ALBERT

Beschreibung: The cuttlefish ingests much skeleton from the crustaceans and fish it preys upon. The skeletal pieces are relatively large and their dimensions bear a close relationship to the length of the buccal mass and diameter of the oesophagus. The structures of the buccal mass are instrumental in the breakdown of prey and orientation of long pieces of skeleton to ensure their entry into the oesophagus. Many pieces of skeletal material present in the stomach contents still have attached muscles, showing that there is little, or no, external digestion. Skeletal material may be important for long-term maintenance of young Sepia in captivity.

Beschreibung: The flying behavior of neon flying squid was observed at 8 different locations in the subtropical region between long. 160°E and 172°W along lat. 37°N (surface temperature: 17-24°C), on board the R/V Omi-Maru in the period from July to August, 1984. Roughly 10-300 squids (estimated mantle length: 14-18cm) flew a distance of 10-20m at a height of 1-2 m above the sea surface in the same direction both by day and by night. The form of squid in flight closely resembled that of purpleback flying squid. Judging from these results, it is beleived that the smaller individuals under about 18cm in mantle length of neon flying squid live mainly near the surface of the sea, by day and night, and that they have a gliding-type flying behavior like flying fish, mainly to escape from their enemies.

Beschreibung: In the animal kingdom evolutionary size changes involved increasing, decreasing and stationary patterns. Planktic and benthic Foraminifera chiefly increased their size during evolution. This increase, however, did not always occur gradually, but could be interrupted by periods when the animals maintained or even decreased in size. The rate of the size increase is different for the various species examined, some benthic forms grew only 10% during the Oligocene-Pleistocene interval, while for others this figure was up to 96%. Some benthic species increased in size in certain areas, but not in others. It is not improbable that some phylogenetic trends of planktic Foraminifera representing, according to stratigraphers, the evolution of one species into another, represent in reality, from the biological point of view, specimens of the same species which changed their size and in addition some minor morphological traits which are encompassed by the normal span of intraspecific variability. A comprehensive understanding and explanation of the size change of Foraminifera needs much additional research.

Beschreibung: In order to elucidate the stock structure and growth of neon flying squid, seasonal variations in dorsal mantle length, sex ratio, gonad weight and degree of sexual maturity of this species are presented here on the basis of the results of biological measurements of the samples taken by squid gillnetters during June and December in 1983-1985. The majority of the sampled squid were immature and not copulated females, while the proportion of males in number was only 2.4% in the 3-year average, and about half of the males were semi-mature (11%) or mature (36%). The principal modal mantle length in females shifted from 37cm level in June to 45cm level in September, then backed again to a smaller modal size within the range of 35-41cm in October-November. The ovary weights showed a general tendency to gradually increase between June and August, but this was followed by an abrupt decrease in September. Judging from these results, it is presumed that Japanese squid squid gillnetters mainly catch “extra-large sized” group of neon flying squid in June-September and “large sized” one in October-December, selectively out of four different size groups in the northern North Pacific.

Beschreibung: The southern section of the Agulhas western boundary current system exhibits unique characteristics as regards ocean/atmosphere heat flux processes. The Agulhas Retroflection region's high heat flux core from 37°S to 41°S, 16°E to 22°E does not demonstrate a distinct annual cycle of turbulent heat fluxes (latent and sensible) as is characteristic of its northern hemisphere counterparts. Rather, a weak semiannual heat flux cycle is found with maximum average losses during winter and summer (200 and 211 W/m2 ) and minimum losses during spring and autumn (185 and 162 W/m2 ). Upstream where the Agulhas Current is closer to land, winter heat losses exceed those of summer, but the differences are small. This behavior contrasts with that encountered at the poleward ends of northern hemisphere western boundary currents where winter heat fluxes are several times those of summer. The main reason for this difference is persistent westerly and southwesterly wind flow over the Agulhas Retroflection region throughout the year which ensures that cold, unsaturated maritime air repeatedly forces loss of heat from the ocean's surface. Spatial heat flux gradients associated with the Agulhas‐Subtropical Convergence surface temperature front are more pronounced in summer than in winter, indicating that cyclogenesis locally may be less seasonally dependent than in the northern hemisphere situation. Average oceanic cooling rates in the core region of the Retroflection, based on net heat flux calculations and a mixed surface layer of 75 m, range from 1.35°C/month during winter to 0.25°C/month during summer. Interannual variability in ocean/atmosphere heat fluxes within the Agulhas Retroflection region often exceeds the variability illustrated by the annual cycle. West of the Agulhas Retroflection core region, interannual sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are more influential in the generation of heat flux anomalies by virtue of their large temporal variability. This high SST variability is primarily attributed to interannual changes in flux of Agulhas Current water into the southeast Atlantic Ocean. Oceanic heat loss within this warm water zone is an important modifying influence to both ocean and atmosphere, thus meriting further research.

Beschreibung: The migration pattern of Illex argentinus in the waters off Argentina was estimated based on the data collected by research survey from April 1978 to April 1979 and on fisheries statistics of Japanese commercial vessels. In spring of the Southern Hemisphere juvenile squid appear in the northern half of the Patagonian Shelf excluding the area covered by the coastal waters. They disperse gradually towards offshore and southern waters, and spread their habitat to almost the entire shelf by summer. In autumn they move towards the east (the edge of the shelf) and north and aggregate on the slope of 400-700m in depth for some time in the north and middle parts of the shelf. Then they leave the slope probably for spawning in winter.

Beschreibung: The influence of grazing pressure on the occurrence and outcome of nutrient competition among planktonic algae was studied in two-chamber microcosms where there was a flow in both directions between a light reactor without out zooplankton and a dark reactor with zooplankton (Daphnia longispina and Daphnia magna). The phytoplankton inoculum was a mixed, natural assemblage. Zooplankton could influence the dynamics of phytoplankton both by selective grazing and by differential excretion of limiting nutrients. Grazing pressure did not prevent the occurrence of nutrient limitation in algae and, hence, of nutrient competition between them. Zooplankton did, however, influence the outcome of competition by lowering Si:P ratios. A comparison with my previous experiments shows that diatoms need higher Si:P supply ratios for dominance over green algae in the presence of grazers than in grazing-free competition with steady or weekly pulsed nutrient supply