Validation of annual growth rings in freshwater mussel shells using cross dating

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 2224-2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Rypel ◽  
Wendell R. Haag ◽  
Robert H. Findlay

We examined the usefulness of dendrochronological cross-dating methods for studying long-term, interannual growth patterns in freshwater mussels, including validation of annual shell ring formation. Using 13 species from three rivers, we measured increment widths between putative annual rings on shell thin sections and then removed age-related variation by standardizing measurement time series using cubic splines. Initially, cross dating was a valuable quality control technique allowing us to correct interpretive and measurement errors in 16% of specimens. For all species, growth varied among years but was highly synchronous among individuals. Standardized measurement time series of 94% of individuals were significantly correlated with species master chronologies, and mean interseries correlations ranged from 0.37 to 0.96. Growth was also synchronous among species, even from different rivers, and growth was negatively correlated with mean annual streamflow for most species except Quadrula pustulosa from a regulated dam tailrace. Highly synchronous growth and the strong relationship to streamflow showed that large-scale environmental signals generated non-age-related variation in mussel growth giving strong support for annual formation of the growth increments we measured. Cross dating can be a valuable technique for studying freshwater mussel growth providing quality control, validation of annual rings, and reconstruction of long-term growth histories.

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuli Helama ◽  
Bernd R. Schöne ◽  
Bryan A. Black ◽  
Elena Dunca

The possibility of applying absolute dating techniques to annual growth increments from the hard parts of aquatic animals was examined. This was done using the theory of cross-dating, which was adopted from dendrochronological principles. Using two mollusc species as examples, the practical issues of the method were demonstrated. Empirical data were used to evaluate the different time series analysis techniques as follows. Biological growth trends were first captured from original time series using cubic splines. Dimensionless growth indices were obtained by extracting the observed growth values from the values of spline curves as ratios. The common growth signal among the index series was quantified visually and statistically. In statistical analysis, correlations between all possible pairs of indexed sample series and, alternatively, between sample series and master chronology (the average of all other remaining time series) were calculated. It was demonstrated that sample–master correlations were consistently higher than sample–sample correlations. Sclerochronologically cross-dated time series were proved to provide absolute dating of high-resolution proxy records that assessed environmental change in marine and freshwater settings. The wider applicability of the associated techniques is discussed, and it is suggested that use of the term ‘sclerochronology’ be restricted to refer only to material or studies for which careful cross-dating has been successfully applied.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 60.e1-60.e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim J. Hartung ◽  
Anja Mehnert ◽  
Michael Friedrich ◽  
Michael Hartmann ◽  
Sigrun Vehling ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. García ◽  
O. E. García ◽  
E. Cuevas ◽  
V. E. Cachorro ◽  
A. Barreto ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents the reconstruction of a 73-year time series of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm at the subtropical high-mountain Izaña Atmospheric Observatory (IZO) located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). For this purpose, we have combined AOD estimates from artificial neural networks (ANNs) from 1941 to 2001 and AOD measurements directly obtained with a Precision Filter Radiometer (PFR) between 2003 and 2013. The analysis is limited to summer months (July–August–September), when the largest aerosol load is observed at IZO (Saharan mineral dust particles). The ANN AOD time series has been comprehensively validated against coincident AOD measurements performed with a solar spectrometer Mark-I (1984–2009) and AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) CIMEL photometers (2004–2009) at IZO, obtaining a rather good agreement on a daily basis: Pearson coefficient, R, of 0.97 between AERONET and ANN AOD, and 0.93 between Mark-I and ANN AOD estimates. In addition, we have analysed the long-term consistency between ANN AOD time series and long-term meteorological records identifying Saharan mineral dust events at IZO (synoptical observations and local wind records). Both analyses provide consistent results, with correlations  >  85 %. Therefore, we can conclude that the reconstructed AOD time series captures well the AOD variations and dust-laden Saharan air mass outbreaks on short-term and long-term timescales and, thus, it is suitable to be used in climate analysis.


Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Lara Macchioni ◽  
Davide Chiasserini ◽  
Letizia Mezzasoma ◽  
Magdalena Davidescu ◽  
Pier Luigi Orvietani ◽  
...  

Age-related retinal degenerations, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), are caused by the loss of retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors. The pathogenesis of AMD, deeply linked to the aging process, also involves oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. However, the molecular mechanisms contributing to the shift from healthy aging to AMD are still poorly understood. Since RPE cells in the retina are chronically exposed to a pro-oxidant microenvironment throughout life, we simulated in vivo conditions by growing ARPE-19 cells in the presence of 10 μM H2O2 for several passages. This long-term oxidative insult induced senescence in ARPE-19 cells without affecting cell proliferation. Global proteomic analysis revealed a dysregulated expression in proteins involved in antioxidant response, mitochondrial homeostasis, and extracellular matrix organization. The analyses of mitochondrial functionality showed increased mitochondrial biogenesis and ATP generation and improved response to oxidative stress. The latter, however, was linked to nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) rather than nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation. NF-κB hyperactivation also resulted in increased pro-inflammatory cytokines expression and inflammasome activation. Moreover, in response to additional pro-inflammatory insults, senescent ARPE-19 cells underwent an exaggerated inflammatory reaction. Our results indicate senescence as an important link between chronic oxidative insult and detrimental chronic inflammation, with possible future repercussions for therapeutic interventions.


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