New localities of Typhula maritima on the Pacific coast of northern Japan, their habitat disturbance by winter storms and the ocean current transport of sclerotia

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) was an environmental disaster, which highlighted the urgent need to predict the transport and dispersion of hydrocarbon. Although the variability of the atmospheric forcing plays a major role in the upper ocean circulation and transport of the pollutants, the air‐sea interaction on various time scales is not well understood. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the atmospheric forcing and upper ocean response in the GoM from seasonal to diurnal time scales, using climatologies derived from long‐term observations, in situ observations from two field campaigns, and a coupled model. The atmospheric forcing in the GoM is characterized by striking seasonality. In the summer, the time‐average large‐scale forcing is weak, despite occasional extreme winds associated with hurricanes. In the winter, the atmospheric forcing is much stronger, and dominated by synoptic variability on time scales of 3–7 days associated with winter storms and cold air outbreaks. The diurnal cycle is more pronounced during the summer, when sea breeze circulations affect the coastal regions and nighttime wind maxima occur over the offshore waters. Realtime predictions from a high‐resolution atmosphere‐wave‐ocean coupled model were evaluated for both summer and winter conditions during the Grand LAgrangian Deployment (GLAD) in July–August 2012 and the Surfzone Coastal Oil Pathways Experiment (SCOPE) in November–December 2013. The model generally captured the variability of atmospheric forcing on all scales, but suffered from some systematic errors.

Neopolyploid species have been used as model plants to elucidate the consequences of hybridization and polyploidy. Two Drosera species, D. anglica Hudson (2n = 4x = 40) and D. rotundifolia L. (2n = 2x = 20), and the hybrid D. ×obovata Mert. et Koch (2n = 3x = 30), which results from their crossing, have been reported from Hokkaido Island, northern Japan. Recently, we discovered unexpected higher ploidy levels within the population of these Drosera from a post-mined peatland, in Sarobetsu mire of Hokkaido. The ploidy levels were determined by flow cytometry. Polyploids were tagged and monitored at the site for three years. The morphological characteristics of the neopolyploid leaves and flowers were determined and compared to D. anglica, D. rotundifolia and D. ×obovata. Seeds collected from hexaploids were incubated in a laboratory to verify their viability. Hexaploids occurred in the field over the three years of monitoring and produced a few flowers and viable seeds; however, octoploids were extinct in the second year. The leaf shape quantified by the blade length to blade width ratio showed that the ratios of hexaploids were intermediate between D. ×obovata and D. rotundifolia, suggesting that the origin of hexaploids was likely to originate from the triploid D. ×obovata. Polyploidy may occur in disturbed habitats more commonly than previously thought.

Removal of riparian vegetation and straightening of stream channels (channelization) are the most prevalent forms of habitat degradation in streams and their riparian zones. Both have direct effects on organisms in the habitats where they occur, but also have potential to cause indirect effects by interrupting the flux of invertebrate prey between the two adjacent ecosystems. We measured abundance of web‐building riparian spiders along four types of streams in Hokkaido, Japan: relatively undisturbed streams, streams where riparian vegetation had been removed, previously channelized streams where the banks had revegetated, and streams that had been both channelized and had the vegetation removed. Spider abundance was reduced by 70% or more by either habitat disturbance alone, or both combined, and the number of spider families was also reduced. Spiders of the family Tetragnathidae, which specialize in capturing adult insects emerging from streams, were strongly reduced by either form of habitat degradation alone, or in combination. In contrast, abundance of spiders in other families that capture prey from both terrestrial and aquatic sources was reduced more strongly by vegetation loss than channelization. These results indicate that riparian vegetation loss has strong direct effects on spiders by reducing habitat for web sites. They also suggest that channelization can have strong indirect effects on riparian‐specialist tetragnathid spiders, probably by reducing the flux of adult aquatic insects from the stream to the riparian zone.

Habitat alteration and biotic invasions are the two leading causes of global environmental change and biodiversity loss. Recent innovative experiments have shown that habitat disturbance can have drastic effects that cascade to adjacent ecosystems by altering the flow of resource subsidies from donor systems. Likewise, exotic species invasions could alter subsidies and affect distant food webs, but very few studies have tested this experimentally. Here we report evidence from a large-scale field experiment in northern Japan that invasion of nonnative rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) interrupted reciprocal flows of invertebrate prey that drove stream and adjacent riparian forest food webs. Rainbow trout usurped terrestrial prey that fell into the stream, causing native Dolly Varden charr (Salvelinus malma) to shift their foraging to insects that graze algae from the stream bottom. This indirectly increased algal biomass, but also decreased biomass of adult aquatic insects emerging from the stream to the forest. In turn, this led to a 65% reduction in the density of riparian-specialist spiders in the forest. Thus, species invasions can interrupt flows of resources between interconnected ecosystems and have effects that propagate across their boundaries, effects that may be difficult to anticipate without in-depth understanding of food web relationships.

The damage and loss of coastal archaeological sites from shoreline transgression and other near-coastal processes is common around the world. It negatively impacts our ability to address important research questions including those about the colonization of the New World, which likely occurred along the Pacific Coast. Differences in geomorphic context, annual weather patterns, topography, vegetation, bedrock, and land-use history lead to distinct localized patterns of erosion even within small geographic regions. We assessed near-coastal erosion on Santa Rosa Island, California, by monitoring annual change at 16 controlled points on 11 archaeological sites from 2013 to 2017 and by comparing it to the local geomorphic context and annual weather patterns. Overall, erosion through this period was greatest on the northwest coast of the island, which is directly in the path of prevailing winds and most winter storms, and least on the more protected west and south coasts. The 2016–2017 winter was the rainiest and had the most annual erosion in general; however, erosion at sites along gulley walls was lowest that year. By monitoring annual erosion and weather and associating them with variations in erosional processes, we can better understand threats to valuable cultural resources and take appropriate steps for mitigating their losses and the loss of archaeological data.

Storm surges occur frequently in Canada mainlydue to extra-tropical cyclones (ETC'S) also referred to as winter storms. The hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico can affect eastern Canada including Lakes Ontario and Erie regions, after they get modified and acquire some extra-tropical characteristics. Storm surges have occurred both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Gulf of St.Lawrence, St.Lawrence Estuary, Bay of Fundy, Hudson Bay, James Bay, Northwest Passage, Beaufort Sea, the Great Lakes and other large lakes such as Lake Winnipeg.

Miscanthus sinensis Andersson is a dominant perennial grass in East Asia, where it is a pioneer species in disturbed habitats. To obtain basic information about the genetic structure of this pioneer species, we investigated chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation in M. sinensis within and among native populations across Japan. We detected nine haplotypes in 636 individuals from 30 populations. Two distinct haplotypes had a wide geographical distribution and coexisted within most of the populations. The degree of genetic differentiation among the populations was relatively low. Two putative ancestral lineages were distributed in the Ryukyu Islands. Therefore, it is possible that lineages that originated in subtropical areas of mainland China migrated into the Ryukyu Islands via Taiwan. Another possible migration route is the Korean Peninsula. Two major haplotypes may have migrated from the Eurasian continent to the northern coast in Kyushu via the Korean Peninsula and then expanded throughout Japan. There was no clear genetic boundary among the populations north of Kyushu. The enhanced immigration ability and high rate of gene flow of Miscanthus may have modulated the genetic structure created during previous glacial periods. Alternatively, the shortage of unique haplotypes north of Kyushu may indicate the recent expansion of this species to northern Japan.

Root attributes of tree seedlings of seven species from the tropical deciduous forest along the Pacific Coast of Mexico are described using morphometirc root system analysis. Mean relative growth rate, root/shoot ratios, specific root length, root density, mean number of roots tips and root length/leaf area ratio were determined in seedlings grown for 35 days inside growth chambers. All the species had low relative growth rates, low root/shoot ratios and low root densities (<0.5 cm/cm3). The species associated with disturbed habitats, in contrast to the species characteristic of undisturbed areas, presented small seeds, a dichotomous root branching pattern and large specific root length. No relationship was found between seed size and mean relative growth rate among the species studied.

In the tropical dry forest of the central Pacific coast of Mexico the pollination and reproductive success of the bombacaceous tree Ceiba grandiflora was negatively affected by habitat disruption. Two of the three bat species that function as effective pollinators for this species ( Glossophaga soricina and Musonycteris harrisoni) visited flowers found in trees in disturbed habitats significantly less than trees found in undisturbed habitats. A similar pattern was observed for the effective bat pollinator, Leptonycteris curasoae; however the difference was not significant. The three nectarivorous bats that functioned as effective pollinators of C. grandiflora also visited flowers to exclusively feed on pollen by biting or pulling off an anther (see Fig. S1 of Electronic Supplementary Material). The number of pollen grains deposited on stigmas from flowers in undisturbed areas was significantly greater than from flowers in disturbed habitats. The greater visitation rate and the greater number of pollen grains deposited on flowers from trees in undisturbed forest resulted in a significantly greater fruit set for trees in these areas. Our study demonstrates the negative effect that habitat disruption has on bat pollinators in tropical dry forest ecosystems and documents the negative consequences for the plants they pollinate.

Tropical dry forests are complex and diverse ecosystems threatened by multiple anthropogenic factors, such as habitat disturbance caused by land use change. We assessed species and functional diversity of lizard communities in areas with different levels of tropical dry forest disturbance in the Chamela region, Mexico. Functional richness, functional evenness, and functional dispersion were assessed considering six lizard functional traits. We recorded 415 lizards of 15 species. Species richness, species diversity, functional richness, functional dispersion, and the number of functional groups are lower in disturbed sites than in undisturbed tropical dry forest sites. On the contrary, abundance and functional evenness were higher in strongly disturbed sites. We suggest that lizard functional diversity should be studied further in order to secure the integrity of herpetofaunal communities and ecosystem processes.

Komar, P.D. and Harris, E., 2022. Tectonic and climate-controlled hazards on the shores of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(6), 1075–1095. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Elevations of the Hawke's Bay shore on the Pacific coast of New Zealand were altered by an earthquake in 1931, such that at its north end the gravel beach and shore-front properties were raised by 2 m, while elevations dropped by 1 m at its south end. Along the elevated shore, the morphology was altered from a low-lying gravel spit that had experienced frequent overwash events, changed to a gravel barrier ridge where its increased stability permitted construction of expensive homes. The central stretch of shore, where there was minimal change in elevations, continues to experience wave overtopping during storms and high tides, just as had occurred prior to the earthquake. The southern-most shore, where subsidence took place, experiences substantial property damage during winter storms. With projections of accelerated rates of rising sea levels and increased storm intensities produced by global warming, concerns are that the developed shore of the elevated gravel ridge will again suffer from erosion and overwash flooding. Analyses have been undertaken of the hourly measured tides, waves, and calculated swash run-up levels on the beaches, combined to yield a record of hourly total water levels at the shore. Its extremes have been compared with the elevations of the surveyed gravel ridges to yield assessments of the potential erosion and flooding hazards. Still greater hazard assessments have been based on a recognition that the morphologies of the surveyed ridges provide direct evidence for the most extreme water levels that occurred at times of major storms in the distant past, prior to the availability of the process data. Assessments of hazards expected 100 years into the future have included projections of both rising sea levels and evidence for increasing storm-wave heights.

To interpret broad-scale erosion and accretion patterns and the expansion and contraction of shrub thickets in response to sea level rise for a coastal barrier system, we examined the fine-scale processes of shrub recruitment and mortality within the context of the influence of ocean current and sediment transport processes on variations in island size and location. We focused on Myrica cerifera shrub thickets, the dominant woody community on most barrier islands along the coastline of the southeastern USA. Observations suggest that M. cerifera, a salt-intolerant species, is increasing in cover throughout the Virginia barrier islands, yet rising sea level in response to climate change is increasing erosion and reducing island area. Our objective was to explain this apparent paradox using pattern–process relationships across a range of scales with a focus on ocean currents and sediment transport interacting with island characteristics at intermediate scales. Multi-decadal comparisons across scales showed a complex pattern. At the scale of the entire Virginia barrier complex, modest decreases in upland area were accompanied by large increases in shrub area. Responses were more variable for individual islands, reflecting inter-island variations in erosion and accretion due to differences in sediment transport via ocean currents. Several islands underwent dramatic shrub expansion. Only for within-island responses were there similarities in the pattern of change, with a lag-phase after initial shrub colonization followed by development of linear, closed canopy thickets. Understanding the fine-scale processes of shrub seedling establishment and thicket development, in conjunction with the influence of ocean currents and sediment transport, provides a framework for interpreting island accretion and erosion patterns and subsequent effects on shrub thicket expansion or contraction across scales of time and space.

Recent ecological disturbances have dramatically altered the composition of rocky intertidal Pacific coast communities of North America, particularly top invertebrate predators. Predation is an important regulatory force on intertidal gastropod communities, and the depletion or loss of predators is therefore likely to have a considerable community‐wide short‐term impact. However, assessing the magnitude and nature of the resulting ecological changes may be problematic in the absence of data recording pre‐disturbance conditions. Here, the effectiveness of traces of unsuccessful crab predation on gastropod shells at providing a long‐term, decadal record of predation intensity in Barkley Sound (Vancouver Island, British Columbia) was evaluated subsequent to multiple large‐scale ecological disturbances, including sea star wasting disease, abnormally high sea surface temperatures, and harmful algal blooms. The frequency of failed crab attacks recorded by repair scars on six populations of the intertidal gastropod Tegula funebralis were surveyed to compare spatial patterns in predation intensity before and after disturbance (2013 and 2015 respectively). The repair frequency gradient observed in 2013 was also recorded by repair scars in 2015 (Spearman's ρ = 1, P = 0.002), and repair frequency was not affected by gastropod size in either 2013 (Spearman's ρ = 0.14, P = 0.80) or 2015 (Spearman's ρ = 0.66, P = 0.18). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that repair frequency provides decadal records of predation intensity and may be effective to establish persistent levels of predation intensity prior to disturbances in rocky intertidal habitats.

Long-term monitoring of the seafloor environment off Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, was carried out to investigate environmental changes of the deep-sea floor after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of the Tohoku Earthquake. We deployed two deep-sea stations, one on an upper continental slope site (around 300 m water depth) and the other on a bathyal (998 m) site, to measure current intensity and direction, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity, and to obtain seafloor images. The monitoring period on the upper slope was 9 months (March–September 2013), and 14 months (August 2012–October 2013) at the bathyal site. The oceanographic data from the upper slope site recorded the seasonal exchange of water masses and dense marine snowfall from April to May 2013. On 7 December 2012, a large aftershock of the 2011 earthquake caused increased turbidity at the bathyal site, and seafloor photographs and videos recorded the disturbance and recovery of benthic habitats. The data from these deployments show that long-term monitoring can provide important oceanographic, biological, and sedimentological data from deep-sea sites. Together with shipboard and deep-tow observations and data collected by remotely operated vehicles, long-term monitoring can be a valuable tool for understanding deep-sea environments and their variability.

The interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) transport in the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean is investigated with the output from ECMWF Ocean Analysis/Reanalysis System 3 (ORA‐S3). The results show that the amplitude and root mean square (RMS) of interannual NEC transport anomalies increase from about 3.0–4.0 Sv and 2.0 Sv at 170°E to above 5.0 and 3.4 Sv at 135°E, respectively. The NEC transport variation agrees well with the variation of the sea surface height (SSH) anomaly difference between the southern and northern boundaries of the NEC region. Further analysis near the Philippine coast suggests that their good agreement mainly comes from the agreement of the NEC transport and SSH variations south of the gyre boundary. Around the bifurcation point off the Philippine coast, the southern branch of the NEC transport is highly related to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. During El Niño/La Niña years, westerly/easterly wind anomalies and positive/negative wind stress curl anomalies develop in the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean south of 20°N before the mature phase. The wind forcing center moves eastward with time and reaches the easternmost position around 170°E several months before the mature phase. This wind forcing generates upwelling/downwelling Rossby waves, which propagate westward to result in negative/positive SSH anomalies, hence inducing a cyclonic/anticyclonic gyre anomaly, which is responsible for the increase/decrease of the NEC transport. The northern branch of the NEC transport near the Philippine coast has no significant simultaneous relation with ENSO events.