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This paper examines the impact of hurricanes on the pricing of real estate investment trusts (REITs) listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ using an event study methodology. The findings reveal that the REIT markets are generally efficient with respect to hurricanes. There is no evidence of abnormal returns associated with REITs concentrated along the southeastern coast during the time of the hurricanes. Furthermore, when REITs were analyzed corresponding to the hurricanes that made landfall in the state in which they had the maximum exposure, the results did not change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses stable isotopes from deep-water antipatharians. This paper focuses on the 400-year records from the Southeastern Coast of the United States examining three deep-water Leiopathes glaberrima specimens collected live off the coast in 2004. Lead measurements and band counts recorded an estimate to be around 200-500 years old. Environmental influence were present in specimens suggesting that long-term trends are reproducible within specimens of similar location. Calcium depletion are observed corresponding to the Suess Effect. Results were compared with the increased terrestrial effluent that reach offshore specimens.

Abstract: It is paradoxical that work in question (Rodríguez-Ramírez and Yánez-Camacho, 2008) has started a debate in the scientific community about the values of the reservoir effect used in the 14C dates in the Gulf of Cádiz, since in their Comments Rodríguez-Vidal et al. (2009), Monges Soares (2010-this issue) and Lario et al. (2010-this issue), have not taken into account that these values are in reference to earlier studies (Morales et al., 2008). The new figures suggested by Rodríguez-Vidal et al. (2009) and Monges Soares (2010-this issue) for this part of the Gulf of Cadiz (Soares, 2008) had not been reported when the earlier papers were accepted and published. The values for the reservoir effect applied on the South Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula need to be continually adjusted, due to the new contributions that have been made in recent years as a result of developments of the research being undertaken in this field. Without doubt, in the future, as further progress is made, the values will be even more finely tuned and the present ones will become obsolete, as our understanding of marine and estuarine dynamics in this sector over the last few thousand years is a topic which remains open to new interpretations. The new figures for the reservoir effect are an important contribution in determining more accurately the chronology of events in the Holocene, and they make it necessary to revise the previous studies on marine Holocene formations in the Gulf of Cadiz with 14C dates, owing to the errors that have occurred in this respect. For this reason the Comment should not be aimed at one paper alone, and instead this matter should be reviewed at a regional level. Those of us who are not specialists in the topic welcome these clarifications, which can help shed additional light on the chronological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layer 2A, the porous and permeable uppermost igneous oceanic crust, permits the circulation of fluid within the crust, the exchange of dissolved mineral species between the ocean and crust, and the convective dissipation of heat from the crust. We examine the presence, temporal extent, thickness, and evolution of layer 2A using multichannel seismic data collected at 30°S in the South Atlantic across crustal age ranges of 0–70 Ma and half spreading rates of 12–31 mm/year. We observe the layer 2A/2B boundary in 0–48 Myr old crust but not in crust older than ~48 Ma. The thickness of layer 2A in the South Atlantic has substantial variability, with a mean of 760 m and a standard deviation of 290 m. Layer 2A has no systematic change in thickness with age in the South Atlantic, and thickness does not correlate with spreading rate. The crust in the South Atlantic is never fully sealed by sediment cover, which implies that the fluid circulation system in the upper crust never becomes fully closed and the thickness of layer 2A can work as a proxy for the depth at which significant circulation can occur. The disappearance of the layer 2A/2B boundary in older crust implies that fluid circulation within the upper crust continues to occur for at least ~48 Myr after crustal formation in the South Atlantic, after which layer 2A becomes indistinguishable from layer 2B in reflection images. Key Points: Seismic layer 2A has a mean thickness of 760 m, and its signature in reflection images is present in 0‐48 Ma crust and absent in older crust in the South AtlanticThe crust in the South Atlantic is never fully sealed by sediment, which indicates that the circulation system in the upper crust is never fully closed from the oceanSeismic layer 2A shows no systematic change in thickness when compared to crustal age or spreading rate [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyse one aspect of Brazilian nuclear policy during the tenure of the Workers Party (2003–2016): the development of a nuclear-propelled submarine. We propose that the project of building a nuclear-propelled submarine has become possible partly because of the mobilisation of a set of arguments for the construction of the South Atlantic as a strategic area, framed in terms of security and development. On the other hand, we contend that the need for a nuclear-propelled submarine is framed through the mobilisation of a specific notion of deterrence. In other words, we claim that the notions of ‘strategic area', ‘general deterrence', ‘conventional deterrence', and ‘deterrence by denial' can help us analyse the fundamental aspects involved in the framing of the South Atlantic as a security concern, justifying the nuclear propelled submarine project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand long-term mean and seasonal variations of the Oyashio transport off the southeastern coast of Hokkaido, time series of estimated transports were generated by combining satellite altimetry and CTD data from the period 1993–2014 along a monitoring transect referred to as the “A-line”. Linear regressions between CTD-derived geostrophic transport and altimetry-derived sea level anomaly differences were calculated by minimizing a cost function newly proposed in this study. The horizontal structure of 21-year mean transport was characterized by a southwestward flow on the continental slope (SW-1) associated with the First Oyashio Intrusion, a northeastward flow (NE-2) likely trapped against the Kuril-Kamchatka trench, a southwestward flow (SW-3) related to the Second Oyashio Intrusion, and a very stable northeastward flow (NE-4) corresponding to a combination of the Oyashio Return Flow and quasi-stationary Jet. Analysis of long-term mean monthly transports revealed four alternating flows that were present throughout all seasons of the year. The boundaries between adjacent pairs of the four flows on the A-line did not change on a seasonal timescale as much as the southernmost latitude of the First Oyashio Intrusion. At a 0-month (1-month) time lag, the sum of the SW-1, NE-2, and SW-3 (SW-1 and NE-2) transports, which corresponds to net Oyashio transport (partial net Oyashio transport related to the southernmost latitude of the First Oyashio Intrusion), was correlated with Sverdrup transport more robustly than was each of the four alternating flows. This result suggests that as the Oyashio crossed the A-line, it responded barotropically to basin-scale wind stress by adjusting transports composed of both southwestward and northeastward flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A continuous time delay-diff erence model (CTDDM) has been established that considers continuous time delays of biological processes. The southern Atlantic albacore ( Thunnus alalunga) stock is the one of the commercially important tuna population in the marine world. The age structured production model (ASPM) and the surplus production model (SPM) have already been used to assess the albacore stock. However, the ASPM requires detailed biological information and the SPM lacks the biological realism. In this study, we focus on applying a CTDDM to the southern Atlantic albacore ( T. alalunga) species, which provides an alternative method to assess this fishery. It is the first time that CTDDM has been provided for assessing the Atlantic albacore ( T. alalunga) fishery. CTDDM obtained the 80% confidence interval of MSY (maximum sustainable yield) of (21 510 t, 23 118t). The catch in 2011 (24 100 t) is higher than the MSY values and the relative fishing mortality ratio ( F/ F) is higher than 1.0. The results of CTDDM were analyzed to verify the proposed methodology and provide reference information for the sustainable management of the southern Atlantic albacore stock. The CTDDM treats the recruitment, the growth, and the mortality rates as all varying continuously over time and fills gaps between ASPM and SPM in this stock assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Atlantic coastal plain streams are unique and understudied freshwater environments that provide crucial habitats for a wide range of aquatic taxa. We investigated patterns in fish assemblages across South Carolina's coastal plain, and developed statistical models to identify the dominant multiscale abiotic environmental factors that influence assemblage structure. Cluster and indicator species analyses of fish assemblage data collected at 208 wadeable streams indicated the presence of four predominant species associations that commonly occur in the South Atlantic coastal plain, which we termed the (1) fluvial, (2) Eastern Mudminnow, (3) centrarchid, and (4) nonfluvial assemblages. A random forest analysis indicated that geographic gradients and instream habitat variables associated with velocity, channel form, stream size, depth, and large wood generally played a greater role in distinguishing fish assemblages than catchment land cover. A follow-up principal component analysis showed that these instream habitat variables showed weak relationships with current anthropogenic land-cover conditions. We suggest several possible explanations for our findings, including (1) a sustained dynamic equilibrium among catchment, riparian, and instream conditions over time may encourage assemblage partitioning among differential instream habitats, (2) past landscape conditions may have a greater influence on current instream habitat conditions and fish assemblage structure than current landscape conditions, (3) weak relationships between catchment land cover and instream habitats may be common in low-elevation regions, and (4) seasonal variation in hydrologic patterns may dominantly influence instream habitat conditions and fish assemblage structure. Our study adds essential information towards a better understanding of how South Atlantic coastal plain fish assemblages respond to environmental factors across multiple spatial scales. Such knowledge will help improve management and conservation strategies, as well as assist in the development of appropriate indicators for standardized evaluations of ecological integrity. Received February 4, 2015; accepted June 3, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The relationship between winter climate extremes across the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada and some important modes of climate variability are examined to determine how these circulation patterns are related to extreme events. Linear correlations between 15 extreme climate indices related to winter daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, and three dominant large-scale patterns of climate variability [the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)] were analyzed for the period 1950-99. The mechanisms behind these teleconnections are analyzed by applying composite analysis to the geopotential height, sea level pressure (SLP), moisture flux, and wind fields. Pressure anomalies and associated airflow patterns related with the different modes of climate variability explain the patterns of temperature and precipitation extremes across the region. The responses of the daily scale climate extremes to the seasonally averaged large-scale circulation patterns are achieved through shifts in the probability distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from early European-sponsored colonies on the coasts of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico in southeastern North America (USA) indicate that transformations in vertebrate use occurred quickly. Over half of the vertebrate individuals in a Spanish collection associated with the first permanent European settlement on the Atlantic coast (Florida), British collections associated with Charles Towne (South Carolina), and French collections from the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Alabama and Mississippi) are local wild vertebrates. This use of wild vertebrates occurred regardless of a colony's national affiliation, the ethnicity of the colonists, or the century in which colonization occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors develop a statistical guidance product, the tropical cyclone tornado parameter (TCTP), for forecasting the probability of one or more tornadoes during a 6-h period that are associated with landfalling tropical cyclones affecting the coastal Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic coast. TCTP is designed to aid forecasters in a time-limited environment. TCTP provides a 'quick look' at regions where forecasters can then conduct detailed analyses. The pool of potential predictors included tornado reports and tropical cyclone data between 2000 and 2008, as well as storm environmental parameters. The original pool of 28 potential predictors is reduced to six using stepwise regression and logistic regression. These six predictors are 0-3-km wind shear, 0-3-km storm relative helicity, azimuth angle of the tornado report from the tropical cyclone, distance from the cyclone's center, time of day, and 950-1000-hPa convective available potential energy. Mean Brier scores and Brier skill scores are computed for the entire TCTP-dependent dataset and for corresponding forecasts produced by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). TCTP then is applied to four individual cyclone cases to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the parameter and compare its performance with SPC forecasts. Results show that TCTP has skill at identifying regions of tornado potential. However, tornadoes in some tropical systems are overpredicted, but underpredicted in others. TCTP 6-h forecast periods provide slightly poorer statistical performance than the 1-day tornado probability forecasts from SPC, probably because the SPC product includes forecaster guidance and because their forecasts are valid for longer periods (24 h). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of blue whalesBalaenoptera musculusinhabiting the South-East Atlantic (Gabon to South Africa) was heavily depleted by commercial whaling. We report four photographically-verified sightings, and one probable sighting, of blue whales in deep waters (>1 000 m) off central Angola (11° S to 12°30′ S) during 2012. International Whaling Commission catch data from south-western Africa between 1908 and 1967 included an estimated 2 071 blue whales taken off Angola between 1909 and 1934. The highest combined catches at any one station during this period (n= 833) occurred at Elephant Bay (13°13′ S), located just south of the recent sightings. Despite year-round survey effort the sightings had strong seasonality and occurred only between July and October. Similarly, whaling catches peaked during July and August. Body lengths and seasonality indicate that at least some captured animals comprised the Antarctic blue whaleB. m. intermediasubspecies. The sightings included at least one cow–calf pair. Catches comprised a high proportion (63.3%) of immature animals and at least five Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pairs. Food (zooplankton) was present in 85% of captured individuals, indicating feeding in Angolan waters. Further survey work is required to better clarify the status of blue whales in Angolan waters, particularly with regard to population structure and potential calving grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During ‘Meteor’ expedition ‘DIVA 2’ in 2005 the abyssal macro- and megafauna communities were studied in the northern Cape Basin, in the northern Angola Basin and in the eastern and western Guinea Basin. Water depths varied between 5040 and 5670m. Surface deposit feeding or predatory ophiuroids dominated the megafaunal community in the northern Cape Basin, sponges, sipunculids and fish in the northern Angola Basin, and asteroids, crustaceans and fish in the eastern Guinea Basin, while in the western Guinea Basin sipunculids dominated. In the northern Cape Basin, peracarid crustaceans were the dominant macrofaunal group, followed by polychaetes and bivalves. In the Guinea Basin, polychaetes, peracarid crustaceans and bivalves dominated, although omnivorous or predatory free-living nematodes of macrofaunal size (>0.5mm) made up 40–60% of the total abundance, with maxima in the western basin. The chlorophyll a content of sediments was lower in the northern Cape and Angola Basins than in the Guinea Basin, which was consistent with the differences in water masses, primary production and flux rate of organic matter in the three basins of the South-East Atlantic. The differences in structure and function of the macro- and megafauna communities in the three basins correlated with the differences in the amount of food reaching the seafloor in tropical and subtropical settings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Commonly used methods to predict streamflow at ungauged watersheds implicitly predict streamflow magnitude and temporal sequence concurrently. An alternative approach that has not been fully explored is the conceptualization of streamflow as a composite of two separable components of magnitude and sequence, where each component is estimated separately and then combined. Magnitude is modeled using the flow duration curve ( FDC), whereas sequence is modeled by transferring streamflow sequence of gauged watershed(s). This study tests the applicability of the approach on watersheds ranging in size from about 25-7,226 km2 in Southeastern Coastal Plain (U.S.) with substantial surface storage of wetlands. A 19-point regionalized FDC is developed to estimate streamflow magnitude using the three most selected variables (drainage area, hydrologic soil index, and maximum 24-h precipitation with a recurrence interval of 100 years) by a greedy-heuristic search process. The results of validation on four watersheds (Trent River, North Carolina: 02092500; Satilla River, Georgia: 02226500; Black River, South Carolina: 02136000; and Coosawhatchie River, South Carolina: 02176500) yielded Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency values of 0.86-0.98 for the predicted magnitude and 0.09-0.84 for the predicted daily streamflow over a simulation period of 1960-2010. The prediction accuracy of the method on two headwater watersheds at Santee Experimental Forest in coastal South Carolina was weak, but comparable to simulations by MIKE- SHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mortality of seabirds in fisheries has had a serious negative impact on many seabird populations, yet the extent of fishery-derived seabird mortality in pelagic longline fisheries, remains poorly understood. In this study, we analyze fishing effort and catch data of the Taiwanese distant-water longline tuna fleet - the largest fleet in the Atlantic Ocean. These data collected by fishery observers over a 5-year span include 61 trips involving 6181 observed sets of over 20 million hooks, where 198 seabirds were caught (23 of which were released alive). Most birds were caught in the South Atlantic, with estimated seabird bycatch rates ranging from 0.026 birds per thousand hooks in the southwest Atlantic to 0.063 birds per thousand hooks in the southeast Atlantic. Black-browed, Atlantic yellow-nosed, and wandering albatrosses, as well as spectacled and southern giant petrels, were the most frequently caught species. Seabird bycatch hotspots were identified at 20°-40° S/10° W-15° E and 35°-45° S/45°-55° W. In the South Atlantic Ocean, generalized additive models indicated that fishing location and the number of birds sighted significantly influenced seabird bycatch rates. Extrapolating these spatially and temporally explicit seabird bycatch rates to the fishing effort data of other distant-water longline fleets and extrapolating the bycatch rates reported in the literature to the reported fishing effort of coastal nation fleets, we estimate the total seabird incidental mortality from pelagic longline fishing in the southern Atlantic Ocean to be between 3446 and 6083 birds per year from 2004 to 2008. These findings support proposals calling for the required use of best-practice mitigation measures by all pelagic longline vessels operating in seabird bycatch hotspots in the South Atlantic Ocean. International cooperation on research and data sharing is critical to ensure the sustainability of seabird populations and fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed elevated relative abundance (1.8% of prokaryotes) of marine group 1 Crenarchaeota (MG1C) in two samples of southeastern US coastal bacterioplankton, collected in August 2008, compared with samples collected from the same site at different times (mean 0.026%). We analyzed the MG1C sequences in metatranscriptomes from these samples to gain an insight into the metabolism of MG1C population growing in the environment, and for comparison with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the same samples. Assemblies revealed low diversity within sequences assigned to most individual MG1C open reading frames (ORFs) and high homology with 'Candidatus Nitrosopumilus maritimus' strain SCM1 genome sequences. Reads assigned to ORFs for ammonia uptake and oxidation accounted for 37% of all MG1C transcripts. We did not recover any reads for Nmar_1354-Nmar_1357, proposed to encode components of an alternative, nitroxyl-based ammonia oxidation pathway; however, reads from Nmar_1259 and Nmar_1667, annotated as encoding a multicopper oxidase with homology to nirK, were abundant. Reads assigned to two homologous ORFs (Nmar_1201 and Nmar_1547), annotated as hypothetical proteins were also abundant, suggesting that their unknown function is important to MG1C. Superoxide dismutase and peroxiredoxin-like transcripts were more abundant in the MG1C transcript pool than in the complete metatranscriptome, suggesting an enhanced response to oxidative stress by the MG1C population. qPCR indicated low AOB abundance (0.0010% of prokaryotes), and we found no transcripts related to ammonia oxidation and only one RuBisCO transcript among the transcripts assigned to AOB, suggesting they were not responding to the same environmental cues as the MG1C population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitis vinifera subsp. silvestris, the wild subspecies of Vitis vinifera L., is a unique and valuable genetic resource for cultivated grapevines. At present, this wild form is rare and is spread from the Southern Atlantic coast of Europe to the Western Himalayas. In the present study, six nuclear microsatellite DNAs were analysed in 301 wild grape samples, using factorial correspondence analysis and the Bayesian model. The aim was to detect the distribution of genetic variability and admixture proportions and thus to identify the main routes of recolonization after the quaternary glaciation, as well as signals of secondary contacts in Europe. The results obtained show that some Caucasus and Italian areas played key roles as refugial areas. Moreover, the data suggest the existence of two main migration routes through central Europe during the post-glacial or the inter-glacial periods. The first started from Southern Italy and moved northward, whereas the second originated from refugia possibly located in eastern areas and migrated westwards. This scenario is most likely associated with the population expansion that followed the European Quaternary glaciations. In accordance with this assumption, central Europe is proposed as an admixture confluence of migration routes radiating from separate grapevine refugia. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 95, 611–619. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two methods were used to validate age determination of horse mackerel otoliths. In the first, whole otoliths were examined with a light microscope. Age was determined by identifying and counting annuli. Marginal increment widths were also measured and served to estimate ages, which ranged from 0.6–4.3 years. In the second method, otoliths were examined with a scanning electron microscope and fish ages were determined by daily increment counts. Sixty-four otolith specimens from the Southeast Atlantic and 24 from the Northeast Atlantic were aged by counting the daily growth increments. The number of daily increments was highly variable within each growth zone. Ages exceeding 365 days in the first annual growth zone indicated that the first annulus was not always deposited in some fish. The variable daily increment counts in the first year's growth zones may be related to the very protracted spawning season of horse mackerel. Examination of subsequent growth zones indicated that false rings and annuli are often of a similar visual appearance and that true annuli can only be identified if concurrent measurements of growth zone widths are available. Estimated ages agreed with ages derived by counting daily increments, thus validating the ages of horse mackerel up to four years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]