Body size changes of Bison and mortality age structure data document the effects of climate-driven environmental change and human hunting pressure on large mammals in North America. Morphometric and mortality data are drawn from 58 archaeological and 9 paleontological localities dating between 37,000 and 250 calBP. Proxy information on body size is based on measurements recorded on 901 adult calcanei (os calcis) and 1026 humeri. In addition, published mortality profiles from 24 archaeological faunal assemblages spanning the last 14,000 years were used to approximate the age structure of bison populations. These results suggest that dramatic diminution in bison body size occurred in several short bursts, rather than a continuous gradual decline. These periods of rapid size reduction correlate with times of ecological reorganization, when aridity-driven changes in grasslands decreased forage quality and availability. Mortality age data indicate that the decrease in body size occurred in a context where there was no evidence for a progressively severe juvenile bias in bison populations. Overall, it appears that the changes in body size were a reaction to environmental conditions rather than the result of human predation pressure. 相似文献
The Hill Country of Central Texas, USA, is undergoing rapid socioeconomic development, but environmental management of this
region is hampered by misconceptions about local bedrock, soils, terrain, and hydrologic processes. The Hill Country is underlain
mostly by Glen Rose Limestone (Lower Cretaceous) and exhibits a stepped terrain, which has been incorrectly attributed to
alternating hard and soft bedrock strata. Other characteristics mistakenly attributed to this landscape include thin soils
with scant water-retention capabilities, and rapid runoff as the dominant hydrologic process. This report presents new findings:
unweathered bedrock is well indurated, but interbeds exhibit variable weathering rates. Recessive slopes (“risers”) on this
stepped terrain result from rapid deterioration of strata having generally heterogeneous depositional fabrics (bioturbation
and irregular clay partings) in contrast to ledge-forming strata having homogeneous fabrics. A stony regolith is thus formed
beneath risers, providing porous and permeable ground that retards runoff and promotes the formation of moderately deep to
deep (two-tiered) regolith/soil zones. These surficial materials on local steep slopes compose important natural environmental
buffers; they support diverse biota and enhanced geochemical cycling of nutrients; they also exhibit significant water retention
and enhanced erosion abatement. Proper land management demands recognition of these attributes in the siting, design, and
construction of facilities. 相似文献
Spatial and seasonal variations of the oxidation of Fe(II) and As(III) have been previously documented in the Carnoulès (Gard, France) Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) by bulk analyses. These variations may be correlated with the variations in the activity of indigenous As(III)- and Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria living in the As-rich Carnoulès water. The activity of these bacteria indeed plays an important role in the nature and composition of the solid phases that sequester arsenic at this site. In order to better understand the interactions of microbes with Fe and As in the Carnoulès AMD, we combined Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM) to collect near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra at high spatial and energy resolution and to perform high spatial resolution imaging at the 30-50 nm scale. Spectromicroscopy was performed at the C K-edge, Fe L2,3-edge, and As L2,3-edge, which allowed us to locate living and/or mineralized bacterial cells and to characterize Fe and As oxidation states in the vicinity of those cells. TEM was used to image the same areas, providing higher resolution images and complementary crystallographic and compositional information through electron diffraction and EDXS analysis. This approach provides unique information on heterogeneous geochemical processes that occur in a complex microbial community in an AMD environment at the micrometer and submicrometer-scale. Bacterial cells in the Carnoulès AMD were frequently associated with mineral precipitates, and a variety of biomineralization patterns were observed. While many mineral precipitates were not associated with bacterial cells, they were associated with pervasive organic carbon. Finally, abundant biomineralized organic vesicles were observed in the Carnoulès AMD. Such vesicles may have been overlooked in highly mineralized extreme environments in the past and may represent an important component in a common biomineralization process in such environments. 相似文献
A general analysis of ionospheric conditions has been made in the light of possible ionic reactions occurring in the upper atmosphere. Data obtained on various parameters, such as ionic production and recombination, show that precise knowledge of the spectral distribution of solar radiation is needed and that other experimental determinations on dissociative recombinations are required.
The ionic complexity of the ionosphere is underlined by describing how the atomic ions O+ and N+ react with N2, O2 and NO molecules. The behavior of the molecular ions N+2, O+2and NO+depends on a group of simultaneous processes involving charge transfers and ionatom interchanges which are more important than dissociative recombinations. The altitude distribution of ions is exemplified by discussing the relative importance of various loss coefficients in the D-, E- and F-regions. It is seen that molecular nitrogen ions are subject to important charge transfer processes, that nitric oxide ions are always final products destroyed only by dissociative recombination. Additionally, the entire production of atomic oxygen ions is related to the photoionization of molecular nitrogen. Some information is also given on possible anomalies in the ratio of O+2 and NO+ densities in the lower ionosphere. From the lack of sufficient experimental information on ionic processes it is shown that a precise analysis of ionospheric behavior remains highly speculative. 相似文献
The ocean bottom seismometer capsule contains a 1 Hz. vertical seismometer and triggerable or programmable digital recording system. The output of the seismometer is continuously digitized at a preselected rate of 64, 128, or 256 samples/sec. The digital data words are mixed with a time code and synchronization characters, serialized and passed through a 1536 sample shift register which acts as a delay line. The serial output bits are then encoded and recorded on a SONY TC800B tape recorder which is turned on when a seismic event occurs. The event trigger occurs when the seismic signal jumps to 8 times the time averaged input signal. A memory may be programmed to run the recorder on a schedule so that small amplitude signals from refraction shots are sure to be recorded. Data are recovered using the same recorder for playback and a decoder which provides an analog output for field data interpretation or a digital output for computer analysis. An acoustic transponder allows precise ranges between the capsule and ship to be determined. In addition, commands for the capsule to release or to transmit diagnostic data may be given from the surface ship. The capsule falls freely to the ocean bottom. After a predetermined time or when a release command is received, it is released from a 68 kg steel tripod and floats to the surface. A dual timer and explosive bolt system is used to increase recovery reliability.The first capsules were designed and constructed between October 1972 and October 1973. Good results were obtained from 38 out of 43 launchings made on six expeditions in 1974, 1975, and 1976. Four capsules have been lost. 相似文献
A comparison of monthly biogeochemical measurements made from 1993 to 1995, combined with hydrography and satellite altimetry, was used to assess the impacts of nine eddy events on primary productivity and particle flux in the Sargasso Sea. Measurements of primary production, thorium-234 flux, nitrate+nitrite, and photosynthetic pigments made at the US JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site were used. During the 3 years of this study, four out of six high thorium-234 flux events occurred during the passage of an eddy. Primary production nearly as high as the spring bloom maximum was observed in two mode-water eddies (May 1993 and July 1995). The 1994 spring bloom at BATS was suppressed by the passage of an anticyclone. Distinct phytoplankton community shifts were observed in mode-water eddies, which had an increased percentage of diatoms and dinoflagellates, and in cyclones, which had an increased percentage of Synechococcus. These variations in species composition within mode-water eddies and cyclones may be associated with the ages of the sampled eddies, and/or differences in physical, chemical, and biological factors in these two distinct eddy types. In general, eddies that were 1–2 months old elicited a large biological response; eddies that were 3 months old may show a biological response and were accompanied by high thorium flux; eddies that were 4 months old or older did not show a biological response or high thorium flux. A conceptual model depicting temporal changes during eddy upwelling, maturation, and decay can explain the observations in all seven upwelling eddies present in the time-series investigated herein. 相似文献
Magnesian calcites are the most abundant authigenic minerals associated with hydrocarbon vents at 25 sites, in water depths ranging from 100 to 600 m in the Green Canyon area and about 2200 m in the Alaminos Canyon area on the Continental Slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The most frequently encountered magnesian calcites have 10–15 mol% MgCO3 and the apparent structural disorder revealed by XRD peak widths increases with Mg substitution. There are no systematic variations in Mg content with respect to water depth or geographic location. The calcite saturation state of the precipitating fluid is primarily determined by the nature of the fluids escaping from the vents, not the ambient seawater. 相似文献