VIABILITY MODEL OF TROPHIC INTERACTIONS IN MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

ABSTRACT. An attempt to use viability models for studying marine ecosystems is proposed as a possible alternative to classical ecosystem modeling. Viability models do not consider optimal solutions but instead define all possible evolutions of a dynamical system under given constraints. Applied to marine ecosystems, a viability model is formulated based on the trophic coefficients of a mass‐balanced model. This requires relatively few assumptions about the processes involved and can integrate uncertainty associated with the required estimates of input parameters. An iterative algorithm is proposed to calculate the viability kernel, i.e., the envelope of all viable trajectories of the ecosystem. An application to the Benguela ecosystem is presented, considering interactions between detritus, phytoplankton, zooplankton, pelagic fish, demersal fish and fisheries. Results show how a viability kernel could be used to better define the healthy states of a marine ecosystem, by defining what states should be avoided. The paper discusses how viability models of trophic interactions could help to define a new ecosystem‐based indicator for fisheries management. It then discusses how this approach can potentially contribute to a paradigm shift that is emerging in the management of renewable resources.     

A MODEL TO DETECT GRAZING SENSITIVITY OF MYOPORUM PLATYCARPUM IN THE ARID RANGELANDS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

ABSTRACT. Herbivores, particularly introduced ones such as sheep and rabbits, have reduced the levels of regeneration of a number of species of native trees and shrubs in the arid rangelands of southern Australia since European settlement. These reduced levels of regeneration mean that populations of some species are declining while others, less palatable to herbivores, are being maintained, hence gradually altering the composition and/or overall cover of vegetation. In the long term, this could result in loss of palatable species valuable to the pastoral industry for animal production, and/or the dominance of large areas by undesirable “woody weed” species. To investigate the effects of grazing, we develop a model which projects the long‐term survival rate of a focus species, Myoporum platycarpum, under grazing and nongrazing regimes. The technique we are applying is an extension of the Leslie growth model, where the vital rates are linked to random rainfall events and deterministic grazing. The effect of grazing is incorporated into the model based upon data primarily collected from the TGB Osborn Koonamore Vegetation Reserve, 400 km north of Adelaide in South Australia within and without the exclosure. The results suggest that only with higher than average rainfall for extended periods will the species of interest, M. platycarpum, survive under grazing.     

PHOTOOXYGENATION OF 3-HYDROXYFLAVONE IN A 12 K O2 MATRIX

Abstract— We present an infrared study of 3-hydroxyflavone in 12 K Ar and O₂ matrices. Although it is extremely photostable in an Ar matrix, a remarkable oxygenation reaction for 3-hydroxyflavone takes place upon photoexcitation in an O₂ matrix. The primary photoproduct is concluded to be a keto-hydroperoxide. On further photolysis the keto-hydroperoxide affords the photostable secondary product 2-(benzoyloxyl)benzoic acid, as well as CO and CO₂ through two independent pathways.