Tidal flows and sediment budgets for a salt-marsh system,Essex, England

Studies of tidal flows in salt-marsh creeks in Essex, England, show large variations in water velocity during different tidal cycles, particularly between tides below, at, and above marsh level. Water level, velocity and suspended sediment concentration have been monitored at 5-min intervals during 700 tidal cycles during the year March 1982–March 1983, and the data are being used to calculate sediment budgets for the creek system studied. Completed analyses for two of the tidal cycles show a large positive sediment flux. Because of the importance of velocity in controlling total discharge through a creek cross-section, and hence its effect on total sediment movement, we cannot extrapolate from these two below-marsh tides to any general conclusions about marsh erosion or accretion. We use these preliminary data both to demonstrate our methods and to indicate some of the complexities involved in the analysis.Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. We thank the Philip Lake Fund for financial assistance and the Department of Geography, Cambridge University, for much material support. Mr D. J. Fisher kindly gave access to his land, and Mr W. Bailey helped us greatly. We also thank Mr A. St Joseph for his help, Mr M. Diver for practical support, and Dr J. S. Pethick for discussion.     

Variability of nutrient limitation in the Archipelago Sea,SW Finland

Over a two year study period, zooplankton was sampledin Gazi Bay, Kenya, using a 335 μm mesh size Bongonet. Two Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN)classification technique demonstrated that rainfalland tidal regime had substantial influence on thezooplankton community structure. Samples collectedduring the rainy season months clustered together whentreated with TWINSPAN. Furthermore, theclustering was more pronounced for neap tidesamples than for spring tide ones. Samples obtainedduring spring tide did not give a clear cut pattern. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (C.C.A.) confirmedthese findings, a clustering together of rainy/neaptide samples; and little separation (based onenvironmental variables) between samplingstations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Habitat segregation in a salt marsh among adult sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae)

Synopsis The spatial distribution, seasonal abundance and diel activity of four sticklebacks,Gasterosteus aculeatus, G. wheatlandi, Pungitius pungitius, andApeltes quadracus. coexisting in a St. Lawrence salt marsh were examined to see how these closely related species share their habitat. While all four species breed in the Riviè des Vases, a tidal creek, only three species are found in the adjacent salt marsh pools,A. quadracus being absent. Results are interpreted in terms of avoidance of interspecific competition for space during the relatively short breeding season at this latitude.     

Differential cardiovascular effects mediated by mu and kappa opiate receptors in hindbrain nuclei

To further investigate the role of opioid peptides and specific opiate receptor subtypes in central cardiovascular regulation by hindbrain nuclei, mu (D-Ala²,MePhe⁴,Gly-ol⁵ enkephalin, DAGO), delta (D-Ala²,D-Leu⁵ enkephalin, DADL) or kappa (MRZ 2549) agonists were microinjected into hindbrain nuclei of spontaneously or artificially respired, pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. In the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), DAGO and DADL (0.3 nmol) elicited pressor responses and tachycardia. MRZ (3.0–16 nmol) depressed blood pressure in spontaneously breathing rats, but accelerated heart rate in artificially ventilated animals. Blood pressure and heart rate of spontaneously breathing animals were not altered following nucleus ambiguus (NA) injection of DAGO or DADL (0.3 nmol), but were elevated in artificially respired animals; MRZ (3.0–10 nmol) injected into the NA depressed blood pressure in both groups. These data suggest that in the absence of respiratory depression, NTS and NA mu receptors mediate pressor responses and tachycardia; kappa receptors in the NA mediate a decrease in blood pressure but cardioacceleration in the NTS.     

Alternation between attachment mechanisms by limpets in the field

The attachment mechanism used by limpets in the rocky, wave-swept intertidal zone of California was determined during high tide and low tide. The two mechanisms that limpets are known to use, suction and glue-like adhesion, were distinguished by measuring the limpets' attachment forces in shear and by staining for glue-like residues where the limpets had been attached. The results show that ≈ 73% of limpets at high tide use suction, while the rest use glue-like adhesion. Conversely, ≈ 75% of limpets at low tide use glue-like adhesion, while the rest use suction. The normal tenacity of limpets was also measured at high and low tide. The mean tenacity at high tide was significantly less than that at low tide. From these data it was estimated that the mean tenacity of glue-like adhesion is ≈ 0.23 MN·m⁻² and the mean tenacity of suction adhesion is ≈ 0.09 MN·m⁻². It is hypothesized that the cycle of alternating attachment mechanisms is linked to the limpets foraging cycles.     

Visual shape discrimination in the fiddler crab,Uca pugilator

1. Research into the visual shape discrimination abilities of compound‐eyed animals has almost exclusively been limited to insects, the crustaceans having been virtually ignored. The two groups have many dissimilarities, having primarily adapted in different habitats to different lifestyles. Differences may exist in visual systems and visually mediated behavior.

2. Fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator), without training, differentially approached dissimilar silhouettes presented simultaneously, demonstrating visual discrimination between stationary, geometric shapes of equal‐area. The strength of response was ordered hierarchically: vertical rectangle, horizontal rectangle, triangle, square, circle.

3. Basic geometric shapes were used to facilitate replication and comparison with research findings from other species.

     

Field Chronobiology of a Molluscan Bivalve: How the Moon and Sun Cycles Interact to Drive Oyster Activity Rhythms

The present study reports new insights into the complexity of environmental drivers in aquatic animals. The focus of this study was to determine the main forces that drive mollusc bivalve behavior in situ. To answer this question, the authors continuously studied the valve movements of permanently immersed oysters, Crassostrea gigas, during a 1-year-long in situ study. Valve behavior was monitored with a specially build valvometer, which allows continuously recording of up to 16 bivalves at high frequency (10?Hz). The results highlight a strong relationship between the rhythms of valve behavior and the complex association of the sun-earth-moon orbital positions. Permanently immersed C. gigas follows a robust and strong behavior primarily driven by the tidal cycle. The intensity of this tidal driving force is modulated by the neap-spring tides (i.e., synodic moon cycle), which themselves depend of the earth–moon distance (i.e., anomalistic moon cycle). Light is a significant driver of the oysters' biological rhythm, although its power is limited by the tides, which remain the predominant driver. More globally, depending where in the world the bivalves reside, the results suggest their biological rhythms should vary according to the relative importance of the solar cycle and different lunar cycles associated with tide generation. These results highlight the high plasticity of these oysters to adapt to their changing environment. (Author correspondence: d.tran@epoc.u-bordeaux1.fr)     

Estimating root lifespan of two grasses at contrasting elevation in a salt marsh by applying vitality staining on roots from in-growth cores

Contrasting soil conditions caused by different inundation frequenciesrequire different root growth strategies along the elevational gradient ofcoastal salt marshes. The objective of this study was to examine (1) if rootlifespan was shorter in Elymus pycnanthus, a relativelyfast-growing competitive species dominating high marshes, than inSpartina anglica, a relatively slow-growingstress-tolerating species dominating low marshes, and (2) if the species withlonger lifespan had higher tissue density (g cm^–3) and lowerspecific root length (m g^–1) than the species with shorterlifespan. Root production and mortality rates were established by samplingrootsin in-growth cores, and using triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining todistinguish vital from dead roots. Root lifespan was estimated by dividing theliving root biomass (Elymus: 36 gm^–2, Spartina: 100 gm^–2) by root production (Elymus:0.28 g day^–1 m^–2,Spartina: 0.25 g day^–1m^–2) or root mortality rates(Elymus: 0.42–0.53 g day^–1m^–2). Spartina did not exhibitsubstantial mortality. Despite the present method only yielding rough estimatesof average root lifespan, it is evident that root longevity is much shorter inElymus than in Spartina. Rootlifespanranged between 10–19 weeks for Elymus but was closeto 1 year in Spartina, indicating thatElymus replaces it's roots continuously throughout thegrowing season, whereas Spartina maintains its roots overthe growing season. Fine roots of Elymus had slightlylowertissue density (0.094) than those of Spartina (0.139),whereas coarse roots of Elymus andSpartina had similar tissue density (0.100 gcm^–3). Fine roots of Elymus andSpartina had similar specific root length (195 mg^–1). However, coarse roots ofElymus (50 m g^–1) had higherspecific root length than those of Spartina (20 mg^–1) due to having smaller root diameter(Elymus: 548 m,Spartina: 961 m). We conclude thatpresentobservations on Elymus and Spartinasupport our first hypothesis that the competitive species fromthehigh marsh had short-lived roots compared to the'stress-tolerating'species from the low marsh. However, our result provide only weak support forthe existence of a positive correlation between root longevity and tissuedensity and a negative correlation between root longevity and specific rootlength.     

Photochemical transformations and bacterial utilization of high-molecular-weight dissolved organic carbon in a southern Louisiana tidal stream (Bayou Trepagnier)

UVirradiation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the laboratory can producesmall, labile organic compounds utilizable by microbes, but few studies haveattempted to document this process in situ. ¹³Cnuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to examine the bulk chemicalcomposition of natural and laboratory-irradiated high-molecular-weight DOC(HMW-DOC) from shaded (150 mol m^–2s^–1 average light in surface water) and open (1500mol m^–2 s^–1) field sitesoverone and a half years. ¹³C NMR revealed only small differences incarbon functional groups between laboratory irradiated and non-irradiatedHMW-DOC. However, bacterial protein productivity per cell (BPP) was enhanced innaturally irradiated samples of HMW-DOC in a field mesocosm experiment (p <0.05), suggesting that bacterial growth was enhanced by photochemicalproductionof labile DOC substrates. Absorbance characteristics such as spectral slope,absorbance at 350 nm, and the absorbance ratio 250nm/365 nm revealed that HMW-DOC was photoreactive,yetno differences in these values were found between samples irradiated with andwithout UV-B. In experiments conducted with simulated solar radiation in thelaboratory and with natural light in the field mesocosm experiment, UV-A(320–400 nm) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR;400–700 nm) were more effective than UV-B (280–320nm) in HMW-DOC photolysis.     

A Stochastic Model of Nonenzymatic Nucleic Acid Replication: “Elongators” Sequester Replicators

The origin of nucleic acid template replication is a major unsolved problem in science. A novel stochastic model of nucleic acid chemistry was developed to allow rapid prototyping of chemical experiments designed to discover sufficient conditions for template replication. Experiments using the model brought to attention a robust property of nucleic acid template populations, the tendency for elongation to outcompete replication. Externally imposed denaturation-renaturation cycles did not reverse this tendency. For example, it has been proposed that fast tidal cycling could establish a TCR (tidal chain reaction) analogous to a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) acting on nucleic acid polymers, allowing their self-replication. However, elongating side-reactions that would have been prevented by the polymerase in the PCR still occurred in the simulation of the TCR. The same finding was found with temperature and monomer cycles. We propose that if cycling reactors are to allow template replication, oligonucleotide phenotypes that are capable of favorably altering the flux ratio between replication and elongation, for example, by facilitating sequence-specific cleavage within templates, are necessary; accordingly the minimal replicase ribozyme may have possessed restriction functionality.