The notion of heterogeneous dynamics in glasses, that is, the spatial and temporal variations of structural relaxation rates, explains many of the puzzling features of glass dynamics. The nature and the dynamics of these heterogeneities, however, have been very controversial. Single rhodamine B molecules in poly(vinyl acetate) at the glass transition reorient through sudden jumps. With a statistical search for the most likely break points in the logarithm of the ratio of the two perpendicular fluorescence polarizations, we determine the times of these angular jumps. We interpret these jumps as an indication for individual glass rearrangements in the vicinity of the probe molecule. Time-series analysis of the resulting sequence of waiting times between jumps shows that dynamic heterogeneities in the matrix exist, but are short lived. From the correlation of the logarithm of the waiting time between subsequent jumps, we determine an upper limit for the lifetime of heterogeneities in the sample. The correlation time of τ(het) = 32 s is three times shorter than the orientational correlation time of the probe molecule, τ(orient) = 90 s, in the sample at this temperature, but 13 times longer than the structural relaxation time, τ(α) = 2.5 s, estimated for this sample from dielectric experiments. We present a model for glass dynamics in which each rearrangement in one region causes a random change in the barrier height for subsequent rearrangements in a neighboring region. This model, which equates the dynamics of the heterogeneities with the dynamics of the glass itself and thus implies a factor of one between heterogeneity lifetime and structural relaxation time, successfully reproduces the statistics of the experimentally observed waiting time sequences.

SUMMARY1. Understanding how environmental variables and human disturbances influence the outcomes of introductions of non-native freshwater fish is integral to their risk management. This can be complex in freshwater ecosystems that receive subsidies that increase food availability, as these may influence the outcome of introductions through promoting the survival, reproduction and establishment of the introduced propagules through increasing their access to food resources. 2. We determined how natural and/or artificial trophic subsidies affected the reproduction and establishment of the introduced topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) in replicated pond mesocosms. The mesocosms all started with eight mature fish and were run for 100 days during their reproductive season. The subsidies consisted of natural terrestrial prey and/or fishmeal pellets (a common trophic subsidy that can be significant in systems that are used as sport fisheries or for aquaculture). 3. After 100 days, fish in the natural subsidy ponds showed minimal growth and very low reproductive output. Analysis of d C and d 15N indicated that their progeny, 0+ fish produced in the ponds, exploited the terrestrial prey. By contrast, in ponds where pellets were added, mineral nutrient availability and primary production were significantly increased, and the mature fish fed mainly on the aquatic resources. The increased productivity of the ponds significantly increased fish growth and fitness, resulting in high numbers of 0+ individuals that did feed on the pellets. 4. Thus, subsidies that can increase both primary production and food resources (such as pelletised fishmeal) can significantly influence the ability of colonists to establish a population rapidly. Management efforts to minimise the risk of introductions should thus consider the role of these types of allochthonous subsidies.

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Numerical models for predicting sediment concentrations and transport rely on parameters such as settling velocity and bed erodibility that describe sediment characteristics, yet these parameters are rarely probed directly. We investigated temporal and spatial variation in sediment parameters in the shallows of San Pablo Bay, CA. Flow, turbulence, and suspended sediment data were measured at sites located at 1 and 2 m below mean lower low water (MLLW) from November 2013 through April 2015, supplemented by monthlong periods in 2011, 2012, and 2016. Maximum current velocities were 0.40–0.47 m s-1 at these depths; the strongest currents decreased to 0.27–0.34 m s-1 during neap periods. Winters 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 experienced strong drought conditions, limiting the potential for seasonal impact on sediment conditions during this experiment. Despite this, the more storm‐influenced site showed clear changes during the winter: the roughness parameter decreased from 10−4 to 10−5 m, from hydrodynamically rough to smooth conditions, and bed erodibility increased by an order of magnitude. Median settling velocity was 2.05·10−4 m s-1; it varied twofold within a tidal cycle, decreasing as current velocity grew during flood and ebb. This tidal control on floc size affected settling velocity on the spring‐neap timescale, possibly driving a spring‐neap oscillation in erodibility. Our findings highlight variation in sediment dynamics that is commonly ignored in numerical models and the need for field observations to ground truth ongoing modeling efforts.

Sediment transport across bay-marsh interfaces depends on wave energy, vegetation, and marsh-edge morphology and varies over a range of timescales. We investigated these dynamics in a tidal salt marsh with a gently sloped, vegetated edge adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Spartina foliosa (cordgrass) inhabits the lower marsh and Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed) predominates on the marsh plain. We measured suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and hydrodynamics in bay shallows and along a 100-m cross-shore transect in the marsh, during winter and summer. Four-year averaged accretion measured with marker-horizon plots was twice as great along the marsh transect as adjacent to a tidal creek, 50 m from the bay. We estimated deposition and trapping efficiency from the time series data to assess its variation with season and wave energy. At high tide the transition zone (between cordgrass and pickleweed) was usually erosional, the pickleweed zone was depositional, and both erosion and deposition increased with wave energy, as did the landward position of maximum deposition. Erosion from the transition zone accounted for approximately one third of the sediment flux into the pickleweed. In the pickleweed zone, SSC, the difference between flood-and ebb-tide SSC, and trapping efficiency were greater in summer than winter for comparable wave conditions, which we attribute to increased sediment trapping by dense summer cordgrass. Moderate waves in summer (46%) accounted for more annual accretion in the pickleweed zone than larger waves in winter (28%), although the contribution of winter storms was diminished by the dry winter during the study.

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We present a field study combining measurements of vegetation density, vegetative drag, and reduction of suspended‐sediment concentration (SSC) within patches of the invasive submerged aquatic plant Egeria densa. Our study was motivated by concern that sediment trapping by E. densa, which has proliferated in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, is impacting marsh accretion and reducing turbidity. In the freshwater tidal Delta, E. densa occupies shallow regions frequently along channel margins. We investigated two sites: Lindsey Slough, a muddy low‐energy backwater, and the lower Mokelumne River, with stronger currents and sandy bed sediments. At the two sites, biomass density, frontal area, and areal density of the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) were similar. Current attenuation within E. densa exceeded 90% and the vegetative drag coefficient followed Cd=174Red−1.46, where Red is stem Reynolds number. The SAV reduced SSC by an average of 18% in Lindsey Slough. At the Mokelumne River the reduction ranged 0%–40%, with greatest trapping when discharge and SSC were elevated. This depletion of SSC decreases the transport of sediment to marshes by the same percentage, as the rising tide must pass through fringing SAV before reaching marshes. Sediment trapping in E. densa in the Delta is limited by low flux through the canopy and low settling velocity of suspended sediment (mostly flocculated mud). Sediment trapping by SAV has the potential to reduce channel SSC, but the magnitude and sign of the effect can vary with local factors including vegetative coverage and the depositional or erosional nature of the setting.

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