scholarly journals Methodological recommendations for assessing scleractinian and octocoral recruitment to settlement tiles

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12549
Author(s):  
Leah M. Harper ◽  
Lindsay K. Huebner ◽  
Elijah D. O’Cain ◽  
Rob Ruzicka ◽  
Daniel F. Gleason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Coral Recruitment ◽  
Florida Reef Tract ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Reef Tract

Quantifying recruitment of corals is important for evaluating their capacity to recover after disturbances through natural processes, yet measuring recruitment rates in situ is challenging due to the minute size of the study organism and the complexity of benthic communities. Settlement tiles are widely used in studies of coral recruitment because they can be viewed under a microscope to enhance accuracy, but methodological choices such as the rugosity of tiles used and when and how to scan tiles for recruits post-collection may cause inconsistencies in measured recruitment rates. We deployed 2,880 tiles with matching rugosity on top and bottom surfaces to 30 sites along the Florida Reef Tract for year-long saturations during a three year study. We scanned the top and bottom surfaces of the same tiles for scleractinian recruits before (live scans) and after treating tiles with sodium hypochlorite (corallite scans). Recruit counts were higher in corallite than live scans, indicating that scleractinian recruitment rates should not be directly compared between studies using live scans and those scanning tiles which have been processed to remove fouling material. Recruit counts also were higher on tile tops in general, but the proportion of settlement to the top and bottom surfaces varied significantly by scleractinian family. Thus, biases may be introduced in recruitment datasets by differences in tile rugosity or by only scanning a subset of tile surfaces. Finally, we quantified octocoral recruitment during live scans and found they preferentially settled to tile tops. We recommend that recruitment tile studies include corallite scans for scleractinian skeletons, deploy tiles with matching rugosity on top and bottom surfaces, and scan all tile surfaces.

In-situ measurement of metabolic status in three coral species from the Florida Reef Tract

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica K. Towle ◽  
Renée Carlton ◽  
Chris Langdon ◽  
Derek P. Manzello
Keyword(s):  
Coral Species ◽  
In Situ Measurement ◽  
Metabolic Status ◽  
Florida Reef Tract ◽  
Reef Tract

scholarly journals Glacial melt disturbance shifts community metabolism of an Antarctic seafloor ecosystem from net autotrophy to heterotrophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Braeckman ◽  
Francesca Pasotti ◽  
Ralf Hoffmann ◽  
Susana Vázquez ◽  
Angela Wulff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Benthic Primary Production ◽  
Community Metabolism ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Net Heterotrophy ◽  
Benthic Ecosystems ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractClimate change-induced glacial melt affects benthic ecosystems along the West Antarctic Peninsula, but current understanding of the effects on benthic primary production and respiration is limited. Here we demonstrate with a series of in situ community metabolism measurements that climate-related glacial melt disturbance shifts benthic communities from net autotrophy to heterotrophy. With little glacial melt disturbance (during cold El Niño spring 2015), clear waters enabled high benthic microalgal production, resulting in net autotrophic benthic communities. In contrast, water column turbidity caused by increased glacial melt run-off (summer 2015 and warm La Niña spring 2016) limited benthic microalgal production and turned the benthic communities net heterotrophic. Ongoing accelerations in glacial melt and run-off may steer shallow Antarctic seafloor ecosystems towards net heterotrophy, altering the metabolic balance of benthic communities and potentially impacting the carbon balance and food webs at the Antarctic seafloor.

scholarly journals A new hypothesis for the origin of Amazonian Dark Earths

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas C. R. Silva ◽  
Rodrigo Studart Corrêa ◽  
Jamie L. Wright ◽  
Barbara Bomfim ◽  
Lauren Hendricks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Mineral Elements ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Plant Cultivation ◽  
In Situ Deposition ◽  
Amazonian Dark Earths ◽  
Landscape Formation

AbstractAmazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are unusually fertile soils characterised by elevated concentrations of microscopic charcoal particles, which confer their distinctive colouration. Frequent occurrences of pre-Columbian artefacts at ADE sites led to their ubiquitous classification as Anthrosols (soils of anthropic origin). However, it remains unclear how indigenous peoples created areas of high fertility in one of the most nutrient-impoverished environments on Earth. Here, we report new data from a well-studied ADE site in the Brazilian Amazon, which compel us to reconsider its anthropic origin. The amounts of phosphorus and calcium—two of the least abundant macronutrients in the region—are orders of magnitude higher in ADE profiles than in the surrounding soil. The elevated levels of phosphorus and calcium, which are often interpreted as evidence of human activity at other sites, correlate spatially with trace elements that indicate exogenous mineral sources rather than in situ deposition. Stable isotope ratios of neodymium, strontium, and radiocarbon activity of microcharcoal particles also indicate exogenous inputs from alluvial deposition of carbon and mineral elements to ADE profiles,  beginning several thousands of years before the earliest evidence of soil management for plant cultivation in the region. Our data suggest that indigenous peoples harnessed natural processes of landscape formation, which led to the unique properties of ADEs, but were not responsible for their genesis. If corroborated elsewhere, this hypothesis would transform our understanding of human influence in Amazonia, opening new frontiers for the sustainable use of tropical landscapes going forward.

In situ Enclosure Experiment Using a Benthic Chamber System to Assess the Effect of High Concentration of CO2 on Deep-Sea Benthic Communities

2005 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 835-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Ishida ◽  
Yuji Watanabe ◽  
Tatsuo Fukuhara ◽  
Sho Kaneko ◽  
Kazushi Furusawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Chamber System ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Enclosure Experiment ◽  
Benthic Chamber

scholarly journals In situ filamentous communities from the Ediacaran (approx. 563 Ma) of Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1942) ◽  
pp. 20202618
Author(s):  
Bruno Becker-Kerber ◽  
Gabriel Eduardo Baréa de Barros ◽  
Paulo Sergio Gomes Paim ◽  
Gustavo M. E. M. Prado ◽  
Ana Lucia Zucatti da Rosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Preferred Orientation ◽  
Redox Condition ◽  
Taxonomic Assignment ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Ecological Dynamics ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Biological Affinity

Precambrian filamentous microfossils are common and diverse. Nevertheless, their taxonomic assignment can be difficult owing to their overall simple shapes typically lacking in diagnostic features. Here, we report in situ communities of well-preserved, large filamentous impressions from the Ediacaran Itajaí Basin ( ca 563 Ma) of Brazil. The filaments are uniserial (unbranched) and can reach up to 200 µm in width and up to 44 mm in length. They occur as both densely packed or sparsely populated surfaces, and typically show a consistent orientation. Although simple in shape, their preferred orientation suggests they were tethered to the seafloor, and their overall flexibility (e.g. bent, folded and twisted) supports a biological (rather than sedimentary) affinity. Biometric comparisons with modern filamentous groups further support their biological affinity, suggesting links with either large sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) or eukaryotes. Other morphological and palaeoecological characteristics further corroborates their similarities with modern large filamentous SOB. Their widespread occurrence and association with complex Ediacaran macrobiota (e.g. frondose organisms, Palaeopascichnus ) suggest that they probably played an important role in the ecological dynamics of these early benthic communities by providing firm substrates for metazoans to inhabit. It is further hypothesized that the dynamic redox condition in the latest Ediacaran, with the non-continuous rise in oxygen concentration and periods of hypoxia, may have created ideal conditions for SOB to thrive.

scholarly journals Uptake of algal carbon and the likely synthesis of an "essential" fatty acid by <i>Uvigerina</i> ex. gr. <i>semiornata</i> (Foraminifera) within the Pakistan margin oxygen minimum zone: evidence from fatty acid biomarker and <sup>13</sup>C tracer experiments

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3729-3738 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Larkin ◽  
A. J. Gooday ◽  
C. Woulds ◽  
R. M. Jeffreys ◽  
M. Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Oxygen Minimum Zone ◽  
Monsoon Period ◽  
Minimum Zone ◽  
Oxygen Minimum ◽  
Tracer Experiments

Abstract. Foraminifera are an important component of benthic communities in oxygen-depleted settings, where they potentially play a significant role in the processing of organic matter. We tracked the uptake of a 13C-labelled algal food source into individual fatty acids in the benthic foraminiferal species Uvigerina ex. gr. semiornata from the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The tracer experiments were conducted on the Pakistan margin during the late/post monsoon period (August–October 2003). A monoculture of the diatom Thalassiosira weisflogii was 13C-labelled and used to simulate a pulse of phytoplankton in two complementary experiments. A lander system was used for in situ incubations at 140 m water depth and for 2.5 days in duration. Shipboard laboratory incubations of cores collected at 140 m incorporated an oxystat system to maintain ambient dissolved oxygen concentrations and were terminated after 5 days. Uptake of diatoms was rapid, with a high incorporation of diatom fatty acids into foraminifera after ~ 2 days in both experiments. Ingestion of the diatom food source was indicated by the increase over time in the quantity of diatom biomarker fatty acids in the foraminifera and by the high percentage of 13C in many of the fatty acids present at the endpoint of both in situ and laboratory-based experiments. These results indicate that

In-Situ Leaching of South Texas Uranium Ores-Part 2: Oxidative Removal of Adsorbed Ammonium Ions With Sodium Hypochlorite

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 387-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Paul ◽  
W.F. Johnson ◽  
A. Fletcher ◽  
P.B. Venuto
Keyword(s):  
Cation Exchange ◽  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Ammonium Bicarbonate ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Ammonium Ion ◽  
Side Reactions ◽  
Ammonium Ions

Abstract This paper reports a laboratory study of the oxidative destruction by sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) of ammonium ions adsorbed on relatively reduced south Texas uranium ore. Included are an assessment of reaction stoichiometry, determination of some major reaction pathways and side reactions, and identification of several pathways and side reactions, and identification of several intermediates. Adsorbed ammonium ions were completely removed by 0.5 % NaOCl, with the concentration of NH3 in the effluent falling to a very low value after 10 to 15 PV NaOCl oxidant. A small fraction (5 to 10%) of NaOCl was utilized in reacting with NH3. After the NH3 was nearly depleted, mono-, di-, and trichloramines, the expected intermediates in NaOCl oxidation of NH3, were observed. Chloramine decomposition studies showed that all three decomposed completely within 12 days. Since the ore was relatively highly reducing, the major pan of the NaOCl was, not unexpectedly, consumed in side reactions. Substantial quantities of sulfate, reflecting oxidation of sulfide minerals such as pyrite, were formed, large amounts of uranium were leached out, and substantial amounts of calcium and magnesium ions were also produced during the presaturation with NH4HCO3 preceding the oxidation stage. Introduction A leachate that has sometimes been used for in-situ leaching of uranium ores is a solution of ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3) containing an oxidant-usually hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or oxygen (O2). The ammonium ion (NH4+) introduced into the ore body upon injection of this leachate is exchanged for cations such as calcium (Ca+2 ) and sodium (Na+), which are associated with mineral species in the formation possessing available cation exchange sites. As the indigenous groundwaters reinvade the leached zone, the adsorption process is reversed with NH4+ ions being displaced from process is reversed with NH4+ ions being displaced from the cation exchange sites and returned to the ground-waters. In general, this latter process maintains the ammonia (NH3 (or NH4+ ion) concentration well above the baseline (pre-mining) value in groundwater for extended periods of time in waters produced from wells in or near the mined zone following cessation of leachate injection. Prior to abandonment of an in-situ leach-mining site by the operator, satisfactory restoration of groundwater quality must be demonstrated. Requirements for this demonstration vary with the geographical area. A summary of applicable regulations has been provided by Kasper et al. A review of the state of restoration demonstrations to Sept. 1979 has been given by Tiepel. Most of the in-situ leach operations in south Texas have been conducted in aquifers containing indigenous waters with TDS contents in the 700- to 3,000-ppm range. Ca+ 2, magnesium (Mg+2), and bicarbonate ion (HCO3 ) concentrations are high in these slightly alkaline waters. These equilibrium water compositions indicate that an appreciable fraction of the interlayer ion exchange sites of the smectite clays in the formation are occupied by Ca+2 or Mg+2 ions. SPEJ P. 387

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