Mitochondrial control region sequence analyses indicate dispersal from the US East Coast as the source of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans in the Bahamas

Lionfish are popular aquarium fish from the Indo-Pacific that have invaded the western Atlantic. Two species, Pterois volitans and P. miles, were well established along the United States east coast before the first lionfish were reported from the Bahamas in 2004, where they quickly dispersed throughout the archipelago by 2007. The source of the Bahamian lionfish invasion has been in question because of the hypothesized low connectivity between Florida and Bahamas reef species as well as the temporal lag in their arrival in the Bahamas. Mitochondrial control region haplotypes (680 bp) were determined and analyzed for lionfish specimens from the Bahamas, North Carolina, and two sites within their native range (Indonesia and the Philippines). Exact tests, pairwise F _st and AMOVA analyses all showed no significant differentiation between the Bahamas and North Carolina specimens. The similarity between the Bahamas and North Carolina lionfish was also reflected in a minimum spanning network and neighbor-joining distance tree generated from the data. Sequence analyses also revealed the presence of only Pterois volitans, as no P. miles were detected in the Bahamian sample. These results indicate that the source of the Bahamian lionfish is egg and larval dispersal from the United States east coast population, and support previous models of reef fish dispersal that suggest a low level of connectivity between the Bahamas and east coast of Florida.     

SOME FACTORS AFFECTING THE DETERMINATION OF PARTICULATE CARBON AND NITROGEN IN RIVER WATER1

The effect of storing samples prior to determination of particulate nitrogen and carbon concentrations were investigated. Freezing of water samples between collection and analysis has a substantial effect on the results obtained. Storage of samples at 5°C also affects the results, although the changes which occurred were generally less than for frozen samples. When the particulates were collected onto a filter immediately after sample collection and stored in that form until analysis only small changes in the results were observed. This suggests that samples for the determination of particulate nitrogen and carbon concentrations should be filtered immediately upon sample collection and the analysis performed as soon as possible.     

Perceptions of Species Abundance,Distribution, and Diversity: Lessons from Four Decades of Sampling on a Government-Managed Reserve

/ We examined data relative to species abundance, distribution, anddiversity patterns of reptiles and amphibians to determine how perceptionschange over time and with level of sampling effort. Location data werecompiled on more than one million individual captures or observations of 98species during a 44-year study period on the US Department of Energy's(DOE) Savannah River Site National Environmental Research Park (SRS-NERP) inSouth Carolina. We suggest that perceptions of herpetofaunal speciesdiversity are strongly dependent on level of effort and that land managementdecisions based on short-term data bases for some faunal groups could resultin serious errors in environmental management. We provide evidence thatacquiring information on biodiversity distribution patterns is compatiblewith multiyear spatially extensive research programs and also provide aperspective of what might be achieved if long-term, coordinated researchefforts were instituted nationwide.To conduct biotic surveys on government-managed lands, we recommend revisionsin the methods used by government agencies to acquire and report biodiversitydata. We suggest that government and industry employees engaged inbiodiversity survey efforts develop proficiency in field identification forone or more major taxonomic groups and be encouraged to measure the status ofpopulations quantitatively with consistent and reliable methodologies. Wealso suggest that widespread academic cooperation in the dissemination ofinformation on regional patterns of biodiversity could result byestablishment of a peer-reviewed, scientifically rigorous journal concernedwith status and trends of the biota of the United States. KEY WORDS: Abundance; Amphibian; Biodiversity; Distribution; Landmanagement; Reptile     

Linked Hydrologic and Climate Variations in British Columbia and Yukon

Climatic and hydrologic variations between the decades 1976–1985 and 1986–1995 are examined at 34 climate stations and 275 hydrology stations. The variations in climate are distributedacross a broad spatial area. Temperatures were generally warmerin the most recent decade, with many stations showing significantincreases during the spring and fall. No significant decreases intemperature were found. Significant increases in temperature weremore frequent in the south than in the northern portions of theregion. Significant changes in precipitation were also more prevalent in the south. In coastal areas, there were significantdecreases in precipitation during the dry season, and significantincreases during the wet season. In the BC interior, significantprecipitation decreases occurred during the fall, with significant increases during the winter and spring. In the norththere were few changes in precipitation. The hydrologic responsesto these variations in climate follow six distinctive patterns.The spatial distribution of these patterns suggests that indifferent ecozones, small variations in climate, particularlytemperature, elicit different hydrologic responses.     

IMPROVED RAINFALL/RUNOFF ESTIMATES USING REMOTELY SENSED SOIL MOISTURE1

ABSTRACT: Remotely sensed soil moisture data measured during the Southern Great Plains 1997 (SGP97) experiment in Oklahoma were used to characterize antecedent soil moisture conditions for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method. The precipitation‐adjusted curve number and the soil moisture were strongly related (r²= 0.70). Remotely sensed soil moisture fields were used to adjust the curve numbers and the runoff estimates for five watersheds, in the Little Washita watershed; the results ranged from 2.8 km² to 601.6 km². The soil moisture data were applied at two spatial scales, a finer one (800 m) measuring spatial resolution and a coarser one (28 km). The root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute error (MAE) of the runoff estimated by the standard SCS method was reduced by nearly 50 percent when the 800 m soil moisture data were used to adjust the curve number. The coarser scale soil moisture data also significantly reduced the error in the runoff predictions with 41 percent and 28 percent reductions in MAE and RMSE, respectively. The results suggest that remote sensing of soil moisture, when combined with the SCS method, can improve rainfall runoff predictions at a range of spatial scales.     

INTERVENTION ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY RECORDS1

The impoundment of the Kootenai River by Libby Dam caused changes in discharge and water quality in the river downstream from Lake Koocanusa. The changes observed downsteam were largely attributable to the depth of withdrawal from the reservoir and the reservoir's ability to store and mix various influent water masses. The preimpoundment and postimpoundment time series of discharge and six water quality variables were autocorrelated and exhibited strong seasonality. Intervention analysis, a technique employing Box-Jenkins time series models, was used to quantify the nature and magnitude of the changes in water quality after the construction of Libby Dam. The models were developed with data from June 1967 through February 1981 and were able to satisfactorily forecast riverine conditions from March 1981 through January 1982.     

Predicting preference for familiar,everyday objects: An experimental confrontation between two theories of aesthetic behaviour

The work reported compared the predictive ability of two theories of aesthetic behaviour, using normal, everyday objects. This involved utilizing simulated items of furniture in three experiments in which predictions deduced from the ‘collative-motivation’ model and what has been termed a ‘preference-for-prototypes’ model were made to compete empirically. For each of the five pairs of discrepant expectations formulated in the three experiments the outcomes were inconsistent with Berlyne's model, while supporting the prototypicality model. A number of theoretical implications are drawn from these findings.     

MODELING TRANSIENT pH DEPRESSIONS IN COASTAL STREAMS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA USING NEURAL NETWORKS1

ABSTRACT: Transient events in water chemistry in small coastal watersheds, particularly pH depressions, are largely driven by inputs of precipitation. While the response of each watershed depends upon both the nature of the precipitation event and the season of the year, how the response changes over time can provide insight into landscape changes. Neural network models for an urban watershed and a rural‐suburban watershed were developed in an attempt to detect changes in system response resulting from changes in the landscape. Separate models for describing pH depressions for wet season and dry season conditions were developed for a seven year period at each watershed. The neural network models allowed separation of the effects of precipitation variations and changes in watershed response. The ability to detect trends in pH depression magnitudes was improved by analyzing neural network residuals rather than the raw data. Examination of sensitivity plots of the models indicated how the neural networks were affected by different inputs. There were large differences in effects between seasons in the rural‐suburban watershed whereas effects in the urban watershed were consistent between seasons. During the study period, the urban watershed showed no change in pH depression response, while the rural‐suburban watershed showed a significant increase in the magnitude of pH depressions, likely the result of increased urbanization.