Upstream dams and downstream clams: growth rates of bivalve mollusks unveil impact of river management on estuarine ecosystems (Colorado River Delta, Mexico)     

B. R. Schne  K. W. Flessa  D. L. Dettman  D. H. Goodwin 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2003,58(4):715-726

We studied how the extensive diversion of Colorado River water, induced by dams and agricultural activities of the last 70 years, affected the growth rates of two abundant bivalve mollusk species (Chione cortezi and Chione fluctifraga) in the northern Gulf of California. Shells alive on the delta today (‘Post-dam’ shells) grow 5.8–27.9% faster than shells alive prior to the construction of dams (‘Pre-dam’ shells). This increase in annual shell production is linked to the currently sharply reduced freshwater influx to the Colorado River estuary. Before the upstream river management, lower salinity retarded growth rates in these bivalves. Intra-annual growth rates were 50% lower during spring and early summer, when river flow was at its maximum. Growth rates in Chione today are largely controlled by temperature and nutrients; prior to the construction of dams and the diversion of the Colorado River flow, seasonal changes in salinity played an important role in regulating calcification rates.Our study employs sclerochronological (growth increment analysis) and geochemical techniques to assess the impact of reduced freshwater influx on bivalve growth rates in the Colorado River estuary. A combination of both techniques provides an excellent tool to evaluate the impact of river management in areas where no pre-impact studies were made.  相似文献   

Evidences linking ENSO and coral growth in the Southwestern-South Atlantic     

H. Evangelista  D. Godiva  A. Sifeddine  Z. M. A. N. Leão  N. R. Rigozo  B. Segal  T. Ambrizzi  M. Kampel  R. K. P. Kikuchi  F. Le Cornec 《Climate Dynamics》2007,29(7-8):869-880

Physical and biological changes in the marine environment, induced by oceanic-atmospheric processes, can be imprinted in massive coral skeletons. Herein, we present an evidence of potential El Niño impacts at the Southwestern South Atlantic Ocean (SWSA) inferred from the sclerochronology of the reef coral Favia leptophylla. The application of spectral analysis (wavelet decomposition and the iterative regression) to coral growth length and to meteorological-oceanographic parameters (air temperature, sea surface temperature and precipitation) as well as to Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and solar irradiation indicated a major significant inverse relationship between SOI and coral growth length at the 4–8 years frequency band. We propose here that coral growth length from the SWSA could be affected by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events through an “atmospheric bridge”, in contrast to its direct effect at the Pacific Ocean, related to the increase in sea surface temperature.  相似文献   

Reconstructing estuarine conditions: oyster shells as recorders of environmental change, Southwest Florida   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Donna M. Surge  Kyger C Lohmann  Glenn A. Goodfriend   《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2003,57(5-6):737-756

Live-collected shells of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, contain geochemical records of modern temperature and salinity, so records of prehistoric conditions may be obtained from subfossil shells. Restoration of channelized watersheds in Florida is receiving much attention, and plans for targeted watersheds require information about estuarine conditions before channelization. Lack of historical records necessitates alternative methods to understand pre-disturbance conditions. A ¹⁴C-calibrated, amino-acid geochronology based on racemization of glutamic acid yielded ages ranging from 190–1220 AD and from 1270–1860 AD for subfossil oysters from Blackwater River (near-natural watershed) and for Faka-Union Bay (channelized watershed), respectively. δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values of subfossil shells from Blackwater River indicate salinity and summer temperatures similar to present. Winter temperatures recorded in shells from 190, 590, 720, and 1050 AD appear 1–5 °C colder than present winter temperatures, whereas the shell from 1220 AD records winter temperatures similar to modern winter temperatures. These temperature shifts may indicate change in climate or natural seasonal variation of winter temperature from year to year. Subfossils from Faka-Union Bay may reflect a complicated hydrology, which cannot be evaluated by isotopic compositions alone and demonstrates the need for development of independent elemental proxies for temperature and salinity. Decreases in δ¹³C from subfossil to modern shells may in part result from CO₂ added to the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning (the Suess effect). Subfossil δ¹³C that is >1‰ more positive than modern shells suggest a change in the dominant carbon sources from terrestrial C₄ or aquatic plants to C₃ plants (mangroves).  相似文献