scholarly journals Predation by invasive Platydemus manokwari flatworms: a laboratory study

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Gerlach
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Study ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Predatory Behaviour ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Air Circulation ◽  
Predation Rates

Abstract Platydemus manokwari de Beauchamp, 1963 is an invasive flatworm found on islands in the tropics, especially in the Pacific Ocean. It has been implicated in the decline of several snail populations, including the extinction of some Partula species. Its predatory behaviour was investigated to quantify predation rates and elucidate climatic influences. This laboratory study of the invasive flatworm confirms earlier reports that P. manokwari is a generalist predator of snails. It prefers small prey and avoids species defended by copious mucus, chemical defences or a tough integument. Prey are found by following damp mucus trails up to 15 h old. Flatworm activity is limited by temperature and humidity, with peak feeding at 24–30°C and 85–95% humidity. This determines the geographical spread of the species and probably also the effectiveness of arboreal predation. Aboveground air circulation leads to drying, reducing the ability of the flatworms to locate trails and remain active high off the ground. Local climatic factors may dictate how significantly P. manokwari affects snail populations.

scholarly journals Chance long-distance or human-mediated dispersal? How Acacia s.l. farnesiana attained its pan-tropical distribution

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 170105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Bell ◽  
Haripriya Rangan ◽  
Manuel M. Fernandes ◽  
Christian A. Kull ◽  
Daniel J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Old World ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Spanish Explorers ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Old World Tropics

Acacia s.l. farnesiana , which originates from Mesoamerica, is the most widely distributed Acacia s.l. species across the tropics. It is assumed that the plant was transferred across the Atlantic to southern Europe by Spanish explorers, and then spread across the Old World tropics through a combination of chance long-distance and human-mediated dispersal. Our study uses genetic analysis and information from historical sources to test the relative roles of chance and human-mediated dispersal in its distribution. The results confirm the Mesoamerican origins of the plant and show three patterns of human-mediated dispersal. Samples from Spain showed greater genetic diversity than those from other Old World tropics, suggesting more instances of transatlantic introductions from the Americas to that country than to other parts of Africa and Asia. Individuals from the Philippines matched a population from South Central Mexico and were likely to have been direct, trans-Pacific introductions. Australian samples were genetically unique, indicating that the arrival of the species in the continent was independent of these European colonial activities. This suggests the possibility of pre-European human-mediated dispersal across the Pacific Ocean. These significant findings raise new questions for biogeographic studies that assume chance or transoceanic dispersal for disjunct plant distributions.

scholarly journals Meridional Extent and Interannual Variability of the Pacific Ocean Tropical–Subtropical Warm Water Exchange

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Meinen
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Warm Water ◽  
Height Anomaly ◽  
The South ◽  
El Niño Event ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract Altimetric observations of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) from the TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS satellites, hydrography, and the ECMWF and Florida State University wind products are used to track warm water (≥20°C) as it is exchanged between the equatorial Pacific Ocean and the higher latitudes during 1993–2003. The large El Niño event of 1997–98 resulted in a significant discharge of warm water toward the higher latitudes within the interior of the Pacific Ocean. The exchange of anomalous warm water volume with the Northern Hemisphere appears to be blocked under the intertropical convergence zone, consistent with most current ideas on the time-mean tropical–subtropical exchange. Little of the warm water discharged northward across 5° and 8°N during the 1997–98 El Niño event could be traced as far as 10°N. To the south, however, these anomalous volumes of warm water were visible at least as far as 20°S, primarily in the longitudes around 130°–160°W. In both hemispheres most of the warm water appeared to flow westward before returning to the Tropics during the recharge phase of the El Niño–La Niña cycle. The buildup of warm water in the Tropics before the 1997–98 El Niño is shown to be fed primarily by warm water drawn from the region in the western Pacific within 5°S–15°N. The exchange cycle between the equatorial band and the higher latitudes north of the equator leads the cycle in the south by 6–8 months. These results are found in all three datasets used herein, hydrography, altimetric observations of SSHA, and Sverdrup transports calculated from multiple wind products, which demonstrates the robustness of the results.

scholarly journals Verification of the First 11 Years of IRI’s Seasonal Climate Forecasts

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G. Barnston ◽  
Shuhua Li ◽  
Simon J. Mason ◽  
David G. DeWitt ◽  
Lisa Goddard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skill Levels ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Climate Forecasts ◽  
Probabilistic Forecasts ◽  
International Research Institute ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Primary Basis ◽  
Tropical Sea ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract This paper examines the quality of seasonal probabilistic forecasts of near-global temperature and precipitation issued by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) from late 1997 through 2008, using mainly a two-tiered multimodel dynamical prediction system. Skill levels, while modest when globally averaged, depend markedly on season and location and average higher in the tropics than extratropics. To first order, seasons and regions of useful skill correspond to known direct effects as well as remote teleconnections from anomalies of tropical sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean (e.g., ENSO related) and in other tropical basins. This result is consistent with previous skill assessments by IRI and others and suggests skill levels beneficial to informed clients making climate risk management decisions for specific applications. Skill levels for temperature are generally higher, and less seasonally and regionally dependent, than those for precipitation, partly because of correct forecasts of enhanced probabilities for above-normal temperatures associated with warming trends. However, underforecasting of above-normal temperatures suggests that the dynamical forecast system could be improved through inclusion of time-varying greenhouse gas concentrations. Skills of the objective multimodel probability forecasts, used as the primary basis for the final forecaster-modified issued forecasts, are comparable to those of the final forecasts, but their probabilistic reliability is somewhat weaker. Automated recalibration of the multimodel output should permit improvements to their reliability, allowing them to be issued as is. IRI is currently developing single-tier prediction components.

scholarly journals Oceanic Response to Idealized Net Atmospheric Freshwater in the Pacific at the Decadal Time Scale*

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 2467-2486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boyin Huang ◽  
Vikram M. Mehta ◽  
Niklas Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
North And South ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract In the study of decadal variations of the Pacific Ocean circulations and temperature, the role of anomalous net atmospheric freshwater [evaporation minus precipitation minus river runoff (EmP)] has received scant attention even though ocean salinity anomalies are long lived and can be expected to have more variance at low frequencies than at high frequencies. To explore the magnitude of salinity and temperature anomalies and their generation processes, the authors studied the response of the Pacific Ocean to idealized EmP anomalies in the Tropics and subtropics using an ocean general circulation model developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Simulations showed that salinity anomalies generated by the anomalous EmP were spread throughout the Pacific basin by mean flow advection. This redistribution of salinity anomalies caused adjustments of basin-scale ocean currents, which further resulted in basin-scale temperature anomalies due to changes in heat advection caused by anomalous currents. In this study, the response of the Pacific Ocean to magnitudes and locations of anomalous EmP was linear. When forced with a positive EmP anomaly in the subtropical North (South) Pacific, a cooling occurred in the western North (South) Pacific, which extended to the tropical and South (North) Pacific, and a warming occurred in the eastern North (South) Pacific. When forced with a negative EmP anomaly in the tropical Pacific, a warming occurred in the tropical Pacific and western North and South Pacific and a cooling occurred in the eastern North Pacific near 30°N and the South Pacific near 30°S. The temperature changes (0.2°C) in the tropical Pacific were associated with changes in the South Equatorial Current. The temperature changes (0.8°C) in the subtropical North and South Pacific were associated with changes in the subtropical gyres. The temperature anomalies propagated from the tropical Pacific to the subtropical North and South Pacific via equatorial divergent Ekman flows and poleward western boundary currents, and they propagated from the subtropical North and South Pacific to the western tropical Pacific via equatorward-propagating coastal Kelvin waves and to the eastern tropical Pacific via eastward-propagating equatorial Kelvin waves. The time scale of temperature response was typically much longer than that of salinity response because of slow adjustment times of ocean circulations. These results imply that the slow response of ocean temperature due to anomalous EmP in the Tropics and subtropics may play an important role in the Pacific decadal variability.

scholarly journals Some aspects of biogeography with reference to zoning of the Far- Eastern Seas of Russia and adjacent waters of the Pacific Ocean

2015 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-26
Author(s):  
Oleg A. Ivanov ◽  
Vitaly V. Sukhanov
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Pacific Waters ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Far Eastern ◽  
Far Eastern Seas ◽  
Latitudinal Zoning ◽  
Epipelagic Layer

Formation of biogeography, its methodological features, and its status as interdisciplinary science combining biological and geographical aspects are discussed. There is noted that the descriptive period of biogeography has passed, and now any «manifestation of life on the globe» requires its explanation. These explanations are reduced to three non-adversarial restrictions: environmental (ecology), temporal (history of origin, evolution), and spatial (geography). General regularities of life distribution over the Earth surface are analyzed, in particular the features of pelagic organisms habitat, and the concept of «dynamic biogeography» is discussed. Latitudinal zoning of epi- and mesopelagic layers in the Far-Eastern Seas of Russia and adjacent Pacific waters is proposed on the basis of data about areas and distribution of 493 species of nekton (fishes and squids) for the 30-year period (1980-2009) obtained from 27 thousand trawl samples caught in 272 expeditions. This zoning uses a new approach related to the chorological direction in marine biogeography realized with the index of latitudinal zoning (ILZ). For this index calculation, all types of species areas (formerly expressed in verbal forms) were identified with numerical codes, which were averaged for all species in each sample, then the regions with certain ILZ values and borders between them were determined on the maps of ILZ distribution, and latitudinal zones and subzones were defined. There is found that the epipelagic layer of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas corresponds to the high-boreal latitudinal subzone and the epipelagic layer of the northwestern Japan Sea and the major part of Russian EEZ in the Pacific corresponds to the low-boreal latitudinal subzone. Fauna of nekton in the mesopelagic layer of all studied regions corresponds by its chorological structure to the low-boreal latitudinal subzone. So, zoning of epipelagic and mezopelagic layers is significantly different, with the fragmentation reducing with depth, possibly due to weakening of climatic factors influence. The biogeographical zoning is not literally zonal but corresponds to structure of the environments (water masses, fronts, currents, gyres, eddies, etc.).

scholarly journals Plant gross primary production, plant respiration and carbonyl sulfide emissions over the globe inferred by atmospheric inverse modelling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marine Remaud ◽  
Frédéric Chevallier ◽  
Fabienne Maignan ◽  
Sauveur Belviso ◽  
Antoine Berchet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Gross Primary Production ◽  
Inverse System ◽  
Striking Similarity ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Plant Respiration

Abstract. Carbonyl Sulphide (COS), a trace gas showing striking similarity to CO2 in terms of biochemical diffusion pathway into leaves, has been recognized as a promising indicator of the plant gross primary production (GPP), the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed through photosynthesis by terrestrial ecosystems. However, large uncertainties about the other components of its atmospheric budget prevent us from directly relating the atmospheric COS measurements to GPP. The largest uncertainty comes from the closure of its atmospheric budget, with a source component missing. Here, we explore the benefit of assimilating both COS and CO2 measurements into the LMDz atmospheric transport model to obtain consistent information on GPP, plant respiration and COS budget. To this end, we develop an analytical inverse system that optimizes biospheric fluxes for the 15 plant functional types (PFTs) defined in the ORCHIDEE global land surface model. Plant uptake of COS is parameterized as a linear function of GPP of the leaf relative uptake (LRU), which is the ratio of COS to CO2 deposition velocities in plants. A possible scenario for the period 2008–2019 leads to a global biospheric sink of 800 GgS.yr−1, with higher absorption in the high latitudes and higher oceanic emissions between 400 and 600 GgS.yr−1 most of which is located in the tropics. As for the CO2 budget, the inverse system increases GPP in the high latitudes by a few GtC.yr−1 without modifying the respiration compared to the ORCHIDEE fluxes used as a prior. In contrast, in the tropics the system tends to weaken both respiration and GPP. The optimized components of the COS and CO2 have been evaluated against independent measurements over Northern America, the Pacific Ocean, at three sites in Japan and at one site in France. Overall, the posterior COS concentrations are in better agreement with the COS retrievals at 250 hPa from the MIPAS satellite and with airborne measurements made over North America and the Pacific Ocean. The system seems to have rightly corrected the underestimated GPP over the high latitudes. However, the change in seasonality of GPP in the tropics disagrees with Solar Induced Fluorescence (SIF) data. The decline in biospheric sink in the Amazon driven by the inversion also disagrees with MIPAS COS retrievals at 250 hPa, highlighting the lack of observational constraints in this region. Moreover, the comparison with the surface measurements in Japan and France suggests misplaced sources in the prior anthropogenic inventory, emphasizing the need for an improved inventory to better partition oceanic and continental sources in Asia and Europe.

scholarly journals In situ observations of trophic behaviour and locomotion of Princaxelia amphipods (Crustacea: Pardaliscidae) at hadal depths in four West Pacific Trenches

2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan J. Jamieson ◽  
Anne-Nina Lörz ◽  
Toyonobu Fujii ◽  
Imants G. Priede
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Japan Trench ◽  
Predatory Behaviour ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Burst Swimming ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
In Situ Observations ◽  
Made In

The genus Princaxelia, Pardaliscidae, is a rarely recorded, infrequently collected and hitherto observed benthic amphipod, typically found at hadal depths (>6000 m) in the Pacific Ocean trenches. Little is known about the behaviour or physiology of this genus. Using a baited camera lander, observations of Princaxelia jamiesoni were made in the Japan Trench (7703 m) and Izu–Ogasawara Trench (9316 m) and of Princaxelia aff. abyssalis in the Kermadec Trench (7966 m) and Tonga Trench (8798 m). These amphipods rapidly intercepted the bait and preyed upon smaller lysianassoid amphipods. Mean absolute swimming speeds for P. jamiesoni and P. aff. abyssalis were 4.16 cm.s−1 ± 1.8 SD and 4.02 cm.s−1 ± 0.87 SD respectively. These amphipods have the capacity for long range swimming, high manoeuvrability in close range, and efficient predatory behaviour. Burst swimming speeds for P. aff. abyssalis were 9 and 10 cm.s−1 with accelerations up to 22–25 cm.s−2.

scholarly journals EXTRACTION OF KETAPANG SEEDS (TERMINALIA CATAPPA LINN) AS RAW MATERIAL OF BIODIESEL

Konversi ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Novy Pralisa Putri ◽  
Muhammad Affandhy Muslim ◽  
Joel Gerystra Sitorus ◽  
Dicky Luhangga Putra ◽  
Marjenah Marjenah
Keyword(s):  
Immersion Time ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Terminalia Catappa ◽  
Volume Yield ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Research Procedure ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract- Terminalia catappa Linn. (ketapang) is a coastal tree with a widespread area. Its derived from the tropics of India, and spread to Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. This study aims to determine the effect of maceration time on the density of the species, yield, and % FFA from oil of ketapang. The research procedure is done by soaking ketapang seed powder wrapped with filter paper into a chemical glass containing 500 mL of n-Hexane solvent. Then the solvent which has been mixed with oil, separated by distillation. Variables used in this research is the variation of immersion time in the unit of day. The results of the research are 25-31 mL of oil volume, yield percentage of 0.44-0.52, density of 0.84-0.88 g / mL, 28-35% percentage of FFA. Ketapang oil obtained a lot of fatty acids that can be used as raw materials for making biodiesel but it needs to be pre-esterification first to reduce levels of FFA up to 2%. Keywords:      FFA, Ketapang Oil, Maseration, Yield

scholarly journals EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS OF COASTAL BOULDERS BY TSUNAMI AND HIGH WAVES

2018 ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kiso ◽  
Tomohiro Yasuda ◽  
Nobuhito Mori ◽  
Andrew Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zones ◽  
The Past ◽  
Storm Waves ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Laboratory Flume ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Observational Record

Boulders made of coral limestone transported shoreward have been observed many times in the tropics and subtropical coastal zones, and are called storm boulders or tsunami boulders. They can become lasting evidence of historical mega-tsunami or super typhoon occurrence during the past hundreds to thousands of years, even if no literature record remains. In recent years, a large number of surveys have been conducted worldwide, and the existence of large boulders has been found in several areas such as the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and other regions. Since there is limited observational record of their detailed motion, movement limit, and spatial distribution of transport by gigantic tsunami or storm waves, detailed movement mechanisms are still poorly known. This increases the difficulty of developing a model of boulder transport, and interpreting field observations. These hydrodynamic conditions are also directly related to structural loads of interest to engineers and planners. This study aims to measure transport characteristics of coastal boulders through a series of experiments in a tsunami-wave laboratory flume.

A new marine Dryosphaera (Ascomycotina) from the tropics

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 992-995
Author(s):  
Jan Kohlmeyer ◽  
Brigitte Volkmann-Kohlmeyer
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Marine Fungi ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Tropics

The marine ascomycete Dryosphaera tropicalis Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm., sp.nov., is described from the Caribbean (Tobago), the Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka, Thailand), and the Pacific Ocean (Hawaiian Islands: Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, and Molokai). The new species occurs on intertidal and supratidal wood on sandy beaches. It is compared with the type species, Dryosphaera navigans from temperate waters, and differs mainly by ascospore dimensions and appendages. Key words: arenicolous fungi, ascomycetes, Dryosphaera, marine fungi, tropics.

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