Coral Assemblages in the Southeastern Arabian Gulf (Qatar and Abu Dhabi, UAE): Various Stages of <i>Acropora</i>Recovery a Decade after Recurrent Elevated Temperature Anomalies

This study describes the coral communities near Qatarand Abu Dhabi (UAE) ten years after the recurrent elevated temperature anomalies of 1996, 1998 and 2002 which resulted in the mass mortality of Acropora spp. Data derived from photo transects taken over a four-year period were analyzed to characterize the existing coral communities, to compare these to the pre- and post-disturbance communities in the adjacent waters near Dubai, and to project the time-frames required for the communities to return to pre-disturbance levels. The massive corals, dominated by Porites spp. and faviids, showed no long-terms affects associated with exposures to the three thermal anomalies;whereas acroporids, comprising 0% - 8% of the live coral cover, were in various stages of recovery. Projections indicated that acroporid regeneration will require 15 - 32 years to achieve the ≥40% pre-disturbance area cover. The existing communities are too small in size and number to be self-seeding;thus, they are dependent upon the recruitment of larvae from remote refuges of colonies that survived the thermal anomalies. Efforts to identify these refuges and to establish appropriate multi-national conservation programs shall become critical to the future survival of acroporids throughout the southeasternArabian Gulfas the projected regeneration times exceed the periods between disturbances, which are expected to occur more frequently as a result of global climate change.

Baseline Levels of <i>Siderastrea siderea</i>Bleaching under Normal Environmental Conditions in Little Cayman

This study describes the health status of Siderastrea siderea in Little Cayman before, during, and after the 2015 Caribbean-wide elevated temperature anomaly. Colony color was used as a proxy for health during snorkel and scuba surveys of shallow (°C, S. siderea were early indicators of reef stress and among the first corals to bleach. Depth and site resilience did not significantly impact temperature susceptibility;however, smaller colonies (2 surface area) were more likely to change color than the larger size classes. Little Cayman’s S. siderea were capable of surviving large-scale (>80%) bleaching: mortality was observed for only one colony. Resilience rates varied considerably: one-third of the impacted population returned to the normal brown color within two months, one-third required 3 - 9 months to recover, and the fates of the remaining one-third remain to be determined. If the return to normal color is indicative of resistance to reef disturbances, S. siderea may be among the “winning” coral species following elevated temperature anomalies which are predicted to occur with increasing frequency and severity as a result of climate change.

The Origin and Nature of the Planck Constant

Planck’s constant h is a fundamental physical constant defined in the realm of quantum theory and is determined only by physical measurement and cannot be calculated. To this day, physicists do not have a convincing explanation for why action in microcosm is quantized or why h has a specific quantitative value. Here, a new theory is presented based on the idea that the elementary particles are vortices of a condensed superfluid vacuum. The vortex has a conserved angular momentum that can be calculated by applying hydrodynamic laws;in this way, the numerical value of Planck’s constant can be obtained. Therefore, the Planck constant is not a fundamental constant but an observable parameter of the elementary particle as a vortex that has constant vorticity and conserved angular momentum. This theory may offer a unique and comprehensive understanding of Planck’s constant and open a new perspective for a theory of everything.