Coin Production in the Low Countries: Fourteenth Century to the Present.

The new dataset and web application ‘Coin Production in the Low Countries: fourteenth century to the present’ provides scholars with user-friendly access to mintmasters’ accounts going back to the Middle Ages. They give insight into the production of legal tender (within the Low Countries and occasionally elsewhere as well), and provide access to such variables as regional production figures and coin denominations. This data article provides an introduction to the sources as well as the dataset, and suggests how the latter might contribute to new research into long-run economic and social history

Coin Production in the Low Countries: Fourteenth Century to the Present.

The new dataset and web application ‘Coin Production in the Low Countries: fourteenth century to the present’ provides scholars with user-friendly access to mintmasters’ accounts going back to the Middle Ages. They give insight into the production of legal tender (within the Low Countries and occasionally elsewhere as well), and provide access to such variables as regional production figures and coin denominations. This data article provides an introduction to the sources as well as the dataset, and suggests how the latter might contribute to new research into long-run economic and social history

Abundance, edge effect, and seasonality of fauna in mixed-species seagrass meadows in southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia

Motile fauna species in two mixed-species seagrass meadows with different canopy structure were studied on an uninhabited island in the Spermonde Archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The main focus of the study was to assess the edge effect and seasonal abundance of macrobenthic invertebrates. Fish and infauna densities were determined as well. Fauna was counted using permanent transects (macrobenthic invertebrates), visual census (fish species), and sediment cores (infauna). Both meadows had a comparable distribution of motile fauna species with polychaetes (35% of total abundance), bivalves (27%) and sipunculids (25%) accounting for the largest part of the total faunal abundance. The closed canopy meadow (high seagrass leaf biomass) had an overall higher faunal abundance compared with the open canopy meadow (low seagrass leaf biomass) (1133 vs. 751 individuals m-2). Although infauna abundance was comparable between the meadows, macrobenthic invertebrates (crustaceans, echinoderms, and molluscs) and fishes were more abundant in the closed canopy meadow, with only a few individual species more abundant in the open canopy meadow. The effect of distance from the meadow edge on macrobenthic invertebrate abundance was significant, with higher abundances towards the interior of the seagrass meadows, but for fish abundance no significant differences were found. Effects of seasonality (rainy vs. dry season) on macrobenthic invertebrate abundance were only significant for molluscs. We concluded that macrobenthic invertebrate abundance was most influenced by seagrass canopy structure, followed by meadow edge effects, and least by seasonality. Comparisons of faunal abundance in seagrass meadows need thus to include information on these three variables

Redefining the trophic importance of seagrasses for fauna in tropical Indo-Pacific meadows

Fauna species living in seagrass meadows depend on different food sources, with seagrasses often being marginally important for higher trophic levels. To determine the food web of a mixed-species tropical seagrass meadow in Sulawesi, Indonesia, we analyzed the stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) signatures of primary producers, particulate organic matter (POM) and fauna species. In addition invertebrates, both infauna and macrobenthic, and fish densities were examined to identify the important species in the meadow. The aims of this study were to identify the main food sources of fauna species by comparing isotopic signatures of different primary producers and fauna, and to estimate qualitatively the importance of seagrass material in the food web. Phytoplankton and water column POM were the most depleted primary food sources for δ13C (range -23.1 to -19.6‰), but no fauna species depended only on these sources for carbon. Epiphytes and Sargassum sp. had intermediate δ13C values (-14.2 to -11.9‰). Sea urchins, gastropods and certain fish species were the main species assimilating this material. Seagrasses and sedimentary POM had the least depleted values (-11.5 to -5.7‰). Between the five seagrass species significant differences in δ13C were measured. The small species Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis were most depleted, the largest species Enhalus acoroides was least depleted, while Thalassia hemprichii and Cymodocea rotundata had intermediate values. Fourteen fauna species, accounting for ∼10% of the total fauna density, were shown to assimilate predominantly (>50%) seagrass material, either directly or indirectly by feeding on seagrass consumers. These species ranged from amphipods up to the benthic top predator Taeniura lymma. Besides these species, about half of the 55 fauna species analyzed had δ13C values higher than the least depleted non-seagrass source, indicating they depended at least partly for their food on seagrass material. This study shows that seagrass material is consumed by a large number of fauna species and is important for a large portion of the food web in tropical seagrass meadows

Abundance, edge effect, and seasonality of fauna in mixed-species seagrass meadows in southwest sulawesi, indonesia

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