First Dinosaur Tracks from the Arabian Peninsula

Background: The evolutionary history of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from the Arabian Peninsula is virtually unknown. Despite vast exposures of rocky outcrops, only a handful of fossils have yet been described from the region. Here we report a multi-taxon dinosaur track assemblage near Madar village, 47 km north of Sana’a, Republic of Yemen. This represents the first dinosaur tracksite from the Arabian Peninsula, and the only multi-taxon dinosaur ichnosite in the Middle East. Methodology/Findings: Measurements were taken directly from trackway impressions, following standard ichnological conventions. The presence of bipedal trackmakers is evidenced by a long series of pes imprints preserving smoothly rounded posterior margins, no evidence of a hallux, bluntly rounded digit tips and digital divarication angles characteristic of ornithopod dinosaurs. Nearby, eleven parallel quadrupedal trackways document a sauropod herd that included large and small individuals traveling together. Based on the morphology of manus impressions along with a narrow-gauged stance, the quadrupedal trackways were made by non-titanosauriform neosauropods. Additional isolated tracks and trackways of sauropod and ornithopod dinosaurs are preserved nearby. Conclusions/Significance: Taken together, these discoveries present the most evocative window to date into the evolutionary history of dinosaurs of the Arabian Peninsula. Given the limited Mesozoic terrestrial record from the region, this discovery is of both temporal and geographic significance, and massive exposures of similarly-aged outcrops nearby offe

Aquaponics: alternative types and approaches

Whilst aquaponics may be considered in the mid-stage of development, there are a number of allied, novel methods of food production that are aligning alongside aquaponics and also which can be merged with aquaponics to deliver food efficiently and productively. These technologies include algaeponics, aeroponics, aeroaquaponics, maraponics, haloponics, biofloc technology and vertical aquaponics. Although some of these systems have undergone many years of trials and research, in most cases, much more scientific research is required to understand intrinsic processes within the systems, efficiency, design aspects, etc., apart from the capacity, capabilities and benefits of conjoining these systems with aquaponics

Ebullition was a major pathway of methane emissions from the aquaculture ponds in southeast China

Aquaculture ponds are hotspots of carbon cycling and important anthropogenic sources of the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH4). Despite the importance of CH4 ebullition in aquatic ecosystems, its magnitude and spatiotemporal variations in aquaculture ponds remain poorly understood. In this study, we determined the rates and spatiotemporal variations of ebullitive CH4 emissions from three mariculture ponds during the aquaculture period of two years at a subtropical estuary in southeast China. Our results showed that the mean ebullitive CH4 flux from the studied ponds was 14.9 mg CH4 m−2 h−1 during the aquaculture period and accounted for over 90% of the total CH4 emission, indicating the importance of ebullition as a major CH4 transport mechanism. Ebullitive CH4 emission demonstrated a clear seasonal pattern, with a peak value during the middle stage of aquaculture. Sediment temperature was found to be an important factor influencing the seasonal variations in CH4 ebullition. Ebullitive CH4 fluxes also exhibited considerable spatial variations within the ponds, with 49.7–71.8% of the whole pond CH4 ebullition being detected in the feeding zone where the large loading of sediment organic matter fueled CH4 production. Aquaculture ponds have much higher ebullitive CH4 effluxes than other aquatic ecosystems, which indicated the urgency to mitigate CH4 emission from aquaculture activities. Our findings highlighted that the importance of considering the large spatiotemporal variations in ebullitive CH4 flux in improving the accuracy of large-scale estimation of CH4 fluxes in aquatic ecosystems. Future studies should be conducted to characterize CH4 ebullitive fluxes over a greater number and diversity of aquaculture ponds and examine the mechanisms controlling CH4 ebullition in aquatic ecosystems

Towards a systemic and evolutionary framework for venture capital policy

Systems of innovation, Venture capital, High-tech entrepreneurship, Public policy, G24, G28, L22, L26, L53, L65, L86,