ALBERT

Description: Correlations of Trichodesmium colony abundance with the eddy field emerged in two segments of Video Plankton Recorder observations made in the southwestern North Atlantic during fall 2010 and spring 2011. In fall 2010, local maxima in abundance were observed in cyclones. We hypothesized surface Ekman transport convergence as a mechanism for trapping buoyant colonies in cyclones. Idealized models supported the potential of this process to influence the distribution of buoyant colonies over timescales of several months. In spring 2011, the highest vertically integrated colony abundances were observed in anticyclones. These peaks in abundance correlated with anomalously fresh water, suggesting riverine input as a driver of the relationship. These contrasting results in cyclones and anticyclones highlight distinct mechanisms by which mesoscale eddies can influence the abundance and distribution of Trichodesmium populations of the southwestern North Atlantic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Freshwater ecosystems in arid regions range from highly fragmented to highly connected, and connectivity has been assumed to be a major factor in the persistence of aquatic biota in arid environments. This review sought to synthesize existing research on genetic estimation of population connectivity in desert freshwaters, identify knowledge gaps, and set priorities for future studies of connectivity in these environments. From an extensive literature search, we synthesized the approaches applied, systems studied, and conclusions about connectivity reached in population genetic research concerning desert freshwater connectivity globally. We restrict our scope to obligate aquatic fauna that disperse largely via freshwaters and exclude those with active aerial dispersal abilities. We examined 92 papers, comprising 133 studies, published from 1987 to 2014. Most described studies of fishes and invertebrates in the deserts of Australia and North America. Connectivity declined with increasing scale, but did not differ significantly among arid regions or taxonomic classes. There were significant differences in connectivity patterns between species with different dispersal abilities, and between spring and riverine habitats at local scales. Population connectivity in desert freshwaters is typically most influenced by the ecology of the species concerned and hydrological connectivity. Most studies did not assess predefined models of connectivity, but described gene flow and/or genetic structure. Climate change and anthropogenic impacts worldwide are likely to increase the incidence and impact of habitat fragmentation in already threatened desert freshwaters. To reduce this risk, biodiversity conservation and environmental management must address connectivity, but often the required information does not exist. Researchers can provide this by explicitly considering the effects of hydrology and species’ ecology on connectivity, and incorporating these into connectivity models, which are vital for understanding connectivity in desert freshwaters. This review synthesises existing research on genetic estimation of population connectivity in desert freshwaters worldwide. We find that connectivity patterns were mostly driven by species ecology and hydrological connectivity. We recommend that future researchers explicitly consider connectivity and utilise connectivity models, in order to understand and conserve species in desert freshwaters.

Description: Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) are a problem in western Lake Erie, and in eutrophic fresh waters worldwide. Western Lake Erie is a large (3000 km 2 ), shallow (8 m mean depth), freshwater system. CHABs occur from July to October, when stratification is intermittent in response to wind and surface heating or cooling (polymictic). Existing forecast models give the present location and extent of CHABs from satellite imagery, then predict two-dimensional (surface) CHAB movement in response to meteorology. In this study, we simulated vertical distribution of buoyant Microcystis colonies, and 3D advection, using a Lagrangian particle model forced by currents and turbulent diffusivity from the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). We estimated the frequency distribution of Microcystis colony buoyant velocity from measured size distributions and buoyant velocities. We evaluated several random-walk numerical schemes to efficiently minimize particle accumulation artifacts. We selected the Milstein scheme, with linear interpolation of the diffusivity profile in place of cubic splines, and varied the time step at each particle and step based on the curvature of the local diffusivity profile to ensure that the Visser time step criterion was satisfied. Inclusion of vertical mixing with buoyancy significantly improved model skill statistics compared to an advection-only model, and showed greater skill than a persistence forecast through simulation day 6, in a series of 26 hindcast simulations from 2011. The simulations and in-situ observations show the importance of subtle thermal structure, typical of a polymictic lake, along with buoyancy in determining vertical and horizontal distribution of Microcystis . This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: The transformation of surface gravity waves across a platform reef in the Red Sea is examined using eighteen months of observations and a wave transformation model developed for beaches. The platform reef is 200 m across, 700 m long and the water depth varies from 0.3 to 1.2 m. Assuming changes in wave energy flux are due to wave breaking and bottom drag dissipation, the wave transformation model with optimal parameters characterizing the wave breaking (γ μ =0.25) and bottom drag (hydrodynamic roughness z o =0.08 m) accounts for 75% - 90% of the observed wave-height variance at four sites. The observations and model indicate that wave breaking dominates the dissipation in a 20 – 30 m wide surf zone while bottom drag dominates the dissipation over the rest of the reef. Friction factors (drag coefficients) estimated from the observed wave energy balance range from f w =0.5 to f w =5 and increase as wave-orbital displacements decrease. The observed dependence on wave-orbital displacement is roughly consistent with extrapolation of an empirical relationship based on numerous laboratory studies of oscillatory flow. As a consequence of the dependence on wave-orbital displacement, wave friction factors vary temporally due to changes in water depth and incident wave heights, and spatially across the reef as the waves decay. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Current dynamics across a platform reef in the Red Sea near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia are examined using 18 months of current profile, pressure, surface wave, and wind observations. The platform reef is 700 m long, 200 m across with spatial and temporal variations in water depth over the reef ranging from 0.6 m to 1.6 m. Surface waves breaking at the seaward edge of the reef cause a 2 −10 cm setup of sea level that drives cross-reef currents of 5 – 20 cm s −1 . Bottom stress is a significant component of the wave setup balance in the surf zone. Over the reef flat, where waves are not breaking, the cross-reef pressure gradient associated with wave setup is balanced by bottom stress. The quadratic drag coefficient for the depth-average flow decreases with increasing water depth from C da =0.17 in 0.4 m of water to C da =0.03 in 1.2 m of water. The observed dependence of the drag coefficient on water depth is consistent with open channel flow theory and a hydrodynamic roughness of z o =0.06 m. A simple one-dimensional model driven by incident surface waves and wind stress accurately reproduces the observed depth-averaged cross-reef currents and a portion of the weaker along-reef currents over the focus reef and two other Red Sea platform reefs. The model indicates the cross-reef current is wave-forced and the along-reef current is partially wind-forced. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Abstract Increased ocean‐driven basal melting beneath Antarctic ice shelves causes grounded ice to flow into the ocean at an accelerated rate, with consequences for global sea level. The turbulent transfer of heat through the ice shelf‐ocean boundary layer is critical in setting the basal melt rate, yet the processes controlling this transfer are poorly understood and inadequately represented in global climate models. This creates large uncertainties in predictions of future sea‐level rise. Using a hot‐water drilled access hole, two turbulence instrument clusters (TICs) were deployed 2.5 and 13.5 meters beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf in December 2011. Both instruments returned a year‐long record of turbulent velocity fluctuations, providing a unique opportunity to explore the turbulent processes within the ice shelf‐ocean boundary layer. Although the scaling between the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate and mean flow speed varies with distance from the ice shelf base, at both TICs the TKE dissipation rate is balanced entirely by the rate of shear production. The freshwater released by basal melting plays no role in the TKE balance. When the upper TIC is within the log‐layer, we derive an under‐ice drag coefficient of 0.0022 and a roughness length of 0.44 mm, indicating that the ice base is smooth. Finally, we demonstrate that although the canonical three‐equation melt rate parameterization can accurately predict the melt rate for this example of smooth ice underlain by a cold, tidally‐forced boundary layer, the law of the wall assumption employed by the parameterization does not hold at low flow speeds.

Description: Abstract Severe coral bleaching events have affected the GBR causing massive losses of hard coral cover. Here we use flow respirometry approaches to assess coral reef net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and net ecosystem production following the 2015/2016 bleaching event at Lizard Island in the northern Great Barrier Reef, a heavily impacted area. Previous studies conducted in 2008 and 2009 (Silverman et al., 2014, http://10.1016/j.gca.2014.09.011) were used as preimpact data. Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches provided varied results. Estimated NEC (29.1 to 137.7 mmol m−2 day−1) and NEP (−876.7 to 50.5 mmol m−2 day−1) rates in 2016 were highly sensitive to assumptions about reef water residence times and oceanic end‐member concentrations. Replicating the methodology used for the 2008 and 2009 study resulted in postbleaching NEC in 2016 of 32 ± 10.8 mmol m−2 day−1, 40%–46% lower than prebleaching estimates in 2008 (61 ± 12 mmol m−2 day−1) and 2009 (54 ± 13 mmol m−2 day−1). The slopes of the total alkalinity versus dissolved inorganic carbon plot decreased from ~ 0.3 in 2008 and 2009 to 0.1 in 2016, indicating elevated organic production and a shift in community function. Changes in NEC relative to the previous study were not driven by changing Ωarag. Coral cover shifted from 8.3% and 7.1% in 2008 and 2009 to 3.0% in 2016. We demonstrate a clear decrease in coral reef NEC following bleaching and highlight that subtle assumptions/methodological differences may create bias in the interpretation of results. Therefore, comparing coral reef metabolism data sets and predicting long‐term coral reef calcification based on existing short‐term data sets needs to be done with care.

Description: Abstract The southward freshwater flux through Nares Strait is an important component of the Arctic's freshwater budget. On short time scales, flow through the strait is dominated by the tides, and tidal dynamics may be important for the magnitude of the freshwater flux over longer periods. Here we build upon our existing knowledge of the tides in the region by exploring their propagation and vertical structure using data from four bottom‐mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers deployed in Nares Strait between 2003 and 2006. We observe that propagating barotropic semidiurnal tidal waves interact to create a standing wave pattern, explaining the abnormally large tidal amplitudes that are observed in this region. In the along‐strait direction, semidiurnal tidal currents exhibit strong variations with depth. In contrast, the diurnal tides propagate northward through the strait as progressive waves, and the tidal currents are broadly depth invariant. Proximity of Nares Strait to the semidiurnal critical latitude and the topographical restriction imposed by the steep side wall of Ellesmere Island are primary drivers behind the observed vertical variability. In the upper part of the water column, baroclinic activity increases the tidal current amplitude by up to 25%. In the across‐strait direction, a two‐layer structure exists in both the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal flow, with a phase lag of approximately a quarter of a tidal cycle across the strait for the semidiurnal tide. Our results suggest that strong vertical motion exists against the side walls of Nares Strait, as the across‐strait flow interacts with the steeply sloping bathymetry.

Description: Diets estimated from different proxies such as stable isotopes, stomach contents, and dental microwear often disagree, leading to nominally well-supported but greatly differing estimates of diet for both extinct and extant species that complicate our understanding of ecology. We show that these perceived incongruences can be caused by proxies recording diet over vastly different timescales. Field observations reveal a diet averaged over minutes or hours, whereas dental morphology may reflect the diet of a lineage over millions of years of evolution. Failing to explicitly consider the scale of proxies and the potentially large temporal variability in diet can cause erroneous predictions in any downstream analyses such as conservation planning or paleohabitat reconstructions. We propose a cross-scale framework for conceptualizing diet suitable for both modern ecologists and paleontologists and provide recommendations for any studies involving dietary data. Treating diet in this temporally explicit framework and matching the scale of our questions with the scale of our data will lead to a much richer and clearer understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes. Different proxies can return very different estimates of an animal's diet because they record diet over vastly different timescales. We review the effects of temporal scaling on dietary analysis and provide recommendations for using dietary data effectively. With a cross scale framework and multiple proxies, we can infer an animal's diet from seconds to millions of years of evolutionary history.

Description: Soil seedbanks drive infestations of annual weeds, yet weed management focuses largely on seedling mortality. As weed seedbanks increasingly become reservoirs of herbicide resistance, species-specific seedbank management approaches will be essential to weed control. However, the development of seedbank management strategies can only develop from an understanding of how seed traits affect persistence. We quantified interspecific trade-offs among physiological, chemical, and physical traits of weed seeds and their persistence in the soil seedbank in a common garden study. Seeds of 11 annual weed species were buried in Savoy, IL, from 2007 through 2012. Seedling recruitment was measured weekly and seed viability measured annually. Seed physiological (dormancy), chemical (phenolic compound diversity and concentration; invertebrate toxicity), and physical traits (seed coat mass, thickness, and rupture resistance) were measured. Seed half-life in the soil ( t 0.5 ) showed strong interspecific variation ( F 10,30  = 15, p  〈 .0001), ranging from 0.25 years ( Bassia scoparia ) to 2.22 years ( Abutilon theophrasti ). Modeling covariances among seed traits and seedbank persistence quantified support for two putative defense syndromes (physiological–chemical and physical–chemical) and highlighted the central role of seed dormancy in controlling seed persistence. A quantitative comparison between our results and other published work indicated that weed seed dormancy and seedbank persistence are linked across diverse environments and agroecosystems. Moreover, among seedbank-forming early successional plant species, relative investment in chemical and physical seed defense varies with seedbank persistence. Synthesis and applications . Strong covariance among weed seed traits and persistence in the soil seedbank indicates potential for seedbank management practices tailored to specific weed species. In particular, species with high t 0.5 values tend to invest less in chemical defenses. This makes them highly vulnerable to physical harvest weed seed control strategies, with small amounts of damage resulting in their full decay. Improved understanding of factors driving variation in persistence of weed seeds in soil seedbanks is needed to support more effective management approaches. We quantified interspecific trade-offs among physiological, chemical, and physical traits of weed seeds and their persistence in the soil seedbank in a common garden study. Modeling covariances among seed traits and seedbank persistence quantified support for two putative seed defense syndromes (physiological–chemical and physical–chemical) and highlighted the central role of seed dormancy in controlling seed persistence.