Hyperspectral Sensors as a Management Tool to Prevent the Invasion of the Exotic Cordgrass Spartina densiflora in the Doñana Wetlands

We test the use of hyperspectral sensors for the early detection of the invasive dense-flowered cordgrass (Spartina densiflora Brongn.) in the Guadalquivir River marshes, Southwestern Spain. We flew in tandem a CASI-1500 (368–1052 nm) and an AHS (430–13,000 nm) airborne sensors in an area with presence of S. densiflora. We simplified the processing of hyperspectral data (no atmospheric correction and no data-reduction techniques) to test if these treatments were necessary for accurate S. densiflora detection in the area. We tested several statistical signal detection algorithms implemented in ENVI software as spectral target detection techniques (matched filtering, constrained energy minimization, orthogonal subspace projection, target-constrained interference minimized filter, and adaptive coherence estimator) and compared them to the well-known spectral angle mapper, using spectra extracted from ground-truth locations in the images. The target S. densiflora was easy to detect in the marshes by all algorithms in images of both sensors. The best methods (adaptive coherence estimator and target-constrained interference minimized filter) on the best sensor (AHS) produced 100% discrimination (Kappa = 1, AUC = 1) at the study site and only some decline in performance when extrapolated to a new nearby area. AHS outperformed CASI in spite of having a coarser spatial resolution (4-m vs. 1-m) and lower spectral resolution in the visible and near-infrared range, but had a better signal to noise ratio. The larger spectral range of AHS in the short-wave and thermal infrared was of no particular advantage. Our conclusions are that it is possible to use hyperspectral sensors to map the early spread S. densiflora in the Guadalquivir River marshes. AHS is the most suitable airborne hyperspectral sensor for this task and the signal processing techniques target-constrained interference minimized filter (TCIMF) and adaptive coherence estimator (ACE) are the best performing target detection techniques that can be employed operationally with a simplified processing of hyperspectral images.This study has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the research projects HYDRA (No. CGL2006-02247/BOS) and HYDRA2 (CGL2009-09801/BOS), by the National Parks Authority (Organismo Autonomo de Parques Nacionales) of the Spanish Ministry of Environment to project OAPN 042/2007, and by funding from the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 641762 to ECOPOTENTIAL project. The Espacio Natural de Doñana provided permits for field work in protected areas with restricted access. We are grateful to the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Spain, for performing the airborne campaign and the geometric correction of the images. J.B. has to acknowledge a sabbatical stay at Pye Laboratory of the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Australia, and at the Climate Change Cluster (C3) of the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, during data analysis and writing of this paper. This publication is a contribution from CEIMAR and also a contribution from CEICAMBIO. We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI

Distribución de metales pesados en sedimentos de las marismas del Odiel (Huelva, España)

Se ha analizado la distribución y contenido total de metales pesados (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni y Pb) en sedimentos de las Marismas del Odiel (SO España). Las concentraciones de estos elementos, obtenidas por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica, fueron muy elevadas para la mayoría de los elementos analizados. Su distribución no es homogénea, ni presenta un patrón geográfico marcadamente definido, pudiéndose encontrar altos niveles repartidos por toda la marisma. Existe cierto gradiente topográfico, con mayores concentraciones en puntos de menor cota. Los puntos de muestreo más aislados de la incidencia mareal y los más expuestos a mar abierto registraron los niveles más bajos.Atomic absorption spectroscopy has permitted the determination of the content of heavy metals and their distribution in sediments of the Odiel Saltmarhes (SWSpain). Avery high metal concentration has been found in most of the samples investigated but their distribution is non-homogeneous and this prevents establishing a geographical pattern. Nevertheless, a certain topographic gradient can be observed: lower levels present the highest concentrations whereas areas unaccessible by tide fluctuations or those exposed to the sea present the lowest index of contamination

Characterization of protons accelerated from a 3 TW table-top laser system

[EN] We report on benchmark tests of a 3 TW/50 fs, table-top laser system specifically developed for proton acceleration with an intrinsic pump rate up to 100 Hz. In two series of single-shot measurements differing in pulse energy and contrast the successful operation of the diode pumped laser is demonstrated. Protons have been accelerated up to 1.6 MeV in interactions of laser pulses focused on aluminium and mylar foils between 0.8 and 25 mu m thickness. Their spectral distributions and maximum energies are consistent with former experiments under similar conditions. These results show the suitability of our system and provide a reference for studies of laser targets at high repetition rate and possible applications.This project has been funded by Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico Industrial (CDTI, Spain) within the INNPRONTA program, grant no. IPT-20111027, by EUROSTARS project E9113, and by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1.Bellido-Millán, PJ.; Lera, R.; Seimetz, M.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Torres Peiró, S.; Galán, M.; Mur, P.... (2017). Characterization of protons accelerated from a 3 TW table-top laser system. Journal of Instrumentation. 12:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/12/05/T05001S11212Daido, H., Nishiuchi, M., & Pirozhkov, A. S. (2012). Review of laser-driven ion sources and their applications. Reports on Progress in Physics, 75(5), 056401. doi:10.1088/0034-4885/75/5/056401Macchi, A., Borghesi, M., & Passoni, M. (2013). Ion acceleration by superintense laser-plasma interaction. Reviews of Modern Physics, 85(2), 751-793. doi:10.1103/revmodphys.85.751Ledingham, K., Bolton, P., Shikazono, N., & Ma, C.-M. (2014). Towards Laser Driven Hadron Cancer Radiotherapy: A Review of Progress. Applied Sciences, 4(3), 402-443. doi:10.3390/app4030402Kraft, S. D., Richter, C., Zeil, K., Baumann, M., Beyreuther, E., Bock, S., … Pawelke, J. (2010). Dose-dependent biological damage of tumour cells by laser-accelerated proton beams. New Journal of Physics, 12(8), 085003. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/085003Yogo, A., Sato, K., Nishikino, M., Mori, M., Teshima, T., Numasaki, H., … Daido, H. (2009). Application of laser-accelerated protons to the demonstration of DNA double-strand breaks in human cancer cells. Applied Physics Letters, 94(18), 181502. doi:10.1063/1.3126452Fritzler, S., Malka, V., Grillon, G., Rousseau, J. P., Burgy, F., Lefebvre, E., … Ledingham, K. W. D. (2003). Proton beams generated with high-intensity lasers: Applications to medical isotope production. Applied Physics Letters, 83(15), 3039-3041. doi:10.1063/1.1616661Kishimura, H., Morishita, H., Okano, Y. H., Okano, Y., Hironaka, Y., Kondo, K., … Nemoto, K. (2004). Enhanced generation of fast protons from a polymer-coated metal foil by a femtosecond intense laser field. Applied Physics Letters, 85(14), 2736-2738. doi:10.1063/1.1803915Nakamura, S., Iwashita, Y., Noda, A., Shirai, T., Tongu, H., Fukumi, A., … Wada, Y. (2006). Real-Time Optimization of Proton Production by Intense Short-Pulse Laser with Time-of-Flight Measurement. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 45(No. 34), L913-L916. doi:10.1143/jjap.45.l913Nishiuchi, M., Fukumi, A., Daido, H., Li, Z., Sagisaka, A., Ogura, K., … Nakamura, S. (2006). The laser proton acceleration in the strong charge separation regime. Physics Letters A, 357(4-5), 339-344. doi:10.1016/j.physleta.2006.04.053Yogo, A., Daido, H., Fukumi, A., Li, Z., Ogura, K., Sagisaka, A., … Itoh, A. (2007). Laser prepulse dependency of proton-energy distributions in ultraintense laser-foil interactions with an online time-of-flight technique. Physics of Plasmas, 14(4), 043104. doi:10.1063/1.2721066Robinson, A. P. L., Foster, P., Adams, D., Carroll, D. C., Dromey, B., Hawkes, S., … Neely, D. (2009). Spectral modification of laser-accelerated proton beams by self-generated magnetic fields. New Journal of Physics, 11(8), 083018. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/11/8/083018Nemoto, K., Maksimchuk, A., Banerjee, S., Flippo, K., Mourou, G., Umstadter, D., & Bychenkov, V. Y. (2001). Laser-triggered ion acceleration and table top isotope production. Applied Physics Letters, 78(5), 595-597. doi:10.1063/1.1343845Lee, K., Park, S. H., Cha, Y.-H., Lee, J. Y., Lee, Y. W., Yea, K.-H., & Jeong, Y. U. (2008). Generation of intense proton beams from plastic targets irradiated by an ultraintense laser pulse. Physical Review E, 78(5). doi:10.1103/physreve.78.056403Yogo, A., Daido, H., Bulanov, S. V., Nemoto, K., Oishi, Y., Nayuki, T., … Tajima, T. (2008). Laser ion acceleration via control of the near-critical density target. Physical Review E, 77(1). doi:10.1103/physreve.77.016401Lee, K., Lee, J. Y., Park, S. H., Cha, Y.-H., Lee, Y. W., Kim, K. N., & Jeong, Y. U. (2011). Dominant front-side acceleration of energetic proton beams from plastic targets irradiated by an ultraintense laser pulse. Physics of Plasmas, 18(1), 013101. doi:10.1063/1.3496058OKIHARA, S., SENTOKU, Y., SUEDA, K., SHIMIZU, S., SATO, F., MIYANAGA, N., … SAKABE, S. (2002). Energetic Proton Generation in a Thin Plastic Foil Irradiated by Intense Femtosecond Lasers. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 39(1), 1-5. doi:10.1080/18811248.2002.9715150McKenna, P., Ledingham, K. W. D., Spencer, I., McCany, T., Singhal, R. P., Ziener, C., … Clark, E. L. (2002). Characterization of multiterawatt laser-solid interactions for proton acceleration. Review of Scientific Instruments, 73(12), 4176-4184. doi:10.1063/1.1516855Spencer, I., Ledingham, K. W. D., McKenna, P., McCanny, T., Singhal, R. P., Foster, P. S., … Davies, J. R. (2003). Experimental study of proton emission from 60-fs, 200-mJ high-repetition-rate tabletop-laser pulses interacting with solid targets. Physical Review E, 67(4). doi:10.1103/physreve.67.046402Kaluza, M., Schreiber, J., Santala, M. I. K., Tsakiris, G. D., Eidmann, K., Meyer-ter-Vehn, J., & Witte, K. J. (2004). Influence of the Laser Prepulse on Proton Acceleration in Thin-Foil Experiments. Physical Review Letters, 93(4). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.93.045003Ceccotti, T., Lévy, A., Popescu, H., Réau, F., D’Oliveira, P., Monot, P., … Martin, P. (2007). Proton Acceleration with High-Intensity Ultrahigh-Contrast Laser Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 99(18). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.185002Neely, D., Foster, P., Robinson, A., Lindau, F., Lundh, O., Persson, A., … McKenna, P. (2006). Enhanced proton beams from ultrathin targets driven by high contrast laser pulses. Applied Physics Letters, 89(2), 021502. doi:10.1063/1.2220011Steinke, S., Henig, A., Schnürer, M., Sokollik, T., Nickles, P. V., Jung, D., … Habs, D. (2010). Efficient ion acceleration by collective laser-driven electron dynamics with ultra-thin foil targets. Laser and Particle Beams, 28(1), 215-221. doi:10.1017/s0263034610000157Strickland, D., & Mourou, G. (1985). Compression of amplified chirped optical pulses. Optics Communications, 56(3), 219-221. doi:10.1016/0030-4018(85)90120-8Yogo, A., Kondo, K., Mori, M., Kiriyama, H., Ogura, K., Shimomura, T., … Bolton, P. R. (2014). Insertable pulse cleaning module with a saturable absorber pair and a compensating amplifier for high-intensity ultrashort-pulse lasers. Optics Express, 22(2), 2060. doi:10.1364/oe.22.002060Trisorio, A., Grabielle, S., Divall, M., Forget, N., & Hauri, C. P. (2012). Self-referenced spectral interferometry for ultrashort infrared pulse characterization. Optics Letters, 37(14), 2892. doi:10.1364/ol.37.002892Seimetz, M., Bellido, P., Soriano, A., Garcia Lopez, J., Jimenez-Ramos, M. C., Fernandez, B., … Benlloch, J. M. (2015). Calibration and Performance Tests of Detectors for Laser-Accelerated Protons. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 62(6), 3216-3224. doi:10.1109/tns.2015.2480682Nürnberg, F., Schollmeier, M., Brambrink, E., Blažević, A., Carroll, D. C., Flippo, K., … Roth, M. (2009). Radiochromic film imaging spectroscopy of laser-accelerated proton beams. Review of Scientific Instruments, 80(3), 033301. doi:10.1063/1.3086424Oishi, Y., Nayuki, T., Fujii, T., Takizawa, Y., Wang, X., Yamazaki, T., … Andreev, A. A. (2005). Dependence on laser intensity and pulse duration in proton acceleration by irradiation of ultrashort laser pulses on a Cu foil target. Physics of Plasmas, 12(7), 073102. doi:10.1063/1.1943436Nishiuchi, M., Daito, I., Ikegami, M., Daido, H., Mori, M., Orimo, S., … Yoshiyuki, T. (2009). Focusing and spectral enhancement of a repetition-rated, laser-driven, divergent multi-MeV proton beam using permanent quadrupole magnets. Applied Physics Letters, 94(6), 061107. doi:10.1063/1.3078291Antici, P., Fuchs, J., d’ Humières, E., Lefebvre, E., Borghesi, M., Brambrink, E., … Pépin, H. (2007). Energetic protons generated by ultrahigh contrast laser pulses interacting with ultrathin targets. Physics of Plasmas, 14(3), 030701. doi:10.1063/1.2480610Green, J. S., Carroll, D. C., Brenner, C., Dromey, B., Foster, P. S., Kar, S., … Zepf, M. (2010). Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation. New Journal of Physics, 12(8), 085012. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/085012Zeil, K., Kraft, S. D., Bock, S., Bussmann, M., Cowan, T. E., Kluge, T., … Schramm, U. (2010). The scaling of proton energies in ultrashort pulse laser plasma acceleration. New Journal of Physics, 12(4), 045015. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/4/045015Nishiuchi, M., Daido, H., Yogo, A., Orimo, S., Ogura, K., Ma, J., … Azuma, H. (2008). Efficient production of a collimated MeV proton beam from a polyimide target driven by an intense femtosecond laser pulse. Physics of Plasmas, 15(5), 053104. doi:10.1063/1.2928161Macchi, A., Sgattoni, A., Sinigardi, S., Borghesi, M., & Passoni, M. (2013). Advanced strategies for ion acceleration using high-power lasers. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 55(12), 124020. doi:10.1088/0741-3335/55/12/124020Fuchs, J., Antici, P., d’ Humières, E., Lefebvre, E., Borghesi, M., Brambrink, E., … Audebert, P. (2005). Laser-driven proton scaling laws and new paths towards energy increase. Nature Physics, 2(1), 48-54. doi:10.1038/nphys199Schwoerer, H., Pfotenhauer, S., Jäckel, O., Amthor, K.-U., Liesfeld, B., Ziegler, W., … Esirkepov, T. (2006). Laser-plasma acceleration of quasi-monoenergetic protons from microstructured targets. Nature, 439(7075), 445-448. doi:10.1038/nature04492Margarone, D., Klimo, O., Kim, I. J., Prokůpek, J., Limpouch, J., Jeong, T. M., … Korn, G. (2012). Laser-Driven Proton Acceleration Enhancement by Nanostructured Foils. Physical Review Letters, 109(23). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.109.234801Flippo, K. A., d’ Humières, E., Gaillard, S. A., Rassuchine, J., Gautier, D. C., Schollmeier, M., … Hegelich, B. M. (2008). Increased efficiency of short-pulse laser-generated proton beams from novel flat-top cone targets. Physics of Plasmas, 15(5), 056709. doi:10.1063/1.291812

Seasonal variation in the diet of Redshank Tringa totanus in the Odiel Marshes, southwest Spain: a comparison of faecal and pellet analysis

Aims To assess seasonal variation in Redshank diet at a major passage site, and to compare data derived from analysing pellets or faeces. Methods At the Odiel Marshes in 2001, pellets from spring migration (39), autumn migration (121) and midwinter (15) were analysed, together with faecal samples from autumn (84). Results The abundance of different invertebrate groups in pellets varied between seasons. In spring, Chironomus salinarius pupae and larvae dominated by volume, followed by Ephydridae larvae and the beetle Paracymus aenus. Polychaetes and molluscs dominated in autumn, and isopods in midwinter. In autumn, chironomid larvae, Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum seeds and Artemia cysts were relatively more abundant in faeces, whereas polychaetes, isopods, molluscs and cestode cysticercoids were more abundant in pellets. Harder and/or larger items were thus relatively more abundant in pellets than faeces. Pellet analysis gave more emphasis to mudflat prey, and faeces to saltpan prey. Conclusion Pellet and faecal analysis give different results for wader diet, and it is useful to combine the two methods. However, they show significant correlations both in diet range and rank abundance of prey items. Redshank diet shows much seasonal and spatial variation in southern Europe.Peer reviewe

Zinc tolerance and accumulation in the halophytic species Juncus acutus

The research on species with capacity to tolerate and accumulate zinc is of paramount importance for phytoremediation purposes. An experiment was designed to investigate the effect of Zn from 0 to 100mmoll-1 on the growth, photosynthetic apparatus and nutrient uptake of the halophytic species Juncus acutus. Gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic pigments concentration were measured. We also determined total zinc, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sodium concentrations, as well as C/N ratio. J. acutus showed high tolerance to Zn-induced stress, since all plants survived and none of them showed any toxicity symptoms, such as chlorosis, necrosis or growth reduction at concentrations up to 100mmoll-1 Zn. The integrity and functionality of the photosynthetic apparatus were unaffected even at zinc concentrations greater than 500mgkg-1 on tillers. Likewise, nutrient absorption was relatively unaffected. Zn tolerance was associated with the capacity to accumulate Zn in roots (with values up to 2500mgkg-1) and largely avoid its transport to tillers. These characteristics, along with its ability to establish in a wide variety of ecosystems, render this species a useful phytostabilizer for revegetation of Zn-contaminated lands. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.the Spanish Science and Technology Ministry for its support (project CTM2008-04453) and Seville University Glasshouse General Services for their collaboration.Peer Reviewe

Temporal and spatial variation of an aquatic invertebrate community subjected to avian predation at the Odiel salt pans (SW Spain)

: We studied the temporal variation in abundance and distribution of inverte- brates in the water column in both traditional and industrial salt pans in the Odiel marshes, south-west Spain, in 2001. We selected 12 ponds that were representative of different salinities and stages of salt production. Every two months, invertebrates were sampled within the 0 – 20 cm depth range used by foraging waders. We identified 40 taxa, including 30 aquatic and eight terrestrial metazoan invertebrates. Aquatic inverte- brate taxa richness and diversity decreased significantly with increasing pond salinity, whereas total biomass showed a non-significant increase. Overall, Artemia partheno- genetica constituted 67.6 % of invertebrates by number, and 95.5 % of the biomass. The copepod Cletocamptus retrogressus represented 31.1 % of invertebrates by num- ber, and 0.6 % of the biomass. Invertebrate biomass and dominance of A. parthenogen- etica was highest in September and lowest in November. There was significant spatial and temporal variation in abundance for all aquatic taxa, and for a given pond and month, the depth, distance to shoreline and fetch (wind effects) all had important par- tial effects on invertebrate distribution. Ordination methods showed a strong relation- ship between community structure and water chemistry (salinity, pH and redox poten- tial), with the salinity gradient being the most important. There was a clear separation between low salinity ponds with fish and submerged macrophytes and other ponds. The more intensively managed industrial salines held lower densities and biomass of invertebrates than traditional salines, perhaps owing to greater protection from wind or greater inputs of detritus. The beetle Ochthebius corrugatus was abundant in the traditional ponds but absent from the industrial ones. The number of feeding waders using each pond was strongly correlated with the available biomass of invertebratesPeer reviewe

Internal transport of seeds by migratory waders in the Odiel marshes, south-west Spain: consequences for long-distance dispersal

Waders (Charadriiformes) undergo particularly long migratory flights, making them ideal vectors for long-distance dispersal. We present a study of dispersal of plant seeds by migratory waders in the Odiel saltworks in south-west Spain. This is the first field study to demonstrate excretion of viable seeds by waders. Viable seeds of Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum (Aizoaceae), Sonchus oleraceus (Asteraceae) and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (Chenopodiaceae) were frequent in pellets and faeces of redshank Tringa totanus , spotted redshank Tringa erythropus , and black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa during spring and autumn migrations, but less frequent during winter. Another 11 seed types were recorded at low density. More intact M. nodiflorum seeds were present in redshank faeces than in their pellets, but seeds extracted from pellets were more likely to germinate. More S. oleraceus seeds were transported per redshank pellet in spring, but more redshank migrated through the area in autumn. The distributions of the plants transported are consistent with an important role for long-distance dispersal by waders. M. nodiflorum and S. oleraceus are introduced weeds in the Americas and Australasia, and dispersal by birds may contribute to their rapid spread. Although S. oleraceus is generally thought to be wind-dispersed, birds may be responsible for longer distance dispersal events.Peer reviewe

Spatial and temporal fluctuations in presence and use of chironomid prey by shorebirds in the Odiel saltpans, south-west Spain

We studied the seasonal variation in abundance and distribution of shorebirds and chironomid Chironomus salinarius larvae in both traditional and industrial salines in the Odiel marshes, south-west Spain, in 2001. We selected 12 ponds that were representative of the different phases of the salt production process. The benthic chironomids were sampled in each pond every 2 months, and the birds were counted weekly. Chironomid larvae were most abundant in spring and autumn, and in the ponds of lower salinity. The density of larvae averaged 7023±392 m)2 (±SE) over the six sampling events. Shorebirds were always more abundant at high tide than at low tide, and were especially abundant during the spring and autumn migration periods when up to 20,775 birds were counted. A total of 24 species were recorded, six of which were present in internationally important numbers. The salines were especially important as foraging and roosting habitat during migration. The percentage of birds that were feeding in the ponds was positively correlated with the abundance of chironomid larvae at accessible depths. The number of feeding birds was also higher in ponds with more chironomid larvae available. Despite more intensive management, indus- trial salines held higher densities of birds and a similar abundance of chironomids when compared with traditional salinesPeer reviewe