MODELING THE EFFECTS OF VARIABLE ANNUAL FLOW ON RIVER CHANNEL MEANDER MIGRATION PATTERNS,SACRAMENTO RIVER,CALIFORNIA, USA1

ABSTRACT: Flow regulation impacts the ecology of major rivers in various ways, including altering river channel migration patterns. Many current meander migration models employ a constant annual flow or dominant discharge value. To assess how flow regulation alters river function, variable annual flows ‐ based on an empirical relationship between bank erosion rates and cumulative effective stream power ‐ were added into an existing migration model. This enhanced model was used to evaluate the potential geomorphic and ecological consequences of four regulated flow scenarios (i.e., different hydrographs) currently being proposed on the Sacramento River in California. The observed rate of land reworked correlated significantly with observed cumulative effective stream power during seven time increments from 1956 to 1975 (r²= 0.74, p = 0.02). The river was observed to rework 3.0 ha/yr of land (a mean channel migration rate of 7.7 m/yr) with rates ranging from 0.8 ha/yr to 5.1 ha/yr (2.0 to 13.3 m/yr), during the analyzed time periods. Modeled rates of land reworked correlated significantly with observed rates of land reworked for the variable flow model (r²= 0.78, p = 0.009). The meander migration scenario modeling predicted a difference of 1 to 8 percent between the four flow management scenarios and the base scenario.     

GROUNDWATER ZONING IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT1

In today's society the planned management of groundwater resources has played an increasingly greater role. One means of insuring the protection of groundwater quantity and quality is a regional zoning of groundwater resources. Regional zoning means to classify a given region with regard to hydrogeological characteristics and to evaluate and determine the possible use of each zone. The necessary assumption is the appropriate knowledge of geological structure (compiled in a geological map) and of hydrogeological conditions (compiled in a hydrogeological map). The basis for subdivision is a hydrogeological unit distinguished and delineated on the basis of lithological, stratigraphical, structural, and hydrogeological characteristics. It should have its own distinct hydrological system. The hydrogeological region is the basic unit. Regions may be grouped into larger units: hydrogeological provinces and realms. The subdivision of regions into hydrogeological zones, or subzones when applicable, forms the basis for a groundwater development plan.     

Academic publishing in disaster risk reduction: past,present, and future

Nowadays there are approximately 80 Anglophone journals that deal primarily with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and allied fields. This large array signals a sustained, if uneven, growth in DRR scholarship but also competition between the offerings of different publishers and institutions. The purpose of this article is first to summarise the development of academic publishing on DRR from its early beginnings to the present day. The paper then evaluates the current state of publishing in this field and discusses possible future trends. Next, it identifies some possible opportunities, challenges, expectations, and commitments for journal editors both within DRR and academia more broadly, including those that refer to changes in the use of terminology, the relentless increase in the number of papers submitted, the expansion and dangers of predatory journals, different peer review models, open access versus paywalls, citations and bibliography metrics, academic social networks, and copyright and distribution issues.     

Do females pay attention to secondary sexual coloration in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops)?

Several primate species show sexual dichromatism with males displaying conspicuous coloration of the pelage or skin. Studies of scrotal coloration in male vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) suggest that it is an important intrasexual signal, with relatively dark, colourful males dominating paler males. To date, no studies have examined the influence of male colour on intersexual social interactions in vervet monkeys. The primary goal of the present study was to evaluate whether female vervet monkeys attend to male coloration. We experimentally introduced females, housed with either “pale” or “dark” males, to stimulus males whose scrota were pale, dark, or pale but painted to look dark. Overall, during introductions, females did not differ in time spent directing affiliative behaviour toward pale, dark, and painted males; however, females, permanently housed with dark males, spent significantly more time directing affiliative behaviour toward pale than painted males. When the stimulus male was pale, affiliative exchanges between males and females were longer than when the stimulus male was painted. Home male colour was not related to female-initiated aggression. Home male colour was also not related to male-initiated aggression, although painted stimulus males were more likely to initiate aggression than pale stimulus males. These findings lead us to conclude that females pay attention to male coloration, but do not bias their interactions toward males solely on the basis of natural male coloration.     

Long-distance island hopping without dispersal stages: transportation across major zoogeographic barriers in a Southern Ocean isopod

Species integrity is maintained only if recurrent allelic exchange between subpopulations occurs by means of migrating specimens. Predictions of this gene flow on the basis of observed or assumed mobility of marine species have proven to be error-prone. Using one mitochondrial gene and seven microsatellite markers, we studied the genetic structure and gene flow in Septemserolis septemcarinata, a strictly benthic species lacking pelagic larvae and the ability to swim. Suitable shallow-water habitats around three remote islands (South Georgia, Bouvet, and Marion Island) are geographically disjunct, isolated by more than 2,000 km of uninhabitable deep sea (east–west) and also separated by the Polar Front (north–south), which serves as a strong demarcation line in many marine taxa. Although we did find genetic differentiation among the three island populations, our results also revealed that a scenario with recent gene flow explains our data best. A model assuming no gene flow after initial colonization of the islands performs significantly worse. The tests also favor an asymmetric gene flow pattern (west to east ≫ east to west) thus mirroring the directionality of major oceanographic currents in the area. We conclude that rare long-distance dispersal rather than vicariance or human-mediated transport must be responsible for the observed patterns. As a mechanism, we propose passive rafting on floating substrata in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of a physical barrier is not solely a function of its physical parameters but strongly depends on how organisms interact with their environment.     

Turanoceratops tardabilis—the first ceratopsid dinosaur from Asia

Turanoceratops tardabilis from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Bissekty Formation of Dzharakuduk, Uzbekistan, represents the first definite ceratopsid dinosaur recorded from Asia. Reexamination of the original and study of newly collected material indicate that Turanoceratops has well-developed supraorbital horns and apparently lacks a nasal horn. Turanoceratops is more derived than the more or less coeval Zuniceratops from the Moreno Hill Formation of New Mexico in the presence of double-rooted teeth and of two or three teeth in each vertical dental file.     

Identifying future research directions for biodiversity,ecosystem services and sustainability: perspectives from early-career researchers

We aimed to identify priority research questions in the field of biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainability (BESS), based on a workshop held during the NRG BESS Conference for Early Career Researchers on BESS, and to compare these to existing horizon scanning exercises. This work highlights the need for improved data availability through collaboration and knowledge exchange, which, in turn, can support the integrated valuation and sustainable management of ecosystems in response to global change. In addition, clear connectivity among different research themes in this field further emphasizes the need to consider a wider range of topics simultaneously to ensure the sustainable management of ecosystems for human wellbeing. In contrast to other horizon scanning exercises, our focus was more interdisciplinary and more concerned with the limits of sustainability and dynamic relationships between social and ecological systems. The identified questions could provide a framework for researchers, policy makers, funding agencies and the private sector to advance knowledge in biodiversity and ES research and to develop and implement policies to enable sustainable future development.     

SETAC GLB and SETAC Europe SAC: a liaison promoting the next generation of ecotoxicologists and environmental chemists

This commentary is an introduction for students to the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and its Student Advisory Council (SAC). As young academics face challenges while trying to develop their careers, SETAC and the SAC help facilitate student involvement in the various communities within the society that can help to develop the students’ careers within the environmental sciences [e.g. the German Language Branch (GLB)]. This piece would also like to emphasize and pay homage to the continual cooperation between the SAC and the ESEU, which provides a scientific platform to communicate internationally and beyond the borders of SETAC, as well as offer heartfelt congratulations from the SAC to the GLB for their “20 Years SETAC GLB” and deep gratitude for their strong advocacy and support of the SAC.     

Bacterial symbionts as an additional cytological marker for identification of sponges without a skeleton

Symbiotic bacteria from six Oscarella species (adults and embryos) collected in the Mediterranean Sea (O. lobularis, O. tuberculata, O. imperialis, O. microlobata, O. viridis) and the Sea of Japan (O. malakhovi) were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In most cases, symbionts are rather numerous. Each sponge species has a definite set of bacterial morphological types. All bacteria are extracellular. Symbionts occupy the mesohyl of adult sponges or intercellular space in embryos and are often in contact with mesohylar filaments or cells. Bacteria of some morphotypes have characteristic blebs. Most symbionts are gram-negative, and two types of bacteria have traits of Archaea and one type of bacteria is similar to Planctomycetes. Data on morphology of bacterial symbionts can be a good additional character for identification of Oscarella species, which have no skeleton.