ALBERT

Description: This study reports changes in ascorbic acid (AA) in anchoveta eggs, copepods and zooplankton during the 2006, 2007 and 2009 main spawning seasons in the coastal area of the central Humboldt Current System, Chile. Anchoveta eggs, copepods and total zooplankton community shared a seasonal variation and an increasing trend in AA concentration from winter through spring which was associated with the spring diatom bloom. The lineal relationship observed between AA concentration in anchoveta eggs, chlorophyll a and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) suggests that the increase in phytoplankton abundance could also increase the amount of AA in the spawning female anchoveta incorporated through tissue, thus increasing the concentration in their eggs. Ascorbic acid concentrations in copepods presented size (weight) dependence. Small copepods (e.g. Acartia, Oithona) had AA concentrations two orders of magnitude higher than the heavier weight class copepods (e.g. Calanus, Rhincalanus). Results of the determination of glutathione and the antioxidant potential showed a similar trend in interannual variations, suggesting that cold SST conditions observed in the 2007 spawning season could increase the consumption of antioxidants in early stages. Potential connections between AA concentration in the food web on anchoveta reproduction and egg hatching and embryo malformations are discussed.

Description: The Southern Ocean ecosystem at the Antarctic Peninsula has steep natural environmental gradients, e.g. in terms of water masses and ice cover, and experiences regional above global average climate change. An ecological macroepibenthic survey was conducted in three ecoregions in the north-western Weddell Sea, on the continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula in the Bransfield Strait and on the shelf of the South Shetland Islands in the Drake Passage, defined by their environmental envelop. The aim was to improve the so far poor knowledge of the structure of this component of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and its ecological driving forces. It can also provide a baseline to assess the impact of ongoing climate change to the benthic diversity, functioning and ecosystem services. Different intermediate-scaled topographic features such as canyon systems including the corresponding topographically defined habitats ‘bank’, ‘upper slope’, ‘slope’ and ‘canyon/deep’ were sampled. In addition, the physical and biological environmental factors such as sea-ice cover, chlorophyll-a concentration, small-scale bottom topography and water masses were analysed. Catches by Agassiz trawl showed high among-station variability in biomass of 96 higher systematic groups including ecological key taxa. Large-scale patterns separating the three ecoregions from each other could be correlated with the two environmental factors, sea-ice and depth. Attribution to habitats only poorly explained benthic composition, and small-scale bottom topography did not explain such patterns at all. The large-scale factors, sea-ice and depth, might have caused large-scale differences in pelagic benthic coupling, whilst small-scale variability, also affecting larger scales, seemed to be predominantly driven by unknown physical drivers or biological interactions.

Description: A scientific research fishing expedition targeting the oceanic/slope ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi was undertaken by a Korean-registered squid jigger in CCAMLR area 48.3, near South Georgia, in June 1996, providing the first opportunity to collect data on the fishery biology of this species during the austral winter. Fishing took place over a period of 8 days; a series of eight drifts was undertaken along an approximately east/west transect of about 200 nautical miles to the north and west of South Georgia, over depths ranging from 1,700 to 2,713 m. All fishing was to the south of the Antarctic Polar Front. Data were collected on sea surface temperature, catch per unit of effort, size, sex, maturity status and stomach contents of the catch and a sample of squid was aged by counting putative, daily microgrowth increments in the sectioned statolith. All squid were caught by jigs operating at depths from 80 to 100 m to the surface. Catch per unit of effort per drift varied between 1.0 and 21.9 kg min−1 and there was no by-catch. Greatest numbers of squid were caught at dusk and dawn. Mantle length fell in the range 220–350 mm (males) and 212–370 mm (females). Most males were sexually mature (Lipinski's stages IV–V) and most females were immature (stage II). The absence of mature females suggests that no spawning takes place in this area during the austral winter. The squid were up to 1␣year of age and had hatched during the previous winter. They were apparently from the same cohort as had been sampled at the Antarctic Polar Front in February 1996. Myctophids were the major prey in the stomach contents and the squid Gonatus antarcticus was also important; crustaceans were relatively unimportant. The results suggest that concentrations of Martialia hyadesi are present in the vicinity of South Georgia, south of the Antarctic Polar Front, during the austral winter. The squid are actively feeding during the austral winter and are susceptible to jigging gear.

Description: Several aspects of the biology of Bathypolypus sponsalis were studied from 297 individuals (115 males, 180 females and 2 indeterminates) caught in a depth range of 200–800 m depth in the western Mediterranean Sea. The paper presents data on sizes (length-weight relationships, size-frequency distributions) and reproduction (sex ratio, maturation, condition), and also analyses of the diet of B. sponsalis from samples taken throughout the year. Length-weight relationships showed that females are heavier than males at the same mantle length. Although mature individuals were found all year round, the maximum number occurred in spring and summer. Sexual maturation data revealed that males mature at smaller sizes than females. The gonadosomatic index increased with maturity in both sexes; the increase was gradual in males, but abrupt in females. The digestive gland index was used as a condition index and showed a differential behaviour with maturity; it increased gradually in females, but decreased in males. Like other octopus species, B. sponsalis appears to be an opportunistic predator, feeding on a great variety of preys. Stomach content analysis yielded a total of 19 different prey items belonging to four major groups (Crustacea, Mollusca, Ophiuroidea and Osteichthya). The first three groups were the more frequent preys, since crustaceans, molluscs and ophiuroids appeared in 76%, 49% and 30% of the stomachs, respectively. Decapoda Reptantia (among crustaceans) and cephalopods and bivalves (among molluscs) constituted the more abundant prey items. While the Decapoda Reptantia group was significantly more abundant in stomach contents of females, gastropods were taken more frequently by males. These differences in diet could reveal females as a more active predators than males.

Description: Cephalopods are highly sensitive to environmental conditions and changes at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Relationships documented between cephalopod stock dynamics and environmental conditions are of two main types: those concerning the geographic distribution of abundance, for which the mechanism is often unknown, and those relating to biological processes such as egg survival, growth, recruitment and migration, where mechanisms are sometimes known and in a very few cases demonstrated by experimental evidence. Cephalopods seem to respond to environmental variation both ‘actively’ (e.g. migrating to areas with more favoured environmental conditions for feeding or spawning) and ‘passively’ (growth and survival vary according to conditions experienced, passive migration with prevailing currents). Environmental effects on early life stages can affect life history characteristics (growth and maturation rates) as well as distribution and abundance. Both large-scale atmospheric and oceanic processes and local environmental variation appear to play important roles in species–environment interactions. While oceanographic conditions are of particular significance for mobile pelagic species such as the ommastrephid squids, the less widely ranging demersal and benthic species may be more dependent on other physical habitat characteristics (e.g. substrate and bathymetry). Coastal species may be impacted by variations in water quality and salinity (related to rainfall and river flow). Gaps in current knowledge and future research priorities are discussed. Key research goals include linking distribution and abundance to environmental effects on biological processes, and using such knowledge to provide environmental indicators and to underpin fishery management.

Description: A comprehensive study of the Earth system and its related processes requires a holistic examination and understanding of multidimensional data acquired with a large number of different sensors or produced by various models. To this end, the Digital Earth project developed a set of software solutions to study environmental data sets using visual approaches. In the following chapter, we present three data visualization products developed to deal with the challenges of the analysis and exploration of environmental data.

Description: Reliable data are the base of all scientific analyses, interpretations and conclusions. Evaluating data in a smart way speeds up the process of interpretation and conclusion and highlights where, when and how additionally acquired data in the field will support knowledge gain. An extended SMART monitoring concept is introduced which includes SMART sensors, DataFlows, MetaData and Sampling approaches and tools. In the course of the Digital Earth project, the meaning of SMART monitoring has significantly evolved. It stands for a combination of hard- and software tools enhancing the traditional monitoring approach where a SMART monitoring DataFlow is processed and analyzed sequentially on the way from the sensor to a repository into an integrated analysis approach. The measured values itself, its metadata, and the status of the sensor, and additional auxiliary data can be made available in real time and analyzed to enhance the sensor output concerning accuracy and precision. Although several parts of the four tools are known, technically feasible and sometimes applied in Earth science studies, there is a large discrepancy between knowledge and our derived ambitions and what is feasible and commonly done in the reality and in the field.