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Nematodes and decomposition in intertidal ecosystems
No full textIntroductionSalt marshes in temperate regions are very productive natural vegetations. These vegetations frequently reach an above-ground production of more than 1 kg of dry weight per m 2per year. Herbivores consume only a small proportion of the annual plant production. Almost the entire amount of above ground plants dies after senescence. A small proportion may be washed away by the tides, but the major part remains at the salt marsh where it decomposes in the canopy or at the sediment surface.Dead plant material is primarily decomposed by micro-organisms, such as fungi and bacteria. The chemical composition of the detritus to a large extent determines the rate of decomposition. A number of abiotic factors, such as temperature and humidity, also influence the decomposition process. In addition the process may be affected by fauna, present on the decomposing plant material.In this thesis the role of nematodes in decomposition of Spartina anglica was studied. This plant species commonly occurs in salt marshes of Western Europe. In addition, one chapter is dedicated to the association between nematodes and decomposing seaweed in a completely different habitat: an Antarctic beach. In the first part of this thesis the relation between decomposition and naturally occurring nematode populations is studied. This part consists mainly of field studies. Nematodes, which are associated with the decomposition process are identified, and the population dynamics of one of these species is studied in detail. The second part of this thesis is dedicated to laboratory and model studies which were carried out to investigate the effects of nematodes on decomposition of S.anglica detritus and the possible mechanism underlying these effects.Nematode populations on decomposing plant materialNematodes are abundant on both S.anglica litter and on stranded Antarctic seaweed. We found that on standing dead Spartina anglica plant parts the nematode population frequently reached densities of 3000 individuals per g DW. When leaf material on the sediment surface was investigated even much higher nematode densities were found, up to 47,000 individuals per g DW. At Antarctic beaches nematode densities up to 26,000 individuals per g DW were found on seaweed wrack.Although numerous, not all of these nematodes present on plant detritus are expected to influence the decomposition process. In chapter I an attempt was made to distinguish the nematode species which play a role in decomposition of S. anglica detritus from nematodes which do not have such a role. As decomposition is largely a microbial process, higher decomposition rates presumably coincide with a higher microbial production and, consequently, a higher availability of food for microbivorous nematodes. Amongst the microbivorous nematodes, those species were considered of possible importance to the decomposition process when their numbers increased with increasing decomposition rate. In the experiments, mesh containers, filled with Spartina anglica leaves, were placed on the sediment surface. Different decomposition rates were induced by using decaying leaf material of different ages and by repeating the experiments during four subsequent seasons. Mesh containers with inert material (plastic drinking straws) served as controls. Sixty nematode species were found in the mesh containers. Using a multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis) different nematode communities were found on plant material with different decomposition rates. These differences were caused by the changing abundance of only a few species. The majority of the species were found in equal numbers in treatments with decomposing Spartina leaves and in the control treatment. The numbers of individuals of those species which appeared closely correlated with the decomposition rate of Spartina anglica leaf-detritus were all bacterivorous nematodes. Numerically the most dominant were species of the family Monhysteridae ( Diplolaimelloides bruciei, Diplolaimella dievengatensis, Monhystera parva ). The highest numbers of these nematodes were found in treatments with the highest decomposition rates i.e. on decaying fresh leaves, during the warmer seasons. In the winter, when decomposition is slower, their numbers were lower.The species diversity on standing dead plant parts of Spartina anglica is much lower than the species diversity on the sediment surface in mesh containers filled with S.anglica leaves. The dominant species on standing dead plants are the bacterivorous nematodes Diplolaimelloides bruciei, Monhystera disjuncta and Pellioditis marina. In chapter 11 a study is presented on the population dynamics of D. bruciei. This species was commonly found on above ground plant parts of Spartina. In a field study, population densities of this species were estimated on four classes of S.anglica plant material, representing the whole range of decomposition stages found in the canopy. D. bruciei was found throughout the year on all types of plant material, including living green plant parts. The population densities were highest on the older plant material, where densities of 1000-2000 individuals per g DW were reached. The highest densities were recorded in late summer and autumn.S. anglica vegetations are regularly flooded at high tide, which potentially reduces the nematode population density on the plant material, as nematodes may be flushed from the plants. Since in situ measurements of the flooding effect are not possible, the population dynamics of D. bruciei was studied in the laboratory under a controlled flooding regime. The population densities of D.bruciei indeed seemed to be highly influenced by flooding. A considerable part of the population disappeared during flooding, but on younger, yellow, decomposing leaves the rate of removal by flushing was much lower than on older, brown, leaves. This is probably caused by the change of the leaf structure during decomposition. Nematodes may become less well attached to the leaf surface when the groove structure of the leaves disappears with progressive decay; consequently, a higher proportion is flushed away. The growth rate of the population, however, was equal on both leaf types. The growth rate of the nematode population, as estimated in the laboratory, was used to calculate the total production of nematodes in the field. It was shown that the total biomass production of D. bruciei equalled 114 mg C per m 2per year. If 30% of the detritus was decomposed by bacteria and a trophic efficiency of 10 % is assumed, the total amount of bacteria] carbon ingested by D.bruciei accounted for 7.5 % of the total bacterial biomass produced. It was estimated that the dominant bacterivorous nematodes together may consume over 20% of the total bacterial biomass production.In chapter III a study of nematodes found in stranded seaweed at an Antarctic beach is presented. Large amounts of seaweed are deposited along the coast of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. The stranded seaweed partly decomposes on the beach and supports populations of various meiofauna species, mostly nematodes. The factors determining the number of nematodes found in the seaweed packages were studied. The densities of nematodes appeared to be correlated primarily with salinity, height and C:N ratio of the detritus. Salinity and height were most likely related to the flooding regime in conjunction with the off-stream of melt water. Decomposition rate appeared mainly determined by the water content and the sediment composition. Melt water run-off or the impact of the surf probably increased seaweed weight losses in these situations.The effect of nematodes on decomposition of S.anglicaExperiments with D. bruciei, a species numerously present on standing dead S.anglica plants (see chapter II), were set up to study the effect of this nematode on decomposition (chapter IV). Green and yellow leaves were placed on agar in petri dishes and inoculated with D. bruciei. CO 2 production was determined regularly after inoculation. Weight, carbon and nitrogen losses were determined at the end of the experiment, 30 days after inoculation. In the presence of nematodes, CO 2 -production on green, decaying leaves increased by 20 - 25 %. Losses of dry weight, carbon and nitrogen during decomposition increased with at least 30 %. On yellow, more senescent leaves no effect on CO 2 -production was found, but losses of dry weight, carbon and nitrogen tended to be higher in the presence of nematodes. The results of this study show that D.bruciei may enhance the decomposition rate of S.anglica -leaves; the extent of the stimulatory effect, however, depends on leaf condition and the population density of the nematode. The minimal nematode population density for a measurable stimulatory effect was estimated to be 4000 individuals per g DW of S.anglica leaves. As described in chapter II, field population densities are often of the same order of magnitude.A part of the senescent S.anglica leaves and stems decompose at the sediment surface, where the material is covered with sediment. In chapter I a clear correlation was found between the number of the bacterivorous nematode Diplolaimella dievengatensis and the decomposition rate of S.anglica detritus present on the sediment surface. The effect of the D.dievengatensis on the carbon mineralization of S.anglica detritus was examined in a laboratory experiment (chapter V). Detritus mixed with sediment appeared to decompose at higher rates in the presence of the nematodes. CO 2 production per hour was 74 % higher in the presence of the nematode than in its absence; O 2 consumption per hour increased to a similar extent. Diffusion coefficients were calculated from measurements of both O 2 consumption, using gas chromatography, and O 2 micro-gradients, using micro-electrodes. The apparent diffusion coefficient of O 2 in the sediment in the presence of nematodes was 40% to 70 % higher than the bulk sediment diffusion coefficient. Since the increase of the CO 2 production and of the diffusion of oxygen in the presence of nematodes was of the same magnitude, we concluded that the enhanced turnover time of Spartina detritus presumably was largely caused by the bioturbation activity of the nematodes.A simulation model was constructed to quantify the relations between decomposing S.anglica detritus, bacteria and their grazers (chapter VI). The model takes the various stages of above ground litter decomposition into account. The heterogeneity of the decomposing litter was described by a number of successive quality classes. Decomposition was considered to be primarily a microbial process. The microbial population was assumed to consist of a number of successional species each possessing a unique preference for the different quality classes. Grazers were all considered as a single species grazing upon all microbial species. Three mechanisms by which grazers may stimulate decomposition were evaluated using the data from the laboratory study presented in chapter IV. In the first place: if the microbial population grows to a certain maximal density than removing microbial biomass by grazers may stimulate decomposition since space is created for growth of new microbes at the expense of organic substrate. In the second place: the excretion of highly nutritive mucus by grazers may stimulate bacterial growth. In the third place: reworking of the sediment-detritus-microbial mixture in the grooves of the leaves (see also chapter II), or in the upper layer of the sediment may increase the oxygen availability and may, by mechanical force, enlarge the surface of the substrate on which the microbes attack. The model calculations suggested that removing of microbial biomass by grazers has some stimulatory effect on the decomposition rate of detritus, but not enough to account for the total effect. Recycling of organic matter by excretion of mucus seemed to have no effect at all.According to the model, bioturbation or reworking contributed most to the stimulation of the decomposition rate.The model was validated with field data. The model could describe field data obtained from a variety of locations. The biomass of bacteria and grazers estimated by the model were in the same order of magnitude as those found in the field. The model is useful to evaluate decomposition data from different studies and calculate an approximate amount of microbes and primary grazers available for higher trophic levels.When the model calculations were performed over a period of about a year the stimulating effect of grazers gradually seemed to vanish. This is in agreement with the experiments described in chapter IV, which show that the effect of nematodes on decomposing yellow leaves were less pronounced than on green leaves. Thus, any stimulatory effect of nematodes on decomposition of Spartina anglica in the salt marsh may be restricted to the first stages of the decomposition process
Leven, gedrukte werken en handschriften van Cornelis van Alkemade en Pieter van der Schelling /
No full textMet: Handschriften van C. van Alkemade door Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach gezien en beschreven (P. 193-204), door A. Kluit ... gezien en beschreven (P. 205-220)Europeana-GoogleBook
Meteorological observations during ALKEMADE cruise from Batavia to Texel started at 1774-11-09
No full textMeteorological observations during ALKEMADE cruise from Batavia to Texel started at 1774-11-0
The Miraculous Survival of Nicholas Alkemade
Get PDFThis paper discusses the fall of Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade from a height of 18,000ft during the Second World War. It uses simple mechanical models to see whether such a fall was in fact possible and comes to the surprising conclusion that it may have been possible to survive the fall. However this conclusion depends on the analysis of what happened when the airman hit the trees, where certain values i.e. the spring constant of a pine tree branch, are uncertain.
Do we need to revise the tripartite subdivision hypothesis of the human subthalamic nucleus (STN)? Response to Alkemade and Forstmann.
No full textRecently in this journal, Alkemade and Forstmann again challenged the evidence for a tripartite organisation to the subthalamic nucleus (STN) (Alkemade & Forstmann 2014). Additionally, they raised specific issues with the earlier published results using 3T MRI to perform in vivo diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) based segmentation of the STN (Lambert et al. 2012). Their comments reveal a common misconception related to the underlying methodologies used, which we clarify in this reply, in addition to highlighting how their current conclusions are synonymous with our original paper. The ongoing debate, instigated by the controversies surrounding STN parcellation, raises important implications for the assumptions and methodologies employed in mapping functional brain anatomy, both in vivo and ex vivo, and reveals a fundamental emergent problem with the current techniques. These issues are reviewed, and potential strategies that could be developed to manage them in the future are discussed further
Change — New directions for architecture and urbanism
Get PDF‘The big challenge for the twenty-first century is the promotion of freedom of thought. The destructive mechanism of the crisis has ensured that exuberance, radicalism and even the longing for utopia have been demolished among architects. I believe these are precisely the qualities we now need in order to innovate.’ Interview with Floris Alkemade, the Chief Government Architect, ArchiNed, 29 March 2016.Although demands for a new, social role for architecture are growing louder, central government’s time-honoured role as a guiding force has been marginalised and new strategies are called for.Chief Government Architect Floris Alkemade presents his vision and agenda for the coming four years. Central to his talk is the search for the social element within the architecture brief and innovation through design.How can architects and planners engage with social issues such as population decline, migration, vacant buildings and an ageing population? What role does research play in this? What are the conditions under which design can have a real influence? What does this mean for the discipline
Fluorimetro corneale semplice, compatto e di basso costo per diagnosi precoce di retinopatia diabetica
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
User requirements Massive Point Clouds for eSciences (WP1)
No full textThis report is a milestone in work package 1 (WP1) of the project Massive point clouds for eSciences. In WP1 the basic functionalities needed for a new Point Cloud Spatial Database Management System are identified. This is achieved by (1) literature research, (2) discussions with the project members, and (3) customer surveys. In this work package three organizations TU Delft, Rijkswaterstaat and Fugro have worked together to assemble the user requirements for a new Point Cloud Spatial Database Management System. The following persons were involved in this work package. A.E. Nonhebel (Ardi) TU Delft, TU Delft Library/3TU.Datacentrum (work package manager) Ir. I. Alkemade (Ingrid) Rijkswaterstaat, Centrale Informatievoorziening Ir. M.P. Kodde (Martin) Fugro GeoServices B.V. Drs. T.P.M. Tijssen (Theo) TU Delft, Onderzoeksinstituut OTB, department of GIS Technology Prof.dr.ir. P.J.M. van Oosterom (Peter) TU Delft, Onderzoeksinstituut OTB, department of GIS Technology Drs. P.M. Suijker (Paul) TU Delft, TU Delft Library, section Research support During the investigation the Up-to-date Height Model of the Netherlands1 (AHN) datasets have been used as an example of the type of data that will be included in the new point cloud spatial DBMS. The AHN data consists of raster data and point cloud data. Both data types have been considered.LibraryDelft University of Technolog
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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