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Climatic Parameters (climatic + parameter)
Selected AbstractsCommunity organization and species richness of ants (Hymenoptera/Formicidae) in Mongolia along an ecological gradient from steppe to Gobi desertJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 12 2003Martin Pfeiffer Abstract Aim, Ants (Hymenoptera/Formicidae) have strong influences on ecosystems especially in arid regions. However, little is known about ants of the vast steppe and desert regions of Central Asia. Here we provide the first comprehensive study of ant communities in Mongolia, conducted along a north-to-south gradient in climate. We examined ants' distribution patterns, assessed the impact of climatic parameters on community structure and species diversity and investigated the influence of the corresponding communities of plants. Location, Mongolia (Central Asia). Methods, We observed 31,956 ants at seed baits at 11 study sites along a transect from steppe to Gobi desert for which we attained meteorological data (mean yearly precipitation: 197 to 84 mm). Extra sampling was conducted at sugar and protein baits and by the inspection of different microhabitats. Vegetation patterns of each plot were recorded. Statistical evaluation comprised ordination and correlation. Results, We observed 15 species of ants at seed baits. Three faunal complexes of ants could be distinguished by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA): (1) in steppe baits were dominated by Formica - and Myrmica -species, (2) in semi desert we found mostly species of Tetramorium, Myrmica, Proformica, Plagiolepis, and Leptothorax, and (3) in desert Cataglyphis aenescens and Messor aciculatus dominated, and Lasius was exclusively found there. Another 11 rare ant species were sampled by hand and at sugar baits. Altogether five ant species were new to the Mongolian fauna: Cardiocondyla koshewnikovi, Myrmica koreana, Myrmica pisarskii, Polyergus nigerrimus, and Proformica kaszabi. Assignment of taxa to functional groups showed that in steppe cold climate specialists dominated, in semi desert we found mainly opportunists, and in desert hot climate specialists. Several functional groups know from arid zones in other parts of the world were missing. In desert certain species were highly dominant. First DCA scores of ant- and plant-communities were highly correlated with each other and with climatic parameters. While plant species diversity was positively correlated with increasing northern latitude, ant diversity and ant species richness were not correlated with latitude and responded neither to precipitation, nor to any other climatic parameter. Semi desert was a transition zone between steppe and desert, with high species richness. Ant genus composition of the ecotone overlapped with both other regions. However, beta diversity between pairs of plots within this zone was low, indicating a small-scale mosaic pattern. Main conclusions, The ant communities in the Mongolian steppe and desert zones were strongly influenced by low temperatures and differed in many aspects from the ant fauna in other arid ecosystems, especially in terms of species richness, diversity of feeding guilds, and richness of functional groups. [source] Exploratory Analysis of Similarities in Solar Cycle Magnetic Phases with Southern Oscillation Index Fluctuations in Eastern AustraliaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008ROBERT G.V. BAKER Abstract There is growing interest in the role that the Sun's magnetic field has on weather and climatic parameters, particularly the ~11 year sunspot (Schwab) cycle, the ~22 yr magnetic field (Hale) cycle and the ~88 yr (Gleissberg) cycle. These cycles and the derivative harmonics are part of the peculiar periodic behaviour of the solar magnetic field. Using data from 1876 to the present, the exploratory analysis suggests that when the Sun's South Pole is positive in the Hale Cycle, the likelihood of strongly positive and negative Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) values increase after certain phases in the cyclic ~22 yr solar magnetic field. The SOI is also shown to track the pairing of sunspot cycles in ~88 yr periods. This coupling of odd cycles, 23,15, 21,13 and 19,11, produces an apparently close charting in positive and negative SOI fluctuations for each grouping. This Gleissberg effect is also apparent for the southern hemisphere rainfall anomaly. Over the last decade, the SOI and rainfall fluctuations have been tracking similar values to that recorded in Cycle 15 (1914,1924). This discovery has important implications for future drought predictions in Australia and in countries in the northern and southern hemispheres which have been shown to be influenced by the sunspot cycle. Further, it provides a benchmark for long-term SOI behaviour. [source] ,Distribution of oxygen-18 and deuterium in river waters across the United StatesHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 7 2001Carol Kendall Abstract Reconstruction of continental palaeoclimate and palaeohydrology is currently hampered by limited information about isotopic patterns in the modern hydrologic cycle. To remedy this situation and to provide baseline data for other isotope hydrology studies, more than 4800, depth- and width-integrated, stream samples from 391 selected sites within the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) and Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN) were analysed for ,18O and ,2H (http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/ofr/ofr00-160/pdf/ofr00-160.pdf). Each site was sampled bimonthly or quarterly for 2·5 to 3 years between 1984 and 1987. The ability of this dataset to serve as a proxy for the isotopic composition of modern precipitation in the USA is supported by the excellent agreement between the river dataset and the isotopic compositions of adjacent precipitation monitoring sites, the strong spatial coherence of the distributions of ,18O and ,2H, the good correlations of the isotopic compositions with climatic parameters, and the good agreement between the ,national' meteoric water line (MWL) generated from unweighted analyses of samples from the 48 contiguous states of ,2H=8·11,18O+8·99 (r2=0·98) and the unweighted global MWL of sites from the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of ,2H=8·17,18O+10·35. The national MWL is composed of water samples that arise in diverse local conditions where the local meteoric water lines (LMWLs) usually have much lower slopes. Adjacent sites often have similar LMWLs, allowing the datasets to be combined into regional MWLs. The slopes of regional MWLs probably reflect the humidity of the local air mass, which imparts a distinctive evaporative isotopic signature to rainfall and hence to stream samples. Deuterium excess values range from 6 to 15, in the eastern half of the USA, along the northwest coast and on the Colorado Plateau. In the rest of the USA, these values range from ,2 to 6,, with strong spatial correlations with regional aridity. The river samples have successfully integrated the spatial variability in the meteorological cycle and provide the best available dataset on the spatial distributions of ,18O and ,2H values of meteoric waters in the USA. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The generation of monthly gridded datasets for a range of climatic variables over the UKINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 8 2005Matthew Perry Abstract Monthly or annual 5 km × 5 km gridded datasets covering the UK are generated for the 1961,2000 period, for 36 climatic parameters. As well as the usual elements of temperature, rainfall, sunshine, cloud, wind speed, and pressure, derived temperature variables (such as growing-season length, heating degree days, and heat and cold wave durations) and further precipitation variables (such as rainfall intensity, maximum consecutive dry days, and days of snow, hail and thunder) are analysed. The analysis process uses geographical information system capabilities to combine multiple regression with inverse-distance-weighted interpolation. Geographic and topographic factors, such as easting and northing, terrain height and shape, and urban and coastal effects, are incorporated either through normalization with regard to the 1961,90 average climate, or as independent variables in the regression. Local variations are then incorporated through the spatial interpolation of regression residuals. For each of the climatic parameters, the choice of model is based on verification statistics produced by excluding a random set of stations from the analysis for a selection of months, and comparing the observed values with the estimated values at each point. This gives some insight into the significance, direction, and seasonality of factors affecting different climate elements. It also gives a measure of the accuracy of the method at predicting values between station locations. The datasets are being used for the verification of climate modelling scenarios and are available via the Internet. © Crown Copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Community organization and species richness of ants (Hymenoptera/Formicidae) in Mongolia along an ecological gradient from steppe to Gobi desertJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 12 2003Martin Pfeiffer Abstract Aim, Ants (Hymenoptera/Formicidae) have strong influences on ecosystems especially in arid regions. However, little is known about ants of the vast steppe and desert regions of Central Asia. Here we provide the first comprehensive study of ant communities in Mongolia, conducted along a north-to-south gradient in climate. We examined ants' distribution patterns, assessed the impact of climatic parameters on community structure and species diversity and investigated the influence of the corresponding communities of plants. Location, Mongolia (Central Asia). Methods, We observed 31,956 ants at seed baits at 11 study sites along a transect from steppe to Gobi desert for which we attained meteorological data (mean yearly precipitation: 197 to 84 mm). Extra sampling was conducted at sugar and protein baits and by the inspection of different microhabitats. Vegetation patterns of each plot were recorded. Statistical evaluation comprised ordination and correlation. Results, We observed 15 species of ants at seed baits. Three faunal complexes of ants could be distinguished by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA): (1) in steppe baits were dominated by Formica - and Myrmica -species, (2) in semi desert we found mostly species of Tetramorium, Myrmica, Proformica, Plagiolepis, and Leptothorax, and (3) in desert Cataglyphis aenescens and Messor aciculatus dominated, and Lasius was exclusively found there. Another 11 rare ant species were sampled by hand and at sugar baits. Altogether five ant species were new to the Mongolian fauna: Cardiocondyla koshewnikovi, Myrmica koreana, Myrmica pisarskii, Polyergus nigerrimus, and Proformica kaszabi. Assignment of taxa to functional groups showed that in steppe cold climate specialists dominated, in semi desert we found mainly opportunists, and in desert hot climate specialists. Several functional groups know from arid zones in other parts of the world were missing. In desert certain species were highly dominant. First DCA scores of ant- and plant-communities were highly correlated with each other and with climatic parameters. While plant species diversity was positively correlated with increasing northern latitude, ant diversity and ant species richness were not correlated with latitude and responded neither to precipitation, nor to any other climatic parameter. Semi desert was a transition zone between steppe and desert, with high species richness. Ant genus composition of the ecotone overlapped with both other regions. However, beta diversity between pairs of plots within this zone was low, indicating a small-scale mosaic pattern. Main conclusions, The ant communities in the Mongolian steppe and desert zones were strongly influenced by low temperatures and differed in many aspects from the ant fauna in other arid ecosystems, especially in terms of species richness, diversity of feeding guilds, and richness of functional groups. [source] Climate and landscape correlates of African lion (Panthera leo) demographyAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Gastone G. Celesia Abstract Although many studies have documented aspects of lion ecology, they have generally focused on single sites, leaving broader-scaled factors unanalysed. We assessed range-wide effects of eight biotic and 26 abiotic variables on lion distribution and ecology, based on data compiled from published sources on lion population ecology in 27 protected areas in Africa. Lion pride size and composition were independent of lion density; lion density and home range size were inversely related; and lion density was positively related to rainfall, soil nutrients and annual mean temperature, with some interactive effects between rainfall and soil nutrients. Lion demography was associated most strongly with rainfall, temperature and landscape features. Herbivore biomass and lion density were correlated in univariate regression analyses. However, because herbivore biomass was also related to rainfall and temperature, hierarchical partitioning (HP) allowed us to evaluate independent effects of each variable on lion demography revealing that herbivore biomass had negligible independent contributions. HP indicated that climatic parameters explained 62% of overall variance in demographic parameters, whereas landscape features explained only 32%; climatic parameters were fairly balanced between effects of temperature (34%) and rainfall (28%). Prey (herbivore) biomass is important for lion survival, but its effects appear secondary to environmental factors. Résumé Bien que de nombreuses études apportent des informations sur des aspects de l'écologie des lions, elles se sont généralement focalisées sur des sites individuels, laissant de côté les facteurs à plus grande échelle. Nous avons analysé les effets à grande échelle de huit variables biotiques et de 26 variables abiotiques de la distribution et de l'écologie du lion, en nous fondant sur des données compilées à partir de publications portant sur l'écologie de populations de lions dans 27 aires protégées africaines. La taille et la composition des troupes de lions étaient indépendantes de leur densité; la densité et la taille du territoire des lions étaient inversement liées; et la densité des lions était directement liée aux chutes de pluies, aux nutriments du sol et à la moyenne annuelle des températures, certains effets interactifs étant observés entre les chutes de pluies et les nutriments du sol. La démographie des lions était surtout liée aux chutes de pluies, à la température et à certaines caractéristiques du paysage. La biomasse des herbivores et la densité des lions étaient liées dans les analyses de régressions univariées. Cependant, comme la biomasse des herbivores est aussi liée aux chutes de pluies et aux températures, la partition hiérarchique (PH) nous a permis d'évaluer les effets indépendants de chaque variable sur la démographie des lions, ce qui révèle que la biomasse des herbivores, prise indépendamment, représentait une contribution négligeable. La PH indiquait que les paramètres climatiques expliquaient 62% de la variance globale des paramètres démographiques, alors que les caractéristiques du paysage n'en expliquaient que 32%; les paramètres climatiques étaient en assez bon équilibre entre les effets de la température (34%) et ceux des chutes de pluies (28%). La biomasse des proies (herbivores) est importante pour la survie des lions, mais ses effets semblent secondaires par rapport à ceux des facteurs environnementaux. [source] Year-to-year variation in plant competition in a mountain grasslandJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Herben Summary 1We used a series of removal experiments to examine how species response to competition and climatic differences varied in three different years. We tested the interaction between removal of the dominant grass species, Festuca rubra, and year-to-year environmental variation in a mown mountain grassland. 2In each year, we quantified shoot frequency and above-ground biomass of all remaining plant species. Above-ground responses were tested both by analysis of covariance and by redundancy analysis with randomization tests of changes in total species composition. 3Analysis of above-ground biomass data showed that other species compensated for the removal of F. rubra biomass within 2 years and that the response in total biomass of the community did not differ among years in which the experiment was started. 4Multivariate tests showed that species composition changed as a result of the removal; grass biomass and frequency increased more than that of dicotyledons. However, response of species composition to removal of F. rubra was significantly different between onset years. Specific conditions in individual years thus affect the competitive ability of individual species in a non-additive way. 5Our results indicate that the year-to-year variation at the site has the potential to affect species coexistence and richness. As a consequence, year-to-year variation of climatic parameters may be an important driving factor in community dynamics and should be taken into account in studies of ecosystem response to climate. [source] A biogeographical analysis of the European Atlantic lowland heathlandsJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010Javier Loidi Abstract Questions: What is the climatic envelope of European Atlantic heathlands and the relationship between their floristic geographical variability and climatic parameters? Are the biogeographic patterns extracted from genuine heath plants comparable to those extracted from the accompanying flora? To what extent does the species composition extracted from phytosociological data support the current theory of refuge areas of heath vegetation in southern Atlantic Europe during the Pleistocene ice ages? Location: Atlantic Europe and NW Morocco. Methods: The geographical territory in which Atlantic heathlands occur was divided into 23 sectors following geographic and chorological criteria. A presence,absence table with 333 taxa was then constructed with the available phytosociological data. The taxa were classified into different groups according to their phytosociological affinity. Several types of numerical analysis were performed with this matrix and the climatic data obtained from meteorological sources. Results: Heathlands require a humid and oceanic climate and are limited by cold temperatures in the north and by summer droughts in the south. The highest floristic richness of this vegetation type is found in NW Iberia. Ordinations indicate a strong correlation between floristic composition of biogeographic sector and summer drought (Ios) and thermicity (It). Conclusions: The main climatic factors determining lowland heathland floristic distribution are thermicity and summer drought. The current optimal conditions for heath flora in NW Iberia suggest that there were southern refuges during the Pleistocene ice ages from which northward expansion has taken place. [source] The influence of seasonal climatic parameters on the permafrost thermal regime, West Siberia, RussiaPERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, Issue 1 2009Valeria V. Popova Abstract Statistical correlations between seasonal air temperatures and snow depths and active layer depths and permafrost temperatures were analysed for tundra (Marre-Salle) and northern taiga (Nadym) sites in Western Siberia. Interannual variations in active layer depth in the tundra zone correlated with the average air temperature of the current summer, and in peatland and humid tundra, also with summer temperatures of the preceding 1,2 years. In the northern taiga zone, the active layer depth related to current summer air temperature and to a lesser extent, to spring and/or winter air temperatures. Variations in summer permafrost temperatures at 5,10,m depth were correlated with spring air temperatures in the current and preceding 1,2 years. The weather regime during the preceding 1,2 years, therefore, reinforced or weakened ground temperature variations in a given year. Overall, the most important factors influencing the permafrost regime were spring and summer air temperatures, and in one case snow depth. However, statistical links between meteorological and permafrost parameters varied between the tundra and northern taiga zones and among landscape types within each zone, emphasising the importance of analyses at short temporal scales and for individual terrain units. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Evidence for 2,4-D mineralisation in Mediterranean soils: impact of moisture content and temperaturePEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 9 2009Bachir Bouseba Abstract BACKGROUND: The 2,4-D degradation ability of the microbiota of three arable Mediterranean soils was estimated. The impact of soil moisture and temperature on 2,4-D degradation was investigated. RESULTS: The microbiota of the three soils regularly exposed to 2,4-D were able rapidly to mineralise this herbicide. The half-life of 2,4-D ranged from 8 to 30 days, and maximum mineralisation of 14C-2,4-D ranged from 57 to 71%. Extractable 14C-2,4-D and 14C-bound residues accounted for less than 1 and 15% respectively of the 14C-2,4-D initially added. The highest amounts of 14C-2,4-D bound residues were recorded in the soil with the lowest 2,4-D-mineralising ability. Although all three soils were able to mineralise 2,4-D, multivariate analysis revealed that performance of this degrading microbial activity was dependent on clay content and magnesium oxide. Soil temperature affected the global structure of soil microbial community, but it had only a moderate effect on 2,4-D-mineralising ability. 2,4-D-mineralising ability was positively correlated with soil moisture content. Negligible 2,4-D mineralisation occurred in all three soils when incubated at 10 or 15% soil moisture content, i.e. within the range naturally occurring under the Mediterranean climate of Algeria. CONCLUSION: This study shows that, although soil microbiota can adapt to rapid mineralisation of 2,4-D, this microbial activity is strongly dependent on climatic parameters. It suggests that only limited pesticide biodegradation occurs under Mediterranean climate, and that arable Mediterranean soils are therefore fragile and likely to accumulate pesticide residues. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] | ||||||||||||||||