Program (version 2.1). The ecosystem model is a biological submodel of the 3D CEMBS. It consists of eleven mass conservation equations. There are eleven partial second-order differential equations of the diffusion type with the advective term for phytoplankton, zooplankton, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved and particulate organic matter. This model is an effective tool for solving the problem of ecosystem bioproductivity. The model is forced by 48-hour atmospheric forecasts provided by the UM model from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling of Warsaw University (ICM). The study was financially supported by the Polish State Committee of Scientific Research (grants: No N N305 111636, N N306 353239). The partial support for this study was also provided by the project Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment - SatBaltyk founded by European Union through European Regional Development Fund contract no. POIG 01.01.02-22-011/09. Calculations were carried out at the Academy Computer Centre in Gdańsk.

Fish mitigate trophic depletion in marine cave ecosystems.

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Bussotti, Simona; Di Franco, Antonio; Bianchi, Carlo Nike; Chevaldonné, Pierre; Egea, Lea; Fanelli, Emanuela; Lejeusne, Christophe; Musco, Luigi; Navarro-Barranco, Carlos; Pey, Alexis; Planes, Serge; Vieux-Ingrassia, Jean Vincent; Guidetti, Paolo

2018-06-15

Dark marine habitats are often characterized by a food-limited condition. Peculiar dark habitats include marine caves, characterized by the absence of light and limited water flow, which lead to reduced fluxes of organic matter for cave-dwelling organisms. We investigated whether the most abundant and common cave-dwelling fish Apogon imberbis has the potential to play the role of trophic vector in Mediterranean marine caves. We first analysed stomach contents to check whether repletion changes according to a nycthemeral cycle. We then identified the prey items, to see whether they belong to species associated with cave habitats or not. Finally, we assessed whether A. imberbis moves outside marine caves at night to feed, by collecting visual census data on A. imberbis density both inside and outside caves, by day and by night. The stomach repletion of individuals sampled early in the morning was significantly higher than later in the day. Most prey were typical of habitats other than caves. A. imberbis was on average more abundant within caves during the day and outside during the night. Our study supports the hypothesis regarding the crucial trophic role of A. imberbis in connecting Mediterranean marine caves with external habitats.

Fukushima Daiichi - delivery of contaminated water into the Pacific ocean and possible consequences for the marine ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nies, Hartmut

2015-01-01

The nuclear power plant Fukushima Daiichi is sited at the coast of the Japanese island Honshu. Most of the cooling water for the three destroyed reactors units 1-3 and the nuclear fuel in the spent fuel pool of unit-4 were uncontrolled delivered into the groundwater and the Pacific Ocean. As a consequence high concentrations of I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 in the coastal waters have to be assumed. The contribution analyzed the possible consequences for the marine ecosystem. A drift time of 5 to 7 years toward the coast of North America is expected. The planning of the marine monitoring program MEXT is described. Radiation measurements in the coastal water up to 200 km distance from Daiichi were performed. The highest radionuclide concentrations of Cs-137 and Cs-134 were found in the fine grained sediments. No increased radioactivity in seafood is expected.

Utilizing time-frequency amplitude and phase synchrony measure to assess feedback processing in a gambling task.

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Watts, Adreanna T M; Tootell, Anne V; Fix, Spencer T; Aviyente, Selin; Bernat, Edward M

2018-04-29

The neurophysiological mechanisms involved in the evaluation of performance feedback have been widely studied in the ERP literature over the past twenty years, but understanding has been limited by the use of traditional time-domain amplitude analytic approaches. Gambling outcome valence has been identified as an important factor modulating event-related potential (ERP) components, most notably the feedback negativity (FN). Recent work employing time-frequency analysis has shown that processes indexed by the FN are confounded in the time-domain and can be better represented as separable feedback-related processes in the theta (3-7 Hz) and delta (0-3 Hz) frequency bands. In addition to time-frequency amplitude analysis, phase synchrony measures have begun to further our understanding of performance evaluation by revealing how feedback information is processed within and between various brain regions. The current study aimed to provide an integrative assessment of time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony changes following monetary feedback in a gambling task. Results revealed that time-frequency amplitude activity explained separable loss and gain processes confounded in the time-domain. Furthermore, phase synchrony measures explained unique variance above and beyond amplitude measures and demonstrated enhanced functional integration between medial prefrontal and bilateral frontal, motor, and occipital regions for loss relative to gain feedback. These findings demonstrate the utility of assessing time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony together to better elucidate the neurophysiology of feedback processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Going with the flow: the role of ocean circulation in global marine ecosystems under a changing climate.

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van Gennip, Simon J; Popova, Ekaterina E; Yool, Andrew; Pecl, Gretta T; Hobday, Alistair J; Sorte, Cascade J B

2017-07-01

Ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation and reduced productivity are widely considered to be the major stressors to ocean ecosystems induced by emissions of CO 2 . However, an overlooked stressor is the change in ocean circulation in response to climate change. Strong changes in the intensity and position of the western boundary currents have already been observed, and the consequences of such changes for ecosystems are beginning to emerge. In this study, we address climatically induced changes in ocean circulation on a global scale but relevant to propagule dispersal for species inhabiting global shelf ecosystems, using a high-resolution global ocean model run under the IPCC RCP 8.5 scenario. The ¼ degree model resolution allows improved regional realism of the ocean circulation beyond that of available CMIP5-class models. We use a Lagrangian approach forced by modelled ocean circulation to simulate the circulation pathways that disperse planktonic life stages. Based on trajectory backtracking, we identify present-day coastal retention, dominant flow and dispersal range for coastal regions at the global scale. Projecting into the future, we identify areas of the strongest projected circulation change and present regional examples with the most significant modifications in their dominant pathways. Climatically induced changes in ocean circulation should be considered as an additional stressor of marine ecosystems in a similar way to ocean warming or acidification. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Marine Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Governance of the Oceans

OpenAIRE

Craig, Robin Kundis

2012-01-01

Governance of marine biodiversity has long suffered from lack of adequate information about the ocean’s many species and ecosystems. Nevertheless, even as we are learning much more about the ocean’s biodiversity and the impacts to it from stressors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and marine pollution, climate change is imposing new threats and exacerbating existing threats to marine species and ecosystems. Coastal nations could vastly improve their fragmented approaches to ocean gov...

The role of pre-existing disturbances in the effect of marine reserves on coastal ecosystems: a modelling approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Savina

Full Text Available We have used an end-to-end ecosystem model to explore responses over 30 years to coastal no-take reserves covering up to 6% of the fifty thousand square kilometres of continental shelf and slope off the coast of New South Wales (Australia. The model is based on the Atlantis framework, which includes a deterministic, spatially resolved three-dimensional biophysical model that tracks nutrient flows through key biological groups, as well as extraction by a range of fisheries. The model results support previous empirical studies in finding clear benefits of reserves to top predators such as sharks and rays throughout the region, while also showing how many of their major prey groups (including commercial species experienced significant declines. It was found that the net impact of marine reserves was dependent on the pre-existing levels of disturbance (i.e. fishing pressure, and to a lesser extent on the size of the marine reserves. The high fishing scenario resulted in a strongly perturbed system, where the introduction of marine reserves had clear and mostly direct effects on biomass and functional biodiversity. However, under the lower fishing pressure scenario, the introduction of marine reserves caused both direct positive effects, mainly on shark groups, and indirect negative effects through trophic cascades. Our study illustrates the need to carefully align the design and implementation of marine reserves with policy and management objectives. Trade-offs may exist not only between fisheries and conservation objectives, but also among conservation objectives.

Climate change impacts on U.S. coastal and marine ecosystems

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Scavia, Donald; Field, John C.; Boesch, Donald F.; Buddemeier, Robert W.; Burkett, Virginia; Cayan, Daniel R.; Fogarty, Michael; Harwell, Mark A.; Howarth, Robert W.; Mason, Curt; Reed, Denise J.; Royer, Thomas C.; Sallenger, Asbury H.; Titus, James G.

2002-01-01

Increases in concentrations of greenhouse gases projected for the 21st century are expected to lead to increased mean global air and ocean temperatures. The National Assessment of Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (NAST 2001) was based on a series of regional and sector assessments. This paper is a summary of the coastal and marine resources sector review of potential impacts on shorelines, estuaries, coastal wetlands, coral reefs, and ocean margin ecosystems. The assessment considered the impacts of several key drivers of climate change: sea level change; alterations in precipitation patterns and subsequent delivery of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment; increased ocean temperature; alterations in circulation patterns; changes in frequency and intensity of coastal storms; and increased levels of atmospheric CO2. Increasing rates of sea-level rise and intensity and frequency of coastal storms and hurricanes over the next decades will increase threats to shorelines, wetlands, and coastal development. Estuarine productivity will change in response to alteration in the timing and amount of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment delivery. Higher water temperatures and changes in freshwater delivery will alter estuarine stratification, residence time, and eutrophication. Increased ocean temperatures are expected to increase coral bleaching and higher CO2 levels may reduce coral calcification, making it more difficult for corals to recover from other disturbances, and inhibiting poleward shifts. Ocean warming is expected to cause poleward shifts in the ranges of many other organisms, including commercial species, and these shifts may have secondary effects on their predators and prey. Although these potential impacts of climate change and variability will vary from system to system, it is important to recognize that they will be superimposed upon, and in many cases intensify, other ecosystem stresses (pollution, harvesting, habitat destruction

Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology and NOAA National Ocean Service, Marine Sanctuary Program Partnership, in affiliation with the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program, 2007 Survey of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve: Digital Still Images (NODC Accession 0052882)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Rapid Assessment Transects were conducted in 2007 in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve....

More than reflections: Empathy in motivational interviewing includes language style synchrony between therapist and client

Science.gov (United States)

Lord, Sarah Peregrine; Sheng, Elisa; Imel, Zac E.; Baer, John; Atkins, David C.

2016-01-01

Empathy is a basic psychological process that involves the development of synchrony in dyads. It is also a foundational ingredient in specific, evidence-based behavioral treatments like motivational interviewing (MI). Ratings of therapist empathy typically rely on a gestalt, “felt sense” of therapist understanding and the presence of specific verbal behaviors like reflective listening. These ratings do not provide a direct test of psychological processes like behavioral synchrony that are theorized to be an important component of empathy in psychotherapy. To explore a new objective indicator of empathy, we hypothesized that synchrony in language style (i.e., matching how statements are phrased) between client and therapists would predict gestalt ratings of empathy over and above the contribution of reflections. We analyzed 122 MI transcripts with high and low empathy ratings based on the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) global rating scale. Linguistic inquiry and word count was used to estimate language style synchrony (LSS) of adjacent client and therapist talk turns. High empathy sessions showed greater LSS across 11 language style categories compared to low empathy sessions (p empathy vs. low empathy sessions (d = 0.62). Regression analyses showed that LSS was predictive of empathy ratings over and above reflection counts; a 1 SD increase in LSS is associated with 2.4 times increase in the odds of a high empathy rating, controlling for therapist reflections (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.36, 4.24, p empathy ratings are related to synchrony in language style, over and above synchrony of content as measured by therapist reflections. Novel indicators of therapist empathy may have implications for the study of MI process as well as the training of therapists. PMID:25892166

Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Mostofa, Khan M. G.; Liu, Cong-Qiang; Zhai, WeiDong; Minella, Marco; Vione, Davide; Gao, Kunshan; Minakata, Daisuke; Arakaki, Takemitsu; Yoshioka, Takahito; Hayakawa, Kazuhide; Konohira, Eiichi; Tanoue, Eiichiro; Akhand, Anirban; Chanda, Abhra; Wang, Baoli; Sakugawa, Hiroshi

2016-03-01

Ocean acidification, a complex phenomenon that lowers seawater pH, is the net outcome of several contributions. They include the dissolution of increasing atmospheric CO2 that adds up with dissolved inorganic carbon (dissolved CO2, H2CO3, HCO3-, and CO32-) generated upon mineralization of primary producers (PP) and dissolved organic matter (DOM). The aquatic processes leading to inorganic carbon are substantially affected by increased DOM and nutrients via terrestrial runoff, acidic rainfall, increased PP and algal blooms, nitrification, denitrification, sulfate reduction, global warming (GW), and by atmospheric CO2 itself through enhanced photosynthesis. They are consecutively associated with enhanced ocean acidification, hypoxia in acidified deeper seawater, pathogens, algal toxins, oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species, and thermal stress caused by longer stratification periods as an effect of GW. We discuss the mechanistic insights into the aforementioned processes and pH changes, with particular focus on processes taking place with different timescales (including the diurnal one) in surface and subsurface seawater. This review also discusses these collective influences to assess their potential detrimental effects to marine organisms, and of ecosystem processes and services. Our review of the effects operating in synergy with ocean acidification will provide a broad insight into the potential impact of acidification itself on biological processes. The foreseen danger to marine organisms by acidification is in fact expected to be amplified by several concurrent and interacting phenomena.

Spatio-temporal patterns of event-related potentials related to audiovisual synchrony judgments in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Yu Man; Pianta, Michael Julian; Bode, Stefan; McKendrick, Allison Maree

2017-07-01

Older adults have altered perception of the relative timing between auditory and visual stimuli, even when stimuli are scaled to equate detectability. To help understand why, this study investigated the neural correlates of audiovisual synchrony judgments in older adults using electroencephalography (EEG). Fourteen younger (18-32 year old) and 16 older (61-74 year old) adults performed an audiovisual synchrony judgment task on flash-pip stimuli while EEG was recorded. All participants were assessed to have healthy vision and hearing for their age. Observers responded to whether audiovisual pairs were perceived as synchronous or asynchronous via a button press. The results showed that the onset of predictive sensory information for synchrony judgments was not different between groups. Channels over auditory areas contributed more to this predictive sensory information than visual areas. The spatial-temporal profile of the EEG activity also indicates that older adults used different resources to maintain a similar level of performance in audiovisual synchrony judgments compared with younger adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamic ErbB4 Activity in Hippocampal-Prefrontal Synchrony and Top-Down Attention in Rodents.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Zhibing; Robinson, Heath L; Yin, Dong-Min; Liu, Yu; Liu, Fang; Wang, Hongsheng; Lin, Thiri W; Xing, Guanglin; Gan, Lin; Xiong, Wen-Cheng; Mei, Lin

2018-04-18

Top-down attention is crucial for meaningful behaviors and impaired in various mental disorders. However, its underpinning regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. We demonstrate that the hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony associates with levels of top-down attention. Both attention and synchrony are reduced in mutant mice of ErbB4, a receptor of neuregulin-1. We used chemical genetic and optogenetic approaches to inactivate ErbB4 kinase and ErbB4+ interneurons, respectively, both of which reduce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) activity. Such inhibitions in the hippocampus impair both hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony and top-down attention, whereas those in the prefrontal cortex alter attention, but not synchrony. These observations identify a role of ErbB4-dependent GABA activity in the hippocampus in synchronizing the hippocampal-prefrontal pathway and demonstrate that acute, dynamic ErbB4 signaling is required to command top-down attention. Because both neuregulin-1 and ErbB4 are susceptibility genes of schizophrenia and major depression, our study contributes to a better understanding of these disorders. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota.

Science.gov (United States)

Constable, Andrew J; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Corney, Stuart P; Arrigo, Kevin R; Barbraud, Christophe; Barnes, David K A; Bindoff, Nathaniel L; Boyd, Philip W; Brandt, Angelika; Costa, Daniel P; Davidson, Andrew T; Ducklow, Hugh W; Emmerson, Louise; Fukuchi, Mitsuo; Gutt, Julian; Hindell, Mark A; Hofmann, Eileen E; Hosie, Graham W; Iida, Takahiro; Jacob, Sarah; Johnston, Nadine M; Kawaguchi, So; Kokubun, Nobuo; Koubbi, Philippe; Lea, Mary-Anne; Makhado, Azwianewi; Massom, Rob A; Meiners, Klaus; Meredith, Michael P; Murphy, Eugene J; Nicol, Stephen; Reid, Keith; Richerson, Kate; Riddle, Martin J; Rintoul, Stephen R; Smith, Walker O; Southwell, Colin; Stark, Jonathon S; Sumner, Michael; Swadling, Kerrie M; Takahashi, Kunio T; Trathan, Phil N; Welsford, Dirk C; Weimerskirch, Henri; Westwood, Karen J; Wienecke, Barbara C; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Wright, Simon W; Xavier, Jose C; Ziegler, Philippe

2014-10-01

Antarctic and Southern Ocean (ASO) marine ecosystems have been changing for at least the last 30 years, including in response to increasing ocean temperatures and changes in the extent and seasonality of sea ice; the magnitude and direction of these changes differ between regions around Antarctica that could see populations of the same species changing differently in different regions. This article reviews current and expected changes in ASO physical habitats in response to climate change. It then reviews how these changes may impact the autecology of marine biota of this polar region: microbes, zooplankton, salps, Antarctic krill, fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, seabirds, and benthos. The general prognosis for ASO marine habitats is for an overall warming and freshening, strengthening of westerly winds, with a potential pole-ward movement of those winds and the frontal systems, and an increase in ocean eddy activity. Many habitat parameters will have regionally specific changes, particularly relating to sea ice characteristics and seasonal dynamics. Lower trophic levels are expected to move south as the ocean conditions in which they are currently found move pole-ward. For Antarctic krill and finfish, the latitudinal breadth of their range will depend on their tolerance of warming oceans and changes to productivity. Ocean acidification is a concern not only for calcifying organisms but also for crustaceans such as Antarctic krill; it is also likely to be the most important change in benthic habitats over the coming century. For marine mammals and birds, the expected changes primarily relate to their flexibility in moving to alternative locations for food and the energetic cost of longer or more complex foraging trips for those that are bound to breeding colonies. Few species are sufficiently well studied to make comprehensive species-specific vulnerability assessments possible. Priorities for future work are discussed. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cell synchrony techniques. I. A comparison of methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grdina, D.J.; Meistrich, M.L.; Meyn, R.E.; Johnson, T.S.; White, R.A.

1984-01-01

Selected cell synchrony techniques, as applied to asynchronous populations of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, have been compared. Aliquots from the same culture of exponentially growing cells were synchronized using mitotic selection, mitotic selection and hydroxyurea block, centrifugal elutriation, or an EPICS V cell sorter. Sorting of cells was achieved after staining cells with Hoechst 33258. After syncronization by the various methods the relative distribution of cells in G/sub 1/, S, or G/sub 2/ + M phases of the cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. Fractions of synchronized cells obtained from each method were replated and allowed to progress through a second cell cycle. Mitotic selection gave rise to relatively pure and unperturbed early G/sub 1/ phase cells. While cell synchrony rapidly dispersed with time, cells progressed through the cell cycle in 12 hr. Sorting with the EPIC V on the modal G/sub 1/ peak yielded a relatively pure but heterogeneous G/sub 1/ population (i.e. early to late G/sub 1/). Again, synchrony dispersed with time, but cell-cycle progression required 14 hr. With centrifugal elutriation, several different cell populations synchronized throughout the cell cycle could be rapidly obtained with a purity comparable to mitotic selection and cell sorting. It was concluded that, either alone or in combination with blocking agents such as hydroxyurea, elutriation and mitotic selection were both excellent methods for synchronizing CHO cells. Cell sorting exhibited limitations in sample size and time required for synchronizing CHO cells. Its major advantage would be its ability to isolate cell populations unique with respect to selected cellular parameters. 19 references, 9 figures.

Accounting for sampling error when inferring population synchrony from time-series data: a Bayesian state-space modelling approach with applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hugues Santin-Janin

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Data collected to inform time variations in natural population size are tainted by sampling error. Ignoring sampling error in population dynamics models induces bias in parameter estimators, e.g., density-dependence. In particular, when sampling errors are independent among populations, the classical estimator of the synchrony strength (zero-lag correlation is biased downward. However, this bias is rarely taken into account in synchrony studies although it may lead to overemphasizing the role of intrinsic factors (e.g., dispersal with respect to extrinsic factors (the Moran effect in generating population synchrony as well as to underestimating the extinction risk of a metapopulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The aim of this paper was first to illustrate the extent of the bias that can be encountered in empirical studies when sampling error is neglected. Second, we presented a space-state modelling approach that explicitly accounts for sampling error when quantifying population synchrony. Third, we exemplify our approach with datasets for which sampling variance (i has been previously estimated, and (ii has to be jointly estimated with population synchrony. Finally, we compared our results to those of a standard approach neglecting sampling variance. We showed that ignoring sampling variance can mask a synchrony pattern whatever its true value and that the common practice of averaging few replicates of population size estimates poorly performed at decreasing the bias of the classical estimator of the synchrony strength. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The state-space model used in this study provides a flexible way of accurately quantifying the strength of synchrony patterns from most population size data encountered in field studies, including over-dispersed count data. We provided a user-friendly R-program and a tutorial example to encourage further studies aiming at quantifying the strength of population synchrony to account for

Time-delay-induced phase-transition to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, Bhim Mani; Prasad, Awadhesh; Dhamala, Mukeshwar

2011-06-01

Signal transmission time delays in a network of nonlinear oscillators are known to be responsible for a variety of interesting dynamic behaviors including phase-flip transitions leading to synchrony or out of synchrony. Here, we uncover that phase-flip transitions are general phenomena and can occur in a network of coupled bursting neurons with a variety of coupling types. The transitions are marked by nonlinear changes in both temporal and phase-space characteristics of the coupled system. We demonstrate these phase-transitions with Hindmarsh-Rose and Leech-Heart interneuron models and discuss the implications of these results in understanding collective dynamics of bursting neurons in the brain.

What Iconic Gesture Fragments Reveal about Gesture-Speech Integration: When Synchrony Is Lost, Memory Can Help

Science.gov (United States)

Obermeier, Christian; Holle, Henning; Gunter, Thomas C.

2011-01-01

The present series of experiments explores several issues related to gesture-speech integration and synchrony during sentence processing. To be able to more precisely manipulate gesture-speech synchrony, we used gesture fragments instead of complete gestures, thereby avoiding the usual long temporal overlap of gestures with their coexpressive…

Paleoecological studies on variability in marine fish populations: A long-term perspective on the impacts of climatic change on marine ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Finney, Bruce P.; Alheit, Jürgen; Emeis, Kay-Christian; Field, David B.; Gutiérrez, Dimitri; Struck, Ulrich

2010-02-01

reorganizations in the earth's climate system. Additional sedimentary records of marine fish abundance and corresponding paleoenvironmental conditions are likely to further enhance our understanding of marine ecosystem dynamics.

Rare earth elements in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems in the eastern Canadian Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

MacMillan, Gwyneth Anne; Chételat, John; Heath, Joel P; Mickpegak, Raymond; Amyot, Marc

2017-10-18

Few ecotoxicological studies exist for rare earth elements (REEs), particularly field-based studies on their bioaccumulation and food web dynamics. REE mining has led to significant environmental impacts in several countries (China, Brazil, U.S.), yet little is known about the fate and transport of these contaminants of emerging concern. Northern ecosystems are potentially vulnerable to REE enrichment from prospective mining projects at high latitudes. To understand how REEs behave in remote northern food webs, we measured REE concentrations and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (∂ 15 N, ∂ 13 C) in biota from marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems of the eastern Canadian Arctic (N = 339). Wildlife harvesting and tissue sampling was partly conducted by local hunters through a community-based monitoring project. Results show that REEs generally follow a coherent bioaccumulation pattern for sample tissues, with some anomalies for redox-sensitive elements (Ce, Eu). Highest REE concentrations were found at low trophic levels, especially in vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. Terrestrial herbivores, ringed seal, and fish had low total REE levels in muscle tissue (∑REE for 15 elements <0.1 nmol g -1 ), yet accumulation was an order of magnitude higher in liver tissues. Age- and length-dependent REE accumulation also suggest that REE uptake is faster than elimination for some species. Overall, REE bioaccumulation patterns appear to be species- and tissue-specific, with limited potential for biomagnification. This study provides novel data on the behaviour of REEs in ecosystems and will be useful for environmental impact assessment of REE enrichment in northern regions.

Migration, distribution and population (stock) structure of shallow-water hake (Merluccius capensis) in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem inferred using a geostatistical population model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, Teunis; Kristensen, Kasper; Kainge, Paulus Inekela

2016-01-01

Shallow-water hake (Merluccius capensis) is of considerable ecological and economic importance in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem in South Africa and Namibia. Optimal management of the resource is currently constrained by the limited understanding of migration patterns and population...

Functional responses and scaling in predator-prey interactions of marine fishes: contemporary issues and emerging concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunsicker, Mary E; Ciannelli, Lorenzo; Bailey, Kevin M; Buckel, Jeffrey A; Wilson White, J; Link, Jason S; Essington, Timothy E; Gaichas, Sarah; Anderson, Todd W; Brodeur, Richard D; Chan, Kung-Sik; Chen, Kun; Englund, Göran; Frank, Kenneth T; Freitas, Vânia; Hixon, Mark A; Hurst, Thomas; Johnson, Darren W; Kitchell, James F; Reese, Doug; Rose, George A; Sjodin, Henrik; Sydeman, William J; van der Veer, Henk W; Vollset, Knut; Zador, Stephani

2011-12-01

Predator-prey interactions are a primary structuring force vital to the resilience of marine communities and sustainability of the world's oceans. Human influences on marine ecosystems mediate changes in species interactions. This generality is evinced by the cascading effects of overharvesting top predators on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. It follows that ecological forecasting, ecosystem management, and marine spatial planning require a better understanding of food web relationships. Characterising and scaling predator-prey interactions for use in tactical and strategic tools (i.e. multi-species management and ecosystem models) are paramount in this effort. Here, we explore what issues are involved and must be considered to advance the use of predator-prey theory in the context of marine fisheries science. We address pertinent contemporary ecological issues including (1) the approaches and complexities of evaluating predator responses in marine systems; (2) the 'scaling up' of predator-prey interactions to the population, community, and ecosystem level; (3) the role of predator-prey theory in contemporary fisheries and ecosystem modelling approaches; and (4) directions for the future. Our intent is to point out needed research directions that will improve our understanding of predator-prey interactions in the context of the sustainable marine fisheries and ecosystem management. 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Climate change and marine top predators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Climate change affects all components of marine ecosystems. For endothermic top predators, i.e. seabirds and marine mammals, these impacts are often complex and mediated through trophic relationships. In this Research Topic, leading researchers attempt to identify patterns of change among seabirds...... and marine mammals, and the mechanisms through which climate change drives these changes....

International Symposium on Isotopes in Hydrology, Marine Ecosystems, and Climate Change Studies. Presentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Human activities have had a far-reaching impact on the aquatic environments - both marine and freshwater systems. The protection of these systems against further deterioration and the promotion of sustainable use are vital. In order to deepen understanding about the main processes affecting the present situation, as well as possible developments in the future, further investigation is required. The oceans play a major role in climate change, for example, and ocean acidification by increased CO2 release is one major threat to the world's oceans. Isotope methods can play a critical role in identifying and quantifying key processes within aquatic environments. Addressing the problems of global water resources has become a matter of urgency. Water resources are subject to multiple pressures for various reasons, including increasing populations, climate change, rising food and energy costs, the global economic crisis and pollutant loading. Isotope hydrology provides the unique and critical tools required to address complex water problems and helps managers and policy makers understand the closely intertwined relationship between water resources and the various pressures affecting them, as well as the issue of sustainability. The symposium will be an important forum for the exchange of knowledge on the present state of marine and freshwater environments, use of isotopes in water resources investigations and management, and climate change studies. The meeting will involve leading scientists in the field of climate change and hydrology, as well as representatives from other United Nations bodies and international organizations that focus on climate change and other important environmental issues. TOPICS: The role of isotopes in understanding and modelling climate change, marine ecosystems and the water cycle; Carbon dioxide sequestration and related aspects of the carbon cycle, such as ocean acidification; Isotopes in groundwater flow modelling for large aquifers

Late Permian marine ecosystem collapse began in deeper waters: evidence from brachiopod diversity and body size changes.

Science.gov (United States)

He, W-H; Shi, G R; Twitchett, R J; Zhang, Y; Zhang, K-X; Song, H-J; Yue, M-L; Wu, S-B; Wu, H-T; Yang, T-L; Xiao, Y-F

2015-03-01

Analysis of Permian-Triassic brachiopod diversity and body size changes from different water depths spanning the continental shelf to basinal facies in South China provides insights into the process of environmental deterioration. Comparison of the temporal changes of brachiopod diversity between deepwater and shallow-water facies demonstrates that deepwater brachiopods disappeared earlier than shallow-water brachiopods. This indicates that high environmental stress commenced first in deepwater settings and later extended to shallow waters. This environmental stress is attributed to major volcanic eruptions, which first led to formation of a stratified ocean and a chemocline in the outer shelf and deeper water environments, causing the disappearance of deep marine benthos including brachiopods. The chemocline then rapidly migrated upward and extended to shallow waters, causing widespread mass extinction of shallow marine benthos. We predict that the spatial and temporal patterns of earlier onset of disappearance/extinction and ecological crisis in deeper water ecosystems will be recorded during other episodes of rapid global warming. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Structurally complex habitats provided by Acropora palmata influence ecosystem processes on a reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Science.gov (United States)

Lemoine, N. P.; Valentine, J. F.

2012-09-01

The disappearance of Acropora palmata from reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) represents a significant loss in the amount of structurally complex habitat available for reef-associated species. The consequences of such a widespread loss of complex structure on ecosystem processes are still unclear. We sought to determine whether the disappearance of complex structure has adversely affected grazing and invertebrate predation rates on a shallow reef in the FKNMS. Surprisingly, we found grazing rates and invertebrate predation rates were lower in the structurally complex A. palmata branches than on the topographically simple degraded reefs. We attribute these results to high densities of aggressively territorial damselfish, Stegastes planifrons, living within A. palmata. Our study suggests the presence of agonistic damselfish can cause the realized spatial patterns of ecosystem processes to deviate from the expected patterns. Reef ecologists must therefore carefully consider the assemblage of associate fish communities when assessing how the mortality of A. palmata has affected coral reef ecosystem processes.

Monitoring and evaluation of spatially managed areas: A generic framework for implementation of ecosystem based marine management and its application

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stelzenmüller, Vanessa; Breen, Patricia; Stamford, Tammy

2013-01-01

This study introduces a framework for the monitoring and evaluation of spatially managed areas (SMAs), which is currently being tested by nine European case studies. The framework provides guidance on the selection, mapping, and assessment of ecosystem components and human pressures, the evaluati...... on qualitative information are addressed. The lessons learned will provide a better insight into the full range of methods and approaches required to support the implementation of the ecosystem approach to marine spatial management in Europe and elsewhere.......This study introduces a framework for the monitoring and evaluation of spatially managed areas (SMAs), which is currently being tested by nine European case studies. The framework provides guidance on the selection, mapping, and assessment of ecosystem components and human pressures, the evaluation...... of management effectiveness and potential adaptations to management. Moreover, it provides a structured approach with advice on spatially explicit tools for practical tasks like the assessment of cumulative impacts of human pressures or pressure-state relationships. The case studies revealed emerging challenges...

Dissociable effects of dopamine on neuronal firing rate and synchrony in the dorsal striatum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John M Burkhardt

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies showed that dopamine depletion leads to both changes in firing rate and in neuronal synchrony in the basal ganglia. Since dopamine D1 and D2 receptors are preferentially expressed in striatonigral and striatopallidal medium spiny neurons, respectively, we investigated the relative contribution of lack of D1 and/or D2-type receptor activation to the changes in striatal firing rate and synchrony observed after dopamine depletion. Similar to what was observed after dopamine depletion, co-administration of D1 and D2 antagonists to mice chronically implanted with multielectrode arrays in the striatum caused significant changes in firing rate, power of the local field potential (LFP oscillations, and synchrony measured by the entrainment of neurons to striatal local field potentials. However, although blockade of either D1 or D2 type receptors produced similarly severe akinesia, the effects on neural activity differed. Blockade of D2 receptors affected the firing rate of medium spiny neurons and the power of the LFP oscillations substantially, but it did not affect synchrony to the same extent. In contrast, D1 blockade affected synchrony dramatically, but had less substantial effects on firing rate and LFP power. Furthermore, there was no consistent relation between neurons changing firing rate and changing LFP entrainment after dopamine blockade. Our results suggest that the changes in rate and entrainment to the LFP observed in medium spiny neurons after dopamine depletion are somewhat dissociable, and that lack of D1- or D2-type receptor activation can exert independent yet interactive pathological effects during the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

Measure of synchrony in the activity of intrinsic cardiac neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longpré, Jean-Philippe; Salavatian, Siamak; Jacquemet, Vincent; Beaumont, Eric; Armour, J Andrew; Ardell, Jeffrey L

2014-01-01

Recent multielectrode array recordings in ganglionated plexi of canine atria have opened the way to the study of population dynamics of intrinsic cardiac neurons. These data provide critical insights into the role of local processing that these ganglia play in the regulation of cardiac function. Low firing rates, marked non-stationarity, interplay with the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems and artifacts generated by myocardial activity create new constraints not present in brain recordings for which almost all neuronal analysis techniques have been developed. We adapted and extended the jitter-based synchrony index (SI) to (1) provide a robust and computationally efficient tool for assessing the level and statistical significance of SI between cardiac neurons, (2) estimate the bias on SI resulting from neuronal activity possibly hidden in myocardial artifacts, (3) quantify the synchrony or anti-synchrony between neuronal activity and the phase in the cardiac and respiratory cycles. The method was validated on firing time series from a total of 98 individual neurons identified in 8 dog experiments. SI ranged from −0.14 to 0.66, with 23 pairs of neurons with SI > 0.1. The estimated bias due to artifacts was typically <1%. Strongly cardiovascular- and pulmonary-related neurons (SI > 0.5) were found. Results support the use of jitter-based SI in the context of intrinsic cardiac neurons. (paper)

Collective Efficacy in Sports and Physical Activities: Perceived Emotional Synchrony and Shared Flow

Science.gov (United States)

Zumeta, Larraitz N.; Oriol, Xavier; Telletxea, Saioa; Amutio, Alberto; Basabe, Nekane

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE). A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Specifically, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study highlights the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed. PMID:26779077

Otters, Marine

Science.gov (United States)

Estes, James A.; Bodkin, James L.; Ben-David, M.; Perrin, William F.; Würsing, Bernd; Thewissen, J.G.M.

2009-01-01

The otters (Mustelidae; Lutrinae) provide an exceptional perspective into the evolution of marine living by mammals. Most extant marine mammals (e.g. the cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians) have been so highly modified by long periods of selection for life in the sea that they bear little resemblance to their terrestrial ancestors. Marine otters, in contrast, are more recent expatriates from freshwater habitats and some species still live in both environments. Contrasts among species within the otters, and among the otters, terrestrial mammals, and the more highly adapted pinnipeds and cetaceans provide powerful insights into mammalian adaptations to life in the sea (Estes, 1989). Among the marine mammals, sea otters (Enhydra lutris, Fig. 1) provide the clearest understanding of consumer-induced effects on ecosystem function. This is due in part to opportunities provided by history and in part to the relative ease with which shallow coastal systems where sea otters live can be observed and studied. Although more difficult to study than sea otters, other otter species reveal the connectivity among the marine, freshwater, and terrestrial systems. These three qualities of the otters – their comparative biology, their role as predators, and their role as agents of ecosystem connectivity – are what make them interesting to marine mammalogy.The following account provides a broad overview of the comparative biology and ecology of the otters, with particular emphasis on those species or populations that live in the sea. Sea otters are features prominently, in part because they live exclusively in the sea whereas other otters have obligate associations with freshwater and terrestrial environments (Kenyon, 1969; Riedman and Estes, 1990).

Extremophiles in an Antarctic Marine Ecosystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iain Dickinson

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recent attempts to explore marine microbial diversity and the global marine microbiome have indicated a large proportion of previously unknown diversity. However, sequencing alone does not tell the whole story, as it relies heavily upon information that is already contained within sequence databases. In addition, microorganisms have been shown to present small-to-large scale biogeographical patterns worldwide, potentially making regional combinations of selection pressures unique. Here, we focus on the extremophile community in the boundary region located between the Polar Front and the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Ocean, to explore the potential of metagenomic approaches as a tool for bioprospecting in the search for novel functional activity based on targeted sampling efforts. We assessed the microbial composition and diversity from a region north of the current limit for winter sea ice, north of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Front (SACCF but south of the Polar Front. Although, most of the more frequently encountered sequences  were derived from common marine microorganisms, within these dominant groups, we found a proportion of genes related to secondary metabolism of potential interest in bioprospecting. Extremophiles were rare by comparison but belonged to a range of genera. Hence, they represented interesting targets from which to identify rare or novel functions. Ultimately, future shifts in environmental conditions favoring more cosmopolitan groups could have an unpredictable effect on microbial diversity and function in the Southern Ocean, perhaps excluding the rarer extremophiles.

Predicting interactions among fishing, ocean warming, and ocean acidification in a marine system with whole-ecosystem models.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffith, Gary P; Fulton, Elizabeth A; Gorton, Rebecca; Richardson, Anthony J

2012-12-01

An important challenge for conservation is a quantitative understanding of how multiple human stressors will interact to mitigate or exacerbate global environmental change at a community or ecosystem level. We explored the interaction effects of fishing, ocean warming, and ocean acidification over time on 60 functional groups of species in the southeastern Australian marine ecosystem. We tracked changes in relative biomass within a coupled dynamic whole-ecosystem modeling framework that included the biophysical system, human effects, socioeconomics, and management evaluation. We estimated the individual, additive, and interactive effects on the ecosystem and for five community groups (top predators, fishes, benthic invertebrates, plankton, and primary producers). We calculated the size and direction of interaction effects with an additive null model and interpreted results as synergistic (amplified stress), additive (no additional stress), or antagonistic (reduced stress). Individually, only ocean acidification had a negative effect on total biomass. Fishing and ocean warming and ocean warming with ocean acidification had an additive effect on biomass. Adding fishing to ocean warming and ocean acidification significantly changed the direction and magnitude of the interaction effect to a synergistic response on biomass. The interaction effect depended on the response level examined (ecosystem vs. community). For communities, the size, direction, and type of interaction effect varied depending on the combination of stressors. Top predator and fish biomass had a synergistic response to the interaction of all three stressors, whereas biomass of benthic invertebrates responded antagonistically. With our approach, we were able to identify the regional effects of fishing on the size and direction of the interacting effects of ocean warming and ocean acidification. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Resilience and stability of a pelagic marine ecosystem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Checkley, David M.; Ohman, Mark D.

2016-01-01

The accelerating loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide has accentuated a long-standing debate on the role of diversity in stabilizing ecological communities and has given rise to a field of research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Although broad consensus has been...

Quality level of a treatment by Cyberknife with Synchrony; Niveau de qualite d'un traitement par le CyberKnife avec Synchrony

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khawaja, M.S.A.; Noel, A. [CRAN UMR 7039, CNRS, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Centre Alexis-Vautrin, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Nancy-1 Univ., 54 (France); Marchesi, V. [Centre Alexis-Vautrin, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Wolf, D. [INPL CRAN UMR 7039, CNRS, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France)

2009-10-15

The Cyberknife and its Synchrony associated subsystem represent a very reliable mean to treat the tumors of soft tissues moving with respiration. It allows to guarantee a high quality of treatment because of sub-millimetric accuracy whatever be the complexity degree of the patient respiration cycle. (N.C.)

Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change in Greenland and the Faroe Islands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heide-Joergensen, H S; Johnsen, I [Koebenhavns Univ., Botanisk Inst., Oekologisk afd. (Denmark)

1998-12-31

An increase in the mean yearly temperature up to 3.6 deg. C may occur in North-Greenland by the end of the 21st century, while in south-Greenland temperature may remain stable or fall slightly. Consequences of this climate change for species diversity and the structure of terrestrial and marine ecosystems are discussed. For the Faroe Islands climate change is not expected to cause notable changes in terrestrial ecosystems, but in marine ecosystems changes are highly unpredictable. (au)

Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change in Greenland and the Faroe Islands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heide-Joergensen, H.S.; Johnsen, I.

1997-01-01

An increase in the mean yearly temperature up to 3.6 deg. C may occur in North-Greenland by the end of the 21st century, while in south-Greenland temperature may remain stable or fall slightly. Consequences of this climate change for species diversity and the structure of terrestrial and marine ecosystems are discussed. For the Faroe Islands climate change is not expected to cause notable changes in terrestrial ecosystems, but in marine ecosystems changes are highly unpredictable. (au)

Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change in Greenland and the Faroe Islands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heide-Joergensen, H.S.; Johnsen, I. [Koebenhavns Univ., Botanisk Inst., Oekologisk afd. (Denmark)

1997-12-31

An increase in the mean yearly temperature up to 3.6 deg. C may occur in North-Greenland by the end of the 21st century, while in south-Greenland temperature may remain stable or fall slightly. Consequences of this climate change for species diversity and the structure of terrestrial and marine ecosystems are discussed. For the Faroe Islands climate change is not expected to cause notable changes in terrestrial ecosystems, but in marine ecosystems changes are highly unpredictable. (au)

MicroRNA-276 promotes egg-hatching synchrony by up-regulating brm in locusts

Science.gov (United States)

He, Jing; Chen, Qianquan; Wei, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Feng; Yang, Meiling; Hao, Shuguang; Guo, Xiaojiao; Chen, Dahua; Kang, Le

2016-01-01

Developmental synchrony, the basis of uniform swarming, migration, and sexual maturation, is an important strategy for social animals to adapt to variable environments. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying developmental synchrony are largely unexplored. The migratory locust exhibits polyphenism between gregarious and solitarious individuals, with the former displaying more synchronous sexual maturation and migration than the latter. Here, we found that the egg-hatching time of gregarious locusts was more uniform compared with solitarious locusts and that microRNA-276 (miR-276) was expressed significantly higher in both ovaries and eggs of gregarious locusts than in solitarious locusts. Interestingly, inhibiting miR-276 in gregarious females and overexpressing it in solitarious females, respectively, caused more heterochronic and synchronous hatching of progeny eggs. Moreover, miR-276 directly targeted a transcription coactivator gene, brahma (brm), resulting in its up-regulation. Knockdown of brm not only resulted in asynchronous egg hatching in gregarious locusts but also impaired the miR-276–induced synchronous egg hatching in solitarious locusts. Mechanistically, miR-276 mediated brm activation in a manner that depended on the secondary structure of brm, namely, a stem-loop around the binding site of miR-276. Collectively, our results unravel a mechanism by which miR-276 enhances brm expression to promote developmental synchrony and provide insight into regulation of developmental homeostasis and population sustaining that are closely related to biological synchrony. PMID:26729868

Neuromolecular Imaging Shows Temporal Synchrony Patterns between Serotonin and Movement within Neuronal Motor Circuits in the Brain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia A. Broderick

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The present discourse links the electrical and chemical properties of the brain with neurotransmitters and movement behaviors to further elucidate strategies to diagnose and treat brain disease. Neuromolecular imaging (NMI, based on electrochemical principles, is used to detect serotonin in nerve terminals (dorsal and ventral striata and somatodendrites (ventral tegmentum of reward/motor mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal brain circuits. Neuronal release of serotonin is detected at the same time and in the same animal, freely moving and unrestrained, while open-field behaviors are monitored via infrared photobeams. The purpose is to emphasize the unique ability of NMI and the BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors to empirically image a pattern of temporal synchrony, previously reported, for example, in Aplysia using central pattern generators (CPGs, serotonin and cerebral peptide-2. Temporal synchrony is reviewed within the context of the literature on central pattern generators, neurotransmitters and movement disorders. Specifically, temporal synchrony data are derived from studies on psychostimulant behavior with and without cocaine while at the same time and continuously, serotonin release in motor neurons within basal ganglia, is detected. The results show that temporal synchrony between the neurotransmitter, serotonin and natural movement occurs when the brain is NOT injured via, e.g., trauma, addictive drugs or psychiatric illness. In striking contrast, in the case of serotonin and cocaine-induced psychostimulant behavior, a different form of synchrony and also asynchrony can occur. Thus, the known dysfunctional movement behavior produced by cocaine may well be related to the loss of temporal synchrony, the loss of the ability to match serotonin in brain with motor activity. The empirical study of temporal synchrony patterns in humans and animals may be more relevant to the dynamics of motor circuits and movement behaviors than are studies of

Neuromolecular Imaging Shows Temporal Synchrony Patterns between Serotonin and Movement within Neuronal Motor Circuits in the Brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Broderick, Patricia A

2013-06-21

The present discourse links the electrical and chemical properties of the brain with neurotransmitters and movement behaviors to further elucidate strategies to diagnose and treat brain disease. Neuromolecular imaging (NMI), based on electrochemical principles, is used to detect serotonin in nerve terminals (dorsal and ventral striata) and somatodendrites (ventral tegmentum) of reward/motor mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal brain circuits. Neuronal release of serotonin is detected at the same time and in the same animal, freely moving and unrestrained, while open-field behaviors are monitored via infrared photobeams. The purpose is to emphasize the unique ability of NMI and the BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors to empirically image a pattern of temporal synchrony, previously reported, for example, in Aplysia using central pattern generators (CPGs), serotonin and cerebral peptide-2. Temporal synchrony is reviewed within the context of the literature on central pattern generators, neurotransmitters and movement disorders. Specifically, temporal synchrony data are derived from studies on psychostimulant behavior with and without cocaine while at the same time and continuously, serotonin release in motor neurons within basal ganglia, is detected. The results show that temporal synchrony between the neurotransmitter, serotonin and natural movement occurs when the brain is NOT injured via, e.g., trauma, addictive drugs or psychiatric illness. In striking contrast, in the case of serotonin and cocaine-induced psychostimulant behavior, a different form of synchrony and also asynchrony can occur. Thus, the known dysfunctional movement behavior produced by cocaine may well be related to the loss of temporal synchrony, the loss of the ability to match serotonin in brain with motor activity. The empirical study of temporal synchrony patterns in humans and animals may be more relevant to the dynamics of motor circuits and movement behaviors than are studies of static parameters

On the ecological role of Copepoda in the Suez Canal marine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Moreover, the importance of copepods in the marine food web and secondary productivity in the canal water, as well as their response to environmental variations in the Suez Canal ecosystem were discussed. KEY WORDS: Zooplankton, Copepoda, food web, marine ecosystem, Suez Canal Egyptian Journal of Biology ...

Temporal Evolution of the Yellow Sea Ecosystem Services (1980–2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qixiang Wang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Marine ecosystem services refer to benefits that people obtain from marine ecosystem. Understanding temporal evolution of these services is a fundamental challenge of natural resource management in marine ecosystems. Yellow Sea is one of the most intensely exploited shallow seas in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. In this study, we analyzed the value of the four classes services (provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services and supporting services, including 14 individual services of the Yellow Sea on temporal scales. From 1980 to 2010, the total value of the four classes of services was between 297 and 2,232 billion RMB yuan. Only the proportion of cultural services as a percentage of the total value continued to increase for the entire period, from 0.9% in 1980 to 9.4% in 2010. Provisioning services reached their highest point at 18.4% in 2000, and then fell to 10.1% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of regulating services and supporting services declined, falling from 14.4% and 79.4% in 1980 to 10.1% and 70.4% in 2010, respectively. This study represents the first attempt to analyze the temporal evolution of Yellow Sea ecosystem services. It will provide the theoretical basis for further study of the ecological mechanisms of marine ecosystem services.

Cumulative human impacts on marine predators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maxwell, Sara M; Hazen, Elliott L; Bograd, Steven J

2013-01-01

Stressors associated with human activities interact in complex ways to affect marine ecosystems, yet we lack spatially explicit assessments of cumulative impacts on ecologically and economically key components such as marine predators. Here we develop a metric of cumulative utilization and impact...

Ecosystem services as a common language for coastal ecosystem-based management.

Science.gov (United States)

Granek, Elise F; Polasky, Stephen; Kappel, Carrie V; Reed, Denise J; Stoms, David M; Koch, Evamaria W; Kennedy, Chris J; Cramer, Lori A; Hacker, Sally D; Barbier, Edward B; Aswani, Shankar; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Perillo, Gerardo M E; Silliman, Brian R; Muthiga, Nyawira; Bael, David; Wolanski, Eric

2010-02-01

Ecosystem-based management is logistically and politically challenging because ecosystems are inherently complex and management decisions affect a multitude of groups. Coastal ecosystems, which lie at the interface between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and provide an array of ecosystem services to different groups, aptly illustrate these challenges. Successful ecosystem-based management of coastal ecosystems requires incorporating scientific information and the knowledge and views of interested parties into the decision-making process. Estimating the provision of ecosystem services under alternative management schemes offers a systematic way to incorporate biogeophysical and socioeconomic information and the views of individuals and groups in the policy and management process. Employing ecosystem services as a common language to improve the process of ecosystem-based management presents both benefits and difficulties. Benefits include a transparent method for assessing trade-offs associated with management alternatives, a common set of facts and common currency on which to base negotiations, and improved communication among groups with competing interests or differing worldviews. Yet challenges to this approach remain, including predicting how human interventions will affect ecosystems, how such changes will affect the provision of ecosystem services, and how changes in service provision will affect the welfare of different groups in society. In a case study from Puget Sound, Washington, we illustrate the potential of applying ecosystem services as a common language for ecosystem-based management.

A Bayesian-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning: Evaluating Spatial and Temporal Variance in the Provision of Ecosystem Services Before and After the Establishment Oregon's Marine Protected Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Black, B.; Harte, M.; Goldfinger, C.

2017-12-01

Participating in a ten-year monitoring project to assess the ecological, social, and socioeconomic impacts of Oregon's Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), we have worked in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to develop a Bayesian geospatial method to evaluate the spatial and temporal variance in the provision of ecosystem services produced by Oregon's MPAs. Probabilistic (Bayesian) approaches to Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) show considerable potential for addressing issues such as uncertainty, cumulative effects, and the need to integrate stakeholder-held information and preferences into decision making processes. To that end, we have created a Bayesian-based geospatial approach to MSP capable of modelling the evolution of the provision of ecosystem services before and after the establishment of Oregon's MPAs. Our approach permits both planners and stakeholders to view expected impacts of differing policies, behaviors, or choices made concerning Oregon's MPAs and surrounding areas in a geospatial (map) format while simultaneously considering multiple parties' beliefs on the policies or uses in question. We quantify the influence of the MPAs as the shift in the spatial distribution of ecosystem services, both inside and outside the protected areas, over time. Once the MPAs' influence on the provision of coastal ecosystem services has been evaluated, it is possible to view these impacts through geovisualization techniques. As a specific example of model use and output, a user could investigate the effects of altering the habitat preferences of a rockfish species over a prescribed period of time (5, 10, 20 years post-harvesting restrictions, etc.) on the relative intensity of spillover from nearby reserves (please see submitted figure). Particular strengths of our Bayesian-based approach include its ability to integrate highly disparate input types (qualitative or quantitative), to accommodate data gaps, address uncertainty, and to

Contrasting effects of ecosystem engineering by the cordgrass Spartina maritima and the sandprawn Callianassa kraussi in a marine-dominated lagoon

Science.gov (United States)

Pillay, D.; Branch, G. M.; Dawson, J.; Henry, D.

2011-01-01

Ecosystem engineering by plants and animals significantly influences community structure and the physico-chemical characteristics of marine habitats. In this paper we document the contrasting effects of ecosystem engineering by the cordgrass Spartina maritima and the burrowing sandprawn Callianassa kraussi on physico-chemical characteristics, microflora, macrofaunal community structure and morphological attributes in the high shore intertidal sandflats of Langebaan Lagoon, a marine-dominated system on the west coast of South Africa. Comparisons were made at six sites in the lagoon within Spartina and Callianassa beds, and in a "bare zone" of sandflat between these two habitats that lacks both sandprawns and cordgrass. Sediments in Spartina habitats were consolidated by the root-shoot systems of the cordgrass, leading to low sediment penetrability, while sediments in beds of C. kraussi were more penetrable, primarily due to the destabilising effects of sandprawn bioturbation. Sediments in the "bare zone" had intermediate to low values of penetrability. Sediment organic content was lowest in bare zones and greatest in Spartina beds, while sediment chl- a levels were greatest on bare sand, but were progressively reduced in the Spartina and Callianassa beds. These differences among habitats induced by ecosystem engineering in turn affected the macrofauna. Community structure was different between all three habitats sampled, with species richness being surprisingly greater in Callianassa beds than either the bare zone or Spartina beds. In general, the binding of surface sediments by the root systems of Spartina favoured rigid-bodied, surface-dwelling and tube-building species, while the destabilising effect of bioturbation by C. kraussi favoured burrowing species. The contrasting effects of these ecosystem engineers suggest that they play important roles in increasing habitat heterogeneity. Importantly, the role of bioturbation by C. kraussi in enhancing macrofaunal

Ecosystem Model Skill Assessment. Yes We Can!

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Erik; Fay, Gavin; Gaichas, Sarah; Gamble, Robert; Lucey, Sean; Link, Jason S

2016-01-01

Accelerated changes to global ecosystems call for holistic and integrated analyses of past, present and future states under various pressures to adequately understand current and projected future system states. Ecosystem models can inform management of human activities in a complex and changing environment, but are these models reliable? Ensuring that models are reliable for addressing management questions requires evaluating their skill in representing real-world processes and dynamics. Skill has been evaluated for just a limited set of some biophysical models. A range of skill assessment methods have been reviewed but skill assessment of full marine ecosystem models has not yet been attempted. We assessed the skill of the Northeast U.S. (NEUS) Atlantis marine ecosystem model by comparing 10-year model forecasts with observed data. Model forecast performance was compared to that obtained from a 40-year hindcast. Multiple metrics (average absolute error, root mean squared error, modeling efficiency, and Spearman rank correlation), and a suite of time-series (species biomass, fisheries landings, and ecosystem indicators) were used to adequately measure model skill. Overall, the NEUS model performed above average and thus better than expected for the key species that had been the focus of the model tuning. Model forecast skill was comparable to the hindcast skill, showing that model performance does not degenerate in a 10-year forecast mode, an important characteristic for an end-to-end ecosystem model to be useful for strategic management purposes. We identify best-practice approaches for end-to-end ecosystem model skill assessment that would improve both operational use of other ecosystem models and future model development. We show that it is possible to not only assess the skill of a complicated marine ecosystem model, but that it is necessary do so to instill confidence in model results and encourage their use for strategic management. Our methods are applicable

Comparison of contaminants from different trophic levels and ecosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dietz, R.; Riget, F. [Department of Arctic Environment, Ministry of Environment and Energy, National Environmental Research Institute, Tagensvej 135, 4 floor, DK-2200 Copenhagen (Denmark); Cleemann, M. [Department of Environmental Chemistry, Ministry of Environment and Energy, National Environmental Research Institute, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Aarkrog, A. [Risoe National Laboratory, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Johansen, P. [Department of Arctic Environment, Ministry of Environment and Energy, National Environmental Research Institute, Tagensvej 135, 4 floor, DK-2200 Copenhagen (Denmark); Hansen, J.C. [Risoe National Laboratory, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark)

2000-01-17

The present paper provides an overview of the priority contaminants and media from the Greenland part of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program. Levels and accumulation patterns of heavy metals, POPs and a radionuclide (137Cs) are compared from the terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Of the nine compounds presented, seven (Cd, Hg, Se, {sigma}PCB, {sigma}DDT, {sigma}HCH, HCB) increased in concentration towards higher trophic levels. For these contaminants the concentrations in soil and aquatic sediment were in the same order of magnitude, whereas the concentrations in marine biota were higher than found in the freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems probably due to the presence of longer food chains. Pb and 137Cs showed the reverse pattern compared with the other compounds. The concentrations in soil and aquatic sediments decreased in the order terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, which was reflected in the biota as well. Reindeer had similar or lower levels of Pb and 137Cs than lichens. Levels of Pb and 137Cs in marine biota did not show the same clear increase towards higher trophic as found for the other analysed compounds. Greenland Inuit contains considerably less mercury but higher levels of {sigma}PCB, {sigma}DDT and HCB than other Arctic marine top consumers.

Collective efficacy in sports and physical activities: perceived emotional synchrony and shared flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Larraitz Nerea Zumeta

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE. A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Especially, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study remarks the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed.

Statistical detection of EEG synchrony using empirical bayesian inference.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Archana K Singh

Full Text Available There is growing interest in understanding how the brain utilizes synchronized oscillatory activity to integrate information across functionally connected regions. Computing phase-locking values (PLV between EEG signals is a popular method for quantifying such synchronizations and elucidating their role in cognitive tasks. However, high-dimensionality in PLV data incurs a serious multiple testing problem. Standard multiple testing methods in neuroimaging research (e.g., false discovery rate, FDR suffer severe loss of power, because they fail to exploit complex dependence structure between hypotheses that vary in spectral, temporal and spatial dimension. Previously, we showed that a hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures could be effectively applied for PLV analysis to provide better power than FDR. In this article, we revisit the multiple comparison problem from a new Empirical Bayes perspective and propose the application of the local FDR method (locFDR; Efron, 2001 for PLV synchrony analysis to compute FDR as a posterior probability that an observed statistic belongs to a null hypothesis. We demonstrate the application of Efron's Empirical Bayes approach for PLV synchrony analysis for the first time. We use simulations to validate the specificity and sensitivity of locFDR and a real EEG dataset from a visual search study for experimental validation. We also compare locFDR with hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures in both simulation and experimental analyses. Our simulation results showed that the locFDR can effectively control false positives without compromising on the power of PLV synchrony inference. Our results from the application locFDR on experiment data detected more significant discoveries than our previously proposed methods whereas the standard FDR method failed to detect any significant discoveries.

Statistical detection of EEG synchrony using empirical bayesian inference.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Archana K; Asoh, Hideki; Takeda, Yuji; Phillips, Steven

2015-01-01

There is growing interest in understanding how the brain utilizes synchronized oscillatory activity to integrate information across functionally connected regions. Computing phase-locking values (PLV) between EEG signals is a popular method for quantifying such synchronizations and elucidating their role in cognitive tasks. However, high-dimensionality in PLV data incurs a serious multiple testing problem. Standard multiple testing methods in neuroimaging research (e.g., false discovery rate, FDR) suffer severe loss of power, because they fail to exploit complex dependence structure between hypotheses that vary in spectral, temporal and spatial dimension. Previously, we showed that a hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures could be effectively applied for PLV analysis to provide better power than FDR. In this article, we revisit the multiple comparison problem from a new Empirical Bayes perspective and propose the application of the local FDR method (locFDR; Efron, 2001) for PLV synchrony analysis to compute FDR as a posterior probability that an observed statistic belongs to a null hypothesis. We demonstrate the application of Efron's Empirical Bayes approach for PLV synchrony analysis for the first time. We use simulations to validate the specificity and sensitivity of locFDR and a real EEG dataset from a visual search study for experimental validation. We also compare locFDR with hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures in both simulation and experimental analyses. Our simulation results showed that the locFDR can effectively control false positives without compromising on the power of PLV synchrony inference. Our results from the application locFDR on experiment data detected more significant discoveries than our previously proposed methods whereas the standard FDR method failed to detect any significant discoveries.

Prior Knowledge Facilitates Mutual Gaze Convergence and Head Nodding Synchrony in Face-to-face Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Thepsoonthorn, C; Yokozuka, T; Miura, S; Ogawa, K; Miyake, Y

2016-12-02

As prior knowledge is claimed to be an essential key to achieve effective education, we are interested in exploring whether prior knowledge enhances communication effectiveness. To demonstrate the effects of prior knowledge, mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony are observed as indicators of communication effectiveness. We conducted an experiment on lecture task between lecturer and student under 2 conditions: prior knowledge and non-prior knowledge. The students in prior knowledge condition were provided the basic information about the lecture content and were assessed their understanding by the experimenter before starting the lecture while the students in non-prior knowledge had none. The result shows that the interaction in prior knowledge condition establishes significantly higher mutual gaze convergence (t(15.03) = 6.72, p < 0.0001; α = 0.05, n = 20) and head nodding synchrony (t(16.67) = 1.83, p = 0.04; α = 0.05, n = 19) compared to non-prior knowledge condition. This study reveals that prior knowledge facilitates mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony. Furthermore, the interaction with and without prior knowledge can be evaluated by measuring or observing mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony.

Radio-capacity of ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kultakhmedov, Yu.; Kultakhmedova-Vyshnyakova, V.

1997-01-01

This paper consider a universal approach to ecosystems of different types, based on representation of their radio-capacity. The concept of ecosystem includes reproduction of components (bio-productivity) and conditions such as maintaining of environment quality. Radio-capacity in the case of radionuclide pollution appears in accumulation and redistribution of radionuclides in the ecosystem. As a result the radionuclides are redistributed and buried in soil or lake bottom sediments. Estimation models for the radio-capacity of water and terrestrial ecosystems are represented. The calculations of the radio-capacity factor of water ecosystems are performed, and the high radio-capacity of a freshwater reservoir (F=0.6-0.8) and extremely high radio-capacity of a reservoir cascade (F c =0.99) is shown material from the Dnieper's cascade reservoirs. The methods of radio-capacity estimation of agroecosystems, wood and marine ecosystems are developed. (authors)

Ecosystem Management. A Management View

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn-Jonsen, Lars

The need for management of the marine ecosystem using a broad perspective has been recommended under a variety of names. This paper uses the term Ecosystem Management, which is seen as a convergence between the ecological idea of an organisational hierarchy and the idea of strategic planning...... with a planning hierarchy---with the ecosystem being the strategic planning level. Management planning requires, in order to establish a quantifiable means and ends chain, that the goals at the ecosystem level can be linked to operational levels; ecosystem properties must therefore be reducible to lower...... organisational levels. Emergence caused by constraints at both the component and system levels gives rise to phenomena that can create links between the ecosystem and operational levels. To create these links, the ecosystem's functional elements must be grouped according to their functionality, ignoring any...

Isotopes in Hydrology, Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change Studies, Vol. 2. Proceedings of the International Symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-15

Humanity is facing many water related challenges, including access to safe water, pollution of continental and coastal waters and ocean acidification, as well as the growing impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle. Many countries are confronted by increasingly stressed water resources due to rapidly growing populations, increasing agricultural and energy production demands, industrial development, and pollution. The greatest issues of the 21st century, including competition for resources and possible related conflicts, may well focus on the role of water in food and energy security. For more than 50 years, the IAEA has played a key role in advancing and promoting the development and use of isotope techniques to address global environmental issues, such as water resources assessment and management, the study of marine ecosystems, and more recently the impact of climate change. This symposium was jointly organized by the Water Resources Programme and IAEA Environment Laboratories to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the IAEA laboratory in the Principality of Monaco, and represented the 13th edition of the quadrennial symposium on isotope hydrology and water resources management, which has been regularly organized by the IAEA since 1963. The main objectives of the symposium were to review the state of the art in isotope hydrology, the use of isotopes in the study of climatic systems and in marine ecosystems and to outline recent developments in the application of isotope techniques, as well as to identify future trends and developments for research and applications. The contributions submitted by the authors are included in two volumes of proceedings with editorial corrections. These proceedings are intended to serve as an aid for those using isotopes for applied problems in hydrology as well as for the research community.

Isotopes in Hydrology, Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change Studies. Vol. I. Proceedings of an International Symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-15

Humanity is facing many water related challenges, including access to safe water, pollution of continental and coastal waters and ocean acidification, as well as the growing impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle. Many countries are confronted by increasingly stressed water resources due to rapidly growing populations, increasing agricultural and energy production demands, industrial development, and pollution. The greatest issues of the 21st century, including competition for resources and possible related conflicts, may well focus on the role of water in food and energy security. For more than 50 years, the IAEA has played a key role in advancing and promoting the development and use of isotope techniques to address global environmental issues, such as water resources assessment and management, the study of marine ecosystems, and more recently the impact of climate change. This symposium was jointly organized by theWater Resources Programme and IAEA Environment Laboratories to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the IAEA laboratory in the P rincipality of Monaco, and represented the 13th edition of the quadrennial symposium on isotope hydrology and water resources management, which has been regularly organized by the IAEA since 1963. The main objectives of the symposium were to review the state of the art in isotope hydrology, the use of isotopes in the study of climatic systems and in marine ecosystems and to outline recent developments in the application of isotope techniques, as well as to identify future trends and developments for research and applications. The contributions submitted by the authors are included in two volumes of proceedings with editorial corrections. These proceedings are intended to serve as an aid for those using isotopes for applied problems in hydrology as well as for the research community.

Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellen Kenchington

Full Text Available The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify "significant concentrations" of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores, and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here

RAF 7015: Strengthening Regional Capacities for Marine Risk Assessment Using Nuclear and Related Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuku, E.; Mwangi, S.

2017-01-01

To develop and implement harmonized and integrated regional sea food safety monitoring in the MS through the application of nuclear techniques for enhanced sustainability of marine resource. Rapid urbanization and industrialization are causing alterations of the characteristics of marine environment thus threatening the ecosystem health and sustainability of marine environment and Affects public health, recreational water quality and economic viability.Threats to marine ecosystem include Over-exploitation, habitat destruction, Global warming- rise in SST, HABs and invasive species, Ocean acidification and Marine pollution

Hypoxia in the changing marine environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J.; Cowie, G.; Naqvi, S. W. A.

2013-03-01

The predicted future of the global marine environment, as a combined result of forcing due to climate change (e.g. warming and acidification) and other anthropogenic perturbation (e.g. eutrophication), presents a challenge to the sustainability of ecosystems from tropics to high latitudes. Among the various associated phenomena of ecosystem deterioration, hypoxia can cause serious problems in coastal areas as well as oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean (Diaz and Rosenberg 2008 Science 321 926-9, Stramma et al 2008 Science 320 655-8). The negative impacts of hypoxia include changes in populations of marine organisms, such as large-scale mortality and behavioral responses, as well as variations of species distributions, biodiversity, physiological stress, and other sub-lethal effects (e.g. growth and reproduction). Social and economic activities that are related to services provided by the marine ecosystems, such as tourism and fisheries, can be negatively affected by the aesthetic outcomes as well as perceived or real impacts on seafood quality (STAP 2011 (Washington, DC: Global Environment Facility) p 88). Moreover, low oxygen concentration in marine waters can have considerable feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth system, like the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and can affect the global biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and trace elements. It is of critical importance to prediction and adaptation strategies that the key processes of hypoxia in marine environments be precisely determined and understood (cf Zhang et al 2010 Biogeosciences 7 1-24).

Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology and NOAA National Ocean Service, Marine Sanctuary Program Partnership, in affiliation with the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program, 2007 Survey of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve: Benthic Data from Digital Still Images (NODC Accession 0000881)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Rapid Assessment Transects were conducted in 2007 in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve....

How models can support ecosystem-based management of coral reefs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijerman, M.W.; Fulton, E.A.; Janssen, A.B.G.; Kuiper, J.J.; Leemans, R.; Leemput, van de I.A.; Mooij, W.M.

2015-01-01

Despite the importance of coral reef ecosystems to the social and economic welfare of coastal communities, the condition of these marine ecosystems have generally degraded over the past decades. With an increased knowledge of coral reef ecosystem processes and a rise in computer power, dynamic

Trophic calculations reveal the mechanism of population-level variation in mercury concentrations between marine ecosystems: Case studies of two polar seabirds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasso, Rebecka L.; Polito, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Ecosystem-specific baseline and consumer δ 15 N paired for population-specific trophic level. • Source of population-level variation in mercury exposure identified in two seabirds. • High mercury and trophic position suggests trophic driver of population-level variation. • Trophic similarities, differing mercury reveals geographic differences in bioavailability. -- Abstract: The incorporation of quantitative trophic level analysis in ecotoxicological studies provides explanatory power to identify the factors, trophic or environmental, driving population-level variation in mercury exposure at large geographic scales. In the Antarctic marine ecosystem, mercury concentrations and stable isotope values in Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were compared between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. Correcting tissue δ 15 N values for baseline δ 15 N values revealed population-level differences in trophic position which contributes to differences in mercury. Data from Thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) were synthesized from published values from Baffin Bay and Svalbard to demonstrate the utility of baseline δ 15 N values in identifying differences in environmental mercury exposure independent of diet. Here, we demonstrate the importance of calculating population-specific trophic level data to uncover the source of variation in mercury concentrations between geographically distinct populations of marine predators

Naturalistic music and dance: Cortical phase synchrony in musicians and dancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Poikonen, Hanna; Toiviainen, Petri; Tervaniemi, Mari

2018-01-01

Expertise in music has been investigated for decades and the results have been applied not only in composition, performance and music education, but also in understanding brain plasticity in a larger context. Several studies have revealed a strong connection between auditory and motor processes and listening to and performing music, and music imagination. Recently, as a logical next step in music and movement, the cognitive and affective neurosciences have been directed towards expertise in dance. To understand the versatile and overlapping processes during artistic stimuli, such as music and dance, it is necessary to study them with continuous naturalistic stimuli. Thus, we used long excerpts from the contemporary dance piece Carmen presented with and without music to professional dancers, musicians, and laymen in an EEG laboratory. We were interested in the cortical phase synchrony within each participant group over several frequency bands during uni- and multimodal processing. Dancers had strengthened theta and gamma synchrony during music relative to silence and silent dance, whereas the presence of music decreased systematically the alpha and beta synchrony in musicians. Laymen were the only group of participants with significant results related to dance. Future studies are required to understand whether these results are related to some other factor (such as familiarity to the stimuli), or if our results reveal a new point of view to dance observation and expertise.

Naturalistic music and dance: Cortical phase synchrony in musicians and dancers

Science.gov (United States)

Toiviainen, Petri; Tervaniemi, Mari

2018-01-01

Expertise in music has been investigated for decades and the results have been applied not only in composition, performance and music education, but also in understanding brain plasticity in a larger context. Several studies have revealed a strong connection between auditory and motor processes and listening to and performing music, and music imagination. Recently, as a logical next step in music and movement, the cognitive and affective neurosciences have been directed towards expertise in dance. To understand the versatile and overlapping processes during artistic stimuli, such as music and dance, it is necessary to study them with continuous naturalistic stimuli. Thus, we used long excerpts from the contemporary dance piece Carmen presented with and without music to professional dancers, musicians, and laymen in an EEG laboratory. We were interested in the cortical phase synchrony within each participant group over several frequency bands during uni- and multimodal processing. Dancers had strengthened theta and gamma synchrony during music relative to silence and silent dance, whereas the presence of music decreased systematically the alpha and beta synchrony in musicians. Laymen were the only group of participants with significant results related to dance. Future studies are required to understand whether these results are related to some other factor (such as familiarity to the stimuli), or if our results reveal a new point of view to dance observation and expertise. PMID:29672597

A Catalogue of marine biodiversity indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heliana Teixeira

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A Catalogue of Marine Biodiversity Indicators was developed with the aim of providing the basis for assessing the environmental status of the marine ecosystems. Useful for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, this catalogue allows the navigation of a database of indicators mostly related to biological diversity, non-indigenous species, food webs, and seafloor integrity. Over 600 indicators were compiled, which were developed and used in the framework of different initiatives (e.g. EU policies, research projects and in national and international contexts (e.g. Regional Seas Conventions, and assessments in non-European seas. The catalogue reflects the current scientific capability to address environmental assessment needs by providing a broad coverage of the most relevant indicators for marine biodiversity and ecosystem integrity.The available indicators are reviewed according to their typology, data requirements, development status, geographical coverage, relevance to habitats or biodiversity components, and related human pressures. Through this comprehensive overview, we discuss the potential of the current set of indicators in a wide range of contexts, from large-scale to local environmental programs, and we also address shortcomings in light of current needs.Developed by the DEVOTES Project, the catalogue is freely available through the DEVOTool software application, which provides browsing and query options for the associated metadata. The tool allows extraction of ranked indicator lists best fulfilling selected criteria, enabling users to search for suitable indicators to address a particular biodiversity component, ecosystem feature, habitat or pressure in a marine area of interest.This tool is useful for EU Member States, Regional Sea Conventions, the European Commission, non-governmental organizations, managers, scientists and any person interested in marine environmental assessment. It allows users to

A Catalogue of Marine Biodiversity Indicators

KAUST Repository

Teixeira, Heliana; Berg, Torsten; Uusitalo, Laura; Fü rhaupter, Karin; Heiskanen, Anna Stiina; Mazik, Krysia; Lynam, Christopher P.; Neville, Suzanna; Rodriguez, J. German; Papadopoulou, Nadia; Moncheva, Snejana; Churilova, Tanya; Kryvenko, Olga; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Zaiko, Anastasija; Verí ssimo, Helena; Pantazi, Maria; Carvalho, Susana; Patrí cio, Joana; Uyarra, Maria C.; Borja, À ngel

2016-01-01

A Catalogue of Marine Biodiversity Indicators was developed with the aim of providing the basis for assessing the environmental status of the marine ecosystems. Useful for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), this catalogue allows the navigation of a database of indicators mostly related to biological diversity, non-indigenous species, food webs, and seafloor integrity. Over 600 indicators were compiled, which were developed and used in the framework of different initiatives (e.g., EU policies, research projects) and in national and international contexts (e.g., Regional Seas Conventions, and assessments in non-European seas). The catalogue reflects the current scientific capability to address environmental assessment needs by providing a broad coverage of the most relevant indicators for marine biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. The available indicators are reviewed according to their typology, data requirements, development status, geographical coverage, relevance to habitats or biodiversity components, and related human pressures. Through this comprehensive overview, we discuss the potential of the current set of indicators in a wide range of contexts, from large-scale to local environmental programs, and we also address shortcomings in light of current needs. Developed by the DEVOTES Project, the catalogue is freely available through the DEVOTool software application, which provides browsing and query options for the associated metadata. The tool allows extraction of ranked indicator lists best fulfilling selected criteria, enabling users to search for suitable indicators to address a particular biodiversity component, ecosystem feature, habitat, or pressure in a marine area of interest. This tool is useful for EU Member States, Regional Sea Conventions, the European Commission, non-governmental organizations, managers, scientists, and any person interested in marine environmental assessment. It allows users to build

A Catalogue of Marine Biodiversity Indicators

KAUST Repository

Teixeira, Heliana

2016-11-04

A Catalogue of Marine Biodiversity Indicators was developed with the aim of providing the basis for assessing the environmental status of the marine ecosystems. Useful for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), this catalogue allows the navigation of a database of indicators mostly related to biological diversity, non-indigenous species, food webs, and seafloor integrity. Over 600 indicators were compiled, which were developed and used in the framework of different initiatives (e.g., EU policies, research projects) and in national and international contexts (e.g., Regional Seas Conventions, and assessments in non-European seas). The catalogue reflects the current scientific capability to address environmental assessment needs by providing a broad coverage of the most relevant indicators for marine biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. The available indicators are reviewed according to their typology, data requirements, development status, geographical coverage, relevance to habitats or biodiversity components, and related human pressures. Through this comprehensive overview, we discuss the potential of the current set of indicators in a wide range of contexts, from large-scale to local environmental programs, and we also address shortcomings in light of current needs. Developed by the DEVOTES Project, the catalogue is freely available through the DEVOTool software application, which provides browsing and query options for the associated metadata. The tool allows extraction of ranked indicator lists best fulfilling selected criteria, enabling users to search for suitable indicators to address a particular biodiversity component, ecosystem feature, habitat, or pressure in a marine area of interest. This tool is useful for EU Member States, Regional Sea Conventions, the European Commission, non-governmental organizations, managers, scientists, and any person interested in marine environmental assessment. It allows users to build

Predicting Human Mobility Patterns in Marine Ecosystems: Entropy and Home Range Calculations Based on High-Resolution Fishing Vessel Tracking Data

Science.gov (United States)

Murawski, S. A.

2016-02-01

A number of recent studies have developed metrics of human mobility patterns based on georeferenced cell phone records. The studies generally indicate a high degree of predictability in human location and relatively narrow home ranges for most people. In marine ecosystems there are a number of important uses for such calculations including marine spatial planning and predicting the impacts of marine management options such as establishing marine protected areas (MPAs). In this study we use individual fishing vessel satellite tracking (VMS) records ( 30 million records) obtained from commercial reef fish fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico during 2006-2014. This period witnessed the establishment of a variety of new regulations including individual fishing quotas (IFQs) for snapper, grouper, and tilefish, establishment of spatial-area closures, and the temporary closure of as much as 85,000 nautical miles of productive fishing grounds associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill accident. Vessel positions were obtained, with a location frequency of one hour. From these VMS data we calculated three measures of entropy (degree of repeatability in spatial use), as well as calculated the axis of gyration (home range) for each vessel in the data set. These calculations were related to a variety of descriptor variables including vessel size, distance from home port to predominant fishing grounds, revenue generated on fishing trips, and fishing regulations. The applicability of these calculations to marine resource management applications is discussed.

A positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for biogeochemical processes in marine ecosystem models

Science.gov (United States)

Radtke, H.; Burchard, H.

2015-01-01

In this paper, an unconditionally positive and multi-element conserving time stepping scheme for systems of non-linearly coupled ODE's is presented. These systems of ODE's are used to describe biogeochemical transformation processes in marine ecosystem models. The numerical scheme is a positive-definite modification of the Runge-Kutta method, it can have arbitrarily high order of accuracy and does not require time step adaption. If the scheme is combined with a modified Patankar-Runge-Kutta method from Burchard et al. (2003), it also gets the ability to solve a certain class of stiff numerical problems, but the accuracy is restricted to second-order then. The performance of the new scheme on two test case problems is shown.

Ecosystem Vulnerability Review: Proposal of an Interdisciplinary Ecosystem Assessment Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Weißhuhn, Peter; Müller, Felix; Wiggering, Hubert

2018-06-01

To safeguard the sustainable use of ecosystems and their services, early detection of potentially damaging changes in functional capabilities is needed. To support a proper ecosystem management, the analysis of an ecosystem's vulnerability provide information on its weaknesses as well as on its capacity to recover after suffering an impact. However, the application of the vulnerability concept to ecosystems is still an emerging topic. After providing background on the vulnerability concept, we summarize existing ecosystem vulnerability research on the basis of a systematic literature review with a special focus on ecosystem type, disciplinary background, and more detailed definition of the ecosystem vulnerability components. Using the Web of ScienceTM Core Collection, we overviewed the literature from 1991 onwards but used the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 for an in-depth analysis, including 129 articles. We found that ecosystem vulnerability analysis has been applied most notably in conservation biology, climate change research, and ecological risk assessments, pinpointing a limited spreading across the environmental sciences. It occurred primarily within marine and freshwater ecosystems. To avoid confusion, we recommend using the unambiguous term ecosystem vulnerability rather than ecological, environmental, population, or community vulnerability. Further, common ground has been identified, on which to define the ecosystem vulnerability components exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. We propose a framework for ecosystem assessments that coherently connects the concepts of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptability as different ecosystem responses. A short outlook on the possible operationalization of the concept by ecosystem vulnerabilty indices, and a conclusion section complete the review.

Ecosystem services sustainability in the Mediterranean Sea: assessment of status and trends using multiple modelling approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Macías, Diego; Druon, Jean-Noël; Zulian, Grazia

2016-09-01

Mediterranean ecosystems support important processes and functions that bring direct benefits to human society. Yet, marine ecosystem services are usually overlooked due to the challenges in identifying and quantifying them. This paper proposes the application of several biophysical and ecosystem modelling approaches to assess spatially and temporally the sustainable use and supply of selected marine ecosystem services. Such services include food provision, water purification, coastal protection, lifecycle maintenance and recreation, focusing on the Mediterranean region. Overall, our study found a higher number of decreasing than increasing trends in the natural capacity of the ecosystems to provide marine and coastal services, while in contrast the opposite was observed to be true for the realised flow of services to humans. Such a study paves the way towards an effective support for Blue Growth and the European maritime policies, although little attention is paid to the quantification of marine ecosystem services in this context. We identify a key challenge of integrating biophysical and socio-economic models as a necessary step to further this research.

The origins of tropical marine biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Brian W; Rocha, Luiz A; Toonen, Robert J; Karl, Stephen A

2013-06-01

Recent phylogeographic studies have overturned three paradigms for the origins of marine biodiversity. (i) Physical (allopatric) isolation is not the sole avenue for marine speciation: many species diverge along ecological boundaries. (ii) Peripheral habitats such as oceanic archipelagos are not evolutionary graveyards: these regions can export biodiversity. (iii) Speciation in marine and terrestrial ecosystems follow similar processes but are not the same: opportunities for allopatric isolation are fewer in the oceans, leaving greater opportunity for speciation along ecological boundaries. Biodiversity hotspots such as the Caribbean Sea and the Indo-Pacific Coral Triangle produce and export species, but can also accumulate biodiversity produced in peripheral habitats. Both hotspots and peripheral ecosystems benefit from this exchange in a process dubbed biodiversity feedback. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactive effects of global climate change and pollution on marine microbes: the way ahead.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Francisco J R C; Santos, Ana L; Coimbra, Joana; Almeida, Adelaide; Cunha, Angela; Cleary, Daniel F R; Calado, Ricardo; Gomes, Newton C M

2013-06-01

Global climate change has the potential to seriously and adversely affect marine ecosystem functioning. Numerous experimental and modeling studies have demonstrated how predicted ocean acidification and increased ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can affect marine microbes. However, researchers have largely ignored interactions between ocean acidification, increased UVR and anthropogenic pollutants in marine environments. Such interactions can alter chemical speciation and the bioavailability of several organic and inorganic pollutants with potentially deleterious effects, such as modifying microbial-mediated detoxification processes. Microbes mediate major biogeochemical cycles, providing fundamental ecosystems services such as environmental detoxification and recovery. It is, therefore, important that we understand how predicted changes to oceanic pH, UVR, and temperature will affect microbial pollutant detoxification processes in marine ecosystems. The intrinsic characteristics of microbes, such as their short generation time, small size, and functional role in biogeochemical cycles combined with recent advances in molecular techniques (e.g., metagenomics and metatranscriptomics) make microbes excellent models to evaluate the consequences of various climate change scenarios on detoxification processes in marine ecosystems. In this review, we highlight the importance of microbial microcosm experiments, coupled with high-resolution molecular biology techniques, to provide a critical experimental framework to start understanding how climate change, anthropogenic pollution, and microbiological interactions may affect marine ecosystems in the future.

Bioremediation in marine ecosystems: a computational study combining ecological modelling and flux balance analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianna eTaffi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The pressure to search effective bioremediation methodologies for contaminated ecosystems has led to the large-scale identification of microbial species and metabolic degradation pathways. However, minor attention has been paid to the study of bioremediation in marine food webs and to the definition of integrated strategies for reducing bioaccumulation in species. We propose a novel computational framework for analysing the multiscale effects of bioremediation at the ecosystem level, based on coupling food web bioaccumulation models and metabolic models of degrading bacteria. The combination of techniques from synthetic biology and ecological network analysis allows the specification of arbitrary scenarios of contaminant removal and the evaluation of strategies based on natural or synthetic microbial strains.In this study, we derive a bioaccumulation model of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs in the Adriatic food web, and we extend a metabolic reconstruction of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 (iJN746 with the aerobic pathway of PCBs degradation. We assess the effectiveness of different bioremediation scenarios in reducing PCBs concentration in species and we study indices of species centrality to measure their importance in the contaminant diffusion via feeding links.The analysis of the Adriatic sea case study suggests that our framework could represent a practical tool in the design of effective remediation strategies, providing at the same time insights into the ecological role of microbial communities within food webs.

IAEA Monitors Marine Radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixit, Aabha; Kaiser, Peter

2013-01-01

The IAEA assists Member States in using scientific tools to precisely identify and track nuclear and nonnuclear contaminants, as well as to investigate their biological effects on the marine ecosystem

Mechanisms of social synchrony between circadian activity rhythms in cohabiting marmosets.

Science.gov (United States)

Bessa, Zoélia Camila Moura; Melo, Paula Rocha De; Gonçalves, Bruno S B; Azevedo, Carolina V M De

2018-01-26

In marmosets, social synchrony between circadian profiles of activity is stronger in animals that cohabit in a family. The activity of three breeding pairs was recorded by actiwatches to investigate the mechanisms involved in the synchrony between the circadian activity profiles during cohabitation in marmoset reproductive pairs. The dyads were submitted to LD 12:12 (21 days) and LL: 1) cohabitation (24 days), 2) removal of the cage mate (20 days), 3) reintroduction of the mate into the cage of the 1 st situation (30 days) and 4) removal of the cage mate (7 days). Next, they were rejoined and maintained in LD 12:12 (11 days). In conditions involving cohabitation of pair, the general and maximum correlation indexes between circadian profiles were higher in cage mates compared to animals of the same or different sex with which they maintain only acoustic and olfactive contact. This strong synchrony between rhythms was accompanied by a stable phase relationship at the activity onset and offset, with identical circadian periods between mates. When the pairs were separated, there was a break in stability in the phase relationships between activity profiles with different circadian periods and a greater phase angle difference between rhythms of cage mates. During separation, two females and one male progressively anticipated the activity onset and offset in a phase similar to that in previous conditions, expressing entrainment to the mate. During the first reintroduction, two pairs exhibited signs of masking in rhythm. Although modulation in the rhythm of some animals has been observed through acoustic cues from animals outside the colony, we suggest that cohabitation favors strong synchrony between the circadian activity profiles of marmoset reproductive pairs involving synchronization by entrainment and masking. Further studies in the absence of external social cues are necessary to clarify the role of these mechanisms on social synchronization in marmosets.

Marine biodiversity-ecosystem functions under uncertain environmental futures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulling, Mark T; Hicks, Natalie; Murray, Leigh; Paterson, David M; Raffaelli, Dave; White, Piran C L; Solan, Martin

2010-07-12

Anthropogenic activity is currently leading to dramatic transformations of ecosystems and losses of biodiversity. The recognition that these ecosystems provide services that are essential for human well-being has led to a major interest in the forms of the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship. However, there is a lack of studies examining the impact of climate change on these relationships and it remains unclear how multiple climatic drivers may affect levels of ecosystem functioning. Here, we examine the roles of two important climate change variables, temperature and concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, on the relationship between invertebrate species richness and nutrient release in a model benthic estuarine system. We found a positive relationship between invertebrate species richness and the levels of release of NH(4)-N into the water column, but no effect of species richness on the release of PO(4)-P. Higher temperatures and greater concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a negative impact on nutrient release. Importantly, we found significant interactions between the climate variables, indicating that reliably predicting the effects of future climate change will not be straightforward as multiple drivers are unlikely to have purely additive effects, resulting in increased levels of uncertainty.

Marine biodiversity–ecosystem functions under uncertain environmental futures

Science.gov (United States)

Bulling, Mark T.; Hicks, Natalie; Murray, Leigh; Paterson, David M.; Raffaelli, Dave; White, Piran C. L.; Solan, Martin

2010-01-01

Anthropogenic activity is currently leading to dramatic transformations of ecosystems and losses of biodiversity. The recognition that these ecosystems provide services that are essential for human well-being has led to a major interest in the forms of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. However, there is a lack of studies examining the impact of climate change on these relationships and it remains unclear how multiple climatic drivers may affect levels of ecosystem functioning. Here, we examine the roles of two important climate change variables, temperature and concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, on the relationship between invertebrate species richness and nutrient release in a model benthic estuarine system. We found a positive relationship between invertebrate species richness and the levels of release of NH4-N into the water column, but no effect of species richness on the release of PO4-P. Higher temperatures and greater concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a negative impact on nutrient release. Importantly, we found significant interactions between the climate variables, indicating that reliably predicting the effects of future climate change will not be straightforward as multiple drivers are unlikely to have purely additive effects, resulting in increased levels of uncertainty. PMID:20513718

Synchrony detection and amplification by silicon neurons with STDP synapses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bofill-i-petit, Adria; Murray, Alan F

2004-09-01

Spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity (STDP) is a form of plasticity driven by precise spike-timing differences between presynaptic and postsynaptic spikes. Thus, the learning rules underlying STDP are suitable for learning neuronal temporal phenomena such as spike-timing synchrony. It is well known that weight-independent STDP creates unstable learning processes resulting in balanced bimodal weight distributions. In this paper, we present a neuromorphic analog very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit that contains a feedforward network of silicon neurons with STDP synapses. The learning rule implemented can be tuned to have a moderate level of weight dependence. This helps stabilise the learning process and still generates binary weight distributions. From on-chip learning experiments we show that the chip can detect and amplify hierarchical spike-timing synchrony structures embedded in noisy spike trains. The weight distributions of the network emerging from learning are bimodal.

Methods for Marine Ecosystems Research through the Use of PDAs with Preservice Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoinette Bruciati

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings. It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for these devices to be successfully integrated into classroom instruction, changes in teaching methodologies must be adopted. This paper presents a model lesson that can be used to guide preservice teachers in the use of PDAs for studying a marine ecosystem. The field experience takes place on the shoreline of Long Island Sound at Stratford Point, in Stratford Connecticut.

Sampling frequency of ciliated protozoan microfauna for seasonal distribution research in marine ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Henglong; Yong, Jiang; Xu, Guangjian

2015-12-30

Sampling frequency is important to obtain sufficient information for temporal research of microfauna. To determine an optimal strategy for exploring the seasonal variation in ciliated protozoa, a dataset from the Yellow Sea, northern China was studied. Samples were collected with 24 (biweekly), 12 (monthly), 8 (bimonthly per season) and 4 (seasonally) sampling events. Compared to the 24 samplings (100%), the 12-, 8- and 4-samplings recovered 94%, 94%, and 78% of the total species, respectively. To reveal the seasonal distribution, the 8-sampling regime may result in >75% information of the seasonal variance, while the traditional 4-sampling may only explain sampling frequency, the biotic data showed stronger correlations with seasonal variables (e.g., temperature, salinity) in combination with nutrients. It is suggested that the 8-sampling events per year may be an optimal sampling strategy for ciliated protozoan seasonal research in marine ecosystems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incorporation of Socio-Economic Features' Ranking in Multicriteria Analysis Based on Ecosystem Services for Marine Protected Area Planning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle E Portman

Full Text Available Developed decades ago for spatial choice problems related to zoning in the urban planning field, multicriteria analysis (MCA has more recently been applied to environmental conflicts and presented in several documented cases for the creation of protected area management plans. Its application is considered here for the development of zoning as part of a proposed marine protected area management plan. The case study incorporates specially-explicit conservation features while considering stakeholder preferences, expert opinion and characteristics of data quality. It involves the weighting of criteria using a modified analytical hierarchy process. Experts ranked physical attributes which include socio-economically valued physical features. The parameters used for the ranking of (physical attributes important for socio-economic reasons are derived from the field of ecosystem services assessment. Inclusion of these feature values results in protection that emphasizes those areas closest to shore, most likely because of accessibility and familiarity parameters and because of data biases. Therefore, other spatial conservation prioritization methods should be considered to supplement the MCA and efforts should be made to improve data about ecosystem service values farther from shore. Otherwise, the MCA method allows incorporation of expert and stakeholder preferences and ecosystem services values while maintaining the advantages of simplicity and clarity.

Towards an ecosystem-based approach of Guam's coral reefs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijerman, M.; Grace-McCaskey, Cynthia; Grafeld, Shanna L.; Kotowicz, Dawn M.; Oleson, Kirsten L.L.; Putten, van Ingrid E.

2016-01-01

Management of tropical reef ecosystems under pressure from terrestrial and extractive marine activities is not straightforward, especially when the interests of extractive and non-extractive marine resource sectors compete. Before implementing management actions, potential outcomes of alternative

Methane Production by Seagrass Ecosystems in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Garcias Bonet, Neus; Duarte, Carlos M.

2017-01-01

Atmospheric methane (CH) is the second strongest greenhouse gas and it is emitted to the atmosphere naturally by different sources. It is crucial to define the dimension of these natural emissions in order to forecast changes in atmospheric CH mixing ratio in future scenarios. However, CH emissions by seagrass ecosystems in shallow marine coastal systems have been neglected although their global extension. Here we quantify the CH production rates of seagrass ecosystems in the Red Sea. We measured changes in CH concentration and its isotopic signature by cavity ring-down spectroscopy on chambers containing sediment and plants. We detected CH production in all the seagrass stations with an average rate of 85.09 ± 27.80 μmol CH m d. Our results show that there is no seasonal or daily pattern in the CH production rates by seagrass ecosystems in the Red Sea. Taking in account the range of global estimates for seagrass coverage and the average seagrass CH production, the global CH production and emission by seagrass ecosystems could range from 0.09 to 2.7 Tg yr. Because CH emission by seagrass ecosystems had not been included in previous global CH budgets, our estimate would increase the contribution of marine global emissions, hitherto estimated at 9.1 Tg yr, by about 30%. Thus, the potential contribution of seagrass ecosystems to marine CH emissions provides sufficient evidence of the relevance of these fluxes as to include seagrass ecosystems in future assessments of the global CH budgets.

Methane Production by Seagrass Ecosystems in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Garcias Bonet, Neus

2017-11-07

Atmospheric methane (CH) is the second strongest greenhouse gas and it is emitted to the atmosphere naturally by different sources. It is crucial to define the dimension of these natural emissions in order to forecast changes in atmospheric CH mixing ratio in future scenarios. However, CH emissions by seagrass ecosystems in shallow marine coastal systems have been neglected although their global extension. Here we quantify the CH production rates of seagrass ecosystems in the Red Sea. We measured changes in CH concentration and its isotopic signature by cavity ring-down spectroscopy on chambers containing sediment and plants. We detected CH production in all the seagrass stations with an average rate of 85.09 ± 27.80 μmol CH m d. Our results show that there is no seasonal or daily pattern in the CH production rates by seagrass ecosystems in the Red Sea. Taking in account the range of global estimates for seagrass coverage and the average seagrass CH production, the global CH production and emission by seagrass ecosystems could range from 0.09 to 2.7 Tg yr. Because CH emission by seagrass ecosystems had not been included in previous global CH budgets, our estimate would increase the contribution of marine global emissions, hitherto estimated at 9.1 Tg yr, by about 30%. Thus, the potential contribution of seagrass ecosystems to marine CH emissions provides sufficient evidence of the relevance of these fluxes as to include seagrass ecosystems in future assessments of the global CH budgets.

An exposure-effect approach for evaluating ecosystem-wide risks from human activities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knights, A.M.; Piet, G.J.; Jongbloed, R.H.; Tamis, J.E.; Robinson, L.A.

2015-01-01

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is promoted as the solution for sustainable use. An ecosystem-wide assessment methodology is therefore required. In this paper, we present an approach to assess the risk to ecosystem components from human activities common to marine and coastal ecosystems. We build

Effects of flowering phenology and synchrony on the reproductive success of a long-flowering shrub

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Pérez, Javier; Traveset, Anna

2016-01-01

Flowering phenology and synchrony with biotic and abiotic resources are crucial traits determining the reproductive success in insect-pollinated plants. In seasonal climates, plants flowering for long periods should assure reproductive success when resources are more predictable. In this work, we evaluated the relationship between flowering phenology and synchrony and reproductive success in Hypericum balearicum, a shrub flowering all year round but mainly during spring and summer. We studied two contrasting localities (differing mostly in rainfall) during 3 years, and at different biological scales spanning from localities to individual flowers and fruits. We first monitored (monthly) flowering phenology and reproductive success (fruit and seed set) of plants, and assessed whether in the locality with higher rainfall plants had longer flowering phenology and synchrony and relatively higher reproductive success within or outside the flowering peak. Secondly, we censused pollinators on H. balearicum individuals and measured reproductive success along the flowering peak of each locality to test for an association between (i) richness and abundance of pollinators and (ii) fruit and seed set, and seed weight. We found that most flowers (∼90 %) and the highest fruit set (∼70 %) were produced during the flowering peak of each locality. Contrary to expectations, plants in the locality with lower rainfall showed more relaxed flowering phenology and synchrony and set more fruits outside the flowering peak. During the flowering peak of each locality, the reproductive success of early-flowering individuals depended on a combination of both pollinator richness and abundance and rainfall; by contrast, reproductive success of late-flowering individuals was most dependent on rainfall. Plant species flowering for long periods in seasonal climates, thus, appear to be ideal organisms to understand how flowering phenology and synchrony match with biotic and abiotic resources, and

Longer and less overlapping food webs in anthropogenically disturbed marine ecosystems: confirmations from the past.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiana Saporiti

Full Text Available The human exploitation of marine resources is characterised by the preferential removal of the largest species. Although this is expected to modify the structure of food webs, we have a relatively poor understanding of the potential consequences of such alteration. Here, we take advantage of a collection of ancient consumer tissues, using stable isotope analysis and SIBER to assess changes in the structure of coastal marine food webs in the South-western Atlantic through the second half of the Holocene as a result of the sequential exploitation of marine resources by hunter-gatherers, western sealers and modern fishermen. Samples were collected from shell middens and museums. Shells of both modern and archaeological intertidal herbivorous molluscs were used to reconstruct changes in the stable isotopic baseline, while modern and archaeological bones of the South American sea lion Otaria flavescens, South American fur seal Arctocephalus australis and Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus were used to analyse changes in the structure of the community of top predators. We found that ancient food webs were shorter, more redundant and more overlapping than current ones, both in northern-central Patagonia and southern Patagonia. These surprising results may be best explained by the huge impact of western sealing on pinnipeds during the fur trade period, rather than the impact of fishing on fish populations. As a consequence, the populations of pinnipeds at the end of the sealing period were likely well below the ecosystem's carrying capacity, which resulted in a release of intraspecific competition and a shift towards larger and higher trophic level prey. This in turn led to longer and less overlapping food webs.

Nutrient reduction and climate change cause a potential shift from pelagic to benthic pathways in a eutrophic marine ecosystem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Blenckner, T.; Stenseth, N.C.

2012-01-01

The degree to which marine ecosystems may support the pelagic or benthic food chain has been shown to vary across natural and anthropogenic gradients for e.g., in temperature and nutrient availability. Moreover, such external forcing may not only affect the flux of organic matter but could trigger...... variables across all trophic levels, we here propose a potential regime shift from pelagic to benthic regulatory pathways; a possible first sign of recovery from eutrophication likely triggered by drastic nutrient reductions (involving both nitrogen and phosphorus), in combination with climate...

A Size-based Ecosystem Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn-Jonsen, Lars

 Ecosystem Management requires models that can link the ecosystem level to the operation level. This link can be created by an ecosystem production model. Because the function of the individual fish in the marine ecosystem, seen in trophic context, is closely related to its size, the model groups...... fish according to size. The model summarises individual predation events into ecosystem level properties, and thereby uses the law of conversation of mass as a framework. This paper provides the background, the conceptual model, basic assumptions, integration of fishing activities, mathematical...... the predator--prey interaction, (ii) mass balance in the predator--prey allocation, and (iii) mortality and somatic growth as a consequence of the predator--prey allocation. By incorporating additional assumptions, the model can be extended to other dimensions of the ecosystem, for example, space or species...

In Sync and in Control: A Meta-Analysis of Parent-Child Positive Behavioral Synchrony and Youth Self-Regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Molly; Bilms, Joanie; Suveg, Cynthia

2017-12-01

A growing body of research has highlighted the connection between parent-child positive behavioral synchrony and youth self-regulation; however, this association has yet to be the focus of a meta-analytic review. Therefore, the present meta-analysis aimed to estimate the magnitude of the relation between parent-child positive behavioral synchrony and youth self-regulation and to identify moderator variables that can explain the variability in the degree of this association across the extant literature. A thorough literature search of two major databases, in addition to scanning the reference sections of relevant articles, yielded a total of 10 peer-reviewed articles (24 effect sizes, 658 children) that were eligible for inclusion in the current meta-analysis. Results from the overall mean effect size calculation using a random-effects model indicated that parent-child positive behavioral synchrony was significantly, positively correlated with youth self-regulation and the effect size was medium. Children's ages at the time of synchrony and self-regulation measurements, as well as parent gender, served as significant moderator variables. Findings from the present meta-analysis can help to refine existing theoretical models on the role of the parent-child relationship in youth adjustment. Prevention and intervention efforts may benefit from an increased emphasis on building parent-child positive behavioral synchrony to promote youth self-regulation and thus children's overall well-being. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

Altered gene synchrony suggests a combined hormone-mediated dysregulated state in major depression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Gaiteri

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Coordinated gene transcript levels across tissues (denoted "gene synchrony" reflect converging influences of genetic, biochemical and environmental factors; hence they are informative of the biological state of an individual. So could brain gene synchrony also integrate the multiple factors engaged in neuropsychiatric disorders and reveal underlying pathologies? Using bootstrapped Pearson correlation for transcript levels for the same genes across distinct brain areas, we report robust gene transcript synchrony between the amygdala and cingulate cortex in the human postmortem brain of normal control subjects (n = 14; Control/Permutated data, p<0.000001. Coordinated expression was confirmed across distinct prefrontal cortex areas in a separate cohort (n = 19 subjects and affected different gene sets, potentially reflecting regional network- and function-dependent transcriptional programs. Genewise regional transcript coordination was independent of age-related changes and array technical parameters. Robust shifts in amygdala-cingulate gene synchrony were observed in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD, denoted here "depression" (n = 14; MDD/Permutated data, p<0.000001, significantly affecting between 100 and 250 individual genes (10-30% false discovery rate. Biological networks and signal transduction pathways corresponding to the identified gene set suggested putative dysregulated functions for several hormone-type factors previously implicated in depression (insulin, interleukin-1, thyroid hormone, estradiol and glucocorticoids; p<0.01 for association with depression-related networks. In summary, we showed that coordinated gene expression across brain areas may represent a novel molecular probe for brain structure/function that is sensitive to disease condition, suggesting the presence of a distinct and integrated hormone-mediated corticolimbic homeostatic, although maladaptive and pathological, state in major depression.

The Effect of Delayed Visual Feedback on Synchrony Perception in a Tapping Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirjam Keetels

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Sensory events following a motor action are, within limits, interpreted as a causal consequence of those actions. For example, the clapping of the hands is initiated by the motor system, but subsequently visual, auditory, and tactile information is provided and processed. In the present study we examine the effect of temporal disturbances in this chain of motor-sensory events. Participants are instructed to tap a surface with their finger in synchrony with a chain of 20 sound clicks (ISI 750 ms. We examined the effect of additional visual information on this ‘tap-sound’-synchronization task. During tapping, subjects will see a video of their own tapping hand on a screen in front of them. The video can either be in synchrony with the tap (real-time recording, or can be slightly delayed (∼40–160 ms. In a control condition, no video is provided. We explore whether ‘tap-sound’ synchrony will be shifted as a function of the delayed visual feedback. Results will provide fundamental insights into how the brain preserves a causal interpretation of motor actions and their sensory consequences.

Distribution of transuranic nuclides in Mediterranean ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballestra, S.; Thein, M.; Fukai, R.

1982-01-01

For the comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of transuranic elements in the marine environment, the knowledge on the distribution of these elements in various components of marine ecosystems is essential. Since the Mediterranean Sea is considered a sufficiently self-contained system, our approach for studying the processes controlling the transuranic cycling in the sea has been to follow, step by step, the redistribution of plutonium and americium in different components of the marine environment, taking Mediterranean ecosystems as examples. While the studies in the past years have supplied quantitative information on the inputs of plutonium and americium into the Mediterranean from atmospheric fallout and rivers as well as on their behaviour in the Mediterranean water column, only scattered data have been made available so far on the occurrence of the transuranic nuclides in the Mediterranean marine biota or sediments. In order to fill up this information gap, biological and sediment samples were collected from the northwestern Mediterranean region during 1975-1978 for the transuranic measurements. The results of these determinations are given in the present report

[Research advances in ecological stoichiometry of marine plankton].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lei; Li, Chao-Lun

2014-10-01

Ecological stoichiometry can be simply defined as: The biology of elements from molecules to the biosphere, which spans all levels of the environment and of the life. It's a new idea to build a unified theory and becomes an inevitable trend to develop the ecological science. Marine ecosystems, which contribute to 50% of the biosphere biomass, are the important component of the global biogeochemical cycles. Marine zooplankton plays an important role in the material circulation and energy flow of marine ecosystems and serves as a connecting link between the preceding and the following in a more precise understanding of the key elemental cycles. However, research on ecological stoichiometry of marine plankton is fragmentary and rare. This article summarized the ecological phenomena and mechanisms of limiting elements affecting marine plankton, the response of biochemical substances to nutrition limitation, and the food chain transmission and feedback of nutrition limitation. Meanwhile, we also put forward some perspectives for future research of ecological stoichiometry of plankton in China' s seas.

Hypoxia in the changing marine environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, J; Cowie, G; Naqvi, S W A

2013-01-01

The predicted future of the global marine environment, as a combined result of forcing due to climate change (e.g. warming and acidification) and other anthropogenic perturbation (e.g. eutrophication), presents a challenge to the sustainability of ecosystems from tropics to high latitudes. Among the various associated phenomena of ecosystem deterioration, hypoxia can cause serious problems in coastal areas as well as oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean (Diaz and Rosenberg 2008 Science 321 926–9, Stramma et al 2008 Science 320 655–8). The negative impacts of hypoxia include changes in populations of marine organisms, such as large-scale mortality and behavioral responses, as well as variations of species distributions, biodiversity, physiological stress, and other sub-lethal effects (e.g. growth and reproduction). Social and economic activities that are related to services provided by the marine ecosystems, such as tourism and fisheries, can be negatively affected by the aesthetic outcomes as well as perceived or real impacts on seafood quality (STAP 2011 (Washington, DC: Global Environment Facility) p 88). Moreover, low oxygen concentration in marine waters can have considerable feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth system, like the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and can affect the global biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and trace elements. It is of critical importance to prediction and adaptation strategies that the key processes of hypoxia in marine environments be precisely determined and understood (cf Zhang et al 2010 Biogeosciences 7 1–24). (synthesis and review)

A Case of Hand Waving: Action Synchrony and Person Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Macrae, C. Neil; Duffy, Oonagh K.; Miles, Lynden K.; Lawrence, Julie

2008-01-01

While previous research has demonstrated that people's movements can become coordinated during social interaction, little is known about the cognitive consequences of behavioral synchrony. Given intimate links between the systems that regulate perception and action, we hypothesized that the synchronization of movements during a dyadic interaction…

Options in dealing with marine alien species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pelt-Heerschap, van H.M.L.; Sneekes, A.C.; Foekema, E.M.

2015-01-01

Invasive species can have strong impact on the local ecosystem, not only substantial impact on the local ecosystem, but also on economy and human health. This review on marine alien species outlines aspects of prevention, eradication and control strategies. When managing invasive species, prevention

Genetic influences on phase synchrony of brain oscillations supporting response inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Viktor; Anokhin, Andrey P; Lindenberger, Ulman

2017-05-01

Phase synchronization of neuronal oscillations is a fundamental mechanism underlying cognitive processing and behavior, including context-dependent response production and inhibition. Abnormalities in neural synchrony can lead to abnormal information processing and contribute to cognitive and behavioral deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders. However, little is known about genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in cortical oscillatory dynamics underlying response inhibition. This study examined heritability of event-related phase synchronization of brain oscillations in 302 young female twins including 94 MZ and 57 DZ pairs performing a cued Go/No-Go version of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT). We used the Phase Locking Index (PLI) to assess inter-trial phase clustering (synchrony) in several frequency bands in two time intervals after stimulus onset (0-300 and 301-600ms). Response inhibition (i.e., successful response suppression in No-Go trials) was characterized by a transient increase in phase synchronization of delta- and theta-band oscillations in the fronto-central midline region. Genetic analysis showed significant heritability of the phase locking measures related to response inhibition, with 30 to 49% of inter-individual variability being accounted for by genetic factors. This is the first study providing evidence for heritability of task-related neural synchrony. The present results suggest that PLI can serve as an indicator of genetically transmitted individual differences in neural substrates of response inhibition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifying thresholds for ecosystem-based management.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jameal F Samhouri

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: One of the greatest obstacles to moving ecosystem-based management (EBM from concept to practice is the lack of a systematic approach to defining ecosystem-level decision criteria, or reference points that trigger management action. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assist resource managers and policymakers in developing EBM decision criteria, we introduce a quantitative, transferable method for identifying utility thresholds. A utility threshold is the level of human-induced pressure (e.g., pollution at which small changes produce substantial improvements toward the EBM goal of protecting an ecosystem's structural (e.g., diversity and functional (e.g., resilience attributes. The analytical approach is based on the detection of nonlinearities in relationships between ecosystem attributes and pressures. We illustrate the method with a hypothetical case study of (1 fishing and (2 nearshore habitat pressure using an empirically-validated marine ecosystem model for British Columbia, Canada, and derive numerical threshold values in terms of the density of two empirically-tractable indicator groups, sablefish and jellyfish. We also describe how to incorporate uncertainty into the estimation of utility thresholds and highlight their value in the context of understanding EBM trade-offs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: For any policy scenario, an understanding of utility thresholds provides insight into the amount and type of management intervention required to make significant progress toward improved ecosystem structure and function. The approach outlined in this paper can be applied in the context of single or multiple human-induced pressures, to any marine, freshwater, or terrestrial ecosystem, and should facilitate more effective management.

Maternal depression and anxiety, social synchrony, and infant regulation of negative and positive emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Granat, Adi; Gadassi, Reuma; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Feldman, Ruth

2017-02-01

Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) exerts long-term negative effects on infants; yet the mechanisms by which PPD disrupts emotional development are not fully clear. Utilizing an extreme-case design, 971 women reported symptoms of depression and anxiety following childbirth and 215 high and low on depressive symptomatology reported again at 6 months. Of these, mothers diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n = 22), anxiety disorders (n = 19), and controls (n = 59) were visited at 9 months. Mother-infant interaction was microcoded for maternal and infant's social behavior and synchrony. Infant negative and positive emotional expression and self-regulation were tested in 4 emotion-eliciting paradigms: anger with mother, anger with stranger, joy with mother, and joy with stranger. Infants of depressed mothers displayed less social gaze and more gaze aversion. Gaze and touch synchrony were lowest for depressed mothers, highest for anxious mothers, and midlevel among controls. Infants of control and anxious mothers expressed less negative affect with mother compared with stranger; however, maternal presence failed to buffer negative affect in the depressed group. Maternal depression chronicity predicted increased self-regulatory behavior during joy episodes, and touch synchrony moderated the effects of PPD on infant self-regulation. Findings describe subtle microlevel processes by which maternal depression across the postpartum year disrupts the development of infant emotion regulation and suggest that diminished social synchrony, low differentiation of attachment and nonattachment contexts, and increased self-regulation during positive moments may chart pathways for the cross-generational transfer of emotional maladjustment from depressed mothers to their infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Reduction in Cortical Gamma Synchrony during Depolarized State of Slow Wave Activity in Mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

EUNJIN eHWANG

2013-12-01

Full Text Available EEG gamma band oscillations have been proposed to account for the neural synchronization crucial for perceptual integration. While increased gamma power and synchronization is generally observed during cognitive tasks performed during wake, several studies have additionally reported increased gamma power during sleep or anesthesia, raising questions about the characteristics of gamma oscillation during impaired consciousness and its role in conscious processing. Phase-amplitude modulation has been observed between slow wave activity (SWA, 0.5–4 Hz and gamma oscillations during ketamine/xylazine anesthesia or sleep, showing increased gamma activity corresponding to the depolarized (ON state of SWA. Here we divided gamma activity into its ON and OFF (hyperpolarized state components based on the phase of SWA induced by ketamine/xylazine anesthesia and compared their power and synchrony with wake state levels in mice. We further investigated the state-dependent changes in both gamma power and synchrony across primary motor and primary somatosensory cortical regions and their interconnected thalamic regions throughout anesthesia and recovery. As observed previously, gamma power was as high as during wake specifically during the ON state of SWA. However, the synchrony of this gamma activity between somatosensory-motor cortical regions was significantly reduced compared to the baseline wake state. In addition, the somatosensory-motor cortical synchrony of gamma oscillations was reduced and restored in an anesthetic state-dependent manner, reflecting the changing depth of anesthesia. Our results provide evidence that during anesthesia changes in long-range information integration between cortical regions might be more critical for changes in consciousness than changes in local gamma oscillatory power.

Parasites in marine food webs

Science.gov (United States)

Lafferty, Kevin D.

2013-01-01

Most species interactions probably involve parasites. This review considers the extent to which marine ecologists should consider parasites to fully understand marine communities. Parasites are influential parts of food webs in estuaries, temperate reefs, and coral reefs, but their ecological importance is seldom recognized. Though difficult to observe, parasites can have substantial biomass, and they can be just as common as free-living consumers after controlling for body mass and trophic level. Parasites have direct impacts on the energetics of their hosts and some affect host behaviors, with ecosystem-level consequences. Although they cause disease, parasites are sensitive components of ecosystems. In particular, they suffer secondary extinctions due to biodiversity loss. Some parasites can also return to a system after habitat restoration. For these reasons, parasites can make good indicators of ecosystem integrity. Fishing can indirectly increase or decrease parasite populations and the effects of climate change on parasites are likely to be equally as complex.

Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchrony: a common phenomenon with important implications

OpenAIRE

MacIntyre, Neil

2013-01-01

Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchronies are common with the use of assisted forms of mechanical ventilatory support, including non-invasive mechanical ventilatory support (NIV). Future system designs need to address this in order to improve the effectiveness of NIV.

Implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries is being ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

contributing to development of a more integrative ap- ... spatial distribution of the species are compiled from published literature. ... marine ecosystem models are still difficult to perform. ... Marine & Coastal Management, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Private Bag X2 .... This coefficient is determined as the.

Biogeochemical studies of technetium in marine and estuarine ecosystems. Progress report, 1 July 1979-30 June 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beasley, T.M.

1980-01-01

Progress is reported in research dealing with the biogeochemical behavior of technetium in marine and estuarine ecosystems. Studies were planned to elaborate the biokinetic behavior of Tc as TcO 4 - in selected marine and estuarine organisms and to determine the affinity of TcO 4 - for different marine sediments under oxygenated conditions. It is concluded that concentration factors for TcO 4 - in bivalve molluscs (oysters and mussels) do not exceed 2 when calculated for whole animals and when uptake is directly from water. Direct uptake from water by limpets (archeogastropod) are very much lower than have been reported for red abalone (archeogastropod). Whole body concentration factors for TcO 4 - in the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, where uptake is directly from labeled seawater, do not exceed 10 at equilibrium. Both the lobster, Homarus gammaris and the polychaete, Nereis diversicolor appear to concentrate Tc efficiently from water labelled intially with TcO 4 - . Both plaice and rays (Raja clavata) fed /sup 95m/Tc labeled Nereis show an initial rapid loss of the isotope for approximately five days. Thereafter, loss is much reduced. Shrimp (Palaemon elegans), Cragnon sp.) and Crab (Cancer pagurus) show concentration factors similar to plaice (C.F. is less than 10). Isopods, however, have concentration factors of only 3 following four weeks exposure to labeled seawater. Uptake of TcO 4 - by phytoplankton is extremely low, which precludes experiments in which TcO 4 - labeled phytoplankton can be fed to either bivalve molluscs or microzooplankton. Sediment distribution coefficients for TcO 4 - are essentially zero and are independent of sediment type in well oxygenated seawater. Experiments to date have shown that it is not possible to make generalizations concerning the bioavailability of TcO 4 - to marine organisms

ORGANIC MATTER AND CRUDE PROTEIN DEGRADATION SYNCHRONY IN DIETS SELECTED BY RANGE GOATS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Ramírez Orduña

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The study was carried out with the aim to asses the synchrony of organic matter and crude protein degradation in the rumen of diets selected by range goats through two years. Five esophageal cannulated adult male goats were used to collect extrusa samples during summer (August 9–13 and autumn (November 29 –December 3 of 2006, winter (February 20 – 24, spring (April 29 –May 5, summer (September 10–15 and autumn (December 4–8 of 2007 and winter (February 20 – 25 and spring (May 9 –13 of 2008. Extrusa samples were subjected to chemical analysis to determine organic matter (OM, crude protein (CP in situ and in vitro true digestibility of dry matter. OM and CP intake were estimated by total fecal collection. Effective extent of degradation of the OM and CP was calculated hourly and total 24 hours. From the hourly quantity of OM and CP degraded, a synchrony index of CP to OM was calculated, and from the total 24 hours degradation, degraded organic matter intake and crude protein intake were also estimated. Sampling date was the main effect that determined the variation of diet OM and CP degradation parameters. Degraded crude protein intake as a proportion of degraded OM was affected by sampling date and was correlated to rainfall. During winter of the first year degraded crude protein intake was below the requirements for maintenance or to promote growth for range goats weighing 40 kg. Even though, synchrony index between OM and CP degradation was affected by sampling date goats maintained a high synchrony index throughout the years.

Enhanced biodiversity beyond marine reserve boundaries: the cup spillith over.

Science.gov (United States)

Russ, Garry R; Alcala, Angel C

2011-01-01

Overfishing can have detrimental effects on marine biodiversity and the structure of marine ecosystems. No-take marine reserves (NTMRs) are much advocated as a means of protecting biodiversity and ecosystem structure from overharvest. In contrast to terrestrial protected areas, NTMRs are not only expected to conserve or recover biodiversity and ecosystems within their boundaries, but also to enhance biodiversity beyond their boundaries by exporting species richness and more complex biological communities. Here we show that species richness of large predatory reef fish increased fourfold and 11-fold inside two Philippine no-take marine reserves over 14 and 25 years, respectively. Outside one reserve (Apo) the species richness also increased. This increase beyond the Apo reserve boundary was 78% higher closer to the boundary (200-250 m) than farther from it (250-500 m). The increase in richness beyond the boundary could not be explained by improvements over time in habitat or prey availability. Furthermore, community composition of predatory fish outside but close to (200-250 m) the Apo reserve became very similar to that inside the reserve over time, almost converging with it in multivariate space after 26 years of reserve protection. This is consistent with the suggestion that, as community composition inside Apo reserve increased in complexity, this complexity spilled over the boundary into nearby fished areas. Clearly, the spillover of species richness and community complexity is a direct consequence of the spillover of abundance of multiple species. However, this spillover of species richness and community complexity demonstrates an important benefit of biodiversity and ecosystem export from reserves, and it provides hope that reserves can help to reverse the decline of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Functioning within a relationship : Mother-infant synchrony and infant sleep

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Graag, Jolien A.; Cox, Ralf F. A.; Hasselman, Fred; Jansen, Jarno; de Weerth, Carolina

The aim of this study was to investigate the coupling of the biological system of infant sleep and the social system of mother-infant synchrony. Before birth and shortly after birth the systems appear to be connected, but it is unclear whether this remains the case over time. This study therefore

List identifies threatened ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2012-09-01

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on 9 September that it will develop a new Red List of Ecosystems that will identify which ecosystems are vulnerable or endangered. The list, which is modeled on the group's Red List of Threatened Species™, could help to guide conservation activities and influence policy processes such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, according to the group. “We will assess the status of marine, terrestrial, freshwater, and subterranean ecosystems at local, regional, and global levels,” stated Jon Paul Rodriguez, leader of IUCN's Ecosystems Red List Thematic Group. “The assessment can then form the basis for concerted implementation action so that we can manage them sustainably if their risk of collapse is low or restore them if they are threatened and then monitor their recovery.”

Preface: Biogeochemistry–ecosystem interaction on changing continental margins in the Anthropocene

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Liu, K-K.; Emeis, K.-C.; Levin, L.A.; Naqvi, S.W.A.; Roman, M.

and hypercapnia in upwelling systems • Interactions between natural and social sciences for better steward- ship of continental margins. It has long been acknowledged (e.g., Doney, 2010; Liu et al., 2010) that marine ecosystems on continental margins, including... and possibly manage margin ecosystems in a changing world. Effective governance of social–ecological systems on continental margins is key to reducing the pervasive over- exploitation, depletion and destruction of marine resources and http://dx.doi.org/10...

Radiochronology of marine sediments and its application to the knowledge of the process of environmental pollution in coastal Cuban ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso-Hernández, Carlos M.; Díaz-Asencio, Misael; Gómez-Batista, Miguel; Bolaños-Alvares, Yoelvis; Muñoz-Caravaca, Alain; Morera-Gómez, Yasser

2016-01-01

The results achieved in the implementation of the radiochronology of marine sediments for the reconstruction of databases and knowledge of the evolution of environmental pollution in four coastal ecosystems of national significance are presented in this paper Fluxes of selected heavy metals and persistent organic compounds are discussed for the Cienfuegos and Havana bays and Sagua and La Coloma estuaries. Finally, is showed the effectiveness of radiochronology of sediments as a useful tool for environmental management and knowledge of temporal processes of pollution in the aquatic environment. (author)

Measures of spike train synchrony for data with multiple time scales

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Satuvuori, Eero; Mulansky, Mario; Bozanic, Nebojsa; Malvestio, Irene; Zeldenrust, Fleur; Lenk, Kerstin; Kreuz, Thomas

2017-01-01

Background Measures of spike train synchrony are widely used in both experimental and computational neuroscience. Time-scale independent and parameter-free measures, such as the ISI-distance, the SPIKE-distance and SPIKE-synchronization, are preferable to time scale parametric measures, since by

REGIONAL DYNAMICS OF WETLAND-BREEDING FROGS AND TOADS: TURNOVER AND SYNCHRONY

Science.gov (United States)

We used data from a statewide frog monitoring network to investigate population turnover and synchrony in eight wetland-breeding species. We found that subpopulations at many sites turn over frequently, with breeding choruses absent or undetectable in most years. Frequencies of d...

Chemical ecology of the marine plankton.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Jessie S; Poulson-Ellestad, Kelsey L; Drew Sieg, R; Poulin, Remington X; Kubanek, Julia

2013-10-11

This review summarizes recent work in the chemical ecology of pelagic marine ecosystems. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of advances in the field over the period covered, we have organized this review by ecological interaction type beginning with intraspecific interactions, then interspecific interactions (including mutualism, parasitism, competition, and predation), and finally community- and ecosystem-wide interactions.

Making the ecosystem approach operational-Can regime shifts in ecological- and governance systems facilitate the transition?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Österblom, H.; Gårdmark, A.; Bergström, L.

2010-01-01

Effectively reducing cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems requires co-evolution between science, policy and practice. Here, long-term social–ecological changes in the Baltic Sea are described, illustrating how the process of making the ecosystem approach operational in a large marine ecosystem...... stimulating innovations and re-organizing governance structures at drainage basin level to the Baltic Sea catchment as a whole. Experimentation and innovation at local to the regional levels is critical for a transition to ecosystem-based management. Establishing science-based learning platforms at sub...

Climate and fishing steer ecosystem regeneration to uncertain economic futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blenckner, Thorsten; Llope, Marcos; Möllmann, Christian

2015-01-01

Overfishing of large predatory fish populations has resulted in lasting restructurings of entire marine food webs worldwide, with serious socio-economic consequences. Fortunately, some degraded ecosystems show signs of recovery. A key challenge for ecosystem management is to anticipate the degree...... lead to higher economic uncertainty and costs for exploited ecosystems, in particular, under climate change....

Mother-infant circadian rhythm: development of individual patterns and dyadic synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Karen A; Burr, Robert L; Spieker, Susan; Lee, Jungeun; Chen, Jessica

2014-12-01

Mutual circadian rhythm is an early and essential component in the development of maternal-infant physiological synchrony. The aim of this to examine the longitudinal pattern of maternal-infant circadian rhythm and rhythm synchrony as measured by rhythm parameters. In-home dyadic actigraphy monitoring at infant age 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Forty-three healthy mother-infant pairs. Circadian parameters derived from cosinor and non-parametric analysis including mesor, magnitude, acrophase, L5 and M10 midpoints (midpoint of lowest 5 and highest 10h of activity), amplitude, interdaily stability (IS), and intradaily variability (IV). Mothers experienced early disruption of circadian rhythm, with re-establishment of rhythm over time. Significant time effects were noted in increasing maternal magnitude, amplitude, and IS and decreasing IV (pcircadian pattern with significant time effects for increasing mesor, magnitude, amplitude, L5, IS, and IV (pcircadian rhythm. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hyper-Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: Experimental Manipulation of Inter-Brain Synchrony

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Szymanski

2017-11-01

Full Text Available We walk together, we watch together, we win together: Interpersonally coordinated actions are omnipresent in everyday life, yet the associated neural mechanisms are not well understood. Available evidence suggests that the synchronization of oscillatory activity across brains may provide a mechanism for the temporal alignment of actions between two or more individuals. In an attempt to provide a direct test of this hypothesis, we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation simultaneously to two individuals (hyper-tACS who were asked to drum in synchrony at a set pace. Thirty-eight female-female dyads performed the dyadic drumming in the course of 3 weeks under three different hyper-tACS stimulation conditions: same-phase-same-frequency; different-phase-different-frequency; sham. Based on available evidence and theoretical considerations, stimulation was applied over right frontal and parietal sites in the theta frequency range. We predicted that same-phase-same-frequency stimulation would improve interpersonal action coordination, expressed as the degree of synchrony in dyadic drumming, relative to the other two conditions. Contrary to expectations, both the same-phase-same-frequency and the different-phase-different-frequency conditions were associated with greater dyadic drumming asynchrony relative to the sham condition. No influence of hyper-tACS on behavioral performance was seen when participants were asked to drum separately in synchrony to a metronome. Individual and dyad preferred drumming tempo was also unaffected by hyper-tACS. We discuss limitations of the present version of the hyper-tACS paradigm, and suggest avenues for future research.

Hyper-Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: Experimental Manipulation of Inter-Brain Synchrony.

Science.gov (United States)

Szymanski, Caroline; Müller, Viktor; Brick, Timothy R; von Oertzen, Timo; Lindenberger, Ulman

2017-01-01

We walk together, we watch together, we win together: Interpersonally coordinated actions are omnipresent in everyday life, yet the associated neural mechanisms are not well understood. Available evidence suggests that the synchronization of oscillatory activity across brains may provide a mechanism for the temporal alignment of actions between two or more individuals. In an attempt to provide a direct test of this hypothesis, we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation simultaneously to two individuals (hyper-tACS) who were asked to drum in synchrony at a set pace. Thirty-eight female-female dyads performed the dyadic drumming in the course of 3 weeks under three different hyper-tACS stimulation conditions: same-phase-same-frequency; different-phase-different-frequency; sham. Based on available evidence and theoretical considerations, stimulation was applied over right frontal and parietal sites in the theta frequency range. We predicted that same-phase-same-frequency stimulation would improve interpersonal action coordination, expressed as the degree of synchrony in dyadic drumming, relative to the other two conditions. Contrary to expectations, both the same-phase-same-frequency and the different-phase-different-frequency conditions were associated with greater dyadic drumming asynchrony relative to the sham condition. No influence of hyper-tACS on behavioral performance was seen when participants were asked to drum separately in synchrony to a metronome. Individual and dyad preferred drumming tempo was also unaffected by hyper-tACS. We discuss limitations of the present version of the hyper-tACS paradigm, and suggest avenues for future research.

Fundamental study on magnetic separation of aquatic organisms for preservation of marine ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakaguchi, F.; Akiyama, Y.; Izumi, Y.; Nishijima, S.

2009-01-01

Recently, destruction and disturbance of marine ecosystem have been caused by changes in global environment and transplants of farmed fishes and shellfishes. To solve the problems, water treatment techniques to kill or to remove aquatic organisms are necessary. In this study, application of magnetic separation for removal of the aquatic organisms was examined in order to establish the process with high-speed, compact device and low environmental load. Techniques of magnetic seeding and magnetic separation using superconducting magnet are important for high-speed processing of aquatic organisms. Magnetic seeding is to adhere separating object to the surface of ferromagnetic particles, and magnetic separation is to remove aquatic organisms with magnetic force. First, we confirmed the possibility of magnetic seeding of aquatic organisms, and then interaction between aquatic organisms and ferromagnetic particles was examined. Next, for practical application of magnetic separation system using superconducting magnet for removal of aquatic organisms, particle trajectories were simulated and magnetic separation experiment using superconducting magnet was performed in order to design magnetic separation system to achieve high separation efficiency.

Synchronous spikes are necessary but not sufficient for a synchrony code in populations of spiking neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Grewe, Jan; Kruscha, Alexandra; Lindner, Benjamin; Benda, Jan

2017-03-07

Synchronous activity in populations of neurons potentially encodes special stimulus features. Selective readout of either synchronous or asynchronous activity allows formation of two streams of information processing. Theoretical work predicts that such a synchrony code is a fundamental feature of populations of spiking neurons if they operate in specific noise and stimulus regimes. Here we experimentally test the theoretical predictions by quantifying and comparing neuronal response properties in tuberous and ampullary electroreceptor afferents of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus These related systems show similar levels of synchronous activity, but only in the more irregularly firing tuberous afferents a synchrony code is established, whereas in the more regularly firing ampullary afferents it is not. The mere existence of synchronous activity is thus not sufficient for a synchrony code. Single-cell features such as the irregularity of spiking and the frequency dependence of the neuron's transfer function determine whether synchronous spikes possess a distinct meaning for the encoding of time-dependent signals.

Marine Mammals and Climate Change in the Pacific Arctic: Impacts & Resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, S. E.

2014-12-01

Extreme reductions in Arctic sea ice extent and thickness have become a hallmark of climate change, but impacts to the marine ecosystem are poorly understood. As top predators, marine mammals must adapt to biological responses to physical forcing and thereby become sentinels to ecosystem variability and reorganization. Recent sea ice retreats have influenced the ecology of marine mammals in the Pacific Arctic sector. Walruses now often haul out by the thousands along the NW Alaska coast in late summer, and reports of harbor porpoise, humpback, fin and minke whales in the Chukchi Sea demonstrate that these temperate species routinely occur there. In 2010, satellite tagged bowhead whales from Atlantic and Pacific populations met in the Northwest Passage, an overlap thought precluded by sea ice since the Holocene. To forage effectively, baleen whales must target dense patches of zooplankton and small fishes. In the Pacific Arctic, bowhead and gray whales appear to be responding to enhanced prey availability delivered both by new production and advection pathways. Two programs, the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) and the Synthesis of Arctic Research (SOAR), include tracking of marine mammal and prey species' responses to ecosystem shifts associated with sea ice loss. Both programs provide an integrated-ecosystem baseline in support of the development of a web-based Marine Mammal Health Map, envisioned as a component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). An overarching goal is to identify ecological patterns for marine mammals in the 'new' Arctic, as a foundation for integrative research, local response and adaptive management.

78 FR 66683 - Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-06

... the Western Pacific; Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries... special coral reef ecosystem fishing permit. SUMMARY: NMFS issued a Special Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishing Permit that authorizes Kampachi Farms, LLC, to culture and harvest a coral reef ecosystem management unit...

Role of marine pollutants in impairment of DNA integrity.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarker, S.; Sarkar, A.

In this article, we present an overview on the role of marine pollutants in impairment of DNA integrity in marine gastropods exposed to xenobiotics released from various sources into the coastal ecosystem. We provide an insight into the impact...

Marine habitat mapping at Labuan Marine Park, Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Mustajap, Fazliana; Saleh, Ejria; Madin, John; Hamid, Shahimah Abdul

2015-06-01

Marine habitat mapping has recently become essential in coastal marine science research. It is one of the efforts to understand marine ecosystems, and thus to protect them. Habitat mapping is integral to marine-related industries such as fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and tourism. An assessment of marine habitat mapping was conducted at Labuan Marine Park (LMP), a marine protected area in the Federal Territory of Labuan. It is surrounded by shallow water within its islands (Kuraman, Rusukan Kecil and Rusukan Besar) with an area of 39.7 km2. The objectives of the study are to identify the substrate and types of marine habitat present within the park. Side scan sonar (SSS) (Aquascan TM) was used to determine the substrates and habitat while ground truthings were done through field observation and SCUBA diving survey. Seabed classification and marine habitat was based on NOAA's biogeography program. Three substrate types (sand, rock, silt) were identified in this area. The major marine habitats identified are corals, macro algae and small patches of sea grass. The study area is an important refuge for spawning and juvenile fish and supports the livelihood of the coastal communities on Labuan Island. Therefore, proper management is crucial in order to better maintain the marine protected area. The findings are significant and provide detailed baseline information on marine habitat for conservation, protection and future management in LMP.

Antimicrobial peptides in marine invertebrate health and disease

OpenAIRE

Destoumieux-Garzón, Delphine; Rosa, Rafael Diego; Schmitt, Paulina; Barreto, Cairé; Vidal-Dupiol, Jeremie; Mitta, Guillaume; Gueguen, Yannick; Bachère, Evelyne

2016-01-01

Aquaculture contributes more than one-third of the animal protein from marine sources worldwide. A significant proportion of aquaculture products are derived from marine protostomes that are commonly referred to as ‘marine invertebrates’. Among them, penaeid shrimp (Ecdysozosoa, Arthropoda) and bivalve molluscs (Lophotrochozoa, Mollusca) are economically important. Mass rearing of arthropods and molluscs causes problems with pathogens in aquatic ecosystems that are exploited by humans. Remark...

Book Review: Marine Protected Areas in International Law: an Arctic Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davina Oktivana

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Marine biodiversity has always become an interesting topic in the development of the law of the sea subject. Despite of human dependence on marine resources, human intervention has been proven as the major threats to the sustainability of marine biodiversity and marine environment protection. Human activities, such an over-exploitation, shipping pollution, the use endangered fishing tools and above all, climate change, have changes the ecosystems extensively. One of the significant measures to prevent broaden the catastrophe is the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs, which has been accepted as a tool for protection and conservation of marine biodiversity. The book provides a comprehensive observation and analysis of the MPAs' concept and its implementation, specifically in the Arctic. This book is based on Ingvild Ulrikke Jakobsen's PhD thesis at the University of Tromsø, Norwegia. Her concerned particularly based on the development of human activities in the Arctic, that will definitely affect the fragile marine environment and there is an increasing need to ensure environmental protection and conservation of marine biodiversity and ecosystems in Arctic.

Cognition, attention et conscience : la synchronie dans l’esprit

OpenAIRE

Ward, Lawrence

2011-01-01

Professeur à British Columbia University (Vancouver, Canada), invité par l’Assemblée des professeurs à l’initiative des Prs Alain Berthoz et Stanislas Dehaene, a donné en mai 2010, quatre conférences intitulées « Cognition, attention et conscience : la synchronie dans l’esprit »

Ocean acidification and marine microorganisms: responses and consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surajit Das

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Ocean acidification (OA is one of the global issues caused by rising atmospheric CO2. The rising pCO2 and resulting pH decrease has altered ocean carbonate chemistry. Microbes are key components of marine environments involved in nutrient cycles and carbon flow in marine ecosystems. However, these marine microbes and the microbial processes are sensitive to ocean pH shift. Thus, OA affects the microbial diversity, primary productivity and trace gases emission in oceans. Apart from that, it can also manipulate the microbial activities such as quorum sensing, extracellular enzyme activity and nitrogen cycling. Short-term laboratory experiments, mesocosm studies and changing marine diversity scenarios have illustrated undesirable effects of OA on marine microorganisms and ecosystems. However, from the microbial perspective, the current understanding on effect of OA is based mainly on limited experimental studies. It is challenging to predict response of marine microbes based on such experiments for this complex process. To study the response of marine microbes towards OA, multiple approaches should be implemented by using functional genomics, new generation microscopy, small-scale interaction among organisms and/or between organic matter and organisms. This review focuses on the response of marine microorganisms to OA and the experimental approaches to investigate the effect of changing ocean carbonate chemistry on microbial mediated processes.

"And DPSIR begat DAPSI(W)R(M)!" - A unifying framework for marine environmental management.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, M; Burdon, D; Atkins, J P; Borja, A; Cormier, R; de Jonge, V N; Turner, R K

2017-05-15

The marine environment is a complex system formed by interactions between ecological structure and functioning, physico-chemical processes and socio-economic systems. An increase in competing marine uses and users requires a holistic approach to marine management which considers the environmental, economic and societal impacts of all activities. If managed sustainably, the marine environment will deliver a range of ecosystem services which lead to benefits for society. In order to understand the complexity of the system, the DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) approach has long been a valuable problem-structuring framework used to assess the causes, consequences and responses to change in a holistic way. Despite DPSIR being used for a long time, there is still confusion over the definition of its terms and so to be appropriate for current marine management, we contend that this confusion needs to be addressed. Our viewpoint advocates that DPSIR should be extended to DAPSI(W)R(M) (pronounced dap-see-worm) in which Drivers of basic human needs require Activities which lead to Pressures. The Pressures are the mechanisms of State change on the natural system which then leads to Impacts (on human Welfare). Those then require Responses (as Measures). Furthermore, because of the complexity of any managed sea area in terms of multiple Activities, there is the need for a linked-DAPSI(W)R(M) framework, and then the connectivity between marine ecosystems and ecosystems in the catchment and further at sea, requires an interlinked, nested-DAPSI(W)R(M) framework to reflect the continuum between adjacent ecosystems. Finally, the unifying framework for integrated marine management is completed by encompassing ecosystem structure and functioning, ecosystem services and societal benefits. Hence, DAPSI(W)R(M) links the socio-ecological system of the effects of changes to the natural system on the human uses and benefits of the marine system. However, to deliver these

An ecosystem-based approach to assess the status of a Mediterranean ecosystem, the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadow.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien Personnic

Full Text Available Biotic indices, which reflect the quality of the environment, are widely used in the marine realm. Sometimes, key species or ecosystem engineers are selected for this purpose. This is the case of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely used as a biological quality element in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD. The good quality of a water body and the apparent health of a species, whether or not an ecosystem engineer such as P. oceanica, is not always indicative of the good structure and functioning of the whole ecosystem. A key point of the recent Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD is the ecosystem-based approach. Here, on the basis of a simplified conceptual model of the P. oceanica ecosystem, we have proposed an ecosystem-based index of the quality of its functioning, compliant with the MSFD requirements. This index (EBQI is based upon a set of representative functional compartments, the weighting of these compartments and the assessment of the quality of each compartment by comparison of a supposed baseline. The index well discriminated 17 sites in the north-western Mediterranean (French Riviera, Provence, Corsica, Catalonia and Balearic Islands covering a wide range of human pressure levels. The strong points of the EBQI are that it is easy to implement, non-destructive, relatively robust, according to the selection of the compartments and to their weighting, and associated with confidence indices that indicate possible weakness and biases and therefore the need for further field data acquisition.

Global patterns of extinction risk in marine and non-marine systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Thomas J; Mindel, Beth L

2015-02-16

Despite increasing concern over the effects of human activities on marine ecosystems, extinction in the sea remains scarce: 19-24 out of a total of >850 recorded extinctions implies a 9-fold lower marine extinction rate compared to non-marine systems. The extent of threats faced by marine systems, and their resilience to them, receive considerable attention, but the detectability of marine extinctions is less well understood. Before its extinction or threat status is recorded, a species must be both taxonomically described and then formally assessed; lower rates of either process for marine species could thus impact patterns of extinction risk, especially as species missing from taxonomic inventories may often be more vulnerable than described species. We combine data on taxonomic description with conservation assessments from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to test these possibilities across almost all marine and non-marine eukaryotes. We find that the 9-fold lower rate of recorded extinctions and 4-fold lower rate of ongoing extinction risk across marine species can be explained in part by differences in the proportion of species assessed by the IUCN (3% cf. 4% of non-marine species). Furthermore, once taxonomic knowledge and conservation assessments pass a threshold level, differences in extinction risk between marine and non-marine groups largely disappear. Indeed, across the best-studied taxonomic groups, there is no difference between marine and non-marine systems, with on average between 20% and 25% of species being threatened with extinction, regardless of realm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A double-integration hypothesis to explain ocean ecosystem response to climate forcing

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Di Lorenzo, Emanuele; Ohman, Mark D.

2013-01-01

Long-term time series of marine ecological indicators often are characterized by large-amplitude state transitions that can persist for decades. Understanding the significance of these variations depends critically on the underlying hypotheses characterizing expected natural variability. Using a linear autoregressive model in combination with long-term zooplankton observations off the California coast, we show that cumulative integrations of white-noise atmospheric forcing can generate marine population responses that are characterized by strong transitions and prolonged apparent state changes. This model provides a baseline hypothesis for explaining ecosystem variability and for interpreting the significance of abrupt responses and climate change signatures in marine ecosystems. PMID:23341628

Oligotrophy as a major driver of mercury bioaccumulation in medium-to high-trophic level consumers: A marine ecosystem-comparative study.

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Chouvelon, Tiphaine; Cresson, Pierre; Bouchoucha, Marc; Brach-Papa, Christophe; Bustamante, Paco; Crochet, Sylvette; Marco-Miralles, Françoise; Thomas, Bastien; Knoery, Joël

2018-02-01

Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant of environmental concern. Numerous factors influencing its bioaccumulation in marine organisms have already been described at both individual and species levels (e.g., size or age, habitat, trophic level). However, few studies have compared the trophic characteristics of ecosystems to explain underlying mechanisms of differences in Hg bioaccumulation and biomagnification among food webs and systems. The present study aimed at investigating the potential primary role of the trophic status of systems on Hg bioaccumulation and biomagnification in temperate marine food webs, as shown by their medium-to high-trophic level consumers. It used data from samples collected at the shelf-edge (i.e. offshore organisms) in two contrasted ecosystems: the Bay of Biscay in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Lion in the North-West Mediterranean Sea. Seven species including crustaceans, sharks and teleost fish, previously analysed for their total mercury (T-Hg) concentrations and their stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions, were considered for a meta-analysis. In addition, methylated mercury forms (or methyl-mercury, Me-Hg) were analysed. Mediterranean organisms presented systematically lower sizes than Atlantic ones, and lower δ 13 C and δ 15 N values, the latter values especially highlighting the more oligotrophic character of Mediterranean waters. Mediterranean individuals also showed significantly higher T-Hg and Me-Hg concentrations. Conversely, Me-Hg/T-Hg ratios were higher than 85% for all species, and quite similar between systems. Finally, the biomagnification power of Hg was different between systems when considering T-Hg, but not when considering Me-Hg, and was not different between the Hg forms within a given system. Overall, the different parameters showed the crucial role of the low primary productivity and its effects rippling through the compared ecosystems in the higher Hg bioaccumulation seen in organisms

Brain-to-brain synchrony in parent-child dyads and the relationship with emotion regulation revealed by fNIRS-based hyperscanning.

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Reindl, Vanessa; Gerloff, Christian; Scharke, Wolfgang; Konrad, Kerstin

2018-05-25

Parent-child synchrony, the coupling of behavioral and biological signals during social contact, may fine-tune the child's brain circuitries associated with emotional bond formation and the child's development of emotion regulation. Here, we examined the neurobiological underpinnings of these processes by measuring parent's and child's prefrontal neural activity concurrently with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. Each child played both a cooperative and a competitive game with the parent, mostly the mother, as well as an adult stranger. During cooperation, parent's and child's brain activities synchronized in the dorsolateral prefrontal and frontopolar cortex (FPC), which was predictive for their cooperative performance in subsequent trials. No significant brain-to-brain synchrony was observed in the conditions parent-child competition, stranger-child cooperation and stranger-child competition. Furthermore, parent-child compared to stranger-child brain-to-brain synchrony during cooperation in the FPC mediated the association between the parent's and the child's emotion regulation, as assessed by questionnaires. Thus, we conclude that brain-to-brain synchrony may represent an underlying neural mechanism of the emotional connection between parent and child, which is linked to the child's development of adaptive emotion regulation. Future studies may uncover whether brain-to-brain synchrony can serve as a neurobiological marker of the dyad's socio-emotional interaction, which is sensitive to risk conditions, and can be modified by interventions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Left ventricular synchrony assessed by phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yuetao; Wang Jianfeng; Yang Minfu; Niu Rong

2013-01-01

Objective: To investigate the value of Cedars-Sinai quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) phase analysis for left ventricular synchrony assessment in healthy subjects. Methods: Seventy-four healthy subjects (41 males, 33 females,average age: (60±13) years) underwent both rest and exercise 99 Tc m -MIBI G-MPI. QGS software was used to analyze the reconstructed rest gated SPECT images automatically, and then the parameters of left ventricular synchrony including phase bandwidth (BW) and phase standard deviation (SD) were obtained. The influences of gender and age (age<60 years, n=36; age ≥ 60 years, n=38) on left ventricular systolic synchronicity were analyzed. The phase angle for original segmental contraction was measured to determine the onset of the ventricular contraction using 17-segment model. Forty healthy subjects were selected by simple random sampling method to evaluate the intra-observer and interobserver repeatability of QGS phase analysis software. Two-sample t test and linear correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The BW and SD of left ventricular in healthy subjects were (37.22 ±11.71)°, (11.84±5.39)° respectively. Comparisons between male and female for BW and SD yielded no statistical significance (BW: (36.00±9.70)°, (38.73±13.84)°; SD: (11.88±5.56)°, (11.79±5.26)°; t=0.96 and-0.07, both P>0.05); whereas the older subjects (age≥60 years) had larger BW than the others (age<60 years ; (39.95± 12.65)°, (34.33± 10.00)°; t=-2.11, P<0.05) and no statistical significance was shown for SD between the two age groups ((11.18±4.31)°, (12.54±6.33)°; t=1.08, P>0.05). Of the 74 subjects, the mechanical activation started from the ventricular base to apex in 54 subjects (73%), and from apex to base in only 20 subjects (27%). High repeatability of phase analysis was observed for both intra-observer and inter-observer (r=0.867-0.906, all P<0.001). Conclusions: Good left ventricular segmental synchrony is shown in healthy

Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Status Report

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most ecologically and economically valuable marine ecosystems in the world and is affected by a variety of natural and anthropogenic...

Reduced orienting to audiovisual synchrony in infancy predicts autism diagnosis at 3 years of age.

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Falck-Ytter, Terje; Nyström, Pär; Gredebäck, Gustaf; Gliga, Teodora; Bölte, Sven

2018-01-23

Effective multisensory processing develops in infancy and is thought to be important for the perception of unified and multimodal objects and events. Previous research suggests impaired multisensory processing in autism, but its role in the early development of the disorder is yet uncertain. Here, using a prospective longitudinal design, we tested whether reduced visual attention to audiovisual synchrony is an infant marker of later-emerging autism diagnosis. We studied 10-month-old siblings of children with autism using an eye tracking task previously used in studies of preschoolers. The task assessed the effect of manipulations of audiovisual synchrony on viewing patterns while the infants were observing point light displays of biological motion. We analyzed the gaze data recorded in infancy according to diagnostic status at 3 years of age (DSM-5). Ten-month-old infants who later received an autism diagnosis did not orient to audiovisual synchrony expressed within biological motion. In contrast, both infants at low-risk and high-risk siblings without autism at follow-up had a strong preference for this type of information. No group differences were observed in terms of orienting to upright biological motion. This study suggests that reduced orienting to audiovisual synchrony within biological motion is an early sign of autism. The findings support the view that poor multisensory processing could be an important antecedent marker of this neurodevelopmental condition. © 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Quantifying climatological ranges and anomalies for Pacific coral reef ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Gove, Jamison M; Williams, Gareth J; McManus, Margaret A; Heron, Scott F; Sandin, Stuart A; Vetter, Oliver J; Foley, David G

2013-01-01

Coral reef ecosystems are exposed to a range of environmental forcings that vary on daily to decadal time scales and across spatial scales spanning from reefs to archipelagos. Environmental variability is a major determinant of reef ecosystem structure and function, including coral reef extent and growth rates, and the abundance, diversity, and morphology of reef organisms. Proper characterization of environmental forcings on coral reef ecosystems is critical if we are to understand the dynamics and implications of abiotic-biotic interactions on reef ecosystems. This study combines high-resolution bathymetric information with remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a and irradiance data, and modeled wave data to quantify environmental forcings on coral reefs. We present a methodological approach to develop spatially constrained, island- and atoll-scale metrics that quantify climatological range limits and anomalous environmental forcings across U.S. Pacific coral reef ecosystems. Our results indicate considerable spatial heterogeneity in climatological ranges and anomalies across 41 islands and atolls, with emergent spatial patterns specific to each environmental forcing. For example, wave energy was greatest at northern latitudes and generally decreased with latitude. In contrast, chlorophyll-a was greatest at reef ecosystems proximate to the equator and northern-most locations, showing little synchrony with latitude. In addition, we find that the reef ecosystems with the highest chlorophyll-a concentrations; Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Palmyra and Kingman are each uninhabited and are characterized by high hard coral cover and large numbers of predatory fishes. Finally, we find that scaling environmental data to the spatial footprint of individual islands and atolls is more likely to capture local environmental forcings, as chlorophyll-a concentrations decreased at relatively short distances (>7 km) from 85% of our study locations. These metrics will help

Quantifying Climatological Ranges and Anomalies for Pacific Coral Reef Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Gove, Jamison M.; Williams, Gareth J.; McManus, Margaret A.; Heron, Scott F.; Sandin, Stuart A.; Vetter, Oliver J.; Foley, David G.

2013-01-01

Coral reef ecosystems are exposed to a range of environmental forcings that vary on daily to decadal time scales and across spatial scales spanning from reefs to archipelagos. Environmental variability is a major determinant of reef ecosystem structure and function, including coral reef extent and growth rates, and the abundance, diversity, and morphology of reef organisms. Proper characterization of environmental forcings on coral reef ecosystems is critical if we are to understand the dynamics and implications of abiotic–biotic interactions on reef ecosystems. This study combines high-resolution bathymetric information with remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a and irradiance data, and modeled wave data to quantify environmental forcings on coral reefs. We present a methodological approach to develop spatially constrained, island- and atoll-scale metrics that quantify climatological range limits and anomalous environmental forcings across U.S. Pacific coral reef ecosystems. Our results indicate considerable spatial heterogeneity in climatological ranges and anomalies across 41 islands and atolls, with emergent spatial patterns specific to each environmental forcing. For example, wave energy was greatest at northern latitudes and generally decreased with latitude. In contrast, chlorophyll-a was greatest at reef ecosystems proximate to the equator and northern-most locations, showing little synchrony with latitude. In addition, we find that the reef ecosystems with the highest chlorophyll-a concentrations; Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Palmyra and Kingman are each uninhabited and are characterized by high hard coral cover and large numbers of predatory fishes. Finally, we find that scaling environmental data to the spatial footprint of individual islands and atolls is more likely to capture local environmental forcings, as chlorophyll-a concentrations decreased at relatively short distances (>7 km) from 85% of our study locations. These metrics will

Quantifying climatological ranges and anomalies for Pacific coral reef ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamison M Gove

Full Text Available Coral reef ecosystems are exposed to a range of environmental forcings that vary on daily to decadal time scales and across spatial scales spanning from reefs to archipelagos. Environmental variability is a major determinant of reef ecosystem structure and function, including coral reef extent and growth rates, and the abundance, diversity, and morphology of reef organisms. Proper characterization of environmental forcings on coral reef ecosystems is critical if we are to understand the dynamics and implications of abiotic-biotic interactions on reef ecosystems. This study combines high-resolution bathymetric information with remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a and irradiance data, and modeled wave data to quantify environmental forcings on coral reefs. We present a methodological approach to develop spatially constrained, island- and atoll-scale metrics that quantify climatological range limits and anomalous environmental forcings across U.S. Pacific coral reef ecosystems. Our results indicate considerable spatial heterogeneity in climatological ranges and anomalies across 41 islands and atolls, with emergent spatial patterns specific to each environmental forcing. For example, wave energy was greatest at northern latitudes and generally decreased with latitude. In contrast, chlorophyll-a was greatest at reef ecosystems proximate to the equator and northern-most locations, showing little synchrony with latitude. In addition, we find that the reef ecosystems with the highest chlorophyll-a concentrations; Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Palmyra and Kingman are each uninhabited and are characterized by high hard coral cover and large numbers of predatory fishes. Finally, we find that scaling environmental data to the spatial footprint of individual islands and atolls is more likely to capture local environmental forcings, as chlorophyll-a concentrations decreased at relatively short distances (>7 km from 85% of our study locations

Trophic cascades triggered by overfishing reveal possible mechanisms of ecosystem regime shifts.

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Daskalov, Georgi M; Grishin, Alexander N; Rodionov, Sergei; Mihneva, Vesselina

2007-06-19

Large-scale transitions between alternative states in ecosystems are known as regime shifts. Once described as healthy and dominated by various marine predators, the Black Sea ecosystem by the late 20th century had experienced anthropogenic impacts such as heavy fishing, cultural eutrophication, and invasions by alien species. We studied changes related to these "natural experiments" to reveal the mechanisms of regime shifts. Two major shifts were detected, the first related to a depletion of marine predators and the second to an outburst of the alien comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi; both shifts were triggered by intense fishing resulting in system-wide trophic cascades. The complex nature of ecosystem responses to human activities calls for more elaborate approaches than currently provided by traditional environmental and fisheries management. This implies challenging existing practices and implementing explanatory models of ecosystem interactions that can better reconcile conservation and ecosystem management ideals.