Gyr Falcons, ptarmigan and microtine rodents in northern Sweden

A Gyr Falcon Falco rusticolus population in Northern Sweden (66°N, 17°E) was monitored from 1996 to 2002 in relation to its predator–prey interactions with its main and alternative prey species. Ptarmigan species Lagopus spp., and especially Rock Ptarmigan L. mutus , were the Gyr Falcons' most important prey and constituted more than 90% of the prey biomass. A 21-fold difference in ptarmigan abundance was found across Falcon breeding territories. However, this great variation in prey availability corresponded to only about a 10% shift in Gyr Falcon diet across territories, suggesting that the Falcons were reluctant or unable to compensate for declining ptarmigan availability by using alternative prey categories. Gyr Falcons did not respond functionally to microtine rodent abundance. Their diets were unaffected by a peak in the microtine rodent population cycle when Norwegian Lemmings Lemmus lemmus occurred in high numbers in the study area. Gyr Falcons responded numerically to their prey in two ways. First, there was a reproductive response with a significant relationship between the number of chicks fledged and the number of ptarmigan in the breeding territories. Secondly, although the Gyr Falcons did not utilize microtines as prey, there was a relationship between the microtine rodent abundance and the number of pairs that attempted to breed each year. This could be a result of an indirect community interaction, assuming that other predators switched from ptarmigan to microtines as prey, which could have had a positive effect on the breeding performance of the Gyr Falcons. The Gyr Falcons acted as true specialist predators, and their narrow food niche probably reflected a general lack of suitable alternative prey in the study area.     

Hierarchical saturation of soil carbon pools near a natural CO2 spring

Soil has been identified as a possible carbon (C) sink to mitigate increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration. However, several recent studies have suggested that the potential of soil to sequester C is limited and that soil may become saturated with C under increasing CO₂ levels. To test this concept of soil C saturation, we studied a gley and organic soil at a grassland site near a natural CO₂ spring. Total and aggregate‐associated soil organic C (SOC) concentration showed a significant increase with atmospheric CO₂ concentration. An asymptotic function showed a better fit of SOC and aggregation with CO₂ level than a linear model. There was a shift in allocation of total C from smaller size fractions to the largest aggregate fraction with increasing CO₂ concentration. Litter inputs appeared to be positively related to CO₂ concentration. Based on modeled function parameters and the observed shift in the allocation of the soil C from small to large aggregate‐size classes, we postulate that there is a hierarchy in C saturation across different SOC pools. We conclude that the asymptotic response of SOC concentration at higher CO₂ levels indicates saturation of soil C pools, likely because of a limit to physical protection of SOC.     

AQUATIC BIRDS FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (LOWER CAMPANIAN) OF SWEDEN AND THE BIOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION OF HESPERORNITHIFORMS

Abstract:  Isolated skeletal elements of three hesperornithiform taxa are recorded from marine strata of latest early Campanian ( sensu germanico ) age in the Kristianstad Basin, southern Sweden. The material comprises Hesperornis rossicus Nessov and Yarkov, one of the largest Mesozoic aquatic birds known to date, Hesperornis sp. and Baptornis sp. The holotype (a dorsal vertebra) of Parascaniornis stensioei Lambrecht is re-examined, and the nominal species is here considered as a nomen dubium because no diagnostic features can be found that separate the type from dorsals of Baptornis advenus . The distribution and palaeobiology of hesperornithiforms are reviewed.     

Thirty-five years of synchrony in the organic matter concentrations of Swedish rivers explained by variation in flow and sulphate

Increasing concentrations of organic matter (OM) in surface waters have been noted over large parts of the boreal/nemoral zone in Europe and North America. This has raised questions about the causes and the likelihood of further increases. A number of drivers have been proposed, including temperature, hydrology, as well as ‐ and Cl^? deposition. The data reported so far, however, have been insufficient to define the relative importance of different drivers in landscapes where they interact. Thirty‐five years of monthly measurements of absorbance and chemical oxygen demand (COD), two common proxies for OM, from 28 large Scandinavian catchments provide an unprecedented opportunity to resolve the importance of hypothesized drivers. For 21 of the catchments, there are 18 years of total organic carbon (TOC) measurements as well. Despite the heterogeneity of the catchments with regards to climate, size and land use, there is a high degree of synchronicity in OM across the entire region. Rivers go from widespread trends of decreasing OM to increasing trends and back again three times in the 35‐year record. This synchronicity in decadal scale oscillations and long‐term trends suggest a common set of dominant OM drivers in these landscapes. Here, we use regression models to test the importance of different potential drivers. We show that flow and together can predict most of the interannual variability in OM proxies, up to 88% for absorbance, up to 78% for COD. Two other candidate drivers, air temperature and Cl^?, add little explanatory value. Declines in anthropogenic since the mid‐1970s are thus related to the observed OM increases in Scandinavia, but, in contrast to many recent studies, flow emerges as an even more important driver of OM variability. Stabilizing levels also mean that hydrology is likely to be the major driver of future variability and trends in OM.     

Assessing the effect of elevated carbon dioxide on soil carbon: a comparison of four meta-analyses

Soil is the largest reservoir of organic carbon (C) in the terrestrial biosphere and soil C has a relatively long mean residence time. Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations generally increase plant growth and C input to soil, suggesting that soil might help mitigate atmospheric CO₂ rise and global warming. But to what extent mitigation will occur is unclear. The large size of the soil C pool not only makes it a potential buffer against rising atmospheric CO₂, but also makes it difficult to measure changes amid the existing background. Meta‐analysis is one tool that can overcome the limited power of single studies. Four recent meta‐analyses addressed this issue but reached somewhat different conclusions about the effect of elevated CO₂ on soil C accumulation, especially regarding the role of nitrogen (N) inputs. Here, we assess the extent of differences between these conclusions and propose a new analysis of the data. The four meta‐analyses included different studies, derived different effect size estimates from common studies, used different weighting functions and metrics of effect size, and used different approaches to address nonindependence of effect sizes. Although all factors influenced the mean effect size estimates and subsequent inferences, the approach to independence had the largest influence. We recommend that meta‐analysts critically assess and report choices about effect size metrics and weighting functions, and criteria for study selection and independence. Such decisions need to be justified carefully because they affect the basis for inference. Our new analysis, with a combined data set, confirms that the effect of elevated CO₂ on net soil C accumulation increases with the addition of N fertilizers. Although the effect at low N inputs was not significant, statistical power to detect biogeochemically important effect sizes at low N is limited, even with meta‐analysis, suggesting the continued need for long‐term experiments.     

Coprolite morphotypes from the Upper Cretaceous of Sweden: novel views on an ancient ecosystem and implications for coprolite taphonomy

Eriksson, M.E., Lindgren, J., Chin, K. & Månsby, U. 2011: Coprolite morphotypes from the Upper Cretaceous of Sweden: novel views on an ancient ecosystem and implications for coprolite taphonomy. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 455–468. Coprolites (fossilized faeces) are common, yet previously unreported, elements in the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) shallow‐marine strata of Åsen, southern Sweden. They are associated with a diverse vertebrate fauna and comprise at least seven different morphotypes that suggest a variety of source animals. Their faecal origin is corroborated by several lines of evidence, including chemical composition (primarily calcium phosphate), external morphology and nature of the inclusions. Preservation in a fossil coquina, interpreted as a taphocoenosis, suggests early lithification promoted by rapid entombment. This would have prevented disintegration of the faecal matter and facilitated transportation and introduction to the host sediment. The coprofabrics can generally be correlated to specific gross morphologies, supporting a morphology‐determined coprolite classification. Moreover, having been deposited under presumably comparable taphonomic conditions, variations in coprofabrics infer differences in diet and/or digestive efficiency of the host animal. Size and morphology of the coprolites imply that most, if not all, were produced by vertebrates and the largest specimens infer a host animal of considerable size. Two spiralled coprolite morphotypes yield bone fragments and scales of bony fish, suggesting that the producers were piscivorous sharks. Other coprolites contain inclusions interpreted as the remains of shelled invertebrates, thus indicating that they may have derived from durophagous predators and/or scavengers. The occurrence of small scrapes, tracks and traces on several specimens suggest manipulation of the faeces by other (presumably coprophagous) organisms after deposition. The collective data from the Åsen coprolites provide new insights into a shallow‐water Late Cretaceous marine ecosystem hitherto known solely from body fossils. □ Coprolites, vertebrates, coprofabrics, taphonomy, trophic levels, Upper Cretaceous, Sweden.     

Revealing the mechanisms of sexual isolation in a case of sympatric and parallel ecological divergence

Two ecotypes of a marine intertidal snail (Littorina saxatilis), living at different microhabitats and shore levels, have evolved in sympatry and in parallel across the Galician rocky shore. These ecotypes differ in many traits (including size) due to differential adaptation. They meet, mate assortatively, and partially hybridize at the mid shore where the two microhabitats overlap. The partial sexual isolation observed is claimed to be a side‐effect of the size differences between ecotypes combined with a size assortative mating found in most populations of this species. We investigated this hypothesis using three complementary experimental approaches. First, we investigated which of the different shell variables contributed most to the variation in individual sexual isolation in the field by using two new statistics developed for that purpose: (1) pair sexual isolation and (2) r_i, which is based on the Pearson correlation coefficient. We found that size is the most important trait explaining the sexual isolation and, in particular, the males appear to be the key sex contributing to sexual isolation. Second, we compared the size assortative mating between regions: exposed rocky shore populations from north‐westwern Spain (showing incomplete reproductive isolation due to size assortative mating) and protected Spanish and Swedish populations (showing size assortative mating but not reproductive isolation between ecomorphs). Most of the variation in size assortative mating between localities was significantly explained by the within‐population level of variation on size. Third, we performed a laboratory male choice experiment, which further suggested that the choice is made predominantly on the basis of size. These results confirm the mechanism proposed to explain the sexual isolation in the Galician hybrid zone and thus support this case as a putative example of parallel incipient speciation. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 94 , 513–526.     

Namibnema papillata gen. et sp.n. and Axonolaimus deconincki sp.n. (Nematoda, Axonolaimoidea) from marine and estuarine beaches of southern Africa

Namibrema papillata gen. et sp.n. is closely related to Nicascolaimus punctatus Ricmann, 1986. hnema papillutu gen. ct sp.n. is closcly related to Nicuwolaimus punctutur Ricmann. 1986. The presence of twelve stomatal rugae, the punctated cuticle and the shape of the pre-anal supplements indicate a relationship with species of the Chromadorina. Axonolaimus deconincki sp.n. is chjaracterized by the complex nature of the gubernaculum.     

Humidity responses and water balance of riparian species of Bembidiini (Col., Carabidae)

Abstract. 1. The humidity responses of Asaphidion pallipes (Duftschmid) and Bembidion spp. were studied at various temperatures in choice chambers.
2. Several species initially showed a hygropositive or indifferent response. Other species had a hygronegative reaction which later changed to a hygropositive one. The duration of the hygronegative reaction varied with species, age, temperature and relative humidity. B.litorale (Olivier) and B.semipunctatum (Donovan) change response when they have lost 8–9% of their initial body weight as water.
3. The survival time of species of Bembidion under dry conditions was short compared with that reported for many other carabid beetles. Newly emerged adults of B.argenteolum Ahrens that had been kept away from sand for 3 weeks had lower transpiration rates than any other species. Young adult Bembidion had lower transpiration rates than those in the breeding phase, larvae and dead adults. Transpiration rate appeared to be inversely proportional to the relative humidity whereas there was a non-linear increase in weight loss with increasing temperature.
4. The species gain most water by drinking and/or from food.
5. There was no correlation between humidity response and transpiration rate or ability to tolerate dry conditions of the species. There was, however, a correlation between behaviour/habitat affinity and humidity response. Diurnal species, living in sandy or silty, half shady-exposed habitats had an initial hygronegative response, whereas those which hide among gravel/stones, leaves or vegetation were indifferent or hygropositive.