ALBERT

Description: Impatiens marroninus Utami (Balsaminaceae), collected from Sumatra, Indonesia, is described and illustrated as a new species. The species belongs to subg. Impatiens sect. Kathetophyllon. It is characterized by opposite or whorled leaves, yellow flowers with red maroon stripes in the upper part of the two lateral petals, dark green leaves and the lower sepal deeply navicular and constricted into a short curved spur. This combination of morphological characters was previously unknown. Detailed description, illustration, phenology, IUCN conservation assessment and ecology of the species are provided.

Description: A new and florally unusual species of the genus Dichaea is described and illustrated from Costa Rica, where it is apparently endemic, and its relationships are discussed. Dichaea auriculata is compared with the group of species close to D. graminoides, from which it can be distinguished by the lip with a long isthmus, provided with two rounded auricles at the base, instead of the sessile lip typical of the group. It is also compared with another Costa Rican endemic in the same complex, D. gracillima, from which it can be distinguished by the autogamous, mostly cleistogamous, flowers, the 3-lobed lip with rounded basal lobes, the high keel along the lip isthmus, and the bifid ligule of the column. Notes on the habitat and the ecology of the new species are provided.

Description: Monitoring community composition of Foraminifera (single-celled marine protists) pro-vides valuable insights into environmental conditions in marine ecosystems. Despitethe efficiency of environmental DNA (eDNA) and bulk-sample DNA (bulk-DNA) me-tabarcoding to assess the presence of multiple taxa, this has not been straightforwardfor Foraminifera partially due to the high genetic variability in widely used ribosomalmarkers. Here, we test the correctness in retrieving foraminiferal communities by me-tabarcoding of mock communities, bulk-DNA from coral reef sediment samples, andeDNA from their associated ethanol preservative using the recently sequenced cy-tochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker. To assess the detection success, we com-pared our results with large benthic foraminiferal communities previously reportedfrom the same sampling sites. Results from our mock communities demonstrate thatall species were detected in two mock communities and all but one in the remainingfour. Technical replicates were highly similar in number of reads for each assigned ASVin both the mock communities and bulk-DNA samples. Bulk-DNA showed a signifi-cantly higher species richness than their associated eDNA samples, and also detectedadditional species to what was already reported at the specific sites. Our study con-firms that metabarcoding using the foraminiferal COI marker adequately retrieves thediversity and community composition of both the mock communities and the bulk-DNA samples. With its decreased variability compared with the commonly used nu-clear 18 S rRNA, the COI marker renders bulk-DNA metabarcoding a powerful tool toassess foraminiferal community composition under the condition that the referencedatabase is adequate to the target taxa.

Description: Despite the importance of surface energy budgets (SEBs) for land-climate interactions in the Arctic, uncertainties in their prediction persist. In situ observational data of SEB components - useful for research and model validation - are collected at relatively few sites across the terrestrial Arctic, and not all available datasets are readily interoperable. Furthermore, the terrestrial Arctic consists of a diversity of vegetation types, which are generally not well represented in land surface schemes of current Earth system models. This dataset describes the environmental conditions for 64 tundra and glacier sites (〉=60°N latitude) across the Arctic, for which in situ measurements of surface energy budget components were harmonized (see Oehri et al. 2022). These environmental conditions are (proxies of) potential drivers of SEB-components and could therefore be called SEB-drivers. The associated environmental conditions, include the vegetation types graminoid tundra, prostrate dwarf-shrub tundra, erect-shrub tundra, wetland complexes, barren complexes (≤ 40% horizontal plant cover), boreal peat bogs and glacier. These land surface types (apart from boreal peat bogs) correspond to the main classification units of the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM, Raynolds et al. 2019). For each site, additional climatic and biophysical variables are available, including cloud cover, snow cover duration, permafrost characteristics, climatic conditions and topographic conditions.

Description: The ²³⁴Th-²³⁸U radioactive pair has been extensively used to evaluate the efficiency with which photosyntetically fixed carbon is exported from the surface ocean by means of the biological pump since the 90's. The seminal work of Buesseler et al. (1992) proposed that particulate organic carbon (POC) flux can be indirectly calculated from ²³⁴Th distributions if the ratio of POC to ²³⁴Th measured on sinking particles (POC:²³⁴Th) at the desired export depth is known. Since then, a huge amount of ²³⁴Th depth profiles have been collected using a variety of sampling instruments and strategies that have changed along years. This is a global oceanic compilation of ²³⁴Th measurements, that collects results from innumerable researchers and laboratories over a period exceeding 50 years. The present compilation is made of a total 223 datasets: 214 from studies published either in articles in referred journals, PhD thesis or repositories, and 9 unpublished datasets. Including measurements from JGOFS, VERTIGO and GEOTRACES programs, with sampling from approximately 5000 locations spanning all the oceans. The compilation includes total ²³⁴Th profiles, dissolved and particulate ²³⁴Th concentrations, and POC:²³⁴Th ratios (both from pumps and sediment traps) for two sizes classes (1-53 μm and 〈 53 μm) when available. Appropriate metadata have been included, including geographic location, date, and sample depth, among others. When available, we also include water temperature, salinity, ²³⁸U data and particulate organic nitrogen data. Data sources and methods information (including ²³⁸U and ²³⁴Th) are also detailed along with valuable information for future data analysis such as bloom stage and steady/non-steady state conditions at the sampling moment. This undertaking is a treasure of data to understand and quantify how oceanic carbon cycle functions and how it will change in future. The compilation can be downloaded in three different ways: 1) A single merged file including all the individual excel files. This option can be accessed under "Other version: More than 50 years of Th-234 data: a comprehensive global oceanic compilation (single xlsx file)". 2) A summary table that includes details from cruise, sampling dates, techniques applied, authors and DOI of the compiled ²³⁴Th data, among others, each line corresponds to a specific dataset. The table can be accessed by clicking ""View dataset as HTML" and downloaded in "Download dataset as tab-delimited text". 3) Individual Excel files for each dataset can be manually chosen from the summary table, corresponding to the complete ²³⁴Th dataset and metadata from a specific publication or program. This option is available by clicking "View dataset as HTML". Furthermore, all files referred to can be downloaded in one go as ZIP or TAR.

Description: The mid-Piacenzian warm period (MPWP, ~3.264–3.025 Ma) has gained widespread interest due to its partial analogy with future climate. However, quantitative data–model comparison of East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) precipitation during the MPWP is relatively rare, especially due to problems in decoding the imprint of physical processes to climate signals in the records. In this study, pollen-based precipitation records are reconstructed and compared to the multi-model ensemble mean of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2). We find spatially consistent precipitation increase in most simulations but a spatially divergent change in MPWP records. We reconcile proxy data and simulation by decomposing physical processes that control precipitation. Our results 1) reveal thermodynamic control of an overall enhancement of EASM precipitation and 2) highlight a distinct control of thermodynamic and dynamical processes on increases of tropical and subtropical EASM precipitation, reflecting the two pathways of water vapor supply that enhance EASM precipitation, respectively.

Description: The integrated approach of molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses has revolutionized the systematics and our understanding of the evolutionary relationships of marine taxa. One such group is the hexacorallian order Zoantharia Rafinesque, 1815. The monotypic genus Thoracactis Gravier, 1918 has been little investigated since its placement within the order Zoantharia more than 100 years ago. Here, we examined museum specimens collected from the Cape Verde Islands (eastern Atlantic) and newly collected specimens from Brazil (southwestern Atlantic), using a combined molecular and morphological approach. Our results conclusively show Thoracactis to be referable to the family Parazoanthidae. Morphological data show that Thoracactis topsenti Gravier, 1918, the type species of this monotypic genus, has a cyclically transitional arrangement of its sphincter muscle, and this arrangement has previously been reported from the Parazoanthidae. Thoracactis can be distinguished from other hexasterophoran glass-sponge-associated genera (Churabana Kise, Montenegro & Reimer, 2022, Parachurabana Kise, 2023, and Vitrumanthus Kise, Montenegro & Reimer, 2022) by a combination of morphological, ecological and molecular phylogenetic data. In addition, molecular phylogenetic analyses clearly indicate that Thoracactis topsenti is placed within Parazoanthidae. These results are yet another demonstration of the utility of comprehensive combined approaches. From now, research attention should focus on the revision of remaining taxonomic questions within the family Epizoanthidae, with the goal of a comprehensively revised suborder Macrocnemina within reach.

Description: This study investigates Late Quaternary sediments from Vankervelsvlei, a peatland located at 152 m above present sea level at the southern Cape coast of South Africa. A 15 m long sediment record was recovered from the site in 2016 and analysed using a multi-proxy approach. This includes analyses of water content, loss on ignition, grain size, organic (C, N and their isotopic composition) and inorganic (Al, Fe, Sr, Ti) elemental composition as well as compound-specific stable hydrogen and carbon isotopes from leaf wax-derived n-alkanes and compound-specific stable oxygen isotopes from hemicellulose-derived sugars. Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes are additionally coupled in a δ2Hn-alkane–δ18Osugar paleohygrometer. Parts of the data derive from a pioneer study by Strobel et al (2019) and have subsequently been extended by Strobel et al (submitted). Distinct environmental changes occurred at Vankervelsvlei during the Late Quaternary and the applied multi-proxy approach enables to reconstruct past variations in the atmospheric source of precipitation and local moisture availability at the site, which is coherent with other records located along the southern Cape coast of South Africa.

Description: The dataset represents pollen and sedimentary charcoal counting data as well as XRF and grain size data of the lacustrine sediment core recovered from Lake Maudit in Montagne d'Ambre (northern Madagascar, 1,250 m asl). From the center of the Lake Maudit, accessible from a peat bog, two parallel sediment cores (LM1A and LM1B) with lengths of 10.5 m and 10.75 m were recovered in 2017 using a Russian peat corer in June 2017 by Vincent Montade, Laurent Bremond and Sandratrinirainy Ranarilalatiana. For pollen and extraction, 0.5 cm3 subsamples at an interval varying between 8 and 48 cm on LM1B were treated with hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, acetolysis mixture and stored in glycerol. A minimum sum of 300 terrestrial pollen grains was counted for each subsample using a light microscope at 400x magnification. Pollen and fern-spore percentages were calculated on the terrestrial pollen sum. For charcoal-particle extraction, 1 cm3 of sediment was sampled every cm along the core LM1B and soaked in a 3% NaP2O4 solution plus bleach for several hours to deflocculate sediments and oxidize organic matter. Samples were sieved through a 160 μm mesh and charcoal particles were counted using a stereomicroscope at x40 magnification coupled to a digital camera. Semi-quantitative measurements of inorganic chemical elements were conducted using an ITRAX (CS-8) X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanner with a molybdenum (Mo) tube at the Geomorphological–Sedimentological Laboratory of the Geomorphology and Polar Research (GEOPOLAR), University of Bremen. XRF scanning was conducted at 55 kV and 30 mA with 10 s of exposure time at 0.2 mm resolution from both sediment cores, LM1A and LM1B. These elements were normalized to the counts of incoherent radiation (“Mo inc”) derived from the XRF scanner, to account for lithological changes and sediment matrix effects. Using the XRF data, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out, using the selected elements (Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, and Ni) as input variables. Prior to this multivariate statistic, the normalized elements were transformed using standard “z-transformation”. The PCA carried out with XRF data resulted in three main axes, with Axis 1 representing 61.5%, Axis 2 24.4%, and Axis 3 9.4% of the total data variance. For the grain size analysis ~1 cm3 subsamples at an interval of 5 cm were taken on LM1A and measured after destroying carbonates and organic matter according to standard protocols with HCl and H2O2. Measurements were carried out with a laser diffraction particle-size analyzer (LS 13320 Beckman Coulter) in seven cycles of 60 s each. The first reproducible signal was considered as reliable and final distribution data were calculated using the Fraunhofer optical model. Based on the lithological description (marker layers), the XRF-element patterns, and digital and radiographic images, LM1A and LM1B were parallelized and combined to a composite core (depth 1). In addition, several event-related deposits (deposited within only hours or maybe days) originating from the catchment have been identified. These events disturbed the normal sedimentation process and were removed to correct the master core depth (depth 2) before establishing the age-depth model. Between 0 and 208 cm the sediment core corresponds to peat sediment and below 208 cm to lacustrine sediment. Age-depth model have been only established on the lacustrine sediment section.