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Article Reference Linking present environment and reproductive modes segregation (Geographic parthenogenesis) in Eucypris virens (Crustacea: Ostracoda)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Seasonal variation in concentration, size and settling velocity of muddy marine flocs in the benthic boundary layer
Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) concentration profiles of the lowest 2 m of the water column and particle size distribution at 2 m above the bed were measured in a coastal turbidity maximum area (southern North Sea) during more than 700 days between 2006 and 2013. The long-term data series of SPM concentration, floc size, and settling velocity have been ensemble averaged according to tidal range, alongshore residual flow direction, and season, in order to investigate the seasonal SPM dynamics and its relation with physical and biological processes. The data show that the SPM is more concentrated in the near-bed layer in summer, whereas in winter, the SPM is better mixed throughout the water column. The decrease of the SPM concentration in the water column during summer is compensated by a higher near- bed concentration indicating that a significant part of the SPM remains in the area during summer rather than being advected out of it. The opposite seasonality between near-bed layer and water column has to our knowledge not yet been presented in literature. Physical effects such as wave heights, wind climate, or storms have a weak correlation with the observed seasonality. The argument to favor microbial activity as main driver of the seasonality lies in the observed variations in floc size and settling velocity. On average, the flocs are larger and thus settling velocities higher in summer than winter.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Seasonality of floc strength in the southern North Sea
The suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration in the high turbidity zones of the south- ern North Sea is inversely correlated with chlorophyll (Chl) concentration. During winter, SPM concentration is high and Chl concentration is low and vice versa during summer. This seasonality has often been associated with the seasonal pattern in wind forcing. However, the decrease in SPM concentration corresponds well with the spring algal bloom. Does the decrease of SPM concentration caused by changing wind conditions cause the start of algae bloom, or does the algae bloom decrease SPM concentrations through enhanced floccula- tion and deposition? To answer the question, measurements from 2011 of particle size distribution (PSD), SPM, and Chl concentrations from the southern North Sea have been analyzed. The results indicate that the frequency of occurrence of macroflocs has a seasonal signal, while seasonality has little impact upon floc size. The data from a highly turbid coastal zone suggest that the maximum size of the macroflocs is controlled by turbulence and the available flocculation time during a tidal cycle, but the strength of the macroflocs is con- trolled by the availability of sticky organic substances associated with enhanced primary production during spring and summer. The results highlight the shift from mainly microflocs and flocculi in winter toward more muddy marine snow with larger amounts of macroflocs in spring and summer. The macroflocs will reduce the SPM concentrations in the turbidity maximum area as they settle faster. Consequently, the SPM concen- tration decreases and the light condition increases in the surface layer enhancing algae growth further.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Lifestyle and Ice: The Relationship between Ecological Specialization and Response to Pleistocene Climate Change
Major climatic changes in the Pleistocene had significant effects on marine organisms and the environments in which they lived. The presence of divergent patterns of demographic history even among phylogenetically closely-related species sharing climatic changes raises questions as to the respective influence of species-specific traits on population struc- ture. In this work we tested whether the lifestyle of Antarctic notothenioid benthic and pelagic fish species from the Southern Ocean influenced the concerted population response to Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. This was done by a comparative analysis of sequence variation at the cyt b and S7 loci in nine newly sequenced and four re-analysed species. We found that all species underwent more or less intensive changes in population size but we also found consistent differences between demographic histories of pelagic and benthic species. Contemporary pelagic populations are significantly more genetically diverse and bear traces of older demographic expansions than less diverse benthic species that show evidence of more recent population expansions. Our findings suggest that the life- styles of different species have strong influences on their responses to the same environ- mental events. Our data, in conjunction with previous studies showing a constant diversification tempo of these species during the Pleistocene, support the hypothesis that Pleistocene glaciations had a smaller effect on pelagic species than on benthic species whose survival may have relied upon ephemeral refugia in shallow shelf waters. These find- ings suggest that the interaction between lifestyle and environmental changes should be considered in genetic analyses.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Field Data on the Little Known and, Endangered Lepilemur Mittermeieri
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The Register of Antarctic Marine Species (RAMS): a ten-year appraisal
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference How does bromeliad distribution structure the arboreal ant assemblage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on a single tree in a Brazilian Atlantic forest agroecosystem?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle
Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa was surveyed using 14 protocols targeting the soil, litter, understory, lower and upper canopy habitats, replicated across seasons in 2003 and 2004. This dataset is used to explore the relative influence of horizontal, vertical and seasonal drivers of arthropod distribution in this forest. We considered arthropod abundance, observed and estimated species richness, additive decomposition of species richness, multiplicative partitioning of species diversity, variation in species composition, species turnover and guild structure as components of diversity. At the scale of our study (2km of distance, 40m in height and 400 days), the effects related to the vertical and seasonal dimensions were most important. Most adult arthropods were collected from the soil/litter or the upper canopy and species richness was highest in the canopy. We compared the distribution of arthropods and trees within our study system. Effects related to the seasonal dimension were stronger for arthropods than for trees. We conclude that: (1) models of beta diversity developed for tropical trees are unlikely to be applicable to tropical arthropods; (2) it is imperative that estimates of global biodiversity derived from mass collecting of arthropods in tropical rainforests embrace the strong vertical and seasonal partitioning observed here; and (3) given the high species turnover observed between seasons, global climate change may have severe consequences for rainforest arthropods.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Heeft de uitwendige gehoorgang van walvisachtigen nog enige functie?
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Bite injuries of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications