The calcareous brown alga Padina pavonica in southern Britain: population change and tenacity over 300 years

Understanding long-term persistence and variability in species populations can help to predict future survival, growth and distribution; however, sustained observations are exceedingly rare. We examine and interpret a remarkable record of the calcareous brown alga Padina pavonica (Phaeophyceae) at its northern limit on the south coast of England (50°N, 1–3°W) from 1680 to 2014, which is probably the longest compilation and review of any marine algal species. Over this period, which extends from the middle of the Little Ice Age to the present, there has been considerable variability in temperature and storminess. We identified a significant number of site extinctions in the second half of the nineteenth century, which coincided with cooler conditions and stormier weather. To interpret thesechanges, we measured recruitment, growth and production of tetraspores at sheltered and exposed sites in 2012–2014, years which had low and high spring temperatures. Potential spore production was greater at the sheltered site due to a longer growing period and survival of larger fronds. Delayed growth in the cooler spring resulted in smaller fronds and lower potential production of tetraspores by early summer. Yet in the warmer year, rapid initial growth caused higher sensitivity to damage and dislodgement by summer storms, which also limited potential spore production. Antagonistic responses to multiple stressors and disturbances make future predictions of survival and distribution difficult. Fronds of Padina pavonica are sensitive to both temperature and physical disturbances, yet vegetative perennation appears to have enabled population persistence and explained the longevity of remaining populations

A provisional classification of algal-characterised rocky shore biotopes in the Azores.

Copyright © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.Recent studies of the rocky shores of the Azores archipelago have provided information on community structure allowing provisional identification of plant-characterised biotopes (habitats and their associated communities). Although the Azores share some littoral and sublittoral biotopes with the Atlantic coast of mainland Europe. Shores in the archipelago mostly lack the functionally important 'leathery macrophyte' communities of fucoids and laminarians widespread in the North Atlantic. Intertidal biotopes are mainly turfs typical of warm-temperate and tropical regions, and characterised by articulated Corallinaceae or by non-coralline algae such as Cladophora spp., Gelidium spp., Pterocladiella, Stypocaudon scoparia, and Valonia utricularis. Subtidal algal biotopes are characterised by Dictyota spp., Halopteris Filicina, Sphaerococcus coronopifolius and, most commonly, Zonaria tournefortii

Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery (MINS) in Vascular Surgical Patients: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic relevance, clinical characteristics, and 30-day outcomes associated with myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) in vascular surgical patients. BACKGROUND: MINS has been independently associated with 30-day mortality after noncardiac surgery. The characteristics and prognostic importance of MINS in vascular surgery patients are poorly described. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of 15,102 noncardiac surgery patients 45 years or older, of whom 502 patients underwent vascular surgery. All patients had fourth-generation plasma troponin T (TnT) concentrations measured during the first 3 postoperative days. MINS was defined as a TnT of 0.03 ng/mL of higher secondary to ischemia. The objectives of the present study were to determine (i) if MINS is prognostically important in vascular surgical patients, (ii) the clinical characteristics of vascular surgery patients with and without MINS, (iii) the 30-day outcomes for vascular surgery patients with and without MINS, and (iv) the proportion of MINS that probably would have gone undetected without routine troponin monitoring. RESULTS: The incidence of MINS in the vascular surgery patients was 19.1% (95% confidence interval (CI), 15.7%-22.6%). 30-day all-cause mortality in the vascular cohort was 12.5% (95% CI 7.3%-20.6%) in patients with MINS compared with 1.5% (95% CI 0.7%-3.2%) in patients without MINS (P < 0.001). MINS was independently associated with 30-day mortality in vascular patients (odds ratio, 9.48; 95% CI, 3.46-25.96). The 30-day mortality was similar in MINS patients with (15.0%; 95% CI, 7.1-29.1) and without an ischemic feature (12.2%; 95% CI, 5.3-25.5, P = 0.76). The proportion of vascular surgery patients who suffered MINS without overt evidence of myocardial ischemia was 74.1% (95% CI, 63.6-82.4). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 5 patients experienced MINS after vascular surgery. MINS was independently associated with 30-day mortality. The majority of patients with MINS were asymptomatic and would have gone undetected without routine postoperative troponin measurement

Taxonomic biodiversity of geniculate coralline red algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) from the Macaronesian region: summary and analysis

Copyright © Springer-Verlag and AWI 2011.The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.A catalog and critical review of species and infraspecific taxa of non-fossil geniculate coralline red algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) previously reported from the Macaronesian region are presented along with an assessment of species diversity in the region. Published records of geniculate coralline algae are included along with comments relating to type material. Within the catalog, taxa are organized alphabetically by genus and within this by final epithet. From the 31 taxa recorded, 4 are based on type collections from Macaronesian localities. The types of most species and infraspecific taxa reported from the region have yet to be re-examined in a modern context, and most Macaronesian records require verification. The biodiversity of Macaronesian geniculate coralline algae may be lower than current information indicates