In Brief: This treatment established a probabilistic platform that appraised the freshwater invertebrate communities of the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. These communities are compared with the extant fauna. The freshwater fauna probabilistic signatures suggested a shift along a time series characterized by an overall rise in dominance by fewer taxa. The result is a modern freshwater fauna clustered narrowly around a few dominant taxa with high probable occurrence. This analysis raises the question: Are there too many species distributed among too few taxa?
In Brief:
Few know of this 35 mile long freshwater lake, but Laguna Bacalar is one of Mexico’s largest lakes and one of the world’s most unique lakes. The dense Yucatan jungle and distractions such as Cancun and the Caribbean coast have helped keep this secluded lake obscured. Laguna Bacalar, however, is a world class freshwater lake. In fact, put on the table photos of all world class lakes and choose one that is visibly unique-- virtually everyone will pick Laguna Bacalar. This exercise directly translates the visible uniqueness of Laguna Bacalar into a unique ecology and biogeochemistry.
Laguna Bacalar has many characteristics of the Caribbean including sharing its beautiful hues of turquoise and blue, prompting the ancient Maya to name it "Laguna de Siete Colores" (Lake of Seven Colors). Several marine species have adapted to the Laguna’s freshwaters and also freshwater stromatolites, mangroves, and resident crocodilians. Submarine cenotes, karst sink holes analogous to those in the Niagara formation of the Great Lakes, are located both within the lake itself and its adjacent shores. The most notable of these cenotes is believed to be 200 meters deep (some suspect much less) and has a rich cultural history--the Maya believed they were spiritual places. The lake today is on the cusp of becoming one of the most threatened lakes in the world. Recently discovered by the tourism industry, construction of new accommodations is accelerating rapidly, yet there is no concomitant effort for environmental protection, e.g. there is no infrastructure for sewage treatment and efforts have stalled. Water clarity of this oligotrophic, nitrogen limited system is superb, however, the eutrophication potential as a result of increasing seepage, point and non-point discharges looms large. If the lake reaches its nutrient load thresholds a series of ensuing ecological/biogeochemical changes will likely occur. One scenario is the population explosion of a cousin of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), the invasive black striped mussel (Mytilopsis sallei) that likely is the only worldwide example of an invasive dreissenid in ecological balance. This mussel is as ecologically lethal as the zebra mussel in upper North America. If enrichment of the Laguna advances, food web and nutrient cycling perturbations, the severe over-colonization by dressenids as seen elsewhere, and probably the destruction of these unique freshwater stromatolites may ensue.
The project's objectives are:
1) To quantitatively establish the population structure of the dreissenid population. The Black Striped Mussel will be one of the first responders to nutrient enrichment.
2) To determine the nutrient vertical profile within the submarine cenotes. Cenotes are known to connect the lacustrine lake waters with the underground rivers. Nutrient profiling will provide information related to nutrient flow via the underground conduit from the shore village of Bacalar, population 10,000, the largest community on the lake.
3) To videograph the submarine cenotes using underwater robotic remotely operated vehicles.
4) To determine the recent 150 year subfossil profile history of the cenotes. The profile of fauna and flora subfossil remains over the last may yield trends in cultural changes along the lake’s shore.
Abstract. The general relativity stress-energy tensor, Tuv is replaced with a relativistic stress-frequency tensor, Tvuv, based on the assertion that relativistic frequency, hv = mc /√(1 - v /c ), is basal to all other Lorentz transformations. This changes one of the main conceptual tenets of general relativity, that the curvature metric is determined by matter and energy, to that of frequency geometry being causal of space curvature. Is it possible that Einstein had the right mathematics emanating from the wrong concept? The relationship of frequency-curvature directly argues a geometric continuum of all matter-energy with space as opposed to Einstein’s concept of discrete matter-energy and space. Matter/space interplay can be thought of in a novel context that prescribes the idea of continuity: the space that surrounds matter is a continuity extension of matter-energy, demarcated by a sharp continuity transition.
Sustainability has been qualitatively defined in so many ways without quantitative merit, it risks becoming an empty concept. That is, while most know what the word implies, it cannot be put to functional usage. The foremost and obvious difficulty that arises from the lack of quantifiable measurement begs such practical questions as how is it known when sustainability is achieved without a measurable outcome? Here sustainability is defined as a process that uses resources at maximum efficiency and minimum entropy within the confines of locality. Each generation exploits available resources to the detriment of the next generation. Technology facilitates the next generation’s ability to better exploit their inherited, degraded resources. This treatment posits that sustainability can only be built at the local level under the conditions of maximum efficiency and minimum entropy.
