Phylogeography of the pipefish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Urocampus carinirostris</Emphasis>, suggests secondary intergradation of ancient lineages

We assayed the pattern of mitochondrial DNA evolution in the live bearing, seagrass specialist pipefish, Urocampus carinirostris, in eastern Australia. These life history attributes were predicted to result in strong phylogeographic structure in U. carinirostris. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b sequences detected two monophyletic mtDNA clades that differed by 8.69% sequence divergence - a large level of intraspecific divergence for a marine fish. The geographical distribution of clades was non-random and resembled clinal secondary intergradation over a 130-km stretch of coastline. Contrary to phylogeographic predictions, this large phylogeographic break does not occur across a traditionally recognised biogeographic boundary. Analyses of historical demography suggested that individuals belonging to the most widespread clade underwent a population expansion from a small refuge population during the Pleistocene.     

Criteria to determine likelihood of brain injury during explosive events

The occurrence of blast-induced brain injury in individuals serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is dramatically higher than in past conflicts. This has been attributed in part to the prevalence of roadside improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. There is a call from the military medical community to reduce the reliance on victim self-reporting as the primary diagnosis technique to determine the likelihood of brain injury after a blast. This study demonstrates the ability to establish criteria which correlates easily measured parameters to the probability of cerebral contusion and, thus, brain injury. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to establish the environment from a full range of threats. This is combined with bond graph modeling of varying levels of fidelity to estimate the dynamics of the skull and brain. Results clearly show that a boundary exists in the threat parameter space that determines whether brain injury is probable.     

The field campaigns of the European Tracer Experiment (ETEX): overview and results

As part of the European Tracer Experiment (ETEX) two successful atmospheric experiments were carried out in October and November, 1994. Perfluorocarbon (PFC) tracers were released into the atmosphere in Monterfil, Brittany, and air samples were taken at 168 stations in 17 European countries for 72 h after the release. Upper air tracer measurements were made from three aircraft. During the first experiment a westerly air flow transported the tracer plume north-eastwards across Europe. During the second release the flow was eastwards. The results from the ground sampling network allowed the determination of the cloud evolution as far as Sweden, Poland and Bulgaria. This demonstrated that the PFT technique can be successfully applied in long-range tracer experiments up to 2000 km. Typical background concentrations of the tracer used are around 5–7 fl ?^-1 in ambient air. Concentrations in the plume ranged from 10 to above 200 fl/?^-1. The tracer release characteristics, the tracer concentrations at the ground and in upper air, the routine and additional meteorological observations at the ground level and in upper air, trajectories derived from constant-level balloons and the meteorological input fields for long-range transport models are assembled in the ETEX database. The ETEX database is accessible via the Internet. Here, an overview is given of the design of the experiment, the methods used and the data obtained.     

Effects of seascape connectivity on reserve performance along exposed coastlines

Seascape connectivity (landscape connectivity in the sea) can modify reserve performance in low-energy marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass), but it is not clear whether similar spatial linkages also shape reserve effectiveness on high-energy, exposed coastlines. We used the surf zones of ocean beaches in eastern Australia as a model system to test how seascape connectivity and reserve attributes combine to shape conservation outcomes. Spatial patterns in fish assemblages were measured using baited remote underwater video stations in 12 marine reserves and 15 fished beaches across 2000 km of exposed coastline. Reserve performance was shaped by both the characteristics of reserves and the spatial properties of the coastal seascapes in which reserves were embedded. Number of fish species and abundance of harvested fishes were highest in surf-zone reserves that encompassed >1.5 km of the surf zone; were located < 100 m to rocky headlands; and included pocket beaches in a heterogeneous seascape. Conservation outcomes for exposed coastlines may, therefore, be enhanced by prioritizing sufficiently large areas of seascapes that are strongly linked to abutting complementary habitats. Our findings have broader implications for coastal conservation planning. Empirical data to describe how the ecological features of high-energy shorelines influence conservation outcomes are lacking, and we suggest that seascape connectivity may have similar ecological effects on reserve performance on both sheltered and exposed coastlines.     

Contaminants in water, sediment and fish biomonitor species from natural and artificial estuarine habitats along the urbanized Gold Coast, Queensland

Metal and pesticide contaminants were measured in water, sediment and fish species in various Gold Coast waterways, Queensland. With the exception of Cu, metal concentrations in water, measured using the diffuse gradients in a thin film (DGT) technique, complied with relevant Australian guidelines. Cu concentrations in these waterways have been related to recreational vessel activities previously. All sediment metal concentrations measured were below the national guidelines, although Cu, Zn and Pb were found to vary significantly between habitat types. Evidence of spikes in sediment pesticide concentrations (some banned over 50 years ago) was observed in some artificial residential waterways. Heavy metals and pesticides were measured in the tissue (muscle, gills and liver) of three economically important species of fish, with different feeding strategies (partly herbivore Arrhamphus sclerolepis, carnivore Acanthopagrus australis, detritivore Mugil cephalus). We tested the hypothesis that fish accumulate different amounts of contaminants from wetland habitats affected by different intensities of anthropogenic activities (i.e., marinas, artificial residential canals, artificial residential lakes, estuaries and natural, vegetated waterways). Significantly higher concentrations of Cu were found in the gills of each fish species from marinas compared to fish caught in other waterways. Furthermore, fish caught in canals had the second highest Cu and natural waterways the lowest. These results support the stated hypothesis for Cu and furthermore indicate that these fish species are suitable as biomonitors in estuarine waterways. Metal and pesticide concentrations in the edible muscle tissue of all fish complied with the Australian Food Standard Code recommended limits for human consumption, apart from As which is likely to be due to bioconcentration of lower toxicity organo-As species. These results indicate a low health risk for humans consuming fish, in terms of contaminant levels. The accumulated body of evidence on contaminants within Gold Coast waterways generally suggests that there are no major threats of metal or pesticide contamination, except for marina facilities which are a major source of Cu which also accumulates in fish. Water quality threats are also highlighted in residential canals, presumably as a consequence of their hydrological design.     

The Ythan Project: A Case Study on Improving Catchment Management through Community Involvement

Increased participation in resource management decisions by a wide range of stakeholders has been widely advocated, and has recently been formally incorporated into the European Water Framework Directive. However, achieving such participation has generally proved to be problematical. In response to locally perceived needs, a project was set up in the Ythan catchment in northeast Scotland, to undertake catchment management actions with increased public involvement. This paper outlines the methods used to increase public participation in such actions, and some preliminary assessments of the effectiveness of these. The experience of the project and the lessons learnt, including some of the difficulties of ensuring fully representative stakeholder involvement, are discussed in relation to published criteria for public participation in resource management.     

Synthesis of Common Management Concerns Associated with Dam Removal

Managers make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams in spite of uncertainty surrounding physical and ecological responses, and stakeholders often raise concerns about certain negative effects, regardless of whether these concerns are warranted at a particular site. We used a dam‐removal science database supplemented with other information sources to explore seven frequently raised concerns, herein Common Management Concerns (CMCs). We investigate the occurrence of these concerns and the contributing biophysical controls. The CMCs addressed are the following: degree and rate of reservoir sediment erosion, excessive channel incision upstream of reservoirs, downstream sediment aggradation, elevated downstream turbidity, drawdown impacts on local water infrastructure, colonization of reservoir sediments by nonnative plants, and expansion of invasive fish. Biophysical controls emerged for some of the concerns, providing managers with information to assess whether a given concern is likely to occur at a site. To fully assess CMC risk, managers should concurrently evaluate site conditions and identify the ecosystem or human uses that will be negatively affected if the biophysical phenomenon producing the CMC occurs. We show how many CMCs have one or more controls in common, facilitating the identification of multiple risks at a site, and demonstrate why CMC risks should be considered in the context of other factors such as natural watershed variability and disturbance history.     

Hurricanes and hegemony: A qualitative analysis of micro-level climate change denial discourses

The climate change countermovement and its program of climate change denial have been well documented and studied. However, individual rationales for rejecting climate science remain under-studied. Twitter data related to Hurricane Sandy in 2012 are used to understand why individuals reject the orthodox climate consensus, using a summative content analysis of climate change denial discourses. Three major discourses are discovered: rejecting climate science because climate science is a conspiracy favoring growth of government; opposing renewable energy and energy taxation; and expressing fear of governmental abuse of power. Importantly, each discourse expressed certainty that climate science itself was a wholesale fraud; the denial discourses themselves focused far more on climate politics than on science.     

Estuarine Shoreline Changes in Jamaica Bay, New York City: Implications for Management of an Urban National Park

The Jamaica Bay portion of Gateway National Recreation Area, located next to highly urbanized New York City, faces many challenges to preserve and protect its natural, cultural, and recreational resources. To aid in the management of the park resources, detailed estuarine shoreline analyses of Jamaica Bay were undertaken using imagery taken in 1951, 1974, and 2006. A 15-class land use/land cover (LULC) classification scheme was created after doing an initial examination of the types of LULC in the 2006 orthoimagery and then applied in the analyses of the previous years. By quantifying how and where the shoreline has changed over the past 60 years, park managers can better assess the impact of management practices by comparing LULC of the shoreline within the park boundary to the LULC of the shoreline outside the park boundary before and after the park was created in 1972. Despite the heavy development of New York City and the trend for shoreline modification, the overall shoreline of Jamaica Bay has maintained large percentages of undeveloped vegetation and sandy beaches. Much of the LULC change has occurred in the creeks as a result of dredging and shape modification for residential and commercial uses. Park management has been effective in limiting the alteration of undeveloped shoreline although there have been significant changes in the relative percentages of sand and vegetated beaches between 1974 and 2006.