Deep-sea hydrothermal vents as natural egg-case incubators at the Galapagos Rift

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 challenged our views of ecosystem functioning and yet, the research conducted at these extreme and logistically challenging environments still continues to reveal unique biological processes. Here, we report for the first time, a unique behavior where the deep-sea skate, Bathyraja spinosissima, appears to be actively using the elevated temperature of a hydrothermal vent environment to naturally “incubate” developing egg-cases. We hypothesize that this behavior is directly targeted to accelerate embryo development time given that deep-sea skates have some of the longest egg incubation times reported for the animal kingdom. Similar egg incubating behavior, where eggs are incubated in volcanically heated nesting grounds, have been recorded in Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs and the rare avian megapode. To our knowledge, this is the first time incubating behavior using a volcanic source is recorded for the marine environment

Successful Determination of Larval Dispersal Distances and Subsequent Settlement for Long-Lived Pelagic Larvae

Despite its importance, we still have a poor understanding of the level of connectivity between marine populations in most geographical locations. Taking advantage of the natural features of the southeast coast of New Zealand's North Island, we deployed a series of settlement stations and conducted plankton tows to capture recent settlers and planktonic larvae of the common intertidal gastropod Austrolittorina cincta (6–8 week larval period). Satellite image analysis and ground truthing surveys revealed the absence of suitable intertidal rocky shore habitat for A. cincta over a 100 km stretch of coastline between Kapiti Island to the south and Wanganui to the north. Fifteen settlement stations (3 replicates×5 sites), which were used to mimic intertidal habitat suitable for A. cincta, were deployed for two months around and north of Kapiti Island (at 0.5, 1, 5, 15, 50 km). In addition, we also conducted plankton tows at each settlement station when the stations were first deployed to collect A. cincta larvae in the water column. On collection, all newly settled gastropods and larvae in the plankton samples were individually isolated, and a species-specific microsatellite marker was used to positively identify A. cincta individuals. Most of the positively identified A. cincta settlers and larvae were collected at the first three sampling stations (<5 km). However, low numbers of A. cincta settlers and larvae were also recorded at the two more distant locations (15 and 50 km). Dispersal curves modeled from our data suggested that <1% of gastropod larvae would travel more than 100 km. While our data show that most larvae are retained close to their natal populations (<5 km), a small proportion of larvae are able to travel much larger geographic distances. Our estimates of larval dispersal and subsequent settlement are one of only a few for marine species with a long-lived larva

Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it

Patterns of Connectivity and Isolation in Marine Populations

There is ongoing debate about the levels of connectivity among marine populations and despite its importance, there is limited information on the levels of population connectivity in most geographic locations. This lack of information severely limits our ability to adequately manage the marine environment including the design and implementation of Marine Reserve (MRs) networks. The specific objectives of this thesis were to: 1) Develop polymorphic microsatellite loci for my model species, the intertidal gastropod Austrolittorina cincta; 2) Conduct population genetic studies across A.cincta populations within the Cook strait region to asses the levels of connectivity within the regional marine reserve network; 3) Determine the levels of A. cincta larval movement and settlement from an isolated source; and 4) Asses the effect of the larval abundance on settlement rates. This thesis includes laboratory studies; population genetic studies; and field surveys within New Zealand and in the Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia. Eight novel polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for A. cincta and five of these loci were used to investigate population connectivity across seven populations within the Cook Strait region, including four marine reserves. In the population genetics study, in contrast to what was expected, I recorded low, but significant genetic differentiation between most population pairs within the Cook Strait region, over a minimum and maximum spatial scale of 55 to 300 km, including several of the MRs. In a large-scale field settlement survey on the Kapiti coast combined with the use of microsatellite markers I investigated A. cincta larval movement and settlement and found that most larvae settle within 5 km, although some larvae might travel up to 50 km. Finally, the coral settlement studies in the Wakatobi National Park revealed lower coral settlement rates at sites with low adult coral cover, suggesting an effect of the the amount of local available larvae on coral settlement rates. While it has been suggested that marine populations are demographically open, with larvae connecting populations separated over large spatial scales, this thesis shows that populations might not be as open as previously considered and localized dispersal and self-recruitment processes might be a frequent feature in marine populations. This thesis provides valuable information to managers about marine reserve networks and the importance of adequate environmental protection to ensure future viable populations

Patterns of Connectivity and Isolation in Marine Populations

There is ongoing debate about the levels of connectivity among marine populations and despite its importance, there is limited information on the levels of population connectivity in most geographic locations. This lack of information severely limits our ability to adequately manage the marine environment including the design and implementation of Marine Reserve (MRs) networks. The specific objectives of this thesis were to: 1) Develop polymorphic microsatellite loci for my model species, the intertidal gastropod Austrolittorina cincta; 2) Conduct population genetic studies across A.cincta populations within the Cook strait region to asses the levels of connectivity within the regional marine reserve network; 3) Determine the levels of A. cincta larval movement and settlement from an isolated source; and 4) Asses the effect of the larval abundance on settlement rates. This thesis includes laboratory studies; population genetic studies; and field surveys within New Zealand and in the Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia. Eight novel polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for A. cincta and five of these loci were used to investigate population connectivity across seven populations within the Cook Strait region, including four marine reserves. In the population genetics study, in contrast to what was expected, I recorded low, but significant genetic differentiation between most population pairs within the Cook Strait region, over a minimum and maximum spatial scale of 55 to 300 km, including several of the MRs. In a large-scale field settlement survey on the Kapiti coast combined with the use of microsatellite markers I investigated A. cincta larval movement and settlement and found that most larvae settle within 5 km, although some larvae might travel up to 50 km. Finally, the coral settlement studies in the Wakatobi National Park revealed lower coral settlement rates at sites with low adult coral cover, suggesting an effect of the the amount of local available larvae on coral settlement rates. While it has been suggested that marine populations are demographically open, with larvae connecting populations separated over large spatial scales, this thesis shows that populations might not be as open as previously considered and localized dispersal and self-recruitment processes might be a frequent feature in marine populations. This thesis provides valuable information to managers about marine reserve networks and the importance of adequate environmental protection to ensure future viable populations.</p

Mangroves in the Galapagos islands: Distribution and dynamics.

Mangrove forests provide valuable coastal protection from erosion, habitat for terrestrial and marine species, nursery grounds for commercial fisheries and are economically important for tourism. Galapagos' mangroves usually grow directly on solid lava and fragmented rocky shores, thereby stabilizing the sediment and facilitating colonisation by other plants and many animals. However, until very recently, only inaccurate data described mangrove coverage and its distribution. We mapped mangroves using freely available Google Earth Very High Resolution images based on on-screen classification and compared this method to three semi-automatic classification algorithms. We also analysed mangrove change for the period 2004-2014. We obtained an area of 3657.1 ha of fringing mangrove that covers 35% of the coastline. Eighty percent of mangrove cover is found in Isabela island, and 90% in the western and central south-eastern bioregions. The overall accuracy of mangrove classification was 99.1% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.97 when validated with field data. On-screen digitization was significantly more accurate than other tested methods. From the semi-automated methods, Maximum Likelihood Classification with prior land-sea segmentation yielded the best results. During the 2004-2014 period, mangrove coverage increased 24% mainly by expansion of existing mangroves patches as opposed to generation of new patches. We estimate that mangrove cover and growth are inversely proportional to the geological age of the islands. However, many other factors like nutrients, currents or wave exposure protection might explain this pattern. The precise localization of mangrove cover across the Galapagos islands now enables documenting whether it is changing over time