ALBERT

Beschreibung: New sedimentological data of facies and diagenesis as well as chronological data including strontium (87Sr/86Sr)-isotope ratios and uranium (U)-series dating, radiocarbon (14C) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating and biostratigraphy from elevated reef terraces (makatea) in the southern Cook Islands of Mangaia, Rarotonga and Aitutaki contribute to controversial discussions regarding age and sea-level relationships of these occurrences during the Neogene and Quaternary. The oldest limestones of the uplifted makatea island of Mangaia include reef-related facies which are mid-Miocene in age, based on new Sr-isotope and biostratigraphical data. In between these older deposits and the lowest coastal reef terrace of marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, various older Pleistocene reef-related facies were identified. Based on Sr-isotope ratios, these were deposited during earlier Pleistocene highstands (as old as 2.28 Ma). Rare reef terraces on Rarotonga belong to the Plio-Pleistocene and the late Miocene, according to 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The late Miocene age is enigmatic as it exceeds the age of subaerially exposed volcanic rocks of Rarotonga island. The fossil reef could have formed on an older submarine volcanic high that was later displaced by younger volcanism to its present position, or the Sr-age could be too old due to diagenetic resetting. The Plio-Pleistocene Rarotonga reef terraces are overlain irregularly by Holocene reef deposits that are interpreted as storm rubble. Reef terraces on Aitutaki represent evidence of a higher-than-present (up to 1 m) sea-level during the late Holocene, based on 14C AMS age data. They are very similar to elevated late Holocene reefs of adjacent French Polynesia with regard to composition, elevation and age.

Beschreibung: The Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana) is a keystone species in the Southern Ocean that uses an arsenal of hydrolases for biomacromolecule decomposition to effectively digest its omnivorous diet. The present study builds on a hybrid-assembled transcriptome (13,671 ORFs) combined with comprehensive proteome profiling. The analysis of individual krill compartments allowed detection of significantly more different proteins compared to that of the entire animal (1,464 vs. 294 proteins). The nearby krill sampling stations in the Bransfield Strait (Antarctic Peninsula) yielded rather uniform proteome datasets. Proteins related to energy production and lipid degradation were particularly abundant in the abdomen, agreeing with the high energy demand of muscle tissue. A total of 378 different biomacromolecule hydrolysing enzymes were detected, including 250 proteases, 99 CAZymes, 14 nucleases and 15 lipases. The large repertoire in proteases is in accord with the protein-rich diet affiliated with E. superba’s omnivorous lifestyle and complex biology. The richness in chitin-degrading enzymes allows not only digestion of zooplankton diet, but also the utilization of the discharged exoskeleton after moulting.