Number Of Known Localities Research Articles

Identification of Black Reef Shipwreck Sites Using AI and Satellite Multispectral Imagery

UNESCO estimates that our planet’s oceans and lakes are home to more than three million shipwrecks. Of these three million, the locations of only 10% are currently known. Apart from the historical and archaeological interest in finding wrecks, there are other reasons why we need to know their precise locations. While a shipwreck can provide an excellent habitat for marine life, acting as an artificial reef, shipwrecks are also potential sources of pollution, leaking fuel and corroding heavy metals. When a vessel runs aground on an iron-free environment, changes in the chemistry of the surrounding environment can occur, creating a discoloration called black reef. In this work, we examine the use of supervised deep learning methods for the detection of shipwrecks on coral reefs through the presence of this discoloration using satellite images. One of the main challenges is the limited number of known locations of black reefs, and therefore, the limited training dataset. Our results show that even with relatively limited data, the simple eight-layer, fully convolutional network has been trained efficiently using minimal computational resources and has identified and classified all investigated black reefs and consequently the presence of shipwrecks. Furthermore, it has proven to be a useful tool for monitoring the extent of discoloration and consequently the ecological impact on the reef by using time series imagery.

A new species of Philoria (Anura: Limnodynastidae) from the uplands of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area of eastern Australia.

The six species of mountain frogs (Philoria: Limnodynastidae: Anura) are endemic to south-eastern Australia. Five species occur in headwater systems in mountainous north-eastern New South Wales (NSW) and south-eastern Queensland (Qld), centred on the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. A previous molecular genetic analysis identified divergent genetic lineages in the central and western McPherson Ranges region of Qld and NSW, but sampling was inadequate to test the species status of these lineages. With more comprehensive geographic sampling and examination of the nuclear genome using SNP analysis, we show that an undescribed species, P. knowlesi sp. nov., occurs in the central and western McPherson Ranges (Levers Plateau and Mount Barney complex). The new species is not phylogenetically closely related to P. loveridgei in the nuclear data but is related to one of two divergent lineages within P. loveridgei in the mtDNA data. We postulate that the discordance between the nuclear and mtDNA outcomes is due to ancient introgression of the mtDNA genome from P. loveridgei into the new species. Male advertisement calls and multivariate morphological analyses do not reliably distinguish P. knowlesi sp. nov. from any of the Philoria species in northeast NSW and southeast Qld. The genetic comparisons also enable us to define further the distributions of P. loveridgei and P. kundagungan. Samples from the Lamington Plateau, Springbrook Plateau, Wollumbin (Mt Warning National Park), and the Nightcap Range, are all P. loveridgei, and its distribution is now defined as the eastern McPherson Ranges and Tweed caldera. Philoria kundagungan is distributed from the Mistake Mountains in south-eastern Qld to the Tooloom Scrub on the Koreelah Range, southwest of Woodenbong, in NSW, with two subpopulations identified by SNP analysis. We therefore assessed the IUCN threat category of P. loveridgei and P. kundagungan and undertook new assessments for each of its two subpopulations and for the new taxon P. knowlesi sp. nov., using IUCN Red List criteria. Philoria loveridgei, P. kundagungan (entire range and northern subpopulation separately) and P. knowlesi sp. nov. each meet criteria for Endangered (EN B2(a)(b)[i, iii]). The southern subpopulation of P. kundagungan, in the Koreelah Range, meets criteria for Critically Endangered (CE B2(a)(b)[i, iii]). These taxa are all highly threatened due to the small number of known locations, the restricted nature of their breeding habitat, and direct and indirect threats from climate change, and the potential impact of the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. Feral pigs are an emerging threat, with significant impacts now observed in Philoria breeding habitat in the Mistake Mountains.

Localisation of a source of hazardous substance dispersion using binary measurements

The problem is to estimate the parameters of a source continuously releasing hazardous material into the atmosphere. The concentration measurements are collected at a number of known locations by a moving binary sensor, characterised by an unknown threshold. The paper formulated a solution in the Bayesian framework, using a dispersion model of Poisson distributed particle encounters in a turbulent flow and assuming the environmental parameters (wind velocity, diffusivity, particle lifetime) are known. The method is implemented using an importance sampling technique and successfully validated with three experimental datasets under different wind conditions. In this context, the estimates of the source release rate are not of practical use, being scaled with an unknown constant related to the binary threshold.

Development of a relative coastal vulnerability index in a macro-tidal environment for climate change adaptation

Coastal vulnerability assessments to climate change impacts have been conducted in the past. However, few if any account for the highly variable risk associated with tidal stage in macro-tidal environments. The purpose of this research was to develop a geomatics tool which interactively determines the biophysical vulnerability of a macro-tidal estuary in the Bay of Fundy to varying levels of storm surge and tide state. A conceptual framework was designed to illustrate the relative interrelationships between exposure conditions (surge height, tidal stage), biophysical state (freeboard, exposure, width of foreshore, intertidal slope, observed erodibility, shore protection) and morphological resilience condition. This conceptual framework was then used to develop a dynamic, custom Python programming script within ArcGIS 9.3 to calculate coastal vulnerability for user determined combinations of surge height and tide state. The analysis was conducted for four coastlines, backshore, upper foreshore, middle foreshore and lower foreshore, to reflect varying biophysical states with varying tide levels. The results of the tool were compared with known areas of concern (high erosion, dyke overtopping), as determined by historical records, local expert knowledge and GIS analysis of aerial photography. The number of known locations of concern is lower than that of the results produced by the tool. This is most likely due to the results being analyzed at extreme water levels, greater than higher high water large tide. However, this estimation of vulnerability may limit negative impacts of climate change by highlighting vulnerable areas prior to an event, allowing coastal managers and planners to install measures to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the adaptive capacity of local communities.

Spread of Veronica filiformis (Scrophulariaceae) in the Sudetes

Abstract Veronica filiformis is an alien plant species widely distributed, across Central and Western Europe. The first observation of the species in the Sudetes was reported in 1942. Until 2000, only a few scattered sites were known in south-western Poland. During the last decade, V.filiformis was observed more frequently in many ranges of the Sudetes. In 2007, field works intended to discover new sites of the species were conducted as well as a critical revision of herbarium specimens stored in WRSL was performed. The number of known localities totals 37. Almost 65% of them were discovered during the last decade. The data are now summarized to bring up to date the known distribution and invasion scale of V. filiformis in the Polish part of the Sudetes.

<I>Geophila erythrocarpa</I> (<I>Rubiaceae</I>), a new species from D.R. congo and Zambia

The species Geophila erythrocarpa (Rubiaceae) is described and illustrated. The new species is restricted to dry, dense forests of the Katanga province in D.R.Congo and the adjoining Copperbelt province in Zambia. The species is similar to and in the herbarium easily confused with G. obvallata from which it most clearly differs in having red instead of blue or black fruits. In flowering state, the two species can be separated by differences in calyx morphology. The new species shares the red-coloured fruits with G. afzelii, but differs from this species in the undivided stipules, the fewer-flowered inflorescences with smaller bracts, and details of the leaf coloration. The new species is further compared with all other Geophila species reported from Zambia and D.R.Congo whereby G. obtusifolia is reduced to synonymy under G. renaris and G. aschersoniana is reduced to synonymy under G. obvallata. An IUCN conservation assessment has been made and the species is provisionally assessed as Endangered, based on its restricted area of occupancy, the small number of known locations, and the continuing decline in extent and quality of its habitat.

Colletoecema gabonensis, a third species of an unusual African genus of Rubiaceae

As a result of ongoing studies of the Rubiaceae of Gabon, the new species Colletoecema gabonensis is here described and illustrated. It is endemic to Gabon, where it is the only species of the genus, and is so far only known from three collections from the Ogooue-Lolo and Ngounie provinces. The new species is morphologically intermediate between its two congeners, C. dewevrei (from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, and Angola) and C. magna (endemic to Cameroon). The new species agrees with C. dewevrei in having flowers with exserted anthers and style, but differs in its sessile flowers and fruits. In the latter characters, it resembles C. magna, from which it can be separated by its smaller fruits and leaves, and by its different floral morphology. An IUCN conservation assessment has been made and the species is provisionally assessed as Vulnerable, based on its restricted area of occupancy and the small number of known locations.

Tentative list of endemic vascular plants of the Zeravshan Mts in Tajikistan: distribution, habitat preferences and conservation status of species

Tentative list of endemic vascular plants of the Zeravshan Mts in Tajikistan: distribution, habitat preferences and conservation status of species Based on literature data and own fieldwork in the Zeravshan Mts in Tajikistan (Middle Asia), the taxonomic structure, distribution, habitat preferences as well as conservation status of a group of 86 species of vascular plants of endemic character are presented. The tentative list of exclusive endemic plants for the Zeravshan Mts was compiled. They belong to 25 families. The richest is the genus Astragalus with 11 species followed by Cousinia (8), Allium (5) and Scutellaria (3). The study has shown that the eastern subregions of the range are richest in endemics, especially, the Mogien-Daria, Seven Lakes, Pastrud-Daria, Ksztut and Yagnob valleys and Kuli-Kalon Plateau. The endemics studied are stenochoric species with very small number of known locations, mainly between one and two. The mean value of the range of the studied endemics is ca. 1140 km2. The most numerous endemic groups have been recorded at altitudes of around 1,800-2,100 and 2,700-3000 m a. s. l. The habitats harboring the richest group of endemics are rock screes, alpine forests, steppes and semi-savannas, alpine meadows, solid rocks, xerothermophilous shrubs and pastures. Almost half of the endemics have narrow ecological amplitude occurring in only one habitat type. The most important threats to Tajik endemics are intensive grazing and erosion of soils, as well as denudation. Most vulnerable types of vegetation to the human impact are forest and scrub communities. For effective protection of endemics in the Zeravshan Mts, a national park and a net of nature reserves has to be funded.

Sedimentary differences between the 2002 Easter storm and the 15th-century Okoropunga tsunami, southeastern North Island, New Zealand

Internationally, a key problem in reconstructing chronologies of coastal hazards is the ability to distinguish between storm and tsunami deposits. This situation has been exacerbated by the low number of known locations where both types of deposit occur along the same stretch of coastline. The sedimentological characteristics of a tsunami and a storm deposit laid down on the same stretch of coastline on the southeast coast of the North Island, New Zealand, are distinctly different. The 15th-century tsunami was probably caused by fault rupture in the Cook Strait region, whereas the Easter 2002 storm was generated by a meteorological depression centred some 900 km to the southeast. The differences include areal extent, thickness, and grain-size characteristics. The tsunami deposit thins abruptly at the margins, fines inland, is more poorly sorted, has entrained rip-up clasts, and has an erosional lower contact, often with a buried soil. The storm deposit has a highly variable grain-size distribution with a marked coarsening at its landward extent, is better sorted, coarser, and has a sharp, non-erosional lower contact associated with buried vegetation and soil. The coarser grain size is probably the result of differences in sampling regime as opposed to wave energy. The storm deposit extends about 40 m inland as opposed to about 200 m for the tsunami. Variations in the preservation of evidence are a reflection of the age of deposition. Records of tsunamis and storms in New Zealand indicate that there are probably several coastal sites where both types of deposit can be compared.

Grimmia brittoniae, a Rare Moss Endemic to Northwestern Montana

The rare moss Grimmia brittoniae Williams Mas recently rediscovered at its type locality and discovered at two additional locations, bringing the total number of known locations to four. This distinct moss is restricted to calcareous rock outcrops at low elevations in northwestern Montana, including areas threatened by past and present development. VA:IBN