NOAA HABITAT RECOVERY MODELS USING CELLULAR AUTOMATA TECHNIQUES1

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 533-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Beegle-Krause ◽  
Mark Fonseca ◽  
Gary Shigenaka
Keyword(s):  
Cellular Automata ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Algal Turf ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Habitat Recovery ◽  
Human Lifespan

ABSTRACT Models that predict characteristics of habitat recovery following disturbance are useful tools for ecological risk assessment as well as natural resource damage assessment. NOAA is evaluating the suitability of cellular automata as a single modeling framework for simulating several habitat types (seagrass, coral, rocky intertidal and marsh). The primary challenge is creating rules that reflect biological relationships and complexity. The desire for biological realism in the model is balanced by the need for simplicity in the defined relationships. Once the rules are defined, cellular automata models are straightforward to construct and modify during development. The cellular automata technique divides a domain into discrete cells with a finite number of states. For habitat models dominated or characterized by a single species (e.g. seagrass, coral or marsh), the cells are defined with two states: empty and occupied. For the multiple species models (e.g. rocky intertidal), the cells are either empty (bare rock) or occupied by one of four biological covers: Fucus, barnacles, mussels, or “other” (e.g., coralline algae or red algal turf). Probabilistic rules are generated for cell transitions from one state (or dominant species) to another. In cases where there is not spatial influence, the model can be collapsed into a simple spreadsheet calculation. Though some ecosystems recover in timescales shorter than decades, some of these ecosystems recover over time periods longer than a human lifespan. Thus simulation modeling is the only feasible means to provide reasonable guidance for their final recovery. Within this modeling system, the user can create an initial distribution of species, and then choose either to run the simulation from the initial beach, or to selectively empty cells to create a specific type of disturbance before running the simulation. The goal for this work is to both intuitively (graphically) (1) display tradeoffs from the use of different cleanup and restoration techniques and (2) to provide a defensible and quantitative recovery forecast for computing monetary damages against responsible parties.

Diet of the pulmonate gastropod Onchidella nigricans in the intertidal rocky shore, New Zealand

2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Alfaro
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Isotopic Signatures

AbstractGut content analyses and stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) were used to investigate the food consumption and assimilation of the pulmonate, Onchidella nigricans, within a rocky intertidal platform at Waiwera, northern New Zealand. Analyses of gut contents indicate that this species is a generalist herbivore, which may consume a variety of micro- and macro-algae, although small zooplankton may be ingested, when present. Gut contents of individuals collected from different intertidal habitats (bare rock, Hormosira banksii, green filaments, and coralline algae) reflected the dominant algal species within each habitat, suggesting that food availability does not restrict the grazer's distribution across its range. The radular morphology and small size of this gastropod also support the notion that O. nigricans is a non-selective microphagous feeder. However, stable isotopes on O. nigricans from the four habitats and the dominant algal food types indicate a strong assimilation preference for microalgae. The δ13C values (-15 to -13‰) of O. nigricans were consistent with signatures for intertidal grazers, but δ15N values (8 to 9‰) were relatively high, which may indicate the presence of bacteria and microfaunal detritus in the diet. Clusters of isotopic signatures of individuals from different habitats suggest feeding preferences, which also may be attributed to differences in detrital and bacterial consumption. This study illustrates the importance of using parallel techniques in diet studies.

Recruitment and zonation in a sub-Antarctic rocky intertidal community

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Natalia Curelovich ◽  
Gustavo Alejandro Lovrich ◽  
Gerardo Rubén Cueto ◽  
Javier Angel Calcagno
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Tierra Del Fuego ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Substrate Availability ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Intertidal Community ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
One Year ◽  
First Time

This study presents for the first time the factors governing the recruitment in a rocky intertidal community of the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego (54°51′S 68°29′W), Argentina. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of grazers and predators, free substrate availability and crustose coralline algae on the recruitment of the main sessile components of the intertidal:Notochthamalus scabrosus, Notobalanus flosculus, Mytilus chilensis, Perumytilus purpuratusandAulacomya atraat three intertidal levels. For barnacles, the probability of recruitment was higher with grazers, while the contrary was observed for bivalves. The number ofN. flosculusrecruits was higher with increased substrate availability, whileN. scabrosusrecruited more with reduced free substrate in the first sampling. Mussel recruitment was higher with reduced free substrate. The highest probability of recruitment ofN. scabrosuswas observed at the upper level. Notably, this probability and the recruits per plot were higher at the mid level under uncaged-ORP treatment than expected for the mid level. The probability of bivalve andN. flosculusrecruitment was higher at upper and lower levels, respectively. At the lower level, barnacle recruitment was higher on bare rock than on crustose coralline algae. Our results suggest that grazers increase the probability of barnacle recruitment, while the presence of sessile organisms enhances the density of mussel recruits. Almost no recruitment of bivalves was observed in ORPs over one year, showing that the secondary succession is slow in this environment.

scholarly journals Integrating cellular automata and discrete global grid systems: a case study into wildfire modelling

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Majid Hojati ◽  
Colin Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Cellular Automata ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Data Model ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Environmental Modeling ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Global Grid

Abstract. With new forms of digital spatial data driving new applications for monitoring and understanding environmental change, there are growing demands on traditional GIS tools for spatial data storage, management and processing. Discrete Global Grid System (DGGS) are methods to tessellate globe into multiresolution grids, which represent a global spatial fabric capable of storing heterogeneous spatial data, and improved performance in data access, retrieval, and analysis. While DGGS-based GIS may hold potential for next-generation big data GIS platforms, few of studies have tried to implement them as a framework for operational spatial analysis. Cellular Automata (CA) is a classic dynamic modeling framework which has been used with traditional raster data model for various environmental modeling such as wildfire modeling, urban expansion modeling and so on. The main objectives of this paper are to (i) investigate the possibility of using DGGS for running dynamic spatial analysis, (ii) evaluate CA as a generic data model for dynamic phenomena modeling within a DGGS data model and (iii) evaluate an in-database approach for CA modelling. To do so, a case study into wildfire spread modelling is developed. Results demonstrate that using a DGGS data model not only provides the ability to integrate different data sources, but also provides a framework to do spatial analysis without using geometry-based analysis. This results in a simplified architecture and common spatial fabric to support development of a wide array of spatial algorithms. While considerable work remains to be done, CA modelling within a DGGS-based GIS is a robust and flexible modelling framework for big-data GIS analysis in an environmental monitoring context.

Florida Inlets and Intertidal Biofouling Communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin B. Johnson ◽  
Jayden L. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Bugula Neritina ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
The North ◽  
Latitudinal Patterns ◽  
Invasive Bryozoan ◽  
Community Component

AbstractThis study reports on the identity and coverage of rocky intertidal species in the major inlets of Florida’s Atlantic coast. From north to south, these inlets are Fort George, St. Augustine, Ponce De Leon, Port Canaveral, Sebastian, Fort Pierce, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Port Everglades, Baker’s Haulover, and Port of Miami. Dominant coverage in the southerly inlets included star corals (Siderastrea radians, 62% Port of Miami), ribbed barnacles (Tetraclita stalactifera, 18% Port Everglades), and zoanthid corals (Palythoa sp., 40% Baker’s Haulover). In the north, the community shifted and species absent in the south became common (e.g., eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica, 9% Fort George, 15% St. Augustine; the macroalga Enteromorpha lactuca, 10% Fort George, 17% Sebastian Inlet). The invasive bryozoan Bugula neritina was always present north of the Port of Miami and was a major community component north of Port Everglades (e.g., 27% Fort Pierce Inlet and 22% Ponce de Leon Inlet). Correlations between intertidal populations and environmental indicators included the oyster C. virginica with various sea surface temperature (SST) parameters (e.g., inverse correlations with max SST, R2 = 0.81, p = .038). Likewise, the coralline alga Pneophyllum fragile was correlated with various SST parameters (e.g., min SST, R2 = 0.51, p = .020). Bare rock and B. neritina both showed inverse correlations with the human population of inlet drainage basins (R2 = 0.28, p = .040 and R2 = 0.33, p = .026, respectively), the latter relationship an unexpected pattern for a notorious invader. These data show latitudinal patterns and provide baselines for future comparisons in the wake of projected climate change.

scholarly journals Disturbance alters ecosystem engineering by a canopy-forming alga

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline B. Pocklington ◽  
Stuart R. Jenkins ◽  
Alecia Bellgrove ◽  
Michael J. Keough ◽  
Tim D. O'Hara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Ascophyllum Nodosum ◽  
Ecosystem Engineering ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Littorina Obtusata ◽  
Invertebrate Species ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Pulse Disturbance

Canopy-forming fucoid algae have an important role as ecosystem engineers on rocky intertidal shores, where they increase the abundance of species otherwise limited by exposure during low tide. The facilitative relationship between Ascophyllum nodosum and associated organisms was explored using a frond breakage experiment (100%, 50%, 25%, 0% intact-frond treatments) in southern England, to assess the consequences of disturbance. Understorey substratum temperature was on average 3°C higher in 0% and 25% intact-frond treatments than in plots with 50% and 100% intact fronds. Light (as PAR during low tide) doubled in 0% intact-frond treatments in comparison to other treatments (which had similar light levels). Mobile invertebrate species richness declined by on average 1 species per m2 in the treatments with only 25% and 0% intact fronds, and the abundance of Littorina obtusata declined by 2.4–4.2 individuals per m2 in the treatments with 25 and 0% intact fronds. Sessile taxa, including Osmundea pinnatifida and encrusting coralline algae, declined by half on average in the 0% intact-frond treatment. These results suggest that the ability of Ascophyllum to mediate environmental conditions to the understorey is the mechanism responsible for species distributed in the understorey (autogenic ecosystem engineering). The results of this study imply that a pulse disturbance resulting in a 50% breakage of Ascophyllum fronds significantly increases temperature and decreases the abundance of mobile invertebrates usually associated with Ascophyllum. Sessile taxa associated with Ascophyllum can, however, withstand disturbances down to 25% intact Ascophyllum fronds.

scholarly journals Taxonomic and functional diversity of mollusk assemblages in a tropical rocky intertidal zone

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayanna M. A. da R. Souza ◽  
Helena Matthews-Cascon ◽  
Erminda da C. G. Couto
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Mussel Beds ◽  
Trophic Diversity ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Zone

ABSTRACT We investigated the spatial variation of molluscan assemblages with different habitat-forming species and bare rock habitat in a rocky intertidal zone in northeastern Brazil. The high intertidal zone substrate was covered predominantly of barnacles [Chthamalus bisinuatus (Pilsbry, 1916)], the mid-intertidal of mussels [Brachidontes exustus (Linnaeus, 1758)] and the low intertidal of macroalgae chlorophytes [Gayralia oxysperma (Kützing) K. L. Vinogradova ex Scagel et al., 1989 and Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, 1753], phaeophytes [Sargassum vulgare C. Agardh] and rhodophytes [Palisada flagellifera (J.Agardh) K. W. Nam, 2007]. A total of 3,861 mollusks were recorded, belonging to the classes Gastropoda (9 species; 3,800 individuals), Bivalvia (3 spp.; 54 ind.), and Polyplacophora (1 sp.; 7 ind.). Functional diversity was accessed through the trophic structure, in which we identified food guilds: suspension feeders, grazers, herbivores, and carnivores. The analysis revealed significant differences in mollusk abundance, species richness, diversity indices, and trophic diversity among barnacle belts, mussel beds, algae habitat, and bare rock habitats. The highest species richness and trophic diversity were detected in algae habitat and mussel beds, which showed low abundance. In contrast, barnacle belts registered low species richness and trophic diversity and a high number of individuals. Bare rock recorded low values in all surveyed indices. This result points to the effect of environmental modification caused by habitat-forming species in this system. These species increase environmental complexity and enable the establishment of organisms through facilitation processes. The various food guilds found in this study reaffirm the role of habitat-forming species in providing niches that support different occupation patterns.

Recruitment of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis and its relationship with crustose coralline algae: patterns of juvenile distribution and larval settlement

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (8) ◽  
pp. 1787-1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Seabra ◽  
T. Cruz ◽  
J. N. Fernandes ◽  
T. Silva ◽  
S. J. Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Rock Pools ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae ◽  
Bare Rock ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Patella Ulyssiponensis ◽  
Maximum Shell Length ◽  
Sw Portugal

AbstractRecruitment of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis was investigated in relation to the presence of living crustose coralline algae (CCA) in rocky-shore habitats. Juvenile limpets (≤10 mm maximum shell length) were counted in CCA-present and CCA-absent habitats, on three shores in SW Portugal during summer 2007 and winter 2009. Furthermore, the settling response of laboratory-reared larvae of P. ulyssiponensis to CCA-covered substratum, and bare-rock, was examined. Across the intertidal zone, we found a clear association between the distribution and abundance of juveniles and the presence of CCA. Although the presence of CCA was not an absolute requisite for juvenile occurrence, null juvenile densities were mostly recorded in CCA-absent areas. The highest juvenile densities (maximum of 64 individuals in 15 × 15 cm) were consistently found in CCA-dominated habitats, namely steep wave-exposed areas at low-shore and rock-pools. The hypothesis of CCA-enhanced settlement was not supported, as settlement intensities of laboratory-reared larvae were similar between chips of rock encrusted by CCA and chips of bare-rock. From the overall number of settlers onto CCA-encrusted rock chips, 51% were found in tiny pits lacking CCA. This was the first study of the settlement patterns of larvae of the genus Patella using naturally occurring rocky substrata. These results are preliminary and should be confirmed with choice-experiments and improved monitoring of the position of settlers. We suggest that CCA plays a role in the recruitment of P. ulyssiponensis, potentially promoting survivorship of early benthic stages, but possibly not enhancing settlement.

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