Spatial and temporal patterns of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) along two freshwater-estuarine transects in the Florida Coastal Everglades

We present here a 4-year dataset (2001–2004) on the spatial and temporal patterns of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) by dominant primary producers (sawgrass, periphyton, mangroves, and seagrasses) along two transects in the oligotrophic Florida Everglades coastal landscape. The 17 sites of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) program are located along fresh-estuarine gradients in Shark River Slough (SRS) and Taylor River/C-111/Florida Bay (TS/Ph) basins that drain the western and southern Everglades, respectively. Within the SRS basin, sawgrass and periphyton ANPP did not differ significantly among sites but mangrove ANPP was highest at the site nearest the Gulf of Mexico. In the southern Everglades transect, there was a productivity peak in sawgrass and periphyton at the upper estuarine ecotone within Taylor River but no trends were observed in the C-111 Basin for either primary producer. Over the 4 years, average sawgrass ANPP in both basins ranged from 255 to 606 g m−2 year−1. Average periphyton productivity at SRS and TS/Ph was 17–68 g C m−2 year−1 and 342–10371 g C m−2 year−1, respectively. Mangrove productivity ranged from 340 g m−2 year−1 at Taylor River to 2208 g m−2 year−1 at the lower estuarine Shark River site. Average Thalassia testudinum productivity ranged from 91 to 396 g m−2 year−1 and was 4-fold greater at the site nearest the Gulf of Mexico than in eastern Florida Bay. There were no differences in periphyton productivity at Florida Bay. Interannual comparisons revealed no significant differences within each primary producer at either SRS or TS/Ph with the exception of sawgrass at SRS and the C−111 Basin. Future research will address difficulties in assessing and comparing ANPP of different primary producers along gradients as well as the significance of belowground production to the total productivity of this ecosystem.

Solving satisfiability, *implication, and equivalence problems in database systems

Satisfiability, implication and equivalence problems are important and widely-encountered database problems that need to be efficiently and effectively solved. We provide a comprehensive and systematic study of these problems. We consider three popular types of arithmetic inequalities, (X op C), (X op Y), and (X op Y + C), where X and Y are attributes, C is a constant of the domain of X, and op $\in\ \{{<},\ {\le},\ {=},\ {\not=},\ {>},\ {\ge}\}.$ These inequalities are most frequently used in a database system, since the first type of inequalities represents $\theta$-join, the second type represents selection, and the third type is popular in deductive databases. We study the problems under the integer domain and the real domain, as well as under two different operator sets.^ Our results show that solutions under different domains and/or different operator sets are quite different. In this dissertation, we either report the first necessary and sufficient conditions as well as their efficient algorithms with complexity analysis, or provide improved algorithms. ^

Petrologic and geochemical study of crustal xenoliths from Calbuco Volcano, Chile (latitude 41°20ʹS)

Twenty Four samples of xenoliths and country rocks from the 1961 lava flow of Calbuco volcano have been studied. Fourteen samples have been analyzed for major elements and P, Ni, Ba, Cr, V, Zr, Sc, Y, and Sr. Five of these samples were further analyzed for Sm, Nd, Sr, and Pb isotope ratios. Seventeen samples were studied under the microscope and three samples were analyzed by microprobe for their pyroxene compositions. Based on petrographic studies xenoliths were divided into three groups. Fine grained xenoliths (groups I and II) probably formed from metamorphosed MORB-like basalts, whereas coarse grained xenoliths (group III) were apparently derived from cumulate minerals that crystallized from the Calbuco magma. The fine grained xenoliths were probably entrained in magma at intermediate levels of the crust, near the stability limit of amphibole to form pyroxene and plagioclase. In the coarse grained xenoliths amphibole that formed at depth dehydrated as the xenoliths were brought to the surface. The country rocks are apparently unrelated to the xenoliths.

Can Technologies and Social Media Accelerate Cuba's Democratization?

This flyer promotes a lecture by Cuban blogger and independent journalist Yoani Sanchez, founder of the blog Generacion Y and one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. This lecture was held at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center at FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus on April 1,2013.