ALBERT

Beschreibung: The presence of Stoloteuthis leucoptera in the Mediterranean is recorded on the basis of three specimens, including an adult male, caught by IKMT and by commercial otter-trawl in the Ligurian Sea. The hypothesis of a recent immigration is discussed. The list of Mediterranean cephalopods (Mangold Wirz, 1963; Torchio, 1968; Bello, 1986; Mangold & Boletzsky, 1987) includes the Sepiolidae of the subfamily Heteroteuthinae, whose members are supposed to be pelagic throughout their life cycle. Mangold Wirz (1963) recognizes in the Mediterranean fauna the unique species Heteroteuthis dispar, the other authors include H. atlantis Voss, which Voss himself (1955) reported at Messina. To this group may now be added Stoloteuthis leucoptera (Verrill, 1878) a species until now recorded in limited Atlantic areas. Verrill (1881) wrote “This species is an exceedingly beautiful one, when living, owing to the elegance and brilliancy of its colours and the gracefulness of its movements. In swimming it moves its fins in a manner analogous to the motion of the wings of a butterfly.”

Beschreibung: The biological variability of the northwestern Arabian Sea during the 1979 southwest monsoon has been investigated by the synthesis of satellite ocean color remote sensing with analysis of in situ hydrographic and meteorological data sets and the results of wind-driven modeling of upper ocean circulation. The phytoplankton bloom in the northwestern Arabian Sea peaked during August-September, extended from the Oman coast to about 65°E, and lagged the development of open-sea upwelling by at least 1 month. In total, the pigment distributions, hydrographic data, and model results all suggest that the bloom was driven by spatially distinct upward nutrient fluxes to the euphotic zone forced by the physical processes of coastal upwelling and offshore Ekman pumping. Coastal upwelling was evident from May through September, yielded the most extreme concentrations of phytoplankton biomass, and along the Arabian coast was limited to the continental shelf in the promotion of high concentrations of phytoplankton. Upward Ekman pumping to the northwest of the Somali Jet axis stimulated the development of a broad open-sea phytoplankton bloom oceanward of the Oman shelf. Vertical mixing during the 1979 southwest monsoon was apparently not a primary cause of the regional-scale phytoplankton bloom.

Beschreibung: The moult fast in emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) chicks was studied during January 1990 at Drescher Inlet, eastern Weddell Sea. In early January feeding of the chicks had stopped and about 4,000–5,000 chicks were in the inlet. The number of starving chicks decreased rapidly until 26 January when all chicks had either left the inlet or died. Mean body mass loss of starving chicks was 257 g/day and the evaluated specific daily mass loss was 25 g/kg body mass. The critical body mass, i.e. the mass below which chicks die, during moulting starvation was estimated to be 4 kg. Mean body mass was higher and mass loss lower in chicks at more advanced moult stages. Chicks left the inlet before moult was completed, although the sea-ice was still stable.

Beschreibung: The areas of marine pollen deposition are related to the pollen source areas by aeolian and fluvial transport regimes, whereas wind transport is much more important than river transport. Pollen distribution patterns ofPinus, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, and Asteraceae Tubuliflorae trace atmospheric transport by the northeast trades. Pollen transport by the African Easterly Jet is reflected in the pollen distribution patterns of Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae Tubuliflorae, andMitracarpus. Grass pollen distribution registers the latitudinal extension of Sahel, savannas and dry open forests. Marine pollen distribution patterns of Combretaceae-Melastomataceae,Alchornea, andElaeis reflect the extension of wooded grasslands and transitional forests. Pollen from the Guinean-Congolian/Zambezian forest and from the Sudanian/Guinean vegetation zones mark the northernmost extension of the tropical rain forest.Rhizophora pollen in marine sediments traces the distribution of mangrove swamps. Only near the continent, pollen ofRhizophora, Mitracarpus, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, and pollen from the Sudanian and Guinean vegetation zones are transported by the Upwelling Under Current and the Equatorial Under Current, where those currents act as bottom currents. The distribution of pollen in marine sediments, reflecting the position of major climatic zones (desert, dry tropics, humid tropics), can be used in tracing climatic changes in the past.

Beschreibung: In den 1980er Jahren wurden umfangreiche Bestandsaufnahmen zur Formenvielfalt der Fischkrankheiten sowie der saisonalen und regionalen Fluktuation ihrer Befallsraten in deutschen Küstengewässern angestellt. Sowohl Formenvielfalt als auch viele der Befallsraten scheinen im Wattenmeer und insbesondere in den dortigen Flußmündungen größer zu sein als in Vergleichsgewässern. Drei “neue” Krankheitsformen werden vorgestellt: die nahrungsinduzierte Maulgranulomatose des Stints, die vermutlich durch Flexibacter-Bakterien verursachte Gelbe Pest des Kabeljaus und eine Fibrom des Steinpickers, in dem lentivirusähnliche Partikel nachgewiesen wurden. Das Schwergewicht der bisherigen Forschungsvorhaben lag auf dem Sammeln von Felddaten. Mangels experimenteller Arbeitsansätze müssen viele wichtige Fragen zur Bedeutung dieser Krankheiten daher heute noch unbeantwortet bleiben. So bleibt die Vermutung unbewiesen, daß ein Reihe von parasitenbedingten Krankheiten einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur natürlichen Sterblichkeit vor allem von jungen Nutzfischen im Wattenmeer liefert. Auch das komplizierte Wirkungsgefüge anthropogener und natürlicher Faktoren bei der Entstehung von Fischkrankheiten im Gebiet wird ohne gezielte experimentelle Arbeiten nicht aufzudecken sein. Das Auftreten von Gelber Pest, Ichthyophonus-Krankheit und lentivirusähnlichen Partikeln in Fischtumoren stellt ein beträchtliches Gefährungspotential für die deutsche Fischwirtschaft dar. Allgemein ist festzustellen, daß in Deutschland eine große Empfänglichkeit gegenüber Umweltproblemen auf dem Gebiet der Marinen Pathologie besteht. Die nationalen Forschungskapazitäten sind aufgrund anderer, meist kurzfristig angelegter Arbeitsschwerpunkte jedoch nicht ausreichend darauf vorbereitet, diese Probleme auch erfolgreich zu analysieren und zu bewerten. Als Konsequenz wird gefordert, der bislang vernachlässigten Grundlagenforschung auf dem Gebiet der Marinen Pathologie neben der reinen Datenerhebung auf See künftig eine größere Bedeutung zuzumessen. Das gilt insbesondere für experimentelle und für biochemisch- und mikroskopisch-diagnostische Arbeiten. Künftig auftretende Probleme werden nur dann rechzeitig zu bewerten und zu lösen sein, wenn sich ein ausreichend breit angelegtes und fundiertes Wissenspotential kontinuierlich weiterentwickeln kann.

Beschreibung: The present study demonstrates that a distinct land-associated community of mesopelagic micronekton exists around the Hawaiian Islands. This “mesopelagic-boundary community” replaces the oceanic mesopelagic community over bottom depths of approx 400 to 700 m and includes about 14 species of fishes, 5 of shrimps and 4 of squids. Similar species of the mesopelagic micronekton have been reported in association with other landmasses at the boundary between the oceanic mesopelagic realm and upper continental or island slopes. These species may form a cosmopolitan “mesopelagic-boundary community” which shows regional differences in taxonomic composition, abundance and diversity. Boundary communities, with populations which are both tightly constrained geographically and relatively accessible to shore-based research programs, offer unique opportunities for studying biological processes of the mesopelagic realm and the interactions between neritic and oceanic populations. Data is presented from three midwater and two neuston sampling projects undertaken around the main Hawaiian Islands between 1987 and 1989; additional evidence from the literature is also discussed.

Beschreibung: A seabird and mammal census was carried out in the north-eastern Weddell Sea during the austral winter of 1986. The German research icebreaker Polarstern operated in heavy pack ice along the Greenwich Meridian between the northern sea ice boundary and the Antarctic coast. Crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), Antarctic petrels (Thalassoica antarctica) and snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) were found to be more abundant in the vicinity of the submarine Maud Rise, about 700 km north of the continental margin, than in other areas of substantial ice cover traversed during that cruise. The aggregations of birds and mammals are expected to reflect aggregations of their principal food, krill (Euphausia superba) wintering underneath the ice cover. The distribution pattern of krill predators coincides with the course of a warm water belt upwelling near Maud Rise. This upwelling could induce local ice melting which in turn may result in an increased release of sea ice algae.

Beschreibung: In 1987 and 1989 coelacanths were observed for the first time in their natural habitat with the help of submersibles. Coelacanths were found between 150–253 m depth, their preferential depth seems to be around 200 m; the water temperature ranged between 16.5–22.8° C. During the day coelacanths aggregate in small non-aggressive groups in sheltered lava-caves. Caves might be a limiting factor for distribution. At night they leave the caves for hunting by drifting singly along the steep lava slopes. They migrate between different caves located within a large home range covering more than 8 km coastline. Coelacanths are site-attached, some for a period of at least 2 years. Our own observations and earlier catch records show that only the west coast of Grand Comoro is a suitable coelacanth habitat with more structural complexity and prey fish abundance than other coastlines of the island. From our survey we estimated a total coelacanth population off Grand Comoro to be 150–210 individuals; a saturated population would be 370–510 individuals. This small relict population seems to be stable. International protection of coelacanths against commercial interests is needed.

Beschreibung: We report first observations on social behavior ofLatimeria chalumnae in its natural environment at around 200 m depth in the Comoro Archipelago, Western Indian Ocean. Coelacanths aggregate in small nonaggressive groups in sheltered lava-caves. They live in open site-attached social systems with individuals occupying large overlapping home ranges of more than 8 km coastline, some for a period of at least 2 years.

Beschreibung: A correlation of the Campanian–Maastrichtian boundary is attempted using foraminiferal and nannoplankton data from two areas: the eastern North Atlantic and northwestern Germany. The Boreal benthic and Tethyan planktonic foraminiferal zonation schemes are applied to Site 548A, where both foraminiferal groups occur frequently. A direct comparison of both biozonations reveals that the base of the Maastrichtian, according to planktonic foraminifers, has to be placed in the Upper Campanian of the Boreal benthic foraminiferal biozonation, which concurs with the nannoplankton results. The Tethyan Middle and Upper Maastrichtian are probably equivalent to the Upper Maastrichtian in the Boreal sense. The bases of the Maastrichtian substages are thus diachronous between the Boreal and Tethyan realms. Palaeotemperatures (which were estimated using the oxygen isotopic composition of the Goban Spur chalks) indicate, in combination with palaeowind directions, that the faunal and floral distribution pattern recorded is the result of a stable, warm water outflow from the northwest European epicontinental seas through the Channel area to the Celtic Shelf sea and Goban Spur. This mechanism appears to have been a dominant separating factor of the Boreal and Tethyan bioprovinces on the western European Shelf.