3,123 research outputs found
Review of the spatial and temporal distribution by life stage for 19 North Sea fish species
No full textConsidering the increase in human activity in the North Sea, particularly cargo shipping and the rapidly expanding construction and operation of oil platforms and wind farms, as well as the continued use of the area for military purposes, fisheries and sand extraction, there is a growing concern about the potentially harmful impacts of such anthropogenic activities on marine life. Particular concerns have been raised about the effect of loud impulse sounds and high noise levels, which may affect marine animal life in different ways: habitat use, such as feeding and migration, and reproduction patterns may be disturbed. In the extreme case animals may suffer from sub-lethal or lethal physical damage such as hearing loss and disrupted swim ladders. Knowledge of the spatial distribution and seasonal patterns in the presence of different life stages of marine species is therefore critical for assessing to what extent the dispersion of marine life overlaps with the distribution of human activities and for estimating how potentially harmful impacts can be mitigated both spatially and temporally. The aim of this desk study is consequently to provide a concise overview of existing information on seasonal patterns in the dispersion of fish species in the North Sea, in particular by highlighting the knowledge gaps
N deposition and elevated CO2 on methane emissions: Differential responses of indirect effects compared to direct effects through litter chemistry feedbacks.
No full textIncreases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and N deposition are expected to affect methane (CH4) production in soils and emission to the atmosphere, directly through increased plant litter production and indirectly through changes in substrate quality. We examined how CH4 emission responded to changes in litter quality under increased N and CO2, beyond differences in CH4 resulting from changes in litter production. We used senesced leaves from 13C-labeled plants of Molinia caerulea grown at elevated and ambient CO2 and affected by N fertilization to carry out two experiments: a laboratory litter incubation and a pot experiment. N fertilization increased N and decreased C concentrations in litter whereas elevated CO2 decreased litter quality as reflected in litter C and N concentrations and in the composition of lignin and saturated fatty acids within the litter. In contrast to our expectations, CH4 production in the laboratory incubation decreased when using litter from N-fertilized plants as substrate, whereas litter from elevated CO2 had no effect, compared to controls without N and at ambient CO2. Owing to high within-treatment variability in CH4 emissions, none of the treatment effects were reflected in the pot experiment. C mineralization rates were not affected by any of the treatments. The decrease in CH4 emissions due to indirect effects of N availability through litter quality changes (described here for the first time) contrast direct effects of N fertilization on CH4 production. The complex interaction of direct effects with indirect effects of increased N on litter quality may potentially result in a net decrease in CH4 emissions from wetlands in the long term.Fil: Pancotto, Veronica Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Bodegom, P. M. van. University Of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Hal, J. van. University Of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Logtestijn, R. S. P. van. University Of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Blokker, P.. University Of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Toet, S.. University Of Amsterdam; Países Bajos. University Of York; Reino UnidoFil: Aerts, R.. University Of Amsterdam; Países Bajo
Characteristics of the braided fluid actuator [by] H.F. Schulte, Jr., D.F. Adamski [and] J.R. Pearson.
No full texthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/7479/5/aka4081.0001.001.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/7479/4/aka4081.0001.001.tx
Biodiversity effects on soil processes explained by interspecific functional dissimilarity
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Studying dynamical social phenomena experimentally: The case of psychological momentum.
No full textInternational audienc
The effect of vertically heterogeneous contamination on the detritivore annelid community in a river floodplain soil
No full textBiodiversity effects on soil processes explained by interspecific functional dissimilarity
No full textThe loss of biodiversity can have significant impacts on ecosystem functioning, but the mechanisms involved lack empirical confirmation. Using soil microcosms, we show experimentally that functional dissimilarity among detritivorous species, not species number, drives community compositional effects on leaf litter mass loss and soil respiration, two key soil ecosystem processes. These experiments confirm theoretical predictions that biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning can be predicted by the degree of functional differences among species
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