Mare Island Research Articles

Distribution of Coral Life Forms Based on Sea Current Velocity in Kei Besar Island, Maluku, and Mare Island, North Maluku

Abstract Diverse life forms found on coral reefs indicate resilience to environmental change, sustaining marine biodiversity and ensuring the stability of the coastal community’s ecosystems. This study investigates the relationship between sea currents and the life forms of coral reefs in Indonesia and focuses on two primary locations: Kei Besar Island, Maluku, and Mare Island in North Maluku. Sea current data from the current real-time global forecasting and coral cover data were analysed to assess the influence of current velocities on the percentage of hard coral cover and the morphological composition of corals. The dominant bottom substrate in both locations is hard coral, with varying percentages of cover. Thirteen distinct life forms of coral were identified in both study sites, with massive and sub-massive forms being the most prevalent on Kei Besar Island (41%) having average current velocities of 0.159 m/s, and branching forms (40%) being dominant on Mare Island with average current velocities were 0.103 m/s. The massive form (CM) is strongly positively (negatively) correlated with faster (slower) currents, with a correlation coefficient of 0.81 (-0.69). On the other hand, several life form of fragile coral reefs particularly Acropora branching (ACB); Acropora sub-massive (ACS); and coral Tubipora (CTU) were found to be positively (negatively) correlated with slower (faster) currents, with a correlation coefficient of 0.55 (-0.63); 0.77 (-0.75); and 0.58 (-0.67).

Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factors of Sea Cucumber on Mare and Moti Islands Conservation Areas in North Maluku

This work aimed at determining the growth patterns and condition factors of three sea cucumber species, namely Holothuria atra, Bohadschia marmomata, and B. vitiensis in seagrass beds of Mare and Moti Islands. Samples were collected in March 2023 using a roaming survey method in a block area with an area of 5000 m2. As amount of 54 sea cucumbers were analysed from Mare Island and 58 individuals from Moti Island. The results of this study indicate that the correlation (r) length-weight relationship for the three sea cucumber species is stronger (r > 0.6) on Moti Island than Mare Island. H. atra and B. marmorata have a negative allometric growth pattern, while B. vitiensis has a positive allometric growth pattern on both islands. The Fulton condition factors for the sea cucumbers assessed on Mare Island were recorded for H. atra of 2.84 ± 2.01, B. marmorata of 3.13 ± 2.47 and B. vitiensis of 9.24 ± 5.73. Meanwhile, at Moti Island were found for H. atra of 12.49 ± 11.66, B. marmorata of 9.58 ± 7.38, and B. vitiensis of 8.87 ± 3.68. This is indicated that all sea cucumber species are in good physical condition. Meanwhile, the relative weight condition factor (Wr) of the three species of sea cucumbers on both islands were in the range above 100, which indicated a food surplus in their habitat. The results of this research can be important as the preliminary data in terms of sustainable management of sea cucumber stocks in North Maluku.

Accumulation of Microplastics on Seagrass Leaves of Enhalus acoroides on Mare Island as a Conservation Area in North Maluku

Seagrass ecosystems have been indicated as the new hotspots of microplastics (MPs) in the marine environment. This work aimed at determining the potential of microplastics and epibionts accumulation on Enhalus acoroides leaves at the coast of Mare Island as one of the conservation areas in North Maluku region. Samples collection was carried out in August 2021 at two research locations, namely Maregam (Station 1) and Marekofo (Station 2) villages. Each of E. acoroides leaves (18 leaves) was observed for the presence of microplastic that attached on the epibionts of seagrasses. Seagrass leaves were collected using line transect which was stretched out to 50 m vertically seaward. Subsequently, the characterization of epibionts on the seagrass leave were determined according the rank of the cover percentage of epibionts. Meanwhile microplastics were identified referring to their shapes and colors under microscope observation. The results showed that three types of microplastics were embedded on the epibiont matrices of E. acoroides leaves namely fibers, fragments, and pellets. The average number of microplastic particles in E. acoroides leaves at station 1 was higher (9.1 MPs particles/leaf) than Station 2 (4.5 MPs particles/leaf). The accumulation of fiber type was higher at station 2 (76%) than station 1 (41%), conversely the accumulation of fragment type was higher at Station 1 (54%) than station 2 (19%), while pellets were found to be the least in both stations. Overall, seven colors of microplastic were found, namely blue, brown, black, red, green, orange and white, except at station 2 was absence of brown one. Station 1 was dominated by the white color (32%) while station 2 dominated by the black color (32%). According to the level of epibiont closure, it was found that the presence of microplastics was higher in the rank 1 epibiont at Station 1 where the epibiont covers less than 25%, while at station 2 was the highest one with the rank of 3 which meant that the epibiont covers was 50 – 75%. We concise that through this finding the society should be aware of microplastics extention on coastal area including seagrass leaves. Thus, the local government should pay attention of plastic debris management in the future to mitigate the impacts of these contaminants to the marine environment.Keywords: microplastics, Enhalus acoroides, epibiont, Mare Island

An Overview of Microplastics in the Marine Ecosystem of North Maluku

North Maluku has been the site of microplastic study for some years. The goal of this paper is to revisit the earlier analysis. The intent is to be a quick guide for scholars studying microplastics in North Maluku. Additionally, this article's goal is to quantitatively analyse some of the findings from the research that has been done. The terms "Microplastics in the North Maluku Sea" were entered into the search engines Google Scholar and Science Direct to conduct journal and research searches. Previous studies on microplastics on Mare Island looked at sediments in the island's waters and the levels of microplastics in various kinds of sea cucumbers. A total of 272 microplastic fragments were discovered in sea cucumbers. At the same time, two stations were doing a study on deposits. Microplastics weighing between 17,000 and 37,000 particles/kg of dry sediment were discovered at the first station in Maregam. 13,839-30,666 particles/kg of silt were discovered in Marekofo. According to research conducted on the island of Ternate, skipjack tuna contains up to 948 microplastic particles that were collected from 16 market fish samples. According to studies on other fish species like Epinephelus Fuscogutattus, E. coioides, and E. Suillus, the digestive tract of fish contains 594 microplastic particles.

An Assessment of Microplastics (MPs) Sedimentary Accumulation in Seagrass Meadows of Mare Island Conservation Area, North Maluku, Indonesia

Research on the occurrence and the characteristics of microplastics (MPs) sedimentary in seagrass meadows at the area of Mare Island conservation is the very first study in this region. The objectives of this work is to determine the abundance and the characteristics of MPS and its diversity in the two villages namely Maregam and Marekofo at the Island. Samples are collected using sediment core, then dried and extracted using NaCl to separate the density. MPs were identified under a microscope after going through the filtering process. The abundance of MPs particles ranges from 17,000 - 37,000 particles. kg-1dry weight (dw) sediment at Station 1 (Maregam) and 13.839 - 30,666 particles.kg-1 dw sediment at Station 2 (Marekofo). In general, the average value of MPs abundance at station 1 higher than station 2 were 27.090 ± 13.908 particles.kg-1 dw of sediment and 18,368 ± 10,625 particles.kg-1 dw of sediment, respectively. Statistically there no significance difference of the MPs abundance between the two station Furthermore, the predominance of MPs types were fiber and fragments, while the majority of colors of particles were blue. While the results of the microplastic diversity test indicated that MPS particles at Mare Island were not too complex and were in unstable conditions. Even though the less density of the population at the island, MPs were quite high compared to other areas in the world. This finding is allegedly that those MPs were supplied from the distance which transmitted by hydro-oceanographic and meteorology factors, beyond of local contribution.Keywords: Microplastic, seagrass bed, sediment, conservation area, Mare Island

Development strategy for marine conservation area of Mare Island, Tidore Islands City

Mare Island is a strategic small island, both in its location and its natural resources. In the Regional Regulation of North Maluku Province Number 2 of 2018 concerning Zoning Plans for Coastal Areas and Small Islands of North Maluku Province for 2018-2038, Mare Island is designated as Coastal and Small Islands Conservation Areas. Furthermore, through the Decree of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries Affairs Number 66/KEPMEN-KP/2020, Mare Island has been designated as a Marine Conservation Area. The research aims to formulate a strategy for developing marine conservation areas on Mare Island. Field data collection was carried out in the form of observations, interviews and questionnaires, analysis of existing spatial conditions using the Geographic Information System (GIS), for strategy formulation using SWOT analysis tools after identifying various internal and external factors. external strategy, while the alternative strategy is continued by determining the priority of the strategy using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results showed that there were 11 alternative formulations of strategies for development of Mare Island marine conservation areas in order of priority: Improved conservation area management, Capacity building for government and community organizations, Implementation of Zoning Plans and Preparation of Detailed Spatial Plans, Economic empowerment and development of alternative livelihoods, Partnership network improvement, Improvement of tourism facilities and infrastructure, Collaboration of programs among local government offices, Structuring residential areas, Limiting the use of SDKP, Law enforcement and Development of sea and land transportation facilities.

Assessment of mangrove condition of Mare Island, North Maluku, Indonesia

This work aimed to determine the condition of mangroves according to the species density and mangrove canopy cover in marine conservation area of Mare Gam Village, Mare Island. The data were collected using the nested quadrat line transect method. The level of species density was calculated based on the criteria for mangrove growth, namely seedlings, saplings and trees. The results showed that there were 9 types of mangroves, based on the value of species density and canopy cover, the condition of mangroves at the observation site was in the good and dense category.

Legal Protection To Making Crafts Gerabah (Boso Mare) Traditional Knowledge Copyright In The Mare Island, Town Of Tidore Islands, Indonesia

Research Concerning, Legal Protection to Making Crafts Gerabah (Boso Mare) Traditional Knowledge Copyright in the Mare Island, Town of Tidore Islands, focused on the craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) mechanism. This research is to (1) know the extent of legal protection to making craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) traditional knowledge copyright in the Mare Island, Town of Tidore Islands (2) knowing Mare Island people’s understanding of making craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) as traditional knowledge copyright. The research was conducted in Mare Island community. This type of research is normative with data collection techniques through field and literature study. Sources of data obtained in the form of primary and secondary data. Data analysis technique used is qualitative descriptive analysis. The results show that the people of Mare Island do not know about the importance of legal protection to making crafts Gerabah (Boso Mare) as traditional knowledge, the community does not know the registration procedure to register the craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights and the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of North Maluku. Lack of socialization from Local Government so that people think that craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) hard to imitate, people believe that only the people of Mare Island alone can make crafts Gerabah (Boso Mare). In addition, without registered craft Gerabah (Boso Mare) products still sold in the market. Legal protection to making crafts Gerabah (Boso Mare) the effective participation of all components such as Local Government, Village Government and related agencies and local communities, especially the craftsmen Gerabah (Boso Mare).

LEGAL PROTECTION TO MAKING CRAFTS GERABAH (BOSO MARE) TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE COPYRIGHT IN THE MARE ISLAND, TOWN OF TIDORE ISLANDS, INDONESIA

Research Concerning Legal Protection to Making Crafts Gerabah ( Boso Mare ) Traditional Knowledge Copyright in the Mare Island, Town of Tidore Islands, focused on the craft Gerabah ( Boso Mare ) mechanism. This research is to (1) know the extent of legal protection to making craft G erabah ( Boso Mare ) traditional knowledge copyright in the Mare Island, Town of Tidore Islands (2) knowing Mare Island people’s understanding of making craft G erabah ( Boso Mare ) as traditional knowledge copyright. The research was conducted in Mare Island community. This type of research is normative with data collection techniques through field and literature study. Sources of data obtained in the form of primary and secondary data. Data analysis technique used is qualitative descriptive analysis. The results show that the people of Mare Island do not know about the importance of legal protection to making crafts Gerabah ( Boso Mare ) as traditional knowledge, the community does not know the registration procedure to register the craft G erabah ( Boso Mare ) to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights and the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of North Maluku. Lack of socialization from Local Government so that people think that craft G erabah ( Boso Mare ) hard to imitate, people believe that only the people of Mare Island alone can make crafts G erabah ( Boso Mare ). In addition, without registered craft Gerabah ( Boso Mare ) products still sold in the market. Legal protection to making crafts G erabah ( Boso Mare ) the effective participation of all components such as Local Government, Village Government and related agencies and local communities, especially the craftsmen G erabah ( Boso Mare ). Keywords : Indonesia, Copyright, Protection DOI : 10.7176/IAGS/74-06 Publication date :July 31 st 2019

Modeling metal bioaccumulation and tissue distribution in killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) in three contaminated estuaries

The present study experimentally assessed the uptake, loss, and resulting tissue distribution of As(V), Cd, Cr(III), Hg(II), and methylmercury (MeHg) in killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) following aqueous exposure in water collected from 3 contaminated field sites-Baltimore Harbor and Elizabeth River (Chesapeake Bay), and Mare Island (San Francisco Bay)-using a radiotracer technique. Uptake rate constants (L g-1 d-1) were highest for MeHg (0.370-0.781) and lowest for As (0.00028-0.00065). Loss rate constants (d-1) were highest for As (0.046-0.096) and lowest for MeHg (0.006-0.009). Tissue distribution data showed that MeHg was redistributed around the body throughout the 9-d depuration period, and drinking may be an uptake mechanism for Cd from the aqueous phase in higher-salinity water. The kinetic parameters calculated in the present study were entered into a bioaccumulation model to calculate the predicted body burden of each metal at steady state and the percentage body burden attributable to dietary exposure on a site-specific basis. Calculated body burdens varied between field sites for all metals except Cr. The predicted values for Cd, Hg(II), and MeHg matched independent field data from contaminated estuaries, indicating that the model can account for the major processes governing metal concentration in killifish. The diet accounted for >97% of the body burden of Cd and MeHg and was the predominant exposure route for As and Cr.

Bioavailability of sediment-bound and algal metals to killifish Fundulus heteroclitus

We used a radiotracer technique to experimentally assess whether As(V), Cd, Cr(III), Hg(II), and methylmercury (MeHg) bound to sediment from 3 contaminated field sites (Baltimore Harbor, Elizabeth River, and Mare Island) and the green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta are bioavail- able to killifish Fundulus hetero clitus. Algae are a component of the killifish diet in salt marshes, and although killifish do not actively consume sediment, some is accidentally ingested due to attachment to benthic prey. For both sediment and algae, the assimilation efficiencies (AE) of ingested metals were highest for MeHg, followed by Hg(II), As, and Cd, and lowest for Cr. Follow- ing sediment intubations, AE values ranged from 0.01�0.03% (Cr) to 10�14% (MeHg), and ranged from 0.7% (Cr) to 82% (MeHg) following algal intubation. Following sediment intubations, loss rate constants (kef) were similar for As, Cd, and Hg(II) and lowest for MeHg, whereas following algal intubation, the kef values were highest for As, followed by Cr, Hg(II), and Cd, and lowest for MeHg. At the end of depuration, tissue distribution data showed that Cd and Hg(II) remained pri- marily associated with the viscera, whereas As and MeHg were distributed throughout the body. Calculated trophic transfer factors (TTF) showed that only MeHg bound to algae, and Elizabeth River sediment is expected to biomagnify at this trophic step (TTF > 1). Metals can accumulate to high concentrations in sediment in industrialized coastal areas, but the present study indicates that the risk of exposure for killifish from ingesting contaminated sediment is minimal.

Deconstructing Mare Island

This is a photographic essay centered on the Carquinez Straits, particularly Mare Island. Once the Carquinez Strait was a center of the California economy. In the nineteenth century it was the center of the wheat trade. In the twentieth century, it was the center of the military industrial economy. Now Vallejo is Broke Town, USA, as the New York Times put it, and Mare Island has become a place were much of the old California is turned to scrap and shipped elsewhere. It is an industrial Pompeii, but it is also an instructive and hardly hopeless place. It is in many ways diagnostic of modern California, but the diagnosis is hardly hopeless.

Hans Konrad Van Tilburg, A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters: Life on Board USS Saginaw

As many of us know, maritime archaeology is about more than just recording, measuring, and preserving old bits of wood for posterity. It is also about researching the rich histories and telling the unique stories of the artefacts we discover. Many of these objects were involved in multiple historical events, touched thousands of lives, and helped to shape the fortunes of entire nations; yet, they have been repeatedly overlooked or deemed unimportant and uninteresting by historians, sociologists, philosophers, and other scholars. The present book by Hans Konrad Van Tilburg offers a unique view of the history of such an artefact. It covers the ten-year career of a small, little-known vessel, USS Saginaw, a 155-foot, fourth-rate, wooden side-wheel steamer that served as a gunboat and all-purpose vessel for the United States Navy from 1860 to 1870. Since she was built during the long transition from sail to steam, she was a hybrid vessel and had both forms of motive power. Van Tilburg tells her story using a range of documentary sources, including the logs and letters of those who lived onboard. During her brief period of service, Saginaw traveled to a number of distant and exotic locations. Along the way, she encountered a diverse mix of people: Taiping rebels in East Asia, Confederate spies along the west coast of the United States, Mexican revolutionaries in Central America, etc. Saginaw played an important role in US domestic and international affairs during her decade of service. Her career was a slice of history. USS Saginaw was the first American warship built on the west coast of the United States. She was constructed in 1859 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, opened just 5 years earlier, near San Francisco. Shortly after her first commissioning in 1860, she was attached to the United States Navy’s East India Squadron and charged with the task of suppressing piracy and protecting US commercial shipping interests along the Chinese coast. During the nineteenth century, trade between East and West was volatile and hostile yet profitable for anyone willing to take the risk, commit the necessary security forces, and shoulder the enormous financial burden of maintaining them. In the early part of the century, the US government decided to take that risk and set up special remote naval units in the Pacific

Is Mahan Dead?

Is Mahan Dead? John T. Kuehn (bio) A major debate is raging in the American policy and defense communities about what form the navy of the future should take to best serve the national interests of the United States. There are differing views about the security challenges the fleet of the future will face and how these should shape the composition, mission, and disposition of the fleet and the number and types of ships, aircraft, and other forces attached to it. This is no small matter. Billions of dollars are at stake as security experts and politicians look into an always cloudy crystal ball and guess—there is no other word for it—the general outlines of the future security environment. Guessing wrong can have expensive and even disastrous consequences. There is nothing terribly new about debating force levels, appropriations, and even the navy's primary mission. But the current debate is different thanks in large part to the views of Barrett Tillman, a prolific writer of military and naval history. He announced the arrival of a new "Post-Naval Era" in the June 2009 issue of theU.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. The venue is significant. The Proceedings is the Navy Department's semi-official venue for institutional dialogue about all things naval. A "post-naval era" would suggest a radically altered maritime environment, one that would have enormous implications for the navy of the future. Tillman touched a nerve. And it did not take long for a firestorm of criticism and commentary to appear in the letters section of the Proceedings. Sea power types have always had an almost neurotic sensitivity to landlubbers' ignorance about the obvious importance and influence of sea power. After all, none other than Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan back at the end of the 19th century had written the gospel of sea power to set the historical record straight once and for all. And now Tillman, like Nietzsche's "mad man," has entered the public square to announce to a stunned audience that "Mahan is dead."1 Or, to put this in naval terms, Tillman is suggesting that the age of the big blue-water fleet that began with Teddy Roosevelt is over. And naval and marine officers need to recognize this and adjust accordingly. Is Tillman right? Are there historically informed ways to think about all this? Is a radical redesign of the United States Navy that Tillman and others are proposing really called for? He certainly has some powerful evidence on his side. First off, he argues that there have been no major fleet actions since the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Others have made the same case and have come to a similar conclusion. Historian H.P. Willmott, for example, maintains that "the battle of Leyte Gulf represented fin de siècle in terms of naval warfare as it had come to be represented over thousands of years—fought in a single dimension on the surface of the sea and within line of sight."2 Willmott's judgment, however, does not necessarily imply the end of the big blue-water fleet; rather, it signals that the style and dimensionality of naval warfare has changed in a very significant way. Both Tillman and Willmott use large-scale combat between fleets as their primary criterion. But Willmott is closer to the truth. Naval combat as it had been fought for millennia does appear to have changed after 1945. That said, the uses to which sea power has been put since 1945 are not fundamentally different: protection of the sea lines of communication, power projection, and sending diplomatic messages, to name the most important. These uses are all consistent with the writings of Mahan and his British contemporary, Sir Julian Corbett. Click for larger view View full resolution The launching of the USS Mariano G. Vallejo submarine, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, October 23, 1965. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Tillman says little about the very real tension, and sometimes conflict, between fleets over the course of the Cold War. This is somewhat curious given the approximately twenty-year anniversary of the end of the Cold...

Comparative distributions of size fractionated metals in pore waters sampled by in situ dialysis and whole-core sediment squeezing: Implications for diffusive flux calculations

Trace elements (Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, V, Zn) and ammonia were measured in pore waters extracted from sediments collected in Green Sands Beach (Mare Island, San Francisco, CA) using peepers and whole-core squeezers. Samples were size-fractionated, either by using 0.45 and 0.1 μm polycarbonate filters (whole-core squeezers), or by passive filtration using peepers with 0.45 μm and 3000 MWCO (3 kDa) membranes. Results indicate that the distribution profiles of pore water constituents in the traditionally defined total dissolved fraction ( C TD = <0.45 μm) reflect different diagenetic processes, as well as anthropogenic inputs from the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Metal concentrations and profiles in the truly dissolved phase ( C D = <3 kDa) for Mn, Co, Cr, V and NH 4 + were similar to the ones obtained for C TD. Profiles for the small-sized dissolved fraction ( C SSD = <0.1 μm) and in the C TD pool were almost identical for all of the analysed metals. Absolute values of the ratios between the diffusive fluxes of the different size fractions relative to the total dissolved fluxes ranged from 0.012 to 41. Of these, 37% were lower than 0.50 and 12% showed values in excess of 2.0. However, in 22% of the cases, the fluxes were in directions opposite to the metal fluxes calculated using C TD gradients. Hence, gradients of total dissolved trace metals, which are the only ones normally measured in pore waters, may not necessarily reflect the mass flow of dissolved constituents across the sediment column.

Reminiscences of Archaeology in Texas: 1947-1968

(2006). Reminiscences of Archaeology in Texas: 1947-1968. Plains Anthropologist: Vol. 51, No. 200, pp. 597-614.

Flow Convergence Caused by a Salinity Minimum in a Tidal Channel

Residence times of dissolved substances and sedimentation rates in tidal channels are affected by residual (tidally averaged) circulation patterns. One influence on these circulation patterns is the longitudinal density gradient. In most estuaries the longitudinal density gradient typically maintains a constant direction. However, a junction of tidal channels can create a local reversal (change in sign) of the density gradient. This can occur due to a difference in the phase of tidal currents in each channel. In San Francisco Bay, the phasing of the currents at the junction of Mare Island Strait and Carquinez Strait produces a local salinity minimum in Mare Island Strait. At the location of a local salinity minimum the longitudinal density gradient reverses direction. This paper presents four numerical models that were used to investigate the circulation caused by the salinity minimum: (1) A simple one-dimensional (1D) finite difference model demonstrates that a local salinity minimum is advected into Mare Island Strait from the junction with Carquinez Strait during flood tide. (2) A three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic finite element model is used to compute the tidally averaged circulation in a channel that contains a salinity minimum (a change in the sign of the longitudinal density gradient) and compares that to a channel that contains a longitudinal density gradient in a constant direction. The tidally averaged circulation produced by the salinity minimum is characterized by converging flow at the bed and diverging flow at the surface, whereas the circulation produced by the constant direction gradient is characterized by converging flow at the bed and downstream surface currents. These velocity fields are used to drive both a particle tracking and a sediment transport model. (3) A particle tracking model demonstrates a 30 percent increase in the residence time of neutrally buoyant particles transported through the salinity minimum, as compared to transport through a constant direction density gradient. (4) A sediment transport model demonstrates increased deposition at the near-bed null point of the salinity minimum, as compared to the constant direction gradient null point. These results are corroborated by historically noted large sedimentation rates and a local maximum of selenium accumulation in clams at the null point in Mare Island Strait.

Habitat Selection of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Sympatric Rodent Species

Abstract We evaluated interspecific habitat use within a salt marsh small mammal assemblage on Mare Island, Solano County, California, USA, from 1989 to 1992, with emphasis on the endangered salt marsh harvest mice (Reithrodontomys raviventris). We livetrapped small mammals during 125 trap sessions at 20 different areas throughout Mare Island for a total of 55,189 trap-nights. We captured the salt marsh harvest mouse 4,147 times; the house mouse (Mus musculus), 1,936 times; the California vole (Microtus californicus), 372 times; and the shrew (Sorex spp.), 117 times, among 12,927 captures. We captured fewer than 10 rats (Rattus spp.), and we did not capture any western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) or deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). We sampled vegetation characteristics at each trap location during 79 of 125 trap sessions for a total of 5,523 trap locations. During the summer, breeding, and fall seasons, habitats characterized by increased cover of forbs, particularly fat hen (Atriplex patu...

Effects of tidal current phase at the junction of two straits

Estuaries typically have a monotonic increase in salinity from freshwater at the head of the estuary to ocean water at the mouth, creating a consistent direction for the longitudinal baroclinic pressure gradient. However, Mare Island Strait in San Francisco Bay has a local salinity minimum created by the phasing of the currents at the junction of Mare Island and Carquinez Straits. The salinity minimum creates converging baroclinic pressure gradients in Mare Island Strait. Equipment was deployed at four stations in the straits for 6 months from September 1997 to March 1998 to measure tidal variability of velocity, conductivity, temperature, depth, and suspended sediment concentration. Analysis of the measured time series shows that on a tidal time scale in Mare Island Strait, the landward and seaward baroclinic pressure gradients in the local salinity minimum interact with the barotropic gradient, creating regions of enhanced shear in the water column during the flood and reduced shear during the ebb. On a tidally averaged time scale, baroclinic pressure gradients converge on the tidally averaged salinity minimum and drive a converging near-bed and diverging surface current circulation pattern, forming a “baroclinic convergence zone” in Mare Island Strait. Historically large sedimentation rates in this area are attributed to the convergence zone.

History of the Seismological Society of America

Aftershocks of the 18 April earthquake were still being felt on 30 August 1906 when Alexander G. McAdie called a meeting to organize what was to become the Seismological Society of America (henceforth abbreviated SSA) (Leuchner, 1908; Byerly, 1964). Townley (1922) credits William R. Eckert, a San Francisco engineer, with suggesting to McAdie that a society be formed. Thirteen people attended (see Byerly, 1964, for a list of those present). George Davidson was elected Chairman of the meeting and George D. Louderback Secretary. Davidson appointed a committee of nine to organize the Society. A subcommittee composed of Louderback, McAdie, and Joseph N. LeConte drew up articles of incorporation, a constitution, and bylaws. These were approved at the first regular meeting of the Society on 20 November 1906. Then as today, the Constitution called for a board of twelve directors, who elected a president, three vice-presidents (now only one), a secretary, and a treasurer from among their members. The original constitution was reprinted by Byerly (1964). The first elected board consisted of Charles Burckhalter, William W. Campbell, Davidson, Charles Derleth, Grove K. Gilbert, Andrew C. Lawson, LeConte, Armin O. Leuschner, Louderback, McAdie, Jerome S. Ricard, and Thomas J. J. See. Who were these men who first led the Society? Six were professors at the University of California at Berkeley (henceforth abbreviated Berkeley). Davidson was Professor Emeritus of Geography. Derleth was Professor of Structural Engineering. Lawson was Head of the Department of Geology. LeConte was Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Leuchner of Astronomy, and Louderback of Geology. Note the role of engineers in the Society from the start. Two others were also astronomers: Burckhalter at Chabot Observatory and Campbell at Lick Observatory. See was Professor of Mathematics at the Mare Island Naval Observatory and Ricard at the University of Santa Clara. Two …