Marine pelagic ecosystems: the West Antarctic Peninsula

The marine ecosystem of the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) extends from the Bellingshausen Sea to the northern tip of the peninsula and from the mostly glaciated coast across the continental shelf to the shelf break in the west. The glacially sculpted coastline along the peninsula is highly convoluted and characterized by deep embayments that are often interconnected by channels that facilitate transport of heat and nutrients into the shelf domain. The ecosystem is divided into three subregions, the continental slope, shelf and coastal regions, each with unique ocean dynamics, water mass and biological distributions. The WAP shelf lies within the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone (SIZ) and like other SIZs, the WAP system is very productive, supporting large stocks of marine mammals, birds and the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Ecosystem dynamics is dominated by the seasonal and interannual variation in sea ice extent and retreat. The Antarctic Peninsula is one among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, having experienced a 28C increase in the annual mean temperature and a 68C rise in the mean winter temperature since 1950. Delivery of heat from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has increased significantly in the past decade, sufficient to drive to a 0.68C warming of the upper 300 m of shelf water. In the past 50 years and continuing in the twenty-first century, the warm, moist maritime climate of the northern WAP has been migrating south, displacing the once dominant cold, dry continental Antarctic climate and causing multi-level responses in the marine ecosystem. Ecosystem responses to the regional warming include increased heat transport, decreased sea ice extent and duration, local declines in icedependent Ade´lie penguins, increase in ice-tolerant gentoo and chinstrap penguins, alterations in phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition and changes in krill recruitment, abundance and availability to predators. The climate/ecological gradients extending along theWAPand the presence of monitoring systems, field stations and long-term research programmes make the region an invaluable observatory of climate change and marine ecosystem response

Geomyces destructans sp. nov. associated with bat white-nose syndrome

We describe and illustrate the new species Geomyces destructans. Bats infected with this fungus present with powdery conidia and hyphae on their muzzles, wing membranes, and/or pinnae, leading to description of the accompanying disease as white-nose syndrome, a cause of widespread mortality among hibernating bats in the northeastern US. Based on rRNA gene sequence (ITS and SSU) characters the fungus is placed in the genus Geomyces, yet its distinctive asymmetrically curved conidia are unlike those of any described Geomyces species

Improving Quality and Performance of Facility Management Using Building Information Modelling

Poor facility management has been attributed to lack of coordination and information during the maintenance process. The need for high quality applies not only to construction works and workmanship, but is also for its subsequent coordination and maintenance of a building. The paper aims to improve quality and performance of maintenance by integrating an advanced technology with a managerial approach, namely, building information modelling (BIM) and facility management. A BIM case study was investigated, which was located in Shanghai, China. Five significant areas were identified to improve the quality and performance of facility management, namely, centralized system, visualization, simplification, modifiable system, and smart emergency escape. The results highlight the benefits in applying the integrated system between BIM and facility management. It draws an insightful inference in enhancing quality services in facility management