1,721,160 research outputs found

    Ocean acidification effects on stable isotope signatures and trophic interactions of polychaete consumers and organic matter sources at a CO2 shallow vent system

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    Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis (SIA)was used to examine trophic interactions in a naturally acidified shallow coastal CO2 area in the Mediterranean Sea. SIA was helpful to determine the potential effects of ocean acidification (OA) on the interactions of organic matter sources and polychaete consumers, which appear to be tolerant to high pCO2. Mesoherbivore consumers, represented by three polychaete species, Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin and Milne Edwards, 1834) (Nereididae), Polyophthalmus pictus (Dujardin, 1839) (Opheliidae) and Syllis prolifera Krohn, 1852 (Syllidae), are abundant in the low pH conditions of the CO2 vents. Samples of consumers and potential organic matter sources (macroalgae, seagrass and epiphytes)were collected in two periods (May-June and Oct-Nov 2012) in two acidified areas (Castello Aragonese CO2 vents, off Ischia, Italy) and in two control areas. Results suggest a substantial effect of high pCO2 on isotopic composition of both organic matter sources and consumers. The recurring 13C depletion observed in the acidified sites is probably due to an increase in carbon availability and to the exploitation of volcanic-derived dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) present in the area. The nutritional quality of organic matter sourceswas higher in lowpH stations, where indeed C:N ratios decreased. Despite the occurrence of these effects, the trophic habit of high pCO2 tolerant polychaete consumers seems not to be dramatically affected. Our findings shed the light on how some benthic organisms may respond well to near-future OA conditions, exhibiting high plasticity also in their feeding habits, without being subject to dramatic ecological changes

    Plant and sediment properties in seagrass meadows from two Mediterranean CO2 vents: Implications for carbon storage capacity of acidified oceans

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    Assessing the status of important carbon sinks such as seagrass meadows is of primary importance when dealing with potential climate change mitigation strategies. This study examined plant and sediment properties in seagrass meadows (Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Asch.) from two high pCO 2 –low pH Mediterranean vent systems, located at Milos (Greece) and Vulcano (Italy) Islands, providing insights on carbon storage potential in future acidified oceans. Contrary to what has been suggested, carbon content (both inorganic and organic) and its surficial accumulation decreased at high pCO 2 –low pH in comparison with controls. The decrease in inorganic carbon may result from the higher solubility of carbonates due to the more acidic conditions. At Vulcano, the seagrass properties (e.g., leaf area, biomass) appeared negatively affected by environmental conditions at high pCO 2 –low pH conditions and this may have had a detrimental effect on the organic carbon content and accumulation. At Milos, organic carbon decreased at high pCO 2 –low pH conditions, despite the increase in seagrass aboveground biomass, leaf length and area, probably as a consequence of site-specific features, which need further investigation and may include both biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., oligotrophic conditions, decreased sedimentation rate and input of allochthonous material). Results suggest that, in contrast to previous predictions based exclusively on the expected positive response of seagrasses to ocean acidification, carbon storage capacity of the seagrass C. nodosa may not increase at high pCO 2 -low pH conditions. This study emphasizes the need to investigate further the potential alteration in the climate mitigation service delivered by seagrass meadows in acidified oceans

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

    Variations on the Author

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    “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

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods
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