Palaeoenvironmental and biostratigraphical implications of selected Floian and Dapingian (Ordovician) chitinozoans of the South China Palaeoplate

Chitinozoans are widespread microfossils in the Ordovician to Devonian strata. Although they have been widely adopted in biostratigraphy, their environmental preferences are rarely discussed. In this study, the palaeoecological distribution of four Floian and Dapingian key chitinozoans in six coeval stratigraphical units based on 13 sections from the South China Palaeoplate is discussed in detail, including Bursachitina maotaiensis (Chen 2009a), Bursachitina qianbeiensis (Chen 2009a), Conochitina decipiens and Sagenachitina dapingensis (Chen 2009b). It appears that B. maotaiensis and B. qianbeiensis preferred inner shelf environments and could spread to near‐shore and shallow outer shelf settings. C. decipiens mostly favoured inner shelf and shallow outer shelf environments. S. dapingensis had the widest environmental tolerance and was adapted to almost all environments, with the exception of the near‐shore area on the Yangtze Platform. Biostratigraphically, the four species have relatively well‐constrained ranges, and their first appearances provide good bases for regional correlations. The endemic B. maotaiensis and B. qianbeiensis can be good markers for the upper Floian, but their relatively narrow environmental preferences should be taken into account. S. dapingensis proves to be a good marker for the Dapingian in the South China Palaeoplate, except in the near‐shore areas. The globally distributed C. decipiens also has a biostratigraphical significance in most areas of the Yangtze Platform. Our study indicates that well‐documented environmental preferences of key species help to provide more reliable and practical biostratigraphical correlations.     

A review of the sub-species carpatica and tortuosa within the species betula pubescens Ehrh.

Summary

The classifications employed during the last decade for defining sub-specific variation within the species B. pubescens Ehrh. have produced a situation in which the terms carpatica and tortuosa, originally and usually applied to separate taxa, could be regarded as synonymous. This has been caused by the association of both terms, at different times, with B. odorata Bechst. Recent research at Merlewood supports the use of the term ssp. tortuosa and its distinction from ssp. carpatica whose presence in the British flora requires further verification.     

A model for the paleoenvironmental distribution of larger foraminifera of Oligocene–Miocene carbonate rocks at Khaviz Anticline,Zagros Basin,SW Iran

Platform carbonate sediments of Oligocene–Miocene age (Asmari Formation) in the Zagros Basin (SW Iran) have been investigated in order to determine their paleoecology and depositional environment. The Zagros Basin is the result of the opening and closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean along the northeastern border of the Arabian Plate. The thick sedimentary sequences of the Zagros Basin contain rocks ranging in age from Cambrian to recent. The geological evidence suggests that the region was part of a passive continental margin, which subsequently underwent rifting in the Permo-Trias and collision in the Late Tertiary. The Asmari carbonate system was dominated by foraminifera and corallinacean assemblage. Based on the distribution of the larger foraminifera, four assemblage zones have been recognised. Facies analysis allowed the recognition of nine microfacies types that are grouped into three depositional environments that correspond to the inner, middle and outer shelf. The biota assemblage of the Asmari Formation suggests that carbonate sedimentation took place in tropical waters and oligotrophic to slightly mesotrophic conditions. Our detailed analysis of microfacies and paleoecology shows that the Asmari Formation deposited on a carbonate open shelf dominated by heterozoan and, subordinately, photozoan skeletal assemblage.     

Effect of hydraulics,bed load grain size and water factors on habitat and abundance of Narapa bonettoi Righi & Varela, 1983 of the Upper Paraná River,Brazil

A cross-section of the upper Paraná was studied in order to evaluate which hydraulic, sedimentary and water variables influenced on the spatial – temporal distribution and abundance of the Narapa bonettoi Righi & Varela, 1983 population. From June 1993 to February 1995, data on discharge, channel morphology, flow velocity, sediment suspended concentration and depth, water variables and benthic community were obtained. Data were analyzed by principal component analysis – PCA. The highest density of N. bonettoi occurred at the site with coarser sediments and stable bottom morphology. The lowest density was recorded at the site that presented less stable channel morphology. Temporal variation is controlled by hydrological regime and N. bonettoi cycle life whereas spatial distribution is tightly associated with channel stability.     

Sexual niche partitioning in two species of New Guinean Pachycephala whistlers

Sex differences in foraging behavior have been widely reported in the ornithological literature, but few examples are available from tropical avifaunas. Differences between males and females in foraging behavior have been hypothesized to be a byproduct of sexual size dimorphism or a result of niche partitioning to reduce intersexual competition for food or different reproductive roles. From 2010 to 2013, I used foraging data and mist‐net capture rates from multiple study sites to examine possible sex differences in the foraging behavior of two New Guinean Pachycephala whistlers. I found that male Regent (Pachycephala schlegelii) and Sclater's (Pachycephala soror) whistlers consistently foraged in higher strata than females. It is unlikely that these differences are due to sexual dimorphism because these species exhibit little sexual dimorphism. Sex differences in foraging behavior were consistent across years and study sites and did not appear linked to breeding behavior, supporting the food‐competition hypothesis, but not the reproductive‐roles hypothesis. Male territorial defense often occurs in relatively high strata in Pachycephala whistlers, possibly influencing male foraging strata. However, male territorial behavior cannot explain why females predominately forage in lower strata. Instead, intersexual competition for food resources is likely the primary driver of differences in the foraging behavior of male and female Regent and Sclater's whistlers.     

西藏亚东堆纳地区始新世钙藻化石

始新世是西藏特提斯消亡的时期,因此在该地史时期形成了最年轻的海相沉积即最高海相层。最高海相层的时代代表了残留海盆消亡的时间。藏南亚东地区保存着最年轻的海相沉积,即遮普惹组。通过对亚东堆纳地区日阿东剖面遮普惹组中灰岩段的上部和砂页岩段的中下部灰白色块状生物碎屑灰岩夹层中的钙藻化石进行详细的分析和研究,共鉴定出18属27种(包括红藻门6属9种,绿藻门12属18种),据其分布特征划分出3个化石组合:1 Jania denotata-Amphiroa iraquensis组合,2 Ovulites margaritula-Fucoporella diplopora组合,3 Lithoporella melobesioides-Polygonella minima组合。根据所含钙藻化石组合的相关特征,推测堆纳地区在始新世处于浅海陆棚环境,海水深度最深不超过30m。     

Late Weichselian and Holocene sedimentary environments and ice rafting in Isfjorden, Spitsbergen

Multi-proxy analyses of two sediment cores from central Isfjorden were used to reconstruct the glacial history in central Spitsbergen during the Late Weichselian and the Holocene, and to relate iceberg rafting and sea-ice rafting to climatic and oceanographic changes in the north Atlantic region. A basal till was deposited beneath an ice stream prior to 12,700 cal. years BP (calendar years before the present). Several tidewater glaciers influenced the sedimentary environment during the Younger Dryas and probably already during the Allerød. The Younger Dryas cooling might be reflected by enhanced sea-ice formation and suspension settling, as well as reduced iceberg rafting. The final deglaciation was dominated by intense iceberg rafting. It terminated around 11,200 cal. years BP. Optimum Holocene climatic and oceanographic conditions with significantly reduced ice rafting occurred between c. 11,200 and 9000 cal. years BP. Ice rafting occurred almost exclusively from icebergs after 10,200 cal. years BP. The icebergs most probably originated from tidewater glaciers on east Spitsbergen, indicating the presence of a strong east–west temperature gradient at this time. An increase of iceberg rafting around 9000 cal. years BP, followed by enhanced sea-ice rafting, reflects the onset of a general cooling in the western Barents Sea–Svalbard region. Comparatively intense rafting from icebergs and sea ice between 9000 and 4000 cal. years BP is related to this cooling. A general reduction in ice rafting after 4000 cal. years BP is most probably the result of the enhanced formation of shore-fast and/or more permanent sea-ice cover, reducing the drift of icebergs and sea ice in the fjord. The results indicate that the palaeoenvironmental conditions on central Spitsbergen to a large degree depended on the oceanographic conditions in the western Barents Sea and west off Spitsbergen. However, climatic trends affecting Greenland and the entire north Atlantic region can also be identified.     

Extracellular Membrane Structures: A Component of the Epilithic Biofilm on the Kupferschiefer Black Shale

The presented study focuses on the characterization of extracellular membrane structures (EMSs) detected in the biofilm of an indigenous bacterial consortium growing on the surface of the Kupferschiefer black shale under model laboratory conditions. Received results showed that several types of extracellular structures, including multilayer vesicle-like structures observed for the first time, are a significant component of mixed-species bacterial biofilm. Based on the protein profile, the potential structure and functions of the EMSs were discussed. The findings of this study expand the current knowledge about biofilms formed by bacterial consortia on the surface of sedimentary rocks and show the diversity of EMSs produced by environmental microorganisms.     

Conditionally autoregressive models improve occupancy analyses of autocorrelated data: An example with environmental DNA

Site occupancy‐detection models (SODMs) are statistical models widely used for biodiversity surveys where imperfect detection of species occurs. For instance, SODMs are increasingly used to analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) data, taking into account the occurrence of both false‐positive and false‐negative errors. However, species occurrence data are often characterized by spatial and temporal autocorrelation, which might challenge the use of standard SODMs. Here we reviewed the literature of eDNA biodiversity surveys and found that most of studies do not take into account spatial or temporal autocorrelation. We then demonstrated how the analysis of data with spatial or temporal autocorrelation can be improved by using a conditionally autoregressive SODM, and show its application to environmental DNA data. We tested the autoregressive model on both simulated and real data sets, including chronosequences with different degrees of autocorrelation, and a spatial data set on a virtual landscape. Analyses of simulated data showed that autoregressive SODMs perform better than traditional SODMs in the estimation of key parameters such as true‐/false‐positive rates and show a better discrimination capacity (e.g., higher true skill statistics). The usefulness of autoregressive SODMs was particularly high in data sets with strong autocorrelation. When applied to real eDNA data sets (eDNA from lake sediment cores and freshwater), autoregressive SODM provided more precise estimation of true‐/false‐positive rates, resulting in more reasonable inference of occupancy states. Our results suggest that analyses of occurrence data, such as many applications of eDNA, can be largely improved by applying conditionally autoregressive specifications to SODMs.