Spatio-Temporal Variability of Zooplankton Distribution and Abundance in Manila Bay from 2013-2015

The study characterized the spatiotemporal variations in composition, abundance, and diversity of zooplankton community in Manila Bay. Zooplankton samples were collected every two months within three years from 2013 to 2015. The zooplankton composition of Manila Bay includes 29, 52, and 50 taxa in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively belonging to the following major groups: Copepoda, Decapoda, Cladocera, Chordata, Annelida, Mollusca, Chaetognatha, Ciliophora, Foraminifera, Echinodermata, and Chromista. Copepod nauplii consistently dominated the zooplankton community in the bay from 2013 to 2015 followed by Tintinnids, Oithona spp., Euterpina acutifrons, and Paracalanus spp. The highest concentration of zooplankton was specifically observed in the south western side near the mouth of the bay (Station 4) in July 2015. In 2014, the highest recorded zooplankton density was in the month of November in the eastern side (Station 10). In general, relatively high diversities of zooplankton community were recorded in many months in 2015 as compared to 2013 and 2014 although the highest recorded diversity occurred in March 2014. Redundancy Analysis revealed salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, PO4, SiO, and NO3 to have a strong correlation with the zooplankton abundances and distribution

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Ichthyoplankton in Manila Bay in Relation to Oceanographic Conditions

Manila Bay faces serious problems today such as pollution, coastal area reclamation and infrastructure, overfishing, and other activities that worsen the present condition of the bay. It is considered as one of the major fishing grounds in the Philippines. Fish eggs and larvae collection was carried out to determine their distribution, abundance, and composition in the bay. Eight established sampling stations were placed throughout the bay with an average distance of 5-6 nautical miles apart and sampled every other month on a monsoonal basis. Bongo net (360 microns mesh size, 1.5 meters in length, and a diameter of 50-centimeter mouth opening) with attached calibrated flowmeter was used in collecting fish larvae. Physical (salinity, temperature,), chemical (nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, silicate, dissolved oxygen), and biological (phytoplankton, zooplankton) parameters were also carefully studied to be able to explain such uncommon event within the bay. In spite of the current status and worsening condition of water quality of the bay, high abundances of fish eggs and larvae were consistently observed during the northeast monsoon surveys (March) from 2012 to 2015. A total of 3,008 individuals were identified belonging to 34 fish families. The highest fish egg density was observed during March 2013 with 1,550 ind./100m3, followed by March 2012 and 2015 with 1,484 ind./100m3 and 1,182 ind./100m3, respectively. An abundance of fish larvae was observed during March 2015 with 414 ind./100m3, followed by March 2012 (329 ind./100m3), and March 2014 (311 ind./100m3). The lowest density observed was in September 2012 with a density of 132 ind/100m3 fish eggs and 46 ind/100m3 fish larvae. The results were consistent that most fish eggs aggregate in the middle part of the bay especially in Stations 4 and 2 from 2012-2015. For fish larvae, they were consistently found in the eastern part of the bay (stations 6, 8, and 7) throughout the duration of the study, it was also the areas where high concentrations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and nutrients were observed. A high abundance of fish eggs and fish larvae was observed during northeast monsoon than southwest monsoon. In addition, fish larvae family was dominated by small pelagic fish such as sardines, slipmouths, and mullets. The most dominant fish families found were Clupeidae, followed Leiognathidae, and Nemipteridae. Sillaginidae and Mugilidae were also included in the top five abundant families that occur during every sampling period were

Relação da vegetação de caatinga com a condição geomorfométrica local

Objetivou-se, com o presente trabalho, avaliar o potencial das variáveis geomorfométricas extraídas de dados SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) para identificação de tipos vegetacionais da Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural de Serra das Almas, CE. Em estudo conduzido na escala de 1:100.000, as variáveis geomorfométricas (elevação, declividade, orientação de vertente, curvatura vertical e curvatura horizontal) foram confrontadas com o mapa de vegetação referência, através de análises de histogramas e análises discriminantes. As variáveis mais importantes na distinção entre os tipos vegetacionais, foram a elevação, a declividade e a curvatura vertical, embora se pudesse observar preferências de tipos mapeados em relação às demais variáveis. Apesar dos dados geomorfométricos mostrarem potencial indicativo das classes de vegetação pela interpretação dos padrões, as análises sob abordagem numérica resultaram em discriminação em um nível aquém do detalhamento temático do mapa referência. Concluiu-se que os dados geomorfométricos representaram significativos insumos para o mapeamento fitogeográfico, devendo ser explorados de forma integrada, em complementaridade às demais variáveis já utilizadas.The objective of this work was to assess the potential of geomorphometric variables, derived from SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) data, to help in identifying vegetation types in the Serra das Almas National Park (CE). A 1:100.000 survey vegetation map was used as reference and the geomorphometric variables (elevation, slope, aspect and profile and plan curvatures) were compared to the mapped units. The variables elevation, slope and profile curvature were shown as the most important for their high discrimination power of the vegetation types. Although geomorphometric data had strong potential for characterizing vegetation through map comparisons, the achieved thematic detail levels were under those of the reference map when data was analyzed under a numerical approach. It was concluded that geomorphometric data were important input for vegetation mapping, and should be employed together with currently used data

Land-use and land-cover mapping of the Brazilian cerrado based mainly on Landsat-8 satellite images.

The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the world´s biodiversity hotspot and hosts some of the most intensive agricultural activities for food production in the world. The objective of this study was to produce a land-use and land-cover (LULC) map of the Cerrado based on Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images. A set of 121 scenes from 2013 was processed using the image segmentation technique. The segments were exported in the shapefile format and interpreted visually in a geographical information system software using RGB/564 color composites. The following LULC classes were considered: annual croplands, perennial croplands, cultivated pasturelands, reforestation, mosaic of occupation, urban areas, mining areas, bare soil, forestlands, non-forestlands, water bodies, and non-identified (clouds and burned areas). The overall accuracy was estimated by an independent scientist with large experience in Cerrado´s image interpretation. The results showed that 43.4% of the study area (88.5 million hectares) were already converted into agricultural, urban and mining areas, 54.6% (111 million hectares) were still natural areas, and 1.9% (3.9 million hectares) was classified as non-identified. Cultivated pasturelands were the most representative land-use type (29.5%), followed by annual croplands (8.5%) and perennial croplands (3.1%). The overall accuracy of the final map was 80.2%.Título em português: Mapeamento de uso e cobertura de terras do cerrado com base principalmente em imagens do satélite Landsat-8

Land-use and land-cover mapping of the Brazilian cerrado based mainly on Landsat-8 satellite images.

The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the world´s biodiversity hotspot and hosts some of the most intensive agricultural activities for food production in the world. The objective of this study was to produce a land-use and land-cover (LULC) map of the Cerrado based on Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images. A set of 121 scenes from 2013 was processed using the image segmentation technique. The segments were exported in the shapefile format and interpreted visually in a geographical information system software using RGB/564 color composites. The following LULC classes were considered: annual croplands, perennial croplands, cultivated pasturelands, reforestation, mosaic of occupation, urban areas, mining areas, bare soil, forestlands, non-forestlands, water bodies, and non-identified (clouds and burned areas). The overall accuracy was estimated by an independent scientist with large experience in Cerrado´s image interpretation. The results showed that 43.4% of the study area (88.5 million hectares) were already converted into agricultural, urban and mining areas, 54.6% (111 million hectares) were still natural areas, and 1.9% (3.9 million hectares) was classified as non-identified. Cultivated pasturelands were the most representative land-use type (29.5%), followed by annual croplands (8.5%) and perennial croplands (3.1%). The overall accuracy of the final map was 80.2%.Título em português: Mapeamento de uso e cobertura de terras do cerrado com base principalmente em imagens do satélite Landsat-8

Contemporary Management of Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) continues to be the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in developed countries. Assessment of pre-test probability (PTP) based on patient's characteristics, gender and symptoms, help to identify more accurate patient's clinical likelihood of coronary artery disease. Consequently, non-invasive imaging tests are performed more appropriately to rule in or rule out CAD rather than invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is the first-line non-invasive imaging technique in patients with suspected CAD and could be used to plan and guide coronary intervention. Invasive coronary angiography remains the gold-standard method for the identification and characterization of coronary artery stenosis. However, it is recommended in patients where the imaging tests are non-conclusive, and the clinical likelihood is very high, remembering that in clinical practice, approximately 30 to 70% of patients with symptoms and/or signs of ischemia, referred to coronary angiography, have non obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA). In this contest, physiology and imaging-guided revascularization represent the cornerstone of contemporary management of chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) patients allowing us to focus specifically on ischemia-inducing stenoses. Finally, we also discuss contemporary medical therapeutic approach for secondary prevention. The aim of this review is to provide an updated diagnostic and therapeutic approach for the management of patients with stable coronary artery disease

Value of long-term streamflow forecasts to reservoir operations for water supply in snow-dominated river catchments

We present a forecast-based adaptive management framework for water supply reservoirs and evaluate the contribution of long-term inflow forecasts to reservoir operations. Our framework is developed for snow-dominated river basins that demonstrate large gaps in forecast skill between seasonal and inter-annual time horizons. We quantify and bound the contribution of seasonal and inter-annual forecast components to optimal, adaptive reservoir operation. The framework uses an Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) approach to generate retrospective, one-year-long streamflow forecasts based on the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrology model. We determine the optimal sequence of daily release decisions using the Model Predictive Control (MPC) optimization scheme. We then assess the forecast value by comparing system performance based on the ESP forecasts with the performances based on climatology and perfect forecasts. We distinguish among the relative contributions of the seasonal component of the forecast versus the inter-annual component by evaluating system performance based on hybrid forecasts, which are designed to isolate the two contributions. As an illustration, we first apply the forecast-based adaptive management framework to a specific case study, i.e., Oroville Reservoir in California, and we then modify the characteristics of the reservoir and the demand to demonstrate the transferability of the findings to other reservoir systems. Results from numerical experiments show that, on average, the overall ESP value in informing reservoir operation is 35% less than the perfect forecast value and the inter-annual component of the ESP forecast contributes 20–60% of the total forecast value.</p

Digital elevation model validation with no ground control: application to the topodata dem in Brazil

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) validation is often carried out by comparing the data with a set of ground control points. However, the quality of a DEM can also be considered in terms of shape realism. Beyond visual analysis, it can be verified that physical and statistical properties of the terrestrial relief are fulfilled. This approach is applied to an extract of Topodata, a DEM obtained by resampling the SRTM DEM over the Brazilian territory with a geostatistical approach. Several statistical indicators are computed, and they show that the quality of Topodata in terms of shape rendering is improved with regards to SRTM